Hangin' Out

Last time I posted, I mentioned I'd decided to use the Gratitude for Days Simply Created Kit on page 38 of the Holiday catalog to show my 30 Days of Photos.

Here is a photo of 11 of them,  hanging on the cord that comes with the kit.

And here are a couple close up and personal.  See how small the pictures are on this?  Way to small to really appreciate, as I stated before.  But, you try stuff and you learn and then you do it again or accept that you're moving on to something new!

I have 11 days of it completed, but won't bore you with all of them.  I had made the envelopes and layered the photos on to black so that they would stand out more and realized they needed some pizazz!  So, I just took some of our accessories and applied on an "as needed" basis!

There was a gold star sitting around on one of the tables, and seeing it made me realize the packets needed jazzed up a bit.

On Day Two I added one of the wooden embellishments (page 46, Holiday catalog).  I just used the Tombow Multipurpose Liquid Glue to adhere it.

Used another one of the wooden ornaments to showcase Smelly on Day 10.

I also used buttons and charms from the Holiday catalog.  As I was looking at them just now, it occurred to me that adding some ribbon would work, too!  Pretty much an empty canvas to play with!

And, here are a few more pix from my 30 day adventure.

 There's the finished angel.  She's cute, isn't she?  Made with the Gift Bow Bigz L die and a couple of circle punches, and she's Easy Peasy!

 
The Potting Shed at my house.  Along side the house.  Believe it or not, I cleaned it off last Fall - and now it needs done again before the rains hit along about November or December.  Do you think having this photo of it in front of me will motivate me to do anything about it?  (grin)

Another sunset with clouds.  I love the plane contrails that criss-crossed the actual clouds that night.

I'll admit, I started blowing the project off after about Day 15, but I've been working on a LOT of new projects lately, as we've been preparing for our FALL FRENZY papercrafting event on September 27th.  I'm not lacking photos to finish this project.  They just weren't necessarily taken on a specific day of the project!  LOL

I can't give away TOO much about the projects we're planning, cuz we want the projects to be somewhat of a surprise, but maybe I'll take a few pixels from some of them and tease you with them next time I post.

If you're at all interested in attending our FALL FRENZY (and we would love it if you were!), please contact me - I'd be happy to send you the flyer and all the particulars!

Thanks for stopping by!  Come back soon!

Sam

Pix Galore

Last post I showed you Days 1 & 2 of my 30 Days of Photos.  This post, I'll go through them faster - probably boring all of you do death - like looking at someone else's photos generally does!  LOL

Isn't that funny?  We take pix in order to share our adventure with others, but they really don't care, because they weren't on the adventure WITH us...

Sure, if you shared your adventure, the photos are interesting to those people - they're just something you didn't get to see from that angle, or pix taken of you that you hadn't seen as yet.

But to an outsider, those pictures don't mean a DANG thang!

Day 3:

This is the mail that's piled up on my kitchen table for about 2 weeks...  About 3% of this stack is bills.  About 30% are requests for money from the various (mostly animal) organizations that have my name on their list...  I've already thrown out the 40% that were flyers from grocery stores and fast food places.

And the balance of it? Just junk.  But it's junk with my name, address and goodness knows what else so I have to open, sort, and personally shred.  Can you tell I'm not really keeping on top of that task?  ha

Day 4:

  

The Kidz on the patio.  It's rare that I can get them all gathered together at one time.  I generally take lots of pix when I get that lucky!  I think I'd been out watering plants before this - and they all wanted my attention, now that I was done with that task.

Day 5:

OMG!  BOTH Velvet and Smudge are eating out of the "cookie dish" at the same time.  That NEVER happens!  Seriously - Velvet is 18 and Smudge is 8 - it's taken them 10 years to break down to eat together!

Day 6:

My Stampin' Garage.  If it weren't for this place, you would have never heard of me!

I spend at least two hours of each evening out there, creating, organizing, playing with new products, brushing cats, trying to find something I JUST HAD in my grubby little paws... 

If you're a crafter who is lucky enough to have a space of your own,  you know full well what places like this look like - generally somewhat controlled chaos!

My stampin' studio has served me well for quite a number of years.  When I started with SU, I stamped on my kitchen table.  I outgrew that when I had a bunch of things that needed to sit overnight for some reason, and the only place I could find to put them up and out of the way from the dog and cats was the garage.  Somehow, it just blossomed from that into having the garage be my Stampin' space.

I have 4 tables set up out there so I can do classes and stamping events.  It also gives me lots of room to spread out - not sure if that's good or bad!  Ha ha

 Day 7:

There's ole Smelly Belly on the table in the Stampin' Garage - NEEDING to be petted...  He's such a pesty nuisance, but I love him anyway!  He's nice and warm to cuddle up to on a cold winter night.  He ALWAYS needs to be petted, so you've always got a friend.  But he also loves to sit outside the screen door at night and taunt me that he's NOT coming inside, no matter what *I* want!

Day 8:

 

This is part of a Christmas angel I was making using our Gift Bow Bigz L die.  I'm sure somewhere I've got a photo of the finished product, but for that day, this was the photo I chose to share.

Day 9:

 

BEAUTIFUL CLOUDS!  And the sun was setting and making such gorgeous shadows.  We'd actually had rain that day or the day before, so had the treat of clouds.

Day 10:

 

We had monsoonal rains this day - but the rain stayed to the East of us - up in the mountains, and out in the desert.  This picture was taken from the front of my house, facing East, whereas the previous one was from the back, facing West.

Day 11:

Those cats again!  This time, I'd given them all a sprig of fresh catnip and they were lolling around all over the patio!  And then, of course, everyone needed to be my BFF!  LOL

Well, that's the photo trip for today...  I have more pix on my camera to be uploaded, edited, and shared.  I've also starting thinking about how I'm going to display these.

For the display I've already set up (which I'll share next time), I printed the pix out at 1.5 x 1.5 inches.  WAYYYY too small for anyone to see anything.

I've already got it set up for the 30 days, and I've used the Gratitude for Days Simply Created Kit on page 38 in the Holiday catalog, so I'll go ahead and finish it so I can display at our Fall Frenzy event on September 27th ( you ARE going to join us, aren't you?).

But, for posterity's sake, I think I'm going to print them out in either 2x3 or 3x5 and put them in my Project Life binder.  I may just copy the verbiage I've used on this blog to go with the pix -- or maybe change it up somewhat.  I'll know when I get to that point!

So, if you were to challenge yourself to a photo a day for 30 days, what would YOU take pictures of?    And how would you store them?  Inquiring minds want to know...

Leave me a comment!

Thanks for stopping by - come back soon!

Photo A Day

A few posts back, I mentioned that I'd wanted to do this for the month of August, but, come August 1st, I simply forgot to get it started!  Maybe those lists AREN'T such a good idea if I keep forgetting to check them once in a while!   hee hee

So, I started doing this on August 10th.

Wanna see a few of them?

Day1

First day of pictures = LAUNDRY drying on the line in my back yard.  What could be more basic in one's life than laundry?

And, for years, I've sun dried mine.  I also wash in cold water.  I'm trying to minimize my impact on Mother Earth, and I hope by doing this I'm making a small difference.  Besides, using the sun to dry one's clothes saves on electricity, which saves on the bill!  I don't even OWN a dryer, so in the watery winter months here in SOCAL, it can get dicey to keep oneself in clean, dry clothes.

I did break down and buy a drying rack a few years ago.  Had occasion to try it out during one of that year's rainy spells (we haven't had any of those lately, unfortunately!) and it didn't work out as well as I'd hoped.  I put the drying rack out in the garage, where I have no insulation, and the garage door leaks a LOT of cold air in the winter.  It took 2 days to dry the towels and jeans.  So, the next time I had to use it, I hung those over the shower curtain rods, or put them on hangers.  Helped a LOT!

Day 2

 

I am the Team Leader for Stampin' Up! support at the San Diego Ronald McDonald House.

Every month, on the 2nd Tuesday, I and a few fellow demonstrators go to the house with materials to make cards.  The card above was what I selected to do for the August visit.

It's a very simple card, made using the Too Kind stamp set on page 149 in the annual catalog, stamped on Whisper White, layered on Crisp Cantaloupe and Real Red. 

I also used "I'm so grateful" stamp from Chalk Talk (page 11 in the annual catalog).  I changed it up a bit by stamping the whole thing in Basic Black, the re-stamping just the "there's you" in Real Red, which I cut out and layered over top.  Makes the greeting stand out a bit more.  I think this may be the first time I've ever tried this technique, although I've seen it many times.

I've been fairly faithful about the photo a day thing, BUT, I've taken a few with my cellphone and have yet to figure out how to get them from the cellphone to my computer and iPhoto!  The book says uploading them should be pretty much automatic, but, apparently not at my house!  LOL  Probably Operator Error - that's usually the case when I can't get something to work...

Must be time to outside and sit on the patio - Smedley (AKA Smelly Belly) just jumped up on my computer desk... He NEEDS to be petted!

Thanks for stopping by - I'll post a few more pictures next time. And, hopefully by then, I'll also have the method of displaying them further along so I can show you that as well.

Come back soon, OK?

Emboss Me

Do you collect things?  Things like embossing powders?

I finally found a way to store them OUT, where I can see them and remember to use them.

Whaddya think about this?  It's a K-cup holder that I found at a discount store.  It's perfect!  I have it on the shelf above my workbench, so it's handy to the heat gun and the VersaMark pad...

I've had some of my embossing powders for a long time.  The oldest containers had more of a lip on the cover, which meant they wouldn't fall through the hole.  On the newer ones the lid size and the container size are almost the same. So, I struggled with how to keep the newer ones from falling through.

What I ended up doing was to create "toppers" for all of them with their color names in BOLD LETTERING. 

I used MDS:  I created some punch shapes (if left alone, they are naturally the same size as the matching punch we sell), and filled the shapes in with the names.  I printed it out on Whisper White CS, and punched the shapes.  I used mini glue dots to attach to the lid.

This works for me - it's handy, people see it, and club members decide to do heat embossing more often lately.

and.............

What about washi tape?  Ya got a lot of it?  Wanna see an easy way to see it all without it's rolling all over the place?

How about this?

I used the Tag A Bag gift boxes (Big catalog, page 201).  I stamped along the sides of the box with one of our large roller stamps (all discontinued).  That's it!  Put your washi tape inside, slide on the plastic cover and, if you store the box on it's side, you'll have all of them visible to you!

I had an abundance of embossing powders, so the overflow from the K-cup holder ended up in another one of the Tag A Bag boxes.  These things are really handy to have around!





There are 8 of these boxes in the kit for $6.95.  Big catalog, page 201.

I seem to accumulate a LOT of little items, so I'm always looking for storage possibilities that keep the items out in front of me.  Outta sight, outta mind is SO TRUE for accessories.

Well, that's my share for today - hope it sparked some ideas on your end for using these little boxes - and, oh hey -- these little boxes ALSO work very nicely for gifts to others!  Just tie and bow and a label and you're good to go!

Thanks for stopping by...  Come back soon!

Patio Living

For the past 6 weeks or so, I've been lingering longer and longer in the evening, enjoying my patio.  I go out there occasionally, but not nearly as often as I have this summer.

It's been warm, not windy.  It's actually been cooler out there than in the house.  It's been just lovely!

I started cleaning/sweeping the patio over 4th of July weekend.  While I moved, I also transpanted, snipped pieces off and re-potted some into their resident plant, others into new pots, in hopes of getting some to grow.

The photo above is what it looks like after that exercise.  The plants seem to be happy, so I generally don't move them  But sweeping and cleaning, sure did make the patio look more spiffy!

I still have an area under the table to do - and every night that I sit out there, I remember it needs to be done - but by that time, it's too dark to do much!

That thermometer there in this picture?  It used to say Coca Cola, and I've had it for probably thirty years!  The clear plastic was so badly scratched that I pulled it off - and this is STILL a better thermometer than the newer one I bought a couple of years ago.  So, now I have two.




The plants in my backyard MUST thrive under neglect!  It's a cardinal rule here at my house.   I've been very vigilant about being out there this summer, but come fall, when the winds get chillier, it's gonna be harder to convince myself to sit out there.  When I sit, I look; when I look, I envision changes...

So I've started taking my iPad out there with me - to make notes on the changes I want to make on the patio, or elsewhere in the yard.

I also make lists of other things I want to accomplish, and the steps necessary to pull them off successfully.  As you can imagine, I have a LOT of lists!  Too bad I forget to look at them sometimes!   LOL

I guess my love of gardening transfers to my stamping, too!  I'm a real FLOWER GIRL - as is evident from the cards that were made at my monthly card class a couple of months ago.  It's really difficult for me to step out of my comfort zone and NOT make cards using flowers.

The stamp sets using flowers are always the ones that appeal to me first, so I indulge myself - a lot!

Next on the agenda - some of the sets that DON'T contain flowers!  But Christmas is coming, and so is the Holiday catalog.  So, maybe I'll go off on a Christmas/Thanksgiving/Halloween tangent instead.

In fact, I just got my big pre-order from the Holiday catalog today, so you can bet I'll be playing with my new toys!  Will post some pix next week, after Stamp Club and a meeting with some of my fellow demonstrators for the Fall Frenzy paper crafting event we plan to hold on September 27th - SAVE THE DATE!

I just re-read my last blog post and guess what?  I FORGOT ABOUT MY PICTURE EACH DAY plan.  So, here it is, August 7th.  Should I cheat and go take pictures for 1-7 to catch up or wait until September and just start fresh?  Whaddya think?

Thanks for stopping by...  Come back soon!

Back Again...

Hi Everyone!

It's been almost a year since I posted anything to this blog.  Not sure where the time went, but it has passed.  It hasn't been totally uneventful, but can't say it has had a lot of highlights, either.

I think that's what most of life is like.  Not uneventful, but with a few highlights here and there.

I've followed a number of blogs over the years, and find that I continue to follow those who inject a lot of their own personality into their blogs.  So, as I start this blog up again, expect some stamping, techniques, photography, gardening, and other things that I may be involved in.

I want to do the Photo A Day idea in August, so I'll have those to post.  I think I'll also include a little info about why I chose to make that particular object(s) the photo of the day.  I then plan to use Project Life with Stampin' Up! products in my 6x8 memory book.  That way, I can print the  photos either large or small and have some limited space for journaling why I took that particular photo.

In the meantime, I'll post a few cards and other items I've been creating out in my Stampin' Garage.  It's what keeps me happy being a demonstrator -- the creative outlet it provides with all the tools:  stamps, inks, paper, kits, tools, etc.

Oh, and I can't forget Paper Pumpkin!

About 6 months ago, my creative juices seemed to have dried up.  I had about 4 of the Paper Pumpkin kits sitting around, and decided since I didn't have any projects in mind, I might as well put one or two of these together. 

And what happened when I opened those boxes?  I started playing with the "guts" and suddenly, I wanted to make changes to the ideas included in the box, and voila!  The creative juices started flowing again.

Are you stuck, creatively?  Well, give Paper Pumpkin a try!  And from now until September 10, 2014, you can sign up for two months and pay for ONLY ONE!  This is our way of convincing you to try it!

Go HERE to sign up!  Use the code HALFOFF2 and give your credit card information, and sit back and wait for it to arrive in your MAILBOX!  Ships around the 15th of each month.  And the best part for me?  It's a SURPRISE!

After the first two months, the price will revert to $19.95 each month.  You don't need to do anything!  Your subscription will continue to automatically ship to you each month.

If you want or need to, you can skip a month, simply by returning to the site and selecting the option you want.  And once you've gotten your first two Red Boxes with Paper Pumpkin, you can subscribe in 3, 6, and  1 year increments if you'd like.

Want to see a couple of them?  Here ya go!

 The pinwheels were the kit for June.  My friend, Del, just pumped it up a bit by adding some flowers in red, white & blue, along with a few firecrackers.  She did an awesome job, didn't she?

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

 

Velvet

Velvet sitting on the settee in the back yard.  She looks a lot like Grumpy Cat, doesn't she?  Notice the one white whisker on the right?

I had a Friend request the other day from an old school mate of mine from University of Phoenix  (hi Katrina!).  What a pleasant surprise!

Now, that's probably an every day occurrence for you, if you're on Facebook.  And while I get a number of Friend requests, this one was special.

First of all, Katrina lives (I think!) in the UK.  She lived here in the U.S. when I met her, and we spent many an hour in classes and study groups, so I had the opportunity to get to know her fairly well.

But the best part of getting to know Katrina was that she had a purebred black Persian cat.  If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know my cats are my Kidz.

Katrina's cat got out one day when she was in heat, and as a result, there was a litter of 6 or 7 kittens born.  All but one were black, like Mom.  The outlier was gray. 

I had just lost my black Persian cat of 22 years, Dusto, so when the kittens were born, I told Katrina I'd take one of them, as long as they didn't have the smished in face that's indicative of purebred Persians.  As it turned out, they didn't.

So, for my birthday that year (1998), I got Velvet!

I don't have any digital photos of her when she was that small, but over the years, I've taken a number of them.  After cats get to the age of about 2, they're pretty boring photo ops...  They tend to just sit still, OR, move at such high rates of speed that it's difficult to get a good picture.

So, just for you, Katrina, here are some photos of Velvet in the past 5-6 years!

On the patio.

Sitting in the backyard - must be spring - there's green grass growing!

Another one where she looks like Grumpy Cat.  Must be winter - she's got a LOT of fur!

Out in my Stampin' Garage.

Another in the Stampin' Garage. Another Grumpy Cat look.

Out on the patio, enjoying herself.

Checking out the patio furniture pads, just before they were replaced with some newer, prettier ones.

In the hallway, with her younger brother (Smedley - gray) and sister (Smudge - black).  A rare photo when I can get them all to sit still at the same time!

 Velvet's still my favorite (but don't tell the other two!) and the smallest of the lot.  She weighs about 6 pounds...  Her sister, Smudge, on the other hand weighs about 13 pounds!

One of these days, I'll feature Smedley (AKA Melie) and Smudge (AKA Mudge) with their own posts, but for today, Velvet gets to be the star!

Thanks for indulging me in my trip down memory lane with Velvet.  She's been a joy to have in my life!

Come back soon!