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Life is a blur right now! Sorry I have been so absent. The last couple of weeks have been really tough with my on-line paralegal certification class. This week promises to be another toughie! Legal Research......yikes. So, that explains my absence. My brain feels drained of any creative sparks. Several days ago I piled up some inspiration and took this picture. It turned out blurry...hence the title of the post.
My Mom recently gave me back my childhood scrapbooks. That is where all the paper goods pictured above are from. What treasure!
Other cool things going on in the midst of painful study time:
- Yesterday was club! Club is when my friends that all worked together in the psychiatric unit years ago get together. We now get together two to three times a year at one another's homes, eat lunch, talk and laugh a lot! We have been through everything together and it is such a blessing to stay connected.
- Mike and I discovered the television show, "The Family Guy." It is so funny!!! Yes, I know we are years late on this one!
- My friend Trish has become a Mary Kay salesperson and she has introduced me to their wonderful products! Love the skin care line. It really has made a difference to my skin. They also have lipsticks that are a blast to play with. Trish has a website in case anyone needs some Mary Kay products or wants to check them out for the first time. And as a testimonial, may I say that you will not find a more trustworthy person than Trish, she will take care of you. Mention my name! CLICK HERE if you want some information!
- I am finally tackling some books in my massive TBR (to be read) pile. It feels good to get going on that instead of going to the bookstore every two minutes to stock up on more. Although, I have a good list of things I want to to read in the future going too! Today I studied for awhile, read for awhile, napped for awhile, studied for awhile, etc. Love those hermit Sundays!!!!
I hope to be back again soon with something interesting going on! Everytime I have a creative burst or think of something to blog about, I am either at work or too tired to do anything about. But as soon as school is over in mid April, I will be a blogging fool!!!!
Lucky, lucky me!!!!! My banner fairy flew in for a visit and left her calling card. A banner that is just "so me" that it is stunning! Thank you to the wonderful Heather Simpson-Bluhm for this great act of art, kindness, friendship, and beauty all rolled into one beautiful banner. I must admit I could stare at it all day! If you would like to explore the possibility of such fun for yourself, please visit Heather by clicking HERE!
Where have I been????? It has been a long time since my last post. I guess I have had a bit of the seasonal affective disorder going on here in the cold and wintry Midwest. Go to work, come home exhausted, watch TV and read a bit. I am about to enter the second half of my on-line paralegal studies so I will have to buckle down with that starting next week.
I have had my senses engaged however. While visiting blogs, reading magazines about stamping and mixed-media, and just generally appreciating the simple beauty around me I have become inspired. Inspired to start a journal about the things that inspire me! I think this idea came about in parts. First, my friend Jane and I were organizing her new craft room (pictures to come!) and we were going through all of her gorgeous 12 x 12 paper. I found a piece in her stash I had never seen. It was blue and had some lovely whimsical illustrations of ballerinas!!! I felt that excitement you feel when something is just so cool and lovely and you want to jump right into the picture of it!! I then thought why not start a journal based on all of the scrapbook paper that I love......You know, that stuff you hardly ever use because it is so pretty?? This way I will always have some in a special place, and then I can use what is left to make cards for others!!!!
So, this sprawling post has lots of pictures of things that are inspiring to me. Stuff that makes my heart race a little.
If you want a quick dose of inspiration I have two suggestions to start you off:
SuziBlu has really got me excited about starting a little journal of my own! I think I will simply call it Inspire! Here are parts of the definition of the word inspire that really got me excited........to fill with an animating, quickening, or exalting influence and to give rise to.
I am inspired by all the photos on this blog.....Above, I am inspired by the beauty of this domestic scene (although, unfortunately, it does not move me right into the kitchen to start cooking/baking, etc.).........
I am inspired by this wall of stamps in my friend Trish's stamp room. I am inspired by my friends.
I am inspired by the beauty of these drawings! 
I am inspired by these rolls of vintage wallpaper (photo courtesy of Everyday Beauty)
I am inspired by the beauty of things I have never seen, but hope to someday. On the top is La Sagrada Familia a church designed by Gaudi (I am about to study his architecture because it is so whimsical, amazing and gorgeous!) and one of my all time favorite buildings, The Flatiron Building, in New York City which I have never seen but hope to someday!
I am inspired by so many things around me, my husband, my family, trees, birds, going to court the other day and seeing how much love a father has for his son, the patterns and colors around me, the possibility that although I know that I will probably laze around and blow this weekend in terms of accomplishing something big; that I can be happy in the small accomplishments I do make.....and the dream that someday it will all come together......meanwhile if I do a first page in my inspire journal......that will really be something.
Thanks to you all for all of your kind get well wishes to my Mom! She came home from the hospital on Saturday evening and was delighted to be in her own bed! She was diagnosed with idiopathic pancreatitis - which means they could not find the cause of it. She has a new diet to follow - which we all know is super challenging. My brother and I got her settled in and went grocery shopping for some healthy foods.
So, today was one of those boring days I was hoping for!!!! Knowing my Mom was at her house resting and relaxing allowed me to putter around here in all my glory. Reading and napping was the order of the day with a quick trip out with Mike for lunch and a stop at Barnes and Noble. I am reading the best book right now, Free Food for Millionaires. Click on this link to read about it!!! I love it!! While at B&N I picked up two books on my wish list.... Casting with a Fragile Thread and Don't Leave Me This Way. I want to start them and read them right this instant! They both look super good. Oh poo, I just noticed it is 9:43 p.m., which means I have just a bit of time left to myself before I have to go to bed. Work calls in the morning, but that is okay, because hopefully it will be another boring day of work, reading, TV, Mike time, and the knowledge that my family and friends are relatively healthy and happy for another day!
Thanks to you all for your well wishes for my Mom!!! She is doing better....she is still under the morphine fog, but that is better than being in pain. The doctors are just keeping her pain-free and hydrated right now. They will see if this passes on its own and then look for some answers.
I so appreciate your well wishes! You all are the best!!! One good thing today, my Mom got a private room. Yipee!!! It is nice to have total control over the noise level in one's sick room isn't it? I for one would find the TV noise from some cheap talk show enough to send me round the bend!
My Mom told me to go to work today, so I did. I will go to work tomorrow and then check in on her in person tomorrow night or Saturday. The hospital she is in is about 45 minutes from where I live.
You guys really have lifted me up! and my Mom too when she finally reads this! I am deeply grateful!
Just before Christmas I had a little blurb on my blog (say that 10 times fast!) about getting together a group of gals to exchange Christmas cards with. It turned out to be a small group which worked in our favor, because now we are making Valentine Day cards to send to each other. Here are a couple I made.........our group consists of Jennifer, Lorie, Karen, Erica, Jane, Donna, Liz, Nancy (my Mom!), and myself. It is lots of fun to have a little circle of women to send cards to.
Today is Sunday, my usual hermit/do nothing day. I managed to clean the bathroom this morning and straighten out a few piles of paper. Now I will reward myself by going back to bed to read the paper, watch some TV, study, and maybe watch a movie. I rented Memoirs of a Geisha.......I loved that book. I remember when my friend Noreen bought it for me. It totally opened up a new realm of reading about other cultures....now I love reading books set in India, Japan, China and other foreign cultures. Maybe if I feel really peppy I will work on some more cards!!
I am so excited!!!!!!! The current issue of Somerset Memories is out and the art on the cover is by my friend Beth McWilliams!!!! I went to Barnes and Noble tonight to get my copy and as soon as I spied Beth's art on the cover of the magazine, amongst all of those other magazines, my stomach did a flip!!!! How exciting to see a friend's work right on the cover!!!
We just ate dinner here and I am now retiring to my reading room to peruse this copy!! Beth wrote the article for her art work too, "The Joy of Happy Mistakes."
I love it when I know famous people!!!! Congratulations Beth! Your artwork is so stunning!!! Please check out Beth's blog......HERE!!!!!
This is the card I made for my best buddy's birthday! Isn't it cute??? I told her not to look at the blog for a week until I get it mailed to her in California. Happy Birthday Noreen!!!! We have been best friends since 1977! She has met or known every guy I have ever dated! Talk about being able to tell some funny stories about me!! I used an Inky Antics stamp and the new Two Scoops paper by Basic Grey to make this card. (Notice how I changed the subject??)
Not a lot of new to report around these parts. My reading and stamping time has been limited by my on-line paralegal schooling. I am in week three right now.
There have a few exciting developments however. First of all I found out that my friend Beth's gorgeous art work is going to be on the cover of the next issue of Somerset Legacy!! Can't wait to see it! I will post it here when I get it. I am now officially stalking Barnes and Noble for the new issue.
The Oscar nominations were announced yesterday. I want to try and see all of the movies that were nominated. So far, I have only seen Juno and I loved it! Bought the soundtrack too!
This morning I found out that I was awarded the prestigious "You Make My Day" award by Nathalie at An Artist's Legacy. I must say that made my day! Go visit Nathalie's blog and see her art journal! Fun!!
And now for the fun part....I get to name the people I pass on the You Make My Day award to!!!!!!!!!! Drumroll please..........
Diane Duda
Holly Loves Art
Donna from Even More Paper MadnessGo check out their blogs for some fun stuff!!!!!!
Thanks to everyone for all of your wonderful comments on my last entry about going back to school! That was so sweet of you. So far, everything is going pretty well. This week will be known as Tort week!!! Learning all about torts and contracts!
Now, I bet you will be wondering about these A++ images I have on this entry. They were procured at a wonderful shop that I happened on totally by chance!!! I can't wait to bring my Mom and friends to this shop~ It is the mecca of ephemera~
Anyway, yesterday morning dawned with some happy news that I did well on my first week in school in terms of my grade - so yipee! I felt happy and Mike and I were going to hang out all day doing fun stuff. Well, I kind of commandeered things a bit. While he was getting ready I was hunting on the internet for antique shops in Evanston, IL. Evanston is about 45 minutes from us and is a lovely town that has so many interesting things and lots of bookstores. We often take a ride up there to "toot" the day away. We were planning on seeing a movie, but did not end up doing so.
Backing up to Christmas, Mike's parents gave us a GPS system. One of those things you can program an address in and it will give you directions as you drive. Those things are the best! Anyway, I found the name of this shop (see business card below), Eureka. The internet ad said they were known for ephemera (can you say right up my alley???). So it was legit that we could go there to try out the GPS!! Tricky of me, huh????
Well, we arrived, I looked in the window and just sighed! Heaven!!! Mike waited in the car for me with his book. He would have been bored out of his mind! Not me, I was in there for what I thought was 20 minutes. Mike said it was an hour.
Bindy, the owner, gave me a thorough tour of her shop. It is stuffed to the gills with everything!!! She told me about Irene Castle, dress designer, and showed me these pamphlets from the 1920's. Are they not divine! They are totally me! Love that each model has a name and such beautiful clothes! These images would make A++ stamps don't you think?? I can't wait to use the images in some art work!!!
Being as I am currently on a budget I could only afford two pamphlets (they were $10 each, a bit expensive, but they are so totally worth it). I also bought the magazine ad at the beginning of this post....adorable kid's clothes!!! So, for $23 I was quite a happy gal. I even left something behind...something I usually never do. So, if it is there next time...I can get it. It was an many page advertisement for a bridal dress maker with lovely pen and ink drawings of bridal gowns!!!! Why didn't I just get it??? 
After that fun we went to lunch at an old favorite in Evanston, Merle's. It is a BBQ place....we sat in our usual booth decorated with pictures of Elvis. Then off to Barnes and Noble for a thoroughly extensive search of that place. We got some really great books!!!!!! On our way back to the car we did a quick check of Borders. And then on our way home we did a quick check of Half-Priced Books (great used book store!) and then picked up Chinese food for dinner at home. We also watched The Bourne Identity last night. My Mom said it was really good so I wanted to check it out. 
Then today I did my all-time favorite Sunday activity.....Nothing!!! Just read the paper, read some school stuff, read Entertainment Weekly, read a new book I got yesterday, and took a 4 hour nap!!!!! Life is good!
At this very moment I am supposed to be studying, but instead I am web surfing. I came across these totally gorgeous photographs! I am starting a new thing...when I find some great photos I will save them on my computer and then when I get a few gathered I will post them under the title, "Happy," cause that is what they make me!
My friend Jane's Mom made this darling lamb cake for me! Isn't she sweet??? So cute!!!! Thanks Marianne!!!!!!!!
Jane has a new stamp room! For those of you who don't know....Jane is one of my very best friends in this entire world. We met in the Archivers parking lot!!!! I think that was meant to be because we are as close as sisters! Neither of us has a sister so that works out well. We also work together in a law office. Jane helped me to get a job there when I left the hospital where I worked. It has turned out to be a great job!
Above is a little piece which is perfect for showcasing a few little stamps! When Jane and I spent a day organizing her room we had to go out and get a special new Yankee Candle for the room. This new scent, Velvet Petals, is totally divine. I highly recommend it for people who like a nice floral scent. 
Last year Jane and Mike went up to Cederburg, Wisconsin for a festival. I think there were some antiques for sale there too. Mike found this architect's cabinet. It is old and wooden and so cool. It has numerous flat drawers, perfect for storing stamps. Jane has the best stamps in the world. Feast your eyes!!!
This is her special Paris stamp collection. 
We found some great big glass jars at Ikea. They look old fashioned. Perfect for storing ribbon!
One of the best parts of making a creative space is placing all of the inspiration. This ballerina and the little gal below came from an antique shop in Southern Illinois. We stopped there on the way down to Red Lead in St. Louis once. 
Lastly, the light of a new vintage looking lamp makes the room all warm and inviting!
Lucky, lucky me!!!!! My banner fairy flew in for a visit and left her calling card. A banner that is just "so me" that it is stunning! Thank you to the wonderful Heather Simpson-Bluhm for this great act of art, kindness, friendship, and beauty all rolled into one beautiful banner. I must admit I could stare at it all day! If you would like to explore the possibility of such fun for yourself, please visit Heather by clicking HERE!
Where have I been????? It has been a long time since my last post. I guess I have had a bit of the seasonal affective disorder going on here in the cold and wintry Midwest. Go to work, come home exhausted, watch TV and read a bit. I am about to enter the second half of my on-line paralegal studies so I will have to buckle down with that starting next week.
So, this sprawling post has lots of pictures of things that are inspiring to me. Stuff that makes my heart race a little.
If you want a quick dose of inspiration I have two suggestions to start you off:
I am inspired by all the photos on this blog.....Above, I am inspired by the beauty of this domestic scene (although, unfortunately, it does not move me right into the kitchen to start cooking/baking, etc.).........
I am inspired by this wall of stamps in my friend Trish's stamp room. I am inspired by my friends.
I am inspired by the beauty of these drawings! 
I am inspired by these rolls of vintage wallpaper (photo courtesy of Everyday Beauty)
I am inspired by the beauty of things I have never seen, but hope to someday. On the top is La Sagrada Familia a church designed by Gaudi (I am about to study his architecture because it is so whimsical, amazing and gorgeous!) and one of my all time favorite buildings, The Flatiron Building, in New York City which I have never seen but hope to someday!
I am inspired by so many things around me, my husband, my family, trees, birds, going to court the other day and seeing how much love a father has for his son, the patterns and colors around me, the possibility that although I know that I will probably laze around and blow this weekend in terms of accomplishing something big; that I can be happy in the small accomplishments I do make.....and the dream that someday it will all come together......meanwhile if I do a first page in my inspire journal......that will really be something.
Thanks to you all for your well wishes for my Mom!!! She is doing better....she is still under the morphine fog, but that is better than being in pain. The doctors are just keeping her pain-free and hydrated right now. They will see if this passes on its own and then look for some answers. 
I am wishing everyone a Valentine's Day full of love and happiness!!!
These absolutely darling Valentine postcards are from my Mom's collection of vintage postcards. She and I have been collecting vintage postcards for years now. 
I spent the day with my Mom today while she was in the hospital. She woke up with sharp pains last night and went to the ER. She was diagnosed with acute viral pancreatitis and is now "doped up" on some pain meds. She should be better in several days, but I hope to find out what caused this. So, I would appreciate it if you would keep her in your thoughts! Just a few days ago we were sitting around making cards as you can see in the previous post. You just never know what a day will bring. I always say it is my favorite day when it is a "boring" day, no one is sick or in emotional distress.....just your good old boring day - go to work, come home, have dinner, read a book and watch some TV. Those are the days when I truly feel blessed. 
Saturday afternoon was spent making Valentine's Day Cards with some of my fave people! Pictured below are my Mom, Lorie, me, and Jane with some of the cards we made. We hauled down supplies from my stamping room and gathered around the dining room table for some stamping therapy. Mike was so kind as to make us a superb lunch and dessert! 
Below you can see the chaos that resulted in such lovely cards.
Looking on was this lovely artwork by the very talented Diana Duda! To see more of Diane's amazing work click on the link on the right, the one with her name. Prepare to be addicted!
Below left is a great card Jane made and on the right is one by my Mom!
Jane got me the stamp pictured below. Is this not the cutest stamp ever????
Here are some cards I made yesterday.
All four of us are participating in a card swap and now we are ready to get our little Valentine happies on their way!!!
Just before Christmas I had a little blurb on my blog (say that 10 times fast!) about getting together a group of gals to exchange Christmas cards with. It turned out to be a small group which worked in our favor, because now we are making Valentine Day cards to send to each other. Here are a couple I made.........our group consists of Jennifer, Lorie, Karen, Erica, Jane, Donna, Liz, Nancy (my Mom!), and myself. It is lots of fun to have a little circle of women to send cards to.
I am so excited!!!!!!! The current issue of Somerset Memories is out and the art on the cover is by my friend Beth McWilliams!!!! I went to Barnes and Noble tonight to get my copy and as soon as I spied Beth's art on the cover of the magazine, amongst all of those other magazines, my stomach did a flip!!!! How exciting to see a friend's work right on the cover!!!
This is the card I made for my best buddy's birthday! Isn't it cute??? I told her not to look at the blog for a week until I get it mailed to her in California. Happy Birthday Noreen!!!! We have been best friends since 1977! She has met or known every guy I have ever dated! Talk about being able to tell some funny stories about me!! I used an Inky Antics stamp and the new Two Scoops paper by Basic Grey to make this card. (Notice how I changed the subject??)
And now for the fun part....I get to name the people I pass on the You Make My Day award to!!!!!!!!!! Drumroll please..........
Well, right now there is a -15 degree wind chill going on!! But don't worry about me...I am so lucky! It is Saturday and Sunday and I don't have to set foot out of the house all weekend!! I have everything I need for the next two days all right inside my house. Mike and I will have fun just hanging out with Buddy and Pal (our cats!). 
We went out Friday night to have dinner at Mike's favorite taco place, Taco Fresco, and after that we went to Trader Joe's to lay in supplies for the weekend. For me, it is chips, hummus, and almonds!!! We have blankies to keep us warm. Books to entertain us. I have studying to do too.
Hopefully, I can get a big chunk of paralegal studying done so that on Sunday I can do some stamping! I am also interested to see the Green Bay football game as they will be playing in the subzero cold.
I really should use my time inside to make many phone calls to friends and family I have not talked to in some time due to being so darn busy at work and with the new school program. I hope to do that, but sometimes I end up being a total hermit and not talking to anyone. I am thinking of all my friends and family this weekend though and hope you are staying warm and having a lovely time!!! For all of you in warm climates, please watch the weather news this weekend to see how good you have it!!
Thanks to everyone for all of your wonderful comments on my last entry about going back to school! That was so sweet of you. So far, everything is going pretty well. This week will be known as Tort week!!! Learning all about torts and contracts!
Now, I bet you will be wondering about these A++ images I have on this entry. They were procured at a wonderful shop that I happened on totally by chance!!! I can't wait to bring my Mom and friends to this shop~ It is the mecca of ephemera~
Bindy, the owner, gave me a thorough tour of her shop. It is stuffed to the gills with everything!!! She told me about Irene Castle, dress designer, and showed me these pamphlets from the 1920's. Are they not divine! They are totally me! Love that each model has a name and such beautiful clothes! These images would make A++ stamps don't you think?? I can't wait to use the images in some art work!!!
Being as I am currently on a budget I could only afford two pamphlets (they were $10 each, a bit expensive, but they are so totally worth it). I also bought the magazine ad at the beginning of this post....adorable kid's clothes!!! So, for $23 I was quite a happy gal. I even left something behind...something I usually never do. So, if it is there next time...I can get it. It was an many page advertisement for a bridal dress maker with lovely pen and ink drawings of bridal gowns!!!! Why didn't I just get it??? 
After that fun we went to lunch at an old favorite in Evanston, Merle's. It is a BBQ place....we sat in our usual booth decorated with pictures of Elvis. Then off to Barnes and Noble for a thoroughly extensive search of that place. We got some really great books!!!!!! On our way back to the car we did a quick check of Borders. And then on our way home we did a quick check of Half-Priced Books (great used book store!) and then picked up Chinese food for dinner at home. We also watched The Bourne Identity last night. My Mom said it was really good so I wanted to check it out. 
