an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.
We attended a just perfect wedding on Saturday in Berkeley, California. It was one of those weddings where it's obvious attention has been paid to every detail and yet the bride and groom still don't look a tiny bit stressed. Instead, they just look in love.
Congrats Nat + Wes. We are so happy we got to be there.
I am off to Tahoe with Paul and his family for the next couple days. Packed with swimsuits, sunscreen and my polaroid, is a simple mini book of patterned papers. I plan on taking lots of photos to fill this up and of course hope to collect all sorts of odds and ends from the places we visit.
click to enlarge.
So far, the book has lots of orange, blue and browns. Hopefully they'll match perfectly with the blues and greens of Lake Tahoe. I will be sharing the after photos of the book by Friday.
Have a great week.
I am off to the bay area to meet Paul's plane and attend a wedding (not ours). We are going to spend Saturday and Sunday eating and drinking and dancing. Can't wait. Happy weekend. I'll have all sorts of projects to share late next week.
I always :
+ cut my apples into slices.
+ end up putting my hair up by noon.
+ go decaf after lunchtime.
+ am inspired by a visit to anthropologie.
+ put things in my online shopping cart.
+ mentally break my commute home into more manageable sections.
+ wish for less clutter.
+ get my breaking news from twitter.
I sometimes :
+ actually purchase the items in my shopping cart.
+ count my steps in walks from place to place.
+ go overboard with the windex.
+ panic that eventually it will be winter again.
+ don't have my camera when the perfect photo presents itself.
+ think I would get by just fine without a tv.
+ think I would be crazy to get rid of the tv.
I never :
+ want to go to bed angry.
+ like checking phone messages (if it's really important, they'll email. ha!)
+ will get tired of graph paper.
+ go outside without face sunscreen.
+ worry about the future of e&p.
+ am without a to-do list.
+ want to take off my white canvas toms (unless it's to put on my sparkly silver ones.)
(via oh, hello friend.)
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Have a great Friday! I am making books and then seeing Harry again. Funtimes.
ETA : last day to get a free gift with shop orders over $25 before shipping! There are a few big mixed paper books left!
I do not have a local scrapbook store when I am home in Maryland. I shop for paper at Paper Source. Which means I get a lot of great prints in full size sheets that could serve as wrapping paper. This works well for what I do, which is a lot of cropping down to 4×6 for mini books.
Because of this, I so rarely purchase 12×12 papers by scrapbook manufactures. I just don't see it. And shopping online for paper is really difficult because there is a lot of searching you have to do. For every one pattern you love there are 10 that you don't. That's a lot of clicking and scanning. So if you don't know exactly what you are looking for, nothing beats wandering around a scrapbook store. The closest one to me in California is Green Tangerines. It's huge and they have sections of paper organized by color. I think all paper should be organized by color. It's how my brain works.
I went last night with the intention of stocking up on more patterns for the next round of mixed paper books. I left with tons (and tons) of paper for those and a few sheets that I am hoping to put to use for some of my own projects. When I am crafting for me – not to sell – I still buy paper with the intention of cutting it down for smaller projects. I do not do a lot of scrapbook layouts so rarely will a paper stay 12×12 size or be cut down to 8.5×11. For small books, I look for one of two things : big bold patterns in great color combination OR papers with lines or grids that can be used to hold text. Because these papers will go into mini books that show both sides of a paper, I pay attention to what is on the back side as well. Double sided papers where the back and the front match in color are huge winners. Nothing like finding a paper that you love the front just as much as the back.
Here are a few of my findings from yesterday. I have listed the manufacturer and the line/paper title where available. No links, but I am sure a google search would get great results if you just have to have a sheet.
From left to right : BoBunny "Back to Basics", Teresa Collins "Documented" (the back of this one is cool as well – big alphabets in black and red), SEI "Madera Island", Creative Imaginations "Double Vision", American Crafts "Amplified" (I love a scalloped edge), Jillibean Soup (I had never heard of this brand before and just love it. Thick kraft cardstock, reminds me a bit of Hambly.), Jillibean Soup
Colors on this photo are not so great. that's a light blue – not a gray. From left to right :
Luxe Designs "Simply Luxe" (I am sort of obsessed with this Simply Luxe line. And I just heard the company is closing which is too sad.), SEI "chick-a-doo", SEI "Bridgeport", American Crafts "Kids", Luxe Designs "Simply Luxe", Luxe Designs "Simply Luxe", October Afternoon "Dew Drop Inn"
From left to right :
Luxe Designs "Simply Luxe", SEI "Bridgeport", American Crafts "Spring & Summer", Luxe Designs "Simply Luxe"
Oh man, I love paper.
Shop is updated!
More mixed paper books here.
BRAND NEW canvas covered mixed paper books here.
All orders over $25 (before shipping) will come with a free little folded book made from extra canvas. These are too cute and have 12 pages for photos, text, thoughts + ideas. Place your order by Friday to get your little book free.
Thanks for your support. Happy Wednesday.
When that paper came to the store last week I was thrilled because up until then I had no paper plan. I had colors. And I had the fact that I don't want a big formal invitation. Last time I was home, I asked my parents what they thought about an invite that started with "Mr. and Mrs. …invite you to the marriage of…" and my dad looked at me like I was crazy. "How about, 'Come to our great big party'?" he asked. Which was my thought exactly.
I am hooked on having a celebration. A celebration of love, and of family. The families that have raised us. Our families of friends. The small family that we will be starting together next April. We are the first of our close groups of friends to get married so in some ways we are starting a long chain of celebrations. The last thing I want is for it all to feel stuffy or cookie-cutter.
AND SO, for the paper plan (that's invites, save the dates, table cards, placecards, menus + programs) I am just going with things as I see them. Things that seem to achieve this strange wedding atmosphere I have created in my head. Sort of a strange way to pull it all together, but worst case, I'll end up with 150 extra orange envelopes. And obviously, you can never have enough of those.
In non-paper news, I tried on my wedding dress again yesterday. I had exchanged it for the same size but in a petite. I still love it. It looks the same but fits a little better and is shorter so I don't have to hold it up when I walk. I can't wait. Can't wait. We should just do a surprise wedding next weekend. We should, but we won't.
hey, hey! I am on Ali's blog this morning sharing a favorite mini book technique.
I have been trying to figure out what's next for the mixed paper book. When bolts of fantastic fabric arrived at Paper Source last week (only @ the Georgetown location), I knew it was the inspiration boost the books needed. I picked a few of my favorite styles and then set to work gathering and cropping papers to match the colors of the fabric.
The books are sized 4×6 and are thicker than my normal mixed paper books. Brightly colored papers and envelopes for tucking away ideas make up the pages. Ten to fifteen of each style will be available in the shop tomorrow for the update at 3PM EST. I will listing 13 original mixed paper books then as well.
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I am off to YOGA this morning! How nice to say that and really mean it. It has been over two years since I have taken an actual class and my muscles are already dancing just thinking about it.
Good stuff abounds. Happy Tuesday.
hot in the sun but cool(er) in the shade…full fledged book production…harry potter book 7…the best grocery produce section…walks with mom…craft stores…tvs on treadmills…
…such a good place to be.
enJOY it 