Bits and Bobs

 Tim and I have been watching some of the British dramas on tv. One of the sayings they've used is, Bits and Bobs. It means, this and that. I thought it would be great as a title for this post as there are many topics discussed today.

A bit of sadness this week. I visited Mom for the first time in over a year, and she didn't recognize me. It was hard to deal with, but that's the fallout of  COVID19. It's so sad when you stop to think about all of the people in nursing homes who haven't seen family in all this time.

My mom doesn't do technology, so the computer wasn't an option. She doesn't even like the phone. After a minute or so she asks if she can be done now.

I plan to bring some pictures of her with her young kids when I visit. I'm hoping to take away some of the cobwebs in her memory.

I brought pictures of my garden which has many flowers that were in her garden. She had many flowers in her garden that her mother and grandmother had in their gardens.  She enjoyed looking at the pictures. 

I felt good that even if she didn't remember me, she let me visit, hug and kiss her.  I had to wear a mask and gloves to visit her. I did take her from the common room to her room. There I took my mask off so she could see who I was.   I can't imagine visiting like it was before the vaccines. You had to wear a mask and sit 6 feet away from your loved one. Can you imagine visiting like that if your mom doesn't remember you?

Another bit of sadness is that a childhood neighbor, who was my mom's friend, passed away Sunday. 

She was the mom of friends I played with as a kid.  She was a neat lady who would welcome you to her front porch just to chat with her and her husband. As a kid that made us feel so special, that an adult who wasn't our parent, wanted to talk to us and find out how we were.

This woman and her husband started a Food Pantry for their city. The mayor of her city said they didn't have a need for a food pantry. Boy was he WRONG!  The food pantry provided food for many people in that city who had no where else to turn for food.

 What's interesting is this woman and her husband visited my mom three years ago when mom had her stroke. I was sure my mom would go before this woman. She was so healthy compared to mom.

I guess you never know, do you?

I make cards for others. That's what's gotten me through all of this isolation. I love to do challenges on Splitcoaststampers. They have daily challenges which are lots of fun to try. I've added a lot of the latest cards I've made. Many of them will go to Card Care Connection.

This card is for2 challenges; F4A583 and MIX430. The Free For All challenge was to make a card using a Marvin Gaye song. My song is, How Sweet it is, to be loved by you. If you're not familiar with it, give it a listen here. 

The Mix challenge, was to use a wreath. Instead of a round wreath, I made a heart wreath for the two love birds.

I stamped in black permanent ink then colored the bunnies with Prismacolor Colored Pencils and Zig paint brushes with pink. I colored the flowers on the small heart with Copic Markers.

I cut out the heart using two hearts at once, then added flowers all around. I added smaller flowers, then added crystal Stickles. (I can't tell you the last time I used Stickles!)

I added the heart and image the cut the small heart out then put it under a paw of each bunny. The black and white paper is from the new catalog and is called, Pattern Party.

This card was for the Featured Stamper Challenge on SCS.  Here is the inspiration for my card.

These elephants are very similar to my inspiration. I changed the card from horizontal to vertical. I cut out circle for the elephants to peek through. I made a thinkin of you card instead of birthday. The dsp used is different. I added cut outs of a butterfly and flowers for the elephants.

When I saw the elephants in Martina's gallery, I had to use these similar stamps. I colored them with copic markers then used the dies to cut them out. I punched out the circles and fit the elephants into the holes. I added the flowers, butterfly and sentiment.

This is another, Featured Stamper Challenge card.   Here is my inspiration.  

Same things: I used three panels and a cat. I like the way her cat had its paws over the sentiment panel. So I put my cat's paws on top of the pail.

I used different colors, stamps and techniques. I stamped on the designer series paper then cut out the pail and added black marker to the handle. I colored and cut out the cat and placed it on the pail. I stamped the sentiment on my designer series paper.

This is for two challenges, Technique Lovers Challenge, and Clean and Simple. Technique challenge was to make a slimline card-regular sized or mini. The Clean and Simple was to make April Showers cards.

I stamped this little guy in memento rich cocoa ink and colored him with Copic Markekrs. I used blending brushes to add ink to the background. I added the image with dimensionals and stamped my sentiment on the background piece.

Our colors today were, petal pink, flirty flamingo and coastal cabana. Dessert was stitching.

I stamped and colored the kitties. They were fussy cut then added to white cardstock with dimensionals. I added the flowers then added champagne and clear rhinestones. The paws were dry embossed to the card base. The image was layered on black then added to the card base with dimensionals.

Today is Earth Day. Our challenge was to recycle something on our card. I took a piece of plastic wrap from the garbage.

First, I thought it would be neat to put three different colors of ink on the plastic wrap, using 1" x 1" distress inks. Then I put my white card stock into the ink while the plastic wrap was wrinkled. This gave me all sorts of texture for my card. Then I colored, die cut, and added the images to the card front. I stamped the sentiment, then covered my card front with the plastic wrap.

Isn't this the cutest stamp? It's from a newer stamp company called,  Colorado Craft Company. These animals remind me of Winnie The Pooh. The artist for this line of stamps drew the images for, "Guess How Much I Love You!"  Her name is Anita Jeram. She is a very talented artist.

Card 2 with the same stamp.

I stamped and colored the images then used the dies. I stamped the sentiment and cut it up to fit into a square. I dry embossed the cherry cobbler paper then added the sentiment and the images. This is just a delightful set to use. The other sentiments are fantastic!

Here is the inspiration for my card.

I saw this layout from txstampinsharon . I thought it would be fun to try it and use the colors and shapes in the inspiration piece.

I put the card together, stamped the sentiment, colored the white hearts, then added the circles to the card.

I got to stamp IN PERSON with Jan yesterday! Woo-Hoo! We hugged and hugged!  Then we got down to stamping. I love the line of stamps from Gerday Steiner. I need some cards for Card Care Connection.  

This organization makes cards for people with cancer. I love making all sorts of different cards and sending a box full to them.

 The cards can be Thinking of You, Have a Nice Day, Hello, Care and Concern, Sending you Hugs, Sending Smiles, Just for You, To Lift Your Spirits and hopeful messages. The inside needs to be blank. That makes these cards easier to make than a typical card with a front and inside sentiment and/or image.

I used two different Gerda Steiner stamp sets. The first was, Under the Weather, and the second was,  On The Bookshelf. I colored the images then used dies and large sentiments to complete the cards.

The black and white card was made in a Herringbone Pattern with black and white paper strips. Then I added the sentiment and a bright card base.

Verse of the Day: And be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2

I've been listening to Jeremy Camp lately. This is a song called, Should've Been Me. I love the beat and music as well as the words. They really spoke to me.

Blessings of the Day: Today Tim got groceries and was able to get some more work done in the basement. He's almost ready to prime the bathroom walls, then paint.

I was able to get some things done too. There's lots to do when packing up cards to send out. I'm also working on the cards for May's, in-person class!

I worked on my afghan again being careful to continue to count stitches to make sure I have the right number. I follow a video to learn new stitches and use yarn that is sent each month. The first time I started, I didn't count the stitches or measure my afghan, and ended up having to tear it all out and begin again.

I was glad I did that. I know my afghan will be something to be proud of when it's finished because I want to do it right.

Tim and I both had time on the screened in porch. It was so peaceful and quiet with the sounds of birds singing.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Blessings,

Bensarmom