Crafting - A Study of Percentages

That's right folks, we're going to do some math today. Though, I'm probably not the one who should be leading the lesson as a few days ago, while speaking with a couple of women, I made the mistake of saying "to play four on four on four courts we'd need 20 players". Yeah, em-bar-ras-sing.

So, if the numbers don't quite add up here remember it's more for entertainment purposes than anything.

On to the percentages......When I craft and make whatever, it falls into one of four categories:

Retch - meaning that is so ugly I should have to apologize to the paper/stamp creators for subjecting their products to such icky-ness and I will not post it on my blog (or I will just 'cause I have to for a dt commitment but I'll regret it forever) or give the creation to anyone ever

It'll Do - meaning, yeah, s'alright, s'okay I guess (it has a sub-category called Meh for the cards that aren't quite bad enough for Retch classification), no big problem giving it to anyone, but usually reserved for people I really don't like that much

Hey, That's Actually Pretty Good - meaning when it was completed, I liked it, I probably gave it one of those "not bad" facial expressions accompanied by a nod when I was finished, I usually give these creations to my immediate family so I can see it again

I Love It - meaning, holy crap, I made something I really, really, really like

Now, to break it down, 15% of what I make falls into the Retch category; 74% is It'll Do; 10% is Hey It's Actually Pretty Good, and 1% is I Love It. And to break it down even further, if I made 10 projects, 7 would be okay; 2 would be destined for the circular file (as I try to find email addresses for apology notes to manufacturers); 1 would be good and, given the law of averages and such mathy sctuff, none would have me wallowing if my own creative brilliance.

And all that used to be okay by me. But now, I'm finding it's not. Completing cards that are almost always destined for the It'll Do category leaves me feeling mojo-less and unsatisfied.

Take this card for instance.....

Super cute digi from A Day For Daisies, great fall paper......but nothing special happened.  *sigh*

I am still going to enter this card in a bunch of challenges though.  'Cause that's the other part of not being happy with It'll Do cards, I don't feel like I should enter them in challenges.  I used to enter just about everything I've made but now I only want to enter really, really good projects.  Cards from the HTAPG category in the very least.

But sometimes I just miss posting rambling gobbledygook on my blog, and don't have anything good made, and want an excuse to avoid doing some housework so, Card Challlenge Land, here I come.

P.S.  Know that I'm going to give that hairy twine a bit of a trim when I'm done this.  How that stuff manages to grow that much from the time I complete a card to the half day or whatever it takes for me to take a pic I'll never know.

For:

A Day for Daisies:  buttons & bows
MilkCoffee:  paper piecing
{Pin}spirational:  inspirational photo
Card Mania:  use at least one button
Cards For Men:  string
Created With Love:  fall colours
Cutie Pie:  a cute one for the boys
Ooh-La-La:  for men
Paper Nest Dolls:  happy fall y'all
Love to Create:  inspirational colour photo
Challenges 4 Everybody:  anything goes
Dream Valley:  autumn
Pile It On:  warm colours
Di's Digi Design:  fall colours
Scrap-Creations:  fall
The Male Room:  animal, avian or aquarian
Simon Says Stamp:  anything goes
4 Krafty Chicks:  anything goes
Crafty Little Fairies:  autumn colours
Delightful Challenges:  happy fall y'all
Paper-Crafting Journey:  for a boy
Just For Fun:  colours of autumn

Back in Time @ Little Red Wagon

This week at



Jayne wants us to go back in time and show us something with a vintage or retro feel.

I went a little more literal with the challenge than I normally do......

And that's about all I have to say about that. (And, when I said that I did my Forrest Gump impression, just so you know.)

So, why not head on over to Little Red Wagon and enter the challenge. And be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have done.

Kraft, Black & Cream (or White) @ Little Red Wagon

This week at



Rosanne has a colour combo for us - kraft, black & cream (or white). Such a classy combination.

This is what I did......

I said, "Hey, Silhouette, make me a card will ya?" And, look at that, it did. 'Cause really, even though I don't usually have a problem making masculine cards, making a birthday card for a 91 year old man isn't exactly in my wheelhouse....so all hail the mighty Silhouette!  I did glue stuff down though, and I had to root through my extensive collection of Thickers to find those numbers so I guess I should get a little credit too.  yay me! 

So, why not head on over to Little Red Wagon and enter the challenge? And be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have done.

Goodbye @ Tiddly Inks

Well, I didn't score a full time spot on the Tiddly Inks Design Team. (I was soundly beaten out by some fabulous crafters. It don't mind losing so much when my butt gets that thoroughly kicked. :-))  But I was lucky enough to get offered a guest spot, so woo hoo! The challenge for the next two weeks is all about that word that's so hard to say sometimes....."goodbye".

And this is what I did.......

I used Cup of Kitty.  Super cute digi, eh?  Though I am wondering if it's a really teeny kitten or a really big cup.....hmmmm.....

Why not come on over to Tiddly Inks and enter the challenge?  And stay awhile and check out all the fabulous inspiration from the dt.

Also for:

The Pink Elephant:  digital images
The Sisterhood of Crafters:  divine digis
Addicted to Stamps:  make your mark
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge:  paper piecing
Chocolate, Coffee & Cards:  anything goes
Creative Fingers:  add a sentiment
Alphabet Challenge:  P is for Paper Piecing
Created With Love:  anything goes
Shopping Our Stash:  oldest flowers (Maybe not my oldest, oldest but definitely some of my very first.)
ABC Challenge:  V for Very Cute
4 Krafty Girlz:  anything goes

Fall Is In the Air

Yep, it sure is here is southwestern Ontario. This week alone we've had three different kinds of weather.....normal temps for this time of year and sunny weather, ridiculously hot and humid weather (I'm talking 36ºC) and pretty darn cool and windy and gray weather. Pretty typical end of summer week, really.

So, I thought a fall card was in order......

And I got to break out my crackle accents! I love 'em but it's not like there's a lot of times a get to use them. Last time I used them was ages ago, and the only reason they got used was I grabbed them instead of my glossy accents by accident. The poor bunny whose goggles I used them for......probably crashed and burned due to my mistake.

Digi is from Mo's Digital Pencil. Did ya know they're having a guest designer call? I really tried to make flowers work on this so I could enter this week but I gave up as they looked very forced. Plus as this card is going to my 12 year old son I think he'll be grateful I quit.

Omg, there's my dog scratching at the door again! All afternoon in, out, in, out, in, out. I think she thinks that if she does that enough times, one of the times she goes out the summer weather will be back. Though, if that actually worked I'd probably be right there beside her, trying the same thing.

 For:

Sweet Sketch:  sketch
Corrosive:  all about fall
Pile It On:  tic tac toe - patterned paper, dies, autumn colours
My Sheri Crafts:  fall colours
Addicted-To-Stamps:  anything goes
LEJ Designs:  autumnal colours
Craft-Room:  trees or leaves
The Sisterhood of Crafters:  use a digi
Bearly Mine:  fall colours
4 Krafty Girlz:  anything goes
Happy Campers:  use a stamp
MilkCoffee:  fabulous fall colours
By Lori Designs:  chevrons
Jo's Scrap Shack:  autumn
Crafty Catz:  men/boys
Creative Corner:  the autumn leaves are falling
Card Makin' Mamas:  for the kids

Use a Polaroid or Frame @ Little Red Wagon

This week at



Regan wants to see frames, polaroid or otherwise, or your projects.

This is what I did.....

It's a sequin shaker card!

I have to admit, I don't usually jump on trends. I'm kinda grumpy old man about new stuff. I'll be all like, "What's wrong with the old stuff? Back in my day we had three kinds of tape - scotch, duct and masking. None of this fandangled tape with patterns and flowers and fancy colours. What would you need that stuff for? Now bring me some pudding!" But, I will cop to liking the whole sequin thing. They're kinda like buttons only sparklier. And sparklier is almost always better.

So, why not head on over to Little Red Wagon and enter the challenge? And be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have done.

Yeehaw.

I love this digi from Mo's Digital Pencil. I think it's an absolute scream. I hesitated before buying it though as I didn't think I'd be able to do any sort of a decent job colouring it. But, my dad's birthday is at the end of this month and this stamp was too perfect to pass up. So, I decided not to get my knickers in a knot, and I just went for it. Not that I was actually wearing knickers. And by knickers, I mean like golf knickers, not like undies knickers. I don't refer to underwear as knickers....I did have a pair of knickers once when I was a kid though, that's the golf-style to be clear. They were awesome.

Here's the card......

I showed this to my kids when it was just 'bout done. My oldest said, "Hey, that actually looks like grandpa." My youngest said, "Nice. I really like it." My middle one said, "Noooooooooo, don't put those sequins on it! I think it looks better without them.....noooooooooo whhhhhhy aaaaaareeeeeee yooooooou gluuuuuuuuuing thhhooooooose seeeeeeequuuuuins dooooooooown, you neeeeeeeeeveeeeeeeeeeeeeeer listen to meeeeeeeeeeeeee."

If I would have known it was going to be that big of an issue for him I would have finished the card after he went to bed.

Wanna know what's got me snickering?  It's that hairy twine.  Didn't know it was that gnarly until I was looking at the picture on my screen.  Kinda makes me think of how old men can have scraggly hair coming out of their ears and/or noses (and, in the case of my dad, some wickedly wild eyebrow hair) that needs trimmed.

And, now that I've implanted that image in you head, I think I'll go.

For:

Mo's Digital Pencil:  anything goes + gdt call
Sister Act:  anything goes 
Papertake Weekly:  anything goes
Di's Digi Design:  birthdays
Sentimental Sundays:  birthdays
The Cupboard Trilogy:  male
Digi Galore:  anything goes + digis
Creatalicious:  for the boys
Perfect Sentiment:  twine + sentiment
Penny's Paper Crafty:  spooled items
Paper-Crafting Journey:  anything goes
Aud Sentiments:  any sentiment
Happy Camper:  use a stamp
4 Krafty Girlz:  anything goes
Alphabet Challenge:  one word sentiment
Craft Too Challenge You:  texture - hairy twine, foam-y Thickers, bumpy sequins
365 Cards: Day 248 - Digi Do
Seize the Birthday:  birthday

Back To School @ Little Red Wagon

This week at



we're celebrating Back To School so Tammy (though back to school means back to work for Tammy so I'm not sure why she wants to celebrate) wants to see something school-themed, like books, or a pencil, on a school bus or an apple on your project.

I went with that staple that every school kid gotsta have - a backpack/bag!

Digi is from Tiddly Inks.

See that cool notebook edge I got goin' on there?  Yeah, the actual edge is okay and all, but look closer and the die cut dashed line.....see, it's exactly between the two-line margin on that page.  Did I plan that - heck no!  But it's so totally awesome it worked out that way, ain't it?

Yep, that's how thrilling my life is these day.  I wiggled and giggled and just 'bout peed my pants like an excited puppy when I saw how that worked out. 

Okay, so maybe you might not get as stimulated as I do over correctly-but-accidentally die cut dashed lines but you could still make something for this week's challenge.  And after you do head on over to Little Red Wagon and link it up.  And be sure to check out the wonderful projects the other Girlfriends have done.

School Girl

It's not me though. I did my 13 1/2 years (the half is for the half year I attended grade 13....I'm sure all Ontarian teenagers were sooooo upset when they got rid of that grade) and got the heck outta there. Me and school just didn't get along. But if I had outfits like this to wear.....

I might have stuck with it.

*snicker* I can't believe I said that with a straight face, especially since I'm currently wearing a bright orange shirt with two tacos on it, one has a broken shell and the other is saying, "You wanna taco about it?"

But, it's a super cute outfit, on a super cute Tiddly Inks digi that I would totally dress my daughter in.

Though she'd rather wear a taco shirt too. But I'm bigger than her, so I might be able to jam her into it and with liberal use of duct tape she might stay in it for awhile. Though I am thinking duct tape is a bit of a fashion faux pas.

But really what do I know? I'm just the chick wearing the shirt about Mexican food.

For:

Sketchy Colours:  sketch
Oldie But a Goodie:  spots & stripes (I might be reaching....they might be lines more than stripes.) + old stash - paper & tulle
Papertake Weekly:  anything goes
Ribbon Carousel:  back to school + spooled item
Sweet Stampin':  spots & stripes  (I might be reaching....they might be lines more than stripes.)
Crafts 4 Eternity:  back to school
Creative Corner:  child's play
Milk Coffee:  back to school
Paper Crafting Journey:  anything goes
By Lori Design:  back to school
Crafty Creations:  use a number
Simon Says Stamp:  anything goes
The Sisterhood of Crafters:  back to school
Addicted To Stamps:  anything goes
Challenges 4 Everybody:  anything goes
Dream Valley:  for a child
Really Reasonable Ribbon:  back to school + spooled item
ABC Challenge:  u is for unlimited

Scraps or Old Stash @ UnstampaBelles

Holy smokes it's September, and not only does that mean I've survived the summer with my kids [hey, don't get me wrong, I love my guys to absolute pieces and then some but it's challenging to work (mostly) from home and be on entertaining/chauffeur/refereeing duty too] it also means a brand new challenge at UnstampaBelles. This month is an easy one, we want to see your old stash or your scraps on your paper projects. Just remember - no stamps!

This is what I did.....

It's all old stash and/or scraps with the exception of the craft wire. I got major inspiration for this project from Joanne at Scrapping Outside the Lines. If you'd like to see her creation, just clicky here.  (As you can see, she didn't get quite so crazy with the stems.  Wish I had followed her example there just a little more.)

Arrrg! Due to a complete lack of time, major computer/printer issues and the fact that I've decided to do a heroic sorting/organizing/purging (well, maybe moving around more than purging as it's turning out) of my craft space (b'jeebers when did I buy all that stuff????) I have had ZERO crafty time lately. (Most projects have been pre-made, the most recent one I've done was posted back on August 6th.) And, it's peeving me off. I want to make something and post it and then enter it in a ton of challenges - WAAAAAAAH!!


Anyways......maybe you've had more luck with crafty time then I have so why not head on over to UnstampaBelles and enter the challenge. You have until September 30th to do so and you'll have the chance to win a prize from the Craft Mad.