~ HAPPY  EASTER~

 

 

Wishing all of you dear friends a very Happy Easter Holiday!

As we enjoy our family and friends, wonderful meals and sweet treats : ) 

Let's place our Savior Jesus in the center of the celebration~

And enjoy this wonderful weekend!

 

Isn't she a delightful surprise!?! 

The image came from Beatriz Jennings Etsy shop > Iralamija Shop

(where I have done quite a bit of shopping  for images.)

The frame is from Prima Marketing, the bow I made from seam binding (notice my roundy loops of course *sigh* : )      The bottom bow is navy (looks black here.)

I added pearl beads, seed beads, clear glitter glass from Renea's Etsy > Renea Bouquet's

and some white "Prills"- small bead type embellishments.

 

I took so many photo's!  I may as well include them here~

 

And how about that sweet Spring Bunny!? 

He looks as though he doesn't know quite what to think! : ) <3

 

There are some Jelly Belly's hiding in the Easter grass~

The eggs I found @ Michaels. (1/2 price mind you;  Whoo yay : )

 

 

We all thank you for peeking in today!  And hope your Easter is Blessed and restful~

Karen & bunny & bear. 

 

 

        ~~HERE'S  TO  POPPY~~ (* and a note)
Our grandchildren had a name for my husband Alan; it was "Poppy."
And this name was 'adopted' from his own grandfather - who was called Poppy as well.
After Alan passed away, a "Scrapbook.com" friend of mine made a beautiful card with a sweet 'poppy' focal point.   I happened to share with some of my SB.com friends about Alan being called poppy, and she ended up sending me the card!  To use as I wanted.  Thank you Laura : ) 
 I had hoped to use it for a lay-out of Al,  but when I ran across this photo of grandpa (Poppy); I felt some inspiration and created this.  The reddish foreground paper and also the poppy embellishment  were from Laura, with a few of my tweaks~

His real name was Charles.  Grandma called him Charlie (or Chuck if she was 'not happy'!lol : )  but to the rest of the world, he was simply Poppy~
Born in 1911 in Brooklyn Heights Ohio (near Cleveland I think.) He was the middle child with a sister older and a sister younger.
As a young man he was a produce seller at local markets and became a gardener for a private (well-to-do) family. 
He later built and started his own greenhouses and was self-employed until the greenhouses were sold in 1981.

This photo is a bit closer.  He looks like he's a little 'spit-fire' in this shot!! : ) But really, he was the most gentle man I knew.  It is his picture I featured here > GENUINE  on my blog in January~ 
I have been working on a few décor changes around the house and I hung 2 -100 year old windows in my living room; and am adding family photo's to them.  This small lay out will be proudly hung there : )
Thanks so very much! For stopping in today~
I am sure most of you know I do not have internet @ home - and so when I get to work on Mondays, I sometimes see 20+ posts from my friends! and I get a bit overwhelmed; wanting to get a visit in to each one. Please know I do stop in! and hope to comment if there is time~
God bless,   Karen


***May I please add, for any of you who have read to the bottom here : ) That it has been difficult for me to blog lately; well, for a while.  Let me tell you why~
My grief is still so real, and difficult.  I often feel like "nothing really matters" - although I know that that is not true~  I still feel it - and that makes for a hard time creating, and a hard time in expressing myself.
Yet, in these waves of pain, I know the Lord is with me and teaching me; thru the grief and pain that I experience. It is the place to grow and learn.  If I don't 'experience' it, how can I move past it?
Each one of us is unique in how we grieve, I know that, but (for myself) I must 'feel' it, in order to move beyond it;  and it comes in waves for me.  Perhaps that is a good thing! as God knows how much I can handle (and it still be beneficial - not overwhelming) vs. me trying to guess my way through all this and navigate my own course.
So, Thanks be to God! for His guidance and safe-keeping over me.
And a full-hearted Thank You to all my dear blog friends; for your love and support!
 Though at this time I am not the full/real 'me', I hope you are seeing glimpses' of
her, : ] and some day we can truly meet~ 
As I journey on . . .
God bless,
Karen

Mini Observation Journal Notebook~
(* am having trouble w/Blogger and can't change the font or size! : ( grrr

Hello dear friends~  I have been spending time around blog land and what do you suppose the "buzz word" is these days!?! lol - -
SPRING!
Well, I have mentioned to several of you that around here, (in CO - or at least in El Paso county where I live)  we don't get too hopeful or excited about spring just yet. : )  March and April can be our snowiest months. Not always, but often.  We have a rule in our house; no planting til after Mothers Day~

But still, the spring bug has bit - and my hopes are for some creativity real soon.

 

I'm hoping you've been able to take some time to create lately??

I've been seeing some beautiful things out there recently!

 I am still struggling in the 'creating' department  : J  (friends I'm  still really hurting. . .)

 - - So,  I'm sharing something I created two summers past. 

But let me insert here - I am sharing my book @ http://appleapricot.blogspot.com/2016/03/simply-neutrals-19-romantic-ponderings.html

For Wen's   "Simply Neutrals Tuesday" link party!!!!

You will find beautiful photo's, creations and artistry - with a neutral color palate! every other Tuesday over at Wen's blog "AppleApricot."

 

Please join in on the fun!

 

 

Well, about my book - -  It is a very 'organic-y' (I made that up - LOL : ) journal/observations book.

 (The book is about 8"X5" maybe)  For logging  observations, or,  just for journaling some thoughts while out in nature!

I tried to imagine what a girl (maybe 100 years ago)  might have put together for collecting bird and butterfly information~
Well, she probably would have found burlap sacks to cut up, scraps of twine and paper, lace or fabric,
tags, twigs and lots of textural elements!
Thus my book includes all that and a few extras~
 Mulberry paper, twill,  corrugated board,  canvas,  velum and such.
 A white twill bow ties the book together~ (I almost always 'gotta have a bow' : }

The book cover (above) is layered with Velum, a canvas flower under that, layers of dark brown and pale green Mulberry paper, and the burlap cover.  I bought a roll of  6?" wide burlap, which was conveniently finished on the edges~

If you'd care to, please keep scrolling down;   I have lots of pages to share : )


Ok - here is the inside front cover and page one  of my observations book.
The left side is a pretty tissue paper, decoupaged  on to the inside cover with Modge Podge.
On the right is a pocket for notes. 




Pages 3 & 4 have 'pull out tags' for photo's, sketches and journaling. The large pocket on the left (holding the tag) is made from Velum.

 

Pages 5 and 6~

On the left side I 'fussy-cut' a tree branch from some (click > )   Graphic 45 papers , The bird is a die cut piece pre-made, I think also from Graphic 45.  The fibrous paper I believe is called Mulberry paper and was gifted to me from a dear friend at Scrapbook.com; where I have a gallery.

 

 Page 7 & 8;   pg7 has a pocket, and the bird house on page 8  is a stamp - isn't it so cute!? Twigs are from my elm tree~

  

 Page 9 & 10 have a few (paper)  butterfly specimens : ) on white corrugated board,  - and room for notes.

 

Page 11 has lots of ephemera and papers for journaling, sketches or notes.  Page 12 has an envelope pocket attached to hold a few findings or treasures! Most of these papers are from Graphic 45. 

 

Just some fussy-cut stuff on pages 13 & 14~  The metal clip on the right will help hold some scattered ideas or little items.

 

 

Here is the back side of the Observation Notebook.  There's a pocket for a pencil and paper; and a paperclip for notecards; etc.  The paperclip is from Hobby Lobby ( > )copper bookmark clip   

  I cut an image of an egg and glued it on the paper clip; finishing it with Glossy Accents.http://rangerink.com/?product=inkssentials%e2%84%a2-glossy-accents%e2%84%a2

 

Thank you for looking in today!   I am so blessed by your visit.

Have a wonderful week and I hope it is filled with peace and love.

~Karen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Generations"  Wedding Album

 

Dear friends, I thank you for joining me today!

I'm afraid I've been away from my blog lately; more than I'd like to be.   But aside from 'no home internet' these days,  my parents are not at all well.   Dad was in the hospital this last week end, and mom totally depends on him.

My siblings and I have been caring for them as best we can.

It may not be long before we move them to a facility that can cook and clean for them;  we shall see.

 

Well,  - I am bringing back something I had posted in September 2015 I think. 

I made this mini album (it is about 6"X6") for myself several years ago.  It contains old wedding photo's! of members from my husbands family and my family as well.  Several generations are in here.

The album is made of:   White corrugated board, a mix of scrapbook papers- (mostly Prima paper) http://www.primamarketinginc.com/  from the  'Almanac' and 'Printery' paper collections.  Also  handmade flowers, some ribbon, chipboard, glitter glass, stickles, rubber stamping,  and beads... : ) you get the picture! LOL

 

Here is the cover: 

The tag pulls out to the left with some information on it.  Most of the pages have 'hidden' pull-out tags with info about the corresponding photo. The chipboard mannequin is from Blue Fern Studios http://bluefernstudios.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1 and has a sprinkle of glitter glass.  I added a silhouette of black cardstock behind it~

I will be sharing this with Wen at Apple Apricot blog:

 

(click >)  for her Simply Neutrals Tuesday 

Bi-monthly link party!!

Please stop in to see some wonderful 'neutral' projects and photos~  There is a bit of everything shared there and so much inspiration!  Perhaps you would join in and share with us!?!

 

Here is a page of my fathers parents:

I made the flowers. The teeny letter 'tickets' are from the (Prima) Almanac paper collection. We called grandpa "Pops" & he was quite a 'salty ol' dog! LOL~

 

Here are my mothers parents.   It's hard to see the back drop behind them in this photo, but up close it is amazing! So vintage~

Both my mothers parents  are 100% French : ) [my dads mother was too.]   All of my French great grandparents hail from Canada; and their parents came over from France~  ( All of my grandparents were born in Michigan)

And here are my parents below.  Mom was so beautiful : ) They were so in love - and still are after 62 years of marriage! *sigh*

The flowers are all hand made and the butterfly is Blue Fern chipboard.   Papers are Prima.

Here are my great grandparents on my dads fathers side. (The German side:)

  I heard these two were quite the pair!  They look mischievous to me! LOL!  The buttons are vintage; from grandma's jar.  Did a bit of sewing machine stitching too~

Here comes Alan's grandparents! (him mom's parents)

The original "Poppy." He worked his own greenhouses (on their property) until he retired.
He could make A N Y T H I N G  grow~   Grandma was a kindergarten teacher for 26 years!

And here is Grandma's parents.  This, of course, is not their wedding photo (we don't have one)  but a 50th Anniversary photo.

Westy (great grandpa) was another "Salty Dog!" ; ) and though great-grandma "Oma" was already gone when I met Alan, I did get to meet Grandpa "Westy". There are 'tales' he joined (snuck in to) the Navy when he was only 16 yrs. old~


Alan's  parents' wedding:

His dad's parents on the left and Poppy and Grandma on the right.  For this page I used 'My Minds Eye' paper; some of my very favorite,  from their (retired) Lost & Found collection.
 Also used some wedding applique and hand made flowers.

My dad's mom, Alberta, was sooo dear to my heart.  We became very close when they moved out to be with us in Colorado.  She was a dear soul. 

There are a few more but I think I'll stop right here : )  Thank you so much for your visits and friendship!!  My heart feels a bit torn - wanting to spend more attention to my blog, but knowing the important things must come first!  I know God will help me sort everything out and help me set my priorities in order~
Bless you all! and thank you for your thoughts and prayers~

Karen