Challenge for Pages of Pictures

Erin, the blogger of Pages of Pictures, has a tutorial challenge going on. She has challenged her readers to pull out an unused/ unloved tool and create something with it. I chose my Wizard Embosser by Spellbinders, as it is one that I have recently fallen back in love with. Since buying it a few years ago at a Stamping Expo, I've used a number of things to run through the machine with Club Scrap cardstock, but I'd gotten tired of those things and hadn't used it in a long time. Then, when doing a Little Fat Book swap this winter with the Club Scrap Chat forum, I received a lot of 4x4 cards using a unique embossing template, which I later learned was called Cuttlebug (this is by Provocraft). Now, I'm not going to go out and buy another embossing machine since I already have the Wizard, so I did some research and found out that I can use the Cuttlebug embossing folders with my Wizard! I ordered a few of the folders, and when they arrived the other day, I pulled out the Wizard, dusted it off, grabbed some luscious Club Scrap cardstock, and embossed away! I was so impressed with the result! I've made two projects with my old tool (the Wizard) and my new toys (the Cuttlebug embossing folders).

The first project is a little booklet to keep my Wizard Recipes handy. This info is from the Spellbinders website, and it gives lots of ideas on how to use the Wizard to cut and emboss items, and how to stack the plates, cardstock, and embossable items to run the "sandwich" through the machine.

My second project is for the spring Little Fat Book swap at the Club Scrap Chat forum. I ran the blue base paper through the machine with another floral Cuttlebug embossing folder. The pic shows the decorated side and then the back of another 4x4 page. I like the way the embossing dressed up the foundation page.

So, now I've gotten my old tool back out and I'm glad I did. Now I have to order more Cuttlebug embossing folders to play with! It's much better than the Wizard sitting around gathering dust.

Getting closer to moving

We are definitely moving. We're closing on the land in early March, and construction will start on the house (hopefully) by May. Life is going to be very hectic for a while. Jeannie is, of course, oblivious to all of the plans. We wonder if she'll miss her favorite place to lounge--on the stairs leading from the living room. She always lies on the same step, and her favorite position seems to be this one. Will she miss it, Julie has asked me. No, dogs seem to adapt a lot easier than people do. I think she'll be so excited to have a new place to explore and she'll be ready to move on--perhaps we should follow her lead.

What a year this will be!

If all goes as planned, by the end of 2008 we will have sold our house, moved to a 25-30 acre farm, bought a pony ride business, started a horse boarding business, and built a house. In the midst of all that, we will have found the right college for Ashley and gotten her started there, plus planned Holly and Patrick's wedding to take place around New Year's 2009. Will it all happen? God only knows at this point, but we are working toward all those goals. The pony business was offered to us around Thanksgiving, and we found and fell in love with the farm right after New Year's. We've come to agreements on the prices of both, and we spent all of yesterday visiting bankers about the loans. Today I visited the property with the inspector who checked out the tiny (but brand-new) house and horse barn (also brand-new). A couple of important things for the seller to fix, but we think he'll agree to them.

This will be a fantastic move for our family. For years we've discussed and prayed about what type of business we could run as a family. With Julie's limitations, it will be nearly impossible for her to be independent. Holly's chronic Lyme disease is keeping her from getting a job to support herself. Patrick is very happy to be able to quit his warehouse job and come work for us. He has experience working at equestrian facilities, which is a plus for us. And Ashley will be able to earn money during the summers and weekends working with the pony ride business. Of course, Larry's job is going to help support all this in the beginning, so he will continue to work and travel, but when he's home his focus will be on helping us improve the businesses.

I'm so thankful my health is improving, otherwise this all would not be possible. And now as we start 2008, let the fun begin!

Belated Christmas Greeting!

There's just not enough time in the day to do everything I want to do. My blog is definitely one of those things that has been neglected. So...a very Merry Christmas to all my dear friends--even if it is five days late! Today is a special day, though: it is Larry's 41st birthday. He, though, is stuck in bed recovering from sinus and throat surgery. Not a fun way to spend Christmas, your birthday, or New Year's, I can assure you, but that's the way the doctor's office scheduled it. At least in his line of work Christmas is a very slow time of year; things will pick up a lot after January 1st when he'll be getting back to his "normal" self. It hasn't been too bad having him home. He stays in bed most of the time, and I'm getting my exercise going up and down the stairs checking on him and getting things for him. For his birthday I gave him two Auburn golf shirts and some AU window decals for his car. I think he liked them.

Another Christmas Card

Another use of Club Scrap Christmas stamps--this time from their 2006 set. This is another card done with the grid technique from the Technique Junkies newsletter. Very traditional look, I think. I just hostessed a Christmas card swap with members of the Club Scrap Chat forum. There were about 30 players, each making 10, 20, or 30 Christmas cards. The cards were sent to me, and I sorted and repackaged them, making sure each person got a variety of new cards. A number of players say they are holding onto their new cards as "keepsakes." I will be sending mine out, though, as Larry recently gave me a huge list of people we need to send to this year. Of course, if I send a handmade card to one person, I need to send one to everyone--can't remember the last time I bought a card from a store!

Christmas Cards

In the busyness of life, I've been trying to make some Christmas cards. I made a number of these for Larry to take to his colleagues in South Africa. The papers are from Club Scrap's Great Outdoors kit; stamps are from their Groovy Christmas collection. I love the whimsical look of the tree.