Sunday 28 January 2007

Envelope Book

EDITED to say: for some reason the program I use to upload photos doesn't work properly, so I'll try and post the photos again tomorrow.)
I know, I know, there are many other versions on how to make a mini book. But here it's my take on the old subject. This photo is the cover, do as you like. The embellishment is a Basic Grey Magnetic buckle. All patterned papers by Crate Paper and cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper.
First step will be to gather as many envelopes as pages you want the book to have. The can be different sizes if you want, but I like to keep things simple. Seal the flap and cut the thinest stripe that your trimmer will allow in one of the edges of every envelope (so it's a pocket!). Decorate envelopes
Make the concertina fold and attach decorated envelopes.
Punch out circles on the edge of the envelopes. Cut to size plain cardstock inserts for each envelope. You can decorate them as mini layouts if you want or just write journalling. Attach some smaller circles to the inserts so they can be pull out.
And finnally the back. What I did was to staple the ribbon to the back to make sure it didn't fall off, so it needed a stripe to cover it up.
(I hope Claire that you like it and that it is of some help. You can make it in any colour, size or shape you want!)

And so it is

When I knew that CHA Winter was going to be in Anenheim this year, I made myself a promise: I had to go. One of my dearest friends, Sephira, leaves in LA, so it would be a perfect chance to do two things I love very much hang out with her and visit all the booths of my favorite craft companies. The thing is that this promise happened almost four years ago (2003). So many things have change, yet Sephira still lives in LA and CHA Winter 2007 is in Anenheim opening its doors this very day.
What, then, I am doing in my messy house in the English winter? I am saving money, for one very important reason. For a second one I am moving my studio to the dining room. (Yes, it is true. After over two years I am moving out of a tiny third bedroom to a full sized studio. I am so lucky!) And for third and final reason, tax return: two single words that chill the air and fry the brain, at least mine! (What happen to that girl who was good at maths in early high school days? I guess she disappeared under tons of patterned paper and gorgeous embellishments.)
After too much thinking about which would be the best furniture for my studio, finally we settle for this as the main unit that will hold paper, albums and other stuff and this little pretty thing for my books and magazines (Of course all those items are from IKEA, what did you think?) I promise I'll post pictures as soon as I have a proper studio to photograph!

PS: Claire, I couldn't upload the pictures from the envelope mini book. I'll try later, as soon as I finish my taxes. I promise.

Friday 26 January 2007

This months Crafts Beautiful

I don't remember if this is the first time m,y project made it to the cover of Crafts Beautiful, but anyway, it is always thrilling to see my work on it. I owe a lot to Crafts Beautiful, it was where my first crafts article was published and thanks to that I got my book deal. Not bad!
This months project is a set of cards made using the Cricut , distributed by Kars. And, trust me, that's a machine every crafter should have!
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Thursday 25 January 2007

So small

There it is, my little creative studio. It's really little, as you can imagine by the chair, too little for a person who can not bear to throw anything away, and you will think now, don't we all? Yep, but no. I am really a horder, I keep cardboard boxes (empty most of them) because "You never know". Most times they are really sitting there for a long, long time before I either I use them or even think of a future use.

The good news is that, as I informed in a previous post, I am moving to the dining room. It makes sense, I not only spend my days in the studio, but I make my living there too, it's just normal to have the second best room in the house!
I am not even going to attempt to explain where I got this or that or even what I got in there. If i did I wouldn't be able to leave the keyboard for a week.

Tuesday 23 January 2007

Class listing updated

No more than that I have to say right now!

Exciting times ahead

There are many little (or not so little) projects ahead for me. Some of them I must not talk about, some others are more on the open, but all of them are a little pieces of heaven to my life. Let me explain.
Since I left my job at Creative Pastimes I have been juggling between very busy times and very quite ones (mostly). Now again I am heading one of the former, which means that loads of projects are coming my way: articles, classes and demos for starters (I must update sidebar, I must, I must,...).
But most of all things exciting is the fact that Omar and I have agreed on the use of the rooms of the house. You must think by now that I have gone crazy, and that I want to cook eggs in the bathtub and have my showers in the entrance. Well, I am not quite that mad, yet.
The agreement (not signed so changes can happen!) consist in that the dinning room will be exclusively my studio and that the second bedroom will be my DH Omar's studio and guest bedroom. Where will we eat? Well, I had been thinking that we barely have guest for dinner and, since it's just the two of us, a little table in the living room will do. This plan will ensure that we use all the rooms in the house, otherwise the lovely and big dinning room is barely used (only for my classes).
So, I have made a list of IKEA necessary purchases and plan to go in the next few days.
I'll post photos as soon as I have them!

Monday 15 January 2007

Ribbon storage

So there was a thread on Ukscrappers on how to storage ribbons. Although there are many ways of doing so I found two really good ones: on empty kitchen rolls and on ring binders. I did the fisrt system for over two years with mix results, it's neat, accessible and the ribbon doesn't get any creases. However when you have as much ribbon as I do, they take a lot of space, and by a lot I mean seven deep A4 boxes like the ones on the photo.
After looking Saffa's storage I came up with something would allow me to use the dead space behind the door of my mini studio. It's a over the doos hanging thing form Tesco. In top two bars I have the reels of ribbon, and on the bottom one I have hooks which hold ring binders. Each ribbon is stapled to a white card that has a hole (to go thorugh the ring binder). Each ring correspond a colour, so if I need say red ribbon I only need to grab the red ring binder. The ribbon doesn't crease or get little holes from the pins. And it looks really pretty, much more than in the photo!
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Saturday 13 January 2007

Doing some scrapping

I know I haven't been very good uploading projects (not that anyone reads this blog for that purpose). But finally I got some photos of some layouts I have done this past weeks. Here there is the first one, the one with my DH Omar. It is quite unusual for me to use more than two photos in a sigle layout specially this small. But I love it.
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Thursday 11 January 2007

A day in London

Crafting is a solitaire hobby most of the time. You see, we are in our little (or not so little) studios designing our pages, cards or projects, listening music or whatever, but we are alone there. That is why forums such as Ukscrappers are so good for us. They allow us to meet people with the same interests and passions. And sometimes we meet in real life this virtual friends.
Tuesday, I met Anam and Sharon in London. We visited my favorite shops in Bloomsbury. Paperchase flaship shop in TottehamCourt Road is very impressive, they have lots of beautiful handmade papers and lovely acrylic storage. Faulkiners fine papers is just lush, a very old style shop that sell book binders stuff and large sheets of fine papers. And just off the British Museum, there is Blade Rubber, one of the few craft shops in London. I had a great time it's so nice to meet really nice crafters!

Sunday 7 January 2007

Chocolate, more chocolate

You know, there isn't a person on this earth that loves more chocolate than I do. Truly. I could live just on chocolate and the truth is, some days I actually do. And it has been always like that, as far as I can remember. So imagine my immense delight when I ate for the first time an individual hot chocolate cake which it's center was just melted chocolate. It was in 2001 and in a very posh place,The Soho House, invited by my good and very well connected friend Sephira. But, silly me, I didn't get the name of that delicious dessert, so for over two years I thought I would never taste it again. But then I found it somewhere else and this time I remembered to take the name. And it was: Chocolate fondant.
I have tried since then many, many, many different ones. Some good, some horrendous, some just plain perfection; some have different names such as Hot chocolate pudding or lava cakes... but all all them were either bought or tasted at a restaurant.
Fast forward to this summer. After spending two weeks with my mother in law watching the Food Channel, I really got into the cooking scene, so much so, that I am actually thinking of new dishes, new recipes... And not even two weeks ago I decided to look for a recipe for the Chocolate Fondant. It couldn't been easier. I found it and after a few trials, it has reach perfection to my taste. And that, trust me, is no small feat.

Wednesday 3 January 2007

The messy house

This Christmas we stayed home because of many reasons. One of them was listed in another post, but one of the main reasons was so Omar and I could do some work on the house, which needs it desperately. Omar is keeping a blog of all his work on it. It takes so long, and so much money...
But hopefully the dining and living room will be done in ten days. I am sooo looking forward to that.

Monday 1 January 2007

150

Read this in Julie's blog. Love it. The items that are in red are the things that i actually have done, the others I haven't.
1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink

2. Swam with wild dolphins
3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid (Been several times outside, but never wanted to go inside it's tomb!)
6. Held a tarantula (not a chance)
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone

8. Said “I love you’ and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped (What for?)
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (does bullfighting count?)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa (when I went it wasn't possible)
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg (does the lettuce kind count?)
19. Slept under the stars (and count them all...........as if)
20. Changed a baby’s nappy (unfortunately)
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower (the same night under the stars)
23. Got drunk on champagne (never ever got drunk, nor planning to, and I don't like alcoholic drink)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking

37. Adopted an accent for an entire day (When I am speaking in catalan in Catalunya I forget my mallorcan accent)
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment (very often, as often as I feel the complete opposite)
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk (never been on a situation when this could be done)
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country (I'll dance with anyone as long as there are more people dancing and my husband nearby)
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach (not exactly walking, more like talking)
50. Gone sky diving

51. Visited Ireland (in our honeymoon, not a place for that though!)
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them (and talk to them)
54. Visited Japan (the most amazing and beautiful place ever!)
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs (and realized that this wouldn't help)
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke ( I sing horribly, but you have to when you are in Japan, The Look of Love)
59. Lounged around in bed all day (on my really dark days, exactly a few days and a year a go)
60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain

65. Gone to a drive-in theatre
66. Visited the Great Wall of China

67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Got married
73. Been in a movie (not commercial though)

74. Crashed a party
75. Got divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch (not exactly cookies but biscuits)
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programmes as an “expert”

83. Got flowers for no reason (on the first weeks of our relationship, Omar sent me a beautiful rose by Interflora, and then lately some bouquets of white or red roses, my favorites)
84. Performed on stage (love it, love it, love it, but I didn't do it very often, pity)
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music (I sing horribly, not know how to play any instrument, so I recorded lots of fake radio programs)
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship (been in a lots of boats, nothing fancy)
94. Spoken more than one language fluently ( I speak three, Spanish, English and Catalan)

95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children (or…raising children)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country ( a short one in France)
100. Picked up and moved to another city to start over (Does another country count? When I got married four years ago)
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication (Does Crafts Beautiful Count?)
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane

109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth

112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild (but only picked up by our wise neighbour)
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states (most certainly!)
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days (and it was hell)
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi (love japenese food but not sushi)
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about ( I care deeply about many things, some of them not very important!)

130. Gone back to school (all the time on my dreams, nightmares!)
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes ... yum!
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read (loads at University)
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions (There weren't any reunions, were there?)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language (since I was little)
139. Been elected to public office (no, but been a student representative from High School trough University)
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you (when I was in my father's art class to someone to my surprise)
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ

148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life
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