Family

One of the high points of my holiday has been being around family. Every year we promise to do a better job of staying in touch, but then our lives whirl by for another year. Having a new granddaughter will be a strong motivator for us this coming year!

Breaking Through Tech Integration Barriers

I've realized for a while that teachers need help convincing their administrators and tech directors to allow (i.e. unblock sites) them to use Web2.0 tools like blogs and wikis. Just last week, however, I decided to make up a packet of information for each tool to hand teachers when I present a workshop. I am still formulating what should be in it, but I'm thinking the Educause 7 Things About handout over the tool is a must. More on this topic later...................

"Bureaucratic solutions to problems of practice will always fail because effective teaching is not routine, students are not passive, and questions of practice are not simple, predictable, or standardized. Consequently, instructional decisions cannot be formulated on high then packaged and handed down to teachers."
- from her award-winning book, The Right to Learn

I read this statement on the Standford University webpage about Linda Darling-Hammond and knew I had to share it in a blog post so that I don't lose it. Will the education community ever fully realize that our children's education is dependent on professional educators having the freedom and support to make informed decisions about instruction in their classrooms?
Hope springs eternal..........

Listen to this interview with Linda Darling-Hammond from the PBS series "Only a Teacher." Great stuff!

Language: The Fuel That Feeds Us

Naomi Shihab Nye's words, not mine. They are richer tasting in my mouth than any chocolate candy that I might sample this Valentine's day. She explained in a 2002 interview with Bill Moyers that language carries us to understanding and the things that matter in our lives. It can create a connection for us as we sit quietly with words and let them lead us somewhere, if we have the sense to stop trying to proclaim things all the time and, instead, try to discover things.

If you haven't read any of Naomi Shihab Nye's poetry, you can read a short bio and view titles of all her books here. I had the honor of hearing her in person at NCTE in San Antonio this year. Her amazing warmth and sincerity pervaded the entire room. 19 Varieties of Gazelle would be a wonderful introduction to her poetry. Hers is a wonderful voice to add to a classroom in these tense political times when so many children are being taught to hate anyone and anything Middle Eastern. Nye's poetry can open our eyes and connect our hearts to all the ordinary people living in the Middle East who aren't all that different from us.

Technology Overload

I attended the Texas Computer Educators (TCEA) Conference in Austin this week and came away with so many new ideas that my brain is spinning. It is inspiring to hear all the amazing ways that teachers are integrating technology into their classrooms.

I focused on attending sessions that related to language arts (no surprise there) and ones using Promethean Activboards. I am working to be a certified Promethean trainer, as I am convinced that interactive boards should become a primary content delivery system in K-12 education. Creating flipcharts for my certification has made me rethink those lessons carefully and honestly assess how much that original lesson involved every student and whether the information is presented from multiple perspectives. Sobering stuff.... The words "student centered learning" fall easily off the tongue, but they are much harder to honestly implement on a daily basis. The journey is not only worthwhile, however, it is essential.

So it looks like I'll be crafting more flipcharts than cards for a while. Of course, I won't be able to totally quit...my craft table beckons and my stamps and markers are still in plain sight.

Under the Weather

Being "under the weather" is SO frustrating! It has stolen away my energy to do both the things I need to do for work and the things I like to do. I've tried positive thinking to no avail. I still ache. I still feel feverish. Bummer!!

It's been a whole week since I've posted a card, partly due to feeling bad and partly due to some techno work on my images and blog. Seems as if most people who post their work to online galleries like Splitcoaststampers and Paper Craft Planet have created a watermark to place over their images. If only I had just made one when I first noticed it, but, oh no, better to put off til tomorrow... So when I set my mind to adding the watermark that I created, I had to upload all the pics again. I didn't think I had made that many cards since I started posting, but as I worked with them, the number appeared to grow... ;-)

I'm off to rest!

Birthday Cupcake

Here is a simple card for a friend's birthday. I fell in love with the DP, Chatty Cake by Imaginisce. The paper has sentiments all over it, so I just used Nestibilities to add scallop and circle in coordinating colors and then made a large cupcake from Basic Grey Bittersweet paper.

Growing by Our Dreams

Valentines for Friends

Sometimes simple is best. Here is a quick card for a good friend. More Basic Grey Bittersweet papers.

Valentine Wishes

Here's a valentine that I created using the CTMH stamp set Soul Mtes and Basic Grey Bittersweet Papers.

CPS Challenge #98

I have resolved that this year I will create more cards and post consistently on my blog. What better way to find motivation than a good challenge. So I've been on the prowl for some challenges, and I hit pay dirt when I came across the Card Positioning Systems blog.

I watercolored the bird on this card earlier this week, and I've been wondering what to do with him. This challenge sent me to my paper stash to find something that might work. He isn't perfect, but I decided to celebrate my first effort to be more artistic with my cards and less cut and paste...

Supplies
CTMH cardstock and DP, Martha Stewart clear bird stamp, scrap of twill ribbon, Nestabilities

Here's the sketch for the challenge:CPS Sketch Challenge #98

Spreading My Wings

I did it. I finally got out the watercolor pencils that I've owned for several years and tried my hand at watercoloring an image. This image is from a stamp set of Martha Stewart's. I stamped the image on watercolor paper.

Not bad for a first effort, but I have a ways to go before I have any bragging rights!

Amish Paper Piecing

Gina K.'s paper piecing challenge motivated me to try my hand at creating a few paper quilts. For this card, I cut five strips of cardstock (1/2" each) and mounted them side by side on a sheet of Terrifically Tacky Tape. I cut them into strips and then staggered the colors to create a pattern similar to the Sunshine and Shadow pattern. (card size is A2.) The process was tedious but worth it!

Supplies
CTMH & Bazzill cardstock, CTMH For Every Occasion Stamp, CTMH buttons, Terrifically Tacky Tape sheet

Amish Heart

I love Amish quilts, and Gina K.'s paper piecing challenge motivated me to try my hand at creating a few paper quilts. I admire the stark contrast and colors and bold designs that the Amish use in their quilts, and so I created this version of a Diamond in a Square pattern. It seemed a little plain at first, so I added the small buttons, did some faux stitching inside the center square, and adhered a punched heart that I distressed with a little ink in the center.

This card is 6" square, so I'll be paying some extra postage for this one! Having the extra size is worth it, though, and I have some nice 6" square envelopes on hand...

Supplies
CTMH cardstock, CTMH buttons, CTMH Blush ink, & Paper Studio heart punch

Amish Diamond in a Square

Participating in a card challenge to create paper pieced cards has given me all kinds of ideas for piecing with paper. This card copies a very traditional Amish pattern of Diamond in a Square. It may not be for everyone, but I love the simplicity of it. I chose leave the white space alone and let it frame to quilt pattern rather than stamp something or add embellishments. I had fun with the papers' textures, though. I used the houndstooth Cuttlebug embossing folder on the navy and the bubbles embossing folder on the red. The lighter blue cardstock already has texture, and then the smooth white cardstock adds another level of contrast in texture.

The central image is 4 and 1/4" square and mounted on a 6" square card. Yes, that means extra postage, but it's well worth the few cents extra at times!

If creating paper quilts interests you, Check out Sandra Foose's book Paper Quilts.

Java Greetings

O.K., so I thought that yesterday would be my last challenge to accept this holiday, and then Gina K. made it an 8-day week and challenged people to step outside the box to make a different sized card than they usually make. The size I've never made is the long skinny one.

As I rifled through my DP, I came across a sheet of coffee themed paper that I bought a year ago to make my younger son a card (he is a real coffee enthusiast). Trouble is, I didn't know how to use the paper because the paper itself is the central element; I didn't want to cover any of it. Well, I guess that paper was hiding away for today's challenge, as it hit me when I saw it: that's the one.

It actually came together very fast in contrast to the last two days. Good thing, too, because I think my husband is ready to find a 12-step program for paper crafters! ;-)

Supplies
Paper: CTMH & Bazzill cardstock, DP is Flair Designs' Coffee Talk
Ink: CTMH Chocolate
Embellishments: extra large eyelets from WeRMemory Keepers & a scrap of jute

Paper Piecing

Yet another challenge from Gina K.'s A Day in the Life. Today's challenge was to create a card using paper piecing; hence the name, "You want a piece of me?"
As happened yesterday, I had one idea in mind and then the project took on a life of its own. What seemed so simple turned out to be VERY tedious and called for numerous adjustments along the way.... I'm pleased with the finished product, though, and I can use another thank-you card.

Supplies: Paper-Basic Grey Wassail, CTMH cardstock. Ink-CTMH Garden Green and black. Stamps: CTMH With Love and For Every Occasion. Embellishments: CTMH Bitty Brads, Wassail glazed brad, SU ticket punch, Sakura pigma drawing pen.

New Year's Inspiration Challenge

Well, I accepted my second ever challenge today from Gina K. to create a card that inspired us to look forward. Of course, she used one of my VERY favorite quotes, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams," and so I had to use one of my other favorites, a George Eliot quote. "It's never to late to be what you might have been." I used this so many times in my English classes over the years, both as a writing prompt and in counseling students about life choices.
As for the card, I went for a whole different look today and used a sheet of creative Imaginations paper, Sonnets Boy Quilt. The border between the two prints has a printed entredeux and so I went digging into my French lace for a scrap to sew onto the card as if it were a piece of French handsewing. That's two days in a row that I've used my machine--wow! I created the frame for my quote with an oval Nestability. The embellishments are from Yellow Bicycle's delightful collection of embossed cardstock. The ribbon is from a Christmas bow that I destroyed for this project because I love the way the white voile is trimmed in silver.
I'm defintely going to have craft withdrawal next week when I have to go back to work....