As promised: 3rd Mini TP Album...FINISHED!



     Happy SPRING, everyone- NO FOOLIN' either!! As promised; I am posting the finished 3rd Mini TP Album that was shown as a 'how to' in the last video.You can click here for fast review of that last video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwfNtHY41YY&list=PL1j6s80d-QD9K9mVv8ndWFPYqY0UBaRpH&feature=share&index=11
       I've pretty much explained -and shown- it fully in the video which follows below, so let me just say that, once again, I've found probably another VERY FAVE item I've made! This one will be full of this summer's trips to the Gulf & Atlantic shores, (and perhaps the BIG Texas Gulf side, or even Lake Michigan's shoreline, which has been a couple of years since our last usual summer visit) with -GOD willing- a ton or two of splashing, surfing, and sunshine! The fun is always there whenever I'm with my ChiefHubby, and more so when we are with our kids and/or our extensive Indiana, Florida, and Bama families! Laughter, smiles, and ten tons of LOVE are always in abundance! I am SO BLESSED, and my prayers and hopes are with ALL for those same blessings!
       While April Fools Day is all about pullin' one over on someone else....I will certainly play 'The Fool' for JESUS! Yes, there's NO foolin' about GOD's love for us and letting Him have control over our lives and what goes on elsewhere in the world; He'll make it all ok in the end of it. :D  So, come on, WHOZ W ME?? Smile big and think of SUMMER!!

       Here's the MiniAlbum No.3 Video....   

                       ...Thanks for watching and HAPPY BLOGGING!!!

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!

Black&White Vintage Camera Tag

 I must be on some kind of 'roll' or have a fire lit under me lately. Whatever it is; I've gotten more things crafted in this past month than all of this winter put together. It's probably that feeling of 'closing in of 4 walls' that comes with all this UNending SNOW. Grrrrr! Not that productivity's been a bad thing, mind you. ;)

     This was a very simple project that came about from one night of logging into Tim Holtz's Pinterest Pins and putting a few of the fave pins I'd like to try uploaded into my own files on my main pc. iPad is certainly more convenient, but I can't live without the big setup either. I do just about all my camera/photog work on it. Even if it's already done on one of my Tablets. (You GO, Microsoft, Apple, & esp Canon!) With Tim's new March Tag coming out tomorrow, this had to be a quick work of posting.

 

 Thanks for dropping by,
and I hope to you come again.

Happy Blogging!     

An Anniversary of ReNewed Vows...February 24, 2002

I've been blessed

many times over in my life, and while there were several bad points of my growing-up years, GOD certainly has made up for it...ten-fold-plus! I met my ChiefHubby when I was just 16 years old at the start of the summer of 1982 when he was recently moved back into his parents' home after finishing his Freshman Yr at PURDUE University in West Lafayette, IN. Two years later, and already many great memories made, pasted into scrapbooks, saved for when we could 'take it out someday and show our kids' (which we DID); we were married in a nice, big, white, church wedding that we did ourselves. Just after our 4th Anniversary, Brian (CaptFFSon) came along, and 3 yrs later- just 17 days apart-  Brett (Ygr PurdueNukeHonorsEngineeringSon)was born.

       Along the way on our road of life, we met a family who helped make the hugest difference in our marriage,in our lifestyle and in our life itself; The Dixon Family. I'd chosen to return attending church which we kind of 'fell out of' at some point in those early years, the way alot of young people do. And from that very first visit to a church I'd gone to as a youngster a few times, this young, new, rather 'nerdy-looking' Preacher and his very young beautiful wife and blonde-headed little girl...well, let's just say that when I asked if he could explain some of his beliefs with me, his Wife said "We come together as a Family to visit. Is that ok?" I hadn't wanted David to know I was inviting them over. At that time, my Husband was a very shy person. VERY shy. Rarely ever talking in front of anyone unless he'd known them for a long time. And certainly never talking in front of a large group! Let alone running anything himself. So when he came home EARLY that day from work- walking right into the middle of our chat over this church and attending, and faith itself... I was at least able to say "See, doesn't he REALLY look like your cousin, Richie, Dear?!" (To which he did say he thought that it was indeed Richie when he first walked in!) Long story short-ER... David chose to start getting up to help me get the boys (4&7 then) ready to go with me on Sundays. Then came the week Brian said "Daddy's gonna go with us this week!" and I kind of "Oh. That's nice. But we'll see, ok?" (aka: Don't hold yer breath,kid.)

     But, he did go that Palm Sunday. And then he chose to be baptised. His parents had David baptised as a newborn baby in the Lutheran Church. I was baptised in my Grandmother's Church- one of several she'd attended- Church of GOD. We were married in the Methodist Church, which I 'claimed' for my own, but was never allowed (or rather INVITED as it went) to become a member. Since this was a non-denom Christian Church we'd begun back to, I also chose to go through baptism again; with David. John baptised us on Sunday afternoon June 16th, 1997- the very day of our first date in 1982! Many of our own family were present- one of the last gatherings they all came for us to. We had everyone over to our home afterward, where we basically spent the entire day getting to know John & Christie alot better. The next day, Christie went into labor and had their second of what would become four beautiful- inside AND out- lovely young ladies whom we love DEARLY!! In August 1997, we watched as John baptised our sons at their request- in the same creek near our home that my Grandfather was baptised in during his youth.

       We also got to know their families as they visited up while John & Christie lived here in Indiana. We also got involved in a missions that builds churches (based in Birmingham, AL, at a Baptist Church) called Carpenters For Christ. And in 2004, they moved back to John's hometown in Florida to help take over for his ailing Uncle who was Preacher there. While it nearly tore our hearts out, thinking that I'd never see them again, David promised that we'd see them MORE often than we did when they lived just up the road. And true to his word, he has kept that promise! Life was so busy when we lived here, that it kept us from spending much time together. But when we take time off to go to see them, it feels like we all just 'pick up where we last left off'. But not only do we have just the 6 Dixons, but the rest of John's family; his WONDERFUL Mom (who insists her name is just "MawMaw" and she is known to just about everyone down there), & 3 older brothers, with their beautiful wives,(and ALL the girls are BEAUTIFUL in that family !!!), children, & fast-coming Grandchildren; have chosen to 'adopt' us as their "Larimore-Dixon" side of the family. Can you imagine how much that means to us- when we have hardly any left of our own family to keep close touch with. It's almost as if GOD sent them up here just to make sure WE were saved for HIM. I mean not to be prideful, but rather that it is SO VERY HUMBLING to be SO VERY BLESSED!!! We LOVE that family SO VERY MUCH, and ask for The LORD to bless them more immensely than HE has chosen to bless us.

        So. This brings me to the reason for this post. John had a neat idea for a set of sermons for one February to celebrate Valentine's Day. He'd set up a wedding where anyone who wanted to, could renew their vows in a special Sunday Service. He made out special invitations for the couples to send out, had the 4H kids make tiered-wedding cakes with Groom's cakes too for a real reception after the service. Nuts, mints, punch...it was complete. So David asked me if I would be interested since John asked him to think about doing it. I thought it was a nice 'restart' for our marriage (which never was 'bad' in any way, but neither was it as GREAT as only GOD can make it when you bind the 2 of you with HIM). The week before that Sunday, I got to thinking and got out my original wedding dress I wore on July 14, 1984 (which, yes, my Mother made this also. FYI: she also made a Dedication Gown for our babies to have their photos in...very treasured items priceless only in my heart), and asked John what he thought if I wore it. He said "Go for it- ya'all can do anything ya'all want with this to make it special for each of ya." Their 'southewn drawl' and my deafness creates some funny moments...to be sure! So I got out that size 5 dress with the 72 REAL buttons down the back and 18 MORE REAL buttons on each sleeve, and let it hang in secret- to surprise David with. I kinda wished I had it ironed, but the desired result was achieved: David was surprised, our boys got to see Mom & Dad get married just like they were before the 2 of them were born- AND BE IN THE PICTURES TOO!! (Yep- one of my Besties is a pro photographer and she even did all that for all the couples too.) We've since, moved to a church nearer to the county seat (Logansport) that is also an independent Christian called Church of Christ at Logansport (the one that really ROCKS with GREAT MUSIC and is located right off the brand new Hoosier Heartland Corridoor near the intersection of Hwy 29 South- also called Burlington Ave.)just after John &Christie moved back home. We've been growing, reaching out in so many BLESSED ways ! (You can check us out at churchchrist.net & on FaceBook as Church of Christ at Logansport with a bright blue background of Jesus, and a cover of the congregants welcoming you. I help take care of the FB page with photos, along with some WONDERFUL helpers posting alongside me.)As for the REwedding Day we had...

What a LOVELY memory that is for us! And I cannot thank the Dixon Family enough...the changes they helped us make were not done overnight. It all actually happened as we grew in our friendship, and in our love. And more importantly; we're all gonna be together with GOD for ETERNITY! A person just cannot be blessed any better than that. :D And to my ChiefHubby; I LOVE YOU MORE! HAPPY ReWedding Anniversary, Dear !!!

       Thanks for reading, and I hope you check back again as I post more crafts, fun times, and funny times. Happy Blogging!