Busy Bee

I've had an explosion of creativity this weekend. I've ignored housework, laundry, cooking, kids & hubby to get these done:

...good thing, too, because I checked the SIStv forum and they are due FRIDAY, the 20th, not the 28th like I thought.

These are ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) for a Rainbow ATC swap Stacey Fike is hostessing. You make six of each color, then get six different colors back. So I'll be getting 18 rainbow-colored ATCs in exchange, sweet!

In Valentines Day news, I got a new printer. My Epson may just need new toner cartridges, but it has been smearing black ink with its rollers lately, despite nozzle checks & head cleaning, and cartridges are $25 a pop (I need black and CMYK, so that's $50, ouch); it was time to try something new.

The new one (Kodak ESP 5) has a built-in scanner (something else I've been needing) but I'm not really thrilled with the print quality. E, of course, did his Consumer Reports (aka The Engineer's Assistant) and CNet research, and found this one to be the fastest on print time as well as one of the cheapest (ahem) on the market, so...Happy Valentine's Day to me.

Tess got conversation heart stickers, Ben got a Mack toy (Cars movie, naturally), E got a (very) funny card (let's just say it involved fuzzy monkeys and a banana joke), I got a printer (and some consolation flowers Saturday night...I might have shared Pitiful Husband Attempts at Valentines Day stories from Friday night with E earlier in the day...oops)...well, it was better than most romantic holidays around here :)

No resolutions...

...just lots of photo projects for me in the year (and month) ahead.

Project365: A photo a day. I'm already struggling, but I'm determined to keep my camera with me and read. the. damn. manual. Finally. I'm also putting these photos into this group, since I started on January 1st. You can start Project365 anytime if you'd like to join me...

365Days: A self-portrait each day. This one is much easier, since you have a built-in subject. I can see myself sticking with this for the long haul.

Get a L.O.A.D. of This: A layout a day challenge (free!) at Big Picture Scrapbooking. I have finished more pages this month than in all of October, November, and December 2007 combined. Since the gallery is impossible to search, I've loaded all my completed layouts into my portfolio at SISTV.

CE, CKU, CTMH, SU, and other abbreviations

On Friday I got a special email that I had "won" the lottery *to register* for Creative Escape (CE) 2008 in Arizona (E finds that whole concept suspect and silly, so)...It took me all weekend to figure out how to propose this to E, as it is a weekend away from him and the kids, albeit not until next September.

Going is going to require a lifestyle change for me. It is quite an expensive event, but after going to Creating Keepsakes University (CKU) in April, blowing my budget *after the fact*, and having moved into a house with a room for me to spread out my scrapbooking stuff, I have realized a few things.

1. I am not the kind of scrapper who stocks up on supplies because they are pretty, and I *might* have a use for them, someday. I have been guilty of that in the past, but it's not what makes for happy scrapping in my world.

2. I have everything I could want from Close To My Heart (CTMH -- for whom I have been a consultant for 4 years now) and I've been in a Stampin Up (SU) monthly stamp club for a year and half, so, same sentiment there. Those two commitments have cost me over half of my monthly budget each month for too long now; I need resign from CTMH and quit the SU stamp club when my latest round is up in February.

3. I have soooo much leftover stuff from CKU that I haven't used yet (see moving into my own space, above) that I don't need to buy anything for a while.

4. Putting a down payment on the event (non-refundable, gulp) and *saving up ahead of time* to finish paying for it, as well as hotel and airfare, was a challenge for CKU (see blown budget, above), but I have been less interested in spending money on new stuff (see leftover stuff, above) and I feel totally ready to go on a serious craft diet to attend something this special.

5. I have plenty of knitting stash to keep me going through the winter when I get the itch to knit (my other expensive hobby, which I have not been spending much money or time on lately).

6. Ditto quilting stash.

7. Scrapbooking gives me the most relaxation and satisfaction right now. I need to step back and step up and really treat myself to an extended scrap retreat.

7b. And I need to save up for it this time, instead of paying for it the year after.

I sound like I'm still trying to convince myself, don't I?

UPDATE: Sorry, I wasn't trying to convince myself since I've already paid the deposit. Now the challenge is to see if I can stay on track until the final balance is due February 4th. When I quit CTMH and my SU stamp club (which I am glad to give up; both have been exhausting to my budget), I should have $130 or more to save toward CE --per month -- and I feel that is totally do-able.

Besides, I am SO not giving up my spot! Not yet, at least :D