#SPSH2015 Reveal Day!

Hey everyone! I know I have been neglecting the blog but...my boyfriend and I have been in Vegas!  I'll do a separate post on that but I'm glad to say we survived - even though my boyfriend came back with an upper respiratory infection.  Ouch.  More on that later, though, because it's Secret Pen Pal Scavenger Hunt Reveal Day!

I had a wonderful art blogged named Lorraine (who you can find here) and she is insanely talented! Here's the spread I sent to her:



Check out more after the ol' jump!

Weekend Adventures: Gem Jam + #SPSH2015 Outgoing/Incoming Mail!

An impromptu trip to Phoenix and Dragon and a lot of $$$ later, I came home with these beauties!  I've had most of these on my list for quite some time and now, these babies are mine!  I got a Selenite that had the most beautiful colors when you hold it in a certain way.  It's amazing!  I also picked up a small Desert Rose.  I had never heard of it until Caroline and Contessa showed some on their YouTube channels and I was so smitten, I knew I had to have my own.  This one was calling my name!  I also picked up a few Black Tourmalines, a couple of Rose Quartz pieces, a few baby Citrines and another gorgeous Lapis Lazuli.  The big purple one in the center is a beautiful polished Amethyst that - no joke - vibrates in my palm.  That has never happened before!  Usually I feel a little sensation like heat or a loving feeling but never vibrations like this before!  I wasn't planning on getting anything from the bin  it came from (because they were bigger, more expensive stones) but once I picked this baby up, I knew I HAD to have it!  She's beautiful!



My boyfriend and I accompanied Lauren to the Sara Rachele show at Smith's Olde Bar on Saturday. That's Chandler on the drums!  We had a great time and Chandler played amazingly (as always!).  Lauren's parents joined the fun, too!



On the left is the package I sent out and on the right, I have the heart tags from my incoming Secret Pen Pal Scavenger Hunt package!  I know I've posted a preview of some things I sent out on my Instagram but I cannot wait to share everything!  The package I received was an amazing set of goodies from Melina and I can't wait to post the photos!  She sent the cutest things and I'm so thankful!  I can't wait for my swap buddy to post her items :)

I hope you're having a great week so far!  What did you do this weekend?

Incoming / Outgoing Mail + SPSH2015!

That's right! Fab is back at it again with the Secret Pen Pal Scavenger Hunt 2015!  Have you signed up yet?! I did and I can't wait to participate again!

 

Isn't this the cutest?! My friend Rachel sent me the prettiest scalloped heart valentine!  I started assembling some valentines to send out but, once again, I'm behind.  Story of my life lol.  It also didn't help that I was terribly sick last week...



Here is the prettiest mail from my friend Kathleen!  I always love getting her letters.  They make me so happy!  And she has the prettiest calligraphy :)



I signed up for Veronica Varlow's International Valentine Exchange and I went on a Googling spree for the name that I drew.  I hope I Googled the right person because I dragged my BF on an extreme Steam Punk hunting expedition looking for anything and everything Steam Punk for my recipient - based on what my Google searches told me.  The result was the gears and sprockets necklace above plus a few other things.  The "Hello Valentine" watercolor was based on this piece from Alexis at Persia Lou.  I love it!  I used Lindsey's method for watercolor jewels to get my lines all pretty.  I hope she likes it!



My friends and I took a break from playing my new favorite card game to get creative. The result: a marbled clay ring dish for my new apartment! I haven't had much experience with bake clay (not sure if this was Fimo...) but B coached me through it and helped me get this pretty marbled result. I love it!

How has February been treating you?

Secret Pen Pal Scavenger Hunt 2014 - City Explorer's Kit

As I'm typing this, I'm exporting the video portion for the Secret Pen Pal Scavenger Hunt!  I'm so excited about the cute little minute-long video I made just for this project!  I thought it would be appropriate since I'm a video editor / motion graphics artist, after all...I can't share it just yet but I will be uploading it to my YouTube channel for those of you who are interested in seeing it (besides my pen pal!)

Yesterday, I gathered the most important items for the City Explorer's Kit.  Check it out:



Chandler was very generous with the Batdorf and Bronson goodies (there is another sticker that's not pictured), I went by Only You Tattoo and picked up some post cards, business cards and stickers (some of those are missing from this photo as well), Chandler also went by Octane yesterday and picked us up a couple of cappuccinos - I had an extra cup to share (hooray!), I'm spreading the Fresh+i+Am love by parting with a Roxie sticker and finally, I went by The Varsity (the one by me) and picked up a paper hat!  Very Atlanta.

I hope my pen pal likes it!  I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to assemble everything.  The cup is throwing me off with the City Explorer's Kit right now and I think I might bundle the Batdorf & Bronson pen with the Writing Kit.  Hmmm....decisions, decisions...

How's your Monday going?

Secret Pen Pal Scavenger Hunt 2014 - Progress!

On Tumblr, I revealed a little snippet of what I'm putting together for the Secret Pen Pal Scavenger Hunt 2014!  I was a little hesitant to post anything about it because I took the "Secret" part of the title literally.  Like, as in ZERO posts about it until it was reveal day.  But I got a happy email from the organizer encouraging (and reminding) all participants to post their progress, so I did!  Here are my little things:



For the first two photos, I attempted calligraphy again and wrote out the recipe for a Colony Cocktail.  According to ProhibitionRepeal.com, the Colony was a speakeasy in New York where the Vanderbilts and Windsors went to dine in a civilized manner, with a cocktail (or two), no questions asked.  I also included two photos I took last year of the Biltmore Estate to bring it together.

The train ticket is a cute little piece of ephemera that I found and filled out with the recipient's information and it'll be tucked away in a little Travelogue I'm putting together.

I've been having so much fun with it and photographing items along the way with my Nikon and I can't wait to share the whole thing on reveal day!  The send date is quickly approaching and I'm hoping I collect all my items this weekend so I can finish assembling items and photographing the whole thing before it gets sent to its wonderful recipient at the end of next week!

I'm also very excited to see what I get in return!  It's so inspiring checking out the #secretpenpalscavengerhunt tag on Tumblr and Instagram!  I've been in a bit of a slump with social media so this might be the thing to perk me back up again :)

And because I'm trying to up my mail game, I'm going to start sending my lovely Californian something every month.  This month, I finally sent him his I Miss You card from Stay Home Club because I was feeling very selfish and I wanted to let him know that I love him and miss him very much.  I already have his Valentine's Day card picked out (with confetti!) and I'm already thinking about what his birthday card will look like for May.  I've also got a couple of ideas floating around for my nieces and their birthdays and some other folks I plan on sending pretty mail to!

Omiyage Blogs, Wreck This Girl and The Love Parcel are big time inspirations for this new project for me and I can't wait to see how many new friends come from it!

Are you doing any mail exchanges?  Send me links to your incoming / outgoing mail!