Things I've learnt recently...

....or have been reminded of or have known for a while and just realised again...

1. I'm slow to accept new technology. 

Blogger has just moved over to a new interface, and even though I had the choice to stay with the old one, I forced myself to move to the new one and accept the learning curve that came with it.

2. It's worth paying the money to get your oven professionally cleaned. I will do this for the rest of my life if I can.

3. It's also worth paying the money for sticky tape that actually sticks. Cheap is cheap.

4. I drink more water when I use a little cup. Big cups put me off.

5. You can have all the routines in the world, but sometimes your body just says, "no".

6. I didn't realise how much of a team Andrew and I are until I had to go to a family event on his side of the family without him.

We always do that kinda stuff together, so it was weird doing it solo. On the same day (craft show Saturday) he was on a full day out with his work without me and he said it was a bit lonely at times. Yep, a team. A couple. Us.

7. The only way you'll ever deal with anything is to face it head on, see it for what it is and just walk through the pain of it.

Yep, it hurts, but denying it makes it worse. And as the Lord said to Joyce (Meyer), "Yes, it's the reason you are the way you are, but don't let it be your excuse to stay that way."

8. I am very unimpressed by things that don't do what they should like brand new dvd players that stop working in the middle of the movie you're watching.

9. Real tennis balls bounce a lot more and are more fun for the dog. Thanks, Dad.

10. That I know when things are right and when they're not.

I named our new chooks Hilda, Pearl and Ruby, but days later I knew Hilda wasn't her name. I knew it'd come eventually and it did after options like Jasmine, Rose, Rosie and Rosemary were tossed out too.

I waited and it popped into my mind one afternoon.

(I'll admit that previously I did look at her and say, "What isss your name, girl?")

Queenie...her name is Queenie.

I was going to be Natalie Louise, but Mum and Dad said I didn't look like a Natalie Louise. I looked like a Debra. And it actually wasn't my name until I was 27.

I was Debbie my whole life - and still am to my family and friends (that and Deb) - but when I left school teaching I started to be called Debra as you do by people that don't know you very well and they call you by your formal name.

It stuck and that's how I'm known now. I call myself that, I introduce myself to people as that, I am that. I love the name, it's me. Just took a long time to be called it.

Andrew calls me Debra too - no one else in my family does. He's not allowed to call me Debbie, no way! He gets a big hand slapped across his mouth to stifle it if he does. Just sounds weird coming from him...

So, that's my list. It's a random one, but there you go.

........................................................................................................................................................

This post was inspired by Angie's New Things I've Learnt Lately post.

Gwyneth, cooking and craft

Gwyneth Paltrow has a passion for cooking.

I did not know this.

She's also written a cookbook.

I did not know this either.

I read about her in the May edition of the Women's Weekly and found myself relating to her words and her story.

Everyone that has a passion has it deep-rooted in something. And that deep-rooted something is the heart behind what they do.

I know this for myself. I know I love punch art for what it is, but I also love it for what it means to me.

What it is:

~  Fun
~  Colourful
~  Bright
~  Cute
~  Reproducible (I need that in my art. I need to be able to reproduce the same thing over and over. And reproduce it exactly. Don't know why)


What it means:

~  Expression
~  Creative outlet
~  Me. Just me in something.
~  A filling station.
~  Time
~  Quiet

There are more things on this list, but I don't know what they are. I can feel them, but I don't have the words for them. It doesn't matter, that's where the heart of it all comes in. Not everything needs an explanation.

In the article Gwyneth talked about her story and how she started cooking - ie. with her dad. It became important to her and a deep-seated part of her life. She now cooks from those experiences with her dad, it's where the heart comes from.

We had a family dinner recently and we were all in the kitchen helping. I remember sitting on the other side of the bench (not in kitchen, no room) with Dad next to me and the others all around too. There was a lot of activity and chatter and I remember thinking to myself how special it was. I actually suggested to Andrew the other day that we make our own pizza dough. I think he'd be up for it. 

Anyway, I like what Gwyneth said her dad imparted into her through cooking and their cooking adventures together.

That is, his beliefs about food:

~  Invest in what's real.
~  Clear up as you go.
~  Drink while you cook.
~  Make it fun.
~  It doesn't have to be complicated.
~  It will be what it will be.

As I was reading them I thought they could be applied to craft too.

Invest in what's real.

Well, I've done that. I've invested a lot of time, money and myself into my crafting, particularly my punch art. Hello? It's an investment and it doesn't always pay dividends straight away...you gotta wait on these things sometimes. 

Clear up as you go. 

Well, I do that too. Sometimes too much and then I have to pull that thing out again. And then again. 

Mum used to tell me to clean up as I went in the actual kitchen. I do that to this day and actually try not to make a mess in the first place. You know, peel potatoes straight into a bag (in the sink), so the peelings don't drip all over the floor as I try to get them into the bin in five trips.

Drink while you cook (craft). 

Well, I don't agree with this one. I don't drink near any paper crafting stuff generally because it's a disaster waiting to happen. Actually, not true.  I do have a cup of tea near me sometimes. Once a lady spilt her Diet Coke all over the table in class. Not good. 

Make it fun. 

Oh wow, this is a biggie. 

Things are fun when they're fun. And they're NOT fun when they're not fun. 

You know, I turned my hobby into my living and then I had to find a new hobby (scrapping). I love that I love what I do, but what people don't realise is that it's still work.

I have deadlines, I have things I have to make, I have to force myself to be creative sometimes when I'm just not feeling it. I have to turn up, show up and be 'on'. Frankly, it's exhausting, but at least it's craft which means the work of it takes, but it also gives, so I'm not left in deficit all the time.  

Also, there's a lot more to working in the crafting industry besides the actual creative work. There's so much other stuff I do and it's not necessarily fun. A recent Paperclipping episode was on working in the industry if you want to have a listen. 

Moving on to my hobby stuff. 

I still make cards for me. 

I still make cards to give away. 

I make things to hang around the house. 

I make things to hang around my mother's house.
I make bits and pieces for the fun of it. 

I make stuff, but the process of it is for me.  

And because it's for me, it's my choice when I do it and how. 

My desk, my rules, I've said that before. 

For example, my niece turned 13 and I bought her birthday card. Yep. Totally. 

Walked into the shop, saw the perfect one, paid my money and walked out. So fab. 

Do you think I'm going to push myself to make a card every single time I need one just because I have the skills? 

No. 

No, I'm not. 

Investing in yourself through a passion means you make the rules regarding it.

You know what you're willing to do and what you're not.

And what you can do and what you can't.

And also what you won't do.

Sometimes the thought of making a card makes me want to run away screaming, so I take that as my cue not to make one. 

Let me correct that, sometimes the thought of making up a card makes me want to run a mile. Maybe I should start card lifting? Really, maybe I should, just so I can do the making and not the thinking. I should do that.

This whole art thing is a huge lesson in control and surrender all at the same time.  

Let me just say that again...

This whole art thing is a huge lesson in control and surrender all at the same time. 

Life's like that really, isn't it?

Back to Gwyneth's dad...

It doesn't have to be complicated. 

But sometimes it is. 

Sometimes I want to spend hours on You Tube watching other people make things and yet I don't want to make anything myself. 

Sometimes I'd rather surf online for new punches rather than make anything with the ones I own.  

Sometimes I'd rather just go to the beach with the fellas because the thought of crafting makes me want to barf. 

Just because it's my thing, doesn't mean I want to do it every second of the day. Sometimes I don't want to do it for months and that's okay because....

It will be what it will be. 

Just like this post. 

I started out with the Gwyneth article as inspiration and these words are what came out. 

That's life. 

That's craft. 

That's crafting in my life. 

Outside my window today...

...there are blue, blue skies and trees blowing in the wind even though they don't look like it here. 

See the clouds? 

Exactly, there are none. 

I love May, it's my favourite month. 

It's properly autumn (no leaves turning different colours around here though) and the weather is just glorious. 

And this fella. 

He's always at the ready for a game of ball, even after an hour's walk around the neighbourhood where he sniffed at every leaf and twig and went to the toilet seven times at least (far out, yes, Cody, mark all the electricity boxes as yours). 

Right now, as in now, he's sleeping, but if I get up from the chair he'll run around to the shoe box and make it known that he wants me to take the ball out and chuck it around. I told Andrew it's how he relates to us and loves us. I'm okay with it. The simple things make him happy, so who am I to say no? 

Proof! 

(Gotta replace that green ball. Green ball and green grass = making it harder than it needs to be)

:o) 

Don't you love the internet?

I do.

I love it.

I love that it can answer a lot of my questions and recently I had a burning question that just had to be answered.

It was a Sunday afternoon and I was reading an old copy of Simple Scrapbooks magazine from April 2009. One of their last ones.

Anyway, I got to this layout...

Here, look more closely...

Journalling reads, "After your stunning performance on the way from Denver to Cleveland and back again, the next time I am willing to take you on an airplane will be the year 2018 (and quite frankly, maybe not then either). I'm not really kidding. April 2006."

I'm like, "What did she do?" I remember saying the same thing back in 2009 too.

You can see below that the story lives behind the photo on the layout, but it's like a teaser, we can't read it!

Right, I thought, time to get on the internet and find out! I found Elizabeth through Write.Click.Scrapbook, which I knew she was a part of, and emailed her about it.

She was very gracious and linked me over to her blog where she recorded the story in 2006. I told her in my return email that she'd been blogging a long time and that I didn't think I was even reading blogs in 2006, let alone writing one. And of course I said thanks for answering my question. 

So, do you want to know what Gracie's stunning performance was?

Click here to read the story. 

Thanks, Elizabeth. Thanks for putting this issue to rest for me and for giving me permission to share this story.

She was also pleased to report this -----> Gracie is almost 6.5 now, and successfully took a marvelous, uneventful trip by airplane to Ohio with Matt last April. They made it back without incident : )  

Good for you, Gracie!

This man...

...is my husband. 

He was born in New Zealand, but he's Australian, let's face it. 

He looks Australian!

That's a Driza-bone (dry as a bone) and a statesman hat (similar to an Akubra).

And that's Cody at the flooded dog park in the rain. 

That is, that's Cody having a great time!

Especially when he has a ball to chase. 

This man is a good dog owner. 

This man and I were talking about my blog and he asked how many people read it. 

He said 'maybe you should ask everyone to comment, so you can see'. Not a bad idea. Stephanie Howell did it recently. Sometimes you just want to know. 

So, this man would like to know how many readers I have. So would I. 

Can you leave a comment? I'd love that. 

And if you try to leave a comment and you can't, find it confusing or whatever, just email me (my address is on the sidebar) and I'll count you in the numbers. 

All you have to do is say hi! (Andrew said to tell you that). 

Thanks! 

And thanks from him too...

PS. If you come across this post at a later time, still post a comment, thanks!

Some time away...

Hi there!

Hope your 2011 is off to a great start! Been pretty hot around here if you ask me and more storms are predicted. Time to hunker down in the air con and just relax, I say.

I'm having some time away from the blog for a while. I need to do this even though I've got a lot I want to write and share.

Before I go, just a quick update:

• My December Daily album is complete except for the photos.

~ I've got spots for the photos throughout the book with the description of them written in the spots in pencil. I'm going to go to HN sometime to get them developed and get only them developed.

~ If I decide to get regular photos developed at the same time, I'll do them on a separate order to keep them separate. These are the things you learn after doing five-things-at-once scrapbooking.

~ Remember how I said that my title page didn't totally work? Too much red or something in the middle there? Well, it's still the same and I ain't fixing it!

~ I really enjoyed my DD this year. It was a commitment each day to spend the time, but it was worth it in the end. Plus I enjoy craft and always feel happier after I've spent some time doing it, so the project kinda forced me to spend the time. Makes sense.

• My ribbon of bits in the dining room is still up. I like watching the ornaments spin in the breeze. Don't want to take it down just yet.

~ Was thinking I might take the Christmas bits down eventually and start a new one, a generic one. Flowers, rosettes, anything. Just a fun one that I can add to when I want. Will see.

• I am spring cleaning my desk. Gosh, needs it. And putting Christmas punches and stamps away. And generally closing down shop on there. A good close down feels good.

And lastly...

• I still have bunches of Tupperware on my spare bed! I am totally shocked at how little we've used in the last few months. Honestly, I thought half of it would be back in the drawers by now, but no. We're actually keeping cereal in the bottom drawer because we have a totally small pantry and the cereal boxes I buy for the fella are huge. Works for me and I did ask him the other day if he remembered his cereal was in there. He did. He's a real cereal dude.

~ Some of these things have gone back like I said, but not many. I am really intrigued to see how much is left after a year (yep, the fella said I had to keep it there for a year and not get rid of things willy nilly). And you're right, that's our spare bed. And you're right, how would someone sleep there? No fear, that's why the green sheet is there - lift it up and problemo sorted!

Okay, well that's it for now.

Have a wonderful summer and I'll see you soon!

Debra :o)

Ode to the red cup

Thank you for helping me take photos of my projects all year.

You rocked.

 I always looked for you because you were the best prop around.

The others were too big, too small, didn't stay in place or were just hopeless.

You weren't.

You were good.

And you looked good in the photos too if you happened to sneak into any.

If you're agreeable, I'd like to continue with your services in 2011. 

You would? That's great, thanks.

Til then, 

The Photographer.  

What a mess!

Things I've discovered about the way I work and make things:

1. I have no problems making a big mess.

2. I'm okay with it because I know I'm good at cleaning up.

3. Sometimes I annoy myself because I clean up too quickly. I put things away and then have to pull them out again 10 mins later.

4. I can work in an organised (to me) mess. I cannot work in chaos.

5. I need a lot of space to work. I know the desk is huge, but I'd have 17 desks this big in my house if I could.

The 17 desks (let's see if I can list 17. I'm going to try!)

1. One for extra work space in my room.

2. Die-cutting in my room.

3. A place to dump stuff in my room.

4. A gift wrapping station.

5. A writing desk (okay, so this one doesn't need to be as big as the others).

6. A desk for Andrew, so I have somewhere to put his stuff.

7/8/9. Three for my laundry - folding, baskets, just junk in that there laundry.

10. A general all purpose anything desk because you need one of those.

11. A place to put stuff we have to take and give to people. I cannot see my mother at any time without giving her something, or her giving something to me. Currently we have an egg carton that needs to go to Andrew's brother (he keeps chooks) and DVDs that need to go to Andrew's dad. There's always things to give to people and I've no where to put them! And Mum's going to give me a Christmas carol book the next time I see her and I'll probably return her Women's Weekly if I've finished it by then. See? Always something to give and get back.

12. Okay, running out of ideas. Oh, a bigger desk to scrap standing up at.

13. And one to put behind me to dump extra scrapping stuff.

14. Another bench in the kitchen. In my next kitchen, I want it to be eat in. I've been watching too much Escape to the Country - I want a little table in the middle of my kitchen. I'd love that.

15. A desk/counter/bench outside to dump stuff on. And a cupboard underneath to dump stuff in.

16. Nearly there. A fold up table to bring upstairs for when we have extra people over.

17. Last one. Can I think of one? Ha ha, and it took a bit of thinking - a ping pong table. We love ping pong, but we don't play anymore. Andrew turned our table into our kitchen bench!

There you go, 17 desks/tables/workspaces - ridiculous amounts of surface area!

6. I need space to work, but I also need to see what I've got in order to use it. If I'm making Christmas cards I pull out all the fun Christmas stuff I want to use and put it in front of me so I can see it.

And the list goes on...Things I've discovered about the way I work and make things:

7. I hate using cheap tools. Give me quality any day of the week.

8. I have several cards/projects on the go at once. It's because I start making something, get an idea for something else and then move on to make it, so I don't forget it. I always come back to the previous things, so it works for me. I rarely have unfinished projects.

9. I like working on self-healing mats because the glue doesn't stick to them.

10. I try a lot of systems of how to access things easily - sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.

11. Accessibility is key for me. I can't stand not being able to find things easily.  

Other things I've discovered about how I work and make things:

12. I get an idea and try something like that Doily Lace across the red card - sometimes it works immediately and sometimes it doesn't. This one is in the "I want this to work pile, but I don't think it's going to."

13. If things aren't working, I leave them and work on something else. Usually some time away will tell me whether to persue the idea or not. With the Doily Lace on that vertical card, it didn't work. Sad. But I ended up getting it to work on a horizontal version. Glad.

14. I tend to do lots of versions using the same idea to see just how good the idea is - eg. Jennifer's Brackets edger card idea. She made a card base out of it with the edger on both sides. I did the same thing, but also then went on to do a horizontal version, one like the green above with the edger on the top only and then one with the brackets on both sides, but as a layer on the card, rather than the card base. I like to see how many things can come from the one idea.

15. If I'm experimenting with a new product, I always choose cream/white/clear first. Cream card, white/clear embossing powder/ink, clear/white Glimmer Mist/Glimmer Glam, Crystal/Diamond/Stardust Stickles, Versamark Ink, cream pearls, clear rhinestones, white flowers (actually, that's wrong, I think I went pink first that time), clear glitter, Pearl Perfect Pearls etc etc.

16. I write myself a lot of notes while I'm making stuff, so I remember what I want to make next. I like the constant flow of going from one thing to another, which is why I have a few things on the go at once.

17. I don't like being stuck as to what to do next!

18. What I think I'll use most in the beginning, is not what I used most in the end. For example, a pack of patterned paper. There will be one I think I'll love, but I won't use it much. And one I didn't think much of in the beginning will become a favourite. That Eyelet Lace punch above is one of those dark horses. Love it now.

19. And when the crafting for the year is over, I get a real need to give the place a good clean. A move 'em on out clean and a spring clean to get rid of the dust and glitter and all those tiny punch pieces that get themselves everywhere. Might do that while the weather is still cooler...still feels like spring, might as well spring clean.

20. Nah, forget 20. Who says lists have to end on an even number?

:o)

Juggling

Hello there,

How's your week going so far?

I'm still catching up after the show. Catching up with things so I can have a Better Home and Garden.

I chose this photo for today because the title caught my eye. I took the pic in the first place because it's the issue that has my cushion on the front. I'm still making that cushion, which is annoying. I hate things dragging out, but this project is. And I'm so close to finishing! Might help if it was in the living room where I can see it, but Andrew moved it to another room to get it out of the way. It was on the kitchen bench for weeks, so I get his point.

My crafting status at the moment?

• I have a new class to make up.
• I have a class to punch for.
• I have other things to make for some displays.
• I'm blogging as I can.
• I'm not scrapbooking - other stuff is on the table.
• I'm making a ribbon thing, but I've stalled a bit on that too.
• I'm thinking of doing a December Daily (like Ali) and I've got an idea in mind.

Summary: I'm juggling. And I'm juggling work and play.

You see, craft for me is work and play. I get money for some of the craft I do. I don't get money for some of the craft I do.

When I work, I craft.

When I play, I craft.

I banned myself from crafting (work and play) for a couple weeks a while back and found myself with nothing to do! That included craft related anything...computer surfing, blogging, shopping, actual crafting....everything.

And as it turned out, because crafty work and play are combined for me, the ban didn't last because I had essential work things to do.

Ah, juggling.

And juggling the Home and Garden too to make them function and run smoothly. Smoothly, ha ha. Do you know how many times Andrew's cooked dinner lately? Honestly, he's a legend and he does all these things without raising a sweat, but I'm in a real cooking slump and can't be bothered with the whole eating three times a day thing. And coming up with something new to cook? Please, take me outside and hose me down now.

Tonight we are having plum chops with vegetables - it's going to be nice, but I've got to make myself get in the kitchen at a reasonable time to make it happen. I like cooking, but not all the time. And because we people have to eat all the time, I have to cook all the time. I'm done. I think we'll just eat raw from now on. At least summer's coming and I can do that. And I'm serious - I'll take everything in the fridge, cut it up small, throw it in a bowl and we'll eat that. Cabbage, broc, cauli, lettuce, tomato, cheese, mushrooms, zucchini, nuts, carrot, avo - it's the only way Andrew will eat zucchini, so I praise myself for getting it his mouth. Outwit, outplay and outlast...in the kitchen. If only I could.

In an all-over-the-place mood today as you can tell. Juggling work and play and all that comes with it. Sometimes the juggling is easy, sometimes it's not. Today it's not. It's relentless.

Okay, must go and do some work, but before I do, guess what? LUNCH!

Bye for now!

:o)

PS. I realise you don't get on here to read about how I'm finding things difficult. I know it's about the craft and craft is meant to be good all the time, right? Wrong. It's not. Sometimes craft is messy, expensive and just all over place. Life's like that too. Messy, expensive and all over the place. It doesn't mean it can't be fixed (does it need to be?), it just means it's like that sometimes and that's the truth of it. Craft and creativity are very personal things - sing from your heart, dance from your heart, cook from your heart - the judges harp on that all the time. But what if your heart is a bit messy? What if things are all over the place? Do I really want to sing, dance (or in our case), create from there? That means everyone will know I'm not doing so well and do I really want that? Well, no. And well, yes, because what's the big deal? We're all human, we all have failings, we all get a bit messy sometimes and it's okay to admit it. The admitting it isn't hard, it's the reactions that are the hardest, hey? Who wants to be judged because of the way they feel? Nobody, they just want to be understood or heard. That's it and that's all.

So, I'm just saying it how it is. 'It' being craft and 'it' being life because often they are one and the same. It's a juggle, it's not fun all the time and that's just the way it is. It doesn't bother me, things will change, they always do, but for today, I'm going to eat and then sit at my desk and make something for my new class. And before that I'll pray because I want to talk to God about these things and He listens. Not just for the sake of it, but attentively because I am important to Him. You are too, did you know that?

PPS. Just so you know, all the talk of juggling, finding it hard etc etc sounds like I'm on the floor curled up in a ball blubbering my eyes out. I'm not (well, not today anyway!). I'm just talking here. Putting it out there because it's the truth. I'll bet there's a lot of correlations between your craft and your life. How you approach it and how you feel about it. What do you think? Think on it if you want, if not, that's fine too. I'm a deep thinker, always have been. And I don't do it on purpose, I just do it. Drives Andrew crazy sometimes, but he still loves me. I drive myself crazy sometimes too, but it's okay, Andrew just tells me to settle down and we move on :o)

PPPS. Have a great day, won't you? And if you're finding your juggling hard today, just know that someone else (and I'll bet a lot more too) knows how it feels, okay? Our lives are all different, but we all experience a lot of the same emotions within them. It's the playing field on which we can all relate and have some understanding for each other, yes?

I make stuff

Sewers sew and whip makers whip.

I make stuff.

I  know you do too.

You've gotta admire those musicians who just keep making music for themselves, but at some point when you're an artist, you just want to share your work. I can understand that frustration. You know how what you do makes you feel and you want others to feel that too. 

Punch art, for me, has been a life saver. Sounds a little dramatic, but I know it's brought a lot of happiness to me. It just has. That sounds dramatic too. But the arts - the dancing, the singing, the drama, the crafty stuff we do, the artsy stuff painters do, the music - all that stuff, it's an expression of who you are, what you like, what you don't, what you love and what you hate really. It shows your style, your passions, your heartbeat. 

Music = notes and they get played. But music is also singing really loud in the car, or in your kitchen when making dinner :o) It's happiness, it's a message, it's who you were with when you were singing really loud in the car or kitchen. It's the funny look on Andrew's face when he walks into the kitchen and then turns the music down. It's the way he feels when I sing along to the songs in the car. He doesn't sing, but he loves it when I do. He enjoys the music, but he doesn't make it. I sing along to it, but I don't make it either. Actually I kinda do because I make up my own harmonies...

(Source: GCD Studios Homespun Chic chipboard shapes)

What I do do is make stuff.

I make cards, photo albums, flower things in vases, envelopes, bags, boxes, canvases, mini books, other flower things in vases, Christmas decorations, bunting, scarves and cushions. I don't make all of those things all the time, but I make stuff and I like it.

My heart though, sits here.

It sits with the little bears and those colourful shapes. It sits with that bear falling into the ocean. It sits with the cream background and all the colours on top.

I can't explain why punch art makes my heart happy like nothing else does. It's funny, I love patterned paper (hello, October Afternoon) and making cards using all the gorgeous bits. I love die cutting and making stuff with those. I love Cuttlebug embossing folders. Like, looove. I was cranking something through the machine earlier in the week and thought, "What's so good about this really? What is so appealing about cranking something through this darn machine?" I have no answer, it just is. And that's the answer, it just is. It's good and it doesn't need explaining. I think I try to work things out too much. 

We all know things we come across in life that make our heart smile. People things, place things, music things, arty things, craft things, doggie things - any things. They're different things for different people, but they're heart smiles.

There was a boy named Mattie on Oprah years ago who faced a lot of life challenges. He and his mother had the same degenerative disease, as did his siblings. I think they'd lost some of the other children when he was on the show (he was on there a few times). He was such an amazing little boy and so wise. He used to talk about heart songs. The song of your heart. The thing(s) in life that make your heart sing. He wrote heart songs too, I believe. I'm not sure, I don't want to get the facts wrong, but I just remember listening to him and the wise words he had to say. He blessed Oprah, and the rest of us too.

What things in your life make your heart sing or smile? They make you feel happy, fulfilled, content and satisfied. They make you feel like you.

For me, there's a lot, I won't list them all here, but they're the special things like God, Andrew, family, Cody and time with all of them, as well as watching good BBC drama!

One of my heart smiles is punch art. I can't explain why, it just is. It's me. 

Heart songs and heart smiles. They're nice thoughts, aren't they?

Bless you today, ladies. Have a wonderful day. 

:o) 

Another use for those punches...

Now I know this sounds really dumb, but I use these punches as doorstops in my room.

It's starting to get hotter now and I've noticed the afternoon breezes are picking up through my north-east facing door - a tell-tale sign that summer's coming. This means the start of my office doors getting blown closed all the time. They don't have door catchers on them because of the angle they are to the walls behind.   

Cue big punches that are hard to store anyway and problem solvered. Yes, solvered, it's from an ad over here. An old one. It was about paint - can't really remember it too much.

Anyway, punches used as door stops. They work too and I can easily kick 'em out of the way when I need to get to the ribbon and other stuff behind them (which I seem to do quite a lot). Can't do that with a door chock, now can you?

:o)



Why I made these cards standing up

Because I had no room at my desk basically!

Also, the commitment it takes to go sit down and get overwhelmed by choices of stuff to use at my desk is a bit much sometimes, you know? Unless I have a clear idea of what I want to do in the beginning I find it hard to go with it esp. when under pressure. 

I needed to make a card for my sister's birthday a few weeks ago, and to combat the no-room-on-my-desk and sitting-is-committing isses, I took the stuff I needed to the kitchen bench and spread out. 

I love being able to spread out! 12 x 12 paper is rather large and it needs room to move, yes?

I also knew it'd have to be a designated card making session, not a leave-it-there-for-days session, because I had to make dinner after :o)

What's weird is I never craft standing up. I know there's lots of ladies who do, I've seen their rooms, but I've never been a standing up kinda girl.

Interestingly, I scrapbook standing up now. I needed a solution to get some pages done and decided I'd try the stand up approach at a cabinet in our living room. To my surprise it worked and I was getting pages done! I've got photos etc and I'll show them soon.  

This was my sister's card - it took me about 20 mins to make, I'd say. That's pretty fast for me.

Because I had the stuff all over the bench, I decided to make some more like this one below.  

When I make a bunch of cards at the same time, I spread everything out, choose the feature pieces I want for each card and cut and place the bits all at the same time. I essentially build the cards all at once trying bits and pieces on each card until I'm happy.

Does anyone else do this, or am I the only one?

It's not the only way I make cards, but it's one way, particularly when I'm using a collection - this one was Material Girl from Cosmo Cricket.

You can see above how I've got the card bases there (all A5) and I'm trying bits and pieces. Like I said, I choose things I want to use then build the card around them.

Being a crafter I had to use the "a day spent crafting is a good day" quote, right? Right.

Each card got an envelope made for it out of the collection's paper too. It makes it all matchy matchy and it's a good way to use up the paper - if you need to, that is.

Sounds a bit frivolous to use an entire sheet for an envelope, but it does make the card extra special and honestly, I can't save every bit of paper, I'd just rather use it. 

I make my envelopes on the Crafter's Companion Ultimate Pro - check out a video on it here if you've not seen it before.

The CC is my go-to envelope maker of choice. It's sooo quick and easy! 

And just a couple of other tools I took out with me to use on the cards - a tracing tool and pinking shears. Very materialy/sewy type tools that I thought'd work with the theme.

Sue liked the card and I had fun making it. Hey, 20 mins and a nice card that the recipient liked - woo hoo.

Can't ask for more than that, except for that amount of room to spread out every time I craft!

Another place that didn't disappoint...

...I think everyone says that!

NYC

I know, two redheads!