help squidoo give away $80k

I should have this problem ... but between now and October 15 (or 40k votes, whichever happens first) the kind folkes at Squidoo are enlisting our aid to vote from a list of charities to determine which they should give away up to $80k of their profits.

Since their inception, they've been focused on helping people spread the word about and raise money for causes they believe in. According to their Web site, to date their community has earned enough money to support several animal shelters, to build a school in Cambodia, to invest in an entrepreneur in Tanzania and to pay for cutting edge research into the causes and cure of Juvenile Diabetes. Among many, many other wonderful stories and successful donations.

Along the way, Squidoo has also been saving up 5% of their total income and now they're asking for our help in giving some of it away! For each vote, they'll give that organization $2.

Vote for your favorite Squidoo partner charities here.

SU customer panel app

Stampin' Up! solicits members to make up a customer panel who provide feedback on Stampin' Up! and its products in exchange for a free goodie box of stamping and/or crafting products every three months. Panelists participate by answering online surveys about stamping and crafts.

More about the Stampin' Up! customer panel:

• Stampin’ Up! uses feedback for research only and does not share answers or personal information with anyone else.
• Stampin’ Up! will not contact you and ask you to purchase anything, or attempt to recruit you to be a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator.
• Panel members can expect to participate in the panel for at least six months. The panel is occasionally refreshed to gain new insights as well as allow others the same opportunity.
• There is no cost for you to participate in the panel.
• Your only duty as a panel member is to answer surveys. Surveys typically take between five and ten minutes to complete.
• The frequency of surveys can vary depending on the research needs of Stampin Up! Panel members will receive no more than one survey a week, but typically should expect to receive one or two surveys a month.
• You can quit the panel at any time.
• You will be selected to join and notified via email if your background matches Stampin’ Up!’s research needs.
• You must live in the United States or Canada to be on the panel.
• You must complete at least 80% of the surveys sent to you to receive a goodie box.
• Stampin' Up! demonstrators are not eligible to be on the panel.
• While not anticipated, the research needs of Stampin' Up! may change at any time resulting in the dismissal of all or some of the panel members.

It this sounds like something you'd be interested in participating on, submit your application here.

snack-size candy holder

This is one of my favorite crafts from a crafty get-together I attended this past Thursday. I don't think I'd be able to make enough to use to distribute candy to the masses we see on Halloween night, but they're cute if you're thinking of making maybe enough for your kids' classes or saving some candy aside for neighborhood kids that you recognize!

latest note pad

I usually keep a little note pad in my purse ... the latest is a CUTE cat but lately it's looking a bit worn and is running short on unused pages. My next one's pictured at left - isn't it sweet? And fall-ish?

I've been heading out to dinner and then getting together for crafts monthly with friends lately - sometimes making cards, sometimes gifts or household items. A few of the gals sell CTMH or SU and two have taken turns leading the group in making the projects. Mary led us in making this notebook. I'd recently picked up a Zutter bind-it-all and some coasters to make a calendar and notepad, and had procrastinated. Wasn't THIS a timely project?! Now I guess I have no good reason to not get started on that calendar ...

best witches

BEST WITCHES for a HAPPY HALLOWEEN ~ that's what the inside sentiment says! I picked up this cute holiday DP at my last LSS stop and the ribbon's some I had remaining from last year - dunno who put this stuff out - bats, ghosts, etc that are SO STINKIN' CUTE!

stamps: Stampendous mini witch shoes, studio g sentiments; paper: Imaginisce Halloweeny DP, SU's Green Galore, Vintage Violet, Whisper White & Paper Reflections' black cardstocks; ink: SU Vintage Violet, StazOn Jet black, Tri-C watercolor markers; accessories: Offray black and unknown bat ribbon

a Halloween to die for

QuicKutz die, that is ... I was planning on using this cutie patootie skeletin for a Halloween card, and the current Caardvarks' "Live and Let Die" challenge just so happened to call for using a die ~ kismet! My buddy Skelly's just stepped out of the coffin, ready to celebrate; heck, the coffin door's still hanging open (I cut it with the hinge area on the fold)!

stamps: studio g $1 stamp sentiment; paper: SU's Ghostly Greetings DP, Whisper White cardstock, Paper Reflections' black cardstock; ink: StazOn Jet Black; tools: Cuttlebug w QuicKutz skeletin die

to Dan & Susan

Warmest wishes to Dan and Susan, who're getting married next weekend. My boss asked me to make a card using hydrangeas in the palest of greens, and the palest of pinks as an accent color - colors they'll use at their wedding. The inside sentiment is a snippet of the wedding song, Someone to Watch Over Me, in the form of a pull-out card.

I printed the hydrangea image twice - on vellum and again on a mottled light green cardstock, then cut the flowers from the green cardstock. I colored the back of the vellum cardstock using green watercolor markers, then mounted the green mottled flowers to the back of the vellum and triple-matted it on Shimmery White, Medium Fairy Tale Pink (so appropriate a color name, don't you think?! wink!), and some beautifully textured dark green Ruche cardstock. I scored both the outside and inside ivory cardstock to match. Thinking it still needed something, I added some mini pearls and added a touch of SU stampin' glitter to the largest flowers. Hope they like it!

stamps: n/a; paper: Colormates' Medium Fairy Tale Pink, Prism? unknown mottled green, SU Shimmery White and Vellum, Ruche unknown dark green textured cardstocks; ink: Tri-C watercolor markers; accessories: Mike's stick-on pearls and SU Stampin' Glitter

take Angel's poll yet?

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day, folkes!

Angel Wilde has posted a poll to see whether we're interested in her posting daily challenges preceding her birthday. I'm here to tell ya they were pretty fun last year, and ask you to vote AND spread the word!

If she receives 100 "in favor" votes by the morning of 9/26 she'll post run another set of challenges ... so stop by and vote in favor of her posting!

... and note: Thar be blog candy on the post linked above!

enabler alert!

ChrissyD recently reached 40K hits and will be giving away the stamp set pictured at left! If you don't already visit often, you really should ... and definitely before 9/23 (hint hint!)!

countdown - ya got 2 days!

... to September 19th and International Talk Like A Pirate Day! Arr!

My pirate name's Iron Anne Vane. Here's what the kind folkes at fidius.org had to say about ME: "A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. You tend to blend into the background occasionally, but that's okay, because it's much easier to sneak up on people and disembowel them that way. Arr!"

So, what's yours?!

Boo!

I had company this weekend and, while I READ plenty of blogs, I didn't do any scrappin' of my own. My Mom and I traipsed around the city of Flint MI, visiting 3 of the 7 different locations that housed 300+ quilts displayed during the Flint Festival of Quilts 2008 exhibit. I could've spent at least another day to take in more, but wasn't able to take off work. Don't you HATE when work gets in the way of your social life?! Regardless, AWESOME STUFF!! But, I digress ...

I'm still on Halloween cards, and this one's made using Amy of Prairie Paper & Ink's Friday Sketch! #28. The DP's from my hoard of CI DP I'd picked up last fall. You ever have paper you like so much you almost don't want to use it?! - well, that's my deal with this stock ... sigh ...

stamps: Gina K's spooky silhouettes, have a spooktacular Halloween; paper: Color Mates and Paper Reflections card stocks, Creative Imaginations' DP; ink: StazOn Jet Black; accessories: unknown ribbon, Reminisce's scary tactics self-adhesive diecut stickers

side note from Sue: Who else besides me didn't realize that GinaK's stamps and StampingFreak.com were one and the same?! Go figure! I'd just gone back to search who I picked up the inside sentiment from and went to their web site only to be redirected! I LOVE this Halloween font!

blog candy alert

What, no posting again?! Seems lately like I only post on weekends lately. I know ... I know, but hopefully I'll be back later in the day. 'Til then, check out L'il Buck's Creations for some blog booty (I know exactly who I'd give the pumpkin seed card to ... wink to PJ!), and while you're there, send congrats on her over 20k hits!

blog candy alert

The kind folkes at Sheetload Shortcuts have posted blog candy in advance of a new product release - clear and frosted card blanks. The clear is 10 mil and the frosted is 14 mil thick and they're fingerprint-resistant!

congrats bro'!

... or, the psychic ladies at CAM, part deux! The gals were just so uncanny in coming up with projects to free time for me this past weekend. We used a die star shape but I don't have the deets on any of the supplies for this one!

Micki led us in the making of this card, the past weekend's make-'n-take project at CAM. Lo' and behold, this one's off in tomorrow's mail to my brother, who, I'm geeked to report, just got a new job! Whoo hoo!

get well soon, sailor!

This card's for a buddy who's currently off work recovering from a broken ankle. She sails most weekends, weather permitting, and doesn't blog roll so I'm figuring it's safe to post it ahead of its delivery. I don't recall the colors of their sailboat or I'd have filled it in to match ... such is life ... so "BC," this one's for you!

I'd picked up this stamp from a "new-to-you" sale held at CAM last month, not realizing I'd be needing it so quickly, and some used Fiskars' texture plates online recently (thanx, Donna - I'm glad to report they worked fine w my Cuttlebug - whoo hoo!). The card's based on a recent CHF Weekly Challenge.

stamps: Club Scrap's ltd ed 2-part sailboat, Hampton Art's studio g sentiment; paper: Paper Reflections' black, SU's Tempting Turquoise, Whisper White cardstocks; ink: StazOn's Jet Black, SU's Tempting Turquoise; accessories: Jolee's dimensionals from a Peter Pan set; tools: Cuttlebug w Fiskars' wave texture plate

SU holiday mini catty

Whoo hoo! Sorry, checkbooks everywhere, but the URLs to the holiday mini cattys have been leaked. There's only 1-2 I've GOTTA have ... but, oh, so many stamp sets in here I'd LIKE to have! I'll post a link to the US version at the right side within my SU links. Gotta run and make a card for tomorrow and I'll check in later to post that! See ya' later, alligators!

busy day at CAM

I've come to the conclusion that the talented ladies at CAM are psychic (or izzit psycho?!)! First the lovely and talented Pat L led our QuicKutz club meeting today in the making of the two of the projects pictured here. The incredibly cute dishwasher status tag is staying at my house. Methinks I'm gonna make a run to Mike's to pick up some Mod Podge this week to seal it before leaving it on the dishwasher. I've never used the stuff so it'll be a learning experience for me.



Pat led us in making this card too - I've the birds die at home and some long rectangle Nesties but no ovals - they're high on my wish list, LOL. Our class time involved using the Nesties embossing mat and the Revolution to add the beveled edges to some QuicKutz dies. Well, perfect timing - this card went to my Mom in celebration of Grandparents Day, which is Sunday. I love this sentiment stamp set, don't you?! Tune in later for the 3rd card ... hopefully can upload it Monday after work!

back to school

Sept 2nd marks the first day back to school for both my boys ... and my eldest has a substitute teacher to start off the year. I made a card for him based on Kazan's Sketch #8 layout at 2sketches4you and both Allison's AFSS33 and All That Scraps' ATSDTC16 subject challenge. I didn't want to hide any of the cutesie specialty ribbon so I moved the embellishment to below the sentiment.

stamps: n/a; paper: CTMH stash on hand from my winnings of a demo contest last year, Paper Reflections' black cardstocks; ink: PC-generated inside sentiment; accessories: Jolee's dimensional schoolbus, Oriental Trading ribbon, EK Sucess' phrase cafe stickers, star punch