A Colorado Polar Bear

We visited the Denver Zoo today before it got too hot for the season. 

These water shots made the heat that existed a little more bearable. There are a few more shots at on my flickr page. 

Cozumel, Quintana Roo

We enjoyed our honeymoon in Cozumel this past week. It was great and due to the Swine flu outbreak the island was nearly deserted, nice for us but bad for the people who depend on the business tourists bring. The sky and ocean were every shade of blue possible, the weather wasn't too hot yet, and we got to meet some cool people. 

I only wish that we spent more time in and got more pictures of the towns San Miguel and El Cedral. Next time... 

More pictures of our trip are posted on Flickr.

Thrift Store Love- Red, Aqua, & Gold

Got to enjoy some of Denver's thrift and antique stores this weekend and came up with some of my old fall backs (trays, birds, & fabric) in three of my favorite shades; red, aqua, and gold. 

...I also got to meet these nice ladies and try on their wigs. 

Ranunculus- Red and Aqua

Not only is it a beautiful flower it also rhymes with ridonkulous.

Thrift Store Love-Handbags and Glad Rags

There was a lot of good fabric to choose from today. I only wish that I sewed more... 

...and to satisfy the container obsession I got a Gucci portfolio and the Portable Pub by Londonaire... it totes your booze!!

In some ways it feels like this a little too personal but I couldn't help getting this composition book with a lovely poem about Ian oh Ian...

The shelf from my last thrift store visit is now occupied with various kitsch. For a temporary addition I cut up some of the leftover programs M and I had from our wedding to fill a couple of spaces but they are no longer there. As M says "we don't want to go around tootin' our own horn."

Thrift Store Love- Nature

These are some of the things I couldn't pass up at the ARC yesterday. I have been getting the urge to plant some herb seeds and I want to use this tiny little bird to start a plant. I didn't realize it at the time but most of the stuff I got is nature themed. Spring is in the air! The Colorado snow globe is for an upcoming swap and as usual I cannot resist a tray.

Thrift Store Love- Deer

Unintentionally I have started a collection of kitschy deer. Here are the latest I found. It is one big deer with two little ones chained to it... hard to tell from the pictures. I really like the worn parts of the deer, it gives them the old/loved look that I can't get enough of.

I edited these photos with picnik through flickr. I love all of the editing enhancements and the collage option is so aswesome and easy to use. Check out more photos and another collage I made here.

DIY Digest- Upcycled Boxes

I created these boxes to use for the swap-bot swaps I send and the idea behind them is they are 99% recycled and they are completely reuseable.

I've used previously shipped boxes and covered them with old magazine pages. The old Life, Ladies Home Journal, and Holiday magazines have nice big pages so you only need to use two-three. I like to use boxes that have a front and side flaps for the top so the picture doesn't have to be cut, you just tape around the sides.

For this box I used some vintage contact paper that I found in a thrift store and lined the inside.

To finish them off and make them durable enough to reuse I used laminating paper and clear packing tape to cover the whole box. The laminating materials are the only that are new.

I have used adhesive paper for the to and from lables because they are easy to remove and I have also used a grease pencil to address the package and taped over it so it can easily be removed when ready for re-shipment.

Share your Stash- Valentine's Themed Swap

I am hosting my second swap on Swap-bot.com. Check it out.

Making Valentine cards has become a tradition for me each year. Throughout the last five years I have rounded up a great stash of supplies that are perfect for sharing.

For this swap you will send one (1) partner part of your stash (7-10 items) and a Valentine’s themed sweet treat. This will be an international swap so it doesn’t have to be a huge package as long as it has 7-10 items minimally + 1 treat. Anything goes that you feel will be a great addition to any Valentine’s project including but not limited to decorative paper, ribbon, lace, stickers, rub-ons, vintage ephemera, modern images, embellishments, beads, tissue, confetti, stamps, etc. This doesn’t have to be specific to your partner’s profile since you are sharing your stash so you can start rounding up supplies right away.

Please put time into creating a great Valentine’s package. Not required but possible ways to get a heart for this swap; include more than 10 items, or a love themed CD you like to craft to, wrap it in a decorated box, include a Valentine card you made, etc.

The requirements to participate in this swap are:
-A minimum rate of 4.8 – or newbies allowed with completed profile and link to at least one other site (personal blog, flickr, another swap account, etc)
-No no-sends in the past 6 months
-1 package to 1 partner of 7-10 Valentine’s themed crafting supplies
-1 edible Valentine Treat (i.e.- candy hearts, heart shaped cookies, Passion tea, chocolate, etc.) If you have specific issues concerning food please indicate in your profile.

Since this swap is time sensitive to the Holiday please make sure you don’t send late. You want to make sure your partner can enjoy and use the supplies in time for Valentine’s Day.

Valentine's - Round II

There is nothing that keeps love alive like travelling. This round of Valentine's cards are inspired by travel and love.
I can't say Arkansas is on my list of destinations but you can put me on a boat like that on an empty lake anywhere and I'd be happy.

You can see more cards here.

Valentine's 2009

Good bye Christmas... I am on to Valentine's Day.

To see more check out my flickr page.

Simple Christmas Greetings

I made a few Christmas postcards using mainly images from old children's Golden books.

Most are simple...

Some are sweet...

Check out the rest here.

Collage Machine

Addicted!!

Cool Site- Collage Machine

I found a link to this cool site and haven't been able to pull myself away since. I'm impressed by all the tools and options on it and the ability to order the layer of images and draw. Here is my first attempt.

A little silly but I look forward to losing more hours to mashing images together in cyber space.

View from Gold Hill, CO

We set out with intentions to explore Boulder but we just kept on going once we hit the town. We drove up through a canyon and past Gold Hill and stepped out to hike with this view in our sights.

Thrift Store Love - Satin Ornaments

I found some awesome DIY/Knitting magazines from the 1960's and saw some cool round satin ornaments. I guess it was all the rage decorate the styrofoam balls with beads, sequins, ribbon... basically anything shiney. I decided I was going to try and recreate one of my own so I kept my eye out for those satin wrapped styrofoam balls of the past on my last thrift store trip.

I think I stumbled on something much cooler than what would have been my self-designed sequined ornaments. I'm not going to alter these one bit just use them to decorate our house a little for the holidays.

Found- Scary Eyebrow Epidemic

I found this in the bar parking lot yesterday. I don't typically pick up trash from the ground but I was slightly buzzed and I was thinking I was going to find some kid's homework on the college-ruled loose leaf. I was so psyched that I picked it up after reading just the first line. I submitted it to Found Magazine, maybe I will get lucky.

If only the slides were with it too.

Halloween Decor?

We got these cool photo coasters for our wedding so I found this skeleton image today to use in them. All four of them together looks good so I might just hang them on the wall like little frames. 

Hiking at Echo Lake

I drove up to the mountains with some friends last weekend and we hiked around the Echo Lake area. It was definitely late fall up there but it was perfect for getting one last hike in for the season. Now it's time to start thinking about skiing...

I had a good time collecting leaves and photographing them today. The fall colors are really intense here but they are about to end. Check out more fall photos on my flickr page.