Welcome, Penny Black Friends to another edition of Runs with Scissors. My thanks to Cooper for making sure Runs with Scissors happened while Mr. RWS and I made the trip to Wisconsin to spend time with family and friends. Cooper was on his own doggie vacay while we were away and maybe someday he will share his own vacation stories. Weren’t we lucky to rescue a dog that knows how to use a computer?
It is good to leave home now and then to spend time with people you love in places where so many of your memories were created. But as every traveler knows, it is good to return home to savor the new memories and sleep in your own bed.
It was also a joy to be back in Penny Black’s studio, playing with the new releases, Fall 2018 and Christmas 2018. This week I made a variety of cards for each of the upcoming holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The transparent set Halloween Gathering includes a great assortment of spooky images that can be combined in many different ways. For this card I’ve used the tree and the witch on her broom, stamped directly onto a background I created using Distress Oxide inks. I added black embossing powder to make the images pop against that spooky sky.
These images are also from the Halloween Gathering transparent set and created a card with an entirely different mood. I used Copic markers to make the sky and color the whacky house. That little black cat is keeping an eye on those bats. The house is a fun image to color and would look very different using a variety of color combinations.
This card was made using the Abundance mini stamp set. I think I used twenty different Copic markers coloring the cornucopia and its contents. I fussy cut the image and mounted it on the layers created with the Stitched Stackers die set. The upcoming holidays are a chance to bring out those gold, silver, red and green sheets of cardstock.
Family Time at Lake Wisconsin
“Don’t be sad it’s over, smile that it happened at all”. It’s rumored that Dr. Seuss is the author of this bit of wisdom, but even if his authorship can’t be proven, it’s good advice.
Those are the words that ran through my head as I tearfully hugged my kids and grandkids goodbye at the end of our week’s visit at the lake in Wisconsin. It doesn’t matter how determined I am to say good-bye with a smile, those tears come down my cheeks, a mixture of sadness because I have to leave and happiness because we were together.
Much of my joy came from traveling successfully, making it through airports to change planes and keeping up with the family’s activities. I almost forgot my diagnosis and was thrilled to feel so well. I made pancakes for the group, just like I always do when we gather. It’s a family memory; mom at the stove trying to make crepes as fast as the kids and grandkids can eat them.
Mr. RWS and I spent half a day visiting dear friends from the days we lived in the Lake Wisconsin area. Dinner with one couple and just a brief “drop in” with another. Just long enough for hugs and a quick check in.
The story of my adopted son connecting with his biological family came full circle when we spent an hour with his 95 year old biological grandmother. There are no words to describe that experience. I am grateful that we met and were able to fill in details about the journey each of us took in order for my son to join our family. I love a story with a happy ending, and this, indeed, was one of those.
There is a ferry that transports vehicle and pedestrian traffic from one side of Lake Wisconsin to the other. It is one of only two remaining free ferries in the country, I believe. How fun it was to see my adult son with his two little ones recreating the memories we made when he was a little boy. The ice cream stands at each side of the lake are still there, and yet another generation of families are stopping for a treat after disembarking the ferry.
We spent time each day boating on the lake, pulling the little ones behind the boat on a luxury “tube”. I couldn’t help but smile to my self remembering the newborn days of being careful how we held them, being certain to support their little heads and now they are zooming across the wake, arms waving to signal, “faster, faster”!
These two are happiest on the boat, riding the tube and swimming in the lake.
I have decided to wear sunglasses for the rest of my life! And spend more time boating.
Evenings were campfires and S’Mores and gorgeous sunsets that gave the lake house it’s name: Sunset Bay.
Jack and Evelyn are at a great age to play board games and work jigsaw puzzles, both of which we did. It is so hard to see little ones learning the hard lesson that there can only be one winner.
Now that Labor Day is behind us, Evelyn has gone off to kindergarten and Jack is finishing his last year in the Child Development Center that he has attended since an infant. If this trip has taught me anything, it’s taught me how quickly the early years of a child go by. I am grateful for the time we spent together and I am grateful for the family who set aside their daily lives and work in order to make it happen. We are already discussing Thanksgiving … not if, but where! Watch out airports, this grandma is a traveler once again.
I used the Fall Wreath die set, running it through my die cutting machine twice: once with gold cardstock that I colored by blending Distress Oxide inks and the next time using plain gold cardstock. I layered the extra leaves to create more dimension. The circle cut from the Stitched Square and Circle dies was the perfect background from my Fall Wreath.
Oh, how I love that Birches cling stamp! My head wants to spin when I think of the possibilities. This time, I went easy peasy and used the image by itself with the addition of three pops of red. This stamp is a wonderful addition to your Penny Black collection as it can be used for so many occasions just by changing the embellishments or backgrounds.
Smiley Cooper, just glad to be home. Cooper was spoiled by his caretakers while we were away, but agrees there is no place like home. It had been a couple of years since we left him for a week and it took a few days for him to realize the suitcases were gone and his folks weren’t going anywhere for awhile.
Speaking of suitcases, I successfully packed a week’s clothes for two people into one large suitcase that we checked. I suffer enough paying for one suitcase per trip and I think paying for two would be more than I could bear. I think overpacking is why suitcases have wheels now. After advice from my world traveled daughter regarding the cooler temps in Wisconsin, especially in the evenings, we added a carry on for jeans and sweatshirts. It was impossible for me to think about cooler temps when our air conditioning had been out for the days before we left. But that’s a story for another day!
It’s now time for another good-bye. How quickly these posts go. It’s always good to spend time with you and I will be back soon. I am still learning how to manage my myasthenia gravis symptoms in order to have the energy to do the things I must as well as the things I love.
The scissors are stowed, my scraps and bits vacuumed, the stamps all accounted for. I have spent far too much time searching for clear stamps that I’ve carelessly set aside instead of returning to their packaging. I am trainable!
Until next time, I hope to see your work in the Penny Circle Flicker Gallery. And as they say here in Alabama, “Happy Fall, Y’all”.
Shop for today’s featured Penny Black supplies
Card No. 1: 30-490 Halloween Gathering, 40-433 Spooky Wishes, 51-397 Antique Frame
Card No. 2: 30-490 Halloween Gathering, 51-416 Stitched Stackers
Card No. 3: 30-491 Abundance, 51-416 Stitched Stackers
Card No. 4: 51-422 Stitched Square and Circles, 51-478 Give Thanks, 51-479 Fall Wreath
Card No. 5: 40-636 Birches, 51-031 Perched, 51-174 Greetings