A New Week

Monday again already. Where does time go to? The weekend came and went in a blink of an eye, as the cliche goes. 

Keeping this post short since Monday means I need to get myself off to school again. Another week of adventures is about to begin.

So I want to squeeze in a piece for the Stitch It challenge at Try It On Tuesday which ends today. Nothing like just making it to the party before it ends. :)

And so yesterday I had a few hours of play time and I made this tag. The latest challenge at Tag Tuesday is Paris. I decided to combine both both challenges together.

I will admit I had a lot of fun playing with some Paris and France stamps I have. I haven't taken them off the shelf in a very long time, and it was like discovering some new toys. 

I think you'll see a little more of Paris in the very near future. 

Hope everyone has a great new week.

Another edition of 10 things Friday

1- All I want to do is stay home and play in my studio and in my kitchen. I want to make some holiday yummies and play with my Christmas stamps and die cuts and papers.

2-Dave and I booked the first hotel for our Feb. trip to Arizona. We'll be staying in a historic (and haunted) B&B in Bisbee, Arizona for 2 nights. Got a deal as part of a Groupon. Have you done any groupons? They give you some pretty good deals. Thought this might be a unique adventure for us Yankees from New Hampshire. Never stayed in a place that is haunted before either. Hopefully it will be ghost free because I am kind of whimpy.

3- So we are into the DARK time of year. I leave and it is dark. I come home and it is dark. By 5:30 it feels like 8 at night. Right now my body has gone into a kind of hibernation mode...come home and put on my pjs after work. Would NEVER do that when it is still light. BY 4:30 is very dusk-not quite dark, but not light either.

4- I desperately need to pick up all the clutter around my house. It is driving me nuts.
But at least, so far, no snow that has lasted.

5- Maybe this weekend I will get to do some more reading of Great Expectations. I am really enjoying that book-again-I read it like 20 years ago. But I haven't been doing much reading lately. I also started aother oldie, but not quite so old. The Origin by Irving Stone. It is about Charles Darwin.

6- Tomorrow night I have my one and only Christmas party. I could really just stay home all weekend and play in my studio and bake Christmas yummies and lounge on the couch-and clean up my house too.

7- Still watching old movies. This week I have been making my way through Gone with the Wind.
8- Had no internet yesterday and now have it back. Usually I write this Thursday evening, but am finishing up this morning.
9-Wish I had stacks of extra cash- there's all these great craft supply deals. Like I really need more supplies. But there are some good deals. Instead, I need to finish my holiday shopping and how much money can you spend on yourself. (This is suppose to make me not want to buy all these sale supplies....ha-ha).
10-Been busy working on my holiday album this week. Not geting very far on my holiday cards. Maybe it will be a second year I don't send many.
Happy Friday!

10 Things Friday

It is Friday once again. So far am loving this exercise to try to organize my life a bit.

1- So got diagnosed with a sinus infection the other afternoon. At least it wasn't broncitis which is what I thought it was.  Hopefully these antibiotics will kick start some real recooping.

2-I don't feel like I can catch up on anything at work this week. I feel one step behind and like I am in permanent catch-up. I am hoping by today I can get everything organized so I feel more in step with things.

3- I signed up for my first craft fair this week. So I probably shouldn't do it since it is not like I don't have enough to do. I keep thinking about display-and how I do that. Any suggestions? Since I have never sold a craft show before I really don't know what I need, but this is a good place to start since it isn't a huge fair and it is pretty low key. But I need to do it since it is one of those things I have been thinking about for quite awhile now and I need to clean out some art I have made.  Hopefully, I will have success. Its is not even making lots of cash but it is establishing myself a bit.
4-I am also thinking about how to make my travel journal for when we go to Arizona in Febuary. And I want to do a holiday scrap book-kind of like a daily (or mostly daily) journal between Thanksgiving and New Years. I did one a few years back and it was great and I think it would be nice to have another one since it has been a few years.And I have been fixing up some of my cards-to sell-since some of my older cards are kind of BLAH and I am fixing them up by cutting, embellishing...been fun.

5-Feel like it is always dark...especially since the weather has been a bit icky. Luckily with me teaching ecology I have been geting outside a bit during the day, that helps a lot. But it has been dark by 4:30 and you can tell the mornings are getting darker...this week I needed to put my lights back during the morning commute-just one week of no lights since the time change.
6- So last night I shook it up a bit and met Katie after work. We did a little holiday shopping and went out to dinner. Was a fun change of pace, or as Kate said- it made Thursday feel a little bit like Friday-now I am a bit tired, getting hom late last night- but it is Friday!!!
7- I can't believe that next week is Thanksgiving. We are going to my sister-in-laws. Thanksgiving is a great holiday- pretty low key but not a do nothing day. Plus it is a good week at work- 2 1/2 days of work and 2 1/2 days off. Besides dinner we have hockey tickets to see Maine play again on Saturday.
8- So we are still having crazy weather. It was in the high 60's early in the week and now we are back into the cold. It is CHILLY this morning! My body doesn't know what to make of all this. We have had snow already and then days when it felt like April or May. They say back in the 60's by Sunday.
9-I am getting more done of my Christmas shopping.  Not finished...but making progress. But it is just about time to pull out the Christmas music!
10-Are you going to see Twilight this  weekend? Last night when I was out with Katie the line for the mid-night show at a local theatre was already forming at 6. I will go see the film (even though I wasn't crazy about book 4- got to see out the series) once the crowds die down a bit.
Have a great Friday. The weekend is just about here!

Ten Things Friday-11/11/11 edition

1- I love it! It is 11/11/11!!!!!

Plus it is a holiday and we have no school and Katie is home!

2- My 2 new ecology classes started this week.  And I am glad it is second quarter....not any less busy at work but there is something relaxing about second quarter (maybe how it is so broken up by holidays and a vacation) just like November tends to be less stressful than both October and December for me.

3- So this week Holiday Card Bootcamp class started on-line. So far, it is good, waiting for some real wow cards to come which I expect they will. Still, I love looking at other people's art. It is so inspriring.
4-Still in a major knitting mood. Hat is coming along quickly.

5-I am  used to the time change...but I feel like I am still spending too much time in the dark.  I need another outdoor day, a day when it is in the 60's (don't know if I will get that) and sunny and I can squeeze in a couple of hours of raking so I don't have to do it in the spring. Eevn though I raked the other day it now looks like I didn't rake at all. I am hoping maybe if I can do a bit on Sunday...I will at least get a bit on top of all those leaves. And if I am not up to raking, at least get outside for a little bit.
6- I also bought a groupon French course with Babbel.com. Started it this week too which is pretty fun, maybe I can get over that hump I have with French. I have been trying to learn it for a year and a half now, and it does come along pretty well and I have learned a lot, but then I reach this bump where I seem to get stuck and feel stupid and incapable of learning any more without moving to a French speaking place for a long period of time. Not that I think I have to be an expert or anything, but I would LOVE to be semi-fluent and able to function in French.
7- Tomorrow I am going shopping with my friend Vicky and it will be a great girls morning out! Can't wait.
8- This cold is still there- but I do feel a lot better than I did yesterday morning. I just want it to totally go away!!!! Yesterday I lounged all day and slept and read a lot of the Marriage Plot. It helped and I needed to recoop like that.I really need my glands in my neck to de-swell since they are uncomfortable.
9-I am hoping I feel even perkier later today to go for a little roadtrip with Katie and Brian down to Costco and Trader Joe's since I need so many things and I was planning on going for 2 weeks now.
10-I am still debating what to do about tires for my car, which is turning into a bigger deal than I want it to be. I just want to go buy 2 front tires but Dave says snow tires would be better...hopefully he'll just go for me tomorrow and get it squared away since I could care less about tires...and I have always been so good at just going and geting them...I usually take care of my own car stuff in most things...

And before I forget
A Big Thank You to all you Vetrans whom we have this day for, especially for my Uncle Russell and Uncle Bob- Uncle Russell was a bomber for the RAF during WWII and made it all the way into his last flight (when he would have been done) and then their plane got shot but luckily the pilot was able to land it in neutral Sweden, which Uncle Russell spoke fluently. So he survived and spent the rest of the war there working as an aide to the general . And then there was Uncle BOb who served in both WWII and Korea on a submarine (and growing up in Downeast Maine couldn't even swim).
And of course, my own DAD, I miss you!!! He was in intelligence during WWII in India and China spying on the Japanese. Wish you were still here to tell your stories but I can hear them in my head and I won't forget them!

10 Things Friday-already!

Right now...today...10 things going on with me!

1-The snow is not all gone at my house...but it is getting less and less every day (and nights, we even had a big amount of melt overnight)-if the weather stays as it is we should only have the piles in the shade left by tomorrow-I hope-maybe I can even get out and rake this weekend...ha-ha! (Or maybe not!)

2- We change the clocks this weekend-I don't like that. Means it gets dark SOOOOO early and even though I have some more light in the morning....it doesn't last very long. And it is a hassel to change all the clocks.  But I do like having an extra hour this weekend.

3-Only 2 days left to the first quarter at school. 2 days of exams, and then it is a NEW quarter. I get rid of my 1 whiney class, yahoo, and hopefully the 2 new classes are great.

4-Been into hat knitting lately and wanted to make a Fair Isle tam style hat. Found some yarn I had stashed away and started my tam #1 this past week. It is prime knitting season right now....and I am so excited to have a project to work on at night while I watch tv.
5- Also want to do some more reading than I have been lately. Started the Marriage Plot last weekend and I am  thinking  a book a week would be great. Just have to make a point to sit down and read. That is not as easy to do as it sounds....
6-All I want to do lately is be home in my studio and hanging around knitting, cooking and reading. Hibernation mode has set in BIG time. I am not even interested in going on a road trip....think work has been so busy that I just want to hang...and as it gets darker earlier and earlier....homebody season.
7- Tomorrow night is the big Maine versus UNH hockey game at UNH. I am going!!!!! GO MAINE! I do love hockey in the winter...it is the one thing I actually want to go out for. This is a HUGE rivalry game...and it will be a great game- that I know.
8-This afternoon after work I am off to my craft store...I had them put aside a Spellbinder's tea cup die they had in their newsletter, and I have actually been looking for a tea cup die...I love a good cup of tea and I have tons of tea related stamps and I made a lot of items with tea cups...like a tea with the queen book I made last year (or the year before) and a whole set of cards the year before called the buggy picnic and my first publication ever was in Cloth, Paper, Scissors with a cloth tea book I made. Anyhow, I am excited to go since I haven't been there since September and I need some envelopes, glue and black ink along with my die.
9-I hoping to get a few chores done this weekend and relax too. I want to clean off the table where I do my art....it is such a mess I hardly have any room to work. I am trying to figure out how to store my Copics...I want them on the wall...right now I have them in some perfect cups on my table, but they are taking up too much room and they are too heavy to hang, so I am trying to figure out what to do.  Another chore I need to do is vaccuum my laundry room in the basement...my kitty got stuck in the basement yesterday and attacked a roll of paper towels...he does that sometimes...and I have shreds to clean up...plus dog hair and sand...and if I get to it early enough saturday before Katie comes home with bags of laundry, I should be able to clean up...now that I am more caught up on laundry (though not 100%) than I have been all October.
10-Feels like I have been in the dark all week. I can see the sun out the windows at work, but it doesn't come into my classroom. It is dark when I go to work, and the late afternoon shadows are out when I come home. Not dark, but no direct sun. Oh winter is coming...

and did you know, saw this on the news-
yesterday was the 100th birthday of Chevrolet.

Happy FRIDAY!!!!
Love it!!!!

10 Things Friday

Didn't I just write this?

***

1- It has gotten raw and COLD. They say only in the 40's this weekend.

BRRRR!
2- Last night on my way home from open house I had to drive through some heavy driving snow. The kind that mesmerizes you so you can easily get confused.  YUK! Luckily the roads were clear and the snow lightened up once I got further inland. But we do have a dusting on the grass and deck. YUK!

3-Party weekend is coming up since it have 2 important birthdays to celebrate this weekend. Then with Halloween on Monday...

I need to make those candy corn cupcakes for Mr. Hubby's birthday.

4-There is only 1 full week (and 2 exam days) left to this quarter. 1/4 of the school year just about finished.

5- I still need to finish my book, Armand the Vampire, by Anne Rice. I am sooo close to the end though.Maybe this weekend. (Because I really want to start reading The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.)
6- I am taking a personal day today. Loving it! And My friend Ina is in town and I get to see her tonight. And I didn't have to get up at 4:45 today!!!!
7-Last night was the finale of this latest season of Project Runway. Since I am typing this before the show ends Thursday night, I can't say right now who won. I can live with any of them EXCEPT Josh. He's too much of a man diva.
8-I am planning on spending a huge chunk of time in the studio today. I am SOOO excited about that. I want to finish up my birthday cards and maybe scrap  or work on my weird things book. I am so excited to have some me home alone time.
9-I am looking forward to November. It is always a quiet and mellow month after such a HECTIC October. I love October, but I am always ready for the peace and quiet of November BEFORE another busy holiday month-December. November is usually not too wintery too, although since we have a super early accumulating snow (ok, just a baby bit of snow) so early...
10-I am going through an art talent doubter. Sometimes I look back at my blog posted art and say, ugh, what a mess. And sometimes I look and say wow. Sometimes items look better in a photo and sometimes in person. It is a great learning experience. I am really in color lately. I am also kind of a grungy messy styler, and I need to stop being so doubtful that being that is bad. I need to let go of older pieces and move onto new pieces. Lately, I have been LOVING scrap booking. I have playing a lot with stenciling and light bold beachy colors-but pale shades and tones too...trying different styles per page...doing my Outer Banks photos. But I do think I take really good photographs of things. I feel good about that.

So that's it for another 10 things. A good mental stimulation and challenge every week.
Bye-Bye!

10 things Friday

Another Friday...

You know what that means-

It is 10 things Friday.

1- By 6:20 at night it is pretty much dark, a light line on the horizon, but dark. And the temperatures have gone back to normal-warmish days, cooler nights.  Oh it is fall isn't it?

2- I am ok with the cooler temperatures...in fact it is easier to work in this weather, but I am starting to get into hibernation mode with the earlier darkness. You know, come home from work and put on pjs instead of sweats, get tired earlier, want to eat more soul satisfying and hearty foods.

3-Slowly my fall/winter clothes are coming out. It is kind of fun at this point, because you feel like you are getting some new clothes. Wore some cute little unlined boots the other day that came out of the winter clothes stash. Also a pair of cords. I'll be sick of all them by March though.

4-This week I feel like I have been in catch up mode. Too much school work. Too many chores. Not enough play time in the studio. Not enough sleep time. Waking up is so hard in the morning. The stress builds up.  It is getting better though. When I finished a big stack of grading I could feel my whole body relax. NHS letters are all out and that's one less item on my agenda. I hope it stays under control for a bit.

5- I really need a mental catch up weekend. Nothing one the must do or go to on the commitment list. I need to de-stress and feel like I have some time to do nothing. To read. I want to finish my Anne Rice vampire novel this weekend. And maybe go for a walk or two and maybe go see that bird watching comedy with Steve Martin...ok, so this isn't a total do nothing idea in my head but a schedule free one.
6-And I need to cut the threads and made a tassel for the hat I finished knitting  this past weekend while we drove to the Cape-it will then be DONE! I want to look for a beret pattern and knit me a little oo-la-la.
7- And I found a couple of books I want to read. The new book by Jeffrey Eugenides-the Marriage Plot and Alice Hoffman's the Dove Keeper's looks pretty good too. It is  lounge on the couch with a cuppa and read season. Been looking for a book to two to really excite me. Maybe I have found them?
8-Been thinking about baking another apple pie while I still have oodles of apples from our picking session a couple of weeks ago. That would taste so YUMMY! I also found a recipe to make candy corn cupcakes which I think I should try out too.
9-I can't believe today is October 21st. This month is flying-especially compared to September.
10-Art-wise, I am in a bright color mood lately. Like tourquoise, hot pink and bright green. Not really fall colors but am crazy about them right now. Been thinking of ordering a Copic airbrush spray kit too, would love to try to do more bright coloring with stencils.

There you have it for this week. Still amazes me how much I change from week to week. If you haven't tried this, you should...it is really a good way to see yourself get through some tough things and celebrate the good things.
Happy Friday!

10 Things Right Now Friday

It is Friday-once again. I love doing this list...makes you think about where you are at...and it is great to see how life subtley changed over the week. And what a difference a week can make.

1-This week REALLY flew with having last Monday off for Columbus Day and then taking Wednesday off and driving to my mom's after a morning drs appointment.  (I could still use a day off at home, ALONE though. Don't think that will hapen right away though...)
2-The leaves have really changed...and the rain brought some down. And I think we're at change over time, when the weather starts to cool off and I have to put my sandals away for good. That's a sad thing, though getting out the sweaters is good right now....it's like getting a whole bunch of new clothes. But one never knows with Mother Nature. We could go back into the heat. That is fall y'all.

3- Decided not to go to the Cape on Saturday with the weather not looking all that fantastic. I am disappointed, BUT, kind of happy to save the cash. Since Dave has to go to a retirement party on Sunday, we'll probably go down early in the day and try to get a beach walk in. I HOPE!

4- Dave bought a new car, which he needed since his totally died. But his Passat was 11 years old with almost 300,000 miles. Neither of us have ever owned a car with that many miles. Now he is about to become the owner of a new 2012 Jetta TDI.

5-This week we bought tickets to go to Arizona  for my vacation in late February early March. Now I am busy in vacation research and planning-something I LOVE to do. I also had a lightbulb for next summer when Dave and I are planning on going to Glacier National Park. Want to plan to make a big loop and go up to the Canadian Rockies at the same time. Like Lake Louise, Banff and maybe even Jasper National Park.

6- Tomorrow is my 23 wedding anniversary. Been a great 23 years with a couple of tough patches but you get through them and it does make you stronger. And makes your love deeper. Dave is my best friend too, and he was a good friend before he was even my lover-guy too.
7- I feel like I have been in catch up mode all week. I hate when I don't get everything done on the weekend to be ready for the week...I like to have all those catch up, get yourself together organization chores done...I like to feel prepared, not disorganized.
8-One of those things I need to do is to get my fall/winter clothes out of the bags sitting in my bedroom. I especially want to wash my cords because once it gets cool, I will want them. I need to be somewhat prepared...enough to function smoothly.
9-I have a great idea for an altered book I want to start-has a semi-Halloween twist- one I can continue into November if I don't get it finished by the 31st. The theme is weird/being different. That's all I'm saying for now. One other arty idea this week. I am thinking about using a Smash book and making a 2012 travel book...putting all my trips into one book since I seem to have a few on the back burner right now. Usually I make individual trip books, but maybe it is time to try something different...just an idea floating around in my brain...right now.
10- I really need a haircut and my highlight refreshed...can't wait until my appointment on Tuesday.

10 Things Right Now Friday

Another Friday has arrived. That means it is time for me to list my 10 things right now.

1- I am TIRED! Last night was late with parent's open house at school.

2- But the good news is that today is a teacher workshop day and then we have a long Columbus Day weekend. Yahoo! Long weekend and less stressful Friday. Who can ask for more?

3- I still want to get apple picking this weekend! (Time for picking apples will be over very very soon).

4- We pull the boat this weekend-and it is suppose to be warm so I look forward to one more cruise for the season. But honestly, I am ready for it to go away for awhile. Not the Hubby though. Think he might actually cry when we pull it out.

5-I finished my 31 Halloween cards!!!!! (And did a few more too!)
6- Katie and I are going on a mini-road-trip after work today. Heading down to Costco and Trader Joe's-2 of my favorite stores. Plus, I need to stock up at home...we're getting pretty decimated. She better not change her mind!
7- I'm hoping the weather holds out so we can do our Cape Cod anniversary trip and get in some beach walking at the National Seashore next weekend. A little scenery change would do me head some good, never mine my soul and my brain and all the rest! I am really excited about that! This weekend they say it will be beautiful! That's exciting.
8- I should also buy some plane tickets for a February vacation to escape winter. Have been starting to look online...Phoenix? New Mexico? Maybe some place else? Been looking at New Mexico and it looks really exotic and different. Like that.
9-Another weekend goal I am thinking about-not having any goals! That and sleeping in! Just take this weekend as it comes, have some fun and relax! I should want to get some little project done but I don't care right now if I get something done or not.
10- It is dark by 7 pm now....oh the days are starting to close in.  And this morning, it is SO COLD. The house is only 61 degrees since we haven't turned up the heat yet. I'm in fleece and flannels...trying to stay cozy and warm. Can't bear to put the heat on yet but man, it would feel good. It is fall, isn't it?

Since my interet is back...let me show you those cards you didn't get to see yesterday.

I am really happy with this card...where the inspiration came from, I don't kno w but to think of it is what makes me pleased with myself. I'm not always good of thinking of stamps that are put away in a different box to combine with other stamps. But I did here! I got this scroll off of eBay quite recently, it is by Postmodern Design which are stamps I collect. And I thought it might work with this witches brew recipe stamp from Stamp Francisco. I started with an orange card, added the spider web which was cut with a Memory Box die. I added some clear glitter to it. Then I added the spider (Martha Stewart) and some glitter to make the hanging web material Then I added the stamped and cut out cauldron (also Martha Stewart) and some bright green Stickles.

So another potion card, this time with lots of stamps from Artistic Outpost and 1 from River City Rubberworks. I just got the Artistic Outpost Apothecary and Halloween stamps last week, and I LOVE the bottle that I colored green. They are such fun sets. To make this card I used green cardstock and green houndstooth paper, added the objects along with some Martha Stewart Halloween trim and some black Viva dots. I also added a line from the Memory Box Halloween saying stamp-the bubble,bubble, toil and trouble... and the tombstone is a wooden embellishment that I painted with Viva iron paint and added some tombstone embellishments like some dates and a star...obviously someone didn't read the instructions on their meds and bottles....

Here's a close up.

10 Things Right Now Friday

It is time once again for the 10 things right now list. Me being list maker, I am finding I like doing this...but hopefully today I can think of 10 things.

(I suppose I could change it to 5 things right now, eh?)

1- Been making a bunch of Halloween cards in my goal to make 31. I'm hovering around half way done. Yahoo!

2-It is the last and final day of September, which has been kind of a long month.  I need to mentally move onto another month- even though I must admit usually September is a nice month-though we have had a bit of too much heat this year-well I should say we've had too many extremes-hot and also chilly .

3-I am looking forward to October even though October is a very BUSY month for me with lots of birthdays (mom, hubby, daughter and a few others) and my wedding anniversary and Halloween...it should be a fun month with lots of smiles.

4- Speaking of my wedding anniversary- I might be going away with the hubby for it to Cape Cod for a night. It all depends if he's got to go to a work related retirement party down the cape the day after our anniversary and if the weather is nice. I hope we get to go...I would love to have a little change of scenery at this time of year.

5-I am at the haf way point of the first quarter of the school year. Holy Cow- let me take what I said before back. Time is flying by.
6-I'm still hoping to get apple picking this weekend...and then make some apple crisp. That would taste delicious right now.
7- I'm reading some Sookie Stackhouse from the Sookie Stackhouse companion. I don't like the short story as much as the vampire ones...but let's see if Eric shows up in the story as it goes. And I really want to reread a few of the novels-especially the one where Eric has amnesia.
8- I need a  "me" day off from work. Just to stay home and play, go for a walk in the morning, sleep a little later. I don't want to take a day right now though...the school year still has a lot of time to go to start taking a mental health day. I may take the 12th off to go visit my Mom on her birthday. Next weekend is the long weekend, which I am looking forward to.
9- I want to rent the movie Bridesmaids since I heard it's really funny. Hoping Redbox will have it in another week or 2. Or maybe Katie can bring it home for me  from school since she owns it.
10-Last weekend I bought a donut baker maker at Target on sale and I am going to try it out this weekend- see if it was worth the cash. I love donuts...yum-yum.


I went back and read the other 10 things right now lists for September and it is interesting to see how things have changed from week to week. Like this activity...really makes you think about wherer you are and what's going on in your life. Another 10 things will be up next Friday!

10 Things Right Now

It's Friday so here is my 10 things right now list.

1- It is pay day and I am very excited for some cash inflow, even though I am still in summer (when I don't get paid bi-weekly-I get a check the last day of school and have to budget, which never goes 100% as far as it should) catch up mode.

2-It is the first day of fall which is exciting in a way, because I love fall and the changes it brings, and being in school I want it to be fall and not summer, but in another way it is a melancholy time and I miss summer and I know winter is ahead, and I am not a big fan of winter.

3-I am having a blast making Halloween cards this past week. My studio is all picked up (love it!) except in the closet where I have put my bin of Halloween stamps and now they are all over the floor, but in the closet they are out of the way. Part of the fun is using stamps that I don't use most of the rest of the year and I love rediscovering them. Plus, let's face it, there something fun about Halloween-it is like I give myself permission to make weird art.

4-I am ready for a couple of sleep in days.
5- I am excited about going to the Nascar race on Sunday. Hope it doesn't rain!
6-My hot tub is back working, it hasn't had hot water all summer because the electrical system needed some work since it is about 7 years old and the chipmunks got into gnawing  the wiring over that time (Guess it's nice and warm for them in by the electrical heater)....BUT Dave finished fixing it last weekend and I shocked it so it is clean and
NOW  it is so nice on cool nights to go out and relax right before bed...I even sleep better.
7- I need my headlights on -already the mornings are getting that much darker!!!!!- when I drive to work...at least part of the way.
8-The Amazing Race starts back up again on Sunday night on NBC. I like end my weekend watching that, gives me something to make Sunday night a little less hectic (getting ready for the week back to work) and relaxing.
9-I am thinking this list really sounds like fall is arriving. Oh you should see the leaves, still mostly green BUT there's a lot more splashes of red, yellow and orange than last week.
10- I want to order a couple of books off of Amazon, a British cookbook, a scrapbooking book, a book by Peter Mayle. I love using their used book service and finding inexpensive reads. And I want some of the new stencils from Crafter's Workshop. There are some very cool ones! (Chevrons and punchinella...henna hands...oh so many others....) BUT, I really don't want to spend a lot of cash right now. I am in saving (ha-ha) mode.
+++++

So I wanted to add a card today too, so here we go, a fun card using Paper Smooches stamps. I added the background paper onto the blue cardstock. I did use sme white distress stain to mellow out the tone of the bckground, and I did add some colored doodled border to that paper. Then I stamped the images on white, colored them and added them to the card. Finally I added the news flash words. I don't know what the news flash is (maybe that FALL IS HERE), but I like how the mouse is looking at the tv and how the deer looks a little confused, just kind of different I guess. Next weekend Paper Smooches has their Octoebr releases, and they look pretty fun...a set of birdies, some coffee/tea stamps....hmmm...all we've seen is the sneak peeks, but they do look like a lot of fun there.

Anyhow...

Happy Friday....

and thanks for visiting.

10 things Friday

Recently I did a-10 things right now- list. It was a throw back to a post I did a year ago when I did the first -10 things right now- list. I got that idea from someone's blog (sorry if it was you and I am forgetting who you are) and I LOVE to make lists so it seemed like the natural thing to do.

I like how it makes you think and summarize if for no one but yourself where you are at. You know, list 10 things going on in your head or in your life or in your studio right then. Straight forward and pretty simple...sort of. It is a bit challenging to think about 10 things, not 5 or 15. What are the 10 things you really want to say about that moment.

So my new goal is to try doing a list like this on Fridays, at the end of the work week, seeing where I am at. Hopefully it won't be a list that says the same things every Friday.

Here's this week's list:

1- The leaves are starting to get a SLIGHT tinge of color. You can see fall is coming. And they say this weekend is going to be CHILLY!

2-I have been fascinated with all the mushrooms everywhere. I never remember seeing so many. They are all so different too. I've taken a lot of mushroom photos lately.

3-I really want to go to my favorite  craft store after work today to feed my addiction, but I may not go if Katie is home from school and is going to be hanging out at home. I have wanted to go all week but have restrainted myself or put myself back into the logical why spend more money on supplies  you don't really NEED brain mode.

4- I am taking this on-line course from Inspiration Showcase that is fantastic!!! Now for some more studio playtime to try out more of the techniques.

5- This week at school has been spirit week and I am tired of getting "dressed up" ever day.

6-September has seemed to slow down. It was flying by, and this hasn't been really a long week, but isn't it the end of the month yet?

7-I want to take a roadtrip to someplace I want to go to this weekend. I want someone to go with me too, so we can chat. I'd love to go check out St Gaudens National Historic Site since it's been on my list, but I'd like to go anyplace for a change of scenery.

8-I'd really like to go out for some fried clams or fried oysters. Fattening but yummy New England seafood.

9-I feel like this week I've suddenly fallen over the precipice at work...out of the slow getting into the groove mode into too much to do mode.

10-I am enjoying my latest Louise Penney book and when I get paid next week I want to buy another one of her books to read and maybe a new art/craft book. And there's a book by Peter Mayle I'd love to read too.

Anyhow...

So here's my card for today...for the new and improved me who is going to do the 10 things right now list every Friday, perhaps.

I started with bright green cardstock which I overstamped in dark green with this cool reversed dotty Invoke arts background stamp. Then I stamped the giraffe ride stamp (Magenta) using this rubber stamp that my daughter had and then decided she didn't want. I colored with Copics, attched and then doodled in black Sharpie the 3 sided frame, and then I colored in the inside of the scallops with white pen. Then I distressed with some yellow Dimensional Pearls and added the 7Gypsies tape. I stamped the new and improved (7Gyspies) right on the card, and stamped the obeying the rules (River City) on white paper, which I then cut out and attached, and also outlined with black Sharpie too. Fnally, I took the same yellow Diemsnional Pearls that I distressed with and added the dots, in sets of 3, just to pop it up.

I don't know if this card really says me, but it came out ok...I think the giraffe stamp isn't really me, though it is lots of fun...

Happy Friday.