Cards for A, D, G, and L

My dilemma today is whether to write about the women for whom I made the cards or explain my inspiration for the design. Since I mentioned them both...

D and A are my younger daughter's church group leaders. They are twins and have committed to meeting with this bunch of girls every Sunday throughout their four years of high school. G and L have been with my older daughter for three years now. Talk about giving a mother's heart some peace of mind! I am beyond grateful both my girls have strong, faith-filled, adult women to speak wisdom into their lives when they may not want to listen to me.

Would you believe a one layer card with a floral background inspired my design? I tried covering a white card front with letters, but consistently stamping them straight on a larger area wasn't happening. I did not want to give up my idea of using last name initials as a background for a bolder, first name capital letter, so I limited the space and added layers. And, I do love a textured background. Ta da!  

Remember my blog post about fonts from January? 

Well, I am happy to end the year jamming with fonts, too.

Card Details: Alphabet stamps by Stampin' Up; Inkadinkado; and Hero Arts.

Hope for Mail Cards

Crafting, writing, and mailing Christmas cards is my standard operating procedure for the month of December, but these cards will be sent to children I do not know, because my daughter asked me if I wanted to participate with her church group in writing letters to Hope For Mail. My daughter is asking me to make cards and support one of her friends!?! Gotta say yes to that! Hope For Mail, founded by 15 year old Kate Rojales, is a non-profit organization whose mission statement is "Sending words of encouragement to families battling life threatening childhood illness in the name of Jesus." Please read in her own words (by clicking here) what sparked her desire to share the love of Jesus all year . 

If you have an extra card and a couple of minutes you can share your love this season, too.

(The handmade part is optional.)

Card Details: Tree die by Sizzix; Paper by Recollections; embossing plates by Stampin' Up. 

Giving Thanks Card

On Sunday our pastor challenged us to thank someone for making a difference in our lives, so I will. Three months after we moved to Georgia I joined a Bible study and made my first friends in my new neighborhood. Each week we met at the same house, and Janet's knack for hospitality genuinely transformed my "new mom on the block" emotions to "this is where I belong" confidence. Thirteen years later we are still meeting weekly. We rotate houses now, and the group morphs depending on children and jobs, though three of us haven't missed a year. I am so very thankful for the women who have invited me into their homes and lives all these years. I hope your Thanksgiving holiday will either remind you of or allow you time with the people who define where you belong. 

Happy Thanksgiving from my house to yours. 

Card Details: House, leaf stamps, and paper by Stampin' Up; Leaf punch by Fiskars

A Card for Paris

After I watch more than enough of the constant news coverage, read too many posts on social media, and mull over the daily headlines, I still want to wrestle with the unanswerable questions of "Why?" and "What's next?" God is not insulted by my questions, nor do my questions imply a lack of faith, rather my questions become part of my prayers, and my prayers are focused when my hands are busy. I'm not sure if I will mail this card to anyone, but while making it I prayed for our world. 

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18

Card Details: Image by Hero Arts; Sentiment by Stampabilities

A Card for Kind Strangers

About a year ago my car died while I was waiting to pick up my daughter from practice. It was a Tuesday night and it was cold. I assumed it was a dead battery, because I had been listening to the radio without the engine running. I had a set of jumper cables which attach to the battery of the dead car then hook up to the power outlet in the running vehicle (aka jumper cables for dummies). I asked two men parked near me if they would start their car and plug in the cable. They wanted to know as much as I did if these "user friendly" cables actually worked. When they didn't start my car, we assumed they were faulty, and one man, who lives close by, called his wife to bring his jumper cables.

After she delivered the seemingly more powerful cables it didn't take us long to figure out I did not have a dead battery, but I needed a tow truck instead. This realization made her simple benevolence have a much larger impact on me. I thought about this woman for months, and I am just certain the scenario went something like this: She is home alone on the one night of the week her husband is out with his friends. She is either going to watch her favorite show or read a good book. She snuggles up on the sofa, and then, her husband calls. He asks her to help a stranded woman and her daughter, so she hops in the car with jumper cables. Yes, she lives only a couple of miles from the park, but the way I see it, coming out on a cold night when she thought she had the house to herself for a few hours — that is a superb act of kindness.  

I emphasized this card was for the wife, because she was the one who went out of her way to help a stranger. 

Several months passed before I delivered this thank you note with gift card to a local coffee shop. (I have lots of lame excuses for why I didn't do it sooner.) I showed up at the parking lot on a Tuesday night hoping I would recognize the two guys right away. I did not, so I started asking every man with a kayak on the roof of his car, "Did you help me with my car last fall?" Turns out a bunch of guys all row together on Tuesday nights and each one knew the guy who lives just up the hill, but he was not there. As I explained the story they each said they expected no less from one in their bunch. I emphasized, however, this card was for the wife, because she was the one who truly went out of her way to help a stranger. One man promised it would be delivered.  

Card Details:  Cherry Blossoms stamp by Penny Black; Grate Effect embossing die by Spellbinders

The Great Pumpkin Card

"Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He's gotta pick this one. He's got to. I don't see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there's not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see." – Charles M. Schulz, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Linus' hope is endearing, and the thought of a sincere pumpkin patch is heartening. A place with no sign of hypocrisy and nothing but sincerity, now that's a warm and wonderful place to be. In fact, I was there this past weekend. Two sorority sisters and I spent the weekend together for the first time in over 30 years. Our days were filled with fabulous food, long conversations and the walks to go with them, an old scrapbook and the mental quest for names, and hugs that speak of abiding friendship without words.

The Great Pumpkin will surely rise from 5 Hedgerow Lane this year. 

Stamp Credit: Pumpkins and leaves by Stampin' Up. 

The (It's not a card) Tour of Pumpkins

Pumpkins and October go together like snowflakes and January, but how about pumpkins and July? For the last 15 years I have faithfully watched the Tour de France during the first three weeks of July. I like riding my bike, but I am not an avid cyclist, therefore it is difficult to explain in a few words the appeal of this event, nonetheless, after all these years I am familiar with the teams and the strategies, and I thoroughly enjoy the race. France's beautiful country side is a bonus, as is listening to the accents and wit of Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett, who provide the live commentary. (They are the best sports commentators around if you ask me.)  

My pumpkin project began as a way to justify watching hours of TV every day for three weeks. Thank goodness for the DVR. I recorded the five hours of live racing in the morning, then folded and glued and watched in more manageable chunks of time later. 

Each pumpkin needs 10-12 punches.

Fold the punches and glue the sides together. 

Add brown or green ribbon for a stem.

Ya, gotta love the Dollar Tree for glass vases. 

I ended up making around 100 pumpkins or enough to fill fourteen vases. The best part was giving them all away last week. I would say July and Pumpkins went together very well this year.