Working on card-making ministry projects

It is a lovely fall Saturday in Minnesota. After spending most of the day outside, I thought I would take a little time to share some pictures of my latest project for our card ministry at church. I made 25 feminine birthday cards this week and should start on Christmas cards tonight which will be used for families at our church with soldiers as well as for our home-bound packets we send out. I've posted a close-up of one of the cards, too. This one has holes punched in the white scallop circle which is my favorite look, but it is quite time-consuming when you are making 25.
Hope you got to enjoy a lovely day wherever you are!

This is where I create my cards ...

Last Fall, my dear husband agreed to my purchase of a desk and storage cabinet for my card-making hobby. Just when all the boxes arrived, his back went out. No, it wasn't when he looked at all those boxes! I was so eager to get the project going that I put both pieces together pretty much all by myself. (And very proud of my accomplishment, too!) I also posted the picture of the bed which is in my craft room as well. Every once in a while, extra supplies make their way to the bed and our grandson now loves to sleep in that bed when he comes for "sleep-overs". Whether used as a creating space or a guest room, I love having it right across the entryway from the kitchen. I can multi-task that way!
Our summer was so busy that I spent very little time in my craft room. I am looking forward to spending some quality time in there this weekend! Hope you have a great one, too!

More Pictures from Sunny Florida

This weekend we did more swimming, some errands, fishing, and went to the causeway beach which is between Sanibel and Ft Myers. We bought aqua socks for Reilly and a beach umbrella for me. The previous owners left us three beach chairs -- thank you! From the slideshow you will be able to see where we were and some of what we did. Reilly got to hold a starfish which some fishermen gave him and then he put it back in the ocean. He also held a live seashell and returned that to the ocean, too, after a photo op by Gramee. I mostly sat in one of the beach chairs as we couldn't seem get our umbrella deep enough into the sand for it to stay by itself. No! I didn't hold it the whole time, but we used one of the chairs to brace it! Reilly became my assistant photographer this weekend. You will see lots of his work in the slideshow as well. (Thought I should replace this slideshow with a single photo. Perhaps there will be another slideshow soon!)

Our Trip to Sanibel

It has been almost a week since we embarked on our 3.5 day drive from home to Sanibel. Pulling the trailer went very well and that was a big relief. Both Reilly and Molly the dog were great travelers! We were so happy when we finally pulled into Ft. Myers. We were almost at our destination! A quick trip through the Pulbix grocery store for some provisions and we were headed to the causeway. Reilly was pretty patient while we got the trailer unloaded even though he wanted to jump into the pool right away. He has just loved being able to swim as much as he wants to. We invested in some pool toys and have had so much fun. We stopped at the beach between rainstorms the other day. Papa and Reilly spent some time at the Sanibel Rec Center yesterday playing air hockey, foosball, and some other fun games. (There was an "old ladies pool exercise class" according to Reilly, so they didn't swim there then.) LOL! Mike is pressure-washing the pool deck right now. He is going a great job. Reilly and I put together a four foot floor puzzle today which was a gift from Bonnie (our realtors' daughter who is a senior in high school this year). You'll see the pictures of the finished puzzle in the slideshow! Thanks, Bonnie! Right now our plan is to swim if it is still raining (but not lightning, of course!) and then fish when the rain stops. And we will need to get something to cook for supper, too. Maybe we will go to Jerry's for some groceries and show Reilly all the tropical birds there!

Loading the Trailer

Today is not only TRAILER day, but loading day #1. Don't ask how we got the futon and chair up from the lower level and into the trailer! Suffice it to say, Mike forgot to hire some movers! I hope we can both get out of bed tomorrow! We don't have any more large items to put into the trailer which is a big relief. By the way, an 8' x 5' trailer isn't as big as one would think.
We have our trip mapped out and our reservations for 3 nights on the way down. We'll be stopping in St. Louis, Chattanooga, and Tampa. Even though Tampa is only 2.5 hours from our destination, we are driving 3 long days and decided to arrive in Fort Myers mid-day on day #4. We'll need to stop at Publix for groceries on our way to the house.

Our Slice of Paradise

We are so busy getting our new place organized. We have made two trips down there so far, but we are embarking on a driving trip this Saturday pulling a U-Haul trailer and bringing a grandson and our dog. This just screams photo journalism, doesn't it?

I know I started this blog to share my love of card-making, but there just hasn't been much time at all for the past couple of months for much card designing at all. I am hoping to get back to that sometime soon, though! My fingers are getting "itchy"!

In the Pines and now In the Palms, too!

Lots has been going on around here since the last time I posted. We've been busy with family activities and with purchasing a home in Florida! The picture I have posted today is of the new home. We are really looking forward to spending more time down there especially during the winter.

Our card ministry has been very busy as well. We made hundreds of cards for First Communion, graduation, and thank you cards for a family dealing with the illness of their little daughter. Now we are focusing on our annual fundraiser -- selling cards at our annual church festival.

I am hoping to be able to start posting more cards soon. Even though I have been making cards, there hasn't been time to take any pictures!