hand stamped cards in the shop.

Find them here.

i have seven bridesmaids!

Since I love paper and craft projects,  I figured I might as well do something with paper to make asking my bridesmaids a little more creative.  I saw this idea for making a paper doll chain of bridesmaid here.  I had a free afternoon one day in January, so I started cutting away.  I didn't actually have paper long enough for all seven of my bridesmaids, so I made a chain of five and a chain of two and glued them together.  It wasn't perfect, but it worked.  I went to town cutting seven of each girl's hair and dresses in purple, grey and green.  Those aren't quite exactly my wedding colors and as of now I have no idea what my bridesmaids will actually be wearing, but these are just paper dolls.  The hair was my favorite.  It made it more fun that each of my bridesmaids have kind of distinct hair.

All of my bridesmaids are in Greenville so I asked them all in person.  I also didn't include many details about what they will wear/do because they all live close and we will be talking about it a lot in person over the next few months.  My four roommates all screamed when I asked them and everyone was excited.  I'm excited.  It's going to be great to have them participating in my wedding ceremony in a special way.  Josh and I believe that the wedding ceremony is a sacrament of the church. These seven girls are a part of my church community, so it only seems right to have them by my side as I participate in this sacrament and marry Josh.  Community is important to us and while Josh and I are the two getting married, we can't do this all on our own.  We need our community to support and helps us, give us a different perspective when we disagree, make us laugh and encourage us.

Well this post got a little more deep than I expected.  Anyway, here are some pictures of the finished product.

 

 

now in the shop.

The first of summer things are in the shop.  Take a look!

getting crafty.

Being back in the States and all I have had ample time to do crafty things again.  Quilting, paper crafts and painting have been my crafts of choice lately and I'm loving it!  I really missed expressing myself through the art of making things while in Costa Rica.   This blog started as a way to promote my etsy shop, but this past semester became more of an account of my adventures abroad in Latin America.  I liked the outlet this blog gave me to put my experiences and thoughts into words.  So I plan to use this blog as both a place to express my thoughts on life and a place to share the projects I'm doing and the products I'm selling in my shop.  For any of you who read my blog to know what I was doing in Latin America, I hope you continue to read because while I am no longer having new adventures abroad, I am still processing my experiences there and I will continue to have more adventures here in the mother land.

Here is a glimpse of the quilt I am working on.  I started last summer (I know, I know, I'm slow) and I plan to finish it this summer.  I love the bright colors and that I don't really have a specific pattern.  More on quilting later.

 And, coming soon, new paper products for my shop. 

getting in the spirit.

Okay, so here's something.  Christmas is in three days.  Yes, THREE days.  This seems strange to me despite the Christmas tree, sugar cookies, gingerbread and wrapping paper that surround me.  Some of my favorite blogs have written loads of posts about Christmas, which I enjoy.  However, my pattern seems to be one post per season this year.  So, this is my Christmas post.  Maybe there will be more.  Maybe I should make a new years resolution about blogging...

 Amidst my surprise at the onset of Christmas, I have done a few Christmas-y things and I have been enjoying the advent season.  I have been making some Christmas cards and wrapping lots of gifts. Every time I eat a meal with my family we light the advent candles and read an advent prayer/ devotion from Henri Nouwen.  I love advent.  I love the anticipation of such a glorious day.  The day Jesus was born and the extra special day of family time each year.  Some of my favorite Christmas traditions are singing in the Candlelight Christmas Eve Concert at my church, eating fondue on Christmas Eve, opening stockings before breakfast on Christmas morning and performing some sort of magic show or play with my younger cousins.  I think one of the times that I most appreciate tradition is at Christmas time.  Traditions makes this time of year extra special.

Me llamo Raquel. [mexico + some new stamps]

For six days I was in paradise.  My family went to Playa del Carmen on the Rivera Maya in Mexico.  We stayed at the Viva Wydham Azteca all inclusive resort and it was great.  As you can see, the beach was beautiful.  The sand was sandy and the water was warm.  Highlights include:  bike rides, swimming in the ocean, snorkeling, reading and relaxing on the beach, speaking Spanish, beach soccer,  and getting our pictures taken with monkeys.

 Also,  since I just had my birthday I have some new stamps to add to my collection.  My grandparent's got me these ones and I used some birthday money to buy some stamps from papertrey ink.  When I got home from Mexico this and this were waiting for me.  Here are some things I have made:

I really love making things out of old maps, because not only do the end results look pretty awesome, but they are also earth friendly.  In general I love reusing things that are just sitting in my basement or in the trash.  Now go forth and make something out of something else! 

p.s. click the photos to see them larger.  Some of them might be too small to see all the details.

thank you's + a quote.

These lovely thank you notes were inspired by this card and I'm planning to donate them along with some other cards to The Supply Education Group for an awareness event they're having in August.  I kind of just want to keep them and look at them.  I guess that means I should make some more.

These cards were pretty easy to make and SO cute.  First, cut the cardstock to the size you want.  Then the fun part- choosing the paper for the circles.  I used a tiny circle stencil and cut out the circles by hand.  Some people have a special dye-cut machine thing, but not me.  I'm too cheap for that.  I picked a coordinating neutral color for the strip in the back, glued it down and stamped "thank you."  I arranged the circles  and then glued them down.  I added some buttons and tied some string (embroidery floss) around the card just below the "thank you."  

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."  -Mother Teresa

envelopes.

Due to two unfortunate events (one more serious than the other), I have been feeling uncreative and unmotivated to do anything related to paper and crafts. First unfortunate event- leaving Seattle. I cried in the airport. Kind of embarrassing, I know, but it is hard to not see your best friend for two months. Even harder than that is what my sister is experiencing right now. One of her best friends died in a car accident last week. That sort of thing is absolutely devastating. I hardly knew her friend and I was feeling depressed all week.

So, I started making square envelopes out of a roll of kraft paper that I rescued from a trash can. Who would throw that kind of thing away?? I was more than happy to save that paper from going to the dump. I have a square envelope template, which I used, and I sort of made up the envelope liner on my own. To make the envelopes sealable I used double sided tape with protective paper on one side. Any suggestions for a better way to make handmade envelopes sealable? Once I made some envelopes, I got inspired to make some cards. A little inspiration from Ali Edwards' blog helped too. Here are some pictures of the envelopes/cards I have made.




These flowers are in my front yard. Nature is absolutely amazing.