WOYWW 7-25-18

As Julia said, the heatwave continues. We keep getting predictions of highs in the 70's, but end up in the 80's. Ugh. At least it's not the killer 90's. Unfortunately, my husband thinks it's cool enough to turn off the air conditioning. It's not!

A couple of days ago I made some time for myself and scrapped a couple of pages for our trip last spring to be with my brother. I'm still in the part about his life. These two pages are from his younger days, probably in the 1990's.

I used my new flourish dies for the first time! They work great, and I really like them. I hope to eventually get some larger ones too.

Here is a picture of my workdesk, a little more cleaned up. I'm still organizing and rearranging, so some of the stuff will eventually be moved elsewhere.

That's it for this week! Have fun and stay cool! Check out some other desks at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/2018/07/whats-on-your-workdesk-wednesday-477.html?m=1. Have a great crafting week!

WOYWW 6-27-18

Another week, another WOYWW! First, I have to apologize for my lack of visiting a few weeks ago. I was having a lot of technical trouble posting and viewing others' blogs, and had to give up. Hopefully today will be much better!

Life has been busy. On Sunday we had our commissioning service for our new pastor. He's a very nice and mature young man. Here is the card I made for him.

Would you believe that there are ordination cards on Pinterest? Such a great resource for ideas! The lighting still isn't very good. I need to start dragging out my photography set-up when I take pictures.

The day before our service we went to two parties, one of which was a graduation party for a friend's daughter.  I decided at the last minute to throw together a card for her.

I got the you shine brightly stamp for free a couple of years ago at a scrapbook expo, and thought I'd never use it. But I have, many times! It works well for a variety of occasions.

Here is a picture of my workdesk.

The blue basket behind the lamp holds items for current projects. On the cutting mat are labels with my email and website to put on the back of my cards. The rest is clutter I need to put away!

That's all for now. Have a great crafting week and be sure to stop by http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/?m=1 to check out the desks of some really talented people!

WOYWW 6-6-18

Another WOYWW and another chilly day in Chicago! I keep packing away my winter clothes and getting them out again! Though I'm not complaining. I prefer cool weather to hot any day.

This Sunday marks our kick-off for our children's ministry, and we're heading to my daughter's house on Saturday for a birthday barbecue for my two grandsons. So this week is extremely busy! I don't think I'll have time to make cards for my grandsons (and they won't really miss them), but in two weeks we will have a farewell/welcome party for our outgoing and incoming pastors. Here is the first card I made yesterday:

I have a lot of travel stickers to scrapbook our trips from last year, and they seemed appropriate for this card. The pastor is from Miami, and he and his family are moving there this summer. I apologize for the poor photo quality. I try to use my phone because the photos are easier to upload,  but I may have to switch to the camera.

The next card will be a congratulations card which will be a completely different style.

Yesterday hubby and I went to the Chicago Botanic Garden,  where I spent a bit of time relaxing by the pond.

That's it for this week! Have a great crafting week and don't forget to check out the wonderful talent at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com. Thanks for stopping by!

WOYWW 5-30-18

Hello there! It's been a while since I posted. My youngest daughter had knee surgery, then we got sick with a stomach bug, then I caught a cold! So I haven't had much time for crafting. But now daughter is healing nicely (as am I) and able to drive, so things are settling down.

The other day I was going through and closing some browser pages, and came upon a Wikihow article about making ATC cards. Uh-oh! I had committed to send one, but completely forgot. So yesterday, after doing some much needed cleaning, I spent the afternoon making 3 cards. Here is a picture of my workdesk and the cards.

I can't show you a close-up of the cards, because I have to mail them to somebody in our group, and I don't want to spoil the surprise!

That's it for this week. Our church moved and we are revamping our children's ministry while also changing pastors. Between ordering new supplies, trying to get volunteers, and revising procedures, it's been interesting! The new pastor is out of town until June 7th, and we will have our first children's church on June 10th. Whew!!

Have a good week and keep on crafting. Be sure to check out the talented people at www.stamping-ground.blogspot.com for some cool inspiration.

WOYWW 4-18-18

Another week, another WOYWW! Nothing much has changed here. It's still cold and snowy. I watched my granddaughter a lot last week, so I didn't get much crafting done. This week, I decided I needed to make some progress on my scrapbook, so here is the next page.

It's a page that highlights photos of paintings my brother made. He was quite talented! Unfortunately, that drawing/painting gene didn't make it to me. But my oldest daughter, and her niece, my granddaughter, both have it.

And here is a shot of my desk. I got a little bit more clutter put away, but it still needs work. I hope to get more done this week.

That's it for now! I'm kind of tired today, so I have to keep this short and sweet. Check out http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/ to see some other workdesks. Happy crafting!

WOYWW 4-4-18

Here we are at the beginning of April, and it's cold and snowy in Chicago! This is a picture of our backyard this morning.

It was in the 20's and roads were icy! But I can't complain, other parts of the country and world have had it much worse. But the cottonwood trees (also known as poplars) are sending out their pollen, as my nose has been telling me. According to the Farmer's Almanac, we are in for a cool spring. I'm itching to go buy some plants for our back porch, but I'm afraid they'll freeze, so I have to wait.

There's not a lot to report this week crafting wise. Though I did cover a metal canister with some Contact paper and washi tape to make a cute container for my Prismacolor pencils.

The one on the left is what it looked like originally. I found that the lid didn't fit after all of my alterations, but I don't need it for the pencils. Next time I'll leave some space at the top.

Here are some stickers and dies for my scrapbooking that I picked up on sale at Michael's, all for $14 and some change. Have I mentioned I love Michael's? I'm especially happy about the dies for flourishes. I see them used frequently in scrapbooks. I don't have a Scan N Cut, just a Cuttlebug, so those dies will be used a lot! The artist stickers are for my next scrapbook page. Right now I'm scrapping photos of my brother. He enjoyed painting, and my next page will feature photos of some of his paintings.

Here is a picture that I picked up at an apartment where they were giving away free stuff after an estate sale. My daughter was able to get quite a few things for her kitchen. I brought home various items, and took this picture to hang in my office because I believe what it says!

And finally here is a shot of my desk. I wasn't able to get to the clutter, so it doesn't look much different from last week.

That's all for now. Be sure to check out some other desks at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com. Have a great week!

WOYWW 3-28-18

Hello to all! This week is a busy one as we prepare for Easter. The next 3 days we will be out of the house at least part of the time, so I'm writing this post on Tuesday afternoon!

I finally got around to making another scrapbook page this week. I'm trying to experiment with different formats and textures. For this page I used some previously embossed cardstock to layer underneath the matted photos.

And I FINALLY finished those death announcements. Not exactly a fun job, but all they need are stamps, and I can mail them - woohoo!

This is how my workdesk looks this week. The announcements are sealed in their envelopes on the right. The rest is mainly clutter that I need to clean up.

That's it for this week. Stop on by at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com to check out the desks of some really talented people! Have a great week!

WOYWW 3-14-18

Greetings! I haven't posted for a while because there hasn't been much to report, and life has been quite busy! My youngest daughter has flown the coop again. Hopefully this time it will all work out. I'm enjoying my newfound freedom, but I still get to spend time with this cutie when her mom works evenings or weekends.

Here's my workdesk.

On the right is a new pink cutting mat I bought. I accidentally burned my old one while using a heat gun. This mat had rave reviews on Michael's website. It has specific guides for certain sizes of cards, which should be useful. On top of the mat are the bases for some more death announcements I need to make, and the sentiments. I just need to fold and stamp the bases, and attach the sentiments, and they will be set to go - finally!

There are also some cardstock sheets with letters printed on them that I use for our Sunday School class. I'm in charge of our children's ministry at church, which keeps me pretty busy!

The Buffalo Sticks can is empty. I need to decide what I want to keep in there, but it was too nice to throw out.

That's it for this week! Have a great crafting week and don't forget to check out the multitalented group at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com.

WOYWW 1-17-18

First post of the new year!! For the past couple of weeks, I've written "blog post" in my planner, and then forgot about it until evening. Since I'm in the States, that seemed way too late to start, so I would resolve to remember next week. And next week is finally here.

Some of you may remember that we have had what could be termed an "interesting" year, which included 2 semi-unexpected family deaths. I say semi-unexpected because both family members were ill, but the deaths were still sudden. Well, you know how they say it comes in threes . . . (If you don't want to read anything depressing, you should stop here.) My brother-in-law, a great guy, died very suddenly of a heart attack while using a snowblower on Christmas Eve. He was only 63. He and his wife Betty had planned to retire at the end of June, and take a long trip in the fall, similar to our fall trip when we visited Yellowstone. He was in apparent good health, with only the aches and pains that come with age. It was a great shock to all, especially his wife, two sons, and my husband. So we spent Christmas week dealing with that, along with the usual family celebrations. His funeral was the day before New Year's Eve. It had an unexpectedly great turnout, in spite of the holidays and the cold. Like I said, he was a truly great person, friendly and down to earth and very helpful.

And the beat goes on. This weekend we are attending the funeral of a friend. I really didn't know him well, only met him a few times, but my husband knew him. This poor guy was on dialysis the past few years. Every so often we would get word that he was about to pass, but he would somehow rally and hang on! Both he and my brother-in-law are dancing in glory in perfect joy, but it's hard for those of us still on earth. We would all appreciate your prayers!

Now on to more cheerful things. I forgot to take an actual picture of my desk, just some projects I have been working on. Here is a picture of a card I made for my daughter, who shares a birthday with the late, great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The quality is not great with these photos, but I took them very quickly with my cell phone. I hope to use my camera for photos next week. For this card I used a pink base with a lavender panel and a white die cut.

Here is a scrapbook page I did. I'm scrapping our trip to California in February to be with my brother. I'm at the point where I'm pasting in a few pictures of his life.

So far I matted the pictures, added some journaling, and put on some stickers. I may add some washi tape to jazz it up a bit. This is his early life. I will have four pages of pictures when I finish with this section.

Here are the front of the death announcements I made for my mother-in-law.

The base for the card on the left is white, even though it looks bluish. The one on the right is cream. I stamped butterflies and leaves on the bases in corresponding colors. Since I need to make several of these, I kept the design simple. These are smaller than the usual size I make for birthday and other cards. I'm a bit behind - she passed in June! But I was waiting for Christmas so we could get people's names from the Christmas cards people sent to her. Unfortunately, I will have to change the wording inside to include her son.

That's all for now - sorry for such a long post! Be sure to check out some very talented people at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/. I hope you had a merry, uneventful Christmas and New Year. Like I wrote in our Christmas letter, I know that whatever comes in 2018, God will be with us and will help us through it. Nevertheless, here's to a boring 2018!

WOYWW 11-15-17

I didn't realize how long it's been since I posted! I've missed it, and reading everyone else's posts, but things have been kind of hectic.

We made it back home from our trip on October 19th. After Dodge City, we went to Texas and the Ozarks, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. But it's nice to be home! I'm doing a lot of cleaning and sorting, trying to get ready for the holidays. And I'm now in charge of the children's ministry at my church, probably because I volunteered! So it's easy to keep busy.

 I haven't gotten back to crafting yet, but below is a picture of some scrapbook/cardmaking supplies that I picked up on sale during our trip.

That's it for now. Hopefully I can get back to crafting this week. Take a look at some talented people who have been more consistent than me at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com.

WOYWW 10-4-17

Wow, it's October already? We're halfway through our Wild West vacation! When I get back home, I'll have to start on Christmas cards. I know I said that I would bring them on the trip to work on, but I didn't tell you about some more family drama (sigh). Our youngest daughter lent her car to a friend and he wrecked it. Thank God he didn't hit anybody and nobody in the car was hurt. Here are some pictures.

She now has a new car, thanks to my husband cosigning for it.

Anyway, between trying to get that settled and finishing up some required training and packing, I just didn't have time to prep Christmas cards before I left!

We left West Yellowstone and made our way to the Rocky Mountains, stopping at a very interesting bird refuge along the way. The Rockies included some interesting driving and altitudes! The one day we were able to go was a free day for all, so it was very congested. We took a lot of pictures of mountain scenery, but very little of wildlife.Sent

The day we left we woke up to the horror of the Law Vegas shooting.

Then we headed south and east, and now we're staying in a tiny cabin in Dodge City, Kansas (elevation . We hope to go see the historic district this afternoon (it's raining now) and tonight I'm going to do some cooking for the rest of the trip. Then tomorrow off to Texas!

I hope your week is going well. Please take a gander at some other workdesks over at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com.

WOYWW 9-20-17

Here we are in West Yellowstone, MT on our Wild West vacation! It's snowing out here!

It's in the 30's, but I don't mind  - much. Better cold than hot! 

We have also visited Mt. Rushmore and a nearby state park where you are guaranteed to see wildlife. And did we ever! Bison, pronghorns, burros, a coyote, lots of prairie dogs, and magpies. It was over 100 degrees while we were there,but it was a very dry heat.

All of these photos are from my cell phone and are unedited,  so please excuse the picture quality. 

Back to crafting, here is a card I made for my granddaughter before we left.

Hope you enjoy the photos! I'll have more to share next week. For more craft-oriented posts, head on over to http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/?m=1 and check out some very talented people. 

WOYWW 8-23-17

Yay - another WOYWW! I just feel glad about that, for no particular reason!

I've had a busy week, as usual. I forgot to mention last week that I was planning on going to the Scrapbook Expo in Schaumburg, a suburb of Chicago. It's a big deal around here. Not only can you find some great bargains, but they also offer classes and space to crop. So far, I haven't been able to take advantage of the latter two, but I do enjoy the shopping! I promised my husband that I wouldn't spend much since we're trying to save for our trip. Here's a photo of my (rather small) haul.

I bought 5 pages of stickers, which are on the left. I don't have dies or stamps that are very interesting for boys, but have two grandsons, so I rely heavily on stickers to make their cards. The sticker pages were only $1.00 apiece! I also got an embossing folder with a nice floral pattern, two adhesives ($2.00 apiece!), some magnetic sheets to store dies, and last but not least, some Christmas sentiments, since I will be making our cards this year (guess what I'll be working on during vacation!).

I also got some cardstock on sale at Michaels.

I use 110 lb. weight for my cards' bases, but only had cream and white, which was getting a bit boring. Since I mainly make cards for female recipients, I chose this package of delicate pinks for some more colorful bases. It was on sale for $10.00, not bad at all!

Here is my second scrapbook page for our California trip.

This is the house where we stayed. It is set up for families who have relatives in the hospital and need a place to stay. It was very beautiful and comforting. Unfortunately, I am having some trouble with my photo editing software, so the colors in my printed photos are way off and require several attempts before they are even passable. I'm trying to figure out what to do about that.

That's it for this week! Be sure to take a look around at some other workdesks from a group of very talented people at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com. Have a great crafting week!

WOYWW 8-16-17

Another week, another WOYWW! My husband and I are busily preparing for a long road trip, this time for fun. We are traveling West from Chicago to Yellowstone, and circling back further south, with plenty of stops along the way. I'll post some photos during future WOYWW's. Meanwhile, I have one birthday 5 days before we leave, and two while we're gone, so between that and preparing for the trip, I'll keep busy!

I've also had some other birthdays to keep me occupied. Here are two cards I made for my grandsons.

Their birthdays are 9 years apart on the same day, in June. I only recently got around to taking care of them due to all of the family drama this year.

Here is a card I made for my daughter. I am at her house now. She went to the Cubs game last night to celebrate, so I watched her three youngest children, and spent the night.

It was my first time using distress inks. I think I need more practice!

I finally remembered to take a picture of my actual workdesk. Here it is!

I took it at night, so it's a bit dark. In the blue basket are things for current projects, with my paper cutter laying across it. The basket on the left holds stamps that need cleaning. The other baskets hold miscellaneous items, like stamps, wipes, glue, etc. The green coffee container holds my adhesives and is sitting on a cardboard box that holds various inks. There is also a beverage glass and a container that held some grapes that I enjoyed as I finished my daughter's card. Eventually I plan on putting a storage rack on the wall to the right, to relieve some of the clutter. The rest of my supplies are at different places around the room.

That's it for this week! Check out some other talented crafters at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com. Have a good WOYWW!

WOYWW 8-2-17

So, do you remember how a couple of weeks ago I said that the family drama seemed to have settled down? Well . . . the very next day my daughter informed me that she might have to move back in. This is the daughter whose bedroom I had already converted into an office. Her roommate was letting people stay in the apartment who were physically and verbally aggressive toward  her, and she ended up having to break her lease and move back home. No amount of talking to her roommate or landlord had any effect. We had to have a police escort to get her stuff out of the apartment. She's now sleeping on our living room couch. There's some space in the office for her clothes, but not much else. We're making do as best we can, and hope she finds another place before Christmas.

Here is a picture of my workdesk this week.

Nice and cluttered, eh? Which is how a workdesk should look. If it was too neat I would feel like I'm not getting anything done.

Here is a quickie birthday card I made for my granddaughter, who turned 3 years old yesterday!

Nothing fancy, but I tried to use bright colors and a theme that a 3 year old would like.

And here she is blowing out the candles on her birthday cake.

That doesn't have anything to do with crafting, but she's so cute I can't resist! Now I have to get busy and make 2 birthday cards for my 2 grandsons, one who is 10, and the other 1, but they both share the same day as their birthday. Isn't that cool?

I also had a big birthday two days ago - I turned 60! I got myself some gluten free chocolate covered pretzels as my treat. We also ordered Vietnamese food, which was pretty good! I also gave myself a big present - I got said granddaughter enrolled in preschool - yay! It doesn't start until after Labor Day, but it's something to look forward to.

That's all the news from here. Be sure to go have a peek at some other workdesks at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com to see some really talented crafters.