S N O W . . .

         It seems like I would be over having to write about snow, but we are still getting snow EVERY day! It falls like fine mountain snow and really piles up. Because my car is a convertible, and rear wheel drive, I have not driven it in months. As you can see by the photo of my car at the end of this post, it will be a while before it is dug out or driven in good weather!

          This past week, I was tagged in Face Book by my friend and fellow quilter, Elaine, as part of the artist’s challenge. It was a good experience and a good exercise in looking back at some of the projects I have worked on in the past. I have been less inclined to sew and quilt lately, but seeing some of my work, and the all of the work other artists posted has given me some drive to get back to it! And the weather is giving me the perfect reason to stay indoors. I have been sharing my sewing room with the visiting nurses who have been stopping by a few times a week to check on me. I set them up in there because there is a lot of table space and good lighting. I realized today, though, that it has kept me from sewing because there are boxes and things all over the place that they have been using. I moved it all to my big cutting table so now I can reclaim my machine table as my own. J Stay tuned to see if I really do accomplish some sewing in the next week or two! If I don’t sew at the machine, there is plenty of hand sewing and even some hand quilting that needs to be done. I don’t want to even begin to count my  UFO’s . . .  because  it might be somewhere in the range of twenty unfinished objects, and in all stages of undoneness. But . . sometimes it is just more fun to begin a new project! Not that I need to defend myself;  . . . but . . . , in my own defense, I have been trying hard to work on projects that are right in front of me, or within reach in the stash closet. That is not so easy for me, because they are sometimes not the project I would choose. But, being a grown up requires grown up behavior . . . even when it comes to sewing, quilting, and paper crafting! I often recall something that Pastor Rick Warren said about having extra things, like clothes and household goods. He said it is sinful to have things that we are not using that could be used by someone else. My husband I have tried to pass things on to others and when we heard that, it made it even more important for us to move things out that we no longer wanted or used. I need to mindful of the craft supplies that I have. I managed to pack up a grocery bag of yarn and paper craft things one day and donated it to 4-H for their summer camp arts and crafts projects. I can do much more of that! I just need to find the places that need my extras.  

          Enough of my rambling . . . I want you to be able to read thru this without falling asleep! I have my usual gallery of things I made this past week to show you. There is not a lot because I have been in a bit of a creative rut. In part, it is due to the fact that I love to make Valentines Day cards, but don’t really have a lot of people to send them to! So, I made some and stashed them away for next year. Here are a few of the things I made this past week:

I made this Valentine using the birdcage die that I am so fond of . . .

 . . . and an envelope to match . . . 

I made this card for someone I have been thinking about . . . 

(The roses did not photograph well . . I made them with the same paper as the card front!)

 . . . and an envelope box to go with it . . .

I stamped the envelope box interior with fleur des lis to match the card. 

 

I am a bit behind this year in getting a jar altered to hold our 2015 goals .

I fussy cut the paper from a DCWV's Coral Couture stack.

I like how it turned out.

I think I could have used a smaller jar, though.

If we ever filled this jar with our goals, it would take more than one year to accomplish them!

Here is a close up of the lid

 I have never done something like this before and like the effect.  

Oh, and here is another card I made. I was attempting to do something a little more masculine.

I am not sure about this one. It looks like I have gone a little country-western!

 

That is about it for what has been happening at Studio Emmy the past week or so. Since we have so much snow, it has been OK with me to be inside.  Just look at my car . . . yes . . . there IS a car under there!



Stay warm where ever you are . . .

And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Emmy

 

Are you ready for some football?

It is Super Bowl Sunday . . . and that means we get to eat lots of snacks! I get lured in every year at this time by the chip and dip sales at the grocery store. My husband, who has had to do all the shopping while I have been recuperating from surgery, was lured in too. When he came home with the groceries yesterday, there were lots of snacks in the bags!  I love having snacks when I watch a game. And this game will be no exception; although, I am not particularly interested in either team, I will be rooting for the Seahawks. I just don’t like the Patriots. Period. I didn’t like them before the Deflategate story and I don’t think I will ever like them!

I was surprised this week with Happy Mail from my online craft group, Craft That Divas on Facebook. Some of the ladies in  the group made get well cards for me.  They were gathered up and sent to me in one big envelope by the group leader, Mrs Tiffany. My jaw dropped when I saw what was inside the parcel! Everyone put so much work into the cards they made for me. Thank you my crafty Diva friends!

I made a video when I opened the parcel. You can see it here:

http://youtu.be/wwNIGayYEGA

Perhaps you can see the cards better in photos, so here they are! Aren’t they just beautiful? What a gift each of these cards is.

Made by Cindy G.

Made by Amy K. 

Made by Mrs. Tiffany 

Made by Jen R. 

Made by Debi B. 

It is a slider card! 

Made by Kim W. 

 

I have managed to keep busy in my studio this week in between a few other things. I still can’t do any lifting, pushing, pulling. Generally, I just have to take it easy. However, I think if I take it any easier, somebody is gonna put me in a hole and throw dirt on me! I am getting a little antsy, but that must be a sign that I am starting to feel better! And I have been getting my appetite back. In fact, some days I feel like I am a bottomless pit! My husband is so good about getting all the foods that I love when he goes shopping. He is a real gem and takes excellent care of me. 

This week I made some cards and I also made a tag as part of the Craft That Divas monthly tag challenge. Here is a photo of my Happy New Year themed tag for January. I challenged myself to use something I had in my stash, but had not used yet. . . the corrugated cardboard. I like how it turned out.

Happy New Year Tag

made as a challenge in Craft That Divas Group

 

Now for the cards . . .

I made the masculine card I mentioned a couple weeks ago.

 It is for our UPS man. He is so good about how he handles our parcels.

I found the velour-like paper that I bought last summer in anticipation of getting this chair die. I was so frustrated that I could not find it . . . but then one early morning while I was looking for something else that I could not find, this pink paper was right in front of me! It looks so much like upholstery fabric!

 

I made an envelope box for the chair card. 

I really like this bird cage die and decided to use it again on a card.

This time, it is a Valentine’s Day card.

 

Again, I made a box envelope to go with it. 

Oh, and while I was digging around that early morning, I also found a pile of some papers that I had stashed after making a mini album. I had forgotten all about these papers! I decided to put them on my table and make myself use them for my next project. I need to do that more often. I get more creative sometimes if I am limited in my resources. Does that even make sense?! It works . . so that is the important part, right?



 

 

I made a thank you card for our good neighbors who live across the street with the found papers. They have shoveled our sidewalk for us all winter long. It is so nice to look out our front door on a snowy day and find the walk cleared already!

 

I need to keep at the card making and I hope to get back into production mode for some mini albums and covered boxes. It has been a long time since I worked on any and I really enjoy making them! I was looking at some of my old YouTube videos this past week and it inspired me to get back to making them. They make a nice gift and I have had several orders over the past few  years for weddings, birthdays, Christmas, and so forth. I have some beautiful new papers that I am just dying to use! 

Last Saturday, I spent the afternoon dying seam binding for my projects. I used Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers, dye inks (ink pads), and Tim Holtz Distress Stain Liquid. I like the results very much and I need to keep up with making these every so often because I like to use them in my projects. They add so much!

Hand-dyed seam binding . . . Eye Candy for Crafters.

 The results! Yummy.

 

We are headed into another rather cold spell.

 

I am happy to stay home in my studio where it is warm and there are plenty of creative opportunities. In fact, one of my crafty facebook friends suggested that we Skype sometime soon when we are crafting. Doesn’t that sound like fun? Since I am pretty much a solo crafter, this will be very different for me.

It is time for the football game . . . let the snacking begin! I will be posting again soon. As always, your comments are welcome.

And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.

Emmy