August

Having just returned from a trip to Tennessee for my Grandma Bettie's memorial, I was super excited to see that this months' ETM kits were ready for pickup! Creating things is always a great way for me to reflect, relax, and just let my mind go for a little while. What a treat!

While in TN, a wonderful Reverend named Mr. Martin Fischer read from a book called "When God Winks." I got to read a little bit of it after the service and I found it to be quite delightful. It's about how little things happen in your life that may be seen as irony, or chance. It talks about how these little experiences and says that these moments are when God is "winking" at you or sending a little message. Where was I going with that? Oh. . . this months' kit was just the little "wink" I needed!

This months' kit includes a ton of adorable patterened papers and embelishments but my favorite thing of all was the little butterflies. Let me back-track for a moment. Butterflies have always been a favorite thing of mine, but they are specially relevant when someone close to me has gone. There are stories in the family of butterflies at the graveside service for my Aunt. There were butterflies in April at my Dad's funeral. And on the 4th of July as I was looking at the pink roses in the yard, a large monarch butterfly was flying around my garden. Chance? Maybe. . . Butterflies, chance or not, are always a pleasant reminder to me that people change, and move on from this life. Seeing them makes me think happy thoughts that the souls of those who pass before us are not gone, but they are free to float and fly away, visiting us occasionally in our lives and in our hearts. :)

I went with the butterfly theme for all of my cards this month, and best of all there was an adorable gift bag to decorate, so I made a bag and tag too. What fabulous therapy! In the background of these pics I chose to decorate with two special treasures, a vase of pink roses given to me by Grandma Bettie when I graduated high school, and a pink rose china plate that I picked up in Tennessee last week. It is one of her belongings that will always be special to me.

Of other note, the Card Day Club will be getting together again very soon for another great day of creating bags and tags, and I will soon have a really great package to send off to Cards for Heroes . . . I would love to challenge all of my friends and fellow card makers to take part in this great project. The website has tons of ideas and stories about the people who need and recieve these cards!

That's all for now. . .