Two Peas Order Video :)

Hey there! Just popping in to share a video that I made today about my order that I got in from Two Peas today. I'm hoping to get into making more videos soon; I have lots of ideas.

(Or watch it over at YouTube.)

Hope you enjoyed it. I always love haul videos :) I'm off to go play with my new goodies!

Love.

Brit

P.S.- Do you think I have an accent? When I played it back, I could totally hear my Wisconsin accent showing through! Ha.

Confessions. Part 2.

1. I don't like wearing shoes at work. I actually have a spare pair of flip-flops for when my shoes are too complicated for me to put them on before going somewhere. Ha! I have a habit of sitting with my legs folded at my desk chair. There's something about my feet not touching the ground that makes me feel like a happy 5-year-old.

2. My favorite part of work is my boss. He's probably the nicest guy ever and always brings back fortune cookies for me when he goes out to lunch. Today, he gave me his fortune, too that said "Something wonderful is about to happen to you." It's the little things that make me smile.

3. I still haven't sent my mom's birthday card to her, and her birthday was on Sunday. Actually I haven't sent that one, my friend Sara's, OR given my roommate her birthday card from the other day. I'm such a terrible procrastinator! Here's my mom's card. It's perfect, because she lovvves coffee and periwinkle blue.

To create the border, I just masked of the interior of the card with post-its and brushed a Vintage Cream ink pad over the edges. To accent it and define the line, I added the faux stitching with a white pen. It was feeling a little plain when I had finished coloring, so I added a few pearls. Okay, lots of pearls. Ha.

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink, Ink- Tsukineko (Black Memento) and Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream), White pen- Signo, Stamps- Hero Arts (CL440 Kiss the Cook), Pearls- Michael's, Colored Pencils- Prismacolor, Corner Rounder- WRMK.

4. I haven't had any kind of caffeine yet today, and I'm a complete zombie. I had one of those nights where I woke up wide awake at 5:30 am and was pretty disappointed to find out that I'd only been sleeping for 4 hours and still had 2 more to go.

5. I'm getting a haircut on Monday afternoon. I wanted to wait until next weekend when I go back to Wisconsin to see the girl I go to every time, but it's just too darn hot to have hair in my face and tickling my neck. I'm going to get probably 3 inches cut off, so I look more like I did at the beginning of last school year. Like this:

(That's my lovely roommate, Alex, on the left. I miss her :( She went home to Wisconsin for the summer.)

6. I went a little Studio Calico crazy yesterday. But really, their kits are adorable this month! I picked up the Main Kit- Summer Camp, the Add-on Elk Lake, and More Color. I love these kits because they're just up my alley; the colors are ones I already have in my stash. I'm planning on using these kits for my Australia scrapbook. They'd be absolutely perfect.

If you like any of these kits, you better scoop them up now. They always sell out amazingly fast.

7. I'm excited for my 1000th Tweet Giveaway, but I need to wait a few more days. I ordered some cute stuff from Two Peas for ya'll last week, and I want to show you what you can win. Hehe. I hope it'll be here soon; I'm dying to play with my new sbing goodies.

8. I have one more week of class after this one. One. More. Week. This summer has been a marathon, and it's totally depressing to have Back to School commercials on when I'm not even done with school yet. But next Friday, baby, summer will be mine for three glorious weeks. You better believe I will be taking full advantage of this. I see beach trips, boating, road trips, and lots and lots of scrapbooking in my future. So so so so so excited!

9. I'm in love with Victoria's Secret new PINK line where everything is color-coordinated. I bought way, way too many coordinating purple things last weekend. I'm a bit of an underwear addict. Ha. Here's what's next on my list. It's sooooo soft in real life:

 Ohh... and this hoodie. I <3 the Twins.

10. You're awesome for stopping by today. Hopefully I'll be back later today or tomorrow to share two more elusive birthday cards. Ha.

Love.

Brit

Papertrey July Blog Hop Challenge

Hey guys! When I saw that the PTI blog hop was coming up, I knew I wanted to join in this time around. So when I read Nichole's post this morning and saw that the challenge was to use office supplies, I knew this would be a perfect prompt myself to create something outside my comfort zone.

I set out to create something elegant but still using office supplies, and here's what I came up with.

A close up using my brand new Copics that I picked up the other day. I'm in love!

And here is how I incorporated the supplies into my design. I used some making tape to make a frame, drew a black line around the frame to add emphasis, and stapled the ribbon to secure it on the bottom of the card.

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink (Lavender Moon, Stamper's Select White, Vintage Cream), Ink- Tsukineko (Memento Black), Copics- R20, R22, R35, YG17, YG25, YG67, Stamps- Papertrey Ink (Delightful Dahlia), Ribbon- Papertrey Ink (Vintage Cream Satin) and Offray (1/8" Cream), Black Journaling Pen- American Crafts, Other Supplies- Staples and Masking Tape.

Thank you for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of the hop and don't forget to come back in a few days for my 1000th Tweet Giveaway.

To go back to the blog hop main page, click here.


Love.

Brit

Hero Arts Love.

Hey there. I've been lying here in bed for the last two days due to some outrageous flu or something, so i figured I should blog a bit to cheer myself up. That to me is the worst part of getting sick like this- it means stopping everything that you need to do. I always push myself too hard and end up getting even worse before I get better, so I'm trying to avoid that this time around. We can only hope that I'll get better soon so I can catch up on everything.

Anyways, enough about being sick. Let's talk about pretty things. Specifically, Hero Arts pretty things. It's not secret that I'm in love with Hero Arts products, and here are some of the more recent things I've done.

Firstly, two cards using this set from Hero Arts. LOVE.

Here's one using the top image:

A close-up:

Look at all that blingy goodness! Yum.

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink (Kraft and White), Ink- Memento (Black by Tsukineko), Colored Pencils- Prisma, Rhinestones- Michael's, Stamps- Hero Arts (Beautiful Peacocks CL447) and American Crafts (Large Thank You set available here), Circle Dies- Spellbinders Large Circles, Embossing Folder- Cuttlebug, Die Cutting Machine- Sizzix Big Shot, Corner Rounder- WRMK.

Here's one with the bottom peacock:

Close-up:

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink (Kraft and White), Colored Pencils- Prisma, Ink- Tsukineko (Black Memento) and Ranger (Dusty Concord Distress Ink), Stamps- Hero Arts (Beautiful Peacocks CL447), Corner Rounder- WRMK.

Next, I made a card for my friend Sara to accompany her photo book that I got as a thank-you for hosting me in Australia from shutterfly.com. Here's what I came up with (with my favorite new sentiment set ever by Hero Arts):

I went a little die-cut crazy and cut three different circles on this card. Ha. I even cut out the window for the main design element and then just wrote around the edges of the card for my message space. See?

Here's the close-up incorporating the bling that comes with this particular stamp set:

Mmmm. I love this! How about that patterned paper? This is by far my favorite piece from the new BG Olivia collection. It's gorgeous and has all of my favorite colors. :)

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink (Kraft), Patterned Paper- Basic Grey (Olivia Collection), Ink- Tsukineko (Memento Black), Bling- Hero Arts, White Pen- Signo, Stamp- Hero Arts (Classic Images CL414), Circle Dies- Spellbinders, Die Cutting Machine- Sizzix Big Shot, Corner Rounder- WRMK.

Here's what I mailed to Sara sometime last week. She called me when she got it squealing with excitement. I'm glad she liked it. :D

By the way, have you noticed a little trend? Oh, right. I'm in love with my Big Shot. In fact, I'm thinking I need to get some more embossing folders and nesting dies before I use these ones too much. It may already be too late. Ha. I've been using a lot of these lately:

And this:

And this is my love that does it all:

I think I need to name her. I'm thinking Sofia or Roxie... Either way, I love her like my own child. Ha.

Oh, and one more thing. I'm planing a giveaway sometime next week to celebrate my 1000th tweet earlier today. Check back here at my blog or follow me on twitter (waterfilterlove) for more details as I figure out what I'm going to do. Ha. Look for this graphic:

More details coming next week! Stay tuned for a fun prize or two. :)

Thanks for stopping by. You rock!

Love.

Brit

Some doily love.

I was wanting to create but needing an idea, so when I came across this sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You this week, I was thrilled. It was perfect to incorporate my new favorite stamp. Here's the sketch:

And here's what I came up with:

A close up:

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink (Kraft and Spring Moss), Ink- Tsukineko (Black Memento) and Colorbox (Wisteria), Ribbon- Papertrey Ink, Pearls- Michael's, Stamps- Hero Arts (CL414 Classic Messages and S5317 Starburst Lace).

And now for some links. These things have been inspiring me all week:
-This card is corner-rounding amazing (from this entry). Love the lively design of this!
-Paislee Press has a design team call out. I'm thinking about applying. Simple is right up my alley, and I love this collection sooo much..
-The new Papertrey Ink release is to die for. I'm completely smitten with All Booked Up. That and the coordinating die will be making its way to my happy little scrap corner very, very soon. (Along with some items from the Harvest Color new color from them. Yum!)
-This esty shop, L´atelier de Luluu, is amazing. If I had an iPhone, I don't think I could resist these adorable felt cases. I love realistic things like this.
-I've been listening to Paperclipping Roundtable a lot lately. It's very interesting, makes you think about scrapping, and it's great to have on in the background when I'm working. I love the sb celebs that they get on there; some of my very favorite people have been on the show like Jennifer McGuire and Kelly Purkey.
-The classes get posted for Scrapfest 2010 on Monday the 19th. I'm so excited! I love having a conference like this ten minutes away from my place.  I took Hero Arts and American Crafts classes last year, and the previews for the new ones look incising.

See you soon. Lots to share. :)

Love.

Brit

Confessions.

I was thinking about random things today, and I decided it would be fun to make of list of random things that I do. A list of confessions.

1. This is the cutest note I've ever received. My boyfriend (Matt)'s little brother Eric wrote this to me when I asked to borrow his legos for a technical writing project.

It reads:
To Britta, Hi you can use them but I want em Back!!!
<3 Eric :) :) :) :)
P.S. Matt smells like stinky socks

This kid is awesome.

2. I sent a card back with the legos when I returned them. Word on the street is that Eric liked it. :)

This set from Hero Arts is perfect for boys. Every guy loves animals. This even allowed me to sneak in a bit of pink on the pig. Don't tell Eric, though. Ha. here's a close-up (or two):

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink, Stamps- Hero Arts (LL095), Ink- Tsukineko (Memories Black and Versamark Magic Navy), Marker- Marvy Uchida, Corner Rounder- WRMK, White Pen- Signo, Twine- Papertrey Ink.

3. I always press the same number on the soda machine at work. 44. I like it because there are three slots of Mello Yello, and this one is in the middle. I think I've drank that whole row. Oops.

4. Pretty sure I need caffeine to survive.

5. I would probably trade four of my credits from this summer for four hours a week to sit down and scrapbook.

6. I went to a Twins game last week, and it was beautiful.

7. Being home this last weekend was just exactly what I needed. My mom re-decorated my room, and it's gorgeous. My art is hanging everywhere. I love how amazing my mom is at design. I'll share my room with you another day :)

8. I have a coffee cup sitting on my desk that I haven't cleaned in six days. And I don't care.

9. I have a photo critique tonight. This assignment was self-portraits. Here's one of mine that I like. (Click on the image to view it at a bigger size.)

10. I love that you can see my nose ring in that picture. I love my nose ring.

11. I need to work on my yearly 101 Things I Love layout. That's always my favorite thing to look back at a year later. So many things change over time, and there are ones that are always the same. I'm still always me. :)

12. I want to make a series of cards with this paper. I think it would be adorable, and I picked up a sheet of it the other day. :)

13. I haven't folded my four loads of laundry from the weekend yet. They're just sitting on my bedroom floor, taunting me. And you know what? I probably won't fold them tonight.

14. I wore my helmet with my bike for the first time today. I don't even care that it's kind of dorky; it's amazing how much safer I feel (and am!).

15. I would give a pretty large sum of money up to stop time right now so I could take a three hour nap and not lose any time in my busy day.

16. I think the new Lawn Fawn sets are freaking adorable. I'm waiting for my next pay check to buy a few sets, but all of these are the the wishlist: Judy's Blooms, Bake Me a Cake, Critters in the Sea, Sew Lovely, and Petite Florals. Oh boyyy.

17. I just realized that I didn't fill out my timesheet for last week. Oops.

18. I really, really love caffeine.

19. I've been watching 30 Rock on Netflix pretty obsessively lately. I've gone through three seasons in a couple weeks. Considering how much free time I have, that's impressive.

20. I reorganized my boss's vast amounts of books today in his office while he's on vacation, and I had so much fun. I love being organized. I love alphabetizing. And I love books.

I think twenty random things is enough for today. I should go get ready for night class and critique. Fun, fun. Thanks for stopping by! You're the best :)

Love.

Brit

Smitten.

You see, I didn't buy scrapbooking things for a while. Partially because I'm budget-conscious, but mostly because I've been too busy to travel to craft stores. That's always a good budget controller. Ha. Well this past weekend, I broke my scrap spending silence... and went a little crazy. Hopefully over the next couple weeks you'll see me using a lot of these new goodies, but I'll share a few of them here so you can watch for them. :)

I've loved this stamp set ever since I saw it after Hero's last release. I can't wait to color these beauties!

This is going to be fantastic for Hero Art Blog's current monthly challenge. I see visions of finishing my recipe book, making cute grocery lists, and making cards for my dad with the egg in the frying pan.

I have needed this stamp since I saw what Joy did with this stamp and distress ink (I wasn't the only one who fell in love- she was a winner on the Hero Arts blog back in May). (She also did a video of the technique here.) I've played around a little, and I'm loving this stamp. I can't wait to show you what I have in process on my desk right now. :)

This was another set that's been on my list for a while. This one because of Jennifer McGuire and this set of fantastic cards that shows the versatility of this set:

Simple, gorgeous, and perfect for any occasion. I think those are all of my favorite things in cardmaking. :) I also picked up these wildflower silhouettes:

I was so excited to use them that I literally got home and pulled them right out of the package. After a little experimentation, here's what I came up with.

I used Basic Grey's new Olivia 6 by 6 pad, stamped and embossed the silhouettes in clear embossing powder, and then inked over it with distress inks. Add a few sparkles and a couple touches of white, and you have this card. Love this part:

Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink (Kraft and white), Patterned Paper- Basic Grey (Olivia Collection), Stamps- Hero Arts (CG170 Wildflower Garden and CL340 Birthday Sayings), Embossing Powder- Ranger, Embossing Ink- Versamark, Tsukineko, Rhinestones- Papertrey Ink, Ink- Ranger (Distress Inks), Colorbox (Chestnut Roan), Papertrey Ink (Tea Dye Duo), Butterfly Punch- EK Success (Martha Stewart), Corner Rounder- WRMK, Ribbon- May Arts.

So what does the title of this post have to do with anything? This is what I'm smitten with:

I've been on the search for this for months, and now that it's finally mine I am SO happy to have it. I want to score everything in sight. It's magical. And easy. And I'm in love.

I'll be back tomorrow with another card and some other shares. I still have more new things to show you :) Thank you for stopping by today!

Love.

Brit

Australia, Part 6.

On my second to last day, we went over to Manly Beach to see the sights and partake in what I had been waiting for all week long- fish and chips.

The day was overcast, but the beach was still beautiful. I can't even imagine how many people would be out here in the summer. There were probably about 100 surfers in the water, and Sara said that during surfing season, there are thousands. For a clumsy person like me, that just sounds dangerous. Haha.

I still can't get over how beautiful Australia is.

Here were some of the surfers we got to watch while eating lunch. I love surfers. :)

I just needed to take a picture of this, because it's the one thing that was constantly tripping me up. Since they drive on the left side of the road there, you are also supposed to stay to the left sides of sidewalks, escalators, walkways, and everything else. It sounds simple enough, but trying to erase 20 years of standing/walking on the right side of everything is probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do on vacation. I can't tell you how many Aussies I confused because I was on the wrong side! Thankfully, my buddy Sara would always swoop in at the last second and drag me over to the correct side. Crisis averted.

And behold, my delicious fish and chips. Caught off the coast earlier this day, this little fishy gave its life for a purpose so devine there are no words to describe it except: best. fish. and. chips. EVER.

This was the second to last installment of my Australia trip, but I saved some of the most exciting for last. Oh boy. Come back later today for a card with some new stamping goodies I bought the other day. Thanks for stopping by!

Love.

Brit

Summertime.

Summer means watermelon, American flags waving in the breeze, weddings, and baseball.

I'm proud to say that I'm enjoying all of these things in some capacity in the next couple of days. Tonight, I'm going to a Twins game (my first one in the brand new stadium) to celebrate a little piece of Americana. Tomorrow, I'm headed back to Wisconsin to celebrate the weekend with my family. I miss them so much; I haven't seen them since March! And my cats... aw, my cats. I'm so excited to have my little furbabies in my arms again! Anyways, I thought I would share what I've been up to during this incredibly busy week:

1. First, I made a card for my roommate's parents. It was their anniversary yesterday, their 25th, so I did something elegant and (somewhat) gender-neutral:

(Funny story: I forgot to photograph it before giving it to her, so I had to sneak it out of her room before she sealed it in the envelope. Ha. The things I do for papercrafting.)
Supplies: Cardstock- Papertrey Ink (Enchanted Evening, Spring Moss, Aqua Mist), Stamps- Papertrey Ink (Autumn Abundance and Butterfly Dreams), Number Stickers- Making Memories, White Pen- Signo, Ink- Versamagic by Tsukineko, Corner Rounder- WRMK, Rhinestones- The Paper Studio.

2. I'm in a photography class right now. I decided to take it over the summer for a couple of reasons: there are a ton of things to photograph, and I could actually dedicate creative time to it now when I only have a job to worry about and not other studio classes. Our first big assignment was to take six pictures of the same place: three objective and three subjective. Subjective photos employ emotion, point of view, and personal significance, so naturally they are more interesting. I thought I would share mine with you, because I'm liking how they turned out.

Back story: On Monday, I heard a loud crash outside of my window. I looked out and saw bulldozers and diggers ripping down the old, abandoned University building across the street from me. I felt inspired to take pictures of the building half torn-down and vulnerable like this. By Tuesday afternoon, the building was completely demolished. There's something about capturing such a specific moment in time where the building looked like this that really speaks to me.

(click the pictures to enlarge)

3. I can barely contain my excitement about the next couple days: my Big Shot is coming in the mail today along with my Spellbinder circle dies, I have a few cards to make, I get to play with legos for homework, I'm going to a baseball game, and I'm going hommmmmeeeee. And watching fireworks. And it's the 4th. Oh boy oh boy! I'm so excited.

4. Did I mention that I'm going home? That I get to see this guy?

Ahhhh. So excited.

Love.

Brit