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?

Incoming Mail: Monster Cookie Heart Squad!

It's official: I'm a member of the Monster Cookie Heart Squad!  "What in the world is that," you might ask...  Check out the mission statement!
I'm so happy this came in when it did because I'm starting a (long overdue) self-love journey that has been totally amazing so far!  Care to join?

*Want to join the growing list of awesome members?  Click me!
**Check out the blog here!
***Want some stuff?  Click here!
****Want to meet the beautiful person behind MCHS?  Click here!

Happy Friday!!

Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?

Sweet Incoming Mail + Calligraphy WIPs!

It has been a long time since I did one of these but things have settled down enough for me to finally write an Incoming Mail post!  Marisa sent me a lovely card with cute things for my SMASH*book, Fab sent me a cute little package in response to the one I sent her and Erica sent me her adorable version of Creepy Hearts Club hearts!

I was so happy to see these on Monday because Monday was a crappy day.  My computer kept crashing, I was troubleshooting all day and my producer kept checking in on me every 5 minutes.  Very nerve-wrecking.  My Avid station is still down, unfortunately, but while I'm monitoring an archival file transfer (that is taking forever, btw), I'm staying busy by practicing my calligraphy.

I was inspired by this post at The Postman's Knock.  I have always loved Typography Art in some form (like my chalkboard art) but I didn't really have the desire to pick it up again (on a smaller scale).

Taking inspiration from the "Greetings from..." post cards I collected in Florida, I drew this on my wall at work (before the crash)



Then I saw the Typography Art post at TPK and freaked out!  I didn't need clunky chalk in the way, I needed the needlepoint preciseness of my mechanical pencil (or just a really sharp one)!  I quickly came up with the sentiment of "Wish you were here" because my best friend in the entire Universe landed in Atlanta yesterday morning and I was thinking it was appropriate :)


UPDATE - the "Wish you were here" quote is all inked up and ready to be scanned in and prettified by the ol' Photoshop!

But because I'm a spazz and I only brought the arrow section home with me to work on with my favorite tools, I altered it just a little...



I was so proud of my efforts that I experimented in free-hand! Let me tell you - this worksheet is a great tool to follow!  Download it!  You'll be so glad you did!  I always use it as a base for my capital letters.



For the "Thank you" above, I used TPK's style of "faux calligraphy" - which I picked up in this post.  You might remember this from when I did some envelope calligraphy for my Christmas cards last year!  I wasn't the best at it then but I'm feeling a little more comfortable now!

I hope you're having a great week!

Happy Wednesday!

Incoming Mail: Flowers from Jess + Tattly Temporaries!

They arrived! My Tattly veggies have finally arrived!  And they also included a bonus typography bike tattoo!  Hooray!  The veggies are part of an on-going prank series we're pulling one someone at work.  It will be revealed in time.

In the mean time, check out Jess's pretty cotton candy pink morning glories!!  How pretty are those?!  How pretty is that anchor stationery?!  So cute!  I really need to step it up with my stationery :)  She included some wonderful tips for starting an indoor garden.

My want of an indoor garden started with Nicolette Mason's posts about having fresh flowers in her apartment, the bouquet we got to keep from Lauren and Chandler's engagement brunch, the birthday bouquet I got for my Mom, and this wonderful succulent toolbox DIY from Alana Jones-Mann.  There's only one problem: I'm TERRIBLE with plants.  I don't know how we managed to keep my orchids from Valentine's Day alive for so long.  They're gone now but they lasted for quite some time!

Jess told me to start with succulents, air plants, and cacti.  I mentioned to her that I wanted to have a spot for cacti in our house because the old man really likes them but, knowing my clumsy self, I'd probably get injured trying to water them!  Jess had some great words of encouragement and I thank her so much for that!  It was just the right kind of motivation I needed to start putting our plant display shelf together :)

How's your week going?
Happy Thursday!

Incoming Mail: Nancy Drew + Creepy Hearts + Instax Cactus Stacks!

I almost caused a ruckus at the post office when I opened my mail box.  Why?  Because of the awesome Nancy Drew envelope that was in my PO Box waiting for me!  How cool is that?!  Once I got to my car, I had a total Zoolander moment because I saw that the envelope was the letter!  WHAAAAT?!  Super cool!  Inside was a super cool Instax cactus stack (that totally made me think of Mustache Cash Stash from Regular Show) from Jess!

Next up, a really awesome set of Creepy Hearts Club hearts from Laura in the UK!  I love them!!!

I had commented on the cute flower cards that Marisa acquired and I totally got one in the mail!  Hooray!

And finally, my best friend, Lauren is getting married and the Save the Date finally arrived!  It's so cute!  I saw the comp a month or so ago and the printed version is way prettier than I could have ever imagined!  It's very Wes Anderson-y (in a good way, of course!) and totally them.  Love it!  I was going to put it in my SMASH*book but I think I'm going to frame it instead.  Hooray for more wall stuff!

How is your week going so far?
Happy Wednesday!

Incoming Mail + The Prettiest Handwriting + 3 Things

Yesterday was such a wonderful mail day! I know I usually post my "Incoming Mail" posts on Wednesdays but I've been getting to the post office a day later because of reasons so I've been a day behind.  I'm kinda glad, though, because I was able to take the time to take lovely photos of all the goodies that came in the mail this week!





 This awesome pin-up postcard and collage (which is totally getting framed!) comes from Roberta all the way in Denmark!  I sent her some Creepy Hearts Club hearts and she sent this back as a thank you!  So sweet!  I've got a little something cooking for her, too!  :)



This sweet card (and super cute envelope) is from Rachel.  I told her about my 10 hour adventure in the car in January and shared in my pain.  And guess what?  She's also a video professional!  I love that!  I'm totally going to geek out in my next letter to her!  I hope she doesn't mind :)



This next package is from sweet Kathleen in Australia!  Last time, I sent her an origami heart and some other little things and she was sweet enough to send me some gorgeous origami papers from Japan!  Also tucked away in the cute card, there was a C.S. Lewis quote (which I can't wait to frame), 3 things about her and a Mail Tag with 3 prompts for me: A spritz of perfume (I know just the one!), my birthday, and the best thing about Georgia.  I found a cute little note card in my stockpile and filled out my 3 things already but I'm saving the perfume spray as the absolute last thing I do because I want it to last the whole trip to Oz!

I was so happy to see such a bounty in my P.O. Box yesterday and I realized I have two half assembled packages that need to be sent out!  Ugh - I've been such a space cadet lately.  One of them can be delayed a little but the other should've been sent out ages ago!  I'm hoping the recipient doesn't mind its tardiness!

I'm hoping you're having an awesome week!
Happy Thursday!

Incoming Mail + The Prettiest Calligraphy + Angel Kisses from Spodee

I have basically hit the ground running since last Thursday and I haven't stopped to catch my breath much since, but I was able to swing by the post office (finally!) and yesterday was another super awesome mail day!

The pretty calligraphy is by Kathleen.  Isn't it gorgeous?!  I'm almost too intimidated to write her back because I know my handwriting isn't the greatest...but isn't that the fun of pen pals?  You get to see so many wonderful styles of mail art, handwriting and all that fun stuff :)



I got these awesome Creepy Hearts Club hearts from Instagram user @unicornsandsnowcones!  How great are these?!  How great is her username?!

I also got lots of awesome postcards from Mary, Jess and Megan!  These gals are so awesome!

I definitely needed it - these past few days have been crazy and it's looking like it might calm down some before it picks back up again next week...In the mean time, I'm going to assemble some pretty postcards and thank yous for these ladies, get some more Spodee and relax while I can :)



I first heard about Spodee from awesome blogger, Jessie.  I mean, anything described as a "boozy Tootsie Pop" definitely gets my attention!  Not to mention their logo designs and marketing materials are pretty freaking awesome if you ask me!  The guy at the liquor store where I got it told me they had just gotten it in stock and after I lurked Spodee's Instagram, I saw that they recently started selling it in ATL!  What perfect timing!  I think now, I need to find an old milk bottle carrier (like the ones milkmen  used to carry) and get my very own sixer of these bad boys.  Seriously - it's so good!

Happy Thursday!

Incoming Mail!

At the end of February, Lena at Lovely Little Day (soon to be switching over to Tiny Painter) posted about sending out love letters to anyone who wanted them.  Whether you were going through a rough time or just wanted a handwritten letter, all you had to do was send Lena your mailing address and she would happily send you a letter.  It was such a sweet gesture so I sent her a request.  The letter that came was the sweetest, most inspirational letter I've ever gotten and I am so thankful that Lena was sweet enough to take time out of her day to write it just for me.  Thank you, Lena!

The little crochet heart is from Claire, who I did the Handmade Valentine Swap with!  There was the sweetest note inside and put an even bigger smile on my face!  Thank you, Claire!!

Happy Tuesday!

Incoming Mail + The Anthropomorphic Mail Art Project!

 

Yesterday was another great mail day!  I received goodies from Cazz from Nerd Burger, Mary from Uncustomary Art, Erica from Star Stuff, Cara from Chewy Tulip and Fab from Wreck This Girl!  I also received my awesome shirts from Good Kids but I'm keeping those secret for now!

I'm excited about the cute little bat balloon in the first photo because it's part of Chewy Tulip's Anthropomorphic Mail Art Project!  In the envelope were two (hooray!!) postcards of animal heads for me to give bodies to and I'm so excited, I can't even wait!  I'm keeping them secret until I send them back and Cara has posted them but I'm so excited for one of them, I feel like I'm going to explode!  I'm also doing a set of creative exercises with my old man and as part of it, I've assigned him the other animal postcard to see what he comes up with.  I can't wait to see what he does!

Erica has been awesomely blogging about her adventures with her Creepy Hearts Club hearts on her blog and I'm loving it!!  Check it out!  PS - I've got major envelope envy!  Look at her pretty envelopes!

Hope you're having an awesome day!  Happy Wednesday!

Great Mail Day!

What a wonderful day for mail the other day!  I got some cute Valentines from Midge Blitz, another cute Valentine and a bow tie (YESSS!!!!!) from my pen pal Jess, and the coolest postcard EVER from Michelle!
And yesterday, as I was dropping of a set of Creepy Hearts Club hearts to be mailed out (to The Netherlands and New Zealand!!!), I spent a few extra minutes talking about Supernatural to the mailman who handled my letters.  Why Supernatural?  I forgot I had my Castiel pin on my jacket and the guy asked who he was and once I said "fallen angel", he was all "Tell me more" so you know I did! 
I'm hoping he made good on his promise to start watching the show as soon as he got home.  I told him he's got 8 full seasons on Netflix just waiting to be watched!  And on a related note, I've got THREE episodes of Hannibal left before season two starts TONIGHT!! 
I'll have to do another post on Hannibal because I'm pretty sure I love that show more than I love most things (possibly more than Supernatural!)

Happy Friday!

Creepy Hearts Club Adventure!

Some Creepy Hearts Club hearts went on an awesome adventure with their new friend, Erica!

Check out their fun adventure here!!



Thanks, Erica!
xoxo

Handmade Valentine Swap!

Valentine's Day might be over but I'm not over receiving hearts!  Yesterday was a great mail day because not only did I get more Creepy Hearts for the Creepy Hearts Club, but I also received the last of my Handmade Valentines from the Handmade Valentine Swap!









Aren't they all beautiful?!

The first card I received was from Mayra.  Know I shared it in the Incoming / Outgoing Mail post but I wanted to do a proper Handmade Valentine post, so here it is again!  :)

You know me, I love a good pun and the card from Claire is the cutest!  "You hive my heart" with bees AND star confetti?!  So cute!  I'm hoping the weather in England has calmed down some so she can maybe start to have a Spring of some sort!  I'm trying to share some of this weird Georgia weather with my friends overseas.  Can you believe we're supposed to have a high of 69º+ today?!  We were just frozen last week!  (I'm not complaining - I'm ready for dresses and sandals!)

The button cupcake is from Steff.  She has a cute aesthetic and it totally shows in the card!  She hosted a party recently and I'm totally jealous of the set-up that she posted (and arranged).  So cute!

The last set is from Kasia, who makes beautiful jewelry at Kashen Jewellry.  Just look at this necklace!  Love it!  Looking at her Instagram, you know she's super talented in a variety of fields.  And the origami heart is so cute, it makes my origami skills looks terrible.  That's right - because I don't have any (yet!)

I'm so glad I signed up for this swap because I loved making and sending out the Valentines to four new friends and the ones I've received have inspired me to make better parcels for my new pen pals!

Happy Wednesday!