The idea for this centerpiece came from a rustic Christmas one found here:  http://amandawickcunningham.blogspot.com/2011/12/winter-rustic-pepsi-crate-pine.html.

Well, I decided to hijack my husbands blog so that I could pin my own stuff.  My Mom told me I should pin it, so here I am.  I love how it turned out.

I used a crate that I got from my Grandparents' farm the last time I visited them.

Michael's had some great garlands this year.  I also used 6 jars and 6 flameless candles.  I had some pumpkins, gourds, and garlands left from last fall to help fill it in a little.

My coffee table is from a design on http://www.atouchofarkansas.com/2010/10/big-coffee-table-end-tables.html.  He got the design from http://ana-white.com/.  My end tables are also copied from Ana White.  I'll have to post them another time.  I love how they turned out too.

I've thought about starting my own blog, but I just haven't had the time.  All of my kids are in school now, but we've been trying to get our house ready to put on the market.  I hope to put some pictures of the before and after on some time.  I just wish I would have done more before pictures.

Spring is here and the apple blossoms on our tree in the front yard are amazing. The bees are loving the tree like no other. They create a soft hum that is medatative and almost zen like that is quite in contrast with the construction of the new school across the street from our back yard.

Rams in Salmon Idaho

salmon trip 2

 Some cool rock formations in Salmon Idaho. There are so many beautiful and interesting rocks along the river. Along with the river and wildlife there is a world unlike any other.

 Shoup Idaho, consiststs of a store and a couple of buildings, and yet they have thier own weather report. Say hello to one of the residents at rest on the porch.

 Spring along the Salmon river has plenty of streams and water falls to enjoy.

 Tall rocky vistas such as this one are remeniscent of Japanese paintings and a joy see throughout the canyons.

Water gives live and adds beauty.

Recent trip to Salmon Idaho

Salmon Idaho has a mining heritage and as a result there are a lot of cool old buildings, huts, shacks and mining equipment just sitting out for the fisherman or outdoorsman to see.

 Also there is a lot of wildlife. Below is a picture of a mountain sheep. We saw some rams also but were not set up to take a picture at that time. There are lots of deer, sheep, and elk herds on the north fork of the salmon river.

 There Ewe are three times over.

The boys are pointing out and posing with some petroglyphs along side of the salmon river.

Lizzy with a fish she caught in the fishing pond.

Below is Jennifer with a steelhead she reeled in.

What a catch! and not a bad fish either.

Sunday fun with mixed media

Some times it is fun to just see what will happen if... The other day I took a slow exposure photo of a light and moved the camera around in circles. The ititial picture although it was fun it was too bright. After adjusting the photo with my computer this is what I get.
     Today I was feeling like creating something, actually a number of somethings. I drew using faber castell artist pens of various widths. Then followed up with water color. I did another painting the same way and finally ink and marker. See if you can tell which one has marker and which ones are watercolor.

I think I look pretty awsome. I mean it is photo realistic, don't ya think? lol, maybe I could use it as pro sports card or my campaign logo for president.

This one is a photo self portrait.

This is from a portrait of an old president, much modified.

This one I will not be posting on Pinterest as my wife hates when I post any pictures with her in it, but I really like it. It shows my lack of skill ok, but it is still fun.

BYUH Art show

jenns got a moose on the loose.

Jennifer got her new silhouette machine and this is project number one. Small amount of air got in the way when sending image through cutter, but all in all a very nice picture. Great use of old cedar planks from the garage collected from craigslist. Kudos to my wahine!

Junk yard fun

Fun at the junk yard. So many random and fun shapes.

 Even with its time earned rusted patina it comands a certain respect.

 Time settles all things.

 Beautiful turqoise, the perfect color to set in a silver ring.

 Tractors are always fun. Growing up we had one to play on that had long been out of comission.

You can almost see the load falling from the bucket of this long since stationary machine.

Bryce Canyon photos