More Seaside Post

 

Time for another lighthouse card using C and 9th's Seaside Post!

I changed the colors up a bit, using With An Olive and On The Lake from CP inks.

These images work great with a lot of the scripture sentiment stamps I have. 

{Today's Brew: Seaside Postal (C and 9th), CP inks, Year of Psalms (PTI), Prima watercolor form splatter}

Year of Plenty...lanterns!

 

I've been pinning examples of Stampin' Up's stamp and die set called "Light The Way". It's a great set for making nature-themed cards, especially for the men in my life. 

I wondered if I needed to buy this set from one of the buy/sell forums.

And then I remembered:

Don't I have a similar lantern die from Catherine Pooler? And can't I combine other stamps to get the same look?

Yes, and yes.

I love these little bees and flowers from Stampin' Up's Honey Bee set. They worked well with the size of this lantern.

{Today's Brew: Catherine Pooler lantern die, Honey Bee stamps and dies (SU), Little Lift Me Ups sentiment (PTI), Simple Stories paper, Hello Bluebird deckle edge frame die}

A Year of Plenty win!

Poppies

 

I was driving home from a nursery in the country, and had to pull over and take photos of this stunning field of poppies.

So beautiful!

Poppies are the flower of remembrance for Memorial Day. It comes from the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row

That mark our place, and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly.

In Year of Plenty fashion, I remembered a poppy pin kit that I had been holding on to for "some day".

That some day is now.

It was a fun and easy kit to assemble, too. I wonder why it took me so long.

I wore it pinned to my jacket, but I think this one would work well on a hat, too.

Blessings on your holiday weekend, café friends!

Let's Do Brunch

 

I nearly forgot that I'd signed up for a May Pen Pal Swap at CP's Stamp Nation. Oops! And hello, May is nearly over! Better get busy!

The inspiration for this month's swap: Let's Do Brunch!

This mood board was so cute! It was hard to decide which way to go, but when I saw the jam jar that says "You're my jam", I knew I had to go with strawberries.

I had the stamp set in mind, but which colors? I grabbed CP's Fresh and Fruity papers, and used their handy color guide to get started. I love being able to match inks to papers, and it sometimes pushes me out of my comfort zone of colors. For example, I hardly ever use Mardi Gras, but it turned out to be a great, vibrant green.

{Today's Brew: Strawberries and Jam stamps and dies (CP), Ruffles and Dashes frame dies (CP), CP papers and ink, CP sequins, Cozy die (The Greetery)}

This card, these colors...it just makes me happy. Like brunch.

Any brunch plans for this Memorial Day weekend?

Finders Keepers 2024

 

Finders Keepers Vintage Market is an organized arts and crafts show that pops up several times a year in several locations. And each time I would see it advertised, I would say to myself "I want to go!" It always looked like the kind of event that I would frequent with my sister, Tina.

Last Sunday, one of my church friends, who is a kindred spirit, said "Let's go!" And so we did!

I grabbed a Brown Sugar Caramel Latte from my favorite café, and we set off to explore the many vendors.

So many vendors came in their cute campers!

Lots of vendors were set up outside.

Others had booths inside the many barns of the fairgrounds.

I managed to talk myself out of lots of pretty things.

But in the end, I felt compelled to bring this little lamb with succulent home.

I'm marking my calendar for the next shows this fall!

Seaside Post

 

So, how's my Year of Plenty going? My year where I remind myself that I have plenty and don't need to add anything? Not perfectly. But as I tell my husband, Rome wasn't built in a day. LOL

Case in point:

Last month, I saw on a FB post (see, this is where it starts!) that someone was selling a kit from Concord and 9th that I'd never seen before called Seaside Postal. I was really interested in the postal dies, but it also came with a full stamp and stencil set. A great price. And because I have a hard time passing up a bargain, I got it.

Imagine my surprise when just this week, Concord and 9th decided to release this bundle from one of their class events. Yay! Now I can see ideas from other crafters who have this set.

I got a chance to play yesterday, and it was fun! I don't think I have any lighthouse images, and considering I live in a state with the biggest coastline and tons of lighthouses, it's probably a good idea. I paired this with a sentiment from PTI called Phrases and Praises.

{Today's Brew: Seaside Postal kit (Concord and 9th), Phrases and Praises (PTI), CP inks}

This is a great card for men and women, and I know it will probably go to someone from my church family.

I don't know how much this kit costs at the C and 9th store, but I do know that it is available later today. Check it out!

Postal Mice and Berries

 

Here's another way to use the Hello Bluebird Postage frame die....just cut off the little banner tag portion, keep the "stamps" portion intact, and use it as the center focal point.

It's nearly strawberry season here in Michigan, so I had to make a card using the Sweet Strawberries stamps and dies from Hello Bluebird. I paired it with the Simple Stories Strawberry Fields papers and enamel dots.

A sweet card for a sweet friend.

Going Postal

 

Postal things are having a moment in the crafty world. Waffle Flower has a full line of postal dies and small images for creating these "stamps", all with different themes. Very cute.

I decided to pull out some Hello Bluebird stamps and dies and give it a try.

I got this die from HB last year, and was kinda confused how to use it. When you run it through the diecut machine, it cuts the postal frame, and then you have this separate section in the center. It wasn't until I looked at a bunch of samples that I finally figured it out. When you use scissors or a paper cutter and cut along the dotted edge of those little rectangles, it makes nine little postage stamps, and then a separate banner frame to use on projects. I suppose you could use it without cutting it apart, too. But if you want postage stamps, you have to cut them apart.

I decided to use a bunch of little images from this HB stamp set. After stamping and coloring with COPICS, I used ink and small blenders to color each little postage stamp.

{Today's Brew: Hello Bluebird stamps, HB Postal frame die, Simple Stories paper, CP inks and sequins, COPIC markers, Wink of Stella}

Speaking of postal, I managed to get ten cards mailed at the post office today. Woo hoo! It always makes me happy to pass these little creations along.

Happy Monday, café friends!

Photos from the Yard and Garden

 

May is a month that keeps us very busy in the yard and garden, and this year was no exception. We've had a lot of projects that were waiting for the nice weather.

For starters, we've had to replace a lot of bushes, especially where the arbor vitae fell under winter's ice storms.

So far, we've planted two varieties of juniper along the side of the house: Blue Point Juniper and Moonglow. I was able to find both of them at Walmart at a much better price than the local nurseries.

Right now, these bushes look like babies compared to the last giant remaining arbor vitae. But junipers can grow from 12 to 20 feet tall, so we're hoping they will fill in over time.

In the fall, I will get some low-growing bushes to plant in front. But for now, we added these bushes and the mulch and called it "Good enough!"

I always struggle with this backyard shady spot. The roots from the maple tree make it hard to plant.

We added a few azaleas called "Rosebud". I love the name, but the deer seem to love the leaves.

They also like this delicious hanging basket of impatiens.

Time for the Liquid Fence!

Another new bush we added is this variety of hydrangea paniculata called "Berry White". I loved the name (because it made me think of the famous singer!). We planted this one under Sam's bedroom window in the hopes that it will expand. The tag says it blossoms all season in shades of white to pink, and will grow with a spread up to six feet tall and six feet wide. Yes! Grow, little bush! Fill this space for me!

What are all those little white flags about? Well, as we ran out of money for more perennials and annuals, I decided to throw some seeds in a few spots and hope for the best. Cosmos and zinnias. This spot gets a bit of sun in the afternoon, and I'm hoping it will be enough to encourage some growth.

I planted toad lily and bleeding hearts a few years ago, and they seem to like this spot. You would think that other shade loving plants like ferns and astible and coral bells would thrive here, but I've had no success with them. And while I love hostas, the deer do, also.

One of our more expensive projects this summer will be our deck. We have a wonderful man named Lou that worked on it for us five years ago. He cleaned it, replaced some wood, and painted it in these two shades of stain. It made such a difference!

Well, five years later, and the stain has worn in a few spots. Our biggest concern was the wood rot that was occurring in a few places.

Lou has replaced the rotted wood. Next step will be to power wash everything. And then, when he has time after all his other summer clients, he will come back to paint it all and make it pretty again.

And finally, I can't forget to show you this view from the back yard that we had last week. Aurora Borrealis!

The northern lights! It is rare to see them this far south. God put on quite a stunning show for us in the heavens.

So that's what's been happening in our little corner of the world.

Now that the big planting projects are done, I can focus on the weeding and watering.

Blessings on your weekend, café friends!