In Celebration of Fathers

My Father has been gone for a few years now. As I was reflecting this past Sunday about Fathers I was thinking about all that my father has done to influence me in my life. My Dad was always kind, nonjudgmental, hard working, self sacrificing, smart, happy. He had a dry sense of humor and liked to laugh. He loved blue spruce trees and good food. He liked having a garden but not so much on the actual gardening. He was honest and forthright. He lead by example and always with sensitivity to others. He loved his family. He taught us to be good upstanding citizens, he served his country and loved it. He was raised on a dairy farm and taught us about hard work and all the benefits of a job well done. My Mom and Dad have been the most influential people in my life. They loved, supported, taught and modeled the way for us as children to follow. I miss my Dad. I am sure that he would have really enjoyed spending time with all the new grand babies and seeing the changes in the store. He built all the displays for us. They remind me of him and how much he loved me. What a blessing.

It isn't easy being green...

I remember Kermit the Frog singing that song-who knew today that being green would mean something totally different? I guess we were green long before it was the "popular" thing to do. When we first opened our store we provided our customers with sturdy tote bags to put all their treasures in-now we can buy them for a small fee to put our groceries, and other purchases in. For a long time I have wanted to leave less garbage. I would really like it if we could refill our shampoo or favorite lipstick. I realize of course there are all kinds of "germ" patrol who frown on this and all for good reason. We recently changed our bags that we send your goodies home in to a biodegradable bag. It costs more but in the end will leave less of an impact on our world.
There is a whole new grass roots, if you will, approach happening to crafting of all kinds. Clever crafters are recycling, reusing, recreating. Most scrapbookers have saved their scraps from projects and even though some may not be card makers they eventually do use their scraps. We all have become a little more thrifty and old school. I was lamenting the other day that scrapbookers who are beginning today have missed out on a lot of great "old school" items. Take for example your plastic letter stencils, I still use mine, even though I have dies of all kinds sometimes I just need to make something quick and I get them out and use them. Newbies on a budget are not going to be able to get their hands on as many-aren't they great to have! Over the past couple of years I have been tearing out articles and page ideas from my old magazines, so that I can recycle the rest of the magazine I don't need or use anymore. (also saves on space!) It is amazing how much scrapbooking has changed, yet remained the same. The focus might alter slightly but the goal is the same, preserve our memories. I love the idea of using
up our supplies, I admit though I have some paper that I just love that you can't purchase anymore that I can't bring myself to use! I have plenty of others though to pull from. As a crafting group we are generally very creative and resourceful, we know how to take projects and alter them to make them our own. Even though we can just go out and buy things finished the sense of accomplishment and pride just isn't the same. Isn't it great to be able to whip out a darling invitation and all the goodies needed for a fun party or a sleep over from the stash of incredible goodies we already own? I really enjoy taking projects and altering them. Just this week I made a mini album in a tall band aid tin. I loved it! It was quick and easy and too cute not to display. Not to mention done-did I say done? This summer can be challenging if we let it. We are smart, resourceful people, we know that we can get out scraps and make cards and mini albums and pages with our children and loved ones to give for gifts or display for ourselves! Messy, can be. Priceless? Always. Live in the moment and make them count.

I am the queen of my scrapin' space

I was called a paper snob the other day…it kind of made me proud. I guess I am. I like a broad range of papers, when it comes to card making I like crisp finishes, vellum textures and smooth colors. I usually have a big pile of supplies around me and am working in a very small space. I love my work space, it has a comfortable chair, good music, my little DVD player, display items that make me happy and of course all my crafting goodies. I really like to work on more than one project at a time. If I can’t get one the way I want it, I will start on something else. I always have something to do and I don’t get bored. Yes, I actually finish things. Sometimes I just read a good book, try a new recipe, or watch a favorite movie…
This has been an interesting season so far. I can’t say that I am too sorry that it hasn’t been hot. I am not one who likes to be too hot. I enjoy having the windows open and feeling the evening breeze, watching my flowers I planted and some garden things as well. I am not the best gardener even though I come from a long line of master gardeners. I really enjoy the beautiful outdoors, being outside helps me regroup, allows me to think clearly and I get really motivated by that down time.
I am working right now on a new album that is 11x 8.5. I really am having fun with this size. It allows me to have all the elements that I love, big titles, paper piecing, embellishments. I can use 4×6 photos or I can shrink them down( I love doing that) I really didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I have. There are so many formats for scrapbooking these days. There are no hard and fast rules and anyone can scrapbook. You can start anywhere and the sky is the limit. Do a little. Do it everyday. Weekends, evenings, early mornings. I am a night person, I get home from work and even though I am tired I look forward to a few hours of creative time, unwinding. Totally selfish time.
We have so many new stamps and papers that I am behind in the sample department. I have worked up some cute Father’s Day pages and ideas. I miss my Dad. I think about how much of our lives he has missed now. New babies, moving. I was looking through my family photos and reflecting on our lives together. I am so glad that I enjoy keeping a family history through photos and journaling, it helps me stay focused on what really counts in this life…

I love Take 10 Magazine

I love Take 10 card magazine! They have sketch challenges in each issue and I look forward to seeing all the great, personal, interpretations of the sketch. It is always fascinating to me how different and unique the finished designs are. Like us, the colors the styles the stamps or embellishments used, reflect a little of the artist. Individuality is something that I enjoy about creativity. We see design features through different eyes. Our art is truly our own. We have different levels of ability but in wonderful ways-we can choose to learn more and play and experience a new level of skill or we can enjoy the level we are at. Creativity is so broad based.
I frequently run into people who say they are not creative. Who defined creativity for them? Not all of us will be famous designers, famous anything, for that matter-does that make us any less talented? Do we have to be acknowledged by the general public to validate our creativity? I have a friend who is wonderful with words, she describes things so well you can see what she is saying, yet she claims that she is not creative. We are no longer stuck in elementary school art class. We are not limited by another’s lack of imagination. Free yourself, try something new. Enjoy the process of learning a new skill, play. We all have abilities, sometimes we just need a spark to start our creative fire. Look around your craft room, look through a magazine, check out the scraping “porn” on the web then relax and let your imagination flow! I admit that I am a little slow in the blog department, I am getting more with it-so thanks for checking in!