making envelopes smile.

 

I spent my night making Valentines. And Jamie's idea for using up scrapbook paper inspired me to find a delightful to way use my pretty paper scraps. Because pretty paper linings make envelopes smile.

friday favorites - pinklepurr

 

My sweet little Pinklepurr, with silky fur and emerald eyes. Her purrs as smooth as dreamland, her cheeks as soft as dandelion wishes. With an agenda to dream her days away, she only loves you, that's all she knows.

 

a conversation about timmy

Timmy: Sweetest, I think that sometimes I scare people.

Me: Oh, no. You don't scare people... Well, yes you do scare people. Sometimes you're just a little loud, and you intimidate quiet people like me.

Timmy: Yes, that is true. *pause* But you can't spell intimidate without Tim!

So true. How I love my darling, sometimes-intimidating boy.

we are made for joy.

Yesterday I ate my lunch inside a rainbow.

The sparkling sunshine outside my window at work convinced me to brave the freezing breezes. I slipped out of the building, lunchbox in hand, and slid into my car to bask in its sun warmed interior.

And the sun was shining so cheerily, so full of brightness - so directly in my eyes.

After squinting for some long moments, I pulled off my pretty scarf and hung it in a curtain around me, filtering the sunlight and softening it's rays into radiant color. It poured over me with dancing hues and immediately transformed my car into a brilliant rainbow. Just try to eat oranges amidst a rainbow and see if you can't help but be filled with overwhelming happiness. And so I learned something new yesterday. Sunlight glowing through pretty scarves is pure joy. And we are made for joy.

After spending an afternoon daydreaming about rainbow scarves, I went home and attempted to capture this joy. And with my light table and a pile of beautiful scarves, this is what I created:

 

 

i'll make a home with you.

  

this weekend

because I have officially accepted a freelance graphic design position.

because Timmy and I were itching for a completely unpractical adventure.

because I found the most perfectly amazing shelves online at IKEA...

We decided to take a road trip to Chicago. To hold hands and listen to The Hobbit. To IKEA. To spend hours entranced by all the IKEA lovelies... to practice self-control. To buy those beautiful shelves. To bring them home to live in my art studio. To give me space to create... a place to design.

And then...

because we had been meaning to for the past six months.

because color makes my thoughts sparkle.

because it made sense to do before we assembled the shelves...

We bought three gallons of paint from Home Depot at 8PM. To paint my studio a pink so light it whispers. To stay up very late dripping pink paint and sharing painty kisses. To watch my handsome husband put on his tool belt and expertly assemble my beautiful shelves.

 

To just bask in the reality that we were painting our home together.

Because, oh yeah, I'll make a home with you my love.

because of Valentine's day...

may i have this dance?

When you're married to the most darling boy... all your dreams come true.

Because he delights in your silly fancies and dedicates his time to granting you your every whim. He considers your wishes to be precious, and he loves to buy you your favorite things. (Like fresh raspberries and big sparkly rings.) He always, always remembers to get gas for you, and never ever lets you open your own car door. He introduces you as his "beautiful wife" and loves to tell the world how much he loves being married to you. If he hears you don't especially like to do the dishes, he never lets you touch a dirty dish again. He leaves lovely comments under every single post on your blog, just because he knows how much it means to you. He is enthralled by all that you are, and speaks those mushy gushy words that he would not normally speak, but he knows how happy it makes your heart. He takes to you plays and operas and the ballet, now that he knows how you truly adore it. And he listens, really listens, when you tell him that one of your lifelong dreams is to learn how to ballroom dance.

So for your seven month anniversary, he surprises you with private ballroom dancing lessons. He spins you in circles as you giggle with glee. He kisses your face and calls you his dancing princess and says, "Sweetest, may I have this dance?".

When you're married to the most darling boy, he is your dream come true.

"centered"

The youth at Faith Evangelical Free Church are going to be learning how to live lives centered on Jesus Christ.

When Pastor Scott asked me to create a "cool logo and poster" for this new series, I immediately thought of circles, targets, and center aligned text. And then I kinda realized that none of those things were especially "cool". And then I kinda realized that all of those things were definitely lame.

But how does one make "centered" cool? I've never been cool. And how can I make something "centered" without circles and center aligned text? I love circles.

As I mulled over how to design a cool "centered" logo, I began to think about what it means to have Jesus Christ the absolute center of my life. And then I thought about how sometimes I like to keep Him out of certain parts of my world, because I don't especialy want to stop disliking that certain person or listening to this particular music or whatever. And then I realized that two seconds before I actually thought about it, I would have said without hesitation, "Jesus Christ is the center of my life." And I suddenly knew that Jesus was slightly off-center in my life, out of reach of those particular things I don't want Him to know about.

And it became clear to me that it is way too easy to fall into a rut of thinking "Oh, this movie isn't so bad" or "I don't listen to the words of the music, I just like the beat" and so on. But that's not really making Jesus center. He expects us to be pure in everything, not just some things. And He wants to be the center of all our decisions and goals and dreams. Even my graphic design? Ummm... definitely.

And after I thought about all that, I had this great idea of how to make a cool centered poster:

Praying before designing? Sounds like a good plan to me.

(concrete floors make amazingly cool, grungy backdrops. sidewalk chalk is fabulous. if you don't listen to Owl City, you should. oh, and can you spot where the LZ photo is hiding?)

manly beauty.

While I was visiting my parents this weekend, I spent some time down in Daddy's workshop. My dad can make anything. As he was showing me the effects of his newly sharpened planer blade, I began to notice all sorts of interesting textures and colors in his work area. Manly beauty.

 

  

 

  

So, I did what any photographer would do. I took some pictures. Even guy stuff can be beautiful. (Although I doubt Dad would appreciate me calling his tools "beautiful.")

And now I'm thinking that these "manly" photos just might make some incredibly manly note cards?

only you cards

the company I keep...

*most times… I come home from work with a nightly agenda. And I will accomplish each listed item…

*most times… it's hard for me to sit still and not be accomplishing something.

*most times… I'm a little bit of a perfectionist, and I push myself to do just a little more… a little better...

*most times… I feel like I can't keep up with all the creative thoughts flying through my mind.

but *sometimes, all I want to do is snuggle on the couch with my Timmy's arms around me. Whispering lovey words, giggling at nothing, and *just being us. Because *the company I keep is pretty *remarkable these days.

tonight is one of those *sometimes. I'd like to have more of these.

illustrated flower cards

Two good things that came from my sick day:

Spending an afternoon drawing flowers makes me feel like a fairy. And sketching blooms is good medicine. Because it is very hard to draw flowers and not feel incredibly cheerful. Unless you are drawing thistles...

hummus - for laura

Hummus is my all time favorite food. Ever. It is addicting in all the best ways.

Ingredients:

1 16 oz can of chickpea/garbanzo beans

1 medium lemon, juiced

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini

1 medium clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

Drain chickpeas. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add juice from lemon. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth. (The hummus should be creamy and moist. This can vary, depending on the size of your lemon. If the hummus seems a little dry or dense, just add a bit of water and blend some more.)

Eat with celery, carrots, broccoli, or pepper slices (my favorite is with peppers!). Hummus is also quite tasty on salads (as an alternative to dressing), spread on sandwiches or pitas, and with tortilla chips and salsa. 

For the Roasted Red Pepper Hummus variation, just add 1/2 cup roasted red peppers.

Note: If you are used to store bought hummus, you will notice that this hummus is a lot less oozy. This is because I leave out the olive oil. Because I don't like my hummus to be oozy. However, if you prefer oozy hummus, just add 2 TB olive oil. :)

love rings.

My two little sisters are moving far, far away.

Off to pursue dreams and academics.

Those of us back home will be doing a lot of missing in the next couple months.

Today Kyra and Missy leave with our prayers in their hearts and these little Love Rings on their fingers. Little lovely reminders of how much they are loved and cherished - filled to the brim with hugs and kisses and pretty thoughts.

Because sometimes sisters need to be reminded of how wonderfully special they are. And big, pretty, sparkley reminders are the best kind of reminders, don't you agree?

I love to personalize store bought gifts to make them just a little extra special. I have found that it is all about the packaging. Prettily designed packaging goes a long way, and cute "product tags" always impress.

today I am sick.

pretty little hair clip

Dear readers, I have found that it is very easy to make pretty little hair clips. 

Thank you, ribbon, hot glue gun, and jewels. I'm quite sure I'll never buy hair pretties ever again. 

friday favorites - chocolate chip cookies

Sometimes, it isn't easy being vegan. It can be almost guaranteed that I will never be able to eat any delectable treat found in restaurants, stores, or coffe shops. (Unless it is a vegan restaurant, store, or coffee shop.) I'm the awkward party guest that nobody knows what to feed. And I'm always the girl in the corner eating a plate of carrots and celery at work pot lucks and treat days.

The fact that I stop breathing if I consume anything to do with dairy or anything that touched anything that touched something with dairy in it, really helps. I'm never tempted to un-vegan-ize myself and sneak a forbidden snack. Some of my favorite moments are when my darling husband tells waiters about my allergies, clutching his neck in a death grip and making a choking face as he visually explains to our now wide-eyed server that I will surely die if I eat dairy. (Don't feel too sorry for me though. I wouldn't eat dairy even if I could, for a long list of reasons I won't mention on this blog.)

99% of chocolate chips and 100% of regular chocolate chip cookies have dairy in them. Which means I usually can't eat chocolate chip cookies without risking my very life. Because of this, I have not had a real chocolate chip cookie in years. Years.

I'm telling you this fact to help you realize how incredibly, amazingly, ridiculously exciting these chocolate chip cookies are to me. I got this vegan cookbook for Christmas, "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar". And out of all 100+ recipes, I chose to make the chocolate chip cookies first. I could have made any number of delightfully different and new cookies - and they all sounded positively divine. But no, I found some vegan chocolate chips and chose to make the most boring and basic recipe out of the entire book, "Chocolate Chip Cookies." Because, oh how I have missed them! Does anything taste more like a cookie?

And the crowning glory of the moment was when Timmy and I were eating warm, right out of the oven, chewy chocolate chip cookies. And Timmy ate two of them. And then he looked at me and said,

"Baby! Nobody would ever be able to tell that these are vegan!"

Which is his way of telling me that they were truly delicious.

 

Don't tell Timmy, but I plan to make him vegan yet.

*sneaky smile*

One plate of chocolate chip cookies at a time...

a conversation: about dreams

Timmy: Where will we go tonight in our dreams dearest?

Me: To the clouds?

Timmy: Yes, lets meet high on a mountain. Not in this world, in a special spot that is super high, so high up that even you are not afraid. And we'll sit and have a picnic in the clouds on a picnic table that was put there just for us.

Me: Is it a pink picnic table?

Timmy: Yes, it is pink. But there is a little corner of it that is blue, for me. But we'll sit on the same side, and we can sit on the pink part.…
I'll just rest one hand on the blue part.  

(another beautiful photo taken by Laura Zastrow)

je m'ennuie card

Three reasons I love this card.

Reason#1: Because black and white is beautiful. I love the tonal variations on black and white pieces. Sometimes, without color to distract us, black and white shows delightful details we otherwise would have missed.

Reason #2: Because I have been inspired to cultivate my ability to create simple pieces. I tend to make everything deliciously detailed and complex. But, the truth is, sometimes simple is just better.

Reason #3: Because the Eiffel Tower image originated from a photo I took on our honeymoon. Yes, my heart flutters happily just thinking about it! Seeing the Eiffel tower was a lifelong dream fulfilled.

And because French is such a beautiful language, it looks and sounds pretty no matter what you are saying!

christmas presents - timmy's dvd

For Timmy's Christmas present, I made him a DVD. A year's worth of photos, videos, and audio clips were combined into a sweet little movie, starring us. It starts with our magical proposal and ends with our return trip to Disney World, with lots of love in between. Hours of tediously editing movie clips only confirmed to me that I would never make a good movie director. But I suppose it wasn't so bad, since I got to stare at clips of my handsome husband the whole time...

My favorite part, though, was designing the DVD cover. And my favorite part about the cover is the front photo, taken by Laura Zastrow.

Isn't it the perfect photo? I just love that we are holding hands and staring off at separate horizons, looking to our futures and facing it together. Doesn't it make you wonder what we're seeing? And isn't the wall behind us such a glorious color and texture? And those shadows. Laura, you're brilliant!

I loved this project. It's just such a great way to document a year's worth of happiness and memories.

And, after much deliberation, Just Us Two got a G rating. Whew.

commitment

We have a plant that lives on the window sill in our kitchen. It "lives" in a perpetual state of dying.

I probably remember to water it once a month (maybe), and only when I suddenly notice that it is on the absolute brink of death. And then I mournfully apologize to it's wilted leaves, pour as much water into its parched soil as possible, place it back on the sill, and vow to never let it go that long without water ever again. But, a month later, I find myself in the same place as the last. Noticing a dying plant and reviving it just in time. And I can only imagine how maddening it must be to be dying of thirst - living only inches away from the water faucet.

I consider this one of my deepest faults - I'm sure my plant would agree.

And so, my resolution for 2010 is to learn to water my plants.

This resolution encompasses much more than just my dying plant on the window sill. In 2010 I am determined to "water" every area in my life. I want to be a woman who is committed to everything - big or small - that the Lord has entrusted to me. Whether it is house plants, my marriage, my design work, or my relationships. I am so, so excited to throw 100% into every area of my life and just see what happens!

2010 is going to be a beautiful year. My prayer is that 2011 will find me with a gorgeous green plant on my window sill and a well-watered life to go along with it. *smile*

Here lies my wilted plant. And if you look very closely, you can see my handsome Timmy's reflection in the window....

christmas presents - owl pocket calendar

Meet Oswald, the owl. He's just as excited about 2010 as I am! *big smile* Happy New Year!