Things that make you go hmmmm

Interesting week, some changes, some challenges and some frustration.

Why is it that some people are only comfortable with chaos and dysfunction?  They just never seem to be happy unless everything is in an uproar.  I'm really tired of it.  It gets really old, really fast.  So inefficient.

All my joints are aching.  Not sure why.  Even my toes are aching and my fingers are sorer than they've been in months.  Too much computer maybe.  I've also been really busy cutting paper and running dies through my Big Shot so that may be some of the problem. 

I took it easy this weekend and made a conscious decision that I would take it easy, as opposed to just lying around without a plan.  Yesterday and today I worked on stock for the store.  I plan to do a delivery on Tuesday morning before I go to the hospital to take my daughter for her day surgery.  Then there will be a few hours of just sitting around.  I'll be glad when the surgery is over and she doesn't have to deal with the lump in her face anymore.

Garden is great....all my plants are settling in and getting nice and plump.  They look happy in their new homes.

Well got go.  I'm really tired and 5 am comes early.

Caio!

I've created a couple of new wedding cards.   I find that coming up with a design that I'm satisfied with takes forever!  However, these are just prototypes. I'll change a few things on the fly to come up with a finished design.

Warm weather at last!

The sunshine and warm weather has finally arrived on the coast.  It was absolutely gorgeous today - it's 3 AM and all my windows are open to the cool night air.  We've had a not so nice spring so far, however the next 7 days are looking pretty good.

I've managed to get a spread done in my art journal.  Nothing too fancy but a spread nonetheless. It came together quickly and I'm happy with the results.  This whole art journal thing has been a real struggle for me.  I was talking with a friend and we decided that I'm making this whole process waaaay too complicated. Too much thought, too much striving for perfection and not nearly enough play.  So....baby steps!

Just when you thought it was safe to get in the water

So.   Here I am halfway through a very challenging week.  Lots going on at work, trying to work through problems and find solutions to issues that should not be issues !  UGH ! Very frustrating.

On a lighter note, I did get some good news this week.  While in Palm Springs I had an altercation with a garage door.  For some reason the sensor malfunctioned and the garage door came down and landed on the roof of the rental vehicle.  The door put a dent in the roof just above the rear cargo door.  Beinge an honest citizen, when I returned the rental vehicle I reported the damage and was promptly charged $500 for the deductible.  I was told that the rental company would get an appraisal for the damage and advise me of the remainder owing.  Fast forward a couple of weeks and I get a letter from them asking for my insurance information or perhaps if I don't have insurance I would like to pay out of pocket - no information about the out of pocket amount balance.  So I sent them an e-mail requesting the additional cost so I could make a decision as to whether I would claim it or not.  Three weeks go by, nothing.  Then last week, I received a refund cheque for approximately $110. Wooohoo!  However it does make me wonder why they asked for my information when they owed me a refund.  Whatever !

Spring - and rain - have  arrived here on the coast.  My roses have all kinds of new leaves on them and the hostas are growing like crazy.  I have a yard and a half of bark mulch to spread and weeding and leveling to do in my new flower bed at the front of the house.  I also have a postage stamp of a lawn that I need to reseed.  Craziest thing -  I can't keep grass on this thing, but the weeds are going crazy.  Go figure.

I'm starting into the busy season at the store.  I'm finishing up an order of Mother's Day cards and then wedding season is upon us.  As usual, I'm behind the 8 ball in my production.  I'm so accustomed to being behind that sometimes I actually think I'm caught up.  Demented thinking I know!

Organizing my studio is an ongoing process that is always challenging.  I've moved things around yet again and I'm getting there.  Slowly, very slowly, but surely.  I need to purge some treasures, not sure how to do that but I'll give it a try.   I saw Peter Walsh on a youtube video and he talked how you start to get your clutter under control.  He said use the 80/ 20 rule - for every 4 things you keep, you must get rid of one thing.  What a radical concept!  It really isn't such a big deal when I think of it that way.  I might actually be able to do that.

I'm working in my art journal, however I'm not making a heck of a lot of progress.  So little time and so much to do.  I'm also a little frustrated with all these talented people who can draw.  They are so inspiring and everything is predicated on actually having some artistic abilities, namely the talent to be able to draw.  Come on people!  What about people like me who can't draw.  Can  you have a little pity on me?  You're making me crazy!

Gotta run.  Caio!

Very tired

I'm very tired this week.  Thank God the week is almost over.  I have Monday off so it will be nice to just relax.  Having said that, I have lots to do this weekend.  I promised Kerry I would do her taxes for her.  That should be simple enough as she has a very simple tax return.  Famous last words!

Gotta run - I'm falling asleep at the computer.  Caio!

I'm enjoying a relaxing Easter weekend.  I did a couple of hours of OT yesterday.  It was such a beautiful day here on the coast that I decided not to spend the whole day there. 

On the way home I stopped at one of the local Thrift Stores where I spied a side table for my printer.  Right now I'm using an end table from my family room (which is quite large) for my printer.  The table I saw was only $12 and smaller and had a couple of storage shelves as well.  It would free up some room in my already overcrowded studio so I will probably go back on Monday and buy it. 

Part of the problem is that I continue to buy -  I never seem to get rid of stuff.  It is impossible
for me to throw out perfectly good "stuff".  I subscribe to the "I might need this stuff someday" mindset ....and therein lies the problem!  I need to stop buying stuff - this from the gal who's waiting for an order from Scrapbuck.com!

I'm off to work on some card designs for the stores.  However, before I do that, I've been saying that I'll post one of my journal pages.  I completed this one in Palm Springs, with limited supplies.  It's for a journal swap I'm in and I'm happy with the end result.  Caio !

Hated Journal Page

It's unbelievable to me that I've been back from holidays for more than three weeks.  Where the heck has the time gone?

Ok, so I said I would post my "hated journal page" so here it is.  Caio!

Home sweet home

We've  been home a week now and we're back in the swing of things.  Work is busy and my to do list seems to grow daily. 

Weather here has been cold - well cold compared to Palm Springs weather.  I planted a bunch of crocuses  and they were all up when we came home.  I wasn't sure how many to plant in each spot so I planted in bunches of  5 & 7.  They are all mixed colours - no rhyme or reason as to which colours went where.  They really look nice and will multiply like crazy so next year I will have a great bunch of flowers.

This is my 3 day weekend and I haven't even left the house.  Just hanging out and putzing around in my workroom.  I've come to the conclusion that I have finally reached the point of "too much stuff"!  My workroom is usually a mess after I make a bunch of stuff and this time was no exception.  So when we returned from our trip my goal was to try to create some kind of order out of the chaos.  For the most part I have succeeded.  I just need to either use up some supplies or throw them out.  Not sure that's going to happen, although I did throw out a partially full containe of ultra thick embossing powder.  I haven't touched it for several years so it got tossed.  Baby steps....

I hate my journal page

I've completed my art journal page and I absolutely hate it !  It looks like a piece of garbage.  I am so frustrated as I've spent a lot of time and effort on this thing and it stinks big time. I refuse to rip it out of my journal. I feel like I'm just wasting my time on something that is never going to get any better.   I just finally said enough already.  I journalled about how much I hate it and I'm calling it a day and moving on to something else.

I'm really frustrated with myself and my lack of inspiration.  I follow Journal Artista religiously and I've seen all the pages she creates with circles and swirls.  She makes it look so easy and her work is so vibrant.  Mine ends up looking like a dog's breakfast.  I don't know if I'm overworking it or overthinking it, or maybe I just don't have a friggin clue what I'm doing.  What the hell is going on?  Suffice it so say I AM FED UP !!

I've spent a lot of time on the computer during this vacation - surfing Youtube and watching journal videos.  I feel like I've really learned a lot and that I have a better understanding of the process.  Having said that, I can't seem to find my style and I can't seem to make what I've done work.  Out of 2 pages, one is ok and the other?  Not so much.

I'm hoping that part of the problem is that I have very limited supplies with me - just a few stamps, a little acrylic paint and some watercolour crayons.  All my colour washes and other paints and tools are at home.  I keep telling myself that the lack of supplies is what's causing the problem.  I really hope that's the case!    That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I just needed to vent!  Enough whining.   I'll post by "hated " page when I get home.  You can judge for yourselves.

Caio

All good things must come to an end

The trip is quickly winding down.  Only 3 more days and then we're on a flight back to Vancouver.  We've had a wonderful trip and have enjoyed ourselves immensly.  We're golfing today and tomorrow and then plan to enjoy our last pool day on Friday.  Friday night we're off to see Willie Nelson at the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio.  Then Saturday morning we're on the milk run back to Vancouver.  We have a stopover in Edmonton for about 3 hours and then from there we fly into Vancouver.  Why through Edmonton you ask?  I checked with Airmiles to see if I could change our flight but unfornately there are no airmiles seats remaining on the flights direct  into Vancouver or Abbotsford.  It will be a long day but not much we can do about it.  At least we have a flight so it is what it is.

Now that the trip is almost over we're looking forward to getting home to our own beds.  We've really missed our 3 fur babies - Daisy, Kirby and yes, even nasty old Socks.   Initially Socks will not be happy with us - she'll give us "the tail"  and hiss.  Then she'll be all over us.  We're looking forward to some cat love.

Well gotta run.... I hear the golf course calling my name.

Caio

Coming to the end

We're coming to the end of our time here in paradise.  We leave for home on Saturday March 10th.  At this point in the trip I always start to think about home and everything that waits for me there.  I'm always a little sad to leave and I'm already looking forward to coming back next year.

We've had a wonderful, relaxing time.  The weather has been really great and we've played a ton of golfing and had lots of days around the pool.  Both Kerry and I are tanned and she and I have gotten along famously. 

I managed to complete 2 art journal pages - one for a travelling journal group I'm in and the second for one of my journals.  Based on the limited supplies I have with me they turned out pretty well.  I must admit though that I really had to work at them, they don't seem to come easy to me.  However, I've been watching a ton of journalling technique videos - I love Journal Artista - and I think I've somewhat lost some of my apprehension about journalling.   I think I may tend to 'overthink" the process and the fact that I'm a bit of a perfectionist does not help the situation!

Well gotta run - I can hear the pool calling my name.

Oh, BTW, today it's 85 in Palm Springs.  Just saying......

Caio

Halfway point of our trip

We're at the halfway point in our trip and we're having a fabulous time.  The weather has been outstanding and we've enjoyed 4 days of pool time.  Yesterday it was close to 90 and it's supposed to be the same today.  Tomorrow is also supposed to be warm but we've decided to golf anyway.  Taqhitz has lots of trees so there will be shade for Kerry and since our tee time is around 130 the temperature will be dropping as we get later into the round.

Went to the casino on Thursday night.....bad idea!  Suffice it to say I did not win any money. 

Tuesday I did some craft supply shopping,  I hit Big Lots, Joannes and TJ Maxx and scored some bargoons.  At first I was disappointed with Big Lots.  I watch all the fabulous craft hauls on You Tube and didn't really see a lot on first glance.  Then I realized that you had to dig, dig, dig so I did and came up with some cool stuff.  They didn't have a lot of stamp sets but I did score some individual stamps and lots of other stuff that I don't see at home.

The last time we were at Walmart I bought a pair of sneakers and I've done some walking down here.  Nothing spectacular and certainly not marathon material, but it's a start.  I'm very out of shape so I'm just taking my time and trying not to do too much.  Twice in the last 3 days is pretty good progress for me so I'm pleased with myself.  The goal is to get the habit in place so I can continue it at home.

Oh, I also bought myself an Ipod.  I've been using my daughter's at work because she said she didn't use it unless travelling.  However she's discovered a whole lot of neat apps she can use and so she's really stoked to use it.  I gave her back her ipod and bought myself one - 8G with camera for $198 at Walmart.  I think that's a pretty good price but not really sure.  Anyway, I'm enjoying this little gadget.  I supervise a team of 4 and the 5 of us work in a small office.  I really don't like the radios on because the office is so small. I've always used an MP3 which is OK but not optimum.  Now that I have my IPOD I'm looking forward to being able to use it at work.  I think I have something like 1000 songs to choose from.  I love that I can store so much on this little device. Who knew?

I've managed to finish the journal spread for the Travelling Journals project.  I'm pleased with how it turned out.  It wasn't very spontaneous, however, I did put a lot of work into it and considering the limited supplies I have with me, it turned out not too bad. I took some pictures on my IPOD so I'll upload later, if I can figure out how to do that !

The pool is calling my name so gotta run.  Caio.

Life is good!

The weather here in PS has been a little on the cool side.  The last couple of days it's been windy and cool and last night we had a pretty good storm.  They had snow in Joshua Tree and about 12 inches in the higher elevations over 3000 feet.

Yesterday we had a lazy day and just lay around until around 2 pm.  I decided since it wasn't a particularly nice day that I'd do some errands.  We hit Michaels for a bottle of craft paint and some decorative tape.  I didn't plan to buy a lot, however there were bargoons to be had.  Need I say more? I scored a "Doodle style" smash book (very cool) for $ 12.95, 3 smash pads @ $ 1.99 each, 3 KC company tag stacks @ 1.99 each and some very cute black and white polka dot tape.  Very cute!  I have no idea what these cost back in Vancouver but I suspect  I would have paid considerably more.  I'm in a travelling journal swap and I brought that journal with me to PS.  I also brought one of my own journals with me to work in, hence the "need" for some white acrylic paint, which I also picked up at Michaels.

Next stop was ULTA where I purchased some Bare Minerals foundation and blush.  I had an on-line coupon for 20% off one item, but who knew?  It didn't apply to Prestige cosmetics.  Big surprise there! No big deal not being able to use it - just seems that I can never take advantage of a coupon as I never buy the right product.  Story of my life!

Last stop was dinner at Di Carlos Italian Restaurant  in Rancho Mirage where my daughter treated me (treated...is that even a word?) to dinner.  This restaurant is always on our "must do" list. The food is scrumptious, the staff and owner are really friendly and the service is great.  His business is just a license to print money!  Line-ups most of the time at night so you need to get there early or be prepared to wait.  They have an early bird menu that runs from 3 (I think) until 6pm.  On the special you get your choice of 3 or 4 selections which are a "smaller" size entree - yeah right, I can never eat all of it and I have a good appetite! - salad with homemade garlic dressing (to die for) and garlic bread for $ 9.95.  What a deal!  I highly recommend that you check them out if you're in the Coachella Valley.

We were home by 6:15 and just hung out in front of the fire for the rest of the evening. We watched the Canucks game - GO CANUCKS - and then some of the Property Brothers (love those guys). At around 1 am I gravitated to the computer where I surfed until after 3.  Then off to bed, where you guessed it, I couldn't sleep.  Oh well, guess I'll be in bed early tonight.  That's what holidays are for, right?  Life is good.

Caio !

blogging from Paradise

We're ensconced in our rental house in Palm Springs.  Heaven! 

We were both up early on Friday and thank goodness for that!  We usually fly out of either Bellingham or Abbotsford - last time it was Abbotsford - so we've been spoilt by the lack of lines and how fast we can get through customs.  YVR is a far different story.  Luckily for us, we were awake at 5 am so left for the airport earlier than we had originally planned.  The trip through check in, even though we were already checked in, was slow and disorganized.  Then we had to hike over to the international baggage area to drop off our luggage.  Some little east indian baggage handler was yelling at us.  No help provided, just yelling.  Rude, Rude, Rude....can you say annoying?  I just wanted to reach out and slap him.

We had planned to grab breakfast at the airport since we couldn't get breakfast at the hotel.  Unfortunatly with all the lineups we never did get anything to eat.  We also had to line up to go through the security check - the line had at least a 100 people in it!  Going through security is always such a treat!  From there we lined up to go through US customs.  Thankfully that went very quickly.  We just made it to our gate in time for the start of boarding.  The flight was uneventful.

We arrived on in Palm Springs at around 11:30 on Friday to a fabulous, sunny and warm day - 84 degrees. We vehicle rental check in went well and we were able to get the HHR I requested....woohoo!!  We were 2 hours early, however, the rental company had the house all ready for us so there was no waiting around.  Don't you love it when a plan comes together?   The rental house is lovely and is way up there on the cozy meter.  It's a new rental in the rental pool and so is missing a few of the "it would be nice to have's" but other than that it's great.  Huge yard, good sized pool, nice spa and lots of privacy. 

I spent Saturday in the pool - sheer heaven !  Sunday was cooler and very windy - something like 65 mile per hour winds expected - so no pool time Sunday.  Today we're golfing and then going out to dinner afterwards.  Tomorrow we'll stay home and have a pool day and then barbecue some steaks  We still haven't mastered how to get the spa to heat up properly but the pool guy comes today so hopefully that will be rectified.  Kerry is chomping at the bit to get in the spa. 

Stay tuned.  Caio from paradise.

Retirement card

One of to the guys I work with is retiring tomorrow so we hosted a retirement lunch for him today. I made this card to go with his gift and everyone in the office signed it. 

I'm reasonably pleased with it.  If I were to make it again, I'd probably change the colors but everyone else seemed pleased with it.

BTW, in the scan the image looks crooked.  On the actual card it was fine.  I guess my card was a little crooked on the scanner bed when I scanned it.

Fell off the wagon

So ....

It appears that I fell off the wagon  - I didn't meet my goal of twice a week and have little artwork to show for the past 2 weeks. 

The studio is still a work in progress.  It's about 2/3 finished and then I stopped.  I need to finish this job otherwise I can't work in there.  Having said that, I have been able to get a little work done in there.
Surprising enough, it's actually functioning pretty well.  I'm very pleased with the layout - it feels comfortable and more spacious.  I still have way too much "stuff" but it seems more in control now.

I'm exhausted.  I'm getting ready to go south for a month and work has been crazy busy.  I come home dead to the world and just don't have a lot of energy to do anything.  I have several projects I want to finish up before leaving next week, just not sure how much will get done.  I must do up some stock for the store, no ifs, ands or buts about that, otherwise I will be very unpopular.  I also have some ATCs to finish, a journal page to do for a travelling journal page and I want to prep some journal pages for my own journal so I can take it with me.  Last year I bought a bunch of stuff down there but didn't really do much journalling.  I think this year it will work better if I have the pages prepped and ready to go.  Hopefully, if I do that, then I can bring a bare minimum with me to work with.  Who knows? Still struggling with putting anything to paper, however I'm hoping that I'll be more free, less blocked down there.  Keeping my fingers crossed

Gotta run.  Caio!

My studio, my studio

My experiment with a journal page grid?  Not so good.  I don't like the way it's turning out.  Appears, I need my space!   So I guess I'll be reverting  back to full size pages.  I think I still like the pages unbound, again that is still under review.

I'm in the midst of a massive re-org of my studio.  My daughter took the doors off my two armoires and took down the shelf in the closet.  I emptied my armoires and moved them into the closet.  Looks fabulous.  The rest of the room?  Looks like a bomb exploded!  It's looked bad before but it is truly out of control now!  Anyway they say that when you start to organise, that it gets way worse before it gets better.  Still a work in progress.  My daughter is going out to buy a new router tomorrow and then I'll be moving my desk, computer and printer upstairs. Will take pictures so you can see my progress.

Speaking of pictures, what's up with blogspot?   I can't upload pictures.  When I try it only gives me 3 choices for where I can get my images, and my computer is not one of them.  It's just lately that I can't upload so I'm wondering if I modified one of my settings without realizing it.  Will need to explore that.

Gotta' run as my studio is calling me .....help... save me..... I've fallen and I can't get up!    Well, I think you get the picture.

Caio!

Running behind

Today is Tuesday and I didn't post on the weekend so I guess that  puts me one post behind.  I'm not going to beat myself up about it.  I'll just try to catch up sometime this week.

My week didn't start out all that well.  I believe that I have the makings of an abcessed tooth.  I have to make yet another trip to my dentist tomorrow morning, during rush hour no less, so he can take a look at it.  It's not too painful, although I have had a tooth ache of varying degrees of pain for the last several days.  Nothing that an Ibuprofen wouldn't help!  I have another appointment next week so he can start rebuilding my teeth - long story, very long story - so I hoped he would just give me some antibiotics that would hold me til I see him next week.  No such luck - he has to see me in order to give me the meds.  What's up with that? :)

Not too much new on the art front.  I've been working in my journal and I think I've decided that I prefer the larger, prebound pages.  I'm finding that I tend to forget about the blank borders I need to leave for binding and that might cause some problems down the road.  As well a 5 x 7 journal page is not very big, so I have come to discover.   The page I mentioned dividing up into quadrants (so I wouldn't have to fill a large space with journalling) is really not working all that well.  I've redone one portion of it 3 times.  Good Lord what the heck is going on with that?  Anyway, I'll keep plugging along on the page but I think that I'll probably be switching to a larger format.

Gotta run.....Caio!

Happy New Year !

Good morning and Happy New Year ! 

I'm not much for New Year's resolutions, mostly because I never seem to keep them.  However, I am prepared to go out on a limb and share 2 of my resolutions with you.

Resolution #1 is to work in  my art Journal , as in having an entry, for every day of the month of January.  That's a huge commitment for me so I'm excited to see if I can really do it.  I have a real problem with putting words to the page so while I've committed to journalling every day, the content will be short, sweet and not necessarily wordz.  I've gone to a smaller journal for 2012 and I'm not binding the pages until after the work is complete.  I'm liking that so far!  I've also sectioned off my first page so there is very little space to fill in for each day.    I'm hoping because I don't have to fill a full page, that this will help me get past the fear of the blank page.  Definitely a work in progress!

Resolution # 2 is to post to the blog on a more regular basis.  I know, I know, I've said that before.....so now I'm saying it again!  I've pretty much opted out of Live Journal, just not enough hours in the day!  My goal is to post a minimum of twice weekly (for a minimum of 104 posts for 2012).  I think I'll make an appointment with myself  twice a week to do this.  Perhaps Thursday and Sunday?  Or Wednesday and Saturday?  Anyway you get the picture.  I was gifted with a killer daytimer so these appointments will get entered in "the book" which is pretty much what I use to manage my life.

I have some art from 2011 that I'll post next time.   I know, I know - you've heard that before too!

So far this is a baby step on the path to achieving one of my goals for 2012.  1 post down and only 103 to go!   Stay tuned.

Caio!

Very quiet

Not much excitement going on in my little corner of paradise.  Christmas is looming - why am I always so surprised at how quickly it comes around again?  We expect Christmas to be very low key again this year.  No family here, just the two of us, and of course our family of friends.  It's such a busy time of year.

Store stock is pretty much all caught up and delivered.  I have a couple of more designs to deliver this week and then that's done for another year.  Today I need to get caught up on some ATC's that are late and then of course start my own Christmas cards to send out.  I'm also in a swap so need to come up with a fairly simple, but equally stunning :) card design to send out for the swap.

My journalling has been almost non existent for the last several weeks.  However, I did sign up this month at Art Journalling Every Day so I need to get my stuff in gear and journal!  I have a hard time with journalling.  I can't seem to separate the "art" part from the "journalling" part.  I'm hung up on the idea that the art has to match or support the journalling I'm going to do.  I seem to spend a heck of a lot of time surfing the net and checking out all the fabulous journal pages but don't ever seem to be able to actually do a page.  Very frustrating.  I think my new plan is that I'm not even going to think about the journalling part - just focus on trying to do cool art?  Guess we'll have to see.

Gotta run.  I've done lots of cards but forgot to post before I delivered them so don't have anything ready to post right now.  Hope to have some new stuff in the next little while.

Caio!

I follow Art Journal Every Day by Julie Fei Fan Balzer.  Yesterday, I think, she posted an interview that she had done with Tricia from Altered Schoolmarm.  Tricia did a mini tutorial on how she creates a journal page.  The link to her blog is http://www.alteredschoolmarm.blogspot.com/ .  I would encourage you to swing by and check out her blog.  Her journal pages, IMHO, are to die for!

I love floating around and looking at all the blogs belonging to the wonderful artists in our midst.  The styles are so varied and diverse - everything from whimsical to dark.  So much talent and so generous for these people to share their art with us.

Organization ? Chaos!

I'm one of those people who can never keep her studio clean and tidy.  No doubt about it - I'm a messy crafter.  It isn't that I don't try, I have 2 long banquet tables that form a corner workstation in my studio as well as several rows of shelving on the wall above the work table. There should be ample room for storage, however my work table is always covered with stuff!  I just always seem to be working in a space that is only 6 inches square.  I move stuff from one pile to another and then stack the piles, and then rearrange the piles and then shuffle through the piles, and then sort the piles and then add to the piles and then knock the piles over onto the floor....well, you get the picture.

Some of the things I've done over the years have worked and I always seem to come back to them.  Just recently, I thought I had finally found my organizational style.  I spent hours re-arranging, re-packaging and re-labelling all my supplies.  I moved things around and repurposed storage elements that I already had.  At first it seemed to be working, but now?  Not so much!

Part of the problem is that I have way toooo much "stuff".  I have big stuff, little stuff, leftover stuff, coloured stuff, paper stuff, metal stuff.   I really do love my "stuff" but it's taking over my life!   I know I have some really great stuff, but I can't use it because I can't FIND my stuff!

I do have some stuff organized by drawers and that does seem to work well.  I have loads of my rubber stamps organized by category in clear plastic shoeboxes.  I have my punches stored in large plastic tray/baskets, granted not the best because it takes up a lot of flat storage room, but it works.  My paper is held both some in sterilite drawers and in my cabinet. That works but again, paper in more than one place! That causes problems because my paper is then split in different locations and I don't know what I have. 

This organizing and being organized is a quest for peace in a sea of chaos.  I'm not sure I'm going to make it without capsizing!

Caio!

Christmas tag swap

I created this tag for a Christmas tag swap I've played in for the last few years.  This tag was fun to make and I'm pleased with the results.  I used 2 different colours of distress inks.  The ink pads were smooshed - highly technical term "smooshed" -  on a craft sheet.  The smooshed ink was sprayed with water until the ink beaded.  Tags were then moved around in one colour, dried and then smooshed in the second colour of ink and dried.  Then tag was stamped with the various images and coloured.   No two tags are exactly alike.   Simple procedure with pretty nice results!

Countdown

The countdown to Palm Springs has started! House has been rented and flight booked.  All that remains is to rent a car which I'll arrange for much closer to the date.  We've rented a different house this year, mostly because I dragged my feet and our first choice was already rented!  That's not a bad thing though. This house has a bigger pool and a nicer pool area - should get sun most of the day so that's a definite bonus.  Let's hope the house lives up to the pictures.

Can you believe that Christmas is just a little over 2 months away?  The next couple of weeks are busy for me as I get my Christmas stock ready for the Fort Langley store.  Then of course on to making up my personal Christmas cards and getting them ready to send. 

Here's another christmas card.

The last few weeks at work have been crazy making !  However this is my busy season, with all the work getting christmas samples approved and ready for the open house at the store.

Here are a few new samples.

\

Just back from a quick trip to Ottawa to visit family.  I was only there for 7 days, however, it was a good visit and very enjoyable.  Returned on Thursday morning and back to work Friday.  That was tough!  I don't know where the time goes but it certainly does fly.

I have a birthday coming up so I treated myself to a facial and a massage on Saturday.  It was heaven - sure wish I could do that more than two or three times a year ! Hmmm, I guess I'm never satisfied.

I was a very bad girl!  I spent a bunch of money on craft supplies and new toys.  That is not supposed to happen but I just could not help myself.  I bought a Cricut Personal cutter.  I've been eyeing the Cricut for months but just could not justify spending the money they wanted for it.  I was in Michael's on Thursday and they had them on sale - regular $199, sale price $89.  The price was so good I just couldn't help myself !  I haven't even taken it out of the box yet, but hope to do some playing this afternoon. I'm hoping that this is worthwhile - it appealed to me to be able to die cut sentiments for my cards and journals.  Hopefully, I'll get lots of use out of it.

I also scored some good craft stuff - mostly regular priced but I'm happy with it regardless.  I am now hooked on Youtube craft haul videos so I went out and bought a new memory card for my camera so that I can post some of my hauls.  Also want to post some other videos - maybe some of the supplies I'm purging?  Stay tuned!

I keep forgetting to post art before I send it off, so will make more of an effort to update the blog with some eye candy.  Maybe some blog candy as well?

Gotta run.  Caio!

It's been a very busy couple of weeks and I've been away from the blog for too long!

Summer has finally arrived on the coast and everyone is enjoying the good weather because we all know it's not going to last much longer.  We've has a lousy summer this year - not cold, not hot, not really all that rainy, just blah!  The flowers have been lackluster with insipid colour and long gangley stems.  Finally now that the summer sun has arrived they've perked up and are looking happy and robust. 

Work, as usual has been crazy busy.  I come home most nights exhausted and totally lacking in any ambition to do anything at all. I'm loving every minute, however it is definitely both emotionally and physically exhausting.

I'm starting into the  2nd busy season of the year for my  business.  I'm working on Christmas samples and the fall season kicks everything into high gear.  Christmas is only 4 months away and time will fly between now and then.  I'm also working on 2 travelling journals and 2 journals for my journal partner swap.  I plan to make a run to Be Creative this afternoon and then will come back and hunker down to work in my journals.  Tomorrow is sample day and then back into the craziness of work next week.  Thank God for weekends!

Gotta run.  Caio!

Ok - so this is going to be one of those rants I warned you about.  You might want to leave now....or not.

What is up with the fascination with Casey Anthony?  I am so sick and tired of listening to the media and seeing her stupid mug on tv every other minute of every single night and day. Enough already!

That creature has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.  She is a total waste of skin, air and space and I'm so DONE with her.  I am sick and tired of hearing what she did, where she went, what she ate, where she's going and where she's coming back from, what she's wearing....Enough.  I could care less about her.  With any luck at all she'll get run over by a truck or bitten by a snake - now that would be poetic justice - and die.  Good riddance!   Or maybe she'll just crawl back under whatever rock she crawled out from under and we can call it a day.  Move on already!

I told you it would be a rant.....don't say you weren't warned !

Today is BC Day which means that all government workers get today off so it makes for a nice long weekend.

I've been busy on the home front.  I dug out my garden at the front of my townhouse.  There were a bunch of rhodos and azaleas that were way too big and overgrown.  The roots were a bit of a challenge to remove on a couple of them but we managed, with the help of a friend at the end, to get everything out and the bed cleared.  Turns out there were only 4 rhodoa and 3 azaleas but it was a veritable jungle in there.  Everything was way too big and overgrown to be even remotely estetically pleasing.  Just a big blob of green.  I want colour !!

I sent my plant list into the strata and I'm waiting for thier approval to proceed with the planting.  However, I did go ahead and buy a few things yesterday as the deal was way too good to resist.  The local nursery has a huge sale on as it's getting near the end of the season here.  I scored 3 roses for the price of 2 so that was a big saving of $25.  WoooHooo!  As the roses are in the plan I submitted to the strata and everyone around here has them, I can't see there being any problem with going ahead and planting them.  Famous last words?

I had intended to do some overtime at work this weekend but changed my mind at the last minute.  I have so much to do here at home I just decided that I needed to be here instead.  And clearly I made the right choice!  I made and delivered a bunch of wedding cards for the store - my guy is soooooo patient!  I hope to get another batch finished today so DD can deliver tomorrow or Wednesday.  I did the nursery trip and have some other artsy projects in the hopper so it's all good.

Friends are coming over today to help me ---- well actually, there is no "helping" involved -- he'll do all the work and we'll watch.  They are such good friends - I don't know what I would do without them.  DD and I try to do things but sometimes it's just beyond us.  Sometimes it would be so nice to have a man around!  My friend will replace my thermostat with a programmable one so hopefully we can save some money on heat.  He's also installing a new smoke detector which I replaced after I had my place painted.  We're a little intimidated with the smoke detector because it means turning off the power.  We've been told that this might require the gas pilot lite to be relit afterwards....I'm not touching that with a ten foot pole.  With my luck, I'd do something wrong and we'd all get blown to china!  Best not to go down that road.

Well must run.  I want to water my garden and then grab some breakfast.  I'm hoping to be able to retreat to my studio for a little while and finish up some cards before the day gets away from me.

Caio!

I was finally able to finish the journal spread in my own travelling journal and get it out to the next player.  It was a bit of a struggle, but I was reasonably happy with it so it's all good.  I've just received the next journal in line.  It's a quirky little book with different sizes of pages.  Not sure what I'm going to do but it should be interesting.

I've also managed to create a journal page in one of my journals.  Teesha Moore's art is my inspiration and I tried to follow her style. I'm really pleased with this one and it was fun to do.  I think I may do more of these type pages.  Enjoy!

I'm really frustrated.  I'm participating in a travelling journal swap and I seem to have hit a great big, nasty cement wall  which is blocking my creativity.  I have enough "stuff" to open a good sized store, yet the well seems to have gone dry when it comes to finishing the page. 

I have my background done and have tons of ideas flying around in my head but I can't get anything down on paper.  Theme?  I have no blessed idea.  I'm just totally blank.  I don't know what it is but it's making me crazy ! I don't know where to start, I don't know how to finish and I sure don't know how to cover the distance in between those two points!

I love the idea of art journalling but I can't seem to get out of the box enough to be able to be spontaneous.  This little voice inside me keeps saying "oh, that's stupid" or "what's the point of doing that"?  And I guess deep down inside I really don't know how to put the art and the word together. 

I need to finish these journal pages tonight ...and I will.  I just don't want to send someone a bunch of crap of which I'll be ashamed to admit that I created.  Frustrating, very frustrating !

Last night while watching tv, I decided to try to draw some faces with the plan being, that if I came up with anything decent, I might use it in my art journal.   I'm not a person who can draw, never have been and never will be any good, but I was pleasantly surprised at what I came up with after practicing for awhile.  The first few (start at bottom left) are pretty bad but I can definitely see some progress with the final few. 

Pleasantly surprised to say the least.  I think I might have to spend a little more time working on this!

Hello again


The past couple of weeks have been hectic. Work is good but full of the usual challenges and then some. A challenging employee moved on to a new job only to be replaced by one that's almost as challenging to supervise. Makes it difficult to get any work done.

The surgeon is finally happy with the results of the second jaw surgery. Thursday I had the 2 plates and 4 screws in my jaw removed so I'm off work for a few day. I also went to see my ortho guy who advised that the braces come off at the end of August and then the retainer goes on. Finally after 6 years, progress. Woohoo.

Then I went to my regular dentist to have a cleaning and to discuss the remainder of my treatment plan. Turns out I will probably need 2 crowns and 12 veneers, all adding up to a cost of almost $ 20,000 out of my pocket. Now that was not so good news. Have no idea how I'm going to pay for it - investments, line of credit or installments? Your guess is as good as mine. Very up and down week. Needless to say I've been cranky, cranky, cranky!

On the art front, I've been busy. Father's day, Weddings etc. I've also joined a travelling art journal group, signed up for a couple of online classes and am still in a partner journal and ATC exchange. I find I never have enough time for art, or maybe more to the point, I don't manage my time well enough to get much accomplished on the art front. Whatever....

OMG !  It's been more than a month since I last posted.  Time has sure flown.

Ok - so I'm re-committing to be more active in my blog.  Less tv and more blog!

Quick update on what's been going on in my little corner of paradise.  Work has been crazy busy - I have 2 new employees who are keeping me busy.  My job has been rewritten so keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get a nice promotion.  I've joined a travelling journal project on Facebook - sounds like fun.  I'm also taking Pam Carriker's on-line journal class, can't for the life of me remember the complete title - Journal 365 or something like that.

I can't seem to get my head around working in my journal. I don't understand  why I'm so intimidated by the act of writing in the journal.  I'm ok with doing the art but when it comes to adding text, I'm totally blocked.  What's up with that?  Well, that problem should be dealt with in another post.

Must run as I'm back-logged with wedding and fathers day cards for the store. So what else is new?

Well so much for updating my blog more frequently! That just did not happen!

Work has been extremely busy since I returned from vacation and all I want to do lately is eat and sleep. Not a lot of energy for much else. This is also a very busy time of year for my cards as weddings and birthdays, as well as the special occasion cards, sell well.

Anyway - here are a couple of samples of mother's day cards for your viewing pleasure.

 

Earlier this evening, I watched a segment on some new program, about Gabrielle Gifford.  It dealt with her abscence and the impact that it had on her office and the people who work for her.  They said that since she had been shot, that they were constantly thinking "what would Gabby" want done as they go about their business.  The people who work in her office talked about what a life changing event the murder of her collegues and her attempted murder had on everyone working in the office.  They said that their desire was that in spite of all the death and pain, that they wanted something good to come of it.  They talked about how the office had become a rallying point and a place of comfort for so many of the people affected by this tragic event.

I couldn't help but reflect on my own situation and the tragic and unexpected death of my husband.  He died on March 2nd and we would have been married 35 years on June 23rd of the same year.   When referring to grief, someone commented on how everyone always says it gets better after you lose a loved one, and the grief and pain go away.  This person commented that the grief doesn't ever go away, one just learns to integrate it into one's life.   I think that is so true! 

I don't think the grief and pain go away.  Rather I think you just integrate it into your life - it becomes part of the fabric of your being and changes you forever.   It's like a large scar.  It heals but it never really heals completely...it's still tender and you feel pain when you least expect it.

So many things have changed since I lost my husband and I can't help but reflect on all the changes in my life.  There was such an outpouring of kindness and love from people I didn't really know all that well.  It makes me forever grateful for the support and love I received, sometimes from people I barley knew.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss  him and wish he was here with me. I go to bed every night and before closing my eyes, I tell him that I love him. He will forever be a part of my life, a part of my being.
The emptiness and pain of loss doesn't ever go away....you just learn to live with it.

We arrived home safely last night.  We flew out of Palm Springs to Edmonton and then caught a connecting flight to Abbotsford.  The stop in Edmonton was a bit of a gong show.  There was a huge lineup to go through security to connect with our flight to Abbotsford - there had to be at least 150 people lined up at one point and the line was not moving.  We couldn't figure out what the holdup was until we finally moved into the screening area.  Very inefficient and far too much nonsense with doing and re-doing things.  Colossal waste of time.

Once we cleared security we walked to the other end of the airport to our gate.  We were almost there when we learned that the gate had been changed.  You guessed it - the new gate was at the other end of the airport and we had just come from there!  So off we went, trudging back to join the rest of the masses lined up to board.

The kicker was we didn't get to bring back any duty free.  On our way down to Palm Springs we picked up our duty free in Calgary when we changed planes to catch our connecting flight.  We assumed the same would apply on the way home.  We thought we would be able to hit the duty free prior to clearing customs in Edmonton.  Not so much.  Apparently, Edmonton doesn't have a duty free for inbound international flights, or so Canada Customs told us.

What kind of  "international" airport doesn't have a duty free?    I never heard of such a thing!!

We had a fabulous vacation but it's good to be home again.

Caio!

Well, it's that time again.  We're nearing the end of our vacation here in beautiful Palm Springs.  We have 3 more days to enjoy the golf, the pool and the house and then on Sunday we leave for home.

The weather has improved and it's now quite warm - more the temperature one would expect this time of year.  Everyone we talk to tells us that it's been unseasonably cool for the last couple of weeks.  Go figure!  I can't really complain though as we've played 12 rounds of golf and the weather has been perfect for that.  I've also had a lot of pool time so I'm leaving here a happy and relaxed camper.

Well must run.  Just wanted to check and give a quick updated.  Once we get home and settled in, I'll post some of the journal pages I've done.

Caio!

We had a lovely day today.  Since we had issues with the pool - long story - and couldn't use it, we decided to go golfing again today, instead of just sitting around.  We played the Resort course at Taquitz Creek.  It's a nice course - fairly difficult with lots of water and deep sand traps.  Trust me, I know about the sand traps because I played far too many of them!   K became frustrated because it was a little beyond her ability and got down on herself about it.  However, even though she had a few difficult holes, she still came in with a decent score for a beginner.

I don't usually golf two days in a row, and Wednesday will be our third day golfing in a row.   However, we're golfing again tomorrow at Indian Canyons.  We both love that course and it's somehow fitting that we're playing Garry's favourite course on the third anniversary of his death.  He's tickled that we're doing that and that K is playing so well.

The weather is supposed to be great for the next week or so and I'm really happy about that.  I'll be able to get some serious pool time in - finally.  Between the cooler weather and the issue with the pool, I haven't been able to enjoy the pool for almost a week.  While the cool weather has limited my pool time, it's been great weather for golf so we've enjoyed getting out and doing that so I guess there's really no need to complain!

After golf tomorrow, we're going out for dinner and then we'll hit the casino for a short visit.  I need to cash some traveller's cheques so that's the best place to do it.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Well must run as I need my beauty sleep.  Caio!

We had a wonderful day in Palm Springs today.  We had originally planned to golf but when I saw that it was going to be a warm day, I opted for spending the day by the pool instead.  We golf at Tacquitz Creek, one of our favourite courses, tomorrow.  The weather is supposed to be rainy on both Saturday and Sunday so we'll problem engage in a little retail therapy.

We went to the casino tonight - not a good thing.!   I left a healthy deposit and hopt to be able to withdraw some of my deposit the next time I visit. 

Well must run.  I need to get in my jammies and have some ice cream before settling in for the night.

Caio!

left page of journal spread

right page of journal spread

This journal spread was created by Heather Robinson, my exchange partner.  I love the colours and composition  that Heather used!  This page is so bright, happy and energetic.  It's interesing to see the difference in our styles!

Here's another one I did for the exchange.  I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.  I love Asian inspired art - it's so serene and zenlike. 

I learned something about my style when I was working on this.  I've been stumped as I can't seem to think outside the box when it comes to these pages.  I've been trying to do a page from start to finish in one sitting and it has just not been working for me.  This particular page was done in stages - a few minutes here, a few minutes there and it just seemed to flow together.  Much more cohesive and certainly a more enjoyable process for me when done in stages.  Lesson learned!

I've been threatening to upload so art for weeks. Here is one of the pages I completed for an art journal exchange that I'm doing with another CSTer,   Lately I've been doing a few zentangles.  I find when my creativity needs a jump start that these little guys help to do that.

We're away in Palm Springs enjoying the sunshine and golf.  The weather is less than perfect - cooler than it would usually be this time of year.  The forecast for the next 14 days is a lot cooler than I would like but....good for golfing, just not all that great for enjoying the pool.  I'm hoping this is a case of the weatherman being wrong so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

We've been here since Friday afternoon, and both DD and myself have managed to get a tan.  We played a round of golf yesterday afternoon.  The winds were gale force so that made it a bit challenging but we had a good time.  We golfed with a canadian couple from Parksville, BC.  Nice people and both of them were very good golfers.

Today is a lay around and relax day.  The temperature is only supposed to go up to about 68 but I think I will still be able to get some sunbathing time in.  We may head off to the casino for a couple of hours tonight - we'll have to play that by ear.

I hit Michaels on Sunday and picked up a few more supplies.  I was organized enough to bring some watercolours, pens and glue with me, as well as a small journal but forgot to bring some of the other things that might be useful.  I managed to drop $50 but picked up some good stuff so the trip was worthwhile.  I thought I packed a paintbrush but when I got here found that I did not - duh!  So for the time being I'm using a cheap blush brush and a wine cork to spread my paint.  Whatever works!

Must run - will check in again soon.  Caio!

Just popping in to say hello.  The last week has been very busy and I've had little time for art.  I'm planning to do some housework today, not exactly my favourite thing, and then hope to post some new work to the blog later today.   I know, I know.....I've been saying that for ages.   Thanks for your patience.

Countdown is on for vacation and I'm starting to get excited about our trip.  I sooooo need some hot weather, some time on the golf course and of course some pool time!  I'm starting to stockpile my reading material to take with me and making my "to do " list of everything that I need to do before I go.  Busy, busy, busy....

Must run - will check back in again soon.

I've been woefully absent from my blog for almost the last month. Extremely busy time of year for me both personally and professionally.

We had a very quiet Christmas, just the two of us, and it was lovely. We both enjoyed it immensely. Santa was good to me and spoilt DD ....Santa was out of control. New Years Day, we hosted a small dinner party with a few close friends. Everything went very well, my prime rib was done to perfection. It was a lovely day and I know that DH was there with us in spirit, presiding over the festivities.

I was back to work again on January 4th and right back into the swing of things again. Work is sometimes hectic, frequently crazy and often frustrating. I'm really enjoying it, I'm learning and growing so much, however, I do find it wearing and exhausting, both phyically and psychologically. When I come home at night all I want to do is sleep. There are lots of changes happening, and lots more changes coming in the near future so it should be interesting to see how the unit evolves and grows.

This weekend is my 3 day weekend and I hope to get a few things accomplished. They've been sitting in limbo for far too long and need to be addressed. First and foremost, I have some art projects to finish and send off. The recipients have been very patient but enough is enough. And then of course there is the dreaded housework and clutter control. Two of my least favourite tasks!

Well must run. I've made a commitment with myself to post to the blog more frequently. I have several pieces of artwork to post but would like to take a picture rather than scan. I'll try to do that within the next few days so please swing by again soon to see the updates.

That's it for now....Caio and Happy New Year.

We had the office Christmas party on Thursday night and it went really well. We got together at the Washington Avenue Grill (WAG) in White Rock. The restaurant reminds me of one of the old fashioned Kegs - you know you walk in on the main level and climb the stairs to the second floor for the restaurant? Lots of wood and old stuff and some very nice looking purple chandeliers. There was entertainment - a 2 piece band - and they played jazzy type music, some Neil Young, Clapton, that sort of thing. Nice ambiance, good service and really good food. I'd go back again, possibly in the summer when you can actually sit outside and enjoy the ocean.

We did a tour of the new HQ building today. This thing is absolutely huge - it's 3 football fields long and will be 7 storeys high when complete. All state of the art! The completion date is supposed to be early 2013 and the building will accomodate 2800 employees. That's like a small city!

Not ready for Christmas, not even close to being ready! I've purchased one gift for DD and I've ordered some Purdy's on line for my dad. Other than that, nada! DD put the tree up for me today - looks fabulous and it's such a big help to me that she does this! I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it! I hope to finish up my christmas cards this weekend and get the ones that need to go a long distance out maybe Monday or Tuesday. The local cards can go out a little later if need be. If I can get the energy, I would like to try to do some shopping this week after work. Once the stores are open late every night, I find hitting the stores, after work, between about 5 pm and 7 pm works really well for me. I can get a lot accomplished in a short period of time and the hordes don't start to show up until after supper. We'll see..

Reno is still unfinished. He tells me that he'll be here on Monday to finish the tiles. I've told him I want this completed this coming week and he assures me that he only has a couple of more days of work to do. I'm looking forward to wrapping this up. My house looks like a bomb went off in it and it has looked this way since the end of August. It's starting to get on my nerves!

I'm off to a funeral slash celebration of life tomorrow. If I have the energy afterwards, I may do a little shopping. Problem is that when I go shopping for someone else, I always find tons of stuff for myself. Not good, not good! Sunday I need to work on some art and maybe get a little cleanup done in the house.

Treated myself to a new set of acryilc nails and I am so pleased. My hands no longer look like ugly claws - they actually look like human hands now. Vanity - thy name is woman!!

So little time and so much to do!

Work has been extremely busy. My supervisor is out with a death in the family, a second person who was in a car accident and couple of staffing and/or hiring issues we're trying to resolve. Then on Thursday, I found out that the gentleman I've worked for during the last 2 1/2 years is leaving the unit. His last full day was Friday. He's a very nice guy and I'm happy for him that he's moving on to a new situation but I'm also sorry to see him go. He's been very good to me. Since I act in my supervisor's absence, my already full plate is now overflowing. Good grief what more can happen? That was a rhetorical question, so universe do not feel the need to orchestrate anything else!

My reno is humming along. Counters, garburator and overhead lighting is in. My guy is working on the tiles and we're hoping that the backsplash is finished by next weekend. Then it's just a matter of the under-counter lighting, which should be a snap, and then he's done! Woohoo! It looks great so far and I can't wait til the backsplash is done.

Thursday morning I was walking across the parking lot at work. I had forgotten my phone so went down to get if from my car. On my way back across the lot to the office, I took a header on the pavement. I think I stepped in a little hole, but not really sure as it was so dark. I didn't have any warning, next thing I knew I had done a face plant on the pavement. Instinctively I put my hands out to break my fall so I'm very lucky I didn't hurt myself worse. The first thing that went through my mind was, oh my gawd my broken jaw! I did hit my face, but it's only a scrape on the front of my chin, under my mouth. I didn't actually hit my jaw on the ground, just some road rash which bled profusely. Now I have an ugly scab on my chin which everyone politely pretends that they don't see! I bruised my left hand and my left wrist is tender, possibly sprained from breaking my fall. I also have a skinned right knee and a tiny scrape on my right palm. All in all, very minor compared to the damage I could have done. To add insult to injury, I had an audience. Talk about life's embarrassing moments!

I've been busy this weekend working on art projects. I finished a couple of ATCs for a swap, have some christmas cards to send out for another swap and need to work on 2 scraplings. These scraplings are a totally new concept to me so it will be interesting to see how they turn out. As well, I have completed almost 15 personal christmas cards. These particular cards were fairly labour intensive, however they're nice looking cards so I think the effort has been worth it. I'm still trying to decide whether I'll make all this years cards the same or vary the designs. The only problem with varying the designs is that I won't remember which cards went where next year so not sure what I'm going to do.

I need to finish up a few things this morning and then DD and I might go out for breakfast. It will depend on what time she gets up. She has to be at work for 5 am every morning so she enjoys getting caught up on her sleep on the weekends and I certainly can't blame her for that! Sometimes she'll sleep late into the afternoon and sometimes she's up before noon. We'll have to play that by ear. We may both go for groceries or if she sleeps late enough, she'll probably go by herself and I'll stay at home and work.

Must run. Caio!

I had a great day today. It's not often that I go and do something that's just for fun. Today I attended a distress ink class at Be Creative in Pitt Meadows. The class ran the full day and was really good value for the money. It was a nice group of ladies, Lisa is a great instructor and I learned some new and very cool techniques to use on my cards, atc's and tags. Of course, it goes without saying that I also dropped some serious coin buying all the new goodies I need.

I thought I was so caught up with my christmas stuff but have now fallen behind again. I am creating cards for family and friends though and have done some of it by production line so it's working quite well. I can't take credit for the design - I saw it in one of the paper crafting mags and fell in love with it. I'm using the design for christmas, but it could be modified for almost any occasion. Just changing the background paper and the colour scheme will make the card look totally different.

The painters are almost finished painting my house and I'm very pleased with the colours and the work they are doing. Next week they start on my kitchen. The kitchen is not a total reno, more of a sprucing up as I did not replace my cupboards, however I'm sure the changes will make a huge difference. I'm excited about it as I can't really visualize how it will look.

I think I'm hooked on digital stamps. They're so affordable and the gratification is as close to instant as you can get. I've bought several from Mo's Digital Pencil - no affiliation, just a very satisfied customer ! I'm really pleased with the results I've achieved so far. I just bought 3 more this weekend. I'm not usually into cute stuff, but these are really cute and I'm sure the finished cards will be very popular.

Well must run. I have a journal spread to do and some cards I'm working on so no time to waste.

Caoi!

I'm disappointed and mad at myself that I don't update my journal as much as I should. Lately it seems that all I do is eat, work and sleep ! I come home exhausted every night and have no motivation to do anything. Just counting the weeks til we head off to Palm Springs again so I can re-charge my battery.

Work has been crazy - so much to do and so many meetings. Also lots of drama with an employee. It's physically and mentally exhausting to deal with all the goings on. It makes it difficult to get anything done. The work keeps coming and I don't ever seem to make any headway. Who knew I would be this busy?

My house is still a work in progress. The reno was put on hold while I recuperated from my surgery and then my guy got busy with another project which is now finishing up. The plan is he and his crew will be here Monday morning to start working again. He is reasonably confident that he can get everything done fairly quickly. I hope so however he really does have a lot to do. Right now my house is a bit of a disaster area and I'd really like to get things back on track in time for Christmas.

I made a couple of purchases last weekend. I haven't been able to entertain very much the last several months because my diningroom chairs bit the biscuit. I only had 3 chairs and everyone knows you can't have much of a dinner party with only 3 people! So I finally got around to buying 6 new chairs - very plain, parsons style with slipcovers. Not terribly expensive but serviceable as I don't really use my dining room that much. DD assembled them for me and they look great so I'm looking forward to actually using them now. I sure wish I could afford to replace my dining room suite, but I can't!

I also bought myself a bedside table. Good riddance to that horrible MDF thing that masqueraded as a piece of furniture. I bought the bedside table at Jysk as well and it's not bad for the price. At least it's real wood with a beech veneer not that awful MDF that Ikea is selling now. I remember back in the day when Ikea prided itself on well made, solid pine furniture. Not so much anymore! A lot of their stuff is just fancied up particle board these days. What's up with that?

Well must run. I'm all caught up with stock for the store, at least for the time being. However I have tons of cards to make for my own use and then would also like to come up with some new wedding designs for the spring.

Caio!

Dad had his hip replacement surgery on Oct 25th. When they did the surgery, they discovered that he had a broken hip which would explain why he was in so much pain for so long. Unbelievable! It didn't show up on the exrays so they have no idea how long his hip has been broken. The doc just shook his head. He says if Dad could endure the pain of a broken hip for several months, then his recuperation will be a breeze for him.

I checked in with Dad today and he's home 12 days after his surgery. He's not having any pain to speak of, at least nothing that his regular meds can't handle. He's getting around with a walker and has informed me that in a couple of weeks that all he'll need is a cane! He sounded really good, back to his old self again which is really good to hear. He had only been home a couple of hours and he'd had a beer with my brother and was looking forward to a roast beef dinner. I have much to be thankful for!

Yesterday a co-worker commented to me that it's only 46 days til Christmas. How the heck did that happen and where has the time gone? I'm making my Christmas cards to send to family and friends again this year so have started to work on some designs. I'm also working on more stock for the store. There are only a few weeks til the cards will start going out so I have my work cut out for me. However, on a bright note, I think that I'm ahead of schedule in the card making area so thats a good thing. I don't usually even think about making my own cards til much later in the month.

Work is a zoo and I'm totally swamped. I think someone comes in at night and adds more work to my desk ! This coming week is a short week as I'm out of the office at a meeting all day Wednesday and then Thursday is a stat due to Remembrance Day. Hmmm, maybe the fact that it's a short week is not a bad thing after all!

Well must run. I want to work on some more cards before I go to bed.

Caio!

Work has been crazy busy and I've been exhausted when I come home from work. However, things are finally starting to come together. Still a few challenges with staff and such but I think I'll be able to function without losing my mind!

As well, this is a really busy time of year for me with Christmas just around the corner. I'm working on stock for the Open House and have a couple of swaps to complete by the end of the month. It always seems like a good idea to sign up for these swaps at the time and then I usually have to scramble to get them completed on time. So why do you keep signing up, you might ask? Good question! I feel that these swaps help me to stretch my creative muscles and they're something fun to do. Sometimes I think all my stamping/creative time is spent on "business" stamping with little being done on the fun side.

On a side note, I'm really enjoying the journal partner swap I'm doing with HR. I'm not always sure what I'll write about but eventually some seed of an idea takes hold and I'm good to go. I never seem to have a plan, per se. I get a kernal of an idea and then it just kind of flows once I get working on it. Hopefully when this next week of busy-ness is over, I'll be able to set aside some time to do more of my personal art.

Today I took an alcohol ink class at Be Creative. It was great and I really enjoyed it and feel that it was very worthwhile as I learned lots of tips and new techniques. Of course, I spent a fortune on some "must haves" after the class but that goes with the territory. Now I can't wait to play with my new toys ! I plan to use one of the techniques I learned on my Christmas tags for the swap on CST.

Well must run. Caio!

And some Christmas cards!

Hey - almost forgot. Check out the tags I made. I think they're absolutely darling.....but then I could be prejudiced ! These little bits ( with the exception of the large red glitter snowflake) are ready made stickers to which I added glitter etc and then made into tags. Love them and I think they are spectacular looking. Just my opinion ! :)

Well....I'm very pleased with myself. I was able to complete all the order for the Open House at Little Cricket and made the final (well almost) final delivery yesterday. Afterwards I realized that I had forgotten to include the set of cards I had promised to include for the customer draw. Sometimes I wonder what I'm thinking! So I still need to deliver that item but that can be done earlier in the week.

Today was kind of a nothing day. I did the grocery thing and then played with my new food saver. Who knew these machines were so easy to use and so fabulous? Almost wants to make you run out and buy more food so you can seal and save it!

I should have been working on stock for the second Open House in Langley - that did not happen so tonight will probably be a late night. I must also come up with 28 tags for a tag swap I'm in and also a journal spread (by Tuesday if you please) for a journal partner swap I'm in. I have the idea for the page and now I just need to execute it. As usual I've overcommitted myself and not managed my time properly. I think that perhaps my procrastination/less than perfect time management may be a symptom of my perfectiionist tendencies. Interesting concept that is!

Well must run. I have tons of work to do before I go back to work on Tuesday and my studio is an absolute disaster. When I create the glittler and paper scraps are flying. Despite my best intentions to clean up after myself, it almost never happens. Who has time to clean up when there's so much to create?

Caio !

I've been extremely busy since my last post. Work is crazy-busy as usual. It doesn't seem to matter how much I do, I never seem to get to the bottom of the pile! This is my regular 3 day weekend so I'm really looking forward to it.

I managed to get most of my cards finished for the open house which is taking place next weekend. I'm very pleased with the finished product. I still need to create some 3 D cards, which BTW, sell very well! I also want to include one of my standard christmas cards. It's an image of a cat wearing a Santa hat and it's very popular. I've had it in the store for the last several christmases and it's a real crowd pleaser. I will also be creating some new gift tags for delivery on Saturday. And then I will start all over again to create stock for the second open house in Langley at the end of October. This is a very busy time of year for me!

Nothing else new. The surgeon is happy with my progress since starting to wear two sets of elastics so that's a relief. He wants to see me again in a month or so though just to make sure the progress is continuing.

Well must run. I'm exhausted as I took the day off and worked on cards all day. I was up at the crack of dawn and now I need my beauty sleep.

Caio!

I've been away from my blog for toooooo long!

I'm recovering nicely from my second jaw surgery. We're still having a few issues with my bite - my surgeon was a little worried there for awhile but now things seem to be coming together nicely. I'm back to work on Tuesday - I can't believe that the month has gone by so very quickly. However, I've had a good month. I've been getting lots of sleep and I'm gradually getting my energy back so it's all good.

All in all this surgery went much better than last one. Initially a lot of swelling but that dissipated very quickly. There is still some swelling but far less noticable than last time. Very little bruising as well. What is there is pale yellow - much better than the awful black bruising to my collarbone that I experienced last time. The toughest part has been wearing 2 sets of elastics to train the jaw to go into the new position; that was far more painful than the actual surgery. Who knew? The pain has now dissipated for the most part and any pain is minor.

The weather here on the Coast is fabulous. We had a lot of rain initially but it's been bright, sunny and warm for the last several days. It's been really nice to have been able to keep summer with us for a few more weeks.

On the art front, I'm busy getting busy for the annual Open House at the store. I'm a little behind on my samples but once I get them approved, it will be full steam ahead. I always enjoy this part as I love making Christmas cards. It helps me get into the spirit of Christmas, albeit a little early. However once I deliver the stock for the Open House it's only about 6 weeks after that until we get into the Christmas social season and all the parties and jovality. Where did the time go?

I've updated my Etsy shoppe and will be adding more goodies as I'm able to complete them. Please drop by and visit my shoppe: http://www.etsy.com/shop/stampedimpressions

Must run for now...busy, busy, busy!

Caio!

This last offering is $10. It's only been inked once or twice. Sold "AS IS", purchaser pays shipping which is extra. I'll be happy to unmount to save on shipping.