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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Dinner Plan: Fail

wah wah wahhhhh. (you know, that sound that they play on TV when there's a let down moment...)

I was going to be Mom's stand-in at Dad's company dinner tonight, but then Dad got out of jury duty late which meant that we'd be too late getting to the dinner tonight so we ended up not going. I even did my nails last night to be a little more glam. Oh well, whaddiya gonna do, right? (The nail polish is OPI's Let Me Entertain You. It's from the Burlesque collection. I think the lighting distorted the color a little bit...it's darker in real life.)Earlier today, when I told my boss about the dinner, she responded with something along the lines of, "Maybe you can talk to a cute boy...you never know who you'll meet at these things..." Dang, I think she's on to me. Ha ha.

P.S. Did anyone play with the Bunsen burner Google doodle today? Pretty neat, huh? My sister told me about it at the end of today. I would have missed out on the fun if she didn't say anything. Truth be told, I always had my lab partner light the Bunsen burner. The flame kinda freaked me out.

Former chemistry major here. Excuse the nerdiness.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

One-Layer Wednesday #47

Here's my take on this week's One-Layer Wednesday challenge (#47). It's a sketch this week, instead of a concept. Even though I'm more of a cat person, this dog stamp was speaking to me today. I used a scrap piece of paper, cut it to a square and masked off the center of the card. Then I took some dog related images from the same stamp set to create a colorful background. I took the mask off, used a pencil and ruler to draw a slightly smaller square where the mask used to be, and then used a Sharpie to go over the pencil line. I like how the lines aren't exactly straight because it adds to the homemade feel to the card. I added the images and sentiment to the inside of the square. I thought that something was still missing once I finished all the stamping. I didn't want to add any embellishments or round any of the corners or do some faux stitching. thinkthinkthink. Ah hah! I finished the card off with adding some ink to the edges of the card. Ta da!

I also got picked for a prize from my One-Layer Wednesday card submission a few weeks back. What a wonderful surprise! Thanks so much, Jennifer! :)
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan, Blue Iris, Maroon, Dark Brown, French Blue. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Chipped Sapphire.
Stamps: Inkadinkado (sentiment), K.I. Memories- Pet (dog, paw print, ball, bones), Fiskars- Friendship Garden (heart)
Other: Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Song of the day: "A Little Bit Stronger"- Sara Evans.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Tuesday Trigger: Farm Fresh

I got an unexpected phone call today at the office (well, I guess it's not really unexpected since it was my boss on the other end...it's more like the subject of the call was unexpected). She told me that my name was brought up in a senior staff meeting as one of three staff members nominated to go to a leadership conference next week. Huh? Wow. That's pretty cool. I'm not sure if the other ladies are going, but either way, I think it'd be a good experience. Perhaps this is a sign of good things to come in my professional life (see New Year's Resolutions 2011, last bullet).

This week's Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger challenge featured a towel with some orange flower pattern and some mason jars. While I don't have any farm-related or mason jar stamps, I tried to incorporate the other elements of the trigger photo instead...the colors orange and blue and the scalloped circles with flowers inside. After I did the punching, die cutting and stamping, I thought the card could use some dimension/visual interest BUT I didn't think the trigger photo needed bling. I thought the pearls added a more subtle finishing touch. It's tough to tell in my card photo, but the orange cardstock that I used has some striped texture to it.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird, Amber Clay
Stamp: Inkadinkado (flowers), Fiskars- Just Between Friends (sentiment)
Paper: Making Memories- Chloe's Closet, American Crafts Specialty Paper in Pearl
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch, EK Success Scalloped Circle punch (2 inch), EK Success Circle punch (1 3/8 inch)
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Pearl

Monday, March 28, 2011

Wee Memories Challenge #49

I took advantage of the sunny weather outside to enjoy Mom's garden. The daffodils are in full bloom. We also have a new addition- Mom bought herself a stone bunny for her birthday last week. Ginger and I took the bottom right picture right before her after-dinner nap and my spin class.

Anna the spin instructor played Savage Garden's "I Want You" at spin class tonight. (awkward pause) Oh, come on. You know this song. It has "chica cherry cola" in the lyrics. Google it if you need to refresh your memory. Wow, talk about a flash back to the 90s and middle school. (shudder) In all seriousness, it's kinda a catchy song. I might have to put it on my mp3 player for running.

This week's Wee Memories Challenge (#49) encouraged us to create any card we wanted. Wow, such freedom! Sometimes I work better with a specific prompt, but it didn't take me too long to come up with a card. I knew I wanted to use a cat stamp from a set that I received for my birthday a few years ago. The layout came to me when I was at spin. I did a little bit of everything for this card: stamping, paper piecing, embossing (both dry and heat), faux stitching, and paper punching...but I think it all tied together nicely. :)
Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in clear
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird and French Blue
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Stack 7
Stamps: Hero Arts- Cat Portraits (kitty), Hero Arts- Cling Dots, K.I. Memories- Pet (fish bone)
Punch: Fiskars Threading Waters border punch
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb
Stickers: American Crafts Chipboard Thickers in Darling (white)
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials
Other: Pink Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Song of the day: "I Want You"- Savage Garden.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

CPS #211

I woke up a little sore this morning due to the 2-hour spin class yesterday, but not to the extent that would excuse me from going to a 9:45 AM 1-hour spin class. I was so happy that I went because after class, I saw one of my gym buddies that I hadn't seen in a while. I knew she was pregnant with a baby girl and was due at the end of 2010. I had wondered when she'd be coming back to the gym, and there she was today! She showed me pictures of her new girl, and of course, the baby was freakin' stinkin' adorable.

The weather was really lovely today, but after the spin workouts this weekend, I couldn't muster the energy to go for a run this afternoon. The April 10K is looking less and less like a possibility, but I'm still planning for the May 10K.

Here's my take on this week's CPS challenge, #211. I started out doing a grid card like yesterday's, but it wasn't working out the way I wanted to, so I decided to switch gears and try a wreath card. I used a pencil to trace a circle using one of my circle Spellbinder dies. Then I stamped many leaves, using the pencil line as a guide. The first version of the wreath had stamped flowers, but the green was showing through the red ink. I think it would have been better if I had some red embossing powder, so for my second attempt, I used some flower gems. I originally stamped the sentiment right onto the white cardstock with the wreath, but then I didn't think that it stood out enough, so I die cut a circle, stamped the sentiment on it, and then added color to the circle edge. I finished the card off with some ribbon and stamping at the bottom.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird and Warm Green, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Chipped Sapphire
Paper: Recollections- Blue Argyle
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large
Stamp: Autumn Leaves- Build-a-Flower (dashed line), Fiskars- Thank You (sentiment, leaf)
Ribbon: American Crafts

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Charity Spinathon + Cards Magazine Challenge

The 2-hour charity spinathon went well today. There were a handful of people that showed up for the cause. My quads are definitely feeling it right now, but I thought it was a great win-win situation. The Red Cross got money for their Japan earthquake relief effort and I got a good workout. :)

When I got home, I made creamy taco mac (this time with mushrooms, instead of peppers). Yummm! By the time I finished eating lunch, all my energy was zapped so I took a nice afternoon nap with Ginger the cat. I thought about going to the craft stores today, but I'm REALLY trying not to buy new craft supplies. How do I prevent that? Just don't go. Instead, I tried a new chocolate chip cookie recipe: Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are quite soft and yummy, but I don't think they beat the recipe that my sister uses for chocolate chip cookies. It's tough to beat! I was also expecting the recipe to yield more cookies, but I think that's because I used an ice cream scoop to put the dough on the cookie sheet. Bigger cookies = less of them.

This week's Cards Magazine challenge: cards with a grid format. I started out making my grid using green ink and a dashed line stamp. Then I picked out the elements that I wanted in the squares. I was going for a springy, colorful card so I picked out some paper flowers, buttons, stickers, and a sentiment. I finished the card off by distressing the edges of the cardstock and patterned paper. I didn't think that faux stitching would work in this case because the grid already used dashed lines.

Card Specs:
Paper: American Crafts- City Park
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird, Warm Green
Stamps: Hero Arts- Friendly Greetings (sentiment), Autumn Leaves- Build-a-Flower (dashed line)
Buttons: Favorite Findings in Pink
Brad: Recollections Gem Brads, Making Memories Brad Value Pack- Chelsea's Place collection
Stickers: EK Success- Birds (bird, flowers)
Punch: Martha Stewart- Classic Butterfly
Flowers: Prima

Sighhhhh, just wrote out my checks for federal and state taxes. I did it like ripping off a bandaid- do it and get it over with. I guess it's a good thing that I didn't go shopping today. :P

Friday, March 25, 2011

Fall-To Layout #133

I found this funny dog video on YouTube yesterday: Denver the Guilty Dog.

At the office today, we had a company get-together at a nearby restaurant to finish off Employee Appreciation week. I went to a few planning meetings where we discussed what activities should be available at the event because we didn't want people to be bored and just sit and eat. I volunteered to bring my Wii. I think someone else volunteered to bring board games. However, we ended up just sitting and eating and chatting anyway. Ha ha. The food was really good: veggies + dip, some sort of chicken drumsticks, a few different types of pizza, and some crab dip + pita slices (which was my favorite...it was so good that I had 2 helpings!). Each of us could get 1 drink so I went with a strawberry daiquiri, yum.

I debated going for a run after work, but then decided against it because I'll be doing the 2-hour charity spinathon tomorrow at the gym. I took a post-work nap instead. It was an awesome way to end the work week! :D

Alright...onto card related stuff. I found out this morning that my button "Happy Easter card" was one of the ones showcased on the NorthRidge Publishing blog today (you kinda have to scroll down). Thank you, Paige!

Here's my take on this week's Fall-To Layout challenge (#133). Challenge: "The idea here is to use a 3-d element where the flowers are shown on the sketch. As I described it to my team, use something that wouldn't typically fit in the mail." I didn't want to use any of my dies because, instinctively, that's the first thing I would grab. I wanted to think outside the box. I remembered having some ribbon on spools that was too short to tie on cards, so I cut them into short strips (9 total for 3 flowers). I used my hot glue gun to glue the strips together to make loops and then glue 3 loops together to make a flower. I accented each flower with a pearl brad (I cut the prongs off with Tim Holtz scissors). I love finding new ways to use up supplies...that way, nothing goes to waste!
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird
Stamps: Studio G (sentiment)
Paper: American Crafts- Letterbox
Brad: Recollections
Punch: Fiskars Apron Lace border punch

Thursday, March 24, 2011

CPS #210

Here's my take on this week's CPS challenge (#210). The card is for my former boss...her birthday is on Saturday. I think if I send it out tomorrow, it'll still get there on time. I have been gravitating towards the City Park paper collection lately...the colors are just so bright, fun and cheerful. I was really struggling with the main panel in the middle. At first, it was just the yellow embossed piece and the white piece. Then I thought the white piece wasn't standing out as much, so I put some Wild Honey ink on the edges. No, no, now it's too yellow. I found a scrap piece of brown patterned paper from the same collection and die cut another label to be in between the yellow and white. Whew, it worked out! If I wasn't sending this card through the mail, I probably would have put the main panel on foam adhesive so that the card wouldn't look so flat.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Wild Honey
Paper: American Crafts- City Park
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Stamp: Studio G (sentiment)
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug (Swiss Dots)
Stickers: Martha Stewart- Fiesta Icon Stickers

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

One-Layer Wednesday #46

Some links I found that I thought were worth sharing...
It was kinda lonely at the office today. My officemate was out of the office on travel and my boss was out on travel to the same place. I saw a few "free food in the (main office) kitchen" emails flash by, but I thought "Meh, nah, I'll pass. I'd probably overeat anyway...." (but that's not stopping me from eating Easter candy as I type this blog post up...). Chocolate? Yes, please.

I broke down a bought a running skirt today (2 actually). The weather is getting warmer (well, not really today, but in general), and eventually my running capris will be to hot to run in. However, the shorts that I have chafe on longer runs. I didn't want to get bike shorts because I didn't like feeling that my butt was out there for everyone to see. I guess it is normally, but maybe it's more of a mental thing? Meg suggested going the running skirt route because the butt is covered more and there is a pair of shorts underneath that won't chafe. I took today off from exercising (and took a nice long post-work nap) and plus the weather was gross outside, but I'm looking forward to trying out the new exercise clothes.

This week's One-Layer Wednesday (#46) focuses on eggs...which is seasonally appropriate and good timing because when I was going through my $1 clear stamps last night, I had a thought "Oh, I haven't used these eggs stamps in a while. Maybe I should use them soon." I had trouble coming up with a layout, so I recycled the hex inspiration from last week's OLW. Like I said last week, it's a versatile layout, great for any season. I like how the eggs have a floral design inside...I think it's great for visual interest and texture. To make this card not exactly like the card I did for last week's challenge, I put a frame around the hex, added some other stamped elements, and moved the sentiment stamp over.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Prussian Blue, Aquamarine, Rose Coral, Yellow Citrus, Charcoal
Stamps: K.I. Memories- Garden (leaf), Studio G (egg, sentiment), Autumn Leaves- Build-a-Flower (hex center), K.I. Memories- It's a Girl (dotted circle, yellow circle in hex center), Autumn Leaves- Doodley Frames (frame)
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Sunflower Yellow

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Tuesday Trigger: A Citrus Celebration

The staff at work was invited to eat lunch (pizza) with the Board of Directors today. In observance of Employee Appreciation week, the BOD expressed how they appreciated what the staff does. It felt kinda nice to feel appreciated and to know that what I do matters to someone out there. The rest of the week will be very quiet for me...my boss and officemate will both be out of the office. I guess I could always go back to the main office if I was looking for signs of active human life.

Here's my take on this week's Tuesday Trigger. While I'm a big fan of bright colors, I have a hard time incorporating lime into my cards, but I did it today since that was the main focus on the trigger photo. I also incorporated a cupcake to tie in with the cupcake liners.
Card Specs:
Paper: American Crafts- City Park (orange), Die Cuts with a View- Sweet Stack (lime)
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Lime Pastel, Blackbird
Stamps: Fiskars- Just Between Friends (sentiment), Studio G (cupcake)
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug (Swiss Dots)
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials

Song of the day: "Ooh La La"- Goldfrapp. (popular spin class song)

Monday, March 21, 2011

Fall-To Layout #132

This week is Employee Appreciation Week at work. We could sign up for 10 minute chair massages, and I totally took them up on the offer. While I was grateful for the free service, I thought it was peculiar that the masseuse kept commenting on the tension in my neck and lower back. "Do you have a headache? I feel some tension in your neck area." "Um, no." "You might have one coming on." o_0 Uh oh. I dunno, uh, I feel fine. Actually, after the massage, I was feeling pretty great!

At spin class tonight, the guy that I saw at the St. Patrick's Day 8K came up to me before class and asked me if I was going to do the Pike's Peek 10K. Uhhhh, I dunno just yet. Maybe this is a sign that I should?

I read this funny story in The Washington Post today (scroll down to the story written by "Cincinnati Mom"). It reminds me of when I saw on a story on a friend's facebook a while back: a little kid had asked her if she was a ninja (she's Asian and was wearing all black (workout?) clothes that day...). She replied "why, yes, I am" and totally played along.

Here's my take on Fall-To Layout #132. I had the button that I was going to use in yesterday's card still on my desk, so I wanted to incorporate it into today's card instead of putting it away. I also had scraps of the American Crafts City Park paper still out, so I used them since they were in reach. I love the hot air balloon paper because how colorful it is and how there's a touch of glitter for some visual interest. I guess it doesn't really go with the flower theme, but I think overall the card goes with the cheerful "smile" sentiment.
Card Specs:
Paper: American Crafts- City Park
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Ice Jade
Stamps: Fiskars- Sentiments (sentiment), Autumn Leaves- Build-a-Flower (dotted line), Fiskars- Friendship Garden (leaf)
Buttons: Bucket White from Michaels, Favorite Findings in Ocean and Pink
Die: Cuttlebug- Flowers (flowers)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Threading Waters border punch
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Cupcakes and Cards

During my visit to Cake Love last night, I picked up 2 red velvet and 2 Cynthia's Sin cupcakes (think of it as a Snickers bar in cupcake form...they were doing a deal on them. $2/cupcake instead of the usual $3.25). I ate one of the red velvet ones before going to be last night. OMG, yummmm.Because Tuesday's spin instructor Janice is also teaching on Sundays now, I went to her 9:45 AM class and sweated buckets. It was a great way to start the morning! And since there's a tentative plan to have a girls beach trip over Memorial Day, I feel inclined to kick my workouts up a notch so I went for a 4.85 mile run around the neighborhood while jamming to Britney Spears and Lady Gaga. Currently debating doing the Pike's Peek 10K in April to prep for the Capitol Hill Classic 10K in May...

I made this chicken dish for lunches this week. The Board of Directors is supposed to be meeting at the office this week, and the staff was invited to eat with them on Tuesday. Seeing people I haven't seen in a while AND a free meal...yep, count me in!

My Wee Memories challenge #47 entry was selected as a Honorable Hoot this week, yay!

Today's card was inspired by the card that Kristina Werner created for Finally Friday March 18, 2011. I liked how she was able to incorporate several different pieces of patterned paper into one card. Instead of making it all yellow, I used several papers from the American Crafts City Park collection because I knew that they would already jive together. I originally had a white/green button next to the sentiment, but I didn't like how that panel would be mostly white, so I replaced the button with a flower sticker. Ah, much better.

Card Specs:
Paper: American Crafts- City Park
Other: Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker
Stickers: American Crafts Chipboard Thickers in Darling (white), Sandylion- Flower Power
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb

Song of the day: "Born This Way"- Lady Gaga.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Full Moon

I love my gym. They do such a great job with combining health promotion and community building. When the earthquake happened in Japan last week, I wondered if the gym was going to hold a charity spin class to raise money for the relief effort similar to what they did for the Haitian earthquake last year, and sure enough, when I went to spin class this morning, there was an orange sign on the door announcing the 2-hour charity spin class next Saturday. Yep, I'll be there! As a side note, I'm happy that Janice will be teaching on Sundays now. I'm thinking that enough people gave bad reviews to the original instructor, so they kicked her out.

Tonight, I went out for Mexican food with Meg and Robyn to celebrate Meg's birthday. I got a strawberry daiquiri and a chicken taco salad. Funny things that happened...
  • I complimented Robyn on her nail polish. "Tina, you gave it to me for Christmas..." Oh. Heh.
  • Robyn got Meg a medium size bag of pretzel M&Ms. She must have been thinking on the same wavelength because I got Meg a bag of those too! This was not coordinated beforehand.
  • After a visit to Cake Love to get some cupcakes as dessert, we sat outside on a bench. We chatted and people watched. Some funny dogs walked by. One in particular, a pekingese, made a point to check me out.
Did anyone catch the full moon tonight? It was super bright. I took a picture of it through the sun room. The picture turned out kinda Halloween-y with the tree branches in the frame.

Song of the day: "Till The World Ends"- Britney Spears. This would be a good running song...I need to get it on my mp3 player.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Blogger's Day of Silence

I have some family in Japan. Thankfully, they are safe. However, as you've seen in the recent news, others have not been so fortunate.

Someone out there could use your help...every little bit can make a difference. Please keep those suffering in your thoughts and prayers.


www.forjapanwithlove.com

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Wee Memories Challenge #47

This Facebook wall post from last night just goes to show that you never know who's watching. One of my childhood friends was driving around the neighborhood (she's relocated to the West Coast, but I guess she's in town visiting family or something...) and saw me running yesterday. Out of all the people that I thought would see me, she's not the first one that comes to mind. So funny.I finally got around to working on my take on this week's Wee Memories Challenge (#47). It focuses on green and spring. I went with a stamp set that I hadn't used before even though it came with this eBay win a while back. I decided to go with a flower and watering can garden theme. I thought the sentiment totally matched with the heart-centered flowers.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Prussian Blue, Warm Green, Warm Red, Maroon, Yellow Ochre, Blackbird, Ice Blue
Stamps: Fiskars- Friendship Garden (flowers, stems, large flower pot, sentiment), American Crafts- Dear Lizzy- Warbler (cloud), K.I. Memories- Garden (small flower pot, grass, sun, water drops, watering can)
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb
Stickers: EK Success- Hearts
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Pearl
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug (Victoria)

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

One-Layer Wednesday #45

At my new office digs today, some state convention people brought food for us! Free food? Yes, please. I think their idea was that they'd shower the meetings coordinator (he's on my side of the street) with free food, hoping that it'd convince him to hold meetings where they are, particularly our Annual Meeting. Do they realize that he just sets up the meetings, but he doesn't really make the big decision on where it's held? Shh, don't tell them. We like the free food. Today's menu was 2 platters of sandwiches, a platter of desserts and a platter of fruit. Feed me and I'll be one happy camper.

I could not pass up a nice sunny day, so I went for a run after work today. I started out thinking I'd do 3 miles, but as the run went on, I was actually feeling pretty good (instead of sluggish) so I went for my usual 4.85 miles around the neighborhood with my newish shoes. I need to work up to 6ish miles so that I'll be prepared for the 10K in May (eek...). Hello, daylight, thanks for hanging out longer.

Do you know what hex signs are? I didn't, but I educated myself after seeing that this week's One-Layer Wednesday (#45) is inspired by them. My new circle die came in really handy because I don't think I could stamp everything evenly without some sort of template. I die cut a circle out of some scrap paper. This served 2 purposes: I traced the circle on the card front and then did a test layout on the scrap piece of paper. That way, I would know how things would fit on the card front when I was satisfied with how the elements were going to fit together. I decided to go with hearts, leaves, and bird images because those seemed to be common in hex signs I found online during my "research." I love how these hex layouts are so versatile. Just by changing the elements in the collage, you can change the feel/season/purpose of the card. For example, you could do something with snowflakes for holiday cards.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Prussian Blue, Warm Green, Warm Red, Rose Coral, Yellow Ochre, Charcoal
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large
Stamps: Fiskars- Friendship Garden (heart), Autumn Leaves- Build-a-Flower (leaf, hex center), American Crafts- Dear Lizzy- Warbler (bird), K.I. Memories- It's a Girl (dots), The Paper Company Studio- Greetings (sentiment)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Other: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

How freakin' stinkin' cute are these plushie bunny Peeps (via Kristina Werner)?! Hee-larious.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Tuesday Trigger: Button, Button

I didn't make it very long in my new office before I went back to the main building to get some work done. I knew I had to pick up some faxes and turn some documents in, so I camped out in my old office the hour before it was time to go home, and people walked by and stopped by to comment. "Tina, is that really you? Was it that bad across the street?" Hardy-har-har. We got meeting leftovers in my new digs, so hey, can't complain!

While walking to the 8K race last Sunday, I saw a couple that go to my spin class. I caught up with the husband after class tonight and asked how his race went. I think he wanted to do better, but apparently, his wife placed in her age range. She's very athletic, so I wasn't super shocked. Good for her!

This wasn't the card I thought I'd have at the end of tonight's crafty session, but I'm happy with it. I didn't have many ideas of my own when I saw the trigger picture. I liked the buttons, but I think I was challenged by the color scheme. I do better with brighter colors. Anyway, I used this opportunity to use the other Nestabilities set that I got on Sunday...this time a circle one. I used the smallest circle for the flower, stamped a background stamp on it and put a button in the center to go along with this week's Tuesday Trigger: Button, Button. I thought I was done when I put the ribbon on the bottom of the card and adhered everything to the card base, but something wasn't right. I didn't like how the card looked too...serious (?), so I added some cute bee stickers that were from a set that Julie gave me for my birthday.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Dark Brown, Warm Green. StazOn in Teal Blue.
Paper: American Crafts- City Park
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large
Stamp: K.I. Memories- Patterns, Fiskars- Friendship Gardens (leaves, flower pot), Autumn Leaves- Build-a-Flower (line), Inkadinkado (sentiment)
Other: Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker
Button: Bucket White from Michaels
Sticker: EK Success- Animals
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb

Monday, March 14, 2011

Moving Day

Today started out with a "WOMP" (as my friend Jenny would say) moment. I've been delaying (read: hoping that the leadership at work would conveniently forget) my move to the office across the street. But the move happened today because when I got to the office this morning, my computer, screen and phone were all gone! My office roommate Jennifer told me that the IT guys had been in there earlier, packing stuff up and moving it across the street. It was much more quiet across the street. Morgan (new office roommate and fellow mover) and I hatched a plan...maybe if we're the rowdy pair, they'll kick us out and make us go back to the main building. At least I have a window now, and I can tell what the weather is without having to IM anyone.

By the way, did you know that today was National Napping Day? Yeah, I didn't either. Instead of celebrating it with a nap, I went to spin class. I dunno if it was the packed room or the workout, but I was sweating buckets by the end of class! It's probably a combination of both.

I wanted to make sure that I had something to bring in for lunch this week, so I hopped over to Budget Bytes after spin class and made her broccoli shells 'n cheese. I think I put too much onion in it and not enough broccoli, but still a pretty yummy dish! I was able to use the last of the milk in the fridge and an open package of cheese.

A.C. Moore was having a great sale yesterday: you could get 20% off merchandise if purchased between 6-9 PM (including sale items). Since I was already out looking for yellow paper for a potential custom order (I didn't find any yellow paper that would work, unless the lady wanted SpongeBob Squarepants on her wedding cards...), I wandered over to the Nestabilities section since they were 40% off. I figured that with the remaining amount I had on a birthday gift card and the great sale, I could justify buying the two sets of dies and a package of bling for my fabric flowers. I was excited to use one of the dies for tonight's card. I wanted to use some of the g.c.d. Studios paper I had, a sticker of some sort that my cousin got me from Taiwan a few months ago, and a sentiment stamp that I hadn't used in a while. Here's what I came up with. The rose stickers are so pretty and I love how the paper has a little bit of texture to it without me having to alter it.

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Personal Stamp Exchange- Black
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Paper: g.c.d. Studios- Chianti Collection, Peekaboo (red)
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4
Stamp: Studio G (sentiment)
Other: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Sunday, March 13, 2011

St. Patrick's Day 8K Race

**Race update...scroll down for today's card (no, I won't be offended if you just want to look at the card)**

The 2011 St. Patrick's Day 8K was today at Federal Plaza. Julie and I took the Metro downtown and got there about 30 minutes before the race start. There was a sea of green so we knew we were in the right place. Many people were wearing green costumes to commemorate the holiday: green tights, green hair, green antennae...we even saw a group of people putting on what looked like turtle shells made out of fabric. I wasn't sure if I'd see anyone that I knew at the race, but right when we got off the Metro, I saw two people from my spin class! Maybe I can ask them tomorrow how their race went. I thought the race went really well for me...let me elaborate.
  • I was able to keep a consistent pace and finished as strong as I could (I envisioned Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser yelling in my ear "PICK UP YOUR FEET!"). I finished the race without walking at all and without blisters.
  • It was nice to have my sister with me to cheer me on.
  • I was also thankful for the nice sunny weather and for the race organizers who did a superb job getting things ready to go on time and making sure that the runners were where they needed to be at the right time. The mile markers also helped.
2011 time- 52:43 minutes (10:37 pace). Hooray, improvement!
(For reference...2008 time- 54:22 minutes).

Next up: Capitol Hill Classic 10K. Anyone want to join me?

**Today's card**

Ok, so for today's card, I hopped over to the Cards Magazine blog. The challenge this week is to make card that have at least 10 buttons. There's a lantern/banner/things-that-hang-from-string trend going on in the papercrafting world, so that's what first popped into my mind. I used a selection of buttons and mini glue dots to make today's card. It kinda reminds me of this card that I made back in July, but I think the buttons give it a different feel.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird, Rouge
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Stamps: Studio G (butterfly, sentiment), American Crafts- Dear Lizzy- Warbler (squiggly line)
Button: Favorite Findings in Pink, Ocean. Bucket White from Michaels
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Stack 7
Other: Studio G glitter glue

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Spring Sister Challenge, Day 3 + New Scrapbook Page

My $1 stamp stash has kinda gotten out of control. I've been using thin cardboard boxes to store them, but it's been difficult to find what stamps I want to use because they are all piled on top of each other. Today, I found a treat container that Mom put in the to-be-recycled bin and I decided to use it to store my sentiment stamps. They are all laid out on one level and it's now so much easier to find what I'm looking for. Hooray for being green. :)I've finally put together a scrapbook page to showcase the birthday cards I received in the mail this year. I did something similar with last year's Christmas cards. I wanted to capture some of the things that I did for my birthday as well as use some of the items that I got for my birthday within the page (the sweets paper and stamp came from Meg). The Washington Post also has a horoscope section, and I cut out the horoscope specific for people who have a birthday on that day. I glued the birthday horoscope on a tag and journaled on the back of it. I created a small pocket for it in the upper right so that I wouldn't have to worry about it getting lost. The page was made on white cardstock, even though the scanner kinda made it look grey.

Page Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Orchid Pastel
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Sweet Stack, Die Cuts with a View- Stack 7
Punch: Fiskars Upper Crest border punch
Stamp: Hero Arts- Time to Enjoy (sentiment)
Die: Sizzix- Tags, Scallop Combo #2 (tag)
Other: Magenta Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker
Stickers: American Crafts Dear Lizzy Christmas Glitter Thickers-Sparkling Opal

For today's sister challenge, Julie picked out a sentiment stamp that I don't think I've used before, even though I think I bought it a few years ago. Oops. I thought it'd go perfectly with the bunny butt stamp. Similar to this card that I made last week, I used tiny rhinestones to add dimension to the card.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird
Stamp: Studio G (bunnies, sentiment)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Paper: Die Cuts with a View - Stack 7 (blue), American Crafts- Letterbox (yellow), American Crafts- Metropolitan (red)

The St. Patrick's 8K race is tomorrow...send good running vibes in the morning! Full report to follow on Sunday. :)

Friday, March 11, 2011

Spring Sister Challenge, Day 2 + Fall-To Layout #131

It's been over a week since I've received my new running shoes, but I haven't been able to give them a try until today. I was happy to be able to go for a run after work today and thankful that the daylight lingers around a little longer every day. The new running shoes that I got are "Mizuno Inspire 6 Women's Shoe White/Pink," and I'm a fan! The shoes must be magic because I was able to complete my 4.85 mile run without getting the usual blisters on my feet. Well, I guess it might have helped that these were brand new shoes and were designed to be supportive. Woot! St. Patrick's Day 8K, I'm ready for ya! See? I even have my t-shirt! My boss was nice enough to let me go downtown this morning to get my race packet.

For today's sister challenge, Julie picked out a sentiment stamp and challenged me to use it with embellishments that she gave me for my birthday (one that I hadn't used yet). I used Fall-To Layout #131 as a template. The tag originally had the sentiment stamped on the white cardstock, but I didn't like how there was so much white, so I stamped the sentiment on pink and blue paper and paper pieced it together on the tag to add some color. I picked out some non-flower stickers that my sister gave me and applied some Distress Ink at the last minute to finish the tag.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Vintage Photo.
Stamps: Hero Arts- Thinking of You Messages (sentiment)
Die: Sizzix- Tags, Scallop Combo #2 (tag)
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Stack 7, Die Cuts with a View- Sweet Stack, American Crafts- Letterbox
Stickers: EK Success- Hearts, EK Success- Sweet Treats
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb
Other: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Song of the day- "This"- Darius Rucker

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Spring Sister Challenge, Day 1

The move to the office across the street was canceled today due to the rain. It would not be good for our equipment and stuff to get ruined. I can stay in my office a few more days. :)

Chicken was on sale at Safeway today, so I made enchiladas tonight. I used this recipe from Allrecipes.com. Yum!

Julie's home for a few days so she challenged me to use one of the food stamps that she gave me for my birthday. The stamp set has the sentiment "i think you are..." and it has 4 images of food. I chose the ice cream one because it said "sweet." Instead of using markers or colored pencils to color in the sweet treat, I stamped the image on light blue cardstock and cut the top part out. With some patterned paper, scalloped border, and some gems, the card was finished! The card is an adorable size: 2.5 x 3 inches...perfect to include with a thank you gift or something.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal
Stamps: Studio G
Punch: Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Stack 7
Other: Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

One-Layer Wednesday #44

"Do you have any CAN-DY?"

I say really loudly so that my co-worker across the hall can hear me. I've been asking him for the past few days now. This was a not-so-subtle hint, encouraging him to refill his candy bowl. He finally went downstairs to Office Depot and bought some mini chocolate candy bars and Twizzlers. Yay! Too bad I'm moving to the office across the street in the next few days. Maybe that's good thing. Some separation from the candy bowl is a good thing.

This week's One-Layer Wednesday challenge (#44) focuses on getting inspiration from Marta's Pinterest Boards. While I liked many of the photos in the Feed Me section, I went with this banner invitation. I liked how the banner wasn't made of the traditional triangles or semi-circles that are all the rage these days in the scrapbooking/card making world. I LOVE the simplicity of this card. The red pops against the charcoal, and the different flags create some visual interest.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal, Warm Red
Stamps: Fiskars- Squarely Sentimental, K.I. Memories- Newsprint Lower, Fiskars- Border-A-Plenty, American Crafts- Majestic, Basic Grey- Medallion
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Tuesday Trigger: Oh So Lovely

Here's my take on this week's Tuesday Trigger challenge. I wanted to focus on the yellow, orange, and pale teal colors in this picture. I used the teal in the background and a brightly colored flower as the focal point of the card. The stamped portion is actually a square image with a Thank You sentiment in the center, but I didn't like the way the sentiment looked in the middle of the card, so I covered it up with the flowers and left the card sentiment-less. It's nice to have all-occasion cards on hand, right?
Card Specs:
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Wild Honey
Stamps: Inkadinkado
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Stack 7 (floral), American Crafts- Letterbox (blue)
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Sunflower Yellow
Other: Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Song of the day: "Little Miss" - Sugarland.

Monday, March 7, 2011

A Present Card

I really have to get a handle on my impulse shopping. Sheesh. On the other hand, how can you pass up this adorable kitty mug? I guess you could if you're more of a dog person.

For today's card, I thought it'd be fun to make the card look like a present, complete with ribbon and a tag. I was also looking for an excuse to use the pretty red satin ribbon that I bought recently. I first stamped the flowers on the blue panel. The ribbon came next. I wrapped a piece of ribbon around the shorter length of the blue panel and then used a longer piece of ribbon to tie the bow around the longer length. I wanted some shimmer in the card, so I took a large brad and used my Tim Holtz scissors to cut the prongs off. The little tag was added as a finishing touch.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal, Warm Red, Prussian Blue. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Broken China.
Stamps: K.I. Memories- Pet (sentiment), Fiskars- Friendly Flowers (flowers)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Stack 7
Stickers: EK Success- Hearts (heart)
Brad: Recollections
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb

A lady in the elevator complimented my bright green nail polish. :D

Song of the day: "Little Miss" - Sugarland.