Sunday, July 10, 2016

Vacation Pictures & Coloring Challenge


Hi There!

Hope you are having a great day. Last weekend we loaded up the family van and headed out for a road trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Steve's family lives there. While I had computer access, I didn't keep up with emails and blogs and stuff, so I am a bit behind on commenting. Just in case you were wondering where I was. 

Hope you don't mind a few vacation pictures. 
On July 4th we headed into downtown Sioux Falls to check out their sculpture walk. On the main street in downtown there are many sculptures to take in and buy, if you had the inclination and the money. We did this a couple of years ago and had a great time. They change the sculptures each year. I thought this one was really neat. Those are cat faces made from boat motor cases! Jessica is partial to kitties and she was enamored with this display. If you check out the link above, the picture on the main page is a bunch of books. Jessica really liked that one, too. :) You can scroll through the photos if you like to see sculptures. They were pretty cool. 

On the 5th, we drove to Walnut Grove, Minnesota. For those of you who may wonder why in the world we would do that,Walnut Grove is one of the places where Laura Ingalls Wilder (of Little House fame) lived. My girls are standing on the bank of Plum Creek! We also saw the indentation where the dugout  they lived in was. The roof has long since caved in. We toured the museum, which had a couple of rooms dedicated to the television series. While fun, any resemblance to her life in the series was purely coincidental. The center area outside the museum is planted with plants that would have grown back when she lived there. So pretty. There were several buildings to tour, although not all of them had items directly related to her. There were a few other locations in town we could have gone to, but we were running out of time and it was really hot and humid.  I can now state that I have visited three of the towns where Laura lived. I've also toured De Smet, South Dakota and Rocky Ridge Farm in Mansfield, Missouri. Happy Sigh!

We also visited the Sertoma Butterfly House and Marine Cove. Steve is the only one who got a hitchhiker this time. I just love how active the butterflies are in this place. Much more so than the butterflies in the Butterfly Pavilion here. 

And here I am. They had these "selfie stations" set up. Only, if you did a selfie with one of these signs the saying would show up backwards. Hrm...so one of the girls took this one of me. 

And that concludes the vacation picture portion of this post. Hopefully I didn't bore you. 

 We had a good time, but it's always good to be home. 

There is a 30 Day Coloring Challenge going on thanks to Kathy R of The Daily Marker blog. I love the idea of the challenge, but haven't really participated before. Today I made sure to sit down and do some coloring. 

Here's the first thing I worked on. It's not finished, but this is as far as I got. I just got this stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. I was inspired to make this from Suzy Plantamura. If you've not checked her blog, Living My Dream out, you should. She does a series of using one stamp set at least five ways. She also creates great coloring card fronts and sells them at Simon Says stamps. Anyway, I loved the series she did with this stamp set. I used Artist Loft watercolors. Artist Loft is the house brand Michaels sells. 

The goal of this coloring challenge is to do some coloring every day, it doesn't matter if you finish a project. I like that no pressure approach. 

I also started this page in a coloring book I've had for months. I bought it at Hobby Lobby, but I'm sure you can find it at other craft stores or online. Here's a link to the artist who drew the images. 

That's it from me today. I'm sure that this is quite enough. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you have a great start to your week!
Hugs,
Jeanne

9 comments:

Sharli Schaitberger said...

That's such a pretty watercolor and I am so impressed with your coloring!
I never knew that about Walnut Grove! I think I need to check it out sometime!
Hug So!

Anita in France said...

Sounds as though you had a fabulous trip, Jeanne ... so many gorgeous place to see and visit! Your floral card panel is just beautiful ... to me it looks finished and rather perfect! Lovely colouring on that quote ... bright and vibrant and fun! Hugs, Anita :)

Kay Miller said...

Oh what a fun blog post! I enjoyed reading all about your trip! Sounds like you all had a fun time! Your photos are great, always fun to see one of you! I like the little sign you're holding :) Your watercolor card is beautiful! That really is a pretty image! And your coloring page is off to a gorgeous start! Glad you're home safe and had a good time! Have a happy week! :)

Barb said...

GREAT vacation photos, Jeanne! I know you really enjoyed the butterfly house! So cute that your hubby made 'a friend' there. :) It's nice to see you! You're always behind the camera. GREAT smile and I love the quote you're sharing. I know you're glad to be home!

Good for you joining in the coloring challenge and watercoloring, too! Whoo hoo! Your card panel looks awesome and I like what you've got started in the coloring book. You really are inspiring me to work in my coloring books more often. :)

Thanks for sharing!

Big hugs!
Barb :D

stampmonkey said...

Talk about being MIA on the blog and commenting.... My life has been chaotic and crazy at best for the last several months, and I'm spending what looks to be the entire summer at my parents' home in AZ (minus a week I spent in TX visiting my oldest daughter and her family --they just welcomed the first granddaughter/grandchild to be born into our family...how can it be?!). Nothing is normal these days, and I definitely miss normal...even when it means I don't have time to get crafty. (I did manage to make a rag quilt for the baby and I'm about to start curtains for Chloe's bedroom windows, so at least I'm able to work on some sewing projects while I'm away.)

Anyway, I'm so glad to hear you guys had a nice vacation --the locations sounded like such fun! I didn't realize you're a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder. How wonderful that you've actually been to three places where she's lived! ;D

I love your watercoloring (that image is really cute!) --looking forward to seeing the card you create with it! And the coloring book page is off to a bright and cheery start --please share the page when you've finished. Your talent is always inspiring to me. And I do hope you find time to color a little every day (even once the challenge is over), though it doesn't look like you need any practice! ;)

Thanks for the fun and inspiring post, Jeanne!

big hugs and blessings to you,
Christi

stampmonkey said...

Forgot to add that the butterfly moth on Steve's pant leg reminds me so much of the ones at the Butterfly Pavilion...only smaller? What fun!

Patti said...

LOVE this post!! and seeing your family on vacation SO CLOSE to me!! but so far away! heeheehee.

Your card is stunning I love the blues and your coloring book page is simply HAPPY!!

Thank you for sharing this wonderful post!

Patti

Pop's Cards said...

I love the photos, but although I love butterflies I would die if one landed on me they make me shake, pretty to look at but terfiying in real life, I am such a freak :0) I love the colouring too, hugs Pops x

cm said...

Mega apologies for being late, my sweet friend...but what a treat to have Jeanne-only gallery time this Sunday morning! Your trip sounds - and looks - absolutely fantastic! The sculptures in Sioux Falls are intriguing; I can see why you'd spend some time gazing and admiring the artistry there. As for Walnut Grove: I 'thought' the name sounded familiar! How cool that you're a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder and that various journeys have taken you to places where she lived. The butterfly house...oh my! I can only imagine how pretty the butterflies are! Speaking of pretty: that photo of YOU! Such a warm smile! Your card panel...oh my! The mastery of your colouring blows me away! The blues/greens are a lovely combination! Your colouring page: delightful! So glad I'm visiting today; you've brightened up this rainy day immensely!
Hugs~c