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!!! ♥