July 10, 2008 Using my stuff.

Through the generosity of others, I’ve found myself lucky enough to have a lot of scrapbook and art supplies to play with. Coupled with the supplies and tools I purchase for myself, I’ve accumulated a lot of stuff. Quite honestly, I have more than I need. This isn’t necessarily a good thing.

I have a personal rule that I started two years ago which is that I must use my stuff within six months of getting it. If I haven’t, then that item gets donated out. It doesn’t matter if it’s still in its package. If I haven’t bothered using it within six months, it gets tossed into my donation box.

Good rule, right? I’m very strict with myself and really do follow it. And it’s painful when I go through my stash and donate out an item just because I was too lazy to use it. Sucks that I spent money on something I never bothered using. Double sucks when it’s an item someone generously sent my way.

So to get out of that rut I started making my own kits. I grab different combos of patterned paper and cardstock and a variety of embellishments, put them all in 12″x13″ Itoya PolyZip Envelopes (my absolute favorite carriers), and stack them in a large wicker basket. When I feel like creating, I grab a collection and just go at it. Works like a dream. And I force myself to use the items that are only in that specific kit.

This works for me because my style of scrapbooking is such that I frequently combine odd embellishments/papers together. I create these kits immediately when I purchase or am gifted new items. I combine new supplies with older items, frequently pulling things together without thinking how they’ll work together. I don’t remember half the time what I’ve put together. And it may be months (but less than six!) before I actually pull out a kit to work with. Opening up one is always fun, though, because I find items to play with that I forgot I even had and am re-energized to use that item again.

Two thumbs up.

So that’s a little method to my madness. What’s yours?

July 7, 2008 Vegas, baby!

I guess I’m a chatty, catty with all the posts I’ve been putting up this week.

And in this one, I’m sharing just a few of the photos taken with my camera during my recent girlfriend getaway trip to Las Vegas. Hot, hot sun. Fun, fun times. And let me point out already that these are the photos that I can actually post. There are more that are *ahem* controversial.

We booked our flight via Virgin America. Have you ever been on this ride? So, so smooth.

Inside surrounded by their signature purple lighting was Virgin America’s media center unit which they call Red. Here I am chatting with my friend asking what our Vegas plans were.

We stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacations just off the strip thanks to some time share goodness. This elephant met us once we entered the room. And the chocolate coins, too.

Helery, Cat, Jeannie and I did some shopping inside the Caesars Palace Forum while we waited for Aileen to arrive. I always enjoy visiting Caesars Palace because of its decor.

Hit up Anthropologie and their collection of letters and numbers. Can you guess what this trip was all about?

After a night of *ahem* party fun, here are Jeannie and Aileen early the next morning being LOL silly.

I actually did a bit of work and held an engagement shoot (which I’ll share in a future post) early Sunday morning and these two came with me. We did a session at this landmark Vegas sign. It’s actually much smaller than how I thought it would be.

Walking around and checking out the sites. This is the water foundtain in front of the Paris hotel.

I was loving the columns inside the Miracle Mile shopping complex. Doesn’t this pose just scream passion?

Cat and I as seen in the largest rear view mirror in the world.

Do we look like Kanye or what?

This was the closest I got to a Chippendale.

Sunday night meant the seafood buffet in the Rio. I only had enough energy to take a photo of my dessert because I was already slipping into a food coma.

After a night of partying *ahem*, we headed to a much needed spa appointment the next morning. The most fantastic spa experience I’ve ever had; I highly recommend the Mandara.

And after the spa was more lounging by our pool. There’s nothing quite like lounging by a pool on a Monday morning.

I looked up and saw this.

I actually didn’t gamble at all during the weekend; I’m not much of a gambler. But I was highly amused by a lot of the slot machines, especially this eBay one. Don’t people gamble already when they make purchases from eBay? Funny.

Walked the strip our last night there. Stopped by the M&M shop and took a photo with this guy.

You tell ‘em, girl.

The girls re-enacting on this fake Brooklyn Bridge the Miranda and Steve scene from the SATC movie. Hilarious.

The strip. Lights galore.

And the obligatory photo of the water fountain show at the Bellagio a la Ocean’s Eleven. Just lovely.

Thanks for letting me share! Cheers!

July 6, 2008 Color me happy.

Because this month I’m the guest designer for the Freehand Scraps kit club. I met Heidi, the owner, and DT member Amanda at CHA this past winter at the 2Peas Ice Cream Social and they were just sweethearts. So when Heidi asked if I could serve as their guest designer for this month, I jumped at the chance. This month’s kit titled “Flutter” just screams Grace (!!) all over it because of the colors included. Is it obvious yet how much I love color? The kit also includes little bits like vintage postage stamps and fabric swatches that add to its uniqueness. Love it.

Here are two projects I created with pieces from the kit. The combos from the kit are fantastic.

Thanks for letting me share!

Cheers!

July 4, 2008 The 4th with a kid.

Wish I was a kid still.

July 4, 2008 Grace’s Love List - 7/4

• I’m not much of a gamer but I do occasionally enjoy playing an online flash game. Poiser, a physics puzzle game, is one that I’ve been playing. I love the look - everything hand drawn and on grid paper. Reminds me of all the doodling I used to do in physics class.
• How do you hide an elephant? Great question and the answers offered from this Worth1000.com challenge will leave you highly amused.
• I need to pull out my Silhouette soon and create something. I might even try this idea I found decorating cakes using paper cutouts. Fun, stylish, and totally girly - just like me.

• The web designer in me is tickled with this icon watch from &Design. I am thoroughly enjoying this 8-bit inspired design. Ca-ute!
• I don’t know what it is about these stainless steel concrete rings from Escape Design, but they highly appeal to me. I like the sleek look, but I love the fact that it’s so elemental. I wonder how heavy it is. Maybe I need to order one to see.
• Are you a member of the Behance Network? I am. I find constant inspiration on the site, most recently from these sketch designs from Linzie Hunter. Her lettering sketchbooks are fun to browse through as are her other designs. Cool, cool, wicked cool.

BEING LAZY THIS WEEKEND
That’s my sole priority. Nothing but creating and cleaning then creating some more.

Happy 4th to everyone!

June 27, 2008 Grace’s Love List - 6/27

• These snow globes from Walter Martin are pretty rad. Some disturbing, some surreal, some super sweet - all of them very, very cool.
• I’ve never really been a video game player, but I did dabble when I was a kid. My favorites have always been and always will be the classic 64-bit games. Which is why I enjoy these designs by RETROnoob so much. Old school video games in their real life environments. Can you imagine? Reminds me of the Pontiac SpyHunter commercial I blogged about earlier this year.
• Did you know you can personalize M & M’s? I never did! I thought this was only available for corporations, but never realized individuals can have it done, too. What a great idea. When would I do this, I wonder? The possibilities are endless.

• Saw this magnetic white eraseboard on Flickr. Great idea. I’ve had a fetish recently about blackboards (see here), so maybe now I should start considering eraseboards. Rust-Oleum has a Dry Erase paint you can use to create something like this. A great idea for a kid’s room or an office, I think.
• This guy. Is hot. Fell in love with him in Becoming Jane and now I can’t wait to see him in Wanted. The movie looks awesome, but I really am going to go see it especially to watch him. Time which will be well spent, I say.
• Hallelujah! God bless Firefox 3. Everyone please move away from Internet Explorer if you haven’t done so yet and install Firefox 3. Aside from its many new and improved upon features, the single line item I am falling all over for is the fact that Firefox 3 (unlike previous versions) now has the ability to to render color profiles true. What does this mean? It means you’ll be able to see your photos in Firefox exactly how you see them in Photoshop, which most browsers have been unable to do (except just recently Safari). You do, however, need to turn this feature on in Firefox 3 because the default installation has this feature turned off. But go over and read this post on dria.org to see how to do this. I did and it was really, really easy. And now I see my photos and everyone else’s exactly how they’re meant to be seen.

OFF TO VEGAS THIS WEEKEND
My friends and I are having a girlfriend weekend getaway to Vegas, baby! I need to take it easy because my ribs still need some TLC, but I’m planning on documenting the entire trip with my trusty Nikon D300 (which I just bought the other day). Seriously, I need to stop treating myself.

Cheers!

June 24, 2008 On my mind.

It’s now 1:25am and I’m wide awake thinking about my wedding dress. Now, mind you, I’m not even close to getting married. Not even close. And I’ve never been the kind of girly-girl whose planned out her wedding since she was five. Nope, not me.

But right now, right this minute, I have the picture in my head what my perfect wedding dress would be. Finally. I thought I’ve been missing the girl gene. Glad to know it’s still in me. Somewhere.

Now I think I should stop thinking about my future wedding. Because I’ll end up thinking about my future husband and that’s a whole different kind of headache.

G’night.

June 20, 2008 Grace’s Love List - 6/20

Happy Happiest Day of the Year! On with the Love List.

• Love this Lady de Lacy bracelet. I’m a bracelet-wearing kind of girl and I enjoy the design of this one because it provides the right balance of ‘girly-girly + Wonder Woman-esque’ qualities I’m looking for in all my jewelry. Truly lovely. And I bet it repels bullets, too.
• Here’s a gallery that’s quite interesting: the Meaningful Life of Famous Logos. I’m constantly inspired by what I see around me and appreciate that otherwise normal things can being something more. That’s what a logo should be able to do. And seeing these famous ones in their otherwise normal settings gives me pause of the good kind.
• I love type design and Wordle fulfills my need to be able to define myself artistically. Type in anything you want - I used words that I felt described me - and the site will generate a graphic representation of those words. I can’t get enough of this stuff. For those of you who are web designers, the image generated from Wordle will make a great splah page, I think.

• Imagination, imagination, imagination. This chick’s got tons of it and her imagination has taken her futher than she ever dreamed. I spent some of my time yesterday reading her commencement address delivered to this year’s Harvard graduating class - “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination”. Very inspiring.
• Can an ice cream scoop be any sexier? I say no. This ice cream scoop by Cusipro is hot, hot, hot! I’ve always just used a regular dinner spoon to scoop out my ice cream. This sexy scoop may have me changing my ways.
• Oh, Anne. Anne with an ‘e’. You are my hero. Always have been, always will be. When I saw this felted Anne Shirley doll, I knew I had to share it on this Love List. Love her freckles and her “carrot” hair. So adorable!

DOWN BUT NOT OUT
I’ve sustained a body injury. Groan. But that’s not going to keep me down. I’m keeping company with my books this weekend. And my laptop. And the television I have in my room. As long as I have those three, I’ll be sane.

Have a great weekend!

June 19, 2008 I come cheap.

Need proof? I got it right here.

June 13, 2008 Grace’s Love List - 6/13

Happy Friday the 13th! Bwahahahaha…

• There’s something to be said about a group of people sharing with others those things they consider interesting. I love visiting FFFFound. FFFFound allows anyone to share photos they find on the internet, effectively creating an image bookmarking site. It’s amazing the things I’ve seen and I’m sure you’ll find something that interests you.
• When I started to create the new design for this blog, I searched the internet for resources to help me out. And I found this: The Designer’s Toolbox. It’s an online site offering free print tools and guides on a variety of products - envelopes, paper, html coding. Nicely done. Maybe you’ll find this site useful for your own designs.
• We are all sinners, don’t deny it. I certainly can’t. So I’m sure I should find a glass in this collection that should appeal to me. The 7 Deadly Glasses is a collection that offers a glass design to reflect each of the seven deadly sins. So cool.

• If you’re looking for unique, then maybe this postcard is for you. Work out your biceps, triceps, and forearms by carving a love message into this Wooden Postcard. The recipient will appreciate the effort, I guarantee it.
• Interesting. I follow the school of thought that if you write something down, it will matter. But maybe I should rethink that. These Melting Words give me food for thought.
• Now I’m not even in the frame of mind to start dating, but I wouldn’t mind getting one of these USB Mixed Tapes. Such a simple and brilliant way to keep romance going in this cynical, gadget-filled world

IPHONE + EMAIL = BAD, BAD, BAD
I didn’t realize that I had my iPhone configured to receive email in a way that it removes the copy of said email off the server. Great. I have about a week’s backlog of email I didn’t even realize I had. I reset my iPhone last week, and forgot to change my email settings back to how I had them originally. So my email was downloading every 30 mins without me even realizing it. Groan. Two steps forward, one step back. Such is the way of a techy.

CLOSET RE-ORGANIZING
That’s my project this week. I had installed slat French doors to my closet just recently. They add a touch of elegance to my room. And now all I want to do is decorate the begeezus out of it, LOL.

So more photos, more fun, and more projects to share on the weekend. Until then, cheers!