3 Days to go... Oh my!

I saw Eve's post with her wonderful little book boxes for her kids' teachers...  well, I CASE'd.  I'm a copycat, I admit it.  Tonya did something similar a few months back, too.  Mine is basically a hybrid of the two.  Eve's is super-constructed with heavy duty book binding supplies, and Tonya used layered cardstock.  I knew that mine had to be a little more durable since it is going to be transported to school by my son, *EGADS!*  but there is no chance I am putting in that kind of effort into it.  I'm just too typically behind the eight ball this year.  :)   SO, I stalked my home for notepads an used the cardboard backing for these.  That was probably the hardest part of the project!  I sized them down to gift card width (one gets chocolate with her gift card as an inside joke.)  Eventually - in the next 8-9 hours, I plan to decorate these little cuties.  There is so much potential!  Enough yammering - here they are... and notice there is nary a single reference to anything vampiric... :)

I also made these tins - for my two moms' gifts.  Since they don't read my blog, it's safe to show these, too.  My MIL about PIHP when she saw the one I did with Tonya when I was in Tx this year.  She is so cute, so I can do nothing but oblige her.  I have the coolest in-laws in history. 

Anyhoo - the pink one is for my Mom and the blue one for my MIL.  They will both love them!

  Notice the old SAB rub-ons on the lids!  See???  Hoarding pays off... sometimes. :)

Happy Football Sunday!  (I love them!)  Go Pats! :)

Twilight Tuesday #12 ~ Quotes!

Our mission this week is to choose and use a quote from the series that we identify with most, to inspire our work. First of all, WOW - how do you choose just one?! I had pages and pages of Jacob zingers highlighted and dog-eared (awwww...) because I was surely not going to get into the sappy quotes. Uh huh. That's really what I had planned. Really. But then, after thinking about finding a line that I identified with most, I ended back up in the heavy stuff. Yuck. Here is the quote I planned on using - and my reasoning for it is simple. I love Jake's personality, and who doesn't feel like Bella does here:

***"Jacob was simply a perpetually happy person, and he carried that happiness with him like an aura, sharing it with whoever was near him. Like an earthbound sun, whenever someone was within his gravitational pull, Jacob warmed them. It was natural, a part of who he was. No wonder I was so eager to see him." ~Bella, New Moon.***

Then it hit me - I would have to make a card to depict that profound emotion. Sure - assuming I didn't want to go to bed this evening... :) For the record... this is the reason I love Jake's character. This is how I feel when I read him with Bella. *Jacob ROCKS!*

However, as I mentioned, I went inexcusably & horribly smushy. The portion of the entire series that hit home the most for me, was Stephenie's depiction of "the breakup". Unless you are blissfully wed to your first love (Bravo for you ~ seriously!), you know, understand and feel Bella's pain along with her. Particularly if you are the one blind-sided by it, as Bella was. From the feeling of "evisceration" (perfect word for it) to physically 'holding yourself together', and so on. At least I "got" it, and it is my belief that the allure to the story amongst us TwiMoms is that we all do. It's bittersweet. So the quote I chose was from New Moon below.

Don't forget to check out the other DT submissions!

Tonya

Eve

Jen

Julie

Dani

Margie

Rebecca

Free Shipping AND 10% off RETIRING sets!

Check out the awesome Stampin' Up deals over in my sidebar! ---->

Retiring sets are available until supplies last (read as: HURRY if you want something!), then you are lost to the eBay gouging! Free shipping and 10% discount available until Dec 23rd. Please order by Dec 16th-ish to have "gifts" in hand for Christmas! You KNOW how those men in brown get bogged down during the holidays... I love my UPS guy, btw. He always brings good stuff... unlike the mail lady... :)

Happy Wednesday! GO SHOPPING!

TTIC#11 ~ A Very Cullen Christmas!

Yes, even vampires celebrate Christmas! Welcome to Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge #11! Our challenge this week is to design a Christmas item inspired by the Cullens. I decided to do their card, since I am so bored doing the 122 of my own family's! I thought it would be really cool to find the Cullen crest (forgetting how strange looking it is! Seriously - what up with the hand?!) and build a card around it. Well... I found a picture and made it into a graphic I could cut out (SO cool!). And then I immediately found a better one after hours of messing around with this one! :) At least I tried... my graphic arts skills clearly need honing! But this looks like something classic that the Cullens might send out to their human and vampire friends alike...

Wouldn't it be fun if Stephenie Meyer wrote a holiday book about the Cullens? The second part of our challenge is to share a favorite holiday tradition... but I'm way more interested in the Cullens' traditions! Do they stay up all night singing Christmas carols around Edward's piano? Do they go out and stalk reindeer? Do they buy each other exotic cars? Do they sip donated blood out of Santa mugs? (Somehow that is creepier than attacking Bambi, or Rudolf in this case, in the woods!) I'd love to hear your Cullen family holiday tradition...

Don't forget to check out these other great TTIC submissions!

Tonya

Eve

Danielle

Jen

Julie

Margie

Rebecca

TTIC#10 ~ the new beginning! I'm... Esme?

Welcome back! This marks the new beginning of the Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge! We are so excited to introduce some new Design Team Members, and with that - more interpretations of our favorite Twilight topics! Never a bad thing!! Join in the fun and link back with your own weekly submissions... the more players, the more fun the game!! :)

This week, we are challenged to determine which female Twilight character we are. (Click HERE to take the quiz for yourself - you may be surprised!) In case her lovely photo, or the headline, for that matter, didn't clue you in... I seem to be Esme. The caring Mama Cullen. She is soft and sweet, kind and giving... which led me to this submission for the crafter's challenge:

Not to be confused with any Hall of Fame-worthy pieces! This is actually much more appealing in person - the flower is subtle, but not as much as the photo allows. I used SU Color Wonder Crayons and water to get the soft, watercolored look, which I LOVE! I chose Bashful Blue because it feels the "gentlest" of our colors. And as vampires go, Esme is clearly the gentlest - well, maybe tied with her handsome hubby.

I feel some reworking of this one coming on... Anytime I mess around with those fantastic Rhinestone Brads, I overdo it! Anyhow, I'll get back to you on that one. In the meantime - visit our other Design Team members and see what they've done this week!

Tonya

Eve

Danielle

Jen

Julie

Margie

Rebecca

Stampin' Up Black Friday ~ EARLY!

AWESOME Stampin' Up sale!  WOWzers!  Save UP TO 50% on bundled products for the holidays, Dad, embossing and more!  I will be all over this one, and you should be too!  Visit Here and click Shop Now to take advantage of these deals ONLINE ~ supplies are limited, so don't wait too long!  Sale ends December 1st.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

TTIC#9 ~ The Movie!!!

Stamper's Inspiration Challenge:

This challenge is all about the Twilight movie as your inspiration piece. Be sure to mention the movie as your inspiration and describe what about it is inspiring your project. Link back here and share!  Don't forget to leave us a comment with your link!! If you upload to an SCS gallery, be sure to use the keyword TTIC9.

Comment Inspiration Challenge:

Tell us what your movie experience was. Your likes, dislikes, favorite scenes...whatever you want to share.

Well, better late than never!  I really expected to have a million ideas after seeing the movie - you DID go see it by now, haven't you???  But I don't!  And I have no idea why... maybe it is an anticipation hangover. Yeah, I'll go with that.   Anyhow, here is what I came up with:

I felt like the movie was straight to the point - right from the book.  (Except that stupid & unnecessary, but funny, field trip scene.) Remember those gems that Eve sent me a few weeks ago?  I used those to adorn the side, and eventually, I will pick a unique-to-the-movie quote to (yikes) handwrite up the side above the lovely jewels.   If you cannot tell, I used silver metallic paper to cutout the title with, using my Cricut (LOVE it!) and used my favorite Charbon DSP from Stampin' Up for the background paper.  (Wish they would keep black and gray DSP around all the time!)  Finally,  I found a picture I liked (and hadn't seen before - it's a good one, too!) and printed it on vellum and ripped it out.  What a chore THAT was - ripping in a circle! If you've never ripped vellum, it always rips differently horizontally than vertically.  It's just the way it is woven.  YOU go try and make a decent, controlled tear of a circle!  I wanna see it!  :)  But, I digress... 

I liked the movie.  As I have said everywhere I have posted, I want to see it again, now that I have scoured it for details and correctness.  LOL  I ruined some of the joy of it for myself by doing that.   Also, I have said that Rob Pattinson is an excellent Edward, even in the 'weird' scenes.  Surprisingly, I didn't hate Kristen Stewart as Bella - she was good!  LOVED Charlie and Taylor Lautner was a super Jacob.  I can't wait to see more of him in New Moon - he was very comfortable in the character.  Fantastic.  I could go on and on, but you really don't want to hear my expert review! :)

Don't forget to check out these TTIC submissions:

Tonya

Eve

OT: True Blood Message Board

Ok, we all know about Tonya's well-documented obsession with Twilight and Edward Cullen... My vampires of choice are the Southern Vampires by Charlaine Harris. You might know them better from the new HBO series True Blood. Anyhoo - I have been repeatedly frustrated by the overloaded message forums, so I started my own. Hopefully, we can maintain a decent number in order to keep actual conversations going without scrolling around for responses! YKWIM?! If you are a fan... visit me here.

See you there!
~Beth

EDITED 11/18/08 ~ In case some new Southern Vamp fans pop in...

Twilight Tuesday ~ TTIC#8

Can you believe it?! The movie opens in 3 DAYS! That makes this this the final, pre-movie TTIC!
This week I chose the topic, and the theme is Bella. Simple, huh? Nope - there is so much going on with that girl! There are a million ways to go with this one. For me, though, it was pretty obvious... so I call this one the Juxtaposition of Bella Swan. Clearly this girl is a lesson in confusion and opposition. The good girl, dutiful and trustworthy, nurturing of her family and a pure-hearted caregiver to both of her parents on the one hand, then she is also this voraciously obsessive girl who somehow 'knows' that she is to devote her entire (literally!) existence to another "17" year old on the other - oh, yeah, a "17" year old VAMPIRE. Effectively ditching the 'safe' (in more ways than one!) for a relationship with a supernatural, mythical being. Huh-what? But that is what makes her so interesting. 'Fess up, there are times when you want to donate a hearty V8 "thunk" on her forehead. She's naive, but she's brave. She's smart, but she's naive. She's brave, but she's scared. But above it all, she is sure that she is destined to be with Edward. *sigh* Young love...

So, I went obvious - white roses for her purity and humanity, and black for the obsession and desire to be immortal. (I know we are supposed to stick to the first novel, but my creation encompasses everything I know of Bella from the entire saga.)

As 'cuddly' (as I call them) as the vamps in Meyerland are - well, the Cullens, anyway - vampires are still vampires, so I depicted them with black roses.

The second part to my challenge was to describe how you relate to Bella, and/or to find a quote that was particularly meaningful or amusing. I went with identifiable. Definitely identifiable:

Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain.
Bella Swan, Twilight, Chapter 1, p.11

This is the End~

...beautiful friend. The End. (Raise your hand if you are hearing the incomparable Jim Morrison and the Doors...) Yeah, the Doors rank right up there with my lovely vampires and Stampin' Up. :) What can I say, I have eclectic taste! Anyhoo... we just wrapped up this year's Stamp Club, and I am a little sad. This was a fun group. Most of them were very new to stamping and now they are pros! *pats self on the back* I was a little surprised to to learn that a few Clubbers pop in here once in a while. Vampire adoration and all...

So, here are the last *sniff* projects we did. The card, which I will say is one of my all time favorites, and a gussied up version of a Jane Raulin-Kissel creation, is one I want to continue to play around with. Other colors and different embellishments. Such a classic looking card - so not my normal creation! (Which is why I CASE!) Although, by some freak of nature, I do SO love the color pink (she said while typing with her trademark black fingernails). I also got to try out the new vanilla hodgepodge hardware. Everyone should have these! I devised a trick to keep the punches in place and now I am all about HPHW! Go order both colors NOW - it is so worth it! $10 Gift Certificate to anyone who buys both online - that's how 'worth it' I think it is!



Here's a hint when working with HPHW: Attach the punch out to your project with dimensionals. It holds it in place, and 'fills' up the space between the hardware and the card base. Works like a charm. And how awesome is this vanilla hardware I raved of earlier... I LOVE it!

Moving right along... I thought these next 3x3's would be great for little gifts. A bit more than a tag, but less than a full card. I'll be using lots of these types on packages this year. Act surprised!

See you on Twilight Tuesday!

Oh, SNAP!

The second part of the TTIC#7 challenge was to take the "Which Twilight Male Are You?" quiz.  So, yes - oh, SNAP, indeed!  I am Edward.  I was sure I'd be Jake or Emmett.  Huh... definitely something to think about there...  Oh, well... at least he is fantastically beautiful, if not slightly psycho!    Easy, now - I love me some Eddie too, girls!  Just to prove my point, here are some of my favorite pictures that scroll continuously on my desktop, courtesy of my Google sidebar!   Yes, and endless stream of gorgeous vampires... 

 

TTIC#7 ~ Emmett & the Bear

Yes, Twilighters ~ another Tuesday is here! And with less than 10 days to the movie, this Twi-hard is getting anxious!! Aarrgghhh! Anyhoo... This week we are inspired by Emmett's story. This was glossed over in the book, but on the author's website you can read him telling Bella is story of life and death, and a little throw down with a grizzly bear!

The long and short of it, is that Emmett was in the woods and came upon a bear than kicked his butt. The rest you have to read for yourself! So I was going for an earthy, rustic feel without being too gory. It was definitely a challenge! Especially since I don't have the cute SU set that Vamp is using! I like the pawprints, and 'torn' equipment, though. Emmett is the man. I love that his machismo has carried over to his immortality. Another great Stephenie Meyer character!

Don't forget to link back if you are playing along and check out Tonya's and Eve's TTIC submission for this week!

TTIC #6 ~ Blame it on the Rain...

For this week, we were challenged to channel the lovely Forks weather... ummm, RAIN. The whole time I was brainstorming, I kept hearing Milli Vanilli in the background. HA! Anyhow, the rain is almost as palpable as a character in this story. So much hinges on that single factor - The Cullens reside there because of it; Bella commiserates in it and feels her joy that much more vibrantly because of it... she even almost bites it (sorry, vampire humor) because of freezing rain! I read somewhere that the cast and crew actually did "rain dances", of sorts, to keep the clouds and rain in place to authenticate filming! Funny, huh?

This simple little card took forever! I brayered the sky with Not Quite Navy, Night of Navy and then used a napkin to rub off some areas. I also sponged a little Whisper White craft ink into those spots to show small 'breaks' in the clouds. For some reason, I always thin of the scene just prior to Edward saving her in the parking lot, where the rain was freezing on the ground... I imagine the chill, and even tough there was no snow on the ground at the time, I imagine it that way. (I'm from Maine - there is ALWAYS a little patch of snow SOMEwhere!) :) So, in keeping with that incorrect 'vision', I used my Versamarker to paint in some snow on the ground and in the pine tree (Mainers know that there is always snow stuck in the corners of the pine boughs, too!) and embossed it with clear powder before using my markers to add in the grass. Finally, I used my Cricut to cut out the title and then patted it in the WW craft in for the 'cloudy' effect.

Do you get the feeling that I am embracing Autumn in my last few projects??

FYI - Eve Rocks!

On the off-chance you haven't seen her amazing creations (she especially smokes the Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenges) CLICK HERE!  Right now!  Don't wait another second!

Any-hoo...  We Twi-hards stick together. Check out this surprise I found in my mailbox last week, as I was cruising out of town and filled with stress... :)    She is so frickin' COOL!  How thoughtful was that?  This paper is amazing - to look at it, you would swear it is some sort of fiber/cloth, but it isn't.  It's gorgeous - I just want to look at it... I can't bring my self to cut it up, yet... :)    And, friends, she made Twilight earrings. Seriously ~ she did it herself!  I have a pair on right now!  (Along with one of my Twilight t-shirt, but I digress...)  They are dang cute.  I guarantee I will get compliments - I cannot wear Twilight anything without luring out a fan or two!  Eve also found apple brads!  How funny!  I may have to do a project that themes on the initial cover...  I cannot resist those brads! 

But, being me, I am making myself late for the kiddo's Halloween parade ~ did we ever get out early on Halloween?  I tend to think not...  hmmm.  Private schools ~ what are ya gonna do?

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH, EVE!  You brightened my day~ my week, really!  You rock!

Last One... Promise...

Well, I literally took 10 minutes on this one.  I'll probably make it into a card, or use it in a collage of characters I was thinking about doing later on.  BUT, I believe I have used up my daily dose of mojo.  (There's that exhale I was waiting on earlier...)  I am officially done submitting for TTIC#5!

 

I love wolfie...

TTIC#5 ~ Part 2! More Jake love...

 

Ok, so I like Jake!   I didn't feel like I captured the correct mojo in my previous submission for TTIC#5.  Team Jacob, baby!  Poor guy gets no respect.  *sigh*  He's such a sweetie.  I could fill a whole project with great Jake quotes, but I chose this one.  It captures "him"...

Now... my wolf stamp finally arrived!  Maybe another Team Jacob submission in your future?  I can hear the collective gasps... don't forget to exhale!