Mama Kat's Losing It Writing Prompts: 3.) What I know for sure.

I know lots of things. I'm one of those people. Yes. I am.

I read a lot of books. And if I hear about something that I don't know about... I research it. Because, well... I like to be one of those people.

I'm not a know-it-all. Because, I don't know everything. Nobody does. I know lots of things, though. And I put it together. I figure it out.

But what I know for sure is... I am one of those people. I'm proud of it. I like to be one of those people, because, well... I don't like having to ask everyone else everything else.  No, I don't.

I like to have one of those other kinds of people ask me.  I like to feel... mmm... not like I know more than others, but like I have a some-type-of-purpose-other-than-merely-existing sense to my being. Because... people like me have a paranoia about them. People like me feel like they have no purpose in life, at least not a significant one. So... people like me... those kind of people feel somewhat important, like they do have a purpose in life.

And you know what I know for sure, even more than what I knew for sure just a second ago? Um... I'm really kind of silly. And nobody knows anything for sure, huh? Even those kind of people... people like me!

Jingle Belles: The Holly, the Ivy and the Missing Card!

Yeah, I know... I'm posting at the most absolute last minute again. But hey! At least I did it. AND! I did the missing JB08 Sketch card, because well... I'm just not that organized that I lost it and had to do it all over again. So there!

JB13 is something having to do with foliage, and I did 3 cards. 2 of them were... meh. Uh, nah... and so I began again.

I punched the branches out of green, added some stickles and ribbon, a little ink and VOILA! Simple and deckin' the halls, still! I probably could've made the wreath a little fuller, but... uh... the adhesive was already covered. Oh well. (I am not posting the fuss-ups today, because I forgot to take pics of them and am TOTALLY running out of time!)

JB08? Yeah, well... I used the same Martha Stewart branch punch, but in white, flowed it into a half-circle added cutesy bluesy prints, some ribbon, bling and more stickles. Done.

can you tell i l-o-v-e blue?

And now caught up!

You can join in the fun, too, ya know... Check out what others did at Jingle Belles and play with some cards, too! Another challenge will be posted on Friday. (Maybe next week I'll actually get everything done earlier.  Ya never know!!!)

Wordless Wednesday: Art Speaks

Taken by my daughter Summer 2010, but something I hope to see...

It's on my bucket list!

Mama Kat's Losing It Writing Prompts: 2.) April is national poetry month...Write a poem about hope.

Something that fills us
Makes us all warm and fuzzy
Gives us insipiration
And mystery

A feeling
A joy
A psychic ability
Premonitions moving strong

Propelling us
Keeping us
Moving...
On...

Playing Posting Catch-Up with the Jingle Belles!

So ya know... I feel like crud. My body's okay... my my chest and head are just full of congestion and all the yucky stuff that goes with it. So... I took a week off. Big whoop. But... I didn't fully take the week off. I still did everything I had to do... you know... 'cause I got me some K-I-D-S! and Momma don't get sick time... And so, I sucked it up. I'll post (tomorrow maybe...) the other things I did throughout last week, crafty-wise, and you can see my St. Patty's Day project underneath this post on Wordless Wednesday.

But for today! I am super duper L-A-T-E posting this, as I got totally into it and kept changing and getting things just so... that I totally missed the deadline to link up. Oh well. Boogers! I actually thought I was going to skip it, but had a little time and decided to give it a go, since my idea just wouldn't leave me.

And here we are! JB12! It was a sketch, which I'm just usually so not good at, but this little bugger wouldn't leave my brain until I actually did it. And yes... it took a while... and my interpretation is WAY different than everybody elses', but hey! I love it!

The flocking had to dry... and so did the glitter...

That cute little face? ... is a Peachy Keen Stamp! Gotta love them! A little chalk for blush and red-nose effects, black mark to enunciate the separations... And see that hat? Um... yeah... I cut the hats (TWO! because one was in white and the other in red), then handcut the "furry" parts off the white and flocked them. But uh... I had the hat the. way. it. came. I forgot to "flip" it. And so... I just flipped the red hat over, cut the pompom off the white flocked fur, flipped that, adjusted it, and glued the pompom down? Can you tell? Huh! I can't!

The sentiment is hand-written (and so are the "bricks"!) with white GellyRoll pen. The glitter is my fave... that I am almost out of...

and the little snowflake-y button-y thingies? were leftover from Calendar swaps last November. I just love utilizing bits of things and different techniques! Gotta love it!

Next up... last week's card... JB11! I'm just late posting, but hey! the card got done. The challenge? Craft, pale blue and white. Woohoo! My fave colors to work with. But. I went super simple. I was really feeling out of it and just wanted to get it D-O-N-E. And done... I did it!

The card is craft cardstock... and this blue background is one of my favorite papers (I'm gonna have to find me some MORE!) that I'm almost out of... I did the tree in white on the Cricut (swirl tree - Christmas Solutions), added a little rafffia bow and stamped a "Peace" Star sentiment at the top of the tree, embossing it in holographic Ranger powder. Easy. Simple. And I went to bed...

I still have one more left to find... it seems to be eluding me, but the sketch challenge from JB08 is missing! I have yet to take pics of it. I will give it one more search, and then I'll make another... Ugh! Sometimes, organization eludes items... lol!

Anywho... Peace be with you... hahaha! And hope you like the cards! I had fun, and I'm sure you would, too... If you'd like to join in, you still can! There's many more weeks until December, so check out the Jingle Belles Blog and join in the fun!

Wordless Wednesday: Got Gold?

My daughter in Kindergarten class, St. Patrick's Day 2011 (last week!).

**Note: I made this for the kindergarten teachers to keep. Got the idea from Women's World. My friend (Mindy) bought the science projectboard, and I did the rest freehand... a little paint, a little construction paper and LOTS of glitter... If you want the instructions, lemme know in the comment section (with an email!) and I'll be glad to get it to you.

Jingle Belles: Home for the Holidays (and others)

It's another shot of Jingle Belles Rock! I'm on my way to lots of cards for Christmas... ahead of schedule!

So... I've been a little behind posting my cards (and I can't find one of them to take a picture of!), but here's catch up... and super duper LATE!

First up... There's No Place Like "Home for the Holidays" (I know you know the song...) is the theme... um... I live in Southern California, so it's pretty much always sunny at Christmastime... and... I really couldn't think of anything else... (had a blank moment...)

Next up... "Text Me" (where we had to use some text as the basis!)

I soooo love the sentiment!

And I highlighted it with pine boughs and golden pinecones...

with a little Glimmer Mist as a background...

And I also have... "No Red, She Said!" (the one where we didn't use any red...)

A striped vellum background, attached with eyelets... some cool blue ribbon,

aqua-ish "joy/joy" stamping, and a carefree bird (touched up with some Stickles)

Flying free!

So... I still have to find the one I did for a sketch, and I'll be all caught up! Woohoo! But in the meantime, if you'd like to join in on the fun, feel free to go to Jingle Belles and see other awesome cards and also... to see what you've been missin'!

Wordless Wednesday: Reflections

Sometimes we find beauty in the simplest things... and out of nowhere.

Some Kids Can Be Cruel - Others Can Be Awesome!

Last Saturday, we were going to a birthday party. It was a bittersweet day for Marissa (6-year-old), because this was the last birthday party for the two little girls (whose birthday it was) here. (They are moving to another state in the middle of the country at the endish of the month.) And she was sad about it.

She took her time in getting ready. My daughter, who doesn't usually like to dress up, wear earrings, do her hair, etc... took lots of pain-staking time to plan her outfit. She matched her top and her bottom. She matched the bling that was on her top to a headband that had bling, too. Since the headband was blue, she chose her favorite blue snowman socks (her top and bottom was black and white). And well... Twinkletoes (Skechers) just go with everything, I mean... A girl can wear bling, right? But she asked me to put in bling-y earrings, and she brushed her hair until it was soft.

And then... she did something that is fairly new to her, she lightly misted herself with body spray. And she was ready.

Me? My heart poured and pulsed with pride, overflowing, I could feel it pounding in my chest. She was SO proud of herself. And I was proud of her, too.

Off we went to the party...

Things were good to begin with. But somewhere... something happened. And I had a 6-year-old bawling, crawling onto my lap. She curled herself up in a ball, burying her face in my neck and told me she wanted to go home. My heart clenched in pain with each rack of sobs. I got her to calm down a little bit and she was able to get out the story...

Another girl had told her (rather nastily) that she didn't match for anything. Only her top and bottom did. And I understood the pain she felt.

Her pride and her feelings were now mortally hurt. She felt less than nothing. Like she could do nothing right.

Now... I know some of you are thinking, "What's the big deal? It's nothing." But, please remember... this was a major effort that she undertook, and she was so proud she did it on her own. I believe in letting children identify with themselves. Unless it's for an appointed photo, let them dress how they want and choose who they want to be (within reason, of course... let's not have gang-bangers and Madonna's at 6, please!). And my little girl is on the way to discovering her own style... herself.

Yes, there are times when I want to say, "NOOOO! Put that back...!" But... that day... her logic was there and she had gone through it piece by piece, and it didn't look bad, it looked like a little girl had picked her outfit and she was trying to say something about herself.

Ok... off my soapbox and back to the story...

I asked Marissa which little girl it was, and what was she wearing. Between sniffles, she told me. (By the way... by now, my shirt was pretty drenched and it looked like I had been breastfeeding and leaked... but I'm okay with that!) Of course, I couldn't be obvious and pull a Linda Blair act, as she was somewhere behind me, so I waited until she was in line for the upcoming game and within my eyesight. Daggers and dirty looks were being sent over our way... for no reason. Apparently, when someone does something to someone else, even if that someone else doesn't do anything back to you, dirty looks and huffy attitudes are the thing to do... *I'm not sure of the other little girl's age... but, she looked to be somewhere between 9 and 11.

The hostess came around asking if the kids were going to play a game. She wanted to know why Marissa wasn't going to play. So, I briefly told her, and also let her know Marissa was going to be okay. After all, I really don't want to get anyone in trouble. It just takes time to calm a kid down. She told my daughter how beautiful she looked and that she loved her outfit.

The hostess asked which little girl it was. I told her. (YES! I was a snitch!!! But I did it so that in the future, Marissa wasn't placed next to her for any reason...) She then pulled the other girl out of the line and talked to her privately. She came back to us and told Marissa, "Marissa, you look absolutely beautiful! You are at a party, and YOU are supposed to have fun and not worry about people being mean. The other little girl is on a big time out, so please come and play with us."

And Marissa did. The other little girls were so nice to her and gathered around to include her... it was... WOW! My daughter had the best day ever, after that. She enjoyed herself to the fullest.

My friend, the hostess, is truly what the phrase "the hostess with the mostest" is. Because of her grace and kindness, and the other little girls just enjoying the party, too... my daughter had the time of her life. And she didn't go home early. She got to spend precious time with her friends.



please forgive the fuzziness of the photo my 17-yo lacks focusing skills (ha, ha!)



The other little girl? I don't know why she was that way that day... but I was told (by my hostess friend) that she is always like that, but it's not okay for her to ruin the party for others. I'm sure there's something underlying somewhere, and I hope one day she overcomes her anger with the world, but it saddens me that it had to be that way.

Maybe if she let's those awesome "other" girls surround her with their awesomeness, some of it will rub off... just like it did on my daughter... so that she, too, can have the time of her life.

***And to my hostess friend... if you are reading this, THANK YOU! from the bottom of my heart for making a little girl feel good about herself again. Because you know... little girls don't always believe their mothers. And you will be missed. I love you!

Wordless Wednesday: Sometimes You Just Feel Like...

A Big Pile of **it!

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!