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Thursday, June 30, 2011

See Ya Later, Roommate

Ugh, today was a sad day for me. It was my teammate/office roommate's last day at the office. Even though I had known this day was coming for a few months, it sucks to have the office to myself. I've been at my job for almost 3 years and have always had an office roommate, so to have the place to myself seems kinda lonely now. Sigh, I guess that's life. :(

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

One-Layer Wednesday #60

Today was another early day in the office. I owed the survey manager something yesterday, but then I got distracted with a hotel contract and some voicemails that by the end of the day, my brain was hitting a stopping point. I decided that it'd be best to get a fresh start in the morning and complete the deliverable so it'd be waiting for her when she got in. And with the early start, I got to leave early too. Everyone wins. :)

This week's One-Layer Wednesday (#60) challenge focused on doing quick layers of ink with "no masking, no sponging, no embellishments of any kind." I thought the best way to do to some layering was to get a full-coverage background stamp. My trusty music score stamp was standing by for the job. I chose to use my flower stamp again and grounded the image with some grass to make the scene look more realistic. I topped the card off with a newish sentiment stamp and some leaves.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Red, Blackbird. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Peeled Paint, Antique Linen
Stamps: Studio G (sentiment, flowers), Stampendous (music score), K.I. Memories- Garden (grass, leaf)

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Tuesday Trigger: Moxie Fab Inspiration from Stamp It! Cards

I've been trying to track down one of the people that I work with in Colorado for about 3 weeks now. I knew he was out of the country and then I knew he got back home, so I waited a little bit before I started nagging again. Then, today, I got an email and phone call from him, in response to one I sent him yesterday.

"Tina, I'm in X, Maryland. How far is it from your office?"

Uh, like 30 minutes. (pause) You wanna stop by before you fly home?

"Yeah, I don't have anything to do until 2 PM, so I was going to take a cab to your headquarters, if you have some time."

Ok, sure. See you in a few. I look down at my flip flops and toe nails painted with green nail polish while we disconnected. Uh oh. Ok, well, I wasn't really dressed appropriately to have to meet anyone important, but I figured that he'd excuse the informality since we've been working together for a while. So, anyway, he stopped by the office as scheduled and we chatted in the conference room for 2 hours (!). There was much to catch him up on since he missed out on the Annual Meeting in Omaha earlier this month.

Janice the spin instructor caught me zoning out this evening in class. "Tina! Are you working hard?!" Uh, no. Okokok. I'll turn up the resistance and go faster. Gotta get my head in the game.

Here's my take on this week's Tuesday Trigger from Moxie Fab World. The challenge was to get inspiration from a card featured in a recent issue of Stamp It! Cards. I wanted to incorporate the lace, flowers, and starburst found in the Trigger photo into my own card. The starbursts ended up on the vase that I cut out. The flowers sticking out of the vase were stickers that I got for my birthday this year, and I added the die cut one on the bottom for balance. To ground the vase so that it didn't look like it was floating in space, I used a blender marker to transfer some brown ink to the cardstock. I put the lace behind the flowers for a subtle touch. Now that I look at two pictures side-by-side, I don't think I stuck to the Trigger photo as much as I usually do...
Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan, Blackbird. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Peeled Paint.
Stamps: Inkadinkado- Round Frames, Fiskars- Winter Wonderland
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Die: Sizzix- Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Florals
Sticker: Sandylion- Heart Flowers
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials

Monday, June 27, 2011

Patterned Paper to the Rescue!

Dad asked me to make a card to send to my cousin, congratulating her on her new baby girl. After watching a 2-hour episode of the Bachelorette (go JP!), I didn't have a lot of time to think about the card's design, so I started out with a card that had a layout similar to yesterday's. I turned the card so that it'd be a landscape card and put the sentiment on the larger panel. I was stumped as to what to use as embellishments for the lower right corner and I was looking around to see what I had out already. The flowers on the packaging of the American Crafts City Park paper caught my eye. Ah hah! I can cut out the flowers in the patterned paper and glue them down. Smaller flowers can be layered on top of larger ones for dimension. The card doesn't exactly scream "baby" to me, but I think the congratulatory message gets across.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird
Stamps: Studio G- Hello Friend
Paper: American Crafts- City Park
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb
Other: Royal Blue American Crafts Stamp Marker

Sunday, June 26, 2011

CPS #224

I went to two yard sales today and came back with good stuff for very cheap prices. I was in search of durable storage solutions for my future craft space. I'm replacing anything cardboard/flimsy with plastic or glass containers. At the yard sale that I went to this morning before spin class, I found this set of 4 half pint preserving jars that I'm planning to put buttons/embellishments (pictured) for $1 total. After spin, I went to a yard sale, where I found 2 plastic containers (not pictured). They are already in the dishwasher for cleaning. I'm not sure what I'm going to put in them yet.
The instructor that teaches the second class on Saturdays is going to replace the instructor for Thursday nights. I'm excited about that because I like her more anyway.

It's been quite a foody Sunday. I am trying to gear up for the week ahead so that I'm not struggling to come up with ideas for lunch or dinner. I've tried all these recipes before because I like sticking to the winners. However, when I move to the new place in 2 weeks (!), I will try to branch out.
Here's my take on CPS #224. I really wanted to use some g.c.d. Studios that I bought earlier this year. I planned to use some patterned paper on the top large panel and then have colored cardstock on the bottom. I thought that using the bright blue ribbon would be a good way to separate the two. For the stamps, fortunately, I had the right shades of blue and red for the flowers so that everything coordinated.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Lipstick Red, Blue Lagoon, Blackbird. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Broken China.
Paper: g.c.d. Studios- Chianti Collection
Stamps: Fiskars- Petals From Scratch (all)
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4
Other: Black American Crafts Stamp Marker

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Fall-To Layout #146

Kitty update: I think she's gotten over the trauma of going to the vet yesterday as evidenced by her appetite comeback and sleeping upstairs instead of a dark corner in the basement. Crisis averted.

I stopped by a few few yard sales in the area this morning on the way to spin class. I didn't find anything worth buying, so I ended up at the gym 30 minutes early. I saw one of my gym buddies who had a baby about 6 months ago. The baby was adorable (chubby chubby cheeks) and had grown so much since the last time I saw her. Awww.

The rest of my day was spent doing house stuff (scrubbing down the bathroom and doing laundry) and then making origami dress cards for my craft show inventory. Even though craft show season is months away, I don't want to be panicking and thinking that I don't have enough cards or enough variety to sell. I'm really liking the sentiment stamps that I bought last week. I like the look they give in comparison to just printing sentiments on cardstock using my printer. I also caught up on some Paperclipping Roundtable episodes while I was being crafty.

Confession: I totally annihilated the pint of ice cream I bought yesterday. Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch. Please don't judge me. ::hangs head:: However, it was totally freakin' stickin' worth it.

Here's my take on this week's Fall-To Layout (#146). I started out with a kraft piece of cardstock that I already had laying around. Then I used a border paper punch on some strips of white cardstock that were leftover from this afternoon's card making session. I knew I wanted to using my new birthday stamp, and I thought it'd be nicely paired with some music notes...you know like the "happy birthday" song and all that jazz. Pearls were added on for an elegant finishing touch. Ta da!
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Broken China.
Stamps: Studio G (sentiment), Stampendous (music score)
Paper: American Crafts- City Park, American Crafts- Dear Lizzy
Punch: Fiskars Threading Waters border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Carla Craft sakura punch
Flowers: Prima
Die: Sizzix- Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Florals, Cuttlebug- Flowers
Brad: Recollections- Pearl Brads
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Pearl
Other: Black American Crafts Stamp Marker

Friday, June 24, 2011

Staff Breakfast + New Etsy Purchase

I managed to get to the office around 7:45 AM today. This is a rare occurrence. I was able to shave off some time because a) I didn't have to eat breakfast because we were getting breakfast at work and b) I didn't care too much about my appearance because it's casual Friday. The normal early birds were like "Tina, you're here way too early." Yeah, but the earlier I get to the office, the sooner I can leave to start my weekend. There is a reason for the madness.

The staff breakfast that I helped organize was a success today, woot! The menu was French toast, eggs, turkey bacon, sausage, and regular bacon (lots o' meat!), 4 kinds of juice (I took home 2 cartons that were halfway full), grapes, and bananas. I think everyone found the meal filling...I even had some for lunch.

One of the IT guys brought his daughter to work. We were all laughing about how an 8-year-old girl has a cellphone. She insisted that she used it to call her sister, and yes, she knows how to text. My boss's boss welcomed everyone to the breakfast, and in the middle of it, the girl's cell phone text message indicator went off. And everyone laughed and laughed. I don't think it would have been as funny if it was an employee's phone.

There was definitely enough food for people to have breakfast for lunch. Bored? No, I'm not bored. While I was full after breakfast, after I checked survey data for 3 hours with the survey manager, I was feeling hungry again. My boss's boss walks by as I was going to the kitchen to throw away my paper plate, "Tina, I thought you were fulllll," imitating my comment earlier in the morning. "Ummm, I had to use a lot of brain power and energy." "Oh, I fully understand now. Thinking requires calorie consumption."

Being able to leave early allowed me to go grocery shopping and get that out of the way before the weekend started. Yay. Before I left, I went back to the main building to get the juice and I went to visit the admin assistant. He was sitting at his computer, eating some frozen yogurt from a place nearby that just opened. "WHAT ARE YOU EATING?!" He looked really guilty. "Oh, uh, I thought you went home. You were offline!" ::grumble:: Whatever. I ate too much today anyway.

When I got home, the two earring sets that I purchased off Etsy seller SoundsofSilver were waiting for me! One pair was a tiny silver studs and then other were silver studs with a slight dent (she called them pebbles). I am so appreciative of prompt sellers. The earrings arrived perfectly packaged and as described.

Ginger went to the vet today and got a clean bill of health. Except now she doesn't want to eat and is hiding downstairs. What gives?! Maybe she just had a tough day. I guess I'd be irked if I was hauled off to the doctor involuntarily.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Letterpress Technique with the Cuttlebug Machine

The monthly staff breakfast is tomorrow, and my department is one of the two that is hosting it. I went to the grocery store with one of my co-workers to pick up juice and fruit. We walked by some candy. I just couldn't help myself and exclaimed, "Ooo, candy!" My co-worker was walking behind me with the cart, "Let's move along now. Geeze, Tina. I'm like a parent, grocery shopping with a kid." Well, I paid for the groceries! Who's the grown-up now, eh?

For today's card, I wanted to try use my Cuttlebug machine as a letterpress. I inked up one side of the embossing folder and sandwiched my cardstock in between and ran it through the machine. It took a couple of tries to get it right. Even the white cardstock that I used wasn't perfect, but I thought the majority of the resulting image was good enough to use for this card. Uh, hello traffic light. Ha ha.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Yellow Ochre
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Nana's Kitchen
Punch: Fiskars Threading Waters border punch
Brad: Recollections- Rhinestone Brads
Flowers: Prima
Stickers: American Crafts Chipboard Thickers in Typo
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug (Victoria)
Ribbon: Sweet Petites from A.C. Moore

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

One-Layer Wednesday #59

Good things that happened today:
  • So you remember this new initiative that I wanted to get started at work? I sent out the meeting invitation this morning. The meeting's not happening for another month, but hopefully, with the advanced planning, people will keep their schedules open during that block of time.
  • Through my realtor, I expressed interest in some of the furniture that's already at the townhome that I'm buying. I figured "you don't ask, you don't get." The worst she could say is no. She agreed to sell me a whole bunch of things. Who doesn't like a win-win situation? I get stuff that's already matching and she gets money to buy new furniture when she moves to her new place. I'm less than 3 weeks away from the closing date...so exciting!
I love the cheerful yellow flowers in this week's One-Layer Wednesday challenge (#59) inspiration. Of course, I had to try it out! I masked off the edges and stamped the flowers and leaves. When I took the masks off, I thought of just drawing the borders in with a black marker, but then I tried using a border stamp instead to define the image space.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Bisque, Yellow Citrus, Yellow Ochre, Olive Pastel, Ice Blue, Blackbird
Stamps: Fiskars- Border-A-Plenty, Fiskars- Petals From Scratch, K.I. Memories-Blooms, K.I. Memories- Logo Sushi, Inkadinkado- Round Frames (sentiment)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Farewell Lunch

Today, my supervisor's supervisor and I took my teammate Morgan out to lunch at a Thai restaurant. His last day at the organization is coming up next week, and I'm going to be really sad to see him leave. He started throwing stuff out and organizing his workspace this morning. That made his departure seem more real even though I was aware of his end date months ago. It'll be weird to have an office to myself. I foresee myself going across the street to the main building to hang out with people.

For tonight's card, my goals were to emboss, use a stamp that I bought over the weekend at Michaels, use ribbon and use some Distress Inks. I started out with some kraft cardstock and stamped the background music score stamp. Unfortunately, I didn't center the stamp so I had to cut a little from the top. Next, I took out a scrap piece of watercolor paper and stamped and heat embossed the flower-like stamp. The reasoning behind my choice of Distress Ink was that I wanted some warm colors to contrast with the kraft cardstock, so I went with some red, pink and tan. I stamped the ink pads directly on my craft sheet and spritzed some water to dilute the ink, creating a watercolor. The colors blended very nicely on the watercolor paper. Butterflies and ribbon were added as a final dimensional touch. I left the card without a sentiment because a) I ran out of space and b) it's nice to have blank anytime cards on hand.

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Barn Door, Tattered Rose, Weathered Wood, Antique Linen
Stamps: Studio G- Botanical Background, Stampendous (music score)
Paper: American Crafts- A La Carte
Punch: Martha Stewart- Classic Butterfly
Ribbon: Sweet Petites from A.C. Moore

Monday, June 20, 2011

Wee Memories Challenge #60

Links from the world wide web:
  • My dad did a funny thing today. I got home from work to find this article about cards from The Wall Street Journal tacked up on the refrigerator. While I'm rooting for homemade cards, I think that receiving anything snail mailed and handwritten would brighten anyone's day.
  • I wonder if this foody adventure in cheesecake would cause a stomachache.
  • Like the game Angry Birds? Play it online...and don't let your boss know, mkay?
For today's card, I wanted to do this week's Wee Memories Challenge (#60) which focused on a party theme. This was a perfect time to use these balloon 3D stickers that I got from Meg for my birthday. I thought it'd be super cute to have an animal hold a balloon that had a sentiment on it, which which animal fold? Oh, I know, an elephant. He can hold the balloon string in his trunk, perfect! Once I chose which balloon I wanted to use in the set, I picked out papers that coordinated with the colors of the balloon.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Red, Prussian Blue
Stamps: American Crafts- Dear Lizzy- Warbler (flag)
Paper: American Crafts- City Park, Die Cuts with a View- Nana's Kitchen
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Sticker: Sandylion Essentials- Balloons
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials

I spent some time tonight downloading and getting familiar with the latest version of OpenShot. I like the thought of embarking on an adventure in video editing and I hope to create more YouTube videos as the summer goes on.

Did anyone watch tonight's episode of The Bachelorette? **Spoiler alert! **




OMG, how can her radar be so off about that (explicative) Bentley?! I hope she gets a wake up call in next week's episode! On another note, whoo hoo...go JP!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

CPS #223

I'm having some buyer's remorse. While I was watching my haul video from yesterday, I noticed that there's something wrong with this sentiment stamp that I bought yesterday. Can you guess what it is?
Answer: the apostrophe is in the wrong place! It should be before the r, instead of before the e. I thought it was just the image sticker, but I looked at the actual stamp, and yep, the apostrophe is in the wrong place there too. It's irking me to the extent that I'm planning to go back to Michaels to find a replacement or just simply return it. Even though the cost of the stamp wasn't that much, I want to be happy with what I spend my money on. Makes sense, right?

Here's my take on CPS #223. I wanted to continue my use of the DCWV paper stack that I used yesterday, but with more toned down colors. I also used one of my new sentiment stamps that I got from Michaels yesterday. I'm really digging the handwriting + font combination!
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird, Blush Rose
Stamps: Studio G (sentiment), Basic Grey- Cup of Tea (teapot)
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Nana's Kitchen
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Apron Lace border punch
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Pearl

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Fall-To Layout #145

I didn't get a chance to do Fall-To Layout #145 yesterday, so that's the basis of today's card. Instead of cutting out 3 different strips of paper for the middle portion, I used a piece of patterned paper that had strips in it already. In the full sheet of patterned paper, there's a strip of blue, but I had to leave it off because size limits of the card. Because the paper had some green, I decided to use some green ink with my new pear stamp. I also wanted the sentiment to stand out, so that's where the black ink came in. The butterfly and dashed trail was added on at the end for a whimsical touch.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird, Warm Green, French Blue.
Stamps: Studio G (pear, sentiment), K&Company- AB Lotus Floral Stamps (butterfly)
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Nana's Kitchen
Other: Black American Crafts Stamp Marker

I went to go hang out with my buddy Meg tonight and on the way home via the Metro, there were so many people that got on at Metro Center. I mean, it was so bad that I couldn't see the windows. People were towering over me. There was a young Asian woman standing next to me. I'm sure she understood that smushed feeling.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Comp Day

Whoo hoo, no work today! :) I was able to get everything that I wanted to get done done.
  • Spin class, check. The class started out with some technical difficulties because the audio system wasn't working. The staff was able to get the music playing, but then the headset microphone wasn't working. I hope it gets resolve by tomorrow's class.
  • Book donation, check. I spent some time last night deciding which books were coming with me to the new place. Because of the limited space at the townhouse, I want to make sure that bookshelf space is used wisely. I dropped off at least 25 books at the place for library donations. Most of the books were purchased used there anyway, so I guess it's all come full circle?
  • Visited kitties at Petsmart, check. They had some really young kitties there, probably around 8 weeks. It's hard to imagine that Ginger started out that small.
  • Green Lantern, check. The special effects were good and enhanced by the 3D glasses. I'm not really sure that I buy Ryan Reynolds as a superhero. Out of the 3 superhero movies I've seen this summer so far, my vote goes to Thor.
  • Craft store shopping, check. I went to Michaels and TJMaxx and came out with nothing in either store. Meh, I can save that money for the huge stamp sale going on over at TwoPeas or save it for house stuff.
When I got home from the movie, I got an Etsy convo from a buyer that wanted origami animals without the card. Here's what the finished order looked like.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Etsy Shop Heart Milestone

I've reached an Etsy milestone by surpassing 2500 shop hearts, yay!For today's card, I wanted to use brown ink on kraft cardstock and incorporate strips of paper. What a great way to use up scraps, right? My sister challenged me to not do any faux stitching on my cards for a while, but as you can see, that didn't last very long. I guess it's become part of my card making style and a habit.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Stamps: Studio G (hummingbird), The Paper Company Studio- Greetings (sentiment), Basic Grey- Cup of Tea (small flower, label), American Crafts- Boutonnière (large flower)
Paper: American Crafts- Letterbox
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Pearl
Other: Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

The higher ups at work gave some of the staff that worked the Annual Meeting 2 comp days to be used before July 11. I'm planning to take one of those days tomorrow. Plans include going to spin class, maybe doing some crafty shopping, and definitely seeing Green Lantern. Hello, Ryan Reynolds. :D

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

One-Layer Wednesday #58

The office pot luck was today, and it was a great success. If there's something that we do really well at the office, it's throwing a good party with good food. Hummus, fruit, salad, chicken, 2 types of key lime pie (regular and gluten-free), cookies, cinnamon rolls, etc. I baked about 30 peanut butter chocolate chip cookies last night and ate one before bed for quality assurance purposes. I came back home with ZERO! YAY! One of the IT guys happily ate the last 5 cookies. I'm so thankful that I'm not stuck eating them by myself. Whew!

This week's One-Layer Wednesday (#58) focuses on the color scheme: orange, yellow and aqua. I thought this was funny because that's kinda the color scheme that I used on my card yesterday. I wanted to use an American Crafts stamp set and I had my eye on a lotus-like flower, but ended up using a background stamp. I thought it'd be cool to use it as a present and then use other box-y stamps to create a row of gifts. To break up the boxiness, I added a vase with a flower at the end of the row.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird, Blue Lagoon, Yellow Ochre, Tangerine
Stamps: Studio G (sentiment), Fiskars- Friendship Garden (flower), Basic Grey- Medallion, K.I. Memories- Patterns, American Crafts- Boutonnière
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Sunflower Yellow
Other: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker, Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Tuesday Trigger: Rainbow Bright

Today was my third day in a row going to spin class. With all the travel that I've been on lately (and ok ok, a bout of laziness), this is a welcomed change. I hope I can keep it up!

There's going to be a potluck at work tomorrow. My contribution will be homemade peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Mmm, can you smell them from the kitchen?

It's been a little while since I've done a card for Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger, and I was so happy to be able to do one today and that the trigger photo featured bright colors. I was more inspired by the color scheme than I was with the spools/sewing theme, as you can see with the use of teal, red, yellow, and orange paper/cardstock. My aunt's birthday is later this week, so this card is going to her. :)
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird
Stamps: Studio G
Paper: American Crafts- Abode and A La Carte
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Sunflower Yellow
Stickers: Martha Stewart- Fiesta Icon Stickers

Monday, June 13, 2011

Monday, Monday

Today got off on the wrong foot. I got about halfway to work and realized that I forgot my laptop at home! ERGGGG. Sigh, fortunately, I don't live that far away from the office so I made a U-turn, went back home, and still made it to the office at my usual time.

Yay, JP's still in the running on The Bachelorette. :)

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Furry Neighbors

We had a furry visitors in the garden today. I caught a glimpse of a chipmunk this morning before I left for spin class and then a baby bunny when I got home.

I went into today's card making session thinking that I'd be tackling this week's Tuesday Trigger, but I went in a totally different direction when I started picking out papers. I was gravitating towards the pale spring green papers and thought that doing a garden/landscape scene would be fun. That way, I could also use some flowers stickers my cousin gave me. I started the card by creating a tone-on-tone background with the border stamp and then paper pieced the "grass" using patterned paper. Distress inks were used on the sun and two hills to make them stand out a little. I also did something a little different with the clouds and sun by cutting up labels that I die cut. Whew, a little pattern overload today!
Card Specs:
Card base: Hero Arts- Folded Cards in Mocha
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Wild Honey, Peeled Paint.
Stamps: Inkadinkado- Round Frames (sentiment), Fiskars- Border-A-Plenty
Paper: American Crafts- Letterbox (all)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4
Other: Glossy Accents

Saturday, June 11, 2011

CPS #222

It's been a (X) good day, (_) bad day. :)

Because the movie theater in Omaha was not within walking distance, I had to scratch my original plan to see X-Men: First Class last Friday when it came out. I, instead, went to see it this morning and it was worth the wait and something that I'd buy on DVD. I thought the special effects were awesome, and I liked how they had some cameo appearances to tie back to existing X-Men movies (I won't spoil the surprise in case any of you out there are still waiting to see the movie). If I had to choose a favorite character from the movie, it'd be Beast. Next up: Green Lantern.

Has anyone been watching the most recent season of The Bachelorette? ::whispers:: I have. I am rooting for JP (the PJ date was adorable...). <3

I scored an Etsy sale today (and 1 pending)...the first one in while. I'm excited to be able to focus more on the shop since I don't have any work travel for a month or two.

Here's my take on CPS #222. I was gravitating towards the American Crafts Abode collection, so I picked the heart and polka dot papers and built the card from there. I also did some tone-on-tone stamping on the polka dot paper to add some visual interest to the yellow panel. Pearls were added at the end for a classy, dimensional touch.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird, Warm Red, Yellow Ochre
Stamps: K&Company- AB Lotus Floral Stamps, K&Company- AB Lotus Greeting Stamps (sentiment)
Paper: American Crafts- Abode
Punch: Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Sunflower Yellow
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials

Song of the day: "Good Life"- One Republic

Friday, June 10, 2011

Fall-To Layout #144

With the work meeting behind me, the yellow nail polish has made a comeback!

Earlier this evening, I went to a concert that Robyn was playing in. It was really cute to see the children dancing to the music. They got some moves!

Here's my take on Fall-To Layout #144. I was asked to make a good-bye card for a fellow staff person who is leaving at the end of the month. I didn't have any "Best Wishes" stamps that were the size I needed so I created my own using a set of alphabet stamps. I also used some stickers that my cousin gave me from Taiwan. I love how they already come with a pop dot underneath to add a little dimension.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird
Stamps: American Crafts- Rue (alphabet)
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Mango Frost
Punch: Fiskars Threading Waters border punch
Brad: Recollections- Silver Circles
Flowers: Prima
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Omaha, Day 4, 5, and 6

Ahhh, it's good to be back. Looks like the heat followed me back to DC...or perhaps it never left. Anyway, I think the Annual Meeting was a success. On my way home, I heard many of the members say how they enjoyed the meeting and hearing that feedback definitely makes all the preparation and work during the event well worth the effort. Onward to Seattle next year! Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative. ::fingers crossed::

When I was getting my tag printed for my poster tube, the gentleman at the counter...excuse me, the jerk at the counter (I would have used a stronger word to describe him, but I'll refrain from using any profanity), was totally causing a scene. He was making this HUGE stink about how a fire had prevented him from making his flight on time. The airline counter wouldn't let him board the plane because he was too late and they would not make any exceptions. He would have to get on another flight and of course, the airline wasn't being fast enough with getting his new ticket booked. He was cursing up a storm, and while that sounds bad already, there was a child next to him. What a poor example of how one should act in those types of stressful situations! I wanted to give the lady at the counter a hug because it's obviously not HER fault that the guy missed his flight. He must have left his manners at home or something.

I finally went to the BBQ place near the convention center called The Old Mattress Factory and got a pulled pork sandwich twice for dinner while I was in Omaha. Yum. The restaurant had a lobster tank in the corner where, for $2, you could use the mechanical claw to grab your lobster. I guess if you pick one up, the restaurant would boil it for you.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Omaha, Day 1, 2, and 3

Greetings from Omaha! Let's jump right into stories...(there will be no cardmaking until probably Friday, so the next couple of entries will be more of a journaling of my time in Omaha. Feel free to follow along!)

First off, I'm not one of those chatty people that you sit next to on the plane. I'm one of those types that falls right asleep and then if I wake up, I just pretend that I'm asleep to avoid awkward conversation. And yes, perhaps that sounds anti-social. Anyway, I sat next to a young man, and we had both passed out for the majority of the flight. We both woke up with 30 minutes left in the flight, and he made some comment about how it was cold on the plane. "What brings you to Omaha?" "Work. What about you?" "I'm visiting family. I just graduated, and I'm going off to basic training soon, so I wanted to spend as much time with them as I could." Oh, this is interesting. We ended up talking about basic training and the lack of options in terms of a social life in Omaha. The lesson here is that not all conversations with strangers on planes are awkward.

When I got to the hotel, I wandered outside to find something to eat. I ended up wandering around Omaha and getting some lasagna at an Italian place. I was so sweaty by the time I got back to the hotel. I made a game plan to walk straight into the hotel, trying to avoid any eye contact with anyone so that they would not have to see me in such a gross condition. "HI TINA!" ::waves me over:: Oh great. Thankfully it was a co-worker and not a member. Otherwise, I would have been super embarrassed.

I was in an all-day meeting on Saturday, which was productive, and then today was the official start of the conference. I spent most of the time at the registration desk, a good spot to be when you want to see a lot of the members. The day was not without its embarrassing moments.
  • I had a bottle of water at the registration desk. I hear "That's not being very green." We try to encourage people to use water bottles instead of bottles of water. I looked around to see who the voice was referring to. "You, Tina." Oh, heh. Erg.
  • At the closing reception, I got caught with my mouth full and my hands foody. "Ohh, you're the guy that I met in New Hampshire. Hi, how are you? I'd shake your hand but..." "That's ok, Tina."
  • After the closing session, I went to get a drink with a co-worker and then I went up to the Hilton Honors suite to get some snacks. I came back with 2 cookies, a ginger ale, and a bottle of water. I got back in the elevator and sure enough, another member saw me with my hands full of food. He looked like he was going to the gym. I tried to make a joke, "Wow, you're dedicated!" And then we both laughed.
Food report:
I haven't had much of the meat that Omaha is known for, but I'm determined to get some pulled pork at a BBQ place that people have been raving about. The meeting food so far has been good. At yesterday's reception, I had some macaroni and cheese that was good, as well as some risotto. Tonight's reception food was even better: mini cheeseburgers, veggies and hummus, crab ragoon, and pot stickers. Yum! The drink that I had at the end of the day was a James and the Giant Peach martini. I asked the bartender about a cherry limeade drink, but she made a face and told me that it was no good. I appreciated her candor.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Wee Memories Challenge #58

I took the day off of work to get some "new home" stuff taken care of.
  • Met with mortgage guy in the morning to sign paperwork. I was very impressed with his wall of handwritten thank you cards he received from clients.
  • Attended the home inspection, which went well. The inspector had been to some crummy looking houses lately so I'm sure he was relieved to find a place in good condition. Shorter report to write, I guess.
  • Received the HOA documents for review that I can review on the plane tomorrow
When he got home from work today, Dad announced that tomorrow was going to be his last day at work. Hello, retirement! I hope he wasn't joking around because I already announced the news on Facebook.

Here's my card entry for Wee Memories Challenge #58: Pinterest/Etsy Inspired- "find something on either of them that inspires you and use that inspiration for your creation!" I kinda cheated on this one because I had already started the card before I found something that inspired me. I knew I wanted to have a punched border at the bottom of the card, so that's what I did first. Then I did a search for "black doily" on Pinterest and found this cake with a black doily-looking thing with a pink flower. So I incorporated some black doily-looking things (yay for using a new stamp set) and pink in the card. The card still looked very heavy on the black side so I offset it by adding some faux stitching and white accents on the circles.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird
Stamps: K&Company- AB Lotus Floral Stamps, Inkadinkado- Round Frames (sentiment, circle)
Paper: Martha Stewart
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large
Brad: Recollections- Silver Circles
Flowers: Prima
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials

Now for some Real Housewives of NYC. :)

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Tuesday Trigger: Classically Modern

Funny conversation at the office...

Co-worker asks, "Tina, how old are you?" "28." ::looks shocked:: "LIES!"

...oook, I guess I'll take that as a compliment?

Same co-worker in the same conversation. "Tina, how long have you been looking for a place?" "Well, the one that I put an offer in was the first and only place that I saw with my realtor." ::looks shocked:: "You're crazy!"

Well, I guess some people could say that, but maybe I just knew exactly what I was looking for, found it, and didn't want the opportunity to pass me by.

Other office news: my abstract was accepted into a national conference. Woot. I'm happy that the conference this year is in DC (last year it was in Denver), so less distance to travel. Double woot. My boss's abstract was accepted too, so it's been a good day for the both of us.

Today's card: here's my take on this week's Tuesday Trigger (Classically Modern). Wow, how pretty! I tried to incorporate the color scheme (blue, white, and a little pink and green) into the card as well as some texture that's seen in the white bedspread. It feels kinda unnatural to me to have a card that's mostly white, but at least that's in line with the trigger photo. I also wanted to use some supplies/techniques that I hadn't used in a while: heat embossing, dry embossing and Prima flowers.
Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Prussian Blue
Stamps: K&Company- AB Lotus Floral Stamps (large flower), Hero Arts- Thinking of You Messages (sentiment), Fiskars- Petals From Scratch (small flower)
Paper: American Crafts Specialty Paper in Pearl (blue)
Embossing Folder: Cuttlebug (Swiss Dots)
Brad: Recollections- Silver Circles
Flowers: Prima
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials