MiniAlbums (Made From ToiletPaper Rolls) & MiniCabinet Cards!

   The month of March is just about over and while it seems as if I ran out of things to do, just the opposite is the truth of the matter. As each day passes by with the hopes that WARM weather will FINALLY make its entrance into Indiana, I'm still finding alot of 'paper'work to do. So much so, that the DustBunnies I've never EVER had to worry about taking over before...have decided that me & my sweeper/cleaning rag are not much of a threat to them. They practically have been sunning themselves out in the open lately. GAG! I always prided myself in having "THE cleanest house in the State of Indiana- if not just in all of Cass County" and most would probably agree to that since they would tease me about my daily running of the sweeper and dusting at least 3 times a week. It never took me that long because I had it all down to a SCIENCE. Trust me. I was always trying to be SuperMom who could do it ALL. I had a schedule to keep and a list to do; and that included my husband and kids on that list. So MY "doorbell shone bright" AND my "kids' eyes shone bright", too. Now that I've let go of any clock, time, watch,etc. of any type, and I am more relaxed about things with this new "Empty Nest" type of life....almost everyone claims I am "CURED!" of my OCD. Someone HAD to have leaked that out to the neighborhood DustBunnies, I just know it! Cause they are parked right smack in front of my nose and I keep trying to get rid of them- unsuccessfully, I might add. At least I can still keep an empty dirty clothes bin every night. :)

        So while I was having fun making all those larger cabinet cards, I came across an old minialbum I'd made out of toiletpaper rolls (the inside cardboard that gets tossed away after the tpaper is gone). I'd gotten the Sizzix Originals Tags #2 (656051) that I think has since been retired, and was playing around with what to make out of it. I must've been looking around and spotted a tossed-out roll in my bucket that I usually burn (call me paranoid: I shred AND burn mail & tossed personal info), and some odd thought led to the fact that this particular tag fits PERFECTLY into that tube! And there ya go; the making of that first album. Then, getting it out a couple of weeks ago led to the thought of making a new one, which led to wondering what to PUT into that new tiny album. Which, of course, led to making wallet-sized Cabinet Cards.

    Since I used a third album-in-the-making to show how I did the second album which opens up much better than that first one, I'll come back in to post that 3rd mini album after I get it done. I also have a couple of Brown-Paper-Sack albums I'd like to show in a post. One is a Family Memory Album that I think you'll REALLY enjoy with all the stuff I made for it and the Chickstas all thought was COOL! The other is a HUGE (grocery brown sacks) album that I am always adding to. It is specifically for anything I've made -a copy of it goes into this album. Sort of a 'Scrapbook for Scrapbooking'...makes sense to ME, anyway. ;)

    Here's the video for making both of the albums above...

Thanks for checking in, and Happy Blogging!  :D

MARCH TAG - The 12 Tags of 2014

I can't believe it's MARCH already. And I am (like, VERY WAY) happy that it is since, like too many others, I am SO OVER this Winter'14! So Tim's tag for this month seems like a breath of freshly-colored air, blowing gently into the windows. :)  

 We all just knew it had to be something 'chicky', 'egg-y', or 'ducky' since the next holiday is Easter. Frankly,

I'd rather we all just 'hopped' right on into SUMMER. :D Tim's got another technique to teach in this tag that I have not given much thought to, while I've probably engaged it on my own a few times without realizing it was actually a 'technique'. And the result after doing the entire tag was two-fold: 1. a very cool duo set of Tags that could make a front AND back of the same thing, but with the backside 'muted' to use as a journal page for the front side (which I really liked); and 2. sore fingers from so much "smooshing" around the blending tool. Oh my aching AR-inflicted finger joints! It was worth it, though. NoPain=NoGain is correct. I also think this is THE most usage I've gotten out of my stamps for quite some time. By the time I got done with all three sets of tags, I had a pile of stamps to clean. I'd have to admit that I think that was the only drawback of this technique- IF you could really call it a drawback, that is.

Having made both sides at the same time shows how much difference the smudge makes. And it's also good practice for 'ghosting' with your stamps, too. I tried to stay true to Tim's Bird Theme for my tag; but since I am deaf and miss the sound of birds singing, I thought I'd add a little charm of harps to the other 2 tags, and a key for mine: letting my bird out of his cage to get some nice fresh air and greenery: how I've felt this winter with all the snow & cold. It lifted my spirits up, and I hope it will do the same for the 2 ladies I've chosen as recipients for the two other tags I made! 

Thanks for checking in & Happy Blogging!! 

Cabinet Cards: Making New Fun Out Of Old Photos...

Cabinet Cards have been around for over 150 years now. They are actually a take-off of a smaller version of photos set onto smaller cards. While most you will find during your 'treasure hunt' excursions have a portrait with an inside background, they were originally done outside, and most often taken at weddings or other important events. The earlier edition of cards were usually in an antique coloring of a brownish shade (neutral tones), while the later cards of 1870s on took on a black and white tone. The bottom of the later cards usually have the name of the photographer, studio, or place where it was taken. Very successful photographers/studios used more elaborate information on the backs of the cards. They were usually about 4in by 6in in size, and were very popular. But they were virtually replaced after the 1920s when it was more and more common to just have your own camera (more than likely a Kodak like the old Brownies I have collected).

If you're lucky enough to have some real Cabinet Cards that were passed down to you, like I have, you will want to make sure they are stored correctly in a safe place. But, I would also recommend you scan them to a portable drive (like Western Digital 1T or 2T- both very well-spent investment than the old disks we like to use and pass around, and has tons more space than a smaller flash-card/drive. If you have a good digital camera, you can make a simple setup and take photos of the photographs. Lighting is extremely important for this, so I would suggest having a professional help out, or have them do it for you. I've done this many times, but I like to rely on natural lighting to get as closely as possible to the colors in the photograph. Scanning is simpler, but you'll need to make sure your scanner & printer are on the correct settings. The owner's manual should help you out with that.

But, no matter whether you choose photos of people you know, or those you don't know- you can have a lot of fun making your own Cabinet Cards- even of today's digital selfie shot you did! Just use your computer or your camera's edit shop to change the photos however you want and stick them to a cardstock background, adding some ink around each piece. You can even skip the shape of a Cabinet Card, and use your manilla tags and make a Tag Book of the photos. Only your imagination is the limit. :) Here's another video that helps you out to see what I mean...

 

Thanks for checking in and Happy Blogging!

It's official; this is my last day as a Chief's Wife.

By the time I finish getting this post out- it will be official: my last day as the wife of the Georgetown Vol.Fire Chief. It was forseen coming at some point, but kind of snuck up on us in the past month. Everything works out, though, and for the FD itself- it actually will help it not just to grow more, but to survive and still be around to help preserve the lives of the community, and their property. By now, if you've read this far, you are thinking "Ahhh...she's talking about David's POSITION on the FD! NOT their MARRIAGE!" lol. And yep, that would be correct! Truthfully, we both have put those two things (our marriage AND his FD work) into the same catagory we try very hard to put EVERYTHING in our lives- WITH THE LORD. Since GOD is in control, we try to let HIM be our lead on the path of everything we do in life. For the past 25 years, 2 months, plus a few days... GOD has watched over my ChiefHubby in every position he's held on the FD- whether it was Probie, Newbie, 2nd Class FF, 1st Class FF, Capt, First Responder, Treasurer, Engineer(Driver), Assist Chief, and for at least 6 or 7 years out of that- Chief) and at every tone-out he's been out on in that time. Included was the largest fire Cass County has ever seen; The Cole Hardwood Fire where he was gone for two days straight. (Google that- probably 50some Depts from around the state were called in to help.) He's hung on through very lean times (back when we had Fish Frys every June in order to get any money for the Dept to exist) and a couple of times it was going so far down in numbers, it was nearly closed permanently- which is how he chose to join in the first place- following his Dad's burned-out-prints as a 30 yr (Retired) professional (paid) FF. And he's stuck through the rough times, but did take a 'permanent leave' of about 10 months halfway through those years, before he went back again...starting at the very bottom of the pole again, and working his way back up the ladder all over again. I knew he would. It was too much a percentage of his blood to stay away. FF Wives just know how that goes. It can't be explained. It's just LIVED.

So when the current Township Trustee chose to step down,

and our GVFD Capt (Treasurer) felt the need to step up and run on the election ballot in his place, he urged David also to file for an Advisory. Let me just say that GVFD Capt is going to be THE ONLY POLITICIAN in my entire life I will trust with my very life- and all of those whom I love dearly. Yes, he is a GODly man, and a very devout, committed, and honest man. The Township will definitely get a TRUE TRUST out of this man! Sadly, though, when David went in to file for the Advisor position, he was told that he could not be a FF AND hold that position at the same time ("Conflict of Interest" was the reason it is now a State Law...but let's not get into the fact that you could be Bestest Buddies and talk on your own time and steal money from the County- not trust a person based on just judgement of that person's character ALONE- which is what is wrong with our political system and the ones in it all just for the money and power, and fame or 'title' of importance, or whatever...Yeah. WHAT. EVER. But let's NOT go there...) Anyway. The Capt- Treasurer had a choice to make. And it definitely made a change on the FD here. Since he is leaving, there is noone else to take over the financial matters and books. Except my ChiefHubby. So, after talking it over- and ALOT of prayer on my part, as well as alot of others I am sure- The Chief came home one day from work with a plan going on in his ever-in-gear-churning-out-the-better-than-ILoveLucy's"I'veGotAPlan"-thinking, you just know it's gonna require alotta work. (Trust me on this- when David says "I've got an idea...." Don't just stand there like a dummy and listen...RUN!!! RUN,FORREST,Ruuuuun!!  :)

But this time, like many (yeah, I will admit it...)plans he has made- turned out to be a really good one! His thoughts of late have been about the future and retirement. 25 years is alot to give of your life to your community, and in the next 5 years, he hopes to retire from his by-then-30plus years of working at SIA. We are thinking of a southern move- even if just part of the year. But by then- all our kids will likely be living in another state. In fact, it's almost FOR SURE they will be since their jobs they plan to take will require the moves. So you have this situation with the County, the FD, and us. Life is always changing. I learned this the very hard way about 10 years ago- and bravely admitting to 3 years of Counseling for Depression in starting to learn about CHANGE. If we do NOT change- we don't GROW. And to grow means we are ALIVE. Sort of like when your children are so cute when they are little, and you hate to have them grow up. But if they DON'T...then that means they are not ALIVE. And the opposite of alive is... You see what that means?

So change is inevitable, but EMBRACE-ABLE! And GOD makes it BEAR-ABLE! So the Treasurer steps down, and along with him- so does my CHIEF. That's the sad part. The good part is that while he is hanging up his CHIEF's lid, he is NOT hanging up his TURNOUTS. :D  He is moving down to take rank of CAPTAIN again, and thus do the books as Treasurer. A new Chief will be taking his place- a new YOUNG Chief who actually is just a few yrs older than our FFCaptSon. So you see: the horn is being handed down to the younger leader and thus making it possible to KEEP GROWING with this change going on.

Hmph! Go figure; the ChiefHubby just HADDA go have this happen

AFTER I make a blog up with the title being "Chief's Wife". And while it's not a big hairy deal to anyone else- I am VERY PROUD of my Husband and how he has put his total 100% of himself into all he has done. For everything, not just the FD. (Yeah, kids; someday you'll figure that out when YOU have your OWN kids. Mom HEARD THAT !!!) And I toyed with the idea of changing the name of my blog to reflect the honesty I always feel I need to be in everything. Ditch the feelings on the sleeve- or even wear my feelings on the front of my shirt. I SCREAM my feelings ! And I make sure it gets heard, too. Cause I always feel it's best to just BE TRUTHFUL. Hiding anything hurts people- esp the one hiding the truth and making up their own. So I don't want to feel guilty even about a title of a blog ! 

But then, I understood something....no matter what my Husband's title is- on the FD, at church, at home, wherever we are; he is always going to be MY CHIEF. And, GOD willing, for many many more happy years, he will be My ChiefHUBBY. And like the time the boys and I stood by the door after that first time he came home from a fire meeting after elections were done- 

my song will still be "Hail To THE CHIEF!". 

CONGRATULATIONS, (past)CHIEF  HUBBY on your road to begining THINKING about retirement !

And here's a prayer for the New Chief, as well as the rest of his FFs; you will lead with trust, honesty, commitment, faithfulness, knowledge, and strength. And that you will take up the ball and RUN your best in this race against the Raging Beast- for the good of others and their property !

Thanks for reading and HAPPY BLOGGING!