The Most Magical Time of the Day...

Do you ever feel like art projects have a mind of their own? I do. Take for example this layout. It's the one I mentioned yesterday, that I was working on for "The Street Where You Live." It was supposed to be about the night sky in my neighborhood, but it turned into a "Fave Time of Day" layout; which is actually great, because I never got to do my "Fave Time Of Day" layout when it was up as a topic at the Fave Things Blog. So, here's how it turned out...
I have been staying up til dawn lately (have I mentioned that?) and absolutely LOVING it! I absolutely get giddy when I see the sun coming up - it's like I made it to the magic hour or something! I open the curtains so the cats can enjoy the sunrise, and head to bed, satisfied with a night well spent. I can't do it all the time of course, since I do have a day job; but when my schedule allows, you can bet I will be in my studio til all hours, happily creating the night away.

Anyhoo, I used a bunch of my stash for this layout - no kits involved. The owl on the tree was handcut from a piece of patterned paper, and the thickers are shaded with orange and pink sharpies.

Tomorrow is the next "Live With Prima" class with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and it looks like a good one! Julie will be making a super cool container to hold mini-books! I've taken Julie's classes before and they are always really good. The video is live so you can ask questions as you go along, and best of all - it's free! Click here to find out more about it, or to tune in tomorrow at 1:00 pm Central Time.

Thanks so much for stopping by my friends, and I wish you a magical Monday!

The Street Where You Live Class 5...

Time is still moving at the speed of a hurricane in my world. Twirling and whirling and spinning me in all directions. I blink my eyes and three more days have gone by, blink again and it's been another week. Do you ever feel like that? It makes me a bit dizzy!

The topic for class five at "The Street Where You Live," is Nature. What kind of natural beauty surrounds you where you live? I finished my first layout on the subject...

The pics were taken on the first day of spring in my neighborhood. The snow had just melted and it was a beautiful day for a walk. I used an old SiSTV collection called "The Homebody" for this layout. The turquoise strip along the bottom is some of my new beloved 7 gypsies masking tape - LOVE IT. The design is based on a sketch provided in the class.

I've started a second layout for the class and hope to finish it tonight.

The new Project 12 sketch is up, which is always so exciting! I think it's going to be a fun one! Click here to see it.

That's all for today folks - I wish you an absolutely awesome Sunday and thank you so much for stopping by!

Nina Simone at Scrapping The Music...

Hey there everyone! The new song is up at Scrapping The Music and it's an old classic by Nina Simone called "Feelin Good!" I hope you will want to play along with us! Here's what I came up with...
The photo is one I took of the mountains near Salt Lake City Utah back in 2005. I was there for a Stampin' Up Convention. My divorce was about a year behind me, and I remember feeling like a new life was really starting for me. This song brought me right back to that time.

The paper I used is from a new line called "MeadowLark" by My Mind's Eye. I misted the background with two shades of green/teal and watercolored the bird to make him stand out a little more. The words "Feelin Good" are hand-drawn and cut from some patterned paper that was in my stash.

The prize this week is the book "52 Scrapbooking Challenges" by Elizabeth Kartchner!!! Thanks to Patricia Roebuck for providing us with this prize! Come on over and play along with us - we'd love to see what you create!!! Click here to go directly to the challenge and hear the song.

Have you checked out the Maya Road Design Team Blog? I am just loving it lately. It seems like everytime I visit I learn something new and the eye candy is just amazing. Today they have the most adorable little postcard - check it out here.

That's it for today my friends! I will leave you with my art journal page from the last few days...

Have a wonderful Thursday and I will see you again soon!

Playing Along With The Sunday Sketch...

Just a quick layout for you tonight - I decided to play along with the Sunday Sketch over at Studio Calico, which is based on a layout by Laura Kurz. Laura has a beautiful clean and linear style which is so different than mine, that I couldn't resist giving it a whirl. It's fun to get out of your comfort zone once in awhile! Click here to see the post with the sketch we had to work with. And here's what I came up with...

This is probably a familiar sight to you if you have cats. They just love to get in boxes. It always cracks me up and I have to take a picture. I used this box to bring my scrapping supplies to my crop, and of course the minute I unloaded it when I got home - guess who popped right in and made himself at home. LOL. It never gets old!

Anyhoo, I used the Studio Calico "Partly Sunny" kit. The only thing not from the kit is the word "cat". Those alphas are some old Sassafras Lass that I had in my stash. I cut the cream cardstock kinda caddy-wampus on the edges to give it a more handmade look.

So that's it for tonight - I wish you a fantastic Tuesday my friends! Thanks so much for visiting!!!

Weekend Wrap Up...

Thanks to everyone who left me tips on my last post about what kind of thread to get! I'm so grateful! I plan to make a trip to Joann Fabric this week and then I can get started learning to sew - yeayyyyy!!!

Saturday was alot of fun at my monthly girlfriends' crop! I spent the whole 12 hours working on our Honeymoon 2 mini; and I got a lot done, but there is still more to do. Here's a sneak of how it's coming...
I was planning to bind it with my bind-it-all, but it might be too thick. I might have to use rings or something. We'll see...

I got some great bargains! I've been eyeing this mini-album up for quite awhile, and this time I couldn't resist because it was 75% off!!!! It's super fun because it's got some pages made of felt, some of acrylic and some of chipboard. Can't wait to figure out what to use it for...

This was our free gift. The colors turned out a little off in this picture, but it's a gorgeous piece of Basic Grey with three coordinating cardstocks...

Oh, and I also won a prize! This lovely little pack of hot pink postcards, envelopes and rub-on greetings...


It was a tape extravaganza! Archiver's had so much cool tape I seriously could have spent a fortune just on tape! Being on a serious budget tho, I managed to narrow it down to my top three. The top one is about the size of the Pink Paislee Artisan tape, and is thick and shiny...
The bottom three are by 7 Gypsies and are the texture of masking tape. So cool and a lot bigger than I had pictured them!


I absolutely could NOT resist the new Cosmo Cricket "Delovely" line. Those bright colors are right up my alley!!!!



Father's Day was lovely! Here's Michael proudly modeling the new shirt that Willie and Johnny gave him! Isn't it cute?!!!

and I gave him this card I made...


All in all a really awesome weekend! Now I'm exhausted and it's time to catch a few zzzzz's so I'm ready for the week ahead!

I hope you had a fabulous weekend and thanks so much for stopping by!

CSN Stores Sewing Machine Review Begins...

Hey everybody! I'm so excited to finally show you what I chose to review from CSN Stores -

A BROTHER LS-2125i FREE-ARM SEWING MACHINE!!!
Isn't she a beaut???

Here's a link to purchase this item if you are interested:
Brother Sewing Machine at CSN Stores.com

I've wanted to be able to sew on my art projects for awhile now, but I am a complete novice when it comes to sewing, and quite frankly, it's a large investment to make when you don't know if you will be good at it or not. So, when CSN Stores approached me to do a product review, and said that I could pick an item myself, I was so excited to find this sahweet little number! The online reviews at various sites gave it high ratings; and the description on the CSN site actually mentioned that it is good for scrapbooking, so I thought what could be more PERFECT???!!!

I am excited to bring you along with me as I learn to sew and review my new Brother as I go.

I had planned to start tonight, but realized that in order to do that I have to actually BUY THREAD. LOL. Yeah, umm, that's how much of a novice I am. Anyhoo, I still wanted to show you the machine, and give you my initial observations...

One thing I was worried about with a sewing machine was where I would put it. Well, I am happy to tell you that it fits perfectly into one of my IKEA Expedit cubbies! Check it out...




It also is very lightweight, and has a nice handle, so it is super-easy to slide out onto my scraptable when I want to use it. A real plus if you ask me!

As soon as I get my thread I am going to start sewing and I will keep you updated on how it goes! Anyone have advice about what kind of thread to buy???

I will leave you with an art journal page from June 7...

Thanks so much for visiting and I will see you again tomorrow!

New Challenges are up at Scrapping The Music AND Fave Things...

Hey there everyone! It's been a fab day here in Minnesota! Warm and sunny and full of inspiration! I'm feelin great and so excited to share two layouts with you!

The new song at Scrapping The Music is one I've loved since the first time I happened upon it at youtube! It's called "Father and Friend," and it's a duet by Alain Clark and his dad Dane Clark. I thought it would be a good one to feature during the week of father's day; although as you can see by my layout (and other design team layouts), you certainly don't have to use it for a father's day layout! Here's what I came up with...
It's funny cuz even though Stevie is not my biological son, I think we are alike in so many ways. For this layout I used the Granny's Cupboard kit from Studio Calico. I absolutely loved the colors in this kit, and the title alphas are some of my fave ever. They're called "Little Boy Blue Rough & Tough" and they're by My Mind's Eye. They are sorta groovy-70's don't you think?


The new challenge is also up at the Fave Things blog. Before I get to the new challenge tho, I want to say thank you to everyone who participated in our one-year anniversary party! We had over 80 players! If you participated, don't forget to go over and see what prize you won!!! P.S. everybody won something - yes all 80 players!!!

So anyways, the new challenge is to scrap your favorite toy! I chose our new netbook - we call her "Nettie!" Here's what I came up with...
This one was done with the Studio Calico Baker's Dozen kit. The background paper was from my stash tho.

So I really hope you want to come on over and play along with the challenges!

Click here to go to the Scrapping The Music challenge, and

Click here to go to the Fave Things challenge!

In other news, I received my product to review from CSN Stores.com! I will be back tomorrow to show you what it is!!! I'm so excited!!! See you then and thanks for stopping by!

Project 12 for May...

Another month has passed and it's time for Project 12 again - YEAYYY!!!! I'm so excited to share another month with you!

Here's the official sketch that Becky Fleck designed, and unveiled at the beginning of June. As per usual, the idea was to use it for June photos; but I couldn't wait that long, so I used it for my May photos...

and here's how my layout turned out (click on the image to see more details)...
This month I used a combination of the June Studio Calico kit called "Partly Sunny," and a super-old Red Velvet Art kit that I still love. I think it was the first kit I ever bought. The rabbit and the "I heart flowers" tag are from the RVA kit. The multi-colored background behind the photos on the right side was cut from an old piece of painted cardstock I had laying around. I love it when I can find a use for stuff like that.


And here's the coordinating May calendar page. Once again it was a blast putting the puzzle together...
The SC alphabet paper worked out perfectly for writing little notes about the month, and I used the leftover bits of painted cardstock for some of the squares.

For those of you that are participating in Project 12 - how's it going for you? Are you having fun with it?

Stevie's Graduation Day and Photo Card...

Our Stevie's high school graduation day finally arrived on Friday; and we were so very proud!

He stopped by before the ceremony for some pictures...



Look how tall he's grown (or am I just super short???) probly both...

and our favorite shot...

Here's Becca, me and Michael in the seats, waiting for the ceremony to begin (we got there an hour early to get convenient parking)...

Here's the whole graduating class - the boys in red and the girls in white...
There were three senior speeches. Our favorite was the one where the guy said to go out into the world and really fail big at something - that's the only way you will learn and grow. We loved that. :0)


Here's the card I made for Stevie. I used the photo from earlier in the day...
The Studio Calico Anthology collection was perfect for the occasion (with it's book/reading theme). Everything is from the collection except the plain red cardstock.

I love using double sided paper for cards - it makes the inside of the card more fun...
Yesterday was the family graduation party for Stevie and one of his cousins who graduated on the same day. Rydell parties are always a lot of fun!

So now it's over and today is a project day for Michael and me! It's our favorite kind of day!

I will be back tomorrow with a Project 12 update for May. Thanks so much for visiting!

Kit Opening Ritual...

The beloved Studio Calico box arrived at my door this week and I thought I would share the excitement of our kit opening ritual with you! It's always the same:

I put the box on the floor and announce the arrival to the cats. Willie comes first and has to sniff the box...



Then, Willie likes to sniff each item for approval, as I take them out of the bag. (It's hard to get a good picture of this because he keeps moving)...



Johnny is more of a passive participant. Usually he likes to lay on the packing paper but this time he decided to be different and lay next to it - lol. Everything gets laid out on the floor for viewing...

and then we set it all up real nice and take a picture. This is the kit plus add-ons. Doesn't it look positively yummy???!!!...


this time I also ordered the Studio Calico exclusive Documentary Collection! I absolutely love it! My fave paper is the red one with the alphabet! It's sooooo COOL! Then, each kit goes into one of my buckets, so it is easy to see and use!

I will leave you with my art journal page from June 9 and 10...

Have a fantastic Friday my friends! Thanks for visiting and see you soon!

We Are ALL Crazy Beautiful...

Hey everyone! Happy Thursday!!! The new song at Scrapping The Music is "Crazy Beautiful" by Chasen, and it's got an awesome positive message! There is a lyric in the song that I sooo need to hear myself from time to time, so I decided to do an art journal page with it. Here's what I made...
The background is acrylic paint. The white words are done with a sharpie, and "anyone's approval" was hand-drawn onto dictionary paper and misted, then handcut. Here's a quick tutorial for an easy way to do cursive hand lettering...

Start by writing your word the size you want it...

Then write it again, quickly, right over the top of the first word...

Then you just color it in and yeayyyy!!! You've got a completed title word! Now, if you want to, you can go back and tidy it up a bit, but it's not necessary - totally up to you. How's that for super simple?


In the last post, Anne had a question about the type of paper I use in my art journal. My current journal is just a sketch diary that I had on hand - bought at Michael's (I think). Here's what the front looks like...
I don't do anything to prep the pages, I just slap the paint on there. At some point I will do something with this cover, but I haven't been inspired to yet.

So that's about it for today. I hope you will stop by Scrapping The Music this week and play along with us - we'd love to have you! Click here to go to the site!

Thanks for visiting and I will see you again tomorrow!

Q & A Time...

Just a note that Julie has added another sponsor over at the Fave Things Blog, so that brings the prize count up to 28!!! Plus she is offering another prize herself - so that makes 29!!! There's still plenty of time to play along with us! Click here to go to the Fave Things Blogiversary party!

I've gotten a few questions lately and I thought today would be a good day for answering, so here we go!

Chris asked the following about mists/spray inks:
"One problem I have is that the sprayers clog - do you have that problem also or do you have a solution - I know there is a proper way to shake the bottle and I always do that way but......"

I have the same problem, but ONLY with Glimmer Mists. Don't know what it is - maybe it's whatever they put in it to make it glimmer? Anyhoo, it's not really a solution, but when my glimmer mists clog, I end up taking off the cover and pouring some onto a paper towel and wiping it onto the surface I'm trying to cover. That doesn't help for a spray effect tho. If anyone knows of a better solution I'd love to hear it!


Alison asked the following about my art journaling pages:
I was wondering for the background colours on your pages do you use paint or inks?

More often than not I use acrylic paint in a couple of different colors. I like to paint up a bunch of pages in advance, and then add bits and pieces to them as I go. Here's an example of a background page made with acrylic paint. As you can see I just slop it on. The more messy, the more fun...

That being said it's fun to experiment too. Other things that make fun backgrounds are: newspaper or dictionary paper, mist/spray ink, watercolors (especially great when there's something underneath that you want to show through).


In a post awhile ago Candy asked:
"I am always amazed when scrappers have their own distinctive style and you have it in excess!!! I think it is your use of lettering and "go for it" attitude with your layouts and journal work. Do you practice? Or do you just start and see how it comes out? Do you see it before you start and make it come true? Or do you surprise yourself along with the rest of us?"

First - thanks so much for the compliment Candy! You made my day! I have to say I rarely practice or sketch a layout in advance just cuz I'm not patient enough. I'm more of a "dive in and see what happens" type of person. Usually I start with a general vision of what I want from the layout - which almost always has to do with expressing an emotion. (I'm all about the feelings - LOL.) That leads to what colors I want to use and what size and style of lettering. Then I pick a kit or assortment of general stash supplies and start playing! I find I have the least amount of trouble and like my layouts the most when I don't overthink things and just play.

I hope my answers are helpful. Please let me know if you have any more questions cuz they are fun!

I will leave you with another journal page...
The little "41" was the number on my name badge at a crop, and the pocket is just a piece of fabric I got in a swap taped on with happy tape. I still don't know what will go in the pocket! Hmmm...

I will be back tomorrow with another post - thanks SO much for visiting and for your comments! I really appreciate them! Have a great Wednesday my friends!

A Glimpse of What's Coming Up...

Have you heard of CSN Stores? They have over 200 specialty shop sites that offer everything from a bathroom vanity to wall art to office supplies to craft tape! (I especially love the looks of that tape with the dispenser - may have to get me one of those!) I was recently contacted by CSN Stores to do a product review which I'm so excited about!!! I can't wait to tell you what the product is!!! All I can say for now is that it will be coming up very soon! In the meantime, check out their site and you can see what I mean about the wide variety of groovy things they sell...

CSN STORES.COM

Some Thrifting and Journaling...

I haven't shared many pages from my current art journal, but I want to change that starting today. The reason I haven't been sharing is because I use it for my daily journaling, which is sometimes personal. After seeing my friend Marit's idea of blurring out the personal details, it inspired me to do the same - thanks Marit!!!

I've gone back to using just one journal at a time for everything and I'm loving that. I realized awhile ago that my very favorite visual journal was my first one. It was fat and messy and I put every imaginable thing in there. The pages weren't all pretty, but they were absolutely full of my life at the time and I love that. Lately tho, I've been starting all different journals and working in all of them at the same time, and it seemed fun at first, but now it just feels disjointed. I've changed back to putting everything in one journal and once again it's feeling super fun. Having the freedom to not make my pages all pretty is so freeing. Here's an example of a page...
That adorable greeting card with the white bears was made from a drawing that one of my clients did and I just love it, so I stuck it right on the page - envelope and all.

Then I journaled right on the card and included a pic of a journal page from my Let it Loose class that I was working on at the time. On the inside I also put the postcard reminding me that it was time for Willie and Johnny to get their shots...
I've been writing every day for the past week or so and it feels great.

I also made a stop at my FAVORITE thrift store again today, and look what I got for mere pennies...
All three of those albums have memories of my childhood tied to them, so they will make great journal covers! I'm thinkin the Stevie Nicks 45 sleeve will make a great pocket page in my next journal too! They had scads of cool vintage books, but these two caught my eye in particular, and who can resist an old ORANGE photo album? Have I mentioned how much I love that store???

Soooo, have you submitted a layout yet for the Fave Things Challenge??? If not you seriously should think about it - not only is it fun and easy (who doesn't have a pair of fave shoes to scrap about?) but there are 27 PRIZES to be had!!!!! How can you resist??? Get your booty on over there and play along with us! We can't wait to see you! You've still got a full week until the deadline (June 14th).

Thanks for stopping by and for your comments - they always make my day!