Collective Elements - The Blog: 9/1/09

How could I not leave money?

>> Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Tutorial Tuesday: Is it Fall Yet?

>> Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Altered Journal on Paper Imagery Designs
Mini Drawstring Bag by Jessica Gonacha on Indie Fixx
Crochet Crown for Children on Craft Magazine
Paper Wine Bag on Daisy Jaine
Koi Fish Kites on The Toymaker

Practicing Those Christmas Ornaments

>> Friday, September 25, 2009

Excuse the messy house, lol.

Interesting since Ernie is my favorite...

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you lovable - even if you don't love them!

You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you

You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil

How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Blogthings: 100's of Fun, Free Quizzes and 3 Stupid Ones

Tutorial Tuesdays: Find the Time (Sorry its late)

>> Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Embellished neck cuff found on Duhbe
Kate's Notebook Lunch Bag found on Design Sponge
Chain Tassel Earrings found on Love Maegan
Frog Bean Bag found on Little Blue Boo
Candy Sushi found on Mommy Knows
Recycling Candles found on Argot
Handkerchief Skirt found on Instructables

I am not a programmer

Well I tried but the reality is I need to drop Java Programming.

Programming is so incredibly boring to me that I cannot focus enough on this class to do well. Unfortunately I will lose the money paid for the class but I'd rather do that that take a chance of ruining my 3.5 GPA. I am having a hard time accepting it. I really hate to drop classes and rarely did it as an undergrad. I just don't see how I can do well in this class. I don't need it for my master's degree but it is a waste of money and the last three weeks I devoted to it.

This really sucks.

I will make my decision tomorrow after talking to financial aid.

Evie's a star reader!!!

>> Tuesday, September 22, 2009

This weekend the kid's new teacher called and my first thought was...oh God who did she punch this year? (long story) But actually she called to introduce herself and tell me that I'm doing a great job with Evie's reading because she scored the HIGHEST on the 2nd grade reading assessment test.

Yippee!!!!

I'm a book lover and the daughter of book lovers so I was hoping the love passed on to the next generation. (I recall her father was a avid reader when we were dating too.) She was very proud to find out she was reading so well. Evie's a bright girl but a little shy. She was talking and reading early but she gets shy when people ask her questions so she will pretend she doesn't know the answers. **sigh**

I'm trying to give her room to find her gifts and its hard because I was on honor roll all throughout school and I'm trying not to push her to fit into my mold. But I want her to do well because I KNOW she can do well.

I'm hoping this will give my daughter the confidence she needs to try harder in school and we'll see that honor roll more consistently. (She always misses by one subject.)

Or maybe she'll get honor roll because I promised her I would finally buy that Nintendo DS she's been begging for the past two years. **sigh**

What?

I know bribes are wrong but how do you think I got her to be consistent with potty training when she was little...

....I told her ballerinas don't wear Pull-Ups so she couldn't take ballet unless she stopped wearing them.

She stopped wearing them the next day.

So who was slicker...obviously she knew how to go to the bathroom properly if she gave them up that easily. Humph!!!

>> Monday, September 21, 2009

Free shipping ends 10/15/09. Remember code "etsygreetings" at checkout. http://ping.fm/6HCJx

Free shipping on any item in the shop. Enter "etsygreetings" during checkout. http://ping.fm/Lm7BU

Now I have to "make" Halloween costumes?

>> Thursday, September 17, 2009

This summer, my daughter has become obsessed with X-Men. She watches the old cartoons,he new Wolverine and the X-Men, and the new X-men show with the characters as teenagers on Disney. So of course when I asked what she wanted to be for Halloween, she said Storm. Now there's no Storm costumes for children...only adults.

So I tried to talk her into something else. Her only other choice was Lavagirl from the world's crappiest kid movie, Sharkboy and Lavagirl. I will admit my daughter is an original, lol.

Last year she was Daphne from Scooby Doo. She's been a mermaid complete with long flowing blond hair, Belle with a formal ballgown and high heel shoes, a crazed killer (we both dressed up that year, lol), a silly bug (again we both dressed up), and one of my favorites, a dinosaur. But I was always lucky enough to find what I needed in a store.

Now Lavagirl has molten lava flowing in her suit. Between work and school, I don't see me designing that so I guess we will go with her first choice of Storm. I have a platinum wig from my Halloween costume last year but the problem is the suit. Storm has many different looks dependent on the TV cartoon, the movies, the toys, or the original comics. Not only do I have to pick one she likes but I also have to pick one that's easily replicated.

Any ideas?

World Card Making Day is October 3, 2009!

>> Tuesday, September 15, 2009

I will be celebrating by selling my handmade cards at Brooklyn's own ArtMart11225 on Lincoln Road. I will also be offering quick card kits for the first time ever on that date. Perfect for making a greeting for someone special.

Tutorial Tuesdays: Dive In!

Cupcake Bouquet found on Baa Baa, Cupcake Have You Any Frosting
Floral Fiesta Bag found on My Little City Girl
Happy Jars found on Heart Handmade
Make A Baby Dragon Cape found on Instructables
Custom Labels found on Ali Edwards
How to Make An Origami Cube found on Crafty Crow
Shabby Chic Pleated Shade found on Ruffles and Stuff

Save Philadephia Libraries!

>> Monday, September 14, 2009

Came across this online today. Contact your local politicians, please!!

From Free Library of Philadephia (http://libwww.freelibrary.org/closing/):

All Free Library of Philadelphia Branch, Regional and Central Libraries Closed Effective Close of Business October 2, 2009

All Free Library of Philadelphia Customers,

We deeply regret to inform you that without the necessary budgetary legislation by the State Legislature in Harrisburg, the City of Philadelphia will not have the funds to operate our neighborhood branch libraries, regional libraries, or the Parkway Central Library after October 2, 2009.

Specifically, the following will take effect after the close of business, October 2, 2009:

All branch and regional library programs, including programs for children and teens, after school programs, computer classes, and programs for adults, will be cancelled
All Parkway Central Library programs, including children programs, programs to support small businesses and job seekers, computer classes and after school programs, will be cancelled. We are exploring the possibility of relocating the Philadelphia Author Series programs to other non-library facilities.
All library visits to schools, day care centers, senior centers and other community centers will cease.
All community meetings at our branch and regional libraries, and the Parkway Central Library, will be cancelled.
All GED, ABE and ESL programs held at Free Library branches will be discontinued, students should contact their teacher to see if other arrangements are being made.
In addition, all library materials will be due on October 1, 2009. This will result in a diminishing borrowing period for books and other library materials, beginning September 11, 2009. No library materials will be able to be borrowed after September 30, 2009.

Even as we remain hopeful that the State Legislature will act and pass the enabling funding legislation, we wanted to notify all of our customers of this very possible outcome. If you have any questions about impacts to Free Library services, call 215-686-5322, or visit the Free Library of Philadelphia website at www.freelibrary.org. If you have questions about changes to City services, or if you want to be kept informed about this situation, we encourage you to contact Philly 311 by calling 3-1-1 between the hours of 8am and 8 pm Monday-Friday, and 9am-5pm Saturdays, e-mail philly311@phila.gov, or visit the City of Philadelphia website at http://www.phila.gov.

We thank you for your understanding, patience, and continued support of the Free Library of Philadelphia during these difficult times.

Siobhan Reardon, President and Director, Free Library of Philadelphia

Sunday, Sept 20, 2009, 12 pm to 7 pm -- Brooklyn Urban Arts Market -- That's Where You'll Find Me

From the Myrtle Minute:

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Party and shop locally through out September! The Brooklyn Urban Arts Market returns to Clinton Hill on all four Sundays this September, taking place on Myrtle Avenue between Emerson and Grand near the PrattStore. This is Brooklyn’s answer to those commonplace street fairs that take place in Manhattan – this open-air market will house 50 local artisans, vendors, and entrepreneurs hand-selected for their innovative creations, fresh urban perspective and DIY spirit.

The music is back too, and we’re happy to report that local favorites Soul Summit will spin the closing set at every event! We’re bringing back live music too, with a special treat for the kids – each event will kick off with a youth band, including the School of Rock All Stars!

We’ve added a new dimension to this year’s event – we’re actually closing 7 blocks on Myrtle Avenue from Emerson to Clinton as part of DOT’s Weekend Walks Initiative. Move About Myrtle will take place at the same time as BUAM, and will transform the Clinton Hill portion of Myrtle into an active, pedestrian-friendly public space perfect for walking, cycling, dancing, and people-watching.

As if Move About Myrtle isn't enough, you can be sure that we'll be working to help our existing merchants take advantage of this flurry of foot traffic – we’ve got a number of plans in the works to get our visitors to travel the avenue, including the distribution of our new shopping guide and a sort of Myrtle Avenue shopping scavenger hunt (more on that soon).

Check back in early August at the Myrtle Minute or at our partner’s website, www.bam.org for the more info and the latest updates. Major funding for the Brooklyn Urban Arts Market was generously provided by Deutsche Bank Foundation.

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Sounds like fun so come join me. I'll have back to school goodies and some early holiday offerings.

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