Easter 2024

 

 

 

Easter seemed to be early this year, so I checked the earliest and latest dates it can fall, which can be anywhere from March 22 to April 25. So, not the earliest this year, but I still had to get hopping on card making!

Pinterest is always a great source for card ideas, and Easter is no exception. I also found a tutorial for an Easter hat card on a blog by a card maker I follow. Along with patterned papers, ink, glue, die cuts, and the Cricut, several different cards are now ready for mailing.

I love the simplicity of the card at the top of the page and the cute little bunny standing in for the letter “A”. The Cricut made this one easy.

What’s Easter without a chocolate bunny? I used the bunny cut out from another card to make this one. The patterned paper featuring chocolate bunnies made a perfect background.



 

This card uses the reverse of the chocolate bunny card above and features an embossed design over patterned paper. The cut image allowed me to use another sheet of patterned paper.

 

 

Here’s a cute little bunny peeking in to wish us a happy Easter. This one used very basic shapes and it was fun to powder the bunny's cheeks and draw on whiskers.

 

 

This card allowed me to use the most patterned paper of all the cards. It’s simple, and I love how it turned out.


 

What’s Easter without an Easter bonnet? Yes, this is a card based on a card maker’s blog this month. The bottom of the hat opens up to allow for a written message.


 

 

But the best Easter basket of all? This little cutie! :) 


Quashed!


Trellised Squash

I’d been planning my 2024 garden for months, and double-checked a list of vegetables in the brassica family. Due to a thyroid condition I have to avoid brassicas, so they shouldn’t be taking up space in my raised beds.

Plans quashed! The brassica list is longer than I realized and includes the well-known broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts. Never having grown those successfully, I wasn’t disappointed. However, greens I love such as arugula, Swiss chard, and bok choy are also brassicas.

https://whatscookingamerica.net/squash.htm
Fortunately, I love squash so I searched the Burpee seed catalog last month for several varieties to plant in the new 4x8 raised bed that I have. This year I’ll be trying baby butternut (my favorite squash), a new squash that resembles the look and taste of mashed potatoes, acorn squash, sugar pie pumpkins*, and winter delicata.


I don’t have a lot of horizontal garden space, so the squash will grow on trellises (photo at top of page) which worked out well last year. Beans are a great companion plant for squash, and this year dragon’s tongue and scarlet runner beans will join the squash. The latter can also be trellised. Last year we had more beans than I could enjoy fresh, so the rest went into the freezer.



*I use a lot of canned pumpkin as a replacement for oil or applesauce in recipes such as these bran muffins. Be sure to toss in a teaspoon or two of pumpkin spice and some cranberries for a fall treat!

https://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes/how-to-make/moist-molasses-bran-muffins/

I am often low on eggs, so I replace the two beaten eggs in the recipe with a mixture of a tablespoon each of chia seeds and ground flax as a binder. It is so good that I make the muffins with the egg substitute every time. Extra fiber and Omega-3 too!

Pumpkin seeds are a great substitute for nuts and I look forward to roasting my own pumpkin seeds this year. The original garden plan may have been quashed, but now it's squash!

 



 

 

 





 

What a Wazer to Go


The Wazer: https://wazer.com/
 

I retired last month after working 44 years at a large university. Woo hoo! Some people worried that I’d stay at home, just resting and rusting. Pffft! I've already found a couple new hobbies, one of which is stained glass work.

Nice clean edges, and simple pieces for beginners

The first step on the learning curve was to be certified to operate the Wazer, a water jet cutter, at our nearby makerspace. It was intimidating! It seemed there were so many steps to getting it set up, but after a few runs I gained confidence. Other than glass, the Wazer can cut steel, stone, and tile. When cutting glass, the edges are smooth and no grinding is needed, nor do I need to trace patterns and scribe the glass for manual cutting.

 

Having learned to operate the Wazer, I now needed supplies: solder, copper tape, a fid (to firmly press the copper tape onto each cut piece), flux, flux brushes, flux remover, and a carborundum stone to smooth the one area the Wazer leaves to hold the cut piece in place during the high pressure cutting process.

Ready to assemble? Not yet. The PDF designs I purchased from Etsy needed to be converted into the DXF file format Wazer uses. I thought wrapping copper foil around each piece with only a millimeter of play was difficult, but learning to convert files took much more trial and error! Fortunately, my husband is a wiz with various software applications and patiently walked through the process with me over two days.

So, in addition to learning how to solder stained glass pieces, I’ve now learned to use Inkscape to convert files for the Wazer, create the Wazer files, and save them to an SD card. Whew!

Finally, some completed pieces! My foiling and soldering skills have a Waze to go, but I’m enjoying this new hobby. 

 


 

 

 

 

 

All That Glitters!

 

 

Embossing folder, washi tape, and snowflake cut with Cricut.

It’s my favorite card-making time of year! As usual, glitter and sparkle graced each card I made. Every year some of the big card makers and card making suppliers host free classes on YouTube, Facebook, and their own web pages. 

I learned a number of techniques I had to try, bought new supplies I loved, and discovered one very useful new tool. The new tool makes it easy to adhere very delicate pieces such as greetings on a card.

Not only did I use stamps, embossing folders, and hot foil plates, but the Cricut also played a big part in drawing designs and cutting out a lot of glittery snowflakes.

So let’s take a look!



No end of sparkle here! A very simple card, but lots of visual impact. Glitter papers cut with Cricut. (Thank you, hubby, for aligning all those trees!)


 

 

 


 A stamped image with ink blending for the background. Lots of glitter drops for the ornaments, and a hot foiled sentiment.







The fanciest hot foil card I made this year. Breathed a sigh of relief at how well everything lined up!








This hot foil plate arrived a day late for the card to be mailed, but I love the holographic foil and how decorative the jewel embellishments look. I'll be using it a lot for next year's cards.






I loved this design cut with the Cricut and using holographic paper for the background.







The snowflake design was drawn with the Cricut and I added jewels for sparkle. The card with all foil is made with the first 3D embossing folder I bought after watching a class where it was used. Another chance to embellish with jewels!

 

One more card I made to announce a very special day--an historical day!

That's 44 years at the University of Washington.

I'll have so much more time to use my crafting supplies now. I'm going to need a bigger Christmas card list! 😁
 


Humble Gratitude

 


November is the traditional month for expressing gratitude and thankfulness. Many may be grateful for luxuries such as an expensive vacation, the latest fashion in clothing, or sparkly jewelry. I often remind myself to be grateful for simple things such as a warm house, good food, and having enough. A humble gratitude.

Sure, housework is a daily chore, but I’m grateful I have a house to
clean and don’t lack the energy to do it. My washer and dryer are small enough to necessitate daily laundry, but I'm grateful I don’t have to go to a laundromat. Tending the garden takes time, but I’m able to grow fruits and vegetables to supplement our weekly groceries. 

 

And when I’m ready to relax for the day, I have my furry friend to curl up with. I’m grateful I can afford vet bills.





https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-appreciation/ 

 

I looked into what others consider humble gratitude and found most references were rooted in religion. Psychology also offers great insight and definition. This image was especially helpful in describing many aspects of simple gratitude.






This beautiful image I recently saw on Facebook depicts humble gratitude. Appreciating the seemingly small things like those mentioned above bring us joy when they are not overlooked.


 





thegoalchaser.com
There are many sites with gratitude quotes, but I confess I most enjoyed the humorous ones.  My favorite is from an unknown author. I’m grateful I have at least a small sense of humor.

 If you’d like to practice humble gratitude, the site Master Your Mind can get you started with three simple steps:
1. Acknowledge what you have
2. Express thanks
3. Take action by volunteering, donating to charity, or doing something nice for someone

So this month when we focus on gratefulness, we should remember not to overlook things that are often taken for granted.

AI Art depicting humble gratitude created with DALL-E



Easter 2024

      Easter seemed to be early this year, so I checked the earliest and latest dates it can fall, which can be anywhere from March 22 to Ap...