#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?

Weekend Adventures!

1.  The chorus from "Back To You" by The Riverdales.  It was stuck in my head at the time // 2. A thank you to Mark, who taught an awesome Ride class at the office // 3. A message to the old man about dinner // 4. Something I need to do... // 5-7. I assembled a little care package for my brother in Canada! // 8.  My favorite quote from "Moulin Rouge!" trying a technique where I watered down the ink a little  // 9. This little milagro came out from another design but I'll write more about that later...

I got LOTS of calligraphy practicing done this weekend! Can you tell? :)  I even did some watercolor experimentation, too!  It was a really fun and very creative weekend for sure!  I sent out Marisa's Summer Swap package and a little care package from my brother!  I hope they like them!!

I took the old man, my dad and his lady to Indie Craft Experience, where I got the cutest shirt made right in front of me!!  It was great!



Thanks to Chris Neuenschwander for having such cute designs and making it a really fun process to watch!  I haven't done block printing in FOREVER, so it was a thrill to watch my t-shirt be made using that process!  The only downside: it has to cutely hang to dry completely for a few days!  I don't want to wait that long to wear it!  It's so cute!!!  I get it, though...I know...I'm really impatient...BUT I'm pretty sure it will be ready for me to wear on the Fourth!

Do you guys have plans for the holiday?

Have a great week!

Incoming / Outgoing Mail: Creepy Hearts Club + Ryan Gosling

 

It was a fun incoming mail day the other day! My awesome Ryan Gosling shirt came in! 

Funny story - the other night, I was having a dream that Ryan Gosling and I were at a party, hit it off and quickly became best friends! What a dream, right?! When my alarm went off, I somehow opened up Instagram - honestly, I don't know how that happened - but it hadn't refreshed from the day before and it just so happened that Shop Jeen's most recent post from the previous day was the Ryan Gosling shirt! I took it as a sign and promptly ordered one!  Maybe next, we'll run into each other in Atlanta and become best friends for real??!?

The other 3 photos are very special outgoing packages. The first one is a package I've been trying to send FOREVER and I have finally assembled it the way I want it!! I can't wait until I've dropped it off and the recipient has picked it up!!

The next photo is a stack of something fun I've been working on with my little Creepy Hearts Club friends! You can kind of see it in the last photo there. I snapped a little Instax to say "Thank you" to a very special friend of mine! I can't wait to share it with you!  I'm trying to figure out when those bad boys are going to be released...I can tell you - it will be very soon!

I hope you're all having an awesome week!

Happy Wednesday!

Instant Adventures #4

I felt like I was slacking on the Instax Adventures game, so I stepped it way up!

1. The roses by my mailbox that will end up in someone else's mailbox soon!  Here's a Hipsta of them
2. The pretty azaleas by my front door!  They, too, ended up in someone's mailbox!
3. The pretty bouquet from Lauren and Chandler's engagement brunch!  I took them for a walk the other day :)  Yes, they ended up in someone's mailbox!
4.The evidence of #3 going on a trip in my #outgoingmail post on Instagram

Since it's filming time, I tried out my Instax on my most favorite subjects: J and B from the camera crew!

5. Here's the first EVER shot of a person with my Instax Mini!  (kinda dark...)
6. J pulling his best Zoolander / Abercombie model face (still dark)
7. Playing with the brightness feature in the beautiful sun!
8. B being naturally charismatic and always awesome

Bonus Instax: Since J has a STRONG dislike of selfies, he wanted to capitalize on our fun photo op by taking a selfie of a selfie of a selfie.



Hope you're having an awesome weekend!
Happy Saturday!

The Anthropomorphic Mail Art Project - My Submission!

So...Cara posted my postcard submission for the Anthropomorphic Mail Art Project!  I'm so happy!

I received a...wait for it...deer head. WHAT. Immediately, I thought "Hannibal" because...I mean...duh - nightmare stag, right?!

I used this handsome photo of Mads Mikkelsen as my reference for the nightmare stag.



Here are some progress shots of how I did his plaid suit.  Of course, it had to be a 3-piece suit.
Only the finest for Dr. Lecter.



I had to somehow include the most incredible curtains that ever existed as a background piece.  The red marker's cap was a darker red but when I started coloring, it was more pinky-fuchsia than anything.  Meh - I went with it.



I also had to add some blood because...it's Hannibal.  Lots of blood.  And you know me, I love blood.



The word bubble says: "Tell me about your dreams, Will Graham" but you have to imagine it in Mads' best Hannibal voice.

Not gonna lie, this project took a darker turn than I thought but I'm happy with the way it came out because it's Hannibal-related and I dig that.  I hope you guys like it, too!

Happy Monday!

Incoming / Outgoing Mail + Some Creepy Hearts Club Love

      

      

      


1.  My outgoing Valentines for the Handmade Valentine Swap
2.  The Creepy Hearts Club heart cutting process
3.  Incoming mail from the super-awesome @lowercase_r.  Check out her blog here!
4.  My first Valentine from the Handmade Valentine Swap!  It came at the best time, too, because I needed to read the lovely message.  It reads: "In the sweetness of friendship, let there be laughter and sharing of pleasures.  Valentine's is not only about lovers, it's about friends too!"  So sweet!
5.  My second Valentine from the Handmade Valentine Swap!  (I'll post photos from that later)
6.  A collection of cute things for a Journaling Kit
7.  Cute food erasers!
8.  Another collection of cute things for a Mail Art Kit
9.  The latest Creepy Hearts Club outgoing mail

Once I get all my Valentines, I'll do a nice little post on the swap and include all of the things that were sent and received.  I can't wait to share them!

Have you checked out the sweet write-up about the Creepy Hearts Club over at Busy Weekends?  Check it out!  Many thanks to Michelle for writing such sweet things about the Creepy Hearts Club!

If you want to get in on the Creepy Hearts Club action but don't have an Instagram account, you can submit your photos to the Tumblr here or email them to creepyheartsclub@gmail.com

I hope you're having an awesome day!