the "-z" ending, and yard sale fuss...

when new products come out, they seem to push out some of the old ones. for example, "fibers" were THE embellishment for cards. it has been replaced with rhinestone swirls and paper flowers. that's about the same time the "-s" turned into a "-z".

my fibers were not the ordinary, run-of-the-mill yarn-age. it was DIFFERENT... sparkly, soft, furry, unique, multi-stranded, etc. the closest i got to ordinary was "eyelash".

so, what to do with the "fiberz"... i suppose i can knit with them. after all, that is why they were invented, i guess. i would have to take up a new hobby, and i don't wanna. maybe i could just use them for what i had intended... to use on cards. i have to spin it in a new way, and i don't think my brain is up for that just yet. ideas: some people crochet flowers, use the wider stuff in place of ribbon...

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we are cleaning and clearing out! we had a flop of a yard sale yesterday. the threat of rain kept away our shoppers, i hope. also, we neglected to get the signs out earlier in the week. we weren't really into the sale itself. i was really into cleaning the house and ridding it of excess. i did fine with the set-up, but when it came to the sale...

the reason for the clean-out? we are having family and friends over for girlfriend-katie's graduation. yes... there will be a doctor (Ph.D) in the house!

katie and i are taking a few days to recover. our bodies are achy and bruised. then, back at it again. of course, the two rooms i left for last are not the ones that i like to clean. i should have done them first, but i know that there wasn't much to get rid of. the studio... stuff needs to be put away...getting rid of anything in there? forget it! and the combination computer, acquarium and studio spill-over... nothing much to get rid of there, but there is lots to clean up after listing on ebay for about a month. most of that went out to the yard sale.

well... it's off to a third round of contemplating my navel...

another worthy blog

"frost it pink": http://frostitpink.com/blog/?p=655 this is another website that i will be following. not only do they have neat ideas and goodies, melissa phillips is there, too. i love her work, so anything she does, i want to see! so, check it out!

here's another: http://avintagechic.blogspot.com/ i was drawn to it for the blogs on the side bar.

i wish everyone had an option to follow by email. this is the only way for me. if it's in my face, i read it; if it isn't, chances are i won't go to my blog list, feeds, etc. i guess i had better add a way for folks to follow by email, huh? on my list of dumb-junk-i-gotta-do....

http://karolakraftuje.blogspot.com/

http://www.gadaboutmedia.com/ looks like a nice place to play...many different categories

cards - favorites

this is the first time that i embossed an image over patterned card stock. i like the effect, and i will definately make more. the cards need so little extra embellishment. i like keeping it simple.

cool video!

found here: http://papierenavonturen.blogspot.com/

beat it to death! card-making at it's finest

february/march: more cards i made for my mom.

cards for my mom: january

i have been busy doing other things, so here are cards from way back in january. i made them for my mom, and i haven't sent them yet.

the paper is cosmo cricket and stampin' up! the stamps are mostly from stampin' up!

update

oooo...look what i did...added numbers to the top of my piece. my project has moved forward ... slightly. tomorrow, i am off to michael's for a clock hand or two. i also have a working title which i will reveal when this is complete. see this previous entry: http://rush8888.blogspot.com/2010/02/update.html

[how DO people embed a reference? something to put on my dumb-junk-i-gotta-do list.]

i won!

a free book from craftside: http://craftside.typepad.com/craftside/ they introduce books (from http://www.quarrybooks.com/), provide a review and rate different craft products. now, i don't want you to go and sign up for their updates...that would mean that there is more competition for the freebies {wink}. it's a wonderful, entertaining and informative site.

i won this book some time ago from the folks at craftside and forgot to brag about it.

happy spring???

katie found these growing out in the front yard a few days ago. how cruel mother nature is ... today, it was spitting snow. ok ... i will take what i can get ...

update

yep...it has been a month...

i am a little further along.... see the 1/20/10 post: http://rush8888.blogspot.com/2010/01/it-isnt-like-im-sitting-here-twiddling.html

the picture on the left shows the elements i have collected up to this point. (i will still use the angel. it briefly hid itself on my table, but is home again with the rest.) since last time, i added the word "H O M E" using scrabble letters and attached them with self-made links of heavy copper wire, because this is what i had. next time i am at the home improvement store, i must get a lmedium guage. the tag is a piece of copper stamping that i purchased somewhere along the way. i cut out the heading from my old postal laws book and positioned it inside this tag and filled the recess with dimensional magic. this tag and the pocket watch dial are not yet adhered. i have a large watch hand coming, and i will try that out on top of the dial. perhaps that is the final element. so until next time, i will be thinking about this some more.

mojo monday challenge

http://mojomonday.blogspot.com/2010/02/mojo-monday-125-contest.html ends 020710

and

http://vervestamps.blogspot.com/2010/01/tags-tins-and-treats-day-1.html ends 021410 lots to see in the "parade"!

challenge: posh designs and gingersnap

http://poshscrapbookstore.blogspot.com/2010/01/pdss-sketch-challenge-6.html








this has been "our" theme song for a long time. i found the image of the sheet music on the web somewhere. i added a bow tie and a garter .... romance....

also submitted to gingersnap: http://gingersnapcreations.blogspot.com/2010/02/gc41-chestnut-challenge-romance.html ends 2/28 the theme is "romance".

be my valentine?

i jumped on the bandwagon and decided to try a valentine. the biggest problem was that the paper wasn't as heavy as i would have liked and needed for all the manipulation i did. the sentiment is a little crooked, but maybe no one will notice. i think i will try this again when i can figure out how to make this particular paper heavier. this is the paper i want to use. i will figure it out....

i entered this in the caardvark's "red heart challenge":
http://caardvarks.blogspot.com/2010/01/red-heart-challenge.html there are plenty of wonderful samples made by the design team.

it isn't like i'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs...

UPDATE: still sitting there looking up at me: sunday, 2/14/10. i have to admit that i have been busy with other things, and i have run into this project a few times. i am still drawing a blank. after i get the studio cleaned and workable, i will pull this out again and make it sit with me until one of us decides what to do with it.


i have been thinking about and working on this project for about a week. some things come easy to me, like making cards for my mom; others become painfully difficult. i am a little envious of those who can visualize a finished piece by knowing what they want and where to find it. i can find stuffs, but i can't put it together in my mind. i feel inadequate. this happens alot, and it is irritating. i know i can't push the creative process.

the first element i made was the center "card". it was easy to decide on the papers to use for the top and the bottom layer. it was a little difficult to make that bow, but deciding on the ribbon was easy. using this machine stitch was a good choice, along with the thread color. then what??!!!

the card has been sitting here for 5 days.

four days ago, i cut out the backing form from heavy chipboard. i didn't want it to be square or rectangular this time. later the same day, i adhered the light turquoise and red paper to one side. it sat for a day.

the next day, i decided to put some kind of book page on the other side. so, i brought out my trusty, ancient postal worker's manual and found a page that i liked, and i adhered that.

two days ago, i found the angel form, painted it gold and toned it down with a wash. it sat for a day.

this afternoon, i pulled out a pocket watch dial and sat it on the layers.

the four pieces are just sitting there. i don't know where this piece is going, so i can't adhere anything permanently. so, it is just sitting there staring up at me. i can't figure out where this is going, so maybe i need to put it aside for now and make cards for my mom - mindless, quick, sense of accomplishment....

while this thing is sitting here, take a look at the two most recent pieces below (january 9th). they took the same journey as this one, so maybe it will be ok.

blog candy...i won!

a big thank you to su! demonstrator rachel brumley! i won a su! gift certificate valued at $25! it took me a little while to choose, and here is what showed up at my door. ( http://www.stampingbyrachel.com/ )

the first picture is of the box..."tea party" dsp, a package of real red cardstock and 3 markers in the colors that i use most when making stampin' cards - so saffron, almost amethyst and certainly celery.

the picture on the right is a photo of the packing paper. it starts at one doorway and through the room. the other picture is the rest of the paper going through the second doorway and way across the living room. i think su! should get appropriately-sized boxes, but i would never have had the opportunity to see this:

spot's kittie nest.

off in a new direction...

i finally figured out that our camera has a "macro" setting which allows me to focus in on specific elements. i always wondered how people did that! did i read the directions that came with the camera? nooooooo.... i'm good now...

onto the project...for some time, i have admired the creativity of melissa phillips (of LilyBean's Paperie: http://lilybeanpaperie.typepad.com/lilybeans_paperie/). she has inspired me to experiment, so i have! this has been such a fun project that i decided to make a second. i can see making more, and the ideas are flowing. this project is pretty self-explanatory.

about the flowers: red and green tissue paper and "dimensional magic". sticky fingers!

beat it to death! card-making at it's finest

stampin' up's tea party dsp:

beat it to death! card-making at it's finest

my girlfriend, katie, has joined in!

do it to death: card-making at it's finest

i made this gift card holder for my daughter, jawnna, and her husband, jerry, and my 7 grandchildren. $100!

i got these free gift cards from "my points". ask me how!
















then, i decided to do it to death and made 8 more using the same paper and theme.

paper: cosmo cricket: mr. campy (plus a few plain others)
rubber stamps: "are we there yet?" by inkadinkado (k and company)
alphabet "GO" - magnetic stamps by pixie press
alphabet "get lost" by g studio (clear stamps)
compass - rubber stampede
small and large brads
bit of string
torn map
twill tape

more cards...

the top one is one i made for my mom's and step-father's anniversary. usually, they come down to see us on the way to hilton head, but not this year. i miss them.




this card was made for my friend, ken, who used to be our neighbor when we lived in columbus, ohio.

bridge cards for my mom

my mom usually gets what she wants! she is an avid bridge-player who plays with other avid bridge-players, so this kind of card will come in handy.

this was a joint effort. my girlfriend, katie, and i may have run out of ideas...but, we will find more later, i'll bet!

talk about a "play" on words!!! gag!!!

my new book

now, THIS is more my style....

although it is for my mom, she will be trading it with her book club group members. my mom doesn't especially appreciate this style, but i insisted on doing in MY way this time.

the trade works like this:
a number is chosen for the first person to start. that person chooses a book from under the tree. then, the next number is chosen for the second person. this person either chooses a book from under the tree or takes the book from the first person. when everyone has a book, the first person either keeps or trades the book.

for the last two years, one person has received both books. i wonder what will happen this time.