A Card for Abby & Alyssa Update

Hi, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your weekends & you were busy with very fun things! My weekend was weird, but I do have some good news to share.

First, an update on Alyssa. Alyssa got to spend some time with her new daughter Tatiana in the ICU yesterday. She also has started working on a deep breathing apparatus, and was able to stand up out of bed for the first time yesterday evening. It sounds like she is doing better and better. Thank you all again for your continued support!

Second, I made this card last week & decided to take some pictures last night {couldn't sleep ~ darn you, Wild Cherry Pepsi!} to have something cheerful to share on the blog.

Last week, I received a valentine sock monkey as a present from Dawn's daughter Abby. She was in the store with Dawn and was picking a sock monkey for her sister. Dawn told her I liked sock monkeys, too, and so then Abby insisted they had to pick one for me as well. Aw! So cute! :D So this is the sock monkey Abby picked for me:




And here is the sock monkey making friends with my other sock monkey pals. They are snuggled in there under a blanket a friend of mine made for my sock monkeys. She also made me a genuine sock monkey from real socks.




So I made Abby a thank you card using an old K & Company sock monkey 3D sticker. I hoard these sock monkey stickers like crazy because I only have a couple left and I love sock monkeys. But how could I not use one on a card for this sweet little girl?




I also decorated her envelope with some Technique Tuesday stamps and some pretty stickles. I stamped the Technique Tuesday "Big Timber" letters in Colorbox "Azurite" Fluid Chalk Ink & then outlined each letter with Ranger "Diamond" Stickles.




Dawn did tell me that I spelled her name incorrectly on the card and envelope {there's no "e"}, but she said it was okay because Abby is only three and doesn't know how to read yet. Which is good because that envelope took me a long time & I don't think I could have made myself redo it. We can only hope that she loses the card before she learns how to read.

Knowing Dawn as I do, though, I am sure she will save it forever in an archival shadow box stored inside a fireproof safe just to torture me.

Anyway, I hope Abby enjoys her sock monkey card as much as I am enjoying my new sock monkey friend! Thank you all again so much for your prayers, warm wishes, support and kind comments over the weekend ~ it meant so very much to me and also to my friends.

~Kathryn :D
Reporting live from the monkey house.

Update on Alyssa

Before I go to bed, I wanted to let you know the most recent update on Alyssa's condition.

Alyssa is out of surgery and in the ICU. Her right kidney was removed, and all bleeding was stopped. As of now, her pulse, blood pressure and other vital signs have returned to optimal levels. She will remain in the ICU for a few days as there is still risk for infection, but her family sounds very hopeful.

I am very relieved and also very grateful to all of you. Thank you all so much for your love, prayers and support ~ it means so much to me! You guys are the best!

UPDATE: Alyssa is now awake in the ICU and says she feels fine & wants to get up and walk around. It sounds like she is doing well & is on her way to making a full recovery!

Prayer/Healing Thought Request *UPDATED*

This evening my friend Alyssa suffered a kidney aneurysm as a complication of childbirth {the baby is fine}. To prevent her from bleeding out, the kidney was removed. The doctors are now attempting a procedure to restore blood flow to her leg which may need to be amputated due to complications from blood loss.

If you are a praying person, I would be so deeply appreciative if you would say one for my friend Alyssa and her family and the doctors who are treating her. If you're not a praying person, I would deeply appreciate positive, warm and healing thoughts sent her way as well.

This is Alyssa's fourth child and she is such an active, vibrant person. This is just so scary and unreal. I will let you know updates as I find them out.

Thank you so very much,

Kathryn

UPDATE: Alyssa is out of surgery. The bleeding has completely stopped and her pulse and blood pressure are improving. They are now the highest they have been since she was admitted. She is not entirely out of the woods yet, and will remain closely monitored. The family sounds very hopeful and they ask for continued prayers and warm wishes for a safe and full recovery. I will update again with any further news. Thank you all so much for your lose, prayers and support ~ it means so much to me!

New Video: Home is Where You Are

Hi, everyone!

Once again I have thrown down with my unfinished projects bin & once again I HAVE TRIUMPHED!!! Take that unfinished projects bin! You thought you could win this war? Well, think again!

Anywho, all misdirected aggression aside, this new video is a two-for-one for me. It crosses something off my unfinished projects list AND it crosses something off my project request list. YEAH!!! TAKE THAT PROJECT REQUEST LIST!!! The request was to to a home-themed mini album, which I have done here.




I finally uploaded my "Home is Where You Are" mini album video over on my YouTube channel. You can view the tutorial below, or you can follow this link to watch it on YouTube: Home is Where You Are Mini Album.



There won't be any tutorial or making of vids on this album because I worked on it during my UStream show, BUT I do have recordings of those shows, so you can see it coming together. Here are the links to the UStream recordings where I worked on this album:

Home Mini, Part One
Home Mini, Part Two
Home Mini, Part Three
Home Mini, Part Four
Home Mini, Part Five

Thanks so much for watching the video & I hope you enjoy the UStream recordings. I am having a good time getting all these projects cleared out of my unfinished projects bin. I am on a roll, and I'm going to ride this wave as long as I have the energy. Once it stops being fun, I'll have to change my approach, but for now it's been a ton of fun!

Something else that's fun about this album is that Jill won a kit from me of the exact same papers stamps & everything that I used on this album. {And even though she started hers after mine, she finished it before me, but never mind about that} But if you want to see how two albums using the same concept and the same format and the same supplies can still be totally different, check out her blog post about her finished album: Jill's Welcome Home Mini.

~Kathryn :D
Unfinished project ninja assassin!

P.S. I am now down to only ten YouTube project requests remaining ~ yay!

Superbowl Party on the Beach + Giveaway Alert!

Hi, everyone!

First, I just want to let you know that Darice is giving away 40 packs of their new collaboartive line of papers with Ranger. You can even choose whether you would rather receive the "Distress" pack or the "Adirondack" pack when you register to win! Check it out here: Core'dinations + Ranger Giveaway.

Now that's out of the way, let's talk parties! Since I am not into the whole football thing & don't plan on watching the Superbowl, we will be having a little Superbowl Party on The Beach! This year the Superbowl will be on Sunday, February 6, 2011 with kickoff at 6:30 PM Eastern USA time. So that's when we'll kick-off our UStream show! The show will run during the Superbowl.

We'll have UStream during the game, fun chatting & some random prize drawings. So if you've been less than impressed with the Superbowl commercials lately, come join us for some scrapping instead!

~Kathryn :D

P.S. UStream details such as links and times can be found on the right side-bar under "Watch me live!"

P.P.S. The Superbowl Party is in lieu of the February Virtual Crop, so there will be no crop this month.

What's Your Color IQ?

Hi, everyone!

Yesterday Mr. Lifeguard sent me a link to an online color hue IQ test. I was a bit stressed about taking it at first because I always thought I had a good eye for color & if I was wrong about that, I really didn't want to know. But I decided to take it anyway & much to my relief:




To test yourself, go to the X-Rite Online Color Challenge page and arrange the tiles as instructed: Online Color Challenge. It doesn't take too long & it is a fun little challenge!

~Kathryn :D
has perfect color vision but is as blind as a bat otherwise

P.S. Darice is giving away 40 packs of their new collaboartive line of Ranger Core'dinations cardstock. You can even choose whether you would rather receive the "Distress" pack or the "Adirondack" pack when you register to win! Check it out here: Core'dinations + Ranger Giveaway.

New Video: LOVE Mini Album

Hi, everyone!

I have an update in the war against the unfinished projects. They tried to recruit a new project of mine to their evil cause, but I was able to stop them & rescue the poor innocent mini before they had brought it over to the dark side.




Having rescued my now complete "LOVE" mini album from their evil clutches, I decided to do a video. Mostly to rub it in. I just uploaded the new video over on my YouTube channel. You can view the completed album below, or you can follow this link to watch it on YouTube: Love Mini Album.



There won't be any tutorial or making of vids on this album because I worked on it during my UStream show, BUT I do have recordings of those shows, so you can see it coming together. Here are the links to the UStream recordings where I worked on this album:

V-Day 2-in-1 Project: Love Cards + Mini, Part 1
V-Day 2-in-1 Project: Love Cards + Mini, Part 2
V-Day 2-in-1 Project: Love Cards + Mini, Part 3
V-Day 2-in-1 Project: Love Cards + Mini, Part 4

Thanks so much for watching the video & I hope you enjoy the UStream recordings. I am having a good time getting all these projects cleared out of my unfinished projects bin, as well as completing new projects when I start them and not allowing them to languish. I am still on a roll & feeling good!

~Kathryn :D
Revoltingly efficient lately

New Video: Gate Fold Mini Album

Hi, everyone!

So, all month I've been on a kick to finish unfinished projects, follow-up on projects requests, and basically just stop putting things off and actually get them done already.

This request is my oldest request ~ to do a tutorial on assembling a gate fold mini album like my Christmas 2008 album. Yes, you read that right. I've been putting off doing this tutorial for TWO YEARS! Who knows what my problem is? It's clearly some kind of sickness.

Anyway, so I finally uploaded the gate fold chipboard album tutorial video over on my YouTube channel. You can view the tutorial below, or you can follow this link to watch it on YouTube: Gate Fold Album Tutorial.



I hope you enjoyed the tutorial & have fun making a gate fold album of your very own. I will take great delight in actually taking something OFF my project request list since I am normally putting things ON it.

TGIF!

~Kathryn :D

More Steampunk Shares!

Hi, everyone!

I have been chugging right along with my "Steampunk Debutante" album. I just have two layouts left to do + the front cover. Below are the two most recent layouts. Remember that you can always click on a photo to see a larger image. Plus if you want a more detailed look, I will be sharing these on my UStream show today. UStream links, details and showtimes are on the sidebar under "Watch me live!"

The "Lace" Page:




This page has a black rosette trim layered over black lace. I used a strand of pearls to separate the trim from the lace and break up some of that dense black ~ and also to add a little touch of femininity. I added a Prima gallery rose, a tag from the paper collection, some velvet leaves and a Tim Holtz memo pin to the bottom left corner for a nice embellishment cluster. I used a Tim Holtz jump ring to dangle a 7 Gypsies charm from the memo pin.

The "Corset" Page:




This page uses the same image as the facing page. I figured that the owner would choose to put a large picture on the facing page & would cover up the lovely corset advertisement so I used it again here. The corset image is concealing a magnet holding this gate fold photo mat closed. I accented the corners of the mat with metal photo corners and some Wild Orchid Crafts flowers.

The "Corset Page Open:




This is what the corset page looks like fully open.

The "Lace" Page and the "Corset" page Together:




This is what the two pages look like side-by-side as they will be in the album.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great week!

~Kathryn :D

A Recent Conversation With My Sister ...

Disclaimer: this conversation took place over the phone.

Me: So, today I go to the dermatologist to see if my creepy mole is just normal creepy or melanoma creepy.

Her: That's good. At least you'll get it over with and you can stop worrying about it.

Me: Well, I didn't think I was worried about it, but then I had a dream last night that I had to wait three and a half hours in the dermatologist's waiting room and there was a psychotic murdering ghost in the waiting room with me.

Her: Was it one of those dreams where you're the only one who can see it & so everyone thinks you're crazy?

Me: No, the nurse told me that it's fine as long as you don't let the ghost know you can see it. But if you make eye contact then HE WILL KILL YOU!!!

Her: So, how did that go?

Me: I was doing okay until he came and sat so close to me he was practically on my lap. Then I got really scared.

Her: Did you ever find out why he was there?

Me: Yeah, they said he was the ghost of a murderer who was killed by police snipers while holding the patients in the office hostage.

Her: Wait ~ why did the murderer bring a goat with him to hold people hostage?

Me: What!? No, no, no! Not a goat. A ghost.

Her: Oh, that makes so much more sense. I was imagining a demon goat.

Me: A demon goat would have been creepier.

Her: Yeah, especially since he was sitting in your lap.



Then later I texted her from the waiting room.

Me: I have been waiting at the dermatologist for over an hour! I hate when doctors do this ~ so arrogant! ::grr::

Her: OMG! Your dream is coming true! DON'T LOOK AT THE GOAT!

Me: But he's staring RIGHT AT ME!!!



Then she emailed me a motivational poster to enjoy while I was waiting.




Isn't family just awesome?

~Kathryn :D

P.S. The mole was just normal creepy, not melanoma creepy, so no worries. Plus it's gone now anyways.