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

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.

1. Kraftin Kimmie's Moonlight Whispers stamps (the Steampunk ones: Lavinia and Chester).
2. 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.
3. 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?

Ildi Co Wednesday

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!

Ildi Co Reveal Tomorrow

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.

Ildi Co Sketchy Thursday

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.

Ildi Co Wednesday

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

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

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!

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

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!

Three's a Charm! Blog Hop Time!

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

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!

Domo

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!

Ildi Co Wednesday

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

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!)...

Ildi Co Wednesday

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!

Ildi Co... DT Work

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!

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!

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.

Blog Hop!!!!

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

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!

Wednesday Means Ildi Co.!

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!