Elise Blaha :: enJOY it.

friday thankful.

thankful for my Paul. Last night, it was 9:15 and we decided we didn't want to watch TV in order to "save" the good shows to watch Friday. What will we do? I moaned. And then we just talked and talked and before we knew it it, Paul was asleep and night had come. It was like back in the old days. And I don't mean before there was TV, I mean before we knew each other inside out and just liked to talk.

sponsor giveaways : shabby chic crafts & tiffzippy.

Blog sponsor Shabby Chic Crafts has a great online store filled with vintage themed holiday embellishments. This year they added a NEW December daily Album Kit which is a great value for those planning on creating a December daily album or Christmas journal this year. It comes with all the journaling tags, numbers and embellishments. You can check out the entire collection of holiday items here as well as visit the blog for tons of holiday gift ideas & tutorials.

One commenter will win a December Daily Album kit.

Blog sponsor Tiffzippy is offering three sets of handcut holiday tags. Each set includes eight tags and can be purchased right here. This week, Tiffany will be giving away three holiday tags with all purchases that mention "eliseblaha" in the notes to seller. 

Three commentors will each win a set of 8 tags.

Please visit these two shops and leave a comment below. I will pick the random winners on Monday. Have a great weekend!

random, random.

Thankful today : for veronica, my college friend and cross country penpal. This girl is my soulmate in so many ways. Mostly internet and paper. That's a magic card, v. Thank you.

L Letterpress machine : I have gotten a few emails about the new at home letterpress machine that was recently released by Lifestyle Crafts. Paper Source is carrying them online and in store and I was able to try it out last weekend. I would recommend reading this review if you are curious about it. Feel free to ask questions in the comments and I will do my best to answer based on my experience with it.

Custom books : I will be spending most of today working on proofs and getting some books made. If you are interested in ordering a custom book for the holidays, I must receive your payment/order by December 10. That is 21 days from now. Are you interested? You can purchase here. I added a buy now button that will direct you straight to paypal. Look for an email from me with more directions within 24 hours of your purchase.

Rainboots : I finally found a pair. Just in time for rain.

wedding wednesday : playing with invites.

I have been thinking about the design of our wedding invites for quite awhile, but yesterday I started playing around in Photoshop. Above are my first drafts for the front (left) and back (right) of our wedding invitations. They will be 5x7 and tucked into gray A7 envelopes. The back will be professionally printed on glossy cardstock and the front I will probably print at home on cream Arturo paper. I will adhere both pieces together back to back and probably round the corners. In case you are curious, here are our save the dates that were sent out in September. I may or may not use that same flower liner paper.

I had a chance to share the plan with Paul and he was positive. That's good news as he is surprisingly opinionated about things like paper (though he has come around nicely on things like orange). But I still have about 2 months until I need to get these finalized and begin production so I might make some adjustments. It is so interesting how ideas grow. What I thought I would do is turning out very different from what I will probably end up doing. I love the evolution process.

And last night I could not sleep thinking of ideas for the programs. It appears I am running out of paper products to design.

tuesday how to : eco-friendlier gift wrap.

I say "friendlier" because I don't know if there is a complete eco-friendly way of wrapping. Maybe just planting trees? That would help for sure. I did want to share some ideas though - please feel free to add your own in the comments!

Option #1 : Bag it but skip paper gift bags. Paper gift bags tend to be expensive and normally require some tissue paper as well. Normally they are not used more than once because they show so much wear. Instead, purchase re-usable shopping fabric or canvas bags and stick your presents right in them. The gift receiver gets not only the gift but a pretty reusable bag to use for their shopping. PLUS - re-useable bags are addicting. Get someone hooked. The one shown above is from Baggu - I am an avid collector. Other fun brands are Maptotes & Envirosax. And PS - the tree stamp on the tag can be found here.

Option #2 : Use the right size box for your gift. You know when you have a t-shirt to wrap but only a big sweater box on hand? To make it look "full" it's easy to stuff the whole thing with tissue paper. DON'T. Plan it out and stock up on boxes to fit your gifts. If the item fits snug enough, there will not be any room, or any need for tissue paper.

Option #3 : Package your presents in patterned storage boxes. No need to wrap it up in paper, just tie a bow and call it done. Look for patterns that say "festive" without screaming "holiday". Festive boxes can be used to store stuff on a shelf all year long. It's another two gifts in one. The one above currently holds my greeting cards and I bought it at Ikea.

Option #4 : Buy recycled paper to start and when the dust settles and the gifts are opened make sure all the paper products go into the recycling bin. Simple enough, right? OR consider skipping the paper all together and wrapping your gifts in fabric wrap.

Option #5 : Use what you already have. My house has a big stack of maps thanks to my dad's subscription to National Geographic. Maps on their own don't say holiday but when stacked under a tree still look fun. What do you have at your house that could be turned into gift wrap? Tie it with string and be sure it gets reused or recycled once it's been opened.

Option #6 : Plan out your gift giving strategy. I work in retail and understand just how much stuff there is to buy. It's overwhelming. The holidays are overwhelming. Make notes and refuse to over-buy. Giving gifts is wonderful. Giving gifts that people will use and enjoy, not just discard, is the key.

winnner & welcome.

Thanks for entering the Creativity Prompt giveaway last week. You can go here for more information or to sign up for the workshop. Random org picked two winners - #95 & #100 Which means ... Gretchen McDowell & Katie - you have won free spots in the class. Please email me with your info so I can pass it on.

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And welcome to blog sponsor Shabby Chic Crafts. Be sure to checkout their holiday products and visit the blog. From today until December 4th, Veronica is hosting a free holiday workshop with fun projects.

project monday : album on the road for thanksgiving.

It seems like every third trip I am able to hit the nail on the head and actually accomplish an album on the road. Every single vacation I plan on making something but rarely to I stick to it and make something that captures the experience. I hope our visit home to California next week for Thanksgiving is one of the good trips.

Paul and I are flying out Thanksgiving day and my family is going over to Paul's family's for the feast. Our parents live about a mile apart so holidays are pretty easy to "share". The next day we (well me, for sure) are waking early for a little sale shopping (I'm hoping a nice digital SLR will go for pennies somewhere) and then driving to San Francisco for dinner out with Paul's aunt and uncle. We're spending the night in the city and then coming back to Sacramento for football watching. It will be a whirlwind trip and hopefully the perfect opportunity to fill this little book.

I decided to go with a 6x6 album - a different size for me. I am hoping to take a lot of photos on the trip and afterwards lay them out in Photoshop on to a 12x12 blank canvas. I will then have them printed as 12x12 photos. Once they arrive, I'll cut down to 6x6 and add into the book. I also like the idea that 4x6 photos with fit within the covers in both portrait and landscape mode. I may add some of those as well.

The covers of this little book are super thick. I bought bookboard, and cut it down to about 6x6 with an x-acto knife. The cut edges looked terrible (x-acto knives are not designed to cut bookboard) but they were covered up by the paper. I used bookbinding glue to attach the flocked paper to the board and wrapped each of the sides the same way that I make custom journals. To cover up where the paper was folded in, I placed a 5.5x5.5 inch square of the same paper on the inside covers.

After everything was wrapped, I used my Crop-A-Dile to cut through the layers of paper and bookboard. This tool is my best friend and, like always, punched though everything. While on the trip, I'll use the inside card as a template for punching holes in polaroid photos and whatever else I collect.

I am obsessed with the rich texture of the paper - perfect for a festive visit. Hopefully I will fill up this travel album and not just let it go to waste... I promise to keep you posted and share the finished result this time.

friday ideas & thoughts.

The December Martha Stewart Living landed in my mailbox this week. Above are some of my favorite images + holiday ideas. "Joy" spelled out in lights. Initial stamped cookies. Pine cone gift tags & little elves. Craft perfect just as expected.

Image credits : Martha Stewart

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A few other fun links from around the web :

• I had promised myself JUST ONE calendar for 2010. But then I saw this. So now I'll have two.
• fabric gift wrap
• a sunlight engagement shoot with fantastic balloons.
• I need to make these for dessert next week.
• the third photo here motivates me to make a quilt. The whole set motivates me to find us a house.

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Can you believe we're halfway through November? I cannot. Cannot, cannot.

I am teaching a scrapbook minibook workshop this weekend. It will by my first REAL LIFE scrapbook workshop. I'm excited. I'll let you know how it goes. Right now, I have to get to work. xo, happy weekend, elise.

sponsor giveaway : creativity prompt.

This week, Avital of Creativity Prompt is giving away two spots in the self paced online workshop "Make your own Planner." Included are instructions for making your own planner and a full planner kit designed by Avital Gertner-Samet, in both JPG and PDF files for instant download - including a bonus add-on.

The 4" by 6" page templates include, monthly and weekly planner pages, shopping list and too do lists, a page for information you wish to remember, a page designed especially for sketching creative ideas, a bonus address book. The JPG files can be altered so you can change their color, add or subtract elements and personalize them with a photo editing program.

The workshop is great as a creative jump-start for 2010 as well as an handmade and affordable gift for the coming holidays, or both - as you get an unlimited personal use license.

Take a look at Avital's site and leave a comment below with something on your to do list this weekend. I will pick two random winners for a spot in the class on Monday.

Have a great weekend.

bridesmaid gifts & custom cards.

Last March, shortly after we got engaged, I proposed bridesmaid-ship to six of my girlfriends. (You can see how I asked them here.) Since March 24th, they have been sending me fun gifts on the 24th of each month as a countdown to our wedding on April 24, 2010. It's beyond generous of them and I get so excited when sweet package arrives every month.

One of my bridesmaids, Erin, is getting married on July 1st. We are keeping the countdown tradition alive for her wedding as well. I kicked off the gifts on November 1st with a stationery set that she and her finance, David, can use as "thank yous" for all the little things that happen between now and the wedding. Their colors are oranges and corals and reds - the wedding is taking place in Maui.

 

If custom stationery is something you are interested in, I have created a few listings on etsy. I was sad when the price of letterpress rental went up and I had to take down my custom letterpress stationery options. This is a good substitute for now (fingers crossed I can find my own press) and gives me a bit more freedom over the text layout and you a less expensive custom printing option. Feel free to email or convo me with questions.

Happy Thursday and happy ampersands.