Noah's Ark

One of the most popular projects in yesterday's post was the elephant ornament. I mentioned that it was part of a Noah's Ark series. In uploading that picture, I realized that I had never shared pieces from that set made in 2006 and 2007 (I somehow missed 2008...oops!). So, here are the first four ornaments made in that set. There are five more to go. You'll have to come back at end of the year to see more. (wicked evil grin)

These were the first two of this set, made in 2006...

...And these were the two made in 2007.

Finally sewn after all these years...

Remember New Year's Eve when my sister came over to help me finish that snowman banner for my friend Kathy? The remedial sewing lesson seemed to go so well that I decided, since I had the machine out and all, that I should finally finish a couple of ornaments I'd stitched years before. One was a counted cross-stitch completed in 1992 -- yes, I said 1992! -- and the other a bit of Hardanger stitching I learned back in 1987. Yes, I know...it took me a while to sew them together -- but...I didn't have a machine at that time, and the thought of sewing them together by hand was rather daunting. And now, nearly three months later, I finally have the pics to document that momentous occasion. Amazing, the pictures you forget you took when it takes three months to use up a roll of film!

For those not in the know, Hardanger is a beautiful and an intricate (though not all that difficult) form of Norwegian stitchery. It is usually stitched white on white, with the stitches creating blocked patterns and little windows cut away from the design. I learned this form of needlework from my Norwegian host mother, Kari Vik, the summer I stayed with her and her family. We have stayed in touch over the year, exchanging handcrafts every Christmas and a few letters and pictures throughout the year. Kari and husband Jostein visited me several summers back, but I have yet to manage a return trip as the cost is so expensive. One of these days...I hope! You can read up on Hardanger needlework and see some amazing samples here.

The Hardanger ornament (top pic) was supposed to have a dark green fabric behind the white linen, to offset the beautiful Hardanger stitches, but I kind of messed up when I was pinning it together and the plaid material that was supposed to be the ornament backing ended up being in the middle instead. And of course I discovered this after I already had three sides sewn togther and there was no way I was tearing it all apart and starting it over. Guess that shows how sewing savvy I am not, huh? The point is that, after years of moving it from one drawer to another, I actually got it sewn together and -- despite my little error -- it looks pretty good hanging on the tree.

The angel turned out much better, but then -- there were only two panels to stitch together for that one, not three. Naturally my sister, brat that she is, gave me a hard time over how long it took me to finish these two ornaments -- nevermind the number of ornaments I stitch on a yearly basis for friends and family... Two unfinished ornaments out of a few hundred really isn't that bad!

Hardanger and cross-stitch angel displayed on my little tree.

Closeup of the Hardanger ornament.

Good Tidings of Great Joy

One of my friends married a preacher seven years ago, on New Year's Day. They had been married mayeb two years when I saw this kit for a snowman nativity banner and thought it perfect for her as she loves snowmen and is a minister's wife. Well, I ordered the kit, stitched maybe three rows . . . and promptly forgot about it. Oops.

The past two years I have been determined to use up materials and finish any half-started or neglected projects lying around. At the beginning of 2005 I went through some of these materials and made a list of which ones I wanted to finish that year -- and it actually worked! I think I marked off everything on the list save one. Not bad. Last year, this banner went at the top of the project list, followed by the "Frosty Greetings" snowmen picture for Sherrie and "Each New Wave" (posted earlier this week) for Manda. Not only did I scratch all three off my list, but several other projects as well.

As you may imagine, I've already drawn up a list for 2007 and am taking advantage of the cold weather to get a head start on ticking items off of that list. So far so good!

To keep up my motivation to finish the banner before New Year's Eve, when my friends and I all get together to celebrate Christmas and the New Year, I took pics of each week's progress. And yes, I did have a picture from week two, but unfortunately the battery in mt camera was low apparently weak and that and a few other pics were lost. I also had to have a remedial sewing lesson in order to complete this project.

My sister gave me her old sewing machine a couple years ago when she got a new one, and though I had been meaning to get it out and mess around with it long before now...that never happen. So, though I finished the cross-stitching more than a week before Christmas, it wasn't "officially" finished until noon on New Year's Eve. My sister was supposed to come up a few days before but was sick. Which did cause me to panic a bit. Thankfully, she managed to come up for a few hours NYE and walked me through how to wind the bobbin and thread the needle. And...as long as I had the machine out I also completed a couple ornaments from years ago.

And now...here is the finished project, and the weeks leading up to it.

week one

week three

week four

Ta-da! All done!

The banner is backed with white felt, and green felt was used for the hangers. The tassel was made of leftover strands of red embroidery floss, and was a pain in the butt to attach. Not bad, considering I hadn't used a sewing machine in almost 20 years, eh?

Latesha's Christmas Cards

These are the Christmas cards my friend Latesha commissioned me to make for her. It uses the SCS sketch for SC89 and would look beautiful in almost any color combination. All materials are from Stampin' Up, except the raffia.

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Small Script, Houndstooth, Linen
Ink: Basic Black, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum
Paper: Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, White
Accessories: Hole piercer, raffia

Christmas Greetings from Friends

These are a couple Christmas cards received from friends of mine. Both used non-SU stamps. I don't know the vendor for the cat-in-window stamp, just that it was one Kim picked up last spring when we were at Just For Keeps in Stoughton, Wis. The curtain is rolled up toilet paper and cat is embossed in black (which she did because she has two black cats).




Sherrie bought the materials for her card at Archiver's, and completely cased the design from one on display there. The dove is by Hero Arts and is covered in white glitter. She borrowed an alphabet set (CTMH) from Kim for the words, which are separated by stickles.

The first Moo-el

These are some of the ornaments made this year, and were sent to friends in Australia, Sweden, Norway and at least one chick down in Mississippi (yeah, you know who you are). The cow design was from one of my many pattern books, the writing I did myself. I thought them rather appropriate, considering all of the cow pictures this past summer.

And two more -- the partridge was sent to my friend Michelle L, and the other was for my sister. I'll post a few other projects after New Year's. Friends and I always get together NYE for dinner, Christmas exchange and New Year's celebration, which extends into New Year's Day and whichever bowl game the Badgers are playing in (Capitol One Bowl this year). Wouldn't want people to see their pressies before they received them. ; )

An Old-World Toy Maker

His name is Floyd Elfendien and he is an employee of S. Claus and Company, the largest toy manufacturer and distributor in the world. He is not a very tall man, only about five feet, gruff and balding with a long gray beard that rests atop his bulging middle. His face reads like graffiti on a subway wall; he has seen much in his 80-some years as anyone can tell by merely looking at him. He puffs slowly at a pipe clenched between his teeth and reclines leisurely in one of the many wooden chairs that fill the cozy kitchen in which we sit. He puffs intently on the pipe as we slowly regard each other before he starts to tell me about himself.

* * * * *

Been with the company 68 years, I have. Was apprenticed at 15 and worked hard. Worked my way up, I did. Wasn’t easy, you know. It’s difficult work. Took me years to master my trade. Shame there isn’t much call for it these days. Been in “W” department for over 60 years now. That’s wood work. Every department here is different. Some people think we’re all in just one great big room sitting at a long table, each elf—they call us elves down there in the lower part of the world. Elves!—working on a different toy. Well, maybe it was like that back in the olden days, when the company was just getting’ started. Not any more. Ain’t been like that for at least a century.

Any way, there are several different departments. Most go by what letter they start with. There’s “G”—games, “M”—meteorology, “S”—sweets, “T”—tailor. T department is where they make the doll clothes, stuffed animals and the like. Each department’s divided into sub-departments, too. Take “W,” for example. Me, I carve the toys. When I finish shaping a toy it goes over to finishing for paint and detailing. From there it’ll be inventoried, until it’s pulled and tagged. We’re very organized here, you see.

“W” is probably the most difficult department to get started in. It takes patience, dedication—these youngsters today, they don’t know what that is. No work ethic at all. No idea what it means to be in “W.” I started here as an apprentice and worked hard every day. We had longer hours then, and no labor laws or union. That was before the machines were installed. They don’t start until 18 or 19 now and they think they know what work is. They stand in front of their machines and press a button here or a button there and watch a toy roll out the other end, and they think they know what work is. Bah! Ain’t been the same since the boss mechanized the place fifty-sixty years ago. “W” department’s ‘bout the only one not mechanized yet. Be a shame if they ever did. No, the younger ones just don’t know the value of good hard work, and the pride that goes with it.

I’ve been in “W” 68 years now. Never wanted to work any other department. My father and his father before him—and his father before him—they all worked in “W” department. Everything there is handmade. No machines at all. Oh, sure we have some of the newer tools…a large sander and power drills…but that’s mostly for the bigger items. The smaller toys…the trucks, the blocks, the wooden dolls —we still get orders for a few of ‘em, though not as many these days. It’s all Barbies and plastic baby dolls now. People have no concern for value any more—the little hobby horses and the like…we sand all those by hand. Nothing more gratifying than to turn a chunk of wood into a fine toy for some little girl or boy. Yes, it’s downright fulfilling, it is, knowing that some child somewhere in the world’s going to take pleasure in your creation. Makes you want to turn out a high-quality toy. No one cares for quality anymore. The youngsters they got working here now, they don’t care about the product. There’s no pride, no concern for lasting value any more. They’re all for mechanizing the department. Boss is still against it, but who knows what’ll happen when his son takes over the company.

That’s another thing people got wrong. They think the same person’s been running the company since it opened a few centuries ago. Ha! They don’t realize we’re all mortal here, same as they are. Ain’t no one who can live that long, not even Santa Claus. Look at me. I may be going fine now, but I know my time’s comin’. Can feel it already. I been here 68 years already and don’t plan on too many more. Could’ve retired eight years ago, but what the heck would I do with my time, ‘cept what I’m already doin’? I figure I’m still able to get around okay, arthritis ain’t too bad most days and I love my job, why not work? The boss—he’s getting ready to retire himself. Plans to hand the company over to his son in a coupla years. I figure I’ll retire when he does. Don’t have no mind to bend to no whippersnapper. Bah! Who knows what plans that one has in store for this place.

Don’t get me wrong—he’s a bright boy, but just like all the rest of ‘em his age he wants to change and “renovate” the whole company. Wants it all computerized. They already got computers in Intelligence (that’s the department in charge of keepin’ tabs on all the kids in the world. So many little ones in the world today we had to go to computers; it was tough keeping track through the old bookkeeping system). My wife works up in Intelligence. The stories she tells me! You wouldn’t believe some of the things these children do nowadays…unbelievable. The things they’ll try to get away with! Eunice’s only been there 30 years. She was in “S” department when we met. Such a cute little thing…

All our children work for the company, ‘cept Mort. Always did have to be different, that one. Wanted to be a performer so he headed south. Haven’t seen him in years. Says he doesn’t like the cold weather up here. We still get a letter from him now and then. Everyone else, they work for S. Claus. Even my brothers and sisters all work here. ‘Course, there isn’t much other employment up here.

Oh sure, there’s the reindeer breeding and training. They’re not used for sleigh pulling, though. They don’t fly and the Boss don’t use sleighs. Oh, they used to back in the old days. Use the sleigh, that is. That was before the company is what it is today. The first Claus didn’t deliver all over the world, either; it was very local. Didn’t even go national for a number of decades, and then international—well, that just sort of happened. That’s when he started to use sleighs. Weren’t any trucks then, and if you’ve ever tried to drive a wagon through ten feet of snow you’d understand why he used the sleigh. Generations of Clauses used them, and they were drawn by horses, not some magic reindeer. Boss just likes reindeer. That’s why he breeds ‘em. Kind of a family thing. Them Clauses have been breeding reindeer for centuries—kind of how some people breed horses. Whether they work in the stables or the factory, they’re still working for S. Claus. Me, I couldn’t go in for a sissy job like that.

Sure my job is harder, but you don’t get the satisfaction in breeding reindeer like when you hold a finished toy in your hand. So the work is a little harder. So you have to sweat now and then. So what? It’s the satisfaction you get from your work. It’s knowing how much some kid is going to like your work. Sure, the kids aren’t as appreciative these days, but if you could just imagine how it feels, knowing some kid’s face is going to light up Christmas morning when he sees your toy under the tree….

No…I don’t think I could ever work any place else, do any other kind of work. There’s too much of me up here; I could never leave it all behind. It’d be like losing a part of myself. Yes, it’ll be hard when it comes time to retire, but I’m getting’ old, you know. Guess we all have to leave sometime. It’ll be hard, though. This place is as much a part of me as I am it. These youngsters they got working her now…they don’t understand how a man my age can keep working this long; they don’t understand how a man can work almost 70 years. It’s loving what you do, that’s all, and I love what I do. That’s the problem with the world these days. People just don’t like their work anymore. No one loves what they do. I guess I’m just getting’ old. No matter what anyone says, you have to love what you do. That’s the only way to make it as long as I have.

***********************************************

The above interview was written by H.L. Lester in November 2001, for a college English course. The assignment was to do an interview, and the interviewee could be real or fictitious, dead or alive—or completely made up. Out of twenty-some students I was the only one to make up an interview subject (after the original interview fell through), and I still remember my professor chuckling as he reread it during one of our semester meetings (there were three, for which we would submit a portfolio of class writings up to that point for grading). I have to admit—even I was laughing a bit as I re-typed and edited this. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it all those years ago. ~Heather

A Christmas Greeting from Baghdad

More of the cards for troops sent this year

Received this in my email this morning -- talk about an uplifting Christmas present!

DEAR FRIENDS,

Thanks so much for the box of cards. I was not even going to send home Christmas greetings but when I saw the cards I could not help but think wow this card would be great for Grandma or Aunt Ruth. So I got a whole group of friends together and we had a Christmas card party....we put the box in the middle and each person picked out a card for someone on their list and wrote them Christmas greetings....we ended up laughing and telling stories of funny Christmases past and I learned a lot about some of my friends I did not know....by the end of the night we all had our cards done and still had cards left--- so we put them in the dining hall with a free Christmas card sign and the soldiers were drawn to them like bees to honey---and the cards were gone faster than we could eat our meal----each of my friends asked me to THANK you and the women who supply us with cards for the wonderful uplifting act of kindness...we will never be able to repay you but we all agree when we get home we are going to learn how to make cards for you to send.... Jess wanted to know if you take cards that look like a gradeschooler made them....we are all sure we will not be as good as you all! But Merry Christmas to each of you from all of us here in Baghdad.

Sgt Heather and friends

This is what Christmas is all about...that what may seem the smallest act of kindness and unselfishness may be appreciated by someone, somewhere. I know sending homemade cards over for troops to send back to their friends and families may not seem like much to some, but the above letter shows that to others it is everything. Receiving this note is all the inspiration I need to start in on some Birthday and Valentine cards to send out next month. I'm off to start crafting!

Merry Christmas!

2006 Christmas card

Over the past couple of months I've shared some of the Christmas cards I made for troops, as well as the one I designed for a friend of mine. Well...here at last is *my* Christmas card for 2006. It is a tri-fold card, and if you visit this blog or my SCS gallery with any frequency you may recognize the design as combining the One Sheet Wonder (OSW) technique with that of one of the sketch challenges.

All products were by Stampin' Up! and I began by stamping up a full sheet of very vanilla cardstock with some of the images from Reindeer Print (2005 Holiday Mini) and the snowflake from Holiday Tag Time. Ink colors used are real red, certainly celery, always artichoke, more mustard and so saffron. The key to doing a OSW is not to be afraid to fill up the entire cardstock. When stamping the small snowflake, holly and greeting I stamped each two or three times before reinking so there would be subtle shading differences. This is what a sheet looked like after stamping, and before cutting:

I used certainly celery for the card base, cutting and folding for a normal 4-1/4" wide x 5-1/2" high card, then scored the front at 2-1/8" and folded it back towards the left hand side to create a tri-fold card.



Next, I used my Fiskars paper trimmer to cut 2" x 5-1/4" strips in real red, then cut the OSW pages to 1-7/8" x 5" -- I kept these pieces in order as I cut them so that, when I adhered the stamped vanilla pieces to the red panels, split images would match up on opposing panels (see example top right in next picture). I attached the vanilla strips to the red panels, working in pairs and with the inside edge of each panel flush so that they matched up when adhered to the certainly celery base (see bottom example of next pic).


At this time I also cut 1-1/2" strips of 1/4" wide red grosgrain ribbon, which were adhered about 2" from the top of the left hand side of the OSW strips.













Setting those aside, it was time to cut squares for matting. The very vanilla are 2" square, the certainly celery 2-1/4" square, and the real read 2-1/2" square. Trees from Reindeer Print were then stamped in center of very vanilla square using real red ink, then were mounted on the celery square, and then the red.










Next came the tricky part -- centering the image. Mono-adhesive was applied to the left side only of the square image, then centered on the card. This had to be done carefully to ensure that the mono did not stick to the right side of the card, or it would not open. Here is the final product:

Sparkling Season

All materials from Stampin' Up!

Received this one in the mail today from my friend Tricia.

Stamps: Tree from Sparkling Season; Holly leaves set unknown
CS: Real Red, Brilliant Blue, White
Ink: Brilliant Blue, Gable Green

Snowflake Celebration

All products by Stampin' Up!

Was just messing around a bit over the weekend, one of the results of which was this Christmas card in non-traditional colors.

Stamps: Lace Snowflakes (retired), Reindeer Print (2005 Holiday Mini Catalog) and Etruscan (retired).
CS: Very Vanilla and Chocolate Chip.
Ink: Craft White and Autumn Leaves Kaleidacolor.

Season's Greetings

A quick and easy Christmas card....

Stamps: Holiday Tag Team, Season's Greetings (retired) by Stampin' Up!
Ink: Glorious Green
CS: Real Red, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Green Brads


All my cards are done and already sent out for this year, but I can't stop thinking "Christmas" so long as there are carols playing on the radio. I'll just be this many cards ahead for next year. *grin*

NQN No-layer cards

I promised the other two no-layer cards created Thursday evening, so here they are. All products except the ribbon are from Stampin' Up!

Both are stamped on Not Quite Navy cardstock with Craft White ink. For the first, I began by stamping the circle from Little Shapes (retired) three times down the center and letting it dry (craft inks take a bit longer to dry than the regular inks), then stamped the dove from Holiday Tag Team on top of that in Brilliant Blue. More Craft White was stamped around the circles using the deckle stamp from Itty Bitty Backgrounds. The "peace" ribbon was bought on clearance at Wal-Mart after last Christmas--one of those items you know you will find a use for.

For the second card I started by stamping the square from The Shape of Things (retired), then stamped the snowman from Holiday Tag Team inside. I used markers to add a bit of color to him, then again used the deckle stamp from Itty Bitty Backgrounds around the white square.

I really like the way these two turned out...the way the white looks against the NQN...and may use these for next year's Christmas cards. No one should be surprised to find one of these -- or something similar in their mailbox next year, right? Then again, that is an entire year away, and who knows what SU might have to offer in the 2007-08 catalog! *WEG*

No-Layer Cards

As any paper crafter can attest to, there is nothing worse than running out of mono-adhesive before your new shipment arrives (and it is much cheaper ordering it online in bulk). I ordered it yesterday, and though the company promises "next day delivery," it apparently does not apply to all items since I received part of my order this afternoon, but NOT the part I needed most. Murphey's Law at its best: whatever item you need the most, that is the item that will be backordered, or will not arrive with the rest of your order. Always. In this instance, the bulk of my order is apparently being drop shipped through the manufacturer. Grrr....

I finished another big cross-stitch project this evening (though not as big as the previous one), after which I was in the mood for stamping but, of course, I was out of the mono that was supposed to be here today. Which meant doing some no-layer cards if I really wanted to stamp. As any stamper can tell you, though not impossible to do, it is definitely more of a challenge. One must put greater thought into the colors and stamps chosen, as well as the composition.

I started by digging out my retired The Shape of Things set (Stampin' Up!) to create a "layered" look. I inked it up with Pretty in Pink, and stamped it in the middle of a horizontal Very Vanilla card. I then used the tree from Loads of Love (SU) with Glorious Green and stamped it three times close together inside the pink layer, then stamped off to add lighter trees in the background. A greeting from My Sentiments Exactly was stamped below that. I next used the retired Perfect Plaid set (SU) in GG, to frame the image. Holly stickers in the corners added a nice dimension to the finished product. Not one of the best I did this evening, but it somehow works.




Setting that one aside, I pulled out the Barely Banana ink, and stamped a rectangle slightly above center on a verticle Very Vanilla card. The tree from Holiday Tag Team (SU) was stamped in Glorious Green. Inking only the "merry" part of the "Very Merry" stamp from the same set using Real Red and a blender pen, I positioned that just below the tree. Two stamps from Itty Bitty Backgrounds (SU) were used to create the GG background around the BB "layer." Red ribbon was added to spruce it up a bit. I liked this one much better than the first, but not near as well as the two that came after.

But that's a post for another day. *WEG*

Season's Greetings -- more than just a card!

Last week's SCS sketch challenge creation (SC101). The top picture shows what it looks like closed, lower pic how it looks opened. Dimensions are the same as a typical card, 4.25 x 5.5 inches, but is scored two inches on one side and 2.25 on the other so that the top flap folds down over the lower one. The bottom panel is designed as a pocket fastened with green brads, and can hold a gift card, cash, photos, short note...whatever your heart desires.

Colors are Certainly Celery, Real Red and Very Vanilla. Stamps used are from the SU sets Reindeer Print and Season's Greetings. What can I say? They're all still sitting out on my craft table, so it's only natural to reach for them first! The striped paper on the lower panel is from a dollar store designer paper pack. Green grosgrain ribbon is attached under the tree panel and to back of card, and is just long enough to tie closed.

Hit and Run Reindeer

Not really what I set out to make tonight, but these were a couple of the cards I churned out anyway. The background is the lyrics to "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer," which I printed out on Very Vanilla cardstock and attached to a Real Red card base. On the first card, the holly leaves from Holiday Tag Team (Stampin' Up!) were stamped down the right hand side, and then randomly across the song panel before reindeer was attached.

In card two, I sponged Real Red ink across the Vanilla panel, and then took a strip of leftovers from my Christmas cards (Reindeer Print) and punched a few stars. It's a bit difficult to tell in the scan, but the corners of the stars are turned up a bit, and the deer on both cards are popped up with dimensionals. The deer are diecuts, source forgotten as I've had them a few years, but I think these cards would look super cute with the deer from Sleigh Full of Toys. Yup, definitely need to get that set...LOL.

If you're looking for a cool ornament project, maybe a few last-minute gifts for friends and family, Amy posted a cool tutorial on her blog today, how to make glass ornaments using glitter and re-inkers. Pop over to Prairie Paper & Ink to check it out! I did a bunch of glass ornaments a few years ago using acrylic paints, and while I loved how they turned out, the ones she did are truly beautiful!

Christmas Is...

This is one of those sets you wish you'd bought -- three years after it's been retired. I always seem to want them long after they're no longer available. Guess it just takes awhile to see a certain set's potential sometimes. Santa is from the "Old-Fashioned Christmas" set (2004-05 SU! IB&C) and yes, he is now on my retired wish list. Along with about a dozen other old Christmas sets. I received him as part of an image swap last year and had great fun creating with them this past summer and fall. Most of those cards, including this one, went in the box sent to troops last month.

The sentiment is from a current set, also on my wish list, "It's Snow Time." A sheet of images from this set was also included in the swap, and was enough to convince me of my need for it. In addition to the images, the blue and white cardstock is also from Stampin' Up! -- the only exception being the snowflake paper, which is from Hot Off The Press. I did a bit of DTP with the Night of Navy ink pad around the Santa, and fashioned a tag out of a scrap of snowflake ribbon. A simple design, maybe, but one I really like.

I decided to post this particular card tonight as a reminder to myself about the spirit of the season. It wasn't the best of days, long and tiring with a painful reminder in the end of the importance of writing down all debit card transactions. *Sigh* You do not want to know how long it took me to figure out that one. I can balance a checkbook no problem -- but it's a heck of a lot easier to reconcile one's account when all receipts are accounted for, KWIM?

Hope to get a bit of Christmas shopping done this weekend. I know we still have a couple weeks, but I can't stand waiting until the very last minute. Shopping stresses me out enough as it is without taking into account the holiday crowds and time crunch. And yes, I would rather shop from home, but there are a few things I've actually looked for online that are apparently not available from certain stores' websites, so...it's off to the mall I go. Or, to be more precise, the vicinity of the mall. I am soooo going to deserve that new issue of Take Ten I plan on picking up at B&N tomorrow....

December 3

Snow on the Hill, 3 December 2006

Nowhere near as much as my sister had south of us, but at least we have a little bit of snow to get us into the Christmas spirit. I finished stitching the snowman banner I am making for a friend Monday night, now I just need to wash, iron and sew the backing -- which could be interesting seeing as it's been more than a decade since I last used a sewing machine. Now to finish up some ornaments and get the rest of my Christmas cards in the mail!

O, tidings of purple and green....

Yes, there's a story behind the card and post title.

Many years ago, back when we were in HS, friends and I were prone to writing our own lyrics to popular Christmas songs. I don't remember the words to all of them -- they're written down around here somewhere, just don't ask me where -- but the one that has stuck most in my mind is the one to "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen." It was these lyrics I had running through my mind when I sat down Friday evening to make a birthday card for one of these previously mentioned friends. Well, that and the fact I still have all the green and purple leftovers from my cards and L's littering the craft table. *grin*

This card also suits last week's SCS sketch challenge, and was made using the retired Etruscan SU set and Etruscan Vine wheel. Paper: Certainly Celery, Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, Very Vanilla. Ink: Perfect Plum. Accesories: grosgrain ribbon in pale green, light purple and dark purple; green brads; and a hole piercer for the border along the vanilla piece with the grapes.

Oh. What's that? You say you want to hear the song? Are you sure?? Well, I suppose if you insist...


God rest ye merry, Lima Beans
Let nothing you dismay
The LL Bean catalog
is in the mail today
To save us all from (this is the part I can't remember)

O, Tidings of purple and green
Purple and green
O, tidings of purple and green

In celebration of 100 sketch challenges at SCS, Rox offered two bonus ones as well for the week. The first was to take an older sketch and flip it around. So if the card was originally 4.25 inches high, you should flip it so it was 5.5 inches high. I chose to flip SC13, using the SU Reindeer Print set. The background was made with a single small stamp (pictured at right), stamped end to end, row upon row. It was looking a bit plain with just the Real Red, so I sponged on some Certainly Celery and love how it turned out. Accessories: green brads.

Snowy greetings

I wish I could say it is snowing here tonight, but we've had only rain the last three days. That is supposed to change by end of the week, when we *could* see a bit of snow again (thanks, Canada!). I'd rather see it tomorrow instead of a fourth round of rain. Nothing cheers up an otherwise gloomy day than a fresh blanket of white.

Rain or snow, I couldn't resist playing around with this sketch again today. The Perfect Plum strips are scraps leftover from L's Christmas cards. Looks like I've found a good use for them. At this rate I'll have twice the number of cards for troops in 2007 as I did this year. Definitely not a bad thing!

The stamps are from a retired SU set, Thanks Snow Much. Paper colors are Pale Plum, Perfect Plum, and Very Vanilla. Ink: Chocolate Chip (snowman), Perfect Plum (sponging around edge of the vanilla panel), Craft White (snowflakes). Accessories: markers, white rick rack, a silver brad for the pompon on the snowman's hat (I didn't have any small white ones) and white brads along the bottom panel.