Sunday stuff

Well, I didn't get outside to do the portrait assignment for my photo class - it's just too cold, and I didn't purge my scrapbooking supplies like Amy - go Amy!! But, I did work on a few layouts for some submission deadlines that are coming up.

Here's my first effort:

a summer overview layout. Not really feeling the buttons. Might have to tweak this one a bit before I submit it. (Isn't it amazing how different a project looks once you take a picture of it? It's like looking at it with someone else's eyes. Always amazes me.) Don't you love that American Crafts cloud paper? I just added about 5 sheets of it to my stash. It goes with everything and makes whatever you put on it look very happy.

Here's effort number two:

a few of things about this layout: 1) that heavy cream label on the low left is a real vintage label that came in a package of graphic ephemera I ordered a few weeks ago. It was perfect for this layout. Here's a close up I took after I sewed it down.

I just wanted to leave it that way. I wish I had a dozen more of these things. I don't know what I'd do with them - I'd just be happy knowing I had them on hand - just in case. Here's my journaling:

2) I couldn't do a layout about picking strawberries withouth mentioning my cousin Lorraine - who passed away in 2001 at 39 years old. She was the one who liked to pick strawberries and took me on my first berry picking adventure. It was her 'thing' and we tried to go every June. I know I will need to do another layout that focuses more on those days. I don't think I'm ready yet, though. I can't believe it's been almost 10 years since she left us.
My brief journaling is written on label stickers from the Paper Source. Loving them. You can even run them through a printer. I think they are intended to be mailing label stickers - but oh, they are so much more than that.
Thing number 3) about this layout - which I am still trying to get my head around - is that I took this picture about 20 minutes ago. It's dark outside, incandescent light is my only  light source and I didn't use the flash! I mentioned in my last post about learning what the white balance on my camera does - and here is the actual proof that it works. Usually a picture taken in these conditions, with no flash, results in photo with an extreme yellow cast. Not when you get that white balance going. (hooray!) Now I don't have to finish my projects the night before a deadline so I can take the photo the next morning in natural light. This will make my life a whole lot easier!

It's the week 3 sketch...

at Ella Publishing. Each week you submit an entry, you get entered to win a Cricut Expression. I'm not a winner - I rarely win stuff if a random drawing is involved. This is the reason I don't gamble or buy tons of raffle or lottery tickets. I'm just not one of those people that win stuff. So, I am just enjoying the challenge and getting 6 layouts done in the process. If there's a Cricut in my future - well, that will just be a bonus!
On to this week's sketch...have to say, I was getting used to the nice, simple 2 and 3 photo layouts - so here we go with a 'fiver'

I had a hard time visualizing this one. I think I tend to (or start out to) make my layouts more symmetrical and I'm not a big 'measure the photos' gal - so when I see a multitude of precise measurements, I start to tune out. (Funny, so many hours of my day job are focused on precise measurements. What's my problem?) Oh well, I realize once again that the sketch is merely a jumping off point and come up with this:

supplies: cardstock: Bazzill, patterned paper: Basic Grey, Sasafrass Lass; journal spots: K&Co.; letter stickers: American Crafts

I rotated the sketch and eliminated some of the journaling areas, then added a small one at the bottom. Went to the white ground again - trying to keep it simple. That background,

which has circles of Basic Grey and Sasafrass sewn down, was inspired by a set of sheets I saw in last months Country Living. They were plain white embellished with polka dots of several vintage fabrics sewn on in a random pattern.  I love them and have to make a set - but that is a project for another day! They were a DIY project from this book by Cath Kidston:

From what I can gather, Cath Kidston is the UK Martha Stewart. Cute, cute stuff they have across the pond!

On a somewhat related note, the photos I took of the layout were done with my D80 in manual mode. Anyone out there with a dslr knows that shooting in manual can be a little complicated. I'm happy to report my photo class is an awesome success. I've learned so much is 4 short weeks - most notably what the white balance is and how to make it work! Two more weeks to go then I think I'll sign up for the advanced class. Our assignment this week is to take a Richard Avedon- style portrait (no shadows). This will require me and my subject to be outside while the sun is setting in the shade. Did I mention its 17 degrees here?

Ella Sketch Week 2 (of 6) & some other stuff I made this week...

Busy week at work and busy week on the desk!
This week started with the Ella Sketch Challenge - Week 2.
Here's the sketch:

Here's my layout:

supplies: patterned cardstock: Stampin Up, MME; journal spot: Stampin Up; rub ons: Prima; letter stickers: American Crafts, Making Memories

I cut the shapes out of the background cardstock, stitched around the openings, then used the reverse side of the cut out pieces and sewed them down too.

A springy little Easter layout. (I'm definitely ready for the Spring!)

Next was the layout for Creative Imaginations. Another sketch contest - this one for a guest designer spot.

Here's the sketch:

Not 100% in love with this one. I felt limited by my supply of  CI, which I greatly overestimated.  By the time I got rolling, it was too late to order in back-up. With a little help from the local Michael's, here's what I came up with:

supplies: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper, die cut paper, journal spots: Creative Imaginations; flowers: SEI; letter stickers: Heidi Swapp, Making Memories; buttons

It looked really flat after it was done and I was wishing I had misted or splattered some white paint under the die cut paper. I had already sewn it down, though, and couldn't figure out how to do that without ruining the rest. I decided just to smash up the die cut paper a bit and give it a little texture. I think it works.

The tag, where the title is, comes out and that is where the journaling is. I like hiding the journaling because my handwriting can be a big mess sometimes. I'm all for using actual handwriting on a layout and use it whenever I can. I think it's a way more personal way to tell the story than with computer generated type - but sometimes it just looks bad!

And last but not least, a couple small cards that I will send in for the Cards Blog. The challenge this week is cards with squares. Love the square!

These look very simple but it actually took a bit of trial and error to get the center squares the right size to accommodate the type the way I wanted.  They are not actually they way I wanted them to be - but that is ok.

So, now I have a few items I want to make for some approaching submission deadlines. I'll work on them over the weekend. Also waiting anxiously for the arrival of my first Studio Calico kit. Can't wait for that thing to get here!!

Feeling 'springy' today

even though it's the height of winter. (I despise the winter!) I made this little card this week.

The Cards Blog challenge was for cards with trees or branches. Don't know about you, but when I notice those first dots of green on the trees, after the long, miserable winter, I breathe a big sigh of relief. That is what I wanted to capture on this card.  The French knots did the trick. Green bling would have worked, too. The tree was a free shape download from Silhouette. This was a pretty easy card to make. If I hadn't run out of the cloud and wood grain papers, there would be a dozen more just like it with varying sentiments.

Definitely feeling the need to buy a little happy today. I need to search the web today for some staples. I'm all out of Bazzill kraft. I like to buy the bulk package. I need more AC Cloud paper (above) and that woodgrain paper (it's "old" Elsie paper). Also coveting these:

fluffy cloud stickers from Paper Source. These come in a couple of colors. I've got plans for these babies.

And how about this...

from Stampin Up. I love the way Easter 'looks' and this iconic shape.

This week I also gave in to my desire for this

the Studio Calico kit, and signed up for a subscription. I'm starting with February, "the Bakers Dozen." (baking + scrapbooking = perfection.) I know I will not be disappointed with these kits. Every time I see layouts that have used them I am struck by the mixture of materials. Also, it looks like the February kit is loaded with doilies. This will make me sound like a complete dork, but I have loved doilies since I was in kindergarten. I have a vivid memory of the day we made Valentines and being handed a crisp white doily to use along with the red construction paper and paste. I've loved them ever since. I use them under my baked goods, now I'll have another outlet. Wonder why it never occurred to me to use them before the trend hit? Gotta love the trendspotters.

"Work It Out Wednesday" Challenge....

sounds like I exerted myself in a physical way, like at an aerobathon - remember those?
My body is happy that "Work It Out Wednesday" is actually a regular entry on the Scrapbook Trends Blog - that features a new technique every week, on Wednesday.
I was up late last night working on these layouts. (I am so not a night person but lately I'm finding the hours between 9 - midnight to be a very productive time.) Don't know about you, but once I get an idea in my head, I can't stop until I feel I've done it justice. Then it starts to evolve into something else. Such was the case of the faux scallop layouts. I wound up making 2, since I wasn't in love with the first attempt. I had an idea to justify all of the photos on the right edge, instead of centering them like I usually do. (I love those layouts I see where everything looks simple and not agonized over.  Although I've claimed to be a simple scrapper, that couldnt' be further from the truth. Even the simple looking things take me what seems like an eternity.)
Here is the first effort:

On this layout, I used a combo of the faux scallop and vintage book paper techniques. I was tempted to cut up a vintage copy of Peter Rabbit for this one. It would have been perfect, but the "appreciator of old stuff" in me kicked in and I couldn't bring myself to do it. (I'm going to need to make some color scans of that thing and use them in a layout.) I like this layout. I wanted the background to be dark and rich, since the background in the large photo is really dark. I was afraid it might be too busy (I like a lot of pattern but not everyone does) so I moved onto this:

Had a few technical issues with that lined base paper but I think it's ok. I had been wanting to try a white background layout. This is as white as I can go without feeling "lack of pattern" anxiety. Again, the faux scallop. What I love about this technique is that you can mix up the papers and do some really fun combos. I used one of those Sassafrass crazy striped papers so I had a lot of pattern options without having to punch  holes in every sheet of paper I had. This would be a great technique to use up those scraps.

Ella sketch challenge...#1 in a series...

Yesterday was rainy & cold in the northeast - perfect weather to work on my layout for the Ella Sketch Challenge. Here is this week's sketch:

and here's what I made (so far):

Supplies: patterned paper: K & Co. (Amy Butler), Stampin Up; cardstock, stamping ink: Close To My Heart; letter stickers: American Crafts, Making Memories; rubber stamp: Hero Arts; mist ink: Tattered Angels; lined paper: Jenni Bowlin Studio;  ribbon: Making Memories; punch: Martha Stewart Crafts

I rotated the sketch and broke the lower photo into 4 small photos. I went back to the mist (sounds mysterious) for some background interest, and I used my brand-spankin'-new doily stamp. It's a new Hero Arts stamp that I fell in love with on sight the other day. I've been dying to use it. (We haven't seen the last of that guy.)
I also used the actual tickets from the ballet we attended. No point in letting all that stuff sit in a box somewhere. I need to find a better system for keeping track of the ephemera -the tickets, receipts and collected paper stuff. Anyone have a system that is working? I mean well but wind up scattering it all over the place. (Those tickets on the layout are from last week - it took me 45 minutes to find them!)

Some make and takes...

I put together last night for the Scrapper's Cove. Next weekend is their 4th anniversary open house. Congrats Ladies! It's been a ton of fun working with you on the design team over the past year.

These can be used as either a gift enclosure card or tag - or even on a layout. The products I was given to work with were this Fiskars combo border/corner punch and a package of Tim Holtz Iconic Grungeboard.

I'm not much of a technique girl but that glimmer mist sure makes it look like I am. I used the grunge board letters from the set as a mask for the mist. (the icons could have been pretty cool, too.)  It really does some amazing things. The only thing I don't like about it, is also the thing I love about it - it is not precise or predictable.
Notice that faux stitching?

I saw that technique in one of the big scrapbooking mags (I wish I could remember which one so I could give them credit) and thought I'd give it a whirl. First, you make the dashes (a.ka. stitches) with a smudge proof pen, then you go back with a piercer and make a hole at both sides of each dash/stitch. Tedious, yes, but worth it. It looks realistic, no? I'm a pretty regular sewer and from a distance, it looks sewn to me. I hope they like it. They know I can't submit anything that hasn't been sewn in one way or another.
Off to work on that Ella challenge and my photography class homework (which I promised myself I would not leave until last minute this week!)

whew, I'm back...

What a crazy week. I knew it would be intense and that pretty much sums it up. Work and home obligations collided - it was the perfect storm. I can't remember the last time I was so glad to have a day to myself.  Yay Friday! (not that it's all mine...but compared to the previous 4 days, it's a breeze)
The week started out here:

Not a bad place to start. Sunday, back to the ballet at Lincoln Center. This time "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

I tried to explain the complicated story to Marilyn but her takeaway was this: "it had kids, pretty fairies and a wedding." All true. Look at this little New Yorker. Drinking her Starbucks (hot cocoa) with a straw!

The whole time at the ballet, I was thinking about this:

and this

(I just love this fabric - it's got sea life all over it: starfish, octopi, jellyfish, etc.)

All prep for a presentation for a library here in NJ. My first solo presentation effort. Suprisingly, I was more anxious about getting the background info, materials and spreadsheets together than I was of making the actual presentation. I contemplated this as I drove, and drove, and drove, 2 hours south -

way down to the south Jersey oceanfront - where it is currently like a ghost town. I love the big shore towns in the winter. They are so quiet. Almost everything is closed. All of the traffic lights are flashing. Not a soul around. So peaceful. It feels like the middle of the night, but the sun is shining and it's the middle of the day.
In the midst of the presentation prep, I worked late into the night on my submission for the Ella eZine cover contest. I can't show the layout until they pick a winner, but here is the explosion that was my desk on Tuesday night.

I'm very organized, but when I'm working, I make a huge mess. There's stuff all over the floor, too.
It took me a few days to come up with the plan. I had a few ideas on how to approach the layout (and even more now that it is finished). As I mentioned in a previous post, the 'love' topic threw me. I think I found the least painful, least sappy way to scrap about how my husband and I came to be.
In the meantime, Ella has posted a weekly layout sketch challenge.

 I'll be all over that. The sketches are going to be simple and open to interpretation. Sketches make my life so much easier and I'm all about easy right now.

Blocked

I don't know why I'm having such a hard time working on this Ella cover submission? It's for the cover of the February eZine and the topic is Love. I'm pretty sure they are looking for the romantic kind, or at least the kind involving people. Not the love between a girl and her ipod, or her fluffy pillow, or her....well, you get it. I don't think they want inanimate objects.

My difficulty might have to do with the fact that I have never made a single scrapbook page about my wedding or about just me & Dan. (I better add that wedding book to my list of projects.) I don't know many scrapbookers that like to do pages about themselves. I especially don't like it even though I know I should. I wish I had started scrapbooking before I had kids. It would probably make it a little easier.

Here's one of 2 layouts that exist, all about me. It was the first layout I did for the Scrapper's Cove design team. The assignment was to make an introduction layout about who we were. Notice, there is not even a picture of me in this layout. Leave it to me to find away to devote an entire layout to myself without actually including a photo of the subject/me! (brilliant!)

This layout is in the new Scrapbook Trends "Quick & Easy" book.

Well, time is ticking and because of responsibilities & obligations at my day job this week, creative spare time is at a minimum.  To add insult to injury, my "creative thought process" (my absolute favorite tool) is currently focused on finding whimsical commercial carpet tiles (those of you in the interior design field know this is nearly impossible) and what color to paint the accent wall in the childrens room at the public library we are working on.
One thing at a time I suppose. Library first, layout second.  It's go time!

Summing up a decade...

in a scrapbook layout; I love this idea! (Or maybe a mini book? Or an album with a year on each page? hmmm. I'd like to keep this clean and simple. Need think this one out.) I just read this article in the Ella eZine for January, then this blog post on Angie Lucas's blog, and I'm feeling very motivated. So many life changing events happened to us between 2000-2010. Some events have gone un-scrapped.. I have so much ephemera that has not made it into a layout. This would be a great way to put it all somewhere that makes sense.

It's freezing here, and besides a hair appt for the little guy:

(a really necessary hair appointment, as you can see!!!) ....

and replacement of my brand new, newly broken tripod (note: tags still on & flat thing that holds camera flopped over to left..)

How did I break this thing? I wonder if it's really broken? There was a snapping sound that felt like 'broken'. It was a birthday gift along with my 50mm lens that  sat un-used for months. I used it over the holidays to take photos of the cookies and I fell in love with it. (It's great for taking photos of my paper projects with no flash.) Now that I actually need it for my photo class, which startred Thursday night, it is non-functional.

Sorry to wander offf.....long story short, I've got some time today to work on the decade project. I think the hardest part will be editing the list and collecting photos. I'm also trying to make a few card deadlines today. Made these guys last night. Funny how the style evolves as the night wears on. These are in the order I made them:

(Card images I & II removed for publication)

Found out last night about a guest designer spot at Creative Imaginations. How sweet would that be? Gotta work on it. Also, another eZine cover contest at Ella. All over that one, too! Then there's the "12 Days of Cookies" album -can't forget abotu that one! All this, along with my 'day job' - it's going to be a very busy week!

Ella eZine & Mercury in retrograde...

Thanks Ella - for putting my work in your January eZine! It was just released today. They used a layout I made for their 'stretch the sketch' challenge:

Aside from the photos, my favorite part of this one is that little "we love NJ" bit on the lower right.

and this one, that I've posted on this blog before.

It was inspired by a layout they saw in their ebook "Vintage Hip Christmas."

According to my friend, who is wise in the ways of astrology, "mercury is in retrograde." Apparently, it messes everyone up. Maybe that could explain my super crabby mood and the total lack of creative energy I'm feeling? I tried today, yesterday, the day before....I made some cards today, technically for the Cards blog challenge, but they didn't come together easily.

Used the Silhouette to cut the snowflake and repurposed some holiday stickers for the sentiment.

This one is the same basic concept. Gotta use up those holiday stickers!

I still have a pretty big pile of things I want to work on. Just hoping the slump passes so I can make a few deadlines. I think I need to hit the sketchbook and google this Mercury thing. How many days until spring?

Thanks UPS man...

who rang my doorbell tonight at 7.45. You delivered something I had totally forgotten about. A little something I found while trolling blogs and their links early last week. Via the HOW blog, I found a post about these amazing paper packs containing an assortment of bits and pieces of vintage and some not-so-vintage papers. The sample showed big graphic numbers, pieces of advertising, packaging...well, you get it.  I checked out the site, some locals over in Brooklyn , and I was sold. I purchased the paper pack and these adorable camera stamps:

The paper pack is fantastic and is loaded with stuff I will use in some upcoming projects. Here's a photo of the opened package. I assume they are all different - guess I'll have to buy more to find out!

here's a close up of the stamps. These would be so cute on an envelope of photos for a gift. I'm sure I will find a good use for them.

The name of the shop is Three Potato Four - check it out!

Some layouts....

I made for the Scrapper's Cove. The paper this month was the Sassafras Lass "Amplify" line. I was nervous when I first saw it because it's a little crazy, but it wound up working with so many of my photos. I think working with paper like this, with unexpected color combos & patterns, is a great way to work outside your comfort zone. I really had to stop worrying about how things matched up. It was a nice change since I am a major control freak.
Here are the freshly delivered projects:

 

I cut a slot in the piece of kraft cardstock with a craft knife before I sewed it to the crazy patterned cardstock. It made an "instant" pocket that holds the tickets from the museum and the journaling card I made.

Here's the second layout:

The distressing on the edges of the pennant paper was not deliberate. My cutter has gotten some adhesive stuck in it's track so all of my cuts come out "shreddy" like this. (Especially with the Sassafras papers, not so much on the cardstock.)  I obviously need a replacement cutter, but it worked on this page. (All the others I had to sand off the shreds.) I'm going to hang onto the damaged cutter, though, in case I want to get this effect again.

Lastly, the Disney mini album - complete with journaling & details:

I usually make gigantic albums for the Disney trips. I was surprised how much info fit into this little mini. Now I just need to deal with the other 400 photographs!

Well, no trip to the Scrapper's Cove would be complete without a  purchase, or two...or several. I picked up some new Basic Grey; the Origins and Sugar Rush lines. (Sugar Rush is not very Basic Grey looking, but interesting.) Also that cute Tim Holtz ribbon that looks like a film strip. It even comes in a little film can. (Wow, I'm a sucker for packaging!)  I grabbed some BG felt flowers and a new Hero Arts stamp. I have a giant stack of challenges I want to work on over the next few days. Hopefully the new stuff will inspire. Time to get back to work!