First a rant....then a card

Am I the only person that knows if you announce something like "visit our website for a chance at a date with Justin Bieber" you better have the servers to back up the traffic?  We recently received a letter from MediaCom, our internet and cable provider, telling us that the cable company was going digital September 1st and if you didn't have this thinga-ma-bob on your analog TV, it wouldn't be able to pick up signals after that date.  OK, everyone panic now.  AND they were surprised at the computer traffic on their website, it was actually down for three days.  And when you called, you got a recording telling you to check out that website.  Oh, yeah!  I'm feeling like Dish TV.  I was reminded of this when Good Morning America revealed a great deal at CoolGearinc.com and all my Facebook groups were complaining they couldn't get on the Cool Gear website (it's a great place to buy items to vinyl).  So....companies, listen up!  If you announce a great deal, please have the people available to support your great deal or it turns out to be a crappy deal for those who can't get in and earns you some really bad press.

On to my card.  I pulled out some never before used Spellbinder dies.  I'm a huge fan of Spellbinder but I get so frustrated when using them on light colored card stock like this card.  The panels were cut from Beckett Candlelight 120# card stock which is my favorite base for cards.  The die left part of the coating on all the cut surfaces and it's terribly hard to remove.  I use an eraser which can damage delicate edges and still when layered, you can clearly see the paint chips or whatever the heck that discoloration is.  It's one of the reasons I really like Memory Box dies - no residue, but they don't have the large layered patterns I really like from Spellbinders.  The best of both worlds would be if Spellbinder could make their dies out of the same material that Memory Box uses.  I can't believe I am the only person in the world that has complained about this.  This card is 3 panels of Radiant Rectangles, CC Designs Leafy Branch, Tim Holtz's small easel (this card doesn't open, it's just a flat card with an easel on the back), Memory Box Butterfly Delights, Prima Flowers and three PTI Mixed Messages.  I included three messages with a snot dot on the back of each so the person who buys this card can decide what they want to use it for: birthday, thank you or get well.  Since the Prima flowers were so tall, I designed a box to put it in and decorated the outside of the box with a strip of pretty paper and some gold elastic cord that I pick up cheap after Christmas at Michaels.  I sponged a little bit around the top panel before I removed it from the die, it adds such an elegant touch and I love the pink and green combination, such a fresh look.  I matched the box to the butterflies and greetings for a coordinated look.  If this sells well, I will make more of these, doesn't this just scream "Grandma"?  I also made some cards with Lori Whitlocks square envelope box that I will post later.

We're getting ready to go to Wisconsin for a week where I will be holed up in a cabin on the lake practicing my coloring with Copics and Prismacolor pencils - no cooking or cleaning, just coloring.  I plan to print a bunch of cards to take with me, perhaps my Halloween and Christmas cards.