The First Texas Tuesday of the New Year!

I cannot believe that 2010 has come and gone and it's 2011!  2010 seems to have flown by!  There were so many things that I wanted to accomplish that went by the wayside, but there were also things that I am proud to say I did!  One of those things I'm proud of is participating in these Texas Tuesday posts.  Here it is January 2011 and we are getting ready to inaugurate our new/old governor for what seems like the umpteenth time.  Whenever we have some sort of high muckety-muck state ceremony, for some reason I can't help thinking of our State Song, "Texas Our Texas".  I remember learning the words in grade school and we proudly sang it (albeit off key) at assembly in the school auditorium.  My junior high (no, we didn't call it "middle school" back then) and high school bands both played it proudly at football games.  I think even UT has played it just a few times, although the probably play "The Eyes" or "Texas Fight" more often.  But as state songs go, I think ours is pretty darned good.  A bit of Texas trivia - it was adopted as the official state song of Texas by the Legislature in 1929 after being selected in a state-wide competition. It was composed by William J. Marsh of Fort Worth, TX composed the tune, and the lyrics were written by Mr. Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright.

And now about my card.  I used a shiny dark purple piece for the card base, then a piece of lavender cardstock on top of that.  For some reason woodgrain stuff intrigues me. I guess it reminds me of an old barn, and I love old barns. I used a huge Hero Arts woodgrain stamp on the lavender paper which I stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa ink.  I used the same lavender paper to stamp the beautiful Deadbead Designs "Texas", again with the Memento ink.  I had to handwrite "our" and I'm not too happy with that, but it was all I could think of at the time and I was too lazy to look for an alternative.  I decided some layering was in order, so I fussy-cut around the Texas, and put that on a piece of the dark shiny purple, fussy-cut around that, and put it on white, and fussy-cut around that too.  That's a lot of fussing but I think it's cool looking popped up above the woodgrain. 

We Texans are proud of our state and we do like to brag a bit now and then.  We are truely blessed to live here surrounded by such a rich heritage.  On inauguration day, think of our state song and if you want, sing it out. And if you do, be sure to sing it loud and proud. 

Here's to a great 2011.  I wish health, wealth, and happiness to each and every one of you.  Thanks for visiting my humble blog. 

HOLIDAY EATING TIPS

Just because I found  humor in this, I totally copied this from an e-mail that my cousin sent to me.  It's not as if I'm going to follow this advice, although  I do like the one about the gravy!  No, I'm going to stick with my program as much as possible. 

HOLIDAY EATING TIPS


1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnogoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!


3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.


4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.


5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?


6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.


7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.


8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards, dude!!


10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:


"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate and wine in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"


Have a great holiday season!!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas !!!

Texas Tuesday December 7, 2010

Hello everybody!  It seems like forever since we've had a Texas Tuesday come around, but I guess it's because of the hustle and bustle of the holidays being upon us.  I was glad to make it through Thanksgiving before starting to concentrate on Christmas. So much to do, so little time. But I love these posts - they keep my creative spirit alive and well and that makes me challenge myself to do more and better.  Thank you all for being my compadres in this great tradition we've started. 

I've been thinking that we Texans never get to see much fall color unless we take a drive to Lost Maples.  Around here we have cedar, live oak, and Spanish oaks in the majority, with an occasional madrone or redbud.  The cedars and oaks never seem to put on a show, but ever so often, the Spanish oaks will pull out all the stops and provide us with some decent fall colors to admire along the hills.  They seem to hide all their glory until the last minute, then when you least expect it they pop out in beautiful gold and burnt orange and an occasional red.  Luckily this is one of those times. 

My card today is my own interpretation of our Texas fall colors.  I selected a Bazzill card base in a sort of beige tone, then decorated it with a rosette of a orange patterned cardstock surrounded by leaves that resemble our fall foliage.  Since Christmas is right around the proverbial corner, I selected "believe" as my sentiment, stamped in Memento Potter's Clay.  Simple, easy, and a fun reminder of what Fall is like in the Hill Country. 

I almost decided not to close this post on such a somber note, but I wanted to remind you that today is the 59th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  I was lucky to have been able to visit the magnificent island of Oahu a few years ago and one of the must-sees on my list was the Arizona Memorial. The memorial has fascinated me since childhood.  I was awestruck by the serene calm that exists there now as I thought about all of the souls that were lost on that long ago day.  Evidence of the attack can still be seen and the great ship still weeps oil.  Seeing floral tributes strewn on the water brought tears.  Please take a moment today to remember our brave fighting forces of yesteryear and those who serve today. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Texas Tuesday in Red, White and Blue

Happy Texas Tuesday, Everybody!  This time I've got something to celebrate! One of the young men in our family has just returned to his base in Italy from a tour of duty in Afghanistan.  He's in his second hitch in the U S Army and has been in both Iraq and Afghanistan during his tour of duty. We are so proud of his service and very, very grateful that he has returned safely.  He will be back in Texas for a month's leave in mid-December which means he will be able to celebrate the Christmas holidays with his wife and child.  That's a whole lot to be thankful for.  He's a proud Texan and plans to return here after his military career ends. I decided to do a Red White and Blue Texas card to celebrate his homecoming.  I used the Deadbeat stamp with all of the city names, and combined with the "if you're lucky enough" stamp. I cut the sentiment apart so I could use part of it on the inside of the card.  The card base is from Lasting Impressions for Paper and it has a tone on tone checkerboard pattern outside with white on the inside.  The other cardstock was recycled from my scrap paper stash.  I just hate to throw away large scraps, and this time they came in handy.  The stamping is done with Memento Danube Blue.  The ribbon is AMuse. Enjoy, and thanks for stopping by.

Another Texas Tuesday!

Another Texas Tuesday! Hope everyone is enjoying this cooler Fall weather, although yesterday afternoon felt more like Summer had returned. This week my mojo was on vacation and I had a hard time getting what I wanted done.  Something told me to do more to this card but I didn't want to gussy it up any more so I quit while I was ahead.  I started out to make a tribute card to the Singing Cowboys in old western movies.  I found this cowboy silhouette on the Silhouette website, thought it was cool, so I downloaded it.  I also found a die cut of barbed wire and got that too.  The more I looked at the cowboy, the more it reminded me of a modern-day singer from Texas.  Can you guess who?  How about George Strait.  And he's a real Texas cowboy - he rides, he ropes, and he sings.  So I guess this is my tribute to George Strait card.  I used a kraft card base and grunged up the edges a bit with some Memento Rich Cocoa.  I added a strip of Tim Holtz tissue tape for some musical whimsy and a bit of barbed wire in the upper right corner.   Other than the tape, it's all cardstock from my stash.  I couldn't find a sentiment that worked for me, so I left that off. (Sorry Mark.  Reminder to me - get more Deadbeat sentiment stamps!) 

I try to keep a good selection of pre-cut card bases on hand, so I grabbed one of those in the kraft color.  I pulled out some black and cut out the cowboy, then some white for the barbed wire.  I don't know about you, but I've never seen white barbed wire, so I figured I could color it a bit with Copics.  I chose C3 (Cool Gray No. 3).  Now that I think about it, I've never seen silver barbed wire either - most of what we have around here is just plain old rusty.  But the gray seemed to go with the card.  So there you have it.  Thanks for dropping by for a peek.  Everyone have a great Texas Tuesday.

October 19 Texas Tuesday Challenge

Wow has this year flown by!  Here is is mid-October.  Halloween is right around the corner with Thanksgiving and Christmas not all that far behind.  Today is October 19, which is my Dad's birthday.  He would be 97 years young if he was still with me today.  Sadly we lost him in 1995, and that's a part of how I came to make my home on Lake Travis.  But that's a story for another time.  Dad was a natural-born Texan, born in 1913 in the farmland southeast of Austin near Creedmoor.  He had four siblings.  The whole family picked cotton to make a living during the depression years.  My Dad had a talent for painting and a great eye for colors. (Wish I had inherited more of that talent! LOL!) He put his talents to good use.  During WWII he was in south Texas at a small airfield called Moore Field, where he painted all sorts of things on airplanes from the tail numbers to the scantily-clad ladies that were on many of the warbirds' noses. Being a Texan, he loved the Spring when the wildflowers bloomed and bluebonnets were one of his favorites.  I created this card with him in mind. The stamps are all Deadbeat Designs, of course.  I used the small two-piece bluebonnet stamps for a background on white cardstock. I fussy-cut three of the next larger size bluebonnets and popped them up on the edges of the larger stamp. I created a hand-written banner with the song title written in. (please don't giggle too loud at my poor attempt at something like calligraphy - handwriting is not one of my strong suits.)  Although it doesn't show up too much in the photo, I distressed the edges of the stamped image with my brand new paper distressing tool and added a bit of Tangelo Memento Ink around the edges of the card base to give it some dimension.  I also grunged up the banner with the same ink.  Other inks used were Bamboo Leaves, Danube Blue, and Tuxedo Black, all by Memento.  Hope you like the card and thanks for stopping by. And, Happy Birthday, Dad!

Texas Tuesday Challenge

Happy Fall, Y'all!  Are you enjoying this little spell of cooler weather?  It was 57 degrees outside this morning here - sweater weather for me!  It's Another Texas Tuesday!  I can't believe it's that time again, but it is.  I've been thinking about getting a headstart on my Christmas cards this year and what's better than a Texas-themed card?  I took a look in ny stash of Deadbeat Design stamps and this lil snowman stood out.  I added the lil Howdy flag to give him something to hold on to.  Stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink, colored with Copics, and to make him sparkle a bit some Stickles added on the edges and on the snowdrifts. The background paper is from a lil stash of AC Patterned Paper called "merriment".  The card base is Neenah super-smooth white. Hope you enjoy looking at it and thanks you for stopping by.