Ella-Tastic!

I'm so glad I can share with you guys that I'm going to be an Ella Friend this year! Can't wait!

I'm rushing off to prepare for another 3 day holiday (last one in the lineup this year), but I hope you all have a great week!

Check out the new team on Ella's blog!

The Best Day and the Worst Day

If you can’t tell from the title, this page is about the best day ever—my birthday, appropriately. It was an awesome day--shopping + Starbucks + Build-a-Bear + dinner with S + a new Lisa Leonard necklace. Which all = a wonderful, wonderful day.

I didn't want to forget the little details of the day, so I created this:

The main product I used on this page is the Sassafrass Indie Girl border stickers--I loved these so much, I decided to give them center stage on my layout (it was also much faster than punching and cutting little border strips!).

This next layout is another one from the September Studio Calico kit. This time I used one of my little tricks for using kits--I challenged myself to use an item that was not working for me. In this case, it was those Maya Road chip frames. I misted them (way easier than painting--do you sense a theme here?) and backed them with patterned paper and design elements.

2 chipboard pieces down, 76543 to go......those packages are quite packed. Sigh.


This page is about a friend's wedding--how gorgeous is the synagogue she got married in?

And now for the worst day.......that would be today.

Anything that could break, broke. Every online tech support lady hung up on me. More little things went wrong than I can count, including (but not limited to): losing my phone, consistent downpours, and a low memory crisis on my desktop. When I finally got myself together to leave my house, a whole crew of people there to repair the balcony were waiting to knock. It would have been funny if I wasn't so stressed!

Here's hoping for a less stressful day tomorrow!

How was YOUR day?

PS--The holidays are still continuing (another Wed night to Sat night shindig is coming up this week), so I apologize for the sporadic blogging--I should be back to my normal, less scatterbained self before too long:)

Scrapbooks and "Why I'm Falling of f the Face of the Earth" Part II

First off, a scrappy page for ya:

I created this with the September Studio Calico kit, which is swiftly becoming a pile of shreds (which feels awesome). This page is basically a celebration of my new scallop and circle punches, purchased with 50% off coupons from A.C. Moore.

This next one is not my favorite design-wise, but it gets the job done, and records a fun, happy memory of drinking lemonade at the side of the road with S at the Jersey shore this summer.

As you can probably tell, this is more September kit love:)

And now, another explanation for why I'm about to fall off the face of the earth again!

Orthodox Jews observe a whole bunch of major holidays all within a month of each other, which leads to an especially crazy fall. When I was in law school, having to miss classes for holidays added an extra level of chaos to the mix! This next holiday coming up is called Sukkos, and since I have maintained for years that this holiday really needs a PR team, I'll give it a go right now!

On Sukkos, we eat in huts that look like this:

And shake leaves that look like this:
And generally look like this:


Basically, we try to make ourselves as weird as possible:)

But more seriously, Sukkos is about trusting in G-d rather than always relying on the comforts of our own homes, and about the unconditional love of G-d. If you want to know more, feel free to check out Aish, a Jewish website with great explanations!

So for the next 3 days, I will be praying, eating, drinking, sleeping, catching up with an old friend, visiting new friends, and eating the half-whole-wheat pecan cookies I just pulled out of the oven:)

What are YOUR plans for the rest of the week?

Tackling those Wedding Photos

I was so excited to get my wedding photos. We had chosen to have a photojournalist in addition to a traditional portrait photographer. She took beautiful, candid black and white photos that perfectly complemented the more "official" shots. When I got the proofs, I looked at them over and over. It was basically a scrapper's nirvana.

But then, when I took them home, something funny happened: I got scared.

I was worried I wouldn't do the photos justice. That the design wouldn't be detailed enough, or classic enough. That jewels would fall off and fabric flowers would unravel.

I was also worried about getting bored--using the same colors over and over in a topical album is really tough for me.

So what did I do? I left those gorgeous photos in a box. Criminal, I know! Especially for a scrapper.

But lately, I've been drawn to these shots. Especially as S and I go through life challenges together, the photos get more and more meaningful. So my solution to the above fears is just taking a small bite.

I do little bitty projects at a time. A layout here, an altered project there. Just to get those photos out of the boxes, and remember that wonderful day--made all the more wonderful now that I've seen what comes after.

I found this printer's tray on sale at A.C.Moore and made a display project:

I used my September Studio Calico kit, and just had a fun time playing! I love the contrast of the blues, greens, and yellows against the black and white photos. It's going to live on top of my Shabbos candlesticks, and I can't wait to put it up.

The next layout was made from the same kit, once I had the photos spread out on the table from the printer's tray:)


The journaling reads: On my wedding day, there was such a mix of emotions--happiness, nervousness, fear of the magnitude of the decision I was making. On this day, there were so many things I didn't know. The struggles we would have to face together, the closeness we'd develop as a result. Today, one and a half years after this photo, I'm so glad I walked down that aisle on December 28. The best decision of my life.

What have you done with your wedding photos? Please feel free to link up projects, I'd love to see what you've done!

WTG: Time to Get Schooled

The current challenge up at Who's That Girl is about what you would go back to school for if you had the chance.

Which is very appropo, because I am ALWAYS thinking of careers I would be good at, aside from the career I just spent three years getting educated in, of course. Not that I don't want to be a lawyer, but it's fun to daydream!

So, what would YOU go back to school for?

Check out what the other girls made over at Who's That Girl!

A close-up of my journaling:

Tonight is not only Shabbat, but Yom Kippur--one of the holiest days of the year in Judaism. I'm thinking about a lot of things this year. My hope to have a child, difficult challenges that some of my friends are going through, and health and happiness. I'm also thinking about this woman, who I never met but has touched me so deeply. She passed away on the eve of Yom Kippur one year ago. Her story epitomizes what this day is about to me--a day to confront the fact that we're mortal, that we only have this one life, so we better do it up right. An easy thing to forget in the hustle and bustle of ordinary life.

I hope that the coming year brings joy, happiness, success, overcoming of obstacles and other wonderful things in your lives.

______
P.S. Some of you asked more questions about the wig--Since I won't get a chance to respond to everyone until after the holiday, here are some quick answers!

A photo of the wig: (this one if my fave, but I have other ones, too)

I wear mine whenever I'm out or I have company over, unless it's another girl friend. But if I'm really "getting dressed" that involves hair covering of some sort.

Back with more later!

Guess What???

I'm a new DT member over at Sketchy Thursdays!!

If you're not familiar with us, Sketchy Thursdays is a challenge blog that gives out a sketch on--you guessed it--Thursday:) If you create a page based on the sketch, and link it to the post, then you're entered to win an awesome prize!! I would love to see what y'all create!

While I have some layouts to show you, my computer is having slight issues (read: giant panic attack, with lots of cryptic red X boxed messages popping up saying "Storage is at a critically low level. Computer about to combust!" or something of the sort. So my photos are all being moved off the hard drive, my stress level is through the roof, and I can't find anything to save my life. Ugh.).

So, in lieu of actual scrapbook pages, I have some photos from our trip to Portland earlier in the summer! Random? Yes, quite. But they're still pretty:)

The gorgeous cabin we stayed in:


Me and S:

As you can see, I'm sporting the uber-cool scarf look here. In Orthodox Judaism, married women generally cover their hair, but to different levels in different ways. I cover all of my hair except the very front using a variety of methods, but mostly wigs (freaky? yes, kind of. But also dastardly--it opens up a whole new world of practical jokes for me. Ha!). On this day, I felt lazy, so I went with cool scarf.

Not that you necessarily even noticed--but I feel like sharing today. I should probably stop now before I say things I shouldn't!

Before I go, if you have any questions for me (you can really ask anything), I'm preparing a question/answer blog post. Hit me up!

How is YOUR week going?

Scrappy Sunday--coming in under the wire!

I spent this Sunday trying to get back in my normal routine, with limited success. I also engaged in a little bit of self-torture infertility style, i.e. the maternity and baby sections of Target. I even found a little black and white polka dot ruffled onesie that was simply too cruel:) I was trying to think of little girls to send it to!

And in just a few moments, I will get back to scrapping--it's been over a week, what with the holiday itself and all the prep beforehand. I received my gorgeous September Studio Calico kit, Back 40, and I'm raring to start cutting and pasting!

But before I go lose myself in a sea of paper scraps, here are some pages I haven't posted yet using SC's August kit, Summer Camp.

This one is pretty much a fusion of Jen Johner and Maggie Holmes in my head:
When S and I first met, he didn't read so often, while I DEVOUR books. I go to the library, take out 20 or so 14 day books, read like a madwoman to get through them before the deadline, and do it again. Love love love books.

So after almost 2 years being married to a reading freak like me, S has started to dip into books a little more. When I found this photo of him concentrating on his book, it made me think about how much we influence each other in relationships. It's a funny thing.

Are there any traits someone else had that rubbed off on you? Or vice versa?



And finally, an ode to the Boston Duck tours. If you've never taken these, it's a tour involving a car that turns into a boat! I found this very exciting, although the actual descent into water was somewhat anticlimactic--I expected a bigger splash myself:)

What are YOU up to this week? What scrapbooking projects are on your desk?

Also, I love finding new blogs, so if you're a reader and have your own blog, please leave a link!

Have a sweet New Year!

From our family.... to yours!

In case you were wondering, our family now includes this cute little stuffed dog, who I got at Build a Bear for my birthday. Her name is Clarissa Doggie, and she's basically an estrogen explosion.

Note the close-up:
Hee!

We tried the same dress on a stuffed woolly mammoth, but it just didn't suit. Too much hair.


See what I mean?

But I digress. In other news, tonight is Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. A few things on my mind this time of year:

1. Sweet things. Challah with cinnamon sugar, cranberry crunch and rhubarb crumble, apples and honey tarts and madelbrot (an old Yiddish version of biscotti that other people sometimes find boring and I find awesome), oatmeal cookies and brownies and more.

2. New things. It's a custom to try a new food on rosh Hashana. Unfortunately, I just remembered this custom, which means that my poor husband will probably spend 2 hours tomorrow trying to find a pomegranate and/or starfruit and miss his shower. Oy.

3. Growth. The Jewish new year is like tax day for the soul--how have I been doing? Am I in the red or the black? Am I better person than I was last year? How can I be better next year? I am humbled by realizing all the areas where I need to grow, but gratified that I HAVE changed certain aspects of myself for the better.

4. Change. Every year at this time, I marvel at everything that's changed since I last stood before G-d listening to the shofar. In 2007, I prayed for clarity, as I held onto a dying relationship like a raft. And in 2008, I prayed for my upcoming marriage to a different man, who gave me all the things I had been missing.

Since I don't use the computer on the holiday (which goes from Wednesday at sundown to Saturday night), I'm going to fall off the face of the earth for a while, but I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Loveliness

Surrounded by loveliness lately--and enjoying it:)

I made this page below for the Crate Paper sketch challenge. It was a challenge indeed, since I realized I only had two pieces of Pink Plum paper and some chipboard left! I really use my Crate Paper:)The journaling reads: There is nothing more lovely than running into old friends. I had fun with this page!

And now for some more loveliness..... while in Boston, I came across a store called the Paper Source. I was immediately intrigued, but I saw it on Shabbos, so I waited until Sunday to go in. And good thing, because I alsmost had a coronary!

So much vintage, feminine, crafty and home decor. So many beautiful, beautiful things. Even the display cases were vintage and beautiful.

Here's a few photos I snapped:



They even have a huge inspiration board up!

And finally, some lovely new tops I got from Ann Taylor with birthday money (thanks, Mom!)--so lovely I have to make myself actually wear them!




What's lovely on YOUR Labor Day weekend?

Who's that Girl #16--At Bat

The current Who's That Girl challenge is about your "at bat" song--ie, if you were a famous baseball player (which I am not), the song that would play as you go up to the bat, to hit that home run (again, this bears very little resemblance to me!).

For my song, I chose the old classic--I'm like a bird. When I sing, I flap my arms and say the chorus in a high, squeaky bird voice.

Not that you needed to know that.
Made this puppy with my Studio Calico August kit, Summer Camp.

Here's a close up of the journaling:

Check out what the other gals made over that the WTG blog!

We had a wonderful time on our vacation--there was lots of packing, unpacking, eating, sightseeing, snacking, and more packing. I'll update with photos soon!

All right, I'm going to go back to catching up on a mountain of emails--and blog posts--that I've missed. Is it wrong to be stressed about being behind on blogging??

How has YOUR week been?

ETA: Jessica Bree over at Who's That Girl has an awesome scrappy giveaway on her blog--go check it out!