My first brush with fame!

For the next three days, the film The Other Boyelyn Girl is currently filming some extra scenes at the Ely Cathedral, which is only about a mile or two from my house. My neighbor and I decided to go down to the Cathedral to see if we could see anyone famous. We ended up making friends with two gentlemen who I deemed as paparazzi...although they both said they were just "professional photographers". That is like saying, "I'm not fat, I'm pleasantly plump." Regardless, they take photos of people who don't necessarily pose for them, then sell them to magazines. One guy told me that if he could get a picture of an actor out drinking with someone other than his wife, he could sell the photo to the highest bidder for an undisclosed amount. He said if he could get a picture of Scarlett Johanssen, who is starring in the movie, coming at the camera in her costume and looking into the camera lens, he could get $20,000 for it!! Just for her in costume looking into the lens...that is just ridiculous!

So, I learned something interesting. We started talking up the security guy, figuring he could give us valuable information. He was talking about different movies he's worked security on, so I asked him, "Who is the meanest celebrity you've ever worked with?" He immediately responded, "Cameron Diaz. She's horrible!! We were told that, throughout the movie production, we could not look her in the eye. She would freak out if we looked at her. She also turned the place upside down because she had lost her hairbrush!!" Not that I doubt it: she looks like she would really just beat the crap out of anyone who didn't do what she wanted.

Something else I learned: Natalie Portman is high maintenance!!! She has her own security team that travels with her and "protects" her while on set. She has someone carry around an umbrella so noone can see her in costume. It's ridiculous. It was also crazy because she had extra tents set up in places so people couldn't see her, including an extra tent attached to her trailer, and another one attached to the door leading into the Cathedral. Seriously, that's just obscene!!

So needless to say, I didn't get any good pictures. Ironically, the paparazzi, my friend, and the others roaming about missed a celebrity that I actually had to point out. Kristen Scott Thomas is also in the film, and she was just kind of standing next to a car. I finally had to say, "Hey, that's Kristen Scott Thomas!" On photographer said, "who?" And my neighbor didn't know who she was or what she had been in. (For those who don't know, she was in The Horse Whisperer with Robert Redford, Mission Impossible, and, taking it waaaaaaay back, she was in Four Weddings and a Funeral with Hugh Grant...you know, she was the friend who totally wanted Hugh Grant??? She's also been in tons more, was nominated for an Oscar for The English Patient, and was also in Random Hearts with Harrison Ford.). So I'm attaching two pictures that I got with my crappy camera. Well, let me state this: my camera is quite nice. But it's not good for scoping out celebrities. The second picture I actually took of my friend and a paparazzi. He was teaching her things about taking pictures, so she had a nice lesson (and he's totally posing...he said he doesn't like his own photo taken, but was trying to be nice and appease me. He isn't really pointing at anything!). And look at those cameras?!?!?! "Is that a camera in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?" hee hee

Yep, this is Kristen Scott Thomas. She wasn't exactly happy to see photographers...and tried to appear "deep in thought" as she drove off set. Apparently none of the stars were staying at hotels in Ely, and drove as far as 35-40 minutes away to stay in Newmarket, Cambridge, and other towns/villages nearby.

Paparazzo Jason with my friend Jen

We're going back tomorrow to try again...our two paparazzi friends and the security guy will all be there, so maybe we'll get lucky and bring home some good shots of Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johannsen, Eric Bana (hottie!!!), or Kristen Scott Thomas when she isn't glaring at her own hand. :-)

Goodies for me!!!!

This is certainly a nice post office time for me. I've been getting tons of cool things (don't yell at me, mom!!). My PaperTrey order came last week with the new floral set, as well as two jars of the new Primas, and the velvet flowers and plastic flowers from Maya Road. Because the floral set was designed by Nichole to go with a cuttlebug die set, I just HAD to get that. Well, it's not like you can go to eclectic Paperie and just buy one thing, so I got another jar of the Primas, plus this too cute zoo cuttlebug set, the snowflakes embossing folder, a 2-pack of Sakura jelly pens...and then they included the diecuts from a set of paper I purchased last month that weren't included in my previous order. As a special thank you, they also included a small baggie of images for me to use. How nice of the girls at eclectic Paperie!!!

So then the other big thing you see in the pic is two bundles of b-e-a-utiful May Arts ribbon that I got from a share with Jody. Yep, this stuff actually got here in a normal period of time...my prima share took over a month to get here earlier this year. So I'm just staring wistfully at this ribbon...and I realize I have absolutely no storage capabilities for this stuff. So I guess I'll have to do a little more shopping to get some ribbon storage for it. Gee, I'm sure heartbroken about that. :-)

Needless to say, my post office joys are long from over. I'm still waiting on the preorder of Spellbinders Nestability Dies to get to PaperTrey and then on to me. I also broke down and ordered from Ellen Hutson, who released some really cute limited addition stamps, as well as some wonderful holiday stamps that look like ribbon or wheels...they will be great for adding to the bottom of cards as a border. I also had to order HP ink online, because my wonderful Bx and Bxtras on the bases over here has miraculously run out of one color ink, and both are not recarrying it. So, my state-of-the-art (a.k.a: piece of crap) printer will only print in black because one ink cartridge is empty. It doesn't matter that the other 5 are fine, but since I'm missing yellow, I don't get any!!! Sheesh! So that is coming, my mom sent me a package from Colorado, I'm waiting on a new lesson planner for the new school year (which starts next Wednesday...boo hoo!!! I don't want summer to be over!!!!). Plus I'm having a Party Lite and Pampered Chef shows next month...this is such a crazy time of year!!! But the busier I get, the faster things go.......and I want it to be December 2008 so I can go HOME!!!

So last Friday I decided to take my first try at the Limited Supplies Challenge, which is hosted each Friday by Jen70 on Splitcoast. Jen has now created her own "Super Saturday Challenge" which she hosts on her blog, so you can check that out too!

This covers Friday's Limited Supplies Challenge, which was to use an old sketch challenge and old color combination challenge, along with two sets I haven't inked in awhile along with embellishments I haven't used in awhile. Well, this really made me research past challenges and it took me all day to get this the way I liked it! I used SC21 and CC37 . For the color challenge, it was supposed to be always artichoke and sahara sand with an option for bravo burgundy. Well, I went heavy on the BB and pretty doggone light with the AA. Oh well! I can't even remember the last time I used my BB ribbon...and those AA brads have NEVER been used! Almost every image on the card has been clear embossed, and I debated on adding Crystal Effects to the stars by the sentiment...but figured I was going a little too crazy at that point. Note to all those Craft Ink novices: that stuff does NOT dry fast!!! I had this completely finished and grabbed it to cut the corners, and man!! I had ink EVERYWHERE! I had to scrap it and do it again. Hence why it took me all day!! :-)

So I do like how it turned out...mostly. You can barely see the embossed "Weathered" background, which is on the main piece of burgundy cardstock. And frankly, I would have loved to scrap the piece of always artichoke and put another piece of burgundy as the base for the sentiment...but I had to include artichoke somewhere!! hee hee. This gave me a chance to really use a ton of embossing powder, which I always forget to use, and a chance to use the retired, but still adored, Holiday Wishes set, which was one of the first sets I purchased as a Stampin' Up customer two years ago (along with the Loads of Love kit...do you remember those kits?? They were GREAT!!).

Stampin' Supplies (All Stampin' Up):

Stamps: It's Snow Time, Holiday Wishes (retired), Weathered Background

Paper: Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand

Inks: Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke craft ink, Versamark

Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Dimensionals, Rich Regals Brads, Clear Embossing Powder, Burgundy grosgrain, Cream Organdy ribbon (retired)

Anyway, this card has definitely put me in a Christmas mood. Jason and I were trying to get a vacation to Germany over Christmas, but the resort we wanted is completely booked, and has been since February. We tried again to see if we could get a week in October when I'm on half term, and they are booked solid again. Now the only options we have are a week in February or a week at the end of March/early April when I'm on holiday again. I would have loved to go at Thanksgiving...but I'll actually still be working. Boo hoo!! So now we don't know what we're doing for Christmas. We were both really hoping we'd be able to go to Germany. We have friends who want us to stay here, both sets of families want us to visit them (in Ohio and Florida), and I only have two weeks off. It simply isn't plausible, or inexpensive, for it to happen. And in the end, someone is just going to be pissed off. I can understand why there are people who simply refuse to travel at Christmas...by saying you're staying put, make everyone travel to you. Of course, no one travels to us...at Christmas anyway. I guess I better get used to it.

Still have a few sets for sale...

Updated information!!!!

Take these wonderful sets off my hands, they are soooo lonely and wish for new homes!!!

**Buy one set, get another 50% off**

Stamp Sets:
Dream Come True, set of 8 $10.00
Send a Celebration, set of 4 $6.00 (from SAB 2006)
Itty Bitty Borders, set of 4 $6.00
Quick & Cute, set of 8 $7.00 (retired 2006)
Gently Falling, set of 4 $6.00 (SAB 2006)
Pocket Full of Posies, set of 4 $6.00 (Hostess 2005-2006)
Beyond the Basics, set of 4 $6.00
So Very, set of 8 $10.00 (SAB 20007)
Very Punny, set of 8 $10.00 (SAB 2007: never used!!)

Blue Brewhaha Witch

I created this card based on two challenges on Splitcoast: the sketch challenge and the Ways to Use It challenge, which was to create a Halloween card. Here's the sketch:

And my card:

I made the card larger than the intended sketch, so the card is 5 1/2" square. I had to make it this big because the central image is too big for the original sketch. Many comments on the card in my Splitcoast gallery were focused on how great it was to create a card using non-traditional Halloween colors. Well, I just don't have any cardstock to create a Halloween type card! :-) I wanted to use some of my new paper and accessories...so this is what came out of it all! (plus, blue is my absolute favorite color...paper, clothing, blue eyes....yum!!) The sentiment is one stamp that I inked up with a Basic Black marker to place the words in different locations across the card, which I thought was a nice touch. And, as an afterthought, I added the eyelets with my Crop-A-Dile...which is a fantastic tool!!! It can cut through four sheets of cardstock (because, as I mentioned, I added the eyelets at the last freakin' minute...so I had the entire card adhered before the eyelets. Thank goodness for the Crop-A-Dile!). It can also cut through plastic, metal, fabric, chipboard...anything and everything you want. It has helped me with general housekeeping and gardening. I cut through a plastic fence with my Crop-A-Dile, so it's definitely worth the price!!

Stampin' Supplies:
Stamps: Best Fiends, Just Between Fiends (both retired)
Paper: Blue Bayou, Whisper White, Blue Bayou Prints Designer Series Paper
Ink: Black Stazon, Basic Black Marker, Blush Blossom Marker, Close to Cocoa Marker, Blender Pens and reinkers (Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, River Rock)
Accessories: Silver Eyelets, Crop-A-Dile, Blue Bayou & Soft Sky Double Stitched Ribbons, Dimensionals

Two challenges in one!

I wanted to do a card that would feature the current sketch challenge on Beate's blog, as well as the Saturday challenge from Jen's blog. For Beate's blog, the sketch was fairly simple...although I think I sort of fiddled with it a bit. For Jen's challenge, we had to do a card with hearts and a square card....so I combined them both!

Here is the sketch:

And here is what I came up with:

I absolutely LOVE how the new colors Basic Grey and Purely Pomegranate go together!!! I'm excited to use more Basic Grey in future projects, as I think it's a great color. I also used the new Purely Pomegranate double stitched ribbon, and layered it with retired blue organdy ribbon. The stamps are all retired...unfortunately.

Stampin' Supplies (all Stampin' Up):
Stamps: Love It Hostess set (retired), Love Matters (retired), Doodle Alphabet (retired)...note: Love Matters and the Doodle Alphabet could possibly appear in future catalogs. They have not truly been retired: Stampin' Up considers all stamps to be "current" for one year from release date. These were released March 1, 2007, so they could appear in the Spring/Summer catalog. Here's to hoping!!
Paper: Soft Sky, Purely Pomegranate, Basic Grey, Whisper White Ink: Purely Pomegranate, Basic Grey
Accessories: Ticket Corner Punch, Silver Brads, Stampin' Sponge, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Purely Pomegranate Double Stitched Ribbon, Blue Organdy Ribbon (retired), non SU items: Cuttlebug and Hearts Embossing folder

What a downer!!

I had been so excited a few weeks ago because my blog was gaining rankings in the Stamping Top 50 index: it was up to the low 200's. Then it suddenly disappeared! So I emailed them and they never responded, and my account apparently did not exist anymore. So I just had to enter it again....and now I'm 348!!! I'm actually the last doggone blog on the list. How sad.

So keep visiting!!!!

And, as I mentioned a month or so ago...I'm actually close to 2,500 hits, so I'm going to do a blog candy once I pass it! Keep checking, so we can get some goodies out!!!

Now THIS is a giveaway!!!

ETA:

dude.

I seriously should read each line of a contest before just flipping out and entering. The contest was over on Friday...and I just entered it Monday. Hmmm. How much of a geek do I feel like right now?!?!

So, obviously I didn't win the tv. I'll just have to figure out another gift to give Jason so I'm the cool wife for his birthday. :-) It sure isn't going to be a 37" LCD television!!! :-)

I'd sure like to win this...a 37" flat screen LCD television!! Go check it out at 5 Minutes For Mom, sponsored by Best Buy.

Jason's birthday is coming up in October...this would be sooo cool to give him for his birthday. I think I'd win the "best wife" award for the month in his eyes. Maybe even for the year!!!

Finally a new project to post!

No spiders in this post!! hee hee

With all of the computer problems and spider dramas (see below for that one), I'm finally getting a chance to post an actual project. I did two swaps for a swap on Splitcoast that was specifically for military spouse demonstrators. This one had to be a masculine "I Miss You" card, since as a military spouse, we tend to use those cards quite a bit. I had a tough time figuring out what I wanted to do for this, and my original card turned out quite pitiful. So bad, in fact, that Jason said, "Did you want it to be that plain?" Well, if the freakin' card doesn't get approval from a man, then I don't think it'll go over well with a masculine swap! I just don't make masculine cards. I'm much more of a girly-floral-lovey dovey type of card maker...so I had to think about what to do. In fact, my final card used a retired set because I just don't have anything masculine in my current stuff.

So I really love how it turned out. The main image of "Hugs and Kisses" is from the Alphabet Soup set which was an SAB set a few years ago (thank goodness my neighbor still had it! I knew what I wanted to do, but didn't actually own the set...she still had it, fortunately!). The background is actually a wheel, the new Little Bits wheel. Two word window punches have sayings from the "So Many Sayings" hostess set in the current catalog. I inked "I'm so" from "I'm So Sorry" and then added a few periods to the end. Then I inked "Missing You: on the second one and added an exclamation point. I think it turned out quite cute! The ribbon is the new chocolate chip taffeta, which is really nice. It's thicker than organdy and cuts really well. I didn't get any frayed edges at all! I did do something I read on someone's blog. I bought another set of the Stampin' Up Paper Snips and tied a piece of ribbon around it. This set of scissors is only used to cut ribbon, so they stay nice and sharp all the time. It's great!

Stampin' Supplies (all Stampin' Up):
Stamps: Alphabet Soup (retired), So Many Sayings hostess set
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Barely Banana
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Purely Pomegranate
Accessories: Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon, Stampin' Sponge, Word Window Punch, Blender Pen and Purely Pomegranate reinker (to create my own PP marker...just drip the reinker onto the pen tip and it'll suck the ink right in to create your own marker!!), silver eyelets, Little Bits wheel, chocolate chip ink cartridge

WTF?!?!??!!!!!

Okay, I'm seriously arachnaphobic. Like I have nightmares about spiders coming down from the ceiling as I'm sleeping: and I'm talking spiders like the ones in Harry Potter movies, not real spiders. The irony of it all is that spiders seem to sense this and try and find me. Seriously! My husband doesn't have as many incidences with spiders as I do...you'd think they'd report back to the queen mother spider and tell her that I KILL THEM and he lets them live...so they should frequent his company and NOT MINE!!! So just this evening, as Jason and I were dining out in a wonderful local pub, we met a nice English couple who couldn't help but chastize me for exaggerating the size of the spiders here. We started talking about the differences between England and Colorado, where we moved from, and I mentioned that I didn't have a spider problem in Colorado (yes, I know there are black widows and tarantulas there...just not where I lived) So I had to explain how I found a spider Wednesday evening who died a slow and tragic death as he was trampled to death. It was just unfortunate that he died such an untimely death by my husband's shoe. Really. What is REALLY ironic is that, later that evening, I started to feel extremely guilty about forcing Jason to kill that spider. I kept thinking it might have been a mommy spider and left her poor little darlings without food. Now I realize that, well, I don't care!!! If I see 'em, they have to DIE!!!


So, we got home from dinner a few hours ago. Since Wednesday, I've been on serious spider patrol, checking every wall, nook and cranny for these damn nuisances. (oh, don't flame me for that comment, yes they kill bugs, yada yada yada...) Oh, did I mention the one I found Wednesday I found in my bathroom on the second floor???? THEY AREN'T SUPPOSED TO GO UP THERE!!! THAT'S MY TERRITORY!!!!!!


So I'm sitting at my computer minding my own business. Really! Well, wouldn't ya know it....ONE JUST CRAWLED OVER MY FREAKIN' FOOT!!!!! I'm not kidding. I screamed so loud I must have alerted my neighbors (of course, Jason slept through it all...as he would sleep through the second coming if he felt he needed to!!). Now, this spider was gracious enough to stop for a photo opportunity...even nice enough to allow me to place a ruler next to it so I could accurately tell people how damn big the guy was. At first I didn't believe my eyes. I thought, no way! It has to be a fragment of my imagination. How on earth did that damn thing get under my computer desk without me seeing it first...considering I'm on "spider patrol" since finding that one a few days ago. So I took my pictures and then debated on how to rid my spider-free house of this...well...thing. It's 1:30 in the morning, I can't really scream for my husband to come get it, I can't do a little dance and hope it'll disappear. I could be humane, get a glass and try to move the thing myself. Yep, really. I so see myself doing that at 1:30AM. Hmmm. Maybe my "spider catch & release training program" will just have to take place on another day when the hubby is home to assist in training me. I consider myself to still be a rookie on how to correctly remove this atrocious crawling 8-legged creature...so I don't want to do it unattended. Just because I'm a total geek, I consider it to be similar to doing the cracked glass technique: do you do it alone the first time, or with a seasoned professional? How about setting eyelets? Yep, catching a huge spider in a small glass is something you must be trained to do!



Just because I know there are people who won't believe me when I explain this, I had to get factual pictures to showcase the true size of this guy. No, he isn't huge. But frankly, if they get bigger than my pinkie finger, they are too big for my house! So, tip of the leg to tip of the leg, he's a 3" spider. Yep: three inches! I'm sorry, but that's too damn big for my house. I can handle daddy longlegs with their little itty bitty bodies and hair-thin legs...but this guys body was about an inch and his legs were pretty damn long. He actually ran from my first attempt at murder and hid under the leg of my table, so I had to try again. Gee, can I be arrested for multiple attempts at murder of an arachnid? I guess this constitutes premeditated murder as well...cuz I murdered him a couple of times. He died by lethal injection and suffocation of "vape wasp and fly killer". It was all I had. :-)

Out of all of this, I can say I'm fortunate the dog and cat weren't around. Both think spiders are fun toys to play with...and frankly, this guy might have been able to take 'em. I seriously don't feel like dealing with a spider bight this late on a Sunday night/Monday morning....and when the cat meandered over while I was in the midst of the murder, I ordered her to go away. She actually obeyed...which is a feat in itself!!!
ETA: my mommy reprimmanded me in a comment...apparently I use the word "damn" too much. Well, mom, consider that I'll use the word "damn" every time you use the word "ain't". If you stop using ain't, I'll stop using damn. How about that?!?! :-) In retrospect, I think damn is a pretty calm word, considering my overall emotional level at the time of the "incident"...I could have dropped f-bombs every other word (would blogspot even allow that?? hmmm).

I've loved reading the comments on here and Splitcoast, where I also posted my trials and tribulations with arachnids...it's good to know that others feel the same way about these godforsaken creatures the way that I do!! As one person commented: the only good spider is a DEAD one!! hee hee

Wow, I've been MIA!

I just saw my last post was August 3rd...I can't believe it's already mid-August. In fact, my summer holiday is already half over. Boo hoo!!!

So....here's why I've been MIA.

As I've mentioned before, I'm getting my Master's in Education. I have to do an Action Research Project, a really involved project that I have to plan, and implement, in my current school setting. So my project is all about gifted & talented kids who are underachievers. My proposal for the project, which was due this past Monday, was 52 pages. Yep, that's quite a lot!! I've been working on it nonstop for a week now.

So here's where the stress comes in. Last Tuesday, I noticed my computer was having these little crazy movements. It was really weird: all of a sudden the mouse would move by itself, the icons on the screen would change sizes for no apparent reason, and the scroll bar would go ballistic. So I asked my husband to take it with him to work Wednesday and have it looked at by his boss, who builds computers. They couldn't figure out what was wrong, so Jason brought it home. He plugged it in and blew the power supply!! So he took it back to get a computer guy to fix it...who happened to be on holiday all week. So my project had been saved on the computer that I couldn't get to, so I had to re-write a ton of it.

Now the next fiasco. While running weekly errands on Wednesday, I was in an accident on one of the military bases. A guy actually backed up into me!!!! He reversed so fast I couldn't even hit the horn before he hit me, and then he had the audacity to look in his mirror at me like I must have hit him!!! He seriously had to be going about 20 mph as he backed up....to get the parking spot that had opened up directly next to me. Needless to say, he hit me in "just the right spot" so that my car might actually be totalled!!!!

On to my final fiasco. My computer couldn't be fixed until yesterday, so I had to use my husband's computer. His apparently doesn't like me. TWICE while I was working on my project the computer froze and I lost my entire project TWICE. I seriously couldn't believe it!!! It wiped two USB drives for no freakin' reason, then would all of a sudden get little white splotches all over the screen. It was so weird. Needless to say, I had to restart my damn project on three different occasions. I'm sure my neighbors heard me the first time I lost the majority of my project: I had just finished 4 straight hours of working on about 15 pages of material...and I just started to sob!!! I seriously thought about just flunking out of the class because I didn't think I'd finish the project in time (this all happened Friday afternoon...so I only had three days to work on the entire thing).

On a bright note, I got a 100% on the proposal, and finished with a 98% in the class, keeping my stellar 4.0 in my Master's program. WOOPEEEEEEE!!!!!! I'm so psyched about having a 4.0, considering I've never done this well in school. I still don't know about my car, so hopefully I'll find out tomorrow if it's totaled and then I don't know what we'll do. We really don't want to buy a car when we're only here for another year, but we'll do whatever we need to do.

So I don't have anything new to show right now. I do have two swaps I did for a military demonstrator swap on Splitcoast, so I'll post them in the next few days. I finally got a new order from Stampin' Up, have a ton of new things coming from PaperTrey, a ribbon share from Jody...so I'm so excited about getting all my loot!!

Challenge book

I saw this idea on Kirsten's blog about making a book to record all the challenges on Splitcoast, and I absolutely loved the idea. I decided to do a larger book and have a section for scrapbook layouts as well, because I love trying the ideas I see on the Creating Keepsakes website. So here's what I came up with!

For the most part I like how it turned out, except I absolutely hate the label on the middle saying what the book is. I'll have to think of a way I can change this. Anyway, it's the chipboard book by Stampin' Up, and has 50 pages. I created the tabs with the tab punch which is also Stampin' Up, and so there are 5 sections of 10 pages: Try a New Technique, Ways to Use It, Color Combos, Sketches, and Scrapbook Layouts. I completely forgot about the challenge that is featured every Friday: Limited Supplies. But seeing as how I pretty much don't have limited supplies (hee hee), I figure anything I'm really interested in remembering I'll just pop in another section.

I have to say, this picture really isn't doing the book justice. I used all May Arts dotted organdy ribbon, with two pieces going under the main image and around the inside, and then little pieces on all of the bindings. The base patterned paper is Crate Paper (I think), and the die cuts are all Stampin' Up. Frankly, I really liked how it looked with just the patterned paper, but thought I just "had" to add more to it. I might try and see if I can take some of it off without ripping the paper and make it a little less busy. We'll have to see what I come up with...and I'll post an update if I really change it up.

I seriously need to get to bed, I'm beat! I don't really know why I'm so tired, honestly I only left my house today to take the dog on a walk. But I'm pooped. :-) Everyone enjoy your weekend!!

Sketch Challenge

Well, this challenge on Splitcoast was pretty interesting. The challenge was to use layers that were almost in a rhombus shape (right? Am I right here??? I hated Geometry!!!), then with an oval in the middle. This challenge was interesting for two reasons: 1) I don't have any oval punches except for a mega scalloped punch...and I knew I didn't want that to be my only thing in the middle (plus my stamp is waaaaay bigger than the punch), and 2) I figured I'd screw up the layers. YEP! I orginally intended to have a layer of cardstock under the patterned paper, but forgot that when I followed the instructions for cutting the cardstock. So I had to really use my Math skills (there seems to be a Math trend in this post...) to accurately cut the patterned paper so it was layered on the Blush Blossom cardstock properly. Here's my finished product:

Since I don't have any big oval punches, I had to get creative. I knew I wanted to use this image from Inky Antics, so I went ahead and stamped it in Black Stazon and colored with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol (which is odorless mineral spirits, for those who haven't discovered the wonder of Gamsol: essentially it's a blending fluid that allows you to blend all the strokes of the pencil so it looks nice and purdee!). I then opened up Microsoft Word and selected the Auto Shape tool, which allows you to draw shapes in different sizes. They have an oval shape, so I drew a couple and printed it out. It turns out I did a great job on my second try (my first try had ovals that were bigger than the whole damn card...I don't know what I was thinking!) of making a perfect size oval and a matted oval. So, I cut the oval out, matted it onto my image, traced it and cut it out of the cardstock. I think chose the mat oval, cut it out, and traced it on Close to Cocoa cardstock. Instead of just cutting it out, I found some "old school" decorative scissors that I had to have purchased about 10 years ago at Michael's and cut a nice pretty design around my traced line.

I just LOVE how it turned out! It really worked wonderfully for two reasons: 1) it allowed me to get creative with my card, and 2) it proved to my husband that I DO use this stuff again and again! I'm mean, puhleeze!!! Those scissors were just sitting there waiting for the perfect opportunity to pop out of my closet (hee hee) and be used again. So now when he says, "Will you ever use that again?" he already knows the answer!!! hee hee

Stampin' Supplies:

Stamps: Image and Sentiment by Inky Antics

Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Blush Blossom and patterned paper (retired) by Stampin' Up, White Stamper's Select Cardstock by PaperTrey

Ink: Black Stazon

Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Blending Stumps, Prima Sprites, retired Cream Organdy ribbon by Stampin' Up, decorative scissors, Microsoft Word (hee hee), Paper Piercer and Mat Pack

3 Challenges in 1!

Sometimes I find it challenging to think about three things at the same time. So, I guess I challenged myself within the Dirty Dare challenges to combine 3 challenges. One was to create a tag card using only one stamp set, one was to create a card with Black accents, and the third was to create a card using pink. Now, some people may think of this card as being more red, but to me the color Rose Red is a deep pink. I absolutely LOVE how this turned out, and I think Basic Black and Rose Red are a phenomenal color pairing!

Stampin' Supplies: (All Stampin' Up unless noted)
Stamps: Heartfelt Thanks
Paper: Rose Red, Basic Black, Whisper White, Rose Red DS Paper
Ink: Rose Red, Basic Black
Accessories: May Arts Black Dotted Ribbon, Making Memories Black Brads, Rose Red Brads, Cutter kit, Color Spritzer, Rose Red Marker