Monday Musings: Floridian nights...

As I sit here listening to some old school pop music from when I was fresh out of high school and well into the end of my first year of university I wonder why at night my mind tends to wander through the events of the day, the news I've heard or read and my own thoughts of what we are currently living globally.

I don't think we all realize how interdependent on each other we are nowadays. I think that the gravity of these hard economic times we are facing, the mounting global pressures we face are very greatly misrepresented in the media and while everyone wonders about what Bernanke said or what Obama didn't say or do, no one bothers to ask the populace what they think of what is going on, how they've had to change the way they live, what new hardships they're facing---in short, we are all in kind of a daze and that is worrisome.

Sometimes I find myself wishing I were back in the mid 1990s when I was in high school and life wasn't so hard. I wonder if the choices I made would have been different if I had set my aims toward something different, instead of desperately wanting to become an actress I had desired to go into law or medicine...I'm sure that even then the outcome would have been the same.

Now more than ever we all need to pull together in solidarity with our fellow man and help each other as best we can.

Until tomorrow...

Hand-cut gift tags...

Yet another work in progress of mine of late has been to make hand-cut gift tags from scraps of scrapbook paper big enough for the small gift-tag template I have (which, consequently, is a reused garment tag which came with something I bought a while back--can't recall what exactly it was but it served a great purpose to me).

I have an enormous amount of beautiful papers to use and thought, why not make gift tags? They're elegant and very romantic in their aspect and quite a crafty endeavor so, here they are:

My first hand-cut tags...

I have since hand-cut a few more tags and am now in the process of seeking out a smaller hand held hole-punch than the one I currently have in my possession to cut the small holes atop and add the thread I want to use for each tag to complete each set.

Hand-cut tags kept in a little pink and brown "carry-out" box which originally
had some delightful caramels in it...another reuse project, if you will.

I just love being able to use every bit of left over paper I possibly can....

Nestled away in their little box, upright and beautiful...a touch of girly pleasure...

Spectacular, aren't they?

Lovingly chosen and hand-cut...

I hope you've enjoyed reading this post as much as I have enjoyed writing it....until next time!

Cheers!

Bookmark Adventure and stationery pleasures...

There is a beautiful blue sky which I've been able to see from my bedroom window every day this week, consequently I've not been able to enjoy that same blue sky outdoors much because the heat is just completely unbearable. Being that I've stayed in doors a great deal then I've taken to crafting to pass the time rather than sulking at the fact that I might wilt should I attempt to be outdoors more than a few minutes (my poor herb plants were suffering that very same fate today and they are now in the coolness of my room by my window enjoying the sun but safe from the heat).

Inspired in part by reading Jane Eyre and by watching through Emma, Sense and Sensibility and tonight's Mansfield Park with my parents my crafts have been focused on representing that era somewhat. A couple of weekends ago I saw some really nifty mixed media collaged bookmarks and had the idea that I might make my own bookmarks as well so I did! Here is my first one:

My prototype which I am keeping for myself...
I cannot part with it...sigh!

Also, inspired by all the penpalling I've been doing lately I have printed my own postcards and stationery and there really is nothing more satisfying. Almost two years ago when the BBC broadcast their 2009 version of Emma I played around with some screenshots from the movie and edited them with photoshop. Yesterday I added one of those images and a couple of other stock images to some stationery *for personal use only* and love the way they came out. I think I may buy less stationery and make more of my own...

Jane Austen stationery and Oriental Lily postcards printed by me with my Epson.
the photo on the postcards is my very own from a trip to Venezuela last year.

And lastly, here are the next two bookmarks I have been working on today:

Mixed-media bookmarks in their first stage...
my previous bookmark was covered in scrapbooking paper.

To see more pictures of the progress of my original bookmark you can go to the blog's facebook page and click on the album titled Bookmark Adventure. I can't wait to share some more of the progress with you all! 

Cheers!

Back in the game!

Hello again friends! It's been a long while! I've been working on many projects lately and having moved about a month ago I now finally have a chance to begin sharing more with you. Let me tell you a little bit about what I've been up to lately. I've re-vamped one of my other blogs and refocused it specifically to topics on photography (LatiNadia), I've started two food blogs--one is a recipe blog in Spanish (El Recetario de Nadia), the other is a food diary (Food: A passionate journey), I've been penpalling like crazy and am loving it, and other than that I've been organizing and decorating my room here in Florida (yes, I am back in Florida--go figure!), doing some food-tography, cooking and expanding my creative juices. Here is a photo of what is currently on my desk:

1. Letters I received a couple of days ago to which I need to respond, 2. Home Spa book I bought recently at Tuesday morning, 3. Vintage Art Postcards I acquired some years ago from my Grandfather's collection, 4. Current project: Re-writing recipes on index cards to place in my Mom's box.

Hopefully in these next few days I can bring you a little more on crafting and green living. Have you all checked out My 365 Magazine yet? Please do! Issue number 2 will be out in July! Stay tuned for more updates.
Cheers!