Inspirational Greeting Cards

Hello everyone,

My sister-in-law came to visit from out of town for a couple of days this week. I love this girl and was really looking forward to seeing her. Both of us are card makers, so I told her to bring her sets of Scripture Stamps and I pulled mine out. We spent some time stamping card inserts, stamping quotes for some cards and just visiting, eating and drinking coffee. 

It was a wonderful visit and I hope we can do it again soon. Luckily she got home before too much snow accumulated on the drive home. It's cool here today at -9, but she's further north and has to plug in her car when it gets ridiculous up there! 

I guess we're lucky. Lol...perspective is everything.

Here are a couple of the cards I made: 

This one was fun to make. I used designer paper from a company in Victoria that is no longer in business, but I just love their designs and the quality of their cardstock. The clock, which I cut out,  was also off one of the designs. I added the little world embellishment and the bow on top. The frame looked a bit empty, so I added some stitching with a white pen. The rest is all paper piecing.

For this one I used a Bo Bunny 8X8 paperpad. This is kind of a no nonsense card and I'm still not sure about the flowers on there. A little contrast is good though. Love the scripture on there.

This was actually my least favority card. I love the birdcage and the bird, but not a lover of the flowers or the leaves. I did use up some old stock, which was nice. You never know, someone might like it. 

Anyway, that's it for today.

Have a great weekend!

Carmen

Squirrelly Observations

Hello,

I recently found a blog called Grammy's Grid that was having a link up party. I linked a couple of my posts and joined her facebook page. Then a post came up on FB that I thought looked interesting. I don't do much writing here, but have done some creative writing on my inspirational blog. I'll link some of my writings from that blog below if you're interested. 

Anyway, I decided to play along with Grammy's Grid today. It's called a Short Story Promt. 

Here's the outline: 

Start with the partial sentence

Create a short story by adding to the sentence

Post the story on your blog

Add your post to their linkup

Squirrelly Observations

 

                                                                                                              Source: Lovethegarden.com

A woman sitting alone on a park bench hears something that makes her look up from her phone. The sound of frantic peeping and crackling dry leaves could be heard coming from the base of a large tree that bordered the walkway were she sat. Curious, she looked around wondering what the commotion was all about. Then she noticed two little squirrels actively fighting. Totally unaware of their audience, they performed crazy acrobats in mid air as she looked on. 

One had a nut, the other wanted it. 

Amused, she watched them for a few moments. Finally one scrambled up the tree as the other gave chase, knocking the first one down a few feet. It sat up in the midst of a bed of leaves, a bit dazed it shook its furry little head and quickly ran away, an acorn still firmly planted in its mouth. Watching it scamper away, the other little fellow recognizing that nothing comes easy, leaped down the tree to forage for its own nuts. 

The woman chuckled. It was time to whip together some dinner for a couple of active little munchkins of her own. 'Maybe some stew would be nice' she thought, as she tucked away the phone that was still in her hands, got up and strode towards home in the fresh autumn air. 

The End.

As promised, here are a few links to some other writing I've done. 

The Landscape

Whispers

That's it for today. I hope you enjoyed my little story. If you enjoy writing, maybe join me and check out Grammy's Grid and write your own short story with her prompts. 

Blessings~

Carmen

New Cards and Free Sentiments

Hello everyone,

I've made a couple of cards and did up some Digi Sentiments to go with them. I'll provide those here if you want to download them.

Here are my recent cards. The first one I was just playing around and using some of my Digital Stamps (Old fashioned Light Bulbs). I used a 6 x 6 paper pack called Craftsman Collection put out by Prima.

I actually messed up by getting some ink on the inside, but thought I'd show you one of the ways to cover this up without anyone knowing. The light bulb works perfectly and no one would know.  It looks like an added element meant to be there.

This is the sentiment I did up to go inside the card. It's a freebie, so go ahead and download it for your light bulb cards.

This next one I made up for our nephew who just had his first baby. This one was very simple as the designer paper did all the work, save the pearls and the added bottle sticker I had handy.

I saw a similar sentiment somewhere in the past and decided to make one up to put with this card. I love this little saying.

Here it is as a free digi for you to download. Most of you probably make up baby cards now and then, and this saying is kind of cute!

You've already seen this card, but I am just including the sentiment as a freebie below and wanted to remind you where you'd seen it used before.

Well, that's it for today. My eyes are sore because of this computer. It's still going off and on to a black screen as I'm working. It's very disturbing. I will probably have to buy myself a new computer soon. 

Have a good week everyone! 

Blessings,

Carmen

Boy Cards and Crafts

Hello Everyone,

How is 2019 going for you? I've been MIA here on the blog for lack of time, but I often post on my Facebook page when I don't have time to do a full blog post. If you'd like to see what I'm up to on a regular basis, check me out there.

Here are a few of the things I've been working on lately. (If you follow my FB page, you may have seen a few of these already, but there will be a couple of new cards). I'll post the cards first.

This one was for my oldest grandson. He just turned 16. I just love this kid! He's funny, sweet and talented at beatboxing. Just a nice kid!

I saw a card like this one on Pinterest and decided to try something similar. The blog was no longer in existence and so I can't give credit, but what a cute idea!  I liked the black and white contrast, so stuck with that. The rest I just kind of put together by gosh and by golly, but it turned out okay. I just used a piece of yarn for the shoe lace as I had nothing else suitable. 

I thought this little metal 'Destiny' accent went well with the saying. 

My other grandson's birthday is coming up in February and he's right into Lego. So here is his card.

I bought the Lego paper quite some time ago but it sure came in handy. It has a bit of a shiny texture to it and so I didn't need to do any additional work on it.

I found a little saying that I thought was cute and put it on the inside. 

My kids sometimes roll their eyes at my sense of humor. Oh well, I've got to be who I am.

His daddy's birthday is also coming up in February, so I made a very simple card for him. I scarfed the saying off the internet. It was a free sentiment that led back to Pinterest and a broken link. Sigh.

I had such a hard time getting good photos. It was full-on sun in the middle of the day, but they're still kind of dark. I wasn't going outside to take them. Too cold here, plus I'm just getting over being sick.

Speaking of which, that is why I made easy cards. My goodnesss I was sick. I mean sleep all day sick, and stare into stunned oblivion when awake. Oh, it was bad. Happily I am on the mend. Still coughing lots and still a bit stuffy at times, but waaaaayyy better!!!

Now onto some things you may or may not have seen. I made some little Tiger Pouches for three of my granddaughters. After seeing them my 10 yr old grandson came and asked me to make him something, so I made some Shark Pencil Pouches for 2 of my grandsons. The others are either too young or too old.

The Tiger Pouch was a paid pattern from Stubbornly Crafty on Etsy. This one was super easy to follow and fun to make. I used wool felt for the glasses. 

I actually made 3 of these. The smallest one is the first one I made and is true to the pattern. I decided I wanted them a bit larger, so the other three were made with the adjusted pattern. 

The pattern for the Shark Pencil Pouches was a free pattern from Patchwork Posse. You will have to join her newsletter to get the pattern. I found it difficult to work the zipper in this one but it's great for using up scraps of fabric. I'd like to try one with Denim scraps. If you're not experienced with zippers, I wouldn't recommend this one for you.

Okay, so last but not least. I always enjoy crocheting and have been working on some little runners and hats for newborns up to 3 months. I'll just share this photo instead of take an up to date one.

These are going to the pregnancy center in town. I may make more. I'm really kind of a do-as- the-mood-hits-me girl. Some might say spoiled, but that's not nice. Be nice.

Anyway, that's about all I'll post for today. My computer is blinking on and off and being difficult, but it still works. Lol.

Be thankful, take nothing for granted and have a great day!

Blessings,
Carmen

Yarn Canada Annual Charity Yarn Event

Hello, 

Are you having a good day? It's about to get better! First, I have some questions for you...

Do you love to knit or crochet? 

Do you make items with your yarn to donate to charity? 

Could you use some free yarn for your charity projects? 

**Well then you're going to LOVE this post! **

Yarn Canada is holding their 2nd Annual Yarn event for people that make projects for good causes. They would love to hear your stories and help you out. This is open to both America and Canada, because they're nice like that! 

So what are they giving away? 

*One prize of $500 in yarn to a Canadian group that knits or crochets for a good cause.

*One prize of $500 in yarn to an American group that knits or crochets for a good cause.

*Ten prizes of $100 to Canadian or American individuals or groups who knit or crochet for a good cause.

AWESOME!!

All you have to do is fill out the form in the link below telling your story, what you will use the yarn for, the impact previous projects had, or anything else you've experienced through your project donations. Photos are also appreciated. 

Yarn Canada's 2nd Annual Charity Yarn Event

I believe they make their selection on January 20th, so get your name in today! 

Have a good week everyone!

Blessings, 

Carmen