feeling like sharing

came across this iPhone picture of my husband. It makes me happy every time I see it.

me & mountains strikes again

My favorite guys played at Blind Bob's last saturday. It's so exciting to see all the people that are showing up to support them (Me & Mountains) these days, as their popularity grows. They're getting so good, and I'm super proud. Okay, I'll stop gushing. Here's some pictures.

p.s. their first EP comes out very soon.

craft night: freezer paper prints (again)

Due to the unfortunate amount of snow that we've been experiencing in Dayton, Ohio, craft nights have been few and far between. No one has been sadder about this than I. However, we have a real gem planned for next week, so crafting balance will be restored to the land once more.

We did manage to squeeze one in a couple of weeks ago. It was a do-over since freezer paper prints were so popular, and we had an almost completely fresh group of ladies.

So just to show off what we created, here's freezer paper prints (again):

Scandinavian tea towel by Maria N.

Personal crest tote bag by rebecca r.

whimsical birdie tote by maria j.

It's the "can-you-tell-I-design-school-products" tote by me.

they say february 2003 was snowier...

... but I don't believe them! I'm longing for spring, or a vacation, or a sunlamp at the very least! Well it's pretty, anyway.

the zipper was stuck

I warned her it had happened to me before. "Oh, I won't get stuck," she insisted. After about ten hilarious, sweaty minutes of two of us tugging on either side, the dress finally came off and our status as friends was confirmed (having not wandered off and pretended not to know her). The best part? There was no dressing room at that thrift store.

The second best part? That dude in the background that is pointing and oggling.

oh, Papaya

I'm pretty sure those clever designers over at Papaya can do no wrong. Case in point, these lovely water bottles, one of which I will be ordering very shortly. I'm leaning toward "Bliss".

i have big, BIG news!

I've been extremely neglectful of this little corner of cyberspace lately, and it's not for lack of subject matter. Quite the opposite, actually. I've been a busy little bee for the past couple of weeks because I have had something huge brewing. Something that I have been wanting to do for a very long time. I opened an Etsy store, my friends!

It's called Yellowberry, and you can find it here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/YellowberryHandmade
Right now I'm only featuring handmade necklaces. I have big plans for the future, however. I hope to include other jewelry like bracelets and earrings, as well as fun accessories like button badges, totes, and change purses. So keep an occasional eye on the shop, as it will be evolving.

Is it wrong to love a $216 swimsuit?

If it is, I don't wanna be right.

Okay, I'm not really going to buy it, even though it would be the perfect reward for all the hard work I've been putting in at the gym. AND we're going on a cruise this year... But if you have the means to, more power to you. It's a Betsey Johnson, and you can find it here at Urban Outfitters.

craft night: upcycled paper bows

I'm always excited to find good uses for old magazines and miscellaneous scrap papers. I was overjoyed when I found a tutorial for making your very own scrap paper bows. I found it here at How About Orange. I'm sure she does a better job at demonstrating this craft, but I'll take a stab at it, too.

A word from the wise. This project takes a couple of goes at it until you get it just right. Don't get discouraged! It gets a lot easier and a ton more fun as you get a few under your belt.

What you'll need:

8.5 in x 10 in scrap of paper

Hot glue gun (as always)

Stapler

Scissors

1. Cut 9 strips of paper 3/4 inches thick.

Make 3 of them 9 inches long.

The next 3 should be 8 inches long.

The next 2 should be 7 inches long.

The very last one should be 3.5 inches long.

2. Take one end and wrap the outside so that it touches roughly the middle of the inside and creates a pointy little loop, like so.

3. Do the same with the other side and staple it in the center. I found that the pointier you made the loop, the better the end result. Yes, this is a piece from a different bow. I need to spend less time chatting with my girlfriends, and more time taking pictures.

4. Do the same to all the strips, with the exception of the shortest one. Make that one a little circle, secured by a dab of glue.

5. Layer those loops, one on top of each other, securing each layer down with a dot of hot glue.

6. keep on layering until all loops are used. Glue the circle-loop down in the very center. Just like that, you're done!

Tip: Now, maybe you're the observant type, and you've noticed that there aren't all 9 pieces used in this specific bow. Okay, you caught me! You might have trouble fitting all those loops in, just like I did here. This is the part where I realized my loops weren't pointy enough. But never fear! Just use as many of them as you can fit, and don't worry about it. This one looks perfectly fine with only seven loops.

Here's a couple of finished bows. These utilize all 9 pieces, as we finally got the hang of this bow-making business. The one on the left uses double-sided scrap paper. Mrs. Maria J. so cleverly alternated patterns on each side to create the two-toned effect. The one on the right is a magazine page. I love the subtle punch of yellow on the inside of the bow.

Happy crafting!

yup, it's january alright

Nothing makes a better work-day distraction than accumulating snowfall. The speculation over whether they'll send us home early, or the anxiety over the hazardous ride home are enough to send employees to weather.com every 15 minutes to check the Doppler Radar.

unbearable cold and dangerous car rides aside, it sure does make for a pretty landscape. I took this outside the window from my office building. It's just a tiny moment of serenity during a hectic day at work.

craft night: button maker brooches

One of my favorite gifts this Christmas was a button maker. It makes pretty awesome, basic little buttons. However, Leave it to me to come up with ways to fancy up the conventional. I thought it would be fun to add crafty things like clothing buttons, fabric and ribbons and make our very own button brooches.

Here's a rough step by step...

1. Cut the graphic you want to put on your button. You can use fabric, too. The brooch in the photo above uses it, and it looks pretty snazzy. Being the Lithuanian/German/Irish/Who-Knows-What-Else Girl that I am, I chose this map of Europe.

2. Run it through your button maker. Now I apologize if you're like 99% of the population and you don't own one of these awesome but over-priced machines. I'll bet you can wrap it around an existing button, glue it on the back, and it will look just fine.
3. grab some felt and cut out the shape you would like to back your button.
4. Cut a slit the length of your button's pin and slip the pin through like so. Also, see that little doily in the left hand corner? I did the same with that one.
5. Hot glue that stuff down.
6. Add some buttons or felt flowers—anything really to your liking—and hot glue those to your button front. Then pin that baby on!
Here's a sampling of the final products!

P.S. I'm new to this tutorial writing thing, and this project was pretty open-ended, so if you have any questions, please ask! I hope you take a stab at this super-fun project. My friends and I had a blast with this one.

frost bitten

the party stops here.

I make my triumphant return to the office tomorrow morning after an eleven day break. While I'm not thrilled about waking up at 6:15 tomorrow morning, I am feeling completely refreshed and ready to get to business designing some notebooks!

Howdy, 2010!

happy new year 2010!

Well, I feel like death warmed over. I did a little too much celebrating last night, so I'll make this brief. I hope you all had a safe and happy New Year's Eve, and will have a prosperous and joyous year to follow.

I don't make New Year's resolutions, but I am making it my goal to update this blog more often. I have some big plans for it, and I can't wait to continue sharing little bits of my life with you all.

Love you guys!

craft night: freezer paper prints

Recently I have been hosting a (nearly) weekly craft night. It is one of the most rewarding things I do. Not only am I spending time with some of my dearest friends, but I'm also getting to be productive with all that creative energy.

Last night we made prints on canvas out of freezer paper. It's kind of similar to screen printing, but much more labor intensive if you want to do more than one.

Here's how the magic happens:

Draw your design with pencil on the non-shiny side of the paper. Then cut it out with an Xacto blade. You can do floating shapes inside of a cut-out but know that you'll have to manually position it on your fabric, and it is difficult to keep it in place.

Next, iron it shiny-side down onto your fabric until it's mostly stuck. Use a very hot iron.
Use a sponge brush or paint brush to dab your paint directly onto the fabric. Be sure not to spread the paint using strokes. Paint could be pushed under the stencil this way. It's not pretty, trust me.
Gently peel your freezer paper stencil from the fabric. You really should wait for it to dry before removing. That being said, we were all super impatient, and pulled it off immediately after painting it. You just need to be careful that your wet stencil doesn't fall onto your print.
...and ta-da! This is my finished tote bag.
Alissa's beautiful honeycomb print.
Maria's canvas panel to later be stitched to her tote bag.

happy new year (holiday recap)

We're finally done with family Christmas gatherings! After attending our fifth party on tuesday night, we wrapped up a five day long holiday extravaganza. Here's a brief recap on the last day of 2009.

Happy New Year, Everyone! Be safe tonight.

My fancy new boots that my husband picked out all on his own!

I got 50 SHARPIE MARKERS, a button maker, and many other things that made me immensely happy. I am a lucky girl.

It's true, kids really do make Christmas special. Here are some cousins who needed no help getting into the holiday spirit (even if it was 5 days after Christmas).