Hi Everyone!! On my last post, I promised that I would share something special for Mojo Monday at Scrapbudz. Unfortunately, Mojo Monday is on hold...for now!! Although the Cream & Latte Challenge is up....and I've already shared that creation with you....here's a peek......
But I do have something special......it's another project that I made for the DT call at Prima. The one that I didn't get to actually submit for!! You might remember that I shared about my life getting in the way of applying for the team.....oh well, there's always next time!! Anyways, here's one of the altered projects that I made........
I used the gorgeous Botanical Collection....so love these papers!! And lots of yummy Tim Holtz products!!! Here's a closeup of the front.....
Lace is Webster's Pages and my stash. The beaded leaves are from one of the Swirlydoos kits that I sub. The little bird is one of my own creations...using a Spellbinders die & some Michaels' feathers.....more on that in the next post.
The gears were painted, and then glittered up with Lindy's Stamp Gang, Tattered Angels, & my own concoction of mists.
Love how the roof came out....more Prima papers and a Martha Stewart punch.
The Birdhouse is from Wal-Mart, and the candleholder is from Michaels. I love the aging technique I used on this project, and oh so easy!! More on that later....
I know!! And I do have lots to share with you.......it just has to wait a little while longer. But, I do have one question..........if this project came in a kit, would you have any interest in purchasing it? Answer as you please........you won't hurt my feelings either way. But do answer......cause I've got a RAK coming.....something special, and one which will def answer a lot of questions!!
I have questions for you....do you think much about about your cardstock? Do you buy one specific brand, or do you just pick up any old cardstock? I have to admit that until about a year ago, I really didn't think too much about it. I usually bought cardstock for the colors. Mostly, because I used it only for matting my pics. So what changed? Well, I was at my LSS, and was looking for a specific shade of red......that's when I found Core'dinations ColorCore Cardstock!! OMG!! It's just gorgeous....and embossable, sandable, distressable, and just plain fun to play with!! Still leery? Check it out.......
Spring Basket
Basket is built around the base of a chipboard box from Michaels. Cardstock is from the Super Assortment 'Nostalgia' pack and the Core Impressions: Graphic 45 Timeless Collection. Here's a few closeups......
Young Love
I used Nostalgia & the Core Impressions: Jenni Bowlin Collection for this LO of my DD and SIL. And some closeups...
Water Baby
More of the Nostalgia & the G45 collection. And some closeups......
And a couple of cards........
Awesome cardstock, isn't it?!!! Love it!! I had a blast making these projects, and can't wait to make some more!!
I just realized that it's been over 2 weeks, since I last posted!! Time just got away from me. Not that I haven't been scrapping, cause I've got lots to show you!! Right now, I have 3 mini albums that are nearly complete, they just need a few more embellies. I've also made some projects for a DT call at Black With 2, which I'm so excited about!!! Confining yourself to black & 2 colors, was a definite challenge!! But a lot of fun!!!
And I've been working on organizing!! Yep, that means purging, moving stuff, re-locating, purging, and purging some more!! So I've got a bag full of stuff for my DIL, the seasonal stuff has been moved to less desirable real estate. And I'm cataloging my stamps, and nestabilities, etc. I've even made a StazOn & Distress Ink flip book. Much easier to figure out what the actual colors are!
Speaking of cataloging, and yes, I'm still working on this......here's the album I'm using to catalog my wood-mount stamps. It's easier to see what I own, instead of digging through drawers looking for what I have, before I can even use it. It doesn't solve the 'where do I store these' issue, but at least I can tell at a glance, what I actually own.
I used an older 8 1/2'' by 11'' album, which I covered. I made divider inserts, then I made my own 'cardstock' sheets with watercolor paper. Unfortunately, you won't see this part...it just didn't occur to me to take pics of the inside!! Anyways, here we go.......
I used Graphic 45's Curtain Call papers, Tim Holtz Ideology pieces and some flowers & embellies from the last few Swirlydoos kits. Then I threw in some 'vintage' (not really, it just sounds better than 'older than the hills') lace & flowers, just for good measure. BTW, I do know that 'Moulin Rouge' (title) is Prima...... but the bits of paper, embellies & colors I used, are very 'oh la la', so the name stuck.
Every bit of paper is glued down with Mod Podge. Originally, I was planning on super-imposing & lifting the figures over the background paper, so I had actually stuck each figure onto Bazzill cardstock and trimmed around the edges, to give them a bit more stability. And then it occured to me, that using Pop Dots on a LO is much different that putting it on a book that's going to be moved around a lot!! So, I glued everything down....in some areas I have about 8 layers of paper!! I even used the Podge over top of everything! BTW, this was a fabric album and it's holding very well!!
The black flowers are Petaloo, the creamy gold ones are Prima, which I glimmer misted, and the red velvets........a small faux stem of flowers, that I bought a couple of years ago. Love those flowers!! The centers are beads, with black rhinestones. The fancy bead trim is from Flights of Fancy Boutique.
The scalloped circles on the right, are part of my dividers. Oh, and I did use a Prima Moulin Rouge journal spot....you can see it right behind the blades of the windmill. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!!
Oh yeah, and the colors.......black with burgundy & creams.....that was just a bonus! I actually realized that it fit right in with the DT Call, after I'd made 2 LOs and was starting a third. And nope, it's not part of my projects for the call.
So....that's my story, and ......you know the rest!!
Hi everyone!! I'm sure that it's no secret that I'm applying for the Graphic 45 Design Team!! Definitely something that I could not pass up. Why? I love their papers! There bold and subdued, wild and sweet. You name it they got it!! Love that I can use them for any type of layout or project, from clean & simple to retro romantic chic, and everything in between!!
So here, are my submissions, in no particular order:
That's all 15 of them!! Well if you count the spools as one, that is!! I had so much fun making these projects. It's easy when you have such gorgeous papers! And making the Graphic 45 Design Team would be the bomb!! And a dream come true!!!
Okay...so I am thankful that I backed up all of my files....especially my pictures. Why, you ask? Well...I did it again!! Don't know what I did, but I lost over 1200 pics, while trying to upload new ones!!! Arghhh!!!! Definitely NOT fun!! The upside is that I do have all of these backed up. The down side, I spent over an hour trying to recover all of them before realizing that, duh! I have them backed up!!! Okay, so, not one of my brightest moments!! LOL
On to new stuff......Blogoversary RAK ends on December 15th....if you haven't left your comments by then, it'll be too late. Please, click here to go to that post. I will draw a winner via Random.org, and post the winner on Thursday morning.
As you know, I've been a bad blogger!! Haven't posted anything since December 1st...and that's unusual for me. Well, I was sick for about a week, then the weather went north. Yeah I know, it's south. But....it's not supposed to freeze in Florida!!!! We're supposed to have clear skies, no wind and sit at about 74 degrees during the day!! Lately it's been hoverring around 60 during the day, and we've had 3 nights of freeze warnings in the last week!! And are expecting more of this!! NOT FUN!!!!! I expected this weather when I lived up north, but NOT here!
So what does the weather have to do with blogging? Well, I'm not taking my butt outside to take pics!!! Besides, the wind has been horrendous. So I did what I could inside. Still have lots to post, but it'll have to wait until this crap goes away, and I can take decent pics!!
For the first time in years, I decided not to buy stocking stuffers, what with DD & DS being about 1500 miles away, in opposite directions.....it just wasn't feasible! Besides, it's not cheap to ship stuff, especially when you can't fit it all in a 'flat rate box'!! Anyways, I still wanted some kind of stocking for everyone, so I opted to make some cute little gift card holders!! I really can't remember where I got this idea...def on a blog, so if you or someone you know, came up with this idea, please let me know, and I'll give credit to that ingenious person!! So here goes...pics first, and I'll save the yaking for the end.
This last pic, show a gift card inside!! NOT telling what it is, just in case the kiddies are watching, but it'll be good!! And the best part about these little stockings, is that they're another holiday decoration!! Soooo, I didn't make any other decorations for everyone, well....except for Mom! More on that in another post!
Supplies used:
Papers - BoBunny, IOD Carstock - Bazzill, SEI Ribbons & Lace - Prima, Flights of Fancy, stash Flowers & Flower Centers - Prima, Making Memories, stash Bling - K&Co, SEI, stash Baubles & Chain - Tim Holtz, Making Memories Rubons - Anna Griffin Diecuts - K&Co, IOD, Brads & Eyelets - BoBunny, Tim Holtz, My Mind's Eye, stash Pearls - Michaels Snowflake Charm & Chipboard - Lindy's Stamp Gang Stickers - Anna Griffin Distress Stickles & Distress Inks - Tim Holtz Glimmer Mist - Tattered Angels & Ranger Stamp - Inkadinkadoo Embossing Powder - Stampendous Archival Ink - StazOn Gold Leafing Pen - Krylon Scor-Pal Adjusted Template - Some wonderful Blogger!!!!
Almost forgot to tell you....a lot of the items featured on these stockings, came from the December Swirlydoos kit, 'Divine Noel'. You can find the laces and ribbons here at Flights Of Fancy, and the awesome chippy & charm here at Lindy's Stamp Gang.
Soooo, that's it for today. Hope you enjoyed these little stockings!
So, here I am in the midst of packing & cleaning......yep....moving...on the 25th, no less!! Ugh!! Anyways, I just realized that I haven't posted the rest of my September DT projects for Snobby Walrus.
Dream
I love how this turned out!! And apparently so did my DD...she snagged it before moving to Texas!!!
The paper mache letters are from a kit that I purchased at Wal-Mart!! They had several other words, but I thought that 'Dream' was just perfect for these papers. Papers are My Mind's Eye & Jenni Bowlin. The gorgeous vintage images are by DT Keri Babbitt....I was looking for something special to showcase these on!! Here's a few closeups....
Flourishes are cut with Tim Holtz/Sizzix die 'Elegant Flourishes' on my Cuttlebug. I've painted them in assorted metallic & pearl acrylic paints from Folkart & Decoart. Lace here is Prima, as is the inner bloom.
Butterflies are Jenni Bowlin. Pin is MyMadkow Design. Small leaves are Prima, which I've misted with various shades of Glimmer Mist. More Prima Lace & flower.
I've distressed the edges of the paper, before gluing to paper mache form. I then inked all of the edges with Distress Inks. Key & Keyhole are from TH's Ideology line. Little bird is MyMadkow Design.....once I've moved, I will post a tut, on this little guy.
I added a bit of Distress Stickles to the Prima Flower center....I just wanted a bit more bling!
I wanted to add a bit of purple, to match the MME paper, so I made a flower out of ribbon.....but, it was just a little too big, to just add some bling to the center.....hence the Prima bloom over top.
Pals
Believe it or not...I actually wanted to redo this LO....not one of my faves...or better pieces....but, I ran out of time......so.....it is what it is!! Actually, the part that I don't like is the flowers...I feel like they're a bit dis-jointed, and not a part of the LO. There's another Vintage Image from Keri (1 + 1), I added a sticker apple from BG (stash) and then slathered on the Stickles & Pink Paislee glitter.
Flowers are Prima. The scalloped ribbon stems (stash) which I Glimmer Misted.
PPs are Jenni Bowlin, Sassafras Lass & Onirie. The papers in this kit, were def faves!! I loved the combo that we had to work with. Very Elegant to Girlie Girl to Vintage Office to just plain Fun!! One of my other faves is the Hambly Screen Print (yellow frames) which I've used whole on this LO. The little heart leaves are also BG (stash) which I stickled.
All of the embellies in the top right corner, are bits & pieces that were leftover from past kits.....love the JB button!! The pompom trim is from Fancy Pants.
Alphas are Sassafras Lass (August kit), which I stickled......the original color was orange, and it was just too much for this LO!!
I had a lot of fun with this kit! And the variety of papers & embellies......well, let's just say I LOVE MY SNOBBY WALRUS !!! So, go check them out, you can even see past kits (though, past kits are not kept in the store)!!
So, I guess I need to go pack some more crap!!! I have only been in this house for seven years.....I started with nothing, as I sold everything up north except about 10 boxes that we shipped and what clothes we could bring in our suitcases, and OH MY GOD!! I am amazed at all of the s--t, that we've accumulated!! So much crap....and I sold & gave away a lot of it!!
My mom was over to help out, and she was packing some of my scrappy goodies....."you must have thousands of dollars invested in this stuff!" "It's everywhere!" "Do you need this much stuff?" "Can't you get rid of some of it?" "Are you planning on buying more?" "How many ink pads does one person need?" she says. She just doesn't get it!!!
Whoo Hoo!! It's time for the Rosette Swap at Gypsy Brocante!! Although swaps are not something that I do often, every once in a while, you just gotta do it!! This swap is my second in the last year, and I have to say that I have enjoyed participating in both!! The Rosette Swap is def up my alley....I love flowers!!
My partner in the swap is Victoria Resh at Things I Learn From Bear....check it out. From reading her blog, I can see that Victoria is an avid scrapper & craftsperson, someone much like myself!!
I was sooo excited when I received Victoria's Rosette!! I had just got home from work and was dead tired, but I couldn't help myself....I had to have a peek!!
Imagine my surprise when I saw this little beauty!! Victoria....your my rosette is just stunning!! I love it!! I haven't crocheted in years, but I know that this took some serious time, and I am very appreciative of your handiwork!!
Most of you are not aware that I will be moving (same city) very soon......and will be decorating.....a girl's gotta change her style & colors every so often. And this will be the perfect time!! Anyways, my point is, that I was thinking about doing red in my living room!!! And my plan for the rosette is to attach it to a pillow for my sofa....very chic!! I know it will turn out beautiful!! And I will def post pics, when I finish it!!
I just love the depth on the flower, and that huge pearl!! The colors will be perfect for what I have in mind!!
Hi everyone!! Once again, I want to thank all of you for all of your support!! I was so inspired by all of your comments! And so totally amazed at how many of you posted about my RAK on your blogs or facebook pages!! And congrats to Debbie for being the winner!!
Okay, so are you up for a challenge? Well, I've got one for you....Snobby Walrus is the proud sponsor at The Everyday Scrapper, this month!! What can you win? Well, it's the July SW 'Lakeside Picnic Kit!!
How awesome is that!!
Here's one of the projects that I made using this kit.......
And a few closeups.......
Materials used:
Paper - Jenni Bowlin, Webster's Pages
Cardstock - Coredinations
Wood Heart & Bling - Michael's
Mist - Smooch Spritz
Flowers - Prima
Distress Ink, Stickles, Dies, Grungeboard - Tim Holtz/Ranger
Rubons - fancy Pants
Vintage Image - Altered Pages
Punch & Alphas - Martha Stewart
Paint - Delta Ceramcoat
Marker - Sharpie
Head on over to The Everyday Scrapper & enter the challenge....it's all about ink!!!
Well, my guest design spot at Graphic 45 has passed. Unfortunately, one of my projects never made it on their blog. I did send it off in the middle of the month...my bad!! And, precedence went to projects made from all of the new products, that they have coming out. Understandable!!
I had promised that G45 was going to get first stab at any projects that I sent them, and that I would post those only after they did. But, this one didn't make it, so, I have decided to share it with you!!!
I purchased the birdhouse & candleholder at Michaels. I used E6000 to glue the two pieces together. That stuff will bond anything!!! See my Easel on the Home Dec Photo Album.
Once glued together, I used TH Distress Ink, in Walnut on all of the edges of the house, as well as small sections of the candleholder. Next, I painted the base & edges of roof with acrylic Metallic Copper paint. I didn't want to ruin those beautiful papers, so I made templates from inexpensive cardstock, for each side of the house, and then cut it from the Botanicabella collection. Then, I distressed the paper edges and inked them with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Walnut Stain.
I used a Martha Stewart punch on the edges of each roof section, which I overlapped, as well as for the skirting on the bottom of the house. This gave a more finished look.
Here's a closeup......
The flowers (Teeters), and the birds were purchased at Wal-Mart. I used some Copper Mixative from TH, over the Philosophy Tag, it was originally gold in color and didn't look right. The pink pearls are by Martha Stewart. The beautiful faucet knobs and the flourish were in my stash, and the maker is unkown, as I have thrown away the packaging. Ugh!!! I wanted to get more of those!!! The ribbon is from my stash.
Here's the right side.....
The back......
And the left side..........
The green flower is handmade from Cricut & Plantin Schoolbook cartridge, a la Tim Holtz. Buttons are from my stash. Butterflies are punched (Martha Stewart) from more G45 papers. Die Cuts are by G45 as well. To finish it off, I added bits of moss to the holes.
I had so much fun decorating this home 'For The Birds', that I may do more!!! I've added these pics and several more to the Home Dec Photo Album.
Dyan, that is!! From Art and Soul. If you haven't read her comment on my last post...you need to!! Dyan has her own studio in the North of England, where she teaches arts & crafts, which includes a lot of art journaling. She is also the Senior Educator in Europe for Ranger!! If you haven't guessed it already, she is hilarious!! Love her art work & her down to earth, hyperactive (her word) sense of humor!! Trust me, you really need to check out her blog!!!
Not only did she reply to the comment I left, notifying her of the sunshine award, but she posted about it on her blog & she also sent something back!! Check this out......
WOW!! I can't believe that actually worked!! Don't mind me, I'm patting myself on the back for figuring out this high-tech s--t!! Yep, I said it!!
Anyways, back to Dyan.....I think the reason that I love her attitude so much, is that she reminds me of my BFF Jocelyne, very straight-forward, honest & witty!! And she also inspires me to be ME!! Okay, I'm def working on that one!! But, I have someone to look up to!!!
And her art work is stunning & also very down to earth....very real.....she journals everything, and doesn't believe that there's such a thing as a mistake!!! I def have a long way to go on that one....I still struggle with trying to make everything perfect. Though, if you looked at my floors, you wouldn't think that!! Need to sweep more...but that's not as much fun as scrapping & blogging!!
As for the video...it actually brought me back to my childhood!!! Although I didn't get to see any BBC programming while growing up.......I def saw a lot of Rowan & Martin's Laugh In, & Red Skelton, the Rat Pack, etc. This video reminds me of that era!! BTW, I am a huge fan of Dean Martin!!! Yep, I'm old!! On the other hand, I also love Beyonce & Nickelback!!! But Dino is still my fave!!
Thank you Dyan!!! You def made my day!!
A big Thank You to all my friends!!! You are all so warm hearted and caring, and so sweet to take the time to look over my little blog, AND leave comments!!! You make it all worthwhile!!!
Okay....have I told you that this might be a long post?!!! Well, I just warned you!! I plan on showing you at least one LO, plus I have the craft space pics ready too!!
Where to start........okay, with the LO....here we go......
This is a pic of my Dear Grandson Mason, and yes he is def crying!!! The journaling reads "he doesn't like the cold; he doesn't like the snow; he hates to get dressed to go outside; he doesn't like the winter; he's..." Not A Fan!!! He & my DD Ashley, just recently moved to Vermont...from Florida, where he could pretty much go outside anytime!! He always wanted to walk and pick up leaves & flowers, & rocks, and look at the birds, etc. Now that he's in St. Albans, he can't do that, and he just doesn't know what to do with himself...so he cries!!! Poor little thing!! Well, if it wasn't for that BAD Groundhog, he might be enjoying his time outside a little bit more!! Bad Groundhog!! Bad!! LOL!!
Yea, I going crazy!!! Here's some closeups.....
Love those polar bears...you'd probably never guess that these are made for Wal-Mart, and cost me about $1 for a sheet....I think there was 4 bears on this one!! Papers are Basic Grey, Fancy Pants Design, My Mind's Eye & Bazzill Cardstock. Diecut by K&Co (the tree thing on the left! I really don't know what it is, but it looks good!) and the alphas were cut with Cricut from Lyrical Letters cart. Snowflakes are also from Wal-Mart, and a wee bit of Tim's Distress Ink.
A cute kid LO!!! Love it!! I can't always do flowers!! Or can I?!!! Def love flowers as embellies!!!
And now for the craft space...I'll try to be brief!! First, I used to have a craft room......it is now occupied by my DS Dan & his lovely wife Carol!!! They are in the process of trying to find their own home, so it was def cheaper for them to live with me for a while. I do miss my craft room...just cause I didn't HAVE to spend so much time organizing, & KEEPING things organized when I had it!!!
At the moment, I am using one side of my bedroom as my craft space...actually it's about 2 feet deep by 14 ft long...it really amounts to one wall!! And I am still looking for new & improved storage!! Here's a peek......
Okay, I lied....about 4ft deep under the window!!! And yes that is my bed that you see on the right hand side. All of those plastic boxes on the bottom shelf are for brads, eyelets, & misc small things. My albums are above those, and I have some stamp sets pearlex & punches on top shelf.
Above that...my fave...Clip It Up by Renee!!! love it...need another one!!! I have my rubons, alphas, and fave stickers on it (mostly K&Co). The fancy boxes hold laces, etc. The large plastic drawers to the left are for Tim's stuff, Tattered Angels, screens & stencils, misc albums, & album page inserts, & more stamps. Little boxes above, hold MyMadkow originals (really gotta get that Etsy shop going!!)!!
To the left, I have my MM shelf (I took out the ribbon holder..that wasn't working for me), which holds some flowers, ink pads, and misc small punched pieces (yep, I use up every bit of those lovely papers!) Below, is another book shelf...on top, more flowers & ribbons & buttons. I keep embroidery floss in the little recipe box. See the little pink tray...that was my first ever collage, & flower creations!!! Want to know what's in the bag?.......more pics!!!!
SHelf unit holds all of my K&Co diecuts!! Love them!!! Other diecuts & chipboard, tags, journaling cards, felt, MyMadkow pins, more paper (vellum, transparencies) & leftover flowers in the little pink basket.
Almost done!!! Larger storage cubes (Michaels...but only when they are 40% off!) hold my lovely papers!!! And chipboard alphas (that are too bulky for clip it up), prima flowers, more laces, ribbons, fibers, & clear stamps. Plus, I have all of my TH alcohol inks, Martha Stewart glitters, Lumiere paints, etc. in 2 drawers!!
Above the units are my scissors, adhesives in the tiered basket, more scraps in the tall drawer unit (second collage I made!!). Did you notice those tins.....they actually hold Tazo teas....my son is addicted...so I get those gorgeous tins!!! I keep bits & pieces of flowers & leaves that are leftovers from when I cut them on my Cricut...I'll cut several sheets, so that I can craft during the night ...while everyone else is sleeping!!
Little metal shelf holds a bowl of chalk inks from SEI, some foam alphas in teh box...and look......a peek at my last project for Graphic 45!!!
Last pic...I promise!!! My Cricut cart (it's on wheels), with my cartridges underneath, as well as my paper pads below!! To the left of that is my computer desk..I have small storage under that as well!! I just realized that I didn't take any pics of my craft table!!! Are you wondering where it is? Well, that will have to be another post...plus there's my punches and loads of ribbons that I didn't show you how I store them!!! And then there's the scraps of paper (big pieces) & my package inserts!!
I'm not even done showing you my space, and already I feel like I have too much stuff!!! Okay I already knew that...esp since I just organized it 2 days ago!!
Hope you had as much fun reading this, as I had posting it!!! Maybe next week I'll post the rest of my craft storage. We'll see!! In the meantime, I plan on getting my first DT post up on Posh. It'll def have to have flowers on it!!!
It's 3:30am, and I'm wide awake!! Working overnight really messes up your internal time clock!!! Oh well, at least I can get some stuff done without any interruptions, LOL
I thought that I would play around with design themes for my blog. After all, tis the season --- and I'm a snowman lover!!!! I collect them.....but, they have to be different!!! I suppose that I feel the same way about most decorations/decorating. I like things just a little wacky! I have this candleholder that I purchased about 5 years ago, it's very 'old italian' looking. One day my son-in-law's sister came over, and somehow she knocked it over. Well, I had always liked that candleholder, but always felt it needed something to make it more appealing. As it turns out, the candleholder broke clean across. So I had Dan, sand it a little, and I went out to find a plate to set on top of it. Well I picked a very plain, but modern amber glass plate to glue on top of that candleholder! Probably not the sort of thing most people would do.....but, I love it!!!! Take a peek...keep in my I took this pic with little light!
Okay, so pics aren't as bad as I thought. Will have to remember to take pics at night!!! LOL Here's another peek..........
And another.........
So, you get the point --- old with new!!! My son Dan, thinks it looks stupid, because they are 2 totally different looks. His opinion. Me thinks that the diametrical opposites work very well together!!!!
All this to say, and to explain what I think 'different' is!!! I keep previewing this post as I'm writing, and I can't get used to the colors...yes, it's very Christmasy, but I still prefer the black!! Anybody want to start a pool to see how long it will be before I change it back to normal?!!! Just kidding...hey, I'm trying!!!
Today is December 1st. Whoo hoo!!! You know what that means, right? Yep it's time to pick a winner for the 2009 Christmas Giveaway. This is so exciting! I wonder how long it will take to enter all these followers into Random.org; will it take an hour to get results back? I really don't hink that I'm going to stay up that late!!! Okay, okay, I'm being a little sarcastic! Just a little. I realize that I had issues with Typepad...still don't think that it's fixed, but hey, I could flip a coin to get a winner! Besides, Carol and Ashley have already decided that they are going to split it!! Yep, only 2 followers. But, it's 2 more than I had 4 months ago!!! Trying to keep up my spirits!! LOL. Actually, I'm kind of glad about it. Both of them sat and watched me make a lot of the things in the giveaway, and I could see that they were drooling over some items!!! So, they both will appreciate the prize, far more than most!!
So, here goes....drum roll please..........
List Randomizer
There were 2 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
Ashley
Carol
Timestamp: 2009-12-01 09:10:26 UTC
So, Ashley is the winner!!! Probably fair, since she signed up right at the beginning of the contest!!! Enjoy ladies!!! Well, I'm going to attempt to sleep again! If not, it'll be perfect card making time!!
I love Thanksgiving. I love spending time with my family! I love food! It's the beginning of the season for me. This is when I start getting the house ready for Christmas! Usually, I put up my tree right before Thanksgiving. For some of you, that may seem a bit early, but I love it so much that I want all the decorations up early, so I can enjoy them that much longer!
Not this year!!! It's November 30th, and I haven't even started!!! Dan & I are talking about maybe tomorrow! Ugh! So why so late this year? Well, I work in retail!!! Let me explain......
Worked 8pm to 8am on Thanksgiving eve; went home & slept a few hours. Got up and got dressed. Went to my Mom's for dinner - I was only there about 2 hours. Stuffed myself!!! All the food was great. Spent a little bit of time with the family. My aunt Jackie and Uncle Andre were there - so good to see them again! Then drove the 45 minutes to work! Thanksgiving!
I started my shift at 8pm. Ugh!! Had to get the store ready for Black Friday. Ugh! Round about 2am, the place was packed! You could barely move down the aisles. Everybody was trying to sneak into the 5am stuff!! Ugh! Most people were pretty good about not touching, once you told them, of course! But, then there was the turkeys who thought they were special!!! You all know who you are!!!! "I was just looking", "I'm NOT taking anything", "Everybody else is doing it", "What difference does it make, I still can't buy it til 5am"!!!!! Ugh! Thank God for the Police Officers that were in the store!!! By 5am, we were about 30 people deep at every register! So I spent the next 3 hours trying to help out our cashiers. It was definitely not fun! Ugh! So I drove the 45 minutes home and attempted to sleep for about 5 hours, only to have to get up and go back in to clean it up! Turkeys!
If you were in any store on Black Friday, you know how bad the stores were trashed!!! Ugh! Nothing different at mine! Throw seven trucks full of freight on top of that mix, and you know what Friday night was like for me!!! And you know, people came in to the store looking for the 'sale' items that night, and they were expecting to be able to pay the 5am to 11am prices at 10pm. NOT!!!! Our store is still trying to recuperate from that fiasco! Yep, that pretty much sums up how I feel!!! Finally ended my shift rotation on Sunday morning. Had to shop, print some pics, and drove home. Slept about 4 hours, and got up to spend time with family. My parents decided to do Chinese food at my house! Ugh! I like Chinese food, but I would rather have slept! Although, once I was up, I was okay! And we did get to play some games......Apples to Apples, Pictionary, etc. We had a good time. Then I got to get more sleep. I!
Sooooooooooo, it's Monday. I've got a lot of things to do. Including mailing out my ornament for the 2009 Bloggers Ornament Exchange...yep, I'm running late! Definitely want to do that again!!! Making ornaments for the tree and special decorations for my house, are probably my favorite things to do! I've always been a 'crafts/dec' person. Scrapping is in the top three, but I'm more of a newbie to that. Here's a pic of the ornament I made......
I used SEI's Winter Song papers, Tim Holtz distress ink and grunge board, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Pearl, Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter and Making Memories glittered flourishes. You know that I had to make a card to go with it!
This is probably one of the first cards that I've ever made - I think I attempted some last Easter...they were okay. Nothing special that's for sure! I'm hooked now!!! It's kind of like making a mini layout. I've already started making my Christmas cards, and I will definitely make more for other Holidays!!! In the background, are the pears I'm supposed to give you a tutorial on!!! Not gonna happen this week either! I promise, I will get that post up soon!!!!
I had so much fun making the ornament and card(s) that I'm even thinking about starting my own ornament exchange for next year! Will definitely have to start planning soon!!!!
I realize this is a long post, and that most of it, is me complaining, and that I left out a lot of stuff (especially things that happened at my store - don't want the head honchos breathing down my neck!).....but, I'm glad that this past week is over!!!! I hope that your Thanksgiving was filled with family, friends, good food and lots of love - not the turkeys I spent time with! Oh My!
Love ya,
Lynne
PS Don't forget to leave a comment on the RAK post!!!! Santa's got a good thing going on!!!!
So I thought I would share a home dec idea with you. I started working on these pears about a year ago. As much as I like them, they always looked flat to me. Well wouldn't you know that Glimmer Mist fixed all of that!What a surprise! Okay, that's a duh! Let me know what you think!!
And another look...
And a closeup of the ta...
Aged with Distress Inks, this 7 Gypsies tag, turned out beautiful! All components were handmade!! The pears look like very expensive sculptures that I have have seen in home dec mags. Needless to say, I wanted some. Since they were to expensive for my budget, I found a way to recreate them.
I am planning on recreating these for you in a tutorial over the next weekend! Stop by, and you can make your own.
Did you notice the new blinkie? It is a link for "The 2009 Bloggers Ornament Exchange" at Pampering Beki. Click on the it, and it will link you to their site. Plus you can sign up for the ornament exchange! I am definitely looking forward to that! I LOVE ornaments! Talk soon...getting ready for work....
Why is it? I know, that's an open question! But, I'm really having issues with Typepad!!!!! I'm getting sick of it. Might even go to a competitor!!!! Ugh! I thought that I would be smart and open another blog just for the Giveaway. I'd put more pictures up, be more specific, it would be separate from the rest of my blog. But NO.....Typepad has to give me issues with pictures now! Very frustrating!
Did you notice that I changed the appearance of my blog? Again!! I was trying to use different backgrounds and banners, but NO! couldn't do that either!! So I found something less dark...I was using a black background. Then I was strolling through some other Scrap blogs, and lo and behold, another scrapper had used the same theme! Ugh!!! Well, I couldn't leave mine up like that. Since she is very well known, someone might think that I stole her blog theme!!! So, .......why is it?
Which leads me to another WTF?! A couple of years ago, I was driving to my Mom's, and on the side of the road, there lay an old beat up wicker coffee table. It was burgundy in color. It had a very beat up top, all wicker. The sides were made up of wrought iron, and wood turnings. The base was all eaten up, as if it had been left in the rain. But, I'm pretty crafty, and I knew that I could make something out of it.
I called my son Dan, and had him pick it up. We got it home and took it apart. Needless to say, lots went into the garbage!! I made some snowmen out of the wood turnings, but that left me with the wrought iron bits. What to do?! Well the pieces have been in my closet since then. However, about 3 weeks ago, I was looking for some kind of easel to put my LOs on when photographing them.....and I had a brain storm. Clean up the pieces, glue them together, spray paint and call it an easel! Well WTF?! It took 3 weeks to do this. Couldn't really begin to tell you why...suffice it to say that there is such a thing as 'center of balance' and NO amount of E-6000 can fix that. But I figured it out, and I let it cure for 1 1/2 weeks!!!! Just to make sure. And I finally got the first coat of spray paint on it!!! Whoohoo!!
Here's some pics (that is if Typepad will let me upload!)....
Definitely not the best picture, so another WTF?!
As you can see, I used three of the ornate pieces, 4 caps, and 2 bases, which hold up the whole thing, and of course a tube of E-6000...that stuff is awesome!!! I decided to spray it in a hammered bronze paint. Turned out pretty good, if I say so myself! See for yourself....
All things considered, I'm pretty proud of this!! Can't wait to use it. Now, I have to let the paint cure for 48 hrs. That's okay, at least it's finished!
I love how this one turned out! Got the 'faux' gourd at my local supercenter, and spray painted it white. I then glued on some Martha Stewart Halloween Cupcake Wrappers, and Glimmer Misted the whole thing in Graphite and Pearl. I then glued on some flowers (see Halloween Home Dec for how-to) and yellow leaves...I actually left those in their original color!!
I was out shopping with Ashley, and we decided to go into the Dollar Store. Well wouldn't you know that I found the perfect "hands" for my gourd. Five pairs for $1, can't beat that!!
The whole thing turned out pretty cool! However, I did realize throughout this process, that I really can't do 'dark' or 'spooky', because no matter how 'dark' my intentions might be, I always end up "prettyfying" everything. Is that a word?! Oh well, it is now!
This was a fun project, and I do have one more in the works because I also found some skeletons at the Dollar Store. I am toying with 2 different ideas....we'll see how much time I have to do this. There's lots going on in the next two weeks -> Mason's First B-day on the 27th AND Halloween. Both parties at my place!! How did I get suckered into that? Gonna try to talk Ashley into doing both on the same day....one in the afternoon and the other in the evening!! Yep, I got me a plan!! Of course, that doesn't mean it will work.
