Too Early to be Up...

But Better Than Yesterday! BAD CAT (who today I agree is aptly named!) started "cooing" under our bed for his breakfast at 4:30. They normally ask to be fed around 6:15 and believe me, I'd rather they wait until 7! Honestly, does this look like a STARVING CAT to you?! Lol. Since Inky has special food, I feed BC and PC separate from him-BC was somewhat surprised when he received an empty bowl-: O --but has had the sense to be quiet about it. Everyone else had a nice breakfast and yes, don't fret, I will feed BC later. He's a smart kitty and I think this may actually sink in...well, he is a male...! Night before, however, all of them decided it was time to play on the bed from 2:30 on. Needless to say not much sleep happened and Momma was not a happy camper because of it on top of still being sick!

oK---so on to stamping stuff! First, since its probably time to take down all that we decked the halls with, slip on over to Ali Edward's blog (www.aliedwards.typepad.com) and see what she's done with the photos she received in her Christmas cards as well as the cards themselves. I like this idea to document the "as they grow" aspect of families and kids over the years. Adding a card here and there makes for a nice embellishment. Or, simply try the mosaic layout that Nora (Hi Nora!) taught some of us last year. Tammi Potter (www.tammipotter.com) has an awesome book on the art of mosaic layout scrapbooking. Ok---another AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME blog I found...is www.pickledpaperdesigns.blogspot.com. There are so many beautiful cards and things on this site you will be drooling. I am afraid to ask how long she spends on some of the cards she does! I really enjoyed scrolling and drooling through all the back blog posts she had. Hubby wanted to read and I couldn't get focused to I spent the time checking out this site. It is a FAVORITE for sure! Well, life as we know it on the island will stop today. There is rain and snow predicted. Not a good mix for a hmm, tropical area. EVERYTHING and EVERYONE goes into panic mode (almost as bad as hurricane prep!) and everything shuts down. Over a mere dusting. I really have to laugh over it---I grew up right on Lake Erie in Ohio---I walked to school in snowdrifts well over my head! We drove and functioned and lived in that stuff for months. I am sure Theresa's parents who are visiting from NY will also get a kick out of how we handle a few flakes. Me-I plan on staying tucked inside working on class kits and finishing housework...oh-and feeding the BAD CAT! Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping. Blessings, Sharon

UH-OH!

So...I saw some stamp sets I liked on-line back a week or so ago and decided to order. They arrived today. Now, I thought I was (by now) a pretty good judge at size. I didn't, however, have a RULER handy...and "assumed" from the picture it was big enough to do what I had designed in my head. Maybe those were the problems: 1) my head was completely clogged at the time (when I look at the photo of my hubby and I on Christmas day--my nose and cheeks on either side look black and blue as well as swollen!) and 2) maybe I WANTED the stamp to be bigger than what it was and imagined it so. That's not all, though!!! One set came all cut out --I thought I got clear stamps-these are red rubber (like the wood-mounted stamps except these are unmounted. The other set, however, which contains some very detailed designs, are UNCUT!!! Did I mention I hate cutting out stamps?! I was soooo glad when SU began selling their sets pre-cut...or when Theresa cuts them out for me. I got a great pair of SU scissors from her that will slice through the rubber and foam mounting---but its just one more thing I have to do---and they are just not what I expected! Pretty, and I will use them...but still. So---I am going to mount a ruler someplace accessible but maybe out of sight on my desk (WM actually sold some tape at one point that looked like a ruler---a piece of that on the slide out tray would work fine!)---so I can MEASURE before I buy...and I will certainly read DESCRIPTIONS a little more closely! Live and learn...Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping. Blessings, Sharon ps/there's another post from today before this one...a "two-fer"!! ; )

Window Shopping...

One of my favorite "unwinding" pastimes is looking at catalogs. I confess--I am on mailing lists for companies whose things I love...but would probably never buy--either pretty but too expensive for my budget or it just wouldn't "fit" into our decor/lifestyle even though I like it. I am picking up the mail for a friend for the next few months. I thought I was a catalog-aholic-but she is the Catalog Queen! Lol! She gets A LOT!!! And again, while I enjoy looking at them and like a lot of the things in them, for the reasons listed above, I am merely daydreaming. That said, I decided...hey, I don't have to BUY THEM to enjoy them...I enjoy just LOOKING at them. So I've decided that I am going to make a scrapbook of sorts of the things I see and like. Take this wrap for instance. I love to pretty robin's egg blue color---and the brown buttons. I love that it just sets around the shoulders...but I won't pay $ 80 for it. Maybe someday Mary Cobb will test her patience and teach me to make it! HINT HINT!

I like the luggage tags that say "MINE"--but $ 25 for ONE TAG?! That's insane to me. I can buy at least 10 blank plastic covers at WM and decorate them in my own colors and font! Or the "IF AND OR BUT" signs--I can't remember what they cost--but again, we can make this for far less!

Now, the butterfly table and chairs...well, if there were a granddaughter in the picture---that might have to be a "BUY ME"! Can't you just see little girls in frilly party dresses, fairy crowns with a cute little garden tea set? Oh my!
Anyway, I foresee getting one the the binder ring chipboard albums and creating a collage scrapbook of these things--something I can add too as time goes on. I am also scouring them for things that I can use to embellish other things with. Take the medallion for instance--its on a pretty cream colored paper and folded out of the center of a catty perfectly! Can hardly see the staple holes with the intense design! Won't that look pretty on a page with a black and white photo! My other brilliant idea for the day is...being as we live in a hurricane zone, it probably would be wise and worthwhile to take some pictures of my "favorite things" around the house...like my egg and chicken plate set...the Sellers Hoosier and so on. That would make another neat book!

And, speaking of pictures...if you've not checked out Shutterfly...give them a look-see. I got an e-mail to get 75 prints free! Cheaper than Wal-Mart would've been and given I keep forgetting to take the flash drive to print the Christmas pics. For $ 4 shipping...I got prints of Christmas and a wide variety of prints for Maren's scrapbook that I keep meaning to do! Shutterfly is a great company to work with--their site is set up so you can layout your own hard-bound books, etc. Theresa gave me one of our wedding photos and I love it. Ok ladies-housework beacons. Hope this at least gave you some ideas to dream about while you dust and scrub...I know I will be (dusting, scrubbing and dreaming, that is!)

Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping. Blessings, Sharon

Tuesday...

and it may be a tough one-Poppa Cat (PC for short) had me up earlier than I would have liked, sinus pressure is back, and we lost a good friend last night. While Mark had some handicaps and lived in an assisted living facility, he always had a positive attitude and kind words to say about people. We'd often take him out for Chinese food and he loved crab rangoons and their green beans among other things. He also loved cats and always thanked us for caring for him. He will be missed and heaven will be a brighter place today with his smile. My dear husband took on the responsibilty of caring for Mark as well as his father. They were both complete strangers to him at that time. He has that gift. He looks out for the widows and orphans as scripture says. What a wonderful, spiritual man I have.

Ok-on to the stamping world! I was surfing sites this past week-end and saw a stamp set I liked on someone's blog--so I went and checked the company site out. It was TAYLORED EXPRESSIONS (http://www.tayloredexpressions.com/,) and yes, they had a # of sets I liked--Discover Your Wings, The Places You'll Go and Christmas Blessings. But OH NO! It's the horrendous cupcake man! I kid you not---these cupcake images were appearing on every blog out there but mine--and I despised them! I groaned over them, for whatever reason--I just didn't like them-they give me the creeps! Lol. And here they were, in a mega dose! Breathe, Sharon!

One more item of note---on Papercraft Planet today there's a great "make a cake embellishment" video. I think the link is simply http://www.papercraftplanet.com. No pics or projects for now-just wanted to share those two tidbits. Will be interesting to see if the Christmas card I am envisioning in my head will work out to be as pretty in real life. And I cannot wait to use the Discover Your Wings set! Places You'll Go is on my wish list...

Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping. Blessings, Sharon

Definition of Denial...

...doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Well--I have done it again and again and...and yes, each time I've gotten different results! And The Stamp Queen says that "there are no mistakes in stamping...just opportunities for embellishment."

Yesterday...I was soooo dizzy I couldn't see straight-I think I mentioned that. By 4:00 my darling husband decided I needed to see a doctor-right then and there. He didn't trust me to call my physician today and go. So he bundled me up and took me to the local Urgent Care. Thankfully, a PA I know and really like and respect was working. Her diagnosis-acute sinus infection and fluid in not one but both ears. Antibiotic. Decongestant. Nose spray (have I mentioned I HATE nose spray?!). More rest.

Fast forward to today. Even though she said it may take a few days, I felt a good bit better this morning. I did go to work. I was finished by 1:30 and came home, bundled up in what I call my "knock about clothes" (translate the comfortable, somewhat baggy and occasionally ratty looking things you wouldn't be caught dead in outside the house!) and kicked back and relaxed. Until I got "itchy" to do SOMETHING. I had one more calendar I needed at as a belated gift and thought what the heck-while I was at it I would make one for ME! All went well until...I cut the calendars wrong. I didn't leave enough room at the top for the binder clip. DraT! dOUBle DraT and dag-naBBit. (I can't think straight with sinus headaches so I'll blame it on that!) Ok-so make it work-I was NOT cutting out 24 more little calendars. Then came the A-HA! moment!!! Why not...put the binder clip at the bottom where there actually was room?! So I did! I made a pool of hot glue on the back of the clip and attached the 3-D butterfly sticker. Used the powder trick. Made another little pool of glue on the other side of the clip and attached it to the base of the easel. Push clip open, slip in calendar, close clip. DONE! I didn't...exert too much energy, felt better for having done a little crafty something, and finished the gift I needed. How much better can it get?!I've also...been using the things in what I call my "special stash"--you know, the stuff (T. does this, too so I know I am not the only nutty one in this regard!) I got these butterflies at Michaels months ago. They are really nice--and I know I won't find them again. Sigh. But I decided to use them--and that justifies...buying MORE THINGS I fall in love with and have to have! Lol.
On another note I am not sure of the exact temp outside-other than SUPER COLD (and my volunteer helper today said we may have snow and snow/rain/sleet soon...)---how cold you ask? SO COLD...Inky (aka the kitten even though he's actually 3!) who ALWAYS wants to go outside on our deck---wouldn't go! I opened the door-he felt the air, and dashed away in the opposite direction! Lol. Time for supper, another movie, more meds. Please pass the kleenex, too. Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping. Blessings, Sharon

ps/I just caught my calendar "opps!"--did you---?! ; ) I told you I can't think straight with sinus headaches. Oh well--I guess I get to cut one more time...!

Happy New Year...

I hope everyone has a happy, HEALTHY and blessed 2010... beginning with me! Lol! Selfish, huh?! Whatever this "bug" is--it simply won't go away. Today...I woke up dizzy as a loon. That means everything is spinning and my dear husband is holding on to me as I move the short distances from bed, bath, couch, computer, repeat. Sigh. Guess there's no way to avoid a drs. visit for me this next week. He is very good, very nice...and cute, too--so why do I fuss so much about going? I just don't like being sick! And of course the RECORD LOW TEMPS we've had hasn't helped any! Hence the igloo picture-that's what it feels like! Baby, it's COLD outside!

All that said--if you have any favorite blog sites-PLEASE, I beg you, send them on to me (and I will share them here)! Not only have I looked at all the ones I love--and those connected to them, but I am reading more and more...that the "authors" of those I love...are tired, burned out...stopping their blogs! GASP! Many...are on "design teams" for companies, many also sell for companies in addition to being on design teams, are mom's, wives AND work outside the home. Too much to do. Too much stress. Blogging, therefore, takes a back seat. While I can understand (it can easily take Theresa (aka "T" for now...) and I at least an hour minimum to do one post between signing on, doing the photos, fighting with Blogger...) I love-and am addicted to-the outlet the blogs offer for creative energy. The stores (around us, anyway--) are-no, not are-HAVE-disappeared. You can no longer go and peruse shelves of stamps, stacks of paper...strings of samples...for ideas, pleasure, relaxation. I "discovered" Stamp Works (in Wilm., NC) on December 26, 2000-it is no longer. Scrapbook Nook and Scrapbook Addict---bit the dust in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Sigh. Even the magazines--who among us besides T. remembers when Rubber Stamper magazine was "IT" in the stamping world? It wasn't that long ago my friends---and "IT" is gone.) And, if you look at Papercrafts closely, its really the same ideas over and over with different colors and papers.

I don't...post every day. Not possible. I don't get to stamp every day. Something I want to change even if its 15 minutes worth (http://www.flylady.com/). And I don't have that many new ideas. Funny, though, it seems to balance out between T. and I even though we don't plan it that way. And she has an excellant one today---go look at the card she made for her sister's birthday---www.artful-whimsies.blogspot.com--and the card she made for her husband for Christmas! If I don't have one-she does, and vice versa! But what I think I will do...is share some things from other blog-companies you might like to check out, an artist-a particularly good project. We'll still share our projects--and our ideas for our classes. And I am going to challenge the gals in our group to bring something they have worked on each month--and we'll take pics and share them on our posts as well. (Haven't run that by T. yet but can't imagine she'd disagree...we don't usually!) I AM going to do a year album this year. I am. I really, really am. And I have the Christma pics on the flash drive to take and print and scrap-if I ever get better!

Just to put SOMETHING out there today-this was a card I made in the winter of 2008 for two little girls (9ish?) that wrote an EXCELLANT story called SNOWBALL'S FIRST CHRISTMAS about...you guessed it---penguins. (One of) their dad's happens to work with my husband, and he shared the story with Brook...who brought it home to share with me. I wanted to thank them for sharing it and let them know they did a great job. So--here's the outside of the "igloo" -and then Snowball and his (her?--opps, can't remember now!) friend on the inside. T. came to the rescue with the wiggle eyes...no clue...what stamps I used-I know that's a Cuttlebug embossing folder that made the swirls-clip art I think for the penguins...the hat and scarf--stamps...the snowflakes...a punch with glitter...

Well, time to go lay back down. My head is spinning-so it the room and computer! Take care all-share some good stuff with me--! Hopefully I will have something more worthwhile by the end of the week! Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping! Blessings, Sharon