Lines and Dots

One of these days I am going to post pictures and steps on how I make my cards but, I seem to get so into making the cards I forget to stop at each step to get the pictures. :o)

I use card stock. I will sometimes buy it at craft stores but, I really like 'Stampin'Up!' products because the ink matches the paper.

This stencil is from Creative Memories. It is called 'StoryLines'. This is what I used to make the lines on the guest book pages. Sometimes, I use it to make lines on my scrapbook pages for journaling.


These are 'Stampin'Up!' background stamps. These are great fillers for bare spots on cards or pages.


This is the stamp I used on the card. Here it is shown in navy.


That will be my challenge to myself for this week......to write a post on card making. I have my "Why I can't sew" post ready, but I haven't posted it yet. :o)

Sew Crafty Friday

It's time for 'Sew Crafty Fridays' at Shereen's blog. Stop by to see what everyone is working on and add your craft project to Mr.Linky.



This is a guest book I made for my aunt's 70th birthday. It was a little rushed as I only found out at suppertime last Friday that they didn't have one. The party was on Saturday, so I had to do it up pretty fast. This was our gift to her.
I had a 6"x6" album on hand so used it for the book. I took pictures at her party too and, I will scrapbook the highlights to add to the album. I made pages to fit it by quartering a sheet of 12"x12" 'confetti cream' paper. The album was blue so I used a navy pen to make lines for the names and, added the word 'Guests' and some party stamps.

These are some 'Thank you' cards I made.

I am really liking the red and yellow together.

Making Maple Syrup

Here are the Sugar Shack/Maple Syrup making pictures I tried to post a few days ago. :o)
This is the the Sugar Shack. My Big Sweetie built this. It's not fancy, but cozy. :o)

This is looking out the side door.

My little sweetie is checking for sap. Sap looks like water really. :o) It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup !!!

This is the stove my Big Sweetie boils the sap on. There are 3 pans in all. The first pan sits on the the second pan which sits directly on the stove. The third pan also sits directly on the stove.

The sap gets poured in to the first pan. (A little sap is also poured into the other 2 to prevent them from burning)

This is what the sap looks like in the the first pan. On the right you can see a blue valve. It is turned on slightly to allow the sap to trickle into the second pan.

This is what the inside of the second pan looks like. It is divided into 3 chambers. It trickles in to the first chamber and then passes into chamber 2 and onto chamber 3. I didn't get it in the picture, but there is a valve on front of the pan. It would be the bottom right corner of the picture.

When it is boiling good in the second pan, the valve is opened and the sap is transferred to the third pan. It continues to boil in the third pan for a while.

The temperature and sap levels have to be watched, so it doesn't boil dry or burn. And the sap has to reach a certain temperature.

Checking the temperature.

My Big Sweetie finishes off the boiling in the house. It's more convenient since all the bottles need to be sterilized. Then he pours it in the bottles and they seal themselves. They'll cool on their side over night.

13 hours and 15 bottles later. Pure Canadian Maple syrup. :o)

Wordless Wednesday

Maple Sugaring Time

Making maple syrup is my husband's hobby. Today was the first time that he has boiled this spring. I took lots of pictures so I could scrapbook them so I thought I would share them on my blog too. Blogger is acting up on me. I can't get the pictures to load properly (I can load 1 picture with no problem, but no more than 1) so I think I will wait until the problem gets fixed.

Here is one picture though. I was watching the stove while my sweeties were gone collecting more sap. I thought the view from the window was nice. There is no electricity in the sugar shack, just sunlight in the wondows. You can see the steam rising from the pan.

A Praise

I am so thankful to a wonderful, loving God who is faithful and hears our prayers.

I had to make a phone call this afternoon, to give my decision on something. After alot of praying and listening I was certain I had made the right decision. Still there was a part of me that was still asking if I got it right. I wanted to be sure that I was following God's lead and not running off on my own. Time was inching on and I needed to make the call. As I walked to the phone I whispered another prayer, "Please God, let me be sure I am following Your will." My Bible was right by the phone and I opened it up to the Psalms. I wasn't expecting to find such a direct answer to my prayer, but after reading only a few verses, I had the answer I needed. There was no doubt left in my mind that I had made the right decision.

Thank You God for listening to me when I am stressing about little decisions. Thank You for being concerned about every part of my life. Thank You for the calm peace You give.

20 Great Reasons to Homeschool

I bookmarked this cartoon a while ago and thought I would share it.

Sew Crafty Friday

It's 'Sew Crafty Friday' !! What are you working on? Join the fun at Shereen's blog.

This is what I've been working on. I was going to post about the steps I use in making my cards, but wouldn't you know it, these ones didn't all turn out just the way I wanted them too. :o) Oh well, I will work on that post for next week.

Also my mom has asked me to make a guest book for my aunts 70th birthday party. No stress..........it's only tomorrow!!! ;o) It's almost supper time here and then it will be sundown/Sabbath soon. I'll share pictures of the guest book next Friday too.

So here are the cards I did this week. I wanted to make something masculine, but I'm not sure if I would use these for a man or not. What do you think?

Home

I said in a previous post (or Comments) that I would post some pictures of our loft where I scrapbook.

This is where my desk sits upstairs. As you can see the stove pipe from our wood stove goes right up beside where I sit. In the evenings this is nice but, in the morning when the sun is beating in the front windows it is kind of hot. :o)


This is the view from the couch. Normally I have laundry drying on the railing, but I tidied since I was taking pictures for this post. ;o)


This is looking down into our livingroom. It is mid-morning and the sun is shining in nice and bright. When sitting at my desk, my back would be to the sun. Notice there are no curtins on the windows?? I think we are just used to it but, it may seem strange. lol :o) We always planned to put some up, but never got around to it. We are kind of secluded by trees and fields. We do have curtains in the bathroom and bedrooms though. lol ;o)

"I Can't Believe I Just Said That !"

Have you ever had one of those moments when you said something and you instantly said to yourself, "I can't believe I just said that!" Please tell me I'm not alone. I'm so good at the old 'foot-in-mouth routine', but this was a bit different.

Okay let me ask you this.....Have you ever vowed secretly or straight to your parent that you would never say to your child what they did to you, growing up? I'm sure I said that more than once. ;o) Now let me say my parents were always good to me. Couldn't complain. (Well I know I did....spoiled teenager that I was.)

Yesterday I did the very thing I said I would never do. It was out of my mouth before I could take it back. And there it was. Hanging in midair between my son & I. It was like everything went to ssssllloooowwwww motion and time went back about 20 some years.

An inward gasp and a shock to the core. Where did that come from!?

Okay, I suppose now you are wondering what I could have possibly said. What could have been so eye-opening. Well I'll tell you..................

"Go put something warm on, Mommy's cold."

I know !!! Can you believe it!!??

I can so remember my mom telling me to put a sweater on because she was cold. But I wasn't. Still I think I had to. (Memory is failing me on that bit of history) I do know I said (or thought) I would NEVER make my child put on a sweater just because I was cold. Oh how soon we forget. ;o)

I can't even give a rational answer as to why his putting on something warm would make me warm. Why didn't I go put something warmer on?? No logic to it all. :o)

Did I tell my mom about the whole event of yesterday?? No. It'll be my little blog secret. For now anyway. ;o)

Sew Crafty Fridays

It's Friday !! That means that Shereen at 'Waiting for Him' is hosting 'Sew Crafty Fridays'. It's not just for sewing. Shereen welcomes seamstresses, knitters, scrapbookers, quilters, crocheters, cross stitchers & card makers. Am I forgetting anything??

So, if you are working on a craft project stop by Shereen's blog and add your blog to the Mr. Linky.

This is what I've been working at this week. More cards !!!

This one is a birthday card.


"Happy Birthday" is stamped in the lower right corner.


I think these are my favorites. I love the red and yellow together. Plus it is springy. :o)


A cheery 'Get well'.


"Best Wishes"


I like the how all the colors coordinated so well.


This is a Sympathy card.


I added some light blue cardstock and ink to lighten it up a bit.

Works For Me Wednesday

I had intended this post to be my Tackle It Tuesday post. Blogger had other plans. :o)

I spent yesterday afternoon catching up on my homeschool marking and record keeping. And so I typed up my post complete with the Tacklet It Tuesday logo and the link I wanted to share. I hit 'Publish' and poof my post got swallowed up by something. It was nowhere to be found. :o) I didn't bother retyping it and, figured I could use it for my Works For Me Wednesday post. ;o)

So what works for me??

Homeschool Tracker. It is free software that allows you to keep track of subjects, marks, field trips etc. It also allows you to print out report cards & other reports that would be perfect to include in a portfolio. I downloaded the basic version for free. It has everything that I need.

If you are looking for more ideas about what works for others, visit Rocks In My Dryer.

Wordless Wednesday

Slow Cooking

This is a recipe I usually make in the oven but, since my oven is temporarily down, I will be using my slowcooker a bit more. :o)

I put diced onions, cubed potatoes & sliced carrots into the slow cooker. You can also use turnips, parsnips or any root vegetable. Make any combination. Enough that would fill a 9"x 13" casserole dish. Put this into the slow cooker.

In a small bowl combine 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil, 2 tsps of seasoning (Mrs Dash or something similar) and a 1/2 tsp of salt (more or less if you like). Pour this mixture over the vegetables and mix well.

Cook on Low for 6 hours or on High for 3 hours.


It turned out quite well. When I make it in the oven, it is a bit crispy. Not too crispy, but crispier than in the slow cooker. In the slow cooker it is more tender. I like both ways of cooking it.

Garbonzo Tomato Salad

I made this for my Big Sweetie today and thought I would share the recipe.

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans (Chik peas - I use canned)
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup parsley (I don't add this)
3 tomatoes chopped
8 olives sliced
1 cup cooked kidney beans (I use canned)
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp sweet basil
1/8 tsp garlic

Mix all together and let stand refrigerated for 3 hours.

Ovens Slow cookers

Well, the bottom element in my oven went this afternoon. :o( Thankfully, I was standing beside the oven while it preheated and, I saw this flash of light in the oven window followed by smoke coming from the vent. What was that?? A friend had told me never to open the oven door if there was a fire or flame in it, so I just turned it off. Once I thought it was safe I checked to see what the cause was and sure enough it was the element. It burned right through it it did !

Slow cooker to the rescue. :o) We were still able to have a homemade supper thanks to the trusty ole slow cooker. The burners work but, I had something all prepared for the oven. It worked in the slow cooker too. It just took a little longer. :o)

I'm grateful that I baked yesterday, and that the element did not go then. And also that I noticed before putting anything in the oven today.

I guess there is always something to be thankful for. :o)

Bookmark Craft

I teach my son's Sabbath school class. One of the activities each week is to make something to share with friends & tell them about the lesson. For today's activity it suggested tying a knot in a piece of rope to remind us what Jesus has done for each one of us.

I didn't have any rope, but I did find a great idea on a blog. I've looked everywhere for that blog so I could link to it but, do you think I can find it now?? When I do......and I will !! :o) I will link to it.

The idea I got from the blog was to make bookmarks using ribbon and beads. I didn't have beads so we used buttons instead. First we threaded the ribbon through the button, making sure the button was in the middle. Then we tied a knot near the button and also at each end.

We attend a very small church, so we were able to share a bookmark with the other members too.

Here are what they look like finished............


This is the one my son chose to use in his Bible. You can kind of see the button at the top and the ribbon at the bottom.

Sew Crafty Friday

Shereen is hosting 'Sew Crafty Fridays'. So, if you are sewing, quilting, scrapbooking, knitting, or crochetting, stop by her blog and add crafty post to the Mr.Linky she has posted on her blog.

This week, I was going to to scrapbook more pages for my mom's album, but I felt more in the mood for making some cards. :o)

I usually make 6 of the same card at a time. That's what I did this morning. I'll make several more sets throughout the year. Then I will divide them up to make packs of cards for Christmas gifts. I'll include 'thinking of you, birthday, get well, thank you & sympathy.'

Here are the ones I made today.......

A Funny

I love to laugh! Anyone who knows me will tell you that. :o)

This afternoon, my father-in-law called for my Big Sweetie. This is how the conversation went.....

Me: Hello

FIL: Hi, is the boss there?

Me: You're speakin' to her. :o)

A pause.......
FIL: Okay, is the other boss there?

So I called my Big Sweetie to the phone. While he was coming to the phone, I was laughing and saying to my father-in-law, "You have to admit that was a good one."

My Big Sweetie went to their house to help with frozen pipes and, he said his dad thought that was pretty funny...........our conversation, not the pipes being frozen. ;o)

Works For Me Wednesday

Here's what works for me.

I have so many recipes that I like to use, but they are all scattered throughout many different cookbooks. So, to be sure that I never lose the recipe by forgetting which book it is in, I have coil bound note book that I write my favorites in. This way I know exactly where to look. And if a recipe makes its way into the notebook, then it is a keeper for sure.

Okay, so that wasn't rocket science but, it Works For Me ! :o)

For more Works For Me Wednesday posts click here.

Wordless Wednesday

Click here to see more Wordless Wednesday posts.

Marriage Blessing

An elderly friend gave me this framed poem yesterday. I love it !


Here is what it says..........

We thank You, O God,
for the love You have implanted
in our hearts.
May it always inspire us
to be kind in our words,
considerate of feelings,
and concerned
for each other's needs and wishes.
Help us to be understanding
and forgiving of human weaknesses
and failings.
Increase our faith and trust in You
and may Your prudence
guide our life and love.
Bless our marriage, O God,
with peace and happiness,
For Your glory and our joy
both here and in eternity. Amen