Masking Tapes + Travel Journal

More masking tapes! I got them on a recent trip to Portland, OR. I know I don't really NEED them but I'm glad I found a use for them right away. They came in handy for adding little souvenirs to my travel journal, like ticket stubs and business cards.

Catching Up

I am feeling better now but I am behind on everything, including the shop update. I think I will aim for mid November instead and make it even better.

Oh, this computer? It is my new helper, except that it's not helping me catch up. ;) Now all my files from the previous computer and my external hard drive fit comfortably in the new hard drive. I'll still have to spend many more hours consolidating and sorting the files but at least they're all together finally. I'll also need to research and test-drive more wallet-friendly alternatives to Photoshop because my CS2 is refusing to install on the new computer. Apparently, CS2 is not supported on Snow Leopard, and I can't take advantage of the upgrade pricing because you can't upgrade from the suite to just one app. Boo. Anyway, so far in this search for another photo-editing app, I'm learning that I've been spoiled. Very spoiled. *sigh* I miss my workflow in Photoshop.

Here are some links I'd like to share with you for the weekend:

• 2010 letterpress and screenprint 2010 calendar by ilee papergoods: I saw these in person at a local store and they're awesome.
  
• Six ways to turn desire into success: Something I need to work on.
  
• The Daily Figure Blog via the wonderful Pikaland
  
  and last but not least,
  
• Top 5 Alternatives to Photoshop for Mac
  

Hope you have a wonderful weekend and Happy Halloween!

Mother's Day card + masking tapes

Hope you all had a good weekend!
My weekend was quite relaxed.. I got to visit Heath Ceramics at Sausalito to take advantage of their sale and played lots of Ratchet & Clank. I did not spend Sunday with my mom because I'm living very far from my family. :(


But now that Mother's Day has passed, I can share this photo of the card I made for her. I love shopping for cards but this Mother's Day, I didn't find any that I thought she would like, so I just made one. And I know she appreciates handmade cards because last time I sent her a fancy card, she was slightly disappointed that I didn't hand make it.. Oh, Mom.

And yes, that's masking tape. ^^;; I've been itching to use them, so this was a good, very simple project to start with. I'll have to come up with other projects soon. ^^

These three I got at a cool photo store in Tokyo last year, called Monogram (I'm sure I'll talk about this store at another time because it was so nice). Good thing there are many online stores that carry these tapes now, like this one and this one. And if you're in San Francisco area, Kinokuniya Stationery store in Japantown carries some mt brand tapes, too. Awesome.

I'll be back tomorrow with an exciting piece of news I've been keeping a secret. ^^

Goodies from Japan

How was your Memorial Day Weekend?
Mine was relaxing and low key. Except my sister visited me on her way back from Japan. She was there for her vacation and took the trouble of getting me lots of omiyage (Japanese for present/souvenir). w00t! Check these out:

I did ask her to bring me some small alphabet stamps because they are rather painful to hand make.. but she brought alphabets plus more. Like a little bunny. I'm especially excited (and scared) about the multi-color ink pads. How should I use them? Hm..


Well, it's certainly nice to have people who know what you like.. Thanks, sis! You're spoiling me rotten. :)