Surprise Snail Mail

Hope everyone enjoyed the Super Bowl last night! I have to admit that I'm not really a football follower, but since my cousin invited us over last night to watch it on his big screen TV and eat dinner, I figured "why not?" After watching all those commercials (the Darth Vader Volkswagen ad was my favorite...either that one or the beaver Bridgestone one), I forsee myself going to the movies frequently this upcoming summer. They played quite a few movie trailers during the game. I would pay the $10 or whatever to oogle at Chris Evans as Captain America. I'm a sucker for comic book-turned-movie movies. Transformers 3 also seemed promising, as well as Thor. Not to mention that Harry Potter 7, Part 2 and Breaking Dawn are coming out too. I wonder how much a reserved seat at a movie theater would cost.

We got surprise snail mail today. Martha Stewart Living magazine, February 2011 issue. Addressed to Dad. HUH? Domestic is not a word that I'd associate with Dad. I asked him about it and he gave me a puzzled look. And then the light bulb turned on. He had some extra credit card points or something and decided to use it for magazines. I guess he checked off all the news and business related ones that he could because MSL is the most randomist choice ever for him. But, I'm not complaining. At least I get to enjoy the magazine. The photography (especially the ones where food is the subject) is awesome.

I wanted to use up these 1.5 inch rounded corner square that I had on my desk that was going to use for another card, but didn't. I punched out 2 butterflies and used embossing powder on the last square (StazOn ink wasn't leaving as much of an impact as I would have liked). Then I used a strip of purple cardstock leftover from my friend Cristina's wedding invitation scraps. I considered putting a purple stamped image in each of the white circles but thought it'd be overboard so I only did one column of them. As a finishing touch, I adhered some rhinestone gems, rounded the corners of the card, and drew in some faux stitching. Now I'll have to figure out what to do with the butterflies that I punched out.

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Personal Stamp Exchange- Black
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Wisteria
Paper: American Crafts- Dear Lizzy (teal)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Martha Stewart- Classic Butterfly
Stamp: The Paper Company Studio- Greetings (sentiment, flower), Fiskars- Friendship Garden (heart)
Other: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Song of the day: "Shake It"- Metro Station. I listened to it many times at work (I wonder if anyone at the office saw me headbopping to the music while I was listening to it via my headphones), and Anna even played it during spin class tonight.

Run, Tina, Run

Ah hah! FINALLY! I was able to get a run in outside today. The sun was shining. The snow was melting. It was above 40 degrees. It was an awesome day to go running. I haven't been on a run since mid-January, so I wasn't sure how much my body could take. But I surprised even myself. I was able to crank out 4.85 miles today! Woot! If I had run another block or two, I would have been able to hit 4.9 miles which is equivalent to the 8K distance I'll be running in the St. Patrick's Day 8K in March. Fortunately, I have a little over a month to go before the big day.

Here's my take on CPS #204, and this was take #2. I wasn't a fan of the first card I made and I was determined to produce something that I liked. I wanted to use up some scraps, so I took out a piece of the Dear Lizzy paper and blue cardstock that I had cut into for previous cards. Even the white cardstock piece that I stamped on was from my scrap pile.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Rose Coral, Aquamarine, Prussian Blue
Paper: American Crafts- Dear Lizzy (pink)
Stamp: Fiskars- Friendly Flowers (all)
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb
Other: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

I'm taking a box of my cards that I don't anymore and putting them in the office kitchen tomorrow. I hope to come home with an empty container.

Hope y'all are having fun watching the Super Bowl. The Black Eyed Peas rocked it. :)

(Insert Catchy Title Here)

I made it to spin class this morning with no problem and was able to get a bike without fear that someone was going to bump me off. It helps to have a reservation! I usually take the bike that's close to the mirror, but recently I've been taking a bike that's next to the window. It's definitely a better view, but I'm hesitant to make it my new bike, because it kinda goes against the unspoken rule that the bike you take on your first few classes becomes "your bike." Maybe I can subscribe to the "first come, first served" rule.

After spin class, I zoomed over to a local diner to have breakfast with some friends. I found out that one of them bought the house next to a family friend. What a small world we live in! It was nice to catch up with them and chat about life/recent adventures and get a pep talk. It's nice to have cheerleaders. :)

For tonight's card, I wanted to use some of the pink City Park paper that I already cut into last night. I started out with a piece that covered the whole card front and built from there. I cut the strip of cream cardstock leftover from my friend Cristina's wedding invitation scraps and laid it out at an angle across the card front. I started to diecut a bunch of light green flowers, but then realized that it didn't really match with the pink background. I went with Plan B and diecut flowers from a blue paper that was also from the City Park collection. The gems added some extra sparkle, visual interest and texture.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Chestnut Roan
Stamp: Studio G
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Marvy Uchida sakura punch
Paper: American Crafts- City Park
Die: Cuttlebug- Flowers (flowers)
Other: Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Sup?

OMG, I totally forgot about my Etsyversary on Tuesday! 3 years on Etsy. 526 sales. I'm excited to see what this upcoming year brings! :)

Clean & Simple Stamping didn't have their usual sketch challenge up when I sat down to do today's card, so I came up with my own challenge. Hmmm...so, what do you do when you run low of frequently used alphabet letters? You kinda have to think outside the box. That's why people invent words or abbreviate them, right? I decided on "Sup?" as in "what's up?" Clever, huh? I used minimal letters and even a question mark that came with the set. I think the juxtaposition of the informal sentiment and formal looking paper is funny and unconventional. I'm not sure what the chipboard element is next to the sentiment. I think it's a pomegranate or peach or some sort of berry. Anyway, I liked how it was glittery and added some visual interest to the card. The pink paper came as an afterthought because I thought the card needed another pop of color. Look, no ink or stamps! ::gasp::

Card Specs:
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Paper: American Crafts- City Park (pink), Letterbox (blue/brown)
Chipboard: American Crafts- Fieldhouse- Glitter Blue Skies
Stickers: American Crafts Chipboard Thickers in Typo
Other: Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Dessert Comes First

Today was a very busy day at work. I had 2 conference calls that I had to take care of while also participate in an all day meeting. My boss was nice enough to save me a boxed lunch that was provided for staff members attending the meeting. When I opened the box, I dove into the cookie. My boss's boss pointed out that I started with dessert first. Well, DUH. It was on top and it looked yummy...of course, I'm going to eat it first. I heard some talk about people doing some cookie swapping earlier and apparently, oatmeal cookie is low on the cookie totem pole. Funny enough, that's the cookie that I ended up with. But I had no complaints.

Even though my day ended later than normal, I made a point to go to spin class tonight, instead of taking a nap when I got home. The past few days have been really foody. I need to balance that out with some exercise. The mic system in the spin room hasn't been working properly recently, and the instructor had to yell. I still had no idea what she was saying because she turned the music up so loud. It all worked out because I could follow along just by following her lead. No biggie.

Here's the card for tonight. I knew I wanted to use some Dear Lizzy paper and a floral stamp that I hadn't used in a while. I first stamped the floral image on the card base and then cut out a piece of the paper big enough to cover the front of the card. Then I drew a faint pencil line to guide my scissors as I cut a curvy space so that you could see the flowers. I punched out a border out of some scrap paper, tied a bow, and stamped a sentiment. I stamped the flourish at the last minute over some black "oops" marks.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Warm Green, Blackbird
Stamp: The Paper Company Studio- Greetings (sentiment), Inkadinkado (flower, flourish)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Paper: American Crafts- Dear Lizzy

Foody Wednesday

Do you ever have that sinking feeling that you forgot something at home as you're reaching your destination?

I have.

Like today.

On my way to work. About 2 traffic lights away from the office.

I forgot the cookies that I baked last night for today's potluck! Noooo. ::frown:: Super. It ended up working out because I was able to get some work done for a few hours and then zoom home to get the cookies and zoom back to the office. They were a big hit, as I was able to give away all of them before I left the office. I was left with one at home that I had set aside last night. The potluck was a success too. So many people pitched in to bring or make food: noodles, veggies, hummas, fruit, and LOTS of desserts (fudge, brownies, cake, homemade banana pudding, etc.). We know how to throw a good party. The potluck was for a co-worker whose last day was today. I'm going to miss her. We had a fun time in Denver last fall. :'(

Tonight, I went to my cousin's house for dinner to celebrate my aunt's birthday and the Lunar New Year. This is celebration #2, since we already had a big dinner this past weekend. My family just likes to find excuses to get together and eat.

For tonight's card, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to make. I decided to dig through my crafty stash for the rub-ons at the bottom of the box. I'm not big on rub-ons, but since I have them, I might as well use them. I started out with just the frame and large floral image, but then I thought the floral image needed more "umph" so I tacked on the smaller floral. I hadn't intended on using a butterfly punch, but I accidentally scratched the flower, so my solution was to cover up my mistake. Hey, make it work.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Rose Coral
Stamp: Hero Arts- Thinking of You Messages (sentiment)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Threading Waters border punch, Martha Stewart- Classic Butterfly
Paper: American Crafts- Letterbox
Rub-on: American Crafts, Mini Marks, Accents, Book Three (flower), Book Two (frame)
Other: Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Feeling Domestic

One of my co-workers is leaving tomorrow after being at my organization for several years. There will be a potluck at lunchtime on Wednesday to say goodbye, and my contribution will be my go-to cookie- the peanut butter chocolate chip cookie. I already consumed one for quality assurance purposes. And yep, we're good. :)

I was going to make a card today for the blog, but instead restocked a card in my Etsy shop. I'm going to go eat a cookie and go to bed. Night!