New Cards

After being totally disgusted with both of my scanners, I've decided to go back to taking pictures for my blog. I've made a bunch of cards since the Thanksgiving bunch, but I don't have pictures. I should have taken pictures before I sent them, but I didn't. Life goes on.

Sooooo...............anywho...............here are 3 new ones I created on my "snow day". It was so wonderful to finally be back in the studio after 3 weeks of being sick. (Ack!) These are really lumpy, so I probably won't be able to send them in the mail. Oh, well.

This is my first attempt at a shaker card. I was unpackaging some Karen Foster (I think) snaps, and it occured to me that these little compartments would be fun to fill for a shaker card. The upper left has icy-blue seed beads, upper right is 3 pieces of snowflake "confetti", lower left is a Jolee's-type snowman, and the bottom right has 4 colors of sequins. Background paper is Miss Elizabeth's.

I really love working with black. When I ran across this scrap of black and creme paisley, I knew I had to use it with another page from a pamphlet I had out. And then it grew. I just kept digging for other "stuff" that would work with my color scheme. I found a black feather some white crocheted trim (stamped with Color Box chalk), a Jenny Bowlin card, a piece of black ric-rac, a bingo marker (thanks, Lynn!) and some old, discolored crepe paper. There was already a hole punched in the paisley paper, so I decided to work with it.

A couple of things that make this card significant to me and the recipient, is that our shared birthday dates are marked with tiny gold stars on the bingo card, and the bingo marker represents the number of years we have been friends. Pretty cool, huh?

This one is "lifted" from the Nov./Dec. issue of Paper Crafts magazine. (Thanks, Tina!) I was inspired by her use of the red and khaki gingham ribbon with a snowflake, both of which I had in my stash. The snowflake center is made up of two stacked buttons. I covered the tag with page from an old pamphlet and added 3 punched/inked snowflakes at the top, popped up for dimension, then added the little "wonder" sticker at the bottom. The snowflakes were inked with my favorite Color Box Chalk color, Creamy Nutmeg.

Okay, boys and girls, that's all for this time! Thanks for sharing some of your day with me!

Simple

Create your own scrapbooking design

With no scheduled gatherings at my house this season, I scaled back my decorating to the bare minimum. I only got out a few Santa's and made my tree and coordinating gifts the focal point. I have this thing about having my paper match my tree. I don't like a hodge-podge of papers clashing with my tree! As soon as I can find a new tree, I'll bring back the fancy stuff and more traditional themes.

Thanksgiving cards

Tis the season for Thanksgiving cards. (Not very good scans. Had to usea different program. Yuk.) Nothing fancy, but they were fun to make. I don't use the "coordinating" stuff very often, but I did use some products by Reminisce to speed up the process. I can't make a card without some embellishments. But look!! No ribbon!! It may be a first for me. I hope everyone enjoys the day with the ones they love.

Meeting the Paper Dolls

In October, I was finally able to attend my first "Marathon Crop" hosted at The Salvation Army in Cedar Rapids and sponsored by the Paper Dolls. My neice is a member of this fun group of women and her bff is the Chief Cook and Bottle Washer at the Salvation Army. This crafty group of "dolls" meets once a week, Jan. through Oct. The marathon started at 3:00 Friday afternoon and went until 10:00 Sat. night. Everyone brought whatever they wanted to work on and a snack to share. When I got there Sat. morning, some were still sleeping while others were already working.

I'm not very good at packing up my stuff to take somewhere. I hate the thought of leaving something behind, so my suv was pretty loaded with supplies. (I had to use a cart to get in the building! lol) My goal was to use whatever I brought with me to make cards for my nephew who is stationed in Afghanistan. I wish I had gotten more done, but I'm a stickler for detail and I slowed myself down fussing with trying to get just the right look. (I may have taken several breaks for conversation and snacks, too!!) Anyway, these are going in his care package box. The cards are blank or say "miss you" or "thank you". My intent is that he can use them to send letters back to the states. If he doesn't want to use them all himself, he is to share them with the other soldiers in his unit.

Did I mention how FABULOUS the food was??? Oh. My. Goodness. I'm going back again next year just for the food!!! And the gals were so welcoming, too! I didn't meet all of them, but most of them came up and talked to me or showed me what they were working on when I made a (nosy) lap around the room. The other gatherings are usually just held one Saturday a month. I will put these events on my calendar for next year.

Why didn't I go up on Friday, you might be wondering??? Well, it's because I had tickets to see country music star and American Idol contestant BUCKY COVINGTON!! That's right!! He was playing at The Stockyard in little ol' Wayland, IA, just 5 blocks from my house.

Yep! It was a good weekend!

No Mo' Mogo!

I must say that my first experience buying in to an organic garden was interesting and exciting. Sometimes the veggies spoiled before I had a chance to use them, so that was a bummer. But what it taught me is that this produce is so fresh, it must be used right away. Will I do it again?? Probably. Here are some photos from the last few baskets we got.

Bummed

I have sooooo much to post, but everytime I log in, I get discouraged and bummed out because my background is GONE!!! Now I have to find something new! Humf! I'm going to plug in something generic for the time being, just to get me through the slump. Stay tuned!

Deal of the Day!

Yesterday I got to go to visit a few "flea market" tents. I am a huge fan of freezer baskets so when I spotted one on the grass, all alone, I set out to find the owner. What I found was the rear end and legs of a man putting things into a pick up bed. I didn't want him to hit his head on the topper, so I waited until he crawled out and sat on his tailgate, He had to be about 80+ years old! Here was our conversation.

Me: Does this freezer basket belong to you?
Man: Yep.
Me: How much do you want for it?
Man: $3.
Me: Perfect!
Man: You can have me for $2.
Me: Really? Wow! That sounds like quite a deal! If I give you this $5, you wouldn't even have to give me change.
Man: Course, I don't know what you'd do with me.
Me: I'm sure I could come up with something (chuckle, chuckle).
Man from neighboring booth: Don't be doin' that now! You know you gotta go home to the missus!
Man: Dad-gum-it, he's right. Forgot about goin' home to the missus.
Me: Okay, well, if you're sure..........................Have a good day!