almost 2007...

i hope everybody had a great christmas- mine was nice. joe had a few days off for the holidays- we had so much planned (well, i had so much planned, not sure if he knew about it or not!) but he was sick pretty much the whole time. we did make it to the thrift store, though- i've never seen anybody less enthused to be in a resale shop. ANYWAY- i bought 3 different kinds of little dessert plates. not too thrilling, but better than standing in the return line at kohls for 25 minutes!



so did anybody get (or give) anything really great? here were my top 11 (since 10 is never enough) favorite gifts that i received:



*1. a really soft white bath robe *2. a blanket that i secretly loved for a long time- my mom saw it and KNEW that i would love it, so she got it for us- it has trees on it! little green trees! i will show you later... *3. a waffle iron. so so great. *4. neil young cd's *5. an iPod shuffle, which i havent opened yet because i want to get a nano instead- the wait is KILLING me though! *6. fondue! *7. domino magazine- the current issue is REALLY GOOD! or at least i think it is! *8. camera memory card (who can have too many of these? i always need more!) *9. a burt's bee's starter kit!!! so so soooo wonderful. *10. really awesome white cozy mittens *11- a block of colby cheese and some real maple syrup from my grandpa's "woman friend"- dont laugh! i'm from wisconsin! this was an awesome gift :)



what are you doing for new years eve? this is my first new years eve that i will actually get to go out- i missed the cut off date by just a few weeks last year! my birthday is january 27, just a little too late for bar hopping on new years. but now i'm 21 so it will be good. AND our friends brian and lindsay are coming from michigan, and lindsay turns 21 on december 29 (woah, thats today!) so i KNOW she'll want to go out. i am thinking about making spaghetti for everybody so we all have a full stomach to soak up all that beer (and champagne- my favorite!)



this morning i decided to get up at 4:30 and do the dishes. sounds crazy- but joe had to get up for work anyway, and i always see him off to work, so why not? after he left i listened to some neil young and ate some candy. now i am blogging. it's 5:38- i should go back to bed now.



take care, i will be making my blog rounds today and tomorrow, i miss you guys- everyone has been on break forever it seems!

(oh yeah- this is me eating a waffle made with our new waffle iron. topped with strawberries and fresh maple syrup and a side of bacon. drinking coffee and bailey's)

christmas

some holiday stuff...

don't mind the terrible photos! i hate apartment lighting!

newly purchased deer and garland.

my handmade christmas tree!
a cone tree that i made (2 more coming!)
scissors ornament that i made for our tree.

short post today, friends.

take care!

blogger annoys me.

yep. blogger really annoys me. it's really unreliable...buuut i suppose that since it's free i shouldnt complain. (i should move to typepad already).

today i am going to clean the house. it's been awhile since i had time to clean more than area in a day, so i think today is the day. i have to head out to restock my cleaning supplies- vinegar, lemons, and a scrub brush. i already have the baking soda, so that's good. i have been cleaning only with natural products for a few months now, although i still want some dish soap and laundry detergent and fabric softeners from method. really great design from people who care. i cant wait till i can finally order from them- i think i will order a bunch of stuff in the spring.

anyway, i plan on cleaning the refrigerator, the bathroom, and the floors. here are some of the recipes i use when i clean:

refrigerator:

to clean exterior and interior walls, dissolve 2 tbsp. baking soda in 1 qt warm water and wipe all surfaces. for stubborn spots, rub with baking soda paste. rinse with a clean wet cloth.

drain cleaner:

use this drain cleaner once a week to keep drains fresh and clog-free.

1/2 cup baking soda

1 cup white vinegar

1 gallon boiling water

1/2 a used lemon

pour baking soda down drain or disposal, followed by vinegar. allow it to foam for a while before flushing the drain with boiling water.

*baking soda on a damp sponge. baking soda cleans and deodorizes kitchen and bathroom surfaces.

*mix a few drops of essential oil with cornstarch and sprinkle on carpet. let sit for 20 minutes, and then vacuum. ONLY do this if your vacuum is really good at sucking stuff up, unlike mine, otherwise you have to sweep your carpet which is no fun!

okay, that is it for now. i need to get cleaning already. i cant believe its NOON! yikes, gotta go.

oh yeah- i made this journal last night:

blogger! stop spacing my paragraphs out like that! and start spacing them when i WANT spaces! uuuuugh.

sometimes i just dont want to think of a title.

hello all!

how is everybody doing? i hope none of you are too stressed from the holidays coming up. i am happy to say that this christmas season has been much less stressful than last christmas. last year i think i just had way too much going on, this year i'm a little more carefree. right now i am thinking that sending christmas cards might not happen, and i am okay with that. i would like to send them, but if it doesnt happen, it doesnt happen.

i have a few new things that i have made over the past couple of days. 2 journals and a couple of moleskines. tomorrow is a day of paper cutting, folding and creasing, followed by packaging lots of orders and a walk to the post office. oooh yeah, and grocery shopping (since i have put it off for over a week!) yikes- tonight i had a piece of toast with jam for dinner- that's literally all that is left! so i HAVE to go shopping tomorrow, yuck. i might go to this boutique called polly annas if i find time because i have a gift card. oh dang it i have to make a custom journal for somebody too. there is a lot to do, but i have a few days off from my restaurant job so if i dont finish tomorrow, no big deal. i am actually thankful that i have so much to do- i know so many people who are so bored with life because they dont have anything to pass time besides housework and watching television. those of you who know me know about my animosity towards watching television on a regular basis. anyway...

*****

these are a few of the new things i was talking about-

coptic bound journal, illustrated with black india ink and red pantone marker. drawing of an autumn tree.

mushroom large moleskine (i didnt even realize that i ordered large ones until they arrived the other day! i like the small ones more.)

coptic bound journal, illustrated with black india ink. "plants"....okay, so i have had a lot of "plants" journals, i know.

everything above is in my etsy shop right now. i am trying to keep it stocked for the holiday season, although it's almost over.

okay i'm tired. good night, friends.

woohoo!

today i am on the etsy showcase! super exciting...i should have signed up for more than one spot! oh well.

christmas tree photos to come...today i am busy updating my shop, so maybe tomorrow!

gotta run...

hello everyone!

how are things going? they are okay here, i've been slowly collecting gifts to give. so far everything i have has been bought off of etsy! my goal is to give mostly handmade for the holidays. i would go completely handmade, but i figure that even if 80% of the gifts are, then i did good.

i dont have a whole lot of time to post so it's going to be a short one. it's freezing in our apartment! it makes it even more difficult to get out of bed in the morning. so that got me thinking- if i was just like the general population and didnt make things, i could just sleep, work at chilis, and clean. then instead of making things, packaging orders, and post office runs i could be asleep. haha, just kidding. i could never do that!

last night i made a few new pocket books, this is one of them. i need to make one for myself already! i always write everything in the world down so i dont know why i havent just made one for myself recently.

this is our christmas tree, or part of it anyway. i made it last year, and it is one of my favorite creations ever. you can't really see the tree in this photo, so i will post more later. but its about 6 feet tall, maybe a little bit shorter, and decorated in brown, red, and white. AND there are even gifts from joe underneath it...he took a hint last year and decided that he was never going christmas shopping on the eve again! haha, i told him over and over that what he was doing was not a good idea. ha ha. so last night i set up a paypal account and an etsy account for him, but i made him type the passwords. he kept telling me to pick the passwords so he didnt have to get off the couch, but if i picked them, then christmas wouldnt be much of a surprise!
okay, more later. have a good one!

what i woke up to this morning...

this is what i woke up to this morning...

snow.

i dont really like snow all that much. i had to dig my car out of the apartment parking lot with a snow scraper since i dont have a shovel. hmph.

at least the pine trees look nice.

*******

5 things that i'm loving today:

pine cone card by moontea artwork

this beautiful photo of a farm

this pine box

hello, december by ashley g.

this barn pillow by two trees with roots like these.

yes, those are my current swoons. it was hard to narrow my list down- joe says that i want everything. not true. i just want everything that's cute and that i dont have to go to the store to get.

have a great friday night!

don't take your keyboard for granted!

hello there- how is everybody?

i am doing much MUCH better now that i have a working keyboard again! i spilled the slightest amount of water on my other one and it fizzled out. uugh. so i thought i was going to have to drop $50 on a new one but my mom had an extra one! you know what that means? now i can start my christmas shopping since i dont have to spend that money on a new keyboard! yay!

tonight i went over to my parents house. i stayed for dinner- my mom made chili (the old way, not the "new" way) and i was so happy so be able to eat a meal at "home", especially one that i remember loving as a kid. you know how you have memories from when you were a kid, the ones that just stick out so much and you know will always be with you? well, i remember when i was about 6 or 7 and we had the dining room table in the living room for some odd reason (maybe new tile was going in the dining room.) well anyway- i remember sitting at the table when it was in the living room and thinking about how much i loved those little red beans that my mom put in chili. i asked her what they were and she said that they were called kidney beans. i remember thinking that it was so funny that a bean was named after a body part. so now i love that chili recipe because it reminds me of when i was a kid.

after dinner my dad and i talked about property. for those of you who dont know, my goal is to move into a house that has at least 10 acres of land so i can raise and breed alpacas and i really would love to have a tree farm as well. the thing about buying property is that the land around here is mega expensive- about $150,000 for 1 acre, without a house. now, we could just move to a part of the country that has a lot of property to offer on the cheap, but the thing is that joe has an awesome job and we want him to stay with this job. so, we are hoping that with his next promotion he can transfer to middleton, which is right by madison, wisconsin. well, the problem with this is that the property there is super expensive as well.

SO i have been looking into property in baraboo, which is about 35 miles away from middleton, and its decently priced there. not the cheapest, but i would be willing to purchase something out there. this is all planning ahead- not happening in the next couple months or anything- but you can never be too prepared. the cool thing about moving there would be that u.w. madison has an awesome printmaking department, which would be so so great. i am thinking about enrolling in classes here for next semester, i've been wanting to for a long time but the time is never right. but really now, when IS the right time to go to school? i really dont think there is one.

tomorrow is december first and i am really happy because joe and i have decided to celebrate a 25 day countdown till christmas by doing a holiday related thing each night. here is my list so far, if you have more ideas let me know!

1. drink eggnog (with a little captain in it!) we've never had 'nog before.
2. sip tea and listen to holiday songs.
3. drive to the ritzy neighborhoods and look at the lights on the houses.
4. bake cookies.
5. go out for flavored coffee and muffins.
6. watch a christmas movie like rudolph or frosty.
7. bundle up and go to lake geneva. or a little town like it.
8. make and eat these cookies. (this recipe looks awesome!)
9. make nutcracker sweets (these things ae so so sooo good- another favorite from when i was a child)
10. make decorations.
11. put up the tree!
12. wrap presents
13. write out our holiday cards
14. drink hot chocolate while looking at a big book (i have a huge m.c. escher book that i love)

okay so that's my list so far. if you have any other ideas, please tell me! i'm trying to avoid baking toooo many cookies.

today i was featured on the front page of etsy. this is the second time (that i know of) and it is so exciting. i got a lot of new hearts today, which is really neat. i'm almost to 400!

here are my newest things:

cardinal ornaments

new journal

cardinal art

they are all up for sale in my shop right now. i plan on adding a lot more journals throughout the month of december. i just sold this one, it was so hard to say goodbye to it! i still havent made a journal for myself, but i'm thinking about making one similar to the one i just sold (the beetle one.) i have to order some more paper soon. it's so hard to pick which paper i want! at least i dont buy printed paper, that narrows it down a ton. well- i do buy some printed paper, but not a whole lot. i design almost everything that goes onto a journal cover, with some printed paper to accent here and there but it's not often. although, if i did use more printed paper, it would make my journal making a heck of a lot quicker! hmmmm...

okay friends, i am off to go post comments on your blogs since i havent been able to in a couple of days. take care!

OOOH HEY!!!! GUESS WHAT! i just realized that today is my 1 year blog-iversary! yay! wow, thats so cool! i hope this thing is still around in 30 years so i can see it then too!

it's the holiday season...

hello all!

how is everybody? i cannot believe (or just dont want to believe, maybe) that christmas is in 4 weeks! wow.

i just made this card:

handprinted cardinal and branches drawn with a pantone marker. the cone tree is made of paper from old novels. i'm thinking about making a bunch of these trees and also a few out of ivory colored paper, all different sizes, since i dont have a beautiful village like alicia does.

originally i wanted these great stockings from west elm, but now i am not so sure- they are a few posts down if you are interested. they are grey, and while they are the best stockings i've seen this season, besides the felted ones that are popping up all over your blogs, i am thinking that i might do an ivory, brown and red theme this year. this is kind of repetitive for me because those were our wedding colors- you'd think i would hate those colors by this point! but i really love the way they look for the holidays.

i am really excited to decorate this year! yesterday i bought a new sheet set from target (which is actually a much brighter blue) for winter. we only had one set before and i was getting really bored with the way the bedroom was looking. AND they are flannel, so they remind me of when i used to have flannel sheets at my parents house (i love flannel when it's cold outside!)

******

so this weekend i am going to be selling my wares at depart-ment in chicago. maybe i already told you that, i cant remember.

anyway, the cool thing about this show is that i dont even have to be there! i just set up my stuff on thursday and go back on sunday to gather my unsold items and collect payment. i am both excited and nervous- excited for obvious reasons, nervous because i have to drive to chicago and i HATE HATE HATE driving anywhere that's busy. and i have never driven there before. OH yeah, AND it's supposed to be super cold on thursday- an "arctict rush" as they are calling it. hmph.

hey, have you guys seen (and fallen in love with) lisa's new installation? it's so so great, i really love it. she says it looks way cooler in person- hard to believe, i know, since it already looks so great.

okay friends, it's time for bed. i am hoping to post a few holiday decorating photos soon...hopefully i can spruce this place up nicely this year.

take care!

it's been a while, hasn't it?

wow, it feels like i've been away for a long time! i thought about blogging so many times in the past week, but i have been trying to get other stuff done that i had to focus on before blogging. and then yesterday was thanksgiving, how was yours? mine was good...it was pretty relaxing, not a huge get together like we usually do- just dinner at joe's parents and then we swung by my aunt's house to see a few cousins and hang out for a bit.

alright, now that i talked about thanksgiving, it's time for a time warp......so, for halloween every year, we do a DIY gift exchange with our good friends rod and tricia. (i know i know- we were past due for halloween by about 2 weeks!) anyway, we decided to make them this bar from readymade magazine. i've had an RM subscription since issue 5, and this is the first thing we've ever made from the magazine (although i have about 534 more readymade magazine projects that i want to conker!)

anyway, this is what we came up with (inspired by a custom journal that i made for somebody last spring):

this is the inside, it opens up and turns into a bar. joe made it and helped me paint it black.

i illustrated it with india ink and painted the red and grey part. this is the view from the front:

so that's that. it was a fun project, a nice break from the journals and stationery stuff. but now i'm ready for journals and stationery again. the holidays are right around the corner, can you believe it?? i'm really excited because the first holiday season that i get to share the things that i make with others. etsy is finally being a little bit more user friendly, i'm hoping that it holds out till christmas. etsy v2 is a great thing and the staff is working extremely hard to keep everything running smoothly, but wow are there ever a lot of bugs! i'm sure everything will be good to go soon, though.

this is my newest card:

i released it sometime last week and sold a few yesterday. i was having/am having a sale yesterday and today in honor of thanksgiving and black friday and i am thrilled because i am using the few dollars that i made to go shopping today. yes friends, i am going out in public on this crazy day. i mean, its 4 a.m. right now, the stores open in an hour and i am awake, so why not catch some killer deals? last year i did some christmas shopping on this day. this year i think i am just going to try to buy myself a couple of things. i really need new clothes, but pier 1 is calling my name too. i am going to try very hard to avoid it, though!

okay, that's all for today. for now i am going to go finish a journal to post on etsy sometime today. are you doing any holiday shopping on etsy this year? i sure am! i am buying about 90% of everyone's gifts from etsy and other handmade places. cannot wait!

take care everyone! and if you go out today, be careful!

i should be getting ready for work...

hey- quick question...

do any of you sell your work through consignment with shops? ive been thinking about doing this for quite some time now, and the time is finally right. im not looking to sell my journals in shops because it just wouldnt pay working on a 60/40 deal. but im thinking about cards and art. i have a few places in mind (about 10) that i want to contact, but does anybody have any suggestions as far as this goes? anything at all. i think im on the right track, but it never hurts to ask for input.

ive decided that i dont post enough photos of my everyday life, and that i have to start. so from now on, i think i am going to include more of them. just for my own sake- so when i look back in 3 years, i can see what i was doing then.

okay i really need to get ready for my "real" job now- chili's. dang it.

etsy will be closed this weekend

as some of you may know, etsy will be closed this weekend due to the launch of v2.

i am having a sale today only in the shop, until etsy goes down (i think at 10 est friday night).

10% off all coptic bound journals.

15% off everything else.

all purchases ship with a free "warm wishes" card.

wait for an adjusted invoice if you make any purchases, otherwise you have to pay full price!!

today i am packaging orders and kind of just hanging out. no sense in updating the shop if its closing for the weekend, right?!

have a good one! new designs coming next week!

new card and a me me

new art card:

If your life were a soundtrack, what would the music be?
Here's how it works:

1. open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod)

2. put it on shuffle

3. press play

4. for every question, type the song that's playing

5. new question-- press the next button

6. don't lie and try to pretend you're cool

Opening Credits: Rolling Stones - Paint it Black
Waking Up: The Knitters - Someone Like You (NOT a rod stewart cover! gag)
First Day At School: Zeke - Mountain Man (yikes)
Falling in Love: Johnny Cash - Dont Take Your Guns to Town. (oh man, that's hilarious.)

Breaking Up: Roy Rogers - Peace in the Valley (um, how did this get on my media player?!)

Prom: Zombina and the Skeletones - Count of Five (exactly how i felt that night, actually)
Life's Okay: Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry (this is perfect, if only I was Johnny!)
Mental Breakdown: Super Suckers - Captain
Driving: Johnny Cash - Folsom Prison Blues (I feel like Im in prison when I drive! I hate driving!)
Flashback: Feist - Mushaboom.
Getting Back Together: Elvis Costello - My Mood Swings

Wedding: Teach your Children - CSNY (perfect! we used this song at our wedding too!)
Birth of a Child: Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire (yeah, we're not having kids for sure now!)
Final Battle: Rolling Stones - As Tears Go By

Death Scene: Sonic Youth - Jams Run Free

Funeral Song: Frank Sinatra - Summer Wind (not so fitting)

End Credits: Stealers Wheel - Stuck in the Middle.

well that was fun. probably shouldnt have listened to every song all the way through since i have a lot of cleaning to do, but oh well.

the latest...

so i decided to keep going with this whole experiment thing...

new art:

new robot greeting card:

both available in my etsy shop

the other day i bought a new box of stash chai tea, my favorite. well, the thing is- it tastes and smells different...like theres too much cinnamon or something. now, dont get me wrong, i love cinnamon. but i dont like when something tastes different than usual. i was hoping that it was just that particular tea bag, but it was not. kind of a bummer! i want the chai tea that makes my lips curl when i whiff it, not make my nose tingle.

im listening to the only radio station that i listen to on a regular basis (my car doesnt have a cd player so what else will i listen to on my way to work? all my old mix tapes are biting the dust, they've been played too many times.) ANNNYWAY, so yeah sometimes i listen to the radio at home too, and right now im listening to a station called 97.1 FM, the drive, and uugh they are playing a lot of crap tonight. its an older rock n roll/rock/etc station. they play a lot of CCR, eric clapton, bob seger, CSNY, simon and garfunkel, stuff like that. but tonight is terrible! ack, im about to climb over the mountain of stuff in the middle of the room just to get to my stereo and put a cd in. (im not hip enough yet- no ipod for me *cough*maybe for christmas*cough* (are you reading this, moonshine?) haha, i call my husband my "moonshine" because he makes me drunk with love.

alright, i have to go work on my etsy shop a little more. i've been updating it a ton over the past few days.

take care friends!

i wish the sun was out.

yeah. so i wish that it was always sunny when i wanted to take photos. i am making a lightbox soon so it wont be a problem anymore, but for now...it would be nice to have.

i got a lot of great feedback on the first birch journal, so i decided that i should offer another one, since that one sold. i was in a journal mood tonight, so i cut a bunch of paper and designed a cover and then i bound this:

i need to get a flickr account already! i've been thinking about it for a while but it just hasnt happened yet. maybe a gift to myself for christmas! ha, like i dont have enough of THOSE in mind!

short post tonight, im off to bed soon!

second illustration in the experiment...

look what i got in the mail today! the tags that i ordered on etsy from red polka:

arent they great?

so, i decided to add another illustration to turn this experiment into a series. so now there is "pine tree" and "pine tree 2". not trying to toot my own horn here, but i am really happy with how "pine tree" (the first one) turned out- i love the positive vs. negative space.

here they are side by side

pine trees 2...landscape is 2 shades lighter than "pine tree"

what i'm currently loving from west elm:

beautiful stockings:
cheese cutting boards:

thats all for tonight, friends! have a good day!

experiment...

i know i already posted today, but i wanted your input on something...i need a break from the journals for a couple days, but i want something to keep me in the creating mode- im thinking about doing a series of these:

about 6"x9", artwork approx 5"x4.75", india ink, green paint chip, and sturdy cardboard (from the back of an artist pad of paper).

feeling let down.

so, after hours upon hours of preperation for ART VS. CRAFT, it turned out to be a huge let down. i devoted 12 hours of my day (9 of those were hours that i vended during, the other 3 were transportation and set up) to earn a whole $32. not a single journal of mine was sold. i am supposed to be at the event right now, actually, but i decided to withdraw myself from it. this means that i am not allowed to attend another art vs. craft ever again, since i didnt show up today. i do feel bad, i really do- but how do i justify sitting in a drab conference room for another day after the terrible time i had yesterday? i was starting to think that my prices werent right. too high, maybe. so i lowered them. still nothing (good thing i suppose, i know i can get what they are worth elsewhere).

the event ended at 7 last night. i saw 2 girls packing up early at a booth near mine so i went and asked them how their day went. they said it was terrible, the worst show they've ever been to. we talked for a while, they were really cool. (oh, by the way- this is the second "worst show" i have had a booth at. i have only had 2 shows, and both were considered "the worst" by others). the part that really let me down was that this was a juried show- it was the 5th time they have had this show, i was really excited about the potential that i thought i had. i mean, this was an actual hipster/indie/awesome crafty event--not some county fair, ya know?

i knew i wasnt the only vendor who wasnt making any sales when i heard some guy from a booth around the corner yell "15 minutes left, start buying!!!" i thought it was kind of rude but hey, i was feeling the same way.

so anyway, i am not doing any more shows in milwaukee. only chicago (and the other cool shows around the midwest that ive heard great things about). i dont know- it just didnt draw the crowd i was hoping for. lots of families with little kids- everyday people, ya know? not the people who really KNOW what "handmade" really entails. the time, energy, money...the passion that goes into each creation. i mean, maybe they do know. but i have learned to appreciate handmade MUCH more since i started. im sure most people are the same way. anyway, enough venting...here is what i brought to the show. there are more pictures on my flickr account.

i'm going to update my blog tomorrow because i want to show you some cool things that i have found online. stockings, cheese cutting board, etc...all really great stuff.

today i am going to organize my "office" as i call it. this is a HUGE project, especially because i dont have anywhere to put anything. i found a great shelving unit at lowes and i was really excited that i would be able to buy it after the show but hey, looks like thats not happening. joe says i can use some of the money in our joint account but i dont feel right doing that- this is something for ME, not for US. although, haha, i suppose it could be for US since he's the one who wants my office organized!!! haha, i do too, but i just dont want to do it.

hello all!

hey everyone! i really want to show you some stuff but blogger is being slow about things and not letting me put any pictures up. so thats the update that i have for you.

yay! i found the perfect christmas stockings at my favorite place ever, west elm. i will show you soon!

okay off to make a little bit more before the show!

just a short note

newest journal...

brrrr

i ended up binding 3 journals today. my goal was 4, but thats okay. i'm going to be adding a new journal to my shop every day, or at least thats the plan!

so how is everybody doing? i am doing alright...fall is almost over, sadly. today was kind of chilly. winter is right around the corner, which is good and bad.

good because:

spring comes right after winter.

it stays dark in my bedroom until a decent time every morning!

my 2 favorite holidays are in winter: thanksgiving and christmas.

i can wear mittens every day. (mittens are one of my favorite things ever.)

people wont look at me like im nuts for eating soup every day (soup is another one of my favorite things...ever. people thought i was crazy for eating it in the summer.)

my birthday is in the winter.

i just ordered some hot chocolate from the boy scouts and i cant wait to drink it.

i get to use my awesome heating blanket (thanks mom!!)

my frog slippers get a lot of attention.

i can wear cozy pajamas.

*****

bad because:

i dont have radiator fluid in my car right now...just water.

i hate when my nose turns red in the cold.

dry skin.

the snow plows dont come around much where i live (mom, i want to move back home for the winter, okay?)

scraping windshield...uuugh.

i HATE taking showers in the winter because im always so cold!

maragaritas dont sound as good.

i cant hear the roosters doodle in the winter (i LOVE the roosters!) :(

but worst of all, the bottoms of my pants get wet. a HUGE peeve of mine.

okay friends, thats all for now. i just got a new virus scan. it took 2 hours to scan my computer and it found 6 viruses...ew. i have to go take care of that now!

countdown

16 days till art vs. craft!

i have been working on journals and cards and all that kind of stuff, as you know, and i must say- i should have started this stuff a lot earlier! im so glad that i didnt end up going for any other shows as originally planned. i guess it was all just bad timing with the wedding and everything.

originally i wanted to have about 50 journals to offer but it looks like i will have closer to 25-30. not as fun but it keeps me much more sane and my finger wont be as raw from folding paper.

paper is the biggest issue right now. i work with 18"x24" artist pads, so there is a lot (okay, a ton) of x-acto goodness going on right now. im thinking about taking my paper to a print shop to have it cut. i figure that if i can even get the reams cut in half (which is the first step, every time) that alone will save me a bunch of hours. i would like it all to be cut for me so i wouldnt have to worry about it, but the measurements are weird. i cut the paper in half, put the two piles together, cut 2.25 inches off that stack and then cut that in half. thats for the large journals, the small ones have more steps than that. THIS is my main problem. the squares on my cutting mat are not 1" squares. they LOOK like they are, and they are measured to 1" squares on the cutting mat ruler. but they are like 1" rows and 15.5/16" the other way. you cant even tell just by looking, but oooh that really throws everything off when working on a large scale. and the artist paper isnt REALLY 24" long...its about 23 3/4" which throws everything else off. so i cant just line the paper up on my mat and cut 12" over, because it just doesnt work. uuugh im getting irritated just thinking about it all, and i hate numbers and math as it is. sorry about that tangent. im going back to bed.

its a little bit chilly

hello friends!

i finally got around to making a new card design for this holiday season! this morning my alarm clock went off but i was nice and toasty under my down comforter so i decided to stay in bed a little bit longer. we wont say how long, heh heh. when i got up i was freezing so thats what inspired me to make the new card design! i also made some new tags too.

yesterday i went to the store because i need more sweaters but i didnt find any. all the cuteness that was at target before my honeymoon is now gone- dang it. but i figure they are just clearing out for the second batch of good things. better luck next week maybe.

i waited for the mail lady today in hopes that she would bring my new ashley g. print but she did not. thats okay i guess, i need to buy some frames and shelves anyway. i have TOO much unframed art around the house. okay, not that i have a lot of art but the stuff that i do have is either unframed or in a CRAPPY plastic frame from the store. oh, or my favorite- the wooden veneer frame. uugh. my goal is to eliminate all those crap frames and replace them with wooden ones. the only thing that plastic is good for as far as frames is pop art because i feel that the two things would play off eachothers cheeseyness. sorry to all who like pop art. but im sure you could feel the same way too.

anyway, enough for today i have a lot of stuff to do before 3. holy smokes its already 1, i didnt realize that it was so late!! gotta run! i'll be listing the cards and stamps in my shop later this evening. as far as journals go, i wont get around to listing them until the mid week next week.

i leave you with a sneak peak at the new journal covers! if you see (part of) one that you like, feel free to email me for a price quote/info. they will be ranging in price from $28-$38 i think. they used to be cheaper, but for a few reasons i had to raise the prices. hopefully they are still considered reasonable prices.

cant sleep.

hello everyone! its 2:45 am and i cant sleep so im blogging. which is good since i meant to last night and never got around to it!

ive been working on journals (as you may know) and i cant wait to show them to you! with this new batch ive been kind of drifting towards my older ideas...the ones i had before i started with the whole journal thing. you see, i used to have a huge love for monsters. so lately ive been working little creatures into my designs here and there, and i must say that im excited about this. i kind of left them high and dry for a while, focusing more on nature. and while i still love nature more than anything because its so true and here and now, im finding that i need something that isnt so serious. the world that we live in is so serious that sometimes i just need an escape. my escape is crafting, as is most of yours, but ive noticed that sometimes my crafting just isnt exactly what i want it to be- there seemed to be a very small thing missing from it, something that i usually didnt notice. but now that my creatures are back, i think that i found the missing part. im thinking about even taking this all one step further. i know that a lot of people like to keep a journal, but i also realize that the world is a busy place and some people just dont have the time for one. i want to reach out to more people, and im thinking about turning my creatures into illustrations. (im currently thinking to myself: illustrations...okay, so i guess the whole screen printing set up and printmaking classes may be put on hiatus...again.) anyway, we'll see how it goes. i have a bunch of little drawings of robots and creatures hanging around that i never really DO anything with, and i think its the right time to introduce them (note to self: dont forget about all the holiday cards you are supposed to make this year, erin.)

anyway, im really thirsty and i think that was why i decided to get up in the first place. oh, and because i wanted to tell you guys about the new creatures.

a few new things

so im getting back into my crafting groove (slowly). ive spent most of the day cutting bookboard and deciding on new journal designs (7 new journals to be released around october 11th if all goes to plan!)
i need TONS of stuff to sell at art vs. craft in milwaukee. but im still going to list most of the things i make on etsy because its been SO long since ive been able to offer new journals on there!
here are a couple new things for the time being:

5"x7" art

card:
so today looks like a beautiful fall day. i want to go outside! maybe i will tell joe that we should throw the football around for a while today.

i have a stye in my eye. i get them a lot....too much, probably.

okay okay, i have to get back to my work! take care, everybody!

ooh i might go thrifting today! it's been SO long since we've had money for thrifting! hopefully i'll come home with something neat.

hello

hey everyone! im back from the honeymoon and extremely exhausted! i will be posting within the next couple of days, depending on how things go. take care!

vacation...

these are our place cards. pinecones with rusty red embroidery thread holding the tags in place.

as of today, i am taking a blog break! tomorrow is the rehersal and then sunday is THE day.

i still dont know what im doing with my hair. haha. i mean i have some ideas, but....hmm. it is difficult since i have bangs. i think im just going to wear my bangs like normal and then part my hair to the side and tease it and put it up...it all depends on how crappy of a job the haircut lady did last night. haircuts and i dont get along. so i only go to get it cut about once every 1-2 years. well, i guess i love a good haircut, but how would i know really...ive never had a haircut that i like. but whatever...its only hair. anyway, i will figure SOMETHING out for my hair. if not, thats fine too. at least i know how to apply makeup now...something i just learned a week or two ago. err, at least i think im doing it right- haha.

okay well its back to bed for me, folks. today will be a SUPER busy day followed by 2 more really busy days.

take care, all. good luck to everyone who has store openings, exhibits, new design releases, interviews, and all that good stuff in the next couple of weeks. i will be checking in on all of you around october 3rd!!!

....

aaarg! sooo, we cant find pine cones ANYWHERE! we need them for the wedding...in one week....ah, well...i'll figure SOMETHING out, im sure.

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i leave you with this:

tada

OKAY! the parade of pictures like i had promised this morning!!! finally i have a new digital camera (thanks mom!!!).

new pocketbooks! slowly being listed on my etsy site.and my newest thing- illustrations!

and some wedding stuff!

my bouquet:
our unity candles:

cake topper! squirrels!

our card box...tree!

okay, so something is weird with this camera, my pictures are looking fuzzy and its not cool at all. i used it the same way i would have used my old camera. and i noticed that the "white balance" is not...balanced. hmph. maybe i will just have to mess with it more. man, i hope everything turns out to be good with this thing. wish me luck!