Fun Filled Crafting Days

I know I am a week late, but I really wanted to blog about our little "Cardmaking Retreat" last week.  I get together with three other gals every month for a day of making cards and fellowship. My husband calls our days the new "sewing circle!"  Those readers who grew up in churches with monthly sewing circles will understand. One of the gals in the group has a cabin in Sullivan County and over the summer we talked about how much fun it would be to go there for a couple of days, just us girls, and craft. So we picked a date and set the plan in motion. A week or so before we went my sister in law Janet got a last minute invite to go with a large group from her church to the Outer Banks so in the end it was only Beckie, Bebe, and I that went.

We left on Tuesday about 1 and headed north. We got to the cabin about 4 and moved all our stuff in and settled in for a couple of days. One of the first things was to have supper, so we went to Forksville General Store and Restaurant and had yummy steak sandwiches for our supper.

After we ate Bebe took us to a nearby covered bridge. The reflections in the water were gorgeous.

We pose for a "selfie!"

Then we headed back to the cabin to begin our card crafting.  We had each brought along one Christmas card idea and one other card idea to share with the group, so on Tuesday evening we each shared and crafted one of our cards. Then we spent the rest of the evening crafting these cute little snowmen favors. Some will be sold at our craft shows and some will be given as gifts. 

Aren't they adorable?  After a late night we headed off to bed, but the next day we were at it again.

In the afternoon we took a break and went up the mountain to a nearby canyon lookout.  It was beautiful although it started to rain a little just as we got there.

 We also took a break in the evening to play a game.

After another late night we did a bit more crafting in the morning before we had to clean up, load up, and head home.

Did we get anything accomplished in those couple of days?  Of course we did. Just look!

Crafting Fun!

Another weekend has come.  I am loving this break from the heat and looking forward to the fall weather.  This past week has been a busy one, working with my card crafting.  I have been creating some more cards and beginning to design and think about Christmas cards. Here are a few cards I made with a beautiful piece of fabric that I purchased at "Farmhouse Memories", one of my favorite craft stores. I really love these cheery birds.

Fall craft show season has begun and my friend Beckie and I did our first one yesterday.  Here we are with our display all set up and ready to go. Unfortunately, it was not a very profitable one. Crowds were light and those who were there were more interested in the yard sale items than in the craft items. We are scheduling a few more shows for the fall here before Christmas. It takes a lot of time to try to figure out the best options, but is all part of the business experience.

The third thing I did this week relating to my cards was to open my own Etsy shop.  Hubby has been encouraging me to do that for quite a while as well as a few other people, so after a lot of research and patience, I finally did it.  You can view my shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LorelCardsandMore. Now we'll wait and see whether it will be a profitable venture or not!

This week I am looking forward to a little "Card Crafting Retreat" at a friend's cabin in Sullivan County where we the girls I get together with on a monthly basis will have a few days of fellowship and making cards.  I'm sure I will have some new ones to show when we get back!

Birthday Reflections

Today is my 68th birthday. And while I am not feeling old, birthdays for me are always a time of reflection and anticipation.  Reflection on the past year or years and where I have been and what I have done.  And anticipation of what is ahead and a little bit of goal setting.

We had a great afternoon and evening yesterday celebrating with the family. Hubby made some awesome grilled ribs; the kids all brought side dishes and my son in law Jeff made my favorite pies for dessert - pecan and key lime. Everything was so delicious. Unfortunately, I don't think anybody took any pictures!

But today is my actual birthday. The last year was a good one.  It was the first year of my retirement, of not having to get up and go to work each day.  A time of resting, reading, card crafting, taking care of the house, and enjoying life without the stress and pressures of a job. As I look ahead, I wonder what the coming year will bring. Some days I feel that 68 is old as I am aware of the aches and pains that come with aging; at other times I feel 68 is still young and I have plenty of life to tackle ahead of me.  I struggle with knowing what God wants for me in  the remaining years that He gives me. I continue to look for opportunities to serve Him in whatever way He wants me to. 

For now, I am content to wait on God's timing.  So Happy Birthday to me.  I will enjoy my day.

A New School Year

I haven't blogged for quite a while. I am not sure why.  I guess blogging on a daily basis just not pull me like it does many.  But today I decided to write a post.

Today is the first day of school for many children in our area.  For over 45 years I was with those first day students as a teacher or administrator.  Over the weekend someone reminded me that this is the beginning of the second year that I am not going back.  I am often asked if I miss it.  My answer: No.....and yes!

I miss the excitement of a new school year.  Getting ready for that first welcoming day when the students come in with excitement and anticipation. New school supplies, backpacks, books, clothes, and all that goes with the getting ready.  Thinking through and planning lessons and activities that will excite the students and capture their attention. Or as the administrator helping and encouraging the staff to be ready to do that. I miss the smiles and the tears of little ones as they come to school for the first time and I miss encouraging the parents who are dropping off their children for the first time.I miss the children and my coworkers. I miss the smiles, the anticipation, and the energy of children. I miss the joy on a child's face when they learn something new. And especially in the Christian school setting, the joy of a young child coming to tell me that they asked Jesus to be their forever friend!

But I don't miss the stress and anxiety that comes with the beginning of a new school year. Or the work that is involved in preparing lessons on a daily basis or in keeping a school running at its best from day to day.  I don't miss the complaints which are far more frequent than the praises. Why is it that we are so quick to criticize and complain about the little things that happen in school rather than praising the staff for the tremendous job they are doing on a daily basis? I don't miss coming home at the end of the day too exhausted to even think about making dinner, let alone being civil to anyone else for the rest of the day.

I loved the forty-five years that I spent in the education field first as a teacher and then later as the administrator.  It was who I was, what allowed me to express my passion for kids and learning.  But I am content.  Content to leave the work of educating future generations in the hands of those who are younger, with more energy and enthusiasm for the task at hand. I am content to sit back and let others go back to school. I am content in knowing that I fulfilled my calling from God in the field of education and that now is the time to pass the torch to others. And so even though I have mixed feelings about the first day of school, I will enjoy thinking about the past days and pray for those teachers and students who are beginning a new chapter with the onset of another school year. 

Painting

We have been busy these past two weeks painting.  Our double wide is a 1991 model and it still has all the original wallboards.  So we have decided that this was the year to update the interior by painting. Previously to this year, I have never done any house painting, so this was a new experience for me. And I have decided that I do not like painting at all.

The house is all tore up, with furniture sitting in the middle of the room so that we can get to the walls to paint. My house looks like someone is getting ready to move!

The quality of the picture is not the greatest and the lighting in the room is dim, but in the living room we did the upper walls in ivory with a deep wine below the chair rail.

In the dining room and the front room we used the same ivory color for the upper walls with an old world blue for the lower half.  All three rooms look fresh and clean after the painting.

The master bedroom and bathroom got very light blue walls with one darker wall in the bedroom.  I am using a lighthouse theme in these two rooms. 

We still have a little bit to finish in the front room - I am waiting for hubby to reach the center peak that I can't quite reach.  And then we have the kitchen and laundry room to paint yet.  Maybe it will get finished this week.

Today I spent redecorating and rehanging the pictures in the rooms that are finished. It's beginning to feel like home again!

Being Nana

Wow!  I can't believe it's been 4 weeks since I blogged.  I'm not sure what happened but time has really slipped away.  I really intended to write a new post at least once a week, preferably twice.  Guess I will have to work on that.

The last several weeks have obviously been busy. Or else my mind was just on too many other things.  Since my last post our family celebrated my oldest sister's 80th birthday with a lunch at Family Cupboard in Lewisburg near her home.  I spent several days making cards either with friends or by myself. But most of all we took care of our youngest grandson for a week (well actually a total of 9 nights due to travel times, etc.) while his parents enjoyed a delayed 10th anniversary trip in Mexico.

Here he is the first day playing with Mr. Potato Head,

He went to Head Start in the mornings, so while he was at school the second day, I found our marble roller and put it out for him. He had so much fun with it.  I think he spent most of the afternoon and evening that first day playing with that toy.  It was fun to see him experiment with the marbles and watch them roll down the track.

Friday afternoon, I also had his cousin Zoë here while her mommy worked. 
The two of them played with the marble roller for a while again. It was reminiscent of his daddy and her mommy playing with the same toy some 30 years ago, even down to the noise and "fighting."

Xayden also enjoyed putting puzzles together and was quite good at it.

A week is a long time for a 3 year old (he'll be 4 in August) to be without his mommy and daddy. By midway through the week he was asking for mommy and daddy on a regular basis!

The day after they returned and he went back home he "graduated" from Head Start - at least for this year. Here he poses with Daddy. I love this picture.

Mothers' Day

After a week of rainy and cold damp weather, it was so exciting to see the sun come out on Sunday, which was Mother's Day.  Each spring we like to take a trip to Jenkins' Arboretum in Devon, PA. It is beautiful with the rhododendrons and azaleas blooming throughout the wooded hillside.  There are lots of other wildflowers emerging and coming into bloom as well.  And so my hubby and I decided it was a perfect place to spend the day.  Even though it was still a little cool, the sun was shining and it was a perfect day for a walk through the woods!

Here are a few of the pictures I took.

The skies were a brilliant blue with light fluffy white clouds.

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More flowers.

In addition to lots of white trillium we saw a few pink ones and this beautiful purple one.

It was a perfect way to spend Mother's Day!

This Month's ODBD Challenge

This month the Shining Light Challenge for Our Daily Bread Designs was to use the recipe ODBD.  I needed to use one element from each of the letters.  Here is the card I made.

Here are the recipe elements I used:

      O - ODBD stamps, ovals

      D - dies,  designer paper

      B - butterfly brad

      D - dimensionals, "diamond" bling

I was enjoying the water pump stamp so much that I made two more cards with that stamp. Here they are:

I love using a simple stamp in a variety of different ways to make a variety of cards!

Spring Has Sprung!

This past week we have been enjoying some beautiful weather.  It seems that at least Spring has arrived.  Last Saturday I was able to clean off my porch and finally enjoy some time relaxing on the porch.

The grandchildren enjoyed helping Paw-Paw with some planting in the front of our house.

Aren't these tulips just beautiful?

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The azaleas are almost ready to bloom.

My hubby landscaped the hillside behind our house last summer.  It is looking beautiful and full of life as well, but it is continues to be a work in progress!

Can you tell we like lighthouses?  Here is another very pretty planter.  I love the red and purple together.

Hopefully the hummingbirds will be back soon.  I got ready for them this week as well.  I have two feeders.  One off the front porch and one in the back.  Last year we had several hummingbirds enjoying our neighborhood.

Yes, Spring has returned!  Hubby, who loves to garden, is happy to be outside tinkering in the yard when he gets home in the evenings.  I enjoy watching the yard and gardens come back to life.

Z-fold Cards

I have seen several cards this week on Pinterest that were called Z-fold cards. I have made them before and decided to make some today again. This first one is a simple Z-fold.

And here is a view of the inside of my card.

I started with an 8 1/2 x 5 1/4 piece of white cardstock.  I scored the card stock at 2 1/8" from both short sides.  When folded, the two flaps meet at the center. The designer panels on the front are 1 3/4 by 5.  I also used a butterfly border die from  Memory Box to cut the butterfly edge from white cardstock and attached it to the designer paper for the left side before adhering it to the front left panel.

My second card is a variation called a double Z-fold.

For this one i started with a 5 1/2 x 12" piece of cardstock which I scored at 2", 4", 8", and 10" and then folded as seen above. The panels of designer paper are 1 3/4 x 5".  I like the double Z-fold card style.  It stands up for a nice display.

Have a wonderful weekend!

This Week's Craftiness!

This week I have been thinking Spring as I was making cards.  I have been playing with some of the pretty designer papers I have in my stash as well as some of the recent fabrics that I purchased.

But first, my hubby surprised with me with some stamps that he found at Goodwill. My first card was made using three of the little stamps that he brought home.




I took a 2 x 5 1/4" piece of perfect plum cardstock from Stampin' Up and using a circle punch, tried to evenly space the three holes. Then I used it as a template to stamp the three images on a piece of white cardstock and colored them with my colored pencils. It took a couple tries to get them lined up the way I wanted them! I used a piece of designer paper for my card front and finished it as seen here. The card front was mounted on a white card base.  I don't often do cards with colored pencil, so this was a nice change.





Here are two similar cards that I made using strips of designer paper in a sunburst pattern.  On the first one I used an image that I had cut from fabric. The second one has a cardstock flower from a pack I had purchased at a yard sale last summer.























And a few more cards made with fabrics.

All in all, it was a productive week. Card crafting is relaxing and something I really enjoy doing. Which is your favorite?