Out of sorts

There's something in the air. I don't know what it is but I feel like I'm waiting for something but I don't know what. It's definitely a "marching time" kind of vibe, it's not a bad thing, no negativity associated with it, just there's something coming down the pipe that's just for me.

Maybe I'm bored...

Anyway, I've got shots of some journal pages that I've been doing over the past few days. Some days, it just flows out of the fingers. Other days...just best to leave it alone.

It's a little obvious that I don't collage that much - mainly because I don't have the patience for it or the space and storage for keeping extra bits and pieces. Rubons, paint and maybe some chipboard is probably all I really use. I like using old book pages and acrylic photo transfers too but I never wait long enough to let it dry before putting the second layer on OR I forget to check it and I put something on top of it and there's a challenge to leave the page in one piece.

*sigh* I love paint and there's always a spot for Glimmer Mist.

And what's up with 6 year olds? I think they have too much time these days to obsess over crap. My daughter is constantly coming to me, hours after she's supposed to be asleep, to tell me about some perceived slight done to her. By me, her father, her brother, some random kid on the playground that she's already expressed at least 3 times BEFORE she went to bed the first time. Or it's a reminder about a birthday party or she has to take something to camp the next or some errand that she NEEDS me to do or get for her and it's not like I forget to do them that I need reminding, she just can't let anything go. That, she gets from her father's side.

Guess who I met?

Myself!!! Isn't that cool? I was checking out that new search engine Cuil and I put my name in and up pops this blog The Knitting Maevan and cold shivers just went down my back. *Twilight Zone Music*

Turns out her nickname is Maevan - her birth name is Heather and I'm reading her blog and other assorted sites that she's got and I'm loving the vibe from her, she's so spiritual. She's this really cool kid, ahem, young woman, that is technically young enough to be my kid. It's like she's my druidish alter ego, it's great. What's a little freaky is that there a quite a few coincidences between us. She's Canadian and we're both from towns about 2 hours apart - that actually freaked me out. The only 2 global occurances (that I know of) of the name "Maevan" and they're within 2 hours of each other. Anyway, she's very crafty and loves to knit - sound like someone else? We're both in a constant search for knowledge and although we practice different religions, we're both quite spiritual. I'm so jazzed right now.

I always wondered who had the www.maevan.com and now I know.

On a search for my art journal, I'll maybe have to make another one....

Busy busy weekend

It's been a pretty full on weekend. I found a cyber crop Yay! Scrap 4 Life is hosting their "Christmas in July" CC this weekend and it started midnight Friday to end midnight tonight - well, technically Monday - with a whole bunch of challenges (10!) and bonus challenges and bingo. So, it starts a little early Thursday night and I get scrapping. I realise that I don't have any photos to really get any one done by bedtime so I get a bunch ready for printing and start 2 layouts, no pictures but get them going.


Friday came with a bang, with errands and dealing with all the unforeseen stuff during the day, I just managed to get my 2 layouts done and posted before having to pack it because...

Diving Saturday!!! Oh it was so good to get wet again, only problem being that I got eaten alive by mozzies while we were going through the inlet. All over my arms and a couple on my chest and even a couple up on my hairline. I've been massaging bumps all day but it was so worth it. I got to dive with my best friend, her brother was down visiting so he came too and we found octopii! - not one but 2 and 4 dens. So cool!! As was this beautiful nurse shark that was out for a swim along the reef and all these big lobsters hiding under the reef. The hunters on the boat all perked up when we told them about it since mini season starts next weekend. Came home and crashed hard but I was able to get another 2 layouts done.

Working on a couple more to see right now to try to get in before the deadline...

Oh, and the BEST thing! I got a Fein Multi-Master - if power tools don't jazz you, turn away now. Ever since I had my bathroom problems, I've been jonesing for one of these. It's the tool you say "It's a little expensive to buy and put down" but when you need it, you NEED it and you're soooo glad to have it. I reckon that it would have saved me at least 3 days of effort off the bathroom experience.

I'm going to christen it on some acrylic tomorrow...

More acrylic pages

So I got a couple more done. I really need to find some empty little spray bottles with the finger pumps. There's some paint that's begging to be spattered and sprayed over already dressed chipboard and tags and I'm tired of using a toothbrush and having no control on the spray. I need one for alcohol too, there's this resist thing I want to try - it's just an idea right now, I don't actually know how I'm going to do it but it's bugging me and it needs to come out. If it doesn't work, then I can honestly say that I tried and I can try something else.

Basically I want to spray a void on an alcohol inked background. So I'm thinking that if after the ink dries, I spray the alcohol on and blot carefully, I might be able to get what I'm after.

I found a tub of gesso in an old box too, AND... a couple of embossing folders found their way back to the light. Arrgh too many options, not enough space. I really need to get some better storage too. It's pretty bad when I scrap in one room and all my tools are in a cabinet in the hall.

Challenge blog - Color Story Challenge

Well I found this great challenge blog that's right after my own heart: Color Story Challenge

This month's challenge was just what the mojo needed, having a white background with "pops of color" and here's my take on it:


It's hard to see on all of them but the darker squares are covered with white rubons - I was going for a white on white design. The cardstock used was actually 3 shades of white - according to bazzill: white, Diamond (bling) and Glass Slipper (bling) and I embossed and put some chipboard in for dimension

I really had fun doing this one, the challenge said "minimalist" to me but I can't go truly minimal - that wouldn't be me.

I'm going to be hanging out there a little bit more me thinks.

Oooh the temptation

I'm on a scrap diet. With all the cool stuff that's been displayed and released last weekend and my stash ROOM currently overflowing, I'm not buying anymore paper until I can see the back wall. I did however, cave and ordered some new gel-a-tin stamps, the trees are to die for and the new embossing powders are so cute.

I'm loving the new distress items from Ranger - distress stickles? Gotta see that one and I'm dying to play with Maya Mists. Oh well, gotta wait...

I'm posting some more stuff soon, I just have to find the half hour to get images of them.

Does it ever stop?

It always seems like we're on the hook to get something. As soon as I think "Ok, that's enough spending, nothing else until next month", we NEED to get something.

Take, for example, the last 6 weeks or so. I take the car in for an oil change and the scheduled maintenance check, a half day and over $1000.00 later I can take it home. That was after we declined about half of the stuff they wanted to do like rebalance the tires and fill them with Nitrogen. They called half way through to say that they THINK they found a problem with the transmission and it would be $3500.00 to replace it. The car's only worth about $6500.00. After we declined it, they couldn't find "the problem" again.

After that, I had to spend about 3 weeks with the bathrooms and while that wasn't really expensive, I did have to get materials and new tools and now that's over, there's the 3 pages of school supplies and school uniforms and in about 4 weeks, school fees start coming out.

That's another thing, we made the decision to send the kidlets to private school and that's NOT a trivial decision so my question is this: Why do I need to get them their own basic school supplies like pens, pencils, baby wipes yada yada yada? In my mind, all that money that we're paying for tuition should cover that. Why does a first grader need 4 dozen pencils and 6 boxes or crayons, coloured pencils and markers? Don't they teach these children about sharing and communal responsibility anymore? Why am I bothering to drum these basic behaviours into them when they're not being enforced socially?

I have to stop because I'm going to rant about rude and inconsiderate parents at their school next. Maybe another day...

Done, done and done!!

The bathrooms are officially recaulked and sealed and the big one is graced with a new rainfall shower head fixture. I am soooo glad that's over.

So on with the more fun stuff, I'm waiting for my new Glimmer Mists to show up, can't wait to play some more. I've got this clock idea that's been wanting to come out for a couple days now but I haven't found the right material yet and I found these GIANT clock hands online, the minute hand is 20" long. I just don't know where I'd put something that big.

I need to take more picture I think...

Getting there...

One bathroom is done! Woohoo! Just need to go back an clean up my mess with a razor blade and put a little sealer around the plumbing fixtures and the kids can be back messing up their own space again. Now, if the boy could improve his aim....

I was digging through a box of stamps, looking for something and I came across these.
I had completely forgotten about them. I love finding old stuff and they fit right in with a challenge I saw in one of my lurking sites; a card or layout using

1. scraps
2. red, white and blue
3. SLIDE MOUNT!!

Well I got excited and started playing but I forgot all about requirement 2 because when I was done, I got this
Definitely something I'll be experimenting with some more.

A light at the end of the tunnel

I've been chipping grout and scraping caulk for what seems like forever but I think I'm done with that part. All the joints are looking clean and thankfully there wasn't any mildew in the back of the joints and all the old stuff came out looking pretty clean. I just have to give everything a good wipe down with mineral spirits to remove any residue, spray EVERYTHING down with bleach for good measure, let it dry for a couple days and I can caulk it and be done. I'm thinking that after I caulk, I'll reseal the grout as well because I bet it hasn't been done since the house was built. I can then tackle the 3rd bathroom which has milder issues but I don't want to think about it because I'll sideline myself.

On more exciting note, I've been playing again and I really need some of that acrylic cleaner that removes the static.

Check this out - reversible layouts

It's a 12x12 acrylic sheet. The first image is the front or the right side if you're opening a book and the second image is the back of it.

The next set of pictures is of the two sides without backing and on my messy table

Still raining and kids are getting loud

OMG!! It's STILL raining and top to that, no TV because the dish can't get a signal. Soooooo DD is picking on DS who is trying to watch a DVD and they're running around bashing into things. I feel like I should take them out and get out for a bit but I HATE driving in the rain in Florida, if I see one more person drive down the road in the rain at about 20km/hr with their flashers on... well, I don't know what I'd do but I want to scream at them "Just pull over and stop trying to cause an accident!"

My favourite cyber crop is also on hold - their server seems to have fallen over.

Well I hope someone is having a nice sunny long weekend.

Rain rain go away...

What a 4th of July! It's done nothing but rain. It's rained so much that the pool's overflowed! It's stopped for now but the sky's still grey and heavy so something else big is on the horizon.

Poor kids, it's their first ever July 4th holiday and it's been a little bit of a let down. All the fireworks were canceled or delayed until after their bedtime because of the rain. No cookout, we tried to get into the pool in the afternoon and got stormed out about 15 minutes later. I think the high point of their day was to go to McDonald's for lunch and the grocery after.

Maybe next time...

Woo hoo!!

As promised, I'm sharing...

Here is that idea that was buzzing around a little while ago, 12x12 d-ring acrylic album. I must say that I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out and I'm thinking that I"ll be tackling a post bound one next and that will be infintely easier to engineer.



I'm still in the middle of home repair despair but it's slowly coming together. Now that I've finished the album, I'll be able to focus more on the problems at hand...

A bit of a RANT

Just need to vent...

Why can't people look after their things properly? We've just moved into a relatively new home - about 8 years old and it looks like we've inherited a web of issues. Mostly with the bathrooms.

The day we moved in, I went around all the bathrooms with bleach and Tilex and sprayed all the tile surfaces which was about 75% of the bathrooms. I had noticed a bit of black crud coming up around the seams and wanted to scrub them out. About a half hour later, I check on them and they're still there but lighter in some places. Repeat, repeat, repeat...

2 weeks later, they're still there so I get down to look a little closer and I notice that the caulk's a little loose so I pull it and a line of caulk pulls up to reveal another layer of caulk that's absolutely covered in mildew and it STINKS of mold. Quick, grab the bleach, start spraying...

At this point I'm truly grossed out and start digging so I can recaulk the seams. Only to find out that there are 2 more layers just like this one and at the very bottom is cracked grout that is just filthy. By now I'm cussing and carrying about people being pigs and how can some people look at this and live in filth because if SOMEONE in the history of the house had done the right thing the first time and dug out the cracked grout and caulked properly, I wouldn't have to go through this. And this is just one item on the "Gross things I've found" list

So now my simple 2 day "Recaulk all the showers and tubs" item has turned into a 2 week "Remove old grout in joints, repair chipped grout, caulk all surface joints, reseal grout"-fest, which will probably take 3 weeks as I can't do much when the kids are home.

*sigh*

On the bright side, I get to shopping for power tools because there's no way in all that's purple that I'm chipping out that old grout by hand. Lowes here I come!