{special touches}

My extended family has collaborated on throwing my grandparents an anniversary/renewal of vows ceremony and party next weekend. It has a hawaiian theme and they'll be taking a week's vacation in Hawaii beginning the following day. Today my Mom and sisters, Aimee + Sarah came over to help me make the centerpieces. I got the idea to make these "wands" from a really fabulous book called The Handcrafted Wedding: Special Touches for the Perfect Day. The wands are in a medium sized jar filled with beach sand (shhh, don't tell! *wink*) + sea shells. A tag that says "Happy 38th Anniversary with love..." (that matches the favors) is tied around the jar with natural twine. Then we filled a small jar with large sea shells and tied a ribbon around it. Lastly we have tiki (and other similar) "vases" we're going to fill with large, bright flowers. These three pieces will make the centerpieces.

Well, it wasn't that long ago that we got the Tahoe but for transferring of names purposes we ended up trading her in yesterday. We purchased our very first brand new car- a 2006 GMC Envoy Denali. She's a real beauty. Smaller than the Tahoe but with a lot more ammenities and we should save on gas. (Let's hope so!)

I hope you're having a Beautiful Sunday!

{spring themed}

Remember when I made these ATCs for a swap through Red Lead last month? Well, here were my returns and they're sooo fabulous! I was so impressed by them! I will definitely be playing again and if you want to also, find info here. They even included those fun little goodies in the right hand corner. So wonderful! Thanks, ladies!

PS- Heather surprised me with that beautiful new banner. Isn't it just perfect?? Thanks, H!

today i'm lovin'...

♥ this super cute journal from kelly (thank you! it's perfect!)
♥ the year anniversary issue of domino (my fave. magazine!)
♥ these directions to making your own paper lanterns (tell me if you make these!)
♥ any + all artwork from the black apple (must. hold. back.)
♥ the sweetest little baby gifts that hillary made (awww)
♥ bloglines (makes reading blogs so much easier!)
♥ polaroid gallery, polanoir, because who doesn't love polaroids?
♥ hel looks ("selected street fashion from helsinki, finland"), originally shown to me by emma and reminded of here. (i wish i was cool enough to dress like some of these people)
♥ that it's friday! hallelujah. have a great weekend!

{oh happy day}

today is my husband's birthday! right now he's on his way home from the airport with his mom. she made the spur-of-the-moment decision to come from kansas to surprise him on this milestone birthday. twenty-five. finally old enough to rent a car from any company without a problem. odd that it takes that long but it does. we know. we always have to "shop around" when we travel. anyhow, she sent me this photo of alex (from the same day as this photo that i am so fond of) around our anniversary this year. her gift to us was so incredibly thoughtful. she bought us a kite and wrapped it up in paper she made from copies of this very photograph. only his dad is in it too but i cropped him out because it's not his birthday. :) i am looking forward to us both having the day of tomorrow (today) and spending time with his mom. let the festivities begin...
happy birthday, alex.
i love you.

{breathe}

nothing like a beautiful walk to encourage you to exhale.

{challenges}

so much on my mind right now. so much to do. so many decisions to make. life altering decisions. i am so thrilled to have chatted with some of you in real time in the last week. it's so wonderful to get to know you and to share some of the things going on in my life that i can't do here. your thoughts and opinions are important to me and i want to thank you. i've added my aim screenname to the sidebar for future reference, if you ever want to chat.

challenges. my challenge here [in blogland], as with everything else, is balance. i tend to obsess over whatever i'm into, at any given time, to the point of neglecting other things. i guess i have a bit of a one-tracked mind which is funny coming from a person who wants to do and be everything. and i really do.

{bloggin'}

{click to view larger image}

mav of port2port press asked us what we are doing online these days. more specifically she asked, "so are you putting more of yourself out there online than you do in face-to-face life? further ... how do you know what you want to put 'out there'? have you defined your blog? do you sensor yourself? do you have an idea of what you want to write & why?"

i would say that for the most part i am putting myself out there more online than in "real life". i am definitely more comfortable here than in other arenas. this isn't at all surprising to me, like it is for other bloggers out there. i've met most of my very best friends online. i met my husband online. and that was back before it was "cool" to do the online dating thing. but i digress. when i was writing this post i realized that for quite a while i've tended to post about things beautiful, inspiring, and creative. for me, it's not about knowing what you want to put out there but what your blog evolves into. there is continued growth and change here, and that, is me. always evolving; always searching for the next challenge; always dreaming and creating new goals for myself. i'd like to continue to be honest. that post was such a breakthrough for me. before the first comment i must have re-read the post five times, wondering if i should just delete it before anyone read. it scared me being that.. vulnerable. unfortunately i do feel the need to sensor myself. i wish i could tell you everything. i really wish i could. but, right now, i need to be considerate and mindful of my readers- think dooce, etc. i do forsee a shift as i start to deal with some of my issues. i hope you'll still want to read then! ;)

ps- created the banner/sidebar for geek inc. how much do you love that name? so cute!

{woot woot}

The premiere issue of Portals zine is officially SOLD OUT! Heather and I want to thank you so much for all of your support in this endeavor! The feedback has been phenomenal but we want to give you the opportunity to give it- perfectly honest and annonymous. We've created a short survey for you take, here. PLEASE take a few moments to complete the survey so that we can know our hits and misses and can provide you with an even better issue next time! Speaking of, our second issue is in the works. The theme is DOLLS and we would love your submissions! Read artwork details here and article specifications here.

I've also redesigned Heather's blog -banner, sidebar, etc. - so go check it out! :)
Oh, and purple cupcake! (that font is my handwriting!)

linkity-link

This weekend I managed to get some of my art + swap commitments taken care of. Above is my "With Wings" contribution to the monthly all original fatbook page swap (whoa, say that five times fast!) over at Chubbyville. Below is my tag for the "Affair of the Heart" swap at Fatbooks. I have to make 40 of these and Heather is going to make 'em all into a pretty little book.

I spent a lot of time on the computer this weekend, chatting with new friends, Sarah and Abril, making banners for people, and redesigning blogs. Good stuff. Check 'em out:
♥ head full of pixies
♥ life as we know it
♥ coops
♥ be present, be here
♥ dreamer studios
♥ geek + nerd
I still have a couple more that I'm doing for trades and don't worry Michelle, I'm working on the tutorial! ;)

For those interested, some fun swaps to consider joining:
♥ color-iffic swap-o-rama
♥ pretty birds
♥ chocolate & sweets
♥ tea time
♥ gardening swap
♥ one skein secret pals exchange

I will be on the computer off and on today, working on responding to emails, etc. Want to chat for a bit? AIM: gdsgrl777

{save lids to save lives}

as promised, a contest AND a way for you to help! do you like yogurt? i sure hope you do! again this year yoplait is donating $0.10 per pink foil lid to the susan g. komen breast cancer foundation! to encourage you to save those lids, i am offering these goodies! the "notebook" is a paper sampler including 19 4" x 4" cardstock + awesome patterned papers. a couple other goodies are being added to the loot by heather. so here's the deal:

for every FIVE lids (clean, please) you send to me before july 1st you'll be entered into the contest. when you're ready to ship please email me at joleenieweenie AT hotmail DOT com for my mailing address. i thought it would be fun to track the total and make a group donation to the foundation. i hope that this group effort will encourage you to seek ways to love people and to do what you can.

this also serves as my contribution to this week- because doing something is always beautiful.

back to our regularly scheduled program

just wanted to share some new things im absolutely smitten♥ with. i am obsessed with these mints so when i saw a jumbo packet of 365 i had to get it. wonder how long it'll take me? :) not a year, that's for sure. don't you just love that tissue paper flower?? i got it when i was in atlanta and i wish i got more.. so beautiful. it would make a fun centerpiece bouquet, don't ya think? they're from cracker barrel, which we don't have here. if you do and want to get me a few more of these bloomin' flowers and maybe some jumbo smarties (candy), lemme know so we can work out a trade. :) i also found the desk organizer (love it!) when in atlanta. it's from the same line as the accordian file i bought here that so many of you asked about. yesterday i recieved a package from my grandma with these papers that i purchased there along with some of her wallpaper and other posters. thanks for shipping those, grams, + for the extras! :) the few other things in this photo are a super cute hello kitty notebook (i wonder how many notebooks/journals i've accumulated now?), an I.D. holder- super cute and great for upcoming trips to stateline and las vegas. hey, you never know. lastly is a little plastic coin purse i found in the party section of target. i thought these were fun and would be perfect in color swaps! :) anyway, that's it for now. trying to get caught up with art + swap commitments today.

new flickr group.


ps- THANK YOU so much for your kind words and encouragement. it means so much. truly. deeply. i appreciate it. i appreciate you. i can't begin to express to you how blessed i feel to have you. thank you. i love you.

{new look}

updated the looks/banners of my family member's blogs:
too much chicken
kimmy and kids
sundaisies & doodlebugs
hot dogs + p-nut butter

i'll create personalized banners for the first four people that request it. (please include your email.) i'll be contacting you shortly!

a long time coming

this isn't a happy post. this isn't art or my latest craft. this isn't fun or a vacation. this is me. and i'm depressed. i've chosen for so long to keep this blog about things that are beautiful + inspiring to me and others. there have been times i've wanted to rant or cry to you. many times. the thing you need to know about me is that you're such a big part of everything. i work all the time and when i'm home i don't want to leave. i have less than a handful of 'real life' friends. i have you and i have family. i'm grateful and im not complaining. sometimes i wish you knew me more. sometimes i wish i could be more honest. it's hard to be honest with the world. it's hard to be honest with myself. i've suffered from depression on and off for about 5 years. right now, is on. and by right now i mean for the last few months. this time around i'm extremely sensitive and volatile. i have serious anger issues that are deeply routed. the feelings come hard and fast. i sometimes just want to break something or (we're being honest here) hurt myself. i just want to feel the pain physically instead of emotionally sometimes. it's because of this that my cell phone needs to be replaced. it had a date with the wall the day before yesterday and didn't survive. better it than me. i'm really tired and i'm really stressed. i'm really tired.

i don't mean to upset you. you don't have to call the police or even call me (you can't anyway- i don't have a phone lol). i just wanted to let you know. i feel better just doing that. so thank you. and thank you michelle for giving me the courage to be honest.

ps- i don't mean to sound so blah-de-dah.. it's not all bad and i still enjoy sunshine, spring flowers, and sidewalk chalk. ;)

{color-iffic swap-o-rama}

the color-iffic swap-o-rama theme in april was lavender + lime. below are the goodies i recieved from anebela in portugal! i especially love the clay butterfly, little wooden toy office supplies, and international candies! thank you sooo much!

i participated in the pink + red themed swap back in february but never posted all the fabulous goodies i recieved from pyglet whispers, in australia. so much crafty goodness + i got candy too but that was eaten long ago. ;) more photos/closeups found here. she creates such beautiful artwork and even sells her goodies so go check it out! :)

more knitting...

You may not know this but a huge part of my anxiety re: this project is that in every scarf and purse I've "knit" so far I've actually purled. It's always just felt easier for me. So, last night I set out to knit the tension square before embarking on the point edge wrap. Now I'm worried- do you see all the mistakes in that wee thing? And you don't even want to know how long that took me. Hah! At this rate I may have a wrap by the end of the year. Beautiful yarn though, isn't it? ;) And just for the heck of it I thought I'd share my knit pattern books + mags. Um, when we do have a child I sure hope it's a girl. Ha!

{knit 'n sip}

While in Atlanta, we found a yummy yarn shop called Yarn Garden Knit Shop, for the "good stuff". I've decided that I'm finally going to knit from a pattern and although I have several books already, none had anything for me. I bought this Debbie Bliss pattern book and enough of this yarn (in pale blue (not pictured)) to make this. I'm nervous about messing up but I'm excited to get started. Before starting I knit this scarf (above) for a birthday gift with a beautiful varigated (100% cotton) yarn.

I recieved my second package from the tea cup swap. It came with the prettiest little teacup and saucer, tea, beautiful printed napkins, a notepad (not pictured), and the sweetest note (love your handwriting!). Thank you so much, Sarah!

why, hello there!

That is, if anyone is still reading after my week of absence. Hehe! Aimee and I had a really great vacation in Atlanta. When I thought about writing this post I had to chuckle because I have so many journals filled with gaps that are followed up with "so much to say I don't know where to begin". Our days were filled with family, shopping, pampering (pedicures and massages), adventures around the golf course, lessons (taught them to knit!), sharing stories, late nights, memories. Thanks for having us, Grams! :) Photos coming..

Easter was fun! Aim and I thought it would be fun + funny to dress alike- a throw back to the times we did when we were little girls. Of course then, our Mom used to make us all matching dresses that for some reason are never really appreciated until long after they've been outgrown.

I hope your holiday was a beautiful one! Be on the lookout this week for a long-term contest that I'm quite excited about!

PS- I've been a bit busy the last couple of weeks but things are settling down. If you've emailed me, please allow me just a few more days to respond. Thanks!

Hello from Atlanta!

Well, actually, from Duluth, Georgia. We made it here this morning after having the worst flight in my experience. I think my stomach is just now settling down. hah! Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I made it here "safely". My grandparent's house mansion is beautiful! I thought I'd give ya a little peek.

I am seriously in love with the massive windows, the gynormous mirror over the fireplace in the formal living room, and (believe it or not) the wallpaper - it's textured and REALLY cool. My grandma is giving me some of it so I can't wait to use it in a collage and/or book! After seeing this post she presented me with this gift. LOL :) love it!

We're not really making any plans for the trip. Aimee and I just wrapped up so many projects (school ones for her) and are totally beat. I'm hoping to veg and recoup. We have some fun things we'd like to do but with no schedule (yay!). Is there anyone from the area that can recommend something fun to see or do?

{color week wrap up} + vacation

day five of color week: orange!

I thought yellow was going to be really hard to find photos for but orange actually proved to be the hardest. I think this is all the orange photos I had to choose from! Even though I don't have many, I really love these photos and the way this mosaic came together. It's so bright and cheery. Makes me happy.

Tomorrow I am traveling with my sister to Georgia (from California) to visit our Grandma for a week. Since there is a good chance I may not be using the internet while I am there, I am posting my contribution to color week for Saturday as well. The color theme is reds, purples, or pinks. I decided to create two mosaics- one pink, the other purple. If you want to see more of this theme go here to see a slideshow of the {pink + red} birthday party I hosted for the very same sister last month!

If I don't talk to you.. I hope you have a wonderful week!! xo, joleen

{white} + fatbook

day three four of color week: white!

I loved this color ("the achromatic color of maximum lightness") -probably because I'm knee deep in almost 1700 {white} fatbook pages and my eye is just really drawn to it right now. The {white} book is now sorted, punched, bound, and boxed at the expense of not sleeping more than 4 hours a day in the last week. Ouch. Beautiful book, though. Being shipped out today.

{green} etc.

day three of color week: green!

obviously a lot of my outside shots worked for 'green' but i had fun trying to find some interesting ones.

my birthday is st. patrick's day and i've always been facinated by the clover. this is a small collection of little things with clovers. on the far left is the sweetest tea cup, saucer, and honey spoon i got through last month's tea cup swap.

and lastly- april's color-iffic swap-o-rama (theme: green and purple) goin' out into the world...

{aqua/blue} + handmade stamp sticker swap

Day two of color week: aqua/blue (my favorite!)

This is also my contribution to Curious Bird's challenge to capture the color around me. Unlike with yellow, I knew this color wouldn't be hard to find - it is ALL over my house and is threatening to take over my closet. So armed with my camera, I went from one room to the next looking for things that fit the bill. I also threw in a couple photos from the "archive".

Moki hosted the most fabulous handmade stamp sticker swap. Yeah. Say that five times fast. :) Now I need to make a super cool little sticker book for all this wee art! Love it! I feel like such a lame-o because everyone did several stickers and put them in adorable little envies and mine just stands alone (pink bird in middle). Bah, I suck. lol Oh, but please host another soon! I'll try not to disappoint next time! Promise.

Oh PS- one sweet little fabric sticker was eaten by my scanner and for some reason is not pictured. Eep!

{yellow}

day one of color week: yellow!

i thought this color would be REALLY hard because it's not my favorite but I found all these in the "archive". so cheery! i need that today - workin' on 3 hours sleep. ack.

dear time change,

curse you! too much to do in too little time!

fun 'n sun

fun in the sun the last couple of days with my charge- running around and looking at (+ licking) things in nature (like the pinecone she's holding!)

inspired to art and complete some projects on that evergrowing list of mine. 44/52 {white} fatbook covers completed. would have been all of them but i had alex print wrong amount. oops.

joined an ATC swap through red lead and after printing and embellishing copies i used the original to create my art journal cover for the round robin i joined. still pluggin' at it...