Quick Update - I'm a Warm Weather Blog Slacker

Warm weather does not encourage blogging. It does encourage very much time spent laying in the sun, smelling flowers, and getting dirty though! I've been on another motorcycle ride and thought much less about dying during it! Maybe I need to go far more often in order to conquer this fear. I also made my friend go at what he calls "beach cruiser" speed, that helps! Apparently I am not the most fun person to ride with. Ah well... can't be so bad or I wouldn't be invited anymore!

Something a little more my pace - a bicycle surrey! Now I know I go on and on about these things, but really I don't think they'll ever get old to me. It's not very often that I find something that can hold my attention for a long time. What I really need to do is buy my own surrey so I'm not confined to the short trail they allow them on at the park. We go around the loop twice everytime and that's still not far enough! Dave heard enough about me and MY surrey this last time that he got a little annoyed. Some of my favorite bloggers have nicknames for their husbands when they blog... mine is well on his way to the title of CrankyAss. At least *I* am having a fun summer. Look who else is too! (I ALWAYS forget my camera when we go rent a surrey- check out the awesome pics my new cellphone takes-wowza!)

I got some scratcher 'lotto' cards made for one of my craft shows! I used this amazing tutorial from Art Mind. I had no idea it was so easy to do this! I also for some reason thought it would only take me a half hour or so to make 100 of them (HAHAHA). Some valuable things I learned along the way:

***Watercolor paper is nice, but not appropriate for stamping on. It takes FOREVER for the ink to dry, if it ever does dry fully. I ended up using some recycled ACEO cards I got on Etsy from EssemDesign. This isn't a supply shop, but if you like glitter and fun jewelry you should check it out. It was quick shipping with friendly service. And I was able to use recycled materials so I'm happy!

***It is NOT faster to paint a big sheet of contact paper and cut it into squares and apply it to the cards. The paint chipped off whenever I bent the big sheet and it ended up in the trash can. Blah.

***Cheap paintbrushes make for bubbly streaky paint, a small foam brush might work better. I haven't tested this, but I do plan to make more, so I'll update when I know for sure!

Here's a peek at what I came up with. I'm not crazy with my uneven paint jobs, not to mention my sloppy stamping, but I've set my OCD aside this time since these will probably get tossed if they are losing cards anyhow.

FYI-- I got that "Buy Handmade! delainie.etsy.com" stamp from AutumnWhispers! It's a beautiful stamp, but a bit hard to hold. I'm going to have to figure out some sort of handle because I'm going to use this thing till it falls apart!!

I went thrift store shopping for some display ideas and found a great wooden serving platter with a metal handle sticking out of the middle for $1.99. I'm planning to make a "WIN A FREE WALLET -- Ask Me How!" sign to attach to the handle. I plan to give those that ask a scratcher card, and also another to anyone that buys something. Should I put the odds of winning on the sign?

Also, I found a make-your-own stamp set at Walmart on CLEARANCE for a mere $7! It came with TONS of letters, numbers, and symbols in a convenient case, with an inkpad and little letter pluckin tweezers. Man I love a good deal! Sure saved me a lot of time making these scratcher cards as well! I would've just printed them out like the tutorial explained but my printer is having issues. It's only got a black cartridge in it, yet it only prints in red. Figure that one out...

Have You Risked Your Life Lately?

I did today. Fresh air, hot sun, fast motorcycle. I don't know what it is about motorcycles. They really scare the shit out of me. It's like a mind test where I try to enjoy the ride and NOT think about crashing. Or what I'd look like splattered on the pavement. Or what I think I'd break first. How they'd figure out who I am since I left anything identifiable in my car. It really can't be healthy to put myself in these situations. When I can stop thinking about those things... I LOVE MOTORCYCLES. I never want to drive one though. I like having a bug sheild sitting in front of me. Speaking of, I feel like I inhaled a bug. A tiny one, but it seriously feels like something went all the way up my nose. Maybe I've got a new visitor living in my sinus. Isn't this a pleasant story?

A few days ago at the fabric store, David and I were shopping for a bunch of things we didn't need. After chit-chatting with my fabric store ladies (who I see more than my own family these days) David and I were leaving and my sweet boy says "Thanks for the fabric! I eat my boogers! Bye!" Leaving me standing there with a why-in-the-world-would-you-say-that?! look on my face. This is the silliest age yet, by far.

I should've titled this post "Nose Stories."

It's late... I've got much more to say later, but no more about noses. Goodnight :)