Store closing soon!

Hey guys! I'm extending the LLP sale through Wednesday, the 17th. Shop will close Thursday the 18th and will re-open on the first of October. New items will trickle in mid October. All items are marked down and discount shipping for international orders! No code needed. xot

Blog Tour!

I was tagged by the lovely Melissa Mann to continue on with a blog tour!

  1. What am I working on right now?

I'm packing orders and tackling my to do list for the day even though it's Labor Day! It's a labor of love so it's all good. :) 

  2. How long does it take me to create a project?

Depends on my mood. If I'm uninspired and struggling, maybe days but I've learned to not create at these times. When I'm in the mood, a couple of hours spanned in a few days. 

  3. What are my favorite things to create with at the moment?

I'm making a travel journal to take with me on my upcoming trip to Seattle and Portland.

  4. How does my writing/creating process work?

My Creating process depends on my mood but usually it starts with an idea. Then I'll do a quick peek on Pinterest boards and things I have saved in my mental pinboard. Then it's down to the nitty gritty. Once I'm in the thick of creating, I don't open my browser or pick up my phone. 

  5. How do I become inspired and stay inspired?

Getting outside, taking a walk, traveling....doing these things help me continue to live a creative life & keep the inspiration going. It also helps to bounce ideas off of a fellow creative friend. 

  6. What is my signature style?

Simple with a quirky details. I love working with negative space in layouts and photography.

I choose to tag, Jamaica Makes, Vee Jennings and Maria Lacuesta 

Thanks for choosing me Melissa!

xot

Huge Sale!

All items (except for digital downloads) are currently marked down in the LLP shop! I've also reduced shipping costs as well. Here's your chance to grab some great prints for less! I want to make room for new stuff that will be debuting soon!

The sale will run from August 29th - September 15th.

Have a safe holiday weekend! Tina

 

Current Pins & Inspiration | week 34

1.Carly Robertson for Paislee Press. 2. love this for a date night. 3. This quote speaks volumes to me right now. 4.SJP getting in the stationary biz with her own Hallmark collection. 5. cactus. 6.sunflower. 7. I'm on a hunt for a grey couch. Lusting after this one. 8.For Tyler and his first trip to Seattle. 9.Something I want to do for the next LLP pack. 10. ++++ 11.loving these grey layers. 12. layout by Ginny Hughes 13.trying to get a better vision of what I want. 14. more layers! 15. a yummy & fun snack for the boy (and me). 16. my paper crafting hero, Katie Licht. 17.watercolor. 18.I've seriously been saying this to myself all week. ZAP. 19.layout by Allison Waken. 20.period. 

Happy Friday! xot

Current Pins and Weekend List

Current Pins & inspiration

1. This photo makes my heart ache. It looks exactly like my old dog Butters. Miss him so much. (original source unknown) 2. Weekend craft with Tyler. He is a super hero fanatic. 3. come hither. (original source unkown) 4. that hat. 5. roar. I want this for Tyler's room. 6. I will have this nail color by the weekend. 7. coolest Disney scrapbook by Nirupama Kumar 8. simply put.  9. green on pink. 10. drawn & type. 11. hang. 12. color. 13. Ode to the Captain. 14. Moonrise Illustrated. 15. Layout inspiration for upcoming Poets Society kit. 16. color. 

This weekend I will paint my nails said color, work on the next set of screen printed goods other new shop items, paper craft, make pearler bead super heroes, play with legos, Portland planning, repot a few plants and binge watch The Killing on Netflix.

What's on your weekend list? xot

Currents | Week 33

Eating: a frittata burrito. not sure if it's as good as it sounds but I'm starving. Drinking: iced latte, even on a chili rainy day. Listening: right now, a few bi-planes flying over the house. Not in the mood for music or tv. The silence is soooo good. Watching: I'm on the last episode of season 2 of Hemlock Grove. Jeff found this gem for me since I was all weepy about not having anything to watch. It's gory and I love a good mystery. Reading: My q&a on Kellie's blog, Give a Girl a Blog. So honored. :) (there's a special discount code to the LLP shop) Enjoying: trip planning! my and the boy are headed to Portland in September and I'm so excited! Making: finally taking a stab at weaving. I love seeing this trend unfold into a phenomenon. I've had all my supplies for a good year now and with the weather getting cooler, I found it to be the perfect fall craft. Loving: the cute backpack I found Tyler for our trip. It's ridiculously cute but small...perfect for 3 year olds! Plus I can't get over how old he looks with it on. (found on Zappos, not affiliation) Loathing: unexpected car maintenance. blah.

xot

week end | 26

Another productive week of designing + making. I may have illustrated my favorite stamp set yet for the Studio Calico September kit. :) I also added a few more designs to the next paper pack which is nearly there as far as pulling things together. Production starts next week! As soon as I have some sneaks, I'll put up a presale, promise. I had a few emails asking about this because I did mention I would do a presale like last month. Oy. Truth is, my confidence level isn't so high when I come up with my own designs. You should see my reject pile. We're getting there though.

No set plans other than a little work for the weekend. But it's the good kind of work. :)

Happy Friday! Tina

I took the weekend to ponder my own question I presented on Friday and I've come to realize I've confused what it is to be a successful blogger. After all, we define our own success.

“If the day and the night are such that you greet them with joy, and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is more elastic, more starry, more immortal — that is your success.” - Henery David Thoreau

Whether you're starting out or in a "what am I doing" slump like myself, I think it's best to write a list of expectations when it comes to your blog.

Here are a few things off my own list....

I'm not necessarily looking for a million followers but having a boost in readers would be nice, especially if I've spent a day putting a DIY together.

Do I want to make money from my blog? No, not really. Not if entails having said followers and posting everyday. Time spent on blog management is better spent in my studio working on current and future designs. That is where I want to generate more income.

I do want to use my blog as a platform for my business but I don't want to just post shop updates and what I'm up too. I want to reach out to other creatives and this is where I'd like to change things up.

Here's where I've confused things. I thought in order to be a successful maker/creative that I also needed to be a successful blogger, which I think I can still be on my own terms. I want it all sometimes but I am not that person and I need to play up on my strengths rather than work against them.

There were so many great responses to my question. Thank you for taking the time to write. It helps put things in perspective. That is the biggest thing I didn't think about when I wrote that post....connecting with your peers. I want more of that as well. That is ultimately what blogging is about, no?

Tina

week end | 25

 

IG feeds have been inundated with ALT captures. Seems like a great venture for those who really want to push their blogging capitol forward. This was something I thought I wanted. Until it came down to the nitty gritty of actually blogging.

I wonder if that is the main goal these days. Is casual blogging a thing of the past? Is there a future for those who just like to post pretty things and speak their mind once in awhile?

Bloggers and I'm talking fierce bloggers work really hard at what they do. They probably (like many creatives) don't get the credit they deserve.

Shit ain't easy folks.

So what's left for the rest of us? I'm curious to know your thoughts on this whether you're an income producing blogger who pulls together styled shoots and tutorials like nobodies business or if you're like me and just blog whenever the inspiration hits or maybe you're just thinking of starting a blog.

I'd still really like to push myself here but I'm 80% sure that it will never happen.

On another note....I've been playing with my watercolors a lot lately. It's been my getaway from some of the not so great things that are surrounding us. I try so hard to stay positive for everyone because that's what all my Pinterest quotes tell me to do (& no one likes a complainer) but I can't help but be swallowed whole sometimes by the negative shit. This is where family tickle fights and playing in my (still being updated) workspace comes in.

There is no major life or death situation happening here. Just the usual everyday middle-class stress. Money, trying to conceive a second child, trying to figure out where I stand in the creative world, money, preschool, money, etc. Stuff I shouldn't be complaining about.

So I'll stop.

Now that I've got that off my chest, I'm ready to take on a Friday full of errands and a weekend full of love and adventure. Happy Weekend! Tina

finished!

For me to actually complete a mini album is a great feat. The start of one is all sunshine and daisies, then it ends up in my never ending box of unfinished projects.

This one was different. I think having cute little page protectors helped A LOT. Also keeping it simple and to the point was key. Like with all of my scrapbooking, journaling is kept to a minimum since most of my writing is done in one of many Field Notes notebooks.

I started with this  We R Memory Keepers gold 4x4 Instgram album. I purchased a few of these in different colors from the Studio Calico shop. (fyi...the gold is IN STOCK right now) The albums come with 5 sheet protectors but I ended up getting a few extra packs.

I used a lot of items I had in my personal stash like screen prints that were for practice and a vintage flash card with the number 36. The flash card was really cool and had a nice black frame on the backside....perfect for a little photo. The number and photo are "floating" in a 4x4 protector. Simply sew around the square to achieve the look.

I added in bits of wrapping paper and handmade cards. The Stay Wild illustration is from my favorite publication, FLOW.

I ended with another "floating" element and backed it with a great quote that I printed on a transparency.

That's it! Easy peasy which is pretty much how I do things these days. :)

Do you like to document your birthday in a special way? Tina

week end.

Another highly productive week thanks to Mr. Sun. All projects pretty much came to a stand still once the rain rolled in which was nice. Cold, but nice. What is it about rainy days that make you just to curl up and stay in?

Office re-do is still going strong. I'm not great at putting decor together so please don't expect this to be a Pinterest worthy office. I'm just happy that I've gotten rid of SO MUCH STUFF and that I'm doing this with little money. The most expensive thing purchased so far was square foot piece of foam I needed to recover a stool I scored at an estate sale for a $1. I would have left it as is (gold + green velvet) but it wreaked of cigarette smoke.

I can't get that fabric pattern out of my head so I think I'm going to head back to JoAnn's tomorrow and grab a yard for the stool. I originally went with a soft white vinyl but I'm not happy with the way it looks. Luckily it only cost me $10 and I've got a side project I have in mind for it.

Happy Friday folks. Enjoy the weekend to the fullest. Tina

Hello, Hello reveal!

 

I've got a simple tutorial on how to mount your foam stamps from the Hello, Hello scrapbook kit over on the Studio Calico blog!

The lack of control when using foam stamps annoyed me when I was working with them for the Hello, Hello gallery. I came up with a quick (and free) solution which was to mount them on several pieces of cardboard. You can get step by step instructions here.

There were a lot of personal faves in both the scrapbook + Project Life kit. I want several more sets of that transparent alpha!

 This Project Life spread houses all of my favorite cards and embellishments. Wood veneer sequins? One of the coolest things I've seen in awhile.

 You can see the rest of my gallery here.

So what did you end up getting at reveal? Tina

 

weekend well spent

  We're currently re-doing the spare bedroom that use to be my craft room, that turned into an office/storage area after my son was born. I'm reclaiming it again, working to achieve some sort of functionality. I can't promise myself that I will be the most organized ever but I can promise to make the room useable for both my son and I.

Anytime he sees me with my brush markers or watercolors and stamps (he loves the stamps the most) he wants to join in. I don't have a problem with that at all. We just need a better place than the floor which is our current art space situation.

The supplies, the papers...it's become too much. I've purged like I've never purged before. I lost a lot of space when I happily sold my monster of a desk on Craigslist last week. Great storage but way too big for the small space. My new desk has 1 drawer. ONE.

Shelves have been taken off the wall. The "accent wall" I thought was a great idea at the time has been painted over. Bright white pegboard now hang on a wall that has been bare for many years thanks to my dear sweet husband.

I'm still in the purging state of a room re-do, filling up more trash bags by the day.

Apparently  I was obsessed with this KI Memories font. I do remember buying every single color I could get my hands on. Those and American Craft rub ons. They're so old, they won't rub off anymore but I'm going to figure out a way to repurpose the one above because I still love that font.

I'll post more soon! This is going to be a doozy of project since I have several things that need repainting. An old Mother's Cookie display shelf my hubby shlept home knowing I could use it in my then craft room and a vintage children's school desk that was also free. Lot's of spray paint will be put into good use. Time to get all those thrifted treasures out of the garage and put into action!

Tina

Calling all Stamp Lovers!

I'm so excited to announce that I will be co-teaching Studio Calico's next class, Inked 2.0 class with Lisa Spangler! Together, we plan to do some amazing things using the exclusive Life.Love.Paper stamp set that will ship FREE when you enroll. (quantities are limited)

Check out this deal. It's a sweet one. 10% off all class supplies. Have you seen the supply list? If you need to stock up on Color Theory ink pads or Zing embossing powders, now's the time.

In addition to basic stamp supplies, there are several NEW stamp sets and dies available!

This set was inspired by a favorite illustration. I love how it turned out! Both stamps do work together but are sold separately (House Guest + House).

Hope to see you guys in class next month! You've got until June 30th to enroll!

Tina

week end | Friday Freebie

popsicles seem to be an ongoing theme here. Tyler is a popsicle fanatic year round but I crave them more this time of year. I'm on a mission to try every flavor Dreyer's make. Above it peach and it's pretty tasty but I still prefer the coconut the best. (no affiliation, just a fan)

I've got a little freebie for those who are a little more sensitive than others. I am known as the "sensitive one" in my family. Drives me nuts but I guess that's my sensitive tendencies kicking in. I just find it funny that when something bothers me, I'm being overly sensitive but when it's on the opposite end, it's completely normal. Odd how that works.

We are the ones who overthink, who take everything to heart, who hurt easily. The curse.

But I truly believe that those who do feel things more deeply make the world a better place. We are the listeners, the passionates, the ones who encourage. The blessing.

The freebie is sized at 3x4 and saved as a pdf. I created it last night after seeing the quote on my IG feed. It needed to go into my Project Life spread this week which I'm happy to report is going along amazingly. I have FINALLY found what works for me and I've taken some advice from Kristi's e-course in not stressing so much about exact dates and having everything in exact chronologic order. Man, has that lifted the PL/pocket scrapbooking weight off my shoulders. I mean who effing cares if I mix a photo from the beginning of May in with mid-May? And the journaling...it's never been my strong suit, so why stress about it? I journal everyday in my Field Notes notebook. Why do I feel the need to re-write everything I've already jotted down?

All of this has resulted in good vibes memory keeping. Is there anything holding you back in your pocket scrapbooking?

Have a lovely holiday weekend folks! Tina

LLP Freebie Friday download