Happy Leap Day! (Blog Coffee Day!)

Hello, cafe friends! Happy Leap Day!

Today I am giving away a sweet little "love" package, just to thank you all for the love you've shown me over 12 years of blogging. And thank you for the birthday love, too!

Leave a comment telling me what you plan on doing with your bonus day today! I will draw a winner on Monday morning.

I often wonder what it would have been like if a.) I'd been born in a leap year and b.) my birthday landed on the 29th instead of the 28th. I would be 13 years old today! Sweet!

The sun is shining and the blue skies are beckoning. Hope you have a great leap day!

Happy Birthday Happy Mail!

Don't you love happy mail?

Handmade birthday greetings are the best!

Today is my birthday, and I wanted to showcase some of the lovely cards my sweet friends from Stamp Camp sent me. Aren't they awesome?

I realized this week that I never did get my 12th of the month giveaway posted. So how about in honor of Leap Day, I post some goodies tomorrow? Stop back for a chance at some blog coffee (because really, candy is bad for you!).

The Greetery Botanicuts Lily

Okay, I have to confess that my $12 craft budget challenge has been totally blown. I was strong for about two or three months, and then everything went south. 😄 I am weak, I tell you. Weak! Crafts are my Kryptonite! But I did see a challenge that I think I can manage today:

I think I can stay strong for this one! Who's with me?

All of this is just a buildup to tell you that I placed not one but TWO orders from The Greetery! And let me tell you, Betsy never disappoints. They are all lovely, and now I want more.

So without further ado, let me show you what I made today with the new Botanicuts Lily!

That lily! Swoon! I love it so! And imagine all the colors? Tiger lilies, Easter lilies, Asiatic lilies. So many options!

I knew I wanted this die to go with the sentiment set from Papertrey Ink called Garden of Faith. And I love the two together! I decided to cut out all the pieces in white card stock, then used Distress Oxides to add color.

{Today's Brew: Garden of Faith stamps (PTI), Botanicuts Lily (The Greetery), MFT cross stitch frame die, Distress Oxides in Rusty Hinge, Dried Marigold, Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters)

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

A Coffee-Themed Notebook

I made another notebook today, this time using the Lawn Fawn Polka Dot Mon Amie papers. These were retired some years back, and like a good crafter, I've been hoarding them. Ha ha! Here's hoping that Lawn Fawn brings them out of retirement soon!

I used the Love You a Latte stamps and dies, and even stamped the A6 size envelope that I will be mailing this one in.

I think I will pair it with this cute little card I made last week.

Just a fun way to perk up the day. Get it? Coffee? Perk? I crack myself up!

Have a blessed day, cafe friends!

A Busy Weekend

Hello, cafe friends!  How was your weekend? Ours was busy! The weather was lovely...sunshine and temps in the mid 50s!

On Saturday morning, we packed 30,000 pounds of ready-to-cook meals with our church family for the Kids Coalition Against Hunger! Gotta love all those hair nets!

Luke and I went to a local Lego Brick Expo! Fun!

Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel! Amazing!

We stumbled upon an estate sale in our neighborhood, and I had to check it out. It just so happens I am writing a story on estate sales for the magazine next month!

I had to buy this painting for $12. It spoke to me.

 I think it reminded me of the covered bridge next to my childhood home.

It looked like the kind of painting that Erin Napier from HGTV's Home Town would hang in one of their houses. She likes to use vintage things that tell a story, and so do I.

We visited family, grilled shish kabobs, watched movies, walked the dog. Over all, a nice weekend.

Looks like we could see a return of winter weather this week. The singing birds are telling me that spring is coming. I'm going to keep on believing them.

Blessings, cafe friends!

Lawn Fawn Mini Notebooks (at a mini price!)

I am a big fan of pen and paper. And for this reason, I LOVE mini notebooks. I always keep one in my purse, as I find that it is so much faster for me to write something down than it is to make a note on my iphone.

It seems that invariably, I am out and about in town when I run in to someone I know. In the course of a conversation, I often think "This would make a great story!" I grab a mini notebook, scribble a few notes and dates, or phone numbers and emails for future use, and I am good to go.

Lawn Fawn has been selling some super cute mini notebooks with their releases. They feature their cute papers, along with some images on each lined page. But at $6 for a two pack, they seem a little pricey.

I was at Walmart today, perusing through their small scrapbook aisle, when I came across these mini notepads from Hampton Art. A three pack of these minis (same size as the Lawn Fawn product) was only $1.24. That's a big savings!

Some of the covers were cute (I like the flamingos!), but some were just "meh". I am not a fan of mermaids, so this one seemed like a good candidate for a makeover.

I took some of the Lawn Fawn Spring Fling papers and cut them to size for a front and back. Then I made a little "spine" out of coordinating paper. I used my trusty Mono Multi glue to attach. I added a stitched label, stamped the "bonjour" (Gleeful Gardens) , and added a flower and leaves (Fab Flowers). And voila! A Lawn Fawn mini notebook at a mini price!

This fun size makes a great gift, and it fits in an envelope for easy mailing, too!

I think I will try a few more covers...maybe coffee themed?

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

Lawn Fawn Birthdays

Belated birthday greetings.

Sigh!

What do you do about those? Do you send them out or do you skip it? Do you mail with an apology, or do you figure "Hey, at least I got it in the birthday month!"

This little sloth from Lawn Fawn is perfect for those "sloooow" to get to the recipient kind of cards.

The first card I made using the Bayou Backdrop die for a leafy overhang.

For the second card, I used the Tree Backdrop die, but turned upside down. It gives the look of a rain forest, don't you think?

Finally, I made a little card using the Koala, pairing him with some fun Lawn Fawn papers and adhering to a Lawn Fawn wood grain note card.

Time to start delivering and mailing a few of these cards!

Spring Fling

Good morning and welcome to the cafe!

I've brewed three new cards using Lawn Fawn stamps and the LF paper pack Spring Fling!

The first card uses these cute little hedgies. The sunshine is from the Lawn Fawn sentiment set So Much To Say. It was super easy to fussy cut, too.

The second card uses the stamp set Stinkin' Cute.

And the final card uses Party Panda! The birthday sentiment is one of the freebies that Lawn Fawn sent with an order.

Three more cards to add to my stash! Yay!

I have a few more birthday cards to show tomorrow, including a few belated cards (which I seem to need a lot of these days!).

Thanks for visiting the cafe!

Fast Cards to Freshen the Stash

Has this ever happened to you?

You go to your card stash, looking for that one occasion...birthday, get well, thank you, sympathy. And that's when you realize you do not have the ONE thing you need.

My card stash is looking a little thin lately. There's this thing called LIFE that keeps getting in the way of my card making.

If it's been a while since I stamped, I try to start with simple. Nothing complicated that will take too long. Just easy peasy stamp, color, assemble.

I grabbed a bunch of Lawn Fawn stamps this morning and got to work stamping, die cutting, and coloring.

I thought it would be a job, but it quickly became fun. And fun has been in short supply these days!

The key to using smaller images is to scale down the size of the card. These are little 3 1/2 by 5 inch pre-folded cards with matching envelopes from Hobby Lobby.

I have a few more images to color and add to card fronts this afternoon. I'm hoping build up my birthday and get well cards. This small size works really well for my church family, as they fit nicely in our mailboxes, too.

I hope to have a few more to show you soon. Hope your week ahead is a good one, cafe friend!

A Little Sheep Project

I started working on a new stitching project this week. I've done a few in this series, called "Little Sheep Virtues" by Little House Needleworks. This one is called "Peace", and I liked that the sheep has a little heart sheared into its wooly coat.

In the winter, I stitch in the arm chair close to the window for all the natural light I can get. I set this down on the ottoman and had to laugh...sheep on the left, sheep on the right. It's no secret. I like sheep!

I'm making some good progress!

The snow is softly falling today. It's a good day to stay indoors with a coffee, a good book, and a good project to keep busy.

Blessings, cafe friends!

A Finished Bookmark

I did it! I took a UFO project and turned it into a Finished Object project! Yay for me!

I started this Prairie Schooler cross stitch bookmark six years ago, and put it away. I picked it up again last month and decided that it was time to get back to it.

After stitching, I trimmed the excess linen, pressed it, and then adhered it to some of Papertrey Ink's  wool felt in Classic Kraft with some DMC and a running stitch. I frayed the edges of the linen a bit, and now it's complete. Simple.

I think this looks like the sort of bookmark that Elizabeth Bennett might have kept in one of her own beloved books.

I'm moving on to another project, hoping to get it finished in time for Valentine's Day this Friday. We'll see about that.

Happy Monday, cafe friends!

A Rough Start to 2020

It's been a rough start to 2020 for our family.

We've had health challenges. We've had a loved one entering an extended care situation. And on top of it all, we've had hard news on the work front.

I have always said that in the world of retail, Santa may come at Christmas, but the Grim Reaper comes with the new year. A lot of changes were announced, and the news was not good.

As a Christmas gift to my husband, who wants less stuff and more fun experiences, I decided to gift him with concert tickets to The Lumineers. It sounded like fun in December. But then, with all of the challenges piling up one after another, I wondered if we should really go.

My husband, who is all about adventure, decided that we needed this break, now more than ever.

We could have sat around the house all weekend and moped about our circumstances. But instead, we did a fast overnight in downtown Detroit for dinner and a show.

The city was really bustling on a Friday night, with softly falling snow, street musicians, and folks out walking everywhere.

Yesterday was Wear Red for Heart Health Day, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield building downtown was lit up for the occasion.

I wore my red cowboy boots and red scarf for the occasion.

In the midst of it all, God is faithful. The days may be difficult, but we can trust that He has only good in store for us.

Blessings on your weekend, cafe friends!