my_weblog

Just Saying "Hello"!

Yes, I'm still very much alive, but as you've probably been able to tell, I've been preoccupied beyond my means via other avenues. Someone commented that whomever the guy is that I'm dating, he's taking up too much of my time! Laugh. Honestly though, dating isn't the real culprit, it's more of my lack of "scrapbooking" that's to blame.  I haven't been feeling the pull of my usual creative energy. Instead, I've been prepping my mindset for school, finishing up guest design work, coordinating for Crate Paper, spending some last minute moments with Ethan, exercising and everything else I can manage to squeeze in prior to the end of Summer. Throw in a new dating relationship and well, you can just about fathom how I feel by the time I reach my scrapbook desk. Laugh. I've also a tutorial to finish up this weekend for Crate - lot's happening!!! 

And yes, I've a guest design gig coming up!! I've been working with the wares most the week and still have a few items to tend to. Thought I'd give you a tiny glimpse of one of the finished projects - it's tiny!! Wish I had a full something or other to share with you instead, but this will have to suffice for now! 

I took to printing images with digital frames around them. I don't seem to practice the technique all that often, but every once in a while I'll pull it off 'cause of wanting to make use of my neglected digital element stash. I occasionally contribute to small stash of digi items - just yesterday I purchased a new digi kit set that caught my fancy from my favorite digi store, oscraps.com. They've always an amazing line-up of kits over there!! It's too bad they're not available via paper format!! I'd be buying from them all the time...then again, maybe it's a good idea that they don't sell "actual" paper because it might end up resulting in my buying from them on regular basis. :) Here's the cute kit...

Love the colors and everything else about the kit - the pocketed journaling is a great walk-away concept for everyday traditional scrapbooking and the oval frame, I'm completely sold on it! Throw in yellow and grey pattern papers and that just about does it for me! Couldn't help myself - now as to what it'll eventually assist in producing, that I'm not quite so sure on. Have to wait and see....still love it though!

I'm about ready to conclude, but before I do, I want to quickly mention, incase you noticed via the first photo, that Chris is growing out her hair every-so-slowly!! There are days when I leave it curled under, but I've also days when I flip it out, depending on my mood. It's also foiled and for me, that's HUGE! Laugh. Very rarely do I color my hair, but it was time! You'll have to fill me in as to what you think of it - have a great weekend you guys! Thanks for checking in!

Title Phobia + Essie

I've been keeping this project all to myself since it hadn't a title the last four days. Laugh. Ever find yourself in this same sort of situation before? A perfect layout without a title..and the avoidance of adding one because you've difficulty assessing and selecting a worthy matching font to go with it. Silly, I know, but it happens to me ALL the time! Laugh. Of the stock pile of alpha sets I own, I can't bare the filtering that's required to find the ideal one for a specific layout. Ultimately, I end up bringing ten to twelve alpha sets with me to the table before I run into a set that's at least half compatible with whatever is I'm working on. The final decision can often be excruciatingly difficult too - my knowledge of typography is very limited. In the end, what it often comes down to is color, size and style. After about a half-hour, the font battle is won and finally, a finished layout is ready to be photographed. And all this craziness over a handful of letters...Why?

Beyond the title, the layout is about my running passion for a trendy, popular nail polish line that I've been conveniently collecting lately, Essie. Because Essie's specialty is "COLOR", and being that I'm a major color fanatic myself, I've grown attached to painting my nails with it on an every-other-day basis. Normally, I'm not the kind of gal that aspires to follow fashion trends, let alone paint my nails, but I'm totally sold on Essie!! Their color options are beyond spectacular and so are the cute, petite bottles they use for selling the stuff...genius designers over there - no doubt!

Do you stack buttons at all? I frequently use the technique, especially when the center section of a button is spacious enough for a neighboring, smaller sized button. Glue Dots come in extra handy here..and so do layered butterflies. Can't create a layout without one these days!!

 

Grids, squares, four-sided shapes or whatever else you want to call them, the going trend seems to be collaging them together in a grid-like format and then decorating them with punched shapes or anything else that suits one's fancy. I restricted mine to the background before topping them with embellishments galore. I framed the pattern paper squares with vanilla, square frame diecuts to give them further depth.

 

A year or two ago, I spent a couple of evenings printing digital elements onto transparency because at the time, I was hugely devoted to the material. This cute black frame was a Two Peas purchase from the well-known scrapbook designer, Jennifer Pebbles. Not sure if they're still available, but it might be worth hopping over to Two Peas to take a look if they're of interest to you. I took to layering one with a brown tag (College Press), a stamped doily (MME), a word sticker (MME) and pearls. 

 

This "Be Yourself"/Bird combination is that of Pink Paislee. It's an unexpected, non-traditional element that lends a little more personality to the overall design, even if it doesn't entirely match.

That just about does it for this Friday evening - have a great weekend everyone! I'll rejoin you next week with updated news of more Crate projects and an upcoming guest design gig! :) 

Brand New :: Farmhouse Mini Album

Finally, the Farmhouse Mini Album from last week's five day scrapbooking marathon is complete and is readily available for viewing via the Crate Paper blog today. In addition to the album is a small, quick "mini tutorial" about the construction process used to create the album's underlying pages. I opted out of the "full tutorial" format because of space limitations, but there are still plenty of beautiful images to capture your fancy during your visit to the Crate Blog. You'll not be disappointed...I promise. Go take a look!  

-- Click Here --

My Mind's Eye "Lost & Found Two"

The coming and going of CHA always translates into another round of brand new releases and with it, routine trips to the local scrapbook store. There's always a half of dozen or so collections that grab my attention. They're usually from the same set of manufacturers too, which technically, isn't all that surprising given that each of us is attracted to a certain style product. So this time around,  I'm once again gravitating towards the designs from My Mind's Eye, especially their second, updated version of Lost & Found. It's of the usual, vintage emblematic designs, but in a whole new series of color palettes!  From the new color introductions, my fave by far is YELLOW! My Mind's Eye paired it with Gray, Black and Gold - three of my go-to, everyday neutrals! 

 In the Twin Cities metro area, we're extremely lucky to have access to a fully stocked, local scrapbook store in Bloomington - Scrapbooks Too. After every CHA show, they immediately bring in a lot of the popular, unique collections that aren't necessarily readily available elsewhere in the area, including MME's fully stocked collections! They sell every single piece that MME has available, which makes me extremely happy!! So, today, I ran out there and sure enough, they had Lost & Found Two!! I scanned through the collection and hand-picked a pile of take-home items for myself..I then photographed it all so that you could take a peek at it incase you're wondering what the product looks like "in person". Rarely do online graphics fully portray an accurate picture of a collection's overall color and print style...

Their brads are always stellar in terms of quality and design - and the additional layered embellishments are an added bonus! 

 

I don't typically run out and buy a lot of chipboard because it's not that often that I use it, especially the plain stuff. This gorgeous assortment though was an instant hit with me! Again, I'm a total sucker for Yellow! The banners are fun as well...

Phrase/Label stickers - as a basic mainstay, I can never say "no" to them! I've collected all of my MME's tiny sticker sheets over the years and have them sitting in a basket on top my desk. 

 

 

And a set of stamps at the bargain price of $6. Thank-you MME for creating affordable, beautiful stamps! 

The pile has already been redirected to my scrapbook space. I'll eventually stash the items away in the rightful places when things have settled down some - I've a number of design projects in progress, including a guest design gig in the next couple of weeks! Looks like it's going to be a busy end-of-the-Summer for me..and just in time too because school begins in less than three weeks! YIKES! I'm looken' forward to it though..ready to take on some new challenges. :)

Hope all of you are enjoying the early week thus far - time to jump to the next task at hand! Take care....

Yesterday's Visit...

I'm not really sure what had changed or ultimately led to Ethan willingly participating in a conversation between himself and "Dad", but it caught me off guard slightly and opened my eyes to a place in Ethan's heart that yearns to connect with his greatest biological connection, Eric. Before we even reached the site, Ethan asked if we'd brought "rocks" with us to leave behind for dad, though I was without an assortment this time around (I'll explain the rock story later). Not surprisingly then, Ethan was dissapointed that the rocks we left last time, were gone, taken or removed by the owners of the property. Yes, this particular burial location doesn't allow for stand-up items to be left for loved ones. It's been increasingly frustrating over the years to deal with, but we'll still leave items behind from time to time. As we stood there overlooking Eric's grave, Ethan spoke directly to him...

"Hello Dad! How are you? We miss you Daddy! I love you very much. I love you as big as a whale - super BIG!"

He then went on to talk about the missing rocks and mentioned that he would bring more with him the following visit.

As to what instigated the conversation, I can't be certain, but it's the first time I've seen/heard Ethan speak to Eric as though he were standing next to him. Ethan's level of awareness was highly attuned to the reality of the situation as well, which I'm guessing has something to do with his recent progression in maturity and age. He was inately engaged within a meaningful exchange between father and son. It was a moment I had to capture and thankfully, I had the iPhone with me.

And so it is, Ethan growing into a "young boy" before my eyes and the very clear realization that the obvious missing piece in our lives is slowly entering Ethan's mindset with age. Soon, I imagine he'll be asking all kinds of questions about Eric as he attempts to further understand himself and the world around him. I hope to have almost all the answers for him too...the two share a lot in common. 

A Little Nudge...

Just prior to Summer's beginning, I established a series of goals for myself since more than likely, it would be my very last Summer without the troublesome scheduling of internships and classes. One of the goals I put on my list was "dating" and even though I'd been postponing the possible real-life scenerio for months (doubt can be a serious hazard for a girl like me!), I'd been given the nudge by a friend to get to it, finally. This came after she saw me dragging my feet along ever so conviently as to avoid the petrifying, undeniable saga of the unpredictable dating world. After four years, I wasn't about to jump in head first...at least not without the "push" of a good friend. Love her.

Some four weeks later and I couldn't be happier about that nudge 'cause as it would turn out, the first, second and third date far exceeded my expectations!! And honestly, that's all I'm going to say about it..I know, just when I get to good part, right? Well, I'm privy to privacy my friends - though this layout gives a slight hint as to a climactic, preparatory "first date" moment of mine -wardrobe decision making and meeting for the first time. 

 

And now for a few tidbits about the layout itself - I'm not quite sure I sufficiently pulled through with brand new techniques this time around, but the details are still just as insatiably pretty, as always. One item I've been thinken' about lately are ways in which to go about creating a messier, more carefree style flower..rather than the clean-cut flower types I'm often prone to producing on every single layout. The tool I've turned to for this is regular ol' scissors. By handtrimming the numerous floral layers, the end result is less contrived and more messy. Decorative scissors are also of some help here...

 

You'll always notice lots of little trimmings from me being tucked beneath something or other and not surprisingly, what takes to trimming rather well are either die-cuts or journaling cards. Again, I've a vast selection of color sorted paper pieces (and chipboard!) at my disposal right on top my desk. Very rarely will I use a die-cut or journaling card as a "whole" - especially those with attractive, iconic graphic designs on them. This butterfly array is of a Basic Grey die-cut collection set!

 

Even the extra little pieces can make a big difference!! Nudge them tiny pieces together as a small collage next to either a word sticker and behind a larger size item like a flower or frame. They're also especially wonderful when used all by their lonesome - spread them out like confetti or spray on top a misted area. 

 

Rhinestones..I have so many and never enough projects to use them on. How on earth does that ever happen? Laugh. I suppose this is the ultimate conundrum of every scrapbooker in terms of supplies. We always have more than necessary for a single lifetime! I finally took to using a long line of rhinestones rather than the usual individual rhinestone because it reinforces the vertical direction defined by the multiple borders spread across the bottom of the page. Personally, I love the idea of using rhinestones to reinforce existing border strips. 

 

I trimmed the centers from Jillibean's sprout florals and backed them with Hambly's bright pink lacey transparency. It's a quick, easy-to-make homemade embellishment that is as unique as "you". Mix and Match colors and styles to your liking....

 

I've taken to OA's sprinklers recently - I use both the spritzer and inside tube to spread about the watered down paint over my projects. The outcome is always fantastic!! I adore the quality of their misters...

 

Sometimes, you just have to try a technique because it demands to be tried - these particular printed dots were trimmed from a My Mind's Eye journaling card and covered with dimensional adhesive. I then applied on top the wet adhesive a good coating of Martha Stewart "Pink" Flock. It actually took a couple of applications to get a decent coating of flock, so don't be afraid to press the flock down with your fingers "into" the adhesive if you think it'll help keep it in position better. It's quite the fickle material...

 

Do any of you recognize the woodsy looking font from the first part of my layout's title? It's of Pink Paislee's second alpha sticker release from way back in the day..love when I find a use for older items!! 

Thanks for stopping by you guys! I've a little man waiting for me ever so patiently - thinking maybe it's time for us to visit one of his favorite parks outside our hometown. Return here a little later on....take care. 

Crate Paper + Monthly Mini Albums

Most recently, I've been contemplating what to bring to the Crate Blog as part of an ongoing monthly series since with each new release, there's turn over in subject matter. Because the common, prolific request has been for me to contribute mini albums when time allows, I opted to take on the task of creating one full mini album a month. So, with each brand new month, at the Crate Paper blog, a new mini album will be available for the viewing and in conjunction with the album will be a quick, readily doable tutorial. The tutorials themselves will be on the small side since a lot of the emphasis and focus is that of the album instead of the construction process. The primary reason being for this is because typically, a full mini album tutorial (at least for me) is often capable of taking up more space than is practically available via an individual post. To save on space then, I'm miniaturizing the tutorials into bite size pieces for easier consumption..if I should even reference it as that. 

The first album in line is already finished - it's emphasis is of course, Farmhouse. Considering that school starts in less than four weeks for me, I thought, "Why not jump into Fall already?" I could sure use a cooling down after this latest hot & humid Summer..though I'd be more than willing to skip the books! Laugh. In any event, I'm showing snippets of the album today - it'll post in it's entirety next week on the Crate Blog.

I simply can't wait to share the rest of the album with you, but it'll have to wait 'til later! It's been a week's worth of creative energy, so expect the usual details! 

Not quite sure what the rest of you have planned for the weekend, but it's "art festival" time for those of us in the Twin Cities. We've two of the largest outdoor festivals this weekend, including the Uptown Art Show! I'll not be attending the Uptown, though I have plans to visit it's "neighboring show", Powderhorn Art Show. A long time has past since I last attended an art event, so I'm looking forward to catching up with the Minnesota art scene. Should be adventuresome and fun..have a great weekend you guys! Catch up with you Monday!

Crate Randomness

Random is one of those collections that's easily manipulated if you're in the mood to try something a little different in terms of design. Whether going the route of traditional scrapbooking or taking a more artistic approach, Random meets the requirements from start to finish. It's a major fave of mine since Crate released their brand new collections few weeks ago. I created two layouts from the collection after having received it - it's literally almost "gone" at this point! A second helping will find me in a few weeks of course since I've still five more months to play with it. Don't think I'll ever grow tired of it either....it's perfect for mixing and matching too. 

 

I fell upon the idea to mix vellum and pattern paper after brainstorming and reviewing flower ideas while producing the layout. I trimmed various sized circles from both materials and layered them on top of each other during the positioning of a large size brad. The flower is subtle, sweet and airy. 

 

The bright denim blue polaroid frame from Random's chipboard collection is sooo fabulous! The fact that it's "blue" instead of "black" is a huge plus! Now if only Crate would package up a bag of different colored poloroid frames - I'd be entirely happy. 

 

The circles took a little bit of extra work to make, but they're central to the layout's overall design. I first trimmed circles with a circle cutter from Vanilla cardstock. Of the negative shaped circles left behind on the paper, I handcut around them with pinking scissors (Fiskars). I then backed them up with varied pattern papers. The small circles were created with the help of different sized circle punches. Small punch first, large second. 

 

Tara Anderson talked me into trying her spray paint technique. I've done it a couple of times before and my results are always so mixed. The application process is tricky too...though Tara has it down pat!! Ultimately, control is key! Maybe someday I'll have mastered it, but I think for now, I'm sticken' with October Afternoon's/Studio Calico's Mists. :))

 The studio is calling me! Lots of creative work ahead - almost a full afternoon of it! Have a leisurly afternoon my friends! More Crate ahead...

~ CM ~ 

The Inseparable Bond

Even though it's been two years since this photo was taken, the bond between Ethan and I remains the very same as it was at the moment Krysten, a wonderful photographer friend of mine, captured this image of us together. Suddenly, Ethan is "all grown up" as he reaches the "five" year mark in a few short months. Though he's growing into himself more lately, he's still willingly inclined to be close and I routinely make it an effort to express to him the importance and magnitude of his existence in my life.  Our bond continues to prosper and my love for him is immeasurable. All the while, he gets bigger and bigger....simply said, "I can't keep up!"

The quickest means for me to finish a layout is to conveniently make reference to an accessible pre-printed photo. Unlike most scrapbookers, my library of pre-printed photos is rather small in size. Most of my photo collection sits on a hard drive, so if I'm to scrapbook a project, I have to pull up the preferred images and print them. Let me just openly confess, this isn't the best photo storage option for the average scrapbooker. Actually, I'd been reminded over the weekend to get them onto disks if I wasn't going to print them right away, which makes perfect sense, but I'm more of a "external harddrive" kind of gal. At some point, I'm going to commit to the idea of "sooner rather than later" the preserving of images..it's the next "to-do-item" on my list. For now, of what's readily available pre-printed, I'll take advantage of, especially when tight on time like I was this weekend! 

Negative space or "reverse" imagery is favorite technique of mine right now - to create a butterfly such as this one, a die-cut machine isn't exactly necessary! Instead, utilize your shaped chipboard collection and search out a shape to your liking - use the chosen shape as a template and trace around just like any other typical template. Finally, trim the tracing from the paper with the help of a small pair of sharp scissors. Back the trimmed, open area with a preferred material. I chose a simple butterfly shape (GCD) and positioned a bright yellow patterned paper behind the opening. 

 

I wish I had a larger collection of these little white frames from Melissa Frances!! They're the tiniest of frames and are perfectly suited for crafting of all kinds! I embellished the inside of one with a bird image (Amy Butler/K & Company), a "together" sticker (Making Memories) and a thin, Kraft pinking border. As the final touch, I adhered a small yellow/white trim bow to the top of the frame via glue dot.

 

I'm suddenly taken a liking to "Kraft" cardstock...I see it everywhere too! It's the sort of neutral color that fits well no matter what color it happens to be next to - I prefer it partnered with light hues like pinks, pastel yellows, light blues, peaches, white, tan, etc. 

 

I got lucky a few years ago when I came across an extensive sequin collection at a local bead store. I bought tiny sequin flowers of every color and surface treatment. They also had various basic shaped sequin types - bought a bunch of those as well! They're housed in glass jars via color - I'm almost a 100% certain I'll never run out of them!! 

 

Another embellishment item I seem to enjoy these days is the wood look-alike sticker/die-cut/paper, etc. When emboldened with bright, vivid color, the texture of wood takes on a life all it's own!! I'm truly excited that with this last CHA event, the natural material took center stage! It's potential is infinite, so I'm hoping that manufacturers will continue to work with it some more later on down the line too...keeping my fingers crossed! 

 

I'd like to wish all of you a wonderful start of the week! I've to start on work elsewhere for the next few hours..that being said, "How are you utilizing Kraft Paper on your projects?"

~ CM ~