Playing in my Blue Kitten Journal...

Hi and happy Sunday! Yesterday was my monthly girlfriends crop, and I got to play in my blue kitten journal all day long! It was so much fun!

Here are some new finished pages that I came up with...

This is the inside cover...

If you are not familiar with those two little guys (the pink one and the green one) they are Hoops and Yoyo, and you can see them here. I cut them out of a magazine.  The papers and embellies I am using throughout this journal are mostly a combination of Amy Tangerine's lines, plus Noel Mignon's Primrose Lane and Charm School kits.

This is my handmade envelope to collect stuff like receipts, workshop handouts, and other misc. stuff...

 

I got the pink angel wings from Noel MIgnon's store, and the April calendar is a free download from Owl Barn.

Here I'm using my handy dandy 21 Secrets Checklist to keep track of where I am with all of the classes.  The ones that are completely colored in I've completed; and the ones with the dots are in process.  I love that they provide this checklist for us!

I learned to do the flower cutouts in Alma Stoller's Child's Play II workshop (which is part of 21 Secrets)...

Sometimes I just feel like writing, so I will do that, and then decorate an envelope to stick it in...

I wanted to keep this article about Davy Jones, so I pasted the first page onto cardstock, and then cut down a page protector to house the double sided page...

and that's it for now. April's almost over so I'm not sure if I will end this journal and start a new one, or just keep going.  It's already getting really full!

I hope you are having a super groovy weekend my friends!  Thanks so much for visiting!

It's Time for another Balzer Designs Stencil Hop!

Hi everyone!  I'm so excited to bring you round two of my participation in the Balzer Designs Spring Stencil Hops!

This time around we are featuring the "Wedding Ring" stencil!  How beautiful is this design???

I had so much fun playing around, and seeing what this stencil could do!  I ended up with two projects completed - one card, and one art journal spread.

First I made the card...
For this I used the 6"x6" version of the stencil, and sponged some stamp pad ink through it.  I learned this technique from my friend Anne, and it really works well for getting the details to show up! 

Then I cut along the bottom of the circles to make a scallop; and backed it with green cardstock to give it a pop of color.  I also outlined the shapes with a black journaling pen... 

I still wanted more color, so I used some colored pencils and gamsol for blending...

 

and here's how the card turned out...

Next I decided to play around in my art journal with the 12" x 12" version of the stencil. I had an idea for an interactive journal spread, and I'm so excited about how it turned out!!! Here's what I ended up with...

I started out with two sets of watercolor pages in my Blue Kitten Journal.  I used modeling paste through the stencil to create texture on the top set of pages.  I just loved the bubbly shape it created around the outside, so I decided to cut the shape out! Then I painted it green, and rubbed some turquoise ink over the top to highlight the texture. I cut three of the circle middles out so you could see the second layer of watercolor paper underneath (which I painted pink and yellow with the help of my beloved Neocolor II crayons).

 The current prompt over at "A Year In The Life of an Art Journal" is to use "inchie" photos to capture details in your everyday life that make you smile.  The spring flowers in my neighborhood really make me smile, so I cut photos I've taken of them to fit inside the circles and glued them on.  They're actually 2", but who's counting, right? 

 The green paper flips over on either side to reveal my journaling...

I had TONS OF FUN playing with the Wedding Ring Stencil!!! 

If you haven't done so yet, hop on over to the other participating bloggers and see what beautiful things they have created for the hop...

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/2012/04/stencil-hop-wedding-ring.html

Valerie Mangan
http://paperandcookies.blogspot.com/

Jennifer Mason
http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/blogs/jenn/default.aspx

Christine Urias
http://scraptime.ca/blogpage/

Michelle LaPoint Rydell (that's me!)
http://inspirationeverywhere.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much to Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, and Crafter's workshop for inviting me to be part of the Spring Stencil Hop 2012!!!

Project Life Week of April 16 - 22, 2012...

Here's how the spread turned out...

 Closeup of the left side...

The title card is a postcard from a hospital giftshop I was at this week. The gorgeous image of the two girls on the far left is a free iphonewallpaper available here.  I have since learned that the artist also sells prints on etsy - check those out here.  The image on the bottom right is also a postcard - I got it while traveling up north this week.  Postcards are great, easy additions for project life - I've discovered that most of them are just the right size - 4x6."


Closeup of right side...

This week I used a lot of papers and embellies from a combination of Amy Tangerine's lines and my Primrose Lane kit from Noel Mignon.

I still have a week I haven't finished yet, but I will get to it eventually.  :0)

A couple of reminders for you:

There is still time to enter the current Scrapping The Music challenges!  The deadline isn't until the 27th at midnite!  Click here to check it out.

There is another Balzer Designs Stencil Hop coming up this Thursday, and I am excited to be participating again!  Look for that post on Thursday morning - bright and early!

I hope you are having a super groovy week my friends!  Thanks so much for visiting!

Blue Kitten Journal Update...

Here's a little update on how my blue kitten journal is shaping up...

I added a transparency to the front with some doodling and a title...

I also added in my project list (the highlighted ones are finished).  This is the way I keep track of everything.  The stars in the second column are commitments I've made to other people, and the column on the right is the date I want to have each thing done.

I tried doing my daily journaling in different ways...

I am having fun doing different kinds of pages!  It is fun to learn as I go; and one thing I have learned with this journal, is that I have the most fun when I am being spontaneous.  It works great for playing; but not so great for writing longer journal entries.  I am going to start keeping a separate journal for that.

With that in mind, I ordered three new writing journals!  Yeayyy!!!  These are the three I ordered:

I can't wait to get them!  I will let you know what they are actually like when they arrive, and I will share more about that process as I go.

I hope your weekend is going great!!!

Meet The Monkees (Scrapping The Music #197)...

Hey there everyone! I hope you had a nice weekend! The new challenges are up at Scrapping The Music and they are tons of fun!

The inspiration song is by Adele and it's a good one! I don't have a layout to share, but click here to see the design team layouts and find out what the song is...

The prompt this time around is to Scrap the First Music you purchased - be it a Record Album, CD, Cassette or download. Here's what I did...
The Monkees' debut album was the first one I ever bought. It came out in 1966, and I think I bought it in 1967 or so? Anyways, I played that album until I wore it out, singing along with all the songs. Here's a link to one of the hits off the album "Daydream Believer." Davy Jones was my first teen idol. Rest in peace Davy...

Head on over to Scrapping The Music to check out the challenges and play along! We'd love to have you! Click here to go straight to the challenge!

Thanks for visiting and I'll see you again soon!

The Beginning of a New Journal...

Just like I love finishing a journal, I also LOVE starting a new one! This time I decided to go with a whole different format. I used this jumbo birthday card (7.5" x 9.5") from 1970 as my cover...


and filled it with a mix of scrapbook papers from my Noel Mignon "Primrose Lane" kit, and plain hot-press watercolor paper. It's pretty thick and heavy...
I bound it with rings so I can add things as I go, move things around or whatever! My plan is that each day I will decide what kind of page I feel like doing. It could be a smashbook-style page, a more art-journally page, or no page at all! HA. I love the flexibility of it!!!

Here's an idea of what the bare bones looks like...


I made this month's envelope myself, using vintage wallpaper...


The only structure I gave this book was that I made a divider page for each Monday in April...



and I also added in the back half of the card, just for fun...
I've started using it already and I'm having a blast! As I fill it up, I will share the finished pages with you.

In other news, the new Scrapping The Music format is a hit! Yeayyyy - we are so excited!!! The new slideshow is up and it's jam-packed with goodness! Check it out here.

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

The Vintage Record Album Journal is Complete...

I created my Vintage Record Album journal in Mary Ann Moss' "Full Tilt Boogie" class last year. What a fun class that was! I highly recommend it if you are interested in learning to bind your own journals! Anyways, I was so excited to finally finish filling it up at the end of March! Here are a few photos of what it looks like now...


and because Johnny believed he should be in one of the photos...
To see some photos of the inside pages of this journal click here.

I'm already 10 days into my April journal, so I will share that with you tomorrow! I hope you are having a super-duper week! Thanks for visiting!