August Break

Sad to say I've become a half-hearted blogger.  I won't go into all of the reasons but lets just chalk it all up to changes. Some good and some less so. But, the other day I realized I was missing something and maybe this is it. So, here I am. I've decided to play along in Susannah Conway's August Break. I'll let you read her description: 

This is a community project that has no real rules –  the idea is to simply take a photograph every day for the whole of August. That’s it. Pause, look around you and shoot what you see. Live inside each moment. Pay attention to what’s there. If it’s the summer where you are it’s a lovely way to be present to the moments that will be gone before you know it. If it’s the winter, what better way to liven up your day than with a creative project to play with? :)

You can use any camera. You could shoot every day or every other day or just on weekends. You can share your photos or just enjoy taking them without sharing. You can start and not finish. You can join in at the end.

Susannah has also provided a list of daily prompts to inspire the photographs here:

So, feel free to play along...see you tomorrow!

Catalog card generator here.

There's a fish!

Where'd you go?

I was sitting at my desk yesterday looking at a Real Simple magazine when I turned the page to find a brochure for Nest smoke detectors attached to the page. As I usually do when I come up on one of those annoying attachments in a magazine I tore it out and dropped it in my waste basket. But then it looked at me and I took it out of the trash and looked at it again. It was a handy size...about 5 inches square and there was  only a single image on each white page. At first I thought I might cut out some of the images (see that cute red suitcase?) to use in my journals. Then, I thought I would just turn the whole brochure into a journal...you know, because I always need ANOTHER journal! I painted the cover and added a few images. I happened to have an envelope full of old paper ephemera (thank you Lyneen) in my desk drawer. I pulled it out and started covering the pages of the brochure. Before I knew it...a journal was born! Now, all my pages are started and just waiting for more collage and journaling. I love serendipitous projects like this! And since everything I used was something I already had sitting in my desk drawers and the magazine was given to me I didn't have to spend a penny. Love it!

                             

 

 

Februrary Swap from Bev

I love the format of the monthly swap at A Swap for All Seasons.  Linda has designed it so each swapper sends to one person but receives from a different one.  I think this keeps it interesting and fun...I love mixing it up. This month I received my swap from Bev of Country Frog Creations.  After checking in with each other at the beginning of the month I realized I'd actually received some lovely things from Bev a few years back when we were both swapping regularly with the Red Lead group. This is one of the best parts of getting back into paper crafting...all the wonderful people I've "met" through the years who love to do this too!  Take a look at the fun package Bev sent to me. She wrapped it in old dress pattern paper. I love to do that too!

I love the card and tag she made for me and look at all the swell red stash things she treated me to.  I know I'll have fun using the buttons, cards and game pieces.  The vintage Valentine is hilarious. You can move the girl's head and the boys eyes. Depending on the mood he can be looking at her, looking shyly away or looking scared to death! So funny!

Of course I had to play with him every which over and over. Thanks Bev for a great swap!

February Swap

Well, can you believe how quickly January flew by? Here I am once again showing off my card and tag for the monthly swap at a Swap for All Seasons. The theme this month was Valentine's Day and the color was red. Although there are no hearts or Valentine sentiments on my card or tag I think they're still Valentine-ish. I just fell in love with some of the collage sheets at Red Lead and had to use them. I hope my swap partner likes them.

And here is my De-stash. I apologize for the poor lighting in these photos. It's been pretty gloomy here in the Pacific Northwest and good light is hard to come by!

Today is the first day to sign up for the next swap  so if you'd like to join us head over to A Swap for All Seasons and take a look!

                                                       



 

Happy New Year!

In addition to being the first day of a new year,  today is my birthday.  That's always made this day doubly wonderful for me. I love the idea of a new year and a fresh start. I haven't made any big resolutions this year but I am feeling open to change and excited to see what 2014 has in store.  Happy New Year!

January Swap

The theme this month at A Swap for All Seasons was "Thinking of  You" and the color was blue. I knew right away that I wanted to use these pretty old greeting card images. I love these blue birds and they show up so often on these old cards.  I can't pass up old greeting cards when I see them in my favorite thrift stores...the colors and images just grab me. I hope Jan likes them too!

And here are my de-stash items...a few vintage blue goodies along with a yo-yo brooch. 

Sign-ups begin tomorrow for the February swap so if you'd like to play along stop by A Swap for All Seasons and see what the fun's all about!

Now, look at the lovely things I received from Lorraine. Her card and tag are so pretty and look at the fun de-stash treats she sent. De-lightful!

December Swap

For the December Swap at A Swap for All Seasons the theme was Happy Holidays and the color was green. For this round I got to treat Marie from Spun By Me. Be sure to stop over at Marie's blog and take a look at all the lovely things she's been crafting for the holidays!  I've always loved the artwork of Ellen Clapsaddle so I chose two of her images for my card and tag. I'm sure you might recognize her images as she was one of the most successful female illustrators of her day and her art was featured on greeting cards and postcards in the early 1900s.  Sadly, she had a very tragic end but her art lived on to be enjoyed worldwide to this day. I still find her postcards in antiques stores and thrift shops now and then. Here is my card and tag. I forgot to take a picture of the stash items I sent but I hope Marie enjoys them. Another love of mine is mail art so I couldn't help spiffing up the package!

Now, the next best thing to giving is receiving so I have to share with you what I received from my partner Joy. Here is her lovely card and tag.  The photo just doesn't do them justice though because there is such a pretty sparkle and shimmer on them that the camera (or my poor photographic skills) can't capture. I love them! And I'm going to have so much fun with the green stash items she sent me...they're perfect for some last minute Christmas craft projects I have planned. Thank you Joy!

If you'd like to join us Linda is accepting sign-ups for the next swap.  Just take a look at A Swap for all Seasons to see what the color and theme with be for January!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you enjoy the day and if you just happen to find a huge pile of leaves...take a jump for me!

A Swap for All Seasons

 The November swap theme at A Swap for All Seasons was Birthday and the color was Brown. Along with one card and one tag we were to send one brown de-stash item to our swap partners. I've always loved Holly Hobbie so I chose these "Holly inspired" images to use for my card and tag. There's something simple and whimsical about these images that always make me smile. Inspired by the colorful pinafores often worn by the Holly Hobbie girls, my de-stash item is one of my yo-yo brooches made from vintage calico.  Sign-ups for the December swap begin today...if you'd like to join in the fun go take a look!

 

A Swap for All Sesaons

My old swapping buddy Linda Smith recently resurrected one of my favorite swaps of all times...her wonderful A Swap for All Seasons. This time around she's holding a monthly swap featuring three things...a handmade tag, a handmade card and one de-stash item. With a different theme for each month it's bound to be a year of great swapping! During the month Linda shares ideas related to each theme, examples of cards and tags and even holds a giveaway.  Lucky me...I was the winner of the giveaway this month! 

 

 November's Brown Giveaway

It's too late to join in the November swap but sign ups for the December swap begin on November 1st so be sure to stop by and take a look.

Admit One

I was recently invited to join an ATC swap with the theme "Put a Heart on It."  It's been a long time since I made an ATC so I wasn't sure I'd even remember how to do it! Silly me! I had packed up most of my crafty paper supplies so I had to look around and use what I could find. A page from an old book, a bit of paper napkin, an old ticket, a button from my sewing basket and some cardboard off a box that came in the mail. Pretty simple but so fun to do. Now I remember why I love playing with paper!

Some days

Finding out that my job has been eliminated, looking for a new job and trying to decide if I even want another job has me feeling a bit "lifted by the ribs" these days. Some days I feel fine about what's happening, some days I feel angry and some days just helpless.

Some Days

Some days I put the people in their places at the table,
bend their legs at the knees,
if they come with that feature,
and fix them into the tiny wooden chairs.

All afternoon, they face one another,
the man in the brown suit,
the woman in the blue dress,
perfectly motionless, perfectly behaved.

But other days,
I am the one who is lifted up by the ribs,
then lowered into the dining room of a dollhouse
to sit with the others at the long table.

Very funny,
but how would you like it
if you never knew from one day to the next
if you were going to spend it

striding around like a vivid god,
your shoulders in the clouds,
or sitting down there amidst the wallpaper,
staring straight ahead with your little plastic face?

Billy Collins

Some lovely day....

....you might decide to start off on a trail

 

that leads into the woods.

Perhaps you'll follow signs

 

that take you across a bridge

or beside a creek.

You may have to sit and catch your breath

             
                                                          or enjoy a little hiking humor.

You might muse on nature's beauty

or maybe ponder the speed of your trail mates.

BUT, you'll definitely feel refreshed, inspired and full of possibilities. You might even find yourself humming a little hum. And you'll feel thankful. Thankful for this day and the memory that you'll keep in your pocket to pull out and look at until you can find yourself setting off on another trail on another lovely day.

Oh Yeah!

I saw this today on Poppytalk and had to share it because it makes me so happy watching it! I love old retro patterns and this is just too funny. My favorite part is the little head nod from the girl in the back...oh yeah!

Love Notes

I'm participating in a sweet little project called Love Notes Postcard Project. It was dreamed up by Jennifer Belthoff and you can read all about it on the Love Notes site. Who wouldn't wanted to receive some love in the mail?  If you'd like to...go take a look!

Essentials

At work we throw away several small operator's manuals each day...they're included in every box of kits we open. I was looking at one the other day and decided it would be the perfect size for a small journal. So, I took one home, glued every other page together, gessoed the pages, added a light wash of paint to each spread and a cover and here it is...a handy little junk journal! For the cover I used a page out of a 1906 book called Health and Home. Reading it I realized that the "essential" things haven't changed much in the past 107 years!  Here's a copy of the image I used...feel free to use it in your own journal.

Happy Thanksgiving