2012 Box!

Here it is, as promised:

The 2012 Box.


It may not look spectacular. And, true, I didn't do much DIY-ing; I bought a scrapbook box on sale at Michael's for $1.88. But I did affix a 2012 label in my own handwriting inside the label insert area of the box. DIY accomplished!

Really, this DIY is more about the IDEA than anything else. You can use an old shoebox and wrapping paper, a vintage jewelry box-- even a paper bag would work, really-- the idea is to have a place to store fun memories from the year. So far I've stored: movie tickets, my parking receipt for my first 2012 trip to the beach, cards friends and family have given me, pictures, journaling cards, and more. I even have a piece of driftwood from my second trip to the beach.

So for all you fellow lazy/busy DIY-ers, here's an easy one! And it's actually really fun to keep up with and go through every once in a while too :)

Spring Reds

This spring has been an absolute gift from the Chicago gods to a couple of Las Vegas transplants. We have decidedly loved the sunshine and the warmer weather-- I've even been to the beach three times!

All of this has me much more in the mood for spring-- vibrant colors, flowers, sunglasses, dinners at outdoor cafes-- than I was during last year's snowy holocaust of happiness.

I have found a shade of red that I am particularly in love with for this spring. It's a kind of candy/cherry/coral red that's brighter and more orange than the winter shades, and wearing it just makes me feel alive.

Although too much of this kind of color can be a bit overwhelming (witness this atrocious pic from Christmas a few years ago!):

(See: I don't even look happy. And the curly hair? My friend was wearing the same color. Yep. Thought I'd spare her the humiliation.)

But a few accents in just the right places will go perfectly with the flowy, pastel, sheer shades that are so popular this season. I currently cannot live without these two products:

Essie Lollipop nail polish, with a topcoat of Seche Vite,

and Cover Girl's new shade from their Outlast Lip Stain line: Red Affair:

As you can see in the very first picture above, I've paired this lively shade with some neutrals: a sheer, flowey ivory blouse, some skinny jeans, and some nude flats or sandals will do. But it's a color that will compliment most skin and hair shades, and it's playful and vivid, just like spring!

Poetry (The Movie)

A quiet Korean film centering on a grandmother navigating the confusing and new (for her) worlds of teenage crimes and apathy, Alzheimer's disease, and poetry, Poetry both sticks to its promises and also leads you to places you didn't imagine the seemingly simple film would lead you.

All seen through the eyes of an older woman who is experiencing and dealing with the many changes in her calm life, this movie explores humanity and poetry in such an honest, raw, and yet unobtrusive way that it seems more like a gentle push towards consideration of its topics than a manifesto.

Korean culture is very much present, yet portrayed in such a universally comprehensible way that even the more culturally naive among us can grasp the concepts and realities.

A beautiful meditation on how poetry relates to life, this movie does more for the literary form than most MFA programs would ever hope. Weaving poetry in and out of everyday life and much larger struggles, this Poetry succeeds in its titular promises and then some.

If you're looking for something quiet and meditative, moving and meandering (and you're tired of all the French movies I shove down your throat), please see this movie. It's simply beautiful.

Photo Credits:

http://livingchandler.com/2011/08/30/dvd-movie-review-poetry/

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/arts-entertainment/movie-review-poetry-51036.html

http://www.salon.com/2011/02/12/poetry_11/

Crossroads

That's me at night on a pier on Manhattan Beach a couple of years ago, back when I lived in Vegas. At the time, I was terrified because my boyfriend was looking for jobs, and I wasn't sure I'd be going with him. Not only that, but if I did, I might be leaving the West Coast and my beloved adopted hometown, Las Vegas. I didn't want any of that to happen. We took this trip and had the time of our lives.

But there were no jobs in California. And then the "worst" thing happened: he landed an amazing gig as a lecturer at the University of Chicago. He couldn't turn it down. I was miserable. And anxious. I don't even want to go over all the hell we went through in between, but eventually, I ended up with him in Chicago. The Midwest. Driving behind the Penske truck across the country, I literally felt like someone had to yank me, tow me, away from my mountains, my ocean, my wide open blue skies and sunshine.

There are still days that Las Vegas and California pull at me. And it hurts. The best thing, though, is that my boyfriend feels the same pull, one he never thought he would feel. So we both want to make it back out West, which is a wonderful common goal. But for now, it's hard.

I've decided to apply to PhD programs exclusively in Southern California this fall, but they're extremely difficult to get into, so of course I'm nervous. I'm excited about finishing my MA, though, and Chicago's kind of grown on me in the meantime-- at least when it isn't winter (which isn't often).

On top of this, I feel like I'm now at a new crossroads. After so much time on leave from my retail job, I'm thinking about leaving, voluntarily and permanently. I feel like it's time for me to steer myself in the direction I want my life to go in. On leave, I've been able to work on my writing, my blog, my creative self, and I even got the chance to have some editing experience. This all feels so right, while going back to retail feels like the completely wrong direction.

But it's scary. I feel like I'm jumping off a cliff. And I guess in a way, I would be. For now, I suppose I have to see how it feels when I go back on Monday, and just know that I can always make that difficult choice when and if I have to. All the while looking West, toward the ocean.

Journaling Cards

When I saw journaling cards, I thought, "now what?!" It seemed like a scrapbooker's project, and I am not very good at scrapbooking, seeing as how you have to be a rather organized, follow-through type of person to conquer scrapbooking. This I am not.

But I have been trying to journal more, and sometimes sitting down to a blank page seems like such a daunting task. I don't have the energy to pour my heart out, go back over emotionally difficult situations, or even punctuate.

So I became more and more curious about the journaling cards. I kept finding them on blogs and Pinterest. Finally, when I came up with the idea for a 2012 Box (which is coming up on DIY Wednesday!), I thought I could maybe jot a few sentences down about an event or special day on a journaling card, and put it in the box.

It's really quite a nice way for me to keep up with my journaling when I'm not in the mood or don't have time to completely devote to "the book." Plus, it helps me keep on top of my 2012 Box, which I was afraid I would abandon.

Here are the links for the two journaling cards I've featured here:

http://sweetlyscrappedart.blogspot.com/2012/03/victorian-beauty-free-vintage-image.html
http://sweetlyscrappedart.blogspot.com/2012/01/printable-library-style-journaling.html#axzz1htshPBlz

And be on the lookout for DIY Wednesday's 2012 Box!

Crackle Painted Nighstand

Oh, how I wish I could have taken a picture of this nightstand before I rehabbed it. It was a lovely shade of 1950s pink-- a light rose-- a worn "blush," really-- but, I digress. The boyfriend hated it. But I am in the middle of FINALLY convincing him that we should get rid of the posters from his college days that have been forever cluttering our walls, and so, for the good of everyone I sacrificed my table in the noble name of redecoration.

I found inspiration on Pinterest (of course), with the instructions linked to a blog here.

My process didn't exactly go like her process-- as usual. I first primed the nightstand with a dark brown color so that would show through the "crackle" (as opposed to my beloved pink). When this was all the way dry, I followed the blogger's instructions, applied the glue (only on the table top), and waited until it was "tacky." Then I painted quick, long brush strokes over the top of the glue. Aaannnd it looked like paint on top of glue. Plus, it wouldn't dry for hours.

So. Resigned not only to a DIY failure, but to complete and utter ruination of my nightstand, I went to bed, defeated. When I woke up in the morning, the table was finally dry. I figured I would just paint enough white over the top so at least you couldn't see the glue. As the paint began to dry, a miracle occurred: CRACKLE!

Not that I don't miss the original, but the new crackled Shabby-Chic-like white does go with the bedroom decor much better. Not only that, but I believe my nightstand sacrifice is responsible for my bathroom decor victory as well...

Vintage Lace Nightgown

Ok, so it's more like a slip. Ok, it is a slip. But I fell in love with it when I went into a thrift shop in Pilsen to find some tea cups (for which they wanted four dollars apiece just for the saucers!), especially since it was only $10, but mostly because of the perfect cut and beautiful lace work.

It's by Rogers, a common vintage tag in the area of lingerie and nightgowns.

I love the details, and it just makes me feel beautiful to wear it.

So, ladies, keep those eyes peeled in the thrift stores!