Want to give handmade cards as a holiday gift?

I love the convenience of giving gift cards at Christmas.  But I never feel like I'm giving a real gift when I give one  . . . you know, a real gift - a package with wrapping and ribbon.  So, what I've taken to doing is to give a handful of homemade cards with the gift cards.  I have A LOT of cards in my stash, so I choose a nice assortment and bundle them up with the gift card.  Most people really seem to appreciate them (because people always need cards but many people don't have the time or know-how to make cards). A few years ago, for my brothers and sisters, I took collage sheets I made with family heritage photos and used them to make simple note cards.  They were a big hit.

What if you want to give handmade cards but don't have any on hand? 

Here's an easy recipe for using collage  images in cards:  patterned paper + image + ribbon + embellishment.  Need more detailed instructions?

1.  Choose a collage image. It can be vintage, fun, grungey, whatever.  Mat if desired.

2.  Choose a patterned paper for the background - coordinate color and mood, but a small and fairly busy pattern works best. 

3.  Choose an embellishment (or set of embellishments) that captures the same color and mood of the card.  I like to use small embellishments in groups of three.

4.  Choose a coordinating ribbon.

5.  Arrange the image and embellishments.  Adhere.

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Acknowledgement and Variation

I got this idea from a pair of cards I received in a card swap.  The cards were created by Debbie B, and her original card (with the Dubai postage stamp) is below.  If you would like more layers on your card (or if your patterned paper background is not busy enough), you can add some stenciling on the patterned paper and stamped script, like I did in the "Daddy's Girl" card below.

You may be wondering - what is a collage sheet?  It's basically a collection of images that you can cut up and use in your art.  You can buy them at places like artchix, or you can find lots of free downloadable collage sheets by googling free downloadable collage sheets.  Here's a link that's a nice start (you just click on her image and it will give you a screen that you can print out).  

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p.s. This post is a combination of a couple of posts from 2009. I got the idea to freshen them up and repost from Sian's "Blog cos you want to" Suggestion #2: Play on the Popular. You can read her great idea here.

Memorial Day 2010, Part 3

This is a copy of my dad's discharge papers from the Army.  I love pondering the information contained on this:
- He was barely 18 when he joined the service and had 7 years of grammar school and 2 years of high school
- His battles and campaigns include the Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe
- He received the Purple Heart, 3 Bronze Stars and a Good Conduct Metal
- He received immunizations for smallpox, typhoid, tetanus and typhus
- His mustering out pay was $300.
- He was listed as 5'11" and 130 pounds.
- He was 22 when he was honorably discharged in 1945.


There is no doubt that my dad's time in the service changed him "for good."  It changed him for the better because it opened up avenues of education that set him on the course to becoming a middle class aerospace engineer in California.  But he also came back deeply affected by having seen the violence of war.  All of it made him who he was, and I am grateful for who he was because he had such a big, positive effect on me.  I miss him and wish my kids could have known him for many more years.  Today is Memorial Day in the United States, and I invite you to remember and be grateful for those who have served in the armed forces, trying to make the world a better place.  

Memorial Day 2010, Part 2

I'm spending Memorial Day Weekend reminiscing about my dad's service in World War II.  Call it a blog indulgence.  Back to regular programming on Tuesday.
I have less than a dozen pictures of my dad during the time he served in the infantry.  These are from training. The most special thing about the two pictures on the left is that he wrote notes on them before he sent them home to his father. 
The note on one of them reads:
"Father, This is my picture with a full field pack.  The full field pack weighs fifty pounds, inside of it we have a blanket, tent, mess kit, under wears, toilet articles, and tent poles that fold up.  All of this gets rolled up in a tight pack, and on the outside we have a small pick, small shovel, rifle, bayonet, and belt with ammunition."
I found the real treasure on the back of the other one:
"Father, This is my picture. It was taken when we were out on maneuvers. We were sent out on a combat patrol to recognize the front of the enemy.  I was sent out ahead of the patrol, as a scout, and a few minutes later a machine gun cut loose right in front of me, and I was ruled out of the game.  When a man is ruled out, he just sits around and waits, so I decided to take some pictures while I was waiting."
I never remember my father taking photographs, but, given my passion for photography, it thrills me to learn that he decided to take pictures on that day.  It's a connection I never realized we had before.  But one that I will now treasure.

Memorial Day 2010, Part 1 (A Series Repost)

{Today, in honor or Memorial Day, I am reposting a series of three posts from last year that focus on my father and his service to our country. I hope you enjoy this tribute and remember all who fight to keep us free}.
It is Memorial Day Weekend here in the United States. . . a three day holiday which to many people means the beginning of summer and big sales at the mall.  I wanted to take the weekend, though, and use it as a way to record some memories of my dad's service in World War II. Obviously, he did not die during the war (or I wouldn't be here), but he has been gone for over five years now, his birthday was in May and with Father's Day just around the corner, I've been thinking about him a lot. The idea for this series of posts was also inspired by the "Coming Home" photography challenge on The Pioneer Woman blog.  Thanks to Sherry Mescher for bringing it to my attention.  If you're in the mood for altered art instead of my family memories, come back next week, and I'll be featuring the rest of the assemblage menagerie and my twinchie for the Something Completely Different contest.  Also, you can click on this link to see a collage I did for Veteran's Day, 2009.
In 2002, I created a scrapbook page about my father's service which you can see at this link, but here's the journaling:
He was part of the Greatest Generation. Born just before the Great Depression, seventy-plus years of hard living show on his face.  His achievements are not as obvious:  served in World War II; helped build the aerospace industy; raised six kids and sent them all to college; married to his wife for almost fifty years.  During the war, his Division liberated a concentration camp. He received a shrapnel injury and Purple Heart fighting in the Battle of the Bulge. He earned a Bronze Star for retrieving and rescuing a fallen comrade.  We were so proud when Orange County honored Latino veterans, and his banner hung from the rafters during the ceremony. My father. One of the Greatest indeed.
In the pictures above, you can see him holding a slide rule and with a radio.  Although he did not have a lot of education before going into the service, he was a brilliant man who became a radio tech in his infantry unit.  In the group picture, he's standing on the far right.  
He was such a big man.

Album Case for my Houston Memory Cards

After having completed my Houston Memory Cards (see this post and this post for an explanation and an example), I decided they needed a special home.  In my stash, I found a Club Scrap kit to make an "album case." I used some Club Scrap Retreat papers and added the tags I made recently and the last bits from my May Counterfeit Kit to complete the album case.  The picture up top is what it looks like closed. 

You open the case like a book, and on the right hand side is a tray, where the album goes.  The album itself is simply a set of 6x6 page protectors held together with large rings.

On the left hand side is a three sided tray which is slightly larger than the tray on the right, so it works like a lid of a box.  I added a tag and journaled about my project on the left.

I really love how it turned out! I'm going to leave it out on my sideboard and hopefully someone will open it up, take a card out of its page protector and read my wisps of memory captured inside.  Thanks again to Sian for the idea!

Last Two Houston Memory Cards

These are my last two Houston Memory Cards (see details here).  I will end up with a set of twelve total, and the project feels done.  
The card on the left is about the quiet, day-to-day activities of the summer I spent in Houston.  It reads: "We spent lots of long days whiling away time at the office of Salas Jewelers. The highlight was taking the mail down the hall and dropping it in the old-fashioned mail slot and then trying to watch it fall all the way down from the tenth floor to the basement mailroom. Back home, Uncle Nano and Aunt Vera taught us how to play canasta and told us tall tales, including one about the 'missing link.'"
The card on the right is about Wylie Street. It reads: "My grandmother and Tia Lupe shared a house on Wylie Street.  Two of my Uncles lived on the same block.  I remember a drainage ditch out front where we caught tadpoles (or was it crawdads?) And at the end of the street was a little market where we could buy cold soda and candy - in all sorts of varieties not found in California."
After making all my cards, I had some scraps left over from my May Counterfeit Kit.  So, I made these tags:

I found the idea for these tags at the A Creative Operation blog during last month's CKC blog hop. Mine are a little different, but I'm happy with them.  Do you have a favorite way to use up scraps?

An Eerie Houston Memory Card and Praise for CKCB

I have really had a great time this month playing along with the Counterfeit Kit Challenge Blog (CKCB).  It was exactly the inspiration I needed to get moving on my heritage/genealogy scrapbook and to record some special childhood memories of trips to visit relatives in Houston, Texas.  I enjoyed the fun of putting together the counterfeit kit (see my post here) and participating in two of their mini-challenges (see post here and here).  Tomorrow is another special event - a blog hop where participants will share a link to a favorite scrapbooking company and a project inspired by something from that link.  I hope you'll stop by and check it out.
In the meantime, here's my latest Houston Memory card.  It has to do with my Uncle Felix (my mother's brother) and Aunt Helen.  Making these cards has made me realize that I feel a unique bond with each of my various aunts and uncles and their families.  For their family, the bond comes from the fact that several of their children were the same age as me or my brothers and sisters, so we had a lot in common.  They also came to visit us a few times in California, so we were even closer.  Also, their oldest son, "Little Felix" actually moved to California, and he would attend family holiday dinners with us.  I have many fond memories and stories about him, but those will need to shared another day.  
This memory card recalls a summer in Houston, and it reads "There was a cemetery behind my Uncle Felix and Aunt Helen's house.  We would scare ourselves silly daring each other to creep out there at midnight."

Heritage Treasures and Some Questions

Regular readers of my blog know that I've been working on a heritage/genealogy scrapbook. Before my mom passed away, I sat with her and helped her organize the family heritage pictures and identify the people who were in them.  I've kept them safely in storage, trying to get the initiative together to start the project.  I had assumed that I had everything in my box, but this past weekend, my brother (who lives in the house where my parents lived for 40 years) gave me a bunch more stuff!!!  There were some really awesome treasures, like my Uncle Tom's baptismal certificate at the top of the post.  Isn't it gorgeous? I'll make a color copy and then send the original to one of his children. 
I also found these:

A packet of letters written from my grandfather to my father (including some while he was serving in World War II)!  They're in Spanish, so I'll have to get my kids to translate them for me.  I was happy to find a bunch of prayer cards in the box:

I collect prayer cards and use the images on collage sheets and in my art work.  I was thrilled, though, when I discovered that what I thought was just going to be some nice ephemera turned out to be a treasure trove of family history.  The prayer cards were from my grandparents', aunts' and uncles' funerals.  So, I have more dates to add to my genealogy.  I'll color copy some of these and use them in my art work, but I want to add these to my scrapbook.  I'm looking for suggestions as to the best way to do that.  Should I do a page of prayer cards?  Should I put them on the same page as photographs of my various relatives?  What do you think?
The box also included a variety of framed portraits.  As I was unframing several of the photographs, I found that the frame contained another piece of paper which looked like some sort of blessing of the home or of the photograph.  Here's my dad's college graduation portrait and the additional document I found in the frame behind the photograph:

 

Here's a scan of what's written on the back of the document:

Again, it's in Spanish, so I'll need to get some translation help.  And I'm curious about the pairing of these documents.  Was it traditional to add a blessing to a formal portrait like this?  Or was the frame originally used for the blessing and then the portrait simply added because no one had another frame?  Anyone have any ideas?

Here's my other question - how many photographs should I include in my album? I originally thought I would scrap all the pictures I had of my aunts and uncles and that this would be no more than a page or two for each one, as well as a couple for my grandparents, great grandparents and great grand parents. I also thought they would all be old photos (say pre-1950).  Now, when I look at what I have, I am perplexed by two situations.  First, I have LOTS of pictures of some of my aunts and uncles (like my Aunt Vera and Uncle Nano) and don't want to include ten pages of them (no matter how much I loved them or how colorful they were).  Second, I also have an assortment of pictures that are "newish."  They are of my aunts, uncles and cousins taken during my lifetime.  I like some of these because they are representations of how I remember my aunts and uncles.  But, they don't seem very heritagey to me, if you know what I mean. I was thinking about some sort of arbitrary cut-off, say only including pictures that are more than 50 years old, but I don't know for sure.  I would appreciate your thoughts on these strategy questions!

I'll leave you with one last treasure.  It brought a big smile to my face and I hope it will bring one to yours, too.  But you'll probably have to click on it to make it big enough to read and you'll definitely have to read to the last line to get to the punch line.  Answers to my queries in comments or via email most appreciated.

Aunt Anna Mary and Uncle Tony (CKC minichallenge #3)

The Counterfeit Kit Club has issued a Mini-Challenge to go with this month's kit.  The challenge (see post here) is to start with an embellishment and plan a card or layout around it.  I started with this pair of chipboard embellishments from my counterfeit kit:

They inspired me to take out my circle cutter and create a round embellishment for the Houston Memory card (see explanation here) at the top of my post.  The design was so elegant that I decided to write about my Aunt Anna Mary and Uncle Tony (Anthony).   My mom adored her oldest brother - my Uncle Tony - and I have a layout planned for him to be completed soon.  Here's a picture of how I remember them:

Inside the card I wrote, "Aunt Anna Mary and Uncle Tony were the oldest of my aunts and uncles.  They were always very sophisticated - he was dapper and she was elegant.  I remember she made beautiful porcelain dolls that she would turn into lamps. She gave us one with a purple dress and black hair."

I had a lot of fun starting with an embellishment and using that as an inspiration.  Do you ever do that? 

My Uncles in Uniform

Today's Houston Memory Card (see this post for details) is about my dad's three brothers . . . my Uncle Jesse, my Uncle Johnny and my Uncle Tom.  It reads "My uncles on my dad's side were all men in uniform - Uncle Jesse and Uncle Tom served in the Houston police force and Uncle Johnny was a special delivery messenger with the U.S. post office."  I'll make a scrapbook layout about them when I get back in town because there's much more to the story.  In fact, my Uncle Jesse was only the second Mexican American police officer for the city of Houston.  He served honorably for 33 years! You can read more of his story in this post at my cousin Irene's blog.  
Well, I just go back into town and wanted to update this post before it goes "live" because while visiting my brother (who lives in my parents' former home), he gave me two more boxes of heritage family photos he recently found! I thought I had them all and had them all organized, but now I've got more work to do.  Oh well, it's worth it because I found some real treasures, like this one which goes with today's post:

That's my Uncle Tom on the left and my Uncle Jesse on the right.
Are there any men in uniform in your family tree?

My Grandmother's House

I know I kindof promised myself that I would make a heritage/genealogy layout for each memory card I made (see this post for an explanation), but I have to admit that I love making the cards more than I love doing the layouts.  And they're much faster.  So, I do have layouts planned for this card, as well as a couple others. But I decided to put a couple up anyway because I'm off traveling this weekend and won't get to the layouts until later.  The card up top has memories of my Grandmother's house and is based on the Card Sketch challenge at the Counterfeit Kit blog.  Both of my mother's parents died before I was old enough to know them, as did my dad's father.  But I did get to know my Grandmother a bit. . . about as well as you can get to know an adult that you only see once or twice a year and with whom you don't share a common language (she only spoke Spanish; I only spoke English).  But, I still have fond memories of my Abuelita (as we called her).  Here's what I wrote:
"Grandma's house was full of interesting things. . . a foot powered sewing machinge; a hand cranked clothes washer; a huge bag of animal crackers.  Out back, there was a clothesline and I think I even recall an outhouse with a crescent moon cut in the door.  I remember sleeping on the living room floor during sweltering Houston summers, trying to stay cool under clean crisp sheets, listening to cicadas, worrying about flying cockroaches, and waiting to watch Speed Racer in the morning with my cousins."
My children, at 13 and 16, still have two grandparents around (my husband's parents), but I really wish that they got to know my folks better before they passed away.  Did you get to know your grandparents  Do you have any special memories of them to share?

Uncle Nano 2 - The Hunter

Here's the next one in my series of "Houston Memories Card," based on Sian's Captured in a Card idea and using my May counterfeit kit.  For this card, I used the card sketch challenge posted on the Counterfeit Kit blog.  It's a great  sketch!
This card is also about my Uncle Nano.  You can see the first of his cards in this post.  This one reads "My Uncle Nano used to love to hunt in a place called 'The Big Thicket.'  There were lots of deer and antelope heads mounted and displayed throughout his house, but his real trophies were a boar's head and a rug made from a mountain lion hide.  I remember being totally fascinated by their preserved teeth and marble eyes.  We actually drove up there once. The mosquitoes were so thick that Uncle Nano threw my dad a bottle of 'Off!' insect repellent and shouted,'Here Pete, take a bath!'  I don't think we kids ever got out of the car.  Decades later, my sister Cordelia and I worked with a Realtor to sell the property as part of settling Aunt Vera's estate.  I actually think he sold it to someone who intended to use it as a hunting lodge."
And here's the scrapbook page I made to go along with it:

I don't really know anything about this photograph, as I found it in a book about Latino history in Houston, Texas that I found in my Aunt's house.  I guessed it was circa 1925, as my Uncle looks younger than when he married my Aunt in 1933.  I'll ask around to see if anyone knows any more about it, and I left some space to explain whatever I find out. At first, I thought it must be a military picture, but perhaps my Uncle Nano really hunted on horseback? The other thing I don't quite understand is that the photograph has the name of a Houston photography studio on the back (Cantu Studios), which makes me wonder who took the photograph and how.  Did studios in those days shoot on location? Or did my Uncle Nano bring this horse and his outfit to the studio? Speaking of which, I don't ever remember anything about my Uncle owning a horse! Very curious.  Anyone have any guesses about the photograph or knowledge of photography studio conventions in the U.S. in the 1920's?

My Uncle Nano

Time for another "Houston Memories Card," inspired by Sian's Captured in a Card idea and made with my May Counterfeit Kit.  This one is about my Uncle Nano:

The inside of the card reads: "Uncle Nano (Fernando Salas) was a jeweler.  My sister Cordelia and I stayed with him and my Aunt Vera one summer.  He pierced our ears at the dining room table using a piece of ice, a cork and a sharp needle.  I remember his hands shaking and the pair of ear rings he placed in my ears - small plastic daisies on gold posts."  And, yes, that's a true story!  

My Uncle Nano was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and he married my Aunt Vera in 1933.  He was a prominent Latino businessman and civic leader in Houston.  In 1924, he co-founded an organization called La Asemblea Mexicana to help fight police brutality and Ku Klux Klan violence against Mexicans, as well as to help Mexican students in the Houston public schools.  He was also active in LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) during World War II and, in 1944, became the first Mexican American member of a Harris County Grand Jury.  He passed away on Jan. 6, 1982. 

For my heritage scrapbook page to go with my memory card, I did not do a layout about Uncle Nano but instead scrapped this wedding picture of my Aunt Vera:

Again, I went with pretty paper (from Club Scrap) and few embellishments.  The design was pretty much already decided because I had created this companion page several years ago:

I wanted the two pages go together well, and I think they did:

One of the reasons I chose to do the bridal layout was because I thought it would be quick and easy.  Also, I didn't think I had any pictures of Uncle Nano.  But, then, when researching the facts for this post  in a book called Del Pueblo by Thomas H. Krenek, I found some pictures of Uncle Nano (including the one posted above).  Oh well, Uncle Nano was a very colorful figure, and I've got lots more stories to tell about him involving hunting boar in the big thicket, teaching us how to play canasta, his encounter with the missing link and more about the jewelery business.  Thank you all so much for your kind words and feedback on my heritage/ genealogy scrapbook project.  It really is helping to keep me motivated.

My Tia Lupe

Here's my first "Houston Memory Card," based on Sian's idea called "Captured in a Card." and made with my May Counterfeit Kit.  Inside it reads, " My Tia Lupe was a talented seamstress, and she often made matching outfits for us."  As you may recall, my plan is to make a set of cards from the counterfeit kit to record random memories from the summers I spent in Houston, Texas visiting extended family.  As a way to finally work on my heritage/ genealogy album, I am also trying to complete a scrapbook layout every time I do a memory card.  Here's the scrapbook layout I made with the few pictures I have of my Tia Lupe (you can click on it to enlarge it and see the details):

The journaling reads:  "Guadalupe Ontiveros. [I hope to insert birth and death dates] Guadalupe and Pete Ontiveros, circa 1925 (left). Below, Guadalupe and Pete, with friends [I left room hoping that I'll be able to find a date or explanation for the photos - my sense is that it was about 1941].  Lupe attended Elliott Elementary School, but only continued through third grade.  She worked at Lone Star Bag & Bagging Co. from age 14-19.  During World War II, she went to school to learn welding and then worked as a welder at Brown Shipyard Co. for 2.5 years. Following the war, Lupe worked as a pantry girl at the Lamar Hotel and as an upholsterer at Shelby Dinette.  She operated her own restaurant, Ontiveros' Mexican Food (on Lyons Avenue) from 1963-1966.  She began working at Coney Island off the Square the next year as executive chef.  She became manager in 1970.  She never married and lived with her mother in the house on Wylie Street.  She came to stay with us a few times to help out when my brother Pete was born and again when my brother Carlos arrived.  She was a wonderful seamstress and often made matching outfits for me and my sister(s)."
I had so much fun making my first Houston Memory Card that I made this second one:

The memory on the inside reads "I knew that Tia Lupe worked at a restaurant called Coney Island.  I envisioned a place that made hot dogs on a boardwalk, so I was always confused when she brought home Mexican food from the restaurant. But I didn't  mind because it was some of the best food I ever tasted!" 

On the right hand side of my scrapbook layout, I have pictures from 1958, 1969 and 1974.  I've identified my family members and Grandmother in most of them. The 1958 picture (on the top left) is from Disneyland, and I'm not sure who is with my dad and my Tia Lupe.  It's either my Aunt Alice or my Aunt Pauline; I need to ask my cousin Irene for some help on that one. 
I'm really happy to finally be working on this album.  For some reason, I have previously found it too intimidating to work on, either because I want each layout to be beautiful and perfect or because I feel like I don't have enough information.  I'm trying really hard to quiet those doubts and just get the photos out of the box and onto pages with whatever information I have.  As you can see, the layout is nice but not particularly fancy.  I'll probably stick with this format.  For those who have asked before, I am scrapping the original pictures I have (I copy the ones I use in my altered art work and collage). I'm using photo corners, instead of adhesive to preserve their longevity and so that I can get to them if I need them.  I would love to hear about other people's experience with creating heritage/genealogy scrapbooks. Have you done it yourself?  Did you find it hard?  Any tips to share?

Family Connections through Blogging

I have lots of cousins. How many? I always thought the number was 51 first cousins! The other day I sat down to list them and found to my surprise (and shame) that I couldn't remember all their names.  So, I'm working on putting together a list of them.  They mostly live in Houston, Texas, and I don't see them much, so it's harder than I thought. 
Luckily, I have reconnected with two of my Houston cousins this year (one on my mom's side of my family and one on my dad's side of the family), and I have sent them emails to see if they can help. The funny thing is that I have reconnected with them through this blog! I started my blog in a Shimelle class and my main audience has always been folks from that initial class.  Over time, some of my local friends and immediate family have started to follow and stop by occasionally. And I am thrilled that some of my more distant cousins are now in the mix.  My favorite recent discovery (courtesy of my cousin Rose) is the identity of the little girl in today's art journal page.  I use her a lot - you usually see her standing on a chair. I always assumed it was someone not directly related to me - someone from my Uncle's side of the family.  But it turns out it's actually my cousin, Buggie (Okay - her real name is Antoinette. Can you blame everyone for calling her Buggie? By the way, it's pronounced with a long U vowel sound and with a southern accent, so it sounds more like boogie.)  And that's her father, my Uncle Tony - my mother's eldest brother - standing next to the car.  I always knew his identity, and now I get to connect the two!  That makes me really happy. Have you connected with any distant family through your blog?

Alphanumeric Blog Hop: Grandpa's Wishing Well

Welcome to my post today, which is part of an Alphanumeric Blog Hop put together by the wonderful Mel. My post is brought to you by the letter "W."  
My post was inspired by an email I got from one of my cousins, on my mom's side of the family, who reads my blog.  When she saw the collage I posted here, she felt compelled to let me know how much she liked it.  She also said, "With such an interest and talent for art and photography,was there anyone in your family that you know of with a talent for the arts?  Did you know that our grandfather Manuel Luna was known to be a very excellent blacksmith along with popsicle art, I guess now known as folk art." And that got me thinking about the artists in my family . . . 

I did know my Grandfather was quite a craftsman.  I love this picture of him working for the railroad.  And I also treasure this one of him working in his garage on Cochran Street (Houston, Texas) on a set of doll furniture for my older sister, Cordelia:

One of my all-time favorite family heirlooms is this Wishing Well, which my Grandfather made out of Popsicle sticks:

I kept it in my room as a child and recovered it sometime after my  mother passed away.

I love all the little details:

I know I've seen a popsicle stick purse which he also made, but that never called to me the way the Wishing Well did. There's just something special about the magical possibilities inherent in a Wishing Well, don't you think?  I'm so glad my mom kept it and that I was able to inherit it.

My mom's artistic talents ran more to sewing (a family trait I did not inherit, as I described in this post) and ceramics.  She made this adorable angel which lives in the laundry room, along side the Wishing Well, keeping me company as I go through my day.

If you've read this far, I think you deserve the opportunity to win something.  How about an assortment of cards featuring artwork made by my very talented daughter?

To enter, simply leave a comment noting whether an artistic nature runs in your family.  Although my daughter dabbles in painting, printing and mixed media, I think her passion really lies in sculpture, like the pumpkins and nest she created.  I think my Grandfather would have particularly liked the flower she sculpted out of toothpicks, featured on the card in the upper right hand corner.  It makes it seem like his art has come full circle.

Edited to add:  Congratulations to Mariana on winning the prize.

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Speaking of coming full circle, if you're ready for the next blog on the hop, just click on this link to go visit Ginger at Ginger's Life of Spice.  If you ever get lost along the way, here's a list of all the blogs participating today. 

I Speak Melsh: http://ispeakmelsh.blogspot.com/
BE Glorious: http://beglorious.blogspot.com/
Captured On Film: http://mrsbeee.blogspot.com/
Chatty Crafty Arty Pig: http://chattycraftyartypig.blogspot.com/
Creating Room: http://creatingroom.blogspot.com/
Curiouser and Curiouser: http://journalofcuriousthings.blogspot.com/
Daily Life - Bits and Pieces: http://www.melissagross.blogspot.com/
Deb's World: http://www.melissagross.blogspot.com/
Den's Crafty Diary: http://deecie.blogspot.com/
From High In The Sky: http://fromhighinthesky.blogspot.com/
Gallo Organico: http://gallorganico.blogspot.com/
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Havoc and Mayhem: http://www.havocandmayhem.com/
Heather's Scraps: http://heathers-scraps.blogspot.com/
Helena's Creative Maven: http://helenascreativemaven.blogspot.com/
Holaday's Happy Hearts: http://holadayshappyhearts.blogspot.com/
Jeant-Jinnag: http://jeant-jinnag.blogspot.com/
Just Jimjams: http://just-jimjams.blogspot.com/
K's Crafty Corner: http://kscraftycorner.blogspot.com/
Life...As I See It: http://jillconyers.blogspot.com/
{Life Behind The Purple Door}: http://www.lifebehindthepurpledoor.com/
Lisa E Design Blog: http://lisae-design.blogspot.com/
Living Life One Blessing At A Time: http://livinglifeoneblessingatatime.blogspot.com/
Mary's Musings: http://craftycreation.blogspot.com/
Michelle Loves...: http://michellelovesallsorts.blogspot.com/
Obstinate Pursuit: http://obstinatepursuit.blogspot.com/
Over At Our Place: http://overatourplace.blogspot.com/
Paper Turtle: http://paperturtle.blogspot.com/
Peonies and Pennies: http://peoniesandpennies.blogspot.com/
Random Reflections: http://www.kbwalker.blogs.com/
Rosalind Revival: http://rosalindrevival.blogspot.com/
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Scrappyjacky: http://scrappyjackylive.blogspot.com/
Scrapworthy Lives: http://www.scrapworthylives.com/
Staring At The Sea: http://fiona-staringatthesea.blogspot.com/
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This Kalil Life: http://www.kimberlykalil.com/
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Thanks for stopping by!

Heritage Christmas Photograph

I have always loved this heritage photograph of my father's side of the family, taken in about 1959 or 1960.  You can tell it's Christmas by the tree behind my Uncle Tom.  My father is standing on the far right, and my mom is seated in front of him, holding my sister Cordelia on her lap.  My Tia Lupe is in front of Uncle Tom, and my Grandparents are to her right.  The man is uniform is my Uncle Johnny, and my Uncle Jesse is on the far left.  This last year I have been lucky to reconnect with my cousin Irene through facebook and our blogs.  She's a talented stained glass artist in Houston, Texas and also happens to be that very cute little girl in the front row, far left.  In this photo, I also love the television and my father's graduation picture hanging on the wall.

At this time of year, I really miss my mom and dad who have been gone for over five years now. My grandparents and aunts and uncles are all gone, too.  A big goal I have for 2011 is to work on my heritage and geneology scrapbook, as a way of keeping their memory alive. 

This post is scheduled for Christmas Eve, and I plan to go out to the cemetery to visit mom and dad today. I want to take a few minutes to remember and honor them. I hope you will be able to do the same for your loved ones who are no long with us.



Some Art Goals - New Classes and More

There are several things I want to work on in the future:

• Return to teaching classes. I know that several of you have asked when I will return to teaching, and I definitely plan to. I have several classes planned out. Rustic Treasures (Designs on Plaster); Creating Cards with Collage Images; and Stamp, Emboss and Paint! are the three new ones. Plus, I'd like to return to a few favorites that I haven't done for a while. Next steps are to figure out where, come up with a schedule and get some students. Feel free to let me know what classes you'd like to see and what times generally work best for you (i.e. weeknight, weekend morning, weekend evening).
• Experiment with my "signature style."
• Work on my Heritage Scrapbook and Wedding Scrapbook. These are the projects that never seem to get done.
• Complete DD's Grade School Album . . . hopefully before she finishes middle school.
• Complete the catalogue of my completed art projects.

Today's blog features a collage on plaster I made for Veteran's Day called "Latino Service."