Sunday in the City

We've been toying with the idea of moving to the city for a while now. I've been keeping a close eye on rentals and prices, but there are so many different neighborhoods that we've never even explored that we decided to spend the afternoon in the city and drive around to check them out.

We had a blast despite the clouds and rain.

We also had a fun Saturday with friends. Lunchtime, got a spur-of-the-moment call from a friend wondering if I wanted to join her and her daughter at the local Indian restaurant. I couldn't pass it up.

Then we went out to dinner with the Bowen's at Maggiano's, one of our fav's but they hadn't been there before. Ended up being a 3 hour extravaganza and very busy and loud...Miss A said "It's as loud as a playground in here"..so cute! Always a lot of fun hanging out and chatting with them. Have to admit we were surprised how busy the restaurant was considering the economy. At least on the weekends, that restaurant doesn't seem to be suffering.

I did a bit of crafting too:me and my BFF from over a year ago. Speaking of...I'm gonna see her this weekend. Can't wait! I haven't met her newest little one yet and he's almost 4 months old!

I also made some custom colored buttons inspired by Marah Johnson.Easy to make when you have the right supplies. Even Miss A and Prince W made a couple on Saturday night.
Clear buttons
Tim Holtz alcohol inks
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink Applicator (same link as above, scroll to bottom)
Glossy Accents (or similar)
printed ephemera or stamped images
-squeeze a couple of drops of ink onto applicator and pounce pounce pounce onto the back of a clear button till color is how you like it. Use 2 or 3 colors if you'd like. let dry just a few seconds.
-apply glossy accent on back of button, directly on the ink you just applied. Use glossy accent like a glue.
-Center button over the printed or stamped image you want to show through. You'll have a few moments to twist and turn the button on the image so it's positioned the way you want it. Also, twisting the button on the image helps spread the glue around evenly.
-Let dry. this'll take several minutes so make a bunch more while you're waiting!
-Cut excess paper off button once dry. Re-poke holes if needed.
-Use buttons as extra dimension on your projects.

I'm planning on doing separate posts for each neighborhood we checked over for the next few days. Hope you enjoy the ride. :)
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commencing december freak-out

The countdown is on and there are only 14 more days till Christmas. I'm a little bit in freak-out mode right now, because it seems like I'm spending much of my days running errands but adding more to my to-do list than I'm crossing off. I suspect this sounds familiar to many of you, too.

I suppose taking a class shouldn't be a priority during the busiest time of the year, but when an artist whom I've admired for a few years comes to the Bay Area to teach, I'll drop all my Christmas errands and pause for a few hours in the day. Marah Johnson taught 2 classes at a local scrapbook store yesterday and she is such a high-spirited, soulful and edgy artist.
The morning class, she taught us this beautiful Christmas mini-book.Great techniques, lots of glitter and each page alternating pulls up, or pulls out.

The evening class, she taught this wicked accordion pull-out album.I have a friend who went to the Africa last year, so I'm thinking about giving this to her. But not until I make my own nearly exact replica using either Marah's Rock Star collection or her Heiress Collection.

This is a layout I did last year using Marah's Love Struck collection. There was a meme going around last year that had you list a few random things about yourself and I decided to do a layout on it.

Phantom of the Opera was great. The music is amazing and really sticks with you. So much so, that during the 2nd Act, I actually cried! OMG, i don't think i've ever cried during a theatre performance before. Sure, at movies all the time, but not at the Theatre (make sure you say it with a snooty accent, lol). I have to admit my eyes got a bit droopy in parts of the 1st Act, but I would definitely see it again. Coincidentally, the movie was on TV the next day, so I TiVo'd it, but haven't watched it yet. I'm so behind in TV, here's my list of what I need to watch:

Ugly Betty (3)
Oprah (5)
Ellen (5)
Reeves, Keanu (7)
Pushing Daisies (1)
Eli Stone (3)
Funniest Videos (2)
My Own Worst Enemy (5)
Heroes (1)
Big Bang Theory (3)
Jon and Kate (2)
Brothers & Sisters (2)
Phantom of the Opera
Lipstick Jungle (5)
Ghost Whisperer (3)
Sanctuary (5)
Grey's Anatomy (2)
What Not to Wear (6)
Twins, Twins and Sextubplets
Life on Mars (1)
Ryan, Meg (4)
Extreme Makeover Home Edition (2)
Tim Gunn's Guide to Style (1)
Hepburn, Audrey (2)
Californication (5)
And really, a whole lot more.
I say I watch a lot of tv, but the truth is I record a lot of tv. Then I watch in 5 hour marathons. Like Heroes, I had 6 unwatched episodes, but decided to spend a few hours watched 'em all. Same with Grey's, Pushing Daisies and The Mentalist. I may never get to Lipstick Jungle. Anybody out there watch it? Should I invest the time in it?

I really should update more often again instead of doing these long 'ol posts once a week. We are staying local this weekend. Baking on Saturday. Sunday a GTG and cookie exchange with some friends. Maybe finish up those cards and get 'em in the mail by next week (does that sound like a repeat from my last post?).

Have a great merry cheery weekend!
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Fall Crafting

Some of you might remember the button tree I made last Christmas. Well, when I saw this cute little pumpkin at my local scrapbook store, I had to make one for myself, too! Just painted a Styrofoam ball orange, glued the flowers on randomly, then glued orange buttons on randomly. Used craft wire to make the tendrils of the stem, glued on 2 green flowers then stacked a bunch of green buttons to create the stem.

Have you seen the Good Sheets at Starbucks that offer little tidbits of information relating to election issues? I found/read my 1st one the week before the election and devoured it almost as heartily as I devoured my tall nonfat no foam latte. By then, they were already on Week 7, so I missed 6 little cool factoids wrapped up in a tidy little newspaper. Well, I decided to take my week 7 Good Sheet and reuse it to make ATCs. Since then, I got Week 8 and 9 and have created stuff with them, too. I had gone almost 2 months w/o a Starbucks fix, but now I have to get my tall nonfat latte no foam and a good sheet once a week.

This photo was taking a few years ago, but I just made this scrapbook page last month. Jimmy and Miss A are at the San Francisco zoo, laughing at all the silly things that were happening.

Made this very labor intensive card during one of my stamp club meetings this month. You stamp the stamp 6x onto blue cardstock, emboss in silver, then glitter and intricately cut each layer to create this snowflake card. It's very dimensional, 6 layers high, and very glittery! Beautiful, I must admit, but wow, a lot is involved to make just 1 card. I made 2 and said, "ok, i'm done." Imagine the mess of glitter I had on my floors afterward. uh yea, the cat had glitter in her fur for days. Well, I send out 60-70 cards every Christmas, so those 2 weren't gonna cut it. So while I was sick, I made 58 more Christmas cards. But the hardest part for me is addressing the envelopes. I refuse to use labels, but hand addressing envelopes is just a task that is always so tedious to me. Not exactly sure why. Why can I spend 20 hours making cards gleefully, but 2 hours of addressing envelopes seems overwhelming?

Speaking of Christmas...anyone start their Christmas shopping yet? Not me. Last year, I was done before December 1st. I suppose I better get cracking if I wanna be as prepared as last year. I suspect that's not gonna happen.
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getting my craft on

I'm taking my first sewing class tonight. Looking forward to it, but also wondering...do I need another hobby?

This is what's been keeping me occupied while I've been enjoying the new fall TV schedule.
I just made this whimsical layout using last year's photo. We're missing a brother and his wife, a niece and a nephew. Big family, right?

I made this a little while ago but this is where we're all going for Thanksgiving this year.

I've been on a card making frenzy lately.
I made these during one of my craft nights at a friend's house. 4 or 5 of us get together on the 3rd Tuesday of every month and work on our own projects. I'm getting ready for next year's birthdays.

Some of you might see one of these in your mailbox in the next few weeks. Email me your address if I don't already have it! :)

When you watch tv, do you usually do something else too or watch intently? For me, it depends on the storyline. I can't do anything else when I'm watching anything action or intense like Heroes, Fringe or Law and Order. But if it's a home improvement or reality show, I get a ton of crafting done.
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Less mobility = more crafting

I've been doing a lot of crafting (and tv watching) since getting around with a bum foot kind of limits activity. These are just a few scrapbook pages I've done in the last several days.
The Bowen family at our hideaway last fall.

I took a class with Erin at PMP a few weeks ago using the My Little Shoebox scrapbook line, a local Bay Area company. The photos are from the Yuen's Christmas cookie party last year.

This one and the next one are photos from last year.

The littlest nephew at Camp Retz 2007.

After Thanksgiving last year, we went to the city with the fam. Here's a little endearing moment I captured of Jimmy and middle child nephew.

hummingbird in my backyard.

This is another layout I did in Erin's class.

The photo is from 4 years ago. Melani and her hubby now have 3 kids!

Totally love watching the Olympics while crafting, too. We were at the parentals last night celebrating Jimmy's birthday and it was a lot of fun cheering on Kerry Walsh (a local Bay Area athlete!) and Misty May-Treanor, Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, and all of the other medalists. My SIL loves the Olympics, too, so we had fun watching together. Also, how can I resist the official mascots of the Beijing Olympics?How freaking adorable are they?
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Phin bot this butterfly punch several weeks ago and inspired by her fun artwork, I had to get it also! Of course, with my 50% off coupon. :)

These Are The Days

A few years ago I made this album in a class at my then fav scrapbook store, which has since closed. I just finished it this morning, adding pictures from last summer when the family came up to the hideaway for a week. The words in the album are from Natalie Merchant - "These Are the Days".


















these are days you'll remember

never before and never since, I promise
will the whole world be warm as this
and as you feel it, you'll know it's true
that you are blessed and lucky
it's true, that you are touched by something
that will grow and bloom in you

these are days you'll remember

when May is rushing over you with desire
to be part of the miracles you see in every hour
you'll know it's true, that you are blessed and lucky
it's true, that you are touched by something
that will grow and bloom in you

these are the days
that you might fill with laughter
until you break

these days you might feel a shaft of light
make its way across your face
and when you do
you'll know how it was meant to be
see the signs and know their meaning

you'll know how it was meant to be
hear the signs and
know they're speaking to you
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Growth

Went to a crop at Picture Me Perfect last night with Phin and we worked on this very fun album. The album was a kit by Nichole King who taught the class at PMP in May. It was so cute, I had to put photos in it immediately!










This is my 700th post! Wow, I can't believe it!
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