After Christmas Creating

 I have been busy with getting ready for Christmas.  Everything I purchased this year was online.  Waiting for the mailman, UPS truck, or Fedex guy kept me on my toes.  With each purchase I added the item to a list so I didn't forget what I bought and I didn't forget that I was waiting for something.

It was a great day. I hope your Christmas was merry and bright.

Here are a few cards I created over the past few days.  The frame set is Pinkfresh Stitched Scallop rectangles, the background was made using Pinkfresh Simple Plaid layering stencils, the wreath is Pinkfresh Daisy Wreath layering stencils and die.

These are my first Pinkfresh products and I love them.  The layering stencils were so easy to use - much easier than stamps.  And I love, love the frames.  Each frame cuts 2 at once.  I used both the outside and inside frames in white and then layered one gold frame.  The words were die cut from Spellbinders Our Favorite Sentiment Set.  I love the thin lines of these words.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope 2021 is a much better year for you.

Flowers and foliage

 It took all day. But I got them all assembled - all 16 of them. 

Tomorrow I’ll need to replenish my inventory of layered flowers and foliage. 

Thanks for stopping by. Susan

Assembling

 Today is assembly day. The flowers were already done but all the greenery, words, and card parts I did last night.  I love seeing the cards come together.

Do you see the grabber?  Four years ago my husband and I decided to sell our 4-bedroom, 2-story house (with its dedicated craft room 😔) because my in-laws were having health issues and we needed to have a handicap accessible place for them to live when the time came (which we thought would be a few years down the road). 

The house sold within 30 days and our condo wasn’t ready so everything was put in storage and we moved into an apartment for 5 months.  While living there my mother-in-law passed unexpectedly and my FIL wasn’t doing well living alone (he never had before).  We offered for him to move in with us. 

I will admit I was disappointed that he was coming so soon. I wanted us to have the chance to live there on our own for awhile - it was our first empty-nest home. But I saw his mental decline and knew it was the right thing to do. 

He lived with us just under a year before he got married to a lovely woman he knew in high school.  I’m thankful for their time together - she made him happy. I’m also thankful we honored him and had him living with us (honor your mother and father ... the first commandment with a promise!).  Unfortunately he passed shortly before celebrating his one-year anniversary with his new love. 

All this to say that the grabber is probably one of the most used things my FIL left here when he moved out. My craft table is bar height so my chair sits higher. I love that it has a magnetic tip to get those dies that pop out of my hand.  

I use it to bring smaller tables closer to me or to push them away. 

I use it to pull my paper closer to me. 

I’m sure when he left it he didn’t realize that I’d think of him every time I use it - which is ALOT! 

Honor your parents if they are still living. Call them, visit, spend time with them. Now that all of our parents have passed we realize that we’d love more time with them. Make sure you have no regrets when it comes to things left unsaid and undone. 

Susan

Scan n Cut

 Did I mention how much I love my SNC DX 😉

I’ve been cutting foliage this evening to build some cards.  I need to get more colors going.  

It runs so quietly. 

The sentiment in the card is new from Spellbinders. I love how thin it is. 

I hope you have time to get crafty this weekend. Susan

Loading up lots of cards

 I try, I really do, to upload my cards and creations as I go along.  But, then, life happens and I get distracted.  Okay, getting distracted is so much easier as I get older!  

In no special order, here we go:

And my Christmas present this year - the Brother Scan n Cut DX125.  Isn't she beautiful!  And oh so quiet.  I thought my CM350 was awesome ... but this one is a dream!  Can you tell, I love it. The mandalas are a design from Brother and are cut from rose gold metallic vinyl; the logo is my creation (SusieLou Creates) and was cut from green metallic and flat black vinyl; the "imagine create inspire" are words I want to live by and they are cut from green metallic vinyl.  I think I should add "share" ... maybe I'd get my creations up here quicker.

Here is a sample of how intricate it can cut.  No more dies!  This font is "Japan".  It cuts nicely.

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll make a better effort to keep this updated.  Thanks for stopping by, Susan