Happy Halloween!

My friend and I went through a corn maze

this afternoon!  It was so cold and

breezy that we gave our hayride

tickets to a young couple, but

we still had a lot of fun.  I've

only been through one maze

 years ago with my two

oldest grandsons and Cody.  They

were probably about 5 and 6 at the

time and had a blast.  It was much

warmer that day!!!

bookmark card

Since I'm pretty sure Pam

(my daughter in law) doesn't read

this blog, it's probably safe to

post this card.  It's going to be

a hard birthday for her.  She said

she wasn't going to celebrate.  But 

I also know that her dad wouldn't

have wanted her to do that.  As well,

she encouraged Cody to celebrate his

birthday after John died.  So while

I'm not going to make a big deal

about it, I did want to give her a little

something.  Since she loves to 

read, I thought a bookmark

card might be in order.  

Card with bookmark on front

Card with bookmark removed

Card inside

I was pretty pleased with how it came out.

Shaker card

OK, so I know I said I wasn't good at

shaker cards, but I just had to

try one I saw on pinterest.  I didn't 

have any sequins which probably

would have looked better,

but I think it looks all right

anyway.  Those are micro

beads inside.  They are about the size 

of the head of a pin.  Maybe smaller!

It came together perfectly

the very first time.  I couldn't

believe it!  Well, I guess the

quote is true.....

Another Bible page

Another Bible page.  I really should

not have undertaken this project.  I

get frustrated with myself because my

artistic ability is less than nothing.  That's 

pretty impressive if you think about

it.  I mean, I can't even draw a stick

figure.  I did one today

that I totally messed up and

not only would I never show another

soul, but I don't even want to look

at it ever again!!!  I guess God doesn't mind 

and that's what counts.  As for this one, I

blatantly copied the whole thing.  Except

for the "love" stamp and you can't

exactly call that mine either.....Well,

maybe someday I will get better.

If not, It's for God anyway, not

for anyone else!  And since He

gave me no artistic ability whatsoever,

I guess He understands.  (I hope!!)

Ghiradelli boxes

Last year I didn't celebrate Christmas, or 

any other holiday for that matter.

Now I guess I need to move back into

the land of the living.  So, I have begun

to work on some Christmas projects.

It's hard to do these boxes for

one simple reason:  I LOVE Ghiradelli!  

Especially the sea salt carmel

and naturally that's what I bought.

Since they are made of paper

rather than cardstock they're a bit

floppy, but I don't think the recipient

will mind with the delicious 

candy inside!  

 

I have some other projects in

mind as well.  Money doesn't go around

with so many grandchildren...so

they get handmade gifts instead,

with lots of candy to sugar

them up and make them

insane for their parents!

Isn't that what good grandmothers 

do?  It's called payback, kids!!!

Angels watching over us

I am so thrilled with how these cards

turned out.  I just wish the picture would

show the shininess of the

perfect pearls.  This is a dusting

rather than  painting like the

last one I posted.  You use a sticky ink

pad called an embossing pad.  Then

you dust the perfect pearl

powder over the image and set

it with a spritz of water.  As you

can tell, I am into the angel image

at the moment!

I got leaves raked last night~there will

be plenty more before it is

all said and done.  It was good

to get some exercise and be out

in the fresh air.  My neighbors 

invited me over to  have some

barbeque with them.  It was

nice to get to know them a little

better since they have been

mowing my lawn and weed whipping

all summer!  What a blessing that

has been!  I was hoping

at some point someone would move

in that I could get to know.  The

house has been empty for years.

When they moved in at the

beginning of the summer I would

never have guessed that they would

want to mow for me all summer!

God is good.  It's been hard

for me to do things like that with

the rotator cuff tendonitis.

bookatrix and gift box

A bookatrix I made last night and

a gift box for it.  Since I am mathmatically

challenged and since I couldn't find

a template or instructions for it

anywhere on the internet (believe it or not)

I had to figure out the box on my own.

It took a couple tries, but I finally got the top

to go over the bottom without being too

big, so I was pleased.  On the right,

the tag is a shaker with tiny beads

like the one in the post the other

day.  I usually don't like making

shaker cards because I'm

not good at it, but the micro

beads lend themselves well

to this type of card.  And

it looks so great on the bookatrix.

I  hope the person it is intended for likes it.

Life is a circus

About a month or so ago,

Sam's husband, Dave, and I

were goofing off during the church

service.  She was giving him "the eye"

because this is distracting for her

while she is signing.   Dave

told her, "You can't put two clowns

together and not expect a circus!"

So....when I saw this circus stamp

I just HAD to get it and make him 

a card!  I already had a set of

carousel horses so this card

came together perfectly!!
To paint it I used a product
called "perfect pearls".  It's a powder
that can be used in various ways,
one is to use a tiny bit of water
and make a paint from it. 
It's really shiny, but I don't think
you can see that well from the picture.

Other craft projects

Today will be a difficult day

for everyone involved.  There is no way

around it, you have to go 

through it.  You never get

"over" the death of a loved

one, but the acute pain

does ease with time.  This 

has brought up some emotions

for me that I would rather

not have had to deal with again,

but it makes me more aware

of what she is going through

and helps me be more of a support.

 

 

These are some candles I made a while back.

I used alcohol ink which is an ink

with an alcohol base.  it dries quickly

and leaves vibrant colors.  It can be used

on any non-porous materials.  I've used it

on metal and photo paper as well. The

candles are completely safe to burn

once you take off the stickers.

This is called a bookatrix.  Don't ask me why!

It measures approximately 9.5 x 5.5

and does not close like a conventional card.

Most people make special card

boxes for them.  I think the

shaker tag really adds a lot.

I haven't made one in

quite a while so I think I will make one

today for a friend of a friend.

She is going through some health

issues and needs a lift.  I hope

I can still remember how to

make them!!

 

 

Sympathy cards

These are the other two cards.  The one on the 

left is for Pam's brother and his wife,

The one on the right for Pam and Cody.

They spent some time yesterday going

through photos and deciding

which ones to take to the memorial.

One of the things that will be there is

Dennis' bicycle.  That man could

ride!  He would ride 25 miles a day

from home to work and

back again and work an 8 hour shift!

He loved to ride his bike. For his

60th birthday everyone went

together and bought him a new

fancy schmancy one.  He was

 speechless!  He got a lot of pleasure

from the outdoors, day or night.

He loved looking at the stars and

just enjoyed the world

God has given us.

Sympathy

Pam's father, Dennis, went to be with the Lord

early yesterday morning.  He will

be deeply missed.  Of course, this

is bringing up memories for me of going

 through the same thing .  Life marches on and

the ones who are going through this difficult

time are still "stuck" in the moment, memories

and pain.  I made a vow about a

year ago to God that if I had occasion

to know a widow that I would be

there for her as long as she needed

me to be~however long that might

be.  Grief knows no time limit.

So God is holding me to my vow

and I intend to fulfill it.

 

 

The pictures are backwards, the bottom is the

front and the top is the inside.  I will

probably post Pam and Cody's tomorrow,

but this one is for LuAnn (Pam's mother

and my good friend for 15 years).

Calming the storm

I love this saying!  It is so

true.  Sometimes the storm

rages on, but if you hold on

to God, He will get you through.

I look back on some of the

storms in my life, things I didn't

know how I would get through, 

and now I can see His hand on

the situation.  We can't always see it

while the storm is raging.  I

guess that's where faith 

comes in!

Some very sad news, my daughter in law's

father had a massive brain bleed last

night and was put on life support. 
They have since taken him off and

the doctors have told them it could be hours 

or days.  He is a strong healthy man

besides this freak accident, but I hope

he does not linger on for his family's 

sake.  The one blessing in all this

is that he is saved.  Please pray for Dennis' 

family.  thanks.

New Toy!

I have been wanting this matchbox die for

quite a while, but I wasn't willing

to pay 30.00 for it.  Even with a

40% off coupon it was still pricey.

I happened to look at the 

clearance section and there it was,

on clearance for $17.99.  With my

40% it was a little over 10.00!  Naturally, even

though that's not what I went to 

Hobby Lobby for (like that matters)

I snatched it up.  It was the only

one, too!  I plan to make 

bunches of them, decorate them

for Christmas and fill

with little candies.

 Then I will give the little

kids a lunch bag of match boxes.  That

will keep them busy for 5 minutes

or so.  They are so easy to make.

It will take longer to decorate

than to make them up!  

Many people make accordian

scrapbooks as well and put tiny 

pictures, sayings, things like that

on the pages.  I may try

that.  There are lots of tiny things

you can put in them.  Jewelry, 

beads and other things for

craft makers.  I'm very happy!!

My new bird and a notepad

Ok, it is not a REAL bird, but he's cute nonetheless.

His name is Ribbie, which my sister

suggested.  What is strange about that

is that (this could only come from the

mind of a child) I used to call her "standing

ribroast" when she was a kid. I then

shortened it to "ribroast" and finally

"Ribbie".  Why did I do it?

because she got upset about

it, of course!

Isn't he cute??

Yesterday a friend sent me a picture of an empty

notepad I made her.  What could I do?

I can't let her go without a notepad, lol.  

It's not like I don't have them laying around...

So I made her another.  The picture was

taken before I tweaked it a little

and added some leaves to the flowers.  I was

too lazy to retake the photo

since I already had it uploaded to the

computer.  But it looks OK this

way, too.

Journal for Bri

My granddaughter, Brianna, told me the other

day that she wanted to start journaling, so I offered

to make her a journal.  This is made from a

composition book you can pick up at walmart

or any dollar store.  I put a ribbon under

the paper so it can be tied at the

side.  Sorry, Bri, no lock on it.

I love the paper design.  I don't know

if she will or not, but I hope so.  If not, 

I can always make her another!!!

I'm going to dinner tonight with a friend.

I would not have met this woman

if not for John's death, as she is

the social worker for hospice.

I'd rather not have had to meet

her, but her friendship has

been very special to me.  It's

strange how God can use something

very hard or sad for His glory.  I 

guess that's why James said: 

 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, 

whenever you face trials of many kinds"

(James 1:2)

 

It's not fun to go through trials, and I'm not sure 

anyone but James and Paul would find joy in it.

But it does bring a new strength if we 

trust God.  I am very sure had

John not gotten sick he would not

have found Jesus.  Equally, I am sure

that I would not have the closeness

and trust in God that I have found 

since he was diagnosed.

None of us wants to go through

trials, but 

"We know that all things work together for good

 to those who love God, to those who 

are the called according to His purpose."

( Romans 8:28)

So I choose to trust God even though

sometimes it is counterintuitive.

Stitched monogram note cards

I love the stitched cards, very relaxing for me (unless

the pattern is difficult) I made monogrammed

note cards for several friends a while back.  

I should make some more.  They are really fun

to do.

Here comes the colder weather.  I know it can't

stay warm forever, but every year

I think more seriously about moving south or

maybe back to California.  Less humidity

there.  I lived in Charleston for about

three years and love it there, too.  But if I moved

anywhere, I wouldn't know anyone and

that would be hard to do, so I guess I'll

just stay around here and complain 

all winter.  I did my best not

to complain about this heat this past

summer, being glad for the warmth, but it

wasn't that bad of a summer anyway.

Unless I have to go out, I pretend

I'm a bear and just hibernate through

the cold months.  Maybe I'll

get some more stitched patterns

to work on!

Meet the mutts!

Sorry no post yesterday, but my son and wife came over and also his kids, 

and they stayed the night with me (the kids) and went

to church with  me on Sunday.  Bri has expressed an

interest in learning sign language!  She's spending the 

night Friday and going to class on Saturday with

me.  I am beyond excited.

Anyway, to the dogs.  They are both shelter dogs.

B'Elanna is a malti poo (maltese and poodle)

and Neelix is a yorkie.  The names are

from Star Trek Voyager in case

anyone wondered.  Everyone wants to 

know where I came up with such names.  The

vet's office laughed at B'Elanna's name as I was

spelling it for them.  Well, John was making

fun of me, too, in all fairness.  They have

really helped me through John's death.  

Being able to hold on to something living

when you are going through a hard time

helps tremendously.  B'Elanna is very sensitive

to my moods.  When we brought Neelix

home we didn't realize he was sick.  He's much

older than her and the shelter wanted to 

get rid of him, I think.  We weren't even

sure if he would survive.  I didn't know

dogs got colds (this being my very first

experience with dogs) but he also

had bad teeth and that didn't help.

Once we got him well the vet went

to getting those teeth taken care of.  Had we

not come along he probably would have

been euthanized, so God really had

a plan there.  He had a plan all the way around

because I never thought I liked dogs.  He knew

way ahead of time that I would need their

comfort.  But then He knows all.

Neelix is wearing a halloween costume and none

too happy about the situation.  B'Elanna on

the other hand, loves to be dressed and 

will even put her head and arms forward

just like a kid!  She also rubs her

eyes like a tired child.  They are 

both a lot of fun!

Sadie

This is my "old woman" Sadie.  It's a good thing

I named her a girl's name because eventually she started

laying eggs.  She hasn't done that in quite a few years,

and for that I'm grateful.  She tried valiantly to hatch

them and laying takes a lot out of a bird.

Sadie will be 21 years old on Monday!!  I'm

thinking of taking her out for a drink since she

will be legal. Do you think people will look

at me strangely?  Sadie used to talk, but

quit a few years back.  I guess she

got tired of trying to express herself!

She said the usual, hello, pretty

bird, etc.  Only a few things, but they

were pretty understandable.  She also

wolf whistles.  Don't all birds??
Well, OK, Lili and Luna don't.

A year ago she had a broken leg.

That was an experience.  She had just

had her wings clipped and tried to

fly.  She twisted her leg on the landing.

When I get her up in the morning she's usually

hanging on the cage door.  I tell her to get off and

she climbs down and sits on the perch

until I open it.  When it's time for bed

I tell her to get back in and she walks in

all by herself.  Which is more than I 

can say for Lili!  Luna usually hangs out 

inside her cage so I don't have to

worry about getting her back in.  She's

more cooperative than the other

two anyway.  So tomorrow I'll introduce

the dogs and then I'll get back to the cards!!

Luna

This is Luna, my gold capped conure.  Conures are

EXTREMELY loud birds.  Suns are the worst, 

but she isn't far behind.  Unless Lili is tuned up (and then

you can hear her the next block over) Luna is 

far louder than her, believe it or not.

Years ago we had our deck closed in

to make a four seasons room.  It's

so nice because when the birds

start getting loud all I have to do is close

the slider and it blocks out most of the

noise.  Of course, living with them,

I'm pretty good at blocking out the noise

anyway, but there are days....

She doesn't talk, but that's OK.  She's a real

comic, likes to hang upside down and hide

in her "happy hut" which is a tent that

hangs from the top of her cage.  Her

favorite foods include grapes and almond

slivers, but she will eat pretty much

any kind of nuts.  She's not very adventurous

when it comes to people food.  Lili loves bananas

but Luna won't touch them.  They all

have such distinct personalities.

Introducing...

This is my girl, Lili (Liliana)  Isn't she gorgeous?  She's a scarlet

macaw.  They are known to have quite the attitude.  I

was cautioned by multiple people not to get a

scarlet but I was sure I could handle her.

 There are days when I wonder...lol

Macaws are not known for their talking abilities.

She does say a few things, though. "Good girl",

"is that better?"  (That's a cue to scratch her head).

"hello" naturally.  don't they all?! She also

yells "B'Elanna" when the dog starts barking.

'Whatcha doin'?  HUH?"  and "Step up"  She said that
to the vet the first time she
went.  The vet got a big
laugh out of that. One of her

favorite things to do is to hang upside down

on her toys, flap her wings and scream.  She also loves

 the orange and pink toy shown here.  It's a foraging toy so

it comes apart in the center.  she puts the pink

part on her head and puts her beak inside the

orange bottom and makes noises.  She likes

the different sound it makes.She's a lot of fun to

watch and cheers me up when I'm feeling kind 

of sad.  Who can help but smile at an upside

down parrot screaming in fun?!  Well, maybe

some, but I'm used to the noise.
And for any of you eagle eyes out there,
yes, those are pez dispensers.  I have
about 800 of them.

Make it so!

I'm happy to report that Dennis is

on the mend.  He will probably be in hospital

for at least the rest of the week, but they are

moving him to the rehab section today to teach

him how to move around with the braces he will have

to wear for several months.  His short term memory still

isn't the best, but I think that will straighten

itself out soon.  As I said before, he is a big

Star Trek fan, so I couldn't help but make

a card like that.  I love the expression on Captain Picard's

face.  so appropriate for the caption!

I'm excited to say my Bible page has

gotten 320 likes so far and  lots of really 

great comments!

 Although this is supposed
to be about my worship,
it's always nice to have validation from
other people who are doing this
as well.

 

My brother in law is on  his annual fishing

trip with his brothers/nephews, etc.

so Laurel (John's sister) and I

are going to lunch today.  I'm looking 

forward to that.  I worked for

them for years before I met him, so I've been 

friends with them for about 27 years.  I met

them when Cody was a year old.

Later, I'm going to help at the food

pantry at the church here in Fremont.

It gives me a chance to say hello

to everyone as I attended there for

about 8 years.  I miss them, but

I am where God wants me and

that's where I want to be!

Thy Word

This reminds me of the song, "Thy Word"

by Amy Grant.

One of the biggest thrills of my life

was seeing her in concert in Hollywood.

She must have been about 19, didn't even

have a band yet, just two huge speakers.

It was held in  high school.  

Afterward, we stood and talked to

her for about 10 minutes just like

you would any other person.

I have always been a big fan

of hers, so to have that

experience is something I will

never forget.
Wow, I posted this on the facebook
group I joined and within 10 minutes had
almost 50 likes!  This is the first
one I was brave enough to post.

Yesterday a friend told me that she

had two people in her life who

really lived their faith and that one

of them was me!  I was so

blessed to hear that she saw

Jesus in me as that is what I

want people to see.  Not me,

but Jesus living in me.  My greatest

desire is that I can be "Jesus

with skin" to someone who is

hurting.  We never know, we

may be the only person they

see Him in.  So we need to

live our faith every day.

I need to remember this 

while driving!!  Just because

the other driver can't hear me

yelling at him, Jesus can.

New baby

I'm going to be a great grandmother

in December.  I wasn't

too happy about it at first. 

I know how hard it is to have a

baby so young and she is young.  But...

every new baby is such a blessing, 

so I'm warming to the idea.  I LOVE
babies!!!

 I told her I would make birth

announcements for her.  I plan

to include stamps as well, since

I know they don't have much money.

Shhhh.  Don't tell them!

I am planning a new Bible page.

I'm not sure when I will do it, but I've laid 

the idea out in my head.

(not that that always helps!!)

I have so many ideas

but I don't want to do them just to do them.

I want this to be part of my worship.

Something I meditate on as I 

am creating the art.

I need to slow down and be

thoughtful about it.

Happy Sunday!

I finally found the cards I was looking for.  

This was during my "quilling period".  

I am not good at it, and didn't really like it much,

but I wanted to try it and I think the cards

I did make turned out OK.

There's two more I might  

put on here at some point.

You have to step out of your comfort zone 

every now and again.

I have seen some gorgeous quilling 

and even stand-alone quilling, 

that is, not glued to a card.  

I am just not that talented....

Yesterday my Daughter in law's father

was hit when a dead tree was blown

into him.  He will be OK, I think,

but is injured badly.  Broken bones in

his spine, neck, broken teeth.  He, 

and the whole family, need prayer.

He's a great guy, wonderful sense

of humour (I appreciate that!) 

and a Star Trek fan-what

more needs to be said about that??!!

Hopefully he will have a quick

recovery.

Believe

A card I made for a new little friend.  I guess I should have 

photographed it before I signed it, lol. 

Anyway, she is a very sweet girl

with a great sense of humour 

and a beautiful smile, so I  thought

she might enjoy a card!  :)

It is cold, windy and rainy.  I don't like

it a bit.  I am, however, grateful for a

warm house, warm slippers and a 

soft quilt to cuddle up under.

My friend, LuAnn, made this quilt

using pieces of John's shirts after he died.

A memory quilt.

Tri fold

This is called a tri fold card.  It folds up and fits in a
Regular invitation-sized (A2) envelope. 
I'ts kind of a pain in the neck, but I think the results are well worth it.

I'm trying to teach myself calligraphy again.
I used to be able to do it...but I see one thing
in my head and my hand draws another.
Kind of frustrating, so I think I should probably
give myself a break. I'm not too good
at that.  I want to do things perfectly
the first time and I can't live up to my own standards!
Usually I can do what I want to do
eventually, except for drawing and origami.
I can watch an origami video, do it along with them
and mine turns out nothing like what they have.
So I finally decided I'd better give up.
Sometimes you just have to do that!

I'm looking forward to this afternoon and
going to lunch with my friend, Dianne. 
I'm going to take my Bible journal
and show her the first one.  I think
she will really like it!

Bible Journal

Since I didn't make a post yesterday, and since I decided to plunge right in to my Bible Journal,

 I decided I'd go ahead and post it today.  

This verse is one that my friend, Dianne, and I text to each other sometimes.  

So it's kind of "our verse"  LOL.  I had to start somewhere and 

this seemed like a good place.  

Of course, there's not really a bad place to start in the Bible, is there?

I love you sign

A set of stitched sign language "I love you" hands for my friend Sam after the first sign language class was over at the beginning of the summer.  I love making these.  so easy and "quick" comparatively speaking.

I am happy to report that my dad is doing well.  The doctor thinks the lowered kidney function was due to a medication he had been taking that caused dehydration.  He's going to have another blood test done since all he had was the one from when dad was hospitalized  6 weeks or so ago.  That will tell him more, but he doesn't expect any surprises, so we were very grateful for that.

I got a journaling Bible yesterday.  I'm nervous to start it, but I'm going to try today.  IF it comes out good....I'll post a picture here.  :)