Football is right around the corner…

It’s no secret that we’re all big Alabama football fans at our house. We’ve followed the Crimson Tide pretty much all of our lives and instilled a love of the sport (and team) in our kids. So much so that both of them attended school at the University of Alabama.  This made KB very happy and proud as he is an alum himself. 

Alabama football has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up in the Bear Bryant era, suffered through the ups and downs of the long, mediocre years, and held my breath for a year or so after Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa.  It’s safe to say that he has rebuilt the program to the standard that Alabama fans were accustomed to for so many years. The anticipation of the start of the season begins as soon as the last game is played in January.  I try to keep myself from getting too excited and looking forward to it until August. That’s when things really amp up with preseason polls, practices and scrimmages start, and all of the pundits begin to predict all the winners and losers. 

About six or so years ago, I started putting the schedule on a blackboard that I had hanging in my kitchen. It’s become a tradition to do it every year in mid-August, about two weeks before the first game. This year, with things being as they are, I debated on hanging it up but decided that the tradition should not be broken just because the season is scheduled to start later.  So, last weekend, I got it done and hung it on the laundry room door. It looks a little different this year with an all SEC schedule and it’s not fancy but I like it! Now, I’m just praying that the season actually gets to happen! 

O Christmas Tree…and the Red, White, and Blue

When I went to my first scrapbook retreat seven years ago, one of the things I loved about the place was this huge Christmas tree that she had in the living room.  We were there the weekend before Thanksgiving but she didn’t already have her tree up for Christmas. She had it decorated for autumn/Thanksgiving! It was so beautiful and she told me that she kept it up all year and decorated it for the different seasons/holidays. I’ve wanted a year round tree ever since. I’ve never been able to do it because I don’t have a good place for one. But earlier this year, I decided that I could have one…a small one. I don’t have to have a full size tree to be able to have a holiday tree all year. 

It’s not an easy thing to find a Christmas tree in the spring but I did. I found one at a local thrift store and was so excited! It’s even pre-lit. I got it up right before Memorial Day and decorated it with a patriotic theme. It’s been up all summer with red, white, and blue garland and ornaments, and American flags. Summer is bracketed by Memorial Day and Labor Day with the 4^th of July right in the middle, so the patriotic theme is perfect for summer. 

I’ve loved having it up; it’s been a bright spot during these last several months that we’ve been staying home more. It brightens up the house and makes me smile every day.  

Christmas lights instantly make me feel eight years old again.

Family Treasures and Peach Cobbler

I’ve been wanting some gumbo for several days. Today, when we woke up to a rainy, gray, dreary day, I decided it was a good day to make gumbo but I needed to go to the grocery store to pick up a few things first.

As soon as I walked in, I saw this big ole display of Chilton County peaches. Chilton County, Alabama is known for their peaches and having grown up in Alabama, I am quite familiar with them. I grew up eating them and although I’ve had some wonderful peaches all over the world, there’s just none like the ones from Chilton County in my mind. Anyway, when I smelled them, I had this overwhelming craving for peach cobbler. So, of course, six of them found their way home with me.

I have this old, somewhat beat up pan that belonged to my great-grandmother. It was her cobbler pan. Now, I was so blessed to know three of my eight great-grandparents and this great-grandmother is one of them. She lived with my grandparents and I have such wonderful memories of her. She had this jar of buttons that she would let me play with, stacking and matching, and counting them endlessly. I’d pick one out and she could tell me exactly where it came from. What dress, skirt, shirt, or jacket it had been on. That always amazed me. She would let me lie down on the sofa next to her and put my head in her lap and she would count my ribs. It tickled and I would giggle and squirm and she would get tickled at me. Such sweet memories!

Although I don’t use that pan very often, I decided to use it today. Not too long ago, I came across a few recipes from my grandmother that I had forgotten about and one of them was her peach cobbler recipe. I pulled it out and got busy. I peeled those peaches, and put them in that pan and made the crumbly topping. Then, I sprinkled it on top of those peaches and put it in the oven. Y’all…..that is the best cobbler I’ve ever made. Even KB was impressed. He had his with vanilla ice cream on it and he hummed when he took that first bite.

I love that I have these family treasures; the pan and the recipe, and the wonderful memories that they bring to mind. There’s something about using a decades old pan and recipe that brings comfort and hope, and just makes you feel good, knowing that you’re carrying on a tradition that ties you to the generations that went before. One day, I’ll pass that pan down to my son or daughter. I have a feeling that pan has a lot more cobblers to be made in it!

Nanny’s Peach Cobbler

6 ripe peaches, peeled and sliced

1 stick of cold butter 

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup sugar

Put one TBSP of melted butter in the pan. Layer the sliced peaches in the pan. Mix the rest of the stick of butter with the flour and sugar. Crumble it all together. I use my hands to mix it, smushing the butter into the flour and sugar until it’s sort of mealy. Then sprinkle it all on top of the peaches. Do not stir. Bake in a 350 degree oven until done, about 45 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream if desired. 

Food is the ingredient that binds us together.

Calendar Catch Up…July and August

Today I’m going to finish getting my calendars caught up! But first, I want to announce the winners from my Growing In Unity Week. They are Nikki Kittrell and Amy Williams. Congratulations!! They are the lucky winners of a grab bag of 25 Unity stamps for commenting on my posts last week.

Now, for the calendars…July was done by one of my dearest friends and just happens to be the one that organizes the calendar swap. It is a fabulous celebration of the holiday that July is known for…the 4th of July! Don’t you love that skyline and those fireworks?!

For August, it’s a simple topper with a quote that really spoke to me. “Set sail in the direction of your dreams”. I’m working chasing some dreams this year and I just love that quote! It was very timely for me. A friend in Boston made this one and one of the things that is so amazing to me about it? She underwent a heart transplant two years ago and has faced a lot of challenges and issues due to it in the time since. Yet, she managed to participate in the exchange last year and did an marvelous job!

Although each month is unique and the styles and techniques are different, I love every one of the pages. They make me smile and think of the person that made them every time I see them.

Time moves slowly but passes quickly. 

Calendar Catch Up…May and June

I’ve been very hit and miss with posting the calendar pages every month from the calendar exchange that I do every year. I wrote about them last week during my Growing In Unity week and showed you what my calendar pages for next year’s calendars will look like. Someone said they’d love to see the other calendar pages and it made me realize that I haven’t been posting them so I decided that I would do some catch up posts in the next week or so with the ones from this year that I haven’t spotlighted. I left off with April so we’re going to move on to May…and then June.

I just love this one…it’s so simple yet it says SPRING! The picket fence and bee with that blue sky is just a happy picture.

June was so refreshing! Who doesn’t love cold, homemade lemonade on a hot day? I love how she used the vellum to make the jar. One of my dearest friends made this one so it was a little extra special.

The bad news is that time flies. The good news is that you are the pilot. 

Growing in Unity, Day 5 –

I can’t believe it’s already Friday and the end of my GIU week! I had something else in mind for today’s post but the US Post Office came through and actually got my latest orders to me in a timely manner so I was able to play with new stamps instead.

School started here this week-where did the summer go?!-and that means that autumn is right around the corner. One of things I love about this time of year are the magnificent fields of sunflowers. They are just happy flowers and make me smile every time I see one. I mentioned earlier this week that I’m a sucker for flowers in jars so there’s no doubt that I had to have the new stamp set, Beautiful Like That! I couldn’t wait to make a card with this one.I colored it with Copics and fussy cut it and then used foam tape to adhere it.  I paired it with the chicken wire background and put it on a gold card stock card base. The sentiment is stamped directly on the card front with black ink. 

For my second card today, I used the sunflower and sentiment, Feeling Blessed, from this month’s Kit of the Month. The background was made with a gel plate, acrylic paint, and a few stamps. I’ve just recently started playing with the gel plate and have a lot to learn but it’s so much fun!  The background turned out a little darker than I was planning but I decided to go with it anyway.  Of course, I colored the flower with my Copics and used foam tape to adhere it. 

Back in the spring, I decided that I wanted to put up my little Christmas tree and decorate it with the different seasons/holidays. Right now it has patriotic decorations on it-they’re on there from Memorial Day through Labor Day-but it won’t be but a few weeks before I will need to put fall decorations on it. I don’t have any fall ornaments so have been on the lookout for some. Then, the other day, when I was writing about using stamps in non card ways, it hit me! I should make ornaments out of some of my stamps. A while back, I got a little sunflower stamp in a goody bag from Unity and it is the perfect size to put on an ornament for my tree. I have a lot of these little wooden circles left from some Christmas ornaments that I made last year so I pulled one of them out and stamped that sunflower on it and painted it with acrylic paint. It’s going to look great on my tree this fall! 

I just want to thank everyone for taking the time to come here and see what I’ve been making and commenting on my posts. You’ve all been so kind and I really appreciate it. You’ve made my week so much fun. Don’t forget to comment for the chance to win a Unity grab bag. 

To be creative is to let little pieces of your heart go and place them into each project you make.

Growing In Unity, Day 4- For the Guys

Am I the only person that struggles with ideas for guy cards? It comes much easier to me to make girl cards than it does guy cards. Thankfully, Unity has some great stamps that make guy cards easier! Today, I’m going to be using two of them to make a couple of birthday cards. 

The first card today uses my absolute favorite stamp from Unity. It’s the first stamp I ever bought from them and I have probably used it more than any other. This truck from Slowly Turning Classic is just awesome. It’s fun to color and works for guys of all ages. I used it for my nephew for his 16^th birthday (and getting his drivers license) as well as for my uncle’s 70^th birthday. To make this card, I stamped the truck directly on the card front and colored it with Copics. You’ve probably figured out by now that they are my favorite coloring medium. I wanted to put a background around the truck so I created a mask for it. I did this by stamping and cutting out the truck from a piece of card stock and put it on top of the stamped image. Then, I took the Barn Wall background (I told you that you’d see it again this week!) and stamped it with brown ink. I used distress oxide ink to ‘dirty’ the wall and edges a little.  Then, I stamped the sentiment directly on the card front. I put the card front on the red card base which I made from card stock in my stash. 

For the second card today, I used the Scout Adventures stamp set. We lived in Colorado for 10 years and miss those mountains. I knew this stamp would make a perfect card for him as well as some other guys I know.  The Jeep is stamped on white card stock and colored with Copics. The sentiment is stamped on white cardstock and I tore the edges to give it that ragged look. I used brown ink on the edges and distress oxide ink to dirty it up. For this card, I decided to make my own background instead of using a stamp and used distress oxide inks to color it. I made the trees using a stencil and drew the mountains free hand. The Jeep is popped up with foam tape and the sentiment is glued down. I went with my favorite, a Kraft base to compliment the rugged look of the card. This was my husband’s Father’s Day card and of all the cards I’ve made for him, this is the one he’s kept on his dresser. 

Hopefully you don’t struggle as much as I do to make guy cards but maybe this will give you a little inspiration if you do. Don’t forget to comment for the chance to win a Unity grab bag at the end of the week!

A good guy is like a four leaf clover, lucky to have and hard to find.

Growing in Unity Day 3, By the Sea

I’ve always loved the beach. I love the sound of the waves; it’s such a soothing sound to my soul.  Sunsets and sunrises are always spectacular. I have to admit, I’m much more likely to see the sun set than rise. On the few occasions I do get up early and hit the beach to do a little shelling, that big orange ball cresting over the horizon is an awe-inspiring sight and makes it worth getting up before dawn. 

Three years ago, we moved to the Alabama Gulf Coast and although we don’t live right on the water, we love being near it. One of the first things I did after we moved here was join Share the Beach, an organization that monitors our beaches for nesting sea turtles. Watching those babies come scrambling out of that nest and scampering toward the water is a thrilling sight! When I saw the Speedy set with this cute little guy, I knew I had to have it!

For this card, I used distress oxides to make the underwater background and then stamped and colored the seaweed from the Cuddlebug Sea Horse set.  I colored Speedy with Copics, fussy cut him, and adhered him with foam tape to pop him up a little bit. Then I stamped the sentiment and used some Crystal 3D Lacquer to give some of the bubbles a little dimension.  I used the get well sentiment that is in the Speedy set but I’ve also used this guy for other types of card as well. The card base is an olive green card stock that was in my stash.

Last month, when I saw the Kit of the Month, I couldn’t wait to ink up the shells that are in it and color them. I knew right away that I wanted to put these on a slimline card.  They have become all the rage lately and I’ve gotten on the band wagon. Some stamps just really work on them very well.  I used some of the shells I’ve picked up on the beach as inspiration to color with Copics and added just a bit of Wink of Stella on the inside of them. I made a ‘sandy’ background with distress oxide inks and a wavy stencil and used a slimline stitched die to cut it out. Then, I scattered the shells on it.  It needed a little something else so I added some enamel dots. The card base is made from some turquoise card stock from my stash as was the white to make a thin mat around the card front. 

I hope you enjoyed your ‘beach time’ today. Don’t forget to comment for a chance to win a grab bag of stamps from Unity at the end of the week!

A day at the beach restores the soul.

Growing In Unity, Day 2, Calendar Fun

Welcome to Day 2 of my week of Growing In Unity! Today, I’m putting aside the cards and doing something a little different. I love finding different ways to use my stamps and giving them more versatility. For several years I’ve participated in a calendar swap with a group of crafty friends. We all choose a month and make 12 of the same design. The friend that organizes it collects them all and then puts them in sets and redistributes them to us. The first year we did this, she really had to recruit hard to get enough people to do it but three years later, we have three groups!  

A lot of Unity stamps are the perfect size for the calendars. You can choose any month and almost be assured to find a stamp that would work for it. I am doing two sets of calendars this year and chose to do September and October. For September, I used the mushrooms from Thanks So Mush which is a recent release. I love these mushrooms! They just have so much character. They look great on a slimline card, too! I stamped three of the four mushrooms directly on the piece I’ve cut for the calendar top and then colored them.  I used some paper from my stash to make a mat behind it and adhered it to the calendar with adhesive tape. 

For the October calendar, I chose one of the very first stamps I got from Unity.  I told y’all yesterday that I’m a sucker for old trucks. I love them and use them as often as I can.  This one is Bountiful Haul and is perfect for fall and Thanksgiving with that hay and those pumpkins in the back. I colored this one with Copics but it’s also a great image to do with watercolors.  I matted it with a fall plaid paper from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you enjoyed seeing how I used my stamps on something other than a card. Don’t forget to comment for a chance to win a goody bag from Unity at the end of the week!

Do something creative every day.

Growing In Unity Day 1, A Simple Hello

I am so excited to be the GIU girl this week! It’s such an honor to be able to share some of the things I’ve created with Unity stamps.  I tend to make clean and simple cards although I do love me some mixed media.  My biggest problem this week is deciding which stamps to use and how to use them. There’s so many to choose from and I love them all!! For this card, I used the sets Difficult Roads and Barn Wall.

For my first day, I decided to stick with my clean and simple approach and use one of my favorite stamps.   I started out by stamping the image from the Difficult Roads set and coloring it with Copic markers.  Copics are my preferred coloring medium right now because they are what I’m comfortable with. I do play with watercolors and colored pencils occasionally, but I learned how to color with Copics ages ago and they come easier to me. Anyway, I love this image.  This is such a versatile stamp. I’ve used it on just about every type of card. There are a few things that I am such a sucker for…old cars and trucks, flying pigs, and flowers (and cotton) in a jar. This set was a must have for me.

After I stamped and colored, I fussy cut it and colored the edges with a black brush marker. That’s a little trick I learned right after I started making cards. It gives images a finished look and it helps to hide the jagged little spots where I wasn’t able to cut smoothly.  I knew I wanted to put it on a Kraft card base (I use Kraft bases a lot) and felt like it needed a ‘rustic’ background. I have several things I like to use with this image depending on the purpose of the card.  This time I chose the Barn Wall background stamp; it’s also one of my favorites and I use it a lot. I used black ink and stamped most of it off on another piece of paper before stamping the one I used here. I did this to give it a sort of whitewashed look. I applied Distress Oxide Picket Fences ink to wash it out a little more. I used a die to cut the word hello from Kraft paper and then glued it down. Foam tape as the adhesive popped the jar up a bit and gives it a little dimension.  Now I have a simple and cute card ready to be used. 

Tomorrow I’ll be using a newer stamp and another old favorite on something other than a card so come by and check it out. Thanks for looking at my card today and be sure to comment for a chance to win a grab bag of Unity stamps at the end of the week!

Crafting makes everything better…even Mondays!