We Have a Winner!!!!!

We have a winner for my Blog Candy! Random.org selected #14, which is .... NicoleL! Congratulations! Please email me at lqhanna@gmail.com (that's LQhanna, but the letters are hard to see in lower-case) with your snail mail address so I can get your goodies in the mail.

Thanks for playing, everyone! I am still cleaning and organizing, so I am sure I will have more to offer some day. :-)

A Little Showing Off

The last project we did with my Stamp Club was a calendar for 2008. We each took a month and we had only one rule: The page must be 5 1/2 x 8 1/2, or half a sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 card stock. Other than that, we were free to do whatever we wanted to! Being realistic people - i.e., we have lives - we gave ourselves several months to complete our pages, and we got together at the end of December for the assembly process and to feed our faces.

We had most of the people in attendance, and all of the completed pages. Not all of the pages, but all of the completed pages. We were short one of the pages. And of the actual completed pages, two people did half a sheet of card stock in the wrong direction ... one of them was the right width but the wrong length (we are still trying to figure out how she did that), and one of them was exactly half, just the wrong way. We did some minor surgery on the too-narrow-and-too-long one and it was fine. One of them needed more time for its transformation, and since we were short one of the months anyway, we opted to collect our stacks, including the lovely cover and the chipboard backing provided by our gracious hostess, our coil for binding, placed the unbound items in our protective bags, and commenced to feed.

Let me tell you, these ladies can COOK! Not only are the calendar pages awesome, they are not too bad in the food arena, either. Everything was YUMMY!

At my workshop this past weekend we received the rest of the pages, so I assembled my calendar so I can take it to work and admire our handiwork every day! Since I only did one page, that's all I feel right showing you, so here we go...presenting .... March 2008:

Why yes, it is a little different than your average calendar page. The problem started when I was given no guidance in the form of rules, so once I was sure I'd cut the card stock in the right direction, I went to town.

March is a sweet month because so much happens in March! You have your obvious holidays - Easter, First Day of Spring, the Ides of March, St. Patty's Day, etc. How boring. So I searched for less-obvious days to celebrate...we'll get to those in a minute.

First to decide on a layout. I tried a tri-fold calendar that would give me a full 11 inches of width to let me decorate each important day, but that died on the vine. There was just not enough room on the page. We needed to leave the top 1 1/2" of the page unembellished so it would fit into the Rubicoil, so this only left 7" to work with, seriously limiting my decorating area. Then I decided to just do an image for each holiday along with the date, and not make it part of the actual calendar. After my mockup was done, I liked it, but *I* knew what the images were meant to represent...it would not be so obvious to others.

Some important dates I felt compelled to include: March 3rd is "What if Cats and Dogs Had Opposable Thumbs? Day", and since we all have furry pets it was a must to be included! The 12th is "National Workplace Napping Day" - gotta include that one!

What to do, what to do. Ah-ha! A cheat sheet! I placed a pocket of DS paper on the back of my page and made up a Cheat Sheet on the 'puter with all the dates listed, plus a few more, like "Swallows Return To San Juan Capistrano Day" and "As Young As You Feel Day". Not only was this Cheat Sheet a very clever way around my little predicament, it also decorated the back of my page! A bonus!

Some of the features on my page I am particulary proud of are the following: (1) the cat and dog are fluffy - they have flocking on them; (2) the spring (first day of Spring, get it?) is made by wrapping some wire around a wooden skewer - an idea from one of my fellow conspiring stampers when I whined about not being able to find any I liked at the hardware store; and (3) I did not include my birthday. Okay, I noted the day after my birthday, just so they'd know they missed it, but I certainly do not expect any flood of cards or anything like that ........

So here is how I did the cheat sheet:

And here is the Cheat Sheet up close:

I managed, via poor photography, to hack off the holiday listed for the 31st. It is "National She's Funny That Way Day".

The project was a success, and we are all very pleased with ourselves. We have our annual meeting in February to decide what we plan to do for this year, and I am sure it will include another Chunky Project of some kind. This is just such a great way to get a little bit of art from everyone!

Well, tomorrow evening I have a workshop, so no playing tonight - gotta keep the stations clear of clutter, and once I start on something, well, it's just best not to start at all. Then Wednesday I pick the winner of my Blog Candy! YAY!

Gotta go do some laundry so I can go to work tomorrow. :-)

Blog Candy Reminder

This is my lame excuse for a Blog post on a Sunday evening. I created nothing today but clean tabletops all set up as stampin' stations, a clean bathroom, some clean laundry ... heck, I even ran the dishwasher last night so I guess I also created clean dishes. I also managed to brighten the day for 12 stampin' customers who created 5 cool cards and found they, too, could do this stampin' thang. I love making people happy! :-)

The rest of this lame post is a reminder that there are only a few days left to post a comment for a chance at my Blog Candy. Make sure the comment lands on this post, and you'll be in the running! And I PROMISE to not make you wait so long next time! :-)

The winner will be selected in a super-secret process on Wednesday morning (I even have the day off!), and I'll post the winner shortly after that.

Thanks for reading!

A Little Faux Silk

Sometimes I amaze myself at the myriad of ways I can find to procrastinate. I have 2 classes tomorrow and I am still not ready, but I did a lot of other stuff today.

I continue to sell my retired stamps and accessories on SCS, and I make trips to the PO almost every day. Yes, I know sending things Priority would be easier, but if I can save someone a few bucks on postage maybe they will buy from me again, ya know? Plus I have learned sooo much about shipping it is worth it. So this morning I took my stack o'stuff to the PO and sent it off, and I also got the prices for shipping some more goods. My Kitchen is mostly cleared out from the mailing queue so there will be room for all my customers to sit and shop on Sunday. ;-)

While I was out I also stopped at Staples to buy some more bubble envelopes, two-sided tape, and ink cartridges for my printer. I had collected a ton of used cartridges and took them for the $3-off coupons since I planned to buy new cartridges. Did you know they limit you to three $3-off coupons for recycled ink cartridges per day? Who knew? Sigh. While there I also picked up my annual copy of Turbo Tax...I am really looking forward to tackling that.

My circle-of-errands done for the day, I started on cleaning for my classes tomorrow. First I moved the paper cutter off my class table along with the card stock scraps, some of which I decided to actually put away, but not that many. I took the pile of Figgy Pudding must-have card stock off a classroom chair and put it on a shelf in my Craft Room. (I actually have a path to that closet...)

Since I was very good and had cut up all my card stock for the class kits Friday night, I decided to go ahead and assemble the kits. I was almost done when I found I was short about 6 sets for one of the cards and one set for another. Sigh. I had to get the cutter back out and cut all of them, and I finally finished assembling all the kits. Done!

Then I vaccuumed. Why do I vaccuum before my classes? Because I do not vaccuum afterwards! I make way more of a mess than all 15 of the other women do, so it is pretty clean after my classes as far as I am concerned. :-)

Then I actually put away all the accessories from my play-time projects. I figure one thing at a time, and it will eventually get done. I celebrated in between these baby-steps by playing some more. I have cards in my head and they need to come out!!!!

I saw this technique on Nichole Heady's blog the other day and I knew I had to try it. I decided to break out a different color than she used (a CASE, but with my own twist) and I ended up using Teal. Teal is so not a 'me' color, but I thought it would look very cool with this technique. As is my way, I got most of it done, then got stuck with the finishing part. I finally ended up with this:

Recipe: Stamps - Warm Words, Garden Silhouettes; Paper - Taken With Teal, Tempting Turquiose, Naturals White; Ink - Tempting Turquoise; Other - Old Olive and Cameo Coral markers, small & large Oval punches, Antique Brass HPH.

I think the HPH might be a bit too heavy for the rest of the card, but for now it stays. I can see a variation of this as a project for my February classes!

Here is another one I managed to finish today. I started this card last week for the SCS Faux Silk Wednesday Tutorial, but as usual, I got stuck trying to finish the card. But I needed to clean up, so I thunk and I thunk and finally ended up with this:

Recipe: Stamps - True Friend, All Holidays, Floral bg; Paper - Sage Shadow, Pale Plum, Basic Gray, Whisper White, tissue paper; Ink - Sage Shadow, Basic Gray; Other - Photo Corner punch, Sage Shadow and Pale Plum markers, Vintage brads, Basic Gray taffeta ribbon, paper piercer.

I was soooo stuck making this card. I had the white and Pale Plum layers on the Sage Shadow with a white ribbon and I just stared at it. For days. I changed out a white ribbon for the Basic Gray one and I added a Basic Gray layer of card stock to help tie it together and stared at it some more. Then today I went nuts and added the photo corners with the brads and decided the card was going to cost a bazillion dollars to mail if I did not stop, so I stopped. I kinda like it, even. :-)

Now I really need to set up my stations for tomorrow's classes! One down and four to go! Yikes! As I got ready to clean off the rest of my tables, I discovered this pile of scraps that resulted from a mis-calculation while cutting card stock for one of the class projects. (I measured for the long side of the card when the pieces were supposed to go the short width, so all of them had to be trimmed ... story of my life.)

Aren't they just screaming to be used? Maybe I will reward myself with some play time, after I finish setting up for tomorrow. :-)

More Shameless Commerce - Carousel Stamps (Updated)

Update 01/12 - someone wants them all - YAY! :-)
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A friend of mine is getting out of the stampin' hobby and asked me if I wanted any of her stamps. I bought a few for myself and I offered to sell the rest for her (like I have room in here to store these ...) So tonight I got around to Installment #1 - The Carousels.

If you or anyone you know is into Carousels (you know, frou-frou horsies on poles), check these out. I have also added the link under my Non-SU Stuff For Sale in case you want to come back some time and peruse.

I am mid-purge - big time! - so not much stamping happened this week. I have sold a ton of my TAC stamps, all of my Nestabilites, all my retired color SU card stock, one background stamp on the 'bay (yes, I broke down and tried it), and I have also managed to move some of my old Inspiration Sheets outta here. I made enough room in the bowels of the Craft Room to get all my 12x12 DS papers out of my Living Room. Baby steps.

I am really liking this get-rid-of-stuff mode. Very cleansing. Unfortunately I was looking for a stamp the other day to try the Faux Silk Technique on SCS, and I only had one non-retired SU stamp set that lent itself to that. So sad. But on a lighter note, I have my first order of goodies from the new catalog on its way to my door in addition to my pre-ordered Sale-A-Bration sets, so I will have plenty to play with next week. And I am in the black so far with all this selling, so perhaps I might have to buy myself a little something some time soon. ;-)

Off to triage some more stuff! Thanks for reading!

What was I thinking?!

Two weeks! What was I thinking when I posted my Blog Candy offer then made you wait TWO WEEKS!? This is just soooo unfair. For some reason my brain thought the 15th sounded like a good day...dunno what prompted that idea, though.

So NEXT time - and there will be a 'Next Time' since I am still cleaning ;-) - I promise not to make you wait so long for your goodies.

Thanks for reading! Now I need to get back to work....

Quickie Birthday Card

First of all, let me say THANK YOU to those who have posted so far for my Blog Candy. I am in SHOCK! There are more comments on that one thread than I think I have collected since I began this blog. Maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but not by much! I am grateful for the readership. ;-) Keep 'em coming - I love to hear when people are addicted to things like I am.

Speaking of which, here is a quick birthday card I just made for a friend of mine. These papers are from the same company and since they were side-by-each in the LSS I had to have them. The paisley pattern and the blue are opposite sides of the same piece of paper - too easy! And the ribbon is from my stash...it is a much closer match to the red layer in real life.

Recipe: Stamps - It's Your Birthday; Paper - Naturals White, non-SU patterned papers; Ink - Basic Gray; Other - misc ribbon.

The friend getting this card is also on my Winter Card list, so maybe she'll get her Winter card this week, too. I am so bad ... But a local friend of mine called me the other day and read me a card she'd just received. The sentiment was: "A little miracle sent your way, a holiday card before Valentine's Day." I might just have to have that made into a stamp! LOL!

Off to write a few cards, and since I have finally designed my workshop cards for next weekend I may even get to play today!

Time for My First Blog Candy!

I am one of The Little People. By this I mean I am someone who blogs for fun, I love the expressive outlet it gives me, and I am not famous in the stampin' bloggin' world. All this means is I can blog when I want to. ;-)

I see all these people offering Blog Candy, and personally I never thought I'd do it. But here I am! What can I say. I actually do have an alterior motive. Since I am mid-purge, trying to find some sense of order in my condo, I am rethinking all the must-have or must-keep items, and I am selling or giving away most of it. It is very liberating!

So the other night I found these stickers I got free (it is even marked FREE) in a magazine, and I do not do Valentine's cards, so why I thought I needed to keep them is beyond me. Also pictured is some of my December shipment of ribbon from my Really Reasonable Ribbon Club, which I joined in an attempt to curb my ribbon weakness. This was a pack of pink, hearts and everything-Valentines, some of which I know I will never use. Put it away - nah! GIVE it away!

Looking for an excuse, I checked my blog counter. My faithful 2 (or maybe 3) readers have pumped that baby up to 4000+ ... woo-hoo! And I thank you! So I have decided to offer this candy in time for you to use for Valentine's Day.















All you need to do is post a comment telling me (us) what you hoard. Oh, wait a minute, I think we all hoard everything. Okay, tell me what your BIGGEST weakness is. I will select the winner at random (I'll pick a number out of a hat - the cat will help me). Please post your comment by Midnight EST, Jan 15th, and I'll do the drawing on the 16th.

Thanks for playing!

A Little Shameless Commerce

If you listen to Car Talk on NPR, you have heard them refer to the Shameless Commerce section of their Web site. That's where you can go to buy stuff. Well, I just added a new post (with an old date) where I am now selling my non-SU stuff. Yep, the purge continues! One of these days I might even be able to widen the paths into my Craft Room!

First up are my had-to-have-but-never-or-rarely-used TAC sets. If you are interested, come on over to the Non-SU Stuff For Sale page and check them out!

Card Kit redux #2

In my continued quest to use up this stack o'card stock left from workshops past, I delved into the World of Purple. I actually had 3 cards in this one workshop that used purple - don't know what came over me that month ...

The mini-stack on the left actually became a magnet. Now you KNOW this is an old kit, because it has been a while since SU sold the magnet sheets. I am sure I have a cache of them hoarded somewhere ...ahem. The pieces are Whisper White, Mellow Moss and (I think) Perfect Plum.




The stack o'stuff on the right is a simple base of Orchid Opulence and trimmed 1/4-sheet of Very Vanilla. This was really a blank slate, ya know? But then I had A Moment and hit on the idea to combine both stacks of card stock. I allowed myself to cut a piece of Very Vanilla to the size of the Whisper White piece (which I put back in the stack) and I came up with this:

Recipe: Stamps - A Beautiful Thing, Canvas; Paper - Orchid Opulence, Perfect Plum, Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla; Ink - Orchid Opulence, Elegant Eggplant; Other - Mellow Moss and Orchid Opulence markers, retired Vintage Brads, Ribbon Originals Jersey, Horizontal Slot punch, Dimensionals.

I thought it was boring until I added that piece of ribbon. In fact, I do not like naked vanilla card stock much, but I think anything stamped on it would make it too busy. So I am learning to love it.

I stamped the Canvas background in Orchid Opulence on the Orchid Opulence card base to give it a little oomph, but most of it is covered up by the Very Vanilla layer. On the right side (kinda hidden by the way I angled the card to cut the glare) I punched a slot with the Horizontal Slot punch and tied the ribbon through it so I would not cover up the nice (and you will notice straight) image I had stamped along the edge.

Now that I have broken out the Jersey ribbon, I have decided I really like the green! It is like a soft twill - thicker than grosgrain but very easy to use! Not too bulky at all! Hmmm ... methinks I see a possible workshop card for this month. ;-)

Off to create some more!