Slimline Village

 

When I first saw the new collection from Catherine Pooler Designs called "Mitford Falls", I decided that I'd be referring to it as Stars Hollow. And the funny thing? A short time later, they offered a sequin mix called Stars Hollow! I guess we were all thinking of the same inspiration.

I thought these images would be sweet on a slimline card design.

One of the things I love about this set is that they've included dies that will allow you to customize the images: for example, there's a die for the bakery sign so that you can stamp and cut and layer in another color. Same for the roofline, tree trunks, lamppost and sign.

I went one step further with the tree trunks by stamping them with a woodgrain stamp (from CP Mod Textiles).

I used some of the little images to decorate the envelopes, too.

The town next to mine (Dexter, Michigan) looks a lot like this little village, complete with a town gazebo. It's a fun place to visit, especially in the fall. The drive winds through tunnels of trees. And Dexter has a cider mill that people travel to every year.

Cider and donuts season is here!

Thoughts on the First Day of School

 

Yesterday was the first day of school in our Michigan small town. I was walking in the morning and saw this on a neighbor's driveway. Sweet.

And it dawned on me.

This is the first time in 30 odd years that I do not have a child going "back to school". No preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school or college students. The boys are now men and finished with their official educations.

It's a bittersweet feeling.

Other Moms in my age group are now Grandmas. enjoying the process in fresh new ways with their grandchildren. But that is not the case for me. Could it happen in the future? Yes. Is it possible that God does not have that in store for me? Yes, that is also a possibility.

As a Mom and former preschool teacher, I still love that feeling that comes from new books and a pencil case filled with fresh pencils, markers, crayons and erasers. Sometimes, I peruse the Back to School aisles at the store, just to see what's the latest and newest and trendiest.

I spoke with a dear friend recently who was (and still is) the director of the preschool in my hometown. I asked her how she'd feel about me coming by occasionally to play music and sing with the children. She was so excited, and asked if I'd consider coming at least once a month.

 I think this will be really good for me. I've been freeing up my calendar from work-related assignments that were adding unnecessary stress with very little payout. I want more time to volunteer and explore.

It's a new stage in life, and it's time to adapt. In some ways, the person who is going "back to school" this season will be me.

Time to get a fresh backpack and fill it with some good things.

Transitions

 

I've been tiptoeing into the next season this week. I put away all of the red, white and blue things and brought out more golden things like sunflowers and pillows and blankets. 

I lit a cider candle, and it had me hungry for the flavors of autumn.

I made a yummy pumpkin bread yesterday. What I liked about this recipe is that it only makes two small loaves....just enough. And I had everything on hand, too. 

 https://butterandbliss.net/cinnamon-swirl-pumpkin-bread-minis/?                    

I paired it with a Pumpkin Spice coffee. So good.

And this cinnamon sugar butter that I found at Aldi this week took it over the top.

I think I will do some autumn crafting today. I need a little paper and ink therapy session.

Happy Friday, friends.

Treasures from Mom's Craft Stash

 

My siblings and I are in the process of cleaning and sorting Mom's condo. We're filtering out what we'd like to take for ourselves and what we want to include in a future estate sale.

My sisters and I decided to approach this with a Marie Kondo style, grouping like items together in one spot. Books, photos, bathroom items, kitchen items.

I decided to tackle Mom's craft stash yesterday. And there was a LOT. She had three shoeboxes full of cards made at stamp camps that she never got around to mailing. And card stock? Holy Moley! More than I have, that's for sure!

I found this card in her stash and really loved it. For starters, our childhood home was situated right next to a covered bridge, so this makes me think of home. Mom was also very good at watercolor and painting.

I also loved how she ran it all through with a woodgrain embossing folder. Pretty!

I found some nice things to bring home to my craft room.

I'm pretty sure I gave Mom all of these SU punches years ago. Sometimes, a punch is so much easier than cranking out dies.

I also found a folder with instructions for fun fold cards. This looked interesting!

We try to plow through the cleaning and sorting job, but we often get sidelined by a sweet letter and a  funny photo. So many sweet memories.

We still have LOTS of work in the days ahead, but we're chipping away at it one day at a time.

Reading with the Cool Girls

 

When it comes to hopping on the latest trendy train, I'm usually the last person to board. Most of the time, I don't even buy the ticket to take that ride in the future.

Maybe I've just become wiser as I'm approaching my 60th year on the planet. Or perhaps I'm just a rebel.

I've been burned too many times before.

That popular bible study leader that has everyone buzzing with their fresh, new ideas! Yep. Nothing new.

That TV series that everyone is talking about! Pass.

The home trend that has us all painting our walls in a cold grey and installing shiplap and barn doors! No thank you.

So when it comes to my preferred reading material, I usually skip the newest thing that has the literary world and the Booktok community buzzing.

I won't be reading Yesteryear, or the latest Romantasy, or just about anything from the top ten bestseller's list.

But here's my exception: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower.

These slim volumes have so many loyal followers from fellow readers that I trust. 

So when I saw these first two entries at Reader's World in Holland over the weekend, I squealed with delight. They are hard to find, and often have to be special ordered. But now I have them in my eager little hands.

I think there are six more volumes after these, with number nine coming soon.

Let the reading obsession begin!

Beach Reads

 

Our short trip up north was just what we needed. Beach time, garden tours, good food.

We spent one evening at the Tunnel Park beach in Holland, where we witnessed a wedding proposal (how fun!) and a beautiful sunset.

I finished a very fun book here. Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp. What a fun, quirky character!

I have a few good things on my calendar this week involving my writing and my music, along with some projects to ready Mom's house for sale. This little break helped refresh me for the days ahead.

Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad summer

"I just need something in the W column," I told my husband this morning.

Do you ever feel like there's a mounting number of L's in the Losses column and not enough W's in the wins column?

That's how I've been feeling this summer.

Just this week:

*I got passed up for story assignments and don't know why

*I didn't even get an interview for a local job for which I thought I was perfectly suited

* The dentist said I need braces

*My cookies this morning came out flat

*Everything is either annoying me or disappointing me

We've decided to head up north for a few days to see if I can salvage this bad summer.

I need to dip my toes into Lake Michigan's cooling waters.

We're going to see the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. We'll head to Holland for a little sight seeing and beach time. And we'll spend as much time dining outdoors as possible, with drinks in hand.

In the meantime, I'm trying to catch beauty when I can find it.

A hummingbird in mid flight at my butterfly bush.

Lush gardens filled with buzzing bees.

I'm coming up with a plan on how to fill my future days with some good things. Music, writing, time connecting with people.

In the meantime, this too shall pass. Brighter days ahead, and all things autumnal to look forward to very soon.