pink nostalgia

ro-o-ll out!

As in: we rollin' on twenties, with the top back!  So much money, you can't stop that!

Also as in: the February kit for the store is here! 

How rad is that striped paper????  Right?!?!  I bought a piece several weeks ago and have been scared to use it because it's sooo fly.  But when I got to put it in the kit, I wasn't skeered anymore.  : )

The kit includes all of the paper, the stickers, flowers, stamped butterfly, ribbon, a template, photos, AND step-by-step instructions for each of the three projects shown above.  Go scoop one up!

The March kit rolls out on Wednesday the 14th.  Holla!

Song by Ludacris.  A tiny part of my heart is gangsta.  LUDAH!!

the 29 list: #9 find a great wine

I'm not much of a wine drinker, but I'm trying to broaden my pallet a little.  I came away with four wines that I really love and would love to have at least one in the wine rack at all times.   

No. 3 & 4  When I went to visit Beth, her and I went to Kicks Brooks' Arrington Vineyard and tasted a few wines there.  I absolutely loved the blackberry and Gewurztraminer.  I waited until I got back to Texas and ordered 4 bottles thinking that they wouldn't travel well in my carry-on on the plane.  It was a complete splurge.  I ordered the raspberry dessert wine on a whim.  It was a little too tart.  But the blackberry was delicious.  I haven't opened the Gewurztraminer yet.  I'm scared - I don't want to waste it!  Plus, it's not available locally (I'd have to order it), so I need to make it last, right?

No. 2  For our sixth anniversary, Dave and I spent the night at a local winery, and part of the reason I chose it was to sample a few more wines.  The Angel Riesling is definitely in my top 4.  Really sweet and great for sipping by itself.

A few randoms that didn't make the cut, plus a few more that I don't have photos of.

No. 1  Wine night with some girlfriends - a great way to go through a few bottles.  ; )  The Moscato (second from the right) was the winner.

So that's it.  They're all pretty sweet, but that's what I like.  : )

Anyone have any other suggestions?

forgive me first love

Hey y'all,

Apologies for the blogging hiatus.  I've been extremely busy having fun.  : ) 

I'm almost done.  I just need...mmm...two more days.  Then the rest of the blog month is going to be packed.  I wish I had as much time as I do ideas.

Stay tuned.

The title is from Adele's "First Love" from her first album, 19.  Really good. 

chicken bryan in paper

hey, y'all,

While procrastinating on cleaning our guest room, I made a really simple page to commemorate dinner with my mom last week.  : ) 

Supplies: Patterned paper: My Mind's Eye.  Chipboard alphas: Basic Grey.  Sticker alphas: The Girls' Paperie.  Punch: Marvy.  Cardstock.

I really love that numbered grid paper.  Swoon.  I have a few similar sheets I'm hoarding.  I picked up the journaling straight from this post.  You can see it in person in the store.

Happy Wednesday!

the 29 list: #12 do something with my eye makeup

Technically done but I wish I would have been more purposeful.  I did try two new looks and accumulated lots of liner and shadow for the future.

Over the summer, I used turquoise eyeliner with just a bit of white eye shadow.  Of course, I reserved this for weekends, holidays, and pool time.  : )

I dabbled with black liquid liner which I’ve always avoided in the past because it runs when you cry and is generally very messy.  But I’ve always felt that I was missing out on something by using a pencil liner, so I decided to ratchet up the sophistication factor with a really striking black.  It wasn’t as hard to manage as I thought it would be, but it did take me for-e-ver.  Obviously, this isn’t work or grocery store wear.  I’m trying this look again this Friday night for my hot date.  No photos because the self-portraits are ree-diculous.

I tried to mimic Lauren Conrad’s look from her book Style, but I don’t think it worked because I did not look like her when I was done.  : /  Maybe I need a friend to help me out.  [Yeah, that's it.]

I had fun playing and liked the idea of changing it up, which was kind of the whole point, so there ya go.

santa's list

 Y came over last weekend and we scrapped a few pages together and talked paint samples.  Here's one we made together, lifted from here.

Supplies: Patterned paper, stickers: October Afternoon.  Fabric alphas, felt flower, dreams tag: American Crafts.  Twine: The Twinery.  Red buttons: Jenni Bowlin.  Snow flake brad: Echo Park.  Heart tab, clip: Making Memories.  Punch: EK Success.  Mist: Studio Calico.  Punch, sticker alphas: jillibean soup.  Bird brad: Basic Grey.  Stamp: Lawn Fawn.  Paint: Apple Barrel.  Silver rhinestones, brads, buttons, wish tag.

It was really fun scrapping the same page.  Usually we each do our own thing, but this time there were lots of, "Hey, what are you doing for that?" and "Do you want one of these to sub out for this?"  And I'm pleased to report that our kitchen table worked great for scrapping with a friend.

On a related note, the new paint is going up after Valentine's day.  I'll be too busy with family, friends, scrapping for the store, my birthday, and the love jar to paint before then.  : )

a valentine's love jar

My scrapbooking friend Stephanie made the most adorable love jars for her girls.  The idea is that  each girl opens a sweet sentiment each day from February 1st through Valentine's Day to remind her how loved and lovely she is.  I immediately wanted to go home and make one for my husband.

I made my notes into mini envelopes because I don't want Dave to peek.  (Actually, he would never peek, but I totally would and that makes me suspicious of everyone else!)  I mixed in a few "coupons" for little ways we can spend quality time together.  I numbered the envelopes 1-14, and each envelope has to be opened on the corresponding day of the month.  I did this so that our date nights don't conflict with other things we have on our schedules.

I made the whole thing Wednesday night during two episodes of Grey's Anatomy (Drowning on Dry Land and Some Kind of Miracle.  Favorite quotes: "The scene where I was a rock star, by the way.  Did I mention I'm off probation?  Rock star!"  "She's not a Jane Doe!  It's Meredith Grey!  It's Meredith!!"  "If I murdered someone, she's the person I'd call to help me drag the corpse across the living room floor...she's my person!").

Before I went to bed that night (and long after Dave was in bed), I put the jar on the shelf in front of the TV (literally blocking the TV) so that he'd be sure to see it in the morning and hopefully come wake me up so I could tell him about it.

Yesterday morning, we had this conversation.

Me: Did you see the love jar I made for you?
Dave: I saw the jar, but I didn't know it was for me.
Me: It says, "For Dave."
Dave: Oh!

 
Supplies: Kerr jar from our wedding reception.  Patterned paper, die cuts: My Mind's Eye.  Rose charm: Making Memories.  Twine: We R Memory Keepers.  Punch: Fiskars.  Doille, buttons, cardstock, lace.

Hey, Dave...Love you.

looks like someone's planning a room: shades of gray

So, I've been working on picking a paint color for my craft room.  I had in my head this great medium gray.  I told my mom that I wanted a bold neutral - ha!  I love gray right now, and it'll make a great backdrop for all of my pages.  And I know it sounds crazy, but it seems cheerful.  : ) 

So last week, Dave and I picked up some paint samples for my room.  He said I could paint the small samples without him so long as I primered and taped.  I prepped the walls accordingly and painted my interpretation of small samples.  : )

The aqua was supposed to be my safety color.   I hated it.  Hated it.  The first three grays I tried looked blue.  The fourth was brown.  The fifth was dingy blue.  I told Y, "Okay, maybe I don't know what color gray really is because these all look blue to me!"

The excitement of the challenge was wearing off.  I made one more late night trip to the store and found these two colors.

I think Fashion Gray is the winner.  It's the only one that actually looks like a medium gray.  The Puddle is a little too purple, plus, "Puddle" just sounds like a gross color.  And it kind of looks like the milk after a bowl of Lucky Charms.

My new table is being delivered in three weeks, so the goal is to be done painting before then.  Oh, and I can move the kitchen table back to the breakfast nook...

she dreamed of paradise

You can't tell by looking at it, but I made this page when I was in a real funk.  At the beginning of last week, I was in a state of melancholy for two and a half days.  I listened to Coldplay's "Paradise" 57 times per iTunes.  Like all of my favorite songs, it's best listened to really loud.

When she was just a girl
She expected the world
But it flew away from her reach
So she ran away in her sleep

In the night, the stormy night, she'd close her eyes
In the night, the stormy night, away she'd fly

She'd dream of para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
Every time she'd close her eyes

So lying underneath the stormy skies
She'd say, "Ohhhhh, I know the sun must set to rise"

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill, EK Success.  Patterned paper: Amy Tangerine, October Afternoon, Webster's Pages, American Crafts.  Glitter alphas, tags, brad: American Crafts.  Remarks sticker: Amy Tangerine.  Sticker alphas: Cosmo Cricket.  Fabrip tape: Studio Calico.  Border sticker: Crate Paper.  Stamp: Lawn Fawn.  Twine: The Twinery.  Paint: Apple Barrel.

I took the photo several years ago (2006 or 2007?).  It had been raining all day, and after dinner when it cleared up, Dave and I took Chrissy for a walk (which was really Dave and I walking and one of us carrying her).  The whole sky was hazy except for a double rainbow.

I like mimicking the rainbow in the photo with the colors in the chevrons.  I brought in some gray so that the colors would match my mood and not be too cheerful.  I didn't date the page or explain the title and journaling because it's just an emotion and when I look at it, I know what it means, like this page.  (I just reread the linked post, and it's kind of eerie how similar it is to this one.)

It's funny because as I'm blogging this, I'm back to my usual self.  If I had written this post last week, it would have been much more wistful and whiny.

I lifted this page from the lovely Paige Evans.

Happy Wednesday.