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Saturday, October 31, 2009

*Happy Halloween*

We got lucky here in Calgary.... the forecast, several days ago, was for chilly weather, but a Chinook blew in yesterday (warm west winds) and we are sitting at 13C (55F).  Will make it a nice night for all of the little trick or treaters!

Bruce and I went to a party last night at a friends' house... I was a beauty queen and he went as an injured hockey player (he had a puck imbedded in his forehead).  Other costumes were a Scottish Lad and Lassie, a couple of devils, an angel, Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patti, a hippie, Pippi Longstocking, a ballerina (although he looked more like a troll doll) and an Operation game.  We had a great time, as always, with a great group of friends.  We are truly blessed to have such good friends.

Alex hasn't gone out trick or treating for three years now, and this year most of his friends are super sick (the flu, possibly H1N1 is running rampant through the schools in Calgary) so there are no plans for him tonight.  Matthew is dressing up as a character from a computer game (Team Fortress 2) and heading out for candy with his friends, and then to a sleepover.

I always look forward to seeing the sweet little kids in their costumes at my door...  the cuter the costume, the more candy I give LOL!

This is another card that I made when Heather was here... another of her challenges.  The original card was a great Christmas card... but I wasn't in a Christmas mood so I pulled out some brown and pink and had some fun.

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, Pretty in Pink
*Images:  Hampton Art
*Ink:  Stampin' Up! Pretty in Pink; Copic Marker
*Tools:  Big Shot; Stylized Flowers Cuttlebug folder; 1/8" circle punch
*Embellishments:  Michaels Bridal flowers; ribbon from unknown source

I haven't crafted anything in a few days other than stenciling on my beauty queen sash.  Sad, but true.  Maybe this weekend....


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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

*I Did It Myself*

Another day and another workout at the gym.  I took a break from the gym after hurting my knee a few weeks ago...  and then it was easy to just not go when my knee was starting to feel better.  Bruce and I went on Saturday and I've been two more times this week.  Instead of doing my learn to run program on the treadmill, I have been doing 30-45 minutes on the recumbent bike.  I don't like the bike.  It's boring.

And it sucks that most days they blast music through the speakers in the gym so loud that I can't enjoy the music on my iPod...  I want my music, not whatever the young gym attendant thinks is good music.

At any rate, I am trying hard to make the gym a habit again.  I am hopeful that the desire to go to the gym will return some day...  Right now I'm going because I know I should, not because I want to.

An unfortunate side effect of a good workout in the cold weather is that I get really really hot in the gym, go outside and cool off quickly, then I get in the car and turn on the heat...  then I get home and eat my breakfast before hitting the shower.  All of this hot and cold means I feel chilled for most of the day.

Sucks

Anyway... you didn't come to hear me whine about the gym LOL


I had fun with this card.... the challenge over at Crazy 4 Challenges this week was to use three different geometric shapes on one card.  It's been a bit since I came up with a design on my own so it took a bit of time for me to think of what I wanted to do.  But all of a sudden the idea came to me.  But then, I didn't know what colours I wanted to use... so I opened up the master list of Colour Challenges at Splitcoast and looked through until I found something that caught my eye.

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Basic Black, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant
*Images:  Lizzie Anne Designs Floral Frenzy; PaperTrey Mega Mixed Messages
*Ink:  Stampin' Up! Elegant Eggplant
*Tools:  Stampin' Up! 3/4" circle punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" square punches, slot punch; Big Shot; Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
*Embellishments:  sheer polka dot ribbon from Michaels
*Challenges:  C4C8; SCS CC235


It felt good to create a card using my own vision instead of following a sketch... but it was tough!  LOL!

Enjoy your Wednesday!
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

*Everyone Is Healthy...*

... at least for now.  Alex went back to school this morning.  He's still a little tired, but otherwise he seems to be doing well.  I wonder how long until the next one of us gets it?

I was watching the morning news on Global Calgary this morning and they had a reporter and camera out in front of the H1N1 Clinic that is in the NW quadrant of the city...  I thought I saw someone I recognized, so I hit rewind (I LOVE the PVR and the pause and rewind live TV feature!)...  Yup, pretty sure that it's my friend Bonnie's son... so I called her on her cell phone and yup, she is there with her son and Mom (Dad couldn't take the time off work today and the daughter is home sick).  After I got off the phone, I pressed play again and ended up rewinding a few times again... just a couple of people behind Bonnie is another Mom I know from the neighbourhood, and a few people behind her was Bruce's cousin's husband and their daughter.  I know Merlie took the girls yesterday and waited in line for 6 hours to get their shots.

I am looking forward to a day alone in the house...  cuz I've said that, I've probably jinxed myself and Matthew will call later this morning saying he's sick.  He was fine this morning, but it will be just my luck LOL!

I did some crafting yesterday afternoon which was awesome.  I finished off two challenge cards from the last few days.


This is the card I created for Mojo110, and it happens to use the colours for an SCS Colour Challenge.  It was hard to use only coloured cardstock instead of patterned paper on this card...  I thought, at least in my opinion, that there was a lot going on to be adding pattern to it.  Instead I have a lot of white space.

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Basic Black, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo
*Images:  Stampin' Up! Best Yet; Verve Floral Whimsy
*Ink:  Memento black
*Tools:  Big Shot; Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Folder; Nestabilities
*Embellishments:  ribbon from Michaels; Bling (in the centres of the flowers)
*Challenges:  Mojo110; SCS CC234


During the dinnertime news last night, they were reporting that there was a "special weather statement" for the City of Calgary... a possibility of 5-10 cms of snow overnight.  Sigh...  Thankfully we woke up to a dusting of snow in the grass and wet (and probably slippery) streets.  No 5-10cms.  (that's about 2-4 inches).  It's still too early for snow!  I think all parents hope it holds off until after Halloween!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

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Monday, October 26, 2009

*Another Sister Challenge*

The last Monday of October is upon us already?  How in the hell did that happen??!!  Before we know it, there will be snow on the ground and Santa will be popping down the chimney!

I just don't know why time goes by so fast these days!

It seems like yesterday my kids were little... and now one is taller than me and the other is getting closer and closer to passing my whopping height of 5'2"!


Today I'm sharing another card from when my sister was here...  I liked this layout so much that I've actually used it again and will share it with you in a while.  The original card can be found HERE

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry
*Patterned Paper:  Imaginisce
*Images:  The Cat's Pajamas You Say It's Your Birthday; Impress
*Ink:  VersaFine Onyx Black; Copic Spica
*Tools:  Big Shot; Nestabilities; Stampin' Up! Word Window Punch; Stampin' Up! square punches
*Embellishments:  Stampin' Up! Melon Mambo ribbon; Kaiser Pearls


Alex is still home sick...  he was starting to feel better yesterday but his fever came back last night so I decided then and there he'd be home again today.  He went to bed around 9:30 last night and slept until after 11 this morning.  He's still stuffed up/drippy, has a bit of a cough and a headache.  No fever right now though.  Who knows if he'll be back at school tomorrow or not...  I hate that he's missing school.  The program he is in at school means that most of the work they are doing in their core subjects (Humanities, Science and Math) is accelerated, so one missed day means a lot of missed work.  It's going to take a bit of time for him to catch up.  But of course I'll keep him home as long as I need to, to ensure he is healthy before he heads back to school.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

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Sunday, October 25, 2009

*This Card Ain't Going Anywhere*

We had a small accident of the liquid form in my craft room yesterday afternoon, and unfortunately, I hadn't taken a photo of the card that was hit in the crossfire...
Bruce was down here with me and we were both working on our laptops... he found something he wanted to show me so he lifted his laptop and started to turn it towards me, when my can of Diet Dr Pepper got knocked over.  

Thankfully my computer was just far enough away to avoid any damage... but the card I created on Friday wasn't quite so lucky.

And so, this card ain't going anywhere... except the recycle bin!

I went back and forth on what to do and decided that since I didn't love the card, I would take a photo of it as is, instead of making it again.  


So, I apologize now for the light brown spots on the card....  they are not part of the design LOL!

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Staples White; Stampin' Up! Soft Suede
*Embellishments:  Stampin' Up! Ribbon in Soft Suede, Rich Razzleberry, Bermuda Bay; Bridal Flowers from Michaels (coloured with Copics); Kaiser Pearls
*Challenge:  TuesdayMorningSketches #16

We're off to bowling tonight... I am really really enjoying being back in a 5-pin league again.  I wish I was bowling a bit better, but that will come with time.  I am reminding myself that I joined the league for fun, not to be the best.  I am also toying with the idea of joining a ladies league on Thursday afternoons now that Matthew's drum lessons have been moved to Wednesdays!
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Friday, October 23, 2009

*Sister Challenge*

Happy Friday everyone!

Sorry to have been away all week...  not sure where the days went, but they got away with me not posting a darn thing to my blog!

I had also hoped to do some stamping this week, but that hasn't happened since Monday either.  I want to, but I can distract myself pretty easily LOL!  I am hoping to do some this afternoon....  would love to start now but we are off to Alex's school in a bit for Parent/Teacher interviews.  So after that.  I hope

Have a sick kid and a sick dog at home with me the last few days.  Not sure what is up with Milo but he has some sort of skin irritation between his shoulder blades... we went to the vet yesterday and he's on antibiotics and thankfully he is already feeling at least a little better...  he didn't want to eat yesterday, but he has today.  Poor Pup!  And Alex started feeling sick on Wednesday evening...  slight fever, bad headache (still has it), slight cough.  I kept him home from school yesterday and today is a day off.  He's taking it easy and I'm hoping he'll be feeling well again soon!

Back in September, my sister Heather came out for a visit from Toronto.  We had a great time together.  We even managed a few crafting days during her visit.  Heather started out as a stamper and card maker about the time Mom got me started with it... but after some crap in her life, she gave it up completely...  we were all sad that she was no longer interested in being creative.  But then, somehow, she picked up her papercrafting supplies again, but discovered she had morphed into a scrapbooker instead!!  So she scrapbooked, while I carded.

The one day I was having trouble getting myself going while we were crafting so she showed me a link and said "try this layout"... and so I did.  It ended up that she sent me a bunch of links and I popped off cards using those as inspiration.  Worked well for me!

LOL


So, here is my first Sister Challenge card...

The card Heather showed me is HERE.  I loved the idea of it being a Christmas card, but I didn't want to out and out copy the card... so instead I grabbed my Sizzix Daisies #2 die and played with that instead.

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Coredi'nations; Staples brand white
*Patterned Paper:  Black River Designs
*Images:  Stampin' Up! Best Yet
*Ink:  VersaFine Onyx
*Tools:  Sizzix Daises #2 Die (Stampin' Up!); Big Shot
*Embellishments:  Stampin' Up! black twine; Doodlebug shimmer brad 

I didn't have a brad that was going to match my card so I got a little creative....  I took that Doodlebug Shimmer brad and coloured it with a black Copic marker...  it's a nice soft black colour and the shimmer still manages to show through!

Thank you to Heather for helping me get creative!!

And Thank You to my visitors for popping by!!  Have a wonderful Friday!

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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

*Ouch! That Hurt!*

I had some free time late this morning while I waited for some chicken breasts to thaw in a warm pan, so I decided to do a bit of the back yard clean up.  That included putting away the cushions for the deck chairs, dog poop scooping, and pulling up the beautiful wave petunias that graced my raised flower beds this summer.  I was dumb and wasn't working with a pair of gloves on.  With the first pull of the petunias, something poked into my hand... at the time, it felt like one of the sharp bits from a thistle, but since I didn't see a thistle in there, who knows what it was.  At any rate, the pain from that little poke was making my life miserable for about an hour today!  It is still tender, but not as bad as it was.... and it's no longer radiating into my little finger.  That has to be a good thing!

That'll teach me that I should wear gardening gloves when working in the garden... or to leave the yard work for Bruce LOL!

The back yard looks better now that there are no wilted and dead and brown plants in the beds... I sure miss the colours of summer!

I still have some work to do in the front yard... removing the flowers that didn't really grow due to the lack of sunshine.... and I want to move the stargazer lillies from under the tree to under the living room window.  I  might also plant some more tulips around the tree.

So sad to see the flowers gone.... sigh


I had fun with the Mojo Monday sketch this week.  It took me a few minutes, but the idea of a snowflake came to me pretty quickly.  And I knew that the PSX stamp I've treasured for more than a decade would be perfect.

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Basic Black; paper weight silver shimmer
*Images:  PSX
*Ink:  VersaFine Onyx Black
*Tools:  Big Shot; Snowflakes Cuttlebug Embossing Folder; Marvy Snowflake punches
*Embellishments:  ribbons from my stash
*Challenge:  Mojo109
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

*Just Rite Virgin*

I wonder how many strange hits I will get on my blog for that post title??

LOL

If you're looking for an actual, Virgin, you have come to the wrong website folks....

Up until yesterday, other than to try out my JustRite Stamps, I hadn't used them at all.  I've had them for like two months and they've sat on my shelf...  I've looked at them several times.  Thought about using them several times.  But never did anything with them.

And even now that I've used them in a card, I can't say that I've used them to their potential.  I think I need to spend some time on the JustRite website figuring out the keys to make these stamps worth the money I spent on them.

Sigh


I was playing with the Crazy 4 Challenges sketch yesterday and am quite pleased with the card I came up with.  I have to thank Dianne for leaving behind a scrap of October Afternoon patterned paper on Friday when the CalGals were heading home.  It was on my table and the scrap was only a little larger than what I'd need to play with the sketch.  Thanks Dianne!

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze
*Patterned Paper:  October Afternoon
*Images:  JustRite
*Ink: Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip
*Tools:  Big Shot; Nestabilities
*Embellishments:  Stampin' Up! Antique Brass brads
*Challenge:  C4C7

I think the card could use something but I am happy with it as it is....  wonder if it's masculin enough to use for an upcoming male birthday brunch... hmmmmm
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Monday, October 19, 2009

*Dianne's CalGals Challenge*

Friday night the CalGals got together at my house for a night of crafting, laughing and chatting.  We always manage to have a good time and sometimes we even get some card making done!

At each gathering of the CalGals, we've started taking turns proposing a challenge to the rest of the group.  More often than not, it's a card sketch...  which is perfectly fine with me!!!  Dianne was kind and gave us an old old Mojo sketch to play with... it's so old that it was before Julee started the MojoMonday Blog.  You can see my original card with this sketch HERE.

I could have just done the same card again, but honestly, I didn't realize until Allison mentioned it, that this was an old Mojo sketch...  so you get to see a brand new take on that same old sketch...  that might be a neat feature for my blog in the future!!!  See how my style and ideas have changed!

Anyway....


I was in the mood for blue and immediately thought "snowflakes"...

I realize now, that my brads are in the wrong spot on the card...  I didn't have the sketch next to me.... it was across the table and I was looking at it upside down most of the evening, so I'll blame the misplacement of the brads on that!  LOL

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Bazzill Bling
*Tools:  Marvy snowflake punches; Big Shot; Nestabilities
*Embellishments:  Karen Foster glitter brads; Bazzill Pearlized brad; sheer ribbon; Stickles


It looks like dusk out my window right now... dark and cloudy with a good chance that it will rain any minute now.  Better than snow, that's for sure...  kind of matches my mood...  lol

Enjoy your day!
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Saturday, October 17, 2009

*Ya, Not So Much*

Happy Saturday morning!  I'm not sure where our sunshine went, but at least it's warmer than a week ago and the snow is melting.  We received more snow in two days than we would usually see for the entire month of October!  It's way too early for snowpants and winter boots!

I am hoping that there are still some flip flop days in our future!

Had a good time with the CalGals (see the sidebar) last night.  Plans changed relatively last minute as Shannon just got back from Regina, her hubby just got home from a long business trip and Shannon ended up with a nasty cold as well...  so we met at my house again instead of moving to Shannon's to make life easier on baby Hailey (and Mommy!).  We ordered pizza and had a great night of crafting.

I managed to make 3 cards plus the first of 6 identical calendar pages for a calendar we CalGals are putting together for ourselves.  I will share my CalGal challenge (provided by Diane) tomorrow.


For today, you get to see my take of this week's Tuesday Morning Sketches (#15).  (the link for their blog is in my sidebar)

I am not at all in love with this card.  I love the teal with the cocoa colour, but that's about it.  There is just nothing that screams at me with this card.  I might have to try the sketch again this weekend if I find the time...

Items Used:  
*Sketch:  Tuesday Morning Sketches #15
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla, Taken With Teal, Close to Cocoa
*Images:  Stampendous
*Ink:  Stampin' Up! Close to Cocoa classic and Taken With Teal marker
*Tools:  Big Shot; Sizzix Embossing Folder; Stampin' Up! 1 1/4" square punch

Yup, just not pleased with this one at all....
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Friday, October 16, 2009

*Tracy's Birthday Card*

While this appears to be a very late post from me, I am actually writing it at 7:30am.  However, I scheduled this post for later...  I didn't want Tracy to see her birthday card on my blog before she got it in person.  This blog entry will be posted after I am sure she is on her way from her house to my house for our monthly CalGals gathering.  Sneaky, eh?

LOL

Tracy's birthday was last week and I was behind on making cards that people hadn't seen....  so I created her card this week knowing I would be seeing her in person on Friday.


This card satisfies two challenges...  #1 is the Splitcoast Stampers Colour Challenge #237, and the second is Mojo108.

I am very pleased with this card and how it turned out.... I hope Tracy likes it too!

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Rich Razzleberry, Crushed Curry, Basic Black
*Images:  Penny Black
*Ink:  VersaFine Onyx Black
*Tools:  Big Shot; Sizzix Daisies #2 die (Stampin' Up!)
*Embellishments:  Stampin' Up! Crushed Curry Ribbon; unknown polka dot brad

Hope everyone had a great Friday!
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Thursday, October 15, 2009

*A Favourite Colour Combination*

This has been such a strange week... with the kids being off school for so many days (they had a 5 day weekend), I admit to being totally confused as to what day it is! It certainly doesn't feel like a Thursday, but that's what the calendar is telling me.

I spent a good 40 minutes shoveling the driveway last night. I should have done it earlier in the day when it was colder as it warmed up in the evening to just above freezing and the snow started to melt and got really heavy! And of course, we had driven on the driveway a few times during the day so I had to use the scraper to get the packed snow off the driveway.

It was definitely a good workout... my back and right arm are both a little stiff this morning.

Apparently our temperatures are warming up or the next few days... and I am hopeful that a lot of this early white stuff will be gone. News reports tell us that we got a full month worth of snow in two days. Blech

This card is a complete rip-off of a card that Tracy sent me a few months ago... Her card is up on my inspiration wall... and the other day it came down so I could totally copy it LOL! I needed to make a thank you card for the Crazy4Challenges challenge this week... C4C6

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Basic Black, Baja Breeze, Ruby Red
*Images: Stampin' Up! Pocket Sihouettes
*Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black
*Tools: Big Shot, D'Vine Swirl Cuttlebug Folder
*Embellishments: Kaiser Pearls


Thanks for the inspiration Tracy!!
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

*In Love*

Good morning everyone... another snowy day in Calgary... we got another couple of inches overnight. We found boots to fit Matthew this morning but realized he had no "indoor shoes" at school so Bruce had to head over to the school to drop those off. We also decided that there was no way Alex's bus was going to be even close to on time (or show up at all) so Bruce drove him to school. Usually the round trip to Alex's school is about 40 minutes... took Bruce 90 minutes just to get them there!

The cat and dog have appointments at the vet this morning for their annual check ups so I'll be heading out to brave the streets soon... I'll be leaving early as I don't want to be late.

It's just too early to be worrying about winter driving conditions!

sigh

Apparently it's supposed to warm up again starting tomorrow.... hopefully we get rid of all of this white stuff!

I am in love with this card... I created it following the sketch for the Tuesday Morning Sketches #14. I pulled out a colour combo that I haven't used in a long time and a stamp that I don't think has ever seen ink!

Sad, I know... but there are several stamps in my collection that have never seen ink.

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Ruby Red
*Image: High Hopes; Stampin' Up! So Many Sayings
*Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! markers
*Tools: Nestabilities; Stampin' Up! Word Window Punch
*Embellishments: Kaiser Pearls


Yesterday, Bruce and I celebrated the 20th anniversary of the day we met... Friday, October 13, 1989. I can not believe that we have been together for 20 years.... That's a long time, people!! I love him more today than I did yesterday, more this year than I did last year. I'm so grateful that he saw what I was slow in seeing on that night... Love you, Babe.
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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

*Snow Snow Snow*

Sigh.... it snowed more overnight... and this time you can't see my grass through the blanket of snow... and there's snow that has stuck to the road and sidewalks. Blech.

No school for the kiddos today so thankfully there were no bus issues for Alex. I do have to venture out in the slippery conditions after lunch to take Alex to the orthodontist. So glad I didn't book the appointment for early this morning. I think I should probably go up and get out of my jammies and make myself presentable for the day... and then I can do some crafting while catching up on chick TV before and after that ortho appointment!

We enjoyed two Thanksgiving dinners this weekend. I made turkey and all the fixin's on Sunday for my Father In Law and one of Bruce's brothers. Yesterday we gathered at my Mother In Law's house for turkey and ham and 15 people! Both dinners were awesome. I was so happy to see ham last night as I am not a big fan of turkey... at least not the first time around. I do love a good toasted turkey sandwich though (which will be dinner tonight and probably tomorrow night too!).

I created this card (which follows the Splitcoast Stampers Sketch SC242) months and months ago and it's been pushed further and further back down the list of cards to post thanks to the challenges I've been doing.

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa; Coredinations pink
*Patterned Paper: Imaginisce
*Image: Imaginisce
*Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black; Copic Spica


OK... I am off to make myself beautiful (I could be gone a while LOL) and then to find two kids to get outside and shovel that white mess!

Enjoy your day!

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Thursday, October 08, 2009

*Another Day, Another Challenge*

Happy Thursday everyone! It's a truly happy Thursday here as there are now five days without alarm clocks in my future! The kids are off school until Wednesday! WOO HOO! Gotta love PD Days (Professional Development) and Statutory holidays (Canadian Thanksgiving is on Sunday). It has been a tough week for me for getting out of bed so a few days where I can get up when I want to will be wonderful. I'm sure I'll still be awake at the butt-crack of dawn (which is about 7:30 right now) but at least there won't be some stupid piece of electronics telling me to drag my ass out of bed!

The funny thing is that Matthew who is a total bear to get out of bed in the morning, will be up earlier than his alarm clock goes off each morning so he can optimize his video game/tv watching/computer playing time. What a kid.

I was a little nervous when I saw that the challenge for this week on the Crazy 4 Challenges blog was not a sketch challenge. I really like sketch challenges. I could have decided to just not play, but instead thought I would give it a try.

I sat and thought about what images and papers I could use to do some faux stitching. I went through a few ideas but none of them screamed at me.

And then, I had a thought... I have done stitching on cards before.... just not that faux stitching or sewing machine stitching!

So I went in search of my patterns and instead found a few that were already stitched! So I grabbed one and made a card.

This is a great way to incorporate embroidery into your papercrafting.... most of the patterns are paper that you photocopy to use (although there are also brass templates you can use)... you pierce your pattern into your cardstock (I use a Pergamano tool as it has a thin needle which produces a small hole). Once you have all of your holes pierced, you follow the information on the pattern to create the stitched design. I use mostly metallic threads by Anchor. The thread on this card is an iridescent white, one of my favourites for sure!

I used a corner rounder, added some white Bazill Bling cardstock and a white sheer ribbon bow and voila!

Card stitching is a wonderful way to pass the time... I used to pierce a bunch of the patterns and then take my tape, threads and needle up to the TV with me.... kept my hands busy while we were watching TV.

I might need to pierce some patterns again....

If you're interested, you can see some of my old stitched cards in my Picasa Album. You can also take a boo at some of my older cards.... the album with the stitched cards is from 2003!
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Wednesday, October 07, 2009

*Not 100%*

I've not been feeling 100% the last few days. Nothing serious, but just not right. Tired. This morning I found myself not able to take a deep deep breath. And then a headache came out of nowhere.... and then came slight nausea.

What on earth?

I should probably head to bed and try to sleep it off.... and maybe I will.

I don't think it's anything serious... just not feeling 100%. I'm at the point that if I'm getting sick, I wish it would just come on already!

I created this earlier this week for the current Mojo Monday Challenge (Mojo 107). I had no idea what I wanted to do for this challenge so I started flipping through my patterned paper. The polka dot strip is a sticker from My Mind's Eye and the patterened paper was part of the same line. I bought the sticker strip months and months ago and figured it was finally time to use it!

I paired the patterned paper with Stampin' Up! Bordering Blue and Saffron, brought in my Big Shot and my Nestabilities, used a sentiment from Stampin' Up! (Best Yet) and then finished the sketch off with some brads.

Not sure I love it, but I don't hate it....

I'm off to lay down..... enjoy your day!
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Tuesday, October 06, 2009

*Another New To Me Challenge Site*

I had a lot of fun playing yesterday, once I got myself focused and stopped allowing myself to get distracted by my computer or the TV. It surprises me that I am so easily distracted when doing something I enjoy.

Tracy posted a card on her blog a few days ago, a card following a sketch challenge she found on a blog I had never heard of. I loved her card so I decided to give it a shot myself. The blog is called Tuesday Morning Sketches and they've only been around for a few months. This is sketch #13

I love the look of black and white with a colour for a little punch. I almost always turn to pink or red, but decided I needed to do something different this time... so I used Dusty Durango instead.

And yes, I know that the flower image isn't centred... I did that on purpose, but realized after it was all put together that I should have either centred it or made it more off-centre. Oh well

Items used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Dusty Durango; black linen
*Images: Stampin' Up! Doodle This; Impress (sentiment); DeNami (swirl background)
*Ink: Stampin' Up! Dusty Durango; VersaFine Onyx Black
*Tools: Big Shot; Nestabilities; small and large Stampin' Up! oval punches
*Embellishments: black brads
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Monday, October 05, 2009

*Chilly Monday*

Good morning everyone... we have a chilly forecast for at least the next week. I guess I will be spending more and more time in socks. Sigh. I really hate wearing socks and anything other than flipflops. Flipflops rule.

I didn't manage to get any crafting done at all this past weekend. Bruce and I ran a few errands yesterday and then had his Dad over for supper. Last night we had our weekly bowling league. I am so glad we joined this year. I've talked about it for a long time and I am enjoying it so much. If there is anyone in Calgary interested in a fun league on Sunday nights, we are still looking for a fifth person for our team.

I am in love with this card... I have seen a lot of Tri-Shutter cards and found a great tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers that helped me to put this card together. It's a bit time consuming to cut all of the small panels, but the base of the card itself is pretty quick and easy to put together.

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Purely Pomegranate, Certainly Celery, Elegant Eggplant
*Patterned Paper: Retired Stampin' Up!
*Images: Penny Black sentiment
*Ink: Stampin' Up! Purely Pomegranate
*Tools: Big Shot; Stampin' Up! Daisy #2 Sizzix Die
*Embellishments: Kaiser Pearls; Celery grosgrain ribbon; Doodlebug flocked brad

This card folds flat in to a standard card size for mailing.
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Sunday, October 04, 2009

*Not Even Four Months*

Here in Calgary, we didn't even go four months without seeing snow. Our last snowfall was on June 6th... and overnight, we got a dusting of snow. Nothing stuck to the roads or sidewalks, but there was snow on my roof and in my grass when I got up this morning. What the hell?

Two weeks ago we broke records due to the heat.

One week ago I was wearing capris and sandals.

Three days ago, I was still wearing sandals.

And today I had to resort to putting on socks and my new black shoes... and those hurt my freakin' feet!

I want my flip flops back!

Wahhhhhhhhhhhhh

This is another of the cards I created the other night, inspired by the Crazy 4 Challenges blog. This is C4C4.

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Rose Red; Staples White
*Patterned Paper: Upsy Daisy
*Images: Stampin' Up! All Year Cheer I
*Ink: Stampin' Up! Rose Red
*Tools: Big Shot; Nestabilities; D'vine Swirl Embossing Folder
*Embellishments: Pebbles Candy Dots


I am really pleased with how this card turned out... so simple and clean. And it gave me a way to use this wonderful piece of patterned paper that I thought had a pattern that was too large for a card. I am happy that I thought to use it as the focal point of the card instead.

Have a wonderful Sunday evening... Bruce and I are off to bowling after dinner... let's hope our team does better than we did last week!
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Saturday, October 03, 2009

*My Feet Hurt*

Well, I survived. It was a long day at the bottle drive, but it went well. We were there from start to finish and in addition to now having a chill, my feet are killing me.

And let's talk about the sound of bottles being thrown into a garbage bin as you count them... my left ear is just not right at the moment. I think next time (March) I will be wearing ear plugs!

I was a "lead" for the bottle sorting.... the most confusing job there. Definitely not the job for everyone. There are so many different things to know when sorting the bottles and it gets confusing. We ended up being slammed a few times, but we always dug ourselves out from under far too many beer, wine and liquor bottles.

Thankfully the weather wasn't all that bad. No rain, a few scattered snow flakes and just above freezing. For the most part I was overheating with a tank top, sweater, hoodie and fall jacket. I had taken my winter jacket to wear but never needed it. In fact, I even ended up without my hoodie for the majority of the day. I was working hard!

I am disappointed to have spent the majority of World Card Making Day away from my stamp room... and am in no mood to create tonight either.

This is another card I created the other night from the Crazy 4 Challenges blog. This is C4C3. Another sketch. September was all sketches.

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Staples white; Core'dinations
*Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye
*Tools: Big Shot; Stampin' Up! Daisies 2 Sizzix die
*Embellishments: Kaiser Pearls


This was a quick and easy card to throw together.

I hope you've all had some fun today, more than I did working the bottle drive!
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Friday, October 02, 2009

*Gotta Love Friday*

I think Friday is probably my favourite day of the week. Sure, the alarm clock still goes off, but there is this promise that things will be different for a few days... more relaxed, no real schedule. Friday is anticipation of things to come.

Unfortunately, this week, the alarm clock will be going off on Saturday morning. An hour or so later than usual, but still... we have to be at Alex's school for 9:30 on Saturday morning to do a bottle drive to raise money for the school band. Technically, we don't have to go, but every hour we work puts money directly in to Alex's band account to help pay for things like trips and uniforms. Next year is a travel year and it could cost $1000 or more.... so the more we can earn through bottle drives and fundraising, the easier it will be on us!

To add to the dismay of an alarm clock on a Saturday, we are looking at temperatures just above freezing tomorrow with a chance of rain and snow!! OMG! We were +30C 10 days ago! What happened??!! I might be heading to Home Depot this afternoon to pick up some lined work gloves. I should also see if my winter jacket fits... I haven't had it on in a while.

Sigh

I hate the weather

I'd be happy living somewhere that had one season... around 25C every day (that's 77F), sunshine... it can rain overnight to make the grass green and the flowers bloom.

That's my version of paradise.

With a pool boy named Julio of course... who brings me cold drinks in tall glasses with umbrellas!

Or, I can sit in a nice hot bubble bath like this cute little guy from Stampabilities. Isn't he a cutie?

This is another of the sketches from the Crazy 4 Challenges blog. This was C4K2.

Items Used:
*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Chocolate Chip; PaperTrey White
*Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye
*Image: Stampabilities
*Ink: Memento black; Copic markers
*Embellishments: Dew Drops


Once I got my measurements working for me (thanks to the handy dandy clear Tim Holtz Design Ruler), this card came together very quickly. I was able to use up some scraps that I've had on hand for a for more than a year after making birth announcements for friends of ours.

Please be thinking warm thoughts all day tomorrow for me... or better yet, start thinking that they will postpone the bottle drive until the weather is nicer!!! Yikes!
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