Poke...Poke...Poke...

I've been a paper piercing maniac today, trying to get these Thank You cards completed. I'm almost there. I am making close to 40 of these for all those generous souls who donated to my Avon Walk for Breast Cancer efforts.

I used my new Oval Nesties (my fave purchase to date - ovals were my nemesis before they arrived). I wanted to keep these cards simple, and decided to add piercing for detail. The sentiment is from Little Paper Shop.

Last weekend was the actual event, and I rose at 3:50 am Saturday to be in NYC by 5:30. DH was kind enough to drive me in. The walk began at 7 and we walked 26.2 miles on Saturday. What a fantastic walking tour of the city! We walked up along the Hudson, through Spanish Harlem, down to SOHO, over the Brooklyn Bridge, back over the Manhattan Bridge, over Chinatown, and up 2nd Avenue past the United Nations, to end at Randall's Island. There, we camped out in 2-person tents, showered in shower trucks, ate a huge pasta dinner, and enjoyed the evening entertainment (including a marriage proposal!). Sunday morning, we woke to rain and had a hot breakfast and hit the road again. Another 13.1 miles, through the center of Manhattan, down through the Village and ending back at Pier 84. It was a fabulous heartwarming and heartbreaking weekend, and I signed up to walk again next year. This year I far surpassed the minimum fundraising goal and hope to do even better in 2009.

It honestly took me all this week to fully recover, physically and emotionally. I went back to work Wednesday, DH left for a business trip that night and I finally feel rested after a great family weekend. Tomorrow, DS and I have the day off, so we are going to head down to the beach. It is supposed to top 79 degrees tomorrow, so we're going to enjoy the sunshine!

I hope this finds everyone well. Happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian friends! Thanks for looking!

A Few RAKS To Share

From Mada in Romania, this is the August JT Aloha RAK club card I received. Mada is a new blogger, but go and check her out. This card is very pretty! She also made a donation to my Avon Walk fundraising. Thank you VERY much, Mada! Next, I received a parcel from Deb in CA. The first time she sent my Aloha RAK for July, it got lost in the mail. So she sent this last week. I love the Halloween stuff, as well as the floral girly stuff. DS is eyeing those spider foam stamps!! Thanks so much, Deb!

This weekend, I did my practice walk - 13 miles long! I'm aiming for 15 miles this weekend, 17 next and adding 2 each weekend until the big event on October 4 and 5. I am happy to say that I have surpassed my fundraising goal!

Perhaps this week will be less hectic at work and I can take some time to stamp. It's killing me not to create something every day! Thanks to my few readers for sticking around.

Speaking of blog candy, Wallflower never claimed her prize from last week, so I am going to send it to Rachel. I drew names again and hers is the one that came out of the cup. Rachel, I have your info from the SBS group, and will get your goodies out to you this week.

OK - I'm off to see if I can sneak in one more card before bedtime. Wish me luck! Thanks for looking!

We're In This Together...

I've mentioned once or twice that I am registered to walk the Avon 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer in October. It's something I've wanted to do for some time, and each year have found a reason not to do. This is the year. It's 39.3 miles over the course of 2 days, and I'm very excited to be a part of something bigger.

Today I took the time to draft my letter that will be mailed to all of my contacts. A letter campaign to my town's businesses is next. I am hoping to raise more than the minimum of $1800.

Please consider making a donation to this very worthy cause that has such far-reaching results. Each year, millions are raised to fund local and national research efforts. The Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade has raised more than $250 million. Every dollar makes a difference in finding a cure for this disease that takes the life of one woman every 14 minutes.

Make a donation by clicking on this link, which will bring you to my Participant Page. Then click on "Make a gift" under the thermometer or the pink button above the thermometer that says "Support Me". After making your donation (ANY amount helps!), post a comment on this post, and I will draw a name for blog candy each month until October, when the walk takes place. The candy will be a surprise each month, but will be my small way of saying Thank You to all who take the time to donate.

Meanwhile, here's a card that I'm working on as part of a series to go to each donor. I have used MFT Think Pink stamps, and have been coloring these images for a week now. Each card will be slightly different, using every dp with pink in my stash. The embellisments will be limited, though, as I hope to be mailing out a ton of these!
Thanks so much for looking!

Girlfriend's Day Swap Cards

My SBS sisters recently had a swap for Girlfriend's Day, which is this Friday, August 1. Here are the fantastic cards that each participant received:

From Elisabeth:

From Rachel

From Me:

Next, let me say that I love the color combination in Rachel's card. Her main panel has paisley, flowers, swirls and other girly images in the same color combination. Nice job! And the swirl clip detail on the ribbon is a great touch.

First, let me comment on the background paper of Elisabeth's card. I love the sparkly background and the trim that is made of velvety flowers. Very pretty! And the sentiments are perfect ;)

On my card, I used the CHF pretty pattern backgrounder and some dp from the dollar store. The pink tag is from some blog candy I won and I added the sentiment from Verve and some flowers and bling. I also added a Prima to the flower on the main image, which is Sweetybellas. The ribbon is American Crafts.

Is it Friday yet?? Yikes, what a week! I found a job posting today that is a great position, but would require either an hour commute each way or moving house. We've talked about moving house, but like our neighbors. The school district is not the best, but the taxes are lower than surrounding areas. However, the job is the next move on the career ladder if I want to continue on my professional path. So do I throw my resume into the ring anyway? When DH is back in town I guess we'll have lots to talk about!

On another note, anyone have the Carl/Bidex rotary cutter? How long should I expect a blade and cutting strip to last? I've been using mine for almost a year and it feels like the cutting strip is starting to fade in performance. Any opinions are appreciated!

Oh, and one more thing. Saturday I am hosting a Home and Garden Party at my house if any of you happen to be in this neck of the woods! All my hostess benefits will be converted into a cash donation for my Avon Walk. I'm at 65% of my fundraising goal :)

Thanks for looking!

Psst...Wanna Make a Sheetload?

Of cards, that is. I find myself returning to Sheetload of Cards on Sundays when I finally get time to stamp and want to produce a bunch of cards in one sitting. This week, I toured the archives and used the January 2008 template to make 9 of these:

Yes, 9 cards in one sitting! From only a few sheets of paper! The dp is from CTMH, the ribbon is from the craft store. I used Liquid Pearls in the corners of the image, which is from MFT. It's a great way to use your stash of DP. And just think, the more you use, the more you can buy. I know we are all in that habit of hoarding *something.* For me, it's ribbons and dp. Oh, and Primas and brads, too.

I have been receiving lots of donations in the mail for my Avon Walk For Breast Cancer and I needed a bunch of Thank You cards. This template from Sheetload fit the bill, and I will be making more this week! Go check them out and make your own Sheetload of Cards!

Thanks for looking!