Kelly Purkey: seattle

November 10, 2014

Seattle Mini Album

I'm on a big mini album kick and wanted to make a little one documenting my short trip to Seattle in October. I had the idea of putting together my own album instead of using a pre-made one. I had purchased some letterpress greeting cards from Pike Street Press and had the idea to use one of them as the cover for my album and tuck everything inside. I am addicted to buying greeting cards, especially letterpress ones, everywhere I go and I'm gald to be using up one that I'd normally just save to admire.

I knew the album would be a little bit thick, so I scored the inside of the greeting card to create a spine. If I was going to do this again (which I definitely will be sometime!) I would wait until the very end to score the card. The guts of my album ended up being really thick and bigger than the spine I created. But, lesson learned. I also ended up lining the inside of the greeting card with patterned paper so that the back flap was how the same size as the front (since I'd taken away some of the length by creating the spine.)

My idea was for the guts of the album to be a combination of 4x6 photos, memorabilia, Instax photos, and Gossamer Blue's Gramercy Road products. I like have a mix of good stuff and I absolutely love how it turned out! Now here comes one million phtoos of some of the inside of the album:

The Gramercy Road line is gorgeous. I love the navy and light blue paired with the gray and browns. It is a perfect line for Seattle photos.

I subscribe to Ali Edwards' Story Stamps and have loved getting these each month (I used her first set, Currently, in quite a bit of my e-course Snap, Sketch, Scrap.) As you know, I love stamping directly onto photos and Ali's Get Real set were fun to add into this album.

I usually print my photos at home but I wanted the paper to be as thin as possible since too many pages in the album would be too thick for the greeting card to hold. So I had these printed at Costco and the paper worked out really well. I was also delighted to find that I could stamp on it with the Studio Calico Color Theory inks and it wouldn't end up smearing. Hooray!

I printed all of the photos 4x6 and some I split down into a 3x4 photo on each side of the print. I like that there's a variety in this little album. You could definitely do all split 3x4 photos easily in an album like this.

I also wanted to include some of the Instax photos I took on the trip and decided to put them into a pocket so they could be pulled in + out. I cut down a Sn@p pocket to 4x6 and was absolutely delighted that when I added it to the album it was the perfect size to fit the Instax mini photos in one side and then the Instax wide photos on the other side.

The Glasswing tag is actually a business card that we were given after visiting a cute store. I like that it was perfect to go into my album, with one end in the front of the album and then the store's stamp on the other side. Also kudos to stores who use rubber stamps + shipping tags as business cards. I love it.

A lot of little bits from the Gramercy Park line here and there. I adhered a tag onto the pocket for the Instax photos and love the soft colors.

I love that this mini album contains so many good memories in a really simple way. I also like how well it worked out to use the greeting card as the cover - it's like there's a secret surprise hidden inside the card.

Another thing to note, if you're looking for the Gramercy Road line from Gossamer Blue it is available at Whim so Doodle and if you call them they will ship your order to you! The line is so gorgeous and fun to use.

InLinkz.com

Posted at 07:00 AM in mini album, scrapbooking, seattle | Permalink | Comments (13)

October 21, 2014

Work + Travel: A Look at a Day Working on the Road

Continuing my Work + Travel series, I wanted to share what a day working on the road actually looks like for me. No two days are ever alike (which is part of while I love it so much) but I thought this breakdown would give you a good idea of how I mix work with days that I'm traveling.

I was in Seattle for three nights last week and it was great. The weather was good and I had fun with good friends of mine there. Here's a look at how my Thursday went:

9:30am: I stayed at my friend Joe's place and while he got up early to go to work, I woke up to say goodbye then went back to sleep. The first thing I did was check my email and get back to my assistant on some kit shipping questions. Then I set up a styled photo to post on Instagram. A friend of mine who does social media for Madcap coffee asked me to share a photo featuring their coffee. Happy to do it because Madcap is from my hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It took me about thirty minutes to set up, run the photo through VSCO, and get it posted with all the right tags.

11:30am: I spent a good thirty minutes hanging out with Joe's dog Wrigley before I left. Just because he is so super cute.

12:00pm: A good day for me requires a lot of coffee. I really wanted to check out Milstead + Co. in Freemont for coffee so I packed up my laptop to settle in for some work over there. Instead I ended up running into my friend from NYC right outside the coffee shop, so we chatted for an hour over coffee. Work got put on hold and it kind of made me antsy that I wasn't able to get on my computer that afternoon. Ok not kind of. Made me really antsy.

1:30pm: I had an appointment in the afternoon so I drove over to the Capitol Hill neighborhood to quickly grab lunch at Oddfellows. I tried to eat a sandwich but was distracted by things on my phone. I just like to know what's going on. All the time. It's a problem. I spent about forty-five minutes at Oddfellows but I wish it was longer because that place is divine.

2:30pm: Emilia, the marketing manager for Molly Moon's Ice Cream had reached out on Instagram and invited me in to the Capitol Hill shop to share some ice cream with her. It was so nice and a delicious treat! We talked a lot about Instagram, marketing, traveling, and Seattle food. She generously sent me home with some ice cream to take back home to Joe.

3:30pm: I wanted to post an Instagram thanking Molly Moon's so I popped into the Elliott Bay Book Company to sit down for a fifteen minutes (see my post on this amazing bookstore here!)

4:00pm: I had to drop the car off to Joe so he could go to a work meeting, so from his office downtown I walked to the Seattle Public Library. This is definitely one of the coolest libraries I've ever been to and if you get a chance to go, do it! It's really beautiful and the sun was shining which made it bright + airy.

4:30pm: At the library I was finally able to open my computer. Except that 4:30 on the West Coast is 7:30 on the East coast and I felt like I had missed out on a whole day of work. I hate that feeling. But I was able to catch up on emails and I wrote a blog post for Friday. I've tried to be getting my posts written and uploaded days in advance but I'd gotten behind (I'd counted on wifi on a long flight earlier that week and I couldn't get online - pitfall of working on the road.) It took me about forty-five minutes to put together the blog post on fold over bags.

6:30pm: I headed back to Joe's to let Wrigley out and take him for a walk. I caught up on social media stuff while waiting for Joe to get home.

7:30pm: Joe + I went to dinner at Delancey. Pizza along with really good wood fired oysters. We had a good time. I was supposed to have a 9pm Google chat with my web developer but we had to wait a while for a table at dinner and then took us a bit to get home.

9:30pm: Google chat with my web developer who is helping me re-do my website. Hooray. Look for a make-over coming soon.

10:15pm: Joe + I watched A League of Their Own while talking about social media, advertising, and bloggers. He works in marketing for a major brand so I asked him one billion questions. We spent about thirty minutes setting up my Google AdSense and trying to get a banner in my sidebar.

11:30pm: time for bed and phone + computer off for the night.

This day flew by and in retrospect I wasn't doing a whole lot, just going from one place to another more often that I do. Putting in a few hours on my computer did not seem like enough and I wish I had gotten in more time. I didn't design a single thing which is something I definitely needed to have done that day. I did get to spend time with three important people, who all made the day more enjoyable.

Another random note is that I consider my time on Instagram work. Even posting three photos a day does take up a solid chunk of my time and I look at is as time spent marketing my brand. It's not just a fun thing for me. Which is good and also bad.

So that's some insight onto a day for me working on the road. I hope you're enjoying these work + travel posts and if there's anything you'd like me to cover, I'd love to hear it!

Posted at 08:00 AM in seattle, Work + Travel | Permalink | Comments (11)

May 20, 2014

The Elliott Bay Book Company

My idea of heaven might be a giant bookstore (or a Vegas buffet - but that is for another post) and I love finding the very few indpendant ones still in existence. I'd read about The Elliott Bay Book Company on the Seattle Hot List from GQ Magazine. And when I was there for 24 hours last month it was the one place I requested to go. So on a drizzling Saturday morning my friend Joe, his dog Wrigley, and I paid a visit to the bookstore after brunch.

As you can see, the store is gorgeous. With wood floors and big open lights in the front of the store. There's a second level and lots of seating (always a neccesity) and the best part are the reviews. All around the store are handwritten reviews of the books, helping you to make your purchases. I did indeed buy a book after reading the praise written on the tag in front of it.

We had to scoot off to meet up with Joe + Wrigley's friends, but I hope to get back to The Elliott Bay Book Company soon. I could and will spend hours there, reading reviews and reading books. Just enjoying my personal bit of heaven on Earth.

The Elliott Bay Book Company Website | Facebook | Twitter

Posted at 07:00 AM in Bookstores, seattle | Permalink | Comments (6)

November 25, 2013

Rainy Days and Mondays

I spent a few days last week out in Seattle meandering around and spending time with friends, testing the waters to see if there could be a love connection between that city + me. It was my second trip out there this year. And this one included some really amazing ice cream.

Over a fantastic lunch I grilled France for hours, asking her if I would enjoy living in Seattle. Explain hiking in Seattle to me, I asked her. Camping, summers, neighborhoods, mountains. The Seattle Freeze. Tell me about it all. I did the same the next night with Paolo over many glasses of wine. Do you see me living here, I asked him.

Seattle means rain. I was granted an afternoon of sunshine, followed by two days of rain. But the truth is, I love rainy days. They give me an excuse to stay inside and indulge in things I enjoy... movies, coffee, books, bed, nothingness. I work best when there are grey skies and I stay in, turn up the music, and make something. Rainy mornings where you just burrow back under the covers and cuddle up. Those are my favorites. Somehow grey days feel comfortable to me. They fit me well.

Seattle on the other hand. Seattle. I have yet to decide if we are the right fit. Maybe I need more ice cream.

Posted at 09:00 AM in instagram, seattle, travels | Permalink | Comments (8)

October 08, 2013

Project Life Update: The Walrus + The Carpenter

For my first meal in Seattle last month, Joe took me to The Walrus and The Carpenter. I was so excited because this was on my bucket list thanks to Bon Appetit's list of 20 Most Important Restaurants in America. The night was a dream. It's a tiny little place with a tiny little open kitchen that the bar wraps right around. And the dishes coming out of there deliver huge on flavor. We had the best oysters I've ever eaten in my life. So good that we had to order a second round. Everything just made me smile. I can't wait to make another trip for more.

The Walrus and The Carpenter Website | Facebook | Twitter

I saved the menu and of course it went into my Project Life album:

I added it in using the Basic Grey Attach-Me stickers. The Foodie stamp set was perfect for adding some journaling to layer onto the menu. I just paperclipped it on there so I'd always be able to look back at the full menu. These are the best. I also used quite a few of my new gold Be Happy label stickers on the spread as well.

A little look at a new Kelly Purkey die - Eat Drink and Be Merry. I layered it with more papers from my Oct + Nov Project Kit (Persimmon paper pad still available.) Again, I just love these colors for fall!

For October, I'm thinking of switching it up and going the month in the 12x12 format. Just to keep things spicy. Have you done both sizes? Which do you prefer?