spring petit swap boxes

i received my spring petit inspiration box swap in the mail today from my partner, lelainia lloyd of tattered edge and all i can say is... WOW!!!

the details are so sweet!  from the "knob" on the drawer to the washi tape and zetti stamped image on the top.  and that's just the outside!

 when i opened the box, i found the treasures sweetly wrapped in tissue paper, surrounded by a cool ribbon with the word "believe" on it.

inside i found all sorts of fun and lovely and brightly colored treasures!

there were fabric bits, ribbon, paper, an old coin, lace, shredded money (!), a compas, two cards filled with different colored and patterned washi tape, mesh screen (for making cool prints in my art journal!), and a bag of all sorts of goodies (see detail pic below).

opening this bag was like opening a whole other box of goodies!  there were gold foil number stickers, tickets, labels, stickers, letters, you name it!  it's really hard to pick a favorite out of all these wonderful bits.

this was a fun tidbit, too!  a teeny tiny plastic fish with a cap for a nose!  i think it might have held ink at one time?  the box and all the goodies are so cool.  i'm just going to put it right inside my traveling journal bag because it has everything i need for art journaling on the go!

**WARNING: if you are my swap partner for the petit spring swap, stop reading now if you don't want to spoil your surprise!!**

i had such a great time with this swap.  my partners, lelainia and marlene were the best!  i had a lot of fun investigating over at their blogs, trying to get a feel for their style, favorite colors, and favorite items.  i'm not going to say which box is who's but i did want to share some sneak peeks into both.

 i added ribbons, trims and all kinds of little spring-inspired bits that i thought each partner would enjoy.

our group was put together based on our preferences.  i think we ended up being the "bright and colorful" and "anything goes" group!  it was a fun challenge to put together these boxes and the goodies inside according to each person's likes.

if you haven't done a petit inspiration swap with speckled egg yet, i highly recommend it!  these swaps are always so much fun.  i have always had the most delightful partners and it feels like a fun little treasure hunt as you put together the boxes and goodies with specific people in mind.  you can check out the flickr group to get an idea of how the swaps change with the seasons.  heather (of speckled egg) is a great hostess and she does a wonderful job pairing people up and keeping it fun!

Happy Easter & More Journal Pages

we had a fun easter filled with egg hunts, egg fights (!!), and turkey dinner with my folks. i also celebrated my 34th birthday today!  we had ice cream cake from baskin robbins, a favorite of mine since i was a kid!  i couldn't have asked for a better birthday--surrounded by the people i love the most!

here are some of the remnants of our egg fight.  target sold little egg cartons filled with cascarones (confetti filled eggs).  we hid them in the front lawn and then proceeded to smash them over each other's heads.  sureya was a little upset that we were smashing all the eggs--she started to cry!  poor thing, but then she had a good laugh when we let her smash one over daddy's head.  ;)

i finally got a chance to start working in my kauai journal!  i did ONE page while i was in hawaii, so all of these pages are just done from memory (and what sweet memories they are!) ;)

i've been carrying around the same bag of supplies i took with me and i like the minimal look.  sometimes i can just get so overwhelmed with choices, that it's kind of nice to limit the colors, stickers, paper, etc.

i made the journal the night before we left for kauai.  i just took some of my favorite scrapbook paper and cut it down to about 12x9.  i folded the pages in half and poked a few holes in the middle of the folded papers and quickly stitched them into the cover.  for the cover, i used a pretty file folder that i had also cut down to 12 x 9.  i embellished the cover with stickers and labels.



i am really loving sticky notes by cavalini and company.  i got a whole bunch of tins for $5 each at their yearly warehouse sale (normally they are a LOT more!)  they are just great to add little journaling spots to your page.

and of course, i am in love with washi tape.  and the bestest pen ever--the pilot permaball.  LOVE!!

just a few closeups.  i am using a lot more scrabooking supplies lately.  i love the variety and the colors and i can't get enough of fun, colorful alphabet stickers!

ah, and rub-ons.  a new favorite, too.  words are especially fun because it looks like a stamped image, but without the smearing or boo-boos.  it goes on smooth pretty much every time!

i took the girls out the other day for a walk to our favorite bubble tea place (my favorite new drink is the jasmine milk tea with strawberry jelly. YUM!)

and i actually got some journaling done!  it was heaven.  sureya sat in her stroller drinking tea and when the place wasn't busy, i let her out to explore.  it is a tiny little place, so she was able to look out the big glass windows at all the college kids going by and me and maya sat for almost an hour journaling!

what are some of your favorite journaling supplies?  i would love to know!  let us all know in the comments.  almost all of my current favorite supplies i've learned through others recommendations and classes i've taken.  if you ever have any questions about what i'm using let me know.  i'm always happy to pass on good art info!

wish you were here

we're back from our week in hawaii.  i feel like part of me is still floating on gentle, clear, blue ocean waves.  i can still hear the sound of the waves crashing on black lava rocks and feel the warm sand beneath my toes!  we've decided to save up for a hawaiian vacation every year! i don't know how we'll do it, but it will be something we treat ourselves to each year.  hawaii is such a magical place filled with amazing natural beauty and kind, friendly people.  i just can't imagine never being able to return.

i'll be back with my regularly scheduled (art) program as soon as i can take some photos of my newest journal pages.  i brought a bag of supplies with me to hawaii and i maybe did half a page!!  i envisioned all this time of relaxing by the pool or on the beach with my journal but really, after hanging out on the beach all day, exploring tide pools, floating in aqua blue water, eating good food and heading back to the hotel to swim in the lagoon pool, i was too exhausted to make art! ;)  my husband had the same idea, that he'd have all this time to write (he's a poet and philosopher) and he came to the same conclusion that vacation really takes a lot of work! :)  (not that we're complaining!!)

it has been pretty easy for us to ease back into the "real world."  i'm not gonna lie, northern california this time of year is just blooming with beautiful spring goodness and mild weather.  it's not quite swimming weather, but it's definitely run around barefoot in the grass weather.  i've decided to see my every day surroundings as a mini vacation or "paradise" of its own.  

I am just having too much fun!  The weather has been gorgeous this week and while the baby is napping, i'm out on the front lawn with my journal and supplies for about an hour of uninterrupted art time!  it feels really really good.

I especially just LOVE to use all my prettiest and most favorite paper, tape, stickers, cut-outs, rub-ons, etc.  I highly recommend just grabbing all the colors and things that make you happy and putting them onto paper, canvas or an art journal.  

I know we are all guilty of saving those supplies for that special day/project/class/moment, etc.  But really, the best time to use all the best stuff is NOW! :)

My journal is my most favorite place to use my best and most favorite stuff because I see it every day.  I think of it as my grown-up sticker book.  Did you collect stickers as a kid?  I did.  I had a very special sticker book and I remember filling up the pages with all my favorites.  Smelly scratch-and-sniff, puffy sticker animals with googly eyes, neon bright wonderful goodness!

And it's just so freeing to use what you have and not feel too attached to it.  It is fun to experiment and let go and not judge (too much!) ;)

i'm going to hawaii with my family in a few days and i'm having a hard time pairing down my supplies to fit into one little travel-sized bag.  i don't know if i can limit myself to just ONE journal! ;)

i'll have to make myself a new little travel journal, i think.  and just take the basics: mini kids scissors (as far as i can tell, any scissors under 4" are ok to take on the plane--but always check with TSA before flying when in doubt), mini glue stick, tape runner, a few washi tape (a few???), a small packet of papers vintage and new, one sheet of rubons, a small box of vintage labels, stickers (dilemma: the sheets are 12 x 12 inches!)... am i forgetting anything?

oh! and a few pens.  (that'll be hard trying to decide on those precious few!  and, does any one know which pens DON'T explode on airplanes?? i always have a problem with that!)

ok, i guess that's all for now. here's the list of materials used for the above pages:  tissue paper, washi tape, scrapbook stickers by october afternoon, echo park, sassafrass lass, cavalini & co and crate paper, collage sheet image by teesha moore, vintage dennison labels.

enjoying these warm spring days...

it is my favorite time of year...when the weather warms up and i can run around in flip flops and cute skirts and spread out a blanket on the lawn with all my art supplies and lazily document the day-to-day in my journal...

here is just a sampling of what i drag outside with me...actually, i would be happy with just these few supplies thrown into a bag for a road trip or a jaunt to the beach (i had to say "jaunt", i couldn't use the word "trip" again in the same sentence!) i was inspired by kelly kilmer to take a photo of my current journaling supplies. i've gotta have: japanese masking tape, washi tape (there's a difference. the masking tapes are bright and colorful and plastic and cheesy in a cute way and the washi tape is more like paper tape and usually comes in more subtle and simple colors and patterns), scrapbook border stickers (i love the ones from crate paper, sassafrass, echo park, and K and company), diecut stickers and shapes (same companies), paper scraps, cavallini & co stamps and post-it notes, rub-ons, glue stick, kids scissors, tape runner, staz-on stamp pad.

i go back and forth between journals. right now i'm really into this coptic stitched journal i made a while back. the pages are all so random, a mix of my favorite vintage and newer scrapbook papers. i love to layer with paper scraps, ephemera, diecut shapes & stickers, japanese washi (masking) tape, scrapbook sticker boarders and stamps.

oh, and a layer of tissue paper first is really fun, too. the kind you use in gift bags. you can buy some real cheap at target in the giftwrap section, or any place that sells gift supplies. i recently got some cute matyroshka doll tissue paper from cost plus. i'll have to go back and see what other kinds of paper they have. cute!!!

interesting piece. this one was a lot like my other pages and then my friend kelsi came over one night to make art and we started chatting about dreams and she got this great idea to help me interpret a recent dream i had about a double plane crash (i was in two plane crashes in the same dream!) so i guess some of my subconscious spilled out onto the page that night!

and in between journaling, i'm snapping photos of my youngins. here's the youngest climbing on her little playhouse/slide. i love that she is able to play close by while i journal. her older helps corral her, keeping her in our yard. and i'm always a big leap behind her in case she decides to make a mad dash down the street (and she does. often. ) i'm comfortable letting her explore the yard and even walk along the sidewalk. she hasn't run out into the street, but i'm not taking my eyes off her for a second! she is my little daredevil and if another little toddler came roaring down the street on a motorcycle, well, she wouldn't think twice about hopping on and seeing where the wind will take her!

hunting for little bugs/creatures is a favorite pastime. my middle daughter knows just where to find the weirdest little living things. she is definitely my little nature girl. (and the little one is eating a pickle, not a bug!)

she is proud of her finds. she wants to keep them all in a little jar with holes poked in the top. and i have to remind her that bugs were meant to live free in the grass and will die if you keep them trapped. (sneak in a little metaphor about kids right about here!) i guess that applies to our kids, too. can't keep them locked up forever! you gotta let them out, gotta let them take risks and leaps and watch them fall and pick themselves back up again.

i want to attack life the same way my baby daughter does. she doesn't waste a moment or a chance to have fun and laugh and play. i hope to always run headfirst into life the way she does! i can always count on the return of spring to feel renewed and refreshed and excited for life and all it has to offer.