Sunday, July 27, 2008

Meet my Smart.....



I decided that I've had enough of filling the Durango once a week for over $80 just to get me back & forth to work (12 miles each way) for one week. I went and looked at the Smart car and fell in love with it. It is so fun to drive! I ordered my car in March 2008 the way I wanted it and imagine my disappointment when I found out that due to high demand, mine would arrive in the US between September 2009-November 2009! The dealerships do occassionally have "orphans" - Smart cars that people order but never pick up - thus, leaving the car a lonely orphan. Finally, after being on the waiting list at the dealership for over 4 months, an orphan became available this week so I jumped on it. Yes, I do get a lot of attention and a questions about it.

Here are some of the most FAQ I get:

Can you take it on the highway? Yes, it's a real car! With a real engine! There's no slits in the floor for my feet to pedal like Fred Flintsone!

How fast does it go? The dash reads up to 100mph. The owner's manual says it can go up to 90mph. I do 75mph on the beltway everyday on the way home from work.

Is it a hybrid or all electric car? Neither. It's 100% gas.

What kind of gas mileage does it get? I've driven it 100 miles so far, and the little gauge hasn't moved off of the full line yet. It's supposed to get 40mpg in the city and 45mpg on the highway. A far cry from my poor Durango's 12mpg!

Do you feel like you're driving a golf cart? No! Surprisingly, it feels like a normal sized car. It does not feel different than driving any other car.

Is it safe? Yes! It received 5 star safety crash ratings.

I really recommend it, it is super easy to park! I can't wait 'till hockey season starts now, I am so excited to be able to drive a small car into the city. It sure will be easier than parking my Durango there!

(Promise I'll have crafting stuff to post later this week. This won't become a Smart car blog.)



Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Free Make & Take Card



Every Thursday, Angela's Happy Stamper has a free make & take card. How awesome is that!? They already have the paper cut for you and all the supplies are there to make a free card in just a few minutes. This is the card from last week. I am in love with these A Muse stamps lately.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Copics



So I finally got into Laura's Crazy for Copics class last weekend. She's offered it a bunch of times and every time I go to sign up, it's already full. She taught us different ways to use the Copic Markers and how to blend them. I already know I love the copics, the colors are really vivid and they're quick compared to the prismacolors & gamsol method I was using before. But, I never knew how to blend the colors together. I made this 3x3 card for a Christmas gift tag swap on the PaperCrafts site. I got to test out one of the new blending methods I learned on the trees. I used two different colors of Copics (hopefully you can see the blending toward the top of the trees). I think that tree stamp is so cute, it's one of the new stamps by A Muse. Hope you had a nice weekend!

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Christmas in July





I've been seeing a lot of blogs with Christmas in July posts. I'm a little late in jumping on that bandwagon. I always seem to be running behind lately. I took a class at my LSS last weekend that helped me get a jump start on my Christmas cards. It was Christmas cards using A Muse stamps, and was taught by Melinda. I love taking her A Muse classes, they are fun and relaxing. These area few of the cards I made in her class.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Outlines Jewel It Class



Outlines stamp company has a new line of rubber stamps where you can make jewelery using swarovski crystals. I signed up for this jewelery class as soon as I saw the necklace in person at Angela's Happy Stamper. I could not believe it was made out of paper! And I love the way the crystals sparkle. Well apparently I signed up for it too far in advance, because class day came & went and I forgot about it. I was so mad at myself! I picked up my kit and directions last weekend and tried to make it on my own. It was so easy to make, and I love how it turned out. I took it to work to show off and everyone was amazed it was made out of paper too. One of my coworkers does a lot of ballroom dancing and wanted me to make her a pair of earrings that she can wear dancing, because it feels so light. My picture really doesn't do it justice, it's much prettier in person!

Monday, July 14, 2008

Penguin Birthday



Just a quick post as I have to get ready to go to work. I made this card for a birthday card swap. I love these penguins by Memory Box. If you're not familiar with them, they have all kinds of penguins (one dressed up as a doctor, a bee, a mailman, etc). They are all really cute. I stamped the penguins and then stamped the balloon to look like they're holding it. I took two classes at my LSS over the weekend. I have cards from that to share, as soon as I have time to take pics I'll get them posted on here. Maybe later in the week. Hope you have a great week!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Recipe Cards





Just wanted to share a couple recipe cards I've been working on lately. The first one is for a recipe swap with an "On the Grill" theme, so I chose my favorite pork chop marinade. I dry embossed the apron and used floss for the ties. That was time consuming! The Garfield Lasagna recipe was for a cartoon recipe swap. You had to choose a character and make a recipe card related to the character (another example would be Popeye and a spinach recipe.) I'm taking a couple classes at Angela's Happy Stamper this weekend, so I'll be posting more later this weekend.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Extra Postage Holders




I participate in a lot of swaps. If you've ever swapped, you know you have to send some extra stamps to the swap hostess, in case your envelope weighs more on the return trip than it did when you sent it (some of the swappers may get a little embellishment heavy!) I can never seem to find a little envelope or tiny jewelery bag to put my stamps in when it's time to send my swap items to the hostess. So I decided to host a swap on the PaperCrafts site for extra postage holders. I thought it would be fun to see what everyone comes up with. I used this double sided sock monkey paper and made a little holder for my stamps. I cut a window out of the paper so you can see the inside, and put acetate in the window. I know the stamps are going to cover up the sock monkeys, but it looks cute now! I used my cuttlebug to cut some quickutz letters for the word "stamps". Finally, a project that I'm happy with how it turned out! Hope you like them too.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Pop-Up Gift Card Holders




Happy Monday! Hope you had a nice weekend. I had a nice relaxing one and got to do a lot of crafting. I'm seeing a lot of Christmas cards and projects posted on blogs this month and I'm starting to think about Christmas gifts. I found this template for a pop up gift card holder at the Stamp Shack. You have to be a member to get the template, but I don't think it's very expensive to join. I made the one above for a friend, I'm going to put an Archivers card in it. I don't have the card yet, so I put my credit card in the slot for the picture. (That's a picture of my old dog Sammy on the credit card - isn't that cool!?) The two pictures below are gift card holders I made for my niece & nephew. They would make nice Christmas gift card holders if you used Christmas patterned paper. I will probably make some more this weekend, they are addicting once you've made one!



Friday, July 4, 2008

Anniversary Card



I needed to make an anniversary card and decided to copy a card I saw in a Lasting Impressions book. I thought the shoe template with the words "A Perfect Pair" would be good for an anniversary card. I dry embossed the shoes and used embroidery thread as laces.

We went and saw Hancock this afternoon, it was a cute movie. We decided to stay in and avoid the fireworks crowds this year. Rusty gets so stressed out with the fireworks booms and I hate the thought of leaving her home alone.
Hope you all had a safe & happy 4th!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Easy Card



This was a quick easy card. I'm not really happy with it, but that's how I've been feeling about all my cards lately. I wanted to make a card that opens differently than a normal card. I love shaped cards or cards that have unusual folds or openings. I dry embossed the flowers & the butterfly using a Lasting Impressions template, cut them out and attached them to the top flap of this card.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Cat Cards





Sorry for not posting in awhile. I've been creating, but just not liking anything I make. Does that ever happen to you? I wanted to make a cat card for a friend, but I don't even think this looks like a cat! I hope with the fish, the recipients will be able to tell that it's a cat.

On a personal note, yesterday I was so happy because the Caps re-signed my fav player Mike Green. But then this morning I wake up to some depressing news, my fav goaltender didn't resign with the Caps, instead he went to Chicago. I'm so bummed out. I don't know anything about the new goaltender we're getting.

Oh! Yesterday I booked a vacation... I cannot wait! The last week-long vacation I had was in September 2003! We went on a Carribbean cruise. Since that time, I've had to take leave from work for a lot of family emergencies, putting the addition on the house, etc. So I haven't had enough leave accrued to take a nice long vacation. We're going here - to Gatlinburg TN. Don't these cabins look so relaxing!? Hope you're having a nice week!