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I made this for the girl I work with....today is her birthday! I usually take the photos in natural light, but since we probably won't see much of that today, I had to use the light of my desk lamp. The red flower is actually a brighter red, and this photo does NOT do that MME Bohemia paper any justice. This is that paisley print one. I just want to wallpaper my craft room with it...I love it!
Ernesto has been a bit of a let down. It's no worse than our typical summer storm, but it'll probably just last all day instead of 30 minutes. Not that I wanted to get a serious storm or anything, but there's always all this build up, then we just get a crappy weather day that makes it miserable to come to work...we were all hoping we'd AT LEAST get a day off out of it. The good thing, though, is that there was NO traffic on the way to work today. I'd drive to work in the rain every day for that!
Chad and I went up to Port Charlotte on Saturday to spend the day with his parents. His mom took me to the scrapbook store that they have nearby....wow. She has a NICE one up there! Anyways, as we were checking out, I was asking how they liked the Cutterpede, as I am becoming less than thrilled with my current trimmer. The ladies proceeded to tell us about the Limited Edition PINK Cutterpede they are taking names for. I had heard about this, but didn't really want to pay $75 for it. Marty (MIL) put her name on the list for one....then asked if I'd be happy with this for Christmas. Heck yes! So, I have to forget she's ordering it, and act surprised when I open it. Hehe. Here's how it comes:
Bag Features:
-ID pocket
-Carry handle and removable shoulder strap
-Loops hold pen securely in place
-2 removable mesh pouches
-2 adjustable dividers
-1 large mesh pouch
-Straps to hold Cutterpede in place
Includes:
-Tool Bag
-NEW Pink Cutterpede Paper Trimmer w/ blade
-Cutterpede Score Blade
-Cutter Bee Scissors
-Archival Zig Millennium Black .05 Pen
-Zig 2-Way Glue Chisel Tip wet glue
-Herma Glue Star Removable Adhesive dry glue
-CornerAdorner Medium Rounder Punch
-Pink Fastenater Mini & 48 Silver Staple Bars
Marty also bought me the Freestyle book and a white Staz-on ink pad with inker for my birthday since it's coming up next week (the big 2-6!). I got a few of the new MME papers (Bohemia and Signature Studio), some Bazzill, Plain Janes chipboard arrows, the Rebecca Sower photo corner punch, solvent ink cleaner, Bazzil chipboard flowers, and a few packages of Bazzill big polka-dot brads.
Then, yesterday, Chad and I went out to get the paint for my Craft Room. I'm currently in the smaller, front bedroom, but I'm moving to the larger back one. The Guest Room hardly ever gets used, so it'll be fine having it in the smaller room. I'm not going to invest in cabinets for this house, but when we get somewhere we're planning to be for a long time, I'll go that route then. For now, my tables and sterilite drawers are perfectly fine. In this room, I'll have space to add a comfy chair (which is already in that room), a sewing table, and a couple Pantry-type cabinets from Target.
I decided to go with a yellow. I wanted something happy and cheery, plus true yellows stimulate mental activity and promote creativity. I was originally going to go with a more buttery color, but I saw this picture in the paint sample brochure, and loved it. This is similar to the color our neighbors painted their kitchen, and it looks great! I chose Behr Bicycle Yellow. It looks a little darker on the monitor than it actually is...it's a nice, sunny yellow.
Chad said he might try to start moving stuff out of the room and paint, depending on what this storm decides to do, and if he has to start boarding up buildings in the park or whatever. I'll be sure to post photos when I'm all moved!
First of all, I am happy to say that I purchased my very first Idea Book this weekend:
Elsie is just amazing. Her layouts are both fun and heartfelt...not to mention gorgeous! Just a quick flip through gave me the inspiration to fix a layout that I really wasn't happy with. This one started out as a horizontal 8 1/2 x 11 on Kraft cardstock. I liked certain elements (the photo and the tag) but it just wasn't 'doing it' for me. This is the final version:
Now I just need to get the Freestyle book! And maybe the designing with type book.
DISTRESS INKS! I'm sure I've pretty much made that clear before! I'm participating in the Sassy Secret Sisters swap at 2Peas, which is going on for 3 months. This month we had to send out packages worth $5-$10. This is what my AWESOME secret sister sent me! Jewels, flowers, and distress inks in pretty colors. Really, is there anything better? And check out that sweet card...it's all painted. Now I need to go to Michaels and get more of those papier mache signs to alter.
I have a confession....or even a declaration if you prefer: 
I LOVE HEIDI SWAPP RUB-ONS!!!
I know I am in the minority on this one...most people that have used them HATE them with a passion and threw them away. Yes, yes, I admit...they were a big pain in the butt the first and even second time I used them. I couldn't get them to transfer at all, let alone actually STICK to anything. But I was bound and determined not to waste $5.99 and 925 characters worth of pink Heidi goodness. Okay, I did waste maybe 8 or 9 letters, but I figured them out. And now, I'll venture to say they are my absolute favorite. It's not just the awesome fonts and colors...it's the convenience. I love that you don't have to cut out the individual letters, since they are not sticky. They are so much quicker than the others...to me, anyways.
I always use the pointy end of the stick that comes with them. Lay down the sheet and line up the letter you want. I do a quick trace-around of the letter, just to get it started, and then I trace over the letter itself. You don't have to rub hard at all. The letters actually get darker as they transfer (which is the opposite of what it says on the back of the package). Make sure there are no more light spots, and lift! They are so easy, and really quick once you get the hang of them. The small learning curve is totally worth it. I use them on everything, and have never had a problem with them coming off. And the scotch tape trick (removing mistakes with a piece of scotch tape) comes in handy now and then, too.
I, for one, am going to be bummed when Advantus changes them to work like regular rub-ons.
I wanted a new headshot-type photo of myself in color, and that looked a little more like me, to use for my photography and whatnot. Chad shot this one of me, and I did the color work. I'm pretty happy with it (and I am PICKY about photos of me), and I had a good hair day yesterday, too! Of course I couldn't get it to look like that for work today to save my life. I don't know what's up with my eyebrows in the photo, though. Hmmm.
As for today's Blogging Challenge from 2Peas: Did I like High School? What were my favorite subjects?
Yes, I did like high school, it was a blast. My favorite subjects were Drafting, Spanish, and European History. I actually really enjoyed Economics my Senior year, too. My European History teacher was awesome, he quoted Monty Python all the time, and showed us Black Adder episodes that were relevant to what we were learning. I also liked my AP English classes Junior and Senior years. We had the same teacher both years, and she made the classes fun and interesting. She's the Principal of the school now, which is great, but I just wish my sister was able to have her as a teacher.
I was also in Marching and Symphonic Bands and played the Flute and Piccolo. I still pull out my flute every now and then...I keep telling myself I'm going to start playing again, and never follow through!
Here are the projects I finished this weekend. The top one is a 12x12 LO with a folder I made to hold copies of emails that Chad wrote to me when we first started dating. I thought they deserved a special place! The second is a card...I was inspired by the Poppy Ink logo on this one. Well, and I really wanted to use those heart pins that I found at Jo-Ann in the sewing section. Only $1.87 for 30 pins. There are leaves and flowers in the pack, too.
I also want to thank everyone for the awesome comments and compliments you've left. You don't know how much it makes my day to read that people enjoy my art. Thank you! *hugs*
I don't know if anyone remembers, but a few months ago I made a shadowbox to donate to the Florida Park Service Alumni for their annual auction. Here are the photos:
Well, Chad got an email yesterday from the lady who headed up the auction. She told him that my shadowbox is on display in the Park Service Director's office! The guy who is the HEAD of the entire Florida State Park Service! I thought that was pretty awesome. I don't know who actually bought it at the auction, but it's still cool to know that something I made is in such a prominent place!
This is the layout I made this weekend. I was going to post this yesterday, but I could not get my picture to upload. It may have just been my work computer. Anyway, I just had to urge to work with some more ink, and I incorporated India Ink splatters into this one. Man, I didn't remember what a mess that stuff made! At least I didn't get any on my clothes.
I did a couple other things, too, that I didn't take photos of. I was reading Emily Falconbridge's blog on Saturday, and came across her post about these adorable Button Flowers, and since I have a virtual TON of buttons, I just had to make some! They are so cute! I made about 6 or 7, but I want to make more. And I need a cute little vase or bottle to put them in.
I also decided that it was time to wean Pickle off his crate for bed time. We don't close him in it anymore, and he won't go in there during the day to sleep, he just gets in there to go to bed at night. Plus, I was ready to not have the thing in our bedroom anymore. He looked at me like I was crazy when I was taking it apart. I made a cute new cover for his big pillow he had in there out of cow-print canvas. I also made a little 'blanket' with cow print on one side, and red-with-white polka dot material on the other side. He has to have something wrapped around him like a bolster when he sleeps, because he likes to nest into a little ball, so I figured it might as well match. Well...he was okay for a couple hours each night over the weekend, but then ended up right in the bed next to me. I swear he has a Penny-magnet on his butt, because he stays glued to me the entire night! Last night, about 1am, he climed into bed with me again, and I put him right back in his bed....and he stayed there the whole night! Chad suggested moving the pillow into a corner up against the dresser, so he'd be surrounded on two sides, and it worked! I think he's gonna be okay.
