New computer!!

Thanks to my amazing son, Cody,

I now have a new computer!  One

that he says is WAY more than I

need because he built it for gaming.

You know how fast things go out of

date, so  now he has an even newer

gaming computer and I get this one.

I'm so happy.  He asked for a very

reasonable price, too, especially since

he did so much work getting it rebuilt in

a new case, recovering my bookmarks,

etc. which he didn't think he was going

to be able to do.  Thanks, Cody!!

I made this last night and I like how it turned

out, but I must say, it was a real pain.  It's

not a good picture.  I have yet to figure out

how to photograph that satin paper.  It 

catches the flash no matter where I put it

and if I don't have the flash on it doesn't

show up well.    I really love the paper though!

 The pearls are a light pink, but again, don't 

seem to photograph well.  You get the idea, right?!

We had an awesome thunderstorm last night.

I turned off the TV and crawled into bed.

I love sleeping during thunderstorms.

This is Bri all dressed up for prom and

her daddy, Nathan.  He's as bad as

me.  He doesn't dress up unless it's

 an emergency!  

I'm not signing this morning.  Time

to take a break.  Plus, I don't know

the songs that well, LOL.

Happy Sunday!

Soggy month's end

April is apparently going to leave us

With some good rain. Which is fine with

Me but I'd rather have storms. My needs 

And wants are never taken into

Consideration by mother nature.  I'm

Just glad she's back on her meds.

I'm pretty happy with the card 

I made last night, too. My muse

Has returned and all I can say

Is its about time!

 

I inked the mat, then ran it through

My paper crimper. It used to   be

All the rage to use those. Mats

Are usually 4x5 1/4. I ran the first 

One through and its too short.

Since I am a little dense I  thought 

I must have cut it wrong.  I

Do it all over again. Its still too

Short. Now I'm mystified. I looked

At it for a minute or two and then

Realized the crimper was making it

Shorter. Duh. I cut another longer 

Piece, but I don't think I got it quite

Right. At any rate, here is the inside.

I'm thrilled to say that Cody has

My computer built and was able 

To recover everything. I can't wait.

Typing on this tablet is maddening.

We have to find a day when both

Of us are available because he had to

Upgrade to windows 10 and he wants 

To explain a few differences.

I went to deaf coffee chat last 

Night and a few of the first level

Graduates showed up. That was

Exciting. Today is the last Saturday class.

Happy Saturday!

Love in blue

This card came out exactly how I imagined

It and I'm so happy with it! The only 

Thing I wonder is if I should

Have used blue for the card base.

Still, though, I think it came out really

Well. I found a mother's day stamp

At hobby lobby so this  will 

Probably be a mother's day card.

I did nothing outside yesterday. I kept

Waiting for it to rain but it

Never did. Then I noticed that

B'Elanna's eye was red. I called the vet

And they were able to get her right

In. My vet was off but I like

The one that took care of her.

As I suspected, she has an eye

Infection. She had one years ago

In the other eye. 

Tonight I'm planning on going

To the deaf coffee chat. I'm looking

Forward to that even though I

Mostly watch. I'm not confident

In my skills. I also look forward to 

 the frozen Caramel frappuccino!!

Happy Friday!

Light show!

I didn't get home until about 1045 last night 

And all the way home I got treated

To a beautiful light show!

It stormed earlier, but no rain on the

Way home. It was so far away I didn't

Even hear thunder, but I'm hopeful

For today!

This is probably going

To be a mother's day card for someone

I told I was make one for. I don't

Have any mother's day stamps and without

A computer I have no access to my 

Printer to generate a sentiment. I may

Go to hobby lobby at some point and

See if they have any now that it's

Close. Can you believe its 

Almost May??

Maybe if it doesnt rain I'll go 

Out and move some vinca around.

I had the brilliant idea that when I 

Dig out the weeds from the rocks 

Along the front of the house, I 

Am going to replace them with 

Vinca runners and see if they 

Will cover the rocks!! If the weeds

Can grow in them, then so can

The vinca. Good reasoning. Huh?!

Happy Thursday!!

Shake that phone

Last night I told my sister in law, "I already

Put this in an envelope,but here is a

Picture of a shaker card I made". 

I handed her my phone. She started

To shake the phone. I thought at first

She was trying to be funny, but, no,

She had a brain fart. She can be scatter-

Brained sometimes...

I embossed the "get well soon" in black

On clear vellum, then folded it

Around cardstock, filled it with various

Sequins and sealed it. Then I put

Foam tape all around the back and adhered

It to the card front. Viola!

A frameless shaker card. I saw the idea 

On pinterest. Naturally.

I have to take my in laws

To the airport in a little while

So they can fly to Florida and bask

On the warm sandy beaches.  No worries,

They are not flying United.  I hope

They get sand stuck between their

Toes for the entire week. No, for two 

Weeks. May you have sand stuck 

Between your toes for an entire

Week after returning. Mean, aren't I?!

I have an appointment after that

And then I told someone I would help 

Them out in the afternoon, so it 

Will be a busy day, I like

Keeping busy and helping people.

Besides, I don't want to weed 

And if I'm doing something else I

Don't have to feel guilty for not weeding!

Clever, huh?!

Happy Wednesday!

 

Stained glass vellum

I'm pretty bummed that yesterday

Was the last day of finger spelling 

Class. Marvin and I learned to

Get along, though.  I went from 90 wpm 

To 145 wpm! I thought at first 

That I was misreading it. I missed

So many words, I thought.  Pam said

My brain is recognizing the words

Even though I don't realize it.

Well, I didn't realize it! I haven't

A clue how I did that well.

Granted, its not nearly was good as some

Of the others, but they've been

Doing it a lot longer than me.

On to the card.

On this card, I embossed the flowers

In gold. Then I coloured them on the back

With sharpies. One of these days

I am going to get some prisma

Colours but they are pretty expensive.

I like how it turned out.

I should be out weeding today, but

The poor birds have been in their cages

For two days straight and they

Need some time out. And I don't

Want to weed anyway!

Happy Tuesday!

 

I'm happy for Bluetooth!

This will not be quite as easy as doing it on 

The computer, but I paired my phone and 

Tablet together (because I can't use my

Tablet to take pictures) and now I can

Keep up with my blog. Ingenious!

 This is the second  card I made with the smackin'

Acetate technique. After trying all those years

Ago and having poor results, I'm really happy

With how these came out, I want to do another

With pinks, and maybe a little yellow.  I have

An image in mind for those colours. I'm 

Pretty happy with these!

Church was great yesterday. I signed the

First song I ever signed way back on

1st January, "This I believe" I remember back

Then practicing and practicing and praying, " God,

Just let me sign it perfectly once.."  Now I have a firm

Handle on it. "Almighty" not so much. I messed 

That up in a couple of places. Oh well.,

Tonight is the last finger spelling class and Saturday

Will be the last religious signing class. I will 

Miss going! I'm not sure when the next ones

Start or what will be offered.

Happy Monday!!

purple vellum card

Sorry about the fingers, but the vellum

wouldn't lay flat enough to see the

stamping inside.  I love how this 

turned out and may try more.

The "thinking of you" is stamped on

the outside, but I was getting a glare 

and it looks like it's inside.  I think it 

turned out so cool. 

We had an awesome thunderstorm 

this morning and possibly more later

on.  At least I'm hoping so!

I may be offline for a day or two.  My

computer keeps freezing.  I'm hoping it's

just the mouse, but I'm going to take

the tower over to Cody and he's going

to check it out on his computer and

see if he can figure out what's going

on.  Just what I need.  Another expense.

I hope it's something easy and cheap

that he can fix!

Happy Thursday!

Do it yourself

I've been using Aleen's tack it

over and over for probably 6 years

and still have the original bottle.

Obviously I don't use a lot of

glue dots.  But this is what the glue

dots I make look like:

You can make them any size

you want and it's a whole lot cheaper

than buying them.  This is some old

paper I had from glue dots ages

ago.  I thought I'd pass that along.

 

On to the card:

 

Isn't this cool?  The nice thing about

it is that you don't really have to

line anything up because with the

distress ink it makes a white spot

on the piece below it, so all you have

to do is place it there.  Easy Peasy!

 

I'm going to Fort Wayne today to go

to Olive garden with my friend, Dianne,

then get some bird food which Lili

is almost out of.  Dianne is not a good

passenger-hey, I gave her the option

of driving!  I told her if she freaks

out I'm dropping her off on the side

of the road!  My driving isn't that

bad!  Thank you, Karen, for teaching

me how to drive.  Sometimes I

get in the car and remember that

rainy day -VERY rainy day-

on Remount road.  That was a scary

day!  But I managed to keep the 

car on the road and not hit anything!

I know you were plenty scared, too.

I miss those days!

 

Happy Wednesday!

 

 

Marvin the computer program

Marvin has been out to get

me the whole time the finger

spelling class has been going.

The guy that finger spells has

no emotion on his face and if you

get the words he speeds up.  If you

miss enough words he     will    

go       slow.  VERY SLOW.  Yesterday

I almost doubled my last score.  

Granted, it is still slow.  But I'm

getting better and that's the point. 

I have a program on my computer

that I can practice finger spelling  

with.  The two things that are

different is you can replay it until

you get it right (Marvin won't 

let  you) and it doesn't tell you

how many you missed, just the

ones you got right.  So you don't

get a wpm score.  But it's good

to practice with.  And it's free!

This is the next to last stitching card of

the butterfly collection they just came

out with.  personally, I don't think

that looks much like a butterfly.  The

trail is kind of cute, I guess, but it's

not my favourite of the cards.  It's 

cheaper to buy them in a set but I'm 

thinking maybe I should have just

gotten a couple patterns and called

it good.  The last one I have

to stitch is pretty, I think.

 

It's chilly out again this morning!

I'm hoping it will warm up and I

can get some weeding done, but then

again, if it doesn't warm up I don't have

to do the weeding, so maybe I'm

hoping it doesn't warm up!

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

Special friends like you

I knew I wanted an elegant look

for this card, but I wasn't sure

exactly how I wanted it to come

out.  The card kind of created 

itself!  I wish they would all

do that.

 

I really love how it turned out.  It's

hard to see some of the colours because

it's the silky pastels.  The flowers

are a violet colour and the butterflies

are yellow.  I would love to find a

paper pad with the silky cardstock

only in bolder colours.  Not like

neon type colours, but bolder

than the pastels.  Colours that would

show up a little better on camera

and in person.

 

The service yesterday was awesome.

Coleen did really well on the Easter

songs.  We were all sitting down

since the choir was singing, so I

was facing her and I was signing,

only kind of lower that I would

normally.  She sent me a text later

saying I was an "awesome feeder".

That is someone who shows a sign

when the person forgets it.  I don't

think I was exactly feeding her,

I was pretty much signing along,

but I was happy she felt like I helped.

 We stayed long enough

to practice all the songs one more

time then left and got

coffee and came back for

the 1030 service. 

I just love signing the songs!  

She said she was going to make me

get "Glory to God" right if it killed

her.  It's not going to be pretty.  I

can't get that song for anything, LOL.

I can get parts, but other parts I

really stumble on. 

 

I hope everyone had an absolutely

wonderful Easter and didn't

eat too much candy!!

 

Happy Monday!!

 

The third day

^{Luke 24:  4} While they were wondering about this,

 suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning 

stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed 

with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, 

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ 

 He is not here; he has risen! 

Yes, indeed.  He has risen!!

Church was awesome yesterday.  

I went to practice and at one point

Coleen leaned over and said, "Jesus

is here" and pointed to the back.  I see

this guy come in and said, "he doesn't

look much like Jesus."  She said, "He

plays a really good Jesus."  Ok.  he's been

in a play at some point, right?  So the choir is 

singing "Resurrecting" .  We are signing.  

All of a sudden a light comes from my

left as the door opens and in walks

Jesus.  I quit signing just like that.

She said my mouth was open.  It

probably was.  I know my eyes

filled with tears.  It was amazing!

In the service, even though I knew

he was coming in, I still got very

emotional, but continued to sign.

We signed toward Jesus rather than

to our right as we usually do.  it was a 

very powerful moment for me.  I'm

tearing up right now!

On Easter morning the disciples saw Jesus' graveclothes

 lying on the cold slab still wrapped round 

and round the corpse. Only the corpse was gone,

 much like an empty chrysalis deserted by a butterfly

 who has left to soar free. "He is risen as He said," 

an angel told the incredulous disciples.

Have a blessed Easter and make sure

your children know it's not about the

eggs and candy, it's about Jesus!

Hallelujah!

The good Friday service last night was

a community service with 4 other 

churches besides our own.  It was a

 beautiful service and included, of course,

communion.  There were two special

songs and one of them was the Easter

version of "Hallelujah"  She sang it 

beautifully.  It was very moving.

I made two more journals last night,

switching things up just a bit and I

have to say I like these MUCH better

than the ones I have done previously.

It's a hard call to say which one I like

better.  I love making these journals

and sometimes don't want to give them

to the people they were intended for.

This is one of those times!  But I 

already have two journals that I

haven't written too much in, so I guess

I should finish them first.  They are

each used for a different purpose.

Maybe I should make one for lists.

I'm always losing the lists I make!

It looks like it might have rained early

this  morning, but according to weatherbug,

cloudy skies all day.  Not true for 

tomorrow, of course, so anyone who

is participating in Easter egg hunts make

sure you have an umbrella handy!

Happy Saturday!

Good Friday

Although I can barely stand the thought

of what Jesus went through on

 Good Friday, I'm grateful He found

me worth it.  I will never be worthy,

of course, but He loved me that

much.  Would I die for one of my

children or someone I loved

deeply?  Yes.  Would I die for a 

stranger?  No.  Were we strangers

to Him?  I suppose we were, because

we weren't saved.  But we were also 

His children. I don't claim to understand

how all that works.  But more importantly,

He rose again on the third day.  We

don't serve a god who has long ago

died.  We serve a Living God!  

Only King Forever!!

A prayer journal for a friend.  I had

some nice bling to put at the bottom, but

when I took it off the backing it got all

tangled up.  That's the problem with

using those beautiful gemstone flourishes.

I have another, but it's purple and not

what I was going for.  

 

I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and found

the paper.  It's called "faith" and I thought

it was absolutely perfect for a prayer

journal!  And...drumroll, please....

it was 50% off!  There was also another

 paper pack I was looking at and couldn't

make up my mind, so since they were

50% off I bought both.  Like I need more

paper.  I have enough paper to supply

my own store.   But one can hardly

pass up an opportunity like that.  Right?

Please tell me I'm right.  I need the

affirmation!

 

I supposed I should get moving.  I have

some things that I need to accomplish

today before church tonight.  I 

always have things to accomplish

but they never seem to get done!

 

Happy Friday!

 

Embossed flourish

I love this stamp and don't use

it very much.  I saw it all the

time on pinterest for a while and 

just had to have it and then only

used it half a dozen times.

I embossed the image in white

then used distress ink over the

entire piece, then rubbed off 

any ink that was on the embossed

image.  I think it turned out 

very nicely!

I love my distress inks and word dies!

 

On Sunday I'm going to be signing

the first and last songs, "Mighty Redeemer"

and "Only King forever".  Those are

my two strongest songs and even

though they are not in a row, it's

easy to switch back and forth with

Coleen.  It's going to be a busy weekend

so I'm going to run to the store in 

a little bit and then chill the rest

of the day.  

 

Yesterday I went to lunch with Laurel

(I might have mentioned that, too lazy

to look) then we went to the outlet and

I got a cute shirt and blouse to go

over it.  Now, I'm not wearing the shirt

alone since it is sleeveless.  I do NOT

wear sleeveless or even really short

sleeved items.  But I can wear the

blouse alone, too, so it was worth the

money.  I hate to clothes shop.

Absolutely HATE it.  But this was

relatively painless and Laurel has

good taste, so I trust her when she

says it looks good on me.  I don't think

anything looks good on me, LOL. 🤣

I wanted something different to

wear this weekend.  I remember...

Well, Robin called me and now I

don't remember whatever it was 

I remembered.  So,

 

Happy Thursday!

 

Tarnished metal attempt

Well, I'm not going to try this

again, for obvious reasons...

This was my third-and final-

attempt. Sorry for the flash, frankly

I don't know how to take it off and

I'm not really in the mood to fool

around with the phone.  I guess 

I just don't have the talent to make

something like this, LOL.

 

I went to Easter choir practice

last night.  The words to the song will

NOT be shown (freak out face).  Although

I won't be signing, I want to sign anyway, 

so if Coleen forgets a part, she'll see me

doing it.  We're going to be seated anyway.

I've never even heard either of these

songs.  I don't think she has either.

I also want to pick up the last 2 

worship songs so she's not doing SEVEN

songs.  Don't you think they could have

eliminated a couple?!  And I am not very

good at Glory to God, but worse at the

first two songs, so I figure the last two

are a better bet.  I think I'm going to

just skip the service altogether!  Actually

I'm going to all three services, Friday will

be good Friday, then Saturday service

and two Sunday services, all for more

practice.  We only sign the second Sunday

service so we can practice without too many 

people watching us.  This is definitely going

to have to be a God-thing for me!  If

this is what He wants me to do, then 

 He will take my hands, use them for

His glory and take me and my doubts out

of the equation.  They have no place in

worship, anyway.

 

I'm going to the Great Wall for lunch with

Laurel.  Larry is on his annual brothers/

nephews/sons (anything but women) fishing

trip, so we will have girl-time.  I'm

looking forward to it.

 

Happy Wednesday!

 

Glitzy butterfly

This is the third of six new

patterns.  I added some bling to

the body and the antennae and I

think he/she turned out very pretty!

As always, had a great class last night.

My fingers seemed to work a little

better than usual.  My crooked little

finger causes me some problems.

I can blame it on anything I want!

 

Look what I got in the mail yesterday

finally!!!

 

Sometimes I forget the sign but

I can remember what the hand shape

is, so I think this may come in handy.

Also, just to practice what handshapes

make up what words.  We've played

games like that before-how many words

can you come up with that begin with the

"F" hand shape- for example.  And look-

my name is on the front cover!

 

We had not one, not two, but three 

thunderstorms yesterday!  One was 

at about 1130 pm and lulled me right to

sleep.  You can't ask for more.  I am 

hoping there will be thunderstorms in

Heaven, but of course, there won't

be.  My "human" idea of paradise-

watching a thunderstorm at sunset 

across the ocean with  palm trees 

blowing in the breeze.  Since it will

be paradise there will be no danger

of injury, of course.  Do you think

God will indulge me once in a while?

I can almost hear Him laughing!!

 

Happy Tuesday!