About Me

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Hi everyone! Thank you for visiting my Blog. I design and create handmade wreaths and other seasonal home décor. I love gardening. I am a Creative design Artist for some awesome Digital Designers. I hope you enjoy what I create. Now that I am retired I truly enjoy being able to travel a lot.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Cloudy soon to be Clear

Hi everyone.  I know I have been MIA for a bit.  I took some time away for the Thanksgiving Holiday with my family.  We ate way too much, which is normal on Thanksgiving Day.  We are blessed to have so much to be thankful for.  I travelled all day Friday so that I could visit with my son and grandson down South.  Fabulous weekend, great visit.  Yesterday I had cataract surgery on my right eye.  Needless to say, my vision is still cloudy and full of black floaters.  I pray it improves quickly.  I am having my left eye done next Tuesday.  I am so looking forward to getting to a point of clear vision.

I hope you all had wonderful times over the Holiday as well.  I must admit, I did do some Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping.  I am almost done with my Christmas shopping.  I have not done any Christmas decorating yet.  How many of you have your trees up already?  I do need to swap out the Turkey wreath for a Christmas wreath on my front door.  That will be my first sign of Christmas.  I also need to gather up all of the pumpkins and place in the compost pile. 

Today I put together a little Christmas Flair for you.  I love Flairs.  I hope you do too.  Click on the preview to download it.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/jadqqkmxp5d153u/LSL%20Dec%201.zip?dl=0?freebie

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Shopped til I dropped today. Thankful for all all my blessings.

I spent most of the day shopping today.  Some Christmas shopping, some personal shopping, some grocery shopping.  Regardless of the reason, tis the season!  I have so much to be thankful for.  I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!  Prayers that everyone has someone to share time with and plenty to eat.  Love to you all!

Here is a little Thanksgiving gift.  Click on the Preview to download.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b5mco9zuhao5qwk/LSL%20Nov%2023.zip?dl=0?freebie

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Welcome to my Great-Niece Emma Leigh!

My nephew and his wife just welcomed their precious baby girl tonight!  Emma Leigh.  I love her name.  She is adorable.  They live 5 states and over 800 miles from me so I must be content with pictures.  Mother and baby are both doing well.  I made these welcome pages using the Baby Talk Kit by Deanne from Scrapbookingdom.



Here are a couple pages I made with the hospital photo they posted. 



I made something bright and cheery tonight to welcome our new baby girl.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/p6oyxth5udu23lh/LSL%20Nov%2022.zip?dl=0?freebie



Monday, November 21, 2016

Lost in the Woods!

I am back from my four day Scrapbook Retreat and I must say, it was quite an experience.  The Lodge we were at was isolated in the mountains and woods.  There was no phone reception where we were and very poor Wifi.  If you walked to the far back portion of the Lodge you could get some poor phone reception, but it was better than none.  Downside of this is it pulled you away from the retreat and you not only missed out on scrapbook time, but announcements and such.  I was not happy with that.  The Lodge was absolutely beautifully decorated for Christmas.  That I loved.

I was able to create some things, even with the extremely small amount of items I took with me.  I knew they would be selling paper and other items, and they would have garage sale tables available for those who wanted to purge.  I took advantage of all of those and made it through pretty well.  We had around 40 - 50 ladies in total attend.  Quite a variety of styles to check out and get ideas and inspiration. 

There were 9 workshops and I attended all of them.  We made Borders, Christmas cards and a variety of page layouts all using customized Kits.  I truly enjoyed every one of these.  Here are the things I created in those Workshops.  The pictures do not do them justice,  They are beautiful!







We played with Gelatos on the Wise Men and  Believe Cards.  Not sure I was pleased with the results of that but it did get easier the more I played with it.  For anyone who has not tried Gelatos, give it a try if you get an opportunity.



This last set has an accordion drop down page under the strip on the left.  There are two additional pages in the Kit that go with these.  We only created two of the four in the Workshop, so I have not created the other two yet.


Here are the pages and cards that I completed or at least started and will complete at home where I have what I need to add the Titles and finishing touches.




I had a lunch date today with some of my friends from school.  I made each of them a card.  I found these stamps at Hobby Lobby and fell in love with them.



The pink page below was made for a Washi Tape contest.  The contest was to see who could make a page with the most creative use of Washi Tape.  I actually won!  It really surprised me. 


Back to the real world!  I am registered for two additional retreats next year already!

Deanne from Scrapbookingdom has released a couple new Sister Kits called Lavinia.  There is a CU Paper Kit and a sister PU Embie Kit.  If you love and appreciate lavender you will love and appreciate this Kit. 







Here is some pages I created using these Kits. 




Since I spent the last four days surrounded with Christmas trees and decorations, I am offering some seasonal items as today's freebie.  Enjoy!  I will chat with you next time!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/un3e5erbvneekm2/LSL%20Nov%2016.zip?dl=0?freebie





Wednesday, November 16, 2016

I was Framed!

Today I packed up some scrapbook items and loaded up the car.  Scrapbook Retreat here I come!  We were asked to bring our very first scrapbook to compare with our current pages.  This will show how far we have come, or not come, since we started.  Another thing we were asked to bring is an unusual photo.  These will be given to other scrappers who will then create a layout with them.  They won't know any details about the photo.  This might be very interesting.  I hope I get a photo I can actually do justice to.  I dug through my photos to try to find some good candidates.  This could be very interesting!

With all of the time going through pictures, I was inspired to create another Frame Cluster.  I do hope you like it and can use it.  Click on the Preview to download. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8tmew5h6bl0kt7h/LSL%20Nov%2017.zip?dl=0?freebie



Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Granny Smith Kit by Scrapbookingdom and Freebie

Deanne Gow-Smith from Scrapbookingdom has just revived and old favorite Kit called Granny Smith.  Although this Kit centers around Apple Pie, it can be used for many types of pages or cards.  If you like to make recipe pages or cards, this Kit is a must have.  Check out her Etsy Store for this Kit and all of her gorgeous Kits.



Here are some pages I made using this adorable Kit.








I love Apples.  I try to eat one every day.   Growing up I always heard the old saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away".  Who knows how much truth may be in that saying, but hey, we all need to believe in something, right?  Apples inspired today's freebie.  Click on  the Preview to download.



https://www.dropbox.com/s/ywa8mytetncc6iz/LSL%20Nov%2015.zip?dl=0?freebie



Monday, November 14, 2016

End of another season is upon us

It is officially Fall where I live.  We have been so blessed and fortunate to have had an extended period of warmer weather.  Flowers in bloom, gardens still producing and providing nutritious healthy food to feed us.  We had a hard frost a few nights ago which ended our growing season.  I finally turned off the soaker hose to my straw bale garden.  I picked all of the peppers available, one last meal of green beans, and some more tomatoes, whether green or ripe.  In all honesty, I left the Kale.  At this point I am all kaled out for the season.  I got a late start to my garden this year and I was blessed with an extended growing season so that I could enjoy a full season and harvest.  I still have flowers in bloom that somehow survived the hard frost.  What graceful beauty we are gifted with.  Time for cleanup and on to the compost bins for my garden of love.

Flowers are such a gift of beauty and love, aren't they?  That is what inspired my gift to you today.  I put together a mini kit for you today.  It is personal use only, and I hope you enjoy it and can add your love and touches to capture your beautiful memories.

Click on the Preview to download.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/x6dccyx69i7jawq/LSL%20Nov%2014.zip?dl=0?freebie

Sunday, November 13, 2016

A girls work is never done

I have been helping my daughter remodel her house for over a year now.  We are tackling everything ourselves that we can, to a point.  She does contract the plumbing and electrical.  We spent the day today finishing off several small items.  We hung her new pocket door to her master bath, hung my granddaughters new bigger flat screen tv, painted touch up spots in three rooms where drywall plugs were put in and texture added, hung a new towel ring, towel rack and framed mirror in the main bath, and changed the furnace filter.  All small and easy, but now checked off of the never ending list.  A girls work seemingly is never done.

Today I had a relapse and made another Cluster.  Sorry!  Click on the Preview to download.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zbasomsaq6qw964/LSL%20Nov%2013.zip?dl=0?freebie

Saturday, November 12, 2016

It is a small world after all

I mentioned a couple days ago that girls from my class in school get together once a month.  I had a conversation with one of them about how we probably see other classmates around town and don't recognize them.  She agreed and gave an example of a situation where that happened to her.  The class mate she ran into recognized her.  They ran into each other quite frequently at a particular shop in town.  He knew that she did not recognize him so he just let it go.  At our 45th reunion a couple years ago, there he was again, much to her surprise.  They struck up a conversation about it and now when they run into each other in town they exchange greetings.  Isn't it fascinating how those things happen?

I attended an all day scrapbook crop today at a location I have never gone to before, with a group of ladies I have never met. I am trying to get to know more of the local scrappers in my community.  It was a small group.  We had great conversations, we went to Stacy's for lunch - a popular local restaurant.  As the day progressed I asked the ladies where they went to school.  The lady sitting directly across from me said she went to Warsaw.  I then asked her what year.  She said 1969.  I said No Way!!!!  I am Warsaw '69 - who are you?  She told me her name, I told her mine, and we were both just amazed.  I then told her about the conversation that I just had with another classmate two nights ago, and bam! It is a small world isn't it?

Most of us were working on Christmas cards.  I know, it isn't even Thanksgiving yet!  So with that in mind, I created this Christmas quick page for you when I got home.  Just add your photos behind the page and you are all done.  I hope you enjoy it.  Click on the preview to download.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t5a7ps7kmkt6bsj/LSL%20Nov%2012.zip?dl=0?freebie

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Friends are a gift from God

Once a month Girls from my Class in school get together for dinner.  We never know who will be able to join us.  It has varied from two to maybe fourteen or so.  It is such a joy to reconnect with each and every one who is able to attend.  Tonight was the night for November.  We were so surprised to have such a great turnout.  We will begin planning our 50th Class reunion in another year or so.  Wow!  Where has the time gone?  We had around 365 or so in our graduating Class.  We have lost so many over the years.  We treasure the friendships and opportunities to spend time with each other.  Friends make the world such a beautiful place.  That was the inspiration for tonight's Freebie.  It is just a simple Word Art about Friends.  Click on the Preview to download.


https://www.dropbox.com/s/p9esfzvn5k6uo18/LSL%20Nov%209.zip?dl=0?freebie

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

All we need is love!

I have been rummaging around today finding lots of things I can use to start my first Junk Journal or Art Journal.  I have watched lots of videos, done my research and I want to try my first one.  I am not sure exactly which type or size I will do just yet.  Here are some things I pulled together.  I have all sorts of other items I pulled together as well, just didn't take pics of them.  Napkins, cards, doilies, recipe cards, manila envelopes, etc.

I have lots of old books that I can use both for the paper and the hard back covers.  I love old music sheets.  This book is an old Mitch Miller Book.




Today I put together a little Word Art sentiment for you.  I hope you like it.  Click on the Preview to download.


https://www.dropbox.com/s/0kq57edpbc7fwtv/LSL%20Nov%208.zip?dl=0?freebie

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

My of my, what a day!

Here in the US, it is Election Day.  Thank the Lord this will soon be over.  I did my part and got out and voted.  All I can do now is pray.  I had a follow up appointment this morning in Ft Wayne, which is an hour drive.  While in the City, I stopped at Joann's.  I was sadly disappointed because they no longer have a scrapbook section.  They do have a small crafting area, but nothing that I was interested in.  Thankfully, Hobby Lobby is just a skip and a hop down the street. I could not resist the huge sales they were having on paper, craft and art supplies.  Man oh man, I need an intervention.

I met a very nice lady from Ft Wayne in Hobby Lobby in the Scrapbook section.  We struck up a conversation.  She introduced me to a Group on Facebook called Junk Journal Junkies.  I joined as soon as I got home and am very excited with all of the varieties of lovely and gorgeous journals the members create.  It will be a great source of inspiration for me as I take this journey down the mixed media, journaling road.

I stopped for lunch after working up an appetite with all the shopping.  I went directly to my voting site upon getting back into town and voted.  What a day!  I tried my best to work on my mixed media cards I started yesterday, but I couldn't get into it.  I wanted to follow the election results instead.

I did put together this Frame cluster while watching. Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching.  Today as with every day, reminds me of how many blessings I have in my life and all that I have to be thankful for.

Click on the Preview to download.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xnbqgl5hqq6m4gp/LSL%20Nov%207.zip?dl=0?freebie

Monday, November 7, 2016

Time for a Coffee Break!

Time for a cup of Joe?  I mentioned a few days ago that I am going to try Mixed Media.  I played around a little today.  Not happy with it but I am not done yet.  I must say that I am not getting the results I expected after watching tons of videos.  I am using the same products used in the videos.  This is only my first attempt so I am sure I will get better and things will improve.  I got my Stamp of the Month today from MayMay Made It,  It was all about Coffee.  I thought, okay, this is what I will use to try a Mixed Media project. I will show you where I stopped tonight.  I need to let things dry really well even though I used my drying tool to dry as I went along.  I also needed to take a break to try to get some more inspiration on what to do next. 


I also love the Julie Nutting Doll Stamps so I punched, cut and colored a couple "friends" for the one project.




This is the beginning of the second project.  You can't see all of the paper layers and stenciled textured paste.  Let's see what I end up with.


Since I spent time today working with Coffee Stamps, I decided to put together another Cluster for you.  I know, another Cluster!  What can I say.  I just felt it and it came together quickly and easily and here it is.  Click on the Preview to download.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rh234pvr6qu26ei/LSL%20Nov%206.zip?dl=0?freebie