Adios (for now) Halloween....

until October, that is, when I will welcome you with open arms. (I really do LOVE Halloween).

Finished up my Scrapper's Cove work this morning. Made 2 layouts, 3 cards and a mini. The mini isn't finished - I left it empty. I try never to submit unfinished work like this. I know me. I will rarely go back and finish stuff like this once I walk away.  I have a box full of unfinished projects from CKC and various classes I've taken. Minis that never got filled. (Part of the reason I don't take many classes any more.) Maybe I'll give this one away. Let someone else fill it up.

Got into the enamel groove this morning and discovered that the stuff works very nicely with a mask. Really holds it's shape - added some bats to the finished mini album cover above.
Some hearts to this card (in progress):

and finished:

I bet more intricate shapes would work really nicely, too. Wonder if this success has anything to do with that fact that the humidity in NJ dropped drastically overnight? I always have a problem when I try to ice cookies when it's humid. Maybe it's the same deal here? It's been crazy hot & humid in these parts. hmmm...maybe I was a little harsh in my judgement of the enamel?

Here are my 2 layouts:

So now, the fun part. I get to go to the Scrapper's Cove & deliver the goods. I always wind up shopping even though I resolve not to. Today on my list are some American Crafts Modern albums - as I need to get a grip on the layout organization system here. Until about a 2 years ago, I would only scrap my kids, in date order (yawn). Thanks to the influence of many scrappers, I have seen the error of my ways and now actually enjoy the process a lot more. So, my old system of an album for each kid is no longer effective. Hoping today to start taking apart the books where I've been storing the recent layouts (in no particular order) and put them back together ala' Stacy Julian. I remember first reading about her system in her book The Big Picture and I've been wanting to make the change ever since. Need to revisit that book today and plan the project, maybe while sitting next to the pool with a big glass of lemonade?  Also want to make a layout for this Ella challenge and hopefully use up some more Studio Calico goodies before the next batch arrives.

the Halloween pages...

yes, the one's I've been avoiding for a solid week now. They are breaking me!
Let me start by saying most of my grief is coming from this:

This is the new Ranger Enamel Accents. I was given it, along with a sampling of the new Breathless line by Creative Imaginations to work with for my projects for the store this month.  I tried everything. I thought - how hard can it be? I can ice cookies. I understand the wet-on-wet method of icing - can't be much different right? Wrong. After wasting about a dozen of these things trying to make eyeballs and skeleton heads, the item in the foreground is as close as I came to success:

I decided to move on to other techniques. I wound up resorting to accenting some details like on this paper:

and using it like paint on some grungeboard like on these cards (the skull & crow - forgive the blurriness on the crow card, I could not get a good shot of this card no matter what I did.)

and the key on this still un-named mini album.

Don't get me wrong. It's cool & really shiny when it dries.

It's just got a learning curve. Now, as far as the Breathless line goes - a little lovey-dovey for me. I like my Halloween on the graphic side. I'm just happy to say I'm almost done with these projects.

procrastinating...

Just not feeling like making Halloween layouts so I spent a good chunk of yesterday putting stuff away. I use those flat Iris boxes to store stuff as I'm working, but after a while, the layers stack up inside the boxes and I forget what is in them.

Multiply that times 5 and it gets to be an albatross sitting under & on the desk. So, yesterday, I put paper away, filed scraps, put embellishments away, and this stuff:

This collects at the top edge of my desk; the random punched out, interesting shaped things. I never know what to do with this stuff. It's too pretty to toss. So, I just purged the pile and made it a little neater.

I also downloaded a couple of Ella eBooks that I purchased. I printed them to add to "the binder" (an eBook storage project I started months ago then abandoned). I usually print my books 2-up to save space, ink and paper. I also hate to read horizontal pages in a binder or book.

When I first started this project, I tried printing the books onto glossy paper, so it would look nice and shiny like a magazine. That was an enormous waste of ink & shiny paper. It looked awful. So now I just use regular paper and they print up just fine.
When I ressurected "the binder" project yesterday I realized I will actually need a bigger binder. In the meantime, I made a cover (and also realized I have not one single elephant shaped thing in my stash):

then I made some divider tabs - keeping it simple here & using only scrap:

Can't wait to dive into the new Eight is Enough eBook - it's by April Foster features the Studio Calico design team, and the Stacy Julian eBook "UR2 Cre8tive."

Ok, now back to Halloween - I think that is the 2nd or 3rd time I've said that on this blog in a week. Today I really mean it!

a Saturday layout

Just for fun. I wanted to do the Studio Calico sketch challenge this week because it was simple and clean and I had a single photo I was wanting to scrap. So, I'll save the promised rejected passed over layouts for next week (when I'm 100% certain they are officially out of the running.)

Here's the sketch by Laura Kurz - whose work I have admired for many years:

& here's my layout:

I'm squeezing out the last of my Joyland kit for this page and adding in a few extras. Not loving the mist. I love the way it looks when other people use it, but for me, I just can't seem to get it right. The lined paper is American Crafts, the polka dot is MME and how about that awesome Tim Holtz tissue tape? Just scored that at Scrapper's Cove. My love for paper tape is official. Time to his that site with all the washi tapes.

Now, it's time to clean up and get ready for the local church fair. Tonight is the last night and I've promised my kids we are going for sure. If I don't take them, I don't think they will let me live through the night. One good thing about fairs like this, though, is they are great for people watching and picture taking. I plan to do both.

A few cards..

I don't want to call them rejects...passed over sounds a little better. This little collection of cards was made almost exclusively with the current Studio Calico kit Partly Sunny, plus the add on kit Front Porch. I fell in love with those American Crafts chipboard pieces in the add-on kit. Had to have them!

Images removed for publication

I love all the pink and yellow in these kits and LOVE that Crate paper with the medallions. Also loving that starburst stamp. Had a lot of fun playing with these toys.

Tomorrow, a couple of reject  passed over layouts!

OK, so much for my summer interlude - back to Halloween now and trying to figure out what to do with that Ranger enamel. Sasha Holloway gave me an excellent idea that I'm looking forward to trying today. Thanks a bunch Sasha!

Easy week...

Working on a few things this week but mostly just trying to take easy. Our official last day of school was yesterday so we decided to kick off our vacation from school at a place we hope to spend a lot of time this summer:

Kids had a great time - enjoyed the 'pretend' drowning and lifeguard 'show' and also the uncomfortably low-flying airplane. I always marvel at the braveness & sense of duty of lifeguards. They just jump right into the ocean like no danger exists there. Meantime I'm in my chair worrying about rogue waves, tsumamis, big sharks & jellyfish, etc.

A few projects are in the works but top priority is my Scrapper's Cove DT work. Had a one month break and now ready to dive back in. (No summertime pun intended.) Much to my surprise, a bag full of Halloween product awaited me at pick-up yesterday.

This is Creative Imaginations Breathless line. I'm not a huge fan of paper's that look like a 'scene' so I plan to cut these apart. I'm the process of cutting the dripping blood off of one paper - that sign on the sign post is next on my list!

Also in the bag was something new. New...and scary. (Appropriate since it is Halloween in DT world, after all!) It's Ranger's new Enamel Accents. The gals at the store gave me a couple of ideas but honestly, what do you do with this stuff? Off to the Ranger site I went to find direction. I was not surprised to find a good chunk of info on this new product. (Ranger really knows how to teach people how to use their stuff.) So, I started to play - made this flower, & this other thing (which is one half of a pair of eyes)...

Need to refine my skills here and channel my inner Julie  to come up with some clever techniques. I wonder if you can stamp with this stuff? Maybe splatter it like paint? (It is rather drippy.) Wonder if I can tint the white one red, like blood? I'll find out and let you know! If you have any ideas or experience with this new product, feel free to share!

the weekend

It was a busy weekend but I think I'm almost in the clear of the 'crazy-busy' that is the end of the school year. I have to admit, I'm a little glad I didn't have to stress about making a Gallery Idol card for round 3 this weekend. I don't think I could have handled another responsibility and ribbon is not my strong suit. (That was this week's challenge.) I can't wait to see what the top 10 have come up with, though, and be a voter. I'm really looking forward to that.

I had some time on Friday night and again on Sunday so I made some stuff. First thing I did was a truckload of cards for the Paper Crafts call for Card Creations. Can't post them yet but here are a couple of sneaks:

I made most of my cards with the Studio Calico kit for this month (the main kit Partly Sunny, and the add-on kit Front Porch) Loving that add-on kit. Loving the main kit, too, for that matter, particularly the starburst stamp pictured above and the colors - all that pink and green - so Summery.
Then I made some layouts, just because I felt like it. I had some great photos I had just taken and I was dying to put them on paper. I also wanted to use up more of that kit. First layout is another main kit/add-on kit combo:

Cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: Crate; chipboard pennan: Maya Road; chipboard butterflies:American Crafts: letters: Basic Grey (red); Making Memories (blue): paper lace: K & Co; white pen: Uniball Signo.

I traced the larger chipboard butterfly with a white Uniball pen to add some background interest. Much to my delight, I found out you can use this pen of photos and it does not smear. Also trying to embrace the butterfly and pennant trends on this layout. This second layout is mostly the Joyland kit from a few months back along with a little of last month's Granny's Attic and the metal flowers from this months kit. (Love those things! I used every last one of them - isn't it so satisfying when you deplete a supply?)

patterned paper: October Afternoon, Sassafrass Lass; cardstock: Core'dinations; letter stickers: Cosmo Cricket, Sassafrass Lass; stickers: October Afternoon; frame: K & Co; ticket: MME; flowers: Making Memories

here's a detail shot that shows the dimension of the flowers:

I think this might be one of my all time favorite layouts. I love the photos. I love the little frame that highlights my family in the smaller photo. I love those metal flowers - they remind me of the lights on the ferris wheel. I love the vintage feel. Amazing that this layout was my last effort of the day, started about 10 minutes before True Blood, then finished up within a half hour after True Blood. (I took an hour break to watch True Blood in the middle.) So that's about 40 minutes. Don't you love when that happens?

The photos in these layouts were taken in LBI (aka: Long Beach Island - which is a very long barrier island on the Southern NJ coast.)

We drove down there Saturday night to meet up with my cousin's who had a beach house for the week. We ate dinner, took the kids to the little amusement park and had an all-around nice time. There is nothing like the smell of the ocean mixed with the smell of boardwalk food. Intoxicating. Love the summer and so grateful I live near places like LBI.

for Father's Day

one last card for Father's Day for Paige's weekly Cards Blog challenge, and also #3 of 3 I made for the Gallery Idol competition:

Went back to the screen material again. (I really liked that stuff!) and the drywall tape. I used chipboard letters to 'trace' the shapes onto the screen. I tried to trace them with a pen onto the screen but that didn't work out. I had to hold the letters securely against the screen as I cut them out by hand. Good thing the word dad is only 3 letters.That "a" was a little tricky. In the background is some sanded Core'dinations woodgrain cardstock. Isn't that stuff awesome? The floor plan paper and the word "best" are Studio Calico.

So, I've reached the end of the line in Gallery Idol 2010 and I'm not really surprised. I'm actually a little relieved. There was some stiff competition in that group. I am so happy I had the chance to work alongside some amazing, creative women and make it to the Top 15. It was a great experience and I got to know some really nice people. I'll be back...for next year's Gallery Idol.
In the blog world....probably be back tomorrow - Thanks for your support everyone!

At long last...

I got to sit at my desk today. Actually sit there and make something. Best of all, I got to dive into my new Studio Calico kit (and pull a few items from previously untouched kits) to make some layouts. I've been steeped in card-making-mode lately. So nice to finally get back to where I started, and to actually have a little chunk of time to do so. Here they are in the works.

Can't really post the finished products because they are being submitted - but I will post them when/if they are rejected.
Also in my kit shipment this month - Studio Calico crop bags.

Essentially,  plastic bags with handles. I've been eyeing these things as my kits from months gone by are starting to pile up. I want to keep the kit stuff together for a while and I was running out of plastic storage sleeves & space.
Behold, the old system:

Good for 4 months then no good. Sleeves stacking up on the desk taking up precious crafty real estate.  Well, I can't tell you how happy these plastic bags have made me. (I know, I really need a life!) Here's how I store the kits now:

The hook is one of those removable Scotch hooks so it won't hurt the furniture. I used to use it to hang a Christmas wreath. Now, it has a new job. Makes me giddy when I look over and see the kits neatly hanging on the hook. Ahh, organization is good! Must order more bags!

Got an unbelievably huge box of prize winnings today via UPS. The prize is from a random draw on Moxie Fab World. Let me tell you, I can hardly believe the quantity of product in that box. It was the entire Fresh Print Clothesline Collection from Little Yellow Bicycle, plus a few extra things thrown in for good measure.

The packing list was 2 pages long. I had no idea the collection included all of this stuff. These are my favorites so far:
These are little fabric patterned chipboard letters (like fabric Thickers - LOVE these!)

I've been really wanting these pins..and check out that cute ruler ribbon:

Here's some really cute chipboard. I love the subdued colors, especially that grey:

Like Christmas in a cardboard box! Thank you Paper Crafts Magazine, Moxie Fab World and Little Yellow Bicycle for your extreme generosity!!

So, have you voted for Gallery Idol 2010 this week? We're in the second round. Voting is here until tomorrow noon (MST). That's 3 pm for us East Coasters. Now I know how those American Idol contestants must feel. I know the card I made was ok but not sure it was my best effort. I can see by the quantity of comments under my card that it's not winning the popular vote. Because of size restrictions on the photo, the reproduction is kind of bad looking, but so is everyone else's thankfully. Feeling a little nervous this week & not as confident. Either way, it's been a great experience. I'm glad I made it this far!

Gallery Idol goes to the garage...

I knew it was coming - the challenge to make a masculine card using anything you would find in a garage, in only 3 days.

Materials or themes...I wanted to go graphic, so I went the materials route. I spent a good chunk of time in a Long Island hardware store on Saturday afternoon, with my cousin Janice, searching for materials. Janice is creative, too, so she was a big help in the product selection. Right off the bat I knew one material that was going to be on my list:

A great big roll of drywall tape. (The mesh kind - apparently, there are 2 kinds).
This material was introduced to be my Julie Fei-Fan Balzer in the ink class I took with her last month. We used it as a mask under distress ink. It's an awesome, low tack, repositionable tape with what I can only imagine are thousands of uses. Thank Julie!
Here's the rest of the loot I grabbed at the hardware store (I wanted to be prepared for any creative impulse that might hit):

My fave by far was the screen material. Love that stuff. I used it on every card I made.
I made 3 cards. Squeaked my entry in at around 10 EST this morning. (I work well under pressure but that was a little close for comfort for me!) I had to choose between 2 faves and it was hard. Had to enlist the hubby since I am not good at picking winners when it comes to this kind of thing. I've said before on my blog, things I've made that I thought were not my best effort have gone on to be published and win prizes. I had to put this out there - let someone else decide.
Here's Dan's choice, the card I submitted for Round 2 of Paper Crafts Gallery Idol:

(Image removed for publication)

Materials: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: Studio Calico; letter stickers: American Crafts, October Afternoon;

staples: Tim Holtz; punch: EK Success; misc: screen patches, sewing.

So here's what my thought process was for this card: I wanted it to be graphic and modern, while still conveying a nice Father's Day sentiment. I knew I wanted to feature a garage-found material as a focal point. I used the screen patches to offset the type and to make a sort-of photo corner at the upper left. That checked paper adds a much need pop of color and echoes the grid pattern of the screen. All of the patterned paper here is Studio Calico. (The floor plan is Home Front, the checkered paper is Anthology. The word 'Best" was cut from an Anthology paper, too.) Used my favorite grey Thickers, my Tiny Attacher for the staples and the photo labels punch. I tried so, so hard not to sew on these cards but I could not resist. I kept it simple and light colored so it didn't stand out.

Here's what I learned making this card: 1) I've got to stick with what I know and be true to my style through this competition (which becomes more obvious to me with every challenge) & 2) The hardware store/garage is an amazing source of potential craft material and inspiration!!

Here is my runner-up (and also the card I was planning to submit):

Same thought process. More symmetrical. More found material. This one features my beloved drywall tape along with the screen patches, and a little Stampin Up wood veneer. What do you think? Did I made the right choice?

Guess I'm about to find out.....so, now it's time to vote again. If you've already registered, you can zip over and cast your vote for your favorite. If that fave happens to be my card - even better! Thanks so much for having a look at my blog today and for being a part of this fun competition!

you know it's going to be a good day when...

1) You wake up and find out you made the Gallery Idol Top 15 - thank you to everyone who cast a vote for my card. It's been great getting to know the 19 others in this group and so bittersweet to be reduced to 15. I'm looking forward to following their blogs and looking for their work in the published world.

On to the next round...a manly card with something from the garage. I already know my materials - I just need to get the card going and try not to make it too girly. I might have to skip the sewing on this one. Adding to this challenge for me is some extreme time pressure - as I will be away all weekend. Yikes! It's ok - me & pressure work well together.

2) You get an email from Wendy Smedley asking you to guest blog at Ella Publishing!!

 

Wow - can hardly get my head around this notion. Luckily I've got a little time to come up with something people will want to read. My blog post will be in August. (btw, I just downloaded Lisa Dickinson's e-book & it is awesome!!) And how about that sweet blinkie?

3) You realize Cath Edvalson has started a blog hop on Moxie Fab World of the Gallery Idol Top 15 and has featured a project from each of the top 15 contestants. Wow!

4) and last, but hopefully not least, it's pay day!

So, it's a hap, hap, happy day here in the Garden State. I'll close with a card I made last night to submit to the Cards Blog - this weeks challenge is floral paper.

Enjoy the day, everyone - and thanks so much for reading my blog!

return of the bad blogger...

I always, always forget what the end of the school year means to our daily lifestyle. It means cramming in what seems like thousands of activities into the small amount of time available to us. This week started the chaos.
Here's the short-list of what has happened since Saturday afternoon.

* Attended Marilyn's dance recital.

* Host a visit from my brother & nephew from North Carolina.

(We don't get to see them enough!)

* Visit the American Museum of Natural History in NYC with little people

and my big brother.

* Receive final batch of photos, ephemera from son's school. Design and assemble 40-page, 12 x 12 scrapbook for retiring school director. (I've never completed an entire album so fast. I did this in 1 1/2 days - all of Tuesday from 7 am to midnight, then 4 more hours last night.) I kept it simple but couldn't let it happen without sewing all over it. Here are 2 of the pages...

* Have head-splitting migraine headache.

* Attend Christopher's final day of pre-school ceremony (sniff sniff).

 Kindergarten here we come!

* Relapse of head-splitting migraine headache.

And I'm not in the clear yet...on the list for this afternoon/tomorrow:

* Attend end-of-year party at my daughter's school.
* Go to my day job.
* Attend Daisies cookie sales party at Chuck E. Cheese's after school.
* Attend retirement celebration for pre-school director.
* Travel to Long Island for the weekend with cousin's family.
* And, maybe,  hopefully, start work on the next round of Gallery Idol - due on Monday! They will announce who moves on to the next round tomorrow morning.
 Did you vote for your fave yet?