just checking in

Hey there.

Just a quick little check in to let you know that we got in okay and I am now here in Paris. Having a great time. When we get home there will be a real post, with lots of photos... but for now, just a quickie.

Top ten things I have discovered since coming to Paris:

1. Nutella crepes are the best food made by humans
2. It is very easy to get lost in the streets of Paris.
3. It is 89 steps from the first floor to our apartment door (and there is no elevator).
4. The Louvre is impossibly and wonderfully overwhelming.
5. French women give me scarf envy.
6. Notre Dame was so beautiful I cried.
7. Watching the sun set over Paris while sitting in the grass at Sacre Coeur is pretty darn romantic.
8. You can wash your hair with a bar of soap if you really have to.
9. Read all instructions regarding electricity conversion very carefully before using electronic equipment overseas.
10. Going on a trip with the person you love most is priceless, even if you spend more than you had meant to.


That's it for now. We leave for Rome on Wednesday. And will hopefully be going to Versailles tomorrow. Hope all is well with you. :D

This is it.

It's really happening. I am going on this journey. Leaving, on a plane. Are you kidding me?

I am equal parts ecstatic, terrified and excited. I am the kind of girl who likes to hang out at home... I like to keep my feet on the ground...
Not to fly off into the sunset...

I am still discovering all kinds of the wonderful things that are here in Seattle, I feel like I've barely scratched the surface...
And yet off I go, to see a whole other part of the world... I hope that I will be changed by it. For the better, obviously.

Here is a story for today. So it is a tradition for me to always buy a new magazine from the bookstore before I go on a trip. It helps calm my nerves. Today I went to BN to see what was in. Unfortunately the pickins were pretty slim (transitioning from the Sept to Oct issues, I suspect.) I ended up over in the craft book section instead (surprise, surprise).

I had heard some very good things about Kelly Rae Roberts' new book Taking Flight. I only skimmed it, because I plan to read it on the plane, but it looks like it is written in the style of an interactive workshop. It reminded me greatly of two other books that I have and enjoy, Pretty Little Things and The Art of Personal Imagery. There were lots of great pictures with projects and techniques. Can't wait to check it out in more detail.

I also picked up Craft, Inc. because I wanted to read up more about turning artistic endeavors into a real business/career. (The dream of every crafter, I know.) I liked the format of this book much better than some of the other books I have seen on the subject. I am not one to go lightly into anything big, so this seemed like a good place to get some solid data on the subject before I made any life-altering decisions. :D

I also wanted to get (but didn't) a book called the Salvage Studio. To my delight I discovered it is based on a little shop up here in Edmonds, WA. I will certainly have to take a field trip when I come back home...And they have workshops! If you like vintage, recycled or repurposed things you will want to check them out.

Another book that I liked (but didn't pick up, yet) was Plexi-Class. It was a book all about acrylic and plastic-crafts. Very cool stuff in there.

So, I am mostly packed. Almost all the last minute details have been attended to. I kind of just have to go, now.

I am not sure how frequently I will be blogging while I am away, but I will check in if I can. Otherwise you can expect to hear from me on or about October 10.

So, take care, and travel lightly.

On Publication - an unexpected delight

Look what I found as I was cleaning up my stash of magazines earlier today:I totally forgot to post the pictures of this.... It is the August edition of Scrapbook Inspirations (from the UK). They had emailed me and asked for permission to post a picture of my little summer mini and the blog address in their mag.

Of course I said yes.

So here it is, my first semi-published item (aside from zines made in high school, anyway):

They were so nice. And said very nice things about me. Thanks Scrapbook Inspirations!

Back to cleaning. Less than 48 hours to departure... eep.

Go for it

Good morning.

Let's start the day off with a little challenge, shall we?

Lately I have been so inspired by the whole carnival/fair and theater aesthetic. (If you haven't seen Carnivale yet, you should check it out. It is creepy, yet good.) Anyway, Cirque du Soleil was in town a few months ago and I found them to be hugely inspiring as well. Colors, textures, everything. They challenge the imagination.

Today's ScrapMojo challenge asks you to be inspired by Cirque as well. And also use sequins. Here is my take:
The leaves are falling. I had to bust out my fall coat to stay warm on my walk last night. Thinking about scarves and knee socks again.

It has been grey and rainy nonstop for the past few days. I am missing the blue skies and tiny puffy clouds of the summer. It seems like fall is truly here. On the last sunny day we had there was a really exceptional sunset. I am going to always think of it as the last sunset of this summer.

That's it for now. I am off to run errands and get some much needed coffee. Peace.

Modern vs. Vintage

Time for a random Friday post. If I could, I would have typed this whole post out on my typewriter, but alas, I must type on a modern keyboard. Right now, I am trying to get as much blogging in as possible before I cross the big blue ocean and go on my traveling adventures. :D

Lots of things on the to-do list. Getting important documents copied. Cleaning out emails. Doing laundry (yikes) Last minute shopping trips for things like a new book and a money belt for Greg (he changed his mind about wanting one). Need to remember to charge up my camera batteries. And also pack. And sleep, at some point.

Distracting myself from trip anxiety by reading about photography online. I love film cameras, and old school film cameras rock the most. I have decided that my next camera purchase will be a Polaroid 450 Land camera or a Spartus Full Vue. I really really want a camera with a bellows--I think it looks awesome. But I love the art deco look of the Full Vue.

I have been so bad with cameras this last month, I feel like a little camera-ho. My recent obsession with vintage camera acquisition made me think long and hard about all the cameras that I have, and what I use them for (and where I put them).

I actually decided to upgrade my point and shoot this last weekend. For years I have had a Canon Powershot A530 as my "purse camera." It has done very well by me, but my recent exploits at the Puyallup Fair (and Charlie's gratuitous use of his Powershot SD750) convinced me that I needed a better one for my stealth shots while out and about.

So we went to the big box electronics store and picked up this little beauty.

(I look angry when I am concentrating...really....)

Say hello to my Canon Powershot SD1100 IS. I haven't thought of a proper name for him yet, but am LOVING the pictures I get from this little beauty. It is an awesome camera. I particuarly love the vivid picture-shooting mode. Also it deals with indoor light waaay better than my older powershot. And it is eight mexapixels (three more than the old camera and two less than the Rebel). Good stuff.

Alright, enough ranting about cameras from me. I need to get back to my lists of tasks...

Have a good Friday.

September Sweet Spuds

Yay! I can finally share my September Sweet Spuds layouts. So excited.

You can check out the rest of the gallery and the team's fabulous takes here. And our guest designer is Dani Johnston. Love what she did.

Oh, and here is a sneak of October. Loving that kit so much. Yeah... See those stickers? I helped pick those out. :D Awesome!

Happy Thursday.

A little blurry

These are some of the photos I took with Edwin, my polaroid colorpack camera. Obviously much more practice is needed. I am still learning about Fstops and shutter speed and of course, camera shake. But it is fun to use such a lovely old camera, to tug the film out and wait for it to develop (avoiding getting the goo on your fingers) and see the photo immediately.

I love how very imperfect they are. In a world of photoshop and digital controls, there is something so wonderful and surprising about this kind of picture taking. I love it.

A year in review

Yesterday as I was doing some digital organizing on my computer I noticed that I had to make a new September file for my Sweet Spuds layouts. As amazing as it seems, I have been designing for Sweet Spuds for one whole year! Wow.

I am so incredibly greatful to Gina for the opportunity to be on her design team. It has been a truly wonderful experience. I have learned so much about myself and my scrapping style in the process. I have also gotten to try out some really cool products and make some really awesome projects. So to commemorate this month I am going to do a post dedicated to my favorite layouts over the past year:

September (My very first 12x12 layout ever)

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

It is fun to see how much my style has changed. For the better I think. I don't try as hard to plaster the entire page with stuff. And I think my photography skills have certainly improved. :D

It is also good to see that there are some things that I do still love and use. Like multiple photos. Ridiculous self portraits. And scalloped edges.

Thanks for looking and have a great Monday!

So much to do, so little time

Goodness. What a crazy weekend! Got a lot of stuff done, but I still could have used some more time off to do other things. Like laze around. ;)

Ran necessary errands for pre-vacation stuff (like getting an extra camera battery for me and a laptop power converter for the boy).

Got my Catslife order. Mmmm red rubber goodness. Can't wait to play around with these pretties.

Edited some photos. I created a new set for the fair photos, but there are still quite a few left to edit and download. I also still need to finish up with my photos from the cabin trip, and there are a few TTV shots I need to crop and upload...This one is one of my favorites from the fair though. I have really been enjoying black and white photos lately for some reason.

Oh yes. And I finished up my Sweet Spuds layouts. Here are some sneak peeks for you:

The gallery should be up later this week.

Okay that's pretty much the haps for right now. Off to get a little shut eye before the workweek begins. Have a great night.