pics!

i made 3 layouts tonight! ok, that's kind of a lie. 1 of the layouts i'd pretty much already made, just had to [finally] add the photo. the pictures are crappy, since i still haven't managed to really learn how to take awesome pictures with my camera [i know the camera is capable of amazingness, it's clearly me that's inept]. the 3rd one is my favorite but of course it's the one that blogger is not posting (seriously i ALWAYS have issues posting) ... but it's on my flickr. here they are:

it is possible that my blog is about to get a whole lote more exciting ....

DRUM ROLL PLEASEEEEEEEE!






WAIT FOR IT ...




MY MOM IS THE BEST EVER AND BOUGHT ME A DIGITAL CAMERA FOR HANUKAH. i am so so so so excited. it's a canon powershot SD790 IS digital elph, which means absolutely nothing to me. haha. it looks very pretty and the screen is rather big, so i'm excited. plus is has a million settings that i'm sure i'll never learn how to use. i can't wait to start playing with it and figuring it out, and taking pics of the millions of projects i've worked on!!!!!!!!!!

ps, happy hanukah & merry christmas to you all!

a crafty weekend awaits me ....

the plan for this weekend is:

to work on some art journal pages for steady hand, faulty heart [i am seriously excited about the newest prompts, they are JUST what i need currently] ...

to find [cheap] plain fabric to use for the backings of some pillows. i bought scraps of heather bailey's fabric from the fat quarter shop, and am going to make some awesome pillows. so, buy fabric & sew them up area major part of this weekend's plans.

to go to papersource's grand opening - i am beyond excited. i will try very hard not to spend a lot of money. but, papersource & anthro & zgallerie & freepeople in one shopping center = minor freak out.

to enjoy a lovely saturday night with my amazing friends. i have realized lately how blessed i am to have such a unique group of friends. a group of friends who are drastically different, absolutely crazy [more pics of the photo shoot will be up soon for proof], funny, loving, accepting, and honest. i spend some time feeling sad that i don't have any "crafty" friends here in san diego [sadly they live in boston] - but, at the end of the day, i am so happy with who we have become, how we have grown, how our friendships have shaped, how we continue to bring laughter & joy & support to each other's lives. ok, sappyness officially over.

in other news, i've been obsessively blog stalking my little sister marta's blog about her adventures in africa. i check is CONSTANTLY, waiting for new updates, new pictures, new tidbits about her life in a new land. i'm obsessed.

and now ... back to work. hopefully more pictures soon! gotta find a place to develop the film from my diana+ (this is the experimental roll, i have no clue if they'll turn out).

xox, d.

my new friend diana+

i got a diana+ camera from urban outfitters (so excited) ... but i totally have no clue if the film is loaded correctly. i've done some googling and youtube video watching on loading the film - but i still don't see a number through the red window on the back - so whatever. we'll see. it's an experiment. (well kind of, the film was expensive!! ... and the only carried black and white. which is a bummer because i wanted color. but i'll have to find a place that sells color 120 film). anyway, tomorrow i have a "photo shoot" with my friends from high school ... luckily they have digi cameras and i'll bring the diana+ and the polaroid. FUN!

if any of you have a diana+ or similar toy camera - any tips will be appreciated. i'm super excited about the pinhole setting. gotta play around with it! i'll scan the results for sure!

xox, dain

brown paper packages

today i received not one, but TWO amazing packages. one, from the amazingly talented kate & the other from the red velvet kit club. the september kit is delicious! it makes me excited for fall (or lack there of, here in san diego) ... the colors are divine, the sass lass papers are perfection, i can't wait to make some projects!

kate's gift was the book that i won on her blog ... it's amazing. seriously, it's perfect and i love it and it's now one of my cherished mini-books on the coffee table. i will hopefully take pictures soon (or kate, if you have pics, post em so i can link!)

the 2nd "session" of Steady Hand, Faulty Heart ... the online art journal class that Rachel is hosting is off to a fabulous start. The first two tutorials were just what I needed, especially since they didn't require me to wait to take pics. I'm still way behind on the first session since i don't have regular access to a camera.

anyway, hopefully pictures to come (no more crappy scans if i can help it)

some more crappy scans are up on flickr. i need to fix this situation. it's getting frustrating to not have a camera. my craft of choice relies on pictures and i don't have a proper camera - just doesn't make sense. the polaroid of course is fun, but it just doesn't cut it for every situation, and film is scarce. can't go wasting it!

i need some new inspiration. i'll let you know what i find.

rachel's Steady Hand Faulty Heart art journal class starts up again tomorrow, so that will be fabulous!

an epiphany!

i keep complaining that i can't post my work because i don't have a camera. DUH, i have a SCANNER. wow. i can't believe it's taken me all this time to realize that. it's not 12x12 so some of my layouts will be cut out, but hey, that's better than nothing, right? SO, i know what i'll be busy doing on this fine friday night .... :) expect a post from me (assuming i can figure out how to work my scanner .... yes, i really am that technologically slow)

ideas! and a trip to papertales!

i was SUPER productive at work today.  and by SUPER productive, i mean, i got a lot of great house ideas.  i DESIGNED a "headboard" for our bedroom - and by headboard, i mean, it's not a headboard at all really.  it's like a shelving unit inside a frame that will be over our bed.  the way our bedroom is laid out, there's no space for a night stand next to the bed.  this is quite inconvenient, so the shelves will be great, a place to keep an alarm clock, some knick knacks, etc.  i'm gonna go to home depot this weekend and buy some wood, and then build! yey for DIY projects.  i will most definitely post pics of the process and final product (ok, i'm probably lying, considering I DON'T HAVE A CAMERA).

AFTER work, i convinced greg to go to paper tales.  i wanted to stop by since they redecorated and got in a tone of new product. seriously, love that place.  ended up leaving with two jenni bowlin papers (navy & the yellow one on the top rack in this pic that's called "victoria" ), tickets (pink brown and greyish "who where when"), and mini bingo cards (lucky, home, adore, etc), a pink paislee overlay (like the hambly's but a bit thinner), and a hambly dandelion page, as well as a chipboard accordion book and memory box. 

also today, i added quite the collection to my "flickr favorites" here's the most recent page of my faves:

1. Bedroom via pointclickhome, 2. Emma Cassi bedroom, 3. Mark Lund white floors in bedroom, 4. designpublic.dk bedroom2, 5. Carrie's apartment SATC movie, 6. White floor, bedroom, via Desire to Inspire, 7. Bedroom via Living Etc, 8. Alan Higgs pink & lime living room, 9. White, pinks, yellow via marie claire maison, 10. em's*tattoos, 11. Living room, 12. Sunny Side pillow, 13. bed, 14. The Kitchen-Kitsch cabinet in all its glory, 15. Untitled, 16. Untitled, 17. Untitled, 18. Red: Color Me Monday, 19. Ma petite chambre, 20. Grow, 21. Cole and Son Cow Parsley, 22. I collect blankets., 23. Tutorial #5 - August Means", 24. Guest Room, 25. Chair portrait, 26. jamesmerrell.co.uk, 27. creature comforts, 28. The Home of Emma Cassi, 29. The Home of Emma Cassi, 30. il_fullxfull.25399751, 31. Tutorial #2, 32. Tutorial #1, 33. from Cottage Living website, 34. from Cottage Living website, 35. Domino Mag Inspiration, 36. treats by mail

CAMERA HELP PLEASE!

ok, please please please people, help me here...

i am in DESPERATE need of buying a camera / learn how to take pictures and not simply just point and shoot and hope for the best. whether this means i need a certain kind of camera or just need to learn a few tricks (or an editing program) - i think i'm ready to learn. i seriously am so bad at technology and wish i just had a friend that was awesome and would take amazing pictures for me, but really, i should just suck it up and learn how.

SO, suggest a camera, an editing program, a photo taking tutorial - anything and everything!

THANKS YOU MY LOVES!

xox, dain

I have loved Rachel's Art Journal class. It's been nice to work on something different - and in a lot of ways it's more up my alley than traditional scrapbooking. Guess it's that inner Art Therapist in me. I wish wish wish I had a camera to take pics of the pages I've done, even though most aren't complete yet since I don't have pictures to use! It's kind of hard a)not having a camera (other than a polaroid) and b)having lost all of my pictures when my harddrive crashed. SO, i'm hoping i can borrow a camera soon so I can finish the prompts - though the ones without pictures I've finished, and I've worked on the backgrounds and journaling for those that do need pictures. She's offering up a new set of prompts - on sale now at her etsy shop, here. I'll be signing up, of course.

I finished the mini book for my sister to take to South Africa (just in time, she leaves next week!) It turned out cute. Used mostly Heather Bailey's line. Super adorable. I hope it doesn't get trashed in her travels - a little worn is ok, of course, it adds character.

I have decided that I want to look more seriously in to opening a business. Not next week, not next month, maybe not next year. But in the next 5, I'd like to open up a shop. I know I have it in me - and I know that I want so badly to create a space that mixes the things I love - art, stationery, home decorating. A little botique of beautiful accessories, artsy touches, some jewelry, some bath products perhaps. I really want my friend Carrie to do this with me - she's an interior designer and has a great eye, I think it'd be fun and rewarding. And it's just something that's in me - I've tried to run away from it, but I really know that at the end of the day I want to have a business. We'll see, it's a long long way off.

Alright for now, back to the day job - perhaps a flickr inspiration post later tonight! Need to get some color on this blog!

xox, dain

i've been busy on many different projects and i'm dying to post pics! gosh. not having a digital camera is killing me.  i'm gonna try to get my sister to come over tomorrow and bring hers so i can post the mini books i'm working on, the necklace i made today at paper tales (so fun! i had such a good time) and the beautiful new hutch i bought a few weeks ago.  plus some other house hold projects.  so much! one of the mini books i'm working on is using some polaroids from my birthday last weekend, and i'm finally putting rachel denbow's book kit to good use. it's so cute.  it's a lot more writing than i usually do, and less scrapbook-y, but i like it.  and i got elise's "she could think of thousands of reasons to believe in fairy tales" paper kit and i can't wait to start working on that when i'm done with my birthday book. i have a bad bad habit of starting projects and never finishing them.  

bright and early saturday morning ...

ok so my internet is all wonky ... which has thrown off my plans to be super on top of things and post pictures! it only successfully uploaded one picture, so that's all you get.  sorry blogworld. 

i think i should take a class on photo editing / photography in general, and maybe one about web design or graphic design or something.  i think i would get ridiculously frustrated, and i'd probably be terrible at it ... but i see people's awesome things and i'm like grrrr why can't i do that. haha.  i just don't think i have the patience.  i'm all about instant gratification.  

random stuff:  a while ago i remember hearing about ifoundyourcamera and thought it was cool.  today i got linked to it from postsecret and was curious ... what a great site.  i think it'd be so cool to be reunited with old pictures. i'm sure i've lost a disposable or two at some point in my life that i don't even remember and it'd be awesome to stumble across it years later, so i can only imagine how people feel if they've found photos from trips or of loved ones, etc. 

oh, and, i'm currently really loving mandi's stuff ... check out her blog.  amazing things over there!

went over to papertales yesterday after work (seriously, can i hang out there everyday without being considered a stalker?) got some new hambly woodgrain (yey, i was almost out .. i literally use every little scrap of that paper ... mmmmmm ... i hoard it.  i want it in every color.) & a sheet of out on a limb, got some cute little journaling pages (making memories note worthy ... can't find the actual one i bought but i know there's a pic on the papertales blog), some jenni bowlin vintage inspired journaling pages, and some jenni bowlin punctuation raffle tickets, and an awesome sassafrass 12x12 ... (all my heart) 

so now i'll leave you with the one picture that uploaded .... 

a self timer pic of alana & i before the sex and the city pre screening.  sorry it's such a bad pic. 

jobs, obsessions, decorating, etc!

so for the past few months i've gotten increasingly obsessed with the idea of working in a paper / scrapbooking store. but not a lame one like scrapbook your life or even cool scrapbook stuff in poway (which i love, just wouldn't want to work there, i don't know how to describe why). anyway i have always LOVED paper source. like, omg, love that place. in college my classes were mostly in a building RIGHT ACROSS the street from one and god i loved going there. beautiful papers, fun cards & crafty gift things. god, it's just pure LOVE. and then, of course, i read elise's blog, and she works at the paper source where she lives in dc, and the obsession has just blossomed from there.

OK, to the point. yesterday i was browsing craigslist as i do every day because i'm going to be jobless in 4 weeks, and GUESS WHAT?! A PAPER SOURCE IS OPENING IN CARLSBAD. now, carlsbad would not be the most fun commute since i've recently moved from north county to north park .. but, i think i totally would do it. I MEAN SERIOUSLY, a job where i get to be surrounded by PAPER AND PRETTINESS ALL DAY? i don't want to get myself over excited, because it probably won't happen. i don't have a ton of retail experience. BUT i have customer service experience and so much craftiness experience, haha.

i just REALLY want to work in an awesome environment and i love paper stores.

ok, look at me, again, going on and gushing about all this stuff.

so i took some pics on my sister's camera and i was all excited to post them and i realized that i didn't bring the cord that connects the camera to the laptop. grrrr ... so maybe this weekend i'll get it and then i can post some pics of the projects i've been working on AND the on going project that is our home sweet home ...

thats my second biggest obsession ... decorating our home. it's so nice that we finally have our own place that we OWN. greg even sometimes seems interested in the decorating which is awesome. a few weeks ago we hung up a bunch of picture frames for a "cluster" wall ... and the craft studio is starting to get more organized ... it's a slow process but totally worth it.

alright, time to go help with dinner! have a great weekend (it's going to be HOT HOT HOT here paper source, camera woes in san diego)

camera drama & so on.

i finally have my sister's camera, and i set out to take pictures of some of the things i've been working on lately, along with the prettyness that is my new home. BUT i can't get the pictures to come out well ... the color is all distorted and they don't look pretty like the photos that other bloggers post. haha, of course, that has NOTHING to do with the photographer right? i CAN'T BE TO BLAME for the crappy pictures. i think i just don't know how to play with the settings on her canon powershot and all that stuff about lighting and whatnot. i'll make an attempt again this weekend when i have some more time (& patience) to play around with technology.

so, once again, i'll leave you with some flickr love. sorry this blog is so dull. (oh, and a mini flickr rant - i hate when i want to post mosaics and blocks show up blank because people opted out of the mosaic thing, it makes me sad that i can't share the beauty!)



"1. more blues, 2. 20/366, 3. Untitled, 4. Untitled, 5. Dining room storage, 6. valentine leaves, 7. ready to go, 8. making stuff, 9. sidewalk 4, 10. from the doorway, 11. greens, 12. Untitled, 13. 035 : 365 dec 28 pause., 14. happy new year, 15. postcard / rare device, 16. 341: 1.7.08, 17. Ruby Reds, 18. suitcases, 19. christmas project #3 : advent boxes, 20. the houses, 21. green shelf, 22. my latest display, 23. new wall, 24. shadows, 25. hand made rolodex, 26. Dandelion World, 27. My Pastel Pink Heart, 28. Bingo journal, 29. Inspiration013, 30. Vintage game pieces, 31. Studio44, 32. Weird colored but delicious, 33. my desk-spot, 34. oranges, 35. Untitled, 36. at rock:paper:scissors">


OH, and as soon as pics can be taken i'm going to post some stuff to etsy for the first time, SO EXCITING! yey me.

oh blog world, i don't know if i'm ready

i'm kind of overwhelmed by this whole thing.  i'm consumed by this web of finding blogs - clicking from one person to the next, to the next.  and i'm starting to realize that A) i live in the wrong part of the country and B) i am so not cut out for all this technology (how do i make my blog look cool, how do i post my favorite from flickr, how do i link other people's blogs to mine, oh my god, i need to do some SERIOUS research) and C) maybe i'm just not cool enough for all these amazing people that i internet stalk. haha.  (i'm only half kidding).  

goal for the next week: figure out this technology stuff.  and find a freaking camera.  

as soon as i figure this out, i'm making a giant inspiration post!!!!!!! eeeeeeeeeeeeek.

hello blog world.

well, today is the day.  i've been slacking on this whole "starting a blog thing" for a while now ... mostly (ok, well, entirely) because i don't have a working camera.  because what's the point of blogging about my life and my arts & crafts (which is what i primarily plan on using this thing for) if i don't have a working camera ... right?  but perhaps this will motivate me to work it out, to get a camera, start taking pics, learn how to actually use this thing (ugh, i tried on livejournal for a while but everytime i wanted to post a pic it was a big ol' production because i couldn't remember how from the last time i attempted).  anyway, so today's the day i'll begin, in hopes that it'll launch me in and motivate me to do the things i want to do ... to get involved in the whole online scrapbooking / paper art world.  i just suck at the whole using technology thing.  quite good at obsessively reading / blog stalking, but not so good at the other stuff.  but today that all changes.

 and i'll leave you today with the quote that my blog name is from ---  "the beautiful is everywhere; perhaps more in the arrangement of your saucepans on the while walls of your kitchen than in your eighteenth-century living room or in official museums" - fernand leger