handmade:modern by elizabeth rosemond (the blog)

hello february!

I truly can't believe January is already over! The kids and I have all been sick the past week, so it feels like I'm missed out on a ton.

Just some random thoughts for today:

• I'm just a little geeked about the new TOMS ballet flats. I may have even asked for this pair for my March birthday :)
• I'm currently working on four custom orders. All extremely different and exciting. Everyone has been super pateint with me too, which is awesome. I can't wait to share them with you.
• I'm already thinking about Miss Lauryn's 4th birthday (March 10). Since we don't know many people here (and I hate entertaining in this house), we will likely use the party $$ to buy her a new bike (I'd love to buy her the pink one, but it will likely get handed down to little brother at some point). She's also going to get a trip to the American Girl store with Mama to buy a little something for her beloved Bitty Baby.
• It's been a week since I've been to The Bar Method. I'm scheduled to go tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. I just hope I have the energy to do it.
• I just finished last night's episode of Glee. It made me sooo happy to hear all of those Michael Jackson songs.
• Speaking of TV, my husband and I are obsessed with Downton Abbey. We blew through season one and the first 4 episodes of season two in 3 days. I really think this is the best show on TV right now!

• This book arrived on my doorstep. I'm super excited to devour it (as I do most books about food/health)
• I'm working on my menu for the Superbowl this weekend. My YUM board on Pinterest is getting a serious workout. I'll be sure to report back :)

That's all for tonight (yes, it took me all day to type this post)! I have to put one of the littles to bed. The other fell asleep on the family room chair for 2 hours, so it should be an interesting evening.

xo,

e

new valentine day shop items + coupon code

Happy Wednesday everyone!

It's dreary day here in Dallas (severe thunderstorms and high winds since last night), and I'm resisting the urge to crawl into bed with some coffee :)

I'm popping in quickly to let you know that I have a brand new Valentine section in my shop. It's filled with supplies (die cut hearts and tags), cards and sweet Moleskine journals like this one:

I was hoping to add a few more items, but my DSLR is out for maintenance (again!) and I'm not sure the point and shoot will take good enough photos. We shall see.

Don't forget about the sale in my holiday section as well! Everything is 30% off (no coupon code needed, but supplies are extremely limited).

And since I love you all so much, please take 10% off your entire order through Valentine's Day with coupon code VDAY2012.

If you are a newsletter subscriber, check your inbox! You have an exclusive discount offer (please use the code in your newsletter instead of this one).

Not on the subscriber list? Get on it! Right here.

Have a great day :)

xo,

e

project life twentytwelve | title page

Hello Project Life 2012!

My loyal readers know that I attempted Project Life in 2011. I managed to get through April without completely breaking down, but I was stressed: frustrated about trying to "keep up" and felt guilty because I just couldn't make it work. Frankly, I just gave up.  However, I still collected little bits of life and I continued taking my usual photos.

I started to get excited again when Becky released her new products this past fall! I defintely wanted to try again, but new that something had to change. I realized that I was really weighed down/stressed out by the "week-to-week" documentation. So, I decided not to document our lives that way. For me, this will be a monthly project; some months will be sparse, others will be chock-full of photos and ephemera. I'm totally ok with that!

So, I wanted to share the title page for my 2012 album:

I clearly need to find a better way to take photos of these page protectors!

I wanted the title page to be fairly simple + neutral, so I printed all of my photos in black and white.

On the top right is a 4x6 sheet of kraft paper, topped with a few Mister Huey's, a paper doily and some awesome woodgrain Thickers (they were in a recent Studio Calico kit). As soon as I buy some more thread for my sewing machine, I'll stitch those Thickers down!). I wrote "twenty" on the doily with my favorite pen.

The 3x4 card on the left side is from the Clementine kit (LOVING it!), as are those orange arrows that are on the grid card (there's an arrow for each of us - I wrote down our names and ages as of January 1, 2012). The #6 is a metal piece from 7 Gypsies that I've been hoarding since we were the Rosemond Five :)

My plan is to share my pages monthly (just enough sharing, I think). I'll also show you the rest of 2011 as I work on it. I've been working through it backwards, so I'll be sharing December 2011 soon.

xo,

e

------ 

Not familiar with Project Life? Learn more here. Check out all of my Project Life posts here: 2012 | 2011 

december daily twentyeleven | the rest

As promised, I'm back to show you the rest of my 2011 December Daily album! This will be short and sweet, as this project has lost a little of its luster given that we're mid-way through January (already!) and I'm currently obssessed with Project Life.

Day twenty-two:

My mother-in-law (don't forget, we're in New Orleans at this point) surprised the little girls by taking them to see Cirque Dreams Holidaze:

On the left side, I printed 4 wallet sized photos (taken by Grandma) onto one page with my Selphy. I topped it off with a charcoal number spot and a few word strips from Cosmo Cricket.

On the right side, I used part of my Birchbox packaging as a base. I journaled on it with my extra fine white Sharpie :)

---

Day twenty-three:

The 23rd was my Mother-in-Law's birthday. We headed out to Ruth's Chris in downtown New Orleans to celebrate.

Ugh, please forgive the glare. On the left is a full-page photo of the birthday lady. I glued a vintage ruffle (I think it's from an old Kenner Road kit) on the edge and spelled out "Happy Birthday" with Authentique letter stickers (love those!).

I punched holes into a small glassine envelope to hold my journaling (the tag is by Jennifer Pebbles). I used a number spot by Every Jot & Tittle. 

Here is the full spread inside the journal. On the opposite side I have a photo of all of us, but for some reason I don't have a single clear photo of it. I think I may have to check the settings on my camera, I've been having some trouble with photo quality lately.

---

Day twenty-four:

My stepdaughter had to return home to Houston to spend Christmas with her Mom's side of the family, so we decided to celebrate on Christmas Eve morning. Super fun!

I was having so much fun living in the moment (my in-laws so loved having all four of the grandkids on Christmas) that I only took a few photos, and they were all funky. LOL!

On the left side is a white cardstock base. I cut out the stockings from some Dear Lizzy Christmas patterned paper, then stitched them down to create a stocking garland. The page is finished off with a kraft tree, peacock number spot, letter stickers and a strip of washi tape.

On the right side is another sheet of wallet sized photos with a Dear Lizzy Christmas Bloom right in the middle.

---

Day twenty-five:

Christmas Day!

We headed to the Hyatt Regency for Christmas Brunch. It was awesome (and the kids were great!), but I really didn't take any photots. Luckily, I got some great shots of the kids before we left.

When I assembled this page, I used a sheet of vellum to cover the photo then placed a #25 badge (by Jennifer Pebbles) on top :

On the left side I heat embossed "Merry Christmas" (from an old Martha Stewart stamp set) with clear Versamark; I journaled right underneath.

I just realized that I didn't take a photo of this spread inside the journal. Oh well...it's finished!

I never regret participating in December Daily, but I'm always super happy when it's done and I can put all of my holiday crafts away :)

xo,

e

 

 

zzzzzzzz...

me = totally exhausted!!

It feels as if the past week has just passed me by. I've been tired, sore (from the Bar Method and from some weird pain on the right side of my lower back) and sneezy (especially after an epic allergy episode this morning).

Oh, and my sweet boy is getting eight (yes, 8) new teeth at once. It's rough all around.

So, I'm taking another few days to relax and recharge. I've been heading to bed before 9 every night, so things should improve soon :)

Meanwhile, I'm working on Project Life ( both 2011 and 2012), editing the photos from the rest of my December Daily (it's been finished for awhile, but I keep forgetting to edit and post!) and a shop update (with a few items for Valentine's Day).

See you soon!

xo, 

e

handmade:modern // new year sale!!

Good morning! I'm in the middle of trying to restore our morning routine - feeding all three kids and getting both girls off to school. I'm popping in quickly to let you know that I've put my entire holiday collection on sale!

All holiday items are 30% off until they're gone! No coupon code is necessary, the discount has already been applied.

Happy shopping and have a great day!

xo, 

e

december daily twentyeleven | day nineteen & day twenty-one

Sometimes it's fun to look back and see something completely random in my December Daily. Enter day nineteen :)

"Domino" by Jessie J has been rocking my world lately (see her video below):

I took an iPhone photo while the song was playing in my car. Then, I stitched a rounded scrap of kraft paper on top, complete with a charcoal number spot.

On the left side, I used washi tape to hold my journaling = a text conversation I had with my teenager about how much Iove this song:

In hindsight, I would have taken a screen shot from my phone of our texts. I was being a little lazy though :) 

---

On December 21, we headed out to New Orleans to surprise my mother-in-law for her birthday (which is the 23rd):

I didn't include a single word of journaling on this day; I felt the message came across clearly :)

On the right, I printed out a map that included Plano and New Orleans. I then used gray embroidery thread to stitch our driving route.

On the left, I got a little crafty (look out!). I used teal ink to stamp, then emboss my letters (using theseawesome Amy Tangerine Thickers). After sticking the Thickers to the kraft paper, I sprayed everything with two different Mister Hueys (calico white and classic calico).

You may have noticed that I skipped day twenty. Uh, yeah. When I was taking photos, I realized that I left the entire day out completely. Since I adhered days nineteen and twenty-one together, there wasn't an easy way to get day twenty back in. Totally ok with me :)

Enjoy the day! This is the last day that everyone (husband and kiddos) will be home, so I'm going to try to make the most of it :)

xo,

e

 

december daily twentyeleven | day seventeen & day eighteen

I'm back with some progress on my December Daily! My journal is almost done, so I should be able to wrap up these posts by mid-week. Yes!

On the 17th, I took the teen and both babies to the mall. I LOATHE shopping, but it had to be done.

On the left side, I mounted a 3x4 photo to plain cardstock. Right next to it is another cute journaling card by Jennifer Pebbles.

On the right side is another 3x4 photo with letter stickers (spelling "Mall Rats") and a large number spot from every jot and tittle. 

---

On the 18th, my stepdaughter came to visit us for a week:

On the left side is a simple sheet of lined paper, short journaling and a holiday badge from Jennifer Pebbles. On the right, are two photos of Madision and Michael (he loves his big sister!):

I printed these photos side-by-side with my Selphy (love that feature). Right on top is another large journaling spot and a sticker strip from Cosmo Cricket. 

One last look:

Now that the new year is upon us, I'm getting very anxious to finish this journal!! Have a great day :)

xo,

e

 

happy new year!

Hello twentytwelve! So happy to finally meet you :)

To be honest, I'd been dreading New Years Eve ever since we left Seattle. I knew that it would feel strange not hosting our annual Very Rosemond New Year bash.

That's the best way to describe yesterday. Strange.

For the most part it was just another Saturday. I had a few emotional moments, but I got through the day. After the little ones went to bed (and the big one was off to a party), Corey and I fixed an amazing seafood dinner (steamed clams for me + lobster for him + broccoli and shrimp to share), popped open a bottle of wine (or 2) and enjoyed a quiet dinner by candlelight:

We also finished Season 7 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, which we've seen already but didn't realize it until we were halfway through. Still hilarious.

I'm so glad that I was able to enjoy the NYE that we had, rather than spend the evening lamenting about what we didn't do. 

2011 was a difficult year and I'm frankly glad it's over. 

But I'm also thankful.

I'm thankful that my husband has a job and that we have a place to live. I'm thankful that Dallas was even an option. I'm thankful for four healthy and happy kids. I'm thankful for my friends and family, near and far.

twentyeleven = a new journey + a new destination

twentytwelve = time to get on board + enjoy the ride

Let's roll!

xo,

e

december daily twentyeleven | day sixteen

On Friday December 16, I did a little holiday shopping while Sade was finishing up the last of her finals at school. I decided to do a little shopping for myself as well :)

On the left is a full size photo (with white border) of my goodies (a few books, a monogram ornament and some bowls from Anthro):

On the top, I added a few holiday sticker strips from Cosmo Cricket.

Opposite the photo, I used a 4bar white envelope from Paper Source. I journaled on the envelope flap and attached my number spot and a Grungeboard rectangle. My Anthro recipts are inside.

I have exactly three more days until my husband goes back to work. I plan on taking full advantage; I'm going to plow through the rest of my journal so that I can pack it up when I put all of my holiday stuff back in the garage.

Fingers crossed!

xo,

e