good things • scrappies

Since the noon hour is almost upon me and I have sorely neglected my tiny piece of web property for far too long, I figured there was no time like the present to seize time by the fetlock and post. I've been working like a demon in a whole hearted attempt to make up for my time spent in Arizona. Although I anticipated working more out there, my internet connection prevented all good intentions. So now I'm back and plugging away.

Despite my own conspicuous lack of posts I have made time to read others. I am happy to announce, in case you weren't already aware that "some girls wander" has returned. I am a fan of Ms. Emily and love her simply stylish and perfectly vintage fashion forays. Speaking of fashion, I am still addicted to the Sartorialist and Design Sponge.

I have decided to make a few changes here at the studio to herald in the coming season. Even though fall in Los Angeles means little more than a slight drop in temperature, I always manage to find autumn in my heart. Trite but true. That being said, my weekly color combo will be going on hiatus in favor of craftier fare. Plus...I was skipping too many weeks and using the same colors over and over again. If you find yourself jonesing for some color...pay a visit to one of my current obsessions...color lovers won't be disappointed.

So, what does craftier fare really mean? The making of stuff. Fun Stuff. Paper based stuff. I think my first project will be creating a travel journal for my trip to Argentina which happens to be 22 days away. I want something large enough to accommodate 4x6 photos , but small enough to tote. We'll see what I come up with. I will also be teaching some workshops locally in the upcoming months...I'll tell you more later as the time approaches.

Now for today's goodness:





You don't have to be into scrapbooking to appreciate this graphic designer's approach to it. I adore this book, partly because I love the smaller scale of the minibook and partly because I love focusing on just the telling of stories and a select group of photos. I plan on referring to this a lot as I create my own travel journal.












so I officially caved in and subscribed to a scrapbooking kit club. I know, weird, especially since I hardly scrapbook. But I am on a wild minibook making streak, therefore, I thought this made good fiscal sense. I love new product but find myself hopelessly out of touch. I don't know what's out there and for me...the kit club was a great way to get a coordinated sampling without breaking the bank. I just got my first one and I couldn't be happier. BTW this is is by
Studio Calico...there are plenty of others but they are my favorite.




This little hand held die cutting machine was a long time coming for me. Keith got me the Cuttlebug last year and while I use it all the time for embossing and cutting random shapes, I didn't like the alphabets available for it. I came across the Quikutz Squeeze a couple of months ago although I think it's been out for quite some time and I loved the simple alphas it came with. I also really liked the fact that the alphas were available in different sizes. So now I own one and have already used it a lot. I got mine on ebay for 20 bucks. Not bad huh? The shapes and alphabet sets can be pricey but I got this one and this one on ebay for under thirty dollars so I'm pretty happy about that.





So there you have it. Just a bit of crafty goodness from me to you. Happy Monday