random reflections

Happy Halloween

Actually the weather wasn't very cooperative for Halloween Trick or Treating tonight. We've had a steady drizzle all day and evening, and it's chilly. In Chicago, it was worse. They had hail and rain. After three houses, Caleb announced he was "Done!" Fortunately, they didn't spend any money getting him ready this year as he was able to wear the dinosaur costume I made for Matt over 20 years ago! Here he is a couple weeks ago trying it out.

And practicing his roar.

I don't know how Skylar enjoyed Halloween. We went down while she was getting into her costume. She wanted to be Elsa from Frozen (no surprise!), and she seemed pretty happy about getting out to go trick or treating.

She was off to visit her other grandpa before heading out, and we came home to welcome the few trick or treaters that braved the rain. We had some really cute ones, but not very many.

I made a couple Halloween cards a while back and sent one to Caleb and one to Skylar.

The first one uses some stamps and dies from Papertrey's Friendship Jar:  Fall Fillers as well as some border stickers I've had in my stash for a long time. Not sure who made them. The same is true for the stickers (same set) on the next card.

Since I have a very limited selection of Halloween stamps, both cards were the same inside with images from the Friendship Jar: Fall Fillers set.

I must admit Halloween has never been a favorite holiday, but I do enjoy seeing my grandchildren in their costumes!

 

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Pumpkin Patch

On Wednesday afternoons, I volunteer at an after school program in the inner city. Typically, I help 4th, 5th, and 6th graders with their homework, but this afternoon the whole center (K-6) went on a field trip to a local farm market's Halloween pumpkin patch.

When you enter the teepees (there are three connected ones) you enter a totally dark area lit only with rows and rows of creatively carved jack-o-lanterns. They sit on shelves from the middle of the teepee to the top. No way to get a photo, but it was pretty impressive.

The farm market also gives hay rides through a Halloween-themed route around the property.

The kids all came home with a small pumpkin and had an apple (most were eaten there.) They seemed to have a great time, and hopefully, they'll get their homework done at home tonight!

Birdsongs

When I pulled out the new "Birdsongs" stamps and dies (Papertrey Ink) over the weekend, I die cut a pile of birds, leaves and flowers. Yesterday I put a few together to make two cards, one for a friend's birthday and the other for a friend who is recovering from surgery.

One of the things I loved about this set were the selection of song banners for a variety of occasions.

There wasn't, however, any sentiment for a get well card, so I went to one of the Simon Says sets, "Friendship Messages" for the greeting on the front of the card.

Both cards use a Hero Arts kraft ready-made card and a variety of cardstock from Papertrey Ink:  Pure Poppy, TerraCotta Tile, Harvest Gold, Orange Zest, Ripe Avocado, and Simply Chartreuse. I backed the birds for some of the cut-outs and inlaid some of the pieces. That's a bit time-consuming (the pieces are tiny, but worth the effort. I used a black Sharpie marker to color in the eye of both birds.

Two Cards

I finally got some time to get a couple cards made, both using new stamps that arrived in the last month. The first is one I need to send out tomorrow. A friend from church invited Tracy and me to the Rochester Philharmonic concert last night. It was wonderful, and six of us enjoyed dinner at a new restaurant in our neighborhood beforehand. I purchased the Mama Elephant "Sentimental Borders" after seeing this card by Laura Basson. Mine's a close case of that card, but more subdued in keeping with a note for a guy.

I have to admit I don't find it easy to line up those borders to create a background, but I do like the effect once it's done. The die cut is Papertrey Ink's "Wonderful Words: Thank You." The card is one from Memory Box. I love the color and the fact that the inside is white.

The next card uses the new set from Papertrey Ink called "Songbirds." I die cut a lot of different images from the set, but only used one on the first card. You'll be seeing a lot of this set. I just love the folk art birds!

The sentiment is from one of my most frequently used sets, "Stylish Sentiments: Birthday" by Papertrey. Another Memory Box card, Rustic White cardstock edged with a narrow strip of Canyon Clay cardstock. Definitely a CAS card!

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Vineyards

On our way home from Chicago, we met our friends for our annual weekend in Niagara-on-the-Lake for a Shaw Festival show (this year a fabulous production of "Caberet,") and a visit to a few of our favorite wineries. It was a chilly, gray day, but the expected rain didn't appear so we felt very fortunate.

You can find Helena's beautiful reflections right here, as well as the other ZIZO pairings for Week 43.

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Playground

We had a great trip, but I'm glad to be home and settling into our usual routines. It was raining most of the time we were in Chicago, but we did manage to get an hour or so in at the wonderful playground in Deerfield one day. When I asked Caleb what he'd like to do with us when we got to Chicago, "go to the playground" was the first request. This time it was the swings that were the big hit.

It's amazing how long it takes to get through things like mail when you've been gone nearly two weeks. I worked on my Sketchbook Skool assignments a little bit while we were away, but I have catching up to do there as well as the Online Card Class on Copic markers. The to-do list is long, and the hours seems to fly by! Hopefully, I'll get back to regular blogging by the end of the week.

Check here for more ZIZO pairings at Helena's blog.

 

One Photo & Twenty Words

Autumn brings mixed feelings. I’m not a fan of the upcoming long, dreary winter, but I love the autumn splendor.

I'm joining Abi's meme with a  photo taken at the beautiful Pennisula State Park in Door County, Wisconsin.

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out: On the Road

We were on the road for four days, and arrrived at Sarah and Adam's last night. I have lots of glorious fall photos to share once we get home (a week from today), but I wanted to share these ZIZO pairs from our first night in Muskegon, Michigan. Muskegon sits on the shore of Lake Michigan, and after dinner we thought we try to catch the sunset at the local lighthouse at Grand Haven.

This is exactly how it looked; no photo edits except to crop and resize. What we didn't expect was to turn around and see this:

Early the next morning there was a lunar eclipse. When we left our hotel, the eclipse was total, and we were able to watch it recede for about half an hour as we drove north before it disappeared from our view.

World Card Making Day

Yesterday was World Card Making Day, and I didn't have any time to sit down to create at all! This afternoon, however, I set aside some time to make four cards that I need to get in the mail this month. The first two cards are a CASE of Maile Belles who created the card for Papertrey Ink's August release. I didn't change up a lot, but it was such a perfect design for a young couple celebrating their anniversary and an older couple who tied the knot this weekend. Not often the same card works for a wide age range.

Both cards use Papertrey Ink's Soft Stone cardstock and ink. The images came from the Monthly Moments: August collection. It's rare that I make cards with one of these sets before I use them for Project Life, but every month has a collection of stamps that's very versatile.  The Happy Anniversary sentiment is from Fillable Frames #4, and the Congratulations from "Banner Sentiments." The red metallic paper die cut with Simon Says' Holiday Shapes, and the metallic twine are from Paper Source.

My son-in-law's sister just had a baby girl this week, and I want to get the card and a small gift into the mail since it has to travel across the pond. 

I didn't have any die cuts for a baby card, so the last time I ordered from Papertrey, I tossed the Wonderful Words stamp set and die into my card. Glad I did. They're extremely reasonable, and it made for a quick card. The patterned paper is from an older Dear Lizzie pad called "Neopolitan." The little hearts from Hero Arts have also been in my stash for quite a while. 

 

Last, but not least, a card for a friend in Colorado who's birthday is the end of the month. We're off on a little road trip this week, and then to Sarah and Adam's for five days before heading back to Niagara-on-the-Lake for our annual Shaw Festival weekend with Karen and Mike. I had most of the October cards done and ready to mail, but this is the last one.

This is my newest stamp set, "Sparkle and Shine." You can build multiple messages with the different stamps. The dies were out of stock the very next morning after the release, so I'm still waiting for those. I like the message on vellum, but attaching it to the silver cardstock (Paper Source) turned out to be a challenge. (Didn't have any trouble with the vellum on the baby card; go figure.) I finally pulled out a little silver clothespin and covered it with Wink of Stella shine. Now, however, the card requires a padded envelope! The ampersand die is from "Grand Ampersand" and the enamel dots are from My Mind's Eye. 

I'm going to enter the last two cards in Virginia View's new challenge: Clean and Simple. I love her challenges, and Clean and Simple is dear to my heart, but these are the only ones that are likely to make the deadline.

Nothing like piling it all up on one post after hardly creating anything in several weeks. What little creative time I've had I've given to working through the book, You Can Learn to Draw in 30 Days. I have to say, I can definitely see improvement, and I'm looking forward to a semester at Sketchbook Skool that starts while we're away.

 

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Birthday Party

Skylar turned three a week ago, and Matt and Betsy hosted a party for friends and family at their new house. Here's Miss Skylar just before the company arrived.

Tracy and Matt finished the swing set in plenty of time, and Matt and Betsy rented a bounce house as well.

We've had just wonderful fall weather here, but the morning of the party it rained for a couple of hours. Fortunately, just as the party began, the rain ended and within the hour the sun had come out. It took quite a few towels, however, to get all the equipment dry enough for the kids to use. Some of the kids were eager to help as well.

Here's another Zoom Out view of the finished swing set. The area under the set is filled with rubber mulch. It looks like crushed Oreo cookies, but it's shredded automobile tires.

And a Zoom In on the birthday girl enjoying the double swing.

And a couple Zoom In photos of kids in the bounce house.

 

The amazing twelve year old:

 

By the end of the afternoon some of the little girls were ready for some quiet time. We found them all settled in a corner "reading" books.

All in all, it was a huge success. The kids definitely had a great time, and it seemed like the adults did as well.