Wooly Willy Windmills

I went to Pella last week. Pella, Iowa: founded in 1847 by 800 Dutch immigrants; home to Pella windows; Heritage Lace; the childhood home of Wyatt Earp; and site of the annual Tulip Time. It is also home to Central College - which was the reason for my visit to this fair city - to recruit at a career fair. The town was too charming not to mention in my blog. I guess I think my cards don't stand on their own so they need a little story to make them blog-worthy!

Driving or walking by ordinary things I usually have on my internal blog-worthy vision. Some people see an autumnal splendiferous tree and "have a moment with nature'. I see a tree bursting with color and ASSUME everyone I share it with will enjoy it as much as I do! Not sure what that says about me....let's just save that discussion for a sofa and a shrinks office or a booth and some drinks!

This is the view visitors are greeted with! Vintage car with potted mums and green space. Well!

Tucked in the middle of town - there is this...Some bergs have alleys...not the Dutch in Pella!

Pretty fancy "alley"! When they boast about "old world charm" they seem to be very serious!

  

Pella is home to Heritage Lace! I 'discovered' them when I realized they make Downton Abbey goodies! Yes indeedy! Heritage Lace, in Pella, is the proud owner of the Downton Abbey license.

 

My daughter is the proud owner of one of their Downton products. A gift from my sister. Both are Downton junkies! Who wouldn't want to own

a Violet Crowley quote?

One of several windmill features in town.

 

I did NOT know Pella sports an Opera House!

If you hurry you can catch "Three Men and a Tenor"! Or rent it for your next wedding!

 

Old town store fronts - well manicured and cared for. Not a Wal-Mart to be seen for miles!

And what do you find in olde-time stores? Olde-time awesomeness! I wandered into an honest to goodness Variety Store - it was so much fun!

Candy buttons! YUM! Except when you get a wad of paper with a button!

So HERE is where you can buy all things Dutch! Souvenir anyone?

I am stunned that you can still buy candy cigarettes! REALLY!? And they are 35 cents! THIRTY FIVE CENTS!?!? Where AM I? Did I drive into a time warp?

 How many hair nets can one town POSSIBLY need!? There were TWO racks of these! HAIRNETS!?  I didn't know they came in color/size choices!

 

The toy aisle is filled with good-old fashioned NON-tech selections. No batteries required.

How many of you owned one of these little guys!?

 

There must be a windmill full of people who knit and crochet in this town! Peg board!

When's that last time you saw sheets of plain peg board?

And what self-respecting Dutch community Variety Store would be complete

without paint-your-own wooden shoes in the craft aisle?

 

Okay that is enough sharing! On to my card. Thank goodness for card challenges! They keep me motivated! Thank you to the challenge blogs and their dedicated and talented designers!

The BEST!
~Base card Kraft card stock stenciled with TCW Mini Chicken Wire Template and Tattered Angels Shimmer Mist
~2 layers of The Paper Studio The Great Rock Island Route paper pack
~Office note book punch; curve punch
~Layer of cream card stock stenciled
~Sentiment stamped on olive card stock using Sizzix Word Labels stamp and die
~Brown and green punched circles
Challenges | Inspirations
Just Us Girls - photo inspiration

Fusion Card - layout

Crafting with Friends - anything goes
Creative Fingers - anything no digital

Here's to Old World Charm, appreciating small towns, pondering hair nets, and acerbically wonderful quips from the Dowager Crowley!

Nancy in Iowa

Harvesting Treats

Another crazy work week ahead of me so thought I would post a quick note.

We traveled to Norfolk, NE this weekend and was thinking about all the work that farmers have yet to do! We passed field after field of crops yet to be harvested. God bless the farmers! I did manage to capture a shot of a harvested acre or two.  What a beautiful crisp blue autumn sky! Wide open space!

 

Not a bad shot, out an open window, considering we were traveling at 60 miles an hour!

 





This week I will be traveling to central Iowa - who knows what I will post next time! Maybe a shot of a windmill farm! Stay tuned...!

Tricky Stuff!
~Kraft card stock
~"Trick or Treat" is from an acetate treat bag
~Ribbon
~Pumpkin brad
~Inside layer of striped card stock
Challenges | Inspirations
Just Us Girls - color challenge
Shopping Our Stash - acetate
Crafting with Dragonflies - use something not normally found on cards (treat bag)
Alphabet - R is for ribbon
Fusion - all hallows eve

Here's to a bountiful harvest, farmers, and appreciating them both!

Nancy in Iowa

Wash Your Hands!!!

What do you do when you live in a small town and want to bust a move out of town? Well...you head to an even SMALLER town so when you get back home you think you live in a vast metropolis! I even found myself horrified about our local 5 o'clock traffic jam. Yes! I was in a line of 12 - count - em'-twelve cars!

Well we traveled down the road a piece to Martinsburg, Nebraska! Yes! Not only did we journey we crossed the state line! Okay...so maybe that is not all that impressive as I do live smack dab in the vortex of the tri-state area of Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota.

Anyway...why Martinsberg? Well, in spite it's population of 92, it is home of the one of the largest and yummiest burgers EVER! So worth the jaunt to Bob's Bar! We highly recommend it - when you are in the area - or even if you are not!

Planning a trip to Bob's? Well you have been warned!

BOB's BAR
The ambiance is...well...small town! It was waiting room ONLY inside! Tables were filled with families and friends. Ages infant to elders. Tables were littered with long necks, baby bottles, and mountains for food. The room was saturated with country music from a good old fashioned juke box, laughter, talking, teasing, joking, the sound of pool balls (only the balls...no cues because 4 year olds were playing "kiddie-pool" using just the balls...with a little help from adults when the balls rolled to the center of the table our of reach). The wait was worth it because the wait-staff was so fun to watch! Two waitresses, one young male dish washer, and BOB! He was in the back doing all the cooking.

 This is in case you didn't believe me about Bob's claim to big burgers!

What is all that stuff above the cooler!?

Fancy bar set up! Ehhh?

Don't want to know what that is hanging from the ceiling!

That brick on the counter is from the town down the road...following

a devastating tornado.

And there it is! Bob's giant hand pressed burger! People come for the burgers of

course (price tag? $4.95) but it is the enormous side dishes come in a close second! Wait for it....

Here is a single order of onion rings.

The plate of cheese balls is a HALF ORDER! Don't look at me1 I didn't order it!
I HATE fried balls of cheese! Onion rings...I don't have the same hatred for...

 

There is a peak at the kitchen and the check out area. They are so busy they leave the cash drawer open. Wonder when this area was last cleaned off? Seriously...they don't have time for picking up! That cigarette holder is older than I am. It is labeled with cigarettes that aren't even made anymore.

Now THIS is something you don't see everywhere!

And yes...I have a thing about taking photos of some restaurant bathrooms.

I can't resist their quirkiness! But I ask you is this technically a bathroom shot?

The ONLY sink for the men's and women's bathroom

is located IN the dining area OUTSIDE both bathrooms.
So...everyone within eyeshot can see you (and IF you) wash your hands! #Speechless

 Maybe THIS is the official bathroom shot for my "Loo-Album".

It is located in a vacant lot next to Bob's.

 

 

So..that is how one escapes the grueling, rush-hour traffic, of "the big city" of Sioux City, Iowa! Next stop? Stay tuned...  Now on to the card. A fall pallet sympathy card. (Which I may need for myself if I eat at Bob's very often!)

  

 

 

With Sympathy

~Base card white card stock

~Strips of DCWV Autumn Splendor

~Sentiment die cut

~Flower die cut

~Button

~Twine

Challenges | Inspirations

Just Us Girls - word week

Retro Sketches - sketch

Fusion - photo inspiration

Time Out - autumn

Mod Squad - get your fall on

 

Here's to small towns with double digit populations with a 'destination draw', quirky bathrooms, and enjoying every autumn day!

 

Thanks for clicking by,

 

Nancy in Iowa



 

Bubble Time Freshness

September - the month of daughter Amy's, granddaughter Bailey's birthday, sissy Gail's birthday, and the signal to the end of summer and the Farmers Market!

The last of the zinnias!

My lunch time favorites!

 

My weekly purchase of garden fresh
office bouquets comes to a close.

 

My annual pumpkins-on-a-stick purchase!

 

Could not resist this moss green pumpkin with the tendrils!
The vendor said it is sweeter than an orange pumpkin
Not that I will find out... don't plan on cooking up my centerpiece!

 

A few of these and a piece of twine rope made
last weekend at a local art fair and...

 

Ta Da! Fall centerpiece complete!

Now on to the card. So happy I decided Bubble Time is a priority! No more bringing work home on the weekends!

Detail of 3D butterfly.

Butterfly Besties
~Base white cardstock
~Strip of black cardstock
~Strip of diagonal stripe from The Garment District (the Paper Studio)
~Sizzix Word Labels sentiment
~3D butterfly from the Dollar Tree
Challenges | Inspirations
Just Us Girls - photo inspiration
Fusion - sketch
Less is More - shiny + CAS

Thanks for clicking by.

Here's to enjoying every trip to the Farmers Market, never regretting buying myself garden fresh flowers, and wondering what I will have for lunches when fresh pepper season is over!

Nancy in Iowa

Seize Some Me Time

I can't believe I haven't made a card since the end of May. Oh - Fiber Bubble - how I have missed spending time here!

Hard to believe that a new job can suck all the down-time-fun out of life! But I am here to tell you that it is possible! By either coming home late or coming home exhausted with just enough time to treadmill and crawl into bed - the Bubble - never made it to my 'get it done' list! But that is changing. I need to make some time for myself and it starts right now!

Even if that time is while the laundry is in process in the next room.

I miss my Bubble Time - and I just got a text from my sister telling me she is out of birthday cards. Well...so am I...so I better get busy I have to stock up the birthday card stash. I'm starting out with a tag...no need to jump back into card making full force! A tag will do for now!

Next post I'll share some of what I have been up to this summer - trips to the local Farmers Market, sister visits, and a trip. I know...you can hardly wait!

 

Front 

 

Back

 

Cupcake Bubble

~Repurposed tag from a garment

~Covered with PaperGrey Cupcake Paper Pad

~Cupcake paper pieced - highlighted with Stickles; stamped using Hero Arts cupcake stamp

~Sentiment stamped using black embossing powder

~Ribbon

~Bling

~Washi tape strip on the back

 

Challenges | Inspirations

Tag You're It - cupcake inspiration

C.R.A.F.T Challenge - add some bling

Sweet Stampin' - emboss it

 

Here's to making me time, restocking the birthday card stack, and just enjoying My Bubble Time!

 

Thanks for popping by,

 

Nancy in Iowa



 

Wee Wellies!

Blogger let me down. I had this entire post ready to publish and it froze up! And it didn't save even though the SAVE button indicated "saving"! Grrrrr!!!! Who knows if I can be as pithy with this second go round of ramblings as I was in the first attempt! Trust me it was some FUNNY STUFF!!!

No not really - it was just my usual yadayadayada...

I love zinnias! I would love to take the time to start seeds in the house for transplant - but my house is not conducive to doubling as a plant nursery and I was not gifted with a green thumb! So I anxiously await the season of Farmers Market and the arrival of cheerful bouquets of colorful zinnias.

Last Saturday, one of the vendors was selling starter zinnias! I could not resist and bought one of each color and brought them home and 'planted' them in a container. She told me to 'whack off' of the flowers but I just couldn't toss these shorties! I found the perfect vase and POOF! My first bouquet (if 3 flowers count as a bouquet...) of spring!

Not only a touch of color and spring but a revisiting of memories. I bought this wee shamrock etched crystal 'wellie' in Ireland. A joyous trip that included my sistas, aunts, mother, and cousin! Oh the fun we had! Oh the memories we made! I have strolled down my Irish memory lane with fondness since putting this 3 inch vase to work on Sunday. Such a small token for such grand memories!

I know you are dazzled by my flower arranging skills! Admit it!!!! I promise to post a REAL zinnia bouquet as soon as they become available at the Farmers Market!

 

 

It's a bit too early for flowers but that doesn't keep me from loving the vegies! So FRESH!

 

 

THIS is the REAL deal...This is what I am waiting for!

And a card...also diminutive. If you are a regular to my blog you may know that I am on a mission to try to put a dent in the 400 coin envelopes that someone 'gifted' me. Not to mention the stack of remnant strips from making square cards.

Tiny Tag
~Base card - PaperTrey Ink - Kraft
~Layer of vanilla card stock
~Layers of card stock for Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia
~Two brads
~Punched tag with sentiment stamped using Just Rite stamp
~Hero Arts Dots embossing folder
~Perfect Pearls Blue Raspberry mist
Challenge | Inspiration
Just Us Girls - photo week
Shopping Our Stash - mist (I tried and failed to get the photo to show the shimmer on the flower petals!)
Kraft Journal - CAS embossed
Crafting from the Heart - anything

Here's to bigger bouquets, wee vessels of giant sized memories, and enjoying fresh veggies!

Nancy in Iowa

Waffle Cones and Bob Dogs

I occasionally blog about 'life in a small Midwestern town'! This post is no exception. We recently drove to the Ice Cream Capital of the World. Seriously!!! There IS an Ice Cream Capital of the World and it is HERE in the Heartland and the best part? I live a mere 25 minutes from it!

Our favorite 'drive-in diner' is Bob's! Home of all natural casing dogs (or as grand-daughter Bailey calls them - "Crunchy Hot Dogs") it is a family favorite! With a short drive to LeMars we can have dinner and dessert - both within just a few city blocks of each other! I'm getting hungry just thinking about Bob's!

The actual "small town living" story has to do with the railroad crossing that bisects the city. While in LeMars...we had to wait for a train. This is how you deal with a LONG train...you just get out of your car and go talk with a neighbor...

Life in the slow lane...it suits me just fine!

 

 And now it is card time! Still trying to use up my square card remnants! Here is another "coin card" (also trying to use up the mountainous amount of 'coin envelopes' I have).

 

 

Coffee with Friends
~Base card PaperTrey Ink Kraft
~Core'dinations Core Impressions: Graphic 45 Timeless Collection - sanded and gold embossing powder applied to edges
~Silver and gold glitter washi tape strips
~Stacked cups stamped with Versamark, embossed with gold embossing powder; colored with Copics
~Friends sentiment die cut

Challenges | Inspirations
Fusion Card - photo inspiration
Little Red Wagon - die cut
Shopping Our Stash - silver and gold
Retro Sketch - sketch #165

Here's to small town food options, making friends at railroad crossings, and a cup of java with friends!

Nancy in Iowa