More Stripes

What is it with it always raining over Easter? Five days off work this year and the weather is miserable. Cold and raining, I guess this really does mean Winter is just around the corner. Case in point, I have my ugg boots on today.

Normally I would be snuggled up on the couch avoiding housework and reading a book. I am attempting to read the book Wicked, as I LOVED the musical so very much, but sadly the book is absolutely NOTHING like the theatre production. I am struggling to get through it. I have been reading it for weeks, which is very slow going for me. So given how uninterested I am in reading, it's good that I can avoid housework a different way now - by making cards!

This first one is like deja vu - exactly the same as the first striped card, but with a different CC Design stamped image. This is my new favourite colour combination - pale blue and pink. I am not thrilled with the colouring of her hair, but I figure I'm learning so I am allowed to make mistakes.

I've entered this one into the Crafts and Me Pink & Sweet Challenge
This next card was my attempt to do a landscape card, and not to simply replicate the above design for the third time running. :)

A teeny Easter Card

As it is Good Friday today and I am heading to the Easter Show today, I'm full of happy Easter thoughts - or that could just be the chocolate talking.

I thought I'd make a quick little Easter card for a friend working at the Show today. She's had a rough few weeks and I thought this little fellow, accompanied by a bunny of the Cadbury kind, might cheer her up. I'd coloured in this bunny a while ago, and thought he'd be perfect.

As he was inspired by the Lollipop Ladies Easter Egg challenge, I've entered him in. Just for kicks I've also entered him in Stamp n Doodle Easter Challenge & the Creatalicious Easter Challenge

Blog This - Challenge 72

I stumbled across this Challenge through the blog of a friend. Her post was incredibly moving and prompted me to write my own. After all, this blog is about more than just my crafty endeavours - because given they are often short lived, this blog may not survive if that was the case!

So, the Blog This Challenge is to blog -  "If you were the boss of the world, what is one thing you would change?"

There are so many things that I would like to change - I would like to end the stigma that is associated with being childfree, for people to stop saying I am selfish because I don't want children of my own. I would like for the sale of pets through petshops to be banned to prevent impulse purchases of puppies and kittens who often then end up in shelters and destroyed because they simply weren't thought through. I would like to see more funding for the mentally and physically handicapped. The list goes on.

However this week something stands out for me more than any of the others. For this week I have been the victim of bullying. Through no fault of my own I have been blamed for something I did not do, and have been publically slandered on Facebook and have been the subject of many rumours. All this nastiness has propelled me straight back to High School, where the fact I had a handicapped sister made me the victim of many cruel taunts. Being bullied in High School defined me. I know it played a role in my decision not to have kids of my own, and it made me very insecure for a very long time.

For years I struggled with what I had been through, and I am incredibly proud of myself to have overcome it. I am now a successful person, both personally and professionally, and it is a rare thing for me to feel bad about myself (apart from wishing I was thinner, had nicer skin and all the other typical girl stuff!). Yet all that good stuff was forgotten instantly when faced with the bullying of some former colleagues. All week I felt tortured. Why would they blame me? Would it have an affect on my career if people were to hear it? Would I lose friends who chose to believe it? 

It amazed me that almost 20 years out of High School all that insecurity was just sitting below the surface. My good, kind and confident friends told me to shrug it off. That of course I didn't do anything and not to worry about them, but I couldn't let it go. I never expected to be the victim of bullying at 36.

I am almost over it now. As I sit back, gain perspective and surround myself with genuine people, I know I have nothing to fear from these keyboard cowards. But I know that all it will take is another Facebook post and I will be right back to where I started. It makes me feel so bad for the kids being bullied at school nowadays. At least I was born in the 70s, when I could be bullied at school but then go home and feel safe. I could forget about it until the next day. The victims of bullies now have it so much worse in this technologically advanced world. It's online, it's public and it's 24/7.

Let me be the boss of the world for one day, and I would dedicate every resource I could throw at it to find some way to put an end to bullying.

Oh, and if you see those bitches, give them a kick, just for me.

Pretty In Stripes

My Sizzix Big Shot arrived in the mail this week, but of course I didn't order any dies or embossing plates to go with it so it sat, unopened, on the loungeroom floor for 2 days. Last night I went to my favourite crafty place on the way home from work, anxious to get the Spellbinder Nestabilities I saw there, only to find it's not open for Thursday last night shopping. Boo!

As I have a couple of cards to make this weekend for good friends of mine, I have had to plough on sans Big Shot. I made this card last night, using a gorgeous CC Design stamp. I love the colours - which if you knew me you may find strange - I am not much of a girly girl, you'd be hard pressed to find anything pink anywhere in my entire house. I guess cards are the exception!

I have entered this card in Pile it On - Smells like rubber Challenge.

And it was all going so well!

Here are the results of yesterday's card making efforts. I loved this card as it was coming together, but sadly I fell at the final hurdle and stuck it down crooked with some very hardy glue (it would not come back off!). So I tried to make it look intentional, and deliberately roughed up the edges, but that had limited success. I need to take things a bit slower - or at least think things through before doing them. Case in point - last night I dropped my ereader in the bath. I saw him sink to the bottom and bubble before I snatched him back out.. and thankfully my very handy husband pulled him to pieces, dried him off and we woke up this morning to see him almost recovered.

Anyway, I love this Woodland Folk stamp - and yes, the fact that it's a fox is one of the reasons why. I also love autumn colours. This was my first card with ribbon and a border punch, and of course, using my beloved copics.

Let's try this again shall we?

Have you ever done the Hermmann Whole Brain study?

This system says that there are four parts of your brain, and people have a preferred side of the brain (left or right). Each part is classified by a colour, and if you're surrounded by people who've done this study, you'll often hear them asking "What colour are you?".

I found this handy link that gives a brief overview of each colour: http://psychicwannabe.wetpaint.com/page/Brain+Types

Blue Brain
Very Analytical and often makes decisions based on Facts. not feelings
Usually good at maths. (Note: I said Usually)
Likes to know the facts.
Likes to know how things work
Has a logical reasoning with problems

This Person would always think things through before making a decision. These people like to know what is happening and how. Most scientists are Blue-brained.

Green Brain Very organized
Pays attention to the details
Step-by-step problem Solving.
Always Plan ahead
Good at safekeeping

This Person would have a Daily planner that they would use regularly. They are always ready with all the things that they need for the day. They would be good Managers because of their good organization and reliability.

Red Brain Usually Kinesthetic (Emotional)
Spiritual
Always relates everything to himself/herself
This Person is a "People Smart" person.
He/She would be good with customers and other people.
These people are very emotional-based and will often make decisions based on what they feel. These people often relate things they hear to themselves.

Yellow Brain Visual
Inventive
Imaginative
Looking at the big Picture
Takes Challenges
Metaphoric thinking
Long term Thinking

Most Yellow brained people are creative and imaginative. You like to take challenges and create a new way to do things. Some Yellow brained people could be 'artistic' while others might like to invent new ideas. However, depending on organization (green) you might not get it done!

I am right brained. I am red and yellow, and I am definitely not blue.

So the point? I love to be creative. I love to take on new hobbies with great enthusiasm and flit from one thing to another with great speed. I love to do many, many things at once and get bored if I do the same thing for too long.

This is why I haven't managed to blog successfully (despite a few failed attempts) because who wants to start a blog that may not last past a fleeting hobby? So my lovely friend Renee suggested that instead of focussing on one hobby, I just throw them all in one blog and see where it takes me. So here we are. A Crafty Fox. A blog that will take you on my journey of hobby enthusiasm. Right now it's card making, photography and scuba diving, but in 12 months.. who knows! We'll add blog writing to the list for a start. :)