tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62615645479678207922024-03-13T12:09:48.338-07:00into this small worldpostal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-14459771776092039582011-08-02T16:57:00.000-07:002011-08-02T17:07:13.509-07:00Cowboys and Aliens<div><div>So we haven't seen it yet (it's on the list), but here's a great story about some folks trying to win (and succeeding!) tickets to the premiere of Cowboys & Aliens at Comic-Con. And a contest to win some great swag (are you kidding, a t-shirt with Daniel Craig on it??? oh my...).<br /><br /></div><div> </div><div><a href="https://pronountrouble2.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/cowboys-aliens-the-san-diego-premiere-2/">https://pronountrouble2.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/cowboys-aliens-the-san-diego-premiere-2/</a></div><div> </div><div><br />Looking forward to seeing the movie soon (at least it will be cool inside the theater! crazy summer heat ...)</div></div>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-65925127067286644982010-06-05T12:59:00.000-07:002010-06-05T13:02:08.200-07:00Back to making cards<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Summer's here, the schedule has lightened up a little, and I have more time for cards. Here's a simple one I did for the June sketch challenge at RubberStampChat:</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/TAqs0xkpzoI/AAAAAAAAAHI/kCNTiyrsGEQ/s1600/rsc_card_sm.jpg"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5479381919309876866" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 182px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/TAqs0xkpzoI/AAAAAAAAAHI/kCNTiyrsGEQ/s200/rsc_card_sm.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Not much to it - I love that image from OnyxXpressions, and thought it went well with the yuzen papers.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">I also did one for the Steampunk challenge at Oxford Impressions, but I forgot to scan it before I mailed it in! <doh></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div> </div>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-17072582992984120132010-02-08T19:22:00.000-08:002010-02-08T19:32:55.624-08:00Online painting class from Julie Prichard<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">So I've been taking one of Julie's classes, Art Journaling Super Nova, which is fantastic. Her latest class, with Chris Cozen, is on mixed media painting and she's offering a chance to win a spot in it (or any of her classes) in this </span><a href="http://www.julieprichard.com/lostluggage/2010/2/6/free-online-mixed-media-painting-class-look.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">blog post</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"><br /><br />I've learned so much from the Super Nova classes, and highly recommend anything that Julie does!<br /></span>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-40860152452219985242009-11-03T04:15:00.000-08:002009-11-03T04:17:29.519-08:00blog hop for a good causeI'll be making a card for this young girl later in the week:<br /><br /><a href="http://katharina1704.blogspot.com/">http://katharina1704.blogspot.com/</a><br /><br />Check out the Spread the Love blog hop and send a little cheer to this family.postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-84422392297746025222009-09-23T04:16:00.001-07:002009-09-23T04:20:33.652-07:00chance at some faboo blog candy!<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">I found out about this through the Starving Artistamp blog: Jenn McMillan has a fabulous haul of stuff she's giving away as blog candy to celebrate finding out the gender of her baby. Check it out:<br /><br /></span><a href="http://jennmcmillan.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">http://jennmcmillan.blogspot.com/</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Congratulations to Jenn and her husband!</span>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-2145237218100502382009-09-02T08:18:00.000-07:002009-09-02T08:24:50.164-07:00More freakin' cute stamps from Starving Artistamps and blog candy to boot!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I don't know how they keep doing it, but those Starving Artistamps folks have done it again - another wickedly cute set of DoodleFactory stamps called Costume Party. This is a must-have set for Halloween cards (or if you're like me and you really like ghoulish-ly cute stamps, it's just a must-have set). Check out their blog for details on the new release and the blog candy:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><a href="http://starvingartistamps.blogspot.com/2009/09/new-release-blog-candy-and-sketch.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">http://starvingartistamps.blogspot.com/2009/09/new-release-blog-candy-and-sketch.html</span></a>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-86362761502914151142009-07-26T17:29:00.000-07:002009-07-26T17:30:28.364-07:00More new stamps at Starving Artistamps!!Blog candy alert:<br /><br /><a href="http://starvingartistamps.blogspot.com/2009/07/new-release-blog-candy.html">http://starvingartistamps.blogspot.com/2009/07/new-release-blog-candy.html</a><br /><br />Love the new sets, especially Into the Woods. Too cute!postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-21007879222982312402009-03-02T04:17:00.000-08:002009-03-02T04:19:00.466-08:00New stamps at Starving Artistamps!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Another new release from Starving Artistamps, and blog candy to boot! Check it out:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><a href="http://starvingartistamps.blogspot.com/2009/03/weve-got-n.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">http://starvingartistamps.blogspot.com/2009/03/weve-got-n.html</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Wonderful stamps, wonderful company - you can't go wrong! And isn't that lamb just the cutest?</span>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-53376696654434971812009-01-18T07:37:00.000-08:002009-01-18T07:48:12.060-08:00Time to play and blog candy<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"> So over at </span><a href="http://stampchallenges.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Stamp Something </span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">they have a birthday challenge, and since I've been trying to clean out my art room I decided to combine the challenge with my own personal challenge to use up some of the scraps I have, specifically some from the various scrapbooking pads I keep buying. So here's what I've done so far:</span> <div><div><div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SXNN72XPthI/AAAAAAAAAEA/5nQZKXgFUtM/s1600-h/bday2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292659677691098642" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 199px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SXNN72XPthI/AAAAAAAAAEA/5nQZKXgFUtM/s200/bday2.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div><br /> </div><div></div><div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SXNN2CnW0PI/AAAAAAAAAD4/W6l5P7x5A-g/s1600-h/bday.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292659577900683506" style="WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 152px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SXNN2CnW0PI/AAAAAAAAAD4/W6l5P7x5A-g/s200/bday.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Not too much stamping, but right now the room is in such a mess that there's hardly any space to get out my stamps and inkpads, much less "do" something. I'm working on it, though.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Oh, and Kristin has another fabulous eyelet giveaway on her blog:</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><a href="http://krishubick.blogspot.com/2009/01/blog-candy-giveaway-eyelet-set-last.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">http://krishubick.blogspot.com/2009/01/blog-candy-giveaway-eyelet-set-last.html</span></a></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Check out her store for more wonderful goodies (see link in my sidebar). I'm off to place another order - MUST have that skull stencil!</span><br /></span></div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SXNNmqrbnzI/AAAAAAAAADw/NkFdUgamNik/s1600-h/bday2.jpg"></a><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div></div></div></div>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-18226200205503378402009-01-03T07:23:00.000-08:002009-01-03T07:24:51.311-08:00Happy New Year and Blog Candy Alert<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Happy New Year! Hard to believe 2009 is already upon us. And to celebrate their new releases, Starving Artistamps is giving away fabulous blog candy:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><a href="http://starvingartistamps.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-releases-and-some-blog-candy.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">http://starvingartistamps.blogspot.com/2009/01/new-releases-and-some-blog-candy.html</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Check it out!</span>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-74980726157764420722008-12-27T09:27:00.001-08:002008-12-27T09:29:51.736-08:00More fabulous giveaways!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">This time from Alpha Stamps (click on the image to go to the blog for details):</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><a href="http://www.alphastamps.com/blog/?p=224"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284522818162953042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SVZlgSgMi1I/AAAAAAAAADQ/tytBeFCP_E4/s320/ASgiveawaylogo.gif" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div></div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">She has several giveaways coming up, so keep checking the blog!</span><br /><div></div>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-40530685123496327592008-12-25T06:18:00.000-08:002008-12-25T06:19:32.121-08:00Holiday giveaway<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">on Angela Cartwright's blog:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><a href="http://acartwrightstudio.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">http://acartwrightstudio.blogspot.com/</span></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">A copy of Pasticcio Quartz, a lovely zine.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Happy Holidays!</span>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-9762963207087757552008-12-06T10:15:00.000-08:002008-12-06T10:25:35.378-08:00Blog Candy Happiness<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">A few weeks ago I was the lucky winner of some blog candy on <a href="http://cbsumm.blogspot.com/">Carolyn's blog</a>, from <a href="http://inkastamps.com/">Inka Stamps </a>- a beautiful poinsettia image and a set of verses. The stamps arrived on Wednesday of this week, and I've finally had a little free time (in between the laundry and getting the holiday lights set up) to play.<br />I've been fighting a bad winter cold all week, so it took awhile for my creative mojo to resurface. The first card I made is based on the one that Carolyn posted on her blog (forgive the poor scan - my scanner does not do metallic stuff very well):<br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276744334470335410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 270px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/STrDA8qoy7I/AAAAAAAAADA/jtPH8Ha0zkE/s320/xmas2.jpg" border="0" /><br />I managed a second card before my first load of laundry was done. Let me tell you, the gold cording on this one was a bugger! I've had that cording for some time, and now I remember why I don't use it very often - it's very tempermental (which, added to my being irritable from the cold, makes for a bad combination). But I persevered, and this card is the result (photographed because my scanner absolutely refuses to do beads): </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276744337275664658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 209px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/STrDBHHeuRI/AAAAAAAAADI/yY-XZmDzPbs/s320/xmas3.jpg" border="0" /><br />Many thanks to Carolyn and Inka Stamps for their generosity. I'm hoping to have more time to play this afternoon.</span>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-27768760270228009702008-12-04T18:01:00.000-08:002008-12-04T18:11:18.331-08:00Something Special<a href="http://chrysti.wordpress.com/2008/12/02/29-days-of-giveaways-for-you/"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Chrysti</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"> is doing the 29 days of giving, and I love the whole idea! I know how much a simple gift can matter: case in point, the wonderful blog candy that I won on Seth's blog back in September, that arrived shortly after Hurricane Ike did so much damage here. It was the only thing that came in the mail that day (we were lucky to even get any mail), the mailman brought it to the house instead of leaving it in the box (they were only delivering packages), and I spent a good hour sitting at the kitchen table going through everything piece by piece, relishing the time spent away from yard cleanup and worrying about the roof damage.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">So who knows, maybe I'll get my butt in gear over the holidays and follow Chrysti's lead. . .</span>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-18934649783816693882008-12-02T18:48:00.000-08:002008-12-02T19:00:05.556-08:00Books books books!!<span style="font-size:85%;">New books: for my birthday today, my folks got me </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Altered-Paper-Jewelry-Adornments-Beautiful/dp/1592534546/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228272948&sr=1-1"><span style="font-size:85%;">Altered Paper Jewelry</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> by Jenn Mason. Wonderful book, lots of clever ideas. For my birthday, <strong>I</strong> picked up </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Making-Connections-Handbook-Jewelers-Mixed-Media/dp/0979840708/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228272632&sr=8-1"><span style="font-size:85%;">Making Connections </span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">by Susan Lenart Kazmer. I've taken a class with her - she's a wonderful artist, fabulous teacher, and her book is fabulous.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">A book I'm anxiously waiting on - Exhibition 36: Mixed Media Demonstrations + Explorations (on Amazon </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Exhibition-36-Gallery-Mixed-Media-Inspiration/dp/1600611044/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207791122&sr=1-3"><span style="font-size:85%;">here</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">). It looks fabulous, and the author Susan Tuttle is having a wonderful giveaway on her </span><a href="http://ilkasattic.blogspot.com/2008/12/book-give-away-contest.html#links"><span style="font-size:85%;">blog</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">On order - a whole stack of Japanese lovelies from Kinokuniya in Seattle, due to arrive the day after tomorrow. I know what I'll be doing Thursday evening!</span>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-50554696003336597712008-11-29T14:15:00.000-08:002008-11-29T14:37:06.496-08:00Almost December<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Post-Turkeyday, still recovering. Spent most of today surfing, which is always dangerous because it usually leads to shopping! My yesasia shopping cart is already way too full.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">iHanna has some wonderful things in her Etsy shop - wonderful collage packs, notebooks, etc. Check out her </span><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5097103"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Etsy shop</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"> or her </span><a href="http://www.ihanna.nu/blog/?p=922"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">blog</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"> for more information.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">More wonderful leather journals from </span><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5090862"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">MyHandmadeBooks</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"> on Etsy (I have 2 of hers already), and I've been sorely tempted by the suede ones from </span><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5027177"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Kreativlink</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">. But the big sale at Chronicle Books is too good to pass up - I'm getting some of the new soft-sided Moleskines.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-74048821802174528162008-11-16T08:37:00.000-08:002008-11-16T08:56:04.046-08:00<div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Hard to believe that it's already almost Thanksgiving - where has the year gone? Things have been so busy between work and school activities that there's hardly been any time for art. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">That being said, I did have a blast at quilt festival. I managed to spend a reasonable amount of money, and was fortunate enough to get into one of the Make It University classes. We made a collaged canvas - I further embellished mine when I got home (and I've "censored" it, just in case TPTB at blogger don't like it):</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269299644574122722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 243px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SSBQG9nuwuI/AAAAAAAAAC4/HoL115cFkRw/s320/qf_canvas.jpg" border="0" /> <div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">I got my wonderful Cold Charlotte doll from Kristin at Retro Cafe Art the other week - I can't decide what to do with her, because she is just so lovely by herself. Kristin is having another fabulous blog candy giveaway - check it out:</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><a href="http://krishubick.blogspot.com/2008/11/another-blog-candy-eyelet-giveaway.html"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">http://krishubick.blogspot.com/2008/11/another-blog-candy-eyelet-giveaway.html</span></a><br /></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">And definitely check out her shop - she has the most wonderful things!</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">I'll try to get a link to my Quilt Festival pictures on the blog - I'm still learning about this whole blogging thing (and you'd think that, having been in software for over 20 years, it would be easy for me!).</span></div><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><br /><div></div>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-47523660288061813562008-10-22T18:16:00.000-07:002008-10-22T18:31:01.237-07:00<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">So much for keeping up with my blog...</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Life after Ike has been hectic, to say the least! We're still trying to get caught up after a week and a half of no school, and over 2 weeks of no work (no power at the office building!) - too much stuff crammed into too few days! </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Of course, did I use that 2 weeks of downtime wisely? Not really - I spent some of it sorting (only a fraction of the stuff I should have sorted), some of it catching up on the ever-growing pile of magazines and books (of course, I also shopped for more books, so I don't think I made any real progress there), and napping. No major art projects, except for finishing my pages for a collaborative book project. Okay, so I did accomplish something at least!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">And just when I think things are finally settling down, I realize that next week is Halloween and I haven't decorated at all, and more importantly <a href="http://www.quilts.com/">Quilt Festival</a> is next week, and I haven't planned out my shopping yet . . . </span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">Speaking of shopping, if you're in the market for cool stuff, check out <a href="http://www.retrocafeart.com/">Retro Cafe Art Gallery</a>. Wonderful service and fabulous stuff, including new frozen Charlotte dolls. And she's having a great giveaway on her blog, here:</span><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><a href="http://krishubick.blogspot.com/2008/10/blog-candy-giveaway-eyelet-candy.html">http://krishubick.blogspot.com/2008/10/blog-candy-giveaway-eyelet-candy.html</a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Off to work on my plan for Festival - plot out which booths I have to hit (I already know that the Quilting Arts one is top of the list).</span>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-3376763205059585752008-09-20T14:21:00.000-07:002008-09-20T14:49:50.352-07:00after the storm<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">well, we survived ike - sort of. it's hard to believe that it all happened a week ago.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">we lost power sometime early saturday morning on the 13th, before the worst of the storm hit. needless to say, we didn't get much sleep - every time something hit the roof (which was pretty frequently), we jumped up and tried to see what we could out the windows with flashlights. around 4:30 or 5:00 we heard something quite loud - all we could see from the windows was a very large branch from our biggest pine tree lying in the middle of the backyard, and part of a tree on our roof. the storm blew through by about 9:00 or so in the morning, giving us our first chance to survey the damage. wow ...</span><br /><br /><div><div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248219788506685154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 186px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="164" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SNVsF2Ud3uI/AAAAAAAAAB4/uUqx86XUBPI/s320/limb.jpg" width="251" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248219794806595602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 299px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 179px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="187" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SNVsGNye4BI/AAAAAAAAACA/91uZli2aRcg/s320/garage.jpg" width="268" border="0" /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">turns out the tree on the roof wasn't part of our tree - it was the top of one of our neighbors giant pine trees, which also took out part of our fence. another of their trees took out a different section of the fence.</span></div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248220289482566210" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 309px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 219px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="180" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SNVsjAmbKkI/AAAAAAAAACI/qbUCpju5zU8/s320/2trees.jpg" width="252" border="0" /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">on the other side of the house: one of our trees broke in two during the first part of the storm, and was originally resting on our neighbor's two-story roof. that turned out to be a good thing, because during the second half of the storm one of their trees uprooted, and the only thing keeping it from crashing down onto both of our houses was the fact that it was wedged against the broken part of our tree.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5248222839912233202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SNVu3dsPePI/AAAAAAAAACY/H8vKjrqP3iw/s320/snapped.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">our neighbor had a group from his church come by first thing saturday morning to remove his tree from our garage and clean up the big debris (that was truly a blessing!). the damage to the garage roof was minimal, and neither of the cars were hit. we spent 3 days cleaning up the rest of the mess, and wound up with a pile of debris in the front yard that's taller than the boy. i can't believe how many pine cones we picked up (and we still haven't finished the backyard).</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">we did't get power back until tuesday evening. fortunately, we had running water the entire time, and the weather was unseasonably cool for this time of year, so it was tolerable in the house with no a/c and the windows open. </span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">most of the immediate area is still without power, although it's coming back slowly. school has been out since last friday, and right now is tentatively scheduled to open again next wednesday (although the boy's school currently doesn't have power, and isn't on the list to open).</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">overall, we were very fortunate - i feel for the people down along the coast (and in other areas) who lost everything. so many can't even get back to their homes to see how much damage there is, or if there's anything left to salvage.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">thoughts and prayers for the areas hit by ike would be most appreciated...</span></div></div></div>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-82383394071618682172008-09-06T07:05:00.000-07:002008-09-06T07:09:56.012-07:00Blog giveaway (not mine, though)<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Cate Prato, one of the editors for Quilting Arts/Cloth Paper Scissors, is holding a fabulous blog giveaway. For a chance at a wonderful tote:</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><a href="http://vintagecate.typepad.com/a_charmed_life/"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">http://vintagecate.typepad.com/a_charmed_life/</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Good luck!</span>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-49070807979499088542008-08-23T15:16:00.000-07:002008-08-23T15:29:48.264-07:00do-over!!<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">well, i guess i'm not too surprised - there is definitely a shelf life for the leather part of the fabu-leather. my poor little journal didn't survive too many days of being toted around in my purse. <br /></span><div></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">so i snuck out of work long enough to hit the local craft store last week, and bought a 12x12 piece of suede. cut the threads from the old journal, trimmed the suede down, and viola! - a new journal cover. a smidge less coverage on the wrap than the first one, but with the added benefit of that yummy suede smell. and i managed to re-bind the whole thing without tearing any of the pages! here are a few shots of the new and vastly improved cover:</span></div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237842244847154674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SLCNxTmmNfI/AAAAAAAAAAs/blgUYAwGMU4/s320/newcover.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237842246465614802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SLCNxZod89I/AAAAAAAAAA0/iYJdly3zUJo/s320/newspine.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">should have just done the "suede from the craft store" thing from the start . . . ;-)</span></div>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-50535923149097330692008-08-12T13:11:00.000-07:002008-08-12T13:24:05.561-07:00back to binding<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SKHwIdKaJ-I/AAAAAAAAAAU/f9iqDEfkIEg/s1600-h/journal_cover.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233728270039132130" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 212px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 236px" height="227" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SKHwIdKaJ-I/AAAAAAAAAAU/f9iqDEfkIEg/s320/journal_cover.jpg" width="198" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"> long-stitch journal</span><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">eeep - i made a journal! i've bound pages before, for journal inserts (into commercially made leather covers), but this is the first time i've done longstitch into a cover i made. i didn't have any leather (and wasn't patient enough to wait until i could buy some), so i used an old piece of fabu-leather that i bought many many years ago for a purse to make a faux leather cover.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">note to self: fabu-leather has a shelf-life! i couldn't make the closure/wrap band out of it because the fake leather part disintegrated when i stretched it (i hate to think what a skirt made out of this stuff several years ago must look like now - yeeks!).</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">but i'm pretty proud of how this one turned out - i used a variety of papers for the pages, and added a braided waxed linen wrap (with a cool stamped wooden coin i got in a swap many years ago - my apologies to the artist because i don't remember who it's from). i just hope the damn cover lasts long enough!</span><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SKHwIeG6knI/AAAAAAAAAAc/liKWO6lst6U/s1600-h/journal_open.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233728270292914802" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SKHwIeG6knI/AAAAAAAAAAc/liKWO6lst6U/s320/journal_open.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SKHwIuIJPWI/AAAAAAAAAAk/kLxUZ4YU-CA/s1600-h/journal_spine.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233728274593037666" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_N5wCfm8wJRs/SKHwIuIJPWI/AAAAAAAAAAk/kLxUZ4YU-CA/s320/journal_spine.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span> </div>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6261564547967820792.post-29895442524428222752008-08-01T15:59:00.000-07:002008-08-01T16:05:54.828-07:00My first post<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">well, here it is, my foray into blog-dom. we'll see how long i keep it up . . . </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">looking forward to the upcoming weekend, planning a visit to my friend at the hospital, hoping to get some artwork done as well. </span><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">i was able to complete some items last weekend for the snagging stampers "handmade hoopla" contest - hopefully i'll find some nice things to snag.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">this blog needs a lot of work - graphics, artwork, a nicer layout . . . but at least it's a start!</span>postal orphanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12781915897918230633noreply@blogger.com1