Cal Academy Layout

Layout of our visit to the California Academy of Sciences:


I wanted to scrapbook the pictures from our museum visit, but ended up with a layout that I feel like is less artistic. It accomplishes the goal of telling the story, but I have this notion in my head that scrapbook layouts should be works of art. It's hard to get away from that when that's the message I feel like I get from scrapbook magazines.

Anyway, I usually collect various paper things when we travel (brochures, tickets, maps, etc.), but most times don't actually incorporate those things into layouts. I still don't have the map and ticket from the museum on the front of this layout (except those butterflies punched from a second ticket and a cropped tag from a souvenir T-shirt), but I added a glassine envelope to the back where I could stick those things, as well as a tag with journaling.


I should work on incorporating more stuff I collect on outings onto my layouts so that I don't end up with junk (if it's on a layout, it's meaningful; if it doesn't it's junk).

14.5 Weeks Layout

I feel like the colorful background (made out of washi tape!) doesn't really mesh with what I ended up doing with the rest of the layout, but meh. Layout got done and that's what's important.

Decorated Wooden Clothespins

I had some thin strips of Basic Grey paper leftover from when I finished my 2010 Week in the Life mini book that I couldn't bear to throw away, so . . . decorated wooden clothespins it is!


I first covered each side with washi tape, then added a strip of paper down the middle. These will be useful on my message board!

Week in the Life - May 2010

Last May, I took a stab at the whole Week in the Life thing that Ali Edwards does every year. It was kind of challenging getting pictures of everything because I just don't even think about taking pictures of some of the little things that happen during the day. And honestly, it was kind of a chore pulling out the camera so often. Also, my time spent at work is a big black hole because I'm not bustin' out my camera at work and being all like, "Hold on, I have to take a picture for scrapbooking purposes."

I bought this Basic Grey Perhaps Collection Pack maybe a couple years ago and have been hoarding it:


I finally decided to suck it up and cut into the papers to finish my Week in the Life mini book:





















I think I'm going to do Week in the Life for the same week in May this year, and this time I'll try to pick a format that won't take so long for me to finish.

Cheeseburger for Two

Over the weekend, Greg saw on the Joe's Farm Grill Facebook page that they were doing a Valentine's cheeseburger for two special during Valentine's day weekend. We were intrigued, so we went there for lunch on Sunday and ordered it:


I'm not sure what I expected from a 1 lb patty, because I was surprised when the order came out. I guess it's one thing to read in words that it's a 1 lb patty and another to actually see what a 1 lb patty means for your plate (i.e., it takes up the whole thing). It was pretty tasty though.

We also got a couple cupcakes from The Coffee Shop next to Joe's Farm Grill. Although both cupcakes (red velvet and chocolate chip) were quite yummy, they seemed to be smaller than I remember from last time, as well as a tad pricier. At the current size and price, I now put it on par with Sprinkles, whereas the first time I said it was better value than Sprinkles. I still put taste above Sprinkles, but at the same time, I haven't had Sprinkles in a while. Also, I don't profess to be a cupcake connoisseur.

Valentine Tag Collage Card

I got my hands on these Vintage Valentine Tags and Valentine Milk Bottle Caps by Shabby Chic Crafts from a giveaway and made this card for Greg:


I'll admit that my collage-style tags on the card were inspired by this card I saw on the Elle's Studio blog (they sell tags too - gasp!).

In other news . . . am I supposed to sweat so much after walking on the treadmill for 40 minutes at only 2 mph? I feel like that's weak sauce.

Fabric Basket Bed and Free Photo Booth

The other day, while I was working on a project in my craft room, I thought I heard the cat (Nina) in my room, but when I looked around, I couldn't see her. Generally, if I don't see her, she's probably not there, because there aren't really any places to hide - even for a cat - in my craft room. I was mistaken, however, because I eventually figured out where she was:


On an unrelated note, Smeeks, which is this cute boutique-y candy shop at Central and Camelback, is doing free photo booth pictures for couples on Valentine's Day. Normally, I think it's like $2 or $3 to do the photo booth (which, yes, isn't like a ton of money, but free is better). I was pretty excited to see a free photo booth opportunity, but I don't think we will make it there on Valentine's Day since we were planning on doing dinner that night.

Bling Theme Card Exchange

Theme for card exchange this time was bling. I picked up some supplies while we were in the East valley last weekend:


Sunlit Pool glitter paper, Reminisce
Sienne Ledger Silhouette, Paper Reverie, Making Memories
Cool Cantaloupe cardstock, Bazzill
Merry-Go-Round, Carnival Collection, Crate Paper

Such pretty papers. I really enjoy just looking at all the papers at the scrapbook store.

My finished card:


The make-and-take card:


And a collage of the other cards exchanged:

Baby K #1 Thank You Card Papers

Picked up some patterned paper at Scrapbooks, Etc to use in making baby thank you cards. I was looking forward to finding out gender so that I could solidify my thank you card-making plans. I went in with the idea of picking out all pink patterned papers, but came out with a different color scheme:


Creative Imaginations
Tickled Pink "Wonderful" Paper, Fine and Dandy by Jen Allyson, My Mind's Eye
Lace, Restoration Collection, Crate Paper

Maybe I am jumping the gun, but I'm going to start working on these soon. Heh.

California Academy of Sciences

After several years of going to the Bay area without visiting Golden Gate Park, we finally went a few weekends ago. Greg's aunt, Kris, took us to the California Academy of Sciences, which had some neat exhibits, including a Rainforests of the World exhibit.

Greg took some neat photos while there:






And a sunset photo as we left the museum:

Retro Blue Bathroom

Greg's aunt, Kris, has this cool retro bathroom in her 60s-era house. It is decked out in a blue-gold theme and whoever planned the bathroom seriously went all-out perfecting every detail to go with the blue and gold colors, including:

• gold fixtures and lighting
• blue tile, some with gold stars
• blue and gold wallpaper
• blue linoleum with gold specks
• blue paint
• blue tub and toilet

Observe:


Pretend that the toilet seat cover is blue, because it used to be. It's hard to find a replacement for a 40ish year-old blue toilet cover on the market today. Imagine that.