have *I* got weird stuff??! you betcha!!! :)

in the shape of unusual crafting supplies, i mean. ok, yeah, admittedly, i also have weirdness across the board, in all sorts of areas. but for the purposes of this post, let's stick to crafting, k? thanks. you might be wondering why i brought the subject up at all, so maybe i should essplain. it involves this week's challenge at shopping our stash, which is one of my favorites to date, so i will reprint the wording just as it is on our esteemed crew blog:

Challenge 110: Weirdest Card Supply Purchase 

Something you bought that you just knew you needed and would be oh so very cool on a card, but you haven't used it yet. Did you buy a mile of raffia? Some mini cupcake liners? A bamboo mat? Cork coasters? Sock monkey brads? (*ahem*)

everyone on the design team had to really think about this one, but you know, we quite ENJOY that. it's sort of the point of doing challenges, in a way... it pushes us to go in a direction we might otherwise not have considered! more than one crew member felt they didn't really have anything weird enough to count. that was not my problem. au contraire. my problem was that i'd already used most of my weirdest acquisitions: everything from rummage sale junk jewelry, to beach sand and tiny shells, to every conceivable type of vintage paper, fabric, tissue, playing cards, game pieces... you name it, and if i've been able to devise a way to attach it, i've probably put it on a card at some point, lol! but being a person who enjoys seeking out cool stuff, eventually i found a few hitherto unused bits and bobs and i used them to make this:

there are not many official scrapbooking products on this card, but there is a gorgeous EAD rub-on, a lovely dear lizzie brad, and some pretty teresa collins pink cardstock. the flower layers were made with my cuttlebug and the following sizzix steel rule dies: flower #2, flower layers, flower layers #3, and tim holtz's tattered florals; in terms of adhesives i've used staples brand gluetape runner, 3m foam tape, hot glue, and my grandmother's gorgeous avocado green c.1970 sewing machine.

ok, so i know what you're thinking, you're thinking, "hey lauren, that doesn't really look very weird, does it?!" well, ok, maybe not. should i show you what i started out with?

now that's better, isn't it? i've got some fabulously irresistible oilcloth from a funky fabric shop, an old accounting ledger from a garage sale, and lucite rosette thingies from the late lamented industrial plastics on canal street, in new york city. i used the ledger paper as my background; i xyroned the oilcloth to some sturdy cardstock and cuttlebugged it using various flower dies; then, having forced one prong of a brad thru the tiny center opening in the rosette, i hot-glued it to the center of my majestic flower. as a bonus, i've used my all-time favorite cardmaking purchase, my beloved manual typewriter.

i have to tell you that amongst civilians, it's the latter which provokes the most puzzlement, when spotted in my home. "what on earth do you use a typewriter for?" and being told i just happen to love the look of the slightly wonky characters, the well-meaning friend will follow up with, "they make fonts that look just like that, you know." well, yeah. sorta. but i like doing it this way.

something else i like is bragging about how cool the cards and projects made by my SOS teammates are. which is why i urge you to go and check them out whilst you mull over what interesting acquisition *YOU* could wow us with this week, darlings! ♥♥♥