Handmade with LOVE

Welcome to my blog!

I'm a card maker!

I create greeting cards.... and all sorts of crafty fun stuff!

to Brighten your day!!!

or

to Brighten Someone's Day

who is special in your life.

You can check out any of the card categories to the left of this blog post to see what I make.  Most cards are doodles (drawn by me) or they are a mix of stamped images, embellishments, computer clip art, water colored... pretty much anything!!!

I can recreate something or be uniquely original and whimsical just for you!

You just have to think slightly ahead to get my cards.  But I promise the special people in your life who love hand made, heartfelt and unique things.... know that you really thought of them when you got one of my cards!!

Contact me @ prdesigns1@sbcglobal.net

Brighten Someone's Day

The Next Level

Sometimes I listen to strangers conversations and mentally give my opinion ~ Pinterest

In 'real' life we would never want to be in someone else's shoes and in all honesty, it's not our place to judge, but there is an amateur social science out in the world that it's okay to try and  guess another person's story and it's called people watching!

Sunglasses: allowing you to stare at people without getting caught.  It's like Facebook in real life.

People are fascinating! 

There are places all over the world known for their people watching... and people who go there know they will be on display and be seen.  That's why they go there!

 

There are places on the web that give you tips on the best locations to people watch...(just do a google search if you are interested) be it a cafe on the streets of Paris, or sitting on a rock during an outdoor music festival. 

 

And there are techniques to discreetly people watch like wearing dark sunglasses so no one can see your eyes, and by seeming to be interested in your beverage in hand... like a coffee!

Week #15 - LIFE'S Simple Pleasures - people watching

 

People watching is truly a sport!  There is even a coffee shop bingo.  It's an actual card you can print out and bring with you and share with your friends if you are going out people watching.  It has spots on it like 'cell phone ringing'  'children with a Starbucks drink' 'someone spills a drink'.  I'm not sure what you win if you can fill out the card diagonally, but that's probably what makes the game of people watching even better.  You get to make it up according to your day's observations!

 

What's even more funny.... WalMart Bingo for people watching.... it has spots on it's card like, 'pregnant woman with visible tramp stamp tatoo', 'rat tail hair', 'entire family in camo'.... hilarious!

 

I am waiting for the day that WalMart decides to put a bar in their stores.  That'll take people watching to the next level.

 

It's just a fun way to pass time. 

 

In light of the recent events in Boston, you can certainly people watch during a huge public event like the Boston Marathon.  I don't actually want to dwell on the tragedy of it ... but circulating on Facebook is an awesome quote by Mr. Fred Rogers....“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother's words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.”

 

We can certainly watch for the helpers, they are out there!

Room in My Heart

It's approximately 11"H x 17" W, a painted white board.  I then took my fun little bottles of acrylic paint and some crappy old teeny paint brushes and painted a sign for the "Jonah Room".  If you recall, last summer I volunteered to paint a mural for a nursery school, you can find the post here I like to move it move it! I love Madagascar! Last weekend I got a request to paint a sign for a room.  How simple is this!  So, you get to see the before and after, and then the text.  I painted the same image on both sides.  Now this! is what I want to do!  Not just paint, but get jobs like this, fun to me!

 It's one of those mornings again.  48 degrees.... I thought I would be an iced coffee person throughout the year, but I'm needing some chai tea warmness!

Life is quiet, back to normal. :)  I miss Bubba, but it's okay for him to open his wings and soar!!  Sissy and I are having a better week as mother/daughters go!  And DH, might take a half day for me and we'll go to lunch. 

"Sometimes" said Pooh, "the smallest things take up the most room in your heart".

Double, Double, toil and trouble

- Which feet are the witches feet?

- Punch art with Top Note

- Come celebrate fall, if not Halloween

OMG! So dang cute.  I really am getting into these punch artist who take all these punches we crafters have sitting around and make them into something awesomely cute and cool!!!   If you look closely, the witch shoes are the same form as the green background paper.  That punch (or die cut in this case) is Top Note by SU!  What I did is make the same cut with the black paper, folded it in half and then used circle punches to get the point for the tip of the shoe and another circle punch in the part where the legs would go into the shoe.  The buckles are another SU! punch in the center.  Stockings were hand cut, but I'm sure someone probably used a punch in the original.

I made three of these cards and they went out to my Card of the Month Friends.  For two years now, with varied interest, I create cards that relate to the month or the holiday season.  Most COTM-ers are on card #10 (October) and I always send out the card a month ahead of time, so in this case it is a Halloween theme or colored card. One COTM-er WON this yearly deal as a gift on HOS, one COTM-er was given this as her Christmas gift, and one, actually bought this as a gift to herself!! SURprisE, a cute hand made card from me comes each month directly to her mailbox.

One card mate wanted her cards to be the year of  'coffee'... the card right above, so each month she gets a card ready to invite a pal out for coffee.  Notice, I'm using brown and orange colors to go with a fallish feel. It's blank inside so she can write in her own sentiment. Could have had a witch brewing some coffee, dang!!!

- Send out a Halloween card, it can be a way that you tell someone you are thinking of them. 

- I have lots of cute cards in stock!!!

- Check out creative greetings too! my other card only blog , look under FALL or Halloween

Got Coffee??

Happy Monday morning!  It's supposed to make it up to over 90 today!  The dogs and I have been up for hours to try and walk as early as possible.  I watered a few plants so they don't wilt!  Here is a card I made for CKB.  She is part of my Card of the Month group. (COTM) Each month for the entire year, she and 3 others get a 'surprise' card in the mail. This special card relates some how to the season or holiday of the month.  For instance, the rest of the group got a "you are special" card.... male-ish looking.  They could use it for Father's day.  (I'll post at a later date)

CKB requested 'coffee' themed cards.  She then would use them to invite a friend out for coffee  I love the faux postage stamps!  This is actually a 'digi' card.  Images I created on the computer (clip art???)

On our first day in the Big Apple, within the first hour of wondering about Time Square, we were approached by many types of people, selling stuff, requesting stuff etc.... we were leery, but had fun with all the excitement.  One nice looking, tall, young man approached us and told us he was with the David Letterman show.  He showed us his 'official' I.D.~ would we be interested in seeing a live taping of the show that afternoon?.... Jeff and I looked at each other and said, yes!! He asked a few questions, looked at our ID asked us to promise him that we would really be there for the FREE tickets and told us which street to go to.  So, here we are!!!  We got to see Kathryn Heigl (promoting Killers with Ashton Kutcher).... last Thursday at 4:30pm.  Although we USED to be David Letterman fans... it was a fun FREE experience and totally un-expected!!  The band was excellent!! How fun!

Café Au Lait

Could that be translated into Coffee a lot!! As in I need a lot of coffee? Bean there, done that! No, not really in my case (waiting until I was 45 to have some joe on a regular basis).... just give me some iced coffee latte and I'm good to go! ... if the temperature is above 40 degrees.... barely makes it that way today!

Love love this card. I wish I had a ton more Copic markers (but at $5.00+ each, that would be very expensive) I have 5... two skin tone, 2 grey and one blue. The skin tone help me achieve that brownish foam color. The grey, the shadow on the left. And then wish fairy I would love a Bind it All, a Sillouette, a Tablet and the list goes one, hee hee... oh it is fun to dream! Embossed to top portion.

Have you heard of 29 Gifts? The challenge of the gift of giving. We're taking on the challenge at the House of Shine (formerly Highlowaha) Although I feel I give of myself often, here's a way to document what I and others do. I'll list my gifts on my blog.... and making up for the past 7 days....

29 Gifts:
Day 8- Tucker's in to the groomer at 8 am, I have two Starbuck coffee bags (empty) each one has a coupon on them for a free coffee with purchase. Groomer is across the street from Starbucks, I give them to the 'girls' since they frequent often... they can buy one coffee and get the other FREE, on me!
7. Sent a birthday card out to a highschool friend, we haven't seen each other since the summer of '82
6. While shopping and in the fitting room, I brought out all the extra clothes from my room that someone else was too lazy to put out on the return rack.
5. Coming to Fruition.... response day to emails and gifts I sent out, so in a sense, a gift for my giftgs back to me from the past
4. Complimented A. on how fantastic she looks from all her hard work in sculpting her body
3. Recieved a gift of a cup of sugar, but in return sent out a sentimental card
2. A listening ear on a walk
1. Opening doors to serve others before us

Specialty Iced coffee, please

My favorite discovery of recent time is learning how to make cold brewed coffee with Toddy maker. 67% less acid!!!
All because Charley's mom offered me an iced coffee one day last summer... my phenomenon started with at home specialty coffee drinks. I bought mine through Amazon and was happy from day one. And since I had time and great interest, I went to the library to find out more... more <------(my Jan 14 post about my first experiences) about where coffee came from, who drinks it and why we drink it. I even bought my own Starbuck-like cup so that I can feel part of the crowd. My mom never understood why I didn't drink coffee as a young adult, but now Iced Coffee with creamer and milk....very, very good to me!!! This cup is from Bed, Bath and Beyond. The money I have saved and the stories I have learned about how and why people drink iced coffee has been a priceless adventure!!
And then of course, I had to make cards with coffee themes. The good ole cup of joe!! So, for today, on my "pad" berry.... not a Blackberry or a CrackBerry... Charley's mom calls it my note "Pad" berry I have titles for my fiction coffee books.

Again, at the library yesterday.... I found my favorite Librarian Services chick because I had difficulty understanding their computer screen and "I know longer want to be afraid to learn how to use things I don't understand" So, she gave me a lesson how to read the screen and if the books are there, where it is and if it's checked out. I was so happy to be learning!!! I asked her if she remembered me.... that I was the 'coffee & tea' book lady? She got a little gleam in her eye and told me that after I left that day way back when, I inspired them to make a bookmark to get others interested in these types of books. She didn't have a bookmark on hand, but would go and print me one.

It reads: Have a Cuppa.... Coffee or Tea Fiction... and lists 10 books.
I was giddy and thankful that my new found interest is not only fun, but gave me a HIGH moment.

So as I sit here and type, with Tucker on my lap, my first Iced Coffee Latte complete, the sun SHINing and the kids home for the first day of spring break.... life as I see it, is pretty darn good!!!!


“Starbucks says they are going to start putting religious quotes on cups. The very first one will say, 'Jesus! This cup is expensive!'”
LoveofMine
Conan O'Brien quotes

Some Mo' Joe

I get excited over little things. Little things bring me great joy!!! Due to wanting more balance coming into my life, I'm giddy about this. I enjoy the small stuff... although I sweat at times with this.

My friend Charlie's Mom, is the one who turned me on to iced coffee this past summer. I NEVER really ever drank percolated coffee in my 45 years. The hot-ness always made me too warm...can't drink anything hot when it's above 32 degrees out. I didn't like the flavor or taste.... but now with the coffee houses popping up all over the country and coffee being in vogue... I needed to at least try it again.

But I'm not doing this half way. The other day Charlie's Mom and I were talking about tea and coffee and coffee makers and hot water boilers and cups and caffeine.... and I was inspired Yesterday I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought some COPCO coffee house look a like cups, one for hot and one for cold. (Charlie's Mom enabled me!!!!) It's hard for me to say, but I DID NOT use a coupon. I was too excited when I found my treasures.

After that, I went to the library (I'm in between temp. jobs right now and I had just dropped Sissy off at school for one of her finals, the library in our town is a hopping place on a Wednesday at 9:30am). I found (just) ONE book to read. But then I thought..hmmm all this talk about coffee and tea... I want to find out more about it. Not how Starbucks started, but why these concoctions are so available, why do people meet over coffee, what else happens in a coffee house? One stupid talk show interviewed a husband whose wife was putting them into debt because she stopped at Starbucks twice a day because she 'deserved' an Iced Latte at $4.50 each. Go figure twice a day for a year (plus a few times she stopped and got a 3rd) $4.50 x 365=$3,285 ..... just for specialty coffee.
The resource service desk was too happy to help me find recipe books on hot drinks, and then I thought to ask about coffee fiction.... like a coffee book centered around those who meet at a drink establishment.... they were intrigued by my request and started searching and by the time I walked out of the library, 6 books later... I think I'm on to something. Author Sandra Balzo and her coffee series:
Uncommon grounds
Grounds for murder
Bean there done that
Brewed, crude and tattooed
From the grounds upI think there is more to come in regard to coffee, chai tea and this interesting concept of meeting over a cup o joe!! Look, I even create 'coffee' cards! Maybe I've had too much caffeine! :0)

Peggy