It's All About Food

Another week flew by... I still have a few of the CAS cards to share from last week, but didn't make anything new this weekend. Instead, I was busy cooking and doing a few more house projects.This ladybug card is very simple, but still kind of cute and great for notes to friends. The background is embossed with Cuttlebug Swiss Dots. The scalloped border would be a sinch with square Nestabilities or a punch, but I didn't have either in the right size and resorted to cutting with my rectengular Nestabilites twice to make a sqare. Finally, the ladybug is stamped twice and popped up for a 3D effect. All in all though, it took me about as long to type this up as to make the card, so that's a big plus.

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: Cute & Curly
  
• Paper: Very vanilla, Dill Blossom DP by SEI
  
• Ink: Mellow moss
  
• Accessories: mini clip, ribbon
  
• Tools: Punch

I finally made ice cream for the first time this year - coffee with a hint of Baylee's. Yum! Tried out a tandoori chicken recipe. The flavor was great, but to my surprise it wasn't spicy at all so I'll have to add a few more serrano peppers next time. The favorite had to be the Sourdough Rosemay bread. I got some sourdough starter from my friends (thanks, Jud) and it was finally ready to use this weekend. I found a basic sourdough recipe online and adopded it by adding fresh rosemary and some italian spices. Mmm, the smell alone was phenomenal. I could have baked it in the oven for a nicer loaf shape, but since it was just for me I let the breakmaker do all the work. I'm so glad i bought it, I've been using it at least once a week and its super easy - dump all the ingrediants in adn 3 hours later... Magic - a fresh, fragrant loaf of bread. To finish off the weekend, I prepared frosting for tomorrow's class, as usual, and some cupcakes for later this week.

Ok, so it wasn't all about food this weekend, I actually did a brick Saturday morning (bike+run). It may have been a first one this year, which shows how little I've been training. I need to check if Jack's Generic Tri still has open spots and maybe sign up to give me some motivation. It's a very short tri, so I'm thinking that even though I'm out of shape, I should be able to finish it. It's only two weeks away, so I'll have to hurry.

Simplicity

After a long cessation, it's been all about cards the past few days. Last week I got a card and stamp set in the mail from Emily, a generous fellow scrapper on SCS.While waiting for a few things to get here in the mail so I can put the finishing touches in my craft room, I dusted off a my other stamp sets and made a few simple cards. Turns out that while I was living under a rock the past few months (in my case it's been a big two story rock) Slitcoaststampers forum added a few more daily challenges. They're a ton of fun, but I hardly had time to keep up with one, occasionally two of them a week before, let alone now. However, the new CAS - Clean and Simple challenge intrigued me. As much as I admire elaborate cards, sometimes it's the simple ones that are the most breathtaking, probably in part because you look at them and think "Wow, that's so simple, yet so (...elegant, beautiful, cute, glamorous, adorable...)" Followed by, "... Why didn't I think of that!?" It's true, sometimes making a minimalistic card is a lot more difficult. I would love to possess that talent, but to some extant I lack the vision for these super clean and simple cards that some of the very talented stampers have. I still experiment and learn and I guess that's the fun of it anyway. I started at the beginning and finished 8 challenges this afternoon, here are a few:

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: Cute & Curly
  
• Paper: Very vanilla, Dill Blossom DP by SEI
  
• Ink: Mellow moss
  
• Accessories: mini clip, ribbon
  
• Tools: Punch

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: Spring solitude
  
• Paper: Whisper white, pretty in pink
  
• Ink: Chocolate chip, pretty in pink
  
• Accessories: Rhinestones
  
• Tools: Paper piercer

Back to Basics

My first card in 6 months! It was tough to get started - I pulled out lots of papers and colors, browsed through bookmarked images and was about to give up and just case a few cards, but as I started stamping I was able to get some creative juices flowing and make this Serene Spring card. I was reluctant to use my Hodgepodge Hardware and BasicGrey ribbon, but they fit in with the color scheme, so I overpowered the herder in me. This is also the first card where I used Copics that I got last fall and of course a touch of glitter to add some bling. It's so nice to have a craft room again!Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: Serene Spring
  
• Paper: Certainly celery, chocolate chip, whisper white
  
• Ink: Almost amethyst, certainly celery, copics (E53, E57)
  
• Accessories: Hodgepodge hardware, ribbon from BasicGrey Urban Couture collection, Stickles
  
• Tools: Cuttlebug, scalloped punch

I also started running yesterday... Again. I used to love sports and working out , so I don't know what's been going on the past year. I sporadically ran or biked a few times, but that's about it. Enough is enough though and I'm determined to get back in shape. I've been feeling down and also put on some unwanted pounds so it's time to resume a regular workout routine. My goal is to loose 8-9 lbs over the next two month. It's the most I've ever gained/lost, but I'm hoping it's doable if I start eating better (no more eating frosting during my cake decorating class :) and no Flaming Hot Cheetos in the evenings.). Top that off with some running and swimming and hopefully I'll see results. The heat this year isn't helping though, it's around 100 degrees and humid every day. Although I prefer heat over cold this is a little much even for me.


2 days down, many more to go.

~Olgy

Baking

I've been on a baking craze lately. It started with a cake decorating class. Not that I bake cakes very often, but I wanted to try something new, plus I'd love to know how to make some of the designs I've seen on the cupcakes. I still needs lots of practice, but this is the first cake I made with roses. The design is kind of random, but we were learning different flowers during this class.

A couple of weeks ago I also got my first break maker. I've only made a few loafs so far and dough for cinnamon rolls, but I've been pretty happy with it. My favorite's been rosemary bread, but I want to experiment with a bit more to try and make sourdough rosemary so I can replace my addiction to the Rosemary Sourdough from Whole Foods (I can finish half that loaf in a sitting).


Aside from baking I finally got around to putting together most of my craft room this weekend. It still needs a little work, but I should be able to post a picture next time. I'm so happy it's finally in a usable state - I've missed stamping.

Weddings

Earlier this year I helped some friends design and make their wedding invitations and it was kind of funny to get this invite back a few months later. I hope they like how these turned out. After the initial design it actually didn't take that long to make. Between 5 people it took us about 5 hours to make roughly 80 invites and return cards. Here's one of them

So many of my friends got married or engaged in this past year and it's hard to believe Pete and I are have been married for almost 4 years and just celebrated our 9th anniversary. Time flies.

~Olgy

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: The Art of Life
  
• Paper: Whisper white, night of navy, vellum
• Ink: Night of navy
  
• Accessories: Ribbon
  
• Tools: Punches, sponge
  

Our New House

I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. The move just took everything out of me. It went from mortgage paperwork, packing and cleaning to moving, unpacking, home improvement projects and more cleaning. My DH said point blank that we're never moving again. Well, I don't think I can make that drastic of a statement, but this endeavor certainly took a lot out of me. The sad part is that two months later there still isn't a single room that can be considered "done." The kitchen tile needs grouting, the living room is serving as storage for my husband's tools, the dining room is half painted (still), the bedroom has butcher paper on windows due to the lack of proper window treatments, the craft room is packed up... and we've been working pretty much non-stop on this house during all our "free" time. I'm realizing that I can handle the move or the job, but juggling both is getting to me.
So is it worth it? I don't know, but better or worse this is our new place.

~Olgy

Out of Shape

Last year I started biking, swimming and running more to prep for the first tri. By the end of summer I finally got somewhat of a routine, but this fall and winter I was busy and lazy and practically stopped working out all together. Agh, I'm so mad at myself. Now it's time to get back into shape. I'm not sure yet if I'll have time/money to sign up for a tri this summer, but I definately need to start training. This morning I went for the first ride in months... now to actually keep it up.

No cards or layouts today, but I'll try to have something new for you tomorrow.

~Olgy

The Move Is On

I didn't have time to blog lately. To be perfectly honest, I didn't have time for much else lately besides work and prepping for the move. It's been exhausting!


Last weekend was all about paint and window treatments. My DH said I can paint as many rooms as I want in the new house as long as he doesn't have to get involved. Well, I may have been a little over zealous, but I made several trips to Home Depot and now have 10+ cans of paint in the garage waiting until we close on the place. Now I'm a little worried how long this will take, but I'm planning on having a mellow moss wall in the bedroom, a soft sky and chocolate chip craft room and gray office. For the dining room I used a paining I own as inspiration and want to paint a red accent wall and yellow walls, hopefully it won't be too bright. Since I've been packing and buying things for the house, I had very little time to stamp. Sadly, I'll have even less time and no craft room for the next couple of months, but the new room will be a real room (instead of a loft) and will have a closet and space for an extra table.

In the past few days I was lucky to get two adorable cards! One from my big DSS sis from this round (thanks, sis, can't wait to find out who you are) and a super cute valentines card from Shelley who was my DSS sis last year. I love the layered heart and the touch of glitter. Thanks for thinking of me.





~Olgy

Cold or Allergies?

Is it possible to have a cold without a sore throat? I've feeling horrible since last night - headache, stuffy nose, watery eyes, sneezing. It feels like a bad cold, but I didn't have a sore throat so does that mean it's allergies? Everyone says that even if you don't have allergies, you're likely to develop them after a few years of moving to Austin. Feeling like this for the entire cedar season?! I really hope it is just a cold.

Since I was home all day and in no shape to do anything around the house, I made a few more cards for SCS card sketch challenges. The first is a Valentine's card for my DSS Sis using SC213 sketch as inspiration. I love this hippo stamp (another image I got through WishRAK), but I need some practice with shading. The bow ties the card together.



The second is a spring card using the SC214 sketch. I love Basic Grey papers, but I have a tendency to stash them. I just buy more and more, but feel bad using them. Well, it's a second card today using Basic Grey :) It may be a bit hard to see on the photo, but the flowers are covered with Crystal Effects to add a little more shimmer.


Agh, a whole day went by and all I did was make a few cards. I need to start feeling better soon.

~Olgy

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: Just So Hippy by Gina K, So Very, Party Punch, Spring Solitude
  
• Paper: Basic grey, baja breeze, pretty in pink, Blush by basic Grey, Lilykate by BasicGrey, blue Bazzil, going grey
  
• Ink: Chocolate chip, bashful blue, basic grey, Versamark
  
• Accessories: embossing powder, rhinestones, ribbon from Hobby Lobby, Crystal Effects
  
• Tools: scalloped punch, tab punch, Swiss dots embossing folder, Nestabilities
  

Paper Sewing

I got some adorable Willow with Cookies images through Wish RAK and got a chance to use of them for FS104 Challenge last weekend. This isn't a very typical color combo for me, but I wanted to coordinate with the DP. It's my first attempt at using the sewing machine on the card and I love it! The inside seam is just a straight stitch and the outside one is a neat cross-stitch available on my machine. I'm hooked!

~Olgy


Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: Willow with Cookies by Whiff of Joy
  
• Paper: Rose red, Blush by BasicGrey, tempting turquoise, whisper white
  
• Ink: Rose red, tempting turquoise, creamy caramel, pretty in pink, barely banana, chocolate chip, glitter pen
  
• Accessories: Prima flowers, buttons, rub-ons
  
• Tools: Nestabilities, scallop border punch, sewing machine
  

I've Been RAKed!

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, it stands for Random Act of Kindness. On SCS that translates to sending cards to other members for no particular reason except to brighten their day. Well, today I came home to a wonderful surprise from Anne - an adorable Valentine's Day card and stamped images for me to play with (she even picked the ones I loved the most from the gallery). Anne is just incredible and takes time to leave thoughtful messages in the gallery, so if you have time, check out her gallery and leave some nice comments.

I, on the other hand, am very late with sending out my cards. I said I was going to pick a couple of people who visited my blog and send them RAKs on January 10. Hmm, does it still count if I wish it was January? So with no further adieu... The first person to link to my Blog was Amy and the person I drew at random from everyone who left comments was Marilyn. Email me your snail mail addy and I'll get these out shortly.

~Olgy

Engagement Card

It's VSBN (Virtual Scrapbooking Night) weekend which I usually plan out weeks in advance, but this time I'll be lucky if I get a few hours tonight to catch up on a few challenges. If you like scrapbooking I encourage you to check it out - it's a lot of fun! Challenges will be posted through Sunday night and you have a few more days to get all the pages in. I'll join in just after I finish up a few cards.

So many of my friends are either getting married or having kids this year. I can hardly keep up with the number of baby, shower and wedding cards so I'm resolving to reusing some of the designs. This is a CASE of my own card from last year.

I love this Dainty Bella stamp and blue color scheme. The envolope is also hand-made. I collected a few different sqare envelopes over time, traced them onto a piece of cardboard to make the template more durable and then wheneven I want a custom colored envelope I use the templates. Vellum works especially well for adding dry embossing details.

~Olgy

Supplies (All supplies are Stampin'Up! unless otherwise noted) :

• Stamps: Dainty Bella by Stamping Bella, Best Yet


• Paper: Bashful blue, Retro Prints by Die Cut with a View, blue vellum for the envelope


• Ink: Basic Black, bashful blue, chocolate chip


• Accessories: Prima flowers, rhinestones, silver Stickles


• Tools: Nestabilities, 1/16" circle punch, Priceless brass template for the envelope.