In The Works

I've had two SMASH journals sitting on my desk since they first came out. I had no idea what I wanted to put in them, except that it be one large project. I've still got a lot of the Alaska tidbits that I collected that summer and though it would be a good way to showcase them. Plane tickets, coffee sleeves, maps, tickets, correspondence, etc. The photo below is the inside cover. For the most part, all paper, embellishments and washi tape are from Studio Calico. 

I have a bad habit of keeping hotel room keys. I must have almost 100 of them. I used washi tape to seal the bottom of the coffee sleeve and then adhered it to the page with double-stick tape. A perfect little place for my cards.

I had a leftover map of Anchorage so I used that for the background and stuck some baggage claim stickers at the bottom. I'll probably add some small Instagram photos as well. 

A large view of the page, along with the TSA ticket.

This was our first schedule that Tony had made out of Stephanie and I. Washi tape, acrylic dots and some stickers complete the page.

This hung on our cabin door for the better part of the season. I ripped it off before we left. It pretty much sums up the summer there.

I love this empty Top 10 list. I'm using the mini alphabet stickers to add the top 10 quotes from the summer.

I've still got lots of stuff to add but I wanted to post what I've got so far.

Is anyone else using their SMASH journal for a large, single project?

Planning

For the past few weeks I've been researching, crunching numbers and dreaming of Alaska. For those of you who have been keeping up, I worked on the Katmai for the 2011 summer season. I have to go back. I need to go back. So, next year *fingers crossed* I'll be taking the Man and the Boy for a week long visit. On the agenda: Denali, Whittier, Seward and some fresh Pacific Cod from Humpy's.

Photo snagged from here. You can find the rest of my Alaska Wanderlust board on Pinterest here.

Getting Pinched By Bears

This summer I was lucky to have my day off fall on July 4th. It was a slower week for us and I was able to fly out with the guys to Brooks River. If you've ever seen any photos of bears near a waterfall, more than likely, they were taken here.

First time visitors have to watch a 10 minute bear safety video (don't feed them, don't approach them, they don't like hugs or kisses. etc.) They give you a nifty little lapel pin (photo coming soon) and then you're off on your own.

Since I wasn't fishing or involved in taking photos for the website, I was stuck on bear duty. So, every three or four minutes (sometimes in lesser intervals) I would say, 'Incoming. Three o'clock.' And one of these guys would show up. (See above)

While these guys, Todd & Ryan, were busy documenting.

It was a little unnerving at first because there was a lot of tall grass but after awhile I sort of got used to having them around.

Doesn't he look cute? Yeah, looks can be deceiving. Later on, this clever boy decided we were a little too close for comfort and decided to charge us. Well, more specifically Todd, but since we were all standing together, we all got the full effect.

Incoming!

(Click on the pic for a detailed version of some lovely sharp teeth)

(And lovely sharp nails)

Scuba Steve! It cracks me up that they stick their heads under the water and look for fish. I guess everyone has their own way of doing things.

This big boy had perched himself on the falls and was waiting for salmon to jump.

(Click the photo for a larger view and you can see all of his battle wounds from other bears)

The falls, so beautiful. When we first got there only a few bears had taken up residence. By the time we left there were about 10-12.

They remind me of really big dogs.

Mr. Grumpy Gus. I love all of their facial expressions.

Hopefully I'll be able to go back in the next couple of years. Later on in the season more bears flock to the falls and that's what I want photos of!

:)

I'm Back!

{Portage Lake}

Can't believe it's been more than 4 months since my last blog post! I was beginning to have serious withdrawals. Summer in Alaska was absolutely amazing. I had lots of long days, lots of hard work but met the best people who I now consider part of my extended family. I don't have nearly enough good things to say about the experience. And the scenery! Oh my stars! I've spent the past week decompressing and getting back into the swing of things. I wasn't acclimating too well at first :)

Anyways, I've had lots of time to plan so I have lots of fun stuff in store for you guys. Here's what you can expect to see in the next few weeks:

30 Days of Photos (with a different prompt for each day)

Wednesday Giveaways are back (starting tomorrow!)

Featured Etsy artists (starting later this month)

MP3 Swap (Cause who doesn't like free music?)

Friday DIY Links

Bloggers To Watch

Free Downloads

Blog revamp

Giveaways

Contests

And more!

If you'd like to check out some more photos from my Alaskan adventure, head over to my travel blog, Wanderlust. I'll be posting them throughout the day.

I hope you all had a wonderful summer and I can't wait to see what you guys have in store for this fall. The Etsy Holiday Boot Camp has started and I'm in dire need of a boot camp buddy so if you're interested, drop me a line :)

Surprise!

Hi! Remember me?

What started off as a simple 2 or 3 day blog "vacation" somehow morphed into an almost 2 month lapse. So very sorry.

A lot has been going on the past month: leaving work, traveling to Texas to see my dad and then turning right around and flying home to Massachusetts for a week to see friends and family there. I'm now back in Tennessee until I fly out yet again for Alaska.

I won't be updating this blog while I'm gone but if you'd like to follow along on my travel adventures, you can head over here.

I wish you all a safe and happy summer.

See you on the flip side

xo, Jen

Scrapbook On The Road {Coming Together}

I love getting stuff in the mail. Especially when it's fun stuff like this! I was a little pleasantly surprised that the 7Gypsies book covers were actually black and not that reddish color in the shop pics. Now that I have it though, I'm not sure if I'm going to use it for the cover. Right now I just have two pieces of chipboard as place holders. They work well so I might just decorate them and use them instead.

These are the first few things I added to the book. I have a clear scroll overlay along with a red envelope underneath for ephemera. Under that is a large craft tag that I added some green ribbon to.

I added quite a few of these opaque velum envelopes. They're just a hair too big for the album but I have a feeling by the time this is completed I'll have bits and bobs stuck out all over the place (like the ribbon). So I'm okay with it.

I punched a few pieces of thin cardboard and added them throughout.

I purchased these Martha Stewart chipboard letters on clearance at Wal-mart. Every once in a while you can find some good crafty things there. I added these to the back of the cardboard. I'm still deciding if I'm going to paint over them or not.

I added a small note card. It's got a birdcage in the corner with the word 'fly' above it. Love this.

More various bits of scrap paper and cardstock I had laying around. I even used some packaging, which you can see on the left side. I plan on covering up the print with photos.

Another craft tags and a piece of brown textured cardstock.

More vellum envelopes. I bought some overlays from Michael's {Ill have to check on the brand and I'll take some photos for you} and I stuck one inside of each. They're all different designs and are all super cute.

I won this on eBay the other day. It's a 7Gypsies wire bound envelope book. I tend to collect a lot of crap while traveling and I honestly don't think all of it will fit in the album so this will be used for backup.

If any of you are also taking part in Ali's Scrapbook on the Road class and are blogging about it, feel free to leave your link in the comments!

Scrapbook On The Road

Over the weekend I purchased the Scrapbook on The Road class from Ali Edwards. It was the best $14 I've ever invested. There's handouts, lists and detailed videos about how to construct your album. She also goes into detail about hunting and gathering ephemera from your trip, adding photos to your book and telling your story.

The first thing I did after reading everything and watching the videos was to go into my studio and sift through stuff to decide what kind of book I would like to create. I will be using this for my trip to Alaska this summer. I didn't want anything too bright and colorful so I'm sticking mostly with neutrals and the occasional pop of color.

I pulled some colored envelopes that I will end up punching and adding to the album. A lot of the supplies on the class list were sold out so I made do with what I had and ended up only ordering a few 7Gypsies items from Etsy. {You'll see these further down the post}

I also pulled some letter and quote stickers from my stash. I may or may not use these in my book but I'll probably take them along with me.

I love these little round travel chipboard stickers. I think I got them at Michaels a few years ago in their $1 bins.

More various bits that I pulled. Once again, I may or may not use them. I'll just wait to see what feel the album takes on and see if they will fit in with the general theme.

I love the tickets and that cute little bird! Those will more than likely get thrown in somewhere.

I ordered a set of 7Gypsies Elizabeth book covers. They measure 5.5"x7".

I also snagged some colored tape, also from 7Gypsies.

I found these 1 3/5" brown rings. I think these would work for a general vacation book but seeing as how I'll be away for 4 months, I may need to upgrade to larger rings.

I also purchased some 7Gypsies mini colored blank labels. Perfect for adding little notes, tags and observations.

Once I get my Etsy items in the mail, I'll punch everything and start working on my foundation pages.

I seriously recommend heading over to check this project out!

{You can find all the information here}

I GOT THE JOB!!!

I'll be spending the summer {almost 4 full glorious months} working in Alaska at a privately owned lodge in the Katmai National Park. It's a few hundred miles SW of Anchorage.

Hiking, canoeing, fishing, photography. I cannot wait!

{all images via weheartit}