Back From Vacation!

We are back from our vacation, and it was soooo much fun!  We went up to Leavenworth, WA and rented a cabin with my cousin and her husband, and it was just lovely.  We have camped in the area before, but it was really nice to be able to spend several days there.  The town of Leavenworth is so quaint and fun, with some fantastic restaurants and lots of shopping.  Everyone else fished a lot, though I chose not to this trip- I was more in the mood for relaxing and reading on the deck.  We went inner-tubing down the Wenatchee River, and that was lots of fun- my only complaint is that it didn't last long enough!  It only took about 40 minutes to get to the pick-up point, and I think we all would have enjoyed it being a little longer.  We endured the loonnnggg drive there and back, and today there has been all of the post-vacation catch up activity- laundry, grocery shopping, etc.- so now I feel like I need another vacation!

I am looking forward to getting back into crafting, though it may take a few days before I have any time for that.  I did not think about it at all on vacation, hoping that perhaps getting my head out of that space for awhile might give me some fresh perspective when I got back.  I guess we'll see!  I did have one project I was mulling over when I left- the wood coasters I got at Goodwill before I left.  I still haven't figured out what I'm going to do with them.  I am having trouble choosing which flowers to use, as well as a color scheme (which might be easier if I knew which flowers I wanted to use).  It is tempting to use the pansies, because there are so many different colors and types of those, so each coaster would be a little bit different.  But I already did the frame with the pansies, so don't want to use them for everything.  I'm debating using the blue butterfly delphinium, but am not sure what color scheme to use with those.  I don't want to use the exact same ones as my bookmark design- I'd really like to try something different, but am lacking inspiration at the moment.  I guess I will just have to wait until the right design strikes me- I will know the right one when it hits me!

Now, on to business! I had several responses to my plea for feedback on my bookmark designs, and I want to thank everyone who took the time to help me out with that.  Your input is very valuable to me as I figure out what to stock up on for the holidays!  I entered everyone who responded into the drawing, and did it the low-tech way...wrote names on slips of paper and had my son draw one out for me.  And the winner is...Sherry F!  Sherry is the lovely hostess of the PBS Swappers paper craft group, and I have to tell you it is so much fun!  Since I joined the group, I have found myself challenged to try new things I never would have tried before, and have had a blast doing it.  Sherry gets her choice of any of my bookmark designs that she wants, and I hope she will enjoy it!

Gonna try to get back to the bookmarks soon- I kind of got sidetracked with trying cards, as well as the decoupage, but will be refocusing on bookmarks in the near future.  Also, I hope that my next update will include whatever I decide on for those darned coasters!  Til next time!