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.

Spicy Supply Challenge-Ribbon Valentine's Day

I love to send cards to people I card about.  I guess the tradition started with Valentine's cards in Elementary school.  I remember getting the cards at school and just glancing at them, but then when I got home..I would go through them one by one.  Looking at who gave me which one.  To me I felt like the sentiment on the card was directly meant for me by the sender.  I realize now that probably my classmates most likely slapped their name on a card just to get it done.  

Fast forward 30 years later, I am making my own Valentine's Day cards.  These were inspired by a challenge on one of my favorite websites Gingersnap Creations.  The challenge was to use ribbon on your project.  I decided to use ribbon in every way that I could think of using one sheet of 12x12 black Bazzil paper, one 8.5x11 open stock from Hobby Lobby pink paper and the rest of the papers/embellishments were from my scrapbin.  This includes the ribbons.  These ribbons were used previously in a project and I hated to throw away the leftovers.  

I have no idea who made the rub ons, I have had them for years, but the stamp featured on the giggle card is an inkadinkadoo stamp.  All the rosettes were made by me using my incredible Martha Stewart scoring board.  That thing was so worth the $20 I spent on it.  

Colored pencils used were all Prisma Watercolors, all ink was made by the one and only Tim Holtz.  

Thinking of you...

 I decided to make 2 more cards with this weeks CR84FN challenge colors.  One was so I could use my brand new Technique Tuesday harlequin stamp.  I also had this great piece of scrap paper with a red vine on a pink background.  The red is flocked and so awesome.  I could not part with it, but had no idea what to do with it.  This was perfect.  I paired it with a tile from Technique Tuesday, a thinking of you sticker and a Tim Holtz fragment.  Everything else on this card came from my scrapbin.  I just love it when I get my money's worth!!!

The second card was for the Mojo Monday challenge. I love color blocking and thought this one would be perfect.  It has a steampunk vibe, but a simple version.  I used stamps from Hampton Arts (the large gears, key and key hole) and Technique Tuesday (complex gears and phrase).  All pieces of paper came from my scrapbin.