orange beckons me
summer patience rewarded
autumn sun peeking
autumn sun by Angie Quantrell
Yakima Valley
Haiku Moment: autumn sun
Category Archives: Small Things
79 Cards!
79 cards, friends. 79. Not my best total after a weekend of stamping, but nothing to sneeze at either. 😉
I took up residence with my stamping buddy and her kitties over the summer and we got it done! Between the kitty help (all 3 of them), the walks, the meals, the outings, the visits, the Olympics, the rain (yes, glorious rain), I still managed to create 79 cards. My card stash (housed in those cute picture storage boxes) was getting low. Whew.
Here are the styles I worked on. Many of them are different from the top card, but have the same theme. We love to use up our “crafting stuff,” and no scrap is too small, no tidbit too uninspiring to be included for consideration.
I LOVE creating French-themed cards. One of my goals was to use up some of my French decorative paper. Check. [Hint: Even in rubber stamping, setting goals is a good thing to do!]
Another goal was to use up some tropical decorative paper. Plus, such cute pineapples!
A surprise entry to the card collection took place when Alyson started using this interesting, location-specific stamp. Old thesaurus, patterned paper, solid cardstock. This stamp represents Santuario de Chimayo in New Mexico! I’ve never been there, but it looks like I should put that on the list.
This was a cute card to put together. Layers are how it works best, and you’ll notice that old thesaurus pages are one of my favorites to include. Actually, any aged pages from old books work. Though one must be careful to notice which words show up on the card.
I love these stamps! The background paper worked very well. Alas, this card was a lesson in which ink pad NOT to use! The ink never dried, so I had to carefully place scraps of paper between each card to bring them home. And then it still wouldn’t dry! I finally had to peel off the fronts, remove the backings, and re-ink the edges. Sigh. I just need to toss that ink pad. Black ink. Everywhere.
After the gloom and doom of black smeary ink, this summer card was quick, easy, and light!
A little music is good for the soul. It took a bit of time to cut out the guitars to pop on top, but the card was worth it!
Fun stamp, fun text, fun colors! We all need something to celebrate, and this card works for so many special occasions.
I LOVE stamping! It works much better with a buddy (or two or three) so you can share supplies, ideas, thoughts, and suggestions. Of course, the mess multiplies by number of creators. LOL
Can we count the kitties? Yes. I’ll leave you with one of our co-creators. This one loved the trash bag.
Haiku Moment: autumn tree
hide and seek pumpkin
twisting, vining, reaching out
autumn tree decor
autumn tree by Angie Quantrell
Free Yard Sales, Wood Scraps, and Homemade Table (Kevin’s Woodshop)
Welcome to another issue of Kevin’s Woodshop. In today’s story, we will hear how free yard sales, repurposed wood, and a little elbow grease contributed to this lovely weathered outdoor dining area.
FREE YARD SALES
Recently I visited “free yard sales” with my friend and fellow thrifter, Alyson. We love the thrill of the hunt. Free is an awesome word! My prize for the day is pictured above. Four solid metal framed wood outdoor chairs. Friends, that is what we call a SCORE. At this point in the “free yard saling,” I was cut off. No more stuff. Well. We only had her small car. Tetris in the car is the name of the game. And the limit to the thrifting.
I was so excited to haul these babies home. One of my favorite sights when I pull in the driveway after being away is to watch my honey’s face. My car is small, a Mazda four-door. BUT it works big! Like a truck. I call it my truck. I can get huge items in my little white truck. But not a gun safe. That is a hard limit. That’s a different story, but we did try.
I follow my husband’s eyes as I back around so we can unload my haul. Heh-heh. It’s almost more fun than scoring the “treasure” from yard sales or thrift shops.
He shakes his head. In wonder, I’m sure, amazed at how thrifty I am.
And proceeds to help me figure out how to reverse the process of filling my little “truck” with stuff. What. A. Guy.
REPURPOSED WOOD
We’ve been weathering our deck wood for a few years, always considering when it would be done to our satisfaction and what project required the updating of the deck so we could use the old wood.
Ta-dah! A taller patio table was needed to match the lovely free yard sale chairs. Time to rip off the deck wood.
Perfectly aged to that gray beachy tone. Some people work in clay, watercolor, textiles. My honey works in wood scraps. The older the better. The wood imperfections create challenges, sure, but the results are unique and wonderful.
HOMEMADE TABLE
Woodworker Kev got right to it. As I mentioned, aged wood often requires ingenuity and rethinking. That was certainly true with this table project. Some pieces were warped, so the framing had to be redone. He is so good though. Just look at that beautiful table! My style for sure.
Now we can dine al fresco (as long as the weather holds). Though we have to first wipe off the sunflower shells and debris from our guest goldfinches, sparrows, and red-winged blackbirds. After that, it’s sit and chill time. Ahhhh.
And so concludes another issue of Kevin’s Woodshop. Readers, do you enjoy old wood? Free yard sales? Thrifting? Dining al fresco?
Do tell.
OH, THE THINGS YOU CAN DO WITH HAIKU! (+ WHO WON THE GIVEAWAY?)
Thank you, Danna Smith, for sharing all about haiku last week in a very special blog post. You can read it here. Danna has offered a giveaway of 2 (TWO!) of her Poetry Pop Journals! Wow!
But first. I had to play. I used the template Danna shared and penned a haiku comic. Sadly, you have to use your imagination to understand the drawings, and it was much harder to print small words than it looks! This is Monet, our cat. She loves the garden and watching moving things. I assure you, she is much prettier in real life.
In case you can’t read the print, here is my haiku comic:
Monet writes a haiku.
hot summer bees buzz
zig-zag garden rocket ships
orbiting flowers
Now that was fun! We would LOVE to read your haiku! Post one in the comments or tag us with #haikumoment so we can find you!
Drum roll, please.
The winner (with assistant Monet) of the Poetry Pop journals is:
It got a little dicey after this, because then Monet wanted to play a paper game.
Alyson, come on down! You are the winner of 2 Poetry Pop journals!
Thanks, everyone, for reading and participating in the fun. And thank you, Danna, for the word play fun and inspiration!
Now, let’s all go HAIKU!
Sunday Thoughts
Photo by Angie Quantrell
Haiku Moment: meander (+ Surprise Haiku Author News)
a stream meanders
like the path my feet follow
where do they travel?
meander by Angie Quantrell
Kruckeberg Botanic Garden
Seattle, Washington
Join us next Wednesday, August 14, when Danna Smith, author of many haiku and rhyming works, will join us and give us tips, strategies, and ideas for writing our own haiku poems! I’m so excited! Plus, she’s giving away not one, but TWO copies of her Poetry Pop journals! Mark your calendars now.
Wednesday. August 14. Poetry Pop. Haiku. #haikumoment
Love, Laughter, and Life 
