tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32592352009-12-21T14:40:48.860-08:00Random musings of a crazy, crafty, pop culture-obsessed girl!Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.comBlogger500125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-424151297088556722009-12-19T17:24:00.000-08:002009-12-19T18:40:12.187-08:00

Taylor's "Awesome Angel". See below for instructions.So, my niece Taylor wanted to do a blog post with me. I thought it would be cool if she helped me come up with a list of 5 easy and fun crafts to do for kids. Taylor and Brock (her brother) make a special craft each year for family and friends, so they have a lot of crafty expertise. Each year they do something new and different, so Taylor

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-78017747061421165372009-12-10T01:24:00.001-08:002009-12-11T23:04:40.517-08:00

I just had a long night. I'm prepping for Fresno Etsy Especial's Cirque Du Noel as a helper and for iLoveToCreate, so it's been kinda crazy tonight in the house of swell. If you know anyone (real friends or online friends) who live in the Fresno area, tell them about our event please! It's our first one so we are keeping our fingers crossed that it goes well. Wish us luck!Well, that's all for

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-22583422148910250612009-12-07T23:39:00.000-08:002009-12-08T00:27:25.247-08:00

Check out these fun holiday ideas I rounded up tonight! Admittedly, I haven't put up any decorations. I do love my holidays, but I've been busy and I'm leaving this Saturday to go home. I may come home from visiting and want to put up my tree, but then again I may not. It's weird when you live by yourself....anything I put up is really for my enjoyment (and Pixie's as well). Oh, well.

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-61389895193006182542009-12-07T00:03:00.001-08:002009-12-07T00:22:53.929-08:00

I love to wear hats. When I was growing up, I didn't wear them much, because school didn't allow it...also I haven't been the savviest of dressers over the years, so I was totally clueless how to wear them really. The hat above was made by my friend Pattie! She cut out all of her tags and glued them with Fabric Fusion to a blank cap. How cute is that? Back to my hat attack...I did buy them

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-76229203503819438382009-12-03T23:49:00.000-08:002009-12-04T01:20:20.392-08:00

Hmm, it's almost Christmas time again, and I'm ALWAYS at wits end as to what to tell people I want when they ask...so, I thought I would sit down and think about it and really figure it out. Here's my list (Mom & Sophia, this post is for you in particular)...I would like to get back into non-digital photography. There's something about film that is just so raw, real, and true. I want a Holga.

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-32912710804448028142009-12-02T23:07:00.000-08:002009-12-02T23:23:27.660-08:00

Today I had the case of the Mondays, but it was a Wednesday. Eh, I guess it is one part hormones plus one part personal conflict and stress. It's not that any one certain thing has gotten me down...it's more that sometimes it hits all at a time...stress, insecurities, the monthly gift...you know the drill.So, I could have just curled up in the fetal position, gotten out a pint of Ben & Jerry's

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-63448701260975927222009-12-01T00:37:00.000-08:002009-12-02T13:35:34.703-08:00

As I said, I went to Chinatown a few days ago while in San Francisco. I still find it very weird that I am a West Coaster now. I still get stumped when I have to fill in the blank CA instead of KY. So, being in San Francisco (and the fact that it is only about 3 hours away) is still kind of a bizarre concept to me. If you had told me 2 years ago that I would have been living a life just a

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-89823446066348514382009-12-02T12:25:00.000-08:002009-12-02T12:29:35.482-08:00

Hey, y'all! Look at my holiday handiwork in the iLoveToCreate offices. Every few months, I draw the birthday board and it was my turn this month. It turned out busy, but cute.For the record, dots on the ends of letters always make things look cooler! I never understood why people paid lots of moolah for a local gift store to do it for personalize gifts. You just write simply and add dots at

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-89852936461518058572009-12-02T02:33:00.000-08:002009-12-02T02:36:53.757-08:00

Here's a little mosaic ornament project I made a couple years back. I made two Flickr mosaic ornaments in two different themes. The first theme is of the city I used to the live in, Lexington (admittedly, I had a lot of landmark shots and this was a convenient topic to pick interesting photos from). The second theme is my friend Molly. I wanted to fill it with various images of her and people

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-21465170914204045412009-11-29T23:58:00.001-08:002009-11-30T00:18:29.545-08:00

This past weekend, I went to both Berkeley and San Francisco with my friends Chris and Kristy. In one of the thrift shops, I noticed this shirt as we entered and I totally had this same Santa print as a middle schooler. Yep, I did the whole embellished t-shirt thing back in the day. I think I used gold Scribbles paint on mine and I'm pretty sure I put a little bell on there somewhere (I think

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-50984686601265601712009-11-25T00:31:00.000-08:002009-11-25T00:37:06.561-08:00

My peeps are here all the way from Lexington and Louisiana (Chris & Kristy) so I'm keeping this short and sweet tonight. Did come upon this super swell type above by BjornStar that I just love. I totally dig cool typography. I'm ok at a few doodles here or there, but when it comes to really cool lettering, I missed that boat somehow. I admire people who can do crazy fonts and hand lettering

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-24364757361343334112009-11-24T00:28:00.000-08:002009-11-24T00:40:48.122-08:00

Check it out! I have a really cool new (to me) set of glasses that I wanted to share. These glasses actually belonged to my Grandmother and I never recall seeing them once, but aren't they incredibly cool? I love them so much. Who knew that my grandmother had these stashed away? I'm glad my mom found them and thought that I would appreciate them. They are so neat that I don't even know if I

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-81156997559623641062009-11-23T00:03:00.000-08:002009-11-23T00:09:58.947-08:00

Got this pillow in the mail yesterday and it made me very happy. My mom always gives us a gift around Thanksgiving time so that we can enjoy it during the holiday season. Well, this gift is super special because it is a pillow made from my grandmother's old holiday sweatshirt. My grandmother passed away this past July. She always wore this shirt at Christmas time. It's just a simple mouse

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-82716971545648489562009-11-19T23:12:00.000-08:002009-11-20T00:48:21.547-08:00

Saw this video on television tonight and I found it to be super sweet. I guess it should make me want to buy the Amazon Kindle, but honestly I don't read that many books. I go through phases where I do from time to time, but most of my reading is in the form or magazines and craft books. Five other things that inspired me tonight:These cake pedestals found hereAlso love this clown inspired

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-64939975176861917962009-11-19T00:03:00.000-08:002009-11-19T00:17:39.130-08:00

So, before I got my new Mac, I saw these pictures all over Flickr and I had no clue how they were done! Well, I know now. Basically, when you get a new iMac, a little camera comes installed in the computer. This camera records still photos and videos. There's a little program called "Photo Booth" that you play with to get silly and goofy pictures. A child (or in my case an adult...but this

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-3965793627750976982009-11-17T23:08:00.000-08:002009-11-17T23:31:47.776-08:00

In addition to my Swell Life blog, I also am the main contributor to the social media sites of iLoveToCreate.com! What does this mean? Well, while I am a graphic designer for iLovetoCreate, I'm also hard at work finding cool things to showcase on the iLoveToCreate various social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and the iLoveToCreate blog. I'm always in search of projects that people

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-73753511861005663482009-11-16T23:52:00.000-08:002009-11-16T23:58:21.308-08:00

No joke! I've never made Shrinky Dinks before tonight. While over at Silvia's tonight, we decided to craft and she suggested Shrinky Dinks, to which she received a resounding yes from me!I actually own two packages of Shrinky Dinks...the regular kind and the digital inkjet kind. I've just never gotten them out and played, though I've always intended to. There are a lot of crafts like this that

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-23278138103383425252009-11-16T00:21:00.001-08:002009-11-16T00:35:27.140-08:00

So, I spent a huge chunk of my day today cleaning my closet. Admittedly, my place is a wreck and I had to start somewhere. I have purchased some new clothes recently that I want to play up and it's really hard to do when your clothes are organized! So I went to it...I did several loads of laundry as well and tomorrow I plan on continuing with the task. I even bought some fancy (yeah, right)

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-47501384507789415562009-11-12T23:09:00.000-08:002009-11-12T23:15:27.264-08:00

Here's a repeat project from last year that I made. It's quick and simple...yeah, that's me. And if you don't want to use paint, you could use a silver or gold pen too! The Thankful PumpkinSupplies:– medium or large pumpkin– Copper Pearl paint– thin drafting tape (I used Rainbow Tape)– newspaper– damp clothInstructions:1. Wipe off any dirty spots of pumpkin with cloth.2. Spiral tape around

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-58889303161666180662009-11-11T21:38:00.000-08:002009-11-12T01:11:45.223-08:00

1. Where is your cell phone: charging in my bedroom.2. Your hair: is in dire need of a cut right now. Also, I used to hate it, but I've grown into it. 3. Your mother: Is one of the most talented ladies I know.4. Your father: Is very honest, true to his word and amazingly gifted at fixing ANYTHING. 5. Your favorite food: Don't know that I can pinpoint just one, but in no particular order...ice

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-40326069949800563532009-11-11T01:03:00.000-08:002009-11-11T01:12:09.551-08:00

Tonight, my friend Katie and I went to Panera and then to Powell's Candy Shop in the Sierra Vista Mall. At Powell's, they had a full out holiday display filled with lotsa holiday candies and goodies. Katie was so excited and said she was totally in the holiday spirit. Me, not so much.See, I really don't get into the holiday spirit till the day after Thanksgiving. I take my holidays one at a

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-50236289004919480932009-11-09T23:14:00.000-08:002009-11-09T23:20:42.801-08:00

I finally got my new Mac and I'm so excited about it and I just can't hide it! I got to play with a few of the features including the Photobooth application and the iMovie application and I made what you see above and below (my 365 photo...yes, I know I look crazed in it). I think my video turned out really cute. I'm excited about it and the possibilities I have with iMovie.It was a beautiful

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-76049622150638780032009-11-09T00:06:00.000-08:002009-11-09T00:20:02.333-08:00

This past weekend, I attended the wedding of my friends Katie and Kyle. It was beautiful. Katie is very, very crafty and her little touches were all over. She's a big sucker for details, so entire thing had touches of both her and Kyle's sensibilities. Here's some pics I shot of the day...The happy coupleThe main color was green (as seen in her sister Lauren's dress), but fall leaves and

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-52915398695750357112009-11-05T23:14:00.000-08:002009-11-05T23:52:00.275-08:00

I must be in a home decor mood...too bad I hate cleaning, huh? Anyway, I love décor and all the clever finds out there. I thought I'd share a few pretty ones today...enjoy :)Flower screen from felt cleaners via Design Sponge.Ceiling Medallion art from DIY IdeasLight fixtures using felt from Apartment TherapyTree Branch Curtain Rod from Casa SugarSimple marble Vase from Addicted 2 DecoratingHope

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3259235.post-85555422749383543862009-11-04T22:54:00.000-08:002009-11-04T23:26:07.865-08:00

1. I have kinda been a flake and I realized I never announced the winner of the Witchy Prize Pack...I asked a friend on Facebook to choose a number between 1 & 32, the number of entries I recieved and as you can tell, she chose 4. I scrolled down the list and picked the 4th one from the top and it was Levi's Mommy! I will be getting in touch with you about shipping info. I apologize for the

Alexahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17118224267577242315noreply@blogger.com23