tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65906767294712162742024-03-13T01:48:55.549-05:00The Adventures of the Red CatThe Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-49827260335619448292009-06-14T13:33:00.003-05:002009-06-14T13:45:07.919-05:00Finally! A Decision!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4oLHht6hJb00oop8eTEwBVHqfxUXeGnUCjnhOK2M1NiN9l5dE0atH9TPwKVsgP8E9M2AeuJKSaUDp5igoTcHWz3q3KykKLDMPHX61W4yX3wLMX5t0qdPfE6V2uJi4MVlCfzfwHA3x/s1600-h/Athena's+Owl.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 177px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4oLHht6hJb00oop8eTEwBVHqfxUXeGnUCjnhOK2M1NiN9l5dE0atH9TPwKVsgP8E9M2AeuJKSaUDp5igoTcHWz3q3KykKLDMPHX61W4yX3wLMX5t0qdPfE6V2uJi4MVlCfzfwHA3x/s320/Athena's+Owl.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347253334120488482" border="0" /></a>Some of you probably know that I'm working on a Masters in Library and Information Science. It's a field that interests and excites me and I love it! <br /><br />However, long story short, some issues have come up with the program I'm currently in. I'm not going to go into all the frustrating details, but it's something that's been stressing me out since February. It's been a lot of "wait-and-see-what-happens" and worrying. A month or two ago, I started to seriously look at transferring schools and UW-Milwaukee topped my list. Turns out that the school I'm currently at decided to partner with UWM and make it easy for those interested students to transfer to UWM's online program while still keeping a lot of credits. I went to an informational meeting on Wednesday about the deal the two schools came up with and finally came to a decision-I'm transferring.<br /><br />I filled out the applications this weekend and just have to drop off one of them at my current school so they can forward all my application information and transcripts to UWM. I'll be giving up the face-to-face interaction and since I have 21 credits and they'll only take up to 18, I'll lose a class, but I think it will be a better fit with me personally and I won't run the risk of not receiving an ALA accredited degree and won't have to wait years until I'm finished. <br /><br />It's amazing how much better I feel now that a decision has finally been made and I've taken action. Granted, I'm still stressed since I'm not technically accepted as a UWM student and it'll be hard turning in the application at my current school and saying "I don't want to go here anymore", but at least something is being done.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-37346239921878235162009-06-04T19:22:00.003-05:002009-06-04T19:27:42.567-05:00My Favorites, Card 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96rcEhb5KcX6z2oSQkqfittbnPNNI5z7QLO0NMxnt_ySfCznVFazX3R2KbDBQL7CrgqT3qzxIWXDBMjbX4pBEJyc88J4SMTF1w92mQObslfwMV-EgmMJBph4PQsFsC1KNOC7Kltcu/s1600-h/The+Raven.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 179px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96rcEhb5KcX6z2oSQkqfittbnPNNI5z7QLO0NMxnt_ySfCznVFazX3R2KbDBQL7CrgqT3qzxIWXDBMjbX4pBEJyc88J4SMTF1w92mQObslfwMV-EgmMJBph4PQsFsC1KNOC7Kltcu/s320/The+Raven.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343632319076762002" border="0" /></a><br />"The Raven" was made for one of my Quickie swaps, in which the participants have a week to make a card and send it in the mail. You can only use stamps that are already carved and materials that you have lying around the house. <br /><br />This stamp is kind of a spoiler. I originally carved the image for a box in North Carolina (it's missing last I heard), but I loved the image so much that I carved a smaller version and made it into a hidden in plain sight box. My cat broke the "in plain sight" part, so it might be retired unless I can fix it. <br /><br />The background is just black cardstock with handpainted swirls in a metallic green paint. Each card is (obviously) a little different. I love that paint. I can't use it often because I'll start looking around for things to paint. Very dangerous.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-42556677090020017262009-06-03T20:02:00.003-05:002009-06-03T20:11:57.887-05:00Blah<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMmDQmShH8z0oAJNNP34CaXy7KMNVtRn5vOQ5_87RHQKriW9Y-J-S9pcz8EEII5ivkjRXJLulYnRNm94qChX2zlhfinhGHEAIbGqGY74p9dUtgc3bVVqmG2z0CnFRziL2z4i7NKMpl/s1600-h/Eilwynn.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 232px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMmDQmShH8z0oAJNNP34CaXy7KMNVtRn5vOQ5_87RHQKriW9Y-J-S9pcz8EEII5ivkjRXJLulYnRNm94qChX2zlhfinhGHEAIbGqGY74p9dUtgc3bVVqmG2z0CnFRziL2z4i7NKMpl/s320/Eilwynn.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343271896473955666" border="0" /></a>I've been feeling very uninspired and, well, blah lately. I haven't been happy with most of the cards I've been making and I've been feeling that they aren't "good enough" (for lack of a better phrase).<br /><br />So I'm going to go through cards that I've made and point out a few of my favorites. Maybe that'll get me going again.<br /><br />The one in this entry is my favorite of my cards. It's "Eilwynn" from an Amy Brown swap. I love carving fairies and I absolutely adore carving Amy Brown fairies (I have one of hers sitting in my "Images I really want to carve" file that I really want to do this summer. It's kind of dark, but it fits my mood right now). <br /><br />Anyway, this is Eilwynn. The scan doesn't do her justice. I saw this image and just fell in love and I'm very glad that my stamp is pretty close to the original. The colors are gorgeous-shades of brown and a beautiful light blue. It took forever to color all of the cards, but it was worth it. The ribbon is a sheer, irridescent blue held on with brass brads. The main part of the card is just cardstock (I think the name of the color is "mink"). This card is different than what I usually do in that it actually has some embellishment. It's still simple. I usually don't have the patience to deal with fiddly-bits, but sometimes I suck it up.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-38195863897667002552009-03-29T14:22:00.004-05:002009-03-29T14:28:13.876-05:00Speaking of Letterpress...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5hw4O4kMhkslTU1ys579FDEPUR1TMYwvwNdtaBPHt0_ORaYnuvGN3S45BSAqp0zLaMSEjTO_wpTZuxtNoPHWTU5UBVlWbaQaS5WexrAb65VsK_pmaB9WwNDZQ__IOJvle6iYlKdI/s1600-h/By+the+Light+of+the+Moon.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 245px; height: 159px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5hw4O4kMhkslTU1ys579FDEPUR1TMYwvwNdtaBPHt0_ORaYnuvGN3S45BSAqp0zLaMSEjTO_wpTZuxtNoPHWTU5UBVlWbaQaS5WexrAb65VsK_pmaB9WwNDZQ__IOJvle6iYlKdI/s320/By+the+Light+of+the+Moon.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318692372764824514" border="0" /></a><br />I love carving letterpress images. They're usually elegant and look fantastic as stamps (as well they should, since they start out as a kind of stamp). This card, "By the Light of the Moon", was made last September in preparation for Halloween (my favorite holiday). It's a layered stamp. The first layer is the blue/teal color, then the yellow moon and the black outline is last. It was my first three layer stamp (up until then, I had only done two layers) and I like the way it turned out. The design is also very forgiving if you don't line up the pieces exactly right, which I always like. The stamps are on white copy paper and then just attached to a piece of grey cardstock. Simple, like all my cards. <br /><br />The stamps were hidden in Bloomington, MN for my annual Fall/Halloween gathering. Unfortunately, it might be missing. *sigh* I haven't had a chance to go and check on it and don't know when I will between the crazy overtime at work and school. Ah well.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-81483020644564131452009-03-29T14:06:00.004-05:002009-03-29T14:22:25.551-05:00Letterpress!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE09mj_CFZqmr3BNqrqD30Rwyg2Y0nLolS9mzOh9SzXJA5bhgRWMqeICAPkQpsACeJ-8GC3bXVk-XTv7VOuE3GHQKt1rQk15ANduyHSdEqLCDcHGetxBwD2O1MTj-FJHrN2giP-zu0/s1600-h/Letterpress+Fairy.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 84px; height: 92px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE09mj_CFZqmr3BNqrqD30Rwyg2Y0nLolS9mzOh9SzXJA5bhgRWMqeICAPkQpsACeJ-8GC3bXVk-XTv7VOuE3GHQKt1rQk15ANduyHSdEqLCDcHGetxBwD2O1MTj-FJHrN2giP-zu0/s320/Letterpress+Fairy.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318688203653956082" border="0" /></a><br />As frustrated as I am right now with my MLIS program, it has given me some fabulous opportunities and taken me to fantastic places. The latest is The Nomadic Press, a letterpress business that's in St. Paul. It's a one-man outfit in an old storefront just across the river from downtown. The first floor is the printing business and the second is his wife's graphic design office. My professor for the class I'm in right now is friends with the owner, so he arranged for us to get a peek at how presses work.<br /><br />The Nomadic Press has three presses-one from the 1800's, one from the 1920's and the "newest" one is from the 1950's. The oldest one is a hulking beast that actually seems alive. It can feed its own paper and will "breathe" when it grabs a new piece. We saw the one from the 1920's in action. You have to manually feed in the paper and it's very easy to see how dangerous presses are. Too slow and you can get your fingers snapped off!<br /><br />We actually got to print something using the one from the 1950's. The owner had a collection of old print blocks that date back to the early 1900s and later and we each got to pick one. I, of course, gravitated towards one of his oldest blocks. It's a little fairy (she didn't scan very well) that's about an inch high. Since it was so old and worn, there was a lot of adjustment that had to be done with the bed of the press, which I got to do (with supervision, of course)! <br /><br />The entire shop was littered with fonts and frames and ink and gouge carving tools and I couldn't help but think of letterboxing. There is a lot of overlap, from the setting of type so that it prints correctly to the creation of new printing blocks/stamps and selecting the right ink, etc, etc. Maybe this summer I'll ask the owner if he would be open to having a letterbox in his shop...<br /><br />If you ever have the chance to get a tour of a letterpress business, I would highly recommend it. And if you're in the Twin Cities area (or even outside Minnesota), definitely check out the Nomadic Press if you need invitations, business cards, etc printed. He does fantastic work!The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-197220066787476202009-02-23T19:16:00.006-06:002009-02-23T19:29:32.908-06:00Persephone<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMZmTXkFDBywZOD4bDmqaSEt9cdW3_LkZ_FBe4C8djCLJXf5kc3TXQ4wFSzrjJU2x_OFdSDOovjvrfHS8kvNGrCrlfRl4vnwO0N5uEEG2zMRwupLlr1icSXMEOR6ypwiHZG0UbOSr/s1600-h/Persephone.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLMZmTXkFDBywZOD4bDmqaSEt9cdW3_LkZ_FBe4C8djCLJXf5kc3TXQ4wFSzrjJU2x_OFdSDOovjvrfHS8kvNGrCrlfRl4vnwO0N5uEEG2zMRwupLlr1icSXMEOR6ypwiHZG0UbOSr/s320/Persephone.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306167154460564290" border="0" /></a>This card was created for Esmerelda's "It's All Greek to Me" swap, which was Greek gods and goddesses themed. I <span style="font-style: italic;">had</span> to do Persephone. I love myths and legends and the story of Persephone has been a favorite of mine since I was little. She was a fertility goddess and at the same time, the goddess/queen of the Underworld. This dual nature has always intrigued me and over the years, she's become one of my favorite goddesses. For more information about Persephone, check <a href="http://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/Persephone.html">this site</a> out.<br /><br />For the card, I wanted to bring out her two sides, but I couldn't figure out a "cool" way to do so. I ended up using some spring wrapping paper that I ripped and then taped to a dark colored cardstock. Persephone is heading towards the dark side of the card (representing the Underworld) and looking back towards the earth (the wrapping paper). I don't know if anyone caught that, but it was the best I could come up with. I wasn't terribly happy with it when I first made it, but now that a few months have passed, I really like it. The wrapping paper is so vibrant and I think it contrasts nicely with the dark cardstock.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-73124281757054422272009-01-17T10:33:00.009-06:002009-01-17T11:01:44.633-06:00Ugh, How Ugly!Once upon a time, there were two LTC swaps in which the participants were to use the ugliest paper in their collections and to just cut it up and stamp it. No embellishments. Participants in each swap would vote on the ugliest card in each swap and the winners would receive a special, one of a kind LTC as a prize.<br /><br />Group 1 winner: <span style="font-style: italic;">Pink and Green Psychedelic Vomit</span> by The Red Cat<br />Group 2 winner: <span style="font-style: italic;">Hey, Who You Callin' Ugly? </span>by FreezyCat of Bikercats<br /><br />We decided to have a little friendly competition and see which paper the LTC community thinks is the ugliest. We both think our respective cards are eye-searing, but here's a chance to let your opinions be known!<br /><br />Here they are in no particular order:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Hey, Who You Callin' Ugly<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GTYi-UOTn8IVYkID8-kzoIKTGni1B6SCmE0z1AXp0TVMMLk8h6pEq2xbyupJqd2-NM7rxDf-pchImxpTCCyAT3WAl_CytQBuUa0ar2YSuuEhf4-CunsPOtmj9RIy-H1m5KKw1yBc/s1600-h/Who+You+Callin%27+Ugly.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6GTYi-UOTn8IVYkID8-kzoIKTGni1B6SCmE0z1AXp0TVMMLk8h6pEq2xbyupJqd2-NM7rxDf-pchImxpTCCyAT3WAl_CytQBuUa0ar2YSuuEhf4-CunsPOtmj9RIy-H1m5KKw1yBc/s320/Who+You+Callin%27+Ugly.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292308452796175010" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Pink and Green Psychedelic Vomit<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2W3U0nxQrWEsuK8eQT-To-D0AdFKtJEts-_BCCZsj4CNCwno-p9PHM3DzS1M4qAw9Ez3-CZW-KNmRs_jUx-hGaA6sDIwWev1m5P-L13IBpMhbDQ5e4IgWhZXv63t0j0bGDIy1-4d/s1600-h/Psychedelic+Vomit.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 179px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2W3U0nxQrWEsuK8eQT-To-D0AdFKtJEts-_BCCZsj4CNCwno-p9PHM3DzS1M4qAw9Ez3-CZW-KNmRs_jUx-hGaA6sDIwWev1m5P-L13IBpMhbDQ5e4IgWhZXv63t0j0bGDIy1-4d/s320/Psychedelic+Vomit.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292308451195613682" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So, which one is uglier?The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-64926685568406092202009-01-14T17:14:00.002-06:002009-01-14T17:27:27.553-06:00Seriously, does it need to be this cold?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC28vwaeVKzybDg7G5_THMJvgfXahCnNM0o2VqhKmN_7-Htd-ifMq2NNVmy9yLQwuYVbpVUpNefvemDtfByE62JSV4QE8oEVWv1ExS0fsoIHQsGATHwibLcS27T5LQ8-Lgxj8PiC-R/s1600-h/Reading+Pixie.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC28vwaeVKzybDg7G5_THMJvgfXahCnNM0o2VqhKmN_7-Htd-ifMq2NNVmy9yLQwuYVbpVUpNefvemDtfByE62JSV4QE8oEVWv1ExS0fsoIHQsGATHwibLcS27T5LQ8-Lgxj8PiC-R/s320/Reading+Pixie.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291291986459844082" border="0" /></a><br />As I'm sure most of you have heard, the Midwest is under a severe cold snap right now. It's a brisk -6 with a -26 windchill right now. It's supposed to get down to -20 tonight with a -35 windchill. It does not need to be this cold. Seriously. <br /><br />One of my favorite things to do when it gets this cold is to bury myself under a blanket with a cup of tea and a good book. I'm currently working on <span style="font-style: italic;">Stardust</span> by Neil Gaiman and <span style="font-style: italic;">The World Without End</span> by Ken Follett. A nice fantasy book and a huge historical epic-perfect for forgetting how cold it is outside.<br /><br />The LTC featured in this post is called "Reading Pixie" and was made for a Fairy swap. The little pixie is so cute-I love his antennae. It's stamped in brown on tea-stained paper that I printed part of <span style="font-style: italic;">Mr Simonelli, or The Fairy Widower<span style="font-style: italic;">, </span></span>a short story by Susanna Clarke, one of my favorite authors. I figured using a story about fairies would be appropriate, even though most people would have no idea what the story is. There's also a little rhinestone under the pixie. I wasn't quite sure about the orange paper and the burgundy background, but I think it works in a weird kind of way.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-24895982980796908702009-01-03T19:44:00.005-06:002009-01-03T19:53:12.006-06:00Studio Ghibli<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3ijfwQSo2AnGatqZigfQ35UzDCqyOxGy709otGgwkVq4Z8FkXbqDoW-g_NT1TVWja902kKwPes2v07DpTA0Ga3Mg04ohOMEI23Sx6s-U96aAComJq5ZZ4eQLv_3ydz-uA4UuK8KR/s1600-h/Studio+Ghibli.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_3ijfwQSo2AnGatqZigfQ35UzDCqyOxGy709otGgwkVq4Z8FkXbqDoW-g_NT1TVWja902kKwPes2v07DpTA0Ga3Mg04ohOMEI23Sx6s-U96aAComJq5ZZ4eQLv_3ydz-uA4UuK8KR/s320/Studio+Ghibli.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287248603006429266" border="0" /></a><br />I'm a huge Miyazaki fan. Howl's Moving Castle is one of my all time favorite movies. <br /><br />This card is called <span style="font-style: italic;">Studio Ghibli Logo</span> (very creative title, eh?) and was made for a Studio Ghibli postal ring. It was a little bonus present for members of the ring. The stamp was originally carved for another Miyazaki postal ring. It was my first time carving Japanese and I think it turned out pretty well. Also some of the smallest letters I have ever carved. <br /><br />Another thing that I've noticed by looking through my cards is that I love using origami paper. And, yes, this one uses origami paper. :) I used a pack of blue-themed paper and each card has a different blue paper background. I love the texture of this paper-it feels like very thick rice paper. Usually when I use origami paper, I'll mount it on cardstock since the origami paper is very, very thin. <br /><br />I have another Miyazaki LTC available, <span style="font-style: italic;">Lupin III: Lupin and His Gang</span> if there are any Miyazaki fans out there who would like one. And yes, that one has origami paper as well. :)<br /><br />I have a ton of Miyazaki stamps lying around (mostly of Howl's Moving Castle and Lupin III), so expect more Miyazaki/Ghibli cards from me.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-47913934473866815872009-01-03T16:12:00.004-06:002009-01-03T16:23:23.927-06:00The Snow Queen<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpO5c6S7ukPvYQRqi_1rVuHyBI_hI_BP5RWG185CeI9DnyX8iTF8iP7b44yeeB2PNhUMGWH5S1PoLwzgZs3ZmFHjc-dI3mepMGgwNcxNOOwC7ck0gHH53KloY0_e0P3SL97TX-530q/s1600-h/The+Snow+Queen.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 183px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpO5c6S7ukPvYQRqi_1rVuHyBI_hI_BP5RWG185CeI9DnyX8iTF8iP7b44yeeB2PNhUMGWH5S1PoLwzgZs3ZmFHjc-dI3mepMGgwNcxNOOwC7ck0gHH53KloY0_e0P3SL97TX-530q/s320/The+Snow+Queen.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287194010128728242" border="0" /></a>Wow...I'm really bad at this whole blogging thing. :P I've been kept busy between finishing up the term, being sick and the whole holiday thing. So here's an LTC that fits the season. We're in the midst of a winter storm here in Minnesota (there's "freezing drizzle" right now according to weather.com-I'm not venturing outside to check). <br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The Snow Queen</span> was made for a regular bi-monthly swap. This was the first card that I made for that group. The theme was winter, so I turned to the <a href="http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/snowqueen/index.html">Hans Christian Anderson tale</a>. I love old illustrations for fairy tales and I love how this stamp turned out. It's just stamped on plain white paper that I mounted on a metallic white card stock and a stripe of metallic icy blue cardstock. The colors are really pale, so they don't show up too well in the scan, but I love the sheen of the papers. The faint little dots are course glitter that I sprinkled on the blue paper. I wanted it a little more glittery, but the glitter looks a lot like the heavy snow that we sometimes get, so I traded glittery for snowy. This was the third LTC that I made and I've found that I like using the whole "stripe of contrasting paper" thing on a lot of my cards. My cards are usually about the stamp, so it's a good way to showcase the stamp image.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-71604431990673275672008-10-29T16:42:00.002-05:002008-10-29T16:58:18.201-05:00Mystery Science Theater 3000<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPRcbR07iVs02wUazQHUpovkN6zSr5tQRV0U-mjyEO86Z1SWFPjBdLzZDaIQ3MYH5YOWK657YxD8YJOdfxqIcENEAhhoO2cgMrqp-0kcWhhWURcPtzhQYrsfuOXyh-nkxVXQdvs7k/s1600-h/MST3k.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 249px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaPRcbR07iVs02wUazQHUpovkN6zSr5tQRV0U-mjyEO86Z1SWFPjBdLzZDaIQ3MYH5YOWK657YxD8YJOdfxqIcENEAhhoO2cgMrqp-0kcWhhWURcPtzhQYrsfuOXyh-nkxVXQdvs7k/s320/MST3k.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262694823897360770" border="0" /></a><br />I usually don't post pictures of LTCs that I still have available, but this one is applicable to what I did this past weekend.<br /><br />Evan and I went to go see <a href="http://www.cinematictitanic.com/">Cinematic Titanic </a> on Saturday night. It's several of the people who were involved with Mystery Science Theater 3000 basically doing the same thing with really bad horror movies. Saturday's selection was <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065603/">Blood of the Vampires</a>. It was an absolutely ridiculous movie. Apparently, the Phillipino actors that they got to play the servants didn't have "hispanic" enough skin, so they put them in black face. Really really bad and offensive black face. Needless to say, the Cinematic Titanic guys had a field day with this. <br /><br />If you ever get a chance to see Cinematic Titanic, I would highly recommend it. They are hilarious!<br /><br />About the LTC: The stamp was originally carved for the Great Lakes 2008 gathering that celebrated all things Minnesota. I never really got a lot of the MST3K jokes until I moved to Minnesota since they reference a lot of local places and people. Now it just adds another level, so I had to carve an MST3K stamp. I'll probably end up hiding the stamp somewhere near Hopkins, MN. The stamp image is embossed on movie posters of some of the films they skewered on the show. The posters are: "The Brain Who Wouldn't Die" (my personal favorite-I love the woman's face on the card), "The Sidehackers" (Hard riders! Mounted on BURNING STEEL! With only their leathers between THEM and HELL!") and "Teenagers From Outer Space" (Thrill-crazed space kids blasting flesh off humans!). <br /><br />I only have "Teenagers From Outer Space" and "The Sidehackers" available if anyone would like one.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-24053127348418503632008-10-29T16:26:00.004-05:002008-10-29T16:40:51.940-05:00A Permanent Souvenir<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8cHQvIl7MYDDCGN8y-jLXm-qqjTq7nFNs2uPgIdSBbJCk-IItoQtHCyhmxjj1TUq0uugrNMgzGPJsp7AfgzX-wx1f8_M5DpJLRAm6vHPILGpep1fgudPKxbLBXxfkTYaTeS8-QqR/s1600-h/A+Permanent+Souvenir.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 222px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8cHQvIl7MYDDCGN8y-jLXm-qqjTq7nFNs2uPgIdSBbJCk-IItoQtHCyhmxjj1TUq0uugrNMgzGPJsp7AfgzX-wx1f8_M5DpJLRAm6vHPILGpep1fgudPKxbLBXxfkTYaTeS8-QqR/s320/A+Permanent+Souvenir.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262690616147228434" border="0" /></a><br />It was five years ago today that I got my first (and so far only) tattoo. I was studying in Bangor, Wales and thought it would be the perfect time to get a tattoo. A friend and I took the train to Llandudno and we both got inked. <br /><br />I've never regretted getting it and probably never will. The term I spent in Wales changed me and I fell in love with the rugged beauty of northern Wales. (If you ever get a chance to go to Wales, you have to go-it's amazing!) This tattoo is like a little piece of Wales that I get to carry around with me for the rest of my life. <br /><br />The tattoo is a celtic knot-type design with three cats. My mom still swears that all she sees is fish, but trust me, they're cats. If you can't see them, their tails are the outer circle and their eyes, ears and a paw are towards the center. The stamp is about the same size as my tattoo and was originally carved for a postal ring. I'll probably turn it into a traveler at some point. The LTC is just a print out of a road map around Bangor (the red star is Bangor) and then I embossed the imprint of the stamp. This was my first attempt at embossing and it looks a little spotty, but I think it adds to the "tattoo-ness" of the image since it looks like a tattoo that has been freshly inked. I love this card because of it's meaning and the fact that you can see three of my favorite cities-Bangor, Conwy and Beaumaris. <br /><br />Oh, and where is this tattoo? You'll never know. :P<br /><br />Ok, maybe not. It's on my lower left back and you can sometimes see it when I bend over. Which is how my parents found at that I got a tattoo.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-5538384887216563672008-10-21T17:15:00.003-05:002008-10-21T17:26:50.507-05:00Where Have I Been?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHd4T_8FYgWVru40F8UP3JfTXqaL8BrYZXo3KVN5Z6fK72NI7mjKHfIlNFamV9ypOCUQVt7MncRyUwINuLGoaI6MCDz5g7zqfzaiRDT2y_3zRGMw_OW4vC1TvITLvB_0cK8axIGsP/s1600-h/Lotus+Blossom.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHd4T_8FYgWVru40F8UP3JfTXqaL8BrYZXo3KVN5Z6fK72NI7mjKHfIlNFamV9ypOCUQVt7MncRyUwINuLGoaI6MCDz5g7zqfzaiRDT2y_3zRGMw_OW4vC1TvITLvB_0cK8axIGsP/s320/Lotus+Blossom.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259734496417279314" border="0" /></a><br />Wow...this hasn't been updated since May! <br /><br />Where have I been?<br /><br />Short answer: Around<br /><br />Slightly longer answer: Let's just say it wasn't a very fun summer.<br /><br />Nothing particularly bad happened. It was just a difficult summer. <br /><br />There were a few good things:<br /><br />Spent the 4th of July in Marquette, MI with my parents, brother and aunt & uncle and their families. The last time I was in Marquette was about 10 years ago. That trip really made me realize that Marquette and my aunt & uncles' house on Lake Superior had a huge impact on me and my childhood memories. I can stand in the middle of their lake house and tell you the view from the windows and where things are in the house.<br /><br />Finally hit 300 finds! Find 100 was in the Outer Banks, find 200 was on Mercer Island in Washington and find 300 was in Chanhassen, MN. About time I have a milestone in the state I actually live in.<br /><br />School has started again. I'm taking two classes: Management of Libraries and Information Centers (yuck!) and Preservation and Conservation (yay!). The Preservation and Conservation class is the first of the archiving classes and is absolutely fascinating. That class makes me excited about school again. The Management class is the last of the "required" classes that I have to take, so I can't wait until it's over!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The LTC at the top of the page is "Lotus Blossom". It's one of my stress relieving cards, meaning just use materials that I have on hand when I'm feeling frustrated and just need to do something fun (which happened a few times this summer). It didn't scan very well, but I like it. I used three different patterns of origami paper for the background.</span>The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-86521388717403985282008-05-15T21:14:00.005-05:002008-05-15T21:24:24.103-05:00Cycles Perfecta<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBzxUkoXDYWnvExSxDkgkAirFB7Sm5i-WdHYCjg-djbsoH5-dX-oXDPxS5F1XVMBLLW2nTci0TrYOwTi68PxdBvS-Vfd5Dp_37-kqpkr81VXXf98O_Wcjl_Jkhn00eeE3b8zzUjbAV/s1600-h/05-15-2008+09%3B11%3B42PM.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBzxUkoXDYWnvExSxDkgkAirFB7Sm5i-WdHYCjg-djbsoH5-dX-oXDPxS5F1XVMBLLW2nTci0TrYOwTi68PxdBvS-Vfd5Dp_37-kqpkr81VXXf98O_Wcjl_Jkhn00eeE3b8zzUjbAV/s320/05-15-2008+09%3B11%3B42PM.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5200793469409495218" border="0" /></a><br />In honor of "Ride Your Bike To Work Week", here's a bicycle-themed LTC. The stamp was originally carved for the first Mucha ring last year (which was absolutely amazing!) and, yes, the stamp is actually 2.5 x 3.5 (well, it's actually a little smaller since there's a little border on the cards). My favorite part was carving the hair. I love carving flowing hair-it's so fun!<br /><br />It's colored with my trusty set of colored pencils. I honestly don't know why I like to use colored pencils on so many of my cards. It takes forever to color them, yet I do it over and over. It just looks so pretty.<br /><br />I'll probably end up planting this stamp eventually. I kind of want to put it near a bike path (for obvious reasons), but this is one of those stamps where if it goes missing, I am <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> carving it again. I nearly went cross-eyed carving it the first time! Maybe I'll think about putting it in a bike shop. Less chance of it going missing. Hmm...The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-71584230784782887692008-04-23T18:25:00.002-05:002008-04-23T19:10:43.215-05:00The Age Old QuestionLast year, I sent out a postal that attempted to answer one of the greatest questions known to man: Who would win in a fight, pirates or ninjas?<br /><br />After crisscrossing the country, visiting letterboxers, attending gatherings, and avoiding traps by the various anti-pirate and anti-ninja factions, it has returned home! <br /><br />Here are the results:<br /><br />Pirates would win in a fight: 19 votes<br />Ninjas would win in a fight: 21 votes<br /><br />And one write-in vote for dinosaurs eating them all. <br /><br />Read on for the highly scientific and totally based in fact reasons for voting.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pro-Pirate:</span><br /><br />"They have no moral code...while the ninja is whipping around, the pirate will use his cutlass." -Dewberry<br /><br />"We may be drunks, but we are deadly! Slow of wit but sharp of blade, we shall rule the world!" -Kittenwithoutmittens<br /><br />"Ninjas require a full face mask, but pirates can make do with but an eyepatch. And besides, pirates have a kick-butt flag!" -wassamatta u<br /><br />"They have way cooler outfits and get to sail around in awesome ships!" -Bikercats<br /><br />"Rat Queen says that if a ninja was after her, she'd run away. But if a pirate was after her, she would run away screaming. Mr. M7 says that the pirates would win because they have no honor. We all agree that dinosaurs would eat them all." -Murray7<br /><br />"Pirates have the best music! Jigs, reels, hornpipes and Wages of Sin is a cool pirate-punk band!" -dbltall<br /><br />"While the ninjas have the turtles, the pirates have Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. Plus pirates have cannons, guns and swords." -Team MTpt101<br /><br />"They are like the Peter Pan of the sea. Stealing from the colonial powers who were stealing from the natives." -Anthrogradjess<br /><br />"Mama Fox and Baby Fox are on the pirate side and it has <span style="font-style: italic;">nothing</span> to do with Johnny Depp as Capt. Sparrow-ok, well, a little. And pirates have much cooler clothes and get to hang out at the beach-what more do you need?" -The Little Foxes<br /><br />"With pirates as good looking as Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom, we'll always win!" -Mama Bear<br /><br />"The clothes say it all...one has style, the other is boring! And the weapons...little flying discs vs a cutlass & a black powder pistol." -Feather<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pro-Ninja:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span>"My sons are adamant that the ninja is the superior fighter-they think it's no contest!" -Dewberry<br /><br />"This Jedi votes ninja-training is everything!" -SHH/The Inky Jedi<br /><br />"I'm with the Jedi. My heart is with the pirates, but the ninjas have ruthlessness and discipline. A scary combination." -Dale End Farm<br /><br />"Ninjas are sneaky. Pirates are drunk. Ninjas have stars and can attack from afar. Pirates are drunk and fumble for a sword. Ninjas are quiet and can stay that way for a long time. Pirates are always singing about drinking while they are drunk." -Littlemonkey<br /><br />"The pirate might put up a good fight, but ninjas are scary, deadly dudes." -Celtic Quinn<br /><br />"The pirates would be drunk and the well-trained ninjas would quietly take out each pirate till they were all 'dealt' with." -NeNe<br /><br />"The pirates would be more fun at a party, but in a fight, the well-trained ninjas would win." -The Box Hunters<br /><br />"1. Ninjas are mammals. 2. Ninjas fight ALL the time. 3. The purpose of the ninja is to flip out and kill people." -AfghanPenguin<br /><br />"Ninjas have way better movies. Also, you only need one ninja to defeat a whole crew of pirates." -Lucky Charm<br /><br />"Ninjas are awesome!" -DK<br /><br />"While I think it would be great fun to hang out with Orlando Bloom (*wink*), I do think the ninjas could win battles-so ruthless and deadly." -Scrapper<br /><br />"Foxy boy is convinced Ninjas would win...they are much sneakier and more elusive." -The Little Foxes<br /><br />"Ninjas are totally cool!" -Baby Bear<br /><br />"Ninjas would win-with the power of the cat." -Team BearCat<br /><br />"I visited a ninja house in Japan and know that they are disciplined, sharp and STEALTHY." -Cat Eyes<br /><br />"Ninjas are best because they wear black and they don't have to worry about getting seasick." -PAWS<br /><br />"Stealth, agility, grace and incredible bodies-ninjas all the way! Besides, with all that rum pirates drink, they're too pickled to win!" -mudflinginfools<br /><br />"Ninjas all the way! They are too quick for any pirates to get their swords or guns out!"-Gargoyle Girl<br /><br />"They are better at distance and stealth fighting. Ninjas do have a code of honor, but that does not mean they are slow or weak! It is an advantage to be organized and disciplined." -The Gillespie TribeThe Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-21381489042747670732008-04-12T12:59:00.004-05:002008-04-12T13:17:51.757-05:00More Schoolin'The class I'm taking this semester is about user instruction, which means it's really an introduction to teaching theories and methods. And, of course, some actual teaching. I avoid getting in front of a crowd to speak whenever possible and even if you meet me on a one-on-one basis, I'm really quiet. Needless to say, I'm counting down the days until the class is over. <br /><br />I'm in the process of working on my final project for the class. It's a 45 minute lesson on something involving the library science field I want to go into once I graduate. Since my areas of interest are special libraries and archives (which, coincidentally, has the least amount of user instruction) it's a bit harder to figure out what I want to teach. The other people in my class are all going into school media centers, academic libraries or public libraries (which all involve lots and lots of user instruction), so they've been doing the usual "This is how the catalog works, etc, etc." The only other archives student in my class made up an archive (that specialized in artifacts relating to pirates, yar!) and went over the rules and how to use a finding aide. I'm going to focus on corporate libraries and do a re-interpretation of a presentation that I've sat through at work. <br /><br />And because of my procrastinating ways, I have two weeks to pull it together. I'm hoping to get a large part of it done this weekend while the weather is certainly un-springlike. As I type this, I'm watching the falling snow being whipped around by the wind. It's April! At least the snow isn't sticking. If the weather was nicer, I'd be seriously tempted to go out and find my first letterbox of the year now that most of the snow has melted. I have a serious itch to go letterboxing, but haven't been able to all winter since we've had a continuous snow cover since December. If I get enough work done this week, maybe I'll escape out to the woods next weekend and find a box or two. If not, then I'll get my fix at the Northern Iowa gathering in May and the Great Lakes gathering at the end of May. I don't know how much 'boxing I'll get to do as the host of the gathering, but that whole week is going to be like one big party for me. There's Memorial Day on Monday, my birthday on that Thursday, and then the gathering on Saturday. Maybe I'll finally break 300 finds for my birthday! <br /><br />Enough procrastinating for now...The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-81804837064369759052008-03-22T11:13:00.005-05:002008-03-22T11:29:38.971-05:00Stella!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Zz5a4jrUWAwyxNIbHwlJOOl7ZNxlZfmrn5_egFLfmQmFHQ7NyWnLHMDLYC_IR0W1eoShDSop9lOfdN3Sb6vNJJQR0KK1BzNh0qiIKv09Pd26WLs6mPUfvESI-z5EQrI63LlNqCuY/s1600-h/Stella.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Zz5a4jrUWAwyxNIbHwlJOOl7ZNxlZfmrn5_egFLfmQmFHQ7NyWnLHMDLYC_IR0W1eoShDSop9lOfdN3Sb6vNJJQR0KK1BzNh0qiIKv09Pd26WLs6mPUfvESI-z5EQrI63LlNqCuY/s320/Stella.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180602581373462066" border="0" /></a><br /><br />No, not <span style="font-style: italic;">that</span> Stella!<br /><br />I originally carved Stella for a postal ring. She's just a piece of clip art that I received from the weekly Dover Sampler email (it's from the publishers of all the Dover books-things like clip art, textures, etc. Every week they send out a free email that has samplers from their various publications. There's a lot of good material for stamps-like Stella!). I carved her in about an hour and a half, which just seems amazing when I look at all those little stars. She's about 3.5 inches tall and about an inch and a half wide. As a postal, she was almost lost twice and now that she's safely home, I don't think I'll ever plant her in the wild since I love the stamp too much. That seems a little silly, since it's just a piece of rubber, but I would be heartbroken if she went missing.<br /><br />The "Stella" LTC is black paper with gold glitter, gold paper and then Stella stamped in black.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-77922349817770740142008-02-09T19:48:00.001-06:002008-02-09T20:00:39.373-06:00The Perfect Latte<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYM3vQnpzxlCvw9ftty973Jo5DtDdlePNlbrv_9dqAHrj7fENdZsM3ZotgueQDcwI-WvcQ0Qtv9QkQBosavcf4_1uDuGb4HY28DsIpS3mKbo4ggFJ3TEVFHCywaEILL89T1eSk8MBx/s1600-h/The+Perfect+Latter.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYM3vQnpzxlCvw9ftty973Jo5DtDdlePNlbrv_9dqAHrj7fENdZsM3ZotgueQDcwI-WvcQ0Qtv9QkQBosavcf4_1uDuGb4HY28DsIpS3mKbo4ggFJ3TEVFHCywaEILL89T1eSk8MBx/s320/The+Perfect+Latter.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165164837344621730" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcUIhwSw2uF0uVmWqHU7xXBqSbIOxgxcYt6XYJdzlMmy1I09rmBPXjlVcw8luqgfKDoxDFbxAx3dA-wpiuIi70yFYpay_SabrZa5b1XV46MyxxJKMEaHTBQQrImjkcfJemkYickW5/s1600-h/Rajah+Coffee.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwcUIhwSw2uF0uVmWqHU7xXBqSbIOxgxcYt6XYJdzlMmy1I09rmBPXjlVcw8luqgfKDoxDFbxAx3dA-wpiuIi70yFYpay_SabrZa5b1XV46MyxxJKMEaHTBQQrImjkcfJemkYickW5/s320/Rajah+Coffee.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165164845934556338" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">The Tea LTC group decided to move on to coffee for the next round. I chose to do my favorite coffee drink-a latte (well, a skim latte with plenty of foam and a raw sugar sprinkled on top in a cup and saucer). The best lattes that I've ever had have been at a sidewalk cafe in Florence, Italy (I guess that one was really a cappuccino, but it was absolutely amazing!) and at a coffee house in Seattle. I love the artwork that the barista creates using milk and espresso. When I worked at a coffee bar in college, I would always try to create swirls and whorls every time I made a latte. I had to incorporate the coffee art somehow into the card. I created the stamp from a photo from the internet. It was absolutely amazing to see some of the coffee art that's been created-flowers, leaves and even a couple of characters from Miyazaki films. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">The bottom card is an advertisement for Rajah Coffee from the late 1800s drawn by Henri </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" >Meuniere. It was also available for trade in a full-color version for non-trading group members. It was one of those images that the second I saw it , I had to carve it. </span>The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-78913234465579902752008-02-05T16:21:00.000-06:002008-02-05T18:10:21.623-06:00My First LTC<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityhiDpyVRfNK4-1Oah4L4KboyzFTOIOBhuRmCbWuvWfkae-fDnraXDBJ6HtC8dVm4Y99jVs33gQo0XFoxNV34x2a69k89RKee22-9UwYAXQSO0GYE-cD9bR2P9Ico1H7iM2yO3Y-i/s1600-h/Tea+Ceremony.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEityhiDpyVRfNK4-1Oah4L4KboyzFTOIOBhuRmCbWuvWfkae-fDnraXDBJ6HtC8dVm4Y99jVs33gQo0XFoxNV34x2a69k89RKee22-9UwYAXQSO0GYE-cD9bR2P9Ico1H7iM2yO3Y-i/s320/Tea+Ceremony.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163627540118602626" border="0" /></a><br />Yes, I've gotten into the whole LTC (Letterbox Trading Cards, although I think Letterboxer Trading Cards makes more sense since letterboxers are the ones making them and the stamp might not end up in a letterbox. But what do I know?) craze. It's not surprising really when you consider my little paper fetish. It gives me yet another excuse to buy pretty paper and carve stamps.<br /><br />The one above can be blamed for getting me hooked on LTCs. It was created for a tea-themed swap last summer. I love carving Asian images and I love how this stamp came out. It's one of those that I just stare at every time I come across it while rummaging through my stamps and think "Did I really carve that?" I hate having it sit in my drawer o' homeless stamps, so I'll have to find a suitable place to hide it. Maybe in or near a Japanese garden. There are six different origami paper backgrounds to this card and I got quite the kick out of asking people which background they received. I had no idea which one I would would receive back, but this red one is one of my favorites. It was one of the patterns in a package of origami paper that I bought at Uwajimaya when I was in Seattle last July. I also love the T'ien Yiheng quote on the back:<br /><div style="text-align: center; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">"Tea is drunk to forget the din of the world."<br /><br /></div><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-18243319309535408952008-01-31T16:17:00.000-06:002008-01-31T16:23:55.741-06:00My Neighbor...<span style="font-weight: bold;">Snow Totoro!<br /><br /></span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/97397651@N00/2233681380/" title="Snow Totoro by Heather W., on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2093/2233681380_43016a2659.jpg" alt="Snow Totoro" height="375" width="500" /></a><br /><br />Well, technically Totoro is a couple of blocks away. <br /><br />I drive past this house on my way home from work every day and I just get this huge grin on my face every time. <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-22810532471070496342008-01-18T19:45:00.000-06:002008-01-18T19:57:59.981-06:00Coming Soon...As SpringChick announced on the Great Lakes Yahoo! board this morning, I will be hosting the Great Lakes Gathering 2008 in Minnesota. This is the first year that Minnesota has the gathering and will definitely be the biggest gathering in Minnesota letterboxing history (at least so far). The one this past October was about 30 people. Attendance at the annual "Big" gathering is usually 100+. So if anyone is looking for some place to visit the weekend of May 31st (hey, that's right after my birthday!), Minnesota is lovely that time of year. This weekend I'll be working on finalizing the location (probably what I'm most worried about right now) and will announce the location hopefully by Wednesday. <br /><br />I'm excited about it, but definitely very nervous. It will be the biggest gathering I've hosted and I plan on enlisting the help of Minnesota letterboxers. <br /><br />Those of you who have hosted large gatherings, do you have any advice?The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-52607053100251096242007-11-26T17:24:00.000-06:002007-11-26T17:43:59.206-06:00It's Official...I hate Mondays. I hardly ever have good Mondays.<br /><br />I put in my request for my Christmas PTO this morning at work. My supervisor emailed me back and said that it was tentative. This afternoon he emailed me back and said that my request had been downgraded from "tentative" to "unlikely to be approved". That means I will be spending Christmas in Minneapolis. It's the first time in my entire life that I haven't spent Christmas with my family. I'm not particularly religious, but I do think of Christmas as family time and I love the warm, safe feeling that I get when I go to bed (in "my" bed with my heavy down comforter and my parents just across the way) and the smell of pine in the air. It's also my brother's birthday.<br /><br />My parents are discussing what to do. My dad sounds like he wants to come up to Minneapolis for Christmas and my mom wants my brother and I to come down either the weekend before or the weekend after. It just won't be the same. Christmas Eve is the one time I actually enjoy going to church-mostly because of the candlelight. I know that I can go to a service up here, there are plenty of beautiful churches and I've never seen a midnight Christmas mass, so this would be a good time to go to one. But my parents won't be there. There won't be the drive along the lake to see all the beautiful old mansions decorated for the holiday. There won't be the opening of one present and cookies after church. Or dinner with my grandmother's beautiful china. Or my brother's annual chocolate chip cheesecake birthday cake and my annual complaint of "Can't you pick anything else?".<br /><br />I know I'm welcome at Evan's family's Christmas, but it just won't be the same.<br /><br />In the grand scheme of things, me not being able to actually be with my family on Christmas isn't a big deal. At least I have family and other people to share it with. There are people who don't even have that. I'm just amazed at how much this is bothering me. I've been fighting back tears all day. Yesterday I was all excited for the holiday season. I never get excited for Christmas this early. Now I don't even want to think about it and I just feel kind numb. <br /><br />Hopefully tomorrow will be better.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-74841274544622637602007-11-20T20:08:00.000-06:002007-11-20T20:30:19.512-06:00Have You Hugged Your Cataloger Today?This semester of school has certainly given me a new appreciation for what catalogers do.<br /><br />The Dewey system and I? Well, we get along fabulously. It's like doing a puzzle. A very elegant, nerdy puzzle. Granted, when you get into dropping digits and zeros it gets a bit confusing. And sometimes when you look at a number, you can't really figure out the thought process that the cataloger took, but I love it. A book on breeding racehorses? 636.12. You say you're interested in civil engineering as a profession? 624.023. Doing a Dewey number really reminds me of letterboxing-looking at clues, trying to decipher them to get to the right place, and the "A-ha!" moment when you find what you're looking for. You can really tailor the number to bring out certain aspects of the work. It's fantastic!<br /><br />My relationship with the Library of Congress Classification System? I want a divorce. There are 44+ volumes (compared to Dewey's sleek four) and there are no instructions (the brief instructions in Dewey seem downright verbose). Granted, it's the Library of Congress and they do pretty much what they want to do and this system obviously works for them. It was created for use only in the Library of Congress and they don't really share the rules that their catalogers use. So us mere mortal librarians (and poor MLIS students) basically have to figure it out based on what others have figured out.<br /><br />I've spent the past three hours pouring over various volumes of the LoC Classification System for my final exam and I honestly feel like throwing them out the window. There are directions to look at a certain table, but no clues as to where this table is. The descriptions of the headings are vague at the best of times and the indentations screw with your head. Tables are scattered throughout the volumes, so you have to go digging in several different books to find what you need.<br /><br />So hug the cataloger at your local library and thank them for making it easy for you to find what you need! 'Cause it sure as heck ain't easy to do.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-51954577806294797072007-11-18T14:42:00.000-06:002007-11-18T14:53:31.478-06:00It's Red!As I type this, I'm sitting in my favorite coffee shop and sipping chai. I'm supposed to be working on my final exam for my Cataloging class and looking up Library of Congress authority headings, but I'm having too much fun playing with my Christmas present to myself-a new laptop! It replaces my six year old Vaio. I'm quite attached to the old one. It's been through several moves and had even gone to Wales with me, but it was time to retire it. The new one has wireless and doesn't weigh 50 pounds. And most importantly, it's red! <br /><br />It's been kind of fun going through and adjusting the settings and whatnot to my liking. When it came time to assign it a name, I christened it Childermass. My boyfriend (the man who named our home network "Voltron") saw the new name and said "Childermass? You're naming it after a character in <u>Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell</u>?" <br /><br />So say hello to Childermass!The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590676729471216274.post-7605795779420823292007-09-15T17:47:00.000-05:002007-09-15T18:06:24.883-05:00Amazing what fifteen years can do...This week I received The Little Foxes' contribution to the Quote This! II ring. All of the stamps had something to do with confronting fear and it seemed quite appropriate that I got that this week.<br /><br />As I've mentioned before, I've started Aikido again after taking a break for fifteen years. I remember how I loved to do forward rolls and being thrown and falling when I was little. I would get this thrill at just effortlessly tucking my body and springing back up in a perfect hamni (stance).<br /><br />Fast forward fifteen years. Front rolls are the bane of my existence. I hate seeing the floor come up and I dread practicing moves that involve me having to do a front roll. That changed a little this week. Summer is always a bad time for me with headaches and just generally not feeling good, so I haven't been able to go to the dojo as often as I'd like (there's a reason why I live in the northern part of the US!). Now that the weather is getting cooler, I've been going more often and have been able to concentrate more.<br /><br />This week I felt a little twinge of the thrill I used to feel when doing front rolls. It actually felt good to feel my feet flying over my head and knowing that I am in perfect control. And on Thursday we practiced a move that I have never enjoyed because it basically has the defender turning the attacker's arm in to a staff and launching the attacker into a front roll. I have never been able to do the front roll without hitting my head or hurting my shoulder. But I actually managed to do a decent roll and stand up in hamni. Granted, I still hit my head or roll on my shoulder, but I'm not so afraid of it now.<br /><br />I'm still amazed that in my (very) long break from Aikido, I became afraid of falling. I went from this fearless ten year old who would try any move, even if it looked really difficult, to a twenty-five year old who cringes when she sees the floor rushing up.<br /><br />Fear is a funny thing.The Red Cathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14538892211773887274noreply@blogger.com0