Saturday, January 12, 2008

Half-drawn Picture of a Dream

Okay, the title has absolutely nothing to do with anything. I was just listening to my iPod on random shuffle and right now "Aftermath" by the Alternate Routes is playing and I heard that line as I was trying to think of a title and I said, hey, that's cool, I'll use that...haha.
So, the past few days have been really nice. I've been off from work and I've been able to chill out a little bit and create some stuff. The really nice part is that I was able to create some things just for me. I made 3 layouts, 1 of which is for the next Scrap Mojo challenge and I can't show you yet, and this Vintage Valentine mini banner from Jenni Bowlin Studio. I had felt like I really hadn't scrapped a lo for myself or made anything for myself and only for myself in a while. Probably due in part to Christmas crafting and being busy and whatnot.
The really neat part was making the Valentine banner. I don't have a picture of mine, but it's almost exactly like the one Jenni had created. I thought it was so cute and had bought the kit and in the midst of waiting for it to arrive, I thought of it and thought of some things I could do to make it a little more me and after I got the package yesterday, I realized that I loved it as it was and that I didn't need to try to stress over what else to do to it because it was already perfect enough. So, I created it almost exactly from the picture. The only difference being I added a button to the middle frame. And that was because I messed up and had to cover it was something and the button fit, lol.
As far as the 2 layouts I made for me go, I was really happy with the way they turned out. I especially love the "Snow Punk" one. I love the picture I used of me and my cousin, Tyler, from when we were little and at first it was a bit of a challenge because the colors are a bit different (I drew inspo from our snowsuits) and I thought of changing the pic to black and white, but I decided I liked the pic being in color and I just had to try to work with it. So, I went through my stash and the Love, Elsie Lola and Riley papers worked perfectly! After that it was smooth sailing. I really love Elsie's products. They're so fun and versatile...although, sometimes I have a hard time using them because I love them so much I don't want to tear into them, haha...I think every scrapper/crafter has a product they feel that way about though, don't they?
The "10 Minutes" layout is one I'm really proud of as well, unfortunately for my boyfriend, because that means I have to share it with the world, lol. The story goes Tim literally fell asleep 10 minutes before midnight on New Year's Eve. I was starting to get really tired around 11PM and he kept saying "Come on! You can't fall asleep on New Year's before the ball drops!", so I tried my best to stay awake and it worked. Then, I went into the other room for a minute and I came back to find this, lol. I shared this pic in a previous post and this is the scrapped version.

Before I go try to create some more, I want to share the new goodies in my Etsy shop. I added some vintage inspired Valentine's tags and these 2 little mini tins that I altered for Valentine's day as well (I've got the fever! haha). The 2 mini tins are stuffed with little love-related items from my stash as an added bonus! Here they are...
Hope everyone has a good weekend!! :)

-Lindsay

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all made it through the holidays as safely and stress-free as possible! Doesn't it seem like so much planning and thought and whatnot goes into Christmas and then it's over so fast. My goal next year is to start my Christmas crafting early, I'm talking October. Yeah, I'll try that. And then hopefully once December hits, I won't feel as rushed to get everything done and stressed that I might not. Maybe I'll actually be able to relax and enjoy the time of year. But of course, it seems like no matter how many times one says that, it never seems to happen. Here's to trying though!
Anyways, here are some pics from the holiday madness...please leave me a comment and let me know how you celebrated this year! :)

This is what the living room looked like after all the unwrapping was done.
Did you see it? Did you see it? My Mom got me a sewing machine! Woo hoo! Now, I just need to learn how to use it...and figure out a place to put it...not sure which will be the more challenging task! I also got some of the Love, Elsie Lola and Riley lines from Hobby Lobby and a Junque Box and vintage embellishment tins from Jenni Bowlin Studio! Of course, I've already managed to play a bit! haha. Thanks, Mom!!!

Tim got me "What About Brian" the Complete Series on DVD, plus this amazingly cool Bowling Bag by Jay McCarroll, the winner of the first "Project Runway" (I believe it was the first...don't really watch the show, so I might be wrong). Look at how cool this thing is!!! Thank you, Timothy!!!

CAUGHT! This is Tim sleeping on the couch after the gifts were all opened, lol.

This is me and my Mini-Me...my cousin, Alyssa. She's a crafter/scrapper in training! I'm so proud!

Me with my cousins at my Grandmother's house after Christmas dinner. I was totally spoiled this year. The scarf I'm wearing is the newest addition to my collection, a Christmas gift from my Mom. She got it at Macy's and it's soooo cool! Goes great with my bowling bag!

CAUGHT AGAIN! This is Tim sleeping on the couch again on New Year's Eve, 10 minutes before midnight. I had to wake him up to get my New Year's kiss! And yep, that's his chain in his mouth. Not sure how he fell asleep like that, but I thought it was cute! haha

Hope the new year is treating you all well and you're not finding yourself buried in snow like I am here in Maine! :)
-Lindsay