make it meaningful

i'm talking about gift packaging.

i always feel dirty when i give someone a gift in a gift bag.  it just says "i put absolutely no effort into this gift, hopefully you like it, if not here's your gift receipt."  i try to consider who the gift is going to and try to tailor my packaging to the recipient.  this here is one of my favorite inexpensive wrappings, vintage pattern instructions.  i wouldn't give this to everyone though.  some of my friends would be disgusted by the musty smell.  i love this smell though, like old books.

dress your package like you dress yourself.  add layers and texture.  in this case i took a large kraft paper envelope and ironed on a giant "G", using heat n' bond (one of my most absolutely, favorite things, in the whole wide crafting world!) and vintage fabric.

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to add additional layers, i bound the package wrapped in vintage pattern instructions to the kraft paper envelope with bakers twine.  i finished it off with a handmade note and gift tag, using simple graph paper and an inexpensive hang tag, which seems to becoming my signature.  i'm finding my way people :)

the gift above is a baby shower gift.  sometimes i forget to do this but i try to get the older sibling a little something so they don't feel left out, especially if it the sibling is currently an only child.  for this little gift i tailored the gift and packaging and the recipient.  make it meaningful! 

this little boy's mama loves green and his name begins with "h" and the book is about an imaginary crown we all wear.  i first wrapped the book in pattern instructions, no cutting required.  the size of the paper was perfect for this size book.  then i cut out a crown from kraft paper.  on top of that i layered a green stripe "h" out of fabric using heat n' bond once again.

i simply wrapped the package in twine and added my little note for the big brother to be.  fun right?!

smiles,

amber

so pumped

while at alt i took an amazing photography workshop.  i love making things, but what i love more than making things is taking pictures of what i make.  i want to improve my photog skills, big time.  i could look at beautiful pictures all day.  i was so pumped from the workshop i rushed and bought a 55mm prime lens.  yeah, i'm leaving the day after tomorrow and i still have a fully packed suitcase from alt.  the last thing i need to be doing is playing around with new lenses.  i was however, hoping to plug-in-play.  i mean, i was hoping i could get this lens and take amazeballs pictures in colorado.  wrong!  i tried to apply what i learned in the class to take some pictures of little miss s.  light in the eyes, check.  well, that is sort of the only thing i got right... i think.  good lord, i need help.  i took over 100 pictures and most of them are blurry, overexposed, underexposed, tinted yellow, etc.  the color of these two was off, so i changed them to black and white.  i like the sharpness of the images and my girl keeping it real.

about alt

i don't even know how to put into words my feelings about alt summit.  i'm still processing.  i got home yesterday afternoon and took a four hour nap and then still went to bed at 9:30.  as quickly as i came and went to alt, i now have to get ready to hop on a plane again and head to colorado for a family ski vacation.  i wanted to at least leave you with images of alt and hopefully when i get back from CO,  i'll have some words from alt.

tweet-l-dee

 i spent a good chunk of time this weekend making handmade "calling cards" for my blog, just in case i need them for alt.

after a day or so of making 80+ cards, i asked my friend who went to blogher how many business cards she handed out.  she said a handful.  what?  come again?  surely she meant a handful times 100.

does this stuff happen to you?  i get myself into situations like this frequently.  my friend told me it's all about twitter.  she should know, she does this kind of thing for a living.

so i got myself a twitter account today.

Follow @girliscraftee

tweet tweet,

amber

no tape. no box. no problem.

wrap it up in a manila envelope!  i used cupcake wrappers, doilies, bakers twine, fabric scraps, and miscellaneous odds and ends to "wrap" this package.

 i dislike my handwriting and try to come up with creative ways to "write".

happy saturday!  is yours filled with parties?  i think many people hold off their kid's december bdays until january because we've got a ton this month!

i know what you're thinking

what am i going to wear to alt?  i'm sure it's been weighing on your mind.  it has been on mine too.  here are some possibilities that might be making their way into my suitcase.  i don't really have a style.  i don't like to paint myself with a certain brush because i like so many different styles.  i guess if you took anthropologie, jcrew, and the thrift store, just to add a little funk and put them in a jar and shook them up, the end result would be my style.  i feel silly even saying that, "my style".  i'm sure that's a sign i'm getting old!

outfit one:  lauren moffatt lace shorts, jcrew school boy blazer, jcrew chambray perfect shirt (my beautiful and fun friend bianca picked up the button-down at the thrift store!)

it's rare for me to wear heels, but i feel like they are appropriate for the occasion.

heels:  nine west ( i bought mine at nordies rack but here is something similar, but with a pointy heel)

it's going to be chilly and i'm stoked that i get to wear some of my cold weather wear that hides in my closet most of the time.  i've had this coat since i was in high school!  it is one of my "collector pieces"... i bought it at the salvation army and i will never, ever, get rid of it.  it is beautiful.  they don't make coats like this anymore.

scarf: nordstrom

another "collector item", this leather jacket i've also had for about a million years.  i love it more than the wool coat above.  the collar and silhouette are AWESOME, and the way the leather has aged can't be matched today.  i got it for free at crossroads trading company.  i went in to sell some of my clothes and saw this baby on a rack.  i think i actually got the jacket for free and some cash too for the clothes i brought in.

outfit two:  paige premium purple jeans (i bought mine at nordies rack.  they had one pair in my size in this color), jcrew perfect shirt 

a belt that goes both ways!

belt:  anthro (i bought this on clearance and they don't have anymore.  this belt is similar)

there is a white party on the agenda and i've been freaking out about it.  i don't do head to toe all one color.  plus, i like color!  one can never have too many white tanks or tees, but an entire outfit in white, ugh, i kinda have a hard time with it.  this is what i've come up with.  it's the best i can do.

outfit three:  dress anthro, belt anthro

can you tell i love the belt?  so sparkly!

i'm not sure what i'm going to wear these with yet, but they are coming out.  guess how much they cost?  are you ready for it?  $3.95.  they are in perfect condition!

heels:  thrift store

herringbone wool poncho, i love this piece!  i think i'll wear with black skinny jeans and over the knee boots pictured at the bottom.

poncho:  jcrew (jcrew no longer has on their site, but found the same thing on ebay)

in case my feet hurt wearing all these heels, animal print flats.

flats:  calvin klein (mine are old but here's an updated version) 

a lot of these pieces can be worn different ways, which will be good since i normally pack everything except the kitchen sink.

outfit four:  paige premium purple jeans, jcrew school boy blazer, old jcrew ruffle front shirt (find similar here)

over the knee boots.  i lucked out last year and got these on super, duper clearance at anthro.  they are timberland.  weird right?  timberland boots @ anthro.  like i said, i don't necessarily care about brands if i like the look!

boots:  timberland (anthro doesn't have these anymore, but i found some on ebay)

and that's it folks.  i have no fashion authority, but this is me and what i think i'll be wearing, a little of this, a little of that, some new items, some old, some new items from a second hand store.

smiles,

amber

kinda nuts

this is kinda crazy.  me and my itty-bitty blog are hitting the road and going to alt next week.  a few months ago a local blogger, erin, of such small steps asked if i was going.  i had never heard of alt.  after googling it, my first reaction was no way.  i thought alt would be way out of my comfort zone.  i mean, this may sound ca-ca-ca-crazy to some, but i haven't told many people about my blog.  my family doesn't know about it and the majority of my friends don't know about it.  most of you who read are strangers, well not total strangers, but we have only "virtually" met through this amazing community.  i'm a very private person and when i started this blog i wanted to write freely, without censorship, about the daily happenings in my life, the good, the bad, the ugly.  i even considered doing this under a fake name.  in the very beginning kept my name private, only showing miss craftee or something like that.  the more people that i know who read, the more i have to watch what i say.  it's a catch 22 for me because i want to share with the people i love too.  there is this other thing...

the biggest thing.  i don't like this about myself.  if there was one thing about my personality that i could change it would be this.  i can be incredibly shy.  my friends who know me probably disagree, but they know me.  the other thing is, there is going to be a lot of the N word.  you know what i'm talking about.  it's something i'm awful with.  i can be the biggest advocate for my friends, my favorite brands, promote other people's businesses and blogs, but when it comes to promoting myself or things i make, i just can't do it.  it goes hand in hand with the shyness i think.  the N word i'm talking about is networking.  i'm kinda sorta freaking out about the whole thing.  so here's the scoop,  i'm taking a four day trip to utah, with erin (we've met twice, one time over wine but we do follow each other's blogs).  we are flying out together, sharing a hotel room, and we're doing this thing!  i'm paying to get out of my comfort zone like i have never done before.  holy smokes!  hopefully it will make for some good storytelling!  i'm so scared but can't wait at the same time!  i've signed up for a paper crafting class and two photography classes.  i'm really looking forward to learning a bunch and growing as a person and maybe growing this little blog here...maybe.  i really have no idea what i'm getting myself into here, but it doesn't take much to twist my arm, even if i'm scared.  are any of you going?

cheers for getting uncomfy!

smiles (the fact that i got braces makes things worse, btw),

amber