Long Days, Short Years

The days are long, but the years are short. -Gretchen Rubin 

It is crazy to think that in just a few days I will be headed back to college!  Packing, saying goodbye...yet the excitement of a fresh year is right around the corner. :)

What I'm creating:  I made one spread in art journal #1 and #2 today, and I love how they both turned out.

Much love.

Stained Glass

What I'm creating-stained glass:  This was seriously the highlight of my beach vacation this weekend, besides getting to spend time with my wonderful aunt, uncle, cousin and sister.  We got to meet my uncle's mom, Pat, who has been making stained glass for over 30 years!  Here are some of her past projects.  And these are just some of the ones they have up at the beach cabin.

They also had these cute little hummingbirds up everywhere.  My cousin, sister and I decided to ask if we could make one, and Pat said yes.  Here are the steps and the final project.  :)

Step 1: Pick out glass for project.  I ended up leaning towards pinks, purples and blues. 

Step 2: Cut out glass into the shapes you want.  For the hummingbird we used five shapes: the head, two wings, a body, and a tail.

Step 3: Grind the shapes so they fit perfectly together and have smooth edges.  This part was difficult because the pieces need to fit together like a puzzle.

Step 4: Copper foil and burnish the edges of each indivdual piece.  The copper foil is how the whole thing is held together.

Step 5: Lay pattern pieces together and saughter.  The saughter is basically a fat wire that you melt and spread along the copper foil.  It cools quickly.

Step 6: Add hook, hang and enjoy.  I am going to hang it in my dorm. :)

What I'm creating-projects:  Today was my best friend's sisters birthday so I made her this photo collage frame as a present.  I love making presents like this because I believe time is a much more meaningful gift than spending a million dollars on someone. 

What I'm creating-ICAD: Here are my index cards from the past few days.  I cannot belive the project is almost over.  I love watching the cards change with my mood throughout the summer.

What's inspiring me:  STAINED GLASS!

from: here, here, here, and here

Enjoy tomorrow and make something pretty.

Much love.

No Time

What I've been doing:  So in the past week I have literally not been home for more than three hours straight, except for sleeping.  I have been running errands, seeing friends and family, and trying to get ready to head back to school!  I have been messing around with taking photos on my iTouch, so here are some snapshots from the past week. :)

Love the orignial Burgerville sign.  Best milkshakes ever.

I went to the beach with my family this weekend, and my aunt showed me this cute thrifty store at the coast.  One of my favorite parts was all of the hats that were attached to the ceiling.  So cute.  I will post more about that store tomorrow. :)

We saw the train go by at the beach.  I love how I happened to capture the flag waving in the background at just the right moment.  Perfection.

We drove through lots of little towns, and I loved the old lace curtains in the window of a closed store. 

I loved the flower on the back of this truck!  I have been trying to appreciate the little things in life lately.  Like the sign along the road, or a clever license plate on the car in front of me.



What I'm creating:  I made this page when I got back from the beach today.  It is from art journal #1.  I first used part of an old screen as a stencil for the purple paint.  Then I collaged over it.  I used some of the new tissue paper that I dyed.  I found the quote from this blog that I love to read!

I have not had too much time to mess around with crafting projects, but tomorrow I will post my ICADs from the past few days, and I will show you all the amazing stained glass project that I made at the beach.  It turned out perfect!

Much love.

Two or More and Books Galore

What I'm listening to:  Today at work I spent a great deal of time in my car, so I was listening to the radio.  And I heard my new favorite song...Cheers by Rhianna is so good!  "Life is too short to sit around being miserable."  It is the perfect song for summer and the weekends.  Love it.  :)

Also, last Sunday at church I had the opportunity to listen to Two or More.  The group consists of three brothers and one of their friends.  They also sing in spanish, which I thought was neat.  Here is the Lords Prayer as a song.  Here is Lord I Lift Your Name on High.  They spoke inbetween playing songs, and I loved their message about how regardless of the plans we make, God has bigger plans for us.  One of the brothers said, "When the chips are down, you may not be happy, but when you love the Lord, you have a joy in your heart."

photo from: here 

What I'm reading:  Tonight I went to Powells and got a few books.  I had checked out Creative is a Verb, but as I started reading, I realized that I needed to buy it so I could underline and mark up all of the pages!  Patti Digh is a genius and gifted writer.  "This is a book about waking up to the beauty around you-the beauty of seeing more and livijng more deeply" (p. 14).  This book has quotes sprinkles throughout the pages, which I love.  And at the end of each chaper Digh has activities to help readers become more creative.  She talks about using index cards as a canvas, which reminds me a lot of a different index card project... :)  I'll post quotes and activities I like from the book as I read it!

I also got a devotional called Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.  My friend had the book and read me a few passages throughout school last year.  And when I found it on sale for $5, I knew I had to buy a copy for myself.  The cover is a brown color, so I think I might paint or collage over it, which is what another friend of mine did.  Put my own creative twist on it.

What I'm watching:  Last night I went and saw the movie, The Help.  I had also read the book, but the movie was SO good!  I almost started crying several times...and I did not cry in the book.  So I think that shows how good it was. :)  Emma Stone (Skeeter) has been in so many movies lately.  Easy A, Crazy, Stupid Love, and now this one!



photo from: here

The alumni dance went very well this weekend.  You can read all about it on my friends blog, here. :)  What was your favorite thing you did this weekend?

Much love.

Busy Saturday

What I'm eating: A friend showed me this recipe two months ago and we made them and they were soooo good!  I decided to make them for today as well.  The second time turned out just as good and I wanted to share the easy recipe with you all! 

What I'm creating:  Here are my ICADs from the past few days :)

What I'm making:  I saw this idea for colored tissue paper on another blog, (to see it, click here) and I never had thought to make it myself!  I save random wrappers and gift wrap all the time.  And this summer I had saved some white tissue paper that something I bought was wrapped in.  It was perfect for this project.  I will post after pictures in the next few days after they dry a bit.

Also, I have a special project in progress.  Here is a sneak peek.  I will show more once it is finished. :)

Well tonight I am dancing at halftime for an alumni football game.  Gosh that makes me sound old.  Have a wonderful Saturday!

Much love.

Blank Wall

What's on my wall:  So I have this wall right by my dresser, and all through high school I have had my dance team posters on it.  But this summer I thought I needed more mature wall art.  So I took them down.  But then it was just a blank wall for foreverrrrrrr.  But I finally fixed it up!  My mom found an old level at my Grandpa's house and we added hooks to make it funcional!  I also had a large "H" and some picture frames lying around.  Here is the end result:

I found some other fun wall art ideas, as well.

from: here, here, here, here and here

What I'm reading-blogs I love:  Last night I was up for over two hours looking at all sorts of different blogs.  I follow most of them on blogspot, so you can look at them if you look at my profile.  But I also might make a sidebar and list some of my favorites.  What do you think?  The blog world is so neat and I love reading and being inspired by people all over the United States, and the world!  Such a supportive community.

• My mom emails me blogs she thinks I would like, and she sent me this one.  I loved the quote!  I always find myself comparing to other people.  I wrote this one down in my journal, and on my index card for today. :)
• But right after I closed that site, I realized I forgot to write down who said the quote, so I googled it and ended up finding this blog.  Christine is so inspiring to read, and I loved spending hours looking through her past entries.
• This was another one my mom had sent me (isn't she the best!).  I was reading it at work and I almost started crying after reading this article.  Plus the name is so cute!  Love Three Pixie Lane.

What I'm creating:  The first page was inspired by an image at weheartit.com.  It is simple and pretty.  The second page was made using paint and an old gift card that I used to spread the paint around.  I wanted to use the staples to offset the pretty-ness of the pink and purple paint. 

Much love.

Sequins, Leather, Blazers and Bows

What I'm wearing: I have not posted about my latest purchases so here they are!  These are things I bought at the last Nordstroms sale, and some things I got on our rv trip.  Who knew I could find so many cute things to bring back to school in a few weeks!

Sequins:  I love anything that sparkles and this dress came in pink and black.  It instantly dresses up any outfit!  I am also thinking about wearing it for Halloween and dressing up as the tooth fairy. :)

from: here, here

Leather:  I got this leather jacket, and although it has been too warm to wear it, I am actually excited for the cold weather so I can bust it out.  It has a detachable "faux shearling trim" that I immediately took off.  But if I really wanted to put it back on, I could. 

from: here, here and here

Blazer:  My very favorite purchase, however, is this blazer.  It is black and has cropped sleeves and is perfect!  I have already worn it three times in the four weeks I have had it.  I have been a little scared to try the oxford shoe/menswear trend but this is a subtle way to wear it. 

from: here, and here

From the trip:  We went into a cute little boutique in one of the towns and they had some really cute stuff!  A lot of it was pretty expensive, but I found this tank top with bows on it on the sale rack.  I also got a silver necklace with my inital that looks like a wax seal!  I love things with my inital and so this is a new favorite necklace that I have been wearing.  I also got two leather bracelets.  The simpler one was $4!  The other one was $10, but I thought both those prices were very reasonable!

from: here, here, and here

What I'm creating:  I have been saving cute tags from clothes, and I thought today would be the perfect day to make a page devoted to clothes and fashion!  Plus I found a quote that went along with the theme perfectly. :)

What is your favorite outfit to wear? :)

Much love.