Re-purposed Drawl

A student stopped by late this afternoon. He is such a talker! Not one that I can continue with my work while he is yacking away...this one requires my full attention. He was telling me about a friend of his back home (in Georgia) and while he was speaking something that he said came out full-on-down-home-southern-drawl. The look on his face was priceless. He looked stunned and said, "Oh my God, how did that slip out? I try so hard not to let that piece of me pop out. I can't believe I just said that in my most hidden southern twang...I HATE twang! Where did that come from....oh my God!" (all said with a deeply distressed and etched southern accent).

It was historical. I started laughing until tears were streaming down my face. He just had a complete look of horror. He told me that his 'mama' taught him - "just cuz you come from the south - don't mean you gotta sound like some hick!" (said in a stereotypical high pitch mama voice) The more he talked about his mama the more drawl attached itself to his vocabulary. He said, "Oh my God, listen to me! I sound like one-those-po'-saps-ya-see-bein'-interviewed on 'da news. LAWDY!!! We had a great laugh. He finally pulled himself together and in his best deep midwest accent said, "I think you should go home now and I need to go to my dorm room and practice speaking like a northerner."

I love my Peeps!!! What a great end to a pretty horrible day.

Tag front.

Tag back

In the spirit of full disclosure I have to admit that this tag was a card in a former life. It is now re-purposed as a tag. Ever have a card that just nags at you...mocking the cards that you are especially happy with? Cards that never make it into the indexed card holder box? Cards that are tossed aside like yesterday's newspaper? This was formerly one such card....I added more bling, more ribbon, some lace, a place on the back for a note - GOOD TO GO!

Tag-A-Card
~2 ply cardboard tag (made from sandwiched layers of a Cheerios box) with the edges painted pink
~Design paper
~Punch circular scallop from an old book
~3D stickers
~Charm
~Twine
~Ribbon
~3 bling flowers
~Punch cut flowers with Stickles centers (on back)
Challenges/Inspiration
Little Red Wagon - tag
Use Your Stuff - twine
The Cheerful Stamp Pad - tag

Thank you for clicking by 'yall!
Nancy in Iowa

A Note to God

Dear God,
Thank you for creating Sweet Corn on-the-cob.
That is all.
Your humble servant,
Nancy in Iowa
P.S. Have a good day.

Time for Tulips

~Base card - Stampin' Up card stock

~Layer of Pebbles design paper "Family Ties" collection

~Metal clip (upper left hand corner) by The Paper Studio

~Layer of washi tape topped with 2 layers of sheer ribbon (hard to believe I know...but...I didn't have just the right shade of green...the washi was too weak...the sheer overlay made the washi POP

~Stamp: Stampin' Up Simple Florals colored with Copics - flower pot paper piece, attached with dimensional dot

~Oval cut and embossed using Cuttlebug and Spellbinders

Challenges/Inspiration

Pile It On - anything goes

Crafting When We Can - floral

Thanks for clicking by,

Nancy in Iowa

Berries and Bosses

My new boss starts this Thursday...not sure what I'm feeling right now. She is moving here from Wisconsin so at least she won't have to acclimate to harsh Iowa winters. She will be stunned by the 'hard' water with it's 'chlorine-y' smell... She will probably be amazed that we have so many excellent 'mom & pop' restaurants. Yes, it is true little ol' Sioux City is home to several delectable culinary offerings.

So we don't have the world's sixth largest lake...we DO have the Missouri River - the "Muddy Mo" and lucky for her we recently cleaned up from a '100 year' flood in 2011. So...she should be good!

I need to stop fretting about transitioning to a new boss. I think the answer to my anticipated anxiety is MAKE MORE CARDS! Or make a quilt... I actually cut out a quilt today! Some assembly now required.

Berry Good
~Base card - Stampin' Up card stock
~Design paper
~Washi tape
~Stamps - Papertrey Ink
~Star brads
Challenges/Inspiration
Sunday Sketch & Stamp - sketch
Crazy 4 Challenges - picnic
Catered Crop - summer
Dream Valley - summer days
Hobby Cutz - summer

Thank you for clicking by,
Nancy in Iowa

Zinnias, Corn, and Card

My weekly trip to the Farmer's Market! What a delicious way to start a weekend. Gotta go EARLY to get the 'good stuff'! Here is a peek at some of the goods...I didn't photograph the cucumbers, zucchini, or lettuce - trust me it is a beautiful thing!

Corn from Farmer Brown (no...really...that is his name!)

Him: What's for dinner?

Me: Corn

Him: But what's for dinner?

Me: Corn

Him: Corn and....?

Me: ....more corn!

One bottle of Geisenheim from local vineyard Calico Skies, Inwood, IA. I'm working on filling my punch card over the course of the Farmer Market days! (A gal's gotta have a goal!) And one weekly bouquet - ready to go to my office - from Grandma's Garden in Salix, IA. I love my weekly office bouquet! Zinnias are my favorite flowers.

Now on to the card. Note to self - look for GOOD black and white design paper. The stuff I have is so weak! It is NOT a saturated black - I don't like it - but it is all I had. I will have to check it out at Hobby Lobby or Archivers. Suggestions anyone?

A Splash of Neon
~Base card - Stampin' Up black cardstock
~Two different design papers - trust me they are black/white...but they PALE in comparison to the black cardstock!
~Prima flowers with neon yellow paper punch center
~Black/White check brad
~White cardstock for sentiment
Challenges/Inspiration
Play Date Cafe - blk/wht with splash of neon
Clean and Simple - sketch
Five Simple Things - anything goes

Thanks for clicking by,
Nancy in Iowa

Bicycle Blessings

So this is why I love my job. A recent graduate and now alum of BCU sent me this photo. It is a picture of the door into her elementary grade school vocal music room with her name plate above the door. She is the new vocal music teacher at a rural grade school. What a proud and exciting milestone for her. She was a music major and one of my 'regular' peeps who used my office as a hang-out. I never missed a voice recital. I got to see her crowned as a rodeo queen. It was a great four years! And I am so happy that she is keeping me posted with her new 'big girl job'. I guided her through her re'sume writing and job application processes - it is always such a joy to see the end result of all their 'heavy lifting', hard work, and follow-through! I am blessed that they share their life stories with me.

Now it's card time!

Bicycle Built for One
~Base card - coral cardstock
~Three layers design paper (DCWV Mango)
~Unity bicycle stamp stamped on design paper (DCWV Mango)
~Cuttlebug/Spellbinder die cut and embossed
~Button, floss
~Brads
~Flower Soft
~Ribbon
Challenges/Inspiration
Just Us Girls - color inspiration
Deconstructed Jen- sketch
Crafts 4 Eternity - anything goes
Sister Act - anything goes

Thank you for clicking by,
Nancy in Iowa

Thoughts

Summer on the Cliff! The parking is fabulous! I have to admit though that I do miss the chaos of college student life! But like Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator "'they'll' be back!" The start of school is just around the corner - where did the summer go?

Thinking

~Base card - Stampin' Up card stock

~Layer of design paper...edges roughed up and smudged up

~Very light stamping of random stamps

~Washi tape...stamped with Stampin' Up Curly Cute

~Brad

~Twine

Challenges/Inspiration

Aud Sentiments - sympathy/thinking of you

Crafts and Me - anything goes
Divas by Design - anything goes

Thanks for clicking by,
Nancy in Iowa

All in a Day's Drive

Yes - sisters day was a rousing success! But then, in my opinion, any day that starts with coffee, includes a FABULOUS quilt shop, and ends with dinner from Bob's Drive-Inn in LeMars, IA is one worthy of a page in a scrap book! (Now...if only I scrapped books...) And let it be known...from far and wide...that the Wilber  Sisters did their part to boost the economy of Algona, IA!

We had a BLAST at the best quilt shop EVER! Heartland Quilts in Algona! The lovely proprietress Pat Lucas is such a kick in the pants. I love her energy, her enthusiasm, her spunk, and her quilts! Pat is a cancer survivor with a hilarious sense of humor and a kind heart. She told us today about the 4-H quilt classes she hosts for the local kids. She doesn't charge for kid classes. She takes delight in seeing each child light up when their quilt returns from the long-arm quilter. She teaches each child one-on-one how to apply and hand-sew the binding. And she travels four counties to see each quilt at the local county fairs. Hearing her talk about all the blue ribbons the kids receive makes me not only believe there is hope for the future of children but know that this is one special lady and I am blessed to have crossed paths with her. I honestly try to be more productive with 'down time' because of something this lady said about living with purpose.

Now..on to the card A travel card! Seems appropriate! Finally found an opportunity to use one of my airplane paperclips!

Bon Voyage
~Base card - Stampin' Up cardstock
~Design paper
~Airplane paperclip
~Washi tape
~Key stamp, with touch of bling
~Bicycle stamp (inside)
Challenges
Anything Goes - anything goes
City Crafter - travel
Clear it Out - International (Eiffel Tower) and Washi Tape stash

Thank you for clicking by,
Nancy in Iowa

Algona Bound

Tomorrow is Sisters Day (well SOME of us sisters anyway...the local ones)! Sissy Gail drove up from Omaha this afternoon. Tomorrow we will get in the car and head to Algona, a lovely 3 hour drive through rural Iowa, to go to one of the best quilt shops EVER! Heartland Quilts. The proprietress is the kindest, funniest, most down to earth lady to ever grace a shop! Seriously! Interestingly Algona is home to the one of the BEST quilt shops and the absolute WORST quilt shop in the state of Iowa. (The opinion expressed here is the consensus of the four-members-strong "3/5s Sisters Club"...just sayin'.) (And we KNOW quilt shops!)

School starts soon (too soon) so getting a day off now was imperative as there is a moratorium on day-off requests during the month of August. Too many things to do on a college campus for anyone to even THINK about asking for a day off in August...

My dear blog friend Julie, at Rainbow Days, noted that there is still time to enter the Ladybug Crafts Ink challenge for birthday cards so I decided to pop in for a quick upload. Then it's off to bed - have to hit the trail early in the morning - quilts await!!! (Check out Julie's blog - her cards are extraordinary!) I can always spot her cards out on the sites she designs for! To use her UK vernacular - her cards are 'scrummy'! Her birthday cards are usually personalized and frequently feature the birthday 'number'. She is a whiz at Cricut! I'm a whiz a Cricut envy! I look over at that unused, misunderstood, piece of green electronics and could swear that it is mocking me! Snickering at my fear of attempting to learn its tricks....

On to the card. Sorry the image is a bit blurry...this is the TIME SUCKER of blogging...PHOTOS!!!! You will just have to trust me that the card is sharply focused in real life! Like my previous post I let the design paper do all the work - sorry Copics - you continue to be abandoned at this time! This is the best pad of design paper I've ever had. I seriously used every piece, every snippet, every inch of it. If I ever see it again I will buy two or three of them! I will buy one just to hoard and never cut into!

Inside of card.

Birthday Balloons

~Base card - Stampin' Up cardstock
~Lots of layers of Happy Day by Simple Stories
~Stampin' Up Spiral Punch
~Rhinestone balloon (how fun is THAT?!) I remember when I hesitatingly bought them thinking "where will I ever use these?" But they were on sale....
Challenges/Inspiration
Ladybug Crafts Ink - birthday card
My Creative Moments - birthday
Sister Act - anything goes

I must 'hit they hay' as I have a busy day of sissy time and shopping ahead of me! (If only sister Judy lived closer than 900 miles away...)

Thanks for clicking by!
Nancy in Iowa

Corn Inspired

I've be been absent from my blog for quite some time. Nearly 6 months actually! I thought I needed to choose between blogging and making cards. I was struggling with managing both 'carding' and blogging (plus incorporating a bit of work, life, work, house stuff, gardening ... did I mention WORK?). I'm still not sure I can juggle work, life, cards, and blogging but I will give it my best shot. It's the whole photo, upload, crop, upload again, decide what fun little story to chat about, begin the creative writing process....and that doesn't even include making the darn card! I shouldn't complain too much about time, time, time...I do have my eagle eye sisters who email and text my grammar gaffes and typos. I love having proofreading editors "on staff"!

So I'm going to give it a go! What was the inspiration for charging back into the
 blogosphere? Corn on the cob! Very Iowa-ish - Right?  Went to the Farmer's Market yesterday and among other fresh delectables  purchased sweet corn! Fast forward to dinner on Sunday...the corn was so incredibly tasty. From the 'yum' thought I surged to 'blog'! I seriously thought, "this corn is so good it deserves to be blogged about!"

Corn Inspired Blogging! But, what do you expect for a corn-fed-Iowa-bred gal?

Hence this post. Best corn ever from Farmer Brown (no..really...that is his name!) "Candy Corn" to be precise. And I fixed it using the 'magical' microwave technique. Seriously - I love cooking corn on the cob without all that darn shucking, cleaning, and dreadful heating up of the kitchen from the boiling water. FABULOUS!

Well, yes I do have a card - not just corn to blather on about. I'm letting the design paper 'do all the work'. I'm giving my Copics a rest with this one.

My Charmed Friend
~Base Card - Stampin' Up
~Design Paper - Webster's Pages
~Die Cut - Stampin' Up
~Pearls - colored with Sharpies
~Flowers - stamped with Stampin' Up Fabulous Florets, hand cute
~Sheer aqua ribbon and anchor charm
Challenge/Inspiration
Craft a Scene - underwater scene

Thanks for clicking by... Here's to returning to blogging!

All good wishes,
Nancy in Iowa