Tour of My Scraproom...

I got my scraproom all cleaned up! Yeayyyy! I want to give you a little tour! Here's an overview shot...
Starting on the left is the entrance to the room. Then you see my inspiration wall. The desk setup over there is the office area, with my computers, printers and cat bed (the most important part!) The desk in the middle of the room is my scrapdesk, which came from Ikea. The little orange bucket is one of two in the room that I use to store my newest supplies. This keeps them out right in front of me. If I see it I use it. That big roll of paper is some that Michael brought home from the paper mill. I absolutely LOVE it! It's super cool, kinda grainy, kraft paper made from all recycled materials. I use it on layouts and also to cover my scrap table. On the far right is my Clip-it-Up. This is where I keep almost all of my misc. embellies.

Here's the view of my scrap table from another angle. The white carts are full of rubber stamps. All except for the top right drawer which is full of collage/art journal bits and pieces. On top of the carts is my collection of paint. The cubes in the background are actually two huge Bookcases from Ikea. That's where I keep almost all of my scrapping stuff.
From this angle you can see a closer view of the cat bed where Willie and Johnny stretch out to watch the birds; and there's little Willie taking a snooze in the recliner. The pillow on the chair was handmade by my sister, and the green throw on the back of the chair was handmade by my mom. I love them both so much! Behind Willie you can see how I organize my paper. On the far left on the top row is 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock, and paper pads. The next row is all my colored cardstock, and below that, separated by color is patterned paper.

To the right of the papers are the boxes that I keep my collections in. They are just old shipping boxes that I repurposed by covering them with wrapping paper and/or contact paper. Then I stick a label on the front with the name of the collection. When I use up the collection, I just slap a new label on top of the old one and it is ready for my next collection. I find I do most of my scrapping by grabbing one of these boxes. Here's a close-up...


Above the recliner in that same corner I have a vintage pants hanger. This is where I hang my most recent layout so I can look at it for awhile before it goes in a book.

Here's a view of the room from the other side. In those cubes I keep ribbons, punches, printer ink, empty notebooks and other misc stuff. The yellow crate holds big envelopes where I store my extra scraps of paper. It's organized by color...

Here's another view of the office area and my inspiration wall. That beautiful painting that says "Beauty" on it was made by Aimee (colmeec on SiS). I absolutely love it! You can also see my Project 52 ATCs and a number of other projects. That lovely built in desk was made by my talented hubby for me.
Here's another view of my favorite corner. You can see my project list hanging from the magnet board, my beloved lava lamp (a gift from mom), and retro typewriter.
So, that's pretty much it! I love my room and I feel so lucky to have it! I used to scrap in the livingroom of my small condo, and kept all my stuff in a closet. It was fine, but it makes me really appreciate having a whole room to myself.

I hope your weekend is going well! I am working on a layout for Lotus Paperie right now, and I hope to start on the current BASB challenge tonight too.

Thanks for stopping by!

A Scraproom Cleanup and a Tag...

Happy Saturday my friends! I'm sorry I've been away for a couple of days! I have just felt too tired to scrap or blog, and then I realized (once again) it was because of the condition of my scrap room. Wouldn't this make you feel tired... Johnny doesn't seem to mind, in fact he likes having stuff to lay on. As you can see my books have exploded out of the book shelf and lay in piles on the floor.
there's junk under and around my scrap table...
and so much stuff on top of my scrap table it's no wonder I haven't scrapped in two days. AARGH.

So I spent last night picking up and organizing. I'm almost done and it feels so much better. When I'm completely done I will give you a little tour of my scraproom. Not sure if it will be in pictures or video but I will see what I can do. I always love to see how others organize their stuff, so I want to share my ideas with you too.

Also - I've been TAGGED by my good friend Marit! Marit is an amazingly talented Dutch artist. I met her thru SiSTV and I'm so glad I did. She is a constant source of inspiration and such a kind person too! Anyhoo, the rules of the tag are as follows:

1. Pick up the book that you have most handy
2. Turn to page 161
3. Find the 5th complete sentence
4. Cite the sentence on your blog
5. Pass it on to 5 other unsuspecting blogger friends.

The book I have closest to me right now is "Life is a Verb" by Patti Digh. The fifth sentence on page 161 of this book reads:

"I had to walk farther in, around the foot of the bed, my emotions smothering me."

Mysterious as a stand-alone sentence, isn't it???

As far as tagging others, I tag YOU. If you are reading this, and you want to play, consider yourself tagged!

Thanks for the fun Marit!

Now I am off to finish the rest of my scraproom cleanup, and then start scrapping! I will be back tomorrow with another update! Thanks for stopping by!

O is for One...

I've got one more completed page for the "Year In The Life of an Art Journal" project! Yeayyyy!

There are soooo many ways you could go with a prompt like "one." The first thing I thought of was the U2 song "One". Such a beautiful, emotional song. I LOVE the video for it too. It doesn't really apply to my life tho, so that wouldn't do. I had a number of different ideas, but in the end, ended up with this...I used the Heidi Swapp alphabet masks, an image of woman, cut from a magazine and used for a mask (a trick I learned from Dina Wakely), blue & slate glimmer mist, purple spray ink, masking tape, "authentic" stamp by Stampin Up, 7 gypsies gaffer tape, oil crayon and sharpies. I managed to work in the misting and masking for The Next Step challenge.

The journaling says "When I realized that I was enough all by myself, without anyone's approval or permission, that's when the world opened up. "

My book is starting to get thick and bulky and I LOVE that!

Next on my project list is the BASB challenge to use memorabilia in a layout. This will be super fun! I have a big box full of memorabilia. The tough part will be deciding which memorabilia to scrap!

I hope your week is going well and wish you a fabulous Thursday! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Well Hello There...

It's Wednesday and I just found out that my Studio Calico kits AND my Scrap in Style order are BOTH coming tomorrow!!! That will be a grand happy mail day! Yeayyyyyyy!!!!!!

I finished some masked background paper for The Next Step challenge, but I haven't made it into anything yet, so I think I will wait to share til it's a finished layout.

So, I moved onto the current challenge at "These are a Few of My Favorite Things," which is to scrap your favorite flower. That was a no-brainer for me because I LOVE LOVE LOVE Gerbera daisies. They are so big and bright and cheery! I have a few pictures of gerbera bouquets that I've gotten as gifts, but I had the vision of one solitary gerbera for my layout, so I decided to paint it. Here's how it turned out...
I wanted to keep it simple to focus on the flower. I used acrylic paint, gouache and oil crayon to paint the flower. Then I cut it out and popped it up with foam adhesive dots. The word is stamped with my fave Stampin Up alphas. And that's it!

So, looking at my beloved project list, I'm going to be working on the "O" page for my "A Year In The Life of an Art Journal" next. Maybe I can work in some misting or masking...

I will be back tomorrow with another update. Have a wonderful Wednesday and thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 - Week 31...

And off we go with last week's photos...

Monday, July 27: Stevie is taller than Michael now!

Tuesday, July 28: My stash of Artist Trading Card Supplies...

Wednesday, July 29: Happiness is a stuffed fish, a soft carpet, and plenty of birds and squirrels to watch in the yard...

Thursday, July 30: Happiness is also an afternoon nap with a big snuggly pillow (you probably already saw this one)...

Friday, July 31: I bought these 6x6 mini-albums for photos of my clients. I think they will be perfect..

Saturday, August 1: Willie is not real keen on the music I have playing (note the position of the ears)...

Sunday, August 2: The world's smallest placemat...

and here's how the layout turned out...
I incorporated a couple more techniques to streamline the 365 process. First, I stamped the days of the week on the photos with stazon, instead of backing the round stickers with colored paper and gluing them on. I've also started including one 3x4 photo in the extra journaling spot, instead of coming up with a quote or design for that space. Both of these things are saving me precious time, and making it easier to stay caught up with this major project!

for more information on Project 365, click on the link in the right-hand column ===>

Next on my list is a project for the new technique at The Next Step. This month the focus is on misting and masking! Yeayyy! That should be a lot of fun! Now I just have to decide what kind of project to do my masking on.........

Oh, p.s. there is one more day to vote over at Scrap The Boys. My layout is currently in third place. I'd love your vote but no pressure ;0)

I will be back tomorrow with another update. Thanks so much for stopping by, and for your comments - they make my day!!!

All She Wants to Do is Scrap...

I've been singing "All She wants to do is Scrap" lately (to the tune of Don Henly's "All She Wants to Do is Dance"); cuz seriously that's how I've been feeling! It's crazy! Ever since I made my project list I feel like I just can't stop scrapping! LOL. I'm sure it will wear off at some point, but for now I'm just enjoying it.

I finished my "N is for Now" page, just in time, because tomorrow the "O" prompt goes live! For this one, I just decided to capture the everyday "now" of my life. I had these prompts from an article on journaling by Ali Edwards, and I thought it was the perfect time to use them...
It's probably pretty difficult to read the journaling on the page, so here it is:

Now outside my window: the sun is shining, the wind is blowing and it's 81 degrees. I am wearing: yoga pants, a sweatshirt that says "we are one" & my orange polkadot readers. I am thankful for: Sundays with nothing on the agenda. I am creating: every day, and it feels great. I am reading: "Life is a Verb" by Patti Digh, "Wide Open" by Randi Feuerhelm-Watts & all my daily blogs and forums. I am hearing: the soft whir of my emac in an otherwise silent room. I am seeing: lots of little bits of paper all over the scraproom floor, Willie looking out the window & Johnny is chewing on a plastic patterned paper sleeve. It's another wonderful Sunday.

I can finally share my Scrapping The Music layout for the week too. The song is the Mary Tyler Moore theme, which is one that is close to my heart, because, not only did I grow up with that show, but her character lives in Minneapolis, and the whole concept of starting over all alone rings true for me too. In fact, when I started over and bought my own condo, the famous Mary Tyler Moore house was right in my neighborhood. Anyways, here's how my layout turned out... (click on the photo to enlarge it)

The journaling reads:
It was April of 2005. My divorce was behind me. I had new friends, an awesome new condo in the heart of Minneapolis, and my buddies Johnny and Willie by my side. I knew, finally, that everything was going to turn out great.

Come on over and play along - it's such a fun song to scrap!

I will be back tomorrow with a Project 365 update. Thanks so much for stopping by!

The Voting Has Started and another Project to Share...

The three-days of voting has started over at the "Scrap The Boys" challenge blog; and my "Real Men Live, Laugh and Love" layout is in the running. Actually all the layouts that were turned in are in the running, which is kind of cool cuz we all have a chance. I love that. In any case, I'd love it if you feel like checking out the layouts (click here), and vote for the one you like the best! If it just happens to be mine then yeayyyy! But seriously, no pressure. :0)

I'm still playing in my ABC art journal and I'm almost caught up! Yeayyy! I finished my "M" page today, and the group is only on N. Wait... I guess that means I'm COMPLETELY caught up now! Double yeayyyyy!!!

Anyhoo, the prompt for the letter "M" was left open to choice, so I chose Magic and Miracles...
It reads "Both magic and miracles need only for you to believe for them to happen." ~Harry Quadracci.

I used acrylic paint, gesso, vintage sheet music, a magazine image, Jenni Bowlin patterned paper, brown oil crayon, and Stampin Up alpha stamps. Oh, and the small words were typed on my new (old) typewriter! So fun!

Next on my list is the letter "N" journal page, and I also want to put together a travel journal kit. I've been wanting to do that for some time, and then Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's post on the subject really inspired me. Check it out here for lots of good ideas!

I'm off to look for the perfect container for my travel kit - see you tomorrow for another update! Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comments - they mean alot to me!

I'm So Glad for the Weekend...

It's calendar-changing day again - Happy August my friends! How did it get here so fast???

Ooh - the fact that it's August 1st, means that the Studio Calico kits will be shipping soon - YEAYYYYY!!!!! That is so exciting!!! I've made eleven layouts and five artist trading cards with the June SC kit - so far; and I still have a TON of stuff left to make more - I love it!

Tonight I worked on my layout for this coming Sunday's Scrapping The Music song; and it's almost done. I just have to do the journaling, and I will do a much better job with that after a good nite's sleep!

So I'm making this post short and sweet. There will be more to come tomorrow, but for now, from me and my little friend Johnny - nitey nite!

L is for Laugh...

Tonight's project got me one letter closer to being caught up with my "A Year In The Life of an Art Journal" project. The prompt for the letter "L" was Look, but I felt compelled to change it to laugh...
I used acrylic paint, white eggnog thickers (my favorite style!), magazine images (the laughing kids), BG June Bug paper (bird), Heidi Grace rubons, 7 Gypsies gaffer tape, vintage houndstooth fabric, misc ribbons, Rusty Pickle tag, and black and white sharpies.

The journaling reads: "Since I met Michael, my world has become filled with laughter, and it makes every day feel bright and sunny. We giggle about our little quirks, the funny things that happen in life, and even the ridiculousness of bad situations. I never knew how good it feels to laugh your way thru life before, but now I couldn't live without it."

I'm almost half-way thru the prompts now, and it's fun to see my journal filling up! The letter prompts go on every other page, and I still have to fill the in-between pages with random journaling, which I haven't been very good about. Guess I better get busy on that!

Next on my project list is a layout for this Sunday's Scrapping The Music song. It's a fun one! I won't be able to share the whole thing tomorrow, but maybe I can post a sneak peek!

So, in other news, I was looking through my latest Oprah magazine looking for images for my project, and I came upon an article about music, and a place where it said something about - if you like Neil Young, you would probably like this band called The Avett Brothers. Being a long-time Neil Young fan, I had to check it out. Turns out The Avett Brothers are an Americana Band and I absolutely fell in love with their music! They have a music player right on their website, and I spent the whole evening listening to them while I worked on my page. I think I will be investing in some Avett Brothers tuneage very soon!

Who have you been listening to lately? Anyone new inspiring you?

Project 52 ATCs for July - Weeks 26 thru 30

I have discovered that I absolutely LOVE doing Artist Trading Cards in sets, rather than one at a time. There's something really fun about coming up with a theme, and trying to make each one different while still having some continuity throughout the set. Plus, I love seeing them all lined up together!

Anyhoo, I made my Project 52 ATCs for July as a set done with the June Studio Calico kit. Here's how they turned out (click on the image to see the details)...

Here's how the backs look. I used these fun vintage playing cards that I got at the thrift store, and then I totally forgot to make sure the cards were right side up when I designed the front - AARGH! Oh well, mistakes just give it charm, right? LOL
Next on my project list is the "L" page for my "A Year in the Life of an Art Journal" project. I can't wait to work on that tonight!

Did you see the prompt over at The Next Step this week? It's a cute little mini-album made to hold your sewing needles and pins. What a fun idea! I really hope to get time to do that one! It's not on my Project list, so I may have to sneak it in this weekend.

Today is the day that the new challenge goes up at the "These are a Few of my Favorite Things" blog. I can't wait to see what it is!

That's all the news for today. I hope you have a completely awesome and inspired Thursday! I will be back tomorrow with another update!

Project 365 - Week Thirty...

It was a really fun week...

Monday, July 20th: I got an awesome happy mail package from my friend Denise. Vintage children's book pages, mostly cat-themed; and there was even one about a cat named Willie! How awesome is that?
Tuesday, July 21st: Willie discovers my lunchbox full of yo-yo's during an evening scrapping session...

Wednesday, July 22nd: My retro typewriter arrived...

Thursday, July 23rd: Rummaging thru an old box of memorabilia, I came across this photo of me at four years old...

and the last three are from Saturday, July 25th:

Willie looks down at us from the second floor landing, as we're on our way out the door for a walk. The picture's not upside down. This is what we saw when we looked up...

Looking up from the trunk of a very tall tree...

and the smile that melts my heart...

and guess what - I even finished a layout this week! Here's how it turned out...

Did you hear the news? SiSTV is closing their online boutique. I'm sad to hear it, but it sounds like it's going to be best in the long run, because Jeanette (the owner) will have more time to devote to the online community/website. Can't wait to see what exciting things she has planned for the future! In the meantime, there is a 40% off everything sale that started at midnite, so head on over and check it out if you're interested.

The big reveal at Studio Calico was a lot of fun! The kits this month look absolutely beautiful. I ended up ordering all three add-on kits, plus a bottle of lime green maya mist! I am so excited!!! I can hardly wait for them to arrive! When they do, I will be sure to share pics.

So, next on my ever-lovin list are my Project 52 ATCs for the month of July. There were five Wednesdays in July, so I need to come up with a set of five. I've got a number of theme ideas in mind. Hmmmmm.....

That is it until tomorrow. I wish you an absolutely beautiful, happy and creative Wednesday! Thanks so much for stopping by, and thank you for your comments!!! They really make my day!

BASB and Lotus Paperie... (Hey - that rhymes!)

Challenges are really inspiring me lately - I just can't seem to get enough of them! The current challenge at Lotus Paperie is a sketch, and the BASB challenge is to scrap a summer layout. I combined the two to make this...

"Summertime...and the livin' is easy."

I used the June Studio Calico kit (again!), plus my orange crush bottlecap, orange fabric from my secret sister Andrea, acrylic paint, Pink Paislee alpha stamps and 7 Gypsies gaffer tape.

Journaling reads:
It was a beautiful day so we decided to go for a drive. We discovered a sweet place called Coon Lake Beach, and came upon these horses, who were so beautiful we had to stop & take a picture.

The BASB challenge is a two-parter this time; and the second part is to share an organizational item for your scrap supplies. Something you re-purposed. Well, I love to store my scrappy supplies in all kinds of odd containers, especially really old ones. One of my favorites is this old metal lunchbox that I got at a garage sale that is now home to my various tapes...

It is just the right size to hold the rolls comfortably, and I love how it looks sitting on my scraproom table.

Do you have any ideas for repurposing items for storing/organizing your scrap supplies? I'd love to hear about them!

Thanks so much for stopping by and for your kind comments you've been leaving - I appreciate it so so much!