I just added a cool new link to my list...
http://scrapbookandcardstodaymag.typepad.com/scrapbook_cards_today_blo/2009/02/3t.html
It links to a really cool tutorial...I have to go and try to make this card now.... I know...and I don't even have laundry to do or anything....just me and RVL!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Yoooohooooo!!!
Anybody out there???
This snow must have everyone out shoveling and no one reading blogs.... The snow is so beautiful again! I hope you haven't all been standing outside yelling at the sky, but that you've been mesmerized by the billions of little diamonds that are sparkling at your feet, little blessings just for you to enjoy.
It's just a lazy day here, laundry humming and me contemplating what I could do that would be productive right now. I feel like a nap would be productive....I'll let you know.
(And no....there won't be a picture....)
This snow must have everyone out shoveling and no one reading blogs.... The snow is so beautiful again! I hope you haven't all been standing outside yelling at the sky, but that you've been mesmerized by the billions of little diamonds that are sparkling at your feet, little blessings just for you to enjoy.
It's just a lazy day here, laundry humming and me contemplating what I could do that would be productive right now. I feel like a nap would be productive....I'll let you know.
(And no....there won't be a picture....)
Friday, February 20, 2009
Banner Making 101
I have been having some very interesting Facebook exchanges with my niece Amanda. It turns out that our churches are using the same Lent worship series! We had a discussion regarding visuals and I thought I would share the progress that has been made at our end so far.
I am going to continue to add to this post as the visuals proceed rather than creating new posts, so keep checking back here if you are interested.
Our first step was deciding on the format. Each Sunday in the series will discuss one of the names of Jesus as found in the gospel of Mark. We decided to create bookmark shaped banners displaying each weeks "name". This suggestion is given in the Reformed Worship magazine containing the worship series....how you create it is up to you.
What we used:
-brown kraft paper
-sea sponge
-paint pucks (brown and black)
-measuring tape
-yardstick (or in our case a 6' legth of doorstop....I'm not fussy about my staight edge!)
-paint brushes
-white paint (I'm using left over trim paint from home, and we'll try the primer...it just needs to be white...you could get little bottles of acrylic paint from Dollarama too....)
-water and a margarine tub
Our design is a bookmark shaped banner, made from brown kraft paper. We will distress the paper by giving it a brown wash and then crumpling it. The names of Jesus will be written on each book mark shape starting in the lower right hand corner.....so the sentence starts at the bottom and reads up the long side....I can show that better than I can explain it....stay tuned.
We are using a roll of kraft paper, it happened to be in our supply room. We are using paint stir
sticks to staple our banner to. Stir sticks are 14 inches wide. The paper is 36" wide. I drew lines on each 9' strip of paper where the words will go, one guideline for lower case letters and one line for upper case letters. After I drew the lines on, my faithful friend and visual partner, Winnie....those are her beautiful hands, added a brown wash .( I think they are servant hands and that is what gives them such beauty. )We happen to be working on the kitchen counter that I cleaned this morning. I had my trusty spray bottle standing by for the cleanup after wards....it took no elbow grease at all...which is a good thing because I used it all up on Wednesday afternoon....but that's another story for another day, and then only if you ask for it:)
Our worship visuals are not usually stunning in their sophistication. Our motto is "Keep it simple sister". We also try to make recyclable visuals and our favourite materials are paint and paper. But wow....what you can't do with those things. We love using plain old paint pucks but acrylics work well too. We mixed the brown right in the trays in the sink and made a nice pigment wash in a margarine tub, using the brown and the black. We then used a sea sponge to apply the wash to the paper and then tore the paper into two strips. You can get two strips out of one 36" x 9' length. Then the s
trips were crumpled into a ball and laid out to dry. The strips are now prelined, and distressed and have this wonderful organic look to them. The material is very earthy and organic which is keeping in character with the nature of Lent. We had thought about using burlap and white cutout letters. We would have borrowed someone's "cricut" for the alphas but our thought process brought us here and we always believe that the thought process is Spirit led. We strip away the green, growing and decorative things from the sanctuary....it is bare and we journey on the dark, heavy road of suffering to Good Friday, which is followed by the wonderful, celebratory splendour of Easter.We started with the banner that has the longest name on it, and decided that it would have two rows of text. This way all the text would be the same size rather than having different sized letters on every banner. We're big fans of consistency. We also made one extra length...since we sometimes make boo-boos. The Easter banner will be white and a different format but that can be tackled a few weeks from now....so look for it here in the future....:):)
Wow...you are now zooming into the future...it's
already Saturday. Phase Two has taken place. This morning we wrote the names on a sheet of paper, photocopied them onto a transparency and engaged the third member of the visuals committee....our trusty overhead machine. Powerpoint is wonderful but it can only take you so far. We projected the list of names onto the wall, lined up our prelined, distressed banner strips and traced the names on in pencil.See?!?! Now you can see how the words are going to read up the side. (Much easier to show than to explain.......)
Winnie and I painted on the wonderful large island in the kitchen at church. You'll note that I found a great chunk of cardboard in the recycling box but for some reason none of our paint tubs are sitting on there, and neither are our brushes....we love danger.
Preprinting the names, and then tracing them led to a nice consistency in our size and spacing. We thought that our paint technique with the lettering was different but in the end you couldn't tell which ones Winnie had done and which ones I had done. It's a good thing.The final step, and one of our favourites....is adding a bit of age by spritzing the banners with a light wash in a bottle. It doesn't add a lot, but it adds a bit. The original brown wash ended up drying a lot lighter than we anticipated....about the same shade as the bottom of your socks after holiday to PEI. The black spritz is just a light wash made with the paint pucks and it dries nice and light as well, so very subtle. (Disclaimer- no carpet was ruined in the spritzing phase of this banner making operation....)
Stay tuned for the third and final installment where we give the letters a second coat of paint....Cloudwhite by Benjamin Moore, for those who were wondering....I know some are too shy to ask....my counter says many of you are reading, but to shy to say so:):)
Today is March 3rd, Hockey Day in Strathroy! It was also Card Making Day at Coffee Break, and Picture Taking Day in the sanctuary. The pictures that follow are some shots of our sanctuary, how the banners look hanging at the front and at the back. I think they speak for themselves :):) ....so I won't offer up the 1000 words..... The first one is how the banner looks hanging at the front, small and plain. The second one is how it hangs in the sanctuary...unfortunately you can't see that it hangs a mere 9 feet above the worshippers....I'm off to pick up a car full of boys at school and go off to hockey!!!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Coffee and a blog....
It is a typical Tuesday and then some today. But...I am having a seat, a coffee, and want to update this here blog....Johnny Cash is crooning upstairs....this is what happens when people tamper with the CD's in your 5CD changer!!!! (But I do love this album..."American V: A Hundred Highways" so I'll let it spin....)
Randall, if you are taking requests for "batch-varieties" to test, I put my vote in for a nice White Zinfandel. Nice and sweet, kind of girly (I guess), perfect for sipping on a warm summer night..... But that is, of course, only if you are taking requests...:):)
Today, we made a decision to NOT sacrifice our peace for our pace. I think it is a decision made with mixed emotions since these decisions end up with some kind of fall out. Ultimately, it helped keep a busy season, within reach of sanity. I'm a big fan of my own sanity, but also the peace in my heart of hearts was at stake, and that is something that is harder to restore once it is broken. I've sold out before and lived to regret it. If that's too cryptic for you, PM me on Facebook. It'll all work out....
Our Saturday away was fantastic....soaking for a day in the word at the feet of "rabbi" Ray VanderLaan. He is such a great speaker and I love the journeys he takes you on as he explains the Bible in the context of Jewish history....making you a part of the story. I ordered the conference CD set for the church library. We missed the Friday evening lecture but I have been listening to that CD while I was making a card yesterday. He is dynamic and funny and very animated and engaging....your mind doesn't wander. My Ray enjoyed it too. It was neat to run into some people from Strathroy and MtBrydges there and also from our Redeemer days. It's always cool to catch up.
After the conference we headed into Toronto, near the waterfront, and met up with some people that Ray went to Wabikimi with. Uncle Phil was there, and Walt and Dave, his paddling buddies, along with other Wabikimi participants. Very nice people and very knowledgable canoeists, inlcuding a world class white water paddler, but she doesn't look the part. Such an enjoyable evening and Uncle Phil is determined to get me up to the North.
The boys stayed home on their own all day, menu preplanned, activities all lined up and so thrilled to be left to their own devices. A good time was had by all. We had the cell phone with us and kept an ear on things from afar. We knew they would have a fabulous time. Craig was a little bit nervous about it the night before and wanted to be up to say goodbye at 6am. This done...he went to bed again with a relaxed heart.
This afternoon I am attending the bookclub meeting to discuss "The Shack". That'll be an interesting discussion. I wonder how many people will come.... But first I have to open at church for a group from the community. Such a wonderful group of people.
Randall, if you are taking requests for "batch-varieties" to test, I put my vote in for a nice White Zinfandel. Nice and sweet, kind of girly (I guess), perfect for sipping on a warm summer night..... But that is, of course, only if you are taking requests...:):)
Today, we made a decision to NOT sacrifice our peace for our pace. I think it is a decision made with mixed emotions since these decisions end up with some kind of fall out. Ultimately, it helped keep a busy season, within reach of sanity. I'm a big fan of my own sanity, but also the peace in my heart of hearts was at stake, and that is something that is harder to restore once it is broken. I've sold out before and lived to regret it. If that's too cryptic for you, PM me on Facebook. It'll all work out....
Our Saturday away was fantastic....soaking for a day in the word at the feet of "rabbi" Ray VanderLaan. He is such a great speaker and I love the journeys he takes you on as he explains the Bible in the context of Jewish history....making you a part of the story. I ordered the conference CD set for the church library. We missed the Friday evening lecture but I have been listening to that CD while I was making a card yesterday. He is dynamic and funny and very animated and engaging....your mind doesn't wander. My Ray enjoyed it too. It was neat to run into some people from Strathroy and MtBrydges there and also from our Redeemer days. It's always cool to catch up.
After the conference we headed into Toronto, near the waterfront, and met up with some people that Ray went to Wabikimi with. Uncle Phil was there, and Walt and Dave, his paddling buddies, along with other Wabikimi participants. Very nice people and very knowledgable canoeists, inlcuding a world class white water paddler, but she doesn't look the part. Such an enjoyable evening and Uncle Phil is determined to get me up to the North.
The boys stayed home on their own all day, menu preplanned, activities all lined up and so thrilled to be left to their own devices. A good time was had by all. We had the cell phone with us and kept an ear on things from afar. We knew they would have a fabulous time. Craig was a little bit nervous about it the night before and wanted to be up to say goodbye at 6am. This done...he went to bed again with a relaxed heart.
This afternoon I am attending the bookclub meeting to discuss "The Shack". That'll be an interesting discussion. I wonder how many people will come.... But first I have to open at church for a group from the community. Such a wonderful group of people.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Musical Viruses
Okay....so NOW Kevin is nodding off upstairs as I write. He is most unhappy to be ill and doesn't feel lucky at all to have sickness enter his domain. He has the coughs and that is mostly just annoying, although I did catch his teeth chattering. Sicky!! So he has been taking it easy all morning and afternoon, enjoying some down time and REALLY glad he was allowed to go to hockey this morning. That was his worst fear when I tucked him into bed last night. In hind sight he would have benefited from staying home from practice but that would have put a cramp in his spirits for the rest of the day. Joe came off the ice 20 minutes early and was just beat. This too was quite predictable and I find myself questioning the whereabouts of my maternal instinct....it seems that this was not the hill I wanted to die on today. I used to be so strong....able to wade through a knee deep foul mood with ease.
Joe begged me to let him go to school. After an hour of pleading....I caved??!!!! Of course, it was MY idea that he stay home to increase his stamina. Joe's ulterior motive about going to school is being able to stay after so he doesn't have to miss basketball, and that is what he truly lives for. But still.....I caved....I am weak.
I made myself feel better by baking two batches of muffins...the ultimate comfort food. This helped me regain some of my domestic confidence and armed with healthy snacks I shall remind these hooligans that mama knows best!!! I made Apple spice muffins....and Oatmeal Applesauce Choc Chip. The Choc ones are soooo moist, probably due to the applesauce....that will go down nice with a coffee tomorrow morning for breakfast. It will be a nice surprise for Ray too, who IS the Muffin Man. I hope he doesn't think I am trying to show him up or forray into his culinary territory.....this from the woman who rarely bakes.
This morning I was also able to make a couple of cards. I had left my cardmaking station upstairs since last week since I was going to host cardmaking on Monday morning(and then Joe had his episode and I had to cancel...) but last night I moved the items on that table back down to the shop. I sure was fun to sit up there for a few days. But things tend to explode all over the place when I am in the midst of a...um...creative process. This is actually quite tidy.....I usually end up with a workable space about the size of the card or book that I happen to be working on. Lately....lots of little board books, and cards of encouragement lately.
I did not make it to CoffeeBreak this morning. Tuesdays is our busiest day of running here and there but I just realized how much less stressful this day has become for me since we got our second car. I used to bring the boys to hockey and then race home so that Ray could get to the office on time, and a friend would take the boys to her house after hockey to shower and then take them to school. I would walk to CoffeeBreak with my big bag of Little Lambs stuff and walk home again at noon. Then I would sit on the edge of my seat til the end of the day to see if Joe came off the bus WITH the newspapers and if he forgot them I would have to find a way to get to school to pick them up before it closed. Now I can nicely stay at hockey and visit with the other moms and take the lads home to freshen up, which is QUITE necessary. I also got to enjoy seeing the moon which was still shining so beautifully this morning on our way to the arena. I just felt so blessed...and you know what....I still feel so blessed. Blessed to be the mom of these sickly boys....I think I hear that I am needed upstairs....
Joe begged me to let him go to school. After an hour of pleading....I caved??!!!! Of course, it was MY idea that he stay home to increase his stamina. Joe's ulterior motive about going to school is being able to stay after so he doesn't have to miss basketball, and that is what he truly lives for. But still.....I caved....I am weak.
I made myself feel better by baking two batches of muffins...the ultimate comfort food. This helped me regain some of my domestic confidence and armed with healthy snacks I shall remind these hooligans that mama knows best!!! I made Apple spice muffins....and Oatmeal Applesauce Choc Chip. The Choc ones are soooo moist, probably due to the applesauce....that will go down nice with a coffee tomorrow morning for breakfast. It will be a nice surprise for Ray too, who IS the Muffin Man. I hope he doesn't think I am trying to show him up or forray into his culinary territory.....this from the woman who rarely bakes.
This morning I was also able to make a couple of cards. I had left my cardmaking station upstairs since last week since I was going to host cardmaking on Monday morning(and then Joe had his episode and I had to cancel...) but last night I moved the items on that table back down to the shop. I sure was fun to sit up there for a few days. But things tend to explode all over the place when I am in the midst of a...um...creative process. This is actually quite tidy.....I usually end up with a workable space about the size of the card or book that I happen to be working on. Lately....lots of little board books, and cards of encouragement lately.
I did not make it to CoffeeBreak this morning. Tuesdays is our busiest day of running here and there but I just realized how much less stressful this day has become for me since we got our second car. I used to bring the boys to hockey and then race home so that Ray could get to the office on time, and a friend would take the boys to her house after hockey to shower and then take them to school. I would walk to CoffeeBreak with my big bag of Little Lambs stuff and walk home again at noon. Then I would sit on the edge of my seat til the end of the day to see if Joe came off the bus WITH the newspapers and if he forgot them I would have to find a way to get to school to pick them up before it closed. Now I can nicely stay at hockey and visit with the other moms and take the lads home to freshen up, which is QUITE necessary. I also got to enjoy seeing the moon which was still shining so beautifully this morning on our way to the arena. I just felt so blessed...and you know what....I still feel so blessed. Blessed to be the mom of these sickly boys....I think I hear that I am needed upstairs....
Monday, February 9, 2009
A Home Day
Joe is nodding off upstairs. He had the flu last night, or the hurly-whirlies, as we like to gently call them. Nothing gentle about such a violent body attack!
Kevin thinks Joe is quite fortunate since he got to stay home today. Last week Joe missed a day and a morning of school because he had the hacky-coughs. That seems to be clearing up. Lottsa steam!!! BUT....Joe is sad since today are the tryouts for the free throw competition, a basketball skills event. So it sounds like no one is really happy today, the one because he has to stay home, and the other because he can't!
The other day I helped Kevin start a blog and it was neat to see so many nice comments right away. I can't wait for him to answer all your interesting questions. It is good practise for his English to write about his adventures and it is also building valuable keyboarding skills. I felt it was time to challenge him a little bit, since he writes the same thing in his journal every single day. I woke up, I went to school, I played hockey, and I came home, we played a game, and then I went to bed.....never mind all the exciting things that happened outside of that formula. Hockey practise, bowling, parties, sleep overs.....I seem to be the one writing his folks about those things in our bi-weekly letters to his parents. I hope to inform his mom and dad about the blog when it gets going, so they can read a bit more about life here in Canada. I got an email from his Mom today!! That is the first time!
I spent the morning making cards while Joe was vegging on the couch. A good time was had by all....I think. Well it was good for me. I also got some laundry done, so I WAS "working"!!
Kevin thinks Joe is quite fortunate since he got to stay home today. Last week Joe missed a day and a morning of school because he had the hacky-coughs. That seems to be clearing up. Lottsa steam!!! BUT....Joe is sad since today are the tryouts for the free throw competition, a basketball skills event. So it sounds like no one is really happy today, the one because he has to stay home, and the other because he can't!
The other day I helped Kevin start a blog and it was neat to see so many nice comments right away. I can't wait for him to answer all your interesting questions. It is good practise for his English to write about his adventures and it is also building valuable keyboarding skills. I felt it was time to challenge him a little bit, since he writes the same thing in his journal every single day. I woke up, I went to school, I played hockey, and I came home, we played a game, and then I went to bed.....never mind all the exciting things that happened outside of that formula. Hockey practise, bowling, parties, sleep overs.....I seem to be the one writing his folks about those things in our bi-weekly letters to his parents. I hope to inform his mom and dad about the blog when it gets going, so they can read a bit more about life here in Canada. I got an email from his Mom today!! That is the first time!
I spent the morning making cards while Joe was vegging on the couch. A good time was had by all....I think. Well it was good for me. I also got some laundry done, so I WAS "working"!!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
I Had a Day Named After Me....
It was "Mrs. Tetcy Day" at home of the family I cleaned for today! How cool is that!!?!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
So What's Really Important.....
Lately it seems that there are so many things we HAVE to do....then some crisis pops up and you find out what IS important, and what you THOUGHT was important and really isn't.
How do you switch gears part way through and what will people think? Is it better to keep doing those things that all of a sudden don't seem to matter much? I look around me and there are so many people sacrificing their peace by their pace. They run ragged and seem so unhappy. They are so busy and complain about being on the go all the time. Sometimes that is me....when that's me, please remind me that I wrote this.....
This year, during this season, I feel so much peace. It's not always the case in February. It must be because I'm getting so much fresh air and sunshine on my face. I am blessed that God gave me a love for winter. This year He is loving me abundantly! So...I just keep shovelling and smiling and today someone asked, "Why are you so chipper?" And I thought, "Hmmmm....I am, aren't I!" But before my head gets too big......a long time ago, someone imparted some wisdom to me. "Smile and the rest of your body will follow!!"
We can only spend our time once. Make it count and do what matters. Are you passionate about what you are involved with? Is your heart in it? Are you honouring God with the way you are using your gifts? Are you letting people steal your joy? How's your peace meter? Do you find yourself standing outside with a snow shovel in your hand, staring up at the sky, yelling "Stop already!!!!".
....try the smile technique, what have you got to lose?
I know....easy for me to say. I just wanted you to know I'm having a "rainbow day". (See John Ortberg-"God Is Closer Than You Think" for more info on that one....)
How do you switch gears part way through and what will people think? Is it better to keep doing those things that all of a sudden don't seem to matter much? I look around me and there are so many people sacrificing their peace by their pace. They run ragged and seem so unhappy. They are so busy and complain about being on the go all the time. Sometimes that is me....when that's me, please remind me that I wrote this.....
This year, during this season, I feel so much peace. It's not always the case in February. It must be because I'm getting so much fresh air and sunshine on my face. I am blessed that God gave me a love for winter. This year He is loving me abundantly! So...I just keep shovelling and smiling and today someone asked, "Why are you so chipper?" And I thought, "Hmmmm....I am, aren't I!" But before my head gets too big......a long time ago, someone imparted some wisdom to me. "Smile and the rest of your body will follow!!"
We can only spend our time once. Make it count and do what matters. Are you passionate about what you are involved with? Is your heart in it? Are you honouring God with the way you are using your gifts? Are you letting people steal your joy? How's your peace meter? Do you find yourself standing outside with a snow shovel in your hand, staring up at the sky, yelling "Stop already!!!!".
....try the smile technique, what have you got to lose?
I know....easy for me to say. I just wanted you to know I'm having a "rainbow day". (See John Ortberg-"God Is Closer Than You Think" for more info on that one....)
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