Regular Blogging Schedule Closed Until Further Notice

It is with great regret that I have made the decision to temporarily shut down my regular blogging schedule due to the "Pandemic".  I have made this decision for two reasons:   1) It seems so trivial now to do posts on fashion when most of our communities are "Locked down";  and to talk about Easter cards and home decor just seems insensitive when there is so much suffering right now. 2) My daughter and her husband and kids will be coming home to live with us until this nightmare is over.  I am super busy now preparing our home for long term visitors and I'm sure I will be so busy when they are here cooking, cleaning, and playing with the grandkids that I just won't have time to blog.

However, I do want to stay faithful to my commitments  so if "Ageless Style" still continues on with their link ups I will do another fashion post the first Monday of April.  I also realize that many of us will have more times on our hands as we are all stuck at home, and we may be spending more time at on the Internet and therefore the blogging community may be more important than ever.  I don't want to further isolate myself by not communicating with you.  So if I have time to post at all, it won't be about fashion, home decor, travel, or crafts, but it will be about how we're surviving the pandemic, our daily lives in isolation, or spiritual insight and encouragement.

Like many people, I don't know where this pandemic will lead.  Some times I think it's all a hoax and we're all over-reacting.  Other times I think it's for real and I fight back the fear with prayer and scripture.  I just don't know.  My thoughts and emotions go up and down like a roller coaster multiple times a day.  Like Y2K twenty years ago, I hope a few weeks/months now we will all look back at this and laugh and say "I can't believe we were all so worried about nothing!"  But until then, we have to be prepared for the worst and pray and hope for the best.

Instead of my usual closing signature of "Have A Great Day" I am leaving you with this encouraging verse from the Bible:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."  Phil. 4: 6-7

Amy

A Handmade Sympathy Card and More "Colorful Blessings" Cards

It's been awhile since I've shared some of my handmade cards with you so I decided to do a "card round up" post before the Easter projects begin!

Well, first I had the unpleasant task of making a sympathy card.  I don't know a card maker on the planet who enjoys making a sympathy card.  We just hope and pray our handiwork brings comfort to the recipient as we make it.  This card was made for a good friend of mine who lost her father-in-law.  

I used retired Stampin' Up! sets to make this card.  I kept it simple and elegant by stamping the images directly  onto the main card base and coloring it in with Copic markers.  I then matted it on a black piece of card stock to make everything pop before I adhered it to a white card base.

The rest of the cards I have to show you were all made from my "Colorful Blessings" Card fronts I purchased on Amazon.  These are all pre-printed card fronts that you simply color in and mount to a card base.

The designs in this kit are usually very intricate so I almost always use my gel pens to color them.  This results in very bright and vivid colors.

I almost always mount the card fronts to a dark base first to make the colors pop and then I put them on a white card base.

The card below however already had so much white space, I chose a coral card to mount it on.

All the messages in this kit are very generic but encouraging so you can use them for a multitude of occasions.

Sometimes when I'm done with my Bible Journaling for the day, I just like to pull out a card front and color.  Like I do with my Bible Journaling, I try to mediate on the verse as I color.  I then make a card out of the front even though I may not have a recipient for it, and just put it in my stash so I have a card ready when needed.

This would be a cheerful card to give to someone going through a hard time.

I hope you enjoyed looking at my cards today.  Easter cards are coming soon!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

What I Wore In February and a Sneak Peek of My New Easter Dress

I don't have a lot of outfits to show this month as I didn't get out much, and when I did it was so cold my outfits weren't blog-worthy, but because I'm all about keeping it real and showing you what I really wear....here goes!

This is an outfit I wore on a chilly day to the hair dresser and running weekly errands.  It was a cold day, so I wore tall boots.  I always save those tall boots for the coldest of days to keep my legs warm. With those boots, I wore black leggings with a long burgundy sweater.

Believe it or not, this ended up being my Valentine Day's Outfit ha ha!  I do all these posts on "What To Wear For Valentine's Day" and this is what I end up actually wearing.  However, in my defense, I ended up choosing this outfit based on our activity.  We chose to visit our local zoo and conservatory for our Valentine date.  This required being comfortable in a car for two hours there and back, so I wore eggplant leggings for comfort.  We would also be spending lots of time outdoors in 30 degree temperatures so I chose a turtleneck sweater to keep me warm.  And because we would be on our feet all day, I chose comfortable hiking boots.

We had one slightly warmer day last month where I could leave the down-filled parka at home and just get by with this heavy cardigan from Stitch Fix.  It looks kinda funny in the photo as it's sort of a wrap too.  You can check out this post HERE to see other ways I styled it.

I paired the cardigan with a black tank, grey skinny jeans, and black suede 3 buckle booties.

And finally, I wanted to give you a sneak peek at my new Easter dress!  I don't want to show any pictures of me wearing it just quite yet, but I wanted to show the dress now in case you're shopping for dresses.  Items at TJMaxx disappear so fast, so if you need a dress, go now!  They have some pretty ones.

I really wasn't looking for a new dress, I have plenty already.  But as always, I go to TJMaxx to buy a mattress protector and I end up coming home with a dress. 🤣 TJMaxx is my danger store.  I really need to stay out of there.  Anyhow, I do have a wedding in late May too and I was starting to think about what to wear.  They always say "Don't buy a new dress for a special occasion, you will never wear it again."  But you know what the problem with that thinking is?  You take pictures at special occasions and if you don't wear something new, you are wearing the same dress in every picture of every special event.  Trust me.  My husband is the perfect example.  Every picture we have of him he's got the same outfit on.  Someday my grandchildren are going to ask me "Grandma, were you and Grandpa poor that he couldn't afford more than one shirt?" ha ha!

Anyhow, this dress is by Tommy Hilfiger and cost $40.  It is absolutely stunning on.  The halter neck line is so flattering and the belt really accentuates the waist line.  It is T-Length which I am so happy about.  It's so hard to find a dress that is below the knee these days.  I realize it could be really cold on Easter Sunday and I might have to wear a white cardigan with it or scrap wearing a dress altogether, which would be a bummer, but it's happened before!  But I'm sure I'll be able to wear it to the wedding at the end of May (fingers crossed!  We've gotten snow in May here too!).

So have you found your Easter dress yet?  I'd love to hear from you!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!