cards for a Tuesday evening

I hope everyone had a pleasant Tuesday, with only the baseline of chaos

necessary to get things done and nothing more. Oh, is my job the only one

where a certain amount of chaos equals productivity? Huh. Well, 

whatever the case, enjoy these few cards.  

Liesel
The Book Thief

Daisy Buchanan
The Great Gatsby

Anne
Persuasion

Emma
Emma

ps. Consider these cards a reading list of sorts. Most of them come from stories I adore or at least the sorts books I can appreciate. (I know you know what I mean). Looking for something to read? Then  pick a card, any card.

British tv cards edition

These are showing my love of British period drama shows.

Who doesn't love Downton Abbey and Call the Midwife?

If you don't love them, learn to love them.

Lady Mary
Downton Abbey

Cynthia and Chummy
Call the Midwife

Jenny and Trixie
Call the Midwife

cards to begin Valentine's week

Four more lovelies to start your week out right.

Fern and Charlotte
Charlotte's Web

Ella
Ella Enchanted

Sarah Crewe
The Little Princess

Matilda
Matilda

cards part three

I can't help but share these!

Pollyanna

Nancy Drew

Pippi Longstockings

Scout Finch

more cards

Jo March
A background I'm pretty proud of.

Jane Eyre

Anne Shirley
The Anne of Avonlea years

Marie Antoinette
ok, so not technically a literary heroine.
but her life is like a crazy novel that I'm fascinated with,
 which means she got a spot.
Yes, the floor is made of diamonds. 

This is me delivering on my promises. 

Three more.

Mary Poppins

Wendy

Laura Ingalls Wilder

Hope you're half as delighted as I was when I made them! 

february

It's February according to my calendar. Which means  my dad's birthday, Ground Hog's Day, doilies, glitter and chocolate. That can point to only two things: Valentine's and Galentine's Days. Most of us are familiar with the holiday of hearts, stars in your eyes and cheap stuffed animals called Valentine's day. Maybe I just like any excuse to be festive or have a theme, but I don't hate Valentine's day. There is something cute about it, even though there are lots of things not so cute about it. People have various strong emotions about the day. Especially around this town I find myself living in.
      Galentine's is a whole different, but related thing. It is a holiday introduced to me by Leslie Knope of the Pawnee Parks Department. It's a day to celebrate your friends, specifically your gal pals. It happens the day before or after Valentine's day. It's a special time.
     As per usual, I am wanting there to be a themed shindig as part of the Galentine's celebration. There will be. Don't you worry your head about that. Included in said themed shindig will be the exchange of galentines, which are not unlike valentines. Cards and candy that basically tell a person you think they're great and help them to understand they mean something to you.

This is the invitation to Galentine's good time.
Those white hearts scratch off. Yes, we made
our own scratch off hearts. Pinterest almost
never fails. 

     In my past, I have been a valentines maker. One year I made puppy valentines with chocolate hearts. I made up a "you're doggone--insert kind word here--Valentine" phrase for each member of my class. I like to put forth effort. This doesn't happen every year. But sometimes it happens. Sometimes you get an idea for galentines that is just so good it grows into more than just making cards for your friends, it turns into an obsessive project. I'm unveiling these galentines here. I figure it's just my mom and I here, so I'm safe from spoiling any surprises since she's seen them already. Believe it or not, there are too many to share in one post. So, leading up to Galentine's day (and let's be real, afterwards too, because I'm not going to stop making these cards any time soon--it's too much fun) I'll share a few when I can remember to do so. I'd say every day, but let's be real. So yes, here goes. The cards.

Dorothy.
I'm not trying to insult your intelligence by
putting who it is. I just want
to make sure we're on the same page.

The idea is a heroine from literature or history. Background: magazine clippings. Girl: ink and colored pencil. I drew them. Can you even believe that? Sometimes I'm not sure I can myself.

Elizabeth Benett
I decided to add quotes said by the character or
one that could be found in her book.

There's a small taste of them. They're pretty delightful to make, I have to admit. Like a treat. So more treats tomorrow. Let the Valentine's/Galentine's season begin!

sweater therapy

There are days at work that leave asking: what just happened to me? You try to find explanations for the cuckoo of it all. The inversion? The snow getting rid of the inversion? The price of milk? The apocalypse finally happening, with its origins here? No answer comes.
    That's when you find yourself at one of the happiest places on earth. Target. You have to grocery shop. This is something that gives you mild anxiety and more than a mild case of the grumps. But at Target, things are better. And you try to figure out something to make you feel like the day has not been a waste. You don't self-identify as a person who regularly uses retail therapy. But you make an exception for this:

It's a cardigan you found in the men's section. You go there periodically to see if you can find a treasure you can make better. The sweater is fine by itself, but you decide fine is not good enough on this day of the near-apocalypse. You want festive. Valentines festive. But not so specific you can't wear it other times. So you get your needle, red embroidery floss and scissors.

You start using the outline stitch to outline the top of the pockets. It's relaxing, fun and aesthetically pleasing. All things you need on the inversion-induced insanity of the day. But you don't stop at just the pockets.

You have to outline where the buttons are too. Then the buttons give you pause. There isn't enough pizazz to be considered Valentine's festive.

You find yourself changing the buttons out with some that you bought for a project in December but never used. You even attach them with red, which is something you saw in a Martha Stewart magazine you bought to cannibalize for another project.

The sweater turns out something like this, when all is said and done. It is festive without slapping you in the face and looks like a new and improved version of the sweater you retail therapied yourself with. The what-just-happened-to-me day is a distant memory. Finally you can stop narrating your life like that one version of Hamlet you watched a week or so ago. That's a relief.