friday five #40

i've actually kind of missed doing these, i was over them for a while, but now i'm back! at least until i don't feel like doing them again.

01. cans! - hey! did you know that blue moon comes in cans now? "brewmasters cans" according to the case. i know deep down that this is a step down in the beer world, but something about it seems fancy to me. it's just so much easier!

02. tiny books - boygirlparty is selling this adorable set of 3 tiny books as well as some pretty adorable designer sudoku collections over in her shop. i have always loved hee adorable little illustrations, mini paintings & stationary and i even own a couple of her necklaces! these would be perfect to take notes at cha in, but alas, i am trying to be thrifty!

03. craft critique - i'm super stoked to be reporting for craft critique! and, at one of the 2 most exciting times of the year for crafters, the winter CHA tradeshow in l.a. this time next week! you can check out my first article/review over on the website and look for tons from all of us during CHA!

04. nerd alert - you know how blog hopping can be, you click on one thing and an hour and 20 blogs later, you have a new favorite! that's kind of how i happened upon kinsey wilson's blog, and now i really want to take her "nerd alert" week long blog class for crafty organizational nerds. it's only $15, but like i said trying to be thrifty. i think i may just do it anyway, we'll see!

05. spring clothing fantasies - my fall and winter wardorobe has been pretty blah this year. basics are awesome, but not when you're just not feeling them. this upcoming l.a. trip has me thinking warmer weather clothes (although thus far the forecast is rainy and 60 while i'm there, but that's better than snowy and 5!). so i've been doing that horrible thing i do to myself where i go around bookmarking adorable spring-y thingies that i will not be able to buy, but will drool over about once a week, like this adorable open back ruffly top from jem that was featured on papercakes today. i love it!

and i'm done with week two...

i'm pretty sure i'm just destined to be about 2 weeks behind on this thing, but i'm okay with it, because at least i'm getting my notes and journaling down on paper each day, and that's what i wanted this album to be about. i'm also kind of loving the process of getting a whole bunch of miniature (well, 8x8) layouts done every few days.

cover re-do: my album was already getting a little too thick for binder rings even after having only done 15 layouts so far, so i made the switch over to an american crafts 8x8 modern album. with this album i also don't have to worry about punching holes in my pages. yay for that!

december 8th: the sights of christmas

for this one i had some fun with paper piecing, stamps & embellishments that i don't always reach for.

december 9th: ornaments

i used this prompt to document the first time we're combining christmas ornaments, i never knew there were so many fire truck and hockey ornaments in existence.

december 10th: wrapping paper

i was inspired by those awesome "what's in your bag" blog entires and diptychs for this one.

december 11th: rfd holiday party

apparently it is impossible to get a good picture at the roseland fire department holiday party, not last year and def not this year, so i documented that with this layout.

december 12th: the christmas tree(s)

i liked the idea of scrapping about our big tree, and including our little charlie brown tree so i landed on big tree & little tree, but then when it came down to putting it down in thickers i liked how it kind of sounded like a kids story or comic book, so i decided to go with "the adventures of big tree & little tree"

december 13th: christmas music

@heyjenrenee sent me a couple of mixes a while ago that she added the track listings to by printing screen captures of the playlists in itunes and i loved the idea. for this one i just printed a couple of my winter/christmas playlists from last year to do the layout about.

december 14th: opening gifts

this one was a struggle, but i like how it turned out. the journaling is about how some sort of gift giving shift has happened and i find myself enjoying the giving of gifts way more than the receiving.

a little preview of things to come perhaps...?

just rocked a pretty big update to my etsy shop; 7 rockpaperscissors paper crafting kits inspired by songs & 3 new sets of cards. another update will be coming soon with more cards & cupcake toppers, just as soon as i play a little december daily/journal your christmas catch up!

Etsy leftandleaving

hey! i'm doing this thing!

i decided, with some sweet encouragement from sara berry & heidi, to finally jump on the december daily/journal your christmas bandwagon! my original thought was to use two pages from an 8x8 maya road chipboard binder book as my front and back cover, but with just 9 pages done so far i can already tell that it's going to get a little too thick, so i've ordered an 8x8 american crafts modern album. i'm hoping that i'll be able to carefully peel, trim down and transfer this cover onto the new album when it arrives.

day one: manifesto.

my reasons for needing/wanting to finally dive into this album this year.

day two: snow

i took a super cheese ball approach to this one. i made little evidence markers to photograph my mug & hot chocolate with and wrote a formal apology letter for causing our first early snow. thank goodness for that label tulip coffee (turned hot chocolate) ring stamp from forever a go!

day three: roseland's tree lighting

i forwent the prompt on this one and scrapped what we'd done this day. it was special for me because the boy and i went to the event together, instead of my usual meeting him there because he's on duty for the fire department. it was pretty chilly, but fun to see all the kids freak out when santa came!

day four: advent

(i flipped the prompts for days four & five)

i do love my "olive the other reindeer" pop-up advent calendar, but i decided to adapt this day's prompt to get a little crafty therapy down on paper. getting excited about the christmas countdown has been hard this year with the store closing exactly one week before christmas, but this page gave me a chance to get some of those feelings out of my system on paper and think about all the good things that have come from my time at scraptasia.

day five: the perfect christmas

i decided to make this one a real quickie by fine tuning it down to dream holiday decor with some images i had seen fly past in my google reader over the past couple of weeks.

day six: to do list

(i shuffled days six, seven, eight & nine around also)

it was my original intention to list the gifts i still needed to buy up there in that shopping panel at the top left, but the boy is a peeker, so i stuck to generalities. each panel is it's own little section of to do's (shopping, activities & decor) i feel a little on top of this holiday, but there are still a bunch of things to do, even now, on day 15!

day seven: traditions

this is really my first year combining christmases with the boy (last year we had only been dating for a couple of months) and since it's also our first christmas living together it's been really interesting combining our traditions. for this layout i focused on three of my family's traditions that i want to make sure are included in our new, combined version of christmas.

so, that's my first week of december dai;y/journal your christmas, i'm hoping to be totally caught up over the next couple of days, and then i'll be able to post days eight thru fourteen and then make it a weekly thing! i really am enjoying it so far, promise!

happy thanksgiving!

it's been pretty stressful time lately, so i'd like to take a little time to list who & what i am so thankful for...

• a wonderful guy who gets me, makes me giggle and makes me feel like my love is 100% safe with him.
• real friends who i can pick up with at any given time and get the real deal from.
• an awesome family & lovely kitty loves, and a great new extended family via the boy.
• a new home, with the boy that i love, that's getting cozier and cozier each day.
• some new creative energy that has me enjoying crafting, at a time when i definitely need it.

happy thanksgiving everyone!

hockey scraps...

... obviously not this kind. i made a little deal with myself that i couldn't go to any games in the 2010-2011 season until i finished my layouts from last season, and i mostly stuck to my guns (i snuck a pre-season game in there when i was only done with 2 of the 4, but i feel like that's only bending my rule a tiny bit). anyway, i was having a little bit of a hard time with these since there were a couple of challenges; 01. using mostly devils colors could get a little restricting. 02. i scrap a lot of single photo layouts, and i usually have a bunch of photos from games that i love. 03. how can i make multiple hockey layouts all look different?

well, i leaned pretty heavily on sketches and lifts for these 4, but they definitely got my confidence up, and i'm excited to scrap this seasons' games as they happen.

this is a jack of a cute "my neighborhood" layout that was sent out in a newsletter and i re-worked it to create the verizon tower, where we always walk in, at the rock (which is the nickname for the prudential center where the devils play). it was fun to make a little banner from a bunch of scrappies and draw in some little stitched line for an added touch.

can you believe i actually made a 2 page layout? it's been years since i've done one of these, which is why i straight jacked a sketch on this guy, haha. there were just so many pictures from this game that i wanted on there that it was just totally necessary. i did my journaling by numbering everything and then doing a little itemized list in the center there.

this is a kind of combination of 3 or 4 things i like from various layouts that were rattling around in my head. not a lift per say, but a collection of faint memories of things i've liked about other layouts lately, haha. this was the devils v blackhawks game we went to that was awesome to watch, especially since the boy has passed down an appreciation of the blackhawks to me. so yeah, the devils lost, but we lost to the hawks and it was amazing to watch toews, kane & byfuglien at work.

this guy came from a sketch on the crate paper blog and i definitely needed the help on this one, it was one of the last ones i did and i was gasping for air, haha. glad i caved a little on the black & red thing and pulled in some sabres blue, haha.

the best part of scrapping all these was actually the journaling, which is something i never thought i'd say. it was awesome to sit down, read over the articles about the game, remembering my favorite moments and thinking about all the great hockey moments i've witnessed already. go devils!

friday five #39

01. things that need to be in my closet - y'know... i've been trying really hard to avoid shopping (believe it or not). i haven't been to a mall in forever, i'm trying not to browse my favorite online stores, i'm not opening my sale mail... but cute stuff just keeps showing up in my e-mail inbox! i am dying for these fold down chuck taylor boots... like completely dying!

02. nycc - new york comic con is this weekend... and i won't be there : ( i was totally stoked on it, looking around for possible costumes and then work schedule happened, and it turning out to be a generally crazy weekend and it kinda got pushed to the wayside. : ( there is the slimmest chance of sunday if the one day passes don't sell out... but probably not. so sad.

03. hockey season is open! - (yes,i do actually plan on wearing the above hat this winter) i'm rushing home post-work to throw on my jersey, grab the boy and be picked up by jen and erik to head to the 2010-11 season opener! can't wait to see the new lines, the new coaches style and some non-pre-season hockey! eek! finally!

04. ugh & etsy - i taught my first christmas class last night. on october 8th. i loved the class and love christmas and all... but ugh... already? also, i loved a couple of my cards so much, and have some ideas for others that i like enough to think about re-opening my etsy store, or possibly start a whole new one. definitely general card sets and christmas cards, but if i can get my ish together i'm hoping to even put up some halloween card sets for those really special people. stay tuned...

05. can't help it - i know, i'm just torturing myself now, but loving this antiques cluster f looking rhinestone necklace. the reviews say the stones fall out pretty easily but that it's worth glueing them back in. i'll stalk it's appearance in the sale section i think and stay armed with my glossy accents for any fallen sparklies.

friday five #38

01. fall dream bag - i abstained from the purchase of a new fall bag last year, and this year i certainly shouldn't be spending the cash this fall either, but i'm having a really hard time resisting this vintage reissue bag from fossil. i know i can justify just about any unnecessary purchase if i really work at it, but i really feel like this is such a classic, basic bag, that it's a necessary purchase, no? i'm anxious to see it in person though, because you know how browns that look great online are not always as great in person.

02. fall fashion hopes - i think my clothing mantra this fall will be WWJLD "what would jenny lewis do?" she is gutsy and i love it. can i pull off tweed shorts & tights? WWJLD dare i rock that hat or pouch belt? WWJLD am i a girl who can rock a heeled vintage bootie? WWJLD i want to be just a little bit daring!

03. falsies - okay, so i occasionally fall prey to those articles in magazines about the new miracle mascara so i was hesitant to believe the hype from nylon magazine about maybelline's falsies mascara but when my old mascara ran out i figured i'd give it a whirl. it could come out pretty heavy if you don't clear the brush enough, but i love what it does to my lashes, and at $7.77 it's worth a try i think.

04. necessary accessories - currently i am rocking a really grandma looking vera bradley makeup bag, which is actually an improvement on the crazy tacky silver metallic one i was previously saddled with. currently, i'm kinda digging this framed, flat-bottomed make-up bag from fossil. it would be nice to not have to dump my makeup out every time i need to find one thing or cringe anytime i have to bring it out in public, haha.

05. old school sanrio - loving the resurgence of the sanrio characters from my childhood. it's nice to see keroppi, my melody and tuxedo sam out in the world! i love hello kitty and all, but was missing those 2! you can make a my melody & keroppi at build-a-bear and there are tuxedo sam and my melody flash drives at mimoco (they both have hello kitty as well, of course!)

friday five #37

01. new fave ink combo - "crushed olive" distress ink, "pumice stone" distress ink & "ocean depth" versamagic. i usually forget to pull out the distress inks, but i remembered for once, and this card happened. i die.

02. terrariums - yeah, obviously i'm a little late to the game on this one. i love the idea of green things around the house, but i don't have the greenest of thumbs and kitties have a tendency to eat plants and flowers, plus the possibility of starting out has seemed a little overwhelming. but, through one place or another i ended up on this website, and it seems like something i could start playing with on a quasi-reasonable budget. hmm...

03. blue india - i bought this shade of nail lacquer from the "liberty of london for mac" collection a little while a go, but was totally hooked on my barry m "mint green" up until a couple of weeks a go. "blue india" is going to be my go to fall color, i can just tell. it's the perfect grey blue and i only really see it ever leaving my nails if replaced by mac's "in the buff", "earthly harmony" or "jade dragon".

04. dream recipe box - in a dream world where i have unlimited monetary resources and split my time between traveling and nesting, this is obviously the recipe box i would be filling. it's custom, made from salvaged hardwood and completely beautiful. sigh.

05. gym revival - i'm taking the plunge back into having a healthy workout schedule. i'm definitely going to also try to eat just a tiny bit better, but will not diet. this is more of a gym revival to maintain my ability to eat out and try new beers on the weekends. whatever works, right?

friday five #36

01. skins volume 1 - tumblr has been all atwitter (or should that be "atumblr"?) about skins for like ever so when we finally got our netflix on demand on wii all hooked up in the new place i thought i'd give it a try. here are my thoughts so far, volume 1 was pretty entertaining, but i could have gone without the jumping-the-shark type ending to the final episode, and i have to say that so far i'm 2 episodes into volume 2 and i'm just not that into it. am i missing something? is it going to get back to better?

02. anthro sale - ohmygosh the newest batch of anthro sale items are insane! all those necklaces (chunky, ribboned or bibbed) that we've all be lusting after, 29.95. earrings i've had on my wishlist for a little while now,9.95. plus a couple of tops, a skirt, a cardigan and bunch of other cuteness are all headed my way. here's to hoping that a bunch of it isn't quite right so my bank account can get a little return relief. : / oops.

03. last years mixes - i've been feeling a little uninspired when it comes to new mixes lately so i've been mostly revisiting ones from the past year or so, and i have to say, my "falling leaves & an autumn breeze" mix from last year was seriously killin' it on my way into work this morning.

04. little squares - i am currently crazily lusting after the brand new nano from apple. love the touch screen and graphics, love the colors, love that it has a clip and want to drool all over it's perfect little square shape. in a dream world someone buys it for me with something cute engraved on the back and i use it at the gym every morning, haha. yeah right.

05. emmy opener - just watch it.