And you thought I was obsessive!

 My students tease me about being OCD in regard to having things straight. The following was in this week's Splitcoaststampers email link:

"When I make a card I try to get all elements straight, but when I am done they are a little off. I mostly see it when I take a picture for my files. Is there a way to get it straight every time? I want to someday sell my cards and I can't if they continue to be off."

A: For me, rather than using adhesive that's stuck and done, I use Tacky Glue to assemble my cards - the glue gives me just a little bit of wiggle room if my initial placement isn't just right. It might also help to work on a gridded surface, or use a laser level to help you keep things aligned. 

Surely the woman giving this advice is taking the mickey?? 

5 minutes later - after searching the forum:

They actually do make laser levels for cardmaking and scrapbooking - I am gobsmacked!! NO I DO NOT WANT ONE!!

It's Autumn - hooray!

Hopefully this means some cooler weather ahead (I know - probably not until Easter, but I can dream...).

Inspired by Simply Cards - Issue 65 I spent some 'me' time playing with my new favourite die - the Spellbinders A5 Filligree Delight.
The featured image is from Graphic 45.
I made my own flowers from paper towel, coloured with Distress Ink (Dried Marigold) and Distress Marker (Dried Marigold, Festive Berries). The flowers are done in the same way as any of the spiral flower dies - cut a circle then cut a spiral into the circle.
The leaves are an old Carl punch (momji leaf?) (looks suspiciously like another leaf that starts with 'm'!).
I stamped the BoBunny Autumn paper first with a crackle image stamp (and Distress Ink - Aged Mahogany) and edged the punched leaves with Aged Mahogany Marker  then crumpled the leaves.
This is a standard rectangular card - my camera just wants to make it square!!

No you cannot look at the bed!

After cleaning out the bathroom cupboards - a job I've been deferring for a while - it was back to the tidy desk project. (I've always found the best way to make myself tackle daunting jobs is to set myself an even less appealing one!)

Now I can see ALL of the top of my main desk. Yes the work 'main' does mean there is another smaller dask to clear. And yes that shelf could probably be better organised ...

 Needless to say I then had to reward myself with some colouring ...

As the title of this post suggests there is still plenty to deal with before I allow myself to use this on the card I have in mind - it will involve on of the new die sets I was given for Christmas :)

Later - look what I found - a half painted Kaisercraft ribbon storage unit, started YEARS ago! So of course I had to paint it before going on with the tidying ...

But I did get another shelf organised ...

Chaos Theory

 If I remember correctly from high school science the chaos theory goes something along the lines of without work all systems tend toward disorder. It's time to put in some work - here goes yet another attempt to bring order to my haven. I've cleared away most of the Christmas card-making clutter and can show a bit of clear desk -

and some clear floor area beneath said desk (so I have somewhere to stand as I clear the rest of the desk) -

Much of the Christmas paper and card has gone into my brilliant verge-shopping find - it holds 12" x 12" card and paper!!

Now to reward myself - off to make a card :), then more work ...

Not quite the same!

Here is the result of yesterday's sketch (see below). I tried for ages to force the sketch to work but it just wasn't happening. I've added Fiskars Cameo Ovations stamps coloured with an Aged Mahogany Distress Marker (Distress Ink colour for the Butterfly is Fired Brick) plus some orange Kaiser Rhinestones.

Nothing like the sketch but I'm happy with the end result :) The butterfly is stamped over the chevron paper.

Trying a sketch

Wow - two posts in one day - anyone would think I had some time to myself!

I've come home from work with some homework - we have heaps of gorgeous new BoBunny papers in the shop and I ooh'd and aah'd over the Autumn range. Now to actually use it!  Hmmm - where to start? Decided to head to the BoBunny website - needless to say this range will be featured NEXT week - Murphy's Law!! However I found a scrapbooking sketch that holds promise:



Let's see what I can do with

and and and

I also HAD to bring home a Darkroom Door Eclectic Butterfly for my collection (like I need any more butterflies, but this one is stunning!).




Stay tuned ...  (Yes Nat, the papers are rather orange!!)

More than one fold!

Whilst surfing this morning (a girl's got to get her exercise, right?) I saw a challenge called 'more than one fold'. The card below certainly fits the bill:

If you come to the class at Crafty Capers you too can then go home and make cards like this - the paper is from the Kaisercraft Lady Rose collection. Note my sneaky inclusion of one of my hand-painted kitchen tiles. :D

I did get real exercise today - we are now the owners of TWO Rhodesian Ridgebacks (not my idea but I am warming to them) so my pedometer now reads 12006 steps at 9.06am - we won't go into whose dogs they are and that HE is meant to be exercising them, not swanning off Rogaining for the weekend.