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)