insult to injury

so last friday, just when i was *finally* getting over COLDZILLA whaddaya think happened??!

uh huh. you guessed it:

MY BACK WENT OUT!!!!!!!!!

(arrrrrrrrrrrrgggghhhhhh!)

and i mean reallllllly totally completely utterly no-seriously-i-can't-straighten-up out.

see???!

photo taken over the weekend...that is me, on the right! (yeeeouch!)

so i didn't do much card-makin' or blog-writin' or blog-visitin' done his weekend. i didn't do much of anything, really, unless you count "whining" as an accomplishment.
(in which case: I ROCKED!!!)

on the plus side, a casting agent from sesame street happened to see me on my way to an emergency chiropractor visit, and i've been offered a starring role as the QUESTION MARK for next season!!! :)

in the meantime, here's a card i made for amazing terrie bailey a couple of weeks ago, that i never posted. (i was waiting till she received, so it wouldn't ruin the surprise!)

(patterned paper: urban lily, sei, doodlebug; glossy balck cardstock: ranger; rub-ons: american crafts; ghost butterflies: heidi swapp; epoxy sticker: love elsie; gems: mambi; other: foam tape, colorbox inks, zig & sharpie pens, stickles)

btw, the new CAARDVARKS challenge begins on wednesday, 8-20, (for which i had thankfully--in a rare moment of get-ahead-y-ness--completed LAST weekend!) so be sure to tune in for that!

operation 33: GO WORLD!

here is this week's paper adventure prompt, from elise, in full:

I am crazy inspired by the current VISA commercials for the Olympics. Actually, I am just crazy inspired by the Olympics. Take this challenge however you would like, but your starting off point? Go World.

ok, so usually at this point i would explain why i chose to go the way i went. except i can't. i was pondering the prompt while brushing my teeth and the whole entire thing just came to me, in a rush. all i did was write it down. basically, the premise is, what if there were an ACTUAL "mother earth"...and all the countries of the world were her children?

(software: broderbund printshop; fonts: international chunkfunk...hey don't look at me, i don't make the names up!...jules girl talk, 3 hour tour; cardstock: staples; transparency: 3m)

the text is on regular old white index stock; the frame is clipart from broderbund printshop which i printed on an inkjet transparency; it's a separate layer that can be moved so you can see the text more easily. the text--and there's lots of it--reads,

"Treat each other nicely! Would you like it if he invaded your BREAKAWAY regions?? Well, would you?! No pushing and shoving--everyone will get their turn! OOF!!! And no hitting! I saw that! I don't CARE who started it! India and Pakistan, can you please *SHARE* Kashmir?! Thank you! Right--whose turn is it to reduce the world's carbon footprint? Well, settle it or I'll ASSIGN someone. NO DESSERT until everyone's implemented a basic human rights policy! North Korea, do you need a TIMEOUT??! If I have to pull over and come back there, SOMEBODY'S gonna be sorry! China, use your *INDOOR* voice! So what if all the other countries have a nuclear arms program? If all the other countries were jumping off the roof, I suppose you'd want to do that, too?! I said no hitting--HONESTLY it's like I'm talking to myself! Look everyone: Switzerland has made some lovely chocolates! ...and when's the last time THEY had an internal conflict, eh?? The rest of you could stand to be a bit more like Switzerland you know... Big guys, help the little guys! If you weren't too tired to MAKE that mess, I don't want to hear that you're too tired to clean it up! Hey, USA! Nobody likes a tattle tale OR a know-it-all!!! Cool it, ok? Now who'd like to choose the book for storytime?

why papercrafting whilst sick is a probably bad idea

uh huh.

even your cards come out looking a bit feverish.

see?

(cardstock: bazzill; patterned paper: american crafts, basic grey, sei, vintage ledger paper; flowers: prima, making memories; letter rub-ons: american crafts; chipboard heart: heidi swapp; gems: mambi; other: colorbox inks, foam tape, zigwriter pen)

still, i hope our friends kim and dave will enjoy their anniversary card, as well as the anniversary itself!!!

*ONE* word??!?!!!!?

for those of you scoring at home...YES...i've got jeff's cold...

...above is an actual webcam picture of me this morning!

i saw this on amy tangerine's blog over the weekend. you can only type ONE WORD for your response, which i found so intriguing i HAD TO try it! if you decide to do it too, pop a link in m'comments, so i can come and be nosey about yer answers!!! :)

1. Where is your cell phone? PURSE

2. Where is your significant other? WORK

3. Your hair? DYED

4. Your mother? OY

5. Your father? DECEASED

6. Your favorite thing? NIECES

7. Your dream last night? FEVERISH

8. Your dream/goal? WORLD-DOMINATION :)

9. The room you're in? DINING

10. Your hobby? PAPER!!!!!!

11. Your fear? MULTITUDINOUS

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? ALIVE :)

13. Where were you last night? HOME

14. What you're not? SKINNY

15. One of your wish list items? I-PHONE

16. Where you grew up? SUBURBS

19. The last thing you did? AWOKE

20. What are you wearing? PJS

21. Your TV? OVER-USED

22. Your pet? HYPOTHETICAL

23. Your computer? INTEGRAL

24. Your mood? CHIMERICAL

25. Missing someone? MISSYDOG

26. Your car? AWDREY

27. Something you're not wearing? CONTACTS

28. Favorite store? THRIFT

29. Your summer? HOT

30. Love someone? LHJ!!!!!!!

31. Your favorite color? UN-CHOOSE-ABLE

32. When is the last time you laughed? NOW

33. Last time you cried? SATURDAY

operation 32: ANGER

ok, this was a *FUN* one!

when elise asked, "what makes you angry?" as part of this week's paper adventure prompt, i wasn't sure how i could make that into a page i'd want to save forever. but i'll tell you what, the next time you are feeling upset, just start typing furiously (in both senses of the word!) EVERYTHING IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD that annoys you: big & small, temporary & long-lasting, silly & serious; then play around with some fonts...maybe add a few layers...and print it all out! i'm tellin' ya, it's better than therapy, and a damn sight cheaper!!!

(software: broderbund printshop; fonts: ck typewriter & linenstroke; chipboard alphas: lil davis; photo from "i can has cheeseburger")

a small side benefit of paper adventure which i'm really enjoying is the way i am unintentionally recording things i am "into" this year. like using certain products because they are my current faves, or trying out the "hot" technique i just saw in a magazine. in this case, by using this funny lolcat picture to illustrate "angry" it's also recording for all posterity the fact that, for at least this particular 6 months of 2008, i was addicted to a website called "i can has cheeseburger". i suspect that 20 years from now, i will enjoy remembering stuff like that almost as much as the memories i am documenting on purpose! :)

it was *COLD* last night!!!

so cold, in fact, that i had to get up in the middle of the night and wrap up in my big ol' terrycloth bathrobe! o'course, i could've just closed the windows...but that would've spoiled it; for whilst coldness is plentiful in winter...in new jersey...in the middle of august, it's a bit of a luxury, dontcha think?!?!!

and how does that tie in with the card i'm about to show you? it doesn't. not even a little bit. i was just bein' polite and making conversation! :) ok, that's enough of that...wanna see the card?!

(patterned paper: junkitz, ctmh, dcwv, sei, origami paper; chipoard letters: target $ spot (!); sequins & brads: queen & co, doodlebug; ribbon: michaels; other: colorbox inks, foam tape)

i needed to be a bit fast, so i used kazan's latest pattern, over at 2sketches4you. i used almost all scraps... (so miss june will be proud of me!) ...even the piece of white card stock had been pre-folded and trimmed for another project and then at the last minute i went with a different color, which doesn't make it a scrap, but it was a leftover...which is almost as good! now i just have to remember to MAIL this thing on monday and i have a shot at bein' on time for the birthday in question. go, me!

operation 30: FIVE YEARS

i know what you're thinking: no paper adventure pages for *ages* and then TWO come along in the same week! yepper, i've finished another one. this one's called "five years" and in actual fact we were meant to say where we thought we'd be five years from now. as i was thinking about that, i was also editing pics from a recent playdate with my nieces and nephew, and it occurred to me that five years ago, the eldest, riley, was just a year old, and the rest weren't even a glimmer in anyone's eye. it also occurred to me that five years from now, riley will be *eleven* and young matthew (whose first birthday is not until september) will be SIX! the more i thought about it, the more i realized that absolutely EVERYTHING about all four kids--except their names--is going to change completely in the next five years...probably more than once! i can't imagine what they'll be into by then, but i don't want to forget the little things that are true right now, so i chose a photo i especially liked from that day and started making a few notes. i wound up making a fold-out page so i could fit it all in.

(patterned paper: ki; journaling cards & flowers: making memories; chipboard letters & cardstock diecuts: k&co; other: colorbox inks, sharpie pens, foam tape, typewriter)

hand written text reads,

"5 YEARS...is more than a lifetime to most of these guys! which is why it seems very important to record some of the small details of this random summer day. july 2008"

typed boxes read,

"riley spent ages learning how to braid barbie's hair. she kept practicing & practicing until she could do it."

"matthew likes to scoot around on the floor now, and has started to pull himself up to stand holding on to something"

"madeline divides all experience into things that have happened since she turned four...and EVERYTHING ELSE!"

"lindsay does not like cake (!) and eats mac-n-cheese every single day for lunch. (it has to be mommy's speical homemade kind!)

"dora the explorer, clifford, barbie, dressing up, baby dolls, dancing lessons and playing at the playground (w/an emphasis on swings & slides) are highly popular. and of course the disney princesses still RULE THE EARTH!!"