Wednesday, October 24, 2012

love notes - a bright CPT card

hi there!  hope your mid-week is going well!
 
today is pink day at school, so of course i'm decked out (literally head to toe) with my finest pink clothes and accessories.  we're honoring Breast Cancer Awareness week (i have some relatives who've had breast cancer... not. fun.)
 
but, i thought i would share a fun card... this one is from my stash pre-move (seriously, it's going to be ages until i get it all unpacked and organized again.  moving is HELL on my creativity... i WANT to make stuff, but it's just not available!)
 
this card features a Creative Paper Trade felt heart (with a flower), the shabby chic pink trim, and the blue and white fabric ribbon behind the pink trim, as well as a birdy note image tucked behind the doily.
 
i love working with everything Andrea has created... it's seriously amazing.  we have some fun tutorials on the blog, and of course the amazing DT creations, so please be sure to head over there to check them out... 
 
 
anyway, this is going to be a quick one.
 
thanks for stopping by, xoxo!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

CPT Party Favors

hey there!
 
for some reason, this project didn't get shared last week when it was posted to the CPT blog (oh wait, maybe it was because of my internet connectivity issues--grr! from last week).
 
anyways, i wanted to share this party favor gift bag (it actually has a gift already inside, i couldn't wait to package it up... just a little journal/ notebook). 
 
but i love the inspiration that Andrea provided for us... be sure to check out THIS POST to see what i'm talking about!
 


i loved pulling out some yummy orange and teal to go with the black and white polka dotted background.

that's it, i've really gotta run, but please make sure you check out the CPT blog for more inspiration and tutorials, there's a lot going on over there :D

thanks for stopping by, xoxo!

monday manicure: beige invasion (late)

can a girl catch a break?  last week i was stressing about entering grades into my gradebook and not being entirely unpacked at my apartment, and yesterday morning i was hugging the toilet to start my morning, and then pretty much stuck there all day (although i went to school to teach anyway).
 
ugh, i hate not being ready to go, but i'm learning to cut myself some slack when it comes to things like my blog, or my apartment, or even work.  you see, i'm kind of a perfectionist.  i say kind of because i actually heard a new term recently that fits me a bit better... it's the adjective satisficer, and it means that i'm satisfied when i reach a good choice or sitaution, i'm not hung up on getting the BEST choice.
 
but it still means that i have to have reached a good choice or decision.  i stumbled across this word in my reading of "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin.  i've been glued to the book, mostly because almost all of it resonates with me in some way.  i have also discovered that i am a normally happy person, but i should take care to cultivate it, and stay that way.  by the way, i highly recommend this book to just about everyone--even though i won't follow all of the things Gretchen did, the book and ideas themselves have made me self-reflect in ways i've never done before.  it's awesome.
 
all of this to say, i'm giving myself a break for not posting this monday manicure on time yesterday.  i had the picture loaded and everything... quite a while ago actually.  the only thing(s) that stopped me were: 1) being SICK SICK SICK, and 2) my slow internet connection at my new apartment.
 
reason #2 might not be a big deal to most of you, but i'm seriously considering getting a new carrier because my internet isn't connecting well at ALL.  it's driving me insane.  waiting 5 minutes for a picture to load is NOT okay.  i've been lucky before in that i haven't had internet connectivity issues before, but now i seriously can't imagine living without some semblance of what i had before.  it's painful.
 
i'm actually posting this one from work.  (shhhh, don't tell!)
 
so, here's the manicure that i should have posted yesterday.  and the post that is eating at me for not having it posted on time (because gosh darnit, it's supposed to be a MONDAY manicure... ack!) :D but like i said, i'm working through stuff, and i'm NOT perfect.

 
 
this manicure really needed another coat (i only did one!), but for a one-coater, this isn't bad.  it's an Orly polish, and i just love the suble sparkle of the tan/ seude color.
 
so yes, that's all for now.  i have some other posts in the works that i'll hopefully get figured out shortly.  sorry for all that rambling above, especially if you're just here for the pictures... :D
thanks for stopping by, xoxo!

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

10 Minute Craft Dash #5

hi there!

i'm so excited to share this card with you today, it's for the new 10 Minute Craft Dash Challenge #5!



what fun colors, right?  i'm loving the color palette here :D ...what do you think?

so, before i show my card, i have some news of the sad-ish variety--this is my last dash as a designer (at least for now)... i've been super busy, (and unfortunately, stressed) with a new job - 4 weeks new, a new apartment - less than a week, and then having all the normal things that are on my plate.  so you won't be seeing sneak peeks over at the challenge posts, but you'll still see me linking up what i've made... it seems that i've become quite addicted to rushing around my craft room like a crazy lady! :D

so, here's my version of the challenge, we got to use some lovely embellishments from Andrea over at Creative Paper Trade... she's a genius with all things crafty, and she's been gracious enough to provide a prize to our 10 Minute Craft Dash winner! hooray!



also, you better check Paulina's blog for the list of other designers joining us, they're my fellow designers over at Creative Paper Trade, and they're the best!

anyways, hope you enjoyed :D

thanks for stopping by, xoxo

Monday, October 15, 2012

monday manicure: just for fun.

oh my goodness!

happy monday, and welcome back to another monday manicure!  it's a little later than i normally post, but it's still within my desired time frame, eh? :D

today's manicure comes from a desire to do something completely just 'cuz.  i have some pretty colors in my nail stash, and i'd totally neglected a few of them... as in, never been opened (GASP!)  i know, i know, i know!  there's only so much time in the day! :D

hehe, anyway, this was super fun to paint (the pink is a creme and it goes on so smooth!) and the OPI glitter on my ring finger over the teal is DIVINE.  seriously.  it's from the ballet collection, and if you want to know the bottle name, i'll have to do some digging through my boxes and boxes of stuff... but i will :D just for you.

if you want.



if not, i'm coolio with that too.  anyway, i hope you like these fun colors and it brightens your day!

thanks for stopping by, xoxo

Thursday, October 11, 2012

best wishes

hi there!

it's thursday, but it's really my friday... we don't have school tomorrow, and i'm so thankful, because i'm moving!  yay!

for the past 4+ months i've been staying at my parents house because i didn't have a job and didn't want to sign another year lease (or pay another $100 for month-to-month) at my old apartment.  so, i moved back to a room in my parents house... not my idea of being independent, you know?

but now that i have a job, i went searching around my favorite city--and i found a steal of a place :D  it's older, appliances are pretty dated (mostly the stove), and the kitchen carpet is a funky 70's flower/ mustard/ rust pattern.  but it's perfect for me and i'm paying TONS TONS TONS less than my other place.  and it's more than i was even looking for truthfully.

i'm very excited to be going back to my old city... it seriously makes me beyond happy.  plus i'll be ridiculously close to my job, which means less gas, etc!

anyway, on to today's card.



the first few days of school were great for me, but i wasn't quite into a routine yet, so one night when i knew i needed to go to bed, i did.  but i couldn't sleep.  so instead of squandering that time being awake without doing anything, i hopped up and went to my craft desk and put together this little card.  just grabbed things off my desk, but as you can see, i've used some awesome CPT goodies (the fabric flag and the digital heart paper).

so that's about all i can stay for now--best wishes to you for your weekend and plans, it's really starting to feel like fall around here now!

thanks for stopping by, xoxo

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

stars and flowers, 10 Minute Craft Dash style


hi and happy Tuesday!  it's been a good week so far... got all my laundry done and folded last night, re-painted my chipped nails, and went to band practice--we're playing Christmas music now because we're getting ready for a few concerts in December, loving the sleigh bells and the Christmas hymns i'm humming on the way out the door.  don't get me wrong, i love fall, but i LOVE Christmas more :D

so anyway, i'm back with another card featuring the latest color inspiration for the 10 Minute Craft Dash #4... there's an awesome sponsor, so be sure to play along before the deadline... details here.


used some Studio Calico paper (kraft color background), and mixed up the rest with washi tape, fabric ribbon, and some stars from Studio Calico and a few cute little brads.  love this color combo-- so easy to use for just about any card!


time it took to create: 12:14 (eek!) the flowers with the fabric trim definitely ate up my time there... oh well :D  still love the card... now to figure out where it's going!

thanks for stopping by, xoxo