Life Moments with Rita

Welcome...

  

Welcome to my little corner in web-world. Would you like a cup of tea?

Nuturing Today...

A little notepad for capturing the blessings of the day...

Remembering that...Today is all we need to nurture.
  

Papertrey Party Time...

 
Grab the popcorn...It's party time!

Words Matter...

One of the reasons we make cards is we know that words matter. Words can melt hearts, heal wounds, and move people to action. Words can also sting and hurt, even when we don't mean them to. As we quickly blog and respond in forums, our words come and go quickly. We often forget that words often have a life of their own...beyond their original intent.

I was reminded today about the importance of words. It sparked thoughts about a favorite poem I would like to share. (And a gentle reminder to myself...words have ripples.)

Drop a pebble in the water:
just a splash, and it is gone;
But there's half-a-hundred ripples
Circling on and on and on,
Spreading, spreading from the center,
flowing on out to the sea.
And there is no way of telling
where the end is going to be.

Drop a pebble in the water:
in a minute you forget,
But there's little waves a-flowing,
and there's ripples circling yet,
And those little waves a-flowing
to a great big wave have grown;
You've disturbed a mighty river
just by dropping in a stone.

Drop an unkind word, or careless:
in a minute it is gone; 
But there's half-a-hundred ripples   
circling on and on and on.  
They keep spreading, spreading, spreading    
from the center as they go,  
And there is no way to stop them,    
once you've started them to flow.  

Drop an unkind word, or careless:
in a minute you forget;
But there's little waves a-flowing,
and there's ripples circling yet,
And perhaps in some sad heart
a mighty wave of tears you've stirred,
And disturbed a life was happy
ere you dropped that unkind word.

Drop a word of cheer and kindness:
just a flash and it is gone;
But there's half-a-hundred ripples
circling on and on and on,
Bearing hope and joy and comfort
on each splashing, dashing wave
Till you wouldn't believe the volume
of the one kind word you gave.

Drop a word of cheer and kindness:
in a minute you forget; 
But there's gladness still a-swelling,   
and there's joy circling yet,  
And you've rolled a wave of comfort    
whose sweet music can be heard  
Over miles and miles of water    
just by dropping one kind word.  

~By James W. Foley~

Thank You....

Thank you to Donna Downey and Unity Stamp company! I feel like the luckiest girl in craftworld today. The Artist in You is a gorgeous stamp set. My first project with this set will be a special thank you...from me to you! I can't believe I won...still in shock!

Check out Donna's blog for a peek at this beautiful set:

http://donnadowney.typepad.com/

Take Note...

 

Drumroll, please...I'm back to blogging with some fun notepad projects! Papertrey's new Take Note stamp set and notepads are so addictive. I love being able to just play with all the possibilities. For a fun book list pad for logging scary stories, I made "Spooky Books to Read" using a fall leaf stamp (from my stash) and Papertrey goodies: Take Note stamp set, one of the PTI Halloween stamp sets, Orange Zest cardstock, Autumn pattern papers, orange zest ribbon and button, and twill. Too cute!

 

A peek inside..."Open if you dare..."

 

I also made a Holiday Planner...

I love those mittens! And that velvet soft white ribbon...and gemstones. PTI rocks!

Don't forget the inside...

  

 
  Off to make some more...Happy Stamping!
 

Starting Over

Life brings many changes. I am settling in to my new home and looking forward to the adventures ahead. It's time to get back to blogging and posting the photos of my crafting projects. It's amazing how time flies when you are busy starting over...

Summer of Change

Packing, loading, moving, unloading, unpacking,...

When the dust settles, I will be back...to posting more life moments.

Designing Women Challenge Card...

Katy from my Papertrey Designing Women group challenged us to create a card inspired by this beautiful wallhanging. I loved the bottom left quilt square...

 

Thanks, Katy for inspiring me to create this Spring card.

Happy Spring, everyone!

Heart Wishes...

A dream is a wish your heart makes...

Dedicated to Jessica, an inspiration and kindred spirit.

It's wonderful to spend time crafting with creative geniuses!

  

"Dots" So Much Fun...

I love playing with the Papertrey stamp sets! It's been so much fun creating my own "designer paper" with the dot stamps...experimenting with color combinations and random stamping. It's also  fun to dig through my stash of paper to see what papers coordinate with the colors and PTI papers. Love the Polka Dot Basics.

Standing tall...

When times are rough, it's hard to see above the waves of change.

THANK YOU to the people in my life who help me stand tall during wild times!

 

Stories and Stamping...

Beary, beary, busy...

Creating materials for a new class I'll be teaching called "Stories and Stamping: A Creativity Class for Kids." This venture combines my love for children's literature and writing with papercrafting!

For my Papertrey Pals...I am loving Lauren's Timeless Templates and have been very busy crafting all kinds of projects which I will be posting soon! I also have a Designing Women Challenge to finish...

Time to Fly...with so much to do and only so many hours in a day!

 

Bird Song...

 Just playing with paper, inks, glitter, buttons,...

Thinking of You...

 Lovely spring day in Minnesota...sunshine and 70s!

Everything is clearer on such a nice day...except my photos because I still need to figure out the camera and start learning how to take better pictures...LOL! Soon...I promise!

This card is dedicated to my mom who just discovered how to find her daughter's blog on the VAST world of the web! Hi....MOM!

Follow Your Own Star...

PTI Designing Women Challenge Card

Pam challenged the Designing Women to think about cards for the guys...so here's my card that is ruggedly masculine. It features torn dark chocolate cardstock on a Kraft paper base, some striped Designer paper (from my stash), and the May release stamp set from Papertrey, Star Prints. I used twine and vintage buttons also from Papertrey. Thanks, Pam for a fun challenge!

I love the Pure Poppy ink stamped on the Kraft cardstock paper. I think it's my new favorite color! I also loved working with the new duo-ink set for the edging on the tag.

Now if I could just get my photo-skills upgraded and add more hours in the day so I had more time to play...until then I will continue to "follow my own star" and enjoy the journey...one step at a time!

Rock and Roll...

 If You Obey all the Rules, You Miss all the FUN!

Welcome to the WEEKEND!

It's time to play some music and roll out the fun!