Not so Lazy Sunday Afternoon

This coming week is loaded with birthdays.  I checked out my stash of cards, but none of them spoke to me, so off to my studio, to see what inspiration might hit me.  First of all, I finished the "Wish" card.  The upper background is a paper sack that some purchase, now long forgotten came in.  But, I love the bag. For the leaves, I used the pouncing technique that we learned in Jennifer McGuire's Online Card Class.  A heavy spritz with pearl water, and after it dried, using Marvy's embossed leaf punches, I had a bunch of great looking leaves. Just a touch of ultra-fine glitter finished them.



  The inside is digital French Market paper, and a computer generated greeting.

Celebrating September's flower, the aster, I made the "Birthday Wishes" card.  The stamps are by Stampin Up, and the papers are digital French Market designs.

The "Happy Birthday" card again, used a digital French Market design, a Stampin Up greeting, and a silk flower that I rescued from a garage sale.  After washing, drying, and applying some gold and tangerine Stickles it found its new home.  Another one of the punched leaves added the finishing touch.


My fall birthday's for next week are taken care of, so now I can watch "American Handyman" without regret.

Autumn Air

Falling Leaves

Little leaves fall softly down
Red and yellow, orange and brown
Whirling, twirling round and round
Falling softly to the ground

Little leaves fall softly down
To make a carpet on the ground.
Then, swish, the wind comes whistling by
And sends them dancing to the sky.

                                 Anonymous 

The calendar says that it's fall, but today it was 107, so its hard to get in the spirit of falling leaves, chilly nights, and harvest pumpkins.  So I made this card to remind me that it won't be too much longer.

Two years ago in October I was in Corvallis, Oregon and was able to experience the true beauty of fall.

I miss the changing seasons, when Nature's calendar turns the page.  There are the snowy winter scenes, then as the page turns, we see a carpet of flowers sprinkling the hillside.  The page turns again, and we see the lazy days of summer with soft breezes and buzz of honeybees as they flit from flower to flower. Then the final page shows a burst of color--gold, red, orange and brown, an anthem singing the years accomplishments and the joy of the past year.

School Days

I have been taking on online art class taught by Jennifer McGuire.  It focuses on techniques using inks, papers, embellishments, and accessories to get a variety of looks to add dimension to cards, art books, or scrapbooks.


This is the sampler that I made showing the techniques.  Using these, there will be no boring cards or art books.  


It has been a fun two weeks!

Joy comes in the Morning

I love mornings.  When I was a kid, I had to get up really early in order to get ready for school and make the mile hike to the school bus that came about eight o'clock.  When I had my own kids, it was early rising in order to feed them and spend some play time with them before the hectic day began.  During my years working, I got up early so that I could be at the gym at 5:00.  Now that I am retired, I still wake about five, and truly enjoy the early hours of the day.  There is beauty that only a morning can bring.  Witness this cactus by my front patio which only blooms in the morning.


Each day is the chance for a new beginning.  The scripture says in Lamentations 3:22-23 "The faithful love of the Lord never ends, His Mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning" NLT.

Mornings bring hope 'Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5


Morning is a gift that each one of us is given, I look forward to each new morning and the gifts that the day may provide.

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, OH MY!

Today, August 12, 1939, that great film, The Wizard of Oz, was released.  It is one of my favorites.  So many of its lines come to mind.

There's no place like home.

We're not in Kansas anymore

Somewhere over the rainbow

I'll get you, my pretty

A heart is not judged by how you love, but by how you are loved by others.

I remember reading all the Oz books when I was young.  It was like the "Harry Potter" for past generations.  On the surface it was an entertaining adventure, but so many values and lessons were woven into the story

Accept your friends as they are

Look for your pathway in life

Don't try to be something you aren't

You have great power within you

Dream, become inspired

Don't give up--Don't run away--Be positive

Step back and the answer for your problem may come to you

It's hard to pick my favorite character--But I think that it might be the Cowardly Lion--is that perhaps because I can see myself in him? I know that I often have to dig deep to do the hard stuff.

Who is your favorite character and why?