THE OLD WAY...THE NEW WAY!

Here at our condo, my craft area shares a space in the front bedroom. Our little grand daughters had toddler beds there for the last year and we just recently changed those out in favor of our day bed which has a pull out trundle bed that pops up and makes a king (or two twins.) We leave the trundle down low for the youngest grand daughter and have guards on the bed sides since they are not used to the smaller twin size.

Anyway, the above is a photo of my two craft tables as they used to be. The beds are in the second photo after we flip flopped them with the tables. My extra bins are not in the room yet (there are about 6 of them and I carry them back and forth to MN so I have the basics with me where ever I go. It is a pain to do, but necessary since I can't afford to own duplicates of all my supplies.)

My hubby has recently put together the two cabinets we are installing so I can put away some of my craft supplies and make it all be more organized and easier to find things. I'm still working on HOW to organize it all but it will eventually be a vast improvement. Besides the two tall cabinets, I have 5 of those 14 inch cube storage units from Michaels to place in the space between the wood cabinets and the table. (The two bins will be emptied and so the cubes will have easy access.) The cubes are all different...one has four 6 inch sq drawers 14" deep, one has three wide drawers 14x14 each, one has a wide shelf and one drawer, and the last two are just 4 shelves each that will hold 12 x12 card stock and big paper pads easily. They still need to be put together. I may put the 2 paper storage cubes inside a cabinet to keep the light off of my paper. Wouldn't want any of it to fade. LOL Lastly above the tables we are adding 4 or 5 9" shelves the length of the wall in wood tone where the punches will go and other items
that are used often. The pink-lidded bins on the corner of the table have Stickles, embellishments, and other add-ons for my cards and will probably go inside the wood cabinets or at least on the open counter section. I am so excited to see my new crafting space emerge. I think it is so fitting to have a new space for the new year, don't you? Happy 2010 to all. : )

CHRISTMAS EVE

'Twas the night before Christmas and the family gathered together in Oshkosh. Here is our son Bill, his wife Jodi, and the GRAND girls, Emma in the red and Matti in the black/with a dotted skirt. We enjoy them all so much. God has blessed us with our two children and our son's family and we are very THANKFUL. We missed Beth not being able to come this year but understand the requirements of her new job in TN. May God continue to bless us, provide for us, and protect us as we look to the new year as His servants. Happy 2010 to all.

PINK EYE!!!

Here I am 67 and I am having symptoms of pink eye! I must be going through my second childhood! LOL Our youngest grand daughter caught it at daycare. Matti was telling me "her friend had three blue eyes". Now you might ask what she meant to say and after questioning her and Emma helping translate, she has three friends who have the "pink eye". (Why she changed the color beats me.) And now her Mamaw is showing some signs of it too. So I made a trip to the doctor and he gave me a script for the drops. It is OK as I wasn't going anywhere over the holidays anyway.

Thought you'd like to see the two cats who have relationship issues. Mari, our white cat, just doesn't warm up to Jack, the stray we adopted more than a year ago. But they occasionally call a truce and get close to each other. She tolerates him mostly. Luci plays with him late at night running back and forth. You'd think our "herd of elephants was on the move" when they run. But it keeps them active and fit which is a good thing.

TWO DOWN

YIKES! Here it is Dec 21st and I've only sent out two Christmas cards. I made two alike and sent to my two new friends in the UK before I headed to TX to visit mom. I met these two gals reading their blogs on line and asked them if they wanted to be pen pals and they both said "Yes". Beryl Tyler lives in Wales on the side of a mountain near the sea coast and Ann Dunlop has a B & B and lives in Ayr, Scotland. Wales and Scotland are two of my fav countries, having visited them in the mid 90's. I love meeting people from other countries. Humankind has so many characteristics that are alike. I disagree with all the "diversity" language and emphasis. When you focus on diversity, you just keep people separated more. We should be focusing on our likenesses, which would give us common ground to enteract together and enjoy each other. But what do I know. Sometimes I think I do have a bit of common sense that helps me see the broad picture.

Here is my Christmas card that I sent across the pond to the UK. The base is white CS, the red is from Archivers and I used the Martha Stewart snowflake punch to put the row of flakes top and bottom. I stamped the PSX Christmas Door image in Momento black ink on white and used Su markers for coloring the tree, the brick steps, the wreath, the sled and the cardinals. I bought three Copic markers: 2 grays (C3-cool grey and B60-pale blue grey), and a really light blue (B 00-frost blue) I used the two shades of grey on the door and house, and around some items where I wanted to indicate shadows or a deepening color. The light blue I used to color the mounds of snow and added a little grey there too. I then used my glue pen to add some large iridescent glitter that is hexagonal pieces. It is just the coolest glitter for snow. I stamped "Merry Christmas" in red on the inside with a clear rhinestone for the dot of the "i"and added the sheer ribbon on the front. Simple card and I hope to get the rest of them done for my family before Jan 1. I am usually late, so they don't expect it until they see it coming. : )

I have a little project to make with Matti and Emma. We will crush some peppermint candies, and add to melted white candy coating, and will spread it out thinly to cool. Then we will break it up and put some in small cellophane bags, and will add a red/white striped card stockstrip over the top, and make a little card with a candy cane on it. I bought a red copic (R27) to use for the candy cane. Simple enough for the girls to do with my help, and they can give to their teachers. Three more days till Christmas and I have finished the girls gifts. Bill is a problem since his birthday is the 29th of Dec so I need two gifts or one big one (for the man who buys his own gifts usually!) I have so many new stamps and other things, I really don't want anything more for myself. Well, I would love to have all the Copic markers (Hehe!) but can wait until next year for my birthday maybe. I just love the way they color!

So to all, near and far, I wish for you the very happiest of
Christmases. May you be blessed with God's peace, joy and love. He is our creator and we were made in His image. May we all honor and love Him for who He is and appreciate how He takes care of all things in His timing and to His purpose. We do not know the future, but we know who holds the future. Thank you heavenly Father for sending Jesus to be the Savior of mankind, if they would only believe.

RECENT CARDS

Just before my trip to Texas I did finish up some cards. I was still doing cards that expressed "Thanksgiving". The first was still in Autumnal colors which I just love using, but almost southwest looking because I used the SU medallion from (I think) Baroque motiffs. Tell me what you think about it. I originally wanted a plaid ribbon for this but there was none to be found in my stash or at the three craft stores I went to. SHEESH! Makes a crafter get a little grumpy.

So I went back to my creating place, and decided to use a plaid paper under the diamond. I was determined to use plaid in some way and the paper was from JoAnn's. I used a cream colored card base. The rust solid CS I stamped with the flourish from SU Baroque Motiffs with Momento black ink. I matted everything with black CS. The vertical beige print is punched with the Martha Stewart Arched Lattice punch and I left the left edge of the black matting a little longer on that side to balance the other heavier side on the right. The center medallion was stamped on a cream CS with Versa Mark and sprinkled with black Fun Flocking which makes it look like velvet. Now I'm gettin' happy! The sentiment is an SU one from one of their all year greeting sets (can't remember which at the moment.) The ribbon is a cream sheer from Wal-Mart and the sentiment is popped up to give some dimension as is the medallion. Then I added some warm jewels in an orangey/gold color to the top right corner and around the diamond for some bling. Since it was after thanksgiving when I got the card done, I am WAY AHEAD for next year. Haha!

This next card was going to be for a challenge and it has been a month since I made it and OOPS! Can't remember which challenge, so will just post it. Now that I think about it, it might have been for one of the color throw downs but for sure can't remember the #. I think I was to use Old Olive, Bermuda Bay, with black and white. My card base is white and I wanted to try my big Martha Stewart punch with the large holes in the scallop (Too bad that Martha doesn't give you a label in the package when you buy them!) I believe it is called Garden Scallop but since I am not sure, you'll just have to look it up. Maybe I will make me a notebook of the names and punch the design across from them so I can remember better! I sure am saying "I don't remember" a lot in this post. LOL!

Anyway, I used an olive green, a turquoise blue, and a print (which has more blue than shows in the picture.) I matted the whole with black and each layer became the mat for the next one. Each row of the punched design was matted in black separately since the design didn't show up as well on each color. Using black behind each row gave a bit of "color and shape alliteration"and I cut around the edges to show them off a little. I tied on a skinny black sheer ribbon, and stamped the "Thanks" in black Momento ink, matted that in black CS and popped it up. The punched edges became the focal point and I felt it did not need any other image.

My last card in this grouping is actually a larger Matchbook gift card holder. (Sorry about the head shadow in the photo.) I wanted to send a folded check and so made this about 4" wide. I folded the red up from the bottom making a 1 1/2" strip. I punched that edge with a MS scalloped embossing punch. I felt the scallop mirrored the edges of the holly and the three little dots looked a little like berries. The top edge was folded down to fit into the bottom. The PSX image of holly and berries was stamped in Momento black onto white CS and colored with SU markers and the whole image, was matted in

green and got a layer of red glitter gel pen over them. Inside I added the PSX holly and berries TO and FROM. To keep the top flap shut, I added a strip of red double sided tape
right at the bottom of the folded bottom flap inside.That way the bottom flap provides the
resistance keeping the top flap inside until you lift it. Hope you can see in the pictures what it looked like. This is such an easy way to make a gift card holder, or even send a photo. I love this Red Pepper Linen CS from Archivers as it was very stable to score and fold and added a little texture. Enjoy!

OLD FRIENDS

Recently I was able to spend a wonderful 4 hour "lunch" with two friends from high school. Jim Bailey sat two seats ahead of me in home room and has always been a good friend and a great servant to others. He was my "JB taxi" this trip down to TX to see my elderly mom. Thanks so much, Jim. You are a sweetie pie! Frani Bickley was a neighborhood friend and we visited each others homes. I can still remember her lovely mom and dad. As we ate the great Mexican food served at Los Barrios, and the names, and remembrances and the hours ticked by, I was struck by how many moments we share with others during our lifetime. We don't often get to go back in time and remember together. But we did on this day and talked nonstop, almost.

My 50th High School Class Reunion comes up next year. I graduated from Mary Carroll in May 1960, and the reunion will be in October in Corpus Christi, TX. I hope I am able to go down there and revisit with so many classmates. It would be so much fun! I am thankful for this short little prelude visit with these two beautiful people. God bless you both.

COPIC CERTIFIED DESIGNER

WOW! It has been a month since I last posted and a lot has happened. (I will try to catch up on posting my recent cards later today.) As some of you know, we spend our time between our home (of 23 yrs) in Apple Valley, MN and our condo in Oshkosh, WI (where our son, his wife and our 2 precious grand daughters live.) Usually it is about a month here and a month there scenario. The travel time is 5-6 hours depending on our stops.

We came back to MN the middle of November, had a quiet "ham" Thanksgiving, just the two of us, and on Dec 3rd, I left for New Braunfels, TX to visit my mom who is 88, widowed a little over a year now and still trying to live in her home. I enjoyed my 10 day visit and also reconnected with two HS classmates and had a 4 hour lunch with them at Los Barrios Mexican restaurant in San Antonio. (I bought the cookbook the restaurant was selling and hope to try some of their dishes at home.) They were named one of the top 100 restaurants in America and have been on Good Morning America, Food Network, and the Today Show. It was a memorable place with excellent food. Thanks Jim Bailey for a lovely lunch. You are such a sweetie!

The next day (after spending the night in the Airport Double Tree), I attended the Copic Certification class with 26 other ladies. I was thrilled to have been accepted for this class. WHY you might ask? Well, it is usually reserved for people who are designers and design team members, craft store owners and their employees, artists, art educators and other art professionals. I don't quite fit the "professional artist" category but I wanted to learn exactly HOW best to use them in my card making and possibly other applications. To make a long story short, they had so many applicants for the Dec 13th class, they made a second class and my degree in education and art, and my having taught art at a Junior High for a year, and teaching card classes for Seniors was enough to be invited to attend the class. AND I was going to be in the vacinity anyway visiting Mom. Funny, how things work out sometimes. So I AM now a Copic Certified Designer and I am SO happy about it that I have a perpetual smile on my face. I learned SO much about all their products, and techniques and my brain was full to the brim with information that I hope to utilize in my cards. Sally Lynn McDonald was a fantastic presenter...so knowledgeable and funny, too. She is a wonderful representative of the nice people I met during class. I also met Carol Condos, owner of Stamp Antonio who gave me a ride to her store at lunch. What a great stamp store and kind person she is. She even sent someone out to pick up my fav burger for lunch while I shopped a little, and we shared a little about my cats and her dogs over lunch. Thanks, Carol.

AND to top it all off, I came home that evening (after a foggy departure), to a winter wonderland. Woo Hoo! We had 8 inches of snow while I was gone and here is a picture of our home nestled in the white blanket of beauty that God provided. Oh, He is SO good to us, if we only had eyes, and ears, and hearts to listen to Him and a desire to appreciate Him. Thank You God