IS•LY

Show your friends some love! I know y’all think it’s fun to get something other than a bill or an ad in the mail. I think all of you should print this card and send it to someone you think is cool. I sure did (and it wasn’t addressed to me).

Download the Indie Wolf Card Here

Download the Envelope Template Here

This card was inspired by this wolf shirt, which Chris and I think is super cool. You know what’s even cooler? The card fits perfectly inside the printable envelope I designed a while back. Click on the links above to download the card & envelope.

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This morning as I was making the internet rounds, I found out that I won the Whrrl/SocialLuxe Lounge BlogHer Scholarship! This truly is such a dream. I can’t wait to party with the ladies in the Windy City. Thanks to all of you that “liked” my story and to everyone who reads this blog. I can’t wipe the incredibly large smile off my face, I’m just too stinking excited.

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I’m sure there’s a different word for Brother-in-law, but I guess Eric will probably learn that one while he’s in Honduras for the next two years. Just before he left, I made him a journal, which hopefully  he’ll keep while there. He is in for a serious adventure and we’re going to miss him.

While making this journal I realized, or rather it was pointed out to me, that I have very few masculine patterned papers. Although the brown with Paisley is feminine, I think it’s still a pretty masculine book. In addition to making the journal, I made a magnetic bookmark (like what I made for Maggie). I think these things are so handy, and pretty darn awesome!

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Two days ago, my sister-in-law and I went to D. I. to search for some new vintage dresses. Shelley truly has the eye for finding sweet stuff! I had a hard time not buying all of the dresses I tried on and this particular dress is just awesome. It’s sheer, flowy and ruffly; perfect for all of the latest summer fashions. One problem, it had bishop sleeves and I have a hard time pulling them off.

In just a few minutes, I chopped the sleeve off and made a short pleated sleeve. I’ve fallen in love all over again with my new summer dress. The best part?!? This entire ensemble was under $15:

Dress: $4 (Deseret Industries)
Belt: $9 (Forever 21)
Shoes: Free (Payless–won them on a giveaway)

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My heart is racing and I’ve had butterflies in my stomach for the last week. I can’t stop thinking about going to BlogHer! Christopher was going to surprise me with a ticket to BlogHer a couple of months ago, but soon found out it was all SOLD OUT! I’ve been given one more chance to get to go to BlogHer, thanks to Whrrl and SocialLuxe Lounge. For the contest we had to answer the questions, How has blogging made you famous? and Why should YOU go to BlogHer? all with the Whrrl photo story format.

I hadn’t heard of Whrrl until just a couple of weeks ago when my friend told me about the contest. It’s a very new site (from what I gather), that caters to blogging all from your phone. It’s a cool idea, to blog on the go letting your followers and friends know what you’re up to and where. There’s a bit of a learning curve with the platform, but it’s sweet that you can sync your stories with facebook and twitter.

So if you please, check out Whrrl and read my story! Help me get to BlogHer by clicking the “I Like” heart button underneath the first photo. Please pass the word to your friends, because I would REALLY like to go.

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Whrrl Me to BlogHer Photo Sonnet

Whrrl Me to BlogHer Photo Sonnet

Grew up artsy and crafty, made stuff from the start.
Design, cook, paint, sew –– my life story.
My man calls me names like “clever” and “smart”.
Not enough! Give me fame! Give me glory!

Launched a blog in oh-seven to showcase my work,
counting Google stats on my right hand.
Lust for comments hit hard, I was begging “De-lurk!”
and with one breakout post fame began.

The readers poured in once I made Design Mom,
and my Poopy Clutch hit the prime time.
Blog after blog played my cute, crafty song,
throwing link love my way –– so sublime.

Web fame comes on fast, next step’s no surprise;
snag a jet to BlogHer’s Windy City.
I’ll meet, greet and network with stars in my eyes,
making friends with the fresh, fun and witty.

Twitter peeps, Friend Connect, to blog’s A-list I go!
Por favor, Whrrl me off to Chicago?!

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IS•LY has a new friend: Weather Girl! I’m very excited about Aimee Sicuro’s work, she has such a playful point of view and uses such vibrant colors. I can’t help but think any of her prints would be a great addition to my future home.

From left: Inside Out and I Miss the Idea of You

I’ve been doing a lot of yoga and I miss San Francisco terribly, so naturally the above two prints are my favorite. You should check out the Weather Girl shop, you’ll likely find something you can’t live without!!

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I’ve been kicking this idea for a card for a while now, and finally I’ve mustered the motivation to do it. Yup, My middle name is procrastination.

I’ve noticed a SERIOUS moustache trend about the internet/indie crowd recently, and I wanted to tell Christopher that he’s a very cool dad. I really made this card just for him, but I’m sure there might be some dads out there that are cool, too. Maybe this would be a good last-minute card. Although I’m giving this card to Chris for father’s day, there’s no reason you couldn’t send a cool man in your life a little love any day of the year.

Click here to download the Father’s day Tri-fold Card

Click here to download the plain “You are so Indie” card

Happy Father’s day, Chris. You’re a wonderful dad.

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I really love your emails, thank you!! After I posted about Brooke’s book, I got a few responses from readers interested in Father’s day/tribute books. It was a pleasant surprise and I had a lot of fun making something special and memorable for the men in these ladies’ lives.

Two of the books I bound were tribute books with printed text from family members and friends. I can’t tell you enough how much I love this idea. Funny, Marissa and Audrey both wanted the cork/leather combination. I don’t blame them, if you could feel the cork and leather materials, you’d just drool. I love how yummy these books turned out.

In addition to making the custom tribute books for Marissa and Audrey, I also made a blank journal for a fellow blogger, Pattie. I love the checked paper and I’ve got a huge soft spot in my heart for the Coptic bind. The stitching is just so beautiful and theraputic. It’s also perfect for a pass-around book because the pages lay flat, perfect for writing in. Have I told you how much I love bookbinding?!? I got a year’s supply of PVA in the mail yesterday along with some beautiful paper from paper-source, so off I go to make some more books!!

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My motivation for making the cupcake box was fueled largely because I was dying to experiment with a cupcake recipe I had floating around in my head. Despite my doubts at various times in the process, the cupcakes turned out mind-blowingly yummy. It took some effort, but not as much as a Christmas Yule log.

I had seen a blog post somewhere (it’s really too bad I don’t remember which blog I saw it on) about how Baskin Robbins serves ice cream in chocolate molded into cupcake cups. My mouth started salivating, I’m really on a chocolate kick right now. However, as much as I like chocolate, though, I really, REALLY hate eating chocolate chunks cold. THEN, my head started thinking about how easy it would be to use that idea for cupcakes.

Here’s what I did (I made 18 cupcakes):

1. melt chocolate (dark) with a tablespoon or two of butter in a double boiler
2. spoon chocolate into silicone cupcake cups and swirled it around until the cupcake cup was evenly coated
3. refrigerate cups for a couple of hours
4. make chocolate cake batter (from a box)
5. spoon batter into a mini cupcake pan and bake according to box directions (all while chocolate cupcake cups are still in the fridge)
6. boil a can of sweetened condensed milk in a pan for an hour and 15 minutes (directions on how to do this HERE)
7. allow the caramelized milk and mini cupcakes to cool (overnight or in the fridge for a few hours)

Here’s how I assembled it:

1. spoon the caramelized milk into a ziplock or pastry bag and pipe a tablespoon or two of caramel mixture into each cup
2. place mini cupcakes inside and push down to spread caramel around
3. frost with frosting
4. place in the refrigerator to cool before serving
5. eat at room temperature

How to make the Frosting:

1. whip cream (1-2 cups) to stiff peak
2. blend in blender or food processor a cup or two of coconut (to taste)
3. fold coconut and 3-4 tablespoons of powdered sugar into whipped cream and pipe on top of cupcakes.

I thoroughly enjoyed the cupcakes (so did the rest of the Esplin clan). This cupcake was kind of a mash-up of three desserts that remind me of my childhood. The chocolate, caramel and coconut flavors remind me of my mother’s German Chocolate cake that she’d make for me every year for my birthday (my favorite), the whip cream, chocolate and caramel flavors remind me of my dad’s score cake (or better-than-sex cake). Yup, my dad cooks. He’s cool. The coconut and whip cream frosting reminds me of a Sunday dessert that my grandma Scott used to make often (oh how I miss her). So really, this cupcake is heaven for me because it reminds me of some of my favorite people and how much I love them.

I had some extra cake left over so I sliced some banana on top of the cake, frosted it and served it with a caramel sauce. This disappeared just as fast as the cupcakes did. I’ll definitely be repeating this in the future. MMM!

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I really miss my old job, creating posters and banners for student activities, from my old school days. I think that’s part of the reason why I even have a blog in the first place. It’s always needing to be redesigned and modified, so I can flex what little graphic design muscles I have. I always get so excited when I get the opportunity to design for someone else. It’s just so fun to work on fun/unique design projects.

A couple of months ago a friend of mine, Stacy Hart, emailed me to see if I would make some designs for her etsy shoppe. I got particularly excited because there are so many crappy etsy banners out there. She just opened shop and I really want to brag about the design.

Above left: Sketch straight from my sketchbook. Above right: Finished version

I think the name she came up with was super cute. Kind of like heart + soul, but her last name is Hart and she likes to sew. Anyway, you should check out the hart+sew etsy shop which has the MOST adorable hand sewn clothes from vintage patterns. Check out the hart+sew blog, too, it’s full of great ideas and Stacy’s super cute projects.

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I was emailing back and forth with ISLY reader, Cathy, who gave me such a great idea. She had been looking for a box template that she could use for packaging 1 cupcake. I thought I could really use one of those, too, especially since I had also been thinking up a crazy cupcake recipe that used molded chocolate as the cupcake cup. MMM. Chocolate. Seriously, no better time to make a cupcake box than when I’m dying to make cupcakes.

The template is great, the box is fabulous (not just for cupcakes, mind you), the only problem with this template is that you have to print it on either two sheets of 8.5×11 paper and tape the two parts together, OR you have to go somewhere to get it printed on 11×17 paper. While that might be a little inconvenient, it still only takes a few minutes to make the boxes anyway. If I had any parties coming up anytime soon, I would definitely use this idea for favor boxes.

Seriously I’m on a party/wedding kick. I never really satiated my hearty party cravings with Penelope’s birthday. Now that my sister is getting married and I’m helping her out with invitations and inspiration, I’m GOING CRAZY. I want to party! Maybe I should just have a random party anyway. This could also serve some purpose for Father’s day. Oh gosh, it’s coming so quickly.

Download the template and instructions here.

Have access to an 11 x 17 printer? Download the un-cropped template here!

I’m really happy with this little box. It fits cupcakes perfectly with plenty of room for greedy fingers to take a cupcake out and for the cupcake to be piled high with sugary, sweet frosting. Give it a try! Also, stay tuned as I will be sharing an amazing, almost-better-than-sex, mind-exploding cupcake recipe soon!!

As always, I’m happy to share downloads and tutorials with you for free, but they’re for personal use ONLY. Thank you.

Thanks to Rachel over at One Pretty Thing for featuring this freebie!

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First of all, I have to thank everyone who reads this blog, has started following this blog, voted (and still voting) for me over at Social Luxe and also to everyone who has participated in this giveaway! I really appreciate your support and enthusiasm!

The winner for the Bubble onesie is:

Wendy Lee!

who said, “What a fun giveaway. Claire would look great in the onesie!”

(You better send me pictures!!)

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The winner for the book is:

Lindsey Johnson!

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First Giveaway: An Adorable Bubble Baby Onesie

It’s funny, I had a bunch of onesies made for gifts and most of them ended up at my sister’s or ungifted and unused. Penelope had one, which was really fun for me since I made them before she was even a twinkle in the eye, but she grew out of it so fast. I love this onesie, it’s just a pity Penelope grew up entirely too fast.

So, if you have a kid that fits into 9-12 month onesies, or you know someone who might, comment on this post to enter to win it!! Here are the rules:

• Click over to the comments section
• Post a comment, any comment
• Only one comment per person
• Comment by Sunday, June 7th at midnight

If you don’t want to take your chances on winning, I have one more left that I’ve posted in the IS•LY Etsy shoppe.

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Second Giveaway: A Handbound Japanese Stab Bound Journal

Follow my blog through google friend connect (on the right sidebar) and you’ll be entered to win this hand bound, hard cover Japanese Stab bound Journal! Already a friend through google friend connect? You’re already entered!! Follow this blog by Midnight, June 7th to enter. Anonymous followers don’t count, sorry.

Click here to learn how to make your own Stab Bound journal, or Click here to buy a handmade book!

ALSO, while you’re clicking around the internet, take a moment to vote for me for “Blog You’ve learned the most from” award. One vote per person per day, so vote for me everyday!!! Your votes are appreciated!!

Note: All winners are chosen randomly, either out of a hat or through random.org. Bonnes Chance!

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A few of you have noticed a new button up on the advertiser sidebar, and I’d like to make the introduction! I’m really excited about Princess Lasertron, seriously if I could get married all over again, I would have her do my flowers.

I just think it’s so genius to make your own wedding flowers!

Check out the Princess Laserton blog, and visit the etsy store! The store is full of sweet diddies and felt flower kits!!

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I’ve been nominated for the “Blog You’ve Learned the Most From” and “Best Eye Candy Blog” Blogluxe awards! BUT, it’s up to you to help me!  Here’s what you need to do:

• Go to the Social Luxe website.
• Go to the “Blog You’ve Learned the Most From” and/or “Best Eye Candy Blog” category and click on “Vote” under yours truly, IS•LY.
• You can vote EVERY DAY between now and July 6th, and please do!  Set a phone/or email reminder to help you remember!
• Visit the other categories and vote for other sites that you follow or discover some new sites.

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog. I’m happy that you’re here.

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