Free to Create All Weekend...

It's Saturday, the cats are here with me, Michael is upstairs working on a project and it's one of those wonderful days where there is nothing that has to get done. I love having the freedom to just create all day! Last night we stayed up until after 4:30 am just working on projects. I did some things I can't share just yet, and a few things I can.

Here's a Thank You Card I made with a combination of the July and August Studio Calico kits...I just love those big, bold Sassafras Alphabet stickers. I outlined them with a sharpie so they would stand out a little more against the red cardstock. In the middle is some 7 Gypsies gaffer tape, and the green paper on the bottom is a Studio Calico exclusive.

I'm really enjoying my morning and evening art journaling ritual. I like taking the time to play with the process, and having these random, messy, but personal pages in amongst the other ones, makes me feel anchored, like I'm getting back to what I want my art journal to be - a snippet of my life - right now. (click to see details)

The quote at the bottom of the page reads:

"I discovered that if I exercise and have my spiritual time in the morning, I have more energy and a positive attitude all day. Some days I'd rather sleep in, but I have made a commitment to myself to go proudly and healthfully into my fifties. It's a good beginning for me." ~Alexis Todd

Here's another page that's just in the beginning stages...


so now I'm off to start another project. Next on my beloved list is the current challenge at the "favorite things" blog - Scrap your favorite food! I know just what I'm going to do....

I will be back tomorrow with another update - Have a fabulous Saturday and thanks so much for stopping by!

A New Ritual and Thanks for the Tips!

I was thinking the other day about how much I enjoyed making my first art journal. I put absolutely EVERYTHING in there. My calendar, my to-do lists, notes, as well as paintings and collages. I carried it with me everywhere. I even had other people add to it when I met them. When it was done, it was really a fun piece of my life to look back on. Since then, I've gotten away from that and started to use my art journals for art only, a conscious decision at the time, which I thought was a good one. However, I've noticed that it became more pressure to create "good" pages, and less of a journal of my life, and I don't like that. So I've started a ritual. I begin and end each day with 15 minutes of journal time, just for me. I am loving it!

Here's a new spread that is a result of that ritual...The big round flower sticker was on the outside of the box my 2010 planner came in. The black strips are 7 gypsies gaffer tape. I painted the red background right over the top of a coupon I had pasted on the page. You can still see it peeking through a little bit on the left. The left side of the page is a quote from Kelly Rae Roberts' book "Taking Flight" which I am just starting (and LOVE so far, by the way). It says:

"Are your daydreams trying to tell you something? In the spaces between your quiet moments are your whispers revealed? ... All you need to do is learn to listen" ~ Kelly Rae Roberts

I love that.

I also want to thank everyone who left me ideas for my Squirt carton! I loved them all, and they really got me thinking. I tried every can and jar in the house, trying to find one that would fit, but alas everything we have on hand is too big. So, what I ended up doing was fashioning little "containers" out of cardstock, and it worked great! Here's how it looks...

I just cut 3" wide strips of cardstock, and wound them into circles and stuck them in there!

I'm using it specifically to store my black and white pens and markers. Oh, and that reminds me - I found an interesting new white marker I wanted to share with you. It's called a "Meanstreak" by Sharpie. They called it a marking stick. Here's what it looks like. I used it to make the clouds on my art journal page.
It's very unique - more like an oil crayon than a marker. It's not for detail work, but it creates a cool effect - kinda like paint. What I like about it is that while it goes on wet and very greasy, it dries to a completely smooth, dry finish that you can easily write on. The first time I used it I was completely amazed at the transformation from wet to dry! I have to warn you - in the ad they say it's odorless, but in actuality it's very smelly when you open the cap. Here's what it looks like...
So, anyhoo, it's kinda fun to discover new things and I just wanted to share. If you are interested in trying one, you can get them online at Office Depot.

I also finished my layout for this coming Sunday's song at Scrapping The Music, but I have to wait to share that one. I had a lot of fun with it!

I hope you are having a lovely Friday! I will be back soon with another update! Thanks for stopping by!

Answering Questions...

I got a couple of questions that I want to answer for you...

Glenda asked how I got the video onto my blog: Thru trial and error, I managed to get it directly onto my blog, without going through youtube. Here's what I did:

Upload to iphoto.
Import into imovie.
Did a small edit in imovie.
Export to my desktop in MPEG format - choosing medium size.
Upload onto my blog from my desktop, by choosing the movie icon (right next to the picture icon in blogger).

I hope I explained that right. If you have any more questions, let me know, okay? I will do my best to help!

Also, KateB asked for a link to resources for white sharpies. I get mine locally at Art Materials. They also have an online store where you can purchase them - click here. I have also purchased them at misterart.com. I use the fine point size. I've been told that misterart.com does not ship outside the u.s., but it looks like Art Materials will. I hope that helps!

I got my yellow ink for my printer today. I am behind on my projects! Sometimes taking a break for a couple of days is good for me tho, gives me a chance to miss it and I get more inspired. Does that ever happen to you?

I also got my September Studio Calico kit and add-ons today and I am so excited! It's amazing what a day-brightener it is to see that beautiful brown box at the front door! Along with my kits I got this piece of vintage loveliness:


Isn't it cute? I couldn't resist. Now I have to figure out what to do with it. The colors are perfect for my scraproom, and I had this vision of filling it with pens. It doesn't really work for that tho - the pens fall down and get lost in the bottom of the carton. So, now I'm going to have to think on it. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!

So, that's about it for today. I'm off to print some pictures...

Have a fabulous Thursday, and thanks for stopping by!

Project 365 - Week 36 and Willie and Johnny Live...

I ran out of yellow ink and photo paper this weekend - GASP! And I had planned on scrapping all weekend! Oh well - luckily Office Depot delivers quickly. Should have more supplies by later today...

In the meantime, here's the past week in photos...

Monday, August 31: Michael's birthday. We forgot to take a picture today, so here's a picture of him as a kid - isn't he cute?!
Wednesday, September 2: Project 52 creation...

Thursday, September 3: I was in Duluth for work. It's such a pretty town. That is Lake Superior in the background...

Friday, September 4: Full moon as seen from our front yard...

Sunday, September 6: Johnny relaxing in the scraproom with one of his favorite mice...
and Willie relaxing on the bed...

until Dad brings home new catnip toys...

Check out Johnny and Willie live as they try out their new toys...



I know I'm bias, but I sure think they are cuties. :0) That's the first movie I've taken with my new little Canon camera. It was fun!

Anyhoo, that's it for today. Can't wait to get my ink and paper - oh, and also my new planner comes today - yahoo!

See you tomorrow for another update - thanks SOOOOO much for stopping by!

A Special Week at Scrapping The Music, and another Art Journal Assignment...

It's a very special week at Scrapping The Music! The featured song is "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day. The song is a tribute to our friend and fellow Design Team Member Aleida Franklin, who you may remember was tragically killed in a car accident in September of 2008. It's hard to believe it's been a year already. Anyways, Julie Tucker-Wolek came up with the idea of honoring Aleida with this song, and the rest of us loved it. Here is how my layout turned out...



The small journaling under the picture says: Aleida Franklin. 1967 - 2008. Forever part of the scrapping world.

I used the August Studio Calico kit for this layout. Come on over and play along with us!

Next, I want to share with you another project from Dina Wakely's "Masterful Art Journaling" class. I just finished this yesterday, and I must say that Dina's assignments always make me think. I love that. This one is inspired by Van Gogh's search for his calling in life. The assignment was to do a page on where you are in finding your calling in life. Here's how mine turned out (click to see more details)...

I used acrylic paint, orange happy tape, and a black and white sharpie. The photo is of my hand. (I mean - obviously it's my hand, as opposed to my foot or something. I just said that in case you thought it was a magazine photo or something. LOL)

The journaling reads:
"I've always known I was meant to do something creative with my life. As I got older, there was a spiritual connection to art that grew within me. For a period of about ten years, it all lay dormant while I worked to make sense of my life, but I always knew it was there, waiting. Now, I'm on my path again, and I wake up each day, excited to see what's next."

So that's it for now. It's early Monday morning, and I think I will see if there is something good on tv to keep me company while I start another project.

Have a wonderful Monday everyone! I will be back tomorrow with a Project 365 update!

Project 365 Week 35: August 24 - 30

I realized I'm behind on Project 365, so it's time to catch up! I have to admit, I only actually took one picture during this week - the first one. So I decided to catch up by going with the color scheme, and finding things that are pink to snap...


Monday, August 24: You saw this already - it's Michael and I having fun with Photobooth...
Tuesday, August 25: You've probably already seen my collection boxes too - but I figure this stuff is good to document...

Wednesday, August 26: and my pink bin...

my pink shawl that hangs on my scraproom door. Got it at a garage sale for fifty cents, and I love just to look at it...

Thursday, August 27: Some pink paint...

Friday, August 28: a sign I painted pink...

Saturday, August 29: more pink storage...

Sunday, August 30: A thrift store find that I just love...
and that's it for my super pink week!

It's a beautiful day here in Minnesota, and I'm about to start a new project. It's great to have the whole weekend to scrap - what a treat!!!

Have a glorious Saturday my friends! I will be back tomorrow with another update - thanks for stopping by!

P is for Plan and I Feel Spoiled!

I finished my next page in my "A Year In The Life of an Art Journal," and I am excited to share it with you! Before I do that tho, I want to say a HUGE THANKS to my friends Marit and Julie, who sent me awesome happy mail this week!

Marit sent me this wonderful birthday greeting! The cow postcard from Holland is so cute (how did you know I love cows?!) and check out the fun and funky Dutch Windmill Fabric, and adorable trim! Thank you Marit - you totally made my day!!!

Awhile ago Julie Fei-Fan Balzer posted on her blog that she had some extra art-type goodies to get rid of, and I was so excited to win a set of acrylic paints from her! They came this week - look at this huge beautiful set of acrylics! I can't wait to try them out!


and then, I was SO EXCITED that she included a set of her patterned papers!!!!! They aren't available anywhere in the US!!! My photo doesn't do justice to the gorgeous colors of these papers...

and look at the other sides - are these not some of the most gorgeous papers ever!?! EEEK! I can't wait to create something with them...
She also sent me some scrappy goodies - like prima flowers and other embellies. Thanks so much Julie!

So, on to my next alphabetical Art Journal entry. The prompt for the letter P is "Plan." Here's what I came up with...
Materials used include a magazine image, patterned paper, 7 gypsies gaffer tape, Love, Elsie alpha stickers, purple oil crayon, MAMBI polka-dot tab.

Here in the U.S., we have Labor Day on Monday, so that means a long weekend for me, and I plan to scrap the weekend away! Yeayyyyy! My fave kind of weekend!

I hope your weekend is fabulous! I will be back tomorrow with another update - Thanks so much for stopping by!

TATS is Live!

Hey there - Happy Thursday!

Just a quick post to let you know that "Totally Addicted to Sketch," (also known as TATS for short), the new sketch challenge blog, is up and running! Here's my layout based on the first sketch...The photos are from our recent family vacation up to Lake Superior with the kids.

I used the August Studio Calico kit for this, plus some acrylic paint and hand-drawn clouds on a page from the dictionary. It was a super fun layout to do, the sketch made it easy! Come on over and play along!

I also finished my layout for this Sunday's Scrapping The Music song, but of course I can't share yet! It's going to be a special week at STM. In the meantime, head on over and play along with Mr. Blue Sky!

Alrighty then, I'm off to get some shut-eye. I wish you an awesome and inspiring Thursday! and I will be back tomorrow with another update! Thanks for stopping by!

Project 52 ATCs for August...

So, here we are in September already! In my part of the world that means fall is on the horizon. I love fall. The colors of the leaves around here are absolutely one of my favorite things in the world. They are beyond gorgeous. I'm also starting to think about 2010. I've already got meetings scheduled next year (wow), so I went on the hunt for a new planner. I wanted something beautiful, and yet functional. What I ended up with is this beauty from Papaya Art. It's absolutely gorgeous! I love the inside too, with that cute little accordian file. Can't wait to get it!

OMG I had so much fun making my Project 52 ATCs tonight! I used the August "Lollipop Guild" kit from Studio Calico! I did a series of four for weeks 31 - 34, and here's how they turned out...



and here are the back sides...
I can't tell you how much I love doing ATCs as a series, instead of individually. It's fun to come up with a theme, and a challenge to make each one different, but have continuity between them at the same time! Yeayyyyy, fun fun fun!

So, is it fall where you are? Are you thinking about plans for the new year yet? I'd love to hear! In the meantime, I am off to clean up my mess and perhaps start another project. We shall see.

I will be back tomorrow with another update. Thanks sooooo much for stopping by and for your comments! I really appreciate them! Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Polaroids, Scrapping The Music and Someone's Birthday...

My friend Glenda asked what Photobooth is, and that made me realize that I should have explained that better! It's an application that comes with new MACs, where you can sit in front of your computer monitor and it takes your pic, just like you are in one of those old-fashioned photobooths! It's super fun! I don't know if you can buy it separately, but I googled it, and came up with all sorts of links for applications that simulate it - some are for windows, and it looks like some are free- so you could try that! I hope that helps!

Speaking of fun photo programs, a fellow Studio Calico member linked us up to Rollip, which is a free, online site where you can upload your photos, and it turns them into simulated polaroids. It's really cool! I tried it and I made this....


from this photo...
kinda fun, eh? Click here to check it out!

So anyhoo, on to this week's Scrapping The Music song, which is "Mr. Blue Sky" by ELO. Fun lyrics with this one! Here's what I came up with...
The title is a lyric from the song, and the photo is of the cabin we rented in the Smokey Mountains last fall - it was so beautiful in the mornings there! Everything I used is from the August Studio Calico kit, except the blue background paper, which is from Basic Grey's Marrakech line.

Come on over and play along with us! It's a great song for any sunny day photos you have! Or anything else that it inspires you to make!

Today is a very special day in our family! It is my husband Michael's birthday! I love birthdays because they are a holiday just made to honor one person - everyone deserves a day all to themselves, don't you think?

And no one deserves it more than my sweet husband. Michael is the kind of guy that is always taking care of others. Making people laugh, helping them out, noticing the good things about them. His smile lights up my world...

Here is the card I made for him. He liked it. :0)
P.S. It wasn't hard to come up with a list of reasons!

So, today I celebrate you sweetheart! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL - I LOVE YOU!!!

I will be back soon with another update - thanks so much for stopping by!

Movies That Rock...

I had a lot of fun at the crop and I actually got a lot done too! Yeayyy! It was great to see Christina and Lynn, but I forgot to take any pictures - drat. The first thing I finished was a layout for tomorrow's Scrapping The Music song. Can't wait to share it once it goes live on the blog later tonight!

The other layout I made was for the Favorite Things challenge, which is to scrap your favorite movie. Since I already did a whole mini-book on my all-time fave - "Harold and Maude," I decided to expand on the topic and do a layout about a bunch of my favorite movies! Here's how it turned out...The word movies, and the stripey border are hand-drawn. I picked that background paper because it reminded me of the worn-out wallpaper you see sometimes at old movie theatres. I had alot of fun with this one!

There are so many good movies out there, but these are some that are special to me - the kind that have stuck with me over the years. I've posted links to the trailers for each movie, and what I love about each one, just in case you're interested...

Harold and Maude
For me this movie has the whole meaning of life all wrapped up in it. I love Maude - she is my hero! Love the Cat Stevens score too.

Flatliners
I found the whole concept of this one so intriguing. Well done, scary and it made me think.

The Fisher King
Beautiful movie, painful in parts, funny in parts, wonderful uplifting message.

A Shark Tale
I absolutely loved that the main shark character is a vegetarian! My favorite scene is the one where the shrimp is trying to talk his way out of being eaten. Such a sweet movie.

Meet Joe Black
I'm not giving anything away by telling you that Brad Pitt plays death. Wild, out of the box, deep and sooo romantic.

Untamed Heart
Super sweet love story, made even more special for me because it was shot in Minneapolis.

Garden State
A super cool indie-type movie about relationships, love and family. LOVE the cinematography.

The Matrix
The whole concept of this story blew my mind. The special effects and music made it even more dramatic.

The Lost Boys
Campy 80's vampire movie. Does a great job of being both really scary and funny at the same time.

Romeo and Juliet
This movie is so old now - filmed in 1968, but I had to include it because it was the first movie that really tugged at my heart. Soooo heartwrenchingly romantic.

Are any of these movies favorites of yours too? What is your fave movie? I'd love to hear!

I will be back tomorrow with another update - thanks sooooo much for stopping by!

Adorable Men in My Life and Cropsterific Plans...

Hello and Happy Saturday! After I get a good nite's sleep I am heading out to an all-day crop! Can't wait to see my girlfriends Christina and Lynn and possibly Karla and spend the day scrapping and chatting!

Thanks to my beloved project list, this was the easiest time I've ever had preparing! I just went down the list one project at a time and printed out the pictures and info about the project. Then I gathered together a few kits, packed up my basic tools, like journaling pens, scissors and adhesive and I'm good to go! Yeayyyyyy! I can't wait!

I have a new layout to share. I did this one for the Lotus Paperie sketch challenge that ended Friday. When I saw the four photos on the sketch, I knew what I wanted to do! I love taking photos while people are getting ready to have their photo taken, and this is my latest favorite set (click to see larger)...Steven and Michael are so much alike it's amazing. They have the same sense of humor and when I asked to take their photo together, it took about five minutes of them goofing around to get them to pose. That was fine with me, because it's those candid shots that really show their personalities! The cartoonish images at the bottom are cut from a vintage children's book. The background paper is Basic Grey and the yellow is SiSTV modsheets. The title is handpainted and outlined with a white sharpie. These photos just make me smile and I'm so glad I got them onto a layout! So do you have any tips for getting good candid photos? I'd love to hear!

The new challenge at Lotus is all about altering something. You can check it out here.

The September kit reveal at Studio Calico was fabulous! Lots of bright colors in this month's kits, plus some fun Sassafras, both of which are right up my alley! Yeayyy!

I will be back tomorrow with the results of the crop - hopefully I will have some finished projects to share! Thanks sooooo much for stopping by!