My swaps are done!

And for once, I'm even EARLY! They aren't due until the 15th of November.... I still had TWO WHOLE WEEKS to work on them even! Must be so efficient because this way I can continue to procrastinate on starting Christmas cards.... he he he.... I'd say that I was procrastinating on working on Janice's Circle Journal but SHE STILL HASN'T MAILED IT TO ME YET (we were supposed to mail on October 15th... yeah, like TWO WEEKS AGO, meaning I will have 2 fewer weeks to work on my pages for her journal before I have to mail it to Melissa on December 15th which is the same time I mail Christmas cards, so my life ought to be STAMPING HELL real soon.....



ANYWAY - Here are my swap submissions:

I am in 2 rounds of the Tea bag holder swap. One was a Christmas theme and the other was a Love or Chocolate theme (and I couldn't find a chocolate square to put in there when I was taking the photo.... of course I found them this morning... sheesh....). All supplies (some retired) are Stampin' Up! except the Deckle edge scissors (Fiskars) and the Fruit Punch Stickles (Ranger) I used on the Chocolate one.

Colors for the Christmas one are Wild Wasabi, Ruby Red and Garden Green (craft ink embossed with Hologram Highlights) and the stamps are from Season of Joy and Terrific Tags 2. I also used the Tag Punches and my deckle scissors along with gold brads and the new gold elastic cord.

The Chocolate one is made with Close To Cocoa, Pretty in Pink, Rose Red (ink and Prints Designer paper) and Chocolate Chip. The hardware inside is from the Antique Copper HodgePodge set and stamps came from Lexicon of Love, Like it a Latte and Paisley (background). I used the deckle scissors as well as the edge distresser from the Cutter Kit.

A shameless plug for my adorable "daughter"....

Taz is one of a bazillion cats entered in the Costume photo contest over on Catster. If you'd give her a vote, I'm sure she'd appreciate it.... and maybe NOT turn YOU into a mouse.... LOL!



Please vote for Tabitha Jazmine (Taz) in the World's Coolest!

Tagged again!

Julee tagged me on her blog, Poetic Artistry, yesterday. I will play along, but I'm not going to tag anyone at the end since most of the bloggers I know all run in the same (SCS) circle and have all been tagged a bazillion times... LOL! Judy, if you want to play, here are the rules, but I won't link to your blog since it's private!

Here are the RULES:
ONE - Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
TWO - Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself (on your blog, we all want to know them).
THREE - Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

Seven Random facts... .hmmmm....

1. I almost never go barefoot.
2. My phobia is fire, yet I *LOVE* candles.... go figure.
3. Except over the border into Tijuana and Ensenada on our cruise, I've never been out of the USA, but I have a passport, so I'm ready to go should the opportunity present itself!
4. I was adopted.
5. I'm not a huge fan of chocolate and do not like chocolate baked goods at all.
6. Salty snacks are my weakness.
7. I collect computer fonts.... I have over 300 installed currently....

So there you go... Seven random and pretty much useless facts about me!

OK. That wasn't very nice....

To make up for teasing you that I made something cool in the stamp room yesterday but not sharing, I decided to whip up something I *could* post!

The easiest way for me to do something NICE in a HURRY is to copy another card. In "Stampland" it's called C.A.S.E.ing which stands for Copy And Share Everything. As I do not have the original artist's permission to post her card, I will just tell you that I changed VERY LITTLE from her original... Like I said, I was in a HURRY! LOL! Here is a link to the original card in the artist's gallery on Splitcoast.

And here is my blatant copy! Everything but the Stickles is fom Stampin' Up!

The card and the "photo corners" are Basic Gray cardstock. The big flower mat and half the little flowers are stamped in Basic Gray on Whisper White after stamping off once. The sentiment is from the Hostess Set "So Many Sayings" and it is stamped on the Soft Sky in Basic Gray. The Soft Sky panel was stamped with the Canvas background and then with the square image from Baroque Motifs. All the images on the white panel are from Baroque Motifs and are stamped in Soft Sky, Basic Gray and Cameo Coral. I distressed the edges of the Cameo Coral and Whisper White panels to give them a little more "oomph". I also accented the piercing on the photo corners and areas in the images with Stardust Stickles. Glittery goodness!! The ribbon is Soft Sky Double Stitched and the rhinestone brad is from the Circle Ice set. The Soft Sky flower image is matted onto the Basic Gray one with Stampin' Dimensionals for a little extra POP!

I'm going to send this to a stamping friend who, once she gets it, can take as many pictures of it as she wants.... LOL!

I made something REALLY cute.....

But I can't share because it's Christmas present stuff and I don't want anyone to see what they're gonna be getting in (EEP!) EIGHT WEEKS!

ACK! WHERE DOES TIME GO?????? I *JUST* realized that Christmas is TWO MONTHS FROM TODAY!!!! I think I literally just felt my blood pressure go up..... Do I have my cards designed? No. Do I have the ornaments for Russ' family figured out? No. Have I started even THINKING about presents? Well, sorta... I know what I'm getting for Russ and I already got iTunes and Starbucks cards for Justin's kids... But OMG, there is WAY TOO MUCH TO DO in JUST two months!!!!! GAK!

OK... I think I need to get my butt back into the stamp room.......

I really hate making these......

But if I'm gonna spend the time stamping, I'm gonna post it!







Due to the somber nature, I tried to keep it simple and elegant. The rose image is by Stampa Rosa and the sentiment is by Paper Inspirations. The card base is Shimmery White and the rose is stamped on watercolor paper in StazOn Timber Brown and water colored with my aquapainter and Watercolor Wonder crayons (Always Artichoke and Rose Red and a little Brocade Blue in the drops on the rose petals). I added a little Crystal effects to the water droplets on the petals to give them some dimension. Then I mounted the image onto Always Artichoke that I edged by dragging across an Artichoke stamp pad. The sentiment is stamped in Encore Gold on white Vellum and then I "gilded" the edge on the Encore pad before adhering it to the card (I used my Scotch ATG 1/4" adhesive and it doesn't show thru the vellum!). It needed just a little something, so I added the brads.... Hope that wasn't too much bling.....

The picture from Portland!

Thanks to Melissa - here is the photo of me, Russ, Melissa and Jason!

This is REALLY CUTE (if I do say so myself)!

So, I joined another swap on Splitcoast. This one is for Tea Bag Holders. They also fit the Ghiradelli chocolate squares. So I was working on the design for my holders. I signed up for 2 groups - one with a Holiday theme and one with a Chocolate or Love theme. I got the Christmas prototype done and took a break to mount my new stamps that I got in the mail today (Thanks, Julee!!!!!!) and realized that the boat from "Boatloads of Love" was the PERFECT size for one of these holders, so I decided to make one! All supplies except the glitter pens are Stampin' Up!:





Finished size is 3.25" square when closed. The Holder is Soft Sky cut 3.25" x 9.75", then scored at 3.25" and 6.5". The right panel is then cut on a diagonal (upper left to bottom right corner)and folded over to make the pocket and glued along the bottom edge. I stamped the diagonal pocket with the swirly image from "Season of Joy" and the front panel with the "Sanded" background stamp in Soft Sky.


The boat from "Boatloads of Love" is stamped on watercolor paper with Black StazOn and then water colored with my aquapainter using ink from my stamp pads (Ruby Red, Not Quite Navy and Basic Gray) and two of my Watercolor Wonder Crayons (Taken with Teal & Bordering Blue). I used my Sakura glitter pens to add the sparkle to the antenna, anchor and the waves. I used Crystal Effects on the windows, portholes and life preservers. While the Crystal Effects was drying, I stamped the swirly pattern in Not Quite Navy on the bottom of the NQN panel (3" x 3") and "friend-ship" in NQN on Soft Sky, punching that out with the Word Window Punch and adding the silver brads. I adhered the Soft Sky Double Stitched ribbon to the front of the holder and then layered the NQN panel over it. The boat was layered onto the NQN panel using Stampin' Dimensionals and then the friend-ship piece was adhered below the boat. Cute, huh?


Sorry I didn't take a photo of the inside.... it opens to a teabag tucked inside a diagonal pocket. I stamped the pocket with the same swirl pattern as the "water" on the navy panel. Here's a link to an open one in the Splitcoast gallery if you really need a visual.

Bummer....

The group photo I had taken on my camera of Melissa, Jason, Russ and I at the SCS Dinner in Portland didn't come out. So now, I guess I'll just wait for Melissa to e-mail me the one from her camera. I know that one came out because she posted it on SCS already! LOL!

I got some cute swaps is Portland, and I promise I'll get around to scanning them soon so I can post some, but now I must concentrate on getting a swap done that I signed up for.... I've also got Christmas cards to design too.... With all the new postal regulations, the challenge will be to design a card that looks layered and embellished, but isn't. Normally I use brads and/or ribbon on just about every card I make. Unfortunately, with the new postal rules, if I use brads or tie a bow or knot in ribbon, it makes the card get charged as a package instead of an envelope and that bumps the rate to $1.13 from 41¢. SIGH.... I could make one REALLY STUNNINGLY GORGEOUS card, take a picture and mail THAT to everyone... LOL! What a pain the Postal Service has become.

I'm back!

Yes, Judy, I'm back from Portland! Had a great time at Regionals and at the SCS dinner and with Melissa and Jason!!!!

I seem to have brought home a cold, however. It started in the sinuses on the plane ride home and by bedtime it was so bad I couldn't see! OUCH! Between the sinus pain, the sore throat and the cat, I didn't get much sleep. Maybe tomorrow I'll feel like uploading photos.... sorry....

OK - I thought this was fun......

I found this quiz on another blog I read and thought I'd play!

What scrapbooking item are you?

You are Fibers!Fun and crazy at times. You are a warm fuzzy kind of person. You run around getting things done but still find time for fun! You have so many diverse interests that it is often hard to pin you down to any one thing. People love your friendly attitude and carefree ways. You often brighten other people's days. But Fibers Beware - Sometimes people don't take you seriously because of your happy-go-lucky ways. Sometimes you find yourself feeling left out from decision making that could directly affect you. Even though you like to be happy and cheerful, make sure others know that you can also be serious and in tune with reality.

Take this quiz!

Russ and I both had lunch with college friends today!

Is that FUNNY, or what? Russ is in Vegas and had lunch with one of his college friends and I had lunch with one of my college friends that I haven't seen in probably close to 8 years. Double bonus for me was that Russ was meeting Pancho at the Hard Rock in Vegas, so I had him get me a couple pins too! LOL!

Justin's daughter saw a card in a magazine that she wants me to help her make, so he is bringing me the magazine tonight and then I'll go over there one day after school in the next couple weeks and help her make it. My swaps are almost done. Only 8 left to assemble (which should take about an hour). Then I can start concentrating on my Circle Journal. I got my OnStage "magazine" (Stampin' Up!'s quarterly recognition newsletter) today. AND THERE ON PAGE 4 (the April contest winner even!) is what I made for my Portland swaps. UGH! So now everyone is gonna say, "Oh, you copied this from OnStage"...... uh, NO! I gave 2 of the first batch to my friends in Texas a MONTH AGO and cut out all the circles on the plane trip there and back. Oh well. Can't so anything about it now! SIGH.....

So that's what's new in my little world. Hope everyone's October is off to a good start!!!!!