April 5th – National Read A Road Map Day

Today, April 5th is National Read a Road Map Day!

With the advent of Google Maps, Mapquest and the GPS, learning to read a road map is no longer a necessity. But what if your batteries died or the electronics didn’t work. Would you know how to read a road map?

My first experience with maps was the globe of the world Mommy had in the living room. Nothing fancy, just a small table top Rand McNally globe that spun round and round. Sitting on the floor, my siblings and I would take turns closing our eyes and placing our finger on the spinning globe ending up on continents and in countries that we would otherwise have never heard about.

On trips with Old Roady, I ride shotgun with the map draped across my knees following our route with my finger. I enjoy watching for the next town or turn off. With the purchase of a GPS, my map reading skills are not longer needed, but the activity keeps me awake (I was born with an on/off switch on my bottom that is activated by the seat of a car.), so I still like to have a map to look at. The last trip we took, I used the Maps App on my iPad. When I realized I was spending more time staring at the little red dot moving along the highway than I was looking at the landscape, I put it away.

In my book ‘Out Of The Wilderness’, it was Sophie’s lack of map reading skills that led to her getting lost and in need of rescue. Studying with this tutorial would have saved her from the ordeal. But then, she would have never met Gray.

What you need to know to read a map:

• How to use the grid – those numbers and letters bordering the map have a purpose.
• Where to find the map key or legend and what data is contained there.
• Why roads come in different colors.
• What do the different colors and symbols and highway markers mean.

The final hurdle in handling a paper road map is learning how to refold it back to it’s original neat and tidy rectangle. For that, there is no tutorial.

Questions for you:
Do you think map reading skills are becoming a lost art?
Do you prefer paper or digital?

Christian Indie Novelists Blog Hop – Winners

Congratulations to Sylvia Stein – winner of the $100 Amazon gift card. Congratulations, Sylvia!

Nadine Thangluai – you are the winner of my blog drawing for the Feather Notebook from Bonnie Paper Works, as well as a digital copy of my book, OUT OF THE WILDERNESS.

Many thanks to everyone who followed the Hop, enjoyed the story and left comments. Your enjoyment in our story means a great deal to me and my fellow authors.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

Old Window Charm

Pinterest introduced me to the many ways to use old windows.

To see the charm of old windows used in decorating take a peek here –
and here.

Finally! I have my very own. I found it next door at a yard sale. Squee!

Old Roady and Son gave me puzzled looks when I walked in with my treasure. The response to my explanation was a well executed eye roll (worthy of an Olympian) and a quiet “I wondered what you were going to do with that”.

I’ve brushed, washed and polished. Next week – the reveal!

A Geranium Card

Summer is half over! Doesn’t seem possible. The days are flying by. Whatever happened to the ‘lazy days of summer’? I think they disappeared with childhood. After a busy morning of catch-up, I decided to take a break and spend some time at my ‘card’ table and play with my rubber stamps and ink. I used older stamps to make this card.

The background stamp is by Hero Arts (2002) and titled Delicate Vine Background.
I love the spicy scent of geraniums. The potted geranium on this card is actually two stamps from a 1994 Stampin’ Up set titled Little By Little.
For the die cut, I used Sizzix #657911 Fancy Tags. The shape gives this simple card a little pizzaz.

A warm soft breeze is coming in through the open window and the cicadas are buzzing in the afternoon heat. Perhaps for just a few hours this afternoon, I’ll relax and rediscover that ‘lazy day’ feeling.

Happy Birthday Card with Inchies

While on vacation I found some fabulous ‘inchie’ stamps. I used black ink, added glitter then set them against a hot pink background. Love the visual impact when several inches are grouped together.

Mother’s Day ~ The Cards. The Hat.

Following are the two Mother’s Day cards I created for my mom and my mom-in-law.

I had a thing for flowers this year! On the first I sponged a small paper doily with moss green ink  to use as the background for the flowers. On the second card, I embossed the background with the Cottage Floral embossing folder from Craft Concepts then colored it with chalk.

And finally, here is the hat I wore for Hat Day at church. Lace, ribbon and a vintage pearl button!       

Wearing hats is not the norm in my church, so this is a fun way to include all women in the the celebration.

I was blessed with a day full of sunshine, love and laughter.

 

 

 

 

Dogwood Blossom Happy Birthday Card

One of my latest creations made at Stamp Camp using Stampin’ Ups Happiness Shared stamp set. I used a white gel pen to enhance the flower. I love the white ink on cream paper combination.

 This beautiful card is already in the mail!

And none will hear the postman’s knock
Without a quickening of the heart.
For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?
~W.H. Auden

Daisy Card

I needed a quick card this week and turned to the stash of cards given to me over the years. The ones that are special at the moment but not ‘keepers’ … but yes, I have kept them because how can I toss something someone paid hard earned cash for, not to mention the time spent choosing it especially for me? Those cards are beautiful and bright. Using pieces of them in the cards I make extends their life.

Do you like the daisies? Those are from the front of a lovely card given to me by my wonderful mom-in-law (who bears no resemblance to the mother-in-law jokes out there.) A bit of embossing, a snippet of dotted ribbon, paper lace punched with the Doily Lace punch by Martha Stewart and ‘Ta-daaa‘. A cheerful card.

What secrets do you have for creating a last minute card with a minimum of fuss?

 

 

Happy Birthday Card with Love

The single flower stamped on this card is by Stampin’ Up from the Love & Sympathy Set. The stamp is also perfect for a birthday card. I like the simplicity of the flower combined with a great deal of white space on the card. Do you like white space or do you prefer more embellishment on your cards?

 

 

 

 

Floral Pencil Cup

NEW OFFICE.

NEW DESK.

NEW PENCIL CUP!

Our office is color-coded. Everyone uses a different color – purple, pink, blue and, for obvious reasons, my color is green. I wanted to use green in my pencil cup in order to match my clipboard, stapler, pens, markers and scissors. Couldn’t stick to just green. Needed some other colors, too. With spring around the corner and the green tips of the daffodils and tulips popping up everywhere, I chose a floral theme.

How’s that for a gussied-up pineapple can?

I’m pinning it to my Pinterest board  titled My Creations. If you don’t know about Pinterest, pop in and explore. Click on the red ‘Pinterest’ at the top of the page and see what everyone is pinning. Lots of fun ideas.

Happy Wednesday!