IT'S TIME!!

So after resting up for a week from the party I am ready to start back at this blogging thing. I am editing pictures today and the week should be taken up with posts of the projects of the party and the prizes. I will be making the first post later today, just wanted to let ya'll know that the posts are gonna be coming now!

It's All Over...Even The Crying

I took Carmen, Karen and Helen back to the airport for their return trip home and I have to say it is so hard every year to say good-bye to my friends. I know I will see them again one day and I talk to them on the phone but it's just not the same as them being here. At this time Carmen has made it home, Karen should be arriving in Orlando any minute and Helen should be home...well I am not real sure because her time zone confused the heck out of me! LOL 

The party was great and everyone enjoyed themselves, at least I think they did. If they didn't then to hell with them! HA HA HA I am so tired tonight there is no way I can even write up a blog post and try to post pictures. Just wanted ya'll to know that everyone survived and I will be back to writing up stupid crap again real soon!

TWO DAYS???

I only have two days before my first guest arrives at the airport and I can still think of a ton of things I would like to get done before they start arriving but I think I have run out of time!

I worked on weekend on finishing up getting items ready for the games and I can officially say that everything I need for each game is ready to roll. That is ahead of my regular schedule! I am generally hunting around the Friday before the party to find a few more supplies but I was on it this year.

Where I am failing is that I still need two more prizes and still need to wrap a few others! I can the completed ones in boxes and just wrap them later. I am having problems thinking of two more prizes to make. Well I can think of several but due to time constraints it's just not possible right now so I guess I will try to whip a few things together before heading to the airport on Wednesday evening.

Okay back to work...gotta get some paperwork done tonight before I get fired from my job! LOL

It's Hard To Say Good-bye...

I know I said I had a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT that I would post on Monday but have decided to do it today.  There were many guesses about what the announcement would be and I will answer some of these...

NO, I am not pregnant...it's not physically possible.
NO, I am not going to be a grandma...ya'll don't play like that!
NO, my daughter isn't getting married...at least that I know of.
HELL NO, I'm not getting married...remember I am a hopeless romantic with a huge fear of commitment *okie thinks she is possibly one huge, walking, breathing oxymoron*.

NOW BACK TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT.

I am not sure saying good-bye is ever easy. Well I take that back I can think of at least 5 instances it was really easy for me *okie rolls her eyes thinking about THOSE exes*, and when I say real easy I mean really, really, really easy! But when it's something you love it makes it much more difficult. Sometimes the good-byes come as a mutual need for termination, most times it is one sided. There are good-byes that are just temporary, then good-byes that are meant to be permanent. Certain times we are almost driven to say good-bye, as it is in this instance.

For a long time I have been a Cricut fan. I have defended them in many cases where others only had complaint. During those times I believed in the brand and felt they were trying to go into a good direction for their consumers while still building their brand. I have praised their products and used their products. I have also been honest with my feelings when I felt I didn't like something and let that be known as well. I was glad they won their lawsuit because I felt it was the right thing in the court system to happen. If they wanted to protect their products and have them used as they intended then I felt our justice system made the correct choice.

My Cricut brought me into a new world of my hobby of scrapbooking. It evolved me into a true PAPERCRAFTER. Paper went from a "oh that is nice" to "OMG! what can I make with that". It allowed me to meet some of my best friends I have in this later stage of my life and for that, I will ever be grateful. It lead me to have this website and end up having all of you wonderful people go from being able to get my cut files to reading the daily drivel of my life, the ups and downs I experience, the joys and pains. I have found that I am not alone in anything I experience. Many of you comment on much of my mindless drivel and that truly means so much to me.


I am going to be honest and say I have lost my faith in the Cricut brand. It started to wan when they didn't update Design Studio for over two months and there were a lot of new cartridges that couldn't be used, at least by me since I am DS dependent, for a period of time. Many asked for the update and of course the responses from ProvoCraft were noncommittal. We were being pushed by ProvoCraft people to use Cricut Craftroom, which I totally despise for various reasons. I even told one person "if I am going to have to learn a new software I want to learn one that works, isn't tied to the internet and isn't so damn glitchy". 

Now there have been several issues occur that have now made this happy Cricut user and promoter to lose faith and start looking for a new force in my papercrafting hobby...

1. Design Studio was not updated in a timely manner. 

It is not acceptable in my book to have to wait for two months for an update in the cartridge list and being told it wasn't a priority.

2. Cricut Craftroom being crammed down your throat 
(they actually own the files you make with CCR, read the small print). There are so many problems with this program that I just can't stand it. I know there are a lot of happy users out there and good for them. I am not one of them and therefore will not use the dang thing.

3. Mixed messages about selling a gypsy and linked carts 
(still no official word, just the standard they haven't determined if it is illegal or not). Being told "check the EULA" and then when people call being told "well it's not illegal we just prefer you don't do it". REALLY??

4. Targeting auctions on eBay. 
Some auctions of Gypsy machines and linked cartridges were allowed to sell while others were pulled. First time I listed mine it was pulled, however 3 others that didn't include the carts were allowed to finish the sale. I clearly wrote in my description how if it died and had to be reset all the cartridges would be lost. I listed my Hello Kitty cartridges on eBay and they were pulled. Once again other linked cartridges were allowed to sell just fine. I was even told that ProvoCraft "heard through the grapevine" about my auctions. I always thought it was stupid not to be able to sell something you owned. I know some folks thought I was against this but what I was against was people selling the SVG files of the Cricut cartridges, not against using them mind you, but selling - YES *okie has since changed her mind and will explain further down*. With the help of a friend I did finally get my Gypsy sold on eBay for a decent price. I had to list it where my name was not associated with the auction in any means.

5. People who have used the Cricut name in their websites/blogs for years now getting Cease and Desist letters. 
These people promote more than just Cricut but have still influenced thousands of people in the sales of Cricut products but now they have to change their whole website because they used the Cricut name.  

6. Cricut Rewards rarely updated. 
Everyone was excited when this program started and it sounded like a great way to get people to really enjoy the little extra of buying Cricut products. There was a lot of excitement at first but once people started holding on to their rewards and being able to afford a lot of the good stuff then the site rarely had anything new and exciting. I just used all my reward points on blades, tacky tape and cuttlebug folders.

THIS IS WHAT SENT ME OVER THE EDGE...

7. ProvoCraft promoting and selling Cricut Circle Exclusive cartridges to the public. 
This was pulled after many Circle members complained. Those that complained publicly were contacted by phone and offered $50 free credit to use on Cricut.com, *okie wonders if that would be considered a bribe of some sort and can just see a PC mafia conspiracy and then laughs at her wild imagination*. As a Circle member the exclusive cartridges were what really interested me in the whole program. I received an email recently from someone at PC saying they wanted to talk to me, even though I have not posted anywhere about my feelings on this subject,  and didn't have a valid phone number. I emailed back and told them I don't get home until after their offices close and asked what they wanted to talk to me about and I never received a reply. We were told Circle carts were exclusive to Circle members and then the rules were changed and they are saying the carts are exclusive only for a certain period of time. Okie dokie, then I will only be a Circle member until my membership expires. Oh and about changing my mind concerning their images that can be found in SVG format...if they aren't going to maintain exclusivity in the content that we paid for, well then why should we. In the original FAQs section of the Cricut Circle ProvoCraft posted this: 

2. May Cricut Circle members sell their cartridges to members outside the Circle?

Provo Craft will not be selling the cartridges outside the Cricut Circle. We anticipate that Cricut Circle Members will know they have paid for premium content and the cartridges will uphold their value.

I can't at this time find the link to this as it might have been removed.  But if I'm lyin', I'm dyin!

These are not the only reasons for my decision, but they are the main ones. I have been carefully watching and not saying much about all these things so I could make an informed decision based on what is best for me as a papercrafter. My decision has lead to me saying good-bye to my Cricut cartridges and most of my machines. I will keep using my Expression until I can decide which machine I want to purchase. I am currently debating between the Silhouette Cameo and the KNK Zing.  I have been discussing this in my Facebook group for over a month now and they are all quite aware of my feelings and intentions. I have gotten a few comments such as "it's the end of an era" and I responded with "think of it as a new beginning"; "the day the music died" and I responded "just think of it as the music pausing so the true concert can begin!".

During the time that Design Studio wasn't updated I decided to load up the Make The Cut software that has been sitting in my computer for a long time and check it out. Years ago when I downloaded the  MTC trial version I didn't like it because you had to also use Inkscape and that was like putting in algebraic equation in front of me, which is NOT a good thing. The updated version I have now is a lot better and it is also a version that is pre-lawsuit, therefore still legal on my machine. I loved being able to cut any font I wanted that was in my computer. The shadow layering was just amazing, beyond amazing really. 

So my dear readers you now have the official announcement and reasons behind my decision of saying "GOOD-BYE CRICUT". I am not angry, have no hard feelings, not boycotting or have any other negativity toward ProvoCraft and Cricut. I am just divorcing due to irreconcilable differences *okie remembers writing about a divorce from PC not so long ago in a tongue and cheek manner and had no idea it would become a reality*. Since there was no pre-nup they owe me nothing and I owe them nothing. We both leave with what we went into the relationship with...ProvoCraft with their company and me with my creativity. It was a good relationship while it lasted and I have some wonderful memories and better yet some fantastic friends that I will carry with me.

Don't be surprised when you start seeing some heavy hitters of Cricut products switching to other brands. It is happening...everywhere. Truth be told it is moving at a rate of an avalanche on the Swiss Alps *okie pictures in her mind an avalanche and how it slowly starts and when the momentum gets going how it moves at a mind blowing rapid pace and with such force it destroys anything in it's path*, yep I would say that is a pretty accurate description. I know many others are not ready to announce their feelings and choices and like I said before, I made an informed decision based on what is best for me and I know they are doing the same.

Oh and to answer the question before it is asked...NO, I will not stop sharing my projects or my life on this website. Cricut maybe be the reason I started this thing but you guys are the reason I will continue.

PaperCrafter Needs Help!

My friend Crystal, who I met years ago on the Cricut messageboard, is making a banner for her daughter. Well somehow she forgot a letter and is a 5"x5" piece of paper short. She is unable to find this paper locally and I am wondering if anyone out there has a 5"x5" square they would be willing to part with so she can finish her banner.

It is Imaginisce from the Fairy tale line 2011 called If the Crown Fits. 

If anyone out there can be of help just let me know!

THANKS!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!

I have a BIG announcement to share with all of you!!!

Sadly since I am busy getting ready for my party I don't have time to get this rather monumental announcement properly written up so you will have to wait until Monday *okie grins evilly*.

Until then discuss amongst yourselves! *okie smiles sweetly and bats her eyelashes innocently*

PANIC MODE!!

Okay I am not in panic mode quite yet but give me a day or two and I might be past that mode! *okie sighs deeply and tries to think of her happy place*.

I have been working frantically getting ready for my party and I am still not done. I still need to get two more prizes made and then will have 7 more to wrap up and then get then all arranged under the tree.

The past two nights were spent on getting the games ready and I have those all planned out, things printed that need to be printed, supplies gathered, supply list of what I need to pick up and items sorted for the games. That does make me feel a little better! I do need to get the Santa Bucks copied and will do that tomorrow when I go to the office.

Lucy has her grooming appointment tomorrow so she can be fresh and clean for the guests and be loved and adored as she so deserves to be! I am thinking I will hit a pet store when I pick up Karen and see if I can find Lucy a new party dress of some sort. Her party dress from last year was such a hit!

Here she is doing her runway dance modeling her party dress last year. My daughter is giving her a little incentive. Oh and about my daughter's jeans...we aren't so poor she has to wear jeans with holes in them.


I called my sister last night to remind her that BFF Karen and I will be there on Wednesday night to spend the night. She almost had bad news for me and told me about a situation where she thought she was going to have to go to Arizona the Wednesday before the party to help her sister-in-law move some stuff out of a condo. She told her sister-in-law "but I have to be back on Saturday for my sister's party!" Luckily those plans got changed and she will be here...and maybe with bells on, never can tell about that one I tell ya! HA HA HA

Well have another busy day and weekend ahead of me...OMG! ONLY 8 MORE DAYS UNTIL MY PARTY!! *okie's mind reels with all the details that still need to be completed and runs out the door*.

Not All Things Work!

I am having a lot of fun with the option of using any font on my computer with Make The Cut but I am learning a few things, such as....NOT ALL FONTS ARE GOOD TO CUT!

I had decided to put names on some disposable tumblers and thought I found a good Christmas font but once I got all the names cut I found that some parts were too thin because of the size of the letters or they were a pain in the arse because of the small pieces that had to be removed. As you can see in this picture there is barely enough vinyl to keep the "E" together!

After working on another one I gave up and am going with a different font that is more solid and will cut a little better.

I guess anything new is a learning process especially when you are trying products you haven't' used before, like this chrome vinyl and MTC!

Glimmer Glaze - Butterfly MTC File

My friend Linda has been making a few trips to Arkansas since her grandson is now located there. In one of her trips she stopped at some shop and gave me a call because the proprietor had some discontinued colors of  Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze in stock and Linda thought I might want to try it out. She had to explain to me what it was and I couldn't pass it up.

I decided to use it for the first time the other day when doing this butterfly and I think it added a nice touch. The orange on the butterfly is a dark orange and then I pounced my Popcorn Cat Eye Chalk Ink on the insides of the wings and then used a paper towel to blend the ink in a little. After that dried I painted some Mellow Yellow Glimmer Glaze on about 2/3 of the wings. You  might need to make the picture bigger to see the detail but I think it came out really nice.

The bottle does come with a brush, think of nail polish, but next time I use it I think I will use some of my own brushes for better control.

The butterfly was cut using the MTC program and while I don't think it is a Monarch butterfly I think by adding some dots with my white gel pen I made it look close enough for my purposes. The finished product will be posted after my Christmas party so stay tuned!

If you would like the MTC file you can download it here --> BUTTERFLIES. The file is set to cut 3 different sizes. If you are MTC user you should know how to split the images and use what you  need or re-size.

Memory Slides

A few months back Blitsy had a great deal on the Ranger Memory Slide products and I stocked up. I had never used any but had seen some really cool things made with them and my friend Sandie had made a nice beachy one for me and gave to me on the cruise which I attached to the Memory Tray we made on the cruise.

I was working on a project and decided I wanted to do a Memory Slide for it and thought the one Sandie made me was so awesome I wanted to copy it in a sense. I, however, had problems with the sand. I bet I worked over an hour and trying to get that stupid sand to stay in place and when I finally got it in there and together I thought I was good. So much for that idea since the dang sand came sliding out of the bubble things and down into the frame. I was so frustrated I just left it as it was.

The shells and sand I used actually came from my Eastern Caribbean cruise and are from Half Moon Cay, a wonderful little island that Holland America cruise ships use.

Do any of you guys have an ideas how to keep sand in those suckers? Maybe I need to look for some video's or instructions on the internet because I really would like to do a few more.

Messy Craftroom!

I thought I better post something kind of craft related so ya'll don't think I am not crafting anymore. For the next few days I will be posting a few things as proof that I still do craft!

I bet you guys are wondering about what that is in that picture and I will tell you that it is Webster's Pages papers and embellishments. Due to this being a prize for the party I can't tell you everything or show you the finished product right now. I will however post a picture after the party of the finished project and of course give a list of supplies *okie wonders if she can remember all the supplies she used*.

Since many believe my craftroom probably looks like something out of "ORGANIZERS ARE US" *okie thinks if that magazine really existed she would subscribe* I thought I would give ya proof it doesn't. This is pretty much how my craft table has been looking lately as I am frantically trying to get the prizes done for the Christmas party. I am now down to less than two weeks and still have a lot to do.

One benefit of my daughter living here is that she can decorate the house. She worked on it yesterday and got most of my Santa's put up and will work on the tree today. Shiane has always loved decorating the Christmas tree and has ever since she was little. I use to put on the lights and beads and then let her have at it. I have to give her props and admit that she has always done an excellent job and dispersing the ornaments equally on the tree.

Guess I better get back to work stuff for the party!

Organizing Isn't Limited To My Craftroom

I have been needing to re-organize my kitchen cabinets for awhile now and I have dreaded it so I haven't done it. Yesterday morning I went to make myself a cup of coffee and decided to fill up my smaller creamer container and somehow that lead to 9 hours of re-organizing all my cabinets. I think there must have been a squirrel the size of Godzilla running around in the kitchen while I was making that cup of coffee!

I went through each cabinet, except for my dishes and glasses since they stay pretty organized, and took out things I never use or didn't want anymore and boxed the stuff up. I also ended up moving quite a few things to other areas.

This is above the fridge, a hard spot for me to reach so my least used items went up here. I get the tins in the picture at school since they send the food in them for the kids. Usually there are always ones that aren't very dirty so one of the teachers that works there washes them up and keeps them and we take what we want since the school jut says throw them out. The pink containers use to house my Cricut Cartridges but now store cookie cutters and cake decorating supplies.

This cabinet is above my wall oven and while it isn't as hard to reach as above the fridge I try to keep things I use more often toward the front. I have my Borne Mandolin Slicer, mixer and Ninja blender in easy reach. If you don't have a Borne Mondolin Slicer I highly recommend it! I got mine off eBay a few years back and love it! I also recommend the Ninja blender as it can mix up a margarita, daiquiri or smoothie like a professional!

This was the cabinet that started it all! I have had the FoodSaver canisters (bottom right hand corner) for a few years, found a great buy on them at the bargain store, and had them at the top of cabinet laying horizontal but when I would shut the cabinet door the little button on some of them would get pushed and it would let the contents spill out. I am glad I have adjustable shelves in most of my cabinets so I can store them better. The middle shelf is short in space but I still found items that were a perfect fit. The top shelf is for lesser used items such as extra glasses, quart jars and melamine dishes that I can't seem to part with since they were Shiane's ever since she was little.

I had went through this cabinet a few months back and got rid of out of date things but I did find a few more out of date products and tidied it up a bit more. I have some extra room at the top now in case I do decide to buy some groceries. Actually it might come in handy for when I get ready for the Christmas party.

My spice cabinet was totally terrible! I found some spices back from the late 90's...and I am not kidding! I won't even talk about the trash bag I filled up from throwing not only old spices but other items away! Now all the spices that are in there are safe to use. I am considering getting one of those sliding spice things I saw on TV. They had some at the bargain store last time I was in there.

This is one of those cabinets that you are never sure what to do with. When I first moved in this house I use to keep the salt and pepper on the lower shelf so Shiane could reach it easily, that's not much of an issue now so I did a bit of changing things up. The top shelf holds stuff that I use to make firestarters, some ingredients for stamp cleaner and extra light bulbs. The middle shelf are prescription pills and the bottom shelf is every day OTC medications.

I gathered glassware from Salvation Army and garage sales for a few years, well along with my Aunt Betty and Aunt Mary adding to the collection as they would find things. I use to have friends over quite a bit and did entertaining and felt that clear glassware was the best to use since it fit any occasion. Now I usually just use it for my Christmas party but occasionally I have the need to use it for other occasions. I did get rid of some pieces that I don't use anymore. Shiane made sure I didn't get rid of any from our aunts...like I could do that! LOL

I have always liked my pots and pans stacked neatly so I could grab what I wanted quickly. That kinda changed after the kids moved in because they never put things back. I showed them this after I got it done and told them to put things back where they got them. I did get rid of some old skillets that I never use and I think a mismatched pot or two. After doing that I had plenty of room for my newer Crockpot and the handy dandy carrying case that Linda gave me. That case will come in handy when I make something that has to travel!

My plastic ware is another thing I generally kept nice and organized but changed after the kids moved in. I did get rid of a bunch of items that were pushed way back in the left hand side of the cabinet. That area is hard to get to so I am storing any Corning Ware dishes, electric skillet and glass jars in that area. The glass jars actually need to go to Aunt Betty so they can be filled with pickled corn when she makes some!

I use to having CorningWare and pie plates in this area as well as one of those knock off George Foreman grills that I never use anymore. I know have my bowls and my FoodSaver supplies in this cabinet. I need to get a new vacuum sealer since mine isn't working right anymore. I have to hit the seal button manually and it allows some air to get in the packaging during that process. And yes, a FoodSaver Vacuum Sealer is another product I highly recommend! I got my first one back in January of 2002 and have never regretted it having one!







This area is under my wall oven and I have always stored baking pans here. I didn't notice until today that there were nails sticking out and I was able to find a good use for them! I got rid of some flimsy baking pans I had for whatever reason. Since I don't make pies or cakes often I put all those pans toward the back and left the more frequently used items toward the front. I can now grab any pan easily!

My kitchen counter use to be cluttered with a few of the FoodSaver canisters, my mandolin slicer, spaghetti noodle jar and some other things. After making more room in the cabinets I was able to store all those things away and now my counter is nice and neat.

Here is a picture of the boxes of different items that I decided to get rid of. There is everything from glassware to plastic ware to bottle totes to waffle maker, etc. in those boxes. The kids are going to haul them to Goodwill later today.

I also organized some drawers but forgot to take some pictures of those so you will just have to take my word on it. I was on the phone with Carmen while I was doing most of this and when I said I was doing the utensil drawer she said she can't wait to see what I did since that is something she has problems with as well. Carmen likes to cook so her utensil drawer probably is more difficult to organize. I just have basic utensils in mine. My most used utensils are in a jar on the counter top by the stove which you can see in the picture of my counter top. I have stored cooking utensils that way ever since I got my my first place to live and my Aunt Betty gave me such a thing for Christmas.

Even though it took 9 hours to get all of that done and it is something that no one will see I feel good about finally getting it done and purging my kitchen cabinets from years of unused stuff.

Sweet Potato Pie...and Chuck!

Chuck, if you might remember, is from Mississipi and wasn't able to go home for Thanksgiving so he ended up spending another holiday with our family. At this point I think it would be okay with the family if Shiane or I weren't present as long as Chuck made it *okie isn't quite sure about her families judgement at this point*. I thought it might be nice to make something he likes to take to dinner. He said that his sister always makes Sweet Potato Pie and that is what he misses. Aunt Betty usually makes stuffing, that Stove Top kind, and Shiane and I prefer cornbread dressing so I made that as well. Shiane always gets her Cherry Cheesecake for every holiday and has since she was a baby, this year was no different.

The recipe I used called for boiling the sweet potatoes and I would have rather used canned but I wasn't sure about the amount so I stuck with the recipe. While it was a bit time consuming it wasn't a difficult pie to make at all! I say that, but I did run into a bit of  a snag. I was doubling the recipe and was mixing the ingredients together then *SQUIRREL* happened and I got distracted. When I went back to finish I added twice the amount of butter that I needed. Luckily I did have enough sweet potatoes to cover the mistake and ended up with 4 pies instead of 2.

The snag came when I only bought 2 pie crusts at the store! I sent the kids to the store and I told Shiane to get the crusts in the pie tins. Some how our wires got crossed and she brought me two pie tins...no crust. Rather than have them brave the crowd again I decided to make homemade crust. I was on the phone with Linda and she said "do you even have flour in your house?". She is such a smart azz sometimes!

Anyway I told her that I use to make pie crusts all the time when I was growing up and I could always make a good flaky crust.  As you can see I still have that touch! My friend Wendi came by to pick some stuff up and I had her taste the crust and she thought it was quite tasty. My mom always rolled out any leftover pie crust, spread butter on it and sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar so of course I do the same!

I did tell Linda "well I do know how to cook! I even know to put foil around the crust so it doesn't burn! Now that I am older and I have a *SQUIRREL* problem I just have problems remembering to take the foil off so the crust can brown. Luckily I was able to remember this time but, let's be honest...we really don't know if I will the next time!





I think my pies came out quite beautiful! Linda kept telling me I was going to have to let Chuck taste test the pie and I told her that he could wait until the next day for Thanksgiving. Actually I just didn't want my beautiful pie to be cut HA HA HA.

When I went to upload the pictures to my computer for this blog post I found this picture of Chuck sneeking a pie! He laughed when he found out that I saw the picture and said "well you said I couldn't have any so I was just showing you I could!". *okie sighs deeply and shakes her head* I am just not real sure there is any hope for that boy! At least he did say my Sweet Potato Pie was good and I reckon it is a good thing I made 4 because he is still enjoying pie! I didn't tell him until after he tasted it that I never made Sweet Potato Pie before...don't think he would have known if I hadn't of told him.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I was going to write up a post about the sweet potato pies I made but I will post that later this weekend, need to edit the pictures and too lazy to get it done today!

We are going to my Aunt Betty's for the day to have Thanksgiving with our wonderful family and I know many of you are busy with plans of your own as well so I just wanted to say

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I'll be busy this weekend working on some projects. I am still frantically trying to finish things up before my Christmas party and might be posting. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Charger Plates...I Don't Get It

There seems to be a new trend in decorating Charger Plates. Some of my friends have done some great things with these plates and I have done the whole "oooohhhh" "aaahhhh" with some of the great vinyl alteration. But....I don't get it!

I have seen Charger Plates in stores ever since I can remember and I have always read the same thing "not intended for food" and I always think the same thing "THEN WHAT IN THE HELL AM I SUPPOSE TO DO WITH IT IF I CAN'T PUT FOOD ON IT?". I decided to look up the purpose on the internet and here is what I found on Wikipedia, which I am sure ya'll know has to be gospel because anyone can give information *okie hopes folks know that was said tongue in cheek and wonders why we say tongue in cheek when we really mean we are being a smart azz*...

Charger plates or service plates are larger decorative plates used to dress up dinner tables at parties, weddings, and other special events. While the charger plates have been around since the 19th century, they returned to popularity in the late `90s. Since food is not actually served on chargers, they are often called underplates or chop plates.^[1] The word "charger" originated around 1275 - 1325 from the Middle English "chargeour". Formerly, a charger signified either a large platter or a large, shallow dish for liquids.^[2]
They are usually larger than most common dinner plates. Since they are not used for food, charger plates can be found in a variety of materials, from traditional china, to metal, wood, glass, plastic and pearl. And they may be decorated with substances that can be toxic if ingested.
Charger plate etiquette and use varies among caterers and restaurants. Some professional catering companies remove the decorative charger plate as soon as the guests are seated. More commonly, charger plates are kept on the table during the serving of soups and first courses, and act as a base on which food-bearing bowls and dishes are placed. In other instances, when the design of charger plates complements the design of dining plates, charger plates are left on the table throughout the course of meal. However, charger plates are always removed before serving desserts.^[1]

So you see, from Wikipedia it also says that the plate is not meant for food. I know it explains the decoration part but I thought that's what placemats for tablecloths were for. I will accept it can possibly give accent to your dinnerware but to remove it as soon as someone is seated? *okie raises one eyebrow and wonders if anyone is making sense of this useless plate*.

So it is a decoration for dinnerware. But now here is the thing...if you are gonna put vinyl in the middle and make it look so nice then what the hell do ya do with it? Do you put a plate on top of the Charger and cover up the design or do you go out and buy all clear plates so you can see the design? I am wondering if people collect charger plates and then have to wonder at the size of their plate rack for such a collection, does it take up a whole wall in their dining room?

*okie sighs deeply* I think sometimes I am too practical in some areas of my life. I prefer everything have a purpose, a practical purpose and well I guess these Charger Plates don't have any purpose for me. But I'll be damned if I probably won't purchase one or two in the near future and see how I can decorate this useless thing and then stick in a tote somewhere in my house because I don't know what the heck to do with it! Someone please tell me I got enough useless crap in totes and not to even consider this project!

Basic Grey Warehouse Sale

Did anyone get the Basic Grey warehouse box? Well I did! Actually got two of them. I forgot to take pictures of the stuff to post but man oh man there was a ton of stuff! I got to complete sets of paper, Phoebe was one of them and can't remember the other. There was a ton of single sheet paper from probably 20 different lines. Some of them I already had and others I had a few sheets and then a few I had none of. I got all kinds of embellishments from buttons, chipboard albums, rub-ons, stickers *okie makes an exception on stickers when it comes to Basic Grey* and doily paper.

My friend Carmen got two boxes as well and from what she told me her boxes had completely different things. We both got greeting card kids, mine was from Hopscotch and then a Christmas set. Carmen got Oxford and Hello Luscious. She even got a few things from some of their newer lines...making me totally jelly!

I, of course, had to immediately start sorting mine and putting it away...completely forgetting to to take a few snapshots!! Luckily I caught Carmen before she put all of hers away and was able to get her to send me pictures of hers! When I asked her to do this I didn't know she was going to go into such detail but I am glad she did so you can see what wonderful goodies were in these boxes!

Here are all the pictures Carmen sent me...now look and drool! HA HA HA

 I got a few sheets of this Max and Whiskers collection. I had a few before so this will be a nice addition.

June Bug is a collection I was never able to get my hands on. I do have a few sheets I have found here and there and I got this sheet as well along with two others.

 My doily pages were different than these, think these are prettier than mine.

I am not a big sticker fan but I do have to say I love BG stickers since they go with the collections. I got a card kit from this collection while Carmen got stickers.

 Love this layout kit that Carmen got. I didn't get any of this collection.

 Fruitcake is a line from a few years back. I got some chipboard albums but mine were not this one. I can 't believe I have absolutely NO Fruitcake paper! LOL

My greeting card kit is with the Hopscotch line. I am not sure which this one is but you can never go wrong with these. If you are wanting to get someone who isn't very crafty a crafting gift these are great since they have all the pieces to make the cards and include the envies as well!

 Another great greeting card kit.

I did get the lacy embellies but not the other two that Carmen is showing.

 I don't think I got any woolies in my boxes but the ones that Carmen got are nice.

 More embellies that Carmen got in her boxes.

Carmen said she doesn't have any of the Cupcake paper that the chip stickers go with, I might be able to talk her out of those since I do have a few sheets of that collection! HA HA HA

 I think all the boxes had sticker alphabets, I got several sheets myself. I don't use a whole lot of these but they are great for adding to layouts.

I did get both of these embellies. I don't know what I will use the baby stickers for but I do have the paper line that the Varnish stickers to with.

 Green At Heart is a collection I have and I got a few sheets of this one as well but not the same as the ones Carmen got.

 Curio are the bottom sheets and I got those as well.

 Lauderdale is a great collection that I got some extra sheets of to add to my full collection.

 This collection is Mellow and was the very first collection I ever bought and got me hooked on Basic Grey!

Origins is a good collection for more masculine layouts and projects.