My Whimcees

My Whimcees

Friday, January 29, 2010

Finished Jim's Blanket - Tutorial on Monday

Hello!

Well, I missed yesterday and very late posting today! Too much going on here this week - getting ready to move Jim to his new group home on Monday. I finished his "New Home" tied fleece blanket and he loves it. I made it extra long and also tied it every 7 inches and knotted the ties 4 times for good luck! :<) He picked two really colorful patterns so it turned into a very "happy" blanket!

Everyone I have made these blankets for - including myself - have really liked them as they are so light weight but warm and cuddly and they wash up beautifully! So on Monday I will have a short tutorial on how to make one. :<)


Thanks for stopping by today!

Wishing you a great weekend! I have been working on some projects for next week as I am sure that on Monday I will be lucky to even get to look at my list of favorites! :<) First there is Jim's doctor's apointment in the morning, boxing up his belongings that are here and later going to where he was living and moving all of his belongings to the new home. Thank goodness that they are all packed and waiting! I think on Tuesday I will still be decompressing after having him here with me since the holidays - in two rooms/kitchenette/bathroom with the living room divided into a studio also! Every night take the living room side apart to put down the hide-a-bed, etc. and every morning put it all together again! Jim will be VERY happy to have his own life back again also! :<)

Barbara Diane

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

A Birthday Tri-Fold

Hello!

I finally finished the tri-fold card I have been working on. I do love this fold!

Card closed:

Card Open:
From Left Side:
From Right Side:
Left Side Detail:
Right Side Detail:
Center Detail:
Card Open Flat:
Thanks for stopping by today!

It is COLD here in Wisconsin! Good day to stay inside and work on a project. Today I am starting to make a tied fleece blanket for Jim to take with him to his new group home. He's picked some bright colors/prints so it will be fun! :<)

Barbara Diane

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Millie Is On Her Way!

Hello!

Well, Millie is on her way to her new home! She left Wisconsin on Friday and should arrive there soon! I will miss her but I know that she will be loved and happy living with Carol in Georgia!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Wishing you a good Tuesday!

Barbara Diane

Monday, January 25, 2010

My Card For Evan

Hello!

This is the card I sent to Evan - some familiar faces I thought he would enjoy. I hope that he wins the contest!:<)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Wishing you a great Monday!

Barbara Diane

Thursday, January 21, 2010

A Small Favor For A Small Boy Could Help Him Reach A Large Goal!

Hello!

Every morning I check the blogs of my followers - first thing before I check the others on my favorites list - to see what they are creating :<) I am so happy to know that someone follows my blog and I want to return that kindness and look at their cards and projects.

On Rhonda's Place to Share http://bluepoohbear753.blogspot.com/ I saw mention of this little boy and clicked on the link to find the details. The link took me to Joanie's Cards Made By Hand and the story of a little boy who's grandmother is asking kind people to send him post cards to help reach a large goal. You can see this post at http://joaniscardsmadebyhand.blogspot.com/

Evan Rupp is autistic and has been mainstreamed into a regular first grade class. He is trying to fit in and be accepted - no easy thing to do when you are "different" from the other children. I have many years of watching my oldest son Jim trying to do just that thoughout his childhood and so I have a soft spot for any and all of these children, who have no easy time in life.

It seems that there is a contest being held in Evan's classroom to see how many cards from different states and countries that the children can put on a map and the one who brings the most post cards/ cards to put on the map will win the contest.

We all make cards almost every day to post on our blogs - sometimes I feel to ask my fellow bloggers "What do you do with all your cards?" I give some away, I sell some, I keep some for samples - but I do always have many extras in a box. Maybe you do too. :<)

Would you share one of your cards to help this young boy to join in with his fellow classmates and maybe win this contest? So many of you are already making such wonderful Valentines - can't you just imagine the smile on Evan's face to recieve lots of these from many far away places? :<) If you have friends or family in other states or countries that you think might be willing to also send a card to Evan, please pass this information on.

Send your post cards/cards to Evan Rupp c/o Mrs. Parvizi First Grade, Frederick Douglas Elementary School, 100 Cedarmeade Ave, Winchester, VA 22601. Mention on the cards that you are a friend of his Grandma Froggy. :<)

Thanking you in advance for helping this little boy with his contest! I am sending a card out to Evan tomorrow! :<)

Barbara Diane

From My Brother :<)

I received this from my brother this morning:

Wow,

She was really excited to see herself on TV. Now she thinks she is a movie star. There will be no living with her now.

Now, how am I ever going to get anything done?



How funny are these photos! I have not laughed out loud in a long time! I still do every time I see them! And I just keep smiling as I remember how much fun it was to have this little doll around to keep me on MY toes! :<) I need to make another for myself!

I love my brother and his wonderful and sharp sense of humor! Thank you Dick for sending the photos and for the laughs!

Barbara Diane

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

One Of The Most Fun Doll Patterns I Have Made

Hello!

One of the most fun dolls that I have made is this little arm rest doll - to be used by your computer. But she is so much more! I have seen more people go goofy in love over one of these dolls at all the silly poses she can be put into and the way she just gets into your heart because she is so floppy and funny! She is made from a doll pattern called the WristRester that you can purchase from Keelings Krafts at http://www.keelingskrafts.com/ Check out their site as they have many wonderful and creative doll patterns!

In the following photos, the first one is the doll I made for myself but she then went to live with another 'mom' who was totally taken with her. The second doll I made for my brother Dick and she lives in his computer room (although the photos were taken here.)

When I went through my photo file on this doll I was amazed at how many photos I had taken of the two of them because they were so funny and endearing in what they did and where they showed up. You can pose them anywhere - and as you can see, I had a great time doing just that! I had a very difficult time to choose these few photos to share of the many I have. :<)

The first photo is of my doll "reading" a card my son Jim made me - a sort of a a scene, very detailed and complex. She is holding the rose that accompanied the card and sits by a little dog he also gave me. Next to them is a potholder that Jim made for me. (A very early post on my blog shows the wall hanging I was putting together from these potholders he was making.

The following photos are just some of the ways she would harrass me as I worked! :<) She also loved to visit with all the other dolls and items in the room - she is the most friendly and outgoing doll I have ever seen!





Here is Dick's buddy. I think she keeps him on his toes also! :<) She is such a flirt!






Love those eyes! :<)
Thanks for stopping by today!

I hope that you enjoyed the photos of one of my favorite dolls!

Barbara Diane

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

A Cat, A Mouse and Some Bubbles

Hello!

A card for a friend.



Thanks for stopping by today!

Barbara Diane

Paper Punch Children

Hello!

Since I first saw Jackie Topa's Snow Kids on her blog Addicted to Stamping, I have wanted to make some of my own. She made the most adorable children on her card and mine is CASED from her creation. I learned a lot about using the paper punches and altering shapes when making these children, so I am sure that each time I make them they will be closer to the idea in my head. :<)

You can check out Jackie's many great projects and creations at http://jackietopa.typepad.com/addicted_to_stamping/ Thank you Jackie, for sharing your delightful Snow Kids!

Here are my versions of the children playing in the snow - I hope that you enjoy. :<)





Thanks for stopping by today!

Wishing you a good day today! We are supposed to have freezing fog here in our part of WI, lasting through the night and into Tuesday noon. If you are having bad weather, take care!

Barbara Diane

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Sweet Little Magnolia Girl

Hello!

I find it very difficult to create with chaos and negativity all around. I can't concentrate, can't push away the worry and heaviness of dealing with all the stress. But more and more I have needed to create something sweet and innocent to somehow balance it out. This sweet little Magnolia child stamp was just the image for that. It has taken me days to finish this one card - a bit at a time - but she is done, and she made me smile. I hope that you enjoy her.





I hace been working on a book for some time now and I have decided that I need to finish it amd get it published, as that is the only way Jim's story will be told. I am so disgusted with the system and the games and abuses of power that I can no longer accept that this can happen. No one can imagine this insanity that we have/had to deal with unless they have experienced it. Jim has been staying with me since the holidays - and he will be moving into a new group home February 1st. I will write a bit of the situation perhaps, after he is settled, to explain some of what we have experienced over the past many years - especially the last four.

Thank you sincerely to all of you who have sent e-mails and left comments to wish me well and to let me know that we are in your prayers. I cannot tell you how much they mean to me. Sometimes one can feel so low, so alone and so powerless, that a kindness can bring tears just because it is a kindness. Knowing that someone cares. Your words have brought me to tears many times. Thank you.

Wishing you a good Monday!

Barbara Diane

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Millie Will Have A New Home!

Hello!

The winner of Millie is Carol who wrote:

Millie is one fabulous RED HAT Lady!!! She is a fashionable woman and ready to bring a smile to the lucky winner. She would look great sitting on my country bench in my foyer...LOL What fun.

Bear Hugs,Carol :o}

January 9, 2010 8:54 PM

Congratulations Carol! Please send me your address so I can mail Millie to her new home! I am sure that she will love sitting in a foyer on a country bench! :<)

Thank you to all of you who wrote to me about Millie! Look for another doll in the future! :<)

Barbara Diane

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Life Issues - Sometimes One Has to Just Step Away to Get One's Balance Again

Hello,

Life's issues continue here and I find that after many years I just don't have the stomach for it any longer. If it wasn't because my son needs me to fight for him, I would have gone far away long ago. As it is, I cannot do this, but I am wearing out and this latest chaos and stressful battle has left me depleted.

I hope to see Jim in a new group home on February 1st, but until then I am afraid my blog postings will be few and far between as my mind is just so weary. I hope to get back to being able to create soon. Until then, thank you once again to all who so kindly e-mail me and leave comments. It is because of you that I know someone out there reads my blog and it gives me inspiration to keep creating! :<)

I will post the winner who will be giving Millie a new home on Friday.

Wishing you a good day today!

Barbara Diane

Friday, January 8, 2010

Would You Like To Give This Doll A Home?

Hello!

This is Millie and I created her from a pattern called Modern Woman by elinor peace bailey. She has been living with me because I love her dearly, but now she would like to broaden her world and see new surroundings. She knows that I will always keep her in my heart and I will be in hers, but she has also always known that there are so many new people to meet and new things to see! And for Millie, that time is now!

So, to celebrate new beginnings in 2010, I am having a contest. If you would like to win Millie to come to live with you, please:

a. Leave me a comment to tell me why you would love her to be part of your family. :<) b. Join my followers. :<) c. Link me and my contest/photo of Millie to your blog and let me know! :<) Any one or all three would be great! :<)

A winner will be chosen on Thursday, January 14th - sort of an early run on Valentine's Day! Perfect with her clothing colors!

Millie is a 26 inch doll and very fashionable indeed! Her skirt is lined, her cuffed jacket is lined and has a turned back lapeled front. Her hat with its flowers, her frilly blouse front, her buttoned high top shoes and her own shoulder bag - all let you know she is indeed the modern woman and is packed and ready to go on a trip to a new home and new adventures! (Well, "packed" in the broad sense of the word - but ready she is!)

Would you like to give Millie a home with you?



Thanks for stopping by today! Let me know if this little lady would be loved at your house. :<)

Barbara Diane

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Census Information

Hello!

This morning my good blogger friend Helen at http://helenmade.blogspot.com/ sent me an e-mail with information regarding the 2010 census and because last year we had an incident in our apartment building with the harrassment of one of the elderly and ill tenants by a census worker, I thought I would share this information. But to explain first what occurred here:

A woman had returned numerous times to knock on a tenant's apartment door and we could hear her yelling from outside the door to the tenant that she had to open the door and answer questions and when the tenant refused, the woman would leave. But she would return again. No one was sure who she was, maybe someone from the County, as no one else had her come to their door and I guess everyone who had seen or heard her had assumed that the tenant would have told her daughter of the incidents so she could take care of it.

This tenant is very afraid and seldom leaves her apartment and only opens her door to family or those of us she knows. On the 3rd or 4th time this woman came back, I heard her being persistant in her telling the person to open the door and she did not go away this time. From inside my apartment - which is 4 doors down and on the opposite side of the hall - I heard this woman repeat in a very loud voice "You finished the --- grade? That was the last grade that you finished?" I thought what in the world is this person doing repeating this personal information so that everyone can hear!

I opened my apartment door and looked down the hall and this woman was actually standing in the hall outside the tenant's door yelling in the questions to the person inside, who was afraid and refusing to open the door, and then repeating every answer she received in this same loud voice so that anyone in the hall or adjoining apartments could hear.

I went out in the hall and another tenant joined me and I asked the woman to step into my apartment, out of the hallway, and questioned her of who she was and what was she thinking repeating someone's personal information from the hallway. The woman was hyper nervous and started crying and asked us to please not report her as she would get in trouble and she was a single mother and out of work and this was her only income. etc. She said that she was desperate to get this information as her boss said she must not come back until she had the it and this was the last time she could try and he would be very angry and she would be fired and also she would be legally in trouble for the way in which she was obtaining this information, etc. When I asked her for identification, she had a name badge on that was covered with a scarf she wore around her neck and that was about it. She left and we reported it to the manager.

(We later learned that this woman had harrassed one other tenant also. Our building is a security locked building so this woman should not have had access to the apartments without the permission of the manager - but the manager is only here 3 1/2 days a week - and one of the other tenants would just let her in without asking who she was.)

This information may help you with identifying the credentials of a census worker.

2010 CENSUS TO BEGIN

Be Cautious About Giving Information to Census Workers With the U.S. With the census process beginning, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft.

The first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census is under way as workers have begun verifying the addresses of households across the country. The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S.. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:

If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag, and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don't know into your home.

Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information.

Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census. REMEMBER, NO MATTER WHAT THEY ASK, YOU REALLY ONLY NEED TO TELL THEM HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE AT YOUR ADDRESS.

While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER ANYTHING AT ALL ABOUT YOUR FINANCIAL SITUATION. The Census Bureau will not ask for Social Security, bank account, or credit card numbers, nor will employees solicit donations. Anyone asking for that information is NOT with the Census Bureau.

Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail, or in person at home. However, the Census Bureau WILL NOT CONTACT YOU BY E-MAIL, so be on the lookout for Email scams impersonating the Census.Never click on a link or open any attachments in an Email that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

I also went on-line and found this information.

Preparing For the Census Taker - What To Do When a Census Taker Vsits You.

If you don't send back your form, you may receive a visit from a census taker. If a census taker visits you, here's what you should do:

First ask to see their ID. All census workers carry official government badges marked with just their name; they may also have a "U.S. Census Bureau" bag. Note that the census taker will never ask to enter your home.

If you're still not certain about their identity, please call the
Regional Census Center's to confirm they are employed by the Census Bureau.

Answer the census form questions for your entire household (you must be at least 15 years old to answer questions) so that the census taker can record the results for submission to the Census Bureau.

Census takers visit local homes several times to capture resident information for the 2010 Census. If you prefer, you can schedule a visit with your census taker. Should the census taker come when you are away from your home, they will leave a contact number. If a census taker has not visited your home or you have a question about your participation with the census, call your Census office.

Help for on-English Speaking Respondents

Census takers will have a flashcard containing a sentence about the 2010 Census written in approximately 50 languages. If a resident doesn't speak English, the census taker shows the flashcard to the resident, and the resident points to the language he/she speaks. A census crew Leader will then reassign the case to a person who speaks that language.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Barbara Diane

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Gifts To Say Thank You

Hello!

I made this stationery box for one of the caregivers at the home where my son is currently living. He will be leaving soon to go to a permanent home and I wanted to say thank you to Tina for all the kindness she has shown my son and all that she has done at the home to make life easier for the clients living there. Some people go above and beyond without giving it a second thought and Tina is one of those people.

The photos aren't the best, as I forgot all about taking them until I was already in the process of wrapping the gift and we were leaving right after that to take it to her. But she liked it and that made me smile too! :<)








I also gave one of my boxes, filled with candy, to the other main caregiver at the home. His name is Shuan and I wanted to thank him also for the kindness he has given my son. For the candy I punched a black circle and a smaller blue circle from the same CS I used in the box and layered them and used glue dots to attach them to individual Peppermint Patties and put two rows of the candy into each side of the box.

I also forgot to take photos of the candy! But he made me smile too, when he said his girlfriend always asked him if he was sure that I didn't buy the things I gave to him. :<)

I am going to miss them both and I will be forever grateful that they were there for my son through a very difficult past year. God Bless you Tina and Shuan.



Thanks for stopping by today!

Take care.

Barbara Diane

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

An Amazing Video

Hello,

A blogger friend, Helen, at Let's Create has sent me the most sad, yet lovely and awesome, video to share. I would like to share it also - with you.

Thank you Helen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=vOhf3OvRXKg#t=00

May you all be blessed with a good day today.

Barbara Diane

Thank You Cards

Hello!

I mailed my thank you cards today. I try to be timely and this year I didn't do too bad! :<) This is the first time I made them in the 3 x 3 size and I put the finished card/envelope into a 6 x 4 1/2 envelope as I wasn't sure how to mail one that small! :<) There may be some puzzled looks at the destinations!

It is still bitterly cold here in WI but the sun just came out and that makes it so much easier to endure! Guess I best go out to (try to) start the car! :<)




Thanks for stopping by today!

Wishing you a happy day of stamping and/or working on projects!

Barbara Diane