Monday, June 17, 2013

ICAD 16 and 17 and a Bonus

I was a bit of a no-show yesterday...sorry about that!  And here I've been so good at posting at least the ICAD cards once a day...Oh well...

The reason I didn't post yesterday is that it was my first day of non-smoking.  Oh yeah...it was great.  I got one of those e-cigarettes to try to take the edge off...I don't know how well that's going to work.  Let me just say I could totally eat a cigarette right now.  I wouldn't even flinch. 

I have quit smoking before.  Literally quit, I didn't just make an attempt to quit for a day and then take it back up.  No, I quit for three or four years.  Then, I had a bit of a personal tragedy and started again.  That was about two years ago.  

The first time I quit, I quit cold turkey (after attempting the pill, which made me a psychopath)...that may be how I end up doing it this time as well...  I think this electronic thing is just making me angry.  

The sucky part is that I LIKE to smoke.  I REALLY like to smoke.  OH LAWD, HOW I LOVE TO SMOKE!!!.  

But I know that I need to quit.  I've been getting out of breath way too easily, and it is probably a combination of the smoking and the general amount of unhealthy that I possess, but I'm willing to try to quit smoking first and see how that works out...then exercise if I HAVE to.  Another good reason to quit is the stink.  I know everything I have probably smells like smoke.  I have been thinking about trying to sell some of my art online (Thanks to the encouragement from my gals on Facebook) and I can't do that if it smells like smoke.  And then there's the whole money end of it.  Yeah...I don't want to tell you how much I spend on smoking a month...you'll gasp in horror.  ...At least (AT LEAST!) $200...sometimes more.  Yeah, that's not a typo...two hundred dollars a month or more spent on smoking!  *GASP!*  I know, how ridiculous is that? Do you know how many art and craft supplies could be bought with that money?  So many...

So if everyone I know in real life could promise not to be annoying for the next week or two, that would be great.  From quitting before, I know the first two weeks were the hardest for me.  That was the time frame that I wanted to rip people's faces off.  After that I was totally ok.  I thought maybe the e-cigarette would take some of that edge away, but I think it is making it worse.  

I am trying to think of all the awesome reasons I have to quit smoking, but good grief, just talking about it makes me want a cigarette!  I promise this will not become a blog dedicated to how I quit smoking, but I may mention it off hand, just to keep me accountable.  

At any rate, I did do my ICAD cards this weekend, and here they are: 

The first one is from the 16, the prompt was "polka dots" and it's a 3x5:

This is a stamp I have.  I embossed it and then used watercolor to paint behind it.  I could get inspired to do much else on this one, I just wanted to try the idea out again.

Here's the card for today, the prompt is "definition" and it's a 3x5 as well:
This one reminds me of smoking...if you look at it sideways, it looks like your trying to light two cigarettes with one flame.  I can't look at this anymore!  *tear*


Finally, I have a bit of a 'bonus' card today.  Inspired by the lovely (and VERY nice and funny) Tracey Fletcher King and her amazing cuppa cards, and using her step by step how-she-does-it on her blog (found HERE), I made my own cuppa card!

Here's my cup, I use her for holding pens and crayons and crochet hooks, but she is very much a mug, I promise... :
Isn't she adorable?  I love stuff like this!  I got her forever ago at a thrift store for a quarter.  She's worth much more to me; I just love her!

And here's my card, a 4x6:
Not too horrible for a first try, right?  And I did like Tracey said on the blog, and used NO PENCIL, only pen...on the lettering too, which is why "promise" is colored in...because it's an 's' not a 'c' as I originally tried to write...Note to self: spell check first next time.  Overall, not terrible, but I think with practice that I could get better.  So practice is the plan!  

Thanks to Tracey Fletcher King and her awesome how-to!  I really had a lot of fun attempting this...even though I couldn't use my pencil safety net... :)

8 comments:

  1. Great cuppa pic, she's a fun mug. All the best for surviving the next couple of weeks hope it works out for you.

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    1. Thank you very much! I will keep working on it...I know the first two weeks are the worst, so if I can make it that far, I will be A-OK... *fingers crossed!*

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  2. That is a hugely cool first go... you are going to be nailing it in no time... and I'm not against pencil for others.... just that I can get too precious... so use it if it helps... and have to also say way to go for the non smoking thing... it is sooo hard to quit but you will feel awesome when you do... maybe it would have been easier if you lived over here because a pack of smokes is over $20 ... for one box... that made a lot of people stop ... even my brother who smoked for many many years... just got so expensive he couldn't so it... will be cheering you on...xx

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    1. Thank you! I had a lot of fun, and I will definitely keep practicing! I like your reason for not using pencil...I do the same thing (hello, eight million erased lines...), so I made myself use the pen this time. I think I will still use my pencil in other cases, but when I practice Tracey style, I will make myself use a pen... *gulp* :)

      Oh Lawd! $20 a box! I could quit cold turkey again if they were that much over here! I am trying to tell myself to think how much craft stuff I could buy with $200 a month (my current cigarette expenditures)and that definitely helps to calm my nerves!

      Thanks for the kind words on both accounts! <3

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  3. you Go Girl!!!! You not only CAN you WILL conquer this smoking issue! I absolutely LOVE your cuppa! She is so stinking adorable! She makes me smile, you make me smile, I want to sketch her, I want to copy the photo....may I? :) Love you Precious Sweets! <3

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    1. Thanks my Cheryl! You are absolutely welcome to make a copy of any of my photos that you want to! It makes me happy that you like her so much...she's one of my favorite weird things that I have...(I enjoy weird things VERY much!) I think I am going to have to try doing Tracey's style drawings of all my weird stuff, starting with the other 'pencil holders' I have on my desk...I think you will like some of my other ones too! They are equally weird or weirder! :)

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  4. Sweets, I am proud of you for making the decision to quit. I love the cards and that sweet little pen holder. If you need a pam hug, just let me know!!! Keep up the good work, love Pamikins

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    1. Thanks my Pamikins! I always need LOTS of Pam hugs...now extra especially! I am thinking of all the arts and crafts stuff I can buy with $200 a month...and how much it's just an illusion that I want to stab my husband and co-workers at this point...they're not that bad...it's just an illusion...if you stab them now, you'll regret it later! :) I think it's harder this time than it was the first time I quit FOR SURE! But I will do it! I need that extra supply money! :)

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