Hey guys, I'm back with 13 days of Summer-Ween

Took a while to get my crafty spirit back after returning from mom and dad's. It's still hard to wrap my head around the fact mom is gone and dad is faring this world on his own for the first time in his life. He's doing well though and learning new things every day. He replaced the washing machine we all hated (he couldn't figure it out either LOL), repaired the dishwasher, and has taken tons of things to the thrift and to the dump with the help of my brother. Life is moving along and dad even has plans to do a little traveling again in the coming weeks. 

Meantime, I joined, albeit belatedly, the Summer-Ween crafting collaboration between Crafty by Toni and Belaboo Creations on You Tube, and I finished up my project today. We made a crate and thirteen tags to go in it as part of this pre-Halloween craft. It was just what I needed to get back to creating again and I'm here to share it with you. Did you join in as well? You have plenty of time if you want to get a head start on your Halloween crafting. 

So. First, the crate. I picked this one up at Dollar Tree. The "feet" are actually some metal beads I had in my stash and they turned out to be the perfect size for what I wanted.

Crate measures approximately 3x5 1/2, and 2 1/2 inches deep; my tags are 2 3/8x4 3/4 inches, not including embellishments.

This is the prompt list for the makes. Each tag incorporates two prompts, a technique and a spooky theme. Remember, you can still join. You can download the prompt list from either Crafty by Toni or Belaboo Creations ko-fi shop. 

Tags, in order by prompt list.
Day 1

Day 2

Day 3 

Day 4

Can you see him peeking through the scratches in the wall? Creepy! 

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

This project will also be posted on my Instagram. If you have any questions about products I used, techniques, or whatever else, pleases feel free to email me or contact me through IG. There is so much going on in this project! 

Thanks for stopping by the studio. 

Sad update

Fellow crafters, blog friends and followers. As you may know, I spent the last weeks of July with my parents in the wake of my mom's downward health spiral. The past year has been especially tough as mom had become more and more in the throes of dementia. We have some pretty funny stories, some poignant, some so very sad. Mom and dad have been together since childhood; ages 5 and 7, to be exact, and married 72 years. 

Dad has never been alone, so please keep him in your prayers as he navigates a whole new life at 92 years of age. 

On Wednesday, July 15, dad woke up to find mom on the floor and unresponsive. She was transported to the hospital by ambulance, and long story short, had an extreme heart episode sometime during the night that is typically fatal. Thank God it was not, in her case. Mom came home on Friday and hospice was set up for daily care. We hit the road on Sunday and headed over (200 miles) to be with mom and dad. That same day, my sister and niece flew up from SoCal, as well. My brother, who lives close, has been over every day to help dad with chores and be there for support. We can't thank him enough for being the rock he has been for our dad, and for the rest of us too.  

When we arrived, mom woke up enough to know I was there. She held my hand and smiled so big it melted my heart. By this time, she had not eaten in at least a week and by now was non-verbal. We knew it wouldn't be long, but were so happy to spend the time with her. 

On Monday, July 20, we met the hospice care team and learned how to care for mom, administer medication, etc. during times they were not there. They could not have been more wonderful, and we fell in love with them immediately. They were so gentle and caring when taking care of mom and we are beyond grateful for them all. The next few days were difficult, but we kept mom as comfortable as we could, talking with her, holding her hand, and letting her know we were all there for her. Thursday  was the hardest day for me, personally, and I melted down more than once. I don't think my heart has ever felt so crushed. Even so, we had prepared ourselves as much as one can for when the last day would come, as we knew it would be soon.

Friday, July 24 - my sister's birthday. I gave mom a kiss and told her good morning, and I noticed her breathing was different than it had been...slower, shallower, no real strength behind it. A short time later, as we were ready to administer medication, we realized she didn't seem to be breathing. We checked for pulse, listened for breath, checked pulse again, but nothing. Mom had held on long enough for my sister's birthday. 💙Sure do love you and miss you, mom. 

Family heritage photos

Today's tags are extra special. Not only do I love the 49 and Market, Faded Memory Lane collection, which I used for all of these, but I love how beautiful the pieces have showcased these vintage photos from my own files. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them. 

The family tags will go into a heritage book. I love going through old photos, and I am so lucky to have ancestry photos to play with. This first photo is my maternal great grandfather, George McCann, with his daughter Patricia (grandma's half-sister) and my grandmother, Dorothy Ellen, on his lap.

This one is my maternal grandmother in her teen years. She's the baby in the first photo. I don't have a date for this, but I'm quite sure it was before she married my grandpa. 

I love this photo of my mom and grandma. Mom was 12 years old in this one. Some of my sister's childhood photos look exactly like my mom here. 

Meta is my great grandmother, my mom's grandma. I remember meeting her at the nursing home when I was about 5 years old. 

This one is my grandpa's parents (mom's paternal grandparents). The only photo I know that we have of them. Grandpa left home at 16 and lived with another family until he was an adult. Not a whole lot is known about the reasons or about his life during that time. 

There will be more family pics coming. I think I will be making a heritage album with them. These are just my mom's side and I do have some from my dad's side of the family as well. I don't have many, but I have some from my husband's family too. 

Thanks for looking! 

49 and Market, Faded Memory Lane, cont'd

More vintage tags using 49 and Market, Faded Memory Lane collection. So in love. And yes, there will be more yet! :) Thanks for coming to look.  

Vintage tags

I've been working with the super beautiful Faded Memory Lane collection by 49 and Market. The neutral colors and gorgeous pieces are easy to get lost in. All my pieces have been on my worktop for weeks, I don't want to put them away!, so I can keep creating with them each day. Here are a few of the tags I've made. 99.99% are from the 49 and Market collection. More to come. 

This one is 7.5x3.5 inches. I've added tinted embossing paste to the background.

I've added dyed cheesecloth and homemade charms to this one.

A piece of ribbon, threads, and dyes cheesecloth.

Dyed cheesecloth, ribbon, and whaletale tab added.