OCC challenge week 10

For Dawn's last week as designer at Our Creative Corner she chose a birthday card theme. And my friend Evan has a birthday coming up next month, so I took this opportunity to create a card especially for him. Evan has sight difficulties, and while he does have some "normal" sight, he relies on touch a lot. So this card had to have stuff for him to touch and feel, different textures, etc. So I first reached for my T!m Holtz Grungeboard! Built-in texture there! I pulled an "E' out and also a frame. I used Ranger DistressInk on both. I found some rope-like ribbon in my stash. All the edges of the cardstock have been distressed and roughed up with my distresser tool. Once I added the brads to the frame, I used my T!m Holtz distressing hammer on them to beat them up and added a bit of DistressInk to them to make them look old and gnarly!

Feeling better

Finally starting to feel more like my old self. John got the Kotexes off my face and ear on Wed so I could take a shower, properly wash my face and wash my GREASE PIT hair!! Warm water cascading down my head and face never felt so good! I now have respectable band-aids on both spots and for the most part, my hair covers both so I don't get Bride of Frankenstein stares when I'm out in public! I finally slept thru the night last night. I'd been waking up multiple times from the pain when I would try to roll onto my right side. Both spots are starting to itch, so that means they are healing. So that's a good thing!

It'll be a lazy Labor Day weekend here at Casa Waters. John is working his normal day today and will have Sun & Mon off as usual. But he's worked so many hours this week getting ready for the holiday, that he'll probably cat-nap in his chair both days. We do need to mow, weedwack and edge the yard at some point, but other than that, we have no plans.

Keeping our eyes on two storms in the Atlantic basin. Gustav is probably headed for the LA, MS coast. An area that was just devastated by Katrina three years ago. There's a couple of people in that area that I care about and hope that they are making their plans to evacuate. Then there's Hanna who was headed for the East coast of FL, but now looks like she will make a more southerly turn and head back towards Cuba. But you never really know with these storms, so I'm not counting any chickens yet!

And extending sympathy to my friend Chris and her hubby Mike. His aunt passed away suddenly this past week. The funeral services are today. My thoughts are with you both.

I will be so happy...

when John gets home today. My ear bled some last night, so the Kotex-like bandage on my ear looks pretty gross. And I can't get it off by myself. I've not been able to properly wash my face since Monday morning and my hair has not been washed since Sunday night. I think I could solve the current oil crisis just from the oil in my hair! And here I thought I was done with oily hair once I finished puberty. Oh no! The oilyness just goes on hiatus til you hit menopause and then comes back with a vengance! I am looking very forward to standing under the hot water and just letting it beat on the top of my head. Funny the things you miss when you can't do them. Even for two days!

The ear does feel a bit better today. I think I actually slept more than I was awake last night, so that's a good thing. I put off taking a pain pill when I got up this morning and have not taken one yet. Still taking it easy, per the Dr's orders. Hopefully I can get out and run some errands tomorrow.

Today's PSA

If you have a spot on your body that is troubling you, have it checked. I had a hard pea-size lump in my upper right earlobe for at least 10, maybe 15 years. It did not bother me, didn't hurt, never changed size. It was more of a cosmetic bother than anything else. I felt like if I knew it was there, everyone else would too. So I never wore my hair behind my ears for fear that someone would see it. I had asked the Dr about it on a few occasions and he told me it was probably a subcutaneous cyst, or something like that. Nothing to worry about. A couple of months ago I had a spot come up on my lower left leg. My wonderful nail tech, Elvira pointed out to me that it was growing, and getting darker. Something I had not paid any attention to. She said I needed to get it looked at. I also had a few moles that clothing irritated, so I figured I'd kill a bunch of birds with one stone and get everything looked at at once. So I scheduled an appointment. And two weeks ago they took three moles, the spot on my leg and the "thang" in my ear off. She seemed most concerned about the place on my leg because of the darkness and uneven-ness of it. Well they called me a week ago and it turns out that the thang in my ear had non-cancerous cells showing. So they wanted to do surgery on it. And yesterday I went in for that surgery. Turns out that my ear is an overachiever. That is to balance out the underachieving thyroid I've been blessed with! In addition to the non-cancerous cells, they also found basal cell cancer, the most common form of skin cancer. They removed all of the bad cells and because the ear has no extra skin and the spot was too large to stitch, they had to take a skin graft from behind my ear to close the divot left behind from the removal of the cells. So I am now the proud recipient of a Kotex-like pressure bandage on both my right ear and right neck! Thankfully, both can be taken off by my resident Dr John tomorrow for a more traditional bandage of gauze and tape! It is pretty painful because of the pressure bandage. I can feel my heart beat in my ear, but as I told someone earlier today, it's better than the alternative! I am a right side sleeper, which was next to impossible to do last night. Hopefully it will be a little less painful tonight so maybe I can sleep.

So if you have something on your body that you think might be suspicious, follow that voice in your head or feeling in your gut and get it taken care of. We lost a really good friend, Marc Clark almost 3 years ago to skin cancer that he let go too long and by the time it was found, had already gotten into his lymph glands and he only lived another 6 months after it was found. So in his memory, I ask, PLEASE...get yourself checked.

Edited to Add...Instead of NON-cancerous cells, that should read PRE-cancerous cells. Why do I catch these things AFTER I hit publish?!

OCC challenge week 9

Dawn at Our Creative Corner decided on a color challenge for this week. She chose SU colors, Old Olive, Ruby Red, Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip as an accent. So I used the CTMH equivilent, or as close to it, as I had! I chose Olive, Cranberry, Autumn Terracotta and Chocolate. I used my Argyle stamp set for the background. And the new Four Seasons stamp set for the tree. All edges are distressed. I also used a paper clip with Sassy Strands.

New stamps

I wanted these stamp sets from the instant I saw them, procrastinated and missed out on them and they sold out. But recently they got more in stock, so I jumped on them! I was a quilter in an earlier life, so the Quilter's Sampler really spoke to me. My Paternal Grandmother was an owl lover, and she passed her love of owls on to me. I love these because all of the elements are separate, so you can customize the owls and make each one unique. You can find them herePapertrey Ink - Quality Acrylic Stamps, Cards & Stationery They have fabulous customer service and any order over $50.00 gets free shipping!

I used the new CTMH Notebook paper pack for both. I've got a head-full of ideas for both sets, so you'll be seeing more of them in the coming days!

Go away Fay!

And it looks like she will, with not a lot of damage. Fay came ashore at about 4 AM today down by Everglades City, almost at the southernmost tip of the state. She is now slowly making her way northeastward. The weather people say we could still be in for some gusty winds and up to 6" of rain as the storm passes by us to the east, but nothing like was originally thought. It is perfectly calm outside now. No wind. No rain. Just another beautiful day in Florida!

The in laws opted to stay at home and John is working today. They were told to have all trucks off the roads by noon, but I'll believe that when I see it! So I'm working diligently on Christmas gifts!

Sad day

I found out late yesterday that a fellow CTMH sister passed away suddenly from a heart attack. She was just chosen 2 weeks ago as one of CTMH's Rising Star Award recipients. She also made a presentation at Extravaganza during Convention. Judy Witkowski was a sweet, down to earth lady. I only just met her, but feel like I've lost a friend nonetheless. This is the card I made to send to her family.

Miss Fay

Looks like we could be in for a Category 1 Hurricane on Monday into Tuesday. Fay is her name and destruction seems to be her game. We are at a point now where we are wondering if/when to bring John's folks to our house. They are closer to the water than we are and are in a level one evacuation zone, meaning they are the first to go. So we plan to watch the weather closely in the morning and see if the projected path has changed. As of now, it looks like it will pass directly over us with winds in excess of 75 MPH but less than 90 MPH. If Fay stays on this path, we will drive the 30 miles south to his folks, get them and bring them here. Neither of us want his dad driving any more than he absolutely has to. I'll have to go to the store and get more food and get stuff prepared. We have the generator, but you can't run the stove/oven off it. John's gone now to fill his truck with gas plus the three 5 gallon gas cans we have. We filled my truck on the way home from visiting my sister and her family earlier today. So we're in hurry up and wait mode. Not a whole lot else we can do.

OCC Challenge week 8

On a blogging roll this morning! What's this, my third post?!

Dawn has another beautiful sketch up at Our Creative Corner this week. Worked out perfect since I got a bunch of new CTMH product yesterday! I used two of the new stamp sets, Argyle and Shining Star, along with new Aspen paper pack. Twilight, Outdoor Denim and new Creme Brulee CTMH inks were also used. I stamped the stars on a coaster, then cut them out and added Stickles for a bit of sparkle. New Creme Brulee ribbon was used at the top of the card and various buttons from my stash were used at the bottom. I stamped the background using the new Argyle stamp set. I really LOVE this set. Think it will be a sleeper until people start seeing it used and then it will take off like Spot On did with the Summer Idea Book.

My new favorite...

blog. And having worked in a grocery store for a loooooong time, I know some of the crap that goes out of the bakery depts. Prepare to be amazed...and to laugh your ass off!

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

Birthday card...

for youngest nephew Jake. Loozer Aunt Sue completely brain-farted his birthday last Saturday, so we'll be heading down to see him tomorrow when Uncle John is off. Looks like I'm on a Sassy Strands roll with my last two cards. I am convinced that Jake is gonna do something with animals when he grows up. His love of animals has not wained as he's gotten older. So that was my inspiration for his card. New Magic Moments paper pack was used, along with a photo hanger and Sunflower Waxy Flax. Sunkiss Yellow and Buttercup Sassy Strands for the mane and googly eyes on the lion.

OCC challenge week 8

Trying to get back in the groove of my challenges after Convention. Now that all of my swaps are done and on the way to the hostesses, I am playing catch-up! Today is the OCC challenge for this week. Dawn's challenge for this week was to use NO designer paper and a minimum of four layers. This cute stamp was part of my roomie gift from Liane and is by imaginesce. I used Black CTMH ink, then attached Sunny Yellow CTMH Sassy Strands for her hula skirt. Colored her bikini top and shoes with Sunny Yellow marker. A blue Prisma flower with "diamond" bling in her hair. I used my Cuttlebug waves folder for the bottom layer. I added some ink and also sandpapered it to make it look more "wave-like!" Fiskars Threading Water punch was used for the Sunny Yellow strip, with an additional layer of yellow ribbon from my stash. I used my Cuttlebug again with the scalloped Nestabilities for the Crystal Blue and White Daisy layers. One of new CTMH alpha stamp sets, Classmate Alphabet was used for the "Aloha" greeting. Bella Baubles in blue accent the corners of the greeting.

Susan T's swap

This completes my swap obligations for the new Idea Book! My third great-gramma upline Susan always hostesses a card swap for each new IB release. I generally only take one spot, but since I won all the stamp sets I figured I'd take two spots this time!

First card is called a Joy Fold card and I found the instructions for it on SCS. I used Magic Moments paper pack, Thoughtful Seasons stamp set, Cocoa, Hollyhock, Indian Corn Blue and Sunflower CTMH inks. Card is shown closed and open.

The second card is called a Buckle Card and I also found the instructions for it on SCS. For it, I used Perfect Day Paper pack, Life's Creation stamp set, Cocoa, Juniper, Sorbet and Tulip CTMH inks. Juniper, Sorbet and Tulip are all brand new in this IB! It's hard to tell in the picture, but the flower on the front, I cut the two lower petals and pop-dotted them to give some added dimension. This is also shown open and closed.

Amanda Faye's swap

One of my CTMH sisters, Amanda Faye has a ginormous swap that she hostesses with each new Idea Book release. She is about the only CTMH person I'll even bother to swap with any more due to the crap I was getting back from other swappers. She always attracts the cream of the crop and I get fantastic stuff back from her swaps. Always!

I take 4 spots in her swaps. A card spot, an altered item spot, a Circle Album spot and a 2 page 6x6 layout spot. And I always take paper pack 3. Never knowing what it's gonna be, but it's always been good to me! And this IB was no different! Notebook is probably my second favorite paper pack ever with CTMH. First place goes to Silhouette!

So here's what I created with this wonderful paper pack: First is a 4x4 card. Then my altered item. I took a round coaster and cut out the middle. Made a dangly center and attached it using a photo hanger. It's meant to be an ornament for you to hang. Then is my 2 page 6x6 layout. And finally my front and back of the Circle Album.

Colors used with the Notebook paper pack are Bamboo, Desert Sand, Hollyhock and Crystla Blue. Stamp sets are Coffee Stain and Code It. All new papers and stamps will be available Sept 1.

Convention recap

What a great time! I got to meet three of my online buds for the first time. LA, Melan and Denise. Great girls, all three. Wish the rest of the Boozer girls could have been there as well. LA and Denise managed to get themselves locked inside the hot tub area the first night and we never could get anyone to come unlock the gate, so they had to climb over the fence to get out! Melan and I each won a set of 15 new stamp sets the first night. We won all of the stamp sets that coordinate with the 5 new paper packs that were introduced with the new Fall/Winter Idea Book. We saw some pretty spooky looking outfits. Guess some women think that no tank tops, shorts or flip flops applied to all of the OTHER Consultants who were attending! I learned lots of new things and can't wait for my orders of new product to arrive so I can start playing! One order is supposed to be here today and the rest will be here next week. The last night I won another prize package in a game of Left Right. In that package was a stamp set, new Finishing Files,new Spring color pallet brads new Memory Keeper box and new Color Ready alphabet. So all told, I won in excess of $500 worth of new product over the three days of Convention. The big announcement on the final night was where Convention 2010 would be. Washington, DC!!! So hopefully John and I will be able to attend that and combine it with a vacation as well.

Photo's are:

Denise and Melan, LA scaling the fence at the hot tub, Denise makes her escape, prize from the last night, beautiful decorations, 1500 of my closest friends, Liane and Debbie, LA lounging on the chaise in her room.

I'm baaaaack!

From CTMH Convention in Orlando. I've actually been home a couple of days. Trying to get everything put away, organized, and catch up on my sleep. I think I got about 10 hours of sleep in 6 days! I won some really cool stuff. I'll be posting some pics and a full recap in a few days. So stay tuned!!