live . craft . learn

two little sneaks {just to get your heart racing} ...

of willowside available on october 15th at 12am est at kenner road. it's english cottage beautiful and i was in heaven creating three items last night with the main kit. today is all about getting ready for a HUGE garage sale we are having tomorrow, our entire block is selling and i am cleaning out.

and then tonight i have a date with bramble {the add-on kit} and the other two add-ons. my mojo has returned and i feel like a mountain of inspiration just keeps spilling. so nice after what felt like a huge dry spell, especially since this amazingly sweet {& newly engaged} beautiful soul is our guest designer. she makes me want to make things. always. plus she is a dear friend so it can't get any better than that, can it?

happy friday!!
xo

today, i miss the connection ...

that i used to make with others online. you know. the chatting on the message board and sharing and being inspired. maybe it was my phone convo with my gi tonight, or the anticipation of kenner road opening up in a few weeks, but i miss it.

so. how about if we pretend that we're sitting in the backyard, the littles {or hubby} are off for the day. the yummy fresh wash is on the line. the sun is slowly rising, and we are together in the morning. i'm sipping a flat soy latte, you're enjoying whatever your heart desires, and we are just chatting. sharing our lives and hopes and dreams and sharing the inspiration that drives us to create. and in this simple, relaxed & friendly moment you ask me a question..... {to which i will reply on thursday} because you've been wondering something for a while.

so sweetie, what would you like to know about me? or my art? or my passions? or my heart?

and in this manner i hope we can begin a simple conversation, again.

xo

today i loved ....

... meeting julie {shabbyjuls} in real life {she lives here too!} after planning a coffee talk for two weeks and realizing how much we really have in common. thrifting. all things chippy and old. summer cottage. digital. alameda & vintage chic. our love for jayney. mellowness & truth.

... sharing good laughs & getting to know one another better over a soy flat latte {me, of course} and a venti iced tea {her}. it was mid-morning perfection.

... finding proof that the pony carnival that maddie & her papa created while i was in chicago was documented on the camera {yay papa!!} when i was downloading pictures from meeting julie.

... seeing this pic of dina & celeste and stealing it from dina's flickr pool and hearing the words "dinah wackley" and remembering all the crazy laughs and good pizza we had at cha. i miss you girls something fierce!!

... seeing this on holly's blog and going and instantly needing to do it myself. those are some good words i've been using!

... that i have been spending every evening since getting home from chicago, oh... and nap time!, sitting in my favorite chair reading the host and loving it more than i thought i would. i read all the reviews and i still bought it in sfo on my way to chicago last week and now i am happy i did {but i'm only about 1/3 of the way through, no spoilers, k?}. and can i ask... how many of you will be buying breaking dawn on august 2nd? i can't wait!

... seeing that this friend and this amazing friend gave me the sweetest honors with a blog award. thank you sweeties!

... being there for a friend and knowing that she truly knows i have her back 1000%. regardless of what happens, regardless of the hard decisions she has to make and regardless what comes her way. i will always be there.

happy thursday!
xo

happiness is coming home ....

after spending a fabulous weekend with these two girls and seeing my littles and hubby and not crying as soon as i walked through the door. seriously. except for the fact that my gigi wasn't with us, i think this past weekend was the best one i've had since silver bella. no stress. no demands. no drama. we just hung out and laughed. jayney & amy are the best gail's i'll ever have. good schleppers. great shoppers. and beautiful hearts too!

we walked the floor at cha and shopped our hearts out searching for new product... i'll have more news on that reason later this week. :) we did make & takes and i have a pile of some of the new cha summer releases i got to bring home and play with due to the graciousness of friends and manufacturers who make the amazing product and were generous enough to share... that and amy's press badge. i'll share some pics of my fav's tomorrow.

i fell in love with alot of the new release lines, of course hambly and october afternoon are first on that list. o.m.g. the oa is divine {and i might have a little rak of new release papers and such for tomorrow... compliments of jon & kim... in case you want to make sure to come back!}. and then there was the new basic grey urban prairie. all of the pink paislee. sassafras lass {i fell in love with woodland whimsy}. fancy pants paper & chipboard. new autumn leaves stamps. the cosmo cricket campy was even cuter in person. maya road and their new acrylics. claudine's new line for ranger with the adhesive backed canvas. tinkering ink's new green line, and other little pieces we found here and there ...

i got to see friends i haven't seen since last cha and met some amazing new women. we sat outside becky's hotel with her and jenn on thursday night and i laughed so hard with her and everyone else my sides hurt, still.

i finally met cheryl in person and she's even sweeter than i had thought.

saturday i met kelly at the basic grey m&t and she cracked me up, not only with her introduction {"oh.... yes. i thought so." as she's lifting my badge to see my name *giggle*} but with her beautiful smile and kind words of encouragement.

then saturday night we all met at the sofitel again where i met kelly briefly and wished i hadn't felt so intimidated, she's stunning in person. and then there are all of the other girls. dude. i cannot list them all ... cause i know i will forget someone. hi girls!!!

gail ... who am i forgetting??

and for those of you who left comments for the hambly rak.... drum roll please!
our winner is :

Oooooh!  Pick me, pick me!  Have fun at CHA!
Posted by:Holly Hanks | July 17, 2008 at 02:37 AM

send me your addy holly & congratulations!!

thanks for playing girls!
happy tuesday!

xoxo

back to {my} basics

i spent last night rocking out to this girl's tunes and making this shadowbox for a dear friend. it just felt good to get my hands dirty and create something with the things that i love the most. back to my basics, the things i always gravitate towards, the old, the forgotten and the recycled vintage ephemera i shop for at thrift stores and flea markets. i used vintage buttons pierced with brads {ala my leesa peesa} and chenille fabric to trim the frame and i've been saving that vintage little girl place card for quite a while.

the sides of the shadowbox {ikea} were created by raiding my scrap bin and decoupaging with gesso and gel medium; i just tore the scrap pieces i chose and layered them haphazardly on the wood with gel medium and then coated it all with gesso. nothing scientific, but it gives the sides a sweet & worn white-washed quality.

and, the interior. i adore the interior. that pink paislee background paper is to die for, and i used my beautiful october afternoon butterfly silhouette stamps on the vintage date book which was repurposed from an older project that i just wasn't feeling anymore.

the basics. my basics. that is what i'm excited to start exploring. learning what i like. learning what i love to use. learning how i love to use it. experimenting and discovering myself in this craft. that's something i haven't really done in quite a long time.

also, just found out that silver bella registration opens up on monday. eeks!! cannot wait to be back at that glittery event. new teachers, including the soldering goddess sally jean {double eeks!} who alone will make the entire event so worthwhile for me. are you going??

happy thursday.
xo