I was so close to buying a Holga camera today, and even found one in town that was decently priced (you best not spend fifty bucks on one from Urban Outfitters!). But I keep holding out. There are so many toy cameras out there, I’m not sure which one I want to start out with.

Anywho, I can fake it in Photoshop in the meantime. This is the best Holga Photoshop tutorial I’ve tried out thus far.

Couple notes in case you want to try it out for yourself: After I flattened my image, I desaturated it some and moved the Hue slider (Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation) to the left just a little bit. I also added just a tiny bit of noise (Filter>Noise>Add Noise). I feel that these two adjustments make the image look as if it were scanned in from a print. At least to my untrained eye. These images are supposed to look crappy, right? Because crappy is the new cool!

I may not like the wake-up call at this time, nor the untidiness of the room. But I do like the way early morning light makes everything look.

According To Kelly is hosting her annual Favorite Things Swap. Sounds fun!

{via A Room Somewhere}

In an Etsy hunt for vintage scarves, I discovered the loveliness that is Vera Neumann. (I may have bugged a certain Ryan Kirk for one as a birthday gift!)

Check out Etsy shop The Lucky Fish. She has quite the collection of Vera Neumann scarves for sale, and right now, they are all 20% off. I’m a little confused as to why she is not sold out? They’re all so beautiful.

I am suprised at how many of my friends LOVE the June gloom characteristic of this part of Cali. But me, it puts me in such a weird state. I lose all sense of motivation and just want to rot on the couch while popping bon bons and watching soaps. Not possible with two boys, BTW. And I’ve sworn of off soaps since my Passions kick in college. Ew!

But today was sunny and all sorts of oceany breezy. “Just like San Luis!” Ryan and I would observe, and nod in agreement (if you’ve ever lived in San Luis Obispo, you would forever use the climate there as a measure of perfect weather and act as if you’re an expert on what is a suitable ratio of clouds to blue sky to ocean breeze).

We played in LA, going for a train ride in Griffith Park and stopping in Beverly Hills for Sprinkles cupcakes. Finally. I can join the club and never have to hear “What?! You’ve never had Sprinkles?” Now I get to do that to people. Because it’s good. The frosting is a little much for me, but the cupcake as a whole. I approve.

So now that I’ve tried Sprinkles, where to next?

Further showing off some handmade goods, since I’ve nothing better to do this fine Sunday afternoon. I ought to be sleeping with the rest of the household, but Ryan’s beastly snores have caused me to flee the bedroom into the comforting arms of my second lover, the computer.

Another stab-bound card, this time for Father’s Day. A last minute idea inspired by my three-year-old’s persistent, “go get ‘em!” attitude. If I continue to use Kai’s soundbites as greeting card material, my next one will read “I’m going to kill you!” In all-caps. Blazing red. Superimposed on top of a photograph of someone to be revered and respected, like the Pope. (And there was some dispute today on whether he said “kill” or “shoot.” It was indeed “kill.” And it was said very loud during a very quiet sacrament meeting.)

I think I sound grumpy, so I should attempt a nap again, or bake some cookies.

And nail polish color of the week is purple.

{Headband pic by sis-in-law Anna}

I hold my love and disdain for these in equal parts. Trendy they may be, pretty they most certainly are not. But regardless, these booties make my heart beat fast. Their price tags are astronomically out my type of budget, so a rummage through Ventura’s many thrift stores is in order.

1: Jeffrey Campbell Cutout Bootie
2: Jeffrey Campbell Biz Boot
3: Jeffrey Campbell Gate Shoes
4: Jeffrey Campbell Class Bootie

This is the wedding anniversary card/booklet I made for Ryan. Was very fun to create because I haven’t done Japanese stab-binding since my book-arts class in college (explains my crooked stitching, ha). And it’s especially cathartic to create something tactile with your hands, as opposed to clicking around with a computer mouse and designing on a headache-inducing computer screen.

I printed out my design onto a leftover 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of Eames architecture paper I had on hand. Note: This Eames paper is very soft and tissue-like, so if printing on an ink jet, make sure to use the fine or photo setting. I didn’t, and as a result, my small copy plugged up and bled a little. The two booklet pages fit on the one (and only, arg!) sheet, each page measuring 5″x7″. The very last page is just a 5″x7″ photograph spray-mounted onto kraft-colored cardstock for sturdiness.

I think stab-binding looks fairly impressive and intricate, but it really is one of the simplest methods of bookbinding. There are a bunch of great tutorials out there on the interwebs, including Melissa’s, who is a pro at book-arts.

Tripping over toys is made OK by hot pink toenails.

My latest design for an upcoming Enrichment activity; a Saturday morning committed to making quilts, quilts, and blankets. Hence the loads of fabric I bought yesterday.

Stacie and I went down to the LA garment district today, and I was reminded of what a simple girl I am. Because when I die and get to heaven, presumptuously assuming I’m going to heaven, I’d gladly choose to move into a warehouse full of ribbon and trim over a mansion, any day. Wait. Unless that mansion is a Marmol Radziner prefab. Hm. My brain is now hurting by this hypothetical.

28-year-olds play with bubbles and remote control helicopters. Just so you know.

Zooey Deschanel in a commercial spot above for Cotton. And oh how I love her wardrobe.

To offset my last post. Because my mom gets mad when I don’t post enough pictures of the boys, but I do for all this “unneccessary stuff.”

I know I already blogged about the movie 500 Days of Summer, but I can’t help mentioning it again. So many good movies coming out this summer to hold me over until New Moon comes out in November. OME!

{Pic by Anna}