My new crafting space!

Surprise! I'm blogging again -- and it's not even a blog hop! In my post earlier this month, I showed off the new catalog, but I have to tell ya, I wasn't most excited about the catalog that day. What I was really really excited about was my new apartment. More specifically, my new craft room! My FIRST craft room!

Before I show you the wonderful new space (and it is wonderful), let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we? This is my previous setup:

Whenever I felt like getting crafty, I had to take over the entire living room - couch, coffee table, floor, shelving, even the TV! (I like background noise when I craft.) It worked, sure, but it was not ideal. I mean, c'mon, my beautiful Big Shot was basically a craft troll -- living under the coffee table until someone needed it:

But now! Now, things are wonderful. Take a look:

Ta-da! I freaking LOVE this room! It just inspires me to get creative. That might be from all the WORK I put into this baby. I really do feel like it's my baby -- I'm ridiculously proud of the room and always want to show it off and tell people all about it. I painted the walls (a color that is almost exactly Pool Party, by happy accident, my favorite SU color); sanded & painted the chair (a yardsale find - only $2!!); and stripped, sanded, and painted (then reassembled -- ugh!) that monster of a desk. This was my first time EVER doing any project like this, and I have to say: I feel so proud of myself!

Ok. Brag session over. I'm just so excited to have a big, open, inspiring space to create! There's a closet in that room, too, in which I plan to hang/store my costuming experiments. I'm sure you'll hear more about that in the coming months, as Comic Con is on my radar and I have a very detailed costume in my sights. (We'll see if my ambition lives up to my vision.) (Spoiler alert: probably not.)

New Catalog! And time for a Blog Hop!

Hello and welcome to another month of our We Create Blog Hop! We're so glad you could join us this month, because we have something extra-special for you today: a BRAND NEW CAR CATALOG! (Sorry, bit of a Price is Right fan here.)

Every June, Stampin Up puts out a brand-spankin-new catalog. (If you were here last month, you heard about how that necessitates retiring some products. Sad day.) But even though we had to bid farewell to some long-loved sets, I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am for the new stamps! Seriously, guys. It's amazing. Take a few minutes (or hours, whatever; I won't judge) to go peruse the new catalog. I'll wait.

Click picture to go check out the catalog.
Seriously. Go check it out.

Ok, you've checked it out? Browsed a bit? Yes? Isn't it fantastic?! I have to admit, I'm always a bit nervous when this time of year comes around, but this year's catalog blew me away. As a typography nerd (I was an editor in a past life) (and by past life, I mean barely a year ago), I was SO EXCITED to see all the fun, creative, beautiful word art they have! I definitely have a long wish list.

Alright. Enough yakking. On to the projects! I'm the kind of gal who just doesn't plan ahead very well, so instead of seeing new products (my order is still sitting in limbo, poor thing), you're going to see some of the products I'm most excited about that are sticking around!

This card came together pretty darn quickly, helped along by the fabulous ladies over at Freshly Made Sketches. What a great layout - so easy to work with.

The picture is a bit dim, but hey, it was midnight when I took the picture. (Remember what I said about not planning ahead well? Yeah. Prime example here.) It's Tempting Turquoise and Very Vanilla, with super-fun Silver Glimmer Paper banners. This showcases some of my favorite things that are sticking around -- or rather, coming back! The banner punch and the polka-dot Textured Impressions Embossing Folder were featured during this year's Sale-a-Bration, and I couldn't be happier to still have them available! Seriously. They're just so cute and versatile!

The original sketch from Freshly Made Sketches - #138

And to go along with the card, I made a quick little gift box. I'm so happy the gift boxes are sticking around! I embossed the clear plastic sleeve with the same folder I used on the card, and I love the way it turned out! Wrap some twine around it, add a tag, and you're good to go. Inside the box, you can see some of our Stampin' Write markers. What I wanted to have in there, I haven't ordered yet -- the new Blendabilities pens! They are SO awesome! I'll show them off to you soon, I promise.

Be sure to hop through to see all the other wonderful posts celebrating our brand new catalog!

And if you're in the Provo area, come to my New Catalog Launch Party! I'm holding an open-house style party to celebrate the new catalog AND my new craft room! (I'll have pics of that later this week.) Next Tuesday, June 10, 7-9pm. Contact me with any questions!