Christmas Hawks

Time for a really short post. Very abbreviated! I have to work tomorrow so need to get a few things done around the house. No Black Friday for me...went with black on a Christmas card instead!

For you Americans... Happy Thanksgiving! For the rest of you...any day is a good day to be thankful! And if it involves pies, turkey, and family...well all the better!

Tag Your It For Christmas
~Base card - PaperTrey Ink Black cardstock
~Gold metallic tabs
~Black tag with gold metallic cord from the Target dollar aisle
~3 metal brads
~Red/green Paper Studio Old World Winter
Inspirations|Challenges
Just Us Girls - it's color week! red, green, gold
Retro Sketches - sketch
Southern Girls - use patterned paper
Inky Impressions - traditional Christmas colors
Ruby's Rainbow - Christmas with metallic

Thanks for clicking by!

Here's to feeling grateful, anticipating Christmas, and PIE!

Oh! And by the way....

Just couldn't help myself...I do after all sign my posts,
Nancy in IOWA

Christmas Dahlias

So...I started walking to work. Wait! Before you congratulate me on my road to fitness....I have to be totally honest. I walk PART way to work. I DRIVE to a nearby park (Leif Erickson Park). I leave my car there and walk the rest of the way to work. I am TOO lazy to walk ALL the way to work! But the fall weather has been so incredible and the threat of sub-zero temps looms large so I decided to enjoy the weather and add a few (about 2000 one way) steps to my daily FitBit log. I also don't walk all the way from home to work because - when I am done at work - I want to be home SOONER rather than later. The park is about half the distance from my home to my place of work.

And to be even MORE honest...by parking at the park....I am walking the bulk of my journey on flat land....another declaration from lazy ol' me!

Walking has given me an up close and appreciative look at fall foliage. AND one of the last blooms of summer. Thought I'd share with you the splendor of autumn in Iowa.

 

The final days for this lovely dahlia.

Love the mix of colors on this prickly bush!

 

 

Cardinal bush....I have a thing for these beauties.
Can't drive/walk past one without snapping a picture!

I need to get me some of these!

 AND another one!

 

 I realized most of my tree photos were the orange, red, rusts.

Lets hear it for the yellow hues!

 

I love when you can see the line of demarcation between the leaves that are protected from the cold and are the last to give up their green!

 

Early morning sun on the tree and the corner of the Catholic church rectory.

Now on to the card. Even though I am soaking up the final days of autumn (yes we did have snow one day last week) I know that winter and Christmas is just around the corner.

Another admission: I checked in on the challenge over at Just Us Girls.  The challenge struck fear into my soul! Watercolor!?  Oh dear! I can NOT get the hang of watercolor! I end up with MUD. I should call it MUDCOLORING. GEEEEEZZZ!

 

 Card detail.

 

 

Mudslinging Poinsettias

~Base card Cryogen White

~Layer of Paper Studio Cozy Little Christmas

~Two strips Washi tape

~Brad painted gold

~Watercolor paper for poinsettias die cut using Cuttlebug and Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettias 

~Sentiment punched using SU Word Window

~Star bling

~Martha Stewart dove punch gold foil cardstock

Challenges | Inspirations

Just Us Girls - Trend Week - Watercolor

Just Add Ink - sketch

Crazy Hazelnuts - red and green must be seen

Crafty Addicts - anything + die cuts

Simply Papercraft - anything goes

 

Thanks for clicking by!

 

Here's to the last remnants of autumn, walking (half-way) to work, my obsession with Cardinal/Burning bushes, and my addiction to my Fitbit!

 

Nancy in Iowa

 

 



Alien Sightings

On the road again...driving home one evening last week. And what do I see off the side of Highway 20? ALIENS!  How tired am I?! Have aliens actually landed? But the bigger question is why would they choose Iowa!? (But then again...why not!?)

But I'm a farm kid at heart so I knew better. Those lights off in the distance - but getting persistently closer are farmers on combines. Its harvest time and a "little darkness" is not about to stop these high tech agronomists! They have crops to bring in! I couldn't help but stop the car and try for a few photos using my cell phone. They look even MORE like Little Green Men Martian Mobiles in the photos than they did in real life.

Just when I was thinking how tired I was feeling...I changed my mind and decided driving home in a luxury rental car and only a couple hours from my own comfy comforter and bed was much less fatiguing than harvesting to feed a nation. Its all about perspective!

 

Yes I did manage to get a card made. I'm not happy with it. But here it is...warts and all. WARTS!? Maybe I should have made a Halloween card instead of a Christmas card! Or better yet...a Halloween card with wart-faced aliens! In keeping with my little green friends from Mars in mind I went with a green glitter ornament!

 

 

Christmas Staples

~PaperTrey Ink cardstock base

~Layer of Cryogen White cardstock

~Striped washi tape

~Glitter ornament to/from gift tag

~Merry Christmas sentiment stamped using Versafine Onyx on red cardstock punched using SU Word Window

~Ribbon held on with green staple (I love it when I find a reason to use colored staples!)

Challenges | Inspirations

Just Us Girls - Word of the Week: Stripes

Retro Sketch - sketch

Crafty Hazelnuts - Christmas sparkly

CAS-ual Chic - metal (green staple)

 



Thank you for clicking by!

Here's to farmers who work long hard hours, taking time to pull of the road, and always being on the lookout for aliens!

Nancy in Iowa

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