Changes

It's been awhile.

And I have a good excuse.

So much has happened in the last five months.

July was a busy four weeks of clinical and writing my Master's thesis. 

August was a weekend of backpacking in the Adirondacks, a trip to Maryland for interviews, and a job offer in Pennsylvania. September was a move to a new state for a new job as a guidance counselor. October was an exciting four weeks of moving into a new apartment and of Nate moving back to PA. Finally, November seems to a have slowed up a little. There's a little more room to breathe and enjoy the rest of the fall. It is gorgeous down here. The trees stay colorful for longer and the weather stays nice. I even had time to make a few cards! 

Life is good.

For the Love of Paper

Pages for Nicole.

And Christmas card making!

Life in the Fast Lane

Just to catch you up on life's events.

P.S. It's already July. What just happened?!

Tea and homework and a homemade coaster. Sounds about right.

Jennifer and Jordan's wedding! So happy for them :)

And guess who drove up for the wedding? That's right, this guy!!! BEST WEEKEND.

 A postcard from Naomi. I LOVE POSTCARDS. Seriously, could she be more awesome?!

Creating with paper. What else is new?

Kebabs for dinner! Delishh.


And finally a fantastically blurry fireworks picture! Happy fourth everyone :)

Storslåtte!

Three things to share.

1. I made a cascading card. 

And I think I'm obsessed. If you get a card from me, expect it to be one of these.

2. Don't tell me Buffalo can't be beautiful or fun. 

3. I'm going to learn Norwegian. Sannelig, denne gangen.

And here we go!

Job. Check.

Undergrad. Check.

Grad School. Two weeks.

So much life has happened so quickly! I'm a college graduate, I'm starting a new job, grad school starts in just two weeks... I feel like there's almost no time to breathe! But that's okay, because I like life to be a little busy. Besides, now that I'm home and surrounded by my craft goodies, I can create during whatever spare time I have. Sounds just about perfect.

I have been so starved for crafting! So even though I've been home only two days now, I've jumped right in and the creative half of my brain is just about bursting with all sorts of plans and ideas I can't wait to try!

But first, happy Mother's Day to the best Mommy on earth!

I love you!

Mom and Dad got me a new fancy machine for graduation; now I can make even more wonderful things out of paper! So I tried it out and finished another page for my scrapbook of New England last summer.

And finally, this afternoon I was feeling inspired and creative so I grabbed a shoe box and went to work making a memory box.

I love it so much!

That's all for now... after all, I've only been home two days. I'm pretty sure by the end of the week I'll have oodles more to share. Until then!

And how would you like your coffee?

Can you guess what this might mean?

Yep! I work at Starbucks!

Could I have gotten a job anywhere more perfect for me? 

I am so excited. I went in yesterday afternoon for an interview, was offered a job on the spot, and start two days after I graduate. How awesome is this.

And since I had to drive all the way back to Depew for my interview, I went home for a delicious dinner... and made three cards while I was there. Although I'm not sure where the third one disappeared to. I'm wondering if I left it on the hood of my car when I drove away...

I really like simple cards. I just distressed these ones and put a fun stamp on them.
Well, and then I added a fancy stamped flower to the first one. But they're pretty basic and simple. I like that.

Tomorrow is my very last undergrad class EVER. It's freaking me out just a smidge. This is really the end; it's all over in less than two weeks. I was sitting in church this morning and realized that in two weeks I'll be home. That's a crazy, somewhat scary, thought. I have to be a real adult now. Eesh.

After I got back Friday night a couple friends and I decided to trek out to Pike and go roller skating. It was so much fun!! And a little embarrassing - we were the oldest there by at least... eight years? It was a middle school hang out spot for sure - we even go to see a fight! Along with plenty of drama/dorky middle school boys trying to hit on awkward middle school girls. I do not miss those years at all.

Too bad we found the rink two weeks before we graduate...
Oh well :)

An End

Whenever break is about to end, I scramble around trying to complete sixty new projects before I leave and tie up loose ends on things I've never finished. So, even though last night I knew I had twenty-four hours before I had to take off, I started not one, but two new projects, sewed a couple more owls and made a card. Whew. Busy bee, me.

This I have been just dying to make ever since Christmas break. I bought the cork board, purchased the pins, found the pattern, developed the plan... and then I simply ran out of time. This is my very own stick-a-pin-where-you've-been map. I still need to create some kind of frame to make my map more epic and wonderful, but I'll save that for the summer. The rock jar is my other wonderful creation here. You might not agree, but I think it's wonderful. I've taken a rock from every big, awesome national park I've been to (or just big, awesome places in general) and put them in my mason jar. Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Sunset Volcano, you name it. I can't wait to add this summer's trip to the jar! 

It's a little hard to see the pins in the first picture, but trust me, they're there.

I am obsessed with these owls. Eek! They are so adorable. Thank you, Etsy girl for inspiring me.

And finally, here's a little sneak peak at what my next project involves. I'm ridiculously excited about it. I told Mom about it months ago and she picked up a couple dollar Scrabble set for me to create with. Isn't she wonderful?

Well. Three more weeks of class, two exams, a wedding, and a week of commencement are all that separate me from graduation. It hasn't really set in yet. Maybe when it gets closer and I begin to have trouble focusing :) And then, two weeks later... grad school! That is just crazy. In an exciting sort of way.

Adventuring

Two months until graduation. Eek! How is that possible??

Despite how busy I seem to be this semester I've managed to sneak in some friend-time and adventure time.

 Skiing, of course. It's tradition.

February break at Nate's house :) Such a beautiful place.

 They put in a Chick-fil-a in Lancaster County and those people are going crazy over it. The parking lot is always, always packed. I don't understand.

This is Nate's crazy puppy Jasper. He will attempt to attack every single car that drives by. 

I also made a couple cards one afternoon at Nate's house with clearance Walmart goodies:

I couldn't resist buying the owl! I just go nuts over anything with an owl in it...

And ...

Breakfast with Melinda! I'm so glad she's back from Buffalo.

And that's basically all that has happened this semester. Classes are so much more work than I thought they were going to be, so I haven't had time to craft at all. Hopefully over Easter break I'll be able to, because I desperately need some crafting down time. 

Back At It

Last semester.

Oh boy.

It's pretty hard to believe that this is my last semester at Houghton. EVER. Where did the last four years go!? 

What on earth am I going to do after it's all done? 

And why, exactly, is there no snow?

Tough questions.

I want to ski.

I also want to just craft. Seriously, it's becoming a problem. I am so addicted to crafting little things to decorate. Our poor flat needs it though... there are only three of us this semester and our walls are sadly blank.

And just in case you're dying to see my last minute projects (literally) from the last couple days of break...

My candle jar! So free, so fun. I love it. Basically I spray painted an old salsa jar my mom saved for me. It makes the prettiest designs on the ceiling and wall!

And a Christmas present for Nate. I'm still calling it a Christmas present... even if I started it almost two weeks after Christmas :)

Making the cards look old was so time consuming and painful (I pulled practically every muscle in my shoulder sanding those silly things), but definitely worth it. I love how they turned out. Thankfully they worked, because they were an experiment. Wood stain and sand paper. Who would have thought? Although, if you do think about it... it makes perfect sense.

Oh! And Nate gave me some blue mason jars for Christmas!!!

He is just great. 

Anyways.

Last semester.

Oh boy.