BaBushKa Girl

When I was a little girl, my mom always referred to wearing a scarf as wearing a "Babushka".  I think it's such a funny little word.  Meet my Babushka Girl.  She's very small - ATC card size (2 1/2 by 3 1/2).  It all started when I wanted to learn to draw a few days ago. 

Oh, I've been drawing -- kinda, sorta -- when I do my she-art canvases and notebook covers.  But Babushka Girl is totally drawn by my own working hand, rather than collaged in bits and pieces.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE collaged bits and pieces, but this was a challenge I issued to myself.  Something that was on my creative bucket list.

It feels good to be in charge of me.

And I am particularly fond of Babushka Girl for obvious reasons.  She's my first.  She's got a mom memory attached to her.  And, well, she's just got a cute personality.  She's got postive energy.  She's an encourager.  And, she's flying a balloon -- symbolic to me.  Fly.  It's a pretty good word too.

Taking Flight.  That's me! 

Recently, I discovered an online ATC community that I'd like to share with you.  ATC's For All is fun!  I've never been much of an ATC girl, and truth be told, I'm finding it challenging to create stuff in such a small space!  But that's the point, isn't it?  I don't want to go all weirdsville into the ATC world.  I do want to do MY art in MY style (ever evolving as it is) and that is what I hope to do on my ATCs.

Taking Flight.  Yep, that's me!

I Heart My Art Buddies

What's not to like about peanut m&m's and art buddies?  I found a few more pics of our adventure with Donna Downey, so I thought I'd post 'em!  No project pics (unless you count the m&m masterpiece!). 

Donna is a good talker.  So am I.  That is why my name spelled backwards is YAK.  I am not sure what she is explaining here, but suffice it to say she is a good talker-teacher!  Getting to know Donna was half the fun!  

Being with your scrappy buds is like breathing air -- we need it, don't we ladies?  Our scrappy gang enjoyed a 'licious mexican dinner afterwards.  Arn't we the babes? 

Goodbye Ms. Bladdie

I wish I knew the identity of the anonymous comment left on my last post ... thank you, whoever you are, for your kind compliment and encouraging words! I appreciate it very much!

So here I am, coming to you live ... gallbladder-less! The surgery was originally scheduled for 2pm today, then it was bumped up to 11;30am. And then, just yesterday, they bumped it up again to 10:00am. I told Kevin at that rate, it could be out by the evening! LOL! Well, as God would have it, today's surgery was indeed orchestrated by the Great Physician Himself and I can honestly say I feel better right now (just hours post-op!) than I have felt in the last several months! This pain is nothing - natta - lower than low! They even gave us 4 sequential pictures of the inside of my guts, showing all the parts & pieces! That's just too much!! Scrapbook material?!? Ha Our Sunday School class pretty much had a party in the waiting room. And now that they've seen the pictures, they can honestly say they know me inside and out! So --- the parting was graceful, and although I appreciate everything she did for me while we were together, it's goodbye Ms. Bladdie. Rest in peace.

Kevin & I truly do appreciate you praying us through. Anyone who might doubt the power of prayer hasn't been hanging around with us enough! Of course, it's not the power of prayer. It's the mighty miraculous power of God sought in prayer. I praise Him to the highest heavens for His generosity! Not once did I feel apart from His tender care. Not once. N-o-t o-n-c-e. He even granted us an opportunity to witness (of course, we did that all the live long day), but a specific opportunity to talk with my nurse about Jesus and to invite her and her husband to join us at church. I think she will -- Cindy, God is anxious to prove Himself to you! He loves us so much, and He is all the time arranging details to let us know He's there. This, I k-n-o-w!

I'll be crafting soon! It might be my most inspiring creations to date! Amazing what a good gallbladder surgery will do to ya! Thank you again family & friends. You are loved. You are never forgotten. Never overlooked. My heart is completely stolen by God over each of you, with bleary eyes.

If you can spare one last prayer, my very very very dear friend, Eleanore, is having lens replacement on her eyes starting tomorrow. And we are expecting a snow storm as well. Please pray for her surgery to be perfect, and her pain to be tolerable, and their safe travels. She was very very very instrumental in getting me the medical attention I needed so quickly (she's kinda a big shot at the hospital, but you'd never know it. Especially since she's a short tiny little speck of a thing!). We have been very very very close friends for like-ever (23 years) and she is precious. Thank you for remembering her and Brent.

Kiss your life. Accept it, just as it is. Today. Now. So that those moments of happiness you're waiting for don't pass you by.

A Paper Vacation!

We've just returned from a visit to DC/Virginia Beach and look what jumped into my suitcase during vacation?! Loads of beautiful scrapbook paper! Is that trendy scallop Kraft paper not gorgeous?! Doesn't it just say "Please embellish me with Unity Stamps?" Yes, it really said that to me! The clerk in the local scrapbook store she had never heard it say that to anyone else!

Lynn and I graciously agreed to shop our way to DC/Virginia Beach so the guys could ride their Harleys, arn't we the bomb? We googled "local scrapbook stores" and away we went, baby!

Get a load of this bicycle paper, which I HAD to HAVE because of the gazillion bikes we saw at Virginia Beach. What a great boardwalk, full of families and Schwinn bikes of every shape & size. I wanted a pink one, with a basket for my beach towel, and a bird bell on the handle bars! The clear Hero Arts set is full of cute birds, and squirrels, and owls to go along with that nifty tree and tree stump. And the rocking chair stamp? Ohhh, I have it all planned out to paper pierce the pillows!

These papers have matching glitter adhesive borders, be still my heart! I can't wait to play with these goodies. God bless Harley Davidsons and Local Scrapbook Stores!

Peachy Cheap

Love their deal of the day here.

Blog-Tag: A Game For a Virtual Meet-n-Greet

As a blogger, people may know you, but how good does anyone really know you? Turns out, I've been invited to play a game of Blog-Tag! My good blog-buddy Becky Oehlers tagged me, so click on over to her blog-palace and be inspired by her papercrafts, or her professional singing, or her golden sense of humor. She's a boatload of fun! For those of you who just landed here from there, welcome to my creative blog where I ramble and rant and rave about my papercraft obsession. But wait, I don't stop rambling there ... oooooh noooo. My other blog "Dream Big" is where I ramble and rant and rave about my life and what's in my head. Pick your poison!

Okay, then ... seven random or weird facts about myself:

• My dad karate-chopped me in the hallway in the middle of the night while I was on a trip to the bathroom --- he thought I was a burglar. I do not think that gave him a license to karate chop, however, the sound effect was pretty awesome.
• My husband lost his checkbook on the day of our wedding. I don't care what you say, he was not scared of me! We met at work, he fired a guy and I worked in personnel {The cute night shift foreman meets cute little number in the office}. We met and married within 4 months.
• Fav Quote: From birth to age 18, a girl needs good parents. From 18-35 she needs good looks. From 35-55 she needs a good personality, and from 55 on she needs cash.
• My rented min-van was stolen while vacationing in San Diego, along with my mother's wheelchair, my scrapbook, and my sisters' wine from the Sonoma Valley. Cops said it was over the border within 10 minutes. Bet they enjoyed that ride!
• I went to college in Ann Arbor, Michigan and studied music. Then went to work in a law firm for the next 25 years.
• I'm pretty much a perfectionist - but a recovering perfectionist so that has to count for something. I clean and straighten and organize and detail everything that moves. I'm one of those "if you can't do it right, don't do it" people. Go ahead, roll your eyes. I'm cleaning the fuzz out of the laptop keys as you read this ...
• It's all about my hair. I cannot function without lipstick and hand creme. And a purse that is a small piece of luggage.

Okay, Becky actually gave me a blog-tag choice but I like the questions on the second round too, so I'll play along!

Things I love: Jesus, my family, San Francisco, scarves, scrapbook stores, hanging with the hood (neighbors), purses, cold weather, TV show-Sisters & Brothers.

Things I don't love: Dark country roads, sushi, mornings, clutter, cop and reality tv shows, negative-talk.

Songs on my IPod: Sing-songy songs, mostly from TV commercials: Regina Spektor, Lenka, Kate Nash, Priscilla Ahn, Katie Herzig, Jack Johnson, Ingrid Michaelson, Sondre Lerche and various christian artists.

Favorite Food or Drink: Salmon, Salad, soup in bread bowls, Paradise Cafe Gingerbread Cookies. Must have Diet Coke ... must have Diet Coke.

Now the FUNNEST part ... tag, you're it!

• Mary - Pile of Smiles
• Darlene - Dar's Crafty Creations
• Julie - Out to Impress (who just had a b-day!)
• Julia - Create With Me
• Taylor-Made by JenMarie
• Lori's Addiction - Playing With Adhesive
• Katherine - Blame it on the MoJo

Caution: Not Your Usual Creative Post

Where ya been Kay? The answer is ... 1000 miles in distance, a million emotions, and a zillion prayers. Click here to get the low down on Keaton's accident. Blogland is a like a comfy robe and plush slippers -- thanks so much for your support. Come December when I return home, my inspiration may hit warp speed or I may hit the wall. But either way, Christmas cards are gonna happen, baby! Right now, I am thanking God for His miracle on Keaton's life and for scallop punches that I anticipate using on my Christmas cards (among other things). Hugs!

Where ya been, Kay?

Oh my - I'm sleep deprived (sorta) and OD'd on M&M's but it was worth it! The annual Atlanta card-swap scrap-a-thon was just too much fun! Staci had the nerve to move to the beach, and couldn't join us this year ... we missed you kid! But I really enjoyed your phone call and I wouldn't take back that hour of yak-yak-yak for all the tea in China. Uh uh!

Linda brought her Cricut Machine on Saturday for us to play with ... OMG it was so much fun! Can anyone say a-d-d-i-c-t-i-v-e? I think it is an invaluable scrapbooking tool. Ya think my law firm wouldn't be any wiser if I plugged it in next to my computer and said it could bill at an hourly rate?

Okay - Stella needs to find her groove after a good night's sleep.