Resolution #6

Resolution #6. Pay my bills on time.

One way to pay bills on time is to get them caught up first. Friday after I got my paycheck I went to the bank that has my car loan. Around Christmas time they have a "skip a payment" option. Usually it is in December and I go Christmas shopping. This year it was in January. I figure if I skipped this payment I would have enough leftover from my paycheck to get the rest of my bills caught up. It cost $35.00 to ‘skip a payment.’

I go inside and wait my turn. I went up to the teller and told him what I wanted to do. He started typing, stopped, and then he went to go get the manager. Oh no, I thought, I have skipped to many of these payments and they won’t let me do it again. So much for getting caught up on my bills. No--- it just happened this kid has never done this before. Whew. Ok.

The manager is telling this kid what steps he needs to do. I asked if it was still $35.00. "Yes" she replies "would you like us to take it out of your savings account?" I don’t have a savings account here. "Yes you do" No I only have my car loan here. "Rita Simmons, birthday _____, Social Security number ___-__-____?" Yes that’s me. "Then yes, you have a saving account here. You have $257.26 in your account." You’re sure? I asked. "Yes when you applied for your car loan you had to open an account with us." Then yes, take the $35.00 out of that account. Can I also withdrawal $50.00? I asked.

I went shopping at the new Michaels that just opened up.

Resolution #5

Resolution #5 Scrapbook more.

If you are wondering why I skipped resolution #4 - lose weight. It is because it is Saturday. You should never start a diet on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. Not that I am going on a diet. Diets don’t work, we all know that. I am changing my lifestyle and eating healthier - - - but not until Thursday. Lol

Back to resolution #5. Scrapbook more. Once a month my co-workers and I have an all day crop the first Saturday of the month. There is about 15 out of 40 of us that scrapbook, so we all pack up and head to the Auburn Center. This is our training site. It has enough tables and chairs to comfortably fit 45 -50 people. Even if all of us that scrapbook showed up we would each get a 8 x 4 foot table. Nice empty tables. No kids, no husbands.

I don’t know how I am going to scrapbook more until I get my photos organized. Tammy Brown had an interesting article on separating and organizing photos in the January TSI Newsletter. If you don’t get the newsletter, subscribe here. http://02af4c4.netsolstores.com/index.asp

I have scrapbooked all my current pictures. I am scrapping my wedding from 25 years ago, and getting a start on separating pictures. I have 30 years of pictures to separate. Ugh.

I did make a watermill paper piecing that turned out great (I do need to find those pictures before I can scrapbook it). Here is the paper piecing. I chalked the bricks in, added diamond glaze to the water, green flock for the trees, and flowersoft for the grass and flowers.

Resolution #3

Resolution #3. Smoke less. I am on Christmas Break. Last week smoking less was not a problem, my youngest was home from college and can’t handle cigarette smoke. If I wanted to smoke I had to go outside. You know how cold it was last week!? My daughter left Wednesday. OK, so I decided to throw my cigarettes up onto the highest cabinet in my kitchen. If I want a cigarette I have to go into the dining room, drag a chair into the kitchen, either remove my shoes or take the cover off chair, climb the chair and reach for that pack of cigarettes. I figure this would also help me with resolution #4.

So what are your New Year's Resolution? Do you have any traditions, or superstitions? Ours are cabbage (either stir fried or cole slaw), for luck.

I told you earlier I am working on a Around the World sets. Each bundle will be sold separately. For the Germany bundle I have a Map Flag (the outline of the country with the colors of their flag), a Pretzel PP (paper piecing), a Beer Stein PP, a Leiderhosen PP, a Beer Barrel PP, and a Cuckoo clock. For France I have a Map Flag, a sidewalk Café, a Fleur symbol, Arc de Triumph PP, a simple Eiffel Tower, a Wine Bottle PP, and a Beret PP. For Italy I have a Map Flag, The Coliseum PP, Leaning Tower of Pisa , a Wine Tag, a Column w/Ivy PP, and 2 Gondolas.

Ireland bundle has a Map flag, a Clover Corner accent, an Irish Dancing Costume PP, a Mug of Beer PP, a Derby, and a Lucky Horseshoe PP. Japan has a Map Flag, 2 different Fans PP (with either a dragon, blossoms, or birds), a Geisha Girl, a Rickshaw, a Pagoda, and a Bamboo Border. The Bamboo Border is one of my favorites. Scotland has a Map Flag, a Bag Pipe, 3 Bag Pipers, the Lochness Monster PP, a Celic Cross, and a Kilt PP.

London has a Map Flag of England, Big Ben, London Bridge, a Guard Bear Hat PP, a Double Decker Bus, and a Phone Booth PP. Sydney has a Map Flag of Australia, the Opera House PP, the famous Bridge, the Walkway Symbol & PP, a Koala Bear PP, and a Boomerang. Holland has a Map Flag of the Netherlands, 2 Windmill PP (one is less detailed than the other), Tulips PP, Clogs PP, and a Bicycle.

Besides the "Around the World" sets, I also have a San Francisco bundle with a Trolley Car PP, Fisherman’s Wharf PP, entrance to China Town, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Vegas bundle comes with the Welcome to Vegas sign PP, chips, dice, and cards. A Western theme set bundle come with a 2 wood fence borders (with cattle skull and wagon wheel), 2 photo matts, and a hanging sign.

Look for these bundle sets by the end of the month at http://www.thatsscrapinc.com/

A New Year, New Resolutions

1. Less caffine
2. Update my BLOG.
3. Smoke less. Yes I would like to quit, but that resolution has never worked for me, so I am going to slow down, smoke less.
4. Lose weight
5. Scrapbook more
6. Pay my bills on time

Now all I have to do is find a solution for each resolution that will work for me.

The "less caffeine" I have already started on. I no longer drink Pepsi, except on a few occasions, and as of last week I know longer drink caffeinated coffee. I am trying to wean myself, so I am drinking decaffeinated. Decaffeinated coffee to me is like non-alcoholic beer - what’s the use. Next week it will be water in the morning, which should help with resolution 4.

Resolution #2. Updating my blog. The group over at http://thatsscrap.yuku.com/ forum have a game going on this month on searching the designers blogs for Frosty’s hat to get a free file. I wanted to play also, but I am not that knowledgeable about blogs and stuff. Hopefully by the end of the month I can start participating in the forums games, and you can come here and get free files and news on what cutting files I am working on. Beside designing at http://designsbysky.cuttersmarket.com/, I also design for http://www.thatsscrapinc.com/

This month I am working on "Around the World." I have completed France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Ireland, Japan, & Scotland countries. The cities I have completed are London, Sydney, San Francisco, and Vegas. Each set will include 4-6 memorabilia.

What makes a good file

When I first bought my Silouette I found all kinds of free cutting files and downloaded all that I liked. I had thousands of files! I seperated them into catagories and sub-catagories. Then I went to cut. My machine would whirl and grind, and take forever to cut. Some files would cut faster and smoother than others, which I couldn't figure out at first. Then I did my homework. It was because of nodes.

These machine would cut from node to node. A node is a connection point of a line segment. If there was a line, lets say 3" tall, this line could be made of 12 quarter (1/4") inch lines and each line is connected by a node. These machines would cut from one end to the next, starting and stopping 12 times. You can make this same 3" line with only 2 nodes. These machines would glide though this line, starting and stopping only twice.

The above W's are another example. The 2 W's are almost exactly alike, but the one on top has less nodes. When you make a file, you need to clean up those nodes. Unfortunately a lot of people do not know how to clean up nodes until they learn. In the meantime they have uploaded all kinds of files that make your machine grind, and whirl, and take forever to cut. That is why I am now deleting all those files that I downloaded earlier. I am going from file to file to see if it is a good file, or one I should throw away. I still download a few free files, but I examine them before I download. Most files I will purchase from designers I know. I have tested their files and know they cut smooth.

Cutter Files

I sell cutter files. I am not sure how to describe what these are if you have never used one. They are files that you send to a printer-like cutter and the you have a diecut to put either on a scrapbook page or a greeting card. If you cut these files out of vinyl you can put on a wall, a vehicle, or a sign. The possibilities are endless. Most of my files that I sell are paper-piecing files. You would cut these files out of different color cardstock and then glue together to make a picture. These are better than stickers because you can match the colors you want. I make these files in the following types: GSD for the Wishblade, Craft Robo, and Quickutz Sillouette; KNK for the Klik-N-Kut; WPC for Funtime users, and AI or IEPS for the mac users. My files can be seen at designsbysky.cuttersmarket.com.