Farewell 2018

Whether your inclination is to say a year was bad or good, a year is just 365 days strung together under a four-digit classification. Sometimes the best we can do during tough times is to decide to handle them with as much grace and comfort as possible. When we label something as bad, the negative dominoes in our minds begin to fall and soon everything about that day, week, month or year is tainted. 

2017 was a very difficult year for me personally. 2018 meant the final rounds of "firsts" to endure after a terrible loss and I was pretty much ready for them. I am, by nature, a survivor emotionally. I don't know if that is in my DNA, something I unconsciously learned, or if it is sheer will-power. What I didn't foresee and therefore prepare for in 2018 was witnessing the pain of others who are now in similar circumstances. I hurt for them and I hurt for me again. 

What can I do to help them and also me? I can be realistic. I can do mundane things for them that won't alter their journey but will free up time cooking and shopping, doing a load of laundry, etc. I can be there if they want to talk and know first hand not to push for updates because the last thing they might want at that moment is to talk. I can empathize but I don't need to carry this all day. Oddly enough, I didn't feel that way when it was my load to carry. I chose to find some good in everything and smile because it sure felt and looked better than showing fear.

We all have things to celebrate but we sometimes forget this. I have forgotten this a few times in 2018 and I'm saying farewell to that. 

Kindness matters and way too much of society has forgotten that. 

I've said things on Facebook that I still believe politically, but I don't need to say them to get thumbs up from like-minded friends. and negative comments from others. The division in this country is alarmingly wide and when confronted with a Them vs Us mentality, not much can be said that would open a discussion rather than an argument. 

I'm not going to fix the world or likely even affect much of it, so what is my plan for 2019 and beyond? 

1.  Take care of me. That isn't selfish, that is practical and healthy. 

2.  Help my family, friends and my neighbors. 

3.  Remember to look for the good in everything.

Can you imagine how great it would be if we all did this? If I take care of me, I'll be too busy to see that you are eating canned vegetables, watching more than 2 hours of television, letting your kids stay up too late, and whatever the latest thing to ridicule on social media might be.

If I help my friends and neighbors and they help their friends and neighbors, won't this chain of extended hands soon reach across the city, states, the whole country and maybe the world?

Do I sound like an aging hippie? Perhaps, but isn't that better than bitter?

Goodbye, 2018.  Thanks for the lessons and for the laughs. Thank you to my Sweetheart who provided enough love to last a lifetime and beyond. 💗

Christmas cards from 2018

The blogging world has certainly changed since I began, and the nature of what I share has changed because of it. I am not trying to build an audience and really am only in touch with one friend from those more active blogging days (Hi Chatty!) now. Some have passed away, a few have announced their blog departures and many have simply disappeared.

I am still in the habit of not sharing cards or other crafts until they've been delivered to their intended recipients, but I think I am going to change that in 2019. I don't think most of the people know I have a blog, or at least they never mention it. That isn't me sounding pitiful, just a statement. I'm not an Instagram fan and can't tell you why. I'm not an instructor and I'm not about to start since so many are doing that so well online already.

This blog will continue to chronicle what I have made and be a reference for me. I will continue to share on Pinterest and if a post helps someone else, a good deed has been done.

Now that I've issued my combined Mission Statement and non-New Year's Resolution, I will share the various cards that I made this year. With any luck, I won't repeat them next year and send someone the same card two years in a row!

Mele Kalikimaka is a stamp set by Simon Says Stamp. I used this stamp on three cards but on the others, I put the words as an inside greeting. The stamp set is larger, the above card is 5"x7" rather than the typical 4.25"x5.5"

This ornament was done with Radiant Ornament, a die set from Birch Press. The snowflakes are also from Birch Press dies.

These two cards are from Mondo Poinsettia stamps and dies by Essentials by Ellen (Ellen Hutson). I stamped them in Versamark, embossed them with gold powder, die cut the flowers and leaves, matted them on black with hand drawn gold stitch lines, and mounted the black on a metallic gold card stock before adhering to the card front.

This previous post has Hip Gingerbread Men, Woodland Critter Huggers and Snowflakes. This snowflake below is one that a recipient shared on Facebook. 

The skunks, polar bear and puppy huggers are new additions to the previous critters. 

I found a template online to make a paper shoe for my daughter-law-in. One of her gifts was cash to go shoe shopping. I made a pair of shoes and the box to hold them, tucking the cash inside the box. 

 

I made a few other card designs that apparently didn't make it to my camera before mailing, and it wouldn't be a creative process if some didn't make it out of the house at all, landing in the trash instead. 

Shop 'til you drop card

My sweet daughter-in-law celebrated a birthday yesterday. I had a nominal gift for her to unwrap but her main gift was cash to go shopping. I made a shaker card. Originally, I was going to have an image of the back of young woman, supposedly her, looking into a store window. That didn't work out well. The image looked like Cousin It from the Addams family.

I scaled an image of my daughter-in-law, printed it and adhered it to the blue sky background. All of the shaker items, boxes, bags and boots below the window are from various Leading Ladies stamp sets by Essentials by Ellen (Ellen Hutson). If there had been shoe stamps and dies, this would have been beyond perfect! I triple stacked foam tape to allow for the bulkiness of the cardstock cutouts but some of them seem to remain clumped together. The overall effect was reached and I am happy. The cutouts include tote bags, clutch purses, sunglasses, lipsticks, bottles of sunscreen, and coffee mugs.

The inside stamped greeting was "shop 'til you drop".  Money was in a paper pocket embellished with another tote bag.

Gingers, Huggers and Snowflakes

Sounds like it could be a political commentary, doesn't it? It isn't. I'm in my happy place, making things, not ripping people apart over politics.

First off, allow me to introduce you to Hip Ginger, a stamp and die set from Simon Says Stamp

I fussy cut mine while sitting with friends who were also working on Christmas paper crafts. I stamped the gingerbread men and their accessories on colored cardstock and assembled them onto cardstock that will become gift tags. I added a bit of colored pen or pencil embellishment to a few and used a black gelly roll pen on the eyeglass frames. I decided they needed eyes rather blank circles, so I I colored irises with a black Copic multiliner and added white glints to their eyes with a gelly roll pen. A twisted red and white cord was added to complete these tags.  

Here is a close up of one of the gingerbread men. 

Next up is Woodland Critter Huggers, a die set from Lawn Fawn. I also used Winter Add-ons for the Critter Huggers, also by Lawn Fawn. The basic set gives you the animal body parts, the add-ons provided the hat, scarf, mittens and small items that the animals could hold. The die set illustration shows the raccoon, fox and deer. The pig and cow were ideas I used from Jess Crafts.

The dozen below are going to be a gift to a friend who I hope will like them for her family members. The critter arms can hold a small piece of wrapped candy, such as a Hershey Nugget, a York pattie, etc or a candy cane. They can also hold a gift card. 

Last but not least, here are my snowflakes. They are made from three layering dies from Birch Press Design. This set is called Glitz Snowflake Layer Set. 

I've only made them in these color combinations so far but plan to do more. I was asked if they were difficult to line up. Not at all. The secret is to begin with a good quality cardstock that has some body to it.  Less expensive, thin cardstock doesn't release well from the die. I used glue on these, lining up the center opening and then one series of three small circles on one arm of the snowflake. That lined everything else up well. I haven't decided on a card for them yet, but I think it will be a plain card with a simple greeting inside. One snowflake will fill up the front of a standard card and mail easily. I will attach a hanging chord, securing it to the inside of the card. Recipients can add these to packages or perhaps hang them in a window or on a tree. 

Floating Doxie Card

Before the card info, a short explanation on the end of the Be Thankful For challenge. I am not unthankful, I just can't write about specific prompts on specific days. My inner voice said not to start this but the bulk of me prodded me to try. Losing two days to a migraine headache put me behind on more than the challenge. Since I don't need artificially induced stress, I'm back to cards and crafts.

I made this card for a friend's birthday. Her dachshund is an important part of her world. She lives in Florida where things grow and bloom much longer than here in Michigan. Also, she has a pool. Combine those elements and this is the card that I made. 

People who stamp and make cards know about masking part of an image when combining two or more stamps. I was going to use that technique but the inner tube wasn't quite the right size for the doxie image. 

These are the stamp sets I used: Newton's Nook Dress Up Doxies; Newton's Nook Floaty Goat; and Simon Says Stamp's Showers and Flowers. 

 

Each of the stamp sets are clear. I didn't stamp the "hot dog" doxie, the inner tube, or the umbrella, I traced them. I held plain copy paper over the first image to a window and lightly traced the dog's head with ears extended. I roughly drew the inner tube and adjusted it for size before adding the umbrella. 

I could have drawn all of this but this was quicker and I liked each element as is. I didn't need to reinvent the wheel. I cleaned up the sketchiness of my image and outlined it with a Copic Multiliner. The angle of the dog's hind legs is the same as the goat's but I shortened them and didn't trace the hooves. The front legs might be a bit too short in comparison, but this is a card, not an anatomy illustration. 

The image is colored with Copics. A black gelly roll pen was used on the nose and a clear gelly roll pen was used on the inner tube. I cut the image out and glued it to paper from my stash that I felt looked like pool water. Here is the image before fussy cutting, and the pool paper behind it. 

I had a cute image going, but it wasn't quite enough for the front of the card. Tim Holtz and Sizzix to the rescue! I used Funky Flowers #1 die set to make the foilage that frames the image. 

I like how this turned out. If you are interested in doing something like this, here is a MAJOR tip for you. If you have a scanner, copy your completed image just before coloring. When I use this again, I will adjust the color so that it prints in a light gray tone. I'd rather darken the lines myself with a marker after coloring a printed image. Besides not needing to do the work behind this composition again, I can enlarge it if I want. I don't have "fancy" programs to do that, I put the image in Word and enlarge it before printing. My Brother printer, scanner and copier combo handles Copic friendly paper well. 

November Challenge Day 4

Day 4 of the #bethankfulfor challenge is Home.

When we bought our house, we didn't think it was going to be our forever home, but it didn't take long to realize this is where we belonged. We considered moving once, but the reasons to stay outweighed the reasons to go and we added on instead. 

If memories took up physical space, this house would not be large enough to hold them all. I am thankful for the love and laughter that has permeated this house and made it Home. 

Painted in 2008, shown at a student art exhibit

November Challenge Day 3

Thankful Challenge, Day 3: Senses

I am thankful for eyes that see the beauty of my family, friends, and nature.

I am thankful for ears that hear what they say, sometimes even when they don't actually say anything.

I am thankful for speech to tell them that I love them, and occasionally warn them of what I see as dangerous. Speech has a way of changing in a quiet woman as she ages. 😉

I am thankful for a nose that sometimes takes me down memory lane. Baby powder. Arpege (a rare thing to smell now). Chocolate chip cookies. Bonfires. Lumber (not in that order). Brut. ❤️

I am thankful for the feel of a pen in my hand, a keyboard beneath my fingers, glue or paint as I peel it off my skin, and yarn as it slides between fingers to needles. None of these compare to feel of a loved one's kiss, hug or hand being held.


Regardless of your preferred political party in the USA right now, I think everyone can agree that people are tense and tired of everything. This Thankful challenge is a good reminder to calmly look around us, find the positive, and work on recognizing that in everything and everyone.