Monday, July 9, 2007

free for you!

To the first 2 people who comment, I will send one of these 2 notebooks. And since there are only about 3 of you who read me on a regular basis, your odds are really good!




I made these, and a few others, that I planned on putting on my etsy shop. Then I chatted with Angie, owner of The Creating Place. After I lamented over the spots on my notebooks where the glue gun got away from me, she was kind enough to give me some advice on adhesives & techniques. I have all these ideas in my head (sadly, most are already being sold on etsy ~ sigh) but what I see in my head doesn't always materialize in real life. In real life, there are glue globs, and poorly-cut felt flowers because a.) when I bought them, I thought they were stickers & now I have to cut them, and b.) I was cutting them late at night in a dimly lit room.


So, I'm not quite ready to sell my wares yet, but I will gladly give them away to 2 people kind enough to continue reading my nonsense! I do love how these notebooks turned out. Lately I've been really drawn to reds & blues, especially blues with a hint of turquoise. I think it started when Honey bought me The French Inspired Home for Christmas, and I fell in love with Kaari's Plume Bleu.
PS, I'm waiting for them to manufacture the mossy-green paint in their bedroom photo, which Jon says they hope to have out soon. Yeah, I'm on a first name basis with Kaari & Jon. I exchanged e-mails with them a while back regarding some paint samples I ordered. I was so damn excited that I got an e-mail from the real, live Kaari, that Honey teased she was my new best friend & we could surely stay at their house the next time we vacationed in California.


More recently, I e-mailed them to see what in the heck happened to their paint line as it had disappeared from their website. Rest assured, their beautiful paints have returned. Even better, is that when I told Jon my kitchen/dining room is painted in their Boulette & Lily Pad colors & that I loved what a happy color combination they made, he asked if I had pictures. Pictures!! Jon of freakin' French General wants to see photos of my kitchen! Can you imagine? That Jon & Kaari are still "real" people, who care about their customers is so great to me. Needless to say, that has kicked my butt into gear to finish the space so I can send photos & post some here as well.

ANYWAY! Talk about digressing!

Notebooks!

The Joy notebook was made with a scrap of my fancy wrapping paper that was too small to really do anything with. I say fancy because it was ridiculously expensive, but when the kids come 'round selling gift wrap every fall, I'm a total sucker. Plus, it's really good quality wrapping paper! So, I save it for special occasions and for people who I think will appreciate it. Except now I've taken to scanning the gift table when I arrive at an event & am subsequently disappointed when someone else has brought a gift in my fancy wrapping paper. The nerve!

This notebook I am keeping for myself because even though I really love the paisley & the red polka dot ribbon, it has too many mistakes for me to even give the thing away. I am finding that it's very hard, and perhaps impossible, to be a perfectionist & a crafter. Can the two co-exist?

This notebook I made for my brother's fiance, the mother of his baby, Michelle. She picked this paper from a couple choices because she said it looked like cherry blossoms. I think this was one of my favorites.
This sweet little journal was one of my firsts, made for my mama so she could write & escape from some of the craziness from the past year. Can you tell I like rik-rak & buttons?

See, I really DO make stuff!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you have more readers than you think!
Hello - I found you through Manda at treefall. Your blog is lovely, good luck with selling your creations on etsy, I'm sure you'll do well.
Looking forward to reading more of your posts.

Jen Kershner said...

Yay! I'm number 2!!

Jen Kershner said...

Okay, I just had to hurry up and post that before someone beat me to it!;) You did a great job on them!

Tracy, first I want to say thank you for all of the nice comments that you leave on my blog. You are SO sweet. Second, I get my inspiration pictures from all over the place. Magazine websites and decorators websites are great places to look. I have files and files of saved pics on my computer. I also have a ton of pages ripped out of magazines that I have filed in notebooks. I love just sitting and flipping through what is essentially my very own special giant magazine filled with only things I love! It's ver inspriring.

The Weathered Pane said...

Shoot, I'm not the first???? :) Beautiful journals, sweetie. Yes, you are so critical of yourself and your need to be a perfectionist. My journal is perfect by the way! mom

Rosemary said...

Hi Tracy,
Your journals are really pretty.
Glad that you visited my blog.
What you said about the flea markets is true. You would outgrow your house quickly. This is why I try to pick and choose wisely, when shopping at the flea markets.
Have a great day!
Rosemary

The Weathered Pane said...

By the way, love your new banner look.

Unknown said...

I am late to the party! But here nonetheless- LOVE it all!!