Autumn Flowers

I finally managed to complete a card using my new Faber Castell watercolor pencils. My inspiration for this card came from Dave Brethauers new book Card Design. I used Starthmore artist quality 140# watercolor paper and my large rectangle nestabilities die for the flower background. I usually don't make cards this simple but I am really liking this. I hope you do too. By the way I have decided there is not much difference between the artist quality and student quality Faber-Castell watercolor pencils. When I went to use them on Saturday to make this card I realized that Dick Blick forgot to include two of the Artist quality pencils in my order so they are rushing them out to me and hopefully I will have them tomorrow. I am really enjoying them though.
On another note Emilia is getting really excited about Halloween tomorrow. I will let you all know how it goes in my next post. Have a good night.

Lots of updates and a little fun

It has been a beautiful fall day here and Emilia and I got to spend part of it at our Botanic Gardens with my mom and had a great time.
The TJ Technique of the month contest I had entered is over now. I was not one of the winners but now I can share my entry with you. I made this card for my mom who's birthday was on Oct. 8th. The cupcake stamp is from Lasting Impressions with Panache and I colored it in with my copic sketch markers. I also finally got to use my scalloped and plain nestability square diecuts too. The background was done with a new tj technique called cuttlebug smoosh and the birthday cuttlebug embossing folder. I really like how this came out I hope you do too.
I got my Artist Quality Faber-Castell watercolor pencils today. So far I have not noticed much difference between the way they color and the student quality ones I got last week. I am hoping to get a chance to play more with them this weekend though so be on the lookout for a lot of card samples with them soon.
TV land has been very interesting this week. I am still trying to get over Marie Osmond fainting on live TV Monday night. That had to be horrible for her but I really admire her wanting to come back on after that. Jon and Kate + 8 and Little People Big World has started back up on TLC again. Emilia and I both really like those shows. I am amazed at how Kate handles all those kids. I really admire her though. Matt looks so funny driving that big ol motor home on Little People Big World but it is fun to watch them go on a road trip in it. I don't like to travel but if I did I think that would be the only way I could do it.
I noticed on Trudee Sauers blog today that she has been tagged to tell 7 random/wierd/silly things about herself and instead of tagging 7 others she has challenged other bloggers to do this too and share it with her so think I will go ahead take that challenge. In no particular order these are 7 random/weird/silly things about me.
1. I can wiggle my ears
2. I am not a morning person
3. I don't like chocolate
4. I hate waiting for things
5. I don't drive
6. I think the #5 is bad luck
7. I am afraid of black toilet seats
If anyone else wants to share 7 random/weird/silly things about themselves I would love to hear them. Well that's about it from here for now. Have a good night.

Watercolor pencil comparison

My sister went by Hobby Lobby for me yesterday and picked up some Faber-Castell watercolor pencils for me to try. Unfortunately she did not have the 40% off coupon I had to use on them with her so I ended up paying full price for the set and it only had 8 of the colors I wanted it it but at least I was still able to do a comparison between them and the Prismacolor watercolor pencils I already had. In my opinion I would have to say they are very comparable. I feel the prismacolor goes on much smoother and seems to be a bit brighter but the Faber castells seem to blend better. I also realized that the ones my sister bought me are not artist quality so there may be a difference with them. Because of that I felt compelled to order the rest of the colors I wanted in the Faber-Castells artist quality online through Dick Blick yesterday so I will let you know if there really is a difference between the two of them when I get them. The picture I have included in this post is a sample using both the primacolor and faber-castell art grip aquarelle watercolor pencils I have now so if there is anyone else wanting to make this decison they can see how they look before they buy them now. Unfortunately I have now spent a lot more money than I wanted to see the difference in the two but I am hopeful that once I get the artist quality Faber-Castells in the colors I want I will be making a lot of cards with them. My goal is to be able to make a card a day like Debbie Olson does and it will also help justify all the expense. Hopefully one day I will actually be able to achieve this goal!

Checking In

Sorry for not posting anything for over a week. Time just seems to have gotten away from me again. First off Emilia wanted me to post a picture of her beloved Hippos Lila and Lola,since I posted a picture of my bear Emily last time.
I have not had much time to stamp so I don't have anything new to share with you all right now but I am hoping to have some new things to share with you soon though. I did get a new book last week called Card Design. It is a beautiful book and the authors samples are wonderful. One of the things that I really want to try is the watercolor pencil techniques. I wish he had more step by step tutorials in the book though. Turns out his samples are done with the Faber-Castell watercolor pencils but I only have the Prismacolor ones. I think I am going to get some of the Faber-Castell ones and try them to see if I can really see a difference so be on the look out for some watercolor card samples soon.
On a different note Emilia is getting really excited about Halloween. She has decided she wants to be a pioneer this year. We were able to find her a great pioneer costume on eBay that looks just like the outfit her American Girl doll Kirsten is wearing. She is counting down the days until Halloween now.
In TV land Sabrina and Helio are still going strong on Dancing With The Stars. Emilia and I are still enjoying Kid Nation. I would have to say my favorite show of the new season is Private Practice so far.
Well that is about all from here for now. Have a good night.

Knitting and stuff

This is my bear Emily. I have had her since I was 12 yrs old. As you can see she is very loved. She is wearing the sweater I just finished knitting for her and was telling you about in a previous post. I am pretty happy with how it came out and I think it looks good on her too even though it is a little big. I am really glad I know how to do a neck on a sweater now. My next project is this thishopefully it will be a lot easier than the sweater.
I was able to get some stamping done this weekend and finally got to use my new Spellbinders Nestablities dies too but I can't share what I made just yet because I am planning on entering it in a contest. As soon as the contest is over I will share it though.
I think I am finally caught up on all the new fall shows I watch now. I tried to watch Pushing Daisey's last week but gave up on it after the first 10 minutes. My hubby really likes it though. Tonight is the vote off on Dancing With The
Stars, I really hope Wayne will go. I think Sabrina is the best.
No new recipes this Tuesday. I am making one of my families favorites though chicken and peppers. Well that is about it from here for now. I hope you have a good night.

Circus Fun

This is a card that I made by masking the images, coloring them in with my copic markers and airbrushing the background. Stamps are from Alluring Impressions.
Tuesdays dinner was a success. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it before it was gone. I am sure I will be making it again though because everyone really liked it. Tonight I am going to be trying the Penne with chicken and spinach dish again that I made a few Tuesdays ago. This time I am making it with beef instead of chicken, cutting down on the amount of sauce in it and using dried basil this time. Hopefully we will all like it better this way. I will let you know how it goes.
I missed the finale of Dancing with the starts Tuesday night because my VCR taped the wrong channel. I heard that the other model and Wayne Newton were in the bottom 2 and the male model got voted off. I think that was definitely the wrong decision. Wayne Newton really needs to go. Hung was the winner of Top Chef. Dale came in a close second though. Finally got to watch the season premiere of Ugly Betty last night that was quite a shocker. I really thought that Hilda's fiance was still alive after all but unfortunately she was just dreaming though. That was really sad. Hopefully I can watch the season premiere of Greys Anatomy tonight. We will all be watching Survivor tonight first though.
I got my new computer today. Hubby is working on setting it up now so hopefully I will be using it when I post next time. I will try to post pictures of the teddy bear sweater I just finsihed next time too. Well that is about it from here for now.
Have a good night.

New Recipe Tuesday and other stuff

Today is new recipe Tuesday. I am going to be trying out a new recipe called Mediterranean Chicken and Pasta from my new Southern Living 2003 Annual Recipe cookbook my friend Linda from NC sent me. I will let you know how it comes out. Sounds yummy though.
I also thought I would share another card I made with you all today. The technique I used for this one is called rainbow double and was from the Aug/Sept Technique Junkies newsletter. The stamps used were from Alluring Impressions. To make the circles in the middle of the flowers, I punched circles from card stock and added Crystal Effects to them which really makes them pop. I hope to get to try some new techniques from the new Oct/Nov TJ newsletter soon. Right now I am on a mission to find a foam brayer which is needed for a few of the techniques I want to try though. I bought one on ebay a week and a half ago but it still has not arrived and the seller will not get back me about where it might be so I have a feeling I may never see it. I hate sellers like that. I don't think they will be easy to find locally but I am still hopeful I will find something that will work before Saturday so I can try one of the new techniques that requires a foam brayer to make my moms birthday card.
Tonight is the vote off on Dancing with the stars. I think Wayne should definitely be the one to go home we shall see though. In my opinion Julianne and Heilo are on the top again with Sabrina and Mel close behind. I finally watched the season premiere of HOUSE last night one of my favorite shows. That episode was freaky but a good one though.
Yesterday I finally finished a teddy bear sweater I started a few years ago when I decided to take up knitting. I had put it away to work on easier things for a few years but took it back out a few months ago to try and finish it. I had a bit of a hard time trying to figure out how to do the neck but I finally figured it out with a little help from a client of mine and knittinghelp.com. I would highly recommend that site to anyone that needs knitting help. It has really helped me to learn how to knit. I hope to post pictures of it soon. It looks great on my bear Emily though. Well that is about all from here for now. I am off to walk on the treadmill before I cook. Have a good night.