Sketch Challenge #160 and Mail Theft--A Hectic Day

Things happen for a reason...that's what I'm telling myself. I decided I wanted to use my new Smarty Pants stamp set and the sentiment really spoke to me as I had to deal with a disappointing experience--more about that later. First, let's talk about the sketch challenge that's posted today. I am really happy with the way this card came together. I started with some patterned paper that I picked up last week during the sale at Hobby Lobby. It's part of the Play collection from American Crafts. I love their papers! Anyway, I tried not using pink as a dominant color since I overuse it so I decided on the Night of Navy and Old Olive combo. Once I got the base with the panels completed, I broke down and decided to add the Rose ribbon and I really like it. You could say my card from yesterday was still on my mind because I used wide ribbon and added a scalloped border again.

Now, for my disappointment...
I've never had something like this happen before--I received a package that I had been eagerly anticipating only to find that it had been tampered with--everything was stolen and all that remained was a wooden block that someone must have left there. I thought it was odd that the box was wrapped in plastic, but I thought the postman must have wrapped it to protect it from the snow. As I began unwrapping it, I realized that the box looked damaged. Of course, once I had it unwrapped, it was obvious the box had been busted wide open. I was so upset and am embarrassed to admit that I started crying! Then, I saw my card and the sentiment, "What if the Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?" and I had to put things into perspective. Really, it was just a bunch of Copic Ciao markers and a new case. Replaceable. Yes, I'll have to save up the money and yes, I'm upset that someone stole my stuff, but in the end--I know that missing markers aren't the end of the world! I filed a complaint with the post office, and they will "investigate" the matter. They were pretty clear that since the items were not insured, I'm pretty much out of luck with having them replaced :-(.