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 :)



Variations on a theme...

FINALLY started working on Christmas gifts again, which I've been saying I was going to do for the last three or four weeks.  Anyway, I had a few different sets of paper to go with them, since I have a quite a few to do.  Here's how they're looking so far:

1) The Original (My Minds Eye Papers)

2) Basic Grey Papers

3) Cosmo Cricket Paper

4) Cosmo Cricket Paper

5) Cosmo Cricket Paper

So, only fifteen more to go...woot!

Points for participation...

Anyone who knows me or my family knows...we don't do Halloween.  I don't think I've had a Halloween costume since I was maybe eight years old.  No costumes, no Halloween parties, and we lived in the country growing up, so no trick-or-treaters either (I got lucky that my apartment complex doesn't do it either).  Now don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm a scrooge about it necessarily.  I don't have issue with other people enjoying the holiday...I guess I can see the appeal if you're into that...I just don't like it.  The whole ordeal creeps me out.  People in costumes, strangers knocking on your door at night, wandering around in the dark asking for candy from people you don't know...I mean...it's all the stuff they teach you not to do from the age you're old enough to understand what the heck they're talking about.  I have enough issues with creepy little kids...I'm already terrified I'm going to wind up having a kid as pale as I am with great big eyes who likes to wake me up by standing next to my bed and staring at me...the horror.  (Note:  I have specific reasons for being extra terrified of people staring at me while I sleep...a roommate situation which I will not go into details about...suffice it to say, I moved out in a panic in three hours while she was at work...scary!). 

Anyway, so I typically avoid Halloween festivities like the plague and don't particularly mind being harassed about my lack of enthusiasm for everyone's apparent favorite holiday (I'll take Thanksgiving, thankyouverymuch).  BUT, when I showed up at work today, I had a "Boo" in my mailbox.  What is this, you may ask?  I asked myself the very same question, and luckily it came with a handy dandy instruction sheet telling me exactly what a "Boo" was, and detailing my loose obligation to pass it on.  That's right...a Halloween candy chain letter of sorts.  A little Halloween favor box with candies and a little poem and a cute little ghost for my nametag so everyone knows I've been "boo"-ed...so we're able to tell who still needs a "boo."  It's interesting that something I would've completely ignored if it showed up at my house happened to show up at work instead, and I actually bothered to consider it.  When you put something in the frame of crafting potential, you just may spark my interest.

Also sparking my enthusiasm for this particular project is the fact that I just happened to buy a new Martha Stewart Scor-Board on Saturday night (so much for restraining myself from buying more scrapbooking stuff, eh?)  And this particular tool comes with a very helpful guide for making envelopes AND favor boxes.  Soooooo...I am officially participating in my first Halloween activity in nearly 20 years...shocking.  And to anyone who thinks maybe this means I've let up on my anti-Halloween stance...don't count on it.  But, from the crafting angle at least, it turned out pretty cute...and I imagine I'd participate in similar activities in the future should the situation call for it.  Plus, it's better that I don't seem like a big party pooper of a boss.  :)  lol.  So here's my "Boo!":

Outside:

Inside:


















Supplies:
- Martha Stewart Scor-Board
- Various Bo-Bunny Papers
- Bazzill Bling Buttons
- We R Memory Keepers Deco Corner Chompers
- Googly-eyed Spider Stickers (from Walgreens, of all places)
- Charcoal Cateye Ink (required for any project I'm doing, without exception...lol)

And that's it for tonight!

What a bargain...

So I'm pretty sure every crafter's famous last words when they're starting in this hobby are, "I'll save some money and MAKE my own invitations, cards, gifts, etc.  Then all of a sudden you realize you could've bought a card at Walgreens for $3.50, and meanwhile, you've tanked $35 on your handmade birthday card.  Whoops.  We've all been there.  I could probably look at credit card statements for the last two or three years and tell you just how much I "saved."  lol.  I think we can all agree it's worth it, though.  A beautiful handmade gift from the heart...can say a lot more than the $20 you might have spent at Target. 

The good news is, cheap gifts CAN be done, and still look nice.  Two factors help:  1) making them in bulk, and 2) very careful planning and substitutions for cheaper options.  Particularly the substitutions part.  That's always been my mantra for interior decorating too.  Yes, buy all the magazines of beautiful rooms that you can never afford to do in their entirety.  Circle all the things you really REALLY like.  Then set about finding ways to recreate them for less.  Ikea, Walmart, even Menards or Home Depot...just keep your eyes open...you'll be surprised the things you find that are good approximations of other ideas.  The mistake that people make is that they insist on having the actual item they see in the picture instead of adapting the idea into something they can actually afford. 

Anyway, my point with all of this is that I started making my annual Christmas gifts today (oh yeah, I'm aware of the insanity of that statement, but to be honest, if I started any later than now, I simply wouldn't finish.)  I usually make 15-20 smaller gifts for my staff and whatnot, in addition to the more substantial ones for family and very close friends.  So, it's important that they be reasonably priced, because as much as I'd love to have generous amounts of disposable income, it's just not in the cards in the near future.  I went with frames, because they tend to get used, and if not, they're pretty easily re-giftable.  And don't give me crap about planning for re-giftability, because it's a legitimate concern.  Particularly when you're giving handmade things to people who you don't know all THAT well.  If it doesn't go with their decor and they're not going to use it, it'd be nice if at least it was able to be used by someone instead of sitting in a closet or going in the trash. 

So, below are the before and after shots of the frame I made tonight...and for only $2.50 (once you divide it out across the 20 I'm making anyway)!  I used a Creating Imaginations Audrey frame, My Minds Eye So Sophie paper, Tim Holtz woodblock stamp, American Crafts ribbon, 1 1/8" circle punch, Chestnut Roan Cateye ink, and gems.  Vary the papers for different looks, and voila!  Not too shabby :)

Before

After

And that's all for tonight :)