It's been awhile and I apologize profusely! It's been a busy busy life.... still is for that matter! We've had Easter and I've had an big event at work we've been planning for (in Zurich). Now that it's over, I can breath....even if just for a little while. ;-)
I know Mother's Day is long over, but in my last post I had been making flowers like a crazy person and just wanted to show you a few examples of how you can put your handmade flowers to use. It's nothing new or extraordinarily exciting, but these are my examples and perhaps it will spark something in you.
This year's Mother's Day card....it had my mom in tears, which was exactly what I was aiming for....tears of joy that is.
I've been making decorative frames for all seasons....Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Fall, but I didn't have one for Spring. So, my handmade flowers fit perfectly for what I wanted to make. I drew stems with leaves in pencil on cardstock, then pierced holes along the design and back stitched some green thread on to it. I adhered the flowered, stamped a flourish on opposite corners and was done. Yes, it's simple, but romantic and I like it. Just another decorating idea for ya.
Question for you: Would you purchase something like this if were for sale?
Stay tuned for more uses of handmade flowers....Until then, have a superb weekend!
I have been wanting to blog for what seems like ages. All I've been able to do is post classes and send newsletters. Although I'm feeling like a chewed up rag, a little case of the flu, I neeeeeed to do this!
During the Halloween weekend I decided to take a spontaneous trip to see my parents with the kids. Since they have both been very sick this year, Dad with his 4th heart attack and quintuple bypass and Mom with a dangerous intestinal problem, followed by 2 operations, I thought it might be good for them to get to see their grandchildren and daughter. ;-) We were pretty lucky with the weather. It was cool, but sunny on Saturday (which is when the Air Base decided to do Halloween) and I took quite a few photos:
Danny makes such a cute Luke Skywalker and Jenna was adorable in her witch costume. Unfortunately, it was a little cool, so they had to cover them up. Most of the time I was the keeper of the laser sword. ;-)
This is Kindsbach Lake in the town in which my parents have lived since about 1977/78. I do believe this must be one of the best outdoor photos I've taken, but that is mostly due to the beautiful weather and gorgeous bright autumn colors. ;-) We had a short, but nice walk around the lake with Oma Lotte (Grandma), the grandkids and I. ;-)
Then, I wanted to get photos of them together...and this is what came out of that ;-)
Danny and Jenna can make some pretty goofy faces....I'll givem' that. Guess they didn't feel like getting their photo taken today. ;-)
Then I caught them from behind.... ha!
I love the color of the leaves in the forest and I wanted to catch a glimpse of my mom walking on this path.
The photo on the right warms my heart. Danny collected several leaves or rather ferns...and then went up to his grandma and put his arm around her waste and walked along side of her. So precious... just wants to make me almost cry. ;-)
Here are a few more impressions of our visit to Kindsbach....helping Oma in the garden...and "making stuff"
Danny is very good with his hands....not exactly sure what he made here, but it looks cool...just like this heart he made for me out of legos.... ahhhh... isn't he the sweetest kid??
and Jenna here helped Oma to get the leaves out from under the tree....I think she left a few hairs on some of those branches. ;-)
So now I want to show you my DREAM HOUSE. When we build a house, I want it to look just like this! An American family built it (as you might be able to tell due to the style) and it's right on the lake. Of course, it does get noisy during the sommer, but hey... they have that lake right out their front door and can jump in it any time they want! Cool deal. Unfortunately, they had to recently sell it. Sold it waaaay too cheap if you ask me! Anyhoo... here it 'tis...
It's simply amazing to me... I am so in awe of this house! Want it!!! Now!!
And here is what I have been up to scrapbooking-wise.....
A recent beginner scrapbooking class....
and a frame for my best friend's sister who's pup recently died....such a sweet sweet dog too. :-(
Unfortunately, another doggy in our family died too.... Oma Gitti's doggy Tanja. We're all very sad about that and miss her so!
And then yet another doggy died.... his name was Sam and belonged to one of the daycare teachers who has been bringing him for a few years now, so the children knew him quite well. He was only 6 years old.
... back to scrapbooking / card making / frames.....
I'm trying to make a decorative frame for every season/occasion....
Finally scrapped some old Kindergarten photos of my two sweeties and their "Red Group". They really enjoyed it there!
A masculine birthday card for my very good friend Frank...
and an envelope I decorated...
Address erased to protect the innocent ;-)...
A purple birthday card for a friend whom I happen to know likes purple.
A sympathy card...
a with compliments tag
and
An early X-mas tag for a customer I placed with her order
A minibook class I taught on Saturday...
Everybody have a great week!
P.S. Don't forget, next Saturday is a Christmas Card Class! If you're interested and have time, now is the time to register..
I just wanted to post some recent projects so you don't think I'm sitting around picking my nose... ;-)
A birthday card for my dear Daddy who will be turning 73 in just a few days and I'm so grateful he's made it this far. I'll be wishing him many many more birthdays to come! ;-) This card can be made in ten minutes or less using the following:
ready-made card or make a card from cardstock standard size
This going-away card was a custom card I made for a well... customer. ;-) She needed it for a co-worker who is leaving to work in Africa (wow!). So, I thought I would make a fitting card with some earth-toned colors.
You see, with just a little variation, you can use a similar design (as shown with the first card) and make it look quite different. Turn the design 45° in either direction and you have yet another design variation.
I recently had to make my daughter Jenna some invitations and since we are celebrating on a pony ranch and she wanted to help, we used her horse stickers to match the theme. Take a look:
psssttt... foam pop dots ;-)
The one on the right is the back side with the invitation information.
I just used one sheet of cardstock, using the front and back of the piece.
I recently received a newsletter from MOO who make business cards and they offer a mosaic of your mini moo cards that looks like this:
which inspired me to make my own mosaic frame, since I still had old mini moo cards that I really didn't want to throw away (my phone number changed) and a nice frame I recently bought from IKEA:
Super easy to make! You just have to make sure your spacing is even. Now I have some nice "family" decor to display either on the wall or on the counter, buffet top. :)
