A Masculine Card For Father's Day

Happy belated Father's Day everyone!  I hope everyone had a great Father's Day, we certainly did.  We were childless but we had a nice time together as a couple and of course the kids called to wish their Father a Happy Father's Day.

I decided to wait to show the card I made for my husband till after Father's Day because I never know who is snooping on my blog and I don't want him to see it beforehand.  I think it's such a generic masculine card it could be used for any event for a guy and not just Father's Day.

The stamp set is an old retired set from Stampin' Up! called "Thoughts of Father".  I just love this set.  They just don't make stamps like they use to and I'm very grateful I still own a lot of these old sets.  

Because the image is so intricate I used pencils to color it in.  I used designer paper for the background and then matted the main image base onto a dark blue paper.   I chose all the colors and papers to keep the card as masculine as possible.  

The inside of the card is stamped with a Father's Day message, but this card could easily be turned into a birthday card with a different message stamped inside.

And now for some Father's Day pictures.  We first went to church.  Yes, our church is open.  Some people seemed surprised by that when I posted these pictures to Facebook.  Our church reopened at 40% capacity about four weeks ago.  Our democrat governor illegally extended our lockdown so the republican legislature took him to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the judges ruled the lockdown illegal because the governor did not consult with the state legislature.  Our church then reopened two weeks later following CDC guidelines.  It is wonderful being back with the church body again and experiencing corporate worship.  I will never take going to church for granted again!

After church we took advantage of all the "freebies" the local restaurants had to offer for Father's Day.  First we went to Arby's where all father's got a free sandwich of their choice.  The dining room of the Arby's was still closed so we had to use the drive thru.  At first we were bummed, but it ended up being a a good thing because we found a sweet local park we didn't know about.  I googled local parks on my phone and found a park only about a mile from the Arby's where we could eat our lunch. It was such a cute park with a little bridge and creek.  There was a nice trail to that we hope to hike in the fall.

After our picnic lunch we went to Culvers for a free Father's Day ice cream.  Their dining room was open, (at a smaller capacity) so we took advantage of it.  It was the first time we sat down inside a restaurant since this nightmare began.  It's still weird with half the tables and chairs gone, the workers wearing masks, and all the "stand here" signs, cones, and tape, but it's better than the dining room being closed.

 

So there you have it, how we celebrated another holiday in our Covid world.  How was your Father's Day?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

May Bible Journaling Pages

The past month I finished the book of Job and started the book of Psalms.  Landing in Job and Psalms during the pandemic and subsequent civil unrest could not have been more timely.  The book of Job helped see me through some difficult times.  Like Job, I questioned where God was as people all over the world suffered because of the lockdowns.  Job was considered a godly man, yet he questioned God and wondered why he was suffering when he knew he had done nothing to deserve it.  

Job never did find out why he was put through so much suffering, although he questioned where God was in all of it, his faith never wavered.  Although I in no way suffered any of Job's losses during the lockdown, I too questioned where God was in all of it.  I had faith in Him.  I knew He had it all under His control. Yet, like Job, I was still sad and many verses in this book comforted me.

The verse on this page reminds me to put my faith in God and not in scientists or politicians.  

I love this whimsical pre-printed page.  After listening to Job lament for days, and Job's friends pathetic earthly advice to Job, God comes in like a storm and says "Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?"  If God can create this amazing planet that we live on, we can trust Him to take care of our problems.

If God wants to do something, no one can stop Him.  His will, will always be done.  I got so frustrated with the tyrannical behavior of so many governors and officials during the lockdown.  There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to why one thing was closed but another was not.  The hypocrisy was never ending (and still is!).  The injustice of it all drives me crazy.  YET, I put my faith in God that these governors and officials can not stop God.  He can do anything!

Here is a page I created myself.  I thought this verse was so beautiful, I wanted to mediate on it by creating a page.  I colored the background with navy blue craft paint, then I hand wrote the verse in using a white gel pen.  I stamped the stars with white craft ink.

Isn't this a beautiful, happy page?  I love the graphics and found it a joy to color.  It renewed my spirits.

I love this verse.  It gave me hope.  The past few months have been so sad, and honestly, I don't see it getting much better.  I know some things are opening up, but so many things are still cancelled, gone for good, or will never be the same.  But this verse gives me hope that better days lie ahead, if not on this earth, then in heaven.

This verse reminded me of how merciful and just God is in an unjust world.

I must admit that although I drew a lot of comfort from reading the book of Job, I was so excited to start the book of Psalms.  Psalms has always been one of my favorite books in the Bible.  I colored the title page with colors that represent the sun and also the light that the book of Psalms brings to people's souls.  Many Christians love to read a psalm a day to bring them comfort and encouragement.

I colored the background of this pre-printed image with pencils then filled in the words with gel pens.

Anyone as old as me may remember the Sandi Patti song based on this verse.  I think the song rang continuously through my head as I colored this verse.  It was a joy to color.

When I reached chapters 10 and 11 of Psalms, I could not help but see a similarity of the time period of David to today's modern society.  I wanted to create a page to document this period of US history in my Bible.  Three verses in these chapters really stuck out at me, so I wrote/stamped them on the page and surrounded the verses with a fiery image I created with pencils.

No matter what happens in this world, like David we can have complete assurance in ever lasting life.

Bible reading and family have kept me sane during these past few crazy months, but I also found so much peace and contentment being in my garden every day.  I have never been more grateful for my country home and the large "Garden of Eden" I get to enjoy everyday.  I don't know how I would have made it through without my yard.  I felt so sorry for people who lived in tiny apartments during the lockdown and could not get out and enjoy nature.  I love this verse because it is so TRUE!  Nature always brings me so much closer to God.  I just spend time in nature and all the worries of the world suddenly seem so small because I can see what He created and how truly powerful He is.    

How about you?  What sources have comfort have gotten you through the past few months?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Grandma & Me: Celebrating My Grandchildren’s Birthdays

Waaaaay back in March my children and grandchildren came to live with my husband and I during the lockdown.  They arrived the day before the first lockdown started and stayed for three months.  The main reason they did this was because they live in a small apartment in the Chicago area and both parents had to teach from home once quarantine began.  They did not have any Internet service to teach on-line, and even if they did, trying to teach in a bedroom with two loud small children crying or screaming nearby was not practical.  So, they came to my house which not only had lots of room to teach on-line without being disturbed, but also fast 5G Internet.  There were other motivations to quarantining with us too:  a large home with a large backyard is far more tolerable than a small apartment if you're not allowed to leave your home for months.  Having Grandpa and Grandma around is also less lonely than being alone for three months as well.  

We made so many memories while they were here.  It was fun to have them so long, but it was also difficult at times with so many more mouths to feed and the constant mess toddler's bring to a home.  Between spending 6 to 8 hours a day in the garden, then coming in to the house to do dishes and cook supper for six, I was starting to grow tired, so once Ashley & Jason's on-line teaching commitments ended they returned home.  They left last Saturday for their home in Illinois, but they won't be there long because Jason got a new job!  He was hired to be the principal of a Christian school in Indiana!  They have three weeks to pack up in Illinois before they move to Indiana.  We were so happy Jason got a great new job and a wage increase.  We were also happy they could finally leave the state of Illinois.  Now they are hoping that they can finally stop renting and afford a home of their own next year.  

They are moving to a suburb of the Indianapolis area.  It will only add about another two hours to our drive to see them now, so that's ok.  We don't think the longer distance will change the time we usually spend together at all. However, because we just spent three long months with them in our home, we decided we would not drive to Illinois to celebrate their birthdays and we had a small private birthday party for them before they left.

We purchased the most delicious chocolate cupcakes and I put  1 candle in Atticus' cupcake for his first birthday, and 3 candles in Alethea's cupcake for her 3rd birthday.

For each grandchild I made a handmade card.

Alethea's card was made from an old digital image I had already sitting on my desk.  I did the card in all different shades of pink because that's her favorite color!

Atticus' card was made using a vintage retired stamp set from Crafty Secrets called "Birthday Kids".

I stamped confetti on the card base then repeated the confetti design by cutting out some confetti pieces using my Cuttlebug Machine and a die.  The balloon is stamped twice, cut out, then popped up on dimensionally.  I also stamped the number "1" and the ice cream cone onto separate card stock, then cut them out and glued them to the card.

The children loved their handmade cards.  Of course Atticus wanted to peel everything off right away.

I love the smile on Alethea's face as she "reads" her card.

One of the activities Alethea and I did together while she stayed with me during lockdown was to watch the Barbie show on Netflix.  The new show has come a long way since the Barbie of my generation.  It is more diverse and less focused on material things and appearance and more focus is on good values.  For her birthday, I bought Alethea her very first Barbie doll so she would always remember all the special times we had watching the show together.

Alethea was so excited to get her doll.  She recognized Barbie immediately!

For Atticus' birthday Ashley ordered a wooden push toy from Amazon.  He absolutely loved it!

Of course Jackson had to come and see what all the excitement was about too!

Finally I will leave you with this adorable video of my grandson eating sweets for the first time.  He was so excited.  He kept jumping to try to move his chair to get to the cupcake.  He is so cute!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

Ageless Style - Rules Are Made To Be Broken

The Ageless Style Link Up-  The first Monday of every month a group of over forty fashion bloggers pick a monthly theme and show different ways of styling it. 

It is the first Monday of the month and time for a new Ageless Style Link Up!  This month our theme was chosen by Bettye  and she picked "Rules Are Made To Be Broken".  There are so many fashion rules out there like  "Don't wear white before Labor Day", "Don't wear double denim", and "Don't match your shoes to your purse." I don't usually pay attention to fashion rules, as I wear what I like.   But I am always particularly annoyed with the "Age Appropriate" ones...you know, the list of items one shouldn't wear if they are over a certain age.  I absolutely cringe every single time a blogger uses the phrase "Age Appropriate".  I don't think any adult should ever be told what to wear based on her age.  So I decided to break the age appropriate rules for this month's fashion challenge and wear two items no woman over fifty should ever wear:  cut off denim shorts and a graphic tee.

A few blog posts ago a reader asked me what I wear every day at home since I always looked so put-together on my blog posts (ha-ha! If she only knew).  I chuckled and told her depending on the season I'm either wearing leggings and a cardigan in the winter or cut-off denim shorts and a tee in the summer.  If you were to drop by my house unannounced you would most likely see me looking like this (except minus the make up of course).  I wear jean shorts almost every day, as I work in my garden.  My hair is usually up in a pony tail with a baseball cap (another no-no rule for us over fifty gals!  We're not suppose to wear our hair in pony tails).

I have always been a home-body, but since the lockdowns I rarely leave my house;  I've been spending hours and hours in my garden as a result.    My fashion posts have always been "What I Am Wearing" whether running errands, traveling, or whatever I do.  But now, all I do is stay home and garden and I wanted to be true to what I'm actually wearing, so I thought you'd enjoy seeing me in my natural habit...my garden, wearing my T-Shirt and cut-off shorts.

My T-Shirt brings back bittersweet memories of better times, when life was normal, and we could travel and have fun and amazing experiences.

My cut-off shorts I created myself with hard work!  I don't need to buy distressed jeans from the store:  my jeans get holes in the knees naturally from long hours working in the garden.  Eventually the holes in the jeans become so large that the pants are useless, and that's when I cut them off and wear them as shorts!

I have been so bad at photographing my garden this year.  I know a lot of my readers really look forward to my garden photos.  I apologize but with a household of people to care for, plus the addition of a new vegetable garden, taking the time to photograph the flowers has been difficult.  It was nice to be able to combine a fashion/garden post today.

So what do you think of these flowering onions?  Pretty fun, eh?

 

If you would have told me in my twenties that I would still have been wearing cut off denim shorts and graphic tees when I was 57 I would have laughed at you.  Yet, here I am!  Age really is just a number after all.



So what about you?  Are you a rule breaker or a rule follower when it comes to fashion?  I'd love to hear from you!

And now, be sure to visit the other ladies of Ageless Style to see what fashion rules they're breaking.  Be sure to link up your fashion posts too!

Amy ~ Amy's Creative Pursuits Blog, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest

Bettye ~ Fashion Schlub Blog, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube

Daenel ~ Living outside the stacks Blog, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter

Debbie ~ Fashion Fairy Dust Bloglovin, Blog, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter

Jennie ~ A Pocketful of Polka Dots Blog, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Bloglovin

Jodie ~ Jodie's Touch of Style Blog, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Bloglovin, Twitter

Julia ~ When the Girls Rule Blog, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram

Kellyann ~ This Blonde's Shopping Bag Blog, Instagram, Bloglovin, Twitter

Shelly ~ The Queen in Between Blog, Instagram, Bloglovin, Pinterest, Facebook

Shugunna ~ Nzuri N* Simplicity Blog, Pinterest, Instagram

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