It's Never About the Rugs

Do you ever feel like someone is picking a fight with you just so they have an excuse not to spend time with you?

This came up awhile ago and at the time I was arguing with someone about rugs. She said, "It's never about the rugs. If the topic of the argument is petty, there's sure to be more to it than rugs". Wise words. And while it's not always about needing space... it is always passive-aggressive... and it does always drive me crazy.

I wish it were about the rugs or they'd just say what's on their mind cuz I am not a mind reader.

Oh David Luiz!

One of Chelsea's January signings was David Luiz from Benfica. He has quickly made an impression on many fans, in part due to his aggressive play and in part due to his amazing hair.

There have been a few Chelsea chants that I've liked over the past few years I've been following the team but this one for David Luiz is by far my fave!

Oh David Luiz, you are the love of my life!
Oh David Luiz, you can shag by wife!
Oh David Luiz, I want curly hair, too!

It just makes me happy and I cannot help but smile when I hear it :o)

Why Can't I Get Over It

I have lived my entire life trying to live up to the expectations of my parents and every time I'm around them I'm reminded of all the ways I let them down. Why am I never good enough for them? Is it a reflection of how they view their parenting skills? Because I am not a failure in life. I am happy when I'm not around them but I cannot shut them out of my life. Sure, I've had stumbles in my life but instead of just helping because they love me, it is repeatedly thrown back in my face.

In my Mom's most recent visit, she started making shit up when talking about me to my friends. To listen to her I was a whore and delinquint when in reality I have never used drugs or broke the law and I graduated high school with honors and a scholarship for college. How does she not remember that?!?

This is me letting it go. It's written and I don't need to think about it until my next visit with them.

Life is taking over!

As much as I fully intend to update my blog on a regular basis, it often falls by the wayside. I may have too many methods of capturing my thoughts. When I started this blog, I intended it to be a replacement for my hand-written journal. However, I can't take my computer with me everywhere I go and I can take a journal. So, in the end, I still use that more.

I've been a little crafty but more gamer lately. Here's a layout I did for Scrapping the Music #166 (take two?). The song is Wide Open Spaces. Head over to their blog to play along to this song until 02-27.

Gwen was the typical 10-year-old-bundle-of-energy last summer and A was her perfect partner. He was always there for her, ready to be as goofy as she, and sometimes more! He's a great uncle and she flourishes in his unerring support.

STM #166 New Shoes

Loved making this layout for Scrapping the Music #165 New Shoes by Paulo Nutini. I got to play with paper in the way I love and I'm entirely delighted with the results.

I knew I wanted to play off of the amazing water in the photo and it was just a matter of figuring out what to do. I tore strips of cardstock and sprayed both sides in my spray box. The great thing about my spray box is that after a couple years of using it, anything wet that goes in picks up a mix of old inks. The result is slight variations of color (I use blues and greens most often so that is usually what is lifted form the box).

I cut a sun out of some Studio Calico paper but wasn't happy with the size... I wanted the sun to be substantial! So cut off the rays and added them to a Pink Paislee journal spot. I'm pretty happy with my sun :o)

Head on over to play along with this round :o)

Pages from Marit's Class

I took the Let it Loose art journal workshop over at Marit's Paper World last year and never got around to sharing my pages. It was a fun community and her instruction was great! We got PDFs of each lesson and most times at least one supplemental PDF to help us along.

I love the softness of this one... spritzing onto very wet paper makes me happy... makes me feel cozy.

The writing on this was a middle-of-the-night rambling. I am not terribly fond of the deep texture I added but was pleased to learn that heating gesso makes it bubble... I'm very impatient :o)

I love my shrooms... even if I was trying to make trees when I started, lol! My son walked in while I was decorating and said, "Cool shrooms". And since he said it that's all I see :o)

This one was inspired by a post on Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's blog. She posted about how people can really only have about 5 priorities in life. That inspired me to journal mine.

This page is about the sounds I used to hear out of my bedroom window each morning. I was very unhappy with how this started but eventually toned the pink circle down enough that I could live with it. It was an experiment and I'm glad I did it!

This was a summary of Marit's class. She really opened my eyes to being able to play with what's around me and not worry so much about how pretty I or others may think a journal page is. It's my journal and I'll play how I like in it!

I was slightly delusional while making this page :o) I have been struggling to sleep well for about 6 months. Every 6 weeks or so I get a great night in but I'm otherwise struggling with myself to stay asleep. This was a small piece of venting and while not super creative, it was something I felt was important to capture.

LOVED making this page. I painted the top with acrylics and scratched the top image of the tree into the paper. It took FOREVER but I really love how it looks and the texture is amazing. I had done this to photos before, without the added layer of paint and it was so much harder with that extra, thin layer of paint. But once started, I had to finish :o) I'm glad I did.

Thanks for stopping by :o)

STM #165

I've been slacking at posting on my blog. Not that that is anything new! I have great intentions and then live keeps on moving on and I go days without even touching my computer. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I sit in front of a computer all day at work. Or, when I do sit down at my home computer, playing games is more fun than trying to get out what's in. I tend to journal right before bed... it seems to be the time my mind is most relaxed.

Anyway, I'm here now so here is a layout I made for Scrapping the Music #165 Stand by Me. I immediately thought of Gray's family and how they're wonderfully welcoming, helpful and all around so fun to be a part of.

#166 will be revealed tomorrow so stop by the Scrapping the Music blog to check it out and play along.

Dukes + Duchies = ?

DOMINANCE!!!

Gwen gave Zach Dominion - Intrigue for Christmas and we played a few games during our time off. The first game gave us Dukes, Scouts, Secret Chambers and Tribute. Since I was using Scouts and Secret Chambers to cycle through my Dukes and Duchies, Zach's generous use of Tribute was driving him mad! Few action cards in my deck mean few extra actions by him. I'm not usually that great at devising a plan of attack in Domion but this was my best game ever so I had to share it here. The final score was 113 -15. The poor kid didn't stand a chance!

Though he did whollop me in the next game we played :o)

Scrapping the Music 164 Times Like These

I was asked to be a guest designer for Scrapping the Music and am absolutely delighted! You can see my layout and those of the design team here. My first layout is of Gray and Gwen swimming in Spain.

Gwen didn't know how to swim when we got there but with much encouragement and many tips by everyone, she was swimming by the end of the first day. Here she is on the second day swimming on her back with Graham. I love this photo of them side-by-side :o)

Thank you Bernice!

I got out of work late, not getting home until 6:30, and I was exhausted. On the way home, Gray told me a package had arrived for me. It was the Dylusions paints and sprays that I ordered a while ago! I totally forgot about them and let me tell you... they are delish! Vanilla custard, mmmmm.

I've been home for 25 minutes and can't stop playing. I have done up a quick page just playing with everything and effervescent came to mind. And with effervescent come thoughts of my son. He is truly a magical person.

My photography skills, or lack thereof, do not do these colors justice! The background is sprayed with a bit of Hot Pink and Post Box Red and a lot of Vanilla Custard. Then I used a random used up gift card to scrape the teal and pink paints all over. Highlighted the droplets of spray with silver, found a photo of my son swimming last summer and made him a little hat. I love being so inspired by a few paints and sprays :o)

Dyan's fun products just made my Monday and that's hard to do!

Decisions Are NOT My Strong Suit

I've decided to play both Horde and Alliance. I wanted to play both of the new races and so I am. It's not easy leveling two toons at once but I'm making it work, thus far. They're only lvls 26 and 24 so I'm still in the easy part of the game. Later on I may need to choose one to finish leveling and then go back to the other. I've made a Worgen Rogue and Goblin Mage. I like them both a lot but find playing the rogue is a bit easier, since I'm very used to the Alliance zones. The quests on my mage are wicked funny and it's a better storyline than Alliance. However, Horde cities suck ass! I can't find anything in any of the cities. WTF! My son has proven a good guide and he's been able to show me where things are but I hate that I run around for 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get from where I am to where the book is on my map!

All-in-all, playing again has been a lot of fun :o)

Cataclysmic

Cataclysm came out earlier this week and I've decided to start playing again. I just have the very tough decision to make of which server to play on. Zach is on Lightninghoof with the Realmsies... pvp server and they're playing horde. Gray is on Bleeding Hollow with his brothers... pvp server and they're playing alliance. A friend is playing alliance on a pve server. Now, generally speaking, I think I would enjoy a pve server this time around. I tried a pvp server and the pvp you get over a pve server just isn't all that fun. I would also like to take my time and enjoy the story in leveling my next toon. I did that with my first but have blazed through levels with all my others since. The story has apparently changed a lot so I'm ready to take my time with it again.

So, who to play with, if anyone?

I love Alcohol Inks!

I know I don't talk much about them but I really love Alcohol Inks. I love them because they are so versatile. I may not use them as much as my distress inks but I do use them a lot. Usually in little ways; and once in a big way!

Last spring, my son was prepping for Anime Boston. He had a blue wig for his Saix costume but it wasn't quite the right shade of blue.

The solution? To purchase a blonde wig and dye it with alcohol inks. Now, getting a couple of tiny bottles of ink to last for a whole wig wasn't easy and I'll be doing some things a bit different next time. We mixed equal parts alcohol ink and 70% isopropyl alcohol (the cheap stuff from the drug store). Then sprayed it on the wig in spits and spurts, massaging it around every few minutes. Here it is while still wet.

 

 And here's a close-up!

It's still not quite the right shade but it looks great. I love the various shades of blue throughout the hair. I told the shop where he buys his wigs about Alcohol inks but they haven't started selling them, yet :o)

Oh how easy it is...

It's so easy to let life fly by without taking the time to breathe. Between moving a month ago and finishing an art journal workshop and making cards and canvases to sell, I have hardly taken a moment to myself. I have hardly taken a moment to spend quality time with my family. My poor son has rarely seen me (though at 15 I question how much he WANTS to see me).

This weekend will be a glorious 4 days so I can do a lot. This weekend I will put up some of the cards I've made, as well as a couple of my latest canvases. This weekend I will be creative just for the sake of getting messy. This weekend I will reluctantly catch up on laundry and housework. This weekend I will sleep in and make some baked potato soup! Yum!

I had an idea today while listing to music at work. I often create with music as my inspiration. I enjoy taking part in Scrapping the Music's weekly song challenge to use lyrics in art and for years I have scrapped my favorite songs. Since I've been exploring art journaling more and more, my mind has shifted gears a bit toward capturing feelings and not just images or thoughts. I am going to expiriment a bit with music. I'll pick a song and put it on replay and listen to it for a set time...say 10 minutes. And I will throw down on paper whatever moves me. I have always visualized abstract images in my mind when listening to music. I can't wait to experiment this weekend

Prima's October Giveaway

Check out what Prima is giving away this month!

Head to their blog for your chance to win.

PL Sketch 41

Pencil Lines is celebrating four years of inspiring us. To celebrate, each design team member picked a past sketch and created a layout based on that sketch. And we were all invited to participate, too! Here's my take on sketch 41.

This layout is a collection of photos of my children feeding a baby alpaca at Mike's Maze last October. I was kinda shocked at how much fun they had feeding a $1 cup of food to the little guy. He was wicked cute and apparently tickled your hand as he nibbled at the food.


I used all Cosmo Cricket papers and rub-ons, except the black cardstock. I colored the flourishes with my black zig and orange glaze pen to mimic the CC flower rub-on. The title was suggested by 2 out of 3 surveyed so how could I not use it!

Quick new layout

STM #155 This is Home and PL Anniversary Sketch 145.

I Can Go For Miles

Here's a layout for this week's Scrapping the Music 151 Get This Party Started and a challenge over at scrapbook.com.

This is Zach as I found him 2 minutes after we got home from this year's Relay for Life. He walked 52.5 miles over 22 hours. He fell asleep on the couch until I urged him to bed a few hours later and then he slept until the next morning... and he really needed it! And even after so much pain and exhaustion, when he woke he was ready to aim for the 24 hour walk at next years fundraiser :o)

OK, I took a photo in the daylight and it's a little better. It's overcast today so I still had to use the flash and just couldn't find that perfect angle for no glare so there is a spot on Zach's arm :o)

Thanks for stopping by!

Couple new layouts

One of Gwen playing in the woods. She is a forest fairy at heart. She can spend days on end playing with rocks, sticks, leaves and some dirt. I love her inquisitive outlook on life and how ready she is to explore the world around her.

And one of me when I was 18 and living in Germany. That was my rebellious time in life, though I still wasn't very rebellious :o) I would skip school to go to the local pool hall with friends and we would drink our afternoon away.

Funky!

Here's a layout using this weeks Scrapping the Music #149 Love Shack and Pencil Lines Sketch 202.

This is a photo of Zach this summer juggling with a fleece contraption he made out of scraps of fabric. He's so creative and once he gets an idea in his head he just goes for it. I love that view on life.

The red frames are the negatives from my iron fence border punch. I doodled anywhere I felt was too bland :o)