this little life of mine

Happy Monday, and Happy Halloween! I decided to make one last Halloween card for the year before jumping into Christmas. I used the small and large gravestones, scaredy cat, and grass tuft (not pictured, but added later) from Stampa Barbara, the moon face from Stampa Rosa, and the little ghost from Uptown Rubber Stamps. (Pictured, but not used is the Bat Trio (I forget the company), and the Trick or Treat bag from Stampa Barbara.)

 I started out by stamping everything where I wanted it to make my scene. This way I can see what images need to be masked.

Then I stamped and masked the first images, then finished up by stamping the rest of the scene. In the finished piece, I ended up making everything too high on the card, so I nixed the Bat Trio, and added the grass tufts to make the ground to fill in the bottom of the card.

 I coloured it in using a combination of  Prismacolour coloured pencils and Walnut Hollow oil coloured pencils, and because I was feeling lazy, I just hand wrote the sentiments on the gravestones with a Sharpie.

I think it turned out really cute, and I think it might be my favourite one this year! I'm getting my Holiday and Christmas stamps out and organized, and plan to start playing with them soon! I hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween, and I'll see you next time! Cheers! 

After what feels like years away, I've finally returned to my rubber stamping hobby, and to celebrate I did a little shopping at my new favourite rubber stamp supplier Simon Says Stamp. I just ordered a few items, and recently received a good-sized box filled with stampy wonders!

This sentiments on this sheet from My Favorite Things were quite a bit bigger than I thought they would be, but I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with them. 

Next I picked up some clear envelopes to store my newly purchased unmounted stamps in.

I picked up the Wink of Stella brush which has clear glitter in it. I had to really fight to get the glitter out of the pen, but I love this touch of sparkle it brings. I can see using it for snowflakes and butterflies and flowers.

I'm not sure why I decided to get a coffee stain stamp, but I did.  

I just HAD to buy this adorable stamp from Stamping Bella! Seriously, it looks just like me: from the red hair, the cropped jeans, and the martini! I like this for my New Year's cards!

I also picked up some cling sheets, so I can unmount some of my wood mounted stamps. I might of screwed up, though, because all my wood mounts already have the cushion, but maybe I'll come across some that need some new cushioning!

Finally, the item I'm most excited for: the Mini MISTI. I've seen stampers using this on YouTube videos, and it looks simply amazing! I can't wait to try it out!

It's really tiny. It's definitely just for card-sized projects, not scenes. 

I'm pretty excited to get to stamping, and see what fun cards I will create with all my new stuff. I think I'm about done with Autumn/Halloween  now, and should really get started on my Holiday/Christmas cards! Hope you're all having a great weekend! Cheers!

Hi, everyone, and TGIF! A while ago I mentioned getting a free reusable shopping bag from Shutterfly after redeeming a coupon I got at Von's. It came out really nice, see?

I also got coupons for a free set of coasters, and a calendar, both of which turned out beautiful! Recently I got another coupon for another free reusable shopping bag, and jumped on it right away. It only took a few weeks after ordering to arrive, and I can't wait to see how it turned out! 

Inside they also include instructions on how to fold the bag so it will fit easily in your purse, or maybe even a pocket!

I really like the pretty pattern on the back of the bag. They colours are really great for fall and winter, I think!

And, here is the front! I used several photos from my recent super fun trip to Portland to visit my very dear friend Darlene. The pictures came out great, and I really like how this bag turned out!

I am really impressed with the Shutterfly products I've received. By the way, this is totally NOT a sponsored post! I just enjoy sharing the cute and very well made items I've received from this company, all of which have been through coupons, so the items were free. All I paid for was the shipping and handling, which came out to around $7.00 or $8.00. Such a great deal! If you ever get a grocery store coupon for a free bag, or calendar, or anything from Shutterfly, go for it! You will NOT be disappointed! Hope you're all having a great week! Cheers!

So, I'm finally getting around to opening the latest BeautyCon box. This is the Fall Essentials box curated by Shayla and Angel. (Sorry, but I've never heard of either of these people.) I'm curious to see what they've put in here!

As always they include a list of all the items included in the box, which is really helpful!

The website says there's about $100.00 worth of products in here, which is a pretty good deal considering the annual subscription price (which is what I signed up for) is $99.00!

This first item, however, is something I will never ever use: a brozer lotion from Mystic Tan. I don't do fake tanning lotion or bronzers. I just don't I know real tanning is bad for you, but there's nothing like a REAL sun tan. IMHO.

The next item is something I will never use, either: fake eyelashes by iSlay Lashes. They're pretty, but I just don't do fake eyelashes. I think they would look ridiculous on me! Still, since I have them, I might as well try them out, right? A small tube of lash adhesive was also included, which is helpful since I don't have any!

I do like this next item and KNOW I will use it: a lovely dark brown eyeshadow from Milani Cosmetics. I love darker browns for my crease, so this is perfect for me!

The colour is really rich!

Oohh, I also love the makeup wipes from Simple! Aside from the Noxema make up remover wipes, these are my favourites! I'm putting this small sample size right in my travel kit!

Next up is a really pretty liquid lipstick from OFRA Cosmetics. I don't usually wear lipstick, but I'm starting to like these liquid lipsticks that are popular right now.

Oohh, this one is super pretty on! I like that it's subtle, but still has some rosey colour.

I'm looking forward to trying this lip enhancer from Jouer - it says it's suppoed to plump and moisturize your lips! As you can see in the photo above, I need help in both those areas!

Next up is a duo highlighter pencil from The BrowGal which looks exactly like the highlighter pencil I currently use from Anastasia Beverly Hills. Exactly. I guess that's okay, because it'll save me some money when the old one runs out!

This is a really nice makeup brush from Luxie Beauty. It's the Large Angled 504 Brush, for you make up brush connoisseurs out there!

The final few items are not cosmetics products, but are kind of fun. The first is a set of stickers with shoes, sunglasses, purses, and other fashion items.

Next is a super cute enamel pin in the shape of a lipstick!

Okay, this final item I actually had to look up online because I've never heard of this company, and there was no information on it in the box. They're Sugar Lips from Sugarfina. When I opened the package, it smelled kind of sweet, but kind of odd, too, and I really wasn't sure if they were candies, or mini soaps that looked like candies. I tried one, and it had a gummy candy consistency, but it didn't really taste good. I don't know if I just had soap on the brain, or what, but it kind of tasted soapy! I see on their website they are sweet and sour gummie candies, and the flavours are supposed to be watermelon, strawberry, and bubble gum. If I ended up biting into a sour bubble gum one, I think I can understand my confusion!

So, anyway, there's the box for fall. I actually liked a lot more of the products than I initially thought I would, and I'm excited to try a few of them! Overall, if you are someone who is really into makeup (and know who some of these "gurus" are!), you might enjoy getting these seasonal boxes. I linked the website above, so you can check them out for yourself. For me, I believe I have the Winter box left, and then my subscription runs out. I don't think I'll be renewing it. There are a few things in each box I've used and/or liked, and a lot of things I would never use, so I don't think this is really worth it for me. It's been fun to try, though! I hope you're having a great week, and I'll see you next time! Cheers!

I'm running a bit late with my monthly favourites for September, but better late than never, right? Anyway, here's what I loved (and didn't love) last month:

My #1 favourite cosmetics item ever is the Too Faced Mascara Melt Off! It's made the list several times, mostly because it's amazing and works quickly with very little effort! You simply brush the oil-based formula on your lashes as you would mascara, let it soak a minute or so, and wipe it off. It even takes off heavy-duty waterproof mascara with ease! How I ever lived without it is a mystery!  

And, speaking of mascara, right now my favourite mascara is the Covergirl LashExact Waterproof mascara. Because my eyes water constantly (Why? I don't know. Allergies? Probably.), I have to have a waterproof mascara, and as much as I would like to try some of the exciting-looking offerings from the high-end cosmetics companies, they rarely, if ever, offer a waterproof formula. Drug store brands, however, pretty much always have waterproof mascaras, and this is one of the best, imho!

My next two favourite cosmetics items are from Benefit and are part of their new brow line: the Gimme Brow Volumizing Eyebrow Gel and the 3D Browtones Eyebrow Enhancer. My brows have gotten sparse and really pale (i.e. grey) over the past few years, and these products are some of the best I've tried for easily making my brows look darker and thicker.

Okay, on to something that doesn't have to do with make-up, but does have to do with wine: the quarterly Atascadero Wine and Art Stroll was held September 9th, and had plenty of delicious offerings to try. Some of my favourites were from Nichol's Winery, Bristols Cellars & Lone Madrone, Vintage Cowboy, Barton Family & Grey Wolf, and August Ridge. As well as the delicious wines, there were some awesome art displays, food, and as always, it's just fun to wander through some of our quirky downtown shops. I even found an awesome handmade necklace at Local Love. I can't remember the artist's name, unfortunately, but I got a discount on this piece because the necklace part had broken. I'm sure I can find something in my collection, or even just buy a strip of leather or suede at Michael's to make a low choker.

And my final favourite is maybe a bit odd (and possibly gross!), but I've been using this item for a couple months now, and LOVE it! I have been sleeping so much better, and I swear part of the reason is that I can breathe so much easier. This is the Sleep Right intra-nasal breathe aid. I used to use the Breathe Right nasal strips that stick on the outside of the nose. Those worked okay, but sometimes they didn't stick very long, and occasionally they stuck TOO well, and took a bit of skin off with it! This device goes inside your nose to open up the nasal passages so you get more air in, and it removes simply and you just clean it with soap and water.  Best. Thing. Ever!

 The one thing I didn't like so much in September was something I actualy bought in August, but didn't try till last month, and that is the OPI Put a Coat On! base coat that came in the Tru Neon Minis kit.  It might have just been my own sloppy attempt to use it, but since it's actually just a white nail polish, it shows around the edges where the coloured polish doesn't hit, as opposed to the clear base coats. I'm not explaining it very well, but basically you end up with a bright nail polish colour with a white boarder, and it just looks bad. I love OPI, in general, but I'm just not a fan of this item.

Okay, that's it for the month of September! Did you have any awesome finds last month? Or maybe find something you thought would be great, but just wasn't? Let me know in the comments! Have a great weekend! Cheers!

So, this week's Friday Five will be another "To Do" List, but first I wanted to go back to last week's post, and see how well I did on that list, because whatever didn't get done last week, will have to get done this week. I am determined to get these things done! Okay, so I got the lawn mowed last Sunday, so there's one done. I also did some cooking over the weekend, so there's two. The CDs and stamps weren't even touched, so there's a couple for this weekend. I didn't get through my closet, either, however, I'm putting that one off, because I just made purchases at both Lane Bryant and Torrid, so I want to include whatever I keep out of those packages in my Great Seasonal Closet Switch-Out.

Also, I just want to note that while I didn't go through my CDs or rubber stamps, I did spontaneously go though my dozens of recipe books (you know, those little booklets you find at the checkout stands in grocery stores? yeah, I can't resist them!), and ripped out the 1 or two recipes I actually use, put them in a binder, and tossed the rest of the books. So, that felt good! Anyway, here's this weekend's "to do" list (also known as "Best Laid  Plans!"):

1. Go through the CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes. I'm adding the VHS tapes because it's kind of embarrassing how many of these I still have even though they're basically obsolete, and I'm not even sure the VHS machine works anymore. I know I was keeping them for a Very Important Reason, but honestly, when am I ever going to rewatch those oh, so special movies or TV shows? Um, like, never!

2. Clean off the top shelf in the kitchen. Our kitchen cupboards don't reach the ceiling, so we have stuff displayed on the upper shelf. Unfortunately, it gets really dusty and gross up there, so it's time to clean things off!

3.  Do some stamping! Yes, I'm going to go through my stamps and see if there are any I want to sell on eBay, but I also have a couple ideas for cards and a scene I'd like to stamp out.

4.  Get some exercise. Saturday might be my only chance to go for a walk because it's supposed to rain on Sunday, but if it's not too bad on Sunday, I'll have to get out and at least walk around the block once or twice!

5.  Go through old pictures/negatives and toss them. I really need to do another round of Legacybox to have some more negatives digitized. I had some done last year, and it turned out pretty good, but I've got tons more. Yes, I should probably just shred them without bothering to try to figure out what they are or where there from, because obviously I haven't looked at them in years (in some cases decades!), but the fear of one day looking for a certain photo or negative and not being able to find it, and forever losing that precious memory is anxiety-inducing to me. And, I mean, it literally makes me sob and shake uncontrollably in a full-on panic attack. Also, in the past when I have impulsively tossed stuff I thought was ugly, or worthless, or figured I'd never use or need, I later discovered it was a priceless family heirloom and have been tormented by the loss ever since. Yeah, I just need to get over it, but sometimes it's hard to let things like that go!

Anyway, that's a pretty good list for this weekend. It'll be easier to do if it rains Sunday, so I'm really hoping for that! Hope you have a terrific weekend! Share your awesome, fun, or even dull and mundane plans in the comments! Cheers!

So, after posting my Happy Autumn card yesterday, the Halloween card I whipped out for World Cardmaking Day looked a little boring, so I decided to fix it up. I cut out the card trio and sentiment, and adhered them to a piece of corrugated yellow paper. I cut out the largest of the three bats, and used it to cover up the crappy cutting job I did on the sentiment, and stamped my Moon Face from Stamp Francisco and put that in the opposite corner. I think it looks a lot better and much more interesting!

And, here's both of my cards together. I think they look pretty good, and I'm inspired to make a few more for the Halloween/Autumn season!

Have a terrific day! Cheers!

Good morning, everyone! Here's another new card I stamped recently, this time to celebrate autumn!

 I used my pumpkin stamp from PSX, and Susan Branch Numbers and Letters set for the sentiment. I used my two leaf punches for the leaves and a variety of coloured pencils to colour and shade the pumpkin. I stamped the pumpkin with my Distress Ink in Walnut Stain on some card stock and cut it out, coloured it in and attached it to a piece of yellow corrugated paper. I punched out my leaves in yellow, red, and kraft papers, using a couple to cover up the corners of the pumpkin that didn't stamp so well. I stamped "Happy Autumn" on yellow paper and layered it on some of the red, and attached it to the opposite corner from the pumpkin. It's pretty simple, but it turned out really well, imho!

Happy Columbus Day! Cheers!

So I finally got around to opening up the Fall Soap Box from Fortune Cooke Soap. It's called "As You Wish", and appears to be Princess Bride themed. 

There are nine items total in this box, all of which are described on the enclised card.

The first item is always a welcome and useful item: hand sanitize! This one is called Prepare to Die! and is supposed to smell like cookie dough with clove and saffron. I kind of wish the hand sanitize wasn't scented, because it always conflicts with my perfume, but it's still nice to have around!

Next up is a small sample of shampoo called Buttercup. The scent notes are: "...candied rum wrapped with ripe fig, bergamot, sweet vanilla musk". It sounds delightful, and I'm looking forward to using it!

This teeny tiny sample is their unscented facial moisturizer. I'm a little bummed it's so small  - really only one use - because you can't really tell if you like it or not after only one use. 

The whipped cream body butter is a really good-sized sample, and is described as smelling like "golden honey drizzled over toasted almonds and pumpkin puree warmed with amber". The scent is not overpowering once it's on, and it really made my super dry hands feel much softer!

The perfume oil sample is called Inconceivable! It's a really sweet-smelling fragrance, probably because of the whipped vanilla cream and poached pears. I kinda wish I could smell the fall woods and black amber more, but it's nice.

Next up is something I'm looking forward to: the Pit of Despair - Steam Me Up, Scotty! shower cube. It's scented with fresh-cut lemongrass, tropical plumeria, and one of my all-time favourte scents: patchouli! I can't wait to try this!

I wasn't sure what this next item was until I read the description, and now I'm curious to try it: The True Love facial cleansing oil. I've tried a cleansing oil from Neutrogena, I believe it was, and really liked it. This one smells amazing (fresh citrus, creamy jasmine petals and sea salt). 

I'm honestly not sure what the point of a scented cotton ball is. Is is supposed to be like potpourri? Do you put it in your lingerie drawer? I don't know. The scent is described as "rich pound cake, scented with cardamom, pistachio, and rosewater topped with creamy buttercream". Umm, okay.

The final item is the famous fortune cookie-shaped soap bar. It's an "aromatic blend of medieval honey apple mead" which made me really crave a good mead! I've used a couple of these soaps, and they've been hit and miss. One lathered up really well, anther one not so much. We'll see how this one does! Oh, and yeah, it comes with a fortune, this one a quote from the movie, I'm assuming.

That's it for this Fortune Cookie Soap box. I'm honestly on the fence over whether or not to continue getting these boxes. Past boxes have had items I've been allergic to, and sometimes overpowering scents bug me. I'll give these a try, though, and we'll see how I do. 

 Hope you're having a great weekend! Go Packers! Cheers! 

So, I went to Sephora, and bought a bunch of awesome stuff. Then I came home and made a little video about it, that you can check it out down below. Enjoy! Cheers!