WIFOYT: Beyonce + Tom Ford = Amazing!!!

Hi all.

Welcome to the second day of the new year. It's amazing that in 6 months I will have been teaching for 2 years. Seems like yesterday I was trying to be one and now I am. Check that off the to-do list. Now I have 17 more months of graduate school before I obtain my masters degree and I'm so excited about this year. I have some big plans for the blog and I'm introducing the first one today.

WIFOYT = What I found on Youtube.

This is going to be a little feature where I share my youtube finds, be it crafty, fashion, makeup, or more. I am an avid blog hopper (via my google reader) and I'm frequently looking at youtube videos. I probably watch youtube more than I watch TV. I plan to change that up a bit this year too by crafting more and watching them less. On to the youtube feature.

Happened across this video while browsing Tumblr which directed me to this blog who posted this video from Youtube. Love all the mulitple connections right?! Anywhoo it's of Tom Fords Spring/Summer fashion show and it's fabulous. I've loved Tom Ford for quite some time, from afar of course, and this was no exception. There were lots of famous ladies, models, and actresses walking the catwalk in some amazing gowns. Love Love Love.

And I must give myself kudos for a great start to the year because it is only day two and I have scrapped a layout already, compared to my 6 layouts that I did all last year. I've sort of transitioned into more of a scrapbooker than a card-maker. I still love card-making because there is great satisfaction in making something and giving it away. I love that feeling of being able to send apart of myself off to someone else and imagining their reaction. There isn't much better than that. I'll post the layout after I add journaling.

Sweet Scraping everyone & Happy 2011.

~A

YT Finds: Furoshiki Gift Wrap....Recyclable gift wrap.

I have no idea how I happen across these things online but I can always seem to find the most interesting things, like the following video:
Furoshiki Gift Wrapping


How awesome is this??? Love love love this.

Internet Finds: Vibram FiveFingers

If you've ever been around me then you know I absolutely hate wearing shoes. Well.......from my massive shoes collection you may not realize that off hand but if you've known me for years and years then you'd know that I don't like them. I'm a run-barefoot-through-plush-carpet-tile-and-anything-else-except-grass (darn allergies) type girl. I love being in bare feet. It may be all my former dance training and spending hours upon hours working on pirouettes in the dance room barefoot that brought this about. I'm not exactly sure but for as long as I can remember I've disliked shoes.

Actually I think it's because of my foot abnormality. I was born with broken feet. I had to wear special shoes as a toddler to correct this issues. These shoes had a hard sole and included a metal bar that attached to both shoes to keep the shoes in the "correct" position that the child wears while they sleep. Horrible shoes. Horrible.

But imagine my delight and utter jubilation when I came across these shoes on youtube. Every now and then I will just browse youtube for great workout video as inspiration and motivation to get back into a regular workout routine. One of the reasons I don't like working out (besides sweating.....a story for another day) is the fact that not only do you have to wear shoes you have to wear socks too. <-----Did I mention I hate socks too? Anywhoo, I came across this video of Mark deGrasse from MBodyStrength wearing the awesome looking shoes.

Thank goodness for comments. Just as I was about to message MBodyStrength I read in the comments a mention of Vibrams. What the heck is a vibram? I was already familiar with kettlebells so I knew they could not be talking about the weights, so a quick google search later I came across this.

Remember going barefoot as a child? It’s the way you first discovered and conquered your world—without the constraint of shoes. Or the sense of duty you acquired later on.

Now you can experience that same physical and visceral sensation in Vibram FiveFingers—the only footwear to offer the exhilarating joy of going barefoot with the protection and sure-footed grip of a Vibram® sole.

FiveFingers footwear connects you to the earth and your surroundings in a way that is simply not possible in conventional shoes. It puts you in touch with the earth beneath your feet and liberates you to move in a more natural, healthy way. FiveFingers stimulate the muscles in your feet and lower legs to build strength and improve range of motion. Our customers report an increased sense of balance, greater agility, and visibly improved posture.

Choose from a variety of designs to cover the wide range of activities you would rather do barefoot—everything from fitness training and yoga, to running and trekking, to kayaking and sailing. Discover a level of performance and a connection to your environment that is positively without peer.

So you mean there is a "shoe" (and I'm using the term loosely solely for my peace of mind) that feels like your barefoot??? Am I in wanna-be-country-girl-in-a-city-girls-body heaven or what.

Now of course I spent the better part of an hour researching these shoes, the pros and cons, types, and prices. Here's what I found.

• There are 9 types of these shoes in the USA with more rumored to be released soon.


• Prices range from $75 to $125 brand new from the VibramFiveFingers.com Site.


• You can wear them to do most anything from casual leisure activities to rigorous workouts depending on the type.


• They are supposed to feel like you are barefoot.


• They have even been worn while running marathons and scuba diving.


• They are not sized like normal shoes. Here is a quick video about how to measure your foot for Vibrams.

I even found a beginner's guide to these awesome shoes. They are on youtube, and facebook so you can find them everywhere.

As you can see they are sort of my new "thing", and I'm loving them. I found a couple stores here in Houston, TX that offer them so I will be trying them out and purchasing soon.

Toodles.

New Music from Pomplamoose......Love them.

The "New" Cricut Imagine Demo by Craft Critique

I think most crafters have either heard of a cricut, or have a cricket, and love a cricut. Since I didn't get a chance to go to CHA this year (boooo) I've been glued to Youtube watching all the demos from Craft Critique, and Noel Hyman of Paperclipping.com. There have definitely been some great items out there being debuted at CHA this year and I will definitely be making plans to attend next year for winter CHA.

My feature today is the Cricut Image. It is the rumored print & cut cricut machine. Yay!!! Take a look at this extensive demonstration by Christy of Provocraft filmed by Craft Critique. Enjoy.



MSRP: for the Machine - $599

MSRP: for the ink - $34.99/black $39.99/Color

YT Find: Pomplamoose Music

[caption id="attachment_132" align="alignleft" width="263" caption="Jack Conte & Nataly Dawn"][/caption]

Hi all,

I am a huge Youtube fan, so much so that I watch more youtube vids than I watch an actual television. My favorite things to watch are scrapbooking vids, makeup tutorials, and music videos.

The best thing about youtube is the raw, unfettered, non-commercialized talent who post their incredible music, and Jack Conte & Nataly Dawn of Pomplamoose Music are just two of the many groups that I've come to follow.

If you are a music lover like I am then you will definitely love this band/group/duo. Whatever you want to call it I think they are simply awesome. The first song I ever heard from them was this one:



How awesome is that? The musicality and creativity of this just makes he sooo happy.

So after hearing this on Facebook I happened to browse their channel and came across this.



What!!!!! What!!! Now that was freakin' fantastic. But that's not all. How cute it is??



Ok that's enough for now. Go visit their channel and see for yourself.

Oh and they also have an album on iTunes. So click here to check that out. I have it and I think you should too.

More crafty goodness coming later this week.

Hugs,

Angee Lee

Mid-Century Modern Furniture

OMG I love love mid-century modern furniture. The simple lines, clean design, and the easy access. By easy access I mean craigslist.org. lol. 

I was searching around craigslist today (for what I totally can't remember at the moment) but I came across some great vintage finds. 

 How awesome is this. I just love the legs on this furniture ($250 for all) and how it's not flush with the floor. I have an aversion to furniture resting on the floor. Weird I know.

 And then you have this awesome cabinet ($650). I can imagine this in my dining room or even my scraproom. Man-O-Man the possibilities.

Lastly is the dining set. This just reminds me of great dinners with family. 

I had a great time searching craigslist.org today. Did I purchase anything? Nope. If only I hand an extra $2K to spend and the space to put all this, I'd definitely say, "Just throw it in the bag." ala Fabolous. lol. 
 

Digital Card Making

Hi all.

It's been a long time since I've last blogged, I know and I do apologize. Bad blogger, bad blogger. Today was my very last day of "official" work at school so now I will have more time for blogging & crafting for the next 3 months minus a few days for the cruise. :-D

In honor of the last day of work here is a quick little video highlighting my next endeavor...Digital cardmaking. Kristina Werner (my favorite cardmaker) did a great tutorial for 2peas on this subject. I tried to follow along and create the same card however I could not quite get it to work for me. The commands and dialog boxes were not the same when I opened my version of photoshop (I'm in CS3) and for the life of me I could not get my rounded corner rectangle tool to draw the shapes in the desired color. I guess I need lots more practice. 

Enjoy the video and I will be back very soon with more cards. 

Tool Spotlight: Craftwell eCraft

Hi all.     

    I'm so glad that it's National Scrapbooking Month. What an exciting time in the creative world of papercrafts, alterable, digital crafting, and so much more. I've been crafting up a storm and having so much fun. Seems that I can't craft when I'm stressed so since my kids have been TAKS testing here in TX for the last week haven't scrapped in 7 days. It's about time to dive into some patterned paper and adhesive. It's the small things that make me happy. he he.

    Today I'm spotlighting a great machine that was suggested to me via Rhonda Daniels. I'd mentioned that I was looking into purchasing the Silhouette SD, and she sent me an link to a great Youtube video showcasing the Craftwell eCraft Electronic Cutting System. (craftwellusa.com)

 

The first video is by Noel Hyman of Paperclipping.com from CHA 2010. She gives some great introductory information regarding creating your own images, selling your custom images online, and much more.

 

The next video is a demonstration using the purple version of the machine and gives a great tutorial on how to use the machine.

 

The last video is showcasing the the software that is used with the Craftwell eCraft.

The next video is showcasing the iPhone app that works with the eCraft machine.

Pros:

• Beautiful colors


• No cutting mats needed


• Create and cut your own images


• The ability to cut banners from rolls of paper


• Sell your images through Craftwell eCraft Central


• Can be used to cut edible shapes


• Computer not required, but awesome software available


• Draws and Cuts at the same time without changing tools


• The cutting tray where you can cut multiple images without having to reload individual sheets of paper.


• Professional model which can be used as a commercial production machine

Cons: 

• You paper must be less than 1 mm thick paper


• Has not been released just yet. (I'm sure there is going to be a line to get one of these) Projected release Spring 2010


• Not MAC compatible just yet. 


• Only the professional version of the machine will alow you to use SVG images to cut. 

Differences between the Models: 

The basic unit has a B&W display and will come with one SD Fun Card. The deluxe unit has a color screen and will be bundled with two SD Fun cards. We are planning a unit designed for heavier use that is ideal for craft stores, clubs and power users, It will be equipped with a heavy duty motor drive and other industrial features. All units will have the same cutting capabilities.

Price: MSRP 

Basic Model: ~$259

Professional Model: ~ $399

Basic Software: ~ $69.99

Pro Software: ~ $159.99

SD Cards: ~$39

     Seems to me this machine can do everything that the Silhouette & Cricut machines can do. But will it create enough of a buzz to compete with such well respected companies?? I'd be really interested in testing this machine out to see if it lives up to all that I think it can do.

Tell me what you think? Would you like one??

    In addition to all that I'm also highligting a video posted by Jennifer McGuire (one of my favorite crafty ladies) that she posted on her youtube account last week.. In this vid she shows us her favorite crafting tools. 

Some of my favs are the We Are Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, my ATG guns (yes I have both sizes), and dimensional adhesive. 

 What are your favorite craft tools?

Sweet Hugs, 

Angee

Stampin' Up! 2010 Summer Mini

Hi All, 

Here's a quick video showing some of the newest products from the Stampin' Up! 2010 Summer Mini. I've my eye on quite a few things. What's on your wish list??

Click Here to visit my website to order. I'm ordering more (for me....he he) in about 2 weeks. 

Here is the new Summer Mini Catalog.

Summer Mini US Final Small

 Click the photo to download the PDF version. 

Supply List

 

Ta Ta for now. 

Angee

Distress Ink Foam Storage Idea

Are you a grungy girl? Do you love Tim Holtz distress Inks? Have all those foam applicators stored in little baggies? Want a great storage solution? If you answered yes to any/all of those questions then take a quick look at this video by Patti Behan

Is that the cutest idea? And guess what? Stampin' Up! has a matchbox die (114890) so you can make the boxes out of your favorite patterned paper. I would also cut some acetate to put inside the box so that the box won't soak up the left over ink and get mushy inside. 

I thought this was a great idea.

Sweet hugs, 

Angee

Where to find Scrap Sugar online? Video

I've seen these vids quite often on youtube and oh how cute they are.....Sooooo I decided to make one of my own. 

Hope you like. 

Sweet Hugs, 

Angee