Remember When

Remember when things were simple, and life just seemed to BE. 

As I am sitting here at my crafty desk working on the album for the Boutique, I have music playing in the background. Not really paying attention to it, but my spirit is. 

I'm focused on the album, placing the things on each page to finish it.  It's all about the details...

I've thought about grandparents today. My parents. My cousins. My siblings. My nieces and nephews. I've thought about grandchildren. My three grown children and each one of my friends. Thinking about each one of these people and wondering how they were. (there are many by the way). I've wondered many times how each one of them was.  Many I have not heard from in days, weeks, months, and even years...

Remember when the phone would ring asking if you wanted to grab a coke, sit and visit? Where did those days go...?

Remember when mothers and daughters would have a leisure day getting their pedicures and manicures done while sitting and conversing with each other. Catching up with each other's life. Where did those days go...?

Fathers would take their sons to the golf course, or the fishing pond. Lessons learned. Where did those days go...?

Remember when grandpa would say, c'mon...let's take a ride on the tractor? I remember my granddad well. He is in my thoughts daily. He was my mom's stepdad. He and my granny (mom's mother) raised me until their deaths in the '70s. 

I don't remember riding on the tractor with granddad, but I do remember him drinking a large glass of tea in a metal bright colored glass with a long skinny spoon and mounds of sugar sitting at the bottom of the glass. He would stir it and stir it and stir it until the sugar dissolved. (I think that is why today, I can't stand sweet tea). His WAS sweet, sweet, sweet! 

Remember when...

As I was working on the two pages above, finishing up the details, I noticed the quote I put on one page and then the other expression on the opposite side of the page. 

     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~LIVE IN THE MOMENT~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~GRATITUDE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I am crafting, I am in the zone with the music playing, I am cutting, gluing, pulling this, and putting that. Grabbing this item and looking for that! I AM completely oblivious to everything and anyone around me. I can do this for hours on end and not even realize it. 

I didn't pay attention when I placed the two words on these pages, but today they jumped out at me like a ton of bricks. "LIVE IN THE MOMENT". What does that mean? Remember when life was simple. Where did that go? Life seems complex at times today...

Living in the moment these days is a constant battle of struggling with this or juggling that. Dealing with this and putting that on the back burner. Living in the moment today means we wear our masks when we go out in public. We distance ourselves at least six feet from the next person. Living in the moment today means, we don't have friends over for cookouts or other family members for a festive time of food and laughter. Living in the moment today means wondering if we'll have money to pay a bill or put food on the table. Living in the moment today, means will there be money for necessities such as medications or treatments if needed. 

Living in the moment means I must draw closer to my Heavenly Father. He is the only one who can hold me in the moments of my weakness. 

Living in the moment means I can hold on to God's strength and love when everything around me is in disarray. He holds onto me when I'm in a dark place. He holds onto me when things go crazy around me. He holds onto me when I am walking with my head held high. God is my constant...

Living in the moment. I remember when nothing affected me. I was a child. I spoke as a child, I acted like a child. I played outside. I was on the go all the time. Nothing mattered. Time didn't stop to remember what life would be like 40 years later.  

Living in the Moment. Remembering when my granny and granddad would take me to church. He would throw me up on his shoulders and we would walk down the long hallways. He stood over 6 ft. tall. I thought I could touch the clouds when I was riding on his shoulders... I miss my grandparents. Granny Inez and Granddad. My life was never the same after their deaths. I'm thankful they took me when I easily could have become an orphan. Remember when. 

The second word is GRATITUDE. 

I am eternally grateful for the time I had with my grandparents. They instilled values into my inner soul. They showed me, love. They showed me kindness.  They showed me firmness with a stern voice occasionally. They protected me. They provided for me. They cared for me and my well-being. Had it not been for my granny Inez and Grandad, no telling where I'd be today...REMEMBER WHEN.

That's me with them...I lived with them until I was 10 years old. Granny Inez passed away in April 1971 and Grandad passed away in November 1972. My birthday was in October. Living in the moment, remembering when...life was so simple. Was it really? I'm sure life had its ups and downs with this and that, but I was oblivious. I was protected from it all. Granny passed with Coronary Occlusion and Granddad with Colon Cancer. He was her second husband...remember when.

  

The simple things...being loved. Being cared for. Trusting others to provide for all our wants, needs, and desires. Remember when...life was so simple. 

Gratitude. What are you thankful for today? Breath, a job, food on the table, or possibly family and friends? Could it be, we are thankful for it all? As I sit here and think about this word...I remember when there was a time in my life gratitude didn't exist in my world. I was so angry at the world. At people. At family. At friends.  AT SELF. Remember when. 

I remember when the pieces were broken all around me...and the only way I could move forward was by laying it all down at the cross. Gratitude encompasses many things...

grat·i·tude

noun

1. the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Let me pose a question to you...when was the last time you stopped and thought about all you are thankful for? A few years back, I made a Gratitude Journal. It consisted of 365 days of things I was thankful for. Remember when. 

I am going to challenge you today to stop what you are doing and write down 3 things you are grateful for.  Can you do that for me? If you can, I'd love to hear what you are grateful for. If you can't, why not? Are you carrying hurts, unforgiveness, doubt, or fear? Are you feeling hopeless because living in the moment has become exhausting? 

There were times that a specific day only had one word on the page in my Gratitude Journal. Living in the moment...

Sometimes, being grateful and being able to express that gratitude takes a great deal of energy. I would encourage you to be grateful because you want to be, NOT because someone expects it. 

Gratitude...

For me, not only does the word GRATITUDE means being thankful, but it also gives me HOPE.

Gratitude offers me an expectation that I WILL be thankful and appreciative of something each day. For instance, I am thankful that I woke up today. I am thankful that I have breath in my body. I am thankful that I am a wife. I am thankful that I am a mother and a grandmother (regardless of what life has thrown at me). I am thankful that I can create beautiful crafts. I am thankful I am living. I am thankful I can listen to the birds singing. I am thankful I can play with our fur baby. I am thankful I can forgive others AND myself. I am thankful that my sins have been washed away and that my past doesn't dictate my future. I am thankful for change. I am thankful for resolutions. Even if they are not on my terms...

Gratitude means I will stand tall. I can give to others regardless of anything received in return. That is NOT the expectation. Gratitude is from our heart. COMPLETELY...with no reservations. 

Gratitude is not entitlement...it is something that I can extend to another human being or better yet, to myself.  I am GRATEFUL for life...I am GRATEFUL that I CAN live in the moment of today. 

Remembering when living in the moment was carefree and nothing else mattered. 

Remembering when no matter what, I stood tall with my head held high just living in the moment. 

GRATITUDE...no matter what!

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Wordless Wednesday

 Good morning!!! 

I can't believe it's the first Wordless Wednesday of the year already. Before we know it, this year will be long gone. I am looking forward to seeing where 2021 takes us as 2020 is mainly a big blur in my memory. How about you? What are you looking forward to in 2021? 

                                                         Junk Journal Pages I created

In closing, I want to thank Karren Haller of Oh My Heartsie Girl for hosting the Wordless Wednesday party. 

Don't forget to join us in our #photoofthedaychallenge

#WW #WordlessWednesday. #WonderfulWednesday

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January 5th - Day 5 in the 365photoadaychallenge

 It is already the 5th day of January...wow! Time needs to slow down...

Here is my picture of the day! A Junk Journal page I created. The mats you see are mats where the recipient can place photos. Each one has an uplifting message at the bottom. 

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January 4 - 365photochallenge

It is a new year and a new day for creativity in my craft room. After taking off the last couple of months from blogging so I could focus on Christmas crafting projects I had on my plate, I have decided to do a 365-day photography challenge after reading about it from my FB friend Martha DeMeo and Glenda Cates. 

The challenge is to post at least one photograph per day for the year. Well, I am a little late to the party - but I have taken photos each day since January 1, 2021. Maybe I can play catch up! {laughing out loud}

Today's photo consists of a photo of my 'new' desk mat that I received for Christmas. Look at that...my desk is even cleaned off! That is a feat within itself. ONLY because when I am crafting, I am oblivious to the mess I create around me... (I am doing the happy dance since I am all caught up with crafting projects for the time being).

I was so excited to have received this Zerro Self Healing Cutting Mat. Although the old one was only 8 years old, it still has life in it and I will continue to use it on the desk behind me. Thank you, family, for my new self-healing cutting mat!!!

I am off to write a review on my new, clean Zerro Self Health Cutting Mat!

Who would like to join me in taking a picture a day (or more, if you choose) in 2021?

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Saturday Morning Cartoons are no more

When I was a child, I recall waking up every Saturday morning to watch my favorite cartoons on television. I could not wait to get in front of that tv...that is not so true today. I can literally go days and even weeks without ever turning ours on. 

Saturday morning cartoons are no more in my house. In days of yesterday, I remember watching the Jetsons, TheFlintstones, Blondie (with Dagwood of course), Bugs Bunny, and all his cohorts, otherwise known as The Looney Tunes. Then there was the Roadrunner which was part of The Looney Tunes. Olive Oil and Popeye were on my list as well...occasionally, Popeye's nephews would appear in a show. You know, Pipeye, Peepeye, Poopeye, and Pupeye. Did you know they were quadruplets? 

On my list of cartoons to watch were also The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle Friends was also on my list as well. The Mr. Magoo Show, and The Deputy Dawg Show. Do any of these rings a bell for you? I may be aging some of you today as I sit here and think about my Saturday mornings as a child - they are a vague memory in my mind. But cartoons still come to mind...funny how these cartoons still bring a smile to my face when I hear their jingle or even capture a clip from one of the shows. These are not all of the shows I would watch on Saturday but the ones that came to mind as I sat down to write a blog this morning. What were some of your favorite  Saturday morning cartoons? 

I could not tell you the names of any cartoons that children watch today. Many of them, in my mind, are just not fit to watch and if I had small children, probably would not allow them to watch them. Sorry if that offends any of you...but Simpsons, SpongeBob, and Barney were some of the cartoons I banned my kids from watching. Oh, trust me, I got flak from them and other adults alike, but it was just my personal thing...lol. Still, even today, when I hear the theme song from the Simpsons come on the tv - I blurt out...change the channel! I am just shaking my head...it is funny to me memories that pop up in my mind from time to time. They are so random. Who else can raise their hand that you have random thoughts come to mind too from time to time? 

I no longer watch Saturday morning cartoons today. My Saturday mornings consist of crafting, walking with my ancestors, or taking a road trip on a great weekend adventure with my hubs...with that said, I need to finish up on a Junk Journal (JJ) that has been sitting on my desk now for almost three weeks. I have one signature left and it will be on its way to the purchaser. (just a small sneak peek into the JJ I am currently working on). 

What do your Saturday mornings look like today? 

Have a great day and Happy New Year! 

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day 25 Color of the Day is Fuchsia

We are almost to the end of June and that means we are on the home stretch in the Color of the Day Challenge. Today's color is Fuchsia. 

Did you know that Fuchsia was a purplish red color? I did not. I always thought it was pink! 

According to the World Wide Web, Fuchsia  - pronounced (/ˈfjuːʃə/, FEW-shə) is a vivid purplish-red color, named after the color of the flower of the fuchsia plant, which was named so by a botanist, Charles Plumier after the 16th-century German botanist Leonhart Fuchs.

I have crafted many things in Fuchsia. I find it to be a very pretty color even though I always thought it was pink. 

Meet my BFF. I created this scrapbook layout for her several years ago. Her favorite color is pink, but this paper had more Fuchsia tones than pink. 

Here is a picture of another layout I did on Friendship. The colors were Fuchsia.

I have made Christmas Tree Toppers that have had a color like Fuchsia. I always thought it was hot pink! I suppose it could fall into the color wheel of Fuchsia. What do you think? Yes or no?  

I enjoy making handmade envelopes. I found one that I made for Christmas several years ago. Purplish-red, I think this fall into those parameters. 

Several years ago, I inherited a few things from an Aunt. I had no idea she crafted. Among the many crafting supplies, I received - this beauty was in there. It is called a Collage Mat. There were some in an Asian theme, one in Vintage Notes and Postcards, then there was this one pictured. Is it not just beautiful? Look at those flowers! I used this in a Junk Journal I made for a particularly good friend. 

Loaded Envelopes are one of my most favorite things to craft. I found one that has purplish-red paper used. I embellished it with the flowers and ribbon in the purplish-red colors. This Loaded Envelope was my favorite. I have made many in a variety of themes. Some of those have been for Mother's Day, Teach of the Year, Graduation, Father's Day, Businesses, Birthday's, Just Because, and Christmas. They are a blast to make and even more fun to fill up with special goodies for the recipient. 

Purplish red is the Color of the Day. It is called, Fuchsia. Do you have anything in this color? If so, tell me what it is. 

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Day 5 The Color of the Day is Yellow

It is day five in the Color the Day Challenge I am participating in. It is being hosted by The Mommies Review. Today's color is YELLOW. 

Have you ever wondered what the significance is of the different colors? I have from time to time. When I looked up the word yellow this morning, I read that yellow is the most luminous of all the colors in the spectrum. It is the color that captures our attention more than any other. 

Now that I have read that, I am asking myself if this is true for me or not? I continued to read that yellow is the color of happiness and optimism, of enlightenment and creativity, sunshine, and spring. Now I am really scratching my head. I for one do not associate happiness with yellow. Creativity? I have not made many things in yellow in my crafts. In fact, I do not have much yellow at all in any of my crafting stashes. 

Spring and sunshine, I get - as when the sun is shining, it is radiant. Beaming down rays of warmth and sunshine. In the spring, the flowers begin to bloom along with receiving the sun's rays. Yellow. 

There are songs written about yellow, can you name any of them? Let me jar your memory...

"Yellow" by Coldplay. "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John. "Yellow Submarine" by the Beatles. "Itsy Bitsy Teeny-Weeny Yellow Polka dot Bikini" by Brian Hyland. "Yellow Boxes" by Tyler Ward. "Yellow Roses" by Dolly Parton. "Yellow Brick Road" by Angus and Julia Stone. "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around the Ole Oak Tree" by Dawn (featuring Tony Orlando). "The Yellow Rose of Texas" by Johnny Lee (featuring Lane Brody). 

How many of these songs did you recognize? There are many more songs with yellow in them, but these were some of the ones I am familiar with. 

Today for my yellow, I chose this image of a vase that was given to us awhile back. 

Yellow is all over this vase. It is beautiful. I am not sure what type of vase this is a called. I suppose it might be a type of Ginger Jar. It is quite large. I have it sitting on my hutch near all my plants. All I know is I think it is gorgeous and it is yellow! 

What do you have that is yellow? 

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R is for Ribbon

21 Apr 2020
A to Z Challenge

Today's letter is R. To me, that equates to ribbon, ribbon, ribbon. In my crafting supplies, I have all kinds of ribbons. Narrow ones, wide ones, yellow ones, red ones, all sorts of sizes, and colors.

I have them organized in tubs by color.

I even have a tub that has scrap ribbon in it. Those bits and pieces that I use for layering and to tuck here and there on other projects.

The Encyclopedia.com says that ribbons appeared when civilizations began crafting fabric. They are among the oldest decorative and adorning materials.

I continued reading the article from the mentioned website above and learned that ribbons have been around since the 1500s and by the 17th Century, ribbons had stormed the fashion world.

Today, not only can we find ribbons being used by seamstresses, we can find many people using ribbons. For instance, the mother who is putting their daughter's hair up in a ponytail. They may use a big fancy bow on top to adorn the ponytail. My girls never liked anything like this in their hair. In my crafting stash, I have some of these ponytails with ribbons. I use them in my journals.

Ribbons are used in homecoming mums. Like the ones, I made my daughter a few years ago. (they have continued to get larger and larger each year). The ones I saw High School girls wearing were insane. They were ginormous!!!

11th gr. 2012

12th gr. 2013

I might add, the bottom mum I made with one hand as I had just had Carpal Tunnel surgery and my hand was in a cast. That was a difficult task let me tell you...

We can also find ribbons on wedding dresses, in floral arrangements, and in many more items.

I enjoy using ribbons in my crafts to compliment what I am creating. I've used them on cards, in mixed media, on tags, and in journals.

I've even made paper straw wands and used ribbons on them, too. They look like something like this...I will show all angles of the paper straw wand.

Several different sizes of ribbons were used to make the bows. These are fun to make! (Anytime my daughter is in Target, she hits up the $1.00 bins for paper straws. I have an ample supply of them organized by color).

I use ribbons all the time in my creations. Like most everything else pertaining to crafting, I LIKE ribbon!!!

Tag I made in 2018

Tag I made for my mom on Mother's Day 2017

Tag I made for a pocket in a journal_2017

This was made FOR me by a friend in 2018 using ribbons

So you see, ribbons can be used on so many different things. R = RIBBONS!!! 

Have any ribbons?

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F is for Franken Paper

April 6, 2020
A to Z Challenge

F = FRANKEN PAPER

Franken Page I made a few years ago

Today's letter is "F" and that means Franken Paper. 

Have you heard of “Franken Paper”?  It is a technique where you glue or stitch random scraps of paper together to create new papers, tags. pockets etc.

As a paper crafter, I have an organizer full of scrap papers leftover from previous projects. When I scrapbooked, I wouldn't throw any size of scrap paper away. Life in my crafting room has since changed due to a smaller crafting space. These days, I don't keep any piece of paper smaller than a 1" x 1". 

This has always been a dilemma for me as well as several conversations with other crafters. When is a piece of paper too small to keep and too big to throw away? As I mentioned above, you can coordinate scrap papers to create new papers, tags, and pockets. Use them to make tuck spots or to even layer other projects. 

Any time I work with Mod Podge or other wet adhesives, I place a piece of wax paper down across my desk. I grabbed my wax paper today and I'm ready to start creating Franken Papers. 

I gathered the rest of the items I needed. Several paint brushes in various sizes (just in case I need them). Mod Podge. Scrap papers. I always have the wax paper underneath the paintbrushes. 

Next, what I do, is roughly make an outline for the size of the page I want to create. (You don't have to do this step). I outline a rough area with a sharpie - this way I know the exact space I am going to be working in. I'll let the papers go over the edge just a tad, then trim them down if necessary, once everything has completely dried. 

Franken pages are easy and if you are curious, there are YouTube videos that will show you how to make them. Honestly, just gather your scraps and start piecing them together. 

There will be two sides as you make your page. I like using double-sided papers if they are in my scraps, but you don't necessarily have to have them. The only thing I've found when using double-sided papers is sometimes the images will be upside down. That's why I work front and back at the same simultaneously. 

The images above show the progression of the front and back as I am piecing the scrap pieces together. 

I continue tearing and gluing pieces of paper, layering some of the pieces. Flipping and doing the same thing over on the opposite side. I like building my outer edges first because then I can color coordinate papers if I want. (kind of like putting a jigsaw puzzle together). 

 As you see, the page is starting to take shape although it looks like a mess! LOL

Flip it over, glue a few pieces, and turn it back over. Repeat as many as times necessary. 

 I continue to work, flipping over and over. Putting papers here and putting pieces there. I tuck papers up under other papers, flip it back over and do the same on the other side. 

I make sure there aren't any holes that need to be covered as I get closer to being finished with the page. Right now, it's just scraps papers on top of one another with no design, rhyme or reason. 

Remember, you can use larger pieces and sew them onto your page. It's your creation. Create it how you envision it. They can be cohesive, and they can look like a mess. Kind of like this one does. I could stop here if I wanted and add some words, some stamped images, or use a photograph. But I have something else in mind. 

I collect old calendars to use in my crafting projects. I'm going to finish out the front side with a page from an old calendar. I haven't trimmed the edges down yet and honestly, I kind of like how they look. 

The finished Franken Page using an old Calendar
This IS the front side

I'm not finished yet. But you will see, I took some of the pieces from the calendar and incorporated them into the backside. I'm going to pull this page together with some more with a few other things. I haven't decided what yet...to be determined. As you see, making Franken Pages is very easy and this would be a fun and exciting project for both children, teens, and adults alike. 

the backside of the Franken Page

In closing, here are a few other Franken Pages I've made in the past. 

This swap with Franken Papers was a themed one. We had to use green and yellow papers and make embellishments for the pages. I made an altered paper clip using a butterfly and as you can see in the circled photo, I incorporated the recipient's name into the paper. 

The next two pages are in the theme of Shabby Chic. I had fun making these two papers. We had to incorporate a bow of some sort when we wrapped them up. 

In closing, here is one that was sent to a friend of mine. It's in a Christmas theme. As you see in the photograph, the creator incorporated bling along the outside edge. 

So, you see, Franken Pages can be made in any way, shape, color, or, a theme you can imagine. Let's make some Franken Papers! Grab your scrap papers, glue, and a paintbrush...what are you waiting for? 

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