Many of you might be familiar with the digital designs of Holly McCaig and now she has launched a new site dedicated to stampers called Pink. Sugar. Pop! :) She was very kind and asked me to be part of her first team! Here’s a page I completed using the new, clear stamps:

Love all the features of Flickr and Flickr Toys. Once you get your free account, you can do so many fun things with it!

You can make mosaics:

1. California Love, 2. Sushi Combo, 3. Ikura Onigiri, 4. Sushi Plate, 5. sushi cupcakes #2, 6. Kabuki, to-go = spicy tuna plate #2, 7. sushi, 8. POP! Nemo’s dad?, 9. Fake Food @ Takashimaya Shinjuku, 10. Sushi, 11. Untitled, 12. one of the good things to live in japan is #2, 13. shako sushi, 14. Vegan "sushi" cupcake, 15. ready for soy, 16. Sushi Lunch, 17. Bento nr. 5, 18. Mini Ikura-Don, 19. My Dearest Sushi, 20. amuse bouche, 21. Fancy Sushi, 22. お寿司, 23. Kappa Maki, 24. デパ地下寿司, 25. great sushi lunch!

Make bead art:

Make a profile widget:

Put captions on photos:

Get your free account and play!

I’ve recently been inspired to try to do my part in making the world a better place. Going to San Diego on earth day just reinforced my resolve. And a little bit of Oprah, too! :) Here are some things we can do to save the earth!

1. 2006.4.15 Poppy, 2. Green light / luz verde, 3. Bordeaux Lilly, 4. Hickory Horned Devil, 5. Hope, 6. Corn and Clouds, 7. bug of the day, 8. Daisy daisy, 9. (photo)   (synthesis), 10. Gummi-Spidey, 11. Happy Valentine’s Day, 12. Leaf veins, 13. Pathway, 14. Green Spiral, 15. Pointsettia Leaf, 16. Milkweed aphid, Aphis nerii, 17. humble veneration, 18. Spring goes on……, 19. It’s A Bug’s Life, 20. Triebe, 21. Top Edge, 22. Every Which Way, 23. Café, 24. Christmastree Plant, 25. Curly Hair

1. Re-route your commute.
   • Walk or bike to work and save money on gas and parking while improving your cardiovascular health and reducing your risk of obesity.
   • If you live far from your office, investigate the option of telecommuting. Or move closer—even if this means paying more rent, it could save you money in the long term.
   • If your streets are not conducive to biking or walking, lobby your municipal government
     to increase spending on sidewalks and bike lanes. With little cost,
     these improvements can pay huge dividends in decreased traffic and
     pollution.
2. Buy used.
   • Whether you’ve just moved to a new area or are looking to redecorate, consider a service like craigslist or FreeSharing
     to track down furniture, appliances, and other items, rather than
     buying them new. Check out garage sales and thrift stores for clothing
     and other everyday items.
   • Use your creativity in gift giving, including making homemade gifts, donating to a good cause, or even regifting. (And gift green, in general.)
   • Your purchasing habits have a real impact, for better or worse. When making new purchases, make sure you know what’s “Good Stuff” and what isn’t.
3. Buy local.
   • Shop at your local farmers’ market.
     Though the offerings can be more expensive, you can generally count on
     a higher quality product—and the entire purchase price goes directly to
     the farmer. Buying any goods produced locally saves energy by reducing the fossil fuels needed to transport food and other items across the country and around the globe.
   • Start a local currency
     program in your town. This can ensure that money stays in your local
     economy, valuing local services and supporting local merchants.
4. Compost your food scraps.
   • Composting
     helps reduce the amount of waste you send to the landfill, which can
     save you money if you live in a municipality with a “pay as you throw”
     system. In the process, you create free, healthy fertilizer for your
     garden (or your neighbor’s—or lobby for a community garden!)
   • If you don’t have a yard or space for a compost pile, try indoor ‘vermiculture,’ or worm composting.
5. Change the thermostat setting and install energy saving devices.
   • Setting
     your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees
     higher in the summer can translate to substantial savings on your
     utility bills.
   • Install low-flow showerheads and take shorter showers to save water and the energy used to heat it. Or, consider eventually installing a solar hot water heater on your property.
   • Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible and use a drying rack or clothesline.
   • When incandescent bulbs burn out, replace them with longer-lasting, low-energy compact fluorescent bulbs.
   • With the money you save from making these changes, consider buying wind energy from your local utility or purchasing renewable energy offsets. Renewables
     offer our best hope for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a
     host of other pollutants. In some cases, “green energy” options can be cheaper than electricity from conventional sources!
6. Skip the bottled water at the grocery or convenience store.
   • Filter
     your tap water for drinking rather than using bottled water. Not only
     is bottled water expensive, but it produces large amounts of container waste.
   • Check out this recent update and life cycle analysis for the latest on bottled water trends.
7. Make your own cleaning supplies.
   • Using simple ingredients such as baking soda, soap, and vinegar, you can make cheap, easy, and non-toxic cleaning products that really work! Save money, time, and your indoor air quality.
8. Think twice about new electronics.
   • E-waste from discarded cell phones and computers is a growing environmental problem. Mounds of electronic refuse are being shipped abroad illegally for ‘disassembly’ by workers with little protection against the mercury and other toxic substances they contain.
   • Keep your electronics as long as possible and dispose of them responsibly when the time comes.
   • Buy higher-quality items and don’t give in to ‘psychological obsolescence’ marketing campaigns.
   • Recycle your cell phone and support good causes at the same time!
   • Ask your local government to set up a responsible recycling and hazardous waste collection event.
9. Add one meatless meal per week.
   • While strict vegetarianism isn’t for everyone, even the most devout carnivores can cut back on meat consumption without cramping their style—and save money in the process. Industrial meat production
     requires huge energy inputs and creates noxious waste problems. The
     proliferation of factory farms is damaging the environment, and the
     global nature of the industry creates conditions that promote the
     spread of diseases such as avian flu, potentially costing society billions.
10. Use your local library and other public amenities.
    • Borrowing from libraries,
      instead of buying personal books and movies, saves money and printing
      resources. Consider donating the money saved to your local library.
    • Be an active civic participant
      and ensure that the public spaces and facilities in your town are well
      maintained. This will promote a healthy, sustainable community.

Any other tips? :)

I was never a big fan of teal and it’s only lately that I’ve come to appreciate the color. Thanks to flickr for so much eye candy!

1. Untitled, 2. why, 3. peacock more, 4. Untitled, 5. enter, 6. hell on wheels, 7. beach chairs in teal and blue, 8. Union Square Market, 9. natalie’s bag, 10. teal drop, 11. Starry Day, 12. Palm Tree Boulevard, 13. looking up, 14. playing with colour, 15. notice:, 16. Untitled, 17. Teal and turquoise, 18. answers we’ll never get…, 19. teal house, 20. Droplets, 21. Cupcake, 22. .tomato.tomahto.tuhmayter., 23. tin detail, 24. paper lantern, 25. glint

 

Thought I would share some photos of our trip. The weekend was short and sweet but it was well worth it. I loved the plants and the flowers and the weather. La Jolla Cove was beautiful. We went to Balboa Park on Earth Day, too, so we were definitely at one with the environment that weekend. The people of San Diego are so passionate about the beauty around us, saving our natural resources, and being one with the earth. We really need to be more "green" in how we live. I can definitely live in San Diego. But I guess my husband, who was born and raised in Vegas, has something to say about that. Either way, it will always be one of my favorite places.

 
   

Just got this sweet email message from my stepdaughter today. Helps a lot when one feels like crap, hacking up a lung and such.

i love you . i cant wait to see you. how are you. how are the dogs.i miss you.when are we getting our nails done.can  you please put up the choclate fountain on me and jeffs double birthday party. you dont have to put it up if you dont want to. you are the best step mom ever.

 
   

By the time you read this, we are probably already in San Diego. I love it there and can’t wait to see it again. It’s supposed to rain, but I don’t care. I enjoy rainy weather and it’s good to get out and get a change in scenery, period and all.

In the meantime, this is how my studio looks like right now, the left half, that is. It’s a still a mess but it is progress. You can see the floor and some of my workspace! Hallelujah. I can have friends over again. I’ll be working on this some more when we get back.