Wings

My Favorite Second Upline Susan changed things up a bit with CTMH going to only 2 Idea Books a year with the start of 2011. We had a "bridge promotion" for January because the new IB won't go live to customers til Feb 1. The promo was called Wings and it came with some beautiful vibrant papers and cardstock, embellishments and a stamp set. Colors were Black, Juniper, Sweet Leaf and Vineyard Berry. Also introduced was our new Spray Pen. You mix water (or alcohol for faster drying time) along with our Create A Shade Pearl Paint and Reinker and spray your elements for a shimmery shine.

Susan decided to do a couple of different swaps for our team to spread things out and make this transition a bit easier for us all. So first is the Wings only swap. We could use the stamp set that came with Wings or any of the other 5 stamp sets that were also a part of the bridge promotion. I chose to use the beautiful Find Your Style stamp set for one set. This is a very vintage-y looking stamp set. It has a dressmakers form, a high heek shoe, a butterfly, a bird, 4 different words and a sentiment. I also used the new A Game, a cute little set that has a tic tac toe grid, and hearts, stars, buttons, flowers and the words tic, tac and toe.

He dun gud!

Jake had the first round of his Geography Bee yesterday. And while Unca John and I were late getting there due to routine maintanence on my truck taking for.ever, we were there for the best part! There were 24 kids competing and there were 7 rounds to the first set of questions. They had already completed four rounds by the time we got there. Jake had answered all of his questions correctly. Rounds 5 and 6 were multiple choice questions and Jake missed one of those. Then Round 7, they were each asked a question and not given a choice of answers, instead having to come up with it on their own. And Jake missed his. Aunt Sue didn't do so hot either! Out of the 24 questions, I only knew the answers to TWO! Don't say much for age and failing brains, now does it?! Then the scorers huddled and decided who would move on to the next round. There were 4 kids who only missed one question each, so they went on. Then they called the names of the kids who had missed two questions and Jake was one of those 15 or so. All the others were excused. They then put the remaining kids at separate small tables and gave them each a piece of paper and pencil. They were all read the same question and had 15 seconds to write their answer down and hold their paper up to show they were done. They were then asked their answer. There was only one correct answer for that question, so that boy went on to the next round. Question two and no one had the correct answer. Question three and four had the correct answer. AND JAKE WAS ONE OF THE FOUR!!! Can you say PROUD?! So those four joined the others for a total of 10 going to the next round. Which will be NEXT Tue! So Unca John and I have already said we will be there in support of Jake. Crossed fingers are again appreciated!

Proud Auntie Moment!

Knock knock! Is dis thang on?! Oh, hai! Yes, we are still here. Took a bit of time off. I'll blame it on the holidays, but I wasn't crafting and we weren't doing anything to blog about, so I just shut my yap for a while. I'm getting back in the crafting mood, so hopefully I'll have some stuff coming up soon to share.

So my Proud Auntie Moment, you ask! Got an email from sister Jan this morning and she was bragging on Jake, so I'm gonna take her lead and share what he's been up to. Seems he had a math project that that had to use Power Point. ('Scuse me if I don't know 'xactly what that is!) But anyway! He had to apply this math project to something he was passionate about. And he is PASSIONATE about Renewable Energy. He talked Unca John's and my ear off at Christmas about his ideas! So being a typical 11 year old, he was down to the wire on getting the assignment done. Trying to find a computer with Power Point and getting it all put together. Turned the assignment in on the very last day! And he got 100% on it! Way to go Jake! Then, he comes home yesterday telling Jan that he is the ONLY 6th grader at his school to score high enough to compete with 7th and 8th graders in the National Geography Bee! How stankin' cool is that?! Next week he will compete with other local schools and possibly go on to the State and National levels. So keep your flingers and toes crossed for Jake next week and I'll post how he does. Jan said just when you think that he might be in over his head, he pulls this rabbit out of his hat and all you can do is say ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...maybe he IS getting it after all!

Eclipsed

Of course we got up at 2 AM on Dec 21 which just happens to be the Winter Solstice to see the lunar eclipse. I would love to talk to whoever schedules these things. Why anyone would schedule a lunar eclipe at that hour of the morning is beyond me! We stood outside in the cold for over an hour taking pictures and griping about the fact that our rechargeable batteries all bit the dust on their rechargeability at the same time. And of course we had no "regular" batteries here. Why would we?! But it was a sight to see. One not seen since 1638. That is the last time a lunar eclipse happened on the night of the Winter Solstice. And it won't happen again til 2485. I'm glad I was here to see thing one!

More Peeps!

I found some more Peeps! These are Snowman shaped and aren't "flavored" like the Peppermint stars, which I've been buying like a madwoman every time I'm at the grocery store! Yes, I'm just a teeny bit obsessed!

Wings

Got some new CTMH toyz yesterday and had a chance to play. This is a new paper pack that will be available to customers Feb 1 and it's called Wings. CTMH is also introducing a spray pen that you use our Create A Shade Pearl Paint, reinker and water then spray on different elements for a sparkly sheen. So very pretty! And we'll also have a new ribbon that's already gathered. I've also used three new stamp sets with these cards. One is the set that comes with the Wings Workshop On The Go. I also used the January Stamp of The Month called Find Your Style and a cute "A" set called A Game. I took a couple of close up shots so hopefully you can see the shimmery goodness that the spray pen gives.

new peepers

It had been 5+ years since John and I had our eyes examined. (There'll be NO smart comments about having our heads examined! We tried that. There is nothing there to examine.) I'd been having headaches by the end of the day and both pairs of John's glasses needed repair. So we bit the bullet this week and just went and did it. Turns out, the Old Man needs Bifocals. :::insert snort here::: And his lenses have to be special made. He says because he's special. I say, notsomuch! Mine were ready the next day. My old frames were pretty thin wire, so I was ready for a change. The new ones are a bronze-y color and I really am enjoying them and not having headaches any more.