oh dear, it's a re-run

sorry. i know everyone who hangs at caardvarks has already seen this puppy, but actually i never posted it here, because i didn't want the person whose birthday card it was to accidentally catch a glimpse of it prematurely. now that it is safely in the hands of said recipient, i'm putting it up, full-sized, purely because i really, really like it! (there--i've said it and i don't care if it sounds conceited!)

see, once every two years or so, something comes out looking pretty darn close to the picture that was in my head when i started making it. (i have a theory that "success" or "failure" in the heart/mind of a creative person depends not on the finished product as such...but in how the finished product compares to the mental "target" at which one was aiming. this explains why occasionally a person who has produced something which is an absolutely amazing triumph to everyone else, is bizarrely & inexplicably unhappy with their work.) (ok, i said it was a *theory*!)

the bliss collage (as i dubbed it) represents for me one of those glorious, giddy, "that's exactly what i was trying to do!" creative moments, so please excuse me whilst i revel in it! :)

(anahata katkin clip art; basic grey & all my memories patterned paper; ek success chipboard words & vellum stickers; basic grey fibers; oriental trading co flowers; michael's beads; colorbox inks; rub-ons: fancy pants, amm, making memories, scenic route, polar bear press, creative imaginations, autumn leaves; all the rest are "one-of-a-kinds": vintage sheet music, illustrations from old golden books, bengali text from an indian newspaper, etc.)

i *totally* crack me up!

...yes, i am a sad, sad woman...

...not to mention tardy! yepper, tardy and sad...that'd be me. admittedly, i have cut this deadline pretty close, even for me: the fourth challenge over at scrapdragons ends at midnight on sunday. but it's a sketch challenge.... (and you KNOW how i love me some o'those!) ... & the sketch is by erica hilldebrand of sketch it, no less... (those scrapdragons, they are hooked up!) ...so of course, i had to play!

now, to qualify for the big prize, you have to do a layout. being the resident "card diva" at said challenge site, i have no shot at the goodies anyway, and as you know, i am not so much with the layouts; i prefer the cards. plus, i am always up to prove that pretty much ANY sketch can be adapted to any size, shape or medium. so--surprise, surprise--i made a card!

the illustration is from a vintage goldenbook. the minute i saw it, a couple of months ago, the caption popped into my head. it still makes me chuckle everytime i see...or even think...of it. (yes indeedy--very sad; see above.)

(pattern paper: imaginesce; acryllic letters & punctuation: heidi swapp; border & frame stickers: ki & making memories ; question mark sticker: kelly panacci; brads: doodlebug; font: tangerine; other: colorbox ink; foam tape; cardstock)

bloglandia ball recap

if i was going to sum it all up in one word, that word would be:

*wow*!!!!!

i did not have any idea what it would be like. when i saw it mentioned on art tea life and be...dream...play i was intrigued. i wanted to participate because i had never, ever, heard of--much less participated in--anything remotely like it. (note: the two best ways to get me to do something are to a) forbid me or b) come up with something completely original that kind of scares me; this tells you everything you need to know about me!)

i very nearly talked myself out of playing because i often feel i'm barely accomplishing the essentials of life ...how would i fit in an extra--utterly inessential--something?! but somehow i did, and i am sooooo GLAD! in retrospect, i think it was the refreshing gratuitousness of the event that attracted me. because if ever there was a case of "art for art's sake" this was it! no contest, no prizes, no sponsor... (don't get me wrong--i do like those things!) ...elizabeth bunsen invited us to partake of a flight of fancy, purely to spark our imaginations! this was something we could do entirely for ourselves, yet in an oddly unselfish way. a chance to be part of a group...but a group of individuals...if that makes sense? and what a group it was!!!

i cannot believe how many people made "ball gowns"! i cannot believe how gorgeous, amazing and completely original every single one was! i saw gowns made of paper, fabric, seashells, flowers, cellophane and jewels; 2-D, 3-D, hand-drawn, photographs and designer digitals. people wrote stories and poems and shared memories, made and photographed elaborate backdrops, knitted, painted, sketched, beaded, collaged, sewed, decoupaged, and...well, basically, if you can think of an artform...someone did it--brilliantly! before the event, i thought blithely, "on wednesday i will visit everyone who links to the site and leave them a comment." *HA!* hahahaha! ...i'm still working on that... if you have a few minutes, stop over at EB's site and surf around the master list; trust me it is worth the trip!

even more astonishing to me is how many folks dropped by to see my gown and say hello! bear in mind, i did not know ANYONE involved in this project, nor had i ever visited their blogs, except for the lovely crabapple! and yet complete strangers came along, in the spirit of the ball, and included me in the fun!!! it was sort of magical, really. kinda like woodstock, but with glitter, instead of lsd. they are talking about doing it again next year, maybe as a costume ball!

i am sooooooo there!

the bloglandia ball!

finally...the big day...has arrived!

i've polished my patent leather shoes...ironed my silken hair ribbons...and practiced the mazurka!

may i have this dance?

ok, it's not a gown, as such! i started out to make a proper gown, honest! but it sort of turned into a ball-themed collage! ...so i went with it... because that seemed like the bloglandia ball thing to do!

for more links, gowns, surprises and excitement...swish and sway your way over to be...dream...play, aka bloglandia ball HQ!

pay no attention...

...to the crazy woman, wavin' her arms about!

i have been wanting to add a photo to my profile, and apparently, to do that, blogger needs me to post it first, and then link to it. the photo was already hosted online, in a photo album...but that wasn't good enough for blogger. oh no. a simple link would not suffice.

here you go, blogger. and thus, i am outed as a total egomaniac! ...satisfied...??

i often use this photo, in these sorts of situations:

it is me, a couple of years before t'internet was invented. ok, a couple of years before PC's were invented. ok, the electric typewriter in the picture? that was state-of-the-art...at the time this pic was taken...that was like a 50" flat-screen plasma tv! ...so it was a while ago...

i almost used this photo:

not because i think it's better...nope...purely for the opportunity to use the caption, "portrait of the artist as a young manatee"!

geddit??! MAN-atee?!!!!! hahahahaha!

ok, nevermind.

i will go with the first one. me, this summer, 45 minutes after my plane landed in san diego. ...it don't get much better than that, baby...

this weekend i......

......went to lunch with a friend; finished up my ball gown; balanced the checkbook; ran errards (grrrrrrrr); cleaned the house (well, mostly); made phone calls; answered (some of my) over-due email; thought of--& made preliminary steps towards--a present to make for niece lindsay's birthday; updated the caardvarks' chipboard gallery (marvelling at the creativity of the international card-makin' community!); IM-ed with pals; worked on wednesday's article for typicalifragilistic; watched torchwood and doctor who; discovered two hilarious new blogs (called vicious chicken and monkee maker; how could you NOT click on something called vicious chicken or monkee maker??!); realized i MISSED international talk like a pirate day (dammit!); went nuts (and i do mean kerrrr-aaaaaaaay-zee!) at the (sad, sad) scrappin' trends closing sale; finished my library book; started another book & didn't like it; started a third book i think i might maybe like; bought, wrapped & bestowed an adorable pair of "ugly dolls"; lost my voice (the cold from hell mutates yet again!); did even more writing, emailing & IM-ing; and finally got to meet this little guy:

aunt lauren & matthew william

big sister madeline

a little lovin'

babies mean presents??! niiiiiiiiice!

look matthew, we've EACH got an ugly doll!

i dunno daddy...i think i like that winnie-the-pooh guy better!

can you guess what my favorite part of the weekend was??!

an invitation

what: the bloglandia ball

when: september 26, 2007

where: the blogosphere

why: because...ummm...well, just because...

by: the light of the silvery moon

be: inspired by this...and this...

how: cool is that??!

as far as i can tell, we make an invitation, now, if we want to (i think this part is optional; heck i think it's *ALL* pretty loosey-goosey!); we make a "ball gown" to be posted on the 26th; we link to the comments on be...dream...play on the day and go around visiting all the other blogs to see what people have made! afterwards, if we want to make a little book to commemorate the event, we can do that, too.

i am fascinated by just the *idea* of it!

...and you know me...i'll try anything once...

chipboard off the old block

it's that time again, darlings...by which i mean...CAARDVARKS' challenge time, of course! this challenge was devised by our "lift it" micro-challenge winner, lesley langdon who is now also a CAARDVARKS' design team member! lesley challenged us to create cards using one of her favorite elements (and mine!): chipboard!

my card was one of those ones that just popped into my head fully formed, down to exactly which chipboard alphas i was going to use for which words! dontcha just LOVE IT when that happens?! (ok, well, i had actually intended to use basic grey monograms for *all* the letters of "cake"...but it was very cramped...so i swapped out a, k & e for the smaller chip chatters.) the awesome dcwv 8" "rock star" stack was a total impulse buy at michael's--i had NO IDEA what i'd use it for--but with each sheet covered in metallic swirls & skulls & guitars, i had to have it! as it turns out, i've already used it 3 or 4 times, including this silly "rock & roll" birthday card for a pal o'mine who just happens to be a dj, thank you very much!

(chipboard alphas: mambi (glitter), basic grey, chip chatter, heidi swapp; dcwv patterned paper; plus: acryllic paint, glitter nail polish, jewelcraft gems, colorbox ink)

NEWS FLASH!!!

i have a new nephew!!!

he was born at 12:51 this morning, weighed eight pounds exactly, and measured 21 & 1/4 inches tall...or...well, long, i s'pose. my sister (said baby's mum) is well; the baby--still nameless at the moment--is well; he's got a bit of tufty hair and quite a prominent dimple in his chin...and that's all i know so far. owing to the cold from hell (which came out of nowhere, overnight) i cannot go and visit them tonight. (waaaaaaaahhhhh!) i'm trying to get someone to email me a photo of the little guy, who shares his birthday with both his grandmother and his uncle bill.

in the meantime, here is a photo of said baby's big sister, madeline, from sunday:

she was--and is--very, very excited about being a big sister! also pictured is her constant companion, "bitty baby"; who, madeline reminded me quite solemnly, would also become a big sister this week. she has been to visit the baby and her mommy this morning and gotten to hold him and admire his fingers, his toes, and his belly. apparently there is not an unkissed spot on the little dude's head!

she is ok with the fact that he is a little brother--even though she very clearly made known her preference for a little sister over the past months! (do adults not listen??) however stumped the grown-ups may be on the subject of names, maddie has no such puzzlement. she told me confidently on sunday that the baby was going to be a girl and named ariel! when prompted by her mother on the (surely unlikely) eventuality of a boy, she was willing to settle for (& i absolutley promise you i am not making this up!) sebastian, prince eric, or flounder!!! i suppose we should just be grateful that her favorite movie is not the power rangers, or muppets from space!!!

welcome, baby!

my baby speaks scrap! :)

in addition to his many other wonderful skills & abilities, lovely husband jeff is my "scrapping buddy"! this is not a position he sought, or indeed particularly enjoys; but since i don't really have any papercrafting friends in real life, and he is sooooo darn nice...basically, he's the kind of guy that, if he likes you, he will take an interest in your interests...even if they don't interest him. ...if you know what i mean...

most of the time, this status merely consists of me asking him things like, "is this too much?" or "does it look balanced?" or "what's the first thing you see when you look at this card?" (i tend to work in the living room of an evening while he is watching tv); you know, sort of "fresh-pair-of-eyes" type inquiries. but sometimes i am so enthusiastic about a LO i've seen online or a new product in a magazine, that i will insist he see it too; which explains how he has started to know who heidi & elsie are...and what their products and styles look like...almost through osmosis. it has happened so subtly that i don't think either of us was completely aware of it. a few months ago he cracked me up by asking quite naturally if a card i made--with which he was particularly impressed--was based on an original idea of my own...or "a lift"!

last week, when my back was super-bad (...sadly not in a "mc-lovin" sorta way...) he set up the ironing board for me so i could work a bit off & on, standing up. at one point, when i was trying to fit a too many oversized letters into too small a space--and getting rather frustrated--for the first time he actually came up next to me and asked if he could "try something" and began to move things around on the page! as it turns out, his idea didn't work, either, but he had managed to think of something which hadn't occurred to me!

but the very best evidence of this phenomenon happened last night: i am making a collage for the bloglandia ball (more on that later) and i've pretty much gotten my main elements together. but it's missing...something...i try a few things, but nothing really satisfies me, and i express my dissatisfaction. "it's not quite right," i lament, "but i don't know how to fix it!" jeff casts a critical eye over the masterpiece-to-be, looking at it this way and that, before making the following pronouncement--which i *swear* i am quoting vertbatim:

"it needs some flash and dazzle!"

flash and dazzle, baby? i'm alllllllll over that! because, hey! they don't call me "gingerburst raisinette" for nuthin'! :)

i'm ready to embark on a secret life!

I saw this on Sande Krieger's blog, and it totally cracked me up! If it makes you laugh, too, try it out and send me a link so I can see your "Gangsta Name"! :)

1.YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) buffy sentra (...hmmmmm...)
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) graham slam tollhouse (that totally works!)
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) L-Ber (oof, not so much...except maybe in spanish? "el berrrrrr" --now THAT's pretty good!)
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) black giraffe (oh yeah!)
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) judith abington (ooooh...that'd be a 1980's night-time soap...like dynasty!)
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) berla (...but that's just lame...)
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) the pink pellegrino (HA!)
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) charles edward (they can't all be gems)
9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy) gingerburst raisinette (i'm movin' to vegas!)
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) mae charles (yeah, i blend)
11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) (ok, i cannot for the life of me remember my fifth grade teacher's name, so i'm going with second grade!) devine des moines :)
12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) midsummer tiger lily (bond girl history...here i come!)
13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) mango caprisie (i could easily gueststar on powerpuff girls)
14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) bagel birch (...ordinarily, i'd be oatmeal birch...)
15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) the collaging sunshine tour (i'd *totally* buy a ticker to that tour!)

does anyone know a good pachydermatologist?

in writing the title, i realized:

• i know how to spell "pachyderm" correctly (why?! why would someone whose life is almost entirely elephant-free even know this??!)
• i do not, however, know how to spell "dermatologist" correctly ...and...
• even after all these computery years having spell-check, online reference sites, and google... when i need to determine what i do & don't know how to spell...i still, automatically, reach for the (physical, made-outta-dead-trees) dictionary. interesting.

anyway, said elephant was my contribution to jen's fabulous "transparencies" article yesterday on typicalifragilistic. today's piece, by the lovely & talented alecia, is about the wide range of inspirational ideas that can be gleaned from advertising of all kinds, and is well worth reading! (warning: if you will not be in a position to make something immediately afterwards, you might want to wait; i'm slightly peeved to be having lots of cool ideas now, when i have to go to work!)

(elephant clipart printed on inkjet transparency; text from a bengali newspaper; imaginesce patterned paper; creative imaginations rub-ons; jewelcraft gems; glitter glue)

...BUT...can i just say, after a week+ of laying on the floor nursing the back...i am pretty darn excited to be going to work! yeah, even on a monday! (don't worry, i'm sure this will pass quite quickly, once i get there!) :)

which just goes to prove if you ever want to torture a hyperactive person, making them lay around and do nothing is extremely effective! believe me, after about fifteen minutes, they will bend to your will. (i am trusting you, here, to use this newfound info only for good...and never for evil...)

ciao, darlings! happy monday!!!

micro...in every sense of the word!

woohoo, it's another fabulous CAARDVARKS mini-challenge! for this one, we can do whatever we want...BUT...finished cards cannot measure more than 2.5" by 3.5" inches. the challenge is called... (are ya ready? i loooooooooove this name!) ...

honey i shrunk the cards!!!

the DT got just slightly carried away with this one (you gotta see the gallery!) and...ok... i was no exception; four of those babies are mine! i don't think i've ever made cards as small as this, but now that i've started, i can see soooooo many uses for 'em: gift enclosures, tags, little notes that you stick in when you send packages or auction items...anything...

(making memories & vintage greeting card patterned paper; love elsie label; autumn leaves rub-ons; making memories flower; colorbox ink; characters from an old children's book)

(royal brush, basic grey, provocraft & love elsie rub-ons; sandylion sticker; jewelcraft rhinestones; scraps of cardstock)

(christina cole, basic grey & teresa collins patterned paper; bo bunny clear sticker; colorbox ink)

(making memories cardstock & wordfetti; character from an old children's book; unknown scrap of patterned paper)

the challenge runs until midnight tonight (9-16) so there's still plenty of time to get a-craftin'! fair warning, though, these little suckers are addictive! betcha can't make just one!!!

PS: on typicalifragilistic today, jenyfur shared a great way to make your own *custom* transparencies...and then the rest of the gang has also chipped in with our ideas too--so if you wanna see the whole group in action--head on over!

PSS: the scrapdragons' fourth challenge went up yesterday, and it's a realllllllly cool sketch challenge! plus, there's still plenty of time to enter my very own DRAGON CARD challenge, too!

today is allllllllllllll about...

***typicalifragilistic***

yepper, it's the BIG LAUNCH

and of course

we're really, really, really excited!

...rumor has it...that the honor of the first post belongs to...

ummmmmmmmmmm...ME??!

(are you *sure*??!)

ok, the VERY first post is from

jen

our lovely founderess

but then, the first feature

that'd be

ME!

it's about my little "3BT" book that i made in july...'member that?

well, it's still a-goin'

but lemme shut up...and just send you to

***typicalifragilistic***

it came from the attic (of doooooooom!)

in addition to enough cardboard boxes to supply elementary school children everywhere with dioramas in perpetuity AND the world's third foremost collection of cobwebs; last week, up in the attic, i found this:


it was in with my grandmother's sewing machine & accoutrements. the machine itself is a 1970's sears kenmore no-frills model that i use...well, once in a blue moon b/c i'm crappy at sewing (yes, even on paper!) and it's heavy as lead. the rest of the supplies were pretty standard: thread, replacement needles, extra bobbin thingies, and a button-hole-making attachment that i am never, ever, going to figure out, much less use. (count this as fair notice, darlings: should the future of the free world itself depend upon *me* successfully making buttonholes, we are OUT OF LUCK!) (...on the other hand...i have some o' that self-adhesive velcro stuff...)

the "pearl re-stringing outfit" is sitting on my desk now, with some of my other treasures-- postcards, of course, both new & vintage; a little notecard that jen made; a gluestick that has a cowboy hat & boots on it (from my friend beshka, in texas); some adorable red felt cherries--for reasons that utterly mystify lovely husband jeff. i've tried to explain why i love it...and things like it...and i always fail. "look at the graphics...and that cool font!" i say, with an excitement that lhj would reserve for money found on the street; "isn't it cool that they sold a set of two: one for pearls and one for heavy beads?!" when i get to the part about mom-mom having used one string, and saved the other...for several decades, apparently...i come closest to gaining his understanding, but really that's cheating a bit, because sweet as that fact is, if i had found this in your attic, i'd be just as excited!

but then, perhaps the loveliest thing about lovely husband jeff is: he doesn't have to get it...to get it! he just smiles, and says, "that's cool, hon!" :)

lookout, blogoshpere--HERE WE COME!

TYPICALIFRAGILISTIC:

Finding inspiration in the fragile, mundane, beautiful, outrageous and everyday things that surround us.Get ready to welcome a new addition to the blogosphere this Saturday, September 15th! I am pleased to announce the launching of a new inspirational, eclectic blog/e-zine for crafters! We'll be covering topics from journaling, craft supplies, new trends, photography, digi-tips, techniques & tutorials, gossip, entertainment, hip blogs, fresh artists with fresh styles, and whatever else we want to throw into the pot!

If you'd like to be a Guest Blog/Author email us at: Typicalifragilistic@gmail.com

yepper, it's a completely new & super-cool project from the amazing minds of jen and nathalia! they have rounded up a whollllllllllllllllllllle bunch of smart, funny, talented, creative, and just generally all-round-rockin' crafty blogger gals, like sandra, leah, kim, elisa, alecia ...plus a bunch more, too! ...oh yeah...and *ME*... (cue the sesame street classic: one of these things is NOT like the others...lol!) we are all super-excited about this cool new thang, and hope you will come & visit us...OFTEN!!! we're hoping to be a kind of crafty, bloggy, *HANGOUT* where people like to come and not just read what we're doing, but share what you're doing, trade ideas & tips...and maybe a little gossip :) ...congratulate & console each other, and just generally belong...in a group of folks who get it!

it kicks off on saturday--yippeeeeeeeeeee!

step AWAY from the telly!

my back has been out for a week. it's quite a bit better now; tonight i make my triumphant return to the chiropractor's office, where i hope he will put an end to this little episode! but in the meantime, laying on the living room floor in a moderate amount of pain, there is not a whole lot to do...except read magazines (my attention span for books has now finally *begun* to return) …and watch way, way, waaaaaay too much television. in consequence, here are a few things i am pondering:

1. *who* watches wwf wrestling? no, seriously. i need to know. and if any of them are over the age of 16, we must round them up and send them to de-programming camps. (they'll thank me later...you'll see.)

2. what’s the deal with all these real-life daytime courtroom shows?! there are like 15 of them–and i honestly can’t see how even *one* survives. if i had i time machine, i’d go back & strangle judge wapner at birth, just to prevent the entire trend.

3. speaking of time machines, the doctor who spin-off torchwood started on bbc america this past weekend & it is WONDERFUL! if you are even vaguely sci-fi based (liking buffy or angel would qualify) you must watch it! (this is not a puzzlement; but talking about tv reminded me to mention it.)

4. are we thinking that grown women (or men) could actually find justin timberlake sexy????! he looks *12*, tops. even with the incipient receding hairline.

5. "proven medical advances have been made in the field of nicotine addiction” says the commercial. uh huh, and they were made by tobacco companies attempting to produce cigarettes which were EVEN MORE ADDICTIVE!!! yep, those would definitely be the people to whom i’d turn for help to quit smoking!!!

6. the medications for restless leg syndrome may cause "increased gambling, sexual, or other strong urges"????! ...ok, now see, i think it's safer if only my *LEGS* are restless...

7. exactly what beverages were being served at the meeting in which the viva viagara commercial was approved, and are there recipes available online? seriously, the first time i saw it, i thought i’d inadvertently changed channels and come upon an episode of SNL featuring cast members i’d never seen before. (that faint but persistant whirring noise you can hear in the distance? that's elvis spinning in his grave!)

8. is a guest spot on walker, texas ranger the punishment for anyone who's flunked more than three consecutive classes at drama school? ...not a bad idea, really...just the threat alone would totally make me buckle down to my studies!

9. does dawg the bounty hunter not have a mirror??! hello!!!!! those folks from what not to wear need to stop harrassing soccer moms and get their skinny heinies over to dawg’s house, pronto. (would that be the crossover episode of all time or what?!)

and now, sadly, having sat at my desk for upwards of 15 minutes, it is time for me to return to my televisual prison! but i'll leave you with this thought:

if it came to a physical fight, i'd wager a modest sum that judge judy could kick dr. phil's ass.

ciao, darlings!

fun with fungus!

we visited my in-laws on saturday, who live near kennett square, pa: mushroom capital of the world! they took us to rockee's mushroom outlet. yes, i was surprised to read, "mushroom" and "outlet" next to each other...but it's just their own little shop where they sell the surplus mushrooms that aren't promised to stores and restaurants. we bought their GIANT "gourmet assortment" which had a pack each of the absolutely freshest and most beautiful portabella, crimini, shitake, maitake, grey oyster and yellow oysters--all for $10.25!!!

during this trip, i discovered that my mother-in-law does not like mushrooms. not at all. not even a little bit! (she was actually bordering on wigged-out-ness when she saw the maitakes and the yellow oysters. "are you sure those are good?" she asked the girl who was packing them...several times...) how have i known this lovely woman for 20+ years and not realized??! i was quite embarrassed until i realized that her son...my husband...didn't know, either! (how do men do that??!) i spent much of the rest of the day mentally scrolling through meals we have served her over the years, searching for fungus-based delicacies.

yesterday, at home, lovely husband jeff made the world's most rich & lucious mushroom soup (with a recipe from--wouldjabelieve--cooking light magazine!) and a batch of wild mushroom risotto for later in the week. mmm, mmm, mmmmmmmm! ...although i will definitely file these under "do not serve to jeff's mom" in our recipe file...

whilst at rockee's i picked up these little mushroom character stickers...which totally cracked me up!

turns out they--and some of their cohorts--are also the subject of coloring pages on rockee's website, and can be found here! :)

here be challenges!

hey guess what?! my pals laura & gabi invited me to host a cardmaking bonus challenge at scrapdragons! it started yesterday, and you have until midnight on 9-22 to submit a card! i won't give away what it is--but it's a lauren challenge, so you know it's gotta be:

• kind of silly
• kind of funky
• definitely different!

here's a card i made especially for the challenge:

(lollipop dragon badge is from a rummage sale; "dragon wings" are fancy pants chipboard scrolls that i painted, sanded, inked & stamped with a cherry pie crackle stamp; main patterned paper is karen foster, with scraps of my mind's eye, scenic route, kma, basic grey...maybe a few others...+ bits of a road map & a page from a children's dictionary; heidi swapp stars are inked & embellished with creative imaginations rub-on's; plus: colorbox inks, ki rub-ons, jewelcraft rhinestones, bazzill cardstock, ek success circle punches)

if you wanna know more come and play!!!

in the meantime, you can still enter their regularly scheduled layout challenge (#3) until september 15th.

...oh & did i mention there are prizes for both of these endeavors...? :)

i'm running for mayor...

...on a platform of:

fiscal responsibility

enviromental awareness

...and...

hot fudge

can i count on *your* suppport? :)

sticker shock, part deux

...in which i show the rest of my cards from this challenge...

a "layout" card featuring my nieces:

(frances meyer stickers; doodlebug, scenic route & basic grey papers; creative imaginations rub-ons; plus colorbox ink & sharpie marker)

another baby card:

(frances meyer sticker; bazzill cardstock; american crafts rub-ons; unknown pattern paper, vellum & ribbon; colorbox inks)

a collage card in which--bizarrely for me!--has a *plain* background:

(frances meyer stickers; ki chipboard; sei tag; urban lily flower; heidi grace heart; heidi swapp ribbon & journalling spot; scraps of christina coler, my mind's eye & creative imaginations papers; doodlebug brads; plus colorbox ink & sharpie marker)

one of my faves--this is the very first idea i had when i got my frances meyer package & saw the sheet of indian-themed animal stickers (yep, i used all of 'em on one card!) and the spice rub-ons:

(frances meyer stickers, rub-ons & patterned paper; k&co chipboard; american crafts rub-on letters; making memories brad; unknown photo mat)

and finally, my very favorite card of this batch! this is the one with the *72* embellies...in quite a small space. the swathe of "fairy dust" was an idea i stole--ahem "lifted"-- from a vicki boutin layout in a magazine. i've used it many times and will do so many more, i am sure!

(frances meyer stickers; creative imaginations & treehouse memories papers, plus a page from an old michelin guide to paris; heidi swapp heart; prima flowers; jewelcraft rhinestones & gems; making memories & doodlebug brads; hero arts heart stamp; mylar stars)

STICKER SHOCK!!

don'tcha loooove the title?! yepper, it's the new CAARDVARKS challenge: use stickers on your card...how easy is that??! the design team managed to fill up two gallery pages using only the neat packs we had from our sponsor, frances meyers. the best part is that since some of us were given the same stickers, you can see how many cool & completely different styles you can get using identical products. LOVE IT!

since i made *10* cards...and since my back went out at work yesterday and i'm still not really up to sitting for more than like 15 seconds at a time... (it has taken me 20 minutes--and several breaks--just to write this much!) i've decided to post half today, and half tomorrow. (you can see 'em all in the gallery at any time, though.)

if you need me, i'll be on my living room floor, bemoaning the lack of quality daytime television!

only one day to go!

until the new CAARDVARKS challenge posts...and i'm getting pretty excited! wait till you see the *design team gallery*! wait'll you see the PRIZES!!!!! i've decided i just cannot wait till you see a couple of my cards...ok, ok, part of a couple of my cards. i'm not giving away the theme(b/c jen would kill me!) but i will say that you definitely have a bunch of the thing you're going to be asked to use...you might even be glad to use some up...and it could be easier than you think to do so in a cool way! (and yes, i do know it's obnoxious to hint...i just can't help it!!!)

labor day...without the labor!

we've had a lovely day out, in doylestown, pennsylvania. we had barbeque at the duck deli, we spent the afternoon at mercer museum, then we got ice cream and walked around the town.

aside from a few photos...and a couple of postcards, o'course...i have absolutely nothing to show for the day. niiiiiiice.

my virtue knows no bounds

(...she said, modestly...) :)

being as it is labor day weekend, i have been laborin', bigtime! my bills are paid, my loose change is rolled & bank-ready, my checkbook is balanced, my desk is cleared off. my patterned paper storage has been cleaned out, tidied up and...for the first time in several months...ALL the expandy-file-thingies actually close *and* latch. (which is beyond virtue, really; in fact it nearly stretches into miraculous!) a lot of people might've felt like that was enough to accomplish, but not me, oh no!

i have ventured forth into (cue dramatic music) the attic of doom. i have conquered the giant precarious towers of cardboard boxes which threatened to takeover the entire eastern seaboard! in fact i reorganized all the packing supplies, even sorted my bubble wrap by size, color, and country of origin. (i am kidding...of course there is no organizational advantage in sorting by color!) i have cleared out loads of craft supplies and rearranged the remainder in ways that should now make it possible to locate & retrieve any given item in less than a week. (go, me!) i have assembled a garage sale/ebay pile that would make neimann-marcus green with envy!

sadly, in the midst of all the hullaballoo, i realized that the caardvarks' bead-based microchallenge started yesterday, and not this morning, like i thought; so it turns out my own masterpiece is slightly late. see, in the laurniverse, august has thirty-two days. i understand it may take you earthlings several more millenia to catch up...but it's cool...i can wait.

in the meantime, since i'm on a roll, i think i will nip over to the middle east and work on that pesky "world peace" thing. does anyone know the arabic for "bubble wrap"??!

happy birdie (which scanned kinda wonky--the shadows near the tail aren't there irl!): patterned paper by frances meyer, scrapbook wizard, provocraft & sei; jenni bowlin & making memories rub-ons; miscellaneous beads

oh but before i go, lemme give a big shout out to our two new caardvarks DT members: lesley langdon and amy westerman, who are already stunnin' us with their amazing beaded creations!

welcome, ladies!!!