Northern lights

This is the Northern Lights technique.

I didn't get the sky dark enough,

though.  But I guess it looks OK.

I did one before this but

I messed up the trees trying

to make a "forest".  It did NOT

look like a forest when I got

done with it.  Maybe I'll play

with it again later.

It's cold and frosty but no more

snow right now, so I'm

trying not to complain.  No, that's

just not true.  I'm complaining.

And I have to get up

and out in that cold in a

 minute to get

a blood test.  I hope they

too busy.  It's

a first come first serve basis.

Mini me's

These are miniature composition books.

They came out so well I think

I might make some more.  Not

a lot of decorating (or embellishing

as it's called) on the third one.  That's

just the paper itself and then

a ribbon around the spine.

But, hey, it took me some

serious shopping at 

hobby lobby to find just the right

paper pack.  Like I needed

more paper!  I could start

a scrapbook store with

all the paper I have and when

I go to do a project I rarely

have what I want.  Sigh.

It's a good thing that John didn't 

know about them building

a hobby lobby in the next town.

I'm sure he's shuddering

right now watching me shop there.

Maybe I should call it

"banking" there.  They

take enough of my money! 

But I really love having it

down the street practically.

It's much handier than having

to go to Fort Wayne.

last birthday card set

 

I just love how these 

cards look with the blended 

colours behind the silhouettes.

I could make them all day!  Lots

of piecing together, 

but I think the result is well 

worth it.

It has been cold and rainy the last few

days, but I know the snow will fly again

soon.  :(   I don't look forward

to it, of course, but it's

a necessary evil for this

part of the country.

So as we get closer to

Christmas, I would like

to give a plug to "Pentatonix" and

their amazing song,
"Mary did you know". 

They are currently on tour

with Kelly Clarkson.  Bear in

mind if you watch this video,

that even though it sounds as

though there is music, there is

NONE.  They are a completely

a capella group.  Their sound

is just amazing.  I could listen

to them all day.  Another of my favorites

is "little drummer boy".  Check

out the video.  You won't be disappointed!

Black Friday

Is anyone crazy enough to participate

in black Friday?  I did one

time a few years back.  It was

madness and I will never do it again.

John and I had to call each

other in the store to find the other

one.  He nearly got trampled

trying to get a GPS when they  opened

the huge shipping box and everyone dove

for them.  And what we went for

was a laptop that unbeknownst to

us went on sale at like midnight.  Thanks

for the heads up.  Never again.

Last night I went to Pam's brother's

house for dinner.  It was pure chaos.

Friends, family, children running

everywhere, lots of noise. 

Normally I am

acutely uncomfortable in

situations such as this. Especially when

I don't know most of the people.

But last night it was OK.   I'm not

sure why, but I was not

uncomfortable at all.  I think everyone

had a wonderful time of fellowship

and good food.

 I absolutely love how this

card turned out.  Again, I forgot to

take a picture of the inside.  So the

sentiment reads: "May your

birthday be filled with many

blessings"  and is stamped

on an oval like the front.  

It turned out really well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My sister in law's birthday

was a couple days ago, but

I didn't realize it for some reason...

I'm claiming old age as my excuse: aka

"old-timers disease"

So...I had to make her a belated

birthday card.  I didn't take a picture

of the inside, but I like how the outside

turned out. It looks much better in person.

I'm putting some tissue paper

in between the card front and the envelope

in hopes that it won't damage the envelope in 

transit.  The post office is not always

gentle in it's handling of the mail.

Everyone have a wonderful day

and don't eat too much.

Yeah, right!!

Penguin kiss pouches

Aren't these cute?  I've been

making them to go in 

the bag of goodies that everyone

is going to get for Christmas.

I don't have a punch the right

size so I've had to cut

each little circle out by hand!

What a pain!  But it keeps me

busy and I enjoy it.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow.

I have so many things to 

be thankful for: Family, friends,

health, a warm home to live

in. If I started to count my

blessings I wouldn't have enough

paper in the house-and believe

me- I've got A LOT of paper!

I don't need paper, though, to

be thankful to the One who made

my life and everything in it possible:

Jesus Christ.  Without Him I wouldn't

be here to enjoy this life.

So as I reflect on my life

to this point, I always remember

that no matter the problems

that life throws at us; no matter

the sadness or trials we have

to endure, we always have One

who is right beside us every step

of the way.  All we need do

is avail ourselves of His mercy

and love.

Birthday cards

These are one of the card sets I'm

making for a friend's birthday.

I love how they turned out,

especially the piano, since

I had trouble with that...

Inside there are quotes from Psalms

that have reference to music.

This is a birthday card for

my grandson, Jake.  Believe

it or not, that is embossed silver 

duct tape!  Or as it is know

now, "duck" tape.  Maybe 

since it's silver and not the fancy

designs they have now, this

one is still "duct" tape.  Anyway,

I saw this on pinterest and just had

to try it.  Not as great as I 

hoped it would be, but the tape

wasn't too much so I am happy

I tried it.  Sometimes

techniques don't turn out the

way I think they should, or the

way the picture shows it.

Sometimes they turn out much

better!  So you just have to

try out the ones you like

and see what happens!

We got about 5" of snow

over the weekend and I am

not a happy camper, but 

what can you do?  B'Elanna

loves playing in the snow and

sometimes I'm worried I will lose

her, lol, since she is white.

Neelix on the other hand, hates

snow and will just stand there

lifting one paw after the other 

and shaking.  I can't convince

him that the faster he does

what he needs to do, the faster

he gets to go back in. 

Vintage frame and a card

My friend loved the prayer

journal I made, but wanted it

in a frame.  I told her if she

supplied the frame I'd

make it for her.  I love

how it turned out.  The frame

is just perfect for the vintage

feel of the picture.

And speaking of vintage,

here is the card I  made

for my grandson and his girlfriend

for their baby, due next month.

They are calling him Heath.  I thought

since they were making me a great

grandmother at such a young age

that I should at least get to name

the baby, but they didn't go for that.

I was even going to submit a 

list of approved names for

them to choose from.  I thought

that was more than generous on

my part, but again, they were

insistent upon naming their

own baby.  Selfish brats!  :-D

Just for that, I'm filling the card

with plastic baby confetti

so when they open the card it goes

all over the place!  I have to

find my fun where I can...

Besides, it's been done to

me before and if you are

reading this, you know who

you are, Karen!!!  :-D

Shadowed flowers

I am sooooo thrilled with how

these cards came out!  I think

I'm going to make a set of them 

for a friend's birthday.  I have

several die cuts with different

words, so they won't

all be "believe" I just didn't

think about cutting any 

others at the time.

Maybe I'll make some sets

for Christmas gifts, too.

Lunch tomorrow 

with a friend, then a "silent"

lunch on Saturday.  Even
though I don't "read" sign language

as well as I can sign it myself, 

it will be a good learning

experience.  I am also so

excited about another learning

experience!  My dentist's

assistant knows sign.  So I

asked her yesterday

if she knew anyone who would

be willing to practice

conversation with me.  She said

her husband!  Sign is

his first language since his

parents are deaf.  She said

he could sign before he could talk.

So one day next week I'm

going to go to their house and

work with him.  Maybe her,

too.  A three way

conversation would be even

more challenging.  I can't

wait!!

 

Smile

Well, this didn't come out the way

I saw it in my head, but that

happens sometimes.  It's an OK

card anyway, I guess.  Where

did my muse go?  She

must be on vacation.  I

would wait until it's sub zero 

weather, personally, but

maybe she likes that kind

of weather......

I get to go to the dentist today

for a cleaning. Yipee!  Can't wait.

NOT.  I hate cleanings!!

It's raining like crazy today and I love

rain, but not when I have to

go out in it.  It is supposed to

be in the 60's though, and you

can't complain about that in the 

middle of November, right?!

Silver trees

I am absolutely NOT in love

with this card...but I wanted

to try the silver embossing on a dark blue

background.  It didn't turn

out as pretty as I thought it would.  

Oh, well, back to the craft desk.

And another thing.  Why in

the world am I making Christmas/winter

cards when I hate winter so much?

That is a question for the ages.

Card and candle set

This candle set is for a

hostess gift.  I  was invited for

Thanksgiving dinner and told

I couldn't bring anything but

my drink and a friendly smile....

Well, that doesn't really work for me!

So I hope she likes this.  I was

happy with how it turned out

except I wanted the back one

to turn out a little greener.  I was 

afraid if I played with it anymore

it would turn brown instead

of green so I settled for

greenish.

I was really happy with how this 

came out!  I'm not generally

good at blending, but on one of the

tutorials I watched, she used

a shiny paper instead of regular

cardstock.  And there was a beautiful

blend!  There are a couple

things I would change, but

as I told my little friend Grace,

if you don't point the

mistakes out, nobody notices!

So don't look too close.  But overall 

I am pretty happy with it.

Another certificate!

Class is over for now.  I will miss

going.  They start up again in

January, depending on

the weather, so I am looking

forward to that and to starting

level 2.  Actually, I've taken

level 1 twice, kind of...I started

out when they were about half way

through.  At my church, here

in Angola, they were about

half way through level two

when I started, so I have had

some of that too.  But

vocabulary is vocabulary no

matter where you jump in.

I'm finally feeling a bit better

from this cold.  I spent most

of yesterday ( after

class ) under my

memory quilt watching TV

and dozing on and off.  After

church today I probably will

do more of the same.  By

tomorrow I should be good

to go.  Hopefully it will be another

10 years before I get another cold...

Reindeer!

All the grandkids are getting a gift

bag with cute little goodies

inside.  This is one of them.  It's made with

peppermint patties between 

the two pieces of cardstock.

  The first one was a little messy 

because I was trying to do it before

everything was dry but I doubt

the kids will mind.

 

I made these prayer boxes a long

time ago, but I  just saw the picture and

decided to put it on the blog.

You write your prayer

request on a piece of paper and

put it into the box.  I thought

they were pretty cool.  The

church asked me to teach the ladies

how to make them.  That was interesting

as I am NOT a teacher...  But I

think they had fun.

Tis the season!

Christmas cards have arrived!  Well,

only one actually, as I'm not sending

them again this year. This is for

my cousin, Nancy, who specially 

requested a religious Christmas card.

Unfortunately the front

looks a little washed out as

that part of the stamp is lighter

than the other parts due to the 

design.  But I promise it looks a lot 

better in person!

I'm listening to the Christian station

and they are playing Laura Story's

"Blessings".  I love that song, but

it also brings tears as that is one

of the songs sung at John's memorial.  

It was beautifully sung by

a woman named Becky who played

in the church band.  She played

the piano and sang and if you

didn't know, you might have

thought it was Laura Story herself.

She has an amazing voice and uses

it to glorify God!

Sparkly flowers

I don't think I've posted these yet.  I made 

them a while back, but I love them, 

so thought I'd share. 

I think I'm getting a cold. This is

significant because I haven't been

sick in probably 10 years, maybe

more.  But note that I said 

I THINK I'm getting a cold.

I'm not really sure.  I have

such a good immune system that

sometimes I think I'm getting

sick and I don't.  I'm not complaining...

I'm getting together with a very good

friend tonight for dinner and looking

forward to it very much.  She's the one

who was in Florida for a week, so

I haven't seen her for a while.

We usually try to get together once

a week and have lunch or

dinner.  It's a good way

to keep a friendship going strong,

don't you think?  :)

 

And now I must get the 

oil changed in my car before

I blow up the engine.....

Man cards

I am not good at making cards

for men, but my dad and my

brother in law have birthdays this

month one day apart so I thought

I'd better get to it.  I always go

to Pinterest for ideas for this

type of card and found one

I liked.  Mine is way different from the one

I saw on the site, of course.  I didn't

have the stamp they used anyway

and good thing as I didn't like

that lighthouse stamp.  I happened

to have a lighthouse stamp, though,

that fit the bill just fine.

I added a bit of bakers twine

to make it look a little

more nautical.

It  looks like it's going to be a dreary

day today.  I don't mind that, but

I'm not crazy about the damp and

cold.  This is fall, after all, so I

guess it could be worse.  I'm ready for

another Indian summer, though.

Why in the world do they

call it Indian summer??

Prayer journal

I have a friend that has a birthday next

month and I'm hoping she will like 

this prayer journal.  I think it came out so great!

I love the picture of the little girl

praying.  There is a pocket on
the front inside that a matching
bookmark goes in. 

I had a great time visiting my brother Mark and

wife Stephanie.  Mark and I saw a

Don Henley concert!  It was so much fun!

A lot of fun as well, watching him throw 

a heckler out!  I ate way too

much ice cream and didn't get much sleep,

but, hey, I don't get to get

together with them very often!

New stamp!

I've seen this saying many times on

cards on Pinterest.  When the

stamp showed up at Hobby Lobby,

I had to have it.  It's a very

true saying.  If we waited

for the storm to pass, we might

never learn to dance in the

rain. In my life

at least, there have been storms

that have lasted for a very long

time.   But  you also have

to have some joy in life.

As a matter of fact, the Bible

tells us that we are to have joy in Him no

matter what the circumstances

around us.  Not an easy task,

of course, but something worth

working toward.  I remember when

John died I didn't think I'd ever have

joy again and when I did feel happy

I felt guilty because I was having

 a moment of joy and should be grieving.

But as time passed I came to realize

that my joy was in the Lord and that

grieving was only for a season.

And of course, the best joy of

all, that I will not only see my Savior

when I die but John and I will also

be reunited.  Now there's something

to be joyous about!

I am going to Detroit for the night to spend

some time with my brother and family.

I'm really looking forward to it!  Not so

much the drive, though!  My wonderful

daughter in law is going to babysit

the dogs.  Thanks, Pam!

Acetate card

It's hard to tell from the picture, but

the front of this card is acetate  (clear).

 I love the look of acetate.   And, yes,

it has a bookmark in it, but I 

promise it's the last one!

Yesterday I picked up my

in laws at the airport, all

tan from a week in Florida.  I

am soooo jealous.  Oh, well. 

They bribed me with Outback

which will always work.  Outback

is the restaurant John and I always

went to on my birthday and our anniversary.

Once in a while we went on a different

occasion, but we didn't go often so

it would stay special.  The last time

I was there was a year ago March,

on the first anniversary of his death.

We went once on Valentines day (bad 

idea, it was so full of people).  We had

an Australian waiter!  It was so cool!

 

It's cold, windy and rainy today;

 much different from the 70's 

we had all week.  I'm hoping

the wind dies down a little so

I can rake leaves and work off some

of that bloomin' onion!!

Faith bookmark card

Another bookmark card and I only have

one left that I'm halfway done with.

I went all out and got the

perforation tool which cost me

a whopping 5. so this bookmark

can be easily torn from the card, leaving

the rest of the card intact.  Since

taking this picture I finished the inside

but was too lazy to take another picture.

 

Speaking of pictures, my "friend" sent

me yet another picture of a Florida

sunrise....That's OK.  I love her anyway!  ;)

Buckle card

I saw this card on pinterest

and just had to try it.  Thanks

to my friend, Karen, I have the

slot punch needed to make

the opening for the buckle. 

I thought it turned out pretty 

well.  I think the buckle

might  need to be a tad bigger

so you don't see so much of the slot, but

not too bad for a first try.

My friend, Dianne, is in Florida

this week  (and I consider it

cosmic karma that it's going

to be cold here next week, lol).

She has been sending me pictures of gorgeous

sunrises there.

The first two were beautiful. Now 

I'm pretty sure she's just rubbing

it in.....LOL.  I just want to see

the ocean again before I die.

I don't care if it's the Pacific

or Atlantic since I've seen

both already, but one of them.

I think the ocean is the

most beautiful creation of

God and I felt at such peace

when I was there. 

Special gift

I am not happy with what

came in the mail yesterday.

I got papers to fill out for

possible jury duty!!!  My sister

said that I could be exempted

when they found out about

my multiple personalities since

there are only supposed to be

12 jurors....I guess it's worth

a try!

Anyway...I definitely take lousy

selfies, but this is one of a scarf

made by my new little friend, Grace.

She crocheted it out of neon colors.

Even though I am a grown woman,

I am still a child of the 70's and love

those colors!  

And this is the thank you card-

Bri and Me

My granddaughter, Brianna, came

to visit yesterday.  We had a great

time, watching the movie "San Andreas"

and having ice cream at McDonalds

in the evening.  I love having her

come to visit.  She's been spending

weekends sometimes and going

to sign class and church
with me.  I enjoy sharing

that with her. I decided to

take some pictures and post them

here.  Actually, she took them as

I am terrible at selfies!

Bri and me

Bri with B'Elanna

Bri's accidental selfie, LOL.

Isn't she gorgeous??!!