Crafting

the joys of a handwritten note or a homemade card…

/ Jodi / 1 Comment

en francais and thoughts and prayers

Oh the joys of receiving a handwritten note!  Don’t you love it when you go to the mailbox and there is an actual card or note or letter instead of the usual junk mail, advertisements, catalogues and bills?

In fact….. as I type this… I am trying to remember the last time I actually received a “letter.”     Hmmmm……  Does anyone write letters anymore?  I honestly can’t recall the last time I received one.

I know I am thrilled when I get an actual note or card.   Especially a handwritten note or card!

In our current day and age of emails, texts, and instant messages, a LONG Thank You Note is:   TYVM (instead of just TY  or THX).

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Remember when we used to pass “notes” in class?  (before cell phones and texts and snap chat)   Boy am I sounding O L D !   

I recently discovered a couple of great treasures I had boxed in the attic with some old photo albums.

This first one is a book of “notes” from my 9th grade  BFF Sara that we passed back and forth during class.  She made this as a gift for me when her Dad got transferred for work (to China!) and she had to move away.  How funny it is to remember the “important” things we had to write about – almost always boys!
sara notes

And then there is this little gem that brought tears to my eyes as I remembered receiving this “good-bye” friendship gift when I was moving away to a new town from a very sweet girl (the same one who I boiled worms with in Grandma’s kitchen from my Stella Star post).  She had to have spent HOURS typing (on a TYPEWRITER) and drawing and writing a book of poems on friendship for me!

janet book

And guess what?!  We are still friends.  In fact, she is one of my BFFs!

So, my dear sweet Janet (SURPRISE!) – do you remember making me this wonderful gift?  We are “Friends Forever!”

I can’t wait to share this with her tomorrow evening when she comes over for dinner – with a glass of wine for me and a “Zach Special” for her!   (Oh Zach – see how we remember you!)

FF Jan

And then – the piece de resistance – those wonderful handmade cards from our children or that we ourselves made as children?   I’ll bet many of us have a stack in a shoebox, folder or special drawer.  We get them out and go through them every once in a while and smile and reminisce.cards

Aren’t they the best!?!

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So I made this card and wrote a note inside and put it in the mail today for someone special.

en francais and thoughts and prayers

I hope they enjoy receiving it as much as I enjoyed making it.  They deserve it.  They did something very special, and I wanted to thank them, from the heart, and with lots of love.

Those are the kinds of things I think about and are important to me (and I hope you) at Life In Between.

Cheers and hugs,

Jodi

(P.S. for my stampin’ friends, this card features the SU En Francais and Thoughts and Prayers stamps)

Rockslides and Coloring

/ Jodi / 6 Comments

bloom with hope watercolor 2Marty was on the tractor last night working in the yard.

He makes me sooooo nervous on that thing that I cannot watch.   I seriously have anxiety attacks watching him.  It’s me – not him!  Such a Nervous Norman I am!  He is so handy and talented and such a hard worker, but the older we get, the more I worry about him.  Oh that little Marty McKinney!

He was moving some rocks around, and….  err… well… not to give it away… but…  if you read the title  – ’nuff said!  Tractor and driver in tact though, so all good – THIS time!

So to distract myself, I decided to color.

I have always loved coloring (and swinging).  I’d say they were two of my favorite childhood past times.  So I’ve been having fun lately playing with alcohol markers and amazed at how they blend and you can create so many effects.

Here is the card I created last night trying out a little watercolor background technique with one of the new Bloom with Hope flower stamps that I find simplistically stunning.

Here are a couple other flowers I had fun coloring and creating cards with.

blended bloomThis one is the SU Blended Bloom Stamp and I love the orange and purple together.

blended bloom hello honeyFor this one, I used the same Blended Bloom Stamp but made it in shades of yellow and blinged it up a little with liquid crystal effects and some dazzling diamonds glitter.  The ribbon is the new Hello Honey color I just love.

 

blended bloom in cloudsAnd another twist on it here.

A seriously addictive stamp to color.

And a GREAT stress reliever…

Just something to do in –  life in between.

Cheers and Hugs,

Jodi

the first post – so how do I begin?

/ Jodi / 22 Comments

So I have a good idea what I want to write about… for the most part. My BFF’s oldest daughter told me I should start a “lifestyle” blog.  I guess she thinks my life is interesting….  or at least enough that one or two people might want to read about things I do….  (Hopefully I’ll have at least one subscriber – Jacyln Rae – hint hint!)

Or maybe she just thinks I would enjoy doing it, and that is enough.

Hmmm…. I think I like that…

You know…. that’s one of the perks of growing – err – older and wiser – you get to the point where you realize you can do things just because you want to. Yes – there are those things most of us HAVE to do – like paying bills, doing laundry, working – you get the gist – but what do you like to do in between all that?

That’s the real “living” part.

“Life in between” can mean so many things…

The main reason I titled this blog with it is because I want to share the things I choose to do in between the things I “have” to do.

It can also be a stage of life that is in between stages – and aren’t they all?!

Right now – I’m kind of in between the mom stage and the empty nester and grandma stage. And Oh I Can’t Wait to be a Grandma!  (No hint hint Jake and Colleen – whenever you are ready…  well – maybe a little hint hint)

I think I was born to “mother.”  And oh poor everyone around me that I “mother” – sorry! It’s just in my DNA – I want to nurture, I want to comfort, I want to make happy. Could be worst things -right?!  (clear throat)  But don’t ask my boys…

So anyway – the things I love to do “in between” the things I have to do – that’s what I want to share with you here.

French Macarons

I love to bake.  I love how it makes the house smell.  I love how it makes people feel when they bite into a buttery, chocolately, caramely yummy thing.  I love surprising someone with a special treat of something they love.  Here is a picture of my first attempt at French Macarons.  I was so excited these testy little buggers turned out.  Not sure I’ll ever make them again – so much work – so temperamental – and what if they don’t turn out the next time?  Was it beginner’s luck?  I’ll just believe I’ve MASTERED them….  and leave it at that….

I also love to decorate – my home that is.  And it’s not all about it being House and Garden perfect for those of you that know me and are thinking  “Jodi – you are NOT an interior decorator!”

My ultimate goal (in deocrating) is to create a place that is warm and welcoming.  A place where someone can just drop by (no formal invitations needed around here) and feel comfortable and welcomed and loved.  No shoes off in my house.  So what if the carpet has stains…  Those stains represent someone who I shared my home with or that spilled a drink or our dog who came in after a rainy spring day – so what…  I grew up in a house that was House and Garden perfect… that meant NO SHOES inside…  it meant that you could see sweeper marks in the carpet from the daily vacuum…. it meant that you could literally eat off the garage floor if you were so inclined because it was so clean….  and that’s all good…  Mom was an awesome “cleaner”…  but it’s not me.  I want comfort, warmth, welcoming.  I want my house to feel like your favorite worn slippers or most comfortable fleece hoodie or your “go to” black yoga pants.  That’s what trips my trigger.

Here’s a little peek at our home – and that’s my little buddy “Mikey” who is never far from my side.  After this LONG COLD winter, it was so nice to see the daffodils and grass recently.

signs of spring

And I also love to craft.  It’s been various things through the years…  I’ve tried knitting and crocheting and cross-stitching, tole painting, slate painting, wood crafts, and ceramics.  My most recent crafting obsession is papercrafting – stamping, coloring, cutting, punching, pasting, tying – anything with paper and ink.  I guess it feels comforting being that I (and so many of us) spend so much time on the computer.  It feels extra special to create and send a special handmade something to someone and hope they realize the time and love you put into it – just for them. Here’s a card I made for a very special cousin and friend – Oh Rob! (I’m sure you’ll hear more about him in coming posts). Oh how I love that guy – and his amazingly talented and loving wife and superhero to me, Joyce.  Rob’s “One Little Word” this year is “reflection,” so I wanted to create a birthday card acknowledging and celebrating “reflection.”

rob reflection birthday card 2014

And then – I love to photograph it all.  Dear hubby got me my first good camera for Christmas this year – and I think he might regret it….  I know my boys do…. but I just love taking photographs of crazy, silly, normal, everyday things.   Not a trained professional by any means – not even a class – haven’t even read the whole manual (sorry Patty – I will get there!) – just have fun with it and love seeing what it captures.  My BFF, Jill, honored me with the privilege of capturing  her daughter, Jackie’s bridal shower recently – oh what fun that was – and even allowed me to do a “photo shoot” with her in-laws (I think George and Alice are going to be more famous than all of us) for a work campaign.

Recently, while Marty (that’s the dear hubby’s name) was cutting grass, I was doing very important things like taking pictures of dandelions and bees on them….  and HE snapped this little gem with his phone while on the tractor…. Not flattering – but yep – that about sums it up.  The silly things I do in my life in between…..

Untitled

So we’ll see how this goes….  I now have my first post under my belt.

Cheers and hugs,

Jodi