Happy Valentine's Day!

Good Morning Everyone!

It truly is early in the morning.  Just after 1 AM to be exact.  At 9 PM I couldn't keep my eyes open, went to bed, and fell asleep immediately.  I woke up sometime after midnight and now I am w-i-d-e awake.  I've been quietly sitting in "my own little corner" studying my stamps and reflecting on life. 

I thoroughly cleaned "my own little corner" after supper.  My worktable had gotten too cluttered and I didn't like the feel of it.  So I did a little rearranging and now I am a much happier camper.  I even went through mostly my clear stamps and pulled out ones I bought years ago when I was first starting to stamp and wasn't quite as discriminating as I am now.  I am happiest with stamps that give me a clean crisp image and I figured since I never use the ones that don't give me that result it was time to get rid of them.  Every now and then I go through some of my art supplies and donate them to a nursing home.  A few weeks ago Marie brought a huge stack of paper to work with her that had been sitting in my stash for years.  She has already used some of it with the residents. 

The wooden stamps that are now displayed on the wall just above my computer monitor are for St. Patrick's Day, Spring, and Easter.  I rearranged them this past weekend.   I rearrange my stamps and other craft supplies as the holidays and seasons are about to change.  It helps me see what I have, gives me a chance to dust things off, and puts the stamps that I want to inspire me front and center. 

"My own little corner" always gives me a feeling of peace.  I love to sit here and create.  My sister Pam in California and my sister Paula in Washington state both got their valentine packages on Saturday.  Both called me to thank me for the gifts and to tell me how much they loved them. 

When I first lost my job nearly 2 years ago I questioned whether or not I should be spending money on craft supplies.  Rob was about 25 years old at the time and told me that I should think about it this way.  When I purchase a stamp it makes me happy and the card I create with that stamp makes someone else happy so a stamp purchase gets a lot of mileage.  He added that I am happier and nicer to be around when I am creating and that I should create something each day. 

So I took Robbie's advice and try to create something each day.  When someone I know is having a birthday I love being able to whip up a card for them.  When I want to send a quick note to a friend or relative I love being able to create a card that is personal to them.  And I love being able to tell Paula and Pam and other special people in my life that I am thinking of them by sending them some little thing that I made.  That's why I enjoy creating seasonal Post It holders, Tic Tac wraps, Tea Bag holders and such.  I always have something on hand to grab when I want it. 

Now that I've done some rambling I am ready to head to back to bed.  Before I go I'll share one of the most recent valentines I created.

After I stamped the message on a piece of white tag I ran the tag through a hearts embossing folder that Peggy gave me years ago.  I used a Sizzix die to cut the hearts.  As I study the photograph  I wish I had glued the smallest heart where the apostrophe is.  Oh, well Marie won't mind.  Jeanne gave Marie this card for Valentine's Day. 

And now I am going to grab a few more hours of sleep while I can. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Carol