The Original Wheelgirl

Postage Stamp Quilt-a-long

2011-01-16T20:02:00.004-05:00

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great holiday season and are enjoying the new year. It is crazy cold all over the US huh? Even here in Florida it has been cold. But again anything lower than 70 is cold to me...lol!

I have SO many projects swirling around in my head, and have the fabric to do them, but when I saw Rachel Griffith's (of P.S. I Quilt) Postage Stamp Quilt-a-long post a couple weeks ago, I thought OMG! I want to do! It uses two jelly rolls, a print and a solid. I didn't have a jelly roll (I know! Im the only one! LOL) so I had to buy them. And as luck would have it, Rachel had a deal with the Fat Quarter Shop which gave a 20% discount if you bought two jelly rolls! Not to mention that the jelly roll I wanted, Awesome by Sandy Gervais for Moda, was on sale too! Sigh, it was meant to be.

Well, the first step this week was to create strip sets. I didn't have time to work on them this week so this weekend I spent most of the time sewing and pressing the sets. And I finished today! Bring on Step Two!

I hope I can keep up with this quilt-a-long. I am so guilty of starting and either losing interest or not having time and getting so behind I just quit. Not this time...I hope.

Anyway, if you are interested in joining, there is no reason not to. I'm sure Rachel will keep this up for a while, if not indefinitely. It looks simple but oh so cute.

Take care!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-24T23:59:00.007-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! It has been forever since I posted a card I made (OMG over a year ago) so here are two! I have had the With Gratitude stamp set for a long time and finally got a chance to get it inky.

I took the big leaf stamp and inked it up in More Mustard and rolled its edges in Really Rust ink and stamped it on white cardstock. I trimmed around it and mounted it on a white circle cut with Nestability dies and matted it in Choco chip and Really rust (scallop circle). I love the look of the leaf hanging over the edges.

These two cards use this focal image but I changed up the design of the card for each one. I stamped the small leaf from the set in More Mustard on mustard cardstock for a background on each card, and matted them in Choco chip. For the first card I used the scallop lace border punch (how fun is this) on the choco chip mat. I am terrible at random background stamping, need to practice some more! I also used the Happy Thanksgiving stamp in Choco Chip from the All Holidays set. I really love these cards, and the focal image can be created using many sets like this one. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and eats all the turkey they want!

Some Sadness

2010-10-18T12:03:00.003-05:00

Sorry I've been away again. Life has been up and down for the past few months, and three weeks ago today we had to put Dexter down. It was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life! He was diagnosed with cancer back in April, and the vet said that he could go through chemo but the odds were against him, and if he were to be cured, it would most likely return and be even harder to beat. I decided then to let him live out his last few months happy instead of constantly being sick from the treatments.

About two months ago he stopped eating very much and became very skinny. Almost like a skeleton with fur. He still acted normal, but as the weeks went by he became weaker and weaker until he could no longer jump up on anything and began to have trouble walking. I knew he would only suffer more and we took him to the vet who confirmed he was not well and that it would be the right time. I held him in my lap for about twenty minutes petting him and saying goodbye with tears streaming down my face. I have never loved an animal more than I loved my Dexter. Saying goodbye was the hardest thing.

I still think I hear his claws on the wood floor and every now and then think I see him coming around the corner. I forget and expect him to be waiting at the door when I come home. Every time it's like a knife in my heart. I miss him terribly, especially when my boyfriend is away and I'm all alone at the house. He was my furry companion. I will miss his "assistance" when I'm working on projects in the sewing room.

I don't expect I'll ever get another cat, at least anytime soon. Even if I did, there will never be another Dexter. He was the best. I miss you Boo, rest in peace. I loved you with all my heart!

What have I been up to???

2010-07-15T21:09:00.009-05:00

Hey guys, I'm still alive. I've been meaning to blog for a while but time just never presented itself. So I have a few things to show.

I finally finished my "O" quilt a few weeks ago! After a huge hiatus from it due to the biggest disaster in sewing room history (lol just kidding) I got back to work on it and once I got on a roll it only took a few weeks to finish (taking spare moments at night and on weekends). Here's a picture of it basted and ready for quilting:

After it was quilted and the binding attached I spent some hours out on my porch with Dexter stitching the binding to the back (boy that took time) but it was nice to look out at the pond and watch the ducks as I stitched. And of course he had to supervise (don't all cats?)

But after all that work, it was finally done. And I was very happy with it!
It was so late when I finished, but I wanted to take pictures and post on my Facebook. That's why the lighting is so terrible. Sorry bout that!

Also, my boyfriend and I went to Sarasota for the 4th of July weekend, to check out the beaches on the west coast of Florida (I grew up on the east coast in Satellite Beach, near Melbourne, FL). We had a great time, and they had free beach wheelchairs to use! JD pushed me all the way down near the water and set up our little area. The sky was overcast so it never got really hot, although we got sunburned. I am not used to going out in the sun and should have put more sunblock on. Oh well, live and learn. I've finally stopped peeling...yuk! Here's the two of us under our umbrella!

There were adorable terns with black heads everywhere, so I snapped a few pics of them, this one appeared to be posing just for me:

JD had a blast, and has been bugging me ever since to go back to the beach. So this weekend we are planning just a day trip to Daytona Beach, which is just an hour away.

By the way, on the way out of town, I saw this:

So I just HAD to stop in! And I finally got my Margo Pattern and some fabric to make my first Margo bag (Lazy Girl Designs).

I can't wait to get started. These are the fabrics I chose, all from the Cherish Nature line by Deb Strain for Moda Fabrics. I JUST LOVE THE BEES!!

So yeah, I know I've been gone a long time, but I spend more time thinking about quilting, blogging, etc. and less time actually doing them. LOL Hope everyone is having a fun summer, I feel like I need another vacation already... :)

And She Reappears...

2009-12-15T13:20:00.005-05:00

Hi all, once again I space out and don't update my blog. Spending way too much time looking at other people's blogs and not taking care of my own! Not to mention the fact I have been LESS than creative for a long time. My sewing room is still a disaster area, as it had turned into a storage unit for things I didn't know what to do with as my boyfriend and I clear the clutter and junk from our tiny home.

In my blog surfing I have come across several organizing blogs which I will post in a couple days, but I just signed up today for 52 Missions, which is a program that gives you a 30 minute mission a week to organize and streamline your life and stuff. And boy I could use all the help I can get.

My dear boyfriend JD has really helped me re-evaluate the stuff I've held onto for so long, like electronics and computer parts/software that are OLD as the hills, and other things like clothes I never wore and still had the tags. He helped me release these things and slowly our home is getting easier to take care of and clean, which is good for him since I am unable to do most of the housework due to my respiratory problems. Sometimes it seems like he's trying to get rid of all my stuff but I realize that I don't need it and its just taking up valuable real estate (and collecting dust...).

We are saving the sewing room for last since it is the biggest, scariest room in the house. We worked a bit in it last week but I got tired both physically and emotionally. I gave an old sewing machine and serger away to a classmate of his who also sews, and she was super-thrilled. Plus it gave me about nine cubic feet of space back!

I am too embarrassed to show pictures of the sewing room, so I won't. It is better than it was, but there's still stuff on the cutting table, stuff in a pile on the floor, and stuff spread out on the pressing area. Its STUFF STUFF and MORE STUFF! And it will be the hardest to let go of, which is why I'm putting it off.

I want so desperately though to get it in order, so I can get back to what I love, sewing. I recently bought the new Maggie pattern from Lazy Girl Designs, and I'm hoping to make one this century...lol!

Anyway, hope you all have a Merry Christmas if I don't get back on before then...Take care.

Mom's Birthday 2009

2009-08-17T21:36:00.003-05:00

Ok so I've been gone again...sorry! And I've been looking back at my posts, and realized I never posted the Miranda bag (Lazy Girl Designs) I made Mom for Christmas! OMG I'm terrible. I used Moda's Cotton Blossoms fabric, which is absolutely GORGEOUS! Here's a couple pics of it:

I also for her birthday made a matching pouch, using instructions from a blog I stumbled across in my surfing (or blurfing as it is also known). The name of the blog is so cute, Flossie Teacakes! The tutorial for the pouch can be found here, and I modified the size a little. But other than that I followed her directions and it came out pretty nice. Here's a couple pics of the pouch, one of the outside, one of the inside:

Lastly, here is a picture of the birthday card I made. I used the Stampin' UP! Top Note Die for the Big Shot machine and the colors I used are Pink Pirouette and Kiwi Kiss (both retired boo hoo!). I love the little flowers, from Heartfelt Thanks stamp set which also retired! BUMMER! It is one of my favorite Stampin' Up sets.

Anyway, hope you enjoy! Any questions just ask!

One Down, Three to GO!!

2009-06-10T11:15:00.002-05:00

The Magic beat the Lakers!!! YAYAYAY!! Boyfriend and I stayed up late to watch the game and it was well worth it to see our boys give it to those silly Lakers. Oh please let the Magic get some respect now...

Oh and I joined Twitter today, in the hopes of winning tickets to tomorrow night's game. I have added Twitter updates to my blog at the right, not that I will be tweeting all the time, as my life is not as exciting as say Dwight Howard or Ashton Kutcher...But who knows, there might be something interesting that happens that I just HAVE to tweet about...lol

GO MAGIC!!

Disappointed...

2009-06-05T11:10:00.002-05:00

Ok so Boyfriend and I watched the Magic against the Lakers last night, and it started off good, but then at the half the Magic were down ten points. We got a bad feeling and I needed something to do to keep my hands busy because I was so nervous. So I got out some yard skeins I bought at Joann.com at the beginning of December and started winding them into balls so I can eventually start on another afghan. Oh and I cut my finger with scissors opening the box (OMG can't believe I hadn't even opened the package since December...sigh), ouch!

Well not to turn this blog into a sports blog, but they lost, by a lot (25 points). I'm sad today. I hope they take that beating and use it as inspiration to kick the pants off of the Lakers on Sunday...If they get swept they will never get the respect they deserve.

I only got five balls wound, man that hurts my wrists and arms...I'm such a wimp...

They Did It!!

2009-05-31T21:47:00.003-05:00

WOOHOO! The Magic are going to the Finals!! Last night Boyfriend and I went to Hooters (ya ya, they have good chicken fingers!) and watched the game and had so much fun yelling and screaming with all the other patrons. It is so funny, when Mom and I got into watching the Magic in 1994-1995, they went to the Finals. Then we lost interest as I started getting into major college stuff (engineering study left little time for fun *sigh*). And now that Boyfriend has got me into them again, they're going to the Finals again!! Hmmm, could I be a good luck charm??? Just kidding.

GO MAGIC!!

GO MAGIC!!

2009-05-27T11:06:00.003-05:00

OMG what a tense basketball game last night. The Orlando Magic are now leading the series 3-1 against Cleveland for the Eastern Conference Finals!! Boyfriend has now made me a Orlando Magic fan like him, although my mom and I watched them in 1994-1995 when Penny Hardaway and Shaq helped the team win the Eastern Conference title and then were stomped by the Houston Rockets who swept them 4-0 for the NBA championship title.

I am hoping against hope that the Magic can beat those silly Cavaliers to win the Eastern Conference and then go on to beat whoever is going to win the Western Conference (will it be the Lakers or the Nuggets?? MMM nuggets...I want Wendy's chicken nuggets...)

The last game Boyfriend and I went to was in the first series against Philadelphia, and were heartbroken when they lost that game. But we came back and won that series! We couldnt get tickets to any of the games against Boston, and forget the home games against Cleveland! They sold out in 6 minutes!! We did get t-shirts though at the game against Philadelphia, although they are XL and I am more like an XS...I told Boyfriend if we beat Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals I am cutting down my shirt to make it fit, so I can wear it with PRIDE!! He laughed and said make it a tiny bikini...MEN...

Anyway, GO MAGIC!

Special Someone

2009-05-26T11:18:00.004-05:00

Oh wow have I been gone a while or what? Well, let's just say that a special someone (hee hee)came into my life around Christmas and I have been a bit distracted for a few months. I've never had a relationship before and so I guess I've been making up for lost time spending as many spare moments with him as I can...

But...I promise to be a better blogger, and get back to being creative...he'll just have to do without all the attention he'd been getting for a little bit every day. LOL

Hope everyone out there in blog land is doing well!

P.S. Dexter likes him too, which is VERY important to me... :)

Thanksgiving/35th Birthday 2008

2008-12-11T15:25:00.003-05:00

I spent Thanksgiving at my mom's house in Satellite Beach where I grew up. We went out to dinner for Turkey Day since it was just us and her her friend Reno. Poor mom didn't get the right order and by the time they would have the right dish out to her Reno and I would have been finished! So they comp'ed our entire meal and mom ate off of Reno's plate. He had plenty...

As for my birthday, it was the following Saturday. We were planning on going to EPCOT or Animal Kindom (Disney) but chickened out because we just KNEW it would be a madhouse at the theme parks since it was a holiday weekend. So I just bummed around the house and we went out to dinner at Olive Garden.

My mom made me a birthday cake which we started eating on Thanksgiving. It was white cake with chocolate icing, and she handmade the "bees" that decorated it. YUMMMMM YUMMMMM!

She also made me a couple cards, one from her with a little matching box with M&M's in it, and one "from Dexter" as shown below. I got a couple beautiful sweaters (argyle cardigans from Target) and also Prison Break Seasons 1 through 3 on DVD. I LOVE that show. It is such a great show. Reno got me a cute pair of earrings that I just love. It was a nice quiet birthday, just how I like it. After all, I'm getting older...lol!

Hope everyone had a great T-giving, and has a Merry Merry Christmas!

Afghans Part Deux

2008-10-29T20:25:00.003-05:00

Finito! I finished my beige afghan I started a few weeks ago this weekend. I haven't been able to test it on the couch (protection from Dexter's claws) to see if it is large enough, but if not I can put it on the new wing chair to protect it. Here is a shot of it on my bed. It actually is a bit bigger than I expected!

Of course a new project cannot go with out a look-see by the resident inspector. Not five minutes after the above picture was taken did Dexter jump up and check out the new afghan. He LOVES afghans, especially on a cold night (it's chilly for Florida right now).

I'm a bit disappointed in my crocheting as the border is a little ripply and wavy. But I guess it doesn't matter since it's going to be stretched out of shape anyway with use...lol! I've really enjoyed crocheting these past couple months. But as usual my ADD when it comes to projects has me looking to switch gears and get back in the sewing room. I have three Miranda bags to make and haven't even started them. Hopefully soon I can get in there this week and at least cut the fabrics.

Take care all!

Afghans!

2008-10-07T21:16:00.006-05:00

I've been crocheting! I finished this afghan a month or so ago, and am just now getting around to getting a picture of it. I started this patriotic afghan YEARS ago (heehee) when I was still living in an apartment. I've been in this house six years (my anniversary of home ownership was on September 30th!) so that tells you just how long it took. Actually, I stopped working on it around the same time I moved in to the house, so really it was a UFO (unfinished object). I looked at the basket it was in all the time, and kept saying, I should really finish that...

Well, I finally went to the basket and as I looked through it I realized I only had one square left if I decided to make it smaller than the instructions said. So I finshed the last square and sewed them all together and did the border. It only took a weekend to finish up. Finally an accomplishment!

I started another afghan to put on my new couch (pictures to come soon!) to protect it from Dexter's claws. Mom and I have kept his nails trimmed and so far he has not taken interest in shredding the new furniture, hopefully he will continue to use his scratch pad. I so far have made 25 of these squares:

I only have 10 more squares to go and then sew together and do the border. I'm trying to sew them together as I go so it's not too overwhelming. I have been crocheting on and off for a really long time, and when I get into it I really enjoy it. My favorite projects are the Q-hook ones that use the big fat hook and three strands of yarn held together as one. They really whip up fast! I once did an afghan in a weekend!

Anyway, when I finish the latest afghan I will post a picture. Maybe I will see if I can get pictures of the other afghans I've made over the years. Take care!

The Boss' Birthday

2008-07-02T21:18:00.003-05:00

I have the best boss in the entire world. And I can say that because he doesn't check my blog so it's not like I'm kissin' butt...hahah! His birthday is tomorrow, and I decided to make him a small card to celebrate the day. Poor guy has to work because we are super busy trying to wrap up a few projects.

This card is made from a 3x3 inch Old Olive card base. I cut a 2 1/2 inch square of the leaf print from the Fall Flowers Designer Paper collection, and matted it in Whisper White. I tied a strip of Old Olive Poly Twill ribbon around it, and added a Super Jumbo scallop rectangle tag with the sentiment from the One of a Kind set stamped in Old Olive. The tag is popped up on dimensionals as is the matted square.

It was a quick and easy card to make, made in under 20 minutes. But that doesn't mean I don't care! Claude took a chance on a fresh out of college engineering student 9 years ago, and I only hope I continue to make him happy he hired me. Hope he has as happy a birthday as he deserves...

Mother's Day 2008

2008-07-02T20:53:00.003-05:00

I know Mother's Day was several weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting the card and gift bag I made for my mom. Sorry for the delay!! LOL

I stamped the floral motif from the One of a Kind set in Basic Brown so i could watercolor it using Soft Sky ink. I did this three times and cut them out, and glued them to the top portion of a Soft Sky card base. I only glued the center so I could curl the petals up. I cut a one and a half inch strip of Chocolate Chip cardstock and scalloped the bottom edge using the corner rounder punch. I cut a one inch strip of the brown and sky stripe pattern of the Afternoon Tea designer paper and glued it to the strip of Choco Chip leaving an 1/8th inch at the top. I glued this strip about 5/8th inch from the bottom of the card base. I stamped "love you" from the Short and Sweet set in Choco chip in the bottom right corner.

For the gift bag, I used the Blessing Mix Box pattern I found on Angie Kennedy Juda's website (see here) only I accidentally scored at the wrong places so my bag is shorter and fatter...but still cute. I made it with the same stripe pattern paper as the card, and added a tag to the front with a scalloped rectangle in Chocolate Chip (Mega Punch) and a scrap of the reverse side of the stripe paper and Whisper White. The sentiment is from One of a Kind in Chocolate Chip. The ribbon is Soft Sky Double Stitched Ribbon. Mom loved both the card and bag, not to mention the necklace inside...! Thanks for looking...

Dandelion Girl Gracie

2008-06-23T22:36:00.003-05:00

Haven't been in the sewing room much lately, but for my mom's birthday this year I wanted to make her another Gracie bag (from the AWESOME Lazy Girl Designs pattern) out of the lovely Dandelion Girl fabric line from Moda. I used the brown color way and the cool patterned fabric and solid that matches. Found a cool button at Joann's that matched pretty close. I love this pattern so much. It really whips together fast.

Dexter must ALWAYS inspect any bag, quilt or other project before giving, so here's a shot of him with the inside of the bag...he's a ham.

Must mention that I used the Velcro Fusion again. LOVE THIS PRODUCT! Also, after I attached the flap, I realized I hadn't topstitched around it! So instead of frog-stitching (rippit rippit) I somehow was able to topstitch it by pulling it away from the rest of the bag as best I could. Luckily it worked out! I have some scraps left over of both fabrics and hope to make something else, probably a Wonder Wallet! Thanks for stopping by!

Mom's Birthday Card 2008

2008-06-22T21:31:00.004-05:00

Here is the card I made for my mom's birthday this year. I used Splitcoast's Color Combo #171 which is Soft Sky (retiring), Kraft and Black. I love Soft Sky and Black. I also love Soft Sky and Chocolate. I'm sorry to see Soft Sky go, but I believe one of the new In Colors is a close match, maybe a bit darker.

I used the Embrace Life stamp set for this card, and also the Happy Birthday stamp from the Warmest Regards set. Once again I tried my hand at watercoloring using Soft Sky ink from the pad and a waterbrush for the focal image (stamped in black Stazon, matted in Kraft and Black cardstock, and attached with dimensionals). The background is stamped on the Soft Sky cardstock in the same ink, with a piece of Soft Sky double stitched ribbon tied around it and attached to a Kraft card base. Thanks for looking!

New Signature On My Blog!

2008-05-22T12:17:00.003-05:00

I've been blog hopping and noticed that some of my favorite bloggers have a signature that looks like it was handwritten. I clicked on one of the signatures and it took me to MyLiveSignature where I could create my own signature to add to my blog posts. I don't really like my handwriting so I chose Font #67 and used the wizard to create my sig. I like it! Anyone looking to create a handwritten look to their signature should check this site out. It's free.

Dexter says, "Vote Republican!"

2008-05-18T22:00:00.004-05:00

Today mom and I went to Target and were down the cat food/toy aisle and I saw these adorable hats for cats...

He doesn't look too happy here...so needless to say we took it off (Im not THAT cruel...lol).

Anyway, we also got him a scratch pad which was covered in catnip, which he ate some of. Dexter doesn't go nuts on the nip, but he does drool (see photo below for evidence) and rubs his face on it.

He pulled the scratch pad out of the box by turning it over, and all the catnip fell out onto the tile. Mom was like, "BONANZA!" She quickly swept it up before Dex OD'd.

Anyway, hope to have some photos this week of projects and stuff. I've been out of it for a while. Thanks for stoppin' by!

Color Inspiration #5 from Kristina Werner

2008-04-17T11:42:00.006-05:00

My mom and I are huge fans of Kristina Werner. She has on her blog every week a Color Inspiration where she takes pictures (usually of home decor items) from magazines and converts the colors to Stampin' Up colors, giving us a color combo to work with. This week the colors are Close to Cocoa, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, and Bashful Blue. Here is my card for this combo:

For this card I pulled out a set I've had for a LONG time but never inked up. I have a lot of those sets...(sigh). It is called Sheltering Tree. I stamped the leaves in Certainly Celery and then the trunk in Close to Cocoa (using the stamp-a-ma-jig to get things lined up YAY!). I used the little flower stamp in Bashful Blue in the spaces provided and scribbled some grass at the tree base with my celery marker. I trimmed this image down, matted it in So Saffron, and again in Celery.

I made a Bashful Blue card base and tied a piece of striped ribbon around the front. This ribbon AMAZINGLY had every color except cocoa...couldn't have planned it better. It came from an old Ribbon Originals collection called Seaside. I stamped Thinking of You from the Warmest Regards set in Close to Cocoa at the bottom right and then placed the tree image above it with dimensionals. Thanks for having a look, and thanks to Kristina for the inspiration!

I Can Has Cheezburger?

2008-03-23T21:17:00.003-05:00

I love this website! If you like cats (and other animals) you will too. People take interesting pictures of animals and then caption them. For example, this one:

see more crazy cat pics

I've got it bookmarked and am going to check it everyday for a laugh!

With Sympathy Card for Nancy

2008-03-16T21:18:00.004-05:00

I hadn't had the need to make a sympathy card since I started my card-making hobby, until recently when the husband of my friend Nancy passed away from cancer. I made this card a couple weeks ago.

It's a simple design, using Mellow Moss and Basic Black, with the fern stamp from the Stem Silhouettes set by Stampin' Up! stamped in Mellow Moss on Whisper White. I tied black gingham ribbon around the focal image and attached it with dimensionals. The sentiment is from the Warmest Regards set stamped in Black Stazon ink.

I pray that Nancy and her family and close friends find comfort during this time. I never got to meet her husband Jacques but have been told that he was a joy to be around. God bless him and his family and friends!

Grandma's 90th Birthday!

2008-03-16T20:48:00.004-05:00

Here is the third card in my Sketch 155 series, this time in Perfect Plum and Pale Plum with shiny silver brads. I made this tonight for my Grandma's 90th birthday on Thursday. I think I'm done with these cards for now...lol!

One cool new thing I tried for this card is dyeing white grosgrain ribbon! I used my Perfect Plum reinker so that it would match the cardstock, since we don't sell Plum grosgrain ribbon (too bad it's one of my favorite colors in our collection). It wasn't too bad, kept my fingers clean by swirling it around in the ink/water mixture with a paintbrush. Hope you like!

First Wonder Wallet!

2008-03-16T15:34:00.003-05:00

Back in the sewing room once again...it has been too long. I've been either sick, tired or too busy to get in there! But today I was all alone since Mom is expecting her brother and my cousin to come into town this evening to visit for my Grandma's 90th birthday on Thursday, and they are staying with her, so she wanted to be there to do some last minute cleanup of her house. So she came over Friday instead of the usual Saturday to help me out and left last night. Free Sunday! But I would rather she be here...

I've had the Wonder Wallet pattern by Joan Hawley (the Lazy Girl Designs DIVA!) for some time but it has intimidated me. Lish over at 25 Weeks Yahoo! group had as one of the February goals to make six (!!) of these things. Well needless to say I didnt meet that goal...I'm just now getting around to the first! Sigh.

They are pretty quick to make, and this first one I used leftover scraps from my Miranda Bag (see this post) to whip it up. Unfortunately I only had a 3 inch strip of the cool stripe fabric, and the pattern calls for larger strips than that. So I only used the floral print and the green leafy print. I had trouble with the bulk, and my velcro doesn't line up! Next time I will save the velcro on the cover until last, since I used the fusible velcro, which totally rules!

Maybe the next one will be even easier since I've got the steps down pretty well. It is so cute! I also plan on making a matching tissue holder since I have just enough of the pretty focal floral print left. Five more wallets to go...

I Cased Myself!

2008-03-10T21:43:00.004-05:00

I was so happy with the way that my friend Carmela's birthday card came out I decided to repeat the joy for my best friend Patsy's 35th birthday which is this coming Saturday. The only difference is that instead of Pretty in Pink and Chocolate Chip I used Soft Sky and Basic Black (all colors from Stampin' Up!). Plus the ribbon is the narrow black gingham ribbon from SU!.

I love it when a plan comes together...Happy Birthday Pats! You'll always be older than me...heheehehe!

My grandma's 90th birthday is March 20th, and I'm thinking of this same card design in Pale Plum and Perfect Plum! I think it will be GORGEOUS so look for that in the next few days.

Valentine's 2008

2008-02-15T22:40:00.003-05:00

Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day. As a single girl, I normally try to ignore the day...lol! This year, however, I made a couple cards, one for my mom and one for her friend Reno using the Happy Heart Day stamp set from Stampin' Up. I didn't mean to, but I ended up making these at the last minute on Monday, as I had to drop them in the mail Tuesday to make sure they got to their recipients in time!!

This is the card I made for my mom. I started with a card base of Pretty in Pink cut at 4 1/4 by 11 and scored at 5 1/2 inches. The Rose Red layer is ticket cornered and the flower image was randomly stamped all over in Regal Rose, and attached to the card base with adhesive. The scallop circle was cut from Pretty in Pink cardstock using the Nestabilities die cuts and my Cuttlebug and was also embossed using the Fiskars texture plates. I sponged a bit of Regal Rose ink over the embossing, and attached to the card with adhesive. I used the little mouse image with Black Stazon ink on Whisper White cardstock. I tried my hand at watercoloring with markers and a paintbrush. I have got to get me a aquapainter or waterbrush, to avoid the cup of water mess (my cat's obsession with water again...). The colors I used are Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, and Rose Red, with a bit of Going Gray. I matted the mouse image in Pretty in Pink and then again in Regal Rose cardstock. The Regal Rose layer was distressed with the distressing tool. The mouse focal image was then attached to the card with dimensionals. The final touch is silver brads in each corner.

Here is Reno's card. I cut a piece of Pretty in Pink cardstock 3x6 inches and scored at 3 inches to make a 3x3 square card. I cut a piece of Regal Rose card stock 2 3/4 inches square and stamped the flower image all over in Regal Rose ink. I wrapped a piece of sheer pink plaid ribbon I had in my stash around it and attached to the card base using adhesive. I stamped the Happy Valentine's Day tag image in Black Stazon ink on Whisper White, and watercolored it using Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, and Rose Red markers. I punched out the image using the small tag punch from Stampin' Up and matted it with Rose Red using the large tag punch. I attached a piece of pink grosgrain ribbon with a silver brad and then attached the tag image with dimensionals in the center of the card front. I love these little cards!

I got a Valentine from Mom, but she gave it to me early when she came over last weekend. She's caught the cardmaking bug too! Thanks for stopping by!

Shower Time

2008-02-08T19:25:00.000-05:00

No this is not an x-rated post...lol. My fluffball Dexter loves to get in the shower and I thought I would snap a shot of him (with out me...yikes the thought!) sitting on my bath seat.

He is so funny, always comes running when he hears the water come on. Not sure exactly why, I thought cats HATE water! Not that he enjoys being drenched, but he doesn't mind a little spritzing on his face. He likes licking the water off the shower floor and the seat, and my leg when I'm in the shower. Gosh I hope my cat's not a perv. LOL!

Reno's Birthday 2008

2008-02-06T22:39:00.000-05:00

This card was made for my Mom's bud Reno's birthday. I think the dahlia flower challenge on Splitcoast is definitely one of my favorite challenges. I used the Fall Flowers designer paper, Soft Sky and Really Rust cardstock. The sentiment didn't exactly turn out how I had hoped, I stamped "CELEBRATE" from the Celebrate Everything stamp set (Stampin' UP!) in Soft Sky ink and then overstamped it in New Canvas Palette Ink. It was supposed to be a drop shadow but I dont think I inked up the stamp enough in the white ink. The picture doesn't show it well. What is cool is in real life it almost is holographic. Maybe I will try that again some other time. But the flower is AWESOME...thanks for stopping by!

Patti's Birthday Present 2008

2008-02-03T22:46:00.001-05:00

This Friday was my great friend Patti's birthday. I don't usually know what to get her, and she would rather people not make a huge deal about her birthday. But I decided to make her something this year. She likes wolves, and I found a beautiful embroidery design of a wolf over at Embroidery Library. I used the concept of Joan Hawley's (Lazy Girl Designs) Perfect Pouches pattern to make a small pouch to put whatever in. It is about 8 inches square, and is made from a velvety corduroy I picked up at A.C. Moore.

I used fusible no show nylon mesh as a stablizer for the embroidery, and used the hoopless method to do the stitchout, as I was afraid of hoop burn (marks on the nap of the corduroy). However, I just used a simple tearaway and spray adhesive, and the denseness of the design caused the tearaway to rip away and there was serious puckering. But when I cutaway most of the mesh stablizer the puckers lessened and weren't as noticible once the pouch was assembled. Next time I will use a cutaway stablizer and really stick the fabric to it and baste it in place, so it won't pull away. All in all it was a beautiful stitchout and Patti was happy. She likes handmade items because she realizes the thought and feeling that goes into making something for someone. How nice!

I really like the simplicity of the Perfect Pouch pattern. The zipper installation method is ingenious! And you can make them any size you want. That's the best part!

Valentine's Day

2008-01-10T21:28:00.001-05:00

I've been seeing a bunch of Valentine's Day cards on Splitcoast and various blogs I frequent. I just love the 3x3 inch card size for valentines, and was inspired by Kristina Werner's blog recently to make one.

This card is made from Real Red cardstock, cut at 3 inches by 6 inches and scored at the 3 inch mark on my Scor-Pal (love that tool) and folded to make a 3x3 card. I then punched a Giga scallop square in Whisper White. The embossed red layer (1 and 7/8 inches square) was done by using my Cuttlebug with the heart texture plate from Fiskars. It turned out so cute! I then stamped the For You With Love stamp from the Riveting set by Stampin' Up! in Real Red classic ink and punched it out with the 1 and 1/4 inch circle punch. The three layers were adhered together with adhesive, and the whole thing was attached to the card base with dimensionals. Finally, I tied a piece of red gingham ribbon from American Crafts around the card front using Kristina's method. Simple and cute, and QUICK! Thanks for peeking in...

Tissue Holders - Complete!

2008-01-06T22:20:00.001-05:00

As I spoke about in my last post, I have joined the 25 Weeks of Christmas Yahoo! group. Our project goal for this month is to make at least six travel tissue covers. Well, we have several patterns to choose from, all different dimensions. I picked one last week which turned out to be too big, because the pocket tissues I bought were a different brand that what the pattern designer used, and the tissues were SWIMMING inside...and I made THREE before I learned this lesson. Sigh. Here are the tissues I bought:

Well, this week I ripped apart the tissue holders I made because I really liked the fabric I used and since I was downsizing I could still use it. I am not going to post how I did it because there are numerous directions out there on the web. The pattern directions I followed were from Tracy at sewthankful.com, but I started with a rectangle six inches by seven and a half inches, and next time I make these will start with a six by seven inch rectangle, because my resulting cover is still a bit loose. Here is a finished tissue cover:

These were very fun and easy to make. I made six very quickly this evening, in under a couple of hours. I love assembly line sewing. It seems to make things go faster. I probably will make more someday, they are quick and easy gifts to make. Two fat quarters will make six covers and there are so many options with patchwork, embroidery, etc. Here are the six completed covers, with tissue packs inside. Thanks for looking!

25 Weeks of Christmas

2008-01-01T14:11:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year everyone! Hope that 2008 is a safe and happy one for all. As I said in my last post, I didn't make gifts for people this year, mostly because I procrastinated until it was just too late to start. Well this year I hope will be different. I recently signed up for a new Yahoo! group called 25 Weeks of Christmas, which a fellow Lazy Girl group member (Lish) created. It is a group designed to help support and encourage its members to get their gifts made and wrapped by December so that we can enjoy the holidays with less stress! Participation is required as there is a no lurking policy. We have small goals to meet each month (little projects etc), and by July we are ready to get our gifts we plan to give going. I'm excited because it will give me the little nudge I need to get my butt in gear.

I found a box in my sewing room that will hold the projects in it when completed (actually it is temporary because it is rather small, will upsize when the time comes). Dexter decided he would inspect the box to make sure it was appropriate. I guess he approves!

Well, wish me luck, as I have big plans to give lots of Lazy Girl bags this year! I spent five hours Friday night in my sewing room cleaning up and trying to organize, and found FOUR packages of Warm and White cotton batting (craft and baby size)...and I almost bought some last week! Just goes to show you "out of sight, out of mind" really is true. I also found lots of fabric I bought over the last year that I completely forgot about...sigh. It still looks pretty awful in there, I need CLEAN SWEEP to come in...oh wait, they make you throw out half of everything...never mind (lol)

I'm off today from work, and am getting ready to go back in the sewing room to attack the mess again. Again, Happy New Year!

Reno's Christmas 2007 Sweatshirt

2007-12-27T20:22:00.001-05:00

I didn't make too many gifts this year, not for a lack of wanting to, but just lack of time and energy. But my mom bought this zip up hooded sweatshirt at Target for her friend Reno a couple weeks ago, and I had an idea to embroider his initials on it.

That night I got online and downloaded his initials from Embroidery Library out of the Ornate Alphabet collection. I first imported the 3 inch letters into my embroidery software and arranged them in a pleasing manner, then combined them into one file. I changed the colors to silver and green to go with the heather gray fabric. My mom helped me with the prep work (stabilizing and hooping the sweatshirt) and then we watched my Viking Designer SE (my dream machine) stitch out the R and the K. It turned out great. Here is a close up of the initials:

Reno's "initial" reaction was to laugh! What a strange response...lol but thats RENO! He did like it, and I think it made the plain sweatshirt much nicer.

For Carmela

2007-12-26T20:14:00.000-05:00

I just loved this sketch when I saw it on Splitcoast last week, but with Christmas and all I hadn't got a chance to make it. I had a great idea one morning this weekend as I lay in bed (contemplating whether to get up or not...lol) to make a pink and brown birthday card for my late brother's high school and beyond girlfriend (who is now married and has a baby boy). Greg died ten years ago, but we still keep in touch with Carmela because she meant so much to him. She's like a sister to me. Her birthday is on New Year's Eve, and I hope she likes the card.

I used the puffball on a stick stamp from the Heartfelt Thanks set by SU! and Happy Birthday from the Warmest Regards set. The colors are Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White. I found some brown gingham ribbon and added some copper brads which are as close to brown as I could get. The circle punches I used are the 1 - 3/8 and 1 - 1/4 ones. I also used my Perfect Layers tool to get a 1/16 mat on the sentiment. Pretty sweet tool. Both the focal panel and sentiment are attached with SU dimensionals. Thanks for looking!

My First Miranda Bag!

2007-12-09T21:20:00.001-05:00

Well it took me a while only because I haven't felt like going in the sewing room for some time, but I finally finished my first Miranda bag!! It is much more involved than the Gracie bag (also by Lazy Girl Designs) but is still a simple to make bag. I used fabric from Moda's Fall Back in Time line by Sandy Gervais. I love how the striped fabric I used for the inside of the bag forms the faux binding at the top. I used the dark green vinyl handles by Exclusively You by Leisure Arts, which are a bit darker than I would like, but I think it still looks good.

Don't you just love all these cool pockets? So much organization in such a small package, although this bag turned out way larger than I expected. That is fine with me, the more room the better! This bag is super sturdy, because it uses heavy interfacing (I used Decor Bond) on both the bag and the lining. It made for some difficult turning of the bag, but once that was done, it was cake.

I love this design and will surely make another. But who knows when? I just have to find the time and pick out some new fabrics! There are so many new lines out now, and I am drooling over some of them!! Thanks for looking!

Halloween Fun

2007-10-21T13:16:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to show some Halloween wraps I made using Angie's Mummy Candy Wrap Tutorial. This lady is so talented, I had to make a few of these wraps. She also has a Frankenstein wrap that I plan on doing, if I get the chance before Ween.

Also, my mom made some sliding gum wrappers that I thought were so cute I had to post a picture. She doesn't have a blog of her own (but she should, I may make one for her), so I am proud to put her work on mine. She used for most of the wraps the Creepy Crawly paper from SU!, and some ingenious cutting and punching to create the ghost, Frankie, spider, mummy, bat and skull and crossbones! Way to go Ma!

Keep on Rollin!

2007-10-14T18:16:00.000-05:00

I had contemplated getting a new desk chair. The one I have is still in good condition but the casters didn't roll well even on my laminate floor. Mom was over this weekend and took a look at them. I'll I can say is YUCK they were packed with hair and cat fur. No wonder they weren't rolling. She tried her best to cut out the hair but it was no use. So while we were out shopping we stopped at Office Depot and bought a package of new casters. Let's just say the chair rolls like marbles on glass. I'm loving it! And for a girl who is a bit of a weakling, the easier the better! LOL

Unfortunately the casters were $38 bucks, but considering a new quality desk chair is over a hundred, I think it's a bargain!

OMG! Guess who subscribed??

2007-10-03T21:47:00.000-05:00

Wow was I surprised this weekend when I got notification that none other than Joan Hawley, the designer and owner of Lazy Girl Designs (the best bag patterns on the planet!!!), signed up to subscribe to my blog!! And I don't have hardly any sewing posts on it yet!! So Joan, this post is for YOU!!

I have made three of the Gracie Bag pattern (a total favorite of mine), and this is a picture of the first. It was made from the Seneca Falls fabric line by Moda. This pattern is so easy to do. I suggest it as one that a beginner purse maker could make, no problem.

I didn't get a picture of the second Gracie I made, as I sent it off as a Christmas present for my best friend near Atlanta, GA. I just snapped this picture of the third Gracie I made, which I've had for some time. It was supposed to be a present, but I decided I liked it too much to give away!! It was made from the cream colorway of the Wuthering Heights fabric line by Moda.

The Katy Bag pattern is also a great one. I have made two of them, and here is the pink one I made last year. It was made from the rose colorway of the Wuthering Heights fabric line (yes I love MODA!) I do have some difficulty with the lining laying flat inside, but I'm sure there is something I can do about that. I made one in a chocolate brown fabric as well, but it has fabric handles. I like the sparkly jewel type handle on this pink Katy.

Joan, I CANNOT wait for the Miranda Bag to come out this month. I've already pre-ordered the pattern and all the associated parts. I'm going to make it out of the Fall Back in Time fabric line by Sandy Gervais for Moda. I will take pictures of the fabric and post later this week.

All quilters and sewers should definitely check out Joan's Lazy Girl Designs. I'm so glad I found her patterns. Her Lazy Girl Yahoo! Group is great as well. I love reading about other Lazies and what they are making.

Making Up for Lost Time

2007-09-17T18:37:00.000-05:00

Howdy folks, long time no blog. Time seems to get away from me pretty often, and this was one of those times. Not only that, but I haven't been in a stampin' mood. (GASP!!)

The last couple weeks I finished up two cards I had started LAST year (LOL), the sketch from a few weeks ago (SC138), and the Limited Supplies Challenge from two weeks ago (LSC131). Better late than never...

The first card here is Sketch #92, a Halloween card, which I started last year and didn't finish before Halloween so I put it away until this year. This card uses scrapbook paper by Die Cuts with a View, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black and Whisper White cardstock, and the pile o' jack-0-lanterns from the Halloween Smiles set by SU! I used markers to color in the image. I made 3 of these cards, and I have enough supplies to make one more. I just have to cut another striped panel...

The second card here (another card I started a while ago...) uses the polished stone technique and reverse embossing, just like this card I made here. I used Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White cardstock, and the inks I used include Choco Chip, Creamy Caramel, and Close to Cocoa. The horse image is from the Brushstroke Horses set from SU! The tag is punched out using the Marvy Extra Jumbo Scallop Rectangle Punch, and stamped with the "friend" stamp from the Noteworthy set by SU! I used the direct to paper technique to add a distressed look to the caramel card base using caramel ink. The brown grosgrain ribbon is wrapped around the card front and the ends are tucked under the tag and antique bronze brads hold it down.

This next card is from Sketch #138, from a few weeks ago. I liked the sketch, and looking through my stamp sets I came across the Trick or Treat set from SU! and used the cat head. I've been dying to use this cat face for a while, and thought it would be cute with this sketch. I also used the striped scrapbook paper I used in the first card above! The cardstock is Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black and Whisper White, and I used Versafine Black inknk to get even coverage on the cat face, but it turned out kinda faded and looks kinda dark grey, which is fine with me.

The final card I have for you was for the Limited Supplies Challenge #131, which was to create an Autumn card, and I chose to do the 3rd challenge, the tent topper card. I used another polished stone/reverse embossing technique using one of the outline leaves from the Lovely Leaves set from SU! I used More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, and Old Olive inks to do the polished stone technique, and punched out a circle using the Marvy Mega plain circle punch. I cut a circle slightly bigger in Whisper White using my Coluzzle companion template to mat. Finally, the Giga scallop circle punch was used to add the Old Olive scallop mat. The card base is Old Olive with direct to paper streaks using ColorBox chalk inks in autumn colors. I cut a strip of More Mustard and swiped it with More Mustard ink and stamped "Warm Wishes" from the Hugs and Wishes set by SU! in Old Olive. I added the antique gold brads to add a little somethin'.

WOW! Four cards in one post! I will try really hard not to be away so long again...

Mom's Birthday Card

2007-07-04T15:06:00.000-05:00

I made this for my Mom's birthday this year which was June 24th. I started to come down with a cold the Thursday before and hadn't made the card yet! I felt well enough to make this card Friday night, so when she came over Saturday the 23rd it was ready to give. But by then I was in the throws of a huge virus. YUK. I felt awful, not only from the cold, but also because I couldn't take her out to dinner for her birthday. She spent the day taking care of her sicko daughter. What a bummer, for both of us. I finally am well enough to post it.

I just love Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, and Mellow Moss together. I used the puffballs on a stick stamp from Happy Harmony, inked them up with the Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, and Mellow Moss markers, and stamped them on Whisper White cardstock. I punched it out using the Mega scallop oval punch, and mounted it on a Giga scallop oval punch in Perfect Plum. The background is Pale Plum, which was Cuttlebugged using the swirly texture plate from Fiskars. It is more subtle than the Cuttlebug folder. I ticket cornered it and tied moss grosgrain ribbon around it. The sentiment is from Warmest Regards in Perfect Plum, and attached on top of the ribbon. The focal image is attached with dimensionals. I added pewter brads to the corners to finish it off.

Chocolate Rose Thanks

2007-06-14T22:23:00.000-05:00

I just love pink and brown, don't you? I made this card for this week's sketch challenge. This is a very neat, easy to do sketch. I still have most of the papers from the Stampin' Up Loves Me designer paper collection (since I'm a hoarder), so I need to make some stuff from it. This was a great opportunity since you can use the double sided paper to make the putting the pieces together much easier.

I took a 4 inch by 5 1/4 inch piece of the designer paper and cut from corner to corner both ways. (Probably the hardest part of this was cutting the original rectangle, as I wanted the stripes to be going vertical, and the designer paper has the stripes going diagonally!!) Then I flipped the top and bottom triangles over to reveal the other side. I glued them down and attached the brown stitched ribbon from the Seaside collection of Ribbon Originals from SU. This covers any wonky seams. The center image is very simple, just the single flower image from the Heartfelt Thanks set by SU! stamped in Regal Rose, with the outline stamp in Chocolate Chip. I cannot do the two-step stamping with out my trusty Stamp-a-ma-jig, thank goodness for that tool. I stamped the Thanks image in Regal Rose after "rock and rolling" the stamp in Chocolate Chip. Trimmed and matted it in Chocolate Chip and mounted to the card front with dimensionals. How easy is that?

Coral and Brown Reverse Emboss

2007-06-13T12:57:00.000-05:00

This card was inspired by a beautiful card made by Nichole Heady I saw on her blog, "Capture the Moment". Let's just say I'd like to capture her talent as well as her creativity! Nichole has a great tutorial for this technique of reverse embossing, and I just had to try it with my Reverse Prints hostess set by Stampin' Up. I used the colors from this weeks color challenge which calls for Cameo Coral, Certainly Celery, and Chocolate Chip, with an optional Tempting Turquoise. I opted OUT of the turquoise for this card...

I used the French Script background stamp in celery on Whisper White, and stamped the main image in Versamark, then clear embossed it. I sponged chocolate chip allover it to reveal the flower image and create a "halo effect" around the image. I then wiped off the excess ink and mounted it onto Chocolate Chip cardstock after I ticket cornered it. I added antique gold brads, tied a piece of brown grosgrain ribbon around and mounted onto a Cameo Coral card base using dimensionals. That's all there is to it! Thanks Nichole for the inspiration! You rock!

Heartfelt Thank You and a New Obsession

2007-06-06T20:04:00.000-05:00

I made this card for this week's color challenge on Splitcoast. We were to use Elegant Eggplant, Ruby Red and Certainly Celery. I used the main flower image from the Heartfelt Thanks set by Stampin' Up, and colored it in with my eggplant, ruby, and celery markers. I stamped the outline over it in eggplant and always artichoke using my Stamp a ma jig. I used my ticket corner punch on the white and the celery cardstock, and mounted them on the ruby red cardstock. I added the gold brads and attached it to my eggplant card base with dimensionals.

For the circle accent, I used my markers to color in the Thank You Very Much stamp from the Riveting set by Stampin' Up, then cut just outside the line. I need to get the 1 1/4" circle punch, as it would have been MUCH easier. Then I mounted it onto a 1 3/8" eggplant circle, and attached with a dimensional. One more step would have made this perfect for the sketch challenge this week, except I couldn't figure out how to attach the strip across the center front without covering up most of the flower. Oh well.

Isn't it funny how you can stumble across a technique or design and you just get obsessed? This week's technique challenge was to make an origami shirt out of designer paper. Cambria Turnbow (a very talented lady I might add) has an excellent tutorial on her blog. The step by step pictures are very helpful. I've made several of them, although I have had yet to make a card using them. But aren't they adorable? Hopefully soon I can put them to use. Enjoy!

Happiness Always

2007-06-05T18:34:00.000-05:00

Sometimes being under pressure to get a card done can be a good thing. My best friend Patsy's anniversary is in a few days, and I just remembered today! Got to get a card made and made FAST! I had the idea to use the Happy Anniversary stamp from Favorite Greetings set by Stampin' Up!, but naturally I can't find that stamp! I must have used it a while back and didn't put it back, and my house is like a black hole sometimes.

As I was looking through my collection of stamps, I came across the Happy Harmony set, a Sell-a-bration set I hadn't used yet. EUREKA! There is a stamp in there which says "Happiness Always" which is what I wish for Patsy and her wonderful husband Tim.

For this card, I used a Rose Red card base, and the Palette O' Prints papers in Rose Red and So Saffron. I cannot wait for the new catalog, which will have these papers in 12x12 sheets in lots of colors, including the new In Colors! The designs are so yummy! I used the trio of flowers stamp from Happy Harmony, inking them with my markers in Rose Red, So Saffron, Regal Rose, and Mellow Moss and stamping on Whisper White Cardstock. I cut out the oval shape with my Coluzzle, and mounted it onto a scallop oval in Rose Red (Giga size). The image is attached to the card using dimensionals. I stamped Happiness Always in Rose Red on a scrap of WW and cut out using the Coluzzle. I sponged the edges lightly with Regal Rose, and attached using mono adhesive. The ribbon is from the Sweet Shop collection of the SU Ribbon Originals, and is attached with glue and trimmed at the sides of the card. It matches PERFECTLY!

Now let's just hope this card makes it to Atlanta by Saturday.

My "Assistant"

2007-06-04T11:40:00.000-05:00

For the past few weeks I have been working at home, since we are remodeling the office building where I work. It has been very hard to stay focused on work, with TV, the internet, and the bed all calling my name. There is only another couple weeks to go, and I actually can't wait to go back to the office. I have been going in every couple days to get files to work on and get more work to do and review with my boss.

When ever I have a huge set of construction plans to look at, I lay them on my bed which is right behind me when I am at my computer. Unfortunately, Dexter comes along and spreads out on them. He doesn't realize he's not helping. But eventually he gets bored and leaves. Which is good because it is so hard to move him when he looks so happy and comfortable.

Watermark!

2007-05-24T23:35:00.000-05:00

As you noticed in my last post, I've got a watermark now! I'm not TOO worried about people stealing my images, since they're not as super fantastic as other bloggers out there, but I thought it would be cool to have one, and I can have copyright information for Stampin' Up images like I'm supposed to. I used Photoshop Elements 4.0 to create it, following the tutorial put together by Kurtis Amundson, otherwise known as Stampin' Kub. He's quite talented in all things stamping (puts me to shame big time). But of course why wouldn't he be, his mother's a Stampin' Up! demo!! His website is wonderful, and I am inspired everytime I visit. Take a look for yourself! His video on creating a watermark is in the Tutorial Section under "Tips".

Stampin' Kub

Totally Cool Triangle Sketch

2007-05-24T22:58:00.000-05:00

Sketch Challenge #124 over at Splitcoast was so interesting, I've made three so far. The first one I did was for my grandmother, but the picture was so awful I don't want to post it here, and since I don't have it anymore, I can't reshoot. But since then I have made two others that came out better anyway.

The best way to go about doing this sketch is to start with your scrapbook paper cut at 3 3/4" by 5". Flip it over to the back, and make a mark on one short end 1/2" from the top and from the bottom. On the other short end, make a mark 1 1/4" from the top and from the bottom. Connect the top mark on one side to the bottom mark on the other side, and do the opposite going the other way to make an X. Cut apart on these lines, and you have your two triangles! I matted these triangles 1/8th " on the two long sides of each triangle, with the short side flush. Then on a 4" x 5 1/4" panel I centered the triangles facing each other. There is a slight overlap which you could trim, but since you will be covering it with your focal image, it doesn't really matter. This panel is then attached to a regular size card base (4 1/4" x 5 1/2"). I hope this makes sense.

The card below was made using Tempting Turquoise and Chocolate Chip cardstock, to go with the scrapbook paper I got in the Die Cuts With A View 4x6 Retro pad. The turquoise panel is Cuttlebugged using the "fabric" Fiskars Texture Plate, and attached to a Choco Chip card base. The focal image is made using the flower and Thank You background stamps from the Mini Messages set by Stampin' Up! I used Tempting Turquoise ink for the flower and Chocolate Chip ink for the background Thank You's on Whisper White cardstock. I punched this image out using my 1 1/4" square punch and matted it with a Marvy Mega scallop square in Chocolate Chip. I attached the focal image using dimensionals. I just love this color combo!

I liked this sketch so much that I made another card using the sketch and also for the Ways to Use It challenge for the week (WT114) which was to use of all things, YOYO YELLOW! Yuck! Not my bag, so I made it a secondary color for this card, which is mainly Pumpkin Pie! I stamped the Thanks So Much stamp from the Riveting set by Stampin' Up! in Pumpkin Pie on Whisper White cardstock and punched it out with the 1 3/8" circle punch, matted it with a Super Jumbo (blue Marvy punch) circle in Pumpkin Pie and again matted with a Mega Scallop Circle in Yoyo Yellow. The triangles are made using a downloaded digital scrapbook paper from Lettering Delights.com, matted in Yoyo Yellow and placed on a Pumpkin Pie panel and attached to a Yoyo Yellow cardbase. The circle focal image was attached with dimensionals. I probably would have added a touch of Certainly Celery cardstock, but I'm out and need to order more...

This won't be the last sketch like this I'll do, but I like this week's sketch too, so maybe I'll have to move on for a while...LOL!

Winter Fluffles

2007-05-15T23:57:00.000-05:00

I know its spring, and really close to summer, but I chose to do a January themed card for the Year of Fluffles swap being held on Splitcoast, since it was the last spot open in the swap. I used the Snowboard Fluffles stamp, and also the Winter stamp from the Season by Season set by Stampin Up! I colored him in with So Saffron, Brocade Blue, and Bashful Blue markers, and used Julie Buhler's technique for making a scalloped circle using the small corner rounder and Night of Navy cardstock. (Julie, I hope you don't mind me linking to your website. I'm a huge fan!)

For the background I ran Brocade Blue cardstock through my Cuttlebug using the Fiskars snowflake texture plate and notched the corners with the ticket corner punch. I stamped "Winter" on a scrap of white, and scraped the edges on the Night of Navy pad to define the edges. I glued a piece of navy grosgrain around the background piece and attached the Winter piece with glue dots and added a special brad. I attached the Fluffles focal image using pop dots for dimension. I used Sticky Strip to attach the whole thing to a Night of Navy card base because the embossed background needed extra hold. And thats about it. Oh by the way, I made twelve of these...WHEW!

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-13T15:26:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! This year I gave my mom a gold bangle bracelet, and I made a gift bag out of Certainly Celery cardstock using the pattern that was in PaperCrafts magazine a while back and was also Technique Challenge #102. The center panel uses one of the green papers from the Palette O' Prints pack available now from Stampin' Up. I used brown grosgrain ribbon I got at Michael's for the handles and attached it with Sticky Strip to make sure it stuck. The bag was also put together with the same sticky tape. I was happy to see I had matching green brads to add to the top of the bag on the ribbon! I made a matching card using the same colors and paper and the Sketch Challenge 105 (one of my favorites!), with a bit of Chocolate Chip cardstock for the matting. I used the Happy Mother's Day stamp from All Year Cheer II (too bad its retiring) in Chocolate Chip ink on Whisper White cardstock and punched it out with my Mega scallop oval punch and matted it in Chocolate Chip with the Giga scallop oval. Mom was thrilled!

Olive Polished Stone Tree

2007-05-09T18:50:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, as we counted the hours until Dexter could get that stupid cone off (see this post) Mom and I decided we would take our minds off it by doing a technique that I had been wanting to try, but hadn't got around to, the Polished Stone Technique. I used Old Olive, Mellow Moss, and Certainly Celery to do the background using the technique (no metallic inks) after I embossed the tall pine tree from the Lovely as a Tree set by Stampin' Up! with clear embossing powder on glossy cardstock.

As the ink dried, I noticed that the embossing was starting to peel away, so I thought it should be removed totally, so I had Mom iron it off between sheets of typing paper. It turned out so well if I do say so myself! I matted it with white so the white tree would "pop", tied white grosgrain ribbon along the side, and attached the image to an Old Olive card base with Stampin' Dimensionals (foam pop dots).

We liked this so much, I made two other images using the same technique with different stamps and ink colors, but haven't made any cards from them yet. But stay tuned...they are coming!

My Little Bobcat

2007-05-09T18:18:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted in a while. I've been pretty busy and also a bit down. A few weeks ago my kitty Dexter had a biopsy on a lump on his tail and it came back as a malignant tumor. Needless to say I was devastated. He is only six years old! The vet recommended that his tail be amputated as there was no guarantee they could get all of it otherwise. So two weeks ago we took him to a specialist surgeon in Maitland (north of Orlando where I live) and they amputated all but about three inches of his tail. I cried that whole day.

They kept him overnight for observation, and the next day we went to get him. He had to wear what they call an e-collar (but we called it the Cone of Doom) until his sutures were removed, which was this past Monday. He hated every minute of it, but came to accept it after a couple of days. He couldn't bathe himself that whole time, and kept trying to, but all he could lick was the inside of the cone. Poor thing.

But the cone is off! And now we just have to wait for the fur to grow back on his tail and pray that the cancer didn't get a chance to spread. We go back in three months for a check up then every three months after to keep an eye on him. He is my little boy and I am not ready to lose him.

Four Patch Frenzy

2007-03-24T22:35:00.000-05:00

Sigh, I am so behind on the mystery. I haven't even finished Step #2 and they are already on #13! There are a few that are behind like me, but it seems as though most are up to speed. The last clues will be posted tomorrow. No way will I be caught up. It's time for bed. Oh well.

Quilting again!

2007-03-18T22:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was National Quilting Day, however I never made it into the sewing room. Oh well, today I spent about three hours in there working on my Cinnamon O's quilt. I've got both the brown and the red sets of 3.5 inch squares done, which means the 2 inch background squares have been added to opposing corners of each colored square. I still have the aqua, golden tan and light green ones to finish, then I will create each O. Each O takes 4 of the 3.5 inch squares. I thought about making the O's as I finished each colorway, but I get in a zone and chain piecing is so fast, I think I'd rather get all the individual pieces done, then make the O's. But I could change my mind. We'll see.

I bought fabric for a new mystery called Four Patch Frenzy, and two clues have been posted for it, but I haven't cut into the fabric yet! I hope I have a chance to do that this week, because this weekend all the clues will be posted, and I don't want to fall way behind and not finish with the other quilters. Here's hoping.

Fluffles Makes Me Smile

2007-03-17T13:39:00.000-05:00

Another adorable Fluffles card. Sigh, I love this little kitty.

This card is inspired by both the Color Challenge #104 and Sketch Challenge #113 on Splitcoast's website. I'm always late for these challenges, but better late than never.

This card uses Regal Rose, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, and Chocolate Chip SU! cardstock. The Flying Fluffles stamp was stamped three times on Whisper White cardstock in Basic Black and punched out using the 1 3/8" square punch. I colored in Fluffles using my So Saffron and Pretty in Pink SU markers. I used the Marvy Mega scallop square punch to punch three Regal Rose squares to mat the kitty squares.

The center strip behind the diamonds was made by Cuttlebugging a 1-1/2" strip of So Saffron using my Fiskars Texture Plates (the grass plate from Texture Asst. #2), and matted with a 1-3/4" strip of Chocolate Chip. The base card is made out of Certainly Celery, and I stamped the verse (from the Small Sayings set) in Chocolate Chip. I love doing dual challenges!

Old Sketch Challenge

2007-03-03T23:36:00.000-05:00

When I saw Splitcoasts's Sketch Challenge #105, I really thought it was cool and wanted to do it. But at the time it came out (first week of January!) I had no easy way to cut a large circle. No Coluzzle, no die cut. So I had to wait. I bought a Cuttlebug die cut machine and a huge Sizzix circle die, but still wasn't ready because I wanted to mat the scrapbook paper circle, and I can't cut a circle with scissors to save my life. So I had to order a Coluzzle companion circle template to mat the circle. No one ever said card making was a cheap hobby!

So I finally got all the tools I needed, and here is my card. I decided to make a get well card for my mom's friend Reno, who has thrown his back out working around his house.

I have totally fallen in love with my Cuttlebug machine, especially after I bought the tan polymer pad used with the Spellbinder Wizard machine for use with my Fiskars Texture plates. I got the idea from the Cuttlebug sandwich thread on Splitcoast. I used the lines plate to lightly emboss the background piece of Certainly Celery cardstock, which I trimmed down to 4x5.25", and notched the corners using the Concave Corner Adorner.

For the circle portion, I used my Cuttlebug and the large Sizzix Circle die (approx. 4") to cut a piece of scrapbook paper. It is this paper that was my inspiration for the color combo I used. I then used my new Coluzzle Companion circle template to cut the mat in Rose Red. Then I trimmed the left side of the circle off approximately one inch and mounted it to the embossed piece of celery cardstock.

The white tag is made from a Cuttlebug oval slider die, and it's small size makes it a bit difficult to put a sentiment on it. I got out my Stamp-a-ma-jig and rearranged the Get Well Soon from the Sincere Salutations stamp set from Stampin' Up! so that it would fit in the tag, using my Rose Red marker. The Marvy Mega Scallop Oval punch mats the slider tag perfectly in Rose Red, and I ran Stampin' Up's celery organdy ribbon through the slots in the white tag. I mounted the tag using pop-dots and wrapped the ribbon around the cardstock and attached with adhesive. Then I mounted the entire thing on to a piece of Rose Red cardstock. Whew!

I really like this sketch a lot, and plan on doing more like it in the future, now that I have all the necessary equipment!

Quilty stuff

2007-02-16T23:10:00.000-05:00

It has been a really long time since I've been in my sewing room. I've been so tired after work and then get sucked into the internet and before I know it bedtime is here. Well I decided this week I would get back in there.

I joined the Stashbuster Yahoo! group last week and have been inspired to work on some UFO's. I wanted to get going on a quilt I started cutting fabrics for months ago, the Cinnamon O's pattern. I bought the fabrics for the quilt in a kit from the Fat Quarter Shop, a webstore I love to go to. Kimberly, the owner, has all kinds of fat quarter bundles of Moda and other manufacturers. It's a bit dangerous for me! I decided to make the quilt a bit smaller than the pattern calls for, since I prefer not to piece my backing, and like smaller quilts because they are easier to handle when quilting.

The kit included one fat quarter from each design of each colorway. There are five colorways in the Cinnamon Stars fabric line: red, aqua, light green, tan, and brown. I needed two 3.5 inch strips from each fat quarter, then cut into 3.5 inch squares. I finally finished cutting all my 3.5 inch squares tonight. I'm exhausted! Next I have to cut the 2 inch squares from the background fabric, which I got tons of. Looks like I will have a bunch left over. My wrist hurts from rotary cutting.

Hopefully I can cut the strips I need over the next week and get to piecing, which is ultimately more fun than cutting. Its a beautiful pattern and I can't wait to finish it to see how it comes out.

More Fluffles to Love

2007-02-11T22:44:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I think I may have a small case of obsessive compulsive disorder. In this case, I fell in love with Fluffles the Cat stamps, and now I have about 12 of the little guy stamps. He kinda looks like my cat Dexter!

I made this card for my mom for Valentine's Day, and used the Fishy Fluffles stamp. It is so cute. The card is made with Pretty in Pink cardstock and the scrapbook paper background I downloaded from CreativeDelights.com. They have lots of high quality image files of 12x12 backgrounds for use in scrapbooking, although my printer has to clip down to 8.5x11. I thought that the rosy pink color went well with the Pretty in Pink. I almost went with Regal Rose but there was not enough contrast I believe.

I stamped the image onto Whisper White and punched it out using the Marvy Mega Circle punch, and since I have had yet to get the Giga scallop circle, I used my new Coluzzle circle template to cut out the next biggest circle out of Pretty in Pink for a mat. I think I need to get the companion circle template because I'd rather there not be so wide of a mat. Can't wait to get my scallop punches! But I have to say, I was worried about being able to use the Coluzzle, but my goodness it was easier than I thought! Pretty cool tool.

After I colored in the image with So Saffron for Fluffles, Bordering Blue for the fish, and Pretty in Pink/Regal Rose for the hearts with the SU markers, I mounted it onto the card with Stampin' Dimensionals. I tied light pink SU grosgrain ribbon around the top of the card and for something extra added a little pewter brad heart in the lower corner. I have really taken a liking to the 4.25x5.5 cards that open at the top. A bit different from what I'm used to!

My First Card on my Blog!

2007-02-03T01:04:00.000-05:00

I've made quite a few cards over the past few months and posted them in my gallery on Splitcoast, but this is the first card I've posted on my blog! I started this blog mostly because I've been visiting other people's blogs who post regularly on Splitcoast, and wanted one of my own. I don't know why I haven't got around to posting a card on my own blog, probably because I haven't been stamping much lately. But after seeing blogs like Stampin' Mama, Taylored Expressions, Paper Trufflez, and Prairie Paper and Ink, I've finally decided to jump in. I am NO where near as talented or creative as these ladies, but they give me the inspiration and the motivation to at least do what I can. I learn a lot from their sites.

I fell in love with Fluffles the Cat from Stampendous, after seeing him pop up on the gallery at Splitcoast. I am a true cat lover, and this little guy is ADORABLE! I went nuts and bought this stamp along with about nine others, and hope to make more cards that feature him. I like this one the best, because I also like bees.

I used Whisper White cardstock and Basic Black ink for the stamped image, and punched it out with the Marvy Super Jumbo circle punch. I could have used the larger Mega circle punch, but SOMEHOW I managed to get a smudge of ink along the edge of the design after I had gone to the trouble of coloring it in with my markers. Sigh. So I punched a smaller circle clipping some of the design. Next time I will be more careful...lol

I mounted the circle onto Lavendar Lace cardstock and trimmed around with my pinking shears (I am lousy at using them). I cannot WAIT for the scallop circles and oval punches from Marvy to be available again. I cut a piece of Lavendar Lace cardstock 4.25" by 8.5" and folded it in half to make a 4.25" card. I then cut a 4" square piece of purple plaid scrapbook paper and plopped it onto the card front. I tied a piece of purple ribbon (from the Downtown collection by American Crafts) around the top of the card front, and added a bit of adhesive to keep it in place. Finally I attached the kitty circle with Stampin' Dimensionals (I love those little pop-dots!)

So there it is, my first blog card. Simple yes, but I like it! GO FLUFFLES GO!

New Look

2007-02-01T19:00:00.000-05:00

I decided to update my blog today. I got tired of the green swirly so I took a cue from blogs I visit regularly and decided to make my own header. Its a work in progress, but I kinda dig it! I switched templates to the minima Blogger template which is (as its name implies) very simple and minimalistic. It took some working to figure out where to edit the HTML so that the image I created plopped in the right place, and I had to adjust table widths so that everything would show up where it should. I may change the background color since white is SO white! We will see. I also changed my profile pic. Enough modifying for now. See ya!

Not ALL About Me

2007-01-24T22:45:00.000-05:00

I usually don't do these things, but I've seen people put them on their blogs, so why shouldn't I? This is from my best friend Patsy in Georgia, and instead of emailing it to all my friends (all five...lol) I'll just post it here!

1. What time is it? 10.47 pm
2. Full Name: Cindy Michelle %#(@& (edited for privacy)
3. What do you fear most? Fire and drowning/suffocating
4. What car do you drive? Silver Mazda MPV (but I'm no soccer mom)
5. Have you ever seen a ghost? Nope
6. Where were you born? Melbourne, FL
7. Ever been to Alaska ? No
8. Ever been toilet papering rolling in decorating trees? No
9. Croutons or Bacon bits? Croutons
10. Favorite day of the week: Saturday
11. Favorite restaurant: Olive Garden (but I eat from the kids menu!)
12. Favorite Flower: Sunflowers
13. Favorite sport to watch: Not a sports fan
14.Favorite Ice Cream: Chocolate Chip
15. Disney or Warner Brothers: Disney
16. Favorite fast food restaurant: McDonald's
17.What color is your bedroom carpet: none, I HAVE OAK LAMINATE NOW! YAY
18. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Zero
19. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail from ? Non spam or commercially, Betty the secretary at work
20. Bedtime: Around 11-11:30 during the week, 1-2 am on weekends.
21. Who will respond to this email the quickest? no one, not sending...heehee
22. Who is the person you sent this to that is least likely to respond??? again, not sending
23. Who is the person that you are most curious to see their responses: oh forget it
24. Favorite TV show? Lost, Prison Break, Desperate Housewives, American Idol
25. Ford or Chevy: neither
26. What are you listening to right now? Evanescense
27. What are your favorite colors? Navy, brown, red
28. How many tattoos do you have? none
29. Do you have any pets? Yes! My beautiful cat Dexter
30.Which came first the chicken or the egg? I say chicken, because I don't believe God started with an egg, he didn't make Adam a baby
31. What would you like to accomplish before you die? Find a good man to love and love me
32. How many people are you sending this e-mail to? None

Wow, it took me 10 whole minutes to do this. Better get to bed now, work tomorrow and all.

PS. Reno and Mom came back today and finished the floor. It looks so AWESOME! RENO ROCKS! And American Idol was hilarious. Especially the girl at the end who sounded like she was having an orgasm. Gees...some people.

New Floor is almost done!

2007-01-21T18:35:00.000-05:00

Well, it took three days but the new laminate flooring in my bedroom is about finished. The flooring itself is in, but there are still a couple of places that need moulding around the baseboard and the thresholds need to be put in. But I am LOVING this oak floor! It is so much fun to roll around on in my computer chair and I enjoy the new layout of my furniture. I moved the desk to the other side of the room by my window and took the bed out of the corner and placed it up against the wall. The dresser used to be where the desk is now but has been moved to the other side of the entrance to the bathroom. The armoir (which houses stamping stuff) has been moved to the corner where the desk used to be. How much fun swapping furniture. The past few days have been crazy, with all the bedroom furniture in the living room, and stuff in boxes all over the place. Thank goodness most everything is back where it belongs, but Mom and I still have a few boxes to sort through and put crap back where it belongs. But it is so worth it.

Reno did a great job, and he worked LONG hours. He and mom came over Thursday morning, and he worked all day until about 11 pm when he left for a hotel. He came back the next morning, and worked until 11:30 pm or so, and drove the 70 miles back to Satellite Beach. Then came back yesterday, and my God he was here until after 1:00 am this morning! I was glad to hear he made it home to Satellite Beach in one piece. He still has a couple of things to finish, but they are not major, and can wait for him to come back later this week.

Dexter is happy as a clam now that everything is sort of back to normal. He has been asleep on my bed all afternoon. And Mom put my old stuffed dog "Drooper" on the bed, and Dexter has made friends with him. And just how cute is this picture?

Moving the computer! ACK!

2007-01-14T19:12:00.000-05:00

Today my mom and I moved my computer into the living room, because her friend Reno is coming over this week to put laminate flooring in my bedroom. I'd rather it get all set up ahead of time so that it can be used while the bedroom is all, shall we say, JACKED UP! It took almost and hour to disconnect everything, then reconnect it all in the living room on the dining room table. It is so weird to be in here (living room) and Dexter is totally confused. He usually lays on my bed while I on the computer, and he can't figure out what is going on.

Since the cable to the modem is in my bedroom, we had to get an extension to the coaxial cable so it would reach out the door and around the corner. Trip to Target! While we were there we picked up some other things, and the bill was over 52 bucks! It's amazing how it all adds up. And a little bit sad...

Oh, and I'm testing the dual TV tuner at the moment, recording America's Funniest Videos and watching "Van Wilder" on Comedy Central. We will see if it worked a little later. I'm planning on watching the premiere of "24" on Fox, even though I've never seen any of the other seasons. If I get hooked I may have to rent the other seasons.

I love being a geek

2007-01-11T20:08:00.000-05:00

When I bought my latest computer, I got a Dell (yeah I know, dude I got a Dell...) XPS410 with Windows XP Media Center and it came with a tv tuner. It was super cool, I could watch TV while I surfed the web and chat with friends. And the coolest thing was I could record tv shows to my hard drive! Not only that, but I signed up with Orb.com, which allows me to watch tv from ANY internet connected computer, as long as my computer is on at home! So last October when I went on my trip to Chattanooga, Mom and I were able to watch All My Children that my computer recorded for me in the hotel room! It was so awesome!

Well as time went by, I realized I wanted to be able to record shows at once, or record a show and watch a different channel at the same time. But the tuner was only a single. I could have gotten a dual tv tuner when I ordered my Dell, but I didn't. Wasnt thinking! So today I installed a dual TV tuner on my computer so I could watch and record two channels at once on my computer. The hardest part was figuring out which slot to put it in, because the original tv tuner was a different type of card. But it went off without a hitch! No problems. I am so glad God blessed me with a brain. I save so much money doing this crap myself. The Geek Squad would have charged me a fortune!

I hate returns

2007-01-07T20:23:00.000-05:00

Gees, with as much shopping online as I do, there is bound to be times that I have to return stuff that is either the wrong size (which is usually the case), wrong color, or just plain WRONG! Also, when I do go shopping at stores like Target, Sears, etc. I have to return things because I never try on at the store, it's just TOO tiring for me. Well today was a ultra mega return day.

Last month I ordered from Kodak.com. I bought a new digital camera, the Easyshare V610. Pretty neat, it's sleek and black, has a huge LCD screen, 6.1 megapixels, dual lens technology, 10X optical zoom, and neat video capability. It also came with a free 1GB memory card. With the camera, I also ordered the printer dock which came with a free travel case, and an accessory pack which included a case for the camera and a beautiful beaded neckchain and wrist chain. Well, the case did not fit the camera, despite what the website said. I was peeved because I didnt want to pay for return shipping, when it wasn't my fault that the case didnt fit. But I had no other choice. I also decided I didnt really need the printer, so I went to Office Depot today to return the accessory kit and printer/case via UPS. Cost 10 bux to ship, but should get back around $170.

I also made an order at Kmart.com last month. I saw in the local weekly ad in the paper a button up cardigan sweater that came in vanilla and also in black. I was going to go to the store to buy it, but when I checked online it was actually CHEAPER to buy it online. So I ordered one vanilla and one black. When the package arrived, to my dismay the vanilla sweater was there, but the black sweater was not. In its place was, get this...a corningware bowl. WHAT??? So I called customer service, and was told to take the bowl to the nearest Kmart and tell them that there was a mistake, and that I would like a refund of the sweater I did not receive. Well, I went today to the Kmart down the road, and guess what, NO SATISFACTION. The lady was rude and unfriendly, telling me she couldn't do anything because I didn't have the sweater. HELLO! That's why I'm here dummy! So I don't know what is going to happen now. I emailed customer service for the website and we'll see.

Lastly, I bought some clothes (two sweaters and a pair of pants) in the girl's department at Super Target in September, and later decided I didn't want them, but didn't get around to taking them back until today. Unfortunately, the receipt expired two weeks ago and they would not give me a refund, NOT EVEN a store credit. So I'm out almost 50 bucks. I know it's my fault for waiting too long, but I'm still mad about it. I'll not make that mistake again.

So anyway, didn't buy anything today, too p.o.'d and tired. I wanted to go to Joann's and use the gift card my good bud Patti gave me, but was exhausted and headachy from dealing with surly people. Maybe I can go by myself this week, and get some use out of that hot red scooter sitting in my garage...

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T21:36:00.000-05:00

This weekend my mom and her friend Reno went to a really nice hotel for Christmas Eve. We stayed at the Sawgrass Marriot Resort and Spa in Ponte Vedra Beach. I got a really good deal if I paid in advance (2 weeks), so we got two rooms, one for me and Mom, and one for Reno. Unfortunately the weather totally STUNK! We drove over yesterday around 11 and stopped in St. Augustine to walk around, but it started raining while we were having lunch at the Columbia Restaurant. So we decided to go on to the hotel, which was about a half hour north.

I really was hoping to get to see the grounds at the hotel, which are supposed to be spectacular, with gorgeous landscaping and lagoons. But it rained the entire time we were there. Not only that, but most of the restaurants were closed for the holiday, and the ones that were didnt interest me food wise. When we got to the room, I ordered from the kids room service menu, and Mom and Reno had dinner down in the Augustine Restaurant while I got ready for bed. By 8 I was starting to fall asleep. They weren't impressed with the food.

This morning a huge storm came through,and we weren't able to leave the hotel until around 1. Luckily we were able to have late check out. We ordered 3 servings of chicken fingers from the room service menu and had them for lunch, while we watched A Christmas Story on TBS. We opened a few presents, and left the hotel.

The trip home was soggy but uneventful. We made it home around 3:30. Mom and Reno left and now Im all alone again. Merry Christmas to me!

I guess I just wanted to do something different this year, and it didnt turn out exactly as I hoped, due to the weather and all. but you can't predict weather in Florida. At least Mom says she had fun. I love her so much, and I'm just happy we were able to be together for Christmas.

Maybe next year will be different...

Christmas is coming

2006-11-28T21:16:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. I went home to Mom's house on Thursday. I waited until then because I had to stay a bit late at work Wednesday and was rather tired to make the trip, plus had to wash my hair and all that. So got up around 10am on Turkey day and drove the 70 miles to Satellite Beach. Mom went to pickup Grandma and brought her back to the house, where we had a very simple dinner. Reno was able to get a 10 lb turkey for six bucks since he knows the meat guy at Publix. It pays to know people!

After dinner Mom and Reno cleaned up the kitchen while I had a nice long conversation with Grandma. I don't see her too often, since she lives in Melbourne and isn't usually able to make the trip with Mom when she comes to see me on weekends. And since Dad died I don't go home very much anymore. We talked about lots of different things, and it was really nice. Mom told me later that Grandma really enjoyed our talk and even cried. I feel guilty now for not calling more.

On Friday we went to see the movie Borat, which I will tell you honestly was funny in parts, but extremely shocking. There were scenes I wish I hadn't witnessed, those of you who have seen it know which one in particular I'm talking about! Reno couldn't stop talking about how awful it was, and I wouldn't say that, but it was definitely not for everyone. Definitely not for the easily offended.

Mom and I came back to Orlando on Saturday, and hung around the house the next couple of days. Tomorrow is my birthday, and Mom let me open a present a bit early on Sunday. She bought me an IHome alarm clock for my Ipod. It's pretty cool! I can wake up to the radio or my Ipod, and it charges the Ipod. Mom has ordered me a remote so I can work it from across the room.

After Mom went home Sunday night I went into the sewing room, which I hadn't been in in quite a while. I wanted to start a project I got from a lady on Ebay. It was a pattern and fat quarter kit which I had intended to buy from Connecting Threads, but by the time I got around to order it, had sold out. I was so upset. Luckily, someone had bought it and was cleaning out her sewing room and decided to sell it on Ebay. I wanted it so bad that I bid 10 dollars more than it sold for in the catalog. I watched the countdown closely, and someone tried to outbid me 30 seconds before the auction ended, but I was able to enter a final bid and win the kit. I was so happy. It is a Christmas table topper with fabrics from the Thimbleberries December Day collection. I have got a lot of it done, in fact, was just in there tonight and made some more progress. Hopefully if I am diligent this week I can get the top done and make the quilt sandwich for this weekend, and finish it by next week, so I can at least have it for a couple weeks before Christmas. Here's hoping!

Tomorrow Mom and Reno are coming over to take me to Olive Garden for dinner for my birthday. Betty, our secretary and office manager, promised me cake at work, which she does for everyone every year. She's quite the baker! I plan on taking the afternoon off, besides, my air conditioner is on the fritz again and the tech is coming at 1 pm. Hopefully he can figure out what is wrong! We shall see!

Dexter is a YouTube Star

2006-11-22T20:49:00.000-05:00

Well, sort of. Monday night I posted a little video of Dexter "washing" his face with a stinky washcloth. I saw him do this once several months ago and thought "this is the most amazing thing I've ever seen a cat do." So I grabbed the video camera a week or so ago, threw down a washcloth that could probably stand up by itself in a corner and waited to see if Dexter would roll on it. And so he did...I tried to contain the laughter as best as I could as I shot the video, and this weekend edited it to remove the parts where he stopped performing and scratched a flea or whatever. Its about a minute and a half, so if you have the time, check it out:

Dexter Washing Up

Let's Roll!

2006-11-20T20:03:00.000-05:00

Today I got my scooter lift installed in my new van. This was the second attempt by the Scooter Store. The first lift they put in was a boom arm type which would have required WAY too much assistance from me. I can barely stand up long enough to put my pants on, and I would have had to rotate, guide and help the scooter into the back of the van. I felt awful, but even after the two really nice guys (Chris and Jose) spent ALL day two weeks ago installing the lift, I had to tell them I couldn't use it. I had no idea I would have to do so much, and if I had known, I never would have had them install it.

Well, the wonderful people at the Scooter Store didnt give up on me, and found a platform lift that would fit in the back of my van, and wouldn't require anything of me except pushing a button! So today the same sweet guys came back to my house and installed the new lift, and I'm ready to roll!

Here is a picture of the scooter on the lift:

It's a Revo 3 wheel, which gets (supposedly) up to 20 miles on a full charge. I don't expect to do THAT much shopping, but you never know, especially with Christmas around the corner. It comes in Candy Apple Red and Viper Blue, but I really wish it came in black. But the red was the best choice, since the blue was pretty wild. The seat is pretty comfortable, but we'll have to see about how long I can stand to sit in it...

Here's a shot of the scooter all the way in the van, with Chris holding the button:

It was so funny, he said "I'm gonna take a picture of it in the van!" because the company initially said it probably wouldn't fit in my car. But they proved them wrong! Yeah, ok, I lost the 3rd row of seats, but how often do I cart around six people anyway? (NEVER!!!) There was a chance I might lose the second row of seats, which would have been awful since we hope to use this new van to travel. But they were able to save the second row. There is not a whole lot of room left over in the back, but that's ok.

So, I'm pretty happy. The scooter is outside in the garage right now charging up, so I can take it for a spin soon. May do it tomorrow, we'll have to see.

A NEW CAR!!!

2006-11-01T21:12:00.000-05:00

OMG I am so excited, I bought a new car this past weekend. I wasn't going to buy a car for a couple years because my Honda CR-V, even though nine years old, runs great and still looks pretty good for its age. But slowly I've been deciding it was time to swallow my pride and get some sort of power scooter to get around so I don't have to depend on my mom and friends to go places on my own. And the CR-V just wasn't going to carry one.

So what did I get? I got the 2006 Mazda MPV. I wanted the bronze one, but settled for the silver one, and you know, I think I like it better anyway! It has a V6, which I'm getting used to, you press the gas and ZOOOOOOM! I love it. It just barely fits in my garage though. Other minivans were just too big. We plan on using it when we travel, so it will save on van rental.

Today I signed an order for a power scooter. The Revo 3-wheel in candy apple red. It gets up to 20 miles on a charge, so that's a lot of shopping. LOL I also will be getting a lift for the back of the van, unfortunately the 3rd row seating will never be able to be used because of it. Oh well. Not like I haul a bunch of people around anyway. I should be getting both sometime next week. Lots of money out the window. But it also means points for my Marriott Rewards so free nights at hotels!!

I will post pictures soon. I played today with my Adobe Premiere Elements software, captured the video from my trip and also some of Dexter playing with a dirty washcloth. He looked like he was actually washing his face with it. May send it to America's Funniest Videos.

It's been a while - Trip to Chattanooga

2006-10-24T18:38:00.000-05:00

Sigh, I knew I would have difficulty keeping this blog updated frequently...

It's been over a month since I posted; however, not that much has happened. Although I did take a trip to Chattanooga, TN and North Georgia last weekend (October 12-16) with my mom and her friend Reno. That was a bunch of fun. We rented a van and I slept most of the way up on Thursday in the very back seat with my BiPAP and oxygen. It gets boring and tiring riding in the car.

We stopped in Kennesaw, GA to see Reno's son Tim's new townhouse. Very nice, a two-story one car garage building. He hasn't lived there long, so it's still not completely furnished and decorated, but it has a lot of potential. I didn't go upstairs but Mom and Reno said it was surprisingly spacious. We went to McDonald's for dinner, then on to Chattanooga.

Friday we got up and went to the Tennessee Aquarium. Boy is that an amazing place. Two huge buildings (River and Ocean) each with 4 levels, and every fish I've never heard of! I took some pictures of a couple stingray's that were so interesting, black with white spots and one that looked like a cheetah or leopard!

There were cool jellyfish and seahorse exhibits as well. The butterfly exhibit was so cool, they just flew around you. One landed on a guy's head. I wish I had had the presence of mind to take more pictures and video, but I was very tired and uncomfortable in my chair, I had difficulty taking pictures. I plan to go back and either take more myself or get Reno to photograph. We drove south to Lookout Mountain but I became so exhausted (scary tired) we had to go back to the hotel so I could lie down.

Saturday we left Chattanooga and drove around North Georgia, through the Chattahoochee National Forest, to Black Rock Mountain State Park and on to Cleveland Georgia, just south of Helen, GA, a little Bavarian town. I was too tired to go to dinner, so Mom and Reno went to a German restaurant while I rested. We stayed in a Days Inn right across the street from a McDonalds. We were used to staying in Marriott hotels, and this hotel DID NOT live up to our standards. We could hear everyone walking by the door and the people above us sounded like they were jumping up and down and throwing furniture. Reno banged on their door and they shut up.

Sunday we drove north a bit to Anna Ruby Falls, in Unicoi State Park. It was so beautiful. Reno pushed me up this extremely steep path (0.4 mile) so I could witness the beauty myself. I could never have gotten up there myself. I still can't believe he was able to do that. The twin falls were so lovely. It was cold, but I could stand it long enough to drink in the surroundings, and feel a part of nature.

We got some video, and a few pictures. We left and headed to Suwannee, GA, which is ten minutes from my best friend Patsy, and I had dinner with her, her husband and her little girl Abby at Olive Garden. It was nice to spend time with them. Abby is getting so big.

Monday was the trip home, and I slept the whole way. I took the next day off from work to rest up from the trip. Which was a good idea, since I had an appointment with my doctor I had forgotten about! Thank goodness they left a message on my answering machine! I was still pretty tired from the trip, so my O2 levels were low and my heartrate and blood pressure were high from the exertion of coming in from the car to the doctor's office. So he recommended I try wearing oxygen during the day. I have been resistant for a while now, but to get him off my back I agreed, since I can control how much I wear it and when they deliver it. Only when I desperately need it...

Dexter

2006-09-14T17:59:00.000-05:00

My my my...I cannot believe this is my fifth post, and have yet to display a picture of my sweet furry baby. I've mentioned Dexter in previous posts, but haven't explained who he was! In July of 2001 I went to PetsMart with my close friend Marci so she could look for a job. While we were there I decided to look in on the animals that were for adoption. I wasn't actively looking to get a pet, although I'd been wanting a cat for some time. My parents had discouraged me from adopting, thinking it would be too much trouble, that he would escape and I wouldn't be able to go after him, stuff like that.

I had always wanted a black and white cat. Not exactly sure why, just loved the "tuxedo" look. There was a small black and white kitten in one of the cages, very meek and wanted NOTHING to do with me. The handler pulled him out and handed him to me. He struggled and I gave him to Marci, and the kitten struggled harder and went back into the cage. I thought, gee whiz. Must not want to get adopted much!

There were some older cats and several dogs there, and I thought to myself, well I don't need to adopt a cat anyway. Maybe Mom and Dad are right. As we started away, I saw out of the corner of my eye a little orange fuzzball going to town playing with cat toy in his cage. He was having all kinds of fun. He was the cutest thing I had ever seen. I asked to hold him, and the handler pulled him out and placed him in my lap. The little furball looked up at me with these golden eyes and my heart turned to mush. I almost started to cry. I said to him "Oh yes, you are mine."

It was the fastest decision I have ever made. I gave the handler fifty dollars, and I had an eight week old kitten. I guess the hardest part was breaking the news to my mom, who was shocked, yet it only took her two seconds after seeing him to fall in love, just as I had. Here is a picture of him as a kitten, he loved attacking my feet:

That was 5 years ago this summer, and now Dexter is a huge 13 pounder, with a giant fluffy tail, and large fur filled paws. I am sure he has some Maine Coon in him, but can't be sure how much. His name happens to be the last name of a great friend of mine, Rob Dexter, bass player and lead singer of Kabang, a local Orlando band originally from New York. Rob seems honored, although he and Dexter have never met. Someday I hope to introduce them.

I consider Dexter to be my child, and I am his mother. I love him more than I ever thought I could love a pet. I have never once regretted adopting him. He is my BABY!!

Weekend in HELL

2006-09-11T14:09:00.000-05:00

OMG living in Florida can really bite if you don't have air conditioning. Sometime late last week, my air conditioner decided it would commit suicide and leave me without the cool air it had given me since I moved in to this house in 2002. I noticed Thursday night that something was not right, considering I was sitting in my kitchen sweating, and I was not doing anything but watching tv. When I came home from work Friday afternoon, I looked at Dexter and said "HOLY CRAP is it hot in here!!" Dexter just laid there as if to say, "Shut up Mom and do something about it! You dont have a fur coat on!" The thermostat said it was 88 degrees in there. UGH.

I called American Air and Heat and cried "Oh Im so glad I got a hold of you!" The receptionist heard the desperation in my voice and said "Oh dear it sounds like an emergency!" I replied "yes it is hot as hell in here!" She laughed and said she would get a hold of the tech and see if he could make it out to me that evening. Unfortunately it seems everyone's air conditioning was on the fritz because he had 3 more appointments and wouldn't be able to come to my house until the morning. OH NO! So I asked when he could be here and she said first thing in the morning.

Chuck arrived at 8:30 Saturday morning, and had bad news for me. Apparently the compressor was "grounded" which means there was a short in the wiring, and it was tripping the breaker. I could have the compressor replaced (for around $1700) but since my system was six years old and also a crappy contractor unit (from the initial building), I might want to consider replacing the entire system. Well, this had been suggested to me last year, but I was an idiot and decided to wait.

I told Chuck "I want the new system!" He laughed and said good idea. He was very friendly, even for someone who had been working like a dog for the past few days on very little sleep. He went out to the van to do the paperwork and told me to prepare my self because he hadnt passed CPR yet. I told him as long as it wasnt over $10000 it would be ok. LOL He said oh of course it will be under that! (It was actually under $5000.)

The only bad part was that it couldnt be installed until this morning. So for the rest of Saturday and Sunday I had every fan in my house on high, and sprayed myself (and Dexter) with water. Mom (God bless her) came over despite the heat and kept me company. It could have been worse, it could have been in the upper nineties. Saturday night it came a huge storm, and cooled down to the mid seventies. Sunday was ok, but not as stormy. But it never got oppressive, and I didnt pass out. I did have some trouble breathing, but nothing scary.

This morning around 9:00 two nice young guys came and installed the new system. While they worked I watched MSNBC's rebroadcast of the Today show from 5 years ago of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I was at work on 9/11 five years ago and did not see the news as it happened. My best friend Patsy in Atlanta Georgia called me to tell me the Twin Towers had been hit by planes. I'll never forget being so scared for our country. I think about the families of those people who died, both in the buildings and the planes, as well as those on the ground and the rescue workers who were killed while trying to save lives. Even after all these years, it still is a shock.

The two guys worked quickly and by 12:45 it was installed, and I wrote the big check. I could already feel the cool air filling the house. AHHH. Dexter seems content again. And I am not a sweaty mess anymore! THANK YOU AMERICAN AIR AND HEAT!!!

Meeting goes well, despite shortness of breath

2006-09-05T20:35:00.000-05:00

The meeting I had this morning went well. I actually sounded like I knew what I was talking about! I became seriously short of breath as I was leaving, however. I'm not used to going places by myself anymore, and even the shortest of distances is hard for me to push myself in my wheelchair. So as I left the meeting with a huge headache I called our secretary and told her I would be in at 1 pm, that I was going home to lie down. I went in around 1:20.

I am so disappointed in my lack of endurance anymore. It used to be I could go to the mall alone and biff around all by myself. Now I need help just to go to the store. I guess it all stems from the hospitalizations I've had for respiratory failure. The last one I had in 1998 almost killed me. I was in ICU for weeks. I don't think I will ever be able to be independent again unless I get a power scooter. And I'm not emotionally ready for that yet. But I am tired of having to wait until Mom comes over to go to the store, and I can't ask my friends to help me, they all have lives too.

Oh well. At least I'm still able to work. That's important!

Labor Day Wknd

2006-09-04T17:24:00.000-05:00

Ah yes, a wonderful 3 day weekend. Got to see my friends Rob, Steve and Rich play on Saturday night at Kitty O'shea's, a great little bar near Disney. Had lots of fun. Two of my closest friends who have been estranged for several years actually got along. It was great, because I have felt like I was in the middle, trying to be friends with both of them.

Mom came over as usual, and we got to spend some time planning our trip to Chattanooga, TN and Georgia. She also fed her little muscovy duck family (the third little group of babies in 2 years) and we had two peacocks join in. My back yard is like Wild Kingdom sometimes. There are several older Muscovy ducks who always stop by along with a strange black and white duck we've nicknamed Oreo.

Unfortunately the weekend is almost over and work begins again tomorrow. I have an early morning meeting at the City of Winter Springs with the Development Review Committee for one of our latest townhome projects. I am sittting in for my boss who is on vacation for two weeks. I am so nervous, afraid they will ask me questions and I will look like a dip. But we reviewed the comments before he left, so I am sort of prepared.

I wanted to do some sewing this weekend, but had to take my Designer SE to the dealer because the needle threader is broken. My favorite sales lady Donna tried to fix it for me there but was unable, so she will take it to her husband who is the tech for the dealer. At least she tried. I also dropped off my serger which isnt working right either.

I still have my Designer 1 so I may go in my sewing room and use it, but Im exhausted after washing my hair. Tough being a respiratory patient.

More later...

Blogs Blowing By

2006-08-29T21:28:00.000-05:00

I have tried in the past to create a blog and keep it up, but have failed miserably. When I was younger, I wanted to keep a diary but my life was so boring I couldn't even do that, because I had nothing to say. Isn't that sad? Not that my life is any more exciting now, but I do have lots of hobbies that maybe some people out there in Internet Land may find interesting. I will just have to see if this blog takes off...