Lobbying for my Hobby

I LOOOOOOOOVE making cards, it's great fun, and I think everyone should do it. So here's my shoutout and some pics to go with it. They're not very good because I used my phone camera, but you can get the idea. Enjoy!

This one of my favorite cards. It's a mix between Victorian and vintage country. The ornaments are 3D stickers from Hobby Lobby (my absolutely most frequented store ever).

This is a very simple layout. What makes it "pop" is the texture on the paper, giving it dimension. An easy way to get an evenly textured look without spending money on "petrified" looking paper, is this: Gently dab the edge of the paper on an ink pad of a dark brown color, doing a little extra dabbing on the corners. It's fast, easy, and always looks great! I love this technique.

Don't be afraid to write part of your layout. Instead of a stamp or sticker, I wrote "Merry Christmas" in the corner, giving it accents and scribbles around the shape of the letters, making a sketch look. Again, another inexpensive way to dress up your layout.

The envelope can work just as much as the card does to complete the look you want. Tearing is a great technique and saves time from drawing a line and cutting down it with scissors. Just tear and dab with ink just as you did with your card layout and you're done. (This is if you are making your own envelopes, which I recommend. The sky is the limit to what paper you use, how big or small to make it, and how it's shaped.)

Card and envelope together. Very complete and Christmasy.

What to post, what to post...

This is Alex at four months...

This is Alex at six and a half months.

He's grown so much!!!!

Such a cutie patutie. :)

Family Fun

Isaiah and I

Nathan laughing at Kristy

KK wanted to help Grandpa open his birthday present

Then she wanted to play ring around the rosey

It was good to see Isaiah draw again. I brought my sketchbook in hopes it would entice him to take it up after so long of not sketching.

VBS was so incredible this year, thanks to the efforts and leadership of Bro. Caleb. The theme was "The King's Command in Candyland" and the kids ate it up...no pun intended. :)

Yup, we even had the candy path! It was great.

The skits were great this year too. It was so fun being in them. The cast was tremendous and simply lush to work on stage with. Unfortunately, this is the only picture that turned out. This is me as Princess Lolly and Brianna as Brianna. We had a wonderful time!

This is Trenton, one of my bus kids. He is handicap and confined to a wheelchair but is sharp as a tack and very funny! He LOVED VBS!

Painter's Progression

Today, the sun was exactly where he should be and the breeze could not have been any more perfect. So I drove until I found a pretty field and set up my easle in the middle of it.This was step one: finding a good setting and point of view.

Step two: Set up all the necessary tools. --Brushes

--Pallette and paints (I used acrylic)

--water and brush cleaner

--and, of course, canvas. Next, lightly sketch an outline as a guide.

Then paint!!!

Painting is a truly fulfilling way of expressing oneself.

July 11, 2010

Gage and Brent sat in front of me yesterday on the church bus and I could not resist eavesdropping a little to hear what they were discussing so seriously. Brent: "So the batter has to stop after one base?" Gage: "Yeah, that's what the coach says. But we can run when there's two outs." Brent: "You mean, running from first to third in one play?" Gage: "I think so..."  

It was so cute.

My Sketch Book

"The Churchyard Tree"

The noise around me faded

As I gazed on the churchyard tree;

Me ears no longer recognized the town's cacophony.

So peaceful stood that silent sage

Unscathed by time and tears,

Yet looking wise with history

Learned from these hundred years.

Stephanie J Gilbert

I could not resist capturing this beautiful tree in the churchyard across from my home. Everytime I pass it, I am overcome with peace and serenity. So yesterday, after buying a new sketchbook, this tree was a most patient subject.

Nobody laugh. It's been over two years since I have attempted drawing portraits and this is the first since that time. It's supposed to be my nephew, Nathan, but it is not a true likeness. I'm still practicing.

New Heart Strings

This is Nathan Michael Gilbert, my new, adorable nephew. His front name, Nathan, is in honor of Nathan Lockwood, my brother's best friend since childhood who went to be with Jesus in August of 2001. Although Nathan was not here to see his friend's son, his legacy lives on and we remember his stand for truth and Christ. Please pray that hearts will heal.

Little children are a gift

An heritage in the Lord

That we might learn humility

According to God's Word.

Little children teach us much

As we open to their love

For we must be as little children

To our Father from above.

-Richard Merrill

Little KK with her cool shades!

Nature's Poetry

Joyce Kilmer was absolutely right when he said, "I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree." Nature is not meant to be worshipped; nor is it meant to be destroyed. The Creator gave it to us to enjoy. The colors, textures, and sounds of nature remind us Whom we serve. I can sincerely agree that "Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree."

This picture (well, any picture of dark, ominous clouds) makes my think of the 1933 song "Stormy Weather".

Spring!

A few weeks ago, I had a "hankerin" to see some pretty flowers and so took a nature walk. These are the cutest little blossoms and I just had to take a picture. Don't they make you smile?

quote of the moment

"We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams."  -Arthur O'Shaughnessy and Willie Wonka

99 Things

I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it would be fun to do. If you'd like to play along, just copy and paste these 99 things onto your blog and bold the things you HAVE done...



here are mine:



1. Started your own blog




2. Slept under the stars




3. Played in a band



4. Visited Hawaii



5. Watched a meteor shower



6. Given more than you can afford to charity



7. Been to DisneyWorld



8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis 



10. Sang a solo



11. Bungee jumped


12. Visited Paris (someday...)

13. Watched a lightning storm



14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (paper crafts: scrapbooking and such)

15. Adopted a child



16. Had food poisoning



17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (went there after 9-11. It was closed. :( )

18. Grown your own vegetables



19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France



20. Slept on an overnight train



21. Had a pillow fight



22. Hitch hiked



23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill


24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Wrote a song


27. Run a Marathon



28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse



30. Watched a sunrise or sunset



31. Hit a home run


32. Been on a cruise
(does a dinner cruise count? :))

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person



34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community



36. Taught yourself a new language

(French; and promptly forgot it. If you don't use it, you lose it.)

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person


40. Seen Michelangelo’s David


41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant



44. Visited Africa



45. Walked on a beach by moonlight



46. Been transported in an ambulance



47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing



50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris



51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling



52. Kissed in the rain



53. Played in the mud


54. Gone to a drive-in theatre 


55. Been in a movie



56. Visited the Great Wall of China



57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class



59. Visited Russia



60. Served at a soup kitchen



61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies



62. Gone whale watching


63. Got flowers for no reason


64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma


65. Gone sky diving



66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp



67. Bounced a check


68. Flown in a helicopter



69. Saved a favorite childhood toy


70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial



71. Eaten caviar



72. Pieced a quilt



73. Stood in Times Square



74. Toured the Everglades



75. Been fired from a job



76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London



77. Broken a bone



78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle



79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person



80. Published a book (working on it)

81. Visited the Vatican


82. Bought a brand new car



83. Walked in Jerusalem



84. Had your picture in the newspaper


85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve



86. Visited the White House (the outside, not the inside)



87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating



88. Had chickenpox



89. Saved someone’s life

(my cousin Gage)

90. Sat on a jury



91. Met someone famous 



92. Joined a book club


93. Got a tattoo


94. Had a baby 

95. Seen the Alamo in person



96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake



97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone



99. Been stung by a bee





How many have you done out of the 99? Care to play along? - be sure to let me know so I can check out your list.

This is just a typical evening at the Montgomery home. As always, a game is accompanied by seven different conversations, random comments, one-liners, and puns, random lines from random songs, and anything else we can think of that adds to the cacophonic atmosphere. It doesn't get any better than this.

Liz and I..... wow that was deep.

Nikki's Surprise

Emmie and I "warmed up" our cameras before Nikki arrived.

"Shhhhhhh! Here she comes!"

 This is Nikki's what-are-you-doing-here? look.

After WWIII with the net, we rigged it to stand up so we could play volleyball.

Such a look of concentration

The birthday girl!

Team 1

Team 2

Fun with Friends

Did anyone ever figure out why Amanda was on the ground?

Cindy Lou Who and Lyss: the life of the party

Amanda and I chillaxed after roughing it on the volleyball court.






Everyone had a great time at the Thacker's. What a fun family!

What a surprise when the Thacker's showed up at Faith last Sunday! We were able to hang out at Pizza Hut after church. Enjoyed fellowship, pizza, Spades, and a great game of TakeTwo (aka Fast Scrabble).

Reid and Caleb matched their cheating wits: I'm not sure that Caleb's puzzle can even be considered a Scrabble board. At least Reid uses real words.

Caleb and Emily's Scrabble board... try to find those in a dictionary.