two new + one edit.

i recently described myself as a binge scrapper. i think the description fits me well. here are two new layouts from this week, plus an enhanced version of an older layout.

i'm happy that so many of the nsd challenges sparked some creativity inside me. this layout was made for a color challenge from the cosmo cricket blog. i printed this photo from my iphone when i printed the others i've been using. i need to remember to print those photos more often. while they aren't the best quality, they often capture moments that otherwise might have been forgotten. like this one of victoria having a tea party. :]
i'm still using the quilting bee kit and honeycomb add on. i'm happy that i had the perfect papers left in that kit for the challenge. the thickers are from my stash... can you tell that they are two different shades of yellow? grr. i've made a mental note to compare the color of the two sheets in the package before buying them from now on, but i got these from twopeas anyway, so i didn't really have a choice.
i hit a bit of a block on embellishing this layout, until i remembered seeing these fun handmade paper flowers recently. they are pretty easy to make, and i had fun experimenting with different sizes.

the next layout was for a challenge from studio calico to scrap your avatar photo. i picked up that bingo card the other day at my lss, but everything else if from the kits mentioned above. when i was finished constructing the layout, i asked james for a title suggestion. he recommended just going with "bingo". nice one.
i also added some maya mist to the music note paper. in person it adds a little bit of glimmer, which is kind of nice. it's a pretty simple layout, but i like it. :]

i'm in the process of cleaning, clearing, and organizing my studio area. it's a never ending task, but i know that the key is really for everything to have it's own place. there are currently a lot of items that don't have a home in there... so i'm working to either find them a home or get rid of them. my dad even commented on my progress the other day, which felt nice. a little bit of affirmation from those around me serves as one of the best sources of motivation.

anyway. as i was clearing out a bag that i took to a crop a while ago, i found a decent sized scrap of red cardstock. later that day, i was organizing a stack of layouts, and i realized that the red cardstock would be perfect for this older layout. it was pretty simple to insert it, then i decided to add some stitching too. i like version 2.0 quite a bit better.

i'm still occasionally running into some added dullness to my photos when i export them. the layout is a bit more vibrant in person, but you can see that the red really sets the title and other embellishments apart now.

ok. that's all for now. but hopefully not for long. i'll see if i can get a few more layouts made before i shut down creatively again. haha.

nsd.

yesterday i ignored everything i should have gotten done and spent the day scrapbooking since it was national scrapbook day. studio calico was hosting a bunch of challenges, so i used those as a little push to be creative.

the first layout i made was based on a sketch and was made with the joyland studio calico kit. this page was a struggle and didn't come out as i had envisioned, but that's ok. the first page is always the hardest for me. in other words, my energy of activation is pretty high for the first layout as i'm overcoming the energy barrier for creativity. i tried to use the sketch as a catalyst to speed things up, but it wasn't as effective as i'd hoped. yes. i'm a nerd. it's time for finals, so i'm in science mode. :]
the sketch called for three photos, but i substituted those little frames instead. i didn't think i would like those frames as much as i did... i may need to pick up another package because they are handy. you'll see more of them later in this post.
oh and for the record, when i showed james my layouts, he said this one was his favorite because it's about the softball tournament. i guess that just goes to show that even if a layout isn't my favorite, it's still nice to include it in an album. he likes my layouts more for the content, which i can appreciate.

the second layout was also made with the joyland kit and was for a challenge to scraplift yourself. the layout i lifted is in this post. lifting really helped me overcome the energy barrier. :] the original layout is still one of my favorites, and i think this one is right up there now too.
i knew i wanted to have more journaling than was on the original layout, so i added this text box. my photo was also larger, so instead of clustering my embellishments into a rectangle, i substituted the larger photo and added my embellishments elsewhere. and instead of machine stitching with no thread, i did some hand stitching with thread.
i made those little folded flowers because i've been seeing them a lot lately, and i think they are so cute. they definitely add lots of dimension to the page, so i might have to keep this one out of my album and find a frame or some other way to display it.
and i should also mention that the topic for the layout came about because i've been noticing some seriously lame titles and journaling going on here lately. haha. i'm trying to improve that, and this layout was a definite step in the right direction for me. it was fun to actually plan out my journaling and get some thoughts down about our relationship that haven't really been documented before... even if i did get the paula abdul song stuck in my head for a while as a result. ha!

i was going to put joyland away at this point, but i do like to try to get three layouts per kit, so i decided to make one more... that way if i don't get back around to joyland anytime soon i'll still have met my layout goal for the kit.
here are some more of those cool frames i used in the first layout. i had a lot of fun making little layers for each frame here and those little scrunched flowers are made out of tape from pink paislee that i also punched through as well. here's a tip: place decorative tape like this down on paper in order to punch it. i just used plain copy paper so it wouldn't get too thick for the punch. :]
again i tired to improve my title work and journaling here. my journaling isn't exactly profound, but it's better than some of my previous attempts.
the photo looks a little bit washed out in the photos of the layout, but it's actually one of my favorite photos. my dad took it as we were about to get on thunder mountain at disneyland. you can see the blur of the train arriving in the background, which was totally unplanned but looks pretty cool.

the fourth layout was for a challenge to scrapbook about your mom. i switched to the quilting bee kit and honeycomb add on at this point, but i used the sassafras glitter alphabet from joyland because it matched pretty well, and i love the smaller size of the letters.
my mom's favorite disney character is sorcerer mickey. i love this photo of her with victoria because she didn't know i was taking it, and i think it has that spontaneous look too it.

i used some blue mist here that matches mickey's hat really well in person. i have only two maya mist colors in my collection, so i was thrilled to have the perfect shade of blue.

the fifth layout is another one that i really like, but it did not photograph well at all. :/ it really does look better in person. it was for a challenge to scrapbook photos from your phone. these are ones that i've taken on campus recently. people tend to give me strange looks when i'm pointing my iphone at trees, but i'm starting to get used to it. i was actually planning to do a wordless wednesday post here with a bunch of these photos, but i never managed to get that done. oops!
you can barely see my journaling along the white borders of the photos, but it's there. :] and i'm happy that i came up with "campus in the spring" for my title after writing my journaling because before i wrote it, all i could come up with was "spring" or "springtime". haha.
i'm not 100% sure that i'm into the butterfly trend, but i'm trying to use them here and there. i don't mind them of this layout. i decided to keep them really neutral and just painted the bases black and left the tops in the natural chipboard color. i wanted the color of the blossoms to be the focal point, so i think it worked out well to keep the butterflies really simple. i added some stickpins though to give them just a little extra touch.

i was going to be finished with my national scrapbook day festivities after the fifth layout because it was time for dinner, but i wanted to complete the scrapbook your opposite style challenge. since i knew that minimalist would be a good option for my opposite, i had a feeling i could finish the layout pretty quickly. and i did. :]

i started by splattering some black paint onto to kraft cardstock... i couldn't just leave it completely untouched no matter how opposite i was trying to scrap. another tip i picked up somewhere along the way is to dilute the paint with water for best splattering results. next, i just cut out some of the doilies from the patterned paper using a craft knife and layered the centers using foam tape for a little dimension. the photo is another that i'd taken on my iphone. it was during the trip to apple hill last fall. i was feeling carsick in the backseat of joey's car, but trying to make the best of the trip anyway.

there was also a challenge to find inspiration from your tumblr account, so i used a quote that i saved a while back in my tumblr [which i haven't added to for a while, i realize] for the title. james came in while i was hurrying to finish and told me which letter was next since i was stamping the letters from right to left and had to keep thinking about what was next. he definitely sped up the stamping process.

i actually like the minimalist look quite a bit when i see other people doing it, so it was fun to give it a try. i'm pretty happy with my layout and based on how quickly i assembled it, i'm thinking i should give it a try more often!

all in all, i had a pretty productive scrapbooking day. maybe next year i'll be able to have some friends over to scrapbook or something more social, but my plans were definitely last minute this year.

in other news, my last anatomy practical went pretty well. i thought i got a perfect score, but it turns out i missed one question. i'm trying to figure out which one it could have been, but i'm thinking maybe i just had some misspellings. my mind kept going blank on spelling during the practical. now i just have my final exam in lecture on thursday, then i need to grade the last round of lab reports for my students before i head off to vallejo for my pharmacy school interview. eek! at least it will be summer afterwards. i'm looking forward to spending some time at the beach this year, since i didn't go to tahoe at all last year.

i still need to post photos from the softball tournament last weekend, so i'll try to do that soon. i hope everyone enjoyed the weekend! :]

my grandparents' clock.

my grandparents have an antique clock in their house, which is distinctly present in my memories of visiting them as a child. i remember hearing it's grand sound when i would stay with them... it's one of the triggers that makes me think of my grandparents. :] even now when i go visit them, sometimes i'll have them run the clock so i can hear it chime.

anyway, my uncle took the clock to the antique road show when it went through denver. here's a link to the episode. the clock is featured within the first 10 minutes. i'm thankful that there are so many shows available online now, so that i could see this episode. it was fun to find out some of the history of the clock. previously, i'd only known a little bit of information that my dad passed along to me.

i'll be back soon with an update. for now, i'm cleaning and studying for my practical. :]

eek.

i got invited to a pharmacy school interview at touro university in vallejo.

i'm having some serious mixed emotions about it...

but i'm going to go and do my best. and if nothing else, i'll have an idea of what the interview process is like for next time around.

in the meantime... i'm trying to avoid thinking too much about all of the "what if" scenarios.

oldies.

a few days ago i was moving some things in my studio and i realized that there are some older layouts that i meant to post, but forgot. i only had time to photograph two of them before the sunlight was too poor... so i'll try to remember to post some more soon.

i posted a peek of this one quite a while ago. i made it at a crop back in november. it's a simple layout, and it came together rather easily thanks to that journaling spot that mandee gave me. :]

it still ranks up there with my favorite layouts.

aside from the journaling spot, i used the yearbook kit from studio calico. i'm really not a fan of gold, so i didn't anticipate using those gold sequin things from prima... turns out i kind of sort of fell in love with them. haha. go figure.
i did some stitching around the perimeter of the patterned paper when i got home, which doesn't show too well in the photo, but i like it in person.

this one was made back in january with the marketplace kit and bazaar add-on. i guess that means it counts towards my layout goal for this year. :]

the photo is from our family trip to disneyland. my sister said she didn't have very many photos of her and victoria together, so i was trying to take some for her.
i really just had fun layering and stitching papers. and also messing with which of those fabric brads should go where. haha.
i remember that i had a certain title in mind, but for some reason i couldn't make it work. it was probably too long. i know i was running out of certain letters at this point, which is kind of a good feeling. i'm beginning to like using up entire packages of scrappy items. :]

in other news, i mentioned that james got hurt during his football game over the weekend. he couldn't walk on sunday and could barely even sit up. he said it was the worst pain he's ever felt. yesterday he was doing slightly better. he was able to get up and walk for brief periods of time, and sit at the table to eat. today he somehow managed to go to work, and he is walking around a bit more... but he looks like an 80 year old man. i try not to laugh at him too much.

it was his team's first softball game tonight, so we went to watch and cheer them on from the sidelines. they won, so it was much more fun to watch. i know he was sad that he wasn't able to play, but i asked him if his football injury was worth missing softball, and he said it was. so i learned something new, which is rare by this point in our relationship. i seriously thought he liked softball better. haha.

i also had an anatomy exam today. i got a 90%, which is ok. could have been a little better, but the exam was hard. i prepared for it as well as i could, but there were still a few tricky questions. i hate tricky questions. and i really dislike professors who include such questions on their exams. hopefully the next [and last!] exam will be a little nicer to me so i can maintain an A.

i guess that's all for now. hopefully i'll have some new layouts to share soon, but it's semi-doubtful since i have a huge pile of lab reports to grade again. sigh.

aces outing.

james made plans for us to go to an aces game on friday. as we were approaching the stadium james told tiffany and mike that it was my first aces game. then i told him it was actually the first baseball game i'd ever been to in my life. haha. the stadium is actually pretty impressive. it's not huge, but it's very nice. i guess that comes along with being new, but i was impressed. i decided to get an aces shirt to wear to the game, but it was so cold that i ended up borrowing a jacket from tiffany, which i wore the entire night. maybe i'll go to another game when it's warmer in order to wear my shirt. ha.
i've generally told people that i don't like baseball because it involves too much standing around and too little action. i still think this is true, but at least at the stadium you can wander into the store or to the concession stands. i guess the overall baseball game experience isn't so bad.
we had pretty good seats, and i think the tickets cost something like $9. i thought it would cost more than that, but then i paid $3 for a hot chocolate that was just over halfway full and i realized that they probably make a majority of their profits on the concessions. just like the movie theaters.
it got really cold as the sun went down, so we left during the fifth inning. at that point, the score was 5-0 in favor of the aces. i'm not sure who ended up with the win, but i would imagine the aces did. they were playing the fresno grizzlies, who are somehow affiliated with the giants.

all in all, i'm happy that i finally had my first baseball game experience. baseball is actually quite simple to follow. with football, i generally find myself a little confused and not aware of what's happening because i don't know the rules. but with baseball, it's pretty straightforward and easy to understand. i'll probably go to another game as long as it's warmer. :]

i hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. james got hurt at his football game today, so i've been doing my best to take care of him. something is wrong with his lower back to the point where he can't walk or even sit up straight. poor guy. i hope nothing serious is wrong.

for now, i'm off to study for my anatomy exam on tuesday. hopefully it's not as hard as the last one! i'm soooo over this class.

easter + softball.

i decided to join james and go out to his parents' house for easter this year. his mom had just returned from korea a few days earlier, and i think james was anxious to see her and hear about her trip. she said that the weather was similar to what we've been experiencing around here... dreary and cold. so she wasn't able do very many activities, but i'm sure that she enjoyed just spending time with her family. she also said about 800 people came to james' grandpa's funeral.

shortly after we arrived, his mom made some korean ribs for us. i've seen james eat them before, but it was my first time trying them. they were really yummy.
for dinner, we had korean bbq. it was delicious.
notice the dish of chopped peppers? usually they are mixed in with all the other meat and veggies cooking, but his mom left them out so that i would be able to eat. haha. she's seriously so sweet... always trying to accommodate me and very low tolerance for spicy food. once they knew i was full, they tossed them all in to cook. you might also notice how chopsticks were substituted by a fork for me. i have yet to master my chopstick technique. :]

james' brother and girlfriend [who he still won't admit is his girlfriend. ha!] were also there. after dinner, we all attempted to go to a nearby softball field for a test run of my skills. james and his friends want to play in a co-ed tournament at the end of the month, and they need more girls for the team. i told james that before they add me to the roster, we should make sure that i can at least hit the ball. it was so windy and cold when we got to the field that we didn't last very long, but i did learn that i don't completely suck at softball.

on monday i decided to take the plunge and buy a glove and bat. it was pretty difficult to find a good glove for my tiny hands. i wanted to get a kids one, but james said it would be too small to catch a softball. eventually, we found one that is pretty much perfect for me. then last night, i went out again with james and his roommates for a practice. i did pretty well with my new bat. as for the glove... i caught a ball in the outfield that cameron hit and immediately threw off my glove and jumped around in pain. the boys all said they didn't think i was actually going to catch it. silly them. i knew from the time i saw it coming in my direction that i was going to catch it. i just should have had a lesson on where in the glove to catch the ball first. maybe then i would have caught it in the outer part of the glove instead of right in my palm. this morning my hand was noticeably swollen. the rest of my body is pretty sore too. i guess i should have tried this whole softball thing a little earlier... it seems to be a good workout. :]

oh and one more little bit about easter festivities:
i decided to get helix an easter bunny. he needed a new toy, and this bunny seemed perfect. so far, he seems to like it. :]

i hope you all had a wonderful easter celebration!

april fools.

i don't think i've ever come up with a fabulous april fools prank. it seems like too much work to come up with something that won't cause more harm than good. this year james and i happened to have a nice little dinner date on april fools day. it was much better than playing tricks on each other.
james got a melting pot gift card for his birthday from sarah, which was the perfect gift since we like to eat. haha.
we ate there back when it opened for our first anniversary, and really weren't too impressed. definitely not impressed enough to go back on our own accord. we both sort of wrote it off as being overrated and overpriced. and while i still think it might be slightly overrated and unquestionably overpriced, both of us were more impressed this time around. :]

i'll likely stick to the chocolate bar for my chocolate fondue dessert cravings, but the melting pot has probably earned itself a spot back on our list of special occasion restaurants.