Victorian Card

This is a 6x5.5 card made from the Maja Design Paper Vintage Autumn Basics.  Some of the papers were torn, curled, pleated to give a different look.

This paper is from Sweden and I just fell in love with it.  First, I dropped some Distressed ink on the paper, spritz with water and dried.   A small section of it was stenciled using Wendy Vecchi's Diamond Stencil and Tim Holtz Paste.  The flowers were made using Spellbinders Blossom 2, and crepe paper, then painted with Distressed reinkers. 

Products used on this card:

Lorelai Outline #840,

Exotic Butterflies #2, Dl113

Marianne LR0228

Summer Foliage M12 - Magnolia

Swirl - 040250 - Magnolia

These dies and stencil can all be purchased from Terri at Joan's Gardens.

 

Teaching Lily how to make noodles!

Lily, our Great-Granddaughter (12) is spending the week with us.  Today I taught her

how to make homemade noodles and we are now working on a pop up box card.  We will post that later.  I love this precious time.

 

New Bird Card

I cut this bird out months ago and it has been lying on my craft table, so I decided today was the day I needed to use it.

 

The card is a 6x6 card. A white layer that was embossed using Craftwell's Quatrefoil  Embossing Folder was added under the purple cardstock.

Both of the purple papers are from Memory Box.  After lightly misting the papers, I crumbled them and let them dry.  Then the 2 top layers were stitched  on the sewing machine.  I  had a white feather and some pink self adhesive lace, but no purple.  So, both were inked with Shaded Lilac Distressed Ink.  The nest of eggs were painted with Seedless Preserves Distressed paint.  A piece of cheese cloth was sewn and gathered then placed under the purple papers.

 

I wanted to add a tag, but nothing felt right.  My friend Judy stopped by after taking a Heartfelt Creation class and showed me a card they made where the tag was inserted underneath and pulled out to read.   I really liked the idea, so that is what I did.  I think I might add a ribbon to the tag.

The card has so much dimension, but it doesn't show up on the pictures.

I also darkened a purple pearl and added to the birds eye.

 

You can purchase the die and embossing folder from Terri at Joan's Gardens.

www.joansgardens.com

 

 

 

CCE008

           

CottageCutz Elites Die 4.3"X3.9"             

Bella Springtime Bird

Lily takes a 3rd and a 5th place today!

Lily  ended up with 2 -3rd place ribbons, 2 -5th place ribbons and 1- 6th place ribbon.
We are so proud of her.

Lily with her 3rd place ribbon at the fair.  Plus another 5th place later in the day.

Wow, this Great-Grandmas is very proud of her.

This is a fairly new horse this year as her other one died.  What a sad day it was for her, but God blessed her with another beautiful horse.  A fun day for sure!

Victor is her horse's name.  Isn't he beautiful.  Lily rides Western.

 

Waiting for the judges to announce the winners. 

 Following the commands of the judge in the arena.  Love this picture.

 

Thanks for bearing with me this week and watching my "girl".  Hopefully,

next week I can get back to a normal routine.  Of course, there is outside work that

needs to be done, probably more canning and the daily routines.  But, I sure hope to squeeze

in some card making.

 

What are you all up to this 2nd week of August.  Where or where is summer going?



Fair Week and pictures

 

Lily got 6th place at the 4H Fair this week in Showmanship.

She is our Great Granddaughter and we are so proud of her.

Her group is honoring our military this week with their signs etc.

Lily is the daughter of Kara and Lori's Granddaughter.

Tomorrow she rides her horse and is so hoping to place.

 

Now these cute studs are our great Grandsons.

Kelsey and Todd's boys.  Branch, the baby is not in the picture

On the left is Benaiah, Beckon and Bleydn.

 

I have been asked what I  have been doing since I have not made any cards in the last week.

 40 quarts of beans and 18 of corn is what I have been doing, plus chasing after a puppy.

 

Whiskers favorite way to sleep in the car.  Hi nose stuck between the seats sitting up.

 

 

 

Nap time this morning.

He does sleep a lot, but after his naps we call him the "wild thing".

Such a puppy!!!

 

Canning Season

Sorry I have been so scarce, but it is canning season on Stanton Road in Indiana.  So far this week I have done 28 quarts of green beans.  These are heirloom beans that we have saved seed for many years.  We call them Louise Beans because a cousin Louise Salyer gave us the seed. I will take a picture of them a little later.

I am working on corn now and boy I sure do miss my Mama as we canned together for so many years.  Sure isn't near as much fun without her.  I am so thankful she taught me how to do this and I have passed it down to Lori.  I hope Kara and Kelsey (Lori's daughters) take an interest at some point in their lives, but right now with 4 small children they each are super busy.

How many of you preserve food for the winter?  And if so what do you do.  Would love to hear from you about your gardens and what you do.

Oh and by the way....the little guy is taking up a ton of my time too.  Right now he is sleeping.
Whew!  But, he is adorable and worth the training time.

One more day~~~

 

Tomorrow is the big day. We bring Whiskers 5 to his new home. We are so excited. We don't look forward to the puppy training but we sure do look forward to the company. As Johnny Gargano (our grandson) says....one more sleep. Yippeee

New Card - Girl by the Sea

 

Believe it or not I have been working on this card for about 3 weeks...when ever I had a minute or two.  One of my favorite designers is Nancy Border Dynes as she does a style that I just love. You can see her work at http://mytatteredtreasures.blogspot.com.  This is similar to a card she made.

I found this adorable image on Pinterest which I edited in Photoshop. I placed the image on paper after running the edges through my distresser and stitched the edges with my sewing machine. I used Maja papers from Funky Junky, used brush corduroy to distress the edges, sprayed  with water, and crumbled them.  I let the papers dry over night and  the next morning I attached the image to a layer of the crumbled paper.

I made the flowers from crepe paper, colored some beaded stamens with Dylusions  spray and used Scattered Straw reinkers on  the layers of crepe paper for color.

The swirl and leaves are Magnolia dies and the lace sticking out on each side is a Tim Holtz Die.

I also added some cheese cloth for interest after coloring it with Scattered Straw Reinker.

You can purchase all the dies and inks I used from Terri at Joan's Gardens.

 

 

 

 

Wedding Card

We have a family wedding today, so of course I had to  make a card.  I will write about it later.

 

Inside of card

 

 

 

Meet Whiskers V

This is our new puppy....Whiskers the 5th.  We pick him up next week and the puppy fun begins.

Oh how we dread the training of a new puppy, but we are so excited to get him.  If you compare the pictures below you will see he looks exactly like Whiskers IV did when he was this age. 

We fell in love with him immediately as he came running right to us and jumped around playing with his toy, chewing on Jon's fingers and my toes.

We went back to the place that we got Whiskers IV, because they are such a great kennel.

The "peoplelise" their puppies from the start.  They have teenagers come in daily to play with them.  They take them out in the grass to play and teach them to lay on their backs and not be afraid.  They were not expecting us and he was so clean, fluffy and smelled good.

We feel God blessed us as this little guy is 8 weeks old, is being weaned this week, has had his shots and will be ready to be the new member of the Fricker household next week. 

Forgive the blurry picture but he just wouldn't stand still long enough to get a good picture! :)

 

 

Whiskers..our buddy!!!

Yesterday was a very sad and hard day for us  and not much better today.

Our buddy, Whiskers has been such a faithful and good dog for 9 years.

We picked him out when he was 2 weeks old, visited him every 2 weeks until we could get him at 8 weeks.  The first 6 months was the fun times of training a puppy and at times I wasn't sure "I" would make it.  But, all that time was so well worth it as he was one of the best behaved dogs we could have found.

He has not been himself for several months.  In May the Vet said he had 2 bad teeth, so he pulled them thinking that was his problem.  He didn't get better and in fact worse.  We changed vets and the new vet discovered he had a bad infection somewhere.  After numerous visits, tests and medicine he just kept getting worse. The vet suggested we take him to Fort Wayne to the Emergency Veterinary Hospital to get a Cat Scan.  Sunday we were so hopeful as he had the best day he had had in several weeks.  But, yesterday morning he took a dramatic change for the worse (the vet thinks the cancer hit his brain).  After the cat scan we were told he had a tumor in his nasal passage and it had spread to the brain.  Certainly not the news we wanted to hear.  We brought him home with pain meds, but on the way home we decided we just couldn't put him through any more pain.  We stopped at our vet and was with him when she put him to sleep.  Our hearts are broken.  Everything we did he was always right beside us whether it was working in the garden, sitting by the pond or even watching TV.

We are going to miss him and he will always have a place in our hearts.

 

 

Our buddy Whiskers!

 

Whiskers the 4th at 8 weeks

He was Jon's 4th Westie

4 Months Old

 

Whiskers - a grown puppy

 

We are dog people and will soon be looking for another Westie.

We feel this honors the previous dog to want another one just like him.

 

Lucifer (Crocosmia crocosmiiflora)

Lucifer (Crocosmia crocosmiiflora_ is a bulb which multiplies nicely and is a beautiful display

of red flowers that blooms late July into August.  The foliage looks like iris.

My daughter (Lori) gave this  plant to me many years ago.  I have moved it several times,

but finally found the spot it loves.

 

A close up picture.

 

The purple flower is Liatris (spicata) with Lucifer in the background in another garden spot.

The yellow daisy like flower goes nicely with both of them.

 

My Strawberry Vanilla Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata 'Renhy')

is just starting to bloom.  This is an amazing plant as it starts out

white, turns pink, then vanilla.  It dries beautifully.  I do believe it is

one of my very favorite plants and I would love to have several more.

If you want to see them in full bloom, search Pinterest for Strawberry Vanilla Hydrangea

 and you will want one too.

 

Bleydn - chosen for All Star Team

Bleydn is one of our Great-Grandsons and he was chosen for an All Star Baseball Team.

He is 7 and a catcher.  They won all the games except for the last one which ended up 23-20.

We are so proud of him and his game was so fun to watch.  It is amazing what those little guys can do.  I can't imagine how good they are going to be when they reach high school, because they are sure good (in my eyes) now.  Isn't he adorable?

 

Blueberry Pie - Yummy

I am not especially fond of normal blue berry pies because of the cooked blueberries.  But a few years ago, I developed this recipe and love it.   It is so easy to make too.

 

                  

                         JOAN'S  BLUEBERRY PIE

CRUST

1 1/2 cup flour

2 T sugar

1/2 t. salt

1/2  cup plus 2 T oil

2 T Milk

Press into pie shell and bake at 425 until slightly brown
                 
FILLING

1 C Blueberries

 

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 t salt

Mix these 3 ingredients together

before adding

 

1 cup hot water

1 t lemon juice

 add blueberries and water
   Cook these ingredients together until thick, stirring constantly

 

Fresh Blueberries

3 1/2 cups raw blue berries.

Add these to thicken mixture after it has slightly cooked and stir

well.  Add to baked pie shell

 CRUMB TOPPING

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup soften butter

mix until crumbly.  DO NOT use mixer.

Cover the blueberries in pie shell with crumbs and bake at 425 until brown...about 15 minutes.

If edges of pie shell start to get too brown, cover with foil.
 
                       If you decide to try this recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

 

Beets

Canning season for me has started.  I have already frozen Strawberry Jam and several pints of Strawberries.  But, soon I will be in full force as the corn and beans will be ready.

Saturday, I canned 7 pints of pickled beets.  I was a little nervous about doing so, as I had not

done any without my Mom.  I was pretty intent of writing good instructions over the years, but a fear of panic was upon me as I couldn't find my book with my instructions.  I searched and searched and

finally gave into the internet.  But, I was not happy with what I was finding, so kept searching.

Then, the Lord blessed me with a flash of memory and I found it in a drawer that I haven't been able to use because I put a freezer over it and I can only pull it out part way.  I was able to reach my hand into it and I found my precious book with Mom's detailed instructions.

                 MOM'S PICKLED BEETS         

                PICKLING SALT

    2              QUART  VINEGAR

 2             QUARTS  SUGAR

                                  1               BOX  PICKLING SPICES IN A BAG  

BEETS

REMOVE ALL THE LEAVES, BUT DO NOT CUT OFF THE ENDS AS THEY WILL BLEED.

WASH BEETS EXTREMLY WELL...REALLY SCRUB THEM OUTSIDE TO REMOVED MOST OF THE DIRT.   THEN WASH AGAIN IN THE SINK MAKING SURE THRE IS NO DIRT LEFT
ON THEM OR IN THE ENDS.

COVER WITH WATER AND ADD ABOUT A CUP OF PICKELING SALT.  COOK UNTILYOU

CAN EASILY PUT A KNIFE THROUGH THEM.
I LIKE TO COOK THEM THE DAY BEFORE SO THEY ARE EASIER TO PEEL
 ONCE COOLED,  CUT OFF BOTH ENDS AND SLIP OFF THE SKIN MAKING SURE ALL OUTER LAYERS ARE REMOVED.  STRAIN THE BEET WATER  AS THIS IS WHAT TO USE FOR THE BEET WATER.
ADD THE VINEGAR, SUGAR AND BAG OF SPICES TO THIS BEET WATER.
BRING TO A BOIL STIRRING WELL TO DISSOLVE ALL THE SUGAR.  CUT UP THE BEETS IN BITE SIZE PIECES AND ADD TO THE BOILING BEET WATER.
BRING THE BEETS TO A BOIL AND KEEP WARM. 

PUT JARS IN PAN AND BRING TO A BOIL TO STERILIZE,  ADD LID TO THIS PAN OF WATER JUST

BEFORE YOU ARE READY TO PUT ON THE JAR.   ADD BEETS TO JAR, MAKING SURE
THEY ARE COVERED WITH BEET JUICE..  ADD LID AND SCREW RING ONTO THE JAR..
COVER WITH TOWEL AND MAKE SURE AFTER THEY HAVE COOLED THAT THE LIDS ARE SEALED.
 

Card Box Tutorial

Several have commented and emailed me that they would like to have directions on making the 12x12 Card Box.  Please let me know if you have any questions.  Scroll down below this tutorial to see the box.

I used plain paper for this tutorial, but the box is so much prettier using double side paper.

I really love the Anna Griffin paper as it doesn't crack when scored.

First of all. cut a 12x12 paper to 8.5 x 12.

Lay the 8.5x12 paper on your score board and score at

2.75 - 5.5 - 8.25 - 11

 Cut off 2 inches of the paper that has been scored.  The nice thing about having had scored it, the score lines are perfect for the supports later.

Put the paper back on the score board and then rotate the paper 90° so the unscored side is at the top and score at 3.75

Cut 4 strips of the shortest score lines stopping at the 3.75 score line.

Make sure you stop at 3.75 inches deep.

 At the 11 inch score line make an angle cut and cut off the shortest piece as shown above.

Add double sided tape to the tab which holds the box together.

Fold at all the score lines.  This is how the box looks before taping it together.

Attach the Double Sided Tape to the inside of the box.

Now fold the box shut in both directions to make sure your box folds flat.

Lay box flat, both directions.

Using the 2 inch strip cut off earlier, place on the score board making sure the scored edges match the earlier score lines.  Score at 1.75, 6.75, 7.25 .  Now cut on these new score lines.

You will be left 2 strips

Fold back these tabs on both ends, applying glue on both ends, both ends.

Slip down into the box for additional support and also a place to add the embellishments.

By the way, I added the embellishments to a strip of clear acrylic that I cut out of Spellbinders packaging.  This allows them to wave in the air when the box is opened.

CARD BOX

I have had several requests for directions for the 12x12 card box.

I am working on that today and hopefully tomorrow will get it posted.

 

 

One of the big rages right now is the Card Box that folds flat to mail it.  I have made 3 of them for birthdays. (the other 2 I sent to my grandchildren and didn't take a picture)

Last night we attended a surprise birthday party for one of my best friends, Sherry.  I had taken a class in Florida to learn how to make this and hadn't used the paper that was included in the class kit.

It is a Anna Griffin Paper and I think has been discontinued, but oh how I love it.

 

 

I fussy cut a fairy that I also found in Florida and used the Exotic Butterflies from Cheery Lynn

DL113.  Also used the Swirl and leaves from Magnolia.  I wish you could see the beauty of this box in real life.  If you haven't made any of them yet, there are all kinds of samples, instructions on Pinterest and Youtube.  Or email me and I can give you the score line you need to use to make this out of a 12x12 paper.  The hardest part of the box is getting the embellishments (butterflies) placed so that they are balanced and in the right places.  I cut plastic strips out of spellbinder packaging as they are clear and you don't see them.

 

The bottom of the box.

 

Folds Flat for mailing.