Quilling Craziness! #145

Supplies: Paper from Cosmo Cricket "DeLovely;"
Green from Basic Grey (unknown collection);
rhinestone swirls from $store;
Labels 4 Nesties, sponged with Black Soot Distress Ink;
birthday sentiment from KaiserCraft, stamped with Palette Noir;
dragonfly quilled by me; wings painted with iridescent fabric paint

Supplies: Paper from Echo Park "Summer Days;"
Sentiment from Cloud 9 Designs;
stamped with Versamark & Adirondack Citrus, embossed with clear EP;
standard oval Nesties;
flowers quilled by me

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey "Hello Luscious;"
standard oval Nesties;
vase punched with Marvy Uchida punch;
sponged with teal ink from a Kaleidocolor pad;
Birthday stamp from Inkadinkado, stamped with teal ink;
rhinestone swirl from $store;
flowers quilled by me



Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey "Hello Luscious;"
standard & lacey circle Nesties;
rhinestones from $ store;
Birthday stamp from Inkadinkado;
stamped with teal ink from Kaleidocolor pad;
flowers quilled by me

 Looking at these now, the photos aren't as crisp as I thought they were. Sorry about that! Quilling seems to be hard for me to get a good picture of (whoa, hope the grammar police aren't reading today...yikes!)

Since my sister specifically requested that I make some quilled cards before she got here, I've managed to get myself back into it. I find the fiddly nature of quilling relaxing most of the time - but I do admit, these cards take an awfully long time. I tend to make flowers without a specific design in mind, and I store them by colour in a hardware drawer set (intended for nails, screws, etc). That keeps them safe & clean until I'm ready to use them. I don't usually have a plan in mind when I go to make a card, other than the basic materials I'll use (I don't often use sketches or do specific challenges for that reason). If I sat down and made all the quilling for a card, then made the card directly...I don't think I'd use anywhere near as many flowers, nor do as much quilling!

The monkeys are awake, so I have to go get breakfast going & lunches packed. One last thing, though, before I forget: last week's health scare appears to be resolving. My CK levels were very high, indicating muscle damage "only" rather than heart muscle damage. Stopping the statin I was taking for cholesterol had the levels dropping 2 days later, and after 2 trips to the doctor in 2 days, staying off the statin, going back for bloodwork and more trips to the doctor this week, hopefully everything has been caught in lots of time. After the CK levels are stabilized again I guess we'll have to figure something else out for cholesterol. It was definitely scary - seriously, when do you ever get a phone call 2 hours after having blood drawn? {shudder}

Off to make Connor his favourite egg sandwich (gag)...
xoxo,
Jessi

Squeaking in at the last second...

...with Moxie Fab World's Pyrex Effect Tuesday Trigger.





Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey "Gypsy;"
birds & anniversary stamps from Inkadinkado;
heart swirl stamp from TAC;
all stamped with Versamark, Spiced Marmalade, and Fired Brick distress ink
(all applied to the stamp in that order);
embossed with clear EP;
Labels 4 Nesties; white gel pen; sheer ribbon from Offray



I was primarily inspired by the shades of orange, and the birds facing one another. I had never inked up these little birdies before, and I've had them probably since last fall.

Thanks for another wonderful inspiration, Cath!

xoxo,

Jessi

PS - post #144 - remember, #150 brings my first blog candy...the more comments, the more gets added to the prize :)

Happy Bee Day!

*Edited to add: Since Blogger's commenting woes seem to be continuing, I have changed my comment setting to a pop-up page. If it is still prompting you to sign in, I have had success on other blogs commenting as Anonymous. You can always leave your blog link in the body of the comment :) I would love to come visit!

Like most crafters, I think, it's pretty rare for me to buy more than one of the same paper pad. I've done it twice with Basic Grey - Urban Prairie and Archaic. I would buy a third Urban Prairie if I could find it. I loved every single pattern. Here is almost the very last of it:

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey "Urban Prairie;"
Letter stickers from Basic Grey;
bee stamp from Inkadinkado;
bling from the dollar store;
Sakura Stardust pen for the wings

Not being able to comment on most of the blogs I visit is driving me a little crazy. At least it looks like I shouldn't take it personally, since I've seen a few other bloggers mention it, but *sigh.* When I have time to go around & comment, it just sucks to not be able to do it. Plus, really, who wants to just blather away and not get feedback? Boo, hiss.

Yesterday on the way to get the kids from school, I found a sad little thing on the sidewalk. I almost went past it, thinking it was a plastic candy package or toy, and then I took a closer look:

OK, the formatting is driving me crazy. I give up. Anyway, it's a robin's egg. Lately I haven't seen the blue jays that appeared to be nesting beside the house, but I have seen robins. I don't want to get close for fear of scaring them off. The robins have been around so much that I assumed they had a nest, and it looks like they did. I just hope they still do, and that only this one sad little egg was lost. It was impossible for me to photograph with my limited skills, but it appears that either this egg was a dud, or was only recently laid, because the yolk is still proportionally large, and otherwise the egg was empty. The kids were quite upset about it - I suppose all my warnings about staying away from the side of the house really sunk in. Riley is convinced it was a burglar who should go to jail, and Connor wanted to get some "egg tape" and a warm light to fix the baby.

While I had the camera out to photograph the egg, I took some pictures of the latest baby blanket. It was done in six panels/strips, and then sewn together. I really like the patchwork effect! It took for.e.ver to stitch it together - my least favourite part. You're so close to finishing that you keep at it, but it still takes a long time. I generally whipstitch through each pair of crochet stitches, so that there are as few gaps as possible. 



Close-up of the pattern



For those of you keeping track, this is post 143...I'm already working on post 150 for blog candy, though of course I'll have to delay that if commenting isn't back up & running properly by then. Fingers crossed...and as a heads up, I plan to enter comments from more than just the blog candy post itself. It seems to me that frequent commenters earn more than a single chance ;) 

Killing time before going to the doctor...still trying not to freak out. Hah! That's not going so smoothly :)

xoxo,

Jessi 





A Fairy for You



Supplies: Fairy die cut from Graphic 45;
clear microbeads & Martha Stewart glitter added to her wings with
Mod Podge Dimensional Magic;
paper from Basic Grey "Curio;"
tag die from Cuttlebug; ribbon & bamboo thread from stash;
'for you' (Studio G) stamped with Vintage Photo distress ink

So, yesterday when I was tooling around with my blog sidebar, and finally figured out how to add the labels there, I realized I don't have a single post labeled with "weddings." Very strange. It's not like I don't make wedding cards, but I guess I just haven't been posting them. I'll be making some in the next couple of days, so I'll have to post those.

I'm still having problems commenting on some of the blogs that I tagged in yesterday's post - Simplicity; Stampin' When I Can; Walchow Design; My Pink Mexico; Handcrafted by Tiffany; and Corgi Creations. I'm really not sure what's going on there, but all of them are blogs where the comment form is embedded beneath the post itself, rather than opening in a pop-up. Huh. I am not computer-savvy enough to figure it out, but I'll keep at it.

Speaking of lack of computer savvy, I also can't figure out how to reply to a comment! I know it's technically possible, but I can't figure out how. So, Lindsay, you're welcome - and I tucked away several packages of the 'clearance cards' and will save them for you to check out when I see you :)

I finished the patchwork-style baby blanket I was working on. It is simply gorgeous, if I say so myself. When I take this week's card photos I'll be sure to get a pic of this blanket as well. I even started the next blanket already - this one in pale yellow and white - and I have to say I've really been enjoying myself. It's a very portable craft, and I get lots of compliments. Hard to argue with that!

In the spirit of over-sharing...sigh...the doctor's office called a little while ago about my bloodwork from this morning. My CK level is very high, and instead of waiting for my Friday appointment, I need to go in tomorrow. Don't Google what it is. It indicates heart or skeletal muscle damage. The phonecall was also to tell me to stop my cholesterol medication immediately. I already took today's after the bloodwork, and if it would help, I would go be sick...I can't believe it's bad enough that it can't wait 2 days until my appointment, when generally it's impossible to get into the doctor in less than 3 weeks. Keep your fingers crossed that I can keep from freaking out - it won't help anything.

xoxo,
Jessi
(still freaking out a little)

A Versatile Blogger Award? Holy *ahem*!

 I am not well-known for my fantastic memory, unless it involves ridiculous trivia of no use whatsoever. I continually forget things - like last night, even though I have made it a habit to a) not ever drink juice, since it messes up my blood sugar and b) pretty much not eat after 8 pm, for the same reason, I had a nice big glass of orange juice after watching the House season finale, about 10:15 pm. Big deal? Not really, except I was supposed to go for 12-hour fasting bloodwork first thing this morning. Ugh. 10:15 am is too late to get to the lab & be sure of getting in before they close.

So, while I was on vacation, Raven from Feral Scraps gave me my very first blogging award. I nearly peed my pants! And my plan was to wait until I was home, so that I could include blogs that I follow via RSS but hadn't switched over to Google yet.

And, I totally blew it & forgot.

And then this morning, I'm checking out Emily Leiphart's Art From The Heart and holy sheet, Batman, she tagged me with the same award. Here it is, in all its awesomeness:



Pardon me while I squeal a little bit...yoiks. I've followed Emily's blog for a long time, long before I figured out how to work the RSS feed or joined Google, and she leaves the nicest comments for me :) I'm so incredibly honoured, and I can't recommend her blog enough. Really. *end gush* Besides, she designs for Pink Cat Studio, one of my favourite companies...she will get you addicted.

Raven has all kinds of neat CAS designs on her blog. She & her family are in an area affected by the recent tornadoes, and my heart goes out to them. I hope that things are back to normal as soon as possible.

Thank you both for this award - I'm so incredibly tickled!
So, I'm supposed to first tell you 7 things about myself, and then tag 15 more blogs for you to check out...let's see:

1. I only see out of one eye. I have a lazy eye, and had surgery at 16 to correct it. Previously it was rotated 89 degrees towards my nose, so my poor confused brain shut off the signal. The eye works, just that my dominant eye has to be closed.

2. I have a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature with an extended minor in History...and have not ever held a job using that degree. I graduated when I was hugely pregnant with my first son, and have not worked (outside the home) since.

3. After my first son was born, and while I was pregnant with my second son, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I consider myself lucky to be well-controlled with medication, and also lucky to be a primarily depressed bipolar person - seems to me mania causes a lot more problems.

4. I am totally an over-sharer. I can keep someone else's secret, but boy, is my life an open book. I can talk the hind leg off a mule...as in, it will chew its leg off to get away.

5. I read hundreds of books a year. Several years ago I started keeping track of how many books I was reading, and usually it's in the area of 250 per year. Popular fiction and mysteries are my favourite. I read while walking to pick up the kids, while eating, while falling asleep at night - and often my husband has to remove my glasses & book for me when he gets home. About 99% of the books I read come from the public library.

6. Many of you will already know, but both of my boys have autism. The sharing part of this is that I think I actually prefer having atypical kids. There are definitely hard things about autism, don't get me wrong, and I would never have asked that they have to struggle with these challenges...but in so many ways, I too am comfortable with what I call the "autistic routine." I particularly feel lucky that they have responded so well to the years of therapy I learned to do with them. I joke that that's what my degree was for, to learn to be a speech & occupational therapist to my kids.

These are getting longer as I go....

7. We have 3 cats. I've nearly always had cats, and these ones are pretty cool. Sophie is all white, and deaf. Gertie is a tabby, and she's a six-toed cat. Maggie is I guess calico, white & dark stripes with one orange leg. She's also six-toed, but her paws look like mittens rather than just huge. Maggie also plays fetch - she retrieves Nerf bullets and earplugs, and carries them to you in her mouth when she wants to play.



Sophie




Maggie



Maggie's awesome feet!



Nothing better than warm laundry...Maggie & Gertie

 So, on to 15 folks I'd like to tag with the same award:

Emily Keaton: My Little Slice of Bliss

Meg Craig: Corgi Creations

Allison Fillo: Stampin' When I Can

Ronnie: So Many Stamps, So Little Time

Susan Raihala: Simplicity (Check out her other blogs, too!!)

Brandi: Yankee Belle Stamper

Lai-Yoke: Walchow Design

Lydia Fiedler: Understand Blue

Michele Kovack: Thoughts of A Cardmaking Scrapbooker

Suzanne C: Suzanne's Stamping Spot

Mary Dawn Quirindongo: My Pink Mexico

Tiffany: Handcrafted by Tiffany

Stephanie Severin: Ingenious Inkling

Angeline Yong Jeet Leen: The Creation of Creativity

Marlene: Disguised as a Grown-Up

Third time's a charm here - it took me all day to finally get this sucker finished up! Hopefully you enjoy checking out some new-to-you blogs, and as always, I'm so very tickled that you continue to visit mine!

Post #150 is coming up soon, and with it, my very first blog candy - keep your eyes peeled!

xoxo,
Jessi

Edited to add: I have been leaving comments for each of the people I tagged - but for some reason I have been unable to for about half of them. Just in case you somehow manage to see this post before receiving my comment...sorry about that! I'll keep trying :)

Some Royal Fun...A Tuesday Trigger!

I haven't found the time to play along with Moxie Fab World's Tuesday Trigger since before I went on vacation - I printed out this week's, Some Royal Fun, on Tuesday when Cath posted it, and then lost it in the disaster area of my desk. However, I remembered the colours, and knew I wanted to use them in my project.

Supplies: white cardstock;
stamps all from Stampin' Up!;
Distress inks: Tumbled Glass, Worn Lipstick, Dried Marigold;
misc. rhinestones

While plotting out this not-my-usual CAS design, I knew the stamps I wanted to use, and that I wanted to have lots of white space. I also wanted to mask off the rose, rather than colour in in. The first attempt (which I recycled & forgot to take a picture of) looked kind of flat with only the blue & pink inks, so I added the marigold. The rhinestones next to the sentiment are to mimic the shiny jewels on the plate. Once I was happy with the basic card, I made 5 more for a set of 6. My husband really didn't care for this - he says they look unfinished. Meh. I like them anyway.

xoxo,
Jessi

Baby Love

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey "Origins;"
standard oval Nesties;
sentiment stamp from Cloud 9 Designs; stamped with Palette Noir;
flowers quilled by me

Supplies: Papers from AC "Abode;"
standard oval Nesties;
sentiment stamp from Cloud 9 Designs;
stamped with Palette Noir;
yellow buttons from stash; white heart & bear buttons from Dress it Up!

Sometimes autism really sucks.

Connor's asthma has been bad, right? And we went to the doctor, but of course Connor can't really describe how his breathing feels, and I blithely assumed that coughing without sneezing, etc, was asthmatic. I didn't insist that the doctor listen to his lungs, just took the new medicine & went on our way. The new medicine didn't really help, and Connor seemed to be getting worse. So, when DH took him for the follow-up appointment, I said "Make sure he listens to his lungs this time!" And guess what? The child has had bronchitis for well over a month  (judging from when symptoms started). He was up all night coughing Friday, and by Saturday he developed a fever, and so ended up in the emergency room for antibiotics.

So, I feel horribly guilty, although really I know sh** happens, and he will be fine. Ugh.

Riley, on the other hand, wants desperately to be funny. He tells jokes (horrible, anti-joke chicken kind of jokes...


They aren't even close to being funny. So, Thursday, I'm in a crummy mood, and we're walking to school for Karaoke Night (seriously, one of SIX fundraisers for the school in less than a week. OMG.) when Riley turns around and PUNCHES ME IN THE FACE. Because he wanted to play a prank and cheer me up.

I know it's not personal, but it's so hard to remember that sometimes - like, for example, when your 110 lb, nearly 5 foot tall 11 year old punches you in the nose for a joke. Sigh.

So, anyhow...Connor and I are here for the day. Sarah & Andrew wanted to go to Hopewell Rocks today, and so Riley's gone with them, and DH has gone to work. It should be a quiet one - at least I don't expect to get hit in the face :)

xoxo,
Jessi

More graduations...

Supplies: Papers from My Mind's Eye Fine & Dandy "Tickled Pink;"
cloud, balloon, and "sky" sentiment from The Greeting Farm;
stamped in Palette Noir; "Congratulations" stamp from Inkadinkado;
Sun sticker from ATD; clouds embossed with Cuttlebug folder

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey "Wisteria;"
Emerson quote from My Favorite Things, stamped with Vintage Photo Distress Ink;
Congratulations stamp from Inkadinkado;
resin medallion from K & Co;
flowers quilled by me :)

Oddly enough, even though I've typed out 3 or 4 different sentences, I deleted them all. So glad to have my sister here, but a rough day. And rather than delete that too, I think I'll just let it lie.
Tomorrow I'll have a nifty selection of 'clearance' cards at the market - time to clear out my stash, and I've packaged them in sets of 5 for $5.
xoxo,
Jessi

Imaginisce Birthdays

One more day until my little sis arrives!!! One welcome surprise is finished; the other has to wait until the last minute...and I will post photos, but she's sneaky and might read the ol' blog beforehand, so I'm not telling just in case. I guess maybe I should clean the bathroom today. Maybe. The chances aren't that good, actually. I have more fun things to do, like hang out with my friend Dee & dish on girl stuff.

Supplies: super-fun papers from Imaginisce Berrylicious;
super-furry hedgehog stickers from Recollections;
sentiment from TAC, stamped with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink;
buttons from stash; misc. orange & green cardstock;
grass made with Martha Stewart fringe scissors;
standard & lacey circle Nestabilities

Supplies: Papers and robot stamp from Imaginisce;
'party like a rock star' from Studio G;
stamped with Versamark and embossed with black & silver EP;
rhinestone scallop border from $store

I can't stop petting those little hedgehogs - they aren't felt, they're kind of a faux-fur material with a super-deep pile, and they're so soft!

The sun came out for a couple of hours yesterday - back to clouds & showers for today, though.  It was nice to walk home from school without getting soaked, but I don't imagine it'll happen again any time soon. We're setting all kinds of rainfall records, which means we'll be setting all kinds of mosquito records next. Ugh.

xoxo,
Jessi

Pink Cat Owls

Supplies: Owl stamp from Pink Cat Studio;
stamped with Palette Noir, coloured with markers, and 'feathered'
with Stampendous Fun Flock (Cotton Ball);
Tree template from melstampz.blogspot.com;
Paper from My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy "Tickled Pink;"
sentiment stamps from My Favorite Things;
misc. cardstock, Cuttlebug folder (for leaves);
Martha Stewart fringe scissors for grass;
Autumn Leaves rub-on (sun); googly eyes (what a lot of stuff!)

I think the owls are my favourite of Melissa's illustrations...and I love tucking these little ones from the Party Animals into a tree. And there always has to be more than one of them.

Emily asked me how old Connor is on my dentist post from last week...and I realized I'd never shown any pictures of the kids here. Odd, for how many stories I find to tell about them...speaking of which, this morning Riley brought me a pear from the fridge, but he was disturbed about something. "It's missing...it's missing...the antenna!" he finally spits out. Maybe the boys watch a little too much sci-fi when 'antenna' comes to mind more easily than 'stem!'

Anyhow, the boys are Connor, who is 12, and Riley, who is 11. They are 15 months, 8 days, 12 hours, and 57 minutes apart in age. Both of them were diagnosed with autism in 2003 - that was a crappy year - and both are in mainstream classes at grade level. And here they are:

Connor, Poppy, Grammie, and Riley
Christmas 2010

Sarah and Andrew - and I love them!
And Sarah said I could do this, if I also promised to share a 'normal' pic...

Judy (my stepmom), Dad, me, Nevada (my bro), Sarah, and Andrew
Well, what passes for normal around here, anyway :)

I'd better get some lunch before I have to go get the rugrats...I can't believe it's still raining. The yard is largely underwater, and I swear I feel webs growing between my toes. I don't think we've had nice weather once when Sarah's come to visit - it even snowed when she came in April. Come on, Nova Scotia can do better than that...but I'm not holding my breath, just in case.

xoxo,
Jessi

Birthday Birds

Having Blogger down sucked...seems like it was forever, and it ate comments! I am thankful for it working over 99% of the time, and for free.

Supplies: Journaling card from Webster's Pages;
papers (and blue butterfly) from DCWV "Mariposa Mat Stack;"
lace, ribbon, and feather from stash; stick pins from Making Memories;
Birthday wishes stamp from Inkadinkado, stamped with Palette Noir

Supplies: Stick pin, die-cuts, resin bird all from K & Co;
papers from Basic Grey "Curio;"
Wilton doily sponged with Old Paper Distress Ink;
lace from Hero Arts; ribbon from stash;
Birthday Greetings sticker from SRM

Supplies: paper & vellum die-cuts, resin egg from K& Co;
paper from DCWV "Mariposa Mat Stack;"
Happy Birthday sticker from SRM;
Wilton doily

I hope birds never go out of style in papercrafts...I love them all: cutesy, cartoon, realistic, vintage, elegant... Right now we have two pairs of blue jays nesting at the side of our house, and a pair of robins as well. I think there are sparrows as well, but we've only spotted them a couple of times. They're so tiny, and so well-camouflaged, that it's hard to see if they are sticking around or just visiting. Friday we had someone come cut the top off of the Leaning Tree of Fogan - the ground is flooded in the yard, and that tree was aiming right for the house. He'll be back to take the rest once the ground is dry enough to get to it without gumboots. I think the birds were avoiding it - at least, there's no evidence of nests in the downed branches - but they are swarming it now that it's on the ground. Bizarre to see the different species all picking at it together, when usually the jays chase everyone else away!

Four days left until my lovely sister arrives...I can't wait for the boys to see her & meet her guy. They already adore her, and they're going to love him too! I would post a picture here, but the one I want to put up really truly belongs on the fridge...and I wouldn't want her to decide not to come after it goes on the Internet. (You're welcome, sis. Anytime, really! I Love Youuuuu.)

xoxo,
Jessi

Graduation {is for the} birds?

Supplies: Papers all from My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy "True Blue;"
Mortarboard sticker from Recollections;
owl, accessories, & sentiments from Cornish Heritage Farms;
stamped with Palette Noir, paper-pieced with scraps, and beak/talons coloured with markers;
stamp on envelope from "ditto"

Supplies: paper from DCWV;
awesome chickie stamp (my fave!) and outline stickers from Stampendous!;
yellow fun flock also from Stampendous;
misc. rhinestones; standard and lacey circle Nestabilities

Well, not really. It gets boring naming all the posts sometimes, eh?

The trip to the dentist was excellent - there were tears, but Connor didn't let that get in the way of cooperating - he did sit up and say that the tears were going in his ears, but he laid right back down and recovered quickly. They got a minimal cleaning done, and lovely clear x-rays taken (he loved that part!) that showed he doesn't have a cavity after all. As the dentist explained to Connor, that tooth is shaped like a butt, and the butt crack has a mark on it - nothing to worry about. You can just picture how delighted he is to keep telling everyone his tooth looks like a butt!

I plan to drive everyone nuts listening to my Mother's Day CD of Lady Antebellum...it was bad enough that I turned up the radio super-loud every time "Need You Now" came on the radio, and now I can play it over-and-over-and-over...I mention this since I just restarted it again.At least no one else is awake yet!

I appear to have solved my online ordering problem - sort of. Now it appears that I have 2 orders on the way...I would say oops, except of course, it's all fun stuff. And quite a bit of fun stuff for blog candy! Now for it to arrive so I can get that ball rolling.

xoxo,
Jessi

Crazy Penguins

Supplies: Penguins & sentiments from The Cat's Pajamas;
stamped with Palette Noir, coloured with markers;
papers from Cosmo Cricket "DeLovely;"
Sakura Stardust pen for glittery goodness;
Stampendous Fun Flock (Cotton Ball) for fuzzy bellies;
black rhinestones & cardstock; scalloped scissors for border;
standard & lacey circle Nestabilities; Cuttlebug embossing folder

Supplies: Penguins & sentiment from The Cat's Pajamas;
stamped with Palette Noir ink, coloured with markers;
paper from My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy "Tickled Pink;"
standard oval & circle Nestabilities; Cuttlebug embossing folder;
liquid applique for cupcake frosting; microbeads for sprinkles;
Stampendous Fun Flock (Cotton Ball) for fuzzy bellies;
Sakura Stardust pen for glitz!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the baby blanket - I brought it with me to the market, and it sold! Hard to be unhappy about that :) I'm working on another, but I think it will be probably 2 or 3 weeks before it's finished.

Last week I tried to place two orders online for craft supplies - both with companies I've ordered from before - and with the first, the cart malfunctioned, and customer service got back to me once to ask for details, and then nothing since. The second has yet to send me an invoice, even though it's been 6 days now, and I followed up with another email to make sure they realized that I hadn't received one...argh! You wouldn't think it would be so hard to give someone money, for Pete's sake. To add insult to injury, in the time I've been waiting on these two companies, they've gone out of stock on several of the items I was trying to order. Do you have a favourite place to order from that also ships to Canada without wanting my firstborn?

Speaking of my firstborn, his asthma has been in terrible shape lately. We finally got in to see the doctor yesterday, and he's got to switch to a new inhaler. This one is used without the spacer, but it's called a 'turbohaler' - a cool name goes a long way towards smoothing the worry about taking it differently. He'll have to go back in less than 2 weeks to make sure that it's working properly - he's been taking his rescue inhaler every day, sometimes more than once, so I really hope this works quickly. This appears to be Doctor Month - between three of us, there are so far 5 appointments this month. Today's appointment is for the dentist - Connor's first trip to a "regular" dentist since he was first referred to the IWK Children's Hospital clinic when he was 4. He needs a filling, and I'm not sure who's more anxious, him or me. Dad booked him for a full cleaning and the filling, and previously all the dentists at the IWK could do when he was awake was look in his mouth. Not touch, not x-ray, not nothing. It's worth a try - the wait for the local dentist is only 3 weeks, rather than the (at least) 3 months for the IWK, but still....keep your fingers crossed that he copes well. Also, send Valium for both of us. Or just me - I'm OK with that ;)

xoxo,
Jessi

Crafty Secrets Beauties

Supplies: Crafty Secrets clipart;
Stamps all from Inkadinkado;
Dusty Concord Distress Ink; purple bling;
lacey circles Nestabilities

Supplies: Crafty Secrets clip art (how gorgeous is she??);
Button and paper from Basic Grey "Curio;"
floral heart sticker from PSX;
Wilton doily; adhesive pearls;
Mother's Day stamp from Anna Griffin;
stamped with Palette Noir 2nd generation

Supplies: Crafty Secrets clip art;
sentiment from Gina K. Designs;
Faded Jeans Distress Ink;
paper from DCWV "Mariposa Mat Stack;"
Wilton doilies; shamrock button from Dress It Up!

Do you ever have difficulty creating cards for certain occasions? This week I really need to be working on Mother's Day and graduation cards (convocation celebrations at Mount Allison University start next week)...but all I feel like making are birthday and baby cards. Argh. The pressure mounts...lol! There is also a fundraiser at the kids' school next week, and I've promised to donate something for the silent auction table. I'll definitely be contributing one of my crafty kits, which has supplies to make 10 cards, 10 bookmarks, and 2 mini journals (with 30 6x6 papers, glitter, ribbon, lace, buttons, and that sort of fun stuff), but I'd like to make some sort of giftie item specially for the event as well. Hopefully inspiration strikes SOON. By the way, if you are in the Amherst/Sackville area and would like details for the kid-friendly (and fun!) event being held May 13th, shoot me a comment or email & I'll pass on the info.

xoxo,

Jessi

Floral Silhouettes

Supplies: Sentiments from Gina K Designs, stamped with Tumbled Glass & Dusty Concord;
'grass' stamps from Inkadinkado, stamped with Wild Honey & Peeled Paint;
floral silhouette from Digital Princess, stamped with Tumbled Glass;
mini flower silhouette from Studio G, stamped with Dusty Concord;
misc. rhinestones

Supplies: Spring Mix Flower Soft;
branch & bird from Inkadinkado;
Sentiment from Kaisercraft;
Versamark, Dusty Concord, & Peeled Paint ink; clear EP;
Nestabilities Label 4; Cuttlebug D'vine Swirls folder;
edges inked with Dusty Concord 

Supplies: Papers from Basic Grey 'kraft basics;"
Peeled Paint, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Black Soot distress inks;
Grass stamps (paint and brick) from Inkadinkado;
butterfly stamp unknown; floral silhouette from Digital Princess;
Birthday sentiment from Kaisercraft;
edges inked with paint, brick, and marmalade

Supplies: Martha Stewart butterfly punch, scrap paper;
cotton crochet thread for antennae; misc. rhinestones;
Thanks stamp from Stampin' Up!;
grasses from Inkadinkado;
floral silhouette from Digital Princess;
Tumbled Glass, Dried Marigold distress inks;
Citrus and Purple Twilight Adirondack inks

The time change has really thrown me for a loop - it took just a day to get used to Vancouver time, but I've been home for a week now and still don't feel like I'm running on the right time. I've heard that going east is harder to adjust to, and four hours is a lot, but really...any time now would be nice! I'm managing to get up at the right time, more or less, and still taking my usual nap of a couple hours, but by 7 pm I am wiped - I've fallen asleep sitting up the last few days. That nap only lasts 10-15 minutes, but then I'm wide awake at bedtime, and unable to fall asleep until 1-2-3 in the morning. Ugh. The five o'clock alarm is not a welcome sound after that. I think being up all night on the flight home may have messed it up more than the time change - a good reminder that I'm not a university student any more, and all-nighters require recovery now :)

I finished another baby blanket - this one just for fun - and started another. Little projects usually equal instant gratification, which is apparently important to my crafty mojo. I plan on bringing the blankets to the market with me - not sure how to price them yet, but I'll figure that out in the next few days. Pictures should follow if I get my act together!

xoxo,
Jessi