ENCOURAGEMENT OR SYMPATHY

Hello, family!  Can you believe this week is almost over?!!!

I have a card to share today.  Having had to be so busy the last few months I guess I'm feeling behind and ackward with my crafting because I just haven't been completely satisfied with the last few projects.  I do like this card but it really was a challenge for me because I'd never made a card with the stand-up bottom or one where the die cut was cut into the actual base of the card; it took me about 5 tries to get the die cut aligned correctly on the fold of the base and I don't think I made the stand quite wide enough... BUT IT SURE WAS FUN playing and doing it!!!  Lol!!!

I've always said I'm not much of a cardmaker so I'm going to take you around the block with views on this card and other than it probably needing more color, I'm open to any suggestions on improvements you may see for when I attempt this one again (which I will).  This is the front of the card:

 

The color alternating hearts were actually a mistake; I'd accidently tore off one of the hearts, so I just cut off every other one and used the cut offs on the ribbon and on the back of rhe card.

 

Here's a close-up:

 

Okay, now the back of the card:

 

 

And here's a side view:

 

Okay guys, be honest!  Let me know what you think -- or don't!!!  Lol!

 

Love you, hugs and...

 

I'll be seeing you!

 

 

 

Wedding Gift Box and Card

Hello, everyone!!!  Hope all's well in blogland!

Yesterday was Leonard's birthday and he loved the box!!!  I put a tie with a matching hankie in it and he loved that too!  We were suppose to go out for dinner but ended up ordering out because the weather here is pretty nasty.  We had a comfy and delicious meal, finally watched some movies we were given but hadn't yet had time for, and just had a very pleasant and relaxing time together.

Okay, I've spent waaaay too much time fiddling with that darn ecraft machine!  I think I may like it if I can ever get the pressure right so as not to rip my paper.  I've gotten some really good cuts and some really bad ones; however, to keep from getting frustrated, I -- off and on -- worked on this little project.  I used one of the new Marianne Design Anja dies I received for Christmas to do this box and card project.  I really didn't have a design in mind when I started (still trying to get my mojo back), but this came together really quick and was so much fun:

 

Oops, didn't realize adding that frame would make it more difficult to see the project, huh?  Here's the picture itself; hope this is better:

 

 

 

Here is a closeup of the die cut:

 

I used lots of bling around the edges, pearl paint, and silk flowers on it; I rubbed the embossed die roses inset with silver-grey Lustre Rub-on and bit of  silver Stickles.  I can't wait to play with this die again!  And because it's a wedding box and card, I'm going to enter it into the http://decoratetocelebrate.blogspot.com wedding themed challenge I noticed while visiting with my friend Rhonda at Scrap Happens.

 

Before I leave you, during our belated family holiday celebration, Buster got a Christmas hat and collar as a present (yes, he gets presents too and lots of em...lol); anyway, being the little show-off that he is he wanted me to post a picture of him wearing them for you...lol:

 

 

Well, I'm off to playing again -- got more stuff to explore!

 

Hugs, love ya, and I'll be seeing you!

 

 

SHOULD'VE BEEN A VALENTINE GIFT, HUH?

Hello, family!!!  I hope all's well in blogland!  It's been such fun visiting some of you again and seeing your wonderful projects.  I'm still travelling blogland so I'm still getting to the rest of you  -- I'll be there as soon as I can!

I had even more fun finally getting the chance to sit down and craft!!!  YEAA!!!  I completed this project and it's all nice and dry to show now... lol!!!  I didn't think it would be dry until much later, so it's a pleasant surprise to be able to post it this evening.  I've been wanting to do one of these easel card boxes for a long time now and with my hubby's birthday being this Tuesday, I decided to do the box as one of his gifts.  Unfortunately, the more I look at it, it looks more like it should have been a Valentine's gift... lol!!!  I don't know what I'll fill it with yet but I'll come up with something before Tuesday.  Any suggestions other than candy?  Here's a picture of the top of the box:

 

I told you it looks like it should be for Valentine's Day... lol!!!  Oh well, it's done now... heee-heeee!  Now let's look at the opened easel card on top of the box:

 

I cut out Leonard's name on the new Craftwell ecraft cutter that he bought me for Christmas and it did pretty good; although (don't tell Leonard) I was really hoping for a Silhouette. I don't think this machine is nearly as good as the Silhouette but I'm going to try to work with it.  If anyone has the Craftwell ecraft, please let me know because I'm finding there's quite a learning curve.  Oh, yea, he also bought me the electronic Craftwell embosser which I LOVE!  I'll be doing some embossed projects to show you soon! 

 

Next is a picture of the box drawer opened revealing a bottom panel stamped with the "Happy Birthday" message  (I thought this would be a nice surprise having it there:

 

Last is a side view of the easel card box:

 

Oh well, I guess I'm a bit "rusty" from my long break but I hope Leonard likes it -- and you too!  Guess it might be a good thing I'm taking him to dinner because I'm not quite satisfied with this looking more like a Valentine's gift than a birthday gift..., although it sure was fun to do!!!  Ummm, maybe I'll just tell him it's a combined belated Valentine and birthday present...  NAW!!!

 

Well, I'm off to play with more new craft toys... but I'll be back!

 

I'll be seeing you!!!

 

 

 

ANYBODY THERE...? FINALLY I'M HERE!

Hello, family.  I hope all's been well in blogland!  I know it's been a while but I've been through quite an ordeal the last few months.  I'm praying for things to remain quiet -- at least for a awhile -- so that I can immediately relax back to my crafting, blogging, and you!!!  I've missed so much and can't wait to see what you've been up to, and what I have to catch up on.  I guess I'm waaay out of the loop now... lol!  I know life has many twists and turns but I'm so grateful to be able to breathe for a minute ... hopefully longer!  I'm just so glad to be here!!!

My aunt is doing okay and Leonard is doing well; his therapy ended several weeks ago and he's back to being out and about. I've thought of you often, prayed for you, hoped you had a wonderful holiday season, and that all's been well in blogland.  With family situations taking a "right" turn we were finally able to to prepare for today when most of our family finally got a chance for a small get-together to celebrate the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays we missed sharing in 2012; otherwise I would have been here a bit sooner.  We ate well, laughed much, enjoyed being able to finally come together in good spirit, and exchanged gifts that had sat unopened for weeks.  But, most importantly, we were able to put aside all the sadness and grief we've endured so we could enjoy each other and be thankful for all the blessings we have received! Although we were late in coming together, it was so much better and meant even more.  Hopefully we can now all move on to many more brighter and better times.

With our celebration ending, I've rushed here (to my extended family) because I didn't want to waste any more time in dropping in to give you a very hardy hello, let you know I've sincerely missed you, and that I'll be dropping in on you shortly ... telling you this so I won't shock you when you see me... lol.  Now that it looks like I may have some time, I'm getting started crafting tonight!!!  So..., I'll have something to post soon too!  Hubby says I've been like an Eveready battery, moving almost non-stop and that I should be still a couple of days to rest... lol... he still just doesn't realize crafting is my rest for this tired ole  body!!! 

I only recently had a chance to sit down to read through comments and emails, and was pleased (and appreciative) to see the extended prayers and well wishes from many of you eventhough I was unable to communicate back.  Thank you for being there for me, your prayers were heard and answered.

So, I'm off to play a bit but expect to see me!  Again, thank you so much for your kindness and patience during what was an extremely difficult time.  My family sends "thanks" too.

Now I won't take up anymore of your crafting time; besides my Christmas presents included some craft toys I can't wait to finally get my hands on.  Thank you for stopping by, love you, sincerely hope I'm here for awhile with no more intrusive "events", and I'm so glad you're all a part of my life.  I'll be seeing you...

HAPPY HOLIDAY!!!

Hello, everyone!!!  OMG, I would have just been too disappointed with myself if I had not gotten here before Christmas to wish  a happy holiday!!! With really no time to spare, I just made it!!!

I was headed here the other day when I had a moment but the mood I was in I would have only vented.  Of course that never does any good and I didn't want to do anything to interfere with making you feel bad or sad for me during such a joyous time -- that would have been selfish of me and not fair to you.  Now I'm really glad I didn't  because it was just a fleeting moment where I was feeling sorry for myself -- didn't take me long to get myself up, dust off, and go about doing what I had to do.  (Although I hope there isn't a next time I feel that way but if there is you may not be so lucky... lol!!!)

Same ole story -- I'm still quite busy with family matters and so very tired, however, Leonard is doing much better.  We're hoping his therapy will be coming to an end soon -- which will free up a bit more time for me.  I hate being away like this and I truly miss my  crafting but I know my prayers will be answered soon.

Thank you for your prayers, well wishes, and cards.  I never got the opportunity this Christmas  to make any cards and I'm still trying to find time to do a few family/friend gifts as I haven't had time to do any shopping either.  Of course, I'm more than grateful for all the love I feel and that's enough for me.  I hope everyone feels my love too as I'm definitely reaching out.  Unfortunately, it's the only gift I have right now to give.

Until...  I hope you have a very merry, happy, and magic holiday!!!  Love you all!!!

I'll be seeing you!

A "SHOW AND TELL" PROJECT

Hello, everyone!  I told you I'd be back with my little project I was working on the other night and, ironically, Sheila allowed me to use this in lieu of my tutorial project today (which I'd totally lost track of).  I'm so glad I finished it in time to be able to share with everyone as a "Show and Tell" over at She's A Sassy Lady as well as with you!

Unfortunately, I'm still pressed for time and so I've got to speed away again when I've finished.

Being that my circumstances hadn't allowed me to craft for the last 2 months I hurriedly delved into doing this simple little project as soon as I found I had some spare time.  I had soooo much fun with this.  This project began with some Christmas ornaments  I'd purchased several years ago and never did anything with.  Knowing I'd need a few quick and easy Christmas presents, and not knowing when I'd have extra time for sure, I came up with an idea -- I'll tell you what the idea is after the presentation as it won't be just to exactly hang on a tree... lol!

Now I'll "SHOW" you what the ornament I began with looks like:

Just an ordinary glass ornaments (the flat-round ones you get from Michaels -- cheap!).  Now here's what I did with them (click on the pictures for a larger and more detailed view):

 

Here's a side view:

 

Aren't they pretty?!!!  Of course they are!!!  Okay, let me "TELL" you how I embellished them.  I glued pretty trim around each of the ornaments and then glued a row of bling mesh to the trim, next I glued on some paper flowers and leaves that I highlighted with Stickles, and lastly I just attached some assorted complementary ribbon bows to the ring on the cap of the ornament along with another paper flower to cover the knots in the bows.  That's it!!!

 

Soooo, what's my idea for them?  Well, I'm going to fill them with bath salts!!!  Yep..., then I'm going to tuck them into organdy bags with matching tags -- which I haven't made yet... lol!!!   I think the quick and easy bath salt ornaments are going to be fabulous Christmas gifts!!!

 

Well, I certainly hope to be back on schedule soon and not be away from you as I've been!!!  Keep the prayers coming!!!  My thoughts and prayers are with you all always!!!

 

I'll be seeing you!

FINALLY!!! KITCHEN-REMODEL PICS POST!

Hello, everyone!  Hope all's well in blogland.

I've still got my hands full but, at least, hubby's coming along.  Although I still have some burdens to bear within my family, everything else that's now no longer of immediate importance is coming under some control but I'm still busy, very worried, and doing a lot praying.

Amyway I've promised you long enough to get pictures of my kitchen-remodel posted, so I'm taking a few minutes to get it done.  My kitchen is small so I've tried to scan around the entire kitchen (because of the lighting the cabinets may look brown but they're actually black).  It may be better if you zoom in to see clearer:
 

 

 

All the cabinets are handmade, so they're one unit and there's another cabinet unit above the refrigerator on the other side of the room.  The picture below is a pantry they built for me that not only has shelves inside but one side also has room to store my mop, broom,  bucket, etc., so now I have plenty of cabinet space:

 

 

 

I LOVE this back door!  I selected it over some which were probably prettier to some, but I picked this one especially because the blind is between 2 panes of glass built into the door panel, so I'll never have to take down the blind to wash it (I absolutely hate cleaning window blinds):

 

 

I've added a few touches of red in the kitchen to compliment the red on the knobs of the stove:

 

 

Still haven't had time to really enjoy or finish embellishing my kitchen yet; I've only had time to cook a few meals  but I definitely enjoyed the dishwasher... lol!!!  Anyway, all the work is done and all that's left is for me to add my finishing touches when I get a chance.  Soon it'll looked "lived in".

 

Haven't done any crafting in 2 months now but did start a small project before sitting down to to this post and now I'm to finish it.  I even plan on taking some time tomorrow for more crafting and getting in some time to do some visiting.. YEEEAAA!!!  I can hardly wait!!!  I'll post my project as soon as it's done!

 

Love you, miss you, and...

 

I'll be seeing you!