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The Card Concept: Freshly Elegant

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Today is Sarah and Adam’s 11th anniversary—how is that possible!!! Nonetheless it is, and I have a card for them inspired by The Card Concept: Freshly Elegant challenge. Here’s the inspiration photo:

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I was inspired by the colors that are throughout the photos–pinks–light and dark–yellow and golden colors. The card itself is based on one I pinned awhile ago. I liked it so much I bought the die. 

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I watercolored a background and then added some splatters with Studio Calico’s “Piglet” spray. Neither are fortes of mine, but this time I was satisfied with the result. The gorgeous “Stacked Hearts” die is from Simon Says and I die cut it three times and layered them. The sentiment from an old Papertrey Ink set “Mat Stack 3” was white embossed on a scrap of black cardstock that was then cut with a banner die from My Favorite Things.

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The watercolored panel was cut down just a bit and layered onto a Memory Box card. One of the interesting feature of The Card Concept challenge is to identify your card by its style. I think 90% of my cards fall under the Clean and Simple category, but in this case I think “Clean and Graphic” might be the better choice. You can find the explanations for the different styles right here. How would you classify this one?

Welcome, Little Ones

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As I noted on Wednesday, my niece had a baby girl on Tuesday. Hopefully, I’ll have photos for my Monday Memo post, but I thought I’d share the card I made for her as well as one I made for one of the refugees I work with at the refugee center who had a little boy last Friday.

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The Papertrey Ink Make-it Mini Market kit, “Wee Folk” is turning out to be my go-to for baby cards. Both of these cards utilize parts of the kit.

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I die cut the card from the “Don’t Forget to Write” Market Kit in Lovely Lady cardstock. The patterned paper is from Pebble’s “Lullaby” pack. I just love the papers in that 6X6 pad. The bunny and the “welcome” sentiment come from “Wee Folk,” and the die cut baby cut in Lovely Lady and Hibiscus Burst are from the “Wonderful Words: Baby” set—also Papertrey Ink.

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The card for the little boy uses one of the kit’s patterned papers. They practically make the card all by themselves. 

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All I did was cut it out with a stitched rectangle die and mount it on an Ocean Tides card. I die cut a deer, popped it up with some dimensional tape, and added two enamel dots to the hearts to finish it off. I think I’ve made more baby cards in 2017 already than I did in the last two years combined. Lots of fun!

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Furry Friends

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It’s been awhile since I participated in a Simon Says Challenge, but I wanted to break out the Simon Says April Card Kit. The Furry Friends challenge was a perfect fit for it. I knew when the kit arrived, I’d have lots of opportunities to use it. This card is for my grand-nephew who turned two on Monday. The stamp set is called “Wild Cuddly Critters,” and features four animals. I managed to use three of the four on this card, and it’s also the very first pop-up card I’ve made.

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I used some patterned paper from Lawn Fawn’s “Into the Woods” pack, die cut one of Lawn Fawn’s “Meadow Borders” from New Leaf paper, and fussy cut the little lion. The balloons were stamped and die cut from Papertrey Ink’s “Dress-up Dolls: Birthday.” The number 2 is a PTI “By the Number” die.

Simon Says had a Mother’s Day sale and I picked up the Meadow Borders, some tree border dies, and a set of “Everyday Pop-ups.” I’m no engineer so it took me a little while to figure out how to get the pop-ups exactly where I wanted them, but I’m pretty happy with the result.

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I used the second of the “Meadow Borders” on the inside along with some more of the papers from “Into the Woods.” The sentiment is from Simon Says “It’s No Secret” stamp set, from an earlier card kit.

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I’ll be hand delivering this card to Finn this weekend. He came very close to having a big birthday gift like Caleb—a little sister, but his was born a day after his birthday! We’re off to see the new baby, and celebrate with Finn tomorrow.

Mail, Memo, Me: Musings

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It was supposed to be a quiet weekend after a very busy week once we returned from Chicago. Somehow, it flew by, and here we are at Monday evening already!

Friday night we had dinner with Tracy’s sister and brother-in-law at a new-to-us Asian restaurant. Tom had a Sushi platter, but the rest of us went with a hibachi plate. There are a lot of family events this summer, and we got a chance to talk about logistics among other things.

Saturday, it was my Dining Room Ministry team’s turn to serve lunch. We were short-handed, but managed to get a hot lunch for nearly 70 on the table on time. But it was a lot more hectic than usual. Matt, Betsy, and the girls came for pizza. I only got one good photo—of Madelyn once again. She sits still the longest, and hasn’t developed an aversion to Grandma’s phone or camera.

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Yesterday after church, I went right to the craft room to make sure all the cards for May were finished. It was a marathon session, and I finished 12, but still would like to make two more before the weekend when we’re off to visit my brother for a few days. It’s been well over a year since my brother and I have been together. And there’s a trip to NYC planned for Saturday—haven’t been there for 16 years!

I finished a book this weekend (well, actually this morning,) and thought I share three books I’ve read recently that I can highly recommend. Two are nonfiction, and one is a recently published novel that I put a hold on at the library.

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The first is Becoming Wise: An Inquiry Into the Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippa. Many years ago, Sarah asked me if I listed to Tippa’s podcasts, “On Being.”  Sadly, I never did. Based on many years of interviewing scientists, novelists and poets, theologians, and philosophers among others, Becoming Wise distills wisdom from these interviews in five sections: “Words: The Poetry of Creatures,” “Flesh: The Body’s Grace,” “Love: A Few Things I’ve Learned,” “Faith: The Evolution,” and “Hope: Reimagined.” It is a fascinating and thought-provoking read. My To Read list grew a bit longer as I added books written by people Tippa has interviewed.

The Women in the Castle was the featured novel in the Indie Book List pamphlet I picked up in Nashville in March. I had to wait a few weeks for it to reach my name on the hold list at the library, but it was worth the wait. I’ve read more than my share of Holocaust novels over the years. This was no less devastating than many of the others, but the points of view were dramatically different. It is a compelling read, and the current political situation came to mind more than once.

I think I’ve read nearly all of Thomas Friedman’s books. His ability to tell a story to teach a concept is unparalleled. I’ve learned so much from him. He’s latest book, Thank You For Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Acceleration, is no exception. The New York Times calls him an “exploratory journalist,” and in this book he explores the rapid change of technology, and why it’s nearly impossible to keep up; climate change and the impact it’s had on our political and cultural institutions, and the spinning market so connected to the acceleration of the internet. It’s a long book, but a fascinating read.

I also wanted to share a few thoughts and links on “Choosing Joy” and gratitude. I recently joined a new interfaith book group—Christian, Jewish, and Catholic. We’re planning to read theologically interesting and thought-provoking books. Our first selection was Marcus Borg’s Convictions which I’ve now read twice, and could easily read again.

One of the members of that group sent a link to a piece she wrote on Mother’s Day. It’s beautifully written, thoughtful, and compassionate. When I read it I recognized, once again, that I am blessed beyond measure. Gratitude is something I recognize daily in many large and small ways, but for some reason I’ve never been able to keep a gratitude journal for more than a month or two. It’s always bothered me, but this week I read a blog post by Anne Butera (who hosted the Handmade Joy Exchange) in which she reflected that when “life is more joyful, it’s easier to see the joy. It doesn’t take the practice of writing . . . to be able to see it.” Her observation was very comforting, and I’m very grateful that my life is joyful enough not to need a written list.

Enough of rambling. The mail brought my birthday gift (partially funded by generous gifts from my mother-in-law and my husband.) I’ve been eyeing a mirrorless camera for several years, and in January got to see one Adam had purchased. It does most of what my big cameras do, much more than my phone camera, and is less than half as big as the big camera. It won’t replace my big camera, but it’s small enough to fit into a larger purse for a day in the city or a long walk. It’s the first Olympus I’ve owned, and I’m just beginning to figure out the controls. I’ll be testing it out in New York City on Saturday. Also in the mail was the stunning Build a Flower: Magnolia stamp by Alenew and a charming pair of scissors from Etsy.

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I’ll leave you with two of the cards I made with the new stamp set yesterday for two upcoming May birthdays.

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I watercolored this image, and mounted it on a smaller A4 card from The Paper Source.

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This one I stamped with a combination of inks from Papertrey Ink and Simon Says. The Altenew layering stamps are pretty amazing. It’s adhered to an A2 card from Memory Box and I added a few rainstones from PTI.

Hope your week is off to a good start. I’m waving (a bit late in the day) to Sian at From High In the Sky and the other memo makers!

 

 

Take Three Thursday

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I’m joining in with the Take Three Thursday meme at Patio Postcards this week. The idea is to take 3 photos that are linked some how; by theme, by color, by date, by moment,  by points of view. Not only were the flowers beautiful when we were at the Chicago Botanic Garden, but we returned to find our peony tree in bloom. So here are three photos linked by color or subject:

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And a fourth “cheater” photo to give you a bit of perspective.

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Memos, Mail, Me: The Late Edition

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Monday, the typical day for a memo post, was spent in the car. Traveling home from Chicago always seems much longer than going. Partially because we “lose” an hour coming back, but this time is was longer due mostly to summer road construction which starts in this part of the country as soon as it gets warm. We had good weather, though, in both directions for which I am always grateful.

This is a photo heavy post. We had a lovely time in Chicago. Our primary reason for going last week was to celebrate Hannah’s baptism which took place on Sunday. One of the members of Sarah’s congregation kindly took photos of the ceremony.

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And a family photo afterwards.

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After the ceremony there was a soccer game. Caleb scored two goals!

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Earlier in the week, there was a special trip to Legoland for Caleb (and Grandpa, too, if the truth be known.)

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And a chance to create once we got home. Caleb had this 450+ piece Lego set put together in less than a day.

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On Saturday, Sarah and I drove downtown to a Renegade Craft Fair Pop-up. I’ve been interested in these ever since Sarah lived near San Francisco, and I first heard of them. They’re only held in big cities, and somehow I’ve never been in the right place at the right time. The vendors had lovely wares, but I was a bit surprised at how small the event was; perhaps that’s the nature of the pop-up.

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Later that afternoon while Sarah and Adam attended a dress rehearsal of the youth musical, Tracy and I took the kids to the Chicago Botanic Garden. I love this place, and never tire of the model train garden (no photos there this time) or any of the other beautiful displays. This is my favorite photo from the trip because it shows so clearly how wonderfully Caleb and Hannah get along, despite the age difference. Caleb is a super big brother.

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This was the first trip we’ve made during the spring season at the Botanic Garden, and the spring flowers were glorious.

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Needless to say, there was plenty of mail when we returned. There was quite a lovely stack of birthday cards (a few highlighted below), two wonderful gifts honoring my OLW “Joy” from Honoré, and two new stamp sets which will soon be put to use for the remaining May birthdays and anniversaries (of which there are many!)

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For now, I’m still trying to get unpacked and organized while keeping busy with multiple commitments that were on the calendar before we left. I hope things are going well for you mid-week!

 

 

 

 

A Trifecta of Celebrations

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Today is Mother’s Day in the United States which this year falls on my birthday, and thanks to some wonderful planning, is also the day of Hannah’s baptism.

I have four cards to share today, and will be back in a day or two with a belated Monday Memo post. We’ll be on the road heading home tomorrow.

First of all, the card for Hannah. I’ve known what I wanted to do for this card ever since I saw Betsy Veldman’s card when “Petite Places: Church” was released by Papertrey Ink. There’s likely to be another baptism in the family in the next year, and I’m thinking this will be my “go-to” design for baptisms.

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I stamped Hannah’s name on the envelope with a new-to-me stamp from Concord and 9th, “Perfectly Penned” in a light gray. Hannah’s nursery is pink and gray so it’s an appropriate combination. I used the same gray to stamp the details on the church.

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The card base is the “A2 Vertical” die from Papertrey Ink that I was anxiously awaiting to arrive before we left for Chicago. All the other dies and stamps are also Papertrey Ink:  “Petite Places: Church”, “Scene-It: Skyscapes,” “Banner Styles,” and a stitched oval from the “A2 Noted” set.

I also have three Mother’s Day cards to share. One for my mother-in-law:

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This is another card made totally with Papertrey Ink products. A friend loaned me her “Butterfly Hope” cover plate which pretty much makes the card all by itself. I die cut it from Plum Pudding cardstock and again with the dotted vellum. I added a small tag and some berries from the “Beautiful Berries: Spring” set. The sentiment is from an older anniversary set, “Pretty Peonies. “

One for Betsy:

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And yet again, a card created almost entirely with a die, Papertrey Ink’s “Mix and Mat: Scallops.” The banner is from a My Favorite Things Blueprints set. 

And finally, for Sarah. 

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I recently purchased the Papertrey Ink Mini Market Kit, “Lovely Laurels.” With the exception of the bows which came from the “Gathered Garden” dies, the whole card is from the kit. I love the way the wreath is a partial die cut. The sentiment on the preprinted patterned paper seemed perfect for a mom who’s celebrating Mother’s Day as well as her daughter’s baptism.

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Sarah’s also participating in a church musical this afternoon. She plays the part of God, which I find pretty amusing. I think she likes the role because she’s up in the balcony where no one sees her, and the part does not require a costume. Adam is also in the play, but I’m not sure what role he plays. Between the church service and the play, Caleb has a soccer game, so we have a full day planned.

Here’s wishing every mother, whether or not you’re officially celebrating Mother’s Day today, a wonderful day!

CASology Challenge: Commencement

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Week 248 - Commencement

We’re away this coming weekend for a very special event, but we’re missing two special graduations while we’re away. Our neighbor is receiving a degree from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, but the really special graduation is for a former student of mine. I had Amy in fourth and fifth grade. She lost her mom to cancer in the middle of fourth grade, and she and I developed a special relationship during those two years. After she went on to middle school, we continued to get together for dinner pretty regularly until she graduated from high school. I didn’t see her often while she was in college, but this past winter we reconnected. On Sunday she’ll be receiving her doctorate in physical therapy. There’s not much that would keep me away from the party and the ceremony, but I’ll share on Sunday what did keep me away.

This card is for Amy. I used the colors of her college–navy and yellow/gold.

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CASology is looking for lots of white space, this time it’s lots of navy! The stamp and die are Papertrey Ink’s “Celebration” set, stamped in Bright Buttercup. Using the MISTI certainly helped as it takes several stampings to get a good bright yellow. I embossed the smaller sentiment in white.

I’m linking this up to CASology: Commencement.

Five in Five: May Edition

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It’s May 5th, and I’m here to join in with Sandie at Itchifingers with her Five in Five meme on the 5th, no less! The goal is to take as many photos as you want in 5 minutes and choose 5 to post. It rained all day today, but finally stopped around dinner time, and lightened up for a little bit. I grabbed the camera and went out in the yard to find some signs that show that spring is definitely here. 

The first photo is actually one of Gerber daisies that were purchased at the grocery store. It’s a good size container with three brilliant colored daisies—all for $7. It’s finally warm enough to keep a planter like this outside.

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Next up, one of the last of the daffodils. Tulips are in bloom in many yards, but the deer eat ours every year, so we’ve stopped planting them.

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Our rhododendron is as beautiful as I can ever remember it. We had a less severe winter this year, so I’m wondering if that’s why it’s so lush. We have another one that is just budding now.

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As I was taking photographs, a large bee showed up. “Buzz” was a prompt for the Project 365 in April, so I’ll be posting this one for today. It’s like the scavenger hunts. Even when I can’t find it on time, I keep looking, and usually I find what I’m looking for eventually.

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Finally, a shot of the hostas which are coming up as well. 

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There’s nothing but rain in the forecast for Rochester. Well, a snowflake is the icon for one of my weather apps for Monday. But we’ll be in Chicago by then which (unusually) seems to have a much brighter forecast for the next week. I’m anxious to hold that baby girl that we last saw when she was 3 1/2 weeks old, and to catch up with Caleb, Sarah, and Adam. 

 

Watercolor Wash Background

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Papertrey Ink has a great Make It Monday video this week on making watercolor wash backgrounds. Last night I found out that a good friend was in the hospital. She’s expected to come home today, but will need some recuperation there. I wanted to be sure to get a card in the mail quickly, so I pulled out some watercolor paper by Tim Holtz and gave Laurie’s technique a try. It’s far from perfect, but for once I didn’t feel the need to make five or six before I had one that was usable. I can’t post this one for PTI’s challenge since most of what I used is not Papertrey Ink, but maybe I’ll get another one done this weekend.

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I do love the colors, and was able to use one of the many butterflies I stamped and die cut with my friend’s stamps which I’m returning this afternoon. You’ll be seeing these pop up whenever I need a quick card. It is a Papertrey Ink product, “Butterfly Hope.” I only took one photograph (time is of the essence this morning) so you can’t see the pretty glitter on the butterfly added with Spectrum Noir’s Crystal Clear glitter pen. The sentiment is from Simon Says “Sending Happy Thoughts,” part of the July 2014 Card Making Kit. I die cut the watercolor paper with a “Stitched Rectangle” from Simon Says, and added another layer with a piece of patterned paper from Pebbles “Fun in the Sun” paper pack. The final touch was the addition of some Rainstones from Papertrey.

Off to lunch with a friend, then returning the borrowed stamps and dies to another friend before volunteering at the afterschool program downtown. 

Memos, Mail, Me: May 1 Edition

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Hard to believe it’s the first of May, but I’m greeting it quite happily as I know that most likely we’ll be having warmer weather from here on out. But there’s no guarantee. The weekend went from warm and sunny to cold and rainy. 

Our weekend started early with a dinner and movie with three other couples. The guys in Tracy’s mens’ book group read The Lost City of  Z a few years ago, and wanted to see the movie, and the wives decided to join them. It wasn’t a movie I would have chosen to see, but it was very good, and the ending will stay with me for some time. Based on true events, it tells the story of Percy Fawcett who finds evidence of a lost civilization while mapping an Amazonian river. Despite much skepticism from the scientific community, he and his son return to the jungle to try and prove his case. The sacrifice his devoted wife makes for his journeys is remarkable.

Friday night we were out again. This time to a local brewpub with our friends, Karen and Mike. On Saturday, Matt, Betsy and the girls came for dinner. It’s so much fun to be with these girls. Skylar lost almost all her hair, her eyebrows, and eyelashes last fall, but with thyroid medication it is all coming back. The kids in her kindergarten and day care have been absolutely wonderful—no teasing, so there was no change in her wonderful sunny disposition. This smile is who she is!

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Sunday we had dinner at Tracy’s mom’s along with his sister and brother-in-law. Despite all the festivity around meals, the rest of the weekend was pretty quiet, and I got a lot of work done. I need a lot of birthday and anniversary cards for May, and have fallen behind in my assignments for Once Upon a Time: Your Photographs Have Stories to Tell, a class on contemplative photography. I’m also enrolled in Ali Edwards Type class, and had several videos to watch. Although I’ve been remiss in posting my sketches on Instagram recently, I’ve managed to keep up with the #100DayProject as well. It was great to have a couple days with few commitments. 

The mail brought a few goodies. One was a gift which I can’t share here for a week or so, and another was the rather amazing Simon Says May Card Kit. They are always well worth the money, but this one seemed even more packed than usual:  two acetate sheets of designs, an exclusive animation stamp set with everything you need to make an animation slider card, patterned papers, two watercolor cards, a set of markers, as well as coordinating cardstock.

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The stamp is a new “animation” stamp. I’ve watched a few videos about how to use it, but don’t have any occasion for it quite yet. Given the many cards I do need, this kit will sit on the back burner for awhile. I was hoping for a small package from Papertrey Ink, but it didn’t arrive. I rarely order between releases, but I’ve been on a waiting list for a vertical A2 scalloped die for quite some time. The first time I got a notice it was back in stock, it was out of stock again before I got it in my cart. This time I jumped right on it. I have all the pieces of a card prepared, just waiting for this to show up. Hopefully soon, since I need the card on the 14th of May for a very special occasion.

Waving to Sian and the Monday Memo Makers! Hope you have a great week!

Freshly Made: Sparkle

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My niece’s birthday is coming up, and when I recently came across WPlus9’s “Sparkle and Shine” set, I knew I’d use it for this year’s birthday card. She definitely leaves a “sparkle wherever [she] goes.” Once I had the two circles embossed and die cut, I was thinking about how to arrange them, and remembered this week’s Freshly Made Sketch:

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I originally thought I’d use gold or silver embossing powder, but found a jar of Enchanted Gold in my stash that is loaded with glitter. The larger circle (cut with a Simon Says “Stitched Circle” die) is from WPlus9’s set. The smaller one was stamped from a Simon Says set of the same name.

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I made the banner from a piece of beautiful, shiny Washi tape that I picked up in Florida. I die cut that panel with a Simon Says “Stitched Rectangle, and mounted it on a Smoky Shadow card base. A few gold and silver sequins added the final touch.

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Neither the shiny Washi tape nor the embossing powder show up as well in a photograph as they do IRL. I’m popping this into the Freshly Made Sketch pool just before Monday’s deadline. Although I’ve been following this blog challenge for awhile, I think this is my first entry.

With Sympathy

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It’s become a fact of life that I’m in need of sympathy cards more often than I wish. They can be the most challenging of cards to make because I want them to convey a sense of peace and compassion. In general, I try to keep them very clean and simple, with just one or two contrasting colors. 

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This card is white with silver and gold accents. Somewhere in blogland I saw someone use the “Brushed Off” stamps by Papertrey Ink with the “Leaf Silhouette” die. The sentiment is Papertrey’s “Botanical Silhouette” set. Simple, but elegant.

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The silver paper has a matte surface and is from Paper Source.

This card is a bit brighter, but still clean and simple.

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The two greens are much closer in color than they appear in the photo. The “Prim Poppy” die from Memory Box was die cut from the same textured white paper as the card base. The “prayers” die and stamped sentiment are from Simon Says, “Prayers” set. It’s a small set but includes many appropriate sentiments for sympathy or thinking of you cards.  The patterned paper is from My Favorite Things. I’m entering this card in this week’s Less is More Challenge: Stripes.

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The last card was created for a friend from our church. I try not to use any religious quotations unless I know the recipient’s religious affiliation. I love this one, though, and was glad to be able to use it. This is the quietest of the three—just white cardstock with a layer of striped vellum behind the main sentiment. I die cut two different sizes of Spellbinder’s Labels Two, one for the sentiment from Reverse Confetti’s “The Lord’s Strength” set.

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The card base was scored on the scoreboard every half inch. It’s one of my favorite ways to add some subtle texture.

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Hope your weekend is off to a good start. I’m hoping to get some serious crafting done. I borrowed some stamps from a friend, and need to set aside some time to play with them.

Papertrey Ink April 2017 Blog Hop Challenge

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When Nicole posted the inspiration piece for April’s Blog Hop, I wasn’t sure quite what to do with it. 

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The colors certainly aren’t anything I usually reach for, and I rarely create stamped backgrounds. In the end, I went for it, choosing Papertrey’s “Happiness in Bloom” and “Beautiful Blooms” to try to capture the essence of the inspiration piece. 

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Once I had the piece stamped, I was again at a loss to know what to do with it. But then I discovered in my pile of “to use/try” stamps and dies on my desk, the “Sentiment Splits” dies. A few weeks ago, I was sorting through my dies, and found them in a plastic bag–no label. I had no idea what they were, or even which company they had come from. Luckily, I was visiting a friend, and took them along. She recognized them immediately, and then I knew exactly why I’d bought them. Truly, I don’t know if they’ve ever been used before, but I’m pretty happy with the way they worked with this stamped background. My friend also loaned me the “Sentiment Split” stamps which I don’t own. 

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The only embellishment I added was a few yellow enamel dots. I’m posting this early, but won’t be able to link it up to the Blog Hop until I get home from some appointments. Then I’ll be off to see what others have made of this inspiration piece. You can check it out right here after 10:00 this morning.

Memos, Mail, Me: Happy Mail

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It was a quiet weekend. Nothing much on Friday (I should have been much more productive.) On Saturday, we babysat for Miss Madelyn while Matt and Betsy took the two older girls to a birthday party. She started to crawl a week or so ago, and is on the move!

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Afterward we got take-out from a new Mediterranean restaurant. It was just as good (and inexpensive) as all the Yelp reviews said it was.

Sunday, I heard Rabbi Stein from Temple B’rith Kodesh present at our Sunday Seminar, and then preach at our second service. He is a wonderful speaker, very articulate and thoughtful. His theme was the need for unity between religious groups during these dangerous times as well as a call to be out in the community working for justice and peace. Our Presbyterian church and the temple have a long-standing relationship, and do a pulpit exchange once a year. On Friday night, our pastor spoke at the temple.

Shortly after I got home, it was time to meet our book group for lunch and a discussion of Shadow of the Wind. I think the consensus was that although the plot was complicated, and the overall feeling rather dark, we all were glad we’d read the book. I had highlighted several passages as I read, and was struck by how universal the themes were when I went back to look at the highlighting. Here are a couple of them:

Few things are more deceptive that memories. I’ve been thinking about memory a lot recently. A friend of mine has incredibly vivid memories of growing up, yet I have few and very vague memories of my childhood. Why is that? I’ll be spending some time with my brother later this spring, and expect to quiz him about his memories of our childhoods. In the book, the main character is trying to track down the books of a specific author (most were burned) and interviews many people about their experiences with the author. The memories of one character frequently do not match up with what he hears from another. 

One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn’t have to understand something to feel it. By the time the mind is able to comprehend what has happened, the wounds of the heart are already too deep. This proves to be so very true for four boys in the novel who grew up together, and I think is true for many persons who’ve suffered a great loss or trauma as a child.

On a far lighter note, along with the usual stack of junk mail, notices, a few bills, and catalogs, I received some lovely mail this week. First of all, two pairs of slacks which I ordered after completing purging my wardrobe—winter and summer. I took several bags to Goodwill, and sent off a box of clothes to Swap.com as well. When I had finished, I realized I needed a couple pairs of casual, lightweight slacks for the summer. Nice as that was, this was better:

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Lady Ella (feeling somewhat sorry for me after my post about how slowly Spring was coming) sent me a wonderful magnet with a photo she’d taken of a flowering tree near her home. It is brightening my refrigerator as she hoped it would. Better yet, it proved to be a talisman so that Spring has finally sprung here! The next day an order from Papertrey Ink arrived with a lovely sentiment set for birthdays, a double banner die, and a gorgeous set of three dies. When I first saw “Mix and Match: Scallops” I thought it was too fussy for me, but I changed my mind quickly when I saw the various ways the three dies were used by the design team. 

Since I had some time this weekend, I made a Mother’s Day card with it:

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Just two dies, one stamp, three tiny pearls, and some coordinating papers and voila! a card is done. The curved banner die is from My Favorite Things, but all the rest is Papertrey Ink.

Waving to Sian and other Monday Memo Makers. The week ahead looks warmer (yea!) and a lot busier. It used to be true that the busier I was, the more productive I was. I’m hoping it still holds true.