a nutmeg tree...

i know there hasn't been much scrappiness on this formerly scrapbooking blog lately, but i've been working on lots of samples for the new store and we've been trying to keep them a little secret until we re-opened. well, we are getting steadily closer to the big re-open, so i'm ready to share!

i've been loving the new 6x6 mini decks from cosmo cricket and the nutmeg one is probs my fave so far. from just one paper pad and one set of chip shapes, i've made this adorable buzz & bloom tree, a mini album and 3 cards, and there is still enough for me to make even more!

for this project i sprayed the tree from buzz & bloom with the limited edition pinecone glimmer mist from tattered angels, and then used my 1 1/4" circle to punch all the circles out, distressed the edges with the rich cocoa memento dew drop and ran them through the xyron x to make them into stickers so they could easily adhere to all the circles on the tree. then i arranged the chip sticker leaves and acorn from the chip shapes on the base of the tree and powdered the backs to take care of any exposed stickiness. it was super easy, it turned out pretty cute, if i do say so myself, and now i want to make one for every season!

i can't wait for this guy to be hanging out in the store with the brand new nutmeg collection & all the other cute things from buzz & bloom and all the other companies we have fun new stuff from!

friday five #06

kerry, bacon and all kept me so busy in austin that there was no time for last week's friday five, that's why it's a vacation though, yeah? on to this weeks five!

01. where the wild things are - i was so psyched to see this at the alamo draft house theater while i was in austin and, at least for me, it totally delivered. i thought it was completely gorgeous. it made my heart hurt the whole time, and tears stream down my face the whole last 1/3 of the movie, but in an amazing way. for me it was a study in just how hard it is to be a family and the things we are all afraid of. everyone else who i've talked to who has seen it hasn't really been into it, but has at least been able to admit that it's beautiful to watch and that it's pretty amazing what they could do with 7 or 8 lines in a children's book. i can't be alone in loving it though! anyone?

02. the new moon soundtrack - so i've already gushed about the death cab single from this album, but now it's available for complete download! there's a couple of misses for me, but the lykke li song, "possibility" is warm, syrup-y and cozy and the bon iver/st. vincent track, "roslyn" is also really hauntingly pretty. it's a pretty good listen almost all the way through, especially for a cloudy fall day (or forks washington). i have to say though, bella's oh-i'm-falling-apart-and-risking-my-life-because-a-dude-left-me attitude was a little annoying in the book, but the trailer for the movie, with the stammering, rapid blinking, collapsing & screaming is really making me kind of grossed out. is it possible i'll not see it?

03. frank - austin was very much about lots of awesome food. kerry had heard about frank from someone and so her, drew and i headed there for dinner one night while i was visiting and it was amazing! they make their own sausage and hot dogs and offer them in amazing combinations. their classic hot dog stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon and then fried was so yummy that i ordered a second, haha. we were a little curious about their choice of bacon infused makers mark though. if you're in austin you need to check it out.

04. heels! - while i was in austin kerry's friends were having a mad men themed party, so we teased in some bumpits, put on some awesome mad men era clothes and kerry charmed me into some heels, which i never ever wear! i borrowed a pair of her dknyc heels and fell so in love with them that i've already purchased them and they are on their way to me now. i have to say, i might actually follow through on my autumn intention to wear heels!

05 . kerry & bacon - kerry & bacon made my austin trip completely amazing, as always ,and i can't wait to blog it and scrap it! love you guys!

falling leaves & an autumn breeze

so thanks to a little help from cosmo cricket's adorable woodgrain from their new "nutmeg" collection, which i just put out today in the soon-ish to be re-opened store, i bring you my official autumn mix. i'm slightly bummed because i realized that i included some tracks from my mix for the dares, but they still hold. let me know what you think!

in the mean time it's a combination of unpacking at the new store & packing at home for my austin trip and i'm feelin' it!

friday five #05 - the oops! it's sunday edition

01. harvest moon - so far this item on my fall to do list is going well, haha. i tried a few different pumpkin/fall beers this week, but harvest moon is still my favorite so far, and of course i forget the name of the one i had at royal tavern in philly that was a close second, but i'm sure i can remedy that sometime soon.

02. glee - seriously, still not over loving this show. there was a bum episode, but kurt hummel saved it. also, i feel bad for any other drivers on 78 west when i'm heading into work and singing/dancing/tearing up to the glee version of "don't stop believin" on my way in to work.

03. farm stands - i love stopping at local farm stands on my way to visit people. peaches, jersey sweet corn, honeycrisp apples & of course pumpkins make the best gifts! plus, we have to support the local, family run small farms to keep them around, or pretty soon there will be no more family farms in the garden state!

04. nylon guys - if you subscribe to/ready nylon, you should really hop on this train too. it's the same writers as nylon, they always put a dude we all love on the cover (jason schwartzman, adam brody and of course my fave joseph gordon-levitt up there), there's great stuff about travel, tech, music & such and you only have to deal with a few articles about chicks man!

05. re-designing cards - i've been feeling slightly creatively un-productive as of late, so to kick start the process i've been re-do'ing past cards that i love with current paper & stamps. i highly recommend it as a way to get making stuff! and speaking of making stuff, i'm going to get back to my to do list!

friday five #04

01. "meet me on the equinox" by death cab for cutie - so apparently this is a new single from death cab that's going to be on the new moon movie soundtrack. i really dig it's cozy fall feel, and it's def making it onto my newest autumn mix. i find the death cab "fans" who are upset that they are going to be on a twilight movie soundtrack amusing. here's a clue peeps; a. a band doesn't belong to just you. b. new fans are good and c. the people doing the complaining were most likely the "teeny bopper element" at death cab shows that occurred post o.c.! let's all deal with the natural development of band, k? let's be happy for their continued success.

02. all across bangs - i've got 'em. they are now close to the perfect length. i dig 'em.

03. class ideas - one of my favorite parts of teaching is when the class ideas are free-flowing and i can't wait to get my hands on the product to make samples! i'll be working on designing my "maximizing your 6X6 paper pads with eskimo kisses" this weekend and then a bunch of mini albums for the next few months as soon as some things come in, like that fun new "nutmeg" collection paper up there from cosmo cricket. i die.

04. my new pumas - the colors are obnoxious and scrumptious all at the same time. i finally have sneakers with actual support again. double win. now i just have to get rid of the tennis ball yellow shoelaces and we're in business.

05. bored to death on hbo - so other than the fact that super white haired ted danson freaks me out, i am loving this show so far. jason schwartzman plays a blocked up writer who can't get anywhere with his second novel, so he turns to solving crimes as an unlicensed private investigator via craigslist while pining away for his recently moved out ex & getting into trouble with his dude friend played by zach galifianakis, whose name i didn't even attempt to type. and, he does it all with amazing comic timing, obviously.

my autumn to do list.

cutest to do list ever thanks to the always adorable boy girl party!

friday five #03

01. american mortals - so the fact that i take the train into philly every 6 or so weeks just to get my hair done should be pretty indicative of just how much i love it. heidi has been doing my hair for close to three years now, and i totally love her, plus it's just a fun place to be. and it didn't hurt that they brought me candy corn part way through my hair cut. not bad.

02. terrible yellow eyes - the oh joy! blog turned me on to this collection a couple of weeks a go, and a bunch of the pieces have been rotating as my laptop wallpaper ever since. cory godbey has created this project that hosts a huge bunch of different artists' work inspired by where the wild things are. there are drawings, illustrations, graphic patterns, collages and all kinds of other awesome pieces, and they can all be viewed on the terrible yellow eyes blog. here are some of my favorites. i also stopped in to urban yesterday, post-haircut and their whole middle floor looked like the forest in the book! i wanted to curl up in it, or at least take a bunch of pictures.

03. yellow bird project - okay, so i know we all love band shirts, but in my case they usually end up collecting in bins under my bed so i've been cutting myself off. but with an organization like yellow bird project in existence i am officially back in band tee buying business! ybp has some of their favorite musicians, singers & bands design their own tee shirts and then lets them pick the charity that the proceeds will benefit, an amazing idea that has so far brought us this rilo kiley tee to benefit free arts for abused children, this au revoir simone tee to help fund transportation alernatives and this guy from the dears to help the pediatric cancer community among others. and if you're still not sold on the band tee things, feel free to spend some time playing with the indie rock coloring book!

04. turning summer clothes into fall clothes - umm... so i went a little too crazy shopping in philly, but that point aside, one of my absolute most favorite things about fall is turning summer clothes into autumn friendly outfits with tights, boots, maryjanes & grandpa cardis! this process is especially fun, for me anyway, when it involves getting a cute summer dress on clearance and being able to wear it right away, no matter how crisp it's getting outside!

05. "the brothers bloom" - i think i gushed a bunch about this movie when i saw it at the alamo draft house in austin with kerry at the beginning of the summer, so i'll make this brief; rent this movie! i mean seriously, it was written and directed by the same dude who did "brick", so just do it! it comes out this tuesday and you will absolutely adore it! love adrien brody & mark ruffalo together, love how completely expressive bang bang is, love rachel weisz's wardrobe & obviously i totally love joseph gordon-levitt's cameo!

friday five #02

01. "home" by edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros - seriously, you need to listen to this song now. it makes my heart so happy and at times, i even giggle while listening to it. a.) it's catchy as eff b.) who doesn't love singing along in an accent? and c.) well i never have a "c" but you get the point. listen. love. get addicted. especially since this song is ripe for commercial use and i'm sure it will be overplayed and hated on soon enough, so love it while you can!

02. night owl paper goods - i got hooked on this little company back when kristina put their wood hello card in her sis kit, and when they came out with a wood calendar at last years stationary show i def swooned a little bit. well, this years stationary show has come and gone and night owl has graced us with another awesome release! my favorites this time around are their new "hybrid" cards that combine their printing on wood and scrumptious letterpress, like the otter one up there that says "thought i otter say thanks !" i die. also love the "2010 critter calendar" those are all printed on sustainably harvested wood! and their new calling card/place cards are making me wish i threw dinner parties on the regular!

03. empanada mama - ohmygodsoyum!!! kerry and i had lunch at this place monday afternoon before i caught my train back to jersey and it was unbelievable! we got 4 or 5 empanadas each and pretty much went to town. my favorites were the brasil & regaeton. unbelievable. (p.s. those are their catering prices, not per empanada, haha) i definitely want to go back and try like everything they make, and maybe even manage to save room for a dessert empanada next time.

04. gigposters.com - show/concert posters have come a long way from those high school show flyers and are an art form all of their own these days. i have this one hanging over my bed, and it's one of my favorites. this is the perfect place to search posters for shows you've been to, be inspired by amazing art, screenprinting & such and you can even buy some of the posters on the site. you can also find rad new bands to love on by searching the posters of some of your favorite bands to see who they've played with and then give them a try!

05. worlds colliding - one of the drawbacks of having close friends who live far away is that they don't get to meet each other often! but since kerry was in nyc for a wedding when i was in brooklyn to visit k we got to all hang out, and i love that they love each other! we got to party on the roof top, have brunch, talk about boys, walk chloe, go shopping and partake in the worlds largest burritos! plus, obviously we had to make the walk to bushwick country club for photobooth time!

lovelies...

i am constantly dragging stuff into iphoto for future perusal in times of dire lack of inspiration. sometimes i will find an image in there that i had completely forgotten about, but more often than not, these images live in the very corners of my creative mind for a little bit and then sneak up on me in a new, surprising form. these four lovelies are serving as major inspiration for a non-scrappy, but still crafty project that is spinning around my head right now. the colors, tones, textures, imagery and soft light that you just want to sink into will all hopefully come together into something really pretty.

p.s. the only downfall to the click & drag and my complete lack of iphoto understanding is that i don't know where these came from, other than that necklace which you can buy here. so let me know if you recognize where any of these are from and i will credit them.

autumn clothing cravings.

autumn is my absolute most favorite time of year, clothing included. i "need" all of this business from shopbop, red velvet, anthropologie, free people, joanna rutter, nixon, mod retro & others. why can't my funds be infinite?