Spring Lambs and Spring Hills

 

The Happy Herd stamps, stencils and dies from Concord and 9th called my name. I just love sheep.

I made these sheep using Distress Ink Picket Fence. This one is a one layer card.

I gave this to my brother-in-law this weekend, after having visited all of the boys and having them add their birthday greetings inside. Perfect! The whole herd!

And then, I needed a baby shower card, and thought this one would do the trick! I combined the sheep dies with the new Hillside dies, and added a card front stitched die panel at the bottom.

The Hillside dies also come with stamps and stencils. They look like a fresh breath of spring air. And who isn't craving that right about now?

I paired this with a sunburst panel.

Full of happy!

And speaking of happy, I managed a trip to see all of my sons over the weekend. We even had a chance to celebrate my birthday together, and that's the best gift of all.

Silly Goose

 

The goose is back!

You know how certain animals will suddenly become trendy and you start seeing them everywhere? Sloths. Hedgehogs. Llamas.

Well, I'm officially declaring this the Year of the Goose.

Target had a bunch of fun goose things in their Dollar Spot. Meijer also had goose things in their Dollar Spot.

And the porch goose? Yes, that's a thing once again!

Concord and 9th had a fabulous February release. I ordered...a lot. And one of the bundles is a set called Silly Goose.

It features die cuts of geese in various poses, with hats and boots and ribbons to accessorize.

So fun!

Tell me. Are you seeing gaggles of geese everywhere?

Sweet, and Not So Sweet February

 

Hello, cafe friends!

It's hard to believe that we are in the last week of February. What a wild month, weather wise. One day, it's snowy, and the next day it's 60 degrees and sunny. And then back to frigid cold and snow. That silly groundhog probably knew what he was talking about when he predicted six more weeks of winter!

Did you have a special Valentine's Day? We attended a fun shop hop event in our little downtown. As for the gifting, I was excited to pull out my my shortbread pan for these lovely heart-shaped treats. I made a pan for my Mom and a pan for my beloved.

This gave me a good reason to use these new shortbread supplies from The Greetery. This embossing folder really reminds me of my new pan!

I made it using PTI's Fine Linen cardstock, and brushed it with some white ink to give it a powdered sugary look.

I used another embossing folder to make this fun coffee and cookie card and bookmark...

...and this birthday card.

I will be making some more pans of shortbread soon to give to my family. We're going to visit our sons soon for a fast trip to Illinois and Indiana.

But I won't be eating any shortbread because Ed and I gave up sweets for Lent as part of a fasting discipline. One week in, and I'm staying strong!

I have a few fun spring things to show you soon. You know that New Year's resolution we make every year to spend less money on craft supplies? Well, I'm two months in and failing miserably. 😊

During the long, tail-end days of winter, I need to fuel my creativity in any way possible.

Fear not, cafe friend. Spring is coming!

Monthly News: A January Recap

 

Surprise! It's a January Recap post!

I hope your month has been warm and cozy as we burrowed in to the long cold days of winter.

Our January swung from eventful to quiet and everything in between.

It began with Sam's big move to Illinois, where he started his post-college career.

We did a lot of shopping. We did a lot of packing. 

We hit the stores for all the necessary things. We even scoured the second hand stores, where Sam scored this vintage guitar. Apparently, that was a new apartment necessity.

Remember Sam's long blue hair? Well, that was gone at the end of December. He's a young man of extremes. I gotta admit. I love the new look!

Sam's move made me so blue! Even though he's been living in apartments for the last couple of years, he's also been just down the road. And now, all of my sons live out of town, and I'm feeling untethered. The days ahead will feel different, and I will have to make an effort to get out to see them more often. It will take some deliberate planning, for sure.

After Sam's move, it seemed like a good time to clean house and fluff.

On one of our Walmart trips, I found this Pioneer Woman platter on clearance, and remembered that it matched the placemats I picked up over the holiday.

That led me to a refresh of the hutch. 

A sweet look as we head into February.

We gave Sam our old IKEA couch and chair to help him furnish his new place. And after doing a little shopping and comparing. we found a new couch and chair for our great room. 

Spoiler alert: this blue couch is not it.

This couch is from our basement, and it is our temporary solution until our new furniture arrives. When will that be? Who knows! At least one or two months, I think.

But in the meantime, this couch works just fine.

I found these cute plaid pillows from Walmart, and they did a good job of tying the colors together. And Jemma loves them, too.

We've had a lot of snow and c-c-c-cold for so many days!

It was a good time to make a stack of snowman cards! These stamps are from Penny Black, and they were a freebie from an order I placed at Scrapbook.com. I colored them with COPICS, and then fussy cut them and placed them onto different embossed panels.

Ed took some time off of work to recover from those crazy retail holiday hours. We spent a lot of time on cleaning and organizing projects in the house. And then there were the good books and movie marathons. 

We ate good food, like these snowflake shortbread cookies.

One snowy day, we popped over to the mall and found this quilt set at a super deep discount price. It's a great color to camouflage Jemma fur!

We had a new baby great niece born this month! We got to visit her and her big sisters this week, and she was absolutely precious. It has been so many years since I've held a baby in my arms!

I needed a fast baby card, so I pulled this card from my stash, added a special delivery banner and heart, and made the sentiment tie it all together.

I remembered to bring a little something for the big sisters. They loved these snowy stickers and books.

I started two new Bible studies this month, one at church and one at home. I have a LOT of prayers for a LOT of people this month. Praying for our adult children, and praying for quite a few family members who have been in the hospital. 

Starting to think about the new month ahead. I made this fun card after being inspired by the newest Concord and 9th release. I made my own mailbox with some arch dies, and added the "POST" with some alpha dies.

And inside, the sentiment and images pop out.

A combination of stamps and dies from Catherine Pooler and Penny Black. This card fits into a 5 by 7 envelope.

Are you doing any heart-themed crafting? I have some new shortbread-themed crafty goodies from the Greetery, and I'm going to make some cards with them this weekend. I found a new heart-shaped shortbread pan at my thrift store, and I'm going to make these for the ladies in my life. 

And that's January, in a recap edition. Candles and cookies, blankets and books, roaring fireplace and bird watching.

Stay cozy, cafe friends!

2025: A Year of Writing

 

It was a productive year for writing. By my count, I had 75 articles published this year.

Some months, I would have 4 to 6 stories to write. Other months, I'd have 10 to 12. I had to keep all those assignments and deadlines organized in my planner, and check it every day.

Telephone interviews, email interviews, in-person interviews. Research, correspondence, and a lot of coffee.

For whom did I write? Everyone and anyone!

I wrote for my small town's online news site. I wrote for two parent publications, one print and one online. I wrote for the edgy city papers. I wrote for a monthly mature living publication. I wrote for a Michigan magazine. And I even wrote for a national publication.

I wrote about authors and entrepreneurs. I wrote restaurant reviews and travel features. I wrote about local events. I wrote about home builders and businesses.

A little bit of everything, just to keep it interesting. Because if I'm not interested in the subject, then the reader won't be, either.

Which brings me to this blog.

I've struggled to keep it interesting this year.

There are many reasons. No major home repairs or remodeling. No big changes in the yard and garden. No earth-shatteringly creative craft projects.

And without these things, not a lot of interesting photos and stories.

Life is shifting. Sons are living out of state. My mother requires more and more care. I'm just finding a daily and weekly rhythm that works for me.

I will probably not be posting much on this blog in 2026.

I'm considering limiting my Instagram account to card and craft creations, and turning to Substack for my writings and ramblings.

If you are interested in any of these things, drop me a line.

Blessings to you in 2026, cafe friends!

2025: A Year of Music

 

Music became an even bigger part of my life in 2025.

I have now been playing my mountain dulcimer for 2 years this January, and I'm feeling more confident with each year. I play in jams, I play in workshops, I play out with friends for musical performances. It's been so much fun.

This year, I want to expand upon my skills with some online tutorials, and I'm hoping to attend a big festival in Michigan this July.

I'm adding another instrument to my collection. This November, I purchased a hammered dulcimer from a local seller who listed it on FB marketplace. (The free dulcimer that I'd received last fall just didn't work well for me). This beauty had everything I needed to get started, at a quarter of the price if I were to purchase it all brand new. Books, bags, tuners, hammers...the works!

It has a lovely sound, too.

I'm going to begin once-a-month workshop lessons with my instructor in January.

I had a few opportunities to listen to live music this year, like this Candlelight concert in Detroit.

I also attended a few concerts from our local Saline New Horizons Band. These were wonderful! It was great to see so many adults continuing their musical journeys.

I continued to sing with our church choir, and it's always a pleasure and privilege to make a joyful noise unto the Lord!

In 2026, I want to listen to new artists and get out to hear more live music.