{creating myself}

do you ever craft outside?

Or in public? I'm recently obsessed.
If you have a Starbucks near you with outdoor seating, I highly recommend setting up shop.
My way of shipping inspiration from my brain to yours.




thanks for the last two photos, Hollie.

the creative type is back in full swing!

Two pieces of exciting news... ONE ... The Creative Type is back in action and I've signed on for another season of challenges & play :) TWO... We are currenly running a design team call! So many wonderful scrapbookers and art journalers are blog readers... why not give it a whirl?! You wouldn't believe the talent residing on this team... Check it out here. I would love to see you all play along!!

This month's prompt was to lift a fellow DT member, and here's my layout and description...

I am in awe of EVERY member of our DT, but I chose to lift someone new-- Steph from living room floor. I think she's fantastic! You can see her original layout here. I started with white cardstock, layered some patterned paper along with my photo, then added small heart stickers. I misted the background with Ranger inks. Then (after the mist was *pretty* dry) I pulled off the heart stickers. I added the letter stickers to the bottom. For the "united", I handcut a title out of white cardstock. When I added it to my layout, it didn't seem to *pop* enough off the page (I wanted it to be a really bright white) so I painted over it carefully with a generous amount of gesso. Voila! Layout took me about 15 minutes... you can totally do this! :)

Excited for this week...

Kara's Summer of Love class will be grand. You should definitely check it out... there are five art journaling/photography prompts daily for two weeks straight from THE greatest art journaler/photographer that I know. Kara is incredibly creative and inspiring... you should definitely check it out and play along! I am so excited! :)





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So far, Janel's 30 Day Journal Challenge has been FANTASTIC!
Lots of great prompts and inspiration. I'm working on mine as an art journal/scrapbook-- I've never been one to keep a "plain" journal. :)
I'll share some stuff that I've made soooooon.






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In personal news, I'm working on blog post with some Etsy advice... opening and running your own shop. I know that there are a lot of tutorials/advice blogs on this topic, but I think it will be fun and helpful to throw my own two cents in.  Until then....


instax, sidewalk chalk, and strawberry infused lemonade,
amy.

Guest Blogger: Meg Barker

Hi everyone!

I am miss Amy's guest blogger-Meg Barker.
This is so fun to be a part of Amy's blog while she is away on a needed get away!

I am a stay @ home mom, a artist, a chocoholic, an accessory lover, a scrapbooker, a picture taker, a thrift store junkie, a outdoor lover, a wife and a bit of a gypsie (so my husband says). 

You can find me @ ambarker.blogspot.com, plumaccessories.etsy.com and scrapjacked.blogspot.com.
pLum accessories opened @ etsy.com last summer when i was home on maternity leave and finding lots of time searching and buying on etsy.  That is when i was inspired to use my ideas to start making my own headbands, bracelets and other hair accessories.  :)  it has been such an adventure and
i would love for you to come check it out!  

ART-it is what i love!  
that is why i fell in love with Amy's blog and style!
art is what i find in all junk @ the flea market, pictures, the thrift store or a garage sale or even ads in my favorite magazines.
lately i have been loving decorated t's and tanks!  if you have not seen the jcrew embellished tee's--they are a must!  well being 28 weeks pregnant-jcrew tee's are not exactly fitting they way they maybe should.  
so i have decided to try some DIY. 

well truthfully it has not exactly gone as planned so far.  the first shirt i did was sewn from the back to the front (a one time wear) but cute enough for a picture or two!  and seem ripping is not an easy job either!
then i went to a tank--so much easier to do. not as cute but more are in my plans!

check these two posts out for some great ideas.
elizabeth
tea rose

now get your sew on and do not forget to post what you have made or if you have some great blog posts with some great ideas!!!  i need some inspiration!  i will post some more @ my blog too when i finally get the hang out it!!!  
happy crafting everyone.
find inspiration everywhere!

xoxoxo
hugs
meg










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I am so in love with your etsy shop!

These are some of my favorite pieces...





Thanks Meg!

love, Amy

Guest Blogger: Bekka Bess

Hi!  My name is Bekka.  I'm so excited to be guest blogging for Amy today!  I'm a big fan of her blog, so I'm really happy that she's letting me share share with you all today!

 

I live in the small town of Cynthiana, KY with my husband and our cat.  We've been here for about 5 1/2 years.  Last summer we bought a house, so it looks as though we'll be here for awhile.  This leads me to the topic of my post -- one of my goals for 2010 is to be more positive...I have this bad habit of dwelling on the negative.  I can easily make you a list of all the things I dislike about Cynthiana.  But instead, I decided to make a mini album that celebrates all the quirky fun things I appreciate about it. *

 

That's my nickname for Cynthiana.  It has a great ring to it, don't you think? 

 

 

 

Cynthiana claims to be the "cradle of Raggedy Ann"  Originally, I thought this meant that Raggedy Ann was created in Cynthina...surely that was no flaw in that logic.  What they actually mean is that Cynthiana is the birthplace of the father of the guy who create Raggedy Ann. But, we have a nice festival every year to celebrate...um...Raggedy Ann's grandfather (?)...so it's nice to live in a town that will look for any reason to throw a party.

 

 

I recently got hooked on The Walking Dead comic book series.  It deals with survivors of a zombie apocalypse, and is a very entertaining read.  It has to be, because I don't gravitate to comic books or zombies.  But what drew me to the series is that (1) the writer and the original illustrator are both from Cynthiana and (2) the beginning of the series is actually set in Cynthiana.  (Oh, and the TV series is scheduled to premier on AMC this fall!)

 

 

 

Last year, the town held it's first Art Walk.  There were local artist displays, on-site demonstrations, wine tasting, music...It was great to see all the hidden talent within our town

 

 

Speaking of the Art Walk, I, along with a few other friends, had the opportunity to enter a Post-It Note fashion show.  Because the majority of Post-It Notes are made in Cynthiana. If you ever have the opportunity to make an outfit from office supplies, I recommend trying it!   

 

 

 

Oh, and we have a great local pizza place.  :)

 

 

 

I've met lots of wonderful people since moving here. Oddly enough, the girl in the bottom right was actually a friend of mine from high school, who moved here not long after I did. 

 

 

 

The banner-making business in Cynthiana must be booming, thanks to the ever-changing banner in front of the courthouse.  I can't explain to you why this amuses me, but it does.  Last year I had a goal of taking a picture of each banner...that only lasted a couple of months.  Then the school year started back, and I hardly ever went throught that part of town.  But I still try to take pictures of it when I can remember to.

 

So there you have it.  This is an ongoing project.  I mean, I still haven't mentioned the over-abundance of stop signs, the bridge named after the guy who burned down roughly 1/3 of the town, the theater with ties to Chris O'Donnell... 

 

*Disclaimer.  In no way am I suggesting you vacation in my town.  Because, in all honesty, there's a good chance you would be bored out of your mind. But it's a great place when you have the time to get to know it. 

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Dear Bekka,
THank you so much for sharing your crazy scrapbooking skills with us! You have been a favorite of mine for so long! :)
love, Amy

i'm sure that you have seen it all before...

but this past weekend was freaking amazing. there are so many fantastic things about EACH one of these girls, but i want to surprise you with the mini-album i'm making. so i'll save the mushy stuff. i'll just i love you all, i miss you all, and i really admire each one of you for your beauty, talents, and grace. and to those of you who weren't there... we missed you! :]

here are some of my favorite stories from the weekend.


i was singing nelly's st. louis all day, and while walking through the loop, we found his star!


janel's gorgeous, colorful, inspiring home where our slumber party went down.


the cutest bear hat ever.


the cutest baby ever.


elsie's amazingly inspiring studio.


thrifting genius.


beautiful new friends.


all ready for erin's alice party!


crying of laughter at our slumber party..

there are 500+ photos so i can't share them all. but i'm working on an exciting project which will showcase these gals, and i have lots + lots of instax photos which i will scan soon. <33

i love you jamie, lindsay, emjay, haley, erin, elsie, willard, rachel, allister, carol, janel, jenny.

seriously one of the best weekends everr.

yes, really. these are the most wonderful friends! we wish you were here to play with us, too! :)










love, haley, emjay, carol, jamie, jenny, lindsay, janel, & amy (me!)

you asked for it: a little Q + A.

what are your favorite go to movies? (thanks vee)

this question always throws me for a loop (where does "throws me for a loop" come from, anyway?)
i have so many favorite movies. here are some that always make me laugh, cry, or hopeful.








i haven't actually seen this yet. but i know it will be my favorite when i do. i bought it, and i'm almost afraid to watch it for fear that i will either love it too much or it won't meet my expectations.

What is your favorite outfit at the moment?

another superhard question. i'm going to share some outfits that totally inspire me at the moment... and you can check me here each friday where i share outfit and fashion ideas.





i have thousands of photos on my computer similar to these, sorry the sources are lost on me.


who inspires you?

sooo many people. here are a few:


kara


ruby claire


vanessa


vee


janel (who by the way is having an amazing giveaway!)


what annoys you?

mean people, liars, people who deny their feelings, when i can't find parking spot at school, people who laugh at art or don't "get it", izzie stevens, hangnails, bad tippers, when class goes over time, fatigue, when time runs out (at the end of the day), weird unsexy accents, when you call customer service and talk to a recording for thirty minutes before you get disconnecte and have to call again, when you call maintenance to fix the smoke detector and they don't come until you threaten the manager four days later.

are you single?

not sure why, but this question made me giggle. yes, i'm single as a dollar bill. i'm currently accepting applicants. musts: honest, motivated, art lover. wants: tattoos, kind eyes, reads books.

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there are more questions, but this is taking longer than anticipated and i've decided to spread them out over the course of a couple weeks. feel free to ask me anything you like here.

today, i'm tired.

soo, mom was never able to fly out yesterday... something about flights being delayed from mexico (more on that later). i think it was the flight gods who heard my secret wish for more time with my mama. anyway, i took her to the airport at six o'clock this morning, which honestly feels like three days ago at this point (1:30 pm, same day.)

so i'm tired.

luckily, work today has been semi-lax. i've been watching a movie with most classes and reading with others. if you guys are fans of house, which i am (there should be a verb for "am" meaning 'very, very much so", instead i'll just say "i am a fan of house, very, very much so." see.. tired...) you should totally watch stuart little. watching hugh laurie in this movie is hilarious! he is so soft-spoken and clean-shaven and it is just funny.

 

and he is so sexy as house, no?

  

i hate needles and doctors, but i surely wouldn't mind being pricked by him. (...?)


if i haven't scared you enough with my randomness today, or even if i have, i suggest you check out a couple (semi) newly discovered blog friends of mine. they are both quite lovely.

 
elizabeth with whom i have an insane amount in common.


 
rose with whom i would like to meet + create with for a million hours straight.


inspiration? yes, please.


one more thing. on reader:
if you are like me, you have an ungodly amount of inspirational blogs filling up your reader and NO time to get to all of them. here's what i've done: separate blogs into three folders. one for everyday reads (my "blog friends" and my top, let's say, five favorite blogs i like to hit each day.) one for when i am in need of serious inspiration (famous fashion and home blogs). and one for mostly art related blogs... allllll the rest of them. for when i have time. which is never. another cool thing about reader is that instead of clicking each blog, click on the folder name and scroll down. this will automatically lower the number of unread posts (yes! almost as good as crossing things off the to-do list!) and you can "star" the posts that you really like, to come back to later when you have time (or never.) i hope this advice is helpful.

playing dress*up: home.

i've spent much of this past week redesigning/redecorating my home. i can't wait to share some of the changes i've made... so simple and (mostly) quick, but such grand changes. i *love* that! what are some of your favorite sites for home inspiration? here are some of mine:


apartment therapy


rachel denbow


decofabulous


decomyplace




weheartit (duh)


mandi johnson



and of course of course of COURSE, my very favorite.

what are some of your favorites??

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This post is part of a weekly feature called "Playing Dress*Up". Each Friday, I post fashion-related ideas and photos.  Some topics include handmade clothes, accessories, shoes, body art, makeup, hair, home, and jewelry.  If there is anything you would like to see, please e-mail me at amylapi@gmail.com. See past archives of Playing Dress*Up here.

artist inspiration: anne taintor

lots of comments/questions re: the postcard i used in my fall album. the artist is anne taintor; i've mentioned her here before (i love her). she is one of my favorite artists. she mixes my love for vintage ladies and my obsession with sarcastic wit. she makes gifts, like notepads, magnets, and calendars (i buy one every year). you can find some of her goods for purchase here.

here is a photo of the wall in my bathroom. most of these images are postcards, and pages ripped out of some books i purchased on ebay. i used masking tape to hang them.



sorry i couldn't get a better angle; it's an awkward wall.

and here are some more of my favorite prints of hers:

 
 



 

 

 
 

i hope you love her as much as i do! :)

just a little artist inspiration.

beautiful, lovely, amazing kurt hasley. he's incredibly inspiring to me... take it in:

grab your sketchbook, i know you want to.