Old Typepad Posts - October 2007

TITLE: ~*~ Eak ~*~
DATE: 10/29/2007 08:03:28 PM
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OMG, I woke up to one of the best "presents" ever yesterday - look what the wonderful and uber-talented {anam} did ---->| {here}. Isn't that layout just amazing??? I am so happy that we were able to put our past differences aside once we had to face each other as being DT Members for {pencil lines} and I am so glad we can call each other friend now. I am so looking forward to Christmas, as we should be able to get together for a couple of pints. We have spoken on the phone twice now and I just know that we will have such a laugh.


Speaking of Pencil Lines, yesterday was my last day as a full-time DT member. I have enjoyed my year on this fantastic challenge blog so much, but felt now it was time to go. The work I am doing for {frances meyer} and {rusty pickle}takes center stage and I would not be able to give Pencil Lines my 100% attention and those who know me, will know that I will not do things by half.


That doesn't mean though that I will turn my back on Pencil Lines as I am delighted to stay on as a honorary DT Member and can still submit to the sketches whenever my time allows me.


I've got a good life :)

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TITLE: ~*~ Ugh ~*~
DATE: 10/28/2007 12:00:11 PM
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Ok, I have been seriously slacking the last week but trust me, I was battling jet-lag as if it was going out of style...yikes. I though I was cool after I slept so much last Saturday but when I got back to work Tuesday I slipped off my chair TWICE during the day...embarrassing.


I think I can safely say that I am over it now, my normal sleeping pattern is in full swing and I even got to scrap! YAY!!!

The last couple of days didn't quite go without a hitch though - it seems whenever we have seen light at the end of the tunnel (roof and balcony repairs) something else crops up. On Wednesday night our gas heater broke and after getting a couple of quotes we are looking at having to find another £400 ($780) that we don't have. On top of that our phone broke down while we were waiting for some companies to call back - great. more expense. So, that means no holiday for us at all next year unless I finally win that frickin' lottery.

That aside I was happy as Larry yesterday when I participated in the last ever {2 jills crop} - it was such great fun and I got a lot of things done. But I am sad that 2Jill's will be closing as of November 1st *sobs*


You can find me hanging out at the following Message Bords though:
{scrapitude}
{one page at a time}
{scrapmuse}


Don't forget that tonight is {pencil lines}night - we have a wonderful sketch as always in the pipeline and I can't wait to see what the other DT girls did with it. Be sure to check us out

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TITLE: ~*~ Don't Panic.... ~*~
DATE: 10/22/2007 02:17:20 PM
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I am back!!!
Yay - I made the flight back home {my main worry} - but more about that later.

It is really difficult putting into words just how amazing the experience on Queen Mary 2 was - this is totally something everyone should get to do in their lifetime. I tried so hard to find faults with the ship, the service, the food - but I couldn't. I am totally and utterly in love with the ship and I will save up now to be back on her in the not too distant future.

I never thought it was possible to have a ship crossing the Atlantic without stumbling around, especially in October, but you know what? You don't feel a thing. Yeah, sure at gale force 5 and 4 meter high waves we did move a bit up and down but midships on deck 3, you wouldn't feel it AT ALL. I slept like a baby at night even through the roughest seas that we had during the crossing.

Only on the third day was I feeling a bit unwell - I think the ship must have moved a bit during the night as I wasn't feeling too clever when I woke up in the morning and didn't even touch my breakfast before 11:00. I quickly got over that though and continued to enjoy the ship and that its offers.


I haven't stepped on my scales on purpose when I came back because at the end of the 6 days I already was unable to close a pair of trousers which was still ok when I boarded in Southampton...ugh, I am so fat now. I have no idea how people survive longer than a week on board with all this glorious food. I didn't even eat more than I would at home, it's just that everything is so rich and full of calories - but it also is freakin' delicious!!!! Can you believe that I am actually happy to be able to tuck into a boring salad again?? No more Sirloin Beef with Garlic Spinach from {todd english} or all the other wonderful restaurants on board.


Once we got to New York, I was pretty much tired of all the eating and drinking - can you believe that? But now after two days at home, I could happily go on board again..he he

The flight back was fine even though I have to say that BA must have the worst service ever for long haul flights. One lousy meal was all we got and none of the flight attendants were actually walking around, checking if we were ok or needed something. They all had miserable faces and you were scared to ask them something in case they might bark back at you. What a difference to every single person I met in NY {and they are supposed to be all so rude and unfriendly...what a myth}.

Anyway - I am glad to be back home but I would definitely do it again, and then stay a couple of days in NY. I haven't missed the internet but I have TOTALLY missed scrapping :)

Now I need to carry on playing catch up on all the boards and leave you with a couple of images from my voyage



TITLE: ~*~ More Inspiration ~*~
DATE: 10/17/2007 08:33:00 PM
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And another {pencil lines}sketch for you to drool over and participate in. Do you believe me when I say {yet again} that i LOVED working to this sketch?? For some reason, the October sketches are totally rockin' my world!

For this mid-weeks sketch I took a Rusty Pickle File Folder, opened it and turned it into a mini-layout. You know what?? I am gonna do many more of those as I love using my scraps like that. The new {addams family}paper line was the prefect choice to underline the spookiness of that evil doll of mine, which I used to LOVE as a child. It had fiery red hair and basically looked like Chucky *shudder*....


Only two more sleeps till Brooklyn :)

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TITLE: ~*~ Hello from the Atlantic ~*~
DATE: 10/14/2007 08:23:00 PM
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OK, so I am not strictly posting the truth - I am not posting from the Atlantic but have rather put the post on timer {gotta love Typepad for that!}

I just had to remind you to check out the most recent {pencil lines}sketch as it is one of my fave ones this month. Why? I have no idea - after scratching my head forever, trying to figure out what I could do with it - all of a sudden it fell into place. You also have to know that I am NOT a fan of {3 bugs} papers. There was about one line which got me really excited but the rest is just not me - but the stash we'd been given to work with and the sketch we're DIVINE!!!!!

Now please excuse me while I carry on to mingle with the rich and the famous on board Queen Mary 2 - only five more days to go before I hit the shores of NY!! YAY

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TITLE: ~*~ Start Spreadin' The News....~*~
DATE: 10/11/2007 09:09:05 PM
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...I'm leavin' today


Well, not quite - but for some strange reason I can't stop singing "New York, New York" in my head..I wonder why THAT is??

You reckon it could have something to do with the fact that I am leaving on Saturday to cross the Atlantic on {queen mary 2}to arrive in New York only 6 days later??
Dude, I am SO flipping excited about it. I even bought myself a posh frock yesterday {and everyone who knows me, knows also that I hate to dress up in dress and stuff for formal evenings...}. I am truly smitten even before I have set foot on that dang ocean liner.


Getting back to what's happening right now - did you all check out {pencil lines} yesterday for the midweek challenge?? I love what the girls did with the sketch and you don't wanna miss what we have in store for Sunday. I *heart* our anniversary month and wish for many more anniversaries to come!

You would think that with all the excitement about my cruise going on, the last thin on my minds would be scrapping...yeah, right....I did manage to squeeze two quick layouts in and I am pretty happy how they turned out.

One is actually to carry on with my Scrap Your Stash challenge and I have now made it onto letter "K". Heck knows why I ever thought this blue sheet of K&Company paper was gorgeous and it had been in my possession for what seemed like and eternity...i always cringed when I saw it but unfortunately this was the only paper manufacturer I had for the letter K. And you know what?? i actually LOVE how this layout turned out!

Products: **Cardstock - Bazzill ** Paper - K&Co ** Journaling Cards - Fancy Pants ** Alpha Stickers - American Crafts ** Bird Sticker - Heidi Swapp ** Flowers - Scrappin Angels UK, Dasiy D ** Polka Dot Brad - Bazzill **

The other one is one of my {rusty pickle}assignments for October - I wanted to do it once I return from the cruise but something urged me to finish it now....very simple and totally not like me, but I love it. I love the way my Mom looks at me in the picture - so full of love yet full of worry and wonder, how to bring me up as a single Mom {and that in the 60's...can you imagine just what kind of stigma that was then??}. Too much frilly stuff would have taken away from the picture, and I guess that's why I actually like this very simple attempt of mine.



Products: **Cardstock - Bazzill ** Papers, stickers, buttons - Rusty Pickle **

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TITLE: ~*~ I *heart* Skulls ~*~
DATE: 10/09/2007 05:03:00 PM
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I think I must be one of the very few people on this earth who are jumping up and down with excitement, that Skulls are totally into fashion these days.

You see, during my punk phase in the Mid-Eighties, I started wearing stuff showing off crossbones, skulls and the like. I even kept bones from the chicken dinner I had, bleached them and made them into jewelery {yeah, I know I shouldn't have admitted to this publicly - but hey...I can't help being weird).

So, once all the skull embellishments, jewelery and prints eased themselves back into todays fashion, I was all over it like a rash. Last June in Germany I bought a pair of funky pumps, with a skull design. My phone charm is a skull, the protector slip for my mobile has a skull design on it and I proudly wear my skull scarf. Of course I am only too aware that this fashion will pass again, as it did all those years ago, but right now I enjoy re-living the past.

Imagine my sheer delight when I went shopping last Friday and found these adorable Wellies >>>>>
I always HATED Wellies with a passion and swore I would never wear them as they make your feet sweat and smelly - but surely I couldn't pass these ones up. They have my name written all over them

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TITLE: ~*~ Sticker Love ~*~
DATE: 10/07/2007 11:00:00 PM
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Ok, I am outing myself as a total sticker whore...there, I said it - the dreaded word


S-T-I-C-K-E-R


When I started scrapping the worst thing you could do to me was to RAK me some stickers, and whenever I received some in a monthly kit I would cry...how times have changed.

It all started really with the 7Gypsies {97% complete stickers} - they totally won me over into actually trying a sticker, strategically placed on a layout. No sooner did I buy almost every single one of their sticker sheets was I also invited to join the Design Team for {frances meyer}, who are renowned for their plethora of sticker products.


But now, my most favourite stickers ever are the ones from {rusty pickle}. Their alpha-stickers make me weep with delight...there are NO OTHER alpha stickers in the whole wide world that come close, not even {american crafts} thickers.

And why are the Rusty Pickle ones the best? For a start they put ENOUGH letters on there, so you will have a hard time running out of an a, u or e while doing a title, which happens to me all the time as soon as I start sticking the thickers on my layouts....*sighs*. Anyways, I ramble - what I am trying to say is, if you are looking for the best value alpha stickers, you cannot bypass the Pickle :)

Did you all check out {pencil lines} latest sketch?? We were so honoured to have the amazing {ali edwards} once more as our Guest designer. She supplied us in our anniversary month with yet another honkin' sketch. I loved working with her design but flipped it sideways as I fancied doing a landscape page. Somehow I managed to impress myself here, as the layout looked so boring when I started it off and then bit by bit added little pieces here, there and everywhere - and it all came together so well.


Products: ** Cardstock - Bazzill ** Papers - Frances Meyer, Rusty Pickle (wings) ** Stickers - 7Gypsies, Basic Grey ** Chipboard flowers - Frances Meyer ** Chipboard letters - WRMK ** Stamps - Fontwerks (journal), 7Gypsies (frame) ** Buttons - Rusty Pickle **

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TITLE: ~*~ Oooopsy ~*~
DATE: 10/06/2007 04:21:46 PM
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Now what am I like?? I keep forgetting to update here - and there are so many things going on that I could write about...sheesh.


But in all fairness to me, I am so busy right now doing some stuff that I can't talk about much in detail and I really hate not being able to gab about it....*snigger*. I guess it will be okay to say though that I am right now designing a class for Mr Pickle himself, the amazing {lance anderson}. I totally would give up all my Rusty Pickle stash if I would ever be able to take a class with him. Can you believe that I am totally star-struck when it comes to my boss?? How silly is that??? But seriously, I am so hoping he will like the class I am doing - it would be the coolest feeling ever to think Lance would be happy teaching something that li'l ole me racked up in her wee scraproom.

Did you all see that {anna} won an acrylic album during Lance's blog launch?? I only saw that today and I am so happy that we have a couple of UK girls amongst some of the winners. And I can't wait to see what Anna does with her win, as I am certain she will ROCK the acrylic.


There is also still time to enter a couple of Rusty pickle contests and challenges in order to win more stash - yup, the pickelicious love will be spread every month across the net. Join in at {scrapmuse} and at our very own {rusty pickle blog} for your chance to win.


I would also like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the {armstrong fundraiser}. I can't out into words just how much I admire the strength of this family and how they are dealing with their incredibly tough situation. To donate a couple of $$ towards heir astronomic medical bill is all I could do, but every little helps and if you have just $1 spare, please please support this wonderful family.

Oh, I have to show you this picture ->> personally, I think you can never have too many buttons and that's why I placed an order with Rusty Pickle to get some more. When the DHL man arrived a couple of days ago I was in button and tag heaven, my two most loved and most used scrapping items. The buttons look so cute in their wee little jars - but I have since then filled them all into one HUGE bowl. It is such fun to rummage through it every time you scrap :)

Last but by no means least, don't forget to keep checking on {pencil lines} often throughout this month. It is our 1st anniversary and not only have we got many famous Guest designers joining us, we are also giving away oodles of prizes...



 
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TITLE: ~*~ Anniversary ~*~
DATE: 10/01/2007 11:22:26 AM
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Did you know that {pencil lines} is one year old this month?? Yup, that's right - for the last 52 weeks we have hopefully inspired you regular to try your hands at scrapping to Sketches. We had top notch scrappers joining us as GDT's such as {ali edwards}, {donna downey}, {elsie}, {cathy z} and many more. There is no end to the talent which provides us with inspiration every week AND we are having a party to celebrate our 1st birthday. Keep checking back, as there are oodles of possibilities to win prizes.

Yesterday we were joined by Emeline Ng, who is so incredibly awesome and I am proud to say that I have the pleasure to work with here on the same team for Frances Meyer. I loved the sketch and used the new Rusty Pickle "Pickelicious" line for my take on it.


Speaking of winning prizes, did y'all go and check out the ultimate {rusty pickle} blog give-away?? The lucky winner will receive the same package that the Chefs receive which each new release. All you need to do is leave comment at the according entry. You really have nothing to loose AND it is open to all scrappers around the world. Go on, what are you waiting for??


We are also starting a new monthly challenge on the blog, again - with fun prizes to give away! Can you tell we are super excited about this?

Last but by no means least, I thought I post sneaky for my girls, who I missed by chickening out of flying to Hamburg. I had a T-Shirt made for everyone of us and little goodie bag to go with it - as we all signed up for an index swap we wanted to share out over the weekend. Well, I messed that one up royally, right? Ok then chicas, if you are reading this - this is what you all are getting. Sorry the shirt is white but the image did not transfer onto the black shirts, so these will have to do. You're gonna get these bits soon, I promise :)

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