November Daily Photos Week 4

The last week of November went by the quickest. Here is a quick review of last week in photos:

Sunday, November 22, 2009:
I took the day off for BorrowLenses anniversary celebration. We took a 2 hour horn blower cruise in the San Francisco Bay. We had brunch and got to take lots of pictures while going under the Golden Gate Bridge and going around Alcatraz (closest I have ever been). Photo by Eva:
Monday, November 23, 2009:
After work I met up with Kristi, Jarid, Jason, Crystal, and Dan for dinner at BJ's brewery. First photo is by Dan.Tuesday, November 24, 2009:
I made a birthday card for my boss Max during my lunch break. I love getting crafty at work. I get to create and it relieves stress. A big plus: I talked with Allison Kreft Abad (of Hambly) on the phone too.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009:
I settled in for some more paper crafting when I got home on Wednesday. I started working on gift card holders and catching up on Vampire Diaries.
Thursday, November 26, 2009:
I slept in! I had a chance to begin the third book in the Vampire Diaries series and spend time with Jenna. Then I drove down the coast with my parents to Princeton where Mavericks Surf contest takes place. We scoured the waves for sea glass. I found beautiful shells but not much glass. It was a windy and beautiful day. We went to my Aunt's house for Thanksgiving dinner.Friday, November 27, 2009:
I spent most of the day scrapping and blogging. I did take a break in the evening to meet up with Dan's friends that were visiting from southern California. It was my first time to meet Mary & Mike even though they are both from Pacifica. We ate at the Olive garden and then played a very long but fun round of Apples to Apples.
Saturday, November 28, 2009:
It felt like a very weird Sunday. I worked most of the day at the Christmas store. Then I edited photos for a couple of hours. Drove in a car full of family to my Aunt & Uncle's to celebrate my grandmother's birthday. I was really happy to see the other side of my family and it felt like Thanksgiving Part II.
I can't believe its December 1st on Tuesday. I'm trying to finish up my December Daily foundation along with several other holiday projects. Hope you have a great beginning to December!

Gift Card holders

We are approaching the holidays fast and the Everything Scrapp'n Design Team is sharing some ideas for DIY gift wrap using Pink Paislee Mistletoe & Co line. Post a link in a comment on the Everything Scrapp'n blog post by December 6th for a chance to win a prize. I made 4 different types of gift card holders after researching online.

This design is inspired by a gift wallet seen on Martha Stewart's website.
Products used: Pink Paislee Mistletoe & Co. Naughty or Nice pp, Postcards pp, borderline stickers, Impressions stamps, & Staz On Ink-jet black.
This was probably the easiest of the gift card holders to make.

1. Cut two sheets of double sided paper down to 7 3/4" x 3".
   
2. Trim one down so it measures 7 1/2"x 2 1/2". That will be the inside pocket.
3. Round corners of outside wallet & bottom corners of inside pocket.
   
4. Fold both in half and then glue around edges of inside pocket. Be sure to leave enough space to you can fit a gift card or some cash.

I have some cute manila mailers that I love the shape of that inspired this guy. I found a template that helped me realize the design here.
Products used: Mistletoe & Co Postcards pp, Press ons, Impressions stamps, Stickles-baby blue, burgundy, & Staz On Ink-jet black.
I used an Artist Trading Card envelope as my template. The printout is not to scale so I did some simple math and then used a ruler to draw out my own template.

1. Measure out the bottom tab 1" long, the top tab 1 1/4" long, the left tab 2", the right tab 1 1/2" and the length of the body 3 3/4" long and the width of the body 2 1/2".
2. Cut corners out and round so your template looks like the above.
3. For a little extra special look, cut a half circle out of the top edge of both left and right tabs when then are folded over properly. The gift card will slide out more easily.
4. Use your choice of adhesive and go to town.

As I was searching around, I found a really unique kids gift card holder and I loved the rounded edges and shape. Dan helped me adjust it a bit to make it work with the cut punch outs.

I adore these press ons and how well they coordinate with all the papers.
Products used: Pink Paislee Mistletoe & Co Santa's Workshop pp, punch outs, Cat'slife press handmade stamp, Staz On Ink-jet black.The template that I linked for this is pretty close to the accurate size. I printed it out, Dan cut it out and I found it was a little short in the width, so the gift card wouldn't fit. When making the template above, I traced the print out and then made it 1/4" wider. This just needs to be played with a bit before you get it looking like the final product.

Pink Paislee's punch outs are great for journaling, embellishments, layering, and many more cool crafty things. I love them and have to get them every time now.
This is my own simple creation. I had some left over scraps and came up with this:Products used: Pink Paislee Mistletoe & Co Naughty or Nice pp, Santa's Workshop pp, punch outs, Stickles-burgundy, Mini ric rac-baby blue, Staz On Ink-Jet Black.
The how to is simple.

1. Cut paper 8 1/4" x 6'.
   
2. Fold in half so it becomes 8 1/4" x 3".
   
3. Fold fold in 3 3/4" and then again.
4. Fold the left over flap over.
5. Punch hole for ribbon, ink, and add embellishments.
6. Use double stick tape to add gift card inside.
   

Before I dug into the Mistletoe & Co line, I was using the Amber Road line. We celebrated two birthdays last week at my work and I had fun making these cards during my lunch break. Pink Paislee makes some great embellishments that work well for a variety of your paper crafting needs. I adore the paper punch outs and the border stickers that the released recently.
Products used: Amber Road Harvest Hayride pp, Bonfire pp, Postcards pp, Borderline stickers, punch outs, Hambly Elegant Labels rub on-black, Pink Paislee press ons alpha-black, Staz On Ink-jet black.
And the back of the card:
Products used: Amber Road Harvest Hayride pp, Autumn Blossom pp, Postcards pp, Fall Festival pp, Expressions cardstock alpha stickers-chocolate, Amber Road Impressions stamps, Staz On Ink-jet black.

I love how many alphas come on this one sheet and its such a great deal too. It was perfect that they come in circles as well since Happy would have made for a tight fit on the card.
If you have any cool links to DIY handmade projects, or gift wrapping projects, please share them! I would love to see more unique ways to decorate and wrap things up for the holidays. Hope your weekend is great.

Here is the order of the blog hop:

Jana
Suz
Teresa
Kimberly

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope your meals were plentiful and with loved ones. I am thankful for the family photo I took this afternoon. I am also thankful for sleeping in, two days in a row. I have Friday off due to the holiday.

For those of you out shopping, Everything Scrapp'n is having a Thanksgiving/Black Friday sale until Sunday, November 29th. Get some last minute stuff for your handmade holiday and December albums! Just type the word THANKSGIVING into the coupon code section when checking out. I'll be back with some gift wrap ideas on Saturday morning.

November Daily Photos Week 3

I'm back to share this past week's photos from the November photo challenge.

Sunday, November 15, 2009
I met Econ Eric, a friend of Jenna's, and spent time dancing with the family in the living room. I love impromptu dance parties. I edited some photos and uploaded them to facebook. The tagging box cracks me up.
Monday, November 16, 2009
I was making some birthday cards for my co workers and left this mess on my bed. Its a pretty common sight around here these days. Tuesday, November 17, 2009
I photographed the Millbrae Bart station after work. I desperately needed to print something for my photo class since we only have 2 more classes before finals. I had a blast shooting Black & White film at night. Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Josh from the advertising department offered to do a Starbuck's run. A bunch of us placed our orders on Vin's desk with post its. Thom was writing all kinds of silly requests, so I captured Vin playing with some of the post its.Thursday, November 19, 2009
Kristi picked up pizza and came over to scrap after work. We started working on the foundation of our December Daily albums. Can't wait to work on this more this coming week!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Celebrated Kent's birthday by picking up delicious cupcakes form Mazetti's Bakery here in Pacifica. he had fun playing with his food before eating it.I did go see New Moon on Friday as well. I arranged for Kristi to buy the tickets nearly a month in advance. Kelly, Jenna, Laura, mom, Kristi & I had so much fun. I wasn't a fan of the young screaming girls. Next time I'll go during school hours... I loved that special FX were so much better. It was apparent that the budget was a lot better this time around. You won't be disappointed if you see it.

Saturday, November 21, 2009
I wasn't feeling 100% so Dan & I decided to stay home and make delicious burritos instead of going out to ice skate with some friends. I'm still going to try going ice skating, just a little later on this season. Dan makes the best chicken burritos and I have become expert can opener and bean stirrer. I think I might move up to cutting the meat next. Ick!
This coming week is going to be busy, then I'll get a few days off for the holiday. Hope you and yours have a happy one!

Paramore @ The Warfield

Dan gave me tickets to see Paramore for my birthday. Their October concert was post-poned due to the lead singer Hayley having laryngitis. We went to the rescheduled concert, last Tuesday, November 10th. My favorite part of the night was right after we arrived. We ran into our friends Natalie & Mark, who are at nearly every concert we go to. Dan hadn't mentioned that they were going so I was quite surprised when we were walking up to our seats and ran into them.
We had fun chatting while waiting for the opening bands to finish playing. We got there a little late due to work and didn't feel like climbing over people to get to our seats in the dark.

I was most surprised that Hayley's hair wasn't orange, but blond. Their stage was beautiful. I had to squint to see what they had positioned in the frames-light bulbs. Sometimes they would light and pulse to the beat of the song.Their set list was perfect. Mostly fast paced songs with a few slower songs. One of my favorite things to do at a concert/event is to look around and see how many people are there. Isn't this incredible? I love that Paramore has so many great fans. Even more, I love how everyone is taking photos.
The Warfield is one of those venues that is absolutely beautiful inside. I cracked up that they mentioned how scary it is outside. San Francisco can be rather educational in that part, especially at night. I have two new songs that I've been listening to on repeat since the concert: Ignorance & Misguided Ghosts. I hadn't really listened to the new CD Brand New Eyes before the concert, but I'm completely in love with it after hearing it live.

Here we are riding BART home after the concert:

November Daily Photos: Week 2

Congrats to Stace & Rebecca, winners of the blog hop! Chipboard is 15% off until November 21st at the store.

This past week has blown by so fast. I am hoping November will slow down just a bit. Here are my photos from the second week of November:

Sunday, November 8, 2009
I wrote & sent out some thank you notes. I've decided that I want my own personal return address stamp. Now I just have to find a design I like. Any suggestions from etsy?
Monday, November 9, 2009
I got a little nerdy for Kellan Lutz & Ashley Greene of New Moon on Monday evening. They are the actors/tress that play Emmett & Alice. They had a question & answer session at Stonestown. They were expecting tons of people, like last year, but Robert Pattinson didn't come so it was a much smaller crowd. I met a really sweet woman, Yolanda and then my mom joined me later.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
I found myself amongst another huge group at The Warfield. Dan took me to see Paramore for my birthday. It was originally going to be a on a Friday night in October, but Hayley, lead singer, came down with laryngitis. Look for a separate post later this week about this.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
I was very tired after two nights out in a row. I love that I walk into the kitchen every morning to such beautiful, bright colors. I need to move these into my room and finally decorate with them. Thursday, November 12, 2009
I love that my mom brings home the unusual pumpkins. We didn't carve any this year because they were too cool already.
Dan & I celebrated our 5 year anniversary in San Francisco at Park Chow. It is not a Chinese restaurant. I had spaghetti and Dan had pizza. Its not exactly any type of food really. They have delicious pies though! Friday, November 13, 2009
It was a very long day for me. This is a box that was by the door when I was leaving in the morning. Think of this photo as a place holder for better photos to come. I shot a wedding in Napa (as second shooter). I expect to get my photos tomorrow. Will share more of that later.Saturday, November 14, 2009
Zombie mode. I stayed up until 4am scrapbooking, slept for 5 hours, then worked. When I got off, I drove to Dan's house and found him putting on vinyl protection on his new Acura TL. He got it three weeks ago but I haven't had a spare moment to photograph it. I hope to take it out to the beach soon and get some really nice shots for him.
I tried to take a nap after work but was so tired I couldn't sleep. Don't you hate when that happens? Later, we picked up something cute at REI and had dinner in San Carlos with Zena & Helen. I'm having fun taking photos every day. Won't you join me? Let me know if you are playing along.

November Everything Scrapp'n Blog Hop

It's time for the November Everything Scrapp'n Blog hop. Please leave a comment on each blog for a chance to win a prize. Here are the awesome prizes being offered, to participate start here:
I am one of those scrappers that has difficulty keeping interest in scrapping holidays once they are past. I've been watching a lot of vampire movies, tv shows, and Tim Burton films for inspiration while working with Pink Paislee's Twilight line. It really helps that its has my three favorite colors: purple, orange, and green. I made a mini album for our recent visit to a local pumpkin patch.Products used: Pink Paislee Twilight Dusk pp, Horizon pp, Sunset pp, Expressions Cardstock alpha stickers-pumpkin, Expressions Glitter Alpha stickers-limeade, Pink Paislee Vintage Moon accents-press ons, Hambly Spooky Halloween rub ons-Black, Ranger Adirondack paint dabber-black, Cosmo Cricket Blackboard Ethan's album.

Photos on right side of page are courtesy of Kristi Lewis.Products used: Pink Paislee Twilight Postcards pp, Horizon pp, Sunset pp, Eclipse pp, Amber Road-Impressions stamps, American Crafts Flair-Halloween Boo, 7 gypsies circle stamp, Hambly Spooky Halloween rub ons-Black, Ranger Adirondack paint dabber-black, Stickles-black diamond, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Golden Terracotta, Making Memories staples-black, 7 gypsies arrow photo turn, EK Success Postage stamp paper punch, Staz On-jet black, Cosmo Cricket Blackboard Ethan's album .

Photo on page courtesy of Abe Dieckman.Products used: Pink Paislee Twilight Horizon pp, Sunset pp, Postcards pp, Eclipse pp, Expressions Cardstock alpha stickers-pumpkin, Expressions Glitter Alpha stickers-limeade, Pink Paislee Twilight-press ons, Pink Paislee Office Lingo On Schedule stamps, Hambly Spooky Halloween rub ons-Black, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Key Lime Pie, Ranger Adirondack paint dabber-black, EK Success Binding Edge paper punch, Cosmo Cricket Blackboard Ethan's album.

Photo on left courtesy of Kristi Lewis.
Products used: Pink Paislee Twilight Sunset pp, Dusk pp, Petaloo Glitter sheets-black, Twilight Bella brads, Amber Road-Impressions stamps, Hambly Spooky Halloween rub ons-Black, Queen & Co rhinestones-black, Ranger Adirondack paint dabber-black, EK Success Small Scallop scissors, Sakura Glaze pen-black, Cosmo Cricket Blackboard Ethan's album.

Photo on page courtesy of Abe Dieckman.Products used: Pink Paislee Twilight Dusk pp, Horizon pp, Sunset pp, Postcards pp, Eclipse pp, Hambly Overlay Autumn Breeze-Black, American Crafts Flair-Halloween Boo, Hambly Spooky Halloween rub ons-Black, Hambly Elegant labels rub ons-black, Amber Road-Impressions stamps, Hero Arts lower basic alpha stamps, Ranger Adirondack paint dabber-black, Sakura Glaze pen-black, Cosmo Cricket Blackboard Ethan's album.

Photo on page courtesy of Abe Dieckman.
Products used: Pink Paislee Twilight Dusk pp, Eclipse pp, Twilight Boarder line stickers, Hambly Spooky Halloween rub ons-Black, Hambly Antinque frames rub ons-black, Prima Say It In Pearls-Mixed white crystals packaging (green), Prima E orange rhinestones, Inkadinkado clear mini stamps Fall corner, Ranger Adirondack paint dabber-black, Cosmo Cricket Blackboard Ethan's album.

I adore the border stickers that Pink Paislee released during Summer CHA. Aren't they adorable?

I love to make Artist Trading Cards and haven't made any for Halloween so I made some using Some the postcard paper.Products used: Pink Paislee Twilight Postcards pp, Hambly Overlay 3/4 graph-black,Twilight Boarder line stickers, Pink Paislee Twilight-press ons, Expressions Glitter Alpha stickers-limeade, Ranger Adirondack paint dabber-black, Staz on Ink-jet black.

I have a never ending love for Hambly and their great overlays!
Please head on over to Kimberly's blog for the next chance to win!