Old As You Feel

A good friend of my family - my parents' age, one year lamented that she was going to be SO OLD on her next birthday, and she was sad. I remember telling her she was the youngest person that I knew, based mostly on how active she was. I think that's true with a lot of people. Look at me: I don't act my age ... not even close. Oh, wait, that's something entirely different; never mind.

So, when I saw this stamp from Creative Vision (can't remember where I got it - maybe my LSS?), I snagged it:

Link to the stamp set

HA! MINE! I paired it with one of my new Impression Obsession Whoot images and made this:

Also, please excuse the blurriness (more so than usual). I need new reading glasses because I'm squinting a lot at work, and it makes my eyes tired. I plan to get new specs in a few weeks.

So, the branch was cut from a miscellaneous piece of Core'dinations textured card stock, and after I trimmed it a bit and stuck it down, I sponged Hero Arts Soft Sky ink all over the background. The owl was stamped on a scrap, colored and cut out, then popped up with dimensional adhesive. I went over the black part of the eyes with my Sakura Glaze pen - they are very shiny.

That's it. I added a ton of clouds, layered that onto a 1/4 sheet of light blue, put it on a white base and called it done.

In other news, I have a lot of stuff. I've been packing one or two boxes per night, and man, a LOT of stuff. And I haven't really started in the craft room yet. I think I'm unconsciously avoiding that. I want to wait until the last minute to pack that room since, well - STAMPING! It's my therapy. I might have to do the kitchen next. See? SEE?!?! I'd rather pack the kitchen and eat off paper plates than even think about packing the craft room. Sigh.

Thanks for stopping by!

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ABNH - September Sketch

I'm up over at A Blog Named Hero this evening with this month's sketch. Here's one of the three cards I made:

Why not stop by and see what else I've done with the sketch?

Thanks for stopping by!

SOS #117 - School or Office

Happy Tuesday! Are you ready for another Shopping Our Stash challenge? This week we ask you to use a School or Office/Workplace theme. Think: careers, office humor, first day of school, teacher gift, etc. Or use a school supply or office supply on your card, like a paperclip, sticky note, ruler sticker, etc. LOTS OF OPTIONS!

I went with the office option and dug out an old old old Bugaboo digi image from the recesses of my external hard drive, then used it to make this:

I don't know about you, but a lot of mornings I feel just like that. I get to work, stare at the To Do pile, and mutter something about having no life. That's about to change for me, but for the next two weeks, that's me you see there.

It made me itch a little bit to use a digi image, so I had to add some washi tape under the sentiment for contrast. I was still itchy, so I made a second card:

My biggest challenge with this one was taking a half-way decent photograph. I had a bit of a trimming issue, so the card front is smaller than the back, and it just won't sit nicely for a photo.

When I first thought of using "office" for my theme, I grabbed this Stampalicious set (they used to make the Bugaboo stamps) and decided she was whining about mornings at her desk. Yes, that brown line is a desk.

She needed a clock on the wall, so I used the alarm clock from the Paper Smooches Perpetual Bliss set, and just cut out the clock face. I had it in my brain that the clock needed a red rim, so I die-cut a circle and colored it with my R05 Copic. Perfect.

I added some washi to fill in that big open white space. I also added a strip to the right side of the inside of the card since my trimming had gone so very wrong, and I saw it as an opportunity to make it look like I meant to do that!

Here's a shot of the card open so you can sorta see that strip of washi is on the inside. Whatever. Oh, and in real life, that washi tape is a dead-on match for the pool note cards. I win.

Now it's YOUR turn. Go dig into your stash and make something with a school or office theme, then come back to Shopping Our Stash and link us up so we can see what you've made!

Thanks for stopping by!

Products used: Bugaboo digi image Crabby Cathy, Stampalicious stamps, and the following:

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In Which I Itch

I was going to call this "In Which I Embrace White Space", but that ain't happenin', as we all know white space makes me itch, so ...

I was looking at some expired sketches in my pile of unloved and neglected challenges and found this one from CAS(E) This Sketch!:

My first thought was washi tape (duh) plus one of my Hero Arts speech bubble sentiments. Too easy, right? Right. I decided to be contrary and not use washi tape. Also, I've been starting to pack in the craft room, and the first thing I did was pack the washi tape. Oh, please, don't be alarmed. It's still very accessible. It's packed in a clear storage box with a pop-off lid. Heh. I'm not that crazy.

But packing ... yeah. I've been sorting and cleaning re-arranging and all sorts of things these days. I start doing one thing, then BOOM - I'm off packing something. I might have a lot of crap.

Oh, back to the card. Actually, I made four. And I used pieces of Japanese paper from The Heaplet instead of washi tape.

Here's one of the cards:

That orange paper is actually a little sparkly. I love it. I made two of that one, and one of these:

Then one more with this piece of Japanese paper:

All the sentiments were stamped using Hero Arts Brown Bark. I did layer the panels with SU Early Espresso, but still: so much white. *scratches self*  I had to just walk away to keep from adding something else.

I think these will make good OWH cards. A guy could send these home, don't you agree? No fuss, no muss. I have an almost-full box of cards for OWH I need to send off before I move so these will help.

Okay, I'm calling it a night. Thanks for stopping by!

Products used: SU Early Espresso card stock, misc Japanese paper, and the following:

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Da Lingo

As most of you know, I am old. As such, I have a low tolerance for, well, a lot of things, which is why I have a separate b1tchin' blog. One of the things with which I am totally out of touch (like, totally *snort*) is the current lingo. One of my dear pals, Mary Dawn, has spent endless hours guiding me and answering my "say wha?" queries, and now I know one or two words, though I mostly pretend I don't, and I certainly do not use them myself.

Part two of being old involves me having rules, and yes, I have quite a few of them. They keep me sane, or as sane as can be. One of those rules that has served me well over my years of card-making is that I won't buy a stamp set that I wouldn't use myself. Why not? Well, I make cards to sell (or I used to, and I plan to again post-retirement), and if a card doesn't sell, then it becomes something I either have to use myself or store or give away. Given that I have 10 pounds of s-crap in a 5-pound condo, long-term storage isn't really an option, and giving away cards that I made with the intent to sell (and recoup my cost of materials, at least) just hurts my bottom line. So, it's much smarter for me to only buy stamp sets that I'd use on cards I'd send myself. HAHA, like I'd send a card. I crack myself up. There is sound logic in there, somewhere.

ANYWAY, here we are, and I did the unthinkable: I bought a stamp set made up of words Mary Dawn has taught me. Words I would never, ever, use myself. I did. And I just used it to make this card:

See what I'm talking about?!?! GAH! This card actually started yesterday with me wrapping some washi tape around a piece of card stock and staring at it. Then I saw this sketch at Unscripted Sketches:

and that reminded me of the new A Blog Named Hero challenge to use buttons:

and things just took off from there. Oh, here's my card again since I've managed to blah blah blah it off the viewable page:

I decided to use Hero Arts pool buttons, but I wanted to be different and not use circles, so I punched out tiny white ovals to put behind the buttons to give them some contrast. Then, because my brain was stuck, I threaded a needle with some white twine and sewed the buttons to the washi-covered panel. Yes, I did.

Then I went in search of a sentiment to fit the fourth tiny oval. Guess what set worked the best ... yep, the Paper Smooches Slang Gang set. I might say "hee", but I would never say "oh no you dit-ten", and even if I did, I'd put a comma in there somewhere.

Also, please note I've become allergic to square corners, and I've used my 1/8" Chomper on both the white layer and the pool note card base. I just like it better, what can I say?

In the end, I do like this card, a lot. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Products used: SU white twine, SU 3/4" x 15/16" oval punch, misc washi tape, and the following:

InLinkz.com

The Power of a Thank You Note

I have a friend who(m) I met through my card biz. She is crafty, but hadn't tried making cards yet. Knowing her love of a good bargain, I cautioned her on the potential money pit, but when she bought a box of goodies at a yard sale, I gleefully went over to show her how to use her new stuff. She was in love.

Fast forward a few years, and I just got this email from her (details slightly modified for that whole anonymity thing):

So, I have gotten into the habit of sending a thank you note when someone does an interview for me, or answers a hard question that I can't answer using on-line or library resources, refers me or hires me for a small job. The cards usually have a goofy phone booth on the front with a sappy quote about expert advice over the phone, or a typewriter and a quote about the rare person who appreciates a good writer. And just a few words about what they did and that I'm thankful.

One company was so tickled, they referred me for a "temporary" writing job with another company. I did the four month contract with that company, sent a thank you note, and they extended my contract. Another company had referred me and I sent a thank you note. The guy at the referring company sent a thank you for the thank you. That was six months ago, and this weekend, they offered me a huge project. It's freaking unbelievable.

Yes, FREAKIN' UNBELIEVABLE! I have personally been trying to resurrect the custom of sending cards, just because, and see? IT IS A GOOD IDEA!

I just had to share her story. Isn't it great?!?!

Thanks for stopping by!