Creative Therapy is still going strong. It's now once a month and this month's Creative Therapy Challenge is to "art" about "what are you (or would you be) giving your children that you wish you’d had?".
My parents were amazing parents. I do not have any regrets or wishes of changes. I think being a parent has taught me that we truly do our best and that regrets are a waste of time. One thing I did not learn when I was young was fiscal responsibility. I want to teach this to my children because I think it’s one of life’s most important skills. So, this is how I answered the challenge. I used The Girls' Paperie's Toil and Trouble Halloween Collection for this layout. The photos were taken by my friend and photographer, Michelle Riddle.
A few years ago, my kiddos made me these Valentine's. They used my scrapbook stash to do it and I was really touched.
I used the new Crate Paper Neighborhood and Toy Box collections on this layout. If you visit the link I share how I made the hearts.
Crate has a sketch challenge up, right now. If you love sketches, I highly recommend playing along. The rules are very flexible in that you can do anything you want with the sketch (it doesn't have to be a layout) and you only need to use 50% Crate Paper products on your project. Pretty cool, huh?
I have been watching friends on facebook go crazy posting "pins" to pinterest. I really didn't want to be sucked into yet another site, but I broke down and opened an account. If you love seeing collages of photos on other's blogs, then this site is for you. It's nothing but photo eye-candy. I am going to have to work hard to not spend all my free time there.
Creative Imaginations is a huge company. They do just about everything and have a ton of artists creating products for them. The had a huge release this show. Their booth is really large and usually I don't get to see pictures of it, unless someone was interested in a particular collection. I've always wanted to see the full booth, so I was pretty estatic when Amy Coon did a video tour for her company The Paper Life.
Creative Imagination's Booth Tour Part 1
Creative Imaginations Booth Tour Part 2
Luminarte Tour
The Luminarte tour is really awesome. There is actually more to CI than what was shown, but as you can see there was a ton to see with what was shown as it was. I have watched these a few times to see the booth. I really loved seeing the tour.
I was told we can share our show work, so here goes:
This layout and card were created using the new IOD Provencial collection. It's incredibly yummy, but I am majorly biased and love all things IOD. They came out with four new collections this show.
These were created using the new IOD Wild Spirit collection. It's colors are really earthy and work well for cowboys and cowgirls alike.
These were created using Art Warehouse's Baseball collection. Actually this was done using the new add-ons to the original collection. That's something I love about Art Warehouse. Danelle is always adding on to her collections, so you can easily work with the stash you currently have.
Marah Johnson has come out with a fabulous collection of neutrals called, The Monarch Collection, and is made to be colored in any way you can think up. I used a paint brush and the Luminarte mist "persimmon" to paint hearts onto the purse and the layout, then ran my sewing machine around the edges. The heart on top of the heart on the Bare Elements purse was made out of quick drying clay and and painted with the luminarte, as well.
They have another collection coming out called Bazaar Noir, which is black and white and intended to be colored, as well. I cut out some of one of the pattern of one of the papers and colored it in a few spots. The collection has really fun frames, as well as patterned papers, which I used on the card.
Thanks for stopping by, today. I hope you enjoyed the videos as much as I did. Have a great rest of the weekend!
I'm participating in Lain Ehmann's Layout A Day (LOAD) for the month of February. I have so much scrapbooking I want to do for myself that it just seemed like great timing after tons of show work. I recently subscribed to Studio Calico. I couldn't help myself knowing that the February kit was going to have exclusive Crate Paper products (yes, I'm a CP junkie, for reals and not just because I'm on the team). I'm glad i did subscribe. The kits are fun. I was sent the January kit and decided to use it to kick off the LOAD process.
Here is what I did for Day 1.
I love the House of Three embossed papers. What fun they are! I ran green water color over the design I wanted to expose and then, again, on the punky sprouts rolled canvas flowers. Green and yellow are two of my color obsessions, right now. I kinda flipped when I saw this yummy yellow Studio Calico paper. It's quite outstanding. This photo was taken by our photographer/friend, Pascale Wowak. I think this may have been the last time we took photos together. That's something I need to fix.
Here is what I did for Day 2:
I fell for the little bunnies in the Sassafras paper and thought they would be perfect for an Easter layout. I cut out two of the bunnies and layered them on top of things for some dimension. They're pretty cute with their little ears all bent forward. I adore this wood paper by Studio Calico. The little open heart at the bottom by my journaling is just too adorable. I decided to trace a big one onto the background in pencil, the stitch over it, and erase any pencil line not covered. I do this a lot because it's a fun detail that's easy to do.
I'm working on my 4th layout, right now. Lain has a big drawing at the end of the program for those that upload a layout every day to her gallery. Cool, huh? It really is, however, it's a good thing I'm not motivated by give-aways. While I did the layout, yesterday, I have, yet to take it off my camera and edit it. My two sweet little boys are home with fevers and bad colds. This is life and I'm glad I get to stay home and make them soup and cuddle with them.
It's nearly show time. This weekend is the big show in Los Angeles, CA for crafters. Most of the manufacturers have shown their new collections for the Spring/Summer seasons. Crate Paper has knocked it out with FOUR stunning collections. Each one is unique, vintage, yet modern and oh so irresitible.
Crate Paper is generously giving you a chance to win a collection of your choice by leaving a comment on this post. You have until the end of the weekend to leave your comment and a winner will be chosen at random.
I created this layout using Crate Paper's new Toy Box collection. I adore every bit and piece and was especially pleased to see brand new buttons, trims and alphabets from Crate. It was pretty cool to open up my box and see the new product. My layout is about my son not being a rough and tough kid. He's much more into music, making movies, building with legos, than he is into trains, cars, trucks, etc. This collection works perfectly for him. I did a page previously with this pictures taken by my friend, Michelle Riddle, and that page goes in his school album. This one is going in our family book. I may even make a page next to it that will include mostly journaling about his "boy" personality. I think it's important to remember it. I, also, plan to nurture it. He told me he intends to direct Star Wars 7 and why on earth would I stop him from trying to do that?!
I used the new ribbon as the background for my photos. I love the layered look and it's a new thing I've been doing a lot of lately. As a quick tip, in order to adhere trims this way, you want to use a really excellent glue. One that dries clear and does not show through the ribbon. Nothing looks worse than seeing a big wet mark under some ribbon if that's not the look you are going for. I use Helmar's Quick Dry 450. It dries super fast and perfectly clear. I never worry about using this glue with ribbon.
I've been having a good week. I finished all of my show work on Sunday, after nearly two weeks of nonstop crafting, and have been doing NOTHING this week just to enjoy some free time for myself.
It's nearly summer and I find myself looking forward to my son being out of school. We have a very mellow summer planned and that is just want we need this year. When the signs of Spring started cropping up everywhere, I started to get that giddy feeling. I love how fresh things feel when Spring comes around. I've decided to make a layout for each season documenting my favorite signs both nature and family tradition. I think it will be a great thing to look back upon.
I used the Lovely Collection from Lily Bee Design for this page, along with some Webster's Pages bloomers, trim and sparklers. I used Helmar ZapDots to pop up my photos and give them some dimension and I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry for the bloomers and lace trim. It dries clear, so you cannot see it through the delicate ribbon.
If you care to answer a question, I'd love to hear what you like to see on crafty blogs. What types of posts draw you back to a blog time and time again?
I want to thank Memories Live On for having me there to teach my By the Beautiful Sea class. I had the BEST time. I was really nervous, but once the customers started walking in, I got over it quickly. The gals that took my class were so nice and really, really fun. The best part for me, was watching them mix things up and show me a thing or two. I love that. I really did feel right at home in the store and am so grateful for that. I am excited to be coming back in a month or so to teach another class. Unfortunately, I did not take any photos, but my friends in the class did. When they send me their pictures, I'll post them.
For those that are interested, there are a few kits available. I included full color photo step by step directions and sketches for converting the page to vertical photos. I, also, put my email address in there. I am always available to answer any questions or for any feedback. The kits are really full of product and there is enough left over to add to your stash or create a few layouts.
It's National Scrapbook Day this weekend (technically it's Saturday) and there are events happening everywhere. If you are wanting to get involved in some fun, here are a few things you can join:
2. Crate Paper has some fun up their sleeves on their blog. Read the fine print, ladies! There is a giveaway on there, you do not want to miss, not to mention the inspiration they plan to share. It's going to be a great time.
This is the latest layout I did with Crate Paper and October Afternoon. The two mix really well and I thought went perfectly with my son's t-ball photos. He isn't much of a sports fan. Turns out he's really into piano and learning music and I'm all good with that, but he did want to try out baseball and he seems to enjoy it. It's really cool now that I've seen him actually LOVE something. That's all I want for both boys. I want to put them in a bunch of things until they find "the" thing they love. Now that I know what his "love" is, it's so nice to not have to worry about doing what he's ok with. If he wants to do it, great, if not, great. He seems to enjoy t-ball mostly because he doesn't have to run around as much as in soccer. This makes me laugh, because I would have thought he might get bored standing around, but what do I know? Kids are funny!
Happy NSD. I hope you find time to create at least one little thing in the spirit of the day. Enjoy!
I've been having fun creating some projects using Crate Paper and Petaloo. I'm highly obsessed with pink, orange and teal at the moment. I think these three colors together are smashing. I like that I'm not afraid to use pink and flowers with my boys.
I love this quote by Alexander Smith; "Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight in the recognition". When I saw the Crate Paper "delight" chipboard word, I was excited to be able to finally have a fun way to use that quote.
I wanted to play with circles. I get in the rut of thinking background with strips or rectangles of paper and wanted to create a different type of background with circles to add a bit more interest. I love the teal and didn't want it to get lost behind a lot of other papers, either.
I outlined my photograph using an extra fine point sharpie. Since, there is a lot happening on this layout, I didn't want the photograph to be lost. I wanted it to stand out and be supported by the quote. The outline really helps draw attention to the photograph. I outline everything usually, except for photographs, but it needed it in this case. I love this series of photos of my son. Our photographer, Pascale Wowak had this little teal chair and she took the most amazing shots of Brody on it. I still need to scrapbook the others, but I love this one because it's his regular expression. He's a thoughtful little dude with a big sense of humor.
I'm working on a mini book. It's a huge, emotional project for me. It's something I've been meaning to do for years, but for some reason couldn't muster up the courage to do it. I'm excited to share it when I'm done in the next few weeks.
