I believe in Happy Endings, a Valentine’s Day story

I don’t like books that are dark and dreary, unless of course they are ghost stories or mysteries.  Even so, they must end well.  I like happy endings.  Those books that do not have a joyful conclusion may be fine for winning Pulitzer prizes but they just don’t spin my wheels. 

The guy gets the girl, the team wins the game, and the child finds his dog, all perfect in my thinking.  I get it.  I am just a naive dreamer and I am not being realistic.   Things don’t always end that well.  Get a grip, right? Ah but you are wrong.  A good story goes like this…

There was once a woman who was living a happy life with her husband and beautiful daughter.  One day, her husband did not come home from work.  There was an accident, they told her.  The woman and her daughter were alone.

The woman became very, very sad and she retreated within herself.  Then one day she decided that enough was enough.  She picked herself up by her proverbial bootstraps and went to a group comprised of others who had also lost someone. 

She met a man, a man who had lived through a painful ordeal much like her own.  The man did not believe in happy endings of course, he was realistic.  The days passed and then one day he smiled that shy, boyish smile that caused her to, yes, smile as well. 

One thing led to another and soon they fell in love.  Ah, too soon the realists would say, but who can put a time constraint on love? Then, on Valentine’s Day the man proposed.  On her plate instead of the expected entrée sat a ring and across from that ring was that familiar intoxicating smile. Everyone said it wouldn’t work.  They all predicted doom; after all they both had children.  They both had responsibilities.

12 years have passed since that February day in a Mexican restaurant when a ring sat on a plate instead of the expected enchilada. The woman is happier than ever and every day beams at the man who helped her find her smile once again.  Who doesn’t like a happy ending?  Who thinks that they do not occur?  You don’t have to convince me because, you see, that woman is me. 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Drum roll please....

The names of those who posted on the "Spring is almost here giveaway" were all printed on little scraps of paper and put into a jar...And the winner is...

Marlene!  Congratulations and just contact me with your address and your ACEO will be on its way.  Check out Marlene's blog at marlenes-musings.blogspot.com  

Thanks to everyone who participated.  Have a great weekend!

This is a new Friday Activity, hosted by Linda at atticreflections.blogspot.com

In Linda's words:
"Sometimes, we all need a place, a reason to just 'jump right in!' I want to provide a list, on Friday's, for us to Jump Start our writing skills. I will provide first lines, you "jump right in" and try your hand at creative writing! Any exercise of your writing will help you improve your creative thought processes, inspire you and others who read your piece, and it might be a significant discipline in creativity!"

Here's how it works:
1) First Lines provided here.
2) Write a post using the first line of your choice. It doesn't have to be long, just a few thoughts or a paragraph. Anything. Who knows, it could become a story!
3) Take your time--One Week--then come back next Friday and link in!
4) We'll read each other's work and Enjoy!

Today's FIRST LINES:

1. A pencil, a tape measure, and a stack of old newspapers sat on the conference table as we entered.
2. A calender is a funny thing, with it's blank spaces and numbered days.
3. Remembering vanilla being her favorite ice cream flavor as a second grader, Amy wondered why her taste had been so unadventurous.
4. My eye was caught by a book on the shelf, pushed back from the others with a tattered orange dust jacket and white letters.
5. I watched the wind in the tree tops and thought . . .
So here is my take on one of them...


My eye was caught by a book on the shelf, pushed back from the others with a tattered orange dust jacket and white letters.

I carefully took it out and examined the cover closely.  The letters were faded and the title not easily read.  As I held it, something fell to the floor; a folded scrap of paper that had been tucked in the ancient pages. 

I picked up the fragile, yellowed scrap of paper realizing at once it was a letter.  I chastised myself for my curiosity, and I opened it. Had the recipient ever read the tender words written in an unsteady hand?  I began to read.  As my eyes took in it’s meaning, I smiled.

Wishing you all a wonderful and love-filled Valentine’s Day!
Don't forget to leave a comment to win the Spring ACEO in the previous post!  The drawing is Sunday.  :-)

"Spring is almost here" ACEO giveaway

Hybiscus ACEO miniature art

Today I want to recommend a website, Favecrafts.com. There are lots of cute ideas for crafts on this website from designers all over the world. I was directed to this website by my blogging buddy Liz Revit.  If you haven’t been to Liz’s blog you need to check it out.  You are in for a wonderful treat as you enjoy her amazing creativity.
lizrevit.blogspot.com

Favecrafts has featured one of my designs on their site, but you saw it here first.

http://www.favecrafts.com/Valentines-Day/Mini-Heart-Quilt-Candy-Box

I would also like to have my first blog giveaway.  We had a dusting of snow last night, but honestly I think that the winter is finally over.  The weather report for this weekend calls for temps in the 50’s.  March is right around the corner and that pretty much means winter is over in Virginia.  Anyway, I am rambling.  So in honor of Spring, I am offering an original ACEO painting of a hibiscus flower. My hybiscus and geraniums spend the winter in my basement but will soon reappear in all their glory on my deck.

This is my first giveaway so bear with me.  My rules are pretty simple; just leave a comment and a way to contact you if you win.  You don’t have to follow (although that would be nice) because I know there are hundreds of wonderful blogs out there and you can’t follow them all.  So…lets review.  To enter the Crystal Clear “Spring is almost here” giveaway, just leave a comment.

I will be drawing a name out of a hat on Sunday so stay tuned. 

Crystal Clear

Mini stenciled fabric Valentine bags for the horse lover

You can create these cute little bags in a flash, just in time to fill them with your favorite Valentine candy.  They are easy enough for a child with some adult supervision.  I found farm cardboard animal stencils in a little book form for only $1.50.  These little stencils are available from Dover books and you can pick them up in gift ships and craft stores.  You can, of course, use any other stencils if desired.  Or you can even make your own stencil.  Future posts will explain how to easily create you own original stencils.

You will need:

Mini 6” x 6” fabric bags (I got mine at the craft store and they came three in a package)

Horse stencil

Acrylic paint (choose your favorite color)

Stencil brush

Small pre-cut felt hearts

Fabric glue

Masking tape

Clear sparkle dimensional fabric paint

Piece of scrap cardboard

Paper plate to use as a palette

1.     Prepare the bag.  Place a piece of cardboard inside the bag in order to keep the paint from bleeding through.  Attach a few pieces of masking tape to the stencil edges to hold it in place while painting.

2.     Squirt a small amount of acrylic paint (I used metallic) on the paper plate.  Using the stencil brush, dip into the paint but do not over load the brush.  You do not need much paint on the brush.  The brush should be almost dry.

3.     Use a swirling circular motion to apply the paint starting at the edges and working to the center.  Make sure the stencil stays in place and doesn’t shift. Remove the stencil carefully and let dry.

4.     Glue the felt hearts across the top edge of the bag with the fabric glue.  Alternate the colors of the hearts.  Let dry.

5.     Use the dimensional fabric paint to outline the stenciled horse randomly. 

 

Since the bags came in a pack of three why not make two more?? 

An uphill climb

My husband spoils me.  I know this and usually when he buys me gifts, especially the electronic or technical kind he researches the heck out of them.  Consumer reports is a like his bible.  Most of the time I am ecstatic over his choices.  This Christmas he bought me Photoshop Elements. 

At first I was excited because I wanted software that would help me adjust and print some of my photos for reference.  As I looked at the box I was immediately intimidated.  This program was obviously way beyond my limited abilities. 

I installed the program.  What is this?  What does that do?  How do you do this?  Questions and more never to be answered questions hit me one after the other.  I realized I was looking at hours, no make that weeks, of trying to learn this program. 

“From all my research everyone says that this program is the best,” he says.

I start to ask around and I find that anyone who can actually use Photoshop is in an elite club, “the fraternity of the Photoshop”. 

So I try something else.  I purchase a dummy book.  You know the kind, the ones where they try and explain things in very elemental ways.  Even the dummy book is as thick as a New York phone book!  I soon learn that I am even dumber than that!  This is not good for my self-esteem.  So I put the program on hold.  There it sits, its little icon, at the bottom of my computer home screen, mocking me. 

I’m no quitter so I won’t give up.  I could take a class I suppose, but finding the time for that may be a little difficult.  Any suggestions, anyone, anywhere, anyhow?

Winter,spring, summer and Fall, Guess I love it all

White Iris ACEO

That groundhog in Pennsylvania came out and didn’t see his shadow…so winter (according to him) is on the way out.  I’m going to go out on a limb here and risk the wrath of many of my northern buddies…and my husband and just say it.  I like winter.

You can find a lot of good things to love about winter if you look hard enough.  I particularly like a cozy roaring fire and fleece sheets.  You can’t do that in the summer. 

The pace is slower in the winter and you can get more sleep, right?  There is tailgating and hot chili, and hot cocoa with marshmallows.  There are steaming bowls of soup to greet you at the end of the day.

There are big, cozy, warm sweaters that hide the Christmas cookies.  Oh yes, there is Christmas cookies, and presents galore. 

There is a time to profess your love…ala Valentine’s Day and dare I say it?  Snow!!

There are snow men and women, snow angels and forts. And there are mittens!  Snow days and games, and time to craft. 

I guess I must admit I do love winter, but …

Oh well, seasons must change and Spring is almost at the doorstep with ideal temperatures and colorful blooms. 

You can find a lot of good things to love about Spring…

Super?

Jack Russell terrier watching the game ACEO

Tomorrow marks another Super Bowl in Dallas, Texas.  I admit that I am a football fan and have been for as long as I can remember.  No, my team is not fortunate enough to be playing in the big game, but I watch nonetheless. It matters not who wins or loses; its how they play the game that counts, right?

Unfortunately, football is just not like it was in the past. Players are no longer loyal to a team.  They come; they go, gravitating to the highest bidder.  There are scandals and brushes with the law that seems more likely to be on a soap opera than a gridiron.  It’s sad.  And the big game only makes it easier to escalate salaries to an unbelievable height.  And then, they leave; they go elsewhere, dropping one uniform for another.  Football is a business and sometimes we forget this when we cheer for our favorite team or favorite player.  The reality of it, however, is apparent when we fork over an exorbitant price for a seat.

Ahhh, but I remember a time when a player started and ended his career with the same team.  There were no stars elevated to unrealistic heights.  They were a team.  And that is what we need to remember as we watch the game. A team is what creates the win.  Cheese is important to a pizza but without the sauce and crust, it would be just cheese. 

Enjoy the game.

A word (or two) about packaging

Most people think about saving the environment these days.  We try to buy things that are recycled.  We carry our re-usable bags with us to the store.  We recycle.  Unfortunately this hasn’t really made an impact on companies that package the items we buy every day.

When I open a bag of chips, I discover that the bag is half empty.  It isn’t as if someone decided to sneak a snack at the factory. The manufacturer, I learn, sells by weight, not volume.  I wonder, did they get heavier in transit or did they just make the bag way bigger than it needed to be?  Ok, maybe I’ll buy the excuse that air protects from crushing, but what about…Frozen Pizza?

Frozen pizza is another thing that comes in a deceptively large package. Have you ever taken a pizza out of its huge box and discover the little bitty thing inside? The crushing excuse doesn’t hold water.

There are many items put into bags, boxes and cartons that are a bit large for them.  Weight, not volume I read those words over and over.  A half empty box of cereal is not really half empty; it’s just heavy.  And please…the plastic liner that holds the cereal itself, well you pretty much need a pair of tin snips to get inside those things. Or…you can try to be herculean and rip it only to end up with most of in on the floor.

So I continue with my shopping and pick up a bottle of ibuprofen. I’m starting to get a headache from all this pondering about packaging. 

I go home and open the bottle but not without another little problem.  Why is it I can never line up that little arrow which unless properly aligned, won’t open?  After several turns of the cap, I finally know how Aladdin must have felt when the genie appeared. 

I peer into the cavernous interior. Hmmm, a few tiny little pills in a giant, too big bottle. Is that an echo I hear?

Here’s my Heart mini crazy quilt candy box

I admit it. I love quilts. I have them on beds and I hang them on walls. My favorite of all quilt patterns is a crazy quilt.  Some say that I can be a bit loopy so maybe that is why I gravitate to that particular quilt.  In reality I just like the rich colors and the fact that anything goes. What sets these particular quilts apart from others is the fancy embroidery stitching that usually adorns all the seams.

One of my antique crazy quilts

In honor of one of my favorite holidays, Valentine’s Day, I have created a little crazy quilt heart box, and you can too!

You will need:

White Mini paper mache heart box available in craft stores

Scraps of scrapbook paper in pink or red prints

Tracing paper

Graphite or carbon paper

Ruler, pencil, scissors

Tacky glue

Decoupage glue

Small paintbrush

Black dimensional fabric paint

Scraps of lace for trimming edge

1.     Place the top of the heart box on the tracing paper and trace the shape.

2.     Using the ruler, section the heart you just traced in random shapes for a total six sections. Number the pieces.

3.     Use the carbon or graphite paper to trace each section onto a different piece of scrapbook paper and cut out.  Put a corresponding number on the back for easier placement. 

4.     Brush some decoupage glue on the back of each piece and attach to the top of the box.  Continue until all the pieces are added. Don't worry if the pieces do not abut perfectly.  Any imperfections will be covered with the dimensional fabric paint.  Brush a coat of decoupage glue onto the top to seal.  Let dry.

5.     Using the photo as a guide and the dimensional paint draw stitch lines on the seams.  Practice on a piece of scrap paper before working on the box top.  Be creative and invent some of your own.  Let dry.

6.     Spread some tacky glue on the edge and add some decorative lace.  Let dry, fill with candy, and present  it to your favorite Valentine.