I'm starting to panic over here as I have all of one whole week before chaos ensues again!! Before you know it, I'll be trudging back to school and sitting beneath stock piles of homework. Can I just say I'm not looking forward to it? Well, I'm sort of looking forward to it, though only because of the routine aspect of it. Other than this one thing though, it'll be painful transition because I've been endlessly spoiled the last three weeks with ample opportunities for those activities I don't normally get to partake in as frequently while in school. This of course includes crafty time. That'll slow down some to no surprise. Thankfully, there's still next week - Crate Paper collections are expected at the front door step on Tuesday!! I've a lengthy week of scrapbooking ahead of me after it arrives. It's the madness of CHA, I tell ya! It's usually when I scrap my fastest too!! Four layouts in four days!! Wowza! Hang on everyone! Some one grab me a cup of Joe..
I'd planned on sharing this layout with you a little sooner, but good thing I didn't because now I have it to post today! Can't say I'm a huge fan of it though..laugh. I know, how does one rightfully assume whether their own layout is decent or not? It's just a feeling...not my best, but not my worst either. I'm my own worst critic!
A couple days ago, I took it upon myself to travel across town to a longtime friend I call the "quilt shop" - it's been forever since I was last there, but I was curious to find out what sort of fabric designs are popular right now, so I took to my car and went. Amazingly, it seems that fabric patterns are way ahead of the scrapbook industry. They're even more retro-ish and colorful! They're also "cleaner", meaning minus the distressing and "old fashion" flair. Think Heather Bailey or Amy Butler...anyway, I picked up a pile of fabrics, including a few snippets of hand dyed wool that had been priced at a pretty penny. The plan is to create my own handmade flowers and backgrounds from them. I'm sort of tired of just playing with plain ol' paper. Lately, I've been really inspired by Somerset Studio's mix-media publications and have watched with great frequency as more and more paper artists incorporate fabric into their work. I sort of want to do the same and being that their a fancy sewing machine sitting in the back room of my house, I've not a single reason to not incorporate more fabric into my layouts! So, in the future, you might see more fabric from me! Here's a wee look at a nummy pile of fabric currently awaiting use in my scrapbook space:
And I pretty much should confess that there are drawers upon drawers of fabric strewn about two large dressers upstairs from my quilting days. There's also a huge bucket full of hand-dyed fabrics migrating in the basement - they're so terribly neglected!! I should really be ashamed..laugh.
About the flower on my layout - it's obviously cotton to some extent (one layer). With the help of my big shot machine, a spellbinder's flower die-cut and a bottle of fabric stiffner, I trimmed the flower and adhered the thing down with lots of wet adhesive!! That'll probably be another item I'll have to figure out - the best adhesive for fabrics - if you've a suggestion, please forward it to me!! :) Thanks!
Probably my favorite feature from the layout are these geometric box frames. Again, trimmed using the big shot and square frame dies from QuicKutz (on clearance at Archivers for 25% off). They sort of came together by accident as I had originally intended to frame only the #2. After laying a couple of the frames down on top the game card though, I was totally sold on the concept! Plan to play with this idea some more in the future....
This swell birdcage was located at JoAnn fabrics for all of ninety-seven cents! I paired it with a couple of Basic Grey birds that seem perfectly suited for inside the cage.
Not sure if you've been to the local Michaels store recently, but Brenda Walton with K & Company has released another gorgeous, must-have collection, Flora & Fauna! My favorite from the collection are the Typewriter Keys. Find them here. I paired one of the keys with a punched starburst circle (Martha Stewart) and an assortment of Making Memories "Pink" flowers (retired). It's quick petite combination dresses up the top half of the layout.
There's one more item I want to mention before I start another round of work related chores, Studio Calico advertised next month's kit sneak peek this morning!! It includes Crate Paper exclusives!! And wouldn't you know it, it's called "Candy Shop" - love that! Can't wait to see the kit in it's entirety...seriously.
I'll leave you with that bit of news and return after the weekend is over - the next time you visit this place, I just might be in a bit of frenzy...one can't always predict what's possible when this girl scrapbooks non-stop for a solid week!! Hopefully I'll have a fair share of ideas to run off of to get me through it! Take is easy you guys and have a great weekend!
