It's Been A While...

Well, what can I say?  Things happen and one forgets she has a blog at all.  What are you gonna do?  I have only a few cards to share from over the last couple months... well, I guess since right before Valentine's Day.  Lots going on, busy busy busy and the cards have taken the back seat for a moment.  I will be back at it very soon once I'm home from work (May 4th - woohoo!) and I'll be sure to share at least once a week then. 

For Valentine's Day, I made these cards for my three BFF's here at the office:

After I got my Sew Easy tool and lots of cute baker's twine, I sorta went crazy with the stitched edging, and it was on EVERYthing for a minute, there.  I got every attachment head that goes with it (unless there are more now, sheesh) when my local scrapbook store had a 40% off sale.  I ended up buying each for about 1.50.  What a steal!  But, I'd still rather have a little sewing machine... we'll see. :)

Here's a birthday card that I made for one of Tom's friends who he hadn't seen in many, many years.  I asked him what the guy liked, and Star Wars it was!  Here it is:

The inside reads, "He'd say, Happy Birthday!".  I had fun making this card, because it was like the old days when I didn't have a Cricut, and I had to make all my dies by hand, free form.  I seem to feel more proud of those cards than the ones where all I had to do is glue the pieces together.  Whateves, I still adore my Cricut!  (FYI: the Silhouette is pretty freakin' cool... is that something I should get?)

This next card is what I made for my sister's 32nd birthday, which just passed.  We celebrated at Benihana, and I am STILL thinking about all that rice and meat.  MMMMMM!  Here it is:

I made the cupcake die from my new Cricut cartridge, Everyday Pop-Up Cards.  I have yet to understand the dynamics of the pop up element, but I'll figure it out.  I have occasion to send out many thank you cards very soon, and I'd love to do a pop up for that... at least for some. 

I'm going to sign off now since I really need to get down to business at work.  I'd much rather watch You Tube videos and play in my craft room, but somebody needs to make a little money!  The way things are going, I'll surely be back after the beginning of May.

xooxoxoxoo

Thank GOD it's Monday! Not.

Happy birthday, Lily!  My bf's niece turns 9 on Thursday, so we sang to her yesterday and gave her this card (and another, older one).  She rides horses, so it's quite fitting.  I am in love with my Vagabond, and now that I have a few embossing folders and some dies to use with it, it's even more fun.  So, I used the tiny dots folder to emboss the white cardstock that the horsey is standing on, and the patterned paper's edges were inked in glue and then dipped in brown glitter.  It's really subtle, but I think in person it pops more.  The grass was an afterthought, and now that I look at this card, I realize I should've added a little carrot for the horse -- rats!  Next time.

I have been trying to get more stuff to go with my Vagabond and use it more, so this weekend, I raided a Michael's sale and (with my 40% off coupon) got myself a Nestibilities (scalloped circles).  I brought it home and ran one through my Vag, but nothing happened!  I was SO confused, so I read the directions (durrrh) and found out that I'd need an extra shim, or whatever they're called, an adaptor shim (sounds like a tranny).  So, after I cursed Tim  Holtz, I decided I wasn't going to go out and buy another part, but I'd make it on my own.  I gathered all my cardboard (backs from paper pads, etc) and cut them into the shape of the shim, and made it the exact thickness of it, as well.  After gluing all the pieces together, I ran it through again and it worked!  SO, the moral of the story is: don't buy it if you can make it, ya big dummy!  I outsmarted old TH, and it feels pretty good.

Here's another card I made recently:

It's not such a great pic, but you get it, right?  I used my scallops cutter (Fiskars, I think, it's only broken down once) and then cut out each individual scallop to make little tags.  I used some yellow & white baker's twine to hang them on and that's it.  I think this is a good one to duplicate for Valentine's Day, coming up.  I need to supply the office with tasteful handmade cards. ;)

I made this sympathy card for a co-worker who just lost her brother... so sorry, Vilma! :(

I LOVE the paper on this card... it's double-sided, and the black newsprint banner is the backside.  I used my die to cut the little placard and inked the sentiment with individual letters.  These butterflies are from a LONG time ago... I've held onto these suckers for years, I'm sure.  Finally, I've used the last ones!  It's tough to make a sympathy card, you must be sincere, not too flashy or bright, but not so depressing that the point of the card is missed.  I think I shoudn't have used black on it, but next time I'll know that going in. 

That's all for now, folks.  I'm going to work on Valentine's cards this week, until the 14th and will post them as I go. :)

XO

Back to the grind

My holiday away from work was long!  I had a whole 12 days off, and I have to admit, I am ready to be back at work... it just got to be way too lazy a time!  I enjoyed it, though, and here are a few cards I made:

I got a new Sizzix Vagabond for Christmas (thanks, T!) and this is the first card that I actually got to use my embosser with -- I think it's nice!  I had to buy an embossing folder and a die, and I love it.  I can't wait to try out some more. 

I made this card for a friend who had her birthday on New Year's Eve... actually the wife of a friend.  Uhhh, anyway... I am getting a little obsessed with the stitched border lately, I've gotta be careful not to play it out.  I love this paper, though, with the little bikes!  The thing is, she got a bike for her birthday, a pink one, so this was quite fitting.

I just had to use my Sew Easy tool to try these flags, but I'm not sure I got the colors right.  I should have done the top line in brown or tan or something, but hey, I like it still.  I feel it is a bit of a simpleton, but that's okay. :)

Now, this was the first time I got to use a die in my Vagabond... I love that little die!  I sat for about an hour trying to find the right layout for this card, it was a challenge.  I like the weaving idea, but I think next time I'll do skinnier pieces of paper and see what happens.  I love all the new paper I'm finding at the scrapbook store down the street, and even though it's overpriced, it really is nice and inspiring.  I can't wait to get my Studio Calico sets every month!  Hopefully that'll begin soon. 

I am happy to be back at work, I have missed my co-workers, strangely enough.  I came back to a clean office, an empty voicemail and neat piles of phone messages... I am so appreciative of these folks! 

:)

For Big Daddy

This is a card I made for my boyfriend's father... I did NOT think of this message, and am a little worried he's going to get a bad, smartass first impression of me!  He had better tell him it wasn't my idea! :)  So, how funny are those little pics?  The washboard & tub, the potbelly stove?  How freakin' funny is it that I have a Cricut cartridge that makes that?  Yep, I'm a farmer.  I can hear chickens in the morning (on weekends, they don't get up as early as ME during the week), and I milk the cows, aren't you jealous?  Just kidding about the cows.  So, here's the inside:

I am quite pleased with this card, and I loved the idea.  I also made a Christmas card for him, and here it is:

I am in LOVE with this card... I like it more each time I look at it.  I made a border with the Sew Easy tool, and stitched the holes with a light brown & white string.  I used my Winter Frolic Cricut cartridge for the candy border and sentiment.  The tree came from an eBay purchase years ago.  See how long I hang onto little pieces of paper?  Sheesh.  The background paper came from this new scrapbook store I found in the Howard Hughes mall, The Bridge... it's a little store with cute stuff, if a bit overpriced. 

I have been working on our new website, and it should be up at the start of the New Year, I'm pretty excited to see how things will turn out!  If I am working in a sweatshop, I'll need help, and I have my eye on somebody now.... ;)

That's all for now.
XO

Soft colors, who knew?

Happy Birthday to Barb, my boyfriend's aunt... she's a cardmaker, so I felt like this one had to be good.  I am so pleased with it!  I looked around the Studio Calico blog for awhile before I even began, and got inspiration with all their soft colors and monochromatic themes... I don't usually favor pastels or soft colors, not that I don't like them, but I am loving them here.  I used all new paper for this card, and some of the colored baker's twine.  I have to say, the scraps I used for the top and bottom accents were from a project I did about a year ago, and can you believe I finally got to use some?!  I am such a pack rat, but I justify it with the fact that I'm saving money, how can you mess with that?  I went through my paper bin yesterday, also, and found that I have lots of stuff I just forgot about, their being buried under all the newer stuff.  I want to go through it this week and sort stuff out, maybe get over to a storage store and find a rack for paper.  My craft room/boyfriend's office is slowly changing, I hope I can keep it under control. ;)  BUT, the good thing about paper racks is that it'll keep my paper out of those bins and where I can see them, making them more accessible for projects.  I'll buy less paper!  (I should be a lawyer.)

My next project, after one last card for an order I have to fill, will be a small batch of holiday cards for a friend's parent's store.  I may try to sell my stuff again, and get my little side piece business going once more.  It's always good to have a little backup, don't you think?  It could very well be a second job, which I'm super okay with, being that the holidays are right around the corner.  I think it's a photo store, of some sort, so I'll play on that theme making cards with slots to slide Christmas photos in, or a window on the front for display.  I'll have to keep it simple so that I can make them in bulk; that's going to be my biggest challenge.  Good luck to me.

XO

21st Birthday

I can still remember my 21st birthday, matter of fact, I think I had about five of them. ;)  I wanted to stay 21, sue me.  I guess I'm glad that I'm not the same jerk I was then; maybe that's the only advantage to aging (besides eventually getting the senior specials at Denny's): not being foolish forever, that kind of recklessness shouldn't last.
Ah, but I digress... this card is for Stephanie's nephew, Bradford; he's going to be 21, bless his heart.  I got the cute paper at this new store on Brookhurst ("The" OC) called Scrapbook Heaven, or something, on Sunday.  The owner had a pretty nice setup, small but packed with cute stuff.  Prices were so-so, but she makes up for it in her taste.  I got paper, a new clear stamp, some colored baker's twine and a die cut packet with a Nantucket theme.  Very cute.  I inked the edges of the paper blue, and chalk inked the "B" so it'd stand out a bit.  I used my separate letter alphabet stamp set to do the "happy birthday" part; I think it looks nice.  Hopefully the ribbon doesn't give it a feminine feeling... I worry about that everytime I make a card for a man. 

Tonight I'll make the last card on my birthdays list and then begin a scrapbook page; I printed out a bunch of photos from my vacation and from T's blockparty show to do that... no more excuses!  I have lots of new stuff to use, so I'm antsy to get home and start.

That's all folks!  It's nice to be back.
XO

Sweet Fifteen

This card is for Charnae, my friend Stephanie's daughter who will be 15 tomorrow.  Happy Birthday, Charnae!

HBD: Back to the Grind Pt. 1

Happy Birthday plus a bookmark, I think that's pretty legit (what am I, MC Hamma?)  I have been thinking about this card, planning it out in my brains for awhile now.  I had to force myself to sit down and make it, but when I did, things happened thank goodness.  I have been doing other things, and so cards have been pushed to the side.  Now that I have an order to fill, there's no more room for excuses... back to the business. 
I cut a hole in the actual card with my circle cutter since I couldn't control the placement of the circle on my Cricut, and then added some flowered paper behind it to make a window.  The "bookmark" that I made is just a paperclip (obviously) and about ten flower shaped die cuts glued on top of each other.  I had to use hot glue for securing the paper clip so that it can serve it's purpose and not fall apart right away.  We'll see if that works out.  I used glue transfers for the text on front of the card, and wasn't sure if the letters stood out enough, but seeing it in the photo reassures me... kind of. :)

XO

Many Many Moons

Happy Birthday, Grandaddy!  Thomas' grandfather has turned 94 on the 3rd, but we all had lunch to celebrate the Saturday before; we gave him this card.  I think he liked it. :)  I couldn't imagine all the things he must have witnessed, heard, felt since 1917.  Sweetest man ever!

So, the card was a late-nighter, and I think I was working on coffee energy alone.  It was the night before leaving for 9 days, so I think I left everything for the last minute... so not me.  I like to be prepared, but lately I think it's getting away from me!!  I cut the seal awhile ago from the Cricut, and did the letters that night; the "Grandaddy" part is my favorite, I love that font so much.  Anyway, I'm still going with that paper pack (the blue and the gray came from the Colorbok one from Target about a month and a half ago), and I feel it is high time for a new packet, what do you think?  It's hard to justify buying ANY supplies when I haven't sold one single card in I don't know HOW long.  And, I can't even begin to think about making any for selling right now, either.  Christmas is coming up, and I need to get moving on those, like, now.  I had an idea of doing some sort of card for Thanksgiving, as well, but only for the immediate families and close friends.  I couldn't see sending out very many of those.  I went to the Paper Source the other day (didn't buy a THING!) but got many ideas for some stuff. 

It's sunny today, so I hope it sticks... the rain wasn't any fun yesterday, my toes almost fell off, I swear.  I am happy for the sun in my office, for once. :)  I'm actually not upset about Fall/Winter this year.

XO

Happy Birthday Card

Happy 14th Birthday to Jae's nephew! :)  Jae called me yesterday before I left the office and told me he needed a card asap -- I guess I got it done, but is it masculine enough?!  I worried about that last night after I finished...


I used the "Country Living" Cricut cartridge for the numbers; I used my heaviest cardstock and used it as a stencil on top of the purple grid paper with an off-white chalk inkpad and I think it came out really nice.  I have SO many ideas now that I've gone there.  I got the blue tag from a tag set from the Paper Source (I think I called it the Paper Place in an earlier post, that was wrong).  I used lavendar chalk ink on the photo corner thingies, and gave them a bit of pop with dimension dots.  Under it all lies a cute cupcake patterned paper, but you can't really see it... I hope he likes it. 


I visit all my favorite blogs on my way to work, and this morning I got a few tips and tricks that I need to try asap.  First, I have been wanting to try out the misting technique, but am SO hesitant to pay $6 on a little bottle -- it just kills me when I know there has to be a better, more economical way... well, I was RIGHT!  Somebody mentioned that she just gets little spray bottles (think trial sized hairspray in a pump bottle) and dilutes acrylic paint!!  EUREKA!  I'm going to go to the Sally Beauty Supply on my way home and see about some little bottles and steal some paint from Sam (heehee).  


Second tip I would like to try is cleaning up my paper hoard.  It's OUT OF CONTROL.  I use 12" x 12" sheets, usually, and when I use pieces, the left overs just go into a large, plastic storage bin where it's forgotten and buried under the next project's scraps.  Another blog buddy suggested that you go through all the old scraps, cut a uniform size and file them by color, season, etc.  GENIUS.  I'm going to do that, as well.  She said I'd be left with lots of strips, but there's an answer for that too: glue them onto cardstock and make your own patterned paper.  I think I may try this.  I HAVE to get things organized, because I have so much stuff that doesn't get used.  


I have my work cutout for me today!  Let's see how the spray paint stuff turns out... I have to make some pages for my scrapbook anyway.  I found some great photos that I'd like to scrap...


Things are busy, busy, busy... I must go. ;)


XO

What a week I'm having, and it's only MONDAY!

I made this card for my brother; since he had a beach party, I thought this was appropriate, if a bit hokey.  Who cares, I love it!  The fox, fire, phrase and waves were from my Cricut, but I just tore the paper at the bottom to look like sand.  Very simple, to the point and not at all complicated... that's how everything should be, huh? ;)  He liked it quite a bit, I think.

I made this little bee card last night; it began with the envelope which I saw on Scrapbooks, Etc. August issue.  I wanted to use paper that didn't really match, and see how that felt... result: good.  :)  I think so , anyway.  I love my critters, they just make everything more cheerful, and the cardstock pack I got at Michael's the other day (huuuuge pack) had so many colors, I don't even know what to do.  I LOVE this navy blue, it makes me think of sailboats, or water themed cards and page layouts.  The pack also had the blue that I used on the water of the fox card above, I love that also... it's funny how a new color will spark all kinds of new ideas.  

On the right side of the envelope, I used my score tool to make that end sort of like the bottom of a very skinny box; can you tell?  It began as a mistake, but afterwards, I felt it gave the envelope more dimension... do you see it at all?  This card is WAY better in person, the photo does it no justice.  I really want to give this card away! :)

Oh, and one more card:

I got this rubber stamp from this awesome store near the Promenade called Paper Place.  It was on sale, so I got it for like $3, or something... I couldn't resist!  When I checked out, the cashier said it could be for a forgotten birthday or something, I hadn't even thought of that.  :)  I'm sure I'll get lots of use out of this one, I was even thinking of making desk note sets for co-workers with it.  It would be fitting here, lord knows.  I used my glue ink pad and glitter, doesn't the word look better all shiny?  Haaaaaa... love it.

That's about it for now.  I'll have lots of stuff soon because I'm helping my cousin Jazmine with her baby shower, which is in October.  She asked me this weekend, after I offered, of course!  And I'm excited, because putting my sister's together was lots of fun.  I will begin trial runs of invites for her to look at.

I'm swamped at work, I'd better go.  This post literally took me all day, ten seconds here, twenty there... :)

XO

Lotta Business!

This is my Anabella, just under four months old and look how CHUBBY she's gotten!  She is still on milk only, I can only imagine what solid food will do for her little body! :)  She's doing really well, she has started going in the pool at home with her Mama and Grandma (while her Mama's at work), and from what I hear, she likes it.  She smiles ALL the time, and barfs a lot, too.  I guess this is normal??

HOW CUTE IS SHE?????  I don't think I'm a bad judge, because I love her so much, I really think she's just too cute for words.

So, my cards have suffered lately for a few reasons: my Cricut cutting has taken over my LIFE at home after work, dinner and cleanup, and simply because I'm a little tapped out of ideas.  It happens, but I hate it.  Here's what I have made in the past week, or so:

This was made for a co-worker who has just lost her Dad :(  I said "condolence", is that wrong??? It occurred to me later... Hmm.

I made this card for my friend Vjera, she had her 34th birthday last weekend, and we celebrated, just us ladies; it was so much fun, I loved seeing all the girls and catching up.  She liked the card, and that night, I gave her the milk & apple "I love us" card.  She wanted to give it to Jasper.

I have been tied up with my Cricut, like I mentioned earlier, doing tons of die cuts.  I have four cartridges, but they've done okay keeping me busy; here's some of the dies I've made very recently:

The apples are four layers, but how cute are they?  The panda and bowl of noodles just made me fall over, I ended up making this set in 2, 3 and 4" each.  I'll figure out a way to use them all, somehow... hahah.  Wouldn't that be some crap if I just couldn't figure out how to use all the dies I have (collecting in a box on my desk)? 

Forgot this card that I made for Chrissy, she and her husband just had a baby girl; they named her Gianna... :)

I used a big piece of cardstock so that the actual card space (room for signing inside) would be larger than the average.  I think it's a bit too pink, but what can you do??? I needed to use the girl sentiments, so there you go.  We had a time figuring out how to NOT buy Anabella girly, pink clothes before she came... her Mama said NO PINK!  Anyway, that's it for today.  I have a meeting at 3pm and I'm off!

XO

Fish & Dear

How MF'n cute is that fish bowl, I ask?  I made a bigger piece last night, just to see it on a larger scale, and it is just too much.  What the heck will I do with it?  I guess I could make it the whole card... either way, I like that the Cricut gives you such range in die size, I mean, with the Expression I can cut up to 12" x 24" -- it's crazy!  That is about 4.5" all around.

That's the card I made for Vjera (her birthday is today) to give to her tonight... I messed up in making the sentiment color to similar to that of the patterned paper it's on top of.  Rats!  I love the dear, though, I am happy it turned out just as cute as can be.  I used yellow/orange cardstock for the outside, I should've gone that route with the words, but that's for next time.  I swear, all I have to do is sit at my desk and begin working for time to slip by unnoticed, I haven't been getting to sleep very early lately, and waking up RAGGED.  I need to get myself back on a good sleep schedule so I can be alive at work. 

Speaking of work, it's time for a vacation!!

Heading out of here soon, I'll post pix of Mateo's third birthday party next week, that's on Sunday, and hopefully have some of the newest Garcia: Lucca.  I'm ready to see my Anabella, so I'm gonna get the hell outta here!!!

XO

Birthdays, Birthdays!

Hello blog.  This weekend was spent playing with my Cricut, just as I expected.  I got zero cleaning done (which I do EVERY freakin' weekend, otherwise I'm annoyed by it), I got zero laundry done (wearing the weird undies and t-shirts I haven't seen in forever), and pretty much just blew everything off and cut, cut, cut. :)  Yesterday I did go to Jesse and Gracie's 4th birthday party, and it was also Sam's birthday.  We didn't do anything really, it has been a very low-key weekend.  I just wanted to post a pic of one of the sets I made with the critter cartridge; I've been working my way through the whole booklet, and I'm KILLED by cuteness pretty much every time I finish a piece.  I love the little sayings, the accessories and critters themselves.  Very me.  I'd have a BALL designing a cartridge with the characters I used to cartoon all through high-school... hmm, I wonder how that's done, anyway?

I'm going to post more pix of the stuff I've cut and put together later, or tomorrow.  I'm actually thinking of reopening my eBay store and selling completed packets of each critter, four pieces each.  I used to buy them ALL the time, and I'm sure they'll sell, it's just a matter of the tediousness of eBay selling that I'm considering now.  I'd love to get my Paypal account fattened up again, and maybe get the Marc Jacobs skirt I've had on my Watched Items list for a whole year.  It's always sweeter when you get a good deal on eBay rather than buying it and feeling like a heel for spending so much.

Ah, but I'm rambling now. 

I'm editing a paper for a co-worker (and close friend) who is out of the office (2 months!!) for back surgery.  I'll finish up and then get to the laundry and MAYbe some cleaning.  At 9pm, the new True Blood season begins, and I'm dying to see what's cookin'. :)  Yay! 

That's all for now! 
xo

Summer Birthday Card

This is the card I made for Aunt Deb's boyfriend Rich.  It's his birthday soon, I think the 10th.  I haven't given it to him yet, it's still sitting on my desk at home. :)  I have to say, I have had so much fun with the Celebration paper pad, I can't seem to put it away.  The good thing about that is that birthday cards ALWAYS sell quick, so I should just have away at the damn thing.  I plan on getting back to business this week, both with the cards and the gym.  I have been a member all of a month and have only gone... once. :(  Seriously, I have great intentions, but things have been so hectic lately, and at the end of the day I'm absolutely DEAD.  Today I have the excuse that I didn't have time to pack my stretchy clothes since I was running late.  Ohhhhh well.

I plan on entering a card or two to Cards Magazine's open call this month.  One of my favorite bloggers (Denise from stampwithsass.blogspot.com) had two of her cards published, and that gave me a little kick in the rump to get my own stuff going.  But, I have to get things up to par.... practice!

Monday -- always a good day to execute a new plan, make a change. :)

xo

Bingo!!

This card is the child of the Celebration paper pad I got the other day.  One page had all these cutouts, and the bingo cards were a no-brainer.  My mother is the world's biggest bingo queen, and I HAD to make her a card asap.  (Ma, if you're reading this, sorry for the spoiler!)  I couldn't think of a better way to use those cute little cards.  I used some dimension squares (99 cent store score) to make them pop and the little flags were also cutout from that page.  The ribbon ties on the sides were a last minute addition that I think is genius.  HELLO?  Yeah, I pretty much rule.

Yesterday, Sam got the second part to Elijah's birthday gift, part one was an Obey book, works by Shepherd Fairey; the gallery owner where he works got him this, signed:

Funny part about it is I picture Elijah looking like this when he's a little older, and if he were a skeleton, haha.  Our boy is in his teens now, what a trip!!  Plus he's on the Honor Society, so he's smart too.  Last weekend, Elijah pitched for his team, The Rays, for the first time and his mom said he did real well.  I am SO proud of Elijah!!

Today is gray and rainy again, I sure hope the sun comes out after the morning marine layer evaporates, and gives us some warmth...

XO

A Summery Weekend!

Ah, this weekend was awesome!  First of all, our weather was in the 80's, and even though I worked through it for my weekly top to bottom clean-up and I was sweating like a pig, it was fckn amazing.  Seriously though, for next time, I'm going to begin cleaning earlier to avoid that kind of sweating... it's just gross.  On Friday night, though, I made this card:

I was inspired by these little cardstock squares my sister gave me when I went to visit Anabella (who, by the way, is doing great!!)  They were meant to fold in half, sort of place setting card shaped, and I cut it in half and saw a radio.  I worked for hours on that damn thing, even though it looks super simple.  I'm happy for how it turned out.  My new music paper seemed appropriate, even if the octopus doesn't make a lick of sense. :)  I'm still having fun with my scallop punch, as you can see.  It's the best $14 I've spent in awhile. 

Anyway, Sunday was Patty and Jay's baby shower, which was at her parent's house.  It was really nice to see everyone, to see Jay who I never see anymore, and her parents.  Toni cooked up a storm, Italian food, and it was to die for, obviously!  There were tons of kids:

Here's Mateo:

And  here's Baily, Mateo's cousin:

I tried to take photos of all the kids while they were watching Blues Clues, but my efforts were futile... I mean, they were like "Get the fuck out of my way, lady!", hahahah!  They were sweet, and by sweet I mean sugared up by the cupcakes that Pat ordered from somebody amazing, and once they started to crash, I went home.  I admit, I was crashing also, after three Cokes and two cupcakes.  :)

The nicest part of the weekend is that it's over, and our weather has cooled down enough to make it so that I will appreciate a warm up next weekend, as scheduled.  I love weekends, but lately they've been busier than normal, but I'll take it.  Back to the grind.............. xo

Happy Birthday, Steph!!

This card was made last night for my friend Stephanie, her birthday is Monday, but we're celebrating it this Friday at work.  I think we're going to some buffet for lunch to pig out.  This paper came from my new doodles pad; you can't see the grid pattern on it, really, but I love it.  I cut out the top border and used some dimension dots to make it pop.  Ticket die cuts are something that I've been seeing a lot of lately on blogs and challenges.  I like it, and have been cooking up a little design to make it a bit more unique... I'll work on that tonight.  I know that the pre-made dies aren't so unique, but they are easy and when I am having lots of trouble with layout, it's nice to have something already done.  I have been going to Jo-Ann whenever I have time and checking out their dollar bin.  It's awesome.  They have ink pads, clear stamps, big glitter (sorta like confetti), and even pretty flower embellishments (like the one on the card above)... for a DOLLAR.  I'm thinking about getting my eBay store back up and making some money off those damn things.  I buy them for a dollar, along with the scrapbooking stuff I've been finding at the 99 cent store, and jack up the price 400%.  Everyone wins, especially me.  Plus I get to shop on eBay without using Mr. Mastercard and Mama needs some new boots among other things. :) 

I made a little curtain for the space under the kitchen sink where I have the garbage can, I think I mentioned it in an earlier post, this is what it looks like:

I wanted to cover that space, which has gotten crowded, with something that wasn't corny... I think this works.  I used dark brown thread until I ran out, and then I had to use black.  I'm glad you can't really see the stitches, because they look like a cavelady did them.  I'm not really a domestic person, but I'm trying these things.  Anyway, a hem at the top and one at the bottom, I got a curtain.  I'm going to make one for the living room, so let's see how that goes. 

xo

Almost a Century!

This is a bad photo, but it's the only one I took... oh well.  I made it for my friend Stephanie's grandfather, "Other Daddy" she calls him, and it's his 99th birthday.  In fact, we just called him and sang him "Happy Birthday" over speakerphone... it's hard to imagine being here 79 years from now.  What will the world be like?  Will we finally have hover boards? :)  I can only hope that I would have had a long, healthy life filled with family, friends and good times.  I hope to have peace when facing my last years. 

Today the sun came out!  I was expecting rain, and lots of it from the looks of all those dark clouds.  Yay! 

XO

Good Effort, Chowder-Head!

These two cards were made last night especially for my co-worker Cindy.  I guess I work a little better with a direction in mind, with an idea of who the card is for.  I had these little foxes in mind for the birthday card all along, but to do a passable Hello Kitty?  Yeah, well.  I think they worked in the end, and I'm happy with the outcome.  I'm concerned about the appearance of the glue, though... not happy about that.  The "good glue" is super expensive, but I guess it's necessary here.  The flash catches it a bit more, I think. 

So, tonight I have to make some more Valentine's cards and unload them at work... I wish I could just take one day and make cards in my office where I have great light and I'm not half-dead sleepy like I am at the end of the day.  Maybe I will next week.  Now that the intern is doing much more and has the hang of things, I'm finally feeling some slack here.  It got crazy for a minute.  I will be getting one more client on my caseload, but that's IT.  After our new electronic system gets going, things should get even more simple around here.  It's been a tough year, but I'm better under pressure... :)