Spinning Sadness

Time for bad news/sad news/good news. I'm going to go with the bad/sad news first so that I end the post on a good note.

Bad/Sad News:

• OMG, I am so SO bummed (did you catch that emphasis on the 2nd "so"?)! I found out at spin class this morning that the instructor that usually teaches the 1 hour spin class had to resign for health reasons. She is such a sweet, encouraging person. I feel so badly for her. I knew that she hadn't been feeling 100% lately, but I didn't know that it had gotten to the point where she couldn't teach spin anymore. She seemed to like teaching spin, so this must have been a tough decision to make. I really enjoyed her classes, and I will miss her. I plan to leave her a card at the gym (see -edit: second- card below). Sounds like she might need some support.
  
• The substitute that taught class this morning was no good. For someone who was here on a trial basis, she did NOT make a good first impression. a) The first thing out of her mouth was that she didn't like the layout of the room. o_0 b) She kept mentioning that she wanted to teach yoga. Yeah, ok, there's nothing wrong with wanting to teach yoga, but this is SPIN. She just sounded like she didn't want to be there today. c) She got off her bike and walked up and down the aisles sometimes. None of of the other instructors that I go to do this. Hello? Personal space? d) She stopped the music towards the end of class to switch CDs and then couldn't find the song she was looking for. e) She yelled and clapped at lot. I thought that was annoying. f) I think there were other people in class didn't like her either because several people left 10 minutes early! Just got up and left! At the end of class, I thought "Ok, maybe I'm being a little too harsh. I have to give her a chance. It was her first class." After talking to "cute gym front desk guy" (see 1st bullet under Good News), other people had left bad feedback on this lady too, so I didn't feel as bad anymore. UGH. I think physically, it was a good workout, but I didn't feel mentally/emotionally refreshed afterwards. There's probably going to be a sub tomorrow too...I hope it goes better tomorrow. Puh-leeeze let it be better tomorrow.

Good News:

• "Cute gym front desk guy" was working this morning, and I even spoke to him briefly (as in more than "hi" and "have a good day"). Double yay. :)
  
• I made brownies for my cousin this morning. I'm more of a cookie person, so I think I was suffering from some baking amnesia. Do I grease the pan? What about flour it? How do I mix the eggs in so that they don't cook? They turned out a-ok though. Whew!
• It was a productive afternoon! I continued to work on the custom order that came through yesterday by cranking out 12 origami butterfly cards. The buyer is a big Dolly Parton fan. My embossing tool definitely got a workout.
• After the 12 cards, I took a 2 hour nap. Napping counts as being productive, right?
  

Random News:

• The Director of Human Resources at work was at spin class today. Small world.
  

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Paper: Martha Stewart

Here's the card that I came up with for the spin instructor. I wanted to go with a really bright and colorful theme. I think I had spring on my mind as well since we had wonderful weather here in MD this weekend. I hope it cheers her up. :)

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Lime Pastel, Lipstick Red, Yellow Citrus, Chestnut Roan
Stamps: Hero Arts- Thinking of You Messages (sentiment), Heidi Grace Designs- Paradise (flowers)
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Citrus
Punch: Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch

Song of the day: "You've Got What It Takes"- Michael Bublé and "Naturally"- Selena Gomez.

A Tropical Day

Today started out with going to spin class. The first time since Monday. I've been battling a series of headaches after work, so spin was a no-go. I was happy to get a good workout in today though. I think every bike was taken! Maybe everyone's getting a head start with getting in shape for summer? I'm planning to go tomorrow for the 1 hour class. We'll see if I can wake up on time.

Has anyone tried the Sweet Tart jelly beans? They are awesome!

When I won this Ebay auction of clear stamps, some tropical stamps were included. My first thought was "What am I going to do with these? Umm, maybe I should give them away or something since I dunno what I'd use these for." Well, it was a good thing that I had them today because one of the cards in a custom order that I received today was a tropical-themed birthday card! This is my beta test card; I'll have to incorporate numbers to indicate which birthday the recipient will be celebrating (the buyer's going to give it to her mother for her 92nd birthday!).

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Orchid Pastel, Yellow Citrus, Lime Pastel, Blue Lagoon
Stamps: The Paper Company Studio- Surf's Up (hibiscuses, wave, palm tree, sun), Fiskars- Flip 'N Flop (flip flop), Saavy Stamps (sentiment)
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Citrus (blue)
Punches: Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch

Song of the day: "Save the Last Dance for Me"- Michael Bublé. Double sigh. :)

Casseroles, Yum!

Instead of getting a $5 sandwich for lunch today (which probably would have lasted one meal), I decided to go to the grocery store and buy food to make when I got home from work. Cooking at home is the more economical thing to do anyway, right? This evening, I whipped up a tuna noodle casserole (from scratch! Complete with mushrooms, onions, peas, and cheese) and a green bean casserole. I took pictures so that you could see my culinary masterpieces, but the lighting wasn't so great. Oops. I promise, it was super yummy!

Tonight's card theme is food. I was inspired by a clear stamp that read "Eat Cake," but I wanted to make the card specifically birthday related. Mmm, cake. I wanted each of the tiers of the cake to be a different pattern, so I alternated between cardstock with a heat embossed pattern with patterned paper. I used the scalloped edge punch to add some interest to the cake too. Bon Appétit!

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in clear
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Punches: Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Ink: StazOn in Jet Black
Stamps: Fiskars- Birthday (sentiment), Martha Stewart (polka dots, bubbles)
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Citrus (orange floral, stripes)

Song of the day: "Save the Last Dance for Me"- Michael Bublé. Sigh. :)

I am Grateful For...

Who says that it has to be Thanksgiving to feel extra appreciative?

I am grateful for...

• my family and friends for being understanding of all things Tina, i.e. craft addiction, food, giggle fits, mandatory nap time, occasional potty mouth, etc.
• my job and supportive boss. I'm SO thankful that we jive.
  
• the spin instructors at the gym for being encouraging and providing a good workout a few times a week.
  
• the creative people at all the crafty companies (Hero Arts, American Crafts, My Mind's Eye, Inkadinkado...just to name a few) for inspiring me and feeding my cardmaking and origami habits by continually producing fabulous products.
  
• the people I interact with in Etsyland, Twitterverse, and the blogosphere. I really appreciate your business and feedback.
• Michael Bublé because listening to his music makes me happy.
• Tom Welling because I love watching Clark Kent kick bad guy butt on Smallville.
• dramatic (read: trashy) reality television, i.e. Real Housewives and MTV's The Real World, for the entertainment.

Now, it's your turn. What are you thankful for?

For tonight's card, I wanted to practice my ribbon tying skills. It took me a good 15-20 minutes to get this knot juuuust right, but when I got it, I got it! I seriously did a mental happy dance in my head. Ah, it's the simple things in life that make me happy. :)

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Lipstick Red
Stamps: Fiskars- Just Between Friends (flowers)
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Citrus (red, stripes), Die Cuts with a View (yellow stars)
Buttons: Favorite Findings in Ocean
Punches: Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Ribbon: From A.C. Moore

Song of the day: "All I Do is Dream of You"- Michael Bublé...on repeat tonight. :)

Oh, whoops...Real Housewives is almost over! I guess I'll catch a rerun tomorrow or something. Niiight!

A Joyful Wednesday

Is anyone's week whizzing by? Raise your hand. ::raises hand::

Hooray, I snagged an Etsy sale today! Someone is getting ahead on his/her Easter shopping because the card that sold was my origami panda Easter card. My day gets a little brighter when I get an email from Etsy Transactions. :)

There was no spin class tonight, so I spent time working on a card for submission and one to post on my Etsy shop. This is what I came up with. It's a spin off of a sketch that The Paper Crafts Connection included in their September/October 2010 call for submissions. I wanted to get some use out of the DCWV Citrus matstack and use a stamp that I haven't used before. Here's what I came up with. I love that shade of red that I used for the sentiment. Whoa, there are a lot of patterns going on there, but I think it works.

The other picture is of tonight's dinner aka today's Project 365 picture. My aunt prepared some beef that goes really well with noodles in soup. Check out that yummy goodness!Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Lipstick Red
Stamps: The Paper Company Studio- You Go Girl! (sentiment)
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Citrus (red, stripes), My Mind's Eye- Bloom & Grow (polka dot butterfly), Die Cuts with a View (yellow butterfly)

Song of the day: We have a tie! "Hey, Soul Sister" - Train and "All I Do is Dream of You"- Michael Bublé.

Birthday Card Redo

On second thought, I dunno how I feel about giving my (female) cousin the truck card from yesterday. I didn't think it was gender neutral enough. I decided to make another birthday card and then choose between the two cards as her birthday gets closer. This time I tried a monkey stamp with a birthday present, balloon, and hat. Super cute. :)

Card Specs:
Stamps: Fiskars- Put On Your Party Hat (present, hat, balloon), The Paper Company Studio- Jungle (monkey), Saavy Stamps (sentiment)
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan, Lipstick Red, Yellow Citrus, and Blue Lagoon
Color pencils: Prismacolor in Copenhagen Blue and Carmine Red

I didn't end up going to spin class tonight because I was battling a headache after work. I'm so bummed that I missed Janice's class, but I don't think it would have been an enjoyable class anyway with the pounding my head. It's off to bed now so that I can have a fresh start in the morning.

Song of the day: "In My Head"- Jason Derulo. Ummm, it's catchy?

Patience is a Virtue

Patience. It's tough.

The waiting. Sometimes intolerable.

You think I'm talking about patience with other people?

Nope.

I'm talking about having patience with oneself. Tonight was one of those nights that I really felt creatively stumped. I was SO ready to get started on work that I could submit to card magazines (see new goal in this post), but when I looked at the "call for submissions" of one particular magazine, I had no idea what to do. I dug through my stamp stash and couldn't really think of anything that I thought was brilliant enough. I literally sat there for about half an hour and started to feel frustrated with myself. It shouldn't be this hard. What's wrong with me? Why can't I think of a card to put together? I finally took a deep mental breath and decided that I wasn't going to ruin my own evening because I couldn't take a chill pill. I decided to put the magazine thoughts aside and work on something else.

That brings me to today's card. My cousin's birthday is coming up. She's not really a girly girl, so I had to refrain from using any sort of glitter, rhinestone, or ribbon. She's a pilot, but since I didn't have any airplane stamps, I went with these cute vehicles instead. The dashed lines were made by curving the clear stamp on my acrylic block. I like the card, despite the rough start this evening. I guess my parting crafty thought tonight is don't force creativity...you'll probably end up wasting supplies.Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Yellow Citrus, Lipstick Red, Blue Lagoon, Chestnut Roan
Stamps: Savvy Stamps (sentiment), K.I. Memories-It's a Boy (car, truck), Autumn Leaves- Build-a-Flower (dashed line)

The self portrait was taken between getting home from work and going to spin class. I was just randomly fidgeting with my camera and was surprised that I liked any of the shots that came out. It'll be today's Project 365 picture.

Tonight's spin class was a good workout. And "cute gym front desk guy" was working tonight. He didn't quit, as I was beginning to think since I hadn't seen him in a few weeks. :D

Song of the day: "Live Like You Were Dying"- Kris Allen. Yep, haven't gotten tired of it yet. However, HOT99.5, could you phase that Ke$ha song out sometime? It's getting really old.