Live the life

OK, I freely admit that I stole

the idea and sentiment for this

card, but I made it my own with

the book page.  It's much different

from the one I saw on pinterest.

I love how the book page

looks behind umbrella man!

It's been raining a little this morning,

and maybe more today.  Tomorrow it

is also supposed to rain...but turning into

snow later in the day.  Tomorrow is 1st 

March, Mother Nature.  I know snow

comes as late as April, but someone

point out to her that SPRING is almost

here!  She doesn't pay attention to

her calendar apparently.

Happy Wednesday!

dandelion puff

I don't  know whose birthday this

will be for.  I'm sure someone has

a birthday coming up since it is

the beginning of the year.

I just love this stitched dandelion

puff.  Remember when you would

blow on it and make a wish?  Wasn't

that like a hundred years ago?

Usually we have many more people

on Mondays than Saturdays for

classes, so I decided to take finger

spelling again as I need it VERY

badly and there's only two people in

the class.  Well, there would have

been three except Coleen is sick so

Sam taught her class and Sam doesn't

sound much better, but is over the

worst.  So it was her granddaughter,

Grace, and I in the class last night.

Under the ever watchful eye of Pam,

which is quite unnerving.  She wasn't

watching all the time, but she was there

so it was almost as bad, LOL.  I am soooo

bad at fingerspelling.   I need to practice

A lot more apparently.

I'm having lunch with Dianne today

and looking forward to that and then

I'm going to sit around the rest of

the day.  Pretty much like I do every

day.  So no excuse not to practice.

Happy Tuesday!

Easter basket

This is a beautiful pattern and so 

quick to make.

I was really happy with how it

turned out.  I think next time I may

use the gold thread for the basket

and words, though.  Maybe metallic 

colours for the whole thing.

I almost missed church yesterday

due to a few mishaps, but I made it in

time to start the songs-since mine were

first....and managed not to get pulled 

over in the process!  Since this is the

end of the month I would expect

to see many more patrols out than

there have been, so I'm thanking God

for that!

Those of you who live in cold

climates, not just Indiana, will

appreciate this poem.  It's

truer than true!

And finally, my silly girl.  I draped some 

paper from her paper roll around her

neck and she actually stood still long

enough for me to take the picture!

Yesterday was fun.  Pam and I chose a

Mexican restaurant from our "restaurant

box" and on the way she texted her daughter

to see if she wanted to join us with her

fiance.  It turns out they were planning

on going to the same restaurant!  So I got

to know both of them a little better and

I enjoyed that very much.

Happy Monday!

Easter carriage

Before I get to the card I have an

"oops" to report.  I forgot to put the

flower centers in before I took yesterday's

card.  Since It was so pale I didn't even

notice, so I know no one else probably did!

I got two Easter patterns yesterday.

Hey, if my friend, Karen, can post

Easter cards, so can I!  I love, love

this pattern!

It makes me think of Cinderella

when I look at it.

Today is a sad day for me.  It's

been 5 years since I lost my birds.

Here is a picture of my beautiful

Captain.  I loved her so much and

she was such an amazing bird.

She died way too soon and I mourn her

even today.  I wanted a macaw with all

my heart and when we saw her at the

pet store the price was so good that

John said we would get her.  She wasn't

weaned yet so the store owner offered

us her sibling.  No, I wanted her.  I traveled

back and forth to Fort Wayne 2-3, sometimes

more, days a week to visit and watch them

feed her.  Finally the day came when they

said we could bring her home and it was

the happiest day of my life.  She had quite 

a vocabulary.  If she couldn't see me she

would yell "mama" or "peek a boo" to 

find me.  She understood that peek a boo

meant someone would appear.  I would cover

my face and then uncover and say peek a boo

and she would get the next "turn" or I would 

hide behind the bed and jump out and say

peek a boo.  She was quite intelligent, but

all macaws are.  They usually don't have a

great vocabulary, though, and she was an

exception to that rule.  I'll never forget my

"beauty".  She brought immense joy into my life.

Here is another beauty:

Miss homecoming queen herself!

Isn't she beautiful?

Happy Sunday!

(Too) pale yellow flowers

This card was an absolute pain

to make, but oh, so worth it!

I think it's one of the best I've 

ever done!

It's kind of washed out looking from

the light, but I hope you can see

it OK.  The bottom of the card is completely

separate, being held together only by the 

diamond panel and the flourish.  It is

much cooler looking in person.  I was thrilled

with how it came out.

 

Deaf chat last night was a lot of fun.  I sure

wish Parrish would slow down, though, LOL.

She's 23 and her hands fly like birds.  I 

catch a word here and there.  I'd ask her to

slow down, but she wasn't talking to me.

She did slow down a couple of times

when we were talking.  She's so sweet.  We

had a good time.

 

This morning I have a trial by fire.  I'm

going to be teaching in Coleen's class

since she has no voice.  She'll be right

there with me, but it's going to be 

way out of my comfort zone.  I know

I'll get through it just fine, but it's

scary for me.  Since I've been learning

sign I've stepped out of my comfort

zone a lot and surprised myself.  Before

John died I would never have done

that because I had him to hide behind

and he was fine with that.  I'm finding

I'm not as shy as I used to be.  Or at

least not for as long with a new person.

 I should probably go get ready.

 

Happy Saturday!

 

Birthday star

My brother's birthday is in

May, so I think I'm going 

to send this to him.

inside:

That star was so fun to make!  I was hoping

I had a "happy birthday" that would

fit in the center, but nothing that tiny.

 

I'm going to lunch with Dianne today,

haven't seen her in more than a

week and I'm missing her!

 Tonight I'm having a quick dinner

with Pam and then to coffee chat,

so it's going to be a busy day.  Actually,

it's going to be a busy weekend.  Class

Saturday morning, I will probably 

go to church Saturday evening,

I will probably go to early service

Sunday morning, then the interpreted

service on Sunday at 1030, lunch,

and class on Monday evening.  I love 

being on the go.  I just wish it was a

little warmer.  It might not be so

bad out but who can tell with the

brisk breeze?  Brrr.

 

Happy Friday!

 

 

Encaustic wax

I didn't have a chance to do much

yesterday.  For the past 5 years I

have been cleaning house for a

friend.  I hate cleaning-his house is

cleaner than mine-but he pays well.

So I looked around and found a

 piece of art I did quite a few years

ago when encaustic wax was a big

thing.  I wanted to try it so much.

So we got the wax, special cardstock,

little tiny iron, and I went to work. 

Other people make such beautiful

things with this wax.  Not me.  I did

manage to get something really cool

out of it though.  I call it "the world"

 I think it kind of looks like the curve

of a planet.  

I was also on a bead tree making kick.

Another thing I was not good at.  These

are a lot harder than they look!

Some ATC cards I made years ago for

a swap.  I was so happy with how they

turned out and now, looking back, I realize

I made mini me's a long time ago.  Who

remembers these things?

Happy Thursday!

Couple in love

I've seen this before, then finally

saw the pattern one day and

decided to try it.  I think it would

make a really neat wedding card!

We got a good taste of Spring yesterday.

The news said it hit 70 degrees!

Today it is supposed to be in the

40's but with the wind I don't think

it's going to feel that way.  I'll

take it.  It's better than snow.

Pam and I go to lunch every Sunday.

we are always saying, "where do you want

to go?" and usually end up going to the

same place.  Which is OK, because we

both love the Peking Buffet, but it's

nice for a change here and there.  She

said we should put slips of paper in a

hat and draw one out each week.  I went

one better and made our "restaurant box"

Isn't that cute?  The box cost me a

 whopping 99 cents. 

Happy Wednesday!

Random acts of kindness

I really thought I posted this, but 

I don't see it anywhere, so here is

a little ATC sized "I love you"

deaf sign.  I couldn't believe

how good it came out!

It's just adorable!  But then I love

anything mini.  Here is another

card:

This one was a little bit more of

a pain, but came out well.

 What I want to do with these is

give them to people if I'm in the store

for example, and see that someone

seems harried or just having a

hard day.  Just a little encouragement.

This is going to be on the back of 

the cards:

I think I'm just going to stick with

the deaf I love you sign, though, and

I moved it so the heart is in the center

eliminating the "I love you".  I thought

that might be a little weird.  Years ago

there was a greeter at Meijer who was

just so happy all the time and sincerely

greeted people rather than just, 

"Welcome to Meijer" and I stopped

one day and told her how much I 

appreciated her smile and happy

attitude.  That's when it would have

been fun to give out one of these

cards.  I still remember her.  People like

that leave a mark on your heart.  I

wish I were more like that, but it's

just not my personality.  So maybe this

is a small thing I can do to make up

for that flaw.

Happy Tuesday!

One shape, 6 designs

These aren't made into cards

yet, but I finished stitching 

them last night . 

I'm not sure why I did the green

one in only one colour.  I started

it late in the afternoon when I got

home from church/lunch and probably

forgot how I was doing them.  Pam 

set an alarm on  her phone so we

wouldn't sit and talk so long, LOL,

and I still didn't get home 

until almost 4:30 pm.

 The designs are fun to make.  I

wish I could find more patterns

for them.

Tonight is class again and I'll

get some more experience teaching.

It's not as bad as I thought it would

be.  I don't know how good a teacher

I would ultimately make, but it's

good experience nonetheless.

Happy Monday!

Thinking of you

I made another card set and I'm

debating who to send it to.  

Same card, 5 colours.  I love this design.

I found it on pinterest.  Yes, I went back.

Today I had pictures of sea horses that 

were "inspired by my sympathy board"

Whaaaaat???

The first class of the semester is this

morning, and there will be classes on

Monday as well.  Sorry if I already wrote

that.  Anyway, after class Pam and I 

are going to spend the day together and

go to the basketball games tonight.  She

interprets for a cheerleader.  Deaf people

can do anything, they just can't hear.

Sometimes it's hard for me to comprehend

how you can cheer or something like that

without hearing, but she does and I think

that is amazing and awesome!

 B'Elanna's sister in law, Pam,

is coming to take care of her.  I used to 

call her "Miss Pam"  before they

were married.  Now I call her "Mrs. Pam".

LOL.  A joke between the two of us. She's

the best.  I did good choosing Cody's wife!

My arm aches from the shot yesterday.

It usually doesn't.  The last one lasted

so long that I decided rather than

make another appointment I would wait

until I felt I needed it.  He said, "I'm here

when you need me."  He's such a great doctor!

I'd better get ready.

Happy Saturday!

Yellow rose (of Indiana)

The yellow rose is only of Indiana

because that's where it was made, LOL

I guess it's more pink.  Maybe it's yellow

in real life and just looks pink, I'm not

sure, but I like it nonetheless.

This is another swap I did recently

It had to have light pink, light

grey and gold in it.  I hope this is

what she had in mind.  It's a little harder

than the standard flower or whatever,

because you don't have a set idea to

follow.  I like them though!

I saw this somewhere, maybe facebook.  I

just thought it was so true.  We really don't

pay attention in today's society.  Everyone 

is paying attention to themselves and 

what they are doing.  Everyone seems to

have their faces buried in their phones

(me included).  I lost internet one day

and realized I didn't know what to do

if I wasn't able to check email, look at

pinterest, etc.  I wondered what I had

done before I had a computer.  It's

a little scary, actually.

Well, I need to get ready to go to Ft. Wayne

to get my cortisone shot.  I am happy that

the fog has lifted.  Unfortunately that

means the cold weather has come back,

but it's really not that bad out.

Happy Friday!

Abstract card set

I'm getting my hair cut today.  Mary

has been cutting my hair for years

and I love how she does it.  So I

decided to give her a set of cards-which

I'm going to do after I pay and run out

the door right after.  I hate having people

look at the cards while I'm there which

is why I almost always mail them even 

if I'm seeing the person the next day.

The picture is a little dark, but I love

how they turned out.  I found a really

great cross pattern last night which 

I'm going to use for another card set.

It's been kind of misty out with lots

of fog.  The driveway is pretty clear, just

a couple patches of ice.  Now I'm

hoping the rest of the snow will go away.

We need a good rain!  it's supposed to

get into the 40's again today, but into the 

50's-60's next week!  Bring it on!

Happy Thursday! 

Spring flowers

In honour of the warmer weather

to come in the next couple of days

I am showing my "Spring flowers" 

swap cards.  I love how they turned out.

I had to double up on one because

there was only 3 patterns in the set.

It's supposed to be in the 40's today 

and tomorrow with possible rain.  I

had heard the 50's tomorrow, but

they must have amended that.

Happy Valentines day!

More mini me's

As you can see, I'm having a good

time making all these mini's.  I'm

pretty sure these animals don't have

blue eyes (especially the panda) but

it's the only teeny tiny gem stones I have.

I even had to cut them off some Christmas

gem stickers.  I need teeny tiny gems stones!

Anyway, the other thing wrong is that Pandas

do not have black tails, their tails are

white.  However, the pattern called for

them and for the sake of art I did not

disagree with the pattern designer.

I didn't have anything tiny enough for

the meerkat; even a pencil or pen wouldn't

have been able to get in there and make 

an eye so the poor guy has no eye.

Here is a card I made with the Panda

ATC.  The dragonfly is pink vellum and

I'm not sure I'm so crazy about it, but

it's there now.

I heard we are having 40-50 degree temps

in the next few days!  I'm so excited.  I

have to change my outdoor lightbulb

and no way am I getting on a ladder

and fiddling with that thing (It's really

old and sometimes hard to get apart) 

to put a new bulb in.  So warmer temps

will be appreciated for more than one

reason.

Happy Tuesday!

Mini me's

I have been scaling down quite a few

of the patterns that I have to make ATC's

and I thought, "how much fun would

it be to have mini's of the animals".

So here are a few of the ones I have

finished so far.

You'll have to imagine the puffin

with an eye because I forgot to put

it on before I took the picture and

was too lazy to take another pic.

I am sending the owl to the pay it forward

blind ATC trade.  I hope she likes it.

I showed them to Dianne and said which

did she like the best because I couldn't

decide and she said the owl.  Personally,

I think I like the Pegassus  the best, but

then, I wouldn't want to send that, would I?

Maybe I'll use it to make a card.

Here is another little mini

This is a card featuring an ATC:

I don't think I've already shown

this.  If so, sorry.  I love how 

it turned out!

The day didn't end too badly yesterday.

I didn't get to go to church but Cody said

he would take off a different Sunday and

go to church.  We all met with Pam for

dinner last night.  Pam, meet Pam..LOL.

We had a great evening!  Tonight I'm having

dinner with Pam, Judy, Coleen and Sam

to talk about the upcoming classes.  Pam

asked me last night what I was doing for

the Monday classes.  Um, I'm co-teaching

with Judy.  "Oh, yeah, I forgot!" 

 It's scary getting older.  I forget more than

I know anymore.  There's a popular theory

on that, though.  I think I read it in

Reader's digest.  When you go into a library

and there are 10 books it's very easy to

just find what you want.  When you go in

and there are 10,000 books, it's not so easy

to find what you want.  When we are young

we have very little information so it's

easy to access.  As we get older we acquire

more information which makes it harder to

acquire the information quickly.    That's my 

story and I'm sticking to it!

Happy Monday!