jamaica makes

04. april

April was busy. I went places and did things. Saw movies and friends. Had cocktails. Watched the progress on Tim's amphitheatre. Even though it wasn't that long ago, I like looking back and being reminded of it all. Dude, I made stuff from scratch. Can't forget that!

April was also the month Tina and I met in Portland for a quick girl's trip. My plan is to make a minibook from that weekend with all the photos and goodies I came home with, much like I've done for my other vacations. But I couldn't not mention it here. This is just an overview with a quick selection of my favorite photos/places. 

Favorite details:

Movies with good title designs + unlabeled tickes from the independent theater

Paperclipping smaller photos to things (and seeing Tina's and K's faces in my book, even if K's is just a cut-out for messing around in the photobooth with)

The cover:

I'm using a Studio Calico Handbook this year, one of the early plain versions. I covered it with my favorite embossed woodgrain paper using rubber cement (Best-Test). After gluing the paper on carefully, working my way from one side to the other, applying the rubber cement in small sections and pressing the edges firmly while it set, I trimmed off the excess paper using a sharp exacto knife on my oversized (sewing) cutting mat. The magic of rubber cement is that I can go back and easily touch-up any sections that have pulled away. Just jam cement in the crack between the paper and the album, covering the entire area and once it's dry, rub off the excess. I just added the Martha Stewart adhesive bookplate as I wrapped up April. That way it would lie flat while I had it open working on it for the last few months.

just GO

For your summer vacation, or anytime really, the newest addition to my small collection of albums... the Travel album. It's the same size as the Love album and the Holiday album, but combines the best of both with an etched and laser cut cover. The light gray looks good with so many color combinations. I couldn't resist adding a bit of neon with an airplane I traced and cut from paper I had on hand then layered under the cut-out on the cover. So many possibilities.

Now, I just need to plan a trip for this summer so I can use one myself...

duly noted in action

Steph, my sister-in-law, sent me a text the other day asking if I could make my Will a new notebook. He's been using one that I'd given her and even though he can't read, she wasn't sure a 2 year old should be running around with a notepad that says SHIT on the front. Turns out my Duly Noted notebook look a lot like a Blues Clues notepad to my nephew.

When I was there last weekend I got to see it in person. Every page is scribbled on or has drawings from my Mom and Steph. It was so awesome; totally well worn but with all the pages still intact. Will flipped through it carefully looking for a fresh page and I drew the picture of my mom, Nana, who is Will's favorite. 

Who knew my notebooks were good for more than hoarding?

new in the shop

Finally filling the shop back up! The theme this time, neon + neutrals. The albums are fantastically bright. You can't tell here because of the protective plastic, but trust me they're NEON. Both covers are plain, ready for your creativity—add stickers, decals, paint, embellishments or layer photos and text beneath it. Either way, they're going to be fun.

Also in the shop are the large manila tags I use to keep track of my extracurricular activities and a collection of my favorite envelopes for crafting. The large envelopes fit perfectly in a Handbook or Snap album without hanging over the edge of the page protectors. Good for adding in extra bits, like birthday cards. Loved being able to tuck away a few larger momentos without being all, hey look at my cards! The vellum did a good job at toning it down. So yeah, envelopes are cool.

What's also cool is that I finally get to send out my new business cards. They're neon too. Of course.

03. march

Now we're all caught up. I didn't take many photos this month. Can't tell can you? If you can read the dates on the photos you will notice though, that they're all out of order. That's just another feature of my carefree (ha!) approach. Fuck it.

Things that are making me happy:

1. It's simple and uncomplicated
2. The food cards (this month the boysenberry syrup/cream of wheat obsession and last month's invention of a spicy tri-tip salad)
3. Photos of Tim
4. The mix handwriting and typing
5. Finally using the Anthro catalog table of contents I've been hoarding for so long
6. Flipping back and seeing so many screenshots of FaceTiming Will. Technology is awesome.
7. The family run-and-jump-ins, always a classic. Unintentionally color coordinated, including all of Will's balls.
8. And, the quality of my iPhone photos. Just look at the full page kayaking photo.