Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Squirrels Like Lettuce!

OK - call me naive. I figured that since we feed the birds (and therefore the squirrels) nuts, nuts and more nuts in the morning that they would leave the lettuce plants alone...WRONG! I got back from the dog walk this morning to find that while the radish plants are just starting to grow, the lettuce is shrinking! The squirrels have figured out that salad is a great appetizer before the nuts. So it looks like part of the weekend will be spent building a cage/walled fortress/moat to keep the squirrels off the lettuce...wish me luck!

This card for today's Inspiration Challenge was inspired by the pompom pillow on the chair in this room http://www.countryliving.com/homes/m...-makeover-0109. This card was simple, but I love how fun it is...I have a feeling this is a card that will not work well with an envelope :) (fyi, the finished size is 3.5"x3.5") Hope you like it!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: Transitions Always Begin With Endings

I have been reading the book "Transitions" by William Bridges - what a wonderful book for anyone who is going through transitions in their life. The book discusses how every transition begins with an ending - In order to have a new beginning, you first need to let go of where you currently are - you have to first begin with an ending. I realize that endings are not very easy for me - I'm not the kind of person who just let's go and moves fearlessly into the future...except when I create! I can easily let go of the vision I had for a card and let it create itself. I hope that the ease with which I can navigate endings in the craft room will help me more successfully allow for endings in my life so that I can move forward into new beginnings!

This card began with creating an embossed square border by cutting out a 4"x4" square and temporarily adhering it to the front of this 5"x5" card. I then used my embossing stylus to emboss around the square and then removed the 4"x4" square from the center. The "waves" and "sky" were torn by hand and the starfish came from the sea :) Hope you like it!

(ps. sorry to have disappeared for a few days, I had a work trip to Boston and got home last night - it's good to be back in the craft room...at least for a little while until my next work trips...wait 'til you hear where I'm headed next...a camera is definitely coming along with me!)

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room: All You Have Is All You Need

It seems so easy to get into a mindset that focuses on all that you lack - on all that you still want - on everything that, if you had it, could make your life better. Sometimes what we really need to do is take a step back and recognize that all we have is really all that we need. As I planted the garden with Michael on Sunday morning and felt the dirt in my hands, I realized that all I have is really all I need - a warm place to sleep, food to fill my tummy, surrounded by the people and creatures that I love and who love me. What a wonderful place to be :)

I made this card set awhile back but I don't think I ever posted it. The 4 cards fit inside the card holder. The holder is just a piece of 8.5x11 card stock that is scored and folded. This makes a simple gift for so many occasions! The stamp set I used is Embrace Life by Stampin' UP! I think I might have snuck in a greeting set too - short & sweet. Hope you like it!