Monday, December 31, 2018

Gratitude for 2019


I had been waiting for a "word" for 2019 to come to me this month.

And then I found this coffee mug, on clearance at Hallmark. It was a sign.


Gratitude is the word for 2019!


And I really do have so much to be grateful for, just in 2018 alone!

It was a crazy busy filled-to-the-top year.

I continued to write and publish, and I love this little side job from home.

We took a family trip to Florida and saw a satellite launch, which was cool.

We remodeled a laundry room and painted nearly every space upstairs in the cottage.

Sam took a class trip to Washington DC.

Sam had his confirmation at church in the spring.

We had a relaxing trip up north in the summer.

My fledgling vegetable garden produced great results that I shared with all my neighbors.

God gave us opportunities to serve in church and the community.

Sam and Ed had a fun father-son trip to Toronto.

We had skylights installed in the cottage. Light!

Ed and I had a nice anniversary in New England.

My husband's beloved Red Sox won the World Series (woo hoo!) and he found a sister he never knew he had (more on that in the future!).

We got to spend a lot of time with our extended families, which is always a blessing.

I even made a lot of my craft resolutions this year! Craft retreats, watercolor painting, linocut and print-making, scrapbooking, and the big one: mailing those hand-crafted cards!



I made a gratitude journal yesterday, using a Moleskin journal from Costco and some papers and stickers from Simple Stories. I think this will help in the year ahead.



This verse from Colossians was part of our church service yesterday. It seemed to encompass everything I hoped for in 2019.


Do you have an inspirational word you hope to meditate on in 2019?

Grateful for all of you, my cafe friends! Happy New Year!

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Craft Room-Inspired


Hello, cafe friends!

I've been having some post-holiday fun in the craft room this week. After cleaning and sorting, it was time to get busy creating.


This card was inspired by my clean craft room! I used the same color combination of orange, lime green and turquoise on this card that you will see in my space.

This stamp set from Concord and 9th is so much fun! You can get as simple or as detailed as you like. Dies or no dies, shadow stamps or detail stamps. It's really versatile!

And here's the room that started it all:


When the room looks this clean, it's time to take photos of it...for posterity. LOL!


On the wall opposite the counter, there are three tall IKEA shelves and cabinets.  In the middle cabinet, there was a big empty space. This is where I have the turquoise and green file boxes.


I never really knew what to put in there, so I used to throw in 6 x 6 paper pads. It wasn't a very practical system.

But then I had a great idea this week. Why not use those to sort out all of the scraps of card stock? And so that's what I did! I went through all my scraps, threw away the useless stuff, and sorted everything else by color. Blues, greens, browns and neutrals, reds and pinks, purples, yellows and oranges, white and ivory, and patterned paper pieces.


I've been using this system for a few days, and already it is working so well! When I'm starting a project, I can reach in and grab what I need easily. And when I'm cleaning up, I can put scraps away in an instant.


This spot used to have piles of papers.


And this spot used to have piles of papers, too!


This spot was usually full of dirty stamps waiting to be cleaned, as well as papers.


And this spot usually had papers covered in a fine layer of powder and glitter.


Sometimes, I even managed to stash a few papers up there!


Don't you love that poster? It was a gift from the Subaru dealer this summer. Looks just like Jemma!


Basement craft studios may not be ideal for everyone, but I am loving this one! I like to have the mess tucked away from the usual day to day areas of the house. This room gives me plenty of space to spread out, and the colors make me happy.

Blessings, cafe friends!

Friday, December 28, 2018

Playing With Nuvo Drops


I've been intrigued with Nuvo drops for a while, and finally found a shop that carries them. I bought a few bottles to experiment, and thus far I can say I really like them!


I added a few to this card front, and I think it really gives the card that extra something special.

These are similar to enamel dots, only you can control the size. Also, they are self-leveling, unlike Stickles. You won't end up with the curlicue at the top of each drop. Smooth!


This is also my first time playing with this Concord and 9th stamp set. I love the painterly quality that the shadow stamps can give.

And here's where I found the Nuvo drops! Stampeddler Plus in downtown Northville, Michigan! I've been to the shop once before, probably five years ago. I have been meaning to visit, but never got around to it. So we decided to combine a shop visit with a trip to the Cheesecake Factory (yum!).


Nuvo Drops on display on the right!


This shop is housed in an old church, which makes for a really cool setting.





Love that sentiment above!
 


Love the snow angels card! Cute idea!


Didn't need a ton...just a few bottles of Nuvo drops and some rhinestone sticky stars. But aren't craft stores inspiring?

Talked with the owners about how this industry has evolved over the years. Not many brick and mortar stores left. They told me they don't hold seminars or classes anymore because everyone stays home watching youtube videos. That's too bad. I always enjoy the camaraderie of a room full of crafters. That's one reason I always look forward to the craft retreats. Just a little over a month until the next one!

Do you have any good craft stores near you?

Thursday, December 27, 2018

A Christmas Recap




Christmas 2018 began with Jemma's 3rd birthday!


And in the midst of all the present buying and wrapping and house cleaning, there was also the menu planning and the shopping and the baking and cooking!





Here was the only present I asked for that I actually received this Christmas. It smells divine.


On Boxing Day, I made the family this raspberry danish. It was so easy and soooo good.


Recipe can be found here:

https://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/raspberry-cream-cheese-candy-cane-crescent-danish/0955e788-f3fa-4026-a8e9-5dc26ec131ac


After a trip to the Apple store for a new phone battery (I'm pretty sure the apple store is one of Dante's levels of hell that he left out of Inferno), and a trip to the mall for returns (see candle for only present I wanted...lol!), I came home with a bad Christmas hangover. Not the alcohol-induced hangover. Just one of those hangovers that has you looking back at all the work and all the hustle and all the bustle and wondering if anyone even gives a crap as to how many hours of your life you gave to making Christmas happen for everyone else.

I cured the hangover the only way I know how. I went down to the craft room with a latte and spent a few hours cleaning and sorting and organizing. Merry Christmas to me!

Hope your Christmas was blessed!

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

PTI December 2018 Blog Hop

Happy Boxing Day, cafe friends!

It is also blog hop day at Papertrey Ink! And today's inspiration photo is so lovely, I just knew I had to play along.



Here is the photo!


And here is my card:


I combined two stamp sets for this one: Stitched Sentiments and Stamped and Stitched. Some ribbon, some doily, a sweet heart pin, and a little kraft. All the things I love!


{Today's Brew: Stitched Sentiments stamps and dies (PTI), Stamped and Stitched (PTI), PTI inks and card stcok, Rustic Wreath die, doily, amuse ribbon, heart straight pin}


Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

Monday, December 24, 2018

Merry Christmas Eve!


Merry Christmas Eve!

Remember my last post, where I shared my cheap gift bag solution?

Today, I'm going to tell you about wrapping paper.

Buy the expensive stuff. Seriously. Life is too short for the cheap paper that rips and tears at every corner as you are trying to use it. I know, it's silly because this stuff just ends up in the garbage. Do what I do...buy it on clearance.

I like to visit my local Hallmark for their clearance sales. This summer, I bought a lot of rolls of their wrapping paper for 70% off. Christmas and Birthday, just to replenish my stock. And it is such a joy to use it, too! I especially like that it has grids on the back side to make cutting straight a breeze.


This morning, while the Christmas cake was baking, I had some time to do a little water coloring. I purchased this PTI Botanical Blocks set on clearance, last summer, and I'm glad I did.


The Botanical Blocks stamp sets are always lovely and elegant, too.




A fun project before the busyness of cooking and baking begins.

Joyeux Noel!