20 DAYS & COUNTING . . . .

ACCORDING TO THE CALENDAR . . . there are fewer than three weeks until the first day of spring. Yet, as I type this post and look out the window, my landscape is still covered in a deep blanket of white that just will not melt. Perhaps by the next time I write, I will be able to post a photo of something green in my back yard. I can always hope!


I have not been as busy as usual in my studio, or perhaps that is just how it feels to me. I admit I succumbed to a bout of cabin fever this past week. My dear husband took me on an outing with him to Buffalo and I visited Hobby Lobby to get something crafty to lift my spirits, but I left empty handed. You see, since I have been visiting my own stash regularly and using the things off my own shelves, I did not see any reason to bring home one more pack of paper. Of course, true to form, once I got home and realized I had a 40% off coupon for a $5.99 item . . . well, then I started to wish I HAD made that purchase of a 6x6-inch pad of Prima paper! I have yet to own any Prima paper! Maybe next time . . .  I guess my husband thought I still was not cured from the blues, so the next day he took me to Joann's to check out the sales. I ended up, AGAIN,  walking out without grabbing the thing that caught my eye. Luckily, he drove me back to the store in a few days and it was still there...the only one left ... AND I got really lucky because along the back wall of the store, where they always put the clearance items, I spied OttLites for next to nothing. I snagged one and when I showed it to my hubby, he sent me back in for a second one. Now I have the one in my paper crafting studio that is splattered with paint and glue, and a brand new shiny one next to my sewing machine and one for my hand sewing on my tray table while watching TV. (I think, though, that the one in the TV room may make its way over to my hubby's tray table when I am not around. . . . Gosh, we both have tray tables . . . are we old or what!?) :-)


I have finally returned to sewing and I have only one more 4-inch block to make! Then I can use the 4-inch blocks to create larger 8-inch blocks for a wall hanging. I am not sure if I have enough of the background fabric for the piece, so there may be a pilgrimage to the quilt shop in Dansville ... Material Rewards in my near future. They used to have a nice selection of black and white fabrics, which is what I will be looking for.

I recently reached out to a cousin I have not seen in probably 30-plus years. We have talked on the phone a few times and have been discussing our family tree. I think I am going to take the plunge and start a little research. He has been doing some and it sounds like a lot of fun. He and his wife live in Chicago, which isn’t really that far away. I hope we can go visit them this year.


It is time for me to download another audiobook to listen to while I sew and craft. I just finished Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business by Barbara Corcoran. It was a short book and easy to get through, compared to Anna Karenina, which seemed to take forever to listen to! But it is a classic that I had always wanted to read and I am glad I did. After reading Tolstoy, though, I needed something light!


Here is a photo gallery of some of the things I have worked on since my last post:

WALL HANGING needs one more 4-inch block before I can construct the rest of the 8-inch blocks.

AN EXPLOSION BOX VALENTINE I made for my hubby.

The paper I used is by DCWV . . . The Dear Jane Stack

 

The heart shaped tags are tucked behind ribbons.

There are love notes on the back of the tags.  

The vellum that I stamped with script can be removed from the

punched photo corners and photos can be inserted:

CRAFT THAT DIVAS February Tag Challenge was

Ooo la la LOVE. I used my hand-dyed seam binding and hand-dyed flat-back pearls.

I cut and trimmed two different dies to make the dress form. 

The paper I used is by My Mind's Eye . . . Lost & Found 3

A long overdue THANK YOU CARD.

It is an easel card.

I handmade the flowers from the same paper as the card.

The paper I used is by Recollections . . . Everyday Moments Paper Pad

I made an envelope box to go with the card.

I had a stamp that just about matched the motif on the

paper that I used on the interior of the envelope box.. 

I cut the fleur des lis closure from a die.

Another THANK YOU CARD.

The paper I used is by DCWV . . . The Chateau Lavender Stack

This ended up having a French theme! 

I hand-dyed the gauze to match with alcohol ink.

The interior: 

I stamped the envelope box interior with a fleur des lis stamp.

The closure is cut from a die.

I  really lucked out on having some French themed things. 

GATEFOLD BIRTHDAY CARD.

The paper I used is by DCWV . . . The Tradewinds Stack. 

I have not used my butterfly punches much.

I like how they add so much dimension to a card. 

 A SYMPATHY CARD for a friend who lost her mother. 

The paper I used is by DCWV . . . The Coral Couture Stack.

Last time I posted a photo of our 2015 GOALS JAR.

I finally got around to making our THANKFUL JAR.

We use the little papers I made with one of my dies

 to write down things we are thankful for . . . such as

 having so many good Samaritans in the neighborhood

who plow our driveway and shovel our walk for us. 

I used the DCWV Coral Couture Stack for both jars.

Here are the jars as they sit together atop our desk.

I hope you have enjoyed reading what I have been up to and seeing some of the things I have been working on. I don't use my blog to make political or social commentary. This is just a place where I can share some things and hope someone will get some enjoyment from it. Your comments are always welcome.

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

Emmy 

 

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



Like a Prayer . . .

This week has been a tough one for me and for many of my friends and colleagues. The woman who was my mentor when I began my real estate career was hospitalized two weeks ago and while she was in the hospital, they discovered that she had a terminal illness. My friend came home earlier this week under hospice care. I knew I would not be able to visit her, but wanted to make something special for her. Since I have been making greeting cards a lot lately, I decided to make her the prettiest card I could. It turned out to be a very spiritual experience. While I was making the card and the box to put it in, it felt like I was saying a prayer with my hands.  It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before and was a very touching and memorable experience. I could not get to the post office because I have been housebound while I am recovering from surgery. I planned to mail the card today. However, we learned late yesterday that my friend passed away yesterday afternoon. I will keep the card as a memory of my friend and think of her when I see it or hold it in my hands.  

Here is a photo of the card and the coordinating envelope box that I made.

The passing of my friend reminded me of the importance of living each day to the fullest. When my cousin passed away a few years ago, my husband and I adopted a phrase from the movie Titanic. Make it Count. In memory of those who have gone before us and as a gift to God, I try to live each day with appreciation of the gifts I have been given. I know they are just that . . . gifts . . . and I should not take them for granted. I should share them with others. That is why I don’t feel guilty when I spend time in my studio playing and trying new things that I can share with others. Our time here on earth is precious. Make it count!

In loving memory of Cathy A. Waggoner

 

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

                                                                                                      Emmy



Mid-month Musings

Staying indoors during the cold weather suits me just fine. We had a couple of nights that dipped down to 8 below zero with wind chills to minus 20. That is too cold! We have quite a bit of snow on the ground and I love how it lights up my studio. I have been trying to work in my studio and have made a couple things this week. Recovering from surgery, I find that I am not completely on my game, so I cut and paste and then find I did something upside down or backward and need to start over again. I have learned to accept my mistakes, let them go and start over. Heaven knows that I have enough stash that a mistake here and there and paper and embellishments won't be missed a bit when they need to be tossed out! In fact, since I have not been able to run in and out of Michaels, JoAnns, or Hobby Lobby to shop, I have had to look deep into my stash for things to use. And guess what? There is a lot of stuff that I had forgotten I even had!



I need to get my chipboard and wooden embellishments out and make a masculine card tonight. I am always challenged when making a card for a guy. I don't know why. I found some nice examples on Pinterest to use as a reference. Perhaps this will be the year that I actually go to my stash first to make things instead of going shopping. It will be one of the positive outcomes from this time of recovery!

I made cards for two special special people and made little boxes for them because they are embellished and would not fit in a regular envelope. I really had fun making the boxes and found them easy to do once I got the hang of it! I used my Martha Stewart scoreboard. I have to admit that I need to have more patience with the learning curve when it comes to learning new things! I just want to sit down and make something and have it come out right the first time. Thank goodness that I have lots of scrapbook paper that I am not real fond of that is left over from some projects. You know how there is always one or two sheets of paper that just don't appeal to you? I use them for practice.

Below are the box envelopes and cards I mentioned.  I know I will be making more because I really like how they turned out.  :-)

Thank you for stopping by. Leave a comment below if you wish. :-)  

I will be back next week. Until then may God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Emmy

Welcome 2015!

The new year's beginning has been rather uneventful ... especially compared to the final month of 2014. I had major surgery in December with an 8 day stay in the hospital and then an emergency admission due to complications on Christmas Eve for a 3 day stay. So the start of 2015 is a breeze so far. I have home care/visiting nurses checking in on me regularly and a husband who is the best caregiver I could ever ask for. ♡

While I have been housebound,  I managed to finish knitting a wool cable knit scarf. I love it and wish I could go out to wear it...but when it is frigid cold like it is today,  I will just need to wait. I won't be going anywhere soon! When I do get out, I plan to wear it with my brown suede trench coat. :-)

I made a gate fold card. I used vellum on the inside that is tucked into decorative photo corners. A sentiment can be written on the vellum with an extra fine point Sharpie. I got my inspiration for the card from...where else ... Pinterest.  :-)

It is bitterly cold and snowy here today. I have been staying close to the fireplace. There isn't a better place in the world to be on a day like this ... and spending it with the one person I love more than anything or anyone  in the entire world... my husband.  ♡

I am grateful for so much. Good doctors and nurses The nursing assistants who shepherded me through my days and nights while in the hospital. Family, friends and colleagues who have reached out to us with cards,  phone calls and offers of help.  Thank you one and all.  It means a lot.

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