Reading Pledge Update & Day #2 of CHA Madness

I'm more than happy to report my continued progress on my Reading Pledge.  I'm finally on Book #8 and am reading this little gem.  I'm not gonna lie - I bought this book mostly because of the title.  I'm on page 80 and there's been absolutely no mention of cake which might be the whole point of the title - who knows.  I love the author's writing style.  She's hysterical.  I also am completely enamored by the random musings her life - it feels like life art in another form.  Usually I'm a fiction girl through and through - but Anne Lamott has been blowing my world for the last five or more years with her personal essays on life and faith.  Anne is the only reason I picked up a book of essays.  I'm not disappointed with that choice in the least.

Before I move on to CHA Goodness - I want to say a few words about The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen.  I loved this book.  I wanted to give five quick reasons I loved this book - in list form of course.

1.  The title - The Sugar Queen.  My good friend recognized the overwhelming theme of food in my book choices for this reading pledge.

2.  The chapter titles are the names of all kinds of sweet treats.

3.  The main character has a closet full of lovely contraband - sweets and magazines.  This is definitely my kind of girl.

4.  Another character is a book lover and they appear to her in all kinds of situations.  At one point she says she hasn't bought a book since she was 12 and I knew at that moment - I will love this book always.

5.  It's fun.  It's sweet.  It's magical...and I blew through it in one day.  Gotta love that.

I highly recommend checking this book out if you like magical realism, solid characters, and fun.  Now...on to the CHA Goodness.

Cosmo Cricket

Clementine: Source

Just a few notes - I absolutely love the color story for the Clementine line.  I'm loving the greens and pinks.  Here are my two favorite paper picks for this line.

Crate Paper

Farmhouse Collection

Love this line so much.  Had a hard time picking favorites so there's quite a few.  One big thing I've learned with Crate Paper is to see the items in the store before I make any purchases - the texture of the paper is amazing and the colors are great.

  

Random Collection: Source

Loving this line.  Loving the colors.  Not much to say except I love it - with a blue and pink bird was there ever any question?  Here are a few faves...

Echo Park Paper

Happy Days: Source

I love the happy colors and vintage feel.  It's just too fun.  I think in some ways it's a departure from where my pages have been moving but color is a good friend of mine.  I need it in brighter values.  Here are a few faves...

So that's it for today - a little bit of reading and a lot of product goodness.  I hope this Tuesday finds you well.  I'm still fighting this infection - glad I'm house bound during a heat wave.  It's one of the best times to be under the weather in my humble opinion.  Take care.  Until then...

Product Love - Give Me that Old CHA Madness Day One

Not much to say in this post other than it's that time of year again - CHA Summer 2011 which means this girl is foaming at the mouth over some of the new yummy collections.  I'll be talking about my favorites all week long so be looking for some product love and goodness all week.  So why don't we just go ahead and get this love fest going.

American Crafts

Amy Tangerine Line: Source

Garden Cafe: Source

Night Fall: Source

A few words about American Crafts before I move on to the next manufacturer of the day.  I absolutely love the little bits embellishments on Amy Tangerine's line.  It's perfect for adding the little elements that make my pages specific to my style.  The colors on Garden Party are outstanding without question and I just love Night Fall.  I definitely lean more to the fall side since I'm not a big fan of Halloween.

Basic Grey

Picadilly: Source

I'm also loving the Picadilly line from Basic Grey.  There was a time that I pretty much worshipped at the feet of Basic Grey.  Times have changed.  I've changed.  However, I usually have at least one line I love enough to offer to sell something I love very much - including relatives.

Bella Blvd.

Finally Fall Collection: Source

I think it should be obvious by now how I'm really into bright colors right now.  Loving this line as well.  Reminds me a little of Garden Patch.  So that's it for the CHA Products today.  Look for four more manufacturers tomorrow and an update on my reading pledge.  I hope everyone has had a nice Monday. Until then...

The Mother LOAD

I signed up for The Mother LOAD class taught by the great Lain Ehmann after a lot of hemming and hawing about whether it was the right thing to do with my current state of crafting energies at the time.  I also had been longing to move myself into a mixed media/painty place - but hadn't.  So - it was a big decision that was helped along by a gift certificate and an amazing discount on Mrs. Jennifer McGuire's website.  I have mixed feelings about the class even now - but the weekly assignments have gotten me off my keister and helped me make two layouts that I really love and I'm starting to finally feel like I'm in the right place.

If you're not familiar with BPC Classes - you usually get a PDF weekly and possibly some extras like videos, audio messages, extra information, etc.  Prior to the Layout A Day portion of the class, we are given assignments to prepare us for the final push - 26 layouts in 26 days.  It's been four weeks and I've done two layout assignments and all four photo assignments.  One layout assignment was not possible because it was about organization and frankly I had already organized the hell out of my space.  We were supposed to find forgotten supplies and make any kind of layout.  I skipped this challenge.  Our first assignment was to scrapbook the reason we are driven to tell our stories - to be part of this hobby.

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Studio Calico; Stickers: October Afternoon; Bingo Card: Red Lead Paperworks; Wooden embellishments: Studio Calico; Spray Mists: Studio Calico

So again - it's not a great picture - but I rocked out something a little different.  It has a major glare because I used a flash - it's the clearest of about eight pictures so there you go.  It took a long time to decide how I wanted to do this page.  I thought about doing a grid style inspired by the current Creating Keepsakes issue but decided against it.  I absolutely love all the products I used on this page.  I went a little crazy with the misting so I covered it with butterflies.  They're on pop dots so the faux pas isn't completely gone.  All in all - I liked this layout.  But not as much as this one...

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Simple Stories, Basic Grey, October Afternoon, Authentique; Die-cuts: Crate Paper; Chipboard Embellishments: American Crafts; Letters: Basic Grey & Webster's Pages; Stickers: October Afternoon; Wooden embellishments: Studio Calico

If you think it looks like I threw up embellishments on this page - I sort of did and that's completely what I love about it.  I love the domino in the upper right corner.  I love the 8 ball in the doily next to the dress.  I love that I printed out an old picture of myself from the seventies onto a piece of patterned paper from the Nook & Pantry collection from Basic Grey.  I love that the journaling is hidden behind the photo.  I LOVE this layout and at first I felt like the papers weren't me - But it is me through and through.  The challenge for this layout was documenting your process.  We were supposed to take tons of notes and just get familiarized with the way we did things.  I decided to document my process on Evernote using the voice recording, pictures, and texts.  It worked out pretty well.  I talk more about the process at a later date.  I'm gearing up for the homework and layout assignments for this week and will have more to share on Wednesday.  I'm going to get started on going through all my process information and get a post going on that too.  Look for that later in the week.  I'm nursing a summer cold - my absolute favorite thing in the world - during a friggin' heat wave.  Anyhoo...I hope everyone stays healthy and happy on this Sunday.  Until then...

BTW: Sorry if things seem scattered - my brain isn't at full capacity.  And...let's be honest - even when it is - that's  not much. :)

Edited on 7/25/2011: The title of my second page comes directly from a song by ADELE.  The song is called "Chasing Pavements" and it's on her first album - 19.  It's my anthem right now and I love it.  It also really went well with a not so happy story.

Reading Pledge Update

I've lost my mind.  I was looking at my previous post and my list of books and realized I was on book #7 - not book #6 as I believed before.   My father had pointed this mistake out at book #5 and I told him he was wrong.  Sorry Dad - I was the one who was wrong.   So - here's a brief look at the books I've read.  I'm well into The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen and know what book I'm tackling next.  I'm also reading a professional book which I have every intention of counting! So without further ado...here we go...

     

I originally had planned on giving links to each book - but have decided against it since I think everyone who can should take advantage of the Borders sales going on at this point.  I guess it's my one last bit of support for a place that has given me solace and peace.  I will miss it dearly.  It has been a second home for me.  I will just say that the images came from both Borders and Barnes and Noble websites.  So moving on...I am now almost one hundred pages into this...    

I'm definitely enjoying the magical realism characteristic of Sarah Addison Allen's work.  I'll keep you posted on my progress as time goes on - I have every intention of knocking this book out of the park by tomorrow (Saturday) at midnight.  Loving that I'm getting back to my original love of books.  I promised some crafty postings today but now it's looking more like Sunday.  Hopefully - I'll have three scrapbook pages to present and one tiny book review to give.  I think I'll give my recommendations at the end of my pledge.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday.  Until then...

BTW:  For those of you feeling a little disappointment about the lack of scrappy posting today - I hope it helps to know I'm feeling the slightest bit disappointed too.  I guess it just is what it is. :)

What the Frick is All This Crying About?

In the past 10 days I've watched the two biggest movies of the summer - in my humble opinion - and I've cried in both.  And I'm not sure when I became that person - the one that needs to bring flippin' kleenex to the movies.  I think we can all admit that tears are are a necessary evil when it comes to the end of the era known as Harry Potter.  And with a cat named Tonks - I didn't really stand a chance...But Transformers?  I cried 3 times.  Three effing times - It's unbelievable.  Let me be clear - I have no problem with both men and women who aren't afraid to show their emotions - but I'm the Chandler girl - the one that's usually dead inside.  However, these two gems opened the flood gates and I couldn't have loved them more - even with one supreme shocker.  

By all means - get yourself to the movies and see both of these films as quickly as possible.  Don't worry about the 2nd movie in the Transformers trilogy - it can be completely ignored if you feel like it.  I own it - I'm almost sad to admit.  The third one blows the second movie out of the water.  So there you go - an emotional blogger and two solid movies.  Get yourself there if at all possible.  Hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday.  Until then...

What Does It Really Mean?

I've been thinking a lot about things lately - reading, crafting, life in general.  There's only a few weeks until my new job starts and I'm super excited/nervous/insert any emotion here.  So instead of rambling about only God knows what- I thought I'd tackle my reading pledge.  If anyone has noticed I've changed my book #5 - it was...

 Source

It's a good book...at least the first forty pages.  I just wasn't in the mood - I know I will be - just not now. So I moved on to this...

Source

I'm loving this book.  I'm on page 200 and starting to realize that AP English might have failed me when it comes to vocabulary or that my memory is the equivalent of a gnat.  Not sure which one applies.  I've  realized I need to buy all my books on the nook so I can look up all the words I don't know - which trust me is plenty.  So - I'm getting close to the halfway point of my reading pledge - and I'm starting to get nervous about meeting my goal.  And then I remembered - this is my goal and it doesn't matter if I meet it only that I commit to reading on a regular basis - that's what matters.  So that's it for now...I have a few cards and pages to share from craft diva day and The Mother Load class at Big Picture Classes.  I'm hoping to get that together on Friday.  

Oh...and I've made another pledge for Labor Day.  I plan to make 28 cards for Operation Write Home  (the number was picked "randomly" from one of those handy Internet number generators).  I won't even tell you what the first number was - either 35 or 43 but that's a whole different story.  I've made 5 cards already so I'm well on my way.  Tomorrow is the last day of my summer job so I'm going to have plenty of time to hit the crafty table and the books.  Woo hoo!  I hope you've had a wonderful Wednesday and stayed cool or warm depending on where you are in the world.  Personally - I feel like I'm living on the friggin' sun right now.  I digress.  Again - have a good one!  Until then...

P.S. Big Picture Classes is holding their Big Idea Festival again for free.  Check it out if you're interested in finding out more about their excellent classes - BTW: I don't get any kick backs.  It's a great chance to get your feet wet and learn first hand the wonderfulness that is online craft classes.

What the Frick Day Is it?

Isn't it funny how easy it is to lose sight of what day it is - despite the fact that it's Monday and I had to take my Utah (code word for keister) into summer school today.  And the answer is simple - it's summer vacation and there is no reason on God's green earth to remember what day it is - even when your required/privilege (let's be honest it depends on the day) to spend a few hours with tiny little ones for three to four days a week.  So - I have some exciting news.  I know it's a little surprising to think I'm actually posting to share something (hehe)....

Source: Hero Arts Blog

I have long been a fan of Hero Arts and a newly minted fan of Studio Calico so I could hardly contain my glee at the idea of these two wonders teaming up to bring new stamps to the crafting universe and I'm not disappointed.  Do me a favor...look closely at the stamp set on the right then look at the sentiment in  bottom left hand corner.  SHUT THE FRONT DOOR.  I am buying this set for those four little words - part of one of the most hysterical commercials in recent history - the only ones I like better involve that feisty red M&M.



So let's just say I'm stoked.  I can't wait for more Hero Arts & Studio Calico goodness to hit the streets - they predict it will be in approximately a month but after the Smash Book fiasco I won't be holding my breath.  There are a lot of great giveaways going on both manufacturers' sites and a three day blog hope with some members of both design teams.  Gotta love it.  Can't wait to tell my dad - we happen to love this commercial and using the statement as a replacement for the "real" thing - another genius example from my father - "What the foolishness?"  It works every time.  I hope everyone has had a great Monday.  Until then...

BTW: I actually quite enjoy my Smash Book and am happy to finally have one in my house - definitely worth checking out! :)

Cards & Other Delightful Nonsense

The last couple of weeks have seen a steady incline in my crafty and personal life - and I'm just tickled teal about it.  There are moments when I feel utterly content and at home in my new and improved place with my crafting mojo visiting on a more regular basis.  So along with this sudden yummy contentedness I'm experiencing - my friends and I have started our summer crafting dates again.  We just had the first one at my house a little over a week ago.  Thank you Dad for helping me get everything ready and presentable.  And...I have some crafty goodness to report.  It feels good to write those words.  So drumroll please...

Both of these cards have stamped images from the outstanding men and women behind Stamping Bella! I love their images.  I colored both with copics and did absolutely no blending - except on the lovely bella's complexion/skin tone which didn't go so well in my opinion.  I wanted to scrap the whole thing, but my friends told me to get a grip and stop being such a perfectionist - so she made it on a card.  The final crafty piece I did hasn't actually been attached to a card yet.  It's oversized.  However, I've been coveting this stamp from Hero Arts for ages - wishing and hoping it would arrive at one of my local scrapbooking stores or Archivers.  Imagine my surprise when I saw it at Michaels in all of it's glory.  So happy to see it.

Love, Love, Love this color combination.  Teal and purple have been rocking my world since last summer to be perfectly honest.  Love it so much.  Speaking of teal and coloring - I bought a whole host of copic markers at a recent convention and am so happy with my color choices.  I did buy one marker that I already have - so it's definitely time to print the chart.  So excited about some new stamps from one of my favorite companies.  I'll be presenting some of those later this week.

Without further ado - on to the delightful nonsense.  I've completely scrapped my list of books to read for the summer.  Now don't get me wrong - I absolutely will be doing everything in my power to finish at LEAST 10 books by Labor Day 2011.  However - I will not be saddling myself with any crappy lists or parameters.  It's just gonna be little old neurotic me deciding what I want to read and when I want to read it.  I'm up to three books now.  I decided a professional book I started in April is definitely being included since it was finished just a few days ago and it's basically a text book and far from what anyone would call an easy read; and frankly I feel completely okay telling the person in charge of this little endeavor to suck it if they don't like it- which is me.  So - here's what I'm reading now and completely enjoying it I might add.

Definitely a fun and easy read - I'm plugging away on it quite nicely.  I'm also really into a crafty book right now which is amazing because of the step by step pictures of this particular artist's art journaling process.  I highly recommend this if you (like me) feel a little like wetting yourself when you try to art journal.  It breaks it down in a way that doesn't scare me straight to my core.  Gotta love that.

I also have a few other books down the line that I will report on as they come up.  I sure hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday (for those celebrating the 4th of July.).  Otherwise - I hope you're having a wonderful weekend.  I'll be reporting on movies and products later this week so look for that.  I have  a goal to post at least three times a week which I believe is doable for me right now.  So here's hoping that happens.  Until then...