I am Lovin' me some Pillows...

Ok, so besides the millions of scrapbooking items I see on Etsy that I love, like this, and these, and these, I've also found tons of cool pillows that I might buy once money isn't so tight (haha, yeah right, whenever that'll be...) I have a dark brown suede couch, which I like, and there are 4 pillows that go with it, two 16X16s and two 14X14, butright now they are all brown as well (read: boring), so I want to buy some really bright, cool patterned covers for them; I think they would really pop on the couch and make it more fun and interesting. Anyway, here are a few that I've found:








I LOVE the birdcage one, and the trees too...so many to choose from! I'm really diggin' the Etsy thing, but I'm trying not to buy too much on it (so far only the 2 chipboard albums), because I know that it could get really out of hand, really fast, haha. I might eventually buy some art, because there are some really cool girls on there and their art is amazing (I picture buying alot of it for an eventual-hopefully-nursery.)

Anyhoo, pizza's here! Night all.

Mini-Book

Well I got my first mini book done tonight and I LOVE it. It's just what I want it to be: messy, full of flaws, but still fun, funky, bright and personal. I decided to do a "Random 08" book (I got the idea from Kristina Contes and her blog, her minis are just amazing). Anyway, it's basically just a bunch of random pages about random things, but I think that this will be fun (and funny) to look back on later in life...maybe my kids will even get a kick out of it, seeing how crazy and foolish their Mama was (and how much she wanted them). I wanted it to be fun and bright, so I used lots of Love, Elsie, K&Co papers, Hello Kitty stickers, flowers, buttons, anything with some colour. I also got to use my old Troll name stamp from the early 90s, I love it! Anyway, here it is:




Here are a few pictures of it put together as well (I love how the bookrings allow you to add as many pages as you want, or to switch the order of the pages up whenever you want. I might attempt to do a few more "Random" pages in 08, and they can all go into this album.)









I ordered another one off of Etsy last night, a 4X6 one (I want different sizes for all of them, they'll be more distinguishable that way.) I like the idea of a 4X6 'cause then I can have one page with just a photo and the other can be the journaling/title/whatever.

Well I guess that's all, I'm just proud of my creation :) I think that tonight we are going to go out for some appetizers/drinks and then play some mini golf with Heather and Scott, but it's storming out right now, so we'll see what happens. It's St Patty's night (well, the night to go out anyway since it's on Monday), so to all the Irish out there, have fun!

How I passed my afternoon...

Here's a page I did today...I bought the cool cherry and skull PP by Creative Imaginations when I was in Sussex in February, and I wasn't really sure how I was going to use it, but then I thought that maybe this picture of my friend Anna would go well. Her attitude in the picture goes perfectly I think. I'm not sure I love the entire layout though; the title isn't great and I'm not sure if I like those letter stickers for this page in particular, and it's all kinda crowded and I'm not digging the vellum, but it's done and too late...I just hate when something starts off so well ands then heads downhill, haha. Overall it's decent though.

(I've also discovered that I kinda hate scrapping 12X12 now, too big or something, I think that I'm going to permanenly convert to 8.5X11/mini books soon, maybe with an occasional 12X12 page to go with my 12X12 albums, like my wedding or Spain. Either that or I'll continue scrapping 12X12, but will leave lots of white space on one side to make up for it.)

Anyhoo, here it is:

I've also been checking out Decor8 a lot lately...I found it through another girl's blog (which I found through another girl's blog, which I found through someone else's blog...it's the best way to find cool sites I'm discovering). Anyway, it's a design blog, very cool and modern and fun, and they have all these pictures of *beautiful* rooms. So I'm starting to save all the pictures of rooms that I love for when we move; since this apartment is going to be "permanent" (at least until we move into a house), I want to make it somewhere that I actually want to be, so I'm hoping to be able to decorate a bit more and really get into it. Anyway, I'll probably post a pic here and there of the rooms I'm finding, depending on how I'm feeling I suppose. So, be prepared to oooh and ahhh :)

Well, that's all for now, hope to get some more scrapping done this weekend, so I may be back!

A few quick projects...and rambles

Well, I just wanted to share a few things that I've made/done lately. After checking out some amazing blogs, I was inspired to create a "clothesline" type display in my room for my recent scrap pages, fav pics, and whatever else catches my fancy. It's definitely something that I want to incorporate into my new scrap space when we move. Check it out, I think it turned out pretty cool:

















After making the clothesline, I took some old wooden frames I got at Ikea forever ago, painted them black and put in some cool images/papers, including a postcard I got in Madrid of a Picasso painting I love, some awesome Love Elsie paper, a cool chandelier card (love the bright green and the "be glam" I added underneath it) and a simple message to myself..."create." (I used my new favourite mini letter stamps, I just love them!) Add a few flowers, papers, cool jewelery and voila!















I also decided to try out creating my own mini book, since I'm now obessed with them...basically they are mini scrapbooks that you create yourself, they are super fun because the format is small (whatever you want them to be really) and you can finish multiple pages (or the whole book) in a few sittings. You can also make them about anything you want, they are messier, less formal, don't always include pictures and can be a bit more personal. I have about 6 or 7 that I want to create, mostly ideas from other mini books I've seen, but also a few of my own. So I found an awesome tutorial on Paper Adventure '08 on how to make one out of junk cardboard, keyrings and paper. I made it tonight and I'm so excited with the result...simple, but just what I'm diggin' right now, I can't wait to start filling it with pages...and make more!
































Once I start filling it with pages I'll be sure to update.

Other random thoughts:

-Looks like we are moving on May 1st, which is a month sooner than I had originally thought, but that's ok, I'm kind of looking forward to it, being the kind of person I am, who can never live somewhere for longer than 2 years (going on a year and a half here...)

-I can't wait to get my camera...soooo excited for it! Dan is doing our taxes this weekend so I hope to have it by the end of the month!! Then (I hope) my pictures won't suck so hard, haha.

-I'm still waiting for my chipboard album from Etsy, it's been 2 weeks now, starting to get impatient, how long does it take to ship something from Ontario?!

-Work has been insanely busy, pretty stressful, but I found out today that I should find out within the next few weeks what my benefits will be and when I will be in the Union and all that fun stuff, so that's good, I really hope that I get Permanent, but I'm thinking it will only be a Term position, which is still fine with me, as long as I can take a vacation day!

Well that's all for now. Bonne nuit all.

Hey Judah

Well my friend Sara had her baby on Friday and I was lucky enough to be there to witness it. She called at 7:45am on Friday to tell me that she was going into labour...problem was I had left like 3 minutes beforehand to catch the bus to work! So I get to work and there's an email from Heather telling me that Sara called and that I had to go...and I was sooo panicky! I'm sure I was more nervous than she was, so shaky and just thinking 'ok, what to do, what to do'. I knew I had to leave work, so I got what I could do done and then headed home to find a car (Dan had taken ours to play hockey, and although he was a real jerk about it, saying he couldn't loan me the car because he couldn't find a way home after the game...men...I managed to get my roommate's car from her boyfriend's place) and head to the Valley.

When I got there her contractions were 3 minutes apart and she seemed in good spirits. So focused and relaxed, just how I hope mine will go (if ever.) I felt pretty useless there, I couldn't really help her in any way, kinda felt intrusive, but I wanted to be there for her anyway in case she needed anything. Every time she had a contraction I teared up, I don't know why, she was in pain and I could see it and it hurt me too, so I had to look away (felt ridiculous the whole time too, but oh well.) So I got there at 1pm and stayed with her until about 4pm when she started pushing (she had told me the last time I was visiting that she didn't want me there when she was pushing, but when it was actually happening I don't think she would have noticed that I was there, but I respected her wishes anyway), and by 4:57pm, little Judah David Walker was born. 8 pounds 6 ounces, so not that little actually! It was strange to see him there, hard to believe he was inside of her for 9 months and we were talking about him, but more like a concept than an actual real person. He was a good little baby though, and I stayed with them until about 8pm, then left to give them some bonding time. Sara was, of course, a natural, just a perfect mom already...she was destined to do this, I've said it many times. I can't say I feel the same way about myself, but if I can be half the mother she will be and already is, then I will be ok.

So yeah, that's about it, I'm super happy for her, but I'm also kinda sad 'cause I know that in a way I lost her as a friend...but I understand. I told her that I would go visit her in a few months when Judah's a bit older and they have their routine down a bit more...I'm hoping to have my new camera by then so I will be able to take some better shots than the ones I took while I was there (again, felt foolish for taking such bad pictures, but I saw that she had some good ones up today, so it's alright I guess.)

Here he is, beautiful boy already. So lucky, so fortunate.

Well, I'm going to try to not let my emotions get the better of me this week, but I can't promise anything, so we'll see how it goes. Laters.

Quick randomness...

I just finished watching Juno for the 2nd time this month...probably one of my favourite movies right now. Smart, funny, touching, happy, bright, quirky...great movie. Anyway, I'm writing because, at the end, when she delivers her baby, (and from then on until the end of the movie), I BAWLED. Not just little tears like 'aww, that's cute', but full out shaking sobs and huge tears. Uncontrollable really.

I think it might be because my friend Sara is due on Friday and I can't wait, just waiting for that phone call from her mom...but knowing what I know now, I better bring tons of Kleenex because I am going to cry and cry and cry...babies do that to me I guess. I can't hide or deny the fact that I want one now, there's something in me that's calling to a greater purpose, that I need this to feel like my life means something, to have those moments for the rest of my existence.

But, I think the crying is also a result of the black little cloud that floats in the back of my head, the one that may not even exist in reality, but is there in my mind just the same, saying "you can't have that, not yet, not ever." I try to ignore it, but in times like these, it becomes difficult. I'm afraid the cloud will grow bigger and bigger and invade my whole conciousness, but I tell myself to wait and see, not to doom myself too soon.

Well, that's all for now, listening to some awesome music right now, hopefully I'll be posting some pics of my friend's baby soon!

Things that inspire me right now...*pics*

Well I haven't written in awhile, haven't had too much to say lately I guess...it's winter, what more is there? Just waiting for the sunshine to come out, and for it to get warm so that I can sit outside and eat, jog after work, go for drives on the weekend and take lots of pictures. Not much longer now...

Lately I've also been checking out a lot of different websites, blogs, and random stuff that has been inspiring me artistically. I'm not claiming to be an artist by any means; in fact, seeing all these different people and their talents has made me realize that I have a long way to go before I can officially call myself one, but I also feel like I have it all inside me, I just need to find a way to get it out. It's been brewing, and soon it will come out. Be an artsy chick, that's my new mantra.

Anyway, I've been inspired by many, many things lately, and I hope that I can be creative everyday with these things in mind.

1. Etsy: If you haven't heard of Etsy, go to http://www.etsy.com/ immediately. It's my new obsession. It's basically the same idea as Ebay, but everything on the site is handmade, so it's all these cool, quirky, eclectic pieces, and they have so many different things. I check it multiple times a day, and last week I bought my first item online (!), a chipboard album for scrapbooking. They also have super cute little goodies like these that I can't wait to eventually buy:


























And not to mention some super neat clothing, like this awesome little caplet thing that I think it totally quirky and cute:












Anyway, seeing all these creative people make so many different items just makes me want to try it out myself...my dream would be to have my own little Etsy shop, selling scrapbook kits or something like that...it might be something I will try in the near future.

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Speaking of which...
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2. Kits: I LOVE scrapbook kits. Basically all they are are monthly kits full of different scrapbooking supplies like paper, embellishments, ribbons, etc. The cool part is that it's usually stuff that you can't get around here (the funkier stuff that I'm looking for especially) and you get a lot for your money (usually around 30$) It arrives in the mail and you have everything you need to make a bunch of matching, awesome pages. I've been searching for the perfect kit for a few months now, and it's so hard to choose! Just seeing these kits makes me want to scrap all day, everyday. Here are a few I'm thinking about, not sure which one I'll get (since they are kinda pricey I've been trying to hold off, but it's so hard, I won't be able to much longer!)













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3. Camera: I've decided that with my taxes this year I am going to get myself a really nice camera. I've wanted one for so long and this will tie in perfectly with my scrapbooking, since I can't really scrap without some great photos. I LOVE taking pictures, and although I still need lots of practise, I never felt like I could take a class or anything since I didn't have a proper camera. Well, now I can because I've found it:

The Canon Rebel Xti. I'm not a camera expert but I checked around and this one seems to fit what I'm looking for (a mid-range digital SLR, that's easy to use but still has a good learning curve, with lots of options for photo styles, etc) I hope to have this new withing a month or two, and once I do, get ready to see lots and LOTS of pics!

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4. Blogs: I'm not quite sure how I came about finding these, but I've stumbled across some incredibly talented girls and their blogs...they are everything I wish I could be: fun, free, stylish, creative and especially artsy. They all scrapbook, but many of them do different things as well, and you can tell that they just love their art. My favourite lately has been Kristina Contes. She's quite famous in the scrapbooking world, and when you see her stuff, you can see why. Her mini books (another new obsession of mine), studio and inspiration galleries are just pure eye candy. I told Dan today that when we move I want to have a little scrapbooking space of my own, and I hope to incorporate some of her ideas into my life. Anyhoo, here are some pics from her blog:

http://kristinacontes.typepad.com/












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5. Sleeping Beauty: I watched this movie this morning and I love it every time I see it. It's my favourite Disney movie, not because of the story or music (even though they are awesome as well), but because of the visual distinction it has. It's a stylized, gothic kind of art, and that's right up my alley (more on my preference for dark, gothicky stuff later). I love how everything is square, neat, organized, yet still full and lush. The scenes in the woods are my favourite.

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6. Edward Gorey: Heather sent me a link once to a children's book called The Gashlycrumb Tinies. It's an ABC learning book, with rhyming couplets for each letter, but it's totally dark, twisted and awesome. I love the drawings in it as well. Here you can check it out:

http://comunidad.ciudad.com.ar/argentina/capital_federal/visualmix/vonzai/gorey.html













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Well that's all for now. As soon as I get my mini book later this week, I'll post it when I'm done. I also hope to start posting some more about my creative journey (cliched, I know), but I think that it will help me stay accountable, so...well, there you have it. Night all.