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What Routine?

I'll admit that I have no routine in my life right now. My day to day living is without structure. I lost routine after Eric died. I didn't give it much thought right away, but over the last few weeks, it's become increasingly apparent to me that not having a routine is wearing me down. Not having a routine has made it challenging for me to identify what I truly enjoy in this new, unfamiliar life. So recently, I gave myself permission to take my life in a different direction. I'm trying on old habits and collecting new ones. What do I want to bring back into my life from my past? What haven't I tried in the past that might be good for me right now? It's all a part of establishing a new pattern in the hope of finding some stability and predictability. It's been a long time since I've had either and I'm at a point where I feel it's time to find both. Change is in progress...

One of the things from my past that I haven't done in a while is scrapbook solely for myself. I'm realizing I need to find balance between scrapbooking and designing. Both play a huge role in my life and the challenge is often trying to figure out how to do both without having to sacrifice one or the other. I recently decided to leave Studio Calico's Design Team. It was a really difficult decision for me. Being a part of a design team isn't just supplies and creativity. There are relationships involved and investments made. In the end, the experience realized is amazing. One you never forget. So many great friends and shared stories. I know many from "The Studio" come to visit my blog. That's why it's so hard to share the news here today. It's a decision that I'm hoping will allow me to find time for personal scrapbooking. It's what I seem to need the most right now..plus, it's an old habit and it's one that brings me great satisfaction. I'm looking forward to seeing how it fits in with my new life.

I did mention "new habits" in the first paragraph of this post. I'm looking at new "roles" within the scrapbook industry. They're a little bit different than what I've done in the past. I'll be able to share more on this topic later on.

A quick last note, I'm guest designing for "All Moments Remembered" in May. The kit arrived at my front door last week and it's lovely. They included a lot of paper from one of my favorite pattern paper manufacturers. I'll be working on layouts using their kit over the next few days. I'll also be joining them for an online chat the evening of NSD. Feel free to join us.

Note: The blog will continue with the changes. I'll still be posting new ideas and scrapbook projects here along with the usual day to day stuff. The only real difference you'll see is more personal work from me. :) 

Curious

There's something to be said about kids and purses. They love looking through them and finding hidden treasure. Ethan is always navigating through my purse and taking stuff out of it on a regular basis. We don't go a day without going through mommy's purse. He enjoys my cell phone, wallet, make-up, and all the little pieces of paper. One day, he's going to look back at this post and cringe. He won't believe that his own mom wrote about this personal childhood experience on her blog. Well, it's an enjoyable story and one I think is worth sharing. I think we can all relate to having our kids go through our stuff, whether it be in the bathroom drawer or the hall closet. Kids are naturally curious and want to investigate just about everything. Ethan couldn't resist playing with my new purse today. He took it the minute it came out of the box. He even stuck his head in it a few times because he wasn't really sure what it was for...after all, there was nothing in it. My purse is never empty, so what's up with this purse not having anything in it? Hey mom?!

I picked up this purse at Etsy a week ago. It's from the shop/seller "Purseona". I fell in love with her handbags immediately. The colors are beautiful and so are the patterns. The handmade handbags are very high quality and stitched with the greatest of care.  I was really impressed with it when I tried it on today. The inside length of the strap was perfect (not to long/not to short) and the bag itself had great stability. The little black label makes it look professional. She even included a small bag of Lilac in the purse upon shipping as an extra bonus. I was very pleased with the purchase and would definitely buy from her again. Love the bag.

Now for some scrapbook news. I visited the local Michaels today and ran across Amy Butler's new scrapbook product line. Gorgeous stuff! Picked up almost all of it.  Not sure how the chain got a hold of this line first, but it's worth the trip to Michaels if you want to check it out. Here are some pics below:

Yes, that would be Ethan's little finger in the photo at the top. He couldn't resist grabbing the product from the floor. I had about two seconds to get a photo of this stuff. Laugh.

I really like this silver foil flower sticker at the bottom. Simple and elegant.

Now that scrapbook companies are becoming eco-friendly, they're getting creative with product design and packaging. K & Company printed labels on the back sides of all Amy Butler product packaging to promote package reuse and recycle. How cool is that? They're of great design and use. I will be cutting these out...

Final Pages...

It's complete.  The photos below are of the final pages belonging to the mini album that is selling as a kit at the The Scrapbook Oasis on National Scrapbook Day. My next project is writing instructions and organizing photos for the instructions. Once that task is done, I get to start working on some personal scrapbook projects. There's been a lot I've been wanting to record about my life over these last few months via scrapbooking. I've experienced many changes, both good and bad. My goal is to make more time for personal work and to capture the authentic story that is my life. I feel like I've lost touch with that lately. I need to revisit that place.

Just for fun...a few kitty photos. I used some new Photoshop actions on these photos. I picked them up at Brenda's new Photoshop Action website. You can find it: HERE. Her two color pop actions are beautiful, user friendly, and have great results. I was really impressed with the actions after trying them out (and trust me, I've tried a lot of actions in the last few months). I really like these actions because they're practical, affordable, and adjustable. They're also good at preserving skin tone, which is one of my biggest pet peeves when working with color boost actions. Here are some photos I altered with one of her color boost actions:

Here's a before and after shot using Brenda's "Vibrant Color" action:

Mini Album Update

I've been able to complete half the mini album in the last few days. I've learned from Scrapbook Oasis that the kit for this album will be made available for sale to the general public (including those outside the California area) immediately following NSD. Quantities are very limited. If you're interested in purchasing the kit, either call or email Scrapbook Oasis at this address:  info@thescrapbookoasis.com. You can find their website HERE. If you have questions concerning the kit, please contact "Scrapbook Oasis" before contacting me. The price for the kit has not been decided at this point. I will tell you that the kit itself is beautiful. They'll be a lot of items included within the kit that you will throughly enjoy, including new Hambly, 7 Gypsies, Heidi Swapp, Prima, Webster's Paper, and more. You will need to purchase some drawing implements for doodling and of course, a few various paper punches to create some of the embellishments. You will also need a black "Staz On" ink pad. These misc. items are not included in the kit (accept for a possible gold gel pen). A supply list and instructions will be provided with the kit along with a picture of each page to use as reference when creating the album. If you have a question that can't be answered via  Scrapbook Oasis, do feel free to contact me at middlevettech@comcast.net.

Here are some updated photos of the mini album:

Back to creating..more updates soon. 

A Mini Album in Progress

Last evening, while out cropping at one of the local Archivers with a friend, I started working on a mini album project that will find it's way to California by National Scrapbook Day. It's for "Scrapbook Oasis" and it will be sold as a "kit" once it's completed. I know I've mentioned this project a couple times, but unfortunetely, I still don't have exact details as to how this kit will be sold. It may turn into a class..I'm not really sure. I figure as long as I'm working on it, I'll share it here. I know many of you anticipate seeing new projects on my blog. I'll be posting pictures of album pages as I continue to make progress on the project. My goal is to complete a page or two a day. Each page will be full of the usual details and layers I create on my larger layouts. The only real difference is the size of the page, which I love because the details stand out more. I'll post "kit" info later.

I completed the cover and started the first two interior pages last night. I'll admit, I struggled a little bit. Laugh. Anytime I start a new project, I always feel pressure. It's difficult to avoid, but it pushes me to "think outside the box". It can also prevent me from producing work. We all know what it's like to stare at a blank page and not know where to go with it. Often times, if we just move forward and experiment, ideas will start blossoming and the creativity block will evaporate. Before you know it, a page is complete and you're ready to move onto the next project. Here's last night's progress:

I did some playing with stamps. If you find yourself not finding the right embellishment, turn to your stamp collection and make your own embellishments. Don't alway accept a stamp image "as is". Dress it up a little bit with pens and ink. Don't just "color it in" either, add pattern to a preexisting stamp image and combine with other stamps and layer it up with cardstock. I actually drew in the mini scallop border and the tiny little dots on the inside of this scallop frame that you can see above in the photo. I also added a thin gold border with my handy-dandy gel pen (ok, I can't do a single layout without using my gold gel pen. A little bit of shimmer goes a long way.). The stamped Capri blue frame looked plain to me, so I made a few additions to bring it to life.

The cover is included with the first two pages of this album. They're actually all separate pages. I haven't started working on page two or three yet, but they'll eventually have photos and embellishments similar to the cover..though I intend on keeping the "graph" page simple because it sits behind the transparent cover.

More pages posted soon. Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend! Take care.

May Sneaky Peaks from Studio Calico

Almost Friday. The only word that comes to mind when I think about Friday is "relief". I know many of you work the 40 -60 hour weekly work schedule. When the weekend arrives, we look forward to having some time to ourselves. If that means spending time with family or enjoying the great outdoors, it's usually always better than working. Thank goodness for the weekend.

Before the weekend starts, I want to share a few sneak peaks from a couple layouts I just finished up for Studio Calico. The premier happens on the 28th of each month for the following month's kit at 11:00pm Central time. There will be RAK's up for grab and entertaining conversations to be had. Join us for the event. Look forward to seeing you there :)

A Typical Day...

What is a typical day like for me? I made the choice to stay home with Ethan for the first two years of his life. Most of my days start out at around 6:30 am. Ethan's up and roaring to go first thing in the morning. We usually spend our mornings eating, playing, and laying low. Ethan is still on the "two nap" routine. During his morning nap, I sneak upstairs to  get ready for the day. Once I'm ready, I'm back downstairs working on the day's agenda. If there's time, I will either prep or work on scrapbook projects. When the little guy gets up, we run a bunch of errands and sometimes, we'll eat out for lunch. He'll take another nap in the late afternoon. I try to reserve this time for things I normally can't do while Ethan is awake. So, that means more scrapbooking, cleaning, eating (mom can't eat while Ethan is up because there isn't time), and whatever else needs doing. After the second nap, we usually spend time with my family and visit my parents place for a few hours. We do this twice a week. If we're not there, we're at home enjoying the weather (if it's nice out) and we hang out and play some more. It may not sound like much, but it all adds up. Usually, I'm able to get out twice a week on my own. One night is reserved for cropping and the other is reserved for friends and gatherings. I feel very lucky to have some time to myself. My family  members are very generous. Getting a break is a treat and one I've come to truly appreciate over these last few months. 

So, what did we do today? It was a casual day spent at the local mall (MOA). Ethan loves to check out all the rides at the indoor amusement park. Right now, the world is big and new for Ethan. He's not ready to join the other kids on the rides just yet, but he's curious. We spent a few hours at the mall. I got to visit a few of my favorite places like Ann Taylor Loft and of course, Archivers. Ethan's wanting to be out of the stroller more, so I let him roam around in Barnes and Nobel and at Lego Land. After we got home, we played outside for an hour. The weather was a perfect 70 degrees. Ethan threw rocks in the air and cruised around the house in search of kitties. He took his afternoon nap and when he got up, I brought him over to my parent's place so I could stop off and get a haircut at the local salon. We ate dinner with my parents and by the time we got home, it was time for Ethan to retire and for me to finish up some scrapbook assignments. A full day. Below are a few pictures from the day's events.

Those would be kitties..aren't they precious?! There is a cat in the neighborhood that had kittens and she's caring for them right outside my door. There are three of them and they're only a few weeks old. I hope to gather them at six to twelve weeks and bring them to the local shelter. It's not often I get to experience the bond between a mother and her kittens, so I had to take a few photos of them and post'em here.

I finished up some layouts for Studio Calico. I'll post sneak peaks tomorrow evening. This is very much a "boy" themed kit...robots & gadgets. Perfect for scrapbooking the little guy.

Shy Guy

Just finishing up my last project for Pink Paislee this month. I spent quite a few hours pondering the details on this layout. It never felt "finished" to me. Not sure why, but I think it had something to do with the "circle" shape of the layout. I'm used to working with a full 12 x 12 sheet of paper. By the time midnight rolled around last night, I gave myself permission to stop working on the layout. I told the perfectionist side of myself to let it go. It didn't need to be more than it was. I think we all need to do this once in a while. Move on. So, I did. Here's a close-up:

During an leisure afternoon nap today, my mail man stopped by with a box from Scrapbook Oasis. I almost didn't answer the door..you know that feeling of wanting to stay in bed and never get up? Laugh. Luckily, I did. The contents were gorgeous! The reason the box came my way is because I'm working on a project for Scrapbook Oasis that will be sold as a kit on NSD. I'm putting together a mini album for the kit. I don't have details right now as to how this kit will be sold, but I'll keep you posted. Here's what I found when I opened the box:

There's a lot more, but I couldn't capture everything. This album will be full of the usual details and layers that my work is known for. I'll post a final picture of the project when I'm done. Aren't these colors nummy?! Jewel tones....

This is a short post. I'm off to scrapbook for the evening. Studio Calico's kit arrived a few days ago and it's calling me. By the way, the sneak peak of next month's kit is posted over at the Calico. You can find it on their home page (you have to wait for a few pics to pass by first): Studio Calico.

Oh wait, one more thing...Joanns is having a huge sale and they have a ton of Fiskar and Heidi Grace clear stamp sets at 40% off. I picked up one stamp set while there. They're selling at $6 each (this is the sale price!). What a deal! Their ink pads are also 40% off along with their writing, adhesive, and cutting supplies. If you need to stock up on anything from Joanns, now is the time to do it. I'm done enabling. Smile. Have a great day everyone! More updates later.

Driving Home

Genuine happiness. I almost forgot what it felt like to be genuinely happy. As I drove home from my parent's place, it hit me. A fleeting moment of pure bliss. Happiness. This is something I haven't felt in a long time. I don't often speak about the grieving process here, but these last few months have been some of the most difficult months in my life. There is no greater pain that losing someone you love. After having lost Eric to brain cancer, I spent countless hours feeling numb, broken, lost, sad, and at it's worst, worthless (still do). It's taken a great deal of courage and strength to keep moving forward. Some days are worse than others. The simple task of eating or putting on shoes can seem daunting at times. The energy needed to do such things is limited because the majority of my time and energy is invested in the grieving (not by choice) process.  The process itself is unrelenting, unpredictable, and easily handicaps one's life. It's easy to get lost within the process and even easier to give up. So, when I felt a genuine sense of happiness today, I was surprised. There wasn't a reason or a cause. It was simply there. Just as quickly as grief had taken hold of my life, so had happiness.  I'm holding on to it for as long as I can. I know it won't last forever. I believe the good Lord is giving me a break, letting me breath, and showing me a glimpse of the future. Life won't always be so hard. Enough time will pass and happiness will once again find it's way back into my life just as it had today. Giving me hope and reason to live.

Speaking of happiness, I had the opportunity to crop last night at Archivers. Six hours of uninterrupted scrapbooking time. With coffee in tow, I finished up a layout and started another with more Pink Paislee product. The layout below is of Ethan and was inspired by a card I purchased at Patina's gift shop. Below, you'll find the layout and the card.

I find myself browsing the card section at the local stores for scrapbook ideas all the time. I may like a certain color combination or layout idea that I find on a card or two. I'll go so far as to buy the card'(s) and I'll post them on my board. I have a whole pile of cards to prove it. I figure I'll use them eventually for their intended purpose. Until then, they're perfect for inspiring new scrapbook ideas.

There is no new "technique" idea to share with you for this layout. It's a lot of cutting and gluing stuff down. The usual amount of detail and a cute little blue bird to go with it. The bird is from Maya Road. I painted it with two different hues of green/blue acrylic paint. The fabric brad is from K & Company. The scallop brown polka-dot borders are from an American Crafts large journal sticker. The stamps, paper, and letter stickers are from Pink Paislee.

Just for fun-a few links worth looking at if you're in the mood for color or if you're looking for a cheap subscription to an inspirational magazine (just got it myself-can't beat a buck an issue and a free tote):

Domino Magazine is selling yearly subscriptions for $10. I'm a decor mag junkie. I like hunting out cool color combinations and keeping up with the latest seasonal trends. That's just me of course..I also like to get magazines in the mail because it gives me something to look forward too besides bills. I also think they're a great resource besides the usual "scrapbook" publications.

This fresh, modern stem motif by Orla Kiely caught my eye today while browsing the world wide web. Orla designs both clothing and home accessories that are a bit on the spendy side, but worth checking out if you're interested in bold graphics with a European flair.

Have a great weekend everyone! Take care. 

 

More Spring

There's quite a few things I want to share today. I've not had a ton happening over the last few days, but I've been keeping busy to pass the time. First off, I want to apologize for not posting as often as I normally do. Nobody has really pointed out that I'm a little slow at updating, but I'm fully aware I haven't posted nearly as much as I normally do. That would be because I spend most of my days with the little guy and he's now at an age where he's running, throwing, chatting, and doing all the other things that busy toddlers do. Mom's been trying to keep up. With Ethan being busy and Spring arriving, we've been playing and hanging out a ton. I'm loving it. I think during the Summer, updates will happen only a few times a week. I want to assure you that I haven't forgotten about the blog, it's just that time of year. We'll all be outside enjoying the warm, sunny weather. I can't wait..it's still snowing in Minnesota. Laugh.

I'm still continuing to work on my Pink Paislee assignments and I finished up another layout last evening. It's a bright one..can anyone say I'm ready for Spring? Smile. Bring on the flowers, butterflies and open blue skies!

The cute little critter in the photo is of my cat, Macy Gray. She's a shy one. It's tough getting a photo of her. She tends to hide a lot. I thought she'd make the perfect candidate for this paper line. Her personality matches the feminine feel of "Office Lingo" by Pink Paislee. With this layout, I did lots of paper piecing. I think we're going to see a surge in the use of die-cuts and shapes..we already are. I think they help to "personalize" a page. Die-cuts are a direct and easy way to send a message. They're also easy to find and purchase. If you can't find the shape you're looking for, create it yourself or turn to one of those handy dandy die-cut machines that most of you already own.

This heart is a die-cut image I got from the Office Lingo line. I traced it on a piece of pink cardstock and cut the image out a little larger than the original heart. I then glued the pink heart onto brown cardstock and cut around the heart with a Fiskars scallop scissors. I adhered the original heart to the pink/brown heart with pop-dots. I traced around the original heart with a brown sharp tip marker two times. I used a Souffle turquoise pen to color in between the two outlines. I then stamped "limited edition" on the heart (also Pink Paislee) and finished it up with a title. (I hand-cut the arrow for the heart)

More color pencil work. These are flower stamp images from the Office Lingo line. I stamped out two of the flower images on white paper and colored them with pencils. I cut them out with a small sharp scissors and glued them to the page as shown. The butterflies are Cosmo Cricket. The clouds are also from the Office Lingo line. One thing I want to point out about the clouds is "how white they are". My dear friend, Kelly, bought me a new white gel pen that work's really well. It's by far one of the best white gel pens I've ever used and it's gaining popularity. It's by Ranger and you can see it HERE. If you're in the market for reliable white gel pen, this is worth the money. Very smooth and consistent.

Ok, I've been looking at these Fiskar corner punches for a while, but haven't bought a single one because I was waiting for them to go on sale. I also wasn't sure if I would use them...I realized they would be the perfect option for bringing more detail to my work. Go figure. Laugh. Don't know why I didn't think of this before. I went ahead and bought them today, tried them out, and guess what..I want more. Laugh. They actually put out a great punch. Clean and detailed. I'm looking forward to trying them out on my layouts. I think they'll be a lot of fun. If you have any of these and love them, tell us why in the comment section..what do you do with your Fiskar Punches?

I remember way back in the day when Scrap In Style TV did a recorded review on acrylic paints. They tested out four or five this brand won hands down. As I walked passed them today at Michaels, I realized I should pick up a few. I was in need of some new colors. Because I think we'll be seeing lots of Grey this fall, I had to get some Grey paint. I love this color suddenly. It's a "soft-on-the-eyes" neutral. I also picked up a few pale colors I also think we'll see more of this coming fall. Usually, I don't work with pale colors, but there is something different about the shades of pale colors that are coming out. They pair up easily with dark colors and they have a natural, earth tone feel.

Lastly, I want to share with you a video my sister sent to me this morning via email. Tonight, at 9:00pm Central time on ABC, Diane Sawyer is interviewing a middle aged computer Science professor who has pancreatic cancer. He has  a wife and three young children. The video my sister sent me is of a lecture the professor gave a short while ago at the local university where he teaches. It reminds me so much of my husband. They have very similar qualities. Check it out HERE. He's an amazing guy and his story is worth hearing. It's one of those stories that catches your heart and shares some very important life lessons.