12.07.2008 El Paso

So I am finally settled in El Paso. Okay not really unpacked but I am in my new apartment. The best thing I can say about my apartment is that it is cheap and close to work. Super close. It takes about 5 minutes to get to work. The apartment is just old... it will work for a six months. At that point I will start looking for a new place, probably a rental house so I can bring Sugar. Baby had no issues adjusting to a new home... now Pearl on the other hand has had it rougher. She isn't used to being confined inside the house or on a leash outside. She also isn't used to all the noises an apartment brings. So she tends to bark a lot at people taking outside or the upstairs neighbors. She is getting better though.

Pearl has learned a new trick on her own that was rather impressive to me. We were eating a cheeseburger and fries the other day. I threw a fry and she caught it. Three times even. This isn't anything we have really worked on. I don't necessarily throw her food to get her to catch it. She just did. Well... it did help that I threw the fries right at her mouth. Regardless I was impressed.

You should see Baby play with Pearl. Pearl is always going up to Baby and putting her paw on her or nipping her butt to start some shit. Normally I get Baby away from Pearl to protect Baby... since she is a senior as well as blind. Now Baby is starting her own shit with Pearl. Baby will start to search for Pearl to play. It is the cutest... so I guess I dont' have to protect Baby anymore.

I have got two weeks on the job minus a day and a half for the Thanksgiving holiday. And it has been a great two weeks. Kind of laid back since I am the new girl and don't have too many responsibilities. The ladies I work with are great. We are a three and a half person office. Two other full-time staff and one part-time staff besides myself. They have been great to me... plus I think I have impressed them a little with the skills I bring to the office.

I have ate some great Mexican food since I have been here. I have now ate a cream of green chile soup twice this week... it is wonderful. My friend Maria and her office buddies took me to Rosa's Cantina, the famous one from the Marty Robbins song. Just a small little dive that was super busy. We all ate the Mexican plate special. I ended up in tears the damn chile relleno was so freaking hot. My face turned red from the heat and literally tears were shed from the heat. Never again!

I saw Four Christmases last weekend with Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon. What a disappointment. The two leads have a rather weird relationship. And the funniest parts you have already seen in the trailers without even going to the movie. It was an okay movie but considering who is in it... it was disappointing.

Not much new other than the job and move have been going on. I am shopping for new living room furniture. I have found one set that I like but want to keep searching. I might go today to another furniture store. What I really need to do today is unpack some boxes. Coure my apartment is so small with very little storage I don't even know where I am going to put everything. Much of it is my scrapbooking junk that needs to be organized. Even with all the stuff I threw away before the move, I probably have plenty that needs to be discarded still. And I probably need to do some laundry today too. Not fun in a laundromat. Luckily there are some washers and dryers on site. The problem is finding enough quarters. Plus I need to find my dryer sheets!

I went to one of the three scrapbooking stores in the area. This one, unfortunately, is closing at the end of the month. They really dont' carry anything except A-Muse stamps. It didn't stop me from making a rather large purchase. I still don't know how I spent that much money for what I brought home considering everything was 25% off. I did pick up some supplies to make a few Christmas cards. I only need to make about 10.

10.04.2008 House of Paper

I want to tell you all again about a wonderful online scrappy store that I frequent. Okay I haven't purchased anything from this store for awhile but then again I haven't purchased anything scrappy for a llloooooooooooonnnnnngggggggg time. As you will remember I have put the scrapping aside for a little bit to focus on sewing. Anyways...

This wonderful online scrappy store that I frequent is great. It is called House of Paper. I found House of Paper through its owner, Chiara. My sister and I met Chiara while attending the first Creative Escape. Anyways, a few hundred dollars later and I must say that I really like this online store. For one thing, Chiara is always having a sale on something. Right now she has 25% off your order through tomorrow at noon plus some extra special sale on a few other items. You have to be quick on her sales though because when it is good (and they frequently are) the items will sell out and quick. This store isn't ginormous but it has just the right amount of product to make you feel yummy inside. Okay enough gushing about the store... let me give you some other selling points on why you should shop there. Free shipping on sales of $20. C'mon who can't spend $20 in an online store?!?!?!? Chiara usually throws in a freebie with an order of $25. Shipping is fast.

Needless to say I made a little purchase to stock up on the new Thickers and Sassafrass Lass. And BTW, the message board has a nice homey feeling too. I haven't visited in quite awhile but I haven't visited any message boards in awhile! I hope you take a look at HOP!

09.13.2008 Hurricane Ike

Yes I am quite aware that I haven't posted in quite awhile. Two reasons. Not necessarily valid reasons but two reasons nonetheless. First. My internet at home has been out for several weeks. Just on a lark I turned on my computer today to try my internet thinking it wouldn't work especially the afternoon after Hurricane Ike. Maybe Ike put the right mojo on it because my internet is working like a charm today. My internet goes out randomly after storms... so who would've thunk it. Second. I really haven't had anything to post of interest lately. Needless to say, another boring post coming your way...

I have survived Hurricane Ike. I believe this is the closest I have been to a hurricane. I have been extremely nervous the past couple of days in anticipation of Ike. Nervous to the point of giddiness.... seriously good mood at work. So much so that my mom even make a comment. I told her maybe we need to have a hurricane come through more often. So I went to the obligatory grocery store run on Thursday at noon. I really didn't know what to buy considering I counted on a power outage at the least. So what do I buy that will survive without refrigeration that I can survive on for a few days. I bought what I wanted be damned with the refrigeration. The store was busy but checkout was quick. Lucky for me the power did not go out. We did get some high winds and a lot of rain. The winds did bring down alot of limbs, big and small. About three big limbs fell down in my yard. Luckily the dogs have a ginormous doghouse to hide in. I kept Baby, Sugar, Pearl, and Peanut (who is normally an outside dog) in the house overnight. Baby, Sugar, and Pearl are always in overnight but I wanted to bring in Peanut too. Except for the three dogs (Blackie, Cowboy, and Curlie Sue) that I keep in my yard and the four in my house, all the other dogs stayed inside at the warehouse. I got a little cabin fever today and took a ride around the property around noon. One tree was snapped in half and one Horse Apple tree was uprooted. Other than that the lake filled up quite a bit and again there were tree limbs, big and small, down all over the property. Keep in mind my parents have 755 acres with plenty of old, old, old Pecan and Oak trees plus plenty of other trees that I cannot name. Other than losing power, one of my biggest fears was the big trees in my yard toppling onto the house. For the reason, I slept on the couch with Baby. The biggest tree in the yard is very close to my bedroom and I couldn't chance it. Not that I got much sleep last night over worry and the uncomfortable sleeping arrangements on the couch with Baby. I don't know how a four pound dog can make sleeping on the couch an uncomfortable situation but she does. We made it through... now just to survive all the standing water and mud. Yuck! I hope the power is restored quickly for those in Houston and the surrounding areas. Estimates are over 2 million CenterPoint Energy customers are without power and no telling how long it could take to restore it due to all the debris and downed trees.

I have taken a break with the papercrafting. I have been working on reorganizing my {s}crap room once again. I think scrapbookers spend as much time organizing and re-organizing as they do on the actual crafting. I have great new plans to make my room workable plus I want to start sewing again. I think I said I was going to start sewing again over a year ago but this time I am serious. I bought several new patterns but the best have to be from Raggedy Old Annies. I was so excited to see one of the new patterns Nicole posted was of a finished that I bought from her... one I would love to make. So not only did I buy that pattern but I bought all four of the new patterns plus I got one free... a great deal she is offering. If you are into sewing, I highly recommend Raggedy Old Annies... they are too cute!

Nothing new on the job front. I continue to submit applications... and continue to get frustrated. I know it isn't because I am not qualified or my application doesn't look good... there is just a lot of competition out there. And I know it helps if you know someone... which I really don't. I did apply for another position in El Paso as well as College Station that I am waiting to hear results and see if I get called for an interview. Other than that not much else to report.

I don't know if I have seen any movies other than Death Race since my last post... Death Race was the greatest bloody, deathly, action movie I have seen in a long time. E asked me if I thought it was better than Jason Bourne and I responded by saying it would give Jason Bourne a run for his money. It was a fantastic movie that kept me on the edge of my seat. At the climax of one action packed scene, I actually said seriously outloud in the theatre "What?" when it was done. Exciting... so exciting that I will definately invest in the DVD when it is released!

Sugar is on pills to cure her incontinence for the rest of her life. When she first got on the pills she was out of it and sleeping alot... a real change in her personality. Then she got aggressive. She has always been a bossy dog and bullies everyone but now she is more aggressive. Not a good change but we are dealing with it.

I guess that is all I have to report. Maybe I can get a picture or two of the results of Ike posted. Maybe.

12.12.2007

Here are my latest projects for Memory Purses. If you are looking to purchase one for a holiday gift, do not hesitate on ordering. You need to order today!

A simple Christmas insert made from Love, Elsie Noel. I made the Christmas tree from white foam.

These inserts are made from my nature photos I took and posted a few weeks ago. I wanted to see how funky they would look in the purse. I actually think it looks pretty cool.

The last set is made from Loveland by Scenic Route. A little Valentine's Day insert for you. I left a spot for a picture to be added. BTW, it says "sweethearts" using the round heart for the word "heart".

Memory Purses - Cowgirl

Another cute purse I made for Memory Purses.


Supplies used:

Memory Purses - purse/checkbook cover/cardholder
Bazzill - cardstock
Reminisce - patterned papers
Making Memories - red gingham ribbon
May Arts - red/black polka dot ribbon

DT Application Projects

Here are some projects that I made for an application for the 2008 Worldwin Papers Design Team. Since I was not selected for the design team I thought I would share my projects. While I am still excited about these projects {these are the projects that I was so excited about from my post on October 18, 2007} it is very hard to design with cardstock as 90% of your project.

BOO Banner - I was so excited when I completed this project. I am sure you can understand why... it rocks! Supplies used: Worldwin Caribbean Colors cardstock, K & Company glitter chipboard alphas, velvet ribbon from Michaels, and webbing/glittery pipe cleanrs/feather Christmas ornaments from Hobby Lobby.


Sweet Card - Supplies used: Worldwin Caribbean Colors cardstock, KI Memories Love Elsie collection embossed paper, Making Memories glitter, Hobby Lobby flocking, and American Crafts Thickers.


Boop 8.5x11 Layout - Supplies used: Worldwin Caribbean Colors cardstock, KI Memories Love Elsie patterned paper/stickers/chipboard buttons, Sharpies, StazOn ink, alpha stamps, and American Crafts Thickers. Please note that you have to have seen the movie Superbad to get this layout.


Hi Card - Supplies used: Worldwin Caribbean Colors cardstock, October Afternoon journaling tag, May Arts ribbon, and American Crafts Thickers.


It is always disappointing to be turned down for anything. Regardless I made some wonderful projects that I really feel good about. One of the reasons I submitted for this specific design teams was for a chance to work with Kerry McKibbins who is on the 2007 Design Team. It turns out she was not selected for the 2008 Design Team which is extremely disappointing and makes me glad I wasn't selected. Not that I know Kerry but I stalk her blog. She is a riot! You seriously need to read her blog.

Memory Purses

Another set of inserts for Memory Purses as well as a checkbook cover and card holder. It really doesn't take any time at all to make up the inserts. I can see how you can constantly change your purse to reflect your outfit, seasons, events, etc. Supplies used: Purse, checkbook cover, and cardholder from Memory Purses; patterned paper from Scenic Route {Sumner line}; cardstock from Stampin' Up!; buttons from Autumn Leaves/Foofala; rhinesones; and ribbon.The flowers are extremely easy to make. Lisa Pace provides a great tutorial on her website.

Memory Purses

This is my latest Memory Purses project. Yes more pictures of Sugar. But you have to admit that she is a cupcake as this paper line will tell you. I love, love, la-hove my felt cupcake that I made for this purse. It is from a pattern that Lisa Pace gave to the chatters at 2 Scrappy Chix Designs during a celebrity chat. I knew it would be perfect with this paper thus this purse. Enjoy!

Say It With Letters

I completed these two projects this weekend at the crop I attended with my sister, Sylvia, and Sandy at Archivers. The strawberry and bird are MDF cutouts from Say It With Letters (SIWL). SIWL is an Etsy store that has all different type cutout figures and letters in different fonts. All the pieces come in different sizes. It was a simple project of coating the edges with a couple coats of acrylic paint and adhering the patterned paper to the top of the cutouts then adding my embellishments. The cutouts have keyholes already cut in the back for easy hanging. I have to admit the strawberry is my favorite. I think the end results is adorable and will look great in my scrap room.
I did the bird for my new decorating scheme in my master bedroom of blue, brown, and birds. I also did an altered canvas with coordinating paper and bird. Gorgeous.
You can check out SIWL's blog for more samples of altered projects.

Memory Purses

Here is my first effort at designing an insert for Memory Purses. This is the small purse. The purses are double sided so you can insert two projects. As you see here, one side has a more decorative layered insert and the other side is just a photo with alpha stickers.

Memory Purses would make a great gift for the holidays. I will be posting another example this weekend.

ATF Challenge 14 - HOV Lane

My layout for the current challenge 14 "You and Your Pets" at A True Friend Pet Challenge Blog. Supplies used: Bazzill textured cardstock, May Arts ribbon, labels from Dollar Tree, pattered paper from My Mind's Eye, and MAMBI glitter alphas. Journaling reads: Me and my dogs on a daily basis, riding back and forth to work Monday through Friday without fail. There is no escape. Peanut and Sugar won't let me forget they need a ride. The carpool lane it is!!!

Jealous much?

These are two of my latest and greatest scrapbooking purchases!!! Vintage Dymo label maker with three different font cartridges. Two horizontal fonts in large and extra large. One VERTICAL font. Vertical... can you believe that!!!! Vintage typewriter so I can be like all the other kids typing journaling on layouts.

I can't wait to put both of these in use!!!!

I rock, seriously!

I am rocking the house tonight in regards to my papercrafting. I can't help it. I am feeling so kicka$$ right now. I have completed some projects for a design team application. You seriously do not know how confident I am of these projects. So confident I had to share my good feelings with my chix at 2 Scrappy Chix Designs. I hope that doesn't sound pathetic. Well it might a little. But that is okay with me. My mojo has been working for me the last several weeks. This hasn't always been the case. Mojo is a very fickle business. So I am taking full advantage of this sexy mojo and will definately share my projects as soon as I can... sorry got to keep them a secret for the time being!

Tootarooni!

I am excited to announce that I have been selected for the holiday season Design Team at Memory Purses. Please check out their store. They have cute purses in two different sizes where you can add pictures or layouts in the side inserts. They also have digital inserts you can download as well as checkbook covers and business card holders you can alter and personalize. This is a great site with great products that would be perfect for holiday gifts!!!

So Sweet - Pencil Lines

Here is a layout I did for the current sketch #53 challenge at Pencil Lines. I used my new October kit from Cupcake Scrapshop. The kit included patterned papers from October Afternoon which I love! Everything on this layout is from the Cupcake Scrapshop kit with the exception of the Making Memories alpha stickers used to spell "Sugar" and the dog head reproduction German paper scraps. Thanks for viewing!