Crafting, Traveling, and Embracing

Hi, everyone! Yes, I have a card to share today. More importantly, I have a wonderful crafting adventure to share. But, first a little background for those who are new to this blog.  :)

CREATE-ing a New Life

It's been a little over a year since I retired. Loving this new chapter of my life. Who knew Sunday evenings and Monday mornings could be so lovely?!

But, truth be told, I'm still finding my footing in this new land. So, when in doubt, I go back to one word: CREATE. Each day, I focus on one or more of the following.

Crafting to my heart's content,
Reading for the pure joy of it,
Exercising mind and body,
Assisting those in need,
Traveling to places near and far, and
Embracing friends old and new.




SU paper, leaves, twine
Hollo's gold leaf

Last weekend found me on the road -- with some time to craft. (Funny how I used to pack lots of shoes. Now I pack a pair or two of comfy shoes, a paper trimmer, cardstock and designer paper, a few stamps, some ink, a couple of punches, and lots of adhesive!)

So, I went online and found a Stampin' Up! demonstrator in the area. A few e-mails and a phone call later, I found that Colette was ten minutes from where I was staying... and had a card-making event planned for the very next day! Sounded like the perfect opportunity to travel to a place near and meet a few fellow crafters.

Heartfelt thanks to Colette and her crafty friends for such a warm welcome! We had great fun chatting, and munching, and creating leaf-embellished cards.

The photo below, shows the first generation of my card. When I got back to my place, I decided to tape down a lone spare leaf and punch out various circles with my SU owl punch. Then, I added a piece of SU early espresso for some contrast that would pop those beautiful autumn colors.

Linking this up to the fall-color challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Blog Challenge.

Parting Thoughts

There are two great challenges going on at Words 2 Scrap By and Cards in Envy. W2SB is hosting a Fight-Like-a-Girl breast cancer awareness challenge. CIE is hosting a creepy crawlie challenge. Hope you'll check these out.  :)

Thanks for stopping and happy scrappin'!