Time for New Projects

Halloween is over and now its time to start getting ready for Christmas. Starting the day after Thanksgiving, LDP will be releasing all of our Christmas items, as well as a few never before seen items!

We are also excited to announce that we will be working in partnership with a new company, Endless Summer! I have been working with some new products and supplies and I can't wait to get them out to show yall. Most of these items will have a vintage look and will make excellent Christmas presents for a loved on.

Check back soon to see what we've been cooking up!

Halloween at ELS

Pics of me and my sister Jessica.

New Halloween Items!

I'm really excited to show yall what I've been working on. I really love this time of year because of the cool weather and the colors from all the foliage. But I especially love Halloween. Its just fun and it makes me feel like a kid again....mostly it gives me an excuse to dress up and be silly! I'll have more items posted by the end of the week but here are some of he things now available through the 'SHOP' link at the top and at my Artfire shop.

Facebook Fan Page

LPD now has a new facebook fan page! Join us on facebook and get updates in your news feed.

Inside look at the London Book

Jill's Art Journal

My friend Jill is going to England as part of a student exchange program and will be studying art and traveling around London for a month this summer. She's asked me to create a book that she can take with her that is "London themed." Now normally I like making things that look a bit weathered and aged but I couldn't really find any embellishments that went that direction. Most of the stickers and papers I found were more modern and edgy. I wanted the whole book to feel cohesive so...this was a bit of a challenge for me! Here are a few pictures of the cover...more pics to come soon!

On the left is the full cover. The main feature is the St. George's cross and then lots of sketches and doodles of the word London and 2010. There are also a couple of other things hidden in there like Jill's name and I hid my own name in there too. You'll probably also see a paint brush and the British flag and above the 'red London' there is a crown. And if you look REALLY close you can see my double decker bus that turned out to look like a skateboard...lol whoops!

You've Got Mail

Why is it that no one sends mail anymore? True, email is free, but a letter only costs about 42 cents. I get much more excited when I get a letter than when I get an email. PLus who doesn't want mail that isn't a bill right?

So I'm working on products right now that encourage mailing more letters. The first one will be a mailable book. Much like a mini version of my naked books, this one will not be as thick but can be mailed and shaped more like an envelope. There will be a few to choose from. I plan on starting with craft paper ones that can be stamped, collaged on, or drawn on. I'll prob have a few that come pre-stamped with postage marks as well.

Once I get those down pat, I'm gonna start on patterned ones and a using my usual recycled materials (maps and book pages/covers).

In addition to these, I'm also making mountains of recycled magazine envelopes, and cards to send to someone special.

On a side note: I'll be putting pics of these up soon. I don't have my camera at the moment. I left it in my sister's purse when she came to visit me last and she took it home with her on accident lol. Hopefully very soon there be pics up. I'm going to try and include pictures of the process as well so you can see how these letter books are made!

3-D Collage

Yesterday was my sister's birthday...yay! So instead of buying her a present I used some of the materials I had left over from other projects and made her a 3-D collage for her wall.

I started with a 2x3 foot cardboard backing tha

t you can find in most picture frames. I used cardstock

and magazine clippings to create the thought bubbles. The bubbles that pop off the pge are held by more cardboard.

May 3rd Photos

(top right) Sticker from Laura and the mystery bolt I found on my bed. (top center) Garage sale blender I scored on Saturday with Soleil and Brad wooo! Now I can start my paper making! (top right) I finally finished the CASA Nights volunteer appreciation invitation and they loved it. (bottom) This puzzle was really bad for my self-esteem...I couldn't get the pieces to fit so I just started putting things together that 'kinda' fit until Soleil told me thats not how it works. Bah! also...we are missing part of Edward's head....

Project 365

I'm starting project 365 today and I'm very excited! Hopefully this will help me improve my photography skills along the way. I'm hoping to post all the pics from the week on sundays from here on out. Stay tuned!

Priorities?!

For the past few months I've been preparing for a big change that is about to happen in the near future. I had everything planned out and time tables as far as how things should progress at work and school and with my business.

But life just loves to throw a wrench in there, doesn't it?....

The past few days have been...for lack of a better word...difficult to deal with. On top of the stress of everything I already do on a daily basis, more has been added. And yesterday someone told me what they thought my priorities should be...Work.

I already work 7 days a week....and on Thursdays...I don't sleep....at all....thats right...just like your favorite vampire! So, in disbelief I looked at her and thought to myself, 'What have my priorities been?' Work....then school....then everything else....mind you...I have a mountain of laundry on my floor that has been accumulating for 3 weeks now. So when I say "everything else" I mean..nothing else. Nothing else comes before work and then school.

So I thought...what have I NOT been doing?

I haven't been eating right or cooking

I haven't been exercising.

I haven't been doing my physical therapy exercises for my back everyday like I'm supposed to.

I haven't been studying as much as I should be.

I haven't been working on any of my projects for my business.

I haven't been able to spend as much time with my family and friends.

I defiantly haven't done any laundry....or dishes...or vacuuming...or any cleaning for that matter.

And I rarely sleep.

I've worked myself to death. And now someone is standing there telling me I don't work enough and I need to re-examine my priorities. Well...now I have and I think she's right. I traded my health and my happiness for money and a good work reference. It embarrasses me to admit this. Not because I didn't also love my job, but because I put important things aside so I could work more hours.

So bring on the fresh start! and bring on the happiness....its long overdue.

New Book Design and Photo's of Recent Projects

My friend Elizabeth has just asked me to create another wedding album and a few baby books. So I've decided to do things a little different this time. I'm going to make an accordion album like the cigar box book (you can see that on the flicker page.) And the baby books are going to be about half the size of an 8.5x11 piece of paper, but the spine will be at the top instead of on the side like a regular book. The pages will flip upwards. Stay tuned for some pictures of those!

I promised a LONG time ago that I would include more pics of my 'mystery project' once it was completed. What was I working on?! Well....it was a wedding album for my mom. I used a recycled expandable file and sewed pages into it. I've included some pictures below!

Front Cover(left), View of the spine(right)

Pages(left), Inside Cover(right)

Example of inside pages

Audrey's Back

Its been way too long since I posted anything here. Now that the holiday season is over...way over, its time for me to get back to work. I've started making a new batch of books and there are even some new items in the works! Larger books and stickers are just a few of those. I'll be posting pictures as soon as they are complete.