WOW.

It's been almost an entire YEAR since I last posted. 

I guess you could say I've been taking a bit of a break from blogging :P

Well, I thought I'd just pop in to say hello and that I think I just might start posting here again.  

Get. 

Excited.

xoxo!

Layouts Galore

I have to admit, I've been a bit behind in my digi-scrapping lately.  I'll tell you why shortly...it's exciting ;)

But first things, first.  I am a Creative Team member over at Jessica Sprague and not gonna lie, it's pretty darn cool.  I love love love the designer's products.  They just keep getting better and better and so much fun to work with.  It's also way cool being one of the first to know all the awesomeness going on behind the scenes...and let me tell ya, there is serious awesomeness in the works!

Anyways, just thought I'd share some of my recent layouts I made using gorgeous products sold over at Jessica Sprague.

Those are my nieces in the photos by the way...oh they are just too cute! 

Brilliant!

Do you ever look at products or websites that are the most simplest, brilliant concept and think to yourself...OMG I totally could have done that!  Well I say that to myself pretty much everyday.  If I'd stop wasting so much time hopping around the web, maybe I'd actually bring one of my brilliant ideas to life before someone else does!

Anyways, I stumbled upon the most fabulous site the other day...Sent Well...have you seen it??  I LOVE the concept.  Basically they describe their business as the following:  "Real cards, handwrittten messages, stamped & sent for you."

The idea is really so simple...I totally could have done it!  But alas, they beat me to it ;)
Anyways, you simply hop onto their site, pick a card you like (they have cute, artsy cards), type out the message you want on the card and then they will stamp and mail it for you!  Brilliant!

Have you noticed that business concepts that allow us to be super lazy are way successful.  Just an observation... ;)

Anyways, there's another brilliant site that I would highly suggest visiting...

drum roll please...

well, it would be my very own Sara McCarthy Designs website.  That's been my summer project...and I'm super excited about it.  It's almost ready for public viewing, but if you'd like to take a peek now please do!  I'd love for you to stop by and say hello!

 

Sara McCarthy Designs

For My Love...

Today I celebrated a mini anniversary with my boyfriend.  I love him tremendously and wanted to find a cute way to tell him just how much I love and appreciate him...  

So I surprised him with this...

It's a cute little box filled with Reese's Peanut Butter cups (the photo is not the best, but I totally dig Hipstamatic and can't stop taking pics with it!).  On the top of each piece of candy is a sticky dot where I wrote one reason why I love my boyfriend.  There happened to be forty candies in the package which is why I wrote "forty reasons."  I thought it was too cute.   It's on my bf's desk so he can snack on a sweet treat during the day and be reminded of all the ways he is special to me.

I found this idea on The Dating Divas website.  I LOVE these gals.  They have a super cute collection of creative dates and gift ideas for the man in your life.  Definitely drop by!

Summer Fun

My first week of summer break has come to an end...already.  Why do vacation weeks go by so much faster than working weeks??  

Well I would like to say I spent my first fabulous week of summer traveling the world or doing something daring and exciting...but in reality I spent this past week organizing all my craft supplies.  And yes, that may not sound like anything worth writing about, and it may sound particularly unexciting and even dreadful, but for me, this was life altering.

I have more than enough craft supplies to stock my own JoAnn's...it's ridiculous really.  And my crafty goods have been living in totally inaccessible bins for probably a good ten years or so.  It's been SUCH a challenge trying to make goodies while having my creativity squashed by the frustration of trying to craft amongst disorganization.  My supplies were buried under one another or hiding here and stuffed away there and as a result I just had no desire to be crafty.

But now, after a week of constructing shelves and drawers, sorting through beads, ribbons, fabrics, and the like, I can craft with such freedom!  I did a search on Pinterest for craft rooms and craft organization and found some of the most gorgeous craft rooms...that's what inspired me to get organized.  Granted I don't have a beautiful craft room to put my newly organized goods in, but at least they are organized now so that when I eventually get my dreamy craft room, it will be so easy to move right in ;)  

Here are a few of my favorite craft rooms from Pinterest...(that's a link to my Pinterest board...hope it works!)

The Alex Drawer Unit from IKEA is probably my most favorite organizational purchase.  It's changed my life! ;)

Alex Drawer Unit from IKEA (photo from IKEA website)

And now I just need to decide what I would like to make as my first summer project using such orderly materials!

A Girl's Gotta Love Her Accessories

We all know that accessories will add that extra bit of pizzazz to an outfit and can completely change your look from nothing special to absolutely adorable.  Well here is my new, most absolute favorite accessory!

A totally blinged out bell for my bike!  So glam.  I love it.

 

My bike is pretty much my most favorite purchase of all times, and it was darling before, but now it's TOO cute...I mean so cute I can hardly stand it!  I took a ride today and took every opportunity to ring that little bell.

SO fun.

Some Layouts and Such...

Been slacking on the digi-scrapping of late, but here are a few cute new layouts I made using some fancy products from Jessica Sprague's online shop!

Also, I have yet another logo idea for my lil' design business...what do you think??  I kinda like it...it's a bit more sophisticated, simple, and clean...

My goal for the summer is to get this business all set up and ready to take on the world!  I want to get the website designed, take some of my wares to the local boutiques, and just start sharing my special stuff with YOU!  :) 

In Case You Were Wondering...

The answer is yes...
Yes I did in fact return everything I purchased in my recent super duper shopping spree.

So now I'm back at square one. 
I have absolutely nothing to wear.
Oh Lordy.  I drive myself crazy.

Shopping Spreeeeeeee!

Been doing quite a bit of digi-scrapping lately using all my fabulous new goodies from the JS Creative Team.  Oh the designers' work just makes me drool.  There's some serious cuteness over there.  Here are a few of my recent layouts using products from the shop...

Brother of Mine

you. are beautiful.

Now, speaking of cuteness, I went on a shopping spree this weekend and picked up some super cute things.  And when I say "shopping spree," I for reals mean I went on a seriously full-blown spree.

I usually buy one or two random things here and there while casually perusing the mall, but this weekend...oh this weekend it was a legit shopping spree.  It was amazing.

Here's the background to justify my spree:  Basically, I have cleaned out my wardrobe to the point that getting ready for work and weekend play is a painful task and makes me (and my boyfriend) want to pull my hair out.  The BF seriously has wanted to smother me with a pillow.  I can't wear heels right now so I am forced to wear flat shoes of which I own one pair and one pair only; my pants are altered for heels so they look ridiculous with that one invaluable pair of flats; I have a few dresses but they need some sort of sandal and sweater to look somewhat decent, both of which I do not own, and a slip of some kind is beyond necessary for them to be work appropriate; I have no tee shirts or casual tops to just throw on and go; shorts or capris for the summer?  Nope.  I have none of those...oh I could go on and on...it's a mess really.  Just random articles of clothing with no outfits to belong to...good times.

Well, thank goodness the BF has incredible fashion sense and felt the need to step in and regulate.  And regulate he did!  He called Nordstrom and set up an appointment for me to meet with a stylist who would help me shop.  I had no idea you could do that!  It's heavenly.  Basically, I met with a gal who did all the shopping for me!  I sat in the dressing room while the little fashion guru brought me all sorts of cute pants, shirts, sweaters, dresses, and even shoes for me to try on.  It was SO fun...like seriously SO fun.

Two hours later I was handing over my credit card and walking out the door with several bags of cuteness.*  We won't discuss the damage done to my credit card...in fact I didn't even look.  Ha!  Ya know, I think there's nothing wrong with pretending you're a Kardashian once in your life and having a little fashion fun.

I'd never done that before.

I was on a retail high for hours and hours and hours.

It was amazing.

Here's a shot of one of the pairs of shoes I purchased:

*Note: I will most likely return everything I purchased later this week. 

I am quite the fan of Pinterest as you know.   I spend more time Pinterest-ing than actually creating my own awesomeness.

So not a good thing.

So need to remedy that STAT.   

But I 

can't 

stop 

looking! 

Oh Lordy, somebody help me. 

And then today I discovered another website that is going to completely suck away the last remaining hours of my life that are not totally consumed by Pinterest. 

I know I'm a bit late in the game on this one, but it's too fabulous not to talk about...have you heard of Tastespotting? 
Well it's a site similar to Pinterest in that it has that online pinboard feel and you can "like" posts and such...however while Pinterest has a ton of different posting categories, this site is completely dedicated to gorgeous photos of food and the recipes that go with them.

I love it.
So much! 

I have no idea how to cook however.  And I am completely lost in the kitchen...I can't follow a recipe to save my life...but I am totally inspired now.  I am starting to think that my lack of kitcheny-know-how is something I'd like to change.  (Especially since I have a handsome gentleman in my life who I'd love to make dinner for at some point :P ). 

Anyways, needless to say, I have squandered away quite a few moments of my day today browsing the collections on Tastespotting.  They are truly fabulous. 

Now, you may ask, am I cooking anything fabulous tonight?
Nope.
Not a chance.
I still have to put a few hours of work into my Pinterest-ing!  There's no time for cooking!  ha ha ha ;)

Homepage of Tastespotting

First Layout

So I received the keys to the kingdom this weekend...the Jessica Sprague kingdom that is.  It was like Christmas!  I was given access to every single product sold at her shop.  Her designers are some of my very favorite so I'm pretty much in heaven really.

Here is my first layout as a Creative Team member...my boyfriend and I went to a wedding this weekend and this is a snapshot of us from that day...

The product I am promoting in this layout is Splendid Fiins Knockout Explosion Circles.  OMG they are so fun to work with...they are the sort of graffiti looking circles in the background.

Totally off topic, but I discovered today that I only have 35 work days left until summer break.  Yay!  Such a pleasant surprise.

OMG

On Friday I received the most fabulous news.  I was asked to be a part of the Creative Team over at JessicaSprague.com!

O

M

G

I am beyond excited!

Jessica Sprague is one of the most well known, super talented, and ridiculously creative digital designers out there.  Her classes taught me everything I know about the world of digi-scrapping and digital design in general.  I love her to pieces...her work, her classes, her design team...and I am honored to be a part of the Creative Team.  I can't wait to get started on some projects!  I will be creating layouts, like the one you see below (it was one of my submissions to the CT call), to help promote her designers' digital products.  Awesome!

Loving Life, by me!

You can see a few of my other layouts here :)

Sprucing Up...

Goodness!  I need to dust the cobwebs off this little blog of mine.  I took a wee bit of a hiatus...we can blame it on the new boyfriend ;)  Yes he's a distraction, but a totally adorable one. 

It feels good to blog after such a break.  I have a few new endeavors in the works that I am excited to share about and lots of layouts and crafts and well, just random things that are so cute you simply must know all about them!

I have to dash...no, not to meet up with the new bf...I know what you are thinking... ;)
I have to run for reals, but I will be back shortly!  Get ready for a new chapter in blogging here at SSAS...ha!  My blog spells sass backwards but can still be pronounced as "sass"...I kinda like it.  There's some creative potential there.  Hmmm...
xoxo!

How Could THIS:

 this...

 or this...

not totally and completely turn your day around??!

OMG.
Hilarious.

If you perhaps need of a more smiles to make that complete turn around, visit this particular webpage for about 47 more opporutunities.

images courtesy of smashing hub

It's That Time Again...

Time to make your 2012 Owl Barn Calendar!
We did this last year and it was amazing.

Side note: Being that we made Owl Calendars last year, I've apparently had this blog for over a year and didn't even realize it.  I totally missed my bloggy b-day! We'll have to celebrate later this week with something special...

Back to the posting at hand...the Owl Calendar this year has even more artist renditions of Owls to choose from (45 to be exact) and you can download individual images to use on cards or gift tags.  Love it. Tremendously.

This lil guy is for sure one of my faves:

Image by Penelope and Pip via My Owl Barn

I'm Expanding...

Tis the season for holiday cards, party invitations, and announcements!

Over the past several years, prior to officially becoming "Sara McCarthy Designs," I have had the opportunity to hone my design skills by creating everything from wedding invitations to party invites, to new home and baby announcements, to personal and business stationery, medals and awards, posters, logos, and print work for conferences and various work functions...these were commissioned by family, friends, and friends of friends, and now it's time to expand!

I have decided that now, since I am official, I'd like to offer my design services as part of my business.  Designing for others is the part I really love to do.  I love meeting with people, hearing about the important event in their life that we will be creating something special for, working with them to make their vision a reality, and then seeing them beam with joy when the final product adds that extra special touch to their special day.  That is what I love.  Making people happy by creating something pretty.

So if you would like something special designed for this holiday season...or any season really ;) contact me at: 

saramccarthydesigns@gmail.com

I will post some of my previous work shortly, but in the meantime I will show you a portfolio of my previous designs when we chat!

Thank you!

 

 p.s. visit my new FB page HERE and my digital scrapbook products HERE

I Dig These.

So cute, right?  

The purchase of these particular Toms helps raise money to fight cancers affecting men.  See the little moustache??  It represents all those handsome men we love and care about so much and want to see live long healthy lives.  Adorable.  I think I'm gonna get a pair.

image credits: Toms Shoes

Just For You...

To celebrate my brand new FB page and well, my new business as a whole, I made this little freebie just for you!  Perhaps you can drop by my FB page and give it a little "like" ;)  If you happen to spread the word about my new little shop too I would so love it and be ever so grateful.

Enjoy the freebie and create beautiful things!
xoxo 

little birthday themed epoxy stickers made by me for you!

A Sweet New FB Page

Yeah. 

You heard me. 

I have a sweet new Facebook Fan Page to go with my new lil business venture.  Now I'm seriously legit. 

Come by and say hello.  Perhaps, maybe, ya know, you could even "like" me.  Might be kinda cool ;)

Oh Goodness.

Supposedly today had an extra hour due to daylight savings.  

I'm not sure I was anymore productive than usual however.  

Yep. 

I'm pretty sure I wasn't.  

Time is still sneaking away from me rather rapidly.  

I mean I don't think the extra hour even registered on my radar.  

And seriously, where did last week go?  And the week before that?  I'm feeling like the days are zipping by and I'm not accomplishing nearly as much in a single day as I set out to when I first wake up in the morning.  

Are my to-do lists just getting longer?  Or am I not tackling them with the ferver I once did?  Hmmm...perhaps it's just that I am distracted by the ridiculously good television that's on this season.   The DVR is completely overflowing.  It's pretty much a full time job keeping up with the awesome programming.  

Well, regardless, time is jetting by and my to-do's are not getting done.  

Blogging, for example, would be one of those things that's being repeatedly lost in the shuffle.  

And I was SO excited to be blogging again.  

However I pretty much went on hiatus after my first week back at it.  

Lordy. 

Well, as a condolence for slacking on the job, I would like to share the following:
1. These are pretty much as epic as they come.

And yes, I love these so much that there might actually be a remote control flying clownfish sitting right here next to me as we speak.

2.  I have a new Holiday paper kit for sale at my lil digi-scrapping shop...and a deliciously adorable element kit is in the works and should be arriving shortly...do check it out!

3. This totally just arrived in the mail and I'm super excited about it.

4. I don't have a number 4 for today, but I hope you had a lovely weekend! xoxo

image credits: urban outfitters, air swimmers