27th Anniversary Cruise Countdown

Today hubby goes for scan - waiting - I guess it can be a good thing. Its day 3 and the 13th of December. I've been pondering some rather deep things lately. Yesterday I realized I am kind of like an agent for my son and the buying of his home. When that hit me full-blown yesterday I thought I would throw-up. I think I was having buyers' remorse and I'm not the buyer. He will review the contract today and send it to the seller. Oh my!! He is so matter-of-fact about everything. His priorities were on his new job. His attitude - if it happens it happens, I can't be bothered about it.

Reflection today is on my father - my children's father. I didn't get to experience life with a dad. He died when I was three. But I held to the idea that if I had children they would know their dad. My hubby is the most perfect dad (ok in my eyes even in his imperfection he is). What do I know? I didn't have a model to go by. He is super with our boys and has always been involved in their lives. He is a quiet, strong, sensitive person. I imagine if my dad had lived he would have been like my hubby or so I want to believe that anyway.

What matters most to me is that he loves them as much as he loves me. His desire is to see them succeed in whatever direction they want to go in life. I have heard him tell them many times - "I don't care if you are a ditch digger do it with pride, love what you do, and have integrity about what you do."

Children want their father's love and attention. And I know for a fact that when dad speaks it holds an entirely different meaning than when mom says something. I don't believe my hubby knows the full impact he has on our sons. But then I guess we never realize how much we impact someone else's life until.... well maybe never.

Celebrate Your Creative Self

by Mary Todd Beam

I joined a group that will begin a workshop following the above book in January. I've been pondering the first lesson on Creating Your Personal Symbols. My friend the other day shared with me that she thought the numbers 1, 2 and 9 were significant for me. She loves numbers and gets these wonderful ideas, which I love, from numbers. When she shares them I am like the commercial with the advisor that speaks and everyone stops what they are doing and listens. She is a fascinating person. Boy! I feel this is a heavy thing - but according to Beam a person is probably already using symbols and may not recognize it. I have journaled for years so I think I will do a bit of investigating and see if I have certain symbols mixed in my doodling. Here I am a mere shadow

of who I really am. I manipulated a pic of myself in my Scrapbook Factory program. I would love to have you join me in this endeavor of celebrating one's creative self. Maybe I'll see you there.

Jesus Christ - the Savior of the World

27th Anniversary Cruise Countdown

It's day four and the race is on as to whether we go on the cruise. It depends on medical results, medicine and healing. The body is an amazing machine that God has created and given time it can repair itself. My hubby goes for a cat scan on Thursday. If it comes back he has kidney stones that are too big to pass then its medical procedure to break them up. I'm at peace either way - cruise or not we will celebrate a glorious 27 years together.

The most important thing I ever wanted for my children was for each to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior one day. For each of them that decision came early in their lives. My oldest decided one day as I was heading into 7-11 he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart. He was adamant about it. He would not wait another minute - it was now Mom, then, right there before we went into the store. I remember this sweet little prayer he prayed at 4 years old for Jesus to become personal to him. I wrote it down and placed it in his scrapbook.

My middle son was 6 and we were headed to the Eastern Shore, my hubby and I in separate cars. I had the oldest and youngest. My hubby and middle son were close to the shoreline after crossing the long tunnel and he insisted he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart. When we got to our destination my hubby shared with me how he and our son shared that moment together. He and his dad would go for long walks at the park and our son would carry his Bible for his dad to read stories to him.

And then our little man, our 6'3" son, was 6 and it was on a Sunday during church service. He was afraid to go forward by himself to talk to the pastor. So I remember carrying him down to the front. But he was not afraid to share what he felt in his heart with our pastor.

I wish everyone knew Jesus the way I do. I remember being 12 and it was during a missionary's visit to my home church. I felt I would burst inside if I didn't let someone know I had accepted Jesus Christ. I am so grateful He loved me so much to die for me. I always wanted to be a missionary when I was younger. This is the time to celebrate and remember Jesus' birthday - and also a time to celebrate my family's new birth.

FAT Trade - "B" PSIs

Find items to put on inchies that begin with letter "B".

My Story of The "B" PSI SEA Book

Mr. Bodacious and Miss Buxom were wed in Bermuda on her birthday. He wore his blue board shorts and blue sun hat. She wore her pink flower bikini with heart. They went deep sea fishing for blue gill and barracuda on their new boat. Afterwards they celebrated at the bistro with bubbly and berries.

I Remember

27th Anniversary Cruise Countdown

5 days until we sail into the sunset. So much to do and so little time to do it in. This week is not going the way I planned it. lol. What week ever does?

I remember... little feet shimming up a tree barefoot,

I remember... a little guy climbing into his tree fort and falling on concrete,

laying there and a brother that knelt down to pray he would be ok.

I remember... a little one pushing his tricycle in the backyard and his curly hair

waving in the wind.

I remember... Easter egg hunts around the yard and laughter in glee as they

found all the eggs and begged me to hide them again.

I remember... the first bike and the pain of getting a leg caught under the bike.

I remember... dad picking him up, carrying him to the emergency room - a broken leg.

I remember... tears, laughter, exhaustion, and joy unspeakable.

I remember...in this place we call "Home"!!

Artist Trading Cards

Veri asked me to trade ATCs with her. She selected the themes of nature and children.

My flower is needle-felted with orange DMC embroidery thread dispersed underneath each petal. The leaves are fabric needle-felted. I stitched the flower outline with white DMC embroidery thread also.

I discovered I could felt the fabric if I placed wool underneath and on top of the fabric and worked it into the background fabric.

The little sleepy-headed boy is from a Victorian clipart book. He is watercolor painted. I didn't know they make blank ATCs. The background is a pressed wool blank ATC. The phrase "wake up you sleepy head" is on computer printed fabric. I put it in German also, since it will be going to Germany. The final touch is a purple yarn trim around the edge. I hope Veri likes them.

Last Minute Details

27 Anniversary Cruise Countdown

Day 6 - less than a week away. We are making final preparations to leave on our cruise. The packing will begin, last minute paperwork to family in case, well just in case. Reminding my sons where we keep all of our important documents if they were to need them, and phone numbers posted on the frig of doctors, vet, etc. I remember 27 years ago making final preparations leading up to the 20th of December. My wedding day! Last minute details, coordinating relatives/friend's travels to the area, checking, checking and rechecking. Every year my DH and I recall all the wonderful times and a few hard times we have experienced through the years. It's good to reflect where we have come from and great looking forward to where we are going. But most of all I want to enjoy this day and all God has for me today.

Final Step - The Artist Circle Tags

Here is the last step in the painting/prepping stage of the 12 tags. I had to dry brush them with gesso. It makes them all appear with a flat finish. This technique is hard for me because you put gesso on the brush and then wipe it off until there is very little left on the brush. Seems like such a ridiculous thing to do. I remember when stenciling first became a popular technique, I felt the same way. I never seemed to remove enough paint. I am too impatient to keep rubbing it off the brush. But there were only two tags that I had a blotch of gesso on. I have gotten better over time.

After the first of the year we will have fun with embellishments and binding the tags into a book. So between now and the New Year I must decide on a theme and find ephemera-related items. I am not sure but I believe my theme will be "27 Years."

Hidden Things

27th Anniversary Celebration Cruise

Countdown Day 7 - Reflecting back - As a parent there are the dreaded calls you pray you never get. When our youngest was a junior in high school we received the call. Our son's best friend called to say they had been involved in an accident. Our son had left home to attend a high school football game. Hours later my hubby and middle son, the firefighter, were on their way to the accident scene. Supposedly, our son was ok. When they arrived on the scene he had been pulled out of the car disoriented. It was a head-on at a slow speed. That is probably what saved his life as the front seat passenger. Our middle son stepped into firefighter mode and helped load four teenagers into ambulances for transport to local hospitals, including his brother. Our son was transported to a hospital that handles head trauma. They were concerned he might have brain damage due to hitting his head on the windshield.

I will never forget that night, watching my firefighter son come home and weep like a baby after he had handled the scene. He was only 19 at the time. It was that day I knew he would handle whatever came his way in his career as a firefighter. It took months for our youngest son to completely recover. I learned many things about brain injury. Appearances can be deceiving. A person can look ok on the outside but internally not be ok. One doctor explained to me that when a sudden jolt occurs with the head, your head will stop moving abruptly but the brain can keep going causing injury. Just as they had predicted it would take 9 months for our son to get back to normal. School became hard and his energy level dropped. He couldn't think for long periods of time in school and he would get tired to the point of falling off to sleep. I am grateful he was in a small school that worked with us to keep his classes and assignments on target. Today he is a healthy, active young man full of energy and living life to its fullest.

FAT ATC Angels

One of the trades on FAT is ATC angels. I have never made artist trading cards before this trade. But here is my first attempt at making three different cards. The first is named Pearl. She is very simple and made with interfacing, a Victorian angel transfer, glitter paint and wire pearl beads with printed "Imagine" ribbon.

The middle one is called "Hidden." Several posts back I shared about the fabric paper I made. I cut it to the size of an ATC 2 1/2 by 3 1/2". Then I inserted an angel transfer inside. The border is a simple ribbon attached using Steam-a-Seam 2.

It doesn't look like much. And the last I call Ginger Bad Boy. He has not earned his full wings yet. It seems he keeps "burning" his bridges and getting into mischief. The background is the fabric paper with tissue, muslin and plastic wrap bonded together with watered-down glue. Ginger Boy is a store bought popup.

When "Hidden" is held up to the light you see the angel tucked inside between the layers. I love how this little ATC turned out. I will use this technique on more ATCs and fabric postcards. My friend, Fannie, is looking for Crystal. Maybe she is tucked away inside an ATC.

A Three Strand Cord

27th Anniversary Celebration Cruise

Day 8 - I've always heard it said "a three-strand cord is not easily broken." Early on in our marriage my hubby and I realized that for us to have a strong marriage our relationship to one another had to be tied first off to God and our relationship to Him. The most precious thing my husband can do for me is pray for me and with me about circumstances and life. I remember the first time we decided we would pray together before he left for work in the mornings. The prayers he would pray for me brought me to tears. On days when things got tough I would remember the words he prayed for me and somehow things seemed to become easier. I am grateful for a praying husband.

Homemade Fabric Paper

Last week a friend stopped by and brought me a gift. She knows me pretty good. When I began

to play with the tissue paper and saran wrap the

gift was wrapped in she knew something was up.

I grew very excited about the two pieces of wrap. I explained to her that she truly had brought me some wonderful gifts. Items I could play with in fabric paper making. I cut a strip of muslin, applied the watered-down fabric glue all over the muslin. Then I laid down torn orange tissue paper on top of that, layering as I went. I put on more glue, then torn up decorative plastic wrap (it had leaves on it). Then I kept layering. I let it dry and here is the finished product. It has air pockets in it and some edges of wrap are exposed. I also poured on glitter throughout the process. So you can see shimmer in the piece. I want to make postcards out of the fabric paper. This was very freeing and lots of fun. I got the idea from Jacq's blog. I wonder how it is to sew through? I will try this again.

E-motion

27th Anniversary Cruise Countdown

Day 9 - Wow! I forgot all the emotion that goes into buying a home. Today my day started off running in a different direction, straight out of my house to appointments. My poor doggie didn't even get a walk in. He didn't like that much. There are so many emotions we experience in a life time. Wedding jitters, butterflies in the stomach waiting for pregnancy test, yoyo feelings - up/down/up/down, while moving through buying your home. Qualifying, processing paperwork, and more money for this and that. It's like a circus - the balancing act.

Quilt & Art Projects

This is a picture of a quilt I finished for an acquaintance. Her mother had been put into a nursing home. The quilt blocks she had been working on were in pieces and never had been finished for her grandson. So I volunteered to put it together for him before his high school graduation. Her hand work was very delicately put together so inorder not to pull her work apart I added some stabilizer behind some of the blocks. Once I put the top together I had a professional quilter finish the quilting. This is a beautiful nature quilt with each block either an animal or a tree. It's perfect for a young man. I placed a label on the back made from a picture of the grandmother holding her grandson right after being born.