Happy Hallowe'en

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

I am experimenting with pics for my profile.

To venture into the unknown

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.