Book Club Selection

Hey...please vote in the Left hand column for the book or books (I will present the top 3 to my book club) you would like to see my book club read.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Borgia Bride by Jeanne Kalogridis

1 Vote

The Funeral Planner by Lynn Isenberg

The Great Stink by Clare Clark

March by Geraldine Brooks

1 Vote

The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundarseson

The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve

2 Votes

Well, It looks like I'll be offering the following selection to my book club. The Weight of Water, The Boriga Bride and March. Thanks for all your help.

COF Openings

Announcement

The Circle of Friends has some openings. Looking for a stress free, great group to exchange artwork with. Well, COF is what you need. Please check us out at Circle of Friends make sure to puruse the Photo Gallery.

We are invitation only so please drop me a comment if you are interested and I will share it with the group. And we are a limited group so you will never have to make a billion of the same project. Everything is sign up at your own lessure.

Upcoming Projects

February
Recipes. Make a 4x6 recipe card with your favorite recipe or recipes and Sandi will bind into a book for participants. You can include one or several

March
One color palette - Stamp anything of your choice (card, ATC etc) but only use shades of any one color. Small amounts of black are acceptable

April
Songs - create something to about your favorite song; Sandi will try to find all of the songs to make a CD to go with this. If you have a copy of your song that you could send with your project, I would appreciate it.

We also have ongoing Projects, a Round Robin Journal...hurry and sign up before we start the next rotation and Monthly Surprise Cards. Once again all of this is sign up for as much as you want.

Any questions just ask

Many Thanks Cards

Look how diligent I have been...I made 7 Thank you card packets...if you are interested please leave a comment and I will get back to you with details.






For voting purposes I've numbered them... Please vote on the left hand side of my blog

1. Limeade with Pink Azalea and Key Lime (Left)

21% (7 votes)

2. Light Racy Raspberry with Moss Green and Playful Peony

30% ( 10 votes)

3. Light Awsome Aqua with Pink Azalea and Navao Pearl

42% (14 votes)

Most votes

4. Lady bug with iridescent gold and Hot cinnamon

12% (4 votes)

Least votes

5. Ginkgo with Bougainvillea and Fern

15% (5 votes)

6. Deep Tempting Tanzanite with Gold Dust and Sapphire on ice (right)

15% (5 votes)

7. Dark Icy Indigo with Mango Mambo and Periwinkle (Left)

18% 6 votes

8. Chianti with Douglas Fir and Cranberry

15% 5 votes

Thank you all for taking the time to help me select the color combinations for The Many Thanks packets.

January ATC Lottery

I made my submission for the Alpha Stamps January ATC lottery using an image from Cleo #1 you'll need to scroll down the page a bit to find it.

ATC stands for Artist Trading Card...the only rule is that they must be 2 1/2" by 3 1/2" I frequently have a hard time working on such a small scale and this piece was no exception. I had a very hard time getting the frame the right proportions and actually redid the ATC three times. I think it was worth it.

The lottery works just like a regular lottery. I enter my ATC (that's like paying for a card) and when the end of the month rolls around the names of the participants are placed into a randomiser and someone is pulled. I hope it is me :) if not I mail my ATC off to the winner. If I do win the lottery I will receive all the other ATC entered. Pretty fun way to swap ATC isn't it?

Thrilling Thursday

Lunch with the Diva's! JJO and A

We went to eat at Joe's American Grill, everyone but me had a Salad...I ate a fabulous Hamburger...can't get them at home anymore and this one was really good with Provolone cheese and French fries.

The top photo is Amy and the bottom one is JJO

Anyway...onto the goodies

A and JJO had a Diva package for Kudzoo which was so nice of them and so much fun for all of us...especially Kudzoo...

-The first thing we opened was a Zuzie Q. Woozie Weeble...it is fantastic...especially since she has been playing with mine (my father drug them out of the Attic) this one is much safer and far brighter and newer...she is playing with it right now.
-Next came the Beauty Kit (fabric) Bright red and zips so she can carry it around. This was the big hit at lunch. Inside were all the essentials, a hair blow dryer, nail polish, a make up kit, hair spray and lipstick! The girl is all done up now.
-a Face/hand towel with pink trim and a purple and pink palace
-Baby Einstein Seasons discovery flash cards...I so wanted these!
-A wonderfully cute summer outfit a white t-shirt with glittery (yahoo) butterflies and plaid striped shorts in lovely pastel pinks, oranges, yellows and greens...it is so cute!
-Now my favorite items in my daughters diva box...a grey shinny picture frame with a bobble head in the shape of an elephant. It will go perfectly in her bedroom...
Arn't ya'll jelous of DD??? I am :)

This is a photo of JJO with the box/bag that I gave her before she ripped into it. I not only packed everything in the Market Basket bag but I wrapped each gift in the bags...like wrapping paper...I know, I'm a nut

okay...my box...oh my fabulous box...oh the wondrous items I received...

-So, in walks JJO and Amy and of course JJO has the diva items in a Market Basket plastic bag...but she cheated because inside the plastic bag was a gorgeous carry case with a lovely flower design and a very sturdy handle!

But ya'll arn't interested in the packaging...so here goes

-A 22 oz, yes ladies the largest size, Yankee Candle, Country Linen scent...one of my favorites...
-A pair of gold ball earrings off of my Amazon Wish List...I already have them in my ears...actually I put them on at the lunch table LOL
-2 WL books...The Book Thief and The Funeral Planner...yahoo I have my Z author for the author challenge
-A subscription to Family Fun Magazine...I read the December/January issue all the way back from lunch...Such great ideas!
-Goonies on DVD...which I am now going to crawl in bed and watch

Well...that was lunch and boy was it fabulous! I've never been so nervous about meeting anyone before, nor have I been so worried about the Diva box that I am giving...I hope she liked it.

My mom, Kudzoo and I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. We went into every baby store in the mall and didn't find anything...we were about to leave when I saw Baby Gap off in the corner...so we went in and it was great...there was nothing in the store that we didn't like. And that wouldn't have looked absolutely adorable on Kudzoo
-My mother bought her a 2-in-1 shirred print dress some matching socks and a bathing suit that is navy blue with a whale on the front that says "Having a whale of a time..."
-I got her a Floral button front top and button leggings that will go with her shirt of with the dress mom got her.

Wonderful Wendsday

Note: I am away from my computer so I can't upload images until I get home...but I thought I'd fill everyone in on my fabulous vacation

Today I drove down to Canton to visit one of the members of COF. The Drive was easy and the visit was wonderful!

We sat around drinking coffee and chatting while Kudzoo played with a fabulous Colorful book that J gave to her.

J also gave had a gift for me, a book called "My Mother Gave me the Moon" and inscribed it with "...- At long last we meet! And what a delight it is!! This book expresses so well all that I have imagined you to be. Blessings, J"

Finally we realized that we had to get going and we headed out to some stamping stores. The first one we went to was closed...they had not updated their web page...shame on them. So we drove over to one of J's favorites and it was Great. It has been so long since I've been in a Stamping/Scrapbooking store that I was overwhelmed. But I was able to select a few items...

some that I have been searching for

The Coluzzle Cutting system

and then a few frivolous buys...

Twinkling H2O's Chestnut brown, Spiced Pumpkin, Autumn skies, Cedar Wood, China Black, Green Tea, Tahitian Blue, Rain Forest, Sunset Glow, Mango Mamba, Pear Blossom and Sapphire on Ice

Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Shabby Shutters and Spiced Marmalade and a Stamp Set called Regal Findings

Last but not least a pack of rub ons

Note: The links are just pictures of the items bought...they are not where I purchased the items...

I also walked away with fantastic Copper paper and some grungeboard given to me by J...thanks...I can't wait to get home and try them out

It's my birthday...and there is NO crying!!

Hey all...thank you for making this one of the most fantastic birthdays I have ever had...here is how it went.

I got up this morning and logged into PBS to be showered by JJO with virtual glitter and serenaded by Steve Wonder LOL...alas she is sick and no one should be sick on my birthday...get better JJO...here's my glitter shower...

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIVA BUDDY, CAROLINE!!
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Next came lots and lots of Birthday wishes from the COF and other Fabulous Diva's!

Then a phone call from my friend B...

B: Let's do a birthday lunch...where do you want to go?

me: "Ummmm (mind not working) Wendy's (what was I thinking???)

B: Great Wendy's for Wednesday.

BLW Wendy's was exactly what I wanted and it was a great break in the day.

When I got home from my Fabulous Father I had this waiting
http://www.123greetings.com/view/HP10109100537897

I let it play over and over and over and over...until I couldn't take it anymore :)

Then came a Diva gift that blew me away! A Stamp from my favorite site Alpha Stamps! I can't wait to play with it.

Next was a trip to my front door where I found a blue and white box with this inside from my loving DH and DD. Way to go...I am so wearing this the entire time I'm in Boston...It's flannel...I may be warm enough...NOT!!!

I thought about taking a picture of me all dressed up but that's kinda hard when you're the one holding the camera...so my feet will have to do...

Here's a pic of just a few of the wonderful cards I got...I'm sorry if I left yours out...it does not mean i don't love it...It means I put it safely away from DD's hands

And last but certainly not least this is what my parents gave me for my Birthday...note, I had to take it off to take the picture...it's back around my neck now.

Alpha Stamp Contest

Well...I was at a loss, blocked of all creative juices for this months contest. On top of that since I'm going out of town I didn't have as much time as usual...However, after flipping threw various art catalogs and magazines (try about 20) I finally had an idea...

Magnificent Marbling Madness

Here it is...my experience with Marbling...H and I had a blast experimenting with colors and making a rip roaring mess...I've included some instructions but mostly my experience with this fabulous art form.

Prepping...the night before the fun

The very first step is to prepare your paper...you do this by mixing Alum into water and spreading it onto your paper. This allows the paint to stick. I do this first so that my paper has plenty of time to dry and then get ironed out (placed under a gigantic cook book) before I use it. By the way, this stuff will really dry your hands out so put lotion on right after and keep it on...or wear gloves...i didn't think of that...

Carragean is what is used to make the size...a heavy liquid that the paint will float on so designs can be swirled and combed into the paint and then lifted easily off with the prepared paper.

This is what the Carragean will look like after blending...it will be very bubbly and feel heavy.

Don't worry it doesn't hurt your mixer...

Day 2...at least the way I decided to go about the Marbling process...

My size has been in the fridge overnight so it is all set to be poured into the baking sheet. Set up a workspace that you don't care about messing up and gather all your tools. My choice, the garage with a stolen towel (I didn't steal it DH did) on the table top (didn't really care about the table either)

I didn't want to spend to much money on paint so I mixed most of mine in small plastic cups.

After your size is poured and your paint mixed make a few brushes and get to it.

The real mess comes when you start to put your paint onto the size...be prepared to have splatter everywhere...which was kinda fun :) This step you kinda have to find your own groove to...I found that tapping the brush either under or on top of the bristles worked best. If you are using black, always start with that. From there I went darkest to lightest. Spreading the paint is the most time consuming and to me nerve racking step of marbling. Depending on the design you select you can be criss crossing and racking for a while...and you know I choose some complicated designs...never the one for the easy road... The marbling tray will look something like this before placing the paper on it. Once all is said and done your work space will look something like this, even if you are a neat freak like me. The finished sheets drying...don't worry they flatten out very easily!

I'll upload some pictures of the finished products once I have mailed out my January COF project "A New Technique" after all they should get the first ogle.

The Grand Canon

While we were in Vegas for SIL wedding we all took a trip into the Grand Canon...courtesy of Biggin...thanks! Anyway it was a fantastic trip we saw it via Helicopter and then landed to take a short boat ride.

Christmas 2007

Yep, I know it's in the past but I worked very hard and diligently on my gift to ya'll this year so I thought I should post it. Alas, the soap was not my idea, but I still made it from scratch. I got the idea from After Midnight. Placing them in a custom made box was all me though!

It's my Birthday

Kudzoo finally reached 1 year old and boy did she celebrate...first we had to open all the gifts before going to Vegas...and then a private party hosted by her fabulous Aunt Snipe! The girl is spoiled rotten...