OCD mixtapes...

First things first, please note:  I say "mixtapes" for nostalgic purposes only...obviously with the reign of the digital era, they're not truly mixtapes anymore, but you get my drift. 

So anyone that's been on a roadtrip with me in excess of three hours in either direction knows that I take my mixtapes seriously.    For two reasons, I think: 1) I used to be a music major, and 2) I'm a control freak.  One time, my ex said he made a mix tape for a vacation we were going on...it consisted of a half a dozen Pink Floyd songs, a half a dozen Dave Matthews songs, and a couple of random Bob Marley songs tacked on at the end.  I nearly had a stroke over it.  Putting solid chunks of two different CDs onto one CD together does NOT a mixtape make. 

There are three main considerations when making a mix:  1) Varied tempo and style (nobody wants to listen to what  sounds like the same song over and over again when they're attempting to stay awake while driving), 2) a small number of related but unfamiliar songs mixed with older nostalgic ones, and 3) finding the right songs to evoke the right feelings for the occasion.  I'm telling you...I'm seriously OCD about the whole thing...I could spend hours.  I DID spend hours...back in the day when a mixtape was REALLY on cassette tape and you had to record it in real-time.   Oh, how mp3s have saved hours of my life!

Anyway, so all that said, we're having a holiday CD exchange at work instead of the more traditional gift exchange.  I spent WAY too much time on iTunes looking for just the right music...made extra difficult by the fact that typically they just remake the same couple dozen holiday songs every year instead of ever writing new ones.  That said, I did find a couple of new, non-traditional songs.  My official holiday playlist is as follows:

1) (It Must've Been Ol') Santa Claus - Harry Connick, Jr.
2)  All My Bells Are Ringing - Lenka
3)  Someday At Christmas - Jack Johnson
4) Christmas for Cowboys  - Jars of Clay
5) Christmas - Blues Traveler
6) Frosty the Snowman - Fiona Apple
7) Winter Song - Sara Bareilles & Ingrid Michaelson
8) O Holy Night - Weezer
9)  Carol of the Bells - Emmy Rossum
10) It Came Upon a Midnight Clear - Sixpence None the Richer
11) The Heartache Can Wait - Brandi Carlile
12) Winterlove - Parachute
13) Maybe Next Year (X-mas Song) - Meiko
14) All That I Want - The Weepies
15) Baby, It's Cold Outside - Lady Antebellum
16) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Jack Johnson
17) Melekalikimaka - Bette Midler
18) Feels Like Christmas - Cyndi Lauper
19) Zat You Santa Claus - The Brian Setzer Orchestra
20 ) Must Be Santa - Bob Dylan

We're also making cases to hand them out in (see below).  I made mine with the MME Holiday paper, Martha Stewart Scoring Tool, Patterned and solid cardstock, American Crafts ribbon, TPC Studios holiday embellishments:

That's all for tonight!  More soon :)



By the fireplace...

There's just something about a fireplace, isn't there?  My mom just got one put in at her house, and it's just cozy.  It's relaxing and soothing and the perfect end to a long day.  Since I live in an apartment, I have no fireplace, but I did discover WoodWick candles, which have (shocker) a WOOD WICK.  Doesn't sound like a big deal, but they make a lovely crackling fire noise that's the next best thing to having a fireplace.  Plus they smell lovely, which is good too :)  Anyway, that was the inspiration for tonight's Christmas card.  I used the same Penny Black stamps as the last couple cards, and the same Fancy Pants paper (cut into little rectangles for the bricks, and pop dotted for the mantle).  Cut some free-hand flames, and colored everything with colored pencils. 

And that's all for tonight :)  More soon!

Penny Black, take two...

Another Christmas card with Penny Black stamps tonight.  The same fancy pants paper (the other side of it), watercolor pencils, and glossy accents :)  Woot!

Goodnight all!  :)

Baby it's [not] cold outside...

Wowza...sixty degrees in November.  Ridiculous.  While generally I'd be a fan, that means we're unseasonably warm again just in time for the mall to turn on the heat on November 11th, which means the store will probably be a sauna for several weeks again like it was last year.  Joy!  Anyway, unseasonably warm or not,  I was feeling inspired tonight and made a Christmas card prototype.  I finally decided I'm going to get off my butt and make 10-ish to send out to immediate family and a few long distance friends.  They won't all be the same though, because I get bored easily and I won't finish them if they're all the same.  Probably everyone will get something a little different so I can maximize my playing with stamps time.  Here it is:

Pretty simple...Penny Black stamps, Fancy Pants holiday paper, watercolor pencils, sparkly fluff, and a stardust pen :)  And that's all for tonight...work's still insane, and I still have no time to be blogging, but I'll make a serious attempt to get in one more this week.  Have a good night!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Well, we decorated the store for Christmas today.  It comes earlier and earlier every year, it seems.  While it aggravates me how early it is (and we've had Christmas merchandise for a month already, at least), this is the only time I really get to enjoy it.  Today, I was actually feeling in the Christmas spirit.  A month from now, when normal people (i.e. people who don't work retail) are going into full-blown Christmas mode, I'll be going into full-blown CAN-THIS-JUST-BE-OVER-ALREADY mode.  I'll have seen Christmas merchandise for two months already.  I'll have already been listening to Christmas music in the mall for a month.  I'll have already made Christmas cards, bought Christmas gifts, closed down our Christmas classes, and be wondering when Valentine's Day merchandise is coming in.  Sooooooo...in a snap decision upon arriving home after work, I decided to just put up my Christmas tree at home while I still actually felt like doing it.  Sick, I know.  But seriously...I just won't enjoy it later.  At least I didn't play Christmas music while I was doing it (no need to start that crap any earlier than I have to).  Last year when I put up my tree, I decided that it looked sad without any presents under it.  So, I wrapped up random things around the house that I hadn't used in a while.  And, in a stroke of genius, I decided I didn't really need those things and left them all wrapped and put them with the Christmas decorations, so I didn't have to do it again this year!  (Well, I mean, I wouldn't have HAD to do it again this year anyway, but I'm crazy, so I would have).  Anyway, productive night all-in-all...and now I think I'm going to sit around in the glow of my Christmas tree for a few minutes before I head to bed :) 

Goodnight all :)