Grey Moggie Greetings

use what you love

After looking through photos of my latest mini books, K emailed asking "i noticed your adhesives-- do you not worry about using archival materials?" No, I don’t.

I try to take advantage of inspiration as soon as it hits. If a vintage map catches my eye while I’m flipping through some of my old books, I’ll make a greeting card with it right away. If I think of a neat cover for my latest mix cd, I open up Photoshop and get to work on it. (See the one above? hot air balloon image from www.balloonfestivals.com.) When I sit on an idea for too long it feels forced and inorganic when I come back to it later. And whatever I create doesn’t feel like me.  

When it comes to supplies, I have a similar attitude. I use what inspires me and usually that’s what’s easy to use or easy to reach. Maybe I should worry that there’s too much acid in my pretty little masking tape (not sure?) or my favorite pen or that the beautiful decorative paper I was compelled to buy is going to ruin my photos. But my photos are all digital and safely backed up and my bigger worry is that I won’t use the pretty paper that’s piled up in the corner of the room, or that I’ll never print my photos and have them on physical display.  

In the spirit of letting inspiration take hold, I made a new book last night. I’m not sure what’s going in it, but I didn’t want to wait for an event or a theme to put this book together. I’ve been loving blues and reds together lately, so I combined some of my favorite shades. It helped that I went to an event at Paper Source and got to take advantage of sale prices. Yay!

What are your favorite supplies? Do you worry about their archival quality?

***I've decided to run a series on books over the next few days (weeks? until I run out, I guess). I'll share some of my favorite books to carry around, what supplies I bring with me on trips, some easy book-binding techniques, and what inspires my favorite pages.

Feel free to use any tip or technique I share on the blog in your own work. If you find a way to make it profitable, by all means, use it. If you really like an idea that I've shared, I'd love a link back to my blog or the post where I shared it; if you like lots of my ideas, consider adding me to your blogroll. If I share something that I didn't come up with myself, I will point you to the source; if I point you to another website or blog, please be considerate about how others want their work attributed.If you make something super neat using an idea from my blog, I'd love to see a photo of it! Thanks and enjoy.***

Mini-book tip: Planning page

It’s a good idea to jot down thoughts every day while traveling. You might remember all the activities from a specific day and record them later, but it’s harder to capture emotion and fleeting thoughts more than a few hours later. When I make a mini-book, I always leave spaces for journaling. You can use labels on scrapbook paper or insert a few blank pages. On our last trip to New York, we wanted to fit a lot of stuff into our last full day there. If we were going to fit in coffee at Abraco, noodles at Momofuku, hat shopping, pie shopping, the Brooklyn Flea, and dinner with friends, we were going to need a plan. Along with our hosts, we came up with a schedule for the day while we were at dinner the night before. I jotted it in my Something to Keep You Distracted journal, on a page with the prompt “present dreams.” Jenny added illustrations, and also all of our initials with checkboxes to the bottom of the page so that we could sign on to show our approval of the plan. We made a rough go of the plan that Sunday morning and while the weekends’ previous late nights made us pretty slow, we fit almost everything into the day.

A couple weeks later in France, I used the same concept on a page I had left blank for journaling. It was a fun way to practice a new way of lettering I had seen during our time in NYC. As the day went on, I added notes about each of the day’s planned events, and whether or not we stuck to the plan. It’s one of my favorite pages from that album.

Can you make your daily to-do list visually appealing? Try it!

***I've decided to run a series on books over the next few days (weeks? until I run out, I guess). I'll share some of my favorite books to carry around, what supplies I bring with me on trips, some easy book-binding techniques, and what inspires my favorite pages.

Feel free to use any tip or technique I share on the blog in your own work. If you find a way to make it profitable, by all means, use it. If you really like an idea that I've shared, I'd love a link back to my blog or the post where I shared it; if you like lots of my ideas, consider adding me to your blogroll. If I share something that I didn't come up with myself, I will point you to the source; if I point you to another website or blog, please be considerate about how others want their work attributed.If you make something super neat using an idea from my blog, I'd love to see a photo of it! Thanks and enjoy.***

What to bring on an adventure

I always intend to put my photos and scraps together after a trip. Intentions, however, give way to unpacking, laundry, loving my cat, getting back into the every day routine, and recovery from the trip. So the last few times I traveled, I made a mini-book before we departed and packed it in my bag along with a few good supplies. My supply stash grew with each trip, and in France I found a cute little bag to hold them all. Here’s a list of the things I will likely carry on future trips. Take some ideas from my list and then let me know if I’m missing something.

Mini scissors: If the blades are less than 4 inches, you can pass through airport security.

Adhesives: I brought a glue stick, tape runner, and glue pen. The glue pen can be used as a permanent or repositionable adhesive. When at home, i use Zots, but they come in a bulky roll.

Mini stapler & extra staples: Once I picked up my mini stapler I didn’t know how I ever survived without it.

Mini hole punch: So you can add extra pages while you travel (especially cool if you have a Polaroid and want to add photos as you go)

Pens: My favorite pens are Paper Mate Flair pens. I typically bring black and red with me. I also like the AC Slick Writers since they write on masking tape, photos, & glossy postcards.

Labels: I always stock up when Paper Source has a sale on labels, or you can find lots of free templates online and add your own adhesive.

Decorative tape: I carry 3-4 rolls of happy tape on a trip – whichever rolls best match the theme of the book. 

Ribbon: The ribbons in the photo are those I picked up during our trips and tried to incorporate into the books. We visited an art store in Aix-en-Provence and a scrapbooking store in Bar Harbor and I found lots of fun items that I don't typically have access to. 

Bone folder: If you have it, you will use it. I used mine to smooth down wine labels that I added to my pages in France.

 

See how nicely they fit into my little pack? I picked the bag up at a gift shop in Aix. It's a Quo Vadis bag featuring Benjamin Vautier insignia. And voila. All zipped up and ready to go in my day trip bag.

What do you bring when you want to craft on the go, and how do you carry it all?

***I've decided to run a series on books over the next few days (weeks? until I run out, I guess). I'll share some of my favorite books to carry around, what supplies I bring with me on trips, some easy book-binding techniques, and what inspires my favorite pages.

Feel free to use any tip or technique I share on the blog in your own work. If you find a way to make it profitable, by all means, use it. If you really like an idea that I've shared, I'd love a link back to my blog or the post where I shared it; if you like lots of my ideas, consider adding me to your blogroll. If I share something that I didn't come up with myself, I will point you to the source; if I point you to another website or blog, please be considerate about how others want their work attributed.If you make something super neat using an idea from my blog, I'd love to see a photo of it! Thanks and enjoy.***

A new book

I love my spring quote book. It reminds me that while it was difficult and intense, the last month of law school was also a lot of fun. I want to remember the same about this summer. I don't want to look back and think "wow, studying for the bar was miserable." I would rather say, "yeah, that was tough, but look at all this other cool stuff that happened, too!" So I made a book to capture photos and thoughts - similar to the 3L Spring book - to remind me that this summer was, in fact, summer.

I used some of that French muscletone kraft paper for the front and back cover and then made each page slightly longer than the previous page. I added happy tape to the bottom of each page, alternating between bright yellow with flowers and black and silver striped. The pages are made from text weight paper in cement from paper source. I punch holes about a half inch apart along the top of the book and used ribbon to bind it all together.

Here are some photos that might make it into the summer book.

mini golf at H Street Country Club

hanging out at The Red & The Black

dancing at the Metric concert

And of course, the post-bar summer trips will get their own books.

Spring Quote Book

I decided to capture the last few weeks of law school in a collection of funny things I heard or said around school, at home, on Twitter. Using some inspiration from Elise's Get Crafty workshop, I made some paper from a random photo I took in our back yard (it's the background paper on the photo pages of the book).

I collected my favorite, funny outbursts and typed them out on yellow paper. Then, I gathered my favorite photos from those few weeks, or some of my favorite photos of the people involved in the quotes.

I put it all together with some book rings and happy tape. And voila...a funny book to help me remember what otherwise could be a very blurry time.

A coffee adventure

I was totally inspired by Elise's Adventure last week. I've fallen behind in my studies for the bar exam and part of the reason is that I've found it hard to get some good study time in on the weekends. With my beloved Murky Coffee closed and my general distaste for the library at my law school on weekends, it's been difficult to sit for many hours and get lots of work done. Both study spots were/are within a few blocks of my apartment.

For the last few years, I've kept a growing list of area coffee shops I've wanted to try. They are scattered in different neighborhoods throughout the city (and surrounding areas) but the one thing they all share is that people in the know report that the best coffee is served at them. With the need for a new study spot, I've got more reason to give them all a try.

For the next few weeks I'll be visiting area coffee shops and reporting back on the blog. I'll definitely write about the quality of the coffee, the availability of work space and free wireless, and the volume and type of music played. I may discuss other factors as they strike me from shop to shop. For example, today I went to Big Bear Cafe, and realized that all good coffee shops should have ceiling fans.

I'll also record my thoughts about the coffee shops in this neat little book I created this weekend. The paper is all from Paper Source - from their in-store 12x12 selection. I cut the sheets down to 10x12 so the pages are 6x10. Then I used some 5x9 cutouts to cover up the white backside of the paper. This the first time I tried sewing a binding. It worked quite nicely, but I covered it up with some tape to be sure. On the outside, I used random strips of a variety of Happy Tape I had on hand and for the middle pages I used a strip of packing tape from Tape Swell. Decorative tape has quickly become one of my favorite products to have at my desk. If you're into that sort of thing, it's definitely worth the purchase - it's inexpensive and super versatile.

I'll post my (glowing) review of Big Bear Cafe tomorrow.

Woot!

I made it through November and I blogged every day! Yay me!! Now, I'm in full blown final exam hibernation mode. I will come out of hibernation to get a few hours of sleep each day, for well-balanced meals until my appetite devolves into just a desire to eat Doritos and drink Mountain Dew as quickly as possible, for a few hours at the studio tomorrow to finish up some custom orders, for a few minutes each day to update my December book, and to celebrate Mr. Moggie's birthday next Saturday.

Last week, when I was still allowed to procrastinate with fun, silly things, I took a trip to Paper Source with a sweet friend who was visiting. She wanted holiday card supplies; I wanted labels. I walked out with labels, and also a few pretty sheets of paper, some new rubber stamps, and some free note cards they were giving away with purchases. There were 10 note cards and I've used them all to catch up on my correspondence project.

One evening last week, when I was still recovering from the off-and-on cold and was too sick to do homework, but not tired enough for bed, I worked on this Curbly project. It was super easy, but a bit time consuming to cut out all of the teardrops. I think my cutouts could have been a little (or much) larger, therefore requiring fewer to fill up the page, and that would have saved some time. I'm going to pick up some frames when I'm on break in a few weeks and hang these colorful designs on the wall above Mr. Moggie's dresser. There used to be a constant pile of clothes on the dresser hiding the now-blank wall. I'm hoping to put something in place before the pile makes a comeback!

I've got big plans for the few weeks I have off between exams and the start of spring semester (my last!!!).  (1) I'd like to take a look at this book, Printing by Hand, read Outliers, Bridge of Sighs, and Shakespeare's Kitchen. Then, I'm hoping to learn a bit more about our soon-to-be First Lady.  (2) I want to come up with a plan for making the holidays handmade and festive (for next year). These paper ornaments and this leaf garland seem like good places to start. I'll also be working on some goods for a collaborative snark pack of greetings, some new gift tags for the shop, and some custom invitations. (3) And then, I want to peruse these fun etsy shops for rubber stamps, handmade maps, and paper goods. (4) I also want to spend a day wandering around Second Story Books , a few mornings at the farmers' market with Mr. Moggie, and a few hours skating in the sculpture garden.

Thanks for making it through NaBloPoMo with me.  Stay tuned in December for updates on the December book, and the inverse relationship between my stress level as compared to the likelihood I will shower every day. It won't be pretty but it will be fun!

One Liners

I've talked about it before. Here are the pages from my mini-book, One Liners. It's where I keep lines from songs that I hear and love. 

1. The "One Liners" cover
2. "serve me the sky with a big slice of lemon" the geese of beverly road, the national
3. "let's trade this tired home for all it's weight in paper...revolutionary minds never know to draw the line" running out, mates of state
4. "you are my sweetest downfall" samson, regina spektor
5. "maybe i would have been something you'd be good at" call it off, tegan & sara
6. "the butterflies are passive aggressive and put their problems on the shelf but they're beautiful" in other words, ben kweller

Sweetness Abounds

I survived the MPRE on Saturday. Who knows if I passed the exam, but I made it through the test and back home in time to help Mr. Moggie with the engagement party we had been planning (along with some friends) for very good friends of ours. We had decided on a dessert party and for weeks, Mr. Moggie had been baking all manner of sweet treats. I came across this Amy Atlas party theme and we used it as inspiration for our white-themed centerpiece table.

The whole day was very hectic. I was up late studying (cramming) on Friday night, and then was up early for the exam on Saturday. Of course, these things never start on time, so there was a lot of waiting in line, and waiting for test booklets to be distributed. Once finished, I made a quick stop at Paper Source for lokta and ribbon, because of course, I had to do something with paper for the party!

I had time for a quick nap and a quick lunch, and then I packed up lots of project materials and a pretty party dress while Mr. Moggie packed up about a thousand bite sized desserts to head over to our friend Chris's house to set up for the party.

The desserts were such a hit, and I was so proud of my little baker. As for my paper contribution, I letterpressed some menus listing all of the desserts and beverages (including sparkling rose). Unfortunately, the menu project was the one with all the typos I mentioned in an earlier post. I used them anyway, and unless I pointed them out, no one said anything. Also, I made some awesome paper flower chains that went over so well the bride wants to use them in her wedding now.
I was so inspired by the sweetness of Mr. Moggie in wanting to hand make each dessert for the friends he holds so dear, and by the deliciousness of all of the treats, that I tried to capture it in this little layout.

All photos in this post (except for the photo of the scrapbook page) shared courtesy of our friend, Chris Heishman. Thanks, Chris!!

December book pages

Finally. Photos of the pages from my December book. Interspersed with some of my current favorite things.

Arrested Development, the movie? It might actually happen!

Mark your calendars. A craft fair at Rock and Roll Hotel. If you're crafty and want a table, they might still be available.

Deb from Smitten Kitchen shares her tips for cooking large in a space that's small.

Tell a Lie: Cool photos from an artist who "decided to flip this lie on its head and use a camera to mimic common Photoshop effects." Very neat.

Handmade Hellos: what Grey Moggie (the blogger, not the feline) wants for Christmas.

Cast your vote again! This time for your favorite Etsy holiday greeting card.

I've been listening to a lot of Girl Talk lately. Name your own price and download his latest "album" here.

The December Book Cover

It's been a busy weekend. And it might be an even busier week. However, in keeping with my goal of posting every day this month, I leave you with this photo of the cover of my December book.

And this one showing the inside front cover and first page. More to come.

The Real Grey Moggie: She likes butterflies, too...and also chicken

On Thursday morning, my dear friend Mary came over for breakfast. We're both students with a lot on our plates, so early mornings before class seem to be the only time we can get together and chat. We had tried to do breakfast at my place a few weeks ago, but The Real Grey Moggie wanted none of it. When Mary walked in the door, TRGM's tail expanded to three times it's normal size, she started hissing and scratching, and then let out the most terrible screams. I had never seen her like that before. I was concerned about the cat, but it seemed better to leave her alone and we grabbed bagels a few blocks away.

After my morning class, I wanted to check in on TRGM. Feeling bad that she had been so distressed, I picked up some peruvian chicken (a food the whole family, including TRGM, endorses) and brought it home to share with the cat. She sat next to me on the couch and we munched happily, she on a few nibbles of chicken and I on bigger pieces of chicken, coleslaw, and the tastiest of french fries. After we were full, she curled up on my lap and purred, and I closed my eyes for a few minutes before having to head back to school to do homework and attend my afternoon class. 

This week when Mary came over, TRGM ran to the hall and began hissing through the door before I'd even let Mary in. Since the bathroom is the only room in the apartment with a properly latching door, and TRGM enjoys playing in the sink and the tub, watching the birds in the nest outside the window, and staring at the crack in the wall (no joke), I put her in the bathroom and closed the door. Mary came in, we had a nice breakfast of cheesy grits, eggs, apples with cheddar, and flowing conversation. Near the end of breakfast, TRGM grew impatient and let out periodic meows from the bathroom. Mary left a few minutes later and I let TRGM out. She ran into the living room to hiss at the spot where Mary had been sitting minutes earlier (again, no joke). It's very strange, since Mary used to be one of her favorite people, but she's a very fickle cat.

I knew that I shouldn't "reward" TRGM with her favorite treat when she had been such a brat (she scratched my arm quite nicely when I let her out of the bathrom), but I was reminded of our chicken lunch from the last time she had been so anxious and distressed. And I needed that kind of quiet moment on Thursday. So after class, I again picked up some chicken to share with my kitty and we sat and ate and both forgot about the stuff that makes the hair on the back of our neck stand up. Peruvian chicken: it's like our Calgon.

Holiday Stash

December always slips away from me. The holidays seem to creep out of nowhere, not to mention Mr. Moggie's birthday and all the holiday travel. And for the last two years, law school exams have threatened to swallow December whole and not share any of the precious month with me.

Not this year! With Ali Edwards' help, December will not disappear into a string of missed moments. My month will be captured on paper, in words, and with photos. I put my pages together during a study break Sunday, but I still need to work on a front and a back cover, and I don't have photos of the pages yet. What I can share is the paper I used to make the pages. It says December, no?

Want to make your own December book? Find Ali's tips here and here.

Friday Favorites

Here are a few things I'm enjoying lately:

My baby envelope template from Paper Source. Baby envelopes are the perfect size for little notes and gift tags. Last spring I bought a bunch of 6"x6" paper on Etsy. I got the paper for super cheap and a lot of it is gorgeous. I was able to use some of it in mini-books, but there are only so many mini-book pages one girl can make.  As it turns out, a baby envelope kit is super useful for someone with many 6x6 sheets of paper.

One Thing Notes. These sticky notes are from Pretty Bitter. I use them to mark the last page of my reading assignments for school. While I'm reading, I like to pretend I only have one thing to do that day. Also, it's nice to read something that makes me smile or laugh, instead of making me want to pull out my hair. I had been planning to post about them here today, but I saw them on Design for Mankind yesterday.

Regina Spektor. Maybe I'm a little slow to this, but I just discovered Regina Spektor's song Samson. Ok, so I didn't discover it. It was in my iTunes because a friend of mine included it on her mix cd birthday present to me. In January. And I loved the mix, so I must have loved the song back then. A few days ago I was listening to one of those "genius" playlists iTunes puts together (this one was for Tegan and Sarah's Call It Off) and Samson started playing. Since then, it's play count has increased by about 100. awesome. What you're seeing in the photo is the line "you are my sweetest downfall," from the song. It's part of a mini-book I update whenever I'm inspired by a song or its lyrics. Call It Off got its own page in the book, too.

October Mosh Posh Kit: It has that sweet butterfly chipboard book. I have no idea what to do with it, but I'm sure I'll figure somehthing out. And it has butterfly patterned paper. Those cursive alphabet stickers I used in my mini-book are also from the same kit.  Most importantly, I love those two sheets of patterned paper from 29th Street Market. When I saw this calendar on Etsy, I thought about asking what paper was used for the background and wondered if it was hand printed. Later that day, I came home to the new Mosh Posh kit and saw the same paper inside.

Take Out Photo. Maybe you've noticed the new Grey Moggie banner (look up!). And the cool little photo grid in this post (and also in this one). I got Photoshop Elements last spring and had heard great things about it. Sadly, I could not figure it out and never took the time to read any of the guides that came with the program. Somehow, I stumbled upon Take Out Photo and learned how to make those awesome photo grids, and to add text to photos. It's so easy; I can't believe it took me so long.

Thursday night dinner at home with Mr. Moggie. Yum.

Study Break

It's a typical Saturday night during exams. I've been studying all day. Mr. Moggie and some of our friends want to go out. I want to go out, too, but must decline. I have to eat, though, so I make plans to have dinner with them before they head out for their night on the town.

We go out for sushi and when the waitress takes drink orders, I want a glass of wine or an Asahi like everyone else. Instead I order a Coke. We talk about how I've developed several wisps of gray hair in the last few months. Dinner ends and I go home to study, saying goodbye as everyone leaves for the nightlife downtown.

Once home, I sit in front of my computer and stare at the same notes and outline I've been poring over all day. Only it's just not sinking in anymore. My brain is saturated. I try and I try to make something stick, but I just start getting depressed about all my friends having a fun night, while I pull out my newly gray hair.

If none of this sounds like fun to you, don't go to law school. If any of this sounds like fun to you, no offense but you're crazy. And you shouldn't go to law school either - you'll mess up the grading curve for everyone else. 

Even though I wasn't getting any studying done, I knew I had to stay in and get some rest so that I could do the whole thing over on Sunday. So I grabbed the mini album that had been part of the March Cupcake Kit, and cropped, and pasted, and felt a whole lot better when I had this neat little book to show for my evening in. While Mr. Moggie just had Sunday's hangover :)