If all goes well weather-wise - Tara and Brianna will be helping me dismantle the disastrous mess in the backyard of the Crafting Cottage. I have been chipping away at it but I am now at the point where I need extra help. We will then contact the Veteran owned company,

J. Dog, to transport the stuff that can no longer be saved away.

Getting the backyard cleaned up will be a huge weight off my shoulders.

The following crafting sisters have signed up for the "Get Me Through The Winter Club":

Anne W.

Eva G.

Maren Y.

Cherrie H.

Stephanie R.

Sue L.

Susan Y.

Debbie L.

Chris T.

Sheila B.

Jeanne S.

For those wishing to find out about this club and to join the fun - CLICK HERE!

A reminder that The Shoppes at Oldies But Goodies is still operating with open hours on Thursday - Sunday. Several vendors have stocked their booths with some wonderful goodies for the upcoming holidays. Can you believe Thanksgiving is a week from this Thursday???

For more info on the Shoppes - visit their website by clicking here.

For those of you looking for information about the Syracuse/Auburn Scrapbook & Stamping Show which is scheduled for the weekend of May 20th, CLICK HERE!

Well my friends - like many of you - I am exhausted. I look forward to the day we can all relax and not stress every time we step out of our own homes. It seems as though the simple act of going to the grocery store has turned into a combat mission assignment. One needs to be sure to have their equipment: mask, sanitizers and plan of action. I am reminded of that game, "Operation", where you used the metal tweezers to remove items from the "body" being operated on - but if you touched the sides - ZAP! BUZZ! Game over. Ever so carefully I go into the store, avoiding touching anything I don't need to touch and getting out as quickly as possible - breathing huge sighs of relief when I get back into the safety of my car and rub sanitizer all over my hands, steering wheel, keys.....

All the more reason why crafting is so important to have in our lives. I put on some lovely instrumental music, maybe light a candle and then I "play" at the crafting table. There is a bliss, a peace, a sense of everything will be "OK" when I craft. Sure, it may take me four hours to complete a single card - but - I allowed myself the joy of escaping into a world where my focus was on what color cardstock to use or coloring in an image or.......

I hope you will grant yourself the joy of escaping to your crafting world. This is the time of year we normally start cranking out Christmas cards or simply, "Thinking of You" cards. I learned a great tip from someone when I mentioned that some cards I create are hard to part with - either I spent a lot of time on them or I just didn't think I could create another one as good. My friend said - "Always think of making two of every design. One to keep and one to give away." She said that if you go into it knowing you are going to make at least two - you double your fun while crafting. I liked that idea - and so I share it with you.

I received the card above in the mail last week from our crafting sister, Sheila B. from California. When it comes to recycling - Sheila is the QUEEEN! She will recycle magazine pages into envelopes. She'll die-cut recycled materials. She shared with me a technique that makes so much creative sense - whenever she has ink left on either a brush or sponge dauber, a rubber stamp, etc., she will rub it off onto an old file folder and she'll put that under her work so that all excess ink goes on the file folder. She'll also do this when she "stamps off" the edge of something. Obviously, after awhile, she has quite the collection of colored file folders filled with words stamped off, inks, etc. Sheila then uses those "recycled" inks on the folders to cut out various dies. See the truck above? Now, typical Sheila, also told me that she created 150 cards just like the one she sent me - all using her recycled ink technique! I LOVE it! The truck die set which includes the dog, pumpkins and even the flowers in the vase - all came from one of the Creative Challenges she participated in this Fall. Well done, Sheila!!!

When the world news gets to you my friends - give yourself permission to escape - even if it is only for an hour or two. Turn off the news. Turn on your favorite music. Get yourself a lovely cup of tea or coffee or cocoa and create a card, tag or scrapbook layout.

I've noticed some of my neighbors have already started putting their Christmas decorations up. The Rockefeller Tree arrived in New York City already. I'll be curious to see what the "new" big Christmas decorations will be this year. I remember when the tiny white lights hanging off of people's roofs were the big deal. Then came the "falling snow" light effects. Next thing you know, people had huge polar bears or Snoopy on their front lawns - blown up with air. Recently, I've seen beautiful white twig deers with tiny white lights wrapped around them. I wonder how much snow we'll get this winter season?

If you are looking for a book to read that will have you laughing, laughing, laughing - I must highly recommend, Skipping Christmas, by John Grisham. They made a movie based on the book - which is also hilarious - but still not quite as good as the book. I literally had tears from laughing so hard while reading some of the chapters - incredibly hilarious and superbly written. I know some of you may know John Grisham for his lawyer crime drama books - but - Skipping Christmas is not one of those books. I hope you'll check it out if you have not read it yet.

I wish you well. Please stay strong. Stay healthy. Stay safe.

And, as always - Stay Crafty My Friends!!!!