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!