WelshGrl2

.scrap psychic (or something).

A few years ago, I told my then roommate that I was "Friends psychic."  That is, I would get some random line, or scene from an episode from my head and then later I would watch that episode.  Without even meaning to.

Incredible, right?

Well now, I am pleased to tell you all that I am scrap-psychic.  I made this page months ago, neglected to put a title or journaling on it, then created a handy little area to put pages that are "almost done."  I then promptly forgot about said area.  

Flash forward to last night.  I was working the closing shift at work, and thinking about how my urge to go to the UK cropped up every few months.  I wondered if it would come up with a cyclic pattern if I tried to track it on a calendar.

I got home around 11pm, and started rooting through my scrapbooking stuff.  I wanted to make something, but I just wasn't sure what.  Then, I came across the little "area" of half finished pages that I had created a few months ago.

Moral of the story? 

I repeat: I am psychic.

journaling:

every few months, or every half year or so, I get an urge.  An urge to rush out to the S.F. airport and jump on a plane to London Heathrow. (British Airways has a 7:50 PM flight.  I know this by heart.) 

I want to fly away and feel free on my own adventure.  Danskos plunking on the rainy cobblestones, tube map in hand, stomach nicely ravenous as I walk all over the country.

My home away from home feels just a heart beat away sometimes.

it's at my fingertips.

design note: I used a coaster from a pub on this page because it is one of my favorite drinks.  Bulmers hard cider!

.the science of "I love..." scrapbook pages.

I love making "I love..." scrapbook pages for two main reasons: they are a great outlet to experiment with new styles and techniques, and they are very good at capturing what my life is really like RIGHT NOW. 

When I am making a page based on an event or sentiments, I feel like the photos and the words that I am using tell me what kind of paper, embellishments, and style they need to tell their story.  But when I am making an "I love..." page, I feel like I have a little bit more of a say in what gets glued on the page and how.  I've been working on this "I love..." page over the past few evenings, and I have had a few new stylistic experiences with it. 

I used a combination of words and visuals to express the things "I Love" on this page.  Sometimes I used both, but it was a very fun challenge for me to let some of the visual representations speak for themselves.  I made sure that they weren't too abstract and that they were prominently placed on the page, then I left them wordless so they could explain themselves.

Can you tell which items I am talking about?

I also loved playing with background texture techniques on this page.  I used an old doily as a mask, then glimmer misted over it to create a meaningful, unique, and subtle background texture.

I also feel like I got a little bit closer to mastering the collage style of scrapbooking that I adore in other people's albums.

I think "I Love..." pages are really cool to make because they can capture the details of my life RIGHT NOW.  These are things that I think I'll remember, but totally don't.  I love looking back at these pages a few years later- they really remind me of who I was at that point in time.

I think that the key to pulling of a really successful "I Love..." page is to brainstorm.  Look around your room and look through your purse.  Be honest about the books you're reading, the music you're listening to, and the movies/tv shows you're watching (even if you think its embarrassing!).  Look through your "favorites" in flickr, etsy, etc.  What do you spend your time thinking about?  What are you naturally drawn to in stores? 

I recommend keeping these types of pages focused on things that you like RIGHT NOW.  For example, I could include coffee, lions, the color pink, rain, and the UK on every single "I Love..." page.  They are lifelong loves of mine.  But instead, I only include the lifelong loves that I feel are particularly relevant at the time.  Otherwise, my "I Love..." pages would seem really repetitive, and they wouldn't reveal as much about my life RIGHT NOW.  (Besides, a page dedicated to lifelong loves would be a great page on its own, no?)

So, what do you love RIGHT NOW?  Are you planing on scrapping it?

.meet my imaginary friends.

Hello, dear readers.  I'd like to take a minute to introduce you to my dearest imaginary friends:

Ditty- "The Musician"

Burkle- "The Secret Weapon."

Maximilian- "The Keeper of All Things Old."

Teeny- "The Rebel"

Grace- "The Comforter"

and Root- "The Beauty"

These dear pals have been in the works for so long, and I am so excited for them to make their official online debut.

Which one is your favorite?  It changes daily for me.  Today, I think I will go with Burkle, because she reminds me of my friend Rowena.

Expect more posts about them in the days and weeks to come. : )

.happy faire.

The craft faire yesterday was so much fun!

The people in the booths on either side of me were really friendly, and our booth was very well received by lots of customers wandering around.  

The monsters made their debut and enjoyed being cuddled and told how cute they are all day.

It was quite cold in our shady little corner, but we modeled some of the scarves I was selling to keep us warm.

All in all, it was a very successful first faire.

By the way, the monsters are coming to the Etsy shop this week, so keep your eyes out!

xoxo

.sometimes re-scrapping a page is totally worth it.

I re-scrapped my Senior Prom Picture the other day, and I am very pleased with the way it turned out. 

You like?

.coffeeholic goes nuts.

Thank goodness the only "-holic" status I can claim is coffee-holic.  The worst that comes out of a coffee addiction is an occasionally shaky hand and a desire to knit tons and tons of cute coffee sleeve.

They are all available in the shop.  Like, right now.

.new flowers in bloom.

There are some new flowers in the garden...

I love making these Secret Garden inspired journals- it's so much fun!  There are lots more in the shop...

.giveaway.

When I was a kid, my Dad worked a lot of late nights and went on a lot of business trips.  One day, when I was very very small, he came back from an event with a very special present for me: a stuffed lion.  He told some sort of story about how he won it in the conference giveaway after he announced that he wanted to give it to me.  Lionell has protected me from scary night time monsters ever since.  Seriously, he is still on my bed.

I was a kid, probably around 10 or 11, and my mom and I were at a little fair that our local pet store was having in their parking lot.  We probably went because we needed to buy bird seed, or I wanted to see the bunnies, or something like that.  A local radio station was there, and they announced that they were giving away free tickets to Marine World.  The qualification?  You had to have animals on your t-shirt.  I looked down at my shirt.  There was a giant globe on it with animals walking on the green parts, things swimming in the blue parts, and even more things flying above them all.  I ran over to the booth to show them my shirt without even telling my mother where I was going. 

I won the tickets. 

And then we went to the park, saw the Orca Whale show, and when they asked for a volunteer from the audience, they chose me!  I was "kissed" by one of the Orca Whales.

I can't recall a single other story in which I won something, so I think that maybe I only have luck winning things if animals are involved.  But that doesn't mean that I can't give things away... right?

This weekend, I am giving away one of the new coffee sleeves that I just put up in my shop.

To enter, leave a comment in this post telling me about a time you were lucky.  The winner will be chosen on Monday evening and will get to choose which coffee sleeve he/she would like.

.update pretties.

Here are some fall fashion goodies that are up in the shop right now.

Scarves!

Headbands!

Vintage Key Brooches!

And some scrapbooking kits!

glittery paper

pretty handmade albums

and embellishments!

.oh, by the way.