HALLOWEEN CARD MAKING FOR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

All card making is fun especially Halloween which features cards from scary to cute

This card with spider web paper
and orange vellum overlay was
fun with the spiders peeking  through.
The specialty button with threaded
ribbon fits well.
Pumpkin on risers and spongy
black cat finish the look.

Pumpkins in the graveyard

on a starry night

look frightened not by a ghost

but by the glitter legged spider

with the red gem abdomen 

threatening to descend.

These two cards are from

'Why Paint Cats'

published by Ten Speed Press

The real painted skeleton cat is

especially eerie, to which I added

glitter green eyes.

The following cards were made with

ATC's or Artist Trading Cards

ATC's are 2 1/2 x3" cards which

are only traded and never sold.

They can be added to cards

like here, or in scrapbooking.

I've been looking for a new group to

trade with for awhile.

An embossed bat pendant
with red beady eyes lays
on shimmery card stock.

This ATC is one of my favorites.

The haunted house sits embossed

under a glittered full moon with

real beach sand and shells

at it's feet. The card paper overlay

is thick black handmade paper.

My friend and gardener Steve

gave me a few vintage Halloween

photos to use on my cards.

This one I made for him.

I colored the B&W photo with

artist's colored pencils, then fun

embellishments. I overlaid the

finished photo with white vellum

to convey the vintage look of the

image.

 

To see Rexy's Halloween cards

Click Here

 

MORNINGS ARE IN THE NIGHT AT MY HOUSE

I've rented my guest room to a young man in the 3rd phase of the CR police Academy.
It is amazing to me that Nathan is up and on his way to campus between 5 and 6am. And I, when working came sliding in at work about 7:30 for my first case. And hated being up that early. — feeling sleepy.

QUILLING ARTWORK

The follow example is just a sample of the beautiful
technique of paper quilling work.
This inspires me to try some of my own.

 

 

 


Address for extraordinary Quilling artwork pieces.
See more wonderous designs
click

STACEY'S BABY SCRAPBOOK ALBUM

This Album was 1st publish in 2009. Since I am
doing more paper crafting, I thought that it should
be re-introduced.

The images were a challenge
since they mostly consisted of dated Polaroid
snaps, many faded and poorly composed. To have
them done professionally would have been cost
prohibitive, I just started by taking them to
Wallgreens and copying them. They turned

out so well and then scrapbooking flaws turned out
charming. The first challenge
here was to learn how to use my camera well
enough to be able to take a picture of the
scrapbook page. I had to get close, but didn't want
blurry pictures. I had to figure out how to turn off
the flash since it reflected because of the closeness.
I got a simple auto because I never wanted to do
any of this. Well I knew that I had to since I wasn't
happy with the close up photos I did for Spring's
Garden. So, I hunted around and found the manual
and did my homework. They turned out pretty well.

Stacey was born in Puerto Rico and

this picture was taken soon after

we came home from the hospital.
I bought this album kit knowing that

I had to do a wreath around her

composed of pastel baby animals.

I was lucky to have the

pastel velum dot paper.

 

Extra butterfly cut outs are a nice touch.
These pictures were taken in our living room

in Puerto Rico. In this tropical climate as

little clothing as possible is the most comfortable.

I did a rather exotic layout here due

to Stacey's red booties and the

tropical country

The glued on sequins were fun to do
 

Family in Southern California had a baby

shower for us and then sent the gifts.

Stacey's first Christmas back in California
 

I loved this paper, it matched my dress so well.

 

I love the casualness of these photos

with the palms in the background of

the typical Southern California City.
It was a good choice not to edit any

of it out.

 

Cute layout, don't ya think?!

I love scrapbooking. I think that my style is

simple, but bold.

Felt embellishments are so hot in

scrapbooking right now

 

I must have the right paper for every page

Finally: I did think of scanning in my

pages, but I don't know how to use

my scanner yet either.

So much to learn! What fun!

HAZEL BLUE EYES

When my grandmother was depressed she said that she felt blue. Blue for her was a sad time. My grandmother also had beautiful pale blue eyes.  I have hazel eyes, but lately they have been feeling very blue.

I'm not unhappy, but I am blue and I've become so sad that I dragged down my old medicine tub from the top shelf in the bathroom closet to see if I could find my old prescription of generic paxil which I haven't taken for a few years. There it was, outdated, but then it was all I had until I could call my doctor and get a new script.

It's been 5 days now for the paxil and longer for the sadness. I had fought the feelings for about a week before I realized that they weren't going away. I tried all the usual hep talk and even self bullying, but I could take less and less action each day. Now I am kinder to myself and have treated the problem as though I have the flu or any other illness and I am no longer thinking that I have to talk myself out of this. I hate wasting the precious last days of this summer weather, when I really want to be outside in my garden, but my interest in anything that usually gives me pleasure is diminished for right now. I don't want to go anywhere or see anyone. I don't even care if I eat. Food just doesn't taste good. All the classic symptoms of depression-right? But like I said before, I am not really unhappy.

I haven't had anything in my life or relationships to cause me unhappiness. My daughter and my friend Aine are very supportive of me. I am guessing that my brain chemistry is just temporarily out of sync which the Paxil should take care of eventually. I have to get off the computer for now, Rexy is nagging me. He wants to use it for his blog.

THE RACCOON WHO SUB-RENTED

I was lying in bed one night not too long ago and had just turned out my light when I heard what seemed like a herd of animals running over my head. I was terrified and couldn't imagine what it was. I thought that maybe it was something running on the roof, but it really sounded like some things running in my attic. I was too
scared to look either place. It was too late to call my son-in-luv Sachio so I waited until the next day, I did however sleep fitfully with the light on aware that the

door to the attic was just outside my bedroom in the hallway! Sachio couldn't come over that day, but said that he would the day after and reassured me saying that he was sure it was rats in the attic and that he would set traps. The next night-the same thing happened , I was not quite so startled (but still frightened) and was prepared with a flash light. So I went outside and flashed the light on the roof and nothing was there so I knew the sounds were coming from the attic INSIDE THE HOUSE. I also knew that it was too big to be rats. I kept thinking about the night raccoon(s) got into the garage and took the screw on tight lid off the cat food and hoped that if it was raccoon(s) they would not figure our how to move aside the unlocked lid from my attic leading to the hallway just outside my bedroom! Sachio came over the next day and set rat traps in the attic and noticed a hole where plumbing pipes were running from the garage attic, which was accessible to the cats and anything else that went into the garage attic. He patched the hole and I hoped that he didn't trap anything on the house side that couldn't escape. I didn't want anything to die up there either. After that we then went into the garage and he took a broom handle and pounded on the ceiling which was the under side of the garage attic floor. Just as he did this Stacey came into the garage when a huge raccoon looked down at us from the garage attic opening. Stacey screamed and ran back in the house because all she saw was it's big glowing eyes.

 I saw the full creature and hoped that it wouldn't jump down at us knowing their reputation for aggression.

It didn't.

I took the cats and their food out of the garage and closed it up for 2 days and on the 3rd opened the garage door after dark for a short time and I think hunger drove the thing out! When I do bring the cats back into the garage for the winter I will need to be very careful NEVER to leave access to the inside of the garage after dark thus inviting my boarder to return. He must have been up there for quite while even before he figured out the access to the house attic because one night I had left Rexy in the closed garage with the other cats while I was out and when I came home late and let him in he was hysterical hissing and growling and screaming at me for two day so bad that I had to take him to the Vet because he had caused his throat to inflame and swell up and could barely breathe. After exams and X-rays and meds I paid a $330 bill for him. AND I NEVER GOT ONE DIME FROM THAT FREE LOADING RACCOON!!!

SPRING IS ALL STRETCHED OUT

I had a lovely time gardening today. No pressure, just doing some end of summer clean up. I've noticed that Spring refuses to discuss the garden with me let alone post what she's been observing in the garden. She's angry and says that I've let her rust and that is thoughtless and rude of me. I knew about her concern in this area, but explained to her that I just haven't gotten around to the chore of getting her in shape. 'Just my point' she says. I've also told her that rusted garden art is all the 'rage' and that she's in vogue just the way she is, but she doesn't buy it and counters with her job-her reason for existing-isn't as garden art, but as a continuing, lasting and vital reporter on the garden. She's just not a static art object! I felt pretty sheepish at this point and promised to attend to her soon. She then gave me the final dig of exposing the fact that I have resisted putting Flame the flamingo in the garden yet until I preserve her with a spray protectant. I felt so guilty at this point that I committed to starting work on her tomorrow. She's also insisted that I produce pictures of her before and after her rejuvenation and let my readers decide whether she was right in her indignation.
What else can I do? She IS such a value to the garden family and her blog really is an important communication about that family, so I humbly agreed to her requests (demands).
If you're not familar with Spring and her blog, check her out by clicking on her name.