photo tag...plus awards!

i got tagged the other day by my lovely blogging and cardmaking friend regan (aka "stampy mcstamperson"...i think that must be her maiden name!) :)

ok, so it's a photo tag game & you're meant to go to where your digipics are stored...open the sixth folder...and post the sixth photo. so here's mine:

it's from a trip to the philadelphia museum of art last summer...it's a closeup of one of GIANT buddha heads...since you cannot use flash inside the museum the photo was slightly dark & needed to be lightened a bit in photoshop which gives it that cool purpley-tan cast...i think he looks rather handsome, actually!

and now the awards!

here's a very cool, very pretty prize from my lovely australian blogging friend miss kristie morrison. kristie is an amazing stamper and cardmaker and i assure you that a trip to her blog is well worth your time! she sent me this, which of course i treasure:

next, one of my very first and closest blogging friends, the simply elegant june houck, presented me with this neat award, for which i thank her very much. again, if you are interested in cards, cardmaking, elegance, cleverness or creativity generally, you could do worse than taking a peek at her little corner of the blogosphere:

"This award is given to a blog that invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!"

now for all three of these a person is meant to TAG some other folks...but of course i can never *remember* the rules of anything for long enough to abide by them...so howsabout we just go by the honor system, eh? since i know for a fact that everyone who hangs out in these parts is creative, into proximity and possessed of plenty o'photos, if you'd LIKE to be tagged with any of the above, then by golly you are! (but if you'd like to be excused...consider this your free pass!)

i am off to new york to visit a friend for a couple of days. i had hoped to blog ahead a bit, but somehow that just didn't happen, so i shall return on monday or tuesday with all new...ummmmmm...something! until then,

happy weekend, darlings!

operation 47: THANKFUL

yet another paper adventure page! (WOOHOO!)

this one was maybe the hardest to think of what to *DO*... (being as i am sooooo magnificently fortunate as to have an almost infinite supply of things for which i am truly, deeply, undeservingly grateful!) ...but then when i finally settled on my theme, it was one of the easiest pages to make.

i decided to go with something that has been a big part of my life the last couple of years; something for which it is not too dramatic to say, "this changed my life". seriously. those of you who've been following along for a while will already have guessed what is coming. yepper. it's three beautiful things. (for those of you who don't know what i'm talking about, allow me to direct you to the source of the phenomenon, ms. clare grant, and her magnificent blog; and here's a link which displays all of my posts with the label 3BT (in reverse order) if you're interested.)

ok, so basically, the thing that surprised and delighted me most about the 3BT process is how much the mindset of ACTIVE GRATITUDE...by which i mean making a point of specifically looking for, noticing, and being excited by the good things in your life...has made me feel more positive on a daily basis. it's kind of mind-blowing, actually. i highly recommend it to everyone!

(photo of 3BT journal printed on kodak premium paper, cut into the shape of a polaroid, inked & outlined; patterned paper: creative imaginations; alpha rub-ons: ki & scenic route; other: colorbox inks, zig pen, manual typewriter, aka "sister klara")

text reads, "thankful for...GRATITUDE?! no, seriously! keeping a 3BT journal is the best thing i have ever done. i knew it'd be fun to make and cool to read afterwards, but i had no idea how much it'd improve my outlook. turns out, the act of *LOOKING* for beautiful things makes you see the good that's all around. the more you see it, the more gratitude you feel...the more grateful you are, the more you can see how much you have to be thankful for. it's the reverse of a vicious circle. (and clare grant is my all-time *HERO*!)"

speaking of gifts...

...and lovely friends...and things that someone does for you JUST TO BE NICE: remember yesterday how i told you about that cool package from jolene? well, wouldja believe it was not the ONLY amazing gift that arrived over the weekend?!

uh huh.

missus trashalou, her of the prodigious painting talent from across the big pond (not to mention knitting...and sewing...and blogging...and raising realllllllllllly fabulous children, but i digress!) just about knocked my socks off by sending me AN ORIGINAL CANVAS she made 'specially for *ME*!!!

HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!
(hint: it is very VERY cool indeed!)

wanna see?!
(ah g'wan...ya know ya wanna...)

oh yeah, and that's not all! there was also a fun bird-based blank book... (the pages are not lined, either, so you could write OR draw or doodle...and i suspect i will!) ...and cute monsta stickas...and super-cool reindeer clip thingies...and a funny card which references my favorite website! (the caption reads, "on the internet, nobody knows you're a cat!)

and finally, here is my new piece of art in its natural habitat...by which i mean a place of honor right over my desk:

so basically, i am now about as spoiled as a girl can be, postally speaking! how lucky can you be, right?!

(thank you thank you THANK YOU missus trash...your kindness is only matched by your skill and your sense of fun!)

mena the monsta makes some friends!

did you ever get a beautiful handmade card in the mail for no reason at all? just because someone really nice...and really talented...was thinking about you? well i did, the other day, from my lovely friend and fellow caardvark jolene johnston.

wanna see?

gorgeous, isn't it?! and i assure you, the photo does not remotely do it justice!

but there wasn't only a card--there were prezzies, too! ART prezzies...which, as you know...are the very best kind! (especially when someone terribly thoughtful, who really knows your style, has done the picking out!) there were sparkly transparencies, and printed ribbons, and uber-fancy jeweled brads!

and yeah...that packet with the heart on it *does* say, "PINK hot chocolate"! (i will report further details on that when i have sampled it.)

but the very VERY best bit was that all of the above was brought to my home by the newest member of our happy little family...may i proudly introduce to you

MENA THE MONSTA!

of course, when arriving at a new place, it takes a little while to settle in & find one's niche. at first mena thought the typewriter would be a terrific place to perch...but it was not very comfy!

the bathroom tap was more relaxing...but a bit damp.

the big lamp affords a terrific view of the livingroom...but it's a bit precarious.

and the phone in the hall was just TOO NOISY!

plus, the main problem with all of those choices was that they were all a bit lonely.

...finally...

mena found a place that was

JUST

RIGHT!

in the backseat of my car, with sockrates and tipsy!

welcome mena monsta!

and may all our travels be happy ones! :)

(and many many *MANY* thanks again, miss jolene!!!)

operation 46: SAVE

we are coming down to the home stretch of paper adventure. (many thanks for enduring the marathon of the last few weeks!) for this prompt, SAVE, the lovely elise blaha had this to say,

"I have been spending some time on my other blog talking about recycling and reusing items. And thinking a lot about ways to save money. What are your thoughts this week on SAVING? Or not saving?"

once again i was kind of puzzled as to how i would approach the topic...until one night when i knocked over the "junk bowl" next to my worktable. (this is where i toss the leftovers from projects which are too good to throw out but not important enough to put away in their proper homes. you know the sort of thing: 3 rub-ons i cut out but didn't use, the button i thought would look good but didn't, extra brads and stickers, & so forth) as i picked up a couple dozen tiny treasures, it led me to think not just of supplies, generally, but also how many little baggies and boxes and folders of "found art bits" i INSIST on accumulating. and thus, a page was born:

(kraft cardstock: bazzill; word bubble: bampop; rub-ons: scrapworks; creative imaginations, polar bear press, 7 gypsies; all other items are ephemera--tags, stickers, bits of packaging, things cut from magazines & brochures, buttons, ribbons, paper scraps & so forth)

text reads, "'SAVE ME!' cried the cute little monsta tag from my teatowels. many other tags, stickers and bits of magazine make similar demands on a regular basis. i hear and obey."

operation 44: PRETEND

this was a fun one! i knew right away what i wanted to say for this paper adventure topic. one of the reasons i spend most of my time at family gatherings playing with the nieces is that we genuinely do have an awful lot in common...maturity level, for one thing! :)

all i needed was a recent photo...a little computer-generated text...some alphabet stickers...et voila!

(picture of nieces (l to r) maddie, lindsay, cousin jillian & riley converted to high contrast b&w in photoshop & printed on kodak premium paper; text is "3 hour tour" formatted & printed in broderbund printshop; patterned paper: sei; letter stickers: basic grey; pen: zig)

text reads, "the only thing i ever really PRETEND to be is a GROWN-UP (luckily these guys are not fooled for a minute!)"

operation 49: SECRET

i know i have said this A WHOLLLLLLLLE BUNCH OF TIMES, but i'm gonna say it again anyway: the very best part of paper adventure is making all kinds of pages in all kinds of styles on all kinds of topics that would never have occurred to me on my own.

case in point, the prompt for this one was: "do you have a secret? can you keep a secret?" i was planning to address one or both of those questions in a more straightforward way... (the answers being, "nope" and "theoretically, depending on the secret" respectively) ...but then i got to musing on the nature of secrets, generally...and i wound up making this, instead:

(patterned paper: basic grey; magnetic alphabet stamps: amking memories; needlepoint yarn: dmc; pen: zig)

text reads, "isn't it funny how much SECRETS have in common with LIES? & once you embark on either, you're pretty much in a vicious circle. (bad idea!)"

and i really, REALLY like how it came out. (she said, modestly) i like that it is messy and raw and uneven. i like that the spirally circle thingie is wonky and the letters that i stamped one at a time are imperfect. i also found punching and stitching my way through an episode of monk to be the absolute perfect antidote for a frantic workday! (& i predict that hand-sewing-on-projects will be makin' a big comeback in these parts!)

operation 42: LAYERS

this *MIGHT* be my favorite thing i have made for paper adventure. actually, i am rather thrilled to tell you (somewhat immodestly) that there are quite a few pages in my increasingly bulgy, nearly finished book, which make me positively beam with pride. and--perhaps equally cool--only a few i look at and go, "ewwww". but before i gush more about fabulous ME, let's look at the page in question, shall we?

(vintage: timecard, (thanks debb!) illustration of lady, postage stamps & sheet music; little bird cut from magazine; scalloppy cardstock is a bit of packaging from fancy pants acrylic shapes; k&co diecut adhesive border; prima flowers; making memories transparency frame & jewel brad; rub-ons by my mind's eye & fancy pants; colorbox inks; staples; manual typewriter)

ok, so the theme was LAYERS, and elise's prompt was to describe layers and levels of ourselves or our relationships...but...the very first thing she said was, "interpret this one how you like" ...which is good, because the minute i read the title i had already decided what i was doing! everybody who's known me for more than 15 minutes has already sussed that i will leap, pro-wrestler-like, on top of any possible excuse to make a freeform collage.

any.

possible.

excuse.

seriously.

and this was practically an engraved invitation! anyway, my life and relationships are pretty straightforward, which might be why i like to make my art so complicated?! there's no journaling, per se... (the typed bits are phrases like "birds of a feather flock together" and "a bird in the hand" and "come fly with me") ...nevertheless it conveys everything i had to say!

♥ dontcha LOVE IT when that happens?! ♥

roll out the barrel!

it's POLKA TIME!!!

or rather...polka dot time...for the new CAARDVARKS challenge, that is. make a *new* card, with polka dots on it, and post it to the 'varks flickr group by midnight, february 3, 2009. it's easy and fun! see??!

(b&w glossy polkadot cardstock is from the back of a "prima flourish" package--hey for what those babies cost, i'm usin' EVERYTHING! patterned paper: dcwv, sei; chipboard letters: target $-spot; metal letter brads: queen&co; felt ribbon: k&co; flower-shaped journaling card: making memories; flowers: doodlebug, creative imaginations, prima; brads: bazzill, autumn leaves; epoxy stickers: love elsie, sandylion other: colorbox inks, foam tape, zig pen)

operation 45: HISTORY

(sorry if you're getting a bit bored of non-stop paper adventuring, but i am THRILLED to be ticking these off m'list! take heart, card fans: tomorrow there's a brand new CAARDVARKS challenge & a very silly, whimsical card to go with it!)

another paper adventure topic, another digi-page to support it. (when i've got a lot to say, it's just easier!) this time we're talkin' history. as soon as i read the prompt, i knew what i'd write about. watergate made an indelible impression on me at a very young age, and continues to influence the way i see the world and our political system.

(software: broderbund printshop; photo of richard nixon from t'internet, reversed & printed on kodak premium photo paper; font: arial...just for stef...)

text reads, "A few years ago, during an argument, I was accused of being unremittingly cynical on the topic of politics & politicians. It's a charge I can't deny, but in the process of considering how that had happened, it occurred to me that the first really big news story I remember following avidly was Watergate. I was nine when the story broke. We had just learned about Presidential politics in school by studying the 1972 election in depth. (Already a staunch Democrat, for months I lobbied every adult with whom I came in contact to vote for McGovern!) As each new allegation was revealed I began to realize that even my parents and teachers did not fully understand the implications of what was happening, or know where they would lead. The whole summer of '73 was spent watching the hearings on television. Even while it was going on, even from the perspective of a child, it was totally apparent that we were watching history unfold, and that no matter the outcome, America would never again see the office of the President in quite the same way."

operation 50: WINTER

moving right along with a simple digital page for paper adventure. i realize that where we live (central new jersey) the winters are fairly mild, especially compared to canada, or siberia, or the arctic. nevertheless, i hate them anyway, and moan unceasingly for every moment the tempertature is below 32 degrees. just because.

(page made in broderbund printshop; photo from t'internet; fonts: mistral, polaroid 22, arial)

text reads,

Calendar picture, frozen landscape,

Chilled this room for twenty-four days,

Evergreens, sparkling snow

Get this winter over with!
(The Waitresses sum up my feelings admirably)

operation 40: STYLE

weirdly enough, this paper adventure topic stumped me for quite a while. even though--or, me being ME, maybe because--the brief was incredibly simple: "what's your style?" elise asked. to tell the truth, i'm not sure i HAVE a style! but certainly, when it comes to clothing, i definitely have some very strong preferences...so i went with that!

(once again, i apologize for a badly lit photo which also makes my page look crooked; but i've had more than one go at this now, and frankly, it isn't worth more time & trouble to assay what the divine tracy calls, "the uber-scan"!!!)

(patterned paper: dcwv; clothing pics from t'internet; text formatted & printed in broderbund printshop; fonts: ck typewriter & bleeding cowboys)

text reads: "style? maybe...comfort, for sure!"

"95% of the time i am in blue jeans and a black top. if it's summer we are probably talking capris; in winter cashmere sweaters are a must. on formal occasions the jeans might be black velvet & a pair of grown-up shoes could conceivably be dusted off & endured."

lolz...i makes dem!

ever since the summer, when i see a particularly funny uncaptioned photo on i can has cheezburger or i has a hotdog i've been having a go at writing my own and submitting it, confident each time in the expectation that of course said websites will print the result.

so far, nuthin'.

i assume this is because my own captions are SO VERY FUNNY that they fear the other contestants would become disheartened.

yeah.

that's probably it! :)

anyway, having tired of waiting for my BIG BREAK in pet photo comedy, i thought i might start posting them here, as a sort of public service; and not because i have only five minutes to blog, and nothing new to show, and zero in the way of original ideas...no sirree bob...

*HAPPY FRIDAY, DARLINGS!!!*

operation 43: MUSIC

hooray for moving right along on the paper adventure front!

can i just say (AGAIN) that i am so pleased that i did not give in to my inner critic's nasty little voice; you know, the one that was trying to tell me that being behind by 10 or so weeks, and actually out of the year we were documenting meant that i should forget all about trying to catch up, and mark up another unfinished item on my mental tally. i mention this only because--and i'm a bit embarrassed to admit it--i have, in the past, actually let that voice influence me...and missed out on *GOOD STUFF*!

duh!!!!!!!!!

this time, theme is music, and i decided to go uber-simple and just list the songs that were my particular i-pod faves right before xmas. (i always love seeing other people's lists...and i think someday this will be a cool thing to look back on!)

ok, so the page. you know that magic ingredient in crafting which suddenly transforms a few ordinary items into so much more than the sum of their parts? yeah...well...this thing has the antidote! i love everything that's on it...and i had fun making it...but the result does not fill me with aesthetic pleasure. am i gonna keep working and obsessing and tinkering until i get something that's perfect and FABULOUS??! nope. it says what i wanted to say, and thus i declare it officially finished!

(vintage: endpaper from an old olllllld songbook & illustrations from another music book; glossy cardstock: ranger; music patterned paper: scrapbook wizard; rub-ons: ki, lil davis, autumn leaves; other: colorbox inks, uniball signo pen)

a couple of years ago i read something cathy zielske wrote, in which she described a similar sensation of being not entirely satisfied, but needing at that point to just be done with a project. and she summed up by saying, "sometimes 'good enough'...is good enough"! words to live by, folks! words to live by!

operation 41: WORRY

yes, it is still paper adventure week here at the old blogstead; trying to finish up my book now that i have a little more time. (isn't it amazing how just taking away the holiday stuff makes a regular amount of time...which seemed quite inadequate in november...suddenly seem like "extra"?! niiiiiiiice, i say!)

ok, so this one was worry--something i have struggled with for most of my life. (i come by it honestly...my mother is a figure of some repute in this field!) it realllllllly bothers me that i continue, from time to time, to fall into this habit; since i *KNOW* it costs me dearly in energy & peace of mind...and for absolutely no good reason!

(raccoon from a vintage children's book; kraft cardstock: unknown; patterned paper: crafty secrets; alpha stamps: brenda walton & provocraft; stickers: creative imaginations, 7 gypsies, hello kitty; rub-ons: royal langnickel & polar bear press; tag: rebecca sower; other: dymo labeller, foam tape, uniball signo pen, colorbox inks)

the text, which is a little reminder of the speech i've given myself for years reads, "one more time...repeat after me: WORRY IS POINTLESS! because while you are busy freaking out about stuff that never happens, something you could not possibly have anticipated is getting ready to blindside you. SAVE. YOUR. ENERGY."

yes, as a matter of fact that *IS* a blue raccoon onna surfboard. what's that??! you didn't recognize him as the universal harbinger of stresslessness & a worry-free existence??!???! how very odd! ok, ok: before you ask, i have absolutely no idea why he makes perfect sense to me in this context, but somehow he just does. i really like that little guy and i am pleased he agreed to be on m'page!!!

operation 48: TRADITION

seeing as how i hardly ever did the paper adventure pages in order even when i was (more or less) on schedule, i figure: why change now??!

(i tend to do them as the ideas come to me...also, in this case, i knew i needed to print pictures for "WORK" and "TRADITION"...and it seemed better to use one sheet of photo paper than waste two half sheets!)

ok, so for this one elise asked us to relate a tradition--holiday or otherwise--that means something to us. since jeff and i had had an entirely relevant conversation about this no more than ten days ago, i knew exactly what i would use!

(picture from internet printed on kodak premium photo paper; heidi swapp chipboard heart; rub-on letters in various fonts from: making memories & american crafts)

yes, that *IS* a big mac. and yes, the text says,

"EVEN THE PICKLES ARE NICE!"

this pertains to a scene from our favorite christmas movie bernard and the genie and is a bit of a catchphrase in our house. the journaling (below) essplains the rest.

(sheet of notebook paper glued to back of the photo & cut to size; epoxy heart: cloud nine designs; xmas sticker & rub-on: creative imaginations)

text reads, "the other day we were enjoying a (very rare) big mac and one of us naturally came out with one of our favorite lines from "bernard and the genie" (the line about the pickles) which made us both laugh. a few minutes later jeff said, "we should really have these when we watch next year...wanna make it part of the tradition?!" ...oh yeah...big macs & bernard...starting next christmas eve. (even the pickles *ARE* nice!) ...and thus a new tradition is born!"

operation 39: WORK

you may have noticed that two words which have been conspicuous in their absence from m'blog the last couple months are

PAPER ADVENTURE!

yeah.

the autumn totally got away from me. and i was bummin' bigtime...not to mention doing a guilt number on myself for having let it slide...particularly when it became clear in december that i could either

A) make christmas cards

or

B) do everything else creative in my life

and then the other day i woke up and thought, "i LOVE paper adventure! i love the group. i love the prompts. i love my 2/3 finished, increasingly bulgy book. i LOVE the bits that are done and i have ideas for the bits that aren't done. i don't care if it's 2009...by golly i am gonna finish it!!!!!"*

anyway, the next one up from when i left off was operation 39: WORK

and here is my page; the photo is eggregious, but i could not get it to come out any better, so i finally just went with it. please believe me when i say that the vellum is more see-through than that, and the letters stand out more, and that it isn't crooked, ok?! thanks.

(photo of the "new release wall" in my video store printed on kodak premium paper; journaling typed on vellum and layered on top; film-themed stickers: mrs. grossman; (god alone knows where i got those!) hello kitty sticker from an old calendar; letter stickers: sei, chatterbox, k&co, miss elizabeth; outlined with zig pen)

text reads:

I CANNOT BELIEVE I AM STILL HERE!

13 years

3 general managers

countless employees

1 fatality

1 relocation

3 spinny chairs

1 tetanus shot

9,000,000 customer complaints (MORE!)

(note: i mean TO me...not *about* me!)

2 transfers

2 "fifty year" floods

3 closed stores

1 arsonist

1 flasher

1 robbery

1 "stake out" (SUCCESSFUL!)

2 rat pack posters

more friendships than i can count

more movies than i can remember

less pay than i deserve (WAAAAAY less!)

...i could quit...but HOW could i...

GIVE UP SHOWBIZ??!

**********

more pages to come as i finish them. but i have to say already it feels good to be working on this again!

*because sometimes ya just gotta give yourself a stern talkin' to, knowwhatimean??? of course you do. so if you are currently beating yourself up about something...KNOCK IT OFF...figure out what the next step is...and just get started! and if anyone gives you a hard time, you just send them 'round to me, ok?! ok. i'm glad that's settled. as you were, people.

once upon a time...

...in the magic kingdom of 2sketches4you there lived a divine sketch called kazan's 17:

but princess lauren did not make a card for it,

and so the sketch grew very very sad and had to go into therapy.

...but then...

realizing the unfairness of the poor sketch's plight

princess lauren DID make a card, afterall.

(although, admittedly, it was a very strange and rather morphed version!)

and there was rejoicing throughout the land!!!

and also

CUPCAKES!!!

which inspired even MORE rejoicing...although some of the second round of rejoicing had to be done in elastic-waist pants...but the people of the land did not mind because they had positive body images and anyway they are back into their routine at the gym...so they can afford a treat or two.

eventually the very very long and entirely tangential blogpost came to an end when princess lauren *finally* got round to

showing

the BLOOMIN' card

already!!!

(vintage: game tally, slidemounts; patterned paper: basic grey, dcwv, heidi grace; cupcake stickers: martha stewart; sticker strip: creative imaginations; rub-ons: making memories; other: michael's ribbon, colorbox inks, zig pen)

and there was EVEN MORE rejoicing throughout the land!

and they all lived

♥ HAPPILY EVER AFTER ♥

(the end)

sunday 1-11-09 ETA: holy macaroni, i'm in the FAB FIVE!!! you *have* to go see the other four...not to mention...the AMAZING card of the week! thank you thank you thank you kazan and laura!

hb(2U) + (b)2S4Y = *F*U*N*

so i went over to 2 sketches 4 you in order to grab up kazan's mighty fine sketch 17 and make me a card.

but then i saw this:

(peet's bonus sketch)

and i was

swept away!

(also...i already had a little birdie i wanted to use...and i could not figure out how to make him work in the first one...whereas that circley frame thing in peet's sketch...that pretty much screams, "BIRD GOES HERE!"...doesn't it?!?)

(well it did to me!)

so i made this, instead:

(vintage: timecard (thank you, debb!) + bird illustration (from a children's book); patterned paper: love elsie; cardstock: core'dinationsring sticker: creative imaginations; brads: hot off the press; other: dymo labeller, colorbox inks, zig pen, foam tape, heart & star stickers from my stash...which are very nearly old enough to be called "vintage"!)

but hey...anytime i can start and finish a card

...onna weeknight...

it is cause for

celebration!!!

can i get a

"WAHEY"?!!

(thank you)

thank you, doctor spooner!

have i mentioned that lovely husband jeff and i have been collecting spoonerisms* for the last few years? my favorite so far has been, "the nuns of gaverone"! turns out, monstas enjoy a good play on words, as well!

(monsta cut from paperchase giftwrap; vintage gamecard facsimile from "the ephemera book" (a recent rummage sale find!) patterned paper: dcwv; cupcake: martha stewart: stickers and clouds: love elsie; other: dymo labeller, colorbox inks, foam tape)

text reads, "happy earthday, birthling!"

to answer the question you have very kindly refrained from asking: YES, i will be making some non-monsta birthday cards again soon! it's just that january is kind of top-heavy with "guy birthdays" and i needed some suitable greetings, pdq. also, i am just still really really enamoured of these little dudes--they never fail to make me smile! at least nobody can accuse me of being fickle, right??! :)

*do not try this with huckleberry finn! oof! you've tried it anyway, haven't you?! well don't say i didn't warn ya! :)

aimlessness is good for ya!

not to mention weirdness. see, sometimes i just realllllllllllly need to work freeform. case in point:

(patterned paper: basic grey, dcwv + butterfly cut from giftwrap; vintage: sheet music, tarot card; florals: prima, petaloo; gem swirls: prima; bird charm: blue moon; felt ribbon: k&co; grungeboard keyhole: ranger; brads: making memories; epoxy sticker: michaels; other: colorbox inks, foam tape)

i got these FABULOUS vintage tarot cards at a rummage sale in december...the little bird charm was a 2-fer-1 at michael's right before xmas...the black gem swirls are the bits cut off of bigger ones to make them fit on various cards...the sheet-music flower was made for something else but never used...the butterfly was leftover from vc's card in november...and the rest are just bits & bobs from here & there. i had no idea WHAT i was making until i was finished, at which point it was absolutely clear i'd made a birthday card for my friend cheryl. woohoo--another one crossed off the january list!

MONSTACARDS:

they're not just for christmas anymore!!!

no sirree, bob. in fact, monstas enjoy most types of celebrations, including, but not limited to: major and minor holidays, weddings, anniversaries, bar- & bat-mitzvahs, (the blue ones do an especially good version of "hava nagila"!) presidential innaugurations, and the third tuesday of any given month. (i'm not entirely sure what the significance of that last one is...but hey...they make EXCELLENT margaritas, so i just go with it!)

however, as it turns out, the occasion monstas like best is a birthday!

SEE??!

(monsta cut from paperchase giftwrap; patterned paper: basic grey, love elsie, creative imaginations, paper co; epoxy sticker: love elsie; other: dymo labeller, colorbox inks, zig pen, foam tape)

we are in the midst of computer re-organization here in monstaville. so far we've re-partitioned one hard drive, and done a bunch of cleaning out, updating & re-organizing of files. next up is the addition of an external hard-drive for photos and music, as well as general backing up of systems. we've been on- and off-line intermittently during this process, so if i don't surface again this weekend, you'll know what happened! if i'm not back by wednesday, can somebody please send a st. bernard bearing chocolate cake, prozac, & the phone number for "geek squad"?! ta very much! :)

little sketch card on the (urban) prairie

'member last year when those super-festive CAARDVARKS rang in the new year with a brand new, exclusive becky fleck cardmap??! well it turns out that was sooooo much fun, they're doing it AGAIN!
(woohoo!)

here's the sketch:

(it's a goodie, isn't it? soooooooo fun...and totally flexible!)

and here's my card:

(patterned paper: basic grey, cherry arte, scenic route; rub-ons: basic grey; lg floral & ribbon tape: amanda blu; white floral & chipboard heart: heidi swapp; printed floral: prima; velvet flower brad: marah johnson; other: colorbox inks, foam tape)

not too shabby, i feel; despite the rather dark photo. certainly no one can accuse me of stinting on the patterned papers, eh?! i got a basic grey "urban prairie" 12x12 paper pad on sale at michael's right after thanksgiving, and never really even got to test-drive it before i was straight into making xmas cards. so i've made up for the delay by using several sheets on one card. ambitious, no?!

you should go and see what the other caardvarks--not to mention our verrrrrrrry lovely and talented guest designers: gina (aka tyggereye), marley, jami (aka sgt. stamper) & steph jacobson--did with this challenge! check out the site...or go straight to the flickr gallery!

oh yeah, and by the way:
♥ HAPPY NEW YEAR, DARLINGS!!! ♥