A Roof Of One's Own

LSNED days 3 and 4

2011-09-04T22:59:00.000-04:00

Day three was 'the write stuff' and day four is 'get organized'. I've spent a lot of time writing and trying to be more organized and productive. It's taking my mind off of a bit of things, but I still can't help thinking about it.
It still hurts.

Lsned day 2

2011-09-03T00:13:00.001-04:00

It's okay to judge (sometimes)...especially in the case of paranormal Amish Vampire romances..best quote from book is 'he couldn't get enough of her, of her apple turnover scent.'
Groan

LSNED 1

2011-09-02T01:13:00.002-04:00

First day, going to a 6x6 size in 8x8 album. Lots of reflection this year, methinks.
Using the 6x6 Cosmo Cricket Sea Air tablet.

Day one lesson: Starbucks is a salvation. Spent about 5 or 6 hours there today, reading up on writing. I finished a book and then read a second one about the writing life. Journalled a bit. Wrote down some quotes. Took a picture of myself in the bathroom with my Retro Phone app from my phone. I like it, will have to get a better picture of it, soon. Printe out the photo with our HP multi-print machine. Used a Signo uniball pen (there's a bit of a flaw--it's not fluid to a certain extent). Wrote about my day.

This is my cover--I REALLY like it. Thickers are called Honey. Used an amy tangerine/AC sticker on both pages today.

Went to someplace called the Scrapbook Oasis today, they were totally nice and I was having a great time with the owner (?) I think. Picked up some stuff (haul posted, but can't find it right now). They were uber nice, especially about ordering me a few albums--have had a really hard time finding those AC modern albums locally. Didn't want to wait to get $50 in my bucket at a certain website that usually helps me get free shipping in a pinch, so yeah.
Have all intents and purposes to finish the album this year. Even a little excited about it, but I wonder, how much strength am I going to be called to have?

Back, sorta

2011-08-01T20:36:00.001-04:00

Have this nifty application on my phone that should allow
Me to post more, and now all I have to do is create!
Today is exceptionally hot. Even here at the beach. So I am battling the heat with some cool things, like this sushi!

Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers

2011-04-19T18:37:00.001-04:00

A few years ago, I signed up for a very unique class, Blogging for Scrapbookers. I fell in love with blogging and decided it was a natural extension of what I liked doing and thought it a great way to stay in touch with some really creative people.

As a result, I followed a LOT of people. Now, I still read a lot of blogs (thanks to Google reader), but I haven't much felt like posting. Because Shimelle decided to do another round of Blogging for Scrapbookers as a precursor to her new class, Beyond Blogging for Scrapbookers, I figured now is as good of a time as any to do so.

I'm going to post a few times a week, really hold myself accountable to post here. I started a book blog, and have been loving the review opportunities, but I've been also doing a few crafty things lately, and that revisit of things I used to love doing prompted me to

For example, I went on a hunt for the last two weeks trying to find a replacement blade for my paper trimmer (I left my big rock and crop at my old house, about 3000 miles away). Who knew it was so hard to find a blade for this bad gal?

I looked at a few local shops, Target, Walmart…pretty much everywhere I thought of going (even office supply stores), to no avail. The JoAnn fabrics near the house didn't have it, the woman working the section said the replacement blade I was looking for wasn't sold separately and didn't exist. And then her face fell when I showed her the barcode tag for the item (after looking behind a sale sign). I was just trying to see if they had them. She told me they didn't stock anything in the back, and she didn't believe that the product existed. I thanked her for her time and said I would go somewhere the product did exist.

I just sort of figured I had to look around, but decided not to actively look, that way they would pop up.. And they did! We went to the Peach Café on Monday, we had a coupon for buy one get one from the entertainment book, so I got the HBAB (a yummy open faced French Ham with brie on top of it and a green salad with blue cheese vinaigrette. They were not kidding about the vinaigrette part—it was tart, but there was yummy passion iced tea (Website: http://www.thepeachcafe.com/LunchMenu2.html). Then we went to walk to the theatre, eventually found the blades at a cute little store near the theatre(http://www.pagesfromtheheart.blogspot.com/). We realized we had time to go to the coffee shop (we had no idea what we were going to see, I said I didn't really want to see source code, but I would if we had to) and I got a humongous BLUE Raspberry Hawaiian Ice. It was GINORMOUS! Then, back to the theatre in the drizzly day.

Saw 'The Source Code' and I will admit it was actually pretty good. The pacing and theming of the film was great. While I figured out a few of the bigger plot details quickly, it still didn't deter me from being interested. So totally worth seeing! Then I drove home, went to sleep for a bit and woke up only to realize that I wanted to reorganize my paper—I found a ton of it and proceeded to alphabetize half of it. It was nice to be able to do that, and earmark paper for the Disney project as well as figure out what I want to use to document my travel to So Cal. I lost a lot of cardstock in the move, and I'm nowhere NEAR refilling it, I'm missing quite a bit and while I did pick up a few generic packs, I have to work on seeing how those work.

I have a few more of the 6x6 or 8x8 packs that I've picked up—really love those packs, but I sorta hate tearing them up—anyone else like that?

Going to start working on the BBFS class this week. Think I'll also post a copic lessons learned post. And an iCopic review in the near future.

Oh, wow! It sounds like a PLAN!!! :gasp:

Maybe I'll start posting some photos too…Hmmmm.

New Challenge Blog to be excited about!

2011-03-29T15:05:00.002-04:00

There’s a new challenge blog in town with articles, swaps, interviews, videos, challenges, great prizes and MORE! Check out Lily Pad Cards!

I'm back!!!

2011-03-22T14:04:00.000-04:00

Hey there! I'm back, and trying to get back a lot more, I promise.
I've been doing a book blogging thing, and I've not done a lot of crafting...Which I've been wanting to rectify. I have tons of pictures on my computer, I guess the next step is to digi or physically scrap!
Shimelle's having Blogging for Scrapbookers again, and I'm REALLY excited about it!
I took a copic class, and I've been buying some supplies, but I just need to sit down and do it... So look for that in the next couple of weeks.
I've been reading blogs since I've not been creating and kept ideas and everything that I've really been into, I just haven't been hit with inspiration.
Take care all!

5 Question Friday

2010-06-18T09:17:00.002-04:00

Questions for Friday, June 18th (click on the icon above to be taken to OP):
1. What is your favorite thing about summertime? Reading! I love to read and have a lot of time to write in the summer.

2. What is your ideal retirement location (if money didn't matter)? Dunno, but a lot of my friends and family would be there.

3. Do you live in the same town you grew up in? No, I lived in California for 6 or 7 years, then moved to Ohio. I lived in the small town my mom was born in until I graduated from college and have been moving every couple of years since (in North Eastern Ohio). I am moving back to California for a year at the end of this month.

4. What nervous habit did you have as a child that you kicked to the curb before becoming an adult? I still bite my nails and I still worry. I'm less apt to make myself sick a LOT, but I still sort of do. Eeep! Working on the nail thing.

5. What is the most embarrassing thing that happened to you while on the job? Um, maybe when they took pictures of me in my Batgirl costume?

New Class News

2010-06-14T11:04:00.000-04:00

Jessica Spragueis doing another free class--this one is a week long class with printables that will help you use your computer to make some great cards! Registration started today and the class begins in two weeks--hope to see you there!

3 Things

2010-06-14T10:23:00.000-04:00

This was taken from Rhona at Life in General. Check out her site, it's pretty cool!
.
Three names I go by:
Nicole
Cole
Nicole K
.
Three places I've lived:
Huntington Beach, CA
Kent, OH
Suburb of Akron, OH
.
Three places I've worked:
TV/Radio Station
Wholesale Giftware Company
Waldenbooks
.
Three things I love to watch:
Mad Men
People
Movies!
.
Three places I have been:
Switzerland
France
The Grand Canyon
.
Three things I love to eat:
Sour Pickles
Olives
Chocolate
.
Three things I'm looking forward to this summer:
Reading
Writing the great American Novel
My Cross Country Road Trip

Five Question Friday

2010-06-11T20:35:00.000-04:00

Five Crooked Halos is a blog I've recently been clued to, and she's got a really cool thing called five question friday. I've decided to toss my answers into the ring. Won't you?

1. What do you think makes a good friend, or friendship?

Honesty, trust and communication. These are traits that friends will have. These are things that I bring to the table, and that I hope others do as well. I'm not budging on this. I also like people I'm friends with to share interests with me, but also have others that I can learn about. It's important to me to learn about new things.

2. What is the last thing you bought & later regretted?

It was a book that I could get on the Nook... cheaper.

3. Have you ever had a prank played on you?

Yes, I'm sure I have. Nothing springs to mind at the moment, though.

4. What is your favorite theme park?

Disney or Universal. They both are cool for different reasons.

5. Have you ever seen someone else give birth?

I was present for my birth, but have no recollection of my mother havinf me oddly enough, LOL. I think I have seen something in a documentary or those health films they show in school, so sure, I guess I have seen someone else give birth, just not really in person.

Things in Progress Thursday

2010-06-10T11:38:00.000-04:00

Thursdays are all going to be about what I'm doing. I've decided. Or, at least, I've decided this week.
Some major projects include:

Destashing
Father's day presents
Birthday presents for a few friends
Spring cleaning
Reading Mt TBR and paring down my book collection further.
Working on submissions for a really cool dt

Can you keep a secret? I did this and it 'might' be related to one of the above list... ;p

Watch It Wednesday

2010-06-09T10:28:00.000-04:00

Hopefully this is something that might prove to be a little more interesting as a feature...
I'm a big Netflix kinda girl. I don't watch a lot of tv (well, I'll catch things on occasion, but not really in front of the tv with the satellite dish much). What I do watch is Netflix.
I have the 3 at a time unlimited plan which is under $20 month. It's great, really great. I have no complaints.
So here's what I've been watching on Netflix as of late.

The Sarah Jane Adventures Season 1
This is an offshoot of Doctor Who, made for the younger audience. However, as I've finished all of the Doctor Who episodes (except for the current new season with the new doctor, because I'm not fond) and Torchwood series, this was next on the list. And I really like it. It's formulaic, but I love that it's getting the younger generation into 'Who'... And it even has Sarah Jane, who was a companion in the 70s, I think.

How I met your Mother Season 1
I've heard of this show. People kept telling me it was good, and I had an idea of what I thought the show was about, but it's been surprising. I'm amused and touched at the same time, it's a great show, and the writing is fresh and funny and it's got Jason Segel in it, who I totally adore anyway. LOL. Whoops, did I really type that? Yup, guess I did. To borrow from NPH's character, Barney, 'Suit Up!' (BTW, funny enough I used to believe in the power of the suit. Like, in college, I had tons of cut out pictures of men's suits, ranked according to acceptability. LOL)

The Big Bang Theory Season 1

This is just funny. Really funny. I love the nerdy jokes, I love the characters... Season 1 really surprised me, as I thought I wasn't going to like it as much. Onto season 2 at some point, I guess. Eeek, it's a never ending cycle!

Undeclared

I've been wanting to watch this for a long time. It was aired in 2001, and as much as I wanted to marry "Freaks and Geeks," I'd been reticent about trying this one, just in case it wasn't as good. But I don't know why I was worried, because it's AWESOME. Set in a college campus, it features some actors you may have seen before (like Jason Segel), including 2 dudes from Knocked up (which I haven't seen), the girl from Sleeping Beauty a Tale of Terror, that girl from Carnivale and that guy who's on Sons of Anarchy. Wow! They're all young, too.

Saturday Night Live Season 2

Yes, it's 1976. John Prine is playing, Steve Martin is hosting... Dick Cavett filled in for Elliot Gould. By all means I shouldn't know who all of these people are, but I do. I'm guessing it's because as a child I was treated like an adult. I used to be a HUGE fan of SNL. I've read some of the books, and even have the SNL Scene It game (which, BTW, is really for the huge fans of the show--I get schooled whenever I play). I wanted to make an effort to see every episode, but I'm thinking I may have to rethink that--as there are not enough hours in my life to get through all 30 plus seasons. I like the show, though, and I love seeing the evolution of the show.

Murder, She Wrote (various)

Yup, I'm a huge fan of the show, and even the books. I decided to start watching these (my Grandmama wants to actually buy the shows, but I'm thinking I can show her this and she'll be amused). I'm in season 6, and I've been watching them steadily before bed for a little over a month (thanks to the Wii and Netflix watch instantly). I love Universal Studios Hollywood, and I think it's fun to pick out where the different scenes have been shot, especially when you can see the Jaws lake in the background.

So that's Watch it Wednesday, what have you been watching? Any particular tv shows???? What's on your wishlist? Any ideas as to what other shows to check out?

All About Me

2010-05-22T01:15:00.003-04:00

Yep, I actually did a scrappy project, which was pretty cool.

Mel came up with a bloghop about BPS's class, All about Me with Stacey Julian.
You probably came to me from Journal of Curious Things.

My camera cord is MIA, so I had to make a video. Sorry about the quality, but it's quick and quick was more important to me at this point.

Your next stop is Havoc and Mayhem. Enjoy!

ABC Toys and Crafts Giveaway

2010-05-15T22:07:00.002-04:00

ABC Toys and Crafts is giving away some awesome blog candy.
I've never tried the Martha Stewart punches, but I am excited to try these... Cross my fingers and hope I win.

Head on over to ABC Toys and Crafts and check it out! Sign up! Good luck!

Another Shimelle Challenge!

2010-04-18T16:35:00.006-04:00

Shimelle has done the impossible:: get me to work on projects (which is really good practice for this coming week). Here's what I came up with for the 'Use 2 4x6 photo' challenge:

It's 2 pictures...me with both of my brothers on Easter. kraft cardstock. Reminisce pp, Cosmo Cricket Stickers (chipboard!) and a ribbon flower....

Yeah, I had fun!

Happiness Is:

2010-04-18T16:35:00.002-04:00

Inspired by Shimelle, and also thanks to her layout, I've done a digital page with a Very Cherry kit I got from TwoPeas. It was the first time I've used a layered page to do this with, and I really liked the way it turned out.

Adding something else to the 'to do' list

2010-04-16T11:36:00.002-04:00

I sort of zoned out throughout all of Shimelle's "something from nothing" class, so I'm going to give something else a try. So next week it'll be Ali Edwards' Week in the Life.
More details to follow.

Blog Candy Giveaway!

2010-04-16T11:05:00.001-04:00

Wow! ABC Toys and Crafts is giving away a set of Copics. And you could WIN!
Copics are great markers, and I would LOVE to add to my collection.
Check out the details in my link above. Good luck and Happy Friday!

Five on Friday

2010-04-09T11:17:00.001-04:00

Inspired by Lisa Dickinson, here's my five on Friday:

1. I am neither Long nor Lean, but this is the name of the Jeans I can wear at The Gap! Wow oh Wow! It feels good to be able to go into a store and not be embarrassed by the size you wear. And I love the fact that they don't cut anywhere, nor do are they inappropriately short or long. These things are lovely, and I'm just almost to the next smaller size--I think I've found a keeper, folks!

2. I have no idea where Debby is that she took this picture, but there are a lot of other ones just as nice. Very beautiful, and even a plantation house--cue Miss Scarlet's voice please.

3. I speak Melsh is reading a really cool looking copy of 'The Princess Bride' which I still have to finish. Do you know how many times I've watched that movie recently? No, you better not answer.

4. Woefully behind and slacking in the ML department for this. Have an idea, but I want to write other stuff. Eeek!

5. Okay, she's probably one of the main reasons I'm behind, other than the writer's block. Because I pretend to be her online. Yup, I'm a gamer (Geek confession #35)... I play Star Trek Online.

That's all I got, so that's what I'm running with!

Time Out!

2010-04-09T10:52:00.004-04:00

Ladies
Originally uploaded by Gothamgal1998

3 Generations...
Grandma, Mom and I.
Normally, I'd be between them, but Easter sunday was a great day. A really great family day.
We had fun. We laughed. We were all crazy and funny and blessed to have that day.

I picked this photo up in an 8x10 and I'm going to frame it. It's a keeper. One photo that needs to be remembered, one day that needs to be remembered.

Thanks to Jessica at the Mom Creative: Today on Walgreens.com you can get a free 8x10 print with the code BIG8X10. I ordered mine first thing this morning. It is valued at $2.99.

If you don't have a need for an 8x10 photo, you could always get it to frame for a loved one!

Flickr

2010-04-09T10:52:00.001-04:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Blog Candy Alert:: In My Minds Eye Blog

2010-04-06T16:49:00.003-04:00

Kadie is having some fantastic candy over at her blog. The post is here. It looks to be a bunch of awesome Cosmo Cricket things--including the Boyfriend!!!! I HEART the Boyfriend line.
There are even buttons...Have never tried their buttons!
Go. Post. Now.

And good luck!

Pen-Tastic, thanks to JetPens.com.

2010-03-29T11:53:00.005-04:00

I have a confession to make... I love writing utensils. I love gel pens. I can remember playing around with them in high school, especially. My journals are filled with different colors of ink, and lots of really great quotes. You can see my writing, and the whole thing transports me back to that time. It's great.
Here's what I am currently eagerly anticipating:
1 x Uni-ball Signo Broad UM-153 Gel Pen - White Ink--I'm always looking for a good white gel pen, I think Kelley Goree mentioned this one.

1 x Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen - Medium 05 Nib - Pink Ink--I have always loved fountain pens, and this one looks fun! Made sure to get some refills.
1 x Platinum Preppy Marker & Fountain Pen Refill Cartridge - Pink Ink - Set of 2
1 x Platinum Preppy Marker & Fountain Pen Refill Cartridge - Blue Ink - Set of 2
1 x Platinum Preppy Marker & Fountain Pen Refill Cartridge - Purple Ink - Set of 2

1 x Pilot Choose Gel Ink Pen - 0.5 mm - Blue--I liked the Purple one of these I got at Christmas, want to try others out.
1 x Pilot Choose Gel Ink Pen - 0.7 mm - Black

1 x Uni-ball Jetstream Color Ink Series Ballpoint Pen - 0.5 mm - Pink Ink--New at Jetpens.com. Wanted to try out a few colors.
1 x Uni-ball Jetstream Color Ink Series Ballpoint Pen - 0.5 mm - Blue Black Ink
1 x Uni-ball Jetstream Color Ink Series Ballpoint Pen - 0.5 mm - Light Blue Ink

1 x Pentel Slicci Metallic Gel Ink Pen - 0.8 mm - Silver--Love Silver ink, and checking my old journals really made me remember this!

2 x Pilot Envelope Address Writing Gel Ink Pen - Broad--Decided this would be great for letter writing, picked up one for a friend, too!

I'm currently using a lot fo the Pilot G2 (in blue) .7. I keep going back to this pen because it's easy to find and great to use. My 'go-to' pen. And, according to Pilot, acid-free and archival-safe. All of Pilot's gel pens are formulated this way. Yay!

Will update when I get the order!

New Class

2010-03-08T10:31:00.004-05:00

Yes, I know, I'm terribly behind in so many things, it's almost been a month since my last post--eek!

Well, I decided to wait to post until I had something crafty to share, and boy, do I EVER have something crafty to share! I'm taking another class from Shimelle (yes, the other three are still in progress, LOL)--this one is called Something from (Almost) Nothing.

Starting on Wednesday, 10 March, it features three weeks of class prompts--and we'll even be able to create an album called 'Celebrate Life' which I think I'll use one of my still-in-the-package AC Modern 6x6 albums. I don't scrap a lot in that size, but there's something about AC Modern Albums that draws me--plus, it's small enough to be able to be carried around. Yay!

I'll get three emails a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) from Shimelle, and, since it's one of her classes, there are TONS of things she includes:

Something from Almost Nothing includes:

…more than 60 pages of full-colour class materials, including work from guest artists & illustrated steps for more complex techniques

…3 video tutorials

…a live chat session

…printable accents for album project (purchased separately, these come to $9.90)

…bonus journaling and photography prompts for your Celebrate Life album.

Like all online scrapbooking classes at shimelle.com, this class includes

…permanent access to all class materials

…private forum for discussion and sharing your work

…prompts delivered straight to your inbox.

All of this for only $15! And it's granting permanent access to the materials AND printable accents. All, in all, it's a win. Even if you haven't taken a class, or aren't sure that it's for you, I highly recommend this class--it's all about working with what you have. Repurposing. It's a great incentive to use your stash because you can make an album, you'll have something tangible at the end. Each email will include a sketch, technique and pointers in photography and journalling.

I'm hoping this is just the thing to get me back into creating, which I sorely need to do. And I also need to get better organized. And, I also need to use up some of the supplies I couldn't live without--it's all well and good that I have them, but what's the purpose if they're just sitting on a shelf?

So, without further ado, I'm going to share photos of my stash and work area. Don't judge.

This is in the spare room, which is almost overflowing with books and such. Remember, I moved in November. There's my big clip it up and my stack of 8 and 1/2 by 11 paper. I heart kraft cardstock. My table is also in here, but I'm not going there.

My craft closet. It's in sore need of more cleaning.

This is me!

Only the Best of Etsy Sample Packages GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2010-02-11T09:01:00.000-05:00

Only the Best of Etsy Sample Packages GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Check it out and you could win!

New blog to check out/In Which our brave heroine pleas for help!

2010-02-03T15:04:00.004-05:00

Hey there,

Apart from the crappy day I've had, with the sore hip and having to buy 4 new tires because a sidewall sort of exploded on the freeway, and getting crap at work about showing up for a half day of work...I'm sort of okay.

I'm exhausted, and have been sleeping a lot lately, despite massive amounts of work that needs to be done.
And, while on 2Peas, I found a lovely link to a contest on a website that is really cool!

The website is secondsister suaviloquy and you can be entered to win a free CUSTOM blog template via a company called ebsi. Yes, go to secondsister suaviloquy and put in for a chance to win. Or don't put in for the chance to win and just say 'GothamGal' needs a new custom blog template because she's had a rough day/week/month.

Or not.

I don't care.

I just want to curl into a ball and sleep. And hopefully not be in too much pain with my hip.

Although, the good news is that with the new tires, my car doesn't automatically jump into the right lane if my hands are off the wheel. Good stuff, those expensive as all get out tires are.

The best of times, the worst of times, the busy times...

2010-02-02T12:01:00.002-05:00

Once Upon a time, there was a girl who loved to take pictures. And she grew up still taking pictures. Now, she liked being in pictures when she was younger, but lacked the sort of confidence she thought she needed to really shine in photos the older she got--and she kind of fell out of the habit of taking pictures.
Years passed.

Well, then the girl, now a full fledged adult, started to realize the memories she wanted to have and the importance of said memories. She was gifted in 2005 or 6 with one of these:

What could you say, it was a great gift. She took thousands upon thousands of photos with the magical moment-capturing device, but it had it's flaws. Mainly, battery (of the eating persuasion) and lens issues. And the fact that taking out the memory card to do an image dump would erase said memory card. And when connected to the computer containing all things wonderful, the magical moment-capturing device would get hot and unresponsive.

The girl lost a whole Disney trip. The girl took the magical moment-capturing device and was unable to use it on the 2008-2009 trip where she saw a scale replica of the Nina. The girl got used to carrying entire packs of batteries (as the rechargeables stopped working--even those that were borrowed from other people and tested to make certain they had charge) in her pockets at all times whenever she had an urge to take photos.

And don't mention that the magical moment-capturing device would only allow for video to be shot in 30 second increments.

So the girl went on a trip to the far northern land of Cleveland and, just as she was planning to visit a place of wonder and mystery called Melt, Bar and Grilled as well as the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, she realized she forgot batteries and did not wish to pay the arm and a leg in the museum shop (which was out of them, coincidentally) required to buy batteries.
Fortune smiled upon the girl (but not at the Old Navy clearance section where she searched far and wide for a perfect pair of jeans) in the form of this:

Could it be? Yes! It's another magical moment-capturing device--but this one is infinitely brighter, shinier and pink! And it was on sale at the gracious land of Best Buy! With an 8 gig memory card and case... And a 2 year replacement plan! Fortune smiled upon the girl indeed. The battery is a lithium ion. The interface is almost exactly like the girl's older magical moment-capturing device, however this magical moment-capturing device allows its user to take as much video as will fit on the memory card. Of course, the device will not connect to said girl's computer, but that will happen soon.

And they all lived happily ever after.

THE END

My One Word, 2010

2010-02-02T11:54:00.000-05:00

Posts forthcoming, issues and things... Will discuss later

Windows Live Writer, I love you...Well, not so much.

2010-01-11T09:15:00.003-05:00

I wrote this post in Windows Live Writer a total of 4 times. All went well until I tried to add photos. CRASH.

That happened twice. Then it was onto a different problem:: When I tried to tag anything, it froze. And it froze. So then I stopped, so I apologize in advance for the issues and the rather rushed nature of this post.

I've been really impressed with the entries thus far into the minibook challenge. And I'm happy to say that we're extending the deadline to the end of the month to give everyone a little more time to sign up and create. Yay! And I'm also delighted to let you know about a new site for If It's Groovy...

You can now go to the If It's Groovy Ning group, sign up and partake in as many or as few challenges as you want. The Ning group is really easy to navigate, it's free AND you can let your creative personality shine through--yes, it's customizable. It's fantastic and very easy to navigate around. And, once you get on there, either let me know in the comments of this post, or shoot me a PM there. I will love to interact with you.

Okay, so Thursday I got stuck on the freeway in all of the snow. CRAZINESS! And Friday, I was exhausted and not feeling well, so I stayed home (I'd gotten in after midnight on Wednesday, went to work thursday and was just not feeling it). Then I did some things this weekend:

Saw 'The Fantastic Mr. Fox' (LOVED IT!) and 'Where the Wild Things Are' (Great, but not necessarily kid-friendly) with a great friend at the discount theatre. Red Robin for dinner and a visit to Borders (where I actually read 'Where the Wild Things Are' for the very first time!
Went out dancing with the girls. Only stayed under 2 hours, but it was awesome to see my friends.
Went to a Stitch n' Brunch Sunday at Panera. Started a capelet. Met amazing people. Definitely going back.

And, I spent too much money this weekend, but I got some really awesome things... So it's back to the budget, but I feel like I did okay.

Kraftin Kimmie's Moonlight Whispers stamps (the Steampunk ones: Lavinia and Chester).
A Printer. A wifi Printer, so I can print out my Ildi Co. Digi Stamps stamps (project for this week might be a two-fer, FYI). I love it, and got it for under $100. It feels so amazing to have a printer again, very cool to be able to print and copy and scan and even use a memory card to print! :-)
It got great reviews, but people were pretty much saying the drawbacks were the lack of a creative suite (not concerned, I have photoshop and other things) and the expense of ink. Personally, I had a Lexmark all in one before this, and their inks were too expensive for my taste compared to the inks for this Epson. I love that it has 4 separate ink compartments--one for black and then the three colors in print ink formulation (magenta, cyan and yellow). And I really didn't like the scanning of the Lexmark. And, the connectivity to my computer was dodgy. That's sort of why I like the idea of wifi printing. I can set it up on the secretariat downstairs, plug it in and just print when need be. Or, I can set it up in the spare room/workshop.
Went to Archiver's intending to get a score-pal. Could not reconcile the purchase, oddly enough. So I bought something else entirely. Something I could definitely use, but wasn't sure it would be a good buy.

I have a Clip it Up! Got the base, upper tier, extra clips AND 4 pairs of different sized bags for under $90 at Archiver's. Yay! Let me just tell you now, the thing is HUGE. It is larger than the dog (Black Lab) when he is walking around (height-wise). I have a rack from Simply Renee, the company that makes the Clip it Up and I love it. But I'm really happy I got this, too. Started assembling and putting things on it (the finished product video coming soon). In fact, here are my assembly videos:
Base Unit Assembly
Upper Tier Assembly
The Clip it up is really easy to set up and a lot of fun to use so far. I think seeing what I have is going to make a big difference in how I use things.

Oh, and 1 thing before I go. I'm doing project 365, sort of. Not sure what I'll do with the finished product (am taking another Shimelle class on UK Scrappers that might have this nailed down), but my photo feed is located at 365Project.org. I would love for you to share your journey with me...

Happy Scrapping. I will be on later to comment on your lovely minibooks--I am floored that so many of you have accepted the challenge. It's amazing to see your work!

Oh, and one other really quick thing... I ordered from the Greeting Farm on 1 Jan. Still haven't received my order. Can I just expect to get it soon? Does anyone know if there were any issues with weather or something?

If It's Groovy Birthday Bash!!!!

2010-01-04T00:01:00.001-05:00

That's right, If It's Groovy is celebrating a BIRTHDAY. YAY!

I'm so blessed to be on this team.

Video, Part One:

Video, Part Two:

Video, Part Three:

So what does this mean? You have a week to make you're own minibook. Post here with a link to your project and I'll check it out. All comments made will go into a random drawing for a really cool super secret (at this time) prize pack so you can make your very own Quick Minibook.

And remember to check out If It's Groovy and wish them a happy Birthday!

Can you tell I like to read?

2010-01-01T17:14:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I normally don't talk about this part of my life on here, but I'm a passionate reader and writer and Bookcrosser (which I've discussed, I think?). I'm even on Goodreads. If you want to look me up there, go ahead, just make sure you say something about following me on GothamGal.net.

Anyway, so my goal was to hit 100 books read in 2009, and I guess I did that. Here's my list:

1. Heroes: Saving Charlie
2. Typhoid Mary
3. The Good, the Bad and the Undead
4. 3 Cups of Tea
5. How to be Good
6. The Water Method Man
7. Storm Front
8. Slay it with Flowers
9. Dearly Depotted
10. Snipped in the Bud
11. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County
12. Here's the Story
13. The Last Tycoon
14. Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Prodigal Son
15. The Great Gatsby
16. Murder She Wrote: Murder on the QE2
17. Beautiful Girls
18. Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu
19. Ghostgirl
20. Interred with their bones
21. The 19th Wife
22. Wonder When You'll Miss Me
23. Such a Pretty Girl
24. My Life, My Tapes (Agent Dale Cooper)
25. The Story of a Marriage
26. Murder of a Royal Pain
27. Burnt Shadows
28. Revolutionary Road
29. Riding Lessons
30. Assasination Vacation
31. Staked
32. Acts of Violets
33. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
34. Carpe Demon
35. A Rose from the Dead
36. Driving with Dead People
37. Troll Bridge
38. Middle Age: A Romance
39. The Appeal
40. The Mermaid Chair
41. Goodnight Nobody
42. Missing Mom
43. Heart Full of Lies
44. The Falls
45. Team Rodent: How Disney Devours the World
46. Vanity Fair
47. Men of the Otherworld
48. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (graphic novel)
49. 13 Reasons Why
50. Finger Lickin' Fifteen
51. The Local News
52. American Eve
53. Shanghai Girls
54. Until I Find You
55. Clubbed to Death
56. Find Your Groove
57. Making the Most of your Scrapbooking Supplies
58. The Busy Scrapper
59. Best of Becky Higgins Sketches
60. Prarie Tales
58. Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life
59. The Woman Who Wouldn't
60. Turning Japanese
61. Return to Labyrinth #1
62. Suddenly Last Summer
63. Return to Labyrinth #2
64. Love is Hell
65. Best Friends Forever
66. Almost Perfect
67: Preludes & Knock Knock Jokes
68. An Invisible Sign of my Own
69. Missing You
70. May Contain Nuts: A Novel of Extreme Parenting
71. Polly
72. A Prayer for Owen Meany
73. Three Strikes and You're Dead
74. Frankenstein: Dead and Alive
75. The True Story of Hansel and Gretel
76. Undiscovered Gyrl
***Lost a list of a few books that I'd read between 8/24 and 9/5/09, possibly 3***
77. Return to the Labyrinth 3
78. Blood Lite
79. Frostbite
80. Madison Avenue Shoot
81. The Girl In the Flammable Skirt
82. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
83. A Slaying in Savannah
84. Into the Silence
85. Bay of the Dead
86. Frostbitten
87. Pop Tart
88. The Lightning Thief
89. The Sea of Monsters
90. Juliet, Naked
91. Her Fearful Symmetry
92. The Titan's Curse
93. Murder She Wrote: Margaritas and Murder
94. Battle of the Labyrinth
95. Murder She Wrote: A Fatal Feast
96. Star Trek Destiny #1
97. Kingdom Keepers 2
98. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
99. High Fidelity
100. Pirate Latitudes
101. Love Monkey
102. The Idio Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death
103. Nineteen Minutes
104. Mortified
105. Street Gang
106. The Family Bones
107. Mop Men
108. Possible Side Effects

If It's Groovy!

2009-12-28T20:10:00.003-05:00

So If It's Groovy is going to be having a BIRTHDAY! Yay! The best part is that IIG is going to have a FANTASTIC Birthday Celebration, and you're invited!
Who: You, of course, and ALL of your friends
What: A Birthday Bash
Where: If It's Groovy
When: January 4-10, 2010

Now, you can most definitely check out my blog on the 4th for a challenge and a special, surprise prize package. I am out of state currently, so there's been limited blog access for me.

But I will be travelling home on the 5th and will be showing you a project on the 4th that's birthday themed for sure. Please take a minute and visit If It's Groovy, it's a wonderful site and I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time! It's full of really talented people.

Happy Creating and Happy Holidays!

JYC: Manifesto, Intro page AND some cool pages

2009-12-09T22:45:00.005-05:00

Once you take a class, it's hard to stop, right? I'm now addicted. I have tons of blogging for scrapbookers posts to still add, but I thought I would maybe break them up a bit, so I've decided to show you something else I came a little late to but still ended up being awesome:

I'm taking Journal Your Christmas with Shimelle. My second Shimelle class in a month, LOL. Oopsie! Seriously, though, I wasn't certain about taking it. First, I'm not really huge into Christmas, and to be honest, things for Christmas this year were looking very bleak...Insanely bleak. As you may or may not know, I go to California to visit my Grandmama for Christmas every year. Since we're being laid off at work from December 14-28, I decided to take off until the first week in January. I decided I needed it. While I'd love to get into a few things with that (rants, raves and all other manner of weirdness), I'm just going to say that I love going out to California and seeing my Grandmama, and my father. And it's good to see a few friends out there and have awesome experiences. I'm truly blessed.

Second, a whole lot of people that I follow (thank you, Google Reader) are doing it. And I figured, if they could do it, I could too. I mean, after all, my Christmas experience is my Christmas experience. So it's relevant.
Okay, and seriously, if you take this class, you pay one fee and can do it for-EVER! (the word 'forever' is in my head like in that movie 'The Sandlot' where the kids are talking about something ominous, but obviously in this class it's not ominous, but more like a hyperbole--you know, exaggeration for effect). There are digi-downloads for hybrid or digi scrappers, printables and prompts every day. Yes, EVERY day. It's seriously a really cool class and I started looking forward to it. I'm allowing myself to think it's awesome (cue Grinch music and see my heart grow a few sizes...).

So I'm a few days behind, but I have a few ideas and actually started to do a few things last night, despite there being a billion other things that needed done (house stuff and organization--and SLEEP!). I wanted to get an 8x8 AC Modern Album, so I could play with the front and be awesome. However, I'm working with a budget here and so I just went with what I had on hand, which is an 8-1/2 by 11 AC album covered in cloth. It's black and there's a small slot in the front for a card or index label or something. Right now it looks totally ghetto, but it can change later, and I'm not sweating that for the time being.

This is my Title page. Now, as I understand it, Shimelle doesn't do title pages until later. I'm cool with that, but I got inspired by this Making Memories paper (which reminds me that I have to go to target before I leave and pick up some more of these paper packs and other embellies)--it's the Tinsel line. I love that the diecut looks like an ornament. I used a scrap of paper next to it from the same patterned paper package and then layered a cutout from Jen Allyson's card set and made a little subhead type of thing. The cardstock base is from Couture Cardstock--love the shade and weight of it! The stickers that say 'Xmas' are from last year's Making Memories Christmas line, too. And the 'Nicole K' is thickers. I ::heart:: these thickers, and wonder if anyone knows that font (they're the black stickers), because I'd rather buy more Christmas embellishments other than thickers to complete this...

Next up is my manifesto page. Or rather, my 'manifest-O!' page. I wanted it to be simple, plan on adding something else eventually, but I just really liked the combination of my favorite thickers, the blue paper from MM (from that Tinsel line), and the K&Company trim which reminded me of a garland. It's on the back of my title page, so it's on the same piece of Couture Cardstock--which by the way is FANTASTIC. I cannot say enough about this wonderful company.

My manifest is handwritten with Pilot Choose (.7) purple ink. I got that pen from Jetpens.com. It's lovely. Have a white one too, that I haven't yet used, though. My manifest talks about the fact that Christmas seems to have lost its magic for me, but that I want to memorialize and perhaps reflect on older Christmases while still rocking the present one. And I also want to refine and even FIND my style. I plan on using a bunch of different pages, sizes, etc.
I thought I'd show you a pair of my element pages. These were acrylic clear pieces, part of an album from Pat Catans. I simply covered them with some of the MM Tinsel paper and went to town. They will have something on the pages, probably a picture or a fond memory (left the back blank so that I could do something with journalling and it wouldn't show through). The red paper has holly on it, and there are even glittery berries. Yay! The green paper reminds me of something from the MM Passport line. Oh, and there are some lovely bits from the Vintage line I got at Michaels from MM on there, spells out 'Fun'. I hope to get some envelopes, maybe some other little things there, too.

Wow! I can't believe I wrote all of this about the album that I wasn't necessarily all happy about. Weirdness, eh? I think it just goes to show you that stranger things can happen. The girl who hasn't been all Christmas-y can suddenly take a minute and say 'wait a second, I want Christmas back!'...

What about you? Are you Christmas-y? Why or Why not?

So that's all I have right now. Thanks for checking this out, and thanks for sharing your JYC projects--they're fantastic! Happy Creating!

Ildi Co Wednesday

2009-12-09T22:00:00.000-05:00

It's Wednesday again, which means a reveal featuring some really cool images from Ildi Co.
Yay!

Did you know that when I was in school I thought Wednesday was the most perfect day ever? Because it was halfway from the weekend and halfway to the weekend. It was perfect. And Ildi Co. day is just as cool as that!

So, without further ado, let me show you my card.

Cardstock: Couture Cardstock part of )))) line. The color is:

Paper: Making Memories Tinsel (found at Target!)
Stickers: Making Memories holiday line (Last year, at Target!)

Adhesive: Tombow Mono Permanent Runner
Punch: EK Success Corner Rounder (also at Target!)

Stickles by Ranger

Copics: R29 Lipstick Red, YG17 Grass Green, YG03 Yellow Green, R00 Pinkish White, B05 Process Blue, r39 Garnet, Y15 Cadmium Yellow, E55 Light Caramel, E09 Burnt Sienna

I used a digital file from TwoPeasinaBucket (Jen Allyson) called Cut Out Card. This was featured on katrina werner's blog a while back, but as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted it. The card can be cut out on nearly any digital cutter, or it can be cut out by hand. The red cardstock was cut out, and so was the piece of white cardstock that had the digital stamp on it.

All and all, it was a lot of fun, and I've already gotten a few people interested in it at work. Thank you very much for stopping by, happy creating!

Ch-ch-ch... CHANGES!!!

2009-12-09T13:51:00.003-05:00

So if you check out my blog on the actual blogger site, and not a reader, you can see that I changed it up a little bit. I got a new layout template thanks to Template-Mama. The Template-Mama site has tons of layouts for all sorts of blogging needs. I like a lot of this color scheme, it's bright and happy, but I'm thinking that I might switch it up in the near future, but will have to check the details on that, and whether it fits within the site's terms of use (Template-Mama, that is).

It seems like people are clicking the little boxes at the end of posts to let me know what they think of that post. Thank you very much! It's greatly appreciated.

I still have a lot of work to do. I want to make the page load quicker, want to get some pages on my linkbar for things ON the blog (found a workaround on a site, more later), better maintain and streamline my links...the list goes on and I'm sure I'm not just done with the list either.

Is this easier to read on the white background versus the black?

More later--and the announcement of ANOTHER class and then we'll be going through those posts and then back to your regularly scheduled awesomeness. Happy Creating!

Ildi Co Reveal Tomorrow

2009-12-08T23:22:00.000-05:00

Hey there, blogging world!
I have a card I'm really happy about to reveal to you, featuring a brand spankin' new Ildi Co. Digi Stamp image.
And I shall be revealing it to you, my blogging friends, tomorrow evening. I won't say too much about it, but I will say that this features 2 of my favorite Ildi Co. types of characters.

Now, if you've read my blog, you should be able to guess what types of characters I like best, although ALL of Ildi's images are great. I challenge you to guess what characters my card features. You can check out the Ildi Co store to guess--whoever guesses correctly will be entered to get a postcard from me during my upcoming vacation!!!

You have until I post the image of my card tomorrow night--let's say 10 PM eastern time. Good luck!

Hint: The image is not yet up on the store, but if you check my past Ildi Co. posts and cross reference it with the subject names (ex: Emotibots, Cuddles, etc.), you might be able to guess. One of them, I've posted quite a bit of.

Also, I will go ahead and set this up so that it stays on top for a day--good luck! I have a few other posts scheduled.

So

2009-12-04T09:57:00.003-05:00

I seem to be able to write a 50k word novel in a month, just can't make it on here to post every day. eeek!

I had the best of intentions, but a glass casserole dish exploded in my hands (and on dinner last night, darn it). Still fighting the cold, but it almost feels like it's nearly gone (shh! Don't say it too loudly). Fighting with Direct TV, who offered me three months of free service, but apparently didn't take care of that and now I'm being billed.

Oh, 'Heathers' with Winona Ryder and Christian Slater is on tonight, so I'm going to watch that, finish unpacking boxes and then prepare for a lot of sleep this weekend.

Ordered a few things this week, including Tim Holtz's Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy (yes, his 12 days of Christmas is very addictive!)--I keep trying to get up enough energy to sit down and try some of the techniques he uses. Thanks Simon Says Stamp--hopefully I will get it soon.

Oh, and I placed an order with a certain veggie site--as the stuff that I want is nowhere to be found locally. This is what I got:
Jack (Night Light Collection, October Afternoon)...I love the back of this paper--the paper-y looking part. Really wanted to try this out and do SOMETHING with it, maybe an altered book.
Will keep you updated. I know I've had problems tracking this particular paper down, and I've never tried October Afternoon before, so this will be interesting.

Katie (Night Light Collection, October Afternoon) If you can't already guess, I'm a reader. So this paper (the back) looked pretty literary. Part of me wants to grab this paper when it gets here and start reading it, see what it is. The other part of me wants to figure out it's place on a layout. Who will win??? Only time will tell.

Louie (Night Light Collection, October Afternoon). This is the one paper out of this whole collection I've REALLY been wanting, even checked it out on ebay. Aren't these monsters cute? I got 2 sheets of this one, because I just really love the paper. Don't know if part will be an accent to a card or what. I actually used the 'contact me when in stock' feature a few times for this, before finally snagging today.

Falling Flakes (Colorful Christmas, My Mind's Eye) I've never bought a single My Mind's Eye paper, so I have no idea if it's awesome or not. I'm heavily relying on the notebook tutorial I saw on Mish Mash (Michelle W's blog). I thought the whole line looked really fun and the notebooks looked really easy to do, but I 'm not sure if I'm doing a notebook thing, I just really love the colors of these papers--they make winter look fun versus the way it normally is (icey and NOT fun!)

Frosty Pines (Colorful Christmas, My Mind's Eye). Again, a cute little paper with those holiday colors I like. I almost want to decorate a tree, well...okay, we HAVE a tree up, but I'm not the one who did it. In fact, I think I only had to deal with one or two of the ornaments with this particular tree.
This paper kinda reminds me of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation when they go to pick out a tree. In a good way, with less digging, I guess.

Merry Dots (Colorful Christmas, My Mind's Eye) Why can't Christmas papers be more like this line. Of course, I'm saying this with the paper sight unseen and it really could end up terribly. I could hate the texture or the weight of the paper or something, or then again I could fall in love. If you look closely, there are little doodles on some of the dots, which are totally cute. I almost think I'll find something in the paper if I stare at it long enough--anyone remember those Magic Seeing Eye Puzzle/prints from a few years ago? I could NEVER see any of those--my eyes just wouldn't work with them.

Glittered Chipboard Elements (Colorful Christmas, My Mind's Eye). I splurged on these, I rarely buy chipboard, but I saw these on Mish Mash for her notebook tutorial and I just fell in love. I mean, those little kids are so CUTE. And there's a Polar Bear. AND A PENGUIN! Who needs an excuse to pick up something with pretty colors AND A PENGUIN? I mean, seriously. They're glittery and a lot of fun and they make that cold weather look cool--and if they can do that for me, living in North Eastern Ohio, I think they can do anything--including look awesome on my page!

Tube Socks (The Boyfriend, Cosmo Cricket) This is the line that I've been asking all over for locally. This is the line I've called Archiver's about (which, okay, I don't understand why they carry Earth Love but not this one, because Earth Love is ALWAYS in stock over there and it doesn't seem like too many people are buying it locally. I might, but only if it's on sale and I can justify it--which I probably won't do because I picked up the Boyfriend. Still on the wishlist, though? The mini stack. On this paper, aren't the colors lovely? And the back has a SCAN TRON sheet. Remember those?

Homework (The Boyfriend, Cosmo Cricket). I really think this collection reminds me of the 80s. Sorta like 'Freaks and Geeks.' Have you heard of the show? Have you seen the show? It's positively one of my favorite shows of all time--and unlike Murder, She Wrote and CSI:Crime Scene Investigation (which I love, don't get me wrong. They hold special places in my heart), I DON'T MAKE FUN of 'Freaks and Geeks.' Try and watch it, if you can. It's just a really well-written and heartfelt show and the acting in it is fantastic. Just really, a diamond in the rough.

Fitting In (The Boyfriend, Cosmo Cricket) Just a fun and random paper in the collection. I think, though, if we get a really great deal on a washer and dryer I'm going to be using this paper to make a layout. Yes, we've been washer less for about 5 months--dryer less for about 1 month. What does that mean? We go over to his family's house to do laundry. Even I won't go into the local laundromat (there are some strange characters that walk in there, and the police seem to even avoid the place, which I hate. Other communities seem to have good places, not so much around here. Yuck! But I don't have to save quarters, so I guess that's cool!

Stickers (The Boyfriend, Cosmo Cricket). Another thing I really loved in the 80s (other than the Atari/Commodore and other geekish things) was STICKERS! I had tons of stickers, all sorts of kinds. And so, like many other papercrafters, I love stickers even in adulthood. Maybe that's why we do this thing, huh? We all just want a justification for a sticker album. LOL. There are a lot of things I could do with these though, not just retro. See the sunglasses sticker? There's a guy I remember from high school who was a friend, but I'm not sure if he was more or wanted to be more or what. We were both awkward and geeky and he used to make up song lyrics--he also used to sing this song. My future's so bright, I gotta wear shades. Weird.

Icon Rubons (The Boyfriend, Cosmo Cricket) LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! I have a sunglasses habit (always wear them, almost even in the dark). Found our old Atari during the move, too. I want to curl up under a blanket and watch Sixteen Candles with Jake Ryan now--and actually curl up WITH Jake Ryan. Jake Ryan is, in my opinion, the most perfect boyfriend/man you could ever ask for. He was attainable, honest, funny and probably the best kisser on the planet. The 80s make me happy thinking of them, they were full of promise. Retro/nostalgia must do this to EVERYONE. For a while, I was all about rubons, but I haven't been lately. Maybe this will rekindle that love.

Ildi Co Sketchy Thursday

2009-12-02T23:42:00.001-05:00

So it’s Ildi Co Wednesday… Yay!
I’m still sick, a little, in the house by myself and have a bunch of stuff to clean, so that’s a little bit why this was late.

I decided that I was going to devote a little more time to sketch-related pursuits and challenges, thanks to the lovely ‘Blogging for Scrapbookers’ and so I decided what better way to showcase an adorable Ildi Co stamp than with a sketch. So here it is!

This is using a K and Company trim, Copic markers (Dandy Boy and Lolita Girl) and an Stampendous sentiment. Here is the original sketch from Sketchy Thursdays:

I switched it up a little bit, but wanted to bring out the colors and the ‘happy’ of things. I’m intending to hide this card around the house—I will be leaving for california on the 15th and will be gone until the 5th or so of January.

Blogging for Scrapbookers: Prompt Three

2009-12-02T15:53:00.003-05:00

Prompt Three is involving a post of favorites, so I decided to post about my 5 favorite books. I'm working on a layout to go with this, but can't wait any longer... So I'm just posting the list...

No particular order...

The Melancholy Death Of Oyster Boy and other stories by Tim Burton is a cute, odd and fun book--similar to the style of Edward Gorey. It can be bleak at times, but really, it's just something that sticks in your mind. It's obviously not for everyone, but I looked forever for this edition and finally snagged it and was so happy when I got it. It's a popular, but hard-to-find edition. If you're a fan of Burton's work, you'll like this one.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is something I read every year, and have since I was about ten. I remember watching the movie with my Mom and then on my own, and it's just a book that seems to keep me on an even keel. It taught me humility, and that it was okay to have my own thing going on. It taught me that there are people that have things worse than I ever did and still managed to keep up their spirits. It's just lovely, and I had a lot in common with Francie (even reading ALL library books).

Prep: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld is almost autobiographical, and I've spoken with other people who feel the same way about this author. She's managed to get me involved with sympathizing with Laura Bush (American Wife) as well as transport me back into my high school/college days with Prep. I am in love with this novel, it's the debut that made me want to read each and every thing this writer ever writes. I love when you get inside of a character.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving is the book everyone calls Irving's best and I think that, in itself, made me not want to read it. However, I loved Garp and I loved Hotel New Hampshire and even Widow for One Year, but this one felt a little different and almost like a fine chocolate. It's the first book in a long time I couldn't just start and finish. I kept savoring it, and really, it was fantastic. People read it a lot younger than I did (this year).but I think I appreciated it more because I was older.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is another book that is considered a 'classic' that I just read over the summer. Now, I've always been a reader and usually in the faster/higher reading classes in school, but this was not given as a requirement to our class. How terrible that I missed this treasure, but I think, when I was younger, I wouldn't have appreciated this. I saw the film and loved it (Robert Redford was perfect for Gatsby!), and devoured this short novel, then picked up 'The Love of the Last Tycoon' which is also fantastic.

Now you've read my favorite list, what about yours? What are your 5 favorite books?

Blogging for Scrapbookers: Prompt One

2009-11-30T14:05:00.005-05:00

New House... Have the spare room to pursue bookish, writerly and all manner of creative things. Originally, I was just going to store the table and not use it, but the guy set it up, thinking he was helping... And really, there's enough room in the room for it, so he DID help. It's in between my dresser and the closet door. There's natural light to the left from a big picture window and a really nice (and bright) overhead light. There is a bookshelf to the left, more bookshelves and a desk to my back (while I'm sitting at the desk) and a wall to my right with the door and the guest twin bed.

A few weeks or a week ago, I signed up for Shimelle's class Blogging For Scrapbookers. It's Fab! I recommend it to anyone--from those of you who haven't taken the blogging plunge to those who have blogged for years. It's a FANTASTIC class with lots of great people (just ask my Google Reader--it's really busy with all the new and fantastic stuff I read!), great resources (thanks to Shimelle's hard work) and even some really cool blog-related things--like how to update templates and the like. I've gotten some experience with web design throughout the years, but Shimelle even taught me a few things--so really, the class is money well spent.

Hello to all of those new people from the class, I'm Glad you're joining me. I know I'm a bit late to teh game, but I've spent the last 2-3 weeks writing a novel, closing (in 5 days) on a new house and then moving into said house--but all looks done and A-okay now (keeping my fingers crossed). And really, that's just another awesome point on the value of Shimelle's class--it's completely self-led to better fit your schedule!

My intentions for this class are:

to become a regular blogger (scheduled, too!).
to produce quality, popular content to make people want to read my blog.
to make time to comment on each of YOUR blogs regularly (I read everyone I follow).
to make a more cohesive layout that better reflects my personal style.
to (document and) USE my supplies!

So that's prompt one, all tied up in a little pretty package. I do have a few things I'm thinking about in regards to the blog, so I will update you soon. And thank you for starting this journey with me!

Trying something new

2009-11-26T20:58:00.001-05:00

Trying Windows Live Writer right now, so that maybe I won’t have to deal with Blogger scheduling issues. This is my first post via this format…I’m still sick and we’re still moving, The end is in sight, but my motivation is severely lacking. Need to run over tomorrow and clean up two rooms hardcore, then maybe the bathroom. Tons of things need done, and I hope they will be. Eeek!

Also, I’ve been fighting with the internet service provider (RoadRunner)—I FINALLY think I have it, after having at one point three trucks at night in front of my house, lights blazing. Craziness.

Oh, Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate. Check out this link from Songbird Avenue for a digi mosaic template.

A New Chapter

2009-11-20T10:13:00.003-05:00

We're about halfway to 2/3 of the way into the new house--of course, it's going to be weeks before I get my books and crafty stuff the way I like it, but we're closer to being in the house. The internet and satellite people are at the house today, getting that all taken care of--yay! I will have internet and tv, I can finally catch up on Top Chef and Sons of Anarchy (weird combo, I know).

So the new house is happy and fun and I'm loving it. I'm not loving being sick, I've still got a bit of a cough (Thank you to Tylenol, I slept last night--some kind of minty syrup that allowed me to sleep and not cough all night--yay!). And there's a full weekend.

There's also online classes. I'm taking Jessica Sprague's new class, and I'll have another post on that later--I'm actually going to be focusing on Shimelle's class "Blogging for Scrapbookers." I signed up a little late for the party (what's new, right?) because of the house thing (we put in an offer on a sunday and by that friday--5 days later--we had keys) and NaNoWriMo (and the novel in a month might not happen this month, kids) and the various birthdays and functions I had to show up to this month--well, let's just say that I'm noticing that I overschedule things a LOT!

So I kept hedging about whether or not I would have time to take Shimelle's class--the cost is only $15, and you DEFINITELY get your money's worth in a Shimelle class as I'm learning. And really, I've always wanted to take a Shimelle class, because she's fabulous. Love her style and the way her personality shines through the photos. So yesterday, I finally admitted to myself that NaNo probably wouldn't happen and I wanted to do something for myself. Plus, we're being laid off at this time next month (which means I'm going to California early) just before Christmas but returning at New Years, and I probably won't have the funds to take another class at the end of 2009/beginning of 2010--so I needed a darn treat! I've been moving without complaining in the midst of coughing up a lung and not sleeping because of said cough (sorry, I don't mean to vent, but darn it, I deserve this class!).

So back to the class. Or rather, back to the reason why I need this class. I've said before that I've never really been to a crop, officially.

I've had people bring crafty things to book group and we make bookmarks or cards or something.
I participated in an online crop or online crafty thing where we chatted a bit and then tried to make things, etc.
I've been to Archiver's and set out a few things to work on, but it was mostly at non-peak times where it was just me, and I left when people started filtering into the room (because I thought it was a class and it turned out not to be)...

So what can you draw from this? That while I have creative friends, we don't craft together. YOU and the people I meet via blogs or on various boards are my creative people. I can share scrapbooking with YOU! I can show you cards and all sorts of crafty things that i don't normally share with others. And you don't understand how much that means to me--how much YOU mean to me. So thank you, first of all, for being around. And I want to take this time to apologize. I read and check all of your blogs, but I don't reply as often as I should, so I'm going to work on that.

And the blog will be changing, in a good way. I've been thinking of turning the address of GothamGal.net into a splash page, but retaining this blogspot account, as well as my book review and book crossing journals for links, but I'm not 100% committed to the idea yet, so that's where we're at at this moment. Look for new posts soon--like, possibly in the next day or even tonight, if I get inspired (which ISN'T hard to do when you're doing a Shimelle class, I've learned).

Happy Creating!

Ildi Co Wednesday

2009-11-18T14:36:00.005-05:00

So I'm in the process of moving, and realize that i have WAY too much stuff--that's books, writing and crafting supplies! Yikes! There are sheer metric tons of the stuff, really. I guess you can say that's a perk of the digital stamp revolution--the space. Apart from some space on your hard drive (which reminds me, I have to backup on the external AND on a cd), you don't have to move much when you choose digital stamps.

Unless, of course, you're like me and you print everything out at least twice with different sizes just in case you can't get to the printer, LOL. Let's face it, I'm a bit of a packrat. But I'll be assembling my creating closet in the next few weeks, so it's exciting!

Since it's Wednesday, I get to talk about my favorite digi stamp company, Ildi Co. I'm on their design team and I've really had a great time. There are tons of really talented members of the team as well, you should check them out!

A few days ago, Ildi sent an email with some new images--and I had SOOOO many ideas for these that I couldn't control myself. However, because I'm apt to just jump into a project full force, I decided to go with something simple and easy... And it works.

I wanted to best illustrate the FUNCTIONALITY of digi stamps as they relate to holidays. Too often, we think of a product or using a product in only one way, and really... we shouldn't. Digi stamps are VERY versatile. And really, the only limitation is our own minds.

Let me explain this first one, in my office, we all have name tags on our cubicles (and even for the people in offices, actually), and usually these are very seasonal. Usually there are Christmas trees or ornaments or stars circulating this time of the year, so of course, my department is getting them! Here they are!

Now, they're all colored a bit differently, but because I had everyone's names on them, I couldn't very well show them to you. I lucked out and just wrote out my first name, but everyone else has their full names on them. This is an Ildi Co reindeer stamp, reminiscent of a gingerbread, don't you think? It's actually pieced from using one Ildi Co stamp printed on white Cardstock and one printed on SU's Kraft Cardstock. I cut out the craft and glued it to the bits that required it on the white Cardstock copy. I colored the eye and the bow with my Copic markers and then added a bit of a sparkly gel pen (Sakura Gelly Roll--stardust) so that it's extra sparkly! I did the same thing for the item below, but in a different way.

Ever wonder what to get people for the holidays? Well, since there are so many candies and cookies going around, I decided to hand out pencils--they're holographic, too. And so far, tons of people have been looking around my desk, checking them out. I hope to make some more and then place the tin in the front of my desk, so that people not only see them, but want one. I've already gotten three people asking me if I want to sell them, LOL. They're in a tin canister and there's some glass marbles in it to hold them up.

As you can tell, I LOVE the gingerbread option that is featured on this Ildi Co. post. It's great because it's sweet, but won't rot your teeth! If you've got a sweet mind, come and check me out next week, when I'll be featuring a digi-stamp of a different sort, but still keeping with the theme!

Rethinking the Wheel

2009-11-12T21:00:00.002-05:00

I know, I know...there's a reason you're not supposed to rethink the wheel. But sometimes, I really think it's warranted... Like this time. I originally used a Halloweenie image to make a journal for an Ildi Co. project. And while I really loved it and so did the person who got the journal, I felt like something else had to be done. And thus, I came up with this.
Featuring Ildi Co's fantastic new digi, Cuddles and Clownkin, I bring you my Two for Tea journal. It's got Basic Grey's nook and pantry paper, Crate and Paper cardstock stickers, and some random ribbon and a CUSTOM Ildi Co mug that's attached to the bookmark ribbon for the journal (one of my favorite things about journals)!
I used my copics to color it and I really must say that it was a lot of fun to color Cuddles. I love that bear.

If all worked as planned, you should be seeing this at 9 PM. The day after I was scheduled to post, with the migraine and getting a cough, I'm not feeling too well. Look for new posts in the coming weeks for some more Ildi Co goodness AND a new location--the new house!

First Ildi Co Project

2009-11-12T21:00:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things in the new Ildi Co release is the snowman pictured above. If you follow this blog, you'll know him from a previous weekend post--but this one is a bit different. I decided I just needed something little to add to a cool box that I made from SVGCuts.com. The box is cut from Bazzil, as is the blue under layer--which is also spritzed with glimmer mist.
The snowman was colored with my copics. You lift the flap and there he is. Really adorable. I did something different with the shading, did a light gray blue on the whole hat, then a baby blue type of color on the edges and then a really darker baby blue on the final edges.
One thing I am thankful for in crafting is getting the Copics--they are absolutely FABULOUS to work with, especially with the fun Ildi Co. images.
If all worked as planned, you should be seeing this at 9 PM. The day after I was scheduled to post, with the migraine and getting a cough, I'm not feeling too well. Look for new posts in the coming weeks for some more Ildi Co goodness AND a new location--the new house!

Good and Bad

2009-11-12T08:53:00.002-05:00

You have to take the good with the bad. I'm updating right now to let you know that we got the house and might be moving in this weekend. The bad news?
I have the worst migraine in the world. I started feeling a buzzing in my jaw and the back of my head, and normally that's the biggest indicator for me that there's going to be a doozy. And normally, I can sleep it off.
But last night I couldn't, I kept waking up, which is odd.
I look absolutely terrible and I feel worse. But I will be posting 2 Ildi Co. treats this evening. I have the posts to auto post, but have to add the photos, so I appreciate your patience.

What I've been up to::late October, early november

2009-11-09T11:24:00.002-05:00

Okay, so if you haven't already noticed, things have been a little silent from my end. This is for a few reasons, the most important (to being an adult) is at the bottom of the list...
So check it out!

Halloween: Was supposed to go as Batgirl, plans fell through, so on the actual night, went as Daphne. The second picture is me with a friend at Karaoke. The first is me with the Mystery Machine gang. It's the first time I've gone out for Halloween since college--it was fantastic!

NaNoWriMo: It's November 9th, have you seen my plot or wordcount yet? I write a 50,000 word novel every November, and this year, everything has been crazy, so I haven't really done it. Have to get to 15,000 tomorrow as a personal goal--which means 10000 words in the next 24 hours--crazy!

House Hunting: We've needed a new house for a long time. The roof in the house we're renting is bad, we've had black mold in the bathroom (which always comes back no matter how much bleach we use), drafty windows, bad neighbors--you name it. So we're buying our first house--and I get a big closet for my crafty supplies. More to come, if the inspection goes through.

Ildi Co: Ildi Co has allowed me to stay on the design team, which is fantastic! I wasn't altogether convinced about the awesome-ness of digi stamps until Ildi Co. They were the first digi image I ever colored and I'm really excited to keep working with them. So, look for a few projects this week... I think you'll love the new designs!

Mega Blog Candy Alert

2009-11-09T09:36:00.003-05:00

Debbie at A Passion for Crafts is doing it again--offering some AMAZING Blog Candy.
Please take a look at her link and check out the yummy candy (it'll give you a sweet tooth/cavity for sure!)--there's a ton of prizes, most noteably some Copics, Nestibilities, and a ton of stamps--someone is going to be really lucky to win this, especially during this holiday season.

Three's a Charm! Blog Hop Time!

2009-11-07T11:27:00.001-05:00

You should've come from Jacquie's blog. And after you check out my project, you'll want to head to Melanie's blog. If this is not the case, you should head on back to the Sunshine Stamps site and start from the beginning. It's very important that you leave a comment at each of the blogs, as you can win some great prizes!

This is a very special blog hop--Ildi Co. is joining forces with Sunshine Stamps and The Stamping Boutique. And, if it wasn't special enough, there's some mystery blog candy being offered (you must comment on everyone's posts). AND, you can also snag some images from Ildi at a discount--you buy 2 stamps and get the 3rd image free--what a great deal!

Today we're featuring projects from the Snopals line--a fun line of snowmen and snowwomen that have Ildi Co's signature look. They're fun to color and layer and they're FANTASTIC to work with. For example, Check out my project--using Snowpal Top Hat:

This snowman instantly reminded me of a certain christmas special featuring Burl Ives. And a certain song, too... So this is my homage.

Thanks for checking this out--please make certain you check out the rest of the blog hop and go look at some really great Ildi Co. images!

**REPOST**

Wednesday Ildi Co. Digi Project

2009-10-21T20:29:00.003-04:00

Hey there, creative people!
It's me, GothamGal, and (as promised), I'm going to show you a fun little craft featuring the Ildi Co Stamp series I teased you about last week...

Are you ready?

Ildi Co stamps has a line of DINOSAUR stamps!!! How cool is that? I chose the pterodactyl to feature on this little project. Can you guess what I did?

I made a pillowbox with my Cricut--my VERY first one ever. The template was really easy to follow, and I used some ribbon, some leftover BG paper and a piece of a Making Memories journaling page. And then I filled it with Whoppers! I used to LOVE malted milk balls.

Have you ever made a pillow box? How do you make them?

What do you fill them with?

Stay tuned, more Ildi Co Digi Stamp awesomeness next week!

I'm Changing What to What?!?

2009-10-16T09:21:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I had a little poll going on the sidebar of my blog. I was planning on changing the name of my blog. However, that's not the case. My blog will continue to be 'A Roof Of One's Own' and the Cards, Pages and Scraps--Oh My! will be my sales banner over on Etsy or Artfire.

I originally picked 'A Roof Of One's Own' because when we moved to the current house I had grand plans for using the house's roof access. I wanted to sit out there during the summer to write and read and create. I was conjuring a bit of Virginia Woolf, I suppose.

Fast forward to now--I've been on the roof 3 times, each time realizing that it's not a good space. Parts of the roof are just not meant for people--this one included. Also, I felt a little odd standing on the roof when there were people around, the roof juts out and so I'm almost right over the neighbor's driveway. It's too close. I create, well, in all sorts of places, which means that our upstairs is sorely in need of a 'de-creating' time, which I plan to do here and there.

I want to reorganize. I want to experiment and grow. I want to pare down and simplify. I want to use my supplies and not feel as if my supplies are overwhelming or using me. This blog, even when we do move, is my creative home--the creative roof, as you'll have it, over my head.

Yay! (I apologize for the prose, LOL).

Domo

2009-10-14T23:23:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I didn't post my little cardlet featuring the wonderful Halloween line from Ildi Co. last week. With looking at the houses and running around like crazy, there just wasn't time. So without further ado, I want to show you the card I made--it's a matchbook type card and it was requested by a friend:

This is the card opened and able to be displayed:

This is the card closed. I just couldn't resist making that lil' ghost so that he could be over or under the card at all times.

Supplies: Ildi Co Digi Stamp, White Georgia Pacific Cardstock, Copic Markers, BG Eerie patterned paper, Making Memories Spellbound letter stickers. You can use a stapler to fasten the bottom of the card like a matchbook, but I ran a line of adhesive from my Tombow and it works famously!

So, now we're onto this week's exciting card. Are you totally ready?

When I found out Ildi Co's new line of stamps were Robots, Emotibots to be exact, I was over the roof! I love robots, well, I said something about Doctor Who because these robots remind me of something on Doctor Who or Star Wars and I was promptly told that these robots were too cute to be either. Go Figure!

So I decided to make a pop up card of sorts. Really like the way it turned out, did a technique that makes the silver really pop...

This is my little Messenger Bot. He's got a message for you, that he's holding in his 3d popped up hands. It's in Binary Code, which is a computer language consisting of '1' and '0'--based on the way they are placed, you can spell out lots of things with just those two letters. My message is pretty simple, just a 'Hello' but when you spell it out in Binary Code, it translates to:

0100100001100101011011000110110001101111

So that's the reason why your second grader doesn't learn binary code, it's so much simpler to write 5 little letters when you want to say 'Hello'. To make it a little more authentic, I even opened up 'Notepad' and put in the Binary Code. Since it has a very basic, computer-language-looking font, I figured it was perfect.

Supplies: Ildi Co Digital Stamp, GP White Cardstock, Blue Cardstock, Sassafras Lass Monstrosity patterned paper, Copic Marker, Metallic Silver Pen, Unused packaging (for the red eye scanner thing, I cut it out, then colored it and put it behind the main part of the image so it looked a little more realistic.

If you're interested in playing around with Binary Code, I found a translation site on the web. Just click here for the site, it's cool, and I really liked the idea of him printing it out to hand it to someone. And the receiver of the card loved it, too!

I'm going to be posting future Ildi Co projects automatically, so that this delay won't be an issue again. I had no idea looking for a house was so crazy! My hint for next week's project?

RAWR!

Wow!

2009-10-14T11:34:00.005-04:00

How did I miss posting this last week?
Well, it's been really busy. Blog Business first...

I'll have some really cool Ildi Co. stuff for you tonight.

First involves something you can probably give to people at a certain spooky time of the year.

I think you'll really love it. I should have posted it last week, but things got crazy (more on that later)...

I'll also be announcing the WINNER of my blog candy... Very excited about this one. Did a random draw and EVERYTHING!!!! So if you were entered and posted about wanting to be a part of the blog candy, you need to check this out later.

The Second thing that I used Ildi for, well...I'm very excited about. Okay, do any of you watch Doctor Who (either the new series or the older movies and series?)??? Because, if you do, Ildi Co's new line may stir up some feelings. There's a certain type of creature that's featured that just made me...well, it reminded me (in a good way) of the new line of Ildi Co Stamps...the emotibots...

Here's what a few of them look like:

To me, and all my geek glory, I see them as happier versions of those daleks or perhaps friends of R2D2 (Star Wars)... and they are SO MUCH fun to color, too. I can't wait for you to see them, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by a few of the things I've done with them. They're things YOU can do as well, all you have to do is click the link to the Ildi Co. store in the upper right corner of my blog.

Those things will be posted tonight. Things have been really crazy, my hours have been all weird. Why? Well, first we've been looking at houses for the last two weeks--we definitely have to get out of our current home. There's black mold, the roof leaks and from what the roofers said, the roof is totally a lost cause. Luckily we rent, but we've been trying to get the repairs for a really long time--it hasn't been an easy road at ALL!

We were promised that the roof didn't leak and that the foundation of the added room wasn't sinking or there was anything wrong with the entire house when we moved in, but that's not been the case. Craziness. The wiring isn't that great either. If we run the microwave in the pantry, any 2 lights in the house and 1 tv anywhere in the house (or a hairdryer), the circuit blows and has to be reset. 1 circuit is responsible for things in about every room... I helped my Grandfather rewire his house as a kid (since I was the only grandchild for almost 10 years, and then because I was already taught how to do things, I was the default kid to help with projects until college), and as soon as I saw the box, I cringed a little bit.

We've been looking at houses. I've fallen in love with 2 of them. One was sadly out of our price range (I couldn't make in 8 years what they wanted for this house), one was beautiful and old and full of magic, but was in a really bad area of Akron--a block away from a school known for disciplinary problems (which I didn't mind, LOL. I just want that HOUSE!). One house where he wanted to live was in the country and had a lot of property, but it was really small and there were 4 ceramic fuses for the entire house (I KNOW we use more power than that--my parent's house had a similar system that had to be replaced for the same reason), no basement and the huge garage was built into a hill, with no retaining structure present. Eeek! And the appliances in the house were lovely, but they were older than most of our parents, LOL. Another house he liked was in a township, and stunk really bad of cat. Multiple cats. The bathroom had a rotted floor and there was a large, dark (found out later it was blood) stain in the bedroom, which we later found out was where the guy who had lived in the house--well, you get the idea. So totally not good!

The house we thought we had a good foothold on, for $30,000 (the asking price)...ended up being sold today for $77,000. So things aren't going so well. Since we lost that house, we're going to have to start looking more. Which means a lot more scheduled posts for me, LOL... So check me out tonight, and please send good house buying vibes (and work vibes, too!) my way.

Paper Popsicles Blog Announcement

2009-10-01T10:12:00.004-04:00

You can check out the Paper Popsicles blog for more details, but I just wanted to let you know that they are having a Creepy Crawly Blog Hop starting October 10th (that's next Saturday!)...

As an incentive to get the word out, they're offering blog candy, so you should check out this post for more information. Good luck! I hope you can win it. There's some awesome hambly goodies as well as some glaze pens and much, much more.

Ildi Co Wednesday

2009-09-30T21:57:00.002-04:00

Just got back from a pampered chef party and had a fantastic time. Of course, then I got to take pictures of a project that I absolutely LOVE!
I love Halloween. I saw Nightmare Before Christmas in the theatre during the original run, as well as when it was rereleased in 3d last year. I go to Dineyland and ride the Haunted Mansion ride at Christmas, when the whole house is taken over by Jack Skellington and all of his crew.
Well, for those of you who have seen the movies, you may remember there's a certain JACK who shows up in the film, early.... And this little ildi co stamp reminded me of him....

Here's my project!

I LOVE this journal. It's got all of the elements--Basic Grey Eerie paper, MM alphas and a great Ildi Image. The pages are blank--I'm thinking of sending this to a special person, or maybe keeping it, not really sure yet. Maybe a mini album or a sketch book????

UPDATE: IMAGE FIXED! I went back after I played around with it, and was able to glow in the dark some of the elements on the side as well as some of the dots and the pumpkin man's eyes. And my secret? Glow in the dark puffy paint. I will could not get a good low light picture last night, so I think that'll be a project for this weekend.

Any ideas?

Technical difficulties

2009-09-23T22:00:00.000-04:00

I have no idea where my camera is, LOL... So you'll have to settle for a video located on my youtube channel. I'm really sorry to do this to you, but I promise it'll be easy to check out. Simply follow the link here:
Scrap N' Tell
Will have a better link tomorrow evening. I just can't believe I cleaned up and now can't find the camera--isn't that how it always works? LOL

There are 2 cards I featured Ildi Co Digi stamps on, one even features the spanking new Halloweenies. Great, Great stuff. Check them out (there's a new link on my sidebar for the brand new web store!)...

Scrappin'!

2009-09-19T22:06:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I actually have been scrapping and planning these past few days. Cleaning up my space has never been so profitable to using up my stash! Yes, I'm going to go through and try not to buy anything, save adhesive (and I just started a CTMH Hostess club, more on that ater) for a while--even though I want the new BG Eskimo Kisses and a few other lovely CHA things. They can wait.
I want to maybe get some page protectors, and get some photos developed (as well as a few things in the mail), but other than that, I think I'm done for a while.
My birthday is in 13 days, I will be 30 and that is the day I plan to start doing a project 365 type thing, not sure how definite the details are just yet, but I have some high hopes. I think it would be really cool to have a complete record of the year I turn 30, LOL.
Have a video to share with you soon, as well as some pics of the work I'm doing for Ildi and If It's Groovy. These are fantastic groups to work with. Look for website updates tomorrow.
This is just a quick message to let you know what's up for the time being.
What are you doing?
Happy Creating!

Ildi Co Wednesday

2009-09-16T20:43:00.003-04:00

It's Wednesday, which is my day to showcase some amazing stuff that is made by the great and innovative Digi-Stamp company, Ildi Co. This week, I was inspired by techniques and a sketch (which I can find, but do not have any idea who it belongs to, so I'm going to be doing some research) to make a scrapbooking page.

So I'm reading Heidi Swapp's 'Love Your Handwriting' and I'm trying to embrace my handwriting, but it's a bit hard. I used the Ildi Co Clownkins stamp 'Princess' (which inspired the title of the sketch as well). The stamp was so much fun to color, I'm particularly happy with the way the crown came out, and the nose. I love coloring these stamps in a pastel/girly manner, if you've seen some previous work. The sparkles are Stickles Diamond and I used the Prima rhinestones. The coloring is all from Markers and the picture on this layout is my boyfriend's niece, who was born on my birthday. It's an 8 1/2 x 11 layout featuring Bazzil and Basic Grey Porcelain papers. I used my markers to also color the silver thickers, LOL...

Don't forget to check out the rest of the awesome team for Ildi Co. Please check out my links!

P.S. I *MIGHT* have a preview of the new line very soon for you.

Coming up this week: Prize announcement, Preview of BG's Eerie line, If It's Groovy stuff and even MORE Ildi Co. Happy Creating!

Refilling Copic Markers

2009-09-16T09:32:00.000-04:00

Refilling Copic Markers is fun, well, if you're a coloring geek like I am, LOL. The website for them is located here. They're really awesome to work with and it's something where, if you know what you want, you may be able to get a great deal like I did. And let me tell you, this method is a LOT easier than I thought it would be. There is another method, but I'm not going through that way, at least not for a while.

As for the coloring, pardon the pride. I'm just really happy that I'm finally getting more and more understanding of color theory. For a while I was a little worried and thought that I wasn't ever going to 'get' it. But I think I've made leaps and bounds from the girl who played with the Prismacolored pencils last year (which was totally a step up from before).
And to me, that's what the whole process is about--learning new things every day, not being afraid to take chances/mistakes, being happy with what comes out of things and seeing the value even in mistakes.

Challenge: What are your favorite stamps???

2009-09-15T09:28:00.003-04:00

Big differences now, I clean my stamps and use appropriate inks, which is really REALLY important. Now, what about you? What are your top 5 stamps? Your top 10 stamps?
Let me know either in a reply (comments) or a reply on YouTube or Viddler.

2009-09-13T15:33:00.001-04:00

Short and sweet post today. Intermittant interet access this week. Ethernet cable. I've been a roadrunner customer for 6 yrs. Want to switch.

Jessica Sprague

2009-09-10T10:13:00.000-04:00

A while back, I took a free course from Jessica Sprague. Oh, my goodness, if you ever have an opportunity to take one, you need to do it. She's amazing! So I decided to post the first and second lessons combined. I've used Photoshop for over 10 years (did design in high school and college, etc), and I FINALLY now know how to use brushes correctly, LOL. Her classes will satisfy all skill levels, in my opinion. This is a silly picture that I took of me, and I just thought the frame and brush (celebrate) looked like they fit. Now, don't be too scared, because I'm not wearing makeup and I did that weird thing with two Princess Leia buns, LOL.

Anyway, go check her out at her website, JessicaSprague.com!

Ildi Co... DT Work

2009-09-09T21:22:00.005-04:00

When I read about the Cards for Kate drive that Jennifer McGuire is doing, I couldn't get it out of my head for the longest time. This is taken directly from Jennifer's site about the whole thing:

About 6 weeks ago the life of the McRae family changed forever when their precious 5 year old daughter, Kate, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. Dad (Aaron) is a pastor in Arizona and he and his wife, Holly have two other children, Will and Olivia. Of course this is devastating for the whole family and many are praying for them. (Go to www.prayforkate.com to learn more about this family and their struggle). Kate has a rough road ahead of her for quite awhile. When you hear their story you will want to do anything you can to help.

If doing something to let this family know you're thinking of them isn't enough, Jennifer is even offering prizes--generous prizes donated as well as those I think she's provided. The details are on her site. I think you should check it out. There's a little description of each family member, and you have until October 15th to get the cards to Jennifer. I decided that Ildi Co's Clownkins would be perfect for Kate's little brother, Will. Here's what I came up with:

It's a happy card. A bright card. I don't know exactly what to say, so I'm going to just write inside that I'm sending hugs and thoughts to him and his entire family. I might stamp some blank images for them all to color as well. I have an idea that I'm developing for Kate's older sister. I want to do something special for Kate, have no idea what yet.

So the image on the card is Clownkins' Star. It's adorable. If you haven't yet purchased any Ildi Co stamps, I recommend you do so as soon as possible. They're great because they can be printed out on nearly anything, and at any size. He's colored in with Markers and outlined in certain areas with a Gelly Roll Stardust pen. It really sparkles. The threading water punch from Fiskars was used on some of the Bazzil Cardstock, and all of it is over Basic Grey Offbeat paper (the stripes). Oh, and Clownkin Star's face comes off the page, thanks to some foam squares.

I used a sketch from MojoMonday (A Challenge Blog) called MojoTeresa. I'm starting to collect and use sketches, and I like it!

So, you have 2 things that you should do.
1. Check out Ildi Co. (You can still get 10 items for $20! But this deal can't last forever, take advantage ASAP, you won't be disappointed).
2. Check out Cards for Kate

Ildi Post One!

2009-09-09T19:00:00.002-04:00

Here's my first post for Ildi Co. today. Let me just say that Ildi Co stamps are the first digi stamps that I've really used, and they are so versatile! As soon as I saw this guy, I knew that I had to make a tea journal. And that's exactly what I did. The cup and teapot have glossy elements and up close, they really look like ceramic. This journal is an ongoing project, featuring my favorite teas, mantras, memories---all sorts of things. The whole ritual of tea is intriguing to me. More on this later, I hope you'll follow me on this journey. I stitched the binding myself and cut the pages to fit...It felt awesome to do things for myself.

Welcome Back, Wednesday!

2009-09-09T09:16:00.002-04:00

Wow! I can't believe it's been so long since I posted, I'm really sorry about that. There's been so much stuff going on that I haven't had much time on the computer. Some of it is creative related, some of it isn't. So I'm just going to tell everything at once.

Tuesday (still without internet)--I became an official member of the 'If It's Groovy' Design Team. It's run by Deb, a Fiskateer. It really made me happy, and I think the whole team is a great group of girls and I really think you should check out the site by clicking the link in my sidebar.

Wednesday was my day to post for the Ildi Co DT. Unfortunately, the Internet guy didn't come until late. He was pleasant and very helpful, but it took so long to get everything figured out. I'd been fighting Time Warner about my Roadrunner service for about a year, and they kept directing me to an overseas support line, then it would get escalated and finally someone would say, 'Your Internet should work.' They couldn't do anything without a service call, and they refused to start a service call until there was something wrong reported on their end. The tech who came out said it was partially my modem (it's 6 years old, of course it's my modem) and partially the fact that I only had one service, so my signal was 'too powerful' and therefore irregular. Weirdest conversation ever. Needless to say it was really late and I went to bed right after he came home.

Thursday, Sinus migraine, which I attribute to the weather. I notice that any time there's a drop in barometric pressure, I get the worst sinus problems. I have a deviated septum, so that's also a contributing factor to my nose issues. I should be on a few nasal inhalers, daily medication, etc. But I did that (with 4 years of allergy shots in high school), and I was still miserable. Avoidance is usually best for me. I stay away from triggers, take hot showers with eucalyptus essential oil (either in the oil burner or sprinkled just in front of the drain) and seem to do pretty well with one nasal inhaler and some over the counter pain medicines on occasion. I didn't spend any time at the computer because it hurt to focus for more than 2 minutes.

Friday, emergency with my mom. She was supposed to be going with my (step) dad to Indiana for a job (his company has plants all over the country and one plant needed someone to help them with a deadline, so he stepped up to the plate) and halfway there my mom had some issues. I was writing my post when she called and though I thought I set it up correctly, it went the way of smoke (bye-bye). Long story short, she has a bladder and a kidney infection and she was out of commission. I was going to drive down and pick her up and take her to Indiana to meet him there for the holiday weekend, but it just didn't work out. This takes us all the way through Monday.

Now, I probably should have checked the blog, but I relaxed. And then it was yesterday when I came into work and noticed that my post didn't actually post. Eep! So I was all ready to do it when I got an email from my father, letting me know my Great Uncle (on his side) passed yesterday morning--he'd really been struggling with Pancreatic Cancer lately. The doctors thought he'd licked it at the end of last year, but it came back with a vengeance. And then I spoke with my Mom a little later and found out my Great Aunt (on her side) was in the hospital, receiving treatment for blockages, which may include Open Heart Surgery. She's 82.

I got distracted, and I totally shouldn't have. It's not been a good time, but I'm refocusing my energy. And last night, I kinda got a little inspired. So you'll be seeing 2 peaks at some Ildi Co. stamp projects from me today. Yay! One will be from last week, Two will be from this week (a work in progress). Yay! And be prepared for a few new announcements, regarding Ildi and If It's Groovy, there are some really awesome, talented people on these teams, and I'm really happy to be working with them.

Hey there!

2009-08-31T13:52:00.002-04:00

Wow! It feels SO good to have an internet connection, but I really should be working. So I'm just going to take a minute and let you know what's going on.

I've been calling Time Warner (RoadRunner) every time there's been an issue with my connection. And, actually, it's nearly any time there's weather in the area. Meaning, if there's a power outage, if it rains, snow... you get the idea. So I called last Thursday night and was told that everything looked fine, but we had no internet. So then I called again at about 10 PM and a very nice associate told me that I had irregular levels and a service call had to be performed. So I went back and forth about dates and FINALLY got one for this wednesday (the 2nd) after 6 PM.

Headache, anyone else? My migraines are a little back. And just when I think it's over, the weather changes (especially barometric pressure), which prompts a few more problems.

Anyway, if all goes well I SHOULD have internet access Wednesday night. After fighting with the company and telling them I've had issues for over 6 months. And once that happens, I'll let you know. Right now, I'm trying to be crafty at work, cutting out 2,000 stars with my cricut over the course of the next two weeks. Eeek!

Blog Hop!!!!

2009-08-29T00:01:00.000-04:00

Wow oh Wow! 2009 has definitely been a year full of new and wonderful things--both off and on the blog. I'm writing to you today as a participant in my very first blog hop. Yes, I'm FINALLY on a blog hop. I took the plunge with Ildi Co. and here were are.

So now, I have a great card to show you. I am sending it to someone who isn't a part of the team, but that is a dear Online Creative friend. I'm totally ruining the surprise. So, I'm sorry.

This is a new little girl and she's really darling. She's a Clownkins, and it's the newest release from Ildi Co. Isn't she cute? You'll of course be looking for a letter that you can collect for the last leg of your journey and *I* think you'll be able to find my letter very quickly. Did you see it amongs the *???? Write down that letter, as well as the letters in the entire blog hop and you can get 10% off at the Ildi Store the night of the new release. You are not to pay for your order when you use this code until you receive a manual invoice from paypal. This invoice will have the adjusted price.

You should be joining me from Shannon's blog and next in line is April's blog. If you haven't started the blog, check out the very first stop at Jenny's blog.

Oh, and if you'd like to get the chance to win some surprise blog candy from me, you just have to become a follower and then post a comment on this blog. There's a little bag of goodies I've been collecting, that I'm sure someone will fall in love with. And it could be you! Please note, if you're already a follower, simply say that in your comment. And, if you comment and let me know you bought something at the Ildi store, I'll add another entry for you, that's right TWO entries for this special and amazing blog candy if you buy something from Ildi's amazing store.

I have a lot more to post, but I've had major computer issues. In fact, I will be without the internet at home until at least Wednesday evening. Time Warner Cable is sending someone out then, but I've been telling the associates there's been a problem for the better part of 6 months. Eeek!

Anyway, in the interim, I will be working on a tutorial and some other really neat things for you.
Please be sure to check out the Ildi Co Blog Hop. Thanks so much for checking me out and Happy Creating!

Ildi Work

2009-08-27T21:00:00.002-04:00

Wow, oh wow! I'm having such a fun time with my Ildi DT work. Apparently this project didn't post yesterday, so I'm reposting it.

Ildi stamp, colored with markers
American Crafts patterned paper
Bazzil Jetstream Cardstock
Letters cut out of Cricut Plantin Schoolbook
Stitched accents (on letters) drawn in with Signo White Pigment Pen
Small pieces of glitter are miscellaneous
Also used foam squares and Transparency paper to make my window. When it moves, the glittery stars really do move. I tried to make sure they went up top so everyone could see them.

This is the result:

I was inspired by all of the cards I've been seeing lately with techniques, so I decided I HAD to do a technique card. I really like how it turned out, and I think it's perfect for a more masculine feel that I was hoping to achieve. Be sure to stay tuned, we're having a blog hop for Ildi on Saturday... Woo HOO!

And Another Goes into the Mix!

2009-08-25T09:33:00.002-04:00

Last week was Farmer's Market at the Greeting Farm and I picked up a stamp... It's another Wild Sprout! Annika is her name and I'm thinking of a couple of back to school projects for this cutie as well as possibly some Book Group related stuff.

Will post some projects later. Don't forget, tomorrow is my day to feature some awesome Ildi Co. designs.

Happy Creating!
GothamGal

SPCC # 11

2009-08-23T21:11:00.004-04:00

Wow! I was inspired by this week's color challenge to do not one but two cards for the SPCC Challenge. Here's what the color challenge colors were:

And on each of these cards, I used a soft suede card base. The white was an accent, as was the green. I'm so glad I was able to color my images to attain some of the colors in this week's combo.

I love that green fiber. It's like that stuff I've seen in cars, know what I mean? Have an Imaginesce tree stamp (from the fairy tale collection, I think) stamped on whisper white. Then that was stamped with the two inks on the challenge. It's one of the first times I've actually done different ink colors on one stamp. You can't see it, but the flowers have diamond stickles for accent.

This little guy (From the Greeting Farm, his name is Edward) is colored kinda funky, but totally along with the challenge, then I added him to some Making Memories Spellbound paper and added some accent ribbon. I created depth by placing some of the designs over the ribbon. Used my trusty corner rounder.

Wednesday Means Ildi Co.!

2009-08-18T14:28:00.005-04:00

It's Wednesday, which is the day I get lucky enough to feature work for Ildi Design Co., a digital stamp company that's relatively new and totally AWESOME!

I decided to make a card featuring the adorable bear (KUMA?) flying a kite. I personally, love flying kites and can remember taking my little brothers to the park to fly kites a lot when I was growing up. Maybe Mary Poppins had way more of an impact than I thought it did (they sing a song about Flying Kites just before the end credits, LOL). Here is my card:

I actually took off the end string, so that I could give the illusion of movement. This is from personal experience, as sometimes kites will not behave! I added some ribbon to the thread. I bought thread similar to what we use when we fly kites--the clear stuff (I think it's similar to fishing?). Anyway, I like the way it turned out, but I'm thinking of a bigger card next time, with maybe a few more bells and whistles--clouds, a sun... you get the idea.

Be sure and check out Ildi Co and snag your set of these adorable stamps--you can save $6.50 when you buy all 10 stamps for $20. Why are digi stamps so great?

Well, for one thing, they won't clutter up your desktop because you store them on a computer, flash drive, etc (just make sure to back them up!).
Digi stamps are just as fun (if not more fun) to color--no waiting for ink to dry or trying to figure out placement (you can open your photo editing software and print out an entire sheet filled with digi stamps).
Digi stamps can be sized to fit nearly any project! That's right, when was the last time you wanted that physical stamp to be just a tiny bit smaller, but it couldn't be because you didn't buy the smaller size in addition to the bigger one?

I'm definitely not tossing out my rubber stamps, because I really love them. But I will say that digi stamps are becoming a lot of fun for me. They're really cool to use, and I love the idea of a hybrid type stamping project. I like the ease of use and the control I can have over the image.

Seriously, if you haven't yet tried digi stamps, I would suggest you try out Ildi Co. They're a really great, small company that's making leaps and bounds. Get in on the ground so you can snag some really great deals. Check out the links in my sidebar to see some other really great projects that showcase the functionality of these cuties.

(By the way, there's some really cool stuff coming along from Ildi Co. Check back next week for my Wednesday card AND you might also want to check back next weekend, but more on that exciting news as it develops!)

Happy Creating!

My First Wild Sprout!!!

2009-08-18T09:56:00.004-04:00

I finally took the plunge and picked up my first Wild Sprout stamp from The Greeting Farm. I had such a hard time picking, but ended up with Edward, because he was just so adorable. Once I had nailed down that it was Edward, I had the hardest time finding him in stock at stores--so I ended up checking out Summer's shop, Roses on Paper.

Roses on Paper features a wide selection of Greeting Farm stamps, as well as Alota and Magnolia. Shipping is quick and affordable (ordered at the end of last week and got it last night!), through the US postal service--FROM HAWAII!

Seriously, check out Summer's shop and maybe you could snag one of these cuties:

New Stuff!!!

2009-08-17T10:22:00.004-04:00

I went to Archiver's last week, on Friday and then on Saturday. Yes, I really do have a problem. Seriously it's not as bad as it could be because I had COUPONS!

Picked up some hot spot items, including some really cool Hero Arts stamps, which I cannot find an image of. They're really cute, feature some gems as well as one little image. I got the cluster of bats (because I'm GothamGal, after all) and a little trick or treater dressed up as a ghost. I want to say the ghost costume probably has an owl underneath it.

I also got to use a coupon for buy 2 hot spot items, get 2 free. So I got some stickers and brads featuring the character that is one of my favorite Imaginesce characters:

Some rubons and a package of straight pins--I think they're fancy pants (both of those items were). Some cardstock (buy 5 sheets, get 5--I got the 8 1/2 by 11 so I can finish some cards)...

I also got some BG rubons, which were on sale. I think they'll work really well with my Lime Rickey paper. I have a couple of ideas already, so you might want to get scared, LOL.

I tried that big blue one on my Crate Paper page that I'm making (pictures soon) and I was really impressed with it. The whole thing went on really smooth (NOT like the other set I bought that I mentioned previously), and I could stop and check my progress really easily on the BG ones--overall it went much better than the last American Craft rubons I tried.

Oh, and I FINALLY got a White Signo pen! Yes, the pen that people have been talking about for ages, I finally picked up. It's a white pigment ink pen and I like using it, been able to make eyes pop, as well as certain elements on pages. My big issue with it, though, is an occasional blockage. Is anyone else experiencing this?

Pictures are forthcoming. I spent a LOT of time over the weekend making some pretty things. They will be pictured soon, I promise.

Also, please be sure to check out Ildi Co. (the link is on the right and column)--they've got some really great images, and some fantastic deals that you need to check out. It's really cool seeing a stamp company grow from square one.

Happy Creating!

Color Challenge Time

2009-08-16T13:00:00.004-04:00

I read Scrapmaster's Paradise pretty often, and I even buy stuff from her from Stampin Up on Occasion. So when I saw this particular color challenge, I knew I HAD to do it!

Look at those lovely colors! Since I've never really participated in one, I figured there was no time like the present. So this is what I came up with:

The colors are all featured, but the picture doesn't do the Anya justice. She's got sparkly lilac and darker purple hair, colorful wings and the paper is really just the right color, too.

If you've never participated in a color challenge, I would suggest you try it out. This week's prize is some AMAZING copic markers. Good luck and Happy Creating!

Blog Candy Opportunity

2009-08-12T14:19:00.002-04:00

Stephanie at Where'd All My Money Go?! is having a FANTASTIC and GENEROUS blog giveaway--the winner will receive one $150 gift card to...a place of your choice! How fantastic is that?

Before August 28th at 10 pm, please make some time to visit her site and you can sign up to win. Thank you very much for the opportunity, Stephanie!

Wow!

2009-08-12T09:47:00.005-04:00

Okay, so a few days ago, I talked about a new company that produces some really great digital stamps, Ildi Co. Digital Stamps.

Well, as it turns out, I made it onto the design team with this little card that featured their adorable bear, Kuma. The stamp is called Cuddles-Kuma Picnic:

I've added links to the other members of the design team on my sidebar, as well as a link to the store. For those of you who want a great deal, be sure to take advantage of Ildi Co's limited time offer. You can get 10 images for $20.00. Check out the Etsy site and check out the stamps. When you decide to buy them (because you totally should!), click on the 'Contact Ildico3' button on the sidebar or you can email her directly by clicking here. The link opens in a new window and will be in your email program. Just say you want to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. This is a fantastic opportunity, you save $6.50 by buying all ten directly.

Okay, well that's my post for now. I'll be back as soon as I can with more wonderful things. If you have time, check out the rest of the design team at their links on the sidebar--you won't be disappointed.

You Asked, I am delivering

2009-08-09T20:04:00.003-04:00

I've been playing around with techniques, and, as one awesome web friend (::cough:: Anne at Gaal Creative ::cough::) asked what I'd been doing lately. So, without further ado, I'm adding some pictures of some different techniques.... Will try and post some more of my layouts in a bit...

I wanted to make a simple card, and I was inspired right after I bought the DCWV Summer Glitter mat stack from JoAnn's. I used my Hero Arts stamps and used StazOn. The tree is stamped on a transparency, it was colored in with Copics. I added some paper flowers to give some dimension. The whole card is kraft, as I've been addicted to it ever since I bought the Stampin Up package.

Kraft paper again, but this time there's a Hero Arts owl, tree branch and sentiment. I colored this little guy with Prismacolor pencils, and added some K and Company rubons to the side. A very simple, quick card.

I don't know if I've shown this layout before. It features Max and Evie (Peeves), and I was inspired by a Jessica Sprague tutorial. I really liked her emphasis on the corner rounder--and I have had to buy 2 (okay, lost one and then found it after I'd used the second one) of these awesome babies. Bazzil cardstock (and Bazzil edge), DCWV cardstock, printed journalling from the computer (again, something from the Sprague hybrid class). I really like the idea of hybrid scrapping, may have to try some more!

Wow! This was another inspiration from the summer glitter mat stack. This time I took some of the images from one of the Greeting Farm 's sets and colored them in with markers. Then I added them to the card. I think it needs something, some sentiment, but then again, I kind of like how simple it is. I'm thinking I might leave this empty until the opportunity presents itself to give it.

Okay, so I should have a few more things to add to the blog tomorrow. Next time, prepare for the emphasis on layouts! Take care, and happy creating!

Just Magnolia Challenge

2009-08-09T19:55:00.003-04:00

I felt a little brave today, partially because of the heat, and decided to create a card based on a challenge posted at Just Magnolia.
It's my first time entering the challenge, but overall I'm pretty happy with my result. I used my Prismacolors to color the image and then used some Making Memories paper from a 6x6 stack, some buttons, a Heidi Grace rub on, flowers and stickles and some ribbon. I think I followed the sketch pretty faithfully, but mixed it up a bit. The sentiment has the corner rounder I'm so fond of, LOL. And behind the little girl is a little tag/bookmark that I really enjoyed putting together. I think it would be awesome to get a card with a bookmark on it, LOL.

Call for Ildi Design team AND a digistamp freebie!

2009-08-09T19:18:00.003-04:00

I heard about a new digistamp company over on SplitCoastStampers this week. They were not only looking for a design team, but they were giving away a digistamp. An adorable digital stamp featuring a teddy bear. The name is Ildi Co.

Needless to say, as soon as I saw it, I thought about coloring it. I've been doing a lot of coloring lately. So, I followed the instructions on their site and then went ahead and got the image and colored it. Wow, I really like the way it turned out, I think I am really getting the hang of coloring with markers (not to be snotty--I'm pretty sure there are a LOT of other tricks I need to learn.

Anyway, here's my card. I used Making Memories paper (from a few years old 6x6 pack), a Hero Arts sentiment and my Fiskars Threading water border punch--I used a EK success corner rounder on the sentiment, stamped in Black Memento ink. It also represents the first time I made a succesful bigger card in my opinion. The card measures about 5 & 1/2" by 5 & 1/2"--I usually do the cards that come out of cutting a piece of 8&1/2 x 11" in half.

Go on and check out Ildi and try your hand at coloring the image, see what you can come up with. I CHALLENGE you!

ABC Design Blog: Win a Gift Certificate!

2009-08-06T14:14:00.001-04:00

ATTENTION:"A Set a Day Giveaway"

Featuring the NEW sets from "MY CUTE STAMPS"

Starts August 3rd and ends August 7th.

Go and comment daily on the ABC Design Blog post and you could win the stamp set featured that day. Just go to ABC Design Blog for all the details.

Also, the store owner, Julie, has a $25 Shopping Spree to the STORE to give away this week. So check out the Store Blog and see how to win.

Another Blog Candy Opportunity

2009-08-05T11:56:00.002-04:00

Nilla is giving away a fantastic blog candy with some really cool stuff. Check it out Here.

Wow!

2009-08-04T14:06:00.001-04:00

Wow, I can't believe it's already Tuesday. Can anyone else?
I have tons of things to post, but I will be brief. I heard about a really great candy today, and wanted to pass along the info, as I know there are some really talented Magnolia ladies...

Inked Inspirations is giving away Magnolias to 6 Lucky People, and you could be one of them. Check it out now by clicking here and good luck!

One Sheet Wha--??? Challenge

2009-08-04T11:32:00.005-04:00

One of the buzzwords I've heard in the cardmaking arena that I keep meaning to ask about is the 'One Sheet Wonder.' What is a One Sheet Wonder? How can it help my creations? Well, the answer is simpler than you think.

Bear with me, you probably already know what a One Sheet Wonder is, and for that I'm sorry that I'm going over something you might already know about, but check out the links toward the bottom of the post for links you may not have seen before.

Okay, say you have 1 day to make 15 cards. Yes, we've all been there. We've all procrastinated. We've said things like 'I can cut out the cards tomorrow, then stamp and color. I'll be fine.' But then life happens, or that book you're reading gets really good or you need to take the kids to the mall--whatever the case something happens and it distracts you from your intentions to make a card. Now, it's 9 pm and you have until 9 am tomorrow to make those cards you promised someone. What do you do?

Okay, this is a sort of emergency, but as much as you might want to call Jack Bauer (we ALL love Keifer, right?), it's not THAT kind of emergency, and in fact the issue can be solved with some paper, glue, your trusty scissors, your trimmer and some stamps/ink. And chances are, you'll be done in time to catch 'The Late Show.'

That's where One Sheet Wonders come into play. The OSW process allows you to create a bunch of cards with different templates from one master coordinating set--saving you time, frustration and sanity.

If you're familiar with the SheetLoad of Cards, this is similar. Where Sheetload has you use multiple papers, OSW has you cut everything from one 12x12 (or an 8 & 1/2 x 11) sheet. A few cuts into your paper (after measuring of course), and low and behold you have enough supplies to make anywhere from 6 to 15 cards.

I think this would be a great idea for those of us who have some time on our hands to showcase some really cool new stamps, or even a really awesome paper that we just HAD to have, but it's too pretty to cut up. If you want to send some cards to a good cause, why not make a set of One Sheet Wonders and send them to Cards for Heroes (restrictions apply, no glitter, please).

So, I'm posting this challenge to you--check out the tutorials below or find a different one AND make your own set of One Sheet Wonder cards. And then write about these in your blog or on a message board. Then you'll need to leave a comment below, with the details, and I'll visit your blog! Everyone who does this before September 1, 2009 will be entered to win some goodies from me--more on that later.

So come on everyone, show me your wonderous one sheets! I'm going to work on a set as well. It'll be featured here on the blog in the coming weeks. Good luck, and be sure to spread the word!

Ink It Up With Jessica tutorial--really detailed.
Mae Collin's OSW Workshop--format for a smaller sheet of paper.
Mish Mash Card tutorial--Patriotic cards with own background.
Another template--8 and 1/2 by 11 template.
Stamping With Mia--The 6th in a multi part series about OSW

Quick Video

2009-07-31T08:53:00.001-04:00

I made a video a few days ago, just pretty quick. It's got a few cards, a description of an awesome prize and it's just enough to make you excited for the return of GothamGal's Scrap N Tell videos. Yay!

Excellent Blog Candy

2009-07-30T23:18:00.001-04:00

Priscilla Styles is giving away a Big Shot die cutting system, some dies and a FANTASTIC bag. Be sure to check out this blog candy and put your proverbial hat into the ring, you won't be sorry!

492

2009-07-29T10:49:00.004-04:00

I just got done with my first 'Craft for Hire' project.

The number in the title of this post is how many pieces I had to provide. 492 diecuts.

Luckily, my Cricut made short work of the whole process. And I'm making 4 more pieces for her.

I didn't know what to charge. There were 3 sizes of diecuts, in 4 colors and the breakdown is as follows:
96 small diecuts x 4 different colors == 384

18 medium diecuts x 4 different colors ==72

9 large diecuts x 4 different colors ==36

--------------------------------------------------

492 total pieces.

Now, they provided some of their own paper for the project, and I used my Cricut. But I used a mat to nearly pieces and popped in a new blade. I spent maybe $2 total on cardstock that they needed, most other I used was from my stash. The person did provide a big thing of leftover cardstock from a pack they purchased, but I just used a few of the colors and plan on giving them back the rest of the colors. If they need future stuff.

I mean, I set prices at work for items, and I can usually look at something in the store and tell you how much it probably costs from the vendor. On my own stuff, I'm always trying to make sure the person is happy with the price. When I did scarves, they were really cheap. I probably lose money this way, but I like thinking that people get a good deal and walk away happy.

How do you deal with pricing goods? Do you have an online system or in your head system that works? Do you not deal with it because there is an online site you use that handles things? I was thinking of pricing the small ones at $0.02, the medium at $0.03 and the large for $0.05 and multiply that by 2. That's around the $22-$24 mark. I told the woman $15 or $20, whatever she thought was fair. And I'm cool with that. I think once I get a little more confident with what I'm making, prices shouldn't be a big deal.

Pros
Got to use my Cricut and learn how to work the software

Went through some stash

Got to go shopping for extra cardstock

Changed my Cricut blade (it DEFINITELY needed it)

Cons

Broke a mat (down to 8 now, darn, LOL)

Lots of cardstock scraps (need to get a trash can in the room where I scrap/craft)

Bought a few 'extras' at the shop when searching for cardstock

And to think of it, my cons aren't even that bad, so really, it's cool. Just watching my budget for the next couple of weeks. I've bought way too much lately, and I need to have a massive cleaning and inventory before I can conceiveably buy more stuff. After all, if I don't know I have it, I can't use it, right?

I'm really happy I took on the project. I learned what my Cricut E can do. I learned how I can work with the computer and the Cricut, so I got to use my design work. I also got to use some of the tricks I've learned on the Pink Stamper, through watching her videos.

Overall, it's a WIN!

Picked up a few things

2009-07-27T17:38:00.003-04:00

I was trying to be good, but there's been a few things on my wishlist for a while, but there is still one thing I am looking for. If anyone knows where I can find my ISO, please let me know. Ebay is going to charge me just about as much as the stamp costs to ship it, and since I picked these up at the Archiver's hot spot ($1.99 each), I would be spending nearly $6. I don't know if I'm willing to pay the $6 right now, LOL. I'm hoping someone can find this at their archiver's and agree to mail it to me. I not only will pay you, I can send a little gift bag of some other images, some clear stamps that I have that you will like...

Okay, so did you know Basic Grey came out with a line of little stamps called Gamma? They totally did and they're adorable!

Doesn't this little girl look like such fun to color?
I want to rhinestone the eyes on these guys!
These might be tricky to color.

And I'm in search of:
After seeing what someone did with something similar from PTI, I have a project in mind.

Aren't they adorable? I've gotten quite a few of the Studio G or Imaginesce stamps, but these combine the easy of acrylic with the awesome-ness of Basic Grey!

And then, I also picked up a few other BG products, from the Bling it line. They are:
I've really not used a lot of rhinestones before. I'm excited!

Just What The Art-Doctor Ordered!

2009-07-25T19:03:00.003-04:00

Today I was struck by the creative spark, so I made a few different things, and decided that it was time for me to post a few of my recent creations for your enjoyment... Okay, more for my enjoyment.

I've also taken a digital photo class, so those images should be up in the next few days.

Out for now, 100th post and all!
Happy Creating!

FYI, There's a giveaway going on at Starving Artiststamps. It's really cool. They're giving away 4 sets of stamps, in two really cool themes, and all you have to do is go to the site, submit a comment and tell people about it. Please check it out. Click here to be taken to the blog to sign up!

Whoa!

2009-07-22T11:09:00.003-04:00

17 August 2007, that's when I started this blog. It wasn't updated as much, as I'd originally hoped, I just had an idea, a drive and some free time.

The ideas still come in, but the drive and free time seem hard pressed lately. But it's okay because I have been doing a few things differently. Started a notebook with ideas. Made a calendar with deadlines. These are two tools that go really well with my favorite thing in the world--lists. Between the notebook and the calendar, I can conquer the world. Woo HOO!

My craft room isn't going as well as I'd hoped. Partially it's because I'm going out to sing karaoke 10000 times a week. Okay, sometimes I sing and sometimes I don't. There are places I will sing, and places I won't. HOWEVER, I need to work on some new material. I need to record myself and listen to myself to see what I'm doing right or wrong. LOL.

I've got a pretty free weekend this weekend, and I hope to get some time squared away. Tonight I'm working on my first real scrap for hire project--stuff for someone's family reunion. I'm brushing off the Cricut and digging into that paper. LOL. Making confetti, centerpieces, hanging elements and more.

I'm excited. Woo HOO!

What, I'm at how many posts?

2009-07-15T10:08:00.002-04:00

This post marks 98 posts on this blog. Wow! I can't believe it. Can you believe it?
This has to mean another contest, but I'm not sure what yet. Maybe a Blog-Centennial Event. You know a century is 100 years, and a blog is 100 posts?

Anyway, Hero Arts unveiled their new website today, and it's FANTASTIC!!!! Seriously, really, REALLY nice. You should go check it here.

My room

2009-07-14T13:17:00.002-04:00

I'm kinda nervous to show you the room where I do my artsy-crafty thing.

Why?

Because it's a mess right now. It's the spare room, so there's a bed with tons of books, luggage and clothing that needs organized on top of it. There are boxes of things that SHOULD be in the closet. There are books (did I say this already?) EVERYWHERE.

And because of this, I've started just grabbing what I need/want and taking it somewhere else to work on in another part of the house. I know this is NOT the best solution, and it is by no means permanent, but it works--I still get things done with a messy room.

Obviously the best part of my time would be used CLEANING the room, before I scrap, but I have some deadlines. And those aren't changing. So really, the only option is to work around it.

But I think I'm making progress. I went into the room over the weekend and hung up a new addition (will post about that later), then started going through and sorting things. I have a feeling that I'll need to use multiple garbage bags. The good news is that the bookcrossing books I have will become more organized, prompting me to find them easier to read and release (yay!). The good news is that the clothes and luggage will be put away in their proper places (again, Yay!).

And, if that wasn't incentive enough, I'll actually be able to create in the room reserved for it--which means less mess throughout the house (double YAY!). Just think of all the time I'll save getting all of this taken care of, right?

Yes, that has to start motivating me. Okay, so the plan is to get done with chores tonight, maybe work on some crafty stuff...but then, do SOMETHING in the spare room. Yes.... Hopefully I can get one whole component finished by the weekend. I'll keep you updated.

Question: How do you control clutter? Does your room tend to get things from all over the house in it? How do you cope?

Summer is Here!

2009-07-14T09:08:00.002-04:00

I was directed to a new site this morning, and I'm already in love. See, one of my 'duties' every day is to check my RSS feed. I've used Bloglines for many years, but I recently switched a lot of my crafty sites over to Google Reader. I love it because so many of the people I follow (close to 100) end up there. I read a LOT of entries, but don't reply too much. I don't know why, it's just some quirk that I have I guess.

Anyway, I've been reading Triple The Scraps (Patter) for a few years, I think I met her over that those veggies in the receptacle site. Today (or last night), she linked to Elle's Studio, which is a FANTASTIC and FUN site!

There are free projects, a great store and much, much more. And something I'm most excited about is Summer 2009 Doc-U-Ment-Ed. There's a series of posts about documenting Summer 2009--how fun would that be to incorporate into your own projects?

Go check out Elle's Studio and try not to fall in love with her tags and accent pieces. Check out the Pixie Stick Flower tutorials. Everything seems really fun!

Agggh!!!!

2009-07-13T14:21:00.000-04:00

I'm sorta published....

A few months ago, I sent in some cards using Inkadinkado stamps to get some stamps in return (did a video).

Anyway, they posted me...
http://www.inkadinkado.com/shop/pc/viewContent.asp?idpage=41

(Look for Nicole K)

I'll have to make a screenshot later.

BIG week at Hero Arts

2009-07-13T13:55:00.002-04:00

Big week this week at Hero Arts. They're unveiling something new on the site as well as giving away some awesome product. So, head on over there and check out their blog.

What are you waiting for?

Win $1,000 at TheCuttlebugSpot.com!

2009-07-10T10:55:00.001-04:00

I have just discovered that The Cuttlebug Spot is having a contest - "The Journey to 1,000"! They are trying to reach 1,000 followers by the end of July and need your help. To enter all you have to do is go to their site, sign up as follower and complete a few easy steps and you could win a $1,000 gift certificate to Custom Crops (www.CustomCrops.com)! GO NOW and check it out at www.TheCuttlebugSpot.com

2 weeks since my last post?

2009-07-06T10:15:00.003-04:00

What???
How can I have been putting off posting for the last two weeks? I mean, seriously!

Okay, I've got a confession to make. I've been singing karaoke a lot lately. Hanging out in places and watching others sing as well.

You've caught me--I've been neglecting the crafty side of life too much. And now I'm paying for it. I have a massive crafty to-do list, so that's gotta start being a priority.

I don't know if I've ever bought anything from Stampin' Up. I've heard good and bad things about them, but always out off buying from them. I got an amazing idea book/catalog earlier this year, and really liked some of the items, but couldn't make the plunge.

When the new book was slated to come out, I decided to purchase from Samantha who is also the person behind a site I follow , The Scrapmaster. Any purchase before July 1st made you eligible to get a free catalog/idea book.

One of the things I've really been loving lately is kraft paper. I've been trying to find it all over the place and have been coming up empty handed. Archiver's doesn't have it. I cleaned an LSS out of it.... Well, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to try out their cardstock (the pink stamper is always talking about it)--so I bought a package of 40 pieces (for under $8) of 8-1/2" by 11" cardstock. I love that you can cut the paper in half and make the perfect size card with it. And I also picked up some transparent (sealable) envelopes.

First impressions:
Stampin Up ordering process is pretty smooth.
Once item is ordered, the processing is a bit long.
Once item ships, it's pretty quick.
Cardstock is SMOOTH!
Packaging is very basic.
You get what you order, nothing frilly.

I placed my order online, it went to a distribution center and then was processed. And it came really quickly once it shipped, which is pretty cool. The packaging is very eco friendly, and it wasn't bent or the corners of the cardstock were not hurt in any way.

Overall, I think I'm happy. I will probably pick up some of the in style (that's the exclusive colors for the year) cardstock and a stamp set or two--one featuring a deer and an owl (yes, I know, I have deer and owl stamps coming out my ears, but it's SOOOO cute and such a great price!). Overall, I'm pretty happy with the stampin up order and will get to work showing off what I've been doing.

What about you? Any experience with Stampin Up? Or what about any other crafting companies like this (direct sell?)...

Market Day is Here Again!

2009-06-18T09:52:00.003-04:00

Market Day at the Greeting Farm happened again today. Quick, if you hurry you can still get some really great deals on some fantastic stamps. I picked up:

This is called matey and it's normally $15. Today, while supplies last, it's $10.

And I also got:

It's called Wonderland and it's on clearance. I have a couple of projects in mind for this, especially a late birthday present for someone who really loves Alice in Wonderland.

The first set was on sale, and in order to get it at that price, you have to go here. And again, it's only while supplies last.

I like the stamps, but I haven't done my review from the first set, so that'll be forthcoming. The thing I like least about the stamps is that you have to cut them out (and I don't have those small rubber-cutting scissors). But the red rubber is really nice and provides a FANTASTIC print. They don't stain like the clear stamps do, either.

If I keep buying, I'm going to run out of room in my rubber stamp container, so I'm thinking of unmounting a few of the big wood blocks I rarely use. This way, I get a little more room, I think.

I've been looking at a few more of the stamps, but I think they'll wait a while. I'm set for a bit of time. Now it's onto work on my coloring and other fantastic things.

Oh, and speaking of awesome stampers, check out the contest at Gaal Creative. Aside from being a talented stamper, she's an awesome photographer. This week's giveaway is inspiring and made me think of a book I read this year called 'Into the Forest.'

'Into the Forest' is the story of 2 girls who have survived a global fever and war. They live in the forest, in their nice home that their father constructed, but soon he, too succumbs to death and the girls are left to become women. It's not 100% happy, and it WILL make you think, but it's a fantastic read.

Anyway, check out her site--Anne even has a link to her photo store and you can get some great deals.

One other really cool stamper that I should mention is Sandy, who is participating in NaBloPoMo, which is National Blog Posting Month. Every day, she's featuring a Hero on her blog. Sandy is busy with Cards for Heroes, but it's absolutely fantastic that she's devoting time to blogging every day this month.

So those are two of the very awesome people I know from the Internet, who continually challenge and devote time to wonderful things. And I apologize in advance, because I haven't done them justice. Check them out! Go, now!

Favorite Things Blog Candy

2009-06-17T14:05:00.000-04:00

Enfys is giving away a few of her favorite things here. Go sign up and enjoy!

Blog Layout: Changes

2009-06-15T13:07:00.004-04:00

One of my favorite things from the Pixar movie 'Meet the Robinsons' is: Keep moving forward.

And at the very end of the flim, the screen goes black, and then the following Walt Disney quote is shown:
"Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're curious...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths."

So, in an effort to keep moving forward, I've tweaked my layout a bit. You should notice the page loads quicker--there are few archival post links. I'm moving forward. I'll have more posts on projects I've finished. I'll go back to scrap n'tell. I've gotten rid of the annoying ads, too. I might be experimenting with a few things, but for the most part, I want to make sure your experience is just as good as possible.