More Card Crafting Fun!

Last Thursday was our monthly card crafting day with my sister in law and two friends. it was scheduled for the week before but that was the day it snowed and since many of the schools were closed, we decided it was probably wise to postpone for a week.

We have been having so much fun playing with sketches that we find on Pinterest. The previous two months we chose a sketch and all made our cards from the same sketch. It was interesting to see the different ways we interpreted the sketch. This month we each just selected our own sketch and came up with a card or two to share with the others.

Here are some of the beautiful cards we made.

Not only do we have a great time of laughing, chatting, and fellowshipping we always end up with five or six new cards by the end of the day!

And now we are officially on "baby watch." Our new little granddaughter is scheduled to arrive any day now. This Nana is excited!

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!

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. 

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?

Scraps and More Scraps

Papercrafting creates lots of little scraps of paper.  Now I don't like to throw them away if I think they can be used in some way.  Besides most of them are just too pretty to throw away. Several weeks ago, my friend Beckie and I took a class on using scraps because we wanted to get some new ideas.  

Once a month I get together with three other ladies to make cards. Usually we each bring a card and technique idea to share with the rest. This way we each go home with at least four newly completely cards.  So this month we decided to share what we had learned about using scraps. Here are some of the cards I made at our get together this week.

And here we are taking a lunch break.  We always have so much fun and being silly is part of the fun!  We had a guest this month as Beckie's daughter-in-law and granddaughter were visiting from Virginia.

The Cat Saga Continues

It's been several days now since we were awakened in the middle of the night with the sound of a cat meowing in our bedroom.  Now i repeat - WE DO NOT HAVE A CAT!  So to be awakened at 3 a.m. to the sound of a cat meowing in our room was disconcerting to say the least. Monday night we didn't hear anything at all, but Tuesday night he was back.  Again it sounded like it was in our bedroom, but this time the meowing was soft and plaintive. I was having trouble falling asleep Tuesday night and so this certainly didn't help. However, when we awoke there was again no sign of him and no presents left on the floor!

We decided on Wednesday that perhaps we should try to capture the cat so we borrowed a live animal trap from a friend.  We set it up in our laundry room with some food and went to bed.  In the middle of the night we were again awakened to hear the cat meowing and moving around the house. Again it appeared to come into our bedroom and we could hear it quite clearly.  Hubby and I were both awake and lay still just listening.  It sounded like it was moving off to the laundry room, but it did not go into the trap.  Another night of being awakened, hearing a cat, and finding nothing. First thing in the morning my dear hubby was crawling around with a flashlight looking in every nook and cranny, under and behind every piece of furniture, and in every closet but could find no cat.  There was not even any evidence of anything being disturbed by a cat's movement or presence.

Yesterday was Thursday and we are getting desperate to find the cat.  Since Wednesday's trap yielded nothing, we can began to look for other options. We had lots of suggestions from Facebook friends who responded to my posts about our dilemma. My son suggested that maybe it wasn't in the house (although that doesn't explain the pile on the floor) but under the house or even in the duct work.  Now for those that don't know me, we live in a double wide mobile home so it is possible for animals to get under the house, but unless there is a hole somewhere I am not sure how they could get into the ducts. That would make sense in that we are hearing the cat as if it is in the room but not able to find any trace of him. Last night was the first that we heard him earlier in the evening. I was sitting in my recliner in our living room, watching TV when the sound of meowing began.  It sounded like it was coming from under the sofa, but there was no movement or appearance.  What began as low plaintive mews became louder meows - at one point there was a really loud "outburst" of a meow, all seemed to be coming from the same area. This went on for about 15 minutes and then all was quiet.  I suppose the duct is a possible theory because there is one right under the sofa where the sound was coming from.  I thought perhaps that was it for the night, but alas in the middle of the night we heard him again as though he was in the room with us. We had moved the trap to the dining room, but again we were unsuccessful in trapping him.  

So here it is Friday.  This has been going on all week.  5 nights of interrupted sleep is beginning to take its toll on me.  I am exhausted and I must admit somewhat "freaked out" by all that has been going on. I think tonight we will put a litter box and water as well as the trap with the food next to one of the vents.  We'll take the cover off the vent and see if he will come out.  I surely hope so.  It that doesn't work, I don't know what we'll try next. 

Valentine's Day

February 2014

This photo showed up on my Facebook page as a memory from 2014. Lots of snow that year on Valentine's Day. In fact it was a snowy couple of days.  Today we woke up to some of the coldest temperatures of the winter.  This weekend has been cold and windy with snow squalls; however, the sun is shining brightly now. Because of the issues I have with asthma, I don't do well with being outside when it is extremely cold so we decided to take a Sabbath Day at home today. We spent the morning relaxing and watching old Hallmark movies on TV. Hubby made me red velvet heart shaped pancakes for breakfast (I forgot to take a picture) and is cooking a special Valentine's dinner later today.  He loves cooking for me and I enjoy what he cooks.  We both win!

Several weeks ago I found this set of stamps at Michaels.  I thought they were just perfect for making valentines for my grandkids.  Aren't they just adorable? In fact they are also the ones my daughter-in-law used to make the valentines for my grandson's class that I showed in my last post.  

A friend had given me  a piece of fabric with cute little owls on it.  I love to create cards using images cut from fabric, so when I wanted to make a Valentine's card for my hubby the fabric and the stamp "OWL always love you" just seemed to naturally go together.  What fun!

  

Here is the card I created:

I used an Cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss a piece of 4 x 5 1/4" white cardstock for my card base.  The red hearts were cut with two heart dies that I have. I then embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder on the heart from the center of the larger heart.  After attaching the hearts to the base, I used dimensionals under the owl so she would pop up. The base was then adhered to a piece of 8 1/2 x 5 1/2" red cardstock.  On the inside I put two white hearts so I would have room for my Happy Valentine's Day message and note. I was really pleased with the final outcome and I think hubby was too!

Enjoy your Valentine's Day celebrating love and friendship with those you love!