"Summer Jobs" Dirty Dozen Card-Making Challenge

Nine months ago I wrote in THIS POST that I was given the great honor in the paper-crafting world to join the "Dirty Dozen" on Splitcoaststampers.   Splitcoaststampers is an on-line paper crafting community where crafters can learn new techniques, chit chat with each other, share their art work, and so much more.  One part of this community is "The Dirty Dozen".  This is an invitation only group of crafters whose work is seen as exemplary so they are asked to be part of the Dirty Dozen.  The requirements of the Dirty Dozen is to create six cards for six months centered around a different theme each month.  The cards then are uploaded into the "Dirty Dozen Gallery" and only fan club members are allowed to see them.  After six months, Dirty Dozen members are allowed to post them elsewhere on social media or their blogs.  Well, it has been six months since I completed my first challenge, so I can finally show me my first set of cards!

The third Dirty Dozen theme was "Summer Jobs" and these are my submissions:

Farm Card

The first photo shows the outside of the farm card.  Once opened (the second photo) is another farm scene.

I live in a rural area and summer time provides a lot of summer jobs on farms.  

I created a Gatefold design card following a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers .  I used a combination of stamps and my Cricket machine to make all the farm images.  The barn, Sio, fence, tractor, and tree were all made with the "Country Life" Cricut cartridge.  The pig, farmer, horse, and chickens are from MFT "Punny Farm".  The sentiment is from Crafty Secrets "Down on the Farm".  I used stencils from Taylor Expressions to create the clouds and the grass.

Canning Card

My next card shows my summer job:  canning. I spend a good part of my summer canning vegetables from my garden.

To make this card I used a free canning jar image off the internet and printed it out in two different sizes.  The strawberries are stamps.  I put Glossy accents on the large strawberry and the strawberry tag.  I cut some red gingham designer paper by hand and glued it to the top of the larger jar, adding a twine bow and a tag.  The sentiment is from a stamp in my stash, and is cut with an MFT banner die.  I created the jam in the smaller jar just by coloring it in with a Copic marker.  The strawberry designer paper is from Jellibean Soup "Coconut Lime Soup".

Beach Scene Card

Lots of people work as lifeguards in the summer, so I created a beach scene card.

To make this card I used retired Stampin' Up! "Sparkling Summer".  The sentiment is from Flourishes "Kid's Play".  I used Taylored Expressions cloud stencil for the background and then colored my own sea and sand with Copic Markers.  I added some Dew Drops to the sand to make it more sparkly.  The beach images were all stamped on to separate card stock and cut out by hand.  The sentiment is from Flourish's "Kids at Play" and cut with a MFT banner die.  I added a ribbon and a sea shell stick pin for embellishment.

Ice Cream Cone Card

Another summer job is an ice cream worker.  We have neighborhood ice cream trucks in the summer plus all our ice cream shops usualy re-open for the summer.  In Wisconsin, many ice cream stores are only open in the summer months.

To make this card I used my Circuit machine once again and cut out a large cupcake using the cartridge "Sweet Treats".  I dry embossed the cone and the background paper using Cuttlebug embossing Folders.  I colored the sprinkles various pastel colors and then put glitter glue on them.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts "Cupcakes".  I cut the tag and the white scalloped background with Spellbinder's Nestabilies.  Ribbon, twin, and a button are the embellishments.  The ice cream cone is popped up on dimensionals. 

Camping Card

In the summer, camps open up again and many people are hired to work as camp counselors, camp employees, etc. 

To make this card, I followed a Diorama Tutorial on Splitcoaststampers.  I used images from retired Stampin' Up! sets "Happy Camper" and "Travel Time".  I stamped all the images onto separate card stock, colored them in, and fussy cut them out then glued them to my diorama.  The starry background is designer paper.  

Gardening Card

Another one of my summer jobs is gardening so I created a gardening card.

To make this card, I used the MFT stamp set "Can Ya Dig It?"  I stamped all the images separately, cut them out, and glued them onto the card or used dimensionals.  The sentiment and seedling were stamped directly onto the card stock.  I created a trellis background using a die.  The clouds and sun were also cut from dies.  The flower background is designer paper. 

I hope you enjoyed looking at my Dirty Dozen Design Team cards.  I have shown you about half of them now.  There is more to come next month!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

See More Dirty Dozen Cards in These Posts:

"Let's Go Fly A Kite"

"Butterflies Are Free"

 

The Yellowstone Caldera, Tower Falls, Calcite Springs, and the Roosevelt Arch

This is part six of a travel series to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, go HERE!

The Heart of the Yellowstone Caldera

After spending the morning of Day Two exploring The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, we got back in the car and continued upwards towards the North Entrance.  We weren't in the car long when we spotted a number of cars pulled over at a scenic overlook.  We thought "It must be good, or there wouldn't be so many cars here" so we stopped.

If you've been following along on our journey, we have now completed more than half of the lower figure eight loop and we were continuing upward (north) to the upper half of the figure eight loop.  The overlook we stopped at is called the "Washburn Hot Springs Overlook" which is not on the map below but is on a more detailed map of Yellowstone which you receive at the park entrance.  On the map below, we were about half way in-between Canyon Jct. and Mt. Washburn.

Photo Credit

The scenic view is explained in the photo below.  If you click on the photo you can enlarge it and read more about it.  From this spot you have views of the Washburn Hot Springs, the Caldera Rim (which resulted from the third cycle of volcanic events) and even the Grand Tetons in the distance.

The steam you see is the Washburn Hot Springs.

The views from this overlook are incredible and definitely worth the stop!

Here's a short video of the area.

I love the wildflowers in the foreground.

Tower Fall

After briefly stopping at the overlook, we then headed to our next destination:  Tower Fall.  This place was pretty busy and filled with tourists, but the parking lot was huge so we had no problem finding parking.

The Tower Fall overlook is just a short walk from the parking lot.  It was kinda disappointing because the overlook was packed with people and I had to wait awhile before I could squeeze in by the railing and get an unobstructed view.  We also felt the falls were so far away from the overlook, it wasn't a big wow for us.  Visitors used to be able to hike to the bottom of the falls, but that trail was closed due to severe erosion.  

This next photo is taken without the telephoto lens, so you get a better idea of what I'm talking about.  However, what makes this waterfall impressive is not only its 132 foot drop, but the pinnacles that surround it.  The unusual lava columns surrounding the fall were created by lava flow that cracked as it cooled.

Calcite Springs

Back on Grand Loop Road again, still heading north, about 1.5 miles in we spotted another little pull off.  There weren't many cars in this area, and I have no idea why people skipped this, because we thought the views were incredible!

If you look in the picture above, you can see a whiteish section above the Yellowstone River.  The photo below is a close up of that section and it explains how it is created.

Also at this overlook are more of those pinnacles seen at Tower Fall.

It's so impressive seeing these pinnacles rise above the Yellowstone River.

The photo below explains how these pinnacles were formed from erupted volcanoes.  

This area has a short easy loop trail with views of the Yellowstone River, the basalt columns, and thermal springs.  You can see the basalt columns in the lower left of the photo below.

Undine Falls

There are two more waterfalls in this area:  Wraith Falls and Undine Falls.  We didn't stop at Wraith Falls because that involved a hike and we were trying to avoid hiking in desolate areas because of grizzlies. Undine Falls also has a hike where you can view the waterfall unclose, but we just stopped at the overlook.

Undine Falls is a 60 foot waterfall into Lava Creek and has three plunges. 

Here is a short video of Undine Falls.

Roosevelt Arch

Well now it was late afternoon and it was time for hubby and I to get some Linner.  We headed out the North Entrance.  This was the entrance that was destroyed by flooding in 2022.  I am happy to report it is open again, but boy, of the three Yellowstone entrances this one was the most scary.  It is a long, winding, uphill/downhill climb.  I can see why a flood destroyed it;  I could just picture water racing down that hill.  I was also surprised that this of all the entrances, is the only one open in winter.  You would think it would be difficult getting up and down that hill in the winter.  But apparently, park employees live in the town of Gardiner and also in the Park Headquarters, which is very near this entrance, so that is why it is the only one open in winter.

The North Entrance has the famous Roosevelt Arch.  It is worth going to this entrance just to see this arch.  It is so beautiful and it has so much history.  They have plenty of place to pull over and park so you can take photos of the arch.

I thought this little door and tunnel in the arch was just the cutest!

The arch was built in 1903 and was named after the president because he happened to be vacationing in the area at the time and was asked to speak at the dedication ceremony.  

The town of Gardiner is a cute, western town, but unfortunately I did not take photos.  This was the second town outside Yellowstone I didn't take photos of, even though I thought the town was adorable.  I think every time we left the park, I would have anxiety because I was worried about getting back to the cabin before dark.  Hubby always wanted to leave the park for Linner everyday, whereas I would have preferred to just eat at one of the restaurants inside the park.  However, looking back, he made the right choice because the towns were SO STINKING CUTE!  Maybe someday we can go back and I can plan a better vacation where we spend the night in the towns instead of in the park, and then we can explore the towns more.

Next week I will continue on with  Day Two of our Yellowstone adventure with a stop at Mammoth Hot Springs;  now that was incredible!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more information on Yellowstone, please check out these posts:

Old Faithful

The Grand Prismatic Spring

Firehole Canyon Drive

Fountain Paint Pot, Lake Hotel and Cabins, and Hayden Valley

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

 

More Coloring Pages from "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart"

Back in December I shared a new Devotional Coloring Book called "Cozy Moments to Calm Your Heart".  I said I would be spending the winter working in this book before returning to my "Coloring Through the Book of Psalms" book in the spring.   This is such a large coloring book and the illustrations take a long time to color, so I doubt I'll finish this book this winter;  but here are some more pages I have finished thus far.  I'm including the titles of the pages, and the accompanied verses, but not the devotionals that go with each page.  You will have to order a book for that, I don't want to break any copy write laws.  😀

All the pages were colored with colored pencils.

No Wonder We Sing

O God, my heart is quiet and confident.  No wonder I can sing Your praises!

Psalm 57:7

A Way Through

What a wonderful God we have -- He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the One who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials.

II Corinthians 1:3-4

No Sweeter Rest

Rest in the Lord;  wait patiently for Him to act.

Psalm 27:7

God's Loving Gesture

A true friend is always loyal.

Proverbs 17:17

A Sigh of Relief

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

Love In The Spotlight

See to it that you really do love each other warmly, with all your hearts.

1 Peter 1:22

Dwelling On Goodness

I will give you peace, and you will go to sleep without fear.

Leviticus 26: 6

Worthwhile and Wonderful

He directs the snow to fall on the earth and tells the rain to pour down.

Job 27:6

Spiritual Fuel

Don't you know He enjoys giving rest to those He loves?

Psalm 127:2

The Joy of God's Heart

A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body.

Proverbs 14:30

All The Joy

I, even I am He who comforts you and gives you all this joy.

Isaiah 51:12

I hope you enjoyed my latest devotional coloring pages!  Next week I'll be back with more cards from my time as a Dirty Dozen Design Team member with Splitcoaststampers.

Have a Great Day! Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!