Quilting & Stamping

I have been posting to my Splitcoaststampers gallery the last few nights, and realized that I do have a lot of things that I could be posting here. So, even if I have been unproductive lately I can still show you things that I have done in the past.

I started consigning at a quilt shop in Nevada right after Thanksgiving. I made 25 cards and shipped them off- I am pleased that they are selling, and it makes me happy to know that someone wants to buy what my talents produce. It isn't much appreciated here at my house. Maybe, because I have always created with something. That is not to say that they do not like what I do. It is just more validating when someone you don't know likes what you do.

So here are a few of my favorite creations that feature the sewing theme. I really enjoyed making the sewing cards- I even bought the Papertrey Ink Quilting Sampler stamp set. http://www.papertreyink.com/stamps_quilterssampler.html Oh my.... I love it, and it is very easy to use! Alas, some of my images were clip art that I found on the net. I have found it very hard to find sewing images in stamps. I did color all of them with my Copics, so it still counts as crafting right?

This card above was made with the Christmas SU paper and paper pieced using the Papertrey Ink Quilting Sampler as a guide. Not the easiest thing to do while you are on pain meds, but I love the outcome. But still.... I probably will not repeat this effect.

Once again, this is a PTI Quilting Sampler set.

Stamping has been one of my saviors this last year. I used to sew, making many clothes for myself and the kids. When I became ill and could not get out of bed, I turned to stamping as my creative outlet. Once upon a time, many years ago I was a SU Demo. I had forgotten how much I loved it. I needed to get back in touch with my inner child and coloring was a great way to do that. Now, my husband didn't really appreciate my medium, well more the cost of my Copics, but he is happy with the results I can achieve with them. If you need to find your inner child with Copics try Oozaks at http://www.oozak.com/index.php

Anyway, that is it for today! I feel good... I posted pictures of cards. WooHoo!

Angela

A New Healthy Lifestyle

I am a bad blogger! Bad, Bad, Bad girl!
Truthfully, it has been such a busy week that I have not had a chance to blog or craft. Very depressing!
Crafting is my sanity most days- something I do just for me. A chance to concentrate on my work and my talent.
I have been trying to get the kinks out of my new healthy eating regiment. Do you know long it takes to cook every meal? A lot longer than just pouring cereal in the morning and sticking chicken nuggets in the oven at lunch. Plus the shopping is more intricate. I spent hours shopping last week. Two hours at the commissary reading labels, deciding if this was a "good enough" product, and listening to the kids whine about how long it was taking. Two hours in the Whole Foods Store, looking at all the cool stuff available, finding the right supplements, looking for alternatives to our refined and bleached food staples, and the whole time listening to the kids telling me about the fascinating things they were finding. Oh, and I almost forgot.... 45 minutes in Wally World getting the things that I couldn't find at either of the previous stores. However, I did get to do the last store alone!
I really can't complain about me kids and shopping, though. As soon as we get into the store, the oldest two go and get 2 milks each, and put them into the cart first. Then they help throughout the store by grabbing things from aisles and going after things I forgot. At the end, all three children unload the shopping cart, and when we get home, they unload the car and put all groceries away. Where would I be without them? What's more is what would this family be without them this last year? With a little guidance from Ray they would tackle grocery shopping when I couldn't. I am so very proud of their shopping abilities among other talents they have shown this last year. They can all do laundry, dishes, organize the house, and take care of me with ease. I cannot brag about them enough.
So here is a rundown of our new day- now that we are trying to lead a more healthy life.
7am- I get up and walk around the block. When I get back I tackle breakfast and then wake the kids up to eat- while I take a shower.
8:30ish- We start our school day. I spend most of my day correcting paperwork, and helping with instructions, standing by, organizing, and leading by example. During this time I usually do my Bible Study, and work on scheduling, and list making.
12ish- we come together for lunch- Ideally this would be a great time for a family devotional, but this is still a work in progress.
1ish- back to work- schoolwork that is. This is the time I can spend working on my creations. Most days I can get in a little of this before I become to weak and need to lay down. I must note that I am getting better all the time, though.
3-4ish- We try and be done with school by this time. It doesn't happen this way all the time, but we try. Our neighbor gets home from school at 3:30 and the kids would like to go outside and play with him.
5ish- Dinner, that I try and prepare while they are outside. Hubby is usually up by then (he works nights), and will help out with any things that need to get done.
I try and get everyone to bed by 9pm- yah right! But I try!
So that is it! Well, we do have to fit in occupational therapy, Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, 4-H Bunny Club, MOPS (mothers of preschoolers- Hannah volunteers), Dr's appointments (for me), and Co-op for homeschoolers. Crazy schedule really. Who says Homeschoolers are unsocialized? Not mine- we are too busy living our lives in the real world.
I wanted to include a picture of our family on Eric's Birthday last month. He is 10 now- when did that happen?

Isn't it a cute photo? For his birthday, he received new chopsticks from the restaurant. He is still trying to eat every Asian meal we have with them, and doing rather well.
I guess that is it for the day. I will try and post again tomorrow. Hopefully, I will have something creative to put in.

New Header- Yippee

I spent most of my day Friday looking for a new header. I was using my business header, but it didn't fit and just didn't look right. I have been having an urge to buy land, you know the kind that has acres and acres of green farmland. Not that I can afford it.... but just in case my ship sails in. What I am finding is that Georgia has substantially lower prices for lots of land, on the other hand, Oregon is not cheap not even for a little land. What's a girl to do? Look, and look, and wish, and wish, point out to husband (who rolls his eyes) and send pleading looks his way. Yah- I know we are still indentured to the Army, but I can dream right? So this brings me to my point, my new header is of a farmhouse somewhere in the world that is surrounded by mountains and looks so peaceful I can almost envision myself there now.
This image set me off dreaming again and now I have set up a field trip for local homeschoolers to an area (couple hours away) goat farm. See it here http://splitcreek.com/index.shtml
Yep- I love goats, well the idea of them. The only ones I have really seen are in a petting zoo. They are so cute, and look so lovable, how can you not be enamoured with them? I have dreams of making goat cheese and butter. Canning and making jellies and jams. Being somewhat self- sufficient, and maybe making a simple living out of my crafts and farm.
OK- so back to reality! The kids and I have been sick all week- we keep trudging along but I have had no energy to drive the schoolwork bus. So the kids keep checking their schoolwork checklists and they say they are "completing" work, but I have been very lax and have not checked their work. Guilt- Guilt- Guilt! There is always next week... right? Now do you see why I felt the need to escape into my dream world?
While I was searching for pictures for the blog, I punched in Lake Tahoe and winter into the magical google world and out popped this image.

This is Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe. I spent some time every summer up here at Tahoe. It was not hard since I grew up in Reno. Snow is hard to come by here in Georgia, and this made me happy to look at it. Can you see the mountains in the background? Those are the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We don't have those (beautiful mountains) here where I live either. I guess I am a little homesick, it doesn't happen often, but I seems to be happening now. I have many happy memories, including time spent here with my husband (before we were married).
So I haven't done any stamping in a few days, hopefully Monday! Yah- Monday for sure!
Thanks for coming by,
Angela

Hump Day Already?

Oh how the time flies!

We are almost to February and I haven't started my Valentines yet. I must make that a priority in the next few days.

The kids and I are battling a cold. I swore I just had allergies, but now I can tell that this is not "just" allergies. The kids swear they got a cold from cleaning house- hah! It does kick up a lot of dust, but still, give me a break.

I made a birthday card yesterday for my dear friend in Virginia. I found this cute little clip art and thought it would make a great card. I have noticed that I am branching out more and using things that I would not normally use and it helps keep your creativity humming right along.

I wish I had Photoshop to edit and add watermarks, however, money does not allow for that at this time. Maybe tax time. Therefore, I use Microsoft Paint to add watermark and edit photo in Picasa 3. Both are free and that is just the right price for me.

Recipe: SU Blush and Close to Cocoa cardstock, clip art of piggy, ribbon and copics. I used a heart and dust stamp that came to me via a friend, but I have no idea who manufactured it.

See you soon and thanks for looking,

Angela

Happy Birthday To Me!!

So I still need work on this blogging bit- Everybody got to have something they need to work on right? Like this is the only thing I need to work on- Hah!
I am now officially 39 today- No really! 39 today, January 17, 1970 was a grand day for my Mom- Well that is not how she puts it, but you get the idea. 40 hours of labor, yada, yada, yada- doctor on the golf course, blah, blah, blah- making father leave the room, whine, whine, whine. I really felt sorry for you Mom... up until I had 3 of my own. Two natural, and one c-section. I count those up and am proud! Mom says after my 9lb 10oz butt, that she was done- hence, I am an only child.

Thirty-Nine seemed like a good year for a party and a nice way to start off the New Year. So Ray and I sent our children to the neighbors house and invited the adults over to celebrate. We had such a good time. Ray made Bananas Foster, and we played Apples to Apples, which is so much more fun with adults who know who Andy Warhol is. My dear friend Melissa made her famous Chocolate Cake, which she will never outlive, because we all want her to bring it wherever she goes. It is that GOOD!

Yep- That is me there in the middle in light purple. I really need to take more photos, so I have more to choose from. This was the only one taken.

Today, the official day, was spent with hubby shopping, and dinner at a Chinese restaurant.
The one thing I wanted for my birthday was an apron. You know, like the ones your grammy had? Well, we couldn't find one... well not any that were cute. So I will be off to Etsy tomorrow to purchase one.

Happy Birthday to me..... Happy Birthday to me.... ( I am singing, hee hee)
Angela

Helen Georgia

I guess I need to get into the habit of writing everyday. I want my children to be able to do this, so I must model the behavior. I will add this to all the other habits I would like them to have, that I do not possess, but somehow must endeavor to fake.


We had an enjoyable weekend. Saturday, on the spur of the moment, the kids and I went to a quaint little town in the northeast mountains of Georgia. Helen is a cute little town that was re-made in the late 60's into a Bavarian Village. I have attached the link to the Alpine tourist information. Here you will find Helens' story.


http://www.helengeorgia.com/aboutus.asp?id06=100&par06=0

And can you believe it..... it snows in Georgia! Isn't pretty?

I forgot the camera, again. That's what happens when you do things spontaneously. We will be going back in the summer again, because there is so much to do.... tubing, camping, horseback riding, shopping, and my favorite "eating". We watched a glass blower, making butterflies, and listened as he spoke of the history of his trade. Add that one up for schooling hours. I have read that they have a pottery shop where you can watch them throw and create, along with a train exhibit that shows Germany.

I have been working hard on my New Year's Resolutions, which include:

Being more God centered, and making sure our family is leading ourselves on a better path. To me this means spending more time reading the Bible together. Continued education for myself and the kids, and making the commitment to serve and learn through Christ.

Being more of a friend- so many people supported me this last year, and I have come to understand friendship in a deeper way. I want to reconnect and forge lasting friendships.

Live my life joyously NOW- I am always thinking about the future and how happy I will be, but live today with worry and dissatisfaction. I need to change this.... for myself, my children and for our well being.
I know there are more resolutions, but they are upstairs and the laptop and I are downstairs. So more on those later.

Thank you for coming by- and if you are ever in Northeast Georgia, go and checkout Helen.

Angela

Well I am back- Day 2

I was hoping to post earlier, but alas, it did not happen. The tale of this homeschooling mom is that we were out today running erands and taking lessons all day. So not much time to post, but I am going to fit in this card that I finished yesterday.

I just love to watercolor, because everything blends and makes my artwork look like I have spent hours on it when I really have not. One of the reasons I adore stamping is that the images give me the outline and I have the option to use my own color choices. Coloring pictures was my favorite activity as a little girl, (that and playing with my Baby Alive) and I guess it still is my passion.

Recipe- SU Going Gray and Not Quite Navy Cardstock, Watercolor Paper, Momento Gray Ink, Through The Storm Stamp by Stamps Happen, Brown Ribbon

Well that is it for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Angela