Life.Love.paper shop update

Happy Friday everyone! I just completed a small shop update this afternoon. My new MAKE stamp is now available. You'll receive a free screen printed MAKE tag (shown in the photo below) with the purchase of a MAKE stamp through the end of July. I've also put up some pretty sweet sample bags too.

More items will be added next week. Have a great weekend. xot

Here we go..

Some layouts I created for the Studio Calico CHA booth. I had the pleasure of work with the new Classic Calico and Wonderland collection. I mentioned this before but Classic Calico is always my favorite line to work with. I usually start out with a neutral piece of paper and go from there. The neutrals and patterns in this collection call to me. Wonderland is fun too. It was a bit strange trying to scrap last years Christmas photos but I think I managed ok.

And a couple of layouts for Paislee Press, Up & Away (loooove this digital kit) and Weekender (Liz's cameras are so fun to work with).

Who says boy layouts can't include doily's? Not me. :) xot

Pin to Action//Cheap Korean Beef

I tested this recipe tonight with good results. It is indeed "cheap" like the title suggests using ground beef instead of the ribs or steak I would normally use in this type of recipe.  I love that it calls for ingredients I always have on hand and I'm always on the lookout for a tasty ground beef recipe which personally are very few as I'm not a huge fan of ground beef.It came together quickly and guys devoured it. I served it with some stir-fried carrots and zucinni and added some toasted sesame seeds and of course, sriracha sauce. I held back the red pepper flakes the original recipe called for. I don't think Tyler's quite ready for that kind of spice. Definitly going in the Aszmus recipe book. xot

deadlines shmeadlines

I've been buried under deadlines and projects this week but was able to kick it in high gear and get sh*t done. Feels good. I managed 4 layouts in 48 hours and felt pretty good about them. 3 of which will be in the Studio Calico booth next week. I'll post those soon. Loving the new lines...have you seen the preview? I'm pretty excited to see some of my photography featured in the new Handbook inserts.

Also had the pleasure of doing some custom packaging for Kelly Purkey's new shop launch. I love the geotag stamp she's created. Doing a repeating pattern of geotags and her familiar signature was my inspiration for the screen printed kraft bags and tags. Please contact me at lifelovepaper@gmail.com if you are interested in some custom work for yourself or your shop. I love collaborating!

Getting the ol' blog updated is still on my to do list. Now that I've got some of the deadlines tackled, I should be able to get this mess under control.

Happy Friday! xot

Sometimes you just need to take a day.

Fourth of July, 2012 9:15 pm//home .............................

I spent an entire day with my husband and son and it was awesome. It was the kind of day where being alive and with the ones you love most are the only things that matter in life. We didn't leave the confines of our neighborhood. No shopping or errand running. No driving...well no...we did go out for a couple of lattes and a hot chocolate for the boy *. It was so relaxing. So good.

The house smells of freshly laundered sheets and lavender. The apple crisp still lingering in the air. I could bottle this and sell it, it's heavenly. I love these easy, simple summer holidays. I'm actually glad it was a little gray out. Sorry but I'm that girl. I can't stand the heat, the cool air feels so much better. I also love the sound of the fireworks and laughter in the distance although our dog is a nervous wreck.

This day was fully appreciated and needed. I hope you all had your own fully appreciated day! Happy 4th!

xot

*sidenote-Tyler experienced his first hot chocolate last week. I decided it was time for a step up in the treat department. Seeing his baby hands holding a mini to go coffee cup filled with lukewarm cocoa was the highlight of my week. #parenthood #proudtoddlermommy #mymomisadork

*photo- UGMONK. I've fallen in love with a few screen print artists, Ugmonk being one of them. Combine that some pretty rad photos and you've had me at hello. I absolutely love this photograph. It's beautiful and appropriate for my today.

Last Call Winner

Please email me at lifelovepaper@gmail.com to claim your prize! (a just realized readers cannot see the date and time. apologies as I see there are a few jenny's. the winners blog is...http://jennymiralambert.blogspot.com/)
Thanks everyone for your comments! It was nice reading about your favorite summer events and traditions. Can you believe it's July 1st?! Nuts. I wish we could just slow it down a bit. Summer is going by entirely too fast. And now the school supplies are up at Target. That would annoy me if I were a kid. Still, I had to stroll the aisles to check out the new binders and pencils all displayed neatly in rows. (geek) Happy to report that nothing school supply related made it in the basket. Neither did the cool chevron patterned pillow or the million other uber cool designed items Target stocks.  I actually walked out of there with the few necessities written on my post it. Kind of proud of myself. :)

Last Call + a giveaway

The Last Call section is full of good things today! Kind of sad to see Take Note and Abroad go. Now's your chance to stock up!

To say farewell, the dt is giving away some select items. I will be giving away the wood veneer frames (used in the layout above) and the wood veneer state frames. I will choose 1 winner for both items Sunday night and will post here on Monday. Leave me a quick comment on this post. I want to know your favorite summer time tradition!

Good Luck!

Studio Calico//Elmwood Park

I decided to start posting layouts as is for easier pinning. :) This month was fun with the new Digital release. I'm a huge fan of Photoshop brushes. To have all the cool rubber stamp designs as digital brushes make me so very happy. If you're new to using digital brushes or don't think you can use them, I created a couple of video tutorials to help you out. Now I'm no expert in Photoshop. It's all by trial and error and a few tidbits from friends. :) These brushes will work with any version of PS, even Elements and can even be turned into Silhouette cuts. Check it out.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hipT3Mf0g-g]

I even show how to take one of the Elmwood Park digital stamps a step further by creating a custom cut inspired from a greeting card. (card is from RIFLE PAPER CO. and it is lovely)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xY8-lTNtsM]

 

an afternoon in Palmer

Tyler and I drove out to visit his grandparents last week. The drive out to their home in Palmer is beautiful in the summer. We stopped along the way and snapped a few photos. I've pretty much given up on getting that perfect toddler portrait of my son and started to appreciate capturing him at his best. He is high energy and determined and keeps me on my toes. Happy Monday

Currents//Happy Things

Time: 11:30 PM Location: living room//couch Watching: Sex & the City//Season 3//Episode 11 Eating: an apple Drinking: water Feeling: good now that the sun has set and I'm finally cooled off Thinking: I need to get to bed so I can be up early tomorrow Wanting: at this very moment, nothing Needing: a better memory Making: editing photos for print//working on the SC July kit Loving: (see photo)

Flame on.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRWYNUvGohY&w=640&h=360]Everytime this commercial comes on, it stops me from what I'm doing.  It's like those commercials that make you want to cry when you're feeling extra sensitive that particular time of the month. Except this commercial gives me butterflies in my tummy and makes my heart beat faster. The passion of those dancers and athletes jumps out of my tv screen and I feel like I'm ignited by their flame to KEEP GOING. Because truth be told there are times when I want to stop because I have failed or cannot execute an idea well. I get discouraged. I'm sure this feeling comes to all creatives and makers.This is the bittersweet emotion that comes with the territory. A failed idea can morph into something greater though or maybe even something completely unintended. That's what makes me love the process. You fail, you try again, you f*cking rock it.

recycle it rad

I have a hard time throwing out pretty mailings, especially when it's printed on recycled, non-shiny paper. It's great to print, write and stamp on. I sometimes use an envelope template to make custom envies when mailing out letters and cards. I wasn't sure how screen printing would work on these pages but I wanted to experiment with making some custom packaging for the new stamps in my shop. I spent a sunny afternoon in the garage printing away and I loved how they came out, some pretty enough to frame. Most went to packaging though. I hope my customers appreciate the pretty wrapping. :) I was going to cut the pages to create a custom envelope but thought maybe the receiver would like to hang the print themselves so I folded and taped with some washi. It's all a labor of love.

 random side notes: I'm seriously into yellow right now. Also have adopted the word "rad" from my friend Jamaica. Lastly, Make Something Today print on Kraft will be making a permanent departure from the shop this week. Get it while you can. I'm making room for the next limited print.

Sriracha obsessed.

Even in the thick of my whole eat healthy personal compaign, I still indulge in my go to comfort food and that's pretty much anything on top of white sticky rice. It's not like I'm opting to go low or no carb plus I'm half Korean. I must have my rice once in a while. Right now I like it topped with some cut veg, a fried runny egg, a liberal sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and my favorite sauce, Sriracha. That's what makes this dish SO GOOD and now that I'm eating better, I've learn to enjoy dishes like this instead of just scarfing it down and feeling guilty about it.

Other obsessions at the moment.

*Girls - aka The Crackcident is my favorite episode. I watched it the other day after I put my son down for a nap and enjoyed every hilarious minute of it. *True Blood - YESSS. So glad it's back on. *Messages - love being able to text message on while I'm working on my laptop. Thanks Jed. *The idea of celebrating what I love rather than bashing what I hate. I need and plan to do this more. *Crisp, sweet apples. *Long jersey knit skirts.

A quick note before I turn in. Stamps are now in the shop and there will be more to come as well as some new screen prints.

Update is done (kind of)

Ok, finally...a shop update. It's not complete though. Still have several other mini prints to put up and the stamps which should be done by Friday. Also gave the shop a bit of a freshening up. Something that was very much needed.  

I, in a way feel like my shop  I really need some freshening up myself. I'm talking new hair, a new wardrobe, and a pedicure. I'm here to admit that I have been trying to live a more healthy lifestyle and with that, I've lost about 7 lbs this month. I feel great both physically and mentally. Much much more mentally. It's easy to let yourself go when you don't have to get up every morning and dress yourself for the outside world. There were a few months where I just did not care what I looked like or how much weight I had gained post baby. Well, a year and a half later, it was time. I can no longer use the "oh, I just had a baby" excuse for my extra weight gain. Enter the green monster smoothie. I've been seeing them everywhere but the spinach made me turn away. Bleh, it's freaking green. I don't want to drink a salad. Well, let me just say they taste nothing like a salad. They're good. Really really good and I'm so glad I gave it a try. I use the original recipe but I like to add either blueberries or strawberries and use ground Flax seed in mine. I highly recommend this smoothie. I've already gotten compliments on my hair being thick and shiny (which is not the norm) and my energy level has gone through the roof. I love that the most.

I'm now at the stage where my clothes are getting looser but I don't want to run out and get new clothes just yet. So I'm stuck with my old wardrobe and with the onset of summer, I just want to run out and buy some cute tanks and maxis. I could probably get away with a new summer dress, no? Maybe I should just indulge in a new bag for now. That will always fit.

Shop Update tonight!

I've been working on lots of new designs! Just trying to get everything photographed and ready to go. Shop update will be tonight. :) I finally found a true neon pink and I'm really excited about it. I'm also printing on a new color that's a super delicate gray card stock shown above. Stay tuned!

happy first of june yo.

Feeling like I'm all talk lately but I really have been working on getting my shop stocked with goods. I've been printing all week and have new stamp designs. ETA on shop update will be Sunday. :)

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!