Where is Matt?

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

I found this FABulous Vimeo via My Asian Heritage. Make sure you crank up the sound so that you can hear the music but more importantly the laughter.

Kind & Savvy

Our weather is finally becoming bearable...I tell you, I'm not a hot weather kind of gal...that is why I live in the Seattle area :)

I have a tshirt that is basically purely pomegranate and black..my friend mentioned that it looked like a card that I would make..my peeps know me! My tee has a great butterfly but I don't have a large butterfly image so I picked this sweet Savvy bloom. I love to use my slit punch to make scallops. Yesterday I picked up the Fiskars Threading Water Border Punch {whatta name!} at T. I will be playing with that over the holiday weekend!

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stamps: savvy stamps & stampin' up priceless paper: stampin' up pomegranate, misc black ink: versafine onyx black accessories: slit punch, stampin' up purely pomegranate stitched ribbon

Wildly Fabulous

It has been so stinkin' hot here that it has literally taken me 2 days to complete this card! My "studio" {sounds better than craft area} is upstairs and it gets super warm up there when the sun is beating down.

This card is a 6 inch square. I based the card on the "fabulous" flocked word. I picked up the K&Co Wild Saffron Flocked word set at my local craft store. I love the word fabulous, along with magnificent...spectacular...gorgeous...lol.

I'm trying to be oh-so-good and actually cut into my A Muse Madeira dp..

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paper: misc white & a muse madeira accesories: k&co wild saffron text & rabom dark brown velvet ribbon

The Weekend...

Well, my garage sale with my Mom was fairly successful. It was sooo stinkin' hot over the weekend but we stayed nice and cool in my Mom's garage on Saturday. I definitely sold enough to cover what I ended up buying at other garage sales in the neighborhood. One of the women that happened to cruise through my garage sale was commenting about all the people selling scrapbooking things. I casually asked her if there was someone else selling craft things and she let me know that her neighbor had a bunch of things. Much to my delight, it wasn't scrapbooking stuff but stamps! My whole purchase was only $38! The Adirondack inks and daubers are NEW...the daubers were only $1. The black tote in the back is a Scrapbook's companion, fits all my stash in there so that I can bring in my motherload to work and show the gals :)
My friend that I've know since 7th grade recently celebrated her birthday AND graduating with her MBA from the University of Washington. She had mentioned that she would like to go to a restaurant that you needed to "dress up for". Any Washingtonians will know/have heard of the Canlis Restaurant. Can you say "Fancy Smancy"? That is where we had dinner on Saturday night. A majority of the other people were older and seemed to be quite use to their surroundings..I wasn't use to the white glove treatment...Towards the end of our dinner, well, we had already finished dinner but were chatting it up, the Maître de came to our table and asked if we were interested in a tour of the place. I LOVE tours and perked up...the other gals were mumbling that we had to get going...I started to say "Don't you want to go on the tour?" when my friend whispered to me that it was their polite way of saying that we've overstayed our welcome....hmmm...who would have known? Evidently, not me...lol

Well, my friend had a ball and that is what is important..it was fun, great excuse to dress up.

Virtual Garage Sale...

I managed to sell some things at my mom's garage sale on Saturday but really didn't sell many of my stamps. I thought that I'd try via my blog. I'll hop over to SCS in the next couple of days to post over there. I hit a FABulous garage sale in my Mom's neighborhood yesterday...oh my goodness...I'll post the pic tomorrow.

Here are the deets:

Pricing is listed below the photo

Paypal only

Priority Mail not included in listed price

Stamps are from a smoke-free home

Stampers Anonymous V1-704 $5 (new) (SOLD)
Clearly Wordsworth $5 (new)
Asian Lot Stampendous (3 images) $6 (SOLD)
Stampers Anonymous US-1092 (new) $6
Santa Rosa C-3231 (new) $3
Hero Arts K2403 Optical Box $4 (SOLD)
Hero Arts E2348 Be Well Block Print $3
Inkadinkado-Flavia 9637 $4 (new)
Peace by Westwater Enterprises & Girl Power (unknown company) well loved stamps $3/both

Stampa Rosa/Tin Can Mail K59-626 (new) $5
MM Foam Gabby Alpha $5
Judi*Kins 2281H (new) $4
Toybox (new) $4 (SOLD)
Hampton Art-Novel Background (new) $4

SU Spectrum Pad $2
Kaleidacolor Pad $2 (SOLD)
Stampin' Up Oh My Word $5
Lot of 3 M's $1 stamps for $0.75 (SOLD)
Lot of 4 A Muse images $15 (3 of 5 SOLD)

STILL AVAILABLE: Bird Cage ($4) & Grass ($1)

CTMH Lot (5 stamp sets) $15 (SOLD)

I also have the following TAC sets {full sets/not cut/new}:

Bits & Pieces T1229 $10 (SOLD)

Well Defined Backgrounds T879 $10

Ancient Artifacts T1240 $6

Mug Shots T1061 $3

**email me for available TAC pictures**

Send me an email if you're interested in anything or would like to have more information.

TGIF!

This is for my Guitar Hero son....his birthday is coming up and I'm being proactive :) Gotta love the fun Rock Star Stack. This is an 8.5 x 5.5 inch card. I wanted as much of the guitar showing as possible. I'd love to embellished it to death but ended up just using my janome and added the glittered monogram {I think it is from J's}. My son loves the whole skull rage and has started a "Z" collection so the card is perfect for him :)

Stampaholic

Last night was Hostess Appreciation night at my demo's house {Hi Julie!!}. It is an event that she throws every year. We did 2 make and takes...one with the the new Fresh Cuts set {yup, I ordered it} and the other was a cute little album.

Can you guess who the Stampaholic Award went to? ME! This is the 2nd one that I've won...how did I win? I was her top spender for 2007...no surprise there :) One might ask why I don't become a demo...are you kidding? I'd spend way too much money, be my best customer and then I'd miss having Julie be MY demo...she's ultra-spectacular...a real hoot!

Pottery Barn Inspired...

I really enjoy going through the Pottern Barn catty and letting the pages inspire me...the canvas wall decor really hit me the other day. This weekend I may actually cut out some masks and try it out that way...you'd think with the gazillion floral stamps that I own, I would have a larger image. It is time to go through everything and organize {ugh}.

I'm actually doing a garage sale on Saturday with my Mom. I'm selling a TON of stuff so any locals should contact me so I can pass along my mom's address. Actually her entire community is having a sale. I can sell my stuff on SCS but realistically I don't have the time to go to the post office etc...needless to say, my garage sale prices are stinkin' low...I just want to get rid of the stuff....lotsa TAC {thought I'd get into them...not}....MM foam stamps {should I keep them?}....CTMH {same thing with the TAC}....misc wood mounted...

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stamps: stampin' up mixed bouquet paper: misc black & kraft ink: versafine onyx black accessories: coluzzle, scallop punch, bling, may arts ribbon, dymo

Bashful Doodle

I love making tall cards so when I saw Beate's WSC53, I couldn't resist playing along even though it seems that I'm a little late. It was actually a double challenge for me. When I saw Jen Barrett's Doodle This Christmas card, I knew that I wanted to incorporate the Doodle This bloom. I've always loved the look of the multi-layered flower but was, well, too lazy to do all of the fussy cutting. I don't know quite where the spark of energy came from last night but between the fussy cutting AND the stitching {notice it isn't zig zag} I seemed to be on a roll. There is a REASON why I gravitate to the zig zag stitch...it is much more forgiving that the ole straight stitch. I've decided to start practicing on the straight stitch for awhile :)

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stamps: stampin' up doodle this ink: versafine vintage sepia paper: stampin' up bashful blue, chocolate chip & print pack accessories: janome & bling!

Asian Flair

I have definitely been on a felt kick lately...I just really love the look. this ginormous felt flower is ala Ayomi Yoshida. I wanted to keep the card clean and simple and really show off the asian bloom....the twill ribbon is recycled from packaging.

Enabled

SmilynStef passed along a link to the oh-so-wonderful Etsy site of Home Studio. I'm a sucker for chandeliers {and crowns!} and couldn't resist the good deal that they are running...buy 2 get 1 free! The converse tile is for my daughter...shhhh...luckily she never checks out my blog {rollin' my eyes}.

Copic Certification

I had the pleasure of spending the day with Marianne Walker of Copic and Carolina {hi carolina!}.

I was pretty impressed with the Copic Airbrush....oh the possibilities. We received a bunch of fun stuff..I bought the blender pen and refill, otherwise all the rest were goodies for us to take home!

I really do enjoy taking classes...being surrounded by people that appreciate paper crafts and all of the energy....

Thanks Marianne for a great class..what a lucky duck you are...being part of such a fabulous industry.

Monkey Mania

Sorry for the dark'ish photo...I have a heck of a time with my tall cards. They are difficult to photograph. This card is for my oldest brother...his birthday is tomorrow {hi j!}. I wanted to send him a fun and happy card...what could be better than Daisy D's sock monkey dp?

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paper: daisy d, misc black and stampin' up barely banana accessories: dymo, misc wide ribbon and janome

Last Day of School...

I can't believe that today is the last day of school...how quickly time flies! My son really enjoyed his teachers this year. He had 2 gals that job shared...sorry for the "shiny" picture...I put together 2 of these gift boxes..the carton is from Packaging Specialties . The sticky notes are from J's $ spot, does it remind you of SU's French Flair? The latte mug is ala Starbucks {of course}...

The A Muse to go cup is such a fun image, especially since I'm a huge Starbucks fan...

I remember summer vaca when I was growing up...too bad we don't get summer vaca's as adults! I wonder how many families will be doing road trips this summer with gas at $4.30+ per gallon?

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stamps: a muse & hero arts paper: fabriano

Bonne Chance

I am so glad that I bought the K&Co Blue Awning stack...it really is filled with gorgeous papers. This is an 8.5 x 5.5 inch card...huge. I was asked to make a card for a gal that is leaving the company...I wanted to make it large it enough for people to write in. The DP is so pretty that I didn't have the heart to cover it up with anything so I kept it clean & simple.

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stamps: Odd Bird Planet paper: k&co blue awning, misc black & kraft ink: versafine onyx black accessories: safety pin, black velvet ribbon, slot & square punch.

Polka Dot Bloom

TGIF!!! I did a partial technique over at SCS. Beate's watercolor wash tutorial popped in my mind last night..Can you tell that the fabriano card has a slight bliss blue color to it?

Talking about Fabriano's...I think alot of people have discovered them via Dick Blick. My 5x5's have been consistently backordered...now it isn't until September! I think I ordered them in January...sigh...their prices are so great but it looks like I might have to find other sources.

I thought I would share my garage sale bargain from a couple weeks ago. I've loaded it up with my SU paper...it's great because I store my scraps in there too! Check out the lower right hand slot....look at all that fabulous Wasabi paper.....lol. I thought of actually "cleaning off the top" of the paper rack but why? It would look as if I wasn't as creative :)

I hope you all have a fabulously creative weekend!

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stamps: stampendous, a muse paper: fabriano ink: versafine vintage sepia accessories: offray ribbon

Whoot Whoot!

A while back on SCS I saw Amber Hight's super cute "My Wise Friend!". I just couldn't resist and bought the very sweet U R A Hoot set from Cornish Heritage Farms by the most Fabulous Kim Hughes. I hope that JenMarie sees this post...I broke out my A Muse Madeira paper. She totally inspired me with her Rainy Seattle Girl card.

This card is for my oldest friend...oops, she isn't my oldest friend in terms of age but I've known her the longest....since 7th grade/middle school. She graduates with a MBA from the University of Washington on Friday...a long road for her but she did it "Whoot Whoot!".

Don't you just love her seafoam green eye shadow? I added more eyelashes too! I don't typically mix my black and brown inks but wanted the text to stand out. If you happen to look in the lower right hand corner of the card "my wise friend" is stamped in onyx black.

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stamps: chf u r a hoot paper: a muse madeira, stampin' up chocolate chip and misc kraft ink: versafine vintage sepa & onyx black, souffle pen accessories: target $1 twine, misc safety pin, su oval punch

Dreams

Here's a Higher Awareness to ponder:

It's okay to dream!

“Don’t discard your fantasies as merely wishful thinking. Honor them as messages from the deepest part of your being about what you can do and directions you can choose.”
-- Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer

What are your deepest heart-felt desires, dreams and visions?
Our deepest desires and dreams align with the essence of who we are. The more we align with that essence, the more our life holds meaning, purpose and fulfilment. Do you have a sense of your destiny?

"Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born."
-- Dale E. Turner

“Everybody builds a dream in their lifetime. You’re either going to build your dream, or somebody else's. So build your own!"
-- Christopher LaBrec

Felted Flowers

I love when I see people using buttons and ribbons to make flowers. I happened to pick up these wonderful felted embellishments. They are packaged by Sierra Pacific Crafts. This is a 3x3 card, the celery ribbon is something I found in the $1 M's ribbon bin. The dp is from the Basic Grey Recess pack.

recess rocks!

I think that I've been blogging since November 2007....I didn't post any pictures, quotes, or projects over the weekend....a first for me. What does that say? I'm really overwhelmed with work and consistently overload my "personal plate". I was just talking about that yesterday with a co-worker...while at work. I long for the "boring life". Nah, boring is bad, boring means there is no creativity or excitement. I am going to go to posting m-f...no weekends...weekends are for catching up on blogs on my Google Reader {how many do YOU all have in your reader??}...being highly creative...and it goes without say, spending time with my kids.

Okay, onto my card....

I recently picked up the Basic Grey Recess 6x6 pad and have discovered some gorgeous prints. The last day of school for my kids is a week from tomorrow so I'm busy creating the perfect cards for my son's 2 teachers and finishing up their gifts..more to come on that :) My daughter is finishing up middle school and will be going into junior high so I'm off the hook for her teachers although I did offer...I think the response was "rolling of the eyes"...

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paper: basic grey recess, misc black & kraft accessories: slit punch, rabom grosgrain, dymo

Tag!! You're it!!

The evening I picked up my B Line Design stamps, one of my friends mentioned that she wanted the smaller image on some tags...viola! I picked up the tags at the Seattle Packaging Specialties store. The FABulous ribbon is from M's $1 bin...I just love it and I am now on the hunt for it since I just have a smidge left....I know that I won't be able to find it in the dollar bin :(

A couple days ago Julia tagged me. Here are my answers:

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

My memory really stinks but 10 years ago I was chasing an 11 month old boy and a 26 month old girl….working full time and would do only Christmas cards back then…nothing else really crafty.

2. Five things on today's "to do" list.

a. Drop off my son for band

b. make my 1+ hour commute into work

c. pick up my kids and head to my mom’s for dinner

d. give the cats their antibiotics {twice}

e. Maybe go to bed early

3. Snacks I enjoy:

I love popcorn, apples, oranges and tortilla chips

4. Things I would do if I was a millionaire:

Quit my full-time job

volunteer my time for good causes

work part-time job at a stamp shop

travel with my kids.

5. Places I have lived:

Canada and Washington

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stamps: b line designs ink: versafine onyx black accessories: tags ala packaging specialties, ribbon via m's $1 bin

Singing Scarlet Crane

Last night was one of those nights...we went to the my daughter's honors awards ceremony {woo hoo! she is one smart cookie}...then I decided to take the kids out for icecream {luckily we beat the rush}...my daughter was suppose to make a brookie {brownie/cookie} to take to her honor's class today, she procrastinated and said she would do it after the awards ceremony...I knew it wasn't going to happen, she was in charge of making it. {translation = I'm picking something up at the store this morning}..my son asked me to make a card...last night...15 minutes before bedtime....they are writing letters to kids in China, earthquake survivors....how could I say no?

My son went through all my individual stamps and picked the Hanko Designs "Singing Crane" image and wanted the word "peace". This is what I came up with...I originally started my design wth bashful blue and black...when I was looking through my Basic Grey Scarlet Letter paper pack, I knew that I had to use the red pattern designer paper....I used my stampin' up black marker on the peaceful wishes stamp and just inked up peace...

My son loves the card, that was a great way to end my evening.

Here is some information about the symbolism of cranes:

Cranes or "tsuru" in Japanese, are possibly one of the oldest birds on earth and has a long history in Japanese traditions and legends. The crane is among the most majestic of all cranes. Pure white with a magnificent red-crest.

Legend hold that the crane lives for a thousand years. In Japanese, Chinese and Korean tradition, cranes stand for peace and long life. Folded white paper origami cranes are often placed at memorial parks to symbolize peace. Folded paper cranes are also given to ill people to wish them a quick recovery. It is said that 1000 folded paper origami cranes makes a wish come true.

I thought it was wonderful that my son picked out a crane or "tsuru" for the card:)

Thanks for taking the time to read...my posts are not usually so "text heavy". I have been tagged by Julia over at Create with Me. Please be sure to check out her most fabulous blog, she is wonderfully creative. I'll post my answers to the tag tomorrow:)

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stamps: hanko designs singing crane & stampin' up peaceful wishes paper: misc black & basic grey scarlet's letter ink: versafine onyx black & stampin' up black marker accessories: stampin' up oval punch, may arts black silk ribbon & safety pin

Everything..

It does seem like the Riot of Petals background stamp is almost screaming to be colored but I love the look of it on the Fabriano note cards....no color. I uploaded a Riot card earlier using VersaFine Vintage Sepia but wanted to see what it would look like in Onyx Black...I love the sharp contrast.

What are the dark brown and black inks that you gravitate to? I've been a huge fan of the VersaFine pads but I'm always open to finding good waterproof brown and black inks....I know that people use StazOn, which I did on my acetate card.

I would love your feedback!

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stamps: stampin' up riot of petal and always paper: fabriano ink: versafine onyx black

Baroque Chandelier

I have been having fun with my new B Line Designs Chandeliers. This is one of the large images...isn't it wonderfully detailed? I decided to team up the chandelier with the Stampin' Up Baroque background image.

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stamps: b line designs chandelier, stampin' up baroque & think big paper: stampin' up bashful blue ink: vesafine vintage sepia, versamark accessories: misc dark brown grosgrain ribbon

Hippie G

Happy Monday!

This fun monogram card is for a girl {hi G!} that will be celebrating her 8th birthday this week. She's a little whipper snapper...what girl doesn't love glitter {I certainly do!}..

I think the s.e.i. line of Hippie Chick is just too fun...I've had it for what seems like years and I'm surprised that they still carry it....that's totally cool. I guess I'm so use to companies discontinuing/retiring their lines like Stampin' Up and Basic Grey.

I've already had my workout for the morning...I've managed to corral both of my cats and put them into their pet carriers to take them to their vet appointment this morning....do you know how stinkin' fun that is {rolling my eyes}? They are not happy campers but I must say that I'm pretty impressed with how quickly I manage to accomplish the task this morning...usually it takes about an hour.

Inspired by Ginger Blossoms

What a busy weekend I have had! I worked on my new hobby...soldering. It is definitely one of those "practice makes perfect"...personally I like the bumpy, lumpy look...lol. I used my favorite Stampin' Up designer paper, Ginger Blossoms. I added an "inspire" charm that I've had forever...bought a whole package of them, probably at J's. This necklace has the ginger blossom dp on both sides..it is 13.25" long, my favorite.

On Saturday I hit my community garage sales. I probably should have been selling things but had much more fun buying things. The necklace is on a "french flower bucket" that I picked up for $1 {it is upside down for the picture}. I also bought a paper sorter like this one from Office Depot that retails for $120:

Guess how much I bought it for?? $10! Score! I've already loaded it up with all my Stampin' Up 8.5 x 11 paper and used my Dymo Letra label maker to print out the name of the colors...stored alphabetically...not by color family {that drives me nutty}.

Renew Yourself

I popped into an Impress shop last night and absolutely fell in love with some B Line Design chandelier duo stamps! I have a feeling you all will be seeing these images alot over the next couple of weeks...

Sometimes photography is much harder than the designing of a card...Acetate cards are a challenge to photograph.

The interior panel is folded so when the receiver of the card slides the ribbon off of the card they will flip the basic grey panel up to reveal the greeting.

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stamp: b line designs paper: basic grey ink: Stazon accessories: acetate ala Flourishes, mm renew label, offray ribbon

Creativity

I haven't posted a Higher Awareness in a bit so I thought I would share this one:

The key to creativity

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."
-- Albert Einstein

Do you know the key to creativity?

It rhymes with weed. It produces the oak tree. We often eat it or grind it up for flour. It can mean cause or origination. You guessed it. It is SEED.

Our minds love to associate one thing to another. But as we get stuck in very fixed patterns of thinking, we think of fewer and fewer connections. We are ruled by habits, associations and automatic responses. So we must stimulate our thinking with lots of different seeds to chart new paths in our brains.

“Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to conceive.”
-- Napoleon Hill

“Anyone can look for fashion in a boutique or history in a museum. The creative explorer looks for history in a hardware store and fashion in an airport.”
-- Robert Wieder

TGIF!!!