NSR: Weight Loss

I know this is not stamping related and I do try to keep everything on my blog stamping related BUT.......

I started walking this week.....just getting way to large and need to put an end to it and shrink a little. LOL Anyway, I weighed myself before I went for a walk and then again when I returned home. Well, I had GAINED a pound. So my thought is this, apparently I am allergic to exercise since it is having an adverse effect on me. LOL

Seriously though, it was yesterday's shock on the scale that made me realize that I am way too overweight and need to do something about it NOW. Sooooo, I signed up with Herbalife (a friend of mine has done very well with these products, her diabetes is under control, she's lost quite a bit of weight, etc so I thought I'd give it a try as well). And I signed up as a distributor with them so that I can get my own products at a discount and sell it as well.

So with that I was also thinking about starting some weight loss challenge groups in my area with a twist.....for those who are interested I would also host a stamping make & take on weigh in days to make it a little more fun and exciting to come weigh and measure in. And it would also give us a little time to chat about the challenges we are facing with losing weight, or our accomplishments, or offer encouragement to each other, etc.

Anyway, today I'll be taking my dreaded before picture. I have 100 pounds to lose but have set my first goal at 50 pounds. I'll worry about the other half of that after reaching this first goal.

Oh, I'll have some more projects to post shortly as well.

Book of Blessings

Something that I have been working on with my children is to always be thankful of the blessings we have in our lives. And even though it may seem like nothing is going right and it may seem as though life is just so tough there are always blessings to be found. And we've been talking about how important it is to take the time each day to thank God for each of these blessings. Sooooo, our little Book of Blessings was born. I made these today so that me and my kids can take time out every morning to write a few things that we are thankful for in our lives as a way of saying "Thank You Lord, for all You do.".

These little books are made using the little mini composition notebooks found in Dollar Tree (something like 4 per pack for $1). They are covered with colored CS (just a piece on front and one on back, it is not a full wrap) and the spine is recovered with a contrasting color CS. The "medallion" is made with CS matching the spine and then green CS circle. The stamp is from stamp set T-2951 Always Remember (TAC of course LOL). The ribbon is fed through 1/8" holes in the top and bottom of the "medallion" piece.

Clear Card - Pointsettia

This is the same image from 2 different angles. I really had fun with this card. It was made using stamps from TAC stamp set T-2701. The green CS is attached to the back side of the back flap using 2 red eyelets (one in the upper right corner and one in the lower left corner). The red CS is attached to the front of the back flap using double stick tape. The white CS is attached to the red CS using double stick tape. The Poinsettia image is stamped using the Noire Palette Hybrid Ink Pad and embossed with Transcendence EP. It is colored using chalks. The Holly stamp is stamped on the front side of the front flap using Staz On White and heat set (only because I'm impatient but heat setting is NOT necessary). The holly is colored from the back side of the front flap using green stickles. The Poinsettia in the lower left corner is made using several poinsettia parts and a leaf and is attached using a tiny gold brad. The ribbon in the upper right corner is just some scrap ribbon I had laying around.

The thing about working with acetate is that you're prone to getting a TON of fingerprints on the acetate. I try to remember to work with cotton gloves on so I don't get the fingerprints all over (the gloves can be found in the candy making section of most craft stores). If I forget to put the gloves on I just wipe over the card front and back on both flaps using a soft rag (we have several eye glass cleaning rags laying around the house and I snagged a few for use on acetate).

Clear Card - Let It Snow

These are all different versions of the same card. Again, they vary by the way the ribbon is added. These cards were made by cutting the acetate in half on the long side instead of the standard short side. And then I cut about 1 1/2" off the front flap. This particular card is stamped to open up rather than from the right. The images are from TAC stamp set T-870 and T-2924. The "Let It Snow" image is stamped using the Noire Palette Hybrid Ink Pad and heat set. It is colored from the backside of the transparency with a brown Sharpie (the trees). Glitter was also added from the backside to the snowflakes and snow hill outlines. White CS is attached to the back of the front flap using 2 green eyelets at the top. "Ready Set Snow" is stamped using Staz On White Ink. It is NOT embossed. The Green CS is attached to the front side of the back flap using double stick tape. The ribbon is thread through the eyelets on all but the last one.

Clear Card - Dashing Through The Snow

I did 2 versions of this card. Both cards were created using stamps from TAC stamp set T-2924. The snowflake swirl stamp is stamped on the front of the acetate using Staz On White and heat set (not necessary to heat set but I'm impatient and wanted it to dry quicker). The "Dashing Through The Snow" image was stamped using Pearlescent Sky Blue Brilliance Ink Pad and embossed with Transcendence EP. Glitter was added to the backside of the snowflake swirl image. And the blue "poofy" ribbon is "fun fur" that I picked up at Dollar Tree. The red CS is adhered to the very back of the card (behind the back flap) using eyelets. The white CS is attached on the front side of the back flap of the card using double stick tape. The "fun fur" tassle is attached with a staple (you can use a colored staple if you choose).

Clear Card - Give Thanks

This is one of my Clear Cards. It is difficult to see the card edges since it is made using Acetate. This card was made using stamps from TAC stamp set T-1139. The acorns were stamped with the Noire Palette Hybrid Ink Pad and heat set. They are stamped on the front of the card and colored on the backside using permanent markers (Sharpies). A little depth was given to the leaves using a Green Glaze Pen. "Give Thanks" and the Cornacopia was stamped also using the Noire Palette Ink Pad. It was NOT embossed. It is colored using chalks. The ribbon is just orange grosgrain ribbon scrap I had laying around (yes, I have a ton of ribbon scraps laying around LOL).

Butterflies

This is a picture of 3 different versions of the same card. Everything is the same except the way the ribbon is attached. The butterfly is from TAC stamp set T-2929. It is stamped on white CS and embossed with Transcendence EP. It is colored with chalks and stickles. The butterfly was cut out and mounted with foam dots to pink CS which was then mounted to the brown CS also using foam dots. The background image on the brown CS was stamped using Versamark and the swirl stamp from TAC stamp set T-2929. The ribbon used was some scrap that I had laying around.