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Half the work..literally.

I've done some hybrid stuff in the past, but not to this extent. Believe it or not, it was super easy to create this layout. Some of you must think I'm absolutely crazy making this statement, but it's the truth. I didn't have to cut layers of paper as is normally required when scrapbooking. I sort of skipped that step and instead, used Photoshop to do the dirty work for me.  I shared this layout in the previous post, minus the additions. I tacked on quite a bit of stuff. Most of it's small and unobtrusive. It's a fairly simple composition. Left to right. Right to left. Below are some close-ups of the layout:

I found a pack of realistic butterfly stickers at my local scrapbook store. They're Mrs. Grossman's stickers! I haven't used Mrs. Grossman's stickers in a long time, but I'm loving these. The butterfly above is layered with a KI Memories chipboard flower & vintage rhinestone button. It sits on a Making Memories circle journal sticker, a second circle journal sticker from Creative Imaginations, and a Bella Blvd. green/pink label sticker.

Ever notice how some label/journal stickers have a lot of "white space"? Don't feel like writing or journaling? Cover that white space with pattern paper or transparency. This is a great way to decorate a boring label/journal sticker (or die-cut!). Use the label sticker as a template for tracing and cutting pattern paper to fit inside label. Select a paper/transparency that corresponds well with the rest of your layout. Consider the size of the pattern before deciding to use it as "filler". Smaller patterns work better for this technique. 

Oh itsy bitsy pearls. Darling. They're a nice compliment to heavily detailed rub-ons and stickers. I added a few of them to a Cosmo Cricket heart border rub-on. Working with pearls this small can often seem like a daunting task, but when used in conjunction with other "small elements", they're the perfect match!

I'm back at the drawing board getting ready for my next kit. My bed was covered with cut-outs and wholesale catalogs this afternoon. I debated colors quite a bit. I wanted something bright & fun in anticipation of Summer. I decided that it's going to be another mini album! It's time to bring the camera outside and capture the festivities of warmer weather and garden blooms. In Minnesota, the air temperature is warming and we're finally able to spend our days outside. Growing up, I watched my dad landscape his gardens all Summer long. As an adult, those gardens still prosper. I enjoy photographing the many flowers on display. Just recently, the Peonies started to bloom. They bloom only once a year and they're gorgeous! I hope to photograph them this weekend. They're the inspiration for this next kit :)

The Ultimate Digital Experience

I'm a proficient Photoshop user. I've toyed with Photoshop for years, but for some darn reason, I never save anything until the very end. Laugh. So, imagine me yesterday while working on a digital layout (I'll tell you why in a second) and all of the sudden, photoshop starts blinking a tiny little window at me that says there's been an error and Photoshop is shutting down. I'm half way done with a digital layout (I'd been working on it for a solid forty-five minutes) and because I failed to save it while the project was in progress, I lost it completely. I kept thinking, "Is this for REAL!??" I panicked and did everything I could to save the file. I prayed that it would magically show up after rebooting Photoshop, but the digital layout was gone for good. arg. arg. arg. There's a reason I avoid digital scrapbooking all together and this incident is a prime example of why I continue to fear the whole digital thing. Don't get me wrong, I love digital scrapbooking. I have a bunch of digital kits to prove it, but I'd rather print, cut, and paste with printed digital elements then depend on my computer to help me create layouts. Technology is never a 100% reliable. Scissors, glue and paper don't walk away without my permission. A computer does whatever it wants and I'm required to meet it's ongoing needs every time I turn the thing on. The heck with digital...can you tell I had a bad day yesterday? Laugh. Actually, I didn't give up entirely. I put on my brave face last night and started another layout (not finished!). Find it below:

There are benefits to digital scrapbooking. You can make multiple copies of a layout without have to recreate it. While waking up this morning, Ethan snuck into my scrapbook space and found himself a marker on my scrapbook desk. He scribbled on my printed digital layout, which happened to be sitting on my desk. Instead of panicking (as I probably would of done if it were one of my usual handcrafted layouts), I simply laughed and thanked my lucky stars that the layout was digital. I printed another one this afternoon, minus the scribbling. Here's Ethan's version of the digital layout:

Thanks Ethan! It's a work of art :)  Anyway, The reason I've been working on digital stuff is because I was recently invited by Danielle Thompson to be a contributing artist at Kitschy Digitals!! Every month or two, I'll be working on something digital related using Danielle's latest digital goods! See her blog here - Kitschy Digitals Blog

You'll find a plethora of crafty goods and talented designers during your visit to Kitschy Digitals. It's a colorful place and doesn't restrict itself to just the digital scrapbook community. Don't want to print your own digital labels? She sells them already printed at the Kitschy Goods online store. She also creates embroidery designs & other handcrafted items. Kitschy Digitals Kits are available at Two Peas in a Bucket. 

Ethan is Eric's twin..seriously, this kid is all about gadgets. He's mister engineer and loves hanging out near Eric's old computer. The computer sits upstairs in one of the neglected bedrooms. It still has all of Eric's "computer nerd" stickers on it. I don't speak c++ or java, and because I lack proficiency in computer speak,  I couldn't even begin to tell you what "4000 node Beowulf cluster" means in plain English. If you happen to know, please share your translation with the rest of us non-savvy computer people. I'm hoping that maybe someday, Ethan will be able to help me out with computer issues. So far, he's demonstrating a genuine interest for all things gadget oriented and geeky. There's a serious possibility that I might have a programmer on my hands :) I'll just have to wait and see...

And cause I love this photo:

Still here! Haven't taken a photo of myself in a long time. Thirty-two is right around the corner...few more weeks! 

I'll be adding to my digital layout tonight. It's going to be a hybrid layout. I'll post the completed layout either tomorrow or the next day. 

Off to wake the little one from his nap! Have a great you guys and thanks for your words of support! Feels good liven' the normal life again now that the holiday weekend is over. :) 

Memorial Day Weekend

Took some time off to focus on kit orders and spend a little extra time with Ethan and family. Almost all kits are out, accept for international orders, which will go out tomorrow. There may be a couple extra kits available, though I won't know for sure until later this week. I'll keep you guys posted...

How was everyone's holiday weekend? We enjoyed the weekend with family & friends...from home. Laugh. I have to tell you, I'm super envious of the folks whom leave town to visit nearby cabins or take flight to go some place else during the holidays, especially this particular holiday weekend. It was a tough one for me. Eric's memorial was installed earlier this week. Ethan and I visited the memorial together for the first time a few days ago. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the visit, but it turned out to be a really emotional one for me. I did some grieving this weekend. I spent a lot of time thinking about Eric. The memorial finalizes Eric's absence. It's the last big decision I've had to make concerning Eric's burial, which I wasn't ready to take on until recently. Now that it's done, we'll always have an identifiable place to go to find Eric. 

 

Eric was passionate about Chess. I gifted Eric a handcrafted chess set his last Christmas with us. Ethan found the chess set a month or so ago. He took it out a couple weeks ago and started playing with it, unbeknown to me. Smile. Eric would of loved to have been here for this moment - Ethan's first encounter with chess. 

I used the Noel Mignon "Penny Arcade" kit to create this page. I've been really excited to open this kit and play with it since it arrived on my door step a few days ago. Last night, I forced myself to take a break and scrapbook for a couple hours. Scrappen' is the ideal remedy when feelen' blue. I thought these photos of Ethan might cheer me up and sure enough, they did. I was feeling pretty good after completing the above layout. Not sure what I'd do without Ethan in my life...he definitely keeps me going. 

 

Do you have a ton of decorative borders hanging out in your scrapbook space? Use them to create frames around embellishments & photos like I've done above. The corners don't have to match perfectly. Create both small and large frames. Set your frame apart from your subject by using pop-dots. Frame your frame with black cardstock or contrasting color paper. Combine borders to create a multi-layered frame. Sew around your frames & add rhinestones to finish off the look.

 

This kit contains vintage scrap paper. I punched decorate border strips from the vintage paper and added them to my layout using an ornate Martha Stewart border punch.

 

Chipboard, glitter & buttons make for pretty embellishments. I combined the above scroll chipboard piece with a painted Jenny Bowlin label sticker &  Collage Press journal card. I backed the chipboard scroll with pattern paper and traced around it using a black fine-tip marker. I cut two Victorian elements from Collage Press "Queen of Hearts" pattern paper and added them as shown.

 

Wasn't expecting to find this collection at Archiver's last week..Making Memories has created two new exclusive collections for Archivers; one for boys and another for girls. I purchased this collection for a dear friend of mine whom is without an Archiver's in her area. The boy collection is very similar to this collection, though made of different colors and patterns. 

 

 

We devoted a lot of time outside this weekend. Ethan has taken' up fishing. I filled a small bucket with water and threw in a couple of wind-up toy fish for Ethan to "pretend catch" using his new fishing pole. He loved it! Now the fishing pole comes with us to grandpa's for pretend fishing at grandpa's pond. (minus the hook!!)

  

  

We spent Sunday mornen' with Eric's family at one of the local parks. Ethan had a blast swinging with his super duper fun uncle, Peter. This is my time catching photos of Ethan on a swing! I was thrilled to get these images (+ the hundred of other swing action photos taken that are not shown here..laugh.)

 

Today's Tidbits

Just as the weather's been brewing to a sweltering ninety degrees around here, I've been sorting and dealing with a plethora of tasks this week. I'm organizing my Summer schedule & getting ready to ship the "Carnival" kit to customers. I have a couple of really cool things happening this Summer, including a guest design spot with someone "big". I'm super thrilled about it! I'm also guest designing for other various online scrapbook venues over the Summer. Along with guest designing, I'll be coordinating another new project kit, which I hope to have available in July. With so much going on, I finally resorted to purchasing a small portable calendar to keep better track of my hectic schedule. It's going to be busy Summer, but I'm really looken' forward to it :)

Waiting for one these?! If so, watch your inbox. Kits start shipping this Friday via Priority Mail. Expect to receive an invoice either today or tomorrow. *Kits are sold out at this time. If you missed the "Carnival" kit, watch out for the next kit here at my blog in June!

I had no idea that when I mentioned the Noel Mignon "Penny Arcade" kit that I'd actually get the chance to play with it. I was asked to guest design using this gorgeous kit last week. It's so very "me". Noel Mignon did an amazing job of finding one of a kind items to include in the kit. For instance, check out the victorian playing cards and vintage inspired labels - beautiful. I'm going to work on creating three layouts using the "Penny Arcade" kit and will be sharing them here and at the Noel Mignon layout blog during the month of June. 

I haven't gone vintage button shopping in ages. Yesterday, while taking a mini-break, I visited a local antique store called "Hunt & Gather". It's my favorite antique store in the metro area. They carry an eclectic assortment of vintage wares. The store is carefully crafted and organized to showcase just about anything you would find at the local flea market. I usually spend most of my time, while visiting the shop, in their button cabinet. It's not easy to find vintage buttons in my area, so this is the one place I can go and know I'll find piles and piles of buttons. I purchased a few buttons..and then some. Laugh. I simply couldn't help myself. They're delicious enough to eat!

Kelly Goree has posted Basic Grey's two newest collections plus a handful of other new items Basic Grey is releasing in celebration of Summer and all things traditional & bright. Visit her blog here to see the new collections: Behind the Pages.

One last thing before I end the post..Ethan has started curling his eyebrows "up" when he's either mad or confused. This new facial expression is reminiscent of Eric's "Evil Eye", which was one of Eric's inside jokes. Too funny.

Have a great Wednesday! Back to work...

Layering Transparencies

Dear sweet Sophia - we're so glad to have you living with us. Even though you're a wild, crazy teenage cat, there's still something good to be said about having you around. Just what we need...another cat. Laugh. She's number four in the family. We brought her in our home about a year ago. She's a total fuzzball. We love her.

Kelly Green is my new favorite color.  It's taken me a while to warm up to this bright, bold hue. I'm not always sure what to pair it up with, but it seems to sit well with violets & blues.  The three colors are next to each other on the color wheel. They're partners in crime. I threw in "Golden Yellow" to kick things up a notch. Yellow is the complimentary color of violet. If creating a layout with a strong base of "cool" colors, consider adding small areas of warm hues. It provides balance & energy.

The title, "Love", is of a K & Company die-cut transparency from the "Brenda Walton" Valentine Collection. I backed the transparency with a slightly aged Vanilla pattern paper and trimmed it to size. 

The bird is trimmed from one of Jenny Bowlin's mini pattern paper sets. It's adorned with epoxy stickers from KI Memories and Creative Imaginations. Note how I tucked things under the bird cut-out, creating room for the placement of other embellishments. 

The green, ornate border  is a German die-cut scrap I've had on hand since visiting "Rose Mille" in Stillwater, Minnesota. German die-cut scraps are available for purchase online..simply google "German die-cut scraps"! 

What to do with all those buttons?! There easy to collect, but not always easy to use. I have more buttons than I'll ever need in this lifetime. Why not incorporate them into a pattern like I've done above? I adhered a series of various green-blue buttons to a Hambly transparency using large glue-dots. 

Just when you think they've done everything with transparencies, manufacturers surprise us with 3-D transparency stickers.  Ohhhh, I love these stickers!! I've contemplated creating my own, but it's awfully convenient using the pre-made ones. The one I used above is from Making Memories (see package below). It's interesting how the various patterns of each transparency play off each other. It got me thinking more about transparencies and layering various patterns/styles of transparency to create varying effects. Think of what you could create just by layering various patterns/styles of transparency? You could easily cut die-cut shapes from transparencies using a die-cut set-up and layer them together to create your own one-of-a-kind embellishments. Consider layering large areas of transparency on a layout. Pay attention to the relationship between colors and patterns when layering transparencies. Look for contrast. Combine a large pattern transparency with a small pattern transparency. Why not keep things simple and layer the same transparency on top of itself? There are infinite options when working with transparency layers. With so many transparency styles available, it's almost impossible not to use this fun, versatile material. 

Almost Ready....

 

I've been working around the clock on the "Carnival" mini album kit. Since arriving home from California last week, this has been the new big project for me. I have quite a number of people waiting for kits. (**For those that ordered one, they'll begin shipping next week.) All kits are sold. Each one is brimming with full sheets of pattern paper, rub-ons, stickers, transparencies, flowers, and a multitude of other eclectic products. I was a little worried the kits wouldn't fit inside a standard size priority box, but I'm relieved to say they fit perfectly. Yesterday, I dedicated the entire morning and afternoon to kitting...if you take a peek above, you'll see that my dining room area has turned into a semi-warehouse space. I had boxes everywhere and there were packaging materials covering the floor. I was literally drowning in "stuff". Laugh. I obviously did a little cleaning before taking pictures, so you won't see too much of the self-made mess. The kits are now contained in crystal clear bags, though they're well at home on my dining room table. They're waiting for a few small items and instructions. If you ordered a kit, your final invoice will arrive mid-week of next week. 

Finally have the new Collage Press in my possession. Been waiting a longgg time for their two new collections, Knave of Hearts & Sweet Shop. Find them HERE.

Doodlebug's Coarse Glitter is finally available for purchase. I purchased a variety pack, though I'm worried the little bottles won't last me long. Still wish I could of taken home the super size jugs of glitter I saw at CHA Winter '09...Doodlebug does a fine job marketing to scrapbookers like myself. Laugh.

K & Company has released a new collection of 3-D Chipboard Embellishments. See them HERE.

It's time for me to get back to work! Hope all of you are having a great week! We're sunny and in the mid-70's here in Minnesota. :))

Cake, flowers & bubbles.

Number two. Not sure it’s easier the second time around without Eric with us on Mother’s Day.  If he were here, he would tell me just how proud he is of my accomplishments as a loving mother and caretaker.  He would bring me a bouquet of freshly cut roses & a sweet card from the local Hallmark store. In return, I’d smile and give him a great big hug.  He’d have me go out and treat myself to something special, like a trip to the local scrapbook store or an afternoon out on Grand Avenue. It would have been a traditional sort of Mother’s Day, but alas, I’m a solo mama. There was no such scenario. Instead, I spent the afternoon with Ethan. We read books together at the local bookstore, purchased cake and flowers for grandma at the market, and devoted two whole hours to the great outdoors.  I did some landscaping while Ethan sprayed me with the hose every five minutes. It was perfect. We finished the day with a visit to grandma’s house. Ethan blew bubbles with grandpa (I didn’t have my camera with me). All of us ate cake after dinner. My parents gave me a card along with a special hand written note. It was a note from my dad telling me how lucky Ethan is to have me as a mom and that he would always be there for us to make sure our dreams are always fulfilled.  It was beautiful.  Maybe it wasn’t the traditional sort of Mother’s Day, but there was still a lot of celebration to be ha...we did ok.

I’ve been holding back. Even though I’ve been at my scrapbook desk for the last three evenings, I was only able to finish this one layout. My scrapbooking has slowed down tremendously in the last three weeks or so. It’s not that I’m not scrapbooking..I am, though at a slower pace. As my pages grow more detailed, it takes me a greater amount of time to finish a page. I hope you don’t mind that I’m slowing down. Maybe it comes with “age”. Laugh. I don’t know. The process of creating is time consuming…for me anyway.

I’m finally able to share the above layout with you guys. Remember me mentioning “floral wallpaper” in the last post? Well, here you go, accept this floral wallpaper is totally fun. My fascination with flowers remains endless. You can layer just about anything to create a one-of-a-kind flower; stickers, die-cuts, cardstock, cut-outs from pattern paper, glitter, marker, pen, paint and the list goes on. I had a bunch of Sassafras flowers needing a home, so I thought this would make the perfect home for them. I came across an article recently about “floral wallpaper” that inspired this idea. I love the concept of creating a background out of flowers. There are a lot of ways of going about doing it. I chose to avoid the traditional “silk flower” look and instead, went with an eclectic assortment of paper flowers, chipboard pieces, and buttons. I did some painting, doodling, and lots of layering. Take a look at the photos below to view flowers up-close:

I adore ruffles. Lately, I’ve been seeing lots of paper ruffles and pleated ribbons on scrapbook layouts. Scrapbookers are doing a lot of amazing things with both techniques. I mixed a combination of torn pattern paper and Doodlebug scallop borders to create the ruffles shown above. I inserted small “notes” between some of the ruffles. I used very little glue in the process of creating the ruffles so that I could squeeze items under each of the ruffle layers. It worked out pretty well. To create ruffles like this, cut or tear 1” strips of pattern paper (or cardstock) and layer strips together in a preferred direction to your project.

I’m not a card-maker per say. I started off in paper crafting making cards, but that was years ago. Every now and then, I’ll sit down to make a card. My mother loves to receive a handmade card from me on special occasions. Today, I made her this card for Mother’s Day using Cosmo’s latest collection, “Early Bird”. I also used Bella Blvd.’s cardstock stickers (yellow frame), Doodlebug double-sided stickers (glittered circle), and vintage ribbon.

Goodnight Everyone! Time to retire…..

 

Yesterday's Travels: Complete

I'm not going to write a lot this evening, but I'm leaving you with my "Yesterday's Travels" mini album. The album was completed using a 10" x 5.5" chipboard album from Creative Imaginations. The album holds five "accent" pages and five partnering "photo" pages. See complete album below:

For those of you that requested a supply list for the "Forever" layout, here you go!

Pattern Paper: Crate Paper (yellow), Fancy Pants (blue), Bo Bunny (pink), K & Company (glitter pink, ornate floral), My Mind’s Eye (blue/white polk-a-dot), Pink Paislee (deep blue),

Embellishments: K & Company (3-D flower window, “Blessed” sticker, fushia/blue floral sticker, blue journal label), Amy Butler (small blue button die-cut, “Priceless” sticker), Creative Imaginations (large scallop circle sticker), 7 Gypsies (“Remember” rub-on, long black/white phrase sticker), Making Memories (stitched turquoise flower w/button, 8” x 8” pink/black die-cut paper, blue mini journal book page), KI Memories (black/white chipboard embellishment), Hambly (black transparency frames), Chatterbox (yellow die-cut bird), My Mind’s Eye (“Gentle” chipboard embellishment, “Treasure” die-cut, large circle journal die-cut spot), Heidi Grace (“Forever” rub-on), American Crafts (black floral transparency stickers, “Forever” alpha stickers), Prima (lollypop flower), Basic Grey (“Love” sticker) 

Flower Wallpaper Inspired

 

Floral wallpaper. Love it. Hate it. It’s part of an inspiring idea I’m working on right now as I complete a new layout using Sassafras’s newest brads and flowers. Floral wallpaper doesn’t have to be unattractive. I’ll share the layout with you either tomorrow or Friday. 

 

 

 

 

I don’t have a kid in school just yet, but who needs one to own this cute scrapbook collection? I found this new Imaginisce release while out and about at one of the local Archivers stores. It’s titled “Teacher’s Pet”. I brought most of it home with me. I’m a big fan of the backsides (colorful ledger patterns). 

 

Feeling green? Is your computer do for a make-over? Well, my MacBook Pro has seen better days…found these while reading “Mac Life” magazine during my trip home from California. I’m thinken’ about getting one. They’re also available for PC’s.

Looken’ for somewhere new to go while traveling the worldwide web? I spent a couple hours on the computer today. I was in a “browsing” mood and wanted to see what was going on out there in the scrapbook community. I usually don’t have the extra hours to hang out online daily. For the most part, my daily online routine is to check my inbox & visit a few of my favorite online scrapbook retailers (a topic for another day). Today, I made a visit to the Scrap Scene blog. If this place isn’t listed in your favorites folder, add it now. They keep up with the latest and greatest within the scrapbook community and if you’re anything like me (no free time), you’ll find it a convenient place to go for fun, new finds. Listed below are a couple of links I found via Scrap Scene.  Webster’s is showcasing there new mid-release for Spring. I love it. Also, if you’re looking for technique demo’s or super eclectic scrapbook kits, you’re sure to like “NoelMignon.com” I’ve included a few photos of a technique demo that caught my eye while navigating the Noel Mignon blog. Enjoy!

 

Home.

 

Nothing feels better than walking off the plane and seeing this little guy!! I arrived home on Sunday around 7:00 pm. Ethan was waiting for me in grandma's car. I took him out of his car seat and gave him a bunch of kisses. I missed him a ton while away teaching at Reflections in California. Feels sooo good to be home with Ethan. 

 We're slowly but surely settling in, but I've been avoiding the laundry like the plague. I have quite a bit of work to catch up on now that I'm home. It was wonderful being in California because I didn't have to worry about anything. Didn't take long for me to notice the pile of bills sitting on my kitchen counter after walking in the door. Sadly, they didn't disappear while I was away. I also noticed that the house was still a complete mess. It looks exactly the way I left it. Go figure. Laugh. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be back to my old routine + loads of laundry. Lets just say I can hardly wait…there’s a lot needing to get done around here, including prepping “Carnival”, which I hope to ship in the next three weeks or so. After that, it’s selling the house and finding a new place to live, which involves a whole heck of a lot of cleaning & prep work.  I also need to start on my college application for the U of M’s graphic design program. It’s due early Fall…which is just around the corner.

 

 

 

 

Newport Beach was stunning, to say the least. I stayed at the Newport Hyatt Resort. The views were breathtaking. There are something about palm trees and tropical plants that still take my breath away. From my hotel window, I could see a beautiful line-up of tropical plants and trees. I caught a shot of it before leaving (note image above). The resort was fairly large in size. It was spread out amongst several two-story buildings. There were two pools, a golf course, walking trails, and variety of outdoor seating areas. I did quite a bit of walking around the resort. The weather was near perfect (at least for this Minnesota gal), seventy degrees. I stayed a total of three nights at the resort and left yesterday mornen’.

At the Reflection’s event, I taught four classes. Each one ran about three hours long  . I created an exclusive album for this event, a travel mini album. I taught the same album in all four classes. Students left the class with a completed cover and a better understanding of layering and embellishing. Amazingly, I was still able to squeeze in a lot of information within the three-hour period I had for each class..after one of my classes, I had a couple students request that I teach an all day class. I think it’s a brilliant idea! It’s certainly one I’ll be taking a serious look at in the near future.

I would kindly like to thank all Reflections attendees for joining me over the weekend. I had a lovely time teaching the album to all of you. Let me reiterate that if you have any questions concerning the album or instructions, please email me using the email link provided above. I’ll do my best to help you with any questions you might have. Thanks again every one!! 

 

Brought these gorgeous silk flowers home with me after visiting a craft wholesale supply warehouse during my time in California. I have a serious crush on rosettes. Why Prima doesn’t make more of these, I have no clue cause they’re absolutely divine. A girl can’t help herself when around these precious blooms. I purchased quite a number of rosette sets. I plan to use the rosettes on layouts and projects. The current plan is to pop each bloom right off the stem and store them in one large glass jar. So pretty J

Thank you Sassafras! Flowers, brads, and felties..make my heart melt. The scrapbook layout I create next will require the use of these fine items. The flowers are my fave!