Pages

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Fall-To Layout #210

Shopping fail: This afternoon, I went to a new Kohl's that opened recently in search for jeans.  I have the hardest time shopping for them.  Most of them are too long.  And then some of them are too tight in the crotch area or too loose around my butt.  Sigh.  I suppose I could have gone to look in the juniors section, but I didn't have the patience after looking through the women's section.  Maybe I'll try again next weekend.

Being crafty: It has been really busy in my craft room these past few days because I'm preparing for a craft show that's coming up next Saturday.  I was looking at my inventory, and my fabric flower pins were definitely running low so I had to fix that.

Card: Here's my take on Fall-To Layout #210.  The card base was one that I was going to use for an office order card, but the image didn't stamp correctly at the top.  Solution: cover it up!  Hee hee.




Card Specs: 
Ink: Stampin' Up in Early Espresso, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Vintage Photo
Stamp: Hero Arts- Sending Smiles
Paper: My Mind's Eye, American Crafts- Botanique, Die Cuts with a View- Mango Frost
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Upper Crest border punch
White Gel Pen: Uni-Ball Signo Broad White Gel Pen

Now I'm off to watch the RHONJ reunion...it should be drama-filled aka awesome television!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

The Avengers!

After work today, I headed over to the local Target and made a bee-line for the media section so that I could pick up my copy of the new Avengers DVD. I, of course, watched it tonight...you know, so that I could double check to make sure that the disc was fully functional. The Superhero manliness was not hard on the eyes either.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Sears Finale?

Sears rawr finale:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.
Oh, Sears.  How you continue to disappoint me.  I was expecting the technicians between 7 and 8 AM this morning.  I got a call from Sears at 7:45 AM saying that the technicians were on their way.  They didn't actually show up until about 9ish.  Fortunately, I didn't have any meeting or calls at work, so I could monitor emails at home while waiting for these guys to show up.  The techs that showed up were the same ones that came to my house the first time.  Oh, joy.  You again.

The guy asked me what I needed done, and I told him that I wanted the UV light removed and some screws on the vents replaced.  ::confused look from technician::  "Oh, you won't get your money back."  I thought my head was going to explode and that my temper was going to flare out of control from my frustration.  I calmly told him that I had previously talked to Sears about this and yes, I will get my money back.  He said that he had to call in to confirm the job. Oook.  I looked at the invoice when I was signing it and it said "Remove UV light and fix/replace screws."  Hello?  The job description is right there!  Anyway, the technicians were in and out in about 20 minutes.  Now all I need is the reimbursement check and I'm going to be done with Sears for, like, ever.

Peanut butter: I was making a PBJ sandwich this morning, and I scoop it out of the jar...only to have a plop onto the kitchen floor.  UGH...

At the office: I decided to hang out in the main building this morning and hang out with Jennifer (my former office mate).  I hear a knock on the door behind me.  It's one of the directors.  "Hi, Tina.  I need some cards.  I had been thinking about going to the store to get some, but then I walked by and saw you sitting there, and it just clicked in my head that I could get you to make them."  Good thing I was sitting here this morning!  I also got an email from Human Resources saying that they needed 30 birthday and anniversary cards.  Looks like I'll have some crafty stuff to work on this week...and then I can actually use that money to buy crafty things.  Not like on Saturday where I spent the money on gas. :P

Etsy: Ending the day with a good note...I got my 700th sale on Etsy today!  The origami panda mail card is heading to Australia.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Fall-To Layout #209

Extra fun money!: I made $30 today by selling a lot of 13 used clear stamp sets today.  I was thinking of using that money to buy crafty goodies, but I think I'll hold off on that since I spent $25 on gas for my car today.

Friends: Tonight, I carpooled with Meg to Robyn's place to hang out with her and her friend Jules.  We went to a BBQ place, but unfortunately, the place ran out of pork!  That made me sad since I was looking forward to a pulled pork sandwich, but oh well.  We decided to eat here anyway since there were other things on the menu that sounded yummy.  I went with the half BBQ chicken, and even though it was a little messy to eat, it was pretty good.  I baked a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for us all to share for dessert, and I came home with an empty container (yay!).  We also got a lot of laughs by playing Just Dance 2 on Robyn's Wii.

Card: Here's the card that I made for today, using Fall-To Layout #209 as a guide.  This card is going to my cousin in CA.  I haven't talked to him in a while, and of course I could send him an email, but a card would be so much more fun!


Card Specs: 
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Stamp: Hero Arts- Designer Wood Grain
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Darling Dear
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Stickers: Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type in Yellow
White Gel Pen: Uni-Ball Signo Broad White Gel Pen

Friday, September 21, 2012

Sears, RAWR!

Sears woes, continued:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
I had an appointment with Sears today for them to uninstall the UV mold prevention light.  I felt like I was tricked into buying it, so I don't want it anymore and I want my money back.  The technician was supposed to come by between 12 and 3 PM.  5:30 rolls around and no one has showed up yet.  I called Sears and they said that the technician was running late at another appointment in another city, but they would call me again when he was on the way.  It would take him quite a while to get from where the previous appointment was to my place, given the traffic during rush hour.  When 6:30 rolled around, no one had come by the house yet.  UGH!  I didn't want to just sit around waiting for them!  I called again and gave Sears a piece of my mind, making sure to mention that their communication was unsatisfactory and that I wanted to reschedule the appointment.  I have the first appointment on Monday, so we'll see how that goes.

Card: My friend at work asked me to make a birthday card for her.  The card is for someone that likes purple and gardening and butterflies.  Easy peasy.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tattered Rose, Peeled Paint
Paper: American Crafts- Botanique, Chatterbox, Recollections
Stamps: Stampin' Up- Elementary Elegance (sentiment)
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Foliage Other: Recollections Pearls

Thursday, September 20, 2012

A Crafty Turn of Events

At the office: I had to turn in my computer to IT this morning so that it could get upgraded to Windows  7 and Office 2010.  The IT guy joked with me when he handed me the loaner computer that I was going to use for today.  He laughs and goes, "Oh, Danny must not like you."  (He was kidding) The loaner was kinda a clunker, but I was able to get on the internet and do email, so surprisingly it didn't pose any problems for me.

2012 Craft Shows: I wasn't planning to do any craft shows this year, but then today, I signed up to do two!  An Etsy person contacted me personally to do one and since it was close by, I figured "Meh, what the heck."  Then, on a whim, I contacted another craft show organizer to see if her church was doing one this year (even though they didn't last year for construction reasons), and she was just about to send out the information.  Whew, great timing!  My inventory isn't looking so good, but fortunately I have some time to fix that before the one on October 6.  The other one is on December 1, so there's a nice break in between!  Maybe I can make some money in craft shows this year after all. :)

Potential Buyer?: Another surprising thing was that I have a person interested in the clear stamp lot that I have up for sale.     I am hoping we can meet up sometime this weekend to do the switch-a-roo.  An extra $30 would be nice.  The idea was to sell crafty things that I don't use so that I can buy crafty things that I want to and will use.  Plus, the lady will get 13 stamp sets for a lower price.  Everybody wins!

Card: I was determined to make a card tonight, but it had to be something that wasn't too complicated. I remembered that I had some punch-outs leftover from a card class that I taught earlier this year.  Armed with my glue pen, I used it to adhere glue some of the punch-outs to the patterned paper.  Easy peasy!

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Dark Peony
Stamp: The Paper Company Studio- Greetings (sentiment)
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Foliage Paper: American Crafts- Peachy Keen
Punch: Carl- Small and Medium Cherry Blossom, We R Memory Keepers Corner, Martha Stewart- Classic Butterfly, Marvy Uchida Jumbo Daisy
Other: Liquid Pearl in Buttercup, Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Cupcake Card

Rough morning: I had a really hard time getting to the office this morning. When I was taking the mixed paper recycling to the curb, the bag broke! I went back into the house to get another one and that one broke too! Third time's the charm though. Anyone looking out their window watching me struggle was probably thinking "I guess some people have worse mornings than I do!"

Card: Here's the card that I made for today. I decided to revisit a paper technique that I don't do very often- paper piecing. I just find the cutting tedious, but with these cupcakes, it wasn't that bad because the shapes weren't that complicated.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird, Chestnut Roan, Ocean. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Broken China
Stamps: The Paper Company Studio- Cupcakes (cupcakes), The Paper Company Studio- Greetings (sentiment), Hero Arts- Envelope Pattern
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Fly a Kite, Chatterbox
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

In Search of Restful Sleep

Last week, I wasn't sleeping well because I had weird dreams like going back to school. (Yikes. Really? No, thanks.)

Yesterday, I had someone from my past try to contact me. I have ignored all of his attempts to contact me in the last 3 years. Since I still have no desire to interact with this person, like ever again, I went ahead and blocked him on my IM. Too bad it's not as easy to block thoughts out of my head, and I went to bed feeling frustrated about the situation.

Why can't the past stay in the past? Was the silence not loud enough for you? Go. Away.

If this happens again, I might have to resort to some sort of nasta-gram (that's what my big boss calls a mean email).

Song of the day: "Me and My Friends"- Tim Myers. This is the song in the recent Target TV commercial.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Fall-To Layout #208

At the office: I decided to take a sick day today. I think the recent nights of unrestful sleep, the sudden change in temperature, and having a sick officemate finally caught up to me. It was nice to get the extra day.

Card:
Here's my take on Fall-To Layout #208. I used some scratch paper that I had in my recycling bin and used a circle punch to punch out some circles. I used some removable adhesive to stick them to the card base. Then I took a Hero Arts background stamp that I got on clearance a few weeks ago and stamped it. I removed the circles and stamped the flowers. I'm a little irked that I didn't stamp a clean image on the upper right, but hey, this is handmade!

RJ: That's how I found RJ when I came upstairs after getting breakfast. To him, every day is Saturday.

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in White
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Dark Peony, Sour Apple
Stamp: The Paper Company Studio- Greetings (sentiment), Hero Arts- Four Leaf Grid
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Song of the day: "Finally Found You" - Enrique Iglesias

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Moneyball

Meg went down to NC this weekend to see her new nephew (born on September 13), so Robyn came over and we got Chinese food take out (Meg doesn't like Chinese food) and we watched Moneyball. I had gotten it from the library earlier today. I'm not a huge sports movie fan but I had heard it was good (and it was) and since you can borrow it from the library for free, why not?

I activated the pay-by-credit-card option on my Etsy shop recently, and I'm glad that I did because I got 2 sales today...the first ones in a few weeks. Whew, good timing...and now I'm 1 sale away from #700! :)

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

$2 FroYo

I went with some of my coworkers to the local FrozenYo in celebration of one of my co-worker's birthdays. It's one of those places that has all the frozen yogurt machines lined up against the wall and then there's a topping station. I try not to get too much since they charge by weight. Mine came out to a little over $2 ($2.08) to be exact- cheesecake frozen yogurt with Heath bar pieces on top. Me and another coworker finished pretty quickly since we didn't get so much, but others piled on the toppings. The birthday girl was like "I didn't know that froyo could be less than $5!!" Ha ha.

Personally, I'd rather go to the grocery store and get ice cream or frozen yogurt from frozen food section. You can get a lot more for your money!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

For Sale: Lot of Used Clear Stamps

RJ: RJ comes to visit me every morning after he eats his breakfast. He hopped onto the bed and seemed confused as to why I wasn't getting up (today was day off from work #2). He started chewing on my ponytail, but I did not give in. He gave up and slept on the other pillow, but moved to mine when I went to get breakfast. Hello, persistence.

Organizing: I decided to organize my craft room a little bit by putting together a bunch of cards that I was going to take to the office for grabs in the kitchen and a stack of used clear stamps that I wanted to sell. For more information about the lot, please watch the YouTube video below. First come, first serve!

9|11| Never forget.

Monday, September 10, 2012

CPS #282

Weather: The temperature around here last night dropped significantly last night, it bordered on a little nippy, but I liked it. I even had the windows open while I caught some Zzzzzs. Well, kinda. I had a dream last night that I went back to school. That's the second time I've had that dream in a few days. Gawd, what a nightmare. I already have my MPH...unless, my life depended on it, I'm not going back to school. EVER. I enjoy my free time way too much.

Relaxing day off: I decided to take today off of work. Whoo hoo! I was able to go grocery shopping part without having to deal with a huge crowd. In the afternoon, Julie came to hang out. While we were watching junk TV, I made a batch of chicken cacciatore. Julie even stayed long enough to try it out...the college version left much to be desired, but I'm glad my version passed the test!

Sears woes, continued: Seriously, Sears? How am I supposed to get anything resolved if a) you let your calls go to voice mail and b) don't return calls when I do leave a voice mail? What kind of business are you running over there? Quality customer service, you are seriously lacking.

Card: Here's my take on CPS #282. It's been a while since I've used any Spellbinders dies, so that was the goal of this card, as well as using some letter stickers instead of sentiment stamp.

Card Specs:
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Broken China and Wild Honey.
Paper: American Crafts- Abode
Punch: EK Success- Lattice Chain border punch, We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Stickers: October Afternoon Mini Market Stickers in Red and Cream
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 8, Spellbinders Nestabilities Floral Doily Motifs, Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large
Pearl: Queen & Co.- Sunflower Yellow

Song of the day: "Art of Love"- Guy Sebastion featuring Jordin Sparks. I heard it at spin class last Friday, and I finally got around to listen to the song a little closer today.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Weekend Wrap Up

Movie: On Saturday, Julie (my sister) came over and we got Hawaiian pizza and got How to Train Your Dragon from Redbox. I wondered why Toothless the dragon looked very similar to Stitch (as in Lilo and Stitch) and it's because the director of this movie also directed Lilo and Stitch. I thought it was a very cute and heartwarming movie.

RJ: I washed my tablecloth because it had RJ's hair all over it. I put the freshly laundered tablecloth back on the dining room table last night. RJ took a flying leap onto the table and he and the tablecloth skidded right off, knocking over one of the chairs in the process, like something out of a sitcom.

Family/food: I went over to my parents' house for dinner tonight. Since Julie was home, she HAD to make her famous steaks, so we had quite a feast! I brought over the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that Julie made last night. There was no way I could have them at my house. They would have died a quick death.

Card: For today's card, the goal was to use a Sizzix/Tim Holtz die, washi tape, and a rub-on sentiment. I'm not sure all the colors go together, but at least it's a cheerful card!

I'm taking Monday and Tuesday off...yay for a long weekend!
Card Specs:
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Mango Frost
Brad: Tapestry by C.R. Gibson- Ruby Lemonade
Rub-On: American Crafts- Sentiment Phrases
Washi tape: Container Store
Die: Sizzix- Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Flowers

Thursday, September 6, 2012

XOXO

At the office: I got another email from the journal that I submitted my manuscript to regarding my cover letter. I had to fix it an resubmit it. I did that this afternoon and then got a confirmation that my manuscript was officially turned in. Now the waiting game REALLY begins.

Card: This card was attempt #3 (eye roll). The first two tries were with using a copper pigment ink. It's been a while since I've used any pigment ink and I've forgotten how long it takes for it to dry. I switched to a yellow chalk ink so that I wouldn't have to wait at all. I tore a page out of an old copy of Wuthering Heights as a piece of patterned paper.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Yellow Citrus. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Fired Brick.
Stamp: Ditto (background stamp)
Brad: Making Memories Brad Value Pack- Chelsea's Place collection
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Flowers: Recollections, Prima, Making Memories
Stickers: American Crafts Chipboard Thickers in Typo
Other: Black Ultra Fine Point Sharpie

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Floral Hi Card

Good news: I heard back from the journal that I submitted my article to. Bad news: they reminded me that I needed to get CDC clearance before I submitted it. Ummm, NO. We already talked about this. We're only going to get clearance if the article is accepted. Erghhhh. Hello, gimme a heart attack, won't you?

On a lighter note, I ran into the Policy Director in the hallway today. He mentioned that he received a thank you card from someone that he interviewed. A physical thank you card! I was impressed. He thought the card was really pretty, and he said that he thought, "Hmm, does she know Tina?" That was until he turned the card over and found out that the card was from Hallmark.

Here's the card that I made for today. I used this as an excuse to use my new border punch, a variety of pink brads, and some brown Thickers.

Card Specs:
Ink: Stampin' Up in Regal Rose
Paper: American Crafts- Botanique
Stamp: Stampin' Up- Fresh Vintage
Stickers: American Crafts Felt Thickers in Playroom
Punch: Martha Stewart Garden Gate border punch
Brads: American Crafts, K.I. Memories- Enchanting Epoxy Brads
Other: Liquid Pearl in Buttercup, Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Rosy Card

At the office/RJ: I got an email from a coworker that said that I should consider submitting some pictures of RJ for this contest: APHA's Get Ready Cat Preparedness Photo Contest. Bah ha. That would be totally funny if one of his pictures was selected. RJ is always looking for new fans. Anyway, the same friend sent an email out to a bunch of people (myself included) about how she was going to be placing an order soon with an online kitchen supply store and asked if anyone else wanted to be in on it to save on shipping. I love how I'm associated with cats and food.

Card: I bought this Studio G flower stamp on clearance on Saturday, so I decided to use it for tonight's card. I used some inks and my Aqua Painter to color the flowers and leaves in. My sentiment selection for this card was kinda limiting because I didn't have very much space on the right, but fortunately, I had this small hugs & kisses one. How cute!

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal and Warm Green. Stampin' Up in Cherry Cobbler.
Stamps: Ditto (flowers), Fiskars- Romance (sentiment)
Paper: American Crafts- Botanique

Monday, September 3, 2012

Fall-To Layout #206

Hooray for a 3-day weekend...not that I did anything special on my day off today. I went to Target (because I heard there was baker's twine in their $1 section) and New York and Company (because I had a coupon), but I came home with nothing. So this day ended up being a lazy day of NCIS reruns and catching up on my book and sleep. I guess it's back to the grind tomorrow.

Card:
I wanted to break out some of my new Christmas stamp sets that I got from Marshalls a while back. I bought them when they were on clearance after the holiday season, so I didn't get to use them then, but I can now! I also used a new pack of snowmen embellishments that I got at a yard sale last week, as well as some metallic maroon cardstock that I got from Tuesday Morning yesterday. After I finished the card, I realized that the sentiment is kinda ironic considering the bundled up snowman in the snow, but he's cute! I also like how this card can be easily reproducible and the snowman can easily be switched up with an origami Santa or another type of embellishment. I used Fall-To Layout #206 for inspiration.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal
Stamps: Inkadinkado- Holiday Expressions, Inkadinkado- Snowflakes
Embellishment: Jolee's Boutique- Snowmen
Other: Liquid Pearl in Platinum, Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Sunday, September 2, 2012

CPS #281

BBQ: I went to my co-worker/friend's house for a BBQ this afternoon. I have to say that I was a little overwhelmed by all the children. I was one of the few people there that was child-free, so seeing that many little ones isn't something that I'm used to. I actually made better friends with the family dog who insisted that I kick the deflated soccer ball so that she could fetch it. Funny moment: another coworker that attended introduced me to his boyfriend as "Oh, this is Tina. She's the one with the cute cat." RJ's clearly has some fans via Facebook. I'm also happy to report that I came home with an empty cookie container. I definitely had enough during quality control last night.

Card: Here's the card that I made this morning before I went grocery shopping. My friend from graduate school has a birthday coming up so I wanted to make sure that I got a card in the mail for her. I used CPS #281 as a guide.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal. Stampin' Up in Regal Rose
Paper: American Crafts- Botanique
Stamp: Hero Arts- Envelope Pattern, Savvy Stamps (sentiment)
Punch: EK Success- Lattice Chain border punch
Rub-Ons: American Crafts Botanique
Paper Pieces: American Crafts Botanique Paper Pieces

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Foody and Shopping-Filled Saturday

Food: I wanted to try a new crock pot recipe today (Recipe #12 of 2012)- chicken cacciatore. I used chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs, but I don't think that made a big difference. I sampled a chunk of chicken and some peppers, yum. I'm sure it'll taste even better over pasta or rice. I also made a batch of Rolo cookies for a barbeque that I am invited to tomorrow. My friend Beth came over to sample. I ate 3 cookies for quality assurance purposes. Heh. She made a comment of how I'd make a great housewife because I keep my place really tidy and I can cook.

Shopping: I really wanted to get out of the house, so of course, I went crafty shopping (3 Tuesday Mornings, 2 Michaels, 1 Marshalls, and 1 AC Moore). I came away with some good deals. Doing some YouTube haul video research ahead of time was helpful.
  • Cardstock, 25 sheets of silver, brown, and metallic red. 1 pack of multicolored cardstock page with red, orange, yellow, and green paper
  • 2 sets of Tim Holtz embossing folders (total 4 folders). 1 embossing folder from Embossing Essentials (only $2 because I had a 50% off coupon, score!)
  • Several stamps
  • 1 Martha Stewart Garden Gate border punch
One lady at Tuesday morning had a huge stack of stamps (probably 10-15 of them) and a Tim Holtz embossing folder set that I was looking for. I was lurking to see if she'd drop it and I could snatch it, but unfortunately, she kept her findings close to her.

Card Specs (left):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Pumpkin Spice. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Fired Brick
Stamps: The Paper Company Studio- Cupcakes (sentiment)
Paper: My Mind's Eye- Fly a Kite
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Embossing Folder: Tim Holtz- Dot Matrix
Other: Do-Jiggies (yellow flowers)

Card Specs (right):
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal. Versamark chalk ink in Sea Breeze
Stamps: American Crafts- Herbs (feather), Studio G (sentiment)
Paper: American Crafts- Letterbox
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Brenda Walton (seal)
Die: QuicKutz- Birds
Other: Liquid Pearl in White Opal, Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker