Birthday!

Sixty four short years ago, just 7 minutes into the new day, I came into this world.  I was counted as a blessing to my parents who had been married 7 years and been "trying" for a child for a long time.  My dad was 42 at the time and my mother was 27. 

They were the blessings, to me.  My dad was Sunday School superintendent, at the time, at North Ballard Baptist Church; a thriving country church of some 75-85 souls.  The first Sunday after I was born, he stood before the church to tell them of his new daughter.  My mother recounted on many occasions what he said: "I have a new daughter, her name is Brenda Kay, and as much as I love her, I would rather she had never been born, than to know she would not be born again". 

What a legacy they left behind.  They believed that God should be put first, family second and work third.  They not only believed it, they lived it.  We didn't work on Sunday, even if the hay was left in the field to the rain, or the yard needed mowing, all were left for another day.  My dad would stop working in the field to take me to a ball game or fishing, if I wanted.  He said there would always be work to do.  I'm so glad he did.  We spent so many wonderful hours fishing, hunting, picking blackberries, and camping on the lake.  We crammed a lot into the 21 years I lived at home and he went home to be with the Lord when I was just 27.  Mom never preached,(in a pulpit, that is), she preached everywhere else.  She never went to do missions, but she was a missionary every where she went.  When Mom died, at 88-1/2 years of age, she couldn't tell you her name or mine, but she could still sing Amazing Grace.  I know she is singing it still!

All to say, what a blessed, Blessed, BLESSED life I have enjoyed.  Thank You, Lord for all you have given me in these wonderful 64 years.

Winter Berry Earrings

These winter berry earrings made it into a Treasury today.   They are jade, Czech pressed glass, and two sweet antique brass bead caps. 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlackStoneFoundry

It's Still Summer and Still No Rain

I've been rather lax about keeping water out for the birds this summer; although I water the plants every day, and most of them have big saucers underneath where water collects for several hours.  I have often seen the birds drinking in those.  Today I put a big pan under the old flowering cherry tree and filled it with two gallons of fresh water.  The birds came in droves.  At one time I counted nine all drinking together.  They came all afternoon.  So, I made a drip waterer for them on the patio, sat in the swing and waited to see what would happen.  They loved it, maybe better, because they could splash around in it.  I sat quietly for over an hour just watching them and enjoying the cool shade, the comfortable swing, and one of the last days of summer.

Someone on Etsy Liked My Little Raspberry Earrings

Yea!  It's always fun when someone thinks my silly little creations are good enough to be in an Etsy Treasury.  These make it today:

Summer's End is in Sight

The "frog belly" is in full bloom, and a beautiful Eastern Tiger Swallowtail has come to sip the sweet nectar.  I wish I could sip too, and taste this wonderful end of summer banquet. 

There have been dozens of beautiful butterflies on this one group of plants over the last few days.  Wish I had taken more pictures.

As a matter of notice, there have been more butterflies this summer than I can remember in a long time.  Could it be because it has been so very, very dry?

Vintage Santa Framed!

I just love this vintage Santa, so I transferred his picture to cloth and framed him!  This is such a simple card to make and I think it looks complicated.  I just layered the card with black paper, designer paper, a strip of ribbon, a frame and the Sweet Santa backed with black.  I popped him us one level and added the pearls.  Voila!  A card ready to send out in just a few days.  Chrismas is only 48 days away. 

Paper: Cloud9Design, Bazzill black
Diecuts: Spellbinders Frameabilities Classic Frame
Embellishments: Wal-Mart black velvet ribbon, Kaiser pearls, my own Santa on muslin.

Enjoy!
B

Purchased this cute little girl with dog singing Jingle Bells last week from http://digitalpenciltoo.com/

This is my first card with digital image instead of a real, hold in my hand, rubber stamp.  I was hesitant to try this but found it to work just great. 

I printed the image on white cardstock and colored it with Prisma pencils and used Gamsol to blend the colors.  I'm not really good at this but I've studied several tutorials on different blogs and  decided to give it a try.  Lots of fun!  I'd like to figure out how to print on 110lb. cold pressed water color paper since that is my favorite for stamps to be colored by hand.  It holds up well and can absorb a lot of water. 

Hope you enjoy this little card.  If you have questions just email me or leave a question in the comments.  If you really love it, it's for sale at Jonesemporium.etsy.com  Thanks for stopping by.

Brenda

Stamps: Mo's Digital Pencil
Paper: Cloud9Design - Stocking Stripe, Bazzill cardstock
Ink: Computer, Ranger Distress Ink
Accessories: Prisma Pencils, Wal-Mart Ribbon, Cuttlebug machine, Spellbinders diecuts

Mona Maybe??

My newest Spellbinders Nestabilities Die is this one - Labels Four.  I love the wonderful, lyrical curves.  It works so perfectly with this very old rubber stamp I found in my stash.  I pared this image in chocolate with some dark brown Bazzill cardstock to make these sweet tags. I called them "Mona Lisa Maybe" and put them up for sale on my Etsy Shop.  What fun.  I think I'll make lots of tags with this great die.

Thanks for checking in with me.
B



Stamp: Illuminata by Inkadinkado

Paper: Bazzill Chocolate Cream Smoothies, Twig

Ink: Sentiments Timber, Ranger Distress Ink Vintage Photo

Accessories: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four Die, string

Simply Black and White, ah, with a little silver

Sometimes I just want to create a card quickly with out laboring over it and get it in the mail.  This was one of those times.  I needed a "Get Well Soon" card for a very elegant friend, but I knew she wouldn't appreciate anything too girly or too fussy, so I let this beautiful scrapbook paper speak for itself.  A bit of ribbon and a few computer generated words were all I needed to make it complete.

Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, black and silver from stash

Ribbon: Black grosgrain from Michaels

Size: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches

Christmas Card with Lots of Purple

Summer is gone and Fall didn't last very long, so I guess it's time to think Winter. And to me winter means Christmas.

So I made my first Christmas card today with Kazan's Sketch # 37 from 2sketches4you. They have a contest going on until midnight on October 17th. This is the first time I've entered a contest with a card. How fun! Hope someone likes it.

The inside is decorated also with a bit of the color scheme from the front and a little sign that says "Think Snow!"

The papers are "Artic Chill" by Fancy Pants Designs, and Bazill cardstock in a deep purple. Also used Cuttlebug die Ice Crystal, and Snow flake embossing Folder; Spellbinders Classic Rectangle Large, Classic Circle Large, and Classic Scalloped Circle Large.

Computer generated "Think Snow!"

Thanks for checking in with me.