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!!!!!

He's off again!

Yep! Russ is traveling again! He leaves Monday morning for Vegas. He will be working Monday thru Thursday there and coming home every weekend. This should last thru October and possibly into November. The timing works well for this first trip since I have to finish about 50 swaps for Portland Regionals and my Circle Journal for the Spamily.

The swaps and the Journal are both "due" on the 12th of October, and I leave on the 11th for Portland. Getting a few days in with Mom since after the travel fiasco last year, I *refuse* to travel over the Holidays ever again. What a nightmare! Russ will fly directly from Vegas to Portland. SCS is having a dinner Friday night and he wanted to go to that and witness the insanity. LOL.

I have the actual Regional Seminar on Friday from 9 to 5 and then the SCS dinner is at 6. AND MELISSA IS GONNA BE THERE!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!! (and bonus for me since she is the one I send the Circle Journals to, I get to hand deliver this one instead of having to mail it on the 10th!) Russ is looking forward to meeting Melissa and her husband, Jason. Should be an entertaining evening!

I have the album done (we are doing 6x6 format, which is REALLY CHALLENGING for me, especially since this is my FIRST "real" scrapbook) and I have the intro & instruction page all typed up and ready to print. I have the tag pages almost figured out and I have some ideas for my 2 page layout. So I still have some WORK to do on it these next 2 weeks. My swaps are about half done. All 300 pieces are cut and the stamping is done, the designer paper has been layered on the front and the front and back pieces have been punched. All I have left to do is distress 100 edges, make 50 glitter windows and then punch them out, cut 50 pieces of ribbon, layer all that together on the front of the "card", attach the front and back pieces and label them all. Not going to post yet what it is that I'm making, but I promise to post a picture right before I leave for Portland. And, Judy, I think I sent you one in your birthday box.... at least I intended to..... hmmmm....

So that's my world in a little nutshell (hush, Judy). I imagine this weekend will be spend doing laundry and helping Russ pack. I have to take him to the airport at 4:30 Monday morning.... yawn..... Should be fun......

Hope this works.......

This is for you, Judy!!!!!!

Julee didn't tag me, but I thought I'd play along....

The "Alias" game!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car): Mitzi Forester (not bad!)

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Bubble Gum Oatmeal Raisin (OK - NOT!)

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name): L-Dal

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal):
Purple Cat (not workin, is it?)

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born): Anne Berkeley (OK - getting better)

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) : Lisda

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The” in front): The Pink Champagne (defender of cheezy vegas weddings!)

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers):
Robert Frederick (that works)

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy): Happy Gummy Bear (ok - this is going downhill again!)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names): Rae William

OK - Judy - I want to see your answers up on your blog!

Grab a beverage.... it's a LONG post!

Texas was a BLAST! I arrived on Friday afternoon and Kate picked me up at the airport and we went to get a sandwich since I hadn't eaten anything but peanuts all day. That, of course, made it happen for Janice to get off work early so we went straight from lunch to dinner! Janice brought her hubby, Jeff, and her friend, Kim and Kate's hubby, Ty, joined us as well. Then we transferred my stuff from Kate's car to Janice's and off we went!

OMG.... I was SO not prepared for what I saw and heard when we got to her house..... 23 BARKING WEENER DOGS! ROFL! I call them "the Herd". They are SO CUTE and SO FUNNY!!!!!!! I actually bonded with a couple of them while I was there.... Abby, who is one of Janice & Jeff's dogs, and Joey, who is one of the foster dogs, but he already has a family wanting to adopt him (otherwise he woulda been in my luggage coming home!). I also bonded with their orange tabby cat, Pumpkin. WHAT A SWEETIE!!!!! He liked that someone in the house paid more attention to him than those "crazy dogs", I'm sure!

Saturday morning I awoke to "the herd on the move" as they all skittled (think 92 little feet with doggy nails running across laminate flooring) out the back door for their morning constitutional. We had breakfast and got ready to meet Kate and Kim at a local Scrapbooking store and then we were off to ARCHIVER'S. I have never been to an Archiver's store and now I see why people say that they are impressive. The place was HUGE. We must have been in there for 2 hours and I still don't think I saw everything. I want one here. BADLY. LOL! Then we went and had some AUTHENTIC Texas BBQ for lunch.... YUM!!!!! After that we ran some errands and then everyone went home. Janice, Jeff and I went out for burgers at the place where their daughter works. TASTY! They do some sweet potato fries that TOTALLY ROCK! We stayed up too late yakking and playing with the dogs. Sunday was the stamp camp at Kate's house and we had everything all planned out...... UNTIL......

Sunday morning I woke up to hear the herd on the move. Then Janice came back in and said something to Jeff and he went outside. The next thing I heard was Jeff yelling, "THAT CAT ISN'T DEAD!". Welcome to Sunday..... LOL! Apparently, a feral cat had tried jumping the fence and didn't quite make it and his back leg got caught between 2 of the fence boards. NOT PRETTY (apparently.... I sure as heck wasn't gonna look!). Well, in freeing the cat, it bit Jeff THRU THE LEATHER GLOVES he was wearing, and ran under the house. So they had to call Animal Control to catch it and test it for rabies..... Here's the fun part.... Janice and Jeff did not have a license to have that many animals.... the limit is 5. They have 3 outdoor cats, 1 indoor cat and at the moment are home to 23 weener dogs. Just a tad over quota! LOL! So, Janice takes the majority of the dogs into her closet with her and they hide out when the animal control lady comes. (Same thing on Monday morning when she came back to check the traps.) They managed to catch all of the feral cats that have been hanging around EXCEPT the one that bit Jeff. sigh.

So we finally get on the road and pick up Janice's customer, Lupe, who was going to the stamp camp with us. Kim was with us too. We got to Kate's and made our Make & Takes (the same projects we did at Convention) and chatted for a while. Then we took Lupe home and Kim left and we had a fairly peaceful Sunday evening. Jeff cooked some YUMMY steaks and we had baked potatoes and salad. The dogs got the leftovers which was HILARIOUS to watch!

Monday we stayed at the house, partly because we had to leave for the airport around 12:30 and partly because the Animal Control lady was due back and we needed to be ready to hide the dogs again..... We saw about 6 raindrops on the window on the way to the airport. Apparently when I left the rain came and hasn't really left since. So I brought the sunshine and took it with me, I guess! LOL! The flight from Austin to San Diego was great. Smooth and I was able to get a lot of work done on my swaps for Portland. And then......

READY FOR MY DRAMA????????

So first my flight is delayed over an hour. OK. These things happen. I kinda thought I was gonna miss my connection anyway (only 20 minutes between flights) and be on the flight that left San Diego an hour later. So I get back to Sac and get my bag and catch the shuttle to the parking lot. Now, I *know* where I got on the shuttle. I parked there purposely. It's the LAST shuttle stop before the shuttle goes out the gate and back to the terminal. So I'm riding along and everyone is getting off and we get to the place where they normally turn to go to the section I'm parked in and he tells me this is his last stop and I have to get out. Uh, NO (DUMBA$$), the last stop is the one by the gate - where I got on. He tells me they have that area closed for a medical emergency and tells me I have to get off the bus. (if they had announced they were only running to 42T, I woulda got off at 42J instead of waiting for 43J). I asked if he could please call security to walk me (in the dark) across the 6 parking sectors and he tells me he can't do that and drives off! A$$ MUNCHER!!!!! So, now I'm PI$$ED and I call Russ and interrupt him watching the game because I wanted someone on the phone with me in case I got mugged or something.

So, as I get closer, I see a sheriff car and a couple other cars a couple aisles over, right behind the shuttle stop I WANTED to get off at, so I'm a little less upset since there obviously WAS something going on, but I still planned to let the gal at the booth know about the driver's bad attitude. Since I lost my stupid ticket from when I entered the lot on Friday, I have a couple minutes to chat with the gal while the computer finds my car's license plate from when I came in and tells the computer what the ticket # was, so I was telling her about the shuttle butthead and she did take that down because she said he could have radioed security and they would have come in the little golf cart and DRIVEN ME to my car. Grrrrrr... But then she says "Yeah, we thought it was a medical emergency but then the CORONER SHOWED UP...." Apparently the guy pulled into the parking lot on THURSDAY and someone found him in his car MONDAY around 6PM. IT'S BEEN IN THE 90's here..... and he's been dead in his car since THURSDAY, AND I WALKED RIGHT NEXT TO THAT CAR ON FRIDAY MORNING!!!!!! EEEEEEEWWWWWWW!!!!!!! YUCK YUCK YUCK!!!!! I guess it's a good thing I was running late on Friday and was running to the shuttle stop since the bus was already there.... if the bus hadn't been close I would have sauntered over to the stop and probably woulda seen the guy.... DOUBLE EEEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!!!

Taz, by the way, did NOT approve of the scent of weener dogs that came home with me. LOL! So I'm back and have done a million loads of laundry (or so it seems) and life is back to normal. Today I took advantage of the GORGEOUS weather (hi of 78! WOO HOO!) and ripped out all the spring/summer plants that were dying in the front wine barrels and went to the nursery and got some fall color. I got one barrel replanted today with 4 mums. I need to get another bag of potting soil since I had to dig out plants with big root masses from the other barrels. Tomorrow I will plant 4 mums in the front barrel and then fill the back barrel with snapdragons. Then I got 2 plants for the backyard to replace the 2 I killed this summer when I failed to realize that the drip lines had been pulled out of their pots during a week of 98 degree days.... oops! So I'll pull those up and replant those 2 containers tomorrow too! I also got some little stakes to keep the drip lines where I put them, so hopefully these two will have better luck.... LOL!

So now I'm current on my blog.... HAPPY, JUDY???? ROFL!!!!!

YEE HA!!!!!

I'm off to TEXAS in the morning!!!! I will be in Austin visiting my friends Janice and Kate who are hosting a SU! Stamp Camp on Sunday. Janice does Dachshund rescue, so I told Russ I might just bring "someone" home if any bonding happens. He was NOT amused.... he he he....

Everyone have a FABULOUS weekend! I'll see y'all on the flip side!!!!

Wow.... 10 years......

Ten years ago today, Britain lost "The People's Princess" and the world lost a beautiful person and humanitarian.


On that same day, I put down *my* first cat, Sandi. (Not a family cat, but *mine*)


All the hoopla about Princess Di every year always reminds me. Because Europe is half a day ahead of us, August 31 there was still August 30 here and Sandi and I sat up on the couch late into the night watching the news coverage of the accident, me knowing what I was going to be doing the next day.


I wish we'd had digital cameras then, because while I have a lot of photos of Sandi, they are not as accessible as the digitals I have of Taz and Aspen. I have to find which storage box they are in, sort thru them, warm up the scanner, pre-scan them, crop and adjust colors or lighting, scan them, then open them in my photo software and save a second, smaller version for uploading. The whole process takes about 3-7 minutes PER PICTURE, so I don't have many of Sandi on my computer, but I do have a couple....




Wasn't she a PRETTY girl?

Let me tell you, she did not have a sunny disposition..... Stacy and I gave her the middle name of "Christine" in reference to the possessed car in the Stephen King novel! Her nickname was "The Bitch". It was earned. She was actually Stacy's cat. He got her just as we started dating, so she bonded with me from just about day one. He made the decision to have her declawed on all 4 feet (NOT something I would have done, but she wasn't MINE yet). With her, it may have been a good decision as that cat was 15 lbs of MUSCLE. She had a powerful right hook and if she smacked you, YOU KNEW IT. I can only imagine the damage she would have done with claws!


In the first photo she is sitting next to her food dishes on TOP of our refrigerator. Stacy and I had a bad time with ants in our apartment on Royal Oaks and that was the one place we found we could put the cat food without the ants getting it and since Sandi and our other cat, Torti, would not stay off the kitchen counter anyway, it was really easy to teach them to jump up there for their food. Sandi also LOVED high places. She would look down at you like the "Church Lady" as if to say, "I'm superior! I'm Superior!". Like all my girls, she was also an indoor only cat. I did try leash training with her, but that did not go well.

Sandi was NOT amused the day we brought Taz and Aspen home! First of all, it was the day we moved. I figured if all 3 cats came into the apartment without any of them having lived there before it would help. I'm sure it did, a little, but that was a rough couple of months at the beginning and I think it was a year before Taz and Aspen had run of the house at bedtime. Sandi and Aspen NEVER got along.... Aspen wanted to be "Top Cat" something fierce, but that position was held by Sandi and enforced by me! Taz and Sandi tolerated each other.

Taz reminds me of Sandi in many ways, she probably learned from her.... Sandi was NEVER a lap cat. She MIGHT sit beside you, but NEVER on you. She hated to be held. She would wait till I fell asleep at night and THEN come sleep right next to me, but down by my knees where I couldn't easily reach her. Taz is a LITTLE better about that - she sleeps by my waist!


So now you've met my first little fuzzy SUNSHINE.... the cat that was the inspiration for most of my screen names and e-mail addresses as well as the license plate on my car, SNDIMOM.

For Judy - A SPAMMY SPOILER!

Spammies - do NOT look at the photo at the end of this post if you don't want to see what I am working on for Christmas gifts..... You have been warned!


Judy apparently asked in comments last Friday what I am doing with the leftover dominoes. Unfortunately, I don't look at my blog except when I post to it, so she had to smack me upside the head with an e-mail! LOL! I had the PERFECT sized image for a domino, so I thought these would be really cute little Christmas ornaments for the Spam Ma'ams.



The stamp is by Stampendous. There are two little glasses on the stamp, I zapped it off the wood block, cut the image in half and used just this one on an acrylic block and then stuck it back on its wood block next to it's brother when I was done. The other glass has a tree in it, I think....



I started by sanding the blank side of the dominoes and wiping them off with rubbing alcohol. The image is stamped in StazOn Jet black and then I let them dry for a couple hours while I cleaned out a drawer or two.... The red and green are Sharpie Fine Point Markers. The silvery color is a Stardust Glitter pen. I did most of them with the Stardust as the beverage too, but it needed a little more "pop" so I tried a little glue and Dazzling Diamonds on this one. Not sure I like it. Once I figure out what I'm using, I'll seal them with a light coat of Krylon. The Stardust Glitter Pen will rub off otherwise. If I just used StazOn and the Sharpies, I think I could leave it unsealed. The back side (where the dots are) will be covered over in patterned paper and then I will run red Grosgrain ribbon around the edge of the domino and attach a loop to hang it, probably also in the red ribbon. We'll see. Now I need to find a "family suitable" image that will fit a domino..... I think these are what I'm going to do for Russ' family this year, just not with a Christmas Martini on them! Here is the Spamily Version:





Cute, huh? I think they are fun! I've had a few dominoes in my drawer of stuff to be altered for YEARS, but had always seen them done as little pins and honestly, they are kinda heavy for pins, IMHO. I thought about doing them as magnets too.... kinda like the little mini tiles (Judy - I'll post those in a future blog, I promise... I was planning to do some of those for Christmas this year too and when I do, I'll post it.... probably late October, after Portland!). Over on Splitcoast, you can go to the Gallery and search "domino" and see some FABULOUS stuff done.... I'm loving the necklaces, but need to find someone with a drill press to drill thru the dominoes (the long way) for me! the Keychains are cute too, and that's a hole I can drill with my cordless drill. Hmmmm....

One of those WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT moments....

OK. I have SIX people's blogs in my "links toolbar" (meaning that when my fat butt is at the computer and I have more than 15 minutes of leisure time after wandering through SCS, I cruise my links first and then delve into the "blogs" folder in my faves, so these 6 pretty much get read EVERY DAY). This morning I was crusing thru them and I came to this: http://paperpleasing.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/08/ooooo---are-you.html


Julie is someone I have "met" on Splitcoaststampers and I just TOTALLY love her work, so I put her blog in my links so I don't miss anything. Well I am SO GLAD I didn't miss today's post! I just got this set a couple weeks ago and had not mounted it yet because I REALLY wanted to separate the phrases (the 34 individual lines come as THREE stamps with THREE blocks), but I didn't know HOW to make this work. Well, Julie's blog today was one of those "cloud-parting-angels-singing-light-beaming-down-from-above" moments. I ran over to WalMart and found they had a 55 pack of dominoes, so I now have 21 left over for altering PLUS the tin they came in! WOO HOO! Here is the result:




I *did* have to steal the (larger) container from one of my retired background stamps and stuff it into the container So Many Sayings came in, but look at how well they fit in the background size box! It was destiny, I tell ya!!! Does this not TOTALLY ROCK???? Julie, I love ya for sharing!!!!!

I have been amassing supplies getting ready for the start of the Spamily Circle Journals. Got some REALLY cute pink and black ribbon yesterday to use when I get Melissa's journal... she has requested that we do our pages using only pink, black and white. The book I am using for my journal has been ordered and is on its way to me. I have all sorts of ideas of how I am going to do this.... we'll see what it actually ends up looking like!