NSD '13: Give Mixed Media a Try

Supplies: Patterned Paper: American Crafts, Heidi Swapp, October Afternoon; Embellishments: My Mind's Eye, Ormolu; Stickers: American Crafts: Stencils: Crafter's Workshop; Ink: Ranger: Colored Pencil; Prisma; Pen: Pilot Precise; Washi Tape: Target

This layout belongs in my total friggin' nightmare file.  I cannot get the hang of those 6X6 stencils.  The mixed media part of this layout seems to be the pox on the entire thing.  However - life goes on.  It is okay.  Deep breaths.  One more layout down and isn't my baby so cute?  Life is good.

BTW: Completed this layout for the Studio Calico challenge, Give Mixed Media a Try!

LOAD - Alternative Scrapbooking

Another day, another layout - and I'm loving it.  To be perfectly honest - I'm loving my life right now which is unbelievable in a way that words cannot express.  I'm happy in this moment - and that's huge for me after the last few years I've had.  I think it's partially because I'm being creative - telling my story.  I'm not getting hung up on the "big" things like not being married or having kids.  I'm not questioning whether my life is "worth" scrapbooking or my audience.  I know who it is - me.  I am worth it and that is enough- what a phenomenal shift.

So what the hay does this have to do with LOAD?  I'm happy to be creating each day and I really credit this class and other new circumstances in my life.  So - on to today's challenge.  Mondays are titled "Mother May I" by my scrap happy teacher Lain Ehmann.  This Monday's assignment - scrap an alternative page.  Do the thing you normally wouldn't do.  Now let's be clear - you don't have to follow the assignment.  You can do whatever you want - but Lain is an evil genius.  At the end of each assignment she suggests trying the assignment if you're feeling any "resistance."  So let's just say - I was feeling a little resistance and I decided to take Lain at her word and give it a try.  I started with something new I found on Shimelle Laine's blog - it's a starting points "challenge" for each week.  This week's starting point was really a lesson in layering (even for a girl that loves to pile it on like me).  Shimelle has started to post the starting point on Saturdays and her finished layout on Sundays.  Have I mentioned how much I love her blog!

Source Image 

I knew from the beginning I would not be doing a 12 x 12 page - which broke my heart a little.  I decided to go with a standard 8 1/2 x 11 page and put it in a horizontal orientation - something I did when I first started scrapbooking.  I have to say - I like rocking the square much better than the rectangle.  I wish I would have thought about it and taken a picture at the starting point stage - but I didn't so here's the finished project.

It's been a long time since I've done a page on the boys.  I love these dogs so much and they are too far away from me.  I haven't seen them in almost 20 months - not that I'm counting or anything.  It just sucks.  I miss seeing them - even if it was only once or twice a year.  I really am happy with the finished product despite it being outside my comfort zone.  However, it was nice to go back to a somewhat familiar place.  I don't have any grids in this size paper so I was "forced" to go with a solid gray background.  I think it worked out okay.  Let me give a quick product run down.  Papers are from Archivers (gray), My Mind's Eye (Stella Rose) and Authentique.  The embellishments/brads/stickers are from My Mind's Eye and American Crafts.  The journaling card and letter stickers (Thickers) are from American Crafts too.  I have no idea where the flowers are from - sorry.

So that's it for today.  I tried something new.  I layered like nobody's business.  I participated in a challenge.  I knocked out Layout #5 for the Mother LOAD.  I took a trip to Borders (my third) and don't intend to go back.  I wish I would have thought about that more when I was there today.  It's just a little hard.  I know it sounds lame - to be broken up about a store closing - but I am and that's just it.  So - I hope everyone has had a nice Monday.  I'm looking forward to work tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to crafting tomorrow.  I'm looking forward - I can barely believe it.  It's so great.  Anyhoo - Until then..

CHA Madness Day #5

There's only one thing to report today - and that's CHA Goodness.  It's the final day of this series on my blog and we're going out with a bang or fizzle depending on who you are and your crafty taste.  We've got some wonderful stylings today from Crafters Workshop, Glitz Design, and My Mind's Eye.  So...Tonks (aka my diva kitty) may I get a drum roll please...

Crafters Workshop

Source Image (all four)

I'm so excited about Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's new stencils from Crafters Workshop.  I believe they might have the power to take this humble, scared, scrappy girl into the art journaling/mixed media stratosphere - no pressure here at all.  I love everything about most of her stencils.  I'm also loving the Attitude silhouette stencil from CW and the birds, and the chicken wire, and the paint splatters and....so much more.  So excited about this release.  As part of my full disclaimer policy this week - I should tell you I've never bought this product but have heard rave reviews from many artists in the blogging universe.  Happy painting!

Glitz Design

Some time ago - I found the antique/vintage blue and yellow color scheme on some website or other - I honestly can't remember where - and fell in love.  So you can imagine I did a rocking happy dance when I saw the next collection from Glitz Design.  Thank you so much GD for making one of my color story dreams come true.

My Mind's Eye

Last but not least, I'm bringing you My Mind's Eye which really rocked my world with one of their collections from the winter show.  Thankfully, they're at again - and this girl couldn't be any happier.  I've ranked them from fave to least fave - which does not at all mean I think the last is bad in any shape or form.  For a better look, please check out the link.  So cool.

So that's it for today.  I had lofty dreams of showing some of my recent interior decorating with my father's excellent help - but have a few more things to get together.  Look for that next week.  I think I've found a solid headboard on Craigslist for under $50 with just some gentle upgrades necessary to bring my bedroom into a whole new universe - not sure why the science theme is so hot right now on this blog of mine.  Maybe it's due to the new book I'm reading?  Yes, you heard it here.  I'm on #9 - Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and I'm giving myself a full week to finish it - who knew I could be so generous with myself!  Hope everyone has a terrifical Friday - two points to anyone who/whom gets the literary reference in those small seven words.  Ten points to anyone who/whom can explain the correct use of who and whom.  Until then...

BTW: If anyone is wondering - I've designated the ever so pleasant Tonks as the mascot for my blog.  She's a tuxedo cat with the strangest markings and frankly even stranger attitude.  She will not hesitate to tell anyone to suck it while showing her derriere and walking away gracefully.  Don't take it personally - she does it to everyone including yours truly - the FRIGGIN MOUTH THAT FEEDS HER. :)

Just a Little Sad

I saw this post by Andrea Joseph. The post is from Tuesday, July 13, 2010.   And I felt the wet behind my eyes.  I love that little paw touching the paper.  I love her description of trying to get a cat to do something they don't want to do.  It reminds me of my girl.  My crazy, diva, banshee cat.  I don't like leaving her behind.  I wish she could go everywhere with me.  I talked a little about being reunited with my crafty supplies - but I can't wait to be reunited with her.  It's a little bittersweet having so much fun and knowing she's alone.  She probably doesn't even know I'm gone.  But I know I'm not with her.  I miss my Tonks.

P.S. Scroll down for today's crafty post - Product Love. :)

Tuesday Trigger & Roo

Happy Monday!  I know - it's easy to say that when summer break is part of your work life.  I will say a few things. I know how hard Mondays are - it's like looking down the barrel of a gun some weeks.  I have the kind of job that if you didn't get a summer break, I don't think many people could do it without having a nervous breakdown.  Finally, with my health the way it is - summer break is a necessity.  I think summer breaks are literally adding more years to my working life - which is huge for me.  Still - my heart goes out to all of my friends that work full-time, year-round.  Feel free to shake your fists or call me names - I  totally understand.   I'm not sure if that diatribe was necessary but there it is.  On to happier things...

The Moxie Fab World blog (sponsored by Paper Crafts magazine) has a weekly challenge called Tuesday Trigger.  For months - I've wanted to participate in one of the weekly triggers but things just haven't worked out.  When I went on the blog last week, I immediately knew I wanted to participate in this trigger.  So - what got me so inspired?  Beyond the fact the top is absolutely brilliant and fun, I was really taken by the color scheme and the floral print.  My original plan was to use one of my large Hero Arts cling flowers on the page.  However - as time went on - I new I wanted to take another stab at doing a card like this one.

This card is completely out of my comfort zone.  I never had done a card like this before.  If you would have asked me before making it - I would have said - 'never in a million years will I make a card like that.'  Thank God for my change of mind or brave streak or whatever.  I love it now.  I haven't tried anything like it since.  Something about the trigger photo made me think of it - and then I was off and running.  I decided to go with a Hero Arts image - just not a floral one.

I'm a big fan of cityscapes.  I have several stamps of this sort - but rarely bring them out for stamping.  This stamp is part of Hero Arts summer release and was on top of my wanted list the moment I saw it.  I'm very satisfied with the result.  Originally - I had a yellow button in the upper right corner.  I didn't really think I had a sentiment that worked.  Then I remembered the sentiment from Amuse and knew it was perfect.  Love it.  I stamped three images and did some fussy cutting to create a dimensional look.

Anyhoo - I went to the Moxie Fab blog this morning and imagine my surprise when I found out the project was due last night - the night I finally got off my rear to do something.  I assumed the deadline would be today.  I need to read the fine print more.  Despite my screw up - I'm really happy with the card.

I thought I'd end this post with a pic of my Roo Girl.  This is her new spot when I post.  It's where my Xyron and paper are stored.  I don't think it could possibly be comfortable - but she loves it.  The picture is at a weird angle (I was trying to do something funky).  I hope everyone has a nice Monday.  I think I might be getting paybacks from my earlier comments  on Monday.  My computer crashed three times in the writing of this post.  Not so good.  I'm happy it's finally done.  Blessings all around.  Until then...

It's a New Day

It's a new day and I'm trying to be faithful to my blog!  I know I sound like a broken record - but it's what I'm dealing with now.  It's a rainy Monday here and I really want nothing more than to stay at home with my diva kitty (who happens to be right next to me stretching).  Alas, being a grown-up means going to work and making a living.  I'm really not a fan of Mondays.  I'm more of a Tuesday/Thursday/Friday girl.  Anyhoo...I have a few cards that were not created for a challenge so I thought I'd share one of those today.  I hope you like the card (and the pic of diva Tonks).  Until then...Happy Crafting!

One more thing.  I found making this card to be very easy.  I had just finished a bunch of cards (6 to be exact) and was pulling ideas from the previous sketches to make something from scratch.  It worked out pretty well for me.  I really enjoyed coloring the stamped image because I was able to pull from so many colors in the patterned paper.  Just another way sketches and challenges help me - even when I don't have one in front of me.  Very cool.

MIA AGAIN!

I know...I know, I've been a horrendous blogger lately.  I've been a little busy and overwhelmed in the last two weeks.  However, I hope to change that over this weekend.  I have a long date with my craft table.  I got the Branch Out stamp set from Stampin' Up.  I was able to unmount them - now what to do with those wood blocks.  If you are interested in unmounting your Stampin' Up rubber stamps, check out this video.  It was a huge help for me.  I'm excited to use this new stamp set.  I should have some examples on Saturday or Sunday.  I'm hoping for a challenge extravaganza!  That's really all of I have to report here.  I hope everyone has a happy Friday.  Until then...Happy Crafting!

Tired

It's been a pretty busy weekend.  I don't have any cards to post today - however, there will be some posted tomorrow afternoon. I'm so tired now that I'm just biding my time until I can go to bed.  That being said - I hate that feeling on a Sunday night (wishing for bedtime).  I want to try and enjoy every last moment of the weekend.  So here's to a few more hours of the weekend.  I'll have crafty goodness in tomorrow's post.  I hope everyone has had a nice weekend.  Until then...Happy Crafting.

Hodgepodge

Well...it's Friday and I made it. I'm so done with being sick, tired and stressed out. I've decided this is it. I'm getting off the mats. I'm going to be 32 in a few days and this just can't continue. I WANT to look forward to my birthday - which I'm currently struggling to do. I WANT to enjoy my job and feel like it's helping me not hurting me. I WANT to actually be fun to be around - which I am SO not right now. So from here on this post is going to be my attempt to do better, be better, and feel better.

First, I've spent two 1/2 days at home. This means I've spent a lot of time at home with my kitty which has given me the opportunity to get some pretty cool pictures of the diva kitty. Here are two of my favorites.




On the crafting front, I thought I would go through my thought process when choosing a challenge for the following week. First, I take a look at the challenges - pretty obvious I know. The challenges that caught my eye this week are:

Creative Therapy: What’s something you wish you could do? (Something you know how but are too afraid to try.) - I really like the idea of this prompt - can't really think of a story for a layout.

Method Playground: Use a monochromatic color scheme on your page... Period!... Any subject, any materials, any journaling, any title, any size... Just make the page a "one color wonder"!! - I have a lot of similar color families when it comes to patterned paper. I also have a few stories written in my journaling book - definitely a possibility.

OLW: Word Up #48 - READY. - I think I could use some of my posts from this week to show how ready I am right now for an upswing.

Journaling Junkie: The focus of this challenge would be an everyday event and using repetition -- recording what you were thinking about either while you were taking the pictures or how the pictures made you feel after you pulled them out to get ready to scrap them. - I think I could use my pictures of Tonks from this week.

Effer Dares: Splurges/Indulgences - I could use a bunch of things for this, books, cupcakes, scrapbook stuff. Really - the possibilities are endless.

Color Combos Galore:


After I've taken stock of the interesting challenges and the story possibilities, I start looking at possible combinations. For example, right now I'm really leaning towards One Little Word's Ready challenge. It would be great to combine that challenge with Color Combos Galore or Method Playground since there is no story component. I also really like the Effer Dares challenge because it will help me focus on things I love which is a really good thing right now. Creative Therapy's challenging is intriguing but for a different reason. The design team for this site is really diverse in their art mediums. Due to my current creative state, I thought it might be the perfect time to try a canvas and work off of their prompt. So - you can see I have a lot to think about. If it was a good week - I would possibly do all three. I'm hoping for a good day this weekend where I really want to stretch my creative legs. I know I won't make a decision until I'm in that chair - but I'm already mentally toying with words and pictures for each challenge. I have really good pictures for the Effer Dares challenge. I also have plenty of self-portraits for the OLW challenge. So - there it is - a little bit of my process. It gets me a little pumped just writing about it - weekend crafting here I come! Check back on Wednesday to see what I choose and how it goes. Until then...Happy Crafting!