Distressing Weekend

It has been a very distressing weekend - and I am enjoying every minute of it. As a treat, I purchased some Tim Holtz distress ink and I have been playing with them of late. With each project (and each reviewed tutorial) I think I am getting better at it.

This card was made for a challenge at Cookin' up Creations. The flower in the center is painted with distress ink. The image was stamped with embossing powder. I put some on my craft sheet and added water. I applied the paint to the stamped image with a paint brush. The background was also made with distress ink. I spread it on the craft sheet, spritzed it and then dragged the paper through it. I learned the hard way to stop before I think I should as more than once I just ended up with a mess on the craft sheet and a soggy piece of brown paper.

I used the crumpled distress technique for the background on the stamped portion of this card. I had made a large sheet and used some of it on a layout. This was just a scrap. The real technique I was playing with is I used Perfect Pearls on the wet distress ink. Lesson learned here - for this to work, the background must be COMPLETELY dry. The flowers are stamped in dusty concord and then covered with the iridescent purple pearls.

Of all the experimentation, I think this one came out the best. I was using the Distress Ink, but I was playing more with the layering of stamps than an actual distress technique. But now it is time to go and do some more playing and perfecting of my distress techniques.

Transformed Envelopes

One of these days I am going to have a super idea and make my own video. One of these day, but that day is not today. This is another from the SNR web site that I thought was a great idea. Scroll down and see the little bag I made

I used an old envelope and stamped it with some flourish stamps. I also added some depth by using some distress ink on the background. The medallion in the center was made with Paper Parachute stamps.

Now all I need is a reason to give a gift and someone to give it to(I only give home made gifts/cards to people who appreciate it)

2 step Owl Punch Rose

I wish that I could take credit for this but I can't. I found the link on Scrapbook News and Review and fell in love. I think it is the BEST paper flower I have ever seen. I have not made it yet because I do not have an owl punch but it is beautiful enough that I have to do some experimenting and see if I could use something like a heart or a teardrop. If I ever get it figures out, I will post the results here.

What were they thinking?

I have asked myself that many times about many things so now I am going to put some of these questions in one place:

Who ever came up with the idea of short sleeve sweaters (also in this category are thermal shorts, sleeveless hoodies and other clothing where the style and purpose are opposed)? If it is warm enough to want short sleeves, it is too warm for a sweater. If it is cool enough for a sweater, then I want long sleeves. Whoever thought that this was a good idea?

Why do they make women's shoes that have the top of a pump and the bottom of a tennis shoe? If I want the support of a tennis shoe, then this pump is not going to work. If I want to look dressy, I don't want to have a thick rubber sole on the bottom of my shoe. As far as I am concerned, it is the worst of both options.

I don't only wonder about fashion - what about technology?

Why and CD changers in the trunk of a car? If I want to change the disk, then I need to stop the car, unload the trunk and do it. Not my idea of efficient.

I have trouble with my computer or internet and I call someone to fix it. While I am on hold for hours on end, I hear the recording that if I need assistance I can check out their web site. If I could get to their web site, I wouldn't be sitting on hold listening to their annoying suggestions and insipid muzak.

Along the same lines are instructions for a step by step process that as soon as I do the firs step, I loose the instructions. How am I supposed to complete the steps when ever time I attempt one, I loose then all?

I know that there are so much more, but those were just at the front of my mind today. Maybe I will do some ranting again later.

Card sketches : something new

I have had the pleasure to have several of my works published at Scrapbook News and Reviews. I finally got around to joining the community there. I have found it very helpful because they are always posting tips, tutorials and youtube links with a ton of ideas.

I jumped on the bandwagon and started a group there - and as you can guess, it is card sketches. I am also posting the sketch and the sample here. Hope you enjoy them - I enjoyed making them.

Christmas Earrings

Growing up my mom had a pair of holly earrings that she wore every Christmas. These were not anything special. They didn't have any precious stones. I am not even sure that they were metal - it is more likely that they were plastic. However they were the only pair of holiday earrings in the house. Ear piercing was around but neither my mom or I had pierced ears. As the years passed it became more and more difficult to find clip on earrings so my mom became more and more protective as the possibility of replacing any lost earrings became less and less.

It was understood that on Sunday that she would wear those earrings to church during the holidays. I never would have asked to wear them. However as I became older and began attending holiday parties on my own - such as ones for scouts or at a friend's house - I began asking to borrow them. The answer was always the same, "No, you might loose one of them."

Without having any other festive earrings I got some of my own, but I never liked them as much as those holly earrings of my mom's. That didn't stop me from asking to borrow them though. Eventually, she did occasionally relent and let me wear them, but always with a very strict warning not to loose them.

One day I asked if I could borrow them and she said no. I didn't push it and just figured that she had her reason. After several denials, I got up the courage to ask why not. It was then that she had to admit that SHE had lost one of them. I did feel a little sad to loose the earring that I had coveted for years but the feeling of satisfaction that I was not the one who lost one felt even better.

As the years passed mom did eventually get her ears pierced and began collecting a many new earrings but she never threw out the one holly earring. I know that because when she died I went through her things and found the one lonely holly earring that had been without its partner for over a decade. Although it was steeped in memories I didn't feel the need to keep one lone earring so I got rid of it. Even though the earring is long gone, I still remember them and my desire every year to wear them.

Last night I was at a new Bible study. I have been attending for just over a month. It is fairly nice but I have not had the chance to get to know many of the ladies there. We had a cookie exchange and some holiday cheer so a few of the ladies were wearing seasonal clothes and jewelry. I happened to look at the lady next to me and to my great surprise, she was wearing the same holly earrings that had haunted my childhood.

I mentioned that my mom had a pair like that when I was growing up. I told her that my mom often forbade me to wear them because she was afraid that I would loose one and in the end she was the one who lost it.

As I was packing up to leave she gave me her holly earrings. That really touched me. A woman who is almost a total stranger gave me a pair of earrings because she thought that it would make me happy. My own mom wouldn't do that for me. I guess that is just another way that the Lord is seeing that I am taken care of by him (and those who serve him) so much better than I ever could have hoped for.

25 Things

25 Random Things

I saw this done on someone else's blog & thought it was a fun idea & so I've been putting together my list of 25 Random Things that you may or may not know about me.

1.motorcycles: I like motorcycles. I rode one once and it was a great feeling. I have never driven one but I love to be on the back of one. I have heard from the drivers that I am a good rider. I guess that it just comes naturally to me after decades of riding a bicycle.

2. Raggedy Ann: I got my first Raggedy Ann on my first Christmas. I slept with her most of my childhood and I still have a doll that sits on my dresser (although not the original one)

3. Cocoa only: That is the only hot beverage I like. Keep you coffee and tea. I will have cocoa or nothing.

4. Homeschooling: now that I am in my 12th year of homeschooling it seems hard to believe but when I first read about homeschooling I thought that it was one of the weirdest things that I had ever heard of.

5. Cats: Three is the perfect number of cats for me. I have 3 now - Hope, Blackstone, and Copperfield.

6. Puppets: Yes I have been a puppeteer since I was 16, It might sound like an interesting and different job but in reality it's not. It is very similar to teaching but you have a sock on your hand.

7. Bible: It is the inspired inerrant word of God and I read it regularly. I am planning to read it start to finish again in 2011

8. Husband: I met Tom when I was 16 and he was 21. He seemed so OLD! but cute. I met him at a party but had no idea how to see him again. I knew that he worked in the wine department at the grocery store. I wanted to go there and knock a bottle of wine off the shelf and see if I could see him again, but I never got up the nerve.

9. Breakfast: I hate most breakfast foods - cereal. pancakes, eggs etc. So most of the time breakfast for me is a baked apple or cheese and crackers

10. Bread: I love making bread, rolls and bagels, but the first time I tried it, I didn't know that yeast could die and the package I was using was dead. The bread never rose and it was so terrible that not even the dog would eat it.

11. Applesauce: I will only eat home made. Don't even think of giving me that stuff that you buy in the store. It is simply gross.

12. Vegetables: The green ones are all disgusting. There are a few that I will eat (broccoli, spinach, green beans and some lettuces) but the rest of them are simply gross. It is better off just to avoid them all.

13. Bubble Baths: one of my favorite ways to relax is in a nice warm tub with enough bubble bath to act as insulation and keep it that way for at least an hour.

14. Jellyfish: they are gross and disgusting and I would be very happy if I never saw another one again - not even a picture.

15. Candy: I have a nasty sweet tooth and I love candy. Chocolates are my favorite, but they tend to melt and get on my scrapbooking so my second choice is either skittles or gummy worms/bears.

16. Reading: I love to read just about anything. My favorite book is the Bible but I also like sci-fi/fantasy and adventure

17. Movies: If I am lucky I will get to see about one a year in the theater. I have some of my favorites at home and have seen them so many times that I can practically recite them. They include Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Hunt for Red October, Princess Bride, Independence Day, and the Three Musketeers.

18. Shoes: I do not understand the obsession with shoes. I own a pair of tennis shoes, a pair of dress flats, sandals for summer and dress boots for winter. That is it and that is enough.

19. Travel: I would love to travel to many places around the world including most of Europe, Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Australia. I would love to, but as far is reality is concerned, the only countries I have been in other than the U.S. are Canada and the Bahamas.

20. Employment: The last few years have been an exception. I have only had 2 - 3 paying jobs at a time. For most of my life I had at least 4 jobs. Those are in addition to being wife, mom, and teacher.

21. Letters: When I am angry or upset, I write very nasty letters. (The girl scout council is my target most of the time) My kids quiver at them and say that they would prefer to be grounded than to receive one of my letters. They say it scares them too much.

22. Technology: I am a Luddite. I am so bad with technology that it is almost funny. I do not text (I really don't see a point in it any way if you need to tell some one something, just call them - you have the phone) and I have no idea what to do with a pager. I have my computer set up the way I like it and even though it is not optimized, I won't let anyone "improve" it because I don't want to have to learn anything more about it.

23. Film: Yes, I use and love my film camera. I had a digi one and hated it. I know that there are some good digi cameras out there, but not in my price range. The cheap digis all have a shutter lag that I just can't seem to get used to so I mess up the pics. Never do that with film so I will stick with film

24. Role Playing: I really like it. Even wen to a con this summer. Very fun, but I just don 't have enough time to really pursue it. If given a chance though, I will reminiss about past campaigns and games. D&D is my favorite. I think I like 3.5 best but I have played them all from 2nd edition to the present.

25. Friends: I have more cyber friends than friends I see with any regularity.