Rejection Therapy

A friend sent me a link to this fascinating site called Rejection Therapy.

It's based on a pretty simple and familiar idea, but it's very beautifully expressed here and has some fun little exercises, most of which you already experience every day.For example, every day on my walk, I say to HI to people I pass.

Some of them just astonishingly rudely never even look at me and walk right past. It floors me every single time. That is some serious rejection when someone is a foot from you.

When I moved to New York for college, I had this same feeling every day.

People who say hello to strangers in New York are considered mental defectives, or possibly hookers. But I didn't stop saying hello to people. I just carried my personal Texas with me, and if people didn't like it or thought I was insane, well so be it. Maybe that made them giggle - like, "hey - check out crazy HI lady with the funny accent!" A giggle is always a happy ending. :)

So today I bring you some rejection therapy. I came up with a fun little technique that I submitted to be considered for a demonstration at the regional in Ft. Worth and - BAM! Rejected! :(

BUT - it's cute as heck, and so I'm giving to all of you instead! That's therapy, right? So I'm gonna enter this in Shelli's Creative Challenge instead!!

Now what this technique does is give you new and different way to use your embossing folders. Have you ever just wanted a stamp that looked like your Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder? Maybe you didn't want the raised surface, just the pattern, like this...Maybe you wanted a stamp that looked just like our fun spiderweb embossing folder! I did.

So I'm gonna show you how to do this in a fun video tutorial.

In exchange for this tutorial today, I want you all to be sure and visit my friend Carolyn King, who is doing her AMAZING Heart to Heart card drive to benefit the caregivers who do the incredible job of caring for those suffering from Alzheimer's disease. You can send a card, see some gorgeous creations, read her inspiring story, and win more than $1000 in stamping goodies, just for doing a good deed!

So you ready?

Take a gander. (If you don't see a video player below, click here)

Hope You Can Cling To

Today is a very special day on Splitcoast! We are kicking off a month long card drive benefitting the patients battling breast cancer at the UT MD Anderson Cancer center in Houston. This is near and dear to my heart, as you know if you read about Maureen.

Handmade cards are powerful things, and I know we are going to really lift the spirits of some special ladies. So I hope you'll come make a few cards for this drive!

We have challenges every day in October (3 today), lots of prizes, surprises and more! :)

My challenge for today is here. I know you want to make one!!

I made my card with the most adorable little witch in the WORLD! She's Witchy from The Cat's Pajamas and SERIOUSLY COULD SHE BE ANY CUTER?? Or her green cat??

I colored her with Copics to match my Pixie Pink and Basic Grey background.
I really hope you'll join us this month for a terrific cause. It's a fantastic excuse to spend a little time in the old stamp cave.

Loveyameanitbye

Stamping in the 3rd Dimension

Okay - maybe it's not as dramatic as it sounds... I wanted you to imagine some Star Trekkie stamping fusion that altered the space-time continuum.

BUT - it's cool.

I love doing altered items, but I don't enjoy:

• Trying to line things up straight, as that is not one of my spiritual gifts
• Wrapping paper around round tins because it always gets a little off and then the adhesive is already eternal and you rip it off, cuss, throw everything away and decide that people don't really need presents anyway

So, imagine how thrilled I was to successfully master the stamp-space continuum with the help of a Fiskars Easy stamp press and some so-much-easier-than-paper Sticky Back Canvas!

Now if you're like me, you sometimes buy new toys and neglect them, which is what I did with all these things. But then, when I found them all in a little pile together - VOILA - a stampy epiphany occurs! In this case, I altered a tea can and filled it with crafty goodies.

Stamps: Technique Tuesday (Provence alphabet and Fall on me) Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa Brown Paper: Claudine Hellmuth Sticky Back Canvas Accessories: Golden Fluid Acrylics (Pthalo Blue, Green Gold), Fiskars Easy Stamp Press, blank tea can

It was so cool I had to get it on film. I know - two tutorials in a row - pigs are probably flying around outside right now. Don't get used to it!! :)

But here's the video PROOF that I have actually played with some of the things I've bought. Click here if you don't see the player. And after you watch it - create art! :)

Hehe....

So...

I had some technology issues this week that made me feel a little....

Stamps: Kraftin' Kimmie Drucilla & sentiments Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Brocade Blue and Basic Grey patterned paper Accessories: SU label punch, glitter brads and pearls, Copic Markers, Corner Chomper

Pin pokey voodoo girly!! hehe..

Thanks to my Kraftin' Kimmie voodoo doll though, they have been resolved and I'm back in business, and happy to be blogging.

I made this card for the Kraftin' Kimmie Challenge #47 today, which was to use purple, green and orange. A purrrfect warm up for Halloween, and my oh my doesn't it look sassy on little Drucilla??!! I love her sassy brand of voodoo..

The little voodoo pins I embellished with my teeny SU! pearls and they look so cute and real!
Maybe you shouldn't have been so bad little voodoo doll!

I used purple, orange and green glitter brads - yes, I stopped hoarding them for this card - and they are so sparkly and fun!

I made the layers all wonky because I feel like where Drucilla goes, chaos follows!! :)

Bodies in Motion Tend to Stay in Motion

And bodies at rest tend to stay at rest.

Yes, it's true. I have finally found an application for stupid physics.

Poetry!

These little phrases are so poetic! How about - for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Beautiful!

If only those physics classes had been about beautiful language and not stupid made up numbers and equations, then I could have absorbed a few things!

Instead, that pretty singsong phrase popped into my head when I saw this little body in motion.

The gymnastics when you throw a mouse defy all those laws of physics anyway.

Oh - that reminds me. There was a fun feline challenge for Teapot Tuesday that gave me a chance to bust a move with some new toys - my eyelet nesties, (my addiction to these I blame 100% on Chriss) and my SASSTASTIC new Coffee, Tea or Meow set from the Cat's Pajamas! Stamps: TCP Coffee, Tea or Meow Ink: Ranger Wild Honey, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Basic Grey, Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Very Vanilla
Accessories: Nestabilities, MFT ribbon, Tasteful Trim Die, Spellbinders Wizard, Big Shot

What are you stamping? I have been playing with the new Letterpress Plates for the Big Shot and I'm in love! I have a review for you coming up! Who is working on Christmas cards? Who just screamed when I asked that? :)

I haven't updated the Blue List in a while and I wanted to add some things I've been loving lately.

This mango limeade.
This AMAZING, 100% dry, not stinky tinted sunscreen
This all natural non-toxic colored pencil blending solution
This "crack for cats" supplement the beasts go nuts for (good for finding hiding animals)
These fluid acrylics you can mix with water and get beautiful saturated color and transparency.
These crazy delicious mixes.

And you of course :)

Loveyameanitbye.

Lazy Stamping - can you dig it?

I'm a lazy stamper. So what? Maybe you're a lazy stamper and you appreciate that in a blogger. Maybe you're NOT lazy, but you want to be so that you can have more time for vampire movies or something.

Regardless of which category you fall into, I think you'll enjoy my lazy technique today. I used it to color my adorable little creature on this card - and it's so quick and easy you'll just start coloring everything that isn't moving!Stamps: Doodle Factory Creatures II Ink: Memento Paper: Basic Grey, Crumb Cake,

Accessories: Tim Holtz die, SU Label Punch, Webster's Pages trim.

I did not invent this technique, but I sure enjoy the heck out of it! I call it Copic palette blending, and it involves... well, you'll just have to watch the video!

Ingredients required? An image stamped with Memento ink, two Copic markers, a non-porous surface and some serious laziness. So enjoy!

If you don't see a video player above this sentence, click here to view.

I hope you're having a cool, lazy weekend!

Have you signed up for the UBlue Cyber Club? Attended one of my Webinars?? Come on - get your geek on! :) Want to see my other blog?

If de Lights Goes Out...

Ack. Just typing that makes me all teary.

*Deep breath*

Marilyn Monroe said, "If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything."

That's certainly true for me.

And Ginger Miluk makes me laugh.

I don't know how I got lucky enough to live in the age of electronic miracles that can connect people (and their irreverent and opinionated ginger cats :)) halfway around the world, but I sure am glad I did.

If de lights go out, I sure will miss my Ginger Miluk. So much. You make me laugh, sweet friend.

I made you a card.

Stamps: Backlit Blooms, Starving Artistamps Ink: Crumb Cake Paper: Crumb Cake, Newsprint
Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Prismacolor Premier .005, MFT Striped ribbon, Corner Chomper

I used this sketch, and a little ginger and white.

xo

Marmosets

So yesterday I went to Fort Worth for Stampin' Up! Regionals! It was amazingly amazing as per usual. I learned SO many fantastic tips I can't wait to share with you! That's what I love most about stamping events - the simple little tricks that keep the wonder in our hobby.

I'm headed to CKC San Marcos next weekend with DarthSunshine and my friends at Technique Tuesday and I can't WAIT!

It's a very stampy month.

Now, the drive up, although I left at 5 AM, was uneventful. I saw a beautiful sunrise, went to my fave non-Austin Starbucks in Temple and was fairly alone on the road.

The way BACK, however - another story.

I get out of Ft. Worth and hit the I-35 corridor with an assortment of long haul truckers (one of whom was eating a bowl of soup), drug dealers, serial killers, and people playing video games. And yet, it was safe and orderly.

UNTIL I HIT AUSTIN.

I forget, when I leave town for the day, how completely bizarrely Austinites drive. It's quite terrifying to strangers, and sometimes even residents.

I hit the city limits, and all the sudden people drive like ... well, imagine this.

Take a one eyed marmoset. Liquor him all up with moonshine. Shave his butt. Sit him in a big bucket of habanero extract. Put him behind the wheel.

That's kind of how we roll in A-town.

Disturbing.

Don't believe me? Well... you have two choices. Come here and see the one eyed hot butted drunk marmoset behavior for yourself or.. TALK TO THE TAIL! :)

Stamps: Starving Artistamps Here Kitty Kitty 3, Here Kitty Kitty sentiments
Paper: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie Ink: Basic Black Accessories: White Pencil, Webster's Pages Trim

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America...

Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears...
Backlit Blooms, Prismacolor Pencils

Oh Hai

Oh hai.

I've been battling kitty hurricane brain this week.

The symptoms of hurricane brain are as follows:

• Extreme howling
• Eating like pigs
• Randomly eating things like whole feathers, after running under the bed with said feather so that we can't extract feather prior to it being eaten
• Trying to kill one's little kitteh self by jumping up and hitting one's furry face on the blinds and then walking around with one eye closed like a cat pirate for two days
• Shooting off like a rocket from a complete sleeping state and bouncing around the house like a ping pong ball
• Hurdling your sister while she's running around in the throes of hurricane brain
• Jumping from the floor into an open cabinet full of glassware silently while your owner isn't looking so that when she turns around and sees you she screams and drops a coffee cup
• Screamsqueaking at the window when you know we can't open it because we're getting 5 inches of rain an hour.
• Screamsqueaking all night during the worst part of the storm and then collapsing, like on my card below, the second your servant's alarm goes off for work
  

This card was for the Starving Artistamps sketch this month, which, if you wanna play, might win you some stuff! Like, for example, the new Backlit Blooms - I LOVE these and just got my paws on them today, so stay tuned for pretties. they are gorgeous. I'll be using my Blended Pencil technique for SURE. I think I love the sentiments even more - they're big and bold and have a great font.

The background paper is Basic Grey's Basics White collection, which I adore!! Then I used my new Technique Tuesday Main Street alphabet and my Fiskar's Stamp Press together and I'm in LOVE! I'll be doing a tutorial on this later this month so you can see why.

The bad hurricane brained kitteh is from Here Kitty Kitty 1

The daisy is one of the Stampin' Up! Paper Daisies, colored with Copics, and accented with SU! Rhinestones.

The ribbon is from My Favorite Things, which came in my September VIP kit with that fabby notepaper die.

It's almost the weekend already! What the heck? These short weeks are strange...


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A Tour of Some Random Thoughts

Here are some of my random thought moments over the last few days...

• We have makeup to cover up our freckles, but why hasn't someone invented a makeup that GIVES you freckles?
• What are the odds that someone named Hannibal would be a Cannibal?
• Someone should open a chain of safe places to sell things to avoid the crazy people on Craigslist. Just an office with a security guard and cameras where you can bring your stuff and safely sell it without leading the crazies to your house.
• What if we banned all advertising, signs and campaign contributions and politicians had to actually meet their constituents and make their case PERSONALLY?
• Poetry readings were rapping before rapping was cool.
• Why don't we have those soundwave thingies the OTHERS put up on LOST that make scary Russians fall down and writhe around all helpless? I can think of tons of applications for that.
• I think the undiscovered country is a battery that lasts more than an hour.

I've been trapped inside by the stupid hurricane this week, so I'm feeling more random than normal. I'm also in need of some COLOR.

This was a fun card to make. It was a color challenge for VSN, and you know I love complementary colors, so I enjoyed this one.

The panel the flower is on is actually colored with Copics to match the Summer Sun card base. It started out as a piece of white X-Press It blending card. Then I colored the flower from Every Moment and the background and rounded the corners. The trim is from the new Tasteful Trim Big Shot die which I ADORE. In the vertical piece I punched holes in the center of each oval shape for a little more interest.

The greeting is stamped on some retired DSP and punched with the decorative label punch.

Is this a crazy week with the holiday or what? I don't know what day it is!

I'm headed to Fort Worth Saturday for Regionals - are you gonna be there?


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Am I My Finger's Keeper?

So I see this scene at Starbuck's yesterday that was a life changing moment for the people involved. I was on my second stop there at the end of my walk, and I was sitting right near the door waiting for my smoothie. I'm half watching this angelic little girl in a lavender tutu, fresh from the dance studio two doors down.

She's teeny - as young as you could possibly be and be enrolled in a ballet class and she's beautiful, as is her mother. I still have Harry Potter playing on my Ipod so the first time she yells OW I don't hear her. But in what seemed like a slow motion sequence from a movie, I notice the second sound, and turn my head, and I see that she had her finger in the hinge side of the door, and that the door is now completely closed.

It was like I was underwater with her mom. Both of us jump for the door in painful slowness and free her finger. I go to get ice, but before I go, I see the girl looking at her mother with this accusation on her face.

She is MAD and confused and clearly attributes the injury to her mother not preventing her from playing with the door, not stopping as it closed, or maybe not being able to control gravity. You could see on her face for just a second that she didn't understand why her mother had not controlled destiny just then, and not too long after, after we convinced her to put ice on it (not a good move, in her opinion, by the way) you could see on her face that she understood that maybe she was responsible.

Her mom finally says "Honey, you can't put your fingers in the door" and, sadly, she gets it. Ow. That hurt. My mom didn't save me. Shoot - is this MY deal? Am I going to have to watch out for my fingers now? My mom used to watch out for my fingers. WTH? This stinks. I don't like growing up.

And then, still crying, she hugs her mom so tightly I swear I hear her neck crack.
The whole thing probably took one minute. Maybe two. And her finger was fine. Kids are tough.

But it was pretty amazing watching a little teeny human figure out, maybe for the first time, that she was going to be her finger's keeper at some point. It was sweet and sad at the same time. None of us probably remember that happening to ourselves, but I think I will always remember it happening to this little girl.

Stamps: Notably Ornate, Unity Greeting Ink: Basic Black, Bermuda Bay Paper: Whisper White, Vellum, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Webster's Pages Ribbon Trim, MFT Die-Namics Scallop Die, Corner Chomper, Circle Punch 1.75", Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder, Big Shot (Stampin' Up! Supplies available here.)

If I knew who she was, I'd send her this card, but I don't.

So instead, I will give one of you the 25 free Unity stamps from Friends with Flair Friday!

There were 73 comments - 72 here and one sweet lady who posted on Facebook because she couldn't leave a comment here. Random.org picked lucky #38!
So jmahugger - please email me your address so Unity can send you your goodies.

And people - watch your fingers....

xo

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{all you need}

... is love.

Well, and quite possibly the Bananas Foster Hagen Dazs Ice Cream I just discovered.

Wow.

But love is good too :)

So are owls.

So is Friends with Flair Friday! I have been longing to play with my August kit of the month goodies and I finally got to. I know, it's September! But it's just as cute, right??

I had SOOO much fun making this card. First, I was inspired by Julia's Ways to Use It Challenge, which was to use one sheet of paper. I had to make every paper element on the card from one piece of paper, and let me tell you, this was an awesome challenge. The card base is easy - that's half the sheet. But then I needed some FLAIR for Friends with Flair! :)

So I took a strip of the remainder and used my new MFT Die-Namics die to make the notepaper edge, except after I looked at the notepaper edge, I noticed how cute the opposite shape was too, so I used that. I sprayed it with Smooch Spritz (River Mossy) to make it all blue and glittery. Then, because I loved that look so much I punched some hearts out and sprayed them too.
I stuck them in between the diamonds I stamped the little border with in Cajun Craze. I stamped and colored the owl with Copics, and I used a Tim Holtz embossing folder on another strip to make a wood grain background behind the owl. The greeting and heart from the set are also in Cajun Craze.

So when I was done making my Just One Sheet card, I was left with this. I think I was pretty efficient!I was so efficient that I think it gave me good luck....

Or wait - did it give YOU good luck? I think it's you!! Because it just so happens I'm in possession of the magic blinkie that is going to win one of you TONS of free stamps! WHEE!!



I will do a random drawing on Saturday from my commenters and my lucky winner gets 25 Unity Stamps! Yipee! Congrats in advance.

And remember. Besides stamps - all you need is love :)


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How to Be a Nice Person, by FedEx

Why is it that you always have to run out right when you're expecting a delivery that has to be signed for? *sigh* It never fails.

That happened to me yesterday. I was having compatibility problems with my old computer monitor (and when I say old, I mean, like older than Larry King). So I ordered a new one with my Great Rewards gift card. The great thing about being Dell's neighbor is that you don't have to wait long. If I were Michael Dell, I'd deliver some of these orders myself, just to surprise and amaze Austinites. But I guess he's not as fun as I am.

I digress.

Anyway, I had to pop out for like TWENTY MINUTES yesterday and what do you know - FedEx - too bad, so sad you lose note is stuck on my door. I was dejected.

I drooped around the house until about 5:30, when my doorbell rang. And there stood my FedEx guy. I almost hugged him. I screamed "YOU'RE BACK!!!!" at which point I think he was scared but he took it well. He said - "Well, I thought you might want this today."Now is there anything sweeter than that? Stopping back by at the end of the day because he knew the yelly lady might want a box that said Dell on it?

I love you FedEx guy. Thank you.

Yesterday, I had my Blended Pencil Tutorial on Splitcoast.It's a simple technique that I told you guys about here, but now there's a whole step by step tutorial here. Go check it out - I bet you already have the supplies, it's inexpensive, and it's fun & relaxing and easy!

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Vanity is NOT a deadly sin...

It's just a lovely, frosty pink piece of furniture. :)Or here, anyway.

I had so much fun making this card. I used this amazing DMC thread for the phone cord that has wire in the center of it. I wrapped it around a little stick to make the coil. Remember when phone cords had that fabric on them instead of plastic? That's exactly what this looks like. And yes, I make an entire card around that phone cord!

The vanity is Doodle Factory Boudoir, that I colored with Copic markers. The wallpaper is SU! Sending Love DSP. The "paneling" is Very Vanilla cardstock, painted with SU! shimmer paint.

The mirror is colored with a silver gel pen.

Doesn't it just make you feel pretty? :)

It's almost Labor Day! Are you doing something super fun this weekend? I am looking forward to extreme napping. If they had napping contests like those hotdog eating contests I would definitely be a contender!

Have you signed up for the UBlue Cyber Club? Attended one of my Webinars?? Come on - get your geek on! :) Want to see my other blog?

A Recurring Dream...

I have this recurring dream...

Well, I have several recurring dreams. It's amazing that you can have the same dream again and again for decades, isn't it?

This one involves a post office box I had in Rochester when I was in college. We had these old fashioned brass and glass post office boxes in the teeny U of R station on campus. It smelled like a library in there and I loved getting the mail. Well, I still love getting the mail. :)

Anyway, the recurring dream is that one day I realize that I have left Rochester, which of course I have, and that I've forgotten to forward my mail. It's this awful feeling of years of mail I haven't gotten, and I can always see through the glass door in my mind and there are letters and packages and I'm filled with anxiety. Then I wake up. I always feel uneasy for the rest of the day after this dream.

(Speaking of dreams - random subject change - have you seen Inception? SPECTACULAR movie.)

Anyway, this week, it was my birthday week, and so every day brought new delights. Boxes, handmade cards (one with an AMAZING cicada on it - I laughed so hard!!!), stamping goodies, jewelry, you name it. Thank you, sweet friends for all the gifts. And thank you to sweet Lynda, who left me a happy on her blog!

You guys rock. Maybe my recurring dream will be replaced by a dream about a mailbox full of birthday gifts!!

I put a few of these cards in my mailbox this week and sent them around the world.

The image is the little kitteh from Long Fellows - a hostess set from the new catty. I decided to have a little fun and wrap the image around the crease on the card. To do this, before I scored or folded my cardstock, I just placed the card against the ruler on grid paper, so that when I stamped the kitteh, I could center him around the 5.5" mark. Then I just colored him and folded the card.
I always cut the greetings off my stamps so I can say whatever I want. I'm sassy like that.
So I finished the card with the Congratulations from Whimsical Words.

Are you guys gonna stamp with me at VSN this weekend? Let's get stampy!

Loveyameanitbye.


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Flatterday Saturday!!

ACK! I'm so excited today! The sweet ladies of {Ippity} have done me the HUGE honor of featuring me on the {Ippity} blog today for Flatterday Saturday!

I was fortunate enough to meet the AMAZING Unity and {Ippity} team at CHA, and if you're familiar with their work, I can tell you that they are all even more beautiful and sweet in real life than they are on the interwebz.

I've gotten to know some of them through my work at Splitcoast, like sweet, sweet Kelly, who enabled me into my fave {Ippity} set - Fishy Philosophy.

You guys know how much I love Swimmy, and when I saw this set, I had to have it.
To make this card, I stamped my little fishy in Memento Tuxedo black, and then colored him with pencils. THEN, I blended them with a new product I just bought from England. It's called Zest-It, and it's a pencil blending product that is all natural, and smells like oranges. I really don't like to use stuff that has warning labels about brain tumors, so I was excited when I read about this. I'm super pleased with it. You use it just like you would use mineral spirits, with a paper blending tool. You can read more about it here.

I cut the fishbowl with my circle Sizzix die, and then cut a second circle in Soft Sky. I ran it back through my Big Shot with my Cat's Pajamas wave die to make the water. Fun, eh? I stamped the coral in Sahara Sand, and then used blue stickles to bling it up.

So thank you so much, {Ippity} chicks, and sweet Kelly - you guys have really made my month!! I love your show, babes!

Please head over to this post and leave my sweet girls some lovin!

Have a happy Saturday!

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Cat-nanigans, Continued...

I think the heat is getting to the creatures.

I came home the other day and filmed Splotchy for you so you could see what I mean...

(if you don't see a video player above, click here...)

See? Complete insanity.

Having a pet means constant waves of destruction, punctuated by napping. The other day, my sister and I went on an early walk. She returned home to the sound of one of the igniters on her gas stove clicking, the burner on, and a singed Great Pyrenees, who apparently was attempting to make her own breakfast while we were out and about. Her whiskers and a good deal of her furz were crispy. I wonder if she was surprised or annoyed or super excited that she figured out fire... Scary thought, no?

Never underestimate what these creatures are plotting. Never. Be grateful for those days when the furniture is the only casualty.

Stamps: Starving Artistamps Here Kitty Kitty I, Sentiments Here Kitty Kitty,
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black Paper: October Afternoon Seaside, Stampin' Up! Crumb Cake, X-press It Copic Blender Card
Accessories: Copics (E25, E50, E55, G82, G99, R27, Y23, Y28, T1, T3, T5), ovals Sizzix die, Big Shot, Corner Chomper

Happy Friday!!

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Cat Mail

Maddie Bat got mail today! I keep telling her she has fans far and wide, but she didn't believe me until I went to the mailbox and found THIS sweet card! LOOK - it even has a PORTRAIT of little Maddie on it! And some lovely stickers. It's 100% handmade, and I do believe that little Autumn Cameron, the artist, is a budding papercrafter!!!
At least, that's what Maddie says!! Thanks Autumn! You are a lovely, lovely girl, and little Maddie would purr and chirp at you if you were here. She is very humbled by your gift of your artwork, and believe me - she's hard to humble!!

I had just been playing with a new Starving Artistamps release when I got Autumn's card - and what do you know - it's full of kittehs! This little guy is from Here Kitty Kitty 1.

Stamps: Starving Artistamps Here Kitty Kitty 1 Ink: White Craft Ink
Paper: Stampin' Up! Newsprint, Basic Black, Whisper White Accessories: Copics, Corner Chomper

I love that he's checking out the mewspaper. Heh heh. What's mew with you?


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She Snuggles..

What a fascinating weekend I had!

Saturday, on my walk, I happened upon a little woman who was lost. She approached me at the very farthest point of my walk, but she did not speak a word of English. She kept saying something that sounded like "Second Baby." She gestured down the highway we were at the edge of and said "Second Baby" about four times. It was quite confusing. I finally realized she was lost. Aaah, lost. And I have no idea what she's saying. And she has no idea what I'm saying. We try hand gestures and individual words. Nothing. I pull out the Iphone and show her a map. She can't read the map because she doesn't know the street names. We point some more.

Hmmm.

Finally she says something I don't understand except for the word "Vietnamese". AHA! I ask "Vietnamese?" and she says yes. NOW we're getting somewhere.

Luckily, my nail lady is Vietnamese, so I call her and ask her to translate. I hand the phone to lost lady, she tells Le some landmarks near where she lives, and hands the phone back. WHEE! I turn around and get her to walk with me. We walk a mile to where I know she can find her way, in mostly silence, but with an occasional smile and arm squeeze from her :) You don't need to speak Vietnamese to know the universal gratitude expressed by a smile and an arm squeeze. Happy ending.

Then I went to a super fun birthday party for a friend, and I used the Inspiration Challenge on Splitcoast to create the card I brought.

I loved the site she chose for inspiration - Decade Gifts, and I picked this "She Snuggles" image for my card.

How sweet is that?? It meets all my requirements - it has a fuzzy bunny, it has a lovely shade of pink... perfect.

I had JUST gotten this image from the Cat's Pajamas too - I absolutely love this little bunneh. Purrrfffeeccct for the TCP blog hop!

I colored the image with Copics, and the background paper and paper tape is from Basic Grey.

Stamps: Birthday Bunny (The Cat's Pajamas) Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Copic Blender from X-press it, Basic Grey
Accessories: Copic, Basic Grey paper tape, Oval Sizzix Die, Corner Chomper

I think I'd toss the pressies and snuggle the bunneh.

Have a great Monday!

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I Has a Sad

I. Has. Such. A. Sad. :(

Today, at 5 PM CST, after 16 years, my Starbucks is closing.

It was the very first Starbucks in south Austin, and only the second one ever in Austin. I have parked under the same light in the parking lot every morning, watched fellow regular Mark go into the store in his wheelchair and do the crossword for year after year after year. A friend and I hired one of the baristas away from this store because we loved her so much. She later married a regular customer there that she fell in love with. Those are my friends Kristin and Ben.

I always joked that if anything ever happened to me, it would be the employees and customers in this store that would call the police first. That's how big and regular a part of our lives this store was. We all loved all the small moments there, especially the American Idol debriefs and the talk about LOST. I can't remember the last time I had to actually say what my drink was.

The last two days, we scrambled to find out where the other customers were going so that we could still be together.

I've never ever been so sad to see a business close. Say what you want about Starbucks being a big chain, or there being one on every corner... This store was our community and our home, and our happy hello to every day. I pulled up every day, parked in "my" spot, and had that joyful, comfortable, "everything is right with the world" feeling.

Here's what it looked like this morning, when everyone was bravely trying not to cry..



Thanks a latte, Brodie Starbucks. You have no idea how much I will miss all of you.

xoxoxooxoxo


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When Cicadas Attack

Don't start with all the "they are harmless" stuff either. I have proof they are vicious killers.

This morning I went on my walk as per usual. I stopped for a drink at Starbucks on my way home, at which point I'm assuming I was either a) not under attack yet or b) people in there were so frightened they didn't react TO THE GIANT CICADA ON MY SHIRT.

Yea, that's right. I get home, put my stuff down, pat the kitties - bending over so that the giant cicada had to be right in Maddie's face by the way - grab their food bowls and then DISCOVER IT. Good Lord that was a scary moment. Not thinking clearly, I tried to flick it off. The results of that would have been total chaos - a four pound 120 decibel animal flying around my house. Thank God it didn't work. So I head for the front porch where I smack it with one of the food bowls I'm still holding.

It QUACKS loudly in complete cicada annoyance and flies off into the bushes.

Thanks a lot, Maddie and Splotchy, for being so observant and such great predators. Thanks. A lot. Maybe I should trade those two in for birds. Birds like cicadas. I bet these birds would LOVE em. :)

This is the new Aviary set with the new Cherry Cobbler seam binding - a sneak peek from the Holiday mini. It's SO beautiful. The glitter brad is also a sneak peek.

Off to buy an owl. :)

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Dark and Dreary....

Every year I tell myself I will get cracking on my Halloween cards early, and every year it sneaks up on me.

I adore Halloween imagery. I love all things dark and spooky. For some reason, when I was little, I KNEW that there were witches in the woods at the end of the street. I have yet to meet anyone who can prove there were NOT any, by the way. So whatever you do, do not listen to any propaganda from my family.

I ((((loved)))) Edgar Allen Poe with his ravens and hearts under the floorboards. I especially loved the uber spooky and lesser known story he wrote about a ship full of dead souls.
MWWAHHAAA - I'm all scared just THINKING about all that stuff!!

You can imagine my joy at the new Halloween stuff from the upcoming mini catalog. It's my fave Halloween stuff Stampin' Up! has done EVER!! It's SOOOOO scary and raveny and owly and spooooooookkkkyyyyy! Wait till you see all of it.

So for once, I sat down early and started tinkering with the spooky fun. I started with some less scary images so that you wouldn't run away shrieking. I have to lull you into a false sense of security before I REALLY scare you! heh heh.

And since Halloween is rarely clean & simple, I decided to break that rule and see if I couldn't be BOTH clean & simple AND scary.

Stamps: Dark and Dreary Ink: Basic Black Paper: Whisper White
Accessories: Barely Banana, Basic Black and Real Red Markers, Spooky Night Rubons, Self Adhesive Pearls
All Supplies Stampin' Up!

The greeting is a rub on, as is the line the candelabra sits on. I just quickly swished my Barely Banana marker around the candles to get the flame and colored the spider and the candles with Real Red. I added the self adhesive pearls - the teeniest ones on the sheet - to the candelabra. I drew the spiderweb.Don't be scared... It hasn't even gotten good yet!! :)


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Happy Birfday!

Like most stampers, I do not ever have a birfday card on hand when it is someone's birfday. Like this little panda, for example. I don't have a card for him.

Photo courtesy The Telegraph. And my mother.

Or my friend Sam. Whose actual birfday it is. And who is not a panda.

What I DID have, is this insanely adorable little birfday stamp from PaperWorks Co. It has been making me happy sitting in its package on my desk for weeks, and voila - I now have both a means and a motive for a birfday card. The packaging for this little stamp has the image all beautifully colored in, and I mostly copied the color scheme from that cute image. Actually, the packaging of these stamps is so darn cute I had to email the owner about it. They put as much design talent into it as goes into the stamp, which I thought was super cool.

I colored it with Copics and used my framed scalloped oval die to make the shape and the border. The border is October Afternoon's Seaside collection. The first 200 people in their booth got an 8 x 8 package of this at CHA and I screamed right at them I was so excited.
I'm hoarding it now. :)

The background is a Tim Holtz embossing folder (I think.. Why aren't those things labeled?) on Crumb Cake cardstock.

So happy birfday panda, Sam and whoever else has a birfday today! I hope you get a large colorful cake made of ice and dyed vegetables that you can eat in your birfday suit!

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Dream Big!

It's Friday! The day you've all been dreaming of. If Monday is the frog you have to kiss, then Friday is the prince! :D

This week I am playing catchup from my travels, so not much stamping time. But I did get Copic Certified while I was in Chicago by none other than Lori Craig and Debbie Olson! AMAZING CLASS! If you get the opportunity to take one, you need to - I learned so much and the class materials are great. I have tons more to learn, but I was inspired, so I was determined to play with my markers and with my beautiful little girls from the Greeting Farm. I 100% blame Beate for getting me completely addicted to these little sweeties. I fell especially hard for little Ava, who Jessica was kind enough to enable me for...

I colored this little beauty with Copics, and then I sprayed Citrus Tickle Smooch Spritz and also Silver Foil Smooch onto a paper plate, and painted the silver on her hair, and the citrus onto her little froggy prince. See the sparkles in the closeup?

I used glue & Martha Stewart glitter on her crown, collar and shoes, and finished her backdrop with Basic Grey paper tape, K & Company patterned paper (all those clocks ticking away the waiting for her prince to come) and Early Espresso cardstock. I cut the oval with my Oval Scalloped frame Sizzix die.

Happy Friday! What are you working on?

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Dear SWA Crew Member, You are in the.....

Dog house.

Yep.

Yours truly had a quite pooptacular experience with a Southwest Airlines crew member (off duty) on my marathon trek back from Chicago last week. The crew that worked all THREE of my flights that day were angels, as per usual, and got me to my destination safely and on time, without charging me 80 squillion dollars for my bags. I love Southwest Airlines.

But this story must be told.I changed my flight, as I was dying to get home a little earlier after two weeks on the road. My bags made it onto an early afternoon flight on standby, but I, tragically, did not. I waited for the 4:30 to Kansas city. The flight is oversold. The last empty seat is the middle seat in my row. The crew was waiting for an off duty crew member for that last seat. She was late.

She walks onto the plane, and my heart sinks. This person coming to sit in the last four square inches is holding my worst pet peeve in her late hands. A giant bag of stinky McDonald's grub from the airport that I will now be forced to smell. Just what I needed - the stench of a McRib or a Filet of Fish and the sounds of someone eating one micron away from my face.

Oh, but it gets better. She has two giant carry ons. She just sits down, shoves one under the seat and starts moving MY purse under the seat in front of me. I barked at her, and she leaves this giant thing on her lap, sensing through her insensitivity that I might be a woman on the edge of something quite memorable. We have pushed back. An anxious steward comes by and tells her she needs to stow it. She doesn't care. She says - "I don't have anywhere to put it." He says - "we've already pushed back - the bins are full." She says "WELL I'M NOT GOING TO CHECK IT. IT'S FULL OF FOOD". Of course it is. Probably crawdads. He sighs and takes it from her off to the back somewhere.

It gets better.Immediately following takeoff, she reaches THROUGH MY FACE to grab that same steward's arm as he sprints towards the front of the plane. She says "Hey - that bag y'all took from me (what? excuse me?) - that has my headphones in it. Will you bring me my headphones?" I just flat out stared at her with my mouth open, hoping for the steward's suggestions about places she could have put her headphones prior to take off. I was prepared with my own list of places. Sadly, those didn't come. Shockingly, he goes and gets them. I realize that people have forgotten the fine art of devastating, colorfully worded attitude adjustments.

An hour of McRib smell later, we are about to land in Kansas. We are not changing planes, so they tell us to stay in our seats until they count us and then we can move. I'm coiled like a big cat in the jungle ready to spring across thirty rows of seats to get away from this insane person when she stands up and says "I'm gonna move." I look at her, sleep deprived me, with my sore feet and my sore throat, and I said....

"Not as fast as I am, lady."

You, with your cooler full of God knows what and your bag of offensive and your headphones - you, are in the dog house.
Is this too subtle for such an occasion you think? All white on white, punches and embosslits? Perhaps. But she could have used a little subtlety. :)

Anyway - how about those prizes I promised? You guys had some fabulous books!!

Instead of one prize, since I'm so late, I'll choose three!! I have one of the adorable tote bags from convention, your choice of pattern, one collapsible trashcan for your stamp camps or desk, and the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder.

It's first come first serve for my responders - if you're first, you choose your prize first! If no one claims by Friday, I'll choose again :)

My friends at random.org tells me my winners are:

1colincary, Laurie Ludwig and Beedubya!

Thanks for all the book ideas! Off to enter them in my Amazon Wish List! Loveyameanitbye.

OH - and don't forget - my CHA pics are on the Understand Blue Facebook Page and the Splitcoaststampers Facebook Page - you do NOT have to be a member of Facebook to see them!

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