Craftiness: oh craft

oh craft

The last time I was really crafty was May of last year. It's about time I started making things again. I joked on Instagram recently that I was finally putting the 'makes' back in jamaica makes.

Kari took this photo of me one day, in between cocktails and ice cream. I love it—it's just what my life looks like right now. I might add the year somewhere, but for now it's perfect as it is. Starting the album with a photo of myself, like this, is different. And good.

Lemons card from Target. Best card ever. We're not going to talk about the Warriors. Lebron, pffffft. KD, baby, KD.

This is one of my all time favorite spreads. The yellow and the black. The badges from the minikit I designed for Kelly. The overthink it card from Elise. The shot of my journal. Looking it, I know exactly how I felt at that time.

This one, not so much. I'm still working on it. Need to add some journaling to the June photo (FUCK YOU, JUNE) and find something for the kraft pocket. I'm regretting buying electronic tickets to the game. I need to get real tickets next time so that I have something to put in the book.

Please note the repeated use of filler cards. I'm actually using stuff from all those kits I've bought. Only patterned ones. But still, it's something.

Last year's album was all about the date, adding large numbers everywhere. The year before it was obsessive captions in one set style. This year I'm not worrying about it. No dates. Tiny post-its turned tabs. Some typed notes, some handwritten. It's a free for all. I like it. And I really like seeing my handwriting in my book again.

No wait, this is my favorite spread. The books! The colors! The BW dots! The Snapchat toast! The fuck sticker! And the note about a late night, slightly drunken Snap that makes me smile every time I think about it.

I'm not tracking all the movies/books/music like I have in past years. The Buddymoon poster is a one-off here, because it's the perfect color to go with my quilt. Sidenote, Notting Hill has officially replaced Two Week's Notice as my comfort movie. Oopsie daisy.

I need to take my book over to Will's house so I can borrow his crayons to color all the white corners of the cards peeking out from behind the edges of my PL cards (I haven't given up all my compulsive ways). Also, I want to add a tiny note to that green card that says #willQpill. He's awesome. Just look at that big grin. We had the best time at the game buying all of the snacks and chasing after Stomper.

This year I'm not bothering to explain what every photo is, what it means, or where I ate it. I'm not trying to do a spread a week. I'm not worrying about using grainy Snapchat photos. And I'm not shying away from the sad stuff. That's what this life is about.

(Ellsworth Kelly botanical image printed off the internet. I know.)

The other thing I'm really liking about my book so far this year is the "reference" section at the back. I cut down a gray Nate Berkus folder from Target to hide all the extra "stuff" like all my movie stubs and menus. It keeps everything in the front cleaner.