On the Paper Front

Reporting from the paper front this morning:

I've been having a hard time keeping my shop updated. I currently have 2 stationary sets that I really need to list, but seeing as how it's 8:30 already and I have to get off at 9:00, I don't think it will happen today. But I have still been playing with my paper collection. I have a TON of paper. And I just bought 20 more sheets because they were on sale. Hmmm...Would any fellow paper crafters be interested in a giveaway? That could be a good idea. I'll have to think about that one.

Anyway, I have been making stuff. And I felt the need to inform you all just what I've been up to.

If you refer back to this post, you'll see the stationary sheets I made to write a letter to my friend. Well, I liked them so much that I decided to make a nice little set, cards and envelopes included:

It's not exactly the same, but it's the "inspired by" feel that turned out really nicely. This set is already listed at The Art of Paper.

I'm going to say something that is not in any way detrimental to Hayden, it's just the way he is. Probably because he's a guy. But he has a hard time remembering. I had been reminding him for 2 weeks that his sister's birthday was coming up on Sunday (yesterday). He calls me last Thursday about it. So I whipped up something for him.

I really love black, white and dark red. And I have quite a bit of paper in that theme. So it was an easy birthday card to make. =)

Then for a gift, I decided to do a gift card to The Art of Paper. The main reason was because it didn't involve much other than making the gift card, and that was easy to do. And Hayden said she really liked it! That equals success. 

So now I'm considering listing gift cards on the shop. Would anyone be interested?

My friend Danielle had her graduation party on Saturday. She is an amazing cellist, so I knew I wanted to make something musical for her card. 

I found that musical note paper at Jo-Ann's a couple of months ago, and I absolutely love it! I also wrote a sweet musical sentiment on the inside of the card.

I hope she liked it! I didn't get to stay until she opened the cards. She also got a gift card, since I'm all about easy gifting. =)

Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to visit the shop and let me know what you think! I need some feedback. If you don't feel like visiting the shop, just tell me what you think of the projects in this post. I would definitely really appreciate it! 

Yes, I Might Have a Problem

You know how they say that the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem? Well, I'm admitting it, but I don't think it will help at all.

Vera Bradley. I think I love you. In fact, I just bought a new one, that should come in the mail soon...

Hayden just shook his head in despair when I told him about it. I mean, it's not that big of a problem. I only have 3. But I'd love to add this one to my collection, too:

And you could win it! I mean, wait, no, there's no possible way that you would ever want to win a Purple Punch Mailbag...Did I say that?

I guess if you want to win, you should go visit Seeryus Mama. Go ahead and enter. I won't cry if you win instead of me. =)

At the Risk of Sounding Stalker-ish

I think I might have a problem. A Target shopping problem. I go there a lot. A couple of weeks ago, I was there every day for 3 days in a row.

Now, it's not that I necessarily buy something every time I go. In fact, I usually don't buy anything. I just look. And I enjoy it. But since I'm there a lot, I'm very observant of the employees, mainly because I see the same people there whenever I go.

My other weakness in life? Nice cars. Especially Ford Mustangs. And almost every time I go into Target, I notice an orange Mustang with black stripes. Since I see it all the time, I always wondered who it belonged to.

And I found out. Purely by accident. I was walking out and getting in my car when she was getting into her lovely Mustang...It belongs to one of the Target manager-type people, which is why it's there a lot of the time. I see her in the store a lot.

Last week I went to pick up some pictures from the photo center. And she was there to get my pictures. She even had a Ford keychain on her belt. I so badly wanted to say, "I just wanted to let you know how much I love your car!"

But I thought that might sound a little stalker-ish.

So I refrained.

When I told my mom about it, she laughed at me.

But I promise--I do not stalk people!!

It's a Secret...

...or at least, it was going to be. But I'm too excited. 

My dear friend Katie's birthday was on Monday. Happy 18th, Katie! I wanted to get her a present and get it sent off to her in time for her birthday, but since we were in West Virginia, it didn't happen. So yesterday I went shopping.

Oh, how badly I want to tell you what I bought her!! But I can't because then she'll find out. Maybe I'll ask her to post a picture when she gets it. Hayden is being sweet and mailing them for me, so hopefully she'll get them soon!

If you couldn't tell from the picture, I have a penchant for beautifully wrapped gifts. I hate when I wrap something and it doesn't look good. But I found that adorable tissue paper at Target, and got the matching ribbon...oh, it makes me happy.

Yes, I'm a little wierd.

Maybe more than a little.

So if you get the chance, go tell Katie happy birthday! She needs some encouragement to blog more, so maybe if a bunch of you leave her comments? 

The Return from West Virginia.

It's still raining here, but I think my internet has stabilized itself. At least I could upload my pictures! We'll see if it holds up long enough for me to finish this post.

From Florida to West Virginia is about 13 to 14 hours, driving time. In a 7-seater vehicle with my 7-person family. I won't lie. It wasn't that exciting. Especially when 3 of the 7 are sick and sound like they're hacking up their left lung every 10 minutes. That may explain why we look a little crazy in this picture...

But at least we all made it safely. My grandparents actually live on a farm (kind of), and it's a cow farm.

It's not like a huge cow farm with a gazillion cows. But there are definitely cows! =) On Monday morning I woke up to my dad yelling from the bedroom,

"Come look, Jaquelyn, there's cows!"

I did not jump out of bed to look at the cows. I've seen cows before. So has my dad, but I guess he still thought they were cool. Should I be worried?

It was beautiful up north. The weather was usually around 60 during the day, which I'm sure was very warm to my northern grandparents, but I was kind of chilled! The good news about that? I wore jeans every single day, and enjoyed it immensely. For those of you who may not know why that matters, refer to this post.

Since my grandparents couldn't come down for my graduation, they bought me a really yummy chocolate ice cream cake to celebrate while we were there. And of course, we had to get pictures.

(That was slightly sarcastic, and only because I don't like being in pictures. I do like to take them, though.)

My grandparents, me and Katheryn

(clockwise from me) Jennifer, Sarah, Jessica, Katheryn & I. Sometimes I don't know how I survive with 4 younger sisters.

We go to West Virginia to visit my mom's parents, but my dad also has a bunch of relatives up there. I loooove going to visit my cousins. They're all really sweet. And they always ask if I have a boyfriend (even when I was a lot younger). Now they ask about Hayden; all the women-folk think he's cute, and they all said they would come down for the wedding. =)

My cousin Shauna and I have been good friends for a long time. And I don't think it's just because we're related. When we were like 12 we wrote down 3 wishes apiece, picked a bunch of flowers, and put it all in a plastic bag and buried it. We always said we would find it again when we were 16 or 18, but we've never been able to find it. I think one of my wishes was to swim with dolphins. It hasn't happened yet. The boy cousins tease us about it to this day. =)

Shane is 12, and he decided that he really liked me this time. I really do love Shane, and he is a trip sometimes! Here's a conversation we had...

S: Get me some tea. (in a demanding way)

J: Why? Are your arms broken?

S: No. But I want some.

We compromised. I got the tea out while he got a cup, but he poured it himself. =) He also took me 4-wheeler riding, which was a lot of fun. And I actually drove one, too! I've ridden them quite a few times, but never quite got up the courage to drive one...and it wasn't that exciting. I would rather ride. =)

I took this picture because I though it was a pretty view, and then by chance Jennifer and Katheryn were coming down the hill. I think it turned out really nicely. 

And finally, there's Jessica and I . We aren't getting along very well at the moment, but oh well. We'll be friends again eventually.

Over all, it was a good trip. Last summer we were there for a week and a half, and I was pulling out my hair from boredom. 4 days was a better length of time. It's nice to visit family when you don't get to see them. But it's also nice to come home again.

Good Intentions

Hey!! I'm back!

I'm sure I wasn't missed all too much, but it's good to be back home. West Virginia is a slow place. At least for my taste. =)

My good intentions were to upload a bunch of pictures and write about the trip...and then it started raining. Seriously, out computer has major trouble functioning in the rain. So, that post has been post-poned until tomorrow. 

In the meantime, what have you all been up to? Come on, don't lurk in the corners. I really do want to know! 

So Long, Farewell!

On Sunday my family and I are leaving to go to West Virginia to visit my grandparents. I can't say I'm thrilled about the trip. But hopefully I'll survive. I'll certainly miss the blog world while I'm gone! =( I thought I'd share a few pictures since I won't be able to post anything next week.

Last night I wanted to write my friend a letter. I'm big on snail mail. I think it's the coolest thing. Who doesn't love to get mail? Unfortunately, I couldn't find any stationary that I was desperate to use. So I decided to make my own!

I just took my handy-dandy acrylic stamp block, picked out like 6 different stamps to use, and stamped it in a completely random pattern. And then I did the bird in the corner in the dark purple. It turned out very nicely, although a little darker in some places than I'd hoped.

I hope my friend enjoys her letter! =)

I forgot to share this with my graduation post, but here it is now. I wanted a nice keepsake type thing to commemorate my party, so I went to Jo-Ann's and found one of those signature frames. I printed out one of the pictures from my "Senior photo-shoot", and almost everyone who came to my party signed it! I think it turned out really nicely. Now I just have to find somewhere to hang it! 

Hope you all have a great week while I'm gone! 

I Experienced Ikea!

I've always heard good things about Ikea. But until yesterday, I had never been to one. The closest one was in Orlando, which is not the shortest drive in the world. And then opened Ikea Tampa! 

I had wanted to go to the grand opening, but I wasn't expecting to. Then a lady from our church emailed and asked if I wanted to go! I'll admit it...I was jumping around in circles from excitement!

So I woke up at 6 in the morning, we left around 7, and we got there a little before 8. Waiting in line for an hour was interesting; it was really loud (not my favorite circumstance), but at least we didn't have to wait for forever. Some people got the on Monday so they could get a $90 chair! I think my time is worth more than that. I would've just bought the chair. But I did get a free cinnamon bun and a keychain (which is now proudly displayed on my key ring). =) There was a TON of people there!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect, having never been to an Ikea before. It was very different. But I really liked it. When we walked in, all 400 Ikea workers were lined up, shouting and cheering and banging the noise makers...it was a little disconcerting. And very overwhelming! 

I've decided that I need to go back to Ikea sometime very soon and meander through, just so I can take everything in. I was sooo lost the whole time because there were so many people and it's soo huge! 

But I definitely enjoyed it. Now I just have to buy something there to complete the experience! Oh, and we bought Swedish Meatballs (the cook-yourself kind) for our Bible study last night. It was yummy. And we went all the way to Ikea to get it. =)

By the way, I didn't take my camera; the pictures are curtesy of http://ikeatampa.blogspot.com/

And Another Thing

I know what I forgot to add about my graduation. I did something really stupid like an hour before hand, and it was painful.

Because of my wonderful father (and yes, that was a little sarcastic), I had to wear a skirt for the party. My choice would have been jeans and a nice top, but this is a situation where I don't get a choice. And since I was wearing a skirt, I really had to shave my legs, too...

The things is, I hate shaving. I love having soft and smooth legs, but I hate shaving. So whenever I shave, I try to be as quick as possible. Which is partly because I hate it, but mostly because if I'm not quick, my dad bugs me about wasting water. Anyway.

Because I was trying to be quick, I wasn't exactly being very careful. I bent over to shave, didn't bend my knee, and ended up popping my back. Ouch!

I really have no idea how I did it. I guess my back just isn't that flexible. But it was horrible. I was walking around with a "hitch in my get go", and it hurt. I also don't handle pain well. So I went through my party being all happy and smiling and social, and all the while my back was killing me. Fun times.

Fortunately, my back is mostly feeling normal now. I will remember to be more careful the next time I shave.

Hail the Conquering Graduate

I am now officially homeschool alumni. 

It's a little weird, though I don't really feel any different. More like the thought of it is weird.

I had a big "Graduation Celebration" on Saturday, and I put Jessica in charge of all the pictures. I wanted a ton of pictures so I could make a nice slideshow and preserve the memories. She heartily agreed, and promised to take a ton of pictures.

About halfway through the night, I realize that I haven't seen Jessica around with her camera. 

The only picture I have from my party is a fuzzy, messed up picture of the half eaten cake. Thanks, Jessica.

And yes, I'll admit I'm a little bitter about it.

I do have a few pictures to share, though. I wanted to do more simple but elegant decorations, so I ended up getting 3 vases of Peruvian Lillies.

They were sooo pretty! I just put them around the house, and it was really nice without overdoing it. Plus, all them cost about $15 at Publix, which I thought was a pretty reasonable price for all those flowers.

And I'm the one who tool the pictures of the cake, pre-cut. I loooooved my cake! We went to Publix to order the cake, and guess which design the book was open to? =)

It was really cool. I just loved all the musical details. The only problem was, then I didn't want to cut it! 

My friend Matthew (whom I've known my entire life) started working at a donut shop recently, and look what he brought me:

He wrote the "To J" and "From M" himself. =)

And the really exciting part of my day was when Hayden brought me these--

They are absolutely gorgeous! Yesterday he said, "I think those are the prettiest roses I've ever bought you." Of course, they're also the only ones, not counting the miniature roses he gave me for Christmas. =)

I had a good time. But it was a very loooong day. And I know there's a lot more to write about, but right now I can't quite think of things. My brain is too exhausted from graduating. =)

What do you remember the most about when you graduated from high school?