Dollar Grabs

I tried to console myself in the dollar bins at Mike's and Jo's. I spent less than $50 on all this but am too pooped to play. Going to bed and hoping for better hours tomorrow. I got this all Friday. But left it all in the bags.

Even after parking today in front of other stores out of town, I was too tired to go in. I can't believe I turned down a trip to the crafter's havens-especially when I was within a silver dollar throw of the front door of either.

Let's Party?

I am too upset to party-I think I wanna just get drunk. Anyone want to join me? Maybe after the race tomorrow as my mood may change with the endorphins. Just getting more pissy right now thinking about stuff.

Anyways, here is the other card I made for the birthday boy. This one I liked better but hubby liked this one, and it's for his workmate (another crazy runner). I used the same printed paper and base color card stock, adding some bright yellow instead of ribbon layers.

Since my image was already colored and ready to go (I keep a Bristol paper steno type pad with multiple stamped images I color when I have time for instances like this), this card was really quick. I did add my brads before using the Trio to place it on the base card so the backs would not show. I am kinda anal about stuff showing inside my cards.

The phrase image is a Studio G wood mounted dollar stamp from Micheal's. This is one of last year's stamps. For the most part locally, they are only doing acrylic clear ones now-except for Halloween ones. All the layers are inked and distressed in Tim Holtz Peeled Paint green (I use this color a lot-reminds me of mold) and the layers are pop dotted where appropriate. Photo by garage ceiling lighting and better than yesterday's-because I actually waited for the lights to heat up.

Seeds

I needed a fast card-and since I had some images already colored, I pulled this off. Nothing like finding you need a card at 3 AM and hubby is in a hurry. The photo is bad but I took it on top of the freezer in the garage sitting on a dish towel.

I used a dark blue grey textured base card and found some eyelets to match the flowers in the patterned paper. Luckily the paper also matched the colors of the stamped image! I took a piece of the patterned flower paper and with a Trio , applied that to a plain white grosgrain ribbon and that was added to a red width of cardstock and attached to the middle of the card.

I inked the edges of my stamped image square and roughed it up a bit, then added a layer of the flowery paper above.This was then attached to a piece of limey green. Using a scrap of thin ribbon, I tied a bow on the side and then glued the whole shebang to the left side.

I stamped a word from Rubber Stamping Fun and layered it to another lime piece both of which have been inked and distressed and added to the front at an angle. It was finished off with three eyelets attached with the Cropadile on the lower left.

I actually made two cards using the same image but let him pick the one he wanted. I liked the other one better. I will post it later as I need to sleep with my hot water bottles tonight. It's cold and I think I pulled something moving boxes earlier or maybe lifting weights. I don't know when to just stop sometimes. I also have a big run Sunday-13.1 miles. Why do I do this stuff anyways?

Hula Girl

Here is the last of the three cards I made trying to color with Souffle pens. This might have been a whole lot cuter had I used H2O's or Prismacolors pencils. My niece liked it but she is only 10 and anything sparkly is cool.
This is a base Bling card with a flower swatch of paper across the top. I did edge it with Marmalade ink.

The image is from Great Impressions and I stamped the girl twice so I could cut out the skirt to layer it. I added the extra skirt with pop dots and also added tiny crystals to the shoes and lei and the flowers in her hair. Then the image was edged with ink as was a pink piece of odd card. It's got a speckled texture to it and I also have it in teal but don't know what it's called. Its just neat to look at.

I also stamped a strip of the flowers on white-this stamp was the SOTM- and colored them. This was tucked under the flowery paper near the edge. The hula girl was then positioned on the left after the pink was angled. I found some fiery fibers and added them but could probably do without it. It just seemed to bring out the colors in the paper a bit.

So ends my experiments with Souffle pens. I won't be using them for larger jobs like this anymore. I hear they work great on acetate/transparencies but I wonder if they will color in any better and leave bare spots. They are too expensive to do any more experimenting with as a rule.

Not Chiming In.

This is all that is left of my wind chimes. I had at least 10 out and about the yard. No more tinkling-unless it's me in the pine bushes.

Fireflys

So another in my 3 piece experiment with the Souffle pens and this one isn't too bad, really. Just a bit of a smear in the middle firefly. Other than that boo boo, this was fast when the ink dried. I used several scraps and an odd piece of ribbon.

The base card is Bling again-some of which I like and some not. I can't imagine using it all the time as I have seen some do. But I did buy a huge package of the white and black Bling because its so classy. It will last a while too. This stamped image is from Great Impressions and the stamped, colored and outlined piece was cut out and pop dotted on a scrap of textured blue.

After attaching the strip of striped KI paper and layering it with the ribbon, I added the multi layered fireflies. I then tucked two smaller ribbon pieces under it. The finishing touch was two brads in the upper right. Summery and sweet.

Anybody Miss Me?

So......................did anybody notice I didn't post last night, hmmmmm??

Well, it was a most interesting night. I decided to drive up to Fowlerville to see Stacey and feed my addiction. I also was going to meet up with my daughter and then we would have din din in Williamston. Good plan right? As I am on no one else's schedule and I set the pace.

Screw up number one--the US Weather Bureau issues a severe storm watch as I am getting ready to leave. I look at the map and see its way west and tracking north, so I think I am okay. If it does rain, I will be back home by 10 at the latest.

Screw up number two--I get on I69 west giving myself 40 minutes to get to Fowlerville using regular roads instead of my back ass scenic route I usually do as there is a detour with a bridge out so I will by pass it. Only the exit for the regular highway is closed for construction and they send me down another 8 miles to turn around and come back the same way I just went only the on ramp there is closed for construction. So I get on some rinky dink curvy road with Pa Kettle and the Hell's Angels in front of me and its all a no passing zone. So all 8 miles at 20-30 MPH. And the place I need to turn-so do they. SO another 10 miles of this. I loose the Kettles but the bikers decide to stick around. All the way to Stacey's. So this 40 minute trip takes me an hour and 30 minutes. I have 10 minutes to shop.

So Stacey is doing inventory and she doesn't mind us poking around and asking dumb idiot questions and even unpacks and sells me stuff she just got from the UPS man. I spend enough to make it worth her staying open the extra hour and we catch up as I haven't seen her in a few months.

We then leave for dinner down the road two towns. Williamston is a wonderful little burg with antique stores, funky odd businesses and just calm enough that it makes you feel relaxed after a seriously blood pressure blowing trip. The sky was still pretty ominous but the radar wasn't showing anything and the weather report had no warnings. We were able to watch part of the baseball game and feast on roasted garlic and chiabatta.

I thought I heard thunder but looked outside-dry and people poking around. We ate, chatted, ate some more. Yapping away and its time to close at 9. I look outside and its pouring!!

Screw up number three-I had Marley with me as he whined and pitched a fit and in my mind, if it did storm, he was better with me and not losing his bowel contents spazzing alone at home. I left the windows down a few inches and my bags on the front seat. They are soaked. My nice glittery paper is ruined as is my ribbon. There is water all over meaning the rain managed to come in all four windows horizontally. There is also black furry stuff all over as Marley went berserk. At least he didn't poop. I would have.

I drive east as Courtney drives west to Lansing and of course, I get right into the middle of the worst downpour with lightening and fog. I cant see and am doing the Kettles myself at 20 MPH out in the middle of farmland trying to get to the freeway. I thought about stopping in Perry as there is a MacDonald's and a porn shop-but Mickey D's closes early and I only want Johnny Depp porn. So I crawl down I69 east and finally get off my usual exit-M13.

Ominous music here--------there are firetrucks, police and such on this road into Lennon. No dead bodies, no tow trucks. But all these grown men staring at a bank of tall pine trees with a huge hole in the center where trees used to be. I'm thinking either someone drove off the road at a 90 degree angle and is embedded in the trees or a tornado just cut a swath thru it. I continue up the road toward Flushing and make a right towards town. It's still raining and foggy and odd. I make a left and a right by the river and...total darkness. And trees all over...and flashing lights......and power company ladders.....and detours......and do not cross tape. Crap.

I finally get to my subdivision on the east side of the city and it's pitch dark other than the full moon casting a shadow here and there. The first thing I think of is my chimney. I have always had a creepy feeling that someday it will come down. So far its still there with my satellite dish face first toward the southern sky. I leave the dog in the car and try to get in thru the front door with the keys that always give me fits. I have to pee so bad and decided only the man in the moon is looking and use the pine bush for a shield. I finally get inside and my cats are manic. I grab for the emergency flash light---only its not where it always is. So I dig in the bar for candles and matches. I light that, pee again and go get the dog only to have the wind blow out the candle and wax drips all over Ron's new Malibu and both of us then get soaked. But at least we are inside.

Call daughter on a cell phone that is dying fast. Make sure she knows what is going on. Call SIL and feel stupid after. Light more candles. Call daughter with last cell phone life and tell her to email dad in Brazil (like what the hell is he gonna do) and decide I have to go to the all nighter and buy some batteries and new flashlight. Hubby seems to have drained it working on the blood sucking lawn mower and left it outside. Useless.

Lock up, go to Meijers, spend 36.00 on batteries and a flashlight (oddly the flashlight and large cell are the same price as one large cell-so I got a free flashlight I guess). Power company says maybe lights by Friday. I recall SIL in case I need to chill at her house and again feel stupid. Losing brain cells again. I think I was freaking because all I had was the dog to talk to. It's now 2AM.

I heard a pop, the lights came on, I stood up and turned off the flashlight and bang-lights gone again. So I tried to read by candlelight and it was so hot in the house even with windows open. I ate all the candy in the house-making sure I didn't open the fridge or freezer and sat and fretted until sun up. I could hear generators but it was still oddly quiet. No frogs. No early birds. Not even the nightly bats. Then the buzz saws came out. School was cancelled and kids were screaming. I have some branches down but in my jammies, making a cursory look, my Hibiscus was missing. I found the pot in one part of the yard and the actual flowering plant in another. And my umbrella was in the landscaping. The streets are littered with branches, tons of leaves, garbage etc. Up town there are streets with telephone poles missing (all our utilities in my area are underground) One garage missing at least-not torn apart-missing. Contents on the cement slap but no garage.

I didn't get power back until about 2 PM. The first thing I did was try to get some news. But the UAW/GM settled so the weather was no biggie I guess. Nothing in the papers either.I now hear it was NOT a tornado but a micro burst. I wanted to get some photos to post but the streets are off limits as wires are down. I needed to get some air, so me and the dog (I have grown an extra set of paws I guess as he is glued to me) go uptown to get papers and some iced tea. I had a job ahead of me as I know most of what's in my fridge is gone. I just went to Costco and Whole Foods and mentally figured I lost between $400-$500 in food. Anything diary, creamy, cheesy, all gone. I took out a whole bucket of recycling after separating the bad food from the containers. Now I need to go shopping again-I have hard boiled eggs, some onions and 36 bottle of water left.

So that is why I didn't post a card last night. I was able to talk with hubby tonight and he says maybe we should get a generator. I said only if its easy to use and not gonna end up like the lawn mower. Watch, we will buy one and never have to use it. We did talk a lot about the strike. I think I talked more with him tonight than I have in the last month as he usually falls asleep as soon as he sits down on the sofa.

The Michigan budget still is not fixed tho and if it isn't by tomorrow night, My daughter is laid off as of Monday. Here is my bet for the elected officials in Lansing. If you are an incumbent, you will never get a vote from us again after this fiasco. Kids are hurting, students are hurting, the elderly are hurting and all you care about is what the voters will or won't do come November. Pass a budget now! Or YOU lose your paychecks too.

Hello Summer

This is an experiment-and I really don't like how it turned out. Since I liked how Souffle pens made dots and colored small areas-I wondered how they would work on larger images. So I stamped some larger flowers and a few other items from Great Impressions. I wont be doing this again with these pens other than the few cards I made this week. The ink doesn't fill in very well as you can see when you click on the photo.

I colored in the flowers with two different pens and when dry, I outlined them with a black micro pen. Then for some sparkle added tiny crystals to the center of each. I lined the back of this with green Bling paper from Bazzill. I also colored in the beach bag and double stamped the sandals and colored them and then pop dotted an image on top of each for some depth. I added crystals to the flowers on these too.

A square of Bling was the base for these images after I distressed the edges with ink and a razor. I also did the same to the phrase block. And to finish it off, I tied a piece of pink jute for the bag closure.

The base card is also Bling and its layered with a scrap of palm tree pattern. I think these pens are okay in small doses but it bled on the plain white card stock and was smeary in places too. N0t a great experiment but you never find out if you never try.

Now I need to get some work done as I am home alone and can make all the noise I want. Plus I need to stay out of trouble with the UAW strike commencing today. There has already been some violence locally-people hurt and property damaged. Not a good time for Michigan in general. How much lower will we sink?

T for Thanks

How about something other than a redone Penny Black card tonight? This is next in the queue and it was a quickie. I am trying to stay busy as hubby is flying and somehow the plane had trouble and he and it are sitting in Chicago. He is going to Sao Paulo--so I am worried, as usual. I don't like planes (no, I hate planes) and he doesn't usually fly on American. He left me a voice mail just as my phone died earlier----so now I am calling him and its going to his voice mail. What fun. It's 1 AM and he was supposed to be there at 11 PM. I am very antsy now.

ETA-they got another plane as the passengers were calling around to find other flights. Guess American didn't want to put them all up overnight. He is in Miami now and spending the night. No flight until tomorrow night. But at least he is okay-they fed business class but the plebes in the rear were having to buy yucky subs.

Basically this card is scraps and chipboard. A dark purple piece of textured Bazzill starts it off. I inked it up with dark brown Distress ink and layered a large square of purple plaid that was also inked a bit. Then I cut a piece of lilac and tilted it on its side after roughing up the edges. A long piece of tan was cut and I wrote the word thanks-so I would know where to put my patterned "T" chipboard piece and attached both using pops dots. It was bland so I took a creamy Souffle pen and made dots on both sides of the plaid square and this seemed to finish it nice.

I want to make a lot more like this so I went to the dollar store area of the Scrapbook Zone and got a lot of chipboard 'bets from Lil Davis and others. Even if I don't use all the letters, I will have fun with them. Maybe I will make up a bag of extras to give away later.

Nuts!

Bottled Highlights

Hah! Betcha thought this was about my hair. Not! This is about an odd Penny Black sticker card made at a stamp camp in summer. I love this card except the bottle cap. When we were doing it, I said to Stacey-Aren't we gonna flatten the cap? Nope. I even saw a Sizzix machine in the back room which would have worked fine to do this . Certainly you cant mail this card like this.

I made the card and came home and took it apart. I tried to pry out the middle of the cap thinking I can flatten it myself but for naught. Oh well. I did edge the card in dark brown ink and found several scraps to layer on this. I carefully peeled off the sticker from the base card and added a crackled piece of paper then a razor distressed greenish layer under that.

The lighter brown was dissected with a piece of darker brown that had been run thru a corrugator-rippled. The sticker had been punched using a circle that fit inside the bottle cap and then the cap placed over that circle and the punched out part put inside it. Then it was filled with Dimensional Acrylic. Personally, I would have flattened this and then put the Acrylic in and used a lot less because you can barely see the design under it. It also took forever to dry-about 2 days I think.

I have another set of this sticker sheet and will try it again-but I will flatten the cap. I used a flattened cap on this card a while ago and it was so easy to do. I guess I think Stacey was being lazy that day. I do like the idea of recycling this way tho.

Winter Flowers

This is better than it started but could use some more texture. I think another layer of card stock under the light blue might have worked. This is smaller than A2, so more a gift card size or slightly larger. I started with a plain white card folded and inked the edges in Denim.

I used the Southwest corner punch on three sides and an EK corner adorner on the other which I then folded forward. Notice the two sided paper which is darker on the backside? The large Penny Black sticker is placed on a scrap piece of dark Bazzill blue. I layered another sticker about a third of the way up and then placed the large flower sticker towards the right side using pop dots.

Using Sulky thread, start on the left bottom and tape on the back. Wind it to the right and behind then front and up and tape on the back again. This adds a bit of sparkle to compliment the glitter penning of the flowers on the sticker. The finishing touch was a medium brad in the left upper corner to take away some of the whiteness. I do wish I had used actual brads on the sticker or instead of and perhaps added some brocade ribbon. Maybe for the next try. I have a lot more of these stickers as I just loved them so much.

Hot Knife-I Became a Believer!

Ruby Stamper
Jen (Pieces of Me)

Half off until Saturday at Micheal's or use you 50% coupon at Joann's.

Potted Begonias

Ooooh-I actually kept the boring background base card on this one. I did age the edges a bit with Distress ink and thought about another layer of card stock. Instead I added a layer of card stock under the sticker and pop dotted it after distressing the edge with a razor. This is attached to a marble sheet of heavier paper that I also inked the edges.

I used a corner adorner from EK Success but only did two corner punches. The Penny Black sticker was then colored using glitter pens in purple and greens. To add a little dimension to the pot holding the flowers I used Dimensional Glaze in Sepia.

The small phrase at the bottom is ALSO a sticker that I added after cutting it off a bigger sticker. Altering stickers is a lot of fun as long as they aren't cutsie. I do have some Halloween ones I would like to try this on sometime tho. Just for play.

Are Your Feeds Screwy Today?

I just got a couple of 403 Forbidden feeds from Feedblitz-which I have no clue what those are. I thought maybe I had to re-register but they say I am fine. Feedblitz is always acting up.

I also did not get my own feed from Feedburner. That is how I tell if mine are going out okay. I am getting multiples of some too.

Are we having sunspots maybe?

Going Postal With Penny Black

I hate square card-the PO charges too much to send them and I just prefer rectangle ones. But we made one at Stamp Camp, so it was either live with it or tear it up. I sorta tore it up. I had to keep the square as the paper was stuck to the card base. I did leave a tiny border around the patterned paper from the card and ink distress the edges. I also was able to lift the corners to tuck under the ribbon and concave the corners by hand. I did this for a little extra eye-ability.

Since the white base was so white, I wanted to bring out the blue in the fake stamps and used a textured blue card, then found an interesting green/brown for another layer. I taped the ribbon/paper layer on top of this card stock and then added the pewter brads before sticking to the blue. I also layered card stock behind the stamp stickers and used decorative scissors to give it a more stamp like look.

I like this a whole lot more than the original but I still think it lacks something to make it pop. And it certainly didn't need that little clump of kitty hair at the top-courtesy of Loki!

ETA-forgot to add that I drizzled a little Dimensional Glaze over the middle stamp. That is why it looks a bit fuzzy.

Only 6-Let's Play a Guessing Game.

Don't forget to vote. Only 10 days left to qualify for the drawing for a prize.

ETA-This will stay at the top until the end of September and the announcement of the winner from the store. Always check below for added postings from me.

So remember that contest I said I was entering back here? I decided to go to the stamp store as it's close to the Costco and I might as well make a full day of driving in insanity. So here are the entries. Mind you 15 people signed up. Mine is #4. I did not vote for myself. Can you guess who I did vote for?

Let's make a game of it. Post who you think I voted for AND who you think will win. I will keep track and let you know at the end of the month which it is of each. You can click each photo to make it larger. The entries were hung up high so I could not get any closer.

I will have a small prize to award on October 1 generated at random AND one to the actual correct guesser.

Voice of the Turtle

Tiger Stadium was to be my final resting place. Upon my death, my ashes were to be scattered in left field among the ghosts of Willie Horton, Al Kaline, Norm Cash, Alan Trammel, Daryl Evans and many others.I spent many wonderful afternoons in the ball park with my grampa, my dad, hubby and later my kids and grand kids. I stuck with teams both wonderful and going thru the halls of hell. Until the strike .

I never went back to the ball park when the strike was settled and my dad died the next year. I am still angry over the strike. I also hated how the team was decimated and then sold--altho the new owner finally got a clue and is pouring as much cash into it as his beloved Red Wings. But this beautiful stadium was thrown to the wind. Taxpayers are now forced to pay more inside the city to pay for a new stadium. Unlike the owner of the Pistons (who financed his own new stadium) the Tigers threw away a gem and the poorest of the state pay for it-unless you stay at a hotel, eat at a restaurant or otherwise play within the county. I can count on my one hand how many times I have been inside the city limits since then. I will never go inside the new stadium. All my memories are down the road a bit.

This week it was announced that the stadium is set for demolition even tho several solutions to preserve it have been laid out. The mayor wont listen even to Ernie Harwell -the long time voice of the Tigers. Even he has been thrown to the curb. There are several groups who are hoping to save some of it-Ernie wants to save at least the playing field and some seats for a residential park/historical site

The stadium was renovated several times. The original seats were not stationery like this one. The first time I ever went to a game, it was to a seat like this and the ushers would wipe the dust off for a nickle or dime.

These seats are a bit older-notice the designs under the arm. A set of these would set you back several thousand dollars in BAD condition.

So the auction of the innards of Tiger Stadium have begun. I was able to purchase a set of seats here . This again was another upgrade but it will be all I have-I wanted 3 but they only come in twos. One for me, one for dad and one for grampa. There is also a huge auction of many items listed at this link.I want the marquee sign but can only imagine what I would do with it. It belongs at Greenfield/Henry Ford or the Smithsonian or the Hall of Fame -well it really belongs at the Corner. Michigan and Trumbell. But deaf ears and stupidity are taking it elsewhere.

I have had this sweat shirt now for over 15 years and its getting thin but it keeps me close to the ghosts. I still will be scattered in left field. My field of dreams may have a factory on it, may have a McDonald's someday or may just be an empty lot. But dreams never go away. You can always walk thru them whenever you close your eyes and hear the Voice of the Turtle.


""For, lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing of birds is come, And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.""

Icy Crackle

Another card I tore apart but I actually ran into a worse problem than bland. Originally this was on yet another plain cream card. I peeled the sticker off as carefully as I could and when it didn't want to come off, I then cut around the cream and added another layer, this time the chocolate brown that had the edges distressed. Then I cut a larger greenish mat and added the sticker combo to it.

The ribbon was from the original before I took it apart and I wanted to keep it so I redid it a bit and taped it to the backside of the green before layering it to a plain white card that I had distress inked the edges in some greenish brown ink.

Now the idea was to make the sticker stand out and for that, I decided to use Crackle Medium from Ranger. This was added after I used the glitter pen on the filigree at the bottom of the sticker. But the crackle was not drying and crackling fast enough for me, so I put it in the sun on the deck to dry. Well, it only crackled the edges and then melted the sticker backing, so that is why the edges of the sticker are puckered. No matter how much I try to smooth it out, it pops right back to how it looks in the photo. But I did sorta get the look I wanted. I will try this again with another sticker soon. Sticker by Penny Black of course.

Squirrels Are So Cool!

Just for the sheer intelligence they display, I had to post this. I hope you enjoy it and pass it on.

Squirrels!

Penny Black Rosebuds

Here for your enjoyment is another altered Penny Black sticker card. The original of this was on a plain white card with the cream colored paper with gold flowers. It was just so flat and plain. I took it apart as usual.

I wasn't sure how to deal with this but I felt the pink in the roses needed to stand out more, even with the glitter pen use. So I sought out a pinkish scrap and a green piece of card stock to also bring out the greens. I pop dotted the sticker/gold flower combination over the card after adding a pink strip. I left enough room to add a rub on or a small sentiment later.

Here is a closeup of the glitter pen work. And at the end, I used Dimensional Glaze to fill in the bottle area for a little more 3D look I guess. It made it look more like a bottle or vase than just laying on the sticker.

I still think this card needs something else but haven't had time to play with it. Maybe some gauzy ribbon or a trio of eyelets on the top right? Let me know if you have an idea. I bought tons of these stickers to alter and hopefully will get some play time soon.

Allison is Crazy!

A while back Allison had a blog contest. The winner apparently didn't claim it. Well, that person is a big fat loser!!!! I got the runner up prize and I am still digging thru the box.

First I had to get past the box. Allison packed this in a Splenda box which wasn't in English and I was trying to figure out the recipe on it. I am a Splenda freak. I bake with it, I make candy with it and it makes excellent peanut brittle. I carry it in my pocket, my purse , my car. Last year there was a shortage here in the States and I stocked up. I was not going without my Splenda. The only thing I made that wasn't good was banana bread for hubby-it was kinda dry and if he wont eat it, he is either sick or it's yucky. I think the bananas were not ripe enough.

So finally get all the tape off the box and I cant believe the contents. Stamps-acrylic and wooden- and even some UM (who makes those so I can mark them?). Then ribbons-the coolest widest grosgrain ribbons in bright colors. Chipboard with glitter. Stickers and rub ons. Metal frames (these are so cool). Embossing plates and metal charms (Asian coins too) and a giant clothespin which will come in handy when I have to get vegges in the garden and the skunk has visited :).

Now the value of ttis box was over the top but it also cost her almost 13.00 to send it from Canada. Amazingly, Canadian post got it here in less time than me sending a letter one hour up the road. What does that tell you about the USPS?

Laying on top of this treasure trove was a card -of a chickie in the bathtub relaxing. I haven't had a bath is no long as I never take the time anymore. In and out of the shower as its way too cold up there most of the year.

Allison, you are crazy. The card would have been enough. I will have to hide some of this from my niece as she always wants to look and play when she is here. And whoever was supposed to get the prize and didn't check back-what is wrong with YOU? Sign up for the feeds or use Google Reader when you enter contest. You snooze-you lose.

Just Because

I hope everyone gets the chance to work with Alcohol inks. You will never get the same exact background no matter how you try. There are several brands out there but the most available is probably Tim Holtz Adirondack inks from Ranger . The first ones I ever purchased were from Jacquard called Pinata They were on clearance and I had no idea what to do with them either. But what a deal. Now I know.

This card is very simple once you have made your inky backgrounds and you can get carried away making them. Make sure you visit the above links for how-to-do's. And remember to use adequate ventilation when working with these inks-I felt a bit woozy when doing this.

I used a textured cream colored card that I layered my background inked piece on top of black. For the flower image I used Staz-On black and a Penny Black Botanical stamp. Using some Sulky Golden thread, wind a few layers around the image before sticking to the base card. Then add a sentiment if you want.

Birthday Wishes

Just a quickie again. I am so cold and need to find my heating pad. This is all done with Bazzill textured card stock and a couple of embroidered stickers. I roughed up the edges of each square with a razor thingie and pop dotted the top one. Then I just added the stickers. The base color is a deep chocolate brown and it oddly photographed almost as charcoal.

I hope it warms up tomorrow as my bones hurt and its not even Fall yet. If you have extra heat and sunshine, send it my way. Nite.

Alternative Names

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Willie Aveo

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Peanut Butter Peanut Butter

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) JSch

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Red Cat

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Louise Flint

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) SchJa

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The”) The Black Water

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Ralph Anthony

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Gardenia Reese's

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Anne Adam

Now I tag Courtney, Johanna, and Allison.

Novi Convention August 2007--A Review

A few years ago, many of you knew this stamp show as an Auntie Amy owned show. It was sold last year to Heirloom. When I attended my first stamp convention 3 years, I was overwhelmed! It was crammed in a substandard convention center with inadequate toilets and horrible ventilation. I also went to a scrapbook convention at this same place and said "never again". The less said about that particular venue, the better.

There were also issues with the attitude of the previous owner of the tour towards other stamp companies-some being banned from her shows (just as they were leaving for the convention and had already paid and been advertised as coming ) because she wanted exclusive rights to them using her convention only. My daughter and I decided to boycott her shows and only go to the shows where the outcasts were-this being the Stamp Scrap Art Tour/. This set of shows was started to help the outcasts at least have something to show for their summer-done on off weeks from Auntie Amy shows. We had a ball the first year we went and the tour was held in a nice hotel ballroom, was not too big that you couldn't do it in a day and survive and enjoy it-unlike the frenzy of the Auntie Amy shows.

We went back this year and were so disappointed. Unless things change, we won't do StampScrapArt next year at all. Half the vendors (which I suspect went to Heirloom once Amy sold) from last year were gone and many junk companies we never heard of and didn't buy from, were there . I always try to look at each vendor's booth and if possible buy a small item from each as I want them to make some money but this year at this tour, it was not gonna happen. I personally don't understand why SU and CTMH were there at all as they are accessible in so many places. JMHO.

So I get a flyer this year for Heirloom and it's at the new convention center owned by Rock Financial. As soon as I saw it had more than two toilets, I knew we were gonna have a better day. And they had attendants in the bathrooms! No begging for toidy paper to be passed stall to stall or unflushable commodes. I still think paying to park sucks-what a cash cow for any arena or center (have any of you been to the Palace lately? take out a loan to park for sure). I was hyped. Even got new shoes to keep my tootsies cozy.

I was concerned about the amount of time allocated us as we went on the second day of the show-we were only given 5 hours and on Saturday they had 8 if you prepaid. My daughter had been on both days to a previous year's show with a scrap friend and they thought the make and takes and demo's were easier to see with less people around. I was hoping I could participate in them and shop too. I don't do well in crowds and that is why we decided to wait (altho I kept hinting to hubby he could use the first day's pass and we could go together on Saturday to shop a bit too) Eyes rolling here on his part.

After hitting the toilets and perusing the room to see how big it was, we started up aisle one. Beeswax-whose stamps I have lusted over was first on my left and I got some incredible images. I got some brass templates at Polly's Pals but was disappointed in the lack of samples on display to eyeball, but we earmarked this place to come back to later for the make and take using Avec punches-we never got back tho. Next is one of the most incredible ladies-Margaret from Sparkle and Sprinkle -glitters and powders and nice people! I bought enough glitter to last until 2050! Just to shop the first aisle took us an hour and a half and we only gave a cursory look at a few-because the lines were long to purchase and we gave up on make and takes by the end of that time.

Some vendors were so pricey, we only could gape-at the beauty of the designs and the prices. S.A.R. had the most gorgeous displays and a mile long wait for the make and takes-we had to pass as we knew we could not afford it at all. The number one reason I wanted to go this year was Magenta had set up a booth-but I didn't buy anything and felt so disheartened about that. I am a big fan of theirs but their unmounted stamps were more than most mounted ones from other companies and my favorite images-the cat ones--like a witch cat on a broom--were no longer available and one artist had left them and started her own company. Most local stores don't carry Magenta because of the long waits from Quebec, the customs problems and the high ended prices.

We felt an urgency now that we were not going to be able to view each booth or vendor and skipped any that were local stores-they were not offering any special prices and we can visit them when we want. Any that we had a bad experience with in preview years were passed by too. And if the booth looked like a junk heap, we knew we didn't have time to paw thru their wares ( Gary Burlin is always a mess and even with some terrific deals, had to pass ). If we had purchased from them at the previous smaller show in May ( Marco's ) we also passed as it was the same specials listed on the flyer--but I so love this store, so glad they come each year. I don't even want to say how much I spent there in May (I did win 100.00 tour bucks, so that helped a lot and I was able to split with daughter!)

We ended up skipping a whole end row-which held Rubber Stamp Tapestry (one of my favorites but I didn't know they were down that way)-as time was quickly being eaten up by slow vendor response to those waiting to pay. I saw an image at Stampland Chicago that I had to have but could not find as the proprietor had to look it up in his catalog and give me a number to look for on envelopes in bins. I love ethnic portraits and this one is the only one I saw of a black man-but I nearly walked away. Picasso (yes, that is his name) spent more time chatting with passersby than waiting on us-even after finding the images, I still stood there with my stamps and cash as he chatted away! You want me bad enough to purchase, bud--- you better pay attention to my dollars!

I also was perplexed at how many vendors do not take credit cards. I know it can be expensive but at Costco (and Sam's Club for that matter) you can get a deal by the month, quarter or based on other factors for your machine and fees. They go out of their way to make it easier for vendors and small businesses to succeed, so at least 5 places I was only able to buy a few dollars worth of items-I had many more items in my hands and had to put some back as I only took $80 cash with me. I prefer using credit carts as I get points, get a statement when I can keep track of spending by category each year and it's safer than walking around with dollars falling out of my pockets.

There were several vendors from Canada which is wonderful to see. I have often visited their online sites and wanted to order but again, the customs problems and long waits made me hesitate. And now I run into a new problem. I pay with US dollars, the credit card has to convert into Canadian dollars and then charges me a 3% fee for the conversion of foreign money. So I try to pay cash for anything outside the US. And then we run into the problem of how expensive the stamps are in general. One company I loved the images of- Chapel Road. But one UM stamp image was 12.00 and very thin grey rubber. I will have to add cushioning to this. I bought two stamps here but almost passed it by. As an example of comparison, Stamp Oasis (no web site yet) had UM on EZ Mount cushion stamps as large and intricate for 5.50. I bought quite a few there and will go back. Chapel Road has probably seen the only dollars I will ever spend on them.

By closing time, we had only seen half the show. I think even had I gone the first day, I would not have seen it all. It was very disappointing to not do make and takes or see any of the demos. I live an hour and a half from the venue and with gas about 3.50 this summer, I knew I was only going one day. Now I have to think if I will go back next summer. A lot of the fun was taken out of the show by long waits, surly customers (who cant seem to not bump into others or get beyond being grabby), and messy vendor areas who's owners were inattentive.

On the other hand, I met several vendors who were terrific such as Wisconsin Stamp Supplies and Washi Accents and Gray Wolf Graphics (no website yet). I go to the shows to see what I can't see in stores locally and all three of these met that criteria. I will probably wait to see who the vendors are next year and decide then. I have never taken any classes at these shows as it would require a lot of commuting and possible an over nighter, and some of the classes are over hyped and overpriced. I have seen the products of several classes and was not impressed.

My grades are:

Vendor selection B
Building Venue A-
Time allotted D+
Congestion in the venue D
Overall C+

Winter Iris

This was originally done on a white card-plain and no texture. You can see what I kept on the edge of the sticker. I really took this one apart but even now, I feel something is not right and I think its the ribbon. I believe it needs something more dimensional or gauzy. But this is what I came up with and I have moved on.

As you can see, the main part of the card with the sticker is smaller than the background piece of dark blue. It's just a flat piece of blue and not folded. The smaller piece does open like a card to write inside. I edged the white card in blue, and folded it. Then I put a piece of blue plaid a little over half and wrapped a piece of blue flat ribbon halfway in between the two edges centered.

The sticker is layered with white textured card and the sticker itself is colored with different colors of glitter pens (not Stickles). You can see some of the glitz of this card but it looks much nicer in real time. It was getting dark when I took the photo. I pop dotted this toward the unfolded edge of the card front and then centered it on the blue flat. The card was still flat and I added back in the baby ruffle ribbon but that is what I really don't like about it, I think. If I could redo this again-I would try to bring out the greenish browns in the sticker-maybe with another layer of card. This card is just too blue for me. I love Penny Black stickers and I know there is more at the stamp store as Stacey sent an email saying the Christmas ones were there. Road trip!!

Torn and Tied

ETA-I fixed the photo to enlarge like it should for detail. There was a malfunction yesterday.

I got so involved with making a last minute birthday card for my hubby's co-worker that I forgot to post. I looked thru my queue to see what I had that was easy and found this.

Plain dark green card stock, folded and ink distressed is then layered with a torn piece of pattered paper after inking it a bit too. Cut a piece of medium red and razor the edge up a bit after inking. Before attaching this piece, wrap some gauzy ribbon around it and tie in a box or knot. I layered two pieces in contrasting colors. Cut the edges of the ribbon pretty and layer this piece.

Last thing to do is attach a metal word brad to a layer of the same red above and glue this to the front. Using up the scrap can be fun and fast. See ya tomorrow.

Snowflowers

My daughter informed me that it is scheduled to snow in the UP later this week. She is in Houghton on business and it is almost as far north in Michigan as you can get without being on an island or in deep and very cold Gitche Gumee. A nice place to visit but only crazy people like having 6 weeks of summer-at least in my book. Where did my summer heat go? It was 90F last week and barely 60F today. Brrrrr!!

Below you will find another of the Penny Black Sticker cards I made at Stacey's that I completely took apart. This was on a cream card with just the altered sticker. I peeled off the sticker and cut the sides closer as I didnt like the blue strip on it.

I dug thru my scrap pile and found this light blue textured card stock and folded it into an A2 size. Digging more, I saw this medium blue which matched the blue in the sticker and I tore the edge and distressed it a bit more. I tried for a match on the green in the sticker but no luck and then came across a hank of wired ribbon in beige and layered the sticker on it. I used a Trio tape runner and it looks pretty good. I think that tiny strip of gold thread maybe was the deciding factor in using it. I have no idea why I have wired ribbon as I hate it. NO MORE WIRE RIBBON (do I sound like Joan Crawford yelling like that?)

The flowers on the sticker are colored in using a clear glitter pen-if you click the photo it will show better. Then I used these cool little plastic dot thingies. I think they are from a company called Robin's Nest but can't find them online. They come in several colors and the cutest little bottles and I like the Halloween ones the best. I just popped those on using a tiny tipped glue pen. I do wish I had taken before photos of these cards I took apart but either way, I like my after ones best. There is even room at the bottom for a rub on word or a stamped phrase.

More altered PB cards coming soon-and I see Stacey is having another class, so maybe I will take it and redo those to-only its the day I have to go to Metro as hubby is off to Brazil that day. One thing for sure, with his visit to Rio, he will not be wearing a Speedo. I don't think they make them wide enough.

Allison Gets Her Way---For Now.

Allsion requested that I set up my feeds for full instead of short. I will do that for now. I do worry about anyone with dial up service having a problem. Even with DSL, some of the feeds I get take forever to download. Please let me know if you experiecne any problems so I can access the pros/cons of full verses short. There were other settings with this choice but I chose not to enter anything else until I figure out why or what they are for.

Now go visit Allison and see what cool stuff she has listed on her blog for your entertainment. I am actually having a game to watch tonight. GO SHOCK !!

united.

I am not rah rah patriotic. I don't like fireworks. Not much into parades. I prefer America the Beautiful over the Star Spangled Banner. I vote but know it really doesn't mean much when money is buying position and privilege. I am anti war and anti hate. Just the thought of the violence going on in the world makes me cry and sick to my stomach. I fly an earth flag-because we are all sharing this small ship in the universe and we need to figure it out before its too late that killing each other is NOT the answer.

Today many will sit and ponder and reflect on the occurrences of 9-11-2001. It will always be painful and I personally will never think the same about the world around me. Let's all unite in the thinking that kindness and good will outweigh the evils and fears of the world. Unite in working for a peaceful world for our children-of every country. Of every religion. Of every color. Of one earth. Amen.

Wired Spidey

This is the only Halloween card I have made so far-altho I have purchased a ton of new papers for fall. Maybe when I get my head out of my arm pit, I can make something but right now, I am just frazzled about some stuff and not in the mood I guess.

A basic black card was layered with two papers that didn't clash and a strip of plain black was cut to seam it. Before taping it down, I used a piece of orange printed twill and stapled it to the black piece then taped it to cover the seams of the two papers. I also ran a little grape distress ink around the edges.

Spidey boy was easy. Punch a scallop oval and cut 3 long pieces of black wire and tape to the back. Bend the wire to look leg like. Add some googly eyes, and then tape a long piece of wire straight up. This piece will be inserted under the black strip and spidey was backed with a pop dot for a little more depth. Less than ten minutes.

This would also be cute in other colors for gardening or kids fairy tales if you find the right paper. Just don't squish this guy-or it will rain for days.

Dreaming

Dreaming of a whole lot of other things.... but not snow. Or winter, or Christmas or anything cold. Well, a nice glass of Sangria filled with fruit would be nice.

This card is a basic blue folded piece of card stock . I then took a layer of white and distressed it in blue. Then using some large serendipity squares and layering some smaller inchies over them, I added neat metal pieces from Making Memories to the top of them and applied them to the white piece. I stamped on vellum a phrase and attached it with tiny silver brads (which of course had to be crooked even tho I measured nicely.)

I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow as I have a lot of cards to photograph and hopefully get on the blog this weekend. Then again, I may veg out watching ESPN.

Penny Black Blossom

Earlier today I got a feed from one of my favorite blogs and her post today reminded me of a sticker card I did a few months ago. I took a Penny Black Altered Sticker class at Stacey's . It was fun and I purchased other stickers that day to do more later.

But something bothered me about all the cards. They were all on white or cream colored backgrounds and that just isn't me. So I took them all apart. Unfortunately, I did not take a before photo of any of them.

The "before" of this card was on white and the only thing I kept was the sticker and the odd linen piece. I peeled off the sticker and stuck it to blue, then white then that greenish brown which to me brought out the colors in the background of the sticker. Then I used the linen piece, and gave that some depth with a leftover piece of the whitish card I cut off. I also inked and distressed the edge of it. The sticker layer is also pop dotted.

I then added the three brads top and bottom (and no matter how I try, I cannot line them up straight) and then layered that to the medium blue textured card-which again brought out many of the colors of the sticker. The winter blossom is "colored" with a clear glitter pen.

I just felt this card needed more than what we did in class and I hope Stacey isn't insulted by my re-imagining all her ideas. I do that with everything, so its just me being quirky. I also left off a phrase stamp for later, so its always available for the write occasion. And that little bow was an afterthought. But I had a small piece of ribbon making eyeballs at me, and it worked.

Stamping Top 50

I don't get this site at all. I thought it was supposed to keep track of unique visitors. In the past week I have had over 800 hits-which I know some get in one day. But the more hits I got, the farther down the list I go. I was at 183 and now it says 201.

I have it set up that it does not count my visits-because it would really screw things up. I make so many mistakes I have to correct and every new page load would screw up the count. So I don't count me.

Have you noticed a few non stamp sites are being listed too? Oh well, when I redo my blog (I am gonna upgrade my template so I can edit better) a lot of the odd junk is going anyways. That blinking banner was cool until I couldn't remove the advertising. I want to try and make one of my own someday.

Smile-Redux

Boy, do I feel dumb-I was just poking around my drafts in my blog and found I forgot to post the last card I made for RSF. Here it is....I am losing my mind!

I present for your consideration the last sample I have made for Rubber Stamping Fun. This is my favorite and was actually the first one I made in the series of 8 cards. I left this one for last because you will need a die cut of a fruit slice and maybe that isn't in your stash. You could also cut these by hand-not at all hard to do.

I did a regular folded card-A2 size-and lopped off the width of a watermelon slice on the bottom. Make your die cuts and trim off the edge of the red so the rind will show.. Using a fine point black pen, draw in your seeds randomly. You could leave it without but the extra just seems to set the stage for looking authentic this way.

Cut two different mats to agree with whatever paper you decide to use, making them a tad smaller each time for layering. Ink and distress the edges if you want. Putt the eyelets thru the top layers only-so the inside of the card is neater. Mine only go thru the top two-so the printed and green one. Tie some thin jute thru in a knot. Make a tag and use the same two colors you used for mats and stamp your word on the top one.. Add an eyelet near the top and run both ends of the jute thru and then tie your knot. Layer it together and done. A wonderful end of summer card.

Rubber Stampin Fun Review

I have finished posting the 8 examples I did for Rubber Stamping Fun company. I hope you will go visit the particular postings if you haven't already. I also have a photo below of all the cards on a table. All posts are available in my archive from late August to early September.

Here is the entire set of 6 stamps. I don't know what the set is called yet. When they arrived in July, they were in a sammy bag. The wood that is used is very good and the stamps are indexed.

Here is a photo of the backs of the stamps. I was not really happy with how the stamps were cut out. A couple of them left marks when stamped and as you can see, some of the images are too big for the wood block they are on. They overhang a bit. So the rubber needs to be matched better to the block size.

Here is a close up of the one that was the worst. I can only hope the rest of the wood mounted stamps will be better than this. I realise this was a freebie and am factoring that in for now. There was very good cushion, however. Of course, if they offer an UM option , you can do whatever you want with them and that is okay-I had no problem with the rubber itself. I think they have some fun images and reasonable prices.

I have not heard back from the vendor and there are some serious rumours floating around that something bad has happened to them. I know of several other design teamers who have not heard from them at all. I also signed up for their newsletter and have not received anything either.

ETA--I just visited the site as I was getting ready to post this and see that the site is updated and this set has a name! Click here to go directly to the new sets update. This particular set is called Whimsy Words and retails for 18.81. Shipping is free for the entire site.

Edited again 9/23-apparently this set is no longer on the site. I have no clue what is going on with the company and have not heard a peep from them. I kinda wanted to order a few sets but right now, just don't know what to think about them. My grades still stand as listed below.

Grade of stamp images B

Grade of mounting C-

Grade of Communication F

A Weird Funny and a Pissy Pissy

Both my winners in my blog question contest are from Florida and are only about an hour from each other. I should send the envies to a place in between them and let them duke it out?

Hubby just emailed me he is coming home early from Korea-like maybe Saturday. Cause all the people he was going to see there are going to Europe instead. I give up-I can't seem to have any time to do what I need to do just for me. I need to go cry for a while. So no card tonight.

Noah--Who Has The Pooper Scooper?

This was such an interesting contest. Probably the best choice might have been something not alive in the traditional sense such as Robot from Lost In Space. I wonder what A.I. will hold for the future as it seems humans get "Tupider" every day-and that ISN'T a typo. It's a step below stupider.

My selection would be to have duo rulers-a giraffe and a rat. The giraffe would be the observer and decider and the rat would do the spy underground work (AKA the Rat CIA). He is too smart himself to have him working against you, so you better use him wisely.

I have chosen two winners by random and they are----

1. Ginni C. who chose an owl
2. Carolyn who chose a horse

Please look under my profile and there is a place to email me with your addresses so I can get your paper goodies (and whatever else I find to throw in the envy) out to you later this week.

Thank you everyone for participating and I will have another fun question later in the month.

They Entered the Ark 6 x 6-Freebie Fun.

ETA-This post will stay at the top until Monday night. Make sure you check the post listed under it for anything new added after this!


Guess what?? I am getting rid of my hubby for a month!!! Can we all say YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So along with the snore free evenings and the sofa slug being elsewhere, I will still be organizing and deleting items from my stash. So to help it along, I am making up two Non-Pareils of 6 x 6 paper (and maybe some other sizes too) and some nicely stamped images from Rubber Stamping Fun on white card stock that you can cut and make into your own fun cards and tags and perhaps even small scrap pages.

So I have to come up a fun question. Being the animal lover I am, I am enamoured of the story of Noah and his Ark and living peacefully with all the fauna of the earth for days upon stormy days. I am gonna do a switcheroo here as I am casting a new movie about Noah. But Noah isn't human-he is an earth creature with more common sense. So tell me what animal you would chose to be Noah and why. I will choose a number by random on Labour Day night at about 11PM. Feel free to pass around but keep the rain away for a while. I have seen enough this week.

Smile!

I loved this piece of printed card stock the minute I saw it-and grabbed it up lickity split. It was the last sheet on the rack. My thoughts were to glitter it up with spring colors but I changed my mind. I cut off a hunk for this card instead. I also found a two sided card stock with light and dark pink and used that for a layer behind it but on top of a medium olive textured folded card.

I roughed up the edged of all the pieces and added large pink brads to the corners of the printed card stock and snipped off the brad backs before layering. I wanted to bring out the little bit of yellow on the card so looped this ribbon piece and tied it in a small bow. Popping a Prima with a tiny chrystal on the top gave it a little more character. I then used a few peices of the pink again and made criss cross layers. The image was stamped on a blue remnant that matched another color in the flowery piece. Again it was really simple and the stamp is from Rubber Stamping Fun but it is not on the website yet as far as I can tell.

Go look and poke around a bit. I have one more card for tomorrow for you to see from this 6 piece set (I did use a few of them more than once) and hope you have enjoyed them. The final one tomorrow was saved for last because it was my fav. I will also post a photo of the set itself then.

LOL

I am too frigging tired to post much of anything. Just got back from a crappy Gin Blossoms concert and smelling stale beer and cigarette smoke. Among other things. So you are on your own for figuring out this design from Rubber Stamping Fun. But it's not hard to do. I can't even remember who made this monkey guy-so if you know, let me know.

I only have a few more to post for this company and hope you will check them out if you get the urge. Don't monkey around-and happy stamping.

Pull-Ez

Imagine 3 cats-with access to this.


Pull-Ez

Free Shoes!!

Check out this site and leave a comment! Free Shoes-honest! 2 Chances!

Tales From the Scale

I Should Be Folding Laundry

Good Luck

Here we are with another quickie design card using Rubber Stamping Fun phrases. I should go check my lottery numbers first, ya think?

I used shimmer paper that was so expensive -I do believe it should be mandatory the prices are on this specialty paper before they ring you up and you are so attached to it. This company is Reminisce and they have really cool papers-but I have to hold onto my wallet with them on the displays.

A basic white card with a layer of the green shimmer stripes.I then cut a piece of the large dotted paper to go across the bottom leaving a small bit of the stripes showing. Using the Trio tape runner, I applied some green loopy stuff (so appropriate since I am loopy on Benedryl tonight). I then cut a large shamrock/clover from plain green card stock and tied a bitty gold twine on the stem. Stamping out the phrase "Good Luck" and backing it with a bit of green card stock, I layered them in the corner after ink and blade distressing the edges. 10 minutes max.

I am going to Arts, Beats and Eats in Pontiac tomorrow and hopefully will find fried pickles again. Yum. Last year I got to meet my future daughter in law here-and we also went to the Ren Fest. Everything is always the same two weekends in Michigan-Memorial Day and Labor Day. This year is also the Jazz Festival in Detroit, the Grand Prix, and the Michigan State Fair. I am dizzy thinking about it and my credit card is already warming up. See you all when the trash flies.

ETA-Winning Mega Millions Ticket Sold in Maryland,New Jesey,Texas and Virginia-----boo hoo.Ya gotta share it this time.

Winning numbers 8,18,22,40,44 Mega Ball = 11

Using my old numbers from the 80's, I would have had four because I always played the Piston jersey numbers of the starters and the first guy off the bench. I retired those numbers when the last player retired.