Wednesday Wishlist.

(Because internet window shopping is just as fun, and I'm honestly blank right now about a blog post.)

Fancy Swirls Dark gray leather diary, $32

Faux Boot Legwarmers in black, $49.50

Deco Dragonfly Mug, $25

Shakespeare's Sister, $395

Fawnia Oak Leaf with Aquamarine Glass Beads, $16.80

The Stalker 10x8 black cat print, $27.00

Full Agenda Dress by ModCloth, $47.99

London Fog by Piperlime, $119

What are your Wednesday wishlist items?

My first handmade journal.

I've always wanted to make one of these!

It's made from cardboard, decorative paper, handmade paper inside (made from elephant dung?), and yarn. I used the Japanese stab binding technique. It's the same thing as the lesson plan I used in field experience for middle school; it's a lot of fun!

I'm proud of it and honestly don't want to sell it. I encourage you to try it out!

I passed my PLT by 20+ points more than needed for my state, yay!! I can't believe it, considering I didn't study as much as I should have. That's one down, two more to go.

So glad Christmas break is here, finally! Time to get to work relaxing and doing what I want artistically. :)

Friday Featurette and Halloween!

Hey everyone, sorry it has been so long. The internet going on and off doesn't help a blogger, that's for sure! Here's a quick featurette of a journal-maker (I'm obsessed, remember?) and some Halloween photos!

This week's featurette goes to BlueToad. The name itself is pretty cool. This store specializes in journals with beautiful OOAK covers for very reasonable pricing. Usually handmade journals, even of small sizes, can be expensive. Also, some ACEOs are available. Here is the shop description:

Entwined Journal, $14

"Welcome to Blue Toad, a collective world of the creative mind, a place that will take you on a creative journey offering a variety of items to meet your whim and bring a smile.

BlueToad, a part of Tremundo, was the featured artisan on HGTV. Additional information on our shop profile and more creative collection at tremundo.etsy.com and visit us online at tremundo.com"

Peaceful Moments on Pale Blue Journal, $14

I'm definitely hearting this shop and keeping a close eye on it for the holidays. Several of these designs relate to this fall season, so they'd make perfect fall gifts for writers and sketchers alike. I'm so glad I found it! :)

Okay, so Halloween was a blast. Lots of good food, good costumes, and good dancing. Saturday night was the main one where I took the most pictures. Sunday was more of a nerd party, not so much dancing, but still fun.

1) Merrilee and I dancing away! 2) Merrilee, the artist hippie; Drew, the boy wizard; me, the pirate lass! 3) Cupcakes!!! 4) The nightlight set up (featuring glow-in-the-dark splatter paintings). 5) My pirate outfit. Yar!

Friday Featurette and F(ph)otos!

Yeah, I'm a big fan of alliteration, I do it when I can. Anyway, I think every Friday I'll do a mini-feature of an Etsian where his or her items really appeal to me. For the first one, today I'm featuring crearting:

Handbound Wood Journal, 3 1/2 x 2 3/4in $18

I'm obsessed with journals (kreativlink rocks my socks), and this only fuels my fire. Journals with WOOD covers? And gorgeous painting designs? Count me in.

The only downside to these beautiful journals, in my opinion, is their small size, but I can understand the reason for it. Still love 'em and heart 'em when I can. One day I will own a custom, handmade journal, I swear it! :P

Anyway, a tiny little update. Yesterday was very frustrating and fun at the same time, a bizarre combination of emotions really. Photography resulted in fun, but began with frustration. My film would NOT go in the spool, and it took 15 minutes in a small, pitch-black, hot closet to get the film ready for processing. But after all of that, here's a "contact" sheet of my negatives and one print from my roll that I loved (though a bit out of focus):

Printmaking... ugh. Aligning 2x2 blocks on a huge sheet of paper, and making sure to ink the right amount, is really tough. Hopefully I'll still get an A for effort.

What have you guys been up to this week? :)

My First Giveaway!

Hey guys, I think today I'm feeling generous. And I reached 150 followers. And school is about to start...

Anyway, in celebration, I'm giving away this pretty Scrolling Irises Medium Journal from Pepper Pot.

It's hardcover, 6" x 8 1/2" and contains 162 beautifully lined and designed pages (front and back). There's a matching rubber band in the back to wrap around the front, securely keeping it shut. I have one of my own and I love it!

Details:
There are several ways to earn entries, listed below. You must follow the first requirement of entry to be considered. I'll end the giveaway on September 4th (Friday), at noon CST, or 12:00pm CST. I'll use my magic configurator (calculator) to determine the numbers and throw them into the cauldron (Random.org) to select a winner. Later on that evening, I will announce the winner here and contact them shortly for information.

How To Enter:
1) You must leave a comment on this entry. It counts as your first entry, and of course let's me know you read it all and want to win it. :) Say anything you want, and leave your e-mail address. You may space it out to avoid spambots.

Extra Entries, please leave separate comments for EACH:

1) One extra entry if you follow me on Twitter. Please leave a comment with your username.

2) One extra entry if you tweet about this giveaway. You can use this: "Giveaway! A hardcover flower journal from @spektorish on her blog, ends this Friday at noon CST: http://tinyurl.com/ksdv3c" Comment with a link back. Spamming tweets will not help you. :P

3) One extra entry if you blog about this giveaway. Please link back to it.

4) One extra entry if you follow me through Google connect, located in the sidebar to the right.

5) One extra entry if you subscribe to my blog, using the RSS feed.

Note: if you already have done something, like follow me on Twitter or follow me here, it counts as an entry -- just leave a comment to remind me, there's a chance I could miss it! :)

I'm very excited and wish you all luck!!