Random Nonsense

Bucket List Updated

2011-08-25T02:35:00.000-07:00

I did 7 more things on my list since I last looked at it! Although, that was in 2006... The new things are bold and italicized below.

I even travelled alone to Australia and New Zealand and drove on the "wrong" side of the road. I've become a beach bum, wear more skirts/dresses than pants/shorts, eat beets, played dodgeball, play ultimate frisbee, attempt disc golf, played at a water park, put myself in debt, drink whiskey and scotch neat (as opposed to gin and vodka), started aerial yoga, homebrewed beer, started drinking beer other than IPA, and heaps of other things. Rock climbing, I did again and got pretty decent but then had to stop when I moved back to Maui. Yes, the one thing on my "will never ever do in this lifetime" list, I did... I moved back home. It's okay and I'm starting to find a place for myself here on the island.

Anyway, here's the list I made years ago. Some things I could change but I'll do it at a later date. There is one thing on the list that I'll never check off, unfortunately. Oh well, life is just an adventure and not all of them turn out as expected. Just gotta go with the flow!

Things to do before I die...
1. Visit Antarctica
2. Explore Africa
3. Travel around the world in one go
4. Skydive
5. Read a real book
6. Get in shape (a flat stomach possibly?)
7. Swim with sharks
8. Go to Australia
9. Visit all Australian States
o Western Australia
o South Australia
o Victoria
o New South Wales
o Tazmania
o Queensland
o Northern Territory
o Australian Capitol Territory
10. Live in Australia for at least 2 years
11. Visit New Zealand
12. See a kiwi bird
13. Hike most of the Columbia River Gorge trails
14. Visit India
15. Learn more Arabic
16. Ride the Indian Pacific train
17. Ride the Trans-Siberian train from start to finish
18. Ride the scenic Amtrack routes (did the Empire Builder route from Minneapolis to Portland)
19. Catch a fish with bare hands
20. Snowboard
21. Ski
22. Skate on a real frozen lake
23. River Raft
24. Rock Climb
25. Eat balanced meals
26. Jump off a 50 foot cliff into a glistening natural pool (only jumped from about 25 ft)
27. Swim with wild animals (frolicked with sea lions)
28. Finish nursing school with no psychological issues
29. Get an adorable dog (although I no longer get to take care of him)
30. Take care of a gecko
31. See a dingo
32. Observe a wild manatee or dugong
33. See stromatalites
34. Eat a bug without vomiting
35. Pet a camel
36. Ride a horse (rode on a beach in Oregon and through a river in Australia)
37. Grow a garden on my own
38. Teach a bird to talk
39. Purchase a Rolex (black mother of pearl with diamonds)
40. Visit Asia (done Malaysia and Singapore)
41. Learn Italian
42. Learn how to cook better
43. Meet a real life beaver
44. See a panda
45. Re-learn to sew
46. Practice better yoga
47. Do the Bridge Pedal
48. Observe an autopsy
49. Save a life
50. Say "sorry" less

Christmas is here!

2008-12-21T23:09:00.000-08:00

Been a slacker. Here are two cards I made at Paperdoll's Collage Art Card Making Class.

Below is made with rubber stamps and a tacky old card, cut up to look less overpowering. The silver was a border around the entire card and it had a silver christmas tree in the middle... yikes!

Next up is just a bunch of paper put together. I love it. Musical paper and stamps make me want to know what it is and what it sounds like. Maybe it's a dirge or a horrible composition. It could be the Itsy Bitsy Spider for all we know!

First Collage

2008-09-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

Hey there. Janene taught and helped me to make this collage a while back. It was so much fun, yet stressful. I'm not a good placer of things and color mixer. Basically, the whole thing was based on the pigeon sticker. Got it from SCRAP!

Pictures came out awful but you get the general idea.

Chandelier Happiness

2008-07-27T12:20:00.000-07:00

Using some of the stamps I just got! Yay! I have always wanted the Chandelier stamp from Impress but wasn't sure. I still love it and finally bought it since Impress is now selling to retailers! I so want to take a field trip up to the retail store... I better start saving!

(Chandelier from Impress/Savvy, Scalloped dots from A Muse, Sentiment from Wordsworth).

The curtain is neato but I'm never sure if I'm using it in the right manner. It's too refined for my general stamping personality but I like it a lot. So, here it is.

(Chandelier from Impress/Savvy, Sentiment and dotted circle from Cats Life Press, Curtain from Stampers Anonymous). All supplies were bought from Paperdoll!
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my newest stamps

2008-05-29T21:47:00.000-07:00

I have purchased a lot of new stamps lately. Joann has a lot of new clear stamps that are on sale and become about $5 per sheet so I just cannot resist.

As a nurse, I see lots of sick people. I often wish I could make and give some of them get well cards, but I can't since that would be crossing boundaries. My mom, who lives on a small island however, seems to know a lot of people that become ill or are taking the "Journey Home," as I like to call it. So I get to come up with get well cards that I think I would prefer than the run of the mill Get Well cards. I think the cards above and below are ones I'd like to get if I were having to deal with cancer and surgery. (Sometimes I feel like I sound insensitive when it comes to a person's well-being so if I do, I'm sorry).

The Buddha stamp is from Inkadinkado. Flourish from Impress. Sentiments both from Wordsworth (I'm pretty sure).

Okay, I know I make a lot of "sympathy" cards but my mom requests them. I guess shopping for them isn't any fun so I have the honor of making them for her. I don't mind making them though. I like try creating beautiful sympathy cards with a meaning. I especially like to use birds that are looking up because it seems that they're looking to another place.

Bird is a newbie for me, from Inkadinkadoo. Flourish from Judikins.

On to a happier note... my friends have just purchased and moved into a new house! I've been wanting to use the tree paper for something special and now I have found its purpose! I don't really care that it looks like fall and the current season is spring... Anyway, the house is new for me. I don't know who makes it but I will find out later and post it here. Thanks for looking! I'd like to hear comments if anyone reads this. Cheers!

Red :: Black :: Silver

2008-05-08T07:06:00.000-07:00

I had the ugliest bulk envelope box... now it's bearable. I'm a lazy, sloppy paper-coverer so you can see heaps of raw edges and creases. I just like to "MacGuyver" ugly things to look at least decent. I really want to get the Crop-A-Dile Big Bite but I am too lazy to go to the store that is carrying them. For the tag thingy, I just glued it, along with the brads on (bent the tabbies so they wouldn't show) with Diamond Glaze, my version of most peoples' duct tape. My experience with the Diamond Glaze is that it hold better and smells better than Krazy Glue. Another plus... it makes things shiny!

I absolutely love these stamps from Cats' Life Press. They're both so me. I'm not good at collaging but I think these would be so funny in a great collage. Or as a *hint hint* to a hairdresser or seamstress. [All stamps Cat's Life Press, except for the polka dot background on the "no clothes" card. I believe that's Impress.]

Four of the schools I have attended in my lifetime has had red and black, or red and white as the school colors. I wonder sometimes if that's the reason I like these colors together. Hopefully I don't get too attached to the colors of my other schools though... two involve that ugly royal-grape purple. Yuck!

Snow Monkey!

2008-05-08T04:47:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted a random picture in quite a while. I get National Geographic pictures on my google homepage and had to share this with you. It's a cute snow monkey taking a bath in Japan. This monkey looks like a person I've seen somewhere... at school, on tv, or on the street... not sure. Anyway, this thing is so absolutely cute!

Birds and Ocean

2008-05-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

My friend, who was a successful private-practice dentist in Peru and basically "nothing" here got into a dental health program at my alma mater, Pacific University. Congrats!

Using my new stamp from Impress... the light blue flourish thingy. Goldish-green flourish I think is Judikins. Bird is Cats Life Press. Sentiment is Amuse. Went overboard with the Stickles glitter.

Partially inspired by "Harold" (see below). Same flourish as above. Bird from Impress. Don't know where the sentiment comes from. Mini ric rack from my grandma's old stash.

Weekend at the Oregon Coast, Canon Beach. Beautiful sunset reflecting off the estuary.
"Harold" (we named him) the seagull that begged for food multiple times a day.

One (Stamp) Love

2008-03-25T02:32:00.000-07:00

The common stamp is from Stampington Co. I love it, although I really don't know what to do with it. Here's a couple of things I came up with...

[Sentiment from Cats Life Press.]

[Signature background, damask and flourish from Judikins (used the other half of the stamped paper from the card in the previous post).]

[Damask and flourish from Judikins.]

Variety Pack

2008-03-25T02:10:00.000-07:00

Hi. Been back to stamping once or twice since starting my new job. Here's a few I made...

Quick and simple. There's a little sheep on the onesie in white that you can't see. [Still don't know who makes the onesie and sentiment is AMuse.]

Sentiment is opposite from the one above... I guess that's the circle of life... [Tree background, flourish and damask are Judikins. Bird is a miniature version of the one I'm in love with from Invoke. Sentiment from My Sentiments Exactly.]

Another simple card. [Stamp from Paperbag Studios.]

My friend wearing a hat I knitted.

Simple Cards, Knitting, and Sewing

2008-01-18T11:36:00.000-08:00

Hi! I've finally made some cards! I am obsessed with this bird from Cats Life Press and I keep finding myself using it in the same place with the words in the same place (bird right side and words upper left). I also love Stickles.

Thank you from Impress. I used Stickles as accents.

I went crazy with the orange and yellow Stickles.

====================================================================

Here's my Knitted and Sewed goods. I started knitting in December so don't laugh... I also cannot seem to get my scarf to uncurl. I think I'm just too lazy to do much about it though. Below is my second-made scarf, encircling a reusable java jacket that I made. It fits paper cups from your local java joint. The first scarf I made was lost the day I finished making it! So sad.

My first hat. I had to put the "Monkey Business" pin on to hide a couple holes I made.

Hope you're all having a good day and take care!

A hold on the projects

2008-01-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

Hi. I'm in the middle (or beginning) of studying for the NCLEX so there's no card projects to post. I have no creativity right now for that stuff. I did, however, create a yoga mat holder. It's not perfect but works good enough. Simple. I will take a pic and post it later (just like my knitting projects.) I am making java jackets that fit onto paper coffee cups and hope to get them on Etsy. I'll post those too, when I finish them all!

I hope you all have had a nice beginning of 2008 and continue to have a fantastic year.

Cheers!

Motivated by an email

2007-12-26T22:35:00.000-08:00

I got my first email from my cards today (WhatUpEchidna@gmail.com)! I feel SO special. I also feel like I REALLY need to start posting more. So here's a Christmas card I selvaged from this other style that really needed something else (in other words, it was too boring for me). I have to tell you that I am in love with Stickles right now. Oh, the hat is colored with prismacolor pens and the white parts have liquid appliqué added and puffed with the heat gun.

This is a thank you card that I made into Christmas gifts. I sent packs of 8 or 10 (depending on how lazy or motivated I was feeling) to family and friends. It's also the style that I auctioned off at school to help my senior class! BTW I'm almost a full fledged nurse! Just need to take the NCLEX and have someone hire me!

Well, take care. Hope you had a fantastic Christmas and I wish you all the best in the new year. I hope that I can create more cards to share, but I am now engrossed with knitting (my newest hobby, started 1 month ago!). I'll post pictures of my scarves and hat later. Cheers!

Lazy

2007-09-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

Hi. I'm lazy. I've made a few card-like things, and attempted a collage card. Not too successful. I have, however, created some Christmas cards that I will be selling at Paperdoll (if all goes to plan). I've been having fun with those and I want to keep them. However, my friends will be receiving all the cards I have from a box. I bought a ton last year and forgot to send them (I blame school). Maybe I'll add glitter or something to those. Anyway, just wanted to post something. Hope your weekend is going well and I wish you a happy week! Cheers.

More Stuff Made on Maui

2007-09-15T17:16:00.000-07:00

Hello. I finally got my pics from the cards I made back on Maui. Here are a few of them... I made them upolad small so they would not take up too much room.

Must buy baby clothes...

2007-09-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

My cousin's boy is a baby model and he wants you to but Carter's from Fred Meyer this week.

World Card Making Day

2007-09-08T19:26:00.000-07:00

Celebrate World Card Making Day! It's on 06 October 2007 (or the first Saturday in October). Sounds like fun to me. Also, in the spirit of card making goodness, A Muse is selling card kits for 15% off the retail price AND they will be giving a whopping 25% of the proceeds from these kits to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Through Cards for a Cause, A Muse will also be accepting donations of cards for the children at the hospital up until 31 October (and there's a drawing for A Muse money if you send some in).

Here's an example of the card kit that I really want:You can buy it off their blog through PayPal... it's so easy! So, if you need new stamps or want to try it out for the first time, this is one awesome way to go.

Insomnia got the best of me...

2007-08-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

Here is a card that I made in the wee hours of the morning. I couldn't sleep and decided to stamp... until 0430. I'm not the happiest with it, but the card makes me smile... I miss the beach. I made others but those are my samples for my make and takes (and cuter, I think).

(A Muse Surf Shop, Fence, Waves, and sentiment. Ribbon is "wavy". I just omitted glue on the parts that I wanted to stick up a bit.)

What? Me?

2007-08-28T13:50:00.001-07:00

So, I'm super-uber excited because I am going to be a part-time make and take demonstrator at paperdoll! This is especially neat for me because I fancy myself as still quite new at this stamping/cardmaking thing. I feel so honored... although, I guess what the make and takes really will be geared toward are simple (to encourage folks into the art of stamping), and quick (I don't like complicated, overly done stuff too much).

Drop by for make and takes on:
September 15 (Sat) 2:00-4:00
October 13 (Sat) 12:00-4:00
October 20 (Sat) 2:00-4:00
[None in November, but check out their "Christmas Card Retreat" at their website.]

Check out papedoll online , call 503.408.6867, or visit them at 7909 SE Stark St. Portland, OR 97215.

What I want to be...

2007-08-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

So, a question was posted on the A Muse blog site. If you answer it, you have a chance to get a neat stamping prize. I liked the question so now I ask you, as a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Here's my answer to the post. Of course, there's much more to it, but these were the main ones:

In preschool and kindergarten I wanted to be a school bus driver since I loved singing "the wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round". In third grade, I wanted to be a marine biologist since I lived in Hawaii and saw all kinds of neat sea creatures. Then I was tossed by a wave and almost drowned so I developed a fear for the ocean. I wanted to be an anesthesiologist in 5th grade since I thought it was neat to help people "go to sleep" before they were going to be in pain from surgery (I wanted to be a surgeon but I didn't trust my shakey hands.) Later, in fifth grade, I learned that medical examiners did sort of similar things as surgeons, but they also got to help solve crimes. So and that's what I wanted to be until my senior year of college (after studying abroad) when I decided that I wanted to help more people in the world and fulfill my dreams of travelling. So, I am currently in nursing school. Now, when I grow up, I want to be a nurse with knowledge of sea and land creatures, other people and cultures, and how to make fun cards and crafts to share with friends!

Here's the list I can remember as of now... I guess I can add them up:

School bus driver
Marine Biologist/Oceanographer
Veterinarian
Architect
Surgeon
Anesthesiologist
Virologist (level 4)
Forensic Pathologist/Medical Examiner
Seventh grade science teacher
Diagnostic Imaging Tech (MRI, CT, Nuclear Med)
Paramedic
Nurse

Emergency Room
Operating Room
Nurse Anesthetist
Forensic Nurse

Lottery Winner

You're Cool!

2007-08-27T03:12:00.000-07:00

I made this card for my parents since they let me stay with them for almost three weeks while I was visiting. They also let me use their cars, including my mom's precious Prius, pretty much whenever I wanted. Of course they're my family, but I think they really went out of their way to accommodate me. Anyway, I got three of these A Muse stamps during A Muse A Palooza... the two new stamps "you're cool" and little penguin, and the pool is new for me. The grass is practically a basic that every A Muse fan has. The green paper is from Target and is really stinky... actually, more like toxic. Woo! You get a good whiff when you open the package. Probably made in China.

This one's for Janene

2007-08-22T22:04:00.000-07:00

Hey. I was bad and went to Paperdoll today. I bought these two new stamps (flourish from and tree birds--actually a "book belongs to" stamp, both from Impression Obsession) as well as a clear set of words (love) by Clearly Wordsmith, and had to use them... literally... there's a wedding coming up. I took forever in Paperdoll and Janene helped me pick out the perfect stamps. I made this tonight with Marvy LePlume II pens and some new inks that I got from Art House (Versa Color). I messed up on the scalloped edges with the blue and green so I used my finger to smudge in sky and grass. It might be just a bit over done, but I like it Hope you do too! Cheers!

Made on Maui

2007-08-15T18:45:00.000-07:00

Here's a card I made for a friend that took me around hiking and dancing on my vacation. He's a bit of a partier and has a house good for dance parties. I gave it to him after he was talking about how big his place was for just him to be living there and he was impressed that the timing was so perfect.

Amuse sentiment, Judikins slippers or "flip flops".

Kristina's got some blog candy!

2007-07-28T23:50:00.000-07:00

Hey friends! Kristina, a fantastic card-maker, is going to give out some blog candy that she's getting from a convention. Check out her blog about it and then check out the rest of her site called Balance, since she's got awesome art to share. There's also a link to her site on my sidebar so you won't forget where she's at. Cheers!

Making cards in paradise

2007-07-28T23:19:00.000-07:00

Hey all! I'm back in my homeland of Hawaii. Just visiting my family and old friends. It's been fun so far but I am constantly tired. Maybe it's my allergies to Maui (the sneezing and sinus stuffiness always returns when I return). Anyway, I brought over a few stamps, am buying a few Hawaiian stamps, and making some cards! I haven't really used the Hawaiian stamps yet but here's two cards I've made so far.

A thank you card for my mom's friend. My mom has a poodle and wanted it on the card (as I knew she would). I don't have all my tools here so I had to get creative with the direct-to-paper method in order to fill in the empty top portion. Making this card was super fun!

This card was for a childhood friend's surprise baby shower. Today was the day of the event and I crossed out all the days leading up to today. She's actually due in August so I stamped another calendar (A Muse) on the inside and filled it in for August. "Counting down" was individually stamped and cut out, similar to the other baby card I made. I'll post more when I get more done!

So, tell me about yourself...

2007-07-22T08:25:00.000-07:00

Take my new poll! It's an easy question because I'm bad at asking good questions.

Please feel free to leave comments on my site too! I like feedback (but only if it's said nicely).

Cheers!

The Neatest Tees Ever!

2007-07-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

Hey! My friends have been getting these awesome t-shirts and I was getting jealous so they told me about this website called Threadless T-Shirts. If you link thorugh me I get some credit dollars to get even more awesome clothes so if you buy something use me: http://threadless.com/?from=barkquack. Below is an example of one that I'm getting. It's called "we are made of carbon."

I am so conflicted... should I get four? I like them all equally. Oh well... probably just three (I'll minus the one that is totally me--japanese cartoonish bio characters in test tubes). Anyway, check it out! It's rad. Oh! They take entries every week and people score them to see which design will be made into a shirt, so it's not all the same 'ol manufactured stuff... totally unique! Cheers!

Kissy Birds

2007-07-13T10:50:00.000-07:00

Another wedding this weekend! Cats Life Press birds (embossed), most embellishment stuff I got from Paperdoll. Yay!

Coming soon...

2007-06-24T21:41:00.000-07:00

I recently found out that one of my best friends from high school is pregnant! So super exciting since he's a honeymoon baby. This is the card I made for them...

I don't know what the onesie is but the duck is from River City Rubberworks. I used snippets from the Willamette Week to do the lettering.

Challenge #8

2007-06-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

This challenge is to make a card for an odd day of celebration. I am representing Turkey Lover's Month... that's June. The turkey is obviously happy because it's not being eaten... I love turkey because they're good to eat so I will celebrate Turkey Lover's Month for sure!

A super quick card made with A Muse stamps from clear holiday set.

Paperdoll's Stamping Extravaganza!

2007-06-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

Paperdoll, my absolute favorite stamping/craft shop will be hosting A-Muse-A-Palooza! It's the second annual event put on by the stamp company A Muse, and Paperdoll was selected as the only host in the Portland Metro area! They'll have *all* A Muse stamps plus the newest stamps for 2008! I hear the Halloween and Christmas stamps are particularly adorable.

So, mark your calendars for July 10-14 and head on over to Paperdoll at 7909 SE Stark St. here in P-town to have some super-duper stamping craziness! They're having card-making classes all week and a couple free ones too! You can call to see when these events are happening... 503.408.6867 or click on the schedule below! Cheers!

Babies being born!!!

2007-06-17T22:56:00.000-07:00

I found two articles on Yahoo News that announced the births of two rare animals.

A female giant manta ray was born at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium on Saturday. This is the first manta birth in captivity. According to the Japanese sources, "the baby manta, rolled up like a tube, came sliding out of the mother manta, then quickly spread its fins and began swimming around." Her wing-span was recorded to be 6 feet wide. The baby manta's mother was pregnant for 374 days! Yay for adult and baby rays! See the article here.

The aquarium was featured on a Discovery Channel program and is the second largest in the world. They are probably most popular for their tank with surviving whale sharks. Sounds cool and hopefully I can go someday! I love aquariums... I've been to quite a few around the world.

My favorite is the Maui Ocean Center, not because I'm from there; they have scalloped hammer head sharks, green turtles, and a great array of aquatic life, including amazing corals. They also have a tiger shark! When I saw it coming straight at me through the glass I had a 'sense of impending doom' as they call it in EMS. It wasn't like the others and instilled fear in me immediately. It turned and I recognized it right away. I like sharks so it was an exhilarating scary experience. I also like the Seattle aquarium. The aquarium in Melbourne, VIC, Australia was cool... they have the leafy sea dragon seahorse thing because they're only found off the of western and southern coasts of Oz! Oregon's in Newport is okay, but I usually go when the weather's not the nicest. Honestly though, not my fav. The one in Boston was neat; it was one of the first in it's style. I think the aquarium on Oahu (Waikiki) was designed after Boston. I'm sure I've been to more but I can't think of them...

An endangered turtle, Sacalia bealei, was born at the Tennessee Aquarium. This adorable little reptile is called a "Beal's four-eyed turtle, named for two white spots on the back of its head that look like a pair of eyes, hatched from a clutch of three eggs. The turtle weighed 0.21 ounces and was 1.52 inches long when it hatched June 9." There are only 18 of these turtles in the world. Their population was decimated in their native lands in Asia because they're apparently tasty and have medicinal properties. Read about this little dude here. Look at his little claws and adorable tail! I want one!

Seaglass and Lilac

2007-06-14T23:43:00.000-07:00

Hey! I made some cards a couple of nights ago. I got four new Color Box cat eye inkpads. Seaglass, lilac, orange and fresh green. I found that seaglass and lilac look pretty good together so I made a few cards with that color scheme. I also got new clear stamps from Craft Warehouse because they were on sale. They're the wavy, curly, viney ones from Technique Tuesday. It's cool because you can bend the clear stamps so some of the curlies have more of a curve than others. The bird is one of two of my first stamps that I ever bought; it's from Cats Life Press, another one of my fav stamp companies.

This last one I made last and although it didn't turn out as I had imagined, I think it's okay. I used Martha Stewart clear letter stamps. It sucks getting them off the backing and they're not all cut properly so I had to take an exacto knife to them. Oh well, it was MUCH less expensive than other brands and I like the small size of the font. Hope you like my cards!

Glitter Challenge

2007-06-12T22:33:00.000-07:00

Here's my entry for A Muse's glitter challenge. Not too much glitter, but I like it that way... (it's on the steam). A Muse wavy background stamp, big block, and sentiment. Yum, coffee...

Opposites Attract

2007-06-11T21:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of my fridge. I like magnets... so I made two yesterday as I was procrastinating (got my homework done tonight).

FYI the GWB card says on the outside: "I have three little words for you" inside: "Thank You"... I have a Mr. T 1-800-COLLECT magnet from college that says "Call yo' mama". A couple of plaster of paris Care Bears from my childhood, a "your anger makes me happy" bunny magnet (Eddie's absolute favorite), New England Aquarium: Boston penguin, Oregon Humane Society, "Mr. Brewski says 'beer is good'" sticker, magnet that Martha made for me in college, a Hawaii gecko, a "don't hurry me, I'm on Hawaiian time" turtle, Nebraska chicken on a farm, five japanese alien thingies, an echidna crossing, an "all biggots will be reincarnated as gay, homeless people of color" pin and an encouragement magnet from a staff person at Pacific University for my graduation.

Here are the two... The crab is embossed in silver and says "shake a stick at it for your protection". I love that one but don't know how to use it on a card. The second is my favorite bird stamp. It's embossed in queen's gold and standing of a 'branch'. The bird says "chirp". Not too fancy but I am enjoying them.

You can also see a bit of my favorite post card sent to me by Oxfam Unwrapped (International) telling me that they have great new gifts that I can give to people that will really go to someone else in the world. Check out their site, it's great (there's also a link on my sidebar). I got my dad manure for the most recent Christmas and my parents got a cow the prior Christmas. When I'm working, I might buy a teacher or bathrooms... They also started to send magnets (fancy that) with pictures of the item to the recipient. So my parents have a magnet of manure on their fridge. There's also a new American Oxfam site so you don't have to convert pounds to US dollars and pay the extra international credit card fee. They're selling a crocodile for only $50!

Oh! You can also see my echidna crossing magnet! Yay for echidnas! Don't run over them...

Happiness is a cup of coffee...

2007-06-10T21:09:00.000-07:00

Hey! Here's my entry for the A Muse-A-Palooza challenge #6... embossing. You can't really see it but the Cafe and sentiment (both A Muse) are embossed. I stamped in black and embossed in clear since I don't yet have black embossing powder (on my to-purchase list).

I started off with the idea of a mellow cafe but went crazy with color! I love the colors now because it reminds me of Pambiche, a Cuban restaurant in Portland. Mmmmm... I want a nice cappuccino and maduros.

Bird x3

2007-06-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

Hey all! I have a few more cards to post. I made these last weekend. This first one, I made during my card-making day with Martha. We went to Paperdoll for some inspiration before starting and she bought the bike. I got the dog (Patch), fence, and bird (masked from bird line, see Father's day card) that day too. Paperdoll got a bunch of new A Muse stamps recently and they were being sold quick! All stamps including the sentiment are A Muse stamps. I colored with Prismacolor pens, a Gellyroll Glaze pen, and Faber-Castell PITT artist pen.

The next card was a test. I stamped with a new Martha Stewart bird stamp and colored in with Kol-I-Noor pencils. I suck at blending colors. The sentiment is a masked Savvy stamp on a regular tag attached with a hemp cord.

Basically the same thing as above; a Martha Stewart bird colored in with pencils. Sentiment (happy birdie to you) is from A Muse. Flower brads and organza ribbon make this card a little more fun. I found out here that cutting a scalloped circular-like object is quite difficult. I think it looks pretty okay though. Let me know what you think. Cheers!

Response to Crystal

2007-06-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

So, Crystal asked "If you were a manakin, what would you be wearing and doing after store hours?"

This is my response:

I would be wearing...

and

with

...the bling, not the dude or his hairy chest...

Echidnas! I love them!

2007-06-04T22:36:00.000-07:00

Being sneaky...

Crossing the river...

Rolled up for protection!

Eating food with it's long sticky tongue. Echidnas are insectivores.

Father's Day Card

2007-06-04T15:13:00.000-07:00

Here's a card I made for Eddie's dad. They used to have chickens and live in the country. I colored with my Koh-I-Noor pencils. The chickens are actually the A Muse bird line; I just added the little head and neck thingy to them. I think the pig is Cavalini and the sentiment is Anna Griffin. Don't know about the barn... Cheers!

Last one for the day!

2007-05-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, so please don't be offended. This card was inspired by actual events in my short nursing school career. I won't explain the details to maintain confidentiality. The crazy circus background is supposed to indicate the delusions of the patient. Hope you like it! Oh, all stamps A Muse.

Amuse-A-Palooza Challenge #5 Card #2

2007-05-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

Here's my second card for Amuse a palooza! I drew the tree (probably obvious) which I am proud of since I lack in the artistic drawing talents. The nest, superhero, and Thanks are from Amuse. I took the Thanks from a block of thanks words from different languages. The dog is Global Solutions.

Amuse-A-Palooza Challenge #5

2007-05-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

This challenge is to create a scene with stamps and embellishments. The first thing that came to mind was a beautiful beach on Maui. I'm not this talented however, so here's the next best thing! The sun, sentiment, palm tree and grass are all A Muse. The fly is from Judith (see previous post) and the hula dancer, which my wonderful mother sent from Hawaii, is (I think) Stampettes. I colored her in with prismacolor pens.

I'm a Yap

2007-05-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

So, I have an island... it's Yap Island.

It's in the Pacific Ocean, part of Micronesia and just north of West Papua and Palau. I added an asterisk (under the Y) to show you where the island is...

This is the picture that inspired me to do a little more research on my island. It's of a reef scallop that I got from google. It looks so cool. I saw something that looks sort of like this while I was snorkeling off Kangaroo Island, South Australia. I think I saw a sea slug though and it was brighter and had white (ha ha! A patriotic sea slug for former British colonies.) I don't know what I really saw because I get frightened when I snorkel and the current was strong and we were in between canyons of coral (I'm afraid of coral too). Anyway, this thing is neato!

Yap is also known for it's absurdly large, stone money. They probably started with small money and as people got richer, the stones needed to get bigger. I don't know really, but I'm speculating and need to do further research. Here's a pic of a Yapese with three stone monies.

Cool huh? Well, I sure do think so. I just decided that some day, I will visit Yap Island. This is now a part of my list of things to do and near the top. Maybe when I'm rich, I'll bring my dad, mom and brother with me... yeah, I'm dreaming again.

Three Cards in One!

2007-05-27T23:42:00.000-07:00

This is a card that I made for Eddie's mom. I actually used a digital camera and since I took it at night and on my messy desk, it looks bad.

I computer generated the sentiment and used Prismacolor color pencils to color the dog (Global Solutions), little bird (Rubber Soul), and wagon (A Muse - see link on sidebar) in. The pink polka dot card, grass and scalloped circle are A Muse.

This is one of my favorite cards (I like simple although sometimes I get carried away). The fly (Judith) and sentiment (Savvy) were just stamped in the middle of white cardstock. I drew the flight path with a permanent pen and added clear glitter just to it's wings. I tried black glitter on it's body but that looked bad.

The same idea was used for this card (obviously). The superhero stamp is from A Muse, colored in with my favorite Prismacolor pens. I gave this to the correctional officers at my clinical site since they always kept me so safe.

Hope you're having a fantastic Memorial Day weekend!

I am tiger, hear me roar!

2007-05-24T22:55:00.000-07:00

So this picture is from my google homepage from National Geographic. This was taken in Seoul, Korea. Isn't it interesting? I have no idea where they are in the city... Well, I think it is interesting and wanted to share with you all...

Fuzzy Penguin

2007-05-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

I like penguins. I found this picture and had to put it up. They're such amazing creatures... seemingly stupid, but still amazing. I think it's crazy how they live their lives in the harsh conditions of Antarctica. Other than surviving, one of the coolest things penguins do is exiting water. They're such powerful swimmers and literally fly out of water with such force! Anyway, this little one is too cute.

Amuse-A-Palooza Challenge #2!

2007-05-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

Not the best but I was just playing around and trying to do a quick card for the Amuse-A-Palooza Challenge #2. It requires no black ink. So I got a little carried away with the tree and hello stamp. I didn't really think it through after the grass, dog and wagon. Oh well. Hopefully it's okay at least for the challenge!

Primate Watering

2007-05-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hello again. Here's another monkey picture I found. I think I feeling my roots... ha ha. Yeah, I'm a dorky science geek. I think this is funny. When I first saw this picture I thought of this clip that was played on E's The Soup. It was from a Spanish-language television station of a woman spraying her self with water. She was supposedly washing a car but there was no car in the scene. Weird. Anyway, just wanted to share.

A Monkey, an Orange Popsicle, and a Chain

2007-05-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

What do you think about this picture?

I see a monkey with creepy eyes and some weird ear curvature that's holding an orange popsicle and chained up. Hmmm.... I got this off Yahoo! News while looking for random pictures.

I am drawn to this picture although it makes me feel oddly weirded out. So many questions...

I guess it reminds me of the orangutans at the Singapore Zoo. They were roaming free in an area built especially for them based on their natural environment. They had blocks of colored ice that had treats frozen in the middle (it was hot and they get two treats in one!). It was fun to see how some just licked the block of ice over and over again, while others tried to bite and rotate, bite, examine and rotate. One smart female threw the iceblock down and broke it on the cemented area of the "cage". That was fun to watch and they all seemed as content as a zoo animal could be.

This monkey, however does not look so happy; in fact, it looks frightened, suspicious and protective of it's treat. Why is it chained up? I just don't understand. If you have something to add, please leave a comment with your thoughts.

My Encounter with Buddy

2007-05-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

As my friends and I were walking up the hill in NW Portland to enjoy the sunny day, we came across a man and a tortoise. Buddy was just walking up and down a stretch of grass along side the road and often veering off course into the road. We stopped to chat. Buddy was friendly and allowed me to pet his shell and head! The best part was when he stepped on my foot. They move pretty quick for being "slow" animals. Oh, and he was super duper cute when he ate grass... actually I think that was my favorite part of our visit. I so want one but I know the consequences... they can live for 100+ and grow to be up to 300 pounds! Oh well, we can't get everything we want. So I leave you with a picture of a rare Galapagos tortoise named George.

(from Yahoo! News)

What Up Echidna?

2007-05-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite picture and is currently up on my desktop background. This is Cess, an echidna (a monotreme: part mammal, part marsupial, part reptilian) from Australia. It is blowing bubbles out of it's beak. This poor echidna was found on the side of the road and taken care of at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia. It had broken feet (in yellow casts) and a damaged beak (which is probably the reason for the bubble-blowing). So freaking cute!

From BBC News...
These, I found on a blog somewhere.

Another Wedding

2007-05-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

Here's a card I made tonight for my cousin's wedding. Their colors are pink and brown...

I used brown organza ribbon and pink satin ribbon, tied in a knot (no pun intended). The "Love is in the air" stamp is from A Muse and is actually on the inside of the card. I cut an oval into the front panel and distressed the edges so that the brown shimmery paper that I pasted on the inside would show through. I cut a scalloped edge to also let the brown shimmery paper show. The background stamp is an inkadinkado in colorbox dusty plum. The kissing couple is also by inkadinkado and stamped in dark brown chalk ink but since it didn't stamp out well enough, I went over it with a prismacolor cocoa bean pen. There is some glitter scattered about. The ribbon around the card is wrapped around the entire card, so the happy couple will have to take that off first. I used the dusty plum ink directly on white paper to make a matching ribbon attacher-thing and wrote out their initials. It might be a little too much, but it took me much longer to make than it looks...

Mother's Day

2007-05-01T19:14:00.000-07:00

I decided two days ago to make a set of cards for my mom as a mother's day gift. These are my favorite four cards of the bunch.

The stamp used is currently my favorite because it's so simple and versatile. It's from Stampendous, called Agapanthus Bloom. I added glitter to bits of each flower, which is difficult to see from the scanned image.

The card below is supposed to be a peach color and has black eyelets as accents.

The next card is a little fuzzy because it's been raised with those thick sticky tape thingies (the scanner doesn't like that much). It's supposed to look like a picture frame hanging from a wall. The ribbon is held up by a silver brad and the "picture" is strung with white organdy ribbon tied through silver eyelets. The paper is blueish-silver, sort of shimmery, and matches the stamped image color pretty well.

This next one is the same color as the first, just a different style and sentiment.

There are quite a few people my parent's age that are passing away. Sad as it is, a nice, simple sympathy card is often the best. Again, the white organdy ribbon is tied around the card as an accent.
Sorry I used white cardstock, it's difficult to see. It's actually paper from a ream of 120 lb. cardstock that I bought at Office Max (got the idea from Martha). I cut and scored each sheet with my paper cutter that has both attachments. Works pretty good as long as you use the rougher side for stamping.

So, since I haven't sent these out yet, don't tell my mom!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mommies out there!

My new favorite things

2007-04-18T23:14:00.000-07:00

So, although no one reads this, I will still post some things that I am thinking. I am thinking right now that I really like these Prismacolor markers. The colors are so fun and look great when I color in my stamped images. They also are dual-ended, with a broad and a fine tip (pic from prismacolor website).

I am waiting for a big sale so I can buy the sets... but for now I have been getting the individual colors (trying to avoid the ones in the sets). So far I have:

Crimson Red
Clay Rose
Pale Vermillion (orange)
Tulip Yellow
Green Tea
Jade Green
Light Cerulean Blue
Peacock Blue
Grayed Lavender
Light Umber (brown)
Cocoa Bean
Brick Beige (skin tone)
Colorless Blender (supposed to soften edges between different colors)

Most are muted or light tones since I rarely like bright, especially since I'm new at crafting. I made my goal, however, of having at least one pen in each major color group!

Another Card

2007-04-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

Hello. I just wanted to share another card I made. I was for a friend's friend's spring wedding. I used a small tag, vellum and glittery stickers to make it fancy. I tried to keep the colors light but keep it fun. Hope you like it! P.S. The scanner isn't so good and I don't use a camera.

Card Making

2007-04-03T21:35:00.000-07:00

I recently started making my own greeting cards. I found that I was paying way too much for them in stores (although I still can't help buying totally amazingly fun ones) and decided to start making my own. The owner of Paperdoll, a local card and art shop (SE 79th and Stark) really helped me get going and constantly is giving me new ideas and tips! So I just wanted to post one card that I made. I haven't sent many out so I have to post one that I gave away as a gift. Anyway, it's simple but I think it's cute.

So, tell me what you think and send some tips if you have them!

Cheers!

A short blog

2007-01-09T20:38:00.000-08:00

Eddie and me on Haleakala, Maui.

Hi to anyone that actually reads this. So, I returned from a relaxing vacation on Maui. Now it's back to the grind. I have three clinical days this week at a short-term care facility, for folks that are recovering from surgeries or falls. The lady I am assigned to doesn't seem to like me much but whatever. My eyes are starting to get weird and I'm not sure if it's because of the constant sinus pressure and headaches I've been getting since returning from holiday. I bought a humidifier. It's nice but I'm not sure if it's helping much. We'll see. So, that's about it for now. I don't really have much to say in these blogs anymore. My creativity has been sapped from the four nursing textbooks that are over 1000 pages (one is just shy of 2000 pages). Yikes! Back breaker!

Salaam

2006-09-30T22:28:00.000-07:00

When I worked at the American Red Cross, I had a couple of Egyptian coworkers that would teach me random Egyptian Arabic phrases and words. I am hoping to someday take classes at Portland Community College to learn conversational arabic. Don't ask why, but I want to learn. Actually, when I started to learn the little arabic I know, I was interested in Hindi. I have this weird tendency toward Bollywood although I know nothing about it.

Anyway, I have been searching online for places to learn simple phrases in Arabic. I have some Pimsleur Approach audio CDs for Egyptian Arabic but I like to see the words written out and I am pretty slow at learning. So, here are a few sites for you to browse if you're interested. It can get confusing because I started looking specifically for Egyptian Arabic but some of the best sites tend to be the regular or eastern Arabic.

This site called Babel has a few phrases that you can listen to. They're also spelled out for those of you who also need a visual.

This site is pretty neat. It shows you how to say numbers, days of the week and a few simple phrases to get around if you're visiting an arabic-speaking country.

The site, www.al-bab.com, has a few links to interesting information pages, including the The Alternative Arabic Dictionary and Yemeni proverbs. I guess in the alternative dictionary, they give you words that are left out of the dictionary... if you know what I mean.

Okay, I have no idea what is going on with this site but they have songs and games you can play to learn how to read arabic. It's kind of freaky becuase it talks or sings to you automatically after you click on the first lesson, so be aware. I think it'll be interesing to figure this site out though.

Click here to go to a site that has a few often used phrases in Arabic. It seems okay for a beginner's intro but does not have audio.

This site has a bunch of links to various Arabic language resources. It seems pretty comprehensive.

A fun site called Arabic-O-Matic allows you to type your name in and it will try to translate it into arabic letters. It's fun but I would like to find that scrap of paper that my coworker wrote my name on so that I could compare.

Well, that's all I have for now. I hope you have been enlightened. If you are interested in or know arabic, I would love to sharpen my skills in this language.

Ma salaama

Maui no ka oi

2006-09-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

Even though no one reads this, I thought that I'd keep on posting... So, I'll try this in Pidgin.

Eh, howzit? Guess wat cuz. I stay going back Maui. Yeah, brah. I going, da kine, for Christmas time.

Going be good fun. I going spend time wit da family and da boyfriend. I tink we going go whale watching and da kine like dat. I like go up Haleakala fo one hike or something like dat.

So, wat you tink? Sound good, yeah? Going be one big partay. Shoots bah. Jus hope we no run into these buggas.

Da portagee man of war is my nemesis. K-den, I going go now. Ho, but rememba one ting. Maui no ka oi (Maui is da bes). Take care and aloha. Mahalo for reading.

Stuffed microbes

2006-08-23T14:12:00.000-07:00

Ha ha. I found this website that sells stuffed animals in the shape of various microbes.

This is the flesh eating bacteria, Streptococcus pyogenes.

Ain't it the cutest thing you've ever seen? He's even got a fork and knife to make things easier for himself...

Anyway, you can actually purchase these things. Here's the website... http://www.giantmicrobes.com/
They have everything from the ebola to dust mites. It's great.

Things to do before I die...

2006-08-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

Let's see... Here's a list of things I really want to do and/or have wanted to do in the past that I may or may not have done. Some of it's just a frivorlous dream but who really cares but me? It's in no real order, just what I think of. So the accomplishments will be bolded. I'm sure I'll add more later.

Things to do before I die...

Visit Antarctica
Explore Africa
Travel around the world in one go
Skydive
Read a real book
Get in shape (a flat stomach possibly?)
Swim with sharks
Go to Australia
Visit all Australian States

Western Australia
South Australia
Victoria
New South Wales
Tazmania
Queensland
Northern Territory
Australian Capitol Territory

Live in Australia for at least 2 years
Visit New Zealand
See a kiwi bird
Hike most of the Columbia River Gorge trails
Visit India
Learn more Arabic
Ride the Indian Pacific train
Ride the Trans-Siberian train from start to finish
Ride the scenic Amtrack routes (did the Empire Builder route from Minneapolis to Portland)
Catch a fish with bare hands
Snowboard
Ski
Skate on a real frozen lake
River Raft
Rock Climb
Eat balanced meals
Jump off a 50 foot cliff into a glistening natural pool (only jumped from about 25 ft)
Swim with wild animals (frolicked with sea lions)
Finish nursing school with no psychological issues
Get an adorable dog
Take care of a gecko
See a dingo
Observe a wild manatee or dugong
See stromatalites
Eat a bug without vomiting
Pet a camel
Ride a horse (rode on a beach in Oregon and through a river in Australia)
Grow a garden on my own
Teach a bird to talk
Purchase a Rolex (black mother of pearl with diamonds)
Visit Asia (done Malaysia and Singapore)
Learn Italian
Learn how to cook better
Meet a real life beaver
See a panda
Re-learn to sew
Practice better yoga
Do the Bridge Pedal
Observe an autopsy
Save a life
Say "sorry" less

Wow, I've got a ways to go.

Nothing of note

2006-08-13T15:48:00.000-07:00

Hi all (if anyone). I am new to this blogspot thing so we'll see how things go. I just wanted to post a little something, so here it is. Thanks for reading and I'll have more to say sometime in the future.