Getting Ready...
A thanksgiving card made by dry-embossing a leaf and adding stickles, haven't really done much embossing and am looking forward to doing a bit more now that I've played around a bit.
Just a simple one made mostly with papers and goodies from my October Cocoa Daisy kit.
Having a lot of fun going through old baby pictures of Zoesie and scrapping them. Here she is with Grandma Sue (my mom)!
And, while I was working on my projects, Zoey was right beside me working on hers. This last week it pretty much rained every day so there was lots of time to be creative indoors. Looking forward to getting out a bit more this week (weather allowing).
I think that this is my all time new favorite one of Zoey when she was a little bambino. Love the little die-cut girl. I added some buttons and a paper posie on the hat. And lately I have been loving using my scalloped paper punch as well. Those Doodlebug paper frills are pretty darn cute too!
Just a simple one here of Zoesie showing off her dancing moves!
This one just serves as a reminder to myself. I like all the layers that I have on this one and I like how the photo of me looking in the mirror turned out too.
Really had fun with this one too. All the messy stitching and the journaling on the entire background was easy as well as fun. I like the colors of the scraps that I used too. I've been enjoying having little pockets of time to create again after working this summer. Now, today I am off to put the finishing touches on the project for MOP'S. Still have to write up some instructions for the project, must go now so that it's ready for tomorrow!
Another thing that I am excited about is landing a guest designer spot for the month of January at I am a Scrapaholic. Such a creative and supportive place and their scrapbooking kits are just awesome! I am so excited about this opportunity and now am counting the days til January! Well, for one reason anyway!
Yesterday we went to the First Annual Zoo Boo. What a treat that was! So much fun, we all had a blast and it was even cooler because it was Ethan's birthday too. Saw some of Zoesie's buddies there too, so cool to see her light up whenever she sees them. We all had fun checking out the animals, Zoesie got to pet a skunk, a huge rabbit, and a weasel to mention a few things, we saw goats, deer, numerous birds, bears, jaguars, a red fox, a tiger and many other animals. All of this in addition to the many walking zombies, ghosts, witches and trolls....yes trolls, in the water as we were walking out. And candy, how could I forget, lots of candy of course! Pretty darn cool! I cannot wait for Halloween! (If you want to view the individual thumbnails at a bigger size you can click on a picture to enlarge!)
It's funny, I was really doing alright until I started writing this and now I find myself tearing up. This woman is the coolest woman that I have ever known. The. Coolest. Woman. Her work ethic is incredible, she has taught me so much about life and the rewards of working hard and supporting your family as well as the importance of spending time and taking care of yourself. Something that I get the feeling she learned along the way. She had six children that she raised on her farm as well as housing and caring for farm-hands that came and went throughout the years. I only know the stories that have been passed down over the years to me by my mom or her siblings or by my grandma herself, but often it seems that I was there because the stories are so rich and full of color. Sometimes stories of hardship, struggle, sometimes of sacrifice, sometimes they were stories of children doing foolish yet, shall I say, interesting things, teenagers testing boundaries, boys getting into trouble (my uncles' lives will be passed down as legend one day I swear), sometimes of bounty and success, but most of the time what I felt that was shared in those stories was love. In it's truest form. The nitty gritty kind.
I am so lucky to have gotten to pick apples off the tree that was in the front yard of my grandma's home. The home that she raised all of her children in. I am lucky to have gotten to run and play in the fields on that farm, to get to play in the hay mow. To have gotten to bring my first ever boyfriend there. To have gotten to pick flowers from my grandma's garden. Flowers that she so lovingly planted and tended to. I recall sitting at her kitchen table and listening to the grown-ups talking and laughing (and the men cussing, yes cussing!) while my mother would be rolling my hair in rollers giving me yet another home permanent. I remember sneaking off to go in her bathroom, pretending to have to go only to spend my time looking over her many decorative Avon bottles of perfumes, sometimes I would even carefully take off the tops and take a sniff. I loved looking at her photo albums. I would look at those old photos, some of women in dresses of a style that I had never before seen and lots of men in suits and suspenders leaning against old cars and would wonder about their lives, about who they were and what their stories were. I remember her canning in the kitchen, making jams and jellies, pickles and my very favorite - pickled beets. She always made sure that I was sent some pickled beets...even when in college and in my first years of being married and away from home, I always had some of grandma's pickled beets on hand. Funny how seeing those beets in that mason jar could make me feel close to her.
What an incredible woman she is. I've always had a special connection with her, beyond even what I have experienced with my own mother I think. Perhaps that is just the way it is with one generation removed, but I've always felt that we've shared a special something, a special understanding. How many grandchildren can say that their grandma has chased buffalo? Across the street from her farm the neighbors had buffalo and they, the buffalo (more often than not) escaped and my grandma would end up going over and would get them back in their designated pens. And she would always just laugh it off like it was nothing! This is the same woman that has made hundreds of beautiful and intricate quilts, each with it's own story and with many of the pieces hand cut and sewn. These quilts to me are like my scrapbook pages. Each one has been carefully cared for and created to tell a story and to serve a purpose. She has sewn, quilted, done ceramics, made dolls, mulled wine, baked wedding cakes, and so much more. I can't even recall all that it is that she has endeavored in this lifetime. I am so proud that she is my family, that she is a part of where I came from, my roots.
*ETA* My grandma is now home with my Aunt Sharon. She is still quite weak but is wanting to get back to her old self and that is always a good thing. Thanks to those that left messages and sent emails expressing concern. Really means a lot and I thank you!