Slightly more alive

Well,today I woke up and decided it's time to toss the meds and do my best to get the heck out of bed. Tomorrow I see the Dr. to get the 13 staples that are holding my knee together removed. They're driving me nuts. My knee looks like some kind of combination roasting chicken/Frankenstien. The bruises go from my ankle to the inside of my upper thigh. You'd think I got hit by a truck.
I'm totally frustrated and fed up and having some kind of reaction to the Darvoset they prescribed for the pain. I'm having auditory hallucinations and twitches, and crap mood swings because it's interacting with my sanity meds. Not Good. So tomorrow I ask to talk to pain management and do something about not taking any pain meds. Let it never be said that I'm addicted to pain meds. Paper, yes. Relationships, yes. Shopping, yes. But pain meds, absolutely not. I hate the stuff, hate the way it makes me feel, hate the way I zone out, hate what it does to my stomach, hate what it does to my poor liver...hate it all. So here's to tomorrow, may it be a staple and pain med free day.

Post Surgery day 5

Not much energy to type. This is the first time I've logged on to a computer since Monday the 19th. Just checking my mail has wiped me out. Been pretty much binging on DIY and HGTV, sleeping, eating an sleeping for the past 5 days. Will write more when I'm not drugged into a stupor. All I can say is that I'm in so much pain it's not worth being awake. bones on fire...agony, itching, drowsiness,and more bone deep agony. At what point is this supposed to help? discomfort no matter how i sit or lay. Nothing brings lasting relief...not even sleep. I refuse to speak to my knee ever again.

Another post without pictures

Well, I've gotten started on the Basic Grey challenge. I'm not sure if I'll get it done on time but I think it really needs to get done either way. This is going to be one of those cathartic projects, I can already tell.
I spent an hour slicing and dicing with my nested file folder Coluzzle template. Man, that thing is so cool. Since I'm not allowed to have a die cut machine until after Christmas (this particular restraint having been mandated by the hubby) I rely on my various Coluzzle templates to mass produce pretty paper items like tags, library pockets and cards, and nesting file folders. I also have some hearts, stars, and puzzle pieces that I love. So I've knocked out about 7 file folders of various sizes. I think I'm going to go with a 8"x8" album format. I want this album to be simple, stark and striking. Ooooo Alliteration. I want the focus to be on the subject, not the art. Usually I'm pretty artsy fartsy and fuss with composition, framing, color schemes and all kinds of other persnickity details. Since I'm limited in my paper and embelishment choices I'm going to rely on the journaling and photos to carry this project.
So I'm playing with paper actively again. YAY. Did I get any of the stuff I was supposed to get done at work done? Um...no. I did spend a few hours at the sizzix machine pounding out felt shapes...and then I promptly FORGOT THEM at work! I won't be going back for them until either this weekend or Monday. That burns my nerves because I really wanted to get some packages ready before my surgery so that I'd have to do a minimal of moving during my recovery. I'm sure I'll get impatient and head into town tomorrow or Thurs to get the stuff because it'll drive me nuts!

So that's all the news for today...I'm off to go pass out for the night.

Being Remiss

Not only did I not post this weekend, I also have not been posting any paper work on here. What a sad state of affairs. I have a good reason though (notice the lack of the word Excuse here). So here's the deal. I was sick all weekend (some kind of medicine mixup) so I pretty much slept Saturday and Sunday...so no posting there.

I have also been completely uninspired where the papercrafting goes. So I'm taking a hiatus for a bit. Now when I say hiatus I mean that I'm not going to be embarking on any really big paper projects, but that I'm still sketching, still handling paper, and still in love with it. I just don't get any itchy fingers when I look at it at the moment. Right now I'm engrossed in making dolls for Emily and other crafty items involving fabric, scissors and needles.

At the moment I'm preffering Bienfang's Notes Sketch Book because of the divided sketch/writing space and the fact that it's made of recycled papers. The paper has very little tooth so I get alot of gliding action with a pencil. Erasing's easy on it too. I've been in love with these for quite a few years and found it super helpful when planning my wedding. I'd cut magazine clippings and stick them in the sketch section and make notes in the notes section. The recycled aspect is an added bonus. It's hard to find a really good recycled sketch book other than the ones made of kraft paper . Both are wonderful and serve different purposes.

And speaking of Kraft paper, my desk here at work is covered in the stuff in order to allow me to sketch with abandon whenever the whimsy strikes. At first I got funny looks from my co-workers (I'm currently working at a tech. company) but I've also recieved compliments on my creativity. When it gets jammed with sketches and notes I'll take a pic and post.

What are YOU doing to help?

I've been holding back on this post because of how emotionally charged the whole subject is...but I just can't do it anymore. Forget all the political and personal opinions, we're all human here. It shouldn't be a matter of wether or not you're going to help, but what you're going to do to help. That's all I have to say. Here are some links. Do something.




A blog with live feed of downtown NOLA and pretty good daily updates.

Swap Blog is up!

click here to check it out. Over the next week or so there are going to be a whole lot of items on there, but I can only do 1 swap a week due to my absolute lack of time. I'll process the swaps in the order I recieve them.

In all the rush to get stuff done I forgot to mention that I figured out how to cut felt on a Sizzix die cut machine. How nifty is that? I think it's my new applique trick. Never heard of a Sizzix? Click here to check it out. Scrapbookers LOVE the thing. I don't have one personally, but I do have access to the one at the art store and let me tell you, that thing is AWESOME! I wind up using it for all kinds of projects, not just scrapbooking. And speaking of which...when was the last time I posted anything about paper on here? Isn't this supposed to be a papercentric blog? How embarassing.

To Hoard or not to Hoard

Ok so here's a jumble of stuff that I need to add to the list O things to do

Basic Grey submission
Take Ten submission
Clean out ribbon/scrap/fabric stash
Write documentation for work (Found documentation stored on server 9.09.05)
Take pictures of felty shapes (done! 9.08.05)
Take pictures of bear kits (done! 9.08.05)

Ok so I'm trying to clean out my stash so I can make some space for...well for all the stuff that's piling up. I'm running out of room for my paper projects, or my sewing project...it's one or the other at this point and that's no good. I want to be able to access all of it. My greatest fear is that I'll rid myself of a scrap or piece of fabric and then...months down the road go looking for it because it's the perfect print or texture for a project. I'll be in my drawers or bins digging around and then suddenly, like an epiphany gone wrong, I'll remember that I gave it away. I know your stomach is dropping in sympathetic horror at the thought. Some of you may even be groaning. Be brave. These are things we all have to face at some point or another. To keep or not to keep, therein lies the crux of the problem. Do I hoard on the off chance that one day I'll need that 3" length of puce ribbon, or do I make it go away and revel in the space I've freed up?
Here's what I'll do, I'll go through all of my stuff and start a swap pile. I'll take pictures of all my swap items and I'll start a swap blog here. Maybe then I'll be able to swap for all the cute little creatures I see online. No more bags though, I have a trunk of those that's taking up space in a rarely opened closet.

Fall's almost here

So I decided to make a little color scheme change. How do you like it? I think it's rather appropriate.

To Do

I have a thousand unfinished projects and I keep forgetting about them as I get inspired and start another...so I'm putting a To Do list up here to keep me on track and for accountability's sake. They're not in any priority order.

Church Dolls
Bunny Doll
Doc Litchfield's book
The Paris book
Mail off Paula's tags (still!)
Cut up lace and fabric for swaps
Felt Card holders
Trim/Accent tags
World's Wierdest News Day book
Studio Art Sign
Paper List
Paper samples
Paper storage

I should probably put the sewing projects off until after my surgery so that I have stuff to do while I'm laid up. So...yeah. UGH! I may wind up adding to this list and removing things from the list as I update and go along. Stay tuned for further procrastination from yours truly.

The Forced Vacation

So this labor day my husband told me that I had no choice, I was GOING to his parent's place. And you know what? I'm glad he did. Visiting the inlaws is never a burden for me. They have a guest house that we crash in and they keep Emily in the main house with them, so it's like a mini vacation every time we go. Labor day is always an anticipated event as well, because of the Labor Day Flea Market and Gun Show in Hillsville VA. You can literally find ANYTHING there. I managed to net the haul above with only $11.50 USD. There are more pictures of the flea market and detailed pics of my find on Flickr. Click here to check 'em out. Em and I had a great time. I'm also offering up 3 yards of the lace and a fat quarter from each yardage of fabric/ lace shown for swap. First come first serve. Just leave a comment and let me know if you're interested. Ok, now I need to go eat.

Fantastic Mail Day!

Yippeeeeee! I recieved my swap from Fiona, the crafty creator ofhop skip jump. Look at all the fab stuff! I'm especially fond of the cherry ribbon and polka dot ribbon. Cherries! On a Ribbon! LOVE IT! Of course the prize of the whole package was the lion pincushy, which immidiately got snatched away by greedy little Emily hands. She then proceeded to squish and squeeze it while jumping around eccstatically singing "Squish squish squish squish!" over and over again until we finally had to get her to simmer down. It was really cute though. When I finally managed to reclaim the pincushy it was after bedtime and I didn't get a chance to post the picture of the swap package. Oh I can't wait for Fiona to get my package!

The beginnings of yet another project

ColorTest 

These are Dr. Ph. Martin's concetrated watercolor samples. They're not all that true to life, but they're close. I'm using the peacock blue, coffee brown, wild rose, moss green and irridescent brass for a sign I'm making at work. It's going to be...very pretty. I've already got the basic design stenciled onto the paper (Stonehenge for those who care) and the bottom portion masked off with Dr. Ph. Martin's white masking fluid, which is a dream to work with. All I have to do is mask off the top border design, paint in the lower right hand edge of the border and the top. That's that hard part because there are lots of tiny little elements to the design. After that it's a matter of removing the first mask and remasking the design so I can do an overall background wash, add the lettering and then do the overall outlining with the brass ink. I'll take more pictures next week.

For the Love of Puppies.

Today was really really really hectic at work but I had a couple huge perks. One was Puppy No. 5. He doesn't have a real name yet, but I nicknamed him Little Man. We have a customer who comes in just to buy huge sheets of brown paper to line the bathroom floor with for her puppies while they're being house broken. There are 6 of them and they're ADORABLE. I got to meet their dad (his name is Tank and he's built like one too) last week. He's a pitt bull and extremely well behaved as well as friendly and helpful. His owner trained him to carry things and now he helps her lugg stuff around. When they left he was happily carrying a big roll of packing tape in his huge jaws. He sure does make cute babies. Little Man is only 5 weeks old and already super smart and really obedient. I really like his breeder because she makes all her customers sign a contract saying that no matter what the dog's age, if the customer is no longer able to care for the pet they are to be returned to her and not to be dropped off at the aspca. If she finds one of her puppies at the pound she reclaims them and takes the ex-owner to court. To me that says "I love my doggies and care about their welfare". I could be wrong, but happy puppy faces never lie and her doggies are super happy.
Little Man 

It's Gretchen! I made her myself. 

Apple Tartlets and the last goat cheesy croissant. 

Amy Blogeth!

Yay! My bestestest pal ever has a blog here. I just spent a bit reading it and drooling over her fantastic pictures. I guess I didn't get enough time with her when she came over for dinner. We had exciting culinary adventures with goat cheese and salmon. I overclarified butter and it became...not butter. If she hadn't been there to comment I would have still tried to cook with it. This is why she's the culinary genius and I'm the paper wiz. I think she started making soufles when she was 12. I don't know about you, but I am super impressed.
So we made these spiffy apple tart things with left over crescent dough, diced apples, brown sugar and goat cheese. I liked them and so did Marshall, Amy didn't but she doesn't like goat cheese. Chalk one up for experience. Pictures to follow

Running around like the proverbial chicken

Wow, ok so I have five minutes to get out of the house and I'm using them to post. So I made my second little doll ever out of felt and Emily refuses to let it go long enough for me to take a picture so it's a success! She's demanding that a make a whole family so now you know where I'm going to be in my free moments. On the couch, needle in hand. I still have one more package to send out to Paula and then I can really settle down to get some crafting done. I really have to finish up a layout for a contest on CP that really inspired me. How I'm going to do that with my office looking like a tornado passed through it is really quite beyond me. EEEEEEEKKKK!!! I knew taking on that extra job was going to be the death of my creative time. I know that if I just get into some kind of routine everything will be fine....but who has the time to make a routine?!?! Will post pics of the craftiness in progress this week...I hope.
Paula's bag for our swap is so CUTE! I can't wait to get it. I just hope she likes my surprise package as much as I love her bag...maybe I should take a picture of the tags before I send them out to get a final approval. Here's a link to the photo of the bag. I'm such a lucky duck. Ok, the kiddlywink is calling and I need to get my show on the road. Toodles!

A Flikr account and everything!

I've officially made the leap to craft geek! I now have a Flikr account onto which I have uploaded a bunch of photos of my crafty exploits. That was the one thing on my to do list today and I did it. So proud. So here'sthe link to my Flikr account. Man alive I'm actually documenting the stuff I make. I feel so...creative. I had no idea I made so much stuff. The items that I've posted are just a few of the projects I just happened to have around the house that were accessable. I tend to give away the majority of the stuff I make (for some reason though I just can't get rid of the jewelry the way I'd like to.) and the stuff I don't give away is either now taken over by Emily or stuffed away somewhere in the attic. So here's to me keeping better track of the things I make. Maybe I'll have more respect for myself as an artist...or whatever it is I am.

New job, new routine

So yeah...'ve been pulled into yet another computer contracting job. I'm insane. I have no idea why I always allow this to happen, but I do it at least once a year. The first week is always the pitts. I spend most of my time getting set up...and waiting. Waiting for the configuration guru to get my accounts set up, waiting for the head honchos to get their acts together and give me the stuff I need to get work done. I hate that first week. I'm ready to get moving and it all turns into the "Hurry up and Wait" game. BLECH!
So what does this mean to this blog? It means more money to buy supplies and less time to make stuff. WAUGH! What a quandry. The good news is that I found the eyelets I needed to finish up Fiona's tags, and now all I have to do is find some purple eyelets for Paula's tags and I'll be done with those swaps. I had no idea it would take so long to make them, but they came out so well that it was well worth it. More pictures to come soon. Hey, does anyone here have a Flikr account? If so how do you like it? I'm thinking about getting one to upload all my crafty pictures onto. We'll see. And now...it's back to waiting.

*sigh* if at first you don't succeed, take a nap.

Ok so the Flossy stamps have officially driven me insane.that was the first and probably last time I use that kit. I'm thinking that there's got to be some way of sticking those stamps the the mounting block but I'm stumped. I'll have to figure it out on Monday. Since I promised that I'd send this swap out this week though I definitely wanted to get the project done. So here is an inferior picture of the replacement tags. All I need to do is hammer in the eyelets to reinforce the tag holes and it will be all done. I rather like the way these came out. It's a shame Flossy couldn't be there, smack dab in the middle of all that paisly loveliness. Maybe I'll stamp the images onto carving medium and carve them out instead. I'm so determined to make those stamps work!

too dark!