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Friday, December 31, 2010

Goodbye, 2010

I'm ending 2010 on a good note, and I hope that you all are too.

a. I spent most of the day making fabric flowers, paper crafting, and watching reruns of NCIS. Some of my favorite activities. I love how that black and white fabric has the illusion that it's made out of lace because of the pattern. I also tried making a pointed tip flower (vs. a rounded tip flower) and also a flower that has 6 petals instead of 5. I am becoming better friends with my new glue gun today.

b. I sold two cards from my Etsy shop today, after a 2 week drought. I was able to test out the scale that my sister gave me for Christmas. Yay, it DOES work!

c. We're having a family dinner tonight. Robyn, a friend from college, will be coming along too. I'm glad that the thought of spending NYE with my large family didn't scare her off.

d. I signed up for an 8K that's taking place in DC in March 2011. There's no turning back now! I'd better get my running in gear in the next few months!

Here's my card for today. I found a tutorial on how to make origami wreaths, and I happen to have some American Crafts scraps laying around so I decided to give this a try. I love this stamp because it covers, well, everything. I can't decide if this card is masculine or gender neutral. I suppose it could go either way. I'll have to find some Valentine's Day paper to make similar cards for Valentine's Day.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal
Stamp: Studio G
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Paper: American Crafts- Metropolitan
Ribbon: Spool O' Ribbon
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Lunch with Jessie

I was SO happy to be able to catch up with my friend from graduate school, Jessie, over lunch today. The last time I had seen her was over the summer, so we were able to update each other on travels, house hunting/buying, and other fun adventures since the last time we talked. Then I got to go home early because the Big Boss dismissed us at 1 PM. This allowed for a nice long nap when I got home.

I was working on my kanzashi flowers, but I did take a break to fold a new origami model (a lotus) using a YouTube tutorial. The guy speaks Portuguese, so I had no idea what he was saying. Fortunately, I could tell what he was doing just by watching his hands and occasional subtitle. Yeah, so the lotus has purple leaves. That's the scrap paper that I had on hand for practice.

Tonight, I went to A.C. Moore to get a glue gun with my 50% off coupon. I also ventured to the local fabric store to see if they had any cute fabric and yep, they did! On sale too! And the few buttons that I got were on sale too. Scoooore! My favorite flower is the blue one. Third time's the charm tonight. I finally figured out about how much to cut the petals once they are on the needle.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Movies at the Office, Day #3

Today's feature presentation at the office was Sling Blade. Like yesterday, I was in the middle of a conference call so I had to pass on the movie. I found it ironic that even though I was the one that organized the movie marathon this year, we didn't watch any of the movies that I brought in. But that's okay. As they are MY movies, I can watch them whenever I want. :)

I didn't find a new origami model to fold, but I did find a video tutorial on how to make fabric Kanzashi flowers by folding fabric and sewing the petals together. Fortunately, Mom had some leftover fall-y fabric, so I used it as a test until I can get to the fabric store and get fabric of my own. I have to get me a hot glue gun so that I can attach buttons and embellishments to the center of the flowers without worrying that they'd fall off. This regular glue is not going to work for fabric projects. I guess we all gotta start somewhere. On another note, I found it funny that the name of the person that made the video tutorial is Tina, too.

Here was this week's One-Layer Wednesday challenge (#34): Make a one-layer card using only one image stamp and no more than two ink colors. You may also use a sentiment stamp. Hmmm, this is kinda limiting, right? I guess that's why they call it a challenge. Duh. Here's what I came up with. I went with a mini card (2.5 inch square) because the regular A2 size was kinda big and intimidating to me for this challenge. Besides, I don't do mini cards very frequently so it was nice to step outside my comfort zone. I wanted to use my new Dear Lizzy stamps somehow, so I chose a bee and a sentiment stamp from a set that Meg gave me for my birthday last year.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal, Yellow Cadmium
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Stamp: American Crafts- Dear Lizzy- Warbler (bee), I can't find the brand of the stamps that the sentiment comes from.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Movies at the Office, Day #2

The feature presentation at the office today was the movie 21. I was in the middle of a conference call so I wasn't there when the movie started and by the time the call was finished, the movie was well underway. And since it's kinda tough to see a movie from the middle, I decided to go outside and get some lunch. I ended up getting a little more than lunch. In a good way of course.

I started out at Panera. The line was too long, so I left. I went to Potbelly. Same problem. Fine, I'll go do some shopping. I saw clearance signs everywhere. I started out with Ulta, where I found a clearance section of nail polish. I found two that I liked from China Glaze: a bright green and a very deep navy blue. Check out the regular price- $6.50 each! And then the sale price. Mwah ha ha ha. I love a good deal! Then I went to Borders. No no no. I wasn't looking for books! That'd make too much sense. I was looking for chocolate. I found some peppermint bark from Ghirardelli that was 50% off. Score. Yummm. As if I didn't have enough chocolate running through my bloodstream already. And then finally, I went back to Potbelly and got my roast beef sandwich. :D

I'm still on a find-new-origami-models-to-fold kick. I saw this video on how to fold an origami elephant last night. I practiced with some regular ol' copy paper earlier tonight and then when I found that it wasn't that difficult, I used some grey origami paper. Woot.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Movies at the Office, Day #1

I really thought we were going to watch The Blind Side at the office today. It was pretty set in my head. However, due to democratic vote (not dictator Tina vote), we watched Inception instead. I thought it was as confusing as the first time I saw it. It might be my imagination that the conference room was shaking a little bit due to the sound effects of the movie. Great flick though!

Today, I wanted to tackle another origami model. There was some discussion earlier this evening about the upcoming lunar new year and how 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit. So, tonight, I decided to do an origami rabbit model based on this video. I like this model more than the ones I had done before. I think it looks more realistic.

Song of the day- "The Way I Are" (Nephew Remix)- Timbaland.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Lunch With Steph

I was able to catch up with one of my bestest friends, someone that I've know since I was in grade school, Steph. She moved out west a few years ago, and we keep in touch pretty frequently via phone calls. She was in town for the holidays, and I was happy to be able to meet with her over lunch at TGIFriday's and catch up in person!

Besides lunch with Steph, because the restaurant was inside a mall, I was able to exchange my new running vest for a larger size and benefit on some of the end-of-the-year sales that the stores were having. The mall was packed! Perhaps this is a positive sign that the economy is doing better and people have money to spend?

Before heading out to lunch today, I made this valentine to post in my Etsy shop. Can you tell what it is? It's supposed to be a Scottish Terrier. I love how the jiggly eye adds a whimsical touch to the card.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas!

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, and for those of you that don't celebrate it, hope you had a fabulous day. :)

Today marks the first year anniversary of my blog. Holy. COW. I've had a really fun time maintaining this blog, whether it's sharing my crafty adventures, food, travels, or just random silliness. I am so appreciative of the comments and feedback I have received on the blog as well. I'm hoping that the new year will bring some new and exciting news worth sharing. Thank you, blogosphere!

Because the family celebration took place last night, today was very chill. Major activities including listening to the Paperclipping Roundtable (episode #50), eating, napping, and crafting. Through TPR, I was introduced to another crafty blog called Scrap Time. The blogger Christine has pages and pages of information on techniques, tools, and products. I came across her post on Pop-Up cards and was inspired to do one today. This is totally unlike me because I very rarely do anything to the inside of my cards. My other goal for today's card was to use some of the American Crafts goodies that I got yesterday.
Card Specs:
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Citrus (butterflies), Recollections (red stripes), American Crafts- Letterbox (everything else)
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan, Rose Coral, Warm Red, Maroon, Prussian Blue. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Chipped Sapphire.
Stamp: Studio G (sentiment), American Crafts- Dear Lizzy- Warbler (clouds, flowers)
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb
Punch: Martha Stewart- Classic Butterfly, Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug- Victoria

By the way, I got the American Crafts goodies from AllScrapbookSteals. This was my first time purchasing from them, and I was pleased with my shopping experience. I ordered on December 17 and my items were shipped on the same day. A week later, my complete order was at my doorstep. Woot. :)

Wrapping it up for today, I really liked this reflective post from BenDoesLife.

See y'all tomorrow!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas Eve

Hi all! Hope you are enjoying your Christmas Eve, for those of you that celebrate Christmas, of course!

The UPS man finally delivered the American Crafts goodies I've been waiting a week for. The wait was totally worth it. New chipboard letter stickers (they aren't something that I incorporate in my cards, but I'm up for something new), new stamps, and woot, new paper! I incorporated the new chipboard letter stickers in today's card. The flags are made from Basic Grey paper I had laying around from a previous card. Ta da, a card with no ink or stamps!
Card Specs:
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Paper: Basic Grey- Urban Prairie, Bittersweet, Porcelain
Stickers: American Crafts Chipboard Thickers in Typo
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb
Thread: DMC- Ecru
Ribbon: Sweet Petites from A.C. Moore

Here are some pictures from tonight's Christmas Eve family celebration. My family and I ate a very filling Chinese food dinner with dinosaur cookies and cake for dessert. It was really fun watching everyone's reactions when opening gifts. Fun times, fun times!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Guests in Town

It's really starting to look a lot like Christmas now. I mean, it has been for the past few weeks, but since my aunt and cousin from Taiwan and sister got in yesterday and today, I feel like it's Christmas...for reals. And that makes me happy.

Julie (my sister) and I were watching NCIS reruns, and we heard sirens outside. I think I briefly mentioned something about "When is Santa Claus gonna come around the neighborhood with the fire trucks?" To give y'all a little background, for as long as I can remember, Santa will take one ride around the neighborhood on the back of a fire truck with the local fire department and other EMS personnel around Christmas time. Not too long after we heard the sirens the first time, I heard my mom upstairs and more sirens. OMG, it's SANTA and the firemen!

I'm 27 years old. And I still ran outside and waved at him.

Did I look ridiculous? Probably.

Do I know that Santa is just some random dude in a costume? Sure. Duh.

Did I feel awesome waving at him? ABSOLUTELY! :D

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Tuesday Trigger: Strictly Stripes

June K.- Are you reading this? Thank you for your comment on yesterday's blog post. That totally made my day! I hope you liked the origami dresses that you purchased from my shop.

I decided to take the day off from work today. No real special reason. I made cookies again, but this time, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and gave some of them to the neighbors. The husband of the couple up the street was like "Oh, I really like the peanut butter and chocolate combo." Great! Enjoy. That way, I don't have to enjoy them by myself (even though the office is really happy about recent leftover cookies). For Christmas, I'm "giving them the gift of calories, innocently put into cookie form," as my sister puts it.

This comic describes how I'm feeling about the UPS package tracking system. I'm waiting for my box of new crafty things. The last entry was from 12/18. GAH!

I went to spin class and Janice remember my request from last week and played "I Gotta Feelin'"- Black Eyed Peas. That's 4 spin classes in 4 days. Woot, go me. But do not be fooled. This increase in exercise is directly proportional to the my recent increased consumption of jelly beans, chocolate, and cookies.

Here's my take on Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger. They are mittens. How weather appropriate! My goal was to focus on the stripes and the colors, since I didn't have a mitten die. I created my own background by first heat embossing white lines, and then taking Post-It notes (yes, very high tech) and masking off strips and inking them with different Distress Inks to create the stripes in the mittens.
Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Barn Door, Broken China, Chipped Sapphire, Wild Honey, Vintage Photo
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Stamps: Friendly Flowers (sentiment), Autumn Leaves- Build-a-Flower (line)
Die: Cuttlebug- Flowers (tag)
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials

Song of the day- "King Of Anything"- Sara Bareilles

Monday, December 20, 2010

CPS #198

My officemate and I started this morning off with sharing recent pet barfing stories (she with Belle the dog and me with Ginger the cat). I dunno, do other people talk about that kind of stuff? Also, I baked cookies for the neighbors this past weekend, but then they were not home, so I brought them to the office instead. I'm glad that someone was able to enjoy them. Myself included. :D

I was feeling really sluggish going to spin class this evening. I almost stayed in my comfy bed, BUT I'm glad that I went because I got a good workout in- the wring-your-shirt kind. Gross, I know. Anna the instructor gave me a new CD of music to listen to as a thank you for the gift + thank you card I gave her last week (awww, that was super nice of her). She's off to the Caribbean for next week. Bye, Anna! Don't forget to come back, mkay?

My Starbucks mugs were not in the cupboards earlier. "Mom, how am I going to drink my coffee?" She just looked at me. Ok ok. Sheesh. I'll pick out another mug to use.

Here's my take on CPS #198. All of the materials used for this card were scraps, with the exception of the black ribbon. I love how romantic the pink American Crafts paper is. It definitely goes well with the sentiment. I added the Apron Lace border on the right because I cut the pink paper too short, but I think it works since it matches the black ribbon.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird
Punch: Fiskars Apron Lace border punch
Paper: American Crafts- A La Carte
Stamps: Fiskars- Romance (sentiment)
Button: Favorite Findings in Pink
Ribbon: Sweet Petites from A.C. Moore

Songs of the day: tied between "Felt Good on My Lips" - Tim McGraw and "Push Push"- Kat Deluna

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Fall-To Layout #121

Well, I don't have a list of all the things that I did today.

Mainly because that list would be embarrassingly short. There would be a big block in the middle that said VERY LONG NAP.

However, I did make it to 8:15 AM spin class. That was my big accomplishment for the day. This was my first time that I had this particular instructor. She encouraged us to do some arm exercises in the routine today. Ummm, ok. But this spin class. Aren't we supposed to focus on our LEGS? I dunno. I tried it, but then decided to just focus on my legs and the bike resistance. Also, the lady kept the door to the spin room closed. Not smart. If I was a chicken egg, I would have hatched. It was THAT hot. At least I got my workout in for the day. The gym was giving away trial sizes of Burt's Bees lotion...how cute is the packaging (see picture below)!

The Digital Story of the Nativity...have you seen this? It made me smile.
This coin stop-motion video was cool too.

What a difference a day makes! Someone really wanted the pumpkin seeds in the pumpkin that we left outside. There's like nothing left but shells. See picture below.

My goal today was to figure out this origami crane/heart model. I had tried it a few months ago and it just wasn't working out. But I tried it again today in the spirit of trying out some new card ideas for Valentine's Day and I was able to do it after a few tries. Yay! I incorporated it into my card for Fall-To Layout #121, since I fell asleep early on Friday night without doing it. I wanted the colors of the other elements of the card to be a little muted so that the origami crane/heart would stand out more...like BAM!

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Red. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Vintage Photo
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Martha Stewart- Doily Lace
Stamps: Fiskars- Romance (sentiment)
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials

One last thing. Ben from BenDoesLife will be on the cover of Runner's World in April 2011. SO. COOL.

Casual Friday wear at the office tomorrow, through the rest of the year. Woot!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Whew, Busy Day!

I was quite the busy bee today!
1. Spin class
2. Shower
3. Grocery shopping
4. Bank
5. CVS to find Rolos
6. Made pizza casserole
7. Worked on Etsy shop
8. A.C. Moore
9. Blockbuster
10. Made Rolo cookies to give to neighbors tomorrow
11. Wrapped some Christmas presents
12. Worked on Etsy shop, prepping for Valentine's Day
13. Worked on today's card

I hope tomorrow will be just as productive as today!

I also snapped some pictures while I was waiting for stuff to cook this afternoon. The squirrels have been having a party on the deck. It could possibly be just one squirrel having dance party by himself. The squirrels been munching on the icy pumpkin leftover from Halloween.

Here's today's card. I used strips of paper that I had leftover from when I was working on origami boxes earlier. I heat embossed a rose on top of it and added some rhinestones. The background used to be white cardstock, but I thought it was too white compared to the kraft cardstock, so I added some Antique Linen Distress Ink to tone it down.
Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen.
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Stamps: Inkadinkado- all
Paper: Basic Grey- Urban Prairie, Bittersweet, Porcelain
Flowers: Prima
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials

Thursday, December 16, 2010

CPS #197

It's time for another office used computer raffle. Did I win, you ask? No. (Wah.) BUT just like this past summer, someone won on their first day! What is UP with that? I really think they need to change the rules on that. You should have to get through your probationary period of 3 months before becoming eligible to enter. BAH! A good thing that happened was that my boss won a computer. And since she's based in another state, I put her business card into the box for the drawing. Maybe I gave her card good vibes. Only those good vibes didn't transfer to my own business card...

Another thing that happened at the office was...when I was chatting with a coworker in his office, I saw the receptionist walk by with something in her hands. She backtracked and showed me what it was. OMG. More red velvet cupcakes? Yes, please! We both leaped out of our seats and followed her into the kitchen. She brought in some a few days ago for us to taste test for her. They were a little dry (she said so herself, so I didn't have to feel bad about giving her that same feedback too), but the ones today were much improved. I'm a fan.

Today was our first day of legitimate snow. I say legitimate in the sense that the roads got messy and shoveling had to be done. Since I wasn't planning to go to spin class because of the awful road conditions, I decided to shovel out our driveway (well, not the whole thing, just enough to get Dad's car in), our sidewalk, my neighbor's sidewalk (she opened the door with her kids by her side, "THANK YOUUUU!"), and my cousin's driveway and sidewalk. Yep, I got my workout in for today! Tomorrow's commute should be interesting. Hey, maybe there won't be a commute. If the roads are bad enough, I'll just camp out at home. Thank you, telework gods.

For the today's card, I wanted to try something different: heat embossing a background stamp on top of patterned paper. I usually think that patterned paper can stand alone because the papers I pick are often colorful or bold, but I'm going to think outside my box today. I heat embossed a cherry blossom pattern on top of a pick piece of leaf patterned paper. Hello, heat gun. How I've missed you. I think the card today could be used as a valentine for those that don't like the traditional red, pink and white. Anyway, here's my attempt at CPS #197.
Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Stamps: The Paper Company Studio- Greetings (sentiment), Fiskars- Asian Inspired (cherry blossoms)
Paper: Die Cuts With a View
Flowers: Prima
Brad: Making Memories Brad Value Pack- Chelsea's Place collection
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

One-Layer Wednesday #33

Yikes, I have not done a one-layer Wednesday card in a long time. Dunno what's up with that, but I'm back in the swing of things. (Does doing one card count as being in the swing of things? Who knows. Check back next week. TWO cards will definitely be "in swing of things.") This week focused on home decor (#33). I was thinking furniture, but as I don't have any chair stamps, I went to vases. If I had to do the card again, I'd put the black spotted vase in the middle and the clear ones on the left and right. The imbalance is making me twitch. I wanted to add some dimension to the vases, and Glossy Accents did the trick! In all honesty, I added the blue border thing to cover a blue smudge, BUT I made it look like a window by adding the black faux stitching around the vases/flowers. Make it work, people. Make it work.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Prussian Blue, Blackbird, Warm Red, Warm Green, Maroon, Warm Violet
Stamp: Fiskars- Friendship Garden (all)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Other: Glossy Accents
Other: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Tuesday Trigger: A Sweet Christmas

Earlier today...7 AM.
::scrape scrape:: Wait, what's that sound?? ::open blinds:: OMG, that's Dad clearing the snow off the sidewalk! Is there enough snow to have a snow day? ::puts on glasses:: Um, no. I guess it's time to go work. :P

The Big Boss walked into the kitchen this afternoon while I was heating my soup for lunch and bit into a cookie that was left over from yesterday's cookie exchange. "Oh, I can't eat this, I just had a tooth filled." He throws the rest of the cookie away and reaches for the other goodies on the table. He bites into a piece of peanut brittle before I could tell him what he was eating. I said "Umm, I don't think you should eat that" just as he had the same thought. "Well, what can I eat on this table?" me- "Umm, probably nothing." Big Boss- ::expression of despair:: "I guess I'll go eat my salad now." At least it's healthy. He's letting us have casual Friday wear from 12/20 until the end of the year AND letting us watch movies in the conference room between Christmas and New Year's. Hooray!

I went to Janice's spin class tonight, even though it was horribly chilly outside. She was so surprised when I gave her a thank you gift after class. I love spreading holiday cheer! :)

My nails are festively green: OPI- Cuckoo For This Color. Please excuse the banged up manicure. Paper crafting does that. Is it professional to wear green nail polish to work? Umm, sure. ;)

I was trying to channel this image from Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger: A Sweet Christmas. How yummy do those cupcakes look? Wow. Anyway, my first attempt at this card had more cupcakes, but I decided to go in a different direction with incorporating the snowflakes and color scheme instead. Even though I didn't have any full-on glitter paper, I made the card sparkle like the picture with the use of paper that had a little glitter on it and some rhinestones.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Broken China.
Stamps: Inkadinkado- Twilight Garden Alphabet (letters)
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Countdown to Christmas, Die Cuts With a View- Citrus
Punches: Fiskars Upper Crest border punch, Martha Stewart cupcake punch, Marvy Uchida snowflake punch
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 8
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials

Monday, December 13, 2010

Office Cookie Exchange and Spin Class Appreciation

Successful cookie exchange today. Well, successful in that I didn't take many of my own cookies home with me. I wish more people brought in stuff, but I get that people busy with the holidays and stuff.

At spin tonight, Anna played Metro Station's "Shake It", which I thought was amusing because I mentioned yesterday that I'd be reminded of Ben Davis shimmy-shimmy-ing if I ever heard that song again, and I was reminded tonight. Also at spin, at the end of class I gave Anna a penguin holiday card with a gift card inside to show my appreciation. She doesn't HAVE to make class fun, but she does, so I felt that she needed to know that she's doing a good job. She gave me a thank you hug, even though I told her I was sweaty and gross. She was sweaty too, so I guess we just cancel each other out?

For today's card, I was determined to use this American Crafts stamp set that I bought on sale a few weeks ago and the DCWV paper pack that Meg gave me for my birthday earlier this year. I like how there's a contrast between the neutral brown and bright colors. And hello? Check out those bow-tying skillz. :D

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Stamp: The Paper Company Studio- Greetings (sentiment), American Crafts- Majestic (floral)
Paper: Die Cuts With a View- Citrus
Punch: Martha Stewart- Classic Butterfly, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Song of the day: "Shake It"- Metro Station. I can't help it. It's catchy.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Moxie Fab World's Thank You Challenge

I have joined an exclusive club in the house. Mom, Dad, even Ginger the Cat are all members of this club. What's the club, you ask? It's the "Walk into a Glass Door" club. Yep, I got a huge wake up call when I walked into the glass door that leads to the sunroom. BLAM! I laughed when I either saw this happen to the other members or heard about it, but really, it is no laughing matter. I think my nose is a little flatter this morning. I hope there isn't a huge bruise on my forehead tomorrow morning.

I was a baking maniac this morning. Cookie of choice = Rolo cookies. 2 batches. Approximately 80 cookies. I lost count of how many I've eaten for the sake of quality assurance. Oops.

Ben from BenDoesLife posted this video recently to cheer up a fellow blogger. It brightened my morning. Let's face it, what a cutie. When this song comes up in spin class, I'll be reminded of him shimmy-shimmy-ing.

Less than 20 sales away from sale #500 on Etsy. Woot!

Here's my entry for Moxie Fab World's Card Creations: Favorite Occasions Week Thank You Challenge. The challenge was to make a thank you card. I had the yellow flower on my desk from yesterday's crafting session, so I wanted to challenge myself to use it for today's card. In order to give the elements a little definition, I applied Distress Inks on the edges. Thankfully I had some brads that matched the inks.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Barn Door, Tattered Rose, Wild Honey, Vintage Photo
Paper: Basic Grey (pink), My Mind's Eye- Countdown to Christmas (green)
Stamp: The Paper Company Studio- Greetings (sentiment)
Punch: Martha Stewart- Classic Butterfly, EK Success Scalloped Circle punch (2 inch)
Brad: American Crafts, Large Brads- Cherry, Bubblegum, Dandelion
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug (Swiss Dots)

Song of the day: "Shake It"- Metro Station. Refer to paragraph #3.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Fall-To Layout #120

I didn't wake up in time for spin class this morning (oops) because I had forgotten to set the cell phone alarm the night before. I had my heart set on running today anyway. After a morning of folding some origami boxes and drinking hazelnut coffee, I set out for run around the neighborhood. I finally tried out some full length running tights. Paired with a yellow vest, I felt like a bumblebee. As long as drivers see me, that's all that matters, right? The tights kept me warm throughout the 3.6 mile run, thus making them the best non-crafty investment I've made in a while. I should stalk Target for sales so I can buy another pair.

While on my run, I got to see the neighborhood Christmas lawn decorations. My favorite one was a house that had a scene of the Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer characters. Super cute.

Here's my take on Fall-To Layout #120. I scrapped two ideas before I ended up with this one. One involved some chipboard elements, and another one was going to be focused on a flower made of text paper. I was trying to stay away from Christmas themed cards, but I ended up going in that direction anyway. Having some sort of sentiment over the glitter on the green cardstock was a little tough. When in doubt, use black embossing powder.
Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Personal Stamp Exchange- Black
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Red
Stamps: The Paper Company Studio- Christmas Expressions (sentiment), Hero Arts- Cling Dots (polka dots)
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Countdown to Christmas
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials
Ribbon: Sweet Petites from A.C. Moore

Song of the day: "Turn on the Radio" (good running song) and "Consider Me Done"- Reba McEntire.

Friday, December 10, 2010

Origami Box Skillz

Recent funny IM conversation with my sister:

[22:42] me: new post is up
[22:43] sister: ok, read
[22:44] me: that was fast
[22:44] sister: it's short
[22:44] me: okok
[22:45] sister: and you aren't talking about quantum physics, so i got it all in the first time
[22:45] me: lol i will never be talking about quantum physics
[22:46] sister: whew, thank goodness

I ran around this evening trying to get some grocery and Christmas shopping done. When I was checking out at the grocery store, the cashier commented on my 4 packages of margarine and 2 containers of cocoa: "You look like you'll be doing a lot of baking soon." Yep, you betcha. Cookie exchange at the office on Monday. I hafta deliver!

I was looking around for a box to put a present in, but couldn't find one. I was tempted to use the cardboard box that my contacts came in. My sister was like "You don't have anything better?" Yeah, the cardboard box probably wouldn't get me points for presentation.

thinkthinkthink.

Ah HAH! I can MAKE my own box. DUH. What a BRILLIANT idea! I referred to the tutorial found on SplitCoastStampers, red cardstock, and paper from Me & My Big Ideas- Sugarplum. How festive, right?

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Fall-To Layout #119

I managed wake up early today and make it to work by 8 AM. This is a rarity, I promise you. Will it be a habit? Who knows.

The administrative assistant for my department gave me a chocolate dipped cupcake this afternoon, just because. Even when I said "no, thanks, I shouldn't" when he asked me if I wanted one when he went with some other girls to get cupcakes. (whispers) Is he a mind reader? And, oh yes, it tasted as yummy as it looks. He also bought 2 bags of candy to put in his cube, probably because he was tired of me asking if he had any. I would imagine that hearing "Do you have any CAN-DY?" from across the hall gets annoying after the 4th or 5th time. My sweet tooth is vicious.

Spin class kicked my butt tonight. When I saw that a substitute was teaching the class, I thought that it would be easy peasy. WRONG. wrongwrongwrong. She didn't give us a break between songs, which probably contributed to the good workout. This was a good thing because I had wolfed down some beef noodle soup and half the cupcake (the other half went to Mom) before class.

Tonight, I tackled Fall-To Layout #119. I had some Christmas-y paper out, but after thinking about it some more, I realized that it didn't quite match with the kraft cardstock. Instead of forcing it, I put the original paper back and decided to go in a masculine card direction (yep, today is full of surprises!).
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird, Deep Green, Chestnut Roan, Dark Moss
Paper: Die Cuts With A View?
Stamps: Studio G (sentiment), Fiskars- Friendly Flowers (bug), Fiskars- Asian Inspired (bamboo)

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Getting Some Cultural Education

Assignment: I was asked by a coworker to create a birthday card that incorporated African traditional patterns. I found this amusing because this was the second cultural card that I've made recently. The first one was this Indian wedding card. African traditional patterns? Errr. (googling). Ah, I gotcha. Colorful geometric patterns. Here's what I came up with. I hope this'll work, since the card's personalized and can't be given to another person. Eek! (fingers crossed)

Status: complete, to the best of my ability.

Bulk order of origami Christmas tree cards came through yesterday. Fortunately, I had a BUNCH leftover from my craft show inventory. Woot!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Custom Order...Woot!

I decided to reduce some of my card stash by bringing a box of them to the office. A full box was reduced to about 4 cards in the span of a few hours. Coworkers get cards + people are happy when they receive the cards + I have more space in my box to put more cards in = everyone wins.

I also got a custom order for a set of origami reindeer cards. The person specifically requested red reindeer, so here's what I came up with. After finishing this project, I noticed that my bottle of glue is almost gone. I'm contemplating buying an ATG gun- the adhesive would definitely be less messy. I'm not sure if I should get the red or the yellow one. Thoughts?

Monday, December 6, 2010

Giveaway...Well, Sorta

Can you hear that? Yeah, that's the wind blowing away outside. Yikes! But as miserable as it is outside right now, I did venture out earlier to go to the gym. I was NEEDing to go to spin class because I haven't been to one since before Thanksgiving. Eek! It's nice to be back home and into my usual routine.

Since I'm done with my craft fairs for this season, I'm going to be listing a lot of the extra cards on Etsy BECAUSE when I was looking at my Blogger stats, I noticed that I reached 300 posts recently. Yipee! Instead of doing a giveaway like I did for #100 and #200, I'm going to do a sale for my blog readers only. Enter in coupon code BLOGLOVE and receive 20% off your total purchase at my Etsy shop. That includes clearance items, but not shipping costs. This offer will end on December 31, so get some Christmas cards and stock up on birthday cards for 2011!

Photoshop and I will be BFF for the next few days. :)

Sunday, December 5, 2010

2010 Fall-Winter Craft Fair #4 and #5

Whew, I survived! I survived a back-to-back craft fair weekend, one Saturday and one on Sunday. These two ended my craft show season on a good note. The fair on Saturday was a church event that I had done last year and had a good time despite the snow. It was really flattering to have people come up and say that they recognized my work, that they were happy to see me again, and that they wanted to buy more cards from me this year. The fair I did today was at one that I hadn't been to before. I heard it from Leslie of The Crooked Stamper, who was also a vendor at today's show. This was a juried show, but we both made it in because we sell very different types of cards. She focuses on stamped cards, whereas I pulled out all my origami card inventory. My stamped cards that I've blogged about were in a box on standby. Anyway, now I have some fun money in my pocket to buy fun crafty supplies. Maybe some clear stamps or fun paper? I dunno. I haven't decided. I know that Hero Arts's 2011 catalog is coming out soon. This could be dangerous, but at least I'm prepared!

I saw these neato carved soaps, pottery, and painted artwork at the show today. I included a picture of my space below.
Did anyone see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Pt. 1)? Of course you did! I'm only like a few weeks behind. Pish. I wanted to wait to see it with Meg and Robyn (Meg hooked us up with free tickets to see it last night, yay). OMG, it was so good. I almost cried. Almost.

Song of the day: "Bigger" - Backstreet Boys. Don't judge, mkay?

BLAH! Tomorrow's Monday. That's nuts. The end.