Christmas Cardinals

 

Did you do anything special for World Cardmaking Day?

I made a few Christmas cards, playing with these new stamps and dies from Catherine Pooler. I combined Birds and Boughs with Pinecone and Pine dies and some older CP papers.

For this card, I added the Round of Merry die as a focal frame.

I liked the larger size of the pinecone, ribbon and pine branch with this new die set. 

Christmas is creeping in to the stores now. Have you seen any new themes?

Framed seasonal art seems to be everywhere. Not sure how I feel about framed art that I'd need to store for the other 11 months of the year.

My storage is getting pretty full! Continuing to find homes for my Mom's many treasures. 

Coffee-Off 2026

 

You've probably heard of Bake-Offs and Cook-Offs. But have you ever heard of a Coffee-Off?

The town on Milan was having a Coffee-Off yesterday morning, and it sounded like the perfect way to spend a Saturday morning in October.

Here's how it worked. You paid a fee to get a hand crafted tasting mug, a cool magnet, and samplings from five different local roasters and coffee houses. And then you could vote on your favorites, too.

We listened to live music, tried a donut, and soaked up the sun. Then we walked through the small town to check out some of the shops.

Look at how fun this scarecrow is!

Making memories and enjoying the season!

Angela Harding-Inspired

 

I've long been a big admirer of Angela Harding and other linocut artists, many of whom come from the UK. It's such a lovely, hand-crafted look.

When I saw this new stamp set from Catherine Pooler for the holiday release, something about those birds really made me think of linocuts.

It got me thinking. Could I take these birds and use them with other companies' stamps to make something like a linocut?

I rummaged through my Woodware sets and pulled out a few.

I started with this set (by designer Jane Gill), using a Tombow marker to add some red berries.

Then I did a little masking to add some ink blending.

After masking off the bird here, I went back and stamped it into this space.

And then I finished off the card here:

For the cardinal card, I followed a similar method:

And finished off the card here:

It was fun using these sets and thinking outside of the box.

Next up, I will try these birds again and make some Christmas cards.

Happy Friday, cafe friends!

Before September Ends

 

Before September comes to a close, I want to talk about the importance of cancer detection and research.

This month is Ovarian Caner Awareness month, and towns across the US tie teal ribbons everywhere to raise awareness.

We were visiting the town of Dexter this weekend and saw the ribbons tied to lamp posts.

And it just so happened that we had a family picnic at the park where my brother-in-law had a park bench dedicated in my sister, Tina's memory.

Tina was Luke's godmother, and it was sweet that he took his wife to see the bench.

Cancer has really impacted my family in recent years. My sister died of ovarian cancer. My nephew died of lung cancer just this year. My Mom died from a blood cancer. And sadly, I just learned that one of my brothers is being treated for prostate cancer this week. 

Is it just me, or does it seem like cancers are becoming more and more prevalent?

It's a sad topic for a Monday, I know. But it makes me wonder what are the root causes, and how can we change this trend? 

I'm reminded of the words of that great hymn: Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.

I will hold on to hope.

Autumn Wedding

 

I love an autumn wedding. Maybe that's because my wedding day was in October, many years ago. Nature makes such a pretty backdrop for the day, with all the shades of gold and yellow, rich reds and burgundies, warm browns and earthy tones.

I was inspired by this color palette for today's card. A sweet couple from our church is getting married this weekend. They both lost spouses in recent years, and found comfort and connection in each other. A second chance at love.

I used these pretty papers and accents from Stampin' Up and paired it with a sentiment from Papertrey Ink.

Shimmery and golden. I pray their years together are golden, too.

Autumn Book Haul

 

This week is Autumn Book Sale at the the fairgrounds. Yippee! I found some real treasures and scored great deals, too.

The Day One finds are above...

...and the smaller stack of Day Two finds are here.

Here are some cool vintage books:

And this one was too pretty to pass up!

I found some Agatha Christie novels to add to my collection, along with other mystery writers. I should have plenty of material to keep me busy during the 'Ber months and beyond.

Speaking of 'Ber months...the first day of autumn came, and we had to turn on our furnace. Yep, it's already sweater weather! I'm ready for it. We're going to enjoy some fall activities like apple orchards, cider mills, and potluck picnics this weekend.

Ghostly Good Coffee

 

Happy Monday!

Did you do any crafting this weekend? We had a LOT of rain, and it was a good time to hunker down in the craft room and play.

I made this fun card for a coffee card swap. I'm having fun with that CP free ghost die!

And my one and only Halloween stamp set from Hello Bluebird has served me well once again!

I'm going to work on some Autumn-inspired cards this week, and may even pull out an autumnal stitching project.