New Year's Resolutions

It is that time of year to be thinking again about New Year's Resolutions. Well, actually it is a little bit late to just begin thinking about it, hence the need for a change...

I like resolutions that are quick and easy and then I don't have to think about them again. One year I decided my NYR would be that I would drink more, as in alcohol. This seems strange, unless of course you have the detail that I don't drink, well rarely anyway. Every once in a while I will go on a binge. A binge for me being that I might have a single drink two nights in a row! So anyway, this particular year I decided I will drink more. I don't know if it was metaphoric for have more fun or get out more or what (clearly this is a theme for me as you will see in a minute), but as I told my partner at work (yes this was a long time ago) since I did not drink anything, all I had to do was have one beer and my NYR was complete! Quick, easy, painless. And so totally not in the spirit...

This year I have several thoughts. One idea is to find a hobby that gets me out of the house. You may be thinking, but what about SONE and Tuesday nights? I do leave the house for that. But I am thinking perhaps something with more of a social basis. Although I get to see some wonderful friends there, we are not supposed to talk during rehearsal. And as all my riser mates know, I never do ... Reading is another hobby that gets me out of the house, but alas, going to the library is not exactly social. Shopping for stamping supplies probably would not count either.

Resolution #2 may actually happen. Honor my commitments in a more timely manner. No more turning in swaps at the last minute, or answering emails several days late. I am going to keep my web projects (SONE Facebook and Members Only) updated within days of the request, rather than a week or so later. And this blog, lets see, shall I aim for posting cards within one day of their assembly? (Perhaps start thinking about NYRs before the new year?) You will know as well as I how well this Resolution is working...

My final thought of a NYR is to keep my mouth shut, even when asked for an opinion. ... Yeah, I don't think that one is going to happen either. I guess I will just have to keep getting into trouble. Besides some of my favorite people would be very upset if I went quiet; and since I see them every Tuesday and the others who would like to see my mouth closed much less often... Oh wait, I just remembered we are not supposed to talk on the risers...

Time to Play Catch up

Between moving, then internet connection problems,  and a dead laptop, I have gotten very far behind on my posting. I have some cards from early summer that never even got photographed. For Christmas, however, I received a beautiful new color printer/scanner. Today I hooked it up and scanned some of my cards from December swaps.

This one is from the Sisterhood of the Traveling cards and is from November really (oops, did I say these were December cards? Well I did make this one so late, it nearly was made in December...) The theme was "a Christmas memory" and we were unable to use red or green. My mind immediatly went to this stamp. I have had it forever and every once in a while think about passing it along, and can never bring myself to do so. Took me a while to find it, I had a moment of panic that I really did get rid of it and forgot!

I have no idea what company and I am all tucked up with my blanket and heating pad and am not about to get up to go find out (if it even has it printed on the wood) Eventually I will update this post, assuming the stamp even tells me. After coloring with Prismas, I punched the snowflake border in vellum and laid it over the top for a nostalgic look. Then I had to take a trip to my new LSS (did I mention I have moved and now have a LSS? No? Oh, I am sooo far behind) I picked three different varieties of ribbon, brought them home and tried them all against the card. This was the best fit. The snowflake came from my overflowing drawer of random embellishments. (Someday that drawer will be in a well organized stamp room. I have the stamp room now, thanks to the move, the well-organized part, not so much...)

First Post at New Address

I cannot believe it! I have a follower already! I only just finished typing the new address announcement on my old blog. In checking the post to be sure the link worked I discovered the awesome Viv has beaten me here! Whoo Hoo!

To the rest of my loyal followers - you have found me! Things look much the same ...so far. Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered I could transfer my entire blog without losing posts or comments to a new address!

Thank you all for coming and I hope you will continue on as followers here. I have some cards ready to post, photos of the new kittens, and of course Princess A, as soon as that router arrives...

Fairy Friends from Pink Cat Studio

Have you heard? Pink Cat studios is having a new release on August 6th called Fairy Friends. Follow their blog to see the sneak peeks beginning Tuesday, August 4th. They are sure to be SUPER CUTE!!

Quartet Competition

In an earlier post (wow, has it been so long already?!), I mentioned that one of the competing quartets asked me to make cards for them to give out to all the other quartets. After my initial hesitation (this is a HUGE undertaking) I started getting excited. Digging through my stamps took no time at all as I found this sentiment straight away and knew it was the one. Suddenly an image came to mind and all I had to do was choose colors.

Once the cards were completed I realized I had missed the opportunity for some finishing touches - sponged edges, that sort of thing... next time.

Card stock is all SU, as are the stamps. For that matter, so are the watercolor crayons and the ink for the sentiment. Only the ribbon is 'other'; a quick find at ACMoore.

Both of SONE's quartets did us proud and I was so happy and excited to be able to be there to cheer them on!



The day after quartet competition is chorus competition and I am proud to announce that the Region One Champion is my very own, Sound Of New England Chorus!!! Seattle, here we come!!

Parrots (and Bunnies) are Pets, too!

Most of the people, it seems to me anyway, on Lisa's Pet Lovers swap have requested to receive only cats or only dogs. Much as I love cats and dogs, the pets I most wish to fill my home are parrots. In fact, when looking at houses the other day, I pointed one out to Main Squeeze that had a porch that could easily be tiled and screened for Darwin to enjoy his summers; he just rolled his eyes. Another house had so many bedrooms, I mentioned Darwin having his own room, and Main Squeeze exclaimed, "You want to give the bird his own room?!" Well, yeah, why not?


One of the most beautiful birds, in my opinion (obviously as this IS my blog), is the cockatoo. Umbrella Cockatoo to be exact. It is in their honor that I made this card. His beak could be a bit darker, I know, but I only had the one shade of gray in my Prisma collection. This will be remedied as soon as possible.

The designer paper is from a stack by DCWV called Pocket Full of Posies. I bought it cuz it is not my usual style and, what can I say, it was on sale. Coordinates pretty well with the SU card stock don't you think? And I like the vine-y look to it. Makes the little guy feel more at home. I am not sure how he feels about the Magic Mesh, though.


Princess A joined in on the fun for this swap as well. For her entry, she chose bunnies. I am pretty sure it was to honor her most beloved stuffed friend, Mel. (You may remember him from an earlier post around her birthday.)

Great Impressions made this stamp as three blocks in a row, but because her swap was for 3 x 3's, she had to separate the bunnies. The card stock is SU and the dp was from a brand new package (thanks to one of my secret sisters), an 8 x8 slab from Provocraft. The bunnies are colored with SU markers and the card is finished off with some baubles I had received in a long ago swap.

Be sure to leave her some love!

Happy Birthday Kathleen

Yesterday was my friend Kathleen's birthday. I found out rather late, around 10AM, thanks to a reminder from Facebook. Having just a few hours til her quartet's dress rehearsal, I ran to my workshop. (Also known as the table and requisite supplies that have taken over the living room) (and perhaps I did not really run, but I did put it first on my 'things to do today' list)

Here is a card very similar to the one I whipped up. For after finishing Kathleen's, I decided to use the same design for Mary's Getting Ahead swap; and this morning finished a batch. This is Lily from Pink Cat Studios. (For Kathleen she had black hair, a teal outfit and a purple alien). Lily is stamped on GP, colored with Prismacolor markers and mounted on pop-dots on a newly discovered (by humans anyway) cuttlebugged planet. All cardstock besides Lily is SU.

I must give a shout out to Main Squeeze who listened to how I wanted the alien to look and made one for me to trace onto cardstock. Trust me, this was not as easy as it may sound.

On the inside I wrote, "Hope your birthday is Out of this World!"

(Mayhem, the quartet, during whose dress rehearsal a birthday celebration was planned, upon seeing this card, has requested that I make them 23 of design of my choice for them to give to the other competing quartets. Oy! ...Breathe...)

Ring around the Rosy, Dragon Picked Some Posies...

Do you know Dustin Pike? I just discovered his blog and am anxiously awaiting his opening of his new website. I admit I was not a fan of digi stamping, as I don't consider it stamping if there is no rubber involved, but this dragon and all of his cohorts have won me over! So no, I can never call it 'stamping', but they sure make for some cute cards! And for all you diehards (like me!) he is coming out with a line of rubber stamps starting in May!!

This cute little guy was a freebie at Easter time; the original image has him holding an egg with a chick. I put him into my photo editing software and removed the egg and chick and then drew in the missing part of his hand. A technique akin to masking in my mind. He is colored with three different shades of green Prismacolor Markers coordinating with the greens in SU's Bold Brights family. (This card and 5 others just like it will be sent off as part of jbmak's Color Family swap on SCS.)

The flowers are Doodlebug Paper Posies which I must have received in a secret sister swap, cuz I am certain I did not buy them. In fact I have no idea if any shops around here even carry them. A Cuttlebug embossing folder was used for the background and all cardstock except the white is SU. The white is GP.

I hope you love this guy as much as I do. As I told the swap hostess, I am going to have to just close my eyes to get these in the mailbox; otherwise I don't know how I will part with them!

Recycled Tea

This month's theme for the Sisterhood of the Traveling Cards is Green/Recycling. In other words, the card should be green and have something recycled on it. I had lots of fun digging these tea tags out of the garbage, I'll tell ya! Just kidding, I ripped them off tea bags I had yet to use, but I drink enough tea that I will go through them in a trice.

Image is from House Mouse Designs. Funny thing about this stamp. I always think it looks so relaxing (what I wouldn't give for a hot tub!), but then I think of mice in my tea and Eeew!

I stamped with Memento onto Georgia Pacific 110lb White and paper pieced (seems to be my "thing" lately) with SU dp. The edges are torn and inked with SU (Garden Green to be exact) then layered onto SU cardstock embossed with the D'Vine Swirls embossing folder run through the Cuttlebug. Tea tag is popped up with pop-dots and the sugar cubes are enhanced with glitter. As usual, non-paper-pieced sections are colored with Prismacolor Markers. Oh! I almost forgot - the steam is drawn over with a glitter pen. Gives a very subtle sparkle. You will have to trust me on that last detail.

This card has been given the Princess A seal of approval; she has already requested one for herself...

Lily's New Release

Lily is hitting the beach. Who is Lily you say? Lily from Pink Cat Studio, of course.





April 23rd is the big day - plenty of time for summer stamping!

Every Little Girl is a Princess

I made this card for celestial_stamper's "I'm a Princess" swap over on SCS. I have had this stamp set forever, but as I tend to put off assembling stamps, this one got shoved in a drawer. Now that I have been getting more and more into unmounteds, I pulled her out and inked her up.

Missy B Designs sold this set as a fundraiser for children's cancer research and it is now sold out. I don't believe it will be available again. Sorry to be such a tease, but like I said, it is an old set...

The sentiment is from the same set, and so true, don't you think? At least I hope Princess A remembers this when she starts dating - if he doesn't treat her like Royalty, he is not worth her time. Since she is only 10, I don't think I need concern myself right now.

The crown paper is from Imaginisce. The White is Georgia Pacific 110 lb from Walmart, believe it or not, and the Pink is from SU.

I used the D'Vine Swirls embossing folder cuz I liked the way the swirls kinda matched the swirls in the crowns. Her dress was paper pieced from the Spring Matstack from DCWV; again echoing the swirls of the crowns. The baubles came from a recent swap and the "princess" is mounted on pop-dots. Finally the sentiment is stamped in Pretty in Pink (SU) to match the cardstock.

Around her neck is a jewel embellished with Cotton Candy Stickles; the hem of her dress is trimmed with Crystal Stickles.

Princess A has already requested one of the extras for her own.

Cake Wrecks

Thanks to my sister, I have discovered a new and hilarious way to spend more time on the computer. Not that I needed more time online, but I just cannot resist. She posted a link on my Facebook wall asking if I still did cake decorating. (I don't do much decorating anymore - not that I did all that much in the first place - for it is far too painful for my hands [Have I ever mentioned that Lupus sucks?!])

Anywho, I was never a great cake decorator, but I was (thankfully) not as bad as the ones featured on Cake Wrecks; and they are from 'professional' decorators! What I like best about this site is not so much the cakes themselves, but the blogger's critique. Think about this... When you are with someone and something funny happens, you tend to glance at the other person and nod, smile or somehow connect to show you think it is funny, too. You laugh louder and harder if you are around who shares in your mirth, right?

Here I am, all by myself, laughing uproariously. There is no one here to egg me on, well, except for Darwin, who eventually will cackle right along with me, but as he is a parrot, I don't think that counts. Sometimes Princess A will be here and ask to see; inevitably those are the times when I am laughing at the ones totally inappropriate for the eyes of a 10-year-old. (Not so much the photos, though there are a couple, but the language used in the commentary)

The more entertaining the post, the more comments that have been attached. Most of which are just as risible. (Hey Mom! I used that word just for you - did you like it?)

(Did I happen to mention at the beginning that this is going to be an excessively long post? I didn't? Oops!)

Are you ready? It's my VERY OWN CAKE WRECK! (OK, not mine, exactly. It actually belongs to Shelley)


You may find this hard to believe, but this cake is, in fact, what was ordered. It is beautifully decorated - there is amazing dimension and attention to detail though I know it is hard to tell from this photo (Ack, I did not have my camera with me, only my cell phone, and I don't know how to send it straight to my blog, so I had to save it from my Facebook posting, hence the really bad resolution. Sorry) . Kudos to Waldbaum's in West Hartford for their superb undertaking of such a bizarre order.

Ah yes, you are wondering WHY someone would order this particular cake on purpose...

My chorus is soon to compete in the Region One Contest for Sweet Adelines International. Should we win (cross your fingers!) we will then be eligible to compete in the International Competition in Seattle, WA. Part of our preparation is to have coaches come for a weekend and show us ways to garner a few more points. One coach in particular, Joe, suddenly stopped during our rehearsal and asked, "what's that smell?" Not knowing where he was going with this we suggested perhaps he was smelling the coffee in the next room. He then followed up with, "is it salmon I smell? Salmon from Seattle?" Throughout the weekend, he would stop us every once in a while and sniff to get people thinking about earning our way to Seattle. (For me however, as this is a chorus of all women, I think a coffee reference would have been more appropriate...)

This past weekend we had another coaching session, but different coach. One of our members, Shelley, stood up and announced that her birthday was coming up, but since it was during Passover, she did not think her 80 best friends would appreciate eating chocolate covered matzoh. She brought this cake instead so we could all celebrate with her and at the same time pay homage to the reason we were all together that day. Happy Birthday Shelley!!

I wish I had a better photo so I could send it in to Cake Wrecks, for I am curious to see just what she would have to say, and what comments it would generate. Anyone out there have one you could send me?

My New Wolf

My AZ Bro carves. For Princess A's fifth birthday he made a frog and toad to go along with some story books he had purchased for her. Before then he had sent me a mouse when I admired the one he had carved for our mother. Mom has also been the recipient of a knitting frog and a duck sitting on an egg.

I wish you could see the themed chess sets. My favorite is the one of the buildings versus the angry trees, although the sea creatures are pretty awesome, too!

A bit ago, I sent him and email that if he was looking for something to carve I would love a real red wolf. I never knew he got that message until the other day when this guy arrived in my mailbox.

Isn't this the coolest wolf you have EVER seen? I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!

Thanks Kev!!!

Now I need to figure out his/her name...

Lands' End Elzy

It is Saturday and for once I am organized and ready to participate in the Super Saturday Challenge! This week a sketch invented and hosted by Gabby. Though you should go check out both Mel's and Joni's entries as they are FABULOUS (and also because those two ladies are the hostesses on other weeks).

So here she is, my little Elzybell. Every time I look at her I am reminded of those matching raincoat and rain boots sets at Lands' End. I have always thought they were so cute, but couldn't justify the cost. Especially as Princess A isn't overwhelmed with desire for them.

It is hard to tell in the photo (and frankly hard to tell on the card), but the bottom-most background has subtle water colored flowers. The raindrops are made from a Fiskar's Texture plate run through the Cuttlebug with an old mouse pad. The flowered panel and the flowers in the paper piecing are the other side of the blue water color background. This is how I make sure my colors match and papers coordinate. Pretty slick, eh? All cardstock and dp is from SU except for the white which comes from PTI. I almost forgot to mention that Miss Elzy and her matte are cut out with Nestabilities via my faithful Cuttlebug.

The rhinestone brad is also SU; the flowers it attaches a gift from one of my many Divine Secret Siblings rounds. The little bit of coloring was done with Prismacolor Markers.

Today is sunny and warm, but the clouds will be rolling in and this will be Princess A tomorrow. Even down to the blond hair, but sadly without the coordinating rain outfit.

Spring Fever (But Not in a Good Way)

What's this?! A second post in ONE DAY? Don't think it will become a habit, but I found this challenge from following Miss Sandra's card and could not resist.


The lighting here is not the best, but when I held the dp up to the photo of the pillows on my monitor, the colors really were the same...

Poor Riley has Spring Fever, but not in a good way. His thermometer is almost completely red; I don't think he will be getting out of bed for quite some time. Fortunately, someone has made him a bowl of chicken soup (charm courtesy of Hanna Stamps) and has fluffed his pillows and tucked him in with his lovely matching sheets.

Designer paper is from SU, as is the 'Certainly Celery' cardstock. The white is PTI; and what isn't paper pieced is colored with Prismacolor Markers

The layout is from SCS Sketch Challenge 02, but my main focus was, of course, the Hanna Stamps Challenge mentioned above

I *LOVE* to swap

My first challenge! I have been wanting to try my hand at a challenge, but usually don't discover them until the deadline has passed. Not so this time! The challenge (#4), from The Corrosive Challenge Blog, is "to make a card having to do with water, fish, frogs, mermaids, etc...anything that can be found in the water!!"

From the moment I signed up for Scrappy's "I Love" swap, I knew I wanted to use this gator (Sarasota Stamps). I did some browsing online to find a sketch that would accommodate her shape. Soon after, I looked at my stash of designer paper and this one literally jumped out of the basket.

I think this gator is perfect for an "I Love" swap, not just because of my feelings for this stamp, but also because she looks like she is ready for a little loving of her own..

She is colored with Prismacolor markers, with which I think I was much more successful thanks to Gabby's tutorials. I then added some texture by following this tutorial on SCS. The spots don't show up as well as in her tutorial, but now that you know they are there, can't you see them?

The dp is from SU as is the card base and the dark green cardstock. The white is from PTI. I braided the hemp fiber by hand and added this little starfish charm I happened upon at ACMoore.

On Vaca With My "Sisters"

March's Sisterhood swap was hosted by Jeanette, who chose vacation as her theme. I guess she was tired of snow...

My first plan was too do a camping cards, cuz that is how I tend to take my vacations. But I started seeing all sorts of ads for Carnival Cruise Lines and I thought that looked like a fun vacation. I have never been on a cruise.

First I found my very old masks for sponging. One of clouds, another of water. By the end of all this sponging my wrist was VERY tired, but well worth the result I thought. In fact I spent a fair amount of time just gazing at the landscape (waterscape?) I had created.

I cut out the boat from SU's Boatloads of Love, colored it with Prismacolor Markers (not as well as I had hoped, but I am still perfecting my technique *wink*), and mounted it on Pop-dots. The heart was done with a paper punch I had received in one of the many "secret _____" swaps in which I participate. (Thanks!)

I admit to having a scattered brain while putting this all together. I had meant to make the LifeSavers out of eyelets, but forgot until they were already on Pop-Dots. I also considered stamping "You Float My Boat" but did not love the way it looked up there in the clouds and thought perhaps people would prefer their cards sans sentiment - I know I often do.

How I Love the Little Bee...

I started with the image, and the dp. Colored in to match and then thought, "now what?" Since the dp was in limited supply, I was afraid to cut it until I was absolutely sure. Then I remembered the tea cups from MFT. I stamped them, colored them to match and cut them out. Pop-dots were used to mount those on the top and bottom. A glue dot was used to attach the middle one to a brad in the center of the flower. I hope I have done justice to Tanja's swap.

All coloring is Prismacolor Markers, card stock and designer paper are both SU. The stamp was a gift from Linda a long time ago.

I love tea stamps!

The Funny Side of Divorce...

An anniversary went by and I did not even notice, although it is one I celebrate almost every day. February 9th was the 8th anniversary of my divorce. Such a heavy weight was lifted from my shoulders that day - about 190lbs if I remember correctly...


I bought this stamp about 9 years ago because it reminded me of my soon-to-be-ex-husband. You may wonder why I would want something to remind me of the man I am divorcing. Simple, it made me laugh. It made me see how idiotic the Schmuck was and took away much of the stress. Back then, even the simplest of questions had to be routed through to his lawyer, "That is a nice shirt, is it new?" "You'll have to talk to my lawyer about that"..."Do you have the time?" "You'll have to talk to my lawyer about that"... and so on. I was suddenly able to let it go where before his antics would burn me and eat at me. I was free and realizing I did not have to take his SHIT any more! Even now, he still tries, but I remind myself he is no longer my problem... Aaah


Back to the card. You have the story of the purchase of the stamp. As for the rest, it is just bananas. Who better to be behind it all, but a bunch of monkeys.

Don't you love the googlie eyes?

Are You Hungry For Candy?

Blog Candy, that is...

Head on over to Starving Artistamps and check out their new Easter Release. You could win it as blog candy JUST for spreading the word!

I love their sample card - Those DoodleFactory sets just crack me up (no pun intended - wink)

A Year And A Day...

What was I thinking, signing up for not one, not two, but THREE 12+1 spots in Christy's Year of Rileys swap?! I guess I just love that little moose. But OMG, it felt like these took forever. In fact they consumed me so much that now that they are done and gone I have to force myself to remember I have other responsibilities (read: other swaps to finish)

For Group #1 (July), I chose Campfire Riley. He is colored with Prismacolor markers and made good use of my Nestibilities. Behind the Skeeter Spray (SU) is a pop-dot and the Skeeters (also SU) in the background have Crystal Stickles on their wings. The marshmallows and the spray of the Skeeter Spray are colored over with a glitter gel pen.

Group #3 (September) is School Riley. This first photo is what I sent. The second is my original prototype, but as I live with a Physics Professor, the ABC/123 line did not seem quite appropriate. Also, I figured people would probably want to customize thier own sentiment, so I left the blackboard black. The ABC/123 is included inside the card if anyone wants to add it, but the crayons are not. You can blame Crayola, as they do not sell a box of white only crayons, or I would have included one for everyone. Hopefully you ahve a box of crayons kicking around and can root it out. I imagine any other light color would work just as well, but I only tried the white. Looks just like chalk to me!

All cardstock is SU; all coloring is done with Prismacolor markers, except the sponging around the blackboard is done just by rubbing the ink pad (SU) across the cardstock. Her eyeglasses are Cotton Candy Stickles and there is a pop-dot behind both Riley and the stack of books.

When I signed up for Group #5, all I told Christy was that I wanted to use Tea Riley (OK, he is actually called Coffee Riley, but I don't drink coffee, so round here it is all about the tea) and I would take whatever month she needed to fill. I ended up with March. There are two versions of this one only because I ran out of the original dp and had to buy more, but the store no longer had a match...

...but as I ended up with tulips, I think that worked out just fine. Prismacolor Markers again were used as were the Nestabilities, though the scallop behind the dp is from SUs scallop border punch. Behind the (Vippies) sentiment there is a pop-dot. Cotton Candy Stickles top off the cupcake.

Why do all the groups have odd numbers, you ask? Linda took the even numbered groups (lucky duck, there were only two of those!). When all is said and done, between us we will receive ALL of the cards made for this swap. We are going to be flooded with Rileys!!

Have You Heard...?

Have you heard? Elzybells has a new release and is giving away every single set and stamp as part of a blog candy celebration. All you have to do is advertise the new release and blog candy on your own blog, then post to Elzybells Blog that you have done so. Make sure you tell her which set(s) is(are) your favorite!

As for me, it goes without saying that I like any stamps to do with tea and I always love those little Elzybells girls. Today however, I am eyeballing that egg decorating set and of course "SAVE THE EARTH - It's the only planet with chocolate!" Tee hee...cracks me up!!

What are you waiting for?!

Fat Sunday

I admit it. This morning I let Princess A have birthday cake for breakfast. (We had leftover cakes from two different parties - what was I to do?) For a mid-morning snack she had Cheetos Puffs, while I had chips and dip. (Yeah, I know. No excuse for this.) Though Main Squeeze acted disgusted, I notice he also partook of the junk food diet day. There is no more junk to be had on the 24th (Mardi Gras) so I have dubbed today "Fat Sunday".

Ironically, I spent a good portion of the day working on my Mardi Gras cards for the Sisterhood. (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Cards is a group on SCS that swaps a different set of cards each month. A different hostess from the Sisterhood chooses her theme, collects the cards and trades them out to the other sisters.) Mary's theme was such a challenge for me. I had come up with an idea right away, but just could not make it work. Nor could I get that idea out of my head to make room for a new. (The space in there is clearly quite limited)

I have to give a big shoutout to Jan R, for had I not run into her the other day at NESC, I expect I would still be stumped. Fortunately for me, Jan was carrying some dp that was purple, green and gold. (On the back side, was the same print, but smaller and shaped as the #3. It occurs to me I may have inadvertently grabbed Dale Earnhardt paper. But am stumped as to how I know that he was #3...) But hey, it was the right colors AND it was from the sale bin! Not having any idea what I would do with it, but knowing it would very likely come in handy, I bought three sheets. Thanks Jan for showing me the way!

All stamps are the Voila set from SU. The dp is from Scrappin Sports & More (looks like I was right about that Dale Earnhardt hunch). Both the chef's tie and the covered dish are paper pieced onto a cut out of the chef from the same dp. (The silver card stock is from SU, however) His face and hand is colored with Prismacolor markers (light peach to be exact). All of these are popped up from the card with SU's stampin dimensionals. Finally, on his coat, I added self adhesive gemstones from Crafts Etc.
The final card may look simple at first glance, but it sure was a lot of work. And with a little help from Priority Mail service from the USPS, will arrive in MD on time!
Bon Appetit!!

Birthday Card from Mel

Mel is Princess A's very special stuffed rabbit. He goes everywhere with her and does everything. My camera tends to look much like Calvin and Hobbes with photos of this bunny doing all sorts of things. His favorite story is, of course, The Velveteen Rabbit.

Today Mel asked if he could be the one to make the birthday card for Princess A - her birthday is tomorrow. As you can see in the photo, he modeled it after himself. He is planning on buying out the entire supply of MFT's Flopsey Bunny line because of its remarkable similarity to him. (Yes he is a bit egocentric, but what else can you expect from a stuffed bunny?)

The bunny's overalls are paper pieced with the backside of the designer paper (from Imaginisce). All other coloring is with Prismacolor Markers. The bunny is MFT (as mentioned above) and the sentiment, hearts and flowers are all from the Loads of Love set by SU, as is the cardstock.

Facebook Status

Oftentimes I realize I am narrating my life in the third person so it will fit within my Facebook status. Today for example:

Gael is reading.

Gael is wondering if there is any more chicken soup

Gael could not find any chicken soup, so I had brownies instead. (shhh don't tell my mother)

Gael just saw the mailman on the other side of the street.

Gael feels kinda badly for the mailman having me for a customer cuz I get lots of heavy mail and it is a walking route.

Gael has calculated that it takes one song by Van Halen, another by Prince, half a song by Fine Young Cannibals, and a Beach Boys tune for the Mailman to get to my house from when I last saw him.

Gael thinks the mailman is kinda cute, but not as cute as the Fed Ex guy. I cannot remember where the UPS guy fits in; I am still kinda angry at him for leaving a package on my back step in the pouring rain and not even knocking on the door.

Gael kinda overuses the word 'kinda'

Gael is going to take a shower now

Gael is mailing lots of Birthday cards and some swap cards today

Gael is annoyed by the constant complaining of the mothers at Parent pickup regarding the traffic problems (why don't they just put their kid on the bus?!) but I am not above rolling down the window a little bit to hear them better.

Gael is waiting for Princess A to try on her new blouse and skirt

Gael has finished reading the book from Roberta, the one from Mom and is ready to start on the two from Laura Lee.


It is fortunate I do not have a Blackberry or my Facebook friends would be subject to second by second updates on what I am doing.

America, Kookaburra and the Nutcracker March

America (My Country Tis of Thee)



Kookaburra (played in a round)



Nutcracker March


These are Princess A's three favorite tunes from her evening Orchestra Concert on January 29th. Just hearing the title of the second tune gets it stuck in my head for days on end. Don't you hate when you get a tune stuck in your head and you don't know the words? Should this happen to you, I want you to be prepared. Here are the lyrics:

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he
Laugh kookaburra, laugh
Kookaburra, gay your life must be

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Eating all the gumdrops that he can see
Stop, kookaburra, stop
Kookaburra, leave some there for me

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Chasing all the monkeys he can see
Stop, kookaburra, stop
Kookaburra, that's not a monkey, that's me!

An old friend of mine from High School recently got married and moved to Australia. Here is what Jen had to say about kookaburras:

"Actually, they like to sit in dead tree branches about 3 feet above where you are, turn their heads and stare at you with one eye. We have several who visit us on our property in Warburton....."

A Star is Born

Princess A performed for her school with the Fourth Grade Chorus. This is the first song on their program. Throughout the rest of the performance I scouted out which songs I liked best and later asked Princess A her choices. As we had chosen the same ones, the plan was for me to tape the other two songs during the evening performance. Sadly, during this song on the evening performance, Princess A had to be removed from the risers.

During the day, one of the boys had thrown up just before the final song and Princess A was so worried that she would get faint or vomit that she started to feel ill. And if you have ever fainted, you know that once you start obsessing about it, it is just about inevitable. I saw this process on her face, mouthed, "are you okay?" to her and watched her nod her head yes, then shake her head no and look around alarmed. Someone came up behind me and said, "Do you think she needs help to get off the risers?" At which point I jumped up and entered stage right, took her hand, caught her as she stumbled off and brought her out to the hall. There we were met by the Strings teacher and a Kindergarten teacher. I am pretty sure the latter was the voice over my shoulder. Her son is also in the chorus.

This video and the few photos I took are the only record of her first Chorus Concert at WD School.

While you are here, look at this photo and see if you can tell which child has a mother who is an opera singer. No it is not Princess A, that would be too easy. Besides I sing Barbershop, not Opera.

This morning was her first Chorus rehearsal since that night. I wonder how she fared, I know she was very nervous...

TAG... I'm it!

I received a comment from Karen the other day that I was tagged. Not knowing this meant anything other than a fancy way of saying hello, I did not do anything. Fortuantely I came upon this tagging thing in another blog and realized there were instructions that went along with being tagged. Sorry it took me so long, but I have been ill and spending as much time in my bed as Princess A will allow. In the meantime I was tagged again! This time by Lorie. I feel so loved. Today I came across this blog that says if you read this consider yourself tagged, so I must remember to post a link back to her.

Here are the ultra simple directions... go into your 6th folder in My Pictures and post the 6th photo in that folder. Tell the story behind the photo. Oh yes, and when you are all done, you get to tag 6 more people.

Here goes...

Because most of my photos are stored on jump drives, the ones on my computer tend to be rather recent. Except for the ones in this folder. I could not fit all of the Strings Camp photos onto the jump drive that held July 2008, so they are still on my computer.

This is Princess A dressed in her Princess Jasmine costume and wearing a headdress we bought for her back in 2005 when we visited Story Land in NH. I made her wear a tank top underneath because she was going out in public.

Every Wednesday at Strings Camp is a different theme. One was Hat Day and the year before I remember a Backwards Day. This particular day was Costume Day. Pretty much her only chance of wearing a "Hallowe'en" costume without a coat underneath. They did not have trick or treating per se, but she did get a candy at the end of each class.

I got a kick out of her pose and took this photo for my sister cuz I thought she would too. It is now Feb 09 and have I sent it to her yet? Of course not. I wonder if she reads my blog...

Now it is my turn...

Cheryl
LJ
Linda
Su
Yvonne
Joni

Consider yourself tagged!

Fiona

My Christmas tree is named Fiona. She has always been named Fiona, from the time I was out of my parents house and had my own tree separate from theirs. I don't know why, it just always seems to fit her. How many little girls have been named Fiona, I wonder, since the release of Shrek

My good friend Cheryl says she and her husband used to leave their tree up until whenever, but now the goal is to get it down before their child's birthday. I thought this is a great time frame perhaps I would adopt it, too. After all, she is still healthy and I enjoy the lights. Of course the birthday to which Cheryl refers is Jan 12th, while Princess A's big day is not til February 18th.

Alas, Miss Fiona was put out to pasture today. And I do mean that literally. She is in the backyard next to the bird feeders in the hope that birdies will find her branches inviting and come by to visit. The sight of Christmas Trees (especially those that are still perfectly healthy) out by the side of the road always depresses me. Such a sad sight. Fiona will live with us until there is no longer green in her needles. Then, I guess she will have the traditional burial - being tossed over the hill into the woods in the backyard.

Dream Interpretation

Last night Princess A had a nightmare that Vampires were chasing her. When she got up this morning she was afraid to get in the shower cuz she did not want them to storm out of the shower head and attack. (Yes, the child has quite the imagination, which is probably why she gets such kudos from her teachers for her short stories and poetry, but I digress). I attempted to reassure her that vampires do not go out when it is daylight; that they are sleeping somewhere underground. All the while in the back of my mind is a running dialogue that in the Twilight series, Edward et al. state this is a myth. Fortunately Princess A has not read these books, so my argument held water (no pun intended. OK, yes it was, who am I kidding?) Thinking about it now, I realize there is also Interview with a Vampire, The Vampire Lestat and Dead Until Dark, which state it actually is true about sleeping through the day, so I guess we could just go with majority rule in this case. Thanks to my friend Roberta, I have read a fair amount of Vampire literature in the past few weeks.

I remember a dream I had about being on a band trip with my mom as the nurse (Not much of a stretch there as my mom always was the nurse on the band trips). For some reason the trip was starting on this dirt path next to the house in which I grew up. Also starring in my dream was a boy I knew; we used to call Chippy. (Don't know why, his parents started it, so this is how we were introduced) He was not in the band, nor did he even attend the same school til I was a senior so I have no idea why he was there, but such is the nature of dreams, I guess. So in my dream I start bleeding out the eyes shortly before Chippy vomits at the side of the driveway into his hands (this second part is not much of a stretch again, as he truly did this when we were about 10). As I start crying to my mom about bleeding out my eyeballs she ignores me and puts her arm around the newly vomited Chippy to lead him toward the house. I start screaming, "but Mom I am BLEEDING OUT MY EYEBALLS!" She tells me, "You are always complaining." Then she walks away. I wonder what a psychiatrist would make of that...

Something's Fishy...

My friend Kate called me the other day to ask if I knew where to purchase those little zipper baggies to make that fish in a bag card. Ironically, as I told her, that very card was next on my list.

I love this little fish in a bag. It is so easy and yet the results gather much praise. All stamps are SU as is all cardstock. The only other supplies are hemp cord to "tie" the bag, a wee zipper-type baggie and hair gel. Yes, hair gel; it is what makes the watery look and feel for the fishy to swim.

This set of cards will be heading out in the mail today to Jen B for her "O-FISH'al" swap on SCS.

I am also planning on sending one to my Little "Divine Secret Sis", but shhhh, don't tell her.

Classical Hedgie

So a few posts back I mentioned that Princess A is now a member of the elite Silver Strings. She plays the violin, by the way, I don't know if I have mentioned that.

I liked the congratulatory card I had made for her so much, I decided to use it for Cheryl G's "I've Got the Music in Me" swap on SplitCoastStampers. Princess A's does not have the little heart brad, but otherwise they are identical. (In fact, I have been thinking of adding one to hers as I think it gives a little something something)

All other cardstock is SU, except for the dp which is, as usual, unknown. The white panel is embossed using the music embossing folder through my Cuttlebug. Hedgie is from Penny Black and is colored using my prismacolor markers. (Another thank you shout out to Main Squeeze!!)

Congrats again to Princess A; we are all so very proud of you!

A Meeting of Hos

Saturday, January 17 - a day like no other. For that was the day I met some Hos and participated in my first shoebox swap.

A shoebox swap is where each person brings a project for the others to complete and all the parts with which to complete it, in a shoebox to a predesignated location. In this case, it was Michele's house.

My first project was a pop-up box card.

I used Dress-up Lily and her accessories from Pink Cat Studio on my second card.

Here are some photos from the day:

Su, Yvonne, and Michele

Me and Michele

Me, Yvonne, Su and Michele

Annabella. We wore her out, which her mother says is very difficult to do.

Twilight Fang-addicts

I read all of the Twilight books, and I admit, I was underwhelmed. But when my friend Gabby posted her Twilight Fang-addicts swap an idea just jumped into my head so I signed right up. Of course, by the time I got around to this swap on my calendar, the idea was long gone. Preferring the shape-shifting wolves to a vampire any day, though, I am sure it involved this stamp.




The white background is embossed using the Cuttlebug and the Swiss Dots embossing folder. I was aiming for a snowy feel. One of my favorite SU sets, "Lovely as a Tree" is stamped on the angled blue. In an attempt to make the skies look stormy, I made Polished Stone using reinkers and alcohol on glossy cardstock. The photo doesn't do it justice. I asked my Main Squeeze where he preferred brads. He liked the bottom left, I like the top right, so there are an even number of each type. I even made an extra of each type for my stash.

From other swappers' sneak peeks, it seems that wolf fans are few and far between, but my SIL and her sis are true Twilight Fans so I expect I will get in return some vampire cards they will appreciate.

Silver Strings

I've been on pins and needles all day worrying about Princess A and her big audition. She worked so hard and practiced relentlessly. I am very proud of her dedication and effort. No matter what happens...

The phone call just came. She is in. She made it! My Princess is now an official member of the Silver Strings Orchestra at WD School.

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

I post this in honor of my friend KJ, cuz she remembers her kids learning to play the recorder. Apparently no matter where in the U.S you live, your child will learn this little ditty in the fourth grade. (I have to wonder, though, do they all get to play it with that jazzy background music?)

Princess A is the girl in the red sweater that does not have white sleeves showing. Sorry it is shot from the back, but the kids were all facing the overhead projector in order to read the sheet music.

Easing in

Although this has been the longest Christmas break I think Princess A has ever had, it was much too short. (and much too warm, for that matter) This first week back to school, however could not have worked out better. So far there has been an hour delay on Monday, school was canceled on Wednesday and today was a 90-minute delay. I was wondering how she would fare with jumping right back in full throttle. I am just as happy not to have found out.

Diaper Fold Pouch and Tag

I am Miss April. Well, for Paola's Calendar Girls Diaper Fold Pouch and Tags swap, anyway.

I never thought I would find another tool I would love as much as my Cuttlebug, but WOW, my new Crop-a-dile II has really blown me away. I found the designer paper quickly and easily. Immediately I knew what I wanted to do and how I wanted my pouches to look, but I never gave a thought to the fact that once these babies are folded there are many, many layers of paper to punch through in order to set an eyelet. Crop-a-dile II to the rescue! Thanks to my Main Squeeze I received one of these amazing tools for Christmas. Popped out those corners with great ease and set those eyelets with just a wee squeeze. Considering my hand strength is nowhere near what it used to be, I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. And no pain to my joints.

Basket was now ready, but what to do about those tags? I waited while others posted their creations. Still stumped. Finally I decided to spand some time in the basement with my stamps and see if something jumped out at me.

Princess A was a little distressed when she first saw the tag. She could not believe I have had this little bunny and never shown it to her before. Reminded her of the Velveteen Rabbit.

Bunny is from TAC, sentiment is SU and the eggs I am pretty sure are Hero Arts. I stamped the eggs with SU classic ink pads. The bunny is colored with my brand new Prismacolor markers that I got for my birthday (Again, thanks to my Main Sqeeze!). Obviously I am still learning exactly how to get the best results, but I thought they came out pretty cute. And Princess A was appeased when she learned that I had made an extra for her.




Here they are together.

First Card of the New Year

I cannot help but think of The Polar Express and "the first gift of Christmas" as I post about my first card of 2009.

This morning I found myself without a plan for the "Who Loves Ya Baby" swap hosted by Tracey D. Looking for inspiration, I shuffled through my card stash. I should not have been surprised that the one that jumped out at me was made by my friend Sandra. I copied her layout, but the stamp, ribbon and paper piecing are my own.

All paper (other than the plaid) are from SU, the sentiment is also SU and the cow is from the $1 bin at either ACMoore or Michael's. Best dollar I ever spent; this is one of my favorite cow stamps. The ribbon is also from Michael's, I believe.

Looking back now, I see it is pretty flat. (Sandra's had used a pop-dot, but my image was not compatible with that idea). I probably should have embossed one of those green panels. Even so, I am still happy with how it turned out. I am in love with that ribbon, and even though there are eight of these cards, no two cows are alike. Truly they are "like no udder". Paper piecing the cow was one of my better ideas, I must say.

Happy New Year!