Naturally Purlescent

Scrapbook Calendar: February

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:54:00 +0000

Last year for my birthday, my friend Brandie bought me a scrapbook calendar—the kinds where you scrap each month yourself. I got a little behind and decided to skip January, so I started using it in February.

A little late to be sharing February with you, but here it is anyway. :)

TILT: The Cutest M&M

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:14:00 +0000

For this week's Things I Love Thursday, I present... Brindy. I love this little guy. Especially when dressed as an adorable peanut M&M. (Outfit courtesy of Aunt Becky!)

TILT: Pacific Foods Organic Red Pepper & Tomato Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:12:00 +0000

Things I Love Thursday
I've recently rediscovered Pacific Natural Foods Organic Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup. I like to eat soup for lunch during cold weather, but it's hard to find a soup that isn't totally loaded up with carbs. This one has a decent ratio of carbs to protein, so it helps me have enough fuel to get in a good session at the gym after work. Plus it's creamy and so tasty.

Canastota Class of '96

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 02:39:00 +0000

I got tagged on Facebook, so here it is... Thanks, Rachel! :)

If you are tagged, fill this out about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be!! REPORT with name of high school and graduating year in the subject box.

1. Did you date someone from your school?
Um, when you live in Canastota, there really isn't anyone else to date except people in your high school. So, yes.

2. Did you marry someone from your high school?
No

3. Did you car pool to school?
I rode with Carolyn in the early days. Then once I got my car, I usually picked up Nikki.

4. What kind of car did you have?
The Kickin' K-Car

5. What kind of car do you have now?
Pontiac Vibe

6. Its Friday night...where are you in HS?
In a volleyball game or at practice, then either hanging out with the girls (P.J., Jenn & Nikki), or playing poker with the whole crew.

7. It is Friday night...where are you now?
Having dinner and drinks then watching Paranormal State at my place with Brandie.

8. What kind of job did you have in high school?
McDonald's baby! It's where all the cool people worked.

9. What kind of job do you do now?
Marketing manager for an online retailer

10. Were you a party animal?
No, I was straight-edge in high school.

12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
I was in chorus.

13. Were you a nerd?
I like to think I was a cool nerd.

14. Did you get suspended or expelled?
I had one after-school detention for our Senior Skip-Morning

15. Can you sing the alma matter?
Hells yes.

16. Who was/were your favorite teacher(s)?
Mr. Martin

17. Where did you sit during lunch?
Usually sat with or went out with P.J.

18. What was your school's full name?
Canastota Jr./Sr. High School

20. What was your school mascot?
Red Raiders

21. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
I was pretty naive back then. I'm not sure I could go back if I knew then what I know now.

22. Did you have fun at Prom?
Yes

23. Do you talk to the person you went to Prom with?
Nope.

24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion?
I would think so, since I'll be planning it with Rachel, Jenn & P.J.

25. Do you still talk to people from school?
A few, but just really reconnected with a bunch online and since our 10-year reunion.

Surprise 40th Anniversary Party

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 19:18:00 +0000

My parents celebrated their 40th anniversary in February this year. My sisters and I threw them a small surprise dinner party at a local restaurant in my hometown.

It was a hit! We actually managed to pull off the surprise. (It's kind of scary what a fantastic liar my sister is!) And my parents were thrilled to see family members, friends, and even old high school buddies!

One of the highlights of the evening was an impromptu performance from a foursome of singers from the local chapter of The Sweet Adelines singers. The four just happened to be dining with their husbands in the restaurant that night and offered the gift of song to help celebrate the occasion.

I managed to catch their performance on video:

Isn't that great?!

And here are my scrapbook pages to commemorate the event:

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Graduation Pages

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:49:00 +0000

My commencement ceremonies were only four months ago, but hey—I finally got my scrapbook pages for graduation done!

I had bought a Close To My Heart graduation kit, and I also got some awesome graduation-related scrapbooking goodies as a gift from Eilis.

Spread 1, Page 1

Spread 1, Page 2

Complete Spread 1

Spread 2, Page 1

Spread 2, Page 2

Complete Spread 2

This One's for the Boys

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:13:00 +0000

I know there are some guys out there reading my blog. (Yep, I know you're there, lurkers!) And maybe, guys, you're not so into, say, sewing skirts for little girls. So maybe I'll meet you in the middle, huh? How about a scrapbooking spread about hockey? Is that good? Well, here you go.

Don't say I never did nothin' for ya.

Garden Update!

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:35:00 +0000

We've now harvested 4 tomatoes. There are about a dozen more babies on the vine.

Peas are growing well. They're starting to lean and attach to eachother, so we've got to get the trellis put in place STAT (it needs to be shortened first).

Jalapenos have sprouted and desperately need to be repotted. Pots and soil are standing by.

Herbs are doing ok. They had a bout of fungus gnats. I think the problem has been resolved. We'll see how it goes. Right now we've got garlic chives, basil, thyme, sage, oregano, parsley, and cilantro growing.

(Homegrown tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapenos. Hello—homegrown salsa anyone?!?!)

Things are Growing

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:51:00 +0000

I'm taking my first stab at growing my own tomatoes this year. I honestly can't even remember what type of tomato plant I bought—though I'm pretty sure it wasn't plum or Roma or beefsteak or anything I'd heard of before.

I think I got it back in May. I bought it at Wal-Mart (! Bad, I know.), but it was in a biodegradable container and only cost like 3 or 5 bucks. I put it in a big terracotta pot with some marigolds (because I've heard they keep pests away). Since we had some nights that got near freezing when I first had the plant, I brought it inside some nights until it stayed warm enough out.

It's been out back ever since. We had one early tomato pop out and took a long time to ripen, but finally did. And I hear that this is early for tomatoes, but I don't know what I'm doing anyway. So if the thing gives me tomatoes, I'm just gonna eat 'em! Here is our first 'mater:

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We enjoyed it first on some grilled burgers on July 4th, and then in some quesadillas. Mmmm...

The plant has already produced one more ripe red tomato, just a wee one though—about the size of a golf ball. And it has about 10 more babies, ranging in size from golf ball up to tennis ball, still green and still growing.

This experience got me excited about growing my own food. So now I have more herbs planted (which I've done before) and some pea plants and jalapeno pepper plants as well. But again, I have no idea what I'm doing, so we'll see how it goes!

House Finch

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:06:00 +0000

We see these little guys on a regular basis, though they're not as common in our backyard as the American Goldfinches. These House Finches (the red head means this one's a male) love eating the thistle seeds in our finch feeder. Another great photo by Arik.

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Grackle

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 17:46:00 +0000

The birds have been literally flocking to our backyard since spring arrived. With Arik's new camera, he's able to catch some amazing shots of them—including the annoying Common Grackle. Big, messy eater. But so pretty when the sunlight catches his iridescent feathers.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:44:00 +0000

Today is my Dad's birthday. :)

Dad, back in the day.

Happy birthday, Dad!

The Great Scrapbooking WIP Check-Off: The Australia Edition (Part 6 and Final)

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:33:00 +0000

Before I started on any new scrapbooking layouts, I felt the need to address the growing stack of works-in-progress (WIP) that were nearly done, but not ready to be archived for good or shared on the blog. So I made myself a check-list and have been working my way through them. Here's a recently completed work from the list.

The Australia Book
Back in 2000, I spent about nine months living in Australia. I did my last semester of undergrad there, and then ... just didn't go home. :) I extended my visa as long as I legally could. While I was there, I travelled the entire eastern coast and half of the southern coast. I spent time in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and Brisbane (the 3 largest cities in the country and the capital), as well as time at the Great Barrier Reef, lots of time on beaches, played a lot of volleyball ... oh yeah, and I went to classes, too.

So, I have a lot of photos from there. I very crudely pasted these pictures into makeshift scrapbooks while I was there and captioned them, which now I am so happy that I did. I have two such books of photos, memorabilia (such as tickets, cut-outs from pamphlets, etc.), and journaling.

So I finally decided a couple months ago to dig in and start creating my for-real Australia scrapbook. However, I wasn't able to immediately locate book #1 (it's around here somewhere), but I did find book #2. But since book #2 begins in the middle of one of my mini-trips within Australia, I had to find something within that book that I could use as a starting point. And I found it.

While I was down under, Eilis came over to visit for two weeks. For a week of that time, she went off on her own to an island off the coast of Queensland at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef to do some snorkeling and whatnot. After that, we met up in Brisbane and took a week-long road trip down the eastern coast back toward Wollongong, where I lived. (Much adventure ensued along the way.)

So I decided to begin my Australia scrapbook, by starting in the middle, with Eilis' visit. Some of these pages I made and completed immediately, but some were part of my Great WIP Check-Off. I wanted to get them all up to speed before I shared them. These are the first five spreads in what will likely be a hefty chunk of the Australia scrapbook.

Eilis Arrives; We Visit Sydney

This was the first time I'd ever used the ink pad swiping technique that my sister taught me. I used it on the circles matting the letters that spell out SYDNEY. I cut out circles out of a beige cardstock, then swiped them randomly across the top of a tan ink pad. It gives nice dimension and texture in a subtle way.

Sydney: A Day in Hyde Park

I used Cherish layout "Visual Texture" (pages 34-35)—if you click that link it's actually the layout featured on that page. This was my first time using vellum. Fun! And my first time tearing paper. Fun! I also used that swiping technique to swipe just the edges of the blue and brown cardstock on a white ink pad. This really makes a difference in making the pages look more "finished" I think.

Brisbane: Part 1

I made these two spreads using Garden Green Reflections Base Pages from Close To My Heart. They weren't as easy to use as I thought they'd be, given the fact that all my photos were pre-printed, so I couldn't size the photos to fit the layouts. But, I made 'em work anyway.

In this spread, I used a leaf stamp on the lighter green parts of the page with matching Garden Green ink pad. I also made quasi photo corners out of brad washers that I made with my Sizzix.

Brisbane: Part 2

I cut out BRISBANE using the Stencil alphabet on my Sizzix, and the big flower is from Dimensional Elements. (You can see the petals from the same flower on the previous page.) I glued down the matching purple flowered paper and then cut out the petals using an Exacto knife.

The Road Trip Begins

I made this spread at my birthday scrapbooking gathering at my parents' house. I used Cherish layout "Add an Element" (pages 42-43). Again, I used the print, tape, and reprint technique to get the pretty journaling printed onto that little square of vellum. (Seriously, my spreads would look like crap if I didn't have all my sister's secret techniques!)

The Great Scrapbooking WIP Check-Off: Parts 4 & 5

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:34:00 +0000

My Nephew's 2nd Birthday
These two spreads are part of my nephew's scrapbook.

My Nephew's 2nd Birthday: Cake!

These have both been partially finished for quite a while. In this "Cake" spread, I left the top naked for a long time, until I finally added the "Birthday Boy" title. Then I realized I kind of had two "titles" on this page, but I'm ok with it. I also left the journaling area blank for ages, until I added it to the WIP list and forced myself to get it done. And here it is!

My sister gave me a technique tip that she learned from a friend of hers. I printed this journaling out on my printer, but I had already pre-cut the paper to fit the spot it goes in. So what I did was print the journaling on a regular 8 1/2" x 11" piece of printer paper, then gently tape the journaling cardstock onto the printer paper right over where it had printed out. Run it through the printer again, and voilá! Beautifully printed journaling! Yay!

My Nephew's 2nd Birthday: Presents!

In this "Presents" spread, I had some photos come off the printer half-cruddy, but I put them in place anyway until I could print out better versions. I also did some captions that looked completely amatuer. (Amatuer, meaning a 5-year-old could've done a better job.)

Finally, I printed the captions and the photo both on photo paper at Office Max. I think the captions look awesome on photo paper, by the way. And they were super easy to bang out in Photoshop. Then just glue 'em in, and the thing looks a million times better than it did—trust me!

The Great Scrapbooking WIP Check-Off: Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:17:00 +0000

Halloween 2003

Oh, yes, I'm working waaaaaaaaay back through the archives! This is from our first Halloween in our own apartment together. Obviously back when we were young and crazy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EILIS!

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:01:00 +0000

Today is my best friend Eilis's 29th birthday. Woo-hoo!!

In honor of the occasion, here is some photo goodness for you to savor on this special day. Happy birthday, Eebee (Weebee) Beebee!

Circa 1996 - Where it all began, Yesterday's Royal
"Ice Cream Avengers... AWAY!"

Circa 2000 - Yeah, this was the photo shoot for our debut album. We're kind of a big deal. Pfft.

Circa 2002 - At one of our infamous Murder Mystery parties

Circa April 2005 - This picture was taken the weekend she moved to North Carolina *sniffle*

Circa August 2007 - At her bridal shower
(Of course! Don't we look like grown up women participating in a grown up women's event.)

Circa April 2008 - We haven't grown up at all, have we?
And I love every minute of it!

"We always said we'd never grown up
We always said 'forever young'
Well, we're growing up but you're still my sun
Sunflower growing wild."

The Great Scrapbooking WIP Check-Off: Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:24:00 +0000

New Year's Eve 2008

These are photos of Arik and me on New Year's Eve 2008. Well, actually Arik, me, and Timbit.

Making this spread sort of felt like cheating, because I used a Close To My Heart My Reflections Collection "Love Always" kit. It doesn't look like they really make those kits anymore, because I only see them on clearance or on eBay. They include everything you need to make one 2-page spread: paper, stickers, embellishments, and a "recipe card" (a blueprint for how to put it all together into a spread).

So, basically all the work is practically done for you, you just have to cut it up and glue it down. However, I did come up with the idea to put in the dimensional "New Years" and "2008" using my own stamps, so at least I felt a little creative when I made this.

The Great Scrapbooking WIP Check-Off: Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 01:33:00 +0000

Family Christmas 2003

I've been going through my digital photo archives on the computer and slowly sorting through all the events I want to scrapbook retroactively. This is a spread of our extended-family Christmas party in 2003.

I used Cherish layout "Clear Dimension" (pages 102-3) as the basis for this layout.

One of my favorite parts of this layout are the little poinsettias I made. I bought a set of four red flowers in the scrapbooking dollar-rack at Joann, then cut out leaves with my Sizzix to make the flowers look like poinsettias. Fun.

Totally in love with "Close To My Heart"

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:18:00 +0000

I mentioned a while ago that I have drank the kool-aid of my sister's scrapbooking cult. The ~~cult~~ club is Close To My Heart.

My absolute favorite thing about this brand of scrapbooking stuff is their idea books. They lay out the pages like blueprints, with perfectly clear step-by-step instructions—which is exactly what I need, because I used to just get my scrapbook stuff out and then sit there and stare at it for an hour and maybe eventually make a crappy-looking page. So, the layouts in the books give you the building blocks, but then there is still plenty of room to be as creative as you want.

I bought the Cherish book last fall, and this is the first spread I made based on a layout in the book. (I used Cherish layout "A New Perspective" found on pages 58-59.)

This layout is one from my scrapbook of my nephew. This particular spread is of his first photos with his four older sisters when he was just a few days old.

Handmade Thank You Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:23:00 +0000

After my birthday this year, I made handmade thank you notes to send to my friends and family who had helped make my birthday special. :-)

Just like with my Valentines, the goal was to use paper and supplies I had on hand. So, I ended up with two versions, a purple and a blue.

I used purple and blue cardstock as the base for these. Then I added the pretty floral paper. To do the Y-O-U, I first cut out small squares of yellow cardstock, which I then wiped randomly across a light yellow inkpad (to add a little dimension).Then I cut the letters out of the squares using my Sizzix Sidekick and the "Stencil" alphabet set.

I did the same thing for the little tags that say "Thank"—wiped beige cardstock across a tan inkpad, then cut the tags out using a tag-shaped die in my Sidekick. I then stamped the word "Thank" on using Close To My Heart's Amore alphabet stamps.

I attached the little tags using pastel brads.

I cut out circles using my Creative Memories circle cutters and then used Close To My Heart stamps to stamp on the little flowers.

I even used the same flower stamp set to stamp the outsides of the envelopes, just for fun. (Names and addresses have been Photoshop smudged to protect the innocent.)

Fun with Sizzix: Homemade Valentines

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 01:52:00 +0000

I made some homemade Valentines this year with some help from my new Sizzix Sidekick (which I bought with Christmas gift cards from Arik's mom—another awesome blog-worthy gift, yeah!)

The goal was to use paper I had on hand and to make the Valentines fit into No. 10 envelopes (which I also had on hand). Here is the finished product.

It's a little hard to see in these photos, but those red squares on the front have a heart and the word "love" embossed on them. I used embossing folders to make the embossed "love" and heart on the fronts of the cards. Here's a little step-by-step on using embossing folders in the Sizzix Sidekick.

Step 1: Set up your Sizzix on a flat, hard surface.

Step 2: Cut a piece of paper to fit in your embossing folder.

Step 3: Enclose the paper in the folder.

Step 4: Sandwich your embossing paper between the two acrylic plates.

Step 5: Feed the acrylic/embossing folder/paper sandwich into your Sidekick.

Step 6: Turn the Sidekick's handle to feed it through.

Step 7: Remove the paper from the embossing folder

Step 8: Your embossing is done! Crop your embossed item as desired and apply to your scrapbooking page or card.

Deadline Sat. Jan. 26: Help Lollypop Farm get a $50,000 donation!

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 23:17:00 +0000

Help Lollypop Farm Get a $50,000 Donation
Last Chance to Cast Your Vote is Saturday, January 26th

Circuit City is looking for its next Firedog mascot, and Stacy Peck of Brockport, NY, entered her dog Trinity to win! Trinity is a finalist in the contest sponsored by Eastman Kodak Company. Each contestant chooses a humane society to benefit from the contest when they enter, and Stacy chose Lollypop Farm (which is within bike riding distance of our house). Your vote and support for Trinity could help Lollypop Farm receive a donation of $50,000 or more!

Vote for Trinity now!

Blog-Worthy Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 23:44:00 +0000

Remember the bizzaro Japanese fabric we discussed last summer? Well, guess what Eilis just happened to run across in a little shop in Chapel Hill, N.C.

This clock.

The awesomest Christmas present ever.

The Flock Has Migrated South

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:44:00 +0000

The gift previewed in my super secret surprise sneak peek has landed, so it's time to reveal!

I made these as a wedding gift for special newlyweds, my best friend Eilis and her husband Ted.

I came down with a really nasty cold the week before the wedding, so I wasn't able to finish them until after the wedding, but they still managed to fly south in good time.

It's a flock of owls! I first learned of the idea here and then followed this tutorial. But, as the tutorial-creator pointed out, she was using a copywrited pattern from a Japanese book, so I had to wing it (no pun intended) and come up with my own pattern. My owls are a little fatter and wider, I think, but that's all right. Also, I chose to make them without bottoms, because... well, I felt like it.

And the flock spells out the newlyweds new last name! Welcome home from your honeymoon, guys! Here's to a great future!

Super Secret Surprise: Sneak Peek!

noreply@blogger.com (Beekeebear) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 02:56:00 +0000

A (belated due to illness) gift is on its way to some special recipients. I can't reveal the whole thing until it's arrived. But here's a peek.