Sunday, December 31, 2006
Stamping New Year's Resolution
So here I am, New Year's Eve, sitting in bed, playing on the computer, watching TV, about to go to sleep. Probably the same thing I was doing last year and the year before.
Since I am not a New Year's fan, I am also not into New Year's resolutions that much either. But I figured since I've got this whole "Stamping Blog" thing going I should make a few stamping resolutions and see if I can keep them. So here they are:
1. I am going to stop hoarding designer paper and embellishments and I am going to actually use what I have!
- If you stacked all my designer paper in a stack on the floor it would probably be 5 feet tall! I have far more embellishments than I have designer paper.
2. I am going to stop buying stamps simply because they are cute and I like them. I will only buy them when I know I will use them!
- Enough with the stamps that are unmounted a year later!
3. I'm going to have all my Christmas cards/stamped gifts done before November 1st!
- This sounds ridiculous, I know, but if you knew my mailing/shipping habits I have to do this in order to get them in the mail on time! I made hundreds of tags and gift boxes to give to some friends and family this last Christmas that didn't get shipped out. Pathetic... but hey, I guess I have a jump start on Christmas '07! Or....
4. I AM GOING TO SHIP/ MAIL THINGS ON TIME!
Did I just say that? Oh boy, that last one is really going to be a challenge!
We'll see how this goes!
Stamping Tip - Strech Your Cleaner
Saturday, December 30, 2006
I've been tagged...
First off I have to say, I'm boring! If you can think of something more weird or odd about me let me know because I can't think of a thing!
So here are the rules: Once you are tagged you MUST write an entry about 6 weird habits/things you do/odd information, as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next six people to be tagged and list their names.
1. 90% of my clothing is from American Eagle. This isn't because I love their clothes (although I really do!) but because I hate shopping for clothing. I have such a hard time finding things that fit me well and I hate trying on clothes. I can buy just about anything from AE w/o trying it on and be happy with it.
2. I am the queen of Dr. Mario. No one can beat me! No one will even play with me anymore :(
3. I can't watch enough sappy made-for-tv movies. My tivo always has tons of Lifetime movies recorded on it and I spend my weekends (while stamping) watching marathons of crappy movies. This crazy obsession would probably also explain why I can't get enough GH or AMC. It's all pathetic, I know... and I don't care.
4. No matter how hard I try I can't mail or ship anything on time. I still have my brother, fsil & parent's Christmas gift boxed and ready to go, but not actually shipped. I also made some Christmas stuff for some friends in November that is still sitting at my stamping desk. If you get something on time from me you're lucky!
5. I have collected pencils since I was in 6th grade. My first pencil was given to me by the teachers assistant (can't remember her name). I started by keeping them in a shoe box. I now have three huge plastic containers. Two at home and one in storage. I haven't counted in a year and I have collected a ton since then so I can only estimate the number of pencils I have which is somewhere near 4500. My goal is to break a world record one day.
6. I can't wear high shoes. I sprained my ankle so many times when I was young I had to have surgery to fix it. When I wear high shoes I sprain my ankle and since the surgery it hurts worst than ever before (of five times I've worn high shoes since the surgery I've sprained it twice). I don't want to risk the surgery again so I can't wear high shoes.
My 6: Todd, Jodi, Stephanie, Danielle, Rheanna & Gerdie
My Wild Pile
Stamps: SU Wild About You
Paper: SU Always Artichoke, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla
Ink: SU Always Artichoke, Going Gray, Rose Red, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Ballet Blue, Craft Always Artichoke
Embellishments: Brads, googly eyes, SU ribbon
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Just Monkeying Around Almost....
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Company Christmas Party
At least I was able to get some stamping time in today. Maybe I'll make another card later tonight, depending on what time we get home.
Okay, time to get ready.
Riley's First Birthday
Just Monkeying Around
Paper: SU Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla, Summer Sun
I will post a template and tutorial shortly.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Inspired by WHAT?
I am addicted to ribbon lately and my newest craze is the jumper! I recently bought some Making Memories oval jumpers that I used here. I absolutely love the way the ribbon turned out on the top of my card.... it was a little difficult though! These particular jumpers wanted to separate when I pulled them unless they were used just right.
Designed by Lindsi Dawn; Some images copyright Stampin’ Up
Stamps: SU Island Blossoms, Too Terrific TagsPaper: SU Always Artichoke, Old Olive & Very Vanilla
Ink: SU Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Tempting Turquoise, Old Orange, Craft Chocolate Chip & Craft Tempting Turquoise.
Embellishments: SU ribbon, eyelets, snaps and jumpers.
Friday, December 15, 2006
I'm so disturbed a parent would do this!
Thursday, December 14, 2006
We're going to a Kings game!!!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Addicted to Sage Shadow
I had a lot of fun creating this card. After cutting the card stock in the layers I wanted I punched the flowers out of the brocade blue card stock with an EK Success flower punch then ran the negative through my Cuttlebug with the Swirls embossing folder. I then attached the punched out flowers with brads and added the tag and embellishments. Quick and easy!
I ended up loving the finished product so much I made seven more. Only took me a little over two hours to make all eight. I kept two for me and am sending the other six off for a thank you card swap I'm in. Hope they like them!
Stamps: SU Terrific Tags
Paper: SU Sage Shadow, Very Vanilla, Brocade Blue
Ink: SU Craft Sage Shadow
Embellishments: SU ribbon, fastener, brads
Monday, December 11, 2006
Todd's Beautiful Card
Thursday, December 7, 2006
My Husband & the Crimping Tool
APARENTLY this tool is the coolest tool in the world because he couldn't get over how great it was! He had to look at it from all angles and put a few pieces of scrap paper through it... it was really funny!
Then he says "I should make a card." Well of course I kind of blew it off... let me just say this, my hubby is into Football, hunting, fishing, beer, wood carving, playing football on the PS2 and for a living he is a technician, yes he fixes things... he is what you would call a "manly man." So I blew it off because he couldn't possibly be serious!
So tonight he went with me to AC Moore so I could use two of the Michael's coupons in one trip... while there we had a little conversation that went something like this,
"I've been thinking about the card I'm going to make all day!"
I'm thinking "hahahaha! All day??!!"
"I know exactly what I'm going to make, but I can't tell you because you'll take my idea and make it first."
I'm thinking, "I'm going to steal your idea?"
"So can I make my card on Saturday? You have to watch me, you can't make one of your own."
Now he's got a little more of my attention and I ask, "why can't I stamp while you make your card." Thinking to myself how could I possibly sit in front of my stamping stuff for that long without using it?
"Because I'm going to need help and you can't be distracted."
I kind of laughed and the conversation ended there... However.... he kept picking things up through out the isles looking at them, I'm sure to see if there was something he wanted to put on "his" card.
It doesn't stop there... now as a little background, I've explained to him a few times what Split Coast Stampers is so he is familiar with the galleries and leaving comments and such. So I'm sitting on the couch and he come and sits next to me and asks if there is a way to look at just crimped cards. So I do a search and let him look through the gallery. For twenty minutes he looks at card after card insisting I leave coments for him. At the end of this time he stands up and say, "no one has a card like my idea," then walks away.
Needless to say now I'm anxious to see if he will actually sit down and make a card now.
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Pencils, Pencils & More Pencils!
Monday, December 4, 2006
Growing up in the 90's
Just because you were born in '97 doesn't mean you're a 90's kid. It's not like you could remember the original Simpsons. I am sorry but three conscious years of the 90's just wont cut it.
You're a 90's kid if: You remember watching Doug, Ren & Stimpy, Pinky and the Brain, and Two Stupid Dogs.
You've gotten ice cream from an ice cream truck.
AAAAAAAH real monsters.
You've ever ended a sentence with the word "SIKE!"
You just cant resist finishing this... "Iiiiiiin west philladelphia born and raised..."
You remember TGIF on ABC. Step by Step, Family Matters, Dinosaurs, and Boy Meets World.
You remember when 2Pac and Selena died.
You remember when it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
You got super excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
You remember reading "Goosebumps."
You took plastic cartoon lunch boxes to school.
You remember the craze, then the banning, of slap bracelets and slam books.
You still get the urge to say "NOT" after (almost) every sentence...Not...
You used to listen to the radio all day long just to record "Your FAVORITE song of ALL time."
Where in the world is Carmen San Diego?
Captain Planet. He's our Hero.
Gumby was "Da Bomb"
You remember trying to say bloody mary three times in front of the mirror to see what would happen.
You remember when super nintendo's and Sega Genisis became popular.
You always wanted to send in a tape to America's Funniest Home Videos... but never taped anything funny.
You remember watching home alone 1, 2 , and 3........and tried to pull the pranks on "intruders."
You remember watching The Magic School Bus, Wishbone, and Reading Rainbow on PBS.
When you were grown up when you turned 7, cuz you could watch are you afraid of the dark because it was tvY7!
You remember those Where's Waldo books.
You remember when Mortal Kombat Was "Da Bomb"!
You remember eating Warheads (those sour candies)
You remember watching the 1st Batman, Aladdin, Ninja Turtles, and 3 Ninjas movies.
You remember Ring Pops.
You remember drinking Fruitopia and Surge.
If you remember when every thing was "da BOMB"
When they made the new lunchables so that you could make tacos and pizza!!
You remember "boom boxes" vs. cd players
Writing M.A.S.H. notes (and the twenty different versions of that)
Making those little paper fortune cookie things.. and then predicting your life with them.
You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell"
You haven't always had a computer... and u lived without the internet.
You watched the original cartoons of Rugrats, Power Rangers,and Ninja Turtles.
You had a favorite New Kid on the block, and you knew all of there names.
Michael Jordan was a king.
Yikes pencils and erasers were the stuff!
All your school supplies were "Lisa Frank" brand
You remember when the new Beanie Babies and talking Elmo were always sold out.
Growing Pains.
Carebears and The Gummy Bears.
Gak was the coolest thing invented.
Lambchop's song never ended.
The old dollar bills.
Silver dollars were cool to have.
You remember a time before the WB.
You collected all the Troll dolls.
You owned a portable tape player.
If you even know what an original Walkman is.
You remember wanting to sit on the orange Nickelodeon couch.
You've gotten creeped out by "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"
You know the Macarena by heart.
"Talk to the hand" ... enough said.
You always said, "Then why don't you marry it!"
You know the significance of the number 23.
You went to McD's to play in the play place.
When we were younger: Before the MySpace frenzy, before the internet & text messaging, before Sidekicks & iPods, before MIKE JONES, before PlayStation2 or X-BOX, before Sponge Bob, when you gotten seriously messed up and still had a good day playing outside.
When light up sneakers were cool.
When you rented VHS tapes, not DVDs.
When gas was $0.95 a gallon
Caller ID was a new thing.
When we recorded stuff on VCRs.
When we called the radio station to request songs to hear off our Walkmans.
When 2Pac and Biggie where alive.
When the Chicago Bulls were the best team ever.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Encouragment
I was really encouraged when I read this... and since then I have found it easier to "trash" thinks I don't like so much.
One last note- I'm sure not how many of you know what a "Dirty Girl" is or what "Dirty Worthy" means so I'll give a short explanation so there aren't any questions later:
Dirty Girl: A woman part of Split Coast's Dirty Dozen, these are some VERY talented ladies!
Dirty Worth: Probably self explanatory now, but one that is worth of being a Dirty Girl.
This was written by Jan Tink
"I think most women and quite a few men, are born with an innate appreciation for beauty. What separates "artistic" people from those who have this appreciation is the drive and desire to express this is some form. Quite a few people have the desire and not the drive. Other people have both. However, you can have all the desire and drive in the world and still not produce something that you yourself would consider "art".
"For those who are driven to express their love of beauty, when you start you often find yourself frustrated. You try to make something beautiful, but most of what you produce you hate. EVERYONE goes through this, I hasten to add, even people who seem to have what is called a good "eye". The problem is that while you know what you like, you don't know WHY something that you like is good, compared to what you don't like. Why one design works so beautifully, but one fails dismally.
"So, what does it take to become "dirty worthy"? What separates people who are good at this from people who aren't? My thought is that while some people may have been born with a better "eye", these people are few and far between. The is what I think makes a good or a great stamper, which I think shows that ANYONE can become "dirty worthy" if they are willing to try:
"a) Time, practice, and hard work. Ask anybody who has become a Dirty Girl how much time they spend stamping and I think you'll find they spend a lot of time stamping and/or scrapping. I've been stamping since 1996, but I wouldn't consider my work to be all that good until I started spending almost every evening and part of every day stamping. I've been scrapbooking since 1998, but I didn't really start feeling my work was good until I spent a solid two years, from 2000-2001 scrapbooking 5 nights a week, every week. I completed about 20 scrapbooks in that time period. I spent a lot of time on it. In the process, I produced a lot of garbage as well as what I'd consider good work.
"b) Knowledge. While I've been to college and got my degree in art, I'd think you'd find that most of the Dirty Girls have not. And while I did get my degree in art, I didn't start applying what I learned in college until much later in life. When I was younger, I had some pretty romantic ideas about art, i.e. that the artist just went into their studio and art just "flowed" out of them. You didn't have to think about design principles or what worked, you just "did it". So while I learned all the principles, I didn't bother to consciously put them in my art work until I realized something. Which is that art itself is a mixture of inspiration (which almost everyone has) and craftsmanship. I thought that if you were a good artist, good design was just an innate part of your talent. It's not. I would produce a good painting every now and then, but without know what made it good, I was working blind. Learning and applying design principles can catapult you from someone who is "pretty good" to someone who is fabulous. It doesn't make something any less "art" to have applied some design tricks...the inspiration is still what drives the artist. So a lot of people up here who are great stampers have studied good design principles and applied them to what they do. Doing this will reduce the amount of bad work you produce and increase the amount of good work. You will know why something works (or doesn't) and sometimes you will be able to fix it based on your knowledge. You can find a lot of books on design principles and color theory and many stamping mags and scrapbooking mags have articles on it.
"c) Courage. It takes courage to be willing to waste a lot of supplies to get a good design. Even knowing all the design principles in the world, people who are good or great stampers still produce lousy work. Sometimes an idea I have just doesn't look the way I thought it should...it doesn't work out right. I have got trays of rejects, rejects that I have a hard time throwing away. If you aren't willing to reject some of your own work, if you don't have the courage to spoil a perfectly good piece of beautiful paper, you are going to have a hard time getting better at this.
"d) Study. You can develop an great eye for design just by looking at what you feel is good and then looking for the design principles contained inside. I would hazard a guess that any of the other ladies who are Dirty Girls are like me: they have stacks and stacks of stamping and scrapbooking magazines. They look at advertising art as well and figure out what makes it tick.
"e) The last thing is attention to detail. Making sure that your work is clean, that things are evenly stamped and matted can make an enormous difference. That's it.
To me, learning this stuff is like learning to read. You wouldn't expect someone who was learning to read to pick up a book like "Moby Dick" or any other large book with great big words and tear through it, but you know that if they keep reading, sooner or later they will be able to. This is the same. Don't feel discouraged...keep trying!"
This is where I got this from
Saturday, November 25, 2006
101 Things About Me
100. I love to snowboard.
99. I just moved across the country in February 2006
98. Because of the move I was separated by 3000 miles from my husband for 5 months.
99. He left for his new job the day after my birthday and we saw each other only 4 times in those 5 months.
98. I love cats, don't care too much for dogs (they are too much work).
97. I studied Kodan Kan Karate Do for 6 years.
96. I was a second degree brown belt (normal for that style).
95. I can't stand karate schools that will give you a black belt after only two years of studying.
94. I can't stand apples with the exception of Pink Lady apples, I LOVE those!
93. My favorite color is pink.
92. Growing up it was blue.
91. I wouldn't wear dresses at all from about the time I was 10 to 20.
90. Now I prefer dresses or a skirt over pants.
89. I am a born again Christian.
88. I received the Lord when I was 16.
87. In a round-a-bout way my Karate instructor lead me to Christ.
86. I have major sleeping problems.
85. I have gone a week with out sleeping at all.
84. I have slept for 4 days straight. I'm sure I got up to go to the bathroom, but I don't remember it.
83. I have two cats, Satie & Stormy.
82. I got married on December 14th, 2003
81. I love to golf, but I suck at it!
80. I'm closer to my aunts than I am my own mom.
79. I met Jennifer Cooliage
78. I'm 25.
77. I have already bought and sold a house and bought a 2nd one.
76. I love interior design.
75. I had around 30 pen pals when I was a teenager from all over the world.
74. When I was 16 I went on a mission trip to Mexico.
73. I love cold weather.
72. I hate summer!
71. I love to go camping.
70. I love General Hospital!
69. I also love All my Children, although not as much as General Hospital.
68. My favorite restaurant is the Cheesecake Factory.
67. If I didn't have to have a cell phone for work I wouldn't have one.
66. The first concert I went to was Newsboys.
65. I've seen them four times since.
64. I met my husband at work.
63. We have always worked together, for two different companies.
62. My favorite kind of vacation is a cruise.
61. I can't stand beer!
60. I love Fossil purses.
59. I am married to the greatest guy!
58. I would love to meet Tim McGraw & Faith Hill
57. I love the Sacramento Kings!!
56. I'm not scared to die.
55. I miss my old friend Mara, oh I wish I had her phone number or address!
54. I hate coffee, even though I use to work at Starbucks.
53. Starbucks was the funnest job I've ever had!
52. One of my cousins has the same birthday as me.
51. I love fuzzy socks in the winter.
50. If I could I would wear flip flops year round.
49. I was not aloud into work one day for 3 hours because of an anthrax scare, it ended up being chalk.
48. I miss In & Out!
47. I'm a perfectionist.
46. I can't stand to live in a dirty house.
45. I love my job!
44. I hate talking on the phone!
43. I love to IM.
42. I'm a great listener.
41. I'm over emotional!!
40. Italian food is my favorite!
39. Chinese is a close second.
38. The spicier the food the better!
36. I was home schooled from 7th grade on.
35. I hated it!
34. I am always in my pajamas at home, unless I have company over.
33. I'm scared to death of snakes!
32. My favorite Disney movie is the Little Mermaid
31. I hate shopping!
30. I almost burned my parents house down a few years ago, thank God they got home when they did.
29. I wish I was shorter than I am
28. I was named after my aunt who passed away when she was an infant.
27. It's really weird that in 5 years I will be 30!
26. I love Netflix!
25. Most of my clothes are from American Eagle Outfitters- I love that store!
24. That is the only store I can buy clothes with out trying them on.
23. I never want to live in California again!
22. My husband is a really good cook!
21. I love playing Dr. Mario
20. No one can beat me! Seriously, I'm really good.
19. I want to break the world record for largest pencil collection.
18. The current record is around 5600. I have around 4000 right now.
17. I love Soy Chai Lattes!
16. I've talked to Robert Downing Jr, Oral Hershiser & Bruce Willis on the phone.
15. I can't stand going to the dentist!
14. I had to have surgery on my ankle because I sprained it so many times.
13. I hate doing laundry!
12. Seafood make me sick!
11. I love Garfield
10. I love South Park
9. My favorite reality TV show is America's Next Top Model
8. I've known my best friend for longer than I haven't know her.
7. I love going to basketball games.
6. I use to have a cat named Peja, she ran away & I couldn't watch Kings basketball till Peja was traded.
5. I am extremely ticklish!
4. I always chew on my straw.
3. I love cheesecake
2. I always fall or trip on stairs at my aunt & uncles house.
1. I never fall or trip on stairs anywhere else.