Dandelions & Other Stimulating Thoughts

Oh, hardy flower, disdained as weed,
Despised for head of feathery seed,
Your unsung virtues rate a ballad,
Choice roots for wine, crisp leaves for salad.

- Betty Gay, Dandelion

It’s been a busy week! That’s good for job hunting by day and scrapbooking by night, not so great for blogging ad other things!

I got my welfare check. Oh wait, those are called STIMULUS checks. But when you don’t have an income any more, it’s welfare, the government laughing at you because you had a job last year and now you don’t. Of course the government isn’t doing anything about the job market or inflation, they are just Robin Hooding the money at the eventual expense of infrastructure or social programs that have proven they work. Anyway, I’m a bad American. I’m not rushing out to buy something big, half of which would have to go on credit, to rescue the economy. I’m going to pay bills and next month, maybe a little will be left over after I pay bills again. When gas has gone up to $4 a gallon, the “stimulus” just keeps enough in your tank to get to work if you have a job anyway!

Ah, but it’s Saturday and I don’t want to dwell on the negative! I actually finished this week with a list to pick up where I left off Frday, so I have to say it was a good week.

Last night and this morning I was working on a new scrapbook kit. I find scrapbooking relaxing and making kits to be very therapeutic. As I’ve said before, It’s my way of giving back for the freebies I’ve received, but coming from a graphics background, making the kits feels like working. I’m not out of work because I don’t want to work, I actually like working! But in the case of the kit-making, working also lets me explore and learn. Last night, I figured out how to make glass-globe charms.

Like a new whammy bar, this new kit has an excess of charms, five right now. I’m going to try to wait until the next kit to do more.

Okay, “whammy bar?” Let me explain!

In my earlier years, back in the 80s, I did promotion and made costumes for a local Detroit band, Tempest. A whammy bar is that bar on an electric guitar that when you put pressure on it, makes the sound of the guitar go “wah, wah, wah...” Tempest’s guitarist got a whammy bar, a new toy, for his guitar. For a couple weeks, ALL his solos included that “wah, wah, wah...” Since that time, my circle has referred to anything new-and-overused as “a whammy bar.” I don’t do mega-kits, so five glass-globe charms in one kit is definitely my whammy bar!


While I was looking for a quotation to use in word art for the new kit, I came across this one that is just SO Nani a quote!

"But make no mistake:
the weeds will win: nature bats last."
- Robert M. Pyle

Speaking of baseball, as a sample of my endeavors last night, I’m offering a small freebie today.

sorry, link is expired.



This glass globe charm complements “A Perfect Summer Day.” which you can get for free by sending me a layout done with any of my kits! Yes, that’s a tease, but I really want to see your layouts! If you’ve downloaded the kits, I’m figuring you might have had something in mind, and you scrapbook anyway, so consider it my challenge to you! Send those layouts to chroniclesofnani@gmail.com along with a statement that lets me know if I can put it on the blog, and I’ll send you the link for “A Perfect Summer Day.” And wouldn’t it just go great wth the globe you’re going to download??

Have a great weekend!