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Notes from the students’ struggles in France

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Thursday’s demonstrations throughout France brought some 500,000 students into the streets, and the movement has continued to increase in size; the big question of last week – whether or not the masses of wage workers would join the demonstrations planned for Saturday 18th March – has been answered in concretely: in France as a whole, there were something like 1,000,000 people in the streets.[1] Even towns which have barely seen a demonstration in living memory have been affected: 15,000 demonstrated in Pau; there was even a demonstration in Chalons sur Saône in the heart of rural France.

For those militants and sympathisers of the ICC who have taken part in the movement during the last few weeks, especially since the demonstrations of 7th March, these have been remarkable, exciting days. We don’t intend here to go into a detailed account of events (we don’t have the time!) but rather to highlight what seem to us to be some of the most significant aspects of the movement.

Some might ask why a communist organisation should involve itself so wholeheartedly – as the ICC has done – in a student movement. The students, after all, are not a class as such, nor even, as such, a part of the working class. In fact, there are two reasons:

  • Firstly, you need to understand the distinction that exists in France between what are called the “Grandes écoles” and the universities. The former are essentially reserved for the children of the ruling class[2] and their graduates – the “ingénieurs” – are virtually guaranteed well-paid jobs in France’s civil service and major companies; indeed the whole system bears a remarkable resemblance to the “Nomenklatura” whereby the Stalinist ruling class of the ex-USSR ensured its continuity. The universities, on the other hand, supply the skilled and labour force for today’s high-tech industries and services. The minimum requirement for joining the army of low-paid technicians manning the factories, laboratories, and offices of the French economy is nowadays the “bac+3” (ie three years of university education after leaving school), or even “bac+5”. In this sense, the vast majority of university students are both the children and future members of the French proletariat. This is a major difference with the situation in May 1968, when only 7% of the youth attended university (and also with other European countries where much smaller proportions of young people go to college).
  • Secondly, the objective of the student movement – to force the government to withdraw the “Contrat de Première Embauche” (CPE) whose main provision (a two-year trial period during which an employee can be fired without notice or reason on the boss’s part) – is clearly a demand that concerns the whole working class, including the masses of unemployed youth in the sink estates whose rage and despair exploded into last autumn’s rioting. And the students are well aware of this, and have consistently resisted efforts to divert the struggle onto the terrain of “university reform” (in particular of the European standard LMD diploma), insisting that theirs is not just a students’ affair but something that concerns all the wage earners.

Unity of the generations

For those of us of the “old generation” who took part in the struggles sparked off throughout the industrialised world by the events of May 68, one of the most remarkable features of the movement today is the disappearance of the “generation gap” that the media used to talk so much about. The parents of the new generation of the working class which launched the movement in the 1960s-70s had experienced the terrible defeat of the counter-revolution, the suffering of the 1930s, and the horrors of World War II (and all the illusions in the great victory of “democracy” after the war). The youth had grown up in a different world, and were often infected with a deep mistrust of their elders (the most extreme example was certainly Germany, where the slogan “don’t trust anyone over 30” reflected the youth’s disgust with what they saw as the legacy of Nazism in the generation that had been through the war). We have found none of this today. Quite the reverse: the ICC’s older militants, who were first awakened to politics in the movement of 68, have been deeply moved to find youngsters who could be their children (in some cases indeed, who are their children), coming to them for advice, wanting to learn from the history of their struggles. Militants in their 50s or 60s have been able to speak to mass meetings of youngsters, and to find themselves listened to and even applauded (in fact, all the interventions of ICC militants have been applauded, at times with great enthusiasm). In Toulouse, one of our comrades who teaches at the university and is known as a member of our organisation was applauded by a mass meeting of more than 1,000 students, who then asked him to prepare an “alternative course” on the history of the revolutionary movement. In Grenoble, another comrade was welcomed to a mass meeting by several youngsters who declared “we’re counting on you to speak against the union” – which of course he duly did to the best of his ability!

The importance of this unity of the generations, where the elder can contribute what they have learned to the dynamism of the younger, is profoundly significant of a new situation world wide and throughout the working class. Today, two generations of undefeated workers are confronting capital: the older generation is battered by the struggles of the 1980s and the terrible reflux of the 1990s – but it is still unbowed and the memories of its youth are not those of war, but of struggle.

An extraordinary degree of organisation

The movement is organised by mass meetings (known as “assemblées générales” or AG) which vote the strike from one meeting to the next. Obviously the degree and coherence of organisation varies considerably from one university to another. In many cases, the AG finds itself being run by a self-proclaimed presidium set up by the students’ union (usually the UNEF), which tends to dominate the proceedings and to discourage the participation of the non-unionised. But elsewhere – and notably at Paris III Censier which is clearly at the forefront of the movement, the degree of organisation and the maturity of the students is truly remarkable. Witness how each meeting begins: with the presentation of the proposed presidium of three, each of whom gives his or her name, year, and course of study, and adds whether or not he is in a union or a political organisation (the non-unionised and non-political generally dominate); the presidium changes every day, and no business is done until it has been accepted by the AG; the day then begins with reports (starting with reports from the various working commissions – “Reflection and Action”, Press, “Exterior Contact”, etc. – then going on to reports from the delegates who have been mandated to attend the national or regional Coordinations (set up to coordinate the different universities). And this is not the only remarkable feature of the AG: everyone can speak – even those from outside the university; speakers are limited to three minutes each (it turns out to be possible to say a remarkable number of things in three minutes!); propositions are made and noted on the blackboard behind the presidium, for all to see. At the end of the meeting, votes are taken on all the proposals that have been put to the meeting; in some cases the presidium calls for someone to speak “for” and “against” a proposal, if it does not seem to have been properly understood.

It should be emphasised that the efficacy of the meeting is not merely down to the presidium, but to the astonishing maturity of all the participants: every speaker is listened to, the speakers themselves respect the time limits they are given. They have even borrowed from the sign-language of the deaf a gesture of silent approval when agreeing with a speaker, in order to avoid interrupting the flow of the meeting with cheers or applause. In Nantes, the presidium brought instant quiet to an enthusiastic assembly with the words: “We’re not on the telly here!”.

It is fair to say that, in their way and in a more limited movement, the French youth of today are the heirs not only of May 1968 but of the Polish workers who faced down the Stalinist state in 1980.

A healthy instinct

Despite the fact that the AG are often run by a union-dominated presidium, there is nonetheless a general and healthy distrust of any suggestion to remove the power of decision from the AG itself. At Paris III Censier, we witnessed debates on two issues that illustrated this particularly well: on the nature of the mandate given by the AG to its delegates at the regional Coordination of Île de France; and on the proposal to create a “coordination bureau” which would supposedly be a kind of “information distributor” designated by the regional Coordination.

The debate on the mandate initially opposed the supporters of “free” and “imperative” mandates: the former would allow delegates essentially to take their own initiatives at the Coordination, even if this was in contradiction with the mandate from the AG; the latter would bind the delegates to voting solely according to the decisions and discussions of the AG itself. As was quickly pointed out, one of the main drawbacks of the “imperative mandate” is that the delegate can say nothing about any new proposition that has not been previously discussed by the AG. It took no more than ten minutes for the presidium to present clearly and comprehensibly, and to take a vote on a hybrid solution: the semi-imperative mandate, binding when it involves decisions taken by the AG, but leaving room for the delegates’ initiative whenever it is a matter that the AG has not yet discussed.

The proposal to create a “coordination bureau” was rejected out of hand in five minutes flat, on the grounds that no useful purpose was served by introducing yet another level of centralisation independent of the AG.

It comes as no surprise at all, that in both cases the proposals that tended to remove the power of decision from the AG came from the Trotskyists of the LCR (Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire): this is a consistent policy of the Trotskyists and unionists – the creation of extra layers of “coordination”, of extra “bureaux” where information and decision-making are concentrated, and where their own militants can get their hands on the levers of information and power. As far as we are concerned – and although, as a general principle, we are opposed to the “imperative mandate” – the AG’s refusal of these measures which would have removed the power of decision from its hands represents a healthy instinct of distrust for the would-be professional bureaucrats and politicians.

The union question

One idea that has emerged more or less clearly from the movement is that the demand for the withdrawal of the CPE is not just a student demand, and that the movement must seek the active support of the wage workers. Needless to say, going on strike is a different matter for wage workers and for students: while it is true that for the many students who have to work their way through college, and who cannot afford to miss a year’s studies, the strike is a serious business, this cannot compare with the problem faced by wage workers who have to pay the rent, repay credits, feed their families, and who moreover cannot legally strike unless called out by a trades union. The students generally (despite a few hotheads’ calls for a “general strike” which in today’s situation is a meaningless slogan) have been aware of this: for example, it has been a frequent proposal (embodied in the upcoming demonstration of 18th March) to demonstrate on the weekends so that wage workers can join in. The real question is: how to bring the wage workers into the movement?

The obvious answer, is to ask the unions. And indeed there have been repeated proposals in this respect, whether it be to go to the unions at the local or at the national level. The problem is that the unions themselves have shown no desire whatever to have the wage workers join the movement. There was absolutely no publicity on the unions’ part, for example, for the demonstration on Thursday 16th March, and it was only on Friday 17th that they started publicising the demonstration on the morrow, the first to be called on a Saturday with the explicit intention, on the students’ part, of opening it up to the wage workers. If we did not know the unions for what they are – the bosses’ best friends, when push comes to shove – then we would call this scandalous, downright shameful in fact.

What is to be done then? If the students cannot trust the unions to call out the wage workers – which they clearly cannot – then they will have to do it themselves, by distributing leaflets at major concentrations of workers (in Paris, this principally means in the suburban railway stations where tens of thousands of people pass every day on their way to and from work). Militants of the ICC have strongly supported – and been enthusiastically cheered for doing so – motions presented and adopted at the AG in this sense.

Violence and the role of the media

One of the most striking features of the movement is the way in which it has been reported in the media both in France and abroad, and especially by the TV which is of course the main source of information for most workers. Until very recently – essentially and with a very few exceptions until the demonstration Thursday (17th March) – the media in France has concentrated on one thing: the occupation of the Sorbonne and the violent confrontations between bands of young hotheads (who come from nobody knows where), and the CRS (riot police).

Until very recently, there has been not a sign on the TV of the mass meetings, the debates, or even the demonstrations: instead there have been a lot of interviews with students opposed to the movement, confrontations between students, and the attacks on the CRS.

Outside France, the blackout of the students’ movement has been almost total – with the exception of a few pieces on the violence.

All this is in marked contrast to the huge blanket coverage of the riots in the French suburbs last autumn, which were so vastly blown out of proportion that we received declarations of support for the “revolution” taking place in France, from comrades in the ex-USSR!

We know very well that the media – and above all the TV media – are to all intents and purposes controlled by the state, and even where they are not, their “self-control” is impressive: there’s even an old English rhyme that goes like this, and is valid for the media everywhere – “No-one can corrupt or twist, thank God, the British journalist. Given what the man will do unbribed, there is no reason to”.

So what the students need to ask is: what interest does the state have in displaying such images – almost to the exclusion of all else? The answer is obviously, that it contributes to the discrediting of the movement within the mass of the working class, who are certainly not ready today to undertake a violent confrontation with the state. Not only does the violence tend to discredit the movement with the rest of the class, but it also puts into question the sovereignty of the AG since it takes place completely outside the latter’s control. In fact this last question – the question of control – is one of the most critical ones: the violence of the working class has nothing to do with the blind violence of the young hotheads at the Sorbonne or – it must be said – of many anarchist groups, above all because it is exercised and controlled collectively, by the class as a group. The student movement has used physical force (for example to barricade the university buildings and block entry to them): the difference between this and the confrontations at the Sorbonne is that the former actions are decided collectively and voted by the AG, and the “blockers” have a mandate for their action from their comrades. The latter, precisely because they are uncontrolled by the movement, are of course the perfect terrain for the action of the lumpen and the agent provocateur, and given the way in which this violence has been used by the media there is every reason to suppose that the provocateur has been present and stirring it up.

Faced with this situation, the students’ reaction has in general been exemplary. When it became clear that the government was setting up the Sorbonne in effect as a “trap” for the demonstrations, and as a means of permanent provocation, the reaction at the AG in Paris III Censier was essentially this: “The Sorbonne is a symbol, it’s true. Well, if they want it, let them keep their symbol – the CRS are there, so much the better, let them stay there. And let us invite our comrades of the Sorbonne to come to Censier for their AG”. The same invitation was extended by the AG at Jussieu.

In addition – and despite some belated manoeuvring by the Trotskyists who tried to overturn the vote – the Censier AG passed a motion “in support of the injured students, against any damage done to the building, and in sympathy for the injured CRS”. The important point about this motion is that it was absolutely not a support for the repression by the police, but recognised:

  • That the children of the low-paid CRS are themselves concerned by the attacks of the government (as some students tried to explain to the riot police during non-violent confrontations.
  • And that the students intended to distance themselves from the violent “actions” which do the movement no service.

It is important also to note the difference between the way in which the media have reported the 18th March demonstration in France and abroad:

  • In France, the media have focused on the – trivial – violence at the end of the demonstrations, but less so than on previous occasions; they have given more space to the enormous size and calm of the demonstrations (and the imaginative nature of some of the slogans).
  • Abroad (for example on Euronews, or on where an Associated Press report is titled “French Police Subdue Riots Over Jobs Law”, which is an enormous lie, pure and simple), we have seen virtually nothing but the images of violence and burning cars.

From this, we can draw one clear conclusion. The French media who have tried to discredit the movement in the eyes of the working class, have now understood that they risk discrediting only themselves in the eyes of the population which knows what is really happening, and especially in the eyes of workers who are demonstrating themselves, or whose children are demonstrating, by lying too openly.

ICC, 19th March 2006

[1] We generally take the mid point between the estimates provided by the unions (too optimistic) and the police (ridiculously low).

[2] In reality, selection to the "grandes écoles" is not directly based on money, since costs are low (with the exception of the business and management schools). This makes it possible for the particularly gifted children of workers, or even peasants, to gain entry. But selection to entry is based on an élitist competitive system which favours students from social categories with an appropriate "cultural level" (or who can afford to support their children during their studies so that they don’t have to work).


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Java EE Connector Architecture

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Java EE Connector Architecture (JCA) is a Java-based technology solution for connecting application servers and enterprise information systems (EIS) as part of enterprise application integration (EAI) solutions. While JDBC is specifically used to connect Java EE applications to databases, JCA is a more generic architecture for connection to legacy systems. JCA was developed under the Java Community Process as JSR 16 (JCA 1.0), JSR 112 (JCA 1.5) and JSR 322 (JCA 1.6).

JCA and Java EE

J2EE Version 1.3 requires application servers to support JCA Version 1.0. J2EE Version 1.4 requires application servers to support JCA Version 1.5. Java EE Version 6 requires application servers to support JCA version 1.6.

The Java EE Connector Architecture defines a standard for connecting a compliant application server to an EIS. It defines a standard set of system-level contracts between the Java EE application server and a resource adapter. The system contracts defined by Version 1.0 of the Java EE Connector Architecture are described by the specification as follows:

Connection management
Connection management enables an application server to pool connections to the underlying EIS and enables application components to connect. This leads to a scalable application environment that can support a large number of clients.
Transaction management
Transaction management enables an application server to use a transaction manager to manage transactions across multiple resource managers. This contract also supports transactions that are managed internal to an EIS resource manager without the necessity of involving an external transaction manager.
Security management
Security management reduces security threats to the EIS and protects valuable information resources managed by the EIS.

JCA Version 1.5 adds system contracts to the specification as follows:

Life cycle management
Life cycle management enables an application server to manage the life cycle of a resource adapter from initiation through upgrades to obsolescence. This contract provides a mechanism for the application server to bootstrap a resource adapter instance during its deployment or application server startup, and to notify the resource adapter instance during its dedeployment or during an orderly shutdown.
Work management
Work management enables a resource adapter to do work (monitor network endpoints, invoke application components, and so on) by submitting work instances to an application server for execution. The application server dispatches threads to execute submitted work instances. This allows a resource adapter to avoid creating or managing threads directly, and allows an application server to efficiently pool threads and have more control over its runtime environment. The resource adapter can control the transaction context with which work instances are executed.
Transaction inflow management
Transaction inflow management enables a resource adapter to propagate an imported transaction to an application server. This contract also allows a resource adapter to transmit transaction completion and crash recovery calls initiated by an EIS, and ensures that the Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation and Durability (ACID) properties of the imported transaction are preserved.
Message inflow management
Message inflow management enables a resource adapter to asynchronously deliver messages to message endpoints residing in the application server, independent of the specific messaging style, messaging semantics and messaging infrastructure used to deliver messages. This contract also serves as the standard message provider pluggability contract that allows a wide range of message providers (Java Message Service (JMS), Java API for XML Messaging (JAXM), and so on) to be plugged into any Java EE compatible application server with a resource adapter.

EIS Integration

JCA adapters can be built to integrate with various Enterprise Information System such as Siebel Systems, SAP AG, Great Plains Systems, Oracle Applications, etc. Siebel provides API to integrate with various platforms like Java, C++, .Net, Visual Basic, etc. For Java it provides an interface called 'Java Data Bean' (JDB). The Siebel adaptor provides data access via the JDB API. Great Plains Systems provides an interface called eConnect to integrate with other platforms. SAP provides an interface for Java called SAP Java Connector (SAP JCo).

External links

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Litton Industries, Inc. – Delaware

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Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Idioms.

see criminal lawcriminal law,
the branch of law that defines crimes, treats of their nature, and provides for their punishment. A tort is a civil wrong committed against an individual; a crime, on the other hand, is regarded as an offense committed against the public, even though only one
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; criminologycriminology,
the study of crime, society's response to it, and its prevention, including examination of the environmental, hereditary, or psychological causes of crime, modes of criminal investigation and conviction, and the efficacy of punishment or correction (see prison) as
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; ganggang,
group of people organized for a common purpose, often criminal. Gangs of criminals were long known on the American frontier and also flourished in urban settings. Notorious were the outlaws led by Jesse James and his brother, the Sydney Ducks of San Francisco (active in
..... Click the link for more information.
; juvenile delinquencyjuvenile delinquency,
legal term for behavior of children and adolescents that in adults would be judged criminal under law. In the United States, definitions and age limits of juveniles vary, the maximum age being set at 14 years in some states and as high as 21 years in others.
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; organized crimeorganized crime,
criminal activities organized and coordinated on a national scale, often with international connections. The American tradition of daring desperadoes like Jesse James and John Dillinger, has been superseded by the corporate criminal organization.
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an infraction of the criminal law. Scholars have discussed the nature and causes of crime as far back as written history shows. A related issue is that of morality, consequently, until comparatively recently, crime was seen as the proper sphere of theological and philosophical comment. In general, sociologists have tended to argue against absolutist conceptions of crime and have opposed psychological and biological explanations of why people commit crimes. Many sociologists have discussed the issue of crime in terms of morality, but, unlike the majority of earlier writers, they tended not to use an absolute or universal notion of morality, but view moral precepts in particular historical and cultural settings.

DURKHEIM, for example, argued that laws changed with changes in social structure; he saw a historical shift from MECHANICAL to ORGANIC SOLIDARITY (from traditional, simple societies to complex, industrial ones) as involving a transformation in social relations which could be understood in moral terms and studied through changes in legal codes. He also argued that a certain level of crime was functional for society; this was indicated by the fact that no known society was free of crime. More significantly crime served to strengthen morality by uniting the community against the criminal.

Whilst not being as absolutist as earlier philosophies, Durkheim's is still a highly generalized discussion of crime. Other sociological traditions have focused on the problem in more specific ways. Examples of this include discussions of the ways in which employment laws change, for example, either to criminalize or legalize strikes, depending on complex balances in the relative powers of employees and employers. There is clearly some merit in this approach of linking the development of criminal law to the interests of particular classes or vested interests, but the more general moral dimension is also clearly important. For example, laws relating to sexuality may have connections with property and inheritance, but they defy analysis in terms of particular class interests. HOMOSEXUALITY is a case in point. The expression of male homosexual desire was a criminal offence in the UK until 1969. The fact that private homosexual acts between consenting adults were decriminalized, following the recommendation of the Wolfenden Report (1967), indicates a change in the conception of the role of criminal law in regulating private conduct. In fact, it signalled that ideas about crime and criminals do not reflect absolute standards, but change over time and differ between cultures. The fact that these legal changes remain controversial, however, and that gay men and women are still marginalized and discriminated against, as the MORAL PANIC over AIDS has shown, indicates that the relation between criminal laws and culture is a complex one.

Generally, sociological approaches have tried to explain the relative nature of crime and its causes, as well as the effects of crime on communities and victims. See also CRIMINOLOGY, LABELLING THEORY, DEVIANCE, VICTIMOLOGY, CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, FOUCAULT.

the most serious violation of legality and law and order, entailing criminal punishment. Soviet criminal law (for example, the Basic Principles of Criminal Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics, art. 7) defines a crime as a socially dangerous act or omission, prescribed by law, that transgresses against the Soviet social or state system, the socialist economic system, socialist property, the person, and citizens’ political, labor, property, and other rights, as well as any other act against socialist law and order. The characteristics that make a certain act a crime are called the elements of the crime.

The principal features of a crime are its social danger and violation of criminal law. These characteristics reflect the political, ideological, and moral views of the ruling classes in a particular society, and therefore crime is a class category. When certain human actions are regarded as crimes, they are being evaluated from the standpoint of the ruling classes. What is considered socially dangerous and criminal in one society may not be regarded as such in another. For example, in the USSR and other socialist countries war propaganda, the violation of national and racial equality, private entrepreneurial activity and commercial middleman operations, and speculation are considered crimes, whereas many such acts are not punishable under the criminal law of some capitalist countries. In a socialist society, free of class antagonisms, the concept of crime encompasses truly socially dangerous acts that conflict with the interests of the overwhelming majority of the members of society. In such a society it is the social danger of crime that determines the importance of combating crime, engenders implacable hostility to crime, stimulates the joint efforts of the state and citizens to eliminate criminal activity, and justifies the punishment applied by the state. The nature and degree of social danger of a crime constitute the grounds for distinguishing crimes from other violations and minor offenses, such as petty hooliganism, petty theft, petty speculation, and certain violations or regulations in public transportation. Owing to their lesser degree of social danger, these offenses entail administrative or disciplinary, rather than criminal, liability. Only a concrete act (or in some cases an omission, for example, failure to assist a sick person) may present a social danger because it can cause harm or create a threat of harm. Inasmuch as both the actual harming of legally protected interests and the creation of a real threat of such harm are socially dangerous, the law considers as criminally punishable both the crime committed and criminal activity not carried through despite the intention of the guilty person (preparation and attempt). In many cases the law considers criminal actions to be committed crimes regardless of their actual result, for example, deserting someone in danger, illegally keeping or carrying a weapon, or illegally practicing medicine.

The elements of each crime include a specific object (the social interests and values against which the crime transgresses), an objective aspect (the nature of the act and how it is committed), a subject (the person who commits the crime), and a subjective aspect (the psychological attitude of the criminal toward the act, primarily his guilt and the forms of guilt). All of these elements characterize the social danger of a criminal act. The object of the crime is the basis for classifying criminal acts. In some instances the object of the crime is so important (for example, in crimes against the social and state system and against human life) that any transgression against the object represents a serious social danger and is considered a crime. In other instances the significance of the object is not as great, and acts that transgress against it are considered criminal only if special conditions are present. For example, only deliberate acts, acts committed in a special way, or acts that have caused substantial harm, as in the negligent storage of a firearm, are considered criminal. Other objective criteria of the social danger of a crime are its consequences, the way it was committed, and in some instances the place, time, and special circumstances of its commission. For instance, the seriousness of an injury to health is the basis for classifying types of bodily injury as grievous, less grievous, and light. Also, premeditated murder is considered a graver crime if it was committed with unusual cruelty.

Assessment of the subjective aspect is important because, in the absence of guilt, causing harm to legally protected interests cannot be considered a crime. The form of guilt (premeditation or negligence) is important for determining the nature of the crime and the punishment. For example, the punishment for premeditated murder is more severe than for causing death through negligence, although the result of the crime in both cases is loss of life. The subjective aspect also includes the motives and purpose of the crime; for example, speculation is considered a crime if the buying up and reselling of goods is done for gain.

The social danger of a crime is largely determined by the subject, the criminal. Some acts are considered criminal only because they are committed by a person who has a special relationship with the victim. This relationship makes his actions more dangerous than similar behavior by other people, for instance, driving a person to suicide when that person was dependent, either materially or in some other way, on the person who caused the act, or parents’ malicious evasion of child-support payments ordered by a court. Sometimes an act is deemed criminal because it was committed by a person who was previously held administratively responsible for similar acts or by a person to whom measures of social pressure may not be applied because of the circumstances of the case. The identity of the guilty person is also important for determining the degree of social danger of certain types of crimes. For example, an abortion performed by a person without medical training is considered a more socially dangerous act than an illegal abortion by a doctor and failure to give assistance is considered a graver crime if it was committed by a person responsible for looking after the victim.

Soviet criminal law rejects objective imputation—holding a person responsible for an act or omission without establishing guilt, that is, holding a person responsible for an act that had socially dangerous consequences if the person did not foresee the danger of the act and, because of the circumstances of the case, could not have foreseen it. A person’s ability to understand the nature of his actions and consciously govern them is a mandatory prerequisite for guilt. Only a person who has this ability can be the subject of a crime. Soviet law stipulates that criminal liability applies to persons who have reached the age of 16 before the commission of the crime. For certain types of crime whose social danger is comprehensible at an earlier age (for example, murder, rape, or malicious hooliganism) criminal liability ensues at 14 years of age. Only mentally healthy, sane persons may be the subjects of crimes.

A crime is not any socially dangerous act but only one which is illegal, that is, established as a crime in existing criminal law and prohibited on pain of punishment. In the USSR the general grounds and conditions of criminal liability are defined in the Basic Principles of Criminal Legislation of the USSR and the Union Republics of 1958. Each Union republic has a criminal code containing a detailed list of acts considered to be crimes. Responsibility for a crime ensues under the criminal code of the republic in which the crime was committed. A person may be held criminally responsible only if his acts contain the elements of the crime as defined by law, and he may be held liable only for the crime whose elements have been established in his acts. Analogy is not permitted in criminal law. Acts that caused harm but were committed as necessary defense or in a state of dire necessity do not entail criminal liability. Social danger is also decisive in the matter of the statute of limitations for criminal cases. Release from criminal liability under the statute of limitatins stems largely from the fact that after a lapse of time the social danger of an act and of the person who committed it is dissipated, although the illegality of the act persists. The law also prescribes release from criminal liability in instances where changed circumstances make the act committed by the guilty person no longer socially dangerous.

Piontkovskii, A. A. Uchenie o prestuplenii po sovetskomu ugolovnomu pravu. [Moscow, 1961.]
Samoshchenko, I. S. Poniatie pravonarusheniia po sovetskomu zakonodatel’stvu. Moscow, 1963.
Kurs sovetskogo ugolovnogo prava, vol. 1, ch. 2. Leningrad, 1968.

(Russian, prestupnost’), a social, historically conditioned phenomenon that emerged at a particular stage in the development of society. In this sense, crime is all the criminal offenses committed during a certain period. In practice, however, because of latent criminality, crime refers to the offenses detected within a given area (district, city, region). The term “crime” is also used to denote the crimes committed by persons belonging to a particular population group, for example, juvenile crime.

Crime in this sense is one of the fundamental concepts of criminal legal statistics and criminology. The legal criterion for classifying phenomena as crimes is the presence in criminal law of appropriate articles recognizing the particular act as criminal. Crime is described in terms of level (the absolute number of crimes and criminals or the ratio per 100,000 population), structure (distribution by type of crime or large subdivision or by the degree of social danger, nature of guilt, or intent), the characteristics of the criminals (by sex, age, occupation), the proportion of group crime or recidivism, and changes over time in all of the above characteristics.

Marxist scholarship has investigated the causes of crime and shown that it stems from social phenomena and is bound up with the material and ideological conditions of human existence. Marxism proceeds from the assumption that human beings are not born with innate—individual or racial—criminal traits, but rather may become criminals owing to the social conditions in which they are raised, work, and live. Of course, when studying crime and its causes, individual psychological traits cannot be ignored, but the traits that are important in this respect evolve and change under the influence of living conditions and education.

Capitalist countries. In the capitalist countries crime is inherent in the very nature of a system based on private property, exploitation, and social inequality, where the ideology and morality of greed, easy profit, and misanthropy are cultivated and disseminated. Today, the level of serious crimes and recidivism is rising in the capitalist countries. In the USA, between 1963 and 1972, crime increased by 2.1 times (among young people by 2.3 times), or 9 times the rate of population growth. In the Federal Republic of Germany, between 1963 and 1970, crime grew by 23 percent, or 4 times the rate of population growth. During the same period Japan showed a 20 percent increase in crime, which was 15 times the rate of population growth. According to statistics provided by the Council of Europe, between 1958 and 1968, juvenile crime increased by 400 percent in Belgium, 180 percent in France, 77 percent in the Federal Republic of Germany, and 85 percent in Scotland. These figures indicate that crime is rooted in the very foundation of the capitalist social system, and any attempts to solve the problem of crime within the framework of an exploitative society are doomed to failure. Bourgeois scholarship concludes that crime is “perpetual” because its causes supposedly lie in human nature; in reality crime is only perpetual in an exploitative society.

Socialist society. The fundamental causes of crime have been eradicated in socialist society, and for the first time in history there are growing opportunities to eliminate crime as a social phenomenon. The crime that still exists is related to the fact that both economically and morally socialism carries the “birthmarks” of the old society. The causes of crime are vestiges of the past, which still exist in various aspects of social life, as well as in the people’s consciousness and psychology and in their everyday life. Although they are social phenomena, these causes are residual and intrinsically alien to socialist society. Crime is a regressive phenomenon in socialist society. The Program of the CPSU states that “growth in the material well-being, cultural level, and consciousness of the working people creates all the conditions for extirpating crime” (1974, p. 106). The level of crime in the USSR has decreased 3-4 times since the 1920’s and 1930’s. Professional crime has been rooted out, and in terms of motivation, methods, and consequences crime is gradually “easing.” Since the first postwar years, the level of crime has dropped by more than 50 percent in Bulgaria, by 50 percent in Hungary, by almost 50 percent in Poland, and by one-third in Czechoslovakia. The crime rate per 100,000 population in the German Democratic Republic is one-fourth that of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The causes that lead to the commission of particular types of crimes are usually the negative influence of the family or milieu (instilling an alien ideology, bad example), instigation by criminal elements, the disruptive influence of propaganda for the “Western life-style,” and alcoholism. World War II, which deprived many children and adolescents of a normal family upbringing, had a negative effect on the crime situation. In addition to the reasons that impel a person toward crime, there are various contributing factors: lack of supervision and alienation from the collective at school or work; shortcomings in educational work; lack of proper concern for organizing cultural leisure activities at the place of residence, work, or study; permitting minor violations of the norms of social behavior to go unpunished; failure to show proper concern for working and living conditions and for involving the members of a particular collective in study and social life; failure to deal effectively with the problem of student dropouts in certain schools; shortcomings in the work of state agencies and the public to detect and eradicate sources of harmful influences and to maintain law and order; and shortcomings in record keeping and in safeguarding state and public property.

Prevention is the principal approach to combating crime in a socialist society. Crime prevention is a complex social process involving a whole system of measures carried out at various levels and in different social spheres. On a society-wide level crime prevention is an integral part of all the economic, political, ideological, legal, organizational, and other steps taken to improve the socialist state. In the USSR, for example, such measures include steadily raising the material well-being of the working people, further democratizing the state administration and increasing social activism among the masses, expanding education and culture, developing communist morality, and overcoming the influence of bourgeois ideology. All of these processes aid in fighting crime by creating conditions that exclude the very possibility of its existence.

Specifically criminological crime prevention includes measures directly aimed at eliminating the causes and conditions that lead to the commission of various crimes. Among such measures are cutting back the production of strong alcoholic beverages, financing measures to strengthen the protection and supervision of socialist property, using the mass media to combat antisocial views and habits, explaining Soviet laws to raise the legal consciousness of citizens, eliminating those shortcomings in institutions and enterprises that have promoted the commission of crimes, improving the structure and increasing the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies, and involving the public in maintaining law and order and fighting crime. Improving legislation and eliminating the causes and conditions that promote the commission of crimes are important in the fight against crime. Criminalistic measures to prevent crime include the use of technology to prevent the commission of crimes, such as employing automatic security devices, protecting documents against forgery by technical means, and making greater use of scientific methods of detecting traces of crime.

Criminological crime prevention is carried out along several lines: according to the type of crime and criminal behavior (mercenary, violent, negligent, recidivist), in the different spheres of social life where moral development takes place and situations occur that influence a person’s behavior (family, school, work, everyday life, and leisure), and in various social groups (minors, young people) and economic sectors (trade, transport construction), which have specific factors that give rise to crime. Criminological crime prevention also focuses on individual republics, oblasts, and economic regions with due regard for the specific nature of the crimes committed therein.

Individual prevention, which involves applying socialist and special criminological measures to the individual, is very important in the overall system of crime prevention.

Legal measures to combat crime include identifying and exposing persons who have committed crimes, punishing them, and rehabilitating and reeducating them. Although legal measures are applied to persons who have already committed crimes, their social significance lies in crime prevention, both particular and general. Establishing criminal liability in law for specific socially dangerous acts and applying the liability when the law is violated constitute a special kind of influence not only on the person who committed the crime but also on the larger group of people who grasp the principle of inescapable punishment for violating the law. Some types of criminal punishment eliminate the conditions that promote crime. These include isolating a person from unfavorable surroundings and connections, cutting off access to material valuables, and prohibiting a person from engaging in a certain activity. Also important for prevention are certain criminal procedural measures, such as the detention of a suspect, the selection of a measure of restraint, and the duty of the investigator and court to identify the causes and conditions that lead to the commission of crimes and to take steps to eliminate them. The compulsory treatment of alcoholics and drug addicts and compulsory educational measures applied to juvenile offenders also help prevent crime.

Sakharov, A. B. O lichnosti prestupnika iprichinakh prestupnosti v SSSR. Moscow, 1961.
Gertsenzon, A. A., and A. S. Nikiforov. Prestupnost’v kapitalisticheskom mire posle vtoroi mirovoi voiny. Moscow, 1963.
Kriminologiia [2nd ed.]. Moscow, 1968.
Kudriavtsev, V. N. Prichinnost’ v kriminologii. Moscow, 1968.
Karpets, I. I. Problema prestupnosti. Moscow, 1969.
Kuznetsova, N. F. Prestuplenie i prestupnost’. Moscow, 1969.
Babaev, M. M., and G. M. Min’kovskii. Prestupnost’ nesovershennoletnikh i ee preduprezhdenie. Moscow, 1971.

1. an act or omission prohibited and punished by law
a. unlawful acts in general
b. (as modifier): crime wave


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Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas) Map

The Environmental Justice Atlas comprises of regional and thematic maps covering ecological distribution conflicts around the world, drawing on activist knowledge and linking them with material trade flows among other variables, and providing a platform for communication amount Environmental Justice Organizations and researchers working on related issues.


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Story In Video Games

A while back there was an article in The Atlantic with the rather controversial title Video Games Are Better Without Stories.

I didn’t even know about the article–who looks for gaming articles in The Atlantic?–until I started to see tweets about it filter through my feeds, and I got the distinct impression that it was polarizing the gaming community (again). On one side, there are people saying, “Of course games are better with story what a dumb article.” On the other side, there are people saying, “Finally someone said what we’re all thinking.. story sucks!” There are literally no other opinions. Well, except this one.

I read the article. It’s … well, it’s completely fair. The only thing I disagree with is the incredibly pretentious tone of the writing. (I have a pet peeve about pretentious writing. Read Strunk and White you bastards. Use simple words.)

As usual in the modern digital era, the title of the article gives little or no indication of the subject matter. The article lays out a pretty solid (but, again, annoyingly pretentious) case for why a narrative story might not be improved when it’s told through a game engine, as opposed to books, television, or movies.

If I had read this article six months ago, I might have had a different opinion. But I recently played DOOM, and I just played Mass Effect 1, 2, and 3.

One of the new things in DOOM was the addition of some narrative elements to explain why you are running around shooting demons on Mars. They came in the form of cut scenes and some environmental storytelling. I will be blunt: DOOM did not need a narrative. This is game where you run around shooting demons on Mars. I repeat: You shoot demons on Mars. There does not need to be a backstory. There does not need to be an antagonist. Your character does not need a personality. There does not need to be a narrative payoff at the end. You buy the game, you shoot demons on Mars until you’re done. The end.

Another good example of a game that doesn’t need a story is Devil Daggers. A super fun game. You run around on a platform shooting daggers at floating skulls. Why? Who cares? No story expected or required. (And in that case, no story was given.)

Those are my first examples for why I can understand the author’s point. My second example begins with a minor little game called Mass Effect 1.

You may remember Mass Effect 1 as that game you never finished because you could never get into those weird controls. And it’s true. The game mechanics are terrible. But it has a fantastic story. The best in the series, in my opinion. Some of the best narrative moments in any video game, actually. This is an example of a game where the game gets in the way of the story. The entire time I played Mass Effect 1 (twice, actually), I hated when cut scenes and dialog scenes ended and I had to slog through playing the game to get to the next scene. It was an interruption. An annoyance. A waste of time. All I wanted to do was sit back and watch the story unfold, but I kept having to run around shooting at stuff to unlock the next chapter.

That story was not improved by integrating it within a game. It was hindered, in fact. I would have much preferred to sit back and watch the Mass Effect 1 story in a television show or movie format. This is exactly the reason why people make and watch YouTube videos of cut scenes in games. Because they want to watch the story, but they don’t want to bother going through the game to see it.

(Yes, I am largely ignoring the issue of player agency–getting to choose your own story. There are many ways that the Mass Effect 1 story can turn out, but are they all equally good paths? I can only speak from my own experience with crafting stories that when faced with a decision point, there is usually only one path that has the most dramatically satisfying outcome.)

There was another much-maligned game called Enslaved where I had a very similar reaction. I liked the story, but I hated the game (well, I didn’t hate it but it was a bit dull). I just wanted to watch the cut scenes.

Those are two more examples of why I can understand the author’s point.

Do I think all stories should be removed from all video games? Of course not. There would be no more RPGs if that happened.

But does every game need a story? Is every game helped by a story? Of course not. (See DOOM and Devil Daggers. And checkers. And tennis. And yatzee. And poker. And golf. And chess. And hearts. And solitaire. And Zaxxon. And Galaga. And Pitfall. And Battle Zone.)

The point I’m trying to make (which I believe is ultimately the same point as in The Atlantic article) is that developers should think carefully about how the story serves the game, and how the game serves the story, and the balance and interaction between the two. Too often the story part of a game (ie. cut scenes, environment) is an entirely separate entity from the game part of a game (ie. the shooting or running or puzzles). If there’s an imbalance, or one piece is just “tacked on,” you get situations like DOOM or Mass Effect 1, which is annoying for everyone.

Tied up with this issue is also the issue of what a “game” actually is. Most everyone thinks a “game” is their kind of game, and not the million other kinds of games that are out there.

We use the same words (“video games”) to describe things which are radically different. DOOM the video game is radically different from, say, Gone Home the video game. They should not be compared, ever. They are both created with a “game engine” and they are both “entertainment” but that’s about the only thing they have in common. It’s like comparing gospel music and dubstep, or Gone With The Wind and bondage porn. They are meant for different audiences. The DOOM audience is entertained by challenge and obstacles. The Gone Home audience is entertained by exploration and story. Two radically different things.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s plenty of room in the industry for everyone right now.

Persona 5 and Streaming

Streaming… get it? via Wikimedia Commons

I saw that the makers of Persona 5 made the odd choice of limiting streaming of their game. (I use the word “streaming” here to include Twitch and YouTube Let’s Play videos.) Liore and Eri also weighed in on this with contrasting viewpoints.

I’d never heard of Persona 5 before this, and never heard of or played Persona 1 through 4, either. (I think it’s a console game from The East.) I don’t even know what kind of game it is. The point is I don’t have a dog in this fight. I’m only interested in the intellectual property angle.

These days, we take it for granted that game developers allow streamers to play their games on their channels. But this is a great reminder that legally speaking, the developer (or publisher, probably) owns all of that game content. (Presumably the same way that record companies own the recordings of music we listen to.) So whether we like it or not, it is certainly within their legal rights to prevent people from streaming it (at least in the U.S., I have no idea about other countries). From that perspective, I don’t have any issue with Atlus’s choice.

But… it’s certainly a head-scratching choice in this day and age.

I don’t have any statistics to back this up, but I would guess that publishers get some measureable revenue out of what is effectively the free advertising they receive from streamers (or nearly free, wink, wink, nudge, nudge). It’s true that streaming probably helps smaller studios proportionately more, but I don’t think it hurts bigger studios, simply because there have been no efforts to shut down streamers. If big studios were quantifiably losing money because of streaming, I am confident that Twitch would have been sued into oblivion years ago. Either that or we’d be seeing a lot more streamer rules like we see with Persona 5.

I can only guess that the bean counters at Atlus don’t think they will get any benefit from streamers. Perhaps they even think that, as Eri suggested, every stream viewer represents the loss of a sale. I don’t personally believe in the loss of sales theory, despite Liore admitting she never buys the games she watches on YouTube. Maybe she can comment on this, but I suspect that people who watch games instead of buying them probably never would have bought them in the first place, because they either aren’t interested in the gameplay or don’t have the time to play it.

In any case I don’t believe that Atlus is really worried about spoilers getting out. That’s just amazingly clueless.*

I think Atlus is making a big deal about nothing. Developers talk to each other at conferences and stuff, so if there was a problem in the industry with streaming, there’s no way that Atlus is the only one who noticed it and took a stand. I don’t necessarily think it’s an evil conspiracy like Eri thinks (beyond the baseline conspiracy that all corporations try to make a profit), but you have to admit that the controversy sure generated a lot of press for their game.

On the predictably overblown reaction from streamers, I don’t know that I would have put it quite the way she did, but Liore is exactly correct that streamers are at the mercy of game developers, and not the other way around. When you build your career around showing somebody else’s intellectual property, you have to expect there might be some bumps in the road. Streamers might be able to exert some pressure over smaller games, but I have a feeling big game studios could bring substantially more legal firepower into that fight.

Liore’s right: Streamers should just deal with it and move on. A week from now nobody is going to care about Atlus or Persona 5 or whatever lifetime ban streamers have in the works.

In a related story, I just saw an article on Kotaku which implored “content creators” to “organize.” I mean, I get that it’s hard as hell to make a living as a streamer, but really? A streamer union? Nobody is forced to choose streaming as their profession. It’s a huge risk with very little chance of a payoff.

* However, to be fair, a recent MassivelyOP podcast interview of Shards Online-turned-Legends of Aria developer Derek Brinkmann gave me newfound insight into how unaware a developer can be of current gaming trends. My jaw dropped when I heard the guy admit he hasn’t really played an MMORPG since Everquest.


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Sunday, October 10, 2010

Monochromatic - Halloween

Second post for today. Did I mention that I went to see the play, "Young Frankenstein" at the ASU Grammage last weekend. It is the first play hubby and I have seen in Arizona and we have been here for 6 years now. I guess we just never found the time to go, but this play with incredibly funny. I was laughing throughout the entire play, very good sense of humor.
The image with colored at my last copic class - monochromatic, taught by Jennifer Dover. I always wanted to try this technique. This image is so darling, but aren't we suppose to be scare of vampires and isn't the sentiment just scares you. We are no longer scare of vampires since cute Edward Cullen came into our imagination (lol). This stamp is from Stampendous. The copic markers I used are C1, C3, C5, C7. I need to work on my feather technique with the hair. I feel I am not getting it, but are practicing almost every weekend. I used grey cardstock, DCWV dp and creative impression black webbed ribbon. I also embossed the DCWV dp with my swiss cuttlebug embossing folder.

1. Simon Says Challenge: Simon says... Halloween
2. Cupcake Craft Challenge: Challenge 112 ... Scary creatures
3. Ellephantastic Challenge: Challenge 15 - Anything Goes
4. Craftalious Challenge: Challenge 10 - Anything Goes
5. Speedy the Cat's Friends Challenge: Challenge 24 - Stripes

Change of Season

It's Sunday and I am watching "Desperate Housewives". I love that tv show, it is hilarious. Finally the temperature is cooling down in Arizona. I love this temperature, not too hot and definitely not cold here. I was able to play with Jennifer Dover this past Friday. She is just so talented. Check out the pair of converse shoes she colored with copic markers. I can't wait to see her at the end of October for her next copic class at Paper Vineyard.

I got around to coloring this Stampendous latern light image from my August copic coloring class, taught by Jennifer Dover. A made a Christmas card out of the latern image. I used Flower Soft for my snow on the latern top and crystal lacquer on the candle area and the holly berries.

3. Paper Sundaes: Challenge 39 - A Change of Season
4. Papertake Weekly: Your favorite from the past 3 yrs challenges - Four Seasons Challenge
5. Stamp Something: Something Punchy - punched snowflakes.
Card Deed:
Stamps: Stampendous latern light, PTI sentiment
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers
Paper: red, brown, olive, blue, old dp from my stash
Embellishment: Martha Stewart snowflake border punch, red rhinestones from AMuse, crystal lacquer, flower soft, cuttlebug swiss dot embossing folder

Friday, October 1, 2010

Hope for Cats - Candy Jars

I can't believe it is already October. Halloween is around the corner. I am working on some candy jars to help raise money for a non-kill animal shelter to pay for feed, liter, spray, neuter, and medical expenses. The charity organization is called Hope for Cats. These are what I have made for the past week.

Work has been hectic since we are short-staffed. One of the front office employee had to take personal leave for awhile. We don't know if he will be back or not. We just hired a part-time temporary to help out as she is attending the nursing program to get her RN certification until May 2011, so hopefully things will be back to normal for me to catch up on the accounting end of things.

This first jar is to celebrate Halloween. I don't celebrate Halloween, but I love all the cute children costumes. The images are from CC Designs for the little dragon, not dinosaur as there are wings. The pumpkin is from GinaK Designs and the little spider is from Craft Lounge. I don't remember the names of the set. The top of the jar is a kitty image from Stampendous.

This second jar on the left is for the University of Arizona fans. I don't know much about the Wildcats since I went to college in California, but Kris from Hope for Cats asked me to make one since there are quite a bit of U of A fans in the Phoenix area.

I am submitting my work for the following Challenges:
Stamp Something - Something to Celebrate (applies to the Halloween jar)
The Crazy Challenge - No Ribbons or Buttons (applies to the Halloween jar)

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Flowers make me happy!

Tomorrow is Monday, another week of work and will be saying bye bye to August 2010. I love flowers and seeing them makes me happy. My favorite flowers are calla lilies and tiger lilies, but any flowers will bring a smile to my face. I have to say, I don't see many blue colored flowers, but I am sure there are plenty, I just don't know them.
Yesterday, I attended Jennifer Dove's copic class (the card samples are on her blog) at Paper Vineyard, my local scrapbook store. We colored three out of fourth images and made one card. The class was 4 hours. The last image is a Christmas/winter image which I will eventually get around to it. I made a birthday card out of the colored flower image. The colors are based on Jenn's card sample for the copic class. I need to practice on shadowing with my copic markers. I am extremely happy that I took the copic class because Jenn is a great teacher and I learned a lot. I will be taking Jenn's next copic class in September.
The image is from Stampendous and the sentiment is from PTI. I haven't done much distressing on my cards lately, but do love this technique. I gives a old vintage look to cards. I love this blue polka dots paper, it is georgous, there is a felt feel to the circles and the paper has a shimmery shine to it. I got this assortment of felt feel papers from Costco for probably over 2 years now and haven't use much of these papers.
2 Sisters Challenge: Challenge#5: Sketch
Cute Card Thursday: Challenge#127: Dieing for a Punch (No punches)
Bunny Zoe's Crafts Monthly Challenge: Challenge#3: Vintage
Stamp and Create Monthly Challenge: Challenge#4: Flowers
ABC Challenge: B is for Blue
Card Deeds:
Stamps: Stampendous, PTI sentiment
Ink: Momento, copic markers, Tim Holtz Vintage Photo distress ink
Paper: Gina K dark chocolate luxury paper, Spring Moss PTI, unknow paper from Costco
Accessories: tonic distresser tool, ribbon, button, ribbon

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Weekly Challenges

This is the last weekend for August. September is starting in a few days and hopefully there will be some cooler weather. It has been so hot over in Arizona and I just love the monsoons that brings the rain and bring some relief to this heat. I just came back from taking Jennifer Dover's copic class at Paper Vineyard, my local scrapbook store in AZ. Her class is great, love it. I learn a lot from her today on how to do texturing, bending, shadowing, and feathering. I am going to take her copic class next month. She is teaching how to do monochromatic with the copic markers. She shown some samples of her monochromatic coloring and it is awesome.
I made a card for a friend who just gave birth couple of weeks ago to a baby boy. This is her second son. I used a Whiff of Joy (WoJ) stamp. This stamp is just so darling, innocent, and soft. I have been playing with my copic markers for half a year now and I am still learning. I want to learn how to use the feathering technique and blending for the hair and shadowing. Did I mention that I am loving these markers and slowly buying a few at a time. I think I have about 120 colors. I am not very happy with this card. I am thinking I need some lace on this card, but oh well, maybe for my next card. I purchased some lace ribbons to use from Stamp n' Create last month and haven't got around to using them. I was able to use this card for the challenges listed below.
Paper Sundae: Challenge#32: Sketch
ABC Challenge: B is for Blue
Card deeds:
Stamps: Whiff of Joy, PTI sentiment
Ink: Momento Black, copic markers,
Paper: Gina K ivory
and baby blue, PTI simply charteuse, DCWV boy nursery, and Cosmo Cricket
Accessories: Frisker punch, nestabilities, pearls.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Wags 'n Whiskers Blog Hop & Release

Wags 'n Whiskers is having a Blog Hop on Wednesday, August 18, 2010 and Thursday, August 19, 2010 and Release on Friday, August 20, 2010.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Look who is turning 5

It is the middle of the week, I can't wait until Friday as I am taking a Copic class at my LSS, Paper Vineyard where the talented Jennie Black will be teaching basic copic technique. I have been coloring with copics for awhile now and haven't taken a class, so I am excited to learn new things or just learning how to blend with these markers. I am SUPER excited about this class.

Ok, back to my card, I made this card for my niece, Audrey who is turning 5 this month. She is the one on the left in the picture sitting in my Mom's lap. She wasn't very happy in this picture because she was fighting with her sister over something and her Dad (my brother) gave her a talk. I am the one holding her sister, Charlotte. As you can see I am not very photogenic. I can't believe how much Audrey has grown and she is starting kindergarten this coming September. I truly miss her as I don't get to see her much these days since I move over to Arizona and she lives in California. I have to say that I got a gigantic hug last month when I came back from my Canada trip (my Mom, Dad, and I just drove back from our trip (12 hours from Portland, OR to San Leandro, CA), it sure brighten my day after the long drive, Audrey and Charlotte starting running to give me a big huge while shout "Auntie" (in Chinese). What a welcoming gift. Audrey is so into this ballerina thing, loves to watch Angelina Ballerina on tv.
As always Imy cardmaking process starts with a stamp and a sketch I work to work with. The sketch is from this week's Friday Sketch #113. This stamp is Penny Black, stamped on watercolor paper and embossed with clear embossing powder. I colored the image with Tombow markers using watercoloring technique. The applied couple of layers of pink stickles on the number 5. I made clouds in the background which really doesn't go along with the theme unless the little ballerina are throwing stars up to the sky and not have fallen stars.
This week's challenges:
2. Penny Black Challenge #112: 1 Circle, 2 Papers, 3 Flowers
5. Colour Create Challenge 50: hot pink, warm orange, and saffron
Card deeds:
Stamp: Penny Black
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Summer Rise PTI, Marvy blue ink, Tombow Markers
Paper: Brazzill, Gina K Luxury ivory, watercolor paper, Cosmo Cricket
Embellishment: ribbon, prima flowers, star pin, hero art number 5, pink and yellow stickles, nestabilities label and oval

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Bye Bye July, Hello August

I have no stamping/crafting project to share today as I have been on vacation and when I got back last weekend, life have been hectic with work and house work. It's starting to settle down a bit, but still very choatic. This is the last day of July and tomorrow, we are in the month of August. Yesterday, I had some time to look at challenges, so hopefully I can get some stamping done. I haven't been to my craft area for about 3 weeks now. I need to clean up my area and start making some cards to get my mojo on especially after purchasing so much stamps before I went on vacation.
Have a wonderful weekend and hopefully I can get more stamping done in August.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Christmas in July & Miscellaneous Winnings & Giveaways

I am so ELATED and smiling all day after receiving this package. Today I received my big order from All That Scraps in my mailbox. I ordered over $200 worth of rubber stamps and designer paper. Yikes, I did ask hubby and he said ok and I usually don't make such a big order, but All That Scraps were have 25% off last week, so I couldn't resist. I ordered over 16 Magnolia stamps. I haven't order any Magnolia stamps for awhile now, last time I ordered was the club kit (fall kit) which was directly through Magnolia in Sweden. I also purchased 5 Whiff of Joy and 2 TGF (Ebony and Hugh) which looked like Alice and Jasper from Twilight. I went to see Eclipse with my husband (so sweet of him since he has no interest in the movie or book) and it was great. I can't wait till New Dawn comes out. This is one of my BIGGEST purchase ever for rubber stamps. I purchased over 20 rubber stamps. I have to say that right after I got the package, I started to mount them in EZ-mount for the WoJ and cut the rubber from TGF. Good thing the Magnolia's are all trimmed and mounted otherwise, I will be spending hours cutting.

I want to mention that I made Top 3 at Paper Sundaes for last week's challenge (birthday), you can see the badge on the side bar. I just won $20 gift certificate for Stamp and Create Challenge #2. I just found out that I won the Bella send a card at Stamp Something. Please continue to send cards to Bella. You can get Bella's address at Erin's blog and she is giving a grand prize away on July 20th. Stamp Something, Paper Sundaes and Stamp and Create are having new challenges, come join the fun. I am super lucky and happy this week =). YEAH!!! Super great week for me. I don't know if I will have time to play any of the challenges this week before leaving for vacation. I am taking a stamping class this Sunday to celebrate A Muse A Palooza 2010.

Whiff of Joy is having its day 7, stamp per day giveaways. All you have to do is promote this giveaway and enter your name.

Crystal is have Thrusday Trades (Swaps), this week is Martha Stewart lattice, leaf, and hole punches. Crystal is having a blog candy from her last week's trade. If you like to trade with her or enter your name for the blog candy, just click on my side bar to get to her blog.

Crawfish & Super Jumbo Shrimp

No cards today. I am tons to do this week before I leave for vacation next week. For my 4th of July, I went over to a friend's place and did BBQ. We had crawfish & super jumbo shrimp from Fisherman's Cove Seafood @ Kenner, LA. They do overnight delivery. We ususally get our at the airport cargo the same day, they ship in the morning and we get it by late afternoon or evening. There seafoods are super fresh and good. I have eatten crawfish 4 times this year already.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

CAS/AMUSE APalooza & A Stamp Per Day Giveaway

Quick card. Lots of things going on this week as I tried to get everything done for my vacation next week. I made this CAS (clean and simple) card with A Muse stamp called Marigold. Totally pretty stamp. A MUSE is also having their annual A*MUSE A*Palooza run from July 10th - 17th. I join in the fun activities every year at their website and at my local stamping store that is participating in this event. This is the time where they are releasing their new fall and winter stamps.
Also, Whiff of Joy is have A Stamp Per Day Giveaway for 7 days this week. Check it out.
That's it for now, got to go to work and chance up on things this weekend.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Bella Tucker - Sending Hugs

Have 4th of July. I can't believe I have been blogging all week (I surprise myself sometimes). Jim and I have no plans for today since we have to go back to work tomorrow, but there will be fireworks at our nearby park (1-2 miles from our house) and we can see it clearly from my backyard. We have been watching the fireworks from my backyard for the last 5 years (since we moved into our house).
Per my blog yesterday, I briefly wrote about Bella's story. I am so sadden to read about her story. Erin, a fellower crafter is having a Bella card blog hop with a grand prize. My side bar has Bella's blog hop. Please flood Bella with tons of cards. The links to Bella's story are in my yesterday's post. Here is my card for Bella. I am sending her lots of hugs and keeping her and her family in my prayers. I used The Greeting Farm stamp and made it sparkly by adding stickles. You can't see the sparkles in this photo, but IRL, it is really sparkly. The sketch is from Sketch Saturday and the color inspiration is red, blue, and white (USA flag) to celebrate Independence Day.
I am so happy I won the top 3 award at Stamptacular Sunday Challenge with this card. I am so happy to be back stamping and crafting and is taking this hobby more seriously, but I am still undecided if I should try out for guest designer teams as it is a big commitment and I don't know if I am free to make weekly projects and if my projects are good enough. I will see after this month as I will be going on vacation from July 14 - July 24. I need a little R&R. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Challenges :
Sketch Saturday: Sketch #110
Stamp Something: Colors of your flag
Crazy 4 Challeng: Ribbons
Stampavie & More: Challenge #101 - Sparkling
Card Deeds:
Stamps: The Greeting Farm, PTI outside sentiment, Hero Arts inside sentiment
Inks: Momento Tuxedo Black, Brillance Coral, Copic Markers
Papers: PTI, Big Memory dp
Embellishments: stars, stickles, ribbon, button, floss thread, pearls (color w/copic to match), nestabilities die

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Party Cats

I am thinking of sending this card to my brother for his birthday this month. I just loves cats. On the side bar is a blog hop for Bella, a 8 yr old girl who is very became very sick during Easter and had to lost all four of her limbs. Click on the side bar to get to the blog hop and Stamp Something Challenge is also having a prize if you make a card to send to Bella. This is it for now, I need go to Petco to get cat food and treats for my cats and give litter to the shelter. Have a wonderful weekend.
Stamp with Fun: Challenge 65-Birthday
Paper Sundaes: Challenge 24 - Birthday

Card Deeds:
Stamps: Whipper Snapper, Hero Arts
Ink: Onyx Black, Tombow markers
Paper: GinaK pure luxury white & black, watercolor paper, DCWV dp
Embellishment: Nestabilities tag, twine

Friday, July 2, 2010

Have a Special Day

I am so please with myself that I am making time to be in my crafting room this week. I am starting my weekend early, every Friday is my day off, but that is the day to do doctor appts, run errands, and etc that I am unable to do during Monday - Thursday. There are tons of birthdays (friends and families) coming up. I made this for my nephew who is turning 13 the end of July. Hmm, maybe this this card is too childish for him since he is a teen now and loves video games, computer games, and sports. I have younger nephews, maybe I will give this card to them instead of my 13 yr old nephew.

I was able to play along with a few challenges this week. The sketch is from Sketch Saturday. This stamp is from High Hopes. I have to admit, this is the first card I made with High Hopes. I have always adore their stamps for years ago, but just recently started to purchase them because shipping took forever back then since they decided to just sell to retailers, so I got them from Stamp and Create, they got some really great stamps and embellishments. The paper I used is Basic Grey, Max and Whiskers. I love the masculine colors and I loves animals, so this is a win/win paper for me. I put some crystal lacquer ona few of the water drops. Off course I used my copic markers to color this image. I really need to get more copics for my collection, but I feel like I am neglecting all my other coloring mediums like my coloring pencils and watercoloring.
Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful 4th of the July. Be safe.
Sketch Saturday: Sketch 109
High Hopes: Challenge 82: Super Star
Paper sundaes: Challenge 24: Happy Birthday
Simon Says: Check it out!
A Spoonfull of Sugar: Challenge 110: Animal Crackers
Stamp with Fun: Challenge 65: Birthdays
Card Deeds:
Stamps: High Hopes, Hero Arts star and sentiment
Papers: PTI, DCWV, Basic Grey Max and Whiskers
Inks: Momento Tuxedo Black, Adirondack Espresso, Copic markers
Embellishments: star punch, star buttons, crystal lacquer, floss threads, inkssential white opaque pen

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

It's the middle of the work week. One more day of work for me and I am off for 3 day weekend especially for this 4th of July holiday. I can't wait for the weekend to begin as Eclipse is out in the movie theaters. I can't wait to see it.

I would like to mention that Sparkle Smith, a creative and crafty girl is starting her own stamp line called Spakle Creations Rubber Stamp. She will be selling bare rubber stamps and EZ mounts. She is previewing her stamps this week and her store will be open on July 10th, midnight. She is currently having free giveaways. My order from Stamp and Create came today with the Whiff of Joy new release stamps (City Girls 2), The Greeting Farms, and High Hopes stamps and some wonder pattern papers from October Afternoon and Cosmo Cricket. I love shopping at Stamp and Create, they have a great selections of stamps, papers, and embellishments, shipping is quick, free shipping over $55, and Lacey is such a great gal. Stamp and Create also have weekend blog candy, monthly challenges and the Wags n' Whiskers have weekly challenges.

On to my card, I stamped this card with the new Amuse release "Everything's Rosy" stamps. I love this Queen Anne Lace stamp. I used Tim Holtz's distress inks, spun sugar and worn lipstick. The leaves is from GinaK Design and the little butterfly is from Cornish Heritage Farms by Kim Hughes, Nature Silhouettes. For the background colors, I used chalks for a soft look. This is a simple card, but just love how it looks. The lines are done with the score pal. The inside of the card is pictured on your right hand.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Card Deeds:
stamps: Amuse, GinaK, Cornish Heritage Farm
Ink: Tim Holtz distress inks, Momento Tuxedo Black
Paper: PTI
Accessories: Scor pal

Monday, June 28, 2010

Ballerina Girl

Today is Monday, beginning of the work day and I will be going to work soon. I don't care for Mondays, but loves Thursday since I am off every Friday.
This adorable stamp is from Wags n' Whiskers called Tiny Dancer (they also have digi), you can purchase it at Stamp and Create. I don't like to use digi because I don't have a good printer and I prefer/love to ink up my rubber stamps. This is what got me started into cardmaking, the rubbah. I think if I start using digi, I might not love this hobby as much as I will be on the computer all the time. I can't give up my rubbah even though I use clear stamps also, but love the feel of the rubber.
Anyways, back to the card, I did this card yesterday for a family friend of ours to give to his granddaughter who is taking dance/ballet class and loves everything pink/red. I added pink rhinestones to her hair band and ballet shoes to add dimension to the card. The image with stamped on ivory cs and colored with copic markers. I still needs lots of practice on these markers, but just love how they bend so well. The sketch is from Tuesday Morning Sketch #51 (I missed by one day).
Have a nice work week and thanks for visiting me.
Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch #51
Bunny Zoe's Crafts: Challenge #1: Nice & Girly
A Spoon Full of Sugar: Challenge #19: Good Luck/Best Wish
Card Deeds:
Stamp: WnW tiny dancer
Paper: DCWV dp and green cs, PTI berry sorbet cs, GinaK Designs ivory cs
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, copic markers
Embellishments: Prima flowers, pink rhinestones

Sunday, June 27, 2010

World Cup & Weekly Crafting Challenges

I haven't been playing the weekly challenges lately because I was away at Las Vegas last weekend and had to catch up at work. I can't believe June is almost over. I seems like June just started yesterday, but obviously the weather tells me otherwise as the weather is HOT (extremely hot) nowadays. Next weekend will be fourth of July and Jim and I will be BBQing over at our friend's house. Have a wonderful fourth of July if I don't get to blog next weekend.

I got to play yesterday, so this is what I made, a card for my co-worker who LOVES soccer especially since the World Cup is on for a whole month. I am not really into any sports. My co-worker must be sad that both of his favorite teams lost (US and Mexico) and will not be playing for the championship. I made this card representing the US soccer team, can't you tell by the colors. I made the red strips all sparkly, with this new product called Glitter Ritz, it is from UK. I got this product at my LSS, but you can buy them at Ellen Houston , they glitter doesn't come off once you burnish it with your fingers, it feels like velvet. You can read about this product at Ellen Houston's blog. This stuff is expensive, but the little bottle lasts a long time. I colored this Wags n' Whiskers (WnW) soccer boy image with my copic markers. Added some stars from Hero Arts (stamped and cut out) and a star charm. The floss on the star charm are left over stitching floss from my cross-stitching projects I made awhile back. I need to get back into cross-stitching, that is also a very relaxing, but time consuming hobby.
Papertake Weekly: Sketch #43
Stamptacular Sunday: Challenge 65: Stars & Stripes
Stamp and Create: Challenge 2: Charms
Card Deeds:
Stamps: Wags n' Whiskers, Hero Arts
Paper: Bazzill paper, PTI pure poppy, George Pacific white , unknown dp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Marvy Cherry and Blue, copic markers
Embellishments: Glitter Ritz, star charm

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Wish BIG

Sunday is almost over and the start of another work week. Where did this week went? I had some really YUMMY crawfish and super jumbo shrimp this weekend, shipped over from Louisiana called Fisherman's Cove. The seafood is very fresh and the price for the crawfish was only $2.19/lb. My family usually do this a few times a year. This is the best time to get crawfish for a low price because last time we got crawfish at the end of March, it was around $3/lb.
I made some time this weekend again to play along in some of the challenges these week. I really need to motivate myself to play along in weekly challenges. I need to do my Father's Day card this week. I am such a procrastinator, can't change old habits. Now for the card, my thought process is always to look for a sketch to work with then my colors and images. This week's sketch is from Papertake Weekly sketch #42 . I stamped and colored this image for quiet some time now, just haven't put it together. I have tons of scraps I needed to use up. This stamp is Penny Black. I love those Penny Black critters, they are just darn ADORABLE. The sentiment is from Stamping Bella. I colored this image with my prisma color pencils and OMS (odorless mineral spirits) which can be found at Michaels and your local hardware store. I colored the background with my copic markers in B0000. I distressed the around the edges of the cardstocks/patterned papers with Tim Holtz tea dye distress ink. The used liquid applique (white) on the cupcake. I used my embossing heat gun to heat up the liquid applique rather than waiting for it to dry. The applied crystal glaze to the candle wax and orange and yellow stickles to the flame of the candle. I also added coaco (coffee) bits on the gound. I purchased it at my local scrapbook store when it went on sale. The card smells like coffee now. I haven't used any brads or light blue drew drops (found a huge pack @ Michaels last yr). I love this pink, blue, and brown color combo as it can be a male or female birthday card.
Simon Says Stamp: Recipe - 1 image, 2 patterned paper, 3 types of embellishments
Thanks for visiting my blog, have a wonderful week.
Card Deeds:
Stamps: Penny Black; sentiment: Stamping Bella
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Colorbox Ice Blue Chalk ink, Tim Holtz Tea Dye distress ink, copic marker
Paper: Gina K luxury ivory cs, DCWV espresso cs, DCWV sweet treats dp, Basic Grey sultry dp, unknow light blue cs
Accessories: brad, nestibilities label die, liquid applique, stickles, crystal glaze, drew drops

Sunday, June 6, 2010

CAS (Clean & Simple) - Live for Today

This sentiment (above) is so true, I am learning to appreciate life and live in every moment. So sad the weekend is almost over which means gearing up for the work week. My favorite tv shows: "Desperate Housewive" and "Amazing Race" are gone for the summer, so there's not much on TV to watch right now. I have an active stamping and cardmarking weekend... happy about this especially since some weeks or months, I don't even near my craft area. I was thinking of doing some more craft challenges for this week, but decided to finish up my sheet of stamped Stampendous flower w/PTI (papertrey ink) inspiration colors: aqua mist, raspberry fizz, and summer sunrise. I love looking at other crafter's CAS cards and thought I will do some. I made two other cards w/this Stampendous stamp and this sheet of stamped image, but forgot to photograph them before giving them to my friends. Tonight I was able to take a photo of this one. Just love the simplicity and cleanness of this card. I am starting to get addicted to PTI and starting my ink, stamp, and die collection. I hold off from buying from PTI as long as possible especially their ink pads, but once I started purchasing their products, I am addicted. I need to slowly build my collection since I have so many other companies' products are I addicted too.

Challenge: CAS70 on SCS: Quote, Verses & Saying as the main focus

Card Deeds:
Stamps: Stampendous, PTI sentiment

Ink: PTI aqua mist, various Colorbox chalk/pigment ink (forgot the color names)
Paper: PTI aqua mist and cs purchased from Michael
Accessories: pearls colored w/Copics, glitter that is like velvet (forgot the brand)

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Wags 'n Whiskers & Challenges

Happy Saturday. I thought today is Sunday because I had time to stamp the last few days. Ususally I'm busy on Friday's to do my miscellaneous errands, but I was home all day yesterday. My birthday just past a few days ago, I can't believe a am in my mid-30s and seems like yesterday we moved into our Arizona home & now we have been in this house for 5 years. Time passes by so fast.
I got some stamping done yesterday and finished this card today. I made this for a co-worker's son's (Moses) birthday. He is having a super hero birthday party theme, so I thought this is a perfect stamp to use for his birthday card. I used the cute Wags 'n Whiskers' stamp which you can purchase at Stamp and Create. I colored the image with copic markers (this is my new favorite color medium) then sponged yellow-orange ink around the image. I added the superman triangle "M" (personal touch). Cardstocks and dps are from various brands: Gina K, DCWV, Bazzil. I used ribbon, a star charm, and nestabilities die. I haven't decided what I want to do inside the card. I will wait till my co-worker sees this and see what sentiment he wants for the outside & inside.
I am submitting this card for the following challenges:
Card Deeds:
Stamp: Wags n' Whiskers
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Adirondack inks (Limonade & Butterscotch), copic markers
Paper: Gina K, Bazzil, and DCWV
Accessories: ribbon from Michaels, star charm, nestabilities die

Friday, June 4, 2010

Candy Blog

Karen is offering some wonderful candy blog to celebrate her birthday. Check out her blog.

Stamp and Create Wednesday Candy Blog

This week's candy blog is shimmerz at Stamp and Create . Go check it out for your chance to win.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Northwoods Stamp

Happy Memorial Day. Thank you to all the service men and women. I have been busy the last couple of months and done some stamping now and then, but not much. Relatives been visiting for the last couple of months (a week here and there). Jim has been busy with continuing educational courses and had been travelling for the last two weekends in a row. He is home this weekend, but has couple of more course to take, but likely it is in town.

I made some thank you cards for some friends for helping to take care of our cats when we were out of town couple of weeks ago. I forgot to photograph them as I was in a hurry to finish up the cards, so I can give it to them. I did take a picture of this card. The stamp is Northwoods. There samples are just georgeous. I got this and other Northwoods stamps for my LSS because I saw their samples. I tried to case theirs, but I think I am still missing some of the glitter. I used Martha Stewart crystal fine glitter, but it is not that glittery. Northwoods have lots of beautiful floral, nature, animal stamps. I just love their stamps, but its seems like it is hard to color because of all the details. I used prisma color pencil on this card. Their samples are usually watercolored with Tombow markers. This card can be anything from sympathy to birthday to anything you want. I stamped a generic sentiment (stamp: Hero Arts) on there as I don't know who I want to give this to yet. The inside is blank for now until I know who I am giving this too.

Challenge Submission:
Stamps: Northwoods, Hero Arts
Ink: Versa Fine Onyx black, Momento Tuxedo Black,
Paper: white, magenta, DCVW lime green, PTI chocolate brown for the base
Accessories: Prisma color pencils, prima flowers, stickles on the flowers, Martha Stewart crystal fine glitter, glue pen

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Paper Sundaes Blog Hop with a PRIZE!

Paper Sundaes is having a celebration to feature their sensational sponor calendar - packed full for 201o. They wanted to thank all of their sponors, followers, challenge participants, and visitors with a prize. There are 7 ways to win this prize. Check out Paper Sundaes blog for instructions on how to win this new Hanglar & Stanglar stamp:

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Paper Sundaes Challenge 12

I haven't won any Wags n' Whiskers stamps, so I am entering into the Paper Sundaes' challenge to try to get some free Wags n' Whiskers stamps. I just adore those new released stamps, they are so darn cute. I will continue to play until I win some new released Wags n' Whiskers stamp otherwise I will just have to shell out some money to get them.

This week's challenge for Paper Sundaes is a sketch from Christine. Here is my card. I used Hambo stamps for the image and the sentiment. I had it for awhile now and haven't have time to play with it. This stamp and the saying is just hilarious. I finally inked it up couple of days ago. Stamped on Gina K Pure Luxury 120lbs white cardstock. I love Gina K's PL cs, they are just fabuluous especially this 120lbs, super thick, no leaks through the back and it is very smooth to color with Copics. Did I tell you I am addicted to those Copic markers? I need to buy more colors, but will wait until have a a little more spending more. The designer paper is from DCWV - Boy Nursery and Scenic Route.
I am giving this to my office manager's husband. He helps us with all the repairs at the clinic, so I thought this card is just so fitting. I didn't stamp inside the card because I need to ask my office manager if she wants me to stamp a birthday saying inside. Here is the inside of the card.
Onto more personal news, I took my cat, Lay into the vet for a dental cleaning. This is first teeth cleaning after 13 yrs. We should have done it earlier, but after his brother's experience with the dental cleaning about 5 yrs ago, it scared us, because that vet gave him too much anesthesia and almost killed him. This vet we have been using for 2 yrs now and the veteranarians are great, very knowledgeable especially since Lay is diabetic. Lay also got 2 extractions and off course tons of tartar removed and hopefully his breath will smell better. Lay is recovering really well.
stamps: Hambo stamps
ink: Memento Tuxedo black, Stazon Gray, Copic markers
paper: Gina K PL white, PTI chocolate, DCWV dp and green cs, AMUSE wood dp, demin blue - unknown
accessories: Nestabilities, brads, ribbon, spica pen

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Happy Easter & Challenges

Happy Easter! Just came back from dim sum. I love all this month's new Wags n' Whiskers stamps (sports related). They are so darn cute. I am keeping my fingers cross that I get to win some of these stamps. I made this card for this week's Wags n' Whiskers Challenge 17 - Sketch by Tina and for the Stamp Something - Pink Somethings Challenge. I love pink especially with the pink and brown combo. This stamp is from Wags n' Whiskers. This stamps was what actually attracted me into Wags n' Whiskers and Stamps and Create store. I colored the image using Tombow markers. They are poorly nelegected after I purchase Copics, even some of the markers are out of ink. I stamped the image on watercolor paper, embossed, then watercolor using the Tombow markers and Aqua brush.

I made this card for Chris, Hope for Cats for all her rescue work. Actually, I wanted the sentiment to be "Cat Diva", but there was a dog on there, so I just changed to a sentiment called, "You're the cat's meow" from Inky Antics. The inside sentiment is a Gina K stamp. I focked the stamped paws.
Thanks for stopping by.
Card deeds:
Stamps: Wags n' Whiskers, Inky Antics, Gina K Designs
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Espresso, Tombow makers, H2O
Paper: Watercolor paper, Brazzill pink cs, PTI brown cs, Basic Grey (sultry), Heidi Swapp, Gina K ivory cs, DCWV green cs.
Embellishments: Nestabilities, Martha Sewart, Michael ribbon, prima flowers, aqua brush
Technique: Watercoloring