oh hey.

The LLP shop is still closed for the time being. I've decided to make some changes and take some leaps. The shop will reopen next week at my old Etsy location since they now offer instant downloads on digital items. There will also be some new digital prints added as well!

My blog will be moving too (fingers crossed). This is something I've put off for awhile now but really needs to be done. So I may be in and out here.

Lastly, I will not be offering a paper pack for the holidays this year. Sadface, I know. But after returning form my trip to Portland and getting inspired not only creatively but business wise, I've decided to change a lot in this area. In addition, I've had some new opportunities come up that are both exciting and a little scary but it's a leap for sure and I'm ready for the change.

TGIF, happy weekend and all that jazz!

Travel Journal | Part II

Now that I have my book assembled, it's time to figure out what supplies I'm going to bring with me. Things are going to be kept to a minimum so no embellishments and Thickers will be making the trip. I want everything to fit in this beautiful Supplies canvas bag that was a gift from my dear friend Jamaica. It's the perfect size and keeps me from trying to bring more than I need which is a huge fault of mine.

So what supplies made the cut? Here's what I consider to be most important in my creative documenting.

-roller date stamp + ink pad -a few pretty paper clips -brush pen -waterbrush -Neocolor water crayons. (some of these were already broken in half during use so I just snapped the remaining ones to fit into the plastic box) -1 roll of skinny graph washi -tiny tape roller (found at Micheals in the $1 bin) -pencil + pencil sharpener -Frixion pen (a pen that erases completely. what is the this magic?) -Studio Calico vellum letter stickers.(these are nice and thin and fit nicely in the bag because you never know when you're going to need to spell out a word using letter stickers) -a small envelope of flat paper ephemera like tickets and tags. -Fuji Instax 150 (Jamaica let me borrow hers. At this point, I wasn't sure if I wanted to invest in one since I already own a Polaroid mini but when she told me you could turn the flash off, that peaked my interest. Now that I've tested it out at home, I know I've got to have one for myself.)

I also plan to purchase a few supplies during our stay in the PNW as well. I've got a few places mapped out on Googlemaps like Moorea Seal in Seattle (there's a tape there that I need) and Ecru in Portland. Thinking about shopping in these places makes me soooo giddy. Not the clothes or shoes but PAPER and fun things that will fit into a plastic pocket. :)  How many of you can feel me on that?

Any other places I should hit for paper and cool things in?

xot

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

Making | Travel Journal part 1

Every time I return from a trip, I have great intentions of creating a super mini dedicated to said trip. Never happens. I have several boxes full of photos and travel ephemera dating back to the late 90's. Maybe one day I'll get to those.

I'm going to switch things up a bit and document while on my trip. I don't plan on spending hours working in this book while I'm away. I want this to be a quick and simple process...something I can work on with the downtime we'll have which will be a fair amount since my traveling companion is an almost 4 year old.

I'd also like to note that before assembly, I searched Pinterest for travel journal ideas. Lot's out there but Kelly Purkey's travel binder really sparked this idea of creating on the road.

Here's the construction of the book.

1. envelopes and pockets are essential since there will be lot's of ephemera and found objects. Collecting is the best part of traveling!

2. fun post its and tags.  I'll use these as journaling spots.

3. overlays. because why not?

4. hole puncher + d rings. I thrifted the hole puncher the day after I read KP's travel binder post. The thrifting/crafting gods were on my side that day.

5. cover pages. both are LLP screen prints that were cut down to fit. I thought about making the cover slightly larger to hide the index tabs but I liked having them be even with the pages which measure 4x6.

6. index tabs. these were part of the most recent LLP paper pack. I simply typed our destinations on the tabs. Glad I kept a few for myself. :)

7. watercolor paper. I plan on bringing a waterbrush and Neocolor water crayons with me just for fun.

8. inside pages. I knew that I wanted to use up some of the excess 4x6 Project Life cards from past Studio Calico kits in this book. I went through my stash and picked patterns and colors that fit the mood of our destinations. I plan on adhering Instax photos and journaling on these cards.

I'm still adding in things and finishing it up and trying to find some type of packet/bag/box to hold the journal and the few supplies I plan on bringing. That will be part of 2!

How do you go about documenting your travels? Do you take this approach of documenting on the road or do you bust out all your findings once you're home?

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

 

Studio Calico Poet Society Reveal!

What a doozy of a reveal, huh? Well...I do hope those of you that were affected most by the time change were able to snag what you wanted!

My favorites were the Dickenson & Alcott add ons from the scrapbook kits and Yeats from the Project Life kits.

LLP had quite a few stamp designs this month, the cactus being my fave. I could have doodled plants all day with that one.

Cactus   stamp | digital Rocket   stamp | digital Speech Bubble    stamp | digital

ok...one last self promo item :) LLP digital printable!

xot

Studio Calico Poet Society Sneaks!

Poet Society is a really beautiful mix of masculine and feminine patterns and embellishments, at least in my opinion. I'm in love with some of the new items from Crate Paper and Shimelle. Here are my sneaks for the scrapbook kit and add ons...

And sneaks for the Project Life kit + add ons...

Loving blush pink and blue mixed in with gold foil. So pretty.

See you on the 27th for the full reveal! xot

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

New classes, a sale and a big congrats

  You may have already heard the big news. Ali Edwards, who I like to refer to as the "Oprah" of scrapbooking is now partnering with Studio Calico in the next chapter of her career. Her video captures her message and spirit beautifully. Congrats to her and all of her success, present and future.

I'm really excited about the 2 new class offerings at Studio Calico which will be bringing it down to the essentials of why we scrapbook. Pen & Paper with Laura Kurz I'm most excited about not only because I'm a big fan of Laura but journaling I struggle with the most.

Snapshot with April Foster will be a great way to inject a bit of inspiration into your everyday capturing. Studio Calico is also offering these classes as a bundle which is the way I'm going. This will be a great way to kick off the fall season!

With all the kiddos heading back to school (yay!) SC is having a great sale on past classes so if you missed out, now's your chance!

Happy Hump Day! 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

Sandlot Reveal!

Hey guys! Did you catch the reveal last night? There were quite a few new items added to the Studio Calico shop as well! One of the things we (the CT) decided to do for the August gallery was to pick a member and do a lift. I immediately chose Maria Lacuesta also known as Analogpaper.

She's been on my radar lately and her gallery has no shortage of inspiration. I couldn't choose just 1 layout to lift so I decided to use her style as my inspiration. Everything in my August gallery has hints of Maria's style.

With this layout I was inspired by her use of Silhouette cuts and the fun bits she adds to her layouts. I love her use of white space and she always adds just enough embellishment to make it interesting yet it all remains wonderfully simple. You can view her full layout here.
Of course she was my inspiration for my Project Life spreads as well.
I'm a big fan of using 6x8 photos in the Handbook. Maria is as well. I really love the little creative touches she adds to these larger scale photos.
I wanted to get to know Maria a little more so I asked her to answer my Currents. Let's see what's she up to.
Eating - Ramen! Glorious ramen with broth boiled over high heat for over 10 hours. Even on hot days.  Even though I get it all over my shirt when I slurp up the noodles.
 
Drinking - Have you seen the crazy Limon-Pepino Gatorade?  It's a little weird and I don't even know if I like it, but I can't stop drinking it.
 
Reading - Dark Places.  Gillian Flynn definitely writes a good page turner.
 
Watching - So, as of today, I've watched the entire Fringe series 2.5 times.  Is that embarrassing?
 
Listening - At this moment, Cocteau Twins!  Makes me happy while I work :) 
 
Loving - My small format Project Life album.  Since switching over to the 6x8 size, I've been much more inspired to work on it.  I love being being able to throw together a layout without stressing too much.  And I especially love including full page photos. It took a lot of experimenting, but I finally have a nice rhythm going with Project Life and I'm officially addicted.
 
Loathing - Choosing what to wear.  Gone are the days when I would have a new cute outfit everyday.  Now, if I find something I like, it becomes my uniform for weeeeks.  This summer, I'm all about the maxi skirt, tank, and chambray shirt (for when it gets chilly).
 
Making - Analog-Paper.com, my new website! My old blog was more of a design exercise as I learned how to code, but this new site is truly a labor of love as I'll be sharing a little bit more about myself, the way I work, and trying to cultivate a happy life.  Keeping it real is definitely kind of scary, but I'm looking forward to the challenge and I know it will be a rewarding experience.
Thanks Maria! Keep on doing you thang and we'll keep on being inspired!
Tina

Sandlot Sneaks!

Sandlot goes live tomorrow! I have to say, I'm loving all the digital items created for this month and I was super inspired by a certain SC member as well. Rather than a general lift, I decided to base all of my creations on the member I chose. I'll reveal her on Monday with a little Currents q&a.

Happy Weekend! Tina

the unicorn paper pack

The LLP paper pack has become a sort of mythical creature.

I wrote back to a few of those who emailed stating I was still waiting on a few items to arrive. I wish I had more local resources up here so that I wouldn't have to wait for shipping, etc. But, it'll come together, just a little slower than anticipated. The pack will still ship to those who purchase the presale on August 1st along with an extra printed piece that will only go to those who do purchase the presale.

So why purchase the presale if there's hardly anything to preview? Well, that's up to you as the buyer. Great sales tactic on my part, eh? The presale was only going to be up through the weekend but I've had to change my strategy a bit. Rather than pushing back on the presale and the shipping date, I'm going to show a preivew of the papers and photos that will be in the kit. I will show more previews during the week as things come in.

Presale will end on July 20th.

There will be 10 pieces in the pack, sizes ranging from 5x7, 4x6 and smaller. There will be screen printed patterns and quotes on vintage paper and professionally printed photographs along with a hand marbled dipped card.

This is something I'm making for those who are looking to add special handmade pieces to their everyday paper crafting and for those who are looking for affordable artwork for their walls.

Presale is up in the shop along with a new poster! New watercolor prints will be in the shop later this week.

Happy Sunday! Tina

Make it Work | little paper banners

As a Handbook scrapbooker, I find that I don't fully utilize my Project Life cards that come with each month's Studio Calico kit. The reason being is that I simply don't have the space in my book. So they get filed away until I purge a few months later and rediscover a card I had loved only to file it back away for that "perfect pocket". You know what I'm talking about.

The solution? Little paper banners! These are the miniature version I did last year. Super easy and a fun little paper craft to try.

You only need a few supplies to complete this project.

a ruler (preferably a centering ruler) a cutting mat (used as a guide) scissors (or xacto blade) twine pencil bone folder Studio Calico Project Life cards (I used the cards from the Penny Arcade kit and add ons) misc embellishments (labels, rubber stamps, chipboard)

 

1. Line up your card on the cutting mat. Find the center point on the bottom of the card and mark it lightly with a pencil. 2. Create the first angle by measuring a few inches up the side from your center point. This can vary depending on the card design. 3. Do the same on the opposite side of the card. 4. Cut! ***you can skip the pencil and just use an xacto knife if you'd like.

5. using a bone folder, mark a straight line across the top part of the card. 6. fold and crease. 7. cut your twine and place under the fold. 8. knot and cut off excess twine.

9. sew across just underneath the twine making sure you hold the knotted part taught. 10. enjoy.

Here's another variation....

It was fun making a batch of these! I can see at least a dozen more things that can be done with them. I chose to keep it simple and used the Project Life cards that had inspiration quotes. For the patterned cards, I did a little stamping and embellishing with some chipboard pieces. I plan to use a few of these in place of greeting cards. How fun would it be to gift a friend with some good vibes to hang on their walls?

Hope you were inspired today to do something different with those special PL cards you've been holding onto. Tina

***a quick note. please excuse the not so great photography. my big girl camera is currently on the fritz. :(