Last minute post before Maker Faire!

Sorry for such a quick/last minute post, but I had to get ready my clothes for Maker Faire as well as my other stuff! If you are going to be there, please stop by the www.ilovetocreate.com booth and say hi to me as well as Crafty Chica and her daughter Maya. I'd love to meet up with you!

Oh and I will be working...doing some behind the scenes live blogging to the I love to create blog as well as live twittering. Follow the live twitter feed here!

In other exciting news, my co-worker Alyson, will be live blogging as well from the MTV movie awards gifting boutique on her blog at her Fashion Girl blog and her live twitter feeds will update on her blog as well, so be sure to check that out. I'm crossing my fingers for her that she gets to tie dye with Twilight hottie, Robert Pattinson! Or atleast get some cool tie-dying celeb pics! You know Heidi and Spencer would so ham it up for a tie dye photo!

Then again, maybe I may meet Bill Murray. That would be too weird, but quite possible.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

New skirt!

I got a new skirt from Old Navy. It reminds me of the madres plaid
that my mom would make me shorts from in middle school.

Getting ready for the weekend ahead

I've got a big weekend ahead. I'm going to Maker Faire near San Francisco with my work. I have been prepping by workin on some custom shirts (that's a detail above). I will be live blogging and twittering for my work, so I will be busy checking out the sites and fun crafting and technology! I can't wait. I've never been to Maker Faire before.

OK, random break in my post. I am sooooo tired of hearing about Jon and Kate. Won't this drama please go away. It's just sickening and I don't care anymore (in fact I never really cared, but I really am esp. tired of it now).

Ok back to my regular post. In other news, I did figure out how to post blogs with photos tonight from my phone. I was super excited! I found this link which informed me of what to do, so it's a mini accomplishment! Woot woot!

Anyway, short post tonight, but I hope to get back to it and keep you in the know with Maker Faire this weekend!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

It worked!

I successfully uploaded a picture blog to my iPhone!!

Photo books: Mission accomplished

Check it out. In the past couple of months I made two custom photo books...one for my sister Angela and her new husband Joel, and one similar, but a little bit different for my Mom (these are pics she sent me...I didn't actually get to see the finished book in person).



This is the cover for the book. My sis Sophia took this pic and a few others that I used (she has the same kind of Nikon that I have), but the majority of it were my own photos. It is hardbound, 8.5"x11" and 24 pages. I ordered it through www.walmart.com and it was about $25. You also have the option of adding more pages for really cheap, so you could do a 28-page book if you needed a few more pages of pics. I opted out of putting text in other than the opening page, but you can do that as well. I also didn't go for as cutesy of a background as some folks do, but I prefer a classic/clean look.



I actually put a lot of time and effort into making these two books. You can ask my mom who painstakingly waited for me to finish them. I color-corrected, carefully laid out to make sure each page flowed into the next, made some less than stellar color images black and white, etc. Several of the photos were blown up for more impact. I guess that's my yearbook days coming back to me! I blew up a lot of photos to fit across the spread for maximum visual appeal!

Anyway, just wanted to share. I'm super tired and have to get to bed! Hope you have a great hump day!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

A swell addition!

Check out the new addition to my family... Ava Marie! I can't wait to meet her.

And this is my first post from my phone, so crossing my fingers it is a success!

Alexa

So long 3 day weekend!

I guess it is officially over and I should be in bed now, but I just wanted to share some of my photos from the weekend!


My friend Allee texted me on Friday night asking what I was doing on Saturday at 6am. Well, normally I would be sleeping, but I got up unusually for me at 5:15 and we went yard sale shopping! There were lots of creepiness to be found (as seen in pic above). Bought a porcelain hand for a friend, some plastic doilies (which I'm thinking I may have lost already), and a hairbow for my niece from a teenage girl selling them from a little makeshift table. It's hard for me to say no to that!

After that, went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday with my friend Katie. We decided to take pics with her new flowers. Some were very cheesy/senior moment pics. Katie is so cute! I got peaches that I made a peach cobbler with for Lauren and her hubby.


Went to lunch today at the Patio Cafe in Fig Garden with my friend Gloria. It was nice. We ordered pizza that didn't look a thing like pizza (more an open-face sandwich) and sat next to a couple apparently on their first or 2nd date. There was a bit of awkwardness that I felt for them! This pic is of the pretty umbrellas above our table.

Hung out with my friend Lauren yesterday. We went to Old Navy and I scored two pairs of jeans for $20, a cute pair of kicks (pictured) for $4.99 and a plaid skirt, cute violet shirt, and pink (swell color) sling bag.

Today I got my hair cut, had an impromptu facial (getting out those impurities feels outta my face feels sooo good), and made the cinnamon rolls above (it was my second weekend in a row of dough raising). I plan on reheating (with butter) them in the morning and putting on the glaze to take into work.

I hope everyone else had a great, long weekend!

Until next time Swellions!!

Two cool new blog features & how you can get your own!

Check it out! At the bottom of each of my posts I have two new features. First off, if you like one of my links and want to share it, just click on the little widget and share to your heart's content! Here's what it looks like!

I've seen these, but didn't really make the connection till yesterday when Kathy a.k.a. Crafty Chica mentioned it to me and said I should add it to my blog. I totally don't know where I've been lately to not notice this before! Anyway, I'm sharing the love, if you want to add this to your blog and hopefully generate some more excitement, go to the Add This website, follow the super easy steps and add it into your html code!

Another cool feature I am adding is the LinkWithin Widget. It is a a widget that links to related stories from your archive under each story on your blog! It looks like this:

Cool, huh? This little widget is even easier to install than the one before, just go to the Linkwithin site, fill in the info, and add the widget to your blog!

If I find anymore cool features like these I will be sure to share!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

How do you stand out from the crowd?

You may be wondering what exactly this pink smorgasboard of printed materials is...well, it's my personal identity system that helped land me my job! This concept first started for me in college (junior year to be exact). Back then, it had a different picture instead of me, but the overall look, and font choice of the resume and cover letter page along with the "She's Swell!" sidebar (the origin of my whole "Swell" namesake) remain the same. I created the little mini book over the past couple of years. It has a standout image on the front that I custom cut out. It flips out revealing different designs that I've done...everything from logo design to ad design to craft design. The envelopes are from www.jampaper.com (BTW...not totally cheap. They round out to $3-$4 a piece + shipping) I think the envelope is the big deal sealer. I've always been really excited sending this total package out!

Perhaps you don't need a new resume or look for a job search, but you may be needing an overhaul or cohesive design for a press kit, a business letterhead system, etc. to help you bring in new clients. Here's a few basic design tips I have to help you in establishing your own branding system!

Create a logo
So, you may not be a designer or have the illustration skills to render a logo yourself, but there are plenty of people out there that can do it for you. The one thing that you do need is a clear concept of what you want to convey. As a designer, I suggest that you look on the internet or flip through magazines and make a collage of imagery that reflects your personal style (this could be anything from shapes you like, colors, or subject matter that you find appealing). Present this to the a designer. Don't make them stab in the dark at what you want. It will save you both a lot of time!

If you're not sure who to turn to for logo design, consult a friend, local college with graphic designers in need of freelance work, craigslist, or Etsy. There are plenty of good designers out there, just make sure to ask for some samples of their work to determine if their style is in line with your needs.

You may want them to create the whole shebang for you ...letterhead, business cards, postcards, etc; however, if you are comfortable, you may be able to just purchase the logo design and create your own materials in a word processing program or photo software program. This may save you time and money.

Don't go overboard on font usage!
One of the biggest mistakes that non-graphic designers make (and some designers too!) is that they don't make smart font choices. I'm not an expert, but I do think it is smart to keep to 2, 3 at tops to be carried out among all your branded materials. For example, you may want a cursive or funky font for your name or large bullets, but you will not want to use this for body copy! Keep your body/informational to sans serif or legible serif fonts! And please, oh please! Don't write important information in cursive/Old English/kid fonts! It seriously does not look professional. Oh, and from a designer perspective, avoid the following fonts. They generally don't look good(though there are sometimes exceptions to the rule): Comic Sans, Sand, Brush Script, and Monotype Corsiva.

Keep it simple
Clean is good. White space is your friend. Remember these things when you are putting your branding materials together. Don't go crazy with Photoshop drop shadows (especially on type), or heavy lines around pictures. As far as color goes, that is up to you, but just keep in mind that in general, color on paragraph type looks bad most times. Use bold pops of color or find colorful imagery that tells your story. Or even let a little surprise of color pop through in an unexpected place or type treatment to add interest!

I can't really summarize what I do as a graphic designer or what I know about branding into capsule form in this one blog post, but I encourage you to atleast think about your current branding (either for your resume packet or your craft business) and do some research on how you can create a more cohesive package. Don't be afraid to try something new and different, like I did with my branding system. It really may be what sets you apart from the crowd!

If you have a more specific question, leave it in the comments below, and I'll try to help you out if I can!

Oh, and by the way, I'm happy in my new place and new role at my company, I just wanted to show you my branding strategy! Hopefully it will help inspire you in yours!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Rising to the occasion

I know this isn't a stellar photo, but seeing this on Sunday really made me extremely happy. I had a urge to make a homemade pizza all weekend and bought everything to make the entire pizza from scratch.

I've attempted this several times growing up...making the whole shebang, rising dough and all. Probably 9 times out of 10, the dough just didn't rise. I really felt like I followed directions and it would never work. It always bummed me out!

So as you can see, it did work this time! I don't know if it is the dry, warm heat here in California, or maybe because I'm a bit older and wiser now (ha!), but it was like a little personal accomplishment that I was really proud of. It's always nice to have success in something that isn't in your normal comfort zone! And not just that! Punching the dough down is one of the best things about baking bread!

And my pizza turned out great too and was very tasty! See? By the way, that's fresh basil from the farmer's market, red onions, tomatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes on it! Honestly, I think pizzas look better before they are cooked. It has much more vibrant colors!



Now that I had success with it, it kinda makes me want to get out my Best-Ever Breads book (I swear, it's been more than 10 years since I made something from this book)! Giant pecan sticky buns, anyone?



Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

My favorite kind of paper product!

I've noticed some wrapping paper, journals, and general paper goods at Target and Michaels that I totally love! It's basically bright, bold colors mixed with black and white graphic elements. If you know me, you prob. know I love colors that "pop" and linear elements, so when I saw these, they immediately screamed at me from the shelf!





I really want to buy the striped wrap to do a photo shoot with as well as a great everyday wrap for birthdays. I think it has a lot of possibilities. It would also look really great framed. And as far as the journal goes, I just like the stark contrast of the colors. Kinda makes me want to try out a graphic design piece in this vain.

These papers are made by The Gift Wrap company. If you go in a gift boutique, drug store with gifts, or department store and like a bag or paper, turn it over and there's a likelihood it is made by this company. They have the most beautifully designed paper goods. I heart them. Oh, and I did my research...do you know those 99¢ journals you get at Michaels in the dollar bin? The ones with the super cute designs? Well, I'm pretty sure they make those too under another name. I really dig everything they do!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Crafty Blogger Links

Check out these great links by the Crafty Bloggers!

Vickie Howell
Need a home decor, quick-fix? Vickie shows you how to use fabric scraps to over those otherwise drab, light switch plates!

The Impatient Crafter
Style Guru Brini Maxwell and The Impatient Crafter Margot Potter want you to join them on their Crafty Cabaret Carribean Cruise in Fall of 2010! Here's the 411!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Sweater Surgery in the Pratt Institute Magazine and Bookmarks You can make at Maker Faire with me!

Naughty Secretary Club
Love the look of the groovy spaghetti string lamps from the 60's? Make your own with Jen, some yarn, a balloon and a little fabric stiffener.

CraftyPod
Sister Diane shows you how to make a quilted fabric pendant.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Are you cutting coupons these days? Then make this simple little crochet coupon holder to keep them organzied.

Cross Stitch at About.com
Connie's been in a Sci-Fi mood lately - check out her Out of This World Patterns.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Inside peeks into the new books: Mosaics: The Art of Reuse and my shotgun and sea shell stepping stones, SKETCHBOOK and a few of my sketchbook sketches and their end result, Re-Bound and the story behind this month's San Metao Maker Faire (30th and 31st) "Makeready" journal we will be giving away in our booth, and a Sweater Surgery Hello Kitty Sunglass case how-to.

Cathie Filian
Cathie whips up a "no calorie cake" with a few items from the dollar store!

Blisstree Arts
Digital art calls for a creative framing method!

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner
Swelldesigner shares with you why you need a mini idea book !

Aileen's Musings
Aileen has a new tutorial perfect for teen birthday parties!

About Family Crafts
Discover how you can create your own fancy, garden stepping stones.

Memory Monday: I heart Scholastic!

I don't know when Scholastic book orders started, but I remember loving them during my grade school years.

I remember savoring over the book orders (a detail shown above) like I now savor over a new craft magazine. Seeing all the wide range of books that I could get was pretty magical. I remember picking out 2 or 3 books from each...I usually went for one that was 99¢...I loved deals even back then.

I ordered lots of books, but my favorite that I ordered were:

Sleepover Friends

The Sleepover Friends were a Babysitter's Club knockoff. Every book would center around something that happened at the the friends' sleepover. I remember loving Stephanie (the girl in orange above) because she wore black, white, and red alot and big plastic red earrings. The book shown above was all about Patti getting her hair dyed and it wouldn't come out the next day. I remember another book featured the girls sneaking tastes of one of their mom's mousse (with sugary mint adornments) and they basically ate the whole middle of the mousse. They got in big trouble the next day. Those books were a good read.

American Girls

I also loved the American Girl books. I read them when the books were just introduced and before the dolls even existed. I read books about Kirsten, Samantha (she was so fancy, from the 1910's), and Molly from the 1940's (shown above). I identified most with Molly cause she was crafty and wore glasses. She was also very funny and loved to do little performances for her family. She was a cool chick! If you haven't read these books, they are cool. In the middle, they showcase historical pictures and information from that time period.

Hot Dog magazine

I also ordered several issues of this magazine called Hot Dog! I'm pretty sure it was a magazine that Scholastic exclusively did. It featured toys, kids stuff, and celebrities. The issue that I remember the most about had Bon Jovi as a centerfold. I pulled it out and put it on my wall. Every night before I went to bed I would kiss the keyboard player (at the time I thought he was the cutest...don't ask me why). I'm pretty sure I did this without anyone seeing me. I was so dweeby as a child. Oh, and I remember taking the magazine on a school trip to the Lexington Horse Park and showing the Bon Jovi centerfold off to Kansas Reynolds. I was always trying to impress her. I don't know why.

I'm pretty sure I also ordered New Kids, World Record, and lots of other trivia books as well. I wish I could remember more of my favorites!

So what do/did you love about the book order? It was a very fond and happy memory for me!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Explored photos

If you use Flickr, you probably know about Explore. They are the top 500 photos uploaded to during a specific day. This is determined by how many times people fave a photo (clicking on it as one of their favorites), the number of comments is made, or how many people have viewed the photo.

My friend Chris is always in Explore (mainly because his photos are fabulous). I'm not quite as lucky, but a few of my recent photos including my Wreck this Journal page, an abstract of a drinking glass I shot, and my mosaic wall, all were considered Explore-worthy, which makes me happy!

I think you can tell from my explored photos, that one of the reasons they were popular is because they are colorful. People REALLY like colorful photos on Flickr! They also like colorful shoes, crafts, and signage as you can see. I guess that is my niche. Actually, I think this little showcase of Explored photos tells a lot about my personal preferences. To see any of the photos above, just click on the links below :)

1. rings, 2. scrapbook paper mosaic wall, 3. WTJ: write one word over and over, 4. dotted tissue paper lantern, 5. pumpkin jump, 6. ornament swirls, 7. up against the wall, 8. not too pure to be pinky mini lunchbox

9. buttons & bows, 10. swell belt buckle, 11. SSSSSSSSSSSSSS, 12. idea notebook, 13. a swell easter bunny, 14. tell me about it, stud, 15. bead beauty, 16. sugar rush

17. a shocking discovery, 18. inc(red)ible, 19. step on up, 20. It's 5 o' clock somewhere, 21. festive me, 22. aluminum christmas tree, 23. paint-o-rama, 24. Illuminated

25. marilyn glasses, 26. parkette drive in, 27. catalina, 28. new skirt and flip flops, 29. Vortex, 30. Woodland art fair...here I come, 31. ky theatre

Until next time Swellions!

Good ol' glue gun

There are very few things that I own that represent my first adventure into crafting... but I dug out one out of my glue basket tonight to use that I would like to share! I'm thinking I probably bought this one on a trip to Piece Goods Fabrics with my mom. I have never seen one of these glue guns (even today) not be retailed for more than $1.99. It kinda cracks me up that it is mauve. Do you remember when everything in the early 90's was mauve? Anyway, it looks kinda like I may need to throw it away, but I really don't think I could do it. Just let me say, it still works like a charm. Case in point: I burned my pinky on it tonight just like I did in 6th grade making my pink satin ribbon hairbows!



Oh and this is an awful shameless plug, but relates...check out this shirt I made for my cafepress shop like 3 years ago (I have since thought I could improve upon the design). People have since ripped off my slogan on there, but at the time I thought it was pretty funny.

What craft supplies do you still have in your stash that you can't part with?

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

I wrecked my journal ALOT this week!

So, this past week, I've done a LOT in my Wreck this Journal. I thought I would share! Some of them are posts that I've done along with my 365 (both me and Chris are doing this together this week), but they all relate to me doing the art and activities within the book!

Here's my "Throw Something" page...

I bought this ball after work at Michael's. It was the only thing I bought. The lady said, "Wow, this is scary. It must be for a little boy." I just said, "Yeah". I didn't think it worth my time to explain the whole process. It would have taken too long and been too confusing. I just took these photos (well, not this one, but the ones below), outside and I got several weird stares from my neighbors. Oh well. I guess I'm known to them as the "weird photo girl".

Here's my "Write with a pen in your mouth" post:

Well, I actually used a marker to write my name and the word swell a couple of times. Oh and I have a little cut there that was further accentuated by pink marker.

Here's how I "Tied a string and swing wildly":

This day I wrecked my journal by tying a string and swinging wildly. It hurt my hand a bit and left the journal a bit scarred, but I actually had fun doing it. I went out in the courtyard area and swung it in the grass and sky. No one really observed it. I'm sure they would have thought I was crazy. I'm ok with crazy though. It hopefully shows that I live life creatively. I like the photos I took. I had to set it on manual focus cause automatic focus couldn't focus fast enough.

Here are some of my art pages:

Pretend you are doodling on the back of an envelope


A page for four-letter words

This isn't as detailed as a lot of the pages I do and there are a lot of things I messed up on, but I still like it and that it has the whole "Lost" theme. I did it while I was watching the Finale. It answered and leaves a LOT of questions!

Write or draw with your left hand

Shouldn't it be, draw with the hand you don't write with? Left handers would have an advantage!

Hope you enjoyed my pages. I'm so tired. I'm going to hit the sack!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Mpix is awesome!

I ordered a photo from my friend Chris from Mpix. I use them for stuff in my Etsy shop, but I hadn't actually seen what the photos looked like after the shipping process.

It came in a slim box that was securely in place with packing tape. When I opened it up, it looked like the photo shown above. I actually even dropped it once before I opened it and it was all good!

The reason why was because the photo is packed in several layers of cardboard and protective packaging. See?


And the color is super vibrant as well! It looks to be very high quality. I know that it was very important to Chris that he could print the photo just in the format that he took it and they give you several printing sizes other than just 8x10. I will have to get a special frame for this one, but that's ok. If the photo was cropped, it wouldn't look as cool.


I'm not posting this because I have any affiliation with Mpix, I just am really impressed with the service and quality. When I was trying to find a place to print photos, I looked several places and I had heard good things about Mpix, I just hadn't seen it in person!

Anyway, if you are in the market for some photo printing, it's the way to go!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

A pretty good evening and here's why!

I had a pretty good evening! After work, despite not getting to use my 25% off coupon, I purchased the cute Pixie Cat stuffed stickers above and the Envirotex Lite below! I don't know what exactly I want to make, but I've been itching to create something with this stuff again!



Then I stopped at Pizza Hut and got a supreme personal pan and some breadsticks! Yum. I had been craving it all day. The weird thing? When you order it, the name of the combo is PH1. Odd. Sounds very clinical.



When I got home, a photo I ordered from my friend Chris was waiting in my mailbox. So I guess it looks kinda weird I ordered a pic of myself, but I love it and it reminds me of that day that I spent with him and I cherish that time. It makes me feel good.



And I was looking forward to Idol all day. Honestly, I like both Adam and Kris. I think Adam should win though. He has the charisma and personality and he's never made any major missteps. Kris sings more the style of music that I like to listen to and I hope he can go far. I loved how he arranged Kanye's "Heartless".



Going to work on a project for my mom and chill out on the internet before bed tonight. It's been a good week so far!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Crafty Blogger Links

Check out what's up with the Crafty Bloggers this week!

About Family Crafts
If you are looking for an almost instant Mother's Day gift or activity, check out these free, printable Mother's Day projects.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen has another blog giveaway! Stop by and enter to win 1 of 3 original hand-drawn ATCs she's giving away.

Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner
Make your own mini Moo-like business cards from junk mail postcards!

Blisstree Arts
Cyndi has compiled her favorite posts on creating collages and art quilts

Cathie Filian
Cathie is Mod Podging thrift shop plates to make unique collages and mini works of art.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside's got a cool scratching photo technique, 2 ways to weave an eyeglass case, an interview with the author of Art Doll Adventures: Lisa Li Hertzi, a tutorial on how to needle felt a bird and as always questions of the day that if you answer you're entered to win a free book!

Crafty Princess Diaries
Even if you missed making this for mom this Mother's Day, the Crafty Princess has a great combo gift idea for your next gift-giving need. Part of it you can make and part you can purchase, but both are inexpensive and perfect for lots of folks on your list.

Cross Stitch at About.com
Stitching on dark Cross Stitch fabrics is challenging for most of us. Do you stitch on dark fabrics? Vote in the poll, read Connie's tips, and share your own tips and tricks.

Naughty Secretary Club
Jen shows how she whipped up a coordinating fabric covered photo album to match the curtains and the cushions in her daughter's nursery.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
A plain glass bottle gets a makeover with an engraved plaid jackalope following the great directions from the new book: Glass Engraving by Sonia Lucano.

The Crochet Dude
Drew finally announces his latest news; plus video!

The Impatient Crafter
Caution: Madge's new book may cause you to dive into a craft binge. She's created a form excuse letter so you can skip work and craft to your heart's content!

Vickie Howell
In preparation for Summer break, Vickie shows a simple craft for bringing a little magic into your kids' vacation!

Create a mini Idea book

I don't know if you are like me, but I'm always coming up with ideas and usually write them down on a random sheet of paper that I ultimately lose. I really seriously need to have a more organized approach to this, so I decided to jazz up my own mini idea book. I wanted it to be a reflection of me, so I took this mini cardboard journal and got out my markers and pens and doodled it up!

Since it is small and handheld, it's the perfect little journal to put in even the tiniest of purses. I'm thinking about finding a mini pen to attach to it as well.

It's good to get ideas/thoughts out of your head and just write them down. Not all of the ideas are going to be executed or even go beyond that page, but atleast jotting them down helps you clarify and get the thought process going.

These are the few things I find myself needing this journal for...

– quick design sketches
– mini creative lists
– products that I can research/remember later
– names/authors of books I want to look into
– trends I see while shopping
– color inspiration
– blogs/web sites/e-mails
– doodles
– blog topic ideas
– new project ideas
– measurements
– lists
– phone numbers

You may even want to create little pockets in your journal to slide down in clippings or crafty business cards!

Obviously, anyone who keeps a journal will do what they do with their own, but having your own may just be the perfect tool to helping you organize your ideas and give you some creative clarity!

Oh, and by the way, here's the back of my little journal!


Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Memory Monday: 3rd grade

This was me in 3rd Grade at Wayland Alexander Elementary in Hartford, KY.

They had a special promotion with school pictures that you got these cute Valentine's with little stickers to stick in place. I loved these Valentine's soooo much. I think it kinda shows that I had an interest in illustration and design and that it appealed to me even back then.

In 3rd grade, I was at the pinnacle of my popularity. I know this seems silly, but you know how it goes as a kid. You really, really want to fit in and feel like people and the other kids like you. I remember getting invited to several birthday parties and sleepovers this year. I also remember having a little bond with all the little girls in my class. After this grade, things changed in a weird way...I started noticing that I wasn't one of the cool kids anymore. I guess I was about 10 here and I'm figuring this is the age when kids start really noticing things like clothes, personalities, what is considered "cool", etc. I figure that they start trying to act "cool" instead of being themselves. I guess my personality just didn't jive with them after this age. I don't know.

Some funny things I remember about 3rd grade?

– My teacher really liked me at this age. I remember I always had to stay longer after school, because my bus was the last school bus to arrive. I crawled around the floor picking up little scraps of paper and trash. I was her little helper. She was a strict/older teacher and a lot of the kids in my class ended up going to another school cause their parents didn't want them in her class. I'm sure there was a lot more drama to it than that, but I was too little to really understand.

– Because my teacher liked me, she really wanted me to be in the ADK competition (an academic competition in my county for kids from the different schools) to represent my 3rd grade class. I remember that she wanted me to win for penmanship, so I had to write in cursive over and over a paragraph on that lined blue and red dashed penmanship paper (you know the kind). I kept having to do it over and over cause I kept making mistakes and creating big eraser marks. She showed it to the other teachers and they determined that I could go for penmanship. I had to go to the high school to participate in the ADK competition, and I ended up placing 2nd in my grade behind Josh Jones in the county. Do kids even practice cursive penmanship anymore?

– My parents purchased neon papers for their business and I thought it was the coolest thing! They let me have a few sheets and I would create name bookmarks (bubble letter style)for the other kids with it and sell them for 10¢ a piece. I remember that I really felt confident about doing them, but then I misspelled the name Nathan wrong on a book mark (I spelled it Nathen) and for some reason it mortified me and I stopped making them. I don't know why I just didn't redo it. I guess I was a bit socially weird at that age.

– The little girls in my class would go in the bathroom and socialize. Well, we would go in there and talk, primp, etc. and I remember I always sat on the edge of the ceramic sink basin. One day, another girl sat up on it and it totally fell off the wall and broke into a ton of little pieces. We were so freaked out and ran back into the class not saying a thing. I don't remember anyone really questioning about it or getting in trouble for it. I'm really surprised we didn't get recess taken away or something!

– Some girls in my class named Korey and Jessica had a joint b-day party at Korey's house and I remember stressing over what I was going to get them (I used my own allowance for the gift). Anyway, I remember finally picked out 2 packages of pop beads like this at Bob's IGA. That night, I remember staying up really late (for me that was midnight) watching Goonies. I seriously don't know if I've seen that movie since.

– We would play "Heads up, Seven up" in class and I really took it seriously. I would put my head down, thumb up, and close my eyes so hard that I would see stars. It was almost a semi-blackout. I don't remember ever picking the right person and getting to be the one that got to put down peoples thumbs (if you don't know this game, here is the descriptor). I later realized that the only reason that kids got to go up and be the thumbs down people is because they cheated...didn't close their eyes all the way and would notice the shoes of the kid that picked them. I guess I was all about the rules back then.

– I got several packs of Garbage Pail Kids and my mom didn't think they were very appropriate, so she made me give them away. I gave them away to a red-headed boy named Erik (he actually had a crush on me). He had the biggest collection in class!

– I remember my parent's went away for a business trip and that their assistant babysat my sisters and I. I thought this was sooooo cool. She stayed with us and let us stay up, watch movies at home (I saw the "questionable scene" in Purple Rain), and take us to movies in Owensboro at the Plaza Twin. I remember that we saw "Like Father, Like Son" with Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains was huge at this time). I was so excited about this and bragged about it the next day to this girl named Kansas. I was always trying to impress her...I don't really know why.

– My best friend was named Ashley and we both really loved Full House. I remember having long drawn-out conversations about the characters. We both had glasses and were pretty nerdy. I spent the night at her house a couple of times. I remember one time eating so many Milky Ways that I threw up on the bathroom rug. My mom had to come get me. I wasn't used to eating that much junk food, so I got a major tummy ache. I also remember playing with Ashley and her neighborhood kids, which Kansas was the leader of. They wanted to walk across this huge field and go to Wal-mart. The field would have taken us over a mile to walk and was a lot further than Kansas said it would be. I remember feeling really uncomfortable and my stomach hurting because I was the only one saying that I didn't want to go. Everyone in the end decided that we wouldn't make the journey, but that was prob. my first major peer pressure experience.

– I really liked this boy named Blake and I thought he looked like a young "MacGyver"(which was also an addiction for me at the time). I remember that I was mortified at the thought of telling a boy I liked them, but my friend ended up asking him if he would "go with me". He said he would if I didn't tell anyone. I remember thinking that that was really lame and it hurt my feelings.

– I did end up getting asked to go with a boy named Jimmy in library during a movie (we watched a lot of movies like Apple Dumplin' Gang, Bears at Yellowstone, etc.). I remember being really nervous about this and said I would. Later that night, my family went to a Just Say No Rally at the high school, where I saw him there and was totally mortified. I remember that at this Just Say No Rally, that this high schooler played The "Sesame Street Theme Song" on drums, which everyone thought was so awesome. In hindsight, I'm sure it was just ok. Anyway, we broke up the next day. It wouldn't have worked anyway, we were both in different classes. Ha ha.

Here's some other cute little Valentine's I still have from my classmates.



Hope you had fun reading all about my 3rd grade memories! What do you remember about 3rd grade? Please share!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

This satisfied my crafty sweet tooth

I was doing some research on Flickr yesterday and came upon this totally, and I mean TOTALLY AWESOME work by artist Peggy Dembicer. How amazing is the detail in this? Reading about it, she said she used over 100,000 beads to adorn a 1978 edition of Candyland. This was published in the Dec. 2006 issue of Bead and Button magazine and has been featured on MakeZine's blog. I just love seeing all the detail. It totally amazes me and give me much respect for her! I don't think I would have the patience at all to execute something this grand! Check out her full set of amazingly detailed photos in her Flickr set.

Thought I would end the week with something sweet for you to think about!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

A swell gift for a friend

I don't know if you're like me, but I'm always making a mad rush before birthdays! Luckily, I have a pretty large stash of colorful jewelry that I already have made up to give away as gifts. It was actually kinda hard for me to part with these two pieces for my super swell friend Allee (she's turning 20)! I love the chunky orange and yellow iridescent beads I used for them and that button ring is one of my faves too (it was actually in Jewelry Creations magazine by CK Media a few months back). I made the little cards out of black cardstock and wrote on there with a silver gel pen and it made an instant display card. So easy! That's what I'm talking about. Oh, and I would have blown up the pic, but it was a total iphone pic that was really crappy, but I think you get the idea!

And in awesome Swell news, my wall project was featured on Dollar Store Crafts (an amazing site, btw) a couple of weeks ago, and Threadbanger has a special feature in conjunction with Dollar Store Crafts and they selected mine as one of the best projects of the week! Cool, eh?

My brain is really random at the moment as you can tell by the paragraphs above cause I've gotta run. I have an art hop to go tonight here in the Tower District of Fresno! I hope to share some cool pics tomorrow!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Make your own recycled mini business cards

I figured out a super easy (and let's just say cheap) way to make my own mini Moo cards from postcards (seen above) that would otherwise be thrown away.

I know you've seen the cute little Moo Cards you can get through Flickr. I just love them so much I got some made a year or so ago and let me just say, they were many a conversation starter! I would show friends or people I just met and each little card I showed them to pick from was like telling a little story through photos! Here's some of the ones I got printed up (below). Honestly, I hope to get some more soon with some of my latest photos!


In the meantime, I made my own! I found some postcards with some swell graphics on them and went to work. Here's how I made them!

Supplies:
– various postcards in heavy paper weight
– label paper
– scissors or exacto and cutting matte
– ruler
– pencil
– Photoshop template (download here)

Instructions:
1. Round up postcards with interesting elements, graphics, and backgrounds.

2. Choose certain areas of interest and mark out card shape (1.125" x 2.75) using pencil and ruler. You may want to go ahead and cut out a piece of paper that is 1.125" x 2.75 or use an existing Moo card to trace around.

3. Cut out with scissors or using ruler, Exacto knife, and cutting mat.
4. Using downloaded template, open in Photoshop and type out information that you want to go on back of your card. Duplicate layer several times to fill each card. Add a small photo if you like. Print out on label paper. By the way, the grey lines are pretty light and will be a guide for cutting in the next step.
5. Cut out and adhere. Trim if needed.

I really am happy with how these turned out. They look almost just like the real thing! And their also a great way to reuse and recycle!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

A blog update :)

Hey guys! I wanted to give you a little blog update. I'm not going to post my 365 photos within my blog anymore, I'm instead going to feature them on the sidebar. So, this way you will still be able to see what I'm doing with the project, but my blog won't be quite as emo has it has been. If you click on the picture on the sidebar, it will take you to my Flickr post and you can read my daily update or info about the photo there. I am going to try my darndest to post some new, fresh blog posts in upcoming posts! I have a lot of new ideas and things I want to share, so stay tuned!

Alexa

3 fab Etsy finds!

I've always got my eye out for something totally cool and unique and I scouted these on Etsy tonight! I thought I would share :)


Love these neon labels from Accessory Queen


In love with these pillows from meringuedesigns's shop. What can I say, I'm such a sucker for geometric home decor!


How awesome are these rainbow stuffed felted letters
MiChiMa's shop? This would make a perfect gift for a little one!

Hope you enjoyed these fab finds too! Until next time Swellions!

Fruit Button Crafting

Here's a quick and simple papercraft idea using buttons, glue, and dimensional paint that is peachy keen, if you know what I mean!

Well, actually, I didn't show a peach in the below tutorial, but there's no reason that you couldn't create one!

Making the card above was easy as pie (cherry pie, that is..ha ha). First, I simply cut out my card to match my envelope size.

I then dry-brushed on a square of Tulip® Soft Fabric Paint™. It worked great on paper!


Once it was dry, I glued my red buttons in the center with Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky Glue.


I added the stems using Tulip® 3-D Fashion Paint.


I then created a border by gluing on red sequins and dotting in between the sequins with more dimensional paint.

Here's a cute orange and strawberry (I dotted black dimensional paint on the button for the seeds) that I also made.


These would make super swell cards, gift tags, or embellishments for your scrapbook pages. They would even be cute as place cards on a summer table (it will be here before we know it)! You can even take it off the page and do this technique on wearables. You just want to use a fabric glue instead of the Tacky Glue. Aleene's® Fabric Fusion™ Permanent Dry Cleanable Fabric Adhesive™ is a great glue for adhering buttons to fabric!

Hope you found this project inspiring!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

50/365

Was in a weird mood today. You know those days where things are just a wee bit off? Well, I did like my new pink shirt and my locket, so I made it the photo of choice today. I heart my locket (pun kinda intended).

A few Pixie pics :)

Last night, I took a few cute photos of my cat that I thought that I would share. I hope I'm not verging on "crazy cat lady" territory. Anyway, I've been really proud of her lately. As much of a scaredy cat as she can be, she's really good at adapting to new situations. It only took her a couple of days to feel at ease in my new apartment when we first moved and last week when my dad and his friend came for a visit, she still slept with me and seemed ok with them being there. I don't think I'm that nutty when it comes to my cat, but she is a constant in my life and it's nice to have her with me, considering I am in a new place. It's nice to have her as my little companion. As I write this she is resting next to me in her spot. Anyway, just wanted to share these cute pics!



I've been working up a project tonight I hope to share in the next couple of days. I hope to get back in crafty mode this week. I was preoccupied with other things the last couple of weeks!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

48/365 & 49/365

49/365



A pretty uneventful day. Talked to my sis and niece and nephew, went to pharmacy, Panera, and to Target. Got a coffee maker at Target. I had one, but it isn't working right lately and is burning my coffee and leaking, so I got a $20 replacement. I plan on utilizing it rather than stopping for my morning coffee run at McDonald's. That adds up pretty darn fast!

This was taken around the corner of my house. For those who follow my stream, you saw it a few weeks ago. It's an accessible place with a few areas of interest. I was hoping to take photos next to the wig shop, but it wasn't lighted at all :( I was hoping to take a funny freaky mannequin head and me shot. Oh, well, I like the shapes and moods in this one.


48/365



I went to a new city and a craft fair today and i totally didn't get any good photos of myself :( Anyway, these were some just home and worn out photos. Another one below.

It was rainy for thus another craft show I attended. I think it put a slight damper on things. Boo.

Crafty Blogger Links

The Crafty Bloggers are at it again! Check out these fun and inspiring links that will get you into a crafty groove!

About Family Crafts
Help needed: Looking for creative graduation decorations... Ideas anyone?

Aileen's Musings
Aileen offer's another great Mothers or Father's day gift idea using more bottle caps!

Blisstree Arts
Cyndi has rounded up all of her favorite posts on making background papers and fabrics for your projects.

Cathie Filian
Cathie volunteered to make 40 centerpieces for an Awards Gala - Check out her trip to the flower district and step-by-step instructions on how to make the arrangements.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Craftside's got a crochet pattern for a pop art roll of toilet paper cozy, a detailed tutorial on how to make a photo based painting, a free dress silhouette template from the new book: Cloth Doll Artistry, and a couple of necklaces made from some very unusual recycled elements.

Crafty Princess Diaries
Go shopping in style with your own crocheted tote bag. The Crafty Princess shows off her latest finished fiber project.

CraftyPod
In her latest podcast, Sister Diane interviews Sarah Hodsdon about the future of the design profession in a global, digital economy.

Cross Stitch at About.com
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Connie's latest fun, fabulous, and did we mention FREE Cross Stitch pattern.

Naughty Secretary Club
Jen does a little painting, searches for vintages images and boils a pair of eyeglasses all in the name of creating a necklace with a little specs appeal.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
See how to make stitchless embroidered fabric from the cool new book: Fabricate by Susan Wasinger.

The Crochet Dude
Drew talks about his latest hook/needle find in an All Boye Review!

The Impatient Crafter
Learn how to make beaded wire circles with Madge!

Vickie Howell
Create customized cards out recycled fabric and keepsake images!

47/365

I tried to take some outdoor rain shots. They were all really blah with bad lighting. Yuck! So, I came in and took indoor a.k.a. I'm going to have 7 years of bad luck shots. None of these were all that great either. I'm tired and didn't want to reshoot, so this is the pose for the day.

Also, it must be said that 47 is one of my favorite numbers. 7 is my favorite number with 4 coming in second place. I don't know why...has always been this way since I was a kid.