A Bright Birthday

I've lived in Pittsburgh for 2 years.
More if you count my college years.

However, I can only drive to three places
1. Trader Joes
2. Anthropologie
3. The local stamp store

Everyplace else... well, the husband drives me to.
I'm not even convinced I know how to drive to my office.
(But I'm a big believer in public transit so I take the bus)

We own no GPS device.
I swear, we're like the only people not to own one...
Because my husband thinks its a silly device.
However, it sucks when I don't have a husband to drive me somewhere.

Like when I find myself in the Northeast.
Normally I rent one with my rental car.
But when I landed at 1am yesterday, I was too tired to care.
Then I got lost...
Lost on my way to the hotel.
Lost on my way to the client site.
Lost on my way to CVS.
(Because I forgot my prescription at home... but that's a whole other story)

I'm at my wit's end - I've begun looking for cheap GPS devices. 

Despite my husband making fun of me.

Yes, I'm directionally challenged.
And it does not help when the streets are not signed!
Darn Northeast!

In fact, I've been so tired that when my small-handed friend told me she saw this little card the other day, I forgot it was one I had created.
"Oooh, sounds cute" is what I said.
Ai yi yi!

It's pretty simple.
Just the fabulous music background set from WMS and with a little happy birthday sentiment.
And a feltie ice cream that I'd been hoarding forever.

It's good not to hoard.
And it's good to be bright.
Vellum does certainly help tone it down a bit as well. :)

Wishing you all a day without getting lost and a happy bright day.
Two of my favorite things. :-)

Just the Two of Us

I will admit it.
My biological clock isn't ticking yet.
At least not loud enough to annoy me.

I think newborns look like aliens.
Yes, I tell the mother that the kid is adorable.
(Secretly, I think newborns have a face only a mother could love.)

When the kid hits 6 months, they're pretty cute.
As long as they're not in the middle of code brown or even worse, code puke green
(Blech...)
And then they hit the toddler years...
and I'd prefer they keep their sticky, germy hands to themselves.

I apologize now to the two hopeful mothers I know that would like to become a grandmother.
And a super hopeful dad who has started to stock pile baby things in our basement...
Much to my surprise...

I actually have half an inkling to adopt.
But I know there are trials with adoption.
And I'm not sure my hubs is as willing to adopt as I am.

Who knows...

Maybe one day we'll feel compelled to have a little one add to the numbers.

But either way, I'm happy with just the hubs and me.

So this layout came together pretty quickly. Actually, I've had the layout done for awhile.
I just put the journaling off for awhile.

Steph recently asked me about mists.
That reminded me that I had this layout sitting around waiting to be completed.
I used my mists for the paint splatters and I misted my kraft clouds.

Love me some mists.
But I'm also very controlling about where things are allowed to be.
So mists are used in moderation and very very carefully in my house.

I'm also 1/2 scared I'm going to stain the carpet.
Which could be enough to make the "two of us" become just me.
And that would be very very bad.

They sell special mist boxes but that seems like a waste of money.

Money that could go towards my imaginary DSLR and lenses.

I mist inside a box that some scrap supplies came in.
I've also lined that box with some scrap packing paper.
Just in case...

Thanks for stopping by!



(Most supplies from Studio Calico Candy Shoppe Kit)

Stamps: (lines on cloud from Free Spirit) Waltzingmouse Stamps

Ink: (white snow) Papertrey Ink

Cardstock: (white) Bazzill, (kraft) Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: (orange hexagon, blue) Basic Grey, (rainbow) Crate Paper, (light blue) Little Yellow Bicycle
Stickers: (labels, sweetheart, red grid, scallop border) Crate Paper, (letters) American Crafts
Accents: (stick pins) JBS, (gems) My Mind's Eye
Tools: (cloud dies) Papertrey Ink

Close To You

I started to feel like all my layouts looked the same.
Not that it's bad.
It's not like when I look back on my layouts 10 years from now,
I'm gonna say "Self, that's the same darn layout with different papers."
No, I'll probably be like, "Self, why do I look so decrepit now?"

It's just fun to try something different.
And there was a challenge issued.
So I decided to stray from my "one photo with some paper piercing" layouts.

And then quickly realize that it was a bad bad idea
It's like the time I decided I wanted bangs.
Bad bad idea.
(Although I'm currently contemplating bangs again... Do I ever learn?)

I thought about just shuffling it into my album for just me to see.
But it's no fun if I don't share it.

I was going for the graphic look.
A modern look....

However...
I feel like it looks like a really bad 90's advertisement.

Just replace the text with "Buy your girl some bling!"

Maybe this is just my subconscious wanting more bling...

After consulting with Carrie, I decided maybe it was the swirly gems.
But it's too late to remove that.
So eh!

I had to use my bling though.
I always buy these swirly gems because they look so pretty in the package.
And yet when I bring them home, I have no idea what to do with it.

I also LOVE having someone who will give me feedback.
Sometimes when you think something is wrong, it helps to have someone tell you that you're on crack or tell you how to fix it.
I love when someone is brutally honest with me.

You can see that I did fiddle with a few things.
Which you can tell if you look carefully. I did not retake my closeup shots. :)
It's like playing the What's Different game in Highlights.
I loved that magazine as a kid.

I also weakened my center alignment a bit.
I felt like that gave me less of a "calculated" look and more of a "scrappy" look.

So this look is not me.
Whatever this "look" might be.
But you never know until you try.
And at the end of the day, it's all about the memories.

Thanks for stopping by!



Patterned Paper: Crate Paper, Papertrey Ink, My Mind's Eye
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Sticker: (SC Candy Shoppe Kit) Crate Paper, (letters) Sassafrass
Accents: (gem swirls) Zva, (gems) Hero Arts
Font: (Veteran Typewriter) DaFont

Start Being Awesome!

I like to believe I'm always right.
Just ask my husband.
And usually I am. :-)

I just can't tell everyone else that point blank.
But I can tell my friends and family about how right I am.
So I apologize to W, Laurie, my small-handed friend, and my brother for talking their ears off.
If you don't want me to talk your ear off, don't call me this week. :-P

My poor, poor husband had to listen to me rant about Knuth for the last few days.
And if you have no idea who that is, I'm pretty sure your life is much better for it.
(Let me also say that I totally respect the guy. He's brilliant)

Although I have to admit, it was nice to rant about something other than the state of this country.
Not reading the news and watching the Daily Show for a few days will do that to you.
(Ah, Wisconsin... you will surely be back in my rants tomorrow. I apologize for not giving you some loving the last few days)

So after a horrible, no good, totally bad moment,

I was feeling a bit sad. 

What do I do when I'm sad?

I play with paper and glue. 

It's not perfect. I didn't spend that much time on the layout.
But it was great therapy. Cheap therapy too!

When I was feeling a bit sad, I remembered one of my favorite quotes from How I Met Your Mother.
Barney wisely states "When I get sad, I stop being sad, and start being awesome instead".
(I suspect there might be some more Barney quote in my layouts soon... because he's *awesome* )

Now say awesome in a sing-song voice. I'm *awesome!*
Now doesn't that feel much better?

Well, fine, it made me feel better. :-)

If saying it in a sing-song voice doesn't work, try saying it with some jazz hands as well.
*Awesome!*
*jazz hands*
:-)

Ok, I'm easily amused...

I know I'm right.
Even my brother agrees with me, then you know I'm right.
He's one of the smartest people I know.

And I don't say that because he's my brother.
We spent our entire childhood disagreeing-- mainly because I would steal his Barney puppet.
But that's not the point...

I say it because I don't know how he managed to pick up the smart genes.
I came first! I should have had the first pick of the good genes!

Well, I think you're sick of hearing how "right" I am.
So I'll stop before I lose my blog readership.

Thanks for stopping by!
And remember, be *awesome!*
*Jazz hands!*


Most supplies from the Studio Calico Feb Kit, Candy Shoppe
Cardstock: (kraft) Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: (red polka dot) Crate Paper, (blue grid) Basic Grey, (red grid) Papertrey Ink
Accents: (ribbon rub-on) Studio Calico, (chipboard stars, buttons) JBS
Fibers: (twine) May Arts
Tools: (paper piercer) Making Memories, (1 inch circle punch) EK Success, (circle cutter) EK Success, (pinkered edge scissors) Provo Craft

Light Bulb Moments

I'm a dork.
I'm pretty happy with my dork status.

Sure, when I was in school, I tried to deny it.
I tried to be normal.
But I'm a "special snowflake"
Hah.
(Ok, sorry, I don't totally believe the special snowflake cr*p)

I've had this photo on my harddrive for awhile.
When I saw the rainbow patterned paper, I knew I wanted it to accent the light bulb in my picture.

This layout is why I officially HATE my sewing machine.

Today I am going to try to fix it with some compressed air.

But let's go through all the areas I tried to cover up the boo boos.

See that yellow scallop circle border next to my photo?

That's to cover the stitching mess ups. 

Yay for stickers!

See that paper piercing? That was supposed to be stitching. 

I ended up having to rip my patterned paper off and trim it.

And I wasn't going to risk any more stitching after that. 

Hence the paper piercing. I felt like it needed something 

Especially since my kraft border was now larger than I intended.

I am done. Done with my sewing machine.

Looking for donations. :)

I've added a sewing machine to my Amazon wish list.

Maybe Santa will be super early this year...

Or maybe the Easter Bunny will come? 

For the first time in my life...

Thanks for stopping by!




Patterned Paper, stickers, embellishments: Studio Calico Feb 2011 Kit (Candy Shoppe)
Stamps: (Victorian Frippery) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: (Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko
Felt, cloud dies: Papertrey Ink

WMS March Waltz

Welcome to the Waltzingmouse March Release Design Team Blog Waltz. Make sure to start at Claire's blog to go through the entire waltz! You should have come here from Sarah's blog - if you didn't, be sure to make the rounds! There's some fabulous eye candy and prizes to be won!

Remember you can win a free stamp set by leaving a comment at each blog post along the waltz, including this post! Your comment must be received by 11:59 pm EASTERN on March 2nd. One winner will be chosen from comments left on one of the DT member's blogs! So leaving a comment on this blog gives you a chance to win some free goodies and by making the rounds, you can increase your chances!

I decided to continue my rebel streak.
Still no banners from me.
I promise I'll show some banners soon. :)

But this time, I went for a party hat. After all, it's always party time in my world! :)

I created the pom pom from some floss I had laying on my desk. I love poms -- they make me happy.

I tried out for cheerleading in junior high but I didn't make the team.
How bad do you think I was that I didn't make my junior high team? ;-)
But the math team wanted me...
And that shaped the rest of my career. Hah.

Ok, back to the card....

For the background, I used musical backgrounds, clear embossed.
A little sentiment and some gems finishes off the card.
What party is complete without some bling? ;-)

Next up is the lovely and talented Mona! She has some fabulous eye candy for you!

(Supply List will be added later. Please let me know if you have any questions in the meantime.)