operation 16: INSPIRED

continuing with my randomly ordered paper adventuring, here's the prompt from the week before last! for this one we are considering what inspires us. well, i could make a wholllllllle book just on this topic! in fact, i have an entire 3-ring binder of stuff i've cut out of magazines and catalogs, and my computer bookmarks are out of hand! i made a little digi-collage of some current loves, including two of my very favorite distressed fonts. oh, look! here it is now:

(digital collage made in broderbund printshop using scans, downloaded pics & my original photos; fonts: bleeding cowboys, anthology, batik regular)

i believe i have mentioned a time or two (or 437!) how much fun i am having with these assignments and how excited i am by the growing book of fun & funky little pages i am amassing. i'm not sure if i also told you that lovely husband jeff is really enjoying it, too. to the point where, if my PA book is sitting in the living room at the same time he is, he'll often pick it up and have a little look through, and maybe remark on something he hadn't noticed before...which is pretty cool...

what are the odds??!

you already know that we had a FABULOUS time in north carolina. even the famous "back of doooooooom" was fairly well-behaved! there were, however, a couple of teensy tiny disappointments i must report:

1. knitting monkees is harder than you think. as it turns out, i had to knit the first 10-12 rows of mine 3 different times! i am now on attempt #4...which seems like it will actually work. i will take a photo when the piece of monkee anatomy in question is large enough to be observed with an ordinary (non-microscopic) camera.

2. western north carolina is NOT a frozen dessert mecca. in fact, during the entire trip i had only ONE ice cream and one gelato...and neither were particularly tasty! (remember: this is ME--perfectly content with a weight watchers ice cream sandwich--saying that!!!)

3. there were no cool flea markets, thrift shops, or antique stores to be found anywhere. i dunno if it was too early in the season, or we just didn't stumble upon them, or there genuinely just aren't any where we were...but whatever the reason, the result was the same: i did not come home with *anything* cool or vintage.

as i said, these were disappointments of the very smallest and most ignorable kind, which i would not even have mentioned were it not for the following

amazing circumstance

which i shall now relate to you: the other day, back in lambertville, whilst killing a bit of time, i wandered into a used bookshop to say hello to a friend of mine. while we were chatting, i noticed, on a very low and out-of-the-way shelf, a small and somewhat tattered box of old postcards. now, i've been in this shop 9,230,677 times. at least. and i never noticed that box. but i am assured that it has been there--untouched, unsold and unregarded--since the carter administration. most of the cards were......well, you know how i looooove and revere vintage paper of all descriptions, and you also know that i can find something to ADORE where other people see only trash that ought to have been discarded eons ago, right? so when *I* say, "most of the cards were total rubbish" you will get an idea of how very lackluster they must've been! in fact, i would probably have stopped almost immediately, just out of hygenic concerns. but i was there...and i was waiting for someone...so i stubbornly carried on.

...and i found...

THESE:

L to R from top: chimney rock from a distance, green river gorge, the broad river near bat cave, chimney rock and the lake lure inn

yes, darlings, as a matter of fact those *ARE* vintage linen postcards (the postmarked ones--both addressed to the same recipient--are from 1936) from north carolina. and not JUST ANYWHERE in north carolina...they're from WESTERN north carolina! and not JUST ANYWHERE in western north carolina...they're from chimey rock, lake lure, and bat cave!!!

seriously: what ARE the odds??!

operation 17: SOMETHING NEW

this week's paper adventure is a sequel of sorts. 'member in february we did SOMETHING OLD? as you may recall, mine involved my car...which was just slightly elderly...and needed to be replaced. so it seemed only fitting that my SOMETHING NEW should be awdrey, right? yeah, i thought so too. and it wasn't too hard to make a page which sums up my feeling about the new member of our family!

(page from a vintage road atlas; silhouetted photo of awdrey; chipboard hearts: heidi swapp; chipboard arrow: ki; rub-on alphas: making memories, scrapworks, autumn leaves; heart stickers: mrs. grossman; ink: colorbox)

ps: if you're thinking, "hey! i don't remember seeing operation 16!" ...well-spotted!!! i did 15 last week, and now 17; i'll probably do 16 next...unless i finish 18 first. yeah, math was never really my thing! :)

the top 10 things i learned on vacation

(ok, i lied, but "the top 14 things i learned on vacation" is a really crummy title!)

14. dogwood trees are seriously under-appreciated in the flowering tree community

finally the dogwood gets some respect

13. it's unusual…but not impossible…to encounter snow flurries at biltmore in april

later that same week...the biltmore gardens seemed fairly flurry-proof

12. the best barbeque in asheville…perhaps in all of north carolina…can be found at 12 bones on riverside drive (many thanks to the lady across from me on the flight down for this info!)

this is NOT genuine 12 bones bbq...this is a stunt double from duncan's in chimney rock...whilst at 12 bones lauren was too busy devouring pig products to consider photography until it was waaaaaay too late to take pictures!

11. the blue ridge parkway is neither blue nor ridgey…but the mountains which surround it are both!

but STILL no one can essplain to me why we drive on parkways and park on driveways!

10. gargoyles serve the useful function of draining water away from the structure upon which they are found; whimsical stone carvings present solely for appearance should technically be referred to as “grotesques”

genuine gargoyles, gargoyling genuinely (accept no substitutes!)

9. the entirely utilitarian and otherwise completely un-glamorous bathrooms at chimney rock park are painted with beautiful murals

talk about "art for art's sake"!

8. biltmore house was incredibly technologically advanced for its day. it was fully equipped with electric lighting, a sophisticated refrigeration system, internal telephones, and an automated laundry room when it was built…in 1895!!!

state of the art high definition techno-tulips

7. the folks at asheville regional airport have an excellent sense of humor!

luckily we had a very nice view of *THE* runway!

6. making a tall sticky-up bit of rock into a delightful cartoon character will definitely result in an eye-catching and memorable advertisement for your business…but possibly also an obscenity charge…

where the heck is peewee herman when we need him??!

5. when the folks at biltmore say “festival of flowers” they are NOT KIDDING!

"all right lads! stand up straight! and look FESTIVE!!!"

4. really immature people who remember adam west and burt ward camply fighting gotham city’s crime in 1968 giggle inanely every single time they see this sign (…and i am firmly in their number…)

"damn! that robin never could keep a secret!!!"

3. asheville leads north carolina…and perhaps the world…in the number and opulence of their self-service dog washing facilities. (who knew??!)

am i the only one with a mental picture of shaun the sheep in "wallace's knit-o-matic" right now??

2. if you can assay very, very high structures with only vague unease, look all around you with pleasure whist up there, and comeback down again without concern, you are NOT acrophobic…merely sensibly cautious. similarly, if you, “think you might be” acrophobic, you are not. you’d KNOW. trust me!

this photo was taken by the entirely un-acrophobic jeff (though i actually DID make it up onto chimney rock...in a brief and nervous sort of way...)

1. if you go on vacation with the person you love most in the world, it’s extremely difficult NOT to have a wonderful time!

...and i'm not lyin'... (sorry, that truly was diabolical...even for ME!)

just in case you have not seen quite enough vacation snapshots (and surely there's a twelve-step for that!) you are welcome to check out my webshots gallery where there are many, MANY more photos of biltmore, asheville, chimney rock, lake lure, and more!

operation 15: WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

yep, i'm behind on paper adventure again. but that's ok. because an ADVENTURE would not really have a time limit attached to it, now would it? naaaaaaah. :)

so here is operation 15...from before vacation:

(cardstock: sei; photo corners: chatterbox; rub-on letters: american crafts; velvet letters: making memories; ribbon: making memories, we-r-memory keepers, michaels; other: saladworks brochure, staples, sharpie pens)

the title refers to the fact that lovely husband jeff and myself, being such creatures of habit, as soon as we know we have a chiropractor's appointment, we don't even HAVE TO think, "what's for dinner" ...since we know we'll be stopping for take-away at saladworks!

the ribbons on the left pull my journaling card out, it looks a bit like this:

penguin pants, part two

hello again! here are a few more cards made for cardvarks' special penguin pants design team gallery, featuring that company's very lovely...and very high quality...clear acryllic stamps!

the third set of stamps i received was called let's play games, and features dice, playing cards, the icons from the suits of cards, some GREAT phrases, and a very, verrrrrrrry cool crown!

the very first thing i thought of when i saw these stamps was the song "viva las vegas"! coincidentally, i had recently cut some pics of elvis out of an old music magazine m'colleague josh was throwing away, so it did not take me long to come up with THIS:

(rubber stamps: penguin pants; elvis cut from a magazine; black glossy cardstock: ranger; red glitter cardstock: jam paper; red patterned paper: ki; letter stickers: k&co; letter rub-ons: american crafts; rhinestones: jewelcraft)

i know what you're thinking, though...you're thinking, "hey lauren! what're we supposed to do with a 'viva las vegas' card??!!!" well mine is for my chiropractor's birthday, obviously, :) but if you don't happen to have back problems, it'd make a nice "good luck" card wouldn't it??! ...OR...you could always make something like THIS, instead:

(rubber stamps: penguin pants; patterned paper: paper co, daisy d's; cardstock: ranger; playing card diecuts: meri meri; gem stickers: stampendous; felt fusion: queen & co)

and then there's that CROWN i mentioned!!! i confess that the crown has already been forever removed from the rest of the set on its backing sheet. yes, that baby has found a natural home in my "essential tool kit" with my date stamp, heidi swapp script "happy", and the beloved rhonna swirls. this one ain't a luxury, folks, it's a NECESSITY!!! :) here's a card i made using it a few different ways:

(rubber stamps: penguin pants; patterned paper: dcwv, basic grey, crafty secrets; cardstock: bazzill; chipboard: rhonna farrer; floral: amanda blu; diecuts: mambi, k&co; transparencies: making memories; cardsotck stickers: design originals, kelly pannacci; rub-on letters: american crafts; brad: marah johnson/creative imaginations; other: jewelcraft rhinestones, 3m foam tape, colorbox inks)

(this card is a (loose) scraplift inspired by vicki boutin's "queen bee" LO in the april '08 issue of scrapbooks, etc)

so there you have it! and thus, our "penguin pants" special double feature concludes, with a reminder that there is still plenty of time to enter the black and white and one challenge (for a shot at *WINNING* some penguin pants of your very own!) and that there is an entire design team gallery devoted to said stamps for your viewing pleasure! check it out!

(ps: we are now officially back from vacation and officially back to work, chores and real life. that loud thud you heard on monday morning??! that was LHJ and myself coming back down to earth!!! hoping to blog about north carolina...avec photos...later this week!)

penguin pants, part one

you may recall that a month or so ago i mentioned that the caardvarks design team received some very lovely and VERY generous product packs in the mail from penguin pants rubber stamps, who are sponsoring the current challenge, black and white and one! i received *three* lovely sets of clear stamps, and used them to make a number of cards for the special penguin pants design team gallery! before i show my cards, let me just say, these are NICE stamps, folks! the acrylic is thick and sturdy, they cling to the acrylic block well (without being impossible to remove when you're finished!) and the images stamp clearly every time! i like these A LOT...and not only do i forsee using my sets a lot more...i've kinda got my eye on some of their alphabet sets now! ;o

in the made by set--which has some very useful stamps with which to sign our masterpieces--i absolutely fell in love with mr. penguin, the spokesbird for the line! there are two versions of the handsome dude, a smaller one and a larger...i can see using these for some "father and son" type occasions, can't you?

here's a card featuring the handsome fella right now:

(rubber stamp: penguin pants; cardstock: bazzill; patterned paper: ki, sei; stickers: love, elsie; pens: galaxy, sharpie, zig writer, sakura glitter glaze)

i also received the heavenly henna set...and of course...you KNOW how i love all things indian...so the intricate images and the word "henna" immediately sent me into a frenzy of south-asian-based ideas; but i also used the stars from this set to make my black and white and one card (shown yesterday) ...which just proves you don't HAVE to go all international with these if you don't want to!

but if you DO want to try an indian theme, these babies work reaaaaaaaaaaally well:

(rubber stamps: penguin pants; patterned paper: paper co, daisy d's; cardstock: bazzill; chipboard: dcwv; clipart: anahata katkin; diecut butterfly: unknown; other:3m foam tape, colorbox & tim holtz inks; copper gel pen; cancelled postage stamps)

but again, you don't HAVE TO...here's the same moon i used as a background above, embossed to match the celestial theme of a vintage illustration:

(rubber stamps: penguin pants; griffin image & poem from an old children's book; cardstock: bazzill; patterned paper: sassafrass lass; gems: jewelcraft; uniball silver gel pen)

and here's another eastern-ish background, using just the small and large sun:

(rubber stamps: penguin pants; carved wooden buddha image from a home decor catalog; patterned paper: crafty secrets; metallic gold cardstock: jam paper; glitter rub-ons: k&co; felt fusion: queen & co; floral: heidi swapp; other: 3m foam tape, tim holtz ink)

tomorrow, i will show a few more cards, using the "let's play" set, which features, dice, cards, and fun phrases!

what's black and white and *???* all over?!

well, this card, for starters!

(stamps: penguin pants; glossy cardstock: ranger; patterned paper: oriental trading co; rub-ons: american crafts, basic grey; gems: heidi swapp; other: vintage lace, ribbon from michael's, foam tape, white signo pen)

another is the new caardvarks challenge!!! yes indeedy, it's called black + white + one ...and to participate you merely need to make a card that's black and white...and ONE other color! which other color, along with what shape, size, occasion, and theme...is entirely up to you!

for this challenge many of the design team (including myself) used our wonderful packs of penguin pants rubber stamps, which those fine folks were kind enough to send along a month or so ago. but one card each didn't realllllllly seem like enough to showcase these lovely products so this time we have a second special DT gallery that includes lots more items! some of these meet the challenge, some that go off in other directions, but ALL are well worth a look!

in the next couple of days i will feature the cards i made for the special gallery, including complete materials information and links to the specific stamp sets i used!

those of you who happened to tune in yesterday may notice that there is now a post missing. that's because, having prepared several in advance, i accidentally POSTED THE WRONG ONE! yepper, after a mere week's vacation from t'internet, i've apparently lost the ability to perform even simple tasks!!!

don't drink and blog, folks...it's just not worth it!!! :)

vacation progress report

hey y'all!!!!

(i am practicing the local patois and getting quite good at it, if i do say so myself! admit it, you almost didn't recognize me there for a minute, did ya?! thought not! see?? i blend!) :)

as predicted we do not have unlimited t'internet here in our lovely mountain hideaway...but then...we have not had unlimited time, either, so that's actually worked out ok! the resort has wi-fi in their reception center, so i have been trying to stop down here every afternoon for an hour or so, to check email and so forth. i'm trying to post daily to webshots, since one of jeff's sisters was unable to make the trip due to a sudden illness, and she is following along at home.

if you are longing to see my complete set of photos to date... (in which case i beg of you to get a hobby or start an evening class!) ...following the link above will get you waaaaaaaaaay more mediocre snapshots than you ever imagined...and may well cure you for life of the desire to click random links! :)

in the meantime, here is some random beauty for ya: a statue's-eye-view of biltmore house, from the little gazebo on the hill. more pics..with commentary...to follow!

vacation bound!

photo collage made using big huge labs' cool "hockneyizer" feature on a photo from the biltmore estate website

the next week will find myself, lovely husband jeff, and most of his lovely family in western north carolina! we'll be staying on lake lure, exploring asheville, visiting the biltmore estate, basking in beautiful spring weather (hopefully), knitting monkees (that'll be mostly me!) eating barbeque, and just generally enjoying ourselves like the lazy/lucky so-and-so's we are!


though i'll have my laptop, we somewhat suspect that our cabin does not have an internet connection, (talk about RUSTIC, darlings!) and we don't know how nearby/convenient the hotspots will be. if it turns out that the smokey mountains are cyber-central, i'll post pics from the road, but i suspect at best we're going be able to intermittently check email; at worst we will not even have cell phones. (how DID the pioneers cope??!)


so feel free to talk amongst yourselves, smoke 'em if you've got 'em, and just generally have a wonderful week!!!

ciao darlings!

micro-challenge: BRANCHING OUT!

illustration from "the sultan's perfect tree"

written by jane yolen, illustrated by barbara garrison

i think that i shall never see

a thing as lovely as a tree

and so it shouldn't be too hard

to place a tree upon a card

except if i run out of time

then i shall have to blog in rhyme

and say that i have failed to do

the very thing i urge on you!

and now a translation, for those of you who don't happen to be fluent in bad-poetry:

there's a new caardvarks micro! it starts today and ends at midnight on the 13th. all you need to do is make a card with a tree on it for a shot at a cool prize. i had MANY ideas for this one, but sadly, between getting ready for vacation, and finishing up my cards for next week's special design team gallery sponsored by penguin pants rubber stamps, and contending with the back from H-E-double-hockey-sticks...yeah, it just didn't happen! but there is plenty of inspiration to be found from the rest of the design team in the BRANCHING OUT GALLERY!

...not VERY interesting...

it occurs to me that i have not posted anything of a papercraftical nature all week! what's up with that??!

it's not that i haven't MADE anything cool...in fact i've made some decent cards this week, if i do say so m'self...it's just that i can't show them...yet. they're for the special caardvarks design team gallery that goes with our next challenge, starting 4-20. ordinarily, i would have time to do some little challenges in between, or at least make my paper adventure page for this week. but since we'll be on vacation next week, and i am still contending with the back from H-E-double-hockey-sticks... (many, many thanks for all the good wishes on that score, btw; it's MUCH better, but not yet 100%!) ...anyway, the point is, that i haven't made as many items as usual, and thus i am forced to fall back on the old stand-by...showing some pages i kind of like from my three beautiful things journal. so here ya go!

some pocket pages:

(the lefthand one is a cutdown DHL envelope & contains some receipts from awdrey's "DMV day"; the righthand one was me playing with some new products--the felt fusion and dcwv chipboard sayings--and some scraps)

some picture pages:

(the monkey one is an extra pic from sockrates & tipsy's most recent photo shoot; the tiger is from a magazine and says, "here kitty kitty" in rub-ons, and "warning: objects in book may be closer than they appear" in dymo labels)

some pages that don't really have anything in common...except i like them... :)

(the lefthand one is me using up some word stickers i didn't really like--tho they sort of "work" as a background, dontcha think?; the righthand one is part of the cover from a clothing catalog; it accidentally got wrinkled when i was gluing it on...but i like the effect!)

oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

baby gotta BOO-BOO!!!

and yet...even all scabby and stubbly...he still looks rather lovely, doesn't he??

(sigh)

i found this picture here...there's also a little article about the filming of bond #22: quantum of solace...which picks up an hour after casino royale ended...and is due in theaters around xmas! (HOORAY!)

peliculas interesantes

one good thing about my back being out (...as it has been AGAIN for the last week or so...) is that it's the only time i ever get a chance to catch up on foreign films. actually, this is the ONLY good thing about these circumstances. (and i'd trade it away in a heartbeat for a non-wonky back, thank you very much!) but hey...i'll take whatever good there is, and be glad of it... here are some movies i have enjoyed...or not...recently:

la vie en rose

in the same way that the essence and spirit of ray charles seemed to positively flow through jamie foxx in ray, marion cotillard appears to actually be channeling edith piaf. it's extraordiary, impressive, and occasionally spooky. the film is a magnificent and lavish depiction of piaf's world, life, and art. what it isn't is cheerful. (if ever there was a "vie" that was emphatically NOT "en rose" it was piaf's!) but this hypnotic film is worth a look for the soundtrack and best-actress-winning performance alone.

lust, caution

has ang lee ever made a bad film??! the director of eat drink man woman, sense and sensibility, and brokeback mountain is yet again right on form. set in 1948 shanghai this film is gorgeous. it's magnificent. it's sexy. it's perfectly cast and flawlessly acted. it's got intrigue, suspense, espionage, plotting, counterplotting, sex, love, lust, longing, and...of course...mahjong. but again, if you're looking for laughs, this is SO not your film.

russian dolls

a follow-up to the excellent l'auberge espagnol, this is one of a very small number of film sequels to equal...maybe even surpass...the original. five years after the events chronicled in the first film we catch up with xavier in paris where he's a working writer (though still not a published novelist) and about to meet up with the rest of the gang for a wedding in st. petersburg. if you've been reading this list in hopes of a light and frothy french film: here ya go!

apres vous

and here's another light and frothy french film! (wahey! two in a row!) unfortunately this one is all froth, with no underlying substance to support it. daniel auteuil and jose garcia give wonderful performances...as characters that we can't reallllllly believe in...and thus, ultimately, we fail to care about. or at least, i did.

cache

let me preface this by saying, as i often have, that i would be willing to watch daniel auteuil read the parisian phonebook. having spent two hours watching cache, i actually wish he HAD been reading the phonebook. yes it's a taut, psychological thriller, and yes it raises interesting questions about truth and lies, memory and perception. but booooooooooy does it ever move slowly...we're talkin' geological time. c'est vraiment, c'est trieste.

avenue montaigne

a young girl, fed on her granmuzzer's tales of parisian life, leaves her small town for a waitress job in the city. there she meets the actors, art collectors, and musicians who gather around le bar de theatres. everyone she meets has their own story which we follow, and all the stories we follow weave in and around each other. this charming, whimsical, robert-altman-esque slice of life film doesn't breaak any new ground, but it's a pleasant enough way to spend a couple of hours.

siberia

if you are easily offended, DO NOT rent this film. in fact, you might even want to skip my review of it. the basic premise is this: two young dutch lads, living in amsterdam, make their living by picking up pretty female tourists, sleeping with them, and stealing their money. they collect the photos from the girls' passports...their goal is to get one photo each from every country in the world. to this end, they will lie, cheat, dodge, dive, cajole and sneak around. then they meet lara--a russian girl who's smarter than both of them and twice as ruthless--and things really get interesting.

wristcutters

this isn't a foreign film, but it's definitely off the beaten track. the setting: an afterlife exclusively for people who've killed themselves. neither heaven nor hell, it's a limbo-like place that, as one character observes, is only slightly more depressing than his life was. when the protagonist, zia, discovers that his ex-girlfriend has also committed suicide, he sets off on a rambling roadtrip to find her. yes, i know, this all sounds very peculiar and a bit depressing. did i mention it's a comedy? yepper...and a LOVE STORY, too!

curse of the golden flower

did you like crouching tiger, hidden dragon? elizabeth? the lion in winter?? if your answer to one or more of these is "YES!" stop reading and go rent this baby, pronto. it's big, it's sprawling, it's sumptuous. it's got palace intigue, historical drama, plots and subplots, plenty of martial arts action, and a cast of thousands. what more could you ask for? ok maybe one thing...to see it on a big giant movie-theater screen where it belongs!

this one's for the birds!

...and the butterflies...and the bugs...and the angels...and the airplanes. that's right, the new caardvarks challenge, FLIGHT OF FANCY, dares you to submit your finest, fanciest, funnest and flightiest creations!

before i show you my cards for this challenge i feel it is my public duty to report a serious case of GRAND THEFT BIRDHOUSE!!!!! you see, *everything* that is cool about my cards: the shape of the houses, the layers of papers, the trims of lace and flowers, the charming vintage + funk vibe...allllllllll of that was lifted lock, stock, and birdseed barrel from my blogging friend lori, whose site is called faerie window. lori recently took part in an art blogging event called "bling your birdhouse" and lemme just say this: if birdhouse blinging ever becomes an olympic event, miss lori will have a lock on that gold medal! when i saw her creations, i was truly blown away. so much so, that i wanted to copy (ummmmmmm) steal (ahem!) pay tribute to (yeah, that's better!) her idea in card form.

...so i did... :)

(birdhouse idea & basic shapes: lori karla/faerie window; birds & text page cut from a vintage children's encyclopedia; patterned paper: frances meyer, creative imaginations, daisy d's, making memories, scenic route, k&co; chipboard: deja views; flowers & leaves: prima, paper source; brads: making memories, doodlebug; rickrack: making memories; other: ledger paper, vintage lace, wired pearls, foam tape, colorbox inks)

these are going to be our mother's day cards--both jeff's mom and my own adore birds, birdhouses, and vintagey bits and bobs, so i think these will be a pretty big hit! where will YOUR flight of fancy take you??! i can't wait to see!

a riddle

Q: what's got one eye, one horn, and tiger-striped fur?

A: a flyin' purple people eater in a VERY CLEVER DISGUISE!

(sorry...i just couldn't resist!)

:)

operation 14: LOOKING FORWARD

wouldja believe...for a second week in a row...i made my paper adventure page ON THE TUESDAY??! yeah, me neither! i mean, who'd've thunk it?! but it's true. of course, this week's assignment was pretty easy. see, elise said:

"Think, this week, about something that you are looking forward to in April."

since we're going to asheville in a few weeks, it's not to difficult to guess what i am looking forward to, is it?

(fonts: bobmono, marcelle script, times and times again; photos downloaded from t'internet)

text reads: "seeing family...sleeping late...exploring biltmore...taking photos...riding bikes...eating bbq...driving the blue ridge parkway...knitting monkees...having fun"

being as we're talking about vacation, i wanted a "picture postcard" look for this page, so it made sense to go digital. i found photos online at various tourism sites of things we're planning to see and do in north carolina, assembled a collage in broderbund printshop, and added text. et voila--une autre page c'est fini!

the making of a monster

and now, by popular demand (well, june asked!) i shall reveal the secrets of how i created the lovely and amazing one-eyed one-horned flyin' chipboard people eater from yesterday's card! (those of you uninterested in these details may find this quite a passable cure for insomnia; do feel free to read along!)

step one: the sketch
(note to self: must include one eye...one horn...wings...and purpleness)

step two: the template
(note to self: you are rubbish at making things even and/or symmetrical...best to cheat!)

step three: the cheating
(note to self: use basic grey chipboard heart for "horn"...colorbox cat's eye pads are eye-shaped... (hence the name) ...round packaging for mouth...fancy pants felt pieces for wings)

(further note to self: flame shaped body is cool-looking but leaves no room for wings...AHA...he (or she? do we know??) ...will have wings for feet!)

step four: the monster
(note to self: trace template onto chipboard and cut out using scissors... (it's not very thick chipboard; it was the backing of a tablet in a former life!) ...paint purple...outline in black...which doesn't show up too well...highlight outlines with white signo pen...add dots with white sharpie for interest...add white stickles for sparkle and dimension...add small black dots for...ummmmmmm...the heck of it!)

and there you have it! (scroll down or click here to view the finished product) one custom-made chipboard accent to amuse and amaze your friends! hours of entertainment! guaranteed to break the ice at parties! :)