Feeling scrappy

Tonight is our monthly crop hosted by the wonderful gals at Scrapbook Cottage in Steinbach.  You ought to check it out...and see Sharon's blog too!!  I've been doing some pages lately, catching up on old photos (some really old and some a few years old).  Not quite as fun as the new ones but it's got to be done.  I was asked to help with some digital scrapbooking for a group of 4H'ers who are taking it for their club.  That will be exciting to plan for them, I did that last year and we had a great time with it.

I've got a folder on my computer for sayings, quotes and verses that I promise myself I'll make into word art one day...well lucky you!  Today is one of those days.  I love this quote, often attributed to Carl Jung it actually goes back further to Spartan times.  It is truly timeless.  If you need one in color let me know and I can do one up for you.

Enjoy and get that scrappy feeling going...it feels good to scrap no matter which style or medium you use!

She Writes, I Write

I write because I think in words, I photograph because I see things framed in my mind and try to capture that with a lens and digital eye.  We write because the words must be let out, either through pen or keyboard, through tears or blood.  We write, we share and we are She Writes!  Won't you join us on this B&W Blogger Ball?

I have been writing as long as I can remember - hunched over an old typewriter in the lamplight as a pre-teen, scribbling in countless notebooks and scraps of paper.  I've been enjoying the written word as long as I can remember, immersing myself in a finely crafted poem, a wonderfully wrought story or a rocket roller coaster thriller!  I strive to be one of those writers who leave little shadows of their words along the path for others to find for inspiration, for courage and for fun.

I am a poet, a columnist, a blogger and a trouble maker.  I share my scars, my dreams and my faith.  I'm working on my novel and my second book of poetry.  I'm finding a sisterhood of writing at She Writes that I invite you to investigate and join!

If you are on She Writes and we haven't met yet, thanks for stopping by!  If you like you can learn more about me at my other blogs:
Scarred-Seeker
Strawberry Roan
Chore Time
and of course here on Mystic Mom.

Be brightly blessed and may your words have wings!

I know Meg wanted a bit of advice, and all I can share is from my own experience, and that is to keep writing, keep crafting.  Seek writers who you can build friendships with, who respect your work and learn from each other, lean on each other and have closed bitch sessions when needed.  Write! Write! Even if it stays in draft form for a long time you captured the words and gave them a home.

Christmas & New Years

Merry Christmas!  I trust you had a joyful Christmas!  We are also wishing you a very Happy New Year with health, happiness and time to enjoy life each day!

Here are some of my favorite photos to enjoy...be well and be brightly blessed!

Making paper snowflakes!

Awesome snow angels buddy!

A decoration named either Buddy or Henry!

The gingerbread house before it fell...

Our little family, big on love!

The plow with Earl's ice candles...lovely dear!

Cookie cutters, wax pencils in white and some cardboard or
 paper bags to make decorations and gift tags.

I'll be the Queen of the Crop with this rockin' scrap tote from Earl & Luke!

"Santa Parking Only" and yes we left hay for the reindeer!

Tubin' with cousin Julia!

Total fun with Grandpa!

Christmas Photos

We do family photos around Christmas time every year, and it does make me smile to see how we have all changed and grown since Luke came into our lives those five Christmases ago.

It can be a challenge though - finding something interesting for a theme, some suitable date with the right lighting and of course the mood has to be right. Cannot force either of my guys or the photos won't be spontaneous and fun.

Two days ago we went outside to play while it was lightly snowing and quite warm. Bundled up and playing with the dogs, Luke's joy at being a boy outside was so infectious! I couldn't stay inside and work! I grabbed my camera and my tripod, threw on a hoodie and fleece jacket and went outside to capture some of his spirited laughter and contagious fun!

We did get our family photos done, and I have four favorites of us three, plus a few treasured ones of Earl and Luke. A couple of good bloopers for scrapbooking too!

Enjoy, and share the links to your family Christmas photos or comment to share your ideas for great locations, poses and fun things that help get those wonderful photos we treasure so much!Bright blessings this Christmas season, and all year through!

There is honour in dirt

There is honour in dirt, there is goodness in doing the dirty jobs.  Luke loves watching Dirty Jobs, he respects and admires workers in trades and in jobs like farmers.  Someone asked me what our hopes for him were - and my reply was, anything that makes him happy!  But being a bit 'old school' they had concerns that he would do a manual job or perhaps something that was hard or would be dirty.  I couldn't help but laugh!

Dirty as a problem?   Not likely, and as I got to thinking about it I really considered there is honour in dirt.  There is something about someone who is not afraid of dirt that makes me proud.  Mike Rowe, of Dirty Jobs, has some really great ideas on subjects like this, and he inspires us with his show.  For us it isn't always about the dirt in the job, but the people and their ingenuity.  Their spirit  and determination to make things happen, to get things done.

I've done some dirty jobs and I've done clean and tidy jobs.  Except for a few wish-I-could-forget moments I'd take the dirty ones any day!  Well almost any day! 

When I think about the future I think we'll have more of a need for people who can and will do the dirty jobs.  People who can literally muck their way through and be okay with it.  Growing food, fighting fires, tending animals, building structures, repairing and retrofitting.  When we have dirt on our hands we know we did something.  Maybe not earth shattering or Nobel Prize winning but something we can put our hands around, take a photo of, stand back from and say, "yep got that done." Even if it is only done for that moment or that day.

My family has a long history of dirt and I'm proud of it. Farmers, ranchers, builders, labourers, ship's captains and scoundrels.  Men, women and children who pioneered, invented and created with dirt on their hands.  So keep on getting dirty Mike, Andrew and the gang from Mythbusters. Keep on getting dirty farmers, fire fighters, Moms and Dads,  hydro men and women, miners and fishermen, vets and rescuers.  Keep on getting dirty, there is honour in that dirt!  (please wash your hands before eating!)

Back in the Scrap

Oh yeah I've been getting back in the scrap and does it feel good? Oh Yeah! Went to a crop last Saturday, met some rockin' scrappers and am going next Friday.   Thanks Janelle for doing a great crop and Sharon I'm looking forward to yours, I'm bringing a friend and we are going to have a super time.  Last Saturday I did five layouts and made two chipboard albums.

I'll be posting some photos tomorrow...tonight I'm thinking about what my next layout project should be - and sadly  I know what it must be!  I have to finish pages that are languishing in albums, waiting for a final element, bit of journalling or even a photo.  No more new pages until those are done!


A few weeks ago Earl and I were working on a page of us enjoying a winter bonfire and we thought it needed marshmallow embellishments.  We used stickers of sticks and made our own dimensional marshmallow elements.  I've put the tutorial here for you - this would work to make snow men, snow balls, marshmallows or anything else!


Keep on scrapping!


How To Make Dimensional Marshmallow Elements

This is the method Earl came up with while helping me with a page.

Here is how we got this great dimensional marshmallow element for our paper page, you can do it too!

Supplies:

Stamping Up (or other) Chalk set

Square punch

Thick white paper

Corner rounder

'stick' stickers or dimensional sticks

Popsicle stick or embossing tool

Round edged container (I used a wooden candle lid)

Large foam 'pop dot'

1:  Punch your squares, be sure they are to scale with what you are using for sticks on the layout

     Round the corners with your corner rounder

2:  Using dark brown chalk, chalk the top and side edges of your marshmallows

     smudge the brown about a 1/3 of the way in to the shape, getting lighter towards the bottom

3:  Using black chalk, chalk the edges on top and sides

     Randomly smudge some black (like scorch marks) on the top 3/4 of the marshmallow

4:  Place the edge of the marshmallow over your rounded object

     Using the popsicle stick or embossing tool, curve the edges downwards, all the way around

5:  Re-chalk any areas which need more brown or black (to look toasted)

6  Position your pop dot on the page, over your stick

    Adhere marshmallow without bending the edges flat again

TA! DA! You have a dimensional paper marshmallow for camping, bbq and fireside pages...

Object of my Affection

Object of My Affection


There are many 'things' that I've had in my life and lost - sometimes they wear out, sometimes we out grow them. Sometimes they get broken, stolen or just plain lost.  Sometimes when you are fleeing for your life and sanity you leave things behind.  They are, after all, just things.  Not all things can be replaced, and many will hold a close place in our hearts long after they are gone.


Holli challenged us on her blog, A Life Less Ordinary, to think about the 'object of my affection'. You should stop by and read about her friend, Fuzzy.  


I'm looking around my house, and there are many things with stories. Some grand. Some small. Some barely there. Some I've carried around through many moves, repaired, cleaned and cherished.  One of them is my Maneki Neki that I brought home from my first trip to Hawai'i when I was 13.

It now sits in my china cabinet, by the kitchen table. Next to my Celtic Angel and the Christmas dishes.  She didn't always have such a safe place to rest.  When I first got her I didn't realize she wasn't made of durable materials, her clay based form is quite fragile.  She traveled thousands of miles in a suitcase, in the somewhat careful hands of airline employees.  She lived on a shelf which was thought to be too high for the real cats to each.  


That perception was literally shattered one night as the crossed eyed peach point Persian, Paul Newman, crashed her off her shelf.  In her pieces on the floor she looked so sad.  I was heart broken. I was really angry.  That CAT wrecked my special cat.  I could have cried, but instead I went to find the glue.  I sat on the floor for over an hour gluing her back together.


Neki has moved with me nine times, and has so far, not only stayed together (good old Elmer's glue!) but has also been a constant object of my affection.  She has survived winter U-haul moves, a temporary abandonment and subsequent storage unit stay. She has been in cars, in trucks, on shelves and held in hands of all sizes.

If you look close you can see the cracks, you can see where her paint is a bit dull, the glitter a bit tattered but her upraised paw beckons still.  Her eyes still grace a feline smiling face.  She is still an object of my affection.