summer fun

hi there!  it's been a hectic week behind the scenes here at the blog...i'm getting some cards, tags, and kits ready to photograph and share and i just wrapped up a big project for Crate Paper.  that thing took FOREVER, let me tell you!  i'm so glad to be done with it.  i can't share it with you yet...hopefully i'll be able to show you in another week or two.

speaking of Crate, though, i do have 4 cards here today that i made for May's Creative Weekly on the CP blog.  with the release of The Pier collection, the big focus over there has been summer and the CW theme was water--the beach, the lake, the pool--whatever we wanted as long as it was water-related.

when i got the assignment, we had just returned from a trip up the coast to San Francisco, stopping in Santa Barbara, Big Sur, and Monterey along the way.  i had really been hoping to use some of the photos i took on that trip for this project, but i just couldn't make anything work.  (but i will be devoting a post to my photos from that trip in the near future!)

so instead of using real photos in a layout or mini album, i made some cards using some of the great chipboard and ephemera that are a part of The Pier line.

the first two cards are similar in colors and theme--pinks, yellows, and blues, with a feeling of welcoming summer.  it wasn't difficult to get in the summer spirit since we've had fairly warm weather already for the last couple of months.  of course, now we're into June Gloom--which, i gotta say, i really like!  don't worry--i'm not complaining about hot temperatures; i just kinda like gloomy days since they're so rare out here. 

the beach, surfing, sun...that's the essence of Southern California.  and these cards and their images definitely got me thinking that we need to go to the beach more!  it's pretty terrible how we take it for granted with it being so close.

while Hoss was off on his family leave, it was on our list of things to do, especially because we would have been able to go during the week when the beaches are a lot less crowded.  but a newborn baby at the beach is not exactly a fun thing.  we have a very large umbrella and easily could have kept her hidden from the sun, but for some reason, we just never went.  such a shame...

the other two cards i created still have that beachy tone, but with more of a subdued, retro feel to them.  i love these muted blues and reds.

with graduations coming up, i thought these would make great cards for grads.  be it high school or college, they're congratulatory and encouraging--and fun!  definitely not your typical cap-and-gown greeting cards.

LOVE this red one-piece!

okay, guys, i gotta go!  so many things to do...i have all of these ideas swimming around in my head and written down on paper but there's so little time to accomplish them all--or even one-tenth of them, it feels.  i try not to get frustrated about that because the reason i can't get them all done is because i have two (amazingly sweet) little ones who need me.  but sometimes, when i'm deep into working on a project and i have to change a poopy diaper...it's hard not to feel a bit discouraged.

at the end of my pregnancy with Nemy, my doctor advised me to slow down, take it easy, and don't do "anything unnecessary."  well, what does that mean?  can i do laundry?  can i sit at my desk and do work?  when i asked him, he gave me a vague, noncommittal answer, as was his general practice whenever i asked a question (grrr!).  but then he also said--and i think of this often--"10 years from now, are you going to remember what you were doing [that you thought was so important]?"  i'm paraphrasing a bit, but basically, he was saying that the housework and even the trying-to-build-a-career work were much less important in life than having a healthy baby.  

it still applies...spending time with these two healthy kids is much more important than anything else i do...but still.  :)

one more thing before i go...i'm cleaning out a bunch of cards over at the Etsy shop to make room for all of the new stuff that's coming.  cards in the S A L E section are just $3.00 and sets are 50% off...there are some terrific deals on handmade greetings--they're cheaper than most machine-made store-bought cards!

have a happy Tuesday!