Daffodil Trio

Hello, and welcome to a new week at my happy place!

While spring is still fresh and young I thought I'd color some daffodils.  Those in my garden have long since come and gone, but Penny Black's not-yet-used Flower Scoops from last year will work nicely for a friend's birthday later this month.

The SSS Teardrop Pinpoint Frames on the pretty designer paper provided an extra feminine starting point for the base.  The additional mat was measured and cut with my paper trimmer, and the corners punched with an oldie but goodie decorative corner rounder.  I brushed the edges with Stampin' Up Mellow Moss ink and stamped a sentiment from another PB set.  Off to a good start!

The daffodil bouquet was colored with Tombow markers and blender on watercolor paper, then hand cut and shaped from the backside with a roller ball type stylus.  It's popped up on foam tape, plump in the middle with the edges curled back.  Three iridescent sequins finish the card.

Speaking of springtime and happy place...

Ridley's happy place is anywhere with a ball.  You can probably guess that on this April day he'd been chasing it quite a bit.  It can be hard to get any work done out there, but he's worth it.  The forsythia has now dropped a lot more blooms as the green leaves push them out of the way to have their turn in the garden.

Challenges today:

Triple B Challenge:  Birds, Butterflies, Blooms  -- Today I have blooms.
NBUS Challenge #85 -- My never before used schtuffs are Penny Black Flower Scoops and Simon Says Stamp Teardrop Pinpoint Frames.  I feel like a broken record as many times as I've linked to this challenge.

 

That's all for today, friends.  Wishing you peace and happiness and plenty of crafty time.  Thank you for visiting!

Stamps:  Penny Black Flower Scoops, Super Day  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor, Hammermill Premium 100 lb white, Paper Rose Flower Shoppe designer paper  Ink:  Memento Toffee Crunch for image outline, Memento Tuxedo Black sentiment, SU Mellow Moss shading on mat  Coloring:  Tombow markers and homemade blender  Other:  Simon Says Stamp Teardrop Pinpoint Frames, Marvy decorative corner rounder, iridescent sequins, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Taking a Moment

Pausing mid-play in the back yard to appreciate my favorite fall colors... of the furry variety.

💗

Outside my kitchen patio door is the promise of a beautiful day.

Sometimes I just have to take a moment.

Wishing you a beautiful and joy-filled day.

A Slice of Life July 2025

There was a time this post would have been full of flower pictures, but sometimes there are other distractions to capture my attention... starting with Sophie.  She'll be two years old in August and has grown into a sturdy and very fluffy girl.  She was good enough to stop and let me take her picture, but she definitely had adventure on her mind at the time.

The picture below was actually taken in June.  Town turkeys, geez.  Ordinarily they're only here in the fall.  They don't bother me so much and, heck, I think all babies are cute.

The young buck in velvet, below, caught my eye through the window, so I went out with my camera thinking my photo efforts would be a gentle way to shoo him from the garden.  It worked, but he lingered in the woods for a while.  He's probably been visiting here since he was a fawn.

Pictured below, Sophie is beckoning me to her favorite place of sticks and loam and the scent of critters who've passed along the trails.  She's at the head of the path right behind our garden shed, leading to the network of trails I cut years ago.  Just like Wally and LuLu before her, Sophie has the run of the place with or without my supervision.  She's a good girl and knows her boundaries.  She doesn't stay down there long without checking in, and she comes running gleefully when she's called.

The fawn below is standing at the very same spot in which Sophie was pictured.  A doe and two fawns were lounging alongside our shed, and the buck was munching on native foliage nearby, probably part of the same family.  This fawn is robust and healthy, but just as I took this picture another smaller, paler fawn stood up and wobbled weakly into the woods.

I was and still am very worried about the weakling fawn, and fear I may find another casualty in the woods this year.  I waited a while and then ventured quietly down the path.  Just a few steps in I found the family resting once again.  The weak fawn is laying down, the healthy fawn is standing the other side of Mom.  You can see its two back legs in their knock-kneed stance just beyond her.

Finally, Sophie is now at the front end of the yard in the cool shade of the cherry tree where she loves to roll in the emerald lawn and chew on the sticks she brings up from the woods.

The past two summers I let the garden go.  I was grief stricken the summer of 2023, then the summer of 2024 Rich was very sick and I spent all my time as a caregiver and chief cook and bottle washer.  Over the last 5 years we've lost 4 trees, changing the look of the garden significantly.  The deer were already eating everything in sight anyway, so I threw up my hands.  This spring the whole front of the yard and half of the side were torn up for sewer line replacement.  It's never ending.  However, once the landscapers finished the huge job of putting our yard back together I decided I missed my garden and now I've started over.  Hence the back and foot pain, sigh.

It will never be the same, but a person has to just keep going forward with hope... and lots of deer spray and altered expectations.

Have a beautiful day!

Life in the Slow Lane with Sophie and Friends

Rain, rain, go away.  Who cares that it makes the garden grow?  Sophie wants to go outside!

In fact, Sophie gets to go out to the backyard anytime she wants, but the side and front yards are not fenced so adult supervision is required.  She's learning.  Don't let that wistful expression fool you.  I take Sophie out for fun and exercise every day, rain or shine.

Pictured below is more of Sophie's view through the side patio door.  There is lots of fun to be had out there.  It's rainy, overcast, and dull on this early May day.  Very few days have been good for gardening this spring.

One recent evening it stopped raining long enough to go out for a neighborhood walk.  We ran into one of Wally and LuLu's best friends, Lilo.  She has a hurt leg needing surgery so she doesn't go for long walks, but her good people push her along in a sort of dog stroller.  It's hard work in a hilly neighborhood with a weighty Golden Retriever, but love makes it worth it.  We pulled LuLu in a garden cart when her leg was hurt.  That's me, by the way, introducing the dogs.  Sophie was a little scared at first by Lilo's big, friendly bark, but she got over it.  You can't help but love Lilo.

Lilo and her people came into the garden to stay awhile and let the dogs get better acquainted.  Lilo looks so much like LuLu it makes my heart hurt a little.

Sophie was so excited she had to go prancing on the lawn.  Sorry for the not-so-good phone pics.

Sophie's best friend is my best friend's teensy mini-Schnauzer, Tommy.  They're exactly the same age, but as different as night and day.  He's not much bigger than Sophie's head, but he's a scrapper.  It takes a long time for these two to wear each other out!

That's life in the slow lane, and it suits me just fine.  I'm glad you came to visit today.  Have a good week!

Flowers and Critters and Life in General

Hi, friends.  I haven't had much time to be in my stamp room or the computer and so I'm stopping in to let you know what's going on at our house.  All is well with The Millers, so no worries there, but a friend had a serious life event and we're lending a helping hand.

First a peek at some September garden glamour... pink Amaryllis:

Next is the Butterfly bush.  We cut it down to the ground, thinking it was old and giving up, but it grew back into a beautiful bush with magnificent blooms that lend a heavenly scent to that corner of the garden.  The butterflies are fluttering around in swarms but, sorry, none in this picture.  We have mostly Painted Ladies this time of year.   Did you know that a group of butterflies is often referred to as a kaleidoscope?  I like that better than swarm.

Here's Wally, handsome and fluffy as ever.  He can't walk far or stand long before his legs give out, but he still loves life.

For the last several days we've been taking care of our friend's Goldendoodles.  We walk the block and a half to his house at the end of the street where we give the dogs breakfast, tend the flowers and veggies -- watering and harvesting -- houseplants, too.  We let the dogs out to explore their own yard for a while, then we walk them to our house where they spend the afternoon.  In the picture below you see Lynus howling for his human.  He did that quite a lot on the first day.  Our friend had never seen Lynus howl before, so I took the pic to show him.  Wally is looking on from across the room.  Sadly, Wally no longer has strong enough air to howl.

After the first day Lynus gave up the howling and decided to try and be happy.  In the picture below we're in our friend's yard.  Lynus is eagerly waiting for the next toss of the tennis ball.

Here's Bailey playing tug of war with Rich.  The smallest raggedy scrap that was once a stuffie is the best toy in the basket.   I've loved both of these dogs since puppyhood.

Back home again... Rich was painting some trim and Wally always has to be close to the action.  He burrowed through the branches of the azalea bush and peeked out at the world.

Little did Wally know that this kitty critter was peeking at him from the other side.  This cat has become a frequent visitor.  I think he/she lives down the street, but we're becoming friends.  I told him as long as he doesn't get my birds and squirrels he's welcome to visit.

The Three Amigos at our house.  We're planning to get a new sofa, but this is just so perfect for three big dogs.  Where did I sit?  I didn't.

The last pic is Bailey at our friend's house on the first night.  He looks mournful, but part of that is just his personality.  He's a mega-sweetheart.  Love.

I wish with all my heart that LuLu was in these pictures.

It will be a few days yet before our friend is home.  As I write this he is recovering (I hope) from quadruple bypass surgery.  Someone was supposed to call, but we've heard nothing.

My visits to blog friends will be delayed and brief for a while.  I'll stay in touch as much as possible.  Priorities.  You understand.  It's good to have friends, but even better to be a friend.

Playing Cards with Michele

Oh, what fun, my bloggie friend, Michele (I Card Everyone), invited me to play cards with her today!  That means she gives us a to-do list and we each make a card following those specifics.  Then share on the assigned day.  It's the next best thing to being there!

Today is World Bee Day and here's our to-do list:

1. Make a card that includes a honeybee.
2. Flowers are welcome, but not necessary.
3. Add a honeycomb, the color yellow, or black and yellow stripes.

I had just the thing:  A never-been-used Stampendous Bumblebee Happy stamp set.  Yes, they're bumblebees, but I did my best to make them appear as simply very plump honeybees.

They're well fed and a fully stocked honeycomb is evidence of that.  Surely they're not getting all their sustenance from those little white flowers?

All coloring was done with Copics.  I added Wink of Stella to their wings, and Stickles Stardust glitter glue to the flower centers.  Maybe you can see how their eyes are glossy little bubbles.  That's from an approximately 20 year old bottle of JudiKins Diamond Glaze.  The dies are oldies -- a flower border plus flowers from another die set which is super cute in its own right.

You probably know Michele -- sweet, funny, kind, and a talented card maker with a lean toward CAS.  I've been waiting quite a while to see her card.  I'm sure it's a sweet make, a honey of a card, a bee-u-tiful design...  Let's go look HERE.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by.  I hope you had fun, too!

Stamps:  Stampendous Bumblebee Happy  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, black, Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Stickles Stardust Glitter Glue, Wink of Stella, JudiKins Diamond Glaze, Joy Crafts Happy Border die, Spellbinders Homespun (flower & leaves)

Deer in the Corner and Update

Hello and welcome!

So many cards to make, so little time.  That's how I feel every autumn when I'd like to make fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving cards, but still need to add to my Christmas card stash as well.  I decided to make progress with a few simple cards.  No coloring or inking... just dies and paper.  I've made nine cards over the last couple of days, but not sure I'll share all.

Today's card represents a group of three.  The others are different colors.  I used an older die that hasn't been out for a while -- Tutti Designs Scrolly Deer Edge.  The sentiment is a combination of two different Cottage Cutz dies.  The tiny snowflakes around the sentiment popped out of the deer body when cut.

I was inspired by all the red and white in the mood board at the Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge #24.

I hope you don't mind if I also share a picture of Wally and LuLu in the garden from July.  I know many of you probably wonder about them since I've been so remiss about updates.  LuLu turned 11 years old this month and she is well.  Our 13 year old Wally still loves life, but he has to take it at an easier pace these days.  It's easy for him to overdo it and suffer the consequences.  He has advanced arthritis in his spine as well as an enlarged spleen which is due to a mass.  It makes breathing difficult.  It was suspected his mass was malignant, but I believe that is not the case as he has had no significant changes since his diagnosis six months ago.

Rich is getting along, still working around the house and yard but, just like Wally, it takes more effort.  They are two peas in a pod.  I don't remember what he was doing in the photo below, but for some reason he's got himself in the thick of things.

I'll leave you to it now.  I hope you're enjoying a lovely fall.  I do adore this season and am not in a hurry for winter or Christmas.  See you again soon, I hope!

This and That Catch Up: Dogs, Garden, Stamp Room

Hi, everyone!  Some of you, my dear stamping friends, have been kindly asking about Wally and LuLu, and wondering how things have come together in my stamp room since all the home renovations, so I'm here today with a little catch up on that.

First, and most important in my heart is Wally and LuLu.  They're both as healthy and fit as you can imagine 10 and 12 year old dogs could be.  In the picture below they'd just returned from a neighborhood walk and are enjoying a little cool down on the lawn.

LuLu has had a remarkable recovery from her fibrocartilaginous embolism.  She has a slight limp and has to wear a bootie when walking on asphalt because she drags her foot a little bit when she's not thinking about it.  It takes some effort, so she tires more easily than in the past, but seems to be getting stronger every day.  On Labor Day we took the dogs for an off-leash walk on a woodland trail and they both ran like juveniles.  You'd never suspect a thing.  I could have cried with happiness.

With all the home renovations and then LuLu's embolism, the garden was neglected to a certain extent.  I watered and deadheaded, but not much else.  Our deck was torn out for the foundation work, so the flower pots were displaced and construction debris was everywhere.  It wasn't until late summer that we started working more earnestly outside.

There's my handsome Wally in the picture below.  He loves his blankie!

As for my stamp room, the only renovation in there was the flooring.  The whole house got new flooring, and what a huge deal it was to move out all the furniture!  My big desk (stamping command center) was broken in the process and there was no solution but to find a new desk.  We don't have a lot of resources in our town, so the new desk came from Wayfair.  I like it, but it's smaller with less surface area and storage than my other desk.

To make up for some of that lost space I added an additional piece on either end of it.  The white unit below is actually a kitchen cart from Wayfair.  I lost the drawer that I kept my large punches in, so I had to purge a few and hang the rest on a towel rack.  You can see "before" pictures here.  The rest of the room hasn't changed much except the floor.

I did a lot more purging and reorganizing, too much to mention.  I felt some despair at first, but it all worked out nicely.  In the end I have more room for stamps (my #1 passion), and I eliminated the overcrowding in my designer paper collection.

It would all be so much easier with built in wall to wall cabinetry and work surfaces, but this needs to stay a bedroom if we are ever to sell it as a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house.  Not planning on that, but you never know.

Back to stamping now.  I hope we can meet here again real soon!