Sending YOU Love


I'm not the type of gal to usually spot the perfect rounded number on my speedometer...
but today I did catch that my blog following has reached 200!
I can't really put into words how that feels... but if I might try...
it's like walking on clouds
a sunny day in the middle of a Portland Winter
an unexpected gift in the mail

Thank You Friends
for saying hello... sharing your thoughts
and being my friend... you're all AWESOME IN MY BOOK!


So lets talk about sending "love mail"
I love mail! Who doesn't?
well I do hate paper wasting stupid junk mail and bills
but I LOVE all the rest
package or envelope it really doesn't matter


Many of you have asked if I was planning on making cards sometime in the future
and believe it or not the future is very very near.
I am quite terrified of printers, but with some encouragement
and advice from my friend Cate
(who just happens to be having an amazing giveaway right now)
AND my very sweet husband that reminded me to breath
I successfully printed 10 sample postcards which I am sending off to Sadie for this years Lollishops Press Kits for Silver Bella 2009.
Now I'm on the hunt for the perfect paper and to create my own custom postcard design.
I had some items to mail out tomorrow and realized I was out labels.
So I quickly came up with these.
The cupcake is a new design... i'm still working on.
Pretty sure he's going to be party of my Valentine Kit available in January.


This amazing treat was sent to my e-mail this evening!
Karen purchased my kit just this morning and by the time I got home from work
she had created this adorable birthday invitation for her 3 year old.
I was so moved! It's been such a quick but crazy journey
to this new adventure of digital kit making
and it's going to take time before I find my market
plus really believe that I belong amongst such amazing designers.
but seeing so many of the elements of my kit come together
in such an adorable way
made my heart sing
and gave me a second wind!
THANK YOU KAREN!

There is one more person I want to thank tonight
and that is my dear friend Danielle Thompson
I would have never had the courage to try learning Illustrator on my own
and I am constantly inspired by her kindness and her amazing talents as an artist.
And in the spirit of this post I would like to share some of her new products
for sending the sweetest parcels to those you love


Just tonight I printed these dang cute labels
inspired by Danielle's vintage camera collection
reminding mail carriers to deliver your mail safe and sound


From stamps to stickers to print them yourself
There is something special that is sure to work for you
and as I have shared time and time again
her DIGITAL KITS are all so dang cute
no wonder she proudly calls them Kitschy Digitals!
Thank You Danielle for being such a great friend!


Well I hope you feel the love!
Blogging really isn't all that fun
if you don't have a friend or two to share it with
so to have 200 is 100 times the fun!

THANKS!
Chelsea Ann

Little Space. Big Inspiration



I've been having one of those weeks
one of those please let me rewind
and hope that this time the ending will turn out differently
but at the same time I know it will all be okay
and this is the way it has to and perhaps even should be.
I was however surprised with a happy cheerful bit of news
Today, Hand Made News posted an article about my studio
I am really pleased with the way it reads.
Thanks to Mimi Guethe
for her wonder way of sharing and editing my answers to her thoughtful questionnaire.
I have done a few written interview before and am always a bit embarrassed by the end result
I'm not a writer... you all know this well by now


I am very pleased to share that any creative space no matter how small
can inspire creativity and bring joy to your heart.
I recently had a friend over who had only seen my home from my photographs
it was funny to see her response to just how small my creative space is
Camera angels can do magic


The important thing is to fill your home
and especially your studio with the things that make you the most happy
for me that is gifts from friends, vintage treasures, and lots of color.


This is a space (from a dear friend) that really captures
that rules in decorating should be thrown out the window
when it comes to your happy place
You can hardly walk into this lovely sweet room it is so full of treasures
but your instantly happy, instantly girlish and...
very ready for a tea party
If you don't have a happy space of your own or aren't feeling that inner che
please let yourself let-go of convention and logic and find your own little nook
or put all you favorite treasures on the shelf just cluttered with books.
be bold- be happy!

1000 Cranes


In 2003 my mother married her prince charming
I was still in high school when they met
and at the time I wasn't too keen on the idea of my mom dating
let a lone being in love
but time passed and this new stranger became a friend and then family
and today my DAD!
I never thought I would want to call him dad
the word dad was tainted
and I thought I would never have that little girl fantasy
of being her daddy's little angel
but as time passes old scares slowly fade
and new beginnings emerge
I am now a beloved daughter
to a wonderful man
who bring so much joy to my mother
and to ME!


My family has never been the cookie cutter standard
but I have been blessed to have more family and more love because of it
With a new dad came new grandparents
from the very start I have loved them as they have loved me
they have a very special place in my heart.


Last Year they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
I wish I knew more of their story
such a unique couple to have met over seas
and to start a new life in America


My grandmothers name is Chizuru
Meaning "A Thousand Cranes" in Japanese
we call her Tomi for short derived from her maiden name.
I wonder what it is like to have you name changed half way through life?
Did you know that only a hand full of people call me Chelsea Ann
in fact when I asked the Priest during my wedding rehearsal
to announce me by my full name
my mother laughed.


Working with Tomi's images from her girlhood is so much fun
she is such a beautiful person and she has so much spirit and charm about her


I just adore her style so sweet and chic


I never can stick to one style with my scrapbook
Each new page starts with a blank canvas and an image
and from there magic or disaster...
oh yes sometimes things just don't work out
but other times it's like a puzzle coming together.

What are your favorite memories to scrapbook?
I can't wait to have little one's of my own
Baby Books are the sweetest...
which reminds me to tell you that yes I am working on a baby themed digital kit!
Actually I think there will be many baby themes... so many ideas!!! So many!!!

I best be off... please visit my Flickr Scrapbook Set
for all the kit information for each page
and to see the images larger
(why oh why does Blogger hate me as of late!?
the sizing and colors are off and oh my even pixillation!)

Happy week to you!
Chelsea Ann


Big Red goes to see Something Big and Red


No matter how careful you are
Life happens
This was the start of our trip to the Red Wood Forest
poor tree - this isn't the first time it had been hit it appeared
lesson learned: Trees curve from where they planted
This wasn't the only mishap though
we also nocked a hole in the bathroom sink by leaving the leaky iron in it
and other silly things not worth mention
The thing is you will learn a lot on your first real trip in a camping trailer


Like puppy dogs will bark at any noise they hear
keeping the whole campgrounds awake at night and annoyed by day
Little boys will want to puddle hop every time they go outside
so bring LOTS of extra clothing
and no matter what - your camper will be thrashed
good thing we replaced the carpets already
in exchange from wood overlay


As you can see I was blessed to travel with the CUTEST camper ever!
His momma is a friend from work
and we all traveled from Portland to the Red Wood Forest Together
This little man and I were tight the whole trip
he even said
" I want Chelsea to be my new momma because she is pretty and has toys!"
what more can I say... he was the best part of the whole trip!!!


Well the trees were BIG
even bigger than Paul and Babe


I just love this picture
all the different expressions... priceless!


This place is called the Trees of Mystery
and you get to ride a gondola
and take in this beautiful view
Can you see the ocean?


I would highly recommend the Trees of Mystery
they have a great walking path and descriptions of all the different varieties of trees
I thought the trees would just be BIG
but oh no they are also weird!
Such as trees growing on top of trees... very strange indeed.


Here is an example of exactly that...
had you any clue?


the tree grouping here is called a cathedral
and marriage ceremonies take place under it a couple time each year
It would be very romantic.


When we had seen just about enough trees for one trip we all went to the beach
It was the puppies first time and they loved it

Unfortunately we didn't always stay together as a group
but my friend shared he amazing pictures with me
and they are just TO) CUTE for words!




I am so glad that we made this trip
I've been wanting to go since childhood
my only regret is that
we didn't drive through any trees
but we did see a
DINOSAURS


A rather nice fellow actually
ummm it's far to much work to fix and re position this photo...
but seriously I can NOT spell lately!!! Not that I ever could
but Honestly!!!! I have a problem!


Sadly and at the same time thankfully
all trips must come to an end
It will probably be the last Airstream trip until the spring
Big Red needs some love
(lets all cross our fingers the crunched up back pops out smoothly)


I'm sorry it took so long to finally share this trip with you
but as you can see there was much editing to be done
but it's nice to go back through the pictures
and relive in my mind the wonderful adventures we had

Have a wonderful Weekend Friends!
~ Chelsea Ann

It's A Party!

Photobucket


YEAH! My first ever digital kit is now available!!!!
This kit was made with much love and I am so pleased to share it with all of you!
Create lasting memories on your computer or by printing to your hearts delight
or create unique gifts for friends and family,
the ideas are limitless! So what are you waiting for?
The fun is all waiting for you under the big top!
PLUS you can upgrade to a commercial license for just $5 more

Purchase your kit at the

Not sure what a digital kit is?
This kit includes 25 individual items including background pages, vintage inspired stickers, and scanned images from a 1930's picture dictionary and other fun vintage copyright free images
these images are super easy to use and manipulate
the digital scrapbook pages below show just how flexible this kit can be
From layering the backgrounds, incorporating elements from other designers kits,
to creating a unique style all your own.


ah, wasn't my hubby such a cutie!?

For you new to digital scrap-booking
don't be intimidated
I have NO graphic design background
I prove that you can teach yourself
all you need is photoshop and a bit of patience and determination
If I was to sum up ~ Remember layers are your friend as are the layer affects
and Free Transform, Free Transform, Free Transform
and get yourself a copy of Photoshop for dummies
(whatever addition you might have such as C2, C3, C4)

Additional credits for the scrapbook pages above:


A very sweet friend has offered to let me use her button maker sometime soon
So I started playing around with some ideas
Really shows just how versatile this kit can be
would be really fun to use for creating birthday cards and announcements
or decorating a lunchbox with stickers...

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Creating this kit was especially fun - There is just SO much inspiration out there
I could have gone on and on and filled the kit with 50 or more images
but I have other kits in my mind and I am eager to switch
to a new but equally fun and of coarse vintage inspired theme.

Oh~ and did I mention I have treats for you!
You can download this Circus Mini kit by just clicking here


and drag and drop this ooobber cute activity page on to your desktop
to entertain yourself or your kiddies on a lazy afternoon.


and last but very much not least in the very slightest
If you purchase your Circus Party Kit from now until Thursday evening
your name will be put in for a very special drawing~
to win a $20 gift card to use in either of my stores

Now that's a TREAT!
Thank you all for visiting!

~Chelsea Ann

P.S. Once again I have to apologize that the Airstream adventure post keeps getting pushed back! FRIDAY I PROMISE!!!!