Ramblings of a stay-at-home mom paper crafter, stamper, and digital memory maker seeking to find God in daily life and thanking Him for the blessings he bestows upon me.
It's hard to believe January 2010 is over and it's now time to be thinking of hearts, cupid, and love! With the close of the month, it means it's time for the monthly stamp of the month blog hop and this month's stamp is ubber-cute! It's called Piece of Cake and is full of fancy cakes and desserts.
But enough jabber, onto the artwork! If you started at the beginning of the hop, you came from Susan Brooks' blog. There are 72 bloggers this month so there's lots of artwork to see! You can view all the participants with their blog addresses on Helen'sblog.
I think I mentioned last month that when I purchased the vinyl folios, I had to buy 100 of them. That means I have A LOT of them! So, in effort to use them, I once again created a gift set featuring 4x4 birthday cards.
To create this set, I used X7118B Twitterpatted Level 2 paper pack, Z2111 Chocolate ink, Z2117 Crystal Blue ink, Z2164 Sorbet ink, Z2153 Sweet Leaf ink, and X254 Cards and Envelopes. The card and folio cover designs are from 9032 Originals. I used the 3x3 patterns and cut the paper to fit 4x4 cards.All of these items are available on my website - simply type the product number in the quick search box and each item will appear!
Because the post office charges extra for square envelopes, I chose to use the regular sized cards and simply cut them down and mail them in the envelopes that come with the card bases. Plus, the pieces you cut off the card make perfect bookmarks - part of a future project so check back!
I tried to use a different embellishment or technique on each card. For this card, I used the random stamping technique to create the pattern on the white part of the card. I also added Sweet Leaf Ric Rac from the Z1052 Ric Rac Collection. It's not the easiest to see, but under the ric rac is chocolate brads from Z1218 Basic Brad Assortments.
This was my attempt to make a somewhat masculine card for the gift folio. I never have enough cards for men in my stash so I'm always looking for ways to make more. It's simple and I love the look. I used Z1247 Crystal Blue waxy flax to add the stitching on the side.
This card is another simple elegant - I'm into those right now! I stamped the cake in chocolate ink and then used the 3174 Blending Pen and 3505 Watercolor Pencils. If you've never used these two together, you're in for some fun! When you color with the pencils you get the "childhood scribble" lines, but by simply rubbing the blending pen over the color, it smooths them and makes them look like watercolor paints. One tip, though, be sure to drag your blending pen on scrap paper until the strokes are clear or the color you just smoothed will bleed into the next color.
I'm so excited about the upcoming year and the blog hop! It is achieving two of my goals on my 101 List of Things I'd Like to Do in 1001 Days (blog coming soon - keep watching): write more and update my blog more often!
If you're following the CTMH Blog Hop you should have arrived from Shirley Ross's blog. Welcome! For those of you new to blog hopping, simply click on the link below to go to the next blog. If you started at Helen's blog, you've made it all the way through. Following each link will allow you to see over 60 different ways to use the January Stamp of the Month, True Friends (D1406). Below is my contribution to the hop (a total of 3 today!).
First is a Postcard Gift Pack. I purchased the vinyl cases from an online website for another workshop, but they are PERFECT for this project.
Inside the vinyl case is two slots. One is perfect for a decorated cover and the other is good for 4x6 postcards. To make the postcards, I simply random stamped one side of a sheet of 12x12 cardstock and trimmed it to the postcard size. You get 6 postcards from one sheet.
In addition to the January SOTM, I used the Grace Level II Paper Pack (X711B) and Copper Brads (Z1217).
(Vinyl case open)
(Postcards with open case)
The second project is a 4x4 Gift Card. The sayings on this stamp set was perfect for gift giving.
I like to try and use paper and color combinations that differ from the company suggested combinations. This card uses paper from the Tinkerin' Level II Paper Pack (X7113B) and the Designer Ribbon Rounds Sorbet (Z1123). I also added Just Blooms Paper Flowers White Daisy Variety Pack (Z1300) and Twinkle Brads Jolly Assortment (Z1220).
Finally, I altered a 2010 Planner that I picked up at my local Dollar General store for $1. The paper pack is retired now (Free Spirit Level II Paper Pack), but I loved the colors. I also used the Playful Flourishes set (D1212) and some brown ric rac I purchased when a fabric store was closing.
All of these current items are available to view on my Close to My Heart website. Click here and then choose the "Shop Online" button. You can search by item number for quick location of the products.
Be sure to join me again in February for the Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. A listing of classes, workshops and crops will be available on my website shortly after the first of the year. Subscribe to my blog to receive updates when I post.
If you're continuing in the blog hop, your next stop is Helen Onulak's blog.
Here is a complete list of blog participants if you prefer the jump around method:
Today we put Ron's mom to eternal rest with the Lord. It is my job to read the eulogy and I wanted to share with you what I wrote in memory.
Adeline “Addie” Ann Haag was born August 20, 1929, in Fredonia, ND to Daniel and Caroline Mouldenhauer. She was the youngest of 5 children and the only girl. Her brothers were Elmer, Bill, Clarence aka Nut-Nut, and Heinz. She spent her childhood in Fredonia.
On Sept. 19, 1947, she married Lawrence “Larry” Haag in Aberdeen, SD. After one year in Fredonia, they moved to Hansen, ID, where Larry worked as a farmhand. In 1954 they moved south of Hansen to a farm; three years later they moved to Eden to farm. In 1958, the purchased the home place in Heyburn where Larry farmed until his retirement in 1971 and lived the remainder of his life. Adeline owned the farm until 2006.
In the early 70s, they built the Haag’s Country Court and owned/operated it until the late 80s. She was employed by the State of Idaho as a potato inspector when she was not a homemaker and wife. Adeline was a member of the Congregational Church in Paul.
Adeline leaves behind 3 children: Richard and spouse Marsha, Carol and spouse Gary McConnell, and Ron and spouse Latisha as well as 7 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. She was preceeded in death by her husband, Larry, her parents and her brothers.
While these are the factual bits of Adeline’s life, they are far from the most important or most memorable. This mother, grandma, and great-grandma
left us numerous memories, which we will always treasure; I’d like to share a few with you now.
Adeline’s life could be placed into four categories: a wife, mother and grandmother, a spunky woman, a great cook, and a Christian.
Let’s begin with the first category: wife, mother, and grandmother. Many say the Beaver Cleaver family did not exist in real life; however, Larry and Adeline Haag defied that myth. The fell in love, married, had children and stayed married – through good times and bad. Between the 2 of them, they had 10 years of education yet managed to build a successful life, raise 3 children, and touch the lives of more people than can be counted.She can boast of a marriage of 49 years to the same man and no divorces among her children or grandchildren.
Of course, the last point is an area of debate. Most of you know Adeline suffered from dementia in the last few years, leaving her to forget many of the details of recent years. Just after her heart attack a few years ago, Ron and our family were gathered around her hospital bed. She remembered Ron and her grandson Zeke but after Ron re-introduced her granddaughter Kaydawn, she glanced at me at the end of the bed. She asked Ron, “And who is that?” When he replied that I was his wife, she exclaimed with relief, “Oh thank goodness you got remarried!”
Family vacations consisted of fishing and camping or visiting her children and grandchildren, whether that was in Idaho or Oregon, California or Germany, Nebraska or Kansas. Her walls were covered with pictures of her children and grandchildren and she was quick to boast of how her oldest was in the Air Force, her daughter was married to a pastor, and her youngest was an outstanding wrestler and coach and the “inter-murial” director at a college.
Now, some of those pictures didn’t last long, though. When Carol brought Gary home to meet her parents, they took a picture of the young couple. When Gary returned to visit Adeline after his training in the military, he returned as a much slimmer and clean-shaven young man – not at all what Adeline saw in the picture. Not wanting to hurt the feelings of Carol’s new beau, Adeline slid the picture discreetly to Carol and told her to get rid of it so Gary wouldn’t know about the old boyfriend. What a surprise to Adeline when Carol told her that the man sitting with her that day WAS Gary!
She worked hard to teach strong morals and values in her children, even to the point of perhaps protecting them from the real world. One memory Carol likes to share about this fact is how Carol learned what the meaning of the middle finger really meant. As a freshman in high school, she saw several times in the hall how other kids her age expressed their anger towards another. They would argue and invariably flash the middle finger. Carol didn’t know what it meant, but it always happened when someone was angry. Well, one day she was angry with her mother – very angry and decided the best way to show it was to give her the middle finger salute. Carol learned very quickly what that was the wrong thing to do!
Some of these stories could very easily fit into the next category but there are others that exemplify it better. Adeline was a spunky woman, not letting many things slow her down. Perhaps it was an innate need to go fast – but fast she did go. Her grandkids Mike and Angie liked to tease her that she was the little old lady from Pasadena! But the title fits because she liked to go fast, no matter what her mode of transportation was.
The last car Adeline owned was a Pontiac Bonneville SSEi. A pretty little silver sports car that had a strong engine in it that Adeline knew how to use. One of the last times she drove that car was when Rick and Ron moved her back to Nebraska. Just outside the hills of Lava Hot Springs, Rick let her climb in the driver’s seat. Ron was leading and she had let him get quite a bit ahead. When Rick said something to her about this, she gently accelerated to catch up. That car was smooth and before long her acceleration reached near 100 miles/hour and she didn’t even notice!
Even when she wasn’t speeding in her car, she was finding the fastest mode to get where she was going. When she was living with Carol and Gary in Oregon, she purchased a fold ‘n go motorized wheelchair. On the speed setting there was a picture of a turtle and a picture of a hare. I’m sure you can guess what setting she kept it on! Carol and Gary took her to an RV show and were soon embarrassed by her “need for speed.” She was taking people out left and right and would get to going so quickly she’d knock herself over! And it wasn’t just with Carol and Gary that she did this. One July 4th Rick and Ron took her to boot hill in Dodge City, KS. She zipped all over the little town at the highest speed. When she was left alone for any amount of time, she would find the spot in the walkway that was most uneven and tip herself over. But she had a need to get somewhere and get there fast!
She also set her grandchildren on the fast track. When her granddaughter Kaydawn was just barely crawling, she “taught her how to walk.” It was Christmas and she was holding Kaydawn on her lap in her wheelchair. Most everyone in the room was busy with different tasks so when Adeline had tired of holding Kaydawn, she promptly stood her next to her wheelchair and patted her forward. Kaydawn stumbled and was fortunately caught by her daddy.
She was also good at getting “lost.” If you asked her, she knew where she was going, but she left those with her in serious mental turmoil over “losing” her. Shortly after Larry passed away, Ron took her Las Vegas so the two of them could get away and relax. They spent the first night at Circus Circus but had to change motels the second night. Knowing it would be easier to leave her in one spot close to the door and pick her up rather than have her walk, Ron left her with strict instructions to “stay put.” Of course, she got interested in the nickel slots and soon was moving from machine to machine. When Ron returned, she was nowhere in sight. It took nearly 3 hours to find her, all the while Ron was thinking how best to tell his siblings he’d “lost” their mother in Las Vegas and she was never to be seen again!
I, too, have a similar story. My husband Ron was selected as an official to do an NCAA Division II National Championship in Greeley, CO – quite an honor. The 3 of us all attended and my job was to get his mom to and from the gymnasium. Between sessions, she and I decided to go get a bite to eat. Because of the number of people attending, I wasn’t able to get a spot close to the door to park. I left her inside the door since it was snowing with strict instructions to “stay put.” When I returned, she was nowhere to be found! I began wondering just how I was going to tell Ron I’d lost his mom! Mind you, we weren’t yet married so this was a terrible predicament for me. I eventually find her. She had decided to walk to the car even though she had no idea where I’d parked since I’d dropped her off earlier that morning!
Adeline was also known for her cooking. Living most of her life in Idaho, there were always potatoes on the table in addition to her German dishes. One of those signature dishes was her Cream Gravy Strudelah. Her cellar was full of jars of jellies and jams as well as many other popular canned foods. At Christmas, she’d make taffy and other candies. She’s passed down recipes to her children for favorites like cream puffs and pheasant with sour cream gravy. If she wasn’t cooking, she always loved having a hamburger, especially at “Apple-eggs.”
And while Adeline is known for all of the things I just mentioned, it is the last that is the most important – her strong Christian faith. Adeline accepted Jesus Christ as her personal savior and lived her life instilling this belief of Christ in her family members. Her legacy is evident in even the youngest members of her family.
On Friday night when Ron told his children about Adeline’s death, he did so like this:
“I have some good news and some bad news about Grandma. The good news is that Grandma can walk again.” As he paused, both Kaydawn and Zeke cheered at the good news, so excited their prayers had come true.
Then he continued with, “But we won’t see Grandma walk until we’re with her in heaven because God healed her by taking her to heaven with him.” And as he paused again, his son cheered again because even as young as he is, he understands that she has eternal life in Christ. For you see, the Bible says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except throughme.”
Adeline lived her life exemplifying this statement. And the good news is, those of us who believe in Jesus Christ as our personal savior will see her again and we will walk with her again.
It's hard to believe that summer has arrived, but it's here! My family and I are excited about the upcoming month of June, not only for the summer fun, but because we are expecting the arrival of our third baby! Like any stamper and scrapbooker, I look forward to another opportunity with the arrival of this baby to preserve my family's memories and legacies.
Arrival of Baby Haag
You can join in the fun of this arrival and win $10 in free Close to My Heart product with no purchase necessary! There's many unknowns with this baby:
we don't know if it's a boy or a girl;
we don't know what day it will arrive (due date is June 20);
we don't know the weight or length;
we don't even have a name chosen!
Here's what you do:
Send me an e-mail with the information you think fits the categories above. The entry that comes closest will receive a $10 gift certificate that can be used on any Close to My Heart product. You may even help in choosing the name of this new baby! Again, submit this information via an e-mail and you'll be entered to win!
Sex of the baby
Day baby will arrive
Weight and length
Name
June's Special: Deal-A-Day
While you may not be anticipating the arrival of a new baby in June, this month could still be your favorite month! Close to My Heart is offering a unique special called "Deal-a-Day"! With qualifying purchases, you can receive FREE Close to My Heart products and on 6 days of the month, you can purchase a goodie box full of both current and retired products at 50% off retail value! The deal changes daily and is only available on MyCTMH website. Visit my website to see the full explanation of Deal-A-Day (under "Calendar").
June Stamp of the Month - Tender Tags
Don't miss this month's Stamp of the Month, Tender Tags. Featuring a variety of tags with select sentiments, you can earn it for FREE with a qualifying purchase. Visit my website to learn more. Information about the set is under "Calendar"; to view artwork featuring the set, click "My Art."
Wishes Card Confidence Program
This month also features the release of Wishes Card Confidence program. If you have used either the Reflections, Cherish, or Imagine scrapbook programs or the Originals Card Confidence program, you know how fast, easy, and simple these how-to guides make scrapbooking or card making. Wishes is no exception! This program will make your card making just as elegant with less guess work involved for you. Visit my website for more information.
June Events
I hope June is a great month for you. Because of the impending arrival our baby, there will be no classes or workshops in June. Watch for July's schedule to be released soon. As always, events are available on my website under "Calendar."
The Ellis Public Library Free Crop is still scheduled (if I'm unable to be there, someone else will be available). Join us for a night of cropping from 7 pm to midnight. There are plenty of tables to spread out and we happily share tools and ideas. Come join us! (Please RSVP if you plan to attend.)
Kaydawn danced in her first dance recital this past weekend. She was SO proud up on the "big stage" of Beach Schmidt auditorium. She did very well, emphasizing her positions and movements - and claimed her favorite part of the whole recital was where she got to "rock 'n roll" in the song "Do you believe in magic."
Probably the funniest part of the whole weekend was when she and her friend Taelyr had a stare down on the stage. Kaydawn was supposed to stand on the second row during the second dance. She DID NOT want to be there, apparently, as she found a way to work to the front. At rehearsal, she put herself next to Taelyr. Despite Taelyr's efforts to get her back in the second row, Kaydawn wouldn't budge. She even continued to dance with a determined look on her face. She did move herself to the front row during the actual recital, but not as much as during rehearsal.
