it's all about the details

emotional

I've always been quite in touch with my emotions. I really resented a guy who suggested once that my inablity to squelch my feelings was a sign of emotional immaturity. I beg to differ. Those who push their emotions down in an effort to present an "appropriate" face to the world are not allowing themselves to experience the full glory and agony of being human. Now, I'm not suggesting that we let it all go without editing ourselves. But I don't think that wearing your heart on your sleeve is a character flaw. At all.

One of my favorite movies of all time is Sense and Sensibility. Kate Winslet plays Marianne, the hopeless romantic who loves and feels with reckless abandon. Conversely, her sister Elinor, played by Emma Thompson, values propriety to such an extreme that she nearly denies herself her soulmate. In the end both come to realize that dignity and emotion are equally necessary and healthy.

 

This has been a rather emotional week for me, as it has been for a lot of us. Though our parents didn't allow us to watch "Charlie's Angels" (sorry, M & D, but we did sneak it on when you were at choir sometimes), I always considered Farrah Fawcett to be such a gorgeous creature, a true California beauty. Her struggle with cancer has been well-publicized, and her bravery in the face of overwhelming odds will be her lasting legacy.

 

And then there's Michael. His death really hit me hard. I know that nothing changes because of it...I can still listen to his music and appreciate his genius. And yeah, he was an odd one. And possibly was guilty of some yukky things. I'm not excusing it, but that's not what I'll remember about him. Maybe it's just about a part of my life ending. The author of the soundtrack of my formative years is gone.

So I'm gonna watch the retrospectives and let myself be melancholy for awhile. And I'm not gonna apologize for how I feel.

Beth

an epic collection - the conclusion

To round out postcard week at it's all about the details, I've saved some of my very favorite collections within the collection. These are the cards that make me keep collecting after all of these years.

When picking out these fun cards, I found that many of them were sent by Beth to me or my brother Kurt when she was living in Los Angeles in the 80's. The Opel card top left is actually made of metal, and my friend Kari bought it for me when she was serving in the army in Germany. And that Far Side one still gets me. The Susan card is from my 8th grade class trip. Good stuff. Fun. Uplifting. An inexpensive mood lifter, no?

 This collage of postcards  which hangs in our entryway above the piano came about because of an assignment for a TN Marketing DVD to use memorabilia in a project. LOVE how it turned out. I bought the frame at Hobby Lobby and then we cut foam board to fit the frame. My collection is a treasure trove of cards with maps (I must take after my dad who has an extensive collection of vintage maps). To add some depth, we used extra foam tape behind a few of the cards, four of which happen to be states we've lived in (IL, IN, MI, and AZ). This has actually inspired a travel theme in our living room.

And my favorite FAVORITE little collection!  I call it skylines and sunsets. Look at the mighty Twin Towers before 9/11/01.  Gives me chills. I love that I have been to almost all of these fabulous destinations (not Charlotte, Juneau, or Seattle), and I've actually lived in/near four of them (Las Vegas, Chicago, Fort Wayne, and SLC). I just love the gorgeous and inspiring photography and the way that each image seems to capture the vibe of the destination.

Thanks for taking the time to take a look at this little friend of mine. 2500+ strong. One card from each state in the union. Cards as old as 1901. Cards from places I've been and places I've only dreamed of visiting. Cards from family, friends, and former students. Cards that connect me with the past and cards that inspire me to travel.

Susan

an epic collection - the sequel

On Monday, I told the story of how my 2500+ postcard collection came into being. Today, I'd like to share some more of my favorites from this vast and storied collection.

I 've been all over the USA, and I tend to enjoy visiting historic sites (as opposed to camping or amusement parks). Pictured below are several fabulous places I've visited in my travels.

One of my favorites here is Alex Haley's home in rural Tennessee, not far from Memphis. We got a guided tour from the cutest little southern lady. To see a picture of THE Chicken George on the wall - pretty amazing. And of course I'll never forget visiting Laura Ingalls Wilder's home in the Ozarks. Crossing the threshhold of the home where Laura wrote the Little House series was a defining moment in my life. I mean LAURA lived there! (I think we are seeing a little American literature theme here). And I have to confess that though I've been to Louisville, I've never been to Churchill Downs, but Beth and Paul were kind enough to get me a postcard when they did! And how profound it was to be in the room where Lincoln died, outside the room where MLK, Jr., was shot, and on the battlefield in Gettysburg where countless lives were lost. Some pretty intense stuff!

Yes, I've seen lots of the US, but so far Canada and Mexico are the only two foreign lands I've visited. But with my postcard collection, I've been able to travel all over the world. Take a look at some of my favorite cards from around the globe!

Thanks to my friend Wendy who went to Europe not too long ago, my cousin Andrew who served in Iraq, my cousin Janis who is always on the go, my brother Kurt who currently resides in Istanbul, and many other family and friends, I have amassed this gorgeous and wanderlust inducing array of postcards. But you know what postcards seem most precious to me? These five from my home state of Michigan.

My alma mater with Corky the Cardinal, Tiger Stadium (may she rest in peace), the U of M marching band in block formation, and Saginaw's Fashion Square Mall back in the days of the fountain in the center. Several of them have newsy little notes from loved ones. These cards say home, nostalgia and memories.

Thanks for letting me share.  I'll be back with more on Friday!

Susan

an epic collection

As a child and even into adulthood, I've been a collector. I've collected Grovers, pigs, Miss Piggys, chili peppers, Americana and Meijer receipts throughout my 40 years, but there's one collection that I still have and cherish. I collect postcards, and I have over 2500 of them. This week I will be sharing some favorites of this collection that I've been adding to since 1977.

In the summer of '77, my parents packed up my siblings and me in our Galaxie 500, and we embarked on a journey out east. I was 8 years old. Beth was 18, Paul 17, and Kurt 13. We set off for Toronto (loved Casa Loma), Quebec, and then we ventured into New England. It was quite a memorable trip for our family! Mom and Dad had carefully planned out our schedule, and we explored many historic sites. As an 8 year old, I wasn't able to appreciate it as much as I would now. All I could think about was getting back home to my bike and my dolls. But as we traveled, I began to pick up postcards as souvenirs. Think of postcards for a minute - inexpensive, colorful, and fun to get in the mail, right? After the trip, my small stash of postcards sat in my messy little childlike area in a blue plastic bag. For a while, they were forgotten.

Sometime later, I unearthed these relics, and I looked at them again, conjuring up that trip that we had all made together, and it was a good feeling. As I visited new places around the US, I added more to it. And so the collection began. Pictured below are some postcards purchased on that trip so long ago.

 

Once people heard of my collection, they began to help me add to it. When they went on a trip, they would grab a couple of postcards and send me one. Nice way to get some mail, right? Sometimes as they were cleaning out areas of the house, they'd come upon some postcards and save them for me. In this manner, I began a collection of antique postcards like the ones pictured below.

 

I love the vintage handwriting on the "After the Ball..." card and the Woodward Ave. in Detroit card has a postmark of 1901. The bottom left card captures Concordia College in Seward, NE, where my dad and brothers attended. And the vertical card on the right makes me laugh with its sentiment, "I am tickled to death."

Postcards are travel, history, photography, correspondence,  a snapshot of life. And with my collection I can travel the world and travel through time.

Susan

PS  At Paper Crafts this week, we are all abuzz with excitement about our newest and most fabulous EVER special issue, Card Creations 7, which goes on sale Tuesday, June 23 (click the link to purchase a copy!).  Be sure to visit Paper Crafts Connection and Moxie Fab World all this week to be inspired and to win some cool stuff. This issue is SMOKIN' hot!  Oh, and Beth and I have cards in there, as well as our cool girl friend Joni Lynn (it's her first time in a Paper Crafts publication)!

poppies and pop

Poppies grow wild here. In little bunches or fields. In the valley or on the side of the mountain. It's so exhilarating to see these vigorous, bold splashes of color along the side of the road. Magical little surprises from God to color our world. They have these delicate stems and fragile blooms that look so easily crushable, yet there they are en masse, commanding our attention.

(Searching madly for a clever segue but coming up empty...) We don't call our dad "Poppy" or "Pop" and never have. But we love him uncontrollably. He is arguably the best father ever. I know people always say that, but it's not just a flippant platitude. He is solid, sensible, supportive, and a little silly. He taught me how to field a short hop and manage my finances. He gave me a strong work ethic and a passion for travel. He showed me the value of organization and the power of prayer. And he loves my mom unreservedly, exemplifying everything the committed Christian husband and father should be.

So Happy Father's Day, Daddy! Wanna go to a Tiger game with us on August 30?

And for all you blog readers, just TRY to tell us why YOUR dad is the best!

Beth

midwestern girls kickin' it western-style

In honor of one full year living in Utah, I bought Beth and me each a cowgirl hat. While you'll never take the Midwesterner out of us (you know - the nasal accent, the appreciation for flat farmland, and the fact that we "get" hockey), we have embraced and become more accustomed to our surroundings.

Because we are crazy like that, we decided to do a photo shoot with our new hats and the decidely western scenery here in Utah County. Here are some of the results of Beth's photo shoot:

 

There are definitely a lot of things here in the west that we wouldn't have encountered back in the Eastern Time Zone, like

• Roads called Pony Express and businesses with names like Bank of the West.
• Bosses who ski (in June) just to get in one last time.
• Taking the scenic route over Traverse Mountain to the grocery store.
• Kicking a tumbleweed away from the front door at work.
• Seeing signs that say 75 mph once you get out of the city limits.
• Foreign plates being from Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada.
• Fantatical bikers riding up VERY steep inclines.
• Local festivals with names like Lehi Round-Up.
• Using the mountains as a built-in compass.
• The inability to use your hand as a map. ;)
• Being a part of the LCMS Rocky Mountain District.
• Having only 2 ways to get from Point A to Point B (rather than the 75 options you'd have in Indiana).
• Wearing a cowgirl hat and not looking at all out of place!

 

Yee Haw, Utah!

Susan

a de-troit shout out!

It wasn't meant to be this year, but we enjoyed supporting our boys from Hockeytown all the way to the bitter end!

I guess now we have more time to concentrate on another Detroit team. Go get 'em Tigers! And for the record, the Pittsburgh Pirates suffered a defeat at the hands of the Detroit Tigers last night in Pittsburgh. It's a small consolation for the Wings not winning the Stanley Cup!

Susan

poof*

A few months ago I was perusing all the prettiness at Dear Lizzie, a local boutique, and I saw a little magic wand there that totally enchanted me. But my thrifty side precluded me from purchasing it.

Wouldn't you know it--I STILL think about that little thing! So the other day I decided to make one of my own. I'll wave it with a flourish whenever I want to banish negative thoughts or self-doubt.

So if you had a magic wand, what would you like to make disappear from your life?

Beth

a year ago

Today marks the one-year anniversary of our employment at CKMedia. I've been really thinking a lot about the changes in our lives in 12 short months. One year ago:

• We had just moved into a new townhome with mountain views and a river property boundary. We had a LOT of work ahead of us to get our place in order.

• We walked into CKMedia for our first day on the job. Susan went to the wrong side and had to be escorted to her cubicle, two down from mine.

• I got kind of star-struck when Lisa Bearnson came into the office. (Now it's a common occurrence, and I love that she's such a normal person!)

• I was in complete awe of Elizabeth Kartchner. (I still am, but not out of intimidation...she has become one of my closest friends!)

• I was terrified that everyone would be too cool for little old me. (Instead, they welcomed us sooooooooooo warmly!) I can't imagine life without Joannie, Maurianne, Lori, Liesl, Jennafer, Kelly, Brandy, Cath, Ms. Maxwell...

• We hadn't taken road trips to Las Vegas and San Francisco.

• We didn't have a church home and really missed Emmanuel, Fort Wayne. (Now we're blessed to be active members of Light of the Valley Lutheran Church in Riverton.)

• Susan couldn't predict that she'd be singing in a rock band.

• We began our first summer of work. Coming from the teaching field, this was a change, but our love of the new careers made it a very easy transition.

• We were unaware of the glories of Facebook!

• We both weighed significantly more than we do today.

• We were worried about being so far away from our loved ones. I won't lie. This has been the hardest part, and though Utah is beautiful, it isn't home...where the heart is...but thanks to email and cell phones and webcams, we're making it work. We sure welcome visits from any who care to make the trip!

So, today we're thankful. Thankful for the opportunity that presented itself to us in the spring of 2008. Thankful for the people who've made us feel welcome, and those who supported us from afar. Thankful for the continual presence and grace of God in our lives.

Beth

girls on film

Well, we did it again. DVD filming, that is. It's become second nature by now, and it's surprising how really comfortable we are with the whole process. We know how to show the projects and how to look into the camera, and how to summarize, smile and hold the pose at the end of each segment. It's exciting to think of how we can share our ideas and tips with scrapbookers from around the world! We are very blessed.

Susan filmed segments on working with vellum, crepe paper, embroidery floss and tulle, as well as ideas for photo cards, using tickets, incorporating quotes and monochromatic color schemes. Here's a peek into her shoot:

My segments included designing on an angle, gaining inspiration from music, using themed products on non-themed projects, typography as a design element, and working with mosaic, silhouettes, stick pins and watercolors. I always feel that creating projects for these DVDs stretches me, and I really love being asked to do them. Since I had a pretty tight schedule, I incorporated work from several other terrific designers as well, including Elizabeth Kartchner, Cindy Tobey, Kelly Purkey, Amanda Probst, Keisha Campbell and Layle Koncar. Many thanks to them for being so amazing! Here's a look into my on-camera time:

Dan the cameraman entertained me by letting me play with a couple of his lenses. My favorite shots were with the wide-angle--aren't these funny?

We continually marvel at the wonderful opportunities we have in conjunction with our jobs. Thanks, CK, PC, and TN Marketing for another great experience!

Beth