cards

Saturday Semantics – 100DayProject Day 14

100DayProject Day 14 (working on AECP Card 8)

I didn’t make very much progress on my card 8 (Class 2 of All About Layering 4). Maybe I’ll have some time tomorrow after I finish my kits. I did emboss the flowers but still need to ink blend them to add colour. And I stamped the envelope as well as the back and inner layer of the card so that’s done. I’ll include a copy of the sample card from class that I’m basing my design from. I like how there is a higher tulip so I picked my Altenew set that has a bouquet that somewhat has a higher element. The texture in the embossing folder is amazing. I’ve included a sample of the colour blending I did on the embossed image for the recent ‘ you have been on my mind’ card that I finished on Day 8 (Card 4).

I opted to use silver ink instead of the grey colour that was used for the background in the All About Layering 4 Class 2 card that I’m using as design inspiration. I think the background stamp as well as the sentiment would have looked even better if I had heat embossed them with clear embossing powder ontop of the silver ink.
These are the the stencils that I’ll use tomorrow to magically colour in the flowers made by the embossing folder.
Look at the amazing texture that the embossing folder from the Lush Garden Craft Your Life Project Kit provides. Amazing!
I’ll pick different colours from the ones I used for Card 4 that I made using the same embossing folder as I will be using for Card 8
The design inspiration from Altenew All About Layering 4 Lesson 2

Saturday Semantics – 100DayProject Day 14

Different words have different meanings. And sometimes the context matters.

Sometimes we don’t know what a word means in a certain context.

Today we are going to play in a curling Bonspiel. So I have been learning what some words mean in the curling context. We had to look up what an in-turn and an out-turn means. And it means something different for a right-handed than an left-handed curler. For a right-handed curler a rock released with an in-turn spins clockwise and an out-turn spins counter-clockwise. I’m mathcing the ‘ou’ in ‘out’ to the ‘ou’ in ‘counter’ to help me remember. Curlers used to start with the handle of the rock at 12:00. And then would turn it out to 2:00 for a clockwise spin and an in to 10:00 for a counterclockwise spin. So back then the terminolog made sense. Now they teach us to start at 10:00 or 2:00 and turn it to 12:00 so the naming of in-turn and out-turn doesn’t make as much sense. So I think of it as starting with my thumb turned out or in.

The real reason that I was thinking about semantics is someone had recently said something about nice and kind not being the same thing. Which is very true, but I hadn’t actually thought about the the difference betweeen the words and use them somewhat interchangeably in the past. While being nice is a good thing, I think the more important quality is actually to be kind. And I am going to do a better job of properly attributing kindness rather than just niceness to people who are actually kind. I was happy for the help of ChatGPT after my walk this morning to help me concisely understand the differences between the two: Kind refers to a deeper quality of being considerate, compassionate and caring. A kind person genuinely want to help others and acts out of goodwill. Nice is more about being polite, pleasant and agreeable. A nice person behaves in a way that is socially acceptable and friendly, but doens’t necessarily mean that they are deeply caring. Someone can be nice without being truly kind (e.g., being polite but indifferent) and someone can be kind without always being nice (e.g., giving honest but tough advice for someone’s benefit).

In the speech I gave at mom’s Celebration of Life on the 8th February, I spoke about people being nice. And about my mom being nice. And about her being so much more than nice. About her being kind, thoughtful, strong, campable, caring, determined, stubborn, supporting, loving and fun-loving. It’s hard to believe that it’s already been a month since her Celebration of Life and two months since she passed away. I realize now that when I referred to people being nice, I really meant to say that they are so much more than nice. I meant to say that they are kind. I was so lucky to have one of the kindest people I know for my mom. And I am also incredibly lucky to have so many other kind people in my life.

ChatGTP has also helped me figure out some Canadian sources for licorice tea. I discovered that I like that type of tea about a year ago and recently, like many Canadians am trying to find non-US suppliers for some of our favourite products. I’m looking for a new bike, likely a gravel bike to be able to ride the gravel roads near our cottage. I was at at bike show on Friday night and was very happy with the information and guidance that a Bushtukah representative gave us, but I realized that they only carry bikes from US companies. A small local (Arnprior-based) company was at the show as well and makes custom bikes so that may end up being who I buy a new bike from. I think I’ll get ChatGPT to help me with my bike supplier research. ChatGPT helped me to understand some of the main historical stages of International Women’s Day. I was very glad that a friend had several women over tonight for dinner to celebrate IWD together. Enough random thoughts. Time to head to bed. I didn’t finish my kits and must definitely get them done tomorrow.

Fresh Air Friday | 100DayProject Day 13 | Card 7

Spellbinders Advent Calendar

I finally got around to organizing the stamps, dies and stencils that I got in the calendar. I’m hoping I also have a chance to write up a post summarizing all of the cards that I made using the products. It was so fun to share the project with Shelli. Now that we’ve finished the project I finally searched on the internet for some other ideas. I’ll include those links in the post so that I can easily find them for future reference.

I have almost finished organizing my Spellbinders Advent Calendar supplies. A few of the die cut sets are hiding with some other supplies.
These aren’t my projects but I crealted the collage from the Spellbinders set to store with my supplies from this Advent Calendar to use as inspiration for future projects with these supplies. I hope to create a similar collage of the 24 projects that I made using the supplies. It is inspiration for creating a collage eventually for my 100DayProject cards.

I will add some links to a few sites with great examples including the Spellbinders site.

https://ca.pinterest.com/josemnard/spellbinder-advent-calendar-2024/?invite_code=47e84e4b39904565bce5b1a9ae62b7ab&sender=28569916294562470

https://kristiemarcotte.com/spellbinders-2024-advent-calendar-card-inspiration/

https://spellbindersblog.com/2024/12/01/spellbinders-2024-crafty-advent-calendar-inspiration-round-up/

Fresh Air Friday

This morning I got up later and walked with Luna and Roland. The sunshine was gorgeous and we were sheltered from the wind in the woods. Such a beautiful day with the fresh snow glistening under the shining sun with the brilliant blue sky. The fresh snow helped to provide pretty good grip on the previously slippery surfaces. The recent rain and warm temperatures had delivered lots of ice on the roads, sidewalks and even on the trails in the woods. There is nothing better than being out in the fresh air on a gorgeous Friday morning, walking in the conservation area along the river with Roland and Luna.

So many thoughts for what my theme for this Friday could/should be:

Fresh Air: The temperature was perfect this morning. It is so much easier to enjoy being out in the fresh air when it is not too cold and not too hot, not too humid and not too dry.

Finish It: I definitly have lots I would love to finish today. My goal is to finish getting my kits together and maybe even delivered. It would be so nice to have them all done before the last minute. I usually am delivering them on the Monday and sometimes even the Tuesday morning before my 10:30 online class.

Fresh Snow: There is so much to love about fresh snow. Luna’s snow angels, the glistening of the snow, the fresh animal tracks for Luna to investigate.

Finances: I do have quite a bit of work to tackle soon to settle mom’s estate, but that will wait for another Friday.

Further: It was nice to have some extra time for walking this morning so we could go further along the river and up into a wooded area. The mornings when we can walk further are the best!

Forms: We do need to get on with filling in some forms for a fall cruise in the Northwest Passage. So looking forward to the trip, but the forms will wait for another day. No doubt you have lots of paper work to catch up on too.

Flavours: What are your favourite flavours. This morning I enjoyed a licorice spice tea along with the blackberry almond scones that Vicki gave me yesterday. I have no shortage of favourite flavours to enjoy.

Five: That is actually more than 5 things. But that’s a good prompt or theme for another Friday.

100Day Project Day 13 – Thank You – Card 7

I created a card based on the design from All About Layering 4 – Lesson 1 using a layering stencil and the outline stamp from the Cherry Blossom Bunch set. I used Grayy Field, Maple Yellow, Water Hyacinth and Alpine Aster inks. I am very happy with how the card came out. I stamped the image three times and die cut it then used up almost all of the main images and the bits that I cut off to form the flower clusters at the top and the bottom of the card. I added a sentiment from the set into the middle of the card, slightly offset to the right and a bit above the middle of the card. It might have been nicer with a larger sentiment. I also stamped and ink blended the images for the front and flap of the envelope, the back of the card as well as for an inner layer on the inside of the card. Most of my friends think I am crazy for adding the extra details, but I really like having the extra details on my card projects. I love how easy it is to add colour to outline stamps using stencils and how relaxing the process of ink blending is.

Throwback Thankful Thursday | 100DayProject Day 12

100DayProject Day 12

I didn’t do any cardmaking today since I was busy getting my kits ready for the Dementia Society classes I give. I have an upcoming Card Crew in-person session on Monday afternoon and haven’t yet prepared my materials for that. And I my Creative Cards and Crafts program (3 times per month) need new kits delivered before Tuesdays class. So I’ve been cutting a lot of project pieces with my Cricut. I got 3 kits finished to give to the 2 friends that I met for lunch who will deliver them to program participants in their neighbourhoods. I’m so thankful for all of the work that Crafty Crew volunteers as well as my original and most creative and hardworking volunteer, Vicki, does to help me make kits. There is no way I could offer the classes that I do without Vicki’s help and it has been great that we have been getting more people involved during Crafty Crew sessions.

I did create a document with the images of the sample cards for each of the classes in All About Layering 4 class to have on hand to remind me and inspire me when I create my cards for each of the lessons in that class. This particular class is available free of charge on the Altenew website which is why I have been including their sample cards along with the ones that I make based on their samples.

Thankful Thursday Throwback

As I went out the door with Luna for our early morning walk, I decided it would be shorter than usual because of the drizzle. And because of how much I want to get done before my 8:00 swim. My first theme for the day was Wet Wednesday until I realized it was actually Thursday. So I walked a bit and pondered until it came to me that I could just make it another Throwback Thursday. And that I should throwback to my first weekly Thankful Thursday email, which I’ll include below. It would have been so nice if I had continued that routine. It is so nice to go back to look at them to see what I was up to and to recall all the things that I was thankful for. And to have a very good gratitude practice. It is much easier to write a Thankful Thursday email / post if you have a lot of things for which you are thankful for at the top of your mind. At that time I was writing at least 10 things in my journal every day. And I had a 3:00 Thanks reminder alarm set on my phone to reflect at least once during the day about some of the things that I’m thankful for. And I was trying to send out a Thank You card at least once a week, usually on Thursday. These are all great practices that I’ll build back up again. And I’ve already started. I paused on my walk to set a daily 3:00 Thanks alarm on my phone. But enough typing for now. I must get to work again.

Throwback Thankful Thursday (12 December 2019)

I’m thankful that it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! (and for kisses from Luna)

It’s time for the first-ever Creative Treats Club

a gentle reminder to take a moment to be thankful for recent things in your life

(and a chance to see how the Creative Treats community is support others)

This month the Creative Treats community has been helping assemble and fill lots of Treat Boxes. First, we’re working towards having 40 Treat Boxes finished by Friday, December 13th to give to the children participating in after school programs at Debra Dynes community house. We got a great start on Monday of this week and will be finishing them this Thursday (December 12). We’re planning to have 10 Treat Boxes for the women at Interval House women’s shelter plus another 20 Treat Boxes for their children. I plan to deliver those on Friday 20th and will be working on them this coming Monday (December 16).

I also had a block about upcoming volunteer activities as well as some upcoming workshop dates. I will start adding that to my Thankful Thursday posts.

Current Volunteer Opportunities

If you are interested in volunteering, please let me know. I have 2 Crafty Crew sessions each month at the Dementia Society where volunteers help me to prepare the kits and materials for my online classes (3 per month) and in-person classes (2 per month). I also hold occassional Crafty Crew sessions at my house.

Upcoming Workshops

I haven’t been holding workshops for a long time since preparing the kits takes a lot of time. However, once I receive my Altenew Certified Educator (through their Educator Certification Program (AECP)) I plan to offer workshops, all proceeds of which will go to helping cover the costs of supplies for the kits and materials for my classes at the Dementia Society and at the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Trim on Tuesday | 100DayProject Day 10 | Card 6 | Spellbinders Door 24

Card 6: Thanks

Card for Altenew All About Layering 3 – Lesson 6 // 100DayProject Card 6
I made my background by blending Pink Sand Altenew ink with stencils from Concord & 9th and another company. I used the Altenew Zero Waste die from Lush Garden Crafty your Life Project kit to cut out lots of flowers and leaves from white-backed pattern paper. I thought I could use the white sides on a later project by colour blending them with ink. The thank you die is Pink Fresh Studio.
I adhered some leaves and assembled some flowers but only ended up using the three large flowers on this card.
I didn’t like how there was too much space up at the top. Perhaps a sentiment may have fit there but it seems off balance. So I trimmed it down from 4-1/4 x 5-1/2 to 3-14 x 4-1/2, inked the edges, put some foam behind it and put it onto the card front. My end result would have been more similar to the sample card design if I had taken a bit more time to figure out the whole layout instead of adhering the leaved down before I had figured out the whole design including how many flowers and the size of my sentiment.
This is the inspiration card from All About Layering 3 Lesson 5

Happy Brrr-thday

These are the cards that I made today during the online class I gave for the Dementia Society. Such a fun set of penguins from a Simon Hurley kit in a Scrapbook and Today Crop and Create kit. The oval was blended using a Gina K stencil. The snowy background is a Taylored Expressions embossing foler.

Spellbinders Door 24 | Adventure Awaits

This was created using the suitcase die from Spellbinder Advent Calendar door 24. Yes, I have finished my final card from that project. But I do look forward to incorporating all the products in future projects. The cat die is from door 23. The patterned paper is from Stampin Up! as is the Adventure Awaits stamp (from a Paper Pumpkin kit).
I had two cats already die cut so made two cards. I made the suitcases opposites. I think I prefer the Kraft accents on a black suitcase base rather than the other way around adn think it would be better with a Kraft rather than black handle.

Trim on Tuesday

It’s now 9:30 p.m. and I haven’t written anything since about 9:30 a.m. when I wrote the theme for today. This morning as I was putting a favourite short sleeved shirt into the laundry I was reflecting on how I have a lot of shirts in my closest that I don’t wear that often. And pants. And sweaters. And my drawers are a bit hard to close when I am all caught up on laundry. And it can be hard to find what I actually want to wear. My wardrobe could do with a trim. The theme actually came together as I was walking and going through the things I have to do today: teach 10:30 online cardmaking class for the Dementia Society, hair cut at 1:30, walking at 7:00. My hair appointment was for a trim, I have no plans for a radically different hair cut any time soon. Which led me to think about how there are so many more things in life that need a regular trim than just our hair. Which led me to trim back a few things from my dresser drawers after my walk when I was putting away laundry. Which will hopefully make them easier to close and easier for me to find my favourite clothes. I didn’t yet commit to getting rid of anything. For now I’ve moved them into another dresser drawer that I don’t usually use. Some of them are off season, and some I should get rid of.

And while I was getting my hair cut I realized that there are actually a few steps in the whole process. First you need to book an appointment. Then you need to go to the appointment and have your hair trimmed. But the job is not completely done then. In the case of a hair cut, someone else takes care of the rest. Sweeping up the bits of hair that are no longer needed, putting them into the garbage, taking the garbage out on garbage day, someone hauling the garbage away and bringing it to the dump. It’s no wonder my house has so much clutter.

But I am going to try to book some time for Trim on Tuesday activities on a weekly basis.

Maintenance on Monday | 100DayProject Day 9 | Card 5

AECP Card 5: Sending Hugs

AECP Card 5 – Altenew All About Layering 3 Lesson 5

I used an Altenew zero waste die with ink blending stencils to colour and die cut the flowers. The background die is a Concord & 9th set from an SCT Crop and Create workshop. I opted to leave most of the leaf and heart stitched shapes showing and covered up the balloon portion because I didn’t think it went with the floral theme. I made an extra background using the coordinating die cuts which I’ll use for a future card.

I thought the ink blending went fairly well, although I didn’t love the centres of some of the flowers, but fortuntely there were some bright yellow starbursts / tiny flowers to go into the centres. I wasn’t quite sure how to place the sentiment. I liked it lower but didn’t love a bit of open white under the big flower in the centre so I opted to move the sentiment higher and to add in some half pearl embellishments.

I would have liked to have had a bit more greenery so I could have added more near the bottom of the card; I find the current greenery arrangement a bit top heavy.

The card example from All About Layering 3 course – Lesson 5 from which I took the inspiration for using a background die. The die I used just had stitching with no cutouts. It will be nice to try a white diecut image on a white background as well, particularly a soft, curvy, lace-like pattern like the one in this sample card; most if not all of my coverplate dies are more graphic in design. Given the coverplate I used I opted for a centred single floral spray rather than having two sprays with the sentiment in the middle which is quite a nice look in this example card. The rounded coverplate die helps seems ground the floral sprays very well. I may try to create two floral sprays on the other background I made.

Maintenance on Monday

I was awoken this morning to the intermittent beeping of the smoke detector. Luckily the battery lasted through to today so it just disturbed my sleep rather than the sleep of 5 more people who were staying up at the cottage with me on Friday or Saturday night for our ladies weekend.

It was definitely a very chilly morning. Thankfully there was no wind. A preview of how I’ll look when my hair and eyelashes turn grey!

And so, on this morning’s walk I reflected on the need for regular maintenance of the things around us. And, like the beeping to signify the low battery, that there are warning signs for many of those things when maintenance is required; that the batteries need to be charged or replaced. Or if there is not a warning sign, there are maintenance schedules that we follow. We bring our cars in for oil changes and scheduled maintenance. The little stickers that they put up on our windshields with the approximate date and kilometres of your next maintenance are very helpful. Sometimes we need to get a new car battery so that it will start on frosty mornings because the routine recharging as we drive isn’t quite enough to get the battery to turn over on those really cold days even if we plug the car’s block heater in overnight. We change our furnace filters and have them inspected. I try to book our dog Luna’s next mani-pedi while her nails are being clipped and dremelled.

And we should be doing regular maintenance on ourselves. What self-care habits to you currently have? Might it be time to add a few more into your repretoire? Might it be time to block some time off on your calendar to maintain your own body, mind or spirit. I am so glad that I’m really focusing on reestablishing some regular maintenance habits like swimming, morning walks, one&done workouts. I consider this recent weekend with some girlfriends a wonderful way to recharge my batteries. And, I am already working on scheduling another short getaway with some girlfriends.