ATCs - Artist Trading Cards

I recently joined a group of ladies who stamp ATCs, greeting cards, and various fun things like dominoes and tiles. Here are some of my first attempts at this mini art form.

Short and Deep

I love short and powerful statements.

I can read quotes and compilations for hours. Maybe that's because I never think of anything so deep and succinct on my own?

On the business front, Tom Peters is a master of gathering good ideas and snippets and compiling them into cohesive chunks: http://www.tompeters.com/

Big Love

I love HBO's series Big Love.

I don't know why.

Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a large family.... he plays this role as if it was created just for him. Maybe it was? Overall, I find the entire cast fantastic. I hope it's not such a large gap between seasons next time. If it is, I'll follow Margene's blog again!

Laundry.

I definitely have a love/hate relationship with laundry.

On one hand, it piles up soooo fast (an indicator that a two-person household shouldn't have so many clothes, perhaps). On the other hand, I have an awesome washer and dryer. So awesome, I don't like the hubby touching them very often. To me, they're the equivalent of his power tools. The really good ones that are like magic when you use them. The ones that make your work seem easier, and the results better than you thought you were capable of doing.

Other than those two main points, here are some very specific likes and dislikes:

• I love the smell of bleach in clothes. Not right out of the bottle - the way clothes that are washed with bleach smell.
  
• I hate "aroma therapy" laundry detergent, fabric softener, etc.
• I love the way sheets smell and feel when they've been dried outside on a clothesline.
• I dislike not having a clothesline.
• I dislike folding socks and t-shirts.
  
• I dislike carrying laundry up the stairs.
• I love having a laundry chute.
• I love the way towels feel when they're warm out of the dryer.
• I like having a real laundry room, instead of a corner in the basement.
• I like sturdy plastic hangers. Without hanging tabs.
  
• I hate wire hangers.
• I like Method wet dryer fabric softener sheets, and how well they package them.
• I like the laundry baskets that have a curve to fit your hip.
  

Winter Ode

Night quietly descends.
The sky is a soft blue,
with pink and purple shining through
icy layers of clouds.
The air feels crisp and pure.
Light bounces off the softness of the snow.
The moon appears close.
My heart gladly accepts the peace,
resetting everything
that tilted off-kilter today.
I am thankful.