an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.
Since June 2009, I have had this camera
Feels pretty rad to now have it in my hands.
EEEEEK!
p.s. I know, I know, this camera-in-the-mirror-pose is so dooooooonne. But how else are you supposed to get a photo of the camera taken with the camera? Ohh, maybe a reflection in a rain puddle? We've got lots of those in San Diego! I'll be exploring with the this new dude all weekend.
p.p.s. yes, my camera is a dude.
October feels like the right time to get making stuff.
On my list this year :
What's on your list?
I am trying something different with my fall minibook this year. At first I thought I would just skip it. You might have noticed I've been having trouble getting on-going albums to… keep going.
But then I realized I have been taking photos and collecting bits ANYWAY, so I might as well keep them together using the fall kit. For now though, I am not calling this a fall book. It's a pile. An ordered pile that sits on the corner of my desk. I am cropping papers and gluing photos (printed at home) back to back. And ordering the pages chronologically. Then at the end of the November, I'll punch holes and tie it all together to become a book.
Maybe this will relieve some of the pressure? Make it feel less like something that has to be finished and more of just a collection? I tend to do better with paper collections than I do with on-going albums.
We'll see.
fall minibook kits are on sale for $8
The most used wedding gift so far has been our Cuisinart food processor
Here is our recipe (makes enough as a dinner for two & probably leftovers for lunch the next day) :
Mix the first four ingredients in the food processor.
Add olive oil while the processor is blending until you've reached a "hummus" consistency. (Should be sort of like thick frosting – yes, that's the best description we could come up with.) We usually add about 1/4 C. Add your salt and pepper and give it a final spin. Be sure to taste and see if you like the consistency and flavor!
Serve with pita, carrots, red bell pepper. And we love to enjoy it with chicken and red wine too.
*If you don't like or have kalamata olives, use juice from about 1/2 lemon to enhance the flavor.
"enjoy it" & creativity prints now available in 5×7.
stickers from UPrinting.com / thank you postcards from vistaprint.com / washi tape from happytape & kimamaya / twine from divine twine / shaped paper clips & white tags from Office Depot / mailing tubes
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For now, the re-brand is done.
So much of building the shop has been learning the best way to package things so that items look good and arrive safely. It's always a work in progress. Especially as I add different shaped items to the inventory. I rely on client feedback to let me know if something arrived damaged (so please keep me posted!) and then make changes for the next guy (and reship when appropriate).
Little things I have learned that have streamlined my process, saved me money and enhanced the brand :
I am still working on improving it all. Especially how I store shop items, supplies and packaging materials. But for now, it's working well.
It's summer in San Diego. By summer, she of course means 95 degrees in fall.
But they are okay with that.
And besides, without humidity, 95* feels like 80*.
Speaking of humidity, they went to Austin this month.
He was in a wedding. She was in a photobooth.
It was their last vacation for awhile and it could not had come at a better time.
She had just hosted an online workshop for two weeks.
He had just taken a two day board exam.
Those were not vacation days.
They recently bought a pasta maker.
Making pasta from scratch can be added to the list of things that brings tension to a stable relationship.
Also on that list? Self checkout machines at grocery stores.
the photo and text above will be printed and added to my ever growing "she & he" album.
About two weeks ago, when my workshop was ending, I wanted to start making something just for me again. (It was one of my four simple goals.)
I succeeded with a daily art project back in 2007 with the daily card project. (You can read about it here.) When I started thinking about doing this all over again, I got very caught up in the parameters for this project. I needed to buy a notebook to keep all the "art." I needed direction. I needed a focus. I needed to start on a Monday. Because everything starts on the first day of something, right?
And obviously, when parameters start growing, inspiration starts falling. I lost desire to get this project off the ground.
Then Tuesday, I got a comment about the project and realized if I kept trying to start the art a day plan, I would never make it a reality.
On my bulletin board was a total joke sketch I had made that day inspired by Kal's creativity workshop. I took a photobooth frame and drew it upside down with a ballpoint pen, focusing on the lines of the image instead of the faces of the image. It's creepy for sure and certainly didn't turn out realistic. But it made me laugh. And it made Paul laugh harder.
And that could be the point of art a day.
Anything could be the point of art a day.
Making something different.
Making something funny.
Making something inspired.
Making something terrible.
Making something everyday.
And so I decided to drop the parameters and try to get something on paper (or photographed, or sewn, or written down) everyday. I started Tuesday and kept going. So that's three days and counting…
I am going to be collecting daily art in 4×6 or smaller and binding with book rings. (This is completely my comfort zone. And maybe if the collection part stays true to my comfort zone the art can jump right out of it.) I will be sharing here on occasion and on flickr as close to daily as possible.
Art a day. Good for the pen. Good for the paper. Good for the brain. Good for the heart. Good for the memories. Good for inspiring my next big project. Good for the laugh track.
Art a day. Let's keep rolling.
just added to the shop.
Shiny, thick & colorful. Just perfect. From MOO.com.*
Moo lets you mix up what the front of the cards look like and I took advantage of that. I used five different colors and simple descriptions of what I do on the front and then backed them all with the gray side & contact details.
I think these are my favorite part of the rebrand. Next to share : stickers! and more packaging! and then finally branding & re-branding discussion.
enJOY it 