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This weekend I took a break and quickly put together a new mini. I was recently asked about my other mini… the daily 2009. I stopped making pages in June. It started to feel like more of an obligation rather than a joy. I was also becoming busier and then when we put our house on the market, I couldn’t keep my crafts out in the open. (I keep them in rubbermaid bins under the bed.) I also started feeling weird about posting things that were so personal. All of that combined… I decided to stop that book where it was. I can’t say that I’ve done much with paper since. My summer was so busy and dragging out the boxes wasn’t too appealing.
But alas, on Sunday, creativity came calling and I thought it would be worth the effort. I think the whole idea of a “mini-book” will work for me if it’s already pre-made, or almost done… just add words, photos and a date stamp. I am also too much of a type A personality to not love having more of a uniform look. I like each page being the same size and a similar color scheme or theme. (I know… all kinds of crazy!)
So I created this one on Sunday as a gift…but it will be hard to part with it. Here are just a few pages:
if i could spend all my discretionary money in one place, this would be it. i love the aesthetics of all the products and i’m in love with their books. good news for those of us on this side of the pond, they have an etsy shop.
{all photos courtesy Present & Correct}
uh, love this.
i think if I ever owned a little store it would be a paper store. full of all sorts of lovely items. (and books… lots and lots of books!)
i still love to get hand-written love in the mail. I have such great memories of writing letters to summer camp flames, friends living abroad, and even my Aunt. For those like me, I found a website just for us. We can get free downloads to encourage good old-fashioned letter writing. I still have a few folks I like to share letters with. I love choosing the right paper and the beauty of good penmanship. (Much less, decorating the outside of the envelope and choosing the right seal.) But, most of the time mine looks like chicken scratch, but I’m still in love with the idea behind it. It’s also one of my favorite parts of being a sponsor at Women for Women. You write letters to one another and get to share a bit of your personality on paper all the while funding an education to improve their lives. What’s not to love?
I’ve been a busy little bee lately buzzing around my “craft room”. I’ve got several projects going at once, but I have managed to whip out a few little gifts. I have a thing for journals (clearly!) and I like them pocket/purse size to be able to jot down thoughts, words, grocery items. I also have a thing for fabric and I don’t seem to ever toss my scraps because, you know, I just *might* use them. Looking at my stack of fabric scraps and coveting new pocket size journals at my local bookstore, the idea hit me. These two things go together like Peanut Butter & Jelly. I also decided to make a tutorial because everyone should have their very own little pocket book. There are so many possibilities with these little guys. Paper, fabric, embellishments, embroidery… endless possibilities.
See the tutorial here or click on the link at the top of the page.
…that I enjoy so much. Today I sent a note to a friend and included a lovely little poem about spring. I also made a recipe card for a different friend. I’ve been doing that a lot lately. On Saturday we made the most delicious Cavatappi dish and so I snapped a photo of it cooking. I then used that photo as a watermark for a recipe card. I think I’m going to try to do a series of those for a family member that’s getting married in May. Too bad for me that I will now need to make my favorite meals and then print out the recipes. Looks like I’m eating good in April!
I haven’t neglected my little habit… we were just busy for a bit. But Monday and Tuesday were spent crafting away: catching up on journal pages and making thank you cards. Here are a few of the highlights.
I realized today as I was crafting away on my mini-book, that almost the entire month of February and most of March has been stamped with “2008″! What the…?! How did I not notice this HUGE editorial faux pas?!?!? Boy, I’m totally reliving the day I walked into the fabric store with my skirt tucked into my stockings.
i’ve surprisingly had stuff to do this week and thus my crafting has been on a hiatus for a few days. i will get to it tomorrow. i have been helping brad with a remodel. i like to think that i’m still crafting, just with bigger tools.
I’ve just been crafting away. I’ve really enjoyed the process even though I’m not always happy with the final product. But I have also surprised myself and made some pages I actually like. I really like using and making mixed media projects. We’ll see where it goes…
I worked on my mini some more. There are some pages I like more than others, but I think for now I’m enjoying the process. (Mostly because I get to do something crafty every day.)
so i’ve been working on a new mini. I have a hard time starting something in the middle of the month, day, etc., but I thought, if I don’t do it now, it won’t get done. And who cares if I didn’t start it on Jan 1 or monday morning. We’ll see where this little project takes me. I’m trying to not put pressure on myself. If I make a page a day, great; if not, that’s ok too.
I finally hung a picture on an actual wall in my house. Ever since we’ve moved in I’ve had this aversion to putting anything on the actual dry-walled walls. We clearly have a ton of exposed brick and because of that I’m always conscious of things looking too cluttered, thus nothing on our beautiful walls. But there is a space, that I use every day, that I thought I could add just a little something to that nook. The photo box is now hanging in my vanity space in the bathroom.
What a week. We pulled off a successful surprise by flying in to see my family undetected. There was a substantial amount of fibbing going on for the last two weeks and it was all worth it. It was so wonderful to see my family, but it was not wonderful to be in 78 degrees with 91% humidity! Yuck.
There are lots of changes around here. I now have a lot more time on my hands and a to-do list that’s growing.
It’s always hard for me to get back into work mode after I’ve had a few days off. I realize how much I enjoy not working! We had dinner at a friends last night and were home by 10. I was in bed with my book by 10:15. I’m loving all these books about Afghanistan and the like. I’ve still yet to read the Kite Runner, but it’s finally next on my list.
Over the weekend though I did work on my mini a bit more too. I’m finding it difficult though to make time to sit down and work on it because I have to keep all my crafty stuff in storage bins in closets and cupboards and I don’t like leaving it out. Ahh, excuses.
I spent some creative energy on making a page today that will help remind me that there are bigger problems in the world than my own. I have enjoyed my time with Women for Women International. It is an organization that empowers women to become their own advocate through vocational & life skills training. My first sister was from Kosovo and she was my age. She graduated from the program in March & now I have a new sister, Gjzide. I love the idea that somehow I might actually be making a real difference in the life of another woman who desperately needs it. I can’t wait to exchange letters with this woman, my sister.
I have a feeling of change…good change. For myself. As I am in the midst of 41 days, I feel like my lens is finally clear. It doesn’t mean that it is easy for me, but it is good.
I woke this morning and did a different routine; we’ll see how I feel around 3pm today. 
I started my day by making these after a long walk. The southerner in me will forever love biscuits.
I also then worked on my mini a bit more. I’ve got so much spewing out of me, creative visuals or words…it is good though. Now it’s off to work.
Well clearly i’ve been out of the loop if I’ve missed this little gem. This place has everything I think I could ever want for making mini-books & anything else. They also have a cool blog for inspiration too. Here are a few of my favorites things:
I seem to craft in phases. I’ll be on a sewing kick for a while, then last holidays it was jewelry all around; but ever since I worked on (and finished!) my wedding scrapbook, I’ve been on paper thing. This paper thing has manifested itself into a new project I’m working on. Apparently I’ve been surfing around blog-land with my eyes closed because I had no idea that some amazingly creative people have a mini-cult creating “mini-books” or “mini-journals”. This seems to be my perfect outlet right now. I know…I’m a little slow on the bandwagon here, but I’m o.k. with that. Here’s a little sneak peek for the book in progress. I had so much fun making pages and then filling them with my thoughts I could hardly stand it…or sleep. I’m ready to take it day by day.
i spent the latter half of the day searching for some inspiration. i wanted a quick go to when i need to focus my thoughts and get my creative juices flowing. this is just the beginning.
…but it’s done. I actually finished my wedding scrapbook today. This is a task that I’ve wanted to complete for quite some time, but I’ve always let something get in the way. I seemed to lose all mental fortitude after I had to come to a stopping point when we moved. Well today was the day that I made it happen.
I found it interesting how much things have changed in four years. Like how four years ago no one in my circle of friends or family owned a digital camera; and also how short my hair was! I also think it is interesting that I remember going to Michaels a few weeks after we were married and thinking, “wow, they’ve got this new paper section just for scrapbooking.” The craft industry in general has exploded, but I didn’t realize how much until I saw some of the first pages that I created; my resources were quite limited. But despite those limitations and my procrastination, I actually finished a project.
Well we’re off to the Windy City this weekend. We plan to spend half the day at the Art Institute of Chicago & then some time shopping. We’ve mapped our route from the museum to anthropologie to paper source. Finally…city people! Have a great weekend!
