SparklyTurtle Creations

new blog spot

2010-07-07T23:30:00.001-05:00

Okay, I have heard enough that I am going to move my blog on over to Wordpress. My new blog will be at sparklyturtle.wordpress.com.

Come join me there.

One of my new pairs of glasses.

2010-07-07T23:16:00.001-05:00

I have always wanted a stronger frame that had some character. No these are not my main glasses, but they are my fun-nerdy-hipsterlike glasses. They are just fun. Plus! They were on sale. Who can pass up that.

Yup, I like them.

Omnisketch

2010-06-29T00:56:00.001-05:00

I have been exploring different ways to be creative

and have really been enjoying the Omnisketch app for my iPad. Using the mirror technique plus the many colors, it is kind of therapeutic. I enjoy the different brushes and how they kind if shade in themselves. I think it might even be more interesting if I get that pogo stylus. I was looking at the different dawning apes and ended downloading the Brushes app, but I have nothing to show from that yet. Have you ever noticed how others make drawing look so easy? Well, it will take a little more practice (okay,a lot) before I have anything to show on that front.

I have been getting more into the creative spirit again, which is nice. I made two rings recently and a new necklace. It is refreshing. Now I just need to take some pictures to show you.

That's all for now. G'night.

-just because.

Blogging on my new iPad

2010-05-22T15:03:00.000-05:00

Ok, so here the little girl is all tuckered out. She has kept in the fall out zone of the fan all day, and I can totally understand why.

Plus, I am trying out a new blogging feature on my iPad. Will this help me reach out more? I really don't know, but I hope it can help on little things and giving you glimpses of my little one.

Oh, and this picture was taken on my iPhone and adjusted using the camera bag app.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

muppets and bohemian rhapsody

2010-01-05T19:36:00.001-06:00

What could be better?

Soooo cute....

2010-01-04T22:22:00.001-06:00

It deserved multiple o's and punctuation.

Observe the slow loris:

New year - new computer

2010-01-02T17:36:00.001-06:00

It is nice. I am now working on my new iMac. I just need to adjust to having everything up to date, versus the behind the times set up I was working with.

Come on, 2010, be nice to me this year.

Other interests

2009-08-30T23:27:00.001-05:00

Okay, so not so much crafty, but I am also interested in things that pamper.

My friend, Anne, was my enabler when it came to Lush cosmetics.

So far, I have used a number of their products and have had some hits and misses.

When it comes to hair, I am a big fan of their solid shampoo bars. Karma Komba smells nice and seems to work well. I love that it saves plastic and hardly takes up any space. I currently have almost used up my bar and I got it at the beginning of June, so it has a good run. Next up to try, since it has already been purchased, is Squeeky Green.

For conditioners, I am still not sold. I like Retread the best so far. I am not totally sold that it is a triple moisturizer that it says it is, but I also think you need to use more than you think you should. While Jungle smelled great, I am an ease of use girl and melting down the solid chunks in my hand before use just doesn't make it practical to me. I also tried out Coolaulin. Now if you are a lover of coconut, which I am definitely not, then this might be for you if you need moisture. For me, I just can't get passed the smell.

Next up, deodorants. Lots of people say to try out the natural deodorant, so I did. I have to say, I prefer my Secret. First one to try was the Aromacreme, which as I was looking for a link for, isn't listed on the site now. Maybe all of the blistered and irritated pits had them remove it. Luckily, I happened to be looking on their forum site and caught on to what was happening before it got bad. Returned that and tried the Aromarant. This one is better and doesn't irritate the skin, but if you are going to be hot and smelly, doesn't cut it for the long run. One of the sales associates recommended that I carry a small chunk of it with me during the day to reapply, but if I had time for that, then I would also have time to completely freshen up. Nope, I am about the deodorant that I don't have to keep reapplying.

One thing that is a love is the Lemony Flutter. This stuff is awesome for taking care of the rough skin on your body. It makes quick work of the cracked skin on heals and also smoothes out your cuticles on your hands and makes your nails look good.

Another area that includes faves is the facial skin care. I love Dark Angels. It is this black cleanser that makes my skin super smooth and feeling fresh. It does leave a bit of a residue, so either you can clean it up with a toner (I use the Tea Tree Water), lots more water, or another gentle cleanser (here, I actually use Bare Essentials Rare Minerals, but that is for a later time). On other days, I use their Fresh Farmacy, which is great for helping fight my acne and redness. Yes, I still break out, but I think that for the most part, the pimples are smaller and disappear faster. This can dry out your skin, so I am sure to use a moisturizer, which I have to like Enzymion. The only item for the face that I haven't been impressed with, so far, is the Greased Lightening. It is supposed to help with pimples, but I don't really think it did much at all.

I guess that isn't true, the other round of items that just didn't seem to impress me were the masks. I tried the Cosmetic Warrior, Brazened Honey and Cupcake. All of these are fresh masks and need to be purchased in the store, which is why I think they aren't listed on the site. I love masks, so I am always on the lookout for a good one, so far, Lush doesn't seem to match with me.

On to bath stuff, I guess I don't totally understand bath bombs. I have tried to of them, Vanilla Mountain and Seanik, which I am now not seeing on the site. Both create a nice smell and make the water all fizzy, but I guess I just need to try them more. Seanik, though, had this seaweed in the ball that just made a mess of my tub, so I wouldn't try that again. One of the big suggestions here was to not use the whole ball at one. Break it up and use bits of it or a half or quarter.

Another bath use was the Bubble Bars. Now these intrigue me and need more use, since I was unaware of how much of the bar I really needed to use. To get the bubbles to last longer, you need to use at least a quarter of the bar and not just a corner of it. So far, I have tried Bathos and French Kiss, but not an entire bar of either.

I think that is it for now. If I have missed any, I will post about them later.

Anything special out there that you have tried and suggest?

working on art journaling

2009-07-13T23:24:00.001-05:00

So, I have been trying to follow along with the archived Art Journaling 101 class here by Dina Wakely. The one thing that I didn't realize is about the paper in sketchbooks is how differently it reacts to wet media. Yes, I know it says dry media, but so? Oh... okay, I got it. Not that great.

Well, I ended up scrapping the backgrounds I had created. (Hehe, decided to leave that line, even though it sounds like a pun. I mean I dumped it.) Yes, I know... I am not supposed to do it. I am slowly breaking out of my measure it and line it all up.

So here are some the pages I have created.

I think this is my favorite of the bunch. I was experimenting with glimmer mists, masks and stencils here. I love the look. Then I added the additional effect of the water soluble pastels for added emphasis.

This was a collage sketch that didn't use the backgrounds that weren't working for me. (I will not give up. There has to be a way!) The guy is so creepy to me. I like it.

Okay. This one is okay, but I really understand something Dina said about grounding the image. The faces are just floating there without something locking them to the page. There needs to be something else. Also, I am learning that glimmer mists don't stick to Modge Podge. I need to get my messy gluing done on another page and then stick it here. I don't think I really need to seal these, since they really aren't being pushed around by much.

Okay, this one I am not totally sure about, but you can definitely see how the grounded woman actually looks like she belongs there, while the others are just floating aimlessly. I tried not to think about it too much when I was doing it, but I also should have had something more in the background. I need to work on layering more.

Keeping up the crafty (and posting same night too)

2009-07-03T01:02:00.001-05:00

Yup, I am actually posting something the same night I finished it, which is really cool for me. It is an ultimate goal, but I am not going to should on myself.

Awhile ago, I bought all the makings (well, save for the marbles) to create a box to hold some of the perfumes I have from BPAL. I think that was months ago.

I finally finished it. Sure, it is neat, but I think the kind of cool touch is all the marbles on top giving it a lot of texture. Of course, it is now a bit top heavy, so I will just have to be aware of that when I open it.

So here is the basic grey line that I used. I love the butterflies in the darker colors.

But here is the texture fun. I was actually surprised that I had enough sizes to fit it right.

Haven't been around in awhile

2009-06-14T02:02:00.000-05:00

I really want to make blogging a habit. I do. So, why can't I put the pictures from my camera onto my computer and post them for the sharing pleasure?

Well, I am submitting some pictures of some altered items. One is a book I created using the Bind-It-All for the first time. After that there are two altered tins. These are a bit older, but it is something to share.

Since going to the Bead and Button show last week, I have been back into beading. I got some neat things that I will have to take pictures of and post.

Oh, also, I learned of Wildfire, which is Beadalon's response to Fireline. Can I just say that I like it better? First off, you can find it at Michael's. Secondly, I think it really is smoother than Fireline, although I did have some issues with the occasional twisting becoming a knot. That was more my fault for not catching it sooner and undoing it before pulling.

I am going to try and be more diligent here. Wish me luck - again.

Gesso meets alcohol inks... the experiment

2009-03-13T00:04:00.000-05:00

Okay, so there was the question - can alcohol inks be used on gesso to cover up what is already on the tin. The answer - sort of.

I started with the tin and covered it with Gesso. I think the next time I do this, I won't put the Gesso on the bottom of the tin and possible avoid the sides. It just got kind of messy.

Next, I started to add my alcohol inks. Since this was an experiment anyhow, I was trying the drop technique using compressed air to move the drops around. It wasn't what I hoped for, so I continued to dab and blend.

Once all blended, it doesn't have the shine that alcohol inks can have. It looked and felt kind of drab.

I added a rub on and some stickers to decorate and then thought that Modge Podge glossy might be able to spruce this up and give it some shine.

It did this, but it also allowed me to see that my letters weren't straight (I don't know why I didn't use the ruler that I purchased just for the purpose of making sure things are centered).

So, I added some flowers. Nope, not what I expected. Not what I hoped for... but, at least now I know... as long as you cover it with Modge Podge, it sort of works. I also know that poorly placed flowers with Glue dots will pull off the letters and rub on if I tried to remove the cheesy looking flowers.

I will just keep telling myself that this was just an experiment.

two small layouts

2009-03-04T23:12:00.001-06:00

The first I decided to decoupage in a picture from one of my girlie mags. It makes me think about all the things we depend on even bras.

The second was just a creation about thinking... why do our thoughts always need to have direction? I know mine often don't.

when creativity sucks, take a class

2009-03-02T18:09:00.007-06:00

So, my creativity was on one of those lulls that just has you frustrated as you sit down at your craft desk and stare. I set this place up, I have the new apartment, so now where the hell is my creativity.

I took the watercolor class at Archiver's, which sparked the Valentine's day cards that I had made when Caitlin was over, but this time I went over to Craft Fancy to take a class by Martha Bonneau, where we made this awesome altered book.

I need to learn to create outside the lines, so this was an awesome experiment. I am going to try to continue to create in this book without measuring (much) before setting it up.

I was also proud of myself for being able to make a card in about 30 minutes during my lunch break on Friday. My friend has been home recovering for too long, so who can stay unhappy when presented with rainbows and ice cream?

I used an idea from CPS 104.

I am starting to get the grasp of using a sketch once in awhile to spark something.

I also have gotten going on an order for some cards and a journal. The cards are going to take some thought, but when I came across this cute kitty paper at Archiver's, I was sparked.

Plus, I came across these adorable American Craft Thickers, which seemed to keep the idea of the fun going.

Finally, for my last piece, I was back in the altering mood. My friend Anne recently got me interested in Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, which has these awesome perfumes. You can get larger bottles or little samples, which they call imps. Anne gave an initial dose in an Altoid tin, but when I found a similiar tin at Archivers (by Art Bin, I think), I had to nab it to alter, so I came up with this. Oddly enough, I did not plan to use quite so much Stickles, but due to a clog and then a burst of glitter, I couldn't let it go to waste. I think it worked, though. I love how the alcohol inks worked. I just hope that I don't end up scratching any of it off.

In the meantime, when not crafting. I just finished Patricia Brigg's Bone Crossed and have just started on Stephenie Meyer's Host. I have really been loving the reading and crafting thing lately.

Well, off to watch Chuck and Heroes. Gotta love Mondays!

Finally got back to making things

2009-02-14T15:51:00.004-06:00

So Caitlin paid a visit last night, and I officially had a crafting night. Rock on! I am feeling inspired again.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I made up of V-day cards for people - planned and randomly given.

It is fun. I picked up this stamp at Craft Fancy and it seemed like something I would like for the day - not overly lovey but just a touch. I watercolored the little guys in different colors so that none of the group was the exact same.

Next (well, actually first), I also made up a card order. They are similar thank you cards, but while the design is the same, the colors are different. Made two of each variation for the set.

Definitely something to be said about collections of paper - color matching is easier.

Hope they are liked by their recipients.

2008-12-17T22:18:00.001-06:00

Ok, I came across this off of Lifehacker .

Check it out - very inspirational.

promoting little

2008-12-12T14:50:00.001-06:00

I have been busy with moving, so nothing much on the crafty side of things, if you don't count unpacking and figuring out where things need to go.

I have been more active on Twitter. It is a cool site. You can find me here. Come... share the love (in really short statements).

creating through the computer

2008-11-16T22:30:00.002-06:00

You should check out the site Mr. Picassohead. It is a nice break for a moment of creativity.

finally have my Arizona pictures all loaded

2008-11-05T13:46:00.001-06:00

IMG_1917.JPG
Originally uploaded by Sparkleyturtle

I know... it took me awhile. I sit at my computer futzing with photos from July and adding my CDs to my computer, but they are all up now. You can see them at http://flickr.com/photos/sparkleyturtle/sets/72157606407969824/ if you would like.

Finishing big tasks

2008-09-17T23:25:00.006-05:00

It feels amazing to be done with a large order. I took it on and now it is done. 50 cards for a church thing and then 10 other cards... that is quite the pile up. One thing that did make it easier is how she picked items out of my Flickr layout. At least then, I just had to make something similar. It is like having premade sketches.

I did try a different technique on one of the fairy cards by using my chalks over the embossing ink. It made it the same, but really pretty in a different way.

I also decided to finally take a picture of the space I usually paper craft. Sure, there is a larger table space but it isn't near all of my stash, so I end up working on a tv tray near the setup. Yeah, it is cramped and needs a change, so when I finally get to move out, this will change.

Oh, and lastly, I decided to make kind of an art journal... just a way to express, so I can explore creativity and the crap floating around in my head. I decided to take something from the Big Ass Book of Crafts and add it to my first try. Here it is:

Expanding my LOs

2008-09-04T23:43:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I love this man. He can buff up. He can be funny. He is gorgeous. He has that accent. I am a lost cause.

Gerry, if you are interested in a crafty, nerdy girl... please, look me up.

Having a crafty evening

2008-09-01T02:21:00.002-05:00

So, I decided to have a crafty evening and spend my time down in my basement with the television on and surrounded by my fortress of crafty stuff. I managed to put together some of my redone yearbook scrapbook pages, which I can't load here, since they are of people and have names on it. Not that I wouldn't love to share, but blurring out most of the page just doesn't make sense.

Then, since it is both of my aunt's birthdays in the next week, I decided to make two birthday cards for them, but happened to get in spired to just make some other blank ones.

(birtday card one)

(birthday card two)

I decided to see what would happen if I embossed this one with a white/glitter powder on black. Actually very cool, I just wish the camera would have picked up more of the glitter.

Here I used that technique again (from birthday card two), where I also stamped the dress on patterned paper and raised it up with foam dots. I think it looks neat with the continuation of the pattern from the mat.

Finally, I had to clean up my paper supplies and weave together a bracelet, which only needs a clasp. I am actually a bit impressed with myself, and after all that, I am actually posting these items when they are made. Who knew?

Glue Dots versus Zots

2008-09-01T02:17:00.003-05:00

I know it doesn't seem like much, but I do have to lean towards Glue Dots. Sure, they seem to stick the same, but for me, it is one big thing. It is easier to get at the Glue Dots individually than the Zots. With Zots having this diagonal setup and two lines going down the paper, I find myself really having to work to position whatever I am trying to add the adhesive to so that it doesn't get two of the dots. It is annoying. For that reason alone, I lean towards Glue Dots. Of course, Glue Dots has the Dot-N-Go, which I like even better, except for the fact that they are even more expensive.

Trying to keep busy

2008-08-29T00:36:00.004-05:00

Beyond finishing up the 40 invitations for my brother's wedding, I am working on a collection of 50 cards for a church outing. What is up with these huge projects, even though they are cool to finish. I need to take some pictures so I can post them.

For fun, I made a card, which I, of course, immediately put in an envelope and sent out to a friend as a RAK. I also made this new LO for my little fluffy face (the "f" in face seems to get a little lost, but it is there). It makes me smile when I think of how she will look when her hair grows back from her summer trim.

I am also including two cards I made a little while ago, one of which uses that cool corner punch, which I may start using more. The cake is Cuttlebug die cut and the sentiment is a rub on.

Oh, and although I don't have a snapshot of it, since it went into the envelope, can I just say how cool Maya Road rub-ons are. They are smooth and come right onto the paper how you want them to. There isn't any shifting or difficulty, and what is left looks awesome. I highly recommend them. I was introduced to them at the local store Craft Fancy. Very cool place.

keeping busy

2008-06-22T18:08:00.002-05:00

Well, two weeks ago was the Bead and Button show in Milwaukee, WI, which I like to call "Bead Mecca." It is that annual pilgrimage for which we travel to spend a bit of cash on beads and tools and... you never know. Personally this year, I was out for patterns and tools. I have created two new bracelets seen here:

They are both so delicate. It is nice. The blue is also closed by using a button as the toggle and a loop, which is really neat and I will see if I can work this into some of my other patterns. The green was supposed to have a beaded toggle, but I decided to use a metal toggle instead. I don't know... the whole beaded loop and bar never sits well with me.

A week after that I went to the wedding of my friend Amanda out in Boston. It was a blast to see her happy, to see her parents again and especially to see one of my best friends, Josh. Yup, I had a blast and it ended to quickly.

What I have been up to

2008-06-04T23:21:00.003-05:00

Well, I finally finished my new craft box that I plan to use to organize my stamps and miscellaneous items. I got the box from IKEA and planned on decorating it for months. Finally I did it. Okay, working with balsam wood sucks. I had serious splinters, but I guess you get what you pay for. Once it was together that wasn't such a problem. I mod podged the paper on and gave it a bit of a classic look. I am always looking for ways to use those stacks of paper (you know... the massive ones that make so much sense at the time), and this seemed like a nice way to do it. The colors all go well together, and if it gets botched up, then it wasn't my expensive paper. I absolutely love American Crafts Thickers, so those are what I used to create my words. I used rub ons for the paisley and smaller flowers, but the larger flowers took some creating. I used chip board flowers and coated them with three coats of gold acrylic paint. On the third coat, while it was still wet, I sprinkled the gold glitter on. After brushing off the extra and letting it dry, I sealed it with glossy mod podge so that the glitter won't end up everywhere. I am quite happy with how it all turned out. It might even have been worth the splinters.

Last Friday, I also went to an evening crop with my friend Caitlin at the local Archivers. Those are a blast. I need to learn to pack better, so I am not taking too much, but I really think that I am actually improving. Plus, I am getting better on using what I have and not spending oodles of bucks that I don't have while I am there. Now, I know that isn't the best for Archiver's, but they get my cash at other times. Anyway, I was happy to create 6 out of the 10 cards my grandmother was ordering from me. Look here:

This one has an Asian motif. I outlined the blue flowers with a glitter marker to give them a little stand out, which you can see here:

This one has a nice touch of sparkle and glitter. Where can you go wrong with that? Okay, you can, but that is way over my level.

I was excited about this one. I finally got the stamp to work all the way across. The fact that I had this on glossy paper just creates a nice accent to the rest of the textured paper.

This was my first working attempt at the Versamark resist. It is so shiny and smooth on the glossy paper. My first real attempt used pigment ink instead of the dye ink. Beyond being messy, it had the color of poo-brown when things blended together. Not something that you really want for your cards. The Kaleidescope dye ink pads are really nice. I now have one, but I can definitely see myself collecting more of those.

Another resist card on the glossy. This time, I decided to have my message in the stamps and the pop out being more of the art. My grandmother was going to send this as a thinking of you card, which I quickly stopped. Nothing like seeing a pretty card without your glasses and not realizing that thank you so much is all over the card.

This one turned out classy. It was a little boring until I decided to add the rhinestones the sides of the circles. Once that was done, I think it has an air of classiness. I definitely like the texture of the cardstock.

Well, guess I will catch up with more later.
You know what Friday is??? It is bead mecca. My annual pilgrimage to Milwaukee for the Bead and Button show. I can't wait... 8 hours of wandering through beady goodness. It is like Christmas in June. I am so excited.

light blue and pearl twist bracelet

2008-05-27T16:05:00.001-05:00

light blue and pearl twist bracelet
Originally uploaded by Sparkleyturtle

Ok, so I am finally trying to take pictures of the other items have made. I decided to step outside the box, and more specifically, outside the house altogether.

I like how it looks, and you can actually see the difference in color between the blue and pearl color, which is nice.

Maybe my neighbors won't mind me using their bricks some more when they return home. There was all the nice open space that had the sun.

the certificate

2008-05-08T16:48:00.001-05:00

the certificate
Originally uploaded by Sparkleyturtle

My brother and his girlie got married. Wish them the best of luck!

zippered pouches

2008-05-08T16:46:00.001-05:00

zippered pouches
Originally uploaded by Sparkleyturtle

Pouches made using instructions from Bend the Rules sewing. The black has the white inside and vice versa.

These are fun. Can't wait to make more.

Cards for my aunt

2008-02-12T23:14:00.008-06:00

So, I am making some cards at the request of my aunt. Hopefully, she will be able to wow some of her peers into purchasing cards, which would be awesome. I tried to go with a couple of styles, so that I am not just doing my cartoonish, fun style. I want to be taken seriously and have my cards purchased. I would actually like to make a bit of money back from the creation of these cards. I don't know... that always makes me nervous of going back to the questions of, 'Do they like me?' and 'Do they think I am creative?' I guess I will just have to wait. Anyway, here are the cards.

The first two are get well. I used the cuttlebug embossing plate across the two edges and then filled in the inside gap with the layering and message.
The second one has the tree silouette stamp and has Distress Ink surrounding the stamped image, which picks up the color in the DCWV paper.

The second set are birthday. The first has the owl from Sun Spirit Studios and is on an embossed by CB. The ribbon is from Michael's and I chalked some of the message and added to brads to the corners. The color wasn't the best on my scan, but the orange in the brads is nice with the orange on the card.

The other birthday wish is cool, I think. The paisley paper is Basic Grey. The fairy stamp and rhinestones make this feel very light and dreamy. The ribbon along the top has the same colors and the paisley.

Next, were the two thank you cards. The first is stamped and then watercolored in. It is accented with ribbon from Michaels.

Then the last was stamped and colored in with Prismacolor markers. The statement is from My Favorite Things and the rhinestones are a nice accent on the corner. The blue cardstock is texturized from DCWV.

happy birthday flowers.jpg

2008-02-03T23:21:00.001-06:00

happy birthday flowers.jpg
Originally uploaded by Sparkleyturtle

I really love this card. It seems so classy with the flowers and the Asian theme.

Just thought I would share it as I am listing it on etsy.

2008-02-03T02:30:00.001-06:00

I have been trying to keep busy. I December, I went to a 12 hour crop at Archiver's (once upon a time, I didn't think I would have enough to work on in 12 hours - so not true) and I made a cool organizer from a Making Memories Desktop Storage set and Basic Grey paper with embellishments.

Well, when I brought it home and showed Mom, she said that the only thing wrong with it was that there wasn't another one for her. Okay... so, I got another set up for it and made one for Mom. I have to say, I love American Craft's Thickers. Of course, the ones that I put on Mom's got a little washed out, so I am going to take a marker and kind of outline them to bring them out.

I also have started to take part in swaps over at Split Coast Stampers. It is kind of nice to make something and know that it is going somewhere. So I made these cards for a birthday swap. I also am doing a no bumps swap, but I don't have pictures of those.

Lastly, I am starting up a pretty scrapbook for just pictures and fun (8x8). I like the idea of not always having a theme and sometimes creating just for the sake of creating, so I made this one of Zoey and her new coat. I like to think of her as the caped crusaders, the way it kind of seems to fly on her back. She is so adorable. I am not stopping the Beloit remake of my scrapbook/yearbook (12x12), but this one is more for fun.

keeping up with the crafting

2008-01-24T14:15:00.000-06:00

I actually finished redoing some envelopes last night. Now I just have to list them on etsy. Yeah!

I think I might also list the larger envelopes on there. They are colorful and pretty. Maybe someone might be interested in them as well.

I also made two new birthday cards (one for this weekend and one for the stash). I will post them when I can.

Celebration card

2008-01-23T15:38:00.001-06:00

it's your day.jpg
Originally uploaded by Sparkleyturtle

Okay, so I am going to make an effort to blog on some of my crafts. I enjoy making these cards. The colors are so vivid. I do the clean and simple layout without much to it. I like making matching envelopes, because that is half the fun. What good is a plain, boring white one.

A few of my resolutions this year:
1. maintain etsy store (now I just need people to purchase from it)
2. cut back on spending for crafts - I have enough! (okay, I will have to regularly reaffirm this resolution)
3. scrap and craft more. I have the goods, I just need to use them.

Those are just some of the crafty ones... add to that losing weight, getting more active, and budgeting money more (which really comes back to crafting) and I am just about set.

up to

2007-07-25T22:57:00.000-05:00

Well, don't think it at all strange that Harry Potter was the main subject of my weekend. I was so excited to get it on Saturday, that I spent some time before and after the musical Mame, which Deb's friend was in, reading this. Then I got jokingly harassed about my priorities, when I didn't go visit Grandma, because I wanted to read this book. My big goal was the read and enjoy it without hearing spoilers from others. Now, of course, I have to wait for others to finish it before I can talk about it. I can wait, though. I just needed to make sure that it was a surprise. I really loved it, though. J.K. Rowling has a way of writing that can make you chuckle in between tears. Sure, some of my hopes weren't fulfilled with this, but it did really well with how it was written. I know these books will be read again by me, and maybe one day to my kids (when I have kids).

I still have more items to list on my etsy shop, but I just decided to watch tv tonight. I needed to watch my missed episode of 4400 and catch up on some What Not To Wear.

I kept thinking about going downstairs to do some sewing or cardmaking or scrapbooking, but my butt just stayed on the couch. I guess that works. Sometimes I am up here in the office on the computer playing World of Warcraft. Okay, that has been often lately, when I wasn't reading Harry Potter. It was nice to do something else.

There is the day bag in Lotta's book that I really want to make, and even got some cute bright colored heavier weight cotton to make it with, which was only $3 a yard at Joanne's. Quite the deal, if you ask me.

Speaking of books, I also really want Amy Karol's Bend the Rules book. I was reading through it at Barnes and Nobles, and really want it. Sure, everyone talking about how much they love it also helps that out, but I was good and put it back. I have been on a bit of a spending spree lately like I have money. I don't. So... I must wait, at least, until the 31st. Then I can ponder again. I am planning on getting it through Amazon, though. No tax, and since I am a prime member no shipping... yup, that will save me 40%. Then again, I wonder if I have any coupons around. Probably not for the 40%. Must look. I can just see making some cute projects in there. I got a bias tape folder, which I hope is for the right size, so now I just need to get the directions on cutting the bias tape and making some cute things for it to go around. Can't wait.

Well, guess I should get off to bed, so I can read a bit before going to sleep.

'Night.

Greetings!

2007-07-20T07:23:00.000-05:00

Well, this is going to be my new spot to ramble on about what is going on in my life and all the things I am creating (sometimes well and sometimes not).

I think the hardest thing for me to do is to actually take pictures of the different things I am making (it is the part that feels like work) and then post them on my etsy shop, dutifully named SparklyTurtle Creations. Please check it out and tell me what you think.

With all the jewelry I have listed, I also plan on listing other items like cards and items of that sort. Here are just a couple of items that I have made, but will not be listing.

The box is a decoupage box. I am currently using it to store the different trinkets that I have made. I am hoping that it will keep me somewhat organized.

This card is made from a My Favorite Things stamp. I love the colors in the background paper, I just wish I had spaced my brads on the bottom corner a little better.

This card utilizes a clear stamp from Michael's and creates a window using a square punch, which then has the corners rounded out with a round corner punch. I was so happy when my friend, Vencap, showed me how to use my multicolor ink pads. I have collected some of them, because I thought they were pretty and then was upset, when I didn't have a good idea how to use them correctly.

Well, I guess I should be off to walk the pups now and be the dutiful person and go to work, which is not my first idea that would be the most fun today. It looks like it will be a gorgeous day.

Guess I am off.