Five Senses Friday

) seeing (
The ocean on Sunday looked like something from a movie, vibrant aqua and crystal clear.  I couldn't believe how beautiful it was!  Actually, the beach could have stood in for all five senses this week, it was just that good.

) feeling (
Flattered at having one of my flickr photos faved by Creature Comforts.  I have no idea how she found me, but I'm drooling over her photostream and her blog now... and I'm totally digging the fact that she faved me! 

) tasting (
As far as New Yorkers are concerned, when you say pizza, Domino's doesn't even qualify.  Now, their Cinna-stix on the other hand, I could eat by the truckload.

) hearing (
Infomercials in my sleep.  We fell asleep watching TV, so I wound up dreaming I was doing Zumba and loving it!  Talk about subliminal advertising.  When I woke up to Body Gospel ("Combine the power of your faith with your desire to lose weight...Let the spirit move you..."), I thought for sure I must be dreaming, but no...this is for real.  ?! 

) smelling (
Um.  Can I say "the beach?"  Sorry, must have had my nose off this week!

Luggage tags and a birthday card

This post is a bit belated, but before we get too far into August, I have one more July birthday project to share.  This one was for my bestest friend, Dawn.   Dawn has been an inspiration me in more ways than I can count. She's forever growing, expanding, and celebrating her latest, well-deserved success. She's been there through it all, ever since we became insta-friends 13 years ago, and I'm so grateful for her friendship, the memories we've created together, the crazy adventures we've had, and for the beautiful woman she is inside and out.

One the many things that adds to Dawn's fascinating character, is that she never stands still for too long. Whether it's a new degree, a new job or a new hobby, she always has something new and exciting in the works. Right now, she's planning a trip to Morocco and Spain, and I decided to make her a pair of cute luggage tags to celebrate her journey.

Whenever I think of Morocco, I can't help but think of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, and that exotic, 1940s elegance of Casablanca, so that sparked my inspiration for the design.  I also came across these cool old tags at Fresh Vintage that she scored on an ebay auction...

I love the colors, the funky shapes, the simple illustration, the fonts... I just love me some vintage.


So, with a little fusion of ideas, I came up with these:

I started with some vintage travel posters of places she's been, like Australia and (of course) NY, and the places she's planning on going.  I downloaded some old stamp brushes for Photoshop to give it a parcel-y feel, and created a shipping label so her cargo can always find it's way home safely.

On the other side, I used an old map texture in the background, and added her initials on top.

The tag itself is actually a manila folder.  I couldn't find any manila tags in quantities less than 100 (well, I probably could have if I didn't wait till the last minute for everything), but I also needed to be able to print some of the graphics directly on the tag, like the map and the postal stamps.  So I printed it on the folder, cut out a custom shape for the tag and "scrapbooked" everything together.  Luckily, we have a laminating machine at work so I was able to laminate it for free.  I think it was a little too thick though, because it took about seven passes through the laminator and I still couldn't get it to seal off right up to the edge.  Oh well :)  The silver rings are binder rings, which I had (98 of) left over from another project.  They're easy to open and close so I thought they'd work perfectly to attach the tag to a suitcase.


Since I found all those paper supplies I forgot I had, I made her a birthday card, too.  One of the things I found was a package of plain cards Dawn and I bought maybe 10 years ago.  One day we decided to buy ourselves some Crayola watercolors and some rubber stamps, and we went to the park and painted cards for a few hours like little kids.  Weren't we always getting ourselves into some random thing or another?  Oh Dawn, you live too far away now!!  I miss our shenanigans! {sigh}  Anyway, that's what I used for the base of the card.  I love that it has that little piece of history.

 My other favorite part is the flower.  I had this plain pink flower, but I thought it was a little blah so I added some embroidery floss to punch it up.  First I poked a hole in it so I could attach it to the card later, and to hold it in place while I glued the thread on...

then, I took one piece of floss and looped it around and around, following the shape of the flower.

When it was dry, I poked a hole in the card and attached the flower with a button and some pink floss.

And there it is, handmade with love and best wishes for a beautiful year ahead, wherever your journey takes you!

Five Senses Friday

) smelling (
Ripe, red strawberries for the frozen yogurt pops.  The grocery store was out of raspberries, so I improvised.  Man were they good!

) seeing (
The Stand...well, the first part of it anyway.  It's a million hours long.

) tasting (
My Starbucks summer favorite, Java Chip Frappucino.  I should master the art of making this.

) feeling (
Grateful for all the free stuff that's been coming my way: books, clothes, iPhone bumper (technically that won't be here till September, but free is free!)

) hearing (
It's been a loungy kind of week. It all started with Sunday night Sinatra, then there was Melody Gardot and Adele

Happy, happy Friday!

Chocolate-Raspberry Frozen Yogurt Pops

I've been slowly pecking away at Throwing Out Fifty Things, and one of the cool parts about it is finding things I completely forgot I had...like popsicle molds I bought eons ago to make Tequila Sunrise ice pops one Cinco de Mayo.   Now, I can't leave the poor things neglected on a shelf while it's 97 sweltering degrees outside, can I?  Of course not!  So today I'll be making these:

{Chocolate-Raspberry Frozen Yogurt Pops recipe from Eating Well}

And here's how I'm making out so far with my fifty things:

1. A stack of board games
2. An empty air mattress box
3. A vase
4. A bunch of crap from my night stand, including my old glasses which I can donate
5. A box full of clothes (and a lot more to go)
6. Sold an old computer.  Free money, love that :)

Six down, forty-four to go!

Five Senses Friday

) tasting (
Two rounds of mimosas, deLISHious chocolate chip Belgian waffle and a couple of orders of Mary's Ta-Ta's (Hamburger Mary's grown up name for tater tots)

) seeing (
Cleaning out my night stand, I found a pile of summer recipes I tore out of magazines who-knows-when.  No idea why they were in there, but now I can have fun making a menu for the week!

) hearing (
This is weird, but I was dropping eggs into water to boil and those streams of tiny bubbles coming out sounded like little chicks chirping.  Vegan anyone??

) smelling (
You know how, when your neighbors grill out, it smells SO GOOD you almost want to knock on the door with plate in hand?  Well that smell was coming from our house this week, a lot, since we didn't have any afternoon thunderstorms to contend with.  Empty plates welcome.

) feeling (
Ready to start recreating.  REE-creating, REC-reating, either way.  Happy Friday!

Five Senses Friday

 

) hearing (
Like a Virgin, as performed by my Hero for a Cranium Humdinger. Hilarious!

) tasting (
Shirby's homemade strawberry milkshake

) seeing (
A picture of the sunset I would have seen, if I had been the one to stop for groceries.

) smelling (
Fresh basil, one of my all time favorite scents. Instant happiness.

) feeling (
A lot less sleep deprived this week


Have a beautiful weekend!

Barnes & Noble on a Budget

{Photo: dcfox}

Who doesn't love a wide-open Saturday? In between wonderful weekends of holidays, birthday parties and family functions came a whole day with nothing on the agenda. I had plenty stockpiled on the list of things I'd like to do "when I have time," but for some reason, I wasn't really feeling any of it. The only thing I knew needed to happen was planting our ridiculously fast-growing sunflowers in the ground. First thing in the morning, I went outside and started digging. If there's one thing I know after this attempt at "gardening" in Florida in July, it's that people in cooler climates have little to be jealous of this time of year. Wow. The heat was atrocious.

Zapping my energy didn't do much for my lack of the direction for the rest of the day, so I accepted that, while some days are for expending, some are for absorbing, and this day was definitely of the absorbing kind. For anyone that hasn't read The Artist's Way, this is what Julia Cameron might refer to as needing to "fill the well," and the perfect thing I needed to fill my well was a nice afternoon in the A/C at Barnes & Noble, or Starbucks, browsing blogs on the free wifi while sipping a frozen coffee confection. Except that, really, the wifi isn't free - it's included with a $17 cup of coffee. Since I'm a bit broke at the moment, and I can't honestly think of a Starbucks within 25 miles, I packed up my computer and headed to the library.

I'm not ashamed to admit I'm a geek. As a kid, I used to love summer reading clubs and the free events my mom used to take me to at the library. For as long as I can remember, I've loved coming home with a stack of books almost too big to carry, and this hasn't changed all that much. Without anything specific in mind, I wandered up and down the rows of books and pulled out anything that caught my eye, then spent the next few hours perusing the pages of craft magazines, cookbooks, relationship books, DIY, and who knows what else. I'd even snatched up a salsa DVD I spotted out of the corner of my eye. Welcome to my randomness! But somehow, it all seemed to fit that day.

For instance, I read some advice for couples to recharge their individual batteries every day, a little like filling the well. It's hard to give when you're all tapped out, and it's important, even if just for a few minutes a day, to have you space - go for a walk, listen to music, do yoga - whatever it is that helps you unwind. Then you're more refreshed and better able to handle the tasks that drain energy all day.

I borrowed two issues of Paper Crafts magazine, thanks to my friend Gail, who reignited my interest when she started her brand new Etsy Shop and blog, Simply Oney. Last week, I found boxes full of supplies I totally forgot I had and now I want to see what I can do with them.

Speaking of uncovering forgotten stuff, I picked up a book called Throw Out Fifty Things. I can't remember exactly where, but recently I read that the feeling you get from clearing out space and getting rid of old things is very similar to the way you feel from getting new things. This is good news for those of us in a recession. I don't know about everyone else, but the money trees in my backyard don't seem to bearing beaucoup fruit these days, if ya know what I mean. Might be the sandy soil or something. But instead of bumming out about not buying new stuff, I think I'd like to try getting rid of some old stuff and feeling a little bit lighter. Maybe I'll even enter the Summer Home Slim Down Challenge. For inspiring ideas on simplifying and living lighter and with intention, check out Makeunder My Life and Small Notebook.

For a day that started with little motivation, I'm happy with how I made out. That was the best zero dollars I've spent in a while. (Alright, I had 50 cents in fines, which the librarian kindly reminded me I didn't have to pay then. I paid it anyway.) Now I better go start practicing salsa for my So You Think You Can Dance audition.