Serious Play

Crate Paper Inspired Card

So, the other day I made a thank you card.

 

The nice lady that I work with had made some fabulous rice pudding for my family, topped with a huge mound of whipped cream and cinnamon! She just brought it to work on Friday and gave it to me.

When I brought back her container (wrapped in a towel even to keep it warm) on Monday, I had forgotten the thank you card. I figured that I would just whip up something for her at work. I had no inks or stamps or anything, but I did find some nice sturdy paper and coloured markers. So I set to work...

I am completely inspired by Maggie Holmes' Crate Paper line lately. I love the bold, yet feminine colour scheme. And she has some super cute embellishments too! With this in mind, I set out to make my card. Each of the elements of this card I did by hand. I drew them all, coloured them with markers, and then cut them out.

Using layers, I tried to give the impression of depth and texture (since there was no chipboard or resin flowers around).

In the end, I like how it turned out. I can't say I'll be doing all my cards by hand like this, but it sure did the trick for the pinch I was in...

 

 

 

Prayers Going Up

So, this week I am sending up prayers for the sister of the lady that I work with.

 

She is battling bone cancer after being in remission for 12 years. In February, she discovered that it was back with a vengeance. After countless surgeries, injections, tests, meds and relentless pain, she is undergoing a stem cell transplant this week.

The lady that I work with (this is her sister who has cancer) has been recounting this story to me over the past months and I now feel very connected to the situation. She is leaving today to go be with her sister this week so I felt compelled to send along a little blessing.

One of the assignments for my One Little Word class was to collect music that inspires me. On this music search, I came across Rachmaninov's Vespers. Heavenly. That is all I can say. This seemed to be the perfect blessing to send along into the hospital room, as it sounds like angels.

So I burned a CD of this heavenly music and decorated the cover. I had seen this music feather on Pinterest and tried my hand at it. The doily is from my husband's grandmother. The fragility of the doily made me think of the lady who is battling cancer and the wispyness of the feather made me think of being as light as a feather through this treatment as she floats on angels voices.

Perhaps it is a bit of a stretch, but God hears our prayers regardless.

This is for you, Doreen and Myranda.

Know that I am praying for you.

Our God is a good God.

Blessings...

 

 

 

 

Birthday Package

So, my dear friend had a birthday this weekend, so I made her a card to remind her to 'Celebrate'.

 

It has been a while since I have been in my craft room due to all my half marathon training, but it felt good to have paper between my fingers again.

For the full tutorial on this card you can visit my Squidoo site here:  Banner Birthday Card

I met my friend at Starbucks for a warm drink on a snowy spring Saturday and handed her this little package...

 

I was going to sew the edges of the kraft paper with my sewing machine, but my needle broke...and it was my last! So, instead, I decided to sew it by hand with silver embroidery floss. Funny how some things turn out better than I would have planned.

 

I had seen a similar version of this flower on Pinterest but it did not come with instructions, so I came up with my own version and I like it!

 

And inside the package...?

 

A copy of this book by Suzanne Somers.

I am reading it myself right now, and wow! some shocking information about toxins and metabolism.

After turning 40 myself, I found I was struggling to remain 'sexy'. I started reading other books by Suzanne and it changed a lot of my thinking and doing.

So, I am sharing this one with my good friend...cuz that's what friends do!

Happy Birthday my friend!

 

 

76 Years

So, today we celebrated with Sean's dad.

 

We took them out for a wonderful supper. We visited and got caught up with each others' lives. We laughed. We reminisced. We made plans for another visit soon.

And we enjoyed celebrating another birthday in the family and another year with his parents.

 

 

Father's Day Card

So, in honour of my Dad, I made this card!

 

I am seeing so many banners and flags on my favorite scrapping websites and blogs these days, that I decided that was the way to go for this card. I do like the final look of this card and will probably use this design again in another way some day.

Creating this card centered around the banner. I started with 1x2 in strips of patterned paper, this one is in my stash from Basic Grey. I folded over the top portion of the paper and glued it over the hemp string so secure the flag. Next, I trimmed the flags into their pointed shape and added letter stickers. On the card itself, I stamped the words using two different stamp sets that I picked up at Michaels long ago. Following that, I stapled (with the Tim Holtz mini stapler) the banner to the edges of the card, leaving it to dip lower towards the bottom of the card. After that, the card had a bit too much white space, so I added the scrolled stamp to the top and bottom of the card. This grounded the elements a bit better.

Have a super Father's Day...and cake too!

 

 

Happy Anniversary

So, today is my parents' anniversary.

 

They were married on a sunny June day 42 years ago. It was in a little country church. My mom wore an A-line dress with a very full veil. My dad stood tall with a cane instead of his usual crutches. They both looked 16 but they were in love.

It really is an accomplishment these days to make it to 42 years together. Our family is ever so proud of them and their dedication to one another. No matter how rough it got throughout the years, they stayed together to fight as one. I admire that, and I now also have the same desire to stick it out through thick and thin. 

Happy 42nd Anniversary Mom & Dad!

We all love you and are proud of you.

 

 

Envelope Card

So, I was making cards tonight!

 

It seems like the season of cards right now! A colleague at work announced that his wife was expecting. Another colleague left work on maternity leave a few weeks ago and had her baby last week. The sweet lady that I work with is leaving for a tour of Israel at the end of the week! These all qualify for handmade cards.

Also, I had a nice long telephone conversation with a friend who informed me that she and her family have sold their house and are moving out at the end of the week! She inspired the card above and I made the others fashioned after hers.

I have a little envelope template that I traced onto patterned paper. Inside is a tiny note stamped with the word "Congratulations!". The banner stamp and the one on the envelope are from Michaels, as well as the heart punch on the front of the envelope.

It was a profitable night!

 

Digital Frame: Karen Russell

 

 

 

Mother's Day Cards

So, I've been working on my Mother's Day cards. 

 

I didn't really have a plan for this card, it just emerged. I kept adding things until it felt right.

This one is for Sean's mom. He is leaving for Puerto Vallarta in the morning for 9 days on a work trip. He is going down with some fellow firefighters, police and medics to build two playgrounds. Even though he will be working, he will be in the hot sun. I am envious.

I plan to spend Saturday and Sunday with my mom. I can't wait. She is very important to me in my life and has always been supportive. Every new thing that I experience raising my own two girls makes me appreciate my mom even more as I realize now what she did for me all those years.

How are you spending Mother's Day?

 

 

Gratitude

So, I got a surprise today. One of the ladies that I work with has heard me talk about our kitchen renovations for the past weeks. She actually asks me for updates! She is so sweet. Anyway, today she was not at school (she is part-time) and near the end of the day I received a phone call from her. She asked me if I would mind running out to the parking lot for a moment...she had cooked me a microwaveable supper since my kitchen was out of order! Her daughter was dropping it off for me on her way home from work! I was flabbergasted! No one has ever cooked a meal for me and my family like that.

Well, as you can imagine, I was blessed. This woman took time out of her day to think of me and choose to do something not only helpful, but gracious. My prayers are that she will be blessed right back, two-fold! 

And you can bet that I will be keeping my eyes and ears open for some way that I can bless her in the future! Who can you bless today?