Awesome of the Week - 02/14/11

It's the Awesome of the Week: Anti-Valentine's Day Edition!

Oh Valentine's Day.  Such a silly, consumption-driven, made up holiday.  As someone who can't stand buying things just because "you're supposed too!", I think Valentine's Day is pure trash.  If you are partnered, it is hyped as a day when your beloved showers you with gifts and tokens of their love, but in reality, we impulse buy chocolates and stuffed animals at Shoppers Drug Mart on route to Valentine's Day dinner.  And if you don't get those hastily purchased, mass-produced, generic love-themed gifts, you better start questioning how much your partner actually loves you.  Such. Trash.  I choose not to participate.  Also, if you're not partnered, it is just another stupid reminder that you are single.

To celebrate my disdain for Valentine's Day, the Awesome for this week is an anti-love ballad called Bruised, preformed by The Ben's.  At Valentine's Day karaoke a few years back, I actually sang this song (it's been an anti-Valentine's anthem for a while now!)  Happy Love Day everybody!

Card Making: Valentine's Day Edition

Valentines Day isn't a holiday I care too much about (for more on that be sure to read tomorrow's post), but I do love sending mail and making cards.  I also really enjoy making my nieces and nephews feel special.  I got a new heart punch this week, so even if Valentine's Day is stupid, I still had a fun time making cards.

For all my nieces and nephews: 

For my Grandparents:

 

For Mom and Dad:

This is the inside of Mom and Dad's card:

For Bro and Tab:

Remember the cards I made at the scrapbook store open house? 

I sent them to some friends as well:

Do you send cards on Valentine's Day?  Do you make your own or buy them?  Even if I think it's a silly holiday, have yourself a great one!

Surfing Saturday - 02/12/11

Surfing Saturday: a weekly round up of some of my favourite links on the interwebs.

Geeky Goodness

If you like RPGs, Rule of the Dice should be on your Blog List.  They recently added some new writers, and they are exploring topics like the greatness of the Star Wars RPG, tips for introducing new players to your game, and what makes RPGs awesome.

Ivy over at The Happy Whisk might be happy to see these fun Wonder Woman Cosmetics that were released this week.

Mixing my love of Mike Holmes and video games where the goal is to destroy things, check out this awesome comic from The Joy Of Tech.


Baking

There are some pretty amazing cookies at Bake at 350.  I want to try and make the olive and martini glasses, the Scrabble pieces, and the Harry Potter cookies!  For some video instructions, check out University of Cookie.  I really want to try making these turkey shaped cookies too (I love turkeys!)

If you want to get lost in pretty pictures of cakes, check out Sweet Things.  She has many amazing cakes, including a Sesame Street cake, a Star Trek Enterprise cake, and there is even a tutorial on how to make a purse cake.   And if you're new to using fondant, check out Cake Decorate Celebrate; they have some great tips about decorating with fondant.


Things to Do

Are you a youth from Ontario, a teacher of youths, or do you have one at home?  Check out this weekly round up of Youth Opportunity News at MarilynAnneCampbell.com, for a variety of arts related opportunities and resources.

Over at the Canadian Living Craft Blog, they linked to something called National Sweater Day happening this Thursday, February 17.  The World Wildlife Fund, in partnership with Loblaws, is encouraging people to turn down their thermostats 3°C and put on a sweater to help fight climate change.  Seeing as sweaters are my favourite, I will be wearing one on Thursday for sure.

Everything is a Photo Opportunity #4

If I'm working on a crafty project, sorting papers into piles, or folding laundry, I should always expect Gary to turn up and sleep on top of whatever it is I'm working on.  It's kinda her thing.  What's mine is hers, right?

Dominating a puzzle. If you are missing a piece, this is the reason why.

It Doesn't Matter if You Win or Lose...It's How You Play the Game

A big thank you to everyone who voted for me, but unfortunately I didn't win the Scrapbook Layout Contest.  But I am a winner just for participating...blah, blah, blah... :)  The winning layout can be found by clicking here, and the winner profiled a cat too, so I think it's a good choice.  I'm also really impressed with the time it must have taken her to cut out the snowmen from the patterned paper we were given. Congratulations to the winner!

I picked up my layout yesterday and it is now happily in my 2010/2011 scrapbook.  I'm still very happy with it, even if it didn't win me first place.  The contest led me to purchase and work with brads, which are my new favourite embellishment, so I'm a winner in my own way (...but in a more accurate way, brad manufacturers and the contest winner are the real winners).  :P