Happy Halloween!

Soon our bell will be ringing, and little ghosties and goblins will be looking absolutely adorable while snagging some yummies for their tummy! Our area is celebrating Halloween tonight since Halloween falls on a Sunday this year. So, tonight is the night! I miss not having little ones of our own to take photos of in their costumes! That's a definite downside to becoming a senior citizen! Think parents would mind my taking shots of their children for MY scrapbook pages, LOL - NOT!

I had a bad week. Early in the week, my vision decided to plummet. I couldn't see to read or do much. I hate when I have those flare ups, but am blessed in that there are meds available now that mitigate the problems and quiet the flare up - eventually. My vision was somewhat good yesterday and almost normal today. It doesn't take much, though, before those tired, old eyes of mine go back to their blurriness. I felt as if I was looking through water or a margarine smear on a windshield. Not fun! I was wearing two pairs of glasses at the same time just to see the computer screen. Now, I've just got my reading glasses on. Progress.

I worked on this wall hanging for a challenge for the Magnolia Blog. The requirements were to use at least one Magnolia stamp and have a kitchen/cooking theme. I chose to make something for my kitchen. I went to a local antique store and purchased this silver serving fork. It's about 7 1/2 inches long. Then, I found the perfect frame for it. This frame is 13 x 7 1/4 inches. I used adorable rooster paper and some yellow gingham paper with red rick rack as the divider. My stamps are Chef Edwin and Chef Tilda which were colored in Copic markers. I added a sweet little bow with a matching yellow flower at the knot. My plans are to continue creating other framed utensils to create a wall grouping in my kitchen. The downside is that that fork will have to be polished as it is silver - pretty, but silver! LOL Here it is:


Stick a Fork in It!

Next, is a card I started before my eyes got all wonky. I had most of it done and just had to add the finishing touches which I was finally able to do. It's for another challenge on another site - Totally Tilda Challenge Blog . The challenge was to utilize pearls as well as the color pink on a card. It is Challenge #8. You should see the gorgeous things gals have created for this challenge!

For this card, I chose to use Basic Grey papers, pale pink cardstock, a gorgeous Tilda stamp (I think it is Fairy Tilda), some glitter, pearls, die cutting, and roses. I colored the centers of the roses with my Copic markers so that they would match the paper colors. Tilda was also colored with Copic markers. The pearls are in the exterior low points of the shape behind Tilda. Here she is:


Pink and Pearls



Well, there are munchkins making their way to our door. I need to help DH with the treat distribution.

Have a wonderful evening! Thank you so much for stopping by. Your visits mean the world to me.

Blessings,
Chris

Stop the Political Spending!

OK, I'm on my soapbox again! I'm not going to go on and on about anything, but I want to leave you with a simple point to ponder.

Why do the current midterm candidates scream, "Stop the spending!" or "Washington's spending is out of control!" when the very people screaming those remarks are guilty of the very same exorbitant spending in attempts to BUY their political office? $140 million from one candidate. $25 million spent on the campaign of another. Do you see any hypocrisy here? If the candidates are willing to spare no expense to BUY their seat, how can they have the audacity to criticize Washington? ~ just a thought. Think of what that money could do for the children of this nation...you know, those very children that are the future of this nation...

Thank goodness, Fall is finally here! Last night, we had a wonderful thunder and lightning storm! The rain came and went for a couple of hours. Wonderful! The air is clean today. The windows are open, and it is GORGEOUS! Did I mention that it is cooler outside, too? Yay!

I have some goodies to share with you today. First is a Tilda card. This stamp is named Tilda in Dalecarlia Coat. I also used the Magnolia stamp of the blanket covered bench. I used liquid embroidery on the blanket, heated it with my embossing gun to fluff it up. The images were colored with Copics. It's hard to see, but I added ultra fine clear glitter to the embroidered details on her coat and hat to add some sparkle.


Thank You Card

Next, I have a couple of scrapbook layouts to share with you. Life Preservers Scrapbook Club had an online crop this weekend and I scrapped my heart out. Here are just a couple of layouts I did:


My Paella

This challenge was to scrap food! Well, that was right up my alley! One night, I had made a wonderful Paella after DH came home from the store with bags of seafood! I put some of it to good use right away! I was so happy with how pretty the Paella turned out that I had to photograph it! Doesn't that look delish?


OUCH! There's a Stake in My Heart!

This challenge was to scrap a non Halloween photo but use Halloween items for the actual layout design. Well, I thought this photo was just the thing! I love, love, love this donut from Voodoo Donuts in Portland,OR. It is just the cutest thing! There is a pretzel stick stuck in its chest for the stake. Then, raspberry filling is oozing out around the stake's hole! Yummy! Is that cute or what?


How Does Your Garden Grow?

This LO is a tribute to the gardening endeavors of our DS! He proudly sends photos of things he is growing in his yard. I thought these photos were perfect with the paper! Aren't those colors wonderful?

Thank you, sweet visitors, for stopping by. I so appreciate your visits! I hope you will come back soon!

XO,
Chris

Getting Political about Education!

OK, this is my blog, and I can say what I think, right? As long as it isn't a personal attack, a profane comment, or a statement that is just plain whacko, I should be OK. What I'm going to share is my frustration with the increasing separation between the wealthy and the middle and lower classes regarding wasteful spending, out of touch wealthy people, and the children of this nation!

I spent my adult life teaching children. I loved each and every day that I went to work. Children are precious to me. The children of this nation are the FUTURE of this nation! If we don't start caring for them, nurturing them, and providing for their needs, our nation will disintegrate!It will happen in YOUR lifetime or, at the latest, your children's lifetime!

When I hear the amounts political candidates are spending on their campaigns, I want to cry. Have we come to the point where we just buy a political office? Is that what America has become? It doesn't matter if you don't have the intellectual ability to represent your constituents, or adequately do the job, as long as you had the money to buy the position! It makes me ill! With $140 million being spent by one candidate, $25 million by another, how does this glut of campaign funds better our children's futures? It doesn't.

Today, Hoda Kotbe on Today, recalled a time she was visiting an elementary school in the good old USA. It began to rain outside. She was stunned when the little children working at their desks, automatically pulled out rain caps from their desks because the roof leaked so badly! Everything in that room got wet, including the children, the students' work, and their supplies. How can this happen in our country? How can we allow it to happen in this country? We need to open our eyes and do something! Did anyone care that there was probably mold growth throughout that one school - sickening those children and staff members?

Our schools are crumbling. They are in a literal state of disrepair. They are under budgeted. Teachers have to spend funds from their own meager salaries to help make their classroom be a better place. Many schools can't even supply pencils. My goodness, this isn't a third world country. Yet, there are glimpses of such a country reflected throughout this nation's schools. How does your local elementary school shape up?

Would you want to show up day after day as a student - or even a teacher - knowing that your school was infested with rats or other disease laden critters? Would you want to go to work in a room that was broken down on so many structural levels? I seriously doubt it. Yet, there are real troopers out there - sucking it up and going in each and every day so that the children of this nation, our children, can have a better future, but will they? Children go in so that they can learn. Teachers go in so that they can work with their young charges.

Yes, $140 million for one, $25 million for another - for what? Those are just two figures for two candidates! How many textbooks and roof repairs could be accomplished with just a small portion of those war chests. Imagine what is truly and totally being spent every time there are elections in this country.

How can we have allowed it to come to this? Where are those that can afford to give a little to help those children and schools in need throughout this country? What would it take?

I think we've become a nation of greed. The man or woman with the most money wins. Where are the Oprah and the Gates' Foundation mindsets? For those who just keep adding to your coffers, think abut this - You've been blessed with riches - share them - just a little bit with the children. Bill and Melinda Gates have it right. Oprah has it right. Too bad they are among so few.

This class division, flamboyant and political spending are just three more nails in the coffin of our country. Did you really need to spend $5,000 for a handbag?

God help the USA!

XO,
Chris

Just One More Sleep

DH has been gone for what seems like forever. It's been just shy of three weeks. I've been home alone with my feline friends. You would think I would have scrapped my heart out. I didn't. He left and took my mojo with him, I guess. It was very hard to be alone so long. I'll tell ya - it's pretty darn hard to do everything around here by yourself! I'm too old and things hurt now! But, tomorrow is the big day. DH will be home in the early evening. I never slept like an average person. I went to sleep at three AM and got up around nine AM when the cats decided I should open my eye lids. Quite frankly, I think they were afraid I may have passed away and then what would they do!

I am so ticked. Things I've ordered on line are not getting to me. It really bugs me. I bought stamps as a gift for a friend. They never arrived. What made it worse was that I told her I had found them (they've been discontinued). Then, a stamp I sent to her never reached her either. I had my return address on the envie, too. Another friend sent me something from Australia. I never got it, either. Add to that another order that never found its way to my mailbox or front door. I think someone is getting pretty lucky. I'm not. Doesn't that bug you, too?

I made some fruit leather today. It's been dehydrating in the oven since this morning. I'm using the heat of the light to do the work. I started out with the oven on convection. My lowest temp. is 170° and you were supposed to set it at 140°. So, I got it going at 170° on convection and then turned it off. I'll check on it before going to bed. Have you ever made fruit leather?

Yesterday, DS and DH went to the Olympic Peninsula and visited the rainforest and FORKS, WASHINGTON!! It was a downpour, but my DH, the trooper he is, got out and stood by the "Welcome to Forks" sign so DS could get a picture for me to scrap. No, they didn't see Jacob or Edward. *sigh* How fun was that? I told DS to tell his dad that the picture wasn't good enough and that he had to take a couple more, LOL. DH didn't fall for it, though! LOL.

I made a birthday card for a friend. It's Singing Tilda. I loved this stamp. I loved the gown. I forgot to add the green leaves before I took the photo. They are on there now, though. I colored her w/ Copics. Then, I added some Stickles in strategic areas to make the gown look like gossamer. I added silver Stickles to the end of the microphone. It looks really nicely, I think. I hope you like it. Here it is:





I am so far from being a good Copic user. I try, though. I loved the pale color I managed to achieve on her gown. I wouldn't mind one like it, LOL

Thank you, friend, for stopping by. I appreciate the time you took. Leave a little love if you want. That is always a treat!

XO,
Chris

Some Tilda Cards to Share

A funny thing happened during an organizational cleanup session - I found a note written by DS from 1987! He was six when he wrote the note. I had it tucked away all that time. The funny thing is that I had recently done a scrapbook LO journaling that very event! So, I modified the scrapbook layout so that the handwritten note could be included. Here is the revised LO:


The Great Knott's Berry Farm Caper

The unedited handwritten note reads: "Dear Mom; Dad,
Leo (as stuffed lion) and I are down eating breakfast.
wait for telephone call.
PS: I took the key"

Of course, we didn't wait for a telephone call because WE WERE ASLEEP AND HE HAD LEFT THE SUITE ON HIS OWN BY QUIETLY GETTING DRESSED AND LEAVING! Be still my heart. Of course, we didn't get the note because HE LEFT IT ON HIS PILLOW IN THE OTHER ROOM!

And this is probably why we only had one child. The Lord knew that we'd have our hands full with just this one! He could have so easily been taken since the courtyard was open on three sides to the parking lot with hallways leading right to the lots!

Here are the Tilda cards I made. I hope you like them. Each has been colored with Copic Markers. I'm trying to get better and better. LOL It's a very slow process for me! LOL


For this card, I did double stamping. I stamped the hay bale and Farmer Tilda as one piece as well as the fence pieces and the attached horse. The sheep and the rooster are individually stamped. I added some bronze and yellow Stickles to the rooster to add some bling. The shee'p's inner ear parts are covered in hot pink Stickles. I elevated Farmer Tilda and the hay bale, the rooster, and the head and tail of the sheep using pop dots.


Hello Cupcake
I used Fairy Dust Tilda and the Love Muffin for this card. I colored the Fairy Dust in crystal Stickles so that it sparkles.


Hang in There
For this card, I used an acrylic card as my base. I took the predominant figure, Edwin on the anchor, and placed it on the front. Inside the card, I created the remainder of the scene. Mermaid Tilda has a delightfully glittered tail. The scalloped circle behind her, flips up so that a message could be written inside. I had some paper that had water marks on it and accented it with matching Robin's Nest dots. I love these acrylic cards! You can get the acrylic cards at Happy Scrappin' Scrapbooking. They are listed under the Page Frames section.


Try to Relax
I know that everyone likes to make blue water, but really! When was the last time you went to the lake or the ocean and the water color was a pretty blue? Isn't it usually a greenish brown? LOL. This is another card in which I combined stamps so that they made one image. In this case, it is the background stamp paired with the dock stamp. I may have also made the Tilda as part of the single grouping. It's a little tricky to do that, but I think I'm getting better at layering the stamped images.


Lady Tilda
OK, first of all, all of the shades of purple go together. I have no clue why the camera gave me three different shades - paper, flower, and ribbon. They look weird, but trust me, they all are in the same hue family. Go figure. I mounted the papers and matting on a card base of very pale grey Bazzill cardstock.


Tilda with Fairy Wand
The background papers are a pale cyan and match the dress perfectly. There is a very subtle print on the PP.


Pregnant Tilda
The greens just didn't come up well. They are a pretty pale, mint color. This is such a cute stamp and I love that baby buggy!

I've had fun stamping and coloring with my Copic markers!

Thank you for stopping by! I hope there is something above that will provide some inspiration!

XOXO,
Chris

It Finally Rained!

Last night was heavenly. We had wonderful thunder, rain, and the not-so-much very likable lightning! When it thunders here, it just rolls and echoes forever off the walls of the canyons in this area. The rain was so needed and, even though we didn't get tons and tons, it was enough to rehydrate the trees, shrubs, and flowers.

I only have a card to share today. It took me a while to do it, but I'm happy with it.



The photo colors are a little off on the rose and the bow. I don't know why the camera didn't get it, but they have more blue and really are close in color to the paper. The card has a pale grey Bazzill foundation. Then came the eggplant cardstock and paper. I colored Tilda, her frog, and the window with my copic markers. I also added just a tad of Stickles to Tilda and the crown of the frog.

Here is a LO I did to journal the time our DS ate a bottle of Children's Tylenol in an attempt to make himself well. He figured that two Tylenols weren't working, so 22 would work better. DH was so tired the night before, that when he put the medication back, he inadvertently din't place it in the locked cabinet. DS had been ill for so many months and, at age 3, was down to 24 lbs. We were always at the doctor's and had tons and tons of tests done. It turned to be an inner ear infection that had gone undetected! After I discovered what he had done, we spent the night in the Emergency Room. Poor baby! He looks so ill in the photo.


How to Give Us Gray Hair

Thanks for stopping by my sweet friends. Your visits mean the world to me! I'll have more to share in the next few days as I have other cards in various stages of completion!

XO,
Chris

At Any Age, Being a Mom is So Hard!

Dear Readers,

I don't even know if there are any readers out there, but if you are reading this, thank you!

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR MY MONTHLY VISITING TEACHING LESSON IDEA, PLEASE GO TO VISITING TEACHING SISTAS. All of my monthly ideas may be found on that blog now.The link is HERE.

I've been so very blue lately. I'm missing DS so much that it hurts! I don't think I could make the drive due to some physical limitations. I know I cannot fly. So he's 1100 miles away and I feel like crud - racked with guilt because I am unable to be close. I've missed his birthday. I miss him. I miss his voice, his humor, his bear hugs. I miss being a mom who is there. For all of the previous reasons, I am filled with guilt and such a feeling of sadness. I've just been so teary eyed for about the past month. I never thought that being a mom would ALWAYS be this emotional! I worry so about him.

I've been scrapbooking and card making in an attempt to keep my mind busy. I've read tons and cooked/baked tons of new recipes. This week, I made a grape cake using fresh grapes. It was surprisingly very good, sweet but good. I also made a talapia oreganata which was delicious, too! My most favorite cooking endeavor this week was a huge pot of cioppino. I had all sorts of shellfish/fish in it. It made for many great lunches and two dinners as well. I also baked a batch of popovers for DH again this week. He really enjoys warm popovers with jam or honey. I'm seeing a pattern here - sad? Then hit the kitchen! That can't be a good thing, right?

Here are a couple of LOs I did.


Toothless

DS was about six when these shots were taken while vacationing in Oregon. He was so tan! I made the filmstrip and then printed the filmstrip image on a transparency so that it would look realistic with the photos behind it. The inner perimeter of dots may look crooked, but it isn't. It's just the way I had the camera. I loved using the Kraft card stock.


Back Seat Monster

There is quite a long story with this layout. I have it all written down and tucked behind the monster. The orange fibers are on the end of the journaling tag and are positioned to look a little like the monster's hair. I thought the monsters were so cute that I took one of them and made it large for the layout's focal point. It's cute, huh? Suffice it to say that DS spent two hours, NONSTOP, saying things like, "I want McDonald's. Why won't you buy me McDonald's? I want french fries. I want a Happy Meal. I want a cheeseburger. Why won't you take me to a McDonald's..." We were on a road trip and had no idea where we were. DS kept this up to the point that DH and I thought about putting DS in the trunk (not really), but we did consider it as a possible solution. DS wasn't yelling or anything. He just talked incessantly saying things like what I wrote for two hours straight. I was driving. Suddenly, as if the heavens felt our pain, there, in the middle of the road, was a McDonald's bag and french fries all over the roadway. Now, we were in a very rural area (lost) and had no idea how they got there (a miracle maybe?). I quietly pointed them out to DH and wondered if I should pull over and pick them up or just get personal satisfaction by running over the whole thing. I chose the latter and told DS to look about the back window at what I had just smooshed in the road! Revenge is best served up cold, right? LOL Then, all of the sudden, the road opened from a two lane to a 3 or 4 lane highway. Still lost, I continued to drive north. Lo and behold, all of a sudden, a McDonald's appeared! We had managed to find ourselves in Carson City, NV! Yes, DS did get his McDonald's. We had been traveling up through the Sierras and somehow wound up in Carson City on our way to Auburn, California. Who knows how I got us there from California's Hwy. 395 and the Sonora Pass!


Taking a Chance on Love

This is a LO of DH. Sorry about the glare off the title alphas. I printed DH's photo on aida cloth to give it texture. That's why it has all those little dots. In case you don't know, aida cloth is the fabric on which cross stitching is done. I think red, white, and black is one of my favorite color combos. I love this man! The little hearts on the oval tags are black heart shaped brads.


Sunkissed Me

This is just a fun LO for my Book of Me. I spritzed the white CS with Smooch in red, yellow, and blue. I cut the flowers and added pop dots of differing heights underneath so that some are higher than others. Because I love textures, I added several kinds of textures to the LO as well. The crocheted pieces that look green are really yellow. For some reason, my camera just hates yellow and makes it look an ugly green.

Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your visiting.

XO,
Chris