Back From Vacation

We had a great time, even though it rained a little. This is the view from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on our way home. It was beautiful, but it's nice to be home.

Please Join Me in Helping a Wonderful Cause

This month over at Splitcoast Stampers, the monthly Cards for a Cause challenge is to make cards for the Hospice for St. Francis.  All of the information can be found at Splitcoast by following the link above.  It sounds like a very worthwhile and important cause.  Thanks!

Here are some photos of the cards I sent. (Sorry the photo quality isn't so good.

I've Received a Liebster Award!

It's an award given for blogs that have less than 200 followers.  Thank you, Joy!

Friendship Cards

I thought I'd share some cards that I made for an upcoming Scrapjazz article that I wrote recently.  All of these cards were made from scraps that I had made in classes or for scrapbook pages/cards.  By layering them together, I was able to create 4 cards and a tag.

Happy creating!

New Mixed Media Products at Wednesday's Dream

New products in my Etsy store:  Wednesday's Dream.  Thanks for checking them out!

Tip for Using Intricate Dies

Do you find it frustrating to poke all of those itty bitty pieces out of your intricate dies? I tried this today, and it worked really well. If you have a Cricut/Silhouette mat, stick the die to the mat. Burnish it well, being careful not to rip the die cut. Using a spatula tool or sharp craft knife, peel the die cut off the mat, again being very careful not to tear it. Of course, you'll have to scrape all of those pieces off your mat, but I found that to be much easier than trying to poke out all of those pieces out of my die. I only had to poke a few. This works best with a mat that isn't super-sticky, so hold on to those old mats.

If you don't have a die-cut machine, I think low-tack/masking tape will work just as well.


Have fun, and remember to be your crafty self!

Being a "Special" Mom

I've decided to keep an art journal.  That's where all the "stuff" that I don't want to include in my regular scrapbooks will be kept.  You know, the raw emotions and feelings that I don't necessarily care to share with everyone.  My first page is about being the mother of a special needs child:  our son, David.  This is what the journaling says:

What is it like to be the mother of a special needs child?  Well, for one thing, it's never boring.  It's unpredictable, to say the least.

When I wake up in the morning, I really don't know what to expect.  Will he have a tantrum today?  Or will it be a total meltdown?  Will he throw something, break something, scream and curse at me?  Will I get to the point where I just want to run away and never come back?

This might make me sound like a terrible mother, but there are days when I just don't want to be a Mom.  I just want to be Jeanette.  I want to do what I want to do, go where I want to go, be what I want to be.  Does that really make me a bad mother?  I don't know, but it's the best I can do some days.  Besides, I'm still here, right?  I can't be that bad.

There are other days, though.  Days when he remembers things that I had long forgotten, times we've spent together that were true happiness.  Or he tells a joke that has me shaking and crying with laughter instead of anger.  There are days when a simple "I love you, Mom" is all I need to make my day.

So, I'll tell you what it's like to be the mother of a special needs child.  It's like being on a roller coaster ride.  Sometimes you're speeding uphill, sometimes you're speeding downhill, and sometimes you're coasting along on level tracks.

I hope you decide to give art journaling a try.  It's very freeing and quite therapeutic.  And let's not forget how much fun it is to play with art supplies.