The weekend

First let me say that I cannot believe the weekend is over.  O-V-A.  Gone.  Bye-bye birdie.

I spent the weekend making cards and spending time with my soon-to-be-Michiganders.  They were used by God to get me to Illinois so their new goal is to get me back to Michigan.  I love them dearly.   They have gone from friends to family. 

Besides Christmas card-making and time with my peeps, I oven roasted veggies and baked a whole chicken.  I have never done the latter. 

I also spent this weekend praying for Batman and Robin.  For their week ahead.  For their families. 

It's been a busy not-super-busy weekend.

Packing-sorting-donating-stamping-crocheting long weekend

I probably should have packed more and crafted less...however, I regret nothing.

I mastered the continuous Granny Square Baby Blanket with the final row of pink and thepicot edging left.

I made a few preggo cards since a dear friend of mine is expecting (and thank the Lord it's just a baby and not leukemia or a brain tumor). 

I donated 2 large blue IKEA bags full of stuff.

I tossed several items.

I packed bedding.

And my work week starts on a Tuesday.  No Monday-itis for this girl.

Have a fabulous day!!!!

Mukwonago, Wisconsin

A week or so ago, my crafty friend Nancy asked me to join her on a fun card-making adventure in Mukwonago, Wisconsin.  

The card-making merriment was to commence at 1 p.m.  A class demonstrating the use of  blendable Norwegian markers. They are the rage.  

Mukwonago is a about an hour plus 10 minutes from Rockford especially when we are starting out in the heart of the city - not where I reside near the interstate.  I forgot we would be leaving from the heart of the city.  *sigh*

Two days before our adventure my traveling companion called to reserve our seats for the marker class only to learn that the class actually begins at 9 a.m.  Said traveling companion called to be the bearer of bad news...well, well, well...guess who was delighted by the early morning traveling?  The caffeine-loving gal who is blogging.  YES!  I love mornings.  Yep, I'm on of THOSE people...a morning person.  Give me a mug of coffee and a shower and some nice praise & worship music and I'm delighted with early mornings.  Take away a third of that mixture and, well, let me quote Mr. T, "I pity the fool..."  What fool?  The fool that would remove a third of my equation.

So when Nancy said we would need to leave at 7:30...I'm not going to say that I was jumping up and down with excitement...I'll just say I was happy that we were getting an early start.  Also it should be noted I was happy to know that I had a FREE drink coupon (that replaced my icky-made-with-cow's-milk-latte).  So there's that.

We headed out a smidge later than we intended because how was I to know that the coffee establishment would be busy on a Saturday morning.  I guess I just assumed it was only busy on week days.  I'm so fickle and nonsensical before proper coffee consumption.

The beauty of hanging-out with Nancy is that she's hilarious.  

I spent 3 hours total (2 classes each 90 minutes in length) laughing at her absurd remarks.  

Stickles is a product that puts a semi-clear coat of glitter on cards and notes and scrapbook pages.  Nancy told our corner of the table that she sometimes puts the Stickles on her glasses.  People who do not know Nancy are not fully aware of her sense of humor.  So for her to say that she was putting a semi-clear film of sparkles on her glasses, the teacher just stared.  I, on the other hand, died laughing.  STICKLES ON YOUR GLASSES!!!!!!  Hahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

Another funny moment in the classtime was that the class pretty much behaved like arts-n-crafts e in 2nd grade and / or children's craft time during VBS.  

Half of the table listened and jotted down notes.  The other half...well, the other half had a crafter who glued her hanging-from-a-tree-limb sloth upside down.  As in the sloth was stamped holding on to the branches and she turned him (holding the brand) upside down...think a sloth "standing" but his appendages were hanging...or supposed to be hanging.  AS ALL SLOTHS DO...?  

So many other funny things happened...someone impaled a bottle of Stickles-like sparkles so of course the double-holed bottles was then leaking the sparkles.  

I wanted to stand-up and tell the class, "Ok.  Everyone put your supplies down.  Stop talking to one another.  Hands in your laps and let me see your eyes."  And then I thanked Jesus that I'm not a crafting instructor and that my new church does VBS during the daytime when I am at work. I forgot how difficult it to lead a group during crafts.  And apparently kids or adults - crafting is complicated.  :) 

We made 6 cards.  Three were embellished with die cuts and three were the Norwegian markers.

I'm thankful we took the class...especially the marker class...because I now know I'm not a marker shading kind of gal.  In my head, the markers blended better.  In real life, they do not.  I prefer my PrismaColor colored pencils and blending tools.

This is a good thing because I already own said colored pencils and the Norwegian markers are quite costly.  

Look at me - not getting hooked on pricey markers.  :)

Between our classes, we ate lunch at Fork in The Road.  It's a local establishment.  My shaken salad (yes, shaken - not tossed) was deeeelish.  Black beans, chicken, Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, a yummy dressing - all shaken in a huge clear container.

After our classes, we went to a cute local grocery store called The Elegant Farmer.  It was quaint.  I told Nancy it reminded me of a country-fied version of Whole Foods.  They had so many unique things.  I got artichoke spread, some apples, 2 pretty red peppers, and a hankering for apple crisp.  I blame Nancy for the latter...as we were walking through the store looking at jars of apple sauce and other almost-Fallish items.  You know what?  The store reminded me of a grocery store meets the apple orchard.  Yes!  That's what it reminded me of.  It was lovely.

We then traveled home omitting a stop at the Goodwill we could see from the road.  We'll save the Goodwill for our next adventure.

The sweetest piece of mail

Yesterday when I opened my mailbox, I was surprised to find the SWEETEST note from Alisa.  Her kind words and thoughtful heart were penned inside a cheery note.  Oh, how I miss this sweet girlie and her family.

Taco cat

Earlier this week while running in to Woodman's to get a couple of things, I saw this hilarious card and IMMEDIATELY the Lord put someone on my heart and whispered, "Get this for her." 

I finished "Keep It Shut!" by Karen Ehman.

This study totally stepped on my toes.  Stop and consider your words.  Weigh them.  Ask yourself, "Would I say this (or repeat this) if the person was sitting right here?"  Speak words of courage because they could be life-changing.

Karen shared one of her wonderful ministry opportunities.  Before the beginning of Lent (even though she does not observe Lent), she purchases 40 notecards and 40 stamps.  Each day for 40 days, she sends one handwritten note.  The note may contain 1 or 2 sentences or it may be an actual letter.  A note of encouragement.  A note of thanks.  A note of a shared memory.  I LOVE THIS IDEA!!!  I LOVE THIS IDEA SOOO VERY MUCH!!!!!!

I do not own a lot of boy-ish stamps.

Hobby Lobby is having a sale on all of their rubber stamps - clear and wood ones.  They are all 40% off.

In Good Friday, I saw a cute monster set of clear stamps.  Since I had another purpose for 40% coupon, I felt I needed to walk away from all that monster cuteness.

Tonight I stopped in to pick-up the set and what to my lovely eyes appeared...but a 40% off ALL STAMPS sign.  It was beautiful.  Almost like in a chick flick when the music slows and the background fades and a beam of light shines down from above.  It was almost like that.

I was able to find 1 of the remaining monster sets and then 3 phrase stamps...

Have courage & be kind
You're pretty awesome.
You are kind of a BIG deal.

I want to be more diligent about sending notes to my Sunday school kids.

I, also, know a certain fellow who happens to reside on Georgetown Road in Lanark, Illinois who is going to find the friendly monsters absolutely fabulous!

It happens the first Saturday of every month...

My friend Nancy works for Michael's.  She is the hostess / teacher / instructor of the Saturday night crop.  It happens the first Saturday of every month.  From 3 until 9 pm, a group of us gals convene at the Michael's store on E. State Street.  We gab and laugh and craft and create.

Last night was the March event.

My goal:  make thank you notes.

At the end of the evening, I left with 22 thank you's and 3 Happy Spring cards.  Eight individual ideas in 3 repeats and then 1 extra original that really took too much work.

It's delightful to craft with these girls.

Sweet notes

Today I received a lovely surprise in my mailbox...and I am not talking about my ComEd bill. 

Underneath my electric bill there were 2 sweet notes from 2 gals from church.  Their sweet words were exactly what I needed. 

I am so thankful for my church family - especially the sweet ladies who count as friends.

My mailbox

My mailbox has seen more "action" this week than in times past...


On Monday, I received my passport.  Funny story - I wasn't expecting my passport to arrive so soon.  You see, I applied for it on March 4th and was informed at this time that it would take atleast 6 weeks.  In my head, I still had 3 weeks to go.  Imagine my surprise when I pulled out the certified insured envelope from my mailbox!  Not gonna lie - my first thought was WHY AM I GETTING MAIL FROM THE US GOVERNMENT???  WHAT HAVE I DONE???  Thankfully - the envelope contained my passport.  My unsmiling-in-the-photo passport.


On Tuesday, my mailbox was empty...which is always delightful as it means no bills and no junk mail. 


On Wednesday, a sweet little note from a creative type of gal arrived.  Totally made my day.  She talked about our adventures from 2010 and how "young" she was back then.  I love her dearly and it was such a blessing to read her sweetly penned note.


On Thursday, I received my passport-required certified birth certificate returned to me.  This was a blessing because I know have an officially stamped birth certificate.  {I'm still not sure where my original one ended up...but I am thankful I was able to go online and order another.}


On Friday, a note from Snohomish!!!  A note just for me. 


I love mail...perhaps this is why I love sending cards.  If getting mail gives me warm fuzzies, surely it has this effect on others too...right?

Have a fabulous Saturday! 

And write a note to someone. 

It could change their day!

Cards!!!!!

My totals....
46 Christmas cards
68 other cards...including Thinking of You cards and birthday cards and Happy Harvest cards.

Step #5

Friends + snacks + stamps + cardstock + stamp pads = 5 hours of fun

Step #4

Pumpkin muffins!!!!!!

Step #3

Splurge on new coffee and creamer

Step #2

Procure the supplies...

Cards from Saturday night @ Michael's

Another fun card idea...

...brought to you by random scraps that somehow coordinate and go together.  I put some ribbon on the card ~ just for good measure. 

Cards!!!!!!

While at Archivers, I found one discontinued sheet of bicycle paper!  Today I transfored said sheet of paper into 8 cards for a sweet bicycle-loving friend.

Friday night card-making ~ Really it was a GREAT therapy session too.

I think I made 8 cards total.  Here are a few....

Coffee, owls and Fall.....Oh my!!!! :)

As I was snapping pictures of my cards from yesterday, I realized I stuck with 3 themes:  Fall, owls and coffee.  My faves.......

I need to get working on my Christmas cards.... Of course - once I start making these cards, all bets are off.....I will begin officially disrespecting the turkey.  I ♥ Christmas.