Be Still and Know

One of the unfortunate side-effects of having a narcissistic parent is the high alert that follows you into adulthood. This manifests as people-pleasing and feeling guilty when you just sit still. My father, who cut me out of his life when I was 19, ingrained in me the constant need to “do”—to keep him happy, to meet his needs, to avoid punishment. 

Habits established in childhood are very hard to break.

For the past 15 years or so, I’ve been practicing meditation—being aware of the moment—and that has helped. Yoga has helped even more, although you’re not still in yoga, you are profoundly focused on your body, balance, and, for me, the humor every time I gracefully fall out of half moon pose. Yoga isn’t for anyone but myself, and it certainly doesn’t feel busy or pressured. Regular worship in community also makes me be still and know/trust.

Sometimes, we just need to be still, be in your own skin in the moment, and trust God or the universe, or whatever you call that higher power. 

Being still can be a good thing. 

And today’s card preaches that. Inspired by THIS PIN, my version simplifies the inspiration piece a bit. The colored squares were painted with shimmery watercolors. Sentiment is from Simon Says, and I honestly can’t remember the source of the die…Poppy Stamps, maybe? Or maybe Simon Says? 

Anyway, I love the softness, the shimmer of the squares and bling, and the peacefulness of the card. The design leverages the “angles love curves” design rule, pairing the right angles of the squares with the graceful curves of the die cut branch and flowing layout of the bling.

Make some time to be still today, and be at peace. 

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,

Susan

Layered Circles

Many thanks to those who commented on the blog or Facebook, or who emailed. You warmed my heart, the encouragement is much appreciated.

So on to business. For the past few years, I’ve loved circles. A number of stampers (especially in Europe) use circles creatively in a CAS style, and I owe all of those stampers a debt of gratitude for the inspiration. 

Today’s card offers offset layered circles. The middle circle is white card stock stamped solid with Simon Says Stamp zest ink, and the flower (an old Papertrey stamp) is stamped with the darker yellow honey. The bottom circle was embossed with a Tim Holtz folder. Sentiment is from Simon Says. 

While this card is monochromatic (my favorite for lots of reasons), I’ve been experimenting with more interesting color combinations. Some of those experiments will appear on the blog. Don’t worry, though. They are still simple!

G and I are currently in Colorado (Grand Junction) visiting his parents for a few days. The scenery is awesome!

Mercy, grace, peace, and love, 

Susan 

The Good Stuff

 Hello!

I’ve missed you. 

One of the main reasons I started blogging was to connect with other crafters on Simplicity and other mothers on Questioning my Intelligence because stay-at-home motherhood is rather lonely. Those online connections kept me sane through my jobless phase of life, a time when I was navigating the strange and difficult and hugely funny world of motherhood and also trying to keep sane with papercrafts.

That season of my life was made so much better by blogging and the connections I’ve made with so many of you. 

Seasons change, culture changes, lives change. When I returned to teaching, the connection aspect of my life became face-to-face with students and colleagues. I stopped blogging regularly, and then pretty much stopped blogging at all. 

I miss it. I miss writing about life, with all its light and fun or serious and meaningful happenings. Mostly, these days I write assignments and educational content for students. And while that’s rewarding on many levels, it’s also a job. 

I need to write “the good stuff” again, have needed to write again for several years now, but I’ve finally diagnosed the reason it’s been so hard to motivate myself to just do it: depression. 

Those of you who’ve followed me from the beginning know I have a history of depression, and Lord knows we’ve had lots of triggers for depression since 2020. My having cancer didn’t help, but thankfully, I am cancer-free and only mildly bothered by side-effects of treatment. Yay! 

But my mood…well, that’s not been so good. Partly, it’s been circumstantial: cancer (my own and that of dear friends and family), family issues, politics, world affairs, pandemics, a significant death. How does one process all this mess healthfully and healingly?

Therapy and drugs, people. Therapy and drugs. 

Crisis theory tells us that when we enter crisis mode, we use the tools in our toolbox to try and regain equilibrium. Part of a therapist’s job is to help us learn how to use new tools when our old ones aren’t enough anymore. My therapist and my husband have been God-sent and helped remind me that just doing stuff—small steps in a positive direction—makes a huge difference. 

So here’s a small step toward reconnection and healing. Being vulnerable again, trusting the goodness of people, and remembering that sharing is caring…these are good things. 

Blogging is a conversation, though, so what sorts of things would you like to see here? I’ve been stamping and creating through all of this, have new goodies (like the BetterPress) that I could share, have reorganized several times, and would be happy to share personal stuff here as well, without reviving Questioning my Intelligence. Or would you prefer me to keep the personal stuff to a minimum? 

As you contemplate your answers, if you care to contemplate at all, here’s the last card I made, a happy attempt to get back to basics of paper, ink, glue, and just a bit of bling. 

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,

Susan

Happy 2024

It’s 2024, and I’m posting the first week! Woohoo! And I’m posting a card with a Sahara Sand base instead of white.

Today’s card was inspired by THIS PIN. It started with five colored squares and just didn’t work. So I flexed to a single color (very pale blue) shimmery watercolor wash. I liked that much better!

Don’t worry. The squares (or three of them, at any rate) didn’t go to waste. Tune in tomorrow to see a variation on the layout that uses them.

I hope you all had a very safe, happy, and creative holiday. 

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,

Susan

Thanksgiving Hello and an Update

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I wish our culture appreciated the spirit of Thanksgiving more. The holiday tends to get lost between Halloween and Christmas, with more emphasis on consumerism and Black Friday and football and stuffing our faces with delicious food than slowing down and appreciating our many blessings. 

Our Thanksgiving this year will be quiet (hopefully) and peaceful, with much reflection on how much better off I am now than I was in 2022. I certainly can be grateful for having hair!

I wish for you much joy in the holiday. If you’re not in the U.S., you can still take a moment to offer up thanks to God or the universe or whatever force you believe in. 

Today’s card uses a fun autumnal embossing folder, as well as an adorable stamp and die set by Julie Ebersole called Fallish from Ellen Hutson. The images were colored with Copics.

Update

The very kind Marilyn asked for an update. I’m doing much better. My mood has improved, I have more energy, and all the symptoms left over from chemo and radiation are about 85% better. So yay!!!! My semester is going extremely well, with my face-to-face class pure joy. The online teaching experience is better than I expected but still not as much fun as being in person with students.

Also, Karen’s Card Shop is thriving, with over $4,500 in sales since it started in 2016 (I think! The years are blurring a bit.). I’ve actually felt like making cards for the shop recently, but one person can’t keep this show going. So many of you have donated, and First United Methodist Church is incredibly grateful for your kindness and generosity. 

Here’s the shop itself, painted black a few years ago, and the cards just pop right off that black background. It’s in a very high-traffic area near the church offices. We also added a locked cash box on the wall when a few hundred dollars went missing in 2021. 

If you have cards and want to donate, please check out my page on Karen’s Card Shop. It’s been a while since I updated the page, so the pictures and some information are out of date. We are most in need of get well, thinking of you, and sympathy cards. We do not carry Christmas cards or other holidays…they just don’t sell. Please do not stamp sentiments inside the cards as I package the cards in clear bags so people can’t see the sentiment before buying. I will supply the envelopes. Email me at susanraihala at roadrunner.com for my address. And thanks in advance!

Mercy, grace, peace, love, and gratitude,

Susan

Soft Blue-Green for Christmas

So I have a lot of fun making watercolor backgrounds for cards, but then I struggle to use them. Today's cards were made with Distress inks smooshed onto acrylic blocks, spritzed with water, and then pressed onto watercolor paper. I let the block sit on the paper until it's mostly dry, which gives a more intense color. 

Of the two, I prefer the first...it's cleaner and has a nice triangular design anchored by the straight lines. Plus, those poinsettia dies are to die for! The stag card is a bit busy for me, although I do like the ribbon base and bling, and how it contrasts with the matte finish of the watercolor square and die cuts.

Either way, using the watercolor backgrounds to create clean and simple cards with simple shapes definitely makes me happy!

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,

Susan

Texture, Texture, and More Texture

The BetterPress system gives a nice, deep impression of whatever image you're using, and these pine boughs are no exception. When combined with a 3D embossing folder of more pine boughs for a backdrop, we get some lovely textures!

One note about the BetterPress system...get the recommended paper, too. The paper makes a difference in how the final image looks. I've experimented with my Papertrey white and Neenah Solar, and the BetterPress paper just works better.

Mercy, grace, peace, and love,

Susan