Father's Day Card & Beach photos

Back from vacation and raring to go!

First on my agenda was to finish off my submissions for the upcoming Sooke Art Festival! This time I took pictures (GRIN). I'll be posting them once the art show begins... unfortunately they are not to be shown beforehand. But a little hint... I am in an oriental mood...something quite different than I have done in the past.

Getting Ready for Dad's Day....

Next on the agenda was to make a Father's Day card for hubby. Last year, I found the cutest little tool belt box/card and decided that I wanted to make it for hubby this year. He loves tools and I'll enclose a gift card for him to go wild with at his favourite tool joint! Here's how the card box turned out... complete with some little tools I found in the dollar store some time back, an ad page from the tool "joint" and if you look closely at the photo, you'll see some brads that look like screws...

My sister is a tool junkie too... her idea of a glorious way to spend an afternoon is browsing through the hardware store looking at tools and gadgets! I just might make one of these to put in her Christmas package this year along with the roll of duct tape her and hubby have been exchanging back and forth for years!

Want to make one for your favourite guy? You can find a tutorial and template on Mel's blog

Topsail Beach, North Carolina

Our vacation in the Carolinas was wonderful... in spite of me catching a cold on the plane (the first one I have had in absolute years!). It rather cramped my style for about five days... I was miserable! Having my head covered with a towel and suspended over a hot, steaming pan of Vicks was not quite my idea of vacation fun!

However, being at the beach helped a lot! I love Topsail Beach (just north of Wilmington, N.C.) and hubby and I have spent many a vacation here. When we lived in N.C., we would go to Topsail at least twice a year for a couple of weeks.

Coastal Carolina beaches are much different than the beaches in British Columbia. It's hard to say which I like better... in comparison, the Carolina beaches are "manicured" whereas the beach that is five minutes from my house in Victoria is strewn with old. bleached by the sun logs and is very rustic! They both have their appeal... of course you can swim in the Carolinas... the water is bathtub temperature... you wouldn't dare step into the cold, north Pacific ocean waters that surround Victoria... brrhhh... instant icicles on your toes!

Here are just a few of the photos we took... so far these are my favourites...

We called him Mr. Crabby... he hung around the beach house the whole time we were there and provided much entertainment watching him scurry back and forth to his little crabby home! Isn't he just the cutest little crab you ever did see?

Here's a photo of the sun coming up over Topsail Beach... only a morning person like me would get up at 5:30 a.m. to take a photo like this! Hubby (a night person) thought I was going bonkers from the cold medication to get up at that time of the morning.

But I love getting up early at the beach. There is something magical and lovely about sitting on the deck with a fresh cup of morning coffee, listening to the birds and the pounding waves hit the shore and just enjoying the dawning of a glorious new day. Those night people haven't got a clue about what they are missing out on (BIG GRIN) at the crack of dawn.

Here's a sandpiper pecking away for his lunch in Carolina blue waters! It was a gorgeous day... not too hot... not too cool... and what fun it was gathering shells and watching the pelicans swoop down and dive into the water. The beach was quiet at this time of the year... the shrimp large and fresh... the strawberries plump and juicy... ah just the way I like it.

Here's wishing you a wonderful "arty" week. Tune in next Tuesday to see some of the other art projects I have been working on. I'll also have a little surprise for you...

Cheers,

Sharon