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Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Sunset

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In a bizarre twist on the weather, it was 57° here today. Tracy and I walked over to the new College Town near the University of Rochester for lunch, and really didn’t need our jackets. Just an hour ago, I heard our mail carrier start up our street. She’s the best mail carrier we’ve ever had, and we’ve been hoping to catch her with a small gift of thanks for the last several days. As I looked out the window, this is what I saw. So I grabbed my camera on the way out.
 
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Fortunately for all the holiday travelers, the weather is supposed to stay warm and relatively calm through the weekend. We’ll be here for Christmas, but we’re headed to Chicago over the weekend.
 
You can find more ZIZO pairs on Helena’s blog here.

Christmas Cards

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I’m pretty sure everyone has received their Christmas cards so I’ll share the three designs I made this year. Two are very similar in design, but different in content.

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I certainly did not need a new Christmas/winter stamp set this year, but when I saw “Fair Isles” I knew exactly what I’d do with it. I rarely use embossing on cards that I need to mass produce, but this year I used that technique on all three cards.

Blessings

This card is very similar in design, but has a more religious feel to it. These churches reminded me of the ones we saw in Santorini last year. The churches and the sentiments on this card and the one above are both from Papertrey Ink’s “Holiday Home” set.

Last, but actually the first card set I made, is one with an embossed vellum tag. I’ve seen a lot of that on cardmaking blogs this fall, and wanted to give it a try. I could only make 12 of these since I had just six sheets of Simon Says’ woodgrain cardstock. I tried one without it, and it just wasn’t anywhere near as good.

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The sentiment is from Papertrey’s “Stylish Sentiments: Holidays” and the tag is the Tag Sale #6.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. The countdown has definitely begun! 

Christmas Crafts

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While Sarah was here over Thanksgiving, we both got a little crafting done. This year in each of the pockets of Caleb’s Advent calendar there’s a note with an activity or a description of something she’s made to decorate his room for Christmas. On three separate days, he’ll be getting (or has already gotten) one of these cute yarn trees. They’re simple to make: just wind the yard around the foam cone, and hot-glue the buttons on. The cones have a flat top, however, so we decided to die cut some stars from glitter paper and attach them to the top. Problem solved!

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I’ve nicknamed my daughter The DIY Queen. Among the many tools she’s acquired since this summer is a woodburning tool. I’d seen this pin on Pinterest, and was interested in giving it a try. She read that an easy way to get started with woodburning is to stamp the design and then woodburn it. The Papertrey Ink set, “Snowfall Additions,” was perfect. 

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I’ve attached some of these to gifts, and just given a couple away. I enjoyed it so much the next time I had a 50% off coupon at Michaels, I bought myself a woodburning tool set. Sarah purchased a book of projects which I’ll be pouring over while we’re in Chicago after Christmas.

Mr. S’Mores

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My friend, Cheri, sent me this adorable die a few months ago. It’s taken me awhile to get to it, and Mr. S’Mores does take a bit of time since there are so many little pieces. He is, however, totally worth it; how cute is this?

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Since the pieces are so tiny, I was able to use the pile of scraps waiting to be filed into my scrap folders. Before I pieced him together, I used Copic markers on a few pieces to give a bit of added dimension.

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When I finished the tag, I decided it deserved a card of its own. Not sure whether it’s going to be a winter birthday card, or a Christmas thank you note.

Thanks, Cheri. I know this little guy will see some more action!

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Christmas Tree

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Here we are at Week 51 of Zoom In, Zoom Out. I was happy to see that Helena’s planning to host another photography meme for 2015. This one will be a little looser, and I’m trying to decide if I want to limit myself to one specific kind of photo, or just post a pair each week. I have another two weeks to think about it.

Last year, we broke a 40+ year tradition and bought an artificial tree. I never thought I could do that, but in reality it’s the only thing that makes sense since we leave right after Christmas to drive to Chicago to celebrate there. Having to dismantle the Christmas decorations in just a day is more than I want to contemplate after hosting Christmas dinner the night before. I have to admit, I love this tree. The Zoom Out photo had little white spots when I uploaded it, and it took me a minute to realize they’re reflections of the lights. What you can’t see in the photo, are the subtle twinkling lights that came with the tree. Unless you really look, you’re not aware of them, but they add a touch of festivity to the tree.

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Our tree is covered with ornaments we’ve collected from our travels and many that have been gifts over the years. The large one here came from the Biltmore Estate a year ago October.

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Thanks to Tracy’s help, our Christmas cookies are baked. We still need to frost the sugar cookies, and I have one more batch of candy to make and then we can assemble the cookie plates to be delivered this weekend. Aside from a couple gift card holders to make, the only big job left is wrapping presents. It’s something I enjoy doing so I’m feeling more prepared than usual. Hope your preparations are going well.

Christmas Cards

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My Christmas cards are all in the mail. Since I send so many, I usually mass produce one design. This year I did three different designs which made it more interesting. When I’m sure all the recipients have their cards, I’ll post them. After I was done, I played around with another design, and made a couple of these as well which I’ve used for folks I also need to remember with a monetary gift.

JOY

The beautiful wreath image is from Avery Elle and I die cut the sentiment with Memory Box’s Typewriter Alphabet in red foil paper. The “berries” are my favorite pearls from AMuse. Here’s a better look at the foil paper and gold embossing.

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We’re off in a minute to stop at Matt and Betsy’s to see that cute baby and wish them a Happy First Anniversary. Then we’ll go to the later church service where the choir and orchestra are presenting Bach’s Cantata 140. It will be wonderful, as it always is!

Happy Birthday, Dane!

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My brother celebrated his birthday this week, and it was the perfect opportunity to break out a new stamp set from Papertrey Ink called “Uncorked.” I knew as soon as I saw this set that it would make great birthday, congratulatory, and hostess gift cards and tags. I sent my niece a check and the card and tag ahead of time so she could buy Dane a bottle of wine for his birthday.

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The card was cased from one Erin Lincoln posted during the Papertrey Ink release last month.

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The three wine glasses and one of the tags were die cut from vellum. I used the Simon Says Stars Borders die along the right edge and lined it with gold paper behind. “Celebrate” is also part of the Uncorked set.

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I love the sentiments that came with the set. This is just one of several great ones.

The wine bottle tag will probably get more use that anything else. Taking a bottle of wine to friends’ homes is something we do all year long. Once the holiday is over, I hope to make several of these to have on hand.

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I love the font they chose for the die cut words in this set. The third die cut word is “Thanks,” another card I make frequently.

 

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out on Snowy Weather

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I took these photos about 10:00 this morning, and then left for a lovely luncheon at a friend’s house. By the time I returned we’d gotten at least five more inches. It’s beautiful, and fortunately the roads weren’t as bad as I thought they might be. I’m glad to be home before it gets dark. Most evening activites around town have been cancelled for tonight. I just heard on the news that by Friday we might have as much as 15-18 inches of snow. It’s much worse east of here. I guess winter is really here.

Out our front window:

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Out the back window on the patio:

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The Christmas Club

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Sian has once again come up with a great idea for some holiday blogging–a revival of her 2010 Christmas Club stories. Just begin with:  At Christmas we . . .

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At Christmas we have a family band.

It started in 2007 when my brother-in-law gave Tracy’s sister an accordian for their anniversary. Tracy, Greg, and Jill all played in an award-winning accordian band when they were in high school. They traveled around the country and won quite a few prizes. When his brother, Greg, saw the gift he suggested Jill learn a few Christmas carols and they’d play at Christmas. Greg is a professional musician and my brother-in-law, Tom, plays the drums in a local band so right away they had a trio.

Over the years, the band has grown. Two of our nieces brought very talented boyfriends to Christmas dinner for several years, Greg’s significant other is a musician from Austin, both Tracy’s cousin and her daughter are talented musicians as well, so the band sounds pretty good. Jill, however, gave up her place in the band after the first year or two. 

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Hollis, my niece’s boyfriend, seen here playing the flute, also plays the piano, bagpipes, and mandolin. He’s got a great voice too. 

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We’re never quite sure who will bring what instrument, but for the last seven years the family band has entertained us in style. You can find other Christmas Club stories here.

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out: Week 49

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I’m trying to figure out what happens to my days. They are simply flying by too quickly, although I am truly grateful for my happy, healthy, busy life! 

A friend and I enrolled in Jane LaFazio‘s “Sketching and Watercolor:  Journal Style.” I really like Jane’s style, and am enjoying the class. This week’s assignment is sketching flowers. Tina and I both joined the Rochester Sketch group who met this afternoon at the Lamberton Conservatory at Highland Park. This public sketching was a big step for two novice sketchers, but we both agreed it was a wonderful outing. The folks in the group couldn’t have been nicer or more supportive. 

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The Lamberton is all decked out for Christmas, and I took the opportunity to get the Week 49 Zoom In, Zoom Out photos. I had a different set in mind, but it hadn’t happened yet. Probably this week, for Week 50. (How is it possible that there are only three weeks left for this project?) I’ve truly enjoyed Helena’s meme this year.

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It’s another busy week ahead:  lots still on the To Do list, and many social engagements. December is a time when all my friends want to get together, and I just let everything else go. Connections and relationships are always #1 for me, and especially so during the holidays. Hope your preparations are coming right along!

 

Back in Business

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We had a fabulous few days with family over the Thanksgiving holiday. We stayed up too late chatting with Sarah and Adam, and up too early with Caleb who decided after a couple of nights, that 5:30 am was about the right time to get up. We’re partly responsible for that since he’s allowed to watch PBS Kids in the morning at our house (but definitely not at his house!) We got a lot of family time with Matt, Betsy, Skylar, and the new little one, Ella. She’s a keeper! She sleeps 3-4 hours between feedings and is a totally content little girl. Here’s a cute photo of the three cousins. You can see that Ella is nonplussed by the three year olds.

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Sarah, Adam, and Caleb left here after church on Sunday. When they left, I’d barely begun with preparations for Christmas, but I’ve accomplished a ton in the last 2 1/2 days:  Christmas cards are finished (but not yet addressed), shopping is nearly done, and most of the handmade gifts are completed. We put up our Christmas tree this afternoon, but still have to decorate it and the rest of the house. Aside from needing to complete several assignments for two online classes, I’m feeling like things are under control.

Sarah and I did a little crafting while she was here. I’ll share that in a later post, but I managed to squeeze in time to make a birthday card and get it in the mail.

Enjoy

I knew I wanted to use Papertrey’s Star Coverplate, and hunted through my 6X6 paper pads until I found Lawn Fawn’s “Into the Woods.” I die cut the cover plate twice, once with the patterned paper and again with Tropical Teal card stock so I’d have a few solid colored stars for accent. The Lawn Fawn enamel dots in my drawer matched perfectly. I love how the patterned paper behind the cover plate shows through the stars. The sentiment was die cut and stamped with Papertrey’s “Wet Paint.” Then the whole cover plate was attached to a top folded card made from Canyon Clay cardstock.

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I’m posting this card on two challenge sites. First on Less is More, where the challenge is “Celebrations,”

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and then on the Simon Says Wednesday challege: “Anything Goes.”

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Zoom In, Zoom Out on Ella

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It’s already a blessed Thanksgiving holiday. Matt and Betsy welcomed Ella Renee at 9:20 Monday morning. She weighed in at 9 lbs. 9 oz. and 20.5 inches long. If her first two days are any indication, she’s going to be a good baby! Skylar seems very happy to be a big sister, but wasn’t quite ready to sit for a photo with the new little sister.

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As I write this (late Tuesday evening), Sarah, Adam, and Caleb are about two hours away from Rochester. Soon both my kids will be in the same town for four days—always a reason to celebrate.

We’ll be joining Tracy’s family at my sister-in-law’s on Thursday for our annual feast and family fun, and spending lots of time with our immediate family through the weekend. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope it a wonderful holiday, filled with love and good times!

November 2014 Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

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I was hoping to have several projects to share for today’s Papertrey Ink Blog Hop, but the days just got away from me, so there’s just one. Sarah, Adam, and Caleb are on their way here from Chicago, and we’re not expecting them until quite late, so maybe I’ll get time to create another card before the hop closes. For now, I have the gift exchange tags that I make annually for the family Christmas. We’ll draw names on Thursday during our Thanksgiving celebration.

This was the inspiration post for this month:

The theme for this month is snow!  Dig out your favorite snow stamps and snowflake dies.  Create the illusion of snow with glitter or mica flakes.  Make some snow filled shaker elements with beads or sequins.  Whatever you decide, get creative and create your own winter wonderland with your paper crafting supplies!    

Right now, we’re expecting 17 for Christmas dinner, quite a few less than last year’s record 27!  I found an set of kraft tags in my drawer that already had the strings tied on, and there were just enough. I love white embossing on kraft, so the snow theme worked well.

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The snowflake stamp is from Papertrey’s “Snowflake Serenade,” and the embossing powder is appropriately named: “Winter Wonderland.” Like the tags, the embossing powder has been in my collection for quite some time.

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I tried adding a sentiment to the tags but I liked it a lot more without it. “To” and “From” are stamped on the bag, and I wrote each person’s name in white pen.

I have a few minutes before I have to leave for an appointment, so I’m off to check out the contributions to the blog hop.

Jumping for Joy

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I have a fun card to share for a great event. Last week I found out my niece and her husband are expecting their first child in mid-May. Maybe Aunt Karen will be lucky and the baby will be born on her birthday! I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get a card in the mail, and Papertrey’s Phrase Play #8 die and stamp set was just perfect.

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I stamped the background with Papertrey’s Ombre Builder using four different colors of ink, then die cut the frame twice and adhered them together to give it a bit of dimension. Stamping the rest of the sentiment, and layering it all on a Memory Box card was all that was left. This is just one of several great sentiments to use with this die. 

Hope you’re having a great weekend. Our book group met last night to discuss November’s book, The Innovators by Walter Isaacson. I really enjoyed his biography of Steve Jobs, and this was also great. It’s the tale of how we’ve reached the digital age, starting with Ada Lovelace, Sir Byron’s daughter in the 1800’s. Fascinating. Although there were some relatively technical explanations, I found it very easy to read. After our discussion, we go out to eat, and enjoyed a delicious meal at Lemoncello in East Rochester. 

Today’s been a busy and productive day: cleaning and organizing for Sarah’s visit, and cooking for Matt and Betsy’s freezer. 

Simon Says October Card Kit

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I almost always find lots to love about the monthly Simon Says Card Kit. Usually I tire of kit club subscriptions after a few months, but I’ve never been tempted to give this one up. It’s a great value, and frequently they include some wonderful extras in additon to the stamp sets and papers. In October the theme was coffee and included a great stamp set (“What’s Brewing?”) and a really cute die. I needed a “hello, thinking of you” card as well as a thank you card, and it was easy to come up with the cards I needed with the kit and just a few other supplies.

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I loved the patterned papers, all from Basic Grey’s “Grand Bazaar.” For this card, I stamped the coffed cup and cut it out by hand. I used the pocket portion of a new stitched tag die by Papertrey Ink to make a focal point for the cup, and stamped the “hello” on the cup.

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Then I stamped the steam and embossed it with rust embossing powder. I loved how it came out. 

The next card uses the cute little cup die that came with the kit as well as a different patterned paper.

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I die cut the cup six times, three with the patterned paper and three more with Doll Pink cardstock for the heart inserts. The great sentiment comes from a Reverse Confetti set “Be a Barista” which I embossed in gold. The cardstock for both cards also came in the kit.

A friend has invited two of us for lunch early next month, so the three coffee cups seemed just right, and now I’m all set with the thank you note. I’ll be entering this one at the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Thanks/Thanksgiving.

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