"Questions & Answers" Sunday on a Monday

I had fully intended on doing my "Questions & Answers" Sunday post yesterday....on Sunday. But the day got away from me and here it is, Monday. I still wanted to do the post, so I'm just doing it today instead of yesterday. You'll just have to put up with getting a couple posts from me today because I have an awesome give-away to put up, as well (and I'm sure none of you will mind that).

As always....some personal and some stamping related. Enjoy!

While I'm thinking of it, postcards.. is Zach still wanting them?
Posted by: Patty W

Yes, Zach definitely would still love postcards. This is a project that we started for him in the fall of 2006 to get him over the winter and he loved it. He still enjoys the postcards coming in the mail and now that he sits in "big church" (as opposed to going to Junior Church during the main service), he brings his little postcard albums with him to look at so that he has something to do.

Here's the post to find out how you can send a postcard to Zach (along with our address): Help Zach see the world...Send a postcard!

Out of all of the crafts that you do...is rubberstamping the all time high? Or do you have another all time favorite to take your time?

Posted by: bonnie32002

Long before I started stamping, I scrapbooked. That's something I still love to do and probably gives me the all-time high. I don't find myself doing it as much as I want to, though, because it's more time intensive and cards are instant gratification for me. I really do want to put more time into my schedule for scrapping for myself, as I have a ton of pictures that need to be caught up on. Right now, I'm finishing up a scrapbook for a client and it's been a wonderful project to work on.

Something that I find that gives me the all-time high that includes working with my pictures is altered books. It's another kind of scrapbooking for me. It involves working with my pictures, creating with art, painting, telling a story, etc. It's all the things I love wrapped up into one. I have a ton of books that are in the thought process in my head and I just need more time in the day to put them into reality. I really need to stop sleeping altogether. That's usually my unrealistic solution for everything that I want to do. ;)

I guess I am wondering if you scrapbook at all. I have seen the beautiful albums you make but they've all been empty in the pics. Do you actually scrapbook or stick mostly to card making? I just recently got into digiscrapping and I am LOVING it!
Posted by: Jessica S.

Yes, I do scrapbook. (see answer to question above) You can actually see some of the pages that I've shared here on my blog by going here: Scrapbook Pages

You'll need to let the pictures load as there are a lot and it just takes a little time for them to come up. That could be why you weren't seeing them right away. Also, at the bottom of the blog pages, there are little arrows that you can click on (and the ARE little) to go to the next page of posts.

I read a few weeks ago that your your creative genius came from your Mom's encouragement. My question is, Is she really that awesome in person? And Why can't we all have a Mom like yours?
Posted by: Donna Diegel

(the picture at left was taken in July of 2006 at my mom's 50th birthday party....I made the HUGE Devil Dogs cake you see. You can check out other pictures and info here: Mom's Mt. Vesuvius Cake These pictures are pre-blonde and pre-dreads.)

The answer to that is....she really IS that awesome in person! I love my mom immensely. She's one of my best friends, even though most people wouldn't have thought so when I was in my early teens. I think she seriously considered selling me to the gypsies or the circus quite a few times. In fact, I think she would have been happy to just GIVE me to them.

More than the creative encouragement, my mother, without realizing it, has given me the encouragement to be truly and uniquely ME. She gave me the tom-boy side for which I'm extremely grateful. She gave me the love of fine food and my love of baking (she's really turned me into a food snob). She gave me the insatiable need to work with my hands. She gave me the strength and craving to work under pressure. She gave me the lust for insomnia so that I can constantly be creating. She gave me the determination and life skills to run my own businesses.

But most of all, she gave me the gift of individuality. When I think of my mother, the picture that comes to mind is a highschool girl with long flowing hair, carefree, nothing holding her back, with a mind of her own. She knows who she is. She's secure. She has strength and resolution that is truly inspiring. She really is one my biggest sources of inspiration.

As for why you all can't have a mom like mine.....well, there's only one of her and she's all mine. Well, I have to share her with my siblings, but yup, she's all mine.

My ? is... Where is your favorite place that you have ever been to?
Posted by: Lori J

I've been to a lot of places and I have this need to always be going to some place new. There is, however, one place that I always find myself missing and wanting to go back to: Nova Scotia. Particularly, Cape Breton Island.

I first went to Nova Scotia when I was 19. My grandparents were planning on a road trip to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and I desperately wanted to get away and go with them. I saved up my money and we took off for 2 weeks. I fell in love with the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. 9 months later, I was married and heading on another road trip for my honeymoon. We did both Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, but the place that held a love for both Davy and I was Cape Breton Island. We went back again for our first anniversary and have taken our kids twice so they can see what fascinates us so much about it. We haven't been back since 2003, but we talk about going back all the time.

The combination of the highlands, the ocean, the woods, the clean air, the nothingness.....pristine wilderness with no one else out there to crowd you out. It's everything that we love about it.

Above is one of my scrapbook pages from our 2002 trip to Nova Scotia. You can click on it to get a larger view.

Hi Erika!  My question is...
Have you lost your mind?!  A groovy giveaway in the middle of the week?!  That's just crazy, man.  ;)
Jodi
Posted by: Jodi Galland

This question totally made me laugh!

My answer: Yes, I HAVE lost my mind! I spend my whole day crafting or doing things related to crafting. You can imagine that with all the glitter, embossing powders, glue, ink, etc.....that my mind isn't as sharp as it once was. Then again, if you knew my father, you'd realize that I was doomed to craziness and insanity right from conception. I mean, LOOK AT THAT FACE! Just one look at my father and you'd know that anything crazy is totally possible in my world!

And speaking of craziness and groovy give-aways in the middle outside of a Friday, I have another one coming up after I post this!

Ooh, I'm excited to see this blog....I have lots of reading to do! My question is: what motivates/inspires you when stamping and scrapbooking?
Posted by: Lori M.

This is something I get asked quite often. Here's a post that I created back in September of last year to describe my creative process and where I find my inspiration: My Creative Process


Are  you a "glass half full" or a "glass half empty" person?
Posted by: Cheryl Kelly-Van Domelen

The majority of the time, I'm definitely a "glass half full" type of person. Every once in a while, I turn into the other person, but it's few and far between. I try to find the positive in every situation even when there doesn't seem to be one.

My question is how tall are you?  My guess would be about 5'5" - Am I right?
Posted by: Linda SS

I'm actually 5 foot 7 1/2 inches tall. Close. :)

Are the new Copic markers really so great?  How are they different?  I don't want to NEED them....
Posted by: Jack Loy

Some of you are probably going to laugh at this, but......I have NO idea! I don't own ANY Copic markers. I see all the wonderful things done with them on other people's blogs, but just haven't made the jump to get them. I actually tell myself the same thing....I don't want to NEED them. But the more I see of them, the more I want them. The fact that you can get pretty much seamless blending is what makes me lust after them. There are two things that scare me about them. 1) The space for more stuff. I have a limited amount of space to work in, so I try to keep my supplies condensed. 2) The price tag. Though GinaK DOES have a very budget friendly way of getting the Copics if you HAVE to have them.

My question to you is, when do you do your stamping and creating, before or after your daily duties? (I'm working on organizing my time better)
Posted by: Rosella

You can check out the answer to this question in last week's "Questions & Answers" post by clicking HERE.

I have a question......How the heck do you carry 3 weeks worth of laundry from 4 people into the laundromat by yourself?? What do you drive to get it all there? A big rig? How long does it take? What does it cost at a laundromat now a days?
Do you feel exhausted but refreshed to have the dreaded chore done finally?
Posted by: kimmiek

I love how this is more than one question! Kim, you always make me smile the biggest smiles EVER!

1)  I don't usually go by myself. I hate driving. I make my chauffeur take me (aka: the hubby). He helps me carry it in.

And here's a secret to doing laundry every 2-3 weeks. We're a family of four, but my rule is that I don't do any more than what will fit in two laundry baskets. Usually, we're pretty spot on. Those two baskets are PACKED, though. They might be a little mounded on the top, but that's my rule. Two baskets full. The key to this is the hubby wears his work clothes over and over. They're gonna get dirty anyway. The kids re-wear their clothes over again if they're not dirty. My daughter LIVES in her PJs when she's at home, so that means that once she gets home from school, her clothes get checked over and then go back in the drawer if they're good to wear again. Same thing with me. I live in my PJs, too, so my clothes get worn over again if they're still clean. Towels have a long life in our house.

2) We have one vehicle. A mini-van. Well, two vehicles if you count the bicycle my hubby rides to work each morning, but you really can't transport two HONKIN' baskets of laundry on a bike. ;)

Yes, that's a picture of the back of our van. I get so many comment on my bumper sticker. :) One of the best was from a little old gentleman. He was probably close to 80 years old and he held the door for me as I was leaving the post office and he was going in. He smiled and said, "I love your bumper sticker. Moms rock, huh? You look like you do." That just made my day! Especially that someone of his generation knew what it meant!

3) It takes all of about 25 minutes for my laundry to be washed at the laundromat. It takes us about 25 minutes just to DRIVE there, though. We hang all of our laundry up (either on the line in the warmer months or on a couple racks in the colder months), so we don't use the dryers at the laundromat.

4) The cost depends on what laundromat you go to and what washers you use. The laundromat that we used to go to in town (it's no longer there, which is why we have to drive 25 min. to the nearest one) used to cost me between $12-$15 to do my laundry. Now, I use the BIG BOY washer at the laundromat and can fit up to 5 loads in there. Usually, I range about 4 to 5 loads, which is the max that will fit into my 2 baskets if I pack them really tight. I don't bother sorting the laundry. It all goes into ONE washer and it's a whopping $6. And....because it's in one of those huge washers that conserves on both energy and water, it only needs one cap-full of detergent, so I save money on that, too!

5) Yes, I feel completely relieved to have the dreaded chore of laundry finally done. I dread it so much and that's why I go 2-3 weeks in between doing it.

Happy Monday everyone!

-Erika

Comments

[Patty W]

Yikes...startled me when I saw my name! LOL I sent Zach a card this weekend. :)

That cake is Awesomely huge! Your Mom is pretty and so young! Your dad looks like a great guy too...enjoy your family Erika. I come from a fairly large family (1 of 9kids) I lost a sister last summer and a brother the year before..the rest of us are no longer close.. Treasure all these times with your parents, I'm sure you do , just don't let silly things get in the way..ok..don't know where that came from!

Love reading about your life. I would love to see the whole New England area some time. Nova Scotia is on that list for sure!

I still chuckle at your laundry program ! I have no problems with clothes being worn more than once if they're still clean...my kids aren't so good at that!

Thanks for being you and for writing such a great blog!

[Nicole]

Great reading, Erika!
and just wanted to let you know that "you make my day!"
http://stampinlibrarygirl.blogspot.com/2008/01/you-make-my-day.html
Nicole :D

[Kimmiek]

I'm smiling with glee and laughing outloud!! You answered my millions of questions...all supposed to be one ;] . I talk fast and type faster.. mind moves faster then my mouth or my fingers. hee hee
my daughter said I am acting wierd cuz I am laughing at the computer.

OK.. we are re vamping laundry here as well.

my daughter the youngest totally wears her jammies all day as well only she wears 5 pairs a day I just keep refolding them and replacing them if they are clean though. :}
My hubby is snapping.;[ Since we moved, we have a septic and the leach field gets filled with the lint from the washer and dryer or so we are told......
Then I looke dit up online and it's true of course.
Who wants to spend twenty grand to buy a new poop hole in your yard....;]
So we need to buy liquid detergent now ( I have sworn by TIDE powder for years) re-use towels and re-wear pants.....Oh liquid dishwasher detergetn too. I need a clean sink and begged for a dishwasher for years.. I was washing 3 times a day everything from 6 people and I always cook to much food!
PS I did get soem copics and even my coloring looks GOOD :}

[Lori J]

There were some great questions here and some great answers too!

[Amanda Pedro]

ooh, Nova Scotia!
I'm from Newfoundland ( a ferry boat ride from Nova Scotia), but lived in the Annapolis Valley for 5 years. I would LOve to move back. My husband would too, Just needs to find a job there. All of my immediate family ended up living there also. Don't you just love the accents, variety in landscape and rich cultural entertainment? OH, and the beaches. And the vastness of land. And the calm pace of life. And the friendliness of the people. Ok, I'll stop now.
Really enjoy your blog and cards as inspiration. Thanks for sharing,
Amanda

www.latenightstamper.blogspot.com