Pumpkin Love

Don't you love the variety of pumpkins available at the farmer's market these days? Bright orange, pale peach, white, gray, green, and every variation in between.

Striped pumpkins, bumpy pumpkins, smooth pumpkins, squat pumpkins. So many shapes and sizes!

I made this autumnal card, combining some traditional fall colors with a few non-traditional options.

{Today's Brew: Pretty Patches stamps and dies (wplus9 design), Lawn Fawn Papers, Lawn Fawn leaves dies, Lawn Fawn tag die, MFT stitching die, PTI inks and card stock, baker's twine}

So thankful for all of you, cafe friends!

An Overdue Thank You

A few weeks back (I hate to confess this, but I think it was May?!), our Pastor and his family came over to our house for dinner. Pastor Matt and his adorable wife Amy have two young boys, and they are the kind of family that you can't wait to get the photo card from at Christmas time. The cutest family you can imagine.

We'd been trying to coordinate a dinner together at the time, but we were still in full puppy mode and couldn't leave Jemma home alone.

Amy came up with the solution....bring dinner to our house. Wow! That was so thoughtful, and I know it must have been a lot of work for a mom with two little boys at home. The meal was amazing! I'm still thinking about the cabbage slaw salad she made...this German girl loves cabbage!

So yeah, I let life get busy and haven't mailed out a proper thank you card yet.

Amy has lived in the area for a year longer than me, and she's managed to scout out all the cool antique shops, markets, and treasures. I wanted the card to feel a little vintage, so I chose the stamp set from WPlus9 that reminds me so much of vintage Pyrex!

{Today's Brew: WPlus9 Design stamps, inside sentiment from MFT stamps, Simple Stories papers, PTI ink and card stock, doily, prima flower, enamel dot, Lawn Fawn stitching dies}

And here's the inside sentiment! This family does so much for our congregation and the community. We've been so blessed to be a part of that this year.

Today will be a good day to get some stamps on envelopes and get some cards mailed!

Blessings, cafe friends!

Red: The Secret To My Holiday Decorating

I'm going to let you in on the secret of my holiday decorating, and here it is:

Red.

What? Red isn't a secret? Well then, let me tell you my "red" strategy.

All through the year, when I am making purchases for household goods, I will try to pick up the red item whenever possible. Need new dish towels? Why not red? Need a new pattern of everyday Corelle dishes? Buy the pattern with the red stripe. Debating on which tole tray to buy at the antique mall? Pick the red one. Red looks great all year long, and it's a lovely pop of color if your house is filled with neutrals otherwise.

But here's the red secret: your everyday items become "Christmas" items, too.

Take, for example, this vintage Juice King juicer that was a gift from my mom. I love it! It stays in my kitchen all year long. But over the holidays, you can add a little ribbon and a sprig of greenery, and suddenly your vintage treasure becomes a holiday decor piece!

The best part? Your red items do not stay in storage for eleven months, waiting to get put on display for the holidays. Instead, you are using those lovely red items all year long. How practical is that? And here's another secret: red looks great for so many other times of the year, too. Valentine's Day, Independence Day, summer picnic season, spring tulip season.

I'm getting ready to paint my kitchen in a nice neutral called Accessible Beige. We've used it in other parts of the house, and I like it. But in my kitchen, I'll be pairing it with red accents for an extra wow! I think it will look great for the holiday season, too.

I found these spools of red plaid ribbon at the Target dollar spot. I know I will use these in my easy holiday decorating this year.

Today's card uses my red secret.

{Today's Brew: Folk Art Flurries (wplus9), dies (wplus9), vellum, ink and cardstock (PTI), glitter card stock (SU)}

I made this one for the Get Sketchy challenge at WPlus9. I used a vellum overlay panel to soften the red snowflakes a bit.

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

WPlus9 Throwback Thursday: Folk Art Florals

My husband likes to unpack a house completely in under three days. It's insane, and exhausting, but somehow it works for our family better than dragging the process out for months. We've been in the house for two weeks now, and a first time visitor would think that we'd been living here for much longer. Walls painted, curtains and art work hung, furniture and decor in place. Mind you, it will all get changed a few times in the days ahead, but for now, it looks like home.

As he was unpacking the garden and garage items, he placed the bird bath on the back patio and left it for me to figure out where it belonged in the garden.

In the meantime, it rained, and soon the little bird bath had daily visitors.

I had to pick up a new shepherd's hook and bird feeder for all of the new visitors!

I love my birds. It makes the garden a happy place now.

Speaking of birds, the first stamp set I ever bought from WPlus9 Designs was Folk Art Florals and matching dies. I had to have those sweet birds!

{Today's Brew: All stamps and dies from WPlus9, PTI inks and card stock}

Thanks for visiting the cafe today!

It looks like Christmas outside...

...and because it looks like Christmas outside, I figure I can still show you two more Christmas cards I made this holiday season. So go put on a Perry Como Christmas CD and get in the spirit...again. lol!

I made exactly three cards for the holiday. Yep. Three! I mentioned in another post that I was working, right? Anyway, three crafty friends sent me lovely handmade cards, and I had to reciprocate.

Last year, I was the most blessed recipient of the entire WPlus9 Design holiday collection. I just adore this collection! So many wonderful images! My favorites are the small elements that can be stamped twice to give dimension....like the pine cones above, and the poinsettias below.

{Today's Brews: wplus9 design stamps, PTI card stock and ink, washi tape, stickles on candle flame, SU silver twine}

Would you just look at those poinsettias? Stunning! I added this silvery vintage looking washi tape to all of the cards, and it was precious! I bought it from the Target dollar spot last year. My husband calls that the aisle of stupid stuff, but man oh man, do I ever score some great finds there!

Simple no-layer, one sheet wonder cards. But wow, did they have impact.

Speaking of impact, isn't this nativity set precious? It was a gift from my mother last year when she was cleaning out house. She made it back in the seventies, and I have always loved it for its simplicity. My little guy helped me unwrap each piece, and it felt like Christmas morning discovering each precious figure. As Sam carefully removed old yellowed newspaper from one of the figures, he asked me "Mom? Who is Henry Kissinger?" LOL!

Would you look at the size of those camels? They're enormous!

This concludes today's trip down the holiday memory lane. We will now resume with your regularly scheduled winter.

Thanks for visiting the cafe, friends!

Because The World Needs Comfort and Joy

Through a strange set of circumstances, I found myself working at a retail store during the holiday season.

It started with a bible study, where Beth Moore chided me (we're BFFs, Beth and I) that I needed to get out into the world and make an impact and stop hiding in my holy huddle of like-minded churchy people.

And then there was a sermon (see? churchy people!) reminding me of "the quiet dignity of doing my vocation", and to be faithful to use my talents for God's glory.

I could hear God's gentle whisper to get out and minister to His people.

But how? And where? And when?

The present seemed as good a time as any. And seeing as I was in the earliest stages of the holiday season, I thought that retail might be a place to start. Which is completely crazy, when you consider that my husband already works in retail. Would I be adding to the chaos of our holiday season?

I quickly found a job working in women's boutique clothing. And just as quickly (day one!), I realized that it was not where God wanted me to be. I needed to reach a broader spectrum of people. Men, women, young, old.

And just as quickly, I found a new job with a major retailer who's goal is to get people enjoying the spiritual experience of the outdoors.

And thus I began this new mission and ministry.

Wait. What? Ministry? How can retail be ministry? Ministry is serving on some charitable committee or heading up some class. And mission? Mission is going to an impoverished country to feed orphans. Right? Mission and ministry is big and important. 

Well, that's the funny thing about mission and ministry. When God is your employer, the whole world becomes the mission field.

Through small acts of love, I serve each work day. I serve my coworkers when I am cheerful and helpful. I serve my boss when I work joyfully. And I serve the world that comes through those doors each day. I serve the man looking for easy cotton sweaters for his wife with early onset Alzheimer's.  I serve the harried mom looking for a hat that her fussy boy will actually want to wear. I serve the worried daughter looking for teeny tiny pants to fit her ninety-five year old mother who seems to be wasting away. 

It is simple, really. I show up for work and I serve. I serve with comfort and joy.

It isn't glamorous, and it isn't earth shattering. But being a servant never is.

It also changed my heart about blogging. I want to be a real barrista, serving you, the reader.

Today, I am offering up a warm mug of comfort and joy.

{Today's Brew: Heartfelt Holiday and Merry and Bright stamp sets (wplus9), inks and card stock (Papertrey Ink), washi tape (Target), tag die, silver twine (SU)}

Thanks for stopping by the cafe today!

A Simple Change For The Birds

Last month, I moved our bird feeder. Not a big move, really. Just closer to the house so that I could see the birds from the kitchen window without having to grab my binoculars.

The bird feeder relocation had a huge impact! Suddenly, birds were flocking to the feeder all day!

Sam has been finding some really pretty feathers in the garden. Bright yellow feathers from the gold finch, blue feathers from the blue jay. Precious.

This card was inspired by those fancy feathers! I tried my hand at embossing paste with a stencil, and it was a lot of fun! I like the results, and will definitely have to try this again.

{Today's Brew: stamps from WPlus9, PTI card stock, embossing paste, memory box stencil, Distress Markers, button twine, SU burlap ribbon}

Thanks for visiting the cafe today! Make sure you visit Monday's post to see what items I have listed for the big Summer Sale!

Little Stitches

I have gotten away from my stitching recently, and thought I would jump back in with a little project. Three very little projects, as a matter of fact!

These tiny motifs are perfect for fast embellishing. For example, I used the cherries to make a little felted medal, perfect for adding to a future project. And just to let you know, my Big Kick does indeed cut through Aida cloth!  (felt from PTI, circle dies from wplus9)

Then I made a little framed accent, perfect for a gift tag or card.

I think I know just the stamp set to pair with this sweet strawberry in the future! (die from PTI)

These tiny little patterns also make great button covers, as you can see here:

Wouldn't this be a fun accent to a little girl's headband? (honeysuckle pink aida cloth, DMC floss, self-cover button)

And just like that, in one evening, I stitched up three sweet treats to embellish future projects!

Blessings on your day, cafe friends!

WPlus9 Challenge: On Trend

This week's challenge at WPlus9: Create a card that features something trendy. Mint and coral color combo? Super trendy. Watercolor anything? Super trendy. Metallics? Super trendy. Enamel dots? Super trendy.

That about covers it!

{Today's Brew: wplus9 stamps and dies, encore metallic silver ink, card stock (SU), enamel dots (My Mind's Eye), corner rounder, Basic Grey background papers, SU inks}

Thanks for visiting the cafe!

Valentines, Birthdays, and Lovingkindness

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is a special day, not just because of this lovey Hallmark holiday (he he), but because it is my sister, Sue's birthday!

Happy Birthday, Susie! Love you!

Let me tell you a little about my sister. Sue does church. I don't mean that she goes to church. She does that, too. No, Sue does church. She has fully embraced a ministry serving her people, whom she refers to as her unhoused friends. Saturday mornings you will find her downtown, rain or shine or subzero temperatures, handing out food to her friends. And when she's not there, she's at the mission, loving on her people. And when she's not there, she's serving new moms and their babies at her day job at the hospital.

Sue is on fire for Jesus.

When she jumped into this ministry a few years back, she had no idea how much it would cost her. The answer? A lot. But she will probably tell you that she also had no idea how much it would give her in return.

I am a little jealous. I feel as though, for the first time in a LONG time, I want to get in the game. And yet God has me sitting on the benches.

"C'Mon, Coach! Put me in the game!" I want to shout.

Sometimes it is just plain hard to identify your ministry, to figure out where God is pointing for you to go.

I am going to church, but I am not doing church. Oh, we do fellowship and donuts and coffee. We do hymns and offerings and bible study. But we don't do church. We are not the hands and feet of Jesus. I want to find a church that will let me do this, that will challenge me every day to do this. I don't think I've found it yet.

This week, I've felt a little broken and bruised and battered. Just weary, plain and simple.

But in the midst of it all, God gave me a fresh word.

"Hesed", He whispered to me.

Lovingkindness.

Because it's when I'm tired and just plain hungry for Him that He reminds me of His hesed, His lovingkindness to me.

I think God gave me this fresh word to share it with my sister, too. That is what I want for her this year...to feel God's ever present and eternal hesed for her. And to continue to share that love with others.

Because Love never fails.

{Today's Brew: WPlus9 stamps and dies, PTI white card stock, SU ink and card stock}

WPlus9 Step It Up Challenge

This week, WPlus9 is hosting a challenge to Step It Up and add dimension to your card making. I decided to give it a try with this card by:
1.) Using embossing folders to give texture
2.) Using distress sponging and spraying to add interest and depth
3.) Using burlap to give more texture
4.) Mixing elements like velvet ribbon and metal, soft and rough
5.) Adding die cuts with foam dimensionals

{Today's Brew: Fanciful Feathers stamps and dies (wplus9), PTI kraft card stock, SU ink and card stock, SU embossing folder, Mr. Huey mist, linen thread, copper dots}

Blessings, friends!

WPlus9 Inspired: Comfort Zone Challenge

Dawn is celebrating the WPlus9 Anniversary this month! She posed the question on her blog:

Where is your comfort zone? Your fall back style? Your signature look?

For me, that one's pretty easy. I'm A Little Bit Country! (sing it, Marie Osmond!)

Here's my take on this challenge:

{Today's Brew: Fresh Baked stamp set and dies (wplus9), PTI Kraft card stock, Simple Stories papers, SU ink and ribbon, wplus9 pinking square dies}

And speaking of vintage country, I've been surfing ebay this week, looking at a few of my new obsessions...vintage tole trays, Pennsylvania Dutch art, fraktur, and Pyrex/Corningware. Look at what I found!

Oh my goodness, this is so stinkin' cute! It made me think of the Fresh Baked stamp set right away! I feel a new collection obsession coming on!

Thanks for visiting the cafe today! (Tell me, what's your comfort zone?)

WPlus9 Monday Mood Board: A Card Cannibalized and a Card Simplified

Does this one look vaguely familiar?

So, I mentioned in the last post that I liked the elements of the card, but not the layout. I stared at that thing for a few days and then came up with a solution.

I cannibalized the card.

Yep, took it apart and put it back together again. Used a little of this, got rid of some of that, found something I liked much better. Because I know myself...if I don't like a card, I'll never send it. Ne-ver.

I ripped off the focal point from that last card, used a portion of that watercolored paper, and cut it into a banner. Stamped the I Love You on it in gold. I knew this would be the perfect spot for it on the card because, uhm, well, that's the spot where I tore a bit of the paper and needed to cover the boo boo. I learned a long time ago...there are no mistakes in stamping, only opportunities to layer. ha ha ha! The diecut letters in gold shimmer paper are just plain fun. Now I finally like this card!

Then I attempted this challenge with a fresh approach. Simplified!

I used the holiday stamp set Woodland Wreaths and stamped the elements in spring colors.

This one is so simple and sweet...I love it!

{Today's Brew: Woodland Wreaths (wplus9), soft stone card stock (PTI), heart border die (PTI), gold encore ink, SU inks, cord ribbon}

Sorry for the terrible lighting and photo quality today. I do not know HOW that groundhog could have possibly seen its shadow today. I do not live far from Punxsutawney, and there is no way they could have had any sunshine for a shadow to appear. Curse you, groundhog!

As a matter of fact, I have learned that Pittsburgh is probably the second cloudiest city in the US, with the least amount of days of sunlight...right after Seattle. It makes for terrible photo conditions! But I will add this...Pittsburghers take it in stride. They seem to provide their own sunshine.

Sunny wishes to you, cafe friends!