Turf War - process video

Continuing on using this sketch, I have a story about my cat and a bird.  Depending on whether you are a cat person or a birder, this story may be one of triumph or tragedy.

Jasper is a ground kitty.  Mice and baby bunnies are in fear of him and as well they should be.  However, he does not like heights.  The most he will climb is onto a table in front of the kitchen window to signal to us he wants to be fed - cat food only, no table food.  I've never even seen him on the porch railings.  He hangs out on the floor mostly.

Most summers I have a bird that wants to build a nest in my hanging baskets.  This hasn't been a problem - not for the cat.  I find it annoying, but the cat is definitely not going to get anywhere near a hanging basket so no issue.  This year though we had a bird that wanted something else.  We are not sure what.  He or she didn't seem interested in any of the plants.  The bird kept picking at the cat, flying in as close as possible.  Jasper ignored it. Eventually it dive bombed him, zooming in to pluck at the cat's fur.  That was just too far.

We knew how this was going to end.  Sooner or later that bird just would not be fast enough.  Sure enough, one evening I walked up on the porch and there was a patch of blood and a gray and white feather sticking to it.

We never saw another bird on the porch all summer.

The photos are one of him chattering at the bird and one of the bird squawking though he is hard to see.

For the page, I did some flipping to get the sketch to work with the way I needed to orient my photos.  I also extended the journaling block to add a little subtitle.

Here is the video at YouTube:



If you have an outdoor kitty, I'm sure you have been through this before.  It can be a cruel world in the animal kingdom but mostly they live in peace.  As a coincidence, I repainted my feeder yesterday and filled it for the first time this season this morning.  The birds found it within the hour.  As long as they stay off the porch, we have no worries.

To catch up with my gratitudes...yesterday I was thankful for the walk we got to take on the last warm day for a long while.  Today I'm thankful for the technology we enjoy every day.

Check back next week for the last of the layouts using this sketch.  If you like using sketches multiple ways, check out the Scrapinar available on the blog's sidebar - Sketchbook Secrets.  Lots of new layouts and ideas.

Easy Holiday Card (Video)

I completed all of my holiday cards last month, or so I thought.

Then I signed up for a card swap with a group of wonderful ladies so I figured I'd better get busy making some more cards.  This is a low pressure swap.  You can even use store bought cards.  I have so many supplies, I can certainly make some more.  So I'm reaching back into older stamp sets to see what I can do with them.

This card is similar to others I've made and meets one of my main objectives this season - only one postage stamp per mailing.  I was shocked when I bought my last book of stamps and it was nearly $10!  I knew they had gone up but it still surprised me. Anyway, these with just one layer of cardstock and no trim shouldn't take any extra postage.

The card uses Stampin' Up's Lovely as a Tree set.  You could use any single tree stamp.  The green ink must be permanent though so the white puffy fabric paint won't mix with the ink and give you green snow - ick.

Here's the process video:



Thanks for stopping by today.  I'm grateful to all of you who read my blog and comment on my videos!

Thankful for Family

I'm an only child but I have a big extended family.  My father was one of 7 children.  We aren't close in that we keep in touch day to day, but we are there for each other when tough times happen.  Everyone turns up for funerals which unfortunately we gathered for on Sunday.

In April I shared this layout of my uncle Fred.  He was my aunt's (my Dad oldest sister's) husband for 72 years.  He passed away last week just a few weeks after his 99th birthday.

So I'm thankful for the privilege of knowing Fred and having him as my neighbor for the last 25 years.  His smile always made the day brighter.

And I'm grateful knowing I can count on my family.

Thanks for visiting today.

Grateful for...

Fall color.  I took this photo late yesterday when we returned from our chilly walk.  The light was just perfect on some trees at the edge of the woods.  In our part of the state, the leaves are at their peak in early November.

Today, I'm grateful to have had an outing with my husband.  It was mostly shopping and lunch out.  We didn't do anything really special but it felt great to be out of the house for awhile enjoying such a beautiful day.  Plus, hubby suggested we go to Hobby Lobby!  I'm lucky that he likes going there and can browse as long as I do. First I had taken him to Academy Sports and Outdoors as I was look for and found a jacket. He had never been there and was impressed with their fishing gear selection.

So we are off for another walk.  Maybe I'll wear my new jacket. Oh, who am I kidding?  Of course I will. I'm definitely not someone to buy something and put it away for months.

Hope you have a great Saturday!  What are you grateful for today?

Fall card and Thanks

Nothing has quite gone as planned this week so I'm behind on posting my gratitudes.  When life is hectic, it makes me particularly thankful for the simple things I've been looking forward to.  One of those was the CMA (Country Music Association) awards last night.  The CMA's is a great show full of music; the awards almost seem like an afterthought.  I'm always amazed by the staging. I enjoyed 3 hours of uninterrupted music and TV.

Today I'm thankful for my pharmacist.  She found a discount coupon for me last month and chased it down again this month.  It took the copay from $50 to $4! I would have never known about this so I'm delighted.  One of the benefits of a small town are independent stores like my pharmacy with the same people who get to know you and go out of their way to help out.

I'm also sharing a card made with the Autumn Splendor set from Raisin Boat.  I had to fix a minor 'oops.'  At one point I got a bit of brown ink on the right side of the background after I had stamped the greeting.  So I used a heavy coat of brown ink around the edges and it all blended together.

I hope you are having a good week!

Election Day and New Sketch and Video

Election Day is finally here!  I've always been thankful for the right to vote.  People all over the world are still fighting often literally for that right.  It is something we should never take for granted.

Something I can add to that in recent years is the availability of information on candidates. While I know you certainly can't believe everything you read online, there are many sources for info and that really helps for a lot of the offices.  And now onto my project for today.

Earlier in the year, I used one sketch multiple ways.  I'm doing that popular series again.  For the first layout, I have photo of this little darling using Echo Park's Everyday collection.  Such pretty colors and patterns are paired with both mulberry paper flowers from Prima and some cut on the Silhouette.

Here is the process video at YouTube:



And here is the sketch:

If you like sketches and want more tips for using them different ways, check out the Scrapinar I did in June.  It is available for a low purchase price here -

Thanks for stopping by today.  I hope you got a chance to vote.

Thankful30 - the hydrangea bloomed!

Looking at this photo, you might wonder if it is spring or fall.  Actually I took the photo for precisely that quandary on a layout.  While our hydrangea bushes will have an occasional late bloom, what makes this year unique is these are their only blooms - in October.

We had a late frost that bit back everyone's hydrangeas so I was delighted to enjoy a month of beautiful blue blooms this fall.  They make such a pretty mix with the orange maple, don't they?

So this will eventually end up on a layout, it seemed the perfect time to share it and add to one the many things I'm grateful for - having lovely flowers in my yard for at least 7 months per year.

Which months for which flowers may vary.

An extra hour - Thankful30

What did you do with your extra hour today?  Most of the US went off Daylight Savings Time and 'fell back' one hour giving us a little extra time for the weekend.

I used my extra hour to backup my computer and do some organizing.  Boring, I know, but necessary.  I am looking for a good way to keep to-do lists on my computer.  I tried a Windows app but it was very limiting so I'm now trying One Note.  I experimented with Microsoft One Note that came with Office a few years ago but didn't do a lot with it.  While I keep to-do lists written down there are many benefits to having them electronic so they roll along as the days go and repetitive tasks don't have to be rewritten.

I know a lot of people would like Daylight Savings to last all year but I welcome the time change.  It is so hard for me to get up and moving before daylight particularly as I work from home.

So I'm thankful today for that extra hour.  The rest of my hours will be filled with crafting, I hope, and maybe doing a few things on those lists.

Hope you have a lovely Sunday.