Whirlpool of Imagination

I finally did it!!

I am really excited to say that I've gotten my first pieces published! Last year I decided to try to get some work published. Since I sell my work at craft fairs, I thought it would definitely increase my marketability to have published works. So I've been submitting and a few times things were requested but then magazines have to change things and what they thought they could use isn't always the case. But today in the mail I got my hands on my first cards to make it into print.

So keep your eyes open for Volume II of Just Cards put out by Scott Publications. And I'm hoping I far surpass by publications goals for the year!!

It's So Not My Day

Wow - only 12:15pm and I am so ready for the day to end. There I was, getting ready to take the kids to library class this morning....kids are buckled in, I hit the garage door opener, get into the car and do the seatbelt, back up and BAM! It seems I opened up the wrong garage door and banged into my closed garage door. The bottom panels are bent enough that this door is not going to open. I take the kids out, call my mom and ask to borrow her car for the day. She comes over, we buckle the kids into the car, and nothing. The car won't start. So she has to call to get the car towed. Meanwhile, my stepdad helps me straighten out the bottom panel enough to get the door open, get the van out, and close the door. I can't use the garage but at least I have my van. I have some semblance of independence. Then I get yelled at by my father in law when he has to straighten the door out. It's not like I tried to take out the door. I like my garage door and the ability to get in and out. I really don't get my kicks out of ruining parts of my house.

So now Meg's at school and Conor, who is still trying to get over his cold, has fallen asleep so I'm going to surf the net and savor my Starbucks. Please let the day get better from here.

A Little Something for Me

I'm under  a deadline. I have a wedding invitation order (120 invites) that I need to get finished by Monday. I'm on schedule but the next few days will be very repetitive as I finish up the response cards and invites themselves. So I took a few moments to create a little something for myself. I have my various project measurements and supply lists in a boring old raggedy notebook so I thought I'd spruce up a comp notebook in honor of spring (and take a break from cutting and adhering). It's pretty simple but its bright and cheerful .

And it was nice to get rid of that old notebook. The best thing is as I transfer my info, I can revisit old projects and gear up for my spring craft fair (1st week in May).

Conor is a little better today. We're just plugging along and doing everything possible to get the little guy to sleep easily through the night.

Not One Creative Bone in My Body Today

Nothing at all.

My little guy has been under the weather all weekend. Now he's just got this nagging cough and the cranky disposition since the poor guy is TIRED. And then, he's outside today after school, in a decent mood, running and wham! head first into the sidewalk. There goes the top lip, scraped and bloody. Now Conor is the type of kid who you'll hear thumps from all over the house and then he just yells, "I'm okay Mom". Not today. Full blown tears. For hours after I heard "my lip hurts". The poor guy finally falls asleep mid afternoon and the lip is now looking better. Now please, somebody help me help him get over this cough.........

An Easter Image

Last week I was approached by someone with a request to create a thank you gift for Bible Vacation School teachers. She was looking for something along the stationary lines. I thought I'd go for something like that but a little different so I created junior legal pad covers. This way the pad can be used as a journal or as a notepad, completely dependent on the user.

  If you received my recent newsletter, you wil recognize the image. I used this as one of my new designs for Easter cards but I thought it looked pretty so I figured I'd use it again. The image is from Eureka Stamps and the flowers were colored with twinkling H2O's. In this example, I used colored pencil for the cross but I think I'm going to try using watercolor pencils on it to give it a softer look and fill it in a bit better.

On a basketball note, my Uconn Huskies (men) are out but the women are still in it. Go Huskies!

Bunny Kisses

I've been working on my March newsletter this weekend and its filled with Easter images. I thought I'd give a little sneak preview. One of my best sellers are gifts for kids/school kids, especially preschool. Here are a couple of cute mini kisses bags. These are about half the size of my traditional kisses bags. I figured since the image size was a bit smaller than usual, I'd work with smaller bags. The sizing came out pretty good actually.

   

The stamps for these bags are from the Angel Company.

For those who receive my newsletter, check your inboxes either tonight or tomorrow the latest.

Flowers Flowers

The next couple of days I need to get everything created for the March newsletter so I'm focusing on Easter and flowers/spring. This one could easily be used for Easter with the bouquet of flowers.

Stamps are from Stampin' Up and The Angel Company.

Gadget Girl

I love gadgets. You can reel me in just by telling me you have a great new tool. I'm an easy mark. Combine that with an inability to do something and tell me that your gadget will help me do it, and I'm hooked. One crafting skill that has completely passed me by is the ability to properly score paper. I have a bone folder and I try that with a ruler. I have my paper cutter that has the groove. I've tried the bone folder with the groove, I've tried the little score tool from cutterpede. Maybe one in ten chance that I'll get a good even score. So when the Score It tool came out, I was immediately drawn to it. Now many people will look at the price and say absolutely no way. I said that in the beginning but have you tried to make a 2-4-6-8 box when you can't score?? It's a very good lesson in frustration. So I succombed and bought the tool. LOVE IT!!!!! I cannot even explain to you how much I love my scoring tool. Last week I made 23 nugget boxes for Meg's St. Patty's party. Now that's a lot of scoring lines and each one more perfect than the next. No more crooked scores.....everything lines up perfectly time after time after time.  Now if you don't have much reason to score cardstock on a regular basis, this tool is not for you. But if you are scoring deficient AND create many projects that require even scores, it is worth its weight in gold. (And as an aside, Bonnie is wonderful to deal with. I have ordered many items from her - its the tool thing again - and I have never had a problem - love her site). So thank you, makers of the Score It. I am forever grateful.

Going With the Peaches

I'm having a tough time getting back into the creative flow after being sick last week. I stamp a few things out and then, nothing. Just a mental block on how I wanted to proceed. I decided to try this flower stamp since I haven't used it since I bought it. Nothing fancy - instead of the birthday wishes I may also use it for Easter wishes or something along those lines.

Supplies: stamps: biblical impressions, stampin up  Inks: my all time favorites - Colorbox Chalk Inks - I love how these ink pads look, they get good coverage every time and the colors are nice and soft. Here I used peach pastel and tangerine. Stem came from Dee Grunig markers.

Oh, and by the way.......YEAH Huskies!!! (and no, I couldn't watch at the end - too nervous)

Close Call

We're UConn fans but it was tough last night. For a while they looked to be the first #1 seed who would lose to a #16. I had to walk away for a while - just couldn't watch. I have this crazy notion that if I don't watch, they'll play better. Yes, that's irrational but many sports superstitions are. I'll talk whatever works. Go Huskies!