put it down

the thoughts.
the stress
the fear
it's going to be okay.
:)

Handsome and I are crazy.
He more than i of course ;p

We went house hunting this past weekend. We are counting down the days to our wedding. And earnestly searching for a place to call home. Realizing that time was of the essence we put an offer in. And so now the waiting continues. Hoping. Praying. Searching. More Waiting. And continuing to search for a place to call our HOME. It's been good to sit and crochet. Keeps my thoughts from consuming me. If you can, please pray for us as we continue to look. To seek and find peace during this time. Not so much for a building with a rooftop. Not because it has a certain amount of square footage. Or just because we want to own something. None of those things appeal right now. The place we search for is, we hope, a place where we can welcome everyone. Fellowship and enjoy a long chat. Simply love on them. A place where we encourage you to share your thoughts. Take away the stress. Walk in without fear. And know that there, in that place...where ever it might be, whatever it ends up looking like. That's the place where you know everything is going to be okay.

lay your head down
enjoy the peace
and rest.

waiting for this.
with all my heart
thanks for listening
-d

creativity at work

i blogged over at Kenner Road BLOG today :) check it.





this is my art for this weeks creative therapy catalyst. I might be cutting it close with these darn wedding invitations ( need to photo edit the pic of my invitations) as tomorrow marks the 60 days to go mark. ANYONE ELSE FREAKING OUT?!?!?!?!?!?! oh. no. good. then me either.

I purchased some yarn at a local thrift store. Rushed home and you tubed this: awesome stitch pattern. I LOVED it!!! Except the yarn smells old. AND I can't possibly find the same colors because the yarn is OLD. Oh gosh it sure smells like it too. lol. So who knows what this little "blanket" is good for. I'm working on a scarf for my mom right now. I was at the car dealer to service my vehicle and broke out the crochet and I felt kinda strange. People were looking at me funny. But I get that alot. jk. well, at least it helped kill an hour of my time. the joy.

The drawing is something I drew about 10 years ago. Early collage. Maybe First year? I hate that I didn't date any of my sketches. But whatevs. My goodness, this is all I did instead of spend hours behind the computer screen. I kinda miss it.



So question and answer:
milkcan asked...
I love your stuff and I'd love to know more about the difference between your digi and paper creating processes. I know mine are totally schizophrenic!

I have to say that I never thought I'd like the digi. Shocker right? You might ask, how can you not like digi if you are a graphic artist?! Well, after 40+ hours behind a computer I wanted nothing to do with my computer when I got home. Therefor I turned to paper. I LOVE paper. I needed it more for therapy I think. My CTS started kicking in at the beginning of May and I found that the more tactile my hobby was the better it was for my hands. So I spent lots of time creating pages from paper. This comes easier to me. And I think I favor it over the digi. (for now :)

The right side is 100% digi. Left page is hybrid.

In comes the digi. I found it hard to let go of "the bottom line". As a graphic designer you're always selling something. The logo has to be big. There has to be sponsor and trademarks and generally the editing that goes behind the scenes drives me batty. When I made my first couple of pages. I turned off my computer frustrated more than 5 times in one sitting. I couldn't let myself think outside my designer restrictions. I had to repurpose my page. No selling something. No big fat ugly trademark anywhere. Although I LOVED the fact that there was no external editing involved ( meaning i needed no one's approval over my page ) I struggled to translate my artistic expression into a computer. The fact that it wasn't tangible was hard. (for example: I wanted to add spray splatters...surprise huh :) and I had to spray a white sheet of paper. scan it. then make it into a brush. I was SO wanting to just spray paint my computer screen! LOL. But thankfully, I started fresh. NO GRID. I am imperfect. As are all my pages so I wanted to have that same feel as in my paper pages. THAT was harder than I thought! LOL. I give you digi girls a hi-5 and a thumbs up for being able to make your pages look and feel real. The digi goods out there are amazing. I want to offer a free download soon so look for that :) As far as layout etc., I keep moving the title, the picture and the journaling around until I feel my eyes are happy with the design. I tend to overdo things, lol but edit myself over and over until it looks just right.

thanks for the question!

For now, digi love is awesome. I think I'm more of a hybrid girl and it makes me happy.
love to all of you
and have fun this week making art you love,
-d

still finishing up

but i swear it feels like i'm moving at the pace of a snail!
i FINALLY got a monitor for my tower! woot woot. 32 inches of goodness AND it's a hdtv AND it was free. ACK! love. being able to see what is on your computer makes it a lot easier to use :)
checklist please:
Invitations - designed, printed & cut 200
Save the dates - designed, printed & cut, embellished, strung 200 (mr.handsome knows how to use a crop-a-dile! woot woot ;P
Envelope labels - designed, printed, cut and adhered onto envelopes
favor tags - designed, printed, cut, hole punched, and strung
Reception Card - designed and also in the editing phase
RSVP's - designed & still in the editing phase
*pictures to follow-pinky promise!

there's still much to be done but this is really is ALOT harder having to design, print,cut your own invitations and all that comes with it. like trying to decide really who is going to come to the wedding and keeping the guest list "manageable". i think this is more like juggling. and i suck at it. really. i could probably just go in my corner and cry. i'm so tired. my arms hurt. my back kills me. my hands are so sore from cutting each piece of paper by hand. i could go on feeling sorry for myself. but that's not fun...so moving on!
...

wedding ideas i'm still contemplating:
chocolate buttons as favors :) these little suckers are SO small. Literally the size of real buttons. My mom rocks at making chocolate favors so she's heading up this task for me :) yay!



and for our wedding cake tower of sugar shock:



because it looks awesome, except maybe not in yellow. I'm thinking some craft boxes or white. still undecided. thoughts? and heck no on the bows. amen. i can't find a cake pedestal as pretty as the one shown in the martha stewart magazine so i'm thinking the bottom will end up being stacks of books covered in pretty paper? eh. i will worry about that later. inside the boxes will be a cupcake. Half the boxes will be filled with chocolate cupcakes (mr.handsome's fav) with brown pinstripe liners and a brown chocolate heart on top and the other half will be vanilla cupcakes (my favorite) with yellow pinstripe liners and a soft buttercream yellow chocolate heart on top. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. i'm hungry.
i hope my sisters help me with the baking.hint.hint. ;p

ART LOVE to share is next up.

I finished some layouts using Kenner Road's Feb kit:
(a nice postcard for valentine's day)



here's to learning something new.



i made the little flower under the jennie bowlin button. :) see?



and here's to making the best out of the suckiest bad days ever.



and another valentine card for my stud muffin



whew! time is flying by. 2 months from now i'll be married. this will be over. i keep repeating this to myself over and over. lol
for now, i've found my happy spot taking it one little itsy bitsy step at a time.i've got this.
needing rest and LOTS of prayer,
-d

ps: i closed down my etsy belladrummer shop for now until my wedding passes. thank you to everyone who has supported my little adventure! your support has enabled me to pay for some of the wedding stuff :) big hugs to everyone!

let's do this

First up: 2 Giveaway Winners are
- Lisa said...
girl, you are beyond inspiring :) my question would be: would you show a tutorial on your favorite technique??
thanks for the chance to win this giveaway!! :))

- Jenn said...
I love your blog, and have lurked for quite some time. I would love to know how you do the spray paint on your layouts. It always looks so perfect.

and because there is more in the shop to give away i picked 3 more lovelies :) YAY!

- sannika said...
I found your blog a couple of weeks ago so almost anything is new for me. I love seeing your creations and hope you won't abandon your blog in the midst of the wedding preparations... Oooh and congrats on getting married :-)

- Mandi said...
What a deal on your dress! And good luck with the house hunt! It's definitely a great decision to get one. I wish Phil and I had our own. You should share more wedding details, I think that would be fun. Like little details you're planning, because I'm sure as creative as you are, you have lots of fun details planned! :)

- domestic goddess said...
love love your digi work Debee, absolutley stunning!

hit me up with your addresses at: belladrummer@gmail.com and i will hit the post tomorrow :)

Today's Art lovin' for you:



I LOVED this weeks catalyst over at Creative therapy: Secrets. AH! I've got so many. More inner monologue I think, but that's pretty much daily life huh? Remember to think before you say something. LOL. ugh. So in an effort to stay true to that, i hid my journaling by writing/typing my little secrets onto strips of old envelope paper and turning it upside down and stitching it down so no one can see it. I'm good at keeping secrets. I find it hard to find quality friends who also are good at keeping secrets. Is that just something I've observed or is it just me? Either way, I trust only a handful of my dearest and sweetest friends with my thoughts, good & bad. And I like it that way. keeps a girl sane and accountable. LOL. Is it easy for you to share your secrets? Just wondering :)

Things to do today:
- Work on Tutorials for:
Spray painting techniques,
digi goodness,
and a secret project I've been holding onto just in time for valentines day!
- Setting up an appointment for physical therapy. UGH. Mr. handsome has been hounding me for this. I've had CTS for over 9 months and have not gone to physical therapy ever. And I just talked to a friend over the weekend who had a test where they used electrotherapy to figure out if she had carpal tunnel. SHOCK therapy! for real?! sigh. so not looking forward to this.no way jose.
-Order envelopes for wedding
- Upload photos of wedding stuffs to share. :) thanks for the interest
-and FINALLY designing my wedding invitations this week. better get on that. someone come over and kick me!

LOL
love,
d

life today

is pretty good.
got a call from the place we applied for a permit to hold our ceremony... it's a go :)
I haven't really shared too much about the wedding plans huh?
I better get on that, I fear though i might just bore the heck out of you...
anyway, i can't really show pictures of my dress because well, mr.handsome reads this blog.
so the suspense thickens. Just know it's a glorified bridesmaids dress and it's classy and pretty. and i loved the price tag. shoes AND dress under 400. hi 5 me please. i feel good.

hmm... small wedding? yes. pretty much we are able to invite family and friends to the ceremony, yet will be holding a small private reception with family only. It's just the way it is. i'd invite everyone. yes, you too :) but handsome and i are happy go lucky trying to save up for a house. and you know what? I think we are going to buy a house! still need to do more research and hunt hunt hunt. but mostly, lots of prayer. i need a space big enough for my little wee studio. I threatened to take over the kitchen if i don't have a space :)
joking of course.

invitations are mainly inspired by MM passport paper line from last year, you remember the paper? swoon right? but ask me if i have finished designing the invitations? go ahead.... *blushes* nope. and the wedding is less than 3 months away. oops.

But here is some progress: Danielle Thompson just released new kits and they are adorable!





and for the new prompt: wishes over at TAIF



All digital since: i'm running low on ink. have graphic design withdrawls. hadn't yet tried the digital and wondered if i would like the creative process. I like it :)

i've enjoyed checking out blogs to people who leave comments or follow along. LOVE the work you girls are doing! Talent. sheer talent. it's pretty and inspiring so thank you for that!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has supported my belladrummer etsy shop. I feel it's only right to give away some of the items up for sale....so, 2 give aways... just in time for valentines! 2 lucky winners will be chosen Monday Feb 9. I'd like to get this stuff into some creative hands :) so leave a comment: (because sometimes i have no idea what to blog about) if you have any questions or suggestions on stuff you'd like me to cover, leave a comment. Or just tell me a little about yourself :) Anything goes (internationals always welcome :)

grazie loves
-d