The best Instagram gift idea: PILLOWS!

OK, let's say this is the second best gift idea! The first is my Instagram photo mosaic case you make yourself!  LOL.  Anyway, I stumbled upon this little site Stitchtagram tonight and I just love this gift idea!  I love anything in a mosaic, so this is right up my alley and I love the instant personalization.  It's a bit pricey, but not if you are wanting something 100% custom and cool.  If you give this as a gift, you KNOW they are going to remember it FOR SURE!



Anyway, just wanted to share this cool new discovery. I'm gonna have to get some PRONTO!



Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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Make your own Tie Dye Towel DIY

I've been wanting to tie dye some random goodies around the house (socks, shirts, towels, onesies and the like) for a while now.  So yesterday, I got busy mixing up and making me a batch of tie dye to do just that!   Here's a fun project that is super, super easy and you end up with a cool, random finished project!  Part of the fun of tie dye is that it is totally unpredictable!  I like it for that reason, cause I'm kinda random and unpredictable. LOL.  Here's how I made this colorful tie dye towel for summer!

I started out with this fun Tulip One-Step Tie Dye kit and surface cover.  Total disclosure...I work for iLoveToCreate, the makers of Tulip.  I have designed many a tie dye package. I've always loved how colorful and vibrant the packaging turns out and it's always fun to see the many photos from the photo shoots we do with the models!  And no, these models didn't actually all pose together.  Our design team likes to work some Photoshop magic to make you think they did, though!

I next used the rubber bands in the kit to tie random areas of my towel.  I didn't have a rhyme or reason as to how I did this, I just scattered them all over in a "starburst" pattern. This technique is one of the many techniques called out in the packaging directions!

Swell Life Adventures

I've been pretty busy lately in the house of SWELL as of late! Thought I'd catch you up on what's been going on my world...

1. I had my personal iPhone stolen (yep, the Instagram one) while buying a Slurpee. Yep, true story, and this is how it breaks down: I went to the 7-11...saw an icky guy (should have trusted my gut and been on high alert)...proceeded to set my phone down 3 feet away from me so I could properly fill my Slurpee cup...paid for my Slurpee...got in my car, drove away, and realized I didn't have my phone when I wanted to take a pic of that said Slurpee...immediately rushed back...had owner of 7-11 call phone...and someone picked it up and hung up.  So, there it is, I got my phone stolen. Dummy me didn't have my photos on the cloud or the Find my iPhone feature set up, so I lost a lot of stuff :(  Life lesson learned!

2. I went to the Michigan International Woman's Show in Novi, Michigan (right outside Detroit) for a week last week for my work, iLoveToCreate.  It was tiring, but a lot of fun! I met so many cool bloggy friends, crafters, and tie dyers in action.  And I got to hang with the most amazing group of talented ladies...Pattiewack, Terri O, Julianna Hudgins, Tiffany Windsor, Lauren Klein-Baltazar, and Savannah Starr. Don't you love my total dorkiliciousness above? LOL!



3. I busted out some 8x10 prints and stickers for Twee Boutique this past week! I've been taking a lot of Fresno signage photos as of late too! I love me some vintage signage!

4. Been picking up lots of fun stuff for my house. Thinking about paint colors, window treatments, photoshopping interiors to get an idea of what I want.  Also adding to my growing collection of colored aluminum while on my thrift shop runs!

5. Tonight I electrocuted myself on the dryer outlet!  OMG! It was so scary.  I guess that outlet isn't grounded and I zapped myself when I touched the metal outlet with the prong connector.  It shot a charge up my arm and made it tingly, but I'm fine now. Scared me more than anything. I know not to go fishing around for an outlet next time. Another lesson learned!

Well, just thought I'd catch you up on my whereabouts and what I've been doing outside of blogland! I've been keeping busy!

Alexa

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My New Retro Striped Tumbler set!

Last week, William and I picked up a couch on Craigslist that I had been eyeing (I plan to reveal it in future posts).  The lady was pretty firm on the price, but she did have some other items for sale. I asked William to see if we could get the asking price + this pitcher and tumbler set thrown in!  BTW, I'm terrible at negotiating.  I could do it if I have to, I just get all nervous and flustered!  Anyway, I think they're pretty rad. I believe they're from the 60's...I should do a little research. They are so bright and colorful and match with my kitchen from 1959.  Fresh squeezed orange juice anyone?  That's another thing William does on a daily basis, make squeezed orange juice. Anyway, I digress...here's some more colorful photos of my new barware.

And they look pretty darn fab with my Marilyn Monroe glasses to boot?  I might also add that I shot these at 7 am in the morning on my counter.  It's such beautiful light, I HAVE to use it more!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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Wednesday is Lensday: The Tulip Gardens at Thanksgiving Point, Utah

The venue for the Snap Conference  absolutely beautiful. It was at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah and the abundance of tulips in bloom was almost overwhelming.  You couldn't help but capture their beauty. Here's just a few of the many shots I took of these colorful flowers!  I wish I had more time to explore the Tulip Gardens!  Hopefully there will be next year.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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My Snap Conference 2012 recap!

This past weekend, I attended the Snap, Creativity at your Fingertips conference in Lehi, Utah! It was a really fun event filled with a slew of amazing and talented women (well, mainly women, I think there were a handful of guys in attendance). I went as a representative for iLoveToCreate, but I also was there as a blogger too, since I do both (for here and my other site FontCrafts).



I was really excited cause I got to meet up with some of my crafty friends from the Crafterminds group. We've created a tight bond on Facebook and Twitter and it was nice to meet everyone in real life! It's always nice to get to break out of the internet box! From left to right: Karen from The Graphics Fairy, Heather from The Sewing Loft, Jennifer from Always in Wonder, Sara of Mom Endeavors, Katie of Sweet Rose Studios, Amy of Decor Hacks, Viv from the V Spot, me, and Heidi from Honeybear Lane. Thanks Katie for the photo.



There were lots of cool sessions to attend. The one above was all about creative collaboration and featured Kim from Today's Creative Blog, Heather from Whipperberry, Jamielyn from i Heart Naptime, and Brooke of the Crafting Chicks. I also attended a session on SEO, from book to blog, and video editing.



One other thing I saw a lot of was some stylin' and profilin' by the attendees. Some of them were dressed to the nines (me, I was dressed for comfort)



I went home with a LOT of contacts, I bet I got over a 100 blogger business cards. I have a lot of following up to do!



And the best part of all? I got to drive around in a Crown V baby! Talk about stylin' and profilin'!

Overall it was a great trip filled with amazing women! I give it two thumbs way up!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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Snapping to it!

Tomorrow morning, I wake up early am (actually, just 6 hours away and I'm not yet done packing) to go to the Snap conference in Utah!  I'm really excited to meet up with craft bloggy friends and make new ones at this event. It's all about craft blogging and is going to be loaded with workshops and speakers from today's hottest craft blogs!

I'm super stoked and not sure what quite to expect. I know I'll be much more nervous when I actually get there. I've just been so busy leading up to it, I haven't had a chance to process it yet!



One of the things I'm really excited about is the Queen Bee Market going on Friday night and Saturday day. There's going to be some fun craft vendors there, so I can't wait to see the goodies! I love me a good craft fair. If you're in the Salt Lake City area, stop by, this event is free and open to the public!

So better get packin' and I'll share updates on twitter and instagram as @swelldesigner and @ilovetocreate.  Please follow me for all the blog fun!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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Instagram Mosaic Photo Phone Cover Tutorial

I've been addicted to Instagram for a while now.  It's the fun little app that lets you color correct your photos in all kind of vintage looks and share them with your Instagram friends. Yes, it's another social network.  I call it the new Flickr, since everyone is sharing photos on it left and right and it's full of hype right now! Instagram is only available for iPhone and Android users and is not a site/progam you can access online.  Since I've got a hankering for it these days and keep up two accounts (@swelldesigner and @ilovetocreate), I thought I'd create a little mosaic of some of my favorite recent photos I've processed using it.  This is super simple to do and you can get your own custom photo background in less than an hour!

All you need to make your own Instagram iPhone background is a clear case (you can buy them on Ebay for a couple bucks each), Photoshop or software editing program, a personal printer, and paper! Here's how I made mine. These are very loose instructions as I often do projects of this nature on the fly!

1. Trace your purchased clear case and openings on paper and scan it in or download this template if you are using a case for the 4G phone. This is the template I used and it is 300dpi for better photo resolution.

2. Open up your template. If you've made your own template you will want to use the magic wand to clear everything but the traced outline.

3. Collect your instagram photos from your phone. Open them in Photoshop and copy and paste them into your document, leaving your template layer as a guideline at the bottom. Each photo will have it's own layer. You can name them if you want to. Select all the layers with photos to proportionally size them at the same time. I chose to make mine 4 across and 8 down, but you can make your photos larger or smaller if you wish.



4. I laid out basic guidelines (I eyeballed them, but you might want to be more precise) and arranged my pictures inside.All my Instagram photos have different border widths and shapes, so I wasn't too worried it they didn't line up perfectly.

5. Once you have your pictures laid out to your liking, copy the bottom template and paste it in a new layer at top. This will be a guideline for cutting your design out once printed. Go back to your bottom layer and fill in your template with a black background. I found that this helped unify the photos, but you can leave it white if you wish.

6. Print out your background. Use scissors or an X-acto to cut out your design. Insert into your clear iPhone case and you have a cool new case to show off that is uniquely all your own!



Do you have the Instagram fever yet? I can only imagine it growing even more in popularity since Facebook just bought it for 1 BILLION dollars! Do you think you might just make your own mosaic background for your phone?

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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