:::12 on the 12th -- It's a Celebration:::

1. I've been on a washcloth bender for a couple of weeks now.
2. One of the local PBS station plays two episodes of Eastenders every Saturday morning. I. love. it. The episodes are like 5 years behind, so I enjoy googling the cliffhangers.
3. Blue skies.
4. Home pedicure.
5. Lovely coworker Erica painting the prettiest vase at All Fired Up.
6. Shorty chose to do this fused glass thing-y.
7. Oh, I struggled mightily making a design decision.
8. My friend's little sister was in town and she made these coconut orange cupcake delightfullnesses of wondrous glory.
9. Shorty gave me this framed vintage Utah postcard. I love it so much. Seriously, this is one of those gifts that is just so perfect that I never would have known to ask for.
10. Group photo. Many thanks to Shorty and Carissa who have made sure that I've had awesome birthday celebrations for the past three years. I can't believe how nice they are to me.
11. I took this botched self-portrait during my cab ride home. I have no idea what happened, but I like the streaky lights running through me eyes.
12. Birthday card and gift from Jill. She takes the best photos.

:::The Source -- Is That What the Cool Kids Call It?:::

Last night the Shortness and I met up at Paper Source in Georgetown for a holiday card making workshop.

There were three stations that we rotated to throughout the night. Every table had a little place setting for each participant with a neat bundle of supplies and the correct tools to make two cards. We also received this *free* (the workshop was $25) garnet linen portfolio to store our cards in.


In total, we each made 6 cards that mainly used stamping and embossing techniques. Here's Shorty working on one of my favorite cards.


Nothing but stamping, embossing, and some scribbles with a white pen. Sometimes I forget that stamping goes beyond simple stamped images. There really is a lot that you can do with stamps, too bad they are so blame expensive!

This is one of the envelopes that I decorated at the second station.


I had our instructor write the message (Versamark marker with clear embossing powder) because I liked her handwriting so much.


During the breaks we enjoyed a small selection of cheeses, chocolate biscotti, and these delicious meringues that I just couldn't eat because the texture reminded me too much of astronaut ice cream and a very, very bad sensory experience I once had at Sea World.

That was random.

Anyhow, we were also given a coupon for 10% off an entire purchase, and at the end of the workshop they closed the store for us so that we could shop.


We finally left a little after 9:30 pm, and Shorty -- because she's a crazy New Yorker and unconcerned for her personal safety -- walked back to her office in Foggy Bottom to finish some work. I, of course, do I even need to tell you? Took a cab home.

It really was a lot of fun to do some organized crafting, and it was especially fun being there with Shorty. As we were shopping after the workshop wrapped up, one of the workers came over and told us that she loved our dynamic. Shorty had just pulled a piece of paper from the wracks and asked me if I thought she needed it. My immediate response was, 'No, you don't need it, put it back. Now.' I boss because I care.

If you have a Paper Source near you, sign up for one of their workshops. It's fun, they give you all the supplies and instructions, and you get to be creative without having to come up with a project from scratch.

I wish I could do crafts with friends in well-light, trendy spaces more often.

:::Day 26 -- Scrapbook Factory Deluxe:::

{Spell with Flickr is taking way too long to load}

Yesterday I snagged a copy of Scrapbook Factory Deluxe 4.0 at Staples for only $10 with a rebate. I've wanted this program for a long, long time because my blogging friend Jill used to use it to make all kinds of cute things.

So far I've had a great time testing the different features the program offers. It's very easy to use and almost foolproof. Even though most of the templates and graphics are completely heinous, there are a few that I thought were actually quite cute, and it'll always be helpful for making my own projects from scratch.

After fiddling with the program this evening, I made this Summer School page to document all of the things that I've learned, as well as all of the progress that I've made towards my goals this summer. Below is a link to a PDF version that you can print out and use to create your own Summer School list. I love that I can create PDFs with this software to share what I make with others. I love freebies!

Summer School

Fonts:
Kingsthings Typewriter
Butterflies


I think I'm going to cut off the white edges and mount the page onto kraft colored cardstock (I printed the page itself onto regular 110 lb. cardstock that I got from Staples. Nothing fancy there). For my text I think I'll type up a list or a few shorts sentences, then cut each sentence out and paste it onto the page. I'll post some pictures of the finished product when I'm done.

I can tell that this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Scrapbook Factory Deluxe, I've got big plans for you and I.

:::Day 20 -- {Random Adjective} + {Random Noun} Photography:::

Remember when we all had cheap cameras and we hated that our images looked like this?


But now we all have expensive cameras and we go to great lengths to try and make our photos look like we're still shooting with cheap cameras.

Tonight I tried my hand at photo editing in GIMP, a completely free photo editing software (comparable to Photoshop). I'm pleased with the way it turned out, except for that black dot on Sophia's head. Ignore that, my mouse got away from me for a second there.

It's funny to me that this does look exactly like so many photos from my childhood. I like the way the photo looks overexposed, the way the colors are muted and soft, and that you can see the light in Buddy's hair. Sometimes it's nice when photos don't exactly imitate what you see with your eyes. It makes it more magical, I think.

Anyways, by next week I'll probably be ready to start my own photography business. For a small fee your family and I will trespass onto someone's private property where I'll take your photos on rusted out pickups in overgrown fields. And then I'll stick your baby in a basket or something and photograph that. We'll just play it by ear until the cops come.

:::Day 17 -- Tomorrow, Logic Games:::

Today marked the first time in my entire life that I successfully followed origami instructions. Check me and my spatial reasoning skills out.


And hey, if I can fold a pair of boots out of two dollar bills, maybe I can relearn enough math to take the GRE.

:::Day 5 -- Share and Share Alike:::

I think PDFs would have to go on my top 10 list of favorite things ever. What a cracker jack idea that was.

I spent most of my evening tonight saving and printing a host of free label templates from different design blogs. Not only were they adorable, but they were fuh-ree! Now this is an addiction I can almost indulge in guilt free.


I love the blogging era. Talented people are so kind and generous with their skills, from designing fonts, to posting how-to's, to giving tips and sharing pictures. There are so many things on the internet that people are sharing.

Sometimes I feel completely overwhelmed by all of the projects that I want to make, the fonts I need to download, the templates I can't wait to print out, etc., but I just love looking at pretty things. I have a large folder on my computer of images that I've saved from different blogs and websites over time. It's so full of lovely pictures that it's like a treasure chest to me, and it's completely free! This collection not only satiates my urge to buy things, but it has also helped me define my style preferences.

Everybody wins with the internet. Well, unless you're still waiting to hear back from the deposed King of Nigeria.

:::Day 1 -- Flower Print Cards:::

I recently purchased a truckload of those cheapo 59 cent paints at Michaels, along with some extra foam brushes. You can always use extra foam brushes. Always.


I've been painting up a storm ever since. Mostly things that will never see the light of day. Random blobs on paper, childlike flowers, swirls, whirls, just anything really. The great thing about those cheapo 59 cent paints is that they're cheapo 59 cent paints. I can squirt out paint with the zeal of a 5 year old at finger paints and feel not one iota of guilt for my heavy handed ways. Painting, even with cheapo 59 cent paints and foam brushes, makes me feel creative, free, and about one hundred times more talented than I actually am.

Here's some evidence from my latest project.

Blank cards...


Flowers as brushes...

and stamps...

and abstract art...

Start with a little...


Then go for a lot...

My little production area...

Almost too pretty to clean up...

So fun, so easy, so colorful, and so cheap, cheap, cheap. I think I need some nice hot pink envelopes to go along with these cards.

So why don't you go dig some coins out of your sofa and get some cheapo paints. Go to town. Have a ball.

:::Martha Stewart Necklaces:::

I got my October issue of Martha Stewart Living today and saw this simple idea for making a very cool necklace. All it entails is buying cheap wood beads, dyeing them, them stringing them on a trip of leather.

{Ignore the baaad night photos}

I love chunky, long necklaces, I love the layering, and I love the colors they chose. Why don't I ever think of things like this?



I also fell in love with this bib necklace. I like big designs, and due to the way the necklace is crafted it would sit flat and wouldn't get pulled into the middle of my chest.


Yes, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel for material, though I may be able to pull something more original out of my hat tomorrow.