Pining away

I finally took the time to make the awesome little pinecone ornaments from this tutorial.

I've had the materials for months, but I never took the time to make it, because I don't have a paper cutter (*wishlist!*), and I have to cut 60-something 2"x1" pieces of paper for this! =X Anyway, I did it today with a ruler and a craft knife, and I'm so glad I did =] My bow is a lil' different, because the top of mine is messy, and I needed to hide some stuff X] It's not nearly as neat and even as the pics in the tute, but I like it all the same =]

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An ATC I made today:

I made this with a stamp made by RuthArt, from the swap we had over at the Carve Your Stamps group on Flickr. I distressed a page from a vintage Spanish-English dictionary I picked up at a yard sale. Added buttons, ribbons, and faux stitching, atop the image stamped on red mulberry paper.

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I picked up a notepad with the cutest print on the cover from target's $1 bins. I just had to carve this funky lil' bird that was on the cover ^_^

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All in all, not an entirely un-productive day! I had planned to make some of these bookmarks today, but....my tummy hurts. So, I'm gonna relax. Tomorrow, I will be calling around to find out how to get my kids enrolled in school, as their website is broken *grr* But, the good news is, the kids will be living with me, for the next school year, at least =] Quite possibly the most wonderful thing to happen this year! ^_^

Over the river, and through the woods

Okay, so, after sitting here for a WEEK, trying to decide whether or not to post pictures from my family reunion/vacation, I have determined that my mother would kill me. She has no pics of herself popsted on her blog, so I won't post pictures of her on mine either.



They are really neat pictures, though!



So, here are some pics that don't feature my lovely mommy:







And, some artsy fartsy things...because, I mean, really, it's just what I do ;)


A tattoo I am designing with my kids' names, to go on my upper left arm. That largest blossom will sit at the top of mr arm/shoulder. I've left room for another child's name >_>;;



New rubber stamps, carved last night. A Walther p22 (my gun), and a flamingo. I am going to carve another of the flamingo, only keep it a solid image, instead of the outline.



ATCs






I need to go clean up some before the kids get home. I'm not cleaning EVERYTHING up, tho, because they left a HUGE mess in the living room, and they need to clean it up (damnit)!

Absolutely innocent blog title!

I told ya I was working on a gnome project! Here he is, the itty gnome!

The bottom of the little gnome is actually a dark blue, but it photo'd as black. I would grumble about wildfires killing the natural light around here, but I'm just so dang pleased with how this little guy turned out! ^_^ I can see a whole army of itty gnomes in the future ;)

Also, I received an awesome package from Portugal today!

Té té sent this huge package for the hand-carved stamp swap we did at the Carve Your Stamps group on Flickr. I had sent her some carving blocks, because she can't get them where she lives, and she retaliated reciprocated with this fantastic package, filled with handmade envelopes, a little notepad, hand-stamped stickers, and even a coloring set for the kids! Seriously, this woman is so full of win ^_^ Thanks, Té té!!

So, I got the fwoop over the e's...but I can't get it to do it without making a space in the middle of her name! What the deuce! *sigh* I feel so "in the box".

Mid-morning Quickie

I carved three more of this birdy stamp, because I <3 it so much. I expect I will trade these away =]


Dobie stamp carved for a swap. I am really happy with this one; it turned out exactly how I wanted it to, and it wasn't very difficult ^_^


A surprised little shrimp on sushi ;) Also made for a swap.


Finally, four ATCs for a Red/Pink ATC swap. These have an Alice in Wonderland theme, and I am quite happy with how they turned out =]


I'm off to buy some felt, and tiny beady eyes, for a gnome project I'm working on! =]

Tute-ing my own horn!

Tutorial-ish thing on how I carve my stamps! Click the image to go to my tutorial on Flickr.

Wake me up, before you go go

I've just nearly finished off a 22oz Rockstar (energyyyyy!)

Newest stamps:


Cards (mostly made with hand-carved stamps):



ATCs, again with hand-carved stamps:



(You can see larger versions of these at my Flickr.

And, finally, I tested out some inks on fabric. I heat set them with my heat gun, and then I hand-washed them in cold water with baby shampoo.

StazOn bled badly. VersaFine was light, but printed clearly, and washed well. VersaCraft washed out, but printed clearly (they click to bigger).
This is before washing:

After washing:

I'll Turn This Car Around!

I have some issues with this new hands-free cellphone law. For those of you that are unaware, a law stating that motorists must use a hands-free device to talk on a cellphone went into effect today. Other states that have imposed the hands-free law are: New York, New Jersey, Washington, & Connecticut.

This law is supposed to cut down on accidents caused by people being distracted by the phone.

My issues:
This doesn't mean that people won't be talking on the phone. It only means they will not have a phone in their hand while they are doing it. It is not illegal to drive while smoking, drinking a soda, eating a taco, or applying lipstick. All of these things involve holding something in one hand.

It is not illegal to drive with screaming children in the backseat. Okay, yeah, I know, they can't outlaw the transportation of children (dammit), but you'd be hard-pressed to find a parent that didn't agree that having screaming fighting children in your backseat is immensely distracting. especially when you start waving your hand behind you, trying to reach the fallen toy, the spilled crackers, or the screaming mouths ;)

It is not illegal to text message while driving! Join me now in a collective, "WTF?!" Alaska, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Washington have outlawed text messaging by drivers. How is talking to someone MORE dangerous than typing on a keypad to them, and/or reading? There's a reason cars come with Map Lights. It's dangerous to drive while reading. It can be somewhat dangerous to drive while unable to hear over a sound, but I assure you, my cell is no louder than my stereo, and my stereo falls well within legal limits on noise.

There are actually police that are admitting that this new law is a good thing because it gives them one more reason to stop a car. Did I miss something? I thought we were trying to make the state a safer place to pollute commute?

You can read more surprising crap here: L.A. Times article