Showing posts with label thankful. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thankful. Show all posts

Thursday, February 07, 2013

Adventures in LA LA Land: A Trip Out of the House

Today I heeded the call from the collective crafting consciousness and decided that a trip to Michael's was in order.  It was about time.  I hadn't been since before Christmas.  Sacrilege huh?  

I got up, accomplished some of my regular tasks and waited for my husband to come home from work with the car.  He wasn't supposed to work today but someone called in sick and he went in to replace them.  He had thought the shift was going to be over around 1:00 ish.  When I didn't hear from him I realized that his shift was going to be longer than anticipated so I continued checking off items on my mile long 'to do' list.  

About 5:50 p.m. it dawned on me that maybe he hadn't taken the car and had gone to work on the bus this morning.  We all know what happens when we assume, don't we?  You'd think I'd know better by now.  I figured I'd finish up what I was working on and head down to check if the car was there.  Well, I didn't have to because five minutes later he walked in the door and yeah, the car had been sitting there the entire time.

I pulled together the items I'd need for working on my projects downstairs later in the evening.  I don't actually have a craft room.  Most of my stuff is stored in our office, actually it is our little bedroom that we've made into an office, and I just drag stuff back and forth between there and our living room.  I awkwardly started down the hall with my cane and my pile and suddenly said pile shifted.  Boom! Well it didn't actually boom more of a light thud but the sound effects should match the mess that resulted.  A small plastic container holding over 300 acrylic gemstones crashed to the floor, opening wide, spreading sparkly chaos in its wake.  I swear I almost cried.  

I sat staring at them and after realizing they weren't going to miraculously put themselves back in the box, hobbled down to the floor, arranged my body into a prone position and proceeded to pick up the stones, some of which were less than 1 mm wide.  Do you have any idea how small 1 mm is?  For 20 minutes I sorted between carpet fluff and gemstones.  When I was reasonable sure I had found them all, I dragged myself up off the floor and headed down the stairs in two trips to avoid any further accidents.

When I got downstairs I realized that I didn't have the list that I had been adding items to all day for my venture out.  With an audible groan, I hauled myself back up the stairs to look for the list that inevitably wasn't there.  It had sat on my desk ALL day and of course when I needed it, the Lost Items Monster swooped in and stole it.  I went back down to look through the pile of stuff I had brought down but alas it was nowhere to be found.  Now you have to realize that by this time, between the fatigue, the increased pain and the obvious fact that my body was significantly slowing down, I just wanted to curl up on the couch; but the collective crafting consciousness' call was still singing in my ears.   So I braved through it all, bundled up and headed out to the nicely cleaned and warmed vehicle that was awaiting me.  I love my husband!  

I struggled to stay upright, my canes slipping and sliding with me.  I finally got myself seated in the car and headed first to the library.  I had a book due today that hubby was supposed to drop off but since he had no car, he had no way to get it there.  Can you believe I got lost on my way to the library?  I NEVER GET LOST not when I know EXACTLY where I am going.  By this point I'm wondering whether I should ever have the left the office never mind the house but the sirens still called...

I finally found my way and set off toward the sound of those voices..."come to us Lisa...come to us....".  I arrived at my destination, and made my way to the entrance.  I began to meander around the marvelous play-land that is Michael's and at once a creative calm enveloped me.  After making my way to the marvelous markers section, I then headed to scrap-booking central.  The Great Glitter Guardians fell into step beside me and with Princess Perfect Price joining us we I came away with some fabulous finds.  While I still have to work it all out, I'm sure I came away with over $500.00 worth of product for only $119.00.  Flourishes and other embellishments normally $12.49 were on clearance for .79 and .99 cents.  Stamp sets that were normally $16.50 were on sale for $2.99 and $4.99.  INCREDIBLE! And those are just the ones I can remember.  There were so many more bargains.  I paid full price for only one item.  Some alcohol blending solution.  Now I can't remember why I bought it.  I remember it was on my list but not why it was there.  I blame Naomi.  I'm sure she talked about needing it for something so I added it to my list but of course now I've forgotten.  Note to self:  Ask Naomi why I bought blending solution.

I say goodbye to my gracious guides (you know the Great Glitter Guardians and Princess Perfect Price) and make my way home.  When I got home I got stuck at the bottom of the driveway and the world came crashing back down to reality.  I may be sore, tired as all heck, moving the speed of a snail and beaten down a little but they can't take away the serene state of satisfaction knowing that I scored a super sale!

...And that my friends is today's adventure in LA LA land. 

So, what have I learned today?
  • stop assuming
  • next time check for car much earlier in the afternoon
  • put little containers in bags before leaving the office
  • bring GPS when travelling at night on my own
  • don't back into snow mounds at the end of the driveway

What am I thankful for today?
  • I have the most amazing husband in the world 
  • that I didn't fall on my butt in the snow
  • that while I'm moving rather slow, I'm still moving
  • that I managed to rock the car out of the snowdrift after a little while without having to get my hubby to help
  • that I survived this crazy day to tell my story

So, as a reward for making it through to the end of this rather ridiculous rambling, here is a Motivational Graphic for you, keeping with the theme of giving thanks...

If you would just prefer the sentiment by itself, here it is... 

Oh, and in case you are wondering where LA LA Land came from, my maiden name starts with an A so L.A. are my original initials.  So while LA LA Land may be a place that is a little out there for most people, it also happens to be where I take my day to day journey through life.  I'm glad you were able to join me and hope that you do so again in the future.

Until next time,




Challenge I am entering this digital design into:

Font Used:
Click the font name to take you to a download location.  These fonts are free for commercial use.
 

Image Information:
The medallion image used in the background is one I 'purchased' for commercial use from Pixel Scrapper so you should be free to sell handmade items if you use it.
 

If you are not sure how to copy the image, check out the download instructions page.  
 
Please be sure to read the Angel policy found under the copyright info tab above.  Below is a q
uick summary of those Terms of Use:    

  • Do not claim the image as your own.
  • Credit 'Decosse's Dynamite Doodles' somewhere on your creation.
  • Do not share my images with family, friends, etc.  Additionally, do not post any images to file sharing services like Box®, 4-Shared®, etc.  Instead, please direct people to my blog so they can grab the image for themselves.
  • If I have signed an image, do not delete my signature.
  • Leave a comment on my blog.  It is currently the only way for me to know if any of my freebies are being nabbed.  Additionally, it will help to inspire me to continue to create and offer future freebies.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

A Day for Saying Thank You

If you are new to my blog and would like to know why I started "Thursdays Are For Thanksgiving", please go HERE.

First I need to apologize.  I realized tonight when looking for something in my original Thursdays... post that I had the link wrong.  So, if you were new and tried the link and instead of finding out why I started my gratitude post, found out why Motivational Mondays got started, I sincerely apologize for the confusion.  I don't know where my head was at, I usually check all my links. That being said, let us get on with today's post.

As I mentioned when I started the idea for this post, that while it would be centred around the idea of gratitude, the actual format may change from post to post.  For example, I might pose a question for you to think about, further explore the concept of why gratitude is important, or create a design based on appreciation or maybe, just put out a quote for you to consider.  Today, I'm going to make things a little more personal instead of keeping things general by sharing parts of my Tuesday with all of you.

You see, Tuesday wasn't one of my best days physically.  I wasn't able to turn the light out until around 7:30 am to try and go to sleep and then my mind would NOT shut off so I didn't fall asleep at all until about 10:30 am.  Then, I only managed to sleep for an hour before waking again. I knew that I couldn't function on one hour of disturbed sleep so I after about another 20 minutes I drifted off for another hour.  When I woke up again I got out of bed and tried to work at the computer for three hours but by that time the headache I had woken up with had turned into a raging migraine accompanied by severe nausea so I had to leave the office before I faceplanted into the computer keyboard. Now the reason that I am bringing this up is that even though I was having a difficult day, there were good things mixed in with the bad and there was still opportunity for expressing gratitude.  

When I got settled at my computer and pulled up my email, there was a message from Suze over at Craftysuze congratulating me for my win over at Paper Crafting World. In my head I was thinking, "huh? I don't remember entering any of my latest cards into a challenge over there".  So, I promptly headed over figuring she had made a mistake and another Lisa had won. I was almost resolved to that fact when I finally came to my name listed as the second last winner. 

You see, I had no idea that Paper Crafting World was even offering prizes for people leaving comments during their '25 Days of Christmas'.  It is in my nature to leave a comment when someone offers up a freebie so I was just doing what I always do; however, it was so nice to be rewarded for doing so. Without Suze, I would never have known. Even thought I generally visit Melin's blog on a weekly basis, I would never have thought to scroll through a post listing winner names. Therefore the odds of ever having found my name and claiming the prize on time would have been nil.  To top it off, when Melin came to my blog to verify my information, she liked what she saw and decided to become a follower.  So, not only did I win four digital images from her store, I also gained a new follower through the whole process.

Once I had taken care of those details, I moved on and took care of more correspondence.  Then I came across a message from Sharon who is on the DT over at  Lady Anne's Challenges.  She had left a comment to inform me that I had won the digi she had used in her last challenge.  You see these ladies are not above a little bribery and sweet comments can lead to sweet prizes.  It got better though because Sharon also decided to become a follower.  Who knew how successful a litlle bribery, oops I mean sweet talk, could be? ;O) 

So while I have thanked all these ladies privately, I also wanted to do so publiclySo thank you to Suze, Sharon and Melin for bringing a little sunshine to what was otherwise a bit of a grey day.  Oh and Suze, since if it wasn't for you I wouldn't have known I had won over at PCW, I will be creating a special digi for you as a thank you.  Watch for it in your mailbox soon.

So, even on those days when things are not their best, we can still take time to say a simple thank you to someone who has made it just a little bit better for us.  These are some of the people that I have said thank you to over the last couple of days.  Who are you saying your thanks to?

Until next time,

Thursday, December 06, 2012

The Expression of Gratitude

 If you are new to my blog and would like to know why I started "Thursdays Are For Thanksgivings", please go HERE.


Thank you.

So many meanings wrapped up into two little words.  

The words may stay the same but the intensity can change with each utterance.  The same words are used for something as simple as gratitude expressed when someone passes you something at the dinner table; or, it can mean something as profound as the appreciation one expresses to someone for the act of intervening in a situation that could have had deadly consequences.

Two little words.  A multitude of expressions.  

 What does it mean for you?




  
The original size of each of the images is a little under 4 & 1/2 inches wide which might be a bit big for smaller cards.  However, it is much easier to make something smaller than to enlarge it without affecting the resolution of the image.  I played around with different colour choices--grey-blue, burgandy, blue and greyscale.  While three of the images look like they are much smaller they aren't, it is simply to conserve space in this post.  

If you are interested in the font information, I have included it below along with my other usual caveats.

Until next time,
 
Fonts Used: 
Click the font name to take you to a download location.  Both these fonts are considered free for commercial use.

If you haven't already, please become familiar with my terms of use found in the copyright tab at the top of this page.  I have included a quick summary below.   If you are not sure how to copy the image, check out the download instructions page.  
  
Quick summary of Terms of Use:

  • Do not claim the image as your own.
  • Credit 'Decosse's Dynamite Doodles' somewhere on your creation
  • Do not share my images with family, friends, etc.  Additionally, do not post any images to file sharing services like Pinterest®, 4-Shared®, etc.  Instead, please direct people to my blog so they can grab the image for themselves.
  • If I have signed an image, do not delete my signature.
  • Leave a comment on my blog.  It is currently the only way for me to know if any of my freebies are being nabbed.  Additionally, it will help to inspire me to continue to create and offer future freebies.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

So Very Thankful: Good News To Share

Today I'm so excited to share some FANTASTIC news with you.  In fact, if I was capable of it, I'd climb up and shout it from the rooftop.  Since that isn't possible, I'll just share it with all of you here on my blog.

Today I have one more thing in my life to add to my gratitude list.  I was asked to join a design team and after careful consideration to ensure that I would be able to keep the committment I would be making, I SAID YES!  So come February, I will be designing for the AWESOME Canadian company--Scribbles Designs owned by the super, fabulously talented, Sandy Sommerfeld.  I am truly honoured and so thankful to be chosen as one of the design team members.  I only hope that I do Sandy justice.

Today I want to show you the card I created using one of Sandy's freebies.  You can currently find it and information on the Design Team call over on Sandy's blog, Scribbles By Sandy or on the new Scribbles Designs Challenge Blog.  If you are interested in applying for a team member position, there is still time left.  Just head on over when you are done here and check out the details.  

So, in this edition of "Thursdays Are For Giving Thanks", my focus is on expressing gratitude for this amazing opportunity.  It is especially meaningful because this will be my first Design Team position.  Wish me luck!  I hope you will be joining us when the Scribbles Challenge Blog goes live.  Become a follower so you won't miss any of the action!


I decided to go with a clean and simple look for this card.  Sandy's sunflower design is so beautiful, I wanted to make sure it was the star of the show.  Copics include: Y13, Y15, Y17, E21, E23 and E25 (sunflower); G20, G29, YG61, YG63, YG67 (leaves and stems).  The sentiment, which fits perfectly, is from Hannalie over on Desert Diva.   The inside is stamped with a clear rubber stamp from the Stampendous Encouraging Words set using a Studio-G ink By leaving the inside void of any text, the card can be used for inspiration, dealing with difficulty or even for encouraging someone's dreams or expressing pride.


I'm afraid the colour quality of my scans aren't the greatest.  That is something else on my list of things to do--learn how to touch up pics for colour restoration.  Unfortunately, it is rather low on my priority list at the moment and will now have to wait until the new year to explore.  

I have entered this card into the following challenges: 
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest post. If you have the time before you go, I'd love to know one thing you are thankful for on this day.

Until next time,

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thursdays Are For Giving Thanks

I just want to take a moment to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers and friends south of the border.  We celebrated our Canadian Thanksgiving back at the beginning of October, so now its your turn.

Even though today is an American holiday, the concept of giving thanks is a universal one.  We all have something in our lives for which we can be grateful .  The list differs for each of us because we all live in our own unique part of the world.  


Personally, I am thankful for a wonderfully supportive husband, two amazing parents, other family and friends in my life and of course my remaining furbaby Marigold.  I am thankful for the many people I have met in this unique online community. I am grateful for the roof over our head, the car in our driveway and the fact that my husband has found part time employment--more importantly, that he likes the type of work he is doing.  I'm indebted for the clean air I am breathing, the clean water I have access to and the peace in our land.  I am thankful that for today my pain is manageable and that I am feeling up to sitting and getting some work done on the computer and that I don't have to rely on my wheelchair for getting around the house.  For this moment, I only need to use my canes.

Yes, today is a good day and my hope is that tomorrow will be a good one as well.  Unfortunately, there are many others out there who are not so lucky.  There are many people in our world who are in pain and suffering great hardship.  However, even if your circumstances are not the best, I hope that there is still something, even something very small, for which you are able to show your gratitude. 

The only thing we truly have power over in our lives is the way that we think.  Being grateful is a choice.  We can choose to show gratitude and take a more positive outlook on things or we can choose to continue to focus on the negative.  No, gratitude won't make the bad things we are facing go away, it just helps us to look at our lives a little differently.  For example, I can complain about how painful and difficult it is for me to sit, stand and walk unassisted or I can choose to be grateful that I still have the capacity to do all three regardless of how long or how far.  Under different circumstances I might be in my wheelchair permantly.  For today I'm grateful that I'm not.

Gratitude is not easy.  If you live in darkness it is difficult to see the light never mind try to grasp onto something that you are thankful for.  But I believe the end results will be worth the effort.  Everything important in life takes work.  Start off with coming up with one thing you are grateful for in your life right nowWe are only guaranteed the time we have today.  Worry about tomorrow, when it comes.  

I have decided that at least one Thursday a month I am going to design a post around the idea of gratitude.  Thursdays around here will be about giving thanks.  I might pose a question for you to think about, further explore the concept of why gratitude is important, or create a design based on appreciation.  Maybe, it will just be a quote for you to consider.  I'd love to hear some ideas about what you'd like to see covered in this topic.  Send me an email or leave me a comment.  For today, I'll just leave you with this food for thought.

So, what are you thankful for today?

If you are interested in the font information I have included it below along with my other usual caveats.

Until next time,




Fonts Used: 
Click the font name to take you to a download location.  The Scriptina Pro font is considered free for commercial use and Champagne & Limosines font is free for personal use.  According to Fontspace, 'personal use' typically refers to any use that is not meant to generate profit and covers graphic design for blogs. So, I believe that I am safe in using it here in these designs and offering it to all of you.

If you haven't already, please become familiar with my terms of use found in the copyright tab at the top of this page.  I have included a quick summary below.  
If you are not sure how to copy the image, check out the download instructions page.  
  
Quick summary of Terms of Use:
  • Do not claim the image as your own.
  • Credit 'Decosse's Dynamite Doodles' somewhere on your creation
  • Do not share my images with family, friends, etc.  Additionally, do not post any images to file sharing services like Pinterest®, 4-Shared®, etc.  Instead, please direct people to my blog so they can grab the image for themselves.
  • If I have signed an image, do not delete my signature.
  • Leave a comment on my blog.  It is currently the only way for me to know if any of my freebies are being nabbed.  Additionally, it will help to inspire me to continue to create and offer future freebies.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Follower Freebies 11 - 19: Offering Up Some Thanks

In honour of the American Thanksgiving tomorrow, and because I wasn't on Blogger yet when we celebrated our Canadian Thanksgiving, I offer up some 'thanks' for my readers.  These will also qualify as freebie followers.

Follower Freebie #11:    In honour of 'Michele from MS' who became a follower on Oct. 30th. 
FontJanda Happy Day-PUO

Follower Freebie #12:    In honour of 'Suze' who became a follower on Oct. 30th.

FontImpact-FW* & Leafyshade-CU

Follower Freebie #13:    In honour of 'SiskiyouSue' who became a follower on Oct. 31st. 

Font:  Autumn Gifts-CU

Follower Freebie #14:    In honour of 'Sharon Kotchkowski' who became a follower on Oct. 31st.

Font:  Rebecca-CU

Follower Freebie #15:    In honour of 'sunshine_ honeybee20' who became a follower on Oct. 31st.
 
FontAlgeria-CU
Follower Freebie #16:    In honour of 'Suzanne' who became a follower on Oct. 31st.

Fonts: Fleur Corner Caps-PUO & Bodini MT-FW*

Follower Freebie #17:    In honour of 'Mary Van Skiver' who became a follower on Oct. 31st.

Fonts: Impact Label Reversed-CU & Impact Label-CU

Follower Freebie #18:    In honour of 'Sandy Lewis' who became a follower on Oct. 31st.

FontAlgeria

Follower Freebie #19:    In honour of 'crystaldolphins' who became a follower on Oct. 31st.

FontDon't Panic-CU

If you click on the font name in the caption, it will take you to the download location.  I have indicated beside the font name whether they are for personal use only (PU) or for commercial use (CU).  I have also included my usual caveats below.

Don't forget to stop by tomorrow for another treat.

Until next time,
 
*This font is condsidered freeware on the site.  However, they do not expand on what the term really means.  Use caution when using this font.

If you haven't already, please become familiar with my terms of use found in the copyright tab at the top of this page.  I have included a quick summary below.   If you are not sure how to copy the image, check out the download instructions page.  
  
Quick summary of Terms of Use:
  • Do not claim the image as your own.
  • Credit 'Decosse's Dynamite Doodles' somewhere on your creation
  • Do not share my images with family, friends, etc.  Additionally, do not post any images to file sharing services like Pinterest®, 4-Shared®, etc.  Instead, please direct people to my blog so they can grab the image for themselves.
  • If I have signed an image, do not delete my signature.
  • Leave a comment on my blog.  It is currently the only way for me to know if any of my freebies are being nabbed.  Additionally, it will help to inspire me to continue to create and offer future freebies.