Tuesday Trigger: Button, Button

I didn't make it very long in my new office before I went back to the main building to get some work done. I knew I had to pick up some faxes and turn some documents in, so I camped out in my old office the hour before it was time to go home, and people walked by and stopped by to comment. "Tina, is that really you? Was it that bad across the street?" Hardy-har-har. We got meeting leftovers in my new digs, so hey, can't complain!

While walking to the 8K race last Sunday, I saw a couple that go to my spin class. I caught up with the husband after class tonight and asked how his race went. I think he wanted to do better, but apparently, his wife placed in her age range. She's very athletic, so I wasn't super shocked. Good for her!

This wasn't the card I thought I'd have at the end of tonight's crafty session, but I'm happy with it. I didn't have many ideas of my own when I saw the trigger picture. I liked the buttons, but I think I was challenged by the color scheme. I do better with brighter colors. Anyway, I used this opportunity to use the other Nestabilities set that I got on Sunday...this time a circle one. I used the smallest circle for the flower, stamped a background stamp on it and put a button in the center to go along with this week's Tuesday Trigger: Button, Button. I thought I was done when I put the ribbon on the bottom of the card and adhered everything to the card base, but something wasn't right. I didn't like how the card looked too...serious (?), so I added some cute bee stickers that were from a set that Julie gave me for my birthday. Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Dark Brown, Warm Green. StazOn in Teal Blue.
Paper: American Crafts- City Park
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large
Stamp: K.I. Memories- Patterns, Fiskars- Friendship Gardens (leaves, flower pot), Autumn Leaves- Build-a-Flower (line), Inkadinkado (sentiment)
Other: Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker
Button: Bucket White from Michaels
Sticker: EK Success- Animals
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb

Moving Day

Today started out with a "WOMP" (as my friend Jenny would say) moment. I've been delaying (read: hoping that the leadership at work would conveniently forget) my move to the office across the street. But the move happened today because when I got to the office this morning, my computer, screen and phone were all gone! My office roommate Jennifer told me that the IT guys had been in there earlier, packing stuff up and moving it across the street. It was much more quiet across the street. Morgan (new office roommate and fellow mover) and I hatched a plan...maybe if we're the rowdy pair, they'll kick us out and make us go back to the main building. At least I have a window now, and I can tell what the weather is without having to IM anyone.

By the way, did you know that today was National Napping Day? Yeah, I didn't either. Instead of celebrating it with a nap, I went to spin class. I dunno if it was the packed room or the workout, but I was sweating buckets by the end of class! It's probably a combination of both.

I wanted to make sure that I had something to bring in for lunch this week, so I hopped over to Budget Bytes after spin class and made her broccoli shells 'n cheese. I think I put too much onion in it and not enough broccoli, but still a pretty yummy dish! I was able to use the last of the milk in the fridge and an open package of cheese.

A.C. Moore was having a great sale yesterday: you could get 20% off merchandise if purchased between 6-9 PM (including sale items). Since I was already out looking for yellow paper for a potential custom order (I didn't find any yellow paper that would work, unless the lady wanted SpongeBob Squarepants on her wedding cards...), I wandered over to the Nestabilities section since they were 40% off. I figured that with the remaining amount I had on a birthday gift card and the great sale, I could justify buying the two sets of dies and a package of bling for my fabric flowers. I was excited to use one of the dies for tonight's card. I wanted to use some of the g.c.d. Studios paper I had, a sticker of some sort that my cousin got me from Taiwan a few months ago, and a sentiment stamp that I hadn't used in a while. Here's what I came up with. The rose stickers are so pretty and I love how the paper has a little bit of texture to it without me having to alter it.

Card Specs:
Embossing powder: Personal Stamp Exchange- Black
Embossing ink: VersaMark
Paper: g.c.d. Studios- Chianti Collection, Peekaboo (red)
Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4
Stamp: Studio G (sentiment)
Other: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

St. Patrick's Day 8K Race

**Race update...scroll down for today's card (no, I won't be offended if you just want to look at the card)**

The 2011 St. Patrick's Day 8K was today at Federal Plaza. Julie and I took the Metro downtown and got there about 30 minutes before the race start. There was a sea of green so we knew we were in the right place. Many people were wearing green costumes to commemorate the holiday: green tights, green hair, green antennae...we even saw a group of people putting on what looked like turtle shells made out of fabric. I wasn't sure if I'd see anyone that I knew at the race, but right when we got off the Metro, I saw two people from my spin class! Maybe I can ask them tomorrow how their race went. I thought the race went really well for me...let me elaborate.

• I was able to keep a consistent pace and finished as strong as I could (I envisioned Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser yelling in my ear "PICK UP YOUR FEET!"). I finished the race without walking at all and without blisters.
• It was nice to have my sister with me to cheer me on.
  
• I was also thankful for the nice sunny weather and for the race organizers who did a superb job getting things ready to go on time and making sure that the runners were where they needed to be at the right time. The mile markers also helped.
  

2011 time- 52:43 minutes (10:37 pace). Hooray, improvement!
(For reference...2008 time- 54:22 minutes).

Next up: Capitol Hill Classic 10K. Anyone want to join me?

**Today's card**

Ok, so for today's card, I hopped over to the Cards Magazine blog. The challenge this week is to make card that have at least 10 buttons. There's a lantern/banner/things-that-hang-from-string trend going on in the papercrafting world, so that's what first popped into my mind. I used a selection of buttons and mini glue dots to make today's card. It kinda reminds me of this card that I made back in July, but I think the buttons give it a different feel.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird, Rouge
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Stamps: Studio G (butterfly, sentiment), American Crafts- Dear Lizzy- Warbler (squiggly line)
Button: Favorite Findings in Pink, Ocean. Bucket White from Michaels
White Gel Pen: Inkssentials
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Stack 7
Other: Studio G glitter glue

Spring Sister Challenge, Day 3 + New Scrapbook Page

My $1 stamp stash has kinda gotten out of control. I've been using thin cardboard boxes to store them, but it's been difficult to find what stamps I want to use because they are all piled on top of each other. Today, I found a treat container that Mom put in the to-be-recycled bin and I decided to use it to store my sentiment stamps. They are all laid out on one level and it's now so much easier to find what I'm looking for. Hooray for being green. :)I've finally put together a scrapbook page to showcase the birthday cards I received in the mail this year. I did something similar with last year's Christmas cards. I wanted to capture some of the things that I did for my birthday as well as use some of the items that I got for my birthday within the page (the sweets paper and stamp came from Meg). The Washington Post also has a horoscope section, and I cut out the horoscope specific for people who have a birthday on that day. I glued the birthday horoscope on a tag and journaled on the back of it. I created a small pocket for it in the upper right so that I wouldn't have to worry about it getting lost. The page was made on white cardstock, even though the scanner kinda made it look grey.

Page Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Orchid Pastel
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Sweet Stack, Die Cuts with a View- Stack 7
Punch: Fiskars Upper Crest border punch
Stamp: Hero Arts- Time to Enjoy (sentiment)
Die: Sizzix- Tags, Scallop Combo #2 (tag)
Other: Magenta Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker
Stickers: American Crafts Dear Lizzy Christmas Glitter Thickers-Sparkling Opal

For today's sister challenge, Julie picked out a sentiment stamp that I don't think I've used before, even though I think I bought it a few years ago. Oops. I thought it'd go perfectly with the bunny butt stamp. Similar to this card that I made last week, I used tiny rhinestones to add dimension to the card.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Blackbird
Stamp: Studio G (bunnies, sentiment)
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper
Paper: Die Cuts with a View - Stack 7 (blue), American Crafts- Letterbox (yellow), American Crafts- Metropolitan (red)

The St. Patrick's 8K race is tomorrow...send good running vibes in the morning! Full report to follow on Sunday. :)

Spring Sister Challenge, Day 2 + Fall-To Layout #131

It's been over a week since I've received my new running shoes, but I haven't been able to give them a try until today. I was happy to be able to go for a run after work today and thankful that the daylight lingers around a little longer every day. The new running shoes that I got are "Mizuno Inspire 6 Women's Shoe White/Pink," and I'm a fan! The shoes must be magic because I was able to complete my 4.85 mile run without getting the usual blisters on my feet. Well, I guess it might have helped that these were brand new shoes and were designed to be supportive. Woot! St. Patrick's Day 8K, I'm ready for ya! See? I even have my t-shirt! My boss was nice enough to let me go downtown this morning to get my race packet.

For today's sister challenge, Julie picked out a sentiment stamp and challenged me to use it with embellishments that she gave me for my birthday (one that I hadn't used yet). I used Fall-To Layout #131 as a template. The tag originally had the sentiment stamped on the white cardstock, but I didn't like how there was so much white, so I stamped the sentiment on pink and blue paper and paper pieced it together on the tag to add some color. I picked out some non-flower stickers that my sister gave me and applied some Distress Ink at the last minute to finish the tag.
Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal. Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Vintage Photo.
Stamps: Hero Arts- Thinking of You Messages (sentiment)
Die: Sizzix- Tags, Scallop Combo #2 (tag)
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Stack 7, Die Cuts with a View- Sweet Stack, American Crafts- Letterbox
Stickers: EK Success- Hearts, EK Success- Sweet Treats
Foam adhesive: Thermoweb
Other: Black Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

Song of the day- "This"- Darius Rucker

Spring Sister Challenge, Day 1

The move to the office across the street was canceled today due to the rain. It would not be good for our equipment and stuff to get ruined. I can stay in my office a few more days. :)

Chicken was on sale at Safeway today, so I made enchiladas tonight. I used this recipe from Allrecipes.com. Yum!

Julie's home for a few days so she challenged me to use one of the food stamps that she gave me for my birthday. The stamp set has the sentiment "i think you are..." and it has 4 images of food. I chose the ice cream one because it said "sweet." Instead of using markers or colored pencils to color in the sweet treat, I stamped the image on light blue cardstock and cut the top part out. With some patterned paper, scalloped border, and some gems, the card was finished! The card is an adorable size: 2.5 x 3 inches...perfect to include with a thank you gift or something.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal
Stamps: Studio G
Punch: Fiskars Scalloped Sentiment border punch
Paper: Die Cuts with a View- Stack 7
Other: Brown Sharpie Ultra Fine Point marker

One-Layer Wednesday #44

"Do you have any CAN-DY?"

I say really loudly so that my co-worker across the hall can hear me. I've been asking him for the past few days now. This was a not-so-subtle hint, encouraging him to refill his candy bowl. He finally went downstairs to Office Depot and bought some mini chocolate candy bars and Twizzlers. Yay! Too bad I'm moving to the office across the street in the next few days. Maybe that's good thing. Some separation from the candy bowl is a good thing.

This week's One-Layer Wednesday challenge (#44) focuses on getting inspiration from Marta's Pinterest Boards. While I liked many of the photos in the Feed Me section, I went with this banner invitation. I liked how the banner wasn't made of the traditional triangles or semi-circles that are all the rage these days in the scrapbooking/card making world. I LOVE the simplicity of this card. The red pops against the charcoal, and the different flags create some visual interest.

Card Specs:
Ink: Colorbox chalk ink in Charcoal, Warm Red
Stamps: Fiskars- Squarely Sentimental, K.I. Memories- Newsprint Lower, Fiskars- Border-A-Plenty, American Crafts- Majestic, Basic Grey- Medallion
Punch: We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper