Well, I am finally home, after almost a month in Alberta. Left 20+ degree weather and have been enduring torrential rains since I got home. Lucky me. And the weather is still great in Alberta. I should have stayed for another week or so. I have not crafted anything since I got home. I have been busy unpacking, doing laundry and cleaning up the mess (only dirty dishes) left by my ds who lives with me (when the mood strikes).
My trip to Alberta was very productive. My siblings and I emptied out my Dad's house, washed walls and painted the whole house, getting it ready to rent or sell. My Dad (91 years old) is now living in a continuing care facility for dementia patients. I went to see him every couple days that I was there but it was very difficult. Sometimes he knew me, and sometimes he didn't. We would have conversations that may have been based on events that happened, but were so convoluted in his mind that I had trouble following what he was saying sometimes. He also has a lot of trouble verbalizing what he want to say and so gets quite frustrated. Anyway, one of the main things I got out of our visits, other than just being with him, is that I now understand why my sister and brother do not go to visit him very often. I truly understand.
Another thing that I know is that I have to declutter. I really do not want my kids to have to go through the experience of having to say "Should we keep this or just junk it?" Sometimes it is hard to junk sentimental things. ( I have started taking digital pictures of stuff that is important to me but no one else, and then throwing the thing away.)
I experienced
some wonderful benefits from my trip.
Bought lots of neat crafting stuff. One store I visited was having a sale of 50% off all their cuttlebug and sizzix products. Dropped a couple hundred there. Visited a Michaels that was having a 40% off on all punches, including Martha Stewart. There went another hundred or so. Visited some Dollarama stores that have bling for $1.00. Love my bling.
I also got to spend some time with my niece, who was staying at my Dad's house. that was where I stayed too. She is 18 and sort of at loose ends. We had some great talks. I hope she finds her way.
I took some great pictures. Here is one of them. This sunset was taken from my Dad's front step. My sister wants to buy the property. I hope that happens because I would hate to lose this to someone else.
Another great thing that happened was that I got a new fur friend. Here is a picture of him, Razzle, and his sister, Lila, who I brought home for my Grandaughter. (Mom and Dad approved before I brought her home. lol) Razzle is the furry one in the back.
Here is another pic of him.
And here is a pic of my dog that is really enjoying having a new friend.
Oh, house training is a blast, NOT.
I guess that probably is more than any of you ever wanted to know but it has been a bit cathartic for me. I tried to keep a journal once. Couldn't do it. Funny, how I can write things here for everyone to see but not on a piece of paper.
So, I am sorry this is a long post without any creative input on my part. Now that my house is in order (sort of), I am planning on spending most of tomorrow in my rubber room and hopefully, will have some new crafting ideas for you.
Thanks for reading, if you got this far.
Leave me a comment if you think I am crazy for venting on my blog. 'Cause, I guess, that is what this whole post is about.
Bye for now and I hope I will have something more creative for you tomorrow.
Good wishes to all.
Theresa in Kitimat.
This is the first project I made. It is a tealight luminary and each panel measures 2 1/2 X 3 1/2. I made it this size so that I could make one using only one piece of cs. Also, that is the size that would fit over the little glass container that holds the tealight. The sentiment also fits well at this size. I used my nestabilities and scor-pal to create the panels. Notice the 1/4 inch flap at the bottom for the tape to hold everything together.
Next, I used this as a template to cut and stamp my vellum. I stamped the vellum with black ink and colored the backside with prismacolor pencils. Just a note- because I made the vellum one piece so that it would look good on the inside of the luminary, I had to cut the vellum a tiny bit smaller the long way and score it carefully so that it would fit inside the black outer layer.I then taped the two pieces together at the top and bottom with scor-tape. I used my nesties again to cut the four red frames and adhered them around the openings. I then taped the flap and had my little openended box. The last step was to stamp the sentiment 4 times on black cs with gold embossing powder and cut out the piece to measure 1/2" by 10" and tape this around the bottom.
