THANKSGIVING AND GRATITUDE

It's the time of year when our thoughts turn to things that we a thankful for. Studies have proven that when we look for the good in our lives and regularly focus on finding things to be thankful for our health is better and we live longer.

I find it helpful to have a place to record and keep a record of things that I am grateful for. This way when I go through a stretch of time when I am tempted to think nothing good ever happens I can look back through what I have written down and see that there is much to be thankful for on a daily basis. Big things as well as small. I know other people like to do the same type of recording and so one thing I love to make are Gratitude Journals. I enjoy making each one unique and I definitely try to make each one pretty.

A few weeks ago a friend asked me to make some of these for her to be used as gifts. I made six. Here are three of the designs I came up with. I've also made a few prayer journals and another friend has asked me to make a gardening journal that she can give as a gift.

These are very easy to do especially if you have a Xyron machine that can be used to put adhesive on the back of the various elements of the cover. The books I use to alter as the composition books that are found in most office supply stores. I stock up on them at the back to school sales in August and September when I can get them for 99 cents rather than the normal $1.99 or more. I personally like the college ruled ones, but that's a personal preference. I've made a few for children and then I use the wide ruled.

The backs are covered with the same papers as the front but with no embellishements. The inside if the front and back covers are covered but only in a coordinating solid card stock. If I have a supply of RSVP pens I will often make a matching pen to go with the book.

These make nice gifts to give as well as a wonderful tool to use to daily remind yourself to look for something to be thankful for. Each and everyday no matter how bad things may be going in our lives there will be at least one thing we can find to be greatful for. Even it it is only having woke up in the morning to see another day. I find that when I make a consious effort to look for the good in my life and the workd around me I find plenty. Its only when I forget to look for the good and focus on the bad that life becomed bleak and unbearable. So why don't you join me and make yourself a gratitude journal and make the first entry in it one of gratitude for the joy you had in creating your journal.........

All that said I hope each and everyone of you had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends.

Now it's on full speed ahead into the holiday season how ever you celebrate it.

GOOD NEWS!!!!

Okay I am jumping on the band wagon that Teresa started on her BLOG about good news in November. It's been pretty dreary and nasty here on the East Coast so far this month. Add to that the end o Daylight Savings Time and the darkness that now descends around 5pm and we need some good news to keep our spirits up. December bring the excitement of the impending holidays, but November can be just down right depressing until you begin to focus on Thanksgiving. So post here what you are looking forward too and what is the good news right now in your life and then ask the same of readers on your BLOG if you have one.

What am I looking forward to in November??? Time that will be spent in NC with my sister and mother helping my mother move into a new home. Also my daughter will be joining us so it will be a three generation Thanksgiving celebration. This also means I will be away from work for a week....always something to be thankful for!!!!!!! Just kiding I really do love my job even though it drives me nuts!!!

MORE CHIRSTMAS

Halloween is over and it is still a bit early for Christmas at least for Christmas decorations and carols, but shopping and making items for Christmas has definitely begun so I am more and more thinking Christmas cards. This is one that I made for SCS's November mini VSN. Unfortunately, I am not sure if I will be able to do the full VSN next weekend. I'll have to wait and see what this week brings. Anyway I digress, back to my card.

I used my new SU stamp set Scandinavian Seasons. I think this set is absolutely gorgeous. Especially when it is embossed with gold. Each of the four images in the set is elegant, but I think the tree is my favorite. I also have the coordinating wheel, Scandinavian. I haven't had time to use it yet, but plan to soon.

This really is a very simple card. The embossing is pretty basic. When I emboss with the metalics I always stamp with the same metallic ink so in this case I stamped the tree with gold encore ink and then embossed it with gold embossing powder. The gold edging on the rectanges is using the Kylon gold leafing pen.

PLEASE VOTE!!!!!

I don't have anything to show today. Life and work just got inthe way and now I am headed out to set up our polling area for tomorrow. I know I won't be here tomorrw as it will be a very long day working the polls.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!!

Of course I Would like you to vote for my candidate, but since I'm not going to tell you who that is since I don't want this to turn into a political BLOG please just vote! Keep those of us working the polles as election judges very very busy!!!!

CARDS FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Well it turned out to be a stamping day. No sewing today.

It's now November. Halloween is over and we are rapidly moving towards Thanksgiving and Christmas. A co-workers asked me to design a Christmas card for her using the Christmas stamps she has. Last week she gave me her stamps and today I decided to play around with them and see what I could come up with.

I was a bit frustrated because I didn't have any of the Christmas designer papers to play with and I really would have like to use some of them. But I had to work with what I have that is not retired since if she likes my design she needs to be able to purchase the supplies needed to make them. I decided that I didn't want to just give here one design. What if she didn't like it???? So I decided to increase the odds that I would do something she might like and did three different cards with several different sets that she has. Here is what I came up with.

The first card used a set that SU has retired. It's called Peaceful Wishes. I used Mellow Moss card stock for the base of the card and rolled it with a snowflake wheel in Mellow Moss to make a background. I punched the bottom edge of the front of the card with the scallop boarder punch. The other card stock colors I used were Riding Hood Red and Always Artichoke. The sentiment "Peaceful Wishes I embossed in gold and the pine cone I stamped in Chocolate Chip craft Ink and embossed with clear powder. I did the same with the holly sprig, but stamped it with Old Olive craft ink and then put in small red brads for the berries. The ribbon is the Mellow Moss taffeta ribbon.

Card number two also uses a stamp from the Peaceful Wishes stamp set. This is the full holly branch stamp. I once again used the Riding Hood Red card stock as an accent color this time placing it against a card base of Kiwi Kiss. To make a background for this card I used a snowflake stamp (of unknown origins) and randomly stamped it around in versa mark ink then embossed the whole card front with Iridescent Ice. This give the card a sparkly festive look. Unfortunately it doesn't show up in the scanned image. The holly sprig is stamped on white card stock in Old Olive and I colored over the berries with a Real Red marker. Then I put little drops of Crystal Effects to give a bit of shine and dimension. The Merry Christmas sentiment is embossed in silver. Both the sentiment and the holly sprig element are raised on dimensionals.

Finally for the third card I went with a color scheme other than the traditional red and green. This is basically blue and amethyst. For some reason this card did not scan well at all. (One of these days in my free time, HAHA, I need to work on making my light box to take photos in.) The card base here is Bashful Blue and again I stamped the small snowflakes in Versamark and embossed with Iridescent Ice. The set used for this is Loads of Love which has been around forever! I had to use masking to get the lady in the cab and the tree in the pickup bed. The tag that the pick-up is stamped on is glossy card stock stippled with Bashful Blue, Almost Amethyst, and Perfect Plum inks. It is edged with a silver leafing pen. This really did not scan well at all! If I have time tomorrow I may try and take a photo in daylight to see if it comes out better. I colored the truck with markers. The ribbon was white taffeta ribbon that I ran across the Almost Amethyst pad to color. Inside the card I stamped "Merry Christmas"

So I don't know which if any Nancy may like, let alone choose to make for her family cards, but I had fun making Christmas cards and once again making a mess of my stamping room! Just out of curiosity let me know which one you like the best. We'll see how your choices compare with Nancy's.

QUILTING TODAY BUT A CARD TO SHOW

Today has been a day of small quilting projects. I've made 2 sets of placemats and I don't know how many quilted pot holders. It has been fun being down in the sewing room (aka basement). I don't seem to be doing much sewing these days and I have so much fabric to use up! I do enjoy sewing and using my lovely machine.

However, I haven't taken any pictures to show you. So I have gone into my card archive of cards that were made sometime in the past, but have never made there way to my BLOG. I found a picture of a birthday card I made that has a quilt block on it. I do have this connection between my two passions.

I have added some wonderful quilt related stamps to my inventory. Sometime this week I hope to break them out. Maybe tomorrow, unless I feel that it is a sewing day once again.

I'm trying to guess what the buying public will be interested in next Saturday and see that I have some of it. I would like to do one more placemat set, at least one baby quilt, maybe a wubbie or two. Plus I have cards to finish up and a few framed pictures as well as a couple more journals. This is not a week that I need to have disrupted by the presidential elections! I need crafting time, but I am committed to working as an election judge all day and night Tuesday so I will have to make good use of the remaining non work hours of the week!

If anyone reading this happens to be from the Maryland area I would like to invite you to the 2nd Annual Fall arts and Crafts Festival at our church. It will be on Saturday, November 8 from 9am to 3pm. There will be 16 vendors as well as a large collection of hand painted porcelain collector dolls, a bake sale and wonderful Silent Auction baskets to bid on. Our church is Covenant United Methodist Church and is located in Montgomery Village at the corner of Montgomery Village Avenue and Wightman Raod. The address is 20301 Pleasant Ridge Drive.
I would love to see you there! I will be in the library with my goodies. We are working toward raising money for repairs and reoutfitting of our kitchen. (Which a favorite project of mine as I cook dinner in it every Tuesday night!)

Oh.....even if you live out of town you are invited if you want to fly into town.....well I didn't want you to feel left out!