random reflections

Merry Christmas!

Yesterday we celebrated Christmas with Matt and his family. I think the girls were genuinely pleased with their gifts—more so than any other year I remember. Here they are before our pizza and salad lunch and the opening of gifts. We’ll see them again this afternoon when they stop to say hello to all of Tracy’s family.

Skylar (11), Ella (8) and Maddy (6)

Our Christmas celebration with Tracy's family will be subdued this year. Two weeks ago, his mother fell and was in the hospital just a week before she died. She was in excruciating pain before the fall, and the family had been working with a palliative care doctor to try to increase her pain medication so she could more fully enjoy life. After the fall, it was clear she would not be able to go home again. The palliative care staff at the hospital were wonderful, but they also had difficulty managing the pain until finally, the decision to medicate through an IV was made. Just three days later she passed away peacefully. Ellie was 93 and beloved by her family. Her presence will always be missed, but it will be a gaping open hole this Christmas. 

Tomorrow we hope to head to Wisconsin to celebrate Christmas once more with Sarah and her family. The Thruway remains closed from here to the Pennsylvania border. We have an alternate route if it’s clear through Erie, but that’s uncertain at this point. If all goes as planned (we always have our eye on the weather) we’ll be there about ten days before returning home.

Finally, here is a Christmas wrapping project. I always have great intentions to use my papercrafting supplies to wrap gifts. This year I purchased a couple of products from The Greetery’s All Wrapped Up collection and felt compelled to put them to use. I love how the gifts turned out, but only had time to do three of them. On the other hand, yesterday was the first Christmas Eve Day when all of my wrapping was done! Hopefully next year I’ll get to this a bit earlier. 

Warm wishes from bitterly cold Rochester for a wonderful Christmas if you celebrate it and a Blessed New Year!

 

5 in 5 and Watercolor Challenge

Today's the 5th of April, and time for Sandie's meme 5 in 5---5 photos in 5 minutes. Sandie shared some of her projects during this time of isolation, and I thought I'd do a bit of the same. I shared a little on my last blog post, but today I'm focusing on coloring projects I'm working on. I lined up a bunch of projects and snapped away.

Improving my coloring skills with watercolors and Copic markers is always on my list. This increased time at home has given me ample opportunity to watch videos, pull out supplies and practice. Tracy gifted me with two Sandy Allnock classes for Christmas. I finished the videos for the colored pencil class in February, and continue to practice, but have moved on now to the Copic Jumpstart class. The first lessons focus on color theory as did the colored pencil class, but I created a new color wheel with Copics this week, and made notes on the essentials of color theory to add to a notebook I started a year or so ago. Sandy also suggested we make color wheels with a set of darker markers which I think I'll try this week.

I also updated my pages with a few markers I've purchased in the last six months or so.

Last month I focused on watercolors, and I haven't abandoned that effort at all. When a good sale arrived via my inbox a week ago, I decided to splurge and purchased a new set of watercolor markers. I spent one afternoon swatching out the 60 colors. It took a lot longer than I expected, but I learned a lot more than I expected as well. It was interesting to see how the colors blend out, some more easily than others, and to see in some markers a range of tones.

Yesterday I spent some time watercoloring the Wild Rose Stem from Memory Box. It was my best effort so far in no-line watercoloring. It was all done with just three Karin Markers and a watercolor brush to draw out the colors. 

Here's another look at it. I'm taking this opportunity to share this at the CAS Watercolor Challenge which currently is "Spring Flowers."

I hope you're finding time to destress with a comforting hobby. Crafting is the one thing that is able to take my mind off all the terrible news, and understandable fears we all have.

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!

 

 

A Big Project and a Smaller One

A Big Project

As 2016 draws to a close, I’ve been thinking about my One Little Word for 2017 and what I might want to accomplish. I’ve also started looking back at the intentions I set for 2016 as well.

The biggest project I set for myself this year was to read the Bible cover to cover. Several years ago, my brother-in-law casually mentioned that he had read the Bible cover to cover twice. It made me realize that what I knew of the Bible pretty much came from Sunday School as a child, and the weekly Lectionary readings at church. The following June, I purchase the NRVS Daily Bible and put it on a shelf. It sat there for a year and a half.

This year I read it. Little did I know that it would prompt much additional reading and study as the text raised many questions. I ended up reading, by my count, five additional books and parts of many others as well as taking “Introduction to the Old Testament” at the University of Rochester, and reading the textbook for that class. It was worth the time. I have a new appreciation for The Bible and it’s place in history and influence on so much of classical literature. And it’s propelled me along on my personal faith journey. Today I finished, and I’m wondering which book to pick up next for my morning reading time. I have a long list from which to choose!

Since it’s related in theme, I thought I’d also share a Christmas gift I made for a friend. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t read my blog, but in case, I waited to share it until she received it yesterday.

It's very similar in concept to the Valentine gift I gave her and my granddaughter last year. The little church is from Papertrey Ink's Petite Places line, and the path, trees, and lightpost are from the same line, "Walk in the Park." The glittery snow is from Art Glitter, "Faux Snow." The jar came from Michael's. Yesterday was a perfect day to give the gift although the snow here is anything but "faux." We've been hit with three bands of lake effect snow in the last few days, and although it's beautiful, it's been bitterly cold, and the roads have been treacherous at times. I never left the house on Thursday. By yesterday the roads were pretty clear, but this morning they are snow-covered again.

Here's a better look at the scene inside the globe. My friend was happy to have a more seasonal version of the candy jar, and expects to put some greenery and a battery-operated votive candle in it when the candy is gone. Think I'll try that, too, if I get one made for myself.

Memorandum Monday: The Valentine Edition

I'm back again this week, joining and waving to Sian and friends who post something new they did or used for the first time over the weekend ( or in my case during the week.) I saw some Valentine products I couldn't resist this year. Now that I have grandchildren who I can create for, this holiday is ramping up for me. 

First off, my favorite and an almost total case of a project Danielle Flanders did for the release of this stamp and die set: "Petite Places: Home & Garden." I've resisted this whole line of product from Papertrey Ink, but Danielle got me on this one. I knew Skylar would love it, and I made a second one for a crafty friend who loves this kind of thing. She makes wonderful creations from paper, but she's not a stamper, so I knew she wouldn't have seen it. Got to say, both loved it, and for a first try, I was pretty pleased with how it came out. By using different colors, you can change out the look of the project so it would be great for other occasions.

The clear dome makes photos pretty tricky, but in this one you can see the cute little swing hanging from the tree. There are also lots of other little additions I didn't add this time. I added a strip of adhesive cork paper to made the walkway, and combined some green Flower Soft and glitter to made the "grass." I threw in a few flower sequins as well.

The card for Skylar and Ella used Simon Says "Baby Party Animals" which I've used before, but the sentiment is from "Paper Hugs," included in last year's February card kit which I had never used.

With all the stamping, sequins, and die cut foil hearts, this is definitely a busier card than I usually come up with.

I ordered a die and some clear totes from Reverse Confetti to made Caleb's valentine gift. This combo is sure to get lots of use; it's perfect for hostess gifts, small birthday gifts . . . I can think of almost endless possibilities. The patterned papers are "Pure Poppy + White," from Papertrey Ink, and the heart border die is also an older Papertrey die.

Here's the tote with the card, which also uses new stamps and dies from Papertrey's "Valentine Pin-up" kit. I have plenty of material in that kit to create for grandchildren for several years to come. The little fox was one of my favorites.

I used a Simon Says heart die to make the balloons, and used another new die, "Balloon Strings" from Papertrey. It's been on backorder for awhile, and just came in the last order.

We have a wonderful homemade candy shop nearby, and that's where the Valentine candy corn and the chocolates in Caleb's valentine came from. I was thrilled to find little chocolate cars wrapped much like the Matchbox cars Caleb loves.

And here's what the tote looks like from the side.

We had quite a lovely Valentine's Day. It started with some car trouble due to the extreme cold, so we ended up coming in at the end of the first hymn for church. It was worth the effort to get there, though, since we had an excellent guest preacher and some beautiful solos by the bass section leader in our choir. From there I went to Sunday Seminar presented by Ann Meredith, a professor of religion at the University of Rochester. One of my friends was amazed that I had never attended one of her presentations, and said I would love it. Indeed, I did, and luckily it was the first of a three part series. It's days like this when I realize what wonderful resources we have in Rochester.

We played duplicate bridge in the afternoon. The last couple of times we've played we haven't done very well, but yesterday was much better. There are several couples in the group who play bridge regularly, and two who play competitively. We play only in this group, and do not study or practice, so it's quite a miracle that we can keep up with them. We rarely come in first (and we didn't yesterday) but we seem to hold our own, and have been playing with one of the couples for 42 years. The group started the year we were married. We came home for an hour, and then met friends for dinner. Quite an usual (and different-"new") Valentine's Day for us. I hope your weekend treated you well.

Elf on the Shelf

Needless to say, we aren't doing an Elf on the Shelf project, but Sarah and Adam do one with Caleb. When I saw what Nicole Heady did with the Holiday Pin-ups kit, I asked Sarah if she were interested in anything similar. I started with the card. Sarah asked that I make it possible to change the notes each day, so there's both an outside and inside.

Sarah's intention was to put a piece of velcro on the elf so they could stick it up somewhere. I used Papertrey's Pure Poppy and White patterned paper for the background, and added stamps from Postmarks and City Scene Sentiments (all PTI). The little elf was pre-printed in the Holiday Pin-ups kit and the pieces only had to be die cut and glued to the clothespin.

I used a new Reverse Confetti "Gift Card Holder Tag" to die cut the slit for the cards and the cute little banner. Sarah has a set of 25 cards she can slide in and out of the slot.

While I was at it, I made three other clothespin cuties. They'll probably go on Christmas packages for the grandchildren.

This has to be one of the most fun projects I've put together this year.

Christmas Gifts?

I was looking through some Christmas Pinterest boards this morning (another nice thing about vacation), and remembered I wrote this post before I left. Hard to think about Christmas here, but as far as I know there's still plenty of snow left in Rochester.

Well, yes, it's March, but I never shared the Christmas gifts I made. I didn't want to post them before the recipients received them, and then time slipped away from me. Every year for the last three or four years, I've made calendars for friends and family. They're fun to make, and seem to be enjoyed by everyone. Here's this year's version:

The first couple of years, I didn't include a list of where the photos were taken, and everyone wanted to know. Now I type up a list and include it with the calendar. I found these little white bags in the bakery section at Michaels. They're the perfect size for the calendars which slide into a 4X6 picture frame.

January: snow in Highland Park; February: tulips on my kitchen table

March: still life of Rainier cherries; April: Clivia at the Dutch Collection at the George Eastman House

May:  Morikami Japanese Garden in Florida; June: The George Eastman House gardens

July: Grand Haven Lighthouse, Muskegon, MI; August: Sunset at Bailey's Harbor, WI

September: Cana Island Lighthouse, WI; October: Pennisula State Park, Door Co., WI

November: Oak Leaf Hydrangea; December: Christmas tree ornament from the Biltmore Mansion

Every time I'm at Sarah's it seems they need some sewing done. She doesn't have a sewing machine, and the only sewing tools she has are those tiny sewing kits you pick up at some of the nicer hotels. I've seen lots of these on Pinterest so I put one together for her. I have to admit it took two tries to get the pincushion lid just right.

I was really happy with it, and I think she was glad to receive it. No surprise, I was mending Caleb's blanket within the first two days of being there!

Christmas Crafts

While Sarah was here over Thanksgiving, we both got a little crafting done. This year in each of the pockets of Caleb's Advent calendar there's a note with an activity or a description of something she's made to decorate his room for Christmas. On three separate days, he'll be getting (or has already gotten) one of these cute yarn trees. They're simple to make: just wind the yard around the foam cone, and hot-glue the buttons on. The cones have a flat top, however, so we decided to die cut some stars from glitter paper and attach them to the top. Problem solved!

I've nicknamed my daughter The DIY Queen. Among the many tools she's acquired since this summer is a woodburning tool. I'd seen this pin on Pinterest, and was interested in giving it a try. She read that an easy way to get started with woodburning is to stamp the design and then woodburn it. The Papertrey Ink set, "Snowfall Additions," was perfect. 

I've attached some of these to gifts, and just given a couple away. I enjoyed it so much the next time I had a 50% off coupon at Michaels, I bought myself a woodburning tool set. Sarah purchased a book of projects which I'll be pouring over while we're in Chicago after Christmas.