Historic Flooding

We've been dealing with flooding since March here.

This is by far the worst we have ever seen.

The ongoing flood coupled with the head on collision my daughter had

due to a drunk person driving a black car in the dark 

with no headlights on a divided highway,

 I've not had much time to craft or relax. 

We've been trying to elevate possessions as much as possible in the house and garage.
We are an island now, the only way in or out is by boat.

The forecast does not look good:
     

View from my front porch, there is currently one foot of water along the flood wall with two more feet expected. The basement is flooded. The steel outbuilding in the photo has 3 1/2 feet of water in it now. 

There will be no posts from me for a while

and I have to step down from design team duties.

I did have projects made and blog posts set up for

the Love To Craft Challenge for the remainder of the year,

so you will see those the first of every month.

I just won't be commenting and voting for some time.

I will have no time or energy to devote to creating,

not to mention my craft room is in disarray

packed full of items from the lower level of the house.

I'm not sure how much longer I will stay at home. 

I may need to relocate at some point.

Definitely a long process to get back to normal

once the river recedes for good. 

Until then, I doubt I make much of anything.

Not being able to be crafty is going to drive me nuts,

on top of everything else !

Oh, the stress and uncertainty - and STENCH ! 

Thanks for all of your nice comments 

and for following my crafty adventures.

Take care.

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UPDATE 6/10/2019

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=142622780244685&set=a.104164264090537&type=3&theater

Photo is a still shot from a 360 drone video shared publicly on facebook. 
I hope the link above to it works, it is jaw dropping.  

The river crested here two days ago,

shattering the all time record for 2nd highest flood.

We've been in flood since March actually,

with the last crest in early May tying for 

the old second place record!

This crest was 3 feet less than the Great Flood of 1993.

It has fallen just 4".

It'll be a long, slow process and more rain is on the way

again this week, prolonging it.

We managed to keep the main level of the house dry, hooray!

Levees broke, causing the crest to fall by a foot.

This was good news to us (of course not to all

of those behind the levees that lost so much)

because we knew our flood wall should keep the water

back at that depth. It did spring leaks here and there.

We have three pumps running nonstop to keep the water

from filling in behind the wall too much. 

The photo below shows my cat helping me check on them.

We have to do this day and night to make sure the

pumps stay ahead of the leaking water. 

The photo is a bit deceiving as there is easily two+ feet of water

against the outside of the flood barrier.

If it gives way, the water will cause significant damage

to the house.

Here is a photo of the basement full of water -

stinky! We did put some pool chemicals in it

to try to help with the smell. Blech!!!

There is a pump in here to help keep it at this level.

We don't want it to get deeper if possible

so that it gets into the electric box,

vents and such. 

It has to stay flooded otherwise the 

walls could cave in from the pressure.

We are getting sick from all of the must,

mold, stink, etc but can not leave because

we have to maintain the pumps

so the water doesn't get onto the main floor.

 

Trying not to think about what may be swimming in it....

thankfully I've not seen any snakes around the house.

If any of those came into the flooded basement,

my bag would be packed, moving out,

letting the river win. Nope, won't stay there 

if snakes move in!!!

Sitting in the middle of the road here,

there is 6 feet of water under the boat.

It gets as deep as 9 feet in places.

You can see the top to a metal car port

just to the right in the photo. 

Going to get basic supplies by boat

out to where a car is parked on high ground

is quite an adventure :)   It's a tiny boat. 

What's really scary (and I try not to dwell on it)

is that there is no way to get emergency services 

here in a timely manner. Everything has to be boated in or out.

There are also no working telephones.

Cell service is hit and miss and if we do get

a signal, it is always dropped. 

Forget mail, trash, etc - nothing like that gets in, obviously.

No hot water for bathing.

No laundry can be done.

No air conditioning. 

I heat water in the microwave to be able to 

hand wash dishes. We boat out every few

days to my moms to shower and get laundry done.

We have a generator for basic power needs 

if the main goes out.

 Right now, the water level

is being maintained just below the box so we still have service.

The bugs are awful, the smell is worse!

It is kind of like camping in a way. 

An experience for sure.

On top of all of that, I am incredibly sick

from breathing all of the mold, etc. 

That is what it has been like here

and will continue for some time.

5 out of the next 7 days are to be rainy,

so that isn't going to help much. 

Then there is the cleanup to follow. 

As bad as it is, 

I know that it can be much worse

and am so thankful that we haven't lost everything

like so many  people have.

This will be my final post for a while.
I thank you once again for following my crafty adventures,

hoping I may have inspired you a bit along the way :)

Tool Box Gift Box - tutorial

Time for the new anything crafty goes challenge at

Love To Craft!

We are a month long just for fun challenge site.

Won't you share what craft project you've made with us ?

This month I am sharing a "gift box" I made from scratch.

I knew the recipient likes chocolate oranges,

so I wanted to make something fun to present them in.

I also added a gift card.

Basic how to's:

Use your math skills to create the size of box

and ends you will need to hold your treats.

I used chipboard to build my box with.

A heavy duty double sided adhesive tape was used

to hold it together. 

This photo shows the pattern for the end 

I made from scrap paper, ready to be traced

onto the chipboard then cut out with scissors.

The ends of the box cut out with holes punched

at the tops to push a dowel rod through to

create the toolbox handle.

Assemble with your favorite heavy duty adhesive.

I painted my chipboard pieces with glossy

acrylic craft paint after it was assembled. 

Once again, put those math skills to use 

to create a tray to fit in the top of the toolbox.

I used red card stock for the tray.

The tools were created with a die set from Stampin' Up!

Silver metallic card stock for the metal parts

and Crumb Cake stamped/sponged with ink

for the wooden parts.

I added a small envelope on the underside

to hold the gift card.

Ignore the Merry Christmas sentiment ;)

It just so happens that is what the project

was actually made for,

but I wanted to wait to share it with you now.

I thought it would make a fun design team

project for the month of June, Father's Day. 

I ran a piece of dowel rod through two holes

punched at the top of the ends.

It is removable to get the treats out.

So much work - but fun making it ! 

Thanks for looking, have a great day :)

Country Floral Birthday Card

I had this half piece of paper doily leftover from the previous card I made, 

so I decided to whip up another card to have on hand. 

It's a similar design, just flipped and using different colors/images.

Supplies from Stampin' Up!:

Banner Greetings stamp set - 2013

Gingham wheel - 2013

Linen background stamp - 2006

Blossom paper punch
(I trimmed it to make more petals to be somewhat daisy like,
I should have left it alone)

circle paper punch

Country Floral embossing folder

Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Old Olive. So Saffron card stocks

Crushed Curry, Memento black inks

linen thread

paper doily - from my stash

I'm entering my card in the current challenge at 

Retro Rubber - May Flowers

Thanks for looking =) 

Purple Pansy Mother's Day Card

Happy Mother's Day !

Supplies used: 

Stampin' Up! items - DD Pansy - 1996

Designer Labels (trimmed) - 2006

Linen Background - 2006

Concord Crush, Crushed Curry, Garden Green inks

Whisper White, Elegant Eggplant, Crushed Curry card stocks

dimensionals

doily

satin ribbon

sewing machine (stitching on plaid paper)

plaid paper scrap, Die Cuts With A View

alphabet die, Recollections/Michael's

I'm entering my card in the following challenge:

Retro Rubber Challenge - May Flowers

Momnificent digi kit

Check out this pretty new digital kit,

Momnificent, by JMC Designs.

It is now available at 

Plain Digital Wrapper . 

Each pack is on sale for just $1.00

for a very limited time, wow !

55 Unique Elements - 

2 bead scatters, bird, bling, 2 bows, 2 butterflies, 3 buttons, charm, crown, fastener, 5 flowers, flower charm, 2 frames, gem, heart charm, heart scatter, journal paper, 2 lace, 3 leaves, 7 wordart, mother charm, paint, paper butterfly, paper doily, paper star, photo corner, sequin scatter, staple, stitching, 2 strings, tab

24 Patterned Papers 

8 Cardstock 
12X12 
300ppi

64 Elements - one in each color of palette 

arrow stamp, flower, paper heart, pearl star, tape, water color block, wire flower, wooden heart

9 elements 

beads, 5 charms, clip, key, resin flower

8 Glitter Papers 

12X12 
300ppi

Upper Case Alpha

Families Are Quilts Frame

I'm sharing this project with you today

as my design team project for 

Love To Craft.

We are a month long anything goes craft challenge

(so long as it is family friendly)

We'd love to see what craft(s) you made this month!

I came across the plastic collage frame (above)

for $2 at the local thrift store.

The glass pieces were missing,

there were a few tiny scuffs on the

black plastic and the back cover was well worn,

but I thought it was worth it.

It had potential.

I started by base coating the frame with a light gray

chalk paint. Once that was dry, I brushed on white

acrylic craft paint. I wasn't going for total coverage
or keeping it nice and neat.

In even did a bit of sanding on some of the raised areas.

I wanted it to look worn, old.

I made my own digital word art to fit the round frame.

I added a small silver paper punched and crimped heart

in the space below the printed words.

A small piece of quilted fabrics was put in another opening.

The fabric was mounted over chipboard with batting in between

                                      Photographs will be added to the remaining three frames.

Thanks for looking, have a great day!

I'm entering my frame in the May Anything Goes challenge at Crafting By Designs
https://craftingbydesigns.blogspot.com/2019/05/may-anything-goes.html

Motorcycle "Bridge" Card

I created this fun fold card with a new to me stamp set

I bought specifically to use for my son's birthday.

It's called One Wild Ride and is by Stampin' Up!

Although it is new to me, the set has been available

since 2016.

It's actually a pretty easy card to make.

The trickiest part was getting the front panel

stuck in the right position -

until it hit me:

fold the card flat to adhere it.

I was trying to do it while it was 

in the folded, upright position.

Silly me! 

Sorry, I didn't take step by step photos,

but you should be able to figure it out

using the diagram and photos below.

top view

back view

I also used the old Sanded background stamp (2008?)

and screw head stamp from Nailed It (2017),

both also SU! sets.

The embossing folder is Diamond Plate by Darice.

Some sponging, heat embossing

detail work with markers plus dimensionals

finish it off. 

You could easily make a small pocket

to hold a sliding out sentiment and signed piece

or even a gift card  / cash.

Glue it to the center panel.

Here is a tip:

save the scraps from the new CLING mount stamps

to cut into pieces and use on the old not so sticky

CLEAR mount stamp sets by Stampin' Up!

It worked great!

When I was assembling my new Geared Up Garage cling stamp set,

I wondered if I could perhaps use pieces of the scraps to

place over the backs of the also new to me One Wild Ride

stamp set. It is the clear mount style. I've never had luck with

sticking this type to acrylic blocks, preferring to buy wood mount stamps still.

It does take a little bit of work,

especially peeling apart the pieces if you

don't have much fingernail length like myself ;)

Just be sure to note the difference between the sides

so you stick the correct side to your stamps.

Peel away the shiny side, stick the clear sticky film

to your stamp then remove the dull side. 

I'd like to take a moment to remind drivers to

http://www.idot.illinois.gov/transportation-system/safety/roadway/ssm/index

Thanks for looking, have a great day :) 

https://www.retrorubberchallengeblog.com/my-blog/2019/04/challenge-109-anything-goes.html

http://ttcrd.blogspot.com/2019/04/ttcrd-challenge-starting-23rd-april.html

Happy Easter, Happy Spring

Glittery Jelly Beans Card

I drug out my old, really old, Stampin' Glitter stack

to make the jelly beans on this card.

The stamps are quite old as well.

The beans were stamped, cut out and adhered individually.

I'm not very happy with the way they turned out,

they aren't very glittery and colors are lighter than I expected.

I might have over heated the Heat and Stick/Glitter combo.

Jelly bean incentive stamp (?), Stampin' Up! 1994

Happy Easter from All Seasons, CTMH year unknown 

(I bought this at an estate sale at least a dozen years ago)

Thanks for looking, have a great day = )




(I didn't post this card sooner as intended. I've not been home the past week. I may write about the incident that kept we away at a later time........... I am M.A.D.D.)

https://www.madd.org