Fun and Mental Changes

I'M IN LOVE!!!  Black Friday was less of an assault mission this year and more of a strategic mission for me as I had my sites on only one thing... the new Kindle Fire. Recently Amazon released the Kindle Fire and my husband (mostly on his own) thought that it would make a great gift for me.  This time he hit the nail on the head.  Yes, I'm forfeiting opening gifts this Christmas, but if you've read my posts from Christmases past, you'll see this exact trend.  HAHAHAHAHAHA.  Not that the new player in the Kindle line up is overly expensive.  I picked up this baby for $199... it was all the extras that I also HAD to pick up to go along with it.  Because this device streams music, video, newspapers, magazines, books, documents and allows you to browse the web, there were a few items that I don't think I could have lived without.  Needless to say, that $199 price tag turned into a $350 price tag REAL quick with the purchase of a noise reducing head...

Alright you guys.... I PROMISE.... Twilighty blog candy IS coming!!!!  I've just been so bombarded the past few weeks organizing my craft room (and, ok, distracted is also a good word.  I've been going to the movies A LOT and have seen Breaking Dawn like four times which is a little creepy-excessive even for me) and getting ready for the upcoming events that I'm planning for the new year that I just haven't quite put together the Twilight goodies that I'll be giving away.  But I will put it together and get it posted very soon.  I think I might run this blog candy give away through January as sort of a New Years treat.... hmmmm.  Ok, so that's it.  This was a quick post, I know, but writing this post made me want to pop over to the Harkins website and view Breaking Dawn show times for tomorrow.  Uh, I might need a little professional intervention here.  LOL!  Swing back by tomorrow... I'm posting a little "dilly" on m...

Ok, so let me just start by saying that I'm soooooo sorry for being MIA!  I was host to a Twilight:  Breaking Dawn release party and it CONSUMED me!  I haven't had a full night's sleep in about a week preparing for this event.  And let me just tell you that it was worth it!!!  The party itself was so super fun.  We watched all three of the previous movies while making Twilighty crafts, playing games, winning prizes and eating yummy, yummy goodies.  Check out the vampire goodness that my friends Dana and Bailey brought to the party.... Is this awesome treat not perfect!?!!!!  And it was oh-so-yummy too!!!  I also put together a totally rad raffle bag (made by yours truly) that included a ton of stuff I brought back with me from Forks, WA this past summer (you all remember my trip right?  LOL) along with other cooler than cool prizes.  That raffle ROCKED!  Here's what last night's winner won.  Check it out.... And then, ...

Ok, so a couple of days ago I told you all that I would post the other make n' take for the Twilight release party, well, here it is!!!  We are going to be making this SUPER FUN Twi-like notebook along with the Tri-Twi Album (below).  But the BEST part about the whole opening of Twilight Breaking Dawn is that Paper Vineyard has reserved a theater for opening night and DISCOUNT TICKETS are available (very limited)!!!  YAY!  Here's what is posted on Paper Vineyard's blog this morning: YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE:  Paper Vineyard now has DISCOUNT tickets available for OPENING NIGHT of Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1 for sale at the store.  We have booked our own theater JUST for our Paper Vineyard peeps but there are limited seats still available and these babies are going to go fast.  If you are interested in joining us, call the store at 480-656-2058 .  When they are gone, they are gone.  Here are the deets - Openi...

  Paper Vineyard's challenge this week was to use some custom cuts by Grapevine Designs.   We were asked to submit a word that Grapevine Designs would then cut out of chipboard in three different fonts for us to use and showcase any way we'd like on any project.  Really, is it ANY surprise that I had Grapevine Designs (exclusively at Paper Vineyard) cut out "La Push"???? HAHAHAHAHAHA! Because I'm STILL working on my vacation album, this was the perfect time to incorporate the elements for this challenge while at the same time fulfill the design team project!  LOVE IT!  Along with the Grapevine Designs custom cut, I also used Bazzill Cardstock, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, McGill tab punch, Spellbinders dies and a Creative Impressions rub on.  I'm getting closer to this album being complete!  One down, 12 more to go!  LOL! Click HERE to see what the rest of the design team created for this one-of-a-kind challenge!!!

OMGosh you guys!  I am SOOOOO embarrassed!!!  This here is this week's submission to Beyond The Burtonesque Dolls that I'm posting SOOOOO late!!!  Not because the project wasn't done (it was done over a week ago), but because I DROPPED my camera which loosened the SD card inside and had NO IDEA what was wrong!  My computer kept telling me that it couldn't find any of my files.  I honestly thought I had lost everything.  Imagine my delight when the SIMPLE discovery of my SD card being dislodged brought ALL my pics and videos back when the card was snapped back into place.  WOW!  Two days of scrambling... but I'm here to share my experience so if it ever happens to you, you will know how to fix it and quick. So while late, here is my project for Beyond The Burtonesque Dolls bi-weekly challenge.  This week's challenge is to create a project inspired by scary kids or scary kid's films.  MY project is actually inspired by scary kids and the...

IT'S ALMOST HERE!!!  Twilight:  Breaking Dawn opens on November 18th and I'm SOOOOO EXCITED!!!  And not just because of the movie opening.... I'M HOSTING A RELEASE PARTY!!!  Pictured here is one of two of the make n' takes that I created for this event!  This particular project also features a FitterTwit Original!!!  The apple that is in the center of the flower on the third page of this wonderful Tri-Twi Album was created entirely by ME!!!  And it was no small feat... let me tell you!!!  Before I get to that, let me show you some close ups. So here is the first page.  Pretty simple page to display..... oh I don't know.... pictures of you and the gang at the premiere??? hehehe! Here is a close up of the second page.  You have the option of four different sentiments on this one:  "Bite Me", "Love Bites", "Imprinted" or "Forever Yours"!  This page would be perfect for a pic of your date to the premiere.  Oooo-la-...

Ok, so I have the winner of today HUGE HALLOWEEN give away.  frances joy said.. . ahhh i love it!!! i will pray to win this hihi i want this for my ate jwels! dont know how to add a link here but i tried, hope it works! http://franzesjoi.multiply.com/links/item/1/Fun_and_Mental_Changes_HUGE_Halloween_Give_Away franzes_joi@hotmail.com thank you for the chance to win this!! i'm a follower!!   Congratulations frances joy!!!  You are the winner of FOUR brand new Tickled Pink Stamps!!!  I am sending you the notification email now.  Thank you to everyone who played along, I'm hoping next year's Halloween give away will be even "Huger"!!! :)  Happy Halloween everyone! 

**** HUGE HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY... CLICK HERE !!!!****   Ok... here they are!!!  I am just having a BLAST going back to basics with shading and shadows using these wonderfully ADORABLE Stampendous Halloween images.  As I told you yesterday, that cute little Count Jack had some friends!!!  Pumpkinstein and Mumpkin in the house (I think you might be able to tell which one is which... LOL)!!!  Honestly, these cuties make coloring with Copic markers fun and easy.  And really, isn't that quote from Stampin Up's Smarty Pants just too perfect for this one?!?  The only thing that I want to add to this is a little reminder that when you are blending with Copic markers, remember that the alcohol ink takes a moment to "develop".  I think that when people begin coloring, they attempt to blend but don't see the development of the alcohol ink reaction right away, begin to over blend and then are not happy with the results.  Take your time when you first st...

**** HUGE HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY... CLICK HERE !!!!**** Some of THE BEST images to begin coloring with Copic markers are Halloween images!!!  So if you've just started on this crazy Copic ride, you've begun at the perfect time!!!  THE CUTEST stuff is available this year too!!!  Pictured here is Stampendous Count Jack... isn't he ADORABLE!?!  And he's perfect for learning basic coloring and shadow placement.  With the artist's helpful shadow lines in his little pumpkin face, this one is easy and fun to color as well. Stampendous also has a couple companion images to go with this little cutie... stay tuned for those!!! REMINDER: There are only a few days left to enter the HUGE HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY!!!!  Be sure to click the link at the very top of this post to enter... this is one you don't want to miss!  There are FOUR Tickled Pink Stamps up for grabs!!!!

**** HUGE HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY... CLICK HERE !!!!****   So I'm working on a little technique tutorial while also putting together the Twilight Breaking Dawn Release party at Paper Vineyard... yah, this is getting pretty interesting, wouldn't you say?  HAHAHAHAHA! Well, OF COURSE, this was going to end up a Twilight project!!!  Honestly, could it REALLY have gone any other way???  Anyway, featured here is TGF's Edward and this little guy is PERFECT for my class on Hair:  Finding Highlights Even Loreal Would Love (I was going to add "Cuz We're Worth It" to my class title, but then that seemed like it might be a bit too long, and could possibly get me into trouble).  And what about that paper????  I've been having a BALL with that DCWV Immortal Love line.  The "Sparkle" sentiment is actually a chipboard piece from this line and then I took two brads, melted some Sparkle Glitter Embossing Powder on them before adding them to the sentiment to bling it...

**** HUGE HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY... CLICK HERE !!!!**** Ok, so I've done posts in the past about various Copic storage solutions, but I was given THE MOTHER of all storage ideas by my friends Jennie Black and Krista Koenig!!!   Let me share with you the construction of the storage box and then I'll finish this off with the BRILLIANT solution my husband came up with.... cuz I married a GENIUS!!! What you'll need to create the AWESOME storage box pictured here is: 1 Double Deep Art Bin 1 plastic grid for ceiling lighting (found at your local home improvement store) 1 half inch thick wooden square dowel (also found at your local home improvement store) Dimensional adhesive squares Wire cutters or sheers Screws with corresponding drill bit Drill So I first cut the ceiling grid down to 19 squares by 19 squares using my wire cutters.   You will need two 19 x 19 sections of grid material.   The wire cutters went through the plastic material of the grid like b...

**** HUGE HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY... CLICK HERE !!!!**** So I talked yesterday about the super fun gifts that I've received.  Among those gifts was this WONDERFUL mini album that Dana gave me.  Well, I did a little personalizing and wanted to show it off.  Thank you Dana, you are an INCREDIBLE designer!!!  Ok, first I just want to point out that Dana and I CLEARLY share the same tastes as she picked out the out-of-this-world papers from Authentique's Halloween line.  I LOVE this paper!!!  I just simply pulled a sheet of Echo Park's Apothecary Emporium paper to cut out the Tim Holtz Rosette and finished the rosette off with a Teresa Collins Haunted Hallows brad.  I also attached a piece of grosgrain ribbon and a skull and crossbones charm to the spine.  I love adding the little details!!!  The inside is ready for a picture and some journaling.  I don't think I want to touch the webbed paper!!!  That was a nice design element to u...

**** HUGE HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY... CLICK HERE !!!!****   The Halloween season has just begun and ALREADY I'm showered with gifts!!!  NOW, can you see why I love Halloween so much?!?!  And I know some of THE MOST TALENTED people!!!  So pictured above are some of the things that I've received so far with a special "Thanx You Guys" for their wonderful gifts .   Dana , thanks for the wonderful mini album.  It is SO AMAZING!!!  I placed it right next to the mini album you gave to me last year... on the shelf with my favorite things!!! Sandy , thanks for cutting those wonderful dancing Halloween images for me.  I LOVED your tutorial on the Zing... I think I'm sold!!! Cindy, thanks for the OH-SO-CUTE Halloween card!  You and those Tim Holtz dies... hahahahaha!  I love it! Barb, thanks for the cookie jar.  What an AMAZING gift and ingenious too!!!  All the dry ingredients decoratively put together in that wonderful glass jar with t...

**** HUGE HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY... CLICK HERE !!!!****   What's in a name?  Well, a lot actually!!!  I mean really... a rose by any other name would not be as freakin awesome as this!!!  I was recently perusing the web for interesting scrapbooking tid bits when I ran across THE COOLEST name for a blog (honestly, I'm considering buying it from her...hahahahaha)!  Get ready, the blog is: EENKSTAIND !!!! OMG, I love it!!!  I won't lie though, her name sort of made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, but checking out her posts made it worth it! You see, the name Tammy Nichols REALLY rung a super sonic bell, but being from Arizona and the backdrop of her profile pic being and ocean, I was instantly drawn (in a big way).  I love the sights, sounds and smell of the ocean... I rarely get to see it... so to see her posts of the ocean makes me forget the whole "Nichols" thing and makes me feel warm, fuzzy and like I'm on vacation all over again....

**** HUGE HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY... CLICK HERE !!!!**** WHAT to do with all those Halloween pics from this year?  Wouldn't it be great if you had a table book PERFECT for displaying all those wonderful photos?  I'm talking about a book where all you had to do was insert your photos and voila!  INSTANT gratification!!!  Yep, I've got the book for you.  Coming November 5th to Paper Vineyard.... my Halloween mini book featuring Echo Park's Apothecary Emporium AND Grapevine Designs!!!!  I also threw in a little HomePro (the beloved Purple monster) AND Glitter Ritz glitter!  Check it out: I LOVE how this one turned out.  And before anyone asks... yes, it is a redo of the prize winning album I created for Paper Vineyard's Design team.  I just dressed it up a little more and OF COURSE used the Echo Park line.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that paper!!!!  So I hope you all will join me.  I will also be offering kits.  Contact Paper Vi...

**** HUGE HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY... CLICK HERE !!!!**** Ok, the project for the November Copic Palooza at Paper Vineyard is complete and I gotta say, it was SOOOO fun to make!!!  I used quite a few Tim Holtz products and techniques for this super cute tag along with the new Vintage charms that are now available in the store!!! I am so proud of the Autumn feel to this one (not to mention the  "Thanx" sentiment)!!!  This tag also features the final Anya in The Greeting Farms' Miss Anya Collection... I mean, come on!!!  What an INCREDIBLE stamp set!!!  Don't you just love those stamp sets that are versatile and can be used year round???  And, let me add, Miss Anya is REALLY fun to color.  So bring your Copics and your basic scrapper's tool kit with you November 30th at 5:30 p.m. to Paper Vineyard for two hours of crafty-Copic fun!!!  See you there!!! ***  Copics used for the above sample:  E00, E000, E21, E33, E37, E39, E59, YG17, YR14, ...

Ok folks.... I promised another Halloween give away!  This one's HUGE!!!  One of my lucky followers is going to win FOUR (count em 1-2-3-4!!!) Tickled Pink Lil Haunt stamps.  Tickled Pink was kind enough to donate these brand new, unmounted rubber stamps and I've been ITCHING to give them away!!!  This give away includes the stamp used to make the beauty above (well, not THE stamp... hahahahahha)... Lil Haunts Lolita Vampire Lilith, I LOVE this one!  It also includes Lil Haunts Lolita Witch Lylah, Lil Haunts Lad Frankenstein Frankie and Lil Haunts Lolita Ghost Willow.  To see all these wonderful images in action, check out Tickled Pink's blog HERE ! So now, how to win these awesome images?!?  1.  Be a follower or become a follower. 2.  Share this blog post with your peeps either in a Facebook shout out, on a forum or in a blog post. 3.  Leave a comment here with a link back to where you linked this blog post and an email address ...

But first.... check out the Halloween card that I made for Paper Vineyard's Design Team Challenge!!!  This time the DT was asked to use the new paper from the Authentique line with their favorite tool.  HA, yah right.... more like TOOLS!  I am gadget girl after all.  So lets get down to what I REALLY used for this baby!!! First, I used my new toy, the Zutter DreamKutz to cut my 8.5" x 11" white cardstock in half.... LIKE BUTTER!!!  I love it!  Then I used my pink ATG to adhere my pieces.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my ATG!  Then I used my BELOVED Purple Monster to attach the decorative nailheads and finally I used my Basic Grey rub on tool (discontinued?  Really???) to rub on that AMAZING Danelle Johnson image from the Creative Impressions Trickery Impression pack.  I can't believe it's been discontinued!!! Finally, I used my Sizzix Big Shot with Spellbinders dies to create the mat shapes.  I think that about does it.  I think that I...

**Click HERE for Halloween Give Away** Ok... so there should be a law against disrupting Halloween festivities with Christmas projects!!!  I had SUCH a hard time coloring this Tweet Top Hat by Stampendous for Paper Vineyard's Design Team challenge!!!  I was SUPPOSED to be doing a rather simple technique to make this hat look like felt using Copic Blender #0 (Color the image as usual and then do little "C's" with your blender to make the surface look textured and "felty"... sorry spellcheck, its a word today) but for SOME REASON my brain was shorting out and I just COULD NOT make this one happen.  I'm serious... my brain went on strike the minute I told it, "Let's do a Christmas card."  But, luckily, one of the many pleasing aspects of coloring with Copic markers is that even something that doesn't turn out the way you intended still looks wonderful and at the very least HAND MADE!!!  hahahahaha! So for this one I used my Purple M...

**Click HERE for Halloween Give Away** This week's challenge over at BEYOND The Burtonesque Dolls is to create a project inspired by the artwork and/or films of Terry Gilliam.  Personally, I TOTALLY like this dude's style when it comes to his artwork.  It borders on bazaar with quite a steampunk-y edge... THAT I'm so drawn to!!!  Now while I ended up going "cutesy" with this card, it was not for lack of want for the bazaar.  I had originally picked Smeared Ink 's Gear Head but with the holiday weekend and this user's less than stellar computer know-how, the image wasn't able to be downloaded in time for this challenge.  So inspired by Terry Gilliam's Steampunk Style, here's my project featuring a GORGEOUS alternative:  Tiddly Inks' Owlette .  I altered this one a bit as the owl that is supposed to be perched on Owlette's hand would have gotten in the way of that wonderful Tim Holtz sentiment.  Ok folks... that is it!  Swing over t...

**Click HERE for Halloween Give Away** Yesterday turned out to be a pretty awesome day at Paper Vineyard's first-ever All Day Copic Coloring event.  Not only did I get to hang out with my favorite girl friends, I also got to meet some new ones!!!  That's just what Copic markers do... they bring friends together!!!  The day was PACKED with activity beginning right at 9 a.m. with an UBER YUMMY breakfast.  Honestly, pancakes with whipped cream and blueberries?  Eggs and sausage?  Really?  At a scrapbook store?  YUP!!!  The owner Adriana has mad kitchen skillz!!!  Then Jennie Black (super star that she is) came all the way from California to hang out with us and teach a class.  She is such an incredible lady and a wonderful teacher!!!   She did a FABULOUS job teaching us all lighting to effect subject matter and mood.  LOVED IT!!!  Here are pics of her samples from class.   In the pic on the left, of the boy s...

**Click HERE for Halloween Give Away** Well you guys.... here's more vacation pics. Paper Vineyard challenged the DT to use the new Grapevine Designs cutouts exclusive to Paper Vineyard to create a project.  We were asked which state we wanted cut out (don't you just love it when you can have custom cuts done?) and I chose Washington.  This was kind of perfect timing since Forks, Washington alone has three pages in my vacation album.  Now, to tell you the truth, I am not yet scrapping the Washington leg of our vacation, but to fulfill this challenge, I figured it was worth jumping around a bit.  And hey, it's one less page I now have to get done.... this one turned out better than I could have imagined!!! So featured in the pic above is the "Twilighty" forest in Washington.  Full on with the mossy trees and the dense fog.... I'm transported to the beloved story that brought me here in the first place.  HOW COULD I NOT DEVOTE A PAGE TO IT???  LOL!...

**Click HERE for Halloween Give Away** INTRODUCING..... The new design team:  Beyond The Burtonesque Dolls!!!  Our first challenge for the "NEW" dolls was to create a project inspired by our favorite Halloween film, book or memory.  Mine is The Addams Family.  I grew up watching The Addams Family in the afternoons after school.  This show surely kick-started my interest in all things macabre and Halloweeny!!! So my card is quite simple as I didn't want anything to detract from that AWESOME Moxxie paper from the Midnight Dreary line.  The stamped image is The Greeting Farm's Wednesday and the sentiment is from Tickled Pink Stamps' Halloween Sentiments.  To finish this one off, I added some Cuttlebug bats and sewing machine stitches.  This one is creepy, kooky and cute just like The Addams Family. So what's YOUR inspiration?  Head over to Beyond The Burtonesque Dolls and check out what the rest of the design team turned out and to get ...

**Click HERE for Halloween Give Away** I was chatting with one of my design teamies the other day about blog pics and she asked me how I make them looks so nice for my blog.  I told her my secret was Photoshop Elements 9.  She said that she had it but it seemed so hard to use so she would get frustrated and close it.  Well, she's sort of right in that when you open up Photoshop there is just SO MUCH TO IT that it was a bit overwhelming for me when I first started.  I ended up getting a book to learn how to use it.  Now, while I STILL don't really know everything there is to know about PSE9, I did learn a couple of simple tricks to make my pictures look SOOOOO much better!!!  So here's the video tutorial on what I do to enhance my pictures for my blog.  I hope it helps someone out in blogland! :)

Alright folks.... as is true of our wonderful community, we all have an opportunity to give to an AWESOME cause.  Betty, founder of Simply Betty Stamps and my beloved Burtonesque Dolls is dealing with a pretty unbelievable issue and WE can help!  Here's Betty's Story: My son Christian 17, has had a sore throat for about a month now. The first doctor said it was tonsillitis's. Seven days of Amoxocillin was administered. Two days after the last pill, he was sick again, with a sore throat, and a fever. Back we went to put him on Caphlex... again seven days of antibiotics. On the fourth day he was not improving so we took him back. Ok it's strep now. They kept him on Caphlex but gave him a booster shot. Three full days of starting to get better, he was able to eat again, drink, and talk. He fell sick again on the fourth day, this time they took a culture and sent it to the lab. Monday I got a call that I needed to take Christian in to a specialist, well not just any sp...

  OOOOO guys, just a quick post for today announcing the Copic Coloring Palooza on October 26th at Paper Vineyard in Chandler, AZ.  This time I'm featuring this oh so tempting treat box using The Greeting Farm's Miss Anya Collection.  We will also be playing around with the use of Spellbinder's dies in the Big Shot.... see how easy it is to trim around Miss Anya's feet and then put her through the Big Shot so it appears she's coming right off the die WITHOUT having to cut her out!  SUPER EASY!!!  I will also be introducing everyone to the new Echo Park Apothecary Emporium !!!  Just one of my new favorite paper lines!!! And speaking of the Echo Park Apothecary Emporium.... how about a HALLOWEEN GIVE AWAY!?!?!? Who wants to win an Apothecary Emporium Collection Kit???  Included in this kit is 12 - 12" x 12" Double-sided papers, 1 - 12" x 12" Elements Sticker sheet and 1- 12" x 12" Alphabet Sticker Sheet!  To win this, just tell me you w...

Today is October first and the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  So in honor of this very special month and all who are fighting the good fight, I'd like to offer you this FREE Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon Digi.  It was created by me and was featured on my Breast Cancer Awareness Candle post (pictured below).  I promised that you could get your hands on it for FREE today so here it is.  I have also attached a donation button that links directly to FitterTwit Gives, and will keep the button available the entire month of October.  While this digi is ABSOLUTELY FREE for the taking, it is my hope that you will give generously and share with others where you got this digi from. Proceeds will be going to the National Breast Cancer Foundation in their efforts to find a cure.  But without further ado (and my usual babble): I hope you put this one to good use and PLEASE come back and post a link to your fabulous creation. Here is the pic of the can...