Fall-To Layout 101

Yay, TGIF! Wow, what a week it's been! I wonder if it went by faster because of all the blackout drama at the beginning of the week. In any event, today was a good day.

Sleep in (check)

Attend spin class (check)

Clean bathroom (check)

Eat pad thai for lunch (check)

Take afternoon nap (check)

Make origami panda cards with various sentiments (check...cranked out 18 of them today)

Watch several episodes of NCIS while making cards (check check)

Do laundry (Ummm...yeah. I'll get on that tomorrow)

While I was scarfing down my pad thai, I watched a bunch of videos from TwoPeas's YouTube channel where they preview a bunch of new products seen at CHA Summer 2010. I know that come fall/winter, I'm going to have to exert some self control. More than usual. Why? Well, because so much cool stuff will be coming out! I'm most excited for the American Crafts and Basic Grey goodies. They should have enabler alerts accompanying those videos. They are dangerous to your pocketbook!

Here's my take on clean&simple's Fall-To Layout #101. I was inspired by the kites that I saw in American Crafts' collection called City Park, so I did some paper piecing to create my own kite. I was so happy to find that I still had some cloud paper to accompany the kite.
Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in white
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Stamp: Fiskars- Sentiments (sentiment)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Paper: American Crafts-Metropolitan, K&Company- Citronella Cloudy, Making Memories- Chloe's Closet
Foam adhesive: EK Success
Other: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

CPS #177

Ahhh. A full night's sleep with air conditioning really makes a difference. It results in less disgruntlement in the morning.

Nothing exciting from today, except that I totally missed a rain shower. That's the problem with having a totally interior office with no windows. I have no idea what's going on outside.

My cousin from Taiwan is here for a visit. She brought some treats with her: pineapple cake, mochi, milk tea mix...I guess I'm going to the gym tomorrow (I'm taking the day off). I hope that Anna is teaching. I missed her spin class on Monday because I didn't want to deal with "no traffic light" traffic. Maybe I'll go see a movie too. I hear that Inception is good.

Ok, so you remember how yesterday, I rubbed a little ink on the back of the card? Oops. Time for some recycling. I chopped the card up so that I could use the hearts at the bottom for this CPS #177 card challenge. The part of the card that stumped me was the middle red piece. Heat embossing was going to be a little messy because I already adhered the cardstock to the card base. Putting more patterned paper was going to compete with the hearts and the red paper already there. Thinkthinkthink. Ah ha! I remembered these silver brads that I got from a recent trip to Michaels. There we go. Some dimension to finish off the card. I think I was a little liberal in my interpretation of the sketch, but it works.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Rouge, Warm Red, StazOn in Jet Black
Stamp: The Paper Company Studio- Whimsy Greetings (sentiment), K.I. Memories- Crazy Love (hearts)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Threading Water border punch
Paper: American Crafts-Metropolitan
Other: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker
Brads: Recollections- Silver Circles

We are approaching blog post #200. Stay tuned for a giveaway! :)

One-Layer Wednesday #14

HOOOOORAYYYYYY!

Did you hear that from wherever you are on Planet Earth? That's the sound of me rejoicing that the electricity is back on at the house. I was about to go a little crazy with sleeping in the heat and all that. The AC came back on around 1:30 AM, and I immediately woke up. I did the first thing that any person without internet at home for a few days would do. Yep, check email, both personal and work. What? I didn't want to miss something important. Oh, come on. Like you'd do something different.

Thanks to the power company people for working hard to restore power to the neighborhood and the police for staying out in the heat to direct traffic so we drivers wouldn't run into each other.

While waiting out the blackout the last few days, I did manage to read a book: Kelly Corrigan's The Middle Place. I had seen her on The Today Show not too long ago, promoting her newest book, Lift, and she seemed like a pretty cool person, so I checked out her book from the library. The Middle Place was about Corrigan's battle with breast cancer while also dealing with her father's battle with bladder cancer. I appreciated that she told her story with a mix of both candor and humor. I found myself smiling in some instances, while also feel my heart clench during the emotional moments. I'd recommend the book for anyone who's looking for a quick heartfelt read.

Ahhh...back to the cardmaking routine. How I miss thee. Ok, down to business. The one layer card challenge today focused on using an outline stamp on a square card. I picked up a set of lovey-dovey stamps and saw that there were heart outline stamps. I was tempted to do something with the top half of the card, but decided against it in the end. Everything was balanced nicely at the bottom of the card. No point in messing that up. (pause) Oh, crap. I forgot to clean one of the stamps and a little of the red ink rubbed off on the back of the card. Oh well, I'll have to find a way to recycle this card to use in another one. Perhaps tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan, Rouge, Warm Red
Stamp: K.I. Memories- Crazy Love (all)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper

Blackout

Well, the weekend was quite eventful. On Saturday, I cranked out approximately 40 origami dress cards, in an effort to increase my inventory for the Fall/Winter craft fair season. I learned my lesson from last year. Don't wait until the last minute to work on cards!

On Sunday, I ran errands in the morning and when I was just about to work on cards in the afternoon, a HUGE storm came by and knocked out our power! Noooo. It was still out when I left the house this morning for a dental appointment. I've decided that not having power in the summer is worse that not having power in the winter, because at least in the winter, you could always put more blankets on and perhaps food wouldn't spoil as quickly. The drives to the dentist and to the office were a little frustrating with many of the major traffic lights out and people not stopping at the intersections. I also found out that the phone at the house is not working either. Good thing I still have my cell phone. I'm crossing my fingers, hoping that things will be better when I go home today.

Fall-To Layout 100

I think one of the best feelings in the world is having hard work pay off. I had my annual performance review recently, and today, my boss and I had a conversation about my salary and the increase was more than what I was expecting. Hooray! :)

I made my craft store rounds this evening after dinner. At Michael's, I used my 40% off coupon for Tim Holtz scissors (which I've heard great reviews of in the crafty world) so that I wouldn't have to borrow my mom's good scissors and some silver brads. In the checkout line, these Snifty Pens caught my eye. I picked up a pack of two to investigate. There was a hole in the back of the packaging, encouraging you to take a whiff. Ok, harmless, but the concept was weird to me. You should writing with pens, not smelling them...no matter how fruity they smell. Gag. Anyway, I also ventured to A.C.Moore, where I bought...nothing! Shocking, I know. I did ask for a rain check for a Cuttlebug die cutting machine, which they were having a sale on.

Here's my take on clean&simple's Fall-To Layout #100 (congrats to you guys for reaching #100, by the way!). I decided to use the orange polka dot origami butterfly that was on my desk leftover from last weekend and folded a new one with similar orange paper. The black ribbon took me two tries to get just right. I find the cutting part the most frustrating, just trying to make sure the two ends are equal length and not fraying.
Card Specs:
Ink: StazOn in Jet Black
Stamp: Fiskars- Squarely Sentimental (sentiment)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Threading Waters border punch
Paper: Making Memories- Chloe's Closet (green), My Mind's Eye- Bloom & Grow (orange)

I wanted to give a shout-out to my friend Laura, who's recovering from a recent surgery. Feel better soon, Laura!

CPS #176

Despite the urge to take a nap this evening, I mustered the energy to go to the gym. Just because there are no more spin classes held on TH nights until this fall doesn't mean that I can't get a workout in. No excuses. I ended up watching a mix of the end of Independence Day, Brian Williams's newscast, and MTV. Too bad the gym doesn't have the cable channel USA. Otherwise I'd be there all the time watching NCIS reruns. Anyway, the lady next to me on the elliptical was laughing at the Seinfeld episode that she was watching while she was working out. I still have decided if that was annoying of her to do that. What do you think?

I tackled CPS's card sketch #176 tonight. I challenged myself to use supplies or stamps that I hadn't touched yet, so in this card, they're the bird stamps and flower ribbon. Would you believe me if I told you that the decorative paper came from a single sheet? I think it's cool that there were so many patterns on one piece of paper. The middle panel was the toughest part because I didn't want to clutter it with stuff, but also didn't want to have too much white space. I think the gems helps with that balance. I also wanted the white cardstock to pop from the background, so I ran an ink pad around it. Ta da!

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Tangerine, Olive Pastel
Stamp: Fiskars- Just Between Friends (sentiment), The Paper Company Studio- Whimsical Birds (birds)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Apron Lace border punch
Paper: Making Memories- Chloe's Closet
Foam adhesive: EK Success

One-Layer Wednesday #13

Thanks for all you guys' sympathy (or is it empathy? I can never remember what the difference is) on my fear of public speaking in yesterday's blog post! It was nice to know that I was not alone in my feelings of nervousness. I guess all you can really do is be prepared and "fake it 'til you make it." At least that's what I'm going to do.

I received a nice compliment at work today. I was in the copier room to check the fax machine and the communications director looked up from her snail mail and said, "My mom had a card of yours on her dining room table for weeks." Aww, that's nice. Sure beats the trash can or recycling bin.

This week's one-layer card challenge focused on a "Christmas in July" theme. This was perfect timing because it gave me an excuse to break out some of my new Christmas stamps that I had yet to use. I guess I don't have to wait until the holidays to make holiday cards. I thought I had finished the card with just the ornaments and sentiment, but the card looked like it needed something more. The trick was to still keep it a one-layer card, so I reached for the clear embossing powder and heat embossed some clear snowflakes. They might be a little difficult to see, being that they are small and clear, but I promise that they are there in the background.

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Stampendous! in clear
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Red, Warm Green, Prussian Blue, Charcoal
Stamp: Fiskars- Winter Wonderland (ornaments), The Paper Company Studio- Christmas Expressions (sentiment)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Other: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Hooray, I heard some exciting news recently. Taylor Swift's new album is coming out in October. I'll have new music to lip synch to in the car.

Yep, I'm that dorky.