Studio Calico and a Sneaky Peeky...

My Studio Calico kits arrived!!! YEAYYYY and super YEAYYY! I love the way each kit came packaged individually with cute little labels on each bag...


Johnny had fun with the packaging paper (as always, it's his favorite part of the whole happy mail process)...
Here's the main kit - called "Soda Fountain." I think my favorite parts of this kit are the exclusive alpha patterned paper, the cherry paper, and how all the patterns go together! So fun...

Here's the first add-on. It's called "Shirley Temple." I love the lush pinks and oranges of this kit, plus those yummy numbers stamps...
and here's the second add-on kit I got - it's called "Cherry Pop." I LOVE those alpha stamps, and the little adhesive gems are fantastic in real life!...
and all because I won a $15 gift certificate for Studio Calico from the BASB challenge blog! I love getting introduced to new things, and the Studio Calico site is a cool kit club and a super-nice community too. Check it out here!

Okay - a number of people are really curious about the song that's coming up at Scrapping The Music, since I mentioned it was one of my faves of all time. I have to say I'm not sure how well known this song is, but I hope you will like it! Here's a sneak peek of my layout for the song...

does this give you any ideas??? Only three days to wait...

My plan was to complete two projects a night this week to get caught up with all my deadlines, and so far the only project I managed to complete was the Scrapping The Music one. Aargh! Work has been super busy, and my scraproom has been a mess which always seems to clutter my brain. Now that I've had a little break tho, I'm feeling pumped to do some creating!

I hope this week has you feeling inspired! I will be back tomorrow with an update and hopefully a new project to share!

Project 365 - Week Twenty-Three...

I finished my layout tonight for this coming Sunday's Scrapping The Music song, and I just have to say it's one of my ALL-TIME favorite songs by one of my VERY FAVORITE artists! I'm so excited about it! Wish I could share, but I have to wait until Sunday evening to post it.

So, here we go on Project 365, week twenty-three...

Monday, June 1st: I love calendar-changing day...

Tuesday, June 2nd: My childhood home was on this block. I was in the area for work, so I drove past it for old time's sake. See that freeway fence? That is why we had to move. They were widening the freeway, so we had to sell our house to the city, and it was torn down. Now that fence stands where all of our houses on that side of the street used to be. I was in seventh grade at the time and soooo bummed that we had to move...

Wednesday, June 3rd: What could be cuter than a cat foot on your keyboard? Johnny was taking a nap next to the computer...

Thursday, June 4th: The throw pillows on our bed...

I didn't take any pictures on Friday, which turned out great, because I took two for Saturday!

Christina and me at our crop...

and the happy mail I got from my secret sister...

Sunday, June 7th: A snuggly moment for Johnny and Michael...

I didn't do a layout for the week yet, cuz I've been busy with a bunch of projects with deadlines. I figure as long as I keep taking my pictures, I can pop in the journaling cards later, right?

For more info about Project 365, click on the link in the right-hand column. =====>

I thought I was getting my Studio Calico kits today, but it turns out I have to wait until Wednesday. Ohhhh the suspense of it all!!!

Alrighty then, time for me to get some shuteye. I wish you a terrific Tuesday my friends! Thanks for stopping by, and thank you so much for your nice comments! They really make my day!

Happy Mail From My Secret Sister!!!

I came home late Saturday night from my crop and there in my mail was a package from my secret sister! Look at all the loveliness that was in the box!!!!!Patterned papers, stickers, and ribbons from the AWESOME Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday line, plus gorgeous thickers and coordinating cardstock! I am so thrilled! Thank you so much secret sister!!!

Speaking of secrets - I spent all day decorating my plate for the SiStv "mystery item" contest. The way it works is: 20 people signed up to be in a contest - all we knew was that we were going to get a "mystery item" to decorate. Once the sign-ups were complete we got to see what the item was. We were given a little tin plate - about 3.5" wide and told to decorate it any way we want. Then we send it in with just our given number on the back - no name. Then there is blind judging. It's going to be so much fun to see what everyone comes up with! I wish I could share what I did but I guess that will have to wait!

I just realized I didn't do my project 52 ATC this week. I discovered I really like doing a monthly theme for these cards. My plan for June is to do a series of mixed media ATCs in honor of the Collage Couture class I'm taking.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend my friends! I will be back tomorrow with another update! Thanks for stopping by!

Playing with Paint...

The crop was fun and I am sooo tired! I decided to work on my art journals (I have two of them going) and it was a good decision. I brought a shoebox full of paint, gel medium and gesso, some brushes and a container full of collage materials, and just played all day. I painted a lot of backgrounds, cut alot of stuff out of magazines - no stress, no expectations. It was positively lovely. I only completed one thing - the title page for my "A Year In The Life" journal. Here's how it turned out...I just love that greyhound - doesn't he look happy!?! I discovered when I painted the words "art journal," that my heavy-body acrylic soaks into the thin paper of this journal and loses it's bright color. I had a little tube of orange-red gouache with me (fantastic stuff), and I put that over the top and it sat on top of the surface and stayed nice and bright red. Yeayyy! It's fun to play around with different types of paint and see what works best with what. Paint is just one big adventure if you ask me! (of course no one asked me, but that's beside the point...). The background on this spread is watercolor. The blue on the side is duct tape with stazon ink stamped over the top of it.

The bad news is I broke my funky reader glasses - aargh. Luckily I had the blue duct tape, so that went around the side and altho they were a little wonky-looking, they worked just fine for the rest of the night.

Here's a pic of Christina with her fashionable glasses and me with my wonky ones...
So that's all for today! I'm home and it's Sunday morning and I need to get a little shuteye. Later on today I want to work on the rest of my circle journal layouts.

I wish you a sunshiny Sunday! I will be back tomorrow with another update!

Yippee Skippy it's Friday!

Happy Friday my scrapparific friends! This week has flown by! I'm excited because tomorrow is my monthly girls crop! My plan is to get there at 10 am when they open, so we will have almost 12 hours of cropping time. One thing I am hoping to purchase is some of the new Early Bird line from Cosmo Cricket. I'm totally enamored with the smiling toaster!

Okay, so I finished my project for the current challenge at The Next Step, which is to reinvent your old patterned papers. I took this old, rather bland black and white paper, and added some new painted circles with the leftover paint from last night's layout - a mix of turquoise and lime. Then I outlined and doodled with a white Sharpie. It was fun and got me inspired to do more of this - I have a ton of old papers that need revamping! Here's the result...

Tonight after work will be spent getting ready for the crop. I think I might print off some challenges, and work on those - that's always fun and freeing!

I hope you have a fantastic Friday! I will be back tomorrow with another update - take care and thanks for stopping by!

Unconventional Music-Loving Goofy Mushbucket...

I finally got some time to scrap tonight and it felt fabulous! I finished another circle journal layout. This one is for Lori and her theme is "What Makes You You?" I don't usually combine projects, but I am also submitting this to the current BASB Challenge because it is all about doing a layout about your self, and this fits the bill exactly!
The self-portrait is a photograph I cropped and altered in Dina Wakely's art journaling class, but never had a chance to use on a layout until now! The title is handpainted and outlined with a sharpie.

The journaling reads:
I was the one in junior high that wore the loud pants with designs all over them. I've always loved bright colors and I still wear loud designs when I can get away with it. (wink). I love music of all kinds and love to get to know people thru the music they love. I love to laugh and my hubby and two cats keep me in stitches. I love to sing and dance... The kind where it doesn't matter what you sound or look like, it just matters that you FEEL it! The raven is my animal totem and I have one tattooed on my leg. I talk to inanimate objects all the time. When I was a kid I used to tell the bath bubbles I was sorry they had to go down the drain, and I never really got over that feeling that everything has feelings - LOL. I jump up and down when I'm excited - my hubby always says he knows its a good day if I'm jumping. I believe you have to take chances, be who you are, love as much as you possibly can, and don't be afraid to look foolish once in awhile - it keeps you grounded!

When I was done with this layout I still had a bunch of paint on my palette, so I worked on the current challenge at The Next Step, which is to alter old patterned paper to make it fresh and new again! I will share that project tomorrow.

I hope your week is going well! I wish you tons of inspiration and a positively thrilling Thursday! Thanks for stopping by!

Alain Clark - Blow Me Away

OMG Life is crazy right now at work and home! I wish I could take a week's vacation and just scrap scrap scrap! I've got tons of ideas and HOPEFULLY I will get some time tomorrow.

In the meantime I want to share this video with you! One of my absolute FAVORITE things in life is discovering new music (at least new to me). I found about Alain Clark thru Jenneke's blog - thank you Jenneke!!! An upbeat, danceable song like this is just what I needed today!

I hope you like it! I will be back tomorrow! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Project 365 - Week Twenty-Two...

It's interesting how I am starting to notice that even tho I take pictures randomly throughout the week, in the end themes start to emerge. Last week's theme seemed to be flowers. This week it's all about the cats...

Monday, May 25: Johnny is relaxed...

Tuesday, May 26: Willie is SUPER relaxed...

Wednesday, May 27: When I was out and about for work, I happened upon the dance studio that I attended for 15 years when I was growing up! Wow, what a blast from the past! It was cool to see it after all these years!

Thursday, May 28: I love how the boys always stick their cat toys in their food dish. I wonder what that means?

Friday, May 29: A mosaic bench at the Ridgedale Library...

Saturday, May 30: A self-portrait done for my circle journal layout...

Sunday, May 31: This is the one I showed you yesterday - the boys were pooped after an exhausting weekend of scrapping...

And here's how the layout turned out...

So simple. But a great way to capture the year. I hope they offer this kit again next year. If they don't, I'm going to have to come up with a way to do it without a kit.

For more info on Project 365, click on the link in the right column ====>

I wanted to get another circle journal layout done tonight too, but it was not to be. I should never expect to get more than one thing done on a work night. Oh well, a girl can dream.

I will be back tomorrow - hopefully with a circle journal layout done! Take care, have a terrific Tuesday and thanks for stopping by!

The Boys Are Exhausted...

It's been a long weekend of scrapping for us and they just can't stay awake any longer...
This is the scene right now as I type this. They are such cuties - snuggled up in their catbed right next to the computer. Always by my side.

So the clock has struck midnite and you know what that means.... Happy June! It's calendar - changing day! I love new beginnings! Every Monday I make my creative to-do list for the week, and at the beginning of each month I update my overall HUGE main Project List. Today I get to do both! Love that!

I didn't get any projects finished tonight, so I've got nothing to show you - drat. I have been busy though. The next Circle Journal layout I need to finish is for Lori and it's on the theme "What Makes You You?" A great theme, but I was feeling very indecisive about who I actually am - HA. I think I finally figured out what I want to say. Now I just need to come up with a layout to go with my journaling. I will do that tonight after work I think. After Project 365.

The new song is up at Scrapping The Music! It's "You Are So Beautiful" by Joe Cocker. Remember that one? It's a beauty and so perfect for scrapping layouts about your loved ones! Come on over and play along with us - we'd love see what you create!

Another reason to look forward to Mondays is the new post goes up at The Next Step! And being that it is a new month they will be starting with a whole new technique - can't wait to see what it is!

Alrighty then - that's it for today. I will be back tomorrow with a Project 365 update, and if all goes well, another circle journal layout. Thanks so much for stopping by and for all the nice comments - it really means a lot to me! Have a wonderful Monday!

You Gotta Be Bold...

I found a great book at the library used book store the other day. I will have to get out my Goo-Be-Gone to get the stickers off, but then it will make an awesome art journal! I love the picture on the front, and there are illustrations on the inside too. Check it out...
And I finished another circle journal layout! This one is for my album. Theme is "Scrap a Song Lyric and Include a Photo of Yourself." I had so much fun with this one!

The background paper is white cardstock painted with acrylic paint. I used the current Next Step technique of shadowing with charcoal again on this layout (around the photo). Other materials used include dictionary paper, Jenni Bowlin vintage black star paper, Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday Alpha paper, Autumn Leaves Whirligig buttons, Stampin Up Newsprint Alpha stamps and a black sharpie.

Now I've got a big mess to clean up in the scraproom! I will be back tomorrow with another update. I hope your weekend is going well! I wish you a wonderful Sunday!

Circle Journal Cover...

I finished my Circle Journal cover - yeayyyy!!! I had so much fun with this! My theme is "scrap a song lyric and include a photo of yourself." I decided to title the journal "Self-Portraits in Song," It's made from the record album cover that came in my SiStv Homebody collection, cut down to 9 1/2" x 8 3/4." Here's the front...After glueing on some sheet music, I used spray ink and purple acrylic to muddy the background a little bit. I wanted it to still show but allow the bird to stand out. The bird is painted with acrylic and outlined with a black sharpie. His telephone wire is made from dictionary paper. The title is painted and outlined as well.

Here's the inside front cover. I used the latest technique challenge from The Next Step, which is to use charcoal for highlighting. It's very subtle, but I charcoaled around the edge of the sheet music...
and I also charcoaled around the scallops on the inside of the back cover. I like the effect. It gives it a little extra whimsy...

and here's the back cover, which is also the back of the record album...

I still have to add a middle ring (I only had two handy), but other than that it is done!

So, I'm SLIGHTLY behind on my goal of completing all 7 Circle Journal layouts this week - I've only done one plus this cover. LOL. I've still got the rest of the weekend tho, so we shall see...

I'm so excited to get my Studio Calico kits I can hardly stand it! Happy mail is so much fun!

I'll be back tomorrow with another update - hopefully more circle journal layouts!

Take care and thanks for stopping by!

Miscellaneous Rambling...

Diane B asked where I got the Rheotech paints. Thanks for the question Diane! I got them at a local art store called Art Materials. Here's a link to their online shop. You can also go directly to the Rheotech site to find out where to buy them near you. If anyone tries them, I'd love to know what you think!

I've been playing in my scraproom all night and it's been really freeing. I am working on the cover for my circle journal for sisversary - just playing and going with my gut which always makes me the happiest! I finished the front of the cover, but I want to wait til it's all done to share. My theme is "scrap a song lyric and include a photo of yourself." More to come on that.

I just found out tonight that Dina Wakely is doing another art journal class - HOORAY!!! It's called "Art Journaling 201 - A Masterful Journey." I have taken two of Dina's art journaling classes already and each one was amazing. You can read more about it at Dina's blog here.

Life is so inspiring right now I just can't even believe it. It's like there just aren't enough hours in the day. Here it is 12:30 a.m. and if I didn't have to get up and go to work in the morning I swear I could stay up all night scrapping! There's something so magical about night time for me.

But - the days are magical too, and if I want to enjoy them, I guess I need to get my sleep. I used to always wish I could just have a windup key so I didn't have to sleep - LOL. I wouldn't go that far anymore. Sleep is a lovely thing.

So that's it for today - I think this is the first post without a photo. It feels weird. I am such a visual person it doesn't feel complete if I don't have a photo. Well, I will make up for it tomorrow with at least two photos. Ha.

Have a wonderful Friday my scrappy friends - thanks for stopping by!