So, how lame am I? Sara tagged me on...um...November 28. Yes, I'm that lame. So now I get to come up with seven things about me that you guys don't know. The fun part will be tagging 7 of you peeps!

1. I am a massive bookworm. I've been reading since I was 3.5.

2. I am petrified of going to the dentist. I'm working on getting over this one, but really I still need valium for anything more than a cleaning - and I do better with a cleaning if I'm medicated for that, too.

3. I played the clarinet (both B flat and E flat) and the baritone saxophone in high school. I learned to play the flute as well and I still noodle around on both clarinet and flute on occasion.

4. I wanted to play for a professional orchestra. It wasn't a "realistic" goal, according to my family and I didn't have the courage to attend college as a music major, so I lost my chops. Sometimes I still think about it, though.

5. I was born on Easter - and my grandparents' wedding anniversary. My birthday fell on Easter a second time in 1980 and will again in 2042.

6. My children were all born in even years when I was an odd age. The days of the month were (not in order of age) 7, 9, 11 and 13. Holly broke the series and was born at 10:52 pm on the 14th.

7. During most of my childhood, I had 7 living grandparents and 3 living great-grandparents. Nanny (my mom's mother) remarried when I was about 6 or 7, so I briefly had 8 grandparents, but he passed away when I was 12 and I only met him once. Oh! And I had another 2 grandparents when my mom remarried the first time, but I never met them at all, so I don't count them. I got one extra when Mom got married in 1989. She's the only one left and she sends me the nicest rosaries every so often.

Gramps - 1987, cancer
Grandma Rinear - 1989, a blood clot following major surgery
Grandpa Rinear - 1991 (this one was SO hard - he had a heart attack with me standing there helpless to do anything)
Grandpa Pinson - 1992, cancer
Great-grandmother - not sure. They didn't actually tell me until after Papa John died. (I think we were in AK, so 94 or 95)
Papa John - 1996, heart attack
Grandmother - 1997
Grammy - 1999, old age (96)
Nanny - 2001, complications from a stroke
Grandma Pinson - December 23, 2002, a stroke and age (she was near 90)

What made me think of this are the recent losses that Tonya and Marsha (and Jimmi's sister) have suffered. Although it looks really, really bad in print, I was SO lucky! I had them for so many years. I had a lot of friends who never knew their grandparents...and I had an abundance of them. Other than the few I didn't (or barely) knew, I was able to spend so much time with them. I have so many good memories and so many things they all taught me - and the love I was shown. On both sides, I was the first grandchild, and for many years, Nanny's only grandchild.

It was because of them that I wanted to have my children while I was young. I wanted to give them grandparents. I wanted them to have what I did. And while I miss them all terribly, I have pictures. I started scrapbooking in part to keep their memories alive. So I want to thank Sara for tagging me and Tonya, in particular, for reminding me not what I've lost, but what and who I've been fortunate enough to have in my life.

With that said, here are my 7 tagees:
Lisa
Jacqueline
Tonya
Ashley
Lee
Tanis
the other Carole (I had to!)
And if she wants to, my dearest friend Jenny. I won't make it official, since she would be #8.

I guess I've never been very good at following rules.

Hip Hop Holiday Hangover!

I can't believe I hopped until some ungodly hour last night. Er, this morning. But! I have pictures finally. So, without further delay, here we go.

These are all for an ATC swap on Swap-bot that called for ladybugs. I tried to use stamps other than Unity - but I just couldn't do it! I do have a few other ladybugs, but I just like these more. There are actually two swaps involved. One is for one ATC to one partner and the other is for two ATCs to a single partner. I decided to make each partner an extra.

The first two use the Big Cute Bug stamp. I stamped them, embossed them, coloured them with Copics and cut them out before putting them on their backgrounds. The first one I did, I actually cut around the antennae. Never again!!!

I got smart on the second one and embossed the antennae directly onto the background. I think it looks a lot better - and it was so much faster and easier.

I used twinkling H2Os on the backgrounds of the next two. The first one came out really dark. Then, of course, I couldn't find the ink I wanted for the sentiment - I found it last night, but these two have been being flattened, as they were a little on the wavy side from all the water. Once I added the Spica marker and the silver embossing, I think they perked up quite a bit. Both the trail of ladybugs and the sentiment are from the Cute as a Bug set, which I think will be sold only as single wood-mounted slides after the new year. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, Angela!)

The last one has the same brayered background as the first two and the ladybug trail from the second two. The flowers, which were stamped in three different chalk inks, came from the August KOTM - Remember Happiness. For the sentiment, which came from Fall Festival, I used twinkling H2Os and reverse embossing with clear embossing powder.

My next project will be a couple scrapbook pages and then some snowman ATCs for another swap. I'm so glad classes are over. If I can finish up Christmas cards, I'll really be rocking!

Happy December! Where on earth did the time go? I have been a busy little beaver the past week, hence no posts from me.

I had six paintings to do for one of my classes. That was pretty much all I did Thanksgiving weekend (and the weekend before and all this week!) I got the last one turned in and now I just have to make it through the final critique next Thursday and that class will be over. My Drawing 1 class has its final critique on Monday morning. I'll be posting a couple of the drawings afterward. There are a few I'm actually kind of proud of.

So, Hip Hop! Fun as usual! I get so recharged by everyone there. I won the Time for Tea stamp from this Unity kit from the lovely Maren for guessing that she was wearing a red shirt. I don't have that one and it had been on my wish list, so I am totally thrilled! Okay, I would've been thrilled no matter what, but getting one off my wish list made it extra sweet.

I finally found something to finish the Prince of Peace card from a couple posts ago. What do you think? I am thinking it is just about a million times better now. It looks finished. Lee was right. It needed some blingage. I am much happier with it now.I'm working on a few ATCs this morning. I'm using the giant ladybug from Cute as A Bug. I'll post pics shortly. Need to get 'em finished first. I'm having fun embossing right now. I admit it, I'm a glitter girl.

Hey, if anyone knows how to make the background of this blog something other than stark white, can you please let me know? I haven't quite figured that one out yet.

Have a great one.

Wow, has it been a week already? I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving if you are in the US and just a fabulous Thursday if you live elsewhere in the world. I've got a few things to photograph, but I'll do that in a minute. First things, first.

My favourite stamp company is having a sale!! Check it out. If you haven't tried their stamps yet, now is the perfect time to do it. I know I sound like an advertisement, but really people, they're just that good. I'll post about my experiences just as soon as finals are over. Right now the crunch is making me crazy.


Speaking of the crunch, I have 5 paintings to finish this weekend and a few Swap-bot projects to catch up on and get in the mail. Some need to go out the door like 3 days ago. Ask me someday just how much I do not like Bank of America and I'll tell you why my packages haven't been sent yet. But that's another story for another day. Today, I'm painting and then stamping during painting breaks. Oh, and somewhere in there I have some graphic design homework.

Did I happen to mention that I'm just a little swamped??

Off to get stuff in the mail. Have a good one!

Debbie over at Passion for Crafts is giving away some AMAZING blog candy in celebration of nearing 12,000 hits. She's including 17 Copic Sketch markers. I wasn't kidding when I said amazing. This is some serious blog candy, folks! Get on over there and leave her some love.

Good morning, everyone. It's another Hip Hop Hangover and it's SNOWING!!!!!!!!!

Okay, so I get a little giddy when it snows. It's barely started, but it's still snow and I can't help myself. I just love it.

I'm working on my first card of the day and just not getting anywhere. It needs something on the left side. What do you guys think? I haven't coloured it yet, so I know the image is bare, but I still think it needs something. Maybe I should colour it first and then see?

You can't see it in the picture, but there's actually a background stamped in the same colour ink as the card. You can see it in person and it's very subtle. It's Grandma's Apron, from Unity Stamps, of course.

I've gone back now and coloured the sleeping Prince. It helps, but there is still something missing. I don't know if it needs ribbon or what. I just know it needs something. I have to say, though, that I really do love this stamp. I'm probably the least religious person out there, but this gets to me.

I almost totally forgot to post about some fabulous blog candy at You Want the Cookie? Lara is a Design Monkey for the Little Monkeys and their stamp storage system. It's their one year anniversary and they are giving away a starter kit and some goodies from a few other stamp companies who have joined in to celebrate. Whomever wins this is getting one heck of a prize!

I've checked out the Store More Stamps system and I really like the looks of it. It's on my Christmas wish list. I've got a bunch of unmounted stamps from Unity that I'd like to store in a more organized fashion - just so I can more easily use them. Plus, in my house, space is at a premium.

I have 5 kids and with that comes 5 kids' worth of stuff.

Okay, I admit it. Most of the "stuff" in the house belongs to me. I have a lot of obsessions interests and most of them require toys supplies. So sue me.

Some day I'll post pics of the spindle collection and make Shelly happy.

We went to game night at the Family Game Store at Savage Mill. Eldest son stayed home - and turned the tv off, darn him! I wonder how long it will take until we can turn it back on. But I digress. The important part is that we played a new game. Not just new to us, but new to the store. They received it as a sample. It's called Why Did the Chicken? There's a review here. If they'd had an extra copy, we would have come home with it, but we didn't want to buy the only one in the shop. They weren't sure how easily they could have gotten another, either, as their normal distributor does not carry it. so we opted to let it stay there for others to enjoy. We'll find our own copy at some point. The owners are going to check into a different distributor, on the off chance that they will be able to order sets to sell. I hope they are successful. The game is fun and funny.

We think it would be great fun with just adults as well as being a family game. There was one round that had Wayne close to falling off his chair. The question? What happened at the wedding of a pig and a tree? I learned that Holly had never heard of the Farmer in the Dell. Maybe I should have said that Old MacDonald objected instead.

If you're looking for something different for Christmas, check it out. It says it's for ages 12+, but we were playing with a 9 year old, in addition to 12 and 14 year old girls and a 16 year old boy. A good time was had by all. How often does that happen?

What Carole Means

You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic “Type A” personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Ok people, for those of you who really know me, what do you think? True? Not even close?

Well, looks like there are some people celebrating this weekend. Creating with Chrissy is having her 1 year blog anniversary and has reached 50,000 hits. Congratulations Chrissy! She's giving away some blog candy, so check her out.

I got a big pile o' nothing done today. It looks like I spoke just a hair too soon. My stomach still hates me. Maybe tomorrow?

Jacquie is also giving away some blog candy, but hers comes with a little catch. You have to guess how old her children are! YIKES! I'm pretty sure I know the ages of two of them, but the other two? Your guess is as good as mine. Good luck everyone.

Time for Hip Hop Hangover everyone! I did my first card for Hip Hop on Wednesday. I CASE'd one of AJ's cards. Obviously I went for the Less is More side of things.

So this morning I was wandering around SCS and checked out the Wednesday Challenge, which was to use watercolour paper. Okay. I'd been meaning to do that anyway. I've got some watercolour ATCs to do today, so I already had the paper out and ready to go. On top of that, I needed to make a Christmas card for my in-laws. This is the result. Yup. Less is more, yet again. I guess that's jut how I roll. I did try to add some bling, but it just looked all wrong, so I took it off.
Don't you just love the Unity stamps? I'm not a particularly religious person, but Prince of Peace just really gets to me.

And speaking of Unity, I won three times at Hip Hop yesterday. About knocked my socks off, let me tell you. These ladies are the most generous, friendly, talented people. You may think I'm gushing over nothing, but if you spent 10 minutes in their company, you'd really get it. Honestly.

I'm feeling so much better today. I think I'm finally over this flu bug that's had me down for over a week. I lost 6 (count 'em!! SIX!!) pounds. I like losing weight as much as the next girl, but this is not generally the accepted way to do it. Besides, it'll probably all come back now that I can eat again. At least I'm assuming I can eat today. Stay tuned for further developments.

Have a great one people. I intend to.

More blog candy abounds. This one comes from You Want the Cookie? - a new blog I found while reading another blog I follow. I think I could spend days just blog hopping.

I hope I can figure out how to do this right. I haven't added photos in the middle of a blog post before. I was really super lucky last week - not counting the pizza in the microwave episode - and won both blog candy and some Hip Hop stamps!

Now, if you don't know about Hip Hop, let me tell you, you are seriously missing out. Unity Stamp Company gives away something like $300 in stamp products every Thursday over on their forum at SplitCoastStampers.com. It starts at 10am Central and ends when we all poop out. I usually make it 'til around midnight.

Okay, so first I won these stamps for guessing what Sawyer was going to be for Halloween. They are Thank You Words. I can definitely see where they'll be useful. Thank you Angela!

I also won some blog candy from ticketbelle. Thanks Michelle!! She sent Simply Said, a really sweet set of sentiments designed by AJ Otto.

On top of my winnings, I ordered a couple sets of Christmas stamps and the fabulous Unity Handles. I used them to stamp up some images for an image swap and I am in love! They are so much better than any other acrylic block I've ever tried to use. There is really no comparison. Here are my new stamps and handles.

I also picked up some of the other Christmas stamps, but I didn't want to go overboard on the photos, so I made do with just these.
I took a beginning stamping class in August. The person teaching it had just learned about Unity - and the shop had just begun carrying them. I was intrigued and, of course, came home and did a web-search, because that's how I roll. I get interested in something and have to look it up. I found the most incredible group of people. Talented, friendly, generous... Like I said, I've been really lucky.

Okay, so I tried to set the house on fire.

Not on purpose, mind you, but that was the net effect. I wanted to get some stamping done and I was still hungry, so I put a piece of pizza in the microwave. Ten seconds turned into ten minutes when the zero tripled. I caught it with 3.5 minutes to go.

We're sitting here surrounded by smoke, fans a-going. The microwave is outside. The charred remains of the pizza have been disposed of.

I, simply, am an idiot.

So, I took DD#3 to her Pokemon league this morning. There's a knitting group that meets at the same time, so I sat around and worked on a Clapotis for a little while and then pulled out some of the Christmas cards I've been working on. I might make some converts yet, particularly since The Queens Ink is in the same facility. They do carry Unity Stamps, along with way too many other cool things that get me into trouble.

I've taken quite a few classes there over the past 2 months. I've been having a blast and learning SO much. The ladies who work there are just lovely, and the owner is beyond wonderful. It was hard to keep myself from the class this morning. It was on soldering, but I know it'll come around again.

There's one coming up next week that I'd love to take. We'll see how the auctions on ebay go and if I can catch up on school work. I've got a few stamps to add, plus I need to list the Tina 2. I still can't believe I'm going to sell it, but something has to go and it's elected.

Obligatory cute kitten picture! Xander, the 4 week old rescue.

Well, I'm getting back into it - and what better way than to post about some blog candy to be found over at Ryann's blog. Best of luck to all.

On top of Ryann's blog candy, Ashley is giving away some blog candy for her one year Etsy and Blogiversary. Everyone hop on over and congratulate her. She really deserves it. She's one heck of a sweet lady who's full of talent. You have until midnight November 1!

Oh, and if you guys could give me some encouragement, I'd really appreciate it. I've not been too successful on the blog front before, and I'd like to make it this time.