It's the most wonderful time of the year!

It's my favorite time of the year! It finally feels like fall outside, the sun sets earlier and now we're just a day away from my favorite holiday. I took the week off from work so I could enjoy it all a bit more. The kids have their costumes and I've stocked up on candy, so once the pumpkin is carved we'll be ready for the big night.

This is one of the cards I received in the SCS Halloween swap. Don't you love how the olives look like eyeballs?! Such a fun card -- it would be great for a Halloween party invitation! It was made by Carmen Ramirez. I'm not sure how well it shows up in the photo, but she used Crystal Effects for the 'beverage' in the glasses. Love it!!

Well I finally broke down and got a Big Shot! So now I can finally make some of those cute baskets I've been seeing everywhere. But for everything else, I was doing just fine with the Cuttlebug, so don't go thinking you HAVE to have the Big Shot to use the Top Note Bigz die or Tulipe or Scallop Circle Bigz dies -- they all work in the Cuttlebug with 2 'B' plates. The tricky ones are the dies that include score lines -- the Cuttlebug will slice through the score lines without some type of mat, from what I've heard. I love my Bug, though, so I'll be keeping BOTH!

Supplies:

Stamps: Cheers To You, Tasty Sweet (both SU)

Ink: Kiwi Kiss, black

Cardstock: Kiwi Kiss, Basic Black, Going Gray, Naturals White

Accessories: crimper, Crystal Effects, vintage brads, blender pen

Everyone knows it's windy

So I finally got my tropical weather last night when Hanna went up the coast and brought lots of rain and a nice breeze. If I hadn't had to go to work in it (and then drive back home in it), it would have been the perfect night for stamping!

Ever since the news came out that Stampin Up would sell the Big Shot and a nice collection of Sizzix dies, at least once a day I see a post on SCS or a group list with someone asking if the dies will work in the Cuttlebug. And inevitably someone will give some bad info. I have a Cuttlebug (and still haven't splurged on the Big Shot, mainly because I have no place to put one here in the closet) and already own a couple of the Sizzix Bigz dies, including the scallop circle (which is offered by SU). This die DOES work in my Cuttlebug. See? I punched several of the them the other night with the Bug, using two 'B' plates. I'm waiting on an SU Top Note Bigz die that's on backorder and would expect that it will work as well, though since it has score lines it might be slightly different and may need a different 'sandwich' to make it work. (And after having seen too much bad info online regarding the regular Bigz dies, I really don't trust anything I read now and will just wait to try it out for myself!)

And speaking of dies, I bought my first set of Nestabilities! They just came today so I'm looking forward to trying them out this week. I ordered the complete rectangles set for a GREAT price from Cut At Home. You need to sign up for their VIP coupon at the web site and then once a month they will e-mail you a coupon for 40 percent off, which you can use on the Nesties. And they shipped right away. Great service! I'll be back with my September coupon as soon as I can decide which set to order next!

I need to whip up some Halloween swaps within the next few days since they are due on the 15th. But even more pressing -- birthday cards for my two 12-year-old nephews. Their party is tomorrow -- yikes!

The Dog Stays In The Picture ...

... and she won't move! This was the scene as I was trying to take some photos of cards in natural sunlight in my foyer the other day. I finally had to pick her up and move her beside me so I could get the shots I wanted. I need one of those photo studio in a box things. She can't fit in there to disrupt any pictures!

I placed a massive Cuttlebug order at All That Scraps yesterday. I pretty much wanted everything! Plus they already had the new Hallowimsy collection by Imaginisce in stock, so I threw most of that into the shopping cart as well. At least the shipping was free!

Went to see The Mummy 3 on Sunday. I have watched the first two movies many, many times and was eager to see this one. I have to say I came away disappointed. It didn't help that Rachel Weisz did not reprise her role as Evie and the actress they got to replace her has absolutely NO chemistry with Brendan Frasier. And their son apparently lost his British accent somewhere between the second movie and this one. (Continuity, anyone?) And I suppose maybe I just like Egyptian mummies better than Chinese mummies! The Yeti were cool, though. So now my last big movie of the summer to see is The X-Files. It's not doing so well at the box office, but it was my favorite show for so long that I can't NOT see it. The reviews have been so-so, but I trust no one and will see it for myself! Heh.

Monthly Swap

I have a swap due in a week (actually two swaps since I signed up for both swap groups) and I have no idea what I'm going to do. If last month's swap is any indication, I won't know what I'm doing until two hours before the actual swap at the LSS. But I'd rather not put myself through that mad rush again. The theme this month is summer. I might use some of my summer stamps by The Cat's Pajamas or the July release by CC Designs...

This is the card I did for last month's swap. The theme was red, white and blue. I had cut the cards and layers the night before the swap, throwing in the silver cardstock because I was planning on doing something with fireworks. But the next day when I started working on them again, I decided I didn't like the way the fireworks looked, so I had to come up with something else fast. So I dug out the Statue of Liberty stamp and thought it could work, but what to do about the silver? Aha! A few silver brads and my trusty Stampin Up star punch to the rescue! (Yes, two of the punched stars ARE the SU brushed silver cardstock, though it doesn't really look like it in the photo.) I like the way it turned out, but I don't want to have to cut it that close to be hit with inspiration again this month!

I just found out that some of the new Cuttlebug dies and folders have already been released -- right on schedule! If I had known they were going to come out when they were supposed to come out this time, I would have preordered a month ago! Must. Have. Them. ALL!

Supplies:

Stamps: Lady Liberty (Inkadinkado); sentiment (Stampin Up, from Land That I Love set, retired)

Cardstock: Stampin Up Brushed Silver, Whisper White, Real Red and Night of Navy

Ink: SU Night of Navy

Accessories: silver brads; SU star punch; SU 1 1/4" square punch; paper piercer; SU dimensionals; SU grosgrain ribbon (retired)