I Have No Focus

I kid you not - I have no focus right now. Or ever, really. I could not be so easily distracted if I had any focus whatsoever.

I should be making more Bar & Bat Mitzvah cards tonight. Instead, I made another spider, this one with hairy legs. Here he is next to the spider I made last night:

Here he is up close:

I have named him Harry. Harry Spider. I think he has way more appeal with hairy legs, don't you?

Then I looked at the collection I had of other punched-out parts in the opposite colors (each photo corner punch punches a large and a small, so you need to punch 4 of each to get 4 big ones, leaving 4 small ones, and visey versey in the other color.) What to do, what to do ... So I made two more spiders, and I used a different adhesive on each one. Hey, if I am gonna play, it might as well be educational, right? So here they are:

A fuzzy herd of spiders. I really need to get that camera to focus, too. Or maybe it is operator error; just maybe. The two in front have the opposite color legs as the ones in the back - black on green. And I have no photo corners left over! Yay!

For the one on the left I used Mono Multi for the adhesive, and for the one on the right I used liquid glue, largely because it was out, and we all know I never put anything away. This is what happens when you use the liquid glue and then try to assemble the spider before everything is dry:

You get a sorry, gooey mess. So if you love liquid glue, do yourself a favor and let the glue dry before you try to assemble, okay?

Then I was further distracted when I walked past the SU scallop square punch that was still out from the last workshop ... and I got a hair-brained idea to make this:


It is supposed to be Frankie. I have seen several versions of Frank made out of other stuff, but this was, well, you know: already out and readily available. I think if I practice some more I might get it to work.

Okay, everyone together now: Get A Life! Sigh, oh, alright. I think I am done for tonight, so tomorrow I'll make some cards. It is thunder-booming outside right now, so I think I'll sit and enjoy the show. Thanks for stopping by.

Along Came A Spider ...

Isn't this cute? I can say that since I did not make it up. I totally stole it from here. I just made this one in under 5 minutes, including the time it took to retrieve my punches from The Other Room. It would have taken me less time if I'd had a clue about how to put the legs on. I eventually got it, even though they still need a little adjusting there in the back. I thought about drawing little lines on the legs to make them hairy. I think I'll try that tomorrow.

I like to mix things up for my customers, so once in a while I throw in a little bonus project. They should love this one since it involves something covered in chocolate. Hmmm, perhaps I should not put out the whole box of Peppermint Patties, ya think? Some might just go missing. It happens every time chocolate is involved. ;-)

Now that the weather is cooler, I could make some of these to sell at my markets since there is no open food involved (like M&Ms or candy corn, or even the hot cocoa I made last year - those are no-nos without a food license.) I think they'll be a hit with the kids, anyway. I may also make these for people at work. Anyone care to make a bet on if any of that will actually happen?

And in case you were wondering, yes, I have a whole box of mini Peppermint Patties that I just opened to make this project. I tell ya, I have a lot of stuff...and you thought I was kidding.

Oh, and I shamelessly put in another Demo order this weekend for things I just had to have. Luckily for me it pushed me into the next commission level, so if you do the Demo Math right, I got sumpin' fer nuthin'. I tell ya, that Demo Math can be really expensive sometimes. But I also sold three of my retired sets over the 'net, so it kinda made up for it, sorta. But then there's that Copic order I just did ... what?! Did you hear something!? Gotta go ....

A Lazy Sunday

I was bad this morning. I was so tired and not motivated, all I wanted to do was go back to bed; not shower, get dressed, and drive to the market to set up a tent. Not even a little bit. So I spent about 20 minutes looking for the cell phone number for our organizer, and I called in sick. Then I went back to bed.

I think this will be the end of my Sunday markets for this year. I need to decide if I want to do them next year at all, or maybe instead I'll reclaim half of my weekend and focus on other things. Like The Other Room. I have a dream to one day not be embarassed about That Room. I may even be able to stamp in there...who knows!

I finally got to stamping this afternoon, and I decided to try the Baby Wipe technique. Believe it or not, I have never tried it before, and I have to say it is too stinkin' easy for the amazing effect it produces. Check it out:

This card was CASEd from this one on SCS. It uses three reinkers: Old Olive, Kiwi Kiss and Tangerine Tango. I think these colors with the solid image from Wonderful You is perfect for a Fall card.

I probably should have stamped the flower images a little higher up on the white, because I ended up with a lot of empty up there. Some people are okay with that, but it left me thinking the card is not quite finished, so I added a sentiment:

Then I tried the Striped Wipe technique, or at least my variation of it. I took the wipe with all the ink dots on it and just swiped it across another piece of white card stock a few times and ended up with this:


I stamped some quilt squares from the PTI Quilter's Sampler set onto this and I actually managed to stamp a few on the right spots so they came out really nice. I managed to salvage 6 of them and made this:

Not too shabby for an afternoon, and the first one has been dubbed a workshop card for October. I think The Ladies will love it!

I think I'll watch a movie tonight - I have Elizabeth - The Golden Age. I just love this historical stuff! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year, and a Market Update

This is the New Year's card I made this morning before I left for my Saturday market. No, I did not sell any, but I really like how it came out!

The image is from the PTI Mazel Tov set, and I think it looks like a Tree of Life, so that's what it is here. I used my two blue Copics to color it to look like it has depth. Well, that's what I was going for, anyway. The blue paper is some Prism card stock I bought in one of my online shopping sprees earlier this summer.

I used the silver pen I also got from PTI along with my template from the SU Mat Pack to make the dots in the corners. I guess you could stay it's my answer to paper piercing. I also put silver dots along the scalloped border, and in two of the swirls on the image.

The sentiment is a variation of ... hey, wait a minute. If you read yesterday's post, you've got this one all figured out already, right?

Rosh Hashana is Head of the Year, or New Year.
Mazol Tov is Luck Good aka: Good Luck.
So L'Shana Tovah is ...... Good Year!

Now how many of you got that, huh? L'Shana Tovah is actually a shorter way of saying "L'shannah tovah tikatevu," or "May you be written down (inscribed) for a good year", but it has come to be used as a way of saying Happy New Year! We also wish each other a sweet year, and celebrate by dipping bread and apples in honey. Yum! And if you are counting, the new year is 5769. Yeah, we go way back.

Enough about that. Today's market started out with a bang and went out with a wimper. But I did better than last Saturday, which was not really difficult to do.... I think things are just slowing down for the season everywhere. The farmers have less stuff, and people are just not coming out as much as they did during the Summer months. Today was the last day for my CSA, too, so no more veggies for me. Well, no more automatic veggies for me. I will naturally buy them as long as the farmers still have stuff. Which reminds me: I need to go wash and put away those veggies before I leave for dinner tonight, or those pesky fruit flies will take up residence. I'll go make my salad and put everything else away. I definitely plan to starve them out.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Redux

I am still playing with my new PTI Mazel Tov stamp set, and I came up with two more variations for Bar/Bat Mitzvah cards:

For these I colored the Torah images a little differently; I highlighted the Star of David by coloring it the same color as the parchment so it would stand out on the grey/silver background.

I tried my idea of using a smaller piece of the PTI Shimmer Blue card stock and layering it on some SU Brushed Silver. I went really wild and used the SU Scallop Border punch to make it a little more interesting. I don't think it makes it too girly, do you?

I decided to go ahead and put some ribbon on it, because, well, ribbon is what I do. The base of the cards is SU Shimmer White. I tried two different colors of embossing powder, but you can tell the Navy is not Detail EP, and it makes a difference in the finished product. I'll think I'll stick with the silver for now. Didja notice how all I did was swap out the word 'bat' and replaced it with 'bar' in the sentiment? Pretty slick, huh? I am so lazy.

I do believe I like these better than the other version I made last night. I have all sorts of time to come up with new variations. For tomorrow, I will have these four to offer. Maybe. If I get the backs stamped and put them into sleeves with envelopes before I go to bed.

I am also working on cards for Rosh Hashanah, but they are going slowly. I probably will not have any for my Saturday market, but I'll try for Sunday. If I miss, I have a whole year to try again.

On the home front, I smell like cinders. I cannot believe how much I smell that burned smell. I smelled it all day at work, and I know I probably brought it with me. Yes, I changed clothes! Everything I was wearing last night during the inferno went into the laundry, but still, I smell it. Everywhere. One of my customers just stopped by to pick up her order, and she said she did not smell anything. Hmmm. It could be just me...it has happened before. I think I have really sensitive nasal hairs or something, since things like cigarette smoke "stay with me" too. It is a curse.

And another exciting part of my life right now is my kitchen seems to be infested with fruit flies. Okay, not infested, but there are a lot of them. (Too bad they did not all burn up in the inferno.) I did have one piece of, um, 'ripe' fruit on the counter last weekend, and by the time I noticed it, there were a few fruit flies on it, so I tossed it. But the little buggers persisted, and multiplied. I have no food out anywhere!!! I just read up on fruit flies, and (this is gross) they breed in ripe fruit and reproduce in like 30 hours. Then in a few days those babies are adults, and it starts all over again. Guess what I'll be doing this weekend, after my markets? Scrubbing every surface in that kitchen, that's what! Sounds like fun, huh? Wanna come over and help me?

Ach, I think I'll just turn in early tonight and take my mind off all this stuff by trying to finish my book. It's a nice diversion. And it is raining, so it is perfect sleeping weather. ;-)

I Should Have Used Chicken Broth, and A Card

Today was different from the start. First, Autumn is here. It was lovely when I left for work. I run hot, so temperatures in the 60's are perfect for me...not quite jacket weather. I know people who turn blue when it is less than 95 out, but not me! Nope - give me 65 and sunny and I am one happy camper, though I do not camp.

So this afternoon we had Field Day at work. My Manager had decided a while ago that we needed a Group Bonding activity, so they all planned Field Day. They reserved a building and a big field at a local park and we had games. We were divided into teams and forced to play. We had kick-ball. We had an egg race. We had blind-folded puzzle activities. We had acronym decoding. We had questionaires we had all filled out earlier this week, and we had to guess whose was whose. It was kinda fun. And we got to wear jeans to work, and play all afternoon (not at work) and go home from the park. It was a nice break in the ole daily grind.

So when I got home I decided to cook myself this Pasta Carbonara. It is sinfully good when well-made, and then there's my version. Well, it was really not all that bad, but its preparation this evening was not without a little excitement. You see, when I started to pour the wine into the hot pan (the directions said to wait until the pan was smoking hot - I read the directions!!!), when the first few dribbles hit, it burst into flames! I am talking leaping flames - like up to the range hood. And I have electric, not gas, and a ceramic stove-top, to boot, so getting that whole flaming inferno was pretty exciting. And unexpected. My first thought was to douse it with baking soda. I learned that from my kids when they were in Montessori, and they were showing me an activity during Parents' Night that involved matches. The baking soda was part of the activity. Did I ever tell you I love the Montessori method of teaching?

ANYway, I thought about getting the baking soda, as I stood there watching the flames lick at the base of my cabinets, but then I went to Plan B: Cover it to cut off the oxygen. So I put on the splatter shield I'd used for the bacon step. Like that was going to do any good, since it has holes in it, and it was full of bacon grease...it just added fuel to the fire, literally. I am a real idiot sometimes. But I laugh at myself, a lot, so it all works out. On to Plan C: Put on the lid of the pan. I dug around in the cabinet for a second and finally found it and slammed that thing down onto the still-flaming skillet. Done. Then I lifted the lid and looked at the splatter shield. Let's just say it still smells. I may have to toss it.

Chicken broth? The recipe said if you are not into wine, you could use chicken broth to deglaze the pan. I should have used chicken broth. But I have to say that wine adds a really nice flavor to the finished dish.

So I have decided to go back to my new lifestyle of eating breakfast and lunch at work, and skipping dinner. No food to spoil or turn into science experiments. No flaming skillets. No dishes to wash. Think of all that extra time I'll have to STAMP!

Oh, here is some evidence of the flames:

That is a scorched receipt that was innocently laying on the counter next to some really old cans of soda. First the receipt was spattered with some bacon grease, then it was caught in the flaming inferno, but just a little. Sigh ....

So then I retired to the Stamping Spot that is my Dining Room table, and I broke into my new PTI Mazel Tov set. (BTW, Mazel = Luck and Tov = Good ... so Mazel Tov = Good Luck. Your Hebrew lesson for the day. My parents did not send me to Hebrew School for 10 years for nothing!)

Tonight I was going to make two each Bar and Bat Mitzvah cards. (Hebrew Lesson #2: Mitzvah = Commandment. Bar = Son. Bat [or Bas] = Daughter. When a Jewish child turns 13, they reach the age of majority and they celebrate becoming a Son or Daughter of the Commandment, thus Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah. You can read about it here if you are interested.) In my synagogue, after your Bar or Bat Mitzvah, you were allowed to attend the Adult services instead of the Children's service. It was a big deal, trust me. ;-)

Back to the card. I started with Nichole's project as inspiration, but switched it up as I always do. Jewish "colors" are traditionally blue and white, or blue and silver, so I used SU's Brushed Silver card stock as the accent with PTI's Blue Shimmer card stock for the layer. The base is SU's Shimmer White.

You do not really say "Happy Bat Mitzvah", so I chose the words "On your Bat Mitzvah" instead. The sentiments are embossed with detail silver. The one on the left is embossed better, but the one on the right is straighter. If you average them ... oh, never mind.

I used two different ribbons on the two cards above, because I could not decide, but I am not sure I'll use ribbon on the boy's version of these. I'd also like to try a silver layer under the blue, or maybe trimming down the blue a bit. I need to play with these some more.

And Rosh Hashanah (Head of the Year, or New Year) is next week, so I should probably whip out a few cards for that tomorrow. Oh, yeah, like I'd actually send any myself. That would require planning. Or forethought. I still have not sent out my Season's Greetings cards from last year. Hey, does that mean I am ahead for this year? No? Can't blame me for trying.

SYFY Tip #3 - The Missing Layer

When I arrived home this evening, my latest PTI order was waiting for me on my doorstep. I had to break it open and check out the goods! But before I would let myself use them, I wanted to finish up the project I started last night.

I think "started" is a very strong word, here. I had an idea: use the SU Bella's Border wheel somehow on a project for my October workshops. All I managed to accomplish last night was to ink the wheel with Riding Hood Red and roll it over a piece of Riding Hood Red card stock. Then I looked at it. And looked at it some more. Then I went to bed. I was pretty sure I wanted to try and use it with some of my Bella Rose stash of DS papers, since I had plenty to go around for a workshop, but I never made it past that thought.

Tonight, I looked at it some more, then decided to ink it up and wheel it on white instead of red. I did spend some time playing with the wheel guide, since I have one and never use it, and maybe, just maybe, if I whip out that baby for the workshops, I might entice someone to need one for themselves. I am wickedly enabling, but in a very subtle way. ;-) So I played around with the width of the card stock strip until I figured how wide to make it so it was not too narrow for people to run a wheel across, but not so wide it looked stupid. I ended up with it a little too wide on purpose, so I could give them room to wheel, and then we'd tie a ribbon around the "space" at the bottom of the strip. Pure genious, don't you agree? Maybe they will love the ribbon, too. See? Wicked, yet subtle.

Okay, okay, here's the card:

Most of this card, outside of the wheeled piece, of course, came together in about 5 minutes, and mostly by accident. See, it really helps when you never put anything away, because it can be so inspiring! I had a piece of 4x5 1/4 Riding Hood Red just sitting out on my work table, and I held up the strip of white over it to try it out. Then I wheeled a few rows of the same wheel onto the RHRed so it was not so boring. Then I found that scrap of RHRed DS paper next to the cutter (it is left over from the striped pieces I cut last night for my Christmas Quilt cards - the flip side of the DS paper). It looked busy, but so what. I tied on the RHRed ribbon, then decided it needed something in the bottom right corner, for balance, and probably a sentiment. The sentiment is from the Pocket Silhouettes set, also left out (not put away). [Yeah, yeah, the corner of the red is peeled away from the white base, because I put the brads in after-the-fact and this is a mock-up and no one really expects any less from one of my mock-ups. I will tell them they can do theirs correctly!]

Now here comes the SYFY part: No RHRed brads, right? So I used black, since I love black with red & white. But there was no other black on the card, so I thought, "Hmmm, it would have been a good idea to put a layer of black card stock under that border", but everything was already stuck down. Then I remembered something I've done only once or twice in my card-making career - faux layers! I took out a ruler and ran my black marker along both edges of the white strip to make it look like it had a layer of black under it. It really sharpened the look of the whole thing, I think. Maybe not as good-looking as a piece of black card stock, but still pretty passable.

So what do you think? Sale-worthy? Workshop-worthy? Inquiring minds want to know!

Now I must go play with my new PTI stuff. Thanks for stopping by!

A Little Side Trip

I took a little side trip today - not by car, but by stamps. Yeah, I started playing with my PTI Quilt set and thought I'd try it using Christmas colors. I also thought I'd maybe use one or two of the other quilt square patterns, just to mix it up a little. I will say, though, that the one I use in the corners (I am so quilt-ignorant that I have no idea what that pattern is) is definitely my favorite. Maybe because it has less to color. Ya think?

Now I must beg of you to look past the really bad photography and just assume that all these colors really do go together, because they really do in real life. I spelled that out, by the way (that one, too) because I am old, and every time I see acronyms in an email or a post I have to stop my brain and figure out what it means. I know most of my beloved three (or maybe four) readers are much younger than I am, and they get it, but still, I have to proof-read this thing, and I do not want to stop and translate my own writing, k?

So here we go:


In real life, these reds match. I used the Copic equivalent of SU Bravo Burgundy, but the Bravo Burgundy card stock was way too dark, so I hauled out some of the new Riding Hood Red, and it goes much better with the quilt. Really. I said you'd have to trust me on that one.

I could not decide which sentiment to use, so true to form, I did one of each. Here's my second one:

Blurry, I know. I think they have promise, but I dunno - they are a lot of work. And I do not sell a lot of holiday cards. And I am only doing two holiday shows this year (so far.) I guess this could be the card I send to people..... HAHAHAHAHA! ROTFLMBO! *snort* *snicker* Oh, yeah, like I'd even think of planning my holiday cards in September. Oh, hoo, he he, that is so funny.

(Oh, if you do not know what ROTFLMBO means, go look it up here.)

But seriously, I did finally mail the applications for the two local Holiday shows I do, and I hope to once again be accepted, embraced and acknowledged as having a product worthy of selling. Actually, so far no one else has been stupid crazy enough to try and make a go of selling cards at a pay-for-a-spot show, so I am pretty safe at being the only card-monger there. It's funny when people stop by my booth and ask me how I am doing (translation: "are you actually making any money doing this?") I tell them I do it because I love it, and the Day Job pays for it. Then they take pity on me and sometimes they buy something.

That's all the news I have fit to type now. I think I'll go spend some quality time with kitty and go to bed early. I am reading a really good book (historical fiction - that King Charles II's court was one roudy time in English history!) and I have been staying up late and getting up late and getting to work late and hitting the ground running once I get there, and I am just too old for all of that silliness.

Getting Ahead Of Myself

First, a market update. In a word: pathetic. I sold two cards yesterday in 3 1/2 hours, and I sold two cards today in 5 hours. Okay, in 4 hours and 55 minutes. In the last 5 minutes today I sold enough cards to make my booth fee, so technically I was still in the hole for the day, if you consider the cost of the card materials. I was totally depressed and ready to throw in the towel. I'll give the Sunday market one more week, and if things do not pick up, I'll probably stop doing Sunday's and reclaim part of my weekends. We'll see.

I will say that I have found many new customers at this market, but I may have outgrown my ability to support that many customers! Sad, but with that Day Job, I need to be careful. This is that sensitive balance between doing this hobby for fun or making it into a business. I am still precariously balanced with this dilemma. I am not sure that getting one or two new workshop customers is worth the time and cost of sitting at a market every Sunday, making zero profit, and having to go to work on Monday. (whine, whine, whine)

On a more positive note, it is getting to be Holiday Show season, and I have two applications on my table waiting to be filled out and mailed. I'll do both of them since they are local; I have done them before; they are reasonably priced (I make enough over my fee to make it worth my time); and they are fun to do - they are "shows" instead of Farmers Markets, meaning people are there to buy stuff, and not just tomatoes. Once the Holiday Show season is over, I'll pack it up and hunker down for the Winter, with ... two-day weekends! ;-)

One of the things I enjoy about doing markets is the people-watching. There are all types out there, and while most people provide great conversation, some provide great photo ops. Like this one today:

Hand-knit leggings. Or at least that's what they looked like to me, since she was wearing hand-knit other things, too. Pretty colors, but I think you need the right legs to pull off wearing them, and I do not fit that bill. Not even close.

And now for the 'getting ahead of myself' part of this post. Normally I wait until the last minute to prepare projects for my workshops. My October workshops are the 12th and 13th, so imagine my surprise when I made two (not one, but two) cards this afternoon that are in the running for October workshop projects! Check 'em out:

I am in love with this Autumn Vine DS Paper from SU. It is in the Holiday mini catalog that is effective starting October 1st. What I like most about it (besides the wonderful color combo) is that it contains standard SU colors, not the In Color colors, and it made me grab some much-ignored colors like Creamy Caramel and Sage Shadow.

I think the tree (Season of Friendship, also in the new Holiday Mini) is fun because you can cheat and use a 3/4" circle punch to punch out the leaves and not have to cut anything! I think I will make major points with my customers if I do not make them cut anything out. ;-)

The only thing I do not like about this tree is its size; it hides too much of that pretty patterned paper. But other than that, I love it!

And something I need to share: the Sage Shadow card stock is one of the reasons I even looked at SU lo those many years ago. I had been in search of a real "sage" color card stock for a while, and when I saw a Stampin' Up! catalog, then placed my first order, I was hooked.

This next card is based totally on the paper colors. I saw this on a card somewhere and when I realized it contained Bravo Burgundy (which I totally missed by not reading the fine print in the catalog), I had to have it.

This paper features four coordinating colors, three of which are also standard (non-In Color) colors. I picked up on the Bravo Burgundy and Sahara Sand. Actually, I liked this paper so much I accidentally bought it twice, so amusingly I even have enough on hand to use this sized piece for the projects.

So there you have it. Two projects down, two to go, and there are three weeks left until the workshops. Amazing, but true. I even have ideas for two of the other cards. Crazy, I know!

Tomorrow after work I have my massaaaaage, so maybe it will relax me enough to get over the sorry state of my sales the past few weeks. I'll just play with some more of my new stuff this week, and I'll be fiiiiine. ;-)

My World

If I am not at work, I am in one of three places: curled up on the couch with my laptop, sitting at my table stampin', or sleeping due to too much of the previous activities.

The other day I printed off 40 City Cards, with plans to complete them for this weekend. When I left for my Saturday market today, I took along my cards to color, time permitting. I had already completed the yellow buildings and a few of the sand ones. Since I only sold two cards in 3 1/2 hours today, finding the time to color the cards was not a problem. I got all of the coloring done except the red buildings and the birds.

When I got home I changed and drove to PA for a friend's wedding. I drove past the church - twice - and finally arrived about half-way through the ceremony. But people came in after me, so I felt a little better. I sat down in time to take a picture of the "I ____, take you, ______... " part. Sweet! None of my other friends could make it, so I was the one to provide evidence that this person was actually getting married. Next to me, he was the last person we ever expected this to happen to. Without exception, everyone I spoke with there thought the same thing. This guy?!?! Married?!?!! You're kidding, right?!?!?! It's a joke, right?!?!?! Even the Minister had that reaction to the news - she told me while we were waiting in the chow line. ;-) But seriously, she is wonderful, and we are all very happy for them.

After two helpings of cake (they were really small pieces), I bugged out to get home in time to go to bed and get up for my Sunday market. But first, I finished all the red buildings on the city cards! ALL of them! The cat has been whining for about an hour that it is bed time. Yeah, yeah, I know. But aren't they pretty?

By the way, those cards fill the entire work area on my Dining Room table. The available space is smaller than that piece of grid paper. You can see remnants of recently completed projects: Copic markes on the left, still warm; mis-punched circles of dotted paper up there on the top that I cannot bear to throw out yet because I just know I can maybe, possibly, use them, somehow; over there on the right are the remaining scraps of purple from my frog cards; and waaaaaay over on the left, out of camera range, is a project I plan to work on tomorrow after I get home from my Sunday market. I shall reveal that if I ever actually get to it.

I hope to have better sales tomorrow (kinda difficult to be much worse than today's ...), especially since I know I will be spending money on food. The Omlette Burrito guy will be offering Gyro versions, and I cannot wait! Also the Bread people from my Saturday market ran out of all my favorites today, so I'll hit them up tomorrow, since they also do the same Sunday market. Yay! Wish me luck!

What Color Is A Frog's Tongue?

So, do you know? What color is a frog's tongue? Every savvy stamper needs to know these things. No, really - we do! I mean c'mon, if you need to add a frog's tongue to a card, don't you need to know what color to make it? Do you know how difficult it is to search the Web for frog+tongue? Well, the searching part is easy. It's the wading through the stuff that comes back that is, um ... different. Who knew there was so much information on frogs out there?!

Back to the tongue...I made it red.

This card is the result of me discovering this frog and sentiment (both by Custer's Last Stamp) in one of my bought-and-not-used-or-put-away-yet bags of stuff, and deciding to use them. I wanted to use green, so I grabbed some of the Certainly Celery DS papers for the layer, and I used Artichoke ink and card stock to go with it. That other color layer is purple, though it looks brown here. And ... it is a scrap from the heap. Yay! The sentiment fit perfectly in the new SU Wide Oval punch. I was pretty happy about that!

The frog was boring by himself, so that's when I decided that with this sentiment, he needed a tongue. I finally cut one that I think looks okay, and I cut a slit in his mouth and fed it through. Well, more like forced it through. I used the point of the exacto knife to poke it through. It is not stuck down except on the back where I anchored it, so it swings freely when the card is out of its sleeve. ;-) I thought about putting a dead bug (fake, of course) in the tongue, but then I decided not to. I am such a weenie sometimes.

In a frantic moment of guilt, I remembered I need another wedding card for tomorrow. I need to leave my Saturday market early (like Noon) so I can get home, shower and change, then drive to Gettysburg, PA (only about an hour door-to-door) for a wedding. I opted to be lazy and made the same card I made for last weekend, but I used a different ribbon.

This is some really yummy Martha ribbon I bought in a weak moment, and I finally got to use it. There is too much of it to wind onto one of my clothespins, so it is not in the Every Color Ribbon bins and I keep forgetting I have it. I need another box in The Closet for these things.

I ran the SU Forever Flowers wheel down the edge of the envelope inked in Sahara Sand. I love that color!

Then I made these cards using the remaining three window pane cards and my must-have baby owl stamps:

Didja notice I got all the owls stuck on with their eyes looking in the right direction? ;-) That background paper is another scrap I had out in The Heap, and I think it added just enough color and pattern to the card without overwhelming it. And there's that old Happy Birthday stamp again! It was a perfect fit for the window pane! I stamped it in Choc Chip and edged it with one of my Copics. I am really starting to love those markers.

One more project in the works: Last night I printed city names on 40 more note cards, then stamped the town house stamp on all of them. Tonight I stamped my Web site name on the backs (times 40) and I've started to color them. I do not think I'll have any ready for tomorrow, but I hope to get home from the wedding early enough tomorrow night to have them ready for my Sunday market.

I'll check back in later this weekend to let you know if I am still vertical. Thanks for stopping by!

Using The Stash

Once I shrugged off some of the "I can't believe I am not still in the car" feeling yesterday, I got my second wind and stamped some more. First up I grabbed something old and something new. The old items were papers from my Cat Pack, which is just like my Dog Pack, only for cats. I keep forgetting I have these, so I was pretty proud of myself when I thought to use them. The new item was a stamp that jumped into my basket during my previous shopping episode at Angela's Happy Stamper. And using them together I made this:

I started with just the image stamped on some scraps of Naturals White card stock. Then I looked at them...b-o-r-i-n-g! Since my Copic markers were still out (see, I really do not put things away ...) I grabbed a few and colored in the parts of the stamped image.

The layout of the patterned papers was the result of me cutting them at 2" instead of 3", and not knowing what to do with them; so THIS is what I did with them! A little different, but I liked it!

I tried really, really, really hard to not use ribbon, but it needed something. So I took the strip of Apricot that got cut off when I trimmed the card stock for the layers, and I stuck the ends into the Word Window punch to round them. Sorta. Some of them are more 'round' than others. I used some of my copper brads from the retired version of the Vintage Brads, and called it done.

This next card is totally June's fault. She used some Lasting Impressions dry-embossed cards to make something, and I just knew I had some, somewhere. While looking for them, I found something more promising: a pack of these window-pane cards from The Paper Patch. I also grabbed one of my new baby-themed stamps and made this:

First I stamped the T-shirt stamp (Hero Arts) in three of the panes. You can see where I missed, because they slop over onto the raised edge, but that's okay! I stamped the shirt again on three different PTI baby papers, cut them out, and stuck them on. I tried to think of something to do in the 4th pane, and I finally decided to use another of my new baby-themed stamps - the Little One sentiment from Outlines. I stamped it on some more of the PTI papers (a repeat of the paper used for the first t-shirt), and colored the border with a Copic to offset it from the white of the base card.

It's cute, I think, but now that I look at it, once you are ready to send a "Welcome Little One" card, you probably know what the gender of the baby is. So I am not so sure the genderless colors will work here, but we'll see. Oh, did you see: no ribbon? I thought about adding a piece in the very center, but I resisted. I think I'll make a few gender-specific ones in pink and blue, too.

And lastly, this is an old reliable that is gone from my inventory. When I first made it, I used some really pretty DS paper and made it look like a pretty fancy card ... until you read it. They all sold! Who would have guessed?!?!?! So it was time to make more. What prompted this little project? I found two square pieces of this DS paper on the floor in The Other Room, and I used them! (Stamps are from Viva Las Vegas Stamps.)

Next up, I plan to use the three remaining window pane cards with some of my Owl stamps. Whazzup with all the owl stamps lately? Are owls the new Pear? Or maybe cupcakes are the new Pear. Whatever...I grabbed some at Angela's, so now I'm gonna use them. Hopefully tonight, in between some loads of laundry.

Thanks for stopping by!

Back In The Saddle

I've actually done a little catching up on my Catch-up Day. I wrote out all the September birthday cards for my customers, and only three of the four will be late. Not bad. I tell ya, next month I think I'll make Belated Birthday cards, if only to give myself some slack. KIDDING! ;-)

I also took the time to create my stamps-for-sale spreadsheet; I updated my list here (the link is also in the side bar menu), and I posted them to SCS, too. Hopefully I'll sell some of these sets so I can move in here!

Then I rewarded myself by stamping! Driving all those hours yesterday gave me plenty of time to plan what my first stampin' projects would be today. First I wanted to use my as-yet-uninked PTI Quilter's Sampler set. I also thought I'd use the Copic markers I have to color them. This is what I ended up with:

I like how the patterns are really easy to color, and that they come with the stitching as part of the stamp. These also fit a 3/4" square punch, making it easy for people like me to stamp multiple images on a scrap of paper, color them, then punch them out and have them line up perfectly. I really like how this came out!

Moving on, I decided to mount one of the SU sets that came the day before I left town: Cheers To You. This set was offered in the UK last year, and with SU's "no international sales" policy, people in the US were begging SU to offer it here. I did not beg, but I certainly had no qualms about ordering the set once it became available. ;-)

A few years ago I'd bought a funny sentiment from Viva Las Vegas Stamps (I think) and I had to make up a beer mug, since I did not have one at the time. But now that I have this set, this card needed to be made:

Yeah, yeah, I know - the sentiment is crooked. I really tried. Did you notice there is no ribbon? I figured this card would go to a guy, so I decided to hold off on the ribbon thing.

I made the foam poofy by using Liquid Applique. It flattens a little bit when I put it in the clear sleeve, but it still has texture to it, which is what I wanted.

So ends my catch-up day. I feel rested and hungry - time to go rustle up some grub! Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip - Day 4 (and Last)

The last leg of my Road Trip was ...dry. Well, there was a token spritz of rain in Indiana, but it lasted only a minute, then there was no rain for the rest of the day! Woo-hoo! The sky was mostly overcast, but it was sunny at the same time, so I actually got to wear my sun glasses! Here is a pretty typical sky shot that I took at one of the Ohio rest stops along the turnpike:

It turns out the remnants of Ike caused major flooding in Northwestern Indiana and the Chicago area. Most schools were closed on Monday, and the expressways were flooded and closed in spots so that it really snarled Chicago-bound traffic. Fortunately for me, I was headed the other way. I only went through one water-logged on-ramp and the rest of the trip was dry, dry, dry!

My decision to take the Toll Road/Turnpike was a good one, as I made it home in 12 hours. My only complaint is that 10 of those 12 hours were spent on the same, boring road. And the real bummer was my boom box CD player failed me, so I did not get to listen to all my books on CD, which usually makes the trip fly by. Fortunately the scan button on the radio works and there are some decent stations in the Midwest.

Also in the Midwest, people know how to merge. It is so refreshing! As soon as I put on my directional (turn signal, blinker, that flashy arrow thing), someone would wave me over. I definitely miss this part of living in the Midwest.

I knew I was home when I crossed the Mason-Dixon Line. For those of you who were not listening that day in History class, the Mason-Dixon Line is what divides the North and the South, so technically I live in the South, but you'd be hard-pressed to tell that around the DC area. I think you need to go about an hour into VA to see signs of Southern-ness. I remember one year my Dad and I drove to FL together, and instead of the typical "Shirt and Shoes Required" sign on the restaurant door, we saw "Shirt and Shoes Preferred". Yep - we were in the South.

So how did I know I was home? Once I passed this point:

(that's the brown Mason-Dixon Line sign on the left, and the Welcome to Maryland sign on the right), I started to scream at stupid drivers.

When I got home, kitty immediately attached herself to my right leg, and all was well with the world. I called my Dad in Ohio to let him know I was home safely (it's a rule - we have to call when we get home), and he told me that Ike left their whole area without power. He's thinking dry ice to save the stuff in the chest freezer. Ugh. Fortunately I had no surprises awaiting me.

So today is my catch-up day. Lotsa stuff to do, and hopefully it will include some stampin'! I'll post later if I actually get any done.

Road Trip - Day 3, Wherein The Crooked Stamper Meets Ike

I left Port Huron bright and early this morning, and surprise! It was not raining. Okay, it was not raining when I left the hotel, but it was raining by the time I met up with #1 son. I did have to get my sunglasses out once, but I put them away again.

After a hearty breakfast, I left to head West to Indiana to meet up with #2 son. Most of Michigan and Indiana looked like this:

I set the camera on top of the steering wheel and snapped it between wiper swipes, so you see what I saw: a lot of wet. Actually, it was getting quite windy, too, which is easy to tell in a Miata, because keeping the car going straight can be a challenge with strong gusts of wind. Turns out (I found out later) that I ran into the tail end of Ike. Apparently he took a right turn once he made landfall and just headed up to hit the Midwest, which is where I was. Darn! The closer I got to my destination, the wetter it got, including standing water that closed several exits off of I-94, and also major flooding in the town to which I was headed. It was so flooded that my son met me at the hotel, because he was sure I would not make it to his place. As it was, the road just past my turn-off to the hotel was totally flooded. Ugh. But by the time we went to dinner, it had mostly drained away.

I see Ike is now in Canada, but we are in for some more rain tomorrow. Oh, joy. I get to drive through 4 states in the rain. But I am getting real good at it.

The shopping center behind where we went to dinner has a Hobby Lobby, and I have never been to one of those. Hopefully I will get out of here before they open and not be tempted. ;-) Actually, I think I'll do my damage online, instead, as PTI has their release tonight at midnight, which means I'll hit them later this week (probably Tuesday - my day of recovery). They have a new "Jewish" set that promises to be exactly what I am looking for. Now I'll be able to tell all my Farmers Market customers who ask: "Why, yes, I do have Bat Mitzvah cards."

Oh, and because someone asked via a comment, Farmers Markets generally run May-October in our neck of the woods, but both of mine run into November this year. In particular, my Saturday market in the Kentlands goes through the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and my Sunday market in Olney goes until November 9th, I think. So if you are looking for farm-fresh veggies, you should be good until the second or third weekend in November. Make sure to ask one of the farmers when you stop by to confirm the end date.

Tomorrow I head for home. Part of me wants to take the back roads, because the turnpike is so incredibly boring, but with the rain, back roads can be dicey, so I'll undoubtedly opt for "faster" over "interesting". I'll wait for a sunnier day to do the "interesting" version.

Thanks for stopping by!

Road Trip - Day 2

I woke up this morning to this:

This is what we call "rain". Yes, it was still raining. Now last weekend in Maryland, we got rain like this since we had the pleasure of getting hit with the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna. But what is the excuse here? Sigh ....

One of the things I do not miss about Michigan are the billboards. We have none in my county - maybe even in most of the state. But here they are everywhere. In fact, they are not your average, boring one-topic billboards. Nope. These are fancy, electronic versions, so 5-10 different ads can all share the same outside space. Check out three of the little jewels I got to see from my window:



Did you also notice it is raining?

So we headed out to the wedding this afternoon, in the rain. It was held at a golf club, and it was very nice. They did a lot of their own decorating, and it was quite well-done. Here are the tables with all the teal bows (the girls' dresses were the same color):


This is also the same color ribbon I used on their card, which I left back at the hotel! Grrr....While we waited for everyone else to arrive, I checked out the view:
Did you notice the rain? Oh, and those tents? Our wedding was at 4:00 pm (outside, but only weather permitting), and there was another wedding scheduled for 5:00, in those tents. Yep, they were determined to be wed outdoors, rain or shine, and by golly they were! We, of course, stayed inside and dry.

Nice lake and golf course, right? But wait, what is that over to the right?

It is a house, and not just any house. It is the house of the guy that owns this whole place. Not too shabby, huh? Let's zoom in and see if they are looking back at us:

OMG - that is just obscene.

Then we had the wedding, followed by dinner and very loud music. My other nephew, who was sitting next to me at the table, told me it was only loud to me because I was old. Then he looked around and said we were all old. Then he looked back at me and told me the music really was a bit loud, but we were still old. Cute kid. ;-) He'll go far. He is looking at colleges, so watch out! He is thinking: medicine. I love it when I have time to just sit and chat with my family that I so rarely get to see.

I am now back at the hotel, packing and planning what time to leave here to go see #1 son in the morning. I sure hope it is not still raining.

Road Trip - Day 1

I set my alarm for earlier than a work day this morning, so of course I got a late start. I have yet to figure out how that happens. Anyway, I left at 6:30 am instead of 5:30. Oh, well. It usually takes me 8-9 hours to get to the Detroit area from Maryland, unless I hit traffic or something. Or something. Today that something was rain, and lots of it. It rained the...whole...way. And I'm not talking drizzle here; I'm talking all-out wipers-on-high-and-your-speed-on-slow-so-you-can-see-the-car-in-front-of-you rain. Ugh. Twelve hours ... it took me TWELVE HOURS to get here. But that's okay, cuz my Dad and Cousin and Brother and Nephew and I all went out to dinner, and we had a lovely time. And it is still raining, by the way.

So anyway, last night as I attempted to pack for this weekend, I had laid out all my clothes, but did not haul out the suitcase too early - I did not want the cat to have heart palpitations before she needed to. As it was, when we went to bed and she saw the suitcase on the floor, she stopped dead in her tracks to check it out. Then she glared at me. Did you know cats can glare? She'll be fine, though. The cat sitter totally spoils her.

Between the laying-out-of-the-clothes and the packing steps, I stamped sumpin'. (Surprise!) My new SU goodies arrived last night so I HAD to break into them. One of the things I pulled out was the new Calendar Kit. Here is the insert from the package:

It is very cool. It is all pre-printed - the calendar and lines on the front of all the pages, and the page backs are all printed DS paper in about 4 different colors. It comes with a die-cut card stock sleeve that when first assembled looks like this:

All the pages slip nicely into the sleeve, but it just seemed...I dunno...lame. So I tried this:

Instead of decorating the sleeve with the sticky die cuts, I covered two pieces of the Small Book Basics chipboard with Bashful Blue and Close to Cocoa DS papers, and stuck the die cuts onto the blue cover instead of the cardboard sleeve. Love it!

I had to trim down the pages a little bit to fit on the chipboard, but that's okay because I did not like the lined parts anyway. I also rounded the corners of the pages:

No, this is not what the kit page looks like! I covered the bottom of the January page with a piece of last year's Christmas DS paper and added some of my new felt flurries. I also stamped a new snowflake from the Tree set (I do not have it with me, or I'd put the real set name in here ...) from the Holiday Mini. I added a piece of ribbon to hide the seam, and called it done. I really like how it turned out.

Here is what the January page looks like next to the nekked February page:

Oh, and those tabs are soooo crooked. They are tricky to place, especially since I hacked off a bit of the page and also rounded the corners. I think they would all fit under normal conditions, but we all know I am not "normal". I put the Jan tab on, lined up the Feb page and put a pencil mark where the Feb sticker should be, and I just did them all that way. The last three months start at the top again...it looks fiiiiiine, like I meant to do it that way all along.

Now I have to finish all the pages before I can show it to my customers. They are all excited that I might offer a class for this calendar, and the class fee would include the kit. But I literally put the original calendar together in about 10 minutes (it was uber-easy!), so if I do a class, I plan to jazz it up like I did with this one - chipboard covers, DS papers, flurries...the works. That will certainly take an afternoon!

One final note before I hit the hay: I am in love. Yes, in love ... with the heated leather seats in my Brother's car. Turns out my Nephew has them in his car, too, and he swears by them. OMG, it's like therapy! I can just imagine sitting on a heated seat in that hellish daily commute of mine. I might even be nice to the people that cut me off in traffic! Maybe not. But I still want the heated seats! I'll be shopping for them next week, mark my word!

Something Completely Different

I'm baaaack! Wow, what a week it's been so far! Two workshops on Sunday; Day Job Monday and another workshop session Monday night; Day Job on Tuesday; Tuesday night when I got home, I placed the workshop order and also one of my customers came over for a stamping session. In between, I got to figure out if even one of my two vehicles was road-worthy for the trip to Michigan & Indiana this weekend. It turns out I'll be taking the Miata, which is fine, but I have a whole bunch of new books on CD, and the CD player in the Miata has not worked for years. Pooh! I guess I'll try the boom box. I have ONE DAY left to get my act together so I can leave at o'dark thirty Friday morning. I NEED A WIFE!!!!! Sigh. Okay, end of whining, but that's where I've been since Saturday.

An interesting thing came out of Monday evening's session. (Was that even a sentence?) Anyway, two of the attendees were new customers - I met them at one of my Sunday markets. They used to go to a monthly session with another Demo who has since moved out of town. They do not want to buy into the hobby (smart ladies!), but they do enjoy getting out once a month with their pals and making cards. I guess these two ladies were the Test Group, and they've since decided I meet their needs! (Yay me!) When they'd finished their projects Monday night, they asked how many people I could host at once. Um, I offer 8 slots, but 7 is cozy, and I really prefer 6. Turns out they want to have their whole stamping group come to my classes. This is a good thing, but it means I'll have to open up my house (teeny tiny condo) for another evening each month, and they can divide themselves across two evenings. I know ... what a dilemma, right? I think I'll probably do it, but not on a week where I'm leaving town in a few days!

Now on to the Something Completely Different. Most people who know me, my stamping customers included, know I do not 'do' certain holidays and events. Since I focus on selling my cards, I tend to make cards that work year-round. When I make holiday-specific cards and they do not sell, I get to store them until next year, and we all know I have no room to do that! So I decided a long time ago to not 'do' Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc. I have Christmas cards I've been storing for years...people walk into my booth at my Christmas shows, heavily laden with wreaths and other decorating items, and go, "Oh, do you have birthday cards?" I could not make that up; I've heard it a lot. So I own no Halloween sets, and the Happy Halloween stamps in my sentiment sets have never seen ink. Until last night.

Several weeks ago one of my other customers who only ever pays for the classes (not buying into this hobby) said she wanted to make one of the projects on page 26 in the big SU catalog, but as cards instead of a box, so she came over to have me help her order just what she needed to do that. Her stuff came last week, so she came over to play last night. In exchange for my time and tape, I got a few stamped images and some cool punched images. And a very happy customer! She left with all her stuff cut, stamped, crimped and ready for assembly. And looky what I made:


This was a lot of fun to make! I stamped the house in Elegeant Eggplant Craft ink and clear-embossed it. I punched out a mask for the moon, then used daubers to color it. The witch is a Martha punch and the green band is what we called 'drippy paint', and is another Martha punch. Both punches were part of what she brought in addition to her stamps and stuff. The sentiment is from my All Holidays set. I stamped enough of the houses to make 5 or 6 cards. I'll see if they sell. ;-)

In true Crooked Stamper fashion, I messed up the daubering of the moons on 3 of the 5 extra images. Aaack! So I cut out the house and tried to save it. After all, I do not own the stamp, so I cannot stamp more of them! This is what I managed to do with the first cut-out house:

This is usually where I become my own worst enemy. I cut out the top half of the house and put it on the yellow piece. It looked stupid, so I cut off more. And some more. You can see where I stopped and you can probably figure out why.

Since I'd cut off most of the white card stock, there was a LOT of yellow showing, so I started in with the daubers. And I did more. And more. I think the orange and rust on the yellow looks kinda like clouds at sunset. Maybe. So I'll have two of the design at the top and three of that orangey-rusty-yellowish version.

I also stamped the tree image, also in Elegant Eggplant Craft ink and clear-embossed. This is what I came up with for those:

I am really excited about this card, because I used some of my old, hoarded Halloween DS paper! And, I snuck in some brads I got when I bought a travel mug at Angela's Happy Stamper when I was there filling up my credit card. There were some free goodies inside the mug, and these brads were part of the stash. Yay!

Okay, I hope to finish up these cards so I can clear off my stampin' space and write my September birthday cards, one of which is already late. If I wait until I get home from my trip, they will all be late. Certainly an option. Perhaps I should just start making Belated Birthday Cards and be done with it. I think I'll try that for next month.

MCA - Master of Creative Avoidance

I am the Master of Creative Avoidance. I was supposed to spend the rest of today cleaning and setting up for my workshops tomorrow. But noooooooo. Okay, I did cut all the card stock for the kits and collate them, so that is done. I even have one of the stations set up, and a bunch of stray stamps and ribbon and punches put away. But then, well, let's just say I think I am officially channeling June. I kept looking at all the stuff I've started and set aside, or pieces of paper that could be used so as to avoid the Clean Sweep, and I just lost track of time. But oh, what I've accomplished!! Let me show you!

I had a pile of cut-and-scored white card stock that I was going to use to make Thank You notes, and I did not want to put them in the scrap pile. I also had a bunch of flower images I'd mistakenly stamped on white instead of cream. I also had a still-shrink-wrapped Tangerine Tango ink pad. I thunk and I thunk and this is what came out:

Yeah, the Thanks is a bit thin in spots, but trust me, I tried many others before I came up with 5 good ones. I actually resorted to using the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to get them even this good. I made one pack of 5 and put them in the For The Market box.

What about the failed orange Thanks efforts? Well, I looked at them and almost threw them out in utter frustration, but then I thought I'd save them. I hacked off the bottoms of the card fronts to remove the words. Then I grabbed a scrap of some cool textured blue that was left from my Brother's b'day project. I cut it into strips, scalloped one edge, and lined it up with the rest of the card front.

Much to my dismay, I'd cut them all exactly the right size to replace the cut-off part of the card front. Unfortunately there was nothing with which to attach them to the front (no overlap.) Pooh! I was determined not to give up! I am stronger and smarter than a stinkin' piece of card stock! So I cut strips of the same blue and glued them to both the front and back seams to hold the two pieces of card stock together. That's where I am here:

In this photo, you can see, um, you can plainly see that I have not changed that piece of grid paper in a very long time. You can also see the patched card with the blue pieces stuck to it and the crooked orange Thanks I'd hacked off earlier. I then cleverly wrapped a ribbon around the seams and called it good. I went to my stash of Thank You stamps and found this generic one:

And those silver things? They are there because I had a speck of something on one of the cards, and I could not get past it. I dug into my sticky things stash and put two of these silver jobbies on each card to make it look like I meant to do that. Now I have five cards all the same, and no one will be the wiser (except you guys.)

Now this next card makes me really proud. I had four small strips of this Basic Grey paper left from last week, and I could not bear to throw them out. I saw Bordering Blue. I saw Always Artichoke. I clawed through my scrap piles and found both. This is what I made with all of it:

That Happy Birthday stamp is one of the first stamps I ever bought, and I just love it! I played with the layout a lot until I decided to actually center everything (well, centered is a relative term, isn't it?), or should I say I decided to not go for an asymetrical look. The brads, however, are skewed on purpose. Really!!!

But wait, there's more?!?!?! I told you I lost track of time. I had three scraps of Bella Rose DS paper. I had four scraps (read: mis-cut) of Riding Hood Red from my kit-cutting exercise. I played and cut and trimmed and came up with these three cards:

I did cut into virgin Whisper White for the bases, and one piece of Kiwi Kiss. I also broke open both the Kiwi Kiss and Riding Hood Red ribbons, and they are both wonderful! I would go so far as to say the Kiwi Kiss ribbon is to DIE for! It is thick and double-sided and scrumptious.

And then she rested. But now I must push the vaccuum around; I must clear off the Living Room table so it can hold all my retired stuff that I have to retreive from the closet in The Other Room; I must Clean Sweep what's left on the tables so I can finish setting up the stations for tomorrow. But I feel good! I fell a sense of accomplishment! I created something!!!!!

Okay, I must leave blog-land now and go forth into real life. I'll come up for air again early in the week. Thanks for stopping by!