Weekend in Review Vol.#9- In the Bean

This weekend was spent catching up in Boston with family and friends. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to take pictures really, but I still wanted to document what I could. Above is a picture from an alley in Boston by Salem Design. I love it because it captures the city in such a beautiful way! It's getting really cold here now, and I'm hoping that we will experience a white Christmas this year.

I spent some time with the most adorable baby, my little cousin Audriana (who is already going on 4 months)! She is so precious, and I love that little hat so much- I  just had to get a picture of her in it!

And while getting in a little Christmas shopping yesterday at Kohl's, I cam across this wall art that I love- perfect words to live by! xo

Weekend in Review Vol.#8- It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Favorite Ornament Tag- AE Studios

My, how the weekends fly by! Everything is getting a little crazed around here for the holidays and time is definitely winding down! I'd have to say that December definitely goes by the fastest (out of all the 12 months of the year- for me)! This weekend I was able to catch up with my best friend, over dinner and then the Muppet's Movie, which was pretty cute! 

I also sent out a few holiday cards, we decorated the tree and some other areas of the house. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... I just wish time would slow down a little bit, so I can catch up with everything! Well, tis the season! *smile* xo

Photo taken by: Wahkuna



Weekend in Review Vol.#2- Halloween weekend in NYC

Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend and if you were as lucky as me to get stuck in the snow storm of October 2011, I hope you were safe and didn't lose power! I can definitely say I wasn't prepared for the snow that hit the north east this weekend, however I survived nonetheless, and still made it to the Halloween party! It was a great weekend, full of quality girl time with my good friend and fashion stylist Tiffani, of Accidental Chic. On Saturday (the day of the storm) we lounged around with a hot cup of tea and scoured through a bunch of her great magazines for new inspiration, before heading out that night to a Halloween party that our friends were having in Brooklyn. On Sunday, I had lunch at Chocolate by the Bald Man in Union Square (best place for all of you chocoholics!) followed up by drinks at Heartland Brewery to cap off a great weekend! So all in all, it was a good time! Happy Halloween! xo

 photo taken by; Brad Johansen-Pirates of Brooklyn

Photos taken by Wahkuna (unless otherwise mentioned above)

New Series; Weekend in Review Vol.#1- Halloween Party & King Richard's Fair

Hey there, welcome back! I hope you all had a great weekend and had a chance to get out and do something fun, as well as relax! I'm here today to introduce a new series on the Wahkuna Mae-lyn blog called Weekend in Review which I will run every Monday (at least until the end of this year *fingers crossed*). Its where I will share little clips of my weekend.

So to start it off; On Saturday I went to my good friend's Halloween party at her brand NEW house! First of all, I'm SO excited for her new home (of which she bought all on her own at age 26! I'm such a proud friend!) She's done a lot of work on it, and the whole downstairs was renovated (which is right up my alley, with my HGTV obsession 'n' all!) 

It was a great party, full of new faces for me, but was really fun and I was happy to be in attendance! My costume this year, is basically the same costume I wore last year (a Native American). I love it and was able to save a lot of money by recycling and reusing it for this year! A win/win situation! My friend Katelyn's costume was the bride of Chucky! The costume was brilliant, and looked great on her, don't you think!?!

On Sunday I went to the King Richard's Fair in Carver, MA with friends. I've never been, but it was AWESOME! It's like going back in time to the Medieval days! Everyone who works at the fair dresses up and also a lot of the fair goers do too (even the little kiddos)! It was crazy! There was; a tiger show, archery, bag pipers 'n' belly dancers, jousting matches, sword fights, little Medieval shoppes, plenty of food/drinks and much, much more! It was such a great time, and I will definitely go back! It's only open for 2 months out of the year (between September & October) but well worth the visit! Sunday happened to be the last day of the season, so it was pretty packed but I'm glad we made it this year!

So it was quite the eventful weekend I must say. Stay tuned next week for a review of my adventures in NYC during Halloween weekend! Be back soon! xo

A day at Westport Rivers vineyard

Hello all! I'm finally back from the weekend (better late than never)! I had a pretty awesome "fall" weekend which consisted of; visiting the Westport Rivers vineyard in Westport, MA where we tasted 6 (really good wines), went on a hay ride around the vineyard, picked pumpkins, took a tour of the winery/wine making process & enjoyed the gorgeous scenery! It was a lot of fun, and the best part of the experience was that it was a random stop- totally unplanned (which usually ends up being the best time). I'm really happy to have discovered this hidden gem in the area and would like to visit more frequently. It's definitely a great place to enjoy with a group of girlfriends or for a nice date. Wine + beautiful scenery = simple luxuries of mother nature. So if any of you are ever in the area, please do check it out! That's it for now, I'll be back tomorrow to share one of my most recent creations. See you then! xo

Simple things that make us smile

Meet Arthur. He's super friendly, likes to be where all the action is, and clearly even likes to share other people's beverages! This is my best friend's little guy, and while I spent time with her over the weekend, I caught him sneaking some water from my mug! It was so cute, I had to capture the memory, because it's the simple things that make us smile. And just imagine- a little while after this picture was taken, he couldn't stick his head in far enough to reach the water that was left, so he had some clever tricks. He would stick his paw into the mug to get the water and then lick it off! Lol, it was too funny, all I have to say is; animal's do the darndest things!

Anyway, I had a pretty good weekend-catching up with old friends around a fire pit, showing my support at a cancer benefit, and watching the new SJP movie and enjoying some good Riesling with my best friend *wink*.  I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as well.

A Message of Thanks

image: Thanksgiving 2009 with the in-laws

thank·ful

[thangk-fuhl]

–adjective

1. feeling or expressing gratitude; appreciative.

Origin:

bef. 900; ME; OE thancful.

The hubby and I are headed up to Massachusetts today to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family but I wanted to leave you with a message of thanks in honor of this wonderful holiday! I want to say Thank You, to all of my readers. It means a lot to be able to share my thoughts & creations with you. I know my blogging tends to be sporadic, and not at all continuous, but my goal is to work on that through the rest of this year and into the New Year, so stay tuned!

I would also like to say that I'm so very thankful for my wonderful husband, you keep me "together" and sane & spoiled- if it weren't for you I'd be lost, I love you so much! I'm thankful for my very special mom, who is also always there for me, whenever needed. I'm also thankful for my immediate and extended family, they are the best family one can have, love you all! I'm thankful for great friends who are always there to make me laugh, to have great talks and show me a good time! I'm thankful to have a nice place, a job and a car to get from point A-B. But most importantly, I'm thankful to have life, because without it, none of the other things would matter.

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy this time with your loved ones because these are the memories to cherish!

Album Project

Supplies: Flowers- Prima; Letter Stickers- American Crafts (thickers); Rhinestone Flourishes- Prima; Rhinestones- My Mind's Eye; Transparency Papers- Hambly & Best Creation Inc.; Floral Patterned Paper- Basic Grey; Circles Patterned Paper- Hambly; Cardstock- DCWV (Matchmakers)

al·bum

[al-buhm]
–noun
1. a bound or loose-leaf book consisting of blank pages, pockets, envelopes, etc., for storing or displaying photographs, stamps, or the like, or for collecting autographs.
2. a printed book containing an anthology of writings, reproductions of photographs or artwork, musical compositions, etc.

Origin:

1645–55; 1955–60 for def. 2; < L: neut. sing. of albus white, i.e., a blank (tablet) painted white for writing on


Recently I've been working on a new project, a scrapbook for a friend documenting her trip to Florida with her boyfriend. The challenge is not to make it too feminine, since it's essentially for both of them as an anniversary gift. Of course I reviewed the supplies that I chose with them both before beginning and there were no complaints (see above), which is a good sign! I want it to be pretty, but not "girly" if there is such a thing, anyway, I'm working on it! Here's a preview of the first page...

I created photo corners out of buttons with embroidery thread wrapped around them.

Here I made the butterfly embellishments out of a stamped image, added color using colored pencils and used rhinestones for the body. 

I stitched the flying path for the butterflies using embroidery thread, following a swirl line that I sketched out by hand first. Also the sides of the ground paper is painted with Tim Holtz  Ranger distress crackle paint in tattered rose & distress ink in shabby shutters.

Supplies: Cardstock- DCWV (Matchmakers), Patterned Paper- Making Memories; Transparency Paper- Hambly; Letter Stickers- American Crafts; Crackle Paint- Ranger Tim Holtz; Distress Ink- Ranger Tim Holtz; Butterflies- Stamped Image; Embroidery Thread, Rhinestones & Buttons- Other

For the title, I cut out a decorative border from a Hambly transparency paper and then layered on thickers letter stickers by American Crafts.

I'm still working on this, and the deadline is fast approaching! Trying to prioritize and make sure everything gets done in time, the Holiday season sure keeps us busy! Thanks for stopping in & come back soon!

Off the bookshelf

art·ist   

[ahr-tist]

–noun

1. a person who produces works in any of the arts that are primarily subject to aesthetic criteria.

2. a person who practices one of the fine arts, esp. a painter or sculptor.

3. a person whose trade or profession requires a knowledge of design, drawing, painting, etc.: a commercial artist.

4. a person who works in one of the performing arts, as an actor, musician, or singer; a public performer: a mime artist; an artist of the dance.

5. a person whose work exhibits exceptional skill.

6. a person who is expert at trickery or deceit: He's an artist with cards.

7. Obsolete . an artisan.

Origin:

1575–85;  &lt; MF artiste  &lt; ML artista  master of arts.


I've been in a bit of a creative rut as of late and can't seem to bring myself out of it. Fortunately for me, one of my wonderful friends recommended this life changing book to help me get back in the groove and jolt the endless flow of creativity (which we all possess in one way or another). She has read this book and so has many of her acquaintances and they all swear by it, so I thought, why not?!? I've got nothing to lose and everything to gain at this point. So The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron is currently on my "reading list". If you know me, you know that I'm always "reading" something or something(s) and my favorite are books that you find in the self help section or craft section, go figure! My favorite book store in NYC is Strand, it's CRAZY!! As they say, 18 miles of books, both new and used. The best part is that you pretty much always find the book your looking for, used and 1/2 the price! If that's not an incentive, then I don't know what is!


Anyway, I picked up The Artist's Way a few weeks ago at Strand and have already read the first part. It's already very interesting and has so many great reviews that I can't wait to really get into it and learn more about my creative self! I already strongly recommend it to any artist out there...it's worth the purchase and the time! Once I finish it, I will be back with my thoughts, so stay tuned!


Inspirational Quote; "For every success a thousand failures forgotten lie. For every failure to try, a thousand successes prematurely die."- Anonymous


Now, on to the other "something" I'm currently reading; Love the one you're with by Emily Giffin. I've recently started reading novels again, after my long hiatus with just the how-to books and magazines. I'm loving Emily's books! See, I like chick flicks AND chick lits (as they call them) so natural, she's one of my favorites! Her stories have the perfect mix of love, suspense, drama and happily ever after which= books written just for me (and maybe you too)! If you haven't already, check them out and let me know what you think! So far I've read; Something Borrowed, Something Blue & Baby Proof, (note that you should read Something Borrowed before Something Blue, or else you will be pretty confused).

Well that's it for now and enjoy the good reads!

The Pen Pal Project (Post #1)

pen pal 

–noun
1. a person with whom one keeps up an exchange of letters, usually someone so far away that a personal meeting is unlikely
2. Also called: pen friend  a person with whom one regularly exchanges letters, often a person in another country whom one has not met
 
Origin:
1935–40, Americanism

A few weeks back, while hanging out around the apartment, my mind started to wander and I began to think about communication outside the realm of the web. How did we get by without it? How did our lives function from day to day...there was no email, no social networks and definitely no websites. How did we send information, give information, look-up information?!? Dare I even utter the words; fax machine, phone book and yellow pages! These once daily necessities, seem so foreign now in a world where we don't even have to memorize important phone numbers because our cell phones do it for us, almost instantly. What happen to the simple days, when you had to stop at a pay phone to make a call, or reach out to a close friend via written letters. It's called personal communication, the type of interaction we once had, but seem to have lost, almost completely. The saddest part of it all, is that we are also losing the last generation that still holds onto most of the simple ideas...our grandparents.

This is when I got the idea of having a pen pal. I always wanted one when I was younger, but never had the chance. As fate would have it, I was visiting my favorite blog one day and the post was about her pen pal and being paired up with one if interested. I was delighted, it was like a dream come true-someone heard my thoughts, AMAZING! So naturally I jumped at the chance and now I'm officially a pen pal! I just received my "welcome" note from the creator, with an envelope and my pen friend's address. Its so exciting to get personal mail, other than bills or advertisements. It's refreshing, a personal note that's tangible, with their handwriting (which can tell you so much about a person). There's something about the "real thing" that all the advanced technology in the world can't replace! I'd rather sit with a friend in a cafe catching up over a cup of hot tea (since I don't drink coffee), than meet them on the web for a video chat, its impersonal and still makes you feel far away from each other.

So I'm very excited to send the first introduction letter to my pen pal, soon. I hope that we can become great friends, learn about each other's lives, share in wonderful experiences and keep a tiny part of those simpler days with us...for a long, long time.

Do any of you have or have had a pen pal? If so, I would love to hear about your experience! Don't be shy...introduce yourself!

Old Friends~ New Tradition

At the end of last week I received a surprise in the mail. It was a card from a very dear friend of mine. We've been friends since 2nd grade (about 20 years as she put it) and have gradually grown apart over time due to distance and separate life paths. But the good thing about always remaining friends and staying in touch from time to time is that you always stay connected some how, and although it's far and few between, when you get together it's almost like yesterday and no time has past at all. That is how I feel around her...she is my special long distance friend. The funny part is that I've been thinking about her lately and how we've been  needing to catch up, which was exactly when I received her card. Life is funny like that.

In response to her thoughtful card, I of course had to make one to send back. The sentiment is so fitting- I miss you. To create this card I used part of my July Studio Calico kit- Continental. I love Studio Calico coordinated kits, they are always so fun and have such great color combos/embellis! I also LOVE to incorporate stitching (whether by hand or on the sewing machine) and also some kind of fabric or ribbon. That must be due to my fashion/apparel background. I spend my days around clothing, fabric/swatches, ribbon, buttons and fasteners. It always spurs up some kind of creative ideas! Here is the outcome;

Supplies; Textured Cardstock- DCWV(matchmakers); Patterned Paper- Studio Calico;

Flower- Studio Calico; Textured Fabric- K&Company;

Distress Ink- Tim Holtz(pumice stone);

Rhinestones- Other; Sentiment Stamp- Other.

I love the color palette for this card. Its sweet yet sophisticated with a little bit of distressing to produce a worn look. For the flower design on the top left, I cut it out of a Studio Calico advertisement card that was patterned on the back side, and I couldn't resist using the pattern, it's so beautiful and adds a great focal point to this card! I definitely think my friend will enjoy receiving this in the mail. It's worth saving! I would like this card-giving to become a tradition, almost like a pen pal, a new way to stay in touch more. Since we live far apart, I'm hoping that we are able to constantly write to eachother to stay connected and keep our friendship strong, afterall...who has time to sit on the phone for hours anymore! And being a memory preserver, having everything in writing and documented makes it so much better for future keepsakes (which reminds me, I still have all of her letters from Middle School!!!) :-)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

I wanted to be sure to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day!! Today is traditionally a day about love and appreciation towards others with gifts, etc. but I've realized over the years that nothing means more than kind words and acts of love that come straight from the heart. Flowers, gifts, candy and dinner only last for a short time, but the memories are what lasts forever! So enjoy this day with the ones you love and be sure they know how much you love and appreciate them!

Supplies- Floral Patterned Paper: Anna Griffin; Textured Cardstock: Basic Grey; Polk-a-dot Patterned Paper: Studio Calico; Chipboard Letters: Basic Grey; Ribbon; Flowers: Prima; Chipboard Embellishment: ki Memories; Clear Transparency Title & Journal Tag: Me

I would also like to share a couple Valentine"esque" pages that I've recently done.

This first one is a LO about my two cousins, our grandmother and I. The photo was taken at my cousin Lanita's (all the way to the right) surprise birthday party. It was a wonderful night and this picture definitely captured a special moment. This is one of the photos that I will definitely cherish because there's really no other image that has been taken like it (atleast recently since we've all grown older).

I used Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 to alter the photo just a bit. I wanted the subjects to stand out in the foreground so I selected the background, made it black and white

and blurred it just enough so that there are no clear images that are noticeable. I love all of these women to death and they are definitely a few of the prettiest ladies I know! The color scheme I chose is great too! When I recieved the floral patterned paper from Studio Calico I was in LOVE! I think this paper looks great with the mix of white, blue, green, red and a pop of light pink! The floral pattern is very modern and chic which makes this layout fun and pretty! I also used my new BossKut Gazelle to creat the red heart die cut that I zig zag stitched ontop of another decorative heart design that I created by hand. The machine stitch definitely give this layout a handmade feel. I LOVE handmade! Also, one more important element to note on this layout is the floral chipboard that I adhered to the bottom right hand corner of the picture which is from k.i memories, but the original prints where designed by my long time friend Christine! She's an AMAZING print designer working in NYC and when I recieved this package of chipboard embellishments from her I was so excited and taken back! It's very meaningful to use such elements on LO's that I will cherish forever!! Thanks again Christine!!

 The next LO is one that I created about Chris and I of the good times we've had together the last 3+ years. He's a loving husband who's smart, funny and great to be with! I'm very happy that we chose eachother! With this LO I wanted to make the solid cardstock in the background more interesting so I stamped along the edges using a scroll butterfly stamp. I also made 1 of the 4 photos black and white to create a bit of contrast and interest with the subjects. The title reads exactly how I feel...that we are "Better 2gether", inspired of course by the Jack Johnson song Better Together. Love his music. Until next time...Take care and enjoy your loved ones today and always! :-)

Supplies- Solid Cardstock: American Crafts; Patterned Paper: Basic Grey; Ribbon; Buttons; Letter Stickers: Pink Paislee; Chipboard Letters: American Crafts; Clear Stamps: Studio G; Paper Flowers: Prima