JB41: i'm dreaming of a ♥PINK♥ christmas

this week at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ we're doing something completely different, and even a bit philanthropic! in honor of breast cancer awareness month we're asking everyone to turn their holiday cards PINK this week-- in recognition of which, stef and i will each be donating a dollar for every card linked up by the deadline to susan g. komen for the cure!

i'm really excited about this one, because i am secretly (well, secretly until now!) hoping we'll get THE MOST CARDS EVER and raise loads of money for a fabulous cause!

also, i just really *like* pink christmas cards, too! :) :) :)

(patterned paper: sei, the paper co; eiffel tower fabric paper: michael miller memories; snowflakes: jolees; roses: prima, recollections; plastic and fabric thickers: american crafts; ribbon: tim holtz, ki memories; ink: colorbox; adhesives: uhu gluestick, 3m foam tape, tombow monorunner, sewing machine)

i know a lot of people wonder *HOW* i mail cards that are as lumpy as this; but a lot of my cards go into packages with gifts. also, i am well known at the post office as the lady who sends A LOT of cards that are reinforced with corrugated cardboard and taped securely into padded jiffy mailers. yep, it costs a little more, but i enjoy the freedom of making unique and crazy cards! :)

i hope you'll come and join us at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ this week, make a card--or two, or three--and help us make some money for a wonderful cause! inlinkz closes at 6pm next wednesday, so what are you waiting for??!?! ♥♥♥

once in a ♥BLUE MOON♥!

it's october 5th! it's october 5th!!!

sorry, but i'm just a little bit excited! because, as i mentioned the other day, my dear pixie-in-chief kirsty vittetoe gave *ME* the very great privilege of assembling this month's pixie dust paperie kit--which is called BLUE MOON--and today is the official release!

here's the official kit photo from the pixie shoppe:

you can see loads more photos today on the pixie blog; or you can read the entire supply list here; or see some DT project teasers on this post! by the way, every day this month you'll see a new and different project on the pixie blog using this kit, made by me or one of my amazing fellow pixies! oh and be on the lookout for kirsty's special ANNIVERSARY ALERTS this month... because we've just celebrated an entire year of pixie goodness and when pixies party, EVERYONE has fun!!! :)

there's A LOT of good stuff in here, if i do say so myself; well heck, it *IS* a pixie kit, afterall! the papers are mostly double-sided and have loads of blue (hence the name!) but also touches of yellow, pink and red; plus lots of luscious neutral shades to tie everything together. for embellishments (the best bit, right?!) there are cardstock tags, chipboard birds ready to be decorated, fabulous super-fun epoxy stickers, a huge rhinestone and pearl flourish, gorgeous creamy linen flowers, fabric thickers, tissue tape... c'mon admit it, you would know this was MY kit just from the list, wouldn't ya??!

in addition to having all of my favorite kinds of stuff, this kit also has a little bit of my ACTUAL vintage stuff!

there's sheet music OF COURSE, because you know how much i love it--this particular book was from 1908, i believe. (the title is "modern music"!!!) you'll also get a beautifully patina-ed dictionary page (1950's, i think) with some cool little line-drawing illustrations; a page from a russian machinist's manual (i tried to specifically select ones with cool charts on 'em); some french vocabulary cards--bien sur; and of course you're going to NEED a few vintage buttons! finally, my absolutely favorite supply of the moment is denim "ribbon"--actually long strips torn from old jeans--that i think looks awesome nearly everywhere.

i hope you'll stop by the pixie blog and read more about it, and stay tuned for another pixie project of mine on saturday! ♥

ANOTHER exciting thing...

...that is starting in october... is my ETSY shop!!!

this is something i've been dreaming about, plotting and planning for the last year or so, and it's finally come true! i've started small, but hope to add more--and different--products as i go along. eventually, i'd like to have some journals and other things i've *MADE* in there, but at the moment i'm focusing on supplies for papercrafters, specifically, themed ephemera packs for collage, art journals, cardmaking, scrapping, etc! my "product line" (if i may be so bold) is called "JUST ENOUGH STUFF" and the packs look something like this:

see, everyone knows how much i ♥LOVE♥ using this sort of ephemera in my cards and artwork-- everything from music paper to playing cards to foreign text paper, vintage illustrations, leftover board game pieces, even bits of lace and ribbon and old millinery supplies! well, being the sort of person who likes that kind of stuff, of course i am drawn to garage sales, flea markets, thrift shops, rummage sales, etc. basically if you're in central new jersey or eastern pennsylvania and you set a sign out in your yard or at your church or firehouse, and you wait long enough... eventually, i *WILL* show up!!!

so of course over the years, i've amassed quite a cool collection of goodies. more, in fact, than one crafter could use in a lifetime... or ten!!! :) but here's the thing i realized a couple of years ago: the fun part is to have a nice SELECTION! especially if someone else can do the time- and space-consuming part that involves finding ten--or twenty--DIFFERENT books of sheet music, so that as crafters we can have the fun of lots of VARIETY, without all that "hunting and gathering"!

in the photo above you can see how many different sources i used to make my "deluxe sheet music assortments". here is what it looks like when you grab one sheet from each:

and HERE is what it looks like when someone (that'd be ME!) packs them up neatly into a notebook-ready page protector, and puts a pretty topper on them:

so far i have three different themes: sheet music, foreign text, and nature... but i have LOTS more ideas for the future!!!

currently, each theme is available in two different sized packets: a petite assortment (10+ sheets in each) and a deluxe assortment (20+ sheets). i also have "eclectic decks" of cards in which you get more than *52* different cards in a "full deck" (these include playing cards, flash cards, vocabulary cards, game cards, etc) or 26+ in a "half-a-deck". those look like this:

all of these different selections are in my etsy right now and available for purchase. ...OR... if that's a bit more vintage stuff than you'd like to start out with, i'm VERY pleased to announce that in addition to loads of lovely BRAND NEW product, some of my own personal ephemera collection is featured in this month's pixie dust paperie kit, BLUE MOON. that goes on sale tomorrow, in the pixie shoppe, at which time i'll be talking a bit more about it!

finally, if you're the sort of person who likes to SEE things in person before buying them, and you happen to live within travelling distance of new york city, i am beyond happy to announce that a range of "JUST ENOUGH STUFF" packets are available at the ink pad, in their new location at 37 seventh avenue. even if you have ZERO interest in my vintage bits and bobs, if you're able to stop in there, i highly recommend the trip, as anna and barbara and the whole gang are some of the nicest--and most creative--folks in new york city, and the selection of rubber stamps and papercrafting supplies is UNBEATABLE! if you go... and trust me, you SHOULD GO... tell 'em lauren sent ya!

i'll be bragging more... or rather--AHEM-- "discussing my new etsy venture in further detail" (yeah, that sounds better!) in future, so stay tuned! in the meantime,

♥wish me luck, darlings!♥

it's a very exciting day!

today at pixie dust paperie we are celebrating our anniversary! can you believe that an entire YEAR has elapsed since pixie-in-chief kirsty vittetoe made the dream of starting her own papercrafting kit club come true?! nope, me neither, but i am so proud and happy that she invited me to share the fun each month, making projects and meeting fellow pixies from all over the world! if you have a little time today, why not stop over at the pixie blog and say "congrats" to kirsty on this very cool milestone?!

and just like the first day of every month for the past year, today also marks the first "designer preview day" for the new kit, and i am quite honored that the project in question is mine, and it looks a bit like this:

it's an official princess crown, made especially for niece ♥lindsay marie♥ whose birthday is tomorrow! (you might recall that i made a different crown in february for lindsay's sister riley elizabeth.) i hope you'll hop over and check out the official post, because i am pretty pleased with how this turned out, but you just cannot get the whole idea in ONE photo!

but first i am very excited indeed to reveal that this month's special anniversary kit is called BLUE MOON was put together by yours truly! yes, for the second time (the first was in january) miss kirsty gave me the honor of choosinge all the ingredients, and boy did i ever have a GREAT TIME!

i've packed in as many of my favorite crafty necessities as humanly possible: fabulous double-sided papers... elegant fabric flowers... ready-to-alter chipboard... fun epoxy stickers... an awesome alphabet... some tasty vintage goodies from my own personal stash... and OF COURSE it wouldn't be a "laureny" kit without a bit of bling in there, right??! :)

yep, i'm very proud of what's IN the kit, and i'm extremely happy with the projects i've made, but i'm even more excited about what my fellow pixies cheryl nelson, kirsty vittetoe, and our special guest designer jill sarginson have done! don't take my word for it--you can see a little sneaky peek in yesterday's pixie post!

i hope you'll stay tuned for three more awesome designer days coming up, followed by the "big reveal" on october 5th. oh and you'll want to check in at the PDP blog as often as possible this month because i happen to know that kirsty has a few surprises up her sleeve and you never know what might be going on over there if you don't visit! ♥♥♥

JB40: peace on earth

this week at ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ we are attempting to create peace on earth!!!

ok, that might be a bit ambitious. howsabout we attempt to create christmas cards with a "peace" theme, instead? that's a bit more do-able! :) all you have to do to join in is make a holiday card that features a peace sign, the word "PEACE", or evokes a peaceful feeling to you... as conveyed by woodland scene, maybe? or a starry night? or a dove? feel free to go as wild or as tame as you like, just make with the peace, baby!

i went with the word "PEACE" mostly because i found this gorgeously rendered version in my stash of vintage cards:

(vintage christmas cards; patterned paper: my mind's eye, scrapworks; adhesives: tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

i cut out the center of the letter "P" in order to incorporate an element from a second vintage card--the beautiful dove! i fussy cut his wings and tail so that it would seem like he was emerging from the card. after that, i *tried* to add a bunch of embellishments, but the card resisted such blandishments and asked to be left in... well, PEACE... so i just stuck on a couple of coordinating mats and called it a day! :)

if you stop by ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ you can see miss stephanie's card and peruse the gallery... a trip that is always well worth making! if you'd like to participate, inlinkz will be open until next wednesday! see you over there!

SEPT--instant accordion booklet

possibly my favorite project from september's pixie dust paperie kit, TECOLOTE, is the mini-accordion book i made for my friend paul's birthday:

it holds a hand-stamped poem called "field guide" by paul's favorite american poet, tony hoagland. it's an unusual project, but i think it's really fun and sort of different, and i hope you'll hit the pixie blog and check it out today! ♥

do we really need a monday EVERY week??!?!

surely twice a month would be enough. seriously. i say we take a vote. in the meantime, here is a cheezburger to start your day off right:

you're welcome, darlings!

♥♥♥