Brenda Baker Productions

Rainy days in the Pacific Northwest are a blessing for more than one reason. To me, it means another excuse to stay inside and craft. Thanks to the wet weather, I can easily make any excuses for staying inside where it's warm and dry. It is such a treat to spend hours and hours making cards and sorting through my art supplies! Here are a few of my recent creations... Hello, Seattle! Put on a happy face! These colors are so sweet. I bought this typewriter stamp set before Seattle's "Monkey Love" closed their shop. Finally! I used it. I also love that it comes with a stamp that says, "You're old school and you're cool." Yes, indeedy. My sister just did a "banner" blog post on her "Ribbon, Glitter & Glue" blog . We can't get enough of these super cute, celebratory flags. This card is a fun mix of paper and ribbon. Nice texture. Cue the wind machines and let it fly! I do have to admit, though, that whenever I se...

Oh, how I've missed paper-crafting. Haven't created a single crafty thing since before I moved in June. (Oooh, except that mini-album in July, but I'm not going to count that. It was soooo long ago!) So, you can imagine my sheer pleasure in being able to sit down and actually make a Christmas tag tonight! It's just one tag, but it's a very special tag. It brought me such joy to sift through my papers, uncap that glue, plug in the sewing machine and pick through my ephemera. Such. Joy. And, I know that it's just one tag. But it feels like such a gift to me!

It was my daughter's first day of high school today. New school. New city. New friends. New clothes. And into all of this new-ness, she carried experiences and characteristics that have been built into her along the way. In her very first Humanities class her teacher introduced the poem, "Where I'm From" by George Ella Lyon. Her assignment was to write her own version of "Where I'm From." Here's her version--drawing upon her life's journey thus far. After reading it, I'm wondering if--like me--you're also interested to see where this girl is going in life. Where I'm From I am from grass stains, from fuzzy fleece and tree sap. I am from the rain falling sideways, running down the slide. I am from DisneyWorld, from fairy tales and "Gwinna." I'm from classical music and Pink Floyd, from Broadway and Swan Lake, from the "burst-out-in-songers." I'm from "Remember that time..." I'm f...