Christmas Past

Wow!  Christmas is over and before long we will be beginning a new year.  We had a fun Christmas Eve with our children and grandchildren.  There was excitement in the air and the kids were so cute.  After the little ones left we spent the rest of the evening into the wee hours of the morning with our older children unwrapping our gifts and talking and laughing and just having fun.  On Christmas morning, we went to church and sang in the choir for the Christmas program.  My heart was touched and tears came to my eyes as I contemplated my blessings and the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.  We have the fullness of the gospel on the earth and are privileged to live in these last days before He comes in His glory again.  The world seems to be filled with negative predictions and visions of more "bad times" ahead.  I believe that we should trust our Prophet and be positive and thank the Lord every day for our freedoms, families, blessings and all we have been given.

In November we went to Utah for Eliana's baptism.  What a beautiful young lady she is and she is such a sweet, precious spirit.  I am proud to call her my granddaughter and love talking with her and spending time with her.  It was so fun seeing our other 3 Utah grandchildren as well.  I miss them so much.  

Working in Hallmark cards for 5 stores has certainly kept me busy, and sometimes I laugh because I realize that since I make most of my own cards I am in competition with myself.  I am going to try and branch out in the coming year and learn new things.  One thing I want to do is try making an art journal.  I have been reading a lot about it and collecting ideas.  Hopefully I can force myself to reserve a block of time to do some fun things.

I wish you all a Happy New Year and may every good thing fill your weeks and months ahead!

Happenings

Every time I go to work at one of my stores one of the managers asks me "what's happening?".  I just stand there like an idiot and can't think of a thing to say!  I guess I need to practice with answers for next time because I know he will ask again!  Actually we have a lot of things happening in our lives and they are all good and our family is truly being blessed.

Probably the first and most important is that Marlene and Dane are now gainfully employed.  We were doing the happy dance when we found out he got a job.  I am so proud of them and the way they have handled this trial in their lives.  They have been unemployed for 2 1/2  years and have done everything in their power to take care of their sweet little family.

Susannah also has a job now and we are thrilled that she found something that she likes after graduating and not finding anything for about 8 months.  It is a job here in Maricopa and she likes the people she works with and is learning new things so that is good.

Our oldest granddaughter,Juliana, just turned eight years old and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  She was so excited about it and so cute.  She seems so grown up and is so smart and such an individual.  I am so proud of her and love her with all of my heart.

In a couple weeks we are leaving to go to Utah where our 2nd oldest granddaughter, Eliana, will also be baptized.  She is so precious and I love her so much!  I remember how much I looked forward to our phone chats when she was younger because she would talk to me about anything and now she is still the best one to talk to on the phone.

I have been busy making cards for Halloween for 8 grandkids and for birthdays.  My husband asks me if anyone appreciates the time and effort I put into my cards.  I tell him it is more for me and a creative outlet than for anyone else.  I love making them and giving something that I have made.  They are by no means professional or anything out of the ordinary, but it is fun to try new techniques and new ways of expressing myself.  I am trying to make cards that are extras so that I am far enough ahead to actually have one ready on short notice if I need one.

I haven't done many cardmaking projects lately, but I decided to try making a re-purposed or altered frame.  A few weeks ago our family was all together for the first time in about 3 years.  We took a picture of all of us together but I didn't get one of just my grandchildren, because of course not everyone was co-operating!  When we went to the mall to the aquarium for one of the days they were here, we pushed all of the kids against a wall and snapped a picture.  It is actually pretty funny because Melora wouldn't stand alone so Dane is holding her against the wall while trying to stay out of the picture.  Anyway, I decided to have some fun with a $1 frame I purchased at Michaels and painted it, made a ribbon flower, added some buttons, and decorated it.  Then I printed the picture in sepia and put it in the frame.  I think it turned out pretty cute for my first try.  Now I am going to be looking for old frames and used items that I can make into something else!  It sure stimulates the creative juices.

My Grandkids!  All eight of them!

Undecided!

It has been awhile since I have posted.  I have been busy with numerous things including family and work and life in general...but somewhere along the line I have become restless and a little dissatisfied with the direction my life is going.  My job is barely giving me enough hours, not to mention enough money.  I don't mind doing the work, (I am a Hallmark card specialist for Walgreen's at three different stores), but there has got to be more to life and a job than just going through the motions.  I am still looking for something that I can do at home and make some money while at the same time feel like I am contributing something worthwhile.  I want to be a little creative and a lot flexible!  Is that too much to ask?  If anyone out there has any great ideas or opportunities to offer, please let me know!  I have looked at opening a business selling something online or maybe taking calls  for a company or offering a service of some kind, but still haven't landed on a viable idea.  I have three other children looking for jobs as well as a son-in-law, so believe me when I say that I am by no means ungrateful for the job I have.  I just feel that at this "menopausal" time of my life there has got to be something better for me!

Haboobs!

We have had a couple of amazing storms the past two weeks.  The first one moved in so fast that we didn't even get any pictures, but we saw the second one moving in and ran to get the camera!  Everything was once again covered with 1/4" of dust, but Mother Nature is so awesome that I didn't even care.  They are just so fun to watch as long as you don't have to be out in them.

Cards with stitching!

I had my sewing machine out the other day doing some repairs and decided to stitch up some paper scraps to use on cards.  It was so much fun that I just kept sewing.  I tried straight stitching but ended up doing most of the sewing with zig-zag because it showed up so much better.  

These are 3 of my favorites.  The bottom one is one I made for my sister for her birthday.  I made a ribbon flower and used a digital cut stem for it with some dry-embossing for the back of the quote panel.  I love the old looking colors and the way it looks vintage.

These few cards I made using paint chips for a little pop of color or a white place to stamp my sentiments.  I really like the paint chips and the way they look.  I hope the paint stores don't boot me out for taking a few chips every time I go in for a visit!

Craft Room Complete!

I have told a few people that I would take pictures of my craft room "corner" when I got everything done.  There are a few things I need to do to finish, but for the most part it is now a workable space and I can spend time doing things I enjoy when I get a few free minutes.  

 I bought some cubes and boxes and baskets at Walmart, and Home Goods to store things in.

 This is an old dresser that my mother had that I store my ribbon and paper and beads in.

 I have a picture board behind the door that holds all of my grandkids pictures...it is ever evolving!

 A couple close-ups of the cube storage

 I bought a corner desk on Ebay and have my laptop on it and tools in the drawer that I use constantly!  The framed corkboard on the wall is covered in fabric with a digitally cut border and some added shapes just for fun.  I got the corkboard at target (already framed--I just painted it) for $5.

My husband calls it my "woman cave" because this is where I migrate to when I need a few minutes to myself or when I come up with another idea I just have to try! My craft room is also a guest bedroom so space is limited, but at least I can use what little room I have now!

Life Keeps Changing

We were once empty-nesters...actually enjoying our freedom and solitude and then all of a sudden life changed! Susannah graduated from BYU-I in December 2010 and James graduated from BYU in April 2011 so we have two kids living back home with us.  They finished college and didn't have a job lined up so now they are both looking for something!  We have had fun having them come home, but it has changed the whole dynamic of our lives.  Regular meals are needed...way more laundry than I am used to...and just more people in the house!  They have found a singles ward in Casa Grande to go to which they really like, so that has been a blessing.  At least they have some other kids their age to do things with once in awhile.

Travis graduated from ASU in May 2011 so now all 5 of our children have finished college and are ready to move on.  We leave for Hawaii this Friday and we are taking Travis and Christie with us since he is the only child that hasn't gone over with us.  I am really looking forward to getting away and relaxing and doing something fun.

I have been making some new cards.  I have to say that it is very time-consuming, but also very addictive.  It is fun to get an idea and see how it grows.  I made a bunch of thank you cards this time and I really like the way they turned out.  I used my Silhouette digital cutter for a few new things...I love the Silhouette and all that it can do!  It is amazing and really cuts well.  I am definitely not very good at stamping yet, but getting better!

Plates and More Plates

Today was another get-together with my daughters and my sister.  We started out very organized, thinking that we had everything we needed for our projects and then realized that we needed a thing or two...so we loaded the baby into the car and took off for Walmart.  Of course when you get three creative women in a store it takes way longer than it should because we have to compare and share ideas before anything is bought!  We finally made our big purchases and were on our way!
We made stacked plate serving trays.  We found some cute melamine plates and dishes at Target, Walmart and Hobby Lobby.  The plates were about $2 apiece.  The hardest element to find were the candlesticks (only to be found at Hobby Lobby--cost $3).  At first we were looking for the wood ones that were unfinished, but had a hard time finding enough of them.  The other problem with them was that they were a little too tall so we had to saw them off.  If we would have had a Dremel tool it would have been a breeze to cut them, but instead we used a hack saw...a little rough around the edges, but we made it work. Then the knobs for the top were a little pricey, especially for what was supposed to be a relatively cheap project, but luckily Target was clearancing (not sure that is a word) them for really cheap so we caught a break. Carolyn found some glass candlesticks at the Dollar Tree near her and bought them to glue to the plates instead of drilling holes.  Which by the way we ended up doing with the wood ones too because it was soooo easy.  We used glue made for glass which dries clear and it seemed to work fine.  We sanded and painted the wooden candlesticks and sprayed them with a clear acrylic finish.  I think they all turned out pretty cute!  Now the big problem is to find a place to store them!   We are thinking maybe we will give them as gifts loaded with goodies...then we won't have to store them...just make some more!  Since we can't unscrew them because we glued them...they no longer come apart! The one in the center of the table was a triple stack! Here they are!

The following three are probably my favorite ones that we made today because each of them are unique!