So tired of being bullied.

Little in my life has changed except I don't get to debate with the awesome ladies in Current Events on Splitcoastampers.  I miss them.  Even the ladies whom I strongly disagree with.  I felt there was a camaraderie there that we could agree to disagree.  And I tend to live my life like that.  I hang out with a lot of people whom I disagree with.  I love it.  I don't poke the grizzly.  I just love talking with them and working out why they think a certain way.  So I get to today and we are a couple of months down the line from "the 2 year ban" with no further explanation.  And find myself publicly sledged on two sites.  Wow. Instagram and Facebook. I don't get people that have to put other people down to lift themselves up.  Different strokes for different folks I guess.  

I honestly wonder if the people building themselves up whilst trampling on me consider that is what they are doing?  I'm a person that wants to believe the best of people.  Yeah, I know I have slung a bit of mud back at the "mean girls" but am I really supposed to walk away and let this carry on?  Am I supposed to thank them for being so cruel and be like Oliver Twist "please can I have some more"? Am I supposed to go gooey hearted and thank them again when they talk about their new love of one another over a "difficult time" (me being that "difficult time").  

I guess I should actually be proud of myself for bringing like minded people together. According to Instagram without me, that crafty retreat invite would never have happened, now there is some glitter to put on your card! LOL!  

I am a genuine person with feelings who doesn't have crafty friends in high crafty places because I like hanging out with the crafty masses who lift each other up not push people down to lift themselves up.  That is like building a house on a foundation susceptible to erosion.  And yes, that is what it feels like at this end of my crafty non-famous life.  And now I wonder if I am repeating the cycle of put downs by presenting my side and my continuing hurt over how all this was handled.  

Let's just stop being vague.  Jennifer and Lydia, I never meant to cause Jennifer distress when I asked if she had purchased the product.  I never meant offense stating that I consider that when I researching products I would like.  Nor did I mean offense when stating that consumers have the right to know and linking those federal rights on SCS.  I have stated before I have no ill will toward you and am happy I seem to have brought you together in real life.  Now can we stop the slights and set downs?  I'm sure you have used your power and influence to hurt me far more than I have or can ever hurt you.

As for Facebook, I joined a closed group about MISTI.  I am a big supporter of the tool and how to use it and how to get the best out of it.  I added my blog to a list and the next thing I see today (yup same day as the Instagram) is a link to the administrator of the group and owner of My Sweet Petunia.  Seriously?!  It is a document on her site, I'm not talking smack and have been supportive of the product since the early days.  I was one of the 1st to talk about being covered as a company and patent on SCS.  I asked if one person got their tool free and I am black balled forever? Thus, I deleted my information from that document.  People need to understand there is a difference between information gathering about a product and being mean.  Stop being mean because I haven't been mean to you.  The evidence is all there on the internet.  

I'm still good in my heart, I'm just saddened that this is still going on.

Happy Birthday Mum (my 1st MISTI card)

First I have to say I love my Kitchen Sink Stamps and was hoping that the MISTI would help me get better alignment on the different steps.  I think we made it for the most part.  The problem? If you follow me you know, I work big and the MISTI is made primarily for people who make notecard size cards.  As I have said before if I sent my family notecard sized cards they would think all sorts of bad things because most of them are English and in England they do "BIG" cards, the stronger the "love" the bigger the card seems to be the understood motto!  So getting back to my problem, I have seen loads of great videos where a stamper was able to put their card in the MISTI multiple times without having to mess with moving the stamps over and over.  I wanted to do that, but I kept either running into creasing my card on the edges or not being able to get it in the right position because of the hinges.  I still love it!  Just got to work out my groove with big cards and the MISTI.

Ingredients
Card Size - 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 in;
Cardstock - Recollections white 110lb;
Stamps - Kitchen Sink Stamps: 3-step Daisy, Never A Loss 4 Words; Whole Family;
Ink - Memento: Rose Bud, Lady Bug, Rhubard Stalk, Cottage Ivy, Northern Pine;
Accessories - MISTI

21 today! Key to the door time!

Extreme closeup!

I know I normally put a pic of the whole care up first, but I know with feedly it tends to just show about the top 2/3rds and that would ignore that cute furry bear so I just had to make certain that the few people that do link to me on Feedly could see what fun I'm having with this cute stamp from High Hopes Stamps.

I made this for my eldest.  I thought it would probably be slightly inappropriate to go with the beer/drinking theme from the parental units, so I decided to focus on word play with our name, his degree program and his school colors.  At the moment he is on his 1st co-op from school so really getting some hands on learning, which makes it extra appropriate.

I really like how it turned out.  I think most of it is self explanatory with using the blueprint stamps from Tim Holtz to create the background that refers back to the bear holding a lock and key standing on the 21.  There is a double reference with the lock and key, our name and my son's English roots, as 21 is when traditionally associated with a getting a key for the door. 

This is an extract from The Encyclopedia of Superstitions by Richard Webster on line:  People turning twenty-one are often given cardboard keys to celebrate this milestone of maturity and independence.  Alec Kendal mentioned this in his popular song I'm twenty-one today, which was published in 1912.

I'm twenty-one today!
Twenty-one today!
I've got the key of the door!
Never been twenty-one before!
And fathers say I can do what I like!
So shout Hip-hip-hooray!
I'm a jolly good fellow,
Twenty-one today!

Ingredients
Card size - 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 in;
Cardstock - Recollections: Kraft, Black, Chevron (Witches Dust Paper Pad);
Stamps - High Hopes Stamps: Lockhart Bear; Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz collection: Industrial Blueprint;
Ink - Memento: Tuxedo black; Gina K Designs: White;
Color - Copics;
Accessories - Dimensional tape; glossy accents. "21" hand drawn and cut.

Dragon Breath Birthday!

 I made this fun card for my BIL for his birthday!  I thought it was fun.  I don't know if I had more fun coloring in my High Hopes Dragon or making the background with versamark and clear embossing powder.  Lots of fun stamps on this card that I think I'm dotty over (yup had to do a circle pun!)

If I had it to do over I would cut my mask over the sentiment closer so the circle bursts would surround the sentiment more.

Ingredients
Card Size - 8 1/2 x 5 1/2;
Cardstock - Recollections: Black, White, Gray;
Stamps - High Hopes Stamps: Warm Wishes; Inkadinkado: Circle & Dots; Little Yellow Bicycle: Birthday;
Ink - Memento: Tuxedo Black; Versamark; Copic Multiliner;
Color - Copics;
Accessories - Embossing Powder: white, clear; Googly eyes

So a funny thing happened...

Sometimes you have to laugh or you would cry in pure delirium!  So after thinking for weeks that our spare laptop didn't have a card slot for my camera card guess what I found?!  Sometimes I think those highlights Mother Nature is giving me are growing inside my brain and not just out on my scalp!  So time to get caught up on posts that should have gone up in the beginning of the year!

So with no further delay I present to you an ornament!  I made this out of polymer clay and stamped it with our dog's name and a Hero Arts stamp that I have had since the dawn of time.  Seriously, I actually think it says the dawn of time on the packaging! OK it actually says 2007.

I just followed the directions on the package of clay and with the help of all those YouTube experts and Goodwill, where I managed to source a pasta machine for less than a craft one, which was a good thing because it is a bit on the icky "well loved" side for food, I managed to make a simple bone! I know, sometimes I even amaze myself!

I will be honest with you, my first intention was to try to take a paw impression of our not so little mischief maker.  Thankfully, I soon came to my senses though I am thrilled to have a way of marking our first Christmas with our adopted ratbag joy!

FWIW I used the Premo Sculpey as it has less fragile qualities and I am sick and tired of repairing and/or throwing away broken Christmas ornaments.  

Ingredients:
Stamps - Gina K Designs: Lots of Letters; Hero Arts: Hand Drawn Christmas;
Ink - Memento;
Miscellaneous - Premo Sculpey Polymer Clay, Ribbon, Cookie Cutter

In a great place, so why am I not blogging?!?!?!

So I've not been blogging.  It isn't because I don't want to, it is completely because my "not a 10 lb" lap dog stepped on my laptop, cracking the screen AND my misplacing my connector cord for my camera so I can't upload pictures to this laptop as easily.  Sometimes we have to laugh!  I have some fun cards that still need to be shared! Considering the moroseness of my last few posts I thought it was important to put that out there.  I won't lie, I miss the wonderful ladies at Splitcoaststampers but I have had many new opportunities opened to me which I intend to explore fully when I repair my laptop - just got to take the plunge and order the part!  I think I have a couple of birthday cards and a Mothering Sunday card to upload and maybe another project or two.  

I also have done a little bit of retail therapy and believe it or not received an asked for MISTI for my birthday and got it! Yup I had always said I wanted it and I still think it is a great product. I still find it ironic I was banned from SCS for supporting the product and hoping for a happy resolution of a customer service issue!?!?! And I can laugh about that and still no word from SCS with regard to my inquires. I do wish the owner wasn't under so much stress and pray she will find relief from that soon.  

I admittedly lost my mojo in January and February.  I don't know whether it was the weather or stress, we lost my aunt in late January and we are a close family. I still keep expecting her to call.  She was our large family's "social secretary" and used to call daily.  She had a larger than life personality so she is desperately missed by us all.

I'm also in the middle of a huge house reorganization.  Hopefully get that well on the way in the few days, but of course I think I can do twice as much in half the time!!!  Still I'm happy with the progress so far.  Part of this is tiling the kitchen backsplash (need to pick tiles) and designing and building a craft desk to incorporate two 2 drawer filing cabinets I already own as well as 4 jetmax cubes. And reorganizing some of my craft stuff into my husband old tool box. Fun times!

Well, that's about it.  Hope you are all doing well and to connect with fun cards and projects soon. 

I never do "haul" posts but...

Hey you know me by now, I never do "haul" posts but just had to say that I got loads of large stencils at Michaels in Clearance so they were only $1.99 ea.  At first I didn't notice them but saw the large tiger.  I thought way heh! We are a tiger school family so I can risk that for $2 bucks! I never ever find anything in clearance so I am thrilled! Now if I could only see my table to take some photos!

Not on clearance but I hadn't ever seen the Ranger Sticky Embossing Powder before so picked it up and that looks a good buy after watching the videos on YouTube.  Of course that meant I needed to buy some foil to play with which was reduced by 40% for each tube.

If I manage to get a photo I will post it later.  Today though has been focused on digging out of the last snow storm that dump 20+ inches on us!

Ban update.

I have been informed from a 3rd party, not Splitcoastampers, that by pointing out that the warranty didn't apply in that case I had broken a rule that the once the manufacturer replies we are no longer allowed to clarify the answer.

Why couldn't that be stated in the ban and the rule specifically quoted?

Secondarily, I wasn't addressing the problem, I did address that the manufacturer's statement couldn't be correct as it was recently enacted and the manufacturer agreed with me.  So what is the problem? On Splitcoast there has always been an open atmosphere of clarifying answers in the past so it is confusing that this has changed.

I have attempted to contact Splitcoastampers again to obtain an answer.  I will let you know when I know.

Take care and keep crafting... and if you are a member there and would like to stay in touch please contact me. I review comments before publishing, mainly because people have given me personal information about themselves that I didn't want openly on my blog and to avoid spammers.  So if you want to contact me that way without info going further that can happen.

All the best, stay safe, warm, and loved.

Banned again for 2 years? Really?

So I go to log into SCS today after I have the last couple of days and this is what I get

Now I admit I did point out that you can't say something is out of warranty if you never issued a warranty to begin with and the product has changed since then, but those are just facts of life and law not personal.

Otherwise I have no idea and am more than amused at the level of bullying that this implies unless there is a jolly good reason.

ETA - My Sweet Petunia has changed the website since this morning which dated the 90 day Warranty from 2/23/2015.

Honestly, who is being dishonest here?  I am willing to testify in front of any official to the truthfulness of my statements and I know I won't be perjuring myself.  The internet has a long memory and those types of changes are tracked.

ETA  - https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/2310  is a good read as to consumer rights in such a situation.  Even if a product is out of warranty i.e. such as a car, we have reason to believe that it is still driveable and fit for the purpose of which it was bought as long as it is properly maintained.  For example, my car is out of warranty but if the airbags randomly deployed I have an expectation of the manufacturer to put it right or legal recourse.