I Hope

this empty space has not brought disappointment. This transition before the transition has proven emotionally draining. I'm not sure where its all coming from but I've not been in the mood to do much but ingest home design inspiration online and take walks with Sebastian. Things are getting done, but very slowly and with much dragging of feet and spirit. I am letting it happen and trying to work it out so it doesn't burst forth in one big, emotional gush. In the meantime, I appreciate that you stop by and sometimes leave comments.

Here are some pictures from our Memorial Day trip to Sequoia National Park. It was one of those leftover winter weekends that shows up at an awkward time but it WAS a nice break from the 100 degree weather the Saturday before.

Be back soon.  

~Rachel

Shop Update

I've made more of the handmade journal kits available in my personal Etsy Shop.

With the move only two weeks away, I am turning my last chunk of 'making' time into de-stashing the craft room and putting goodies together for purchase. This batch is similar to the last batch in the types of papers used but I've added a few new bits and pieces to the embellishment pile. The kit comes with a prompt sheet for journaling ideas and instructions on how to put your journal together.
I think there are at least 50 of these journals floating around in the world so with the addition of this batch, I feel it is time to start a flickr group to share your customization. If you've already got one, feel free to add it HERE.
I also wanted to share two projects I've recently made for our new place.

The Laundry Bag is for hauling our dirties to the 'on sight' unit. In our first Seattle apartment, we learned about taking our wash to the laundromat once a week and spending a whole afternoon catching up on reading to the hum of the machines and the smell of urine. Quarters will have to be a part of our lifestyle again. In many ways it was like college. Our second apartment in Seattle had the 'on sight' amenity but it was a long walk down the stairs and to the basement with a wee baby and a large pile of clothes. This time, we're prepared!

The second is a floor pillow to add some color to the beige room Sebastian will have. He already loves it but he may have to wrestle it away from Brett. I figure I should make two more so they can have something to wrestle/jump/sleep on when they need to.


The boy is awake. Off to enjoy the unusually cool weather.

~R~

Let me introduce you to my brother.

He is a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army National Guard, runs marathons, does triathlons, climbs very large mountains, finished Army AIRBORNE School, spent a month in the woods without a shower, lived in Africa for a summer, ran the Army 10-miler in D.C., and survived falling out of both of the trees in our front yard when he was six. Oh, and he's single. (wink, wink)
Feel free to leave him some love. He'd like that.

~R

I'm In Love!

I have often wandered over to the Hambly blog to add my comment for the giveaway and secretly wished I could be a Guest Designer. When Allison e-mailed me to see if I was interested in May, I started to palpitate. She was generous enough to let me post my gallery mid-month since my April schedule was already packed and has been lovely to work with. I had so much fun with this product because the possibilities are pretty much endless with those overlays and rub-ons. NOT TO MENTION how beautiful the colors of the papers are!
There is a giveaway going on over there so if you haven't been by yet, don't delay!
P.S. If you are curious about some of the how-to's for the projects, check my flickr photo site.

Making Do

My computer had to be shipped off to the Apple Manufacturer to be mended. Life is not the same without her. I am still working to get things posted on the RVKC blog to showcase our new DT and maybe a few pics on Flickr for fun but unless its necessary to fulfill an obligation to another party,its not worth the hassle working from two different borrowed PC's. I shall be back AS SOON as our Mac shows up.

You will be saturated with the backup of pictures.

More fun news this week!

Rachel

The Day After NSD

And the winner is:

Sara

These are so cool! I would love to see more tree and house shapes on tags - and how about swingsets and slides? Thanks so much for the chance!

So, if this is you, send me your full name and mailing address via e-mail (Check profile) and I'll pass that along to Veronica.

Thanks for your patience with the drawing. My computer died about 5 minutes after that last post and had to be taken to the Apple hospital to be fixed. She may be back on Tuesday but in the meantime, I'm borrowing my dad's.

The last of the Etsy orders will be shipped out on Monday! I've got four big projects I'm juggling in the next two weeks. Two will be announced this month and the other two may have to wait awhile. And then there's the move to Missouri! I've been thinking about apartment decorations non-stop and making notes in my planner and ripping out Anthropologie pages for inspiration. If you check my Flickr.com favorites, its mostly beautiful rooms. I'll upload some fun mail pictures that I received yesterday from Elsie when the computer comes home.

What did you end up doing on NSD? I'd love to know...

You KNOW What Day It Is...

...and if you don't, its not your fault.  I couldn't figure out what NSD was last year until finally, FINALLY, someone actually spelled out National Scrapbooking Day.  Then I was like, "They have a day for that?"

In honor of the big day, I've got a give away for you fine folks. This tag set is from Vmilan.etsy.com. Check out their blog for tag ideas and another giveaway! You can see how others have used her tags in their layouts and cards here.  All you have to do is leave a comment describing your favorite tag or an idea you would love to see on a tag and I'll draw a name tonight and post the winner.  (10 p.m. or so, Pacific Time)

We're about to take the majority of our kits to the post office to get sent off.  Its the first month we've been ready to ship these babies early so we're giving ourselves a little pat on the back.  Ha!  I'll be back later to check the comments but I hope you all have a sunny day of enjoyment, whether you're the scrappy type or not.  

Kits Are Up

I'm really happy with how this lovely turned out.  She's a keeper.  I'm going to make a few more for the new place and change them up with the seasons.  The base for the pillow case is 100% natural linen and looks so pretty with the monochromatic pinks spread all over the top.  We've got them available in the Etsy Shop.

If you haven't seen Elsie's Etsy Shop, you're in for a treat! Go check out the new embroidery kits and a few new paintings!  

The burn is feeling fine today.  I've been putting Neosporin and Aloe Vera on it all day which means everyone has to stare at my greasy chin.  Sebastian has been crinkling his nose at it!

I'm out for a few days to catch up on life and take care of a few loose ends from April's big, fabulous, secret project.  We've got about a month left here in Fresno so I'm keeping the calendar in full view to make sure I don't miss anything.  Its way past my bedtime, ya'all.  

Rachel

Why You Should Never Mix Hot Coffee and Softball

I get pretty queasy when I see blood, fresh scars, the operating scenes in Grey's Anatomy, etc.  If you are like me, you may not be able to finish reading this post.  I'm getting a little light-headed thinking about it myself.  What you are about to see are the effects of last nights wild night on the town.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

Yes, that is the remainder of my chin.  The lovely heart-shaped bit is where my skin blistered and burnt.  Here's a little reenactment of what took place.

I was watching my brother's late night softball game with my parents and Sebastian when I decided it was time to enjoy the freshly brewed coffee my dear husband had made to keep me warm on the bleachers.  Sebastian was sitting safely in my mother's lap next to me all tucked in under blankets and layers of clothing.  I took the lid off of the thermos that I had never used before and fidgeted with the part that I thought opened so that I could drink the coffee.  If I had stopped to realize that this was not a 'drink from spout' kind of thermos, I would've avoided the scalding hot coffee that missed my mouth and ran down my chin and all over my shirt.  

This is what it looked like.
I wiped my chin off with my sleeve and shared some mild expression of frustration in the form of 'CRAP' with those around me.  I felt my chin and noticed my skin was movable...like when you're sluffing off the dead skin from a sunburn.  Sick, I know.  It was only about three minutes later that I turned to my mom and asked if my chin looked red and she said very calmly, "Rachel, you may need some ice."   Its always better if you don't see how bad it is until you're in a place to laugh it off.  I'm not sure what this will look like in about a month but if it has permanently sealed off the pores on my chin, then we're good.  In the meantime, all self-portraits will have to be of my feet.  Ha!  

The Tribe Has Spoken

Oh, you beautiful, beautiful thing. I'm saving up for you.
I'm also working with a good friend on a woodcut tattoo. He's a prolific artist, I love his stuff, and he's sending me the first draft on Friday. Promise I'll share when I have it done.
And, thanks to another beautiful friend, a very special email from iTunes showed up in my inbox! Love love love! I hope I turn 27 again next year. I'd just finished reading 'Redemption Song,' a biography about Joe Strummer. So I'm listening to his solo record, 'Earthquake Weather' and his 3 incredible records as Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, 'Rock Art & the X-Ray Style,' 'Global A Go-Go,' and, compiled and released after his death, 'Streetcore.' Incredible stuff. Oh, and I'm paying a bit of attention to another one of his earlier bands, the Clash. Anyone ever heard of them? No? Probably a one-hit wonder or something.  Maybe they'll grow on me.

Frosting

There is nothing finer than homemade cake frosting. This recipe is the one Brett's Mama made every year before we got married and although I've made it at least ten times (birthdays and other days) I can never remember where I put my recipe card. You have to remember we've moved our kitchen four times in the last six years. I told Cheryl that I would paint it on my wall when we finally bought a house.
I called her again yesterday to get the details but she was away from her own recipe box so Jaime, Brett's youngest sister and a fine baker herself, gave me the ingredients and guessed the measurements. As I went along I could tell it wasn't turning out per usual so I kind of winged it and added a little more of this and that until it was suitable.
Despite its unusually light coloring, the frosting was delicious.

It was a relaxed birthday weekend. We talked about going to see Kimya Dawson in Visalia but then remembered all the practical reasons why we shouldn't. I know. We're old. The last concert Brett and I went to was Over The Rhine in Seattle two years ago this month. Sebastian heard the muffled version through the amniotic fluid he was floating in.

I've really enjoyed NOT working on anything crafty this weekend. I don't usually lock myself out of the crafty space because I always enjoy spending free time making stuff but it can really keep me from spending that important 'do nothing' time that every soul needs to anchor itself. This morning I realized how much I love sitting under the huge shade tree that graciously hangs over our backyard. I was just there. Not making lists or worrying about how much t.v. time Sebastian is getting, etc. but just noticing and absorbing and sitting. Its what being six feels like.
Thanks to all who left their two cents and birthday wishes for Brett. He felt the love. Still no decision on the birthday checks except that he's happy to not spend them on debt reduction!
Ta-Ta!

Rock the Vote

Saturday is Brett's 27th birthday.
He is sitting on the couch going over all the possibilities of what he can buy with his birthday checks.
He needs your help.

Should he:

A) Get a tattoo

B) Drop it on iTunes

C) Pay off debt

D) Start his Vespa nest egg

Its always a toss up between instant gratification and long term happiness but I tend to choose the former when it comes to birthday money.

More random things about Brett.

*He subs at a middle school where ALL the 8th grade girls have a crush on him.

*He makes the best lattes.

*He used to paint his fingernails black.

*He wore the same pair of pants (that turned into shorts) every day during 11th grade.

*His top three favorite things include reading, sleeping and.. guess.

*He knows almost everything about indie music, sports and politics because of his aforementioned reading hobby.

*He is totally supportive of my artistic endeavors.

*He always writes thank-you notes.

*He likes Grey's Anatomy, too!

*He wants a Vespa real bad.


Feel free to leave Brett a 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY RAD HUSBAND OF RACHEL's' message. He'll blush.


Happy weekend!

DIY Woodgrain Book

You can make your own if you go HERE.

I'm Better

Ya'all are the best at making a girl feel loved. I laughed my way through many of your comments. THANKS!

Enjoying these lovely blogs lately.
Making It Lovely
Paper Pony
Heart Handmade
Mati Rose
Oh Joy!
Jen Gotch Photography
Wondering if I could make one of these myself.


And I'd like one of everything from this shop.

Chill-Out, Man!

Uggghhh. Totally feeling lame.

I think I'm about to menstruate. Yes, I said menstruate.

So, I woke up yesterday and watched yet another 40 minutes of (the same) Elmo's World, did NOT go jogging, spent some fabulous time outside in the backyard with my journal, and stayed in my 'morning clothes' until 3:30 p.m. when Brett got home from subbing and I was able to take a shower in peace before tutoring. Bumming around in my 'morning clothes' puts me in a bad mood. Answering the door in my 'morning clothes' usually makes me feel awkward. So, when the salesman knocked around lunch time, I was in no condition to stand in my 'morning clothes' with a diaper clad toddler tugging my arm to get back to Elmo's World. He said he wanted my help in getting points to win a trip to some exotic location. I told him I wasn't interested in helping him win a vacation to said exotic location. I just wanted to get back to my pissy morning. I regretted being so rude as I watched him walk down the driveway, shaking his head and probably wondering if he could get away with tagging our fence. (Sorry, Sebastian has already claimed that canvas!)

The rest of the afternoon and evening just felt forced as far as work goes. Its hard to be creative when you're about to menstruate. Anyone? Anyone? Sebastian pooped in the bath tub and will probably wet the crib for the fourth night in a row despite his super absorbent, overnight diaper. I will probably regret staying up a little too late again when its time to roll out of bed in the morning, find the coffee, and insert the worn-out, Elmo DVD while I check out how many comments I have on my blog.
Glam-or-ous! So leave me a comment or I'll probably yell at another salesman.