Upstaged by a....

Pumpkin??

It's true. Here's the story.

First of all, I'm soooo tired. I'm not looking for sympathy - it's just part of the story. So after work Friday I take the somewhat hazardous trip to the expo center to get the lay of the land and do some setup for Maker Faire. We are in the show barn - oh, for you out of towners, the expo center is a large complex where we have the rodeo. And for the REAL out of towners, that means it's mostly barns where animals do amazing things and people take the credit. The animals sometimes reward this with a well placed kick. Add some barbecue and you've got yourself a rodeo.

The showbarn is a ginormous building with some asphalt walkways but mostly a dirt floor. We got one of the better spots right by the entrance, but that means we are on the edge of the building, which has no walls. It is in an extraordinarily windy area of town, so on Friday I realize that cards and wind don't mix. I can't really set anything up, but I get power going to my booth space and lay down a piece of 10x10 carpet which becomes important later.

I don't get home until late, and am really pooped from all the prep this week, but am so behind. So the first thing I do is race out back and hastily paint one large pumpkins and several teeny ones. I wanted mine to be bright and happy pumpkins - you can only do so much with black and orange - but I didn't really have time to make them pretty - so in about 9 minutes, I had slapped paint on all of them and left them outside to dry.

So yesterday morning, after the cats woke me up at their customary 3:30, I did some last minute prep and headed to the show to set up. Creative application of masking tape, double sided tape and glue dots secured my displays against the wind gusts we had all day, and did double duty punking all of my visitors who wanted to pick my cards up. It was funny every time, trust me.

The show is absolutely indescribable. The quality of things the Makers were doing was like nothing I've ever seen. There's a robot that projects stars on the ceiling (probably what the LOL cat is looking at below). Felted monster rabbits eating waffles. A colleague of mine from Mind Bites that makes Shrinky Dinks out of recycled plastic food containers. An incredible letterpress stationery company. A lady that makes knotted purses out of grocery bags. A big dragon with like ten bikes in it, that was maybe 100 feet long that snaked through the fair all day. Robots that were shooting flames into the air. A giant Human Mousetrap game that was just like the board game (see crowd pic below). A golf cart shaped like the Batmobile. A motorized skateboard. A booth that said No Meat that I noticed I was standing in front of it about halfway through my hot dog. :(

Yahoo came and brought their purple bikes, which I think mean something important because everyone was very serious about the purple bikes. I didn't catch what the big deal was. I did notice that they had solar panels on them.

Now - let me know if I've got this wrong, but bikes are moved with pedals, right? Not an engine? So... what are the solar panels for? My theory is that they are curing cancer in the little purple box with the solar panels. That's the only explanation for how serious the people with the purple bikes are. Yahoo peeps riding around curing cancer - thanks Yahoo!

There was a big store with a bazillion books on how to make stuff. I wish I had gotten more than ten seconds in there (the bathrooms are in that building). Maybe today.

Amazing jewelry from old computer parts. The guy next to me (I gave him a bellyache tossing him York Peppermint Patties all day) makes cool furniture and lighting and clocks out of bike parts.

Then there was me talking to ME, aged 8. Seriously. Love that girl - she loves art. Maybe she will come back today.

ANYHOO - by far everyone's favorite card was the bunny tree - everyone who bought cards today bought those. I didn't have a lot of card sales, but a ton of people are interested in classes. More than 500 people took my business card. I got to do a 5 minute audition for Make Television, which was a blast.

OH, BUT MY POINT... So... everyone loved the cards, but by far, what drew people in and got them asking questions was MY FIVE MINUTE PAINTED PUMPKIN PATCH!! I'm going to do sleep deprived art more often.

They also really loved the carpet in our space - it's a huge show, and walking around on rocks all day makes you appreciate a little Understand Blue. :) Thanks Cynt!

Oh, and Anonymous to Anonymous is cracking me up. For everyone who is mystified by the sketch OMG IZ FULLA STARZ - Anonymous is right. It's a LOL cat, head tipped all the way back, looking up at the sky for the first time and seeing stars - I think it's so sweet. However, the DH couldn't figure it out either. Must be a left brain/right brain thing or something.

Here - maybe this will help.

I will take better pictures today and hopefully get to see more of the show!

L8R

What immortal hand or eye...?

Off to Maker Faire.

Dust off your William Blake - it's almost Halloween! :)

I love this

Snow... Pat?

Here's a fun simple snowman card for Maker Faire!

Now lets talk about snowmen for a second. Take a look at my little guy. Popular culture aside, is there anything about that androgynous little ball of cold that really screams "man"? I've looked and looked, and well - he's a lot like Pat from the old SNL skit - you just can't quite tell. I'm just sayin'. I think we should rename them snowbeests, or snowpuffs or wait - SNOWPATS!!!

So I hope you like my snowpat. Pat is from Merry & Bright and is colored with Bashful Blue and Pacific Point Blue and an Aquapainter (on sale for $7, BTW!! Order online from me and go into a drawing for free stuff!!)

Anyway, snowpat's stamped on Watercolor Paper, then punched with the curly label punch. The background is also watercolor paper, cuttlebugged with the snowflake embossing folder. Then, I did something quite dramatic and used some of my hoarded Soft Sky for the base, and some Soft Sky ribbon. I should charge $20 apiece for these!!! I'll probably be snatching them out of people's hands and telling them they can't have my rare blue paper.

You should watch the Austin news this weekend just in case.

Several of you have asked what Maker Faire is, so here are a few snippets!

I hope you will come see me!

Caitlin needs your vote!!

One of my downline - Chriss - has an amazingly talented daughter in a band called Petals. They made the TOP TEN in Teen Vogue's "Rock Meets Runway" competition!!

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR PETALS - you can vote once a day from now to October 31, and help them get into the top three, and go on to NYC and WIN!!

Thanks!

Hello Again...

I know most of you are too young to remember the first time Hello Kitty came around, BUT YOURS TRULY IS NOT!!!

I was in fifth grade, and me & my best friend Katy discovered her - yes, it's true. Al Gore invented the Internet, I discovered Hello Kitty!!

We had the little erasers that were just her head, the PUFFY STICKERS you could put on your notebook - OMG I LOVED THOSE, and - I can hardly say this without getting a little shortness of breath - these teeny little notpads with Hello Kitty pencils THE SIZE OF MATCHSTICKS!!!

I loved it all so much. I wish I still had it.

However, the new world loves Hello Kitty again, thank goodness, and so do I. My friend Monique tipped me off that there were Hello Kitty dies for the Sizzix!!!

So here ya go - does it get any better than this??? Thank you Sizzix!!!

BEE well today. :)

Maddie's Self Portrait Tutorial

She is so vain.

She saw this adorable creation and said that she actually was the inspiration for it and demanded that I create this portrait for her.

She wanted the skulls to illustrate her scariness, and pumpkins to let people know she has a fun side.

The little kitties are so brilliant so I thought I would give you a tutorial. You just need two punches - a 3/4" circle and the small oval punch.

Let's start with her body.

Position your small oval punch about a little less than halfway into a strip of black cardstock.

Then with the same punch, move it up over the open space you created until you get a shape that has cute little thin legs. Punch this out and set it aside.

Next, to make the head, take your 3/4" punch and position it about 1/3" of the way into another strip of black.

This makes the less steep arc of the top of her head.

Next, you will position the small oval punch around this opening and punch out the head shape.

So adorable, her little kitty head.

Finally, her tail. Using your oval punch turned sideways, and punch a sliver out of the black cardstock.

Moving the punch over just a bit, punch again to make her curved tail.

Then, just assemble your kitty - I think Samantha's originals with their heads tipped to the side are insanely cute.

I added eyes and whiskers with my white gel pen.

The ribbon is from Michael's dollar bin.

Now a quick note about me. (If you're still reading!)

I'm frantically preparing for Maker Faire, so I'm about a week behind on my email. I have pre-made my blog posts for the next few days to entertain you! But I won't get a chance to respond to comments and emails until Monday, so don't give up on me. I will have some great pictures and perhaps video to show you next week from this amazing event!!!

So please leave a comment if you stop by so I know you still love me in my email silence! :)

XXOO,

The very sorry procrastinator.

For Sale - Sprint Blackberry 8830

Email me - OUTSTANDING PRICE. Comes with Sim Card.

My Blue Bunny Tree

Allrighty then - I revamped the tree card for my make & take for Maker Faire this weekend and brought together some fun things to amuse myself with. First, a card that's generating carbon credits out the ying yang - I mean, what is greener than a recycled magazine card? Get your hippy on!

Then, I found an ad in Food & Wine for some new M&M's - and, since you know me, you will know that when I saw it I got so excited at its fun pebbly blueness that I tore it out and punched it up before I could figure out what kind of M&M's they are actually advertising. The problem is - now I would really like to get more copies of this ad to make blue trees with and I don't know what the ad was for! If any of you see the blue M&M ad on a dark blue background in a magazine, will you rip it out and send it to me?

I bought some beautiful blue M&Ms once that were personalized on their website. Then, yesterday, I got an email from Martha Stewart Living Magazine, the last 5 questions of which were about whether or not I had personalized M&Ms on that website! Then tonight, after a few hours of mass production for Maker Faire, I found this ad!

God wants us to have chocolate, you know... :) That's the message I think we can all take from this.

And also that there are few things more interesting than a blue tree with chocolate leaves and a rabbit underneath.

Humor Me...

Because it's not technically stamping.

But I couldn't focus, so I decided to just draw.

This is my rendition of Rancho de Taos in New Mexico. Do I have any readers from NM? I love New Mexico and is where I'd live if I had a million dollars. I love the deep blue sky and the soft look of all the buildings. I have this really cool crazy photo of Rancho de Taos that looks like a painting - it has the church all lit up with these glowing pastel colors and you can still see the deep New Mexico blue above that, even though the photo was exposed for hours overnight. It was one of the first pieces of art I bought in Santa Fe when we started going there and it's what I would grab running out of the house from spiders or a fire.

Anyway, I just drew these shapes with Copics and blended a few colors - flesh, eggshell, pinkish white, pale yellow.

I masked them and brayered on Adirondack Aqua and Pacific Point Blue. I made stars with my white gel pen. Then I stamped Peace, Love, Joy from All Holidays.

Now if my house filled up with spideys, I wouldn't grab these little punkins on the way out, but they're cute!

They are made with oval punches, and you've probably seen them...

But if not, just punch six ovals, big or small and fold them in half, wrong side out.

Put adhesive on just one half oval at a time, and stick them together, half oval lined up with half oval. Take a strip of cardstock for the stem, and wedge it halfway between two of the ovals as you're sandwiching them and position the other half between the last two you adhere..

So super cute and easy. I think they would make such cute little accompaniments to name tents at a dinner.

I see there's some controversy about Maddie & Splotchy & the possibility of Halloween costumes. I guess there will be a few weeks to resolve your differences until you find out my decision!!

People for the Ethical Treatment of Pumpkins

It's a serious issue we all need to consider at this oh-so-dangerous-for-pumpkins time of year. If you have a pumpkin, the most important thing you can do to keep him safe this fall is KEEP HIM INSIDE!! Millions of pumpkins who are allowed to freely roam the streets are captured and, *gulp*, gutted and put on display each October.

Needless tons of seeds are spilled in this country every autumn and only you can prevent this pulp bath!!

Get the kids out of the room - this is pretty gruesome!!

I have no idea how the Doodle Factory pumpkins organized this protest so quickly after I started making a card with Julie HRR's pumpkin dip recipe, but it should show you how resourceful they are...

The card base is Tangerine Tango and so is the Hawaii Papaya DSP.

The card is 6x6, and I cheat when I make these. I dont buy 12x12 cardstock, and you cant make a 6x6 card from 8.5 x 11... or can you?

I do - I cut an 11x6 piece and score it at 6 in my new Scor Pal.

Then, as in this card, I put a strip of DSP on the inside of the card and just pretend I meant to have the front of the card shorter!! :)

So back to the pumpkin protest. I hand wrote the recipe on black with my white gel pen - it looks like a menu chalkboard to me.

The talk balloons are made with my Boho Blossoms punch.

Maddie feels like it is her duty as a black cat to participate in the horror of Pumpkincide each Halloween. Here she is telling Splotchy a gory pumpkin murder story!!

Sooo scary!!

She does these little demonstrations of her ferocity every half hour, just like at Disney World!!

We all watch and clap and give her the self actualization she so desperately needs!


And speaking of scary - how about my fabulous monster necklace????

You know I love all things monster, and most especially Stefan Bucher's Daily Monster! Check my sidebar and get lost in his fun blog for a while...

So I was stoked when Blend Creations started offering Metal for Monsters - Limited Edition Designer Monster jewelry benefitting Unicef! I rushed over and pre-ordered my Stefan Bucher Monster, which I received Friday.

I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!

But imagine my glee when I turned it over and I saw that mine is #1 of 100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY MONSTER!!!!

I couldn't be more tickled. I hope you like him as much as I do!

Following terrifying demonstrations of pumpkin head twisting though, must come napping.

Here are some shamelessly cute pics of them fighting sleep...

Austin Woman Sets World Stamping Record!!!

I wish. When is Guiness going to recognize that there are countless stamping records that are unexplored?? Pogo stick SCHMOGO STICK - we need to have:

1. The most hoarded accessories and patterned paper
2. The longest blog post
3. The number of ruined card designs in a single trashcan
4. The volume of glitter on the floor, animals and husbands in one stamper's house
5. The smallest measurement of scrap paper that a stamper will rationalize keeping
6. The number of different owl stamps owned by one girl who lists them as "has to haves"
7. The longest anyone has stayed in their pajamas, transitioning from coffee to wine, to participate in a Virtual Stamp Night.
8. The most skewed inverse relationship between the number of cards MADE and the number of cards SENT.
9. The largest number of RSS subscriptions to stamping blogs
10. The number of times one person has typed or yelled "OMGTHAT'SSOCUTE" in an hour.
11. And last, but not least, the total dollar value of owned supplies!!

Opportunity abounds, ladies. This is marketing potential.

Okay, so on to club and a few other things.

The first card is a copy of a card by Ponygirl40 on SCS. I love this card. I love this stamp set, I love the vintage colors, I love the Holiday Treasures DSP - I just love it. If there is one word for it, I would say - "idyllic".

The focal point is cut with the Top Note Sizzix die out of Very Vanilla. I stamped the skaters in Basic Brown. Then I masked them with Eclipse Masking Tape and stamped the trees from Lovely as a Tree in Basic Brown on top. I removed the mask and colored the images with the blender pen, Pacific Point Blue, Old Olive, Ruby Red and Creamy Caramel. The background images are inked with Sahara Sand, stamped off once and stamped over the focal point. The edges are sponged with Sahara Sand. Then I tied the Riding Hood Red Ribbon around the card after I adhered the Holiday Treasures DSP and added the top note with dimensionals. Finally, Stickles for the frost on the ground.

The second card is my own creation. I think you know how I feel about cupcakes. ;) The image from Crazy for Cupcakes is stamped in Basic Black on Kraft cardstock. The cupcakes are colored with the blender pen and Real Red. The frosting is done with the white gel pen, and the plate and cherries are colored with a Real Red marker. After the card is all put together - notice the Kraft DSP from the hostess only prints pack - I added Crystal Effects to the cherries. That striped ribbon from the holiday mini is almost good enough to eat!!

Don't forget - this set and all the other great birthday sets are on sale right now in honor of Stampin' Up!'s 20th birthday, as well as AQUA PAINTERS FOR $7!!! Click here for details.

Anyone who orders any of the sale stamp sets from me through the online ordering system goes into a drawing to win 1) a scalloped envelope SIZZIX DIE or2) POCKET SILHOUETTES!!! Click the clock for online ordering to be entered!!!

The last card is also a copy of a beautiful card by Dawn Easton.

It has the best stamp set ever - a Tree for all Seasons, colored with More Mustard, Really Rust and Pumpkin Pie Markers, Close to Cocoa for the rake, and the rest should explain itself!

Look how adorable that library clip is - WOWZA.

Finally, I would like you to see the work sent to me by my dear talented friends recently!!!

Thank you so much - you guys are awesome!

Lolcats r lazie

If you have not seen this website, you are missing out on one of life's best giggles.

For whatever reason, the lolcats r illiterate, but it's part of their charm! So Maddie & Splotch inSISted that I make lolcats out of them tonight when they turned into Monorail Cats.
:)

Now, just a tease. A teeny tease of my club cards we'll be making tomorrow. Can't do the big reveal until after.

And to answer your question about the Cupcake punch - I got mine at Michael's! So look online for their coupon and head over there.

Happy Friday! Back tomorrow with full cards!! Thanks for your comments!!

Arachnofiesta!

A fiesta is better than a phobia, right? I think so. Same number of syllables, and all the difference in the world!

I'm imagining a bunch of happy little fuzzy spiders dancing around and eating homemade salsa.

This happy little Doodle Factory spider is ready for a Friday Fiesta, that is for sure!!

He's got his orange glaze pen on, he sprinkled Stampin' Up! silver glitter all over his web, and his scary fuzzy EEK sign is out.

I just really love my fuzzy chipboard letters. Major sale at Hobby Lobby where I got the jar I put my Spooky Spider decor element on. I got a few colors of these letters super cheap.

I hope you have a festive Friday! I have my club tomorrow so stay tuned for lots of projects in the next few days!

Martha Stewart Punches Writer for Food & Wine Magazine!!!!

Not really. Although I'm sure she's wanted to..

You cant' really blame her for that!

What she really did was make a few punches that I used with an article from F&W to make this kind of dreamy card. It was another sleepy moment inspiration from last night.

The bunny and the leaves are MS punches, and the tree is from Season of Friendship - OF COURSE!! It's all put together with my UHU Glue Stick!! I'm so predictable!!

(This is another magazine card, so remember my copyright and do not copy and post please!)

Now, onto the little fuzzy beasts.

First, look closely at the stamp that I cannot get Splotchy to spit out EVER. Yep, that's a mouse.

They have to get their entertainment where they can, you know.

Then - I'm worried that my little abandoned creatures have low self esteem from their ordeal as kittens.

You can see from their behavior that they think they're just kitty trash....

;)

Have a good night!

Oh - and congrats to Jen Mencer - she has a downline! She called me tonight and it was so fun to talk and not just email! Congrats, girl!

YYYYYEEEEEEEEHHHHAAAAAWWWW

Lookie!!! My card is on the homepage!!

The 4 AM Wakeup Card

It's like a wake up call, except it's a card. Woke up a little before the alarm this morning, so I took advantage of the time to make a little joke with myself - get it? Huh? HEY CUPCAKE?? tee hee...

Everything's funny at 4 AM, believe me. Depending on when you are reading this, all the amusement may have worn off! Try to fake it for me.

(Oh - this baby is going to a magazine, so please observe my copyright! )

Anyway, it's a very simple card. Well, it WAS a very simple card. I actually finished the entire thing before I realized I had accidentally used Pumpkin Pie instead of Tangerine Tango!! THE HORROR!!! I realized it right when I was tying the bow on the Tangerine Tango Ribbon. GRR. The dang thing was PERFECT! I carefully peeled off the Pumpkin bits and replaced them with Tangerine. Thankfully the card survived. What do you think?

It's a white vertical card base, with Hawaii Papaya DSP, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White cardstock. The "Hey" is from the Perfect Day rubon set. Love it. And hey - love me, love my rhinestones!!!

What do you think?

I'm going to be decorating some pumpkins for my Maker Faire booth in a way that will surprise you!! I saw something in a magazine and thought - WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT?

Hope to share soon!

My monthly stamp class is this weekend if you have not signed up yet - let me know!