Good To See You, September

Aaaah, it's the -ber months. 

Yeah, I'm a fall girl!

I am ready and looking forward to sweaters and pumpkin scones, chili, yellow and red leaves ...

fall drives along two lane roads. 

In Virginia it will take some time to get to that point, but the waiting and expectation is worth it. The temperatures are falling at night so that you need a sweater in the morning, and then that sun warms you up enough to pull it right off and roll up your sleeves.

The drama of weather! 

And while watching and waiting for those glorious days of apple cider and donuts, I will create with my favorite leaf stamps and dies ~ can't have too many leaves.

Am I right?!

Images Stampin' Up!

Dear August

Dear August,

Just let me be honest here,  I have a love/hate relationship with you and I almost dread turning over the calendar page.

You are suffocating,  stifling,  sultry ( and not in a good way). You are hazy, hot, humid.  And there are 31 days of you, which feels like 41. 

So, how to cope: turn the AC to artic and cozy up to a TV series to binge watch.

In the coolest part of the morning hit the farmer's market for watermelon,  cantaloupe,  tomatoes, corn and butterbeans and ...

Chilled watermelon hits the spot anytime of day. Tomatoes sandwiches can't be beat for summer lunches. Corn and butterbeans with a side of sliced tomatoes is an excellent late supper eaten on the screened in porch after the sun sets. 

And it is so important to stay hydrated in the heat. Mint Iced Tea is so refreshing, and smells heavenly if you have a few fresh sprigs from the garden. If you don't have a pot or field of mint, the tea is still delicious ~ try it. 

In some of the most appalling heat I have experienced, I discovered the Augusta Arnold Palmer, served at Mary Mac's Tea Room in Atlanta. It's a delightful mix of lemonade and Iced Tea Flavored Vodka (my ABC store carries Firefly).

August, you feel a little melancholy at times. I can smell, feel a change coming on; I am happy to leave you behind, but also hesitantly wonder of what's to come. I love Fall, but September isn't truly Fall, at least not in Virginia.

So, short of moving to Alaska or Maine for the month, I will settle for artic AC and stay inside and CRAFT!

I am so glad that I found Stampin' Up! and a cadre of stampin' friends. These friends often come to my rescue when I just can't handle you anymore. We always have new SU products to play with as we gather around a craft table or a computer screen.

It keeps us cool, calm and collected. We craft and solve the world's problems.

If I weren't a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator I most likely wouldn't have met Linda or Ellen or Jenny or Dail or Kathy or Pamala or Monica or ...

I am always looking for more stampin' friends who'd like to share the Stampin' Up! experience.  You don't have to live next door or even in the same city. You don't  have to become a Demonstrator. First things first, let's stamp.

August,  your heat cannot stop us. Your storms cannot scare us. We will 

               Stay calm

                     and

               Stamp On

See ya later August!

(Stampers: there is so much fun going on at Stampin' Up! right now: new Sunflowers Paper Pumpkin, Cozy & Bright Christmas Card crafting kit, Mini July - December Catalog featuring  craft ideas for fall and winter days, AND  I have card crafting classes, too!)

If you'd like a Stampin' Friend or Creative Coach, or to join my team of Stampin' Up! Demonstrators, I am here to help ~ I'd love to chat with you, maybe over a tall glass of Iced Tea! 

Miss Me?

 I've Been Everywhere Man

I know, where have I been? Underground, off the grid. Truthfully, on the sofa most of the time. Chilly weather, under the weather. But I did not forget about you, in fact sometimes I talked to you, you know like writing a blog in my head. Then I just didn't make it off the sofa to the computer to put it in writing. 

I have been playing with crafty ideas and products, making a mess. A mess is a sign of a creative mind. My favorite crafty days are when I spend time making a mess with others - at a class or on the road at a retreat -  with paper or legos or icing. 

Time with friends always includes food and drink, right? Funny, we take pictures of our food to post on social media, but then never pictures of ourselves after we've eaten all that food. 

and drink.

Wait! I take that back. Here's after an afternoon's lunch .

(laughter truly is the best medicine)

The biggest mess of all is really me. Take today. With a craftermath on my dining room table, two classes to prepare for, UPS boxes to unpack, I was in the kitchen punching stars from Pepsi cartons and Orville Redenbacher popcorn boxes - silver, blue and red. I got the idea when I was thinking of stars as embellishments for the scrapbook of my grandsons. Yes, I could have gone to the craft store and found stars, stars with adhesive backs yet, but I would have had to put on my shoes and find a hat and ... nah. And then it rained.

So, I wonder just how many stars I can get out of these two boxes? And since they are both empty, I'll have more soon - probably before I can even finish with these two. But, what a good idea! 

Tomorrow I am going to a monthly team meeting. I haven't been in a while; I hope they don't ask me where I have been.

I'll be back, but leave the light on for me.