I Just Might Explode

So.

I notice your RSS feed is still set up to this URL. Silly you! 

Switch to my new url:

http://www.ijustmightexplode.com/

Or with BlogLovin':

Because you're missing things like...

A room tour:

A lengthy post about swtiching from TypePad to Wordpress:

A new portfolio website:

Some talk about my new logo:

 

A beautiful and poignant guest post by my friend Lindsey:

AND coming up! A vlog, sponsor giveaway, hair-dye how-to! Switch your feed so you don't miss anything!

Switch!

New feed: http://www.ijustmightexplode.com/

 

<3

Kara

NEW BLOG!!!

I'd be delighted if you were to say hello to my new little baby I Just Might Explode. 

This would also be a good time to update your RSS Readers to the new url:

http://www.ijustmightexplode.com/

(I'll be changing the Feedburner feed to the new URL in a few days, but it's a good idea to just change yours now). 

And with Bloglovin'

But, enough with this. Head on over and say hi!!

the civil wars.

I had the delightful pleasure of attending The Civil Wars show last night at the Egyptian Theatre with my friends Brenna and Emi. It was beautiful. I would say it was one of the best shows I've ever been to. I was blown away by their sheer talent and it was so fun to watch them because their joy was so evident in what they do. 

You should definitely pick up their free live album off of Noise Trade and buy their beautiful music. 

The Civil Wars // Tour Diary // 01 from The Civil Wars on Vimeo.

  (photo and film by allister ann via the civil wars tour diary)

disposable summer.

I developed a couple rolls of film today and here are some of my favorite summery disposable ones. <3

 

nineteen.

every year i plan to take these photos. every year i try to put them off and then eventually talk myself into going. my birthday was fine and low-key and i was upset during the course of the day and upset with myself for being upset. i ended up taking a nap and then it was fine. 

with it being a sunday and almost all of my friend gone, working, out of town, and my family being busy, it was a day by myself. the house was empy and i opened up on my laptop screen to turn it on and saw my reflection in the darkened screen.

"it's just me you and me, kid". 

i read somewhere once that one of life's most beautiful joys is to be happy by oneself. it's a truth that has constantly come up in my life over the course of the last year. i feel like i write about it a lot, but there are years for certain things and this year has been about satisfying independance. 

i went to dutch bros and got my free coffee and drove until i found a place i wanted to stop for photos. beyonce was playing on the radio. i usually rush through self portraits, wanting to me done. but today was different. it was calm up there. once i was finished, i spent a few minute leaning against my car like in the photo above. looking over this precious land i have both hated and longed for. it was just me and my coffee and God in the breeze. 

nineteen is going to be a challenging year, with changes and new adventures and who knows what. i'll be fine though. because i'm taking care of myself by myself. with god and family and friends and wonderful people, of course. but, there is that comfort of beginning to know myself. which i have needed. and slowly began to love. i'm excited.

hello nineteen. 

sponsor IJME in july!

Sending a reminder to anyone who was interested in sponsoring I Just Might Explode for July or August that, well, July is almost here! (And August following soon after).

I've been hard at work the last two weeks creating and coding a newly designed blog. I'm moving to a new URL and implementing some design features that I've always wanted. I'm really excited. I'm updating my FAQ and if there is something you'd like answered, please let me know and I'll include it!

I have some fun things planned for July. A bedroom room tour (that I shot yesterday!), new posts for my fashion features (Taking Cues from Vintage You and Summer Threads!), sharing about Kip and my new project, and some personal art projects that I'm excited to get going. I've been doing a lot of re-evaluating about IJME and what I want out of it in the next few years and I'm really excited about the new direction.  

If you're intersted in sponsoring, send me an email at karahaupt(@)gmail.com for rates and stats. To compensate for any lost followers in the URL move, I'll be posting all July sponsors at this URL and the new one. I'll be raising rates in September, so grab these prices while you can!

As always, thanks for reading and for the constant inspiration and encouragement. It's sort of odd to grow up with such a community of complex, strong, creative men and women rooting for you and challenging you in a cyber atmosphere, but I wouldn't change it for anything. Wasn't it just yesterday that I was 16 and sharing silly scrapbook pages and now I'm a few days away from 19... 

I hope you have the loveliest of weekends. I have a wedding tomorrow and then birthday shenanigans on Sunday. <3

P.S. Enter the awesome sponsor giveaway below! 

Sponsor Giveaway! June.

I'm changing things up with the sponsor giveaways and now we are doing one giveaway to one winner! So one lucky person gets all these great products!

Here's what my wonderful sponsors are giving away:

Natalie is giving away a 8x10 print of this lovely lady. It was a print originally created in a personal art journal.  

Natalie's Blog & Shop.

Hope is giving away one spot in a Paper Relics journaling class of the winner's choice.

Hope's Blog and Shop. 

Lovely Notions: Creating an inspiration journal, one that analyzes the things we love and why we love them to help us focus to follow our hearts in daily life.

Nostalgic Musings: Journaling walkthroughs and prompts, as well as detailed posts about journal types, supplies and more.

Three Times the Charm: Live journaling class (starts june 20th) with walkthroughs, prompts and challenges.

Melisa is giving away a fabric hair bow.

Melisa's Blog and Shop. 

 

To be entered in the giveaway, just comment on this post by Tuesday the 28th(be sure to include your email address!). 

To get more entries, visit each shop and tell me your what your favorite item is. Do this individually by each comment(in the end you could be entered four times). 

Good luck! 

fun in the sun.

Here are a few silly behind the scenes photos from that shoot. 

I love having these two as friends. 

 

I think I'm going to make pesto pizza for lunch and work all afternoon. Have a wonderful day! <3

 

girl in sunshine.

I shared a sneak peek of the this shoot last Thursday evening and I'm excited to share my final edits!

I've been feeling rather uninspired with photography and a shoot in the sunshine with Kaitlyn was just what I needed.

It also helps that Kaitlyn is the same size as me, so styling some of my 70sish thrifted dresses makes it easy. I definitely wore that blue dress to high school a few times. ;)

Like I said in the last post, I wanted a sunny, 70s vibe and I like the spookier edge some of the photos ended up having.

Next up we're going to do a 50s shoot. I'm excited to pull out my Junior year Prom dress (that still has a torn arm from all the dancing, haha!) and get some beehive action going in Kaitlyn's hair. And, man isn't she gorgeous? You might remember this shoot we did last summer. She makes it easy. 

I feel like my editing style is coming in and it was so much fun to edit these.

And, thanks to Darian for coming along and assisting! <3

A Word From Our Sponsors: June.

Every month I have the pleasure of having wonderful and independent artists, shops, and blogs sponsor this little place. Every month I ask my lovely sponsors random question for you to know their souls a little bit more. 

This month's question:

What is one detail in your life that you like to put extra attention to?

Melisa from Pienthesky:

Oh dear. I feel like the answer for me is everything! I am such a perfectionist and I love paying attention to the little details. Everything from special packaging to sweet reminders to the Mr of how much I like him, from extra time in photoshop editing to making sure every hair on my head is curled just right. ha. It might sound nuts, but I try and do everything with a spirit of excellence and though I'm far from perfect, I still try daily :)

Melisa is a full time college student and Etsy shop owner. I love to create and I long to bring beauty to this world. Melisa loves fancy, lovely, frilly things. Melisa likes to inspire and that's what I try to do through her little blog: Pie N' the Sky. Pie N' the Sky is a lifestyle blog focused on inspiration, handmade and lovely things! Melisa's blog is full of goals, daily inspirations, projects, her Mr, fashion, and lots of photos. You can follow Melisa on Twitter, Facebook, and Etsy. 

Moorea from Moorea Seal:

I am the sort of person that is obsessed with the little details, being a jewelry designer, blog designer, and illustrator, it's kind of my job to be that way! But when I am not working away from morning till night, I try my best to take care of myself with simple and sweet actions like painting my nails, eating healthy, and going rock climbing or running. Taking care of myself usually comes last after working hard and trying to care for those around me whom I love. But I have learned over time that I can work harder and can love others better when I have invested in myself daily and fully. Come join in my "Paint Your Love" project on my blog where, each week, I post about a new way we can love and invest in ourselves better. I encourage my readers to paint their nails a new color each week so they have a visual reminder of how they are learning to love themselves more, and I join in too of course!

Moorea is an artist, jewelry designer, blogger, illustrator, and blog designer based out of Seattle. You can follow Moorea on her blog, shop, and Twitter. 

Alycia from The Curious Pug:

One (big) detail in my life that I like to put extra attention into is my little family. Even though it's just the 3 of us (Monty is like our baby!), I still value our time together and would almost always choose a quiet night in over a night out.

 

Alycia lives in California with her husband and dog Monty. She enjoys being a book worm, crafter, and wannabe green thumb. When she's not crafting or blogging, she works as an x-ray tech when the economy allows!

Vicki from But It's a Good Place to Start:

Wow that is a HARD questions - just one??? My FRINGE. Yes it's a little sad, and maybe just a teeny bit vain but I have to get it trimmed every 4 weeks - otherwise it starts to look just a little odd. So there you have it; please don't judge me!!!! 

Vicki is the author of But It's A Good Place To Start, she is a wife and mummy and is currently studying for a BA in Design. She bakes wonderful cakes and loves to make random jam flavours. Vicki hopes to open an Etsy store one day and have a gorgeous design studio.

Krystal from Krystal Rose:

My planner is definitely something that receives extra attention. I spend so much time trying to find the *perfect* planner. Then, after I make a decision, I love to personalize it and make it my own! What can I say, I love to stay organized! It's something that I use daily & saves my life when I almost forget that really important project at work.

Krystal Rose is a blog that follows the life of a 25 year old photo taker & blog loving girl living in Northern California . Krystal just opened up her etsy shop where she sells pretty paper & little books. Krystal loves new friends, so stop by and say hi to her on her blog or Twitter.

Natalie from Awkward and Beautiful:

One detail that I would like to put extra attention into would be art journal demo videos. A lot of friends of mine say they're wonderful, but I just never have enough time or patience to make more, but gosh I have a lot of great ideas! I want to spend more time doing that then anything.

Natalie is a 22 year old Starbucks barista from Texas who crafts coffee by day, and paints journal pages by night. Natalie can also be found on Twitter, Flickr, and Tumblr when she's not flinging coffee around or playing with her cat.

Jada from Minestrone Soup for the Teenage Soul:

When I moved to Massachusetts for college, I left not only my family and friends, but my lovely Weber piano, Charlotte. Yes, I named my piano. This summer, I'm planning on practicing my piano more and writing music. Because I'm also taking a summer online course on classical music, I'm going to be teaching myself all of Frederich Chopin's compositions...well, some at least!

Minestrone Soup for the Teenage Soul is a blog about a girl, living in the big city of Boston. It first started as a food blog, but branched out into a more personal lifestyle blog. Jada shares her adventures as a student in the city.

Hope from Paper Relics:

Books. I am a book geek. I have so many books (paper and digital) across many subjects (art, craft, fiction, classics, philosophy, etc) and I love to incorporate them in the decorating of the rooms through out my house. 

Hope Wallace Karney is greeting card designer and freelance designer living in Maryland. She also creates e-courses for art journaling and can be found at her blog, Twitter, and Facebook. She is currently running a new online journaling class called Three Times The Charm.

If you're interested in promoting your business, indie band, or Etsy shop or just wanting some new faces to check out your blog, send me an email to karahaupt(@)gmail.com for stats and rates.  Read more and hear some past sponsor testimonials on my Sponsorship page. Thanks so much!