More Cards

And here are the rest of the cards from that kit!

The Fine Print: All stuff by Club Scrap except for sympathy greeting-Eat Cake Graphics and oval dies-Spellbinders.

Cards

I finished off this kit awhile ago and I want to get these cards shared and out of my pending file.  I think what I'm trying to say is that I'm tired of seeing them already.

I had fun making them but I'm glad they are done and over with.  All that pastel!  *shudder*

The Fine Print: Club Scrap "Spring Chorus" except for bird punch-Stampin' Up, heart punch-EK Success, lattice work die-Memory Box, paper flower-Prima, and butterfly sticker-K and Co.

PJ's Advice for the Bedroom

If your partner says to you that he/she finds horses to be awe-inspiring, majestic and full of virile, for the love of all that is holy do not show up in the bedroom wearing this:

Keep the horses strictly to paper unless you are an actual cowboy or cowgirl or otherwise have real life equestrian skills.

You can thank me later. 

The Fine Print: Horse head mask available at Amazon and other fine retail establishments.  Horse body stamp by Stampin' Up.

Six Years of WOYWW

I certainly haven't been playing along for the entire six years, but how exciting that What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday is now six years old!  Why that's almost old enough to be trotted about in public.

Before I show you my desk I will show you my not-desk. I worked off my table this past weekend because hubby shampooed the carpet and the place under my desk where the chair goes was slow to dry.  Then once it dried it seemed like too much work to drag all that stuff back over to the desk.

Items of interest (or not) are the SU stamps set I'm using, my bucket of card bases, Big Shot, paper cutter, box of shaped dies (like circles, ovals, squares), some tools, the work space, ribbon, Copic markers and inks. I made quite a lot of cards sitting at my table this weekend.

Here's what my desk looked like before I headed out to work this morning. On the upper left you can see the buckets of card bases back in their places so yes, that means the table is all picked up and everything put away now. I haven't started on my next bunch of projects yet nor do I know what they will be.

I can say I have a new organizer for on top of my desk, so stay tuned because one of these days I am bound to show it off in its new place.  It's just that the whole desk maneuvering seems like a lot of work, doesn't it?

The Fine Print: Sorry I'm late to the party but I brought the heavy drinks so it should be good.  And by heavy I mean the strawberry shakes and the chocolate malts.  It's all good! Hey, I just realized that you can see a glimpse of my new organizer in the bottom right hand corner of the top photo (not the WOYWW logo, silly).

Tuesday

Here is a sweet little card to take your mind off the fact that today is Terrible Tattered Tasteless Trashy Tantrum Tuesday.

Or maybe that's just here.

The Fine Print: Stamp by Penny Black.

Dude Cards

The last couple of weeks I've been walking around with a niggling desire to make a bunch of masculine themed cards.  I've had other things to make though--swap cards, birthday cards, kit cards to finish off, etc. and no real "reason" to make dude cards.

Then I spent some time talking to a friend who sends cards to Veterans (most of whom are men) and suddenly I had my reason.  Plus, a couple of dude friends of mine are having birthdays real soon!

I actually made a dozen dude cards but you are only getting two right now.  A few of the designs I made were duplicates to use up like papers. I have a crazy amount of brown cardstock scraps so I need to get on this dude card kick more often.  Either that, or fall should arrive really early this year.

The Fine Print: Stamp by Stampin' Up "Horse Frontier," pointy circular die by Spellbinders, papers and ribbons from my stash.  These cards are even stamped and decorated on the inside.  Yee haw!

Sneaky Peeky!

Like some of the other home party stamp companies, A Muse Studio has a new catalog coming out next month.  They recently gave us consultants a chance to pre-order some select stamp sets. None of the sets blew me away (I think I am still reeling from the sheer amount of stuff they retired) but I'm definitely seeing the potential of some of them.

There is one set that is chock full of potted plants, cactus and succulents.  As a frustrated indoor gardener (cats and plants don't mix) I was excited to see that set. Here is a pot of African violets that I whipped up for a quickie thank you card.

The Fine Print: All products by A Muse Studio, Stamps--Houseplants and Essential Sentiments II; cardstock--evergreen, grape, kraft and sugar; other--medium scallop border die, lime tiny pearls, and Spellbinders circle and scalloped circle dies.

Black Photo Corners

My big stamp club does a mystery item challenge every month.  You agree to make a card using an item that you don't know what it is until you get it.  You aren't obligated to use it once you have it (meaning no one sends dogs and big tough men named Guido after you if you chose not to join in) but it is more fun if you do.

This time around we were given old fashioned black photo corners to work with. Everyone got at least two, if not four. Over 40 packets of them were handed out but only 15 hardy souls brought back a finished card.  Who would have thought that black photo corners were so challenging?

I think what happened is that people didn't just want to use them on the corners of their focal image so then they didn't join when they couldn't think of anything else to do with them.  I would have done that if an inspired idea hadn't come to me.

Can you see what I did with my black photo corners in the above card?  I'll give you a hint, I'm not talking about the big black chevrons in the two opposite corners.

The Fine Print: Look ma! Heat embossed! Cat image by unknown (self mounted stamp given to me as a gift), doily made with the Martha Stewart circle punch thingy, and chevron punch by EK Success. A rare 6x6 card by me!  

How Many Bosses Did She Have?

Today is graduation day for the institution of higher learnin' that I work for and many other schools in town.  That means it tends to be a quiet happy day.  We don't have service hours this evening so that employees can attend the graduation ceremony if they chose.

The only My School graduation I've ever attended is the one I was in when I got my associates degree back in the 80's. Rose Mofford, the governor at the time, was our keynote speakers. She was known for her huge beehive hairdo and go get 'im attitude.  She started off by talking about the value of education and progressed into how education and perseverance gets you ahead. You know, like they all do.

Mis Mofford talked about how you can learn from those you work for and mentioned the number of bosses she had.  She spoke about how she started off her career as a mere secretary and shared the lessons she learned from that job and how they helped her get the next.  That second job she learned a lot from her boss, shared those lessons and how they got her that third position.  Rose learned a lot from that third boss, shared what she learned and explained how that helped her get the next job and so on and so forth.

While her talk started off interesting I started getting fidgety and trying desperately to remember how many bosses Rose Mofford had said she had so I could judge how much longer this speech was going to go on.  It went on and on.

Least this post go on and on I will share with you the lesson I've learned from all my bosses over the years (and I've had quite a number of them): You don't want to be the boss.  That's what I've learned!

The Fine Print: Cards, cardstock, and toppers by Club Scrap "Spring Chorus," dimensional flower stickers by K&Co., butterfly sticker by Sue Walton. 

Test

This blog post is just a test.  If it were real you'd be reading something witty and wonderful here.

Workdesk Wed #311

I'm here to show off my barely used work desk as part of the What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday blog hop. It has a few odds and ends on it, mostly incoming stuff to me and not any new projects. There are a few things I am hoping to get to sometime in the near future.

I know most folks are more interested in how the closet destruction project from last week turned out.  The answer is quite lovely if I do say so myself.  The new cabinet looks good and it is roomier in the closet now. Apparently I'm going to have to run a Go-Fund-Me campaign to get hardware for that thing though. Decent hardware is going to cost more than the cabinet.

As I was standing in the hall taking this picture I felt that I was in mortal danger. And indeed I was being stalked....

And then I was pounced! I barely escaped with my life.

The Fine Print: Anyone else notice that Charles is missing his left side eyebrow whiskers? I have no idea where they went. It wasn't a mishap with the paper cutter this time (or if it was, I wasn't the one running the paper cutter).  Happy day to you!

Spring Chorus

Here are a couple of cards I have had lurking around on my desk for awhile. I haven't made anything new lately so I thought I'd share something not-so-now. This kit kept going and going and going so expect to see a lot of these soon.

The Fine Print: Club Scrap "Spring Chorus" except the K&Co dimensional stickers.  Really, that's all I got.

Out of the Closet

Have you been wondering where I've been? If you saw my post from last Wednesday then you'll understand when I say I've been in the closet all weekend. I took out all those Iris Carts and emptied all the drawers, put in my new cabinet, and then restocked all the drawers.  It wore me out and made my feet hurt.  It was worth it though.  You'll have to wait for this Wednesday for the big reveal.

Meanwhile, I have cards to share that I made quite awhile ago now.  The top one was made even longer ago on a day when I got all cocky and broke out with the heat tool. The bottom two I made while I was using up scraps from this kit.  As you can see I found a design that worked and ran with it.

 The Fine Print: I think that is it for this kit (but you never know what is lurking in the other closet).  Card parts by Club Scrap "Tribal."

Discerning Dio

Last night I told my hubby I had to quit what I was doing immediately and go read in bed otherwise Dio kitty would be mad at me and never be my friend again.  Hubby snorted and replied that Dio would be my friend even if I never read another book again.

I totally disagree.  Dio is very discerning and can't be bothered with people who aren't well read. Luckily Dio counts Carl Hiaasen  as high quality literature (as he should).

The Fine Print: Sing card topper, designer papers and card base by Club Scrap "Spring Chorus," lattice die by Memory and Box, birds on a line die by Marianne.

Let's Lay in the Sun

But we'll have to do it some other day though because today is lacking in sun and we'd each have to hold onto a large rock to keep from blowing away and we'd have to keep our eyes closed to keep the blowing dust out and we'd have to be careful to not lay down on something with thorns, spines, needles or prickly things.  On second thought, let's just scratch this whole idea and go to the bar and talk smack about other people.

The Fine Print: More Club Scrap Tribal stuff.

WOYWW - The In Progress Version

In honor of What is on Your Workdesk Wednesday here is my desk.  It looks about the same as always with a slight change in cat.  That's not where all the action is though.

Before I show you the action I want to refresh your memory of my stash closet, also known as "The Motherlode."  Here's a photo from last month.

Here's the same closet, different angle, today. As you can see I am starting to dismantle and remove everything.

Why would anyone dismantle the craft closet you ask?  Well, since this is finals week here, let's have a little quiz.  Don't worry if you haven't studied; it is multiple choice.

Q: Why would anyone dismantle their craft closet?

A. It's time to dust the baseboards, silly!

B. It's good organization to rearrange things from time to time.

C. It's good to take your stamps outside for an airing at least once a year.

D. It's because someone had a birthday and has a new piece of furniture.

The correct answer is: 

Um... yeah.  So my new/used cabinet didn't come with hardware but I'm a crafter and I can fake it until I get some.  And yeah..., Dio is sticking his tongue out at you. And yeah...., there's a paper holder that isn't going to fit in that closet anymore and double yeah, there's a mess developing in my living room.  It's all good though!

The Fine Print: The cabinet was used in my favorite furniture store to display hardware for sale and I always wanted to buy it and it was never for sale.  They are moving and now it is for sale!  It's things like this that make me glad I own a pick-up truck.  And it is bee-yew-tee-full enough that maybe someday it can come out of the closet and proudly sit in a real room.  They have another one for sale but my pockets are barren; maybe after I sell that pile of paper under Cindy in the first photo!

Things I Don't Understand

Paper crafters use cardstock.  I mean, right?  Sure they also use text weight paper, designer paper, textured paper, vellum, mulberry, tyvek, chipboard, homemade paper, newsprint, and watercolor paper but I think we can say that the statement 'paper crafters use cardstock' is true.

So that begs the question of why don't the paper crafters in my craft group buy my cardstock when I bring some in to sell? I don't think 5-cents a sheet is highway robbery by any stretch of the imagination and I can't fathom that we all own enough cardstock to start our own paper store.

Plus, last month when we did a craft project and I offered the use of my cardstock for free, nary a sheet was left, so I know people see the value of it. Anyway I'm rearranging my craft closet and moving one of my many paper holders.  In the process I'm downsizing cardstock and hoping that the ladies actually buy it at our next meeting.  We'll see!

The Fine Print: Cards made with real cardstock! All parts by Club Scrap "Tribal." 

Maturity

Last month I mentioned in a post about how Yahoo was putting in sidebar ads touting single men 50+ and I had no idea why Yahoo thought I would be interested in these old men.

Yahoo must stalk my blog because since then they have changed tactics.  Now the sidebar ads are touting "Mature Men."  I like the sound of that better. A mature man could be a man of any age; it just means that he won't make fart jokes.  Sign me up for that!

The Fine Print: Card parts, papers, toppers, and stamps by Club Scrap "Tribal" kit.

Happiness on a Happy Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you mother's out there and all you mutha's too.  And what the heck, I'm feeling generous today, Happy Mother's Day to you too, Mother Nature.  Now take the day off and stop making yellow.  It's hard on my nose.

The Fine Print: I bought this sweet old Stampin' Up set at a used stamp sale last month. I do enjoy the oldies! Well, um... in stamps I mean.

Bold Blooms

I was moving one of those overseas craft magazines around when I dropped it and it fell open to a page with a nifty bold flower scene on it.  I had to CASE it right away.  This is my version of the card.  No, I didn't think to photograph the card I copied. But, really, it looked a lot like this.

The Fine Print:  Stamp and cardstock by A Muse Studio, punches by EK Success, and bling from my stash.

Actually, It's Kind of Chilly

I'd have to agree that mostly it is a beautiful day. It is sunny, the sky is blue, it's Friday, the boss is out and it's payday.  If I have to voice complaints it would the ridiculously low temperature today (76).  How is a lizard like me expected to cope?

The Fine Print: Card topper, designer paper and papers from Club Scrap "Spring Chorus," leaf die by Memory Box, dragonfly dimensional sticker by K&Co., and brad and ribbon from my stashedy stash stash.

Friendship

Here are a couple of cards I made a couple of weekends ago. You'll notice a distinct similarity between them which I had't realized until after they had been completed.

I guess that means if a design works for you, go for it!  Or to put it a more common way: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

The Fine Prints: Pars 'n stuff by Club Scrap "Tribal" except for the embossing folder by Provo Craft.

WOYWW - Three-Zero-Nine

I haven't blogged lately, not because of a lack of cards, but because of a lack of words.  Luckily, today is Workdesk Wednesday so few words are required.  Here's my desk in all its glory:

I haven't touched it since Sunday, except to add a thing or two to it.  Stacked on the left side are all the cards I've made lately.  I'm not sure what the colored papers in the middle of the are. I spy the same basket of stamps to be used tucked under the overhang.  They've been there for several WOYWW posts now.  I have a stack of cards I am saving to open on my birthday (drives my hubby crazy). I have a stamp and die set out that I haven't used yet and there is Charles resting atop my desk.

Here are the other things on top of my desk besides the cat. A squirt bottle (mostly to clean stamps but also to control cats), a card, some stickers to make a card with, a couple of stamps, a step card I received in a swap and the cat proof tape dispenser (they can't reach in to chew the tape).

That's it for my desk this week.  I'm off to a meeting that I'm sure will zap my will to live.  If I don't succumb I'll be by to visit your desk later.

The Fine Print: Even if I do succumb I'll make every effort to visit your desk from the afterlife. 

Same Topper, Different Cards

This is going to be a scheduled post in case I don't get back to my computer this weekend, as often happens (true confession: most weekend posts are scheduled).

I was surprised to discover that I had two of the same card toppers from the same kit. I don't seem to have other stuff that is duplicated (meaning I bought extras) so I guess this kit just came with two. The designer paper is two different sheets, but very similar as are the overall card designs.

I laugh at how the camera really crisped up the colors and image in the bottom card and muted the top card.  It's just a point and shoot one, and by far the worst of the three Canon cameras I've owned. It gets the job done though.

The Fine Print: All parts by Club Scrap "Spring Chorus" except for the stickers by K&Co. and the wide light blue ribbon by DeNami.

Start off Singing

I know I haven't blogged in a few days. I haven't felt like making time for it while being busy with lots of random things.  I do have cards to share with you.  Unfortunately, their photos aren't on this computer so I'll just describe them to you instead...

...No?  That won't work for you?

How about I just make you a new card to share instead?

Yeah! That's more like it. I was really happy to find a use for this large dimensional flower sticker I had. I've found uses for most of the stickers from this package already but I despaired that this one would get used.  But it did!

The Fine Print: Card, stamp, and designer paper from Club Scrap "Spring Chorus," sticker by K & Co., and ribbon from my stash.