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Monday, May 31, 2010

Cookies and Cards

Has anyone seen the movie The Blind Side? I bought it yesterday previewed from Blockbuster and popped it into the DVD player in an effort to help me fall asleep last night. Instead, it was a fabulous movie, and I was up until 2 AM watching it. Heh. I've actually seen the movie before. It was on the plane on the way back from Dallas for a business trip in April, but the thing is that I forgot my headphones so I had to guess what the actors were saying. Anyway, it's a great flick and I highly recommend it. Watch with tissues of you're the type of person that cries during Mastercard or Hallmark commercials.

I was off work today because of Memorial Day...and with that said, thank you to those who have served, are currently serving, and will serve in the future (and your loved ones as well).

It was too hot and humid today to be doing anything outside today, so I spent some time making cards for my Etsy shop and baking cookies for the office. I told one of the computer guys a few weeks ago that I'd bake him cookies if he worked on putting my newsletter online. I think he'd do it anyway, but I'm hoping that the cookies will make my nitpicking, fine-tooth comb tolerable. Yes, I suppose this could be considered a bribe and manipulation. I'd like to think of this as knowing what incentives work for which people. I also wrote a letter to my friend Suzie, replying to a letter that she sent me in April. I know. Bad Tina, bad. In my own defense, I sent her a card and cookies for her birthday in May, but I definitely owed her a longer reply letter. This was a good opportunity for me to use some of the cute animal stationary that she got me for Christmas.

On to today's card. I made the flower portion of the card earlier today, but then when I sat down to make a card, I didn't know what to do with it! I took this opportunity to challenge myself to make it work, and this is the final product.

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in clear
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackberry, Warm Red
Stamps: Heidi Grace- Alphas, Reagan's Closet (heart, asterisk, butterfly), K.I. Memories- Mixed Up Alpha (sentiment), Hot Off The Press- Delicate Patterns (swirl)
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Bloom & Grow
Foam Adhesive: EK Success
Punches: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars threading water border punch, Carl Craft sakura punch

Song of the day: "Chances"- Five For Fighting. This is the song that plays during the credits of The Blind Side. I love the piano in the background.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

CPS #169

Today, I did some shopping for some suit-y clothes. A big work meeting is coming up very soon, and I suppose I should look the part: a professional. ::eye roll:: For someone that would much rather wear t-shirts, shorts, and flip flops, this was a big step for me. I liked the suits that I bought, but I hope that I never get a job where I'd have to wear one all the time because a) suits are expensive and b) aren't always the most comfortable things to wear.

I did do some "funner" shopping aka going to the craft stores. I ended up getting some brads and paper on clearance. The flower in my attempt at CPS #169 was the perfect opportunity to use one of the brads that I bought today. As for the second card, I noticed that the punched out circles from this card were still hanging around so I decided to put them to use. Hooray for scraps. :)

Card Specs (congratulations):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Red
Stamps: Studio G
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories
Brad: Making Memories- Fresh Anthology
Flower: Prima
Punch: Fiskars scalloped sentiment border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Card Specs (live well, laugh often, love much):

Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Red
Stamps: The Paper Company Studio- Playful Expressions (sentiment)
Paper: Martha Stewart
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Button: Favorite Findings in Ocean

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Fall-To Layout 92

Nothing really exciting to report for today. I mean, really. I feel like the neighborhood is a ghost town because of the Memorial Day holiday. Everyone's out of town. Even Etsy seemed kinda quiet today, but interestingly enough, I did snag a sale. :)

Tonight, I caught up with clean&simple stamping for their Fall-To Layout challenge (#92). I was ambitious today and made two cards. Enjoy!

Card Specs (hello):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Stamps: The Paper Company Studio- Whimsy Greetings (sentiment)
Other: Me & My Big Ideas- Chipboard Elements, Ellen Starfish Icons (starfish)
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Bloom & Grow
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories

Card Specs (celebrate):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Stamps: Fiskars- Birthday (sentiment)
Punch: EK Success Circle punch (1 3/8 inch), EK Success Scalloped Circle punch (2 inch)
Paper: Die Cuts With A View- Citrus (floral)
Sticker: Sandylion Essentials- Sandals
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Hooray for Handwritten Notes!

I really appreciated this CNN article about the awesomeness of handwritten notes. I love getting texts. Emails are great. But handwritten notes are in a fabulous category all to themselves. I guess that's why I enjoy making cards. I suppose you could type a note up and stuff it in with your card, but for the most part, card messages are handwritten. I also like the idea of selling or giving my cards away as a means of encouraging others to write a thoughtful note and make someone else's day.

With that said, here's today's card. It's a little on the small side and square, which is not normal for me, but I didn't want to waste a perfectly good piece of cardstock. I wasn't sure what card I wanted to make today, so I started with looking through my scrap pile. I started with the red cardstock and used a border punch on it. The teal piece came next. And then it was embellishment time. I couldn't find a rub-on that would go with the red/teal combo, so I settled with some yellow Prima flowers. Ta da!

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Stamp: Fiskars- Birthday (sentiment)
Punch: Fiskars Threading Waters border punch
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories
Brad: Making Memories Brad Value Pack- Chelsea's Place collection
Flower: Prima
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Bloom & Grow

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

One-Layer Wednesday #6

I'd like to respond to one of the lovely comments that was left on yesterday's post about how I stay inspired. Hmm. Most of my inspiration comes from reading other people's blogs and getting new supplies every now and again. If I can't come up with designs or ideas on my own, I usually refer to card challenges to get me started. Last week's sister challenges were a fun deviation from the blog card challenges. I like the idea of having someone else pick out the items if I don't feel like doing it myself. And as for the new supplies, it's exciting to me to use new stuff. Sometimes using the same stuff over and over again gets boring.

For tonight's card, I went to Simplicity by Lateblossom for her One-Layer Wednesday card challenge. This week's focus is on overlapping. I am embarrassed as to how many times it took me to get this card right. Let's just say it took more than 5 times, mkay? I struggle with the one-layered cards because I can't really do much to cover up my mistakes. No flowers, no embellishments, no ribbon, no paper. In this case, if it wasn't the teapot stamp not getting full coverage, it was the flourishes and sentiment. Gah! Well, you know the saying...if at first you don't succeed, throw a mental temper tantrum and keep going. (pause) Wait, are you saying that's not how the saying goes?

I felt guilty and mad at myself for using so much white card stock tonight that I decided to use one of the discarded card bases for the first card and make a second card out of it. In retrospect, I should have used the teacup that the stamp set came with, but that would require more white cardstock which would have totally defeated the purpose of making the second card in the first place. Check out that bow! It's pretty. :D
Card Specs (let's get together soon):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blue Iris, Lavendar
Stamps: Autumn Leaves- Doodley Frames (flourishes), Basic Grey- Cup of Tea (teapot), Fiskars- Girlfriend (sentiment)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner

Card Specs (you're my cup of tea):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan, Lavendar
Stamps: Basic Grey- Cup of Tea (teapot, sentiment)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner
Paper: American Crafts-Metropolitan

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Tuesday Trigger 5-25-10

Work update: 40 binders have been shipped off to the hotel for the workshop that's taking place next week. Whew! Glad to cross that off my to-do list. Now it's just a matter of not being paranoid that I forgot something important. Even if I did, I guess I could just put it in my suitcase. Easy peasy.

At spin tonight, there was a mother-daughter pair. How cute. :)

I wandered over to Moxie Fab World this evening just to catch up on my blog reading, and I found this Tuesday Trigger that I really liked. The frequent use of embellishments intrigued me, so that's what inspired this card tonight. I wanted each tile to have something extra, but I didn't feel comfortable using anything too big or flashy. I liked how the card in the example used a lot of fabric brads, but I didn't have any that went with my yellow/red/purple theme. I think I made it work anyway with staying true to the 9 "tiles"/ribbon/embellishments challenge, and I'm pleased with the result.

Card Specs:

Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Yellow Ochre, Warm Red, Blackberry
Stamp: Fiskars- Square Sentiments (all)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Rub-on: American Crafts, Mini Marks, Accents, Book Two (flower)
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories

Monday, May 24, 2010

Good News, Bad News

Good news, bad news...bad news, first.

Bad news:
  • Series finale of 24 was on tonight. Holy cow, how intense! Like more intense than normal, but I suppose the producers want to pack as much punch into it until perhaps a movie comes along. I almost cried, just because I felt so badly for everyone involved.
  • I placed a crafty order on May 2. I got the package in the mail today, BUT the items in the mailer were not the ones that I ordered! I knew something was up when I noticed that the package was light. I get that mistakes happen, but I was SO looking forward to receiving a new set of stamps and a new paper pack since I had ordered them 3 weeks ago! I hope this mishap can be resolved soon.
Good news:
  • I went to spin tonight. I was really inspired by some of the people in the class who did a triathlon yesterday. Yesterday! And they came to spin class tonight! Now, THAT'S dedication.
  • I sold 7 cards in one Etsy order today. Whoo hoo!
  • I assembled 40 binders at work today for an upcoming workshop. I'll be so happy to hand them off to the UPS guy tomorrow or Wednesday.
  • One of my co-workers gave me his side of sweet potato fries that came with his lunch. Just handed them to me! Yum. Some cinnamon sugar and marshmallow fluff would have been a great addition, but hey, I'm grateful for a surprise foody gift.
For today's card, I wanted to make something on the simple side. Ironically, this card took me 2 tries to get it right. During my first try, I added some stamped brown flowers. I think the flowers made it look really cluttered. Too bad there isn't really an eraser for ink. The stamps are from an Ebay auction win that I won last week. They also came in the mail today and fortunately the seller checked the mailer before she sent the package off. *cough, cough*

Card Specs:

Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Burnt Sienna, Blush Rose, Tangerine, Yellow Ochre, Chestnut Roan
Stamp: Fiskars- Oodles of Doodles (sentiment), Basic Grey- Medallion (all other stamps)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Sunday, May 23, 2010

CPS #168

It took some effort to get out of bed this morning and go to spin class, but I'm very glad that I went (as usual). I had forgotten my Nalgene water bottle at home and didn't realize it until I got to the gym. Ugh. I debated for 30 seconds on if I should use the water fountain during class or go to the nearby grocery store to get a bottle of water. I decided that getting the bottle of water would be better so I wouldn't have to hop on and off my bike.

Foody weekend continued...this afternoon, I hung out with the MPH girls for a potluck lunch. Menu (homemade everything): cheese pizza, toasted bread/goat cheese/strawberries drizzled with balsamic vinegar, and a chocolate pudding dessert. My contribution was some of the pasta salad that I had set aside from yesterday's batch. Good company + good food = good times and conversation.

On to today's cards...

(left card) I first glanced at CPS's #168 challenge before heading out to the potluck, but couldn't think of what to do with it until I was sitting back at my desk tonight. I looked down at my scrap pile, and I noticed the partially used sheet of Imaginisce paper that I had used a while ago. ::light bulb turns on:: I decided to cut out some of the individual images to put on the card and add some ribbon that I bought at A.C. Moore on Friday night.

(right card) I was inspired by this card by Kristina Werner where she used a circle punch, but didn't punch a whole circle and put a flower where the paper was punched.
Card Specs (your friendship warms my heart):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Stamps: Fiskars- Just Between Friends (sentiment)
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories
Punches: Fiskars Threading Waters border punch
Ribbon: American Crafts
Paper: Imaginisce- Twitterpated, Hey Foxy (images), Me & My Big Ideas- Sugarplum (green)

Card Specs (hello friend):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackberry
Stamps: Fiskars- Just Between Friends (sentiment)
Paper: Martha Stewart
Punch: Fiskars Threading Waters border punch, Marvy Uchida circle punch (3 inch)
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories
Brad: Making Memories Brad Value Pack- Chelsea's Place collection
Flower: Prima

Saturday, May 22, 2010

BBQ #2

I did something pretty nutty today. I went to spin class in the morning and then...I went for a 2 mile run around the neighborhood 2 hours later! I know. Nutty. My thighs are like "What were you thinking?" Oh well. It felt good to push my body a little bit. It was beautiful weather outside anyway. Don't want that to go to waste. The spin instructor this morning was funny. At the end of a hill, she asks the group, "So, how are we doing?" (silence) "Ok, I'll ask again later. (pause) I'm really happy to be here!" I think everyone was just concentrating on trying to keep up, including myself. It was a good class, and it went by really quickly.

I'm glad that I worked out as much as I did today because we grilled for dinner again. Chicken, steaks, pasta salad, and regular salad. For dessert, we had a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake (mint chocolate chip ice cream with chocolate cake)!! So, so yummy! My friend Meg came over for dinner and brought rice krispies treats with chocolate chips. Also very yummy. Today was a good food day!

On to today's cards...today will be the last sister challenge until July 4th. For the card on the left, she picked out the sentiment, the flower, the coral paper, and the dot wave. When I saw the selection, I was stumped as to what to do with the dot wave. I picked out a butterfly stamp and was going to use the dot wave as the butterfly's flight path, but the wave was too long. So then I added the wave to the bottom with brown chalk ink. And then I got the idea that it could be the "grass/ground." Ta da! The ribbon is from a spool that I got from A.C. Moore last night. I really liked how to blue matches the blue in the butterfly. The knot only took one try; I think I'm really getting the hang of it!

For the card on the right, she picked out the square stamps at the top, the sentiment and the paper. I don't think the card was executed as well as the one on the left because I thought it needed some sort of embellishment, but I couldn't think what kind and I didn't want to force it.
Card Specs (enjoy the moment):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Rose Coral, Olive Pastel, Prussian Blue, Chestnut Roan
Stamps: Heidi Grace Designs- Paradise (flower), Autumn Leaves- Build-a-Flower (dot wave), The Paper Company Studio- Playful Expressions (sentiment), Studio G (butterfly)
Paper: Martha Stewart
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner
Other: Brown Ultra Fine Point Sharpie
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories

Card Specs (hi):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal, Orchid Pastel
Stamps: Fiskars- Cameo Ovations (scalloped oval), Fiskars- Square Sentiments (tiles), Inkadinkado (letters)
Paper: American Crafts-Metropolitan
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner, Fiskars Threading Waters border punch

Song of the day: "Goodbye to You"- The Veronicas. Heard it at spin class.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Shopping-Filled Friday

Yeahhhh...so, my goal of not buying new supplies crumbled miserably today. It was because A.C.Moore revamped their papercrafting section by adding a wider selection of products from companies they haven't had before. I knew that they were planning to do some shifting, but the changes far exceeded my expectations! My sister went with me to get some art supplies for herself, but was delayed getting home because I was wandering up and down the scrapbooking aisles several times, admiring all the new pretty, sparkly, cute, gorgeous papers. I ended up getting some supplies that I am legitimately running low on (glue dots, foam adhesives, and jiggy eyes), but also bought a pack of American Crafts paper (it was 50% off because the packaging was opened. It didn't really make a difference to me because all the paper was still in there. If the corners or sides were damaged a little, meh, I'll just cut them off), a brown marker for faux stitching, and ribbon. I think I should set a time limit for when I'm in there. I think the wandering adds items to my cart!

Earlier today, I went to Marshalls to buy some more workout clothes. The moisture wicking fabric is much more comfortable to work out in compared to cotton t-shirts. I wish I had converted a long time ago!

After tonight, there's only one more sister challenge left. She's heading back to school on Sunday, so tomorrow's is the last one until she comes back for July 4th. She picked a sentiment that's very time-appropriate since it's graduation season. I was determined to use something that I purchased today, so I used the marker for faux stitching and the foam squares from EK Success. So far, the backing of the foam square are much easier to remove compared to the Making Memories ones that I've been using. Perhaps I could have done without the red flower on the side, but the large white space would make me antsy. I was going to cut out a red flower and use a foam square to put it on top of the brown leaves, but I thought there would be too much white in that area so I used a Prima flower instead.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Red, Chestnut Roan
Stamps: SEI- Moravia (flower, leaves), Fiskars- Sentiments (sentiment)
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Bloom & Grow
Foam Adhesive: EK Success
Punches: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Apron Lace border punch
Brad: Making Memories Brad Value Pack- Chelsea's Place collection
Flower: Prima
Other: Brown Ultra Fine Point Sharpie

I'll work on clean&simple stamping's challenge on Sunday...

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Kettlebell Class

So, I went to my first kettlebell class tonight. It was a demo class (aka free), so I think the gym is trying to see how much interest there is before they formally announce the class. The workout was tough (but good)! I can definitely feel it in my core and thighs. I enjoyed the class, and I think it'd be a great compliment to the spinning that I do. The only deterrent for me is that the class has a fee: $189 for 8 classes. Definitely "WOMP" (Jenny, are you reading this?) Sigh, I dunno. I'll have to think about it.

I caught up with this girl that hadn't been to spin class in a while. I have seen her at the gym, but I hadn't had a chance to chat because of spin class. I found out that the reason why she's been laying off the spin classes is because she's pregnant! How exciting for her! :)

I had another sister challenge today. She picked out the stamps and floral paper. Since my sister's been home, she's picked out many stamps that I hadn't used before because I had no idea what to do with them. However, since she's challenging my creativity this week, it actually hasn't been too difficult to use them in my recent cards.

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in clear
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Rouge, Prussian Blue, Chestnut Roan
Stamps: The Paper Company Studio- Jungle (toucan), K.I. Memories- Patterns (squares), Fiskars- Just Between Friends (sentiment), Martha Stewart- Patterns (dots)
Paper: K&Company Citronella Scribble Flowers
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories
Punches: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, EK Success Scalloped Circle punch (2 inch)

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Blasted Copier Gods!

The copier gods were not on my side today. ::shakes fist at sky:: I had good intentions of getting ahead with putting some materials for our Annual Meeting together today, but both color and b/w copiers at the office were giving me less than stellar results. Fortunately, the copier fix-it lady came this afternoon and worked her magic. Binder assembly resumes tomorrow!

No spin class tonight, but I did do some cardio and strength training with my Biggest Loser workout DVD. Hooray for endorphins...

Which put me in a happy mood for today's cardmaking session. My sister was watching Man Vs. Food when I got started, so I picked out my own stamps for the first card (a mushy gushy "I love you" one). I accidentally got red ink on the side. Solution: cover it up! I was too far along with the card to just recycle and throw it away. The little heart saved me! And hello? Check out those knot tying skills! I think the card turned out better than I thought I thought it would. The card on the right is when the TV downstairs was no longer entertaining, and my sister came upstairs to partake in the crafty session. She picked out not one, but several words to use as well as the border stamp and paper. Oook. Not really a traditional sentiment, but it could be given to a friend as a "just because" card. I like how the pink flower breaks up all the green that I used.

Card Specs (i love you):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Red, Charcoal
Stamps: Fiskars- Romance (sentiment, flourish, and frame), Fiskars- Thank You (heart)
Punches: Fiskars scalloped sentiment border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Bloom & Grow

Card Specs (happiness joy friendship):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Green, Prussian Blue, Blue Iris
Stamps: Fiskars- Just Between Friends (sentiments, flower, and paisley)
Punches: Fiskars threading waters border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Paper: Me & My Big Ideas- Sugarplum
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories
Brad: Making Memories Brad Value Pack- Chelsea's Place collection
Flower: Prima

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Funky Clocks

Do you ever have one of those days when you think that the day is crawling by, the clock might as well be running backward? Yeah, today was one of those days, even though I had stuff to do. We've been prepping for a big meeting the last few weeks, but it doesn't happen until June. Oh, the anticipation!

I made it to spin class tonight, even though I wasn't really feeling too enthusiastic about it. I just didn't want to miss another Janice class, since I wasn't able to go last week because of Atlanta. I signed up to do a kettleball class on TH night. I think it'll be nice to try something new. :)

Did anyone watch Monday night's 24? OMG. Talk about some gruesome scenes. I'm surprised they allowed those parts to be shown on TV. I can't believe the series finale of 24 is next week, last episode of 24 ever. So sad! Anyway, my butt was glued to the couch in front of the TV after 24 because I caught up on some Real Housewives of NJ. Heh.

Back to our regularly scheduled program today. Here's the card for today and then I'm going to reglue my butt to the couch downstairs to watch the trainwreck that is Speidi. I gotta have me some trashy TV.

The owl card from Sunday was a big hit. I don't know if it was the combination of items picked out by my sister or my super awesome crafty skills or a combination of both, but I decided to have her pick out stamps and paper again. This is the card that I came up with. Did you notice that I flipped the image on the left upside down? Yes, it was on purpose. That way, the images would look more dynamic. I like how the scalloped cardstock matches the rose coral ink, score!

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan, Yellow Ochre, Rose Coral
Stamps: Inkadinkado (flowers), Fiskars- Thank You (sentiment)
Punches: Fiskars scalloped sentiment border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Bloom & Grow
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Iron Man 2

I went to see Iron Man 2 today with my sister ($6 per ticket, score!), a movie that I've been looking forward to for a while because I am a fan of the first one. The sequel was good, but I thought the first one was better. Good: The special effects were pretty spiffy. There were a few pretty good one-liners. Scarlett Johansson kicked some serious butt as Natasha Romanoff/the Black Widow. I liked Samuel Jackson's Nick Fury. Meh: I liked Terrance Howard as Rhodey. Some of the action scenes went on a tad longer than I thought was necessary. With all that said, I'll probably buy it on DVD anyway.

Even though the alarm went off on time this morning, I just couldn't muster the energy to get out of bed this morning for spin class. I thought I would go for a run later this afternoon, but that didn't happen either. In an effort to get some sort of exercise in today, I broke out a Biggest Loser exercise DVD that I haven't used in a LONG time. No eye rolling, okay?! It was quite a workout! I was sweating at the end of the 30 minutes, and the backs of my legs are sore with all the lunges and squats I did.

I wasn't sure what kind of card I wanted to make today, so I had my sister pick out some stamps to make a card with. She picked out the owl and "coffee break?" and some paper from My Mind's Eye. I didn't see the connection between the owl and the sentiment, but then she informed me that a "night owl" might need a coffee break. Ah, ok. Got it.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan and Warm Red
Stamps: The Paper Company Studio- Whimsical Birds (owl), Fiskars- Girlfriend (sentiment)
Punches: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars scalloped sentiment border punch
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Bloom & Grow (brown and orange paper)
Button: Favorite Findings in Ocean
Thread: DMC- ecru
Other: Sharpie Fine Point marker

Saturday, May 15, 2010

BBQ #1

Spin class was completely packed this morning! I was worried that I wouldn't get a spot because I forgot to call in the day before to make a reservation. Fortunately, I was able to snag a bike near a fan. I definitely needed it. With all the warm bodies, I think it makes the room really humid. I thought I saw the mirrors fog up at one point!

My mom's garden has really been blooming recently. I included a few pictures that I took this afternoon of some of her pretty flowers (see below).

The grill got its first workout for this BBQ season. We enjoyed some steaks, chicken, salad, pasta salad (that I contributed), and some red velvet cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory at the last minute. Yummm!

For today's card, I wanted to use some cardstock that I messed up on another card I was working on this afternoon. I printed a sentiment using my printer, but then the resulting words were lower than I wanted them to be, so I cut that portion off with my paper trimmer and came up with a smaller sized card. No need to waste! I also wanted to use a non-traditional color for the floral image. Usually, I'd reach for a bright red (as I did in this card) or a vibrant blue, but I chose the coffee color (an ink I hadn't used before) and had the flower embellishments be the colorful element of the card instead. There's not a lot going in the card, but I like its simplicity.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Creamy Brown and Warm Red
Stamps: Inkadinkado (sentiment and flowers)
Punches: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Friday, May 14, 2010

Fall-To Layout 90

I was lucky today! The card that I made tonight worked for 2 card challenges on 2 separate blogs: clean&simple's Fall-To Layout #90 and Simplicity by Lateblossom's One-Layer Wednesday challenge (add a ribbon).

I normally don't use StazOn ink for clear stamps because the ink kinda pools, but I was looking for a teal color and I don't have one in chalk ink. I was, however, pleasantly surprised that the pooling ink on the stamp left a slightly textured effect on the resulting image. I've been looking for an excuse to use that bird stamp too! :) I wasn't expecting to make the Smile card on the right, but because I stamped the sentiment crooked on my first try of the bird card, I was determined to figure out a way to use the white cardstock base anyway.
Card Specs (hugs and kisses):
Ink: StazOn in Teal Blue, Colorbox chalk ink in Dark Peony
Stamps: The Paper Company Studio- Whimsical Birds (bird), K.I. Memories- Crazy Love (heart), Hero Arts- Thinking of You Messages (sentiment)
Punches: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Card Specs (smile):
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackberry
Stamps: Fiskars- Oodles of Doodles (flower), Fiskars- Sentiments (sentiment)
Punches: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars scalloped sentiment border punch

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Back from ATL

Hey folks! Don't worry. I didn't evaporate into the blogosphere. I was in Atlanta for work this week and was away from my craft space. But I'm back now. Hope you didn't miss me too much!

Random "some people can be really dumb" story: I was waiting for the subway on Tuesday to get to the airport, and I saw someone jump onto the tracks! Are you freakin' NUTS?! Then I saw him jump back out. The loony toon walked by me and I notice that he was holding his phone and wiping it off. I am assuming that he accidentally dropped his phone onto the subway tracks and jumped to retrieve his phone. #1- um, ew, gross. The phone's probably all gummy and slimy from being down there. #2- the phone's probably not running 100%, if at all because of the impact. Thankfully a train wasn't due for another 2 minutes! The Metro security came down to make sure that everyone was okay, but by the time they got there, the guy was already walking away.

Anyhoo.

It felt really good to get back into the creativity groove and make a card tonight. I wanted to use some more of the chipboard embellishments to make a gender neutral card tonight. The card was originally the embossed blue cardstock piece and the chipboard plant, but I didn't think that was enough so I tacked on the brown scalloped border piece and the ribbon. I guess giving guys cards with ribbon is debatable, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in clear
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Stamps: Inkadinkado (leaves), The Paper Company Studio- Whimsy Greetings (sentiment)
Punches: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars scalloped sentiment border punch
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories
Ribbon: American Crafts
Other: Me & My Big Ideas- Chipboard Elements, Ellen Starfish Icons (plant)

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day

Hope all you mommies out there had good Mother's days! I was out and about a lot yesterday and today, so here's a recap.

At Michaels yesterday:
I printed out a coupon for ACMoore yesterday, but then I forgot to bring it with me when I was running errands. Ugh. I told myself that I wouldn't go to ACMoore, but then I ended up at Michaels instead. Gah! My car must have driven there by itself! Anyway, I found a cute teacup stamp for $1 and K&Company brads on clearance. I was determined to use both items in today's cards (see cards below).

On the Metro last night:
I took Harry Potter 7 with me to read on the Metro last night. 2 people on separate occasions randomly struck up a conversation with me. One was a woman who asked me if this was my first time reading the book and I told her no, but it might as well be my first time since the last time I read it was when the book came out in 2007. The other person was a mommy who told her son, "Look at what book she has." He looked about 7 years old or something. He face broke out in a big smile. "I'm reading the first one." :) I finished the book last night and felt just as sad that the series was over as I was the first time I read it. Well, I guess there are the movies to look forward to.

Overheard at CVS today:

Female CVS clerk to scruffy looking young guy- "Can I help you with something?"
Scruffy looking young guy- (pause) "Yeah, actually. I need to find something to cover this up."
I saw them over by the makeup section. The guy was pointing to a bruise on his neck. It looked like a hickey. The woman hands him some stick concealer. Lovely.

Spin class:
I made it to spin both days this weekend, yay! The lady that taught the class yesterday wasn't the same one that normally teaches on Saturday mornings. Normally, I don't like this particular sub, but I figured since I was already at the gym, I might as well go to spin. Her class was pretty good, so perhaps I judged too soon.

Cards:
Hmmm...well, I guess the theme today is traffic light since I used a lot of green, red, and yellow. I don't think that was intentional but I think it's a good go-to color combo. It always makes for some cheery cards! :)
Card Specs (coffee break):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Stamps: Fiskars- Girlfriend (sentiment), Studio G (coffee cup)
Punches: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Marvy Uchida (scalloped circle)
Paper: Die Cuts With A View- Citrus (red)
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories

Card Specs (get well soon):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan, Yellow Citrus, Warm Red, Warm Green
Stamps: Autumn Leaves- Build-a-Flower (flower, stem, leaves), The Paper Company Studio- Whimsy Greetings (sentiment)
Punches: Fiskars apron lace border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Card Specs (with love):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan, Warm Green
Stamps: Fiskars- Just Between Friends (sentiment), Autumn Leaves- Build-a-Flower (stem, leaves)
Punches: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, EK Success Circle punch (1 3/8 inch), EK Success Scalloped Circle punch (2 inch)
Paper: Die Cuts With A View (yellow), Die Cuts With A View- Citrus (floral)
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories
Brads: K&Company- Wild Saffron

Card Specs (congratulations):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Stamps: Studio G (sentiment)
Punches: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars scalloped sentiment border punch
Paper: Die Cuts With A View (yellow), Die Cuts With A View- Citrus (red, floral), My Mind's Eye- Bloom & Grow (teal floral)
Other: Me & My Big Ideas- Chipboard Elements, Ellen Starfish Icons (watermelon)
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories

Friday, May 7, 2010

Crying at the Office

I cried at the office today.

Don't worry. It wasn't in front of my boss or about anything bad.

It was when I watched the clip that's related to this Good Morning America story about a single mother who worked 3 jobs to support her 5 children and a nephew. It seems like she is a person with a big heart and put everyone before herself. It was really heartwarming to see that she was recognized by her efforts, not only by her children, but also by the people she works with. What a great way to kickoff Mother's Day weekend! :)

::tear::

Anyhoo. For tonight's card, I wandered over to clean&simple (it's becoming a Friday night tradition) and really liked the sketch (Fall-To Layout #89) and the example card they did. The button flowers are super cute. I had been wanting to incorporate a big flower stamp in my cards for a while now, one I hadn't used before from my Ebay auction win a few months back, and thought this'd be the perfect opportunity. I thought the yellow was light enough that I could stamp the sentiment without having it fade in the background.

Card Specs:

Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Yellow Citrus, Charcoal, Rouge
Stamp: Fiskars- Put on Your Party Hat (sentiment) , Fiskars- Just Between Friends (pink flowers), K.I. Memories- Logo Sushi (yellow flowers)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories

Thursday, May 6, 2010

One-Layer Card, Continued

For today's card, I wanted to continue the one-layer theme from yesterday. I reached for my stash of Inkadinkado stamps and picked out 3 that I could stamp repeatedly in a row. I had to make sure that the sentiment was small enough to fit in the space that would originally be for a dot image, and fortunately, there were a few to choose from in the set.

Card Specs:

Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Green, Prussian Blue, Rouge, Charcoal
Stamp: Inkadinkado- all
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Who else is excited that tomorrow's Friday? :D

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

One-Layer Wednesday #3

No spin class tonight, but since it was nice outside, I went for a run...after a quick nap, heh. Running must work different muscles than spinning because my abs and inner thighs were burning tonight. This is in contrast to when I spin and my thighs scream. Hmm. Ok, that's enough about anatomy for tonight.

Since graduation season is quickly approaching, I decided to start making origami dress cards congratulating graduates. We'll see how they do in the shop. For tonight's card, I went to Simplicity by Lateblossom for her One-Layer Wednesday card challenge focusing on punctuation. The one-layer part is already a challenge for me, and then I had to dig around in my stamp stash for something punctuation related. I ended up picking out some brackets. I took some scrap paper and created a mask with rounded corners. I stamped the floral border stamp, added the faux stitching, and then stamped the elements within the white space. I finished off the card by rounding the corners. I'm so glad that I bought that Corner Chomper!


Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Prussian Blue, Blackberry, Rouge
Stamp: Fiskars- Thank You (brackets), Fiskars- Just Between Friends (flowers), K.I. Memories- Crazy Love (heart), K.I. Memories- Modern Alpha (U)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Other: Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Holy cow. Tomorrow's Thursday! Anyone else's week going by quickly?

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Surprise in the Garden

I wanted to make a quick and easy card before dinner tonight because I knew that I had stuff to do after spin class (phone call with a friend and The Hills/The City on TV) and I didn't want to be up later than I had to to make a card. I challenged myself to make a one-layer card. I wanted to make sure to make the card really colorful since I wasn't planning to use any sort of embellishments. What? No rhinestones? Yes, shocking. I also did something that might make some people cringe: I cut the sentiment stamp so that it'd be on two lines instead of one. Meh, I guess I could always line the sentiment back up for another card. No biggie. Cutting the stamps allows for more flexibility in how you want images to look. When the card was done, I was pleased that it was rather gender neutral.

Card Specs:

Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Tangerine, Prussian Blue, Warm Green, Yellow Cadmium, Chestnut Roan
Stamp: Fiskars- Birthday (dots, sentiment)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Ginger was taking a nap on the dining room table, so I moved her to the sun room because Mom was setting the table for dinner. She looked so fluffy, warm, and cute as she basked in the sunshine. Also, Mom randomly found a robin's egg in the garden today. Do you think it'll hatch? What would we even do with a baby robin?!
I found out at spin class that Jeff is not teaching TH night spin class anymore. :( Not sure what's up with that. I haven't been to a TH class in a while, so I'm curious to see who's teaching now. Janice (the Tuesday class instructor) complimented on the new pink top that I bought over the weekend. Having new cute workout clothes IS motivation to go to the gym. :)

I wanted to follow up on the health tidbit I mentioned a few days ago about throwing away makeup that I hadn't used in a while. I came across this nifty cheat sheet on BellaSugar. I guess if you throw some stuff away, it'll give you an excuse to buy new stuff, right? :D

Monday, May 3, 2010

Scrappy Monday

Yeah, so the non-soreness from yesterday's run was definitely short lived as I found out this morning when I woke up. The stiffness made tonight's 1-hour spin class more difficult than usual, but I managed. Yay. I was amused that this other girl and I bonded over not getting "our" bikes tonight. She asked me what my name was as we were leaving and said that she'd save me my bike if she got there before me next week. Oh, cool. That was a nice unexpected offer. I shall do the same.

CGFDG was working tonight. I walked gingerly down the stairs after class to walk on the treadmill for a little bit before going home. We made eye contact, and I felt like I should say something. "Man, my legs are so sore," I blurted out. And then I immediately thought "Ok, doofus. Who cares? Can you please not say the first thing that comes to mind?" and mentally rolled my eyes at myself. He looked sympathetic and told me to feel better when I was leaving the gym. :P

For my random act of kindness in a while, I brought some cards to the office that I wasn't planning to use and came home with an empty box. :)

I wanted to use some scraps for my card tonight, specifically ribbon and white card stock scraps, as well as a cupcake stamp I hadn't used yet. I cut a little bit off the bottom portion of the front of the card and replaced it with some purple cardstock I used a border punch on. This added some interest to the bottom of the card because it wasn't the usual straight white edge. The card originally had black satin ribbon tied in a knot, but then I couldn't cut it right and it was too dark against the purple. Luckily, I had some scrap purple ribbon to replace it. There wasn't enough to tie it in a knot so I wrapped it around and adhered a button. I resisted the urge to fill the white space on the top, and this was the finished product.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackberry
Punches: Fiskars apron lace border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Stamps: Fiskars- Thank You (sentiment), Studio G (cupcake)
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Bloom & Grow
Buttons: Favorite Findings in Pink

Song of the day: "Not Myself Tonight"- Christina Aguilera. Well, the music video is rather racy, but I think the song's catchy.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Lazy Sunday

This morning started off on a productive note, but then after noon, it took a sharp nose dive. I ended up going to the gym to workout, but on the ArcTrainer instead of going spin class. Cute front desk guy was working today (yay). After I came home, I ate some breakfast and did some laundry (clean clothes, yay).

This afternoon's potluck needed to be rescheduled because one of the girls wasn't feeling 100% (Jenny, hope you are feeling better!). I guess it's pasta salad for lunch/dinner for a few days, and I'm totally okay with that. I had no idea what to do for the rest of the afternoon, so I took a really long nap. I hadn't intended on sleeping that long, but since I didn't have any other responsibilities to take care of, meh, no big deal.

In the spirit of getting my ba-dunk-a-dunk away from the computer, I told myself that I couldn't watch kwerner's new crafty giveaway video until I went for a run. It might not be the biggest motivator for most people, but it was for me. So I went for a 2-mile lap around the neighborhood. Mind you, I haven't been running since last summer (but only because I've replaced running with spin class). No joke. I thought it'd be tougher to finish without walking and I was nervous that my knees would start hurting, which was the reason for not running since last summer. I think the workouts in spin class have made my legs stronger, so I wasn't struggling too much at the end. The run was also an excuse to wear one of the cute workout tops I bought yesterday. I bought them for a reason, right?

For today's card, I was going to follow a sketch over at 365 cards, but decided to do my own thing. I really wanted to use some more of my Prima flowers, so I came up with the card on the left. For the card on the right, I wanted to use some rub-ons, something that I don't use on a regular basis. Check out those awesome knot tying skills. It only took me like 10 times to get it just right, ha ha. I wanted to put something in that green space, but decided against it because I think it'd be forcing it...resulting in possible clutter.

Card Specs (Hug):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackberry
Punches: Fiskars scalloped sentiment border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Flowers: Prima
Stamps: Heidi Grace- Alphas, Reagan's Closet (letters, heart)
Button: Favorite Findings in Ocean
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Bloom & Grow (teal), Die Cuts With a View (yellow)
Thread: DMC- ecru

Card Specs (Make Me Smile):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Punches: Fiskars scalloped sentiment border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Stamps: Clear Art Stamps, Clearly Defined- Happy Spring (sentiment)
Rub-on: American Crafts, Mini Marks, Accents, Book Three (large flower), Book Two (small flowers)
Foam Adhesive: Making Memories

Health tidbit: one thing that I forgot to mention in yesterday's post was that I spent some time cleaning out my makeup cubby and threw away items that I hadn't used in a while. I was inspired by a clip that I saw on The Today Show about old makeup. Gah! Gross.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Stimulating the Economy

This morning started with going to spin class (yay). I dunno if I'll go to spin class tomorrow morning because I noticed that the instructor that's teaching tomorrow isn't someone that I'm a huge fan of. However, I'd like to get a workout in because of a MPH girls potluck tomorrow afternoon. I foresee lots of eating and chatting. My contribution is some pasta salad (see photo). I was going to make a casserole, but couldn't think of anything that would be a good compliment to the pizza that's going to be served.

After spin class, I spent most of the afternoon stimulating the economy aka shopping, but nothing that involved going to a craft store (shocking, I know). I got new shoes for work (to replace the ones where the heel is complete worn down to the nail), new hoop earrings (to replace ones that I broke a while ago) and moisture-wicking workout clothes (because working out with cotton t-shirts is uncomfortable). I resisted the urge to buy a discounted scrapbook paper pack and bubble tea. ::pats self on the back::

Observations during my afternoon:
  • Little girl at DSW- "Ooo, Mommy. I LOOVE these sandals." Ah, I see a future shoe addict. Welcome to the dark side.
  • A woman at Macy's was trying on pierced ear earrings. I thought it was unsanitary and very briefly thought of saying something to her, but I thought that it was possible that she bought those earrings and if she didn't, if someone bought the earrings, she should clean those earrings before wearing anyway, right?
Not feeling particularly crafty tonight...maybe I'll put a movie on or read Harry Potter 7.