Karen's Muse and Musings

Lovely Day

So, I've had the loveliest day completing a course for my real estate license CE requirements. The course was Construction Details and Trends, and it was absolutely fascinating. Can you say sarcasm? I knew you could.

Now that's behind me, and it's on to more fun endeavors. I am joining a knit along sponsored by Joyce of Elliebelly. It's called the Elliebelly Knit-n-Telly. (I don't care how look at it, that's a much better name than Construction Details and Trends!) Click here for more info on the knit along. Here is the gorgeous Elliebelly yarn I'm using.

I am going to knit some soakers for my sweet grandson Patrick, almost 5 months old now. I don't usually post much about my knitting, but I will post photos as I go along. Here is a beautiful photo of Patrick and his mommy, Dana, taken recently at the beach.

This is my 399th post! In my next post, I will celebrate reaching 400 posts by giving something away. Come back!

So Cute!

Recently I made a couple of dresses for my granddaughters Kathleen and Leighton. I thought the dresses turned out really cute, but they look even cuter on these adorable models.

Kathleen, age 2

Leighton, age 8 months

 

Every Inchie Monday — Fancy

Fancy schmancy! That's the phrase that came to mind when I read the theme of this week at Every Inchie Monday. (Yes, I know it's Tuesday. I'm a day late — what can I say?) I chose this image from one of my vintage cabinet cards. This little girl was definitely dressed in some fancy finery. And it is only 1 inch square. I just didn't think you could see it at that size!

Sunday Postcard Art — Dance

It's time to dance at Sunday Postcard Art! Deciding to go digital with my postcard art this week, I chose one of the flower girls from stepdaughter Maggie's wedding as my subject. I worked in Photoshop CS4, using a combination of the artistic and brush strokes filters.

Photoshopping Grandchildren

Today I've been playing around with photos of our grandchildren in Photoshop.

Kathleen, 26 months

 

Leighton, 4 months

 

Bobby, 2-1/2 years

 

And this is our newest, Patrick. He was 8 days old yesterday when this photo was taken.

 

One more photo of Bobby. I love this expression on his face.

I was playing with the edges of the photos. Years ago I bought Auto FX Software's Photographic Edges, but that version no longer works with my latest Mac or with Photoshop CS4. So I was looking for a way to get interesting edges without spending any money on software. I found this cool tutorial here.

Piece of Cake!

No time for paper arts this weekend, but I did whip up this cake for a baby shower for our soon-to-arrive grandson. Big brother Bobby loved those lollipops! The inspiration and recipe for the Lollipop Garden Cake came from the Martha Stewart website.

Every Inchie Monday

Frolic!

Another digital inchie this week. The little girl is one of the flowergirls that was in stepdaughter Maggie's wedding a few years ago. The photographer captured some great shots of the girls twirling and dancing just before the wedding. I worked in Photoshop, "cutting" out the girl, placing her on my background I created by using a Photoshop brush in blue over the green background. Added the word frolic in the font Zapfino, and I was done!

Another Monday, Another Inchie!

Mirthful!

I cannot recall seeing a more mirthful face than that of my grandson, Bobby, when he was in a swing at the playground for the first time. Just love those 2 tiny teeth!

So much to do, and so little time!

I've been feeling very stressed this holiday season. I should start earlier with my preparation. I say this every year, but I don't do it. Therefore, I get stressed. My jaw hurts from clenching it so tight, and my shoulders are permanently hunched, I think. I've finally decided to try and let it go. If I don't do everything that I think I need to do before Christmas, so what? The world will keep spinning, and life will go on.

But ... if you have been wondering where I've been and what I've been up to, here are some photos to answer your questions.

Here's my tree decorated with the cones I made. Thanks again to Nancy Maxwell James of the PaperWhimsy design team for the inspiration.

This handsome gentleman is my great grandfather.

And this beautiful lady is my great grandmother.

These are the Christmas dresses I made for granddaughters Leighton and Kathleen, finally mailed off to Arkansas yesterday. I mailed them priority, and I am praying they will get there by Tuesday at the latest.

And here's 2-year-old Bobby peeking in while we're taking the photos of the dresses. He keeps me hopping on the 4 days a week he is here, but he is a joy to have around.

I have also complete some knitting projects, but since they are gifts, I can't show them now.

With all of the hubbub and stress around here, I just keep reminding myself that Jesus is the reason for the season. And deep breathing, lots of deep breathing!

A Heart Leaping with Joy

I'm not exactly sure my heart is leaping, but I am feeling very grateful. I'm grateful for a truly delightful Thanksgiving Day here at my house with 13 in attendance. I'm grateful that the holiday is now over, and I am taking a break from all the cleaning and cooking I did in preparation. Since I now have some time to breathe, I have been catching up on art projects, including this skinny page for Leslie in the OhMyGothic group. Her preference for her pages is shades of white and neutral with splashes of color. As usual, I created the first page as the front, but after completing the second side, I liked it best. The second side is above, and if you look closely, you can read the little words "heart leaping with joy." The first side is below. Now I can't decide which I like best. I'll let Leslie decide which is the front and which is the back.