the big news... /  by jen geigley

So, I've been dying to spill my secret, and today it's official, so I can go ahead and say it...

Yes! I am the newest member of the Red Velvet Kit Club Design Team!

Yup, that's right. Only the coolest kit club on the block.

So you can't imagine my excitement. I was absolutely stoked to be invited to join in as Guest Designer during the month of August. That alone was too much fun, and I couldn't have imagined being asked to do anything more.

But then I got the sweetest email from Rachel after my guest stint was over, and she was wondering if I'd like to join the RVKC Design Team. (Ummm, YES?!) So now I get to play with with all of Rachel's delicious conglomerations with three fabulous girls every month. I am so excited and it is quite an honor.

What more could a girl ask for?




So, now you must check out the RVKC September paper kit, 'Into the Woods' (pictured above) immediately... hello! Totally rad - you do not want to miss this one! Brand new Sassafras Lass and Scenic Route, a tube of *98* pink felt alpha letters/numbers, that gorgeous green pom-pom trim in the photo above (and lots, lots more.) You can see the complete list of products included in the kit here.

September kits are up for sale RIGHT NOW, so run over to the RVKC etsy shop to get one while you still can!

** A big apology to my local non-scrapper friends who understandably thought that big news = preggo. So sorry. We're waiting a couple of years, so you can keep your pants on. And I'll do the same. :)

t.g.i.effer. /  by jen geigley


Dare 106 is up! Go check it out immediately. It's beyond cool. (my little project is in the photo above... you can click on it to see it better.)

Jamaica put together several mini-kits filled with woodgrain and letterpress papers that were too yummy to even touch.

And then us lucky girls got to make whatever we wanted with them. Way too much fun, I tell you. And so much gorgeousness from everyone. Totally perfect way to start off the long weekend.


And while we're on the subject of long weekends, Bo and I are off to Kansas City tomorrow. Last-minute trip but I'm super excited to shop (or at least browse) at good old Anthro and Paper Source and American Apparel and UO's and Betsey Johnson and my favorite kids' store in the world (thanks to Erin,) Lillibelle. We're definitely going to hit the Power and Light District, too. Bo and I have not had an entire day like this alone, together, for a long time. So we're very excited. Drinks and a nice dinner for two are in the plan.

On a less thrilling and more boring note...

I organized L's clothes yesterday. Which sounds daunting (and boring) but I like projects like that. (Why I am writing about this, I don't know... stop reading now. You have my permission.) I went through all of her clothes to see what we still need to buy for fall, and put the rest away in the pink storage bin. The jean count was lower than I expected. But we're ahead of the game in other areas. We already have her Christmas dress and two winter coats (that I bought at the end of the season last year.) And I discovered that her checkered Vans slip-ons finally fit now! I've waited for those babies to fit for months. I'm still getting used to this new clothing rotation. One of the hardest things for me to deal with is packing away these cute outfits after only one season because they're too small!? No fair, I say. I get sentimental when I don't think she had the chance to wear a certain shirt or dress enough times. And it's always crazy to see the new jeans in new, bigger sizes that look so 'huge' that I can never imagine them fitting. (And then a few months later, they do.) It's bizarre and I'm never ready for it. L is growing but I can never see it while it's happening and as a result, things sneak up on me.

I have some super exciting news that will be announced in just a couple of days! Like Monday, to be exact. Can't say anything yet, but it's big.

In the meantime, happy long weekend!

just stuff... :) /  by jen geigley


We bought the new Slipknot album today and so far, it's pretty sic. When you talk about Slipknot, you have to say 'sic' not 'sick.' It's maggot-speak. When it comes to albums like this, Bo and I always buy the CD instead of downloading from iTunes. It's cooler to own the artwork and the packaging. And the artwork for this one is killer. I keep listening to the songs over and over again. I like it that much. I really do.


And, see that 'I'm a Typist' thing on the right column of my blog? Click on it. (I keep forgetting to post about this.) See, there's this girl, Patty, who lives in New York, and she loves typography (and Yo Gabba Gabba.) She has started a blog called The Creative Type - it's a challenge blog for scrappers, but it's also a community and source of inspiration. There's a big team of us 'typists' over there - and we all love fonts, handwriting, lettering, stamps, letterpress, you name it. It's pretty rad and I'm very excited to be over there. If you haven't had a chance yet, go check it out! Right now, there are tons of projects inspired by old (and new) concert posters. There's some amazing work already, so you can only imagine what's ahead!

I grew up with these girls... /  by jen geigley


Our girls' weekend @ Jane's family cabin...

• 'it was on a Wednesday...'
• sparklers
• eating @ the muskie
• sunburns out on the dock
• cabin coffee
• the most fantastic retro dishes/glasses/towels ever
• sleeping bag slumber party
• camp fire
• s'mores
• blue UV
• real strawberry daiquiris
• laughing
• snorting
• a big wooden fish
• being rebellious
• no serious injuries
• zero inhibitions
• '3 weeks... I mean 3 blocks away'
• pedicures
• gorgeous sun + perfect breeze
• 90s remix
• no internet, no emails, no laptops
• no phone calls (except for short 'checking-in, we're still alive' calls)
• talking about good times
• tears over the sad times
• non-stop girl talk *

* just what we needed

fair time /  by jen geigley

Summer just wouldn't be right without visiting the Iowa State Fair. And while I'm not a big fan of walking around dusty, dirty fairgrounds while you're hot and sweaty, this year's weather proved to be much nicer than usual. It was a record-breaking year - over 1.1 million people attended (maybe because of my new least-favorite word - the staycation. I don't know why but I don't care for that word.)

Lotus and I shared a corn dog (amongst other treats) and we spent the day with Bo's family and our nieces and nephew from Chicago - it's their tradition to come to the state fair with us every year.

Here's Emma with a corn dog (a girl who loves fair food just as much as I do.)

Lilly with her trademark cheese pizza.

And cutie little Drew with an armful of temporary tattoos.

And we can't resist the things with the cut-outs for your face. (Notice poor Bo hoisting L's stroller up so she can get in the photo.)

We did not see the Shawn Johnson sculpture made of butter (but seeing a photo on the internet was fine with me.) If you're not from Iowa and have no idea what I'm talking about, there's a lady who carves a cow out of a huge block of butter each year at the fair, and this year she also carved a butter Shawn. (Google it if you think I'm making this up.)

We took L to 'Little Hands of the Farm' - super cute. You walk through the farm, pick vegetables, gather eggs and pretend to milk a cow - I think there was a rubber glove type thing hanging from the plastic cow's udder but we sorta skipped that part) and then harvest your crop for $1, which you can use to buy a treat at the 'store'...






... we used our $1 for a bomb pop.

And this may be my fave photo from our last day there... ('quit smiling and just give me the corn dog, mom!')

Can't wait to go back next year... actually, I can. It's fair to say that our family is fair-ed out for now.

Guest Designer for RVKC! /  by jen geigley

So yeah, I'm stoked to be the August guest designer for Red Velvet Kit Club. I was so excited when super talented Rachel asked me to play this month - and what an awesome, bright kit (with lots of Hambly and fun extras, like fridge magnets.)

Now I get to share what I made with all the loveliness...

Photos from the inside of our house. (This is the kind of thing I always wish I had taken photos of, but never do.)

And this is the house I grew up in. Totally a lot of mixed emotions with this one, but again, this is a photo that I'm so grateful to have. I can look and remember that the top window on the right was my bedroom window, and that there used to be a birch tree in the front yard that I used to sit under every day in the summer. And we lived across the street from the swimming pool...

And photos of L outside our house - had to document the place where she'll be growing up.

The street sign on our corner.

I made a little book to keep all my interior design inspiration stuff in (it's going to fill up quickly.)






You can still get your August and July Red Velvet kit (which is on sale) here! I've been having a blast playing with Kim's radical Vespa papers from last month ... because you know I have no shortage of Vespa-related photos laying around. Yikes.

I'm having a blast brainstorming ideas for Rachel's journaling class that I'm taking. It's jam-packed with ideas to get you started on the right track and I can't wait to get going. Fun fun FUN projects all around! Happy summer. (It's not over yet.)

holy corn dogs /  by jen geigley


Aaaaaa! Hope I didn't scare you. I'm super stoked to hear the new Slipknot album. Can't even wait. I'm determined to get tickets on the floor this time when they come to play Des Moines. Their live show is freaky heart-pounding insanity. Even though I've seen them play so many times, I have to see them live again.

Today is the first day of the Iowa State Fair. And this morning, they held The Corn Dog Chomp, an attempt to set a record for the most people simultaneously eating corn dogs. More than 10,000 people packed the Grandstand for the event but they only had 8,000 corn dogs, but then made 400 more, for a total of 8,400 (look at me - math whiz!) All the people traveling to the fair for the free 'dogs (oh yeah, I forgot to mention they were free) apparently caused huge traffic jams. Funny stuff. I love corn dogs. And Iowa.



(photos from www.iowastatefair.com)


And check out this state fair t-shirt from Smash.


I got MORE fun stuff in the mail last week... I'm seriously getting spoiled. This package comes with a fun project for The Dares in a couple of weeks. Totally fabulous.


And after almost a week of stalking Target, craptastic Wally-World and Toys'R'Us, we finally found the Yo Gabba Gabba toys that I've been talking about non-stop. Sorry everybody. But it was worth it - look how awesome they are! Lotus loves them so much. And now I can act out all the scenes (since I know them by heart.) Good thing season two starts soon. We're almost Gabba-ed out.

UPDATE: Lotus is famous.

That's it for today... peace out.

yo... /  by jen geigley

It was a nice, relaxing weekend. No big plans, just the three of us doing random stuff together. Like stalking Target and Wal-Mart (ugh, we normally avoid Wal-Mart but this is an exception) and Toys'R'Us for the new Yo Gabba Gabba Toys. I think we secretly want them more than Lotus.

We would have done more outdoorsy-type things if it hadn't been 95 degrees with crazy humidity and no breeze whatsoever every single day. I always envision our weekends full of picnics and walks around Gray's Lake and then I step outside and decide it's just not going to happen. Especially with a kid under the age of two. I hate it when she gets all sweaty in her stroller - it makes me feel bad.


I have decided that I feel totally weird without dark nail polish on at all times. I try to take a few days off here and there, but then it drives me crazy and I have to paint my nails again. I have never in my life cared about nail polish - maybe only on my toes but never my fingernails. I don't know what happened to me here!

I got turned on to the best blog ever. By my friend, Sarah. English Fail. My favorite post is the 'puppeys' and 'pappers' on the same sign. Someone stop me from running around town taking photos of misspelled signage...

I also updated my Facebook. I used to be so annoyed by Facebook. But then I saw how many people were on there and had to jump on the wagon. This weekend I found some long-lost girlfriends - from high school - that I haven't heard from in ten years and I seriously got a little tear in my eye when I found their photos. I can't wait to hear from them and find out what they're doing now. The internet really is the best.

radical, fanatical... /  by jen geigley

This is the story of the Vespas. It all started with this 1977 Vespa/Piaggio Bravo. Fixed it up and sold it. (Bo and his dad, that is.) And then they were hooked.


There was the 1975 Vespa 150 Super. And a 1980 P12SX.


And a 2006 Vespa Granturismo 200L. (Okay, I don't think there are plans to sell this yet.)


You must check out the Lebowkski t-shirt on Bo. And his new Lebowski plates. ('Mark it 8,' if you're unfamiliar or if you think it says 'Mr. Kit.')


And finally, (actually, I'm sure it's not 'finally', because I think this definitely qualifies as a new addiction) a 1980 P200e with Cozy sidecar. Maybe a keeper, too.


And of course, now we're tempted to get this for L...


I don't know what's next. I just don't know. It's fun to observe, though. For me and the neighbors. I bought this mug at Starbucks to celebrate the addiction, and because it looks cool and it was on sale.

Let's see... this week was filled with fun things in the mail. I love real mail.

And I sent some back.


And bought a couple of books. I still want to sew something. Successfully. I have stitch-and-bitches that I can join. Cool ones. So this is a goal of mine.

Got this rad fortune collecting journal at UO's a few months ago, and just started filling it up. I'm a serious pack rat when it comes to this type of thing, so my journal has a pretty healthy head start.


The class photos for Get Inspired (in November) are up - you can check out my mini book class here.


And big news for August!?! I'm the guest designer over here. Yup. Pretty stoked. I'll be posting photos soon of projects I've made with this month's kit... hurry and get yours here before they're gone!