12 Tags of 2014/May / Where Have All the Scrapbooking Stores Gone?

12 Tags of 2014 - May

Last Sunday, I was finally able to finish 2014 May's tag. While the preacher and son were watching the World Cup, I worked on my tag. Again, you can check out Tim Holtz' blog to see his original.

Everything I put on the tag I had in my over abundance of goodies, stashed away from years and years of collecting. If anyone would like to know what company or what manufacturer I purchased these items from, well I'm sorry, but I don't have the original packaging for about 90% of my stash.

On a side note regarding purchasing scrapbook goodies -- I just received a Facebook post from Archiver's, that Two Peas in a Bucket is closing!! First Archiver's and now Two Peas?? Two Peas has been around for 15 years! When I worked at Scrapbook Fanatic (who also closed a few years ago), I would get on their website to find quotes to put on the pages that I was designing. Then I began to upload some of my own work into their Gallery. It was fun to go into the Gallery and search for pages, mini-albums, etc, to get ideas or just to see what was out there.

Unfortunately, the digital age has begun to overtake the brick and mortar stores and now even the on-line stores. It seems that so many people are making their scrapbook pages, their cards, and even their art journals, through digital processing programs.  Me, I have to be able to touch and feel the product I am using. When we would get new product in at the store, I would pull everything out and touch it and feel it, get a sense of what it would look like on a page through touch. Some of the girls would make fun of me, but I didn't care. It was my way of getting the creative juices flowing.
And now you can order just about anything you need through websites like Amazon or just go directly to the manufacturers website. There is something about walking into a scrapbooking store. You just get excited about all the possibilities. Well, hopefully, Michael's and Hobby Lobby will stay open. (I know Hobby Lobby is iffy.)

In the mean time, I do have a lot of product stashed away in the closet of my home. Who knew, my hoarding of scrapbooking supplies would end up being a good thing?!


P.S. If you live here in Colorado, there is a store in the Loveland area, Artsy Stamps, and in Estes Park you can find Rocky Mountain Memories. Both are small. Artsy focuses mostly on card making but they do have a lot of product that can be used for both cards and scrapbooking. Rocky Mountain Memories also has a lot of card making items and a lot of their papers are centered around the outdoors and the National Park there. Also, both have a small area where they have classes during the month.
      If you happen to know of any other stores, let me know.

Words of Encouragement in Time of Need

     Last week was not a good week for us financially. We have a few extra bills that we were not expecting and things just seemed to get a little out of control. 

     On Tuesday, both the preacher and I had doctor appointments in a town which is one hour away from our little town. The appointments were staggered enough that we would have to spend all day there. I knew we would be eating lunch at one of the local restaurants and then, of course being that close to a Wal-Mart, we would be getting groceries before coming home, therefore, spending more money! All of this was on my mind that Tuesday morning.

     While waiting on the preacher to finish getting things ready to go, I picked up my Art Journaling magazine and began to just browse the pages. I wasn't planning on actually reading any articles because I knew we would be leaving any minute. For some reason I stopped on the page you see in the picture above. I began to read what Mary Wisdom had wrote in her art journal:

"Lord, I feel lame for even admitting this, but I'm really feeling financial stress this month -- both tuition payments due the first week this time (and books!). Help me remember that it ALL belongs to you and help us use what you have given us wisely. Thank you for all you have given us--make me grateful & generous--not anxious & grasping...Help me remember your faithfulness in the past. Help me have faith that if we are wise and careful we can do this, we can meet our goals with your help. (Same for taxes, right...?)"

and then under that she wrote:

"Thank you, Lord, it all worked out and wasn't that bad. Help me remember this for the next time. Thank you"

     The Lord, even though I did not verbally talk with Him about my worries, knew what I was feeling, knew my anxiousness and my stress. I believe He, by His design, helped me to find that particular page at the exact moment I needed it.

     I won't lie and say that day or even the rest of the week went without further stress, but I do know that I continued to remember this prayer from someone I didn't even know, and it helped me get through that week. I actually carried this magazine with me all week just so I could re-read it when I felt the stress coming on. (Notice in the picture of the magazine the piece of paper---that was my bookmark for that exact page.) And just like the author of that prayer, we too were able to make it through.

     We cannot forget that the Lord always knows what we need when we need it. And I too need to pray for His 'help to remember this for the next time'.

     The author also included this scripture in her journal:

HUMBLE YOURSELVES, THEREFORE, UNDER GOD'S ALMIGHTY HAND. THAT HE MAY LIFT YOU UP IN DUE TIME. CAST ALL YOUR ANXIETY ON HIM BECAUSE HE CARES FOR YOU.       1 Peter 5:6-7 

     Amen!

12 Tags of 2014

January

February

March

April

I don't do scrapbooking on a regular basis anymore. When the preacher and I lived in Florida, I was designing pages for clients and then coming home and putting together a page or two for my personal albums. Now with work, laundry, dishes, bills, you know the many reasons we have in telling ourselves why we put off doing the things we love in order to get done the necessities of life.

One day I was searching the web and came across Tim Holtz' blog. Tim has been doing the 12 Tags of .... for several years and I had heard of them but never really got into making them. This year, though, I read what he said on his post regarding his January 2014 tag -- "I don't try to discover a new and exciting technique every month, or to make something never before seen. What I make sure to do is just spend time in my studio every month making a new tag to enjoy the creative process."

That is what I miss, the 'creative process'. So, for the year of 2014, I'm going to be following Tim's tags and making my own. (That is what he is asking people to do, make their own based on his tags.) This way, at least, once a month I will be spending time enjoying the creative process!

Of course, his tags are made with all of his product. I don't have a lot of the Tim Holtz/Ranger products, so I'll be making mine out of the supplies I have on hand.

Here is my take on January - April 2014 tags. (I'm 2 months behind, I know! I didn't start until last month.)

I hope you enjoy! And if you're putting off doing what you love, well, just stop it! and start giving yourself some time each week or each month to enjoy your creative process!

Be sure to check out Tim's blog to see his originals.

Mary, Martha, Who Am I?

Minister's wives sometimes are expected to be the women who are the Martha's in their churches. We are expected to be the person who heads up the Women's Ministry, the Women's Bible Study Group, the meals for the family reception after a funeral, Sunday School lessons and, not so long ago, we were expected to play the piano. These expectations may be even more prevalent in small town churches.

What the people don't understand is that this woman who comes with the minister that has been hired, is someone who has strengths and weaknesses. She may be good at some things and not so good at others. We, as minister's wives are expected to be the Martha of the church because a church really doesn't like to have a Mary as their minister's wife. They want to see her at work.

Me, I'm a Martha, I know I am. But....that doesn't mean I do all things well, nor does it mean I am comfortable doing some things either. I do not really do well in the forefront. I prefer to be in the background. I enjoy working with computers, I enjoy the organizational end of a project. I have tried teaching Bible studies and leading retreats but that is not who I am. (Although, sometimes I wish I could have these talents.)

I wish I could do better at just being a Mary. Sometimes the preacher and I will go to a convention or even to another worship service. Am I sitting there taking in the Word that is being preached? No, I'm looking around, checking out the brochures and bulletin, the power point, and anything else they might be doing differently than we are at our church. I'm thinking about how I can use the ideas I'm getting from all of these things and take them back to our church and improve upon our bulletins, our power point, etc., etc.

How do you shut it off? How do you just relax and let God take over? This is something I think a lot of us Martha's struggle with.  

If you are someone from a church who has a minister's wife who is more of a Mary, then thank God for her. Don't try to make her into someone she is not. "She has chosen the good portion," as Jesus says in Luke 10.42, "and it will not be taken from her."

But, if you have a minister's wife who is a Martha, be in prayer for her, asking the Lord to help her slow down, to quiet her mind, and to show His Grace in that quiet place.

New Name, New Post, New Beginnings

I have decided to give this blog thing another try. 

I saw that someone on Pinterest had pinned the picture of the butcher block table the preacher and I had made, and I had posted the pictures of the table here on my blog. So that made me check back on my blog. I couldn't believe it had been that long since I had posted anything. So it got me thinking.....let's try this again.

My old address of my blog was Linda's basement scraps and it is no longer relevant. My son came up with the name because, at the time, I had a scrapbooking room in our unfinished basement. After my mother-in-law passed away, we all went through a bit of depression (she lived with us at the time). Going down into the basement was not something I enjoyed any longer. So I began bringing a few things upstairs. Little by little, I have moved things into baskets, boxes, just anywhere I can. I now am working from my kitchen table. Back to the place where I began scrapbooking 19 years ago. I enjoy it more, I'm with my family, not alone in a dingy basement.

I have changed the name to The Preacher and I. This new name is more generic. I have decided to post more than just scrapbooking and crafts. I would like to post more of my thoughts on Bible Studies, scriptures, life events, etc. I will also post about my new adventures in art journaling, painting, and scrapbooking too.

Hopefully I can get on here two to three times a week. I did enjoy blogging before and I have missed it.
I don't have any followers at this point, but that's okay. Sometimes it's good to just write things down.

If you are reading this, I hope you will continue to look me up once in awhile. If you see something on here that you like, be sure to leave me a comment, pin it, or you can like me on facebook.

So here's to a new beginning!