Tag Archives: encouragement

Create Cards and Send Some Love

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I recently purchased a card-making kit and found it to be easy and fun.

Card Making Kit Fun

Last December, I participated in a card-making workshop on Zoom hosted by my friend, Marsha, on the East Coast. I met and worked with other women from all around the country in the Zoom room. It was like a quilting bee for 2020. All women were working on cards or scrapbooking while together in conversation. An enjoyable time during the pandemic. The card making workshop started at 10AM EST, before sunrise for me on the west coast. You’ll notice the darkness in my photos.

I ordered a card kit from Creative Memories. It came ready to go to make twelve cards for $20. I also purchased adhesive. I really enjoyed it, and plan to make another set of cards soon. Here are some photo details. This might be fun for you, too.

The card kit supplies came in a pretty box.

Within minutes, I was ready to go!

Kit supplies, adhesive roll and foam squares (sold separately), scissors (my own), and instructions were all set up. Plus, I prepared some snacks for while I work. My laptop was ready for the Zoom video call.

All the pieces are numbered by card and letter for easy identification.

Below you see the parts for Card #9.

I separated the parts into piles by number.



I placed all the parts of each card into one of the blank cards like a little folder. I put them back in the box in order. I tucked in the directions.

I pulled out one card at a time and just followed the instructions to assemble.


I finished the cards in less than two hours and had a good time.

Below are six of the finished cards. I did customize a couple with bonus pieces that came in the box.

I addressed, stamped, and sent each card on its way to friends and family.


Stay creative in 2021, my friends!

P.S. If you’d like a closer look at another Creative Memories Card Kit, watch this video:

To see all the card kits Creative Memories offers, click here: Card Kits.

Cozy in Crisis

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The fall season is a favorite of mine. This year, it’s a balance of joy and struggle. The pandemic, a guest that has worn out its welcome, makes it more complicated. The anticipation of this week’s federal election fogs my joy, too. I feel the stress of wondering about the results, the response of leaders, the response of Americans, and the responsibility of the media to be patient with reporting results. You might be feeling all that, too. But, hey, what’s a little more uncertainty? After all, it is 2020. When all I want to do is curl up with a cozy blanket in a fall chill, I feel the weight of our current circumstances that leave me cold in a different way.

I do love autumn, but I have to get creative this year and not give up on the joy. What are you doing this fall to enjoy the season? Here are some of my favorite activities lately.

  • While at my desk, sometimes I sit virtually by the river to enjoy the calming sound and beautiful fall color while working, using the YouTube video below.
  • We enjoy a simple cup of hot tea in the evenings, a November ritual that gets interrupted by hot cocoa once December comes.
  • To cut back on all my computer screen time these days with working remotely, I went old school and ordered actual paper magazines. Remember print magazines? Do you still read physical magazines?
It is fun and relaxing to flip through pages for color, design, articles, and ideas.
  • I enjoy watching Hallmark movies with an autumn setting. The sets of those movies are always beautiful.
Hallmark is one place I get my fall color fix, since I live near Los Angeles.
  • My college football team did not play for the first half of the season. Fortunately, the Big 10 did start their schedule on October 24. I hope it works out safely for all the teams.
Purdue’s first game took place on October 24, and they won!

Some days are like a scavenger hunt for contentment, to find a centering joy not dependent on what life looked like before. Fall is a favorite time and I want to keep that feeling. Lets’ not give up. I want to look back and feel like we made the most of it, in spite of the limits and heartache of separation from loved ones.

Although cloudy moods can set in, and that is natural, many days have sweet encouragement in simple things, including these for example.

Slow Cooker Chili
My Annual Great Pumpkin Personal Party
Fall Baking
Dodgers won the World Championship and that brought lots of local joy.

This fall will not be the same. We must shift expectations. I love how some friends have taken road trips to find fall color and beauty. Following their inspiration, we can choose to be OK and get through it, making the most of it. Then we can look back on it to see it worked out after all. Maybe not without disappointment, but hopefully still with joy.

What are your November or autumn rituals or plans? Can you still do those even in a pandemic? Where will you have to get creative? What will Thanksgiving look for you this year?

Stay cozy this fall, my friends.