My friend Glenda asked what Photobooth is, and that made me realize that I should have explained that better! It's an application that comes with new MACs, where you can sit in front of your computer monitor and it takes your pic, just like you are in one of those old-fashioned photobooths! It's super fun! I don't know if you can buy it separately, but I googled it, and came up with all sorts of links for applications that simulate it - some are for windows, and it looks like some are free- so you could try that! I hope that helps!
Speaking of fun photo programs, a fellow Studio Calico member linked us up to Rollip, which is a free, online site where you can upload your photos, and it turns them into simulated polaroids. It's really cool! I tried it and I made this....
from this photo... kinda fun, eh? Click here to check it out!
So anyhoo, on to this week's Scrapping The Music song, which is "Mr. Blue Sky" by ELO. Fun lyrics with this one! Here's what I came up with... The title is a lyric from the song, and the photo is of the cabin we rented in the Smokey Mountains last fall - it was so beautiful in the mornings there! Everything I used is from the August Studio Calico kit, except the blue background paper, which is from Basic Grey's Marrakech line.
Today is a very special day in our family! It is my husband Michael's birthday! I love birthdays because they are a holiday just made to honor one person - everyone deserves a day all to themselves, don't you think?
And no one deserves it more than my sweet husband. Michael is the kind of guy that is always taking care of others. Making people laugh, helping them out, noticing the good things about them. His smile lights up my world...
Here is the card I made for him. He liked it. :0) P.S. It wasn't hard to come up with a list of reasons!
So, today I celebrate you sweetheart! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL - I LOVE YOU!!!
I will be back soon with another update - thanks so much for stopping by!
I had a lot of fun at the crop and I actually got a lot done too! Yeayyy! It was great to see Christina and Lynn, but I forgot to take any pictures - drat. The first thing I finished was a layout for tomorrow's Scrapping The Music song. Can't wait to share it once it goes live on the blog later tonight!
The other layout I made was for the Favorite Things challenge, which is to scrap your favorite movie. Since I already did a whole mini-book on my all-time fave - "Harold and Maude," I decided to expand on the topic and do a layout about a bunch of my favorite movies! Here's how it turned out...The word movies, and the stripey border are hand-drawn. I picked that background paper because it reminded me of the worn-out wallpaper you see sometimes at old movie theatres. I had alot of fun with this one!
There are so many good movies out there, but these are some that are special to me - the kind that have stuck with me over the years. I've posted links to the trailers for each movie, and what I love about each one, just in case you're interested...
Harold and Maude For me this movie has the whole meaning of life all wrapped up in it. I love Maude - she is my hero! Love the Cat Stevens score too.
Flatliners I found the whole concept of this one so intriguing. Well done, scary and it made me think.
The Fisher King Beautiful movie, painful in parts, funny in parts, wonderful uplifting message.
A Shark Tale I absolutely loved that the main shark character is a vegetarian! My favorite scene is the one where the shrimp is trying to talk his way out of being eaten. Such a sweet movie.
Meet Joe Black I'm not giving anything away by telling you that Brad Pitt plays death. Wild, out of the box, deep and sooo romantic.
Untamed Heart Super sweet love story, made even more special for me because it was shot in Minneapolis.
Garden State A super cool indie-type movie about relationships, love and family. LOVE the cinematography.
The Matrix The whole concept of this story blew my mind. The special effects and music made it even more dramatic.
The Lost Boys Campy 80's vampire movie. Does a great job of being both really scary and funny at the same time.
Romeo and Juliet This movie is so old now - filmed in 1968, but I had to include it because it was the first movie that really tugged at my heart. Soooo heartwrenchingly romantic.
Are any of these movies favorites of yours too? What is your fave movie? I'd love to hear!
I will be back tomorrow with another update - thanks sooooo much for stopping by!
Hello and Happy Saturday! After I get a good nite's sleep I am heading out to an all-day crop! Can't wait to see my girlfriends Christina and Lynn and possibly Karla and spend the day scrapping and chatting!
Thanks to my beloved project list, this was the easiest time I've ever had preparing! I just went down the list one project at a time and printed out the pictures and info about the project. Then I gathered together a few kits, packed up my basic tools, like journaling pens, scissors and adhesive and I'm good to go! Yeayyyyyy! I can't wait!
I have a new layout to share. I did this one for the Lotus Paperie sketch challenge that ended Friday. When I saw the four photos on the sketch, I knew what I wanted to do! I love taking photos while people are getting ready to have their photo taken, and this is my latest favorite set (click to see larger)...Steven and Michael are so much alike it's amazing. They have the same sense of humor and when I asked to take their photo together, it took about five minutes of them goofing around to get them to pose. That was fine with me, because it's those candid shots that really show their personalities! The cartoonish images at the bottom are cut from a vintage children's book. The background paper is Basic Grey and the yellow is SiSTV modsheets. The title is handpainted and outlined with a white sharpie. These photos just make me smile and I'm so glad I got them onto a layout! So do you have any tips for getting good candid photos? I'd love to hear!
The new challenge at Lotus is all about altering something. You can check it out here.
The September kit reveal at Studio Calico was fabulous! Lots of bright colors in this month's kits, plus some fun Sassafras, both of which are right up my alley! Yeayyy!
I will be back tomorrow with the results of the crop - hopefully I will have some finished projects to share! Thanks sooooo much for stopping by!
I've been a little sidetracked the past couple days. Michael and I discovered the fun of Photobooth... and we've been goofing around with it...
umm, yeah. HA. Not a lot of scrapping getting done over here, altho I think these photos are destined for an upcoming layout!
Aside from goofing around with photobooth, I've also been preparing for my local scrapbook store's garage sale. My focus this time around is patterned paper. I've got tons of it that is not my style anymore, so I've been sorting and pricing like crazy.
In the meantime, my beloved project list is getting a tad backed up. I'm four projects behind - eek! I have tried to scrap about three different times, but I'm spinning my wheels. And I'm going to a crop on Saturday which I haven't started to prepare for! Oh, yes and I'm also almost out of printer ink and photo paper. AARGH. Ever have weeks like this? Actually for me it' not all that uncommon - LOL.
I am very excited, cuz tomorrow is reveal day for the September Studio Calico kits! The sneaks I've seen look really colorful and fun - can't wait to see everything!
Alrighty then, I'm off to sleep. I will check back in tomorrow with another update. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Last week was an awesome week! We had our second "kids appreciation getaway," plus my birthday was on Friday...
Monday, August 17: I like how this closeup of Tony's layout came out... Wednesday, August 19: A rainy drive up to the North Shore (Lake Superior) for our getaway with the kids...
Wednesday, August 19 part two: We started my birthday celebration early at our cabin on the lake - that way we could have cake for two days!... Thursday, August 20: Family fun at Split Rock Lighthouse - LOL (Left to right is me, Michael, Becca, Tony and Steve)... and this pic of the lighthouse itself will go in the extra journaling space for the week... Friday, August 21: Don't the kids look tiny in this huge chair?... Saturday, August 22: Back home Johnny and Willie greet us warmly... Sunday, August 23: Finding the correct chipboard letters for a layout is a group effort... and that's my week! Our family getaway was a lot of fun. It rained the entire time, but that didn't stop us from getting out, seeing some sights and taking pics (many of which will be showing up in future layouts I'm sure). Our cabin was nice and cozy too, good for having a fire in the fireplace. Most of all, it's just great getting all three kids together for a few days and spending time as a family. Just beautiful.
So, I'm off to work on my layout for the Favorite Things Blog, which is all about movies this time. This should be lots of fun!!! I will be back tomorrow with another update - thanks sooo much for stopping by!
Before I get started with my usual ramblings, I wanted to take a sec to show you something that touched my heart today! My friend (and fellow Design Team Member at Scrapping The Music) Julie made a super-sweet layout that is on her blog today - it's got a pic of us together when we met in Nashville this summer! Check it out here. Thanks Julie - you made my day!
And speaking of Scrapping The Music - the new song is up! It's called "I Would Stay" and it's by a band from the Netherlands called Krezip. I had never heard this song before, but the lyrics really spoke to me... I used the August Studio Calico kit for this one and I really loved making it. Absolutely everything on this layout is from the kit. The floating bubbles are actually journaling stickers. The black letters are actually Melissa Frances Attic Treasures chipboard alphas. The original color of the letters matched the bubbles, so I inked them with black Stazon. The background paper is a Studio Calico exclusive.
I also used the August SC kit for my first layout for the TATS blog! I finished it and sent it off, but I won't be able to share it with you until after September 1st when the challenge goes live! Don't forget - if you want to play along, you can head on over there now - the first sketch is already posted.
I'm also SO EXCITED because I get to take the Elsie Flannigan/Rachel Denbow Autumn Craft Class!!! My wonderful mom and stepdad gave the class to me as a gift for my birthday! How awesome is that!??!! Thank you so much Mom and Elmer!!! I already got access to the supply and project list, and it looks like it's going to be sooooo much fun!!! Thirty projects in sixty days - WOOO HOOOO!!!!
Well, that's about it for today! I will be back tomorrow with a Project 365 update. Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comments - they really mean a lot to me!
I spent all day and evening yesterday trying to break through my stalled mojo. That always happens when I quit scrapping for a few days. It takes some effort to get it going again. Do any of you have that problem? What usually happens to me is - I tryto start about a million different projects, don't get anywhere with any of them and end up surfing the net instead. HA. Yesterday though - with the help of my beloved project list, I knew what I had to finish and I eventually ended up breaking through that wall and getting it done. Once I started I had a lot of fun with it - I finished about 3 am and REALLY wanted to start another project, but alas I figured I should probably get some sleep - aargh.
Anyhoo, the layout I finished is for the song that will be revealed tonight at Scrapping The Music, so I will have to wait to share it here. Oh, p.s. the slideshow for "Kiss Me Thru The Phone" is up right now and it's lots of fun, so hurry over there if you want to check it out!
In other news, I am so excited to tell you that my gallery at Scrapbook.com is the featured gallery today on their gallery walk! I didn't even know such a thing existed, but I got an email this morning telling me I had been chosen - I feel so honored! You can check out the thread here.
Oh, also, I discovered a new challenge blog through my friend Mandy today. It's called "What's Ad About," and as you probably guessed, they feature advertisements for inspiration. This is the one they have for August... isn't it cool? So creative and inspiring. If you want to play along, I think there are only a few more days - check it out here.
Alrighty then, I am off to work on my first layout for the "Totally Addicted to Sketch" blog (also known as TATS - I love that acronym!); and then hopefully there will be time for another project too!
Have a super duper Sunday, and thanks for stopping by!
Monday, August 10: The Johnmeister from a different angle... Tuesday, August 11: Testing the macro setting on my camera - do you know what this is??? Wednesday, August 12: The drying process for my gypsy journal... Thursday, August 13: We are so proud of Tony, who got his diploma from business college this week! (I already did a layout with this photo!)... Friday, August 14: A lone petunia grows up from the driveway - don't know where it came from... Saturday, August 15: A perfect Saturday for Michael - computers and golf! Sunday, August 16: A new design team adventure! I haven't finished the layout for this week yet, but I will be getting to that in the next few days.
Meanwhile, I have to get busy on this Sunday's Scrapping The Music layout! I will see you tomorrow for another update - thanks for stopping by!
P.S. the macro photo was of the carpet in my scraproom - in case you hadn't figured it out!
I had so much fun playing around with paints today! I finished this art journal page that I started yesterday (click on the image to see it larger)... It's for the current challenge at the "Lotus Paperie" blog, which is to use watercolor on a project. I decided to use the watercolor for my next assignment in Dina Wakely's "Masterful Art Journaling" class - which is to journal about how you deal with sadness and/or self-doubt.
The background and envelope are done with watercolor, and salt was added to the orange background to create the effect on the bottom. Inside the envelope is hidden journaling about a recent event that was difficult.
The eye is cut from a magazine. The black journaling is my own, and the quote on the bottom is from a Jackson Browne song that I love called "The Late Show."
Well, the kitties are fast asleep, and it's time for me to hit the hay too. I hope you are having a fantastic week so far! I will be back soon with a Project 365 update - Thanks so much for stopping by!
Hey there friends - I have some exciting news to share with you! I've been invited to design for a brand-new Australian Sketch blog called "Totally Addicted to Sketch!" Yeayyyyy!!!!! How fun is that??!!!! I'm very excited to start on this new adventure! One thing I love about sketch challenges, is that they are fun for scrappers that are just beginning, as well as those that have been at it for a long time. A sketch takes the pressure off - know what I mean? You just pick your photos and papers and go to town! You can stick closely to the sketch, or just use it as a jumping off point - it's all up to you! Anyhoo, the challenges actually start on September 1st, but the blog is already up, and you can go there and see the first sketch now, if you want to! I really hope you stop by and play along, and be sure to mention that I sent you! There's a blinkie in the right hand column so you can go there anytime by clicking on it. =====>
I also started a gallery at scrapbook.com! I love the way they have things organized over there. You get a profile page that you can customize with fun backgrounds, and so many options of what you can do! I put a blinkie in the right-hand column for this too. It's the one that says "my place." If any of you have a gallery over there, let me know and I will make you a friend! Come on over and say hello! P.S. I'm not getting rid of my other galleries - this is just an addition!
There's a big sale going on over at Label Tulip, and after seeing the beautiful things that Julie Fei-Fan Balzer does with their kits, I had to check it out! Alot of the past kits and other things are 50% off! I bought the March kit called "Over the Rainbow." Check it out, how cute is this?!!!... I've been wanting that particular embroidered ribbon for awhile now, and well, I was a goner for the orange flowers, and that orange-flowered paper!!! I think the sale ends today, so hurry if you want to get in on it!
With all this internet surfing, I'm a little behind on my projects, but I did finish one with my August Studio Calico kit. I did this one to celebrate son Tony's graduation from Business College - we are so proud of him! (click on the image to see it larger)...
Everything I used is from the kit, except the embroidery thread and vellum I used to copy his diploma. I just love that picture of the two of them. Michael looks so proud!
Here's a detail shot... Next on my project list is an art journal assignment from Dina W's class. I'm off to work on it.
What are you working on these days?
I wish you a Saturday full of inspiration! I'll see you tomorrow, and thanks so much for stopping by!
Oh my gosh I had so much fun working on this project! I created it as a project for The Next Step challenge blog's current prompt, which is to use misting and masking, and I'm really happy with how it turned out... I used the August Studio Calico kit, because, well - it just fit perfectly for the mood I wanted to create! The texture is made with a paper towel and gel medium. The glitter around the frame is vintage glass glitter and the lace is vintage lace from my stash. I used a charcoal stamp pad to do the masking.
Here's a closeup...
The inside cover... The title page is a project for Dina Wakely's Masterful Art Journaling Class. The assignment was to do a self-portrait that shows your personality - or how you are feeling right now... I used Adirondack terracotta spray ink for the background on this, and masked the butterfly.
Here's the inside back cover... The left side page is more spray ink combined with pink acrylic.
And finally, here's the back cover. I absolutely loved working with the new Studio Calico kit! I used the add-on called "No Place Like Home." It's got a vintage feel with a little bit of magic thrown in. It's fantabulous!
I'm going to use it as an art journal. I can't wait to get started with it!
So, I'm off to get a haircut today, then I should be able to do some scrapping! Next on my project list is the current Lotus Paperie challenge, which is to use watercolor on a page! Yeayyyy!
I hope your Saturday is fantastic! I will be back tomorrow with another update - thanks for stopping by!
One of the projects that I started last night is an assignment from Dina Wakely's Masterful Art Journaling class. The class is actually over now, but alot of us are still working our way through the assignments. This is not a complaint - I LOVE how much I get to learn from the class, long after it is over! Anyhoo, I'm still in the Van Gogh section, and the concept for this is to create emotion through your brush strokes. Here's what I ended up with... I turn 50 next week and I guess it's got me thinking. Not that 50 is old by any means, but it is a bit of a turning point for me. I'm re-thinking my dreams and goals, and that means letting go of some things that just don't fit for me anymore. Call it growing pains if you will, and I was feeling them when I made this page. It felt good to get it out and I love how the page turned out.
The second project that I started last night is this layout. It's for a challenge at Studio Calico to do a layout with seven photos or more on one page. It was a really good one for me, because I am usually a one-photo per layout kind of gal. I had these photos of Willie that I wanted to scrap anyway, so it was the perfect time...
I used the June Studio Calico kit, and added the Doodlebug and Sassafras alphabet stickers and blue Stampin Up! cardstock.
The journaling reads: "Johnny wasn't interested but you were - it was so cute. I just wanted one good shot but you were moving too fast and I was laughing. I ended up with this series of imperfect but lovable photos. It's everyday moments like these that brighten my world."
Have you seen that Elsie Flannigan and her friend Rachel Denbow have a new online craft class coming up in September? It looks so fun! I would love to take it, but I'm still figuring out if it's in the budget or not. Check it out here if you're interested.
Alrighty then, I'm off to bed. I hope you have a fabulous Friday! Thanks for stopping by!
I've been working on making an altered book for this week's The Next Step prompt. I'm having so much fun! It's one of those multi-day projects tho, because of needing to let layers dry. It's my first project using the new Studio Calico kit, and I can't wait to share it with you!!! Are any of you working with the new Studio Calico kit? If so, it would be great if you put a link in the comments and I can come and visit your blog!
My awesome friend Marit gave me this super-cool "I Like Your Style" award! The image on this award is so magical! I love it! Thank you so much Marit! The idea is to pass it on to some people who inspire you! Right away it made me think of my very first post on this blog, which talks about this very thing! Click here to read it...
Marit also gave me this beautiful award awhile ago, and I'm so sorry I haven't posted it until now. I really appreciate it! This one asks that you give 7 facts about yourself! I'm thinking it would be fun to combine these two awards. Lately I have been even more inspired by online challenges than ever, so I thought I would take a moment and share with you seven of my fave challenge blogs (in no particular order), and why I love them...
1. Scrapping The Music. This one probably seems obvious because I design for them; but even before I did, STM was my fave challenge blog. Music inspires so many things I do, and to me it just goes hand in hand with art. The thing I really love about Scrapping The Music is the variety of songs they feature. I love diversity and I've been introduced to a lot of new music through this blog.
2. The Next Step. I love a couple of things about this blog. First, I love that they focus on mixed media techniques. Second, I love the structure - one technique per month, with different ways to use it featured each week. It really gives you time to incorporate the new technique into your work.
3. Lotus Paperie. I love Lotus Paperie because of the variety of their challenges. You never know from week to week if it will be a sketch, a technique, a subject or just what this team will cook up! I also love that each month you have the opportunity to lift layouts of the guest designer of the month. That is always fun!
4. These are a Few of My Favorite Things. This new blog has a lot of potential and I love love love the fact that is so straight forward. Twice a month they have you do a project about your favorite something. They pick the topic and you get to go to town in any way you choose. No twists, no rules. It gives a person alot of creative freedom and I love that.
5. BASB. This group of talented women started a blog in honor of Aleida Franklin and that touches my heart. Aleida, as you may remember, was a member of the Scrapping the Music Design Team, and lost her life tragically in an auto accident in 2008. BASB is another blog where the challenges are different types every week.
6. Creative Therapy. This is a fun one because, for me, it lends itself so well to art journaling. The prompts are always about a topic. Alot of times they are a question, that you can answer thru your art - in whatever form you'd like. I love the fact that they call their weekly prompts "catalysts" rather than challenges; and they emphasize that all art is beautiful.
7. A Year In The Life of an Art Journal. This is more of a year-long project, but I am including it anyway because it's been a real inspiration for me this year. Every two weeks you are given a prompt based on a letter of the alphabet. It leaves it wide open to interpretation.
There are many more fantastic challenge blogs out there, but these are just a few that have come to be faves of mine. If you have any that you'd like to share, I'd love it if you leave a comment about them and/or a link so we can all check them out!
Whew, I am long-winded today! HA!
I am off to work on my altered book some more. I will leave you with the video for the song that I quoted at the top of my first blog post. It's one of the most achingly beautiful songs I've ever heard...
I will be back tomorrow with another update - thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful Thursday!
Monday, August 3: Houndstooth RAKS for Judean, Beth and Diana... Tuesday, August 4: Layout for the day - my fave flower... Wednesday, August 5: I love love LOVE these little frogs. This one was in our yard - he's about the size of a penny (those rocks are really small)... Thursday, August 6: New Studio Calico loveliness. My first kit as a subscriber... Friday, August 7: Time for a scraproom cleanup, even tho Johnny doesn't seem to mind... Saturday, August 8: Mission accomplished... Sunday, August 9: A drawing I did in 1980. He hangs on my scraproom wall... and here's how the layout turned out... Are you doing Project 365? Or do you have some other way of documenting your year? How's it going? I'd love to hear about it.
I'm starting to think about next year and how I want to document it. If you are doing Project 365, do you think you will continue it next year? I wonder if Becky Higgins will come out with another kit?
I will be back tomorrow with another update. Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comments! I really appreciate them!
I've been working on my BASB layout and finished earlier this evening, so I want to share it with you! The challenge at BASB right now is to scrap your memorabilia. I haven't done that in a long time and it was really fun. I have a big box full of ticket stubs, receipts, flyers, posters, etc. that I haven't even looked at in ages; so I pulled it out and started digging. What I ended up with was a ticket from a Wailin' Jennys concert I went to with my good friend Becky back in 2006. I've seen them twice now, and both times I was absolutely mesmerized by their harmonies. Anyhoo, here's how the layout turned out (click the image to make it larger)...The stamped words are lyrics from their song "One Voice."
The journaling (around the blue stamped image) says: One evening. Two friends (me and Becky). Three inspirational women. Beautiful.
I used the Homebody kit from SiSTV, plus teal cardstock, SiS gaffer tape (behind the title), thickers, a stamp by Ducks In A Row, Stampin Up alpha stamps and acrylic paint.
Oh and guess what? I cleaned up my whole mess afterwards! Yeayyy! My scraproom is still tidy!
Next on my list is the Next Step Challenge which should be up later today. I can't wait to see what it is!
I will be back tomorrow with a Project 365 update, but in the meantime I will leave you with a video of the Wailin' Jennys performing the song I quoted in my layout: "One Voice." Thanks so much for stopping by!
I finished my Lotus Paperie challenge layout and boy was it fun working in a clean scraproom! (Scroll down to the post below this one for a tour of my scraproom) This week the Lotus challenge is a sketch, and I chose to make a layout about me and my Secret Sister Andrea! It will be included in my SiSversary album. Here's my interpretation of the sketch - (click on the image to see details)...Everything on the layout is from the SiSTV "Night Owl" collection, except the Doodlebug alpha stickers, the journaling card, and the piece of vintage book paper. The background paper is a "pumpkin" modsheet, which I cut down to 8 1/2 x 11. I love how it ended up with that little strip of plaid on the side! Gotta love those modsheets! P.S. They are half-off at the SiS boutique in case you are interested!
So now I am working on the BASB challenge, which is to include some memorabilia on your layout. I have been toiling over which memorabilia to scrap. Hmmmm....what to do, what to do.
I will be back tomorrow with another update! Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comments! I really appreciate them!
kinda fun, eh? Click here to check it out!
The title is a lyric from the song, and the photo is of the cabin we rented in the Smokey Mountains last fall - it was so beautiful in the mornings there! Everything I used is from the August Studio Calico kit, except the blue background paper, which is from Basic Grey's Marrakech line.
Here is the card I made for him. He liked it. :0)
P.S. It wasn't hard to come up with a list of reasons!
