coming out of hibernation

a little blog break turned into two whole months...  and spring has arrived almost overnight!

warmer weather means more time outdoors in the sunshine... which means more time to journal.

i've missed journaling out on the lawn in the sunshine.  i do love fall and winter...but i love spring and summer the most.

and they always show up just in time.  (just when i can't stand being indoors one more second!)

days are getting longer, and warmer.  and california spring/summer starts in march and will last all the way til october. yahoo!

YUM! Some summertime journaling...

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. :)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy Easter & More Journal Pages

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

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

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

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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.