October kit is up!

Hurry hurry hurry over to the Red Velvet Kit Club etsy shop to get yours! October's kit is everything you could want ... a little spooky and a lot fun.

Bright, funky and jam-packed with gorgeous American Crafts Grey Thickers, brand new Hambly, American Crafts, Creative Imaginations scalloped papers, Sassafras, lots of journaling tags of all sizes, adorable dots/hounds tooth fabric and waaaay more than I've listed here.

It doesn't matter if you have summer, fall or Halloween projects - this kit will rock them all.

And don't miss the RVKC clearance sale! You'll find paper packs, full kits and all sorts of other items at a super discounted price. Check it early and snag your faves before they're gone.

And a big hooray for this month's Guest Designer, Kim Brimhall! Love this girl. Hope you're ready for the scrap she's about to bring. I love her style and can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve.

cherry cola, c-o-l-a, cola...

Yesterday we went to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch. We had to re-visit the 'how tall this fall' apple. Look here to see how little she was last year. She looks so tall now!

Spent some quality time with Grandma Carol...


... and Grandpa John.

Took lots of cute photos of the L and her little cousin, Oliver. They're pretty good buddies and they make quite the pair.

Dad helped pick out the perfect pumpkin. And I have no idea why I didn't buy any apples but I may go get some tonight because it totally put me in the mood to make apple pie. That and grae's yummy photos. Where's my piece of apple crisp, Greta? (I kid.)

Also yesterday, the L said 'thank you' - 100% on her own. Without any prompting. I always ask her to say thank you throughout the day, but yesterday morning, she woke up (earlier than we would have liked) and so we stuck her back in bed with us and flipped on the tellie to SpongeBob. (In case that might allow us to sneak in a few extra zzz's or at least gradually ease ourselves into our Sunday morning. We will take what we can get.) Anyway, Bo pulled up the covers over Lo's legs and she said 'thank you!' Pretty sweet. And amazing to see her learn so quickly.

Scored some incredibly yellow pants from J. Crew (not this exact shade of yellow, but close) for $12.99 on sale. I was asking the sales girl what colors I should pair with the yellow (because all I could come up with was gray or navy) and she said that this fall, it's all about cream. Who knew? And how amazing is that blue clutch+shoes with gray?

Worked on the very first part of Steady Hand Faulty Heart. Which I meant to do during the summer months, but it works equally well for fall. I was excited to use a real leaf. (And the tag from my tea, pieces of a Fossil bag that I've been saving forever, and some pretty yellow lace trim that I got in a RVKC kit awhile back.) I'm having a blast with this and hope to work on more pages this week. Like a bunch more.

Couldn't resist this totally rad Halloween crafty kit from Elsie. I mean, there's so much to love. Hand-illustrated shrinky-dink ghosts, embroidery patterns, felt ghost garland patterns, and the cutest Halloween craft paper I've seen yet.

But must hit the hay now. Even though I have that weird second (or third) wind going. It is 1:45 a.m. and I've been working on a set of modern fall fun invites for a freelance project. And I've been listening The Kinks since 9:30 while I've been working. I think I've only heard two songs more than once. It's kind of put me in a nice mood. But must sleep now. (Because the Kinks never-ending playlist just abruptly transitioned to Korn. That is my cue.)

today...

Lotus and I woke up this morning and went downtown for the Farmers Market (and to visit our friends at Craft Saturday.) It was a beautiful sunny morning and I know our opportunities to do this kind of thing are fading fast as fall days get closer, so I was glad we went.

L loved the pumpkins and the apples and the music and the dogs/puppies that we saw along the way.

I picked up these retro beauties from friend and crafter Lara while visiting the peeps at Craft Saturday. Just look at the adorable do's on these girls and the glossy sheen to their hair. Sweet. I may have my mom attempt a couple of these tunic dresses for L. Maybe she could wear them over jeans. But mostly I'm just a fan of the illustrations.

Also picked this pin cushion up from Lara - I'd had my eye on it for a long time.

Went on a quickie excursion to Goodwill and found these vintage notebooks with lots of cool yellowed ruled paper. Three different shades, even - red, green and blue. Even the covers are cool. Score. So glad whoever found these didn't throw them out. Nerds like me want them.

Made some progress on my wrecked journal.

And today Lo had one of the cutest outfits on ever, so I had to take a few more pics. (Well, she had different shoes on earlier in the day that weren't quite so neon green+blue. Those were cuter.) Did you know that they make skinny jeans for babies/toddlers? They do. These are from the Gap. Someday she'll look back at the things I made her wear and roll her eyes. But that's just part of a mother-daughter relationship. The agony.

They do accentuate the diaper butt. Still awfully cute.

love many things...

Challenge #3 is up at The Creative Type - check it. It's very simple - quotations. Use a quote in the background of your page. I love this quote by Van Gogh so that is what I used.

Love what you do, do what you love.

That's what I think about when people wonder why I like to stay up late and make stuff or scrap or paint or attempt to sew.

It's what I like to do, people. Can't help it.


And check out this super sweet preview of the October kit from Red Velvet Kit Club. Drool + yum. Houndstooth, awesome brights, what appears to be some very cool journaling blocks (fork+knife+spoon!) and that orange scalloped frame is a custom vinyl scalloped rub-on made just for RVKC. Plus Hambly and Sassafras, people. You can get yours from the Etsy shop on October 1st - be ready to pounce! Also available will be paper packs from previous kits on clearance - so if you missed one over the summer, now's your chance to pick one up at a very nice price. :)

Season two of Yo Gabba Gabba started this week, which is cause for celebration at our house. (Yes, of course we're still celebrating L walking!) But we're also happy about not watching season one over and over again. This show is still L's absolute favorite and nothing else will turn her frown upside-down when she's not having an especially good day. Great music all around this week. Like great. We'll have to sit and watch these new episodes over and over again (like we did last season...it's true, children like repetition) so us adults can analyze the tiny details. Like wasn't DJ Lance Rock's collar and cuffs on his sleeves white before, not yellow? Did Mark Mothersbaugh cut his hair? Is the Brobee costume new? And the sky behind Muno's land... didn't it used to be purple, not blue? (I don't mind the changes, Gabba folks... just sayin'... I noticed.)

I'm really tempted to try and pull off this Party in my Tummy cake at L's 2nd birthday party. I'm guessing that the food on top is fondant ... the grandparents may be confused by this, though. A log cake is not very appetizing, I'll admit. In fact, this one almost resembles a ham. It's very Ren and Stimpy... it's big, it's heavy, it's wood... it's better than bad, it's good.

I am going to attempt to make a Foofa costume for L to wear this Halloween. It's going to be more of a sweatpants/stuffed sweatshirt version with a felt collar + flower, but it should work.

Speaking of making things... I hung out with my girls last night and we actually sewed our aprons. We even gave them names, which have already escaped my tired brain. The whole process may have been a lot more challenging if Cat hadn't been there to guide us. (a.k.a. master seamstress/clothing designer extraordinaire/student at Parsons. Yes, that Parsons.) My end result was a little sloppy but I love it and already want to make more. There's so many cool prints out there (and Amy keeps sending me fabric porn) and I just want to keep going. But even better than my finished project was a whole night of laughing and goofing around with three very fun girls. We originally met through a local moms' group, and our common bond was based around our kids. But now it's so much more than that. Which is pretty cool.

she walks

Today, it finally happened. Lotus walked, all by herself. No hand holding, no candy corn bribes, she just totally did it. And once she started, she was making the rounds all over the entire house, every room, non-stop. The kid has endurance.

Now, I realize this is a completely normal milestone for kids. But this day is extra special for us and we've waited an extra long time to see these first steps. I didn't blog about this before because I was too sad about it (and I felt a lot of guilt) but last February, right after L's first birthday, I fell while carrying her and broke her leg. It was horrible. It could have been worse, absolutely, but I had to carry this little girl into the doctor's office and get x-rays and it was not a good time. I later found out I had cracked my own ribs from the fall, but that was nothing compared to seeing my little girly in pain, in a tiny pink cast.

Understandably the broken bone delayed the whole learning to walk thing. But we didn't know how long it would take. (She is nearly 20 months old - lots of toddlers are walking by their first birthday.) Our doc assured us that she had healed completely, that she would be perfectly fine and would walk in her own time, but I talked him into referring a physical therapist, and ironically her first visit to our house was today. She just came to observe Lotus while playing and asked me a bunch of questions. So no real therapy occurred today, but that's apparently all it took.

Bo got home from work and we did our usual pass back and forth, 'walk to daddy, walk back to mommy' (which usually isn't all that successful.) But then I sent her down the hallway and that was it! She was so graceful, and fast, and could go really far without falling down. Fists clenched, brow furrowed with concentration. It was a sight to see.

We went out for ice cream to celebrate.

And I can't wait for tomorrow. I'll know be chasing her everywhere. :)

Beaverdale Fall Fest...

Come see us from 9:00-4:00 this Saturday (tomorrow) at Beaverdale Fall Fest.


I'll be bringing the kids' birthday t-shirts, and lots of new long-sleeved fall colors.

Some knotted bracelets. (Give one to a friend for good karma!)

And ribbon hair clips/bows for the little girlies. I've been getting ready all week. Or for the past two days really. Because I always procrastinate.


Erin and I are going out tonight (on assignment, ahem) and then chilling at her place even later to get crafty and finish up anything else that we have time for before tomorrow. Glad to be working + having fun with my P.I.C. (partner in craft.) It's more fun to do these types of things together (especially @ craft fairs... a second person comes in handy during bathroom/lunch breaks.) Check out Erin's super rad recycled vinyl goods here. Or come see us tomorrow.

Weather's looking great and it's going to be a fun day - stop by and say hi!

random notes...

First of all, Death Magnetic has swept my little metal-loving heart of its feet. You must understand, Metallica might have been my very first love. Maybe just a little scary for a sixth (seventh?) grade small town girl in 1991, but I was into it. Bad. I bought the black album, the best-selling heavy metal album of all time, with babysitting money. My first cassette tape. I have seen them play live many times, and they'll always be one of my favorite bands. But now, they go ahead and put out heavy metal perfection. (And I'll admit, I was skeptical and figured I wouldn't like this album. I did not like St. Anger.) But if I could travel back in time (yes, I'm imagining time travel again) and listen to this album back then, I'd never guess it would be put out 20-some years after Master of Puppets. (Did that make sense?) They're back. Old school Metallica ... fast and heavy and perfect.

This is cool. The Esquire e-ink (as in electric ink) issue. We picked up the last one on the rack. Impressive. See it in action here. Neat-o.

The Sequined Shoe. This is my new fave Etsy shop with tons of fun creative little things to make you happy, all made by the talented Kara.

(Hope you don't mind that I jacked your photo, Kara, but wanted to show off how awesome your stuff is.)


This Saturday, lovely Erin and I will be selling our goods at the Beaverdale Fall Festival. Never done this before, so wish us luck, come say hi if you're in the area - and pray for nice weather.


Here's some pics of this weird purpley-pink sky a couple of nights ago. That I took just for fun. It's fall, if you haven't noticed. I actually sort of hadn't. This whole time I've been thinking we'd have one more week where it was really hot and in the 80s-90s. I didn't put L's summer tank tops + shorts away just because I was so sure it would get really hot again. We didn't have enough of a transition this season, and as much as I dig sweaters and jeans, I wasn't quite ready for fall.


I've been illin' for the past week (poor L too) so we've ended up watching quite a few movies. Bo and I, that is. Lotus doesn't really have the patience to watch movies with us and they're usually not suitable for little eyes and ears anyway. We watched No Country for Old Men (Javier Bardem has me officially creeped out) and Dan in Real Life and the last few episodes in season four of Entourage. So feeling a little bit more caught up in some way and had some nice relaxing couch time with my dude. Which is nice when you're not feeling so hot.


And I've been wearing my glasses more. Like I'm supposed to. Helps with the headaches. And they help me see. I took this photo for the first part of Rachel's 'Steady Hand, Faulty Heart' and I'm super antsy to get going. I've been meaning to get started on this new art journal project for too long and I can't wait to sit down and go forth. And I'm totally annoyed that I haven't had time to paint my nails dark again. It bugs me when they're plain. Maybe later tonight.

I mailed off my 'wreck this journal' yesterday. I couldn't find my masking tape or duct tape so I used this bright yellow electrical tape that I used one year for Halloween to make Uma Thurman/Kill Bill customized Asics for my costume. Um, what was I saying? Yeah. I taped up my journal yesterday. Mailed it to myself...

...and it came back today in surprisingly good shape. I was kind of bummed.

So I ripped off the tape, hoping to do a little more damage. It worked. And the instructions say that you have to take it everywhere with you, so I know that will cause more wreckage. Life in the diaper bag is dangerous.

I also cracked the spine.

(Text in the photos is backwards because I'm taking these pictures on my Mac. Tongue is out because I'm serious about destruction.) I'll be posting more photos of my wrecking process on Flickr if you're bored and want to check it out.

That is all for now. Not too exciting, huh. But this is my life. ;)

September goodness...

I got my September Red Velvet kit in the mail a couple days ago... oh yeah, I already blogged about my excitement, didn't I. Anyway. Have you seen the re-design of the RVKC blog? It's awesome if you haven't checked it out yet - my girls Michelle and Marie have absolutely rocked it. And Theresa's gallery + fun tutorial is up over there already, so go check it all out.

I had so much fun with this kit and these Sassafras + Scenic Route papers were just too perfect for making pages about the L. So I used a lot of her photos this time - so many cute stories to tell and to add to her book.

L's fave word this summer has been 'flower' and she wants to pick everything she sees, even weeds.


We have this awesome sculpture ('El Alma del Ebro,' by Juame Plesnsa) in downtown Des Moines at Gateway Park and it makes for some rad pictures when you stand inside...


Total sweetness when she wakes up in the morning, and these pj's are just my favorite. They were labeled on the tag as 'yoga loungewear' which just totally cracks me up and they're the softest material ever. Wish I had some. (Okay, enough about the pajamas.)


This page is for Dare 107. Which is about telling a lie.


And this might have been the most fun project of all. Rachel had mentioned seeing some Martha Stewart paper covered clipboards, and then I ran across some more at a local vintage shop where they used old paper and the glossed over it with some kind of sealant. So this is just a paper collage + that adorable green pom-pom trim glued to the clip and then I covered the collage with clear contact paper (included in this month's kit) to keep the paper from getting messed up. Totally cute and durable.

So yeah, this time of year really gets me in the mood to make stuff. It also gives me a good excuse to hide away at my desk downstairs with a warm Starbucks beverage of some sort and listen to some fab tunes. Still listening to the new Slipknot (yes, metal is part of my creative soundtrack) and the new Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst and the mix that Kim sent me. (But Kim, if you read this, I gotta get the playlist from you because I can't see the artists or song titles - and I have to know who sings the one that goes 'oh my god I can't believe it, I've never been this far away from home.' Very catchy, that one.)

So going along with my it's-fall-let's-make-something mood, I'm super stoked to get started on an exciting project that Rachel has dreamed up. Check out her blog post here to see some totally inspiring photos of what I'm talking about. It's an online art journaling class - the first installment started last month and now we're on part two. It's glorious and I've poured over her ideas/photos/writings/materials over the last few weeks and I'm just hoping to set aside a few hours to go crazy fun with it. Ack. I can hardly wait. If this sounds like something that would be fun for you too, check it out here and join me in this super freeing creative experience. Trust me, let Rachel be your guide.

9.10.08 (ode to Bo)

Today is Bo's birthday (he's 35 but you'd never know it.) So I'm posting today all about him. He'll probably be embarrassed... but anyway. He's awesome and you should know why.

Things about Bo that kick ass:

He's a loyal friend and high-kicker.

He's an amazing daddy. And he's funny.

He loves Vespas and the Big Lebowski.

He's a great listener and loves quiet walks on the beach.

He is extremely talented at pretty much everything. It's honestly quite impressive.
Like skateboarding.

and kayaking.

and surfing.

and bowling.

and off-road uni-cycling.

and snowboarding.

and biking on his Surly.

and building sand castles.

But most of all (and you knew this was coming, so go ahead and say it... awwww) he's an amazing husband + BFF. He's an optimist. He doesn't mind helping with dishes and laundry and after he's done, he still does all the outdoor yard work/chores/car washing. I am in awe of his design skillz and his uncanny ability to always be on top of what's new and cool in furniture/cars/environmentally-friendly things/architecture/design/technology/everything. He knows me well enough to crack a joke just when I'm hitting my breaking point. And laughs at me when all I can bear to do is smirk and roll my eyes. He's a pleasure to be around, has great taste in music and is hilarious. Not to mention handsome.

I totally married up.

Happy birthday, nerd. ;D

and so...

Quick Labor Day weekend recap...

Bo and I went to Kansas City minus the little one and had a great time. We spent a good portion of the day at the Plaza. Where I was majorly drooling over every single damn thing in Anthropologie. Ugh. I'll bring my sleeping bag, just let me move into the store already.



I managed to resist most of my temptations at Anthro, but convinced Bo that I had to get these... (now I shall daydream about me and the L baking cookies together at Christmas... don't gag.)


Spent too much at Paper Source and wanted so much more than I bought.

I can't even talk about it. I had been eyeing these 'inanimate' things for, um, forever... might be years, even.

...but they were out of the 'shit' eraser again. Do they still make the 'shit' eraser?


Found this little dear (and I know that deer is spelled deer) on sale at UOs and decided it was perfect for Lotus' room. And it really is. It looks so great on her wall and she adores it.



Hung out at the Power and Light District downtown. Which we loved. Although I don't quite understand the western girly cut-outs up against the skyline, but they have concerts there (all genres.) We had dinner there and just chilled outside and enjoyed our 'alone-ness.' And I while I could just leave it at that, I must be honest and admit that Bo and I quickly realized that we really missed having little L along for the ride. We like to enjoy the fun stuff with her. She probably wouldn't have made it through the entire day w/o a series of major meltdowns - that is the way children work - food + drink + rest = happy, which can be hard to achieve when you're away from home. But I'm well aware that it was very good for us to get away and necessary to our sanity, and that your foundation as a family has to be rock solid if you want a chance in hell of out-smurfing the 50% chance (or higher) of the d-word. So I'm glad we're working it.


Obsessed with Keri Smith's 'wreck this journal.' It is surely the most exciting thing I have ever owned, I think.


Along with these beauties. The first two are PopInk and the second is a set of 30 postcards by Adrian Tomine. I'm in love.


I joined twitter this week (despite warnings that twitter = crack) and convinced several of my friends to do the same. Because if you're going down, you should absolutely drag your friends with you.


I have a serious addiction to clothes from Free People. I'm even addicted to their catalogs and emails. It's bad and and oh so good.


I had such good intentions with these fat quarters but no solid plans and so I have just been admiring them stacked neatly in my Amy Butler sewing basket.

Luckily, I have embarked on a group project of sorts with Amy, Catherine and Sarah. They have promised to help me through my first (maybe second) sewing project since 7th grade. (Where we only made one tote bag. What kind of home ec class is that anyway? It's not my fault that I suck at sewing.) We shopped for fabric last night and we're using a pattern from my 'A is for apron' book. We'll see how that turns out.
* Group photo to come. Even if mine turns out to be a dish towel.


I also got happy happy overseas happy mail over the weekend. Super sweet, thanks so much girl! With a bonus soundtrack included. Which I've been listening to ever since. (Along with the new Bright Eyes, or Conor Oberst, or whatever.)


Also found the parts to make another mobile like the one I made for L. This pink+brown one is for my friend Jane. Who is giving it to another friend as a baby shower gift. I'm thinking of throwing a couple more out on my Etsy shop if you know anyone who would be interested in something like that.


My 'bio' piece went up on The Creative Type a couple of days ago. (Exit light, enter night. Take my hand...) It was our first official Typist assignment and a fun way to introduce the Design Team. Stay tuned for rad new stuff on Monday - I promise, you'll love what you see.


Go check out kc's new online shop - love the name so much. Of course she's got some pretty amazing stuff out there - letterpress sweetness from Elise, journals, a little bit of night owl and egg press, and even some of my tags from the etsy shop. And lots more. So go!

Thanks for all the kind words in response to my RVKC news. I'm super excited to get the September kit in the mail (fingers crossed) hopefully today!

I can't wait to put all that NEW Sassafrass to good use.

There are still a few September kits for sale in the RVKC etsy shop - hurry up and get one!

Off to hopefully scrap tonight, maybe do Dare 107 and some stuff for The Creative Type... have a great weekend!