GIVEAWAY!!!

GIVEAWAY!!!

Watching another DVD gave birth to a second pincushion.

I'd love to share one with one of you lovely people out there.

Just leave me a comment or email and I'll have my husband pick a name from a thimble or a hat.

I'll announce the winner in 2 days and that person can send me their address via my email.

You may also have your choice of which color you'd like.

If you're not a sewer... 'regift it' (Seinfeld)!

Sharing is part of the fun of creating!

~Joni

Once upon a time, I was a little girl...

I remember a lot of details about those early years and was going to fill in one of those 'All About Your Mom' books. I started... got bored... decided to put my memories into an album instead so that I had room for pictures, journaling, and as much color as I needed to convey how I felt about it all.

I hope my girls will enjoy this album someday and will laugh at how different things were... but yet similar. This is my 2nd Christmas... snuggled safely on my mom's lap. My dad left for WWII several days after I was born, so my whole world revolved around my mom. My mom was a nurse and had to work due to the war, so I had a nanny... Nanny Lockvahm.
This was my 3rd birthday which I celebrated with my best friend Harry and my beloved teddy bear 'Brownie'. Brownie always had a small cake of his own with a candle.
NICE HATS!

Happy 4th birthday to me!
My dad had come home from the war and we had bought our first home.
I also had my first big party with lots of kids.
I'm sitting behind a table my parents got me for my birthday, looking at all my 'loot'!
The top photo makes me laugh because my mother was always saying, "Joni... little girls should always sit with their legs together."
Nice hats again!



Speaking of hats... this time they're to hide my bald head.
My mom used to scotch tape a bow on my head. I didn't think that was funny.
As you can see, these layouts are not in any order. And you can also see how old I am!
Humbug!
This was my first Halloween and I wasn't sure about this whole 'pumpkin' thing.
When I was in elementary school I cut up the picture of me holding the pumpkin. My legs were as bowed as the pumpkin was round.
Not cute!

Well, that's it for today... I'll share more from this album another day.
~ Joni
P.S. Guess who's getting a new sewing machine!! My dear husband must have read my blog. He was looking up sewing machines in Consumer Reports today.
It pays to blog!!

ALSO... I lost yesterday's blog on my site. It was about the fabric store and had pictures of the pincushion I'd made. Strange! Have any of you had that happen??

I love... ETSY.COM!!!

This is Emily! She is a cloth doll created by Maggierama for her etsy store. I bought her this afternoon. I thought she was charming the minute I saw her. I am fascinated (I didn't want to say 'addicted') with etsy.com!

Now we all have different things that 'trip our trigger'... and etsy is my current 'tripper' (did I just coin a word?).

Etsy is like a magnet drawing me in and I don't resist. I could... but don't!

It's such fun to explore the site and discover all the crafty/arty creative endeavors of people just like me... only a bit more disciplined. It's motivating!

I can sew, knit, design, paint, and so on... but I don't seem to get around to it.

Scrapbooking is an exception. I seem to keep fairly current with that.

But when I'm reading my favorite blogs each day, so many handmade items are shared in lovely photos. I am so motivated right now to CREATE... but, I still have to check out etsy to see what's new and available.

Besides, I feel as though I'm helping to support independent artists.

But tomorrow morning I am going to a fabric store and give it a try myself!

Victoria is back!

Victoria magazine is back!

Sorting through the mail from a few days ago, I found this card (see photos). I am so excited and I wonder how many of you are feeling the same way? I loved this magazine and kept my stacks of back issues. They're timeless! But, suddenly, a number of years ago... they just discontinued the magazine. I've noticed the magazine mentioned in a lot of the blogs I read. So, for you folks, here is the exciting news if you didn't get a card in the mail. I photographed both sides so you could see the company's address. I tried to find a web address but couldn't. Maybe you'll have better luck.

If you have never experienced curling up with a copy of Victoria, you must give it a try. I loved collecting their quotes and reading stories by famous authors. Each issue featured so much:

*clever interior design ideas

*romantic gardens

*collectibles/antiques

*beauty & fashion that uniquely appeals to Victoria fans

*beauty and bath products for body, mind, & spirit

*gracious cooking, entertaining, and living as a timeless art

I'm excited to fall in love with Victoria all over again!

Memories of the 4th of July

In 1976 America celebrated it's 200th birthday.

Our country celebrated!!

Our church had festivities from morning until night. We started with a church service outside on the grass under a tree. There was storytelling in the shade of big trees, & games, balloons, etc. for the kids. A pig roasted all day and there was oodles of food.

I made the girls calico shorts with their names appliqued on the front and matching calico bonnets. I made myself a red print prairie dress. Everyone really put a lot of effort into the preparations for this special day.

I was so glad that I had saved my daughters' outfits when I was working on their scrapbooks. The layouts will help them remember the wonderful time we had that day.

What memories do you have of 1976?

~Joni

Greetings

Happy 4th of July !
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wish YOU ALL
a fun and safe
celebration !

My Daughter's Scrapbooking

It always makes me so proud to see my 2 daughter's accomplishments in so many areas.

These are samples of 3 of Wendy's scrapbooks that she had in her car this weekend. I took pictures of them to remind me of several ideas, approaches, and techniques to try. I have a studio and every supply imaginable, but Wendy just scraps on a coffee table while watching a movie with whatever supplies she picked up at the store that day. She's so relaxed with the process. She's never read a scrapbooking magazine or book and always comes up with such delightful creations. She made her own albums just using cardboard cut in squares and usually makes 8x8 albums.

Wendy works quickly... an album in an evening. I like the angled pocket on the right filled with tags with photos and again the brads along the right edge.

Again, a pocket... vertical this time. Continuation of brads on right edge. And such a beach feeling!

One of her Arizona albums with each 2 page spread telling the story of a special event. Her color choice is always so appropriate.

She used pockets in this album also and each photo tag had a simple black bow tied at the top. Brads again on the side (I have to play with that).

In her house in Arizona that she's about to move in, there's a room for an office/scrapbooking area. It will be fun to see what she creates with a special spot for 'creations only'!

The Whole Story

Boyd and I have only been married for a year and a half. We lived in two different cities about an hour's drive apart and we both owned homes. We decided to live in his house because it was several rooms bigger... more space for scrapbooking and craft supplies . He, he, he. However, I wasn't ready to part with my own house yet. It was so lovingly decorated, so cozy & inviting, and soooo FULL OF STUFF! The basement alone was like a gift shop. OVERWHELMING!! It was the perfect spot for the girls to stay when they came home to the city where they grew up. When Wendy became engaged to Darin, it was time for her to leave DC and move to Arizona where he is a golf pro. Luckily her job as an Event Planner could be continued from Phoenix as she travels much of the time anyway. I had taken from my house a few favorite things but there was a lot of great furniture for Wendy to take to her Arizona home. So she arrived last Tuesday night... drove here from DC with her dog Shamrock. We spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday putting sold signs on the things she wanted to keep and pricing everything else. Trips up and down and up and down the basement stairs... bringing up treasures from the basement storage. And then, like knights on white horses, Darin's parents arrived from Iowa and saved our aching & tired bodies. Barb and Oz are wonderful... our first meeting! I loved them from the first hug. My oldest daughter Kristin arrived soon after. WOW... does she have energy!! My husband Boyd was given the job of 'errand runner', sign maker, and cashier. By Friday night my body felt as though it was hit by a truck. New muscles had been discovered. Saturday morning arrived quickly... "LET THE SALE BEGIN!" It was crazy fun and a beautiful day... sunny and cool. The shoppers arrived early and left with armloads of treasures. It's always fun chatting with new people. I played around on all the exercise equipment outside and my back is in spasms at the moment. Someday I'll learn.

We had a Christmas area. I took this photo after it had been picked over.

The quest room bed was covered in pillows and a million other things.

Fall decor was in the hallway... on shelves, the floor, and small tables

Living room had miscellaneous goodies. This is just a taste of what we sold. The dining room table was covered with sets of dishes I couldn't live without. The kitchen was loaded with cookery and cookbooks... and more dishes and glassware. Even the grass outside of the house was covered with hooked rugs, skis, and so on. By Sunday afternoon we were all worn out and getting goofy. We had eaten thousands of calories from 'fast food'. Called it quits and we all went home. The $$$$ (did very, very well) went to Wendy and Darin to cover their gas, rental truck, and other moving expenses.

Here's the quote of the day: Boyd to me as we pulled in our driveway Sunday, "I have a good idea honey! Why don't WE have a rummage sale?" I just scowled at him. He got the message.

I love you, Oliver!

This is a photo of our wonderful dog Oliver who died 6 months ago today. To understand that I would commemorate him 6 months later, you'd have to have experienced loving a dog or being loved by a dog. Oliver, also known as Ollie, was a shelter dog that I rescued at 2 years old. He was the friendliest little guy... everybody's buddy. He was gentle and enjoyed visiting Seniors

at homes. He wasn't a barker... just a lover. He licked the back of the mailman's knees when the mailman had his walking shorts on. Ollie was given rides in his mail truck. The UPS man would stop with treats for him even when I wasn't getting a package. He loved Dairy Queen cones and McDonald's cheeseburgers. This photo was taken on Christmas day playing with his favorite toy... a small rawhide chewy. Ollie was 14 years old and 4 days later died in my arms at the animal hospital. He's gone to a place where all of God's loved pets go.

FRIENDS!

A friend gave me this soft-sculpture of 3 lovely lady friends. I love it! It is so whimsical, colorful, and fun. There is a poem attached that says:
Some friends grow older,
Some grow wiser,
and a few become GENUINE characters.
I can relate to this as I age, life experiences increase, and priorities change. I believe we do become wiser, too... hopefully.

We're off to spend another day with my younger daughter tomorrow morning and I need to go to bed so that tomorrow comes quickly. There's NOTHING like being a mom!

Mixed Media Painting

Yes, I'm certainly a bit off-season showing you this painting now, but I saw it this morning when I was digging through the basement storage shelves. It's so typical of the way I play with paint. I don't think of myself as a painter, but I love, love, love to play around with paint. I paint when I get an idea I want to try. I have a mitten collection... mittens from all over the world. I love the bright colors and patterns woven into those cozy hand warmers (I never wear gloves).

And I had to try a painting of a pair of mittens with patterns on them. I love anything whimsical, so 2 mittens alone in the middle of a canvas is 'just right' for my taste. This is acrylics on canvas, with paper added & a bit of yarn. Snowflake stamps pressed on a paint pad soften the background. I played with this paint/paper technique on 4 other canvases... then I was through. It was the process I was interested in rather than the product. But, I like it anyway.

Mysteries GROW Around Them!

"A pair of amateur sleuths solve classic mysteries set in gorgeous English gardens".

We love movies and watch a lot of them. When I stumbled across this British series on NETFLIX ( that is a WONDERFUL movie source ), we tried one DVD and then went right to Amazon and bought all 3 Series (although I couldn't seem to find series 2 for the photo.. where is it?). The main characters Laura Thyme & Rosemary Boxer are delightful and addictive. I won't give you their interesting backgrounds, but they meet when they are thrown together over a suspicious death and they use their gardening skills to solve it. Their friendship blossoms and together they look for gardening commissions. Mysteries seem to follow them. The episodes are all filmed on location in stunning English countryside settings. Kew gardens, Regent's Park, a Surrey vineyard and many beautiful English estates are a few of these settings. We enjoyed each and every one of the DVDs and we just started watching them again.

PS When we buy through Amazon we have had very good luck buying used DVDs.

MY BEST FRIEND

Surprise, Honey! You made 'the blog' today! It's not our anniversary or your birthday or Father's Day... I just want to thank you for being my best friend. I am so blessed to be spending the rest of my life with you (and not a GOM... grumpy old man). I just want the whole world (literally) to know what a loving, kind, sensitive, and fun person you are. Thanks for loving me JUST AS I AM (sounds like Bridget Jones). And NO... I will not Go see SHREK III !!! XOXOXO

What inspires your creativity ?

I have some incredible cookbooks that I have bought just for the illustrations. Susan Branch has written and illustrated so many wonderful books to explore. I own them all, but have never made a single recipe. I look through them and get inspired and find ideas for scrapbook pages, etc. Look at the wonderful flowered border on the page below. That will look great on a summer scrap layout.

The bubbles in the photo are some of the jars I bought. I lined them all in a row on my studio window ledge. I did a layout for one of my daughters with the actual plastic bubble wands glued to the page along with this photo of the jars... and of course the picture of her blowing bubbles on a summer day.

I love dishes and needless to say mine are colorful! I bought these in Positano, Italy and carried them between hotels during our month visit. I had grooves in my fingers from the string that they were tied with... worth it to me! Each plate is a different color and has different animals on it. One of the hotels we stayed at had stacks of these on a table and it was always fun to see if anyone got the PIG... he, he, he.

Books and magazines are great places to go for inspiration. These are knitting books... two by Kaffe Fassette. The photos are wonderful... I've browsed though them for many years. The sweaters are all patterned in beautiful colors. If you've not seen one of his books... make an effort. He has a website that is a reflection of all that he is. You'll have to google it.

Paper napkins are a wonderful inspiration... not the Dora the Explorer kind... but the prints. I have some tacked to my bulletin board in my study. And don't forget fabrics.

Everyone has a few special things that really SPARK their creativity! Things that speak to you... scream to you, and say, "How do you like my BEAUTIFUL colors?"... "Notice my shape?"... "You can do this too!!!"... and so on. Sometimes I get so inspired that I can't fall asleep because my mind is like a whirling dervish that is going around and around with ideas. It's something that connects with one of your 5 senses and excites you! And this can vary. Have fun exploring your world and jot down those ideas as they surface.

Decorating idea - Bathroom

I love to make changes... INEXPENSIVE... in our home. In the guest bathroom (also known as 'my bathroom') I change the colors with the seasons. For Summer I used lime green and blue this year. I only have to buy towels and a few small goodies to give it a totally different feel. The photo is of a small bench that is always in this bathroom. I like to sit on it when I dry and attempt to curl my 'straight-as-a-board' hair. To chang it's look I unscrew the top of the bench, and pry the staples off the previous fabric with a screwdriver. Then put a coordinating fabric (to my color scheme) on the seat and staple gun it underneath... pulling tight. Pop the seat back on the bench and put the screws back in. If you're reading this and thinking, "Does this lady think we're dumb & totally untalented?"... then the 'how-to' isn't meant for you. But, I have had people ask where I get all the cute benches. So, I'm really speaking to them. They probably are great with numbers or something... we each have our God given talents.

When the season ends, the towels are stored in plastic tubs with lids, along with some of the decorations. I throw in a fabric softener sheet to give 'all' a fresh smell. My tubs are labeled, so I just have to pull out the next season and put everything in it's place. It's a very quick job!

I like to check thrift shops, etc. for the little added touches... also known as 'goodies'. I store the pictures on the top of the tubs as they are changed seasonally, too. Ali Edwards had a blog about 'bathroom art' (see my list of links to reach her site) that she purchased at etsy.com. If you haven't been to etsy.com, then pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea and fasten your seat belt for a wonderful CREATIVE experience!!

I've Been Tagged!

We always hang large baskets of shade flowers on the lower branches of our maple trees. They're the first thing you see when you pull in the driveway. I love the look... my husband's idea!! He's so clever!

I was tagged by Isabelle from Scotland. What fun!

1. Where is your cell phone? In living room where I just talked to my daughter in D.C.

2. Relationship? Fun!

3. Your hair? Straight as a board!

4. Work? Play

5. Your sister? I'm an only child

6. Your favourite thing? My wonderful memories

7. Your dream last night? Forgotten

8. Your favourite drink? Diet Coke very, very cold

9. Your dream car? A lime green VW bug

10. The room you're in? Computer room/studio

11. Your shoes? Birkenstocks

12. Your fears? Snakes

13. What do you want to be in 10 years? Healthy

14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? Family

15. What are you not good at? Patience

16. Muffin? Raspberry

17. Wish list item? Health & happiness for my daughters

18. Where you grew up? Milwaukee, Wisconsin

19. The last thing you did? Watched 'Music and Lyrics' with Hugh Grant

20. What are you wearing? Diamond stud earrings with a sweatshirt & pj bottoms

21. What are you not wearing? I'll never tell!

22. Your pet? Gabby the cat

23. Your computer? Sluggish today

24. Your life? Fun & interesting

25. Your mood? Silly

26. Missing? My daughters, but they'll be home in another week... YEA!

27. What are you thinking about? Crawling in bed to read

28. Your car? Clean out inside

29. Your kitchen? My husband's territory

30. Your summer? 2 weeks at Green Lake & get out other house ready to sell

31. Your favourite colour? RED

32. Last time you laughed? Now

33. Last time you cried? At a movie

34. School? Have 32 credits beyond Master's Degree. I'm done!!

35. Love? I Love easily

Sam Goes to Archivers

Sam is three years old and if you ask him... he'll hold up 3 fingers. His mom Chris picked me up to go to Archivers with them. I'd love to offer to drive but with 3 car seats in their car, that's out of the question. So, camera in hand, I was ready to take a few pictures. Sam had not been to a scrapbook store... should be interesting!

OK... here I am! What do I do now? Run up and down and around? My mom doesn't want me to touch things... only supposed to look with my eyes. But, I spied some Spiderman stuff over here and I really like Spiderman!

My mom said I could have one... but, JUST ONE! Hmmmmm... I think I like this one the best.

My mom is showing me all kinds of things that she wants to buy. They're nice... but, I'd rather have a Tootsie roll.

Hey... maybe there's a Tootsie hidden under my mom's shirt? Nope... nothing here but my mom!

Maybe there's a Tootsie in her pocket? Hey, hey... there is! Good old mom... she knows what I like.

Thanks mom! You want a bite Mrs. Possin?? OK, then I'll eat it myself... the whole thing. Yum, yum, yum.

I have to go pot-ty!!! Now! Nope I'm not fooling!

Good thing I brought my 'tee-tee' with me. I can rub it on my face... smell it. You want to smell it Mrs. Possin??




Boy, oh boy! I get to carry the bag of stuff my mom got. Spiderman is in my bag... yea!

Wanna sit in the back seat with me, Mrs. Possin? You can sit in Ben's seat!






Yippee... we're out of here! I wanna play in my new sandbox. My dad built it and a dirtbox, too!