Thursday, January 21, 2010
** Make Room For Baby Sale **
The baby is on his way! As my due date approaches I am cleaning out to make room for our new addition. I am selling of many different items. I am staring with stamps which include many loose stamps as well as several Stampin' Up sets. If you would like a copy of my "catalog" please feel free to email me. I will be adding items weekly and will announce as I do.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
And we're live!!!
It's finally up! My etsy store has come alive. Stay tuned as I will be updating with more handmade items soon! Take a look...
www.mrschefluv.etsy.com
Thanks for looking!!!
www.mrschefluv.etsy.com
Thanks for looking!!!
Monday, June 1, 2009
Bzzzzz....
Hello!! I know it's been a long long time. Alas, I have been busy with something new. I have been working diligently setting up my etsy shop. I just got an email from my awesome friend Aaron who wrote my shop announcement for me and I am about ready to go. Thought I would start creating the buzz!! Stay tuned.......
A few sneak peeks:
A few sneak peeks:
Friday, March 6, 2009
My Gateway Drug
Despite yesterday's outburst of bitterness over being unemployed, there is an upside. It's one that has fulfilled some part of me. The part that needs to be creative. That is the part I was born with. Well, I mean I was born with all my parts (thank God!) but I am not talking physically. Ever since I was a child I always loved creating, whether it be modeling with play-doh, or actually making it from scratch. I would feel the need for more colors on my 8 color watercolor palette and start mixing. Although all I ever got there was brown. The books with the magic pens that you colored on and the colors appeared just frustrated me. I wanted to choose and coordinate my own colors. And I am still that way, although it's gotten worse. In a good way though and I blame scrapbooking. You know what they say about marijuana being the gateway drug? That's what scrapbooking was for me, my gateway drug. Gateway into a world of paper crafts, stamping, embossing, it even got me back into painting.
On the brink of this gateway was where "My Life in 12X12 " began. Well it was actually a very slow day at work and I needed to occupy myself. (Did I just say slow day at work? I miss those days.) Anyway, at that time, scrapbooking was what I was doing. That has definitely shifted. I still love living my life in 12X12 but now there is more. I found ATC's which led me to swaps which led me to chunky books which led me to...and here I sit. Blogging about the world of create in which I know live. It's a pretty good place to be. It keeps me busy, gives a purpose and makes me feel better about myself. Plus it's really fun! I posted a few new links to the right, some new places I have been hanging out. Come say hello!
My first chunky page:
This is the poem:
Dreams by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barrem field
Frozen with snow.
On the brink of this gateway was where "My Life in 12X12 " began. Well it was actually a very slow day at work and I needed to occupy myself. (Did I just say slow day at work? I miss those days.) Anyway, at that time, scrapbooking was what I was doing. That has definitely shifted. I still love living my life in 12X12 but now there is more. I found ATC's which led me to swaps which led me to chunky books which led me to...and here I sit. Blogging about the world of create in which I know live. It's a pretty good place to be. It keeps me busy, gives a purpose and makes me feel better about myself. Plus it's really fun! I posted a few new links to the right, some new places I have been hanging out. Come say hello!
My first chunky page:
This is the poem:
Dreams by Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barrem field
Frozen with snow.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Back on the blog wagon
Well hellooooo...it has been a very long time. I really have no other excuse than that I have been hiding out in my apartment watching reruns of BH 90210 and wallowing in self loathing. You see on November 24, 2008 after 2 years at Giovatto, I got laid off. That's right, I became a statistic...yet again. So I guess it is the shame and embarrassment that has kept me away. I may not have been able to admit it yet to myself how disappointed I was so I was not ready to reveal anything to the rest of the world (or the 3 people that read my blog).
But now I am saying the hell with it. I have nothing to be ashamed of. With people like Bernie Madoff, what the hell am I feeling sorry for? I did nothing to deserve losing my job. I wasn't fired. I merely became an end product of an economic disaster, much like many of my fellow Americans. And I am not hanging my head low anymore. Although I am not holding it high proud to be an American right now either. What I am doing is hoping that someone else out there in my situation reads this and says "Yeah me either! I have nothing to be ashamed of." Because I wonder about all the other people out there that stagger out of bed each morning to face another grueling day of endless job searching and calling in their unemployment claim and dealing with people who say things like "so no new jobs posted?" NO THERE HAVEN'T BEEN ANY NEWS JOBS POSTED SINCE I STILL HAD A DAMN JOB!!! SO DON'T ASK.
Frustration folks, that's what I am getting at. I worry what this lack of jobs could lead to. I wonder about things like will there be a mental illness epidemic? will the suicide rate increase? I wonder if anyone in Congress has thought about that?
The other day I got a notice in the mail saying due to economic stimulus (of which I am convinced there is no such thing) I will be getting an extra $25 a week in my paycheck. WOW!! BFD!! Is that honestly supposed to make me feel better? How about some support, some relief. Instead I have to show up to the unemployment office to listen to some miserable retiree tell me about all that unemployment services there are for me to take advantage of. Oh yes you didn't know? Well there is the training program in case you want to start your own business. Because with a booming economy like this what jobless person wouldn't want to risk it all to go into their own business?? What a great idea!! And if that doesn't strike your fancy, well then you can go back to school to learn something new. Much better idea. Go to school for a few years (again) so you can graduate with another degree in a different field where there are no jobs available. Ugghhh!! You see why I choose 90210 and whatever cereal is on sale that week? Kelly and Dylan actually make me feel less miserable about my life than a trip to the unemployment office. LOL!
And then there are the people who will actually complain to me about their jobs. REALLY? really. Do I need to even go there? Would you complain to a paraplegic that your feet hurt from walking too much? I don't think so. So then why on God's "go green" earth would you complain to me about working late or what an asshole your boss is? I WISH I had that problem. Instead, I get pissed when there is no mail!
Now there are the supportive ones. And I must tip my hat to them. The few, like my husband, who rolls out of bed every morning at 4am. He works his ass of and has not once resented the fact that I am home every day, sleeping late, eating cereal and watching 90210. Lucky for him, I have become quite a domestic goddess. I intermingle my television & cereal schedule with cleaning, laundry, chores, bills, etc. Anything to not feel useless. And there is my mom, who calls every day to make sure I have not yet hung myself. Just kidding. I would never do that. I don't think the ceiling in my apartment would support my weight. I will say, mom can be tough. Every so often asking "what do you do all day?" What the hell do I do all day? Anything to not feel useless. Because at this point even the cats look at me and think "damn woman, get a job!"
Speaking of cats...on of ours died. As if things were not miserable enough. Merv passed away on February 2. I have to admit this was the absolute worst part of being unemployed. It was pretty unexpected and happened suddenly during a trip to the vet. But afterwards I had to go home to a house that was one cat short. There I got to sit jobless, catless, prideless. I now had all the time in the world to think about what had just happened. To replay the scene over and over of my cat having a stress reaction during a routine blood test and dying on the table right in front of me and my husband. My husband who had Merv for 15 years and referred to him as "his buddy". It sounds horrible because it was. Aside from the fact that I am a big time animal lover (see post about about Elmyra)this scene would turn anyone into a pile of mush. I actually had to take a xanax to calm myself and resume breathing at a normal pace. It was that bad and I had plenty of time to sit at home and think and sulk and cry.
So where am I now? Still unemployed, still missing Merv with a house so clean it is not next to Godliness, it is right in his lap. Because hey, I got nothing better to do. Until the government can put there drinks down long enough to realize that an extra $100 a month is not gonna change the fact that I have every commercial memorized, I remain, yours truly, unemployed.
But now I am saying the hell with it. I have nothing to be ashamed of. With people like Bernie Madoff, what the hell am I feeling sorry for? I did nothing to deserve losing my job. I wasn't fired. I merely became an end product of an economic disaster, much like many of my fellow Americans. And I am not hanging my head low anymore. Although I am not holding it high proud to be an American right now either. What I am doing is hoping that someone else out there in my situation reads this and says "Yeah me either! I have nothing to be ashamed of." Because I wonder about all the other people out there that stagger out of bed each morning to face another grueling day of endless job searching and calling in their unemployment claim and dealing with people who say things like "so no new jobs posted?" NO THERE HAVEN'T BEEN ANY NEWS JOBS POSTED SINCE I STILL HAD A DAMN JOB!!! SO DON'T ASK.
Frustration folks, that's what I am getting at. I worry what this lack of jobs could lead to. I wonder about things like will there be a mental illness epidemic? will the suicide rate increase? I wonder if anyone in Congress has thought about that?
The other day I got a notice in the mail saying due to economic stimulus (of which I am convinced there is no such thing) I will be getting an extra $25 a week in my paycheck. WOW!! BFD!! Is that honestly supposed to make me feel better? How about some support, some relief. Instead I have to show up to the unemployment office to listen to some miserable retiree tell me about all that unemployment services there are for me to take advantage of. Oh yes you didn't know? Well there is the training program in case you want to start your own business. Because with a booming economy like this what jobless person wouldn't want to risk it all to go into their own business?? What a great idea!! And if that doesn't strike your fancy, well then you can go back to school to learn something new. Much better idea. Go to school for a few years (again) so you can graduate with another degree in a different field where there are no jobs available. Ugghhh!! You see why I choose 90210 and whatever cereal is on sale that week? Kelly and Dylan actually make me feel less miserable about my life than a trip to the unemployment office. LOL!
And then there are the people who will actually complain to me about their jobs. REALLY? really. Do I need to even go there? Would you complain to a paraplegic that your feet hurt from walking too much? I don't think so. So then why on God's "go green" earth would you complain to me about working late or what an asshole your boss is? I WISH I had that problem. Instead, I get pissed when there is no mail!
Now there are the supportive ones. And I must tip my hat to them. The few, like my husband, who rolls out of bed every morning at 4am. He works his ass of and has not once resented the fact that I am home every day, sleeping late, eating cereal and watching 90210. Lucky for him, I have become quite a domestic goddess. I intermingle my television & cereal schedule with cleaning, laundry, chores, bills, etc. Anything to not feel useless. And there is my mom, who calls every day to make sure I have not yet hung myself. Just kidding. I would never do that. I don't think the ceiling in my apartment would support my weight. I will say, mom can be tough. Every so often asking "what do you do all day?" What the hell do I do all day? Anything to not feel useless. Because at this point even the cats look at me and think "damn woman, get a job!"
Speaking of cats...on of ours died. As if things were not miserable enough. Merv passed away on February 2. I have to admit this was the absolute worst part of being unemployed. It was pretty unexpected and happened suddenly during a trip to the vet. But afterwards I had to go home to a house that was one cat short. There I got to sit jobless, catless, prideless. I now had all the time in the world to think about what had just happened. To replay the scene over and over of my cat having a stress reaction during a routine blood test and dying on the table right in front of me and my husband. My husband who had Merv for 15 years and referred to him as "his buddy". It sounds horrible because it was. Aside from the fact that I am a big time animal lover (see post about about Elmyra)this scene would turn anyone into a pile of mush. I actually had to take a xanax to calm myself and resume breathing at a normal pace. It was that bad and I had plenty of time to sit at home and think and sulk and cry.
So where am I now? Still unemployed, still missing Merv with a house so clean it is not next to Godliness, it is right in his lap. Because hey, I got nothing better to do. Until the government can put there drinks down long enough to realize that an extra $100 a month is not gonna change the fact that I have every commercial memorized, I remain, yours truly, unemployed.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Atc's and me
So happy together! I am having so much fun creating these and trying out new techniques. I have been dying to play with my crackle paint. So I thought it would be a perfect medium for a "Vintage Christmas" ATC swap. I must say I was impressed. The crackle paints and distress inks work so nicely together. Give it up for t!m. Good stuff. And the best part was watching it crackle right before my eyes as I blasted it with the heat gun. It created a nice surface to rub the distress ink on. I really enjoyed making these. I am looking forward to some crafting time this 4 day weekend!! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
My latest obsession...
While honeymooning in AZ, we came across Frenzy Stamper. Wow! What a store! This was not an average scrapbook store, but a place geared more towards altered art, i.e. books, ATC's. If I had only known then that upon my return to the east coast, ATC's would be my new obsession.
When I finally got back to "normal" life (for lack of a better word) I was craving creativity. It had been months since I had scrapbooked or made a card or anything. I had been so involved with creating everything for my wedding. (invites, place cards, menus, etc). And while that was fun, I was seriously needing some uninhibited no holds barred cre-a-tivity!!! Not knowing where to begin I went here and began snurfing (as I like to call it). While there something rather magical happened. It is all a bit of a blur to me but I will explain as best as I can. I was poking around and somehow stumbled across ATC's. I thought this small venue would be a great way to jump start my creative juices. Next thing I know I am signed up for a "Glimmery Glitzy Christmas ATC Swap". Low and behold I was hooked. I found myself sitting in front of the tv surrounded by paper, inks, stickles, and my husband. This eventually led to a Friday night crop at Laura's where I was consumed with making ATC's. And I now have an arsenal of websites for swapping and suplies. I am even thinking of starting an ATC blog. Although, I have enough trouble staying on top of this one! LOL!
Anyway, here is my first ATC...
And some of my favorite places to swap:
SCS
Swap Bot
Collage Stuff
No comments:
When I finally got back to "normal" life (for lack of a better word) I was craving creativity. It had been months since I had scrapbooked or made a card or anything. I had been so involved with creating everything for my wedding. (invites, place cards, menus, etc). And while that was fun, I was seriously needing some uninhibited no holds barred cre-a-tivity!!! Not knowing where to begin I went here and began snurfing (as I like to call it). While there something rather magical happened. It is all a bit of a blur to me but I will explain as best as I can. I was poking around and somehow stumbled across ATC's. I thought this small venue would be a great way to jump start my creative juices. Next thing I know I am signed up for a "Glimmery Glitzy Christmas ATC Swap". Low and behold I was hooked. I found myself sitting in front of the tv surrounded by paper, inks, stickles, and my husband. This eventually led to a Friday night crop at Laura's where I was consumed with making ATC's. And I now have an arsenal of websites for swapping and suplies. I am even thinking of starting an ATC blog. Although, I have enough trouble staying on top of this one! LOL!
Anyway, here is my first ATC...
And some of my favorite places to swap:
SCS
Swap Bot
Collage Stuff
No comments:
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