Swap Pics

I signed up for 2 swaps after I decided to give up buying stuff for Lent: the first My Favorite Things full card swap and a 6"x6" recipe card swap.

I've had to be pretty creative with how I created these because I couldn't just run off to the LSS and pick up some extra dp. These were carefully planned out.

The My Favorite Things swap was split into rounds. I joined Round 1 - Pick a set. The set I chose was Baby, It's Cold Outside because it's a fun set to use. I also needed to think of some dp (designer paper) that would work well with the set because of the whole no buying thing. I chose some 3 Bugs in a Rug dp that I bought on a whim and hadn't used yet. I didn't want to add a sentiment because I figured that someone could do whatever they wanted with it.

Stamps: MFT - Baby, It's Cold Outside. Paper: Barely Banana, Night of Navy, white, 3 Bugs in a Rug - Cabana Horizon Stripes and Cabana Chunky Dunk. Ink: Versafine black onyx. Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, baby oil, blending stumps, brads, dimensionals.

The recipe swap is something that Keri (stampinupconsultan on SCS) came up with. It's a great idea - a small scrapbook of our favorite recipes. 25 identical 6"x6" pages. I HAD a full pack of 8.5"x11" Real Red when I started this, now I have scraps. I really like how this turned out. I chose to share my Grandma Grant's Apple Slice recipe - think of apple pie, spread out and in bar format. Absolutely delicious and pretty easy to make.

Stamps: SU - Ladybuds. Paper: Real Red, Wild Wasabi, Very Vanilla, Wild Asparagus dp. Ink: Real Red, Garden Green marker. Accessories: mat pack, brads, dimensionals.

Skip a day, it's Thursday!

Okay, I'm in a weird mood for some reason.

Today's Ways to Use it Challenge involves music: music stamps, inspiration from a song (that sounds familiar *grin*), etc.

Sounds easy enough. I have some music-themed stamps (SU's Musical Manuscript, Stampingbella's Musicabella) but the one that popped right into my head was Gina K's Heartfelt Hits 1. I really love the couple dancing - it reminds me of those old black and white movies.

When I was going to make my card for Tuesday's color challenge, I intended to use one of the Cuttlebugged backgrounds that Manda (tropicalichick on SCS) sent me for Valentine's Day. I forgot on Tuesday, but I remembered today.

The couple are stamped in Basic Black (gasp - I actually USED that ink?) and the lady is accented with a Stardust gel pen to make her dress sparkle.

Stamps: Gina K Designs - Heartfelt Hits 1. Paper: Real Red, Basic Black, Whisper White. Ink: Basic Black. Accessories: glitter dots, Stardust gel pen, ribbon, treble clef clips, dimensionals.

I want to buy stamping stuff!!! I have less than a month to go and I know I can do it.

I'll probably post again later today to show off the swap projects I've been involved in.

The color challenge

So, when the color challenge was posted early - meaning I actually saw it before I went to bed - I was a little iffy about it. Basic Black, River Rock, Whisper White. It just seems so bland to me right now.

Once I saw a few samples, it didn't seem so daunting.

Of course, I've been feeling like my stamping mojo's on the fritz right now, so in my head this card could turn out to be one of 2 things: the biggest disaster in the gallery or absolutely fabulous and I won't be able to understand where it came from.

I really like the pattern in the Ginger Blossom dp, especially the sheet that's River Rock on Very Vanilla. There's just something about tone-on-tone. I was hoping that it would actually be River Rock on White, but this works. My flower was stamped in River Rock and I used an aquapainter and River Rock reinker to shade the blossom. I then edged the blossom with a Stardust gel pen to make the edges sparkle.

The sentiment fit perfectly in the word window punch, so I punched it out and taped it onto a piece of 5/8" black grosgrain. I tied a piece of 1/4" black grosgrain above it.

Black and white brads finish it off.

Stamps: Embrace Life. Paper: River Rock, Basic Black, Whisper White, Ginger Blossom dp. Ink: River Rock, Versafine black onyx. Accessories: 5/8" and 1/4" black grosgrain, word window punch, mat pack, brads, dimensionals, aquapainter, stardust gel pen.

A Technique Challenge - kinda

Today's Technique Challenge was to combine different patterns of dp - polka dots and stripes or stripes and big flowers. I do this on occasion anyway, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

The colors come from the dp - which is the True Blue collection of Sweetwater designs. I had to shuffle through my various blues to figure out what color was the closest: Buckaroo Blue (one of the retired In Colors from last year.)

Stamps: Gina K/Melanie Muenchinger - Just so Hippy. Paper: Barely Banana, Buckaroo Blue, Bravo Burgundy, white. Ink: Buckaroo Blue. Accessories: ticket corner punch, brads, dimensionals, ribbon.

An update on my whining from yesterday. We're no longer in the Winter Storm Watch, we have a freezing rain advisory until 4pm today. Not as bad, but I'd still prefer 40+ temps.

Can I cry now?

I returned to my computer after an afternoon of clearing out part of the bottom of the driveway and playing down in the Dungeon. My Weatherbug icon is flashing - meaning there's severe weather of some kind in the area. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect for tomorrow evening through Tuesday evening.

I want to throw a tantrum like a little kid because: 1) I'm sick of snow and ice. 2) There's supposed to be about 6 inches of snow overnight. 3) The temp's actually supposed to break freezing - and then we get snow on top of that. 4) There is 3 inches of SOLID ICE at the bottom of my driveway that is going to melt and refreeze tomorrow. 5) My road NEVER gets plowed - it's an ice rink already.

Okay... I'm over the snow and the cold. And done whining.

On the upside, I have 2 cards and an altered clipboard that I finished today.

Card #1: Featured Stamper - Mary Jo Albright. I love her gallery! The card I chose to CASE: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/801112 (The first card I wanted to CASE was a Sketch Challenge - which I try not to copy.)

Stamps: MFT - Say Charge. Paper: white, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa (cardstock and dp), Real Red (cs and dp), Soft Sky (cs and dp). Ink: Versafine black, Real Red. Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, 1 1/4" 1 3/8" and scallop circle punches, Chocolate Chip taffeta and Soft Sky double stitched ribbons, mat pack, glitter dots, ticket corner punch, dimensionals.

Card #2: Stalker's Thread Color Challenge 19. It's my last time to hostess the color challenge - it's the end of the month. I pulled the colors for this challenge from the East Coast Prep SU DP: Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wasabi and More Mustard. I like my Flourishes Cake Decorating 101 set - it's so easy to use and fun to play with.

Stamps: Flourishes LLC - Cake Decorating 101. Paper: Real Red, Wild Wasabi, More Mustard, white, East Coast Prep dp. Ink: More Mustard, Wild Wasabi, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise. Accessories: Bazzill and Provocraft chipboard shapes, glitter dot, ribbon, Martha Stewart Glittering Glue, aquapainter, dimensionals.

And finally, the clipboard. I got some ideas from cards using Fabulous Flowers and clear embossing powder. I took some dp from We R Memory Keepers and embossed the flowers onto it, then brayered Vintage Violet over the top. It didn't completely cover the way I hoped it would, but I think it looks really good. The top of the clipboard is Vintage Violet cardstock that is cut to size and sponged with Vintage Violet ink and one of the smaller flowers form Fabulous Flowers is stamped on top. The back of the clipboard is painted white and the front papers are mod podged in place. Silver dots by Colorbok and white grosgrain finish it out.

Stamps: Fabulous Flowers. Paper: Vintage Violet and We R Memory Keepers dp. Ink: Versamark, Vintage Violet, Brilliance Moonlight White. Accessories: clear ep, clipboard, white paint, mod podge, ribbon, silver dots, brayer.

1 month left on my no buying anything for Lent. I'm already starting a list of things I want/need to buy once Lent's over. I thought I'd be okay with my cardstock levels and there are colors that are running out. This hasn't been too bad. I miss going to the LSS when I get the urge, but my credit card bill is A LOT smaller than it's been in months.

It's here! It's here!

I have One of a Kind and for some reason, I'm really excited about it.

I used it for the Ways to Use it Challenge: Windows. Glitter Windows, Bead Window, stamps of windows... we could use it all. I chose to make a glitter window. This card actually took about an hour to do - I kept an eye on the clock today.

They look incredible and they're super easy to do. A clear glitter and some clear packing tape and you're all set.

I tried to make my circles be even and symmetrical around the window. I don't know what happened. My guess is my Coluzzle moved when I was cutting out the Pumpkin Pie circle. I like the funkiness of the offset circles though.

Stamps: One of a Kind. Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White, Bali Breeze dp. Ink: Rose Red, Pumpkin Pie, Tempting Turquoise. Accessories: brads, ribbon, white gel pen, glitter, clear packing tape, dimensionals, coluzzle.

Sketch Challenge gone wrong

Oh boy, did I do it. I REALLY messed up a sketch challenge. It's a good card, but it's not what it was supposed to be.

I hate when that happens.

It was a fast card too - It only took me maybe 15-20 minutes to do.

Stamps: Fabulous Flowers. Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Soft Sky, Whisper White, So Saffron cardstock and dp. Ink: Soft Sky and Purely Pomegranate. Accessories: brads, Bella Baubles, dimensionals, ribbon, pearl pin (already dyed), silver and pearl beads.

I got an email from my demo... One of a Kind is in! I'm going to pick it up soon!

Good evening Tuesday!

I'm generally getting out of work about now, but I switched hours so I worked this morning instead of this afternoon. Not a bad trade - I've had an open afternoon. Which I spent shopping for non-stamping items and watching some television.

I finally got to the color challenge this afternoon. The colors today were Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie and Orchid Opulence. I have to admit, my nose wrinkled at the thought of this combo, then I saw the sample. Okay, this will work. It's tropical - can I have the weather too? It's snowing again, I'm sick of snow.

I came up with this card sketch/idea while at work today and I think it turned out well when I actually made the card.

Stamps: Embrace Life, Stamping Bella - Bikinibella. Ink: Palette Burnt Umber, Pumpkin Pie, Certainly Celery, Orchid Opulence. Paper: Certainly Celery, Orchid Opulence, Very Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie dp. Accessories: mat pack, dimensionals, brads, Sakura stardust pen, Prismacolor pencils.

GRRRRR... I was starting to fill in the blanks on my SCS gallery upload when I was told that I'd timed out. So mad that I have to start OVER again.

Snagged from Bev's blog.

I found this on Bev's blog and it fits.

I miss being in London.

You Belong in London

You belong in London, but you belong in many cities... Hong Kong, San Francisco, Sidney. You fit in almost anywhere. And London is diverse and international enough to satisfy many of your tastes. From curry to Shakespeare, London (almost) has it all!

http://www.blogthings.com/whateuropeancitydoyoubelonginquiz/
What European City Do You Belong In?

View of the Dungeon

Every time I take pictures of my workspace - commonly called "the Dungeon" because it's down in the basement - I swear that it's not normally that messy. Then I surpass the last picture in messiness.

So... here are the most recent pictures of my area: The first one is standing from the end of the table looking down towards my inkpad holder and the other is from right behind my work chair.

The main problem is that I was in a hurry after I did the WT challenge this day and didn't clean up.

I also have my card for the STCC done and ready to be uploaded. I needed help figuring out the colors, so I used the SU color combos website at www.scraptitude.com/colorcombo Colors for today are: Purely Pomegranate, Old Olive, River Rock, and Close to Cocoa.

Stamps: Papertrey - Out on a Limb. Paper: Purely Pomegranate, Old Olive, River Rock, Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa dp. Ink: Purely Pomegranate, River Rock, Old Olive, Close to Cocoa, Versamark. Accessories: Ultra Thick Embossing Powder, heat tool, sponge, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, ticket corner punch, brads, ribbon, dimensionals.

A fun project

Today's Ways to Use it Challenge was to create something inspired by fashion. I think it's a great challenge, especially since I watch Project Runway almost religiously.

So I wanted to create a bag. This bag is part of a tutorial for the bag and 9 cards. I might do the 9 cards later, but I just wanted the bag for now. You'll find it on Splitcoast under Templates - it's the Au Chocolat tote & cards OSW (one sheet wonder.)http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243314&highlight=au+chocolat+tote+cards

The bag itself is one piece of 8.5x11 Tempting Turquoise cardstock - I pulled the color from the other side of this paper. I sponged all the edges with Tempting Turquoise ink to age it. I also sponged the piece of 4"x4.5" Bali Breeze dp - it was sponged with Pumpkin Pie and Creamy Caramel ink. I took my white gel pen and highlighted the dots in the middle of the flowers.

The handles are tacky taped on, then a brad is also there for support.

I couldn't wait to use one of my SAB sets - So Many Scallops. The flower is stamped in Rose Red (also a color pulled from the other side of the paper. The Tempting Turquoise grograin was tied into a bow and I glued it on with Diamond Glaze.

I was curious after I made it, so I tried to see what would fit in it besides cards. 2 tall bottles of Primas fit nicely in there with some room to spare.

Stamps: So Many Scallops. Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Bali Breeze dp, white. Ink: Rose Red, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Creamy Caramel. Accessories: brads, tacky tape, dimensionals, scalloped circle punch, eyelet, cropadile, ribbon, sponge.

And now for something completely different:

A man with a tape recorder up his nose.

Sorry, Monty Python joke. :)

I love to stamp, scrapbook (occasionally) and make cards, but I also love to do other crafts: like cross stitch.

I have been working on this cross stitch by Teresa Wentzler for a long time - over a year. I also admit that I've ignored it for long periods of time. This is a link to what it will look like when I finally finish it: http://www.twdesignworks.com/Designs/woodfaerie_l.html

At this point, this is what it looks like:

The faerie's skin and face is all cross stitched too - in teeny tiny stitches.

Embrace a Tempting Life

Okay, this title is completely contradictory to what I'm doing over the course of Lent, but it's also the title of my color challenge card for today - Tempting Turquoise, Green Galore, and Creamy Caramel (it was supposed to be Kraft, but I don't have Kraft)

Oh, and I used one of my NEW SU sets that arrived yesterday!

Stamps: Embrace Life. Paper: Green Galore, Tempting Turquoise, Creamy Caramel, watercolor paper. Ink: Palette Burnt Umber, Creamy Caramel, reinkers - Tempting Turquoise and Green Galore. Accessories: Creative Imaginations epoxy sticker, Sakura white gel pen, turquoise grosgrain.

The journal from yesterday - I gave it to the person who asked me to make it and she LOVED it. She said it was perfect! I'm really happy.

Final semi-random comment - I hate snowbanks.

Faith's TLC

Today's Technique Lover's Challenge on Splitcoast was hosted by one of my good friends, Faith - markie's mom over on Splitcoast.

Faith LOVES a technique she calls Ink, Spray and Smash. You take a piece of glossy cardstock, spritz it with a water bottle, dribble reinkers onto the paper, spritz another sheet of paper with water and smash the 2 sheets of paper together. You can do it multiple times before you run out of ink on the bottom sheet.

Kinda messy and lots of fun. I only just tried it today - I've been too scared to in the past.

I'm still in my "it's freezing, give me warm colors" phase.

The Ink, Spray and Smash paper was made with Pumpkin Pie and Pink Passion reinkers. The background is the second sheet pressed and the flower is made with either the bottom sheet or the first sheet - I can't remember.

I made this flower on another card earlier this year and really liked how it turned out - the petals of the flower are made from the outline heart from the Papertrey set Sweet Love. One layer is stamped in a circle, cut around the outside, the top petals are all individual, taped on separately and folded to give dimension.

Stamps: Papertrey - Sweet Love. Paper: Glossy white, Pink Passion, River Rock. Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Pink Passion. Accessories: ribbon, mat pack, charm, rhinestone brads.

My friend and coworker asked me a while ago if I could alter a composition book to give to her boyfriend for Valentine's Day. He's a musician, writes lyrics and she wanted to give him a gift that would mean a lot to him. I hope I didn't make it too feminine.

Stamps: Papertrey - Out on a Limb. Paper: Music and alphabet paper I had laying around the house, Basic Black. Ink: Brilliance Moonlight White. Accessories: mod podge, super jumbo scalloped oval punch, brads, ribbon, spiral clip, composition book.

Brrrrrrrrrr

Oh, it's cold here. I live in Western Michigan - we have a wonderful buffer from all the bitterly cold and scorchingly hot weather called Lake Michigan. We get into the single digits sometimes during the winter and rarely go below zero.

It's been below zero today - about 4 below with a windchill of 20 below. *shiver* And for some reason, my room is FREEZING compared to the rest of the house - which is 74. My room is 68 or 66, which doesn't sound like a lot, but there's a distinct temperature drop when you walk into my room.

Quick news: I got a voicemail from my demo on Saturday that she going to order One of a Kind for me. YAY! So excited!

It's time for the STCC #17. Yes, I know it's close to Valentine's Day and all, but I'm not in the mood for Valentine-y colors. I'm thinking warmth - tropical warmth.

Colors for today are:

Groovy Guava

Soft Sky

Barely Banana

Certainly Celery

I love making pocket cards, they're so easy and fun to make. For some reason, the colors came up funky in the photo.

Stamps: True Friend. Paper: Soft Sky, Barely Banana, Groovy Guava, Certainly Celery, Very Vanilla. Ink: Groovy Guava, Soft Sky, Barely Banana, Certainly Celery. Accessories: Tacky Tape, cropadile, dimensionals, brads, distresser tool, Groovy Guava ds ribbon, silver cording.

Limited Supply Challenge

Limited Supply Challenges are interesting. You're given a theme - and some boundaries and you make a card out of it. Last week, it was Superbowl related: football, team colors, etc.

This week? Valentine's Day, the non-traditional kind. No flowers, no hearts, no red or pink, no embellies that are red or pink, and keep it under 4 layers.

Well, if you don't count the base, I have 4 layers. :-)

I really like these Flourish stamps. They're fun and easy to work with. I don't think I could make an ugly cake with this set.

Stamps: SU - All Through the Year, Priceless; Flourishes - Cake Decorating 101, Sweet Treats. Paper: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White. Ink: So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip. Accessories: ribbon, dimensionals, Chocolate Chip marker.

I have my blades, spent a grand total of 5 minutes in Hobby Lobby - most of it in the checkout. My much-needed SU cardstock and various other things I ordered before I came to my decision to not buy anything for Lent will be here on Monday!

I've been awarded

Silvia - my dear friend from SCS - has awarded me with an E for Excellence in blogging! I love her blog - it's http://mabiestampin.blogspot.com/

Now, I'm supposed to spread the love.

http://bevithia.blogspot.com/

http://stampinwithmarkiesmom.blogspot.com/

http://stampinprojectjunkie.blogspot.com/

http://confessionsofaribbonaddict.blogspot.com/

http://dawnmercedes.blogspot.com/

http://www.wickedlywonderfulcreations.blogspot.com/

I have other blogs I visit, but wouldn't you know it, Silvie tagged them first!

Oh, and I agree with Silvie about Laura's basket. My jaw hit the desk when I saw it.

My Favorite Guest Designer and Ways to Use It card

It's the beginning of the month, and it's time for another My Favorite Guest Designer project. This month's challenge was to create a candy holder - nugget box, slider, pixie pouch - basically whatever your heart desired.

My project: A milk carton. :) We got a lot of snow yesterday and I really wanted to use my Winter Blast set - those penguins are adorable! So with the help of Beate's milk carton tutorial in the Resource section of SCS, I created my own.

I had a blast doing this and I think it looks adorable!

Stamps: MFT- Winter Blast and Essential Sentiments. Paper: Soft Sky, Old Olive, Georgia-Pacific white. Ink: Soft Sky, Old Olive, Versafine black onyx. Accessories: brads, Marvy mega scallop square punch, ribbon, stapler, tacky tape, stylus, paper piercer, prismacolor pencils, word window punch, silver cording.

I also made a card for the Ways to Use it Challenge - DOTS. I think I did a pretty good job on this card and *gasp* No embellies!!!

Stamps: Stamping Bella: Cuppacakeabella and Obey all the Rules. Paper: Soft Sky, Old Olive, Really Rust, Watercolor paper, Fall Flowers dp. Ink: Versafine black onyx, Really Rust, Reinkers: Really Rust, Old Olive, Soft Sky. Accessories: corner rounder punch, ticket corner punch, aquapainter.

Update on my problem from yesterday. Talking it over with my friends on SCS and hearing what they had to say - as well as those who posted here - I've come to the conclusion that papertrimmer blades don't count as stamping supplies - they're more of stamping necessities. So I'm going up to Hobby Lobby tonight and just buying blades. I did make it through the MFT release party without buying anything last night!

Doesn't this ALWAYS happen? Lent, Day 1

So today officially starts my buying moratorium on all things stamping - except One of a Kind (I mentioned this earlier.) I realize - as I'm cutting the pieces of my card for today - that the blade on my paper trimmer is getting dull. I don't have replacement blades.

*palmtohead and headtodesk*

I can't believe I didn't think of it. I have plenty of adhesive, I just started a new roll of Tacky Tape, I have an extra pack of dimensionals. I have more brads, ribbon and primas than I know what to do with, I just ordered a bunch of cardstock before I decided to give stamping stuff up.

I have a 25 - 6x6 recipe card swap due in the middle of Lent as well as my regular cardmaking.

I'm wondering how I can get around this problem.

On a better note, I made a card today. It was for the Sketch Challenge on SCS. It's also a sample bridal shower card for my future SIL. The wedding's not until next year, but since I'm designing and probably making most of the paper stuff (invitations, bridal shower invites, thanks you cards, etc), I want to get a head start.

Stamps: Stamping Bella - Bridalpartybellas; Papertrey - Piece of Cake. Paper: Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla. Ink: Palette Burnt Umber, SU Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow. Accessories: Prismacolor pencil - jade green, Sakura Quickie glue pen, Martha Stewart glitter, May Arts brown satin ribbon, brads, paper piercer.

While I was waiting for the card to load, I went to the Post Office website to look at where some of my packages are - I'm a BIG fan of delivery confirmation since one of my swaps went missing for 3 weeks. Something confused me and honestly, it doesn't take much today. WHY, if all my packages are heading west from here, are 2 of them (specifically the ones heading to Utah) in BALTIMORE?

Tuesday

It's Tuesday. I didn't do the Technique Lover's Challenge at SCS because I really don't need to make a centerpiece out of an upside down cootie catcher - though it was cute.

I DID do the STCC and posted it on SCS just after I announced my blog candy winner, but I didn't want to bury the winner announcement post with that card. I'll add it here later today.

So... last night I was working on a project down in the dungeon that I think turned out really cool. It was dark when I emerged, so I didn't get to photograph it until now.

What do you think? The inspiration came from Cammie's blog (she's in my blog roll) and her Frappuccino bottle full of m&ms. Next time I do this, I'm using individual bags for each color - sorting Jelly Bellys is a pain. I went into the store looking for Bright Pink ones - to match some yummy satin ribbon, but they didn't have that color. But they had Bubblegum, Lemon-Lime, Lemon and Juicy Orange and I had ribbon to match!

The medallions are a SU scallop circle punch, Marvy Extra Jumbo scallop circle punch, 1" chipboard circle, 1" circle punch. The word LOVE comes from Papertrey's Mixed Messages set.

My card for today is for the CC152: Apricot Appeal, Real Red, Ballet Blue. I really like this combination and it made for a great card. My mom has bronchitis, so it's going to her.

Stamps: Gina K/Melanie Muenchinger - Just so Hippy. Paper: Real Red, Ballet Blue, Apricot Appeal, GP white. Ink: Versafine black, Apricot Appeal, Real Red, Ballet Blue. Accessories: prismacolor pencils, baby oil, brads, chipboard, dimensionals, tacky tape, cropadile, ribbon

The buying moratorium officially begins tomorrow, though I've started already.

The reveal...

The mystery in the mailbox is...

Flowers!

susanwood and stampin' project junkie guessed correctly!

Since there were only 2, I flipped a coin.

susanwood, please email me at deipara@yahoo.com with your address so I can send this to you!

Thank you all for playing and guessing!

Featured stamper

I always have fun with the Featured Stamper Challenge - it's fun to deliberately CASE someone.

Today's person is Renee - prchvs. I loved this card of hers: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/506924

I don't have any watercolor crayons, so I used Julie - Reneejul1's technique of using SU markers to create the illusion of Copics - kinda. :)
Stamps: Bundle of Joy. Paper: So Saffron, Bashful Blue, Rose Red, Cutie Pie dp, Watercolor paper. Ink: Palette Burnt Umber, SU Markers: Old Olive, Certainly Celery. Accessories: ticket corner punch, corner rounder punch, ribbon, paper piercer, aquapainter, Sakura silver stardust pen, dimensionals, paper distresser.

Don't forget you have 6 hours until my blog candy closes!

What I'm Giving Up for Lent

I'm generally not someone who is really religious. I don't have a problem with religion or anything like that - I am just of the opinion that my religion and faith is mine and I don't have to share anything about it if I don't want to.

While I don't belong to a denomination of Christianity that asks its members to give something up for Lent, I like to do it on occasion to see what my willpower is.

This year, I'm giving up buying anything stamping related. No cardstock, no dp, no brads, no stamps*, no stickers, no rub-ons. NOTHING.

*I want the SU set One of a Kind when it's available again. If it happens to be available during Lent, I will get it.

The reasoning behind my decision (while people are recovering from their faints of shock and horror): I put together a 12x12 paper rack I got for Christmas and realized I have a LOT of stuff - brads, cardstock, dp, stamps, etc. and I DON'T use it.

It needs to be used before I buy more. I don't want to be my grandmother with her boxes FULL of clothing patterns and fabric.

So, here we go. No more buying stamping stuff until March 24th.

Don't forget my blog candy in the previous entry! You have until Sunday/Monday at Midnight to comment in that post!

Blog Candy 2,000

I've had 2,000 hits here on my blog and I'm going to offer some blog candy. :)

YES, I'm on the ball! (Finally... well, kinda... okay, I'm not at all)

The blog candy includes:

• A partial pack of K & Co. designer paper in various sizes
• 2 packages of adhesive gemstones - pink and red for Valentine's day
• A pack of crystal brads
• Back to School - a My Favorite Things stamp set that I bought and never used
• A red Target mailbox... with a secret.

Now the question becomes.... what's in the mailbox?

You have until Sunday midnight EST (Monday morning) to guess.

The correct answer will win, if there's more than 1 person with the correct answer, names will be put in a random # drawing.

If no one guesses correctly? We have a total random # drawing.

Good Luck!

Update on my world

Yesterday's List of Goals

1. Play with my new stamps - done with some pictures of cards
2. Clean/organize the dungeon - it's better than it was, but I didn't get into a DEEP clean
3. Work on my SU! order that I want to email to my demo tomorrow (today) sometime - Order was emailed, but I need to rethink it because I got a phone call from my demo that the set I REALLY wanted has quality control issues. *pouting*
4. Mail out some birthday cards for people who have birthdays coming up - DONE
5. Get the Bella images I stamped mailed to the people I agreed to send them to
6. Oh, yeah, go to work. - Already did that yesterday.
7. List some blog candy because I'm over 2,000 views. Not quite yet, I have ideas of what I'm going to offer, but nothing solid. I promise, soon.

Life's been interesting - the snow's falling heavily again and the kids get another snow day, but daycare's open today. Which doesn't bother me - I can handle it. I just called in and they're doing okay with staff.

I think I'll grab some lunch and figure out what I want to do about my SU order. I really like that One of a Kind set and if I just take it out of my order, I lose $5 in freebies and a SAB set. Not that the losing the SAB set really kills me, but it's the principle of the thing.

I got to play with my new stamps. I made 2 cards with Cake Decorating 101 as the focus - I like how they turned out.