Creativity

Who inspired your creativity?
My Mother was my first inspiration.

This is one of my favorite pictures of her (high school).

Mom used a small bedroom that she shared with my little brother for her sewing room. I remember many a day passing the doorway in the middle of the hall and seeing her working. I wish I had a picture of her sitting there. The wall next to her had shelves stacked with fabric of every hue and design.

This is a picture of our annual family line-up for Easter. I'm the third from the front in the yellow dress.
I loved that dress (I think I still have it in a trunk in the basement). Yellow is my favorite color and I remember putting the cap sleeves on my head before Mom sewed them to the dress! I'm sure the other dresses were made by her too - maybe even her own :)

I still hug my Raggedy Ann when I need a best friend (and my sisters aren't around) that she made me. My sister called her ape-arms because her arms were so long...or maybe it was she was jealous that Mom made her for me :)


Mom eventually got into all kinds of crafts including knitting, bead banners, decoupage, plastic canvas, jewelry making...she had magazines for every craft around! Her husband built her a whole room (almost doubling the size of their house) to accommodate her supplies and give her plenty of room to work!


My Grandmother and Great Aunt Margaret on my Dad's side were crocheters. Aunt Margaret was very patient teaching me to crochet. I made so many granny squares that turned into afghans :)


So growing up I had a lot of inspiration. I did some sewing but I'm not very detailed so my hems were always...let's say, interesting (but rarely straight). Here's a picture of a dress I made one year. Oh yes, my handsome husband and son...don't you love those glasses (we affectionately call them the bug eyes) :P


I learned to cross stitch in my early twenties and had 2 or 3 projects going at any one time.


Then I got interested in general crafts. I even rented space in a craft store and did craft shows for awhile. I eventually got inspired to scrapbook - my early pages are not very good. I now spend most my time making cards. But crocheting is still something I enjoy doing. I'm working on little crocheted flowers to put on my cards!

Who inspired you? And...who are you inspiring?


Happy Mother's Day ... This is the third year my Mom isn't with me and it still stings - especially during May - Mother's Day, her birthday, and the month she died. But God is good ... all the time and He is my comforter.

Too busy to scrap

I've been too busy (and too tired) to scrap. My husband decided this weekend was Spring cleaning. When he decides to clean, it is all the way - moving furniture (including washer/dryer) and everything. It's all good.

I have a trade show Thur-Sun this coming week so I doubt I'll get anything done in the scrap room until later next week.

Lamentations 3:21-24 "Yet hope returns when I remember this one thing: The LORD's unfailing love and mercy still continue, Fresh as the morning, as sure as the sunrise. The LORD is all I have, and so in him I put my hope." (GNT)

Some pics from VA trip

We had a great time in Virginia. Spent New Years Eve with my niece and nephew and watching Jane Eyre for 4 hours with my sisters. Went to a dinner theatre and saw A Christmas Carol - it was very good. Also went to the Grinch ice show. All the sculptures were carved from ice - very cool (literally!).

My niece Barbara does NOT like her picture take - so if I manage to get her face, it is usually on the sly - hence the blurriness!


To see the ice show, you walked through the sculptures. Since it was only 9 degrees, we had to dress in these very bulky parkas.

Once Benji got his on, he was not happy. He simply laid down and played asleep :) He is such a character.


A beautiful angel overseeing the nativity on the other side of the room.


An ice wall


Some of the pictures by Dr. Seuss. We decided that the first one is Terri and the second one is me and Debbie :)
such a sexy momma



Here is cutey-patooty Benji. Once he warmed up to us, we had a great time.

It's done - almost

Finally, my room is painted! and I moved all my scrapping stuff back into the room tonight. I saw someone refer to her room as her studio - I like that. So, here are the before, during and after pictures of my new studio!!

My son's school colors were red and blue so we painted this room in those colors when we moved in. He used this room for friends who spent the night and to keep his playstation and other games. As he got older, he used only to store stuff that he moved from his bedroom.



As you can see, I had so many pieces of "found" furniture to store my stash but nothing matched.



We had to put 3 coats of primer and 2 coats of the paint on the walls to cover the red and blue. Unfortunately, we got primer splatters on the dark blue carpet so we'll be cleaning that up too.



The walls are light gray - lighter than I wanted but much better than the red and blue. I set my table at an angle with my shelves (a new purchase) in the corner behind me. Everything at my fingertips. Plus I have room to set up a second (smaller) table if my sister comes over to scrap (or anyone else!). The table is also facing the closet - which is where I have a TV hidden (no cable though, just free TV via the converter box). When I faced the wall, I would put a mirror up so I could see the TV behind me! I usually listen to the radio though ... that reminds me, I need to get my radio back in the room. I finally put some new CDs in there because my radio station (104.9, The River) is only playing Christmas music; and though I enjoy it, I like more variety.



I decided to store my paper vertical and was pleased that my Cropper Hopper files are standing up by themselves. I thought I'd have to rig up some type of "book end" -- but was glad I didn't need to.



Do you love my baskets...I do. I found them at Flower Factory. I bought all the large and medium ones they had. I will need to go back and pick up a few more (to replace the natural ones I'm using in the mean time).



I need to "line" the shelves with something because the baskets catch on the shelves when I pull them forward. I have lots of thin cardboard that I will cut the size of the basket bottoms and hopefully solve this problem.

I had a colonoscopy this morning (blech) and everything is just fine (which I knew it would be). The procedure was a breeze compared to the prep. The stuff I needed to drink was awful. Of all the scientific advances in this world, I'd think they could come up with a more palatable drink. I had to drink it twice - once at 6 p.m. and once at 3 a.m. In case you don't know, you spend a lot of time in the bathroom after each dose.

On Monday I have a procedure with my gynecologist (minor surgery) - won't go into (TMI). I'm hoping this help the cause of my low blood count. Normal blood count for women is 14-20; mine was at 7 a month ago. It is up to 10.5 today (thanks to the iron pills I've been taking).

Well, it's off to bed. Thanks for stopping by.

Scrapbook room organization

Been thinking about what I want for Christmas. My husband is getting new golf clubs...he always gets the high dollar gifts. So I decided it was my turn. I want my craft room to be organized and efficient.

I'm going to have the walls painted a soft gray (the walls are currently Red and Blue - my son's high school colors) to go with the dark blue carpet.

I'm going to buy a couple more shelves and matching baskets for my supplies. Today I went thru the house and gathered all my baskets but they don't look very neat - being all different. So it's off to Flower Factory this week to get some.

I've decided to go vertical files with my paper files. Going to Joanns to buy the Cropper Hopper files and dividers. I thought about sticking with my plastic shelves (horizontal) but I think having them vertical will make looking for particular papers easier. If anyone has a better idea, send me a link to a picture. I'm not sure how I'll store the files though ... My shelves don't have sides and I don't want the files to fall over. I suppose I could adjust the stop shelf to be down a little so the vertical poles will act like bookends.

I'll take pictures when it is all done.

introducing another nephew

Another boy joins our family...Welcome Isaac.

Quiet Sunday

Had a great day today.

Our satellite is out so we spent a quiet morning reading the paper together. Then Brad cooked a delicious meal of short-ribs, mashed potatoes and green beans (Hoggy's style with red peppers and bacon). David and Sydney and my sister Debbie were here for dinner.

Debbie came over to finish her scrapbook she is making as a gift - her first project. I'm excited to see her enjoying it. She thinks she wants to make cards. That'll be something fun we can do together. Next step is to get her involved in OWH.

Got some pictures printed for scrapping. Didn't realize how many pages I have to do. Let's see, Olivia's baby pages (she's 3), the twins (they were just born), LaShaun (he was born this summer), homecoming, and some misc pics. Also I went through old, old photo albums and removed all the pictures on the yellowing sticky pages and sorted them - I'll start scrapping them soon.

I've got to get to making cards again for OWH. I keep reading about the need and I feel so guilty. I have about 30 done so if I can't get myself in gear, I'll get those in the mail.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend and are ready for the work week ahead.

Oh, for those you read about my boss...he is doing so much better. Was in the hospital for several days but a nutritionist talked with him and they gave him some direction. He is doing so much better - up walking for 20 minutes at a time and able to some driving. This is a VAST improvement. Keep praying as he (Jim) and his wife (Nancy) are both going thru chemo (he has lung cancer and she had breast cancer). God is doing an amazing work through them.

I'm still around!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I'm in Lexington, KY for the standardbred yearling sale. The sale is at night so I have my days free. Okay, free is not quite the word. I just spent 1.5 hours working remotely -- should have taken me 45 minutes but the internet connection is SLOW at the hotel.

I have Christmas card page packs with me so I will start putting them together. I didn't bring my camera so I'll take pictures and email them from my phone. Hopefully the pics will look good so you can seen my creativity.

Hoping to get things in order so I can start crafting again. I have been so busy and stressed with work, my boss's illness, and everything that goes into that and then having to do the sales (the original plan was to come WITH my boss this year)...I can't even think let alone craft when I get home :) But it is all good...God is in control, I just need to let Him guide me.

Have a great day. Thanks for stopping by.

Happy World Card Making Day

Today is world card making day. I hope I'll get upstairs to make a card or two but I don't think so...lots of errands today.

Got up early and ordered the Deal of the Day on Staples - an Olympus SLR camera for $350 (regular $600). Had the drywall guys come and finish the one-day job (this morning was day 3). Then had to clean up after them (ugh). Went to book club. Now I'm waiting for my hubby to get home from golfing so we can go look at interior doors at Home Depot. But first we are going to Ben & Joys in Mt Sterling for lunch. They got "five bellies" from the Bass Brothers on 610 Radio!

I'm ready for bed...and it's only 1:30 : )

Have a great day and try to be crafty. I hope to get back to card making real soon.

Prayers, please

I haven't been getting anything created. My life has been crazy lately.

Please pray for my boss, Jim. He was diagnosed with cancer (incurable but treatable to extend his life). He's in pain and discomfort so we are praying the docs can get his meds regulated so he can get on with life. Pray also for his wife, Nancy. She is in treatment for breast cancer. When it rains, it pours.

Before his diagnosis, we were talking about me buying the insurance agency so he could retire. We are going forward but with more urgency!

Lots and lots of changes...but I'm thankful for strength and peace and hope. God is faithful...He answers our prayers in just the right way (even if it's not what we think we need).

Hopefully things will settle down soon so I can get back to creating cards.

I will never forget

I will never forget the fear I felt that day (and for a long time after)...I will never forget looking to sky and knowing there were no planes flying anywhere over the US...I will never forget the panic trying to reach my sister who works in DC and drove past the Pentagon to get to work (she was there 10-15 minutes before the plane crashed)...I will never forget calling my mom to let her know my sister was okay and having to tell her that we were under attack (she had been outside gardening)...I will never forget the brave men and women who saved countless lives...I will never forget those who lost their lives...

I will never forget that America is the greatest country on earth and I'm proud to be an American.

Saturday

It's a great day...the sun is shining, the laundry is done, the house is quiet, The River (104.9) is on the radio and I've spent the day in my scrap room.

I've got several cards to show you later. I will upload them all at once. Wishing I had bought more than one pack of the papers from Ollie's yesterday!

Have a beautiful weekend.

The Start of a Week

A new week is starting....and so many things are changing.

Sunday

I'm so disappointed that I didn't get to scrap this weekend.

I enjoyed book club yesterday. We read So You Don't Want To Go To Church Anymore. Good story but it wasn't well-written in my opinion. It talked about the role "church" plays in our lives. Do we go to church because we have to or do we go because we want to? Is the church the building or the people?

The church is people. Unfortunately, people hurt us and we hurt others. But if we work to continue to grow closer with Father, then we will inevitability grow closer to other people. Let us be willing to forgive those who hurt us and make atones when we have hurt someone else. We are family.

Our next book is Captivated. I'm so disappointed that I will miss next book club - but I'll be on a scrapping retreat - which I'm excited about.

Gotta get ready for Brad's family reunion. We go every year to WV for his mom's side of the family. Maybe I'll get a little scrapping in this evening!

Cards done on 7-5-10

Slept in this morning til 9:30 - that's late for me. I did stay up to around 2 a.m. finishing a book...Still Alice. This is the story of a woman diagnosed with early Alzheimers disease. It was an excellent read - well written and captivating. I highly recommend it. It helped me see what people with this disease and their families go through. I'm thankful I didn't have to deal with my parents going through this and PRAY my husband and son don't have to go through it with me (thankfully, we haven't seen it manifest in anyone).

On to cards for today. I did the ingredients for cards yesterday but I have to admit that I'm not a detail person. It took me as long to write everything down as it did to do the card. Most of my paper and cardstock is loose so I don't know the manufacturer or line (or even the real name for the color). I get a package of something and tear it open and sort it by color - sorry :p

If you see something you like and want to ask where it came from, I'll be happy to try to figure it out, but good luck! I get most my embellies on sale on Joanns (dollar bin), Michaels or Odd Lots (or Big Lots...I'm not sure what it's called here).

I also CASE most of my cards. When I first started cardmaking, I went to many, many blogs and copied pictures of cards to a word doc so I could look at them later and copy them. Unfortunately it never occurred to me to indicate where I copied them from. I over 700 "samples" in my docs. So, for all of you who see your designs, THANK YOU and I'm sorry I can't give you credit - even though you rightfully deserve it.



This is all me : ) I started the scalloped circle for something else and it was too small so I saved it - knowing it would find a home somewhere else. I love using flourishes for stems on my flowers. I don't use flourishes much anywhere else so this works out great.


I finally got my OWH box filled up and made some Any Hero cards. My box will go out in the mail tomorrow!


I also made a bookmark for my niece. She works at a bookstore in VA and wants to read Still Alice so I'm sending it to her. I feel like I should have done more than 3 card designs (18 cards total) and a bookmark. Must be my old age catching up to me : )

I'm loving life and hope you are too. May God's blessings be real in your life...thanks for stopping by,
Susan

Sunday Evening

ARGGGHHHHH, there is only one show on Sunday I really watch faithfully - Army Wives. I love this show. But it is raining and this is what I've been watching for the past 10 minutes:


And, of course, it is not recording while it is "searching". Oh, wait...it just came back on. YEAH!!

I was in the scrap room today and started to work on 12 "Just a Note Cards". Couldn't get into it. Got the papers cut, the bases ready, and the words cut on my Cricut...but I'm not thrilled with it so I'll finish them another day. You'll see them eventually.

Oh, yes, WELCOME to all my new followers. I'm excited to see the numbers grow. I hope you enjoy the mixture of posts - scrapping, cards, devotions, ramblings (like this one). If you haven't checked it out yet, please hop over to the OWH site. Even making only a few cards will make a difference. I love the posts they have facebook from the soldiers who are using the cards to send notes to their loved ones back home.

I hope you all have an awesome week. I plan on it :)

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!! To my husband: thanks for being a great dad. David loves you so much and still seeks your approval. You guys may butt heads at times but you are still the most influential person in his life.

My Dad passed away 15 years ago. Yesterday I was with my sisters and we talked about some our fondest memories and advice dad gave us. The best advice he gave me was that when I was nervous/scared about going into a new situation to pretend I owned the place. I was going to a new high school at the end of my freshman year (yes, my parents made me change schools at the worst times!!). I was so scared (never having going through this before) but his advice bolstered my confidence (even if it was fake confidence). I've carried that advice in my heart all these years and have relied on it several times.

To my son: one day you will make a terrific father. You will love them, encourage them, push them, and make them mad : ) You will say things to them that you swore you'd never say ('because I said so") and you will hear things from them that you said to your dad ("you never let me do anything").

To my sisters: thanks. I love you so much. You are my friends and such a part of me. Without your support over the last 47 years, I don't know where I'd be. I'm a better person because of your influence.

Life is good...through all its ups and downs and twists and turns. I long for heaven but I have joy on earth.

The weekend is here!

I'm so glad for the weekend. Got up at 7 - just like any day, but enjoyed having breakfast with Brad at Rise & Dine. Got the pancakes - she said they were large so I got 2. Should've gone with 1...left over half on my plate!

Getting ready for book club (finishing up the end of the last chapter this morning...oops, good book, just started reading it too late). This is one I'm going to read again - with Brad. It is called Forgotten God and is about the Holy Spirit. After reading it I realize that I have not allowed the Holy Spirit to have control in my life. I've maintained control and just allowed Jesus to be apart of my plans. Wow...

Later, I'll be playing in my scrap room. I just got my PaperCrafts magazine in the mail and can't wait to lift some designs.

Have an awesome weekend. If I get some cards done, I'll be sure to post.

Memorial Day Weekend

I'm so glad it is finally the weekend - and a long one!

I want to first say THANK YOU to all those who are actively serving in our military. Without you we have no freedom. Your sacrifice is appreciated and you are not forgotten.

Secondly, THANK YOU to all those who have served in the past. This country is the greatest on earth because of your service and sacrifice.

Thirdly, THANK YOU to all the family members of our active and retired military. Without your love and support our veterans and active duty could not / cannot do their jobs. Your sacrifice is not forgotten either. You quietly keep the home fires burning and we appreciate you too.

It is important to remember all those who serve. Firemen, police officers, teachers...THANK YOU.

I hope you all have a great plans for this weekend.

cheap storage!

I hate to spend money - unless it is on scrapbooking supplies! I needed to get my supplies organized and was looking for some kind of shelving unit for my scrap room. I found this double crate shelf at the thrift store for $1.91. Can you believe it. I put curtain rods half through the crates and added thick foam board to make two extra shelves.

I feel better about having all my ribbons, inks, stickles, stamps, embellies, bling, flowers, brads, etc. out where I can see them. Maybe I'll actually start using them more : )

Shared my scrapping space with someone tonight and learned that two people cannot work at one table. Well...maybe because she had a big poster board, that makes a difference. Can't wait to see if me and my sister will be able to work at the same table (she's making jewelry). If not, I'll reorganize the room again so 2 tables are pushed together (like at Pati's house). But that means I'll need another shelf (or 2) for all the fun stuff sitting on the extra table. And I'll need to lose some weight so my behind doesn't knock down my shelves when I scoop around them :O (yes, I went there)