Saturday, April 30, 2011

Easter Crafting and digital designs

Hello peeps!


After spending so many hours crafting for charity, I decided to take a short time out and create some cute Easter items for the grand babies.  A little lamb hat for Ellie and my version of a "pillow pet" for Sawyer :o).............





I also spent some time making Spring cards, and discovered a new "tool" that I had not realized was available.  While perusing Etsy, I discovered something called "digital stamps".  Now, most of you may be aware of these, but this was completely new to me!  Oh my gosh, the options are limitless!!  Not only that, the digi designs don't take up any room, because they are stored in your computer.....so cool!  I'm adding a link for one of the designers I fell in love with.  Her darling little illustrations remind me so much of a cute book I have had since I was a child; "A Friend is Someone Who Likes You".  I loved that book and her designs feel like a great big hug when I see them!


If you enjoy making cards, then definitely check out Etsy digital designs.  In addition to finding tons of material out there to get the creative juices flowing, I am starting to draw again and have several ideas for my own digital designs, woohoo!!





Here is the link for the digi designs I used:


http://www.etsy.com/shop/WhimsyAndStarsStudio?ref=seller_info


I wish you a wonderful weekend and love and kindness wherever you go this coming week!


Love and blessings,


Mary Anne

Sunday, April 10, 2011

It's Spring - time for growth and challenge!


Hello dearhearts! I am continually amazed at how quickly time slips by. Of course, the older we get, the faster it goes! Since I last attempted to post on this blog, I have been blessed with two more, beautiful, grandchildren and moved two more times! Now that I am settled from my last move and have found a new focus, my challenge will be to try and post once a week. We'll see how that goes ;o)..... A year ago, I had hoped that I could continue creating floral arrangements and donating them to hospitals and charity. I'm afraid that didn't work out too well for me, as creating the arrangements required me to be on my feet for too long. I had been contemplating crochet or knitting, as I thought I might be able to do that reclining. I spent a few months in Michigan helping out with my newest grandchild and my daughter-in-law suggested I try Youtube for learning how to crochet (again :o). Thank you Larissa, you are awesome! WOW!! You can learn ANYTHING on Youtube! Did you know that? I was amazed, I had no idea! Granted, I am a little behind the times when it comes to technical advances and a bit challeneged that way as well LOL! But Youtube ended up being an awesome thing for me. I can pull up a video to learn a technique....slow it down, or stop it at any point and resume when ready. For now, I am finding so many gorgeous projects I want to try that there aren't enough hours in the day to do them all! I am also staying very busy crocheting for charity. I am posting pictures of squres that I am mailing to Africa. These are then turned into blankets for the many orphaned children with AIDS. This is an awesome charity and I urge you to check it out! The children are so beautiful, in the midst of coping with horrific challenges. Here is the link where you can read about the program and see pictures of children that have been given warm blankets, hats, sweaters and vests by the KAS. http://www.knit-a-square.com/ What will be your challenge and new growth for Spring 2011? I wish you a beautiful week and an awesome Spring! Love and blessings, Mary Anne