A Blog Post

The blog's been neglected. Big time. I keep thinking that I need to catch-up because there's been SO many great things happen over the last year. And because blogging is honestly the closest I get to actual scrapbooking. (Which makes working where I do and getting all the paper crafting supplies I want for pennies seem unfair, doesn't it?)

Speaking of Stampin' Up! . . . I actually did do a post for the corporate blog. I worked on a new project that launched yesterday. Check it out here.

The great thing about social media is that you get an instant response. And I'm happy to report that aside from being called out for a typo (doh!), so far the comments have been positive. Thankfully.

The Pinterest Project

Awhile back I saw a really cool coat rack idea on Pinterest. And it was high time to pull it off! (I have a love/hate relationship with that site. So many ideas, so little time.) So I headed down to Salem one Saturday afternoon to raid Dad's workshop for supplies.

At this point I have to admit that it makes me giggle every time I spring a random creative project like this on my dad. He gets this look on his face that says, "You want to do WHAT?" But I know that he secretly loves it. In fact, over the years I've come to realize that I don't just get my creativity from my grandmother. I get some of it from my dad as well.

My dad has got to have the largest selection of stains. Ok, maybe Home Depot's is bigger but I certainly couldn't complain about the options.

The finished result was even better than what I'd envisioned. And it cost $0. Zip. Zilch. Nadda. The branches and trunk of the tree were built with scraps, most of which I dug out of Dad's stack of kindling for the shop stove. The hooks were leftovers from Scott's old bedroom; I even like the fact that they're brass. And it didn't take me very long to get all the pieces cut (Dad did most of that for me), sanded, and stained.

And when I got all the pieces home all I had to do was screw the main branches of the tree into the studs and hang the rest just based on aesthetics.

I can't even explain how much I love it.

So what's next on the DIY project list? A mason jar chandelier for my dining room, using the tutorial from this website. I've got a bunch of old jars from my grandmother's fruit room that are just asking to be repurposed. You ready for this one, Dad? :)

Welcome Home

I absolutely adore where I live. I bought my house two and a half years ago and have never once regretted the decision. In fact, every time I drive home, and I hit this certain point in the neighborhood (where the road curves, right next to the playground), I get this overwhelming feeling of "home." It confirms that I'm exactly where I need to be at this exact time in my life.

This feeling means even more to someone, like me, that has suffered from severe homesickness their entire life. I have very vivid memories of me as a child, walking out the front door of our house, passing our next door neighbor's house, getting to the corner, and bursting into tears. I'm not kidding folks. As a teenager I had a really hard time with girls camps and youth conferences. I always wanted to go home. And sleepovers? Forget about 'em. My parents were constantly getting phone calls from me and having to pick me up at all hours of the night. I'm pretty sure they've achieved sainthood by dealing with this issue alone.

So back to my house . . . Even though I love it, it's not perfect. Being a relatively new build, the interior is pretty generic. The lack of storage is a challenge. There is only a one car garage, not two, which proved to be pretty inconvenient when Scott was living here this past summer. I also have this horrible clay dirt that keeps killing my bushes. (It does, however, grow great tomatoes.) In a two year span, I've replanted at least seven bushes. Thank heavens for Lowe's return policy. :)

The rest of the bones of the house are great, but there are a lot of cosmetic things I'd like to do. And I've decided to get going. It's officially time to reallocate some funds from the travel budget and get this place looking like me. Even if I have to start small.

So start I did last weekend. I began by painting all the interior doors black. All ten of them. It took me an entire weekend and a couple of gallons of paint. And to be honest, it was a heck of a lot of work taking them off their hinges, removing the hardware, lugging them out to the garage (half of them were upstairs), and then rehanging them when the paint was dry. All. By. Myself. But I am so incredibly happy with the result; they look fantastic with the white trim. Totally worth the effort.

Confessions of an Amateur Hand Model

I used to be a nail-biter.

I know what you're thinking. Yuck! Ick! That's gross! And even though I totally agree with you, I can't change the fact that I had that nasty habit for the first, oh, twenty-four years of my life. One of my mission companions even nicknamed me Stubbs. And to this day she still calls me that. (I nicknamed her Granny because of this long, nappy sweater she used to wear all the time but that's a topic for another day . . . )

In addition to the nail biting, my time in collage as a graphic design major took their toll on my hands. There were constant cuts on my hands from xacto knife and scissor mishaps while working on projects. And then there was that horrible wart that took up residence on my right pointer finger when I was a kid. It literally took years and multiple burning, freezing, and surgical techniques to finally kill it. But not without leaving a huge scar that seems to get even more obnoxious (if that's possible) when I have even the slightest tan.

So suffice it to say, my hands aren't in the best shape. At least not super model shape.

But lest you think I should hide them in gloves for the rest of my life, there are some good things about my hands, too. Like I've been told on several occasions that they're very soft. :) I can also reach beyond an octave on the piano. And they're shaped like my mother's hands. And hers are very beautiful.

Speaking of my mother . . . For my 24th birthday she gave me a present that would change the fate of my hands forever: six months worth of acrylic nail appointments. She hoped it would help me stop biting my nails. And it did. She's a genius, that mother of mine. And after I finally kicked the habit, I started taking really good care of my hands. In fact, over the last couple of years I've become totally addicted to gel polish and pretty much keep my nails perfectly manicured. (My family even gave me a UV light and the complete Gelish system for my birthday this year. Best present ever.)

Flash forward to an afternoon at work when I was in the photo studio working on a shot for the 2012 Sale-a-bration brochure. The photographer and I were setting things up, using my hand as a stand-in, intending to grab a "hand model" (or someone in the office that we already knew had nice looking hands) when we were ready to take the final shot. And then something unexpected happened: the photographer suggested we just use my hand. Say what?! You want to use my poor little beat-up hands in a professional photo? Granted, the hand wasn't really going to be in focus but still. I decided to roll with it.

When the production work for the 2012 Holiday Catalog rolled around, I again found myself in the photo studio working on a shot needing a "hand model." Only this time the shot was for the back cover. And the hand was in complete focus. Now, I recognize that the back cover isn't as prestigious as the front cover. But an amateur hand model with big dreams has to take whatever opportunities are handed them. (Pun totally intended.) So I did.

So you can see that my hand modeling career has officially taken off. And I'll have a lot more photos to add to my portfolio once the Stampin' Up! publications they're in are released. Not bad for a former nail-biter. At this point I'm just waiting for a call from Allstate. Once I get that gig, I'll know that I've really hit it big.

Neighborhood 4th of July Parade

Getting to Know Me

You know that getting-to-know-you game where everyone (and by everyone I mean all the ladies) compile a list of contents from their purse, the lists are shuffled and read out-loud, and then everyone guesses who purse the contents came from?

Well, here you go. Some of the random things I found in my purse yesterday:

Black umbrella

10 euro bill and various Australian coins

iPad and iPhone
2 tubes of extra emollient night cream

Military version triple combination

Small tin filled with Langham Hotel mints

Barry Manilow concert glow stick

Set of ear plugs

2 pairs of channellocks

Stampin' Up! ID badge

Movie stub from "The Searchers"

*No, the above picture is not of my actual purse. It's a photo of a Gucci nubuck leather shoulder bag. The purchase price is a mere $1950. A girl can dream, right?

An Amateur

The Saturday after I got home from Portland, I spent the morning with Jack, my CTU partner in crime. (You can call me Tony.) She had invited me to participate in a Downtown Salt Lake City Photo Tour with her.

Now, given my artistic background and training, and the fact that I work with photographers and at photo shoots all the time, I obviously understand a bit about photography. But I certainly don't profess to be a photographer. Because I try to be respectful of trained photographers that really know what they're doing. It would be like photographers calling themselves graphic designers. Which they're not. :) So being the amateur that I am, I was totally down for a chance to play around with the manual settings on my camera while walking the most beautiful city in the country. And to get some professional, technical assistance along the way.

This shot of Jack was my favorite of the day. Isn't she adorable?!

And what I determined was that I really need to invest in a better camera lense. Like a really good, really powerful, really expensive one. I own a Cannon Rebel, which is a great camera for an amateur but I just can't get the impact shots I want with the standard stock lense. So I guess I'd better start saving my money.

Donations welcome.

Portland: Tuesday

After finishing up work early Tuesday afternoon, Kristine and I set our sites on the Japanese Garden. That place was immaculate. Each individual tree, bush, and flower was manicured and stylized. I can't fathom the amount of work that goes into keeping it that way. If you aren't sick of foliage pictures from my trip to Portland yet, you certainly will be after this post. :)

In one area of the garden stood a stone. Engraved with a haiku, written in 1966 especially for the garden. (And I had to take a picture in honor of Stampin' Up!'s resident haiku writer, Alisa.) It read: Here, miles from Japan, I stand as if warmed by the Spring sunshine of home.

There was also a place in the garden from where you could see the Portland city skyline. And Mount Hood. (Although in this picture it's a tad bit hard to differentiate the snowy mountain top from the billowing clouds.) But trust me when I say that the view was beautiful.

Just below the Japanese Garden was the International Rose Test Garden. There are approximately 7,000 rose plants of 550 varieties planted there. It's at this garden that they test the color, fragrance, disease resistance, and other attributes of roses sent from all over the world. Seeing all the beautiful blooms made me want to go home and plant a rose bush of my own. (That is not to say that I've actually done that now that I'm home. Haha.)

We also found time to squeeze in some of our favorite shopping haunts. I blame Kristine for getting me into beading and jewelry making. And there is one particular fabric shop in Portland that I always have to stop at. Regardless of time or company. Just ask Dave.