Fall Crop at Coordinates Collections

Coordinates Collections is having its Fall Crop starting today. Six challenges are posted, along with several door prize contests. I participated just a little bit in the summer crop and actually won a $25 gift certificate! I finished projects today for two other challenges at CC; but tomorrow and Sunday I have projects lined up for at least some of the six challenges. Fun!

Rescue in Chile

There is seldom much good news in the world. At least not much reported. But the rescue of the miners in Chile was a wonderful story of perseverance, endurance, hope, teamwork, innovation -- some of the best of mankind. This story captivated much of the world; and along with everyone else I held my breath that nothing would go wrong before the last man was pulled out alive. I shed tears of joy along with the families as each man walked out of the escape cage. What a wonderful story!

Coordinates Collections Monthly Kit and My Prize(s)!

I find myself checking the post office link each morning for the occasional hint that my monthly Coordinates Collections kit is out for delivery; and yesterday it came! This month I chose the Golden Rule kit. I always love the kit even more up close and personal than I do in the online photos; and this month is no exception. Rich colors. Crate Paper textures. The covered buttons remind me of ones I used to make when I sewed; and I love the canvas tag, not to mention the corrugated alphas:

Then I picked up a few extras. The BG Take Notes and the Jennie Bowlin butterflies were on clearance and too good a bargain to pass up. I loved my BG white micro alphas so much I needed black ones too; and with the green, I think I now have the Cosmo Cricket tiny alphas in every color. As for the white pen, it is my THIRD one! I think I must have loaned one out at a crop because #2 disappeared, and #1 ran out of ink. I love these pens.

Then, here's the fun part! Not only did I win the monthly kit contest in September, but I also got a prize for referring a friend! Now I don't know which prize is which, but they are wonderful prizes; and here they are:

#1 How did Jamie know that Crate Paper is probably my favorite line? I just love the texture. And in this Birdie collection, I love the soft aquas, browns and greens. Love this prize!

#2 A generous mix of very fun stuff: Pink Paislee pp and die cut shapes from the Enchanting, Fascinating and Captivating lines; a gorgeous LYB embossed die-cut shape; borders, chipboard buttons, Maya Road sheers, journaling spots, an alphabet and a Pink Paislee transparency (which may even work with my new Golden Rule kit!)

 

I am one happy scrapper!

Columbus Day Sales

I don't shop a lot. Not that I don't like to; I just don't need much. But sometimes a good sale gets me started and then it's hard to stop! Over the weekend, Coldwater Creek had an online 50% off anything sale. Now they are normally overpriced, but 50% off stuff in the outlet? Good value! I would have ordered more if I still needed work clothes. Anyway, I have two tops and a dress on their way. And if they don't fit (which they probably won't) I can take them back to the local store.

Then it was on to ShoeBuy for 20% off. I love them, and Zappo's, for free shipping both ways. Because I wear a narrow shoe, it's hard to find locally so these are a good way for me to shop. I ordered a pair of tan slides, a pair of black flats, and a totally frivolous multicolored pair of shoes that I hope hope hope fit because I really like them:

Then of course I had to use my 50% off coupons at JoAnn's and Michael's. I purchased some water color pencils to play with, and a box to store my acrylic stamps in. Then I came home and cut out dividers and labels for it. I have some ideas how to decorate them. Maybe I'll work on that today, although I should wash the car. It looks like rain, though, so that's my excuse for playing instead of car washing!

Waging War on the Mystery Critter

That darn mystery critter is still digging in the back corner of the yard. My best guess is a raccoon, or possibly a possum. I was going to purchase a dog/cat repellent, which is supposed to work on raccoons; but I read reviews of all the brands sold at Pet Smart; and all say not to bother because they don't work. So I looked online for homemade options, and found a "recipe" for one containing water, soap and cayenne pepper! I made up a batch and am going to spray it all around the area after dinner and see whether or not I have new digging in the a.m.

My guess is that the miserable little critter won't be at all fazed, and in fact will probably take it as a signal to "dig here"!

Pam's Saturday Crop

I always have fun at Pam's crops, and Saturday was no exception. Lunch and dinner, door prizes, a raffle and the company of fun ladies! I generally get there first, help set up and stake out my table. I love the luxury of a whole 8' table all to myself. I bring WAY too much stuff and too many projects. However, inevitably I get stumped and have to put aside a project until later, or else need supplies that I have at home, both of which happened yesterday. I still got four layouts done, and two more partially done. Just for fun, I spread out all of the projects I had brought -- mostly Coordinates Collections kits -- and took a photo:

Today my feet are tired from standing all day!

Fun Stuff at Coordinates Collections

The first of the month is always fun at Coordinates Collections because the new kit is shown in detail, next month's kit is previewed and available for order, and winners of last month's various contests are announced. Guess what! I won September's monthly kit contest! I suppose it didn't hurt that I had 8 out of 34 entries; but after all, most of what I scrap is done with CC kits! I love that the winners are chosen at random because goodness knows I wouldn't have a prayer if it were based on merit. A lot of very inspiring work is uploaded into the Gallery each month.

There are new Design Team members this month, and although I always loved Lyn's sketches, I can see that I am going to love Linda's also, and can't wait to try them. It was great that she also made samples based on those sketches. At my monthly Pinecone project class taught by a dear friend of mine we always use a sketch to do a challenge. She was laboring each month to find sketches that would work together, when I suggested we just use the CC sketches for the challenge; so we are going to try that. I hope some of my friends will upload their work to the Gallery and join in the fun contest.

There are also lots of new changes at Coordinates Collections. It's always been a fun place to hang out; now even more so!