What else is there to do on a -40 degree day?

...but scrapbook. So that's what I did. I'm sure you've heard by now about how cold it is... everywhere. It got down to -20 here today without the windchill, and it's just supposed to get worse tonight and tomorrow. Ouch! Oh well, what can you to?

1. I made a layout... finally. This was long overdue. Well, that might be obvious being that this happened in the beginning of July...Here's what I wrote:

I think the stitching completely pulls the layout together. I think I like stitching on layouts a little too much.Supplies: Patterned Paper-DCWV (dots), KI Memories (embossed arrows), Cardstock- Bazzill (Blue), American Crafts (Yellow-Orange), Chipboard- The Paper Studio ("S"), Heidi Swapp ("Day 2"), rub-ons- Doodlebug, Marker- American Crafts, White Ink- Tsukineko, Floss- DMC.

2. I also did another layout, but the light was gone when I needed to take the photos. I'll show you tomorrow.

3. When I was doing the first layout, I noticed something strange. I have three packages of American Crafts cardstock in Primaries, Brights, and Tropicals, and they look kind of like this:
I love them. There are 5 of each of 15 colors in each pack, and they retail for about 20 dollars (unless you use a coupon :) ). Today, I was thumbing through my Primaries pack looking for the right color to mat my pictures in, and I came across something peculiar... very peculiar.
This, however innocent it looks, is quite different than expected. What is this mysterious texture? Every other single color in every pack I own has this texture:
I'm so fascinated by this. Does anyone know how this happened? Hehe. Here it is again. I kind of like it:
Anyways, that's the mystery of the random paper texture.

4. Picture of the day. New short haircut! :)
I look kind of evil in the picture, but it shows the haircut well.

5. I'm so excited for this today:
Ahhh. Dwight's got to find out tonight!

I'll be back soon. I promise. I might even do another layout tonight. Me = Inspired.

Brit

I'm back- already?

Yup, you heard me right. I'm here. Two days in a row. (Amazing!)

1. I couldn't pass this color combo up. This is, once again, a Kristina Werner Color Inspiration Challenge (#38 to be exact).

Here's what I came up with:

I guess it's never to early to start making Valentine's. It's probably good to note that I was also inspired by the Hero Arts Blog this week where the focus is pocket cards. I didn't use a Hero Arts Stamp, though, so I guess I can't enter that in the Flickr pool this week. Oops!

Supplies: Patterned paper- Sassafras Lass, cardstock- Archiver's (light pink, dark pink), The Paper Studio (White), American Crafts (Orange), Stamps- Studio G, Marker- American Crafts, White Pen- Sakura, Black Ink- Stazon, Embossing Power- JoAnn's, Foam Dimensionals- EK Success, and Stickles

2. My picture of the day today- my friend Alex came over to work on a scrapbook for her boyfriend. It's fun helping her and amusing her with all the tools the scrapbooking world has to offer:


3. I made this while she was working. I finally got to use my Butterfly punch that my best friend got me for Christmas. I'm in love.

I punched butterflies out of scraps of paper I had in my bin, used a grid to align the white ones (they add a sense of movement), and then curled the wings of the pretty butterflies before adhering them. This is for my desk for a little inspiration when I need it. :)
Supplies: Butterfly punch- EK Success, Cardstock- Archivers (Pink), The Paper Studio (White), Patterned Paper- Various manufacturers (if you want to know one specifically, just comment and I'll let you know.)

4. I got my hair cut. It's short and cute. I think that'll be my picture for tomorrow.

Have a wonderful evening! Coming up next: and actual scrapbook page. I hope.

Brit

What is this?

Okay, so it's been a while once again, but I'm not going to dwell on that too much. Life has been simpler in so many ways, but something always calls my attention away. I haven't even had time to make a single page over break. Sad. Here are a few things that happened though:

1. I was diagnosed with mono. What a horrible illness! I'm still tired constantly and became sick almost four full weeks ago. It'll be over soon, I hope.

2. I read Stephanie Meyer's Twilight (okay, who isn't reading it?), and of course I loved it. I took one day and read the entire day- I just could not put the book down.

3. I'm doing Project 365. I think it'll be rough at times, but a project this big would be absolutely awesome to complete. It's probably my biggest single goal for the year. I've been very good so far, including today, I made cookies, and they were delicious. I would share the picture, but I have no idea where my card reader or my camera cord is. Oh well, I'll find that tomorrow. Here are a couple links that I've really found useful for this project so far:

Printables from the Kit itself (if you're like me and didn't get to order the kit in time).
Kit Alternatives (Becky Higgins' blog is full of ideas.)
Some cute ideas and inspiration

I've already decided that I want to keep the whole thing simple by digitally putting the day of the week on each photo, using Becky's premade titles (or maybe making some of my own), and simply buying some page protectors that will hold everything (I spotted BoBunny ones that were 25 for $10.99 at Archiver's today). I'll keep you updated on that whole thing.

4. Here's a very cool thing that Stacy Julian posted this afternoon. A contest? For designing socks? I'm totally game. I thought you might be too. :)

Here's the link to this website. How does never worrying about matching socks again sound?

5. I'm still obsessed with these earrings. I need to make some of these babies:

I feel pretty inspired right now. There are so many things that I can work on tonight, now I just need to get started. Yay for late nights of scrapping. Hopefully I'll have lots to show tomorrow.

Tomorrow should be good: share scrapping stuff+ help my friend make a book for her boyfried + haircut= always a good day.

Thanks for sticking with this long entry! I'll be back soon. :)

Brit

A cute little birthday card

I turned on my computer on Tuesday morning to check e-mail and read my google reader (seriously makes blog reading sooooo easy) knowing full well that I had a mission: a mission to create a brithday card for my friend Patrice, who I was seeing later that day. Instantly, I decided to challenge myself when I saw Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge #34 - wonderful! Patrice's favorite color just happens to be purple, too. So I got to work. First, here's the inspiration image:


Now, what I did with it:


I love it! I envision myself using this color combination much more in the future. I also decided that I'm addicted to foam squares- note how everything is adhered that way? Hehe.

Supplies: Patterned paper: K & Co. (I absolutely LOVE this paper I bought at 50% off the full price of 9.99 at Michael's over Thanksgiving. It's wonnnnderful.), cardstock: Bazzill (light purple), Archiver's (dark purple), and unknown (green), Chipboard "P": Heidi Swapp, "Let's Party" Stamp: Studio G (also another Michael's buy), and Ribbon: Offray. ETA: Embossing powder: Stampabilities, Embossing ink: Ranger.

She absolutely loved it, by the way. Dinner at Applebee's was also absolutely delicious and fun. There's nothing like laughing until you cry the night before the last day of classes with six of the most interesting people you know.

Thanks for stopping by- leave a comment if you like the card! See you again soon. :)

Love.

Brit

Oh, it's definitely a Manic Monday...

I'm 95% percent sure I have the flu, but that's okay. At least I'm getting it done with early, right? Too bad finals start this week- blah.

I got a little time to scrap this past week and have a page almost done that I plan to finish when I need a break from studying this week. I can't wait for two weeks from now when the only things I'll have to worry about are Christmas, working, and scrapbooking. That will be heaven...

This past week, I was inspired by Amanda Probst's little gift of a coloring book Christmas countdown from her blog I made a couple, bound them together (and realized one thing I neglected to pack in August- my BIA wires. Sigh. I found a couple scraps, though), and then decorated the covers. A cute, simple project:

Embossing + Bling + Flowers = Perfect Girly Combination
Supplies: Patterned paper: KI Memories, Bling: The Paper Studio, "Merry Christmas" Stamp: Imaginisce (Archiver's Exclusive), Brad: The Paper Studio, Flowers: Prima

And here's a more manly version... haha.
Supplies: Patterned paper: KI Memories, Bling: The Paper Studio, "Merry Christmas" Stamp: Imaginisce (Archiver's Exclusive), Brad: The Paper Studio, Acrylic Star: Heidi Swapp, Charm: Unknown

Then, I made a thank you note for my boyfriend's parents. They were so sweet- they sent me a birthday card and gift; I was not expecting that at all!

Proof that a little Stickles goes a lonnng way. I love how this turned out! I was inspired by Amy Rysavy and how she often stamps on patterned paper. So cute.

Supplies: Patterned Paper: Basic Grey (Green), My Mind's Eye (Blue), Cardstock: Archiver's (blues), The Paper Studio (white), Ink: Black StazOn, Glitter Glue: Stickles, Ribbon: Offray, Stamps: Autumn Leaves (Second Nature by Rhonna Farrer)

Also, be sure to check out Adrienne Kennedy's blog and leave a comment on this post- she's giving away a whole bunch of stamping wonderfulness!

Oh, and my birthday was wonderful. It's hard to believe that happened almost two weeks ago already. Here's me ready to blow out the candles:

Contrary to popular belief, I'm not four... but I did learn that tea light wicks stick to frosting after being lit. Ha! Thanks to all of my friends and family for making my day and weekend extra awesome. Two other favorite pictures:

I was really excited for the awesome hat & mittens the bf got for me. Exactly what I wanted!

Best friend Jeb and I went to a movie and he bought Twlight for me. I'm waiting after finals to read it, and I can't wait. I've heard such good things!


Well that's all for now, folks. Have a great week and savor the joy of the holiday season while it's here. Christmas always seems to be over for me before I know it.

Love.

Brit

Some things to share, finally...

Wow- only two pages in the last three months- that's weak. Ha! I'll have to do a lot of catching up over break; there's been so much to scrap and not any time to scrap it with.

To-do in the next couple months:
-Document college so far
-Make a voting/ election page
-Christmas gifts
-Cards up the wazoo
-Celebrate my birthday in ten days. Woohoo!

Here are some shares:

A layout I did last week (or was it the week before? I can't even remember!)
This is my dorm room (before we got a futon 5 weeks ago and rearranged it, at least. I love this Basic Grey patterned paper- it's totally me.
Technique: Writing on Maya Road sheers with white paint pen, then letting the scalloped circle show behind it. Cute, no?
I'm currently obsessed with lopsided scallops; they keep appearing in all of my doodles.

Supplies: Cardstock- American Crafts (blue), The Paper Studio (white) and Bazzill Basics (pink), patterned paper- Basic Grey, flowers- prima, scallop punch- Marvy Uchida, Sheer label- Maya Road, white gel pen- Sakura, white paint pen- ZIG by EK Success, brads- unknown.

And a card:

This was for my friend, Cole, whose birthday was on Saturday. I made it on a whim using some cute scraps I had lying around.

Supplies: Cardstock- Bazzill Basics, Patterned Paper- American Crafts (green) and October Afternoon (I'm pretty sure, at least- correct me if I'm wrong) (black), Transparency- Hambly, Brads- The Paper Studio, Black ink- StazOn by Tsukineko, Stamps- Studio G, white pen- Sakura.

Other random things:

Last week when I was folding laundry, I finished folding my t-shirts and this is what I found:
Wow, I really do go to Minnesota. Go Maroon and Gold!

Also, I went to the football game against Madison this weekend. It was a wonderful weekend full of reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones. This a picture of the stands at the game:
And this is what me and one of my friend (and some others in our group), Greg, looked like:
Did I mention that we're crazy? Haha. It was really fun, though. It was also nice being back in Wisconsin. I had fresh cheese curds again, which is my true food love... YUM! They only have fried ones, it seems, in Minnesota.

Alright, one last picture- the Capitol building from State Street. How gorgeous is this?


Enjoy. I'm feeling creative but am hindered by the 5 papers I have to write this week. I'll be back soon enough, though. Hope everything is going well in the world of scrapbooking for you!

Brit

Today makes history.

Why not be part of it? Get out and vote, no matter whether you vote for the same person as me or not, as long is everyone's voice is heard, I'll be happy.

And no, Obama is not a terrorist.

And no, McCain will most likely not die in office.

(On campus, people say those things all the time. Silly.)



Cool Election Link - Why is voting always on Tuesday?

Also,use your "I Voted" Sticker at the following locations for free things today:
Starbucks- Free Tall House-brewed coffee
Ben and Jerry's- Between 5 and 8 pm, free scoop of ice cream (That's where I'll be!)
Krispy Kreme- Free star-shaped doughnut

Enjoy the free food, get out and vote, and I'll be back in a couple days with a new page or two for you to see, I hope!


Peace.

Brit