1. Chris - Mine!

2. The Slip Method - a visual organizing system that fits perfectly with the way my ADHD brain works. Although, my ADHD brain might have a hard time setting up the whole thing. Nonetheless, it’s intricate, pretty, and involves paper, so of course I love it. See more info. at Judy of The Woods.

3. My new Remmington Quiet-Riter - It’s pink, it works, it really is quiet, and I got it for $12. What’s not to love?

3. The taco costume for pups. Flower is so gonna be a little taco…sombrero and all. Available at G.W. Little (my favorite doggie shop!).

4. The Letter Writers Alliance - From the girls of 16Sparrows.com, is this fun little alliance for people who love letters and mail. Become a member, get an assigned penpal, then write and receive letters the old fashioned way…the better way. Plus, there are some fun items available to members only. Best part? You get a membership card and badge! For $3, it’s very worth it. They already have 300 members. See blog here.

5. Hello Kitty Online - I’ve been waiting for this for so long. (No, really). The Hello Kitty online game is finally out (in beta version). Sign up, download the game, play it, and be a huge nerd like me. This pretty much makes my whole year. Sorta. It’s Hello Kitty!! Like World of Warcraft (which I’m also in love with…) for the girliest girls. Woot!

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Listening to: Wintersleep - Weighty Ghost
via FoxyTunes
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Feeling extra crafty yesterday I went into a super-productive zone and decided it was time to make something new. It’d been a while since I actually just played and created something. Usually I’m making the same things over and over. And since I have a jabillion amounts of paper and scraps, I took inspiration from Ali Edwards’ “Mixed-Up Mini” (I love her style!) and made one too.

I quite literally just walked around my studio and picked up random pieces of paper (because, well, they’re kind of all over the place)…anything that caught my eye. Then I cropped them to fit inside 5.5″ chipboard covers. Luckily, I bought a heavy duty binding machine a few years ago, so I pulled that out and used the hole-punching mechanism to punch the holes in all of the papers.

Then I remembered that I didn’t have anymore metal spiral things. Whoops! But luckily I did have an old spiral that I didn’t need/use anymore. So I took it apart and used that as the binding! I had no plan whatsoever (do I ever?!).

In fact, I barely even remember making it. I went into that sort of focused zone that all artists treasure and cherish (bliss)…where someone / something takes over and some sort of magic happens. It’s that sort of feeling that I love, and that’s exactly why I never really have a “plan” or idea before I make anything. I just sort of let it create itself.

I mean, I knew I was going to make a book, but I didn’t know the order of the pages or any of that. In fact, I didn’t even finish the cover…or the back, really. That comes next, I guess.

I love that it’s a true mix-up of random papers.

I included a cupcake liner that I ironed flat (I ironed a bunch of them and put them in the Mini and Regular Piles of Paper), a mini envelope I got from The Small Object about 5 years ago, a vintage index card with the word “fantasy” on the tab (it came from an old English teacher’s “writing ideas” card set), a handmade envelope I made a while ago, a mini glassine envelope (because I have a million of them), and I even used papers that were a bit crumbled like they just came out of the trash (see pink paper above). I don’t discriminate!

The covers are super-heavy like chipboard and I glued giant-sized vintage flaschards on top.

I then added trinkets throughout including labels that I designed in Photoshop and printed on sticker paper (see above and below). And of course there’s a bird in there.

Fun! You should try it too. I think it took me less than an hour to make…just like I like it.

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Listening to: Stars - Midnight Coward
via FoxyTunes
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Holly Becker (Decor8) just posted on the Real Simple blog and featured the Peer coloring book. Woot. And she even included a picture of my drawing in the midst of being coloring. Swoon. That pretty much makes my day. I want to color! (Speaking of Real Simple…be on the lookout for One Good Bumblebee in the Christmas issue on stands Nov. 17!!)

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Listening to: Stars - Midnight Coward
via FoxyTunes
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Listening to: Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks
via FoxyTunes
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Okay so the big top secret project I mentioned earlier is apparently no longer top secret. Renee Garner of Wolfie and The Sneak has just unveiled the project to the public on her blog. The project is a new collaborative limited edition coloring book called Peer, which features 25 artists and their self-portraits. See my contribution in the pic above! You can visit the Peer website here for more info, and don’t forget to check out this page to see all the artists involved. Woot!!

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Listening to: Say Hi to Your Mom - Sweet Sweet Heartkiller
via FoxyTunes
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