A few weeks ago, I fell into a slump creatively and pulled out a few of my books on bookbinding. Something different might be just what Dr. Creativity prescribed.
I think it worked.
Sentiments are from Simon Says Tiny Words Faith set, and the design is a simple fold you can find in a wide range of bookbinding books. It’s made from one sheet of textured paper I bought at Marco’s Paper, sized it to fit a small envelope I have.
If you’re ever in a slump, try something completely different. See what happens. It’s fun!
On another note, I bought my hubby the Lego Titanic set for Christmas. He savored the build and finished last week.
Mercy, grace, peace, and love,
Susan
Amidst my new acquisitions is a die set from Eileen Hull for Sizzix. They are pretty dies, and I had fun with them.
First up, white-on-white—I know, you’re shocked—with some texture from a handwritten script embossing folder I just adore. The pink on the flowers was added by flicking a bit of color with a Copic marker. The rhinestones are not that dark in real life. The sentiment comes from Simon Says.
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Now for a God moment. Even if you’re a nonbeliever, my experience last Wednesday may bless you in this time of chaos and conflict.
Feeling groovy and upbeat, I walked across campus from the Adjunct Support office to my classroom. I passed a woman who was walking slowly, made eye contact with her, and smiled. After a few more steps, she called out to me.
“I have to thank you,” she said. “As you passed me, I felt the spirit of my mother. She died two weeks ago, and feeling her again with me was such a blessing. Your energy reminds me so much of her. Do you mind if we pray together?”
No, I did not mind at all.
We spoke for a bit, and I shared that I am a Stephen Minister. She’d never heard of Stephen Ministry, but wanted to know more. By “coincidence” I had a copy of the first volume of a 4-volume booklet from Stephen Ministry written to help people through their grief. My plan had been to give it to a colleague in the English Department who lost two loved ones in very quick succession, but God clearly had a different plan. I offered it to my new friend, and she gratefully accepted it and gave me her address so I can mail the remaining three volumes at intervals during the first year of her loss.
She asked for a selfie with me and her diploma, which she had just picked up. I obliged, a stand-in for her mom who would have loved to see that moment.
I’ll pick up another set of grief books for my colleague this weekend.
God is good, all the time.
All the time, God is good.
And for those who doubt or believe differently, I hope you will take away from this story that there is good in the world: real humans reaching out and caring for one another, without reference to politics, power, or conflict. Blessings abound, if only we greet them with a smile.
Mercy, grace, peace, and love,
Susan
EEEP!!!!
This card, which evolved slowly from the ombre panel of blues I didn’t know how to use, is now my favorite.
One of my favorite crafty self-challenges is “variations on a theme.” It makes me feel better about having so many products because, let’s face it, I have a problem addiction passion for products.
I keep a bin under my desk for products I’ve used to death or can’t quite like anymore. A few months ago, all my Hero Arts ombre inks went into that bin. I already have over a dozen Kaleidacolor ink pads, and they seem to work better anyway.
Yesterday, I pulled one of those Hero pads out of the Bin of Doom and applied the ink direct to paper. It looked stunning! So I made this card.
The thinking of you die and sentiment stamp are from Hero Arts, and the butterfly dies are from Poppy Stamps. I liked the effect so much that I pulled all the ink pads out and made samples with them. Some looked better than others…the darker color combos went back into the Bin of Doom.
Then, I applied the same concept to a very different color scheme.
Stamps and dies from Hero Arts. It’s been a Hero-Arts-intensive variation.
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On a completely different note, my hair grows fast, and the chemo curl is completely gone (yay), leaving me with very straight, coarse locks. My hairdresser, Tracey, had an accident, was hospitalized for 5 days, had three surgeries, and still has broken ribs. I’d intended to get my hair cut two months ago, but she was (obviously) unavailable. Several people, including my husband who does NOT like long hair, suggested I try a different hairdresser.
Please tell me I’m not the only one who feels that would be cheating on Tracey. No way!
So Tracey is now back at work, limited in that she cannot comfortably wash hair right now, but she can cut it. She took about three inches off mine.
Eddie and Donna sent boxes of cards for Karen’s Card Shop. Many, many thanks! Even with their generous donations, we are still in need of sympathy and get well cards, if anyone has some of those to contribute. Otherwise, we should be good for a while.
I am blown over by the generosity of so many of you. I take every opportunity to sing your praises when I get positive feedback about the shop…which is just about every time I’m at church!
Today’s cards showcase some of the embossing folders I bought from Simon Says Stamp during their recent sale. Love these folders so much because they add just the right amount of interest for the white-on-white designs I favor.
White on white benefits from texture!
Mercy, grace, peace, and love,
Susan
Pat, Lisa, and Charlotte sent cards for Karen’s card shop, and I’m both thrilled and impressed! What kindness and generosity these ladies have shown. I’ve already got them packaged and ready to take to church!
We still need more birthday, sympathy, and thinking of you cards…if you have them to spare and are willing to share!
Today’s card—a masculine birthday card—made me so happy when it came together!
The background stamps are from Simon Says Stamp, the sentiment is from Papertrey, and the row of hearts is from Hero Arts. The dark red and warm gray inks are from Simon Says. I added small gray rhinestones to the dots that appear between the hearts on the border stamp. The result is simple and chic!
That’s all I have to say about stamping at the moment.
Mercy, grace, peace, and love,
Susan
Two weeks ago, I restocked Karen’s Card shop and encountered an emergency! Hardly any birthday cards! How did that happen!
And then I went on a cruise to the Bahamas with my friend and fellow breast cancer survivor Kim, and forgot all about it.
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| ‘80s Dance Party |
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| This basket used to be all birthday. |
If you would like to help out with this birthday card emergency—or if you can help with sympathy, get well, and thinking of you cards—shoot me an email at susanraihala at roadrunner dot com. I’ll send you my snail mail address.
I get so much positive feedback from the shop. People love the cards, and they love having a variety to choose from. My cards generally look like I made them, and that limits the variety. When I tell people who sends the cards—people from all over the U.S.—they are amazed and grateful. And so am I.
If you donate, please remember to leave the insides blank since buyers can’t open the cello bags before buying. Also, I provide the envelopes, so unless you get fancy and stamp coordinating envelopes, don’t worry about sending envelopes.
And thank you in advance. Stampers are the best!
Mercy, grace, peace, and love,
Susan
The season is almost over, and I pray each one of you reading this little intermittent blog will carry the beauty of the season over into the bleaker months of the new year.
Yay, me! And muchas gracias to Kim and Joe for such a wonderful start to the new year. We will be leaving shortly before a massive winter storm is supposed to hit Ohio. Talk about making spirits bright!
Mercy, grace, peace, love, and sunshine!
Susan
