enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

summer story number one.

May 28, 2011

When I was about four or five, I remember measuring summers by the number of scabs and scars on my knees. I remember thinking "I fell down nine times this summer." I also remember loosing track of all the big tear-jerking tumbles I took down the driveway. I had scrapes on top of scrapes and they all represented that I had spent time outside after the long Minnesota* winters. And then I grew up. And spent many, many summers without knee scrapes, scabs or band-aids. Then today, on Front and Grape, I wiped out hard on a run. I stood up, embarrassed and shaky, and cried all the way home. I cleaned and bandaged my new someday-scar and remembered all those little girl summers where it was all worth it, just to be outside.

*yep, we lived in MN until 1992 when my dad's job brought us out to California.
hands at work.

May 27, 2011

inspired by this pretty post.
inspired by :

May 26, 2011

This is as random as it gets.* But I was so inspired by this image of crewcuts kids tees from the June J.Crew catalog. Not inspired to have kids. Or to buy t-shirts. Or even to make t-shirts.

BUT TO TURN THESE T-SHIRTS INTO PAPER PROJECTS.

Expect a black and white high contrast photo to be printed on neon paper in the near future. And a loose sketch filled in with watercolors. And let's not forget some paint stamped stars. And obviously my summer minibook needs a sequined exclamation point.

So inspiring. Tacking this page up on the wall for sure.

*That's a lie. Have you seen the college year archives?
on the horizon + updates.

May 25, 2011

Lots on my mind the past few weeks and I am going to dump it all here, look at it and figure out what's next. Maybe it will help. Maybe it won't.

New : I've created an extra little section with photos and links to everything summer minibook related. It's going to continue growing as I work on my own book. I will still be posting updates right here, but if you are looking for everything in one place, that is where you'll want to check. A couple of people wanted to just purchase the summer minibook cover – that can be done through paypal at the bottom of the page.

I have really enjoyed filming the videos and taking through my process. I never really thought teaching was my thing until I started lesson planning for things like paper and blogging. When it's interesting to me it's easy to teach. Who'd of thought?

And so speaking of teaching :

Online : the first Blog 2.0 class is wrapping up at the end of this month. I am going to be running it again it all it's glory this summer. I am thinking mid-July – (any thoughts on that?). More official details on that coming soon. I have a few names on my waitlist – I will be in touch.

Real life : I have an opportunity to teach an in-person workshop in Berkeley, California in November. This would be a big TWO DAY (!!!) workshop in a fantastic little art space. I'm over the moon about it, but a little overwhelmed too. I would love your feedback if this is something you would be able to make it to. What would you like to learn? What projects would you like to see and do? At the moment, I am entertaining the idea of a Craft Circus. Three medium to big projects each day. All different types (which is how I work) including bookbinding & string shape making.

Coming later this summer : New blog & updated website. I'm not moving from Typepad, but I am going to revamp this space quite a bit. I'm looking forward to something different and I am really hoping to get my own online store (separate from etsy) off the ground.

Now available : Creativity prints in a rainbow of colors!

So that's my head right now. Plus I'm running like crazy to get as ready as possible for this half marathon. And I'm making lists like crazy to help Paul wrap everything up here and prep for a month in Mississippi and then six months in Afghanistan. I've got two wedding invitation projects that I would like to get out the door in the next week and a half. Which reminds me that I need an invitation design section of my new website…

Blerg. It's all making the day-to-day blogging (not to mention the 26 Projects plan) a bit difficult. But it will be back. Creativity always comes back.

Finding balance. Ready, set, go.
everything summer minibook related.

May 24, 2011
The summer minibook came about when I was trying to think of a new shop item that I, personally, would be interested in using. I love the idea of collecting an entire season through photos, ephemera and text. In the past I have found that having a pre-made book dedicated just to collecting keeps me motivated throughout the project.

I chose a summertime color scheme and pulled together a fun mix of solid and patterned papers. The covers of the album are chipboard and the front has been stamped and heat embossed in white with a rubber stamp I designed just for these albums.

I started my book on May 10th and am at the moment going strong (it is currently not even late May when I write this). I plan on following through on this book until the end of August. I have been blogging my progress with of tips and video tutorials but I wanted to create a round up of everything – and that’s just what this page is. I don’t think it is ever too late to start this project and I hope you’ll consider buying a book a joining in. (Or just joining in.)

I will be updating this page every week or so with more photos and video links. You can click any image to see it in more detail.

As I am filling up my own summer minibook, I will be filming “how-to” videos to help you get the most out of your own version of the book. I will be using the papers from the book and usually pretty basic craft tools. The links below are shortcuts to the posts that include video tutorials.
Interested in just a stamped and embossed chipboard cover? Purchase a non-holepunched version below for $5 including shipping. Cover will ship to your paypal address so please verify it’s correct.
summer minibook update #4.

May 24, 2011

More than likely, your summer is going to include an event or two where you take lots of photos. My first one happened last weekend at the wedding we attended and we have a few more little trips scheduled the next few months.

I am planning on making a grid similar to the one shown above for all these events. (Maybe – plans often change.) I could have done a similar grid to this machine stitched one, but I really wanted the photos to face eachother, not back eachother. I made this grid digitally in Photoshop Elements and I filmed a quick video to share the process :

digital photo grid from elise blaha on Vimeo.

I ended up making two 4×6 canvases with six photos each and printed them on Office Depot brand photo paper and cut them down to size.

The left grid was glued back to back with the invitation that I cut down to 4×6 and the right grid was backed with the teal textured paper that comes in the book. I flipped it over (remember the holes are evenly spaced) so the textured side could be decorated.

The last spread talks a bit about my running adventures. I created a 4.25×5.5 canvas in PSE that was the same size as that chartruese scalloped card and played around with the text until I had a design that I liked. I cut a piece of computer paper down to 4.25×5.5 and ran that through the printer first to see how the text printed out on the smaller size. I made a few simple adjustments (shifted the text up and to the right) and then let the scalloped paper go right through my printer. Simple enough.

I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to use the teal paper and played around with a few ideas before deciding to just go with the running theme there too. I used cheap craft paint and a foam brush to paint the bottom of my left running shoe and then "stamped" the shoe down on to the textured paper. The lime green paint showed up pretty well and I like how it all ties together color wise.

The stamped shoe got me thinking about other things I could bring into this book over the next few months. Trying to think outside the box more and more.

Still need a summer book? Grab one here!
40 loaves / blueberry bread.

May 24, 2011

Bread no. 12 : blueberry bread

Adjustments : no walnuts and I used about 1 C of white flour and 1/2 C of wheat.

Notes : this was a post-dinner-what's-dessert? type of bread which is why the photos show it already half eaten.

Review : good, good. But I'm pretty sure this recipe is just blueberry muffins disguised as bread.
steph & steve got married!

May 23, 2011

We spent the weekend in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, celebrating a wedding. I met Stephanie while I worked at Paper Source in Georgetown. We first bonded while putting together hundreds of paper flowers for this massive project. And then we strengthened our bond over numerous half price wine happy hours. And then we made our boys bond over dinners and backyard BBQs. Steph and Steve made the trek out to Sacramento when we got married last April and when we moved, we knew we would be doing the same for them.

Stephanie and Steve, we love you guys so much and were so happy to be a part of your weekend. Steph, you killed it. It was a perfectly crafted wedding and I wish my photos did it justice. Congratulations and let's please plan the couples retreat.
summer minibook update #3.

May 21, 2011

Check plus. Moving right along. Just one page to share this weekend but more to come soon!

scalloped circle card from elise blaha on Vimeo.

I filmed a video to share how I used the scalloped circle card in my own album and to offer a troubleshooting suggestion in case you mess yours up on the first try. I'm not sure if paper can be intimidating, but if it can, this card is.

Here's the card in my book with text on the front and a photo on the back. I talk more about it in the video, but if you want an image that goes just to the border of the scallop, you will want to cut a circle with a diameter of 4 5/8 inches.

Interested in getting your own summer book? Click here.
bar method.

May 20, 2011

oh. man.

I am having a hard time moving this morning. Yesterday, I took my first Bar Method class on the recommendation of a few of my college girlfriends, who despite being scattered across the country are all hooked on this workout

I knew it was going to be hard.

I knew the point of the class was to work your muscles to the point that they shake.

But – DUDE.

At least three times during the hour I had to fight back tears.

It was that intense.

So, like a crazy person, I paid another $90 for unlimited classes over the next 30 days. If there is one thing I have learned from this half marathon training it's that you have to shake it up to see results. Also known as "If you want something you've never had before, you have to do something you've never done before."*

This is what I do know : I spent seven years pounding out 25 minutes on a treadmill a couple times a week. And my body never changed and excercising never got easier. Then last year, I started tracking runs everything shifted. These past few months, since I have started training and pushing myself to run further, my mental and physical shape has improved so much more than I thought it could.

So my goal with this new class is to push that comfort zone further while streghening and toning all those muscles that work so hard to keep me going. Although, given how difficult simply moving is this morning I'm not really sure how I'm going to get running + Bar Method in sync.

I'll report back in 30 days.

*this quote is apparently everywhere. But I've seen it attributed to Dina Reed.