Halloween Cards upcycled from food boxes

I've been busy lately preparing for our upcoming Handmade Market in Lawrence, Kansas for Etsy artists from Kansas. Would you like to see a few of my Halloween cards? Well you're in luck because I have posted a few pics below beginning with the blob that was supposed to be a spider. Maybe it'll adorn another card as The Blob, ya think? I tried homemade shrinky dink stuff using some plastic cut from something like a salad container and well, it must be the wrong kind of plastic! I ended up just stamping a spider on the plastic and marking over the image with a Sharpee to thicken the lines.

 I like the way this bakers twine spider web looks. I cut tiny slits along the edges of the card to hold the twine in place, then tied the spider on to the center of the web.

 What you can't tell about the pumpkin below and I can't photograph it is that it's painted with glow in the dark paint! Believe me, when I turned out the lights it was really cool looking! Oh yeah, the web on this card is painted on with Epsom Salts and looks awesome, kind of like ice crystals.

 The little bats are stamped on the card using Versamark clear ink. The black dots around the orange circle are done with glitter glue and look great, just hard to photograph.

 The spider and BOO below are done with a puffy black embossing powder that feels grainy.

 Don't you just love the Stampin Up mesh embossing folder? I can't get enough of it!

 Now for those who are just happy it's Fall, here's the perfect card for them. Very simple, yet elegant.

Below I've used a circle to mask off a spot, then sponged orange ink all around it. It really makes the paper cutouts pop, don't you think?

Luscious Heavenly Fabric Goodies!

Look what came in today's mail. Oh before I show you let me encourage you to head right over to SuziQu's Threadworks after you're done drooling over the contents of my package. The pictures she takes are much better than mine, plus you can see all her other beauties!

I knew the package was from her because, well, I currently don't have any relatives or friends living in Australia. New Zealand, yes, but the aunt who used to be a missionary for Wycliffe Bible Translators in Australia has long since retired and returned to her roots in Wisconsin. Ok, I digress and I know you're chompin at the bit to see my surprises, so here they are:

So what will I do with this lovely fabric journal? Well for now I'm just going to admire it, pet it and soak up it's yumminess. Then I think I'll let IT tell ME what it wants to become! Maybe something to house some of my favorite fabric swatches. Or how about swatches from clothing my daughter wore growing up? Or pictures printed on fabric and sewn to the pages? Oh there are so many possibilities! I'd love to hear what YOU would do with one of these!

Blog Candy for Gratitude! -- CLOSED

If you've been reading my blog you know that in one week's time I was the recipient of four blog prizes. This past week has been an all time high for me, making me feel almost guilty, but mostly grateful and appreciative of the generosity of others. The best way for me to show my gratitude is by paying it forward, so ..... drum roll please.... I've got blog candy!!! Yup, I put together a package of ephemera, vintage ribbon, buttons, vintage wallpaper, handmade embellishments, twine, silk flowers and other fun things that would be great for making mini albums, embellishing scrapbook pages and cards or anything else your imagination desires. This blog candy will run until October 29 with the winner announced on October 30. To be eligible all you need to do is the following:

1. Become a follower if you aren't already
2. Leave a comment
3. Tell someone else about the candy. If you want to post this on your sidebar that would be awesome, but is not a requirement. You can just mention how you are spreading the word (twitter, facebook, blog post, etc.) in your comments.

Oh and please leave me a way to get in touch with you. Here's a picture of what I've gathered so far. I will be adding more as the month progresses and if I get over 50 comments I'll start another box. Woohoo, let the fun begin!!!

You're not going to believe this!

Ok, truly now, if any of you want to hop right over and rub my hand for good luck I'm home the rest of the weekend! Oh yeah, I WON AGAIN!!!! I got the message that I'd won an awesome Stampin Up stamp set from Holly and The Dog over at  Ink Paper Stamps while checking my mail on my cell phone in the car and let me tell ya, it's a good thing Mr. H was driving or I'd have gone off the road!!! We were on the way home and I promptly instructed him to stop at the next location that sells lottery tickets! Silly me made him come in with me because, well, I honestly don't know the first thing about buying lottery tickets. No really! Here is the lovely set that will be in my grateful hands soon. You've GOT to go give Holly and The Dog a shout out and enjoy her crafts. She's got some great tutorials if you're looking for inspiration!

I have been truly blessed!

This past week I was notified by not one, not two, but THREE very generous bloggers that I had won something!!! Can you believe it??? No, I couldn't either, in fact I told my husband that this would be a good week to buy a lottery ticket!

So what did I win? Well how about some pictures?
First I was notified by the lovely and extremely talented Suzy over at Suziqu's Threadworks that I had won a gorgeous embellished lace and linen doiley needlebook:

 

and some luscious yummy trim:

  

This uber talented artist has all kinds of beautiful fiber art on her blog and also can be found on Etsy as suziqu.
Oh and did I mention that she's from New South Wales, Australia? I happen to have an aunt still living in New  Zealand and had one serving as a missionary in Australia for many, many years. Coincidence? I don't know, maybe just good karma! Actually the karma will come when I put together some blog candy and have the pleasure of giving it away, so stay tuned!

Okay, so still guiddy from Suzy's notification and tired from spending the whole day on Saturday at a scrapbook crop (where I was without a cell phone signal) I get home and find a message from my favorite Stampin Up consultant, Shelly May, that I've won these awesome Christmas cards!



OMG I told her that I would decorate my mantle with them because they're so gorgeous! I can't wait to see all the detail that went in to making these because everything Shelly makes is beautiful!

Now last, but not in any way least, is a digital scrapbooking software program from my friend Linda over at LadybugLair. The program is called My Memories and looks like loads of fun! I just downloaded it and hope to play with it as soon as I finish this post. You should hop over to her blog and see some of the things she's already done with it. Oh and you've got to see the funny card she just made for a friend turning 60. So funny!

I am genuinely touched and feel blessed to have received all these gifts. Now, the question is.... what can I give away that even comes close to these things? I've got some ideas bouncing around in my head and will let you know when I decide. Until later.....

Hugs and kisses...

Let the rivers clap their hands

Sometimes I like to make pictures of words in my head, kind of like Dr. Temple Grandin describes in one of my all-time favorite books, Thinking in Pictures

When I read my daily devotional from Guideposts this morning I was inspired by the scripture in the heading. Being the pictoral sort of person that I am I immediately conjured up images of what a river would look like clapping its hands...

Perhaps it would look like this...

or maybe this...

but I kind of like the idea of gentle clapping, like this:

Now isn't that a picture that makes you feel like singing?

Psalm 98:8

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁸Let the rivers clap their hands;
   let the hills sing for joy together

Awakening a fuzzy brain

What kind of title is that??? Well how about a happy one from someone who has experienced a week-long attack of fever, chills, head congestion, cough and general body aches and pains. Why would that make me happy? Well coming out of that illness makes me appreciate life even more! For the first time in months (yes I said MONTHS) I can actually breath through my right nostril. I have no idea what was going on prior to this week and honestly don't really care much as long as it stays away.

Tuesday I had my annual physical and the cold had just hit me on Monday after severely pruning a 10 foot bush, actually two grown together like brambles. I left the doctor's office with three new prescriptions, none of which had anything to do with my cold since it's no doubt just a virus anyway. One of the meds I just started taking to treat suspected narcolepsy is a generic Ritalin. Yeah, you know that stuff they give kiddos for ADD? Well you've heard me talk about having CADD before, right? That crafter's attention deficit disorder that makes us flitter from one project to the next and the next and the next, never completing any of them. Well it should be interesting to see how this new drug effects my CADD. I can tell you that it is keeping me awake during the day (PRAISE GOD!!!) My boss actually thought I was joking when I told him I'd been falling asleep at work, then I had to explain that I never actually slept at my desk because I always got up and walked around or did something that kept me awake, but was constantly struggling to keep my eyes open and head up. My doc said it's most likely caused by the fibromyalgia, but could also be narcolepsy. As much as I detest taking medication, especially anything with potential side effects, when something interferes with my ability to carry out daily activities and responsibilities then it's time to take action. The other one I finally succumbed to was for my high cholesterol. With my weight and family history it was time to give in and take something that can lower it.

Lastly I got something for this teenage acne. Yeah, go figure! At 57 you'd think that wouldn't be an issue, but at certain times it is. I have known for several weeks that an illness was going to break out because the first sign is always a huge zit that is traditionally followed by one or two or more, typically in a trail across a part of my face. This year the first one was by my left eye, then left eyebrow, then several more moving across my eyebrow lines over to the right side. Ok, so I know ya'll didn't really need to know all that, but hey, isn't that what blogging is for? If nothing else I've got a written record so I can go back later to find out when it happened.

Now on a much lighter note, how about some pictures of this morning's excitement? Our county has an annual hot air balloon festival right down the street from us at Lake Shawnee and this morning they took flight. We are in the flight path and turned out to be the landing field for many of them because of the thick air that kept them from gaining altitude. I was giddy as a kid watching them fly overhead and land next door! The first picture is kind of fuzzy, but you get the idea. That Jack in the Box was the cutest thing ever!

The first one down was the tiger. I really thought they were landing on a house across the street!

 Then down came Jack!

 ReMax stayed up high and kept floating.

 See that flame?

 The two pics below show them deflating in my neighbor's side acre.

And on another note, I really have been working on crafts lately. Here's a card I made using a sweater from a catalog for color inspiration:

Now I'm off and running to get some last minute errands done in preparation for tomorrow's HUGE craft show over in Lawrence. My daughter and I will be selling our Etsy crafts and jewelry at the Lawrence Annual Fall Arts and Crafts Festival. We'd love to see you!

Oh boy I just received a check in the mail for $3,990.00!!! It looks like the real thing and came with a letter from G.T.Express Financial Services Inc. in NY, although the check itself has Presbyterian Village in Little Rock, AR on it as the owner and it came in an envelope postmarked Little Rock with no return address. Hmmm, time to investigate.... Oh yeah, the check is to go towards the "applicable Government Service Tax (GST) payable to the Revenue Department through your assigned tax agent" so I can get my $120,000.00! Sheesh! If only....