Trace Creek Crop Gratitudes

A day that I look forward to every year. I get therapy for my mind and a beautiful message for my soul.

This crop is organized perfectly. Jill Rogers who is in charge said God made her for this. And she is so right. God has blessed us in so many ways by giving her the means and know how to control all of us crazy scrappy ladies. On top of that He always puts in her heart the exact words that I need to hear. It's always like the message is directed to me and me only. Someone at the crop said the same thing yesterday so I know that God puts just the right topic in Jill. I am do grateful for this.

I am also grateful to those that donate their time and talents in preparing the foods and making sure I have enough to eat. It is wonderful to share the day with so many good cooks and those who forgo scrapping to ensure I put on a few pounds. I am grateful to you all.

I am happy that the Goughs's devote their time to check us in and make sure we sign up for prizes. For them giving me a kind word every time I pass their table and always smiling. They also make our lovely name tags! I am grateful to them.

There's Cassie Johnson who was willing and able to stay up late to sign me up for the crop. Without her none of it would have been possible. Bless Cassie for taking care of me. She even sit next to me all day. That is love. For her I am grateful.

For the people who sit up the tables, for the church who allows us to invade their space and use their lovely sanctuary. I am grateful for you.

Then there's the ladies who put items in the yard sale. Without you I would never be able to afford all those stampin up stamps I have bought over the years. I am so grateful you girls want to purge your stash. That you let things go for such wonderful prices. I look forward to the yard sale and I am grateful for it.

To the vendors that encourage me to spend money and run me up a tab. I love that you are there and that you are kind and patient with me. I am grateful for you.

Yes I am even grateful for my fellow scrapper. I have never met one I didn't like. This year we met two more lovely ladies who were very talented. I am grateful for them sharing my table.

And my mom. I finally got her to go to an event with me. I had a lovely day with her. We ate, worked and talked. Oh yeah we shopped too. I am grateful to her for spending her day with me.

I can think of nothing at the TCC that is not super. Bless you and hope to see you in the fall.

Missed art

Mirabella designs

My first pullwork

I took a photo of my children and then cross stitched it.  This took me over a year!

For many years, I have been what you might say as an expert cross stitch person.  Once I even worked for a designed doing her mock up designs for the cover art of the packaging.  Back in 2010, I realized my hands simply cannot take the stress of holding the hoop anymore.  They ache and ache from the pressure.  One day, I am going to buy a loom that I can stitch at in my seat, but in the meantime I am going to think back to the days when I was a mad stitching machine.

Blackwork checker board I made for Hannah.  This is my own design.

blackwork sampler, 100% my design

My first beadwork

Families Ties sampler, the first sampler I ever searched and searched the internet for. 

My second piece ever, and the first where I changed almost ever single thread color and thread types.  This one features a lot of the DMC flower thread.  She is soooo me!

Really 2 pictures, but I put them together into one.  Pinky and Blue Boy

my first blackwork sampler

Blackwork lady, I love her.  Wish I had designed her

St Peter's in Russia, this was so fun to do. I painted the Aida cloth with clouds first then stitched ontop.  It is full of silver threads that shine on the wall.  Beautiful.  One of my favorites. 

Building blocks of life

I have been working on this set of blocks for months. They have been my project in between projects.  I have to say that I am tickled with the way that they turned out.  The large letters and steampunkish pictures.  What little baby would not want these?  Without a doubt, they are the most original building blocks ever made!!!  I actually started making them when a friend of mine announced she was having a baby, and very soon I will get to gift them to her.  I hope she is as happy with them as I am.  

Products used:

Tim Holtz distressed inks in peeled paint, broken china, chipped sapphire, fired brick, festive berries, frayed burlap, tea dye, old paper, faded jeans, iced spruce, evergreen bough, worn lipstick, spun sugar, dusty concord and black soot.

Large letters from Technique Tuesday: Williamsburg

other stamps from: Inkadinkadoo, Hampton Arts, Graphic 45, 7 Gypsies, and Stampin Up!

misting sprays by Michelle's Musings in Silver Springs, Chocolate Bar Brown, Barbados Blue and Minty Green

Water

TONS of mod podge

Aleene's clear tacky glue

Prismacolor watercolor pencils

Prang watercolor paints

Every child needs a set of blocks.  Blocks can do so many things in a child's mind. Hope my blocks serve this baby well.  Happy building, baby!

I like a little purple in my diet CR84FN 48

Today's challenge is to use purple, chartreuse, and grey. What a grand color combination. It sorts of evokes the feeling of tranquility.


My layout features lovely flocked paper by recollections!  I love this paper.  Actually the whole pad of paper was fantastic. I made paper roses from a sheet of scrap paper that I had distressed.

The photos show are little walk from Union Station to Busch Stadium in St. Louis on a gorgeous sunny day.  I love all of these photos, they provide great memories for me because this day was PERFECT!   

Products used:
Distress inks: by Tim Holtz Peeled Paint, Iced Spruce, Dusty Concord
Beads from my cross stitch box
flocked paper by Recollections
Wire
Wander tag by Tim Holtz
Purple patterned paper by Creative Memories
Green leaves cut from scraps of creative memories paper
Purple paper by Bazzil

Thinking of you card made for a friend who has just recently lost a loved one.  This card makes me happy, and I hope it does the same for her. 

Products used:  

Distress inks by Tim Holtz in Peeled paint and Dusty Concord

Flowers by Recollections and Creative Memories

Purple flower painted by my very own Michelle's Musings Purple Mountain Majesty paint

Purple buttons from a nightgown I had as a child

Green buttons by Boxer Scraps

Seed beads from my cross stitch box

Wire from a spool I have had since 1993

Green paper by Creative Memories

Gray paper by Hobby Lobby open stock

Thinking of you stamp by Heidi Grace

Purple ribbon from my jars

Thinking of you card #2

This card was made because I had papers left and I am NOT adding to my scrapbin right now, only taking from it.  So I had no choice but to use all the papers.  The papers are the same as listed above the only new product used here is the flower stamp which is by Heidi Grace and the trim which is by Westrim Crafts.

Thank you card

I wish I knew who made the Thanks stamp, I picked it up somewhere, if you know please tell me.  All papers are the same (again these are left overs).  New products used is a buckle by JoAnn's, purple ribbon from a package I received once, and green ribbon from a Sam's scrapbook basket. 

This was a fun challenge. If you are into challenges I suggest you try CR84FN.  A new exciting bundle of fun every two weeks.  

http://cr84fncolorchallenge.blogspot.com/

The 12 tags of 2012: updated 2.19.12

 

It is no secret that Tim Holtz is like some kind of stamping hero of mine.  I adore just about everything he creates.  I aspire to be as creative and most of all, I desire to sell my work as he sells his.  Every year he does the 12 tags of Christmas.  This is where he makes a speical tag every day for 12 days leading up to Christmas (duh).  It just about broke my heart yesterday when he announced that he was retiring the 12 tags of Christmas.  The heartbreak was short lived as he announced seconds later that he would be doing one tag a month for the rest of the year.  WHAT??? I get to make tags with Tim every month?  Oh how exciting!!!!!!!!!!!

This post will be leading into my first tag, which I will make this weekend.  Here is a link to Tim's post.

 http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/02/12-tags-of-2012-a-new-direction.html


I am hoping that maybe you too will want to embark upon this journey with me.  If you do, remember that this tag is YOUR work of art.  You don't have a supply?  substitute.  You don't like something?  Change it. 

If you have never experience Tim or his line of exciting products, what a great time to get involved.  If you are making your first purchase I recommend the distress inks.  They perform like no other ink pad.  My crafting has changed since I began to use them.  Experiment with them, you will be amazed.

You have those?  Then I say grab some of the embellishments.  They are unique, just like YOU!!!

This is the tag Tim made, how lovely.  I can't wait to craft along with Tim (and I have to get some of that honeycomb paper)!!!!!


 ************************************************************************

This weekend I finally had a chance to make MY version of Tim's first tag of 2012.  I liked the techniques Tim's used this month. I however have never seen honeycomb paper for sale and so I had to make my own.  It is not nearly as perfect as store bought, but I like the way it adds a homemade feel to my tag.  
I also did not have the heart or cupid, so I had to draw my own. I did draw them on grunge board and used the same techniques Tim did to color them.  The tissue paper is what I used for the tissue tape. I took a large piece of regular tissue and stamped words onto it.  Then I cut the tissue into strips. I applied glue to my heart and scrunched the tissue up onto the heart.  The ruffle is left over from another project, the wire is stuff I have lying around, the pearl is from my great grandmother's dress. The misting sprays are my own Michelle's Musings misting sprays. The letters, the picket fence paint dabber and heart charm are Tim's.

The stamped background is a bunch of stamps placed on an acrylic block.  This includes stamps from Inkadinkadoo, Stampin UP!, Hampton Arts, and stampology.


I am going to give the tag to my mom!  I love my mommy! 

Hey how did that bridge get there?

This could have been one of the worst bridge accidents ever. How lucky was our region that it was not?

If you don't know the story....this giant ship was traveling down the Tennessee River on January 26, 2012, when the ship struck the bridge. The next thing we knew was two sections of the bridge fell onto the bow of the vessel. There the decking of our Eggners Ferry bridge lay while the Kentucky Dept of Transportation did their investigation. The Delta Mariner is a vessel that carries parts for NASA and has navigated this river successfully many times over the course of ten years

What went wrong? That is still under debate. Speculations are strong to the locals....were the lights on the bridge working ( work was scheduled to begin the next morning to replace broken lights)? Was the water too high for the vessel this time? Did the ship try to travel under the wrong span? Was the captain under the influence of drugs, alcohol or even lack of sleep?

Time is going to tell. In the meantime check out these photos all of which were obtained from the Internet. Even though the wreckage is near my home I have stayed away.

St Valentine's Day

I am trying not to be into the whole obligated holiday thing.  It may be sweet for some, but we need our money for something else at my house.  I am excited about the “I love yous” on a daily basis.  Happy that my hubby loves me 365 days a year and not just on the one day.  Happy that my hubby provides for us, feeds us (even will go to the grocery for us), that he takes my son to ball practice, that he mows the yard, that he chases moles, that he is a good driver, that he is a great grill cook,  that he can stand my craziness, that he is a great dad and husband.  I guess I am grateful that he doesn’t need $100 spent on him on Valentine’s Day, he knows how I feel. 

That aside, I was very happy with the gesture from people that did NOT have to show me their love today. 

First is my beautiful teenage daughter, who at times I know would LOVE to claim that she was adopted!  She decided to take time out of her night last night to make her family a cake.  This was the first cake that she made all by herself from scratch.  It was a tasty cake too.  I am so proud of her!!!  She’s pretty wonderful!

Then there is Cassie Rogers.  She hasn’t known me for long, but in the time that she has known me she has embraced me and picked me up after I had been terribly hurt.  She has embraced my craziness and as a matter of a fact, I think she might be as crazy as me.  She doesn’t crowd me, she knows that I like my sleep, and she still accepts me.  She has done a few things for me that have shocked me; people just don’t do things for people anymore.  Once she bought me some hand gel because we were talking about it and well, she listened.  Another time, she went to the movies with me for 10 hours and she brought me a goodie bag and a Breaking Dawn pin (that I love).  And today she topped the cake, she came to school and brought me a Valentine!!! She did not have to do that!  How wonderful is that?  I don’t deserve it, but I gratefully accept it (it was yummy too).

My point?  Do I ever have one?  This time I think that I do..... just that I am grateful for all those in my life that love me every day and NOT just Valentine’s Day. 

Laundry fairy, where for art thou?

I thought that in the future we were going to have robots to do our laundry!  Wasn't that what was promised to us? 

My life this morning:

6:32am (we leave the house at 6:45)

son: mom, I don't have any underwear.
mom:  what do you mean you have no underwear, I just did laundry on Sunday.
son:  well I don't
mom:  did you look on your dresser? (because no one put clothes away anymore)
son:  there is not any underwear there. 

Ladies and gentlemen this is the story of my life.  The never ending laundry pile story.  I wash clothes almost every day, and somehow, somehow it keeps multiplying and I can't keep up.
 There is a girl at work, and I adore her in most ways, but there is one in which I am very envious.  She said "I only do laundry on Sundays".


WHAT??? Did I hear you correctly?  Just Sundays?  How on Earth do they do it?  I believe that if I waited until Sunday that would be all I did the entire day.  I washed 2 loads all ready today (and these are full loads people). 
My reality:

My dream: Yes in my dream the laundry is folded and put in ROYGBIV.

















Oh, and the underwear?  I found ONE pair on his bed.  I just hope they were clean.  What I can't figure out is how can we go on a week-long cruise and I don't have to do laundry even once and everyone has clean undies, but back in Western KY, we run out after two days?  What do we change underwear 4 times a day?  Are the undies hidden in the back of a drawer or folded up in the fitted sheet (this has happened to me)? I guess if I could solve this, I could solve all the world's problems...in the meantime bring on the Purex!!!!

Philippa Carr-Daughters of England book series

Have you ever read a book that changed your life?  I can recall the exact year that it happened to me and the exact book that did it.

Flash backward to 1989...Picture a high school student with long hair, tease to massive heights.  She is wearing a maroon trench coat and boots.  Her clothes usually consist of a Def Leppard or Bon Jovi shirt and pants (she never wears jeans).  She is too cool to read because, well, she is just too cool.

One day, she goes to her mom's friends house.  Her mom and her friend are talking and she is not really paying attention.  She is a bit bored!  There is a book on the floor entitled "The Adulteress".  Doesn't really sound like something she would do, either by the title or the fact that it was a book.  She picks up the book and begins to read.  Zipporah is the heroine of the book.  A good Bible name, she reads on.  Zipporah turns out to not be what she portrays herself to be (you knew that didn't you?).  Her cousin Dickon is on to her, he causes a terrible accident where her husband is terribly injured and he is a blackmailer.

Yes, this did it, she was hooked. She read this book in a couple of hours (God has blessed her with the ability to read swiftly and retain lots).  Then she had to know more. There was a family tree and she realized this must be a SERIES!

When she got back to Mayfield, KY she went to the library and realized yes indeed it was a series.  A series that began with a girl named Damask in the reign of Henry VIII and ended after WWII.  It followed a whole family of women that kept diaries of their life.  The lives they led were boring for some, but most had adventures that were well... building of a historical romance novel.

This girl began collecting the books in 1990 and currently has everyone.  Many she has had to replace because she reads them over and over and over.  She wishes they would put them on digital because she would LOVE to have them on her nook or kindle.

Her favorite is the story of Carlotta Main, a woman with violet eyes and TONS of problems.  A rich heiress that seemed to have no conscience. The book is appropriately named Song of the Siren.

If you have the time read the series.  Start with the Miracle at St Bruno's and go from there.

Here is a website that lists all the books and a little bit about each one.

This is the series that made one girl a reader and for that, she is grateful because this girl currently reads tons of books because of one woman named Philippa Carr.

Here is a photo of my Philippa Carr/Jean Plaidy (same author) bookshelf.  My Twilight books are also on here because they too are special to me.  This is my favorite bookshelf in my house.

Words of Wisdom to a new mom

In August I changed jobs and I have met many new people in the last few months.  Some have changed my life, my outlook on life and how I am.  I have grown close to people that I did not even know last July.  One of them has the office next to me.  There is just something about her.  Her whit, her strength, her drive, and her personality, as one student said “she’s off the chain”.  She is simply extraordinary!!

A little bit ago, she had a baby.  A precious little baby with the most adorable hands!  We are about to give her a shower at work and I thought, what would I have wanted when I was a first time mom?  It hit me……. When I was a about to become a mom I got plenty of advice on how to do things, like caring for the baby, but no one mentioned that I would be a soul provider.  What a HUGE responsibility that is!  Even to contemplate that, well it’s a little overwhelming. 

This is the advice I needed and did not get.  This is the advice I wanted to pass on in my baby gift to my new friend.  I decided to make her a canvas with one of the greatest little prayers that I have read.  

the canvas after the inking

the finished product

c

cherish tag

close up of cherish tag

Kind of sums it up…Parents love their kids in good and bad.  And on a larger scale……God loves us when we screw up, when we do right and just us in general. 

14 years ago, I began the road that my friend is now traveling down.  It is a road that has had some bumps, happiness, tears and some wonderful adventures.  I hope my friend is showered with many blessings on this new journey she has undertaken.  My prayer for her house is that her journey is as great for her as mine has been for me and that her child knows above all God is SOOOOOO good!! 

thanks Gingersnap Creations for this challenge, thanks to God for all else.  

http://gingersnapcreations.blogspot.com/2012/02/c137-chestnut-theme-challenge-words-of.html

 products used:
Cherish tag (copper), fragment, and all inks by Tim Holtz (broken china, frayed jeans, chipped sapphire)
bear and star beads and white ribbon by trinkets
jewel from the Christmas clearance aisle
Bingo chips thingys by Maya Road
Prayer from an old children's book
Angel and baby die cut and stars/moon from things I have collected from yard sales
Blue tag (featuring baby stats) by Technique Tuesday
Cherish silver tag by Joann's
paint used for angel by American crafts

Glorious Greens: GC136

Green can mean so many things:  spring, fresh, healthy. It can be calming, earthy, or even exciting.  To me, green is relaxing, cozy and happy.  A challenge based on glorious greens is not only inspiring but fun.  I ran with the line in the blog post that mentioned getting away from the blahs of the greys of winter.  This card does just that for me...I have an escape from winter and the dream of the spring that lies ahead.


Products used:
flowers by prima
patterned paper from a CKC kit (a scrap)
inspire metal by Tim Holtz
yellow wire I have had forever
fragment by Tim Holtz
paper on back of fragment by prima
all inks by Tim Holtz (distress inks in peeled paint, tea dye, iced spruce, and evergreen bough)
rhinestone by Jolee's
 button by Making Memories



thanks to Gingersnap Creations for another GREAT challenge!!!!

http://gingersnapcreations.blogspot.com/2012/01/gc136-color-challenge-glorious-greens.html

Designer Scraps

It happens to us all, there is a piece of paper that we are willing to pay $2.00 for and then we try to use it in every possible way that we can think of.  This happens to me a lot.  You have to save the scraps of that paper and use it until every single centimeter is gone.  Here is one that I bought at CKC in Nashville, TN in 2009.

A single sheet of paper that I bought at one of the booths and wish that I knew who made it.  I believe it was the paper loft.  If you know differently please tell me then maybe I could fine another sheet.





This is actually 2 sheets that I am featuring here.  A green/brown/tan stripe and a brown leafy page. Both which are very very great.  The stripe is the real one that I love. It's a subtle print with the perfect shades of those colors.  All of the inks used are by the one and only Tim Holtz.  Dusty Concord and Walnut Stain.  Every bit of the paper used is from my scrapbin.  The thinking of you rub on, stand by me rub on, and girl chipboard are also from the leftovers box.


The stand by me card is a bonus.  I used some of the same set, but most of this card was created for a golden anniversary.  It features gold paper, gold mulberry paper and a golden butterfly.  The green strip on the bottom of the purple is from the above mentioned paper.  Everything else is from my bin.

I am hoping to wipe this bin out by the end of the year.  It's February and I feel I have made quite a dent in that little blue box. 

Mojo Monday 226-I don't need a reason

Sometimes you just want to say HI or drop a note for no reason.  Today I HAD to make a couple of cards for just NO REASON.  Collages seem to be my new favorite thing and who would not like to get one on a card?  Both cards can be used for a multitude of things.  Here's how I got the look:

I cut the square and circle shaped bases that the Mojo Monday folks wanted.  With the square one, I just took my blending tool and blended in a little dusty concord.  On the circle one, I did that, but then I spritzed water into my hand and threw it onto the card.  This is one of my favorite techniques.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way the water makes the ink look.  While it was still wet I misted on some of my very own creation of a shimmer ink.  I just can't get enough of this look.


On both cards I took wire and twirled it in many directions to make something interesting.  The brown flower was made by me, the pink flower by Prima.  The "28" was from Maya Road...the Destiny metal tag and green fragment (I colored it with Ranger alcohol ink to get the green) by the great Tim Holtz.  The domino by 7 gypsies, the "smile" metal by JoAnn's.  The green and white button made by my mom and the moon and yellow flower gemstone from a child's outfit.