$80 Later

Justin's away this weekend, working two hours away from town. I admit, I was a little unreasonable earlier - wanting him to be here so we could be together, maybe meet up with a couple friends, have a few drinks and let the work week slip away. All I could think of today was dancing, and having a good time - which made me especially unhappy leaving work tonight, realizing there'd be nobody at home (except for Lowie) when I arrived. When I got home, I tried to watch TV, but I ended up in my scrapbooking room, pulling out something I've been working on this month, and longing to finish the project (which involved a trip to the scrapbook store). So off I went.

I've been IN LOVE with the Studio Calico kits (mostly just the March kit - it's when I first started looking into kits). I decided because I'm a bit stubborn, and find it a little unreasonable to pay for the shipping (I know they have no control over it), that I would create my own kit. Slowly building it weekly, twenty dollars here, twenty there. And by the beginning of April I'd have it done, ready for my to play with.

Since all this loneliness came on me tonight (in uncontrollable waves I might add), I thought it might be a good idea to get my "kit" finished and start unraveling the posibilities in it. So, I went to the store, planning on completing my project. I didn't pay any attention to what I had in my hands, or how much the items were, and the total ended up beeing quite a bit more than I had intended on spending; the $80 title was a bit of foreshadowing. But, it's completed, and I have a big start on my May kit (because I find it enjoyable building them and finding compatable items from different companies - it's all about the creative process).

So, I know you're just dieing to see what I put in my April kit (my birthday month non-the-less). Here's a few pictures to get your mojo rising.

When building this kit, I tried to do it from a un-biase perspective. Let me tell you that was no easy task. I can't tell you how many times I'd pick up an item, only to think "what am I going to do with this." I can now see why there are kits available to purchase. You have no control over the products within them, and want to get your money's worth, and will therefore use up the items; pushing your creativity and expanding your ideas.
Also, because I was trying to get the most bang for my buck, although I wanted some new product lines (I've been craving the Dear Lizzy since first hearing about it on her blog), it wasn't all that was going into the kit. I'd have some older items (the ones deeply discounted), which would prove even more that you can add new items to your stash, and seam them together with older, unused items.

(Items in my April kit "Tickled Spring": specialty paper - Dear Lizzy + American Crafts Spring Tickled Tulip and Firefly Festival; paper - Dear Lizzy + American Crafts Spring Picking Pansides and Swallowtail Social; Cosmo Cricket Material Girl Tailor Made, Snip Snip, In Stitches; Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety Elements; Basic Grey Nook & Pantry Beaters and Rolling Pin; BoBunny A Gift Of Love Kitchen Spice Rosemary; alphabets Basic Grey Origins Mini Mono Stickers; Cosmo Cricket Ready Set Chip The Boyfriend; journalling aid Basic Grey Nook and Pantry Take Note stamps October Afternoon Clear Stamps Cherry Hill; Studio Calico Limited Edition Stamp Doily Lace Border; ribbon My Minds Eye Lush Blue Ribbons; buttons American Crafts Buttons Letterbox; transparency Prima Glittered Transparencies Just Corina; tape 7 Gypsies Paper Tape Victoria Patterned (the pink and yellow roll from pack of three); ink SEI Chalk Ink Block Mist)