enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

she + he in february.

February 27, 2011

In February, they flew to Las Vegas to celebrate her 26th birthday.

It was their first time visiting the city together.

She showed him how blackjack is so much better when you yell in excitment.

And how fun it is to shout, "PAINT THAT ACE!!"

He showed her how to play craps.

And now she is addicted.

Overall, they won about $200.

This is the first time she has ever left a Vegas trip with more cash than she started with.

It's partly because of his luck … but mostly because of his ability to walk away.

Today they are buying running shoes with the winnings to balance out their good and bad vices.
project 1 / a table lamp.

February 25, 2011

For awhile now, I have been lusting after this beautiful painted lamp. I woke up on my birthday with a vision of how I could DIY something that would create a similar effect. At first I thought I could decoupage painted paper around the outside of a lamp base, but a little hunting online produced this clear and hollow lamp. We had a gift card to Crate & Barrel left over from the wedding so I picked it up and brought it home. And then a quick trip to my favorite art store and I had this marbled paper.

That is sort of where the easy part ended. I found myself wishing I could time travel back to 10th grade geometry to relearn out how to measure and cut the paper to fit into a cone with a circular top. Of course, I screwed it up the first time and ended up ruining the best section of the marbled paper. But two kraft paper templates later, I was back in action with an almost perfect cut section of marbled paper. It was a birthday miracle.

I tucked it inside the glass base and secured it with a few pieces of scotch tape and ta-da, a lamp! That looks pretty cool! For sure not as cool as the real deal, but cheaper & changeable. It is currently sitting on a side table in our living room that really needed a lamp. I love it.

If you are considering the same project (and even want to use the Crate & Barrel lamp as a base), I have created a little cutting guide for your paper. It's not perfect (my final version is secured in the lamp), but it will give you an idea of the shape & approximate measurements to help get you started. [Download paper cutting guide]

This is project 1 of 26.

I am attempting to tackle 26 personal craft projects before I turn 27 on 02.22.12. You can follow my progress here on the blog, on pinterest or on flickr.
this year’s plan.

February 24, 2011

And here we go. My plan came to me yesterday while on the treadmill. I now have a goal for the next year and I am calling it "26 Projects." (So far making the logo was the most fun part.)

I am going to be tackling 26 medium to big craft projects before my 27th birthday. These have to be personal projects (or gifts) which means anything created for the shop/business doesn't count. And scrapbook projects or food are out too. Things that do count? Sewing projects. Decor projects. For example, the quilt & headboard would have counted. This fall wreath would have counted.

I decided to go with something a little more abstract than the usual birthday list because I have pretty specific personal & professional goals for 2011 already mapped out and one more long list would probably be counter productive.

Plus, I am super excited about the limitless of this new adventure. Fingers crossed I can try some new things.

And also … to support the cost & time that goes into creating big projects and blogging them, I am going to be taking sponsors for this project. If you have a small business that sells crafting supplies or handmade products and would like to take part, please email me for more info & rates. Your small banner ad would run at the bottom of one of the twenty six project posts and will be seen here on the blog plus in google reader which is where most people view my posts. I will be choosing sponsors that are best suited for this blog and the current project. If I don't see a business that seems like a good fit, there will not be an ad – simple as that. I want to bring fun small businesses and my readers together, not add to the clutter that is internet marketing.

Check back tomorrow for the first project! It was completed on my birthday and made for our apartment, so it counts.

P.S. I loved the discussion in yesterday's comments about making a shorter birthday to do list if the number of items & the number of years seems too daunting. The point, of course, is to do stuff. Push your comfort zone and try new things. Five things or fifty things, it's fun either way.
my 25 @ 25 book completed.

February 23, 2011

Every year for the past three years, I have made a list of things to accomplish before my next birthday. Last year, I created a list of 25. After 365 days, I completed just 14 on the list. Not bad, but not great. (I do not think I am going to make a 26@26 list this year – but I have to think of something else to try…) Below is the book I started last June and wrapped up the day before my birthday.

You can click any image to enlarge.

I pulled so much of it together on Monday but used text from blog posts this past year and that helped get some "in the moment" journaling. Most of the typed journaling is from the blog.

The full book is 6×6 which is a fun size to work with because you can include square photos of course, but also 4×6 both as horizontal or vertical images. I tried to include lots of photos as well as some ephemera. All of the numbers were stamped in yellow with Ma Vinci unmounted rubber stamps. And as you can see, I left out the numbers that I didn't get to.

Sometimes, when I am in the middle of working on these continuous albums, I start to wonder if it's worth it and often give up. I am so glad I didn't on this one. 25 was monumental because of the wedding and all that jazz. But these little details really made the year what it was and are so easy to forget. I am so glad I have them all together. And now, after writing this post… I have almost convinced myself to make a list for 26. Eeek.

Questions? Ask them in the comments & I will respond there.
02.22.11

February 22, 2011

fonts are mexcellent, marquee & bebas. digital tape strips by pugly pixel. photo by Paul. letter stickers by American Crafts. nail polish by essie. 🙂
something new.

February 20, 2011

I am excited to try something different a bit different than I have done before. (And we'll see how it goes…) I would like to make a few photographs for sale, starting with the ranunculus photos I took this weekend.

All six are available as 5×7 and 11×14 – they are cropped to show what the 11×14 size would look like.

Pricing (with quanity discounts) looks like this :

For now, email me (elise.blaha[at]gmail.com) to place an order. Depending on how things go, I will be creating a separate big cartel shop for photo prints in the next few weeks.

I am dreaming about painting the walls in our future place dark gray and framing one super large to hang over the couch. Sort of a la this. I think 24×36 would look awesome and I took these in a high enough resolution to go that big. If you are also interested in larger sizes, we can work that out too. Just email.

Thank you!
some pretty for your saturday.

February 19, 2011
i love for spring.

February 18, 2011

BKNY scissors tee shirt, anthropologie maxi dress, TOMS new spring styles, yellow mini clutch, madewell silk shorts, iPhone4 case, boden striped tunic, j.crew corsa tote

Yes, I know it's not spring. And I also know that I really need to not spend money at the moment. So aside from that boden dress (which is awesome, btw) these eight pretties are just on my wish list for now. At least I have visitation rights at Pinterest.

Happy weekend.
painting shapes is the new sewing dresses.

February 17, 2011

Just like dresses, these take forever. Also like dresses? I'm addicted.
paint & flowers for thursday.

February 17, 2011