Princess Matilda Loves to Stamp

Trying something new

2009-05-24T19:21:00.004-04:00

I've seen crocheted wire necklaces before but it took me awhile before I found the right wire for actually making one. I used 30 gauge silver wire, and tiny little crochet hook. I crocheted three separate strands - one with lemon seed beads and crystals, one with crystals, rounds, and green and pink beads, and third with just crystals. It was simple single crochet, pulling a bead into the crocheting every other stitch.

I twisted the wires at the ends and used the crystal strand to wrap the other two together so they'd all blend together. It lies right on my collar bone, and it's so light. I'm very pleased with my first try at this!

Here is a closer look at the stitches and beading. It's delicate, isn't it? I plan to do more of this. It was so easy. It's not often I get something I like on the first try.

Otherwise, things here are fine. I'm still not out of the funk I've been in since my mother in law died. I'm hoping I come back soon. I think I will eventually, but it still just feels like there is a pall hanging over our house. I'm not sure how long this is supposed to last. I guess until it's over, right?

Oh, new job - AWESOME! Beyond awesome, actually. Six months in and I'm doing things I'm good at, things I really enjoy, with people I like. Can't get better, can it?

Bit of jewelry

2009-03-03T05:45:00.003-05:00

I know. Big deal, right? This is a charm bracelet I made. I'm a Twilighter and in Eclipse, Bella gets a charm bracelet from Jacob with a wolf charm carved from wood. Then Edward gives her a crystal heart charm that turns out to be a diamond. Every replica of this bracelet I've seen has a sterling silver wolf charm. I looked for a long time to find a charm that at least mimics the carved wolf. It's carved from stone that looks like wood. It's a fetish, not detailed or real looking, but I don't think it's as commercial as some of those I've seen.

I plan to get real sterling silver chain and findings for this, since I do like it so much. The Swarovski crystal heart sparkles and I want to add more of the red and clear crystal danglies on the "real" one.

Here's an altered tin I made months ago for a challenge for the SS Reflections ezine. Just an altoid tin painted gold. I haven't done anything really creative for awhile, and I feel kind of bad about not posting on my blog for so long. I figured sharing older stuff with you would be better than sharing nothing, right? I enjoy making these altered tins so much that all my friends save their empties to give to me. Recycling at its finest.

Not much else happening here. We're still trying to recover from the shock of the last couple of years. I have no idea how long this process takes, but it's beginning to bug me, this serious lack of creative drive. I just want my muse back!

Another month has passed

2009-02-08T08:09:00.005-05:00

This is the second painting I did.It was really hard to get a good picture of it. I used some glossy mediums on it and they just wanted to shine back at me.

This picture reminds me of a sunset. If you look closely, you can see the garnet gel and fiber paste I used, kind of like spackle, to create a rough wall surface. This one was fun to paint. It took me a lot longer than it looks because the floating medium I used to blend the colors took awhile to dry between layers. Anyway, painting number 2. I'm working on number 3. I love messing with paint and trying new things to see how it makes the paint work.

I was in a valentine postcard swap. This is what I came up with. I'm not exactly a valentine kind of person, but I joined the swap to challenge myself. I'm still not really creating. I get an idea, but never the energy. Or I have the energy and nothing comes to me. I'm hoping this clears up soon. I have lots of stuff waiting for me, begging me to come play. Maybe I'll have to challenge myself more. But this postcard uses an image from Altered Pages. They really have great images, so pretty and so inspiring.

This last picture is of my son. He took his shirt off and put it over his hair and said "Look, Mom, at my long orange hair" and he started posing with it. Since he's usually not so whimsical, I thought it would be a great time to capture one of his moments of fancy on film. Wait, is it called "film" if it's digital? Probably not. So I caught it on disk (better??). I love his sweet face. At five, his personality often doesn't match that angelic look. But in this case, it really did. He was having fun with long "hair". Kids are so cute, aren't they?

Can't believe I'm actually going to show you this

2009-01-14T18:29:00.003-05:00

I haven't made a card since Christmas, but I have been painting. I'm going to post one here. I just can't believe I'm actually going to do this, show my painting on my blog (embarrassing, really embarrassing). Painting is so therapeutic, the mixing of colors, making a mess. We've had a really bad time here, so therapeutic is necessary.

I used Lumieres and acrylics over fiber paste, with different gel mediums. There are layers and layers and layers on this canvas. It took me a week to finish. My daughter claimed it, but then I did a canvas in oranges and reds, her favorite colors, so she's trading me for that one. I'm going to hang it in my office.

Yet another Christmas card

2008-12-29T10:25:00.003-05:00

One more Christmas card. Non-traditional, using SU! image - the first stamp set I ever bought. The paper is SU! in-colors.

I stamped the snowman with Versamagic ink on metallic white card stock. The snowflake is from TAC, stamped in Agean Blue, just like the snowman, but then colored over with a gel pen.

I love sparkles. The leaves are from a sparkly Christmas leaf stick thing I bought on sale. I just snipped off the leaves and used them as an embellishment.

I'm onto the next thing. I've done two felted purses, one as a gift and one for me. I also finished a painting that my daughter has claimed. She flatters me by grabbing up a lot of the things I do before I've even completed them. I told her she didn't need to take it to make me feel good. I think she uses times like this to refer to me as "silly maja".

Another Christmas card

2008-12-15T22:14:00.004-05:00

Out of all the Christmas cards I've made, I think I like this one the best. For some reason, my cards seem awfully washed out on here (yeah, "some" reason - couldn't be that suddenly I'm taking crappy pictures, could it?). This is done with Close to Cocoa, Tangerine Tango (again, not sure it's the right SU! name), and a gold metallic from Cutcardstock.com. The ribbon is from May Arts, I think it's copper. The image is from Flourishes. Watercoloring to paint the reindeer. I love this image so much. I got it last year and I think I used it for many of my cards.

Again, not traditional colors. The orange really makes this pop. And I have to order a few dozen packs of it because I just love it so much. It's a great color. Why is it SU! has such wonderful in-colors that last such a short amount of time?

I have two other cards in the works, as well as a couple of felted purses that aren't fulling properly now that we have a front loading washer (or regular washer took a dive last week), so I'll have to hand felt them, then I'll take pictures. I promise I'll try to take better care when taking pics. I've just not cared enough to take more than one or two pics, instead of my usual 20 or 30.

Christmas is coming

2008-12-14T18:00:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it's almost Christmas. Time is just flying right past me, like I'm not even here. I finally got some of my Christmas cards done. I guess I could wait for New Years Eve to do them, couldn't I? This is my first one. I used SU! colors - Mellow Moss, Vintage Violet, and Close to Cocoa (is that the right name???). Non-traditional colors because I'm just sick of red and green and silver.

The images are from Flourishes. I love the bird image, the branch. I cut the circles with my Big Shot and the nestabilities. I used the Big Shot to emboss the circles.

I hope everyone is doing well, that your holiday season is progressing nicely. We aren't anywhere close to ready for this year, not even kind of close. Sorry for the lack of blogging. There has been a serious lack of art work to go with my lack of blogging. I'm trying to be better.

Thank you note

2008-11-10T22:44:00.003-05:00

I had to make thank you cards to send to the people who interviewed me for my new job. It was a lot of fun, the FOUR HOUR interview. Fun enough that the time passed so quickly. Usually any interview makes me tired, but this one didn't. They asked me so many questions, but in between answers, they told me stories and I told them stories and we all laughed. A lot. It was very much not like an interview. I'm really looking forward to managing again, and getting to lead a team. And I'm especially looking forward to working with people who can have a good time laughing and aren't going to think twice when I shoot nerf balls at them. I've already been warned that they are arming themselves before I start.

The card uses metallic papers from CutCardstock. I used a gel medium and SU! inks, painted randomly on the paper. The colors were Summer Sun, Marigold Morning, and Really Rust, mixed in different proportions to get gradations of color. I dry embossed. The images are SU! Colored with gel pens. Ribbon from May Arts (LOVE that ribbon).

Been a long time

2008-11-08T20:10:00.004-05:00

I know it's been a month. It's been a long, difficult month here. I'm not sure the next few are going to be any easier. Sometimes things just suck. Now is one of those times.

I made a few cards for SSReflections ezine that I'd like to share here. All of them were for the Starform Stickers challenge, and all used Elan Metallics from WorldWin Papers (this is some awesome paper).

This card is a thank you card I made for the HR person at the job I start in December. I know this poor woman is going to have a lot of work to do to get everything ready, and she is going to have to put up with me and some really dumb questions. So I thought I'd butter her up before I drive her nuts. Okay, not really butter her up. I did want to say thank you to her, though.

The image and the sentiment are SU! I dry embossed the pink paper, called Petal, which is really feminine and pretty, and very unlike most of what I do. The stickers are so detailed, I had to make something feminine. The other paper colors are Obsidian and Pewter. I really like the Elan Metallics. The colors are so rich. I had a hard time choosing just three for a card.

This is a sympathy card. I really hope I don't have to use this card for a long time. The stickers are falling stars. It seemed fitting to me. I stamped with Adirondack pigment ink, Snow Cap, and colored over the image with Prismacolor markers and Glaze pens.

I haven't done much else in terms of creating since the beginning of October. I used to have to create every day, or I would feel lost. Since my mother in law's death, I've not had any creative pull whatsoever. I'm really hoping this passes soon. I miss playing.

Thank you and some art

2008-10-09T01:36:00.003-04:00

First, I want to say thank you for all the well wishes, the prayers, the thoughts. It has been a very difficult couple of years for us, but it has been a living hell for my mother in law. I've never seen anyone suffer the way she did. I know others have, but I've not had to witness it and I can't imagine anyone being as strong as she was. She never complained about it, never purposely showed us how much it hurt or how scared she was. She was an amazing woman, and she loved me a lot, as much as I love her. I was so lucky to have married into her family.

I'm also sharing a couple of pieces from the October issue of SSReflections. It's late here (almost 2 am), so I won't be filling in tons of details, but if you want to know how I did anything I don't explain. The first piece is on 4x4 aquaboard. I did the background with Ranger alcohol inks in Lettuce and Bottle. I stamped the image (Blockhead Stamps - gorgeous, isn't she?) with black pigment ink from Ranger, then using a blender pen and a few colors of Ranger's pigment ink, I "painted" in her dress. I added the elements and this is what I got. I love this image.

This was a shrine to childhood that I did. I think this needs even less explanation. I used Basic Grey paper, images and words from Lisa's Altered Art. I painted a cigar box and added all the elements and now this sits on my fireplace mantle. My first shrine and I really enjoyed making it. I have plans to do more, if my life ever settles enough (seems like we'll have time on our hands now, since we've spend a great deal of our "free" time caring for sick parents).

So thank you for looking and thank you for being so kind. As I said before, this was the best ending, the most beautiful ending, my mother in law could have hoped for. She is free and at peace. We just need to remind ourselves of that.

Very sad news

2008-10-06T10:14:00.001-04:00

I don't even want to write the words publicly, but I know there are people who read my blog and care about this. My mother in law died yesterday.

4x4 board book for a swap

2008-09-20T19:24:00.007-04:00

I took part in a swap with SSReflections' yahoo group. We made a 4x4 coaster book. I cut mine out of cardboard to make the pages more sturdy. I glued white tissue paper on top of the cardboard to give it texture. I used Molten Metals acrylic paint in bronze and painted the tissue with that. Tissue paper adds a great texture to collage. I crumple it up before I glue it down so it isn't just flat. It's also very forgiving. If it rips, you can just stick another little piece on top of the hole to fill it in.

I used a book in Russian and cut circles out of it to make the background behind the images. I love foreign text. I used Tattered Rose distress ink and a stipple brush to distress the paper a little bit, then went around the edges in black ink. I stamped randomly on the paper to add something to it, so it wasn't so plain.

The images came from Altered Pages. I think the collage sheet is Screen Sirens. Very sophisticated images, and I thought they'd go well with the colors I chose. I love pink and bronze together. I cut out the women and glued them on top of the circles.

I embellished with flowers and butterflies. Butterflies are such a mystery and so pretty, and since they like flowers, I thought flowers would make sense too. I also used a spray of gold beads that I got from a Christmas bin at Michaels, buttons, stickers, mica, lace and ribbon, heart glitter, Stickles, and Robin's Nest Dew Drops. Lots of stuff.

One of the things I love about swaps like this are the ability to just go with what strikes my fancy. I didn't feel like I had to match things and I took the opportunity to just play. I need to play. I feel like my muse has taken a vacation, and this gave me a chance to have some fun.

ATC Swap -- Fall theme

2008-09-20T14:50:00.004-04:00

It's been insane here, as usual. Maybe a little more than usual. I finished a set of ATCs for a swap with a theme of Autumn Voices. I call the ATC "Fall's Fire", because when I think about this season, I think of the look of the trees and how they remind me of fire.

This was done with artist pastels on a good quality watercolor paper. I used Prismacolor NuPastel sticks. There are six or seven colors on it, blended with my fingers because they were the best tool for the job. Robin's Nest dew drops glued on top after I sprayed the ATC with a workable fixative. I have to make an extra for my daughter. She really likes these.

Card

2008-08-23T11:06:00.003-04:00

Just a quick card share. I stamped this on velour paper. If you click on the picture and enlarge it, you can see the neat texture. I colored with pencils (I think). I did this awhile ago, so I really am trying to remember what I did. I'm almost certain I just used pencils. It's a sweet image, anyway, and I think I have to dig this stamp out again.

Velour paper is pretty neat for stamping on. I did have to take a Micron pen and outline in the spots where the ink wasn't quite dark enough.

Fan card for swap and some really cool news!

2008-08-18T22:24:00.003-04:00

I was in a fan card swap. The template is at Mirkwood Designs, along with some other really great templates. This card was so much fun to make. I have a bawdy card that I'm making, but I tried dying feathers red instead of buying red feathers and it didn't work out very well. As soon as I get some red feathers, I'll finish the fan card I plan to keep and will post a picture. This was so much fun. I was surprised by how easy it was and how quickly the ideas for the theme came.

And now the really cool news. Since I told my mom, I think it's safe for me to post on the blog. I'm going to be a grandmother! My oldest (my only girl) found out on Saturday that she's pregnant. If my calculations are correct, about mid-April, I will be a grandma. My mom is a bit shocked. Angela is, after all, her oldest grandchild and that lucky woman was the recipient of the "grandma" title at ripe old age of 39. I was a very young mom. Anyway, it seems unreal that my oldest is 23 and even more unreal that she is going to be a mom, but she is happy, so I'm happy. Plus I get a great new baby to play with, and this one I can give back! Expect to see some baby blankets and stuff on the blog right around December, when she can find out the gender. If she finds out.

So that's my excitement this week. I think that's enough to hold me for awhile.

Random babbling

2008-08-11T23:33:00.004-04:00

Since it's another late night and I can't sleep, I was digging through my pictures, trying to clean up duplicates, get rid of crappy photos of nothing too important, just general housekeeping as I wait for podcasts to download. I stumbled across this picture I took of my side yard. Every once in awhile, we get the idea we want to move. Then I see pictures like this and I can't remember why. If we ever move, the view will have to be at least this good. It's so serene, relatively isolated, green. Sure, I'm allergic to almost everything that sprouts in the spring and fall, but this pretty view makes it worth it to me.

And this is a bottle I was messing with. I saw on a blog, am looking to find which one, information about altering plastic bottles. I need to fix this one. I love the colors, but it looks like the bottle has horizontal ridges. It doesn't. My darling husband asked me what exactly one would do with a bottle like this. Not sure, dearest, but I spent two weeks painting it and those were two weeks I wasn't nagging at you. I think he got the point. The texture is tissue paper, the paints are metallics. I love the pendant. I'm seriously considering taking the pendant off and pitching the bottle. I want to wear that pendant and the more I look at it, the more I want to.

As the summer winds down, both of my school-aged boys are starting to make requests for books and reading materials. Anyone who doubts the power of homeschooling, or more precisely the philosophy of unschooling, or child-led learning, needs to know what my boys asked for this year. The older boy wants geometry, physics, sign language, and has a list of novels that will set me back quite a bit. He also wants a college anatomy book. Why can't he want fluffy stuff? Fluffy stuff is cheap. All these science and math books are going to break me!! This is the child who barely opened a book 5 years ago before we pulled him from school, the kid who hated math and science. My other son has asked for Latin. He wants to learn Latin. I haven't gotten anything else from him yet, but he's been reading Dostoevsky and Dante and lots of other books I don't know if I could hope to wrap my head around. Child-led learning = letting the child determine what *he wants to learn and at what pace. I embraced this philosophy the year I pulled them out of school. And though I was skeptical, thinking all they'd want to read was comics and all they'd want to do is watch TV, they have surprised me by rediscovering their love of learning and by doing more and better than I ever could have hoped. My kids are awesome. I'm so proud of them.

An ATC for a swap

2008-08-11T00:04:00.003-04:00

Since I can't sleep, I figured I'd share an ATC that I just finished for a swap. I belong to a Yahoo group called Painting With Radiance, basically for anyone who likes shimmery and sparkly things. Things like Twinkling H20s and Pearl Ex, Lumieres, glitter, all of them qualify. I also think Angelina Fibers qualify. They shimmer and sparkle too!

I made the "paper" the image is stamped on from three colors of Angelina fibers - a yellow, a white with purple-ish highlights and a blue. I laid them out, little bits of the fibers, mixed them up so they were all intermingled, and blasted them with my heat gun enough to melt them. I laid parchment paper over top and rubbed to make sure they were flat. I stamped the fairy image (from Artful Inkables) with black VersaMagic ink. Chalk ink, sits on top, and I needed something that would be able to really hold the image on the slick surface. I colored her in with Prismacolor markers. The background of the ATC is the Cling and Scrunch tech, with Pearl Ex watercolor paints. The butterfly is a stone bead that I inked with Versamark and added Perfect Pearls. Really easy card once I figured out what I wanted to do. I hope Pat likes it!

Another short update

2008-08-10T22:36:00.003-04:00

My MIL is kicking butt. Still hanging in there. Today, she was up and eating, talking, lucid. Her kidneys started working again and she knew where she is. The doctors have warned against false hope, but I still have some. If anyone has it in her to survive the unsurvivable, it's my mother in law. You'd need to meet this woman to fully appreciate how tough she is.

Anyway, thank you for the prayers and good thoughts.

Short update

2008-08-09T08:46:00.003-04:00

My mother in law is back in the hospital and the outcome won't be positive for us. She will be having a fabulous ending to her story and I think she's more than ready to be finished with this world. I appreciate the many, many prayers people have been saying for her, all the light and energy people have sent to her. I'm convinced that she has lived this long because of everything people have done on her behalf. Well, that and her incredibly strong will.

If you have more prayers left, please pray for a calm and peaceful time for her before she passes. For no more suffering from this awful condition, and that her family will be able to move on and find peace too. Oh, and if you smoke, quit. If you work with caustic chemicals, pesticides, or other things that can cause lung damage, wear the appropriate protection. Dying from the inability to breathe has to be one of the most awful ways to die. You can't completely eradicate the panic of being unable to catch your breath and it looks like a long, painful drowning. Take care of your lungs. They're REALLY important. That whole breathing in and out thing is so undervalued.

Thanks for everything you have done to support me through this! All the hugs have been much appreciated.

Let's start with a card

2008-07-28T07:16:00.005-04:00

My mom has been hinting, not quite subtly, that I've not posted anything on my blog in awhile. I've been doing lots of stuff, but I've been really scattered and not at all together enough to take pictures and post. I get this way sometimes, just out of sorts for no good reason. Especially when I'm learning something new at work and especially when the learning isn't going well. That has been the last few weeks. All of it. I finally found that perhaps the problem wasn't with me, but was rather an issue with the product I was trying to package. It's still frustrating, but hey, who says life shouldn't be frustrating?

Let's start with a card, as the title suggests. My aunt's father recently passed away. With the recent death of my father in law, I really feel bad for her. Her father was older, had been sick for awhile, and they are sure he's in a better place waiting for them to arrive. And while all of that is most certainly true, I don't think it really makes the aching heart any less painful. I'm so sorry that anyone has to go through this pain. I know it happens every day, but it still makes me sad.

This card is an SU! image, colored with Prismacolor markers (I'm finally figuring those buggers out!). It's very simple, because I don't think death calls for an ornate card. I know the ones that I loved the most from my father in law's passing were the very simple ones. Colors are Marigold Morning and the blue from that year. Dang, can't remember the name. It's SU!'s designer color from 2006-07. Buckaroo Blue! Ha, glad I got that because it would have driven me nuts all day.

And this is my Brandy-girl. Or at least her eyes. She's incredibly camera shy and when I point my camera at her, she starts looking around to see how she can escape. Unlike her ditzy sister, Lacey, who looks straight at me when I try to get a picture. Brandy is almost seven years old. Danes' life spans are around 8 years. She is starting to show her age. I was looking at her eyes yesterday as I sat on our deck looking at the cows next door. Her eyes look so sad. They've always had this very sad look to them.

So there you go, Mom. A post on my blog. Just for you. :o) We're heading to our favorite amusement park today. It was calling for rain in the afternoon, but now it looks like it might be a nice day all day! I'm excited. Dylan hasn't been to the park since he was two and he's going to have so much fun there today. He was playing "carnival day" all day yesterday, getting ready for handing tickets over to the people running the rides. He's such a funny kid. Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

Inchies!

2008-07-10T22:33:00.003-04:00

These are the inchies I did for Debbie at Debbie's Die Cuts. If you like doing inchies, or need to do a whole bunch, her inchies kits are really nice. I'm just saying...

I have a really hard time working this small. The inchie on the left has a piece of glossy card stock with purple and green ink on it. I made it a long, long time ago so I have no idea what technique or even the kind of ink I used. I crimped it and then on top added diamond dust. Added a coiled clip, a flower with a jewel in the center. That was in. On the right, it's Pearl Ex watercolored background, with a clear stamp (not sure who) of stars stamped on it, then a gold star on top.

ATCs from Debbie's Die Cuts (or is it for?)

2008-07-09T20:55:00.005-04:00

I'm not sure which preposition it is. Debbie Bankston sent me ATC die cuts and I made ATCs out of them. So they are from her. But I made them for her design team. So they are also for her. The first one is a DTP with Ranger pigment inks. I then stamped with the cloud stamp from Artful Inkables and the bird stamp is from TAC. The dragonfly die cut is from Debbie and it has sparkly Stickles on it. The clouds were heat embossed with SU! embossing powder, Iridescent Ice, so it sparkles too. Oh, and the wings of the dragonfly are colored with a silver leaf pen.

This is an SU! image, from a retired stamp set. I'm having a really hard time remembering the names of this stuff tonight, so there is no way I'll pull the name of the set out of my head. The background is silver and red. I stamped a TAC flourish and heat embossed with Iridescent Ice (SU!) and then outlined with green marker. I colored the flower with with a red Prismacolor marker. A few beads, a couple of pretty die cut flourishes from Debbie that I painted silver, and then edge with silver leaf pen and add microbeads from PennyWise Arts. It will be on its way to Debbie in tomorrow's mail! I love her die cuts. If you hate to cut out ATCs or come up with fancy flourishes or frames on your own, her die cuts are wonderful and you get so many for the price!

I've been busy

2008-07-08T23:18:00.004-04:00

Anyone who hasn't been busy, raise your hand! But I've been busy creating and making messes. I went to work today with glue flaking off my hands. These are the ACCs I made (can't remember what ACC stands for, dang it, but I'll figure it out and let you know). They are from Debbie's Die Cuts as part of my work for her design team. ACCs are the size of folded ATCs, only not folded. They are flat like an ATC.
I really enjoyed making these. The heart die cut is from Debbie too. I glued lace on that ACC, that had been rubbed with Coffee Bean Brilliance Ink. The ACC base had been rubbed with gold Brilliance Ink. I did DTP to the heart with Old Paper Distress Ink, then stamped a TAC flourish on with Burnt Umber Palette Hybrid Ink. I added a frame around the Wish sentiment and it was finished. The blue ACC was done by gluing sheet music onto the base and doing a DTP method to it. The beads are on a head pin. I love those beads!!

That is one of three projects I've done for Debbie's design team. I'll show the others tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Almost too tired

2008-07-06T22:13:00.004-04:00

On the SSReflection yahoo group, there was a swap called "Swapper Out". The idea was to take some stuff to make a card and send it to your partner, then she makes the card and keeps it. Here is one of the cards I made. I really would never have considered this style of card making, but as soon as I got all the parts out to rearrange, it all fell into place.

The blues and greens and purples blend so well together, and I got this lightbulb box ran through a crimper. It was so much fun. Our next swap is even better. We're making three sheets of background papers to send to our partners. This should be a really fun swap. I love backgrounds! I love to make them and I can't wait to see what the other person sends me to use.

The title of my post. After July 1, apparently some of my meds that control my sleep/wake cycle fell off the "formulary". I think the only formula that list holds is the formula for making more money for the insurance company. I take exactly three prescriptions drugs on a long term basis, and the insurance company won't cover any of them without an argument. They finally caved on the meds that help me stay awake during the day, but won't fill the script for the meds that keep me asleep at night. I'm almost too tired at this point, and I certainly am not going to beg for them to cover something that has allowed me to fully function as a productive member of society.

And this is a zentangle I've been working on. I actually like this one. I don't always like the doodle stuff. I'm not a good doodler, never having mastered any kind of consistency in the lines I draw. But this one is kind of whimsical and feminine (also so very unlike me). I had fun making it. I want to start another one soon. I think the relaxation these bring are very good for my brain.

Family wise, things are okay. My mother in law is adjusting well. My husband is adjusting, but of course the details fall to him and there are so many details to think about. Why is there no manual for this kind of thing? Oh, wait, that's right, there is one. I just have to get it.

I have a very close friend having a hysterectomy tomorrow (Monday) to remove a mass on her ovary. They think it's cysts, but it could be much worse. I'd really appreciate it if you'd say some prayers for her. I know I will be. Lots of them. She deserves them.

Thank you card

2008-06-27T11:30:00.003-04:00

I made the thank you cards for the people who were kind enough to send us flowers and give us food when my father in law died. He was a hunter and trapper, so my husband wanted something that reflected that. It's such a sad reason to make a card.

The gold paper is so nice. I love this gold. It's from CutCardstock.com. It's really heavy paper. The green paper is also from CutCardstock.com, called Rusted (I think). And it's not a bright gold, but much more like a brushed gold. It was perfect for making somber, masculine cards. The images are SU! The background is Silken Mist, a Technique Junkies technique. It's a very soft effect with green and gold colored H20s.