random reflections

Freshly Made: Sparkle

My niece's birthday is coming up, and when I recently came across WPlus9's "Sparkle and Shine" set, I knew I'd use it for this year's birthday card. She definitely leaves a "sparkle wherever [she] goes." Once I had the two circles embossed and die cut, I was thinking about how to arrange them, and remembered this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

I originally thought I'd use gold or silver embossing powder, but found a jar of Enchanted Gold in my stash that is loaded with glitter. The larger circle (cut with a Simon Says "Stitched Circle" die) is from WPlus9's set. The smaller one was stamped from a Simon Says set of the same name.

I made the banner from a piece of beautiful, shiny Washi tape that I picked up in Florida. I die cut that panel with a Simon Says "Stitched Rectangle, and mounted it on a Smoky Shadow card base. A few gold and silver sequins added the final touch.

Neither the shiny Washi tape nor the embossing powder show up as well in a photograph as they do IRL. I'm popping this into the Freshly Made Sketch pool just before Monday's deadline. Although I've been following this blog challenge for awhile, I think this is my first entry.

With Sympathy

It's become a fact of life that I'm in need of sympathy cards more often than I wish. They can be the most challenging of cards to make because I want them to convey a sense of peace and compassion. In general, I try to keep them very clean and simple, with just one or two contrasting colors. 

This card is white with silver and gold accents. Somewhere in blogland I saw someone use the "Brushed Off" stamps by Papertrey Ink with the "Leaf Silhouette" die. The sentiment is Papertrey's "Botanical Silhouette" set. Simple, but elegant.

The silver paper has a matte surface and is from Paper Source.

This card is a bit brighter, but still clean and simple.

The two greens are much closer in color than they appear in the photo. The "Prim Poppy" die from Memory Box was die cut from the same textured white paper as the card base. The "prayers" die and stamped sentiment are from Simon Says, "Prayers" set. It's a small set but includes many appropriate sentiments for sympathy or thinking of you cards.  The patterned paper is from My Favorite Things. I'm entering this card in this week's Less is More Challenge: Stripes.

The last card was created for a friend from our church. I try not to use any religious quotations unless I know the recipient's religious affiliation. I love this one, though, and was glad to be able to use it. This is the quietest of the three---just white cardstock with a layer of striped vellum behind the main sentiment. I die cut two different sizes of Spellbinder's Labels Two, one for the sentiment from Reverse Confetti's "The Lord's Strength" set.

The card base was scored on the scoreboard every half inch. It's one of my favorite ways to add some subtle texture.

Hope your weekend is off to a good start. I'm hoping to get some serious crafting done. I borrowed some stamps from a friend, and need to set aside some time to play with them.

Papertrey Ink April 2017 Blog Hop Challenge

When Nicole posted the inspiration piece for April's Blog Hop, I wasn't sure quite what to do with it. 

The colors certainly aren't anything I usually reach for, and I rarely create stamped backgrounds. In the end, I went for it, choosing Papertrey's "Happiness in Bloom" and "Beautiful Blooms" to try to capture the essence of the inspiration piece. 

Once I had the piece stamped, I was again at a loss to know what to do with it. But then I discovered in my pile of "to use/try" stamps and dies on my desk, the "Sentiment Splits" dies. A few weeks ago, I was sorting through my dies, and found them in a plastic bag--no label. I had no idea what they were, or even which company they had come from. Luckily, I was visiting a friend, and took them along. She recognized them immediately, and then I knew exactly why I'd bought them. Truly, I don't know if they've ever been used before, but I'm pretty happy with the way they worked with this stamped background. My friend also loaned me the "Sentiment Split" stamps which I don't own. 

The only embellishment I added was a few yellow enamel dots. I'm posting this early, but won't be able to link it up to the Blog Hop until I get home from some appointments. Then I'll be off to see what others have made of this inspiration piece. You can check it out right here after 10:00 this morning.

Memos, Mail, Me: Happy Mail

It was a quiet weekend. Nothing much on Friday (I should have been much more productive.) On Saturday, we babysat for Miss Madelyn while Matt and Betsy took the two older girls to a birthday party. She started to crawl a week or so ago, and is on the move!

Afterward we got take-out from a new Mediterranean restaurant. It was just as good (and inexpensive) as all the Yelp reviews said it was.

Sunday, I heard Rabbi Stein from Temple B'rith Kodesh present at our Sunday Seminar, and then preach at our second service. He is a wonderful speaker, very articulate and thoughtful. His theme was the need for unity between religious groups during these dangerous times as well as a call to be out in the community working for justice and peace. Our Presbyterian church and the temple have a long-standing relationship, and do a pulpit exchange once a year. On Friday night, our pastor spoke at the temple.

Shortly after I got home, it was time to meet our book group for lunch and a discussion of Shadow of the Wind. I think the consensus was that although the plot was complicated, and the overall feeling rather dark, we all were glad we'd read the book. I had highlighted several passages as I read, and was struck by how universal the themes were when I went back to look at the highlighting. Here are a couple of them:

Few things are more deceptive that memories. I've been thinking about memory a lot recently. A friend of mine has incredibly vivid memories of growing up, yet I have few and very vague memories of my childhood. Why is that? I'll be spending some time with my brother later this spring, and expect to quiz him about his memories of our childhoods. In the book, the main character is trying to track down the books of a specific author (most were burned) and interviews many people about their experiences with the author. The memories of one character frequently do not match up with what he hears from another. 

One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn't have to understand something to feel it. By the time the mind is able to comprehend what has happened, the wounds of the heart are already too deep. This proves to be so very true for four boys in the novel who grew up together, and I think is true for many persons who've suffered a great loss or trauma as a child.

On a far lighter note, along with the usual stack of junk mail, notices, a few bills, and catalogs, I received some lovely mail this week. First of all, two pairs of slacks which I ordered after completing purging my wardrobe---winter and summer. I took several bags to Goodwill, and sent off a box of clothes to Swap.com as well. When I had finished, I realized I needed a couple pairs of casual, lightweight slacks for the summer. Nice as that was, this was better:

Lady Ella (feeling somewhat sorry for me after my post about how slowly Spring was coming) sent me a wonderful magnet with a photo she'd taken of a flowering tree near her home. It is brightening my refrigerator as she hoped it would. Better yet, it proved to be a talisman so that Spring has finally sprung here! The next day an order from Papertrey Ink arrived with a lovely sentiment set for birthdays, a double banner die, and a gorgeous set of three dies. When I first saw "Mix and Match: Scallops" I thought it was too fussy for me, but I changed my mind quickly when I saw the various ways the three dies were used by the design team. 

Since I had some time this weekend, I made a Mother's Day card with it:

Just two dies, one stamp, three tiny pearls, and some coordinating papers and voila! a card is done. The curved banner die is from My Favorite Things, but all the rest is Papertrey Ink.

Waving to Sian and other Monday Memo Makers. The week ahead looks warmer (yea!) and a lot busier. It used to be true that the busier I was, the more productive I was. I'm hoping it still holds true.

The Handmade Joy Exchange

I've been following Anne Butera's blog for some time now. She's a watercolor artist, and not only do I love her artwork, I love her philosophy of life. Each Monday she posts "Joy List Monday" where she shares the joys of her week: "a reminder to stop and pay attention to the little beauties and graces that make life magical and to set aside time for gratitude each day." In addition to following her blog, I signed up for her JoyLetter. Early in February, I received an invitation to participate in a Handmade Joy Exchange. Here's Anne's description of the project:

The concept is simple. Make something by hand (with joy and love) and send it to the person with whom I've matched you up. You can use any medium, any technique... In the past participants created using embroidery, metalsmithing, paper cutting, paper folding, crochet, knitting, sewing, painting, assemblage...

I signed right up, and by the end of the month, I'd received a name. There weren't any social media links included in my match, so I asked Anne if she had any information that might help me create something appropriate. It turned out I would be creating for a young lady, twelve years old, which definitely influenced my choice of project. I also learned that she was interested in drawing, journaling, and painting so I decided to create a sketchbook for her filled with multi-media paper which would hold up to paint, collage, or whatever she might want to throw at it. I included six divider pages, each with a quote about creativity, and decided to personalize the cover. Since I'm primarily a cardmaker, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to include a set of cards. I decided to create cards that could be colored by Sedona, and included a set of die cut sentiments so she could choose among different occasions if she wanted to turn them into greeting cards. 

One interesting this about the exchange was that you were not paired with the person you created for. My Handmade Joy gift was waiting for me when we returned from our March road trip. It came from California, and is from another watercolor artist. You can find her beautiful work here on her Instagram account. I love every item in my package:  a notepad, two beautiful handsewn journals, and two watercolor cards. They were packaged beautifully as well.

This turned out to be a very satisfying and rewarding project. I'd sign up for it again in a flash. Tomorrow you'll be able to see Anne's blog post about the project, and a summary of all the wonderful projects that were created. I'm quite sure it will be worth a look!

 

 

Time Out Challenge: A Trio of Butterflies

It's been awhile since I've participated in a challenge despite my intention to get to at least one each week. This week I have a trio of butterfly cards that I made Sunday night. The pink ones will get entered in the Time Out Challenge #81.

Every year on our way to Longboat Key, we make a stop in St. Petersburg, Florida for lunch at the Red Mesa Catina, and a shopping trip for me at Whim-so-Doodle. I wish I had access to a store like this in our area, although it's probably best for my budget that I don't! One of my purchases this year was a set of paper butterflies by Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper. They were lying on my table, and I pulled out a narrow roll of Washi tape and some card stock, and pretty quickly had three birthday cards ready for May birthdays.

The "celebrate" die is from Papertrey Ink's "Good Times." That and a few sequins and the cards were done.

I was lucky enough to borrow a few new Papertrey Ink stamps from a friend, so hope to get some more crafting in this week along with the #100DayProject, some Project Life pages, and assignments for two online classes. Both of the agencies for whom I volunteer are closed this week for spring break, so I've got some extra time (if I stay home long enough to use it!)

 

 

Memos, Mail, Me: Easter Weekend

It's amazing what two beautiful, unusually warm days will do for the view. On Friday, I wrote that there were almost no flowering trees in bloom, and very few trees greening. Last night Tracy and I took a walk after our Easter celebration at his brothers, and the neighborhood has burst into color. 

We had a pretty quiet weekend until Easter Sunday when we were away nearly the whole day. On Friday and Saturday, I caught up with my online class assignments, and worked on getting my studio back in order. We made our second run to the garden center, and picked up two beautiful pots for our front yard, and some pansies which will withstand the great variation in temperatures expected this week. 

Yesterday we started the day at Matt and Betsy's with the girls for breakfast and their Easter egg hunt. Skylar and Ella were really into it, and it was so much fun to watch them run about the yard looking for their eggs. The Easter Bunny had left a letter for them, telling them what color eggs they should look for. Skylar's were light blue, Ella's were dark blue, and Maddy had green. Then there was one golden egg for everyone. Maddy, of course, was just an observer this year.

They needed Daddy's help to reach some of the eggs. The Easter Bunny may have had a drone!

Then, of course it was time to find out what was hidden in those eggs.

From there we went to church. I don't take photos in church, but I wish you could have seen the gorgeous flower arrangements, and heard the amazing music. There was brass and timpani, and a full choir. Absolutely glorious!

Tracy's brother and sister-in-law hosted Easter dinner. Thunderstorms were predicted, but aside from a brief shower just as we arrived, the day remained sunny and warm. Susan set the table with her grandmother's china, and we had a wonderful feast of ham, potatoes, broccoli au gratin, salads, and hot cross buns. I've been pretty good about watching my portions, but I definitely overate yesterday.

There wasn't much in the way of exciting mail this week. Last week, I noticed Melissa had received her copy of Uppercase, and I wondered where mine was. It did arrive this week along with the newest issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors. The latter subscription was a gift from a friend. Now that I don't do much multi-media work, there's not as much that interests me. There's always one article, though, that attracts my attention. 

On the ride home last night I finished the novel for our book group, Shadow of the Wind. It was a long book with a very involved plot, but I enjoyed it, and am looking forward to next week's discussion. I should have time now, to catch up on reading some periodicals. A rather large pile has accumulated since we returned from our trip.

I thought, perhaps, I'd get a Happy Easter post up yesterday, but I was too tired last night, so if you can hang in there just another minute or two, I'll share the Easter cards I made for the grandchildren. All of them were created with the March Simon Says Card Kit. (Maddy's card was made earlier and shared here.)

Ella loves her sunglasses, and I couldn't resist casing this card from Yana Smakula.

The inside sentiment continues, "thinks you're awesome! Happy Easter"

"Happy Easter!"

And last, but not least, for the newest grandchild:

Waving to Sian and Monday Memo Makers! Hope you have a great week ahead.

April Five in Five: Looking for Color

It feels like spring, the sun is shining, the daffodils are blooming, and there are a few crocus popping up, but still no leaves on the trees nor any flowering trees. The tulips aren't out yet either. But I did know where to find a riot of color just a mile or so from our house. So this afternoon, I walked over to the Highland Conservatory. It's easy to get five photos in five minutes in the Spring Flower Show room. There was, as I expected, lots of beautiful spring color.

 

As always, I rarely get this meme posted on the fifth of the month, but I'm happy to be participating in Sandie's monthly challenge to get 5 in 5, and grateful for an excuse to get to the Spring Flower Show.

Happy Birthday, Simon Says Wednesday Challenge

It's the 8th birthday of the Wednesday Challenge at Simon Says. Not surprisingly, the challenge prompt is Happy Birthday, and I have two (almost matching) cards ready for some April birthdays.

Both were made with the new "Beautiful Berries: Spring" set released last month by Papertrey Ink. The multiple stamped images were very easy to line up, so I die cut the pieces first and then stamped them. I found the design inspiration from Wanda Guess, one of the new members of the PTI Design Team. Both card bases were made with the A2 Noted dies and Memory Box paper which I love because the inside is white.

Since these are brand new stamps (never used stuff), I can sneak them into the NBUS April Challenge which ends today.

 

Memos, Mail, Me: Extremes

On Friday morning, we awoke to this:

Yes, several inches of wet, heavy snow. 

By yesterday, it was 70° and we were off to the garden center for some spring flowers.

Despite the warm temperatures, there is still a bit of snow on the ground. I'm sure it will be gone by noon since temperatures are expected in the 70's again. It won't stay this warm, of course, but hopefully we're done with the snow!

It was a lovely weekend: dinner with friends on Friday night, a shopping trip to a McKenzie-Child warehouse sale with another friend, and dinner with family last night. In between, some appointments, sorting of clothes for the consignment shop, and time at the gym after several months away. McKenzie-Child has an annual Barn Sale which I've never attended, and the warehouse sale was something new. A friend texted me right before we left on our trip and asked if I were interested. I was, indeed. Although I have several pieces of their Courtly Check tinware, most of it is beyond my price range. Everything at the sale, however, was 50% off or more. I got this lovely pitcher which retails for $85 for $19. I know I'll find lots of uses for it; it's looking lovely in the dining room now. Not only was it a bargain, it was the only piece with this pattern that we saw.

Good things in the mail were rather sparse this week, but we did get one very nice package from The Great Courses. They were having a big sale, and Tracy wanted a course on genealogy. I picked up two sets of DVDs on the Bible. The New Testament is taught by Bart Erhman, and I was fortunate to hear him speak on Thursday evening at the University of Rochester's Phi Beta Kappa lecture. He spoke about some of his findings while researching his latest book, Jesus Before the Gospels: How the Earliest Christians Remembered, Changed, and Invented Their Stories of the Savior.  Amazon describes him as a "renowned and controversial scholar," and I understand why some might think his conclusions are controversial. I thought the research on memory was fascinating, and I have the book on hold at the library. 

This week's calendar is pretty packed with appointments, volunteer commitments, and lots of social events. I'll have to work hard to find time for my daily reading, #The100DayProject, and my online class assignments. 

Waving to Sian and the Monday Memo Makers. Hope you have a great week!