Currently

Drinking: Iced vanilla chai tea lattes.  When I lived in the DR my mom sent me this wonderful vanilla chai tea latte mix.  It was a special treat on rough days.  This summer I have been drinking it iced since the weather has warmed up.  So yummy.

Listening to:  More than Conquerors by Rend Collective.  The other week I Bible journaled the lyrics/verse to this song (see this blog post).  On Saturday night I went to church.  The worship leader said, "Tonight we are learning a new song for this church."  And guess what song it was...  I love it when God taps me on the shoulder with the same lesson until I start listening.

I also discovered a new Spanish artist, Jaz Jacobs.  I even bought her cd.  "Senor sobre mi situacion" and "Purfume a Tus pies" are two of my favorites.

Writing: down my blessings.  One of my mentors in the DR gave me a cute little jar before I left Santiago.  It is a blessing jar.  It is amazing how when we are obedient, He blesses us abundantly.

"All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God."  Deuteronomy 28:2

Watching: Ghostbusters (Kevin was my favorite) and the Last Ship

Reading:  Blog posts by these wonderful ladies.  Writergirl5786 has beautiful posts on the Illustrated Faith Revival Camp.  I absolutely adore reading what she does each week with the prompt.  Seeds of Creative Grace has beautiful posts that make me want to buy everything in Illustrated Faith's shop.

Wanting to read:  Uninvited by Lysa TerKerust and Without Revival by Lisa Bevere

How has your week been?  What have you been learning?  Reading?  Sipping on?

Con mucho amor. 

Links I love

What I've been reading:  

This post by @HollyClarkEdu about how Orlando schools are taking away recess in order to spend more time on test prep.  I am planning on using this article from Bay News 9 or this article from FOX News to have the boys write something persuasive or argumentative about having recess.

This Huffington Post article about what MTV is doing for MLK day.  Showed this to the boys this morning, and we had a good conversation about the symbolism behind making TV black and white for a day.

This article about how to develop writers.  I really want and need to work on writing with the boys.  I am also reading Writing Thief by Ruth Culham with some ideas about how to teach writing.

I also just downloading Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller.  I read Book Whisperer this summer, and I LOVED her ideas and philosophy.  The boys are reading much more this year once I figured out what kind of books they enjoy.  Thank goodness these books have Kindle versions.  Much easier to access them.  :)

This awesome article contains the secret to a no-fail prewriting strategy that I cannot wait to try.  In a few weeks we are going to take a stab at writing a "theme paper" looking at what The Samurai's Tale teaches about life.

Here's another article I am going to use with the boys as a springboard for a persuasive or argumentative assignment.  Why should teachers use Minecraft in schools?

What have you been reading lately?

English Teacher Blogs: Part II

What I'm reading:  I needed to find some more time to type up the rest of the English teacher blogs I love.  Basically, we were leaving for Trivia Tuesday and my mom yelled at me to get off the computer.  Even though I've graduated from college, still have to listen to my parents since I'm under their roof.  And everyone and their mother thinks I look like I am 16.  Here's the second part of the list.  Again, the sites are not in any particular order, but the ones that have many resources I love have a * next to them.  :)

• Confessions of a Middle School English Teacher: This blog is more about comical stories from a middle school teacher, not as many teaching ideas.  This funny post about how handwriting matters made me chuckle. And this post about his students trying to set him up.  Oh how I've been in his shoes.  
• So, will this be graded? What a perfect name for a blog.  If only I had a quarter for every time a student asked me this.  Another witty blog with ramblings and stories from the crazy mouths of middle schoolers.  
• Huffenglish: This website has a wealth of information and ideas about English education and technology.  Dana Huff has so many ideas and a long list of other bloggers she follows.  Such a great resource.  She has been blogging for 9 years...yes, you read that correctly.  NINE YEARS!  This article is about Project: Utopia that she did with her students. Interesting idea about using digital portfolios in class.  She has lots of resources for teaching Shakespeare.  Here is another article she wrote about teaching Shakespeare.  This is a link to her Frankenstein unit.  I could spend hours exploring her site. 
• *Accidental English Teacher: This website is written by Cheryl, a longtime teacher.  She has lots of current practices and ideas throughout her blog.  This article about readicide hit home with me after reading the same books: Readicide by Kelly Gallagher and Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller.  This article about standards-based grading also resonated with me after discussing proficiency-based grading with my mentor teachers last semester.  In this article she talks about trying to find just the right balance between everything in an English class.  Each of her articles really resonates with struggles and ideas I have thought about in my own teaching. 
• *Teaching 365: This is a really great blog written by an 8th grade teacher at an urban prep school.  There are some really awesome ideas and links for blogging with students, ideas about teaching reading and writing, and funny stories woven throughout. 
• Mr. B-G's English Blog: This blog written by a high school English and journalism teacher has many ideas for teachers to use.  Go to the "English resources" page and you'll find many ideas for various novels and topics, including 1984, Brave New World, vocabulary, and poetry. 
• Shakespeare in the Classroom: A TON of resources for teaching Shakespeare.
• Evolving English Teacher:  This article about blackout poetry would be neat to incorporate into the classroom.  This  article about using poetry in the classroom, and this link to a book that inspires students.  
• Empathic Teacher: Jennifer teaches upper high school English.  
• The Real Deahl: This blog has lots of links and photos of worksheets from the classroom.  She has ideas about vocabulary, collaboration, AoW (article of the week), and LOTS of writing ideas. 
• *The Hard Core English Teacher:  This blog has SOO many ideas.  Here are some of my favorite posts.  This article about the world's greatest Shakespeare play was interesting.  Research paper bingo is a brilliant idea.  This chart helps students who use the word "very" in their writing too much.  Fav books to teach is another list that made me want to create a list of my own.  
• Learning from my mistakes: I discovered this blog when I read the post Preparing for the end, which gave various ideas for ending a novel.  She also included a hilarious rule guide for teaching Of Mice and Men that made me laugh and would cause students to tune in. 
• Cool Cat Teacher blog recently changed to THIS new site.  Here are some of the older posts that I loved on the blogspot.  This post about using music in the classroom was inspiring.  I love listening to music, and I really want to discover how to weave music into my lessons.  This post mentions my favorite educational book: Teach like a Pirate.  One last post I loved talked about the challenges of teaching: paddle on.
• Love, Teach: This blog is written by a four-year middle school teacher in an urban environment.  Her hilarious posts like, Things You Would Have Heard Me Say in my Classroom on Thursday and 7 Things You and I Both Need This Teacher Appreciation Week will leave you chuckling and nodding your head in agreement.  This post about what the students wrote to their African pen pals actually made me lol.  She also has good ideas like the raise the roof game and how to handle Valentines Day as a teacher.   
• AJ Juliani: Lots of articles and thoughts on education.  
• **Teach 4 Real:  This is one of my FAVORITE websites.  Matt Amaral is an English teacher in San Francisco.  I discovered his blog when I was looking up ideas and resources for Romeo and Juliet.  His site focuses on teaching in challenging urban schools, but there are SO MANY ideas and concepts that can be applied to all classrooms.  Take the time to explore his ideas, units and opinions.  Really good site.  

So there's a few resources to keep you all busy the next few months.  What are your favorite resources to use as an English teacher?  Any favorite people to follow on Twitter or Pinterest?  

English Teacher Blogs: Part I

What I'm reading:  Recently on Twitter someone asked me what English teacher blogs I read and follow for ideas.  I decided it would be a good idea to simply type up a list of some of my favorites.  These are in no particular order, but I did put a little * next to the ones you'll need extra time to scan through. :)

• Teaching Teens in the 21st: This blog is written by an 8th grade Language Arts teacher.  I came across this article about her interactions with Kelly Gallagher.  He is one of my favorite educational authors, so I knew I would love reading her ideas. 
• *The Creativity Core: This blog is written by AP Language and Creative Writing teacher.  He popped up on my Pinterest page, and I read some of his blogs about mind mapping that blew my mind.  I LOVE combining art and creativity in the classroom.
• Teachers in Tiaras: Tumbler full of ideas for the classroom. 
• *Secondary Solutions: This blog is written by a middle/high school English Language Arts teacher and has a TON of ideas and posts.  This post about low tech, high visual lessons is similar to the mind mapping idea that I love.  This post is a little inspiration for when teaching feels impossible.  This post that lists a few student apps that work well in education.  This post about how to take notes in your books without making the librarian mad.  This post with tips for new teachers.  Basically, save a few hours for diving into this website.  
• Teaching like it's 2999: This website is not written specifically by an English teacher, but she is a technology guru.  I am trying to learn how to incorporate technology in my classroom, so this blog has many ideas for teachers and schools.  
• The Middle School Mouth: This blogger teaches 7th grade LA and Science.  Although it has not been updated too recently, there is still a wealth of ideas to dig through. 
• *Laura Randazzo: The headline of her website reads "On a mission to prevent English teacher burnout."  She has a million ideas and resources for teachers to browse.  Here are some creative writing ideas.  Here are a couple fun and creative writing ideas to accompany a literature novel unit.  Here is a classroom management tool that she uses.  This post is all about adding music to the classroom, which I love.  :) 
• The Readiness is All : This blog is written by a high school English teacher.  Lots of thoughts, opinions, and ideas on all things education and English related.  He's been blogging since October 2012 so there is a lot to look at on his blog. 
• Teach it Write: Middle/high school English Language Arts blog ideas. She incorporates CCSS and interactive lessons to share with students. 
• The English Teacher Files: Another blog full of ideas.  This post about how 70-page spirals saved her life in teaching has a good system for the classroom.  Here is an in depth article about classroom procedures.  

Tomorrow I'll post some more of my favorite English teacher blogs.  Sometimes I wonder what teachers did before the world wide web.  

Twitter

What I'm learning: WOW.  I just finished my first Twitter chat with educators across the globe.  I've had a personal Twitter for several years now.  Last semester I used Twitter to connect with students and share homework assignments during my time student teaching.  We did class discussions and I had the students tweet their thoughts and opinions when they weren't sharing aloud in class.  This summer I have been learning how to use Twitter for professional development.  I got up bright and early to participate in the #nt2t (New Teachers 2 Twitter) chat.  It's Saturday mornings 9am EST, aka 6am in Oregon.  When people say that "teachers have summers off" they do not know the amount of time and energy teachers put in over the summer as well.  I have been working hard this summer to read, connect and grow professionally.

This morning I learned about Evernote.  One teacher sent me the link to THIS conference presentation about Evernote that I need to watch.  Someone else sent me the link to an e-book about Evernote: The Complete Guide to Evernote in Education.

People also shared their blogs.  Here are a few that I want to check out.
http://creatingsuperheroes.wordpress.com/
http://adolescential.blogspot.com/
http://btcostello05.wordpress.com/
http://tritonkory.wordpress.com/
http://principalhowell.blogspot.com/
http://thecompellededucator.blogspot.com/

Here is a spreadsheet with all the different Twitter chats about education.  One teacher asked me to join the #tlap chat on Mondays.  Teach like a Pirate by Dave Burgess is a book I am currently reading.  It's SO GOOD.  Lots of neat ways to improve as a teacher.

I only wish I would have had the courage to try out Twitter as a teacher earlier.  I can only imagine how much I would have grown and improved by now.  My first chat was exciting, fast-paced, and overwhelming.  Connecting with other teachers was incredibly fulfilling.  I am not working for a specific school district next year, so it is neat to start to form a community.

List #3: Posts that Inspire

What I'm reading:  My mom always forwards me amazing blog posts that really fill me with joy.  I have also been seeing amazing articles popping up on my Facebook feed, as well.  Putting more joy in the world is always a good thing.

1) Eyes Up

2) Bravery

3) Be Beautifully Human

4) Don't Date a Girl who Travels

5) Stop Doing These Things

6) Let Go

Con mucho amor.

Study Abroad Blogs

What I'm reading: I thought I would compile a list of my friend's blogs who are also studying abroad! Junior year is the year that everyone goes abroad, so there are quite a few. :)

• Leanne is one of my sorority sisters who is in China right now!
• Kristin is traveling with me in Costa Rica. :)
• Courtney and I went to high school together and had every single Spanish class together. Now she is is Mexico and I am in Costa Rica. It is funny that we both are studying abroad to practice Spanish at the same time.
• Chandler is also stuck with me in Costa Rica for the semester!
• Kat is another one of my sorority sisters that is studying abroad. She is in France for the whole year! She is very good about posting about everything that happens there. So fun to read.
• Sydney is one of my closest friends in Costa Rica and she is also blogging!!
• Kiersten is Spain for a whole year!! Crazy girl, but she is having so many wonderful adventures.
• Mariah is also with me in Costa Rica. She is the official blogger for our college.
• Zack and I have been friends for years and years. He is studying abroad in London for the semester! He is also an RA there and gets to travel and explore over there!
• Sarah is also studying abroad in Costa Rica, but she is in a different program than me. She got to help deliver a baby the other day! So exciting. She is also a Christian so it is great to relate to her about all those things. :)

Enjoy reading about everyone else's adventures.

Con mucho amor.

Jackson Michelson

What I'm listening to: Jackson Michelson came and played at my school recently, and he was amazing!  He is a Christian and has played at Younlife camps, as well.  I got his cd after the show and I have been listening to it non-stop.  Add him on fb or follow him on twitter, because he's the best.

from: here
What I'm taking pictures of: This week was full of ups and downs.  It snowed!  I went shopping for a photo album to start Project Life (I didn't find any), and I am headed home to celebrate my sissy's birthday.  The first photo is a candle holder from Ross.  I loved the quote: with faith we can achieve all that we believe.  The second photo is a sort of picture of the snow at school.

What I'm reading: The Laziest Ways to Lose Weight popped up on my MSN homepage today.  I need to start working out again.  I go through phases when I am very motivated, then other time when I'm not at all.  My favorite tips from the article:

• Don't go shopping when you are hungry, and only buy what is on your list.  This month I have lived off campus, so I have had to make my own meals.  I have been working on making specific shopping lists for only what I need.  It's faster, and you buy less junk this way!
• Buy ready to eat snacks.  At school, I will always go to the store and buy chocolate or chips.  However, lately I have kept carrots and apples ready to eat.  I have also been buying healthy granola bars.  These are way healthier and quicker to grab and go. 
• Drink water before every meal.  It makes you fill up faster.
• And my favorite: sleep!!  The article says: "People who slept 5 to 6 hours a night gained 4.5 pounds more than those who dozed for 7 to 8 hours nightly."

My mom also sent me this article, How to be Full of Wonder.  I loved the simple tricks to live a happier life.

And this beauty blog, Maskcara, that has great hair and makeup youtube videos!  Plus her latest entry is about Friday Night Lights, one of my all time favorite shows.

Faith

What I'm watching: Earlier this week I watched this video: Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus.  I just had to share it on here, because it was so inspirational.  He has another video called Sexual Healing that is just as good.  "Think twice before you eat what society feeds us.  Come follow the King, His name is Jesus."  Jefferson Bethke puts faith and a relationship with Jesus in a whole new perspective.  One of my favorite quotes: I've spent my whole life building a facade of neatness, but now that I know Jesus, I boast in my weakness.

Blogs I'm reading:  I decided to follow Jefferson's twitter, and he posted a link to a blog called Wonderfully Made.  It is the best blog filled with quotes and bible stories.  It is so encouraging to read, definitely a new favorite.

What I'm learning: Today in church we went over John 9: Blindness.  It was a great message describing how we each have a blindness.  Jesus can bring light to our darkness, if we are open to having His touch.  We also talked about muscle memory, and if you practice something it will become second nature.  We all stray and wander somtimes, but each time it gets easier to go back to Him.  Just the message I needed to hear.

From: here, here, and here

So trust in Him today, much love.

Books, Blogs and Writing

Blogs I love:

• This blog is called Be More With Less, and there was a post recently about writing.  I loved how she said that she has been writing for her whole life.  So inspirational. 
• Another post I loved was titled here's to the crazy ones.  The message about dreaming big is so appropriate for the new year.  Lately I have loved finding quotes to keep me going.  "So here’s to the CRAZY ONES: the Risk Takers, the ones who change the world."
• My favorite post, however, is one that inspired me to write this entry.  School is crazy and I feel like I never have any time to be creative or relax anymore.  But I loved this post about what blogging has taught her in 2011.  Starting this blog project last summer I had no idea what to expect.  But I learned that people want to encourage creativity.  I never realized that what I did would actually inspire others.  I want people to live a more creative life. 
• Gal Meets Glam is a fashion blog that I found on Pinterst (yes, I caved and got one!).  I really love her outfits, they are adorable.

What I'm reading:  Over winter break I actually had time to read!  I loved it.  I finished:

• Memoirs of a Geisha
• Cutting for Stone 
• The Lucky One is going to be a movie soon!  I haven't read this one yet, but my friend just finished it and said it was amazing!

Lots of my friends are abroad right now for the month, and I saw this photo on Facebook.  A girl in my sorority, Bri, is in England right now.  I loved this photo and I realized that I should be journaling more, too.  Even though I am not abroad, I can still document my life adventures.

From: here

Much love.

Back at School

What I'm doing: I have been back at school for over a week now, and I am going to try my very hardest to continue making things throughout the year.  I have already found how much harder it will be, though!  My goal is to participate in the 52 Weeks of Lists challenge.  I hope to devote a little time each week to make something creative.  I need to start this new challenge this week.  :)

What I'm making:  These cards are so cute and easy to make.  Just take a doilie and use it as a stencil on a card!

Here is my last summer index card.  I have honestly loved this challenge, and I cannot wait to start it again next summer.  I am not going to continue this fall, though since I am too busy!  The quote on the bandaide box was perfect to remind me that it will all be okay, even if life does not go as planned.  

What I'm reading-blogs I love:  As I was reading about the 52 Weeks of Lists (52 WoL), I discovered this blog.  Her post from Wednesday is about blogging, and I loved reading her tips.  So inspirational. 

What my dorm looks like:  I thought it would be fun to post some things about decorating dorm rooms since I live in one like 9 months out of the school year.  Decorating is my favorite part of the school year.

I love the shelf we got for my desk area.  Since I am an English major, I have a ton of books, so the shelf makes it a lot easier to keep everything organized.  We got it from Storables; my favorite part about the storage system is that you can make it taller and buy more pieces for it!  I also love the tie rack we got to hold my necklaces. 

We have an old desk or sewing desk thing at my house.  My mom had an idea to pull out one of the drawers to hold all of my perfumes and lotions.

I saw these flowers from PBTeen, but they were pretty expensive.  So I went to Michaels and bought two boquets of fake flowers.  I cut the stems off and added a small strip of white ribbon on the backs of them to hold them in place.  I used sticky puddy to hold them to the walls!

I cannot seem to find the link to where I discovered this idea, but I took a plate and painted it with blackboard paint.  I painted the clothes pins and hot glued them along the edges once the paint dried.  Then add photos and cards.  :)

These photo mats are my very favorite dorm accessory.  I love displaying photos, so these work perfectly and I can put them up with command hooks and not poke any holes in my walls.  I think the collage look on walls is so cute, so that is what I have on the right side.  I need to add more to it, though. 

I will try to do another post later this week.  :)

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.

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.

Brown Bag

What I'm creating: I found this video from the Journal Junk blog when I was searching around last night.  I loved the idea of creating something useful and beautiful out of something that most people would use for trash.  I made a smaller journal using the bottom of the paper bags.  I used masking tape and string to hold the pages together, and I used a doilie on the cover!

I have the main pages of paper bags set up to make a larger journal, but I do not know how big to make it.  What do you think?  I love using paper bags because I don't feel like there is pressure to make the pages perfect.  I can just fill them with me. :)

Here are two pages I made in journal #1.  For the top page I used a stencil I got at Michaels yesterday.  The bottom page is not my favorite, but I love the quote I pasted on: "Life is a beautiful struggle."

What I'm watching/What's inspiring me: I was watching So You Think You Can Dance last night and Caitlynn and Michell's dance last night, and it was amazing!  Here is the video for their dance; acutal dancing starts at 3:23, and I had chills even after it was over. :)

Much love.

Alas We Aspire

What I'm listening to: My wonderful sissy made me a cd, and track #3 is Alas We Aspire by Amy Stroup.  The song was featured on Pretty Little Liars and it is a new favorite.

What I'm creating: I went to Michaels again today, which is becoming a problem.  I buy too much whenever I go there!  I got three new stamps, several sticker sets, and cute tags with flowers on them.  I used one of the stamps in both the projects I made tonight.

Here are my ICAD cards for the 5th and 6th.  July 16th marks 45 days of creating cards, which is halfway through the project.  I need to find a cute box or something to put the cards in because at the moment they are all paperclipped together, and now the paper clip is about to burst!

Here is journal #2.  I used the gift card spreading technique for the background, and I used my new stamp on this page as well!



What I'm looking at online: I was searching through different blogs today to look for inspiration and I can across this site, and I LOVE her journals!  She has beautiful ones on sale at her etsy shop, and I literally spent two hours searching through all of her old posts about art journals. 

Much love.

Blog Facelift

Yesterday I decided to change the background and about me photo.  I wanted a simpler background and a more current photo of me. :)  What do you think?

What I'm reading: Today I discovered a new blog that I absolutely love!  Journal Fodder Junkie is written by two guys, Eric and David who have a passion for visual journaling and the impact it has on peoples lives.  One prompt that really inspired me was: What have been your stepping stones- those significant moments of your life?  What have been the moments when significant change or growth has occurred?  What have these shifts meant for you and the direction of your life? 

What I'm creating: I made a new spread today in Journal #1: Grace (the new title for the art journal in the Nordstroms catologue).  I also made two back grounds in Journal #2, which I showed a spread from Friday, and in another new book, Journal #3.  It is fun to work in different books at once because it allows me to be creative in different places. :)

journal #2:

journal #3:

Here are my ICAD for July 2nd and 3rd.  They are both pretty simple.

Is everyone excited for the 4th tomorrow?  Any fun plans?

Much love.

Saturday Love

Lately, Saturdays have been my favorite days of the week.  Its nice to relax and not have to work, plus I have been having adventures out and about.  Today it was actually sunny and I went downtown with my family.  Mom, sis and I got pedicures while Dad drank coffee and waited patiently. :) We then walked around and shopped.

What I wore/What I'm reading: I also loved today because I got my new Glamour magazine.  They focused on street style in this issue which I thought was neat, and they featured fashion bloggers.  Gabi Gregg at http://www.youngfatandfabulous.com/ is my new icon.  She is a gorgeous plus sized blogger and I LOVE her style.  And I love how she does not care about her size.  She posted photos of her in a bikini and even a tent style maxi dress, both which would be considered "no's" for bigger people.  One quote from the magazine interview was, "Ignore the rules.  I always tell my readers to stop saying 'I wish I could pull that off,' and just do it!" 

So today I decided to wear my romper!  Huge fashion risk for me.  I've been trying to find the perfect cheap romper and I tried on a strapless one earlier this summer that just did not look the best.  But I ended up finding a tank top style blue one from Forever21 that was on sale for $10 so I thought I might as well buy it.  And I loved wearing it today!  It keeps me cool and is so cute for the summer time.  Here it is paired with a white tank, forever 21 necklace and Nordstroms sweater (with Dad and sissy downtown):

from: here and here

What I bought: While we were downtown I made a few purchases, of course.  I found washi tape!  I've been reading about it on a million different blogs, and I found it at a bookstore.  I also discovered this vinal type fabric that came in a ton of different prints.  It was $3 a foot so I just got a little but I think I am going to use it for a journal or planner cover.  My mom got me this cute pen that says it has an extra large ink holder and will last for 7 years; I just liked the cute feather on the top. :)

What I'm listening to: I have never watched The Voice before in my life until this week.  I watched the final episode, and although I was not thrilled, I loved Javier Colon's voice!  Here is the youtube video of Stich by Stich which is the first song I heard by him.

What I'm creating: The first page I painted yellow and cut out several quotes from another book I got at a thrift store.  I found the frames in a different Nordstroms catalogue, and the red flowers is a stamp from my aunt that I put on top of blue watercolor paper I made.

The second page is a collection of papers I got today.  The black and white frame was the wrapping from the new pen I got today, and the checked paper is from my pizza today!  Don't worry I tore it off before it got all gross from the pizza, although my sister was mortified when I told her I was going to use it in some project. :)

My mom thought I should make the photos bigger so readers could see my pages better!  What do you think of the larger size?

Much love.