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July 29, 2013

Monday Musings - Be proud!

Hi everyone, 

Welcome to the latest entry in the Monday Musings series. In this post, I want to touch on something that was brought to my attention by my sister from another mister, Lori. It is an article on the New York Post website that features this iconic image from the aftermath of 9/11/01. 

Photo credit: Thomas E. Franklin

The piece, which can be read in full here, focuses on comments from the 9/11 Memorial Museum's Creative Director, Michael Shulan and others, who considered the above photograph to be "too kitschy and "rah-rah America"". He also says, “I really believe that the way America will look best, the way we can really do best, is to not be Americans so vigilantly and so vehemently,”

I will be saying more about the events of 9/11 in more detail in a post nearer the twelfth anniversary. But for now I want to focus on his comments, particularly the latter and hence the title of this post. I'm personally lost for words at his comments. 

Americans and indeed most citizens of any country are, on the whole, PROUD of their homeland. If you've followed this series, you'll know I'm an adopted American and I for one am immensely proud to be an American and I'm proud to display our flag.

If you read the NYP article, please leave a comment on this post with your views. Thank you! 

Hugs,
Em

July 26, 2013

All boxed up

Hi everyone,

Following on from yesterday's post, when I shared more mini card creations with you, today I'm sharing the matching gift boxes I created for each set of six cards.



Each box is 3.5" x 3.5" x 1" deep and I absolutely LOVE them!

I hope you have a great weekend and I'll be back on Monday with a Monday Musings post.

Hugs,
Em

July 25, 2013

More minis

Hi everyone,

My favorite card style at the moment seems to be mini cards that are only 3"x3" square. They are not only cute, but are ideal for using up some of the "scraps" from other designs. Here are the latest couple of sets I've created. Both sets have six cards and envelopes and they are stored in a matching mini box.



You can see more of the cards in the previous Pretty minis post and that post also links to a tutorial from Karon at Karon's Krafty Korner.

I'll be sharing photos of the completed gift boxes tomorrow and maybe even another set of the cards. I did say they are my current favorite style, lol. Please stop back to see them.

Hugs,
Em

July 24, 2013

New look

Hi everyone,

Firstly, I'm sorry I didn't get a Monday Musings post written this week. I promise that the series will be back next Monday.

I've spent some time this week revamping the site and I'm really happy with the way it looks now. If you click the title of this post, it will take you to the blog, where you can easily look through the posts and the additional pages.

One of the new additions is the Recommendations page and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all my clients who have given recommendations. It truly is an honor to work with, and not for, you all.

The site is still a work in progress, and I thank all of you for your patience while the revamp is continuing. I'd love to know what you think about the new look, please let me know by leaving a comment on this post. Thank you!

Hugs,
Em

July 16, 2013

Christmas in July

Hi everyone,

It might seem WAY too early to be thinking about Christmas, but for crafters, it's not unusual to be thinking about it even sooner than this, though I try not to! If I am, it means you are too, at least for a little while. I promise it won't hurt, lol.

I have a question for you... When thinking about your seasonal cards, do you prefer cute or more traditional designs? Please let me know by leaving a comment.

I'm not trying to influence you in any way, but the pic below is of one of last year's cuter Christmas cards. PLEASE NOTE: The blog mentioned in the photo has been removed.


I look forward to reading your comments.

Hugs,
Em

July 15, 2013

Monday Musings

Hi everyone,

As a mother, today's post is a tough one to write. Since I began this blog and the Monday Musings series, I have tried to keep these posts relevant to events, either of the day, or within the week. When I thought about the topic for today's post, the obvious one that comes to mind is the recent trial of George Zimmerman in Florida. The outcome of the trial is something that is being debated everywhere and this will likely continue for some time, but I'm not going to join that debate here.

Instead, I'm asking you to spend a moment thinking about your loved ones. We never know what will happen, how much time we will have with those that we hold in our hearts. Please tell those you love what they mean to you.

Hugs,
Em

July 10, 2013

Pretty minis

Hi everyone,

Yesterday was the first day I've spent in the studio for a little while and it was a busy day! Like many crafters, I have a lot of left over "scraps" from creating other projects, and taking inspiration from Karon over at Karon's Krafty Korner, I used them to create some cute mini, 3"x3" inch cards, as well as matching envelopes and gift boxes.

I loved her idea for tiny gift boxes so much, I created two sets of six cards, each set having three birthday and three thank you cards. Yep, I told you I was really busy!

You'll see from the pics below that I used 4 different papers for each set, cutting the strips to 1"x2" and then die cutting and using a punch for the flowers, before adding peel off wording to complete.
 




I'll show you the completed boxes in another post. Right now, I'm off up to the studio to work on another set. Yep, I might just be addicted to these little beauties :)

Hugs
Em


July 8, 2013

Monday Musings - The end of an era

Hi everyone,

July 8, 2011 saw the launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-135, the last launch of NASA's thirty year Space Shuttle Program; STS being the acronym for Space Transportation System. Atlantis carried a crew of just four for this mission, the smallest crew since STS-6 in 1983. Among her crew was Pilot Doug Hurley, who's wife, Karen Nyberg, is a member of the ongoing Expedition 36 on the International Space Station.

One of my own earliest memories was as a seven year old, watching the news on January 28, 1986. It was the day that shuttle Challenger, on STS-51-L, was tragically lost just 73 seconds into her flight, with the loss of seven crew members, among them Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher in space. It's a day I'll always remember. As I will February 1, 2003 when shuttle Columbia, STS-107, was lost during re-entry, with the loss of all seven crew members.

Though it has seen terrible tragedy, the Space Shuttle Program has given us all so much. It has seen unimaginable advances in both technology and science. It has open the eyes of so many and on a personal level, it inspired my love of all things space related.

Today might mark anniversary of the end of the Shuttle era, but NASA and other organizations are looking to the future of space exploration and I look forward, if only in a metaphorical sense, for being along for the ride.

July 1, 2013

Monday Musings - July 4th

Hi everyone,

Before we get started with this week's Monday Musings topic, I'll just give you a quick note about some housekeeping I've done here on the blog. A few of you have commented that links in the posts have not been easy to find, so I've now changed the color of them to light grey, so they are much easier to find. I hope this helps.

Ok, now that's been dealt with, let's get into Musing...


This coming Thursday, July 4th, is a very important holiday for me. Some people may wonder why, as someone based in the UK, I celebrate American Independence from the country of my birth? The answer to that question can, in part, be found in a previous Musings post, the first in the series, Introducing me. If you've read that, you'll know that I feel more American than British and I sound it too! What I didn't say, in so many words, in that post, is that life for me prior to the time zone switch had been rough, very rough, emotionally. The decision was one that changed my life, so much, for the better. Just days after making the switch, I celebrated my first July 4th as an adopted American.

The day holds so much importance for me, because I'm not only celebrating Americas's Independence, but MINE too, I celebrate taking control of my life.

Before concluding this post, I want to share what I think, beside The Star Spangled Banner, is one of the most patriotic songs, God bless the USA!


Hugs,
Em