ReluctantFarmChick.com

Seems like I’m a stamping fool these days.  Not that I have more time or anything – just a higher need for stamped stuff around holidays, I suppose.  And I’ve signed up for some stamping – just so I’d have an excuse to do something I love, and in some cases get paid for it.  I’ll share a few of my recent projects:

October was Pastor Appreciation month.  We generally do something for the entire family.  This year we got the kids each a gift card.  Here is the card I made to hold the gift card.

This is just a little card – can’t remember the exact dimensions, but something like 3" wide and 4" tall.  It’s made from a single strip of cardstock, so when you open it, it looks like this:

I totally copied this idea from Amy.  She’s got way more time on her stamping hands than I do on mine – so it’s a fair trade   The card (or money, in this case) slides in a little slot created with a word-window punch, and the bit of folded up card is kept in place with brads.  Very convenient.

Of course, the pastor has 5 kids, so this is what I ended up with:

That was a midnight project.  Luckily they didn’t take too much thought or time.  The fronts of them are decorated with Designer Series paper and ribbon – only one little stamped image.  And another on the inside.  As an afterthought.

Another project that had to be mass-produced was a batch of cards for Prince Farming and his brother to send to people who send them referrals.  I also copied this one – but not as shamefully.  I don’t remember where the original idea came from, but I think I changed it enough to call it mostly mine.  Nothing I stamp is ever my own original idea though.  Just for the record.

Here’s the card front:

The inside goes like this:

I printed the cards on my printer – except for that little "thank you" – it’s totally and completely hand stamped.  Thank you very much.

And of course, the pile shot:

I used another set of Designer Series paper for the card fronts.  And the fold-down part is punched with a spiral punch – to make it look like it was torn out of a notebook.  Sort of.  The window for the "thank you" was punched with small and large oval punches.  And the little tab thing on the white card was punched with the "round tab" punch.  Lots of punching, a bit of gluing.  And voila.  Done.  I had a friend help me with most of the process – stamping is always better with friends.  Thanks Rhylma!

The next project is not stamped.  Not at all.  And it went together in like 5 minutes flat.  The original idea was shown at St*mpin’Up! Convention in July.  Then my friend Louise posted a copy on her blog.  And so I jumped on the band wagon and made one too.  Very fun.  And seasonal.

Excuse the flash on the glass-  couldn’t figure out how to get a decent picture without the camera and ceiling reflecting in the glass – the flash was a better alternative.  This was created with a shadow box, miscellaneous fall findings (fake) and a vinyl "rub-on" otherwise known as "Decor Elements" created for Home-Decor purposes.  Way fun.  Now I need to create something similar for the other seasons so I can create a corner just for seasonal decor.  Fun.

My next stamping will show the cards we’re making at my "stamp-a-stack" next Monday evening. (For the record, when I last blogged about this event, I thought it was coming up imminently – as in tomorrow night.  Part way through the week I realized that I had an extra week to work with.  There is absolutely NOTHING like the gift of time – it’s a wonderful thing.)  And of course I need to design and stamp our Christmas Cards for the year.  AND I’ve signed up for the "Very Vintage Christmas Swap" over at Foxgloves, Fabric, and Folly.  So there’ll definitely be some stamping happening there.  I’m excited about that opportunity.

Here’s wishing a happy week to everyone.  Thanks for stopping by.

It’s hard to believe this is my 12th Skywatch post!  In some ways I feel like I’ve been watching the sky for way longer than a few months.  In other ways I still feel like such a newbie/amateur.  But skywatching is in my blood now.  Not a day goes by without some sky observation – whether out loud, or just an internal conversation (you know – with the voices).

I was heading out the door on Sunday and Prince Farming said "if you want a cool sky picture, you should take it now" (or something along those lines).  My arms were full of stuff – so I handed him the camera, and this is what he got.  I always enjoy how the mist hangs around here in the mornings – but these layers were particularly interesting and appealing and mysterious.

Last weekend we were driving into an amazing sunset.  By the time we could pull over for a shot it was too late to see the fantastic display, but I got this picture.  I love silhouette shots (probably because with this kind of light and my kind of camera – and my kind of skill – that’s all I can get).  This isn’t stellar – just a sort of "happy spot" for me – so thanks for obliging me.

This one didn’t turn out too badly – still silhouette-ish though.

The light in the late afternoons has been stunning – really highlighting the awesome colors.  I keep threatening to go for a "walk-about" to get some different fall shots.  But here is a familiar view – the light makes the place look less like a farm and more like a park.  Or it would, if I knew how to take this shot differently.  How blessed are we!?

That pile of something near the tree is where Prince Farming is digging out a tree stump.  Aren’t you glad that tree isn’t there anymore?  You wouldn’t see much of the pond if it were.  The stump was a bit hazardous to the equipment.  Prince Farming had borrowed a little excavator (you remember – for the barn plumbing job) and tried to dig around the stump enough to get it out.  No luck.  He’ll have to wait his turn with the dozer to get it out the rest of the way.  And the cows have moved to the far field – those black specks in front of the far tree-line is part of the herd.  They seem to be loving life.   Last week I saw them run – just for the sake of it.  Don’t know if it was to warm up a bit, or because something spooked them.  I looked for dogs, but saw none.  They just sort of took off.  Too funny.  The herd is going to double some time this month – our farmer friend "Uncle Robert" has been holding on to a small herd for us.  When it’s convenient he’ll load them up and bring them over.  I hope their introduction to our farm is less blog-worthy than the current herd.  You were spared the details because they came during my pre-blogging life.  But they inspired me to start blogging because of all the adventures (and mis-adventures) they created.

You can see more amazing sky pictures from all around the world by visiting here.

Last weekend we, with a group of friends, all went to a nearby mountain top (about 40 minutes away) where Elk are frequently spotted.  We went right around sun-down, and were not disappointed!  Our house is situated in a community called "Elk Valley" and apparently Elk used to be quite a nuisance here.  They have since been hunted to the point of no longer calling this their home.  It was wonderful to go and see a variety of Elk at this viewing area.

You can see the fall colors starting to show their splendor too.

There were several bull Elk.  We even got to see a bull fight – horns clashing, dust flying and all.  I couldn’t capture a non-blurry shot of the event (it was getting pretty dark) but the experience was awesome. 

When I turned around to face the west, the sunset was stunning.

The colors were HOT but the air was refreshingly cool.  A very nice contrast.

This is about the time of the bull fight.  My camera (with the current lens and unskilled photographer) couldn’t capture anything below the skyline.

For good measure, and to make this post complete, here’s your Gredemeer pond fix:

This was taken just this morning (Wednesday).  You can see a small inkling of the amazing color that’s going to grace us very soon.  It’s been a bit rainy, which makes the colors more vivid, I think.  Lovely fall weather.  If it weren’t such a short season, I think fall would be my all time favorite.  But fall is the pre-winter season, and cold is not my favorite thing, really.

Happy Skywatching!  You can see more amazing skies from all over the world by visiting here.

We’ve been anticipating rain, I guess as a result of all the Ike activity, but it only happened once this past week (rain, that is).  The sky has been changing colors, and I don’t know whether it’s because of that storm activity, or the pending change in seasons.  The air is cooler, and I can feel fall coming.  I LOVE the fall.  Especially in these hills.   These pictures are inspired by the color changes that I’m anticipating.

There’s a reason they call this area "Smoky Mountains."  The mist just hangs.

My post (and your week) would be incomplete without a pond shot, so here you go:

You can see another really cool misty shot from this week here.

Play along with sky watch, or stop by and see all sorts of skies from all around the world here.