Tiny Smashbook Update...

The K & Co. Smashbooks are finally available for pre-order, and I got my order in right away! While I wait, I was lucky enough to get a freebie giveaway from the Smashbook blog. It's a tiny version of the Smashbook and it's SO CUTE! It's about 3.75" x 5.75." I've just started putting things in it, so I thought it would be fun to share how it's looking so far:

The cover is plain, but it will be fun to doodle on...

The inside front cover has these cute little pockets. I used some washi tape to label my dried flowers...


Here's a room key I accidentally left a hotel with (oops)...

I found this adorable paper doll Owl on the internet, and I wish I could share a link, but I've forgotten where it came from. If anyone knows, could you link me up? I'd love to give credit where it's due. Anyhoo, I made a tiny clear envelope to put his extra clothes in. He even came with sunglasses and a hat!...

I haven't done anything to these two pages yet, but wanted to share cuz they make me chuckle...

When you turn the page, he looks like this - ha!...
And notice the back cover has another little pocket, and it came with some tiny labels with cute sayings like "I love this" & "Oh Snap." HA.

I think Stop and Scrap still has Smashbooks up for pre-order. Click here to check it out.

I was recently SUPER inspired by a new kind of journal that I saw in the 21 Secrets gallery, so I'm now working on creating one with my own style and I can't wait to share it with you soon! When I do I will be sure to link you up to the fabulous artist who inspired me too!

What's been inspiring you lately?

Oh, and have any of you signed up for the free online crop this Saturday at Big Picture Scrapbooking? It's looking like it will be fun! Click here to check it out!

Thanks so much for visiting! I appreciate you!!! Have a fabulous day!

A New Month in my Daily Journal...

Hi everyone! Last night I finished my intro page for May in my daily journal. Each month, I'm trying to capture the weather, some local and world news, one or two photos of daily life at our home and a quote. I think it will be fun to look back at these months later...


My journal is about half-full now...
I'm thinking it will probably last through the end of May, which should be perfect timing because my Smashbooks should be here by then, and I have a new plan brewing!

Oh, and speaking of Smashbooks, I've started filling my tiny freebie one. I will share pics of that tomorrow. Also - they are still holding weekly giveaways for the big ones on the blog - check it out here.

I hope you are having an awesome week! Thanks for visiting!

New Scrapping The Music AND Fave Things Challenges...

It's movie week again at Scrapping The Music and this time we are paying tribute to the movie "Once," by featuring the theme song "Falling Slowly." I decided to make an art journal page (big surprise, eh?), and here's how it turned out...
The daffodil is a photograph I took on a recent walk with Michael. The rest is acrylic paint, dictionary paper and pan pastel around the edges.

Come on over and play along with us! Click here to go directly to the STM challenge!


We've also got a new challenge for you over at the Fave Things blog. This time we want you to answer the question - What's your favorite thing about Spring? Here's how mine turned out...
The blooming trees take my breath away in the spring. The colors are sooo beautiful! This photograph was taken in the park where Michael and I got married. For the layout I used my Scarlet Lime "Vintage Love" kit, along with poster paint sharpies for doodling.

Come on over to Fave Things and tell us what you love about spring!

Oh, and speaking of Scarlet Lime - owner Christy Tomlinson has a really neat giveaway on her blog right now! Check it out here.

That's it for today. Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comments! I really appreciate them and you!!! Have a wonderful Sunday my friends!

Still on an Abstract Adventure...

The second lesson in the Abstract Adventures Workshop is all about playing with lines. I had soooooo much fun with this one! Painting big is a blast!!! Here's how mine turned out...

Again, it's 18x24," acrylic on watercolor paper. I think the fun, for me, is a combination of the size, and the fact that it's abstract. There is no worrying about making it look like anything. It's just playing with colors and lines! I can see I will be doing a lot of experimenting in this giant journal!

I wish you a wonderful and inspired weekend my crafty friends! See you soon!

Abstract Adventures, Part One...

The 21 Secrets Fun Continues!!! Last night I started the Abstract Adventures Workshop, which is taught by the talented and fearless creator of 21 Secrets - Connie Hosvicka! She teaches us to paint BIG and FEARLESS! How awesome is that?!!! So I bought myself an 18 x 24" watercolor pad and I'm calling it my fearless art journal!!! The first exercise was all about getting loose and exploring color. Here's how mine turned out...
I have to say I just LOVED painting big! I turned my itunes on shuffle and moved to the music as I slapped colors on the page - it was fun and so therapeutic!


Here's where having a bunch of journals going at once comes in handy: I then used the leftover paint on my palette to make backgrounds in four other journals - I hate to waste those beautiful colors! Here's how the scraproom looked afterwards with everything drying...

So, National Scrapbook Day is coming up on May 7th. I signed up for the free online crop/party at Big Picture Scrapbooking. It goes from 9am to 9pm and looks like it will be fun! Check it out here! Anyone know of any other online crops going on that day?

The deadline for submissions at Scrapping The Music just passed, so I'm off to create the slideshow! Stop by in a little while and it will be up and it's a good one! Lots of beautiful entries this time! Click here to go to the STM blog.

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

Diving into the Self-Portrait Experience...

Hi everyone! Tonight I finished my first project for "The Self-Portrait Experience," which is another workshop that's part of 21 Secrets. It's taught by Barbara Nigg. This workshop looks like it's quite in-depth, and I am loving it already!!!


The first thing we do is to make a cover for a composition notebook, that will be used for the writing assignments in the class. This is mine - it's called "Metaphorical Me..."

The front cover...

The back cover...

and both together...

I took my time with this one - it has a number of layers. Now I'm excited to start filling it up!

Oh, hey! I got an email today that Stop and Scrap is taking pre-orders for the Smashbooks! I got my order in right away! Click here to check it out!

Celebration Greeting Cards

Awhile ago, I bought this limited edition kit from Noel Mignon...
Isn't it gorgeous and huge? It's built around the gorgeous new Soiree Line from Pink Paislee. It was one of her limited edition kits, and I couldn't resist! The colors were so bright and cheery, I just had to nab one immediately. At my last crop with the girls, I made a bunch of greeting cards with this kit, and I realized I never shared them with you, so here they are...






On this one, I accidentally stapled the card shut when I was attaching the yellow ribbon on the side (LOL). I decided to turn it into an opportunity, so I made an inside card that slides in and out...


and this one I made especially for my sweet mother-in-law Sue for her birthday...


While the kit is sold out, you can still get alot of the Pink Paislee Soiree line at Noel's store. Click here to check it out.

Tonight I'm starting a new 21 Secrets Workshop called "The Self-Portrait Experience," which is taught by Barbara Nigg. It looks like it's going to be quite an adventure! I will keep you posted!

Collage Paint & Soul...

This weekend I worked on the 21 Secrets Workshop called "Collage Paint & Soul" which is taught by the super-talented Tamara Laporte. The technique she teaches is so COOL. You start with a collage - here's mine...


and then you use her Collage, Paint & Soul technique to turn it into a finished page. Here's how mine turned out...
OMG this was so rewarding! This is a process with quite a few steps to it, and I must admit, I REALLY had to trust the process. There were numerous times that I said - oh no, I shouldn't have done that - EEK! But I just kept going, and I love how my page turned out! This process is so interesting because you really don't know how it's going to look in advance. You have a general vision in your head, but it's a surprise as it unfolds, which is so fun! This is one I will use again and again, I just know it.

You can still sign up for 21 Secrets. Click on the widget in the sidebar to get more info.

Thanks so much for visiting! I will be back soon with another update...

Traveling Journal Kit...

I've been trying for ages to come up with the ideal journal kit. One that I can take with me when I am on the road, so I have everything I need to journal in hotel rooms. One that I can grab on my way out the door to a crop. One that I can keep packed up so it's ready to go whenever.

I finally did it and I'm so excited to share it with you! First, I have to give credit to Sarah Whitmire's "Jet Set Journaling" workshop. Sarah really helped me hone in on what kinds of things I would need/want to have with me. Then it was all about finding the right container to put it all in.

I was at Michael's last week and as I was waiting in line to check out, I saw a clearance table, and ran over for a quick look. There were about five of these stacked up, and they were marked down to $2.99 (yes you read that right - $2.99!!!) from the original price of $29.99. I really didn't have time to look too closely at it, but it seemed to have some organizing potential so I grabbed one - not knowing what I would do with it.

Well, it turned out to be absolutely PERFECT container for my traveling journal kit! Here's how it looks all packed and ready to go. I put a record album next to it to give you an idea of the size...


Opened it looks like this...


And then when you open it up completely, it has four sections (the plastic envelope on the right side comes with it and velcros to the inside of the flap...


Here's a closeup of each section. See if you can tell what's in there, and then I will show you in a minute...





I can't believe how much stuff fits neatly inside this thing! Here's everything I can carry with me in this kit...
Left to right starting at the top:

"I Walk At Night" Collage journal
Envelope filled with three magazines, and tons of cut out images for collage
Rub-ons
Composition book for notes
Journal Prompts from Jet-Set Journaling Class
"Trixie Belden" Urban Journal for painting
Three glue sticks
Water-soluble oil pastels
Watercolor set (with waterbrush inside)
Envelope filled with small ephemera
Wet wipes
Small container of gesso
Small container of gel medium
Six of my favorite journaling pens
Tape runner
Small roll of wonder tape
Three paint brushes
Reading glasses
Several pieces of waxed paper
Black ink pad
Three rolls of decorative tape
Four of my favorite crayons
A headlamp for journaling in bed or low light
Tiny attacher and refill staples
A cute little chipmunk eraser
Black pan pastel and applicator
Set of 8 Pitt pens in blacks and greys
Detail scissors
Ribbons
Liquitex acrylics in tiny containers

Can you believe all that fit in that one little tote?

I tried it out on my recent trip and it was so easy to work with! I unzipped it and folded it out on the bed and you can see everything and get at it easily while still keeping things organized - yeayyy!

Thanks for stopping by and visiting! I really appreciate it, and if you haven't been over to see my guest post on Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's Blog, I hope you will stop by over there and say hi too!

Come On Over and Say Hi...

Today is the day I am guest blogger over at Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's blog! I'd absolutely love it if you want to come on over and say hi! Here's a link to the post:

A Journal For Every Mood

Improvisation Station...

Tonight I worked on expanding my horizons with another 21 Secrets workshop called "Improvisation Station." It was soooooo awesome! There were a number of exercises that led up to the final art journal spread. Here is what I ended up with...
This class has to do with reaching beyond the labels you are used to having and becoming limitless. I love that idea, and I love how my page turned out. The city buildings are cut from a combination of some of my absolute favorite patterned papers - some are designed by Nat Kalbach and some by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. I love how their patterns mix together, and Nat and Julie are friends, so I thought it would be super fun to combine their papers on one page. Now the papers can be friends too! (grin) Other materials used are watercolor paper, acrylic paint, copy paper, and glimmer mist in the color Raven (how appropriate, eh?).

Thanks so much to the talented and super fun Natasha Reilly for an awesome and inspiring workshop!

Are any of you participating in 21 Secrets? If you are, how is it going? I'd love to hear!

Thanks so much for visiting and I will be back again soon with another update!

Finishing Up Three Little Words...

As I'm finishing up with each of the 21 Secrets workshops, I am realizing that they are really not over. Each thing I am learning is naturally making it's way into my personal art process. I can't tell you how much I love that.

The third assignment in my Three Little Words (taught by Aimee of Artsyville) class involved coming up with poetry. I decided to do this one in my grief journal, and I love how it turned out...
I haven't done much with poetry before but I'm loving how healing it feels - very freeing to be more abstract with my words.

and the final assignment involved generating tons of journal fodder. For each of the two pages, one of my three-little-words phrases was the jumping off point. Wow all this could keep me going for years....


Oh, and just a reminder, this Friday is my guest blogpost for Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's "Art Journal Every Day" project. I'm very excited about it, and I hope you will come visit me there!

Have a wonderful Wednesday my friends and thanks for visiting!