Grateful

Remembering to remain grateful can be a full-time job around here. Nevertheless, this sentiment is so true. Being grateful for all I have is a great way to get happy.

Something that made me happy recently was FINALLY capturing these turkeys on film. For several weeks, I had passed this big flock of about 30 birds on my way to and from work each day. They were culling a harvested corn field and I really wanted to take a photo. There's not a very good place to stop, though, and a few times, I cruised back and forth trying to pull over, but something always stopped me: once it was some construction vehicles in the way; another time, I had driven past for a while, feeling late for work, but then decided to turn around and go back, only to find the turkeys had moved into the woods; one time, just as I was about to pull over, a work truck pulled over right in the space I had scoped out. Eventually, I succeeded, even though the photos aren't all that great. I am so glad I did, too, because the next day, they were gone!

(I bet these fat, corn-fed birds would be grateful to know they are protected!)

The leaves are from French Foliage; I stamped them on Naturals White card stock in Tangerine Tango, So Saffron and Crumb Cake and rock-and-rolled them in Cajun Craze, River Rock and Early Espresso. I also used the splatter image in Crumb Cake for a little more textural interest. I stamped the sentiment, from Pursuit of Happiness, onto vellum, punched it out with the Curly Label punch, and attached it with a cute little leaf brad from Creative Impressions. The mat layer is Cajun Craze and I mounted it on an Always Artichoke card that was hanging around which matched the bit of twine that finishes off this simple but pretty card.

I think the sentiment inside is from (retired) All Year Cheer .

Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunshine

There are times when I just can't get an idea from my head onto paper, and other times, it comes out just like I imagined. This is one of those other times.
I wanted this Sunflower stamp the moment I saw it, and I knew what I wanted to do with it. I've seen several examples of it in monotones, most often some shade of brown, and (no offense intended) I haven't liked them one bit. It's a sunflower, after all, a flower I have adored all my adult life.

I was working on a different project which was not coming out the way I wanted. I finally put it down, and my eye happened upon my uninked Sunflower. I inked it in So Saffron and then used Crumb Cake and Chocolate Chip markers to color the inner parts, and stamped it onto Very Vanilla, while I said a little prayer that it would come out as I'd envisioned. And, oh so satisfyingly, it did! The lovely little quote from Emerson (from Pursuit of Happiness) is the perfect complement. (And it fits in a medium square envelope, no extra postage required!)

So simple, but so exquisite (if i do say so myself!)

Overwhelm the world!

I recently made a card to give to Linda's daughter, Sarah, who left this month on a Peace Corps assignment in Ukraine. I am so impressed with her courage and in awe of her commitment to make a difference in the world, and I wanted to express that in the card. I think this quote from the set Pursuit of Happiness is perfect for the occasion.

I love this color combination: Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade and Early Espresso. The vine is from the set Borderlines. I like the balance of the ruffled ribbon on one side and the slender border of the new In Color DSP on the right. The flower was punched with the Fancy Flower punch from the same DSP pack, and the butterfly was stamped with Butterfly Prints and punched with the Butterfly punch. I like the way the words in the butterfly look with the printed DSP, just as the dots in the vine image echo the dots in the large flower.

I wish Sarah well in her endeavor. The world is a better place because of her gift.