Did I tell you that...

I'm going to see the Backstreet Boys in less than a month? For the 6th time. For real. I have no shame. I love them so. Since way back in '98. I'm dedicated. I'm loyal. You would totally want me as a fan.

Seriously though. Did you get your Dozens kit this month yet? It's called "Bento Box"...I don't even know what that is, but this kit makes me want one! I'm showing my uncool colors now, but I don't care. I just told you I love the Backstreet Boys...what else do I have to lose? haha

Here's what I made with this baby...I totally have stuff left too. That's what I really love about the Dozens, besides there being some really kick-@ss stuff included, there's always SO much stuff! I can make LOs and projects and still have plenty leftover! Totally dig it.

This month's challenge is up on the blog too. 3 Wishes. More details there...you have until August 16th. I only wish I could enter this as a "contestant"! Why, you ask? Because the prize is so lovely and amazingly beautiful! It's a vintage thrifted tea tin from Pony Party, the fabulous Rachel Denbow's new shop, which I totally hearted right away. I only wish I didn't have to register my car this month, so I could buy, buy, buy!

Speaking of Rachel, she's offering these really cool Online Art Journal Classes, which I would love to sign up for, but once again, car registration is due, so unfortunately, I'm going to have to miss out. You can find more details, if you are interested and don't have to register your car this month, on her blog or Etsy shop.

I did alter the cover of this large fabric journal/sketchbook I picked up on clearance @ Border's months and months ago the other night in preparation for if I ever do get a chance to experiment with art journaling. I've been so fascinated with it for awhile now and have wanted to try it (and ATCs too!), but just haven't found the time. I figured if I had the book, with a pretty decorated cover, I'd be more likely to jump into it sooner. Has anyone out there tried art journaling? Do you journal daily, weekly, monthly? I'd like to know how you make it work for you, so please share your tips and stories with me if you'd like! :)

I also made another little house...this one is extra mini!I used some leftover paper from my last Dozens kit, along with one of the clear acrylic sheets that came with the kit for the base of the house. I really love making these. They allow me to think whimsically and I dig that. I want to keep one, but I'm not sure if I want to keep the first one I made or this mini one. I'll try to make more too. Each one will be one of a kind. Hopefully in the next couple months, I'll be able to offer some in my Etsy shop.

I've been working really hard on making things for my shop and thinking of new ideas for things and such. I've already started making new Button Wreath ornaments...making I'll give you a sneak of those soon. I want to make other sorts of ornaments too. I'm going to start looking into packaging too, trying to take my shop to the next level. I made a bunch of these Thank You tags from scraps and recycled cardboard. I'm going to start including them with every order....here they are all laid out on my scrap table...Off to make some more ornaments. Tomorrow night, the 3rd season of "Eureka" premieres on SciFi. So excited! I'm such a geek, but I adore that show! I just bought Season 2 on DVD last week and have been watching that. Anyone else watch it?

Happy last week of July!
-Lindsay

While waiting to go to work...

I have to work 6-2am tonight and tomorrow night. Fun stuff!

So, in the meantime I figured I'd show you some of my Goodwill finds from Sunday. Seriously, I should go there everyday. I love how you never know what you'll find. Every time I go in there, though, I've been wanting to find a really cute owl something or other. After I found the little brass set at a thrift shop over my birthday weekend, I've been totally wishing to find more.

I go in there the other day, go right on back to the housewares area and low and behold, look at what I found!Isn't it just the perfect little pen and pencil holder!? Oh, I love him! He was $2.99. On Etsy, he probably would have been, like, $17.99, so I consider him a major bargain. He's gotta be vintage too, judging from the amount of dust on the inside. It was like old haunted mansion cobwebby type dust in that thing, for real. But he looks real pretty after being cleaned, if I do say so myself!

That wasn't all I found either....more lace and craft supplies!!!I found a bag of all that loose lace for $2.99, the store roll of lace trim for $2.99 and the other stuff (pink flower accents, mending yarn, dolls eyes) for $1.99. Not sure if I'll ever use the dolls eyes, but you never know. I loved the little pink flowers and have already used some on a LO, although unfortunately I can't show you now. I'm also in the process of making new Thank You tags for my Etsy shop to send out with every order and have used the mending yarn as string at the top. So, yeah, I heart Goodwill. Just be careful if you do go on a weekend, some people can really be ruthless in there!

I've been working on quite a few LOs for different things lately. Most I can't show. I can, however, show you these 2...The Spiderman one was just for fun. Kinda different for me using those colors. The combo of purple, red, yellow, and black is one I probably won't use again, but I do think they fit the LO nicely. And the New Friends LO is one I made awhile ago. Wasn't sure if I was going to use it for something, but I used another one instead, so I'm sharing this one. These 2 were some of my Etsy purchases. Look, an owl! The owl actually came from DomestiKate and the baseball boy from Shop 66.

Speaking of Etsy purchases, I just HAD to buy this print yesterday from Matt Cipov. It doesn't necessarily look like Heath Ledger, but before I saw the title, I knew it was supposed to be him and I just love his rendition. I love the yellow background and I think it would look beautiful in a black frame. If we end up moving, which it looks like we might, you'd better believe I'm going to have fun decorating!

Do you save cardboard? Like, the cardboard that comes in your shipments of scrapbooking papers and other supplies? I've been saving it forever...I have a whole box full of it! I've been thinking lately that I should actually do something with it instead of letting it continuously build up. That's why I started making the Heartfelt Wall Hangings. I hated to throw it out and the city I live in doesn't actually recycle (2 thumbs down to them, right?). The other day I was thinking of different wall hangings to make out of the cardboard and I thought they'd make a super cute little house. So, this is the finished one...
I think I'm going to keep this one and hang it when we move. It will be appropriate. I might make more to put up in my Etsy shop. What do you think?

Oh, the new Mojo challenge is up! Kerry Lynn Yeary is the GDT...I adore her work! I love how she mixes in all the vintage-y goodness! All you have to do is ask someone that you know what they would do with a million dollars and use a pin (could be a stick pin, pinback button, etc.) or a pen (i.e. to journal with). I used 2 pearl-headed stick pins, a small butterfly pin that I covered in German Glass Glitter and of course, a pen. I had Timothy write his own journaling and used that. I covered the chipboard flowers, which was leftover from my last Dozens kit in the new Doodlebug Crushed Velvet Flock. Kinda cool. It was the easiest to get back into it's canister but if you use a paper plate as a funnel, it works okay. This is due July 31st and the prize is a super pack of tags from the Living Room Floor. Good luck!Gotta go get ready now. Wish me luck and easy sleep when I get home at 2:30 in the morning, haha.
-Lindsay

*sigh*

Saw "the Dark Knight" this afternoon. Wow. Just wow. I'm not going to even attempt to review it, as I'm not a reviewer and I think it's something that if you're remotely interested in, you really just need to see for yourself. Heath was amazing. Eerie mannerisms, lots of crazy, strangely sad, even funny. I felt the urge to cry as the movie began, but I held it back. I did cry when I read the dedication and lots after getting home. As I mentioned previously, I didn't know him personally, but it feels strange and wrong that he's not here.

*Capture credit to AshDigitalis on FlickR.

In other news, last week, I hit up my local Goodwill. Imagine my joy when I scored 3 HUGE bags of various old craft supplies, most likely all originating from the same source. There was all sorts of stuff in them, tons of lace, faux flowers, some other random bits like these fabulous angel head picks...
And this super cute bunny pic...And these tiny deer that I've seen online here and there and have always wanted!Plus, check out these cool heart floral picks...Totally scored! Unfortunately, I forgot to take a pic of the bags before I scoured through them. Seriously, there was sooo much stuff though. More lace and stuff than I actually really have room for. And because of that, I'm listing some of it in my Etsy shop to share with others like myself who appreciate that type of stuff, along with some other destash items (I had to go through my the rest of my stash to condense and make room for the new stuff!). I listed for like the whole entire evening and night yesterday, a couple things this morning and I've still got more to list.

I was actually debating listing it all, as I'm not wanting to run a supply shop at all, but I think some of this stuff is so cool and as I said, I know some like-minded crafter (who hopefully has more room than I do) will be able to put it to good use. Anyways, here's some of what I've got listed...
I also plan on listing some new Heartfelt Wall Hangings in the coming days. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe the next day. Here's a sneaky peek!Thanks to all who congratulated me on the pub. It's much appreciated, really.

Must be getting ready to head to bed soon. Work early. Always fun!

Happy weekend everyone!
-Lindsay

Published.

Yep, that's the exciting news I hinted about in the last post...I've been published! :)

I had sent this LO in for last year's Memory Makers Masters contest (it was my first time entering the Masters) and obviously, I didn't win. However, I received an email a few months ago asking to publish it in their July 2008 Memory Makers Idea Gallery issue. Eee! Yippee! This is my first time being published! So excited, if you couldn't tell. Went all over the place this morning looking for it too, with no luck. Finally ended up at the nearest Border's. They had a stack, thankfully! I purchased 5 of them, 1 for me, 1 for my Mother, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother and 1 extra copy just in case. I also received a free sample of Seattle's Best Coffee, which doesn't really have to do with anything, I just thought you'd like to know. :) It was such an awesome feeling flipping through the pages in Border's trying to find my LO. Page 105. Best of the Rest. I'm in really good company too. Some familiar names...Michelle Clement, Lisa Garay, Celine Navarro, Kelly Goree. So cool.

The new Inspired by Amelie challenge went up yesterday. Kirsty (aka messyhappyfunkirsty on SIStv) is our fabulous guest DT and the challenge is to tear your photo, like the discarded photobooth photos in the movie and use the color red. So simple and fun, right? Here's my take...I had this scrap piece of cardboard that I decided to turn into a wall hanging, wrapped it in vintage lace, watercolored on an old piece of ledger paper, then stamped on top. Tore my photo right in half and finished with more vintage lace in the corners, clustered sequins around the photo/journaling, gold trim and ribbon. So easy. So quick. So fun. Due on the 21st of July and you'll wanna play because the prize is from Story of My Life. So, check it out!

Off to work soon. Closing and then in at 8 in the morning. Ugh. It's going to be a rough one.
Till next time...
-Lindsay

Mojo by the Dozen.

Soooo...the new ScrapMojo challenge went up today...have you checked it out yet? If not, definitely do so! And soon! The amazingly incredibly cool and talented Elsie Flannigan is the guest DT, for real! And Danielle @ QTea Kits put together this awesome Elsie-inspired prize package just for the Mojo challenge! Deadline is July 15th.

And oh yeah...the challenge, well, all you have to do is use a lyric from the Ditty Bops and doodle. More details on the Mojo blog. Here's my LO for this challenge, which was a very important one for me...I had first heard about this challenge shortly after Heath Ledger passed away. It truly affected me. I cried off and on for over a week. I felt so saddened and shocked. I felt like someone that I knew had passed away. I fell in love with Heath the actor when I first saw him in "10 Things I Hate About You"...fell in love with him all over again in "The Patriot" and "A Knight's Tale" and "The Brother's Grimm", you name it. A few short weeks before he died, I saw the preview for "The Dark Knight". I hadn't seen "Batman Begins" at the time, but was so taken by the little bit of his performance as the Joker I saw in the trailer, that I went out and rented "Batman Begins", so I'd be ready. Around the house here, we kept talking about how good it looked and Tim and I kept quoting the line "Why so serious?". That got me remembering how much I love "10 Things I Hate About You" and how even though I had it on VHS, I need to update to a DVD. I started singing "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" frequently and even added a video of him singing it from the movie to my MySpace page. It was all Heath up in here all over again. And then January 22nd came. And Tim got a text message from our friend, Tasha, saying that he had died. I didn't believe it. It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. She had to be mistaken. I raced online, to TMZ actually, where I would surely read nothing of the sort, but no. It was all over the place..."Heath Ledger, dead at 28". It was on the news, on MSN....it surrounded me. And I felt at that moment, that it wasn't right, the world had changed and that it wasn't meant to be this way. It was a mistake. And I still feel that way to this day when I think about it. I know it's true, but I don't believe it. I never met him and surely didn't know him personally, but his passing still affected me.

That's why I knew when this challenge came up and I read the lyrics "If the sky can open its eyes/And cry from up above/Let's shed some tears of joy/And fall in love", I just had to incorporate a sort of tribute to Heath. For him, for me, for all those affected by his passing. The day after he died, I went and picked up the last copy of "10 Things I Hate About You" on DVD. I haven't opened it yet. Made sure to buy all his other movies on DVD as well. Haven't watched any of them. I haven't been able to. Maybe it feels like if I watch all those, it will feel final...or it will just be too hard. I don't know. I took July 18th off, so I could make sure I see "The Dark Knight" that day. I don't know how that will be. Ironically, I have been able to watch "A Knight's Tale" whenever they play it on TNT. And while it makes me sad when if I really think about it, it brings me such joy watching that, especially the dancing scene to David Bowie's "Golden Years". One of these days I'll watch the rest again. And I'm sure they'll bring me joy too.

In other news, Dana updated the Dozens probably want to get one before it's gone! I created 5 layouts, plus some super cute Parisian wall objects, which I'll discuss a bit more in a bit, and I still could have created more! I would have already if I hadn't been so busy lately. Plus, I'm in the middle of re-organizing and evaluating my stash to see what I want to keep and what I can live without because I'm really running out of DT gallery with all of the loveliness that was created with Doll Baby, the June/July kit. Check it out! I think there's still some kits left, so you'll room, so hence, I've got stuff all over my table, which doesn't provide for easy scrapping. But, I'm sure I will once I get everything cleaned up with time to spare.Now, these Parisian Wall Objects (that's what I'm calling them) were SO fun to make! I punched a hole in the vintage slide, originally intending to make a keychain out of it, but then when I thought about it, I realized that my keys get thrown around so much, that I better turn it into something else that won't get destroyed. So, I attached some ribbon from the kit and I had a nifty little wall hanging. I cut up a picture of Paris from the back of my last year's mini calendar (my room is partially Paris-themed and I'm so inspired by Paris and France) and took it from there. The little wings are not from the kit and came from MemrieMare on Etsy. I liked the outcome so much! I remembered I had this little frame I got at the flea market in a bundle of stuff for $1.00 and figured the transparency sheets that were in the kit would totally work as an alternative for glass. I decided to make another wall object to match the slide. Luckily, I had my friend, Katie, over who specializes in jewelry because I could not figure out for the life of me how I was going to poke holes in that metal to attach anything to hang it. She had me hold the frame in place while she took my paper piercer and my mini Making Memories hammer and hammered the paper piercer right into it. Worked perfectly!I really want to make more of these little things...I think a whole cluster of them would look really cool together! I'll be on the lookout for different things like this to alter.

Here are some other random recent layouts...This one made the SIStv catwalk! Yippee!!!Has anyone checked out the latest issue of Vogue Living (Australia)??? Oh my God, I saw it at Border's today and hello, the beauty and inspo that's inside and outside! The cover alone takes my breath away! It was $10.95, so extremely pricey, but I HAD to pick it up (along with the latest ReadyMade). Check out the cover*...*I found the pic of this at Decor8, as I was too lazy and it was too dark to take a picture. And I guess it came out in May, but oh well, new to me!

I also stopped at AC Moore today, with only like 5 things on my list, that included basics like embroidery thread, but walked out $125.00 later with much more than embroidery thread. They actually carry some pretty cool products now. I was surprised to see how much they updated their scrapbooking sections. They had some of the new Making Memories, new AC thickers, even some Hambly overlays!!!! I couldn't resist!

That's all for today. I think I've got some exciting news to be shared on Tuesday, but it's one of those I'll believe it when I see it. Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th!!!
-Lindsay