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 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 10-26-16

Whew! I finally made it here! I'm running a bit late, which I'll explain in a minute.

Here is a picture of my workdesk, aka dining room table. 

As you can see, I've made some minimal progress. I need to clear off the other end of the table. I have now found out that we will be hosting Thanksgiving for the immediate family, and perhaps my daughter and her family, so it will get done!

Two of my granddaughters have birthdays 6 days apart. Since they are small, and I was in a hurry, I made one card for the two of them, using some cute stickers I found in a discount store. It's kind of a lazy way to make a card, but I liked the stickers! 

See, I put two bear cubs, since it's for two girls!

Now, as to why I'm running late . . .

It starts with the fact that we moved six months ago. We're still unpacking, and the living room is the worst room right now, with a lot of stuff that needs to be moved/stored/shredded etc. Yesterday I wanted to work on that, so I went into the living room and proceeded to unpack a large box of linens I had already started a week or two ago. While sorting through various said linens, I noticed a very unpleasant smell wafting around me. I investigated, and found that our cat had a couple of small accidents in that area (of course). Unfortunately, I only noticed one of those accidents at first, then saw some footprints, made by me. I sat down and looked at the bottom of my brand new shoes that I bought a couple of days ago to wear exclusively in the house. Alas, they were brand new no more. I removed the shoes while in the living room, and embarked on some vigorous cleaning - no more unpacking for me! The shoes were very inexpensive, which is a good thing, since I now have a bleach spot on the toes of one foot, from a bleach solution soaking through the sole to the upper part of the shoe. 

Last evening, I noticed the same familiar odor in my bedroom, which puzzled me. I had removed my shoes in the living room, so as not to track my cat's lovely present all over the house. So why did my bedroom smell? I thought perhaps the smell had traveled down the hallway into my room. But after going to bed, the smell became much stronger. Finally at 2:00 a.m. I had to start poking around, and found out that the cat had also left me a present under my bed. On the far side, against the wall. After an hour of cleaning, I turned off my alarm and went back to bed. The originator of the problem must not have liked the smell either, because he was laying outside of my bedroom door, rather than sleeping on my office chair, as usual. As soon as I finished cleaning, he resumed his regular spot. Here's the guy who caused all the problems: 

See how innocent he looks!

That's all for now! Time to get started on the rest of the day. Be sure to check out some talented crafters at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/whats-on-your-workdesk-wednesday-386.html?m=1  who hopefully have had a less exciting night than I did. Have a great rest of the week!

WOYWW 9-7-2016

Another week has flown by! I hope it was a good one for you. We had a barbecue with some friends on Saturday to celebrate Labor Day, a holiday that celebrates work by having everyone take the day off.
I have a picture of my work space on my phone, which is refusing to send the picture to my email. So, I can either write this post from my phone, in which case I can't upload the edited picture of the card I made, or write on my computer, sans workdesk picture but with my card, which really is much easier and faster. I opt for the latter. There isn't much difference from my picture from last week, except that we got new chairs! My husband's aunt had to go into a nursing home. We needed new chairs and his cousin took the table. They don't match the table, but the old ones that did were flimsy and the rungs on the legs kept coming apart. Another aunt made the seats.

Aren't they pretty? And sturdy too. Finally, my phone cooperated and I have a picture of my table. 

I've made a lot of progress in getting it cleaned off, and hope to have it completely finished by next week.

My oldest granddaughter turned 14 2 days ago. I can't believe it! Here is the card I made for her: 

I chose a background paper with some light, cheery colors, that a teenager might like. I hope she does!

That's all for this week. Enjoy your day and check out some very talented people at http://stamping-ground.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1  

WOYWW 8-31-2016

Just a quick note today. My husband and I are at an office party where he used to work. He's visiting while I write this post!
I got a bit more cleaning done on my work desk/dining room table.  At least I got rid of the big pile of mail that was there!

The goal is to eat dinner there very soon! I did have it cleaned off earlier this year, but the table is a convenient midway point between the living room and kitchen, and has a tendency to accumulate a lot of stuff, especially since we are still unpacking.

I haven't made any new cards this week, but did get some much needed cardstock on sale at Michael's (I love Michael's). This month I have 3 birthdays (2 for these cuties

).

The first picture is of my oldest grandchild holding the youngest grandchild. The older child in the second picture is my middle granddaughter celebrating the impending birth of the baby. The other birthday is for my mother-in-law , and I really should make a sympathy card for a friend. I hope to make the first birthday card tonight. Family and friends sure keep you busy!

That's it for now. Have a great day, and stop on by http://stamping-ground.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/whats-on-your-workdesk-wednesday-378.html?m=1 to see some very talented crafters.

WOYWW 8-24-2016

It's been a while since I last posted, thanks to a cold that turned into a rip roaring sinus infection! I was under the weather for a few weeks, and last week hubby and I went away for a few days to do some nature photography at Horicon Marsh in Wisconsin. The interesting part is that we brought our 2 year old granddaughter with us, since we couldn't find a sitter and Mom had to work. I was a bit apprehensive about the whole arrangement, but it worked out pretty well. She isn't a fussy child, and pretty much goes with the flow. Her favorite thing was to play with gravel on the roads and paths!

Anyhow, back to cardmaking. I still haven't made much progress in cleaning off my dining room table. Illness and traveling will do that. It does look a little better, though. I not only want to get it cleaned off for crafting, but also for family meals!

In spite of everything, I did manage to make a card for my daughter's birthday. I'm quite proud of it. I definitely think it's one of my better ones!

I don't usually like to use ribbon and bows, just because they can be difficult! But I couldn't find my washi tape, and the bow was made of a specialty ribbon, where you pull on a thread and it ties itself up into a bow. Not bad, huh?

That's all for now! Hop on over to http://stamping-ground.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1 and check out some really talented people. Happy Wednesday!

WOYWW 11-18-15

It's Wednesday again, time for our weekly blog hop where we get to take a peek at each other's desks and see what's going on!

This week I have been working on a birthday card for my son-in-law, as well as finishing up some Christmas cards. Here's my photo:

I apologize for the darkness. For some reason this website won't allow me to upload edited photos from my Kindle.

I used my recently bought Scrapboss to stencil leaves and then used watercolor pens to color them in. This is my very first time using the pens. I'll use a small panel to stamp the sentiment. The background was made by patting a cotton ball on an ink pad and then daubing the panel. 

I'm committed to making a dozen Christmas cards for residents of homes for developmentally delayed adults, so I'm trying to finish those up.

Thank you to everybody who expressed concern for my granddaughter. She is okay, somewhat. Her cough got better after seeing the doctor, even though nothing was prescribed, but her mom got a stomach bug and then she got it (I'm avoiding them both!). It's always something, huh?

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to check out http://stamping-ground.blogspot.com/ to see some other desks of some really talented crafters!

Vive la France!

WOYWW 9-23-15

I joined a link party called WOYWW (What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday?). (What's the fun of having a blog if you can't play with it?) This is my workdesk today. I'm working on a card for another granddaughter who is turning one soon - and whose party is on Saturday!. As you can see, it will have quite a bit of pink in it. I'll post a picture of it when I'm finished.

The pile of papers on the right are things I need to file - soon. My craft area is also my office and writing retreat. While I would love to have a separate room for each,

that is just not going to work right now!

Cute Birthday Card for Little Girl

Here's a cute little birthday card that I made for one of my granddaughters who was celebrating her first birthday. Three white ovals with the stamped sentiment (Happy Birthday) are set on top of lilac ovals, positioned on a pink and lavender plaid panel. Pink and purple embellishments adorn the corners. Inside, a white panel set on lavender is blank for a personalized message. The card is 5 1/2" x 7 3/4". Now, off to make two more birthday cards for two more granddaughters! Whew, my family keeps me busy!