Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.” —Groucho Marx

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Memory Lane

Today, I scrapbooked my daylight hours away. Something was kindled Friday night when we had our scrappin night at Alisa's. So I finished my two Sibling pages and my rembrance page of Dennis. I am rather proud of how his page turned out. If I get my camera out so I can take a good picture I will upload it. Naturally Working with his pictures makes me sad. We certainly had our differences, but I loved my baby brother a whole lot and I miss him.

Anyway most of the day has now slipped away and I must get busy with some birthday cards!
April has a lot of birthdays, Erik, Joyce, Sister Butcher and Alisa too and two out of four birthdays I am already late with! Shocking and appalling isn't it? The queen of cards has turned into the plummer whose home pipes are rusty and leak, the mechanic whose own car doesn't run very well, and she has two boxes of cards already made, but can't send a card on time!
I always want to do that one special card, the aha card, the I'll cherish it forever card! Like I'm sure that doesn't happen often. My Mom and DH are the only ones who saves my creations.

Oh well, the joy is in the giving right? I always liked writing letters and loved the stationary at the store. Hallmark was my favorite place to shop as a kid. Pembles Hardware was my second favorite. They sold the Breyer Model Horses which I collected. Anyway, I used to write to one of my best friend's dad and perfumed his cards to the hilt and I corresponded with Uncle Alonzo the same way when I was in college. I had more fun with them! I always thought I would some day have my own stationary store and in a sense I do. I love to craft cards, the problem is, there is always some new stamp or some new technique or some new embellishment and my wish list never decreases! It's downright discouraging at times.

I hope you have enjoyed your weekend as much as I have mine. I accomplished something, I felt the emotions of remembrance both happy and sad, and I had a minute for blogging! Now to accomplish washing some dishes! :)

Saturday, April 18, 2009

April Showers Bring Pretty Flowers


We had showers today and that made me think this was an appropriate card for the today's blog. Isn't the card bright and cheery?
I used Stampin Ups Wagon Full of Love stamp of the potted flower. It was stamped on a background paper of the technique Spectrum Roll from Technique Junkie a few years back and the plaid border is one of the new techniques, Pulled Madras. Potted plant was then colored in with stamp write markers, and buttons added down the madras strip. Tiny little leaf stamp from Lovely as a Tree from Stampin Up was also used. This was a super fun and interesting card to make!
We stamped at Alisa's last night and worked on our scrap books. My daughter's and Alisa's friend, Nissa was also there. We had so much fun laughing and teasing each other and scrappin'. I watched these girls growing up and it was so awesome and now they are young mother's and still good friends. And so very busy with the business of Life! As you know doubt have guessed, I am the oldest in the crowd, just call me Mom. My busiest days are behind me and I just love pretending to be everybody's Grandma. I sure needed a night of relaxing and laughing with the girls though. Work was a bear all week long!
Enjoy your flowers as they peek through the soil and remember to plant seeds of kindness every where you go!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Happy Easter 2009


How time slips away ! I wish I was a bit more diligent with posting. Mostly I am doing this for myself. And some of the stories are geared for the grandkids. Maybe one day their parents will download my posts and make a grandma's memories book for them? We'll see. The card uses a stamp from Stampin Up's Occasions Mini Brochure; Wagon Full of Fun. I stamped the image with the duck image in black ink, then colored the bill, legs and feet with Apricot Appeal and the bow with Pretty in Pink stampin Write Markers. The duck was mounted on SU's cameo coral and then to a background using the April 2009 Technique Junkie's Chalk Lines technique. Chalk colors were the Cameo Coral chalk and Sage shadow chalk applied to shimmer paper and sprayed with a fixative. That in turn was mounted on a sage shadow card stock and affixed to a 5 1/4 X 5 1/4 card base. I thought it turned out pretty well for not having any embellishments added. It is my pastel color challenge card for my stamping group this month.
We'll be teaching the chalk lines technique at the club meeting on the 28th of this month.
My husband and I spent the morning with our children and grandchildren. We shared an omelet breakfast, with DH doing the cooking. And it was so yummy. Then three of the parents hid easter eggs filled with candy out doors and we all enjoyed watching the boys racing to collect the hidden goodies. They are such a riot! How many times they passed an obvious egg without seeing it.
Ok so now it's time for grandma's memories. When my four brothers and I were young, our dad was outside hiding eggs for us and he returned to the house stomping mad. Apparently a squirrel decided to have some fun with him and clobbered him in the head with a full ear of corn.
I don't think we hid Easter Eggs after that. Of course we all thought it was hysterically funny that something like that would happen, but it wasn't one bit funny to him.
Another Easter memory came from my brother, Jim. When he was little, he paid close attention to dad and his coin collection. Jim really loved the coins and to this day, he also collects coins and saves change. But when some of dad's coins came up missing, Jim admitted to having them in his possession, but he said the Easter Bunny gave him the money. I wonder why dad never quite believed him?
I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Easter. Thank you Jesus for your sacrifice for us and the hope that one day, we will be with you. God Bless!