Oh.. the Leaves...

Did I mention how I love these leaves from Au Naturale by Lizzie Anne Designs? So pretty and serene!

I am into a light aqua for Fall... with Black or Brown... this ribbon (from the $1 bin at Micheal's) inspired me so much... I think I am really into Grays right now too... who knew?

The scalloped white edge on this card is from an almost 6X12 pre-cut piece of CS from Bazzill Basics. I stamped the leaves in StazOn and watercolored them with Cool Caribbean and Soft Sky Ink. The maple leaf in the focal point was left white... but I painted around the outside of the image to make it pop. The scalloped circle is actually on the inside of the card. I used my Coluzle to cut a peek-a-boo window in the card.

Have you checked out all the new Lizzie Anne Designs coming soon? Some wonderful stuff!

A Simple Expression

First let me state I am grateful to say I have no current occasion to send this card... I created it for the wonderful ladies at Lizzie Anne Designs. It uses the set Au Naturale. I find it a challenge to make simple elegant sympathy cards. I think this accomplished my goal.

I love this color combination... I see pale yellow and gray in a lot of contemporary designs lately and Japanese influences. I adore this modern leaf design... such a lovely simple leaf.

The leaves are stamped in Staz-On and then heat set and bleached out. I like to use a "splashless" bleach... and I just paint it on with a small brush. The "splashless" type seems to stick to the brush more like a paint. I heat set the bleach after it's faded out a bit... especially if I am going to be painting in a lighter color than the background cardstock. I found that if I don't do that the bleach will remain active and bleach out the color I paint in!

It's important if you are using this technique that you use a cardstock without a white core... a nice dyed cardstock. Experiment with different papers... each color bleaches out in a unique way.

In a Jam?

A short post because I am so busy it's sickening... anyone wanna help me make 40 paper baby buggies for Shower favors??? They are so cute... wait till you see! I love crafting for baby/wedding stuff... it gives me a change to make stuff that is totally cute for cute's sake.

Not that this card isn't cute...

Poor Alma the owl got stuck in this Jar of Gooseberry Jam... good thing it's yummy!

All stamps from justjohanna... colored with Copic markers.

And some news from Lizzie Anne Designs... they are releasing lots of new stamps! Check it out!

Pucker Up!

Have I mentioned I love the new images from justjohanna? In fact I love them so much I can not settle on what to order! I wish I could have one of each!

I totally dig the idea of a seahorse selling lemonade... Does he drink lemonade himself... living in the ocean and all??? I say "yes"... seahorses love fresh squeezed citrus beverages!

I don't know if I can explain the "why" of this layout... I was just playing around and came up with this... it is what it is. :)

All Stamps by justjohanna. Paper: Pretty in Pink, Basic Black, Whisper White (SU!). Ink: Copic Markers and blenders, Summer Sun SU! Reinkers, Groovy Guava Reinkers. Accessories: Black polka dot ribbon (maker unknown), White Signa Uniball Gel Pen.

So Many Vegetables, So Little Time!

I was shocked when my husband reminded me last night that it's Thursday again... time to pick up our weekly box of veggies from Angelic Organics. I am really enjoying the challenge of being forced to use veggies I am not comfortable cooking with; like Fennel and Cooking Greens, but I underestimated the amount of veggies I would actually need to personally consume each week!

Now don't get me wrong... I love my veggies. I was a vegetarian for over 10 years, and my husband continues to be a vegetarian. We eat vegetarian meals almost every night for dinner, I only occasionally make a separate meat dish for Andy and I. But I have found that since Andy was born I started using a lot of pre-prepared foods to supplement our dinners. No more! We didn't even have a chance to eat a frozen pizza this week, a typical weekly "easy-out" staple for us.

Each week we pick up one box from our local drop off point. We have bought 12 weeks of shared crops from Angelic Organics. We don't get to choose our vegetables... it's all random, depending on the weather for the week and what was harvested. We do get a large variety of seasonal, local vegetables. Rick and I thought this would be a great way to "act locally" through our food choices and stretch ourselves a bit culinary-wise.

This is what was in this week's box...

• 2 Green Leaf Lettuce Heads (looks/tastes great! Last weeks lettuce was "spotty")
• 5 Bell Peppers
• 4 small Jalapeño Peppers
• 1 Eggplant
• 1 bunch Swiss Chard (I have no idea how to cook this!)
• 1 bulb of Fennel (last week was the first time I'd ever eaten fennel... yum!)
• 1 bunch of Celery (the farm told us they were not happy with the variety they grew this year... and it is really strong and sort of woody celery)
• 2 Cucumbers
• 6 ears of Corn
• 1 Honeydew Mellon (last weeks Cantaloupe was supper yummy!)
• 9 Tomatoes
• 1 Bulb of Garlic (looks so moist!)
• 1 Bunch Anise Hyssop (I have never had this herb in my LIFE!)

That's a lot of veggies right?!? And I still have one Zucchini and one Cucumber left from LAST week! Let alone all the fruit in the house! I think we may need to buy a juicer!

My plans for tomorrow... make Corn Soup, Carrot/apricot muffins, and Tzatziki Sauce... maybe some refrigerator pickle slices. It's a full day!

If you'd like to learn more about Angelic Organics I recommend this blog written by another shareholder; 24 boxes.... it's been very inspiring to me. Eating locally grown/raised food is one small way you can reduce your Carbon Footprint. Read One Local Summer for more inspiration... wherever you live.

This sweet little melon had a face... bonus! I didn't even notice until I looked at the pictures!

A RAK From Simone!

I am such a bag RAK recipient! I have had this lovely card for over a week.... at least! Technically it came while I was on vacation... but that's a crumby excuse. Simone worked hard on this pretty card... it deserves a post all of it's own!

I love how Simone highlighted the bicycle with a metallic pen... and she put a little bling on each wheel! So cute! Her blog; Daily Dose of Spazz is terrific. I still can't believe we haven't met! Thank you for the wonderful card Simone!

Furoshiki... Japanese Fabric Folding... Very Green!

I am making a larger effort to be GREEN! We replaced many of our light bulbs with compact fluorescents, bought a share in a local Organic Co-op farm, and bought reusable groccery bags for a start. In my research of crafty greenness... I have discovered Furoshiki... or Japanese Fabric Folding as a green way to wrap gifts and transport items.

You can find basic instructions on Furoshiki HERE... and if you do a Google Image search for Furoshiki Wrapping you can see some amazing examples of the results.

As I understand this art form, traditional fabrics and cloths of a typical size are used. But I think it'd be cool to try some vintage dishtowels, hankies or even bandannas. Imagine wrapping a cookbook in a vintage embroidered dishtowel for a gift, a small jewelry box in a vintage hankie... or a baby gift in handmade flannel receiving blanket! Cuteness! I think I will also try to make some large cloths to carry as emergency totes. They'd be convenient to carry as they'd be so small... and I think I could fashion some out of fabric remnants edged in bias tape.... stay tuned!

Archiver's Makes Me Insane and What Happened to Cool School Supplies?

If you don't have an Archiver's Store in your hood... ok... you will probably think I am a jerk for biting the had that feeds me.... but my local Archiver's makes me so angry! Prepare for a rant about nothing important.

Every time I go to my Archiver's (you will have to guess which one) I have a bad experience. For one they don't have a child friendly attitude... now please, if you hate children or at the least hate shopping for scrapbook paper near children please don't come crying to me. I already read that thread on splitcoast and it infuriated me. I have a child... and so do a lot of crafters (duh). In my opinion it's just plain ole BAD MARKETING to not have some tolerance. A play area isn't even necessary... but it's nice.

By the way, by son is perfect in every way... he never pulls the paper off the shelves.

My fave scrappy stamp store The Cottage Stamper is always kind to my son... they give lollipops. :)

I don't even go to Archiver's with Andy anymore. He can sense their fear.

So last night I went to you-know-where... looking for flocking powder... which they had a decent selection of in case you are also looking... and I stumbled upon some other fun things...

This line of paper from Basic Grey... "Mellow" yummy... it's so Autumn Japanesy. I like it so much and I wonder how I missed this at CHA.



But they are never able to answer a simple question there! "Do you have Timber Brown StazOn reinkers?" and she walks me over to the rack with the StazOn and starts picking up everything but the StazOn. I don't think she even knew what I was talking about.

"Do you have Brown Brads?"

"No" was the jointly echoed immediate answer from both clerks... now I had seen brown brads... but I was looking for smaller ones... so rather than asking for small brown brads (which I feared would confuse them) I just asked for brown brads... and they DID have brown brads. It felt great to walk to the counter later with my browner than brown brads.

So you can imagine I didn't believe them when they said they didn't have 6" X 12" albums. I looked and looked... but I guess they were right.

One time I asked if all the Basic Grey paper was together and the clerk actually walked me over to some gray cardstock... loon.

Last time I went they couldn't find a opaque Sakura Glaze pen for me to sample. Am I the only one in the world who needs to sample a $3.00 pen before I purchase it? I think not.

Why don't these stores have sample counters like cosmetic counters do? They should!


My tip... If you are looking for cool school supplies for your 30-something-year-old-self... get your butt to a Borders Books. Did you know they have a teeny tiny selection of neat scrapbooking kits too? And some of their wrapping papers would be awesome for scraping... if you are the type that doesn't care about Acid Free and all that.

Boy I feel better... thanks for listening! If you've read this far you deserve a card... More new images from justjohanna... Who doesn't love a cherry on a cupcake? Yay!

Colored with SU! markers. Top of cupcake is glittered with Martha Stewart Crafts Glitter (white) and SU! Dazzling Diamonds in Red.

New Blog Banner... and other stuff I need to do

Getting a new blog banner has been on my list of to-do items... I am still not fully satisfied with it, but I was like the last person on earth to have banner period... so now I have a "sort of" cool banner. Whatever... it's better than nothing.

Also on my to do list...

• Acknowledge all the lovely people who have tagged me receintly. It's not that I am some sort of tagging snob or something... I just can't keep up. Please forgive me!
  
• Send a bunch of cards in for publication.
• Get some stuff up on Ebay.
• Make kitchen curtains.
• Buy fabric for kitchen curtains.
  
• Buy shelves from Ikea and reorganize my studio.
• Talk to you about Angelic Organics... the organic farm we bought a share in... yum!
  
• Figure out which justjohanna cards I can post for you.
• Post a bunch of stuff on Splitcost and ScrapTV.
• Finish organizing my San Fran pics and show them to you.
• Set up a paid Flickr account so I have more space and can sort things into albums.
  
• Clean my house (aren't I funny!)
• Add a ton of people to my blogroll.... again... SORRY! I am so bad about that!
  
• Celebrate my one year anniversary blogging (yay!)
• Do some sort of cool fundraising blog giveaway thingy.
  

If this isn't enough reason for you to stay tuned... you are just too hard to please! :)


Ok... twist my arm... here are some fun San Fran Images for ya! Click on them to enlarge.

Giant sexy legs on Haight Street!

I have no idea what The Owl Tree sells... this was a "drive by" picture snapping!

Doesn't this sign make laundry look fun!

Really yummy Mexican Restaurant... REALLY yummy (the new blog banner was shot in their bathroom by the way!) The place was FILLED with awesome art and amazing copper walls which for some reason I didn't snap a picture of.

No I didn't get a tattoo/piercing here... but It's a cool building right?

What a great name for a donut shop! Unfortunately the sign/name was better looking than the donuts.

As if you needed another reason to love the Japanese... three cheers for food that eats itself! (Bottom picture... second square down on the left side.) Pictures taken in Japantown... my favorite place in all of San Francisco!

Great Band Names

Ya know when you get that random thought... "that'd be a great band name!" Well, like you, I get tons of spam email... and they often start with those weird nonsensical sentences structured to trick your spam filters right? Well hidden in those wack-o phrases are cool band names. Feel free to use the following... these would probably also make good poetry prompts, song, film or album titles as well. Do with them what you please.

Poll Module for Serendipity
Last Child in the Woods
Superweeds Damage
Feedback Mapbirds (my favorite)
Information or Dead
Unibus Baggage
The Simplification Trick
Dragon Screamer
Shift Biz
For None Venture
Megatown Backsplash
A Clock in Your Pocket
Typewriter Plush
Justin Long Glibly
Cablecar Media
Blaster Gallery
Insane Report
All my Pretty Chickens
From the Crowns of Stems

justjohanna News!

Attention justjohanna fans! There is a super quickie DT call going on! Check out Johanna's Blog for the deets. It's a fun team to be a part of, I hope some of you will consider giving it a go!

We also have a fun Sketch Challenge going on... no contest this month.... but a great sketch to inspire you.

Here are my submissions... All stamps by justjohanna

This card uses bleaching to achieve the look on these layers. I like to beach with "splashless" bleach. Just paint it on and heat set or let it dry overnight. I stamp with Staz-On or Chalk ink when using this technique. Different cardstocks bleach out in different colors. Just make sure you are using a high quality cardstock without a white core.

It's sort of hard to see, but the layer on the left is several Marvy Mega Square Scalloped punches overlapped. The notecard base is by A Muse. Don't you love this new "Lovely Skull N Bones" stamp by justjohanna! And fyi... "hallo" is "hello" in dutch! :)

If you haven't checked out all the new stamps at justjohanna you should! There is a great new Octopus "Oh Octopus" and my favorite "Rag Doll Unicorn". (see below) If you are a regular reader you will remember that I predicted Octopus would be big... and CHA proved that point... We saw many Octopi. My next prediction is for unicorns... and this uni is top on my list of must haves! More proof that unicorn are hot can be found on Etsy... almost 30 pages of unicorn love!

Street Art in San Fran!

One of my favorite parts of this trip was snapping shots of all the amazing graffiti art and architecture. San Francisco has some of the best street art I have ever seen. Even the random tagging and what is probably considered vandalism has a certain quality. I found it all very inspirational. Click on photos to enlarge.

broken plates embedded in a wall in Berkeley on Telegraph


Huge amazing mural in Berkeley on Telegraph.

Rainbow mural on Haight Street. Below is a close up of the above.

A door on Haight street.

Haight Street store front mural.

Aztec style block prints in a restaurant on Haight Street.

Flashy graffiti... somewhere.

Mural on the side of the City Lights Bookstore (where the beat poets hung out) in Northbeach.

Mural on the opposite side of the mural above! It was a very nice alley!


I can't remember where I found the murals below...

I Guess I Do Have Something to Share!

I did some stamping before I split town for the week... I forgot I have these cards to share.

First; this card from my Jami Sibley Swap. I can't wait to see the rest of these cards... I don't even really need the samples now that I am not doing workshops... I just like to see/touch these cards!

Paper: Fall Flowers Designer Paper, Groovy Guava, Natural White, Wild Wasabi Textured paper. Stamps: ABC Images, Sweet Shapes. Ink, Basic Brown, Wild Wasabi, Groovy Guava, So Saffron, Really Rust. Accessories: Hodgepodge Hardware, Stitched Wasabi Ribbon.

I created this next card (with some help from my amazing SIL Angie) for my best buddy Nancy's baby shower. She is expecting in September. It's a super simple card... but I think anything you are stamping in quantity really should be very simple. The center image is stepped up on dimensionals after having been punched out with my Mega Square Punch. I think it has an elegant look.

Paper: Shimmery White, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Stamps: Swell News and darn if I can remember the other set... sorry! Ink: Timber Brown Staz-on, Chocolate Chip. Watercolored with Celery, Bashful, Apricot and Cocoa reinkers.

We are back!

We returned VERY LATE last night... or was it early this morning... from San Francisco. I have lots of crafting tales to share... but I need to do laundry and stamp some assignments first. Lots of pictures to share! Please visit back!

Hey Punk!

Lizzie Anne Designs once again... This card is perfect for the Punk in your life... we all know one!

Basic Black for the Card base; Regal Rose Cardstock on the scallop and designer paper by SU! and Harley Davidson. Ink in White Craft and Regal Rose. The polka dotted ribbon and the black chipboard bracket is by an unknown maker. The silver snap style stickers are by Joanne Crafts Scrapbook line. I used a Sakura glaze pen to make the dots around the scallop. A teeny A Muse Candy bling sets off one of the skull's eyes. My 3 year old son called this the pirate card!


I wanted to also let you know that Lindsey at Jacksonbelle is having a little card contest on her blog! If you are a Lizzie Anne Fan you should check it out!

Happy Halloween... in August!

My first Lizzie Anne Designs projects are done! Halloween is my favorite holiday... candy, costumes... bats... skulls! I love it all! Working with the Lizzie Anne Stamps was a joy... they are cling mounted on a thin cling that is so easy to work with! Their deeply etched rubber designs are cute and stamp great!

This first card is stamped in Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Basic Grey on a Natural White base. The patterned paper is retired by SU! The chipboard name plate was brayered in Basic Grey, and the twill tape stamped in the same.


Don't you love these ghosts! OOH... Scary! :) They were stamped in white craft on Basic Black. The spider was stamped in basic black and the sentiment in Pumpkin Pie. The base of this card is a note card by A Muse. The ribbon is by KI Memories... it's backed in adhesive. The chipboard frame is by an unknown maker.


I told you I have been stamping! Stay tuned for more this week. If you'd like to win some fun Lizzie Anne Stamps; check out Tricia's blog!