kinueko

december "daily" journal

2011-12-28T20:57:00.000-08:00

i say "daily" only because i didn't really journal every day as it happened. i was on a roll with my daily september and october journals but i kind of lost steam by november. and then december just showed up out of nowhere and in a blink it was gone again!

i love journaling in this haphazard kind of way. just taking photos and slapping them onto a page with some fun decorations (tape, labels, stickers, cut-outs, etc) and then writing a little bit about the photo or what happened that day.

cavalini stickers. love.

so, since i didn't really start my december daily until, like, over half the month was already done, i just put together a little page (with the help of my google calendar!) of the little things that happened each day. i will go back later and print out any photos i have and stick them into the journal to illustrate the events.

i like to write more in my journals, especially when documenting big events like birthdays and christmas. it's nice to break up a big block of writing with colorful photos and stickers.

i love peek-a-boo pages, too. love having multiple layers so you can kind of see what's coming next. it adds depth and dimension to a 2-D project.

i like using a variety of colors for holiday projects besides the typical or traditional color schemes. for my december daily i chose red, green, blue, pink with little bits of gold and glitter.

hope you had a merry christmas and here's to a wonderful new year!

christmas card

2011-11-29T15:23:00.000-08:00

i love a good challenge. so i decided to enter boch's creations christmas card challenge sponsored by stop and scrap. i used cardstock and ribbon by stampin up, patterned paper by anna griffin, scalloped bird tag by cavalini & co, and button embellishments by sassafras lass. the challenge and giveaway is open to all, so if you're feeling crafty, why not give it a try!

giveaway winner!

2011-11-29T14:47:00.000-08:00

Cheryl Leong said...

wow!! tfs!!! im thankful for my family and friends, they are wonderful.

congratulations, cheryl! you are the winner of my etsy shop giveaway! please go to my shop and choose a journal and paper pack of your choice! thanks everyone for playing along.

happy fall! :)

Holiday Shop Update & Giveaway!

2011-11-24T02:59:00.000-08:00

I've updated my Etsy shop with vintage paper goods, vintage Christmas ephemera and embellishment packs and vintage mixed-paper recycled journals and scrapbook mini albums. Yay! Blog Readers, enter code BLOG2011 at checkout for a 20% discount on your order!

I absolutely love vintage Christmas cards. The one above is a sweet angel, embossed and made to look like a patchwork quilt. I could see this in one of my holiday journals or used as an embellishment on a scrapbook page.

I've restocked the Christmas journals/mini albums. Each journal/album comes with a little stash of goodies tucked into the back pocket so you are ready from day 1 to start recording those holiday/everyday memories!

The journals are filled with my favorite vintage paper: pages from holiday books and kids workbooks, ledger and graph paper, as well as current favorites such as brightly colored scrapbook and handmade paper.

The journals also come in shades of wintry blue for those who prefer a more subtle winter pallet. Pages are also embellished with labels and stickers from the Cavalini sticker tins.

And these are my favorite! Precious packs of my favorite embellishments, perfect for holiday crafting! Each pack has a glittered gift tag, and an assortment of vintage and new paper and ephemera.

here's a more detailed photo of what is in the ephemera packs: patterned scrapbook paper, handmade paper, vintage dennison seal, scalloped cardstock, glittered Christmas tag, vintage green-and-red playing card, vintage book illustration images. Each pack comes tucked inside a glassine envelope.

Well I am excited for the holiday season to begin!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving (if you're in the U.S) and have a wonderful weekend! I'll be drawing a name from the comments on Tuesday, November 29th. One lucky commenter will win a mini journal and ephemera pack of their choice! All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me, what are you most thankful for?

october journal pages

2011-11-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

so, wow. october is done and gone. that was fast!! now we're getting close to thanksgiving and christmas. always a fun and exciting time. i am just finishing up my october daily journal. i'm about to start a mini "thankful thoughts" november journal. i'm taking an online class over at something splendid. this mini will be a little more mixed-media (yay! i get to pull out those acrylic paints!!)

so, october was filled with art and costumes and candy and manic weather (rain-sun-rain-sun-cold-hot-cold!) i placed whatever photos i took this month in my little mini october journal and wrote little bits so i wouldn't forget the details.

october was very active for us on the homeschool front! there were field trips and garden days and school photos and lots and lots of playgroups (which end up being really great support groups for us moms who are new to this adventure!)

i like this approach to daily journaling/scrap-booking. i love to see my photos of our every day life with little written thoughts. nothing complicated, just simple.

i played around in this journal with a little bit more collage-y elements. here i'm using washi tape, sequin scrap and a playing card.

still having fun with the instax camera, too. ran out of film tho! so i'll have to find out where to get more. probably amazon. ;)

this month, my daughter also joined a group that meets once a week with other homeschool kids from across the bay area and they learn through play in various county parks. it's a branch of the homeschooling philosophy known as un-schooling or free schooling where the child's interest dictate what is learned that day. the kids spend a whole 6 hours outdoors with two nature experts who are there to answer their questions or to help organize a game and to supervise their play. my daughter comes home soaked and muddy with tales of animal tracks, how to identify different plants in nature, how redwoods collect water, and also of her adventures building rock castles with her friends or braving a rope swing over the creek.

one day after "class" we were fortunate enough to meet up with my lil' sis who just started college. we got to spend the afternoon with her, and celebrated her birthday. all right in the middle of a "school" day. i really love how homeschooling frees up our schedule and lets us explore the world. we have more time for adventures, more time for family and friends and more time to just ask ourselves, what do we really want to do today?

i mean, we've only got one life. we might as well live it to the fullest that we possibly can. we are all here for different reasons. i am sure that i am here to explore and have fun. and i love that i can do that with my two little ones in tow!

what adventures have you been up to these days? what brings you joy?

happy halloween!

2011-10-31T01:03:00.000-07:00

hope you have a fun and safe halloween! :)

i {heart} october...let me count the ways...

2011-10-20T01:23:00.000-07:00

1. simple art projects with the kids

2. visit to the homeschool community garden (yes! tomatoes still growing in california in mid-october!)

3. leaf rubbings!

4. autumn in san jose = spring in san jose

5. celebrating birthdays with spooky cupcakes!

6. field trip to monterey bay aquarium (shh! sleeping sea lion on the rocks there!)

7. soaking up what's left of the sun (enjoying a cherry soda float! yum!)

happy fall, everyone! hope you are enjoying this cozy, spooky, fun season.

random fall pages

2011-10-14T00:38:00.000-07:00

here are a few pages from my little daily september journal/scrapbook. there were a few days/memories that i didn't have photos for, but i still wanted to include in the journal. so i made a cute, scrappy title with some random alphabet stickers and wrote in all the details i could remember about the photo-less days/events.

close-up of a page. i used some cardstock cut-outs from crate paper's random line (love it!!)

no journal of mine is complete without some hand lettering and doodling.

a little close-up of my somewhat neglected xtra large moleskine cahier...i got a little wrapped up in my 4x6 size mini book/daily album that i kind of forgot about my other journal. ;)

more page close-ups...

the above page is still in the works...needs some coloring-in of the writing, but i like how it's coming together.

and you've gotta try taking super close-up photos of your journals/artwork and then printing them as labels on sticker paper or as photos and then re-using them in your artwork/journals. so much fun. each page is full of new artwork just waiting to be exposed! :)

getting ready for halloween!

2011-10-09T23:26:00.000-07:00

1. halloween banner swap with my art group: check!

the challenge was to use "non traditional" color combinations. so, in other words: no black/orange.

so i tried different combinations: black/white/purple/red/green

i think they turned out pretty good! (or bad, i mean, it is halloween afterall!)

2. visit to a pumpkin patch: check!

the girls were lucky to be invited to a birthday party that just so happened to have been held at the cutest of cute pumpkin patches. there was a giant pumpkin to climb inside (hence, orange-tinted photos!)

and lots of opportunities for cute photo-ops (none, of course, that came out of the cute hay-bale maze, train ride or petting zoo! but that's ok. we had fun and that's what matters most!)

3. time for some october journaling: check!! not in traditional fall colors, but that's ok by me. what are you doing to prepare for fall/autumn/halloween?

just your average fall day...

2011-10-08T00:35:00.000-07:00

well, october has totally caught me by surprise! and fall has suddenly arrived. we were still having park playdates in the hot sun the last week of september and now...brrr!! rain and clouds and socks and sitting by the heater and snuggling up with a blanket and each other to keep warm. i live for summer. love it. but i do appreciate the cold, cloudy, rainy, cozy season of fall.

a journaling-pages-in-progress shot. it is so meditative to sit and chat with friends while randomly taping things down in my journal.

i guess we'll be saying goodbye to journaling in the sun on a blanket in the grass. but we'll still keep being creative. even if by candle light! i am just finishing up my september daily journal/scrap/photo/book. i'll post photos soon. now i'm off to start one for october! it is my new artistic interest. you know, no matter how boring or routine you think your life is, once you start to keep a daily journal with a few photos and memories, suddenly your life seems so FULL and AMAZING. i know that's how i feel right now. i think that's what keeps me blogging, too. just to capture these seemingly insignificant moments only to turn them into something more. something so beautiful.

and yes, this is a photo of snails painting. (fyi: no snails were harmed in the making of this painting! we used food coloring and gentle loving care) this was part of my daughter's current science investigation. oh, just your average day in the homeschool classroom!

so that's what i've been up to lately. loving, living and dreaming. i hope you are well.

photo effects & chalk art

2011-09-26T23:19:00.000-07:00

just a little update...i've been having fun this past week participating in ella publishing's boot camp. it was a week long event that consisted of different exercises in journaling, design, photo tricks, etc. i learned a lot and this is just an example of how to add a different look (vintage, urban, etc) to your photos. i love learning new tricks, especially in photoshop. i'm shooting with the camera on my phone and it takes OK photos, but i always have to end up editing them. i like this look and it's super easy to do (ok, as long as you know a little bit about photoshop. but with all those tutorials out there, it won't take long to learn a few tricks yourself!)

over the weekend we went to a sidewalk chalk art festival in our neighborhood. my stepdaughter participated along with some of her friends from art class. they made a very cool mural with trees and fairies (photo came out too dark!). i brought my daughter and her friends to see her big sister in action and they were inspired to draw as well. above is just a little bit of what they did. it was a fun day in the sun, watching artists of all ages expressing themselves.

been working a little bit on my september daily journal. more photos soon. fall has snuck up on me again! the days are getting shorter which means i gotta get my photos done earlier than usual. where does the time go? so long summer. see you next year!

what i've been up to...

2011-09-18T22:32:00.000-07:00

so, september is now more than halfway over...but i decided to start a little september daily journal just for fun! i was inspired by elise joy and her amazingly-beautiful-yet-simple journals. (she has a ton of super cute--and affordable--classes, too! you ought to check them out!) my september journal is a basic 4x6 ring-bound mini book with a cardboard cover and various paper pages. i used my favorite scrapbook paper and printed up some 4x6 photos, too. the great thing about the ring-bound journal is you can take pages out, re-arrange and just punch holes in almost anything to add to your book!

so what else have i been up to? took a fun class at paper source the other night. i really needed a mom's night out and this class just seemed like the perfect little getaway! we decorated blank calendar pages with stamps, stickers, glitter and punched out paper shapes. so simple but so pretty. we only finished half the calendar in class so i was at risk of not completing this project once i got home! (you know how it is--projects tend to pile up fast!) but i finished up the last few pages tonite and i like how they turned out. you could do this on regular cardstock. just type up the months/days in a word document (or use a stamp set) and print on white card stock. then stamp/glue/embellish as you wish.

and last, but not least, i received a lovely package of wonderful australian ephemera, paper bits and a magnificent hand-made journal (with a fun assortment of lined and hand-printed paper!) from sue. we were partners in lawendula's paper swap this summer and it was just so much fun, i had to share it with you. these swaps are so much fun. you get the chance to be matched up with people from all over the world. how cool it that?

hope you like the new photo format! i'm playing around with using blog templates for a more modern look. there are some super cool blog templates and other goodies available out there by some talented and generous designers. all of the above templates are courtesy of pugly pixel. she has a ton of free goodies and lovlies to pretty up your blog.

hope you are having a nice september!

september has come so soon

2011-09-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

well, this is the time of year that i desperately cling to any last bit of summer! luckily for me, i live in northern california which pretty much has awesome weather all year round. so it isn't TOO hard. i can still enjoy sunshine and warm weather and wear summer dresses and flip-flops well into october!

got some much needed time in my journal today. just started a new one, too (amid a pile of so many others! ha! art journalers, you understand, right?)

here's a few closeups. i love zooming into a page and discovering a whole new work of art!

i'm having way too much fun with my collection of deco tape. this is very different from washi tape. the deco tape is plastic and bright and comes in all kinds of weird patterns! my favorite are the transparent kinds. so fun for layering. oh, and anything with cute, weird hello-kitty style or kawaii animals.

i love the changing seasons, don't get me wrong. i can't wait for halloween and christmas and all. but what i lament most about the end of summer is the end of looooong sunny days. days that don't end until 8 or 9pm. i love soaking up the last bits of sunshine. the only good thing about the sun setting earlier each day is that in the fall, you get the most wonderful, dreamy, orange marmalade-y evenings as the sun melts into the sky.

here, maya combines shadows with a friend to form a strange, two-headed, four-armed mythical creature!

sorry, this post is so RANDOM!! here is a shot of my work table today. set it up outdoors in the backyard and played with all this fun stuff while maya played with a friend and sureya napped. there's a little peek at my new journal. it's a LARGE moleskine cahier type journal with a green floral print (came in a pack of two at barnes and noble--the other is orange, same print) i decorated the cover with all my favorite deco tapes!!

journaling essentials are as follows:

1. WASHI TAPE!

rolls and rolls! different colors and patterns are a must. i've organized them by colors: warm and cool. (i found the pencil holders at target for about $3 each!)

#2. ALPHABET STICKERS!

all different fonts, colors and sizes. these are all from different scrapbooking lines. my favorites are echo park, october afternoon, and websters pages. you can find these at michaels, target, and your local scrapbooking store (not to mention a plethora of online stores!)

#3. 6x6 SCRAPBOOK PAPER PADS!

these are my favorite kinds of paper to work with these days (besides vintage papers!) they are so colorful, portable and not to mention a cheaper alternative to buying the full 12x12 collection kits. my faves are basic grey, echo park, my mind's eye, just to name a few!

#4. SCISSORS, ADHESIVE AND GLUE STICK!

these are my favorites. small and portable. the scissors are kid-sized, blunt-tip fiskars. they are super portable, comfy, and are AIRPORT FRIENDLY! you can take them on the plane with you. (please always check with your airline ahead of time, just in case these regulations change). this is my favorite adhesive, too. cheap refills (best deals are at walmart so far). and this is my favorite glue stick. others work just fine, but this one smells like almonds! yum!

#5. and last, but not least... SAKURA MOONLIGHT GELL PENS, WHITE SIGNO UNIBALL AND PILOT PERMABALL

absolutely my favorites. they all pretty much write over everything (except the gel pens don't write on plastic or glossy surfaces too well, or on washi tape) the bright colors are great for coloring in lettering, making doodles, and writing on dark surfaces. the white signo is great for writing over the darkest surfaces and for outlining. and the permaball, well, it just rocks! it's smooth and writes over ANY surface and doesn't clog up. i have yet to meet its equal!

hope you are living up these last few summer-ish days before fall really sets in. what are your TOP FIVE must-haves when you journal or create art on the go? i'd love to hear them in the comments! GO!

words to live by

2011-08-27T01:09:00.000-07:00

here are a few more pages from the album i've been working on. i really forget how much i like making these little scrapbook pages!

i love mixing colorful washi tape, boarders stickers, alphabet stickers (mix matched colors & fonts!) and using my moonlight gel pens to add little designs to the background. and of course, i must have the pilot permaball to outline and journal and add little bits of texture and dimension to some of the elements on the page.

here is the cover of the album. it is made of 5.75" x 5.75" envelopes from papersource (love LOVE that store!!) i bought a super awesome kit on etsy once that taught me how to make the envelope album and now i'm hooked. love it.

look at all these yummy colors! and since it's made of envelopes, you can also use the pages to tuck in little bits of ephemera, notes, photos, secret journaling, etc. i think these would make awesome journals, too.

i love the faux stitching on the border stickers on these two pages. the stickers are from sassafrass lass. makes me want to experiment with stitching (in the style of amy tangerine!)

some more examples of adding details with the gel pens. i'm loving these banner stickers by sassafrass, too. love adding them to the sides for a unique twist.

and i had to include a photo of my dear 81-year-young grama in my album! i love her smile and her laugh. she is the inspiration for the name of my blog, too. love you, grama! and i printed all the photos from my camera using the pogo printer. fun!

my scrapbook style

2011-08-25T03:36:00.000-07:00

i guess i would say my style is colorful and eclectic. i don't do a lot of scrapbooking, but i am starting to kind of like it more and more. especially since they hold all of my precious photos of my day-to-day life. if they weren't in an album of some kind, they would just sit on a computer or in a dark box on my shelf!

so thank goodness for free classes like the one going on at big picture classes right now. i am just that kind of crafter/artist that is motivated by daily assignments and "deadlines." each day, a different teacher posts a new word of the day and a template. i print out the template on colorful cardstock, cut to size, add a photo (printed from my portable pogo printer--LOVE!!) and then i'm good to go.

i've made 10 pages so far and that's 10 more photos that i will actually have the enjoyment of seeing and sharing with others. yay!

and this is just a random shot taken with my phone at a red light on my way back home from running errands this afternoon. i was just inspired by the super blue sky and the pop of red and yellow from the old western appliance sign. (excuse the crazy dirty windshield!! i must've run into a bunch of crazy bugs or something). but that sign has been there for as long as i can remember. now i am actually a little bit inspired to go around my town taking photos of all the old signs and buildings. i'll keep you posted!

summer fun & giveaway winner!

2011-08-24T03:03:00.000-07:00

here i go happily journaling my summer days away. just a few pages-in-progress. i really like to see the pages before i write on them. sometimes i like them better that way. full of potential. :)

i just love mixing the craziest colors together. i don't think ahead, just play with whatever catches my eye.

journaling about some of our current summer happenings and catching up with photos from summer days past. played with my pogo printer and used some photos in my journal.

thinking i'd love to get my hands on an old polaroid, but i heard they stopped making them and the film, too! anyone know more about that?

and here we are, strawberry picking round 2! we loved it so much that we had to go back with some friends and show them the fun and wonder of picking your own fruit, straight from the ground! yum. so fresh and the smell is just divine!

we've been playing at the fountain a lot these days. it's like going to the beach but without the sand and the fear of little ones wandering into the ocean!

how could i resist this photo of cute little feet? our friends love to visit and join us on our picnic trips to the fountain where we sit in the shade and enjoy our little oasis in the middle of our lovely downtown.

oh, and congrats to LELAINIA for winning the packet of summer fun from my giveaway. please email me your details and i'll get that out to you asap! :) (kinueko aT gMail (dot) Com) thanks for all who entered. i do love to read your comments! you are always welcome to stop by and chat. my door is always open. ;)

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

pink and blue

2011-08-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

working in my new journal the other day. played around with a set color combo. PINK and BLUE. here are a few pages and close-ups. remember to enter the giveaway on this post by friday. ;)

little green dress (and giveaway)!

2011-08-15T23:02:00.000-07:00

my littlest one models her new green dress that i made for her the other day. it was my first attempt at sewing an article of clothing and i think it came out pretty good! :) (just don't turn it inside out to reveal all the funky stitches!)

i've always wanted to learn to sew clothes. especially make them for my little girls. one of my very first memories (may be my actual first memory!) is of my mom making a nightgown for me when i was 2. i remember laying down on the floor on crinkly pattern paper so she could trace around my body to get the right size for the gown.

next i'll sew up something for my 9-year-old and then maybe even try to make a skirt for me! it's funny how all of my latent math skills came in use while constructing the dress. looking at the pieces, i couldn't believe a dress would be possible. but i followed the directions and it just all started to make sense. it also helped that i bought the kit pre-cut to size from this awesome etsy shop. next up, i tackle a vintage pattern from the 50s! i'll keep you all updated.

ALSO, don't miss out on a little giveaway in the previous post. still open until the end of the week. i'll send a lucky commenter a little packet of artsy fun just as a little way of saying "thanks!" and "enjoy the last remaining bits of summer!"

Colorful little pieces

2011-08-01T02:32:00.001-07:00

ok, i'm officially back from vacation and getting ready for back to school (eek!) i was in a little bit of a blog/journal slump the past week. just didn't fee like posting! but i had to take down that last dreadful post with the too-dark photo and re-do everything bright and up close! hope you enjoy. also did a little blog redecorating. i like it. :)

colorful little pieces

meaningful experiences

meaningful (close-up)

open

open (close-up)

the month of joy

the month of joy (close-up)

hello my name is summer

hello my name is summer (close-up)

special

special (close-up)

curious (close-up)

stuff i want to remember

stuff i want to remember (close-up)

the two photos above are of a mixed media painting i did recently. i was inspired by the style of sarah ahearn and her new book, "painted pages." i thought i'd try something outside of my usual approach. my first instinct is to cover the entire page/canvas with color and pattern and brightness and joy. i like this more reserved approach with lots of white space and simplicity.

what creative adventures are you up to these days? how are you savoring the last few days of summer? let me know in the comments below and i will send someone a little summer sunshine packet of fun.

beach boardwalk

2011-08-01T02:14:00.001-07:00

shot_1310598148790, originally uploaded by kinueko.

having fun with my droid and "retro camera" app.

strawberry pickin'

2011-08-01T02:13:00.001-07:00

shot_1311013882252, originally uploaded by kinueko.

our beautiful, fresh strawberries from a recent berry-picking trip.

sureya and her baby

2011-08-01T02:12:00.001-07:00

shot_1310333716102, originally uploaded by kinueko.

my youngest poses in her kimono with her "baby".

summer photos

2011-08-01T02:11:00.001-07:00

shot_1310333642735, originally uploaded by kinueko.

hope your summer is going well. mine is great, but it sure feels like it's flying by! i'm on vacation and finding it challenging to blog without my laptop. but i figured out how to post photos from flickr so that'll have to do for now.

this is a photo of my daughters taken in early july right before we set off for the obon festival in japantown.

they are wearing kimono-style jackets that my brother and i used to wear as kids.

Journaling page tutorial & summer photos

2011-07-09T18:52:00.000-07:00

i thought it'd be fun to take some photos of my pages as i put them together. i love seeing how others' journal pages come together, so i thought i'd do the same. ;) first, i start by adding washi tape to the edges of the pages to create a fun border. there's no rhyme or reason, although i tend to use darker or bolder colors to act as a kind of frame. i also add scraps of paper to get rid of all the white space.

paper i like to use: old book pages, maps, tags, tissue paper (LOVE!!), scrapbook paper, etc.

i fill in smaller gaps with tinier pieces of scraps (like the ledger paper piece on the left). then i start to add smaller images on top like decorative tags, childrens book illustrations, playing cards, and scrapbook die-cut images.

at this point, i start to add more tape. i'll add bits of tape to some of the tags and images (to make it look like those things have been taped in). also, i add tape to the borders of some of the paper pieces.

then comes the "title" or a quote in large stickers and stamps. i like to use scrapbooking letter stickers and large letter stamps.

i also like to include the date somewhere on the page and then i'll journal all around. or i might stamp a quote or part of a journal entry or a list in the larger areas. well, that concludes part one! i'll have to finish the page and show you what i came up with in the end.

meanwhile, i have been thoroughly enjoying taking photos with my android and using fun apps to alter them to look old and artistic! above, i've used the app little photo. and below i've used urban camera.

urban camera is so much fun. and it's FREE!! you can choose from 5 different "cameras" to take your photos and you get these instant, distressed images! you can even choose from taking pictures in black and white or color on most of the cameras.

i think these make my photos look so much better! especially since the quality on my phone camera isn't the greatest.

it also saves me hours of time in photoshop or iphoto trying to get my photos to look "just right."

and it's just too much fun! :) i'm going to print them out to see how they look. i recently purchased a pogo portable printer (EEE!!!) and so far they print out really nice! (i'll share my experiences with the pogo in another post soon!)

so fun and mysterious! i love it.

hope you are all enjoying this fabulous summer (or winter, if you're in the southern hemisphere!) :) here's to another whole month and a half of warm weather, sun hats, cute bathing suits, flip flops, swimming, watermelon, and everything that is fun about summer! :)

life is good!

2011-07-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

we are in the midst of summer! the weather is really kooky this summer... hot, cold, hot, rain, cold, hot. but we are enjoying all of it! hot days mean more time in the pool, running through sprinklers, journaling in the shade, ice cream and eating out (too HOT to cook!) :) the rain and cooler temps come just in time to rescue us from the heat. and then it starts all over again!

been journaling up a storm, too. above is a journal spread i did without any glue or adhesive! all i had was my japanese masking tape and stickers and labels! but i did my best and a wonderful grid appeared! it just goes to show that you can do wonderful things with limited supplies! just use what you have. ;)

i've been asked about my journaling method and i'm thinking it would be fun to do a whole tutorial blog post about it. i've taken a lot of online courses that really helped me just get started. i've taken several classes with hope karney and she really helped with fun prompts and ideas for layering and using fun materials like tape, labels, old paper, etc.

when it comes to what i journal about...usually i just spend a while creating a spread in my journal, not worrying about what will go where. then i just start to free write. usually just all about my day, what i'm doing or thinking at that exact moment. nothing too complicated!

i journal a lot about my girls! my journals have become a lot like scrapbooks (without photos--i'm working on that, though!) i find it's just fun to document my everyday life. it's the little details that we tend to forget over time.

i must have a million different journals, too! when i get bored or stuck in one, i move onto another. so sometimes there are big gaps in between journal entries but that doesn't bother me. and some journals get filled up really quick! i picked up the new smashbook by k & company. it's spiral bound with a hidden spine and hardback cover. it lays flat (a must for me!) and it comes in several different color schemes/themes. they are loaded with all different kinds of paper and vintage inspired images. it also comes with an awesome pen/glue stick so you're never without one or the other! :)

my older daughter loves to journal with me. i picked her up a matching smashbook and signed her up for "kidding around" on big picture classes. she wrote the note below for me to put in my journal. so sweet!

summer is also a great time to take colorful photos. there is so much daylight to enjoy and plenty of afternoon (de)light to take advantage of. our outdoor picnics often include a cold, fresh fruit snack! yum!

what else can i say? :) life is good!!

camera phone crazy (and a journal page)

2011-06-21T01:49:00.000-07:00

i am really having too much fun with my camera phone and the little photo app. it takes your original photos and turns them into instant works of art! it makes them mysterious, moody or just plain fun.

so here are just a few photos documenting the first few weeks of summer. we've celebrated birthdays (above, a friend of mine's son just turned two!)

we've gone for walks. (and gotten a few cuts and scrapes along the way) this photo was altered in iPhoto on my mac. i just played with the contrast, saturation and some other buttons. randomly switched them to the left or right. just to see what would happen.

we've hung out in the park in the shady grass and had picnics and played in the water.

even my sweetheart came out to join us one day! this one reminds me of those old tintype photos or really any photo from the late 1800s that are starting to fade away. (i wonder how our photos and scrapbooks will hold up over time?)

here's sureya in the sun, soaking wet from running through the fountain. just wanted to compare the original with the two different altered versions.

i LOVE this one! the colors remind me of partially-exposed film photos from the 70s.

love the antique look of the light here. you know, you don't have to have an app to do all this funky stuff to your photos. you can also use photoshop and just tweak all the buttons (like for exposure, contrast and the hue, saturation, etc. just randomly start moving the buttons around and see what happens!)

oh, and, yes. i have still been journaling a little each day. i'm still in love with summer. except today we had a little falling out. it was 95 degrees in the shade here in super-humid san jose. so i went from loving summer to almost wishing we were back to spring. but i know when the leaves start to change and the sun starts to set earlier each day, i will be wishing for my summer to return once again!

i'll have to do a separate post on portable printers and other fun alternatives to digital cameras. thanks to my readers for some great suggestions! (follow up post coming soon!) :)

phone photo fun (say that 3 times real fast!)

2011-06-18T00:30:00.000-07:00

ok, i was a little slow to jumping on the smartphone bandwagon, but now that i've discovered the free app "little photo" for my android, i totally GET it now. and i LOVE my phone. it is my new camera.

(above is a shot of a box full of vintage sheet fat quarters from a recent swap i did with the vintage sheet patchwork swap flickr group!)

it can take regular old photos and age them, make the colors all funky, make them look like they were taken by an old camera, etc. fun fun stuff. i will be experimenting a lot more in the near future and posting my results on the blog!

now i just need an awesome, mini portable printer so i can add my photos instantly to my journal! any recommendations? ;)

also, be on the lookout for an upcoming mail art swap...i'll make some examples and post the info and take signups soon!

Summer has officially started!

2011-06-14T23:31:00.001-07:00

here is a little peek into my june journal. i made it in my online class "get those creative juices flowing" with amy tangerine at big picture classes. she taught us how to make these super simple scrappy journals. LOVE it!!

i never think ahead to do "before and after" page shots, so here goes. above is a page in the june journal. just basic scraps of paper, labels, journaling cards, etc.

and voila! after adding sticker letters, journaling and doodling.

here's digging deeper into the journal. the pages are made of scrapbook paper (cut to 8.5" x 11" and folded in half) and folded tags, envelopes and other odd-shaped papers. fold 'em all up, sew 'em down the middle (hand stitch or machine stitch) and you've got yourself a super speedy journal ready to go!

flop a flap over and reveal little hidden messages and other secret surprises! here is a hot air balloon sticker from 1979. i bought a package of totally unused dennison stickers from ebay. still wrapped in cellophane with a Kmart price sticker of .79 cents! awesome.

can't get enough of online journaling classes these days. especially if they are FREE! found out about this awesome summer journaling class through a recent commenter (thank you, nathalie!) check out "in the sun" with natalie malik (a different natalie!). she is posting a prompt a day and i'm excited to start following along! above is the start of my SUMMER TO DO LIST. and i'm happy to report that i've been doing a lot of them already!

today's journal page went from playful to serious! i was camped out in my usual spot with the girls and we were having a blast. i was journaling in the shade and the girls were running in the grass and splashing in the fountain.

anyway, we were surrounded by an incoming group of college freshman attending their summer orientation. i saw a friend of my stepson's (wild coincidence!) and he was all smiles in his group, newly graduated, ready to conquer the next big educational challenge in life. then it hit me. my stepson will not be one of these fresh new college-bound faces. he has chosen not to pursue the path of higher education (for the moment) and will instead enter the workforce with a high school diploma.

suddenly, i felt like a complete failure as a parent.

a little conversation with friends and some journaling helped me realize that everything will be OK. plenty of people take time off after school to figure out what they want to do next in life. no need to rush a young person into something they don't feel ready for. i know, it will be fine.

and onto a lighter subject...here is a little sneak peek at a recent washi tape postcard swap i entered over at mescrap with lay hoon. i love postcards. i don't know why i don't write them more often! especially when you can make your own. anyone up for a MAIL ART SWAP? let me know in the comments below. we'll swap some postcards around the world. let's get this summer party started!!

cute colorful etsy treasuries

2011-06-07T04:01:00.000-07:00

what do you do to pass the time with a sick child in the middle of the night? you create an etsy treasury, of course! these are just a few of many from my favorites list. get well soon, little one.

YUM! Some summertime journaling...

2011-06-03T00:51:00.000-07:00

just a quick little blog post...i've been super busy with three graduations this week! my little sister, my niece and my stepson! and 3 days in a row, too! BUT, in between all this fun graduation madness, i wanted to post a few journal pages ...

excuse the out-of-order sequence, but they all pretty much happened in the month of may.

and they are FULL of my most favorite supplies. a mix of old and new ephemera. tags, labels, stickers, washi tape. all the usual goodness. some have more white space, others are plastered with color and pattern. just playing with different styles.

oh, and i had to include this photo of my FAVORITE new mini journals from cavalini & co. (they're coming out with some of their own washi tape, too. check it out on teesha's post here). they are like moleskine journals but with awesomely CUTE covers. (there are different themes like, too. this one is the numbers set). they come in packs of three and the inside of each are different kinds of paper (one is blank, one is lined and one has GRID paper!!) eeee! i am giddy just thinking about the possibilities. such a craft nerd, i know. ;) and i'm glad you understand. :)

springtime journaling

2011-05-13T19:10:00.001-07:00

here are a few recent journaling pages. me and the girls have been taking walks for lunch to the nearby college campus where we spend hours running in the grass, frolicking in the fountain and cooling off in the shade. while the girls play, i have the chance to journal.

the weather has been a bit cold and windy these past few days so we haven't had a chance to take our walks and journal outside. but i know summer is just around the corner, so i'm enjoying this little bit of spring we have left.

ok, i had to share with you my new washi tape! the first "row" is the normal sized tape. two new favorites: airmail stripe and the black & white stripe. the other three are just refills of my favorites that i'm almost out of. the second row shows the new MINI tapes i just ordered from UGUISU online. they come in groups of 8 and they are smaller than the average rolls. so you can get a wide variety for a little less than you'd pay for the larger rolls. this color combo is "vivid." they also come in "sweet" which is a more pastel color combo.

i have been using a lot of tape, stickers, labels, scrap book paper, stamps and a few pens.

oh, and rub-ons are a lot of fun, too! i would love to know what your favorite, must-have journaling supplies are. feel free to share in the comments! :)

Art, snails & a (soon-to-be) graduate

2011-05-05T21:33:00.000-07:00

i finally have a chance to post a few photos of the first canvas i made in my She Art class with Christy Tomlinson. i'm not sure how i found her blog/website, but after i saw her cute and fun canvases, i just knew i HAD to take a class with her.

she's also teaching a journaling class called "She Had Three Hearts" and there is still time to register. i learned SO MUCH in the She Art class, i am still trying to digest it all. i'm not quite done with my first canvas, just have to finish up painting the sides and i'm done.

i learned a lot about layering paper, paint, stamps, ink, stencils and (my new favorite) RUB-ONS!! who knew that this product could lend SO MUCH extra fun and texture to the background?? they're like stamps, but the images are always darker and a little more clear. and they are fun to just put on partially to give it a distressed or worn look.

if you ever decide to take a class with christy, you WON'T be disappointed!! i love her style, i love how she's not afraid to just put down the layers of beautiful paper and paint and stamps and things. if you're like me, first you will gasp in horror as she cuts through the middle of a gorgeous piece of patterned paper, cutting away until it's just the tiniest little piece she needs! if i've learned anything from this class, it's not to be afraid to just USE your good stuff and don't look back! :)

we have been enjoying some MARVELOUS spring weather these past few days. me and the girls have been spending almost ALL DAY outside. either on a blanket in the front yard, at the park with friends or, our new favorite spot: underneath the shady trees on the san jose state campus right near a little fountain where the girls can run and play. (photos of that scene coming soon!)

and the front yard is just as nice to go hunting for snails or riding on little scooters. sureya's new "photo face" is the one above. it's closed eyes and (usually) a turned head! she's making a statement pretty early on. "no photos, please." well, i guess i'll have to go the candid route for now!

and there she goes, not afraid of anything in the whole wide world (which frightens me to death, of course!) but i know her lack of fear will get her far in life. with many cuts and bruises, but with smiles and stories to tell!

and speaking of kids on their way, my stepson zach is turning 18 AND graduating this month! wow. i first met him when he was 6 years old. he was a little shy and still a little mad about his mom and dad's divorce (he was almost 5 when they divorced. i met his dad about year and a half later) but he was always very loving and full of spunk (in other words, sometimes he could be a little contrarian--always finding a way to argue his side! i used to joke that you could say the sky is blue and he'd find a way to prove you wrong.)

well, with graduation comes senior photos, announcements and invitations. i wanted to take some photos of him for the announcements so we did a little impromptu photo session in the front yard. even the cat decided to get into the picture. which was kind of nice, because it lightened the mood a little. if it's one thing zach doesn't like, it's having his picture taken!

so i tried to make a little small talk while i took photos. he's used to me just snapping away. he knows he doesn't have to pretend to like it or to smile if he doesn't feel like it. i've been taking photos of him with and without his permission for years! and i've gotten the most candid photos of him as a result. i like the one above. it shows a little bit of uncertainty, a little bit of worry (he's had worry in his eyes since i first met him as a little 6-year-old boy. if anything, i think he has an old soul) and a lot of thought.

this is the closest i think i got to a smile. i like it. i know he's not sure of what's to come in the future, of where he's going to go to school or what he wants to do with his life. at this point, we're just encouraging him to do what he loves the most. a lot of people are surprised when we say he's not going to school right away. (i think they're more surprised that we're not forcing him to!) and i think, you know, if you're not ready for something or 100% about something and your heart's not in it, you're not going to succeed or have a good time. he will know when it's time to go to school and maybe it will take him a little while longer to find what brings him joy. that's all i want as a parent. to have my kids be joyful and full of love for life. and we'll help him along the way. he'll start working this fall and maybe he'll realize he doesn't want to make minimum wage for the rest of his life and he'd like a higher education to pursue loftier goals. or he might like the idea of having minimal responsibilities and possessions. there are many roads to take in life, plenty of chances for learning and re-working goals as you go. i can't wait to see what he chooses and you bet i'll be cheering him on along the way.

spring petit swap boxes

2011-04-27T22:07:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-19T23:47:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-04-06T00:58:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-04-02T01:05:00.000-07:00

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.

collage painting step by step

2011-03-30T18:39:00.000-07:00

well, i guess it's a backwards kind of step by step, but i think you can figure it out. ;) i recently took a class at Big Picture Classes with Emily Falconbridge called, "Got Paint?" and this painting was our final project.

Here is my crazy, messy dining room table (turned art studio for the moment!)

and a close-up of the first phase. here i've just placed random pieces of somewhat-coordinated scraps of paper (i knew that keeping those little pieces would come in handy! ha!)

a little gesso (or white paint) dry-brushed and wiped away here and there to hide/reveal parts of the canvas. the middle design is made with vintage sewing paper. i traced my design from an old calendar. you can trace any image you can think of. i thought about just leaving the collage like this. i really like the look of the antiqued paper against the colorful background. but, i decided to keep pushing it. (always scary, always fun!)

oh, this is just a close up of my cute little bowl i've had since i was a kid! it was on the craft table filled with midnight snacks (chocolate ice cream treats from Trader Joe's!) the bowl used to have a mug and a plate and if you piled them all up, you'd have a 3-D girl! (the plate had a printed image of shoes and the mug was her "body" with a cute little dress.)

this was the fun part...adding all the paint splotches and drips and texture with all sorts of fun painting tools (bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, pizza cutter, shaped sponge brushes, stencils, etc--most things you have at home!) i just picked a few (ok, a lot) of my favorite colors and that's how my color scheme was born. i'm really gravitating toward these bright colors lately. and a few pastels for balance. i love red, aqua, sky, pink, sea foam, and rose.

so, it's not a very detailed step-by-step. i don't want to take away from the amazing class i just experienced. if you're looking for a fun, laid-back, go-at-your-own-pace kind of class or you just need a little boost of inspiration, i HIGHLY recommend this class. tons of fun.

i would love to see what everyone is up to these days. now that spring is upon us, what colors are inspiring you lately?

SNOW??

2011-03-19T00:02:00.000-07:00

ok, not really! but it's the closest we get to snow in san jose! every spring, the plum tree in our front yard bursts into bloom and on a windy and/or rainy day, the blossoms begin to fall like snow and cover our entire yard in sweet, delicate petals!

i am super excited at the arrival of spring! longer, warmer days means more picnics on the lawn with my journal and favorite art supplies! in fact, the other day, me and maya were sitting on the lawn, enjoying a little break while sureya took her nap. we had our journals, pens, glue, images and we were in heaven!

ahhh...just lovely! but now the rain has come and it seems that it will be in town for over a week! what are we going to do?

i'm sure we'll think of something... maybe a fort in the middle of the dining room? dreaming of a sunny day.

and lots of time to make art!

scrappy pages and spontaneous rainbow giveaway!!

2011-03-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

i'm made a few more pages for my album. it feels so good to finally be putting these photos onto pages and into albums! and i have the class "got paint?" by emily falconbridge to thank for it! :)

i always forget this trick/tip, but it is SO much easier to create almost ANYthing when you get a few steps done ahead of time.

i painted and stamped all my pages at once and then when it was time to lay the photos down, i worked on several pages at a time, flowing between each one when i'd get "stuck."

i have almost a full 6x6 album now. all colorful and rainbow-y and full of photos of me and my family! yay! so let's celebrate with a GIVEAWAY!!

i've been cleaning up my studio--organizing, rearranging, and creating more messes (suddenly, surrounded by my art supplies and treasures, i'll be inspired to create!). so, i found two packages left over from a past rainbow giveaway/swap and i thought i'd offer a package full of RAINBOW goodies to the first TWO COMMENTERS! starting...NOW! **remember to leave a way for me to contact you either an email or blog or something!!**

good luck!!

cute vintage sheet pennant giveaway

2011-03-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

isn't this just ADORABLE? i am totally in love with vintage sheets. i haven't really gotten excited over the whole pennant/bunting fad that i'm seeing so much of on etsy and other places UNTIL i saw this super sweet, handmade vintage sheet bunting by Amy of Diary of a Quilter. one lucky commenter will have their hands on it, courtesy of the vintage sheet blog. check out the giveaway HERE. i have a collection of sheets, fat quarters and charm squares just waiting to be made into lovely things! i have big plans to make a king-sized quilt from my vintage sheet squares. but that's a post for another day.

painting scrapbook pages

2011-03-07T19:52:00.000-08:00

just wanted to share some scrapbook pages i've done lately. i'm taking a class with emily falconbridge called "got paint?" over at big picture classes. i met emily at a class i took with anahata katkin in september of 2008 (wow, was it that long ago?). i've been following her blog ever since. and when i found out she was teaching an online course, well, i just had to sign up!

it feels REALLY good to finally be getting these photos onto pages and into albums. i've never been much of a scrapbooker, but when i saw how artistic you could get with pages and all the "non-traditonal" styles and methods, i couldn't resist. these techniques are simple and they get me motivated to get my photos out and get those pages into an album. once i started one, i couldn't stop.

it's super easy. i painted the pages with some quick background colors and when they were dry, i added some stamps in contrasting color paint. i spread the pages all out in front of me and started laying down my photos (this was kind of random, but sometimes i'd place a photo down on a page if it looked really good with the colors). then it was time to add the embellishments. i'm really loving boarder stickers! i can't get enough. especially the ones by k & company. the brigher the better! :)

so, that's about all. it's been too cold and windy to get outside to do spraypainting in my journal (and i still need the right mask!). so i'll wait til it warms up a bit. spring is lovely and all, but it can be so temperamental! warm and sunny one day and cold and windy the next! (can't wait til summer! that's my favorite season!!)

hope you are all up to your elbows in paint and paper and crafty goodness!

journal page step-by-step

2011-03-01T23:34:00.000-08:00

So I've had a chance to work in my XXL moleskine journal and i thought i'd share a few photos of some pages and how they evolved... (disclaimer, i did not invent any of these techniques. i am simply using what i've learned from various artists, classes, books, etc over the years)

I start off with a magazine image for the focal point (usually a face i find intriguing or fascinating). and i dig through my bag o' scraps (those precious little paper pieces i can't bare to throw out! yes, you can use up every little bit!) i just glue down the focal image and surrounded it with paper that i find pleasing to my eye (i don't spend too much time on this step since it's going to be covered up anyway!) what's funny is that i really love this part and it's sometimes (most times!) hard for me to go on to any other steps (paint, stamps, spray paint, etc). but i push myself to try new things, so...

i squeeze out acrylic paint right out of the tube and onto the page. little drops here and there. i try to keep analogous or harmonious colors together (avoiding those colors that fall opposite each other on the color wheel--otherwise when you blend them, you end up with muddy browns and blacks and greens). this part is actually really fun. i use an old gift card or credit card to scrape the paint around the page. i also smear the paint around with my fingers and wipe the colors off on other pages-in-progress (i love to work in multiple journals at once). on this page, i also played with stamps (to add texture to the background), copic markers (to add color to the face & around the eyes) and puffy fabric paint (tulip brand, the squeeze kind that has the thin applicator tip). the puffy paint is fun to draw with, adding patterns, details to the face/body, just playing with (i learned this from anahata katkin. i also used ink to make drips on the page and turned the book so it sits upright so the ink will drip down--also learned from anahata) i've also outlined the eyes & mouth with micron pens and colored them in with sharpie poster paint pens.

ok, this is my favorite part (wait, haven't i already said that? i guess once i get going, it's all fun!) this is where i lay down spray paint. i've been using montana cans and various stencils i've collected--my favorites are by crafter's workshop. (i have to give credit to mary ann moss for inspiring me on my newfound love of spray paint and stencils!!!) so, i don't know if it's finished yet. i still would like to add some journaling and maybe draw in some patterns or designs here and there.

here's two other journal pages i shared previously. these were in the early stages. just cut out images from magazines and added some spray paint.

then i smeared & scraped the paint around and added ink drips and stamps, spray paint and outlines with fabric paint.

here's the other side of the two-page spread. this is the one that inspired me to go kind of tribal with the other pages. i had some red paint on my fingers from smearing paint around the pages so i just wiped it off on the face and i liked what i saw. i also filled in this face with acrylic paint. nothing fancy. just off-white. i like to paint in faces ala misty mawn, but that technique usually takes a little longer and i didn't have the right colors to blend for face tones, anyway.

so, aside from playing in my journals, i've also managed to participate in speckled egg's petit inspiration box swap again this year. the theme was "flea market style" so i filled up the boxes with all of my sweetest vintage (and vintage-inspired) goodies!

the outsides were fun to decorate, too. i got to go through my wonderful collection of vintage-inspired scrap book papers and put them to good use! :) each box was decorated a little different for each of my two swap partners. i tried to tailor it to their interests as best i could. that's always fun--to make something special with someone in mind. :)

i won't say who they're going to so i don't ruin their surprise! :) but i thought i'd post a little sneak peek here to inspire you. (and encourage you to join swaps! i'm always up for a good swap, by the way. just email me or leave a comment!)

well, that's all for today. i hope you've been inspired to make something and try new things. as always, i love to hear from you in the comments. i love to see what others are up to!

spray paint LOVE

2011-02-13T22:39:00.000-08:00

Finally had a chance to post photos of what i've been up to...

after taking stitched & stenciled with mary ann moss (and after waiting for calm, sunny weather) i got some spray paint and had a great time!

i've been working in my new EXTRA LARGE moleskine journal (photo of my hand to show the size of this monster!)

here's a photo of a how the pages start. with collage from magazines and a couple random colors of paint.

more colorful backgrounds. i like to use journal pages for experiments!

the only thing with spray paint is that it is VERY TOXIC! so the proper mask is very important. i still don't have the right one! mine protects from fumes but not the toxic stuff so i only spray a little bit at a time and only outdoors. and since i don't have the right mask, i haven't been using spray paint--instead i use adirondack spray inks by ranger.

they're also good to use indoors and they are non-toxic. the only thing is that they stain! so wear protective gloves and cover your work surface. i worked outdoors on some valentines for my bay area art sisters group v-day card swap.

the theme this year was "no red or pink". so i used blues, aquas and violets (i am pretty stuck on traditional holiday colors, so this was a challenge! the violet was the closest i could get to red!)

i used stencils and masks so i got a lot of cool results. i just layered several 4x6 watercolor postcards and stencils and sprayed a little here and there. when they were semi dry, i put some masks down (i used some heart shapes) and sprayed in darker colors over that.

i used journals as my work surface so i ended up with a ton of cool ready-made surfaces. can't wait to get journaling again! the weather is starting to warm up and the days are getting longer (thank goodness!!!) so it looks like we'll be spending more time out on the lawn with our art projects. just have to figure out what to do with the little one. she's not one for sitting still for very long! we'll see... ;)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

xoxo

Art Retreat for Moms!

2011-02-07T21:31:00.000-08:00

**UPDATE: Registration is now closed. This class will be taught again in April 2011. Also, keep an eye out for the ONLINE version of this class coming SOON!**

I will be teaching an art retreat for moms with my friend Kelsi McMartin this March. In this class, we will be exploring themes of motherhood and finding ways to express our thoughts, feelings, memories and experiences through art and writing. We'll meet on Saturdays from 1-3pm for 4 weeks beginning March 12 and ending April 2. The class will be held at The Loft (Birthing & Parenting Enrichment Center) in Morgan Hill, CA. In this class, we'll be making two projects:

*A keepsake album/journal for our photos and precious memories (kind of like a scrapbook, but with emphasis on visual journaling)

*A mixed-media collage painting (we will explore themes of motherhood as we layer a canvas with paper, paint and personal images)

If you have a Paypal account, you can sign up by clicking on the "buy now" button below. Paypal is a secure site and there is no fee for signing up for an account. You can choose debit, credit, or e-check if you use Paypal. You may also pay the first day of class on March 12 (for the full retreat) or pay for each class that you attend. We will accept check or cash in person or you can always pay before class starts through Paypal.

If you are in the San Jose Bay Area, and you would like to join us, come on over! We'd love to have as many moms participate as possible. All moms of any age are welcome. No art experience necessary--just curiosity, love of creating, or just that desire to get away for a little bit and enjoy the company of other extraordinary women.

I hope you can join us! Please feel free to spread the word. You may post to your blog, facebook, twitter, etc. And if we get enough interest we may offer an online option in the future (let me know in the comments if you might be interested!)

Any questions, please contact me or Kelsi.

i'm still here...

2011-02-02T23:57:00.001-08:00

the two i live for. i want to be their mom forever and ever!

it's been a while since i've blogged. i just haven't felt like saying much lately. not that there is any lack of inspiration or time or energy. just the opposite. i find i have plenty of time and inspiration and energy! :) i guess i'm just doing other things and i've also been trying (emphasis on the word TRYING) not to spend so much time in front of my computer! don't get me wrong. i love to blog hop, i love to browse etsy and flickr and occasionally cruise by facebook and see what everyone's talking about. but mostly, i love to make art (mostly messes!) and take walks with the girls and try to be as present in the moment as possible.

i treasure the look on their faces! pure joy and excitement!

do you ever find yourself awake, i mean wide awake in your life? like, suddenly, you are very aware of your senses and surroundings? like that feeling you get when you know you are dreaming, when you are awake in your dream and you can even control what is going to happen next? well, i may not be able to control every waking moment of my life, but i often feel so aware that i am alive and living that i am just overcome with joy and amazement.

beautiful winter Arizona sunset. i'm fascinated by silhouettes lately. maybe has something to do with a stencil class i took with ms. mary ann moss!

i have been thinking a lot about death and life lately. (nothing morbid, just in a kind of "well, we can't avoid it (death) so we might as well make the best of it (life)!") we lost my dear brother-in-law to leukemia in december. even though i didn't know him as well as i should have, he has been appearing in my dreams a lot lately. and so is his family (he left behind 9 extraordinary and very lovely and loving children and several grandchildren). i feel i should really visit with them more often but sometimes i'm not sure how (my husband and his sister-and-law haven't always been the best of friends!) it's not an excuse, but just something silly that is keeping me from making that necessary step to forming a relationship with my nieces and nephews.

this is the cemetery where my brother-in-law is buried. that day in december was beautiful and bright. in the morning, the entire place was shrouded in a dense fog that began to lift as everyone arrived. the contrast of the green grass and the blue sky made it look more like what i imagine heaven to be.

i think we often get caught up in our every day life and our habits, rituals, routines. we are stubborn creatures of habit! but habits can be broken every once in a while and we can do things a little differently than we've done and really improve the quality of our lives. in just little ways, really. nothing earth-shattering. just picking up the phone to call a distant relative or friend. or picking up a journal and writing down some thoughts. or turning off the tv/computer and going outside for a little while. making time for ourselves and for our family is so important. it is not just a cliche. it also feels really good! :)

maya and grandma linda (kinue) enjoying a trip to the park during our visit to Arizona this winter. i love my grandma! she is the inspiration for the name of my blog/etsy/internet pseudonym. she is going to be 81 years young in april.

i am really super inspired by my friend kisa who has embarked on a year long challenge to do one NEW thing EVERY DAY! even if it's just trying something new for lunch or taking a new route home from work, she's doing it and having a great time along the way. what if we joined her in her daily NEWNESS and just infused our routine with a teeny bit of something different. i saw a great quote on a journal page of one of my favorite artists, Pam Garrison, and it said: "As you grow older, you find that the only things you regret are the things you didn't do." (--zachary scott) isn't that the truth? if you do something new today or this week, let me know in the comments. i'd love to know what new things you've been up to lately.

my little artist/investigator at work. ;) we went on a field trip with my dad to the san jose art museum. she asked the docent so many interesting questions and had some great discussions about her feelings/reactions to the artwork. she built a house from leggo and wrote poems about different works of art.

something new i did this week was go on a hike with my daughter. we went to anyo nuevo reserve to see the elephant seals. technically, i had been there before (once LONG ago on an elementary school field trip!) but the new part is that i had my daughter with me and we enjoyed some long overdue mother-daughter time together. we left the little one at home with dad for the day and had ourselves a nice, nature-filled day out. we went with a group of fellow homeschoolers from our program. and that is going pretty darn well, too, by the way.

i try to treasure these moments i have with them while they're still small.

we started that new educational adventure in november and haven't looked back since! i'm really hoping to continue on through middle school and high school. i know, a lot of people's knee-jerk reaction is, "aren't you stifling her social life?" or "aren't you worried about testing?" or "aren't you holding her back by keeping her out of school?" or "aren't you limiting her experiences by being her only teacher?" and to all of that, of course, i say NO. since we started homeschooling, we've been on several field trips together with other students and their families (studying art, nature, science, social studies); maya has made several new friends with different backgrounds and interests and ages; maya has also participated in many classes with other children (so there goes the "i'm her only teacher" myth as well as "she'll have less chances to socialize"). and there's just so much more to learn and explore! (i didn't mean to start a homeschooling rant/rave just now, but i guess i had to start somewhere.) so if you're thinking about homeschooling, i highly recommend it. if i can do it, so can you. and if you're still thinking i'm crazy or i'm ruining my daughter's life, i'd suggest you talk with some real homeschooling families face to face and i think you'll find that although there are no two alike they all have a passion for lifelong learning.

and at that, it is 1:04 am and it's about time for bed! as i was writing this, i could hear a ton of firecrackers popping off in the distance! i guess it is officially the year of the rabbit. happy chinese new year everyone! and to anyone stuck in the snow: make art, make cookies, make love, make something! ;) and here's wishing you a ton of our california sunshine your way. :)

Christmas cards & holiday crafts

2010-12-09T01:17:00.000-08:00

my lovely friend Kisa volunteered to take our family portrait this year for our christmas cards. besides taking absolutely gorgeous photos, she saved me the trouble of having to hop back and forth like a crazy person between the camera and the family huddle like i do every year! (thank you mama!)

there were many lovely ones to choose from, but i chose the above photo for our card this year. i like the way we are all gathered and the colors were really warm and cozy. and because our cat cesar decided to join us! AND it is also the only photo where we are all looking up at the camera and smiling and not blinking or making a weird face. (that's just inevitable, there's always those photos where everyone is smiling except ONE person (ahem, zach!) or looking away (sureya!), or biting their nails (maya!) or trying to hide her beautiful smile (brielle!) or talking during the photo so you end up with an akward open mouth (uh, babe!), or you're making a quizzical face at the camera because you're trying to ask the photographer a question (he he, me!) although, i have to admit, i had to photoshop the above photo to get everyone to kind of be looking at the camera and smiling. (i hope no one notices!) ;)

today the girls and i started on some holiday crafts. i saw this lovely idea over at gennine's blog for making your own printed wrapping paper, so we decided to try it today. maya had a wonderful time printing with apples and celery stalks and then free form painting her own designs. even sureya got in on the messy fun and painted a little bit. (mostly she painted her hands and her belly, but she did get some paint on the paper!)

i'm trying to take photos each day this month and actually journal a little every day (i'm inspired by ali edwards' december daily and one of my favorite blogger/artists hope of paper relics). i would love to do some journaling each day, too! and something arrived in the mail for me this morning that would be perfect for this daily project!

i entered a giveaway over at saturday morning vintage (one of my favorite blogs and shops!) a while back and i received my lovely lovely prize in the mail today (thank you xenia!)! it combines the three words from my winning entry: dennision, sewing and ledger. i think this will make a perfect journal for my daily december journaling, don't you?

i hope you are all having a lovely december so far! i can't believe the holidays are fast approaching. i almost wish december were twice as long! it really is my favorite time of year.

new obsession: digital scrapbooking

2010-11-30T22:41:00.000-08:00

digital paper designed by crystal wilkerson, digital template designed by jessica sprague

i've always loved to create with my hands and in the "real" world, but i've got to admit, sometimes it's fun to just create something real quick in between nap time and snack time and all those little chunks of time that a mother's day seems to be sliced into.

i'm taking a free online class with jessica sprague and i am totally hooked on digital scrapbooking now! i just told raul that now i need a good printer for christmas! any recommendations?

what's great about digital is that you can mix it with physical 3-D projects, too. in class, we are designing on photoshop and printing it out and then arranging it in our art journals and further embellishing with 3-D elements. fun fun!

(i added the misplaced elements so i could post it on my blog without revealing the identity of her friends. she was really proud of her page and wanted to show it to everyone out there!)

even my daughter got in on the fun and created a scrap book page of her own. (and since she's homeschooled, i counted the hour as part of her school day. she learned graphic design and how to manipulate layers in photoshop! sweet!)

(weird photo courtesy of my new camera. not sure how i did that--i was trying to set the camera down and "flash!" i got this strange shot of the arm of my new flannel pjs!)

winter is now in full effect here in northern california. the leaves are slowly turning red, yellow, orange and falling off the trees. there is that distinct, clean "winter" smell in the air. hard to explain. but it is crisp, clean and cold with a hint of fireplace smoke. just lovely.

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas around here...i guess we should turn on our xmas lights (still hanging on our house from last year!) and go in search of a little charlie brown tree to rescue. ;)

special coupon code for my blog readers (yes, that's YOU!)

2010-11-25T03:27:00.001-08:00

just finished my first round of holiday updates for my etsy shop. and i wanted to give you, my lovely blog readers, an early christmas gift (or, if you don't celebrate christmas, an early birthday present!). and that goes for first time visitors (lucky you!) and those who are too shy to comment (you're here with us in spirit and that's what counts!) ;)

if you go to my etsy shop, and enter the coupon code: BLOG20, you will receive 20% off your entire order. this is good through Monday, November 29 (11:59pm PST).

i've updated the shop with holiday themed mini journal/scrapbooks in red-and-green (for the traditionalists) or a wintry blue-and-white for something a little different.

this little journal made it into my first Etsy Treasury!

all my journals come with ephemera tucked into the back pockets so you are ready to go as soon as you receive it. ephemera may include stickers, labels, vintage and scrapbook papers, tags, etc.

i also have ephemera packs that go great with the journals or you can create a card or ATC (artist trading card) and mail it in the glassine envelope that is also included! perfect for art-on-the go, mail art, or stocking stuffers for your favorite artist (or just a little treat for yourself!)

ok, it's waaay past my bedtime. i think i might just watch the sunrise on this fine Thanksgiving morning!

happy turkey day, everyone! and thanks again for stopping by. i love your comments and i do try to visit everyone who leaves evidence that they were here. i hope wherever you are, you are happy, creative and surrounded by love and loved ones.

xo,

nicole

ETSY shop update & it's finally feeling like FALL!

2010-11-16T17:35:00.000-08:00

i've been working on some new upcycled mini journals for my etsy shop. i finally am getting into the holiday mood, so the new journals all have a wintry and festive feel to them. lots of red-and-green (brights and muted) as well as cool, snowy blue-and-white.

i've packed these journals with my most treasured vintage, handmade, and recycled paper. for vintage paper, i use music sheets, atlas pages, children's books & workbooks, coloring books. recycled paper includes used and unused ledger pages, "junk mail" (my favorite are the paper source catalogs. the colors are bright and the paper is thick!), and graph paper (which also falls into the vintage category, too).

i'm loving all the color combinations. i've also never been an either-or kind of gal when it comes to colors! i really love traditional christmas colors as well as more off-beat brights and more muted, vintage tones.

most of the christmas images came from an old magazine called "christmas ideals." it was full of wonderful images, poems, stories and songs all printed in blue or green ink. and i also recycled holiday catalogs (it feels good putting "junk mail" to good use!)

i have a lot of old children's books and workbooks from the 5os & 60s but the paper is too frail to include in my journals as pages. so i made some high-quality color copies on my printer on the back of my favorite scrapbook paper and, voila! i was able to include some of my favorite images, plus the copies retained the aged and textured look of the originals.

i've got a christmas tune in my head, but the words are changed to: "it's beginning to look a lot like AUTUMN!" there are leaves of all colors sprouting on trees and scattering in the wind like butterflies.

when i go on an afternoon walk with the girls, i hear the satisfying CRUNCH of dried leaves beneath our feet (although, since it's california, we're still walking around in flip flops! an odd sensation, but i love it still!) the smells are returning, too, like sweet, smoky fires, rotting pumpkins, wet leaves in the gutter. it's like a second spring of sorts, but with smells of decay and death instead of blossoms and life.

we took a little walk today to get some lunch near the university. we stopped for photos in the late afternoon sun and i played with my new point-and-shoot camera (it's a sony cyber shot dsc-t99)...still unsure if i like it or not! :(

(i love pictures of my girls, though! they are fun subjects!) most of the images, though, i have to do a little touch-up in i-photo (mostly with getting the color to look right).

maybe i should just read the instructions. i've never been a by-the-book kind of gal, i really like to just feel out new technology on my own (it should just be totally intuitive and user-friendly in my opinion, anyway!). but i was able to take some great photos! :)

and on another slightly-related topic (it has to do with journals, at least!), i received the mother of all art journals today! (it's 11.7" x 16.5"! the regular moleskines are about 5" x 8") i recently attended journalfest and i saw someone with the most amazing journal in one of my classes (orly avineri's "mapping me"). it looked like a super-sized moleskine and i immediately thought, "i must have one!" i asked where she bought it and she said Amazon.com! so after a little searching, i found it! it comes in regular drawing/sketching and watercolor paper! they are about $26 each (free shipping on Amazon!) but totally worth every penny, in my opinion! my quest for this amazing journal also lead me to the most wonderful blog, notebook stories. it's about, well...JOURNALS and the people who love them. if you are a fellow journal junkie like me, i suggest you check it out!

ok, that's all for now. the monkeys are getting restless and it's time for dinner. oh, and i keep meaning to blog about our homeschooling adventures, but i'll save it for another day.

everything is working out good so far! maya is loving her new educational environment (her home, and the whole world, really is her "new classroom.") and little sureya is getting in on the act, too, emulating her older sister by "reading" books and "doing homework." so cute! :) i've heard when you homeschool, the younger ones start in on the learning really early. i remember that from when maya was 2 or 3 and she would want me to assign her "homework" because she would see her older brother and sister doing their homework after school.

well, that's all the fun for now. i'll be updating the shop tomorrow AND i'll be attending the cavallini & co. warehouse SALE this saturday. i will be sure to post ALL the goodies i find! :)

JOURNALFEST and halloween and rainbows!

2010-11-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

i can't believe journalfest and halloween have come and gone. but they were so much fun and a much needed break from the hum-drum of daily life. so, i'm much too tired to go into a detailed account, so i'll just post some photos and say that if you love journaling and/or making art in general, you've GOT to get up to the fort fort at least ONE of the 'fests that teesha and tracy put on every year. c'mon! what are you waiting for? or, if you live too far, check out if there are any local groups that get together for some kind of artsy gathering. and if not, start your own! :) (and be sure to let me know...i'll come and play!)

so journalfest...

this year i shared the cost of a rental car with some fellow journalfesters instead of riding the shuttle. it was cheaper AND we got to ride the ferry! i've never been on a ferry before. what a great way to start a magical journey.

bye, bye seattle!

i stayed in the officer's housing which is so different than the dorms. the houses are cozy and quaint and you really get to know your housemates. each night after classes and dinner, we'd gather in the dining room and spread out our projects and supplies and show and tell what we made that day and then continue making art late into the night.

house number 11. yes, it's as spooky as it looks! :)

view of the grassy field in front of our house.

i took classes with roxanne padgett, orly avineri and indgrid dijkers. i'll let the photos speak for themselves! it was tons of fun. i can't even begin to express how wonderful it is to make art all day, break for food and fun and then make more art into the wee hours of the night. it was so nice to have a break from, "mommy! i need this! i need that!" and just do art AAAALLLLL day.

colorful, messy table evidence of a fun class with roxanne padgett

a peek into one of indgrid dijkers' tunnel book journals

i barely had enough time to decompress from journalfest when i returned sunday afternoon because it was halloween! but it was fun. the kids dressed up, my gal pal and her little munchkin came over and we walked the little ones down the street for their first halloween as trick-or-treaters. i think they were still too little to really "get" what was going on, but it was still fun. sureya had the most fun giving out candy and knocking on doors (something she does anyway when we go out on walks around the neighborhood).

little strawberry princess all ready to go

climbing around outside, waiting for it to get dark

strawberry's friend, "chupi" dressed up as a cute little nerd!

mamas and their little "treats" on halloween

and i finally got around to photographing the lovely items i received from my swap partner, marilyn. such a gorgeous and eclectic array of goodies! you can view more of the rainbow goodies on our flickr group.

my favorite color, blue! this bag was packed full of goodies!

thank you marilyn! :) so i think i'm caught up for now! sorry for such a packed post...blogger is only letting me upload one photo at a time and now i've kind of lost steam. i still have so much more to say about journalfest and my new adventures in homeschooling my 8-year-old daughter. more on that later.

our days have been in the upper 80s, really unusual for autumn. glad i can still get a little more wear out of my summer skirts and flip flops, though. as much as i love the changing seasons, i really do love running around outdoors in the sunshine. more on that later, too!

halloween party

2010-10-26T02:18:00.001-07:00

my daughter decided it would be fun to have some of her friends over for a halloween party this past weekend. she had so much fun planning the games and food and picking out the decorations and goodies for the goodie bags. her favorite party prep task is putting together the goodie bags! i wish i would've gotten a picture of her with everything lined up on the dining room table, assembly-line style! she is my daughter, that's for sure. we both love to plan parties and organize and make lists and check them twice.

we went with an orange-and-black snack theme. carrots & olives and oranges & grapes (found these super dark black grapes at trader joe's!). we had a candy platter for making candy kabobs (full of gummy spiders, worms, brains...yum!) the kids also made candy (easy candy-making kit from michael's. it was a hit!)

i found these fun drink labels at target. the drinks are mexican sodas (jarritos) and they come in all kinds of bright and wonderful colors!

this year for halloween, she wanted to be a weeping angel from the bbc series, "dr. who." (basically, she is one of those stone angel statues you see in cemeteries, but in the show, they are aliens from another planet who can only move when no one is looking at them. so if you look at them, they seem like normal statues, but if you blink or look away and look back, they get closer and closer....it's super spooky!) i just wanted to share some photos of our fun day and hope you all have a wonderful halloween!

i will be gone this week attending journalfest in port townsend, washington. (yahoo!!!) i will be racing around like mad at the last minute packing supplies and warm clothes and trying to remember everything i'll need. i'll post photos of the fun when i return! :)

Blog Follower Appreciation WINNERS!

2010-10-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

sorry, i was supposed to pick the winners and announce on friday but, well, my daughter had a little halloween party with her friends on saturday, so we were running around at the last minute getting all the little details ready!

so without further ado, here are the winners of my follower appreciation giveaway!

(drumroll)...

Jenny

Mandy

Amanda

Bonnie

Christina

CONGRATULATIONS!! and thank you for taking the time to stop by and add your thoughts and comments. i do truly appreciate everyone who comes by (even if it's someone who's never commented, but comes by just to peek into my little world!). thank you for your ongoing support and friendship!

so, winners, please send me your address and i'll send you a little packet of rainbow goodies! contact me at: kinueko@gmail.com

Follower Appreciation Month! Weekly Giveaways!

2010-10-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

I started blogging as a way to keep track of little moments in my life as a mom and artist and I never thought I'd ever actually attract any readers! but the more i blogged (and blog-hopped!) the more i realized what a supportive community there is out there. so much encouragement and inspiration. so as a thank you, i'd like to do a weekly giveaway for the month of october as appreciation for anyone out there who is following this blog. i was inspired to do this from a fellow blogger, susie lafonde, who posted about her follower appreciation giveaway here. if you're already a follower, you're in the drawing. if you'd like to join in on the fun, just become a follower of this blog by clicking on "follow" in the right hand column. each friday, i'll choose a winner and send them a sweet bundle of paper, fabric and misc. goodies. (this week i'll pick FOUR winners, since i started the post a little late in the game!) thanks again for your support! :)

we went on a little stroll the other day, when it was NINETY degrees outside (in OCTOBER!!??). stopped at the 7-11 to get some cool treats. i'm remembering to bring my camera with me on these little walks. here's sureya pointing up to the sky. her new saying: "what's that?" she pretty much points at everything and says that! and here's what she was pointing at:

not sure if it was the electric lines, the lights, the sky, or the tree that got her attention. but i thought i'd capture a photo of it. just so i'd remember that moment. isn't that what we do? just capture little moments. savor them. turn them into memories to bring out and share for another time?

and here she is at a little friend's birthday party. looks like she's dancing here. another one of her favorite pastimes. besides climbing on things and freaking me out! her most favorite spot is behind the couch, on the window sill. (not kidding!) that little girl must be part cat. but i love her so! :)

and now, in a flash, it's autumn. finally. good bye 90 degree heatwave. it was washed away with a much-needed rainstorm yesterday. now we're wearing cozy socks around the house. we turned on the heater for the first time since winter. i'm ready for fall!

what i've been working on these days...

2010-10-08T22:14:00.000-07:00

i love doing custom work! there is something so special about creating with someone specific in mind. i put these baby shower invitations together for a friend who is expecting her second baby soon.

the colors were inspired by a line of party ware at target that i picked out for the shower with her in mind. these colors are bold and earthy with rust orange, plum, and artichoke green. kind of similar to her wedding palette from a few years ago.

i used the paper i had on hand from when i was a demonstrator with stampin' up. i LOVE their colors. so timeless and they coordinate so well together. i pulled it together with some nature-inspired wrapping paper from paper source. the envelopes and labels are from paper source, too. another paper love affair of mine!

the theme is birds and nests and nature. mama bird tending to her precious eggs, dreaming of the babies they will soon become.

and here is the custom journal i made for sal. she was the lucky winner of my 100th post giveaway a while ago. i didn't want to post photos until she had received it so it wouldn't ruin her surprise.

she told me her favorite colors were lavender, lilac and pinks so i collected all the materials i possessed in that color palette and went with it!

it was a joy to make! here are some close-ups.

above is a close-up of the front cover. i LOVE this shade of purple sari silk ribbon!!

this is the back of the journal (just as lovely as the front!) ;) i used scraps of vintage linens, japanese fabric and an old butterfly print dress of maya's that never quite fit right (but i couldn't bare give it away! i loved the colors and pattern so much!)

and a little place in the front to hold a pen and a pocket to tuck away photos, ephemera, special things for later.

i think i posted this photo before (above) but i had to show it again! i love the collection of old, new, and recycled paper!

here is a two-page spread showing paper pockets holding scraps of lovely paper for journaling notes or adding to the pages. well, that's all for now! also, there is still room in the RAINBOW swap, if you are interested! read all the details HERE. international players are welcome, too!! :)

let's swap a RAINBOW!

2010-10-04T20:00:00.001-07:00

i'm loving the idea of swaps these days and i'd love it if you'd join me in a rainbow swap! let's collect fun and funky items from our studios in all different colors of the rainbow. items could include:

*buttons

*beads

*fabric

*paper (vintage, scrapbook, handmade)

*tickets

*tags

*labels

*stickers

*millinery flowers

*paper flowers

*ribbon, fiber, yarn

*vintage trims, ric rac

*scrapbook elements

*glass glitter

*misc ephemera, doodads, bits and bobs!

what to do: everyone will fill a total of 6 sandwich-sized ziplock bags with goodies each with a different color of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple). red items go in the red baggie, orange items in the orange baggie, etc. anything goes as far as what to put in the baggies, as long as they are items that YOU would LOVE to receive yourself. no need to buy anything extra for the swap, just use what you have on hand. (if you do want to buy some things for the swap, don't spend more that $5.)

how to sign up: just email me at kinueko @ gmail . com with the following info...

1. name

2. email

3. most favorite color

4. least favorite color

5. willing to swap with an international partner?

6. your website, blog, etsy and/or flickr site(s) (optional--but it helps your partner get to know you better)

i will leave the swap open until monday, october 11 and i will email everyone with the details and their partners next week (tuesday or wednesday). swaps should be postmarked to your partner by november 1.

hope you can join us!

flickr photo credits:

1. Red buttons, 2. Mixed Medium, 3. red fabric, 4. RAEWADOLLY Plastic Red Strawberry Supplies, 5. FAA Lucky Parcel swap :: Orange, 6. 100_6583, 7.Glitter, 8. Orange Vintage Bingo Cards, 9. Orange Squares Postcard, 10. Sewing Buttons in Orange Squash - Set of 5 Handmade Ceramic Buttons, 11.WIP:Yellow Paper Quilt Collage {diagonal-detail}, 12. Vintage Ephemera: floral, 13. Green buttons, 14. Paper Quilt Card Green, 15. Green Stash Yarn, 16.bluechip, 17. Blue Angel Tears, 18. Security Envelope Pendants, 19. Sequins, 20. Handmade co Blues swap -sent, 21. Vintage Button Card, 24 Purple, 22.Purple Feathers, 23. A little bit of Violette, 24. Purple Pattern Tags

swaps! and, anyone interested in a swap?

2010-09-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

i love swaps. can you tell? ;) i just shipped off my black-and-white petite inspiration matchboxes to my partners amy and stevie.

it is my first swap of this kind. i've been wanting to join in on a swap hosted by heather of speckled egg for a long time. they always look so fun! take a look on flickr to see what i mean.

there's something so satisfying about collecting a group of gorgeous supplies and things that all coordinate. i loved the black and white theme.

it was a challenge for me because i LOVE color so much. but this was calming. i forget how much an absence of color can be so inspiring too.

i also participated in a one-on-one swap with christina and boy was i in for a treat! :) it felt like my birthday!

i was so excited to receive such a nice, big envelope stuffed with goodies in my mailbox on friday. just what i needed to end a somewhat stressful week!

i found vintage paper, a vintage map, a leather-bound fabric sample book (i have never seen anything like it and i can't wait to use them in my quilting and journaling projects!!),

beautiful pink buttons, lace, scrapbooking goodies, metal bits and bobs, vintage office supplies (love!)...i could go on and on but i'll let the photos speak for themselves! :)

which brings me to a question: would anyone be interesting in doing a group swap? i've never hosted a swap before, but i thought it would be fun. i'm not sure of the theme. for some reason, i was thinking of rainbows (i know, it's fall! but i'm stuck on spring for some reason. or maybe it's just my love of all things colorful!) i'm not talkin' rainbows with pots of gold at the end (although that would be fun, too!) but more like, a swap where you collect items and group them by color and send them off to your swap partner. like, fill a sandwich-sized bag of wonderful goodies for each color of the rainbow. i'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. i will post an "official" swap announcement later in the week for the sign ups, so stay tuned! :)

1. Glossy Rainbow IV, 2. For A Rainy Day..., 3. Rainbow Fake, 4. Rainbow, 5. Rainbow Stars, 6. Rainbow Beads, 7. Colourful letters, 8. - paint! - , 9. Rainbow beads, 10. Mucho Color, 11. Glitter Glitter Glitter Glitter Glitter, 12. 100_2202.JPG, 13. Button size 15mm, 14. Rainbow matchboxes filling, 15. 26/365 (Explore~), 16. Alphabet Rainbow

maybe i'm stuck on rainbows because i'm wishing it were spring...cool weather, cloudy days, rain. we are supposedly in the fall season right now, but with 100 degree weather, it's hard to think about pumpkins and cool, smoky nights! we are boiling here, folks! :( hope you are enjoying cool, fall weather wherever you are. and if you're stuck in this early fall heatwave, i can sympathize with you!

hope you're having some creative, quite moments to yourself this week!

mail art and other lovlies

2010-09-22T18:36:00.000-07:00

some lovely packages are going out in the mail tomorrow! one is going out all the way to england to sal, who won the giveaway. she is getting her very own custom made journal! here is a teeny sneak peek (but i don't want to give away the big surprise until after she's received it.)

the other package is going out to christina! we decided to do a vintage themed swap! fun!! she's in luck, because i just went to a great book sale down the street from my house and found all kinds of great, old books! ;)

i'm participating in another swap with speckled egg. this one is a black-and-white theme.

so i gathered all my lovely vintage and vintage-inspired black and white lovlies and got to sortin'. next comes decorating the boxes and then sending them off !

i love this box of old buttons. i found it at an estate sale a few months back. it's so pretty, just on it's own. i'll be including some of these in my partners' swap boxes for sure!

the weather is definitely cooling down but it's still nice enough for us to play outside.

sureya loves to stand on the front of her sister's scooter while maya pushes them both down the street. it's lovely to see them having so much fun together.

today was another lovely day. i decided to take little ms. squirly pants out on a walk to get some lunch before heading over to pick up her big sister from school.

oooh, and i even got some art journaling in, too! ;) i packed a little bag with the bare essentials (that was hard to pare it all down to just a few pens, tape and misc. vintage paper. this journal is made from a variety of my favorite paper bound in an old greeting card. the glassine envelope taped to the back page holds little labels and other journaling lovlies.

ms. sureya sat so nicely, eating her lunch while i journaled in between bites.

these are some random shots from the journal. i skip around a lot so the dates are always out of order, but that's ok by me.

i wish! i love this. i should get a poster-sized copy of this and hang it on my wall.

Etsy Treasury: All Souls Day

2010-09-13T23:53:00.001-07:00

I LOVE curating treasuries on etsy. it's like window shopping and creating an inspiration board all-in-one. i typed in "soul" and found some interesting items. then narrowed it down with a black-white-and-orange theme. hope you enjoy some halloween inspired goodies! check it out by clicking HERE. happy fall!

ok, i'm ready for fall!

2010-09-08T23:08:00.000-07:00

i'm usually the last one in flip flops and summer dresses, desperately clinging onto the last few drops of sweet summertime. but after seeing everyone around blogland getting ready for halloween, i am officially ready for fall to begin! :) i forget that my favorite holidays start just around the corner after i've splashed my last cannonball into the deep end of the pool. (actually, we didn't do much swimming this summer. it was one of the mildest summers i've ever experienced here in the past 10 years! brrr! and when i mean brr, it's the california gal in me, going, "it's 65 degrees out? turn up the heater! where's my fuzzy socks??)

peek-a-booo! halloween mini stitched journal/album available in the shop!

anyway, i've been a busy bee and i've added some more items to my shop. halloween-inspired mini journals. perfect for jotting down little notes or tucking in sweet photos of loved ones. i always sneak little goodies into the pockets and folds of every journal i make. kind of a fun little surprise. and a way to get a little creative jumpstart!

kitschy kid costume fun!

birds of the night sky. great old book page from an old children's book on birds

i've sent laurie her mini journal in the mail today, hurray! and i'm getting started on sally's custom made journal this week. sally was the big winner of the giveaway--winning her very own custom made journal. yay! i'll share a couple of behind-the-scenes photos of the work in progress. ;) and if anyone knows ejmom, please let her know i'm lookin' for her! (she won the collage pack! if i can't find her within a week, i'll have to re-draw the prize.) these three ladies are our winners from my 100th post giveaway. if you missed out, don't fret. i'll be having them frequently! we'll have another one coming up pretty soon to kick start the fall/halloween fun! stay tuned...

whooo doesn't love owls?

pages inside a stitched mini journal

would make a great back-to-school gift! ;)

more mini journal pages. i LOVE old paper!

pumpkin themed page! found in the halloween mini stitched notebooks

we are still enjoying mild summer/early fall weather here. which means we can still run around in flip flops and bare feet and eat popsicles for lunch if we feel like it. took the girls to the park today and they had a blast. sureya loves the slide! she loves climbing up in her little bare feet and sliding down on her back and then doing it all over again. she is my little daredevil. today, in fact, i walked out of the kitchen only to find her sitting ON TOP of the dining room table, shaking both the pepper and salt onto her feet. cute, but kind of terrifying too! she is a quick little one, i guess the baby gates are going back up! she only had a few seconds lead time on me, but that was enough time to get into trouble!

hope you are enjoying these last few days of summer before the smoky fall air and cool nights wrap around us like fog. i'm looking forward to it. finally. i'm not dragging my heels like i was in years past. maybe because i avoided michael's where they start putting up halloween stuff in july. i really don't like to be forced to do anything (who does?) and i really don't like to hurry through anything as precious as life and the everyday "little" things like the passing of seasons. after all, there will never be another day quite like today.

dirty face and feet: evidence of a great time had at her friend mo's 2nd birthday party!