Merry Christmas!!!!!!

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends.   Jim and I are having a great  timing hanging out with Kurtis and Amanda.  We wish that our other kids could be here with us today but they can't but they are in our hearts.We hope that you have a Blessed and wonderful day .    Getting ready to go to church where Jim is speaking this morning then back to Kurtis and Amanda's for another day filled with love and the joy of being with family.
Love you all of you.
Remember that Jesus is the REASON for this Season.....

Hugs
Donalda

12 Days of Giveaways!!!

Go Make Something

Go Make Something  has her 6th Annual 25 days of Christmas collage pages up and running.  She always has such beautiful vintage images and they are free so go grab them while you can.  
Hugs
Donalda

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!  We have so much to be thankful for.   We have moved and things are going good, enjoying our little home.  Our kids are healthy and are all living their lives to the fullest.   I thank God for all of my family and friends.
Just wanted to do this post to wish everyone that has followed this blog a wonderful day
Hugs
Donalda

Well We Did It!!!!

Well We Did It!!!  We moved.  We are now living in the Nashville area.  Wow who would have ever thought that we would move here.   Our middle son Kurtis and his wife Amanda moved here so we came to help them move and we fell in love with the area so Jim applied for a job and got it. So as of  this last weekend we have finally gotten our furniture and of course all of my crafting supplies here.   Now the hard part begins.....  putting it all away.   We found a small 2 bedroom older home that needs a lot of tender loving care but we can put our own taste to it....   I wonder what that will be?  LOL  Anyone only has to look at my things to know that I love Victorian and have made a believer out of Jim. We will miss all our friends and family that we are leaving in Indiana but we know that this is God's will in our lives at this time.   Just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten my blog and will be back to posting more of my things and getting my Etsy account restocked ASAP.  
Thanks for everything   
Hugs
Donalda

Making Changes

Jim and I are in the process of making some big changes in our lives.  Not able to put them all in writing right yet but we are in transition.   So that is the reason I haven't blogged.  Where were at we can't always get on line and our cell phones don't work as well but we are among the living.  God is doing great things for us and as soon as I can I will put it on here.  So for now just keep us in your prayers.  Will post again soon.
Hugs
Donalda

A Day Of Living!!!!

As many of you know that I had weight loss surgery on March 18th 2010.   I have lost close to 200lbs this last year and still have some to loose.  I had what is call the Duodenal Switch.  It is a very aggressive surgery but it was the one that best suited me.   I have had a weight problem all of my life but I always was what I thought in control of my life.  About 10 years ago I started having other health issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, which lead to Pulmonary  hypertension.  Then I started having problems with migraines and after several years they realized that I had glaucoma I lost my sight in my right eye.  On November 14, 2010 they removed my eye which was the second best thing I have done for myself.  During this time I had to quite working and I only left the house to go to church and to Dr appts, or if I did go I would wait for Jim in the car while he did the shopping or whatever.   I couldn't walk very far or do anything that I always did.  I was dying a slow death of my own making.  So over this last year I am getting my life back.  I am able to do things that I haven't been able to do for a long time.  This weekend we went to a swap meet not far from here and I walked all the way around.  Then we went to another one further from here and I walked all around it also.  Then on Sunday I sang with the praise team something I haven't been able to do for about 3 years,  after service we went to Staples and I walked all around there also.   So today my love asked me if I wanted to walk with him to the post office and library.  I said sure let's give it a try and so we did and I wasn't out of breath at all.   Yes I have had to make some life style changes but was it worth it.  Yes a thousand times yes.  Is weight loss surgery for everyone.   No!!!!! It's not.  It's not the easy way out,  for you have to change everything you know and thought you knew.    I just wanted to put it out there that there is help for us.

The first  picture was taken the night before my surgery and the second on was taken on March 13, 2011 and I have lost more since then just haven't taken any pictures. 


Now to what I have been working on.   I found this little rocking chair at a garage sale and decided to alter it and make it into a pin cushion for the stick pins that I make and swap.   I found the lace that I put on it at the swap meet that we went to this weekend.    I also got the wooden thread spool this weekend.   This was really fun to do.

 The paper on the spools is K&Co, The flowers are Recollections for Micheal's and Bling is from Hobby Lobby. Everything else is from my stash.

Thanks for looking ...  Please leave a comment for I do read them.
Hugs
Donalda 

Fun!!!!!!

I have had the pleasure of doing two swaps this month.  The first one is for Life on the Scrap Beach and the theme is Vintage Tag.  You know me I love anything vintage so I had to do this one.  The host of this swap is Juliana Montoya.  She loves vintage also. I created the tag out of chip board cover it with designer paper.  Distressed  the edges with Tim Holtz Distress ink in vintage photo.  Used glimmer mist from Tattered Angels in Bronze.  The vintage photo I got from Marie's freebies.  She has a wonderful blog with so many beautiful pictures.   I printed it out on Staples Matt photo paper and then I distress the edges of it with my Making Memories distressing tool and then distressed the edges again with the vintage photo distress ink.   Glimmer misted the lace with Moonlight and Cranberry Zing.  Then place the bronze lace on top.   The flower is from Recollections,  Made a stick pin. Used Fiskers stamps for the Dream and Love pieces.  I stamped them also in Vintage photo distress ink.

                                                                                 
 The second swap is on a Lil Scrap of  Heaven.     Hosted by Misty Busby..   It is a Springtime Trim Swap      It is to have 3 different laces and 3 different trims, plus two flowers.  One being handmade.   I made both of mine .  The white and  peach is made from a flower from Stampin up and the peach center is  grosgrain ribbon gathered and layered then place on white flower with a half back peal in the center.   The second flower is made out of organza.  It is called a Lolly Pop flower.  I put it on a green skeleton leaf and feather and a string of flat pearls. I made the stick pin also.   I love doing these and when I get mine from the others that participated I will put them on here also.  

Thanks for stopping by....  Please feel free to leave a comment for I do read them....   Also please visit my Esty store.

Hugs,
Donalda

 

   

Farewell Daddy!!!!!

As many of you already know that my Dad went home to be with the Lord on Monday Feb 28, 2011 at 4:30 pm in his home in Dieball, TX.  He was surround by his loved ones and he was so ready to meet his maker.  His name was Donald Eugene Wilsie he was 79 years young.  On Saturday morning during one of his lucid moments he asked my brother if he could put him in the car.  My brother asked him where was he wanting to go and he said to heaven.  Well you have to know my brother,  all of our first thoughts were that if he went with Bub he was sure to make it to heaven real fast for my brother only has one speed and that is fast.   Daddy was a Master Electrician and a Minister.  We traveled a lot either for his job or starting pioneer churches.  It was a great life at times when I had to start a new school it wasn't so great but now that I am older and I look back I wouldn't trade any of it.  I learn so many things that I would not have if we had been in one place.  My Daddy was 20 years and 21 days older than me and my brother is 20 years and 1 day younger than me and yes we all share the first name Donald( mine being the feminine form).  I have two sisters also between Bud and I. We were all with Daddy before he passed.  We sang for he loved music,  he played the piano, trombone, saxophone,  harmonica, guitar just about any instrument that he could get his hands on.  He also sang. We prayed and read the word to him for that was so much a big part of his life.  My second Mom has been so good to him and I want to thank her for all the love she had to give to him.  I know that she will miss him so very much.    Just a few pictures of his life.  Love you So much Daddy and even tho you are gone from this earth you will always be in my heart.  

Thank you for letting me share a little of my Daddy with you......

Hugs,
Donalda

I Now Have an Etsy Shop

Jim and I have been working on getting my Etsy Shop open.  We finally have somethings in it so I hope you will go and take a look.  You can click on the link here.  Or click on the picture on the right hand side bar. 
Thanks for looking,
Donalda

A Tag and Flower Swap

A friend of mine sister had a birthday in December that I was unable to make a card for. So I decided to make this tag in it's place.  All I know is that she likes Victorian and that she and my friend are twins so I thought that this picture was a keeper.    I cut the tag shape out of chipboard and covered it with designer paper,  I distressed the edges. I put lace on the bottom and I sprayed it with gold Smooch Spitz.     I made the flowers and the charm that is on it also.  I had a lot of fun making this tag.  They can become addictive.

The Recipe for the tag is. Chipboard - backing from a paper pack
                                        Designer Paper - K&Co
                                        Lace and Ribbon - From my stash that I have no clue where it came from
                                        Flowers - Handmade by me
                                        Charm - Handmade by me from beads I got at Michael's
                                        Gold Smooch Spritz - Stampin Up
                                        Bling - Hobby Lobby


I join a flower swap for Jan at Life on the Beach  and the colors were white, purple and blue and a stick pin that matched one of the flower colors.   So I did mine to match the purple flower.   This was my first flower swap and I have become addicted so I have signed up for Feb also.

Recipes for flowers:        Purple ribbon  - Christmas ribbon from Walmart
                                      Blue chiffon - Hobby Lobby
                                      White Tulle -   Mangelson's in Omaha
                                       Bling - Hobby Lobby
                                       Beads - Joann's
                                       Cardstock - Stampin Up

Please feel free to leave comments for I do read them.

Hugs
Donalda

RAK

I received a RAK from someone on the Scrap Beach and I want to Thank you so very much.   It is paper, stickers for a mini album.  We are going to Iowa in May so I'm going to use this paper for that.  
So here is what I got.  I'm so excited and I can't wait to use them. 

Thanks again
Donalda