What Amazing Blog Readers I Have!

Here are the Christmas/holiday cards and ornaments I received in December. I want to publicly thank each and every one of you who thought of me and took the time to express holiday wishes to me. What a glorious stack of happy mail I have.

Lighthouse ornament made by Patti and her husband. Isn't it
grand how the grain of the wood acts as a sun in the scene?

It's George riding his bike! The blue
speckles and streaks remind me of the swim
of an Ironman race.

It's Daisy running through our yard, again in the sun!

A wonderful verse on the back of the lighthouse ornament.

On the back of the biking ornament.

A lovely card with a gorgeous sky made by Bev. I really
appreciate the low placement of the star right over
Bethlehem and how that creates such a tight focal point.
And the bling! I always appreciate bling.

Patti's pretty card that came with the ornaments. The pine
branches over the sentiment are darling, and the sweet
sheer ribbon draws the eye to the focal-point sentiment. 

Joann's fantastically textured card and the tea bag
that inspired it! A peace-themed card and herbal tea go so well
together, don't they?

Darla went one layer, with SUPER texture, happy colors,
and lots of fun holiday sparkle. A card to lift even
Scrooge's spirits and make him smile!

Rachel's patriotic card packs a bold
punch of color and excellent layering. Love
the texture and combination of patterns here!

Joan went super minimalist with
high-impact graphic style and color.
(I wish I'd made this card.)

Karen, from the OLS DT, layered up this simple stunner
with super touches of pearls, spatters, and a bold black sentiment.
Love, love, love the color here!

Ardyth, also from the DT, embossed and sponged this
delightfully simple and oh-so-elegant card. Note how balanced
the whole design is, and the excellent use of asymmetry!

Vicki shined up the holiday with fabulous embossing
on metallic papers for a beautifully designed,
seaside-themed Merry card. I love how the circles
hint at bubbly waves and enhance the movement
of the design!

More metallics, only with a silver-mirror shine, from Sue.
The silver embossing and perfectly placed bling are so
elegant and pretty. Sue's was the first card I received this season!

Note that the bling includes two different sizes of rhinestones plus
silver nail-heads. Sue mixed the two embellishments seamlessly with
an excellent eye for detail.

Petra also used mirror card stock (which I'll need to learn to photograph better
if I get many more cards with it! Sorry for the reflection, Petra!). She used
the same Martha Stewart punch I used on yesterday's card to make
a pine-y, lacy-looking edge which is perfect over the mirror, and the clear
bling on the snowflakes enhances the design's unity even more!
ETA Petra says it's 3M tape and not mirror card stock that makes her card
so lovely. MUST get some for myself!

My SU consultant Danielle sent this layered, textured,
beautifully designed card. Love that cherry cobbler strip and
how it draws out the word "Christmas".

Linda did an inlay of blue and cream on kraft, one of my
favorite color combinations. Wonderful use of die cuts! Compare the
rustic beauty and clean lines of Linda's card with Vicki's card above, and note
that the color scheme is so similar but the metallic versus matte finish
yields a completely different feel. Vicki's has high energy, and
Linda's is peaceful and serene.  

Linda also sent this metallic stunner with a beautiful coil of copper
thread under the sentiment. If I'd made this, it would look a mess, but
Linda brought all the elements together so beautifully, in perfect
balance and harmony. 

Marty sends me cute tags every year for Christmas, rather than
cards. And every year, I hang them all on my tree! Love the travel theme
on this one since this was the first Christmas we traveled
in at least ten years.

Tonilea used high-impact black and white for
a simple, lovely holy scene. I love how this
card evokes the true meaning of the season
with such minimalist clarity and focus.

Patti sent another card, this one using beautiful shapes and texture
to evoke the great joy of Emmanuel!

Heather, an OLS DT member, used metal images and sentiment
over a gorgeous watercolor backdrop. I love the contrast of
soft and hard in the design, and the theme of peace truly resonates
for me this year. 

I have no idea how Francie pulled together this incredibly
beautiful card (dies, embossing, watercolor, Stickles, perhaps?)
but it shows how paying attention to little details and arranging
them in harmony can create a deceptively simple-looking,
perfectly gorgeous card.
(I wish I'd made this one, too.)

I include Leslie's card, which is store-bought, to show that crafters who
can't make or don't want to make Christmas cards should stand proud. In this
day and age of emails, sending a card--handmade or not--is an act of kindness
and love, and I so appreciate it. Leslie chose a beautiful card with pretty
birdies hiding all over the place! How many can you count?

Thank you, all, for thinking of me and taking time to send me a card this season. My cup runneth over. Know that I will take time to pray over each card, as my friend Karen Wenzel used to do. It's a small but powerful way to show my gratitude and lift you up. And they will all be placed on my inspiration board in my craft space to give me joy in the year to come!

I appreciate all of you who support Simplicity with your comments, emails, and cards. I started this blog in March 2009, almost seven years ago, expecting about ten people to read it. Through the various avenues of subscription, there are nearly 2,500 subscribers now. Wow.

May 2016 be a beautiful year for each and every one of us!

My SIL Is the BEST!

Check out this beautiful box my sister-in-law gave me for Christmas.

Now, check out what is in the box.

I'm totally geeking out!!!! This gorgeous box contains sealing wax and seals, some yummy colors of ink, a glass dip pen, two pen handles and three beautiful nibs. Oh, be still, my writerly heart! I'm going to use this goodness to write my Christmas thank-you notes tomorrow night.

No card today, though. I've photographed all the Christmas cards I received and will share those tomorrow once the photos are edited.

Then, Wednesday night, I'm going to post a REVIEW of a new-to-me product from TIM HOLTZ that I'm completely in love with.

Who doesn't love a good review?

Have you written your thank-you notes for Christmas yet? I feel like I'm seriously running late, but some of my family hasn't sent our gifts yet, so I'm not the only one, LOL!!!

Warm Winter Comforts

Unless there's tragedy or true peril (tornadoes, flooding, hurricanes, icy roads, lightning, etc.), why do we complain about the weather? What purpose does it serve? How do our thoughts about the weather make it feel worse than it is?

Our first winter in Ohio years ago was gray and wet and cold and dreary. I found myself complaining along with everyone else. It was depressing. So our second winter here, I decided to try a little positive thinking and self-talk. When I noticed the gray dreariness, I would say out loud, with a big smile on my face, "What a beautiful day!"

Sometimes, I would cheerily chirp this affirmation to perfect strangers walking past, huddled in their winter coats and scarves, under umbrellas. Surprisingly, no one punched me in the face or tried to have me committed to the loony bin. And the positive thinking and self-talk worked. I truly was much happier that winter than I'd been the previous, whiny winter.

Now, there are people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder for whom winter poses a serious health problem. I'm not making light of those with a real problem. But the rest of us need to stop griping and start chirping. This fall, I even purchased a happy orange umbrella to remind me that (unless it's flooding), rain is good.

This positive attitude prompted me to start my 2016 Use-My-Stamps Resolution with a box of wood-mounted, winter-themed stamps. This card makes me particularly happy.

The scribbled tree stamp is from Hero Arts, and it sort of annoys me how the scribbles are tight at the top and become looser toward the bottom. The stamp feels a tad top-heavy to me. Then it occurred to me to overlap the sentiment (also Hero Arts, but a long ago, discontinued stamp), and balance is restored...at least in my eyes. Perhaps I'm just too finicky.

The border punch is from Martha Stewart, and I used three layers of white to evoke layers of snow.

We have a 40% chance of snow in the wee hours of Monday morning, which might prompt a snow delay on our first day back at school. Whatever happens, we'll deal with it...chirpily.

And with the warm comfort of hot coffee. Ahhhh. Warm winter comfort, indeed.


Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
ink: Impress Fresh Ink Basil, VersaMagic jumbo java
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: Martha Stewart border punch 


PS While my post is somewhat flip and silly, please take a minute to think of and pray for those seriously affected by the weather in the past few weeks. Tornadoes and flooding have taken lives and destroyed homes and businesses. Kudos to the relief agencies and non-profits and churches working to help those in distress. 

The Process of Getting my Groove Back

Weird.

Getting your groove back after a few months' absence from stamping turns out to be a weird process, not at all like getting back on a bicycle. Part of me knew this, but I really wasn't prepared for all the pretty trash I've made in the past few days.

Pretty trash. That's a phrase I learned from my friend Leslie. I'll bet she's got an awesome craft room in heaven.

Still, it feels good to be back in my earth-bound craft space, even if I'm clumsy and intimidated and feeling deeply, broadly overwhelmed by my supplies. It's hard to know where to start. The OLS Challenge gave me a place to begin for yesterday's post, and I've been feeling my way from there.

Results are mixed, and much of what I've made isn't blog-worthy. Smudges in particular don't fly with my clean and simple style. After a particularly frustrating smudge ruined a lovely, almost finished card, I made a card with three layers, inking, distressing, torn paper, and a kraft base just to shake the messies out. It's a hideous card, truly, but grinding that stipple brush into the paper was utterly satisfying.

I have faith in the process.

Trust the process.

Yep. The process is good.

I want to thank all of you who've sent emails and left comments of support in the past few months. It's uplifting and so very kind of you. Thanks also for the Christmas cards, which I will photograph and post in the next week or so. Patti M sent me some beautiful Christmas ornaments made from slices of tree branches, and Marty sent a lovely paper ornament. Y'all are so talented!!!

Today's card is for all of you who've prayed for me and mine, and for Leslie's family and friends. The card uses an old pine branch stamp from a company that went out of business over a decade ago and a relatively new sentiment from Waltzingmouse. Old and new. Appropriate for a new year, eh?

The stamp community is amazing, and I am so grateful to be a part of it. Blessings and comfort to each of you as we start a new year together!

Supplies
stamps: branch (F-2384 PSX, 1999), sentiment (Waltzingmouse, Blessed by You)
ink: Hero Arts soft olive, Memento rich cocoa
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: copper metallic pen, craft foam

One-Layer Simplicity Challenge #23: The Sky's the Limit

Let's kick 2016 off with a great OLS Challenge from the extremely talented Heather Telford! Her challenge for January is themed "The Sky's the Limit." She suggests two different directions for the challenge: make a card featuring the sky, or riff off the motivational nature of the theme.

When I think of the sky, my default image is the night sky, which for me is incredibly comforting. It's SO BIG, and I'm so small.  And yet every time I look up at it, I'm reminded that no matter how small I am, the Creator of this vastness loves me. Stars and love...the two are inseparable for me. And that connection inspired my first card--a Valentine for my hubby--for Heather's OLS#23 challenge.

To make this card, I penciled in a large heart using a template, stamped the sentiment, and added the stars in red and pink along the line. After waiting to make sure the ink was completely dry, I erased the pencil line.

Full Disclosure: It took two tries to get the balance of the stars right (they were too squished together on the first attempt), but the final effect makes me so very happy!!!

I hope you'll play along with us on the OLS Challenge this month. And have a Happy New Year!

Supplies
stamps: Star Scribbles (Papertrey), Hero Arts (sentiment)
ink: Hero Arts soft blossom; Memento rhubarb stalk, tuxedo black
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: heart template (Fiskars), pencil, eraser

Leslie Hanna, a.k.a. Crooked Stamper

On Christmas Day, Leslie Hanna of the Crooked Stamper blog passed away. This is a huge loss for the stamping community. Leslie was active on so many challenges (she ran Shopping Our Stash and Crooked Stamper Sketch Challenge, and played along regularly with Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers, et al.) and attended numerous stamp gatherings. Lots of people knew her in real life, on Twitter, and online.

I will miss my friend. We met regularly for lunch at our favorite local place, and had conversations that lasted hours. She recently invited me to attend a zentangle class with her at a local stamp store. Her passing caught us all by surprise. She and I had already made plans to meet up after my boys were back in school next week.

I want to share the Christmas card she sent me this year, and what she wrote inside.

Card by Leslie Hanna

Such lovely details and use of color! That door nob is perfect.

Leslie was generous, funny, and talented. She would hate all the fuss and attention she's getting right now. But the last act of love we can give to someone is to grieve their passing. There's a whole lot of love going out right now, a lot of people whose lives Leslie touched. Our hearts go out to her brother and two sons whose loss is so much greater than mine.

Goodbye, my friend. We'll do lunch again one day, and have plenty to talk about.

Merry Christmas to All

I'm sitting in the dining room at my sister-in-law's home in Omaha, Nebraska, looking out on a winter wonderland of beautiful snow and feeling so very grateful as we celebrate the coming of our Emmanuel, God with Us. Let the spirit of this season of love and hope be more powerful than the spirit of fear and hate, and let each one of us be a part of that good work to bring a kingdom of light and peace to the whole world.

Source

Merry Christmas to All!