Shadow Shot Sunday

Our week in St Louis was mostly gray and rainy,

so we had to make our own sunshine

except for a day when the sun peeked out

long enough to get these two outdoor SS.

Fall mums, leaves, and acorns decorate our deck

with spots of color and detail...

And a "ready to party" set of wine glasses.

We won't even wait till the sun comes out!

Check out more Shadow Shots here--

thanks to Tracy who keeps this fun meme going, going, going!

Have a great weekend, everyone,

and unless you're in Arizona or Hawaii,

remember to "Fall Back" late tonight--

set those clocks and change your smoke and carbon monoxide

detector batteries too!

Remembering Herb & God's Promises

One month ago we made a roadtrip to the Thumb of Michigan to say goodbyes to DH's oldest brother, Herb, who died suddenly when the three brothers were on a vacation together.

We are so grateful we got to spend some time with Herb before they left, and were able to celebrate his birthday.

We are so thankful that three of the brothers were able to travel and sightsee together and make wonderful memories. Herb loved to travel and hike in the mountains and see God's beautiful creation.

Before the guys left, I had used "Everyday Celebration" to create a two-page layout to document the brothers' time together, hoping to add flip flaps showing their scenic photos. I'll do that on different pages now.

Instead, I've used the layout to remember Herb, all God's blessings to him, and His promises to us.

The first page of the layout has a hidden journaling section behind the photo. The second page shows the surviving siblings--DH (third from left) with his brothers and sister.

Thank You, God, for making Herb Your child through Baptism, and for keeping him in Your everlasting arms. We trust we'll see him in heaven someday.

The Good News:

God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. John 3:16

If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

Jingle Origami Christmas Wreath Ornament

When I saw Tina Sutton's "Jingle" origami wreath here, I knew I had to try one of these! What a pretty tree ornament or a gift ornament this can be.

 You can find the origami tutorial here. It's easy AND fun!

I used 12 four-inch squares of Close To My Heart "Jingle" papers, and an additional four-inch square of cardstock for the measuring tool.


I cut two holly leaves and attached them with Liquid Glass. (You could also use a cluster of silk holly leaves or a leaf punch.) The sheer white ribbon I used is White Colonial from CTMH.


I painted the pearls using a Hollyhock marker to create the holly berries.


This was a big hit at my CTMH Open House yesterday afternoon! Thanks for the heads up, Tina! Keep up the great work.


Happy new week, everyone!

Shadow Shot Sunday

O'Pa and Ella walk by the fountain in Forest Park in late afternoon.

We've had SO MUCH rain these past few weeks, I was fortunate to capture this shot on the pick day of the month--a partly sunny day, hooray!

I also captured the holly berries beginning to turn color with the leaf shadows, and the last rose of summer in our garden.


Now skip over to heyharriet and see beautiful shadow shots from more photographers.

Join in the fun looking for shadow shots!

Sweet Home with Sparkly Clean Windows

I have to admit--these are the ONLY clean windows around here!

The Sweet Home card is for our DD Bethany, who has just completed a move into her new apartment. Well, almost completed. Gator, her cat, moves from our house to hers today. Gator is gonna love the clean windows there.

Sweet Home paper packet & MyStickease; Liquid Glass on the windows for a clean shine; CTMH sheer ribbon; Verve stamp sentiment inside.

Happy weekend! The sun is shining here & I'm singing praises to the Lord and doing a happy dance. Hope you are too!

Jingle All the Way

This CTMH paper packet's colors are almost edible...peppermint sticks...pastel gum drops...sugar cookies ... lollipops...it's making me hungry!

Jingle has a variety of solid cardstock colors and patterned papers showing tree ornaments, Christmas trees, polka dots, stripes, snowflakes, and more...

Here's my latest Jingle card front:

and card inside, using the "making spirits bright" theme from the front:

Anticipating not much time these next few months to create scrapbook layouts, I prepared this for a 2009 family layout using Jingle:

Page 1 shows a 5 x 7 photo frame, Juniper ribbon, dimensional element snowflakes and Sparkles, and MyStickease title ...

Page 2 provides four 4 x 6 photo frames ... clean and simple ...

And a couple Christmas tree ornaments using Jingle papers & ribbon & dimensional element snowflakes (positive & negative shapes) covered with Liquid Glass & Prisma Glitter -- the base circles are coasters from a bar & grille. A fun project for kiddos!

Jingle also has a gift-patterned paper!

Voila! Birthday cards!

Birthday card 1 for a special woman:

Card 1 with simple sentiment inside:

Birthday card 2 (this has to get mailed today to Dad who turns the GREAT 88 next week!):

Card 2 inside: a surprise "gift" pocket pull-out ...

A little something special for Dad to use for his amateur radio equipment he's had his eyes on! (A gift check is attached to the back of the pullout.)

Happy birthday, dear Dad!

Jingle all the way!

Sweet Home--Lovin' It!

This new Close To My Heart paper packet has just been begging to be used, and I found the perfect photos from August when Ella's Aunt Laura came home from Turkey and when Ella and Emily played peek with a soft blanket. I can still hear their giggles {grin}.

Here's my so-simple layout using the Level 2 papers, Stickease, Barn Red marker, three itty bitty copper brads for bullet points, and a bit of waxy flax for a bow:

Sweet Home Page 1:

Sweet Home page 2:

Sweet Home Card 1 with CTMH papers & sheer ribbon (Verve stamped verse):

Sweet Home Card 2: Aren't the colors rich, rich, rich? And being double-sided, the looks you can achieve are so different!

A side view showing that I used the Barn Red marker to color the white pop dots--I just don't like it when they pop out bright white in a design! CTMH markers are great...the two different ends serve two different purposes. One to journal. One to paint.

I used the long paint brush end to reach way into the recessed areas & also to paint around the stamped, cutout flowers to make them pop out from the card front.

TTFN!

Happy Tuesday!

Mommy Madness

How exciting that our DD Emily was chosen as one of the six mommy bloggers in the area for www.MommyMadnessSTL.com

She gets to drive the 2010 Chevy Equinox for a month free, with gas and grocery money and a video cam as part of the win! What a ride--it has all the bells & whistles!

You rock, Chevy! These wheels will be bringing home baby. Sa-weeeeet.

Bonus: Emily is in the contest for a grand prize at the end of the month's blogging about her new drive. If you live in MO or IL, pleeeeeeeze visit the site and vote for Emily!

Shadow Shot Sunday

While in Michigan recently for my B-I-L's funeral and celebration of life service, DH and I spent some relaxing time along Lake Huron. These Shadow Shots are from that peaceful place.



Self-portrait shadow shot:



The almost-empty marina and docks, preparing for winter:



Seagulls, swans, and ducks on the lake, and shadows in the sand:

A boardwalk along the lake:

Visit Tracy's blog to see a variety of interesting Shadow Shots and the awesome collages Tracy designs each week to showcase them! Keep up the great work, Tracy!

Happy Sunday!

Grace -- A Few Projects

Good Saturday morning!

Hearing beautiful Philharmonic music last evening inspired me to turn on the bright lights and get moving with the paper and glue! And the good wine and great company helped too. It's so good to "be back."

Here are some of my play date results with the paper packet "Grace"--one of CTMH's new designs.

When I want to make something simple, fun, and easy, I'm always happy with Close To My Heart's products! They make card making and scrapbooking just as their motto says: Simpler. Faster. Easier. Amen.

Thought I'd give it a whirl with the machine stitching for the sheer ribbon on this first card--I need some practice. It's not even, and it's not perfect. But hey, it's a first attempt and I'm hooked. I mean stitched. Unique, just like I aim to be.

The papers and Stickease in the "Grace" paper packet in Close To My Heart's Autumn/Winter catalog are so rich and beautiful! Just added a sparkle to this flower, and popped the two layers of flower off the card.

Here's card #1 and its inside sentiment in Barn Red ink for a very special person ...


and Card #2 using Grace papers, a Stickease "ribbon" on the bottom, a few pearls, along with a Verve stamp sentiment in Barn Red ... I love the scalloped card edge.

The Grace papers' flower designs remind me of the fall chrysanthemums, the colors that brighten our autumn days, and those same flowers that we wore and saw (and still see) at the HS football games for Homecoming celebrations. Our DD Emily once called them "mummas." Our DGD Ella calls them "stinky flowers."



The Grace Level 1 paper packet layout designs (easy peasy!) were perfect along with the Close To My Heart Flip Flap photo protectors to create a two-page layout of the surprise bridal shower for Tonya, dear classmate of DD Bethany.

Tonya was truly surprised! And what gorgeous lingerie everyone brought as gifts to her! Ooooo-la-la!

Two-page layout that includes Stickease & sheer green ribbon bow:



Page 1: Tonya comes in with her gifts of wine and chocolates, thinking DH and I are taking her to dinner on The Hill (Little Italy) ... that will be a future "date."


Page 1 with flip flaps showing the food tables, and Tonya's surprise to see her mom and aunt here!

Page 2 layout that includes sheer ribbon bows and pewter brads: Tonya with her mom and aunt, and her graduate school classmates ...

Page 2 layout with flip flaps layer 1:

Page 2 layout with flip flaps layer 2 on the bottom:

Happy weekend, everyone, and stay healthy, inky, and glued to your projects!