Scrap Sunday 4

Well, this is the last of that piece of Ecoline paper, and I have the itch to make some more. It's been fun to figure out different ways to use it.



I had some odd-sized bits and scraps left, so I stamped them with this flower (Innovative Stamp Creations, freebie with Craft Stamper magazine) and cut them out. Once again hemmed and hawed with the layout. I think this is all right, but the white paint in the background is a bit too bright. I should have used chalk ink, but c'est la vie. The background is a Tim Holtz (Stampers Anonymous) scroll, stamped in Citrus ink and Snow Cap paint on a buckaroo blue background. The card base is a lovely rich cherry red from Heather's Stamping Haven. It's one of my favourite reds. Once again, I felt that a little Micron pen framing was in order, just to keep the eye from winging wildly off the card in all directions. I just did the two big corners though, mostly because the gold stickles on the flower centres was still wet and I didn't want to get too crazy with the ruler. I have a very bad habit of putting stickles on then deciding I need to do something else to the card, forgetting I have wet stickles, then smearing.



NSR: We had a fantastic day today. Church in the a.m., and one of my favourite hymns, always a nice surprise to get a favourite in. Then off to Storyland with the cousins. I love Storyland. It's about an hour outside Ottawa, in the hills near the Ottawa River. About 40 years ago, a lovely couple, Dutch immigrants, built it up in the woods, with all kinds of storybook characters. Slowly over the years, they added various things to it. Now there are wonderful play structures here and there, proper ones with high slides and fun bouncy things and swings. All the things kids love to play on, not the pre-digested things you get in parks nowadays. There was the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, and mini golf, and a bouncy castle, and paddle boats. (I was on a bit of a rant, saying how it should be pedal boats, since they have pedals, but DH advised me that the inner workings are actually paddles, like the old paddlewheelers, so it's not an incorrect sign. High dudgeon more or less averted at that point.) The paddle boat area is a natural pond, or maybe even dammed river (DH got more than his share of puns off that, let me tell you) with paddle boats. The floating shark had been brought in for the fall, but we could still go see the beaver lodge and "Baby Bon Echo". (Bon Echo is a park we've camped at that has an enormous rock cliff. This pond had a tiny rock face on the side so we called it Baby Bon Echo.) There was also an enormous snapping turtle at the pond's edge, called Tom. The guy said he's about 80 years old, judging by the size. The lovely walking trail in the woods brings you up to a lookout over the Ottawa River valley and the Gatineau hills in the distance. Gorgeous. Next time we'll have our picnic up there I think. We had such a lovely time and it was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. Storyland has one more weekend open I think, coinciding with Renfrew Days or similar, but we'll try to get back next summer. It's not very commercial - you pay a reasonable entrance fee, then everything is included. You aren't bombarded with opportunities to part with your money, though there is a small canteen and gift shop. Lots and lots of places to picnic and clean washrooms conveniently throughout. (Some are more "rustic" than others, and we even discovered a two-holer! You don't see those much anymore. You'll be smiling if you know what I mean!) We took the scenic highway home because I love looking out for log barns and other ramshackle outbuildings of a bygone era, speaking of two-holers....

Well, now that I've demonstrated, yet again, that you just never know what your going to get yourself into on one of my posts, I will wish you a happy Labour Day Eve and/or Happy Australian Father's Day. Thanks for stopping by.