It's Stamptoberfest, don't ya know?! Over at Two Peas in a Bucket, we've been having a blast creating creating creating! American Crafts has sponsored a HUGE giveaway in honor of this annual event. So what is Stamptoberfest exactly? It's basically a party. A huge party where everyone creates, shares, challenges, and inspires. Just within the last few days I've created so many projects! 1 layout, 1 mini book, and 5 cards! I never would have accomplished that much without the help of this event and I most definitely wouldn't have delved into the cobwebby confines of my stamp bin. And that's just sad! Because I have a lot of great stamps that have just been itching to be taken out of their box, inked, and applied to paper. These are just a few of the cards I've created in the last few days.
My favorite project, by far and away is the mini book/pocket card I created as a birthday gift for Matt. I played off the title of the movie "500 Days of Summer". Summer being the main character's girlfriend. I haven't seen it yet but I'm dying to do so.
If you don't know me and Matt's story or if you need a little refresher, here goes! Matt and I were both part of the Mountbatten Program in London. I started the program in September and he started it 6 months later in March. Being that the program is small, we knew of each other but didn't really "know" each other until one fateful day when Sarah dragged me along for a night out with the "Marchie's" {insert shudder here}. But it turned out to not be so bad and I got to "know" this one guy who I'd previously written off. He was funny and charming and very sweet. We had a lot of fun together that first night but neither one of us was thinking seriously about any kind of relationship.
Fast forward to a month before I left London. We had started to hang out a lot. We got to know each other a little bit better. We got to appreciate each other's sarcastic and argumentative natures. But our time together was rapidly coming to end. And neither one of us felt comfortable bringing up THE topic. What was going to happen when I left? {dum dum dum} So I left, and I missed him so much, and I was so sad that I had to leave this really amazing guy that I had barely got the chance to know. I even wrote him a lengthy letter on that plane ride home. It was more for therapy and not something I ever intended to send. I did end up sending it to him at some point. Probably just to prove a point knowing me.
But we missed each other so much. I remember searching frantically for his number and having to overcome so many obstacles to finally get it (no thanks to EVAN!!). But that first talk was so calming and so natural. It was so nice just to hear his voice. So that's how we started, slowly and gradually. We talked occasionally and then e-mailed more. Then talked more and e-mailed everyday. Then we were suddenly in this long distance relationship that neither one of us had ever intended to happen and were definitely not expecting. But like they always say, you find someone when you least expect it.
We celebrate October 4 as our anniversary. Mainly because Matt drunkenly (the only way he would have worked up the courage!) asked if he could call me his girlfriend. And as you can see, I said that he could. Even though we're constantly 1000's of miles away from each other! In the past 365 odd days, we've each lived in three different countries on three different continents. Doesn't make it easy to have a relationship, even a fledgling one like Matt's and mine. But somehow, despite all of the odds, we're still together. And he's actually been there for me as best as he can be through all of the difficulties of this past year. I love him a ton and I'm so grateful to have him.
Hence the creation of this little book for his birthday. Why "53" you might ask? Because of those same 365 odd days that we've been a couple, we've only spent 53 of them in the same city. That's not a lot of time but its time that we both cherish. He's so fun to be around and I miss him so much when he's gone.
This was created as part of the pocket challenge featured at 2Ps. The paper is Sassafras Lass and basically did all of the work for me, being that it's so gorgeous! I created the little mini calendars in Excel and stamped out all of the days that we were actually able to be together. A grand total of 53. There's tons of photos included in the book and if you click on the title under the photos you can see more. [[FYI: If you click on any of the titles on any of my posts, they're direct links to my 2Ps account which will show you more pictures and more product detail.]]
I would have to say Stamptoberfest has been a very fruitful experience for me. I've had so much fun, stayed up way to late, ate way too much chocolate, indulged in far too many challenges, and just generally had a blast listening to my tunes, watching the odd movie, dancing around in my pjs and creating. Always creating.
xxbesos
j.leija
HI!! glad I found your blog! you've done some pretty amazing work this week!!! love the mini album!
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