We Will Always Have Paris

Two For Tuesday: Running with Zombies & Mr. Morris Lessmore

Two things that grabbed my attention this week:

photo via Facebook

1.  "Run For Your Lives" 5K.  Here's the premise...  You gather up your friends and try to conquer an obstacle-laden 5K course while being chased by ZOMBIES.  Seriously.  ZOMBIES! The zombies don't actually eat your brains, but they will try to take one of the three flags around your waist. I don't run.  I hate running.  However, I think running from zombies would be too much fun to pass up. 

There are 11 races across the country this year and one happens to be in our own backyard (Baltimore).  Last year's race had over 10,000 participants.  I just found out that you can also sign up to be a Zombie too!  I am all over this.  You can either be a chaser (running Zombie) or a stumbler (slow moving Zombie).  I just checked with the hubby and if I can get a sitter for the weekend (uh... Suni?), you'll find us at the November race.  Any good ideas?  Prom queen zombie?  Bride zombie?  Oh, to be undead!!

This should be great training for the apocalypse...

2.  The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.  If you haven't seen this Oscar-winning wonderful animated 15-minute short, you must.  It is available via YouTube and absolutely free.  A combination of The Wizard of Oz, Hurricane Katrina and an old Buster Keaton movie, the short is visually stunning and will leave the booklover with a lump in her throat.  Once you've fallen in love with the short, you'll want to go check out their iPad app.  I'll off to download it now!

Two For Tuesday: Berry Boxes and "Learn With Jenny" Blog

Two fantastic new things to check out (with videos!!):

1.  My Favorite Things Berry Box Die:  My daughters had so much fun during our Spring Tea last year that I think I'm going to do it again.  Once I laid eyes on this cute die, I knew what my theme was going to be -- strawberry lemonade.  Think giant red and yellow tissue paper pom poms... Think red and white striped paper straws... Think chocolate covered strawberries on tiered plates...  Think little strawberry boxes filled with tasty treats!!!

This will die cut a little treat box that folds into a strawberry.  IT EVEN EMBOSSES ADORABLE LITTLE SEEDS FOR YOU!  For an amazing example, check out Karen Giron's sample here. 

2.  "Learn With Jenny" blog:  I love reading blogs for inspiration.  I find great cupcake recipes (which I never use), card ideas (which I never make) and great ideas for my kids' playdates (I actually do use these!).  Every once in a long while, I stumble upon a blog that knocks my socks off.  If you haven't seen "Learn With Jenny"'s blog, you must.  Absolutely must.

My friend Suni uses a number of shocking phrases that always make me laugh.  For example, her computer never crashes.  It goes "tits up".  Nobody ever has an unpleasant look to them.  They "have a face like a cat's ass".  One of my favorite Suni gems is "balls outside the pants".  She uses it when she's done something completely over the top, without regard for what others might think.  I love it.

I love Jenny's blog because she completely lives with her"balls outside of her pants."  Diagnosed with cancer 6 years ago, Jenny sat down and wrote a "life list" of things that she wanted to do with her life.  She battled and won her cancer battle, and then set about living her life -- work, kids, everything else that comes with it.  Several years later, she realized that she hadn't accomplished much on her "life list" and changed her way of thinking.  There was an amazing life to be lived!  There's so much to learn!

I love watching Jenny cross items off of her "life list".  Some are small (hold a bake sale with her kids) and some are really "reach for the stars" dreams (dance with Ellen DeGeneres on her show).

One of my favorite Jenny list items was to dance in front of all of the Washington Monuments.  Watch this and tell me that you don't love Jenny too:

Now, that's living with your balls outside of your pants...

I'm off to do something on my "life list".

Two For Tuesday: Paper City Paris & Sons Of Anarchy

Love these:

 photo via Made By Joel

1.  Paper City Paris by Made By Joel.  My oldest daughter is going to freak when I print these out.  What a great way to learn the landmarks of Paris!  I can't wait to read Madeline to her and then use these adorable paper printouts to re-enact the story.  AND I CAN TOTALLY USE THESE IN MY NEXT PARISIAN THEMED JOURNAL!  Love, love, love them.  And, they're free. 

photo via Best Blogging Tips

2.  Sons of Anarchy via NetFlix Instant Streaming.   I am a little late to the game on this F/X series.  I just started watching it last week and I'm already through Season One.  If you were a fan of the Sopranos or Deadwood, you'll love this show.  It's that good.  I'm not really a biker-type of girl, but there's some pretty good eye candy in this show.  Hello, Charlie Hunnam!  Season Four premieres September 6th, so I've got quite a bit of catching up to do!  Any other Sam Crow fans out there?

Two For Tuesday: Felt Violets and a Manifesto

I'm loving these:

1.  Heather Bailey's FREE Violet Pattern:  I'm a huge Heather Bailey fan.  I love her style.  I love her fabrics.  I love her patterns.  She just released a free (FREE!) violet pattern.  Head on over to her website and download your copy.  While you're there, you might want to check out her amazing felts.  I'm going to stock up and start whipping up some adorable clips for my daughters.

2.  The Holstee Manifesto Poster.  I stumbled across this poster the other day and I am desperate to hang it in my studio.  I love the quote at the bottom, "Life is about the people you meet, and the things you create with them."  It kind of makes me choke up.  Through paper crafting and working in various stamping stores, I have met some amazing women and some of my closest friends. 

I think I need to hang this poster in my studio as a reminder to share my passion!  You can get your own copy for only $25!

Two For Tuesday: Carved Book Art and DIY Scrabble Tiles

I am loving these:

photo by HokeyStokes

1.  Julia Feld's Amazing Book Carvings.  I stumbled upon these the other day and I was absolutely bowled over by the intricacy of her work.  I am desperate to find the perfect book and do one myself.  I figure it would only take me a couple of years....  If you don't have that kind of time, she regularly sells her pieces on Etsy.  She's currently sold out, but assures that more are coming soon!

Be sure to check out her previous pieces North American Wildlife and Gran Enciclopedia Del Mundo.  Beautiful!

photo via remodelaholic

2.  DIY Scrabble Tile Wall Art.  My fellow enabler, Jennie G., sent me a link to this a few weeks ago and I'm dying to put one up in my hallway.  If you have an electronic die cutting machine, this is an easy peasy project.  I'd love to incorporate our family names (and maybe the cats too!).  Full instructions can be found here.  Amy J - I think I've found a project to work on when you're here this summer!!

I'm off to dig in the garden.  Hope you're having a wonderfully warm spring day!

Two For Tuesday: Evernote and Pinterest

Both of my picks today have to do with organizing the thousands of ideas we all pull from clever blogs and crafty websites.  I spend a lot of (waaaay too much) time surfing the web, looking for inspiration.  I'm constantly saving JPGs of cards I love, layouts I want to duplicate and party ideas.  I love clipping the ideas, but I never go back and look at them because they just get tossed into a file on my desktop or laptop or server -- never to be seen again!

Here are two fantastic ways to organize the photos and articles that inspire you:

Evernote.  Stacy Julian (my go-to source for out of the box creative thinking) turned me on to Evernote a year ago.  This web-based service allows you to save notes, clip web-pages, save pictures and store ideas -- all in one place!  You can create your own files and access them from your desktop, laptop, iTouch, iPad or mobile phone.  I've created Evernote notebooks for all sorts of ideas:

• Card Ideas
• Layout Ideas
• Rubber Stamping
• Altered Train Cases
• Bookbinding
• Parties
• Things I Want To Buy
• Home Decor
• Kid Ideas
• Seasons
• Sewing Projects
• and a ton of others

The photo above is a screen capture of my own Evernote files -- I can quickly flip through my Card Ideas notebook and find a quick card to duplicate.

Let me take you step by step through how I use Evernote.

1. As I surf the web (generally on my iPad) or read blog feeds through Google Reader, I come across a photo or story that I want to keep. 
2. If it is just a photo, I typically just save the photo to my iPad and then go into my photos and e-mail it to my Evernote e-mail account (they give you an e-mail account that you can e-mail stuff to and it will DIRECTLY DROP INTO YOUR EVERNOTE NOTEBOOKS! - How cool is that????).
3. If it is a full article, I copy the article, open Evernote (on my iPad or laptop) and save it as a new note in Evernote.
4. When I'm in Evernote, I will drag & drop the incoming pics/stories (things I have e-mailed to myself) into their appropriate notebooks.

Here's what's really cool.... you can add tags to each of your notes and go searching for them later.  For example...

 
This picture here is saved under my "G's Birthday Party" notebook.  Baby G. wants a pool & popsicle birthday party.  However, the photo is tagged with "Summer" and "Play Dates" so that I can pull up the idea anytime I am looking for something fun to do during the summer or on a play date.  Cool, no?

Give Evernote a try.  It is FREE.  If you are a desktop/laptop user, load it up.  If you are a mobile phone/iTouch/iPad user, get the free Evernote application.  What have you got to lose?  I think you'll love it.

 

2.  Pinterest.  My friend Carrie suggested that I give Pinterest a try.  I am loving it as a source of inspiration, but I find myself saving the ideas in Evernote, rather than Pinterest.  Pinterest is a virtual inspiration board.  You can see beautiful photos and "pin" the ones that inspire you to your own on-line board.  The photo above is a clip from my Pinterest board. 

What I love about Pinterest is the wide variety of things that I wouldn't normally stumble across in my small papercrafting world.  A girl can only see so many cupcakes and pennant banners, right?  Pinterest has followers from all over the world that are interest in all sorts of elements of design, color and art. 

After you stumble around Pinterest for a while you will find certain people with styles you like and you can specifically "follow" them.  Once you "follow" them, you will be able to see everything they pin to their boards.  If you like it, pin it to yours!

I hope I've inspired you to get control of all of those crafty ideas out there.  Find them a home on either your Pinterest "pin board" or your Evernote "notebooks".  Be sure to regularly go back and review your inspiring ideas -- you clipped them for a reason!!

 

 

 

 

Help Our National Parks Service win $600,000!

 
The National Park Foundation is one of four charities competing for a percentage of a $600,000 grant from the Lowe's Charitable and Education Foundation.  If you've read my blog for any length of time, you know that I am an enormous supporter of the National Parks.  My children both have NPS passports and we love to travel the country, earning new stamps for their passports.

Today is the last day to place your vote and the race seems tight.  Please head over now to support our National Parks!  It took me less than a minute to place my vote.

(thanks for the info, Jennie -- you're the best kind of "stoker"!)

New Kits Available: "What I Did On My Summer Vacation"

Remember heading back to school those early days in September? Long days, sunshine, flip flops, popsicles and swim lessons were soon to be forgotten in favor of new school supplies, crisp autumn days, corduroy and my new pair of Mary Janes. One of our first school assignments was to write an essay on “What I Did On My Summer Vacation”. I loved detailing every pool party, weekend trip to Grandma’s and the annual vacation to Disneyland. Every word was a memory.

Why not relive this Summer’s memories in your own “What I Did On My Summer Vacation” mini-book?

Last September, I put together an adorable album for my oldest daughter, documenting the wonderful Summer we spent together when she was 3 (turning 4).  Summertime is our busiest season -- pool parties, birthday parties, holidays, vacations and so many other milestones.  The entire family loves to look at this book & remember when Baby G. received her "big girl" bike, or celebrating at our 4th of July luau, or playing in the sand during our trip to Rehoboth Beach. 

 

At 8" high and 6.5" wide, you'll have plenty of room for journaling and photos.  There are two versions of the kit -- one featuring We R Memory Keepers papers (as used in my sample) and one featuring Basic Grey Mellow papers (my favorite line).  The kit is chock full of cardstock & patterned papers that will allow you to quickly put the mini-book together.

You'll find both kits in my Etsy shop.  Shop quickly, as this is a limited edition kit!

 

Two For Tuesday: Bazzill iPhone/iPad/iTouch Application & Stampsmith Pin-Up Girls

I don't know about you, but it certainly feels like summer to me!  Warm weather, soft breezes & the sound of a lawnmower in the background -- my favorite season!  I'm already planning my "Unplugged 2010" week (more on this later this week), my 4th of July luau & G's 5th (oh, sweet Jesus) birthday party.  With all of this planning I've barely had time to create, but these two items caught my attention this week:

 

1.  Bazzill's iPhone/iPad/iTouch Application:  (Special thanks to old friend Kim C. for sending me this one -- my iTunes account thanks you....) My end-all-be-all favorite cardstock company, Bazzill, has released an application for your iPhone/iPad/iTouch.  Check out these features:

• Browse over 500 Bazzill cardstock colors by name, color family or texture family.
• Look up CMYK and RGB colors for each of their cardstock colors (this is fantastic for computer journaling!!!).
• Match your favorite photos to Bazzill cardstock.
• Create the perfect color palette using monochromatic, complementary, triadic, analagous, and split-complimentary color combinations (in other words, your app is your color wheel!)
• They are currently developing an upgrade that will allow you to utilize their Bazzill Matchmaker.  This will allow you access to over 4500 cardstock matches to your favorite patterned papers (Basic Grey, American Crafts, Fancy Pants & Cosmo Cricket, just to name a few!).  If you don't have a device that will allow you to use the application, you can always use the matchmaker on-line at their website.

The Bazzill app is $9.99, a steep price for an application.  That being said, I think I need this.  NEED THIS.

 

2.  Pin-Up Girl Rubber Stamps by Stampsmith:  I have no idea what I'm going to do with these images, but oh how I want them!!  I've always loved photo-realistic stamps.  Estelle over at Stampsmith is always finding new ways to spend my money.... This brand spankin' new image sheet doesn't seem to be listed on their index, but you can always contact Estelle directly at estelle@stampsmith.net for pricing & purchase information.

Have a wonderful week!

Two For Tuesday: Fabric Blossoms

Maybe it's because the snow is finally melting here in the D.C. area, but I am loving all of the floral crafty things out there right now.  These two fabric floral tutorials grabbed my attention this week:

 
(photo used with permission)

1. Scrap Fabric Flower Tutorial from Rebecca Sower:  Head on over to one of my favorite crafty people's Etsy store and grab yourself one of the downloadable intructions to make this adorable flower from scrap fabric.  The instructions are only $7.50 and can be easily adjusted to make different sizes of flowers.  I am ALL OVER this!  I can't wait to make cute flowers on headbands for the girls.  I love it!

2.  Fabric Posies from Blue Cricket Designs:  Oh how lovely!  This freebie tutorial can be found here.  I wonder if Sizzix has a set of similar dies that I could use (I'm too lazy to cut all of that fabric, but I do love the final outcome!)?

Enjoy the sunshine!