Saturday, September 29, 2007

My New Favorite Card


Peace & Blessings!

Friday, September 28, 2007

Fall Supplement!

The TAC Fall Supplement is out! YAY! NEW STAMPS! YAY!

Check it out HERE!

Peace & Blessings!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

A Luxurious Experience.....

I love taking showers.

Really.

I REALLY love taking showers.

When we moved to New York 5+ years ago, the house we rented had a horrible shower head in the master bath. We purchased a luxurious shower head that has the hard rain function (an essential for my thick long hair) and the soft rain function, and was simply a lovely purchase. Very, very happy with our purchase.

But... the house we rented had super hard water, and so, our wonderful, luxurious, lovely shower head had to be constantly cleaned because the holes would clog all the time with mineral deposits.

We purchased our home, and during the move I made sure to take our shower head with us and re-attach the horrible shower head. So, our shower head has lived with us, happily in our new home for a while.

Our shower head has died. The switch that switches it from hard rain to soft rain sort of works. I think this is due to 5 years of Adam doing the soft rain action, and me needing the hard rain action.... I know I know, too much information... but just humor me.... there's a funny ending......

I've been looking at shower heads online, I've been looking at them in stores, I've been deciding what are the most important aspects that I NEED, what are the aspects I want, and so on. I seriously do not take this decision lightly.

One of our friends became a rep for a direct sales company. (I will not say which, for the sake of anonymity). So, as a friend I flipped through the catalog, and low and behold, THERE IS A SHOWER HEAD... with ..... drum roll.....

Water Fall Function (along with mist, pulsing massage, hard rain, soft rain)

The mother load!

Of course we ordered it! It arrived yesterday. I installed it. I took a shower.

My assessment of the mother load shower head....

well.....

If you are looking for a garden hose experience, this is the shower head for you.

Let's see what the marketing copy says about it:

  • With variable spray settings for 5 luxurious shower experiences, from a tropical waterfall to a variety of center dial shower settings - jet massage, full body spray, mist, and heavy rain - it's loaded with exhilarating shower spa sprays.
  • Unique visible settings on face of inner dial
  • Click & Set thumb-selector tab
  • Push-button diverter valve
Tropical Waterfall - it's waterfall for the first 2" of leaving the shower head, then the water comes together, and reminded me of a weak garden hose, so only about 2 inches of jet is hitting your body... riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Tropical Waterfall my ***!

Jet Massage - HA! This actually got Adam and I laughing uncontrollably! This is a HARD jet of water that maybe hits 1" of your body. I felt like it was an over sized dental water pick attacking me!

Full Body Spray - well, maybe if you are a 2 year old

Mist - this was confusing at first, then just funny. Have you ever taken a hose, and put your thumb over the end to cause the water to spray EVERYWHERE? That's the mist. Water went up, right, left, down, diagonal.... not good. And I have a question: Why on earth would you want that in your shower?

Heavy Rain - This is the setting I have been using. My showers are taking about twice as long to get my hair rinsed.

The diverter tab - I had to whack it pretty hard to get it to switch over. Now that it's moved once, it's slightly easier to switch now.

I honestly never have envisioned myself being terrorized by a shower head.

All in all, it's really very funny. Adam and I have been saying things like "I'm going in.... cover me"

I'm in the market for a new shower head. When I find the new member of the family, I'll be sure to let you know... after all, it's a big deal!

Peace & Blessings!

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

New Rubbah!

My new rubbah orders from my birthday gift certificates are starting to come in! My FAVORITE new stamp set from the Stampin' Up catty arrived. When I saw this I flipped, as daffodils are by far, my FAVORITE flowers!

I colored the petals with a prismacolor pencil and baby oil.

Peace & Blessings!

Thrill Chills

You know how you can see or hear something EVERYDAY, and you don't think twice about it? And then, suddenly, THRILL CHILLS?

That happened to me today. I've heard this song multiple times, but today - it's EXACTLY how I'm feeling. EXACTLY.

I love that!




LYRICS:
There was a time I packed my dreams away.
Living in a shell, hiding from myself.

There was a time when I was so afraid.
I thought I'd reached the end,
But baby that was then
I am made of more than my yesterdays.

This is my now, and I am breathing in the moment.
As I look around
I can't believe the love I see.
My fears behind me, gone are the shadows and doubt
That was then, this is my now.

I have to decide,
Was I gonna to play it safe.
Or look somewhere deep in side,
Try to turn the tide,
And find the strength to take that step of faith.

This is my now, and I am breathing in the moment.
As I look around
I can't believe the love I see.
My fears behind me, gone are the shadows and doubt
That was then, this is my now.

And I have the courage like never before, yeah.
I've settled for less now I'm ready for more,
Ready for more.

This is my now, and I am breathing in the moment.
As I look around I can't believe the love I see.
My fears behind me, gone are the shadows and doubt
That was then, this is my now.

I'm living in the moment
I look around I can't believe the love I see.
My fears behind me, gone are the shadows and doubt
That was then, this is my now.
This is my now.


Peace & Blessings!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Christmas Cards

I've started designing this year's Christmas cards. Usually I design 1 card, and mass produce. This year, I've designed 4.






Peace & Blessings!

Monday, September 24, 2007

-GASP- SQUEAL! SHIVERING WITH EXCITEMENT!





HOLEY MOLEY! I need to start saving my pennies:

CHECK THIS OUT!

Shivering with Excitement....

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Happy Birthday Brooke!

Brooke (of Amazing Innovation) is celebrating a birthday today!

I made her a hidden message slider card. My first ever - and I am happy with how it came out.

Brooke - I hope you have a FABULOUS birthday!

Peace & Blessings!

Stamping on a Budget

I just found this GREAT blog post on Craft Critique about stamping on a budget. So many of my friends walk into my stamping room and think I've dropped $10,000+ on supplies, and because of that, they can't afford to stamp. The fact is, I haven't spent that much money, not even close.... AND my stamping room is the result of 5+ years of slowly collecting supplies, new tools, etc.

I personally love Gina's idea of using a safety pin to poke the holes for brads - genius!

Peace & Blessings!

Saturday, September 22, 2007

Oooohhhh la la.... yummy grocery store find!


I love herbal tea! I love to sweeten things with stevia. So imagine my joy and excitement at seeing Celestial Seasonings has come out with Zingers To Go. I thought these would be great for Adam and myself to take to work. We whipped some up tonight to give it a try - and oooohhhh, I need to buy stock in Celestial Seasonings for this!


Taste Buds Dancin!

Friday, September 21, 2007

New Baby Congrats

I think this came out TOO CUTE!


Peace & Blessings!

Another Quiz.....

Your Learning Style: Unconventional and Insightful

You are very intuitive and ingenious. You're attracted to any field of study that lets you break the rules.

You Should Study:

Art
Art history
Architecture
Comparative religions
Eastern religion
Education
Music
Philosophy

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Best "Out of the Office" auto email responses

I just got this in my work e-mail box... I couldn't NOT share:

Best "Out of the Office" auto email responses


1. I am currently out at a job interview and will reply to you if I
fail to get the position. Be prepared for my mood.

2. You are receiving this automatic notification because I am out of
the office. If I were in, chances are you wouldn't have received
anything at all.

3. Sorry to have missed you, but I am at the doctor's having my brain
and heart removed so I can be promoted to our Upper management team.

4. I will be unable to delete all the unread, worthless emails you
send me until I return from vacation. Please be patient, and your
mail will be deleted in the order it was received.

5. Thank you for your email. Your credit card has been charged $5.99
for the first 10 words and $1.99 for each additional word in your
message.

6. The e-mail server is unable to verify your server connection and
is unable to deliver this message. Please restart your computer and
try sending again. (The beauty of this is that when you return, you
can see how many in-duh-viduals did this over and over.)

7. Thank you for your message, which has been added to a queuing
system. You are currently in 352nd place, and can expect to receive
a reply in approximately 19 weeks.

8. Hi, I'm thinking about what you've just sent me. Please wait by
your PC for my response.

9. I've run away to join a different circus.

10. I will be out of the office for the next 2 weeks for medical
reasons. When I return, please refer to me as 'Loretta' instead of
Steve.


My favorites are #5, 7, & 9! #7 is pretty accurate for my job right now.

Peace & Blessings!

1 Week and Counting.....

I AM Einstein


What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com


I'm snickering right now, because I took the "What Famous Leader Are You" quiz... and this is my result? HA! I think maybe I was channeling my husband while doing the quiz, because HE'S EINSTEIN, not me!

Maybe I'll save the world with a new stamping technique, or maybe by knitting! How about feeding people with peanut butter chocolate chip cookies?

Peace, Blessings, and High IQ!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Nubble Light Trifold

I love Nubble Light (York Beach, Maine) - so imagine my excitement when I found a Nubble Light stamp!


Peace & Blessings!

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Batik

I had to whip out the iron for this baby! It's nice to finally use the iron for something other than it's original purpose:


Peace & Blessings!

PS - If you are a Rules Girl in the Stampers Union please remember article #24:

#24) The iron is NOT for clothes. Anyone who uses an iron for clothes is excommunicated from the Stamper's Union. (Editor's note: You may avoid excommunication by following subsection B pursuant to rule #23 which in layman's terms translates as "you may use an iron for its original perverted purpose only by purchasing an auxiliary iron. However, only the old iron may be used for household purposes. Aforementioned perverted purpose is not one that is condoned by the Stamper's Union and should be performed ONLY by support staff personnel.)

Monday, September 17, 2007

3D Tree

This design was on a fellow stampers blog a while ago, and wanted to try my hand at it. I don't see myself mass producing this, but the 3D effects are cool.

Peace & Blessings!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Toilet Paper Roll Hunter

I woke up this morning to a toilet paper roll at our bedroom door. (We give the cats toilet paper rolls to play with once in a while.)

I praised the cats for making the kill, and depositing their trophy at my bedroom door. (I'm just grateful they are indoor cats, because I'd rather have a dead toilet paper roll than bird first thing in the morning.)

Later today, Merlin was protecting the toilet paper roll, and I happened to have the camera on the table to take some photos.



I really do wonder what my cats think about?

Peace & Blessings!

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Stamp Club Yummies

I went to a Stampin Up stamp club the other day, and look at all the goodies we made:





Peace & Blessings!

Friday, September 14, 2007

it's alive, It's Alive, IT'S ALIVE!!!!

Warning: Laughter story ahead.....

I laughed so hard, I couldn't breathe, I was squeaking.... it was fun!

I knit a scrunchie the other night, just to see if I could do it.... and I did. Well, I knit it out of some funky yarn with eyelashes, and OF COURSE just HAD to bring it into work to show Sheila. Push come to shove, I dropped it on my desk instead of putting it in my purse, or my hair, and kinda forgot about it.

Fast forward an hour or so.....

My boss walked in and was asking me something, when he saw the scrunchie. He got this look on his face like: "What on earth is that?"

So, he proceeded to almost poke it... about 3 times, but kept pulling his hand away like it was going to bite him; and said out loud: "What....what... what is thaaaaaaaat?"

Well.... being that I KNEW that it was a harmless, non-biting, non-breathing, non-living hair scrunchie, watching my boss poke at it, and pull his hand away like it was going to bite him..... I lost my mind with laughter! I mean, seriously, no breathing, just squeaking.


Peace & Blessings!

My kitty nephew

I tease my mother that she has grand-kittys. I have 2 and my brother and sister-in-law adopted a few months ago:

Meet Geddy.... here he is when they first took him home:

Now they take him to camp on the weekends:

Peace & Blessings!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Happy Dance, Gratitude Dance, Thank You Cards

Well over a year ago I made thank you cards. Lots and lots of thank you cards. Adam inquired as to why I would make so many thank you cards, and I responded with "Because good things are going to happen to me, and come into my life, and I NEED TO BE READY!"

He LOVED that response.

Fast forward a year + in time. I still make a lot of thank you cards, but due to my birthday last weekend, my thank you card stores are almost depleted! ROCK ON! See..... I had good things come into my life, and I WAS READY!

I happy danced, I gratitude danced.... and I was able to express my happiness and gratitude to those who gifted me with love on my birthday! How much fun is that?!?!!!

I need to increase my supply of thank you cards again! Because now FABULOUS things are going to happen to me, and come into my life - and as I've learned from experience.... I WILL BE READY!

Peace & Blessings!

Brand Spankin' New Blog

My friend Brooke JUST STARTED A BLOG! It's brand spankin' new - but go check it out anyway!

http://amazinginnovation.blogspot.com/

I'm soooooooooooooooo excited because I live in New York, and she's in the mid west - and this is such a fun way to see what she's been making! YAY!

Peace & Blessings & Happy Dancin'

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

My 200th Post

Wow! When I signed into blogger to post this card, I realized this is my 200th post! Sweeeeet.

This was a card where I wanted to use pink & brown (a color combo I NEVER use... why? I have no idea, but I like it), I wanted to do the offset corner punches, and I was inspired to do a pregnancy card because a friend of mine announced she's pregnant!


Peace & Blessings!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Seriously....

Thursday, September 27th.... it begins......


Flowers



Last summer, our friend Dana brought over and planted about 10 of these plants. They were about 6" high at the time. We chose next to the garage because it's sandy, and we weren't sure what they would do. Well, they've exploded! I just love them!

Peace & Blessings!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Thank You!

I made this card for Sheila (of www.statgalgetscreative.blogspot.com) as a thank you for my birthday gift. I'm showing it on my blog because it's a fun movement card!





Peace & Blessings!

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Brooke ROCKS!

Brooke sent me NEW RUBBAH'!!!!!! Anyone that sends me new rubbah, ROCKS... there's just no two ways about that!

And here's the GORGEOUS card she sent along with the new rubbah:


I simply HAD to make her thank you card, using my new rubbah! I did a Cami Trifold Card:




Peace & Blessings!

Saturday, September 8, 2007

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

On this day in history:

1504 - Michelangelo's David is unveiled in Florence.
1755 - French and Indian War: Battle of Lake George.
1930 - 3M begins marketing Scotch transparent tape.
1966 - "The Man Trap", the first episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek airs.
1974 - Evel Knievel's attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon at Twin Falls, Idaho, fails after a parachute prematurely deploys on his "sky cycle."
1986 - The first Oprah Winfrey Show airs.
People that share my birthday:

1830 - Frédéric Mistral, French poet, Nobel Prize laureate
1841 - Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer
1918 - Derek Harold Richard Barton, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
1925 - Peter Sellers, English actor
1932 - Patsy Cline, American singer
1979 - Pink, American singer

September 8th is also International Literacy Day




Have some cake - think of me! We'll celebrate together! What am I having? Chocolate lava muffins with Ben & Jerry's strawberry cheesecake ice cream... mmmmmmmmmm!

Friday, September 7, 2007

Toadally In Love

It's my parent's 33rd Wedding Anniversary today! They are on their way out to visit for the weekend. I put this card on the guest bed, and I didn't have mints, so I put 2 dove chocolates. They'll get a laugh out of that - I know I did!


Peace & Blessings!

Part 2: To enable my unquenchable stamping habit:

Sheila, rockin' awesome friend and now co-worker, hooked me up yesterday with birthday goodies, as she's not in today to play birthday fun with me (see my post below).

Sheila also has a blog, check out her post on my birthday saga here.

*pause* for you to read her blog post

did you read it

no, seriously, you need to read it, otherwise what I'm about to say won't make sense

ready?

ok.

On Wednesday when I opened splitcoaststampers weekly tutorial, I thought "what a cool card"; but I had a problem with 1 aspect of assembly. They put sticky tape on the bottom flaps of the card to hold it together, and I was concerned that the card would get stuck to that, and you wouldn't be able to pull it out.

So, Sheila comes into work, and I say "Did you see today's tutorial yet?"
"No"
"Come over here, look..."

Sheila sees the tutorial, and thankfully she was sitting down, because I saw horror, shock & frustration come over her face.

Bizarre reaction to a tutorial.

"You ok?"

She said something along the lines of "but... aahhhh... oy...MAN!"

"You ok?"

Then she sort of mumbled that she couldn't tell me because it has something to do with my birthday gift.

My thoughts: How on earth does today's SCS tutorial have ANYTHING to do with my birthday?

Then the issue was dropped, and frankly, I didn't think about it again.

Fast forward to yesterday when she gave me the card she made (seriously, her blog photos are much better than mine) and it hit me why she reacted to the tutorial the way she did.

As she said in her blog post: I searched and searched to find something different & distinctive since she has been stamping for soooo long and I wanted to do something nice (to showcase my budding card making skills).

I need to give her major kudos - instead of sticky tape, she used eyelets! What a BRILLIANT idea! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! Also, she combined 2 techniques, criss cross card, with a spinner card - very nice indeed! AND... the inside wasn't just a single sheet of card stock that slides in, oh no, the inside card opened as well.... Well done Sheila!

So all is well in craft mania land....

Sheila, you ROCK!!!!

*I'm Gratitude Dancin' just for you!

Peace & Blessings!

Thursday, September 6, 2007

To enable my unquenchable stamping habit:

My good friend Sheila HOOKED ME UP!!!! I love the gift certificate she created! Blogger doesn't want to upload a PDF, so here's what it says:


Gift Certificate for Alison Mewer Cowan
In honor of her birthday and in order to enable her unquenchable stamping habit...
She is awarded $... to spend on SU supplies

Expires when/if she becomes disinterested in creating beautiful things or one year from date of issue, whichever comes first

This offer is void where prohibited (NOT!)


TOO FUNNY! Thanks Sheila, you ROCK!

Here's the birthday card she made me:



Oh and 1 last thing: Did you watch the Gratitude Dance I posted below? Sheila did - and after I opened everything up, we did the Gratitude Dance. I must say - the video is funny, but when you do the dance with a friend.... well.... we laughed soooooooooooooooooo hard!!!!!

Peace & Blessings!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY APOLLO & MERLIN!

My *boys* turned 6 years old today! Do I have a photo for you - cats in birthday hats? Nope - we nicknamed Apollo "Paws of Fury" for a reason.... use your imagination.



Peace & Blessings! >^..^<

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

The Gratitude Dance

Calla Lilly

This is a card I made for a friend going through some tough times. I'm amazed at how the photo came out with the vellum over the image.


Peace & Blessings!

What I've been thinking about.....

"If people don't know what you stand FOR, they'll only know you for what you stand AGAINST."

That statement has had me thinking for a few days. Do people know me by what I'm for or what I'm against? I really don't know. I'm a person, at least in my head, that if I had to choose: I would go to a pro-chocolate rally vs an anti-vanilla rally.

I've been tending to myself lately, and in doing so, have honestly become less and less concerned with what others think, and not just what they think about me. I've been following my own conscience, trusting my intuition, rather than looking to others for validation. That's a very freeing feeling.

Seriously (Grey's Anatomy begins soon.....) since I've been focused on myself, improving my life, improving my mind, improving my life experience; there's no room for other *stuff* to work it's way into my head.

I love the movie: What Women Want. When Mel Gibson's character can hear the thoughts of women, and how LOUD it becomes for him..... I found that to be so right on.

So, what are you thinking about? Are you thinking about what's wrong with your life, or what's right with your life? Are you thinking about what could happen, or enjoying your current life experience? Are you would a, could a, should a - or are you appreciating your life, for it has brought you to where you are now?

Peace & Blessings!


PS - This mornings rampage of appreciation:

*Adam woke me up gently, and on time (I have a way of smacking the alarm clock and falling instantly back to sleep)
*Apollo greeted me with very loud, enthusiastic kitty speak
*I got a new book yesterday that I LOVE LOVE LOVE!
*The *new gal* at work - ROCKS!
*I followed my grocery shopping list to the letter yesterday, while hungry. (1 of my items on my list was "snacks" - so there was just no possible way I could deviate from my original list!)
*My boss's daughter's first day of all day kindergarten is today - yesterday I got to share in her excitement
*My parents are coming this weekend. Friday is their wedding anniversary, and Saturday is my birthday
*Saturday is my birthday
*I scored a free loom - I'm picking it up today after work (more on this later)
*Did I mention: Saturday is my birthday?

Sunday, September 2, 2007

Fridge Shopping List Tutorial

I was reading Tosca Reno's website because she has a new book coming out; and somewhere along the line she suggested you keep a shopping list on your fridge. INSPIRATION STRUCK!
What if I could stamp a list, instead of buying a pad that I'd have to throw away - what if I could make something, where you replace the pad, not the decoration???

I played around in my stamping cave and came up with this:


Too cute!

Then I decided: I shall do a tutorial so all stampers can have a fun shopping list. Here you go:


Fridge Shopping List Tutorial:

Gather your supplies:



Cut your notepad in half. I used half a pad for my first time. An exacto knife, or box cutter works wonders:




Decorate your paper. Use your corner rounder on your paper because the square coasters naturally have their corner's rounded. I cut the red paper 4" X 4" and the cream paper with the leaves at 3.75" X 3.75":


Mount your paper and set aside:

Mark your coaster, about 3/4" in from edges to use as a guide for your punch:

Punch your hole (I pushed the punch all the way in for my depth guide):


Adhere your decorated paper to the side of the coaster with the lines:


Punch the paper:

Punch a hole with your crop o dile. This is what will secure your pen:




Tie your ribbon to the pen cap - I used a square knot. Wrap the ribbon around the pen cap:

Pull the ribbon through the hole you punched:

Pull the ribbon tight, so the pen cap is square, and exactly where you want it. Once secure, tape the ribbon to the back of the coaster:

Get your business card magnet (I get mine from Staples):


Peel the label, and apply magnet OVER the ribbon:

Take your notepad, and separate the cardboard from the paper:

Slide cardboard through your hole:

You'll really need to pull the notepad DOWN. The cardboard will slide down the coaster, so the top of your hole is touching the tip top of the pad - this is what allows the pad to lay flat:

Decorate your pen:
And you're done!
Other notes:

Because of the thickness of the coaster, punched that first, adhered the decorated paper, and punched again. I didn't think that punch would be able to handle everything at once.

Obviously, you can take this farther by covering the tip of the notepad with paper. The sky's the limit.

HAPPY CREATING!

Peace & Blessings!