Gettin' By

Hello 2017...let's do this!

Happy New Year! (and while that isn't in all caps, I am totally yelling it!) After the past year filled with lots of trials, obstacles and general crappiness, I'm heartily kicking 2016 to the curb and welcoming 2017 with a big hug and an equally big glass of champagne. I've spent the past week preparing, planning and generally getting pumped up about the possibilities and fresh start this new year offers. One thing that's definitely high on my list of projects for 2017 is this blog and bringing some fresh content and perspective to it. I miss connecting with readers, sharing projects and documenting daily adventures here, so I'm hoping to jump back in with both feet and make this a fun place to visit!

We spent the past few weeks reveling in holiday events centered around friends and family. After surviving some tough life lessons that 2016 threw at us, we were happy to focus on love, laughter and a few lazy days together. One tradition that we didn't get to squeeze into the season was our annual visit with Santa. Though it's always a fun occasion, this year we opted to play Santa instead, and went shopping for a child on the Angel Tree. But we did reminisce about past visits with Santa, especially last year when he surprised us by showing up at a neighbor's Christmas party. I documented the night on this layout that was featured in the fall issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today:

 

S U P P L I E S :

InLinkz.com

 

That night, Santa told stories, listened to Christmas wishes, and brought us some delicious holiday treats during his visit. And of course, the photo ops of the evening brought great joy to this scrapbooker's heart! I enlarged my favorite family photo to 7x5 and included two smaller shots from the evening below it. This left a perfect space to fill with my title and a simple line of journaling. 

 

 

On the left side, I cut lots of patterned paper circles and layered them with die cut shapes, washi tape and sparkly brads. It's always fun to decorate these "mini canvas" in the theme of the page and it's a great way to use up little bits & pieces. 

 

 

I have a whole new batch of photos from this year that are ready to be edited and scrapped, and revisiting old pages always sparks my inspiration. And one new thing I'm trying to incorporate into my routine this year is allotted creative time - a block of time that's scheduled in my week for me to work on personal projects that have been floating around in my brain for awhile and need to be brought to life. Rather than wait for the elusive "free time" to work on these things, I'm actually going to build them into my calendar just as I would any other task or responsibility. I'm starting to realize the importance that creativity has on my mental state, and I truly believe that allocating time to nurture that will help me be more productive (and happy!) in other areas of my life.

 

So what are you focusing on in this new year? (And are you as glad as I am to see 2016 out the door?!) I'd love to hear your creative plans and goals for 2017 - and hope we can continue to share and motivate one another! 

 

Finally Friday.

Can I just say I am so over this whole Mercury-in-retrograde-total-lunar-elicpse-super-moon thing we've had going on for the past few weeks? I knew there had to be some logical explanation for my crashed computer, broken espresso maker, on-the-fritz a/c unit and illuminated check engine light on the car. Apparently, the universe wants to see how I handle #firstworldproblems while being under-caffeinated and over-sweaty. (I'll give you a hint....it's not gracefully nor patiently, but it does involve a lot of profanity. And wine.)

My extensive web research tells me it all should all be over by October 9. And despite my strong urge to remain in curled up in bed in the fetal position until then, I've decided to pop on today and make a small effort toward keeping my blog afloat. The red planet be damned. 

Last week while I was likely drowning my sorrows in a bottle of cheap pinot grigio, the new issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today dropped. I hope you've downloaded or received your hard copy by now (and if not, go here!) Its arrival on my doorstep was a much-welcome distraction from life's stresses. I love losing myself in the inspiring layouts, photography and projects within those pages and it never fails to recharge my passion for this amazing hobby.

One of my contributions to the fall issue was this two-pager documenting our back-to-school scene last year:

S U P P L I E S :

InLinkz.com

Despite their protests about photography other times of the year, my kids seem to know that the sacred back-to-school photos are not negotiable with this mama. My own childhood photos always included the first day of school photos (even when other events might have been overlooked by the camera) and I love the tangible milestones these yearly captures provide. And, honestly, after a few days of watching their frazzled parent mutter deranged threats to various small household appliances, I think they knew better than to test my fragile sanity by not posing for photos with big smiling faces.

 

I combined both kiddos on this page (though will likely do separate pages for each of their albums as well) and the new Teacher's Pet collection from Echo Park was the perfect supply. I know I've gushed about the line before (it was heavily featured in the Crop & Create: Delivered autumn kits!) but I really do love it. It's such a great mix of neutral grays and tans - the paper clip pattern is seriously my fave - with pops of classic school colors like red, blue and yellow. 

 

 

 

The layout design has my photos spanning the width of the spread, with a big bold title set vertically on the end. I tucked in clusters of circles above and below the photos to help soften the straight lines and provide bases to feature some of the cute embellishments. On the largest navy circle, I adhered my journaling strips.

 

 

Maybe it's because of the chaos of the last few weeks, but I'm feeling especially grateful for the familiar routine that the start of school brings to our lives. Both kiddos are settling in nicely to their new schedules, despite the presence of a slightly unhinged mom. But things are looking up! This week I've got my iMac back with a brand new hard drive, have restored the majority of the files, and am reveling in the fact that at this Friday's happy hour, I actually have some small victories to celebrate...planetary divergences notwithstanding.

Happy Friday folks!

 

 

Bygone Blog Posts: Hypothetically SPeaking, of course

This week I'm taking a bit of a spring break hiatus from the blog and I'll be featuring some of my more popular posts from years past, like this one from August 2008. Hope you'll enjoy revisiting some of these memories as much as I did!

 

Let's just say you are a graphic designer who, for the past ten years, has been handling all the print design for a great company.  That company has experienced significant growth (due in part to your stellar designs!) and has decided to hire a marketing director to coordinate all their advertising.  Your first introduction to this person comes in the form of a lengthy email which outlines his many qualifications and illustrious marketing career.  And it comes off a bit pompous, but whatever. The signature of the email, which contains his name, title, and contact info is set in the font Comic Sans (eeek!) and each line is a different color of the rainbow.  Which should be the first sign that he may be a bit, um, artistically challenged.  But you give him the benefit of the doubt, because you're cool like that.

Over the next few weeks, you begin to work on your first project for Mr. Comic Sans, a tri-fold brochure.  He sends you the text for the brochure in a SEVEN-page Word document.  And even though fitting this much text into the design is near impossible, you manage to create a fabulous, eye-catching design anyway.  You send him the concept.  And he replies with another FIVE-page Word document of revisions. What?!??  Included in those revisions are the phrases "too much white space,"  "need clip art of dancing book here," and "can we use the font Comic Sans for the text?"

Ugh. {and insert a few other choice expletives here.}

You try, really you do, to incorporate some of these horrendous ideas into the design.  But you draw the line at canned clip-art of dancing books.  With smiley faces.  And little bow ties.  And the dear client's response?  He sends you a clever mock-up he's created in Microsoft Publisher to demonstrate his design ability.  And then he is surprised, shocked even, to find out that you don't use Microsoft Publisher and can't open the document.  "Oh, you're using a Mac?  And InDesign?  Is that even a Microsoft product!?"

{A few more expletives.  And a damning of Bill Gates to hell.}

You decide a phone conversation with Mr. Marketing Director is in order.  Maybe then you can  persuade him to consider letting you, the graphic artist, have some creative license.  After all, YOUR resume actually includes some art education, unlike Señor MBA here.  Needless to say, the phone call is unsuccessful.  He does toss out the idea of "squishing all the lines of text together to make room for more!" At some point he actually mutters the phrase "white space is overrated."

Son.of.a.bitch.

So, wouldn't you, as a talented graphic designer, feel an overwhelming need to purchase a cross-country plane ticket, march into this guy's office, and kick him squarely in the nads? In the name of white space everywhere?!

See, I knew you blog readers with agree with me.  Errrr, I mean some random graphic designer that is definitely NOT me.

Bygone Blog Posts: The Art of Persistence

This week I'm taking a bit of a spring break hiatus from the blog and I'll be featuring some of my more popular posts from years past, like this one from June 2008. Hope you'll enjoy revisiting some of these memories as much as I did!

 

Last July, we purchased two trees from a landscaping company which they planted in our backyard. Fast forward to this May, and both trees are dead.  But since they came with a one-year warranty, I called the company to come replace the trees.  They set up an appointment for a few days later, giving me that oh-so-convenient three-hour time frame to be here. And yes, they failed to show up.

A few days go by, and I call again to remind them that my trees were dead and hey, thanks for wasting three hours of my day. Appreciate it. They assured me they would come out the next day with new trees.  Once again, the time frame elapsed with no landscapers making an appearance. I am starting to lose my cool when I call their office, struggling to effectively communicate that I HAVE DEAD TREES.  AND I NEED YOU TO FIX THAT.  I get some lame excuse about how they are just swamped but yes, they can come out on Saturday with new trees.  So, sucker that I am, I set up the appointment AGAIN, adding a request that could they please call me if they can't make it?  Because I am really needy and might start to develop a slight complex if you stand me up again?

You know what happened, right?  No landscapers. No phone call. My trees are still dead and I am PISSED.  And a bit paranoid that, perhaps, I am on some sort of hidden camera show determined to see how far they can push me before I go batshit crazy.  So I call their office yet again.  And request that rather than replacing my trees they can just refund my money.  To the tune of $400.  I am assured that they will deliver my request to the manager.  I mistakenly assume that he will make my problem his top priority.

Naturally, the manager never calls me back.  And he apparently alerts his receptionist that if Lisa Dickinson calls, don't put her crazy ass through.  Straight to voice mail, please.  So I leave messages. Lots of them.  And then I try to get his cell number so I can leave messages there, too.  Of course, the receptionist has also been instructed to keep that number private, which might have been an effective tactic if it wasn't posted on their flippin' website.  Idiots.  At this point, I am pretty convinced that I will not be getting replacement trees nor my $400, so I figure annoying the hell out of this guy with an inundation of voice mail would be my next best option. I begin calling his cell every hour, on the hour, leaving increasingly deranged messages about my trees and wanting my money back.  On the second day, I dispense with the pleasantries and just scream "$400 DOLLARS!  I WANT MY $400 DOLLARS!" after the beep.  Surprisingly, this proves to be very therapeutic as I end up laughing hysterically every time I hang up. 

Admittedly, I know that this was not a very mature way of handling the situation.  But ultimately it did result in me getting new trees. Last Saturday, a landscaper's truck showed up at our house with two lovely new (alive!) trees.  And tied to the top of one of them was a piece of white cloth. Coincidence? I think not.

I'd be remiss without crediting my inspiration in this whole saga:  the paper boy in Better Off Dead:

Because whether it's two dollars or four hundred dollars, nobody likes to be ripped off. 

 

Five on Friday | Get In My Mouth

It's no secret to most of you that I am a big fan of food. I've been know to suffer through a 10-mile run, motivated solely by the fact that when I'm done, I can scarf down a cheeseburger guilt-free. In fact, I'll do just about any exercise with the proverbial " food carrot" dangling in front of me. Though it's never an actual carrot...more like carrot cake. With lots of cream cheese frosting, duh.

So when Mike and I started the Whole30 diet plan last week in an effort to get ourselves "spring break ready," I was suddenly faced with a menu devoid of many of my favorite food groups. (Psst...these crazy health people actually think candy corn is not a vegetable! Wha?!) I'm truly trying to stay true to the plan, really I am. It's only 30 days - thirty long, sad, sugar-free days - but here are the five things my taste buds are seriously missing.

 

1//  La Tortilla Factory Green Chile Corn Tortillas.  There's not really any Mexican food that makes the cut on this meal plan, but these delicious soft tortillas are definitely not allowed. Something about corn and flour being elements of unadulterated evil (these Whole30 people are not a lot of fun) but I'm not quite buying it. Wrap these around some good ol' refried beans and cheese and you're as close to heaven as it gets, baby.

2//  Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc. It's not just my favorite wine that's disallowed, it's all alcohol in general. Which means instead of having a glass of wine or a local microbrew before bed, I just go straight to bed and cry into my pillow. This getting healthy thing is so much fun!

3//  OZO Espresso Isabelle Lattes. Giving up alcohol is one thing, but giving up my morning latte? Hold me. You actually can have black coffee on the plan but the steamed 2% milk I normally add is a no go. Whole30 suggests using coconut milk instead of cow's milk, which sounds good in theory, unless you actually have taste buds. I tried it and hereby proclaim to be nasty. There is a reason coconuts don't have udders, i'mjustsaying.

4//  Veritable Chaumes Brie. I love just about any kind of cheese (ok, maybe not the really stinky ones) and can, in fact, make a meal out of cheese and wine alone. Add some crusty bread and I'll don a beret and my best French accent and put on an authentic Moulin Rouge show. But sadly, the three main components of this festive cabaret are expressly forbidden on Whole30. Which really should piss France off.

5// Cadbury Creme Eggs.  I probably should have given a bit more thought to the timing of this whole diet. It happens to fall over the months when my FAVORITE CANDY IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD is in peak season. My solution is merely to stockpile them in my freezer until the end of March and then embark on an incredible, edible egg adventure. SUCK ON THAT, WHOLE30.

 

I'm not sure if this post has been therapeutic or tortuous for me today. But at any rate, feel free to imbibe in any of the above in my honor. I'll just be enjoying my delicious kale and beets as I stare longingly (and try to refrain from licking) my computer screen. Is it March yet?!?

 

Wardrobe Wednesday | Gray Area

Next to white, the most prevalent color in my closet is gray, and I've been reaching for it a lot lately. Specifically, to pair with other neutrals. It's not really like me to be drawn to a lack of color, but the neutral-on-neutral combo is working for me right now. Something that's not working for me right now? My phone, which is, in fact, sticking out its tongue at both me and the nice guys at the Apple Store trying to diagnose the issue. Hmph. 

Along with the color gray, I'm also having a slight love affair with these boyfriend jeans from Madewell. I may have worn them most of the days since Christmas (and let's be honest -- on the days I wasn't? I was wearing pjs.) They are pretty much perfect from the first wear but amazingly get better each time I pull them on. And they just so happen to be on sale and eligible for an additional 30% off with the code SHOPNOW. (Only valid today til 11:59PM ET). 

So this post all about gray has become somewhat convoluted with phones and sales and some random babbling. But sometimes, you just gotta go with it.  And by it, I mean gray.

Happy Wednesday!

______________________________________________
Target baseball tee (on clearance!)
Madewell Boyjean in Rip & Repair
World Market scarf | similar, similar
Matisse "Butch" bootie
similar bracelet
vintage belt | similar
Voss Art + Home alpaca tote

A Bad Case of the Stripes.

My well-planned blog schedule took a little detour this week as I've been fighting off a nasty winter bug. A few days of power naps, fluids, and repeating the mantra I.Will.Not.Get.Sick seems to have done the trick, so I'm trying to salvage what's left of this week with a few delayed posts! Needless to say, I am doing so unshowered, with no make-up, and in pjs and fuzzy slippers, so Wardrobe Wednesday is out of the question. Though if it weren't a frigid 18˚ outside, I might be willing to go take a few photos...they are awfully cute pjs, after all. 

But instead, I'm gonna share a fun stripey page that I did with the BasicGrey line, Evergreen (and pssst....most of it is on clearance now!) I managed to incorporate twelve of the patterned papers by using a small stripes - about 1/2-inch wide - and arranging them in rainbow order across my background.

S U P P L I E S :

InLinkz.com

I printed the block of journaling in the lower left corner prior to adhering all the stripes, which I stitched in place with various colors of threads that coordinated with the papers. Then I layered my photos on top, tucking in groups of embellishments around them. 

I tried to keep the clusters all one color - a red group, a green group, an aqua group, and a yellow group - and placed them near those color stripes. The rainbow order works perfectly with stripes and since this one largely features red, green and blue, it still conveys that holiday/winter theme.

Something else that works perfectly with stripes? Polka dots. And big shaggy dog slippers, of course.

Bright & White

We weren't exactly timely with our Christmas greetings this year, but in a wild address-stamp-and-seal process, Mike and I finished up our cards at about 5 o'clock on Christmas Eve and dropped them in the mail shortly after. So technically, we made it, though most of them are probably still in transit to your mailboxes.

As the year winds to a close, I wanted to send out a big hug and THANK YOU to everyone who stops by to read or comment on this little blog. I've loved having this space to create and share and am thankful for the new people and perspectives it brings to my life. Thanks for being a part of it!

I'll be back on January 3 with a fun announcement and am excited to start posting again on a regular basis after that. Until then, wishing you all a wonderful New Year's Eve and 2015 filled with much love and laughter...and a little champagne too!

Simple Saturday | Cousins at Christmas

We are down to 18 shopping days until Christmas! I'm saying this more as a reminder to myself than to you all, whom I'm sure are much more organized, pragmatic shoppers than I. And if so, want to help me with my list?!? Amazon Prime has become my bestest friend this year because it doesn't begrudge the fact that I procrastinate and revel in indecisiveness right up to the last possible holiday minute. 

Yet today's post has nothing to do with shopping, or procrastinating, for that matter. (I'll just add Being Topical with my Blog Intros to the long list of things I am currently sucking at!) But it does have to do with Christmas! So cut me some slack, ok?! 

S U P P L I E S :

InLinkz.com

This page is a full-on circle fest, right down to the circular photos I included. I love the way circles add automatic energy to a page. And kids at Christmas are all about energy, so it plays perfectly with my page topic.  If you're interested in step-by-step instructions on how I created this layout (complete with measurements) you can download the pdf over on the BasicGrey blog!

In addition to patterned paper, I included chipboard pieces, buttons and brads, and even borders of baker's twine (say that three times fast!) for lots of texture and tactile details. I also tucked in a few of the metal BasicGrey snowflakes, adorned with epoxy accents. There's lots of elements, but because they are all circular (or fit into a circular frame) it doesn't get too chaotic.

I set up the journaling in a right-aligned column near the edge to help balance out the multitude of circles. I also arranged my title into two straight lines (a layered die cut + chipboard letters) to offer some contrast to all the curves. The word cousins is cut from the font HL Thuphap - a fun and free brush font that I am loving!

Hope you all have a super Saturday!  I'm off to do some shopping - or rather, add things to my cart, get distracted, lose focus, and end up buying nothing more than a Praline Latte. But I've still got 18 days, right?!?

 

Merry & Not-So-Bright.

I hadn't intended to take this much time away from the blog, but wanting to kick off December festively, I spent last weekend attempting to get up our holiday decor -  a process that tested my ability to maintain a holly-jolly attitude. Luckily, I know a good eggnog martini recipe that helps with that.

It all started when I hauled up the boxes of Christmas decor from the basement, and realized that whoever put away the lights last year must have been drinking the aforementioned eggnog martinis, because holy.tangled.mess. But armed with plenty of holiday spirit (and possibly a few eggnog martinis, duh!) I was determined to get those lights untangled and deck those halls!

Of course, Christmas lights being instruments of the devil himself, when I finally did get the strings untangled and strung up in their various spots on the tree and mantle, approximately 37% of them actually lit up. Which made me about 63% grinchy. And in need of another eggnog martini. A few hours spent swapping out bulbs, fuses, and most of my sanity...and I determined that Christmas lights are totally overrated.

So as a family we agreed to squint when gazing at the lights, which make them seem a bit more sparkly than they really are. It also helps us to not notice the approximately 150,647,300 fake tree needles that fall off the artifical tree each day, and making me wonder just exactly WHAT the benefit of artificial over real actually is.  If you need me, I'll just be over here, vacuuming up the green confetti. And yes - DRINKING AN EGGNOG MARTINI.

Today I'm sharing a few of my favorite results of the week-long decorating saga, none of which you'll notice include sparkly lights.

The vintage chalkboard from my Grandma's attic and fluffy felted-beard Santa that deck our entry.

 

Our wooden nativity (and the one wise man that was nearly decaptitated during Shinerbock's puppy years)

 

Our bin of beloved Christmas books - my favorite being Bob, because I sing all the poems loudly in an obnoxious falsetto, much to the chagrin of my children.

 

The handprint wreaths adorning the doors to the kids' rooms (proof that we used to have to time to do crafty things together!)

 

The clay tree sculpture made by Hayden in first grade, along with the assorted "presents" we now jokingly call the "blue balls."

 

The advent countdown basket filled with fun little treats, surprises and activities to enjoy this month

 

Helpful, furry, four-legged creatures who more than happily chew on crappy Christmas lights.

 

Glittery, glitzy balls in my favorite pewter bowl. And, yep, I totally just threw this one in here so I could say BALLS.  

 

All of which just goes to show that with enough eggnog martinis, who needs stinkin' lights anyway?! Happy December!