So, I went all crazy today and actually MADE A CARD!  Yes, I did!  Than I got even crazier and here I am posting it on a blog that was headed for shutdown (still probably is - jury's still out)!  Here it is:

It's a graduation card for one of my nieces.  Inside it says, "So proud of the woman you are becoming".  It's also for today's Featured Stamper challenge over on Splitcoast Stampers.  Magouille has a very full, very beautiful gallery.  I chose this card to inspire mine:

I liked the text background, dress and color palette and wanted to incorporate those elements into my card.  As you may remember, I don't really "do" techniques (like the stenciling and sponging and all of those things that Magouille is obviously very comfortable with), so my card is mostly not that...

I did do some stippling around the edges of the card, but mostly I printed the beautiful image (Skirt of Flowers from A Day for Daisies) onto some Prima paper and added some soft color with chalk (technically, it's eye shadow - potato/potato...).  I used my Perfect Layers tools to cut some mats and I was done.  Card measures 5" square.

Know what?  I had so much fun MAKING something instead of just purging/organizing/indexing/blah blah blah, that I might stay crazy enough to do it again!  Further bulletins as events warrant...

If anyone's still hanging around, thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Turns out I don't have to delete the blog completely to go to a free platform - just have some limitations (like the theme, for example).  I will continue to ignore this blog for the time being, including leaving everything that's already here intact - just don't expect anything new in the near future!  Thanks for your support to date, joy on your journey, and I'll let you know if things change and I come back around...

Just a quick fly-by to alert anyone who may still be hanging around waiting for me to post something of worth or value:  If there is any information or a tutorial or anything that you may want to reference in the future, I would advise doing a cut-and-paste dealie-o or a printout or something, as I will be taking the blog down by mid-May.  It has run its course, I don't have the time or inclination to attend to it (no kidding, right?) and, even though it's not much money, Typepad is still a pay-to-play platform for a blog and I don't need to pay for something I'm not using.  If I decide to transfer over to Blogger and leave things parked there, I will let you know, but I'm not sure how ambitious I am about that, either.  Anyway - there's that!  Thanks to any/all who have visited, and joy on your journey!

Back before Christmas I made some kits for my granddaughters that required a variety of washi tape, so I ended up with a collection.  Like everything else in my crafty space, it needs a home that will keep it available and organized but not make me cranky.  My solution is simple, cheap and effective (hooray - three out of three!):

What you are looking at is the curtain rod that I installed to temporarily hold the Bygel cups onto the pegboard, and an additional curtain rod installed above it.  I need one more for the seasonal tapes...

I'm working on another project to resolve another aspect of my craft storage that's making me VERY cranky, so I'll share that when I'm done, as well.  Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Lately I have been involved in  discussions regarding self will and asserting it - or not.  The contention is that our will is selfish and not a reliable guide, so surrendering to a higher power is the answer.

That's good as far as it goes, but here's the rub:  if you are asking said higher power for guidance, then you need to be open to and aware of the various ways that this guidance shows up.  Intuition - literally "taught from within" - is, I believe, one of those ways.  If we confuse intuition with self will - with letting the Ego take over - then we risk denying ourselves a very vital tool.

Thinking that we have to surrender our will and trust that things will "go the way they're supposed to", that however things play out is "God's will" or whatever, without our very active - even proactive - participation, is an abdication of responsibility.

Did your higher power not give you tools that you are expected to use?  Do you not have a "still, small voice" and a mind capable of processing the options available, guided by that?

Certainly we need to let go of attachments to outcomes - not let ourselves get thrown off course because it doesn't look like we expected it to - but throwing our hands in the air is exactly the same thing as throwing in the towel.

GPS is helpful in directing your route, but it only works when you're in motion, which means that you have to be an active participant in the process...