#147 - Classically Modern, A Tuesday Trigger

I absolutely love the photo that Cath at Moxie Fab World chose for this week's Tuesday Trigger, Classically Modern!

Look at that gorgeousness! Pretty blues, pristine bedspread (no kids at THAT house, or, at least, not any fun kids), vase of pink flowers, that incredible mirror/sunburst/alien artifact above the bed...

Right away I knew what stamp set I wanted to use, and I hauled it out, and then....nothing. Mojo-less. Boo, hiss.

This morning I was up super-early (4? insanity) and finally found the idea I was waiting for. Wah-lah:

Supplies: stamps from Inkadinkado;
light blue paper from Basic Grey "Hopscotch;"
Faded Jeans Distress Ink;
Marvy Uchida punch (vase);
standard & lacey circle Nesties;
flowers quilled by me

 It feels like a rather literal interpretation of the inspiration photo, but my main influences were the vase of flowers and the blue floral print. I chose a circle for the backdrop to echo the mirror/sunburst/alien artifact. I think I may take another stab at this Trigger, maybe with something more directly influenced by the alien artifact. I really like its shape.

Probably a bad idea, but I think I'm about to go put in a Coke Zero IV....just to stay awake until bedtime. And I had a nap! Also, a funny, well, funny to us: the kids are playing, running up & down the basement steps, and Connor says, "You forgot to turn the light on, genius."

<Sniff> My boy's learning sarcasm. It makes a mother's heart swell with pride ;)

xoxo,
Jessi  

Cutie-pie Robots...#146



Supplies: papers from Bo Bunny "Blast Off;"
robot sticker from Recollections;
gemstone borders from $store;
Happy Birthday from Peel-Off's;
googly eyes from stash



Supplies: border paper & envelope robot from Bella Blvd;
robot sticker from Recollections;
'birthday boy' sticker from SRM;
rhinestones from $store, placed using a standard circle Nestie as a guide

Supplies: paper from Bo Bunny "Blast Off;"
sentiment from My Favorite Things;
stamped with Versamark & embossed with white EP

Hmm, could robots be a blog candy hint?

Happy June! as Connor reminded me this morning. School won't officially be over until report cards are handed out on the 30th, and classes end on the 24th, but already homework is basically done for the year, and June is filled with chaos and not much in the way of routine. The school calendar has something nearly every single day - and noticeably absent are the Grade Six celebrations, final assemblies, and middle school orientation day...as Calvin would say, the days are just packed.

xoxo,
Jessi

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