Bride Tribe

Surprises are the best. The BEST. I love them. I’m a hard person to surprise though. I get nosy and suspicious really easily. I like to bug and bug until people crack. I’ve been told it’s not fun for the other person, but I just can’t help it!

So imagine my surprise when I walked into my apartment last August and found a million balloons scattered around the place. The soundtrack for Pixar’s UP was playing and my very sweet boyfriend was standing holding a bouquet of sunflowers. I would like to say my first reaction was sweet- I cried, I laughed, I grabbed him. But no- my first instinct was to say, “What the fuck?” (If you know me then you aren’t very surprised by this) But then the speech came and the ring and then I started jumping and crying so eventually, I got there.

Fast forward a couple of months later- it’s time to pick my wedding party. BRIDESMAIDS ASSEMBLE!

There wasn’t a question of who I would ask- just a question of HOW. I wanted it to be special and personal and Disney related of course.  My girls are all Disney fans themselves so I knew I wouldn’t have to ponder too much on this. I decided to create a Disney Princess box for each of them showcasing their favorite princess. I was sly about this, randomly taking a poll for a Disney Blogger online (which isn’t too much of a stretch since I used to be one once upon a time) and pretty soon, I had my results.

I wanted the outside of the box to be the wedding colors of red and navy blue. Off to Michael’s I go! I found these great boxes with room for a picture on the lid and painted them all accordingly. I covered them with blue ribbon to give them a sense of “opening a present” (I covered the photos for this blog just to give them some privacy).

Once you open the box, this is what you would find:

• Will you be my Bridesmaid postcard from Papersource
• Bottle of champagne with “I Love You” written in different languages and cute cartoons. I also made a special tag for each of them
• A Ring pop (featuring Sid the Sloth from Ice Age since JP worked on that movie!)
•  A mini clipboard for notes
• A figurine of your Disney Princess from the Animator’s collection (TOTES my fav!)
•  A Little Golden Book of your Disney movie which I took a part and added pages of notes about the wedding after the story

I was able to deliver them personally to each girl and it was so wonderful to see their reactions. I was so glad they all said yes and have started this crazy journey with me!

From L to R: Michelle (Aurora), Me (Belle), Rachael (Ariel- also my Maid of Honor!), Tana (Pocahontas), Monique (Mulan) and Gale (Jasmine)

Two Zero One Five

Here is some advice for the new year: If your boyfriend suggests that you two should move in together, be happy. Be excited. Get ready. Get all your ducks in a row and do your research!

Be patient.

Also, do yourself a favor and don't let the first thing you pack be the hobby that keeps you sane.

When my boyfriend JP suggested we move in together, I was ecstatic. I started to pack immediately and the first thing I packed away were all of my crafting supplies.

Big mistake.

Almost 4 months later, I was still waiting to unpack my craft bins. You see, what a rookie like myself didn't realize was that moving is not immediate. Of course, I knew it would take some time. Some time in my mind was a month maybe? It took us four. Apartment hunting is not easy. Sometimes it was downright scary even. But finally, the stars aligned and we found our perfect one bedroom apartment and after three weeks, we are pretty much all moved in.

Our first Christmas Tree! It was a Charlie Brown moment.

One of the main things I asked for when looking for an apartment was a section to set up all of my supplies. I was pretty cramped in my old room, sequestered in a tiny corner with everything on top of each other. But because my boyfriend is pretty awesome, he helped me pick out the right furniture that would hold everything and still give me room to create. Also, we were pretty lucky in that our bedroom is huge. There was a chunk of free space after we put in two dressers and a queen sized bed so I decided to use the other half of the room as my crafting haven. (Folks, I'm serious. TAKE YOUR TIME when looking for a place. I'm so glad we didn't settle because I LOVE THIS APARTMENT!)

Here is a look at what I'm working with--->

This is my desk looking nice and tidy! See how long that lasts...

I got that book case from Ikea to hold all of my supplies.

It was important for me to be near a television. Originally, we were only going to have one in the living room and use the bedroom as a place to relax at night and help our minds quiet down. But I quickly realized, there was no way I would be able to craft without some background noise. Sometimes, music doesn't quite cut it. And for the past two weeks, I've become obsessed with the NBC show, Parenthood. I was going to need a way to watch and craft at the same time. (Also FYI: Check the show out! It's in it's final season, but it's a realistic, funny, and moving family show)

Can't be creative without JP or our alter egos, Ellie and Carl. 

I was pretty psyched for this Christmas gift. JP bought me a Foldio studio. In the past, taking pictures of my cards was always a 10 minute struggle. The lighting was never good. I couldn't find a good background. There were always weird shadows in the picture. This little studio box eliminates all of my problems! There's a light inside and you could either insert a white (as seen above), black or grey background and you no longer have to worry about the quality of the photo. I seriously, cannot wait to use it! The Mickey ears are just an added decor element from my days as a Disney Cast Member.

I have a lot of stuff.....

Us on Christmas Day. <3

I'm really quite excited to start some projects in this new and improved space. I already have lots of ideas lined up and plenty of creative energy to burn.

So here's to a great 2015! Hope your year is full of plenty of love and surprises. 

And Crafting. =)

Crafting on the Island

Time for another crafting adventure! Last weekend, my boyfriend JP and I drove out to Long Island. Specifically, we were in the Westbury/ Carle Place area near the Roosevelt Field Mall. I decided to see what kind of crafting offerings were available at the three main craft stores we have here in the New York Metropolitan area. 

(Slightly off topic: Anyone out there FROM the NY Metropolitan Area?!)

These three stores were all within a 5 minute drive of each other. First up, the store that was having major sales!

All the paper crafting materials here were 50% off! So I was happy to be seeing things like this-

The problem with this, as with any sale, I always seem to be the last one there. So there were slim pickings, my friends. But I can always rely on JoAnn's for is this lovely pile-

It took me a solid ten minutes or so to go through this. I love clearance items and I don't mind sifting through each bin for my $1 stamps.

In the end, I came away from JoAnn's with these items-

I couldn't walk away without some stamps. The rubber one that I plan to use for embossing was only $5 and the other was just $3! And with Easter right around the corner, I needed some colorful paper! This was just a whooping $4. The small rubber stamp says "Happy Easter to my favorite Peep." Too cute.

Next stop:

AC Moore's stamps were a bit more organized.

They were however not on sale. Womp womp. So I didn't go stamp crazy, but their Cricut Cartridges were on sale! And I found the cutest $1 ribbons.

So we had to stop by Home Depot after which coincidentally was right next store to:

By this time, it was evening as you can see, so as sweet and patient as my boyfriend was all day, we were hungry! I had to be lightening fast! But I was on a mission. I needed a Flower Frog to hold my cards, but when I asked for it, the saleslady asked what it was used for. Now I know this thing is not normally used for cards.

But try to explain that to someone without feeling stupid! Luckily, another worker stepped in and saved me. Embarrassment averted. I came away from Michael's with a nice haul.

Then because he had been so nice all day, we ended the night with a yummy Mexican place the boy likes. I had the yummiest Flautas and guacamole!

And that was our adventure! I do sometimes wish there was some kind of new crafting store with new merchandise, but I suppose it's just wishful thinking. I'll just have to hold out for those times I drive upstate and down south to the large Hobby Lobby's. Now those stores are pretty amazing! Check them out if you can.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day isn't a big deal around here. My boyfriend JP and I don't really do anything special for it. It's not that we dislike the holiday, but it's not really our thing. We do exchange small presents and cards, but tonight he has a lot of work to do and I can't miss Grey's Anatomy so that's that.

But I do make him a card because that's what I do and putting aside all the forced lovey dovey sentiments that this holiday brings, it's just a nice way to show your partner that you appreciate them. This is what I made him.

I bought this S.W.A.L.K stamp months ago and it's been sitting in my drawer waiting to be used. I've been trying to get better with my Copics and my boyfriend has actually been really supportive so I wanted to use them for his card. I covered the image with red Washi tape and put jewels in the corners. The background heart paper is from a Martha Stewart pack as is the paper puncher I used for the top and bottom of the card. I recently bought this Studio G sentiment at JoAnn's and I thought it was just so cute.

We exchanged presents at midnight, but the cards will be exchanged tonight after we have the lovely steak dinner I will be preparing. For us, this is a perfect holiday.

My Valentine's Present from him. He knows me so well. 

I'm going to be entering this card in the following challenges-

Pause, Dream, Enjoy Mainly Red Challenge. This ends February 17th.
Paper Playtime Border Punch Challenge. This also ends on February 17th.


So whether Valentine's Day is a big deal or just another day for you, I hope no matter how you spend it, you have a lovely time. =)

Magnolia Stamps Craze!

I recently wrote about buying my first ever Magnolia stamps. I purchased two at The Ink Pad and then came home.... and bought 3 more from Magnolia-licious. They are just so damn cute, I needed some more! I started coloring them with my Copics and I had to watch a few of Suzanne Dean's videos from her blog Scrap Bitz. I've mentioned this blog before and she's a wizard with Copics. She makes it look so very easy which of course it never really is to a newbie like myself.

After a few attempts (sigh) I finally colored this Tilda and Edwin dancing stamp without any major blunders. Obviously, I'm still learning and watching (and re-watching) youtube videos, but practice will make perfect! So onto my first ever Magnolia card--

I choose a pink and brown color palette for this card. The background paper is from a My Mind's Eye pack I have and the pearl flowers came from a $1 stash I bought from Michael's. I used a Martha Stewart paper puncher and applied some Tattered Rose distress ink on the edges. As for Tilda and Edwin, I wanted to practice my blonde and brown hair techniques so even though I do not have blonde hair, I think my boyfriend will understand when I give him this card haha

I ordered some other really adorable stamps, so once I get them, I'll be trying out some more techniques. Until then, I hope you all like my first attempt!

I'm going to enter it in the Magnolia-licious challenge for their All You Need is Love blog hop. If you haven't seen these this hop, you seriously need to go over there. These ladies have made some pretty amazing projects and I'm learning a lot just by looking at their coloring. Take a look and then add your project by February 1st.

I'm also entering this into the Paper Playtime Use Brown challenge and this ends on February 3rd.

Christmas Cards 2012

Happy Christmas everyone! This year is especially merry for me because I have officially finished graduate school!! WOOT! But because my last class was 4 days before Christmas,  I didn't get the chance to make as many cards as I wanted to. These are the few I managed to put together.

All of the digistamps used here were purchased from Pink Cat Studio and I really looooove these images. They are so cute and easy to color. I managed to buy a bunch during their Black Friday sale in November. Santa was nice enough to bring me many new Copics so I will definitely be going back to the site for some more images.
      

I used some silver stickles as the string for the lights.

It's hard to tell, but I used an array of blue, white and silver stickles on this image.

I used some paper flowers that I found in Michael's for a dollar.

Stickles, brads and 3D Zots helps bring this kitty to life.

The stickers say "Snow Day"

Some white stickles for her hood.

I used some distress inks for the background of this card along with Santa stamps. The trees were drawn on the card.

I loved this image of Lily and the Polar Bear! Distress inks for the background. Silver stickles on the snowy mountains.

I hope you all liked them. I wasn't given as much time as I would have hoped, but now I can happily devote as much time as I'd like to my cards. Wishing you all a splendid New Year! Hopefully you now have more time for the things you love too. =)

Til Next Time, Happy Crafting!