enJOY it

2012 holiday book / update three.

December 11, 2012

see update one & update two.

Kind of a mini update from these last few days. I wanted to share more candle photos and some text about "candle night" traditions on the red scalloped card.

My dad texted me a photo of their house all set up for a Christmas party with candles and I loved sharing both in the book. Pretty fun to see where I "get it from."

I used more of those little Studio Calico stickers to designate "E&P" and "M&D" on the photos.

Then a simple spread of some bread I made over the weekend (I never got a good photo of it!). More label stickers used here to share text.

And the last spread of this update – I used the little envelope in the book to hold list of the gifts we are giving this year. I sealed the envelope with washi and glitter tape from Freckled Fawn. I've definitely left more paper "blank" this year. I'm happy to just let the various patterns decorate the book.

Keeping it simple…

Supplies used : holiday mixed paper book, Freckled Fawn tape, Martha Stewart & Avery label stickers, Studio Calico
stickers, Basic Gray for Studio Calico letter stickers, silver gelly roll pen, Zig Millennium pen.
material 17 of 27 / wax into candles.

December 11, 2012

Pretty sure "wax into candles" is as obvious as it gets, but I'm not concerned. This was a totally fun and simple (and useful!) project. I saw a beeswax candle tutorial on Oh Happy Day last week and immediately ordered a beeswax kit from Amazon.

I made up a bunch of eight inch tapers and a few smaller (about 2.75 inch tall) wide ones to fit in our reindeer candle holders. (Note, the color of the wax is much more accurate in these photos versus the top two.)

I was impressed with how easy the wax was to work with. I rolled the candles on our cold stone floor and was careful to roll them as tight as possible. According to the directions that helps them burn for longer.

I also loved how clean the beeswax burned and the subtle but sweet scent they put off. Totally rad. We only light tapers around the holidays, but I could totally see myself using some of the short and wide ones throughout the rest of winter and into spring. This was not a cheap project (the kit was over $30 with shipping) but I am totally pleased with how it turned out.

Since my brother and I were little, "candle nights" as my family called them, have been a BIG tradition. We would light around 50 candles plus the tree and sit and chat about our days about once a week throughout December. As a kid it was pure magic. This is the first year we have had so many candles (it's taken me a while to build up a holiday decor box) and I am getting Paul excited about candle nights. I'd LOVE to continue this tradition with our little ones in a few years.

if you are curious, basically all of our decorations are from Target or Crate & Barrel holiday clearance with a few exceptions : those wood candle holders from Peg & Awl, and glass taper holders from CB2 a few years ago. Here is the ampersand string art tutorial.

This is project 17 of 27. I am
attempting to complete 27 craft projects using 27 different
materials before I turn 28 on 02.22.13. You can follow my progress here on the blog or on pinterest. Birthday challenges are my favorite. You can see the 26 Projects I completed while 26 here and the 27 materials I have used so far here.
i choose / my self-paced workshop with Big Picture.

December 10, 2012

I spent a decent amount of time this summer developing a self-paced workshop with Big Picture Classes on goal-setting. It's sort of a organized brain dump of everything I have learned over the past few years about staying inspired and motivated while setting and working towards personal goals. Because my 2012 "one little word" has been so inspiring to me, I decided to call the class I Choose.

It was very enjoyable to work with Big Picture and I am excited to share that the class is now live and available for instant download. While this class would be a great way to kick off 2013, there is no start or stop date and you will have access to all the materials as soon as you sign up.

And something extra exciting : Big Picture has selected my class for their annual "Give Back" Campaign. If you register before 12/25, Big Picture will donate 200% of profits (until $6000) to the charity you select from their available options. Pretty cool, right?

You can read more about the class, the Give Back Campaign and sign up here.
meet our 2012 christmas card.

December 10, 2012

This is going to come as a shock, but I LOVE photo grids! I went around and around on a 2012 card design and finally decided to just throw 20 photos of us at the problem instead of searching for ONE photo to compete with the magic that was last year.

That's 18 photos of us that I pulled from Instagram and then another favorite of me alone (celebrating the Seafoam kit launch) and Paul alone (in DC). I created the grid in Photoshop and then layered the little red flag and text over the photos.

On the backside, I stuck with a very similar look to our 2011 cards (I think I'll just keep this simple design forever) and once again used overnightprints.com. They ran a Black Friday sale so it was about $35 for 100 4.25×5.5 inch cards with rounded corners and rush shipping.

I wanted them out early so I had the envelopes addressed, stamped and waiting for the cards themselves to get here last Monday. I used clover green A2 envelopes from Paper Source that were left over from another project.

Out the door they went last week! Now comes the fun part of receiving Christmas cards!
project life : week 49.

December 9, 2012

Week 49 and I still love this project.

(click photos above to enlarge for a [somewhat] clearer image.)

I thought I'd get by with no blurring this week, but I tucked our holiday card into a pocket on the right and will be sharing it on the blog tomorrow so it's blurred for now. You might notice that I accidentally printed out a quote card without a space to fill in a written word. Six months ago I would have gone back and re-printed. 49 weeks into 2012 and I am more than over the small details. Getting ready for the FINAL push through 2012 and then starting FRESH in 2013. Can hardly wait and will be putting together a post about my plans for adapting this project for next year so I love it even more.

Left side is pretty standard. Photos and more photos. I left that open pocket with the felt stars from last week so you can see the stars (and the photo from the week prior behind it).

Also added two 3×4 cards from Seafoam – one with a ticket stub from Argo (so excellent!) and some text.

I added an insert this week – an 8×10 photo of us from the beach.

The backside is the journaling from this post (to give it context, at the top I wrote, "I shared the baby news on the blog 12/4 and then wrote this follow up post Wednesday.")

Left side is standard as well. Had to work in all those Seafoam shots and of course our holiday card. It's held in place with a paperclip and I'll leave the backside of that pocket empty so you can read the backside too.

And that's it! THREE MORE WEEKS.

supplies / Paper Source
circle labels, Ormolu file tab, Evalicious flair buttons, Office Depot date stamp &
arrow paper clip, Martha Stewart &
Avery labels, Design A page protectors, 8×10 page protector, soon to be released Seafoam Kit, I use a Fiskars corner rounder (it's not amazing, but it's lasted the longest of any corner rounder I've ever had). I am using a Zig Millennium 0.1 pen and Recollections glossy marker throughout this album.

Confused by Project Life? Start here. Have a question about how I am tackling this project each week (including questions about the quotes & photo printing)? Check here. See all my Project Life posts here.
oh, seafoam.

December 7, 2012

UPDATE : The Seafoam core kit is now available on Amazon!

HOORAY. It's here!

I waited for Paul to get home from work to open it (and have him take photos). I figured if he might miss our BABY being born in June, he might as well witness this box of paper be opened. 😉

And … IT'S RAD. The colors are fantastic. Better than I hoped. My shaking hands, iPhone and fading December afternoon light are doing them no justice at all so look for more accurate photos next week when I share the final chapter of the Seafoam Story and how the designs came together.

All the cards (including the 4×6 cards) are printed on both sides so in most cases you get an option to use cards as just a design element OR as a journaling spot (or both because they show through the pockets) You can see many, but not quite all of the 3×4 options above and all of the 4×6 title cards. I randomly included one of my favorites of the folded journaling cards.

Oh I am happy with it. So happy. Cannot wait to put it into use in 2013.

Because I know it's coming… kits are expected to hit amazon in late December. You can find the most accurate information here or on Becky's blog. I am not the best source for up to the minute info on where the kits are and when they can be ordered, but I promise to update the blog when I know.

Thank you for sharing my excitement (and your patience with my not excellently colored photos)!
around here.

December 7, 2012

The best news is the secret is out the of the bag, so now I can say more normal stuff in these posts instead of ignoring the yellow and gray striped elephant in the room. I'm tired but so happy. I've got stuff to do and projects to finish and speadsheets to turn into real information and oh, so many posts to write. The end of the year brings with it so much wrap up and new goal setting ideas and truly, these are my favorite things to talk about. I love looking back and I really love looking forward. So get excited for a very hopping blog these next few weeks.

My copy of the Seafoam kit is scheduled to arrive on my doorstep TODAY. As in THIS DAY RIGHT HERE. Which makes today my Seafoam kit due day. It's going to be a home birth, but there will quite possibly a celebratory dinner and a large cocktail Shirley Temple tonight. I may cry. I will for sure start nervous laughing. My stomach is already in knots (and it's only Thursday evening). But once it's here I'll dance around and take some photos and get them up on the blog as soon as I can. So check back this afternoon if you're into that.

IMPORTANT SHOP NEWS : INTERNATIONAL FOLKS. This weekend is your last weekend to shop the shop until after the new year. I will NOT be shipping international orders after Monday 12/10 until the new year. AMERICAN FOLKS. You have an extra week. I will be closing the shop for everyone around 5pm PST Friday 12/14 and reopening it in early January. American folks, I can guarantee you Christmas delivery. International folks, I can no longer guarantee your packages will arrive before Christmas. So sorry about that.

Unrelated to that jazz, we find out next week if and where Paul got selected for residency! I'm working on a few super random projects like beeswax candles and turning all my project life quote cards into a free download for you all to use in 2013. I've got a quilt to finish, a cowl to finish (Mom, this one is yours!) and, of course, many more days before the new year to run miles. Life is full. Life is good. December, I love you.

And not to worry, I am getting enough sleep. Currently running on about ten hours a night plus naps when needed. It's awesome.
2012 holiday book / update two.

December 6, 2012

I can't figure out if this book is really coming together easier this year or if I'm happier so it just feels that way? Either way… glad it's moving along smoothly.

Added journaling to that striped paper (that's why the stripes are there) and paired it with a photo of our holiday envelopes before they went out the door. I mailed off 80 this year – a new record for us. Those green stickers are Thickers by Amy Tangerine.

Added a small photo to that kraft and white patterned paper of my envelope stuffing in progress. Also included an empty envelope to the book to show how I taped them up.

Those little shape stickers are by Studio Calico and I thought they added a fun touch of color. I added machine stitching to finish off the photo.

On the front of the envelope, I stamped our current address stamp (smudged out here for privacy) and included the sticker that came with my holiday stamps as a mock stamp. In the real book, I have our actual holiday card added between these pages, but I am saving that (some folks have probably not received them yet) and I'll be sharing on the blog Monday. With the card in there it's busy, so I left that great green and blue pattern untouched except for a flair button from Evalicious.

I've been taking a lot of candlelight photos and this instagram one was one of my favorites so far. To give it a bit more weight, I framed it with a Christmas frame from Studio Calico. Love the look of the cut-out joy and the stitching to hold it all together.

We already know repeating stamps are my go-to and the FOR THE LOVE OF stamp worked out well here to cover the piece of cardstock. I just filled in the boxes I could quickly think of, but you could easily fill them all up.

And then two tree light photos with white fabric Thickers on top. Love how this spread turned out even though it's really so simple.

Next update will be mid-week some time! Thank you for following along.

Supplies used : holiday mixed paper book, Evalicious
embellishments, Elise Joy stamp, Office Depot date
stamp, American Crafts & Amy Tangerine Thickers, Studio Calico stickers and photo frame, Zig Millennium pen, StazOn ink, Target letter stamps.
i love december.

December 6, 2012

urban outfitters cork letters, 31bits sweet tart necklace, converse one star jacket, liz lange maternity dress, harry potter coffee mug, gap baby sherpa hat, DIY woven lamp by Bookhou, paislee press 2013 calendar cards.

It was very easy to find loves this month. Other than that jacket (hoping the open bottom has room for my soon-to-be-expanding belly) and that mint tunic/dress (one of the very few cute maternity items I have found) and of course those fab journaling cards that I will be for sure working into Project Life in 2013, this is just fun stuff to look at. Except that DIY lamp. I want to make that.

ps. check back this afternoon for a holiday book update.
oh, baby.

December 5, 2012

SO YAY!

That was fun! It's so nice to be able to SHARE out loud. Though I am miserable at secrets so if we spoke in real life or on the phone in the past few weeks, you were already well aware. Thank you, thank you, for sharing in our excitement. We are really excited. It's big news!

I appreciated your kind comments so much and had to laugh at what my tells were since mid-October when we found out. For sure the blurry Project Life stuff – most of that was journaling and I will not be going back to share the "un-blurred" images – it makes me bored just thinking about it. That blue square from two weeks ago was an ultrasound photo that no amount of blurring would disguise. The day before Thanksgiving we had our 11 week appointment and finally got to see the tiny one. It was bobbing around and we saw it's flickering heart beat (so thankful!!). That was pretty damn cool (but again, not an image I think needs to live in blogland).

Love the folks that said they knew from the new car (that was totally a baby driven decision plus we didn't want to pay $3k to fix the brakes on the old car) or from my "for little ones" pins. I tried to not be obvious, but you never know! This little baby already has a growing collection of striped onesies and quite possibly the cutest pair of striped pants ever. I am addicted. I am trying to be careful with spending but there were some great Black Friday online sales I took advantage of. (How could I not?)

Otherwise – FEELING GOOD. Like a new person since about Thanksgiving. Weeks 8 and 9 were crazy rough. I survived on red Gatorade, string cheese, pretzels, pistachios and Dawson's Creek. It was far from my finest hour. But now I am a normal human! I eat normal food! Except no potatoes. For some reason, I cannot handle the thought of potatoes except in fried French form.

Running a mile a day has been a blessing and a half. I fell off the "exercise" wagon around the time that I was existing on four foods and so this short but daily challenge has come at the right time. I am totally inspired to keep at it and feeling so good about getting outside and moving around once a day. Hooray for that.

I love that so many of you are excited about baby projects (and that so many of you are expecting!). I am excited about baby projects. A baby IS a project but hopefully I'll be able to put together lots of fun things for the little one. As some of you guessed when I shared tiny peeks, baby has his or her first blanket. I knitted a striped one that I am in love with. Hoping to share more photos and a quick tutorial for that next week (obviously it could work as a full-sized human blanket too!). Next, I'll be cleaning up and making new cushions for a rocking chair that's been in Paul's family for decades.

We are going to find out the gender. Hopefully towards the end of January. I think it's a girl. I strongly think it's a girl. I got a feeling that a girl baby was on the way towards the end of September when I started working on this quilt. Then two negative pregnancy tests later, I thought, "there goes that!" Then a week later and two positive ones, I thought "we're back in action! It's a girl!" Paul thinks boy but I cannot figure out if he really thinks that or just wants the other side of the bet. We will know in not too long!

Speaking of positive tests… someone asked how I shared the news with Paul. I took a test on a weekend morning. As mentioned, it was my third test of the cycle so I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I was still late so I figured it was worth a shot. I was very used to negatives at this point so when that vertical line started showing up, I frantically started reading the directions I had already poured over many times. With a cracking voice, I called to Paul in bed that I thought it was positive. He stumbled over, looked at it with blurry-eyes and said yes, but that we should probably take another test tomorrow to confirm. 24 hours and a second positive sign later, he said we should probably get a blood test to really confirm. I wanted to (lovingly) wring his neck. Happily, he has left his state of denial and is now firmly planted on the sunny side of this adventure. 🙂

Thank you for the concern about Paul being home for the birth. He is deploying early this coming February. This time around, he will be in a non-war-zone so he will have more flexibility with leave time. It's quite possible that he will be able to get back to the states to be there when the baby is born and spend a few weeks getting to know him or her before he has to return to deployment. Then, should all go as planned, he'll be home safe (for the next FOUR years!) in August. Because there are about 1000 wheels in motion and it does no good to speculate, I am focusing instead on these next two months and we'll continue to deal with what comes as it comes. The goal is always to thrive, not just survive, so we will do our best regardless of how things work out.

For those asking about my documentation plans… oh, man. I am overwhelmed!! I am SO GLAD I'll be working from a kit for Project Life next year. My original plan (before I was pregnant) was to make baby his or her album in addition to the family album. At the moment, that sounds more than a little exhausting. But we'll see! I most likely will just be mixing in a baby kit and inserts into the main album. In addition, I may just be taking a million photos and printing up Blurb books every other week until we can open a Baby Cripe Book Store. I am currently emailing myself letters to the baby (aptly called, "dear baby") to document the little things happening so far. Would love to eventually have them printed up in a book with photos from the pregnancy. I am also hoping to take and occasionally share bump photos…but first, I need a baby bump.

This is sort of a novel. Consider the above all the things I wanted to type here since we found out about this little one. And really, thank you so much, from both of us, for sharing in our excitement. I am so grateful for this space to share.

ps… I took yesterday off from answering questions in the comments, but I am there today. Thank you!