Fun and Mental Changes

With the opening of the new film The Social Network this weekend, all the news channels are jumping on the opinion bandwagon regarding the phenomena that is social networking. I've heard everything from "I don't get it" to "it's perpetuating our narcissistic society". It seems the news reporters (and some celebrities) have some pretty succinct reasoning as to why they are or are not participating in social networking. With all the sharing of opinions on the matter, I wanted to take a sec and chime in with my own. For the record, my usage of "the twitter" (thanx Betty White), Yahoo, Facebook and MySpace is in NO WAY narcissistic. In EVERY case, these wonderful networks are simply sounding boards. It is probably true that no one wants to know "what I am doing now", but what I am doing now isn't what I'm communicating. I share what I think and what I feel, giving away little pieces of who I am to the world that may or may not inc...

OMGosh!!! It's almost October!!!! I'm so freakin excited!!! AND we're just days away from the Little Hop of Horrors!!! I've been working in my laboratory.... uh, I mean craft room all week planning, preparing and creating not only for the hop, but for Halloween... I'M SO EARLY!!! I'm having trouble sleeping at night with all the spooktacular delights dancing in my head! So today, here's my "The Right Shoe Can Change A Girl's Life!" This one turned out so totally adorable!!! About a week ago, my new friend Krista of Red Car Productions made me the super cute witch's shoe that is featured in this card during her Copic airbrushing demonstration. The witch's shoe is actually a pair of witch's shoe dies made by Spellbinders... rather appropriate name huh?!? Anyway, when I left, I told her that I WOULD use them. Isn't this just fabulous?!? I NEED that airbrush system!!! Anyway, I just HAD to show you all this super cute card. I SO WIS...

Well... I was going to have a REALLY great project to feature today for The Town Scrapper's Showcase Monday, but unfortunately it's stuck in my camera and my computer does not want to recognize it! YIKES! So today we are going to revisit a previous creation that you've all seen here at Fun And Mental Changes featuring the C.C. Designs Coffee Kiki La Rue. She is one of my all-time favorite stamps (seems like I have a lot of those lately) and you can find her at The Town Scrapper (Ontario, Canada), just contact Phebe at info@townscrapper.com . Be sure to check out today's Monday Showcase for more gorgeous projects.... and I'll bet some of them are originals... hahahahahaha! And don't forget about this week's challenge project over at The Town Scrapper... click HERE for the deets! :)

You all remember the awesomely awesome nail art that I am so crazy about!?! And everyone remembers the good ol' days when visiting this blog got you an incredible discount on REUSABLE nail art to create gorgeous nails and for gift giving!?! Well if you don't, I posted a pic for you to see what I'm talking about. I did the mani shown here myself! Those are my nails that were simply stamped using Konad nail stamping products I got from Kathleen over at OC Nail Art . Well, I just got word that the "FREEZE" from the manufacturer just got lifted and we are getting our discount again!!! WOO HOO!!! PARTAY!!! So coming soon, look for our special discount code to use at http://store.ocnailart.com/ (pssst.... I think it's gonna be "FITTERTWIT"). OC Nail Art was the very first sponsor here at Fun And Mental Changes! I cannot thank Kathleen enough for everything she has done for all of my readers and I'm so thrilled that we are going to be able to shout it ...

We are LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY from our Little Hop of Horrors Blog Hop! The blog hop is on Saturday, October 2nd and I'm getting REALLY excited. There will be 26 creations along the hop to sink your fangs into ranging from spooky to scary cute! I'm really excited about my project. It will feature the new Cricut Pumpkin Carvings Seasonal cartridge and then on Monday morning (October 4th) I will pick one lucky hopper's name from the October 2nd posts to receive a FREE Cricut Pumpkin Carvings cartridge of your own!!! Yah, I'm super psyched!!! I can't wait for this hop!!! It's going to be SO great!!!!

Breakfast At Subway! Wow! Subway did it again! A healthy option for the fast food crazed nation. And like their classic lunch menu, this breakfast blows what others offer AWAY! Here's what I ordered today: WESTERN EGG WHITE MELT Multi-grain muffin (toasted) Egg white Ham Onions Green bell pepper Then Toasted a second time... a matter of seconds in the toaster Salt and pepper Provolone cheese A TON of spinach That's it! Nothings fried or greasy or sticking to any one's ribs. It's just whole and hearty and DELICIOUS!!! And you Weight Watchers fans out there will be thrilled to learn that the sandwich I just ate had only 3 points!!! Not bad for a complete breakfast that included a serving of vegetables!!! Take that McDonald's! And since I'm bringing up McDonald's.... now's the perfect time to mention, "BOYCOTT MCDONALD'S"!!! Last year I saw Food Inc. when it was in theaters (now it can be found at Blockbuster) and heard how McDonald's pret...

Ok, I'm back with the last part of the Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante book preview! I'm skipping page 4 of the book because I'm going to be using it for a tutorial here over the upcoming weekend, but lets kick start with page 5. Page 5 was simple to do using my Cricut, my Gypsy and the Storybook cartridge to create this gorgeous frame. This page is really for anything, stamping, journaling, pictures.... anything. In fact, the theme for this page is "Be Anything". The page 6 theme is "Be Accomplished". This vintage ledger sheet in the Steampunk Debutante line was perfect just the way it was. I inked the edges, but otherwise, did nothing else to embellish this page. I figured a nice list of accomplishments would be all the embellishment this page needs! How many of us passed notes in school? How many times were those notes more about the intricate paper folds and less about the note themselves? It's amazing to me how most of the skills I le...

Ok, so yesterday I showed everyone the covers of the Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante book that I made. Today I'd like to show you guys what the inside pages look like. Here is the first page. Don't you just LOVE this corset paper? The theme for this page is "Be Glamorous". The frame was cut on my Cricut, put through the Cuttlebug and then a piece of plastic was glued to the frame to protect a picture. I surrounded three sides of the frame's inside opening with pop up adhesive squares leaving the top side open so that a picture can be slid inside. I also cut a "V" cut in the inside of the envelope album cover so that one of the Steampunk Debutante tags could be placed inside. It's just the perfect spot for more pictures or journaling. But then again, there's a lot of THAT in this book. Page two's theme is "Be Timely". I gotta say that this particular background sheet is one of my very favorite sheets of the entire line. Old time clo...

A blog friend of mine just posted a pocket card (View her AMAZING card HERE ) and I couldn't help but think that she and I were on the same wave length. I created a similarly vintage-looking project with pockets included to hold tags and messages. I too used Graphic 45 paper with other similar elements as well..... why don't I show you? So the first picture is just a full view of the front of my book. If you click on the pic, it will enlarge for greater detail. I used the Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante line (love, love, love) for MOST of the entire project. That includes the paper and stickers and die-cut tags and borders. This book was SOOOO much fun to make and I just LOVE looking at it! Because this project is pretty large, I'm going to be splitting it up over a couple of posts in the next couple of days. Today's post is just a quick peek at the covers of the book and then tomorrow I will get into some design elements of what's inside and follow up with a coupl...

"Thank you" to everyone who participated in my first Cricut cartridge give away! I bet you're all on the edge of your seat waiting to hear who the winner of the "Hannie Montanie" cart is. Ok, I won't keep you waiting any longer! The random winner is: #2 jayma15 said... thanks for the chance to win! I shared this link on my FB!@... CONGRATULATIONS jayma15!!!! Send an email to fittertwit@yahoo.com with your contact information and mailing address and I will get your new cartridge out to you ASAP! I know you're gonna love this cartridge. All the versatile carts are the best!!! And for those who didn't get drawn... check back on October 2nd for your chance to win oodles of fun prizes during our Little Hop Of Horrors Blog Hop . For a list of prizes and sponsors, click HERE . And for those who stop by October 2nd and leave a comment, I've got some blog candy! October 3rd at midnight, I will be drawing a winner for a brand new Pumpkin Carvings Cricut c...

This Copic coloring has become quite an obsession as of late. Actually, even COLLECTING the markers has become an obsession! I know I'm not the first and I certainly am not the last, so in the spirit of sharing, I thought I would include a little color list to truly enable an epidemic for the rest of you..... mwahahahahahahaha! Anyhow, I colored this TOO CUTE Swiss Pixies Ladybug Nora by C.C. Designs for the weekly showcase at The Town Scrapper (Ontario, Canada). She really did turn out great which inspired me to share how I colored her. Now I usually use different color combinations for blonde hair, but after the way she turned out, I think I'm going to start using this new color combo exclusively... I LOVE IT! And speaking of The Town Scrapper, don't forget about the "Stitch" challenge going on this week! Click HERE for challenge info. And here's my final project for today's Monday Showcase over at The Town Scrapper . This layout is a prime example of ...

Ok, so tomorrow I announce the winner of the Hannah Montana Cricut cartridge (click HERE to enter if you haven't already)... which I'm TOTALLY excited about.... but there's even MORE! On October 2nd I'm participating in the Little Hop of Horrors sponsored by my good blog friend The Canadian Nickel Scrapper , Nicole. She shares my love of all things Halloween and has put together the blog hop to beat all blog hops!!! For those who participate, here's a list of goodies you can win from our super generous sponsors: Simply Betty Stamps - Set of 5 Halloween Digi’s Tickled Pink Stamps - Halloween Digi’s Tiddly Inks - $10 Gift Voucher Scrappy Moms Stamps - Haunting we will Go stamp set My Pink Stamper - Stamp Set The Greeting Farm - 2 Halloween Digis Scrap Hut - October 31st Cricut Cartridge (North America Only) You must complete the entire hop on October 2nd to qualify to win the awesome prizes listed above. BUT THERE'S MORE! For those who leave a comment on ...

Ok, so there are two days left to enter to win the Hannah Montana Cricut cartridge.... (one of my favies), and as I've been doing all week, here's today's Hannah cart project. This is my Rockstar layout featuring the AWESOME guitar from page 76, button 49. There is also A COUPLE of different electric guitars and a fret board grid Are you getting how AMAZING this cartridge is??!!?? So now that I'm done gushing about this cartridge (well almost), here's how easy it is to enter to win your own: Head over to the announcement post HERE and follow the instructions. Good luck to everyone... the winner will be posted here on Monday! :) I'm so excited! ****BONUS: Here's another great project done by Happy Happy Joy Joy using the exact same guitar... LOVE IT JOY! CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO .

Ok, now for a little break from our Hannah Montana Cricut cartridge extravaganza! Although, if you'd like to enter to win a BRAND NEW HANNAH MONTANA CRICUT cartridge, head over to the give-away announcement post HERE . So, over at The Town Scrapper, we're having a paper stitching challenge this week. Now you all know that I've been working on my paper stitching, and I've got to say that I think I'm getting better. The image I used for today's sample is Magical Sophie by Victoria Case. She's a big favorite of mine with Halloween right around the corner. EEEEE.... HALLOWEEN IS ALMOST HERE!!! A-hem! Where was I? .... the challenge is for any kind of stitching, faux stitching or real. I've just been working on paper sewing for a little while so ANY opportunity to stitch on paper... I'm all over it! My poor sewing machine doesn't know what fabric is, it's only seen it once! HAHAHAHAHAHA! So let's see what you create! The STITCH Challenge runs ...

You know, it's really sad that it takes a give-away to get me to finish a project! hahahahaha! But here I am, FINALLY, finishing a "Congratulations on your engagement" card! GEEZ! I do have a cut file to upload on this, but the cut file is a bit of a mess, so as soon as I get that fixed, I'll be sure to post it. But until then, here's how I made the diamond ring. I used the oh-so-awesome diamond from the Hannah Montana Font cartridge (you know, the one that I'm giving away next week). You can find the diamond on page 68 and button 41 for those who number their image pages. I added it to my virtual Gypsy mat and manually sized it to 2.70 wide x 1.82 high, and placed it in one corner of the mat. I then added the diamond ring from the Sweethearts cartridge (page 47, button 16) and sized it to 2.04 wide x 3.12 high. I placed that on a different corner of the mat. I then placed the yellow and grey papers on the physical cutting mat to correspond with where the item...

Yesterday was the kick off of my first official Cricut cartridge give away.... the Disney Hannah Montana Font cartridge! So I pulled mine out and started working on some projects that DESPERATELY needed to be finished. Hopefully tomorrow I can finally finish the diamond ring that everyone wants to see, but today's feature is my "Daddy's Girl Music Layout" using the Hannah Montana Font cartridge. Now, like I mentioned yesterday, this cartridge is SO MUCH MORE than a font cartridge! While it does have FIVE fonts on it, it also has some of the most amazingly gorgeous images of any of the Cricut cartridges I own. I'm going to spend the week creating with this cartridge so everyone can see what it does and how truly amazing this cartridge really is. And if you're interested in entering to win your own Hannah Montana cartridge, check out the give-away post HERE . Have a great one and good luck to all! :) I gotta run... I'm thinking this layout needs some stickle...

Ok ... so the time has come. I've got some BRAND NEW, NEVER BEEN USED, STILL IN THE PLASTIC Cricut Cartridges to give away over the next couple of months and it starts with one of my ALL-TIME FAVORITES...... Hannah Montana! YAY! I LOVE this cartridge! It's got the most beautiful guitar images along with musical notes and FIVE fonts! I used the regular font and the rock star font to create my Father's Day card this year (see above). I also used the Hannah Montana cart (see below) to create a beautiful butterfly (FREE Gypsy cut file HERE ), and am currently working on a project using the gorgeous solitaire diamond. There's a rose and lips and decorative hearts, even a Pegasus ! There's just so much on this cartridge.... I use it a lot! To call this a "font" cartridge is terribly misleading. It's been a long time favorite and now I'm THRILLED to be able to give it away to one of my awesome readers! So here's how to win: Become one of my follower...

I spent this morning playing with my markers. I pulled out an old digital stamp that I had colored a while back using my Stampin Up markers. Wow... it seems like FOREVER ago that I was coloring with those markers when really it was just a matter of months. And then I got my Copic markers and suddenly my $120 set of Stampin Up markers went forgotten! I pictured, for a second, what my life would have been like in third grade if I discovered Copic markers back then. Considering the entire third grade class shared communal markers, I imagine I would have learned how to fight! hahahahahahaha! Anyway, I got to work this morning coloring the same digi using my Copics and every stroke confirmed to me that my Copic markers were worth the continuing and ever growing investment. The gradient coloring options and the blendability of the Copic markers makes whatever project you are working on come to life in such a magical way! I'm going to be holding a Copic class on September 25 and I'...

The hiatus we were on over at The Town Scrapper is finally OVER!!! Whew! Did we miss you guys!!! Check out the AWESOME creations that our design team made while we were away HERE ! Be sure to participate in our weekly challenge and score your own images from The Town Scrapper by contacting Phebe at info@townscrapper.com or give her a call in Canada at 519-882-0623. The picture above was created by me (blog manager and design team member over at The Town Scrapper) before we all went on hiatus. And while it was featured on The Town Scrapper back in July, I never got a chance to post it to my blog. So here you go! Another Victoria Case stamp that is available at The Town Scrapper. She's called Sophie With Daffodil. Isn't she perfect to adorn these gorgeous flowers. This pic is going to be one I visit again when winter rolls in.... it just makes me feel so warm and fuzzy! hahahahahahahaha! I'm so glad the hiatus is over... I missed you all a ton!

I have wanted an ATG (or Advanced Tape Glider) for years! Crop after crop that I attended always found me drooling over this incredibly commercial looking yellow adhesive tape dispenser. Typically used by framers, THIS is the dispenser that says, "I'm a SERIOUS adherer!" hahahahahaha... is that a word? Well of course I was envious! Not any longer. Scotch had recently released a PINK ATG targeted toward their legions of scrapbookers in need of a quick, durable and economically savvy adhesive tool. The NEW ATG does the trick. With better than a $20 price break of the original ATG and 2 rolls included with the unit.... this adhesive gun is taking economically savvy to a whole new level! The new pink color doesn't hurt either. But I've got even more fun! I took a 40% off coupon with me today to Michaels and picked up this little gem for $22! I now have the coolest and greatest adhesive gun ever and it didn't break the bank. Yeah, that's some REAL fun, and I h...

Woo Hoo! Attention paper crafters: The Paper Vineyard, a scrapbook store in Chandler, AZ, is having an open call for Design Team members!!! No DT experience is necessary to apply. If anyone is interested, you can check out the announcement HERE ! Good Luck to everyone!!!

I'M SO EXCITED!!! Later this month I will be giving away a brand new Cricut cartridge!!! I've always wanted to give away Cricut cartridges and, in fact, tried to line up some cartridges to give away during my birthday give-away this year, but couldn't line any up to give. Well things have changed!!! I recently had the opportunity to pick up some BRAND NEW, AND UNOPENED Disney cartridges and I'm so excited to give them away. Stay tuned for more info, but the first one will be given away during the month of September. AND THEN.... Everyone knows that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Halloween, so for this year's fun festivities I bought the Cricut Seasonal Pumpkin Carvings cartridge to give away during the month of October. And if I get a huge response, I might run out and buy the Cricut Seasonal October 31st companion cartridge to give away too. I bought these two for myself about a month ago and I LOVE THEM! These two cartridges probably should be saved for next year's "...

Thank you to everyone who wanted to bring Happy Frank into your home. I'm happy to announce that Frank will be going to Raven who promised us she would share pictures with all of us from her daughter's birthday party. I thought that Frank would be the happiest playing with the little girls and boys. I also thought that sharing in that fun was going to just be too fun to pass up for all of us. Now we ALL will be able to enjoy Frank's new adventure. Thanx Raven, for allowing us all to share in Frank's fun.... I can't wait to see the pics! :) I'm so thrilled with the response to my little RAK.... be sure to check back often as I am going to make a habit of sharing more Cricut cut 'experiments' as I do them. :)