Taryn's Paper Crafts

Winter class

2007-10-29T22:01:00.000-03:00

I was going to teach a class in October but that fell through. My design was Hallowe'en themed but I was not able to reschedule until November. I might use it next year instead. I used Spooky Spider wheel and Bitty Boos Too, Party Punch, and the tag punch. I used Bordering Blue and So Saffron Cardstock but the Orange patterned paper was from my stash.
I made the fall card while trying to come up with a different idea for the class in November. I used Autumn Fest and Best Friends Alpha in Bravo Burgundy and Always Artichoke. Around here there are still leaves all over the place in November but the card seemed more like September to me so I scrapped that idea.
I decided to go with a winter theme. I was going to avoid Christmas but the Party Punch stamps just seemed to fit. I kept the basic concept but did the peek-a-boo box instead of a scrapbook page. I'm hoping that the girls might be interested in scrapbooking in the future. I have so many ideas. I used Solemn Stillness, Itty Bitty Backgrounds, and Party Punch. I used Whisper White and Night of Navy Cardstock and ink and used some blue paper from my scraps.

Sisters of the Travelling Scrapbook

2007-05-03T20:50:00.000-03:00

I signed up for this swap on Splitcoast Stampers a long long time ago but it took it's time getting to me. I actually was probably the worst holdup out of the whole bunch too. My pages are finally done though and soon ready to be mailed. With this swap we were given two different bags. There is a must use bag in which we must use 5 items on the page and a misc. bag. I took everything except the priceless title from the must use bag.

Scrapbook page for work

2007-05-03T20:45:00.000-03:00

At work my supervisor was decorating her office and wanted a page from all her representatives about ourselves. My friends told me I should make a scrapbook page so this is what I did. I just did a simple page since I didn't know how long it would last. Unfortunately things tend to go missing or get destroyed rather quickly. So far it's not been harmed or altered and I actually had this up for at least a month.

Tool Time Tuesday

2007-02-06T00:43:00.000-04:00

I don’t have a pic but I just have a generic heat tool. Heat embossing is what turned me to rubber stamping in the first place so I really liked this tool before I even learned what other cool effects it can create.

On this page I used my heat tool to emboss clear embossing powder over craft ink. I did this for the sit spin challenge that was to create a view master page and include flowers or something that would be thrown onto the ice while the skater is bowing. I’ve wanted to do a title like this for a while now ever since I saw it in a magazine a few months ago. I embossed the rose and have 6 different pictures in the viewmaster frame. I did not do any journaling but Lavinia's name and included the date in the title.

Stamps: Stipple Rose
Paper: Cameo Coral, Barely Banana, white cardstock for viewfinder
Ink: Barely Banana, Black Pen,
Extras: brad, ribbon

2007-02-06T00:42:00.000-04:00

On this page I used my heat tool to emboss images to create a resist technique. I made this for the Try To Resist My Olympic Experience challenge that was to use emboss resist and to use colors from a different country's flag. I picked Azerbaijan whose colors are red, white, navy, and white.
I just had to scrap the only pics I had of Independence Day when I was in the States. Journaling reads: During the summer months of training in Los Angeles, we would always go to Canoga Park to celebrate the fourth of July. July 4, 1997

Stamps: Letterpress Alphabet, Brushstroke alphabet, Fun Filled
Paper: Glorious Green, glossy white
Ink: Night of Navy, Versamark, white souffle pen
Extras: clear embossing powder, decorative tape

Monochromatic Monday

2007-02-05T01:16:00.000-04:00

I did two monochromatic sample pages for my National anthem challenge for this past VSBN. My challenge was to make a page using the colors or your country’s flag and use the kissing technique.

Journaling reads: This is my grandmother Audrey Harris MacLellan while she was still Audrey Harris MacLean. She worked as a cook in Halifax away from her home in Cape Breton. I believe that is where she met my grandfather when he was a WWII soldier before going overseas.

Stamps: fancy corner, Best Blossoms, Brushstroke Alphabet
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Whisper White craft ink , white Souffle pen, black pen
Extras: buttons, ribbon

2007-02-05T01:15:00.000-04:00

Here is the second sample page with the reverse kissing technique. I inked up and then stamped off on the Background stamp before applying it to the paper.

Journaling reads: This is my Mom in the late '40's visiting her Uncle Fred and Aunt Helen Younker. Back then, a trip to the city was an occasion so she was always excited to visit them.

Stamps: Linen Background, Best Blossoms, Brushstroke Alphabet
Paper: Real Red, Whisper White,
Ink: Real Red, black pen
Extras: buttons, ribbon

2007-02-05T01:12:00.000-04:00

I also did a card with this same monochromatic color scheme. I admit I goofed on this one. I really like the look of the card and included the quote because I really liked it. I wasn’t really meaning for it to be a bug or ladybug quote. Now the more I look at it, I think it looks like I wanted an ant image and put a ladybug by mistake or wanted a ladybug quote and put ant in the quote by mistake. Maybe I can fix this by adding a different sentiment in the future. I really like the layout.

Stamps: ladybug by Stampcraft
Paper: red, plaid, whisper white
Ink: Jet black staz-on, black pen

Scrapbook Sunday

2007-02-04T10:47:00.000-04:00

Last month I only participated in 6 challenges during Virtual Scrapbooking Night. Gasp! I usually do them all or if I miss any it’s one or two challenges. This time I spent the first day cleaning up my stamp area. Worst thing is that it still needs cleaning, but I thought I’d strike while the inspiration was there.

I did this page for the Time's Up challenge which was to use numbers on the page, bonus for using one of the metal colors.

Lavinia had a great time visiting her cousins. They had lots of fun on the trampoline. She held her own with the older girls. They screamed when a bug landed on it and she would go right for it and flick it off. Then Matthew showed her some flips. Aug 06

Paper: white glossy cardstock
Ink: Bordering Blue, pink
Extras: basic grey Urban couture letter stickers, mulberry flowers, spiral, brad, gold pen.

2007-02-04T10:40:00.000-04:00

I did this for the You Go Girl challenge that was to create a vintage page using black and white photos and using greys, black, white, and cream papers celebrating women of the past.

Stamps: Brushstroke Alphabet
Paper: costco patterned paper and grey and black cardstock
Ink: Jet black staz
Extras: prima flower, sequin, brad, lace and black ribbon, vintage hinge sticker, vellum quote

My Christmas Gifts are on their way

2007-02-03T20:59:00.000-04:00

I am finally getting my Christmas presents. I just signed up to be a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. I'm pretty excited and can't wait to get my kit (my Christmas present, if you haven't already guessed) when it comes. All that rubber. Woo Hoo. I'm actually more excited about the ink coming since I haven't bought anything since last June and all my ink pads and spots are dry as a bone.

Stamp Set Saturday

2007-02-03T19:48:00.000-04:00

I made these cards for Christmas. They are very quick and simple but look so nice on the glossy cardstock. I stamped the tree in Handsome Hunter and again with Versamark and heat embossed in gold. I used Solemn Stillness.

Stamps: Solemn Stillness
Paper: white glossy cardstock
Ink: Handsome Hunter, Versamark
Extras: Gold embossing powder,

2007-02-03T19:31:00.000-04:00

I love this stampset and wanted to try another card that wasn’t for Christmas. There are a lot of winter birthdays in the family so it’s nice to have something wintery that isn’t Christmas. I used Solemn Stillness, Cute Converse for the saying, and stamped the corners with Linen.

Stamps: Solemn Stillness, Cute Converse, and Linen
Paper: Night of navy, Whisper White,
Ink: Night of navy, Whisper White,

Fakey Friday

2007-02-02T00:16:00.000-04:00

This was my first attempt at faux linen. The effect is very subtle. I'm not sure if it's because the sandpaper I used was too fine or that my ink pads are all drying up or that I didn't use a darker color ink. I would like to try it again after I get some reinkers and courser sandpaper.

The card I made first to test out the technique and the color scheme. It can be an anniversary card as well but it could also be any other kind of celebration.

Stamps: French Script, wine glasses from Katie& co.

Paper: Bordering Blue cardstock, white glossy cardstock

Ink: Always Artichoke, Bordering Blue, and So Saffron

Extras: ribbon and charm from my miscellaneous stash and have no idea where they came from.

2007-02-02T00:14:00.000-04:00

I made this scrapbook page for the “She scraps, she scores” challenge for Virtual Scrapbook Night. The challenge was to use faux linen and have metal embellishments and knotted ribbon on the page as well. As you can see I do not have knotted ribbon or a metal embellishment. I was so caught up in the faux linen technique that my 2 hrs were nearly up and I just had time to piece it together. The page is about my great-grandparents’ 50th anniversary. It was a little before my time but still makes another page in my heritage scrapbook.

Stamps: French Script, wine glasses from Katie& co.

Paper: Always Artichoke, So Saffron, Bordering Blue, and white glossy cardstock

Ink: Always Artichoke, Bordering Blue, and So Saffron

3D Thursday

2007-02-01T00:37:00.000-04:00

I had this purse done in spring papers last year as a prototype for Tasha's Christmas present but I never attached it permanently. Since moisture seeped behind the acetate inside and the patterned paper got stained and warped so I decided to redecorate it and seal it this time. It is a clear caboodles makeup kit that I decorated with patterned paper and a matching pocket calendar. I LOVE the color Brown. It's my favorite color so I couldn't think of a better color to use. I was going to add some more stamping on both projects but thought the flowers from the paper were enough.

Stamps: Letterpress Alphabet. (purse), Brushstroke Alphabet (calendar)
Paper: Patterned paper from Costco
Ink: Chocolate Chip.
Extras: purse and calendar, acetate, mod podge

2007-01-27T13:07:00.000-04:00

Virtual Scrapbook Night was a blast last weekend. I'm still recovering from it. I really need to clean my space now. I did go through all my embellishments but the cardstock and papers is another story. Yikes.
I've been playing around with the camera lately. Lavinia has been very stubborn lately and her temper tantrums though few and far between are wild. Instead of yelling at her because I've had enough (which often is the case), I get out the camera. At first I though it would get her more riled up but surprisingly it actually calms her down. It definately calms me down because when she's at her worst I think of the scrapbook pages I can make to show her first boyfriend. I probably would never do that but at the time the thought does make me quite happy amist the screaming and destruction. I should add that about 90% of the time she is the sweetest girl you could ever ask for, but when she's in a mood watch out. Here's one picture of her when she didn't want to take her jacket off when we came home on day. I really like how her refection shows in the floor.

She's also been sick lately and has started falling asleep during the day. This day as soon as I got her out of the tub, she fell asleep in my lap.
I love this picture.

January 14 Virtual Scrapbook Night Preview Party

2007-01-18T13:41:00.000-04:00

Our preview party for VSBN had a great turnout. This events theme is the Winter Olympics and every challenge revolves around that theme. You get 2 hrs to create a layout. Unfortunately I was stuck at work through the whole event but I managed to do a challenge that night when I got home and another the next day since I had Monday off.

The first challenge I tried was Stats. During the Olympics you hear the announcers talk about the athletes statistics and what they have accomplished throughout their careers. The challenge is to make a layout using a stat sheet, use doodling on your page, and use a file folder. The stats on my page, rather than name, birthday, date of pic, etc, were the various tasks I had while I was in the Shenandoah unit of Covenant Players. The tasks were: Housing Co-ordinator, Program Planner, Office Worker, Show Scheduler, Guy Pal, Actress, Friend, and Comic Relief. The journaling inside the folder reads: These were my many jobs when I toured western Virginia and West Virginia with Sean and Christen. Sean was the Team Leader and ultimately responsible for everything and had to sign all the contracts for shows and took charge of van maintenance. My primary task was housing co-coordinator, which was a very stressful job because most of the housing contacts I called to let them know we were coming to their area didn't want to have us. We did get through the tour and always had a place to stay. Christen was in charge of office files and finances and the rest of our duties were shared. There were a lot of stressful times but we did have a lot of fun too. Sean was a guy that just needed male bonding. It was hard for him to travel four months with no other guys so I did my best to do man things with him. We played tennis, watched guy movies and mostly watched football. Spring 1996 I used Certainly Celery and Night of Navy Cardstock and a file folder from Marcella by K. I stamped the Certainly Celery with the swirl stamp from Fun Filled in Night of Navy craft ink and stamped the title with Brushstroke Alphabet in Certainly Celery craft ink. I inked my primas with Certainly Celery as well and edged my stats with Chocolate Chip. I used a black Zig pen to doodle and write the journaling and stats. The brads attaching the primas and spiral paperclip are from the Hodgepodge Hardware set.

Monday’s challenge was exactly that since I had some “help”. The Olympic ring challenge was to follow a sketch by Becky Fleck that includes many rings. The challenge was focus on uniting the circles and the title and photo. The page is of Lavinia eating pizza for the first time. Journaling reads: Lavinia went through a year eating nothing but hot dogs and cheese and yogurt. We could never convince her to try new foods until one night when we ordered a pizza. She found that she loved pizza. August 2006.

I used Barely Banana, Rose Red, and a non SU blue cardstock. I used my white Souffle pen to do the edges to the journaling block and the ribbon. I made the pizza by taking a Rose Red cirle, stamping circles from a stamp from Fun Filled with Versamark for the pepperoni, then I took a q-tip and applied Chocolate chip ink for hamburger. I then applied a thin layer of Barely Banana craft ink for cheese on tip and heavily around the edges for crust and put in on a larger blue circle for a tray. Now looking at the page, I wish I matted the picture with Rose Red cardstock as well. I then applied various buttons and silk flowers I collected over the years.

I had a plan for the page and had everything ready to put together except the buttons and flowers for the big circle. Lavinia had lots of fun getting into my stash of buttons and flowers. She picked out every button on the page. She insisted on eating grapes while we were putting it together and no matter how often I took them from her and had her wash her hands, she snuck some more past me. She did get some spots all over the page and I did my best to cover them. It’s not bad the circle of flowers and brads are not very even. We did have fun putting it together, which we never did before, and she was better behaved than I expected so I guess that is the most important thing. I would try to do another page with her again, but not when there is a time limit to finishing it.

If you are interested in participating in the big event this weekend, the new challenges will be posted in this thread after this past Sunday’s challenges. You have two hours to complete each challenge, then upload your creation by the deadline. The challenges are posted every two hours from noon until 10 pm AST on Saturday and Sunday. If you just wanted to look at the completed pages from this last weekend they are here. Hope to see you next weekend

Fakey Friday

2007-01-12T18:15:00.000-04:00

This is a technique that I developed due to my lack of supplies. There might be a technique out there similar already but I’ve never heard of it. I call it faux bleaching. I use white craft ink and blender pens. In the first sample I just colored in the daisy petals with white craft ink using the blender pens. For the second sample I stamped the angel in white craft ink and smudged the image with a blender pen to make the faux bleach background. Once it was dry, I stamped over the white background with black Staz-on and colored with chalk.

3D Thursday

2007-01-11T12:41:00.000-04:00

This year I made some homemade cappuccino for the craft fairs and then later for Christmas presents. Altering the jar was a very easy 3D project. I took a 12x12 sheet of patterned paper and cut 4 12x2 strips. I adhered the strips around the jar with glue dots. Then to make the circle on the top, I took the rim of the lid and traced the inside circle onto another sheet of patterned paper. Then I cut the circles out and adhered to the lid with glue dots. I then made tags with the scraps and tied with hemp.

Wednesday’s Words

2007-01-10T15:42:00.000-04:00

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. - Oprah Winfrey

I really like this quote. It’s so full of hope. We went to bed early this New Year’s Eve and I missed doing my new years resolutions. I still could not skip it entirely. Instead I was a few days late figuring them out (ironically contradicting my first resolution which is to stop procrastinating). What is the point of celebrating a new year without at least attempting to be better, trying to be better, or striving to be better than the previous year. A new chance and a fresh slate is an amazing thing and should be celebrated. Even though most resolutions are rather lofty and unrealistic and soon forgotten, that is not the point. The intention itself is better than nothing at all. Without it there is no hope and no dream of something better. Congratulations to those who are still trying to work on their resolutions.

Here is a card and a 6x6 page using the quote. I’ve never done a New Year’s day card before. It’s usually so soon after sending out Christmas cards, it never even occurred to me to make one. I really like this card so I may do more for next year. This was made from Ballet Blue and Certainly Celery cardstock and ink and some printed paper from my stash. I think I got it at the $1 store but am not certain. I used the sketch from this week’s SCS sketch challenge 106.

The 6x6 page is using the same materials except I added the letter stickers from Basic Grey's Urban Couture collection.

Tool Time Tuesday

2007-01-09T01:24:00.000-04:00

This is my Stamp-a-ma-jig. I love it. I usually use it to position letters in titles of scrapbook pages. I waited a while to get mine because I focused on getting stamps and paper first. Once I first used it I realized it would have been perfect to have as a beginning stamper. There were so many times I did not ink the stamp properly and threw the image out because it didn’t look good. With the stamp-a-ma-jig, I can reink my stamp and place it in the exact image I stamped the first time. I still use it for that purpose but not as often as I would have if I had it at first. Another way I like to use mine is if I have a stamp that I want to put more than one color on. Usually markers are perfect for that occasion but since I don’t have any markers yet, the stamp-a-ma-jig works just fine.
Here are some projects I made for my best friend Carly who go married last year along with a close up of the stationary and the 4x4 notecards. I used the stamp-a-ma-jig to stamp the rose red and the leaves green on the cards and stationary. I also used it to position the French Script Background since the stationary was larger than the background itself.

Monochromatic Monday

2007-01-08T00:06:00.000-04:00

Today for Monochromatic Monday I thought I would show another Christmas present I made. This one I gave to my sister-in-law Tasha. Lavinia loves to get into her shoes and purses. Now that it is complete, I wish I put some pics of Lavinia on it too. When I first thought of making it I thought I would include a pic with her and Lavinia and I just don't have once since Lavinia was a little baby. Now I'm thinking that I still could have put a picture of Lavinia at least. Well, too late now. The case itself is a see through Caboodles make up case. I used pink patterned papers from Costco and Katie& co purse and shoe stamps along with Letterpress Alphabet. I stuffed it with bath products.

Scrapbook Sunday

2007-01-07T00:17:00.000-04:00

Here is a layout I made for a 12x12 Double page spread scrapbooking swap. I finally finished them. I did 5 of these and will get 4 other layouts back. The colors are very bright. Too bright for my camera it seems. Every pic I took is blurry and the color is extremely off. I used SU’s Stipple Rose, Best Blossoms, and Letterpress Alphabet stamp sets, and holographic EP on the images and edges of the photo corner. The first page holds a 5x7 pic and the second page, 2 4x6s.

Stamp Set Saturday

2007-01-06T23:49:00.000-04:00

My favorite alphabet stamp set is SU Letterpress Alphabet. It's perfect for scrapbooking titles or monogram sets. For Christmas I made two name frames with this set and gave one to Philip and Dawn and the other for Diane and Judson. I forget the company that made the patterned paper. I used Letterpress Alphabet stamps and, French Script, Linen, the swirl from Fun Filled and "merry little christmas" from Cute Converse. The hardware is from the Hodgepodge Hardware. I would like to make some more with the seasons for my house and one for Lavinia's bedroom with her name on it.

Happy Belated New Year

2007-01-04T14:55:00.000-04:00

This past holiday was the most hectic holidays I’ve had in a while. I was totally not prepared. I worked all the way through and had too many commitments during the holidays. I was pretty late thinking of my New Years Resolutions. I actually came up with my list of resolutions last night at work.

Stop procrastinating
Do not commit to new things or events unless I am certain I can do it.
Have a monthly family activity like game night or a family outing
Have a monthly date night
Get out finances in order
Exercise 3 times a week
Drink 8 glasses of water a day at least 5 days a week
Do extra heavy duty cleaning on a room a month using 2 of my days off
Figure out a better way to organize my craft area and do it.
Set up a reward system so that I can keep my resolutions this year.

Since I haven’t thought up my resolutions until during the New Year, I’m going to start on Sunday. Although I did start on a few things already, I haven’t started every one and will take the next few days to come up with a plan. I need to find a way to reduce stress and have more fun with my family. Last year I decided to make more crafts and work on scrap booking and card making techniques and challenges. This year I will focus more on keeping the area clean. It is a centralized area so I am forced to clean it periodically but it still is often messy. Here are pics of my stamping area before I cleaned it for Christmas Eve. It was especially messy since I was finishing up last minute presents and cards. My goal this year is to keep it clean more often than not. My organization has always been a work in progress. My supplies or favorite techniques constantly change. I would like an area for completed projects and projects in progress. If I clean out my closet in the bedroom, I think I can manage that. I just want all my supplies in the same area. My current set up was perfect before I had the computer but now I need to find a way to keep everything clean and not take over the entire kitchen. Any great organizational tips are welcome. Happy New Year everyone and good luck with the resolutions.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2006-12-25T11:06:00.000-04:00

Merry Christmas everyone. This morning was a very busy morning. It’s just after 11:00 and we’ve already unwrapped presents, had Christmas diner, went visiting and opened more presents and came back home. I’m now just having a coffee and posting before I get ready for work. This year we were a little rushed since I have to work at 12:30 but we did pretty well. We got up around 6:00. We didn’t know how long it would take to unwrap everything this year so we had to wake up Lavinia. She was so tired, poor thing. We unwrapped presents then we took Lavinia up to Nanny Everett’s and unwrapped more presents there. They even had the dinner cooked early so that I had a chance to eat it. Now I’m really stuffed. I have to start getting my lunch ready and don’t even want to think about food right now. Among other presents, Mom and Dad gave her a winter hat and Tanya, Tracey, Mitchell, Matthew, and Julia gave her a pair of crocs. That is what she wore along with her pj's while she was opening her presents. There's a picture before unwrapping and a picture after. Now that I compare, they look really similar. I guess that I should have taken a picture while the wrapping is still on the floor. I'd better get going. I hope everyone has a great Christmas.

2006-12-20T06:06:00.000-04:00

It’s been a while since I last posted. I have been creating some new projects for Christmas gifts so I can’t show them until after Christmas. I’m still quite busy working as well. Sunday they wanted us to work extra hours. I chose to tack a few hours on to the end of my shift instead of having to come in on a day off. Saturday night Lavinia was just not going to bed and she finally came into my bed and slept with me. I know, I know she needs to sleep in her own bed, but after midnight, I needed to get to sleep. She was still sleeping when I left for work and she was asleep when I got home. Depressing.

Monday night we went driving around town to look at the Christmas lights as we do every year. Since I work mostly nights, it was the last night we had to go until after Christmas. Lavinia didn’t last 15 minutes before she was asleep. Jason and I kept driving and scooping out the best-decorated places in case we got a chance to do it again during the Christmas holidays.

Last week we went in to town to pick up a few things and Lavinia got her picture taken with Santa. Last year she was too scared and she didn’t get a picture or even tell him what she wanted. This year she wasn’t scared. So we dared to take the picture. If we had a better strategy, she would not have been covered in chocolate milk by the time we got to the mall. We just kept shedding layers and were happy to find the shirt under her sweater was not dirty. She got up on the bench and was staring at him and wanted to say what she wanted first, but they were taking the picture first. It was a little overwhelming for her because everyone telling her to smile. By the time the picture was taken she was ready to leave. Then Santa asked what she wanted, she’d already had enough and wanted out of there. It would have been a better picture if they had just taken it of her looking at him, but at least she isn’t crying this year. We had a pretty good day in town. We ate at Zellers, which although it is not a five star restaurant, it was the first sit down meal we had in a long time and we really enjoyed it.

Now I’m just wrapping Christmas presents before and after work and trying to get ready for the holiday before it passes me by. I hope next year, I’ll be a lot more prepared.

2006-12-14T01:57:00.000-04:00

This is a page I did last year for the calendar swap. It’s one of my very first stamping projects and I really enjoyed it. At the time I had nothing to color the picture with so left it alone. It’s a great stamp but it looks so bare. If I had the time before the end of the month, I’d color it in now. I wonder if the other ladies in the swap have colored theirs.

I’ve been very busy working and although we put the tree up last week, I still have a lot to do to get ready for Christmas. I was able to work on a few presents that I will show after Christmas. I still have a few more to make and some more shopping to do. I’m kind of waiting to see what my holiday schedule will be before I think of what groceries we need. At this point, I’m not sure if people are coming over Christmas Eve or if I’ll be working. I’m also not sure if I’m cooking on Christmas Day or if I’ll be at work. It will be easier to get more organized once I know my schedule. Although I have many Christmas cards made, I still did not get any cards done up yet. I really better get at it.

A few days ago Lavinia’s ecxema broke out. She was really itchy and had a hard time sleeping so she was so tired during the day too. Although she still has her active times, she was on the couch more often too. We’ve been really lucky this year because we had a really long stretch we didn’t have to worry about it. I think it let my guard down a bit because I should have been looking for it when the weather changed. I know by now that weather changes trigger her ecxema.

She was at her Nanny’s that last couple of days and although she is usually quite tired when she comes home, I was a little scared that she would wake up when I got home. A couple of weeks ago when I came home from work at 1am, I saw a little head poking out of the window and it would disappear once I got out of the car. She did go to bed great for Jason but would wake up when I got home. I went in her bedroom and we sang a few Christmas songs and she quickly went back to sleep, very amazing for her. Now that I started working those shifts again, I was wondering if she would wake up. So far, so good. She was so still I thought I would try out the night vision lens on the camera. There are so many features to this camera that I really never tried. I really just need to play with it a bit. I now have proof that she sleeps at night.

Decorating the tree

2006-12-08T20:15:00.000-04:00

Usually we decorate either the last week of November or first week of December on the first day we have off together. This year I've been preoccupied with work and the November craft fairs, that I was rather unprepared this year. I did have today and yesterday off this week so we decorated a little. Yesterday Lavinia got up early. She usually sleeps in and I really enjoy getting at least one cup of coffee in before she appears. She has a lot of energy and I can barely keep up.

While I was getting dressed she got on the treadmill. Since she was doing well on it, I just let her go at it hoping it would tire her out a little bit. She was really exited because she knew we were going to do the tree.

Last year she had no interest in the tree and the year before she was too young. This year she had lots of fun. Since we have a fake tree I usually put it together and shape the branches and Jason does the lights and the garland. She helped me for a little bit but was bored with it pretty fast.

She then went to “help” with the lights until she discovered the garland. She played with that garland by twirling in round and round on the floor for so long that we had a time getting it untangled. She was very good putting the ornaments on the tree. We had a great time decorating and aside from driving us crazy with the sound of the beaded garland sliding on the floor we were very impressed with her behavior. And we only broke 1 ornament.

3D Thursday

2006-12-07T00:41:00.000-04:00

This is a great holiday idea. I made these holiday Santa, Reindeer, and Snowman soups using a pattern from the Dirty Dozen Gallery on splitcoaststampers.com. It contains a package of hot chocolate some marshmellows and a candy cane and a poem tying it all together. This is a great project for any holiday. I made a pumpkin for Lavinia at Hallowe'en and filled it with candy corn. The designer of these all season treat containers is Leigh O’Brien. Her gallery on the website is amazing and you can see her projects as well on her blog Sunflower Studio. Her all season treat bags are much more ornate than mine. I strive for the ability to create great cards and projects like her. Meanwhile, I will be making more of these treat containers to fill little treats for the kids at Christmas.

Wednesday’s Words

2006-12-06T08:10:00.000-04:00

“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.” - Norman Vincent Peale

I never associated Christmas with peaceful, soft, or beautiful growing up. It was exhausting, stressful, and busy; but still exiting and enjoyable. We put up the tree, bought and wrapped presents, put up the lights, decorated, unwrapped presents, went visiting all in the same week. Christmas day we were all together and Boxing Day I saw my cousins, uncles and aunts at a get together at my grandparents. Although I loved Christmas Day and seeing everyone on Boxing Day the stress of getting everything ready for Christmas had everyone exhausted before it even began. Because of this I looked forward to Christmas but at the same time dreaded it. Once I was married, we decorated the first day we both had off in December. That was the first Christmas I really enjoyed. We had our presents done in early December and listening to Christmas music while wrapping presents really helped to bring on the Christmas mood. I even baked for Christmas that year. We had fun at Mom and Dad’s on Christmas Day and enjoyed Boxing Day as well. Ever since, we were prepared early and had a peaceful and enjoyable holiday season … until this year. We still hope to have a peaceful and enjoyable holiday season, but we are a little behind in the holiday preparations. We are decorating next week either on Thursday or Friday. It’s still the first week of December so we still have time to be ready so we can relax during the holidays.

Tool Time Tuesday

2006-12-05T20:24:00.000-04:00

This is my double circle punch by Creative Memories. It makes 1¼-inch and 1½-inch circles. I love that it is two punches in one. I mainly use it for scrapbooking but did need it for Lavinia’s birthday card last year. I got the idea for the ladybug from splitcoaststampers but can’t find who came up with the idea in the first place. I used the sketch from the catalogue last year on page 101 using Say Something Mice. I thought it was a great sketch to use a lot of scraps. The wings spread to reveal the word bliss stamped underneath. I really liked it so I made a few more. They are great to use together for a framed affect like I did in Lavinia’s park page or combined with different shaped circles in Lavinia’s Bubbles page. In the Big Sister heritage page I used the punches for framing but also used it to make a paper tag. Of coarse any 1¼ and 1½ circle punch will do but I find it so handy to have both tools in one. Usually when I use one I use the other too and it illuminates so much searching through my messy pile of goodies.

Monochromatic Monday

2006-12-04T05:42:00.000-04:00

Here is a quick card with a monochromatic color scheme. I love using patterned paper with monochromatic cards because it is the simplest way to add interest. This card is 3.5 x 6 so that it fits in a regular envelope. It is the perfect size for a money holder card.

2006-12-03T00:06:00.000-04:00

Lately the scrapbook challenges have started taking a turn to the “about me” type of pages. I started scrapbooking shortly after I was married so I never did a page about me before. The main reason was because most of the pictures taken were of my daughter. There were a few pages that included me but I was definitely not the focus of the page. The first about me challenge that I tried was to scrap your personal mantra. It really appealed to me because I was doing a heritage album at the time and often wished I had known stories and feelings of my ancesters instead of only dates and names. I’m not one to think my scrapbooks will be heirlooms passed down to future generations, however if my child or future children were curious these pages are better than nothing. Plus I have a lot of fun doing them.

This was my submission for my mantra page. Journaling reads: When I first heard the soundtrack to the musical RENT, I was overwhelmed by the powerful message of living in the present. Actual living. No holding back or hiding. At that point in my life I would often wallow in regrets & was worried about the future. I no longer worry about the future so much. Instead I am such a procrastinator not only in everyday tasks, but also in achieving personal goals. My mantra reminds me to stop using tomorrow as an excuse & work toward reaching my goals now.

No Day but Today

There's only us; there's only this,
Forget regret or life is yours to miss,
No other road; no other way,
No day but today.

There's only us, only tonight,
We must let go to know what's right,
No other course; no other way,
No day but today

I can't control my destiny,
I trust my soul; my only goal is just to be,

There's only now, there's only here,
Give in to love or live in fear
No other path; no other way,
No day but today,
No day but today,
No day but today,
No day but today,
No day but today,
No day but today.

- Jonathan Larson (RENT)

Stamp Set Saturday

2006-12-02T12:11:00.000-04:00

This is a retired SU stamp set called Heavenly Heralds. I chose this set to use for my Christmas cards this year. The first card had the fold in the middle. I used the French Script background, masked the circle and stamped the first word from the sentement inside. I used the Poppin' Pastels technique for the main image and used the sketch from Splitcoaststampers sketch challenge 67.
The second card was using the sketch from last year's idea book. It was using a different stampset but I like how it worked with this one too. This was a really quick and easy card.

The third card was done using the bleaching technique. I have tried before to stamp with bleach but, especially with a stamp as detailed as this, it never turned out right. There were spots that were really bold and others did not change color at all. I gave up on bleaching until we did this kind of bleaching technique at our stamp club meeting. In this card I embossed the image in gold then applied bleach with a Q-tip filling in the image.
The last card I did with a blue marker and pencil crayons. I highlighted the dress with the blue marker then used the blender pen to color it in. The rest of the image, I used pencil crayons. I hope to get the watercolor wonder crayons soon. Right now I am limited in coloring mediums. I know the blender pens and classic ink work but I only have one family in classic right now. I still use what I have so I can create and practice for better mediums in the future.
This is only one of the angels in the set. The other angel in the set is picking flowers and goes with the quote, “The love of beautiful things is heavenly homesickness.” I do like the quote but for what kind of card would you use it? I would use it in a card to someone who gardens or scrapbooks. (We all know every scrapbooker has their stash of pretty things.) In that case, I wouldn’t use the angel. Other than someone who collects angels, I really have no ideas. Even so, I do love the set because of the Christmas angel and quote and have often used the other two stamps alone.

Fakey Friday

2006-12-01T15:15:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite faux techniques is faux metal tags. I love hardware and the look of metal on my scrapbook pages and cards. Basically you make a faux metal tag out of cardstock and metallic embossing powder. I emboss the whole piece of paper and do three coats of EP. While it is still hot stamp on it with a dry rubber stamp. I stamped the tag with small lettering so I only did two coats of EP. It’s a really fun and easy technique. If you’ve never tried it there is a tutorial on Splitcoaststampers.com. I also made this card for this week’s splitcoaststampers’ card sketch challenge (SC100).

Stamps: flip flops, Cute converse, Fun Filled (spiral and swirls backgrounds)

Paper: generic cardstock

Ink: black Staze on, whisper White, Versamark

Accessories: gold EP, White fiber

Techniques: faux metal tags

2006-11-27T00:38:00.000-04:00

My craft fair season did not go well. I had prepared 100 + cards, 9 various stationary sets, 20+ tea matchbooks, 12 envelopes of homemade cappuccino (1 serving size), 12 jars homemade cappuccino, 6 mini notebooks, 6 notebooks with matching pen, and Santa, reindeer and snowman soup. I did sell 2 jars of homemade cappuccino at $8 each, 8 envelopes of cappuccino 6 teabag matchbooks at $1 each, 1 card at $2.50 and 1 mini notebook at $4. Mom had made some coasters for me to set out as well and there were no takers on that. Many of the crafters said that it was a poor year because it occurred before the pension checks were out. I’m not sure how drastic the pension checks affected the sales but I did learn some lessons. The main thing is people here do not like packaging. I had the cards packaged with a matching stamped envelope and the inside verse displayed. The notebooks with matching pen were packaged together as were the stationary sets. There were less than five people who glanced in their direction. All in all, I made just over the cost of my tables and gas. I’m glad I did it just for the experience, but next year? We’ll have to see.

Work is going well. I'm not even out of training and am already getting a 6 day week. I don't mind the job and actually think I will enjoy it once I'm out of training. That will be Wednesday, by the way. I can't wait to just get at it.

Two peas in a pod

2006-11-21T14:18:00.000-04:00

Last weekend Mom and Dad and Isabella came to visit. It was fun seeing them and especially watching Lavinia and Isabella play together. This time Lavinia was following Isabella’s lead. It’s very interesting because at home and at her Nanny’s she rules the roost. Lavinia seemed to go to bed well Friday night so the last night we put the two girls together in Lavinia’s bed. They did really good. Realistically I thought Lavinia might keep Isabella up and we might need to separte them but I never heard a sound that night. Lavinia did not “sneak out” that night. Lately she’s been raiding the refrigerator in the middle of the night while we are sleeping. The next morning we’d wake up to find cheese slice wrappers or empty yogurt containers. There were no signs of that behavior on Sunday morning. Isabella still slept in a bit. Mom and Dad were stunned that she was not awake. When she did wake up Mom asked her, “How did you sleep last night?” Isabella said, “Not very well. Lavinia was peeping all night.” None of us really knew what she meant so Mom asked, “ Really. How did she do that?” Isabella said, “Like this. Peep, peep, peep, peep.” Even though Isabella had a rough night, it was a great visit. The two girls were like two peas in a pod.

Stress

2006-11-16T13:31:00.000-04:00

I’ve been pretty busy since going back to work. Since working full time I feel really pressed for time. I suspect I will feel this way until the New Year. All last weekend I’ve been packaging the items I made for the craft fair. This weekend we are having visitors. I did not get as many projects done for the craft fair as I would have liked but at least I have something to put on the table. When I worked full time before I didn’t have much else on the go and fast easy meals. Since I stopped working I did a lot more cooking and baking. I had a lot more time to exercise. Lavinia really enjoyed baking from scratch and helping me cook. I have not exercised regularly since going back to work. I still want to continue less fast food, take-out, and pre-made dinners but need to find a way to manage my time. I also have got to take some time to organize the piles on my desk. Time management is key and I need a crash course.

Tool Time Tuesday

2006-11-07T06:36:00.000-04:00

My latest purchase of scrapbooking supplies was spent on this product - the Crop-a-dile. Actually I was down to the end of my customer card at the local scrapbook store so I had $20 off any product. This baby only cost me just under $10 CAN. Great buy. To me, it is definitely worth the $30 at full price. It has a 1/8 and 3/16 punch on each side and an eyelet/snap setter. I admit I love the hammer. I really like to bang out those eyelets and not be constricted by how close it is to the edge. Silent setters never interested me in the slightest. Well I thought that if I bought this thing I should try it out. Since I am going through adhesive like crazy I thought I would save some and attatch my main image on the covered notebook on the right with eyelets. Since I adhered the eyelets before covering the notebook cover the desired area were not too close to the end of the page and it was a bit cumbersome for that reason. The actual attaching of the eyelet was very easy on both the eyelets and my hands. I do prefer the hammering method but would definitely use my cropadile if the desired area were close to the edge or if I can not hammer because Lavinia is asleep. The great news is that I did not buy this product for the setter though. Last year I went through a number of punches making paper bag books and this year I broke another punch while making my covered notebooks for the craft fair. I had heard that the Cropadile was made for heavy-duty use so I decided that after spending way over $30 in punches that had broken and trips to the scrapbook store to get them, the Cropadile would be worth trying. With my covered notebooks, I added chipboard to the front and back and because of my previous punches limitations I would have to punch all separately and the pressure would reek havoc on my hands. I knew this was the product for me once I used the punch the first time. It went through the paper cardstock, and chipboard with ease. It says that you can even use it on tin. I have not tried but I do believe that you could. I made all of these mini covered notebooks (stacked in the pic) and 3 large notebooks in one evening. Before having the cropadile I would do two notebooks in one evening. I recommend this product to anyone making mini-books and covered notebooks. If you only make cards or scrapbook pages unless you are really into silent setters, I would stick to a good quality punch.

Monochromatic Monday

2006-11-06T00:01:00.000-04:00

Monochromatic colors are all the hues of one color. For scrapbooking the warms colors look great with sepia tones and the cool colors look great with cool tones. I will use this effect on my pages mostly when I have great embellishments that I love on the page, but they seem to overpower the pictures. Using monochromatic tones reduces their power. It could also be used to create a peaceful effect. Here are some of my projects using a green monochromatic color scheme.

This was another page done during the last VSBN. It was done for the Ireland challenge, which was to complete a layout in monochromatic green while following the sketch.
Journaling reads: Carly and I met at Canoe Cove Christian Camp in the mid '80s. We saw each other only once a year but wrote often. Once we could drive we saw each other more often. Throughout time we often lived far from each other. But we lived in the same dorm for 6 months. We worked in the same mall for 6 months. We love to laugh. We love to sing. We love to be crazy. This is us being crazy in the garden. My 16th birthday Aug 27,1991. Stamps: Noteworthy Paper: $ store patterned paper, green cardstock Ink: Whisper White, White Souffle pen Accessories: Vintage clip art, sticker quote, Monogram Rub ons Techniques: blocking

I made this cardset for the craft fair. There is 2 of each design. I used Reverse Prints (now retired) and Noteworthy (also retired). I also made a notebook with matching pen. I’m still not sure if I will sell together or separately so people have the option to mix and match. All papers were from my miscellaneous paper pile so I am not aware of the manufacturer I used Glorious Green Ink.

This is a 4 ½ x 4 ½ card The stamp is Katie&co. and the papers were again from my miscellaneous paper pile. I used Jet Black Staze on ink.

The color is off in these cards. They are more green than they seem. I used the poinsetta image from Happiest of Holidays. I used Old Olive ink and a black Zig pen for faux stitching.

2006-11-05T08:37:00.000-04:00

Scrapbook Sunday - This month I decided to not go with a particular scrapbooking theme but to instead show some of my favorite pages from this past Virtual Scrapbook Night. The even occurs every three months on www.splitcoaststampers.com. The normal routine is that there is a preview, which is an evening of challenges (3 because each lasts 2 hrs) for those who are new so they can get a taste of the big event. Then there is a weekend when a new challenge is posted every 2 hours. It is very challenging for people like me who spend days on one page. You do not have to do each challenge but can it you want. It’s so fun to get a lot done. The October event was the sites third VSBN.
I saw a similar layout on someone’s blog (unfortunately I can’t remember which one) and modified it to fit a 12x12 page. I made this for the Italy challenge, which was to use the color of wine and some heat embossing on the page. I embossed the title and the smaller words to each side.

Journaling reads: We went to the old playground in the National Park. It was very windy but Lavinia did not want to leave the slide. She didn’t even want to walk the trails. She loved that slide. Cavendish Sept 2006

Papers: Costco generic Stamps: LetterPress Alphabet, Noteworthy Ink: Perfect Plum

I did this layout for the France challenge. which was to use brown to complete a vintage look to your layout. Also embellish well. I normally love metal and ribbons; I left it out on this layout. There was a bonus for sepia tones, which I did not do. Journaling reads: Jason, Taryn, and Lavinia spent the day at Woodleigh Replicas while visiting Grammie and Grampie MacLellan for a week. September 2006

Paper: Simply Scrappin' Vintage papers and stickers, $ store patterned paper Ink: Basic Brown for aging Accessories: Basic Grey Urban Couture alphabet stickers, vintage clip art, library pocket.

I did this layout for the Scotland challenge, which was to use plaid in your layout.
Journaling reads: When I was little both Philip and Tanya’s friends called me “Little Philip”. That always made me feel so proud. Philip was the smart one who always excelled in school. My grades were never that good. After pursuing a PhD in Economics he made a decision to start a different career path. He then went to school to become a teacher. He practice taught in my high school and I loved spending time with him.
I loved to follow Tanya around everywhere. Sometimes she would do my hair. Later she became a hairdresser and she continued to do my hair for years. She was in 4-H and I remember her being very good at cooking and crafts, which I could never do. She did introduce me to scrapbooking, which later became my obsession. Stamps: Letterpress Alphabet Paper: Real Red, Paper Pizzazz Christmas plaid paper, white cardstock Ink: Read Red, White Souffle pen

The next Virtual Scrapbook Night (should really be weekend) should be January. Close to that time we will see threads in the forums with the dates and a shopping list of what you would need on hand for each challenge in the event.

Stamp Set Saturday

2006-11-04T10:09:00.000-04:00

Stampin’ Ups Fun Filled stamp set is my latest acquisition. It is one that didn’t impress me when I first looked at it but once I started using it, it is one of the sets that I reach for most often. It is just so versatile. I love the background swirl. It’s good for any kind of card. The whole set is so versatile. Here’s some cards and projects I’ve used with this set.

For the craft fair I did some gift sets and mini gift sets. I really love coffee so I did one of each kind with a coffee theme. Here is a mini gift set. It has a mini notebook, matching pen, 4 3x3 gift cards and a mini post-it-note holder. The coffee mug was made with a 2 step basket/purse stamp. This means there is one stamp to stamp the outline of the basket/purse stamp, then I stamp again to fill it in. Actually I would do the fill first and then the outlining but it is easier to explain the steps backwards without having a visual. I used the swirl stamp for the background. All papers came from my miscellaneous scraps so they are a variety of brands. I used Chocolate Chip and Elegant Eggplant ink.

Here is a regular gift set with 2 cards instead of 4 gift tags. I used Basic Brown ink for the background swirls and used Pixie Pink and Pink Passion for the image. The sentiment reads, “I’d rather be shopping”.

Not only does the stamp set make different kinds of cards but it can also be used with other stamps for even more versatility. Here is another gift set (can you tell I’m getting ready for a craft fair?) using just the background swirls of Fun Filled. I got the main image is Katie & co. and used the Linen background stamp and “baby” from Noteworthy on the panels. My last gift set used the background swirl from Fun Filled as well.

The snoopy stamp is by Stampabilities. Fun Filled is such a great set to use. The 2 step stamp make it easy to do cards fast. You do not have to color the image but also have the option to do so if desired. The background swirls add interest to the whole card, not just the focal point. There is also a flower image and a bow to go on top of the basket/purse 2 step stamp. The stamp set definitely surpasses my expectations.

Fakey Friday

2006-11-03T00:27:00.000-04:00

My challenge for last months VSBN was to have people make Faux-Leather for their pages. The look is created using masking tape, dye ink, and clear embossing powder. My challenge was to use this technique to create fake crocodile skin.

For the first example the Big Easy, I made lines with my masking tape and cut out circles and ovals to look like the skin of a crocodile. It took a while and since there is a 2 hr time limit, the rest of the page had to be very simple. I did not have or take any pictures while I was in Louisiana so I used my postcards from the area and one picture of Robin and me who was in Louisiana with me, even though the picture was taken in Los Angeles.

Journaling reads: In 1999 I toured Louisiana and Arkansas with David Groves and Robin Black. After 3 years on the road I'd lost so many cameras that I gave up taking pictures and bought postcards instead. These postcards are particularly special because it was my favorite place – the French Quarter. We went to Café du Monde often and get coffee and baguettes. Each time the same trumpet player was there and I thought it was so funny when I saw him on the postcard. I loved Arkansas and northern Louisiana but because we had gaps in our itinerary, I booked more shows near New Orleans so we could spend most of our time there.
We were in Lake Charles for Fat Tuesday and the celebrations were tamer than the New Orleans version but still a lot of fun. We still saw lots of parades and went dancing on Bourbon St many times. Because of one of our school programs we had the opportunity of a lifetime. The teacher previously worked for the mayor and was still involved in many charities and was able to get us in the stands where the mayor and the judges sat. It was so amazing. When she found that I was a big Harry Connick Jr. fan, she also got us in to see the Orpheus parade. I did not get a good look at Harry because he turned and kissed his wife right when he passed. I did see Sandra Bullock as she was presented with keys to the city.
I loved the cultural diversity – Creole, Acadian, Southern, and urban. It was such a great mix and the food was so delicious. Cajun food is the best. I tried many new foods that were so delicious. I tried crawdads, jambalaya, and even tried alligator. It tasted like spicy pork to me.
Hurricane Katrina struck last year in 2005 around the end of August. It was a horrible devastation to the area. New Orleans was completely under water and even areas in the northern LA were destroyed. It was such a horrific thing to happen to this great area and to the great people in it. I sometimes think of the time I spent there and wonder what happened to the great people we met and who took us into their homes. The destruction was so bad that New Orleans is still finishing rebuilding now a year later. According MardiGrasday.com many hotels are taking reservations and this year will be a big celebration of life. After going through hell and surviving, I can’t think of better people that deserve a good time.

Stamps: Letterpress Alphabet Paper: Bravo Burgundy, scrap paper under faux leather, Old Olive Ink: Old Olive, printer ink for journaling Other: metal edge tag, vintage clip art, burgundy ribbon, library pocket, key sticker from Simply Scrappin' Vintage pack

On my other sample page, I decided to use holographic EP instead of clear for a variation. Journaling is just Lavinia’s full name and Spring 2005.

Stamps: Letterpress Alphabet Paper: neon green cardstock for base, tan cardstock Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Handsome Hunter Other: masking tape, Holographic EP, heat gun, circle punch, paper fastener, silk flower

A tutorial for the faux leather technique can be found in the resources section on www.splitcoaststampers.com.

3D Thursday

2006-11-02T06:45:00.000-04:00

I made this purse card holder for the upcoming craft fair to include a set of 8 cards. I really like the look. Double sided papers would be perfect for making these.

Paper: light green cardstock, brown scraps, Stamps: Linen background (SU), Flower Power Alphabet (SeeD’s) Ink: Basic Brown, white Souffle pen for faux-stitching, Other: Prima flower, paper fastener, mini-brads.

Wednesdays Words

2006-11-01T15:47:00.000-04:00

You are part of all that surrounds you. Celebrate your connection to the beauty and mystery of Life – Flavio

I made a covered notebook and card. I’m trying to make quick and easy projects to sell at the craft fair for a number of reasons. It will not take as long to make, keep costs down, and some people like the simple look. I’ll see how this year goes to see if I’ll do it again next year and if I’ll keep it simple or get more complicated. The card is made with Close to Cocoa and white cardstock. I’m not sure the name of the vender on the corner stickers and the vellum quote. Those came from the supplies I’ve been keeping for years. The notebook is made with Basic Grey paper from the Urban Couture collection. The vellum quote and rub-on came from my stash of miscellaneous supplies.

Happy Hallowe'en

2006-10-31T20:05:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Jason had all kinds of fun decorating with Lavinia. We usually decorate after Thanksgiving but we’ve had a lot going on lately that today really snuck up on us this year. Even so, this Hallowe’en has been the best one I’ve had in ages. The last few Hallowe’ens I was working. Today I was off at 3:30. I took Lavinia trick-or-treating around the block. Then Tasha and Paul took her and I passed out candy. It’s getting toward the end of the night and we’ve had over 30 kids so far. Much more than before. I’m getting down to the end of the candy. I was searching the cupboards to find what I could give if we did run out. I guess it will be freezies and pudding if it comes to that. Lavinia was a fairy princess this year. She was very shy going door to door. She was a little restless getting ready but we managed to get a few pics. The batteries were dying on the camera so the wait made it even harder to get a good picture.

Training

2006-10-28T22:46:00.000-03:00

Training is going well. The material is very similar to what I was doing for my last job. I'm really glad that I already have a good grasp starting out because my brain just does not function that early in the morning. It is very hard for me to get up in the morning. I’m so used to being up late. When I first knew I’d be going back to work I worried about how I would get up for 9am but then found that training started at 7:30 am. It’s been hard but I’ve made it so far and the first few days are always the worst to adjust. Halfway through the training we'll be switching to night training. That is more my style; however, by then I'll be used to mornings. I’m started to get excited about working again. I think it’s going to be fun. I think I’m going to do something fun the first week of every month. I did a little crafting tonight but have no pic to post. I think I’ll just save it for the beginning of the month. It will be a little treat after Hallowe’en. It’s storming here and the power is flickering so I’d better shut down.

Conflicted

2006-10-26T20:54:00.000-03:00

I got a job today. I start tomorrow at 7:30. I am of coarse excited about trying something new and making more money. I’m also really sad about not being home everyday. I was really hoping to use my time off to get things done around here. Although we did much more around the house than we have done last year, we didn’t get too far down the list of planned projects. I have gotten used to spending all day with Lavinia. I’m going to miss her. I’m slightly upset because I didn’t want to go back to work before Christmas. I thought we could have Hallowe’en and Christmas together for a change. I couldn’t sleep last night and decided to sort some of my scrap papers.

This morning I woke up before everyone and decided to use the time to create some cards. I used the light green from Basic Grey’s Urban Couture’s pack and the bottom paper was from Stampin’ Ups Holiday mini last year. The image is from Home for the Holidays stamped in Old Olive and the sentiment is from Cute Converse (retired) stamped in Whisper White.

I met with my new employers today and I think I’m going to enjoy working there. Jason actually worked for them when we lived in Charlottetown so I know they are a good company. When I got home Lavinia and I made brownies. I’m really going to miss doing things like this with her at the spur of the moment, without any planning required.

Penny Pinching and Temper Tantrums

2006-10-24T20:22:00.000-03:00

I really hate penny pinching but right now it is necessary. I'm getting ready for an upcoming craft fair and need supplies. I'm trying to use up my stash of collected papers, stickers, ribbons, and other embellishments. Still you can't do much without ink and adhesive and I’m running low on both. My last Stampin’ Up order was last May. I am saving up for a large order but I keep putting it off because last minute things come up. I guess I’ll just have to think of how happy I’ll be once that order arrives. I did no stamping or scrapbooking today or yesterday. Just worked on the budget and did some work around the house.

Lavinia has been feeling sick lately and so I’m cutting her a little slack. Even so, what makes this turn to this on a dime? Needless to say after tearing up the living room in 5 minutes, she didn’t get her sticker for picking up her toys tonight. She saw it as too big a job and didn’t even want to try.

Great scrappin' weekend

2006-10-23T17:23:00.000-03:00

The weekend went by pretty smoothly. I tried all the challenges except for one because it involved using wheels that I don't have. I got a lot done even though I was sick. I started to feel aweful on Friday and really was not in the scrapping mood. Then as the challenges were posted, they were so fun I couldn't not try. There were a lot of pages I would have done more with if it weren't for the time limit but mostly I'm happy with what I did.
This layout was done for the Antarctica challenge which was to show winter pics with sparkles. I doubled up on the bonus challenge which was to stamp on acetate using Staze On. It was supposed to be something big but I thought it would be perfect for my corner stamps. I barely use them because they are angled strangly so it can not be symetrical. Acetate and Staze on Solves that problem. I found acetate really hard to stamp on without smearing. You don't want to know how many photo corners I scrapped because they were smudged. I also don't have any clear glue so I used a mini glue dot and covered it with a rhinestone. I did use more acetate for a shaker box around the journaling but did not stamp on it.
Journaling reads:Winter is Lavinia's favorite season. She loves to play outside in the snow. She makes snow angels and tracks in the snow. If it were up to her she would spend all day outside. Unfortunately for her, I get cold very easily. Lavinia Jan 2006

Another of my favorite pages was this one. This was done for the Netherlands challenge. The challenge was to make pinwheels and use flowers (extra points for tulips) and have a hidden element on your layout. I based the page around tulip stickers but once the page devoloped, the tulips didn't quite work. I scrapped it and changed for the metal flower.
Journaling on the tag reads:
Lavinia loves to just hang in the living room with Nan. She is very helpful and brings her water but sometimes drinks it first. Nan still appreciates the help. Spring 2005
I used the Spring Flowers double sided papers and Mellow Moss and Cameo Coral Cardstock. I used Barely Banana ink for the title but is not showing so well in the picture.

Getting ready for the BIG weekend.

2006-10-21T23:58:00.000-03:00

I was actually trying to post this yesterday but my computer would not cooperate. The other day we saw ducks on the lawn. That's right wild ducks. I live right in town so I don't see ducks too often. I grabbed my camera and went outside. Lavinia was so excited but minutes before decided she needed to shed all her clothes so she had to watch from the window. Do you see them? I know. Believe me, that's the best shot I got. When I checked later I couldn't figure out what happened with the camera. I put it aside until Friday. Then I started to fiddle with the setting so that I could get a good shot. It had to work because this weekend is Virtual Scrapbook weekend on Splitcoast Stampers. Every 2 hours a new challenge is posted. We have to complete the challenge in 2 hrs and post it in the gallery before the deadline. Challenges run noon to midnight Atlantic Standard Time. Because most of my layouts are 12x12 and my scanner scans 81/2 x 11, pics are the way to go. I tried every setting and could not even come close to fixing the problem. I then called Tasha for her camera expertise. What a lifesaver. There was a smudge on the lens. I would never have thought of that. I thought Lavinia, who sometimes gets her hands on the camera changed the settings. Note to self: take better care of that camera. Now it's just after midnight and we are halfway through our weekend. I will share my favorite layouts in my next post.

My neglected plants

2006-10-19T15:37:00.000-03:00

Today it finally stopped raining so Lavinia and I went outside and did some gardening. I am no green thumb. I actually hate the great outdoors but my guilt over my neglected plants reached it's peak and I decided to do something about it. Not only do I not have a green thumb, but I don't even know the difference between a plant and a weed. Last year I had great plans to fix up the yard and learn everything about my plants and how to take care of them. The result was that we kept the lawn mowed most of the time. This was a great improvement from last year since we then had craxy work schedules and most of our days off were rainy. Reality is that I do not like to be outside and avoid it when I can. Out of site and out of mind is usually where my yard is located. Today I can up with a solution for this and also for my own gardening ignorance with a very simple and manageable task. I resolve to take pictures of all my plants once a month. Sounds easy, right? It is. This way I can see what I don't like and want to change. I can e mail pictures to Mom (who LOVES gardening) for advice. That's right. Be prepared for questions, Mom. Another reason for doing this is to see what blooms and when. I just finished sizing my gardening pics for October. There are definately problem areas, but to my surprise there are a few areas I like.

Television

2006-10-18T14:44:00.000-03:00

I love watching television. I'm such an addict. The problem is that most shows I like run either at the same time or at the time I'm trying to get my daughter to go to sleep. My VCR has become my favorite gadget. I usually watch them while I stamp or scrapbook. It is rare that I can sit an watch television without doing something. When I was younger, I remember my mother always doing something else while watching TV. It used to drive me crazy because she'd always miss something and I'd end up missing something else while I was explaining what happened. Now that I'm watching a tape it's no big deal to miss something. I just rewind. Now that the new season has started I don't read or watch movies anymore. Just TV. I am a sucker for crime dramas so I've created a poll to see if there are any others out there like me. My absolute favorite is Medium but have left it off since it doesn't premier until next month. What was NBC thinking?

With all this useless talk I thought I would show the results of my television watching last Saturday.

The first group of cards were made with Stampin' Up's Summer by the Sea stamp set. I used generic Costco cardstock and other scraps that I had collected over the years. I am very new to coloring so I have not invested in supplies until I can learn more about shading at the very least. I used my daughter's generic pencil crayons. All images were stamped on Stampin' Up's Whisper White paper. I was very impressed with the results of the pencil crayons on the ultrasmooth paper. I framed most images by doodling with my Zig Millennium Black marker and did faux stitching with my white Souffle pen. I didn't like the Souffle pen at first because it goes on almost clear. I was miffed and tossed my card aside. A few minutes later I was amazed. The pen dries opaque so it just takes a little patience for a great result.

The next group of cards I made because I was trying to use some suede papers that were cut in shapes. I stamped on them with Stampin' Up's Fun Filled stamp set using Whisper White craft ink. Again I really liked the results. All of these cards are pretty simple. I love using ribbons and charms but I was really trying to keep things simple. The middle card is a birthday card for Wade so Darlene, if you are reading, don't tell.

2006-10-18T01:49:00.000-03:00

I am experimenting with pics for my profile.

To venture into the unknown

2006-10-18T00:26:00.000-03:00

Today I decided to create a blog. My husband has been after me to create a my space page. I found that they were too busy and I did not even enjoy looking at them. I decided that blogging was the way to go.
I've been a long-time scrapbooker (about 6 years) and recently ventured into rubber-stamping a little over a year ago. It is my new obsession - and I mean obsession. I really did not realize people could get so nutty over paper and ribbon until it happened to me.
My intentions for this blog are to showcase papercrafting projects I have made, share various tips and favorite products, and share things I find interesting other than papercrafts. I do not intend to blog every day, but if I have the ability and something to share I shall do so.
I am not a writer. In fact blogging rather intimidates me. Oh the pressure of trying to come up with something interesting that people will want to read. Something meaningful. Something special. No. I'm setting my inhibitions aside and daring to create something I've never dared to create before. Here I come to cyber land.