A couple more layouts…

Tags

CA, Canvas corp, Dear Lizzy, Huntington Beach, Queen and Co, San Diego

I’ve been away for almost a week. I hadn’t even realized it had been that long, man how time flies. I’ve been submitting and creating for Design Teams all week long. I REALLY want the opportunity to be on one. I think it will really enhance my skills and push me.

I’ve been browsing over all of the new product that is making its way to CHA now. I like browsing to see what’s new but also to get some inspiration. There’s so many companies, collections and lines debuting that its hard to keep track. Here’s a link I found that shows most of the big ones in one place along with links to the websites for more detail.  http://enewsletter.scrapbook.com/public/?q=preview_message&fn=Link&id=iz47l5m9vfeet5ey3vrxtn4j16qm8&ssid=11401&t=3 . My top 3 favs are the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan Party, Queen and Company Trendy Tape and the Canvas Corp Coffee Paper Line (as soon as I find out who has these in stock first, I’m all over it). Enjoy!

Onto my other projects that I’ve been working on for the week. My craft room looks sort of like a craft-hoarding space (I’ve been cleaning and sorting all week to get it more organized-its an ongoing effort). I love buying anything and everything catches my eye but I also have stuff from years ago that I’ve been hanging onto for the perfect layout. Well, recently, I’ve been pulling that stuff out to work with it. It may not be new but that doesn’t mean it can’t inspire. I know everyone has something that gets buried in the very back and the few times we actually see it, we think “I’ll put that back and save it for just the perfect thing” or maybe you just forgot it was back there. Dig it up and use it. You might find yourself thinking, “I can’t believe I didn’t use that sooner. Where did I get it again? I might need some more of it!”

Here’s just a couple of the things I submitted this week. I know its the middle of winter and here I am posting a beach layout but the light and breezy colors are my comfort zone (or maybe I’m just missing the warm summer sun and sounds of the waves). I’ve already set up some layouts to put together over the weekend that are more winter-y. I’ll post them throughout the weekend.

If you’re browsing through here for the first time, please follow my blog from the button on the right and share with anyone you think might enjoy a little inspiration! Thanks in advance!

Some of the old…

Tags

beach, memories of summer, San Diego, San Diego Wild Animal Park, scrapbooking

I wanted to share some of the scrapbook pages that I made a few months ago. I really like these two because they have a lot of photos and they show a trip to San Diego that we took. The photo’s on the next 2 pages are from a safari that we got to go on at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It was a blast. We were able to feed the giraffe’s and get up close and personal with them. The photos show what a great time we had.

San Diego Wild Animal Park pg1

 

San Diego Wild Animal Park pg2

 

The next 2 pages are another layout from the same trip but here we were on our way home and stopped off at a random beach along the drive to watch the sunset. Traffic was horrible so we pulled off, grabbed a blanket and parked and took some pictures. The perfect ending to our trip.

Beach Bliss pg1

Beach Bliss pg2

 

Aaah the memories of summer…

Well, its really starting to pour as I sit here blogging and I can hear the rain and wind stirring up all sorts of noises. It’s definitely one of those stay in watch a movie and sip on some hot chocolate sort of nights. Before I do that though, I ‘m in the mood to put together a quick layout or two. I have some pictures and papers I laid out last night so I think I’ll get to work on those,  then snuggle under a blanket.

Enjoy the weekend!

<3

Birthday Fun

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Birthday, espresso maker, Instax, Polaroid PoGo

Yesterday was my birthday…and I’ve been dying to share my birthday gifts with everyone. Of course, my fiancé thinks of everything. I had been wanting a Fujifilm Instax camera which looks cool if you look it up. It’s basically a modern day polaroid. The only downside is the price of the film which is about a dollar per exposure. As much as I take pictures, that would get pretty costly. SO….instead he got me a Polaroid Pogo. It has built-in wireless so you can use your cell to edit pictures on the go and then send them wirelessly to the printer. How cool! Also, you can connect it to your camera and print effortlessly. The prints are 2×3 and perfect for using them in my SMASH book. I love it! I’ve already SMASHED my birthday weekend.

Love this little thing!

BTW- you can get 50 prints for $8! Love it!

Oh and I also got a espressomaker which was more for the both of us but I love it too and I’m becoming a professional barista with every passing day. I’ll post some pictures of the SMASH book soon!

Coca Marie

Tags

animal shelter, Coca Marie, love, pets

Its been a few days but I’m back to share some photo’s of my pup. Her name is Coca Marie and she joined our family on July 7, 2011. Just days after settling into our new home, my fiancé took me to our local shelter, City of San Jose Animal Care Center, to bring home the pup I’d been desperately wanting. After losing my childhood dog about a year and a half earlier, there was a hole in heart that only furry paws could fill.

We got there and she was actually one of the first pups I saw. I knew immediately she was the one but my fiancé encouraged me to take a look at all of the dogs. There were so many I wanted to give them all a loving home. Still, deep down I knew this was the one I wanted to take home. She was in a cage with another pup, her sister, the same age but mostly black with some spots of brown. There was another couple interested in the dogs so I was a little worried. The volunteer at the shelter took us into a room with both of the dogs so we could get a feel for which one’s personality was for us.

The funniest part was that my fiancé (who was sort of against the idea of getting a dog because of the responsibility of) wanted to take both of them home! We tried our hardest to get the shelter to let us, but they had some sort of policy that only allowed one dog from the same litter per household. After a hard decision we decided on the pup with the redish/blond fur. Unfortunately, the couple before us wanted her too and had put her “on hold”. The volunteer helping us explained that none of the animals could be put on hold and she was going to try and figure out a way for us to take home the dog that we were so ready for. After a lot of waiting for what seemed like forever and a very helpful staff, they told us the good news! We would be taking home our pup!

Here she is just 2 months old at the time and the cutest little ball of fur ever. She is a german sheperd/lab mix and personally, we think she has a little bit of pit in her. Either way we LOVE her, and that whole in my heart is filled! <3

Feeling out the house, or just finding a place to sleep…

All of the pads of her paws are black except for 3 of the pads on her right from paw that are white, so cute!

Car ride with mom to go get some toys

Home again, this time with a brand new color and her favorite stuffed animal

Drying off after her first bath…

Waiting for the vet to tell us she’s all healthy!

“Mom, enough with the pictures, seriously”

I could not wait…

Tags

golden gate bridge

to get up this morning and blog. I’m excited to have a place to share my personal photos and ideas. I’ll keep this morning’s post simple though. I know the photos make it seem like I live in San Francisco but I do not, I live close though so I love visiting. My fiancé and I love to go up even if just for the day and walk around exploring and taking photos. Followed, of course, by eating at one of our many favorite spots in the city.

This a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge which, even on a cloudy day, looks so amazing.

Up next, I’ll probably be adding some pictures of my pup. I have to sort through the hundreds of photos I have of her and find just the right ones. Then, I’m thinking we’ll move onto some scrapbook pages I’ve put together recently and we’ll see where we end up from there. Stay tuned!

The Beginning…

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The Beginning

I am sooo excited to finally have a blog up and running! It took me long enough to create it.

So what is Coffee Stains about you might ask? Well…anything and everything that is inspiring and creative (or the things that are born from that coffee cup sitting in front of me that gets me thinking in a million different directions a minute).

The way I contain all of this craziness you ask?… scrapbooking, of course! That is my creative outlet for all of  the things that inspire me. So yes, there will be plenty of Scrap Fun but it won’t stop there.

I love love love photos and take too many to count. Even more than photos themselves, I love to edit them and do neat things with them (even the ones that look like you would probably throw them away).

I love music, food, Starbucks (or just caffeine in genereal), going on adventures, blasting music in the car, TV, cameras, home decor, pretty stuff and most of all my family, my puppy (and only child) Coca, and my fiancé, Anthony <3 (who puts up with my crazy scrapbook antics).

In expressing the things I love I hope that you browse through here and get some inspiration. Maybe you’ll finally do something with that box of concert tickets and memento’s you hide for safe keeping and all those pictures on your laptop. Or maybe, its just seeing a quote or a picture that makes you wonder or laugh. Whatever you do with your time here, I hope you enjoy!

P.S. – Feel free to contact me or leave me a comment sharing some of your thoughts or inspiration.

~ <3