tutti frutti (...and veggie...)

just when you think those CAARDVARKS cannot possibly think of a another challenge that is new or different or more exciting, they come along and prove ya wrong! to wit: starting today the new assignment is to make a card featuring fruits and/or vegetables. i made four...well, they're a set of notecards, actually. here they are:

(glossy cardstock: ranger; patterned paper & rub-ons: sei)

ok, ok, i realize these SEI fruitstand papers are 947 years old, but ya know what? i still love 'em! and this seemed like the perfect occasion on which to break them out again and play around and have some fun. so i did!

speaking of things that would be really fun to play around with: did you know that caardvarks' debut CAARD KIT is called "rainbow sherbet"?



the 'varks have partnered with itty bitty scrap shack in this new venture. the kits will be limited edition and offered monthly. this one features an absolutely awesome exclusive stamp by bethany kartchner :



is that *COOL* or what?! uh huh. thought so! you can do a subscription or go a month at a time. check out CAARDVARKS for all the details! :)

photo mosaic tutorial

by now we've all seen these fun and funky arrays of assorted photos. my esteemed blogging colleague monkee maker has been known to make excellent ones using picasa. paper-crafting guru ali edwards often uses big huge labs' mosaic maker to compile images from her flickr faves, as i have done, below. both of these ladies are talented artistes in many fields including this one.

...but...sadly...many of their mosaics suffer from the same common mosaic-making problem: that of not featuring even one photo of daniel craig!!! (WHY????!) it's a puzzle. to remedy matters, as a public service, i have put together a little ditty of my own. this is how it's done ladies. this is how it's done:

1. Daniel Craig, 2. "Bond 22" Teaser Poster by MVK, 3. Rodaje en Venecia, 4. Daniel Craig, 5. Daniel Craig, 6. Nice, 7. dCraig41, 8. Happy Birthday Daniel, 9. Daniel Craig, 10. Daniel Craig, etukansi, 11. Casino Royale Aston Martin, 12. Daniel Craig, 13. Casino Royale 4, 14. Layer Cake on Blu-ray, 15. daniel_craig_06, 16. 007

operation 11: HABIT

when you say the word "habit" to me, there's only one. ok sure, i have plenty...good and bad...but the main, primo, ultimate, really-hard-to-break, big kahuna of habits was smoking. i was hardcore for fifteen years. at the time i quit, that constituted half my life. i knew it was stupid, i knew it was disgusting, but i was HOOKED.

then i met an acupuncturist called kathy goldstein, who saved my life in so many ways i cannot even count them. plus, she helped me ditch the evil weed. it wasn't easy. to tell the truth, there are still days (luckily they're infrequent, now) when i want a cigarette so badly i am practically drooling. that's when i remind myself how hard i had to work to quit. then i think about the tobacco industry spending millions of dollars a year hiring lobbyists and attorneys to protect themselves, and advertising agencies to attract new customers, and scientists to figure out how to make what is perhaps already the most addictive substance in the world even more addictive. i ask myself if i'm willing to give them one more dollar of my money. today's answer is a resounding,

"HELL NO!"

i'll worry about tomorrow's answer tomorrow.

(ashtray image from the internet, printed on kodak premium photo paper; dymo labeller)

(text inspired by a conversation i had with lovely husband jeff when i read this assignment. in the course of it i rattled off the exact amount of time which had elaspsed since i quit smoking, and received an incredulous, "YOU'RE STILL *COUNTING*???!!" in response. yep. i'm still counting. maybe i always will. ...BUT... i'm still not smoking. go, me!) :)

(ps: i know what you're thinking. you're thinking, "hey-- lauren never did "operation 10: GOT TALENT" did she?" and you're quite right, i did not. but i'm working on it. and when it's done, you'll be the first to see it. but see, i knew this one was going to be MUCH faster, so i decided to play out of order. because it's not a PAPER JOB...it's a PAPER ADVENTURE! savvy??!) :)

read about this week's paper adventure assignment, "HABIT" here.

read more by paper adventure's elise blaha here.

see the 85-member paper adventure flickr gallery here.

did she say "PENGUIN PANTS"??!

yes, i did.

not to worry, it isn't the latest crazy fashion in petwear...it's a super-cool line of rubber stamps!

like these:

nice, no??!

these are examples of three lovely sets from the penguin pants oeuvre: the large set is called heavenly hennas, the medium one is let's play games and the small one is made by. all of these...and loads more...can be found on the penguin pants rubber stamps website.

those good folks were kind enough to present the CAARDVARKS design team with the goodies above, which we will be featuring in a special gallery in april. at which time they'll be sponsoring a challenge for you to participate in too!

but i couldn't wait a whole month to rip into these awesome sets, i just had to make something RIGHT NOW...so i used nicola's current sketch at my paper world to make a little message for the penguin pants people:

(rubber stamp: penguin pants; patterned paper: sei, love elsie, ki, paper pizzazz; cardstock: bazzill; letter stickers: love elsie; eyelets: making memories; pens: zigwriter, tombow; other: colorbox inks, psx embossing powder, foam tape)

of course, you don't have to wait until april, either, for a shot at winning some awesome rubber. the current CAARDVARKS challenge, caard trip, is being sponsored by cornish heritage farms who are offering a brand spankin' new set of clear stamps by kim hughes! you know you want 'em...so make a transportation-themed card...then head on over and link it up before midnight on the 18th. in the meantime, why not check out the gallery?!

mrs monkeemaker made me cry...

...well, not cry as such... but i did become distinctly misty when i got home last night to find a transatlantic package in my mailbox. see, it turned out, for no very good reason, and without any warning at all, my lovely blogging friend kerry, aka monkeemaker, had made and sent me a beautiful sock monkee of my very own...AND kept it totally a surprise! i've named my new friend sockrates. he's going to be awdrey's mascot and my official co-pilot!

inside the package was a lovely fabric bag...because you see monkeemaker doesn't just knit, she sews too! (she also writes divinely, takes amazing photographs, and is a philanthropist. in fact, if i didn't like her so much, i could easily become just a wee bit jealous of the MANY fields in which she excels!)

of course tipsy was quite excited to receive a package from his homeland!

hmmmm...i wonder what's in the sack?!

it's a monkee!!! a monkee from HOME!!!

oh lad, am i glad to see you!

you can help me with my plan to get home!

tipsy, son, i think i have an idea...

you steer, and i'll shift!

i think we're lost...in fact...i can't even find bristol on this map!

sooooooo...the american lass thinks she can *bribe* us to stay??!

wait here, sockrates, whilst i investigate!

ok, admittedly, as bribes go...this is a pretty good one!

chocolate chocolate chip, you say? and america is FULL of these??!

wellllllllll...maybe we could stick around for a little while...

driveway makeover!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

yeah, that's better! :)

new car update, anyone??!

• she's been named AWDREY (for the AWD which is tatooed prominently on her bumper)
• we've logged nearly 100 miles together for a grand total of 268 (she had 180 when i picked her up...nope, i haven't asked... water under the bridge!) ;)
• i have very nearly stopped needing to chant, "don't downshift, don't downshift" outloud whilst negotiating corners!
• we are still waiting for the last piece of official (pennsylvanian) paper... needed to go to the DMV ...and get more pieces of official (new jersian) paper
• i've aquired a shiny new travel mug for my goin'-to-work coffee, which fits in awdrey's cupholder (bye bye krispy kreme doughnuts mug with nearly all of your printing rubbed off! i'll miss ya!!)
• i now understand why people with nice cars worry about where they park and if the place in question is likely to have stray shopping carts rolling about and crashing into pristine paintwork!!! (oof! the burden of property, darlings!)
• jeff has had a test-drive and pronounced her--and i quote--"a great little car!"

taggitty, tag, tag, TAAAAAAAAAG!

my simply elegant friend june tagged me with a fun six random things meme!

here are the rules:

1. link to the person who tagged you (see above!)
2. post the rules on your blog (see...ummmm...here!)
3. share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself (see below)
4. tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs (see further below the "see below" above!)
5. let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their site (see the same "see below" as #4)

ok, sooooooo...here are six non-important, non-scary, quirks/habits of mine (in no particular order):

1. i crack my toe knuckles
2. i have never seen the point of non-chocolate candy
3. i've worn a dress exactly once in the last 10 years...as matron of honor at my sister's wedding (after lobbying hard for palazzo pants!)
4. i need to turn the map upside down to go south
5. i cannot stand to leave my fingernails un-polished for longer than it takes to manicure them (but toenail polish is optional)
6. i can only eat ice cream with a plastic spoon

and now the crucial issue of tagging others; i have my own little tradition for this (you can count it as a seventh quirky bonus habit, if you like!) it goes something like this:

1. if you 're reading this, and you want to be tagged...YOU'RE TAGGED!
2. if you 're reading this, and you don't want to be tagged...YOU'RE EXCUSED!
...but...
3. if you're NOT READING THIS...you're disqualified!

(i'm sorry, but i'm afraid i cannot make ANY exceptions on point three! but if you choose #1, leave me a link, i'd love to hear YOUR quirks!)