Fave Scrappy Manufacturer Challenge plus More...

Hello my friends and happy Tuesday! The new challenge is up at the Fave Things blog and it's all about scrapping your favorite scrapbooking manufacturer! I had so much fun with this one. My three faves are Cosmo Cricket, Sassafras Lass and 7 Gypsies! Here are the things I love about each of these company's products:

Cosmo Cricket consistently has fun and funky designs with adorable critters in unusual color schemes that I would never think to put together myself. How can you not love a company that names one of their lines "Earth Love?" They never cease to make me smile!

Sassafras Lass also has adorable critters, and I LOVE the whimsical nature of their designs! They combine cute with vintage well and I love the extra added touch of their die-cut borders at the bottom of all of their papers!

7 Gypsies is a totally different style - a true gypsy sort of funkiness that makes me want to burn some incense, put on a hippie skirt and twirl around my scraproom to Stevie Nicks music. On top of that, I fell in love with their gaffer tapes, and now their paper tapes are even cooler (if that's possible).

Put the three of them together and for me it's pure magic. So, I challenged myself to do just that - make a layout with all three companies together. Here's how it turned out...
The only thing that isn't from Cosmo, Sass Lass or 7 Gypsies are the alpha stickers.

So, who is your fave scrappy manufacturer??? Come on over to Fave Things and show us with a layout!!! Click here to go to the challenge!

I also want to share with you a BEAUTIFUL piece of artwork that my friend Marit sent to me for my birthday (which was August 21st). I absolutely gasped when I opened it...

It's going straight up on my scraproom wall and will inspire me every day!!! Thank you soooo much Marit for this extra special gift!!!

Along with the artwork, Marit sent me this cool ephemera which will be perfect for journaling with - check it out...
It's all things that I've not seen here in the states - I absolutely LOVE the vintage look and those cute kitties and birds are especially WOW. Thanks soooo much Marit!!!


I finished up my little "Imagine" journal! It only took about two weeks! Here's a random sampling of the final pages...




The cover cardstock was designed by the talented Kerry Lynn Yeary...

and here's how it looks all full and closed up. There's something so satisfying about finishing a journal, isn't there?

So, now I'm on to filling my "Remains of the Day" journal. More on that later!

I wish you a fabulous day my friends, and I will be back soon with another update! Thanks so much for visiting!

Everybody's Groovin' at Scrapping The Music!

As you probably guessed by the title, the featured song this week at Scrapping The Music is "Love Shack" by the B-52's! How can you not wanna dance when you hear this song, I mean SERIOUSLY?!!! It's one of those all-time great classic happy songs! Here's what I came up with - (the cats got in on the action this time)...
Willie and Johnny are such good sports about posing for me - (with a little help from Dad, who is also a good sport I might add)!!! The black peace sign background paper is from Reminisce, and the super groovy psychedelic paper is from a "Remains of the Day" journal papers swap with my new friend Lloydene!

Speaking of the swap, take a look at all the groovy retro goodies that Lloydene sent to me!!! Aren't they gorgeous...?


I am in absolute heaven with all this cool stuff, and it was so much fun to use some of it right away in my layout! Thank you so much Lloydene!!!

I hope you will head on over to Scrapping The Music and join us this week for the "Love Shack" challenge!!! Click here to go to the challenge and see/hear the video!

I've got lots coming up to share with you this week! Some of the things I'm preparing are:

~The new Fave Things Challenge (it's a fun one!)
~A CSN review of the most fantabulous rolling scrapbooking cart on the planet!
~The completion of my "Imagine" art journal & the start of filling in my "Remains of the Day" journal
~and whatever else I can think up!

Thanks so much for visiting and for your comments! I really appreciate them!

The Winner of the "Mixed Emotions" Art Journaling Class is...

Thank you so much to everyone for your enthusiasm about Marit and my new art journaling class "Mixed Emotions!" It's time to announce the randomly-drawn winner of the free registration!!!

Congratulations goes to..... ROBIN!!!
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Robin said...

Haven't tried art journaling yet--just some mixed media stuff. And I love learning new things--looks like a great class!

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Robin, send me an email at michellelapoint@yahoo.com, and I will get you registered for the class! I'm so glad you will be joining us!

I hope the rest of you will consider registering for "Mixed Emotions!" Whether you are a beginner, or have been doing art journaling for awhile, it's going to be a lot of fun, and we would love to have you join us! Click here for more details, and for registration information!

I will be back soon with lots to share! Thanks so much for visiting, and let me know if you have any questions about the class!

It's Time for my BIG NEWS!!! And a GIVEAWAY to Celebrate!!!

I've been just bursting to share my news with you for awhile now and today is finally the day!!!

I'm pleased and proud to announce that I am co-teaching a brand new art journaling workshop with Marit Barentsen at Marit's Paper World! It's all about expressing your emotions through art journaling, and it's called:

***MIXED EMOTIONS***

Here's the info about the class:

Mixed Emotions Art Journaling Workshop
October 22 - November 30, 2010
(12 lessons over 6 weeks; posted on Tuesdays and Fridays)

Click here to register!

You will create a minimum of 10 art journal pages together with a matching folder to store your work.

Teachers: Marit Barentsen & Michelle LaPoint Rydell

Art journaling focuses on putting your personal thoughts and emotions on paper and you don’t always have to use words to do that! Even if you're not a writer you can create meaningful art journal pages because an emotion can be expressed through a photograph, a color, a material or a particular technique. In this workshop we will explore one specific emotion each lesson, and take that emotion as the basis to create a personal art journal page. What does each specific emotion mean to you? You are encouraged to explore your inner world and your perception of your emotions and turn them into art journal pages. Each lesson also explains a different technique, step-by-step, through photos or an instructional video. The techniques are consistent with the emotion.

Techniques include gel medium photo transfer, paper weaving, writing meaningful journaling, using paint on the page etc. Inspiration videos stuffed with art, layouts, quotes and music will help to get the ideas flowing and set the creative process in motion. The lessons also contain printable collage sheets with photos, quotes and images for you to use in your work. You are challenged to explore your inner self and take a step further in your creativity. This is your opportunity to learn new approaches to self-expression. Do you dare to explore your emotions?


“Mixed Emotions” includes:

• 12 lessons with assignments in pdf format. Each lesson will focus on a specific emotion and an art technique that goes with it. Techniques will be clearly shown through photos or demonstrated on video. Both beginners and advanced art journalers will find pleasure in working with the lessons.


• Access to inspirational videos to inspire you and help your creative juices flow.


• Extra printable collage sheets with photos, illustrations and quotes to use in your work.


• Access to a private group discussion forum where you may share, ask questions and interact with the teacher and other class participants.(Access will be activated a few days before the workshop starts or within 24 hours of payment.)


• Access to group albums for posting your completed assignments and seeing what others have done. (Access will be activated a few days before the workshop starts or within 24 hours of payment.)

Marit and I have been working hard on our workshop, and I am so EXCITED to share it with all of you!

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TO CELEBRATE THE NEWS I'M GOING TO GIVE AWAY A FREE PASS TO
MIXED EMOTIONS
TO ONE OF MY BLOG READERS!!!

If you would like to attend Mixed Emotions for free, leave a comment on this post, and I will draw a random name on Friday!

In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions about the class!!!

Thanks so much for visiting and for your comments - I really appreciate them!

Project 12 for July...

Thank you so much for all of the kind comments you have been leaving on my latest journaling posts! I really appreciate them!!!

Deb asked what kind of white pen I use. I actually have two favorites. For fine details, I love the White Uniball Signo pen. It has a crisp, opaque white color. It does run out of ink quickly tho, so buy two! For bolder writing (which is most of my writing), I love the Sharpie Poster Paint Pens. Both the fine and medium points are fabulous and last quite a while. Shake them up really really well each time you use them to keep the ink nice and opaque.

If any of you are working on journals, I'd love it if you link me up in the comments. It would be fun to see what you are up to!

So, now, on to today's stuff...

It's time for the July Project 12 layout and calendar page and once again, I had a blast making these!

Here's the sketch created by Becky Fleck...


and here's what I came up with (click on the pic to see details)...
The photos focus on Mom's visit and Stan's birthday - two awesome things about July! I used my Noel Mignon "Sonoma County" kit this time. I just love the colors of this kit! I added some things from my stash too, like the little owls and the turquoise cardstock. The tree is hand-drawn and cut.


Then there's the calendar page, which I just finished tonight. Here's how that turned out...
One thing I love about the calendar pages is that it gives me a chance to use up some of my embellishments that are hanging around. You know, the ones you love, but just haven't found a use for? They go great in these little squares!

So now, it's 5:00 am. My most fun time to create is late at night, so nights like tonight are my favorite kind! I suppose I should clean up the scraproom and think about going to bed, but I hope to see the sunrise first!

I wish you a wonderful, inspiring, creative weekend my friends!!! Thanks for visiting!

Journal Pages, Thrift Store Treasures, and Excerpts from Remains of the Day Journal #1...

I'm having so much fun filling up my little journal! About one more week and it will be all full! Here's a peek at the latest pages.

I folded this one in half to make a pocket...

and since Harry Potter was on my mind, here's what I put in the pocket...

The only downside to these journals that use all different kinds of paper, is that I am having a heck of time figuring out what pen to use in them. It's driving me crazy. Hence all the different pens you will see on these pages...


I stopped by my favorite thrift store again and it was overflowing with groovy goodies!!! Check out all the stuff I got...
It's all going to make great journaling fodder!!!


Oh, oh, AND...

I FINISHED MY FIRST REMAINS OF THE DAY JOURNAL!!! It's got two signatures, and a total of 80 pages. Here are a few pics of how it turned out...










I will share more pages as I fill them up.


How has your week been going?

What I Love About Sundays and a New Journal Starts...

The new challenge at Scrapping The Music this week features the song "What I Love About Sundays" by Craig Morgan! I just love the lyrics of this one, and the tune has been floating through my mind all week. Here's what I came up with...
I used some older Cosmo Cricket paper for the background, and some of the new Tim Holtz Tissue Tape to frame the photo. That's Michael and My shadow on one of our walks - and it was on a Sunday! Come on over and play along with us - It's a great song, and we'd love to see what you create!!! Click here to go straight to the challenge!


In other news, I started a new journal. Since I finished the writing one that I showed you yesterday, and I'm not quite finished making my Remains of the Day journal, I thought I would fill up this little journal, that I made a couple of years ago, and haven't written in yet...
I made it in an online class led by Gigi Kennedy and it was so much fun! It's actually the first journal I ever made, and the inside pages are all sheet music.

I decided to adapt a sort of "remains of the day" style to this little book. Here's how it's coming so far...
That bookplate type sticker on the front page is from Papaya Art, who makes the most BEAUTIFUL things EVER...







My "Remains of the Day" journal is coming along nicely - in fact, all I have left to do is sew the pages into the binding, which I hope to get done this week! Yeayyy!

I hope you are having a wonderful, inspiring week my friends! I will be back tomorrow with another update - thanks so much for stopping by!

Art Journal Update...

My art journal ponderings of earlier this month, brought me to the conclusion that I really only need two types of ongoing art journals: One for daily writing/documenting my life, and one for self-expression - painting, artistic experiments, etc.

This brought me to the realization that I had two different journals going at the same time for writing in. They were serving the same basic purpose, so I decided to combine them. Here's a peek into how it turned out...

The first one was started back in October of 2009. You can see it here. The cover was made from a record album. About halfway back, you can see where the pages from the second book start filtering in. Ha. I know it looks kinda funny, but that's part of the charm for me...

Here are a few pages from the beginning of the book, back in 2009...



It was fun to go back and see that I had saved this ad from the internet, wishing I could buy this car. I did end up buying it, so I added the YES to the bottom...


Here's where I started adding in the pages from the other journal. I just tore it apart, and taped the pages in where they would fit...

On this page you can see the patterned packing tape that is holding the page with the leaves onto the other journal...


Words of wisdom from Oprah - I just love her...




Here's where I was pondering the purpose of all my different journals...



On the left is the cover from a Cheap Joe's Art Supply catalog, and on the right is a greeting card that I just love...
So now, that writing journal is all finished! It's the most mixed up journal I've ever done, but I love it that way. :0) Tomorrow I will share the new one I am working in now.

I hope you are having a magical week! Thanks for visiting and I will see you again tomorrow!