Book cover, kitty ears, invitations, envelopes, and baking

[heatherlayne-n.livejournal.com]

Picture dump time! It seems like I always save up my craftiness for one big post.





I'm hosting a Halloween party in TWO WEEKS and I finally did the invites last night! (I haven't yet started my costume--skirt, shirt and corset--nor my husband's, which thankfully only needs a shirt. And I still need to arrange decorations and think about food. Ack.) And actually they're not quite done; I still have to write up all the actual info on the computer, print it out, and stick it inside the cards. But I'm quite pleased with them! Regular cardstock (grey and purple), sparkly cardstock (the copper), printed paper, stamps, two different ribbons, and the foam shapes are from Michael's. They're glittery!

More paper stuff! Can anyone recognize the magazine?











I took apart an envelope that I had and liked the size of, then traced it as a template onto pages from an old "Real Simple" magazine, cut the shape out, folded it up and used a gluestick and, ta-da! Homemade, recycled envelopes! I think I'll give them to my friend, Rachel, because she likes the mag and is all "green" and recycle-y and stuff.



This is the inside of one of the envelopes, a dressing ad. It made me giggle. Perfect placement, though I didn't plan it.







Mrow? I was working on another project with some sweatshirt fleece (or whatever you call the stuff you make sweatshirts out of) and one of the scraps looked like a kitty ear. So for some reason I cut more scraps in a nicer shape, added pink felt triangles, and sewed them onto bits of black felt which I attached to a snap hair clip. And then I wore them out to do errands and got some odd looks. It was fun.

Book cover time! Every November (well, since 2005), I've participated in NaNoWriMo (NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth). And staring October 1st, I always carry a notebook and pen around with me to jot down ideas for plot, character, etc. when the thoughts strike me. I make a big deal (to myself) of going to pick out the perfect little notebook and new pen. I use the pen solely to write in that notebook until at least the last day of November. It's sort of sacred, if you will. And I never use the notebook for anything but NaNo stuff. Anyway, the notebook I got this year has just a plain cardboard-like cover so I could decorate it! But instead of stamps or stickers, I decided to turn

THIS



Into THIS



Into THIS



It's reversible:



and an elastic strap slides over to keep it closed when it's in my laptop bag or purse.



The pen I picked is pretty schmancy. Got charms. Sleek and red. Seven freakin dollars! But I had a gift card, and the notebook was only $3.

I used this tutorial, which makes you go DUH! once you see it, but I never would have thought of something that clever in a million years. The way she does the pockets? Awesome. Excellent tutorial all around. Oh, and all the fabric is vintage; a lady at a yard sale was cleaning out her fabric stash, and I pounced upon it and came away with a huge grocery sack full. Love love.

Also, I made some banana bread the other day.



My coffee mug was on clearance at Target a couple months ago. It makes me happy.

Anyway, thanks for looking! :)