Yard Work, Crafting, & Girl Time

Well, this past weekend we decided to clean the yard up & get it ready for fall...that meant cleaning out flower beds, trimming hedges, gathering up the leaves (we do not rake...we use the riding mower with the bagger), discarding most of the potted plants from outside, planting mums, repairing the flag pole & several exterior lights, putting up fall decorations (flags, scarecrows & pumpkins)....Whew! we managed to get it all done in two days and the yard look great...will put up the rest of the Halloween decor this weekend.

Despite all the outside work I did manage to craft a little....

These are for a tag swap...the turkey is a felt sticker I had...use what you have:)

I also worked on a Cricut Cut for a swap...the witch is from Celebrate with Flourish cartridge and the title is for Designer's Calendar...I really like the witch...will post a picture when it is all done.

This week I have had a lot of girl time...Monday was craft day at my house. I made a big pot of soup for lunch, Juanita brought a cake to celebrate Debbie's birthday & we made pumpkins!

They are made from orange slice candy....I have made them for several years for Jarek to hand out to teachers and John to take in a basket of them in to work to share. This was a fun, but simple craft that allowed us lots of talk time:)

Wednesday is always card day...we hit a few of the local stores for make-n-takes...here are this weeks...

This is a candy bar holder...I love the little bear.

On this card we used a resist technique...I like the technique, but think the card needs a few finishing touches...trim around the image, stickles to highlight the cardinal....will post a pic after I give it my personal touch.

I have a swap to finish this week & several layouts I would like to get done....some pictures to come!

Do something creative today...you will feel better.

Rush Job

Had one person who was not able to complete her cards for the swap this month, so I decided to make a set of cards to make up for hers. I was limited on time & did not want to have to go out and purchase anything, so this is what I came up with...



The leaf paper is quite pretty, but I added the strip of handmade paper along the bottom for dimension & used the edge punch for interest. The ribbon keeps it from being flat & I just love the stick pens...but I wanted a little interest so I added a few beads to it for color. I think it turned out quite pretty for a 'quickie card". Now to work on my other swaps...tags & Cricut cuts.

Healthy habits, girl time & crafting

"Good habits once established are just as hard to break as bad ones." ~ Robert Puller


Day 3 of building my healthy habit of working out daily...in the morning. Now I am not a morning person, so this has been a challenge. Good news is I didn't want to kill someone half way through my workout today, so I must be getting used to it:) Maybe I can go from a night owl to an early bird...at least for workout purposes...I still don't want to have a conversation until I have had at least 2 cups of coffee.

Had a wonderful girls' day yesterday...we went to Cardiology (make-n- take) at Simply (local store), lunch out and then to another store for another make-n-take. Made for a nice mid week break.



LEFT: quilting technique...very pretty
RIGHT: love this stamp, going to add crystal effects to the apples for dimension & then send to my grand daughter.


We did this card last week...love it...it has GLITTER! Like the dimensional technique, too.

Today it is business as usual...laundry, bills to pay, dogs to walk, baking, etc....going to try to slip a little crafting in there somewhere:)

Whirlwind Weekend

Even though it was a long weekend (4 days for us) it went by all too quickly. We made a trip home to visit my grandmother who is very ill. This was a very emotional, but necessary trip for all. We also visited with other family: Aunt & Uncle who we haven't seen since.....don't know when even though they live minutes from my Mom-Mom; my sister. this was the first time we have visited with her & her husband since his accident last year. He has had a lot of ups & downs since his accident & his vision is not getting better, so...all around, very emotional.


During our long drive home I had time to reflect on the visit. First, it brought into perspective what is really important in our lives. Second, it made me realize that we are very fortunate in many ways. Thirdly, it made me appreciate that I have a family and while we are not all close, we are there for one another when needed.


Finally, I have to share a picture I took on our way out of town....



whether is was lack of sleep, emotional duress or what; I found this sign to be hilarious.

Now, back to the real world...laundry, bills, homework, etc. Definitely some crafting too...if nothing else, this weekend made me realize that life is too short...do what you love & tell the ones you love how much you love them.

Busy little bee....

"Always gotta keep busy or the voices start telling me to do wild things," ~ Steve Brown

So true...there have just been so many emotional things goign onthat if I dont' keep busy I will probably go nuts....especially as they are things that I have no control over. My crafting has benefitted tremendously! Here are a few things I have been working on...


Page kits for a swap...I love the dogs on the Paper Pups Cricut Cartridge:)





Back to School page for my son...he is in the 7th grade & I still embarass him with a picture at the bus stop!

Title block for a swap...love the frog, can't wait to get the other pieces so I can do a layout.

Halloween card for swap... I just learned this wrapping technique & thought it was perfect for a web. I am very pleased with this card.



Layouts for my grandaughter's book...did similiar ones for my grandson.


I have really been using my Cricut more. I think it is having more room to work and all my cartridges are out where I can see them.

Today my goal is to mail all my swaps & finish up some journalling on a few pages....