Rubbah-dultery and a New Project

It all began innocently enough. But like many disasters-in-the-making, there were no warnings that it could spiral out of control the way it did. Looking back, I can't say that I regret what happened; it is now a part of the rich tapestry of my life. Would I have done things differently? Possibly.

But it's too late now.

I remember the day had been long, the work had been hard, the children difficult to deal with, snarking at each other and driving me to a state of mild dementia. So when I sat down at the computer and started reading my favorite website, Splitcoaststampers, the fun banner with penguins and polar bears at the top was like a drink of cool water to a mailman at the end of the day, pouring it down his parched throat as he props his tired feet up on the LaZboy recliner and turns on the ball game. But I digress...

So, yes, I clicked on the banner...what harm could it do? After all, I had been happily faithful to my Stampin' Up! stamps for some time. Having lots of lovely new rubbah from the Fall/Winter collection and then from the Holiday collection was enough to satisfy my cravings for new rubbah experiences and excitement.

Or so I thought.

Once I clicked on the banner, though, I was propelled into a world of wacky cats and intriguing scotty dogs. A world where retro is cool and whiskers are drawn at angles impossible to real felines, but that looked entirely natural and right on these stamps. New stamps, new possibilities. But which set to choose? This one? That one? There were three new ones, all very reasonably priced. The money from my last ebay sale still sitting in my Paypal account whispered "Get 'em all...you've got the money...get them...get them...."

Fifteen minutes later I stared at the screen at the message in my email box proclaiming that, yes, I had bought them all. All, all! But that wasn't the end of it...

The next day I took my children to Michael's, on their urging, I tell ya! They wanted to buy something there; Will (the new name for William) wanted a castle for his knights and Laurel and Emily are always willing to spend money, especially if it's mine. Faced with a long holiday weekend and children who are BORED, I doubt you would do any differently.

And I found a nice castle that I used the coupon on...YES! I sacrificed my coupon for my son and bought a Klutz book with a cardboard castle building set to make HIM happy! Yes, it was his allowance for the week, but it made him happy! And the only thing I purchased for myself were these:

DCWV's Rock King items for my husband's music career scrapbook (sadly languishing for a couple of years now.) So not only am I a good mother, I am a good wife. My sense of self-satisfaction at these sacrifices probably contributed to the further disaster that awaited in the evening hours.

That evening, I returned to my favorite website and saw the banner again. What cute stamps they were...I would just remind myself which ones I had gotten and anticipate the day they arrive. I clicked again. After looking about a bit, I found a category called "Hobby". If I had only known, I would have backed myself right out of the website, but I didn't know! Knitting kitties! I ask you! Could you resist them? I think not.

I certainly resisted not and now have a second package on it's way to me. I made sure, though, to make remarks on the order screen regarding the peculiar psychic resonance permeating their website and it's effects on vulnerable consumers such as myself.

That should have ended things, but like a snowball rolling down a hill or a train shrieking out of control as the brakes fail and the driver desperately attempts to manage the curves of the mountain descent, it wasn't that easy to stop once I got started. Michael's sealed the deal by offering coupons this week, coupons that were not only for the usual merchandise, but no longer had the proviso forbidding their use on Martha Stewart products. Martha, my polar opposite. The one who is crafty, yes, but who also likes to clean. So I have purposely avoided purchasing her products, for the most part, afraid that these products may be imbued with a different kind of psychic resonance, one that impelled the buyer to clean their house. Shudder....

But with a coupon, these products became irresistable! I ventured out on Monday, sneaking out of the house on the pretence of buy food for my family, wretch that I am! And I bought these things:

I had been eying this punch for some time after seeing it on Julie Ebersole's blog. Now with my 50% off coupon, it was mine, all mine! And what would life be without glitter? A desert! Black glitter was entirely cool and the glitter pens in their cute little corked test-tubes were meant to be mine!

But that's not all. There was another coupon good for this week. 40% off another Martha product! I went to a different Michael's this time...after all, I didn't want the first one to think I had no control.

And I bought these things:

The bat punch was my 40% coupon, which at first the sales clerk said I couldn't use. But I proved her wrong. It worked fine, didn't it? This other stuff...well, the American Crafts ribbon was on sale, wasn't it? And the stamps were only $1 a piece...the real failing on my part was the Martha ribbon. But I wanted it, didn't I? Sigh...

And to cap it all off, I placed a Stampin' Up! order this week to take advantage of the new special. And somehow, I ended up buying all the wrapping paper. All, all. Plus three of the sale sets. Hmmm...

Anyway, I hope that's the end of the buying frenzy. Luckily, I've reached the point in my stamp room that new additions simply cannot be noticed amongst all the previous ones.

But you didn't come up here, looking for me, just to hear all about my rubbah-dultery, did you? You wanted to see a neat new project! And I'm here to show it to you! Behold!

THE SUPER COOLIO COASTER CALENDAR!

I have been beavering away at this project for the past two days, which is why I haven't been posting. I kind of beat myself up about not getting it done more quickly, then I realized that there were 12 pages plus the cover. If I had made 12 plus cards in two days, I wouldn't be beating myself up, I would be patting myself on the back! And since I finished it, let me tell you, I have told myself repeatedly what a wonderful artistic genius I am! (YILM!)

Now, I didn't invent this project. I've seen others and decided it would be a great class for November for people who want to make Christmas gifts. So I decided on the stamps and colors I wanted to use and got to work.

Now, for the ingredients I'm going to give them all to you for the whole calendar at one fell swoop:

Stamps - All Through The Year, Year After Year, Voila Accessories, Holidays & Wishes; Ink - Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Almost Amethyst, So Saffron, Old Olive, Purely Pomegranate, Pumpkin Pie, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel; Paper - Designer Prints (Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Almost Amethyst, So Saffron), Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Almost Amethyst, So Saffron, Whisper White; Other - 5/8" Certainly Celery Grosgrain, 1/4" Whisper White, Apricot Appeal & Certainly Celery Grosgrain, Black & Red gingham ribbon, Buds & Blossoms On Board Accents, Rose Red buttons, Lovely Lilac button, crochet thread, Pewter Hodgepodge Hardware, Olivia Alphabet Cuttlebug Dies, Scallop Punch, Star Punch, Spring Bouquet Punch, Three for You punch, Rose Red brads, Certainly Celery Brads, So Saffron brads, & silver brads.

And now I'm really sorry to do this to you, but this is so STINKIN' CUTE and I know I'm going to get lots of agreement (YILM!) Here are the pages:

Because I chose to stick with one color scheme throughout, it was hard, especially for those fall months, to come up with something that looked appropriate to each month. But I think I managed it!

One thing I did learn was that the holes in the cover should be done with the 1/8" hole punch on the Cropadile. That keeps the rings from falling over. I went ahead after I had punched all the holes with the 1/8" punch and punched them again with the 3/16" one. ANd now the rings flop over. I am going to try to find some large silver eyelets that I can use to narrow the holes down and hopefully cure this problem. But the next one I make I will not make the same mistake.

It stands up quite nicely all by itself. I might also make the pages slightly smaller than the covers, but I'm thinking this works fine the way it is. The covers, by the way, are coasters and the pages are cardstock. I got the rings for binding from the teacher store.

The 4 leaf clover and the turkey were both cleverly made from the Scallop Circle punch. Yes, yes...I am a genius, thank you for saying so! (YILM!)

P.S. I know I'm going to get asked, so I will give you this link. It is for a freeware program offered by Red Castle that allows you to print off these calendars for different years. It's really nifty! I printed all of these off by printing the entire year on one sheet, landscape, then cut them apart to make the calendar. I was able to use any font I had on my computer. Cool, eh?

Comments

[Jane Wike]

Wow! This is beautiful! Where did you get the calendar pages? Is there a site to download those?
Thanks for sharing!
Jane Wike

[Michelle Wallace]

You are a GENIUS! I love it all!! I'm so glad you came out of hiding. Was getting ready to send a search party out for you! :) Thanks for always sharing your great ideas!!!

[Michelle Wallace]

PS- Where'd ya print the mini calendar pages from? :) Or did you make those?!?!?

[Leslie]

I LOVE The Cat's Pajamas stamps, and I have an embarassingly large number of them, including the knitting kitty! I put her with the A Muse 'knit happens' sentiment. ;-) Can't wait to see what you do with them!

[Kim Pebley]

Hi.. I have seen these and yours is great! Just a question.. what adhesive did you choose for your project. Thanks for sharing :)

[Peggy Maier]

Oh my... Jan, I can't believe that you let your guard down like that! Stay away from those banners!!! AND, to do it a SECOND time - I'm speechless!!! Well, we must forgive & forget! You certainly did make a gorgeous project with that cool calendar - I'm going to have to try one of these - you make it sound so simple (but I'm sure it's not).

[Michelle]

Awesome job! I love it! Hmmm, thinking teacher's gifts for Xmas, & well for anyone! Thanks for the post.

[Jana]

This coaster album is just TOOO cute!! And don't worry, we all forgive you for your momentary lapse in judgement leading to your infidelity. I mean, banner ads are evil!! :-)

[Jill Kirk]

Absolutely adorable coaster calendar. LOVE IT!!

[Marie - mariemc]

Oh my gosh! That calendar is SO STINKIN' CUTE - just like you said!!! Now you just need to do a tutorial on how to make that ADORABLE turkey and the clover...hint, hint ;) TFS!!

[April C]

Your lack of control has gotten out of control........... can you say 'therapy'? I knew you could!!!

[Shelly P.]

I was tempted by those stamps and have resisted...may have to rethink it.lol Love your calendar,it's awesome. May have to try something like that. Well, off to see if I can also be a Rubber-adulterer....

[PJBstamper]

Are you sure it's okay to actually used the stuff we buy? I thought I read somwhere that was against the rules.

[Britiney]

I kept checking back waiting for some shameless bragging about your card on stamper's showcase this week!! (or was it last . . .) Anyway, thanks for sharing the amazing projects and the torment that is your life! ;) I'll just refer to you as "Stamp Tramp" from now on. HA!! Love ya!

[fran]

You are so great! I'm so glad you share your talent with us!

[Deb]

LOVE the calendar and especially the CUTE turkey!!!!!!
Stamp On Sisters!!!
Deb

[Amy (amysings)]

Janine, you are a genius! You should *totally* love yourself!

[Dawn]

Your blog cracks me up! Love to read it! Calendar project is awesome! Thanks for sharing!

Dawn G

[Phyllis]

I just love your stories. I love your calendar, you are 100% right it is super coolio!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Conny Moody]

Jan,

You just sent me scrambling for my Mike's coupons....you enabler you! Love the calendar project. You are a true woman of stamping genius!

Conny

[Susan in TX]

Bravo! Another gojus project! I just said to my husband this morning that I wondered if they had the equivalent of Texas Rangers up where you are to send out a posse for a "search and rescue." I should have known when you were gone that you were safe...at Michael's!! (I guess you might be closer to the Royal Canadian Mounties?) I definitely missed your posts the last week. But, that said, I'm not buying for one minute that you're done shopping for a while...there is the Simply Sent kit sale that you can pre-buy next week. ;)
Thanks for sharing!
Susan in TX

[Erica]

Your designs and art and writing are FANTABULOUS!
Must use my Michaels' coupon on a Martha item or 2 or 3.

[twinks]

Thanks for sharing all your finds! I love the look of the MS Halloween ribbon - well actually, everything you found. Me is jealous!

Thanks for sharing the calendar and the tip about the size of the hole to use in the CAD. Your storytelling is almost as good as your blog entry titles.

love ya!

[christina fischer]

Thanks for sharing the story of your buying spree -- it's good to know I'm not the only one who has those "momentary lapses"!! ;) Your calendar is unbelievably coolio -- you are truly talented!!

[Michelle Roberts]

OMG!!! I have seen these calanders before but yours has pushed me over the edge!! I must re-create it! Simply gorgeous! I would love to do this as a class with my ladies, how are you setting something like this up for your customers to do? Thanks for sharing!

[Kim Howard]

You are hilarious!!! The calendar is absolutely gorgeous, I love it!

[Catherine Harwood]

Too cute -- and too funny! We all commit a little rubber-dultry every now and then. But we always come home to SU each night!

[Kemai]

All I can say is wow! This is definately something that I would love to do for a little group of seniors that can no longer craft independently but yet love receiving something like this. You deserve to YILM! Thanks for sharing.

[Barbara Vogt]

Your calendar is absolutely magnificent!! (and thanks for the tip about now being able to use coupons on Martha stuff at Michaels)

[Alison]

Holy Cleverness, Batman! That calendar is just too much. Love it! I, for one, forgive you for your rubber-dultery. I too have felt the pull of the Martha Stewart aisle at Michael's (and those scotty dogs are the cutest).

[Kelly]

It IS very cute! Nicely done - I love the colors and the crispness of it all. Hmmm, I have a stack of coasters downstairs....

[Nancy Riley]

Genius, pure genius! LOVE this little calendar! So creative and inspiring! Thank you for sharing it!

[Lori]

My day is just not complete if I don't read your blog. Hahaha! Always entertaining. And the calendar...well, thanks a lot for giving me something else to do! As if I don't already have enough on my plate. ;) This is perfect for my mother-in-law who has everything.

[Alta]

Oh, that was clever of you to post such a beautiful calendar and now I can't chastise you for straying from our beloved Stampin' Up!

[Virginia]

BAAWHAAA!! I was ROFL when I read this! Love your gojus cards and projects and terrific writing!

[Debbie Fisher]

Thank you so much for sharing all your ideas AND the instructions so we can make them too. I love all your projects!

[Jacki :-)]

Jan,

You are hysterical! And I am glad I am not the only one who is a 'rubbaholic'!
It wasn't your fault though....really, it wasn't! Love love love the calendar....your work is beautiful. Your writing is awesome....could you be
any more incredible?! No, I think not! Enjoy being YOU dear! LOL!

[Liz]

And once again, you bring a smile to my face, ideas to my mind, and some laugh-out-loud moments! You are the best! No wonder you love yourself -- we sure do. Thanks for your tutorials, sharing your art, and your sense of humour.

[Brenda C.]

Love this! No wonder you love yourself! :o) Just wondering if you are going to the Stampin'& Pamerin' weekend in October?

[Heather P.]

Oh... My... Gosh!!! You ROCK!! 'Nuff said. :)

[Elizabeth]

This is amazing and you are a genius! I love your work..thanks for sharing.

[Anita Van Hal]

OMG! You are so hilarious! I am so thankful I'm not the only one like this! Your calendar is fantastic!

[Michelle (MilwaukeeMommy)]

Absolutely gorgeous!! I just don't have the patience to make something of this caliber ~ so could you just send me this one?? I don't care if the rings flop over, honest!! LOL!!

I saw that banner too ~~ but resisted. See, I have more will power than you!! No, the truth is, I don't have any money, & that makes it really hard to buy stuff! I just had to tell you that I, too, purchased my first MS punch with the 50% coupon ~~ that very same flower! I'd been eyeing it for a while but refused to spend $10 on it (see previous comment about no money). I think MS sales will explode since they lifted the ban!!

[Rose Ann]

Jan...you tell a story like no other...and I LOVE your calendar!!! Thank you for all the deets!!

[Lori Stilger]

I'm SO not worthy! :D I was going to email you to ask about the 4-leaf clover; I LOVE LOVE LOVE the turkey!!!!!!!!!!! You're so CASEd when I do my workshop in November, too, Jan! THANK YOU for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Stephanie]

I was so excited to see this calendar I immediatly printed off 2 calendar pages and got my "booklet" of dp out with my stamps and punches and my mom and I got to work! We were able to complete up to July then had to pick up the kids. Love it! Thanks so much for the inspiration! You are great!

[tanja fussell]

Truly amazing project!

[Sheila Owen]

I don't know whether or not I'm allowed to reply this way, but I had to...I have laughed all weekend at the wonderful article called Rubbah-dultery. Thank you for making me feel like I'm not alone in this crazy world of products. I am new to this website/email update, and am loving every minute of it. I won't bother you again, but I wanted to say THANK YOU!!

[Sara SCS Inkymom]

OMG!!! I totally love the calendar! I am going to make some of these myself!!! You are so awesome - can I be president of the Jan Tink Fan Club???

[Sara Koehn]

Jan:
The calendar is great! You are so creative!! Did you just stuff extra coasters in your purse when leaving a restaurant or can you purchase them somewhere?

[Kathleenh]

Jan, this calendar is so stinkin' cute! Thanks so much for sharing it with all of us. Does it stand up?

[Kathy]

Jan,

I love this calendar. Thanks for the link to the calendar pages. Can you tell us where you got your coasters and what adhesive you prefer for them? Thanks so much.

Kathy

[Nancy]

This might be a dumb question, but what did you do to the backsides of the months, and the covers??

[Deby Scott (aka thesofalady)]

Will you be my best friend? Then we can spend lots of time together and you can teach me even more cool stuff. Yep, gotta luv ya! Do tell all...

[Vicky]

I have to admit it, you are a genius!! Thanks for sharing your wonderful creation!!!

[Petals]

Okay, I have spent days dreaming about this calender. That's just NOT RIGHT! I love it! I love the colors, layout, stamps, punches...everything! Now I'm challenged to try and recreate it, without outright CASEing it, so I can offer this workshop too. The problem? Why would I want to mess with perfection? Oh well, I will have to try and see what happens...though I really doubt I could love it as much as this. Just FANTASTIC Jan!

[Candice Schwartz]

LOVE IT! Can you tell me if all the pages were coasters or if the center pages were cardstock? This was a wonderful idea. Candice

[Abra Leah]

I'm so glad I found your blog!! That is just too too cute!!

[Heather Imhoff]

Wow!! This calendar is so cool. My club has been asking for a 2008 calendar and I guess I just found one. You are so cased. Thanks so much for sharing. BTW, what adhesive did you use?

[Stephanie (sluman)]

I second the suggestion about needing a tutorial for the turkey...I MUST know how to make it, it's too flippin cute!!

[Mirtha]

More than your projects, if it's possible, I totally love your writing! I needed a good laugh today. Thanks for sharing, and we always NEED more supplies.

[Mary Davidson]

This is the cutest calendar I've seen! Great job!!! I love seeing what you come up with next. Thanks so much for sharing your creativity so freely and humorously!

[tami]

I love your blog. I'm a new Jan fan. The calendar is so awesome. I can't wait to make one. Thanks so much. You are a riot too.

[passionstamper a/k/a Debbie VG]

Can't remember how I found you-SCS? I LOVE your blog...your sense of humor is delightful! You have awesome projects too! Thanks for sharing this calendar... and the link to the site-my computer died recently and I lost all my links saved over the years! You rock!

[Carrie]

I love this calender. Definitely on my list of things to do with my faithful customers! Thanks so much for including the link for the calender pages!