I'm Back: CI Paints Inchies

Hey everyone. I know I haven't been around much lately. Things have just been really hard the past few months, starting with the huge family emergency in April. I can't really talk about that publicly yet. In part because it is still being investigated by NCIS (yes, really. Those guys.) Secondly, it involves the privacy of one of my daughters. You may read into that what you will.

Secondly, the spousal unit was forced to retire. He is still not working. He was "technically hired", also in April. In fact, the same week as everything else. But any of you who have ever worked with the government and security will know that those wheels grind very, very slowly. VERY. SLOWLY.

He has applied for temporary jobs and I have been looking for a job myself. Neither of us has had any luck. Neither has either of our sons (19 & 21.) Our 2 older daughters have been working (for tips only) as baggers at the commissary - that's how they can get away with "hiring" a 14yo. But I'm truly glad of it. The two of them have been paying for our groceries for the past 6 weeks. This is the worst things have ever been for us and I have felt helpless.

As a result, I've not been creating and I have not been online. How could I be, when this is all I can think about? I don't want to be the world's biggest downer. I don't want everyone to take pity on us. We will get through this. We've gotten some help from some of the most amazing friends. We have a roof over our heads and we have food. Except for our rent, all the bills are paid.

Before anyone asks, yes, as a retiree, he has a pension. It covers the medical/dental insurance fees and most of our regular bills - utilities, the few remaining credit cards we have, doctor copays...even without touching the rest of the bills, just insurance, it would be nearly $470 short of our rent. So we're paying everything else and our landlord is, so far, being as understanding as possible. But it's stressful.

And today, well yesterday, as it is now past midnight, was the anniversary of my friend Alice's passing. I miss her.

Now that I've gone and depressed everyone, how about I just copy over what I wrote for my Creative Inspirations Paints DT post?

Have you ever needed something quick and easy to add to a small gift or to jump start your mojo? Well, I needed a quick pick-me-up for myself, so I made some little inchie magnets for my fridge. I thought it might be fun to use parts of some larger stamps (from Unity's June 2009 KOTM: Perfect in Every Way) instead of using my dedicated inchie stamps, so I only inked up parts of them at a time before stamping. The larger the stamp, the less of it you need to ink. For the cherry, I did ink nearly the entire thing.

Once I had compositions I liked, I painted them with Chocolate, Garnet, Evergreen, and Green Olive Creative Inspirations Paints.
It's pretty easy to see the sparkle and shimmer, although I do wish the photo had been clearer. It was either get the details of the cherry, or get the glimmer of the paint. I went with the sparkle. These little guys make me smile when I see them holding up coupons or the latest grocery receipt.

Thanks for sticking with me. Hope you all have a wonderful week.