Scrapping On The Edge

That was then - Cards

Over the last couple of days I have cleaned up my computer, organised my folders again to make it more efficient finding pictures and documents and finally copied them all over to my external hard drive. I am just so worried in case my puter crashes and I would lose all my pictures and scans...yikes.

I have made myself a promise that at the end of each month I will transfer all newly added pictures, scans and documents over to the hard drive to avoid risking losing all the new stuff.

What was fun about it thought was that I found scans of my cards and scrapbook projects as far back as 2004. When I started this hobby I was mainly doing cards and I nearly did wet myself when I saw what I did then. Let me share with you how I have evolved as a crafter - it is hilarious.

You know what I find scary? The cards I made in 2004 - I sold them on Ebay and they were going like hotcakes.
Seriously, looking at them now I am thinking "yikes....I would not pay a penny for any of them".
i am not complaining, mainly observing at how quickly things change these days.

Look, one of my best selling cards on Ebay

And I used to print my own backing paper...rad, or what?

I have about 80+ designs saved from 2004 and I might show you a couple of others over the next days...they are really too strange for words.

Fast forward to 2005 -> you will notice the increased use of ink, to which I have been introduced when I started to predominantly scrap.

Then there is the ribbon and eyelet phase

In 2006 I started to relax a bit with regard to my ink pads and totally abandoned they eyelets. I would say it was more a simple{ish} phase

I also started layering and using stickers

Now in 2007 I started  to get bored with making cards and  I seemed to struggle a lot when I sat down doing them. Maybe that is why most of them turned into almost little scrapbook pages as that was what I enjoyed doing the most. I loved to customize cards for certain occassions, like the next two which I did for my Mom's and Lyndon's Stepdad's birthdays

Now in 2008 I have come to a good mixture of simple and layering - I really enjoy making cards again and  hopefully continue to pick up new ideas and techniques to evolve further

Tomorrow I fancy sharing some of my old layout as well - they are even funnier than the old cards :)

SOW & POW XI

I seem to be in a total scrap-rut at the moment - there are sooooooooooo many delicious new lines coming out after CHA and I am mojo-less *sobs*
But then again, maybe mojo saves herself for when the new lines are ready to ship :)

Actually, strictly speaking it is not 100% true that I am total mojo-less - I seem to be more into making cards and altered projects right now. so, I am going to share one of my FMC's (five minute cards) and one altered project with you.

The card was made by collecting all sorts of scraps that have been lying around on my scrap table and probably didn't even take 5 minutes after all to be put together.
Products used: ** Cardstock - Papermill ** Papers - Jenni Bowlin, Scenic Route ** Chipboard - Rusty Pickle **

I have spent the last two days playing around making an Exploding Box, which have been around for quite some time now but I never really fancied doing them - until now. Funny what a bandaged foot can do if you are not allowed out and about...
Whilst I was crafting along I also took pictures to complete a step-by-step guide, which will be available as a FREE pdf to everyone soon.
Products used: ** Papers - Wild Asparagus ** Buttons, Tags - Rusty Pickle ** Rub Ons - Kaiser Craft ** Chipboard shapes - Rusty Pickle, Cosmo Cricket ** Stamps - Maya Road, Anna Griffin ** Ink - Nick Bantok ** Stickers - Making Memories **

Now, moving swiftly on to my Song Of the Week.
After I managed to shock some of my German friends with my fave German artists, why don't I try to shock everyone now with one of favourite bands from the 90's

If I was you - I would turn the volume down, to ease the shock :)

And??
Did I manage to make you run for cover and quickly press the stop button... *snigger*

I shall better leave you with something a little less in-your-face and present you with a kinda cute Word Of the Week

tatterdemalion \tat-uhr-dih-MAYL-yuhn; -MAY-lee-uhn\, noun:

1. A person dressed in tattered or ragged clothing; a ragamuffin.
2. Tattered; ragged.

I am still peeing my pants over the fact that the word ragamuffin is just as alien to me as tatterdemalion, and I actually think I prefer ragamuffin....must be the muffin pig in me

CHA MUST Have {Have Have} Pt II

With CHA full in swing there aren't that many surprises as we have seen all the sneaks along the net for weeks now...and another complete line has totally won me over the minute I laid my eyes on it:

{scenic route sonoma}

 
I totally love the colour combination and what you can see on the above picture is a small section of my favourite items from that line. In total there are 18 different double-sided cardstock papers...*swoon*
And fro once I totally adore the kraft papers too, and the buttons, and the die-cuts. I better start saving my pennies, right?

Speaking of pennies - I am just purging a lot of paper. Some older and some quite new, left overs from Kits I have bought over the last 5 months but all of them still in perfect condition. You'd be probably surprised that you will also find some Hambly in there too, but I just can't work with their stuff anymore - weird hu?
Anyway if you click {here} you can see the picture and prices of each individual pack - or you can buy the whole lot for an even cheaper price. For U.S. or other European interested parties I would be willing to reduce the prices a bit.
If anyone fancies any of these packs or indeed the whole lot, please shoot me an email {here}

Other than that I have been very unproductive when it comes to scrapping. Not sure what it is but right now I am more into making cards, after I have practically abandoned them for years....weird

Oh and I did some chocolate cupcakes yesterday - yay! I have to say that I really struggle with the frosting/icing though. I have ploughed through tons of recipes online but I haven't found one where I thought "mmmmmhhhhh". I want a real smooth fluffy, creamy topping but mine turned out to be extremely sweet and solid.

Please excuse the poor look of my topping - I wanted it to look like roses and Lyndon said it reminded him more of worms...bless him, you gotta love a fella who says it like it is.
But despite the wormy look - the cupcakes DO taste nice, I just need a good frosting recipe....

CHA MUST Have {Have Have} Pt I

Want.It.Now.

I snagged the image of the net, from an online buddy at {cmk} as it was too yummy to not share.
{american crafts} have outdone themselves this time with their new lines and new thickers.
There is not one item within the travel line that I dislike and I can't wait for it to ship. I still have so many travel pictures waiting for the perfect papers and embellies and now that I have found them I wanna cover myself in diamond glaze and throw myself onto the {american crafts'} booth at {cha}....

*sigh*

 

SOW and POW X

Yup, I owe you one SOW and POW from last Tuesday, when I was busy having my bunion chopped off. That's why you get double this week.
Can I get a WOO and a HOO, please??

The last week saw me overdosing on many fabulous songs on {you tube} many of which I saved to my pc so I can all annoy you with it...he he

This week all my English speaking friends will feel a bit left out as I have been browsing through my German back-catalogue and I quite enjoy playing some of my old favourites. The first band coming up -> man, I have been following them since their first album came out in 1983 and I even was a penpal to their drummer for a while. They are fun, controversial and are still going strong - I just wish I could see them live again *sobs*

This 1996 video was a piss take on all the boy bands who zoomed up from every corner in those days. Even though I love many boy bands that have been (and still are) around, I find this video hilarious.

The next one might be a surprise for my German friends - I bet you never pegged me for a Schlager fan, right? This dude here has been my favourite Schlager singer since 1978 and I am not afraid to admit it... Wolle rocks!!!!

Ok, now that you had to endure all that what about some fantastic Words of the Week?

glutinous \GLOOT-nuhs\, adjective:
Of the nature of glue; resembling glue; sticky.

and

hyperbole \hy-PUHR-buh-lee\, noun:
Extravagant exaggeration.

I love them - not that I'll be ever able to use them, I just love learning new words which sound as if I know what I am talking about...he he

Who needs Manolo's...

...when you can have these gorgeous orthopedic bandage shoes?? At least the blue goes with my eye colour I guess...

Yuk, that shoe is really horrid and to tell you the truth it is not comfortable at all. Just put it on today to get downstars to the shops (about time that I start to move around a bit) and I found it really uncomfortable. I am really fine just walking around the flat with my bandage but putting on the shoe makes it all very awkward.

At least I am not in pain though and I am looking forward to next Wednesday when the bandage comes off. Last night I almost climbed the walls from the itching! I desperately wanted to scratch the area around the bone but of course, I can't get to it...hmpfh. At least I am not in pain - I have been so lucky and right now I keep thinking I should have had this operation done ages ago....all the pain I could have avoided over the last years *sigh*

Anyhoo, I have been busy again scrapping like a maniac - just posted off my DT submission for {american crafts} and finished another layout from my {cmk} kit. You know, I was never that hot on {october afternoon} papers until I received the July kit - now I am so in love and I need more of their yummy stuff.
{click on image to enlarge}

Oh and before I forget - {scrapping the music} have gone live last night and I enjoyed doing the layout for this fabulous Bruce Springsteen song. Please play along if you have the time - there is a price involved as well this week :)
{click on image to enlarge}

~*~ ARGH ~*~

Stupid Vista just did it again - I spent 30 minutes typing a post with approximately 20 different links and it just frickin' crashed on me.

Sorry but I can't be arsed to do it all again so all you get now are the layouts I did over the last two days.

I am fuming and REALLY angry at that *&%$^&& Vista crap

~*~ Hmpfhhhh ~*~

That was a weird day today and I think I went from every emotion possible within the matter of hours...but lets start at the beginning.

I seriously hoped that I would be one of the few international hopefuls that would get the call back from Chatterbox...but it wasn't to be. Now, I have to hold my hands up and admit that I was never a huge CBX fan before but I LOVE the look and feel of the new stuff and I guess that is really why I have been so disappointed to not have proceeded through to the next round - but hey, I am good.

And this is one of my submissions - a minibook done entirely from waste. the chipboard left-overs from a complete Heidi Swapp alphabet and the packaging. Well I thought it was brilliant, so there *pouts*

At least one of my lovely friends, {christiane} did get through and I can't wait to see what she does with the new CBX stuff. Knowing her she's gonna knock the socks off everyone!

So, whilst I was drowning in self pity I was immediately picked up by my wonderful friend {donna} the mother of all {prima donna's}. This talented artist awarded me the Brilliante Weblog Award....how supercool and supersweet!!!

There are a few rules that go with this award and I am more than happy to play along!

1) Put the logo on your blog

2) Add a link to the person who awarded you
----> that would be {donna}      

3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
----> I am in total awe about this lady's talent {bibbis}
----> another chick whose style I adore {ania}
----> fellow BoB 2006 winner and major source of inspiration for me {tracie h}
----> she just rocks my world every single day {nat}
----> no one does cards like {dani}
----> another 2006 BoB'ster and friend {anam}
----> in my next life I want to be her {danielle}

4) Add links to those blogs on yours
----> i just did just click on the names above ^^^^

5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs
----> yeah, yeah, just let me finish this post first, ok??

After I finished all my blog hopping this morning I had another happy moment when the postman knocked and brought not one but two parcels. The first one was my July Kit from {create my keepsake} - you must be bored by my constant raving but I can't help it if their Kits are such great value for money. Within two hours of the Kit arriving I had finished one layout and one card - and I am about to carry on in a minute :)

The other parcel were my long lusted after papers from Rose Mokka and {crafty stash} are the only online UK shop that I know of who actually have the new releases in stock...yummo!

Shortly after I scrapped my foot started to hurt for the first time since Tuesday and even though it wasn't unbearable I felt sorry for myself again (yep, I am good at that *snort* ).
About 20 minutes after I took my pills there was another knock on the door and I received a huge bunch of flowers from my colleagues, sending me well wishes. As if they had sensed that I felt a bit poorly today!

It brought another smile to my face and it was the perfect end to my perfect day - even though I tried my darndest at being miserable today, my friends all across the world unknowingly made sure I would end the day with a smile.

Thanks guys!

~*~ Here's the skinny ~*~

For those of you who have enquired what happened to me due to yesterday's post - I am sorry if it sounded that I had some sort of an accident....as I mentioned on {this} post, I have been suffering from a bunion since my teenage years and it was about time that something was done about it.

The operation went really well and I had quite a laugh with the nurses and doctor's. It is so weird when you lie there getting prepared for your anesthetic and two nurses gush over your veins "oh look, that vein is beautiful. Shall I take that one? Or maybe this....boah it's gorgeous"
I mean, hellooooo - we are talking veins here, women usually get excited over shoes and stuff, but veins?? It was such a laugh...they were all so lovely and caring on the ward and in the theater.

I was knocked out within in matter of minutes and this time I wasn't even sick when I woke up. I came to about 11:50am and was raring to go back home about an hour later, but they wouldn't have it. I needed to prove first that I coud keep food and drink down and that I was able to walk around on my crutches.

Finally at 15:00hts they did let me go and Lyndon whizzed me around in a wheelchair to catch our taxi. I am pretty groggy though and could sleep until the cows come home, but I guess that's expected after a general anesthetic. So far *knocksonwood* I have not even been in pain - I didn't even have to resort yet to the "heavy pills". I just keep taking the paracetamol and ibuprofen I have been prescribed and I am well with it.

The bandage will come off in two weeks time and I should be able to finally buy shoes without being in constant discomfort - can you tell I am really looking forward to it?

~*~ Ouch ~*~

I just came back from hospital.....ouch