Charlie Strikes Again!

If there is ever a chocolate heist and the police are in need for a chocolate-sniffing dog, Charlie is going to apply for the position.  I swear, if there is chocolate nearby, that dachshund-beagle nose is going to find it.   Case in point, my sister and I were spring-cleaning about a month or so ago, and I had a plastic bin full of junk mail and papers that I needed to sort through.  This bin had taken up residence on my dryer for over a year...it's junk mail, so what's the rush, right?  Anyway, we moved the bin so it would be "in sight," which would force me to go through it (and, no, I still haven't gone through the darn thing...but I digress).  

So, for two work days the bin sat in the floor.  Untouched.  

On the third day, I came home for lunch and noticed some of the papers from the bin were in the floor, which I thought was odd, but figured it was just Charlie.  So, I took him out for his afternoon walk, fixed lunch, walked into the living room to eat said lunch and found this on his dog bed: 

Evidently, buried in the bin of junk mail was a box of unopened, still-in-the-plastic-wrap box of candy that I had received as a Christmas present and had totally forgotten about. (I forget many things...but not usually chocolate! Oops! Digressing again.  Sorry.)

So, Charlie had a fine morning (at least in his eyes) and ate 18 pieces of chocolate and white chocolate candy. I worried about him all afternoon while I was at work and tried not to think about what "surprises" he may have waiting for me when I got home.  Luckily, he was totally fine...no surprises and ready to go for his walk.  

But, at least I know why he gained 2 pounds when he went for his yearly check-up...  I wonder if there is a Weight Watchers program for dogs.  Sigh!  

Craft Room Reorganization #58

It seems like I'm constantly reorganizing my craft room.   Of course, that makes it sound as if it was organized at some point in the past!  It has been a constant battle, especially since my designated craft room is too small (or could it be that I have too much stuff??) and I have moved two times in the past 4 years.  And, for the past year, I sort of buried my head in the sand and didn't deal with it, which means I spent very little time in my craft room doing what I love. 

Anyway, one of the offices in the building where I work relocated out of state and decided it was cheaper to sell off their office furniture than it would be to pay for shipping it to another state.  I waffled about whether or not to get a new desk, because it meant I would finally have to deal with the unorganized mess I had in my craft room.  But, I finally bit the bullet, knowing I would regret it down the road if I didn't.  And, I'm so glad I did.  I finally feel like I'm on the right track! 

I found these great inexpensive trays for organizing drawers, which I used to organize all of my inks, acrylics, spritzers, dabbers, etc.  So, now I can grab a tray, bring it to my desk when I want to use it and then put it back when I'm done. 

Marker organization:

Of course, this is what the other side of the room looks like...

Rock of Ages

A couple of months ago while I was in Virginia, I spent the weekend going through and scanning old photos while visiting my Mom.   In her stash, I came across a couple of photos and old postcards of the Natural Bridge and the Natural Bridge Hotel, which, I thought I would share.

The Natural Bridge

For those of you not familiar with the Natural Bridge itself, it is located on Route 11 in the Shenandoah Valley.  It is a natural geological limestone formation created from a collapsed cavern.  Its arch is 215 feet high and spans 90 feet.  It is believed that George Washington carved his initials on the bridge (at a height of 23 feet) when surveying the site in 1750.  In 1774, Thomas Jefferson purchased the land and surrounding acres from King George III and built a two-room cabin nearby to accommodate guests.  When the bridge was sold by Thomas Jefferson’s heirs in the 1800’s, the new owners built a hotel to accommodate the increasing number of tourists who were coming to the area to see this “natural wonder.” 

Today, the Natural Bridge is both a National Historical Landmark and a Virginia Historical Landmark, which continues to attract tourists from all over the world.  

 Postcard of The Natural Bridge

Most of my memories of the hotel revolve around my Mom working there as a waitress in the main dining room when I was a young girl.  I remember the black dress "uniform" and starched white aprons that they were required to wear.  And, it was also the location of my 10-year high school reunion.  However, I do not have any recollection of the “old” hotel, depicted in the postcard below, which burned down in 1963 or 1964.

The "Old" Natural Bridge Hotel And, this is the hotel today. 

The Natural Bridge Hotel   

Finally...

As most of my friends know, I am not a winter person.  I do not like the cold!!  My routine basically is to work and then come home and hibernate.  No stamping, no motivation and no mojo!  But, tonight, I finally spent a little time in the craft room.  So I thought I would share one of the cards that I made.   This particular card is a project I found on the Hero Arts "Ideas" page of their website, which was completed by Jennifer McGuire.   You can find complete printable instructions for this project, and many others, on the Hero Arts website.  In addition, Jennifer has a great blog as well as many how-to videos posted on her blog as well as youtube.com.

By Jennifer McGuire/Hero ArtsMy Version

     Supplies used: 

Vintage Text background stamp, Cornish Heritage Farms

Wildflower Garden, Hero Arts

Thinking of You, Savvy Stamps

Stamping Up Markers:  Tempting Turquoise, Taken with Teal, Old Olive

Ink Pads, Tim Holtz Distress Ink, Tea Dye and Antique Linen; Tsukineko Versamark Watermark Ink; Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black

Tim Holtz Blending Tool

Clear Embossing Powder

Water Mister

Step by Step Instructions:

1.  Stamp Vintage Text, using Tea Dye Distress Ink on 4.25"x 5.5" watercolor paper.

2.  Color directly onto Wildflower Garden stamp, using Stamping Up markers.  Spritz stamp with water and then stamp directly on top of Vintage Text background. 

3.  Stamp greeting, Thinking of You, with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink.

4.  Using Tim Holtz blending tool, apply Distress Ink, Antique Linen, around the border the card.

5.  Layer onto cardstock.

Boo!

My co-worker is excitedly preparing for a Halloween bash this weekend and it made me think of all of the Halloween parties that my roommate and I used to host at the clubhouse where we lived.  We both worked in the HR department at Duke at the time and, let me tell you, those folks know how to party!   Here's some photos from  those legendary days!

"Who You Gonna Call? "Ghostbusters!"

French Maids, Flappers and a Princess...  Note:  This was before "contacts" were invented and I couldn't see any further than my nose without my glasses.  Man, those were some big-ass lenses.

Some folks "think outside the box" when coming up with a costume...

 

What's a Halloween party without a devil? 

Happy Spooktacular Halloween!

Dog Tired...

I'm pretty sure he is dreaming about the two kitty cats that live next door.

Charlie and "His" Bed...

Charlie has always thought that my bed was his bed...  When I leave for work in the morning, he hops up on the bed to await his morning treat.  Well, at least he does this if it is a good day and he's not in his separation anxiety mode.  If he is anxious, he is hiding in his crate or under a piece of furniture, but that's another story.  When I get home from work, the first thing he does is hop on the bed and roll around for his play time, awaiting his belly rub.  Then, of course, much to the dismay of my allergist, he also sleeps on the bed at night.  He starts down at the bottom of the bed, eventually works his way under the covers and by daylight he has his head on the pillow, partially covered like he is a real person. 

Of course, when it comes time to change the sheets I have a constant battle of trying to get the sheets off and on while a 20-pound dachshund/beagle sits in the middle of the bed, just daring me to mess with his bed.  This past weekend we "battled" for at least 15 minutes...  He got made up under the fitted sheet and then had to work his way out, then we went through the same with the regular sheet and bedspread.   

But, he finally gave out after I got the bed made and started covering him up with the pillowcases.  He just hit the wall and that quick playtime was over.  Luckily he was still on "his" bed...

 

 

GIMP...

GIMP.    GNU Image Manipulation Program.   Fancy words for a free downloadable image editor and image manipulation software similar to Photoshop...

While attending our monthly scrapbooking crop yesterday, Sherry told me about GIMP and showed me photographs that she had altered using GIMP.  Particularly, she had taken a color photo, switched it to a black and white photo, and then colored only certain parts of the photo.   Wow! I was so impressed that I stayed up to close to 4:30 a.m. checking it out for myself.  Of course, I had this grand plan to sleep late to make up for it, but unfortunately my sister didn't get that memo and called me bright and early at 8 a.m. this morning.  Yawn!

While the program has many other features, the process mentioned above is called "Selective Colorization," and it is actually pretty easy to do (especially if you print the instructions out rather than try to go back and forth between screens).  LOL.  The biggest challenge is having a steady hand when "coloring" or "painting" near the edges.  Perhaps sitting in a recliner and using the arm as a mouse pad is not the most optimal way to try this technique.  And, a fair amount of patience is needed too. 

The color version:

The B&W version:

And, a couple of photos with "Selective Colorization" applied.

Wanna give it a try?  Here are the steps:  

1. When you open GIMP, there will be a Toolbox dialogue box (on the left), a Layers dialogue box (to the right) and the main window (center) that will appear.  In the main window screen, select <File> <Open>.
2. Under <Image>, select <Duplicate>.  (Or, Ctrl D).
3. Convert Duplicate to B&W by selecting <Image>, <Mode>, <Grayscale>, then <Image>, <Mode>, <RGB>.  At this point, you will now have two images open on the screen, the original color image and the B&W.  (The B&W image will be in the foreground and the color image in the background.)
4. Click on the color image, then select <Layer>, <New Layer> (Or, Shift Ctrl N).  A pop up box will appear, in which you will need to give new layer a name.  I just use B&W.  In the same pop up box, select <Transparency> for the Layer Fill Type.  Click OK.
5. Click on the B&W photo.  Click on <Select> <All> (Or, Ctrl A).  Then, select <Edit> <Copy> (Or, Ctrl C).  Now, click on color image.  Select <Edit> <Paste> (Or, Ctrl P).
6. Click on the “anchor” in the Layer Dialogue box to anchor the B&W on top of the color photo.  You will now have two screens with B&W photos (the original B&W, which will show 1 layer in the title bar, and the “new” B&W, which will show 2 layers in the title bar).  It’s less confusing if you close (or minimize) the original B&W (1 layer) which will be in the background.  Are you with me so far?
7. Now, jump over to the Layers Dialogue box on the right-side of the screen.  You will see the two layers (B&W and Background) shown in this box.  Right-click on the B&W layer.  Select <Add Layer Mask>.  When pop up box appears, select <White (Full Opacity)>.  Then, click Add.
8. Now the fun begins.  This is where that patience and steady hand comes in handy.  Go to the Toolbox dialogue box (on the left), select the paintbrush tool.  Now, start “painting” and watch the magic.  Be sure to zoom in on the photo (to at least 200%) for easier painting on the edges.  You can also adjust the size of the paintbrush from the Layer dialogue box under the “Brushes” section at the bottom.
9. After you finish, save your images.  Voilà.

Is that cool or what?  Now, I've got to go check out the "Movie Maker" program that Sherry also mentioned.  Oh, well, it may be 4:00 a.m. before I get to bed again tonight. 

The Winner is...

True Random Number Generator Min: Max:

 Result: 6

 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Congratulations, Joann! 

Thanks to everyone for entering the giveaway and for following my blog! 

Blog Giveaway!

The one-year anniversary for my blog sort of passed me by earlier this month, as I unexpectedly ended up in Virginia for two weeks while my Mom was in the hospital...  But, as the saying goes, better late than never.  So to commemorate my first year of blogging, I have decided to have a giveaway.  Woo-hoo!

The Prize:  $50 Visa/MasterCard Gift Card

The Rules:

• To enter, you need to leave a comment under this blog entry titled "Blog Giveaway" to be entered.  Comments left under other entries will not be considered in the drawing. 
• To enter the giveaway, just answer the following question in the Comments section of this post before August 15, 2010, 11:59 p.m. eastern time.

"What is your favorite summer vacation memory, past or present? 

• Only 1 comment per person allowed.  Multiple entries will not be counted.
• I will have my computer randomly select a number between the range of comments I have.  Of course, the comments are not numbered online, so I will have to manually count them myself.  The earliest entry will be number 1 and I will count up to the last entry.  Does that make sense?

Assuming the stars are in alignment and the ole' trusty computer is working, a winner will be randomly selected and announced on or about August 16, 2010...

Good luck!

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