birth, death and stuff in between

I belong to a group called the Christian Family Movement at my church. I joined because we were new in the area and I wanted both my son and I to make new friends. A lot has been going on within the group and so I have been making a lot of cards for members. The cards below are some samples. I was thanked by the new teacher on his congratulations card the night of the meeting. I ran into the new dad at Costco and was thanked for his families card as well. I love thank yous, even if it's not in a card.

A little more monkey business

Times are tough and money is tight and so I made most of my Christmas gifts this year. I prefer doing that anyway because as you are working/creating/baking/whatever you are thinking about the recipient.
I gave my friend the sock monkey man a pack of cards - all featuring the SU sock monkey. There was the


The birthday monkey


The rock star monkey


The "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" monkeys


The Easter card with the surprise inside


And the grateful monkeys inspired by the Grateful Dead.

This one was a failed attempt at crayon resist with Mr. Mister filled with turquoise PearlEx and Aquanet. The hairspray soaked under the crayon and a bit showed through. I thought it looked a bit psychedelic and so I went with it. The circles are holes punched around the monkeys, which give the card a nice texture.

Have a happy stamping day. If you have questions about these cards leave a comment. If you need the sock monkey and his/her accessories to make cards like these yourself click here to visit my website and place a monkey order. Online orders are still eligible for an extra gift from me.

Would you like to meet my monkey?

Edited to add contact info.

One of my friends is a sock monkey collector, he has decorated a Christmas tree completely in sock monkeys, and goes to the Annual Sock Monkey Festival in Rockford, IL. He has brought along mutual friends and the event has made many a monkey convert. My schedule never worked out for going to this event and so I didn't jump on the bandwagon when it rolled through town. They have their charm but I've never been a big sock monkey fan. They were not a part of my childhood, maybe that's why they don't have the same appeal.

I have a dear friend, Camille, that really listens when I talk and remembers what I say. We talked about Halloween costumes once upon a time and I told her that I've always wanted to go to a Halloween party dressed as Carol Burnett dressed as Scarlett O'Hara, curtain rod and all. Only the old-timers would know what the heck that means but I'm sure if you remember The Carol Burnett Show's sketch "Went with the Wind" you are snickering now. For those of you who need a little help here is a still of the sketch. The dress Carol is wearing was designed by Bob Mackie (a bit of obscure trivia I picked somewhere). My favorite line from this sketch, " I saw it in the window and just couldn't resist it."



How are these related? Camille knows I would accept a sock monkey gift but wouldn't go out and purchase or make my own monkey. She has a friend that makes sock monkeys and asked her if she would take on the challenge — and now I am the proud owner of the Carol Burnett as Scarlett O'Hara Sock Monkey. 

Isn't she wonderful? 

If you would like to get a monkey of your own you can email Customer Service at sockcreations@yahoo.com and request one of your own. They start at $25 plus shipping, of course the costs go up depending on the complexity of the monkey's outfit and gear. Please allow at least three weeks for delivery.

Camille gave other wonderful, thoughtful gifts this year, all specially made for the recipients. She made a coffee-table book for the monkey collector about a historic home he purchased. She had a special wallet made for another friend that needed a way to keep track of the plastic. The wallet was beautiful, colorful and I'm sure will be a great help to our friend. It was made by the owner of Drea, a handbag Etsy shop. Click here to see what she's got on offer. I'm seriously thinking about upgrading.

Crazy Great: a Polar Bear Plunge and Disney

2009 started out quiet enough. I was in bed sound asleep by 9:30 pm on December 31 and woke up late on New Years' day. A much needed rest. New Year's day was a stay-at-home, do-nothing much kind of day. But…

Some people worked out, getting a jump start on those resolutions. Some were trying to survive the hangover. Some sat around watching football. My cousin Janet was taking the plunge. The Polar Bear Plunge in Sheboygan, WI. Not only was she crazy enough to do it. It was professionally videotaped for the Sheboygan Press where she is affectionately known as the "News at Noon Girl". See the video here Odyssey of a Polar Bear Newbie.

The only thing we did was hang new calendars and decorate one as a COUNT DOWN TO DISNEY WORLD. I found a wood-mounted set of 4 stamps featuring Mickey and Minnie at Joann for a $ (dollah) and used those.
Mickey called my son on Christmas morning and spilled the beans on the trip. It will be me my son and my dad. Dad needed a vacation after last year and we agreed the boy is old enough to remember the trip and young enough that we can take him out of school for a week so we're off. It's just 38 days until take off.

So this year is promising to be Crazy Great. Especially compared with last year. The new catty comes out on the 19th and the reports from Leadership have me excited about the future. If you want any of those retiring sets or accessories act now. You only have 9 more days on the stamps and some of the accessories are already gone. Go to my website to buy online. If you'd rather talk to me in person my phone number is listed there.