My Memories Giveaway

If you missed or didn't win my giveaway of My Memories Scrapbooking Software, great news, my significant other is giveaway a copy of the software on his blog!

Just head over to his blog and find out how to enter (hint:  it's easy, just go to the mymemories website, pick out your favorite kit and come back to his blog and leave a comment.)

He's picking a winner on Wednesday, so be sure to get your entry in!!

MyMemories Digital Software Review and Giveaway

Outta the Way Photography Pendants

These very cool new pendants are the result of a collaboration with my boyfriend's business, Outta the Way.  We actually work together on his zines, photography, etc.  

The pendants are my original photography, placed on an upcycled scrabble tile and placed in a cool tin.  The tin has a map on top and the inside of the lid has a tag to tell you were the photo was taken.

We have a whole line of these tins, which you can find in the Outta the Way Etsy Shop (and they're also making their way into the B.B. Bellezza Etsy Shop.)

Also available for wholesale for gift shops, museums, etc.  Just contact me for details.

What I'm Working On....

I have many - A LOT - of scrabble tile pendants in progress right now! 

I'm so excited that many of them are my own photography.  So you can carry around photos of interesting, unique, historical, odd places right around your neck!  Most of the photography is of places I have visited with my boyfriend (via Outta the Way) around Pennsylvania.  There are other photos, too.

The photo above is just a little taste.  It's of our favorite road sign ever, in the place that got our road trips started:  The abandoned town of Centralia, PA.

CUSTOM

This reminds me,

I can make ANY photo into a scrabble tile pendant.  If you can get me an image in ditigal form, I can resize it and make a pendant.

Something to note:  Not all photos look great very tiny!  Keep that in mind when choosing your photo!  (I can give you my opinion on the image you want to use as well.)

Logos make great pendants, too!

To get your own custom pendant, just email me and I'll give you all the details!

To get of of my photo pendants, check back at the end of the week!

Adventures in my New Hometown

Today we had a lovely day in our new hometown, Lititz, Pennsylvania!  By the time we were done with breakfast, the streets were packed and there was live music on the street.  Once we ventured out we toasted marshmallows over a fire pit, had hot chocolate and then, my favorite!!  A carriage ride through town!

We then checked at the Moravian Church bizarre (and got some yummy goodies) and checked out a few of the many cute shops!  The church had an advent tea, which was packed!  

There was also free funnel cakes and lots of activities for the kids!

I love our new town and can't wait to check out even more!

Halloween Road Trip

Today we took a break from house-hunting, working, making things, etc. and went on a road trip.  We often do take road trips, but we haven't really had a lot of time recently to just go.

Molly Maguire Park

The photo below is from what might possibly be the strangest memorial I've been to.  (And I have seen a lot of strange things in my travels....)

(I didn't know how to pose.....I smiled, but didn't think I should smile....it was very confusing....)

Jim Thorpe, PA Old Jail

Then we headed to Jim Thorpe, PA.  I think Jim Thorpe is one of the most adorable towns and it's in such a beautiful area.  We went for a different reason than the natural beauty, though.  We went to the old prison.  In this prison, some of the alleged Molly Maguires were hanged.  The strange thing about this, however, is that one of the people who was sentenced to be hanged, Alexander Campbell, exclaimed on his way to the gallows that he was innocent and put a handprint in his cell claiming that the handprint would never disappear as a sign of his innocence.  

The hand print is still there.  It's been cleaned, painted over and even part of the wall removed, and it's still there!  There have been scientists in to investigate and no one can come up for a logical explanation of why the hand print remains.

For more information about the Molly Maguires and the Old Jail, check out their website.

I was sort of sad that we couldn't take a photo of the actual hand print - it's copyrighted.

Spontaneous Stops

One of my favorite things about taking a road trip is finding cool things along the way that you didn't even expect.  We found this awesome cemetery on our way home.

For more photos of our trip, check out my flickr photostream.

Road Trippin'

If you've read the blog for a while, you probably know that my family and I love to take road trips.  Basically every weekend.  Usually to outta the way locations that are abandoned, historical, haunted, or inexpensive.  

This past weekend we visited St. Peter's Village, Pennsylvania.  St. Peter's Village is an awesome place to visit - there's water to wade in, rocks to climb on, shops to visit, restaurants and a vintage arcade!  

Jim and Delissa (my boyfriend and step-daughter) wrote a post about St. Peter's Village over on the Outta the Way blog, complete with a video by Jim.

Cemetery Upcycled Coasters

My boyfriend and I went through a "cemetery phase" in our travels a little while ago.  It seems like we were at interesting cemeteries every weekend.  I got really into taking photos at cemeteries.

I really love the way these black and white photos of this cemetery turned out, so I thought they would make cool coasters.  The coasters are made from upcycled ceramic tiles.

If you want to check out all of my photos (beware there are a lot), which I try to upload from all our trips, you can check out my flickr photostream.  I can make any of those photos into coasters if you like, or I can make your photos into a custom coaster set!

If you would like to purchase this set, contact me.  ($20 + shipping unless you're local and can pick up in Lancaster, PA.)  I'll have them with me this weekend at the HoPo Roadshow, unless they sell before then.

My Childhood Inspiration: Outta the Way

This week we scout wednesday on scoutie girl is "what's your childhood inspiration?"

The thing is, I think a culmination of different things and activities from my childhood really shape who I am and what I do and I can't say it's one book or one experience.

I have talked about my mom and her crafty influence on me.  She was always making something and sold her crafts at craft shows.  I've also talked about my dad's handiness and recycling and my grandmother's love of flowers and how that's all shaped how I feel about the planet and why I make upcycled jewelry.

But today, in honor of summer vacations, I would like to talk about Outta the Way.

For those of you who don't know, my boyfriend and I write a travel zine called Outta the Way.  Actually, he writes it, I take the photos and put it together.  We both love traveling to strange "out of the way" places.  When we started going on our trips, I didn't really think about where I might get this urge from.  Recently when taking a little road trip with my parents over a weekend we were visiting them, it all came back to me.  While growing up, we would go on car rides all the time.  My dad would point out interesting things along the way.  I loved this as a kid.  I still love this today.  

Each summer my parents would take us on vacation.  While most of my friends either didn't go on vacation every summer, or they would go on the same beach trip every year, my parents thought that it was important to take my brother and I different locations and expose us to as much as the world as they could afford to show us.  I loved vacation, but I don't think I realized how cool my parents were for taking us on them.  Now, while our funds are very limited for this sort of thing, we try to make sure we show my step-daughter as many different places as we can, even if it's just a road trip on the weekend.  That's really why Jim and I started Outta the Way.  To show people there is so much to do without spending too much money.

If my parents hadn't taken me on different car rides and interesting vacations, I'm not sure that I would think to do them now.  I wouldn't have taken the tens of thousands of photos I have taken of the gorgeous, abandoned, historical or just plain weird places we have been to.  

Old, Abandoned Places and Objects

 I took this shot at Mt. Zion Cemetery.  African American soldiers who fought in the Civil War are buried here.  They were featured in the movie "Glory."  For more photos from the cemetery, see my flickr set.

If you have been following my blog for awhile, you probably know that I love to take road trips to Outta the Way places.  I love historical places, old abandoned buildings and areas and basically any place that is not on the beaten path or is interesting and odd.  I especially love old cemeteries and graves.

I also love old "stuff."  I love old hardware, a vintage chandelier that has fallen apart, manual typewriters, etc.  

While I am drawn to these places and items, I have never really thought about why.  Mostly, I believe that we need to preserve what we have left of our natural habitat.  I love when I am in an old building that is still intact or has been reused for something else.  (A barn that has been around for hundreds of years, an old factory that's now a restaurant and store, a covered bridge....)  

I hate when I see a beautifully wooded or grassy area that is stripped away for a business...or worse...a strip mall.  I get angry.  I wonder why they don't use an empty building somewhere else instead of destroying what little untouched land we have left.  I think about how much more interesting it would be if they would have fixed up an old abandoned building.

Additionally, I think that I just love history.  I never liked it in school because it seemed so "boring."  But, when you are looking at actual items that were used, or are in an actual historical building, or at the grave of someone who helped make our country what it is, it really makes history more real. 

Finally, I think there is something about the actual look and feel of old things that just cannot be recreated in new objects.  It's more than the rust and the peeling paint.  That can actually be recreated.  These items have a past and a history.  Maybe we can't actually hear it, or even know what that history is, but the history is there nonetheless and we can sense it.

What are your feelings about old abandoned places or objects?  What do you love (or hate) about them?  

My New Favorite Spot - Philadelphia's Magic Gardens

For the first few minutes my boyfriend and I were at Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, we were speechless.  We stood, mouths agape, unable to move, speak or take it all in.  We literally stood staring.

  What we found was a massive outdoor labyrinthine of mosaic sculpture that spans a half of a city block.  

The artist is Isaiah Zagar.  His work can be found all over Philadelphia.  If you have visited Philadelphia, you likely have already seen his work even if you didn't realize it.

The walls of the labyrinthine are filled up with mosaic using all kinds of upcyled bottles, bicycle wheels, and other found objects.  It is my dream of upcycling and art plus a magical outdoor area all captured in one place. 
My words and the photos here cannot even begin to capture the magic of the place.

I didn't even mention the inside.  The inside is an art gallery.  Also completely done in mosaic.  

I wanted to move in.  (Actually, we were told that we were just a little too late for that.  There was an apartment for rent, and the artist will mosaic it for you!  But, alas, it was just rented.)

For all my photos of Philadelphia's Magic Gardens, check out my full set of photos on flickr.  My boyfriend (Outta the Way) shot some video, too.  The video is on the Outta the Way YouTube channel.

So, if you find yourself on South Street in Philadelphia and have an extra $4 - I highly recommend you check Philadelphia's Magic Gardens out!  (Heck, if you don't have the $4, look for some change laying around.  It will be worth the effort!)

Old Buildings

As some of you may know (although many of you may not, I am realizing), my boyfriend and I love to go on road trips to weird and historical places. We also write a zine about our adventures (well, my boyfriend writes it, I do everything else, though!) called Outta the Way.

I love old buildings, especially those with a history behind them. I also love to take photos. Usually I have more than 100 (usually more like 150-200) for every road trip. Honestly, they are not all gorgeous pieces of work. Many are for reference - we were there, this is what we saw - that sort of thing. But, sometimes we take really beautiful photos.

I took the photo used in the pendant above. It's of the Star Barn in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. I think it is a nice photo but mainly because of how beautiful the sky was that day. Also, the architectural of the old star barn is simply stunning.

I have started, and plan to continue to make pendants from my photography. They will most likely be featuring old buildings, cemeteries, etc. from the places we visit.

I really like to try to use recycled pieces in my jewelry as much as possible, but the glass pendants such as what you see here is not. However, in this piece, for example, I am featuring a photo of a building that is trying to be saved from the wrecking ball. I think that is important, too. I think that it can start a conversation and spread the idea that we don't have to tear down every old building to make yet another strip mall. Or even just "hey look at this cool building" and then people won't want it to be torn down.

Just in case you are interested, this piece is listed in the Outta the Way Etsy Shop.

The Bridges of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

My boyfriend and I write a zine "Outta the Way." This month we take you on a tour of the Covered Bridges of Lancaster County. The zine has a driving tour of the covered bridges that takes you through Lancaster County Amish farms, historic downtown and gives you a great taste of the county, as well as the historical background of each bridge.

For a couple of the zine, check out the Outta the Way Etsy Shop, or check my booth BUiLDiNG CHARACTER at 342 N. Queen St., Rear Warehouses, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

5 Random Things I am Loving Right Now

This week is going to be pretty hairy for me, preparing for my Open House. I am very excited and my mom is coming to help, so that's awesome as well. But, I am going to be very busy getting ready.

Last night, after running errands and making some other jewelry, I decided that I should make 100 more Scrabble Tile Pendants. Now, I didn't end up making that many (more around 50 or so), but it was more exhausting than I anticipated and today I am wiped.

So, I apologize for the incoherent blog post! It might be fun though....

I am just going to tell you about a few things that I am loving right now!

#1 On Sunday, my boyfriend Jim and I went to the American Music Fest along the river in Harrisburg, PA. If you haven't been there, there are several stages with different music groups performing all day at the different stages. We saw a nice variety.

The main reason we really wanted to check it out, though, was because my boyfriend's friend Earl was performing for Hip Hop Hour. In the past Hip Hop wasn't really represented well at Music Fest, but this year was a little different. I hadn't seen E-Will and D-Bo (his brother) perform before (although my boyfriend has) and I must say I was very pleasantly surprised. I actually do like rap music, but I hate gangster rap and anything super negative or derogatory to women. E-Will's message was positive and fun. I fully expect him to make it big some day.

Check him out here. He has a CD, too, which has been on constant play in our house and car since Sunday night. It's really good and his brother is a really great singer, too.

#2 The Hodge Podgery Check out the website and then check out the store in Harrisburg, PA if you can. B.B. Bellezza will be represented (if I ever get a second to send some things....sorry Dawn!) Dawn (co-owner with her daughter) has an energy that is, well, electric. You feel more excited just talking to her. What they have going on is very exciting for Harrisburg! Yay!

#3 Volume 3 of Outta the Way (a zine written by my boyfriend Jim and myself) is now available. Did you know that The Blob was filmed in Pennsylvania? It was and we have a tour of some of the great spots where scenes were filmed. Don't forget BlobFest in Phoenixville, PA!! (You can pick up a copy at my booth at Building Character, or in my Etsy Shop.)

#4 Rachel's Cafe and Creperie We went here on First Friday before things got busy (while I still had a chance to eat before my stand went crazy!). Wow! I love this place. And my step-daughter says she's addicted, too. We both had the Philly cheese steak crepe. I have also had the cordon blue crepe, which is also amazing. Highly recommend Rachel's!

#5 We also got to walk around a little before the festivities and I finally got to see Annex 24 Gallery. Lots of cool art there! Definitely check this place out, too!

Review and Preview

In case you missed it, I was in this treasury: Hardwear (It's over now, so all we have is this screen shot and the memories......)

My Circles and Squares Necklace was in it!

This weekend I do not have any shows. I am sort of taking it a little easier now that I have a permanent booth at BUiLDiNG CHARACTER.

Next weekend, May 30, 2009, is Opening Day at Eastern Market!

308 East King Street, Lancaster, PA 9 am - 2 pm

(This is a photo from one of my set ups at Eastern Market last year...it in no way shows you how cool Eastern Market is!)

I have a few shows coming up after that, you can keep up with me on my Events Page on the B.B. Bellezza website.

Also, I would like to invite everyone to my Open House at Building Character on July 11, 2009 1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. I will be sharing more details soon, but for now, save the date and time!

I have made A LOT of Scrabble Tile Pendants this week, so I will be restocking my booth at BUiLDiNG CHARACTER this weekend, as well as restocking my Etsy Store! Sorry the Mix and Match Pendants have been missing from Etsy, they are returning!!


Finally, I want to make sure you all know about my joint venture with my boyfriend Jim, Outta the Way! It's our travel blog and zine! The first volume of the zine (Central Lancaster County, Pennsylvania) is available now in my Etsy shop or in person at my booth at BUiLDiNG CHARACTER at 342 N. Queen Street, Rear, Lancaster, PA, or by contacting us.

New Blog

(photo is from a trip to New Hope, PA)

My boyfriend Jim and I just started a new blog (and soon to follow zine):

Outta the Way!

There's an introductory post over there and I would love if you would all check it out. Right now it is very basic, but it will soon be filled with lots of photos and content about places to travel and ways to travel on a budget.

Most of our trips and what we will be writing about will be in Pennsylvania and Maryland, basically places you can easily get to from Lancaster, PA; however, we will be throwing in tips about how to take road trips inexpensively and how to find cool places, so it will have value even if you don't plan to come to Pennsylvania.

Thanks for checking it out and we will be posting more to it soon!