Template and Hexagon Madness!

I have been keeping a secret from you.
I am a hex fetishist. Read it again please.
I love me some HEXAGONS.
I started a pinboard here. I can add you to the board so I have helpers in the search for beautiful mathematical creations. Let's share the hex love!

I love that Studio Calico hexagon print paper but it's everywhere right now so I decided to save it for a little longer and try my hand at some quilting templates I found online. I really like the "hand made" mistakes galore quality of this page:

Hexagon experiment 1 (This was the December True Xoxo Girls Challenge page but I made another you'll se SOON)
MATERIALS: Lily Bee Memorandum paper, Crafter's Workshop templates- Tile Texture and Chevron mini, Studio Calico Fab Rips and Mister Huey in Atmosphere, Calico Cream and Lemonade, Maya Mist in Green Apple, Gauche Alchemy punchinella, Basic Grey mini alphas, Sassafras Lass woodgrain alphas, Mis Tape from American Crafts, finger die cut from Pink Paislee and Prima wood heart button.

Am I crazy for liking it? Please help me- where did I go wrong? Perhaps I needed a less contrasty photo with colors that blended in a little more?

Yeah- I messed up the journaling.

I like how this page looks but it doesn't hold together. Into the '"first draft" file it goes.
Also.... I MUST give credit where credit is due. The acrylic bubbles, the smudged pencil borders and molding paste are ALL part of someone else's style- Mija- of MadebyMija.blogspot.com. I am trying to find a way to use them and not reference her work so closely. Check out Mija's blog- she is a pure artist- me? I'm just started to find my way there.

I feel like I'm right on the verge of something cool-
 just not quite hitting the mark,

Using Maya Mists was fun. I haven't bought them because they are sooo expensive but a few stores are having early "Black Friday" sales so I finally got to play with "Green Apple". Once again I'm in LOOOOVE! Totally worth the crazy price.

I know this week is hectic so if I don't post again till friday- have a Happy Thanksgiving weekend!!!

SMOOCHES MI GENTE!!

Lily Bee Design ROCKS!!!

My scrappy friend Cheryl of And Handmade Too! turned me onto Lily Bee's weekly sketch challenge. I've loved each sketch they've put out but have never managed to complete a page in time to enter the challenge- well not THIS week!

Ha HA!!!!!

Go Go GO!
MATERIALS: Lily Bee Memorandum paper and card, Studio Calico stripe paper and Fab Rips, Mister Huey- Atmosphere and Overdue, Ormolu Dots and spots tags and Go! button flair, EK Success binding Edge punch

I LOVE circles and hexagons! I was going through my Pinterest boards the other day and wondering WHY hadn't I used them in a page yet. I was waiting for some kind of template or a patterned paper to "help" me make them. Well to HECK with THAT!
I googled "hexagon template" and found that the quilting community is huge and just as willing to share as us scrapbookers- YAAAY!
Watch out- you might loose me to the sewing on FABRIC set!

Hexagons, grids and circles- siiiigh!!

I also found this wonderful dreamland called Ormolu- that sounds like an exotic French cosmetics brand right? It's paper! Gorgeous modern PAPER! Teeny tiny color embellies perfect for ATC or December Daily projects.
I. AM. IN. LOOOOVE!
I think my favorite were the negative die cut kraft tags- check them out in this SNEAK PEAK for my December True Xoxo Girls Challenge page:

I'm also glad I finally used my Lily Bee Memorandum line papers. I LOVE the subtle colors and patterns. I wish I had sprung for the alphas as well but I have so many letter stickers at this point I passed them up- for now. I made 3 pages in one 2 hour sitting! An unprecedented first!

To get these small mist dots I used an expensive mascara brush from way back when.
The pin is from Ormolu, the teeny silhouette is from Pink Paislee's Nantucket die cut pack.

So I've been busy busy busy with family stuff and looking for work- hopefully I will get back to my regular 3 posts a week schedule. I hope you have a GREAT weekend!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

A Thankful page- Daily Grace Project

This week has been a little crazy schedule-wise. I've been trying to avoid Facebook (and more importantly- Pinterest!) so I can concentrate but like Al Pacino in take-your-pick gangster flick- I keep getting drawn in!

I managed to make a page:

2011 Daily Grace (Project) It's like a December daily but without the STRESS!
MATERIALS: Sassafras Lass paper, Pink Paislee Nantucket die cuts, Smooch Spritz in magenta, green and dark blue, American Crafts Elf woodgrain and Sunrise magenta alphas (MUST HAVE MOOOORE!) and kraft butterflies (ditto!!!) K and Co alphas.

Fave scrapper Sasha Farina posted this Pinterest image in her blog as part of a mini hop she participated in. I gladly surfed along since I will do anything Ms. Sasha suggests (fangirl!! stalker!!!)

Why not try it? LOVE the modern typographic design.

I suggest you swing by- the work by fellow fave bloggers Diane Paine, Emily Pitts and Kimberly Neddo is not to be missed. 

And I found a new (to me) fave- Mandie of http://lemonstolimes.blogspot.com/

Mandie is hosting a give-away with some great scrap goodies if you make a page using the illustration above.

Oh MAN!!! I really wish I had used an AC Slick Writer from the start!

How does my page relate to the illustration? I should've had the writing crawl down to each image... oh well. I'm not gonna front- it's far from the original but I credit the vaguely triangular placement of each photo to the illustration- I was going to make a simple grid layout but it just didn't seem "me"- I liked it messy and random. ;)

The Daily Grace project is now back in gear. Here are some recent additions. Another page is soon to follow.

11/13/11 Grateful for: getting to live this... 

11/14/11 ... AND this.

11/15/11 Grateful for: Apples in general

Before I forget- I've had 3 images published over at Scrapbook News and Reviews Magazine. If you have a moment swing by to check it out (you need to subscribe to see the magazine I believe) Here's a link:SNR Travel and Vacation and here: SNR Fall and Thanksgiving.
What do you give thanks for?

MuChOs SmOoChEs!

Michelle

Giving Fall some LOVE!

I've had some learning time this weekend because the Grandmas are pulling baby duty- thank you both. I swung over to Cocoa Daisy and learned some new techniques for incorporating type and stitching onto my pages.
The result:

Fall In Central Park
MATERIALS: Crate Paper Peppermint paper, Making Memories foam alpha stamps and green lace, Hambly Rub Ons, American Crafts badge, Delights  and Amy Tan Fabric paper, camera paper clip and alphas. Easel by 7 Gypsies

I will be linking this up to Paper Issues Fall link Party that will post later today (11/13/11). Please swing by and link your own Fall projects when you have a moment.
Details Details...

This could easily be a page on it's own...
OFF TO THE SCRAP DESK!!! 

The cancelation stamp on the Amy Tan is from NYC! PERFECT!
Can you tell I made a spelling mistake and covered it up with stickers on that tag?

I REALLY wish I had bought some of those Amy Tan leaves but maybe it's best to use the beautiful Hambly run ons- bought those so long ago- luckily they haven't dried out. If you have a new NEED for Fall crafty stuff please swing by the Paper Issues online store (plug, plug, pluuuuug!!!)

TIP ALERT!!!! Don't bother aiming your heat gun at rub ons- you'll just end up with a "shrinky dink"- rather- a plastic raisin. Using double sided tape to get the "stick" to return is more effective- I recently had to do that to a Basic Grey "Obscure" sheet- you can see the results here. http://myanaloglife.blogspot.com/2011/10/appropriate-nightmare-on-halloween.html

I also completed this page for the Sketchy Thursdays challenge for this week:

Imagine Me and You
MATERIALS: Sassafras Lass paper and border stickers, Smooch Magenta and Sunburst spritz, Maya Road Apple Green mist and purple button, Bo Bunny acrylic swirls, Prima acrylic heart with Hambly rub on, "Imagine" Glitz alpha stickers,  "Adore" script chipboard from Stuff 2 Scrap.

Can you believe efforts to complete these 2 pages lasted about 7 hours over 3 days? Ms. Mojo is GONE- prolly jumping in leaf piles in the park.
Here's the actual sketch: (You still have time to link yours up!)

Some close ups:

I ADORE those Stuff 2 Scrap script chippies!
Too bad shipping from Australia is so expensive.

What's THIS? DOODLING??

I actually started on this page on Friday but I kept ruining it by adding and adding- the sketch is wonderfully spare and I really wanted to punk it up without JUNKING it up. I'm also glad I'm finally using my acrylic and rub on stashes- I stayed away after I found out how hard they were to shoot properly but now that I have my light bounce card and the 7 Gypsies easel I'm doing all kinds of crazy stuff!

I kept this box so I can mist projects-
Lola has decided it's her dinner table instead.

MuChoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Sketchy Thursdays and Sassafras Lass

I got my last Sassafras order last week. It's a bittersweet experience to open a box full of beautiful color and happy prints knowing you will never get another one like it again. I got some beautiful Sunshine Broadcast loveliness so I made this page AND tried to shoot it in a similarly appropriate manner.

Sketchy Thursdays Guest DT Grateful page
MATERIALS: Sassafras Lass Sunshine Broadcast paper and stickers,  Smooch Spritz Sun kissed, Tattered Angels Sand mist, Mister Huey in Lemonade, buttons from Crate, pearl beads from Art-C, hearcleare heart buttob from Epiphany crafts, gold beads from Michael's

This page will be submitted to the Sketchy Thursdays December Guest DT challenge. I really love this sketch- the simplicity allows for a lot of creative play and I'm always a sucker for square format images.

A quick detail shot of the journaling:

I also made a second page for a sketchy Thursdays challenge sponsored by Paper Issues. Paper Issues teamed up with Pink Paislee to promote the release of their Snow Day line and the projects are GORGEOUS- please swing by to see the fantastic projects submitted so far!

Planet Hoth- Sketchy Thursdays 11/3/11 challenge sponsored by Paper Issues
MATERIALS: Bazzill white paper, Tattered Angels Patina mist. Smooch Sea Green mist, Mister Huey in Cream and White, Maya Road snowflake transparencies, Melissa Frances starburst and water bling brads, Crate,  Jenni Bowlin and Basic Grey buttons, alphas by Sassafrass Lass and Basic Grey, Sakura gelly pen in gold, Stickels in Diamond, star punchinella and white corrugated board from Gauche Alchemy

An apology- these were supposed to be ready on Monday but now that my husband is back in school weekends are a crazed mass of laundry, cooking and taking Lola to the park before the 4:30- sun deadline- did I mention I hated Fall? Sun rationing kills it for me. But I won't complain it was 68 (!!!) degrees here yesterday- I KNOW!!!

I'm struggling a bit on my Grace Project photos- mostly finding shots varied enough to include. May I submit that I am grateful for the "push" I'm getting to up my photo game? I'm trying all KINDS of crazy things to shoot my projects these day- can I show you on failed experiment?

Dave's architect's table makes for a really fun "stage".
Aluminum Foil is a dark apartment dweller's best friend!

This is a beautiful "staging" set up but without full sunlight or a tripod to steady the camera for the long exposure time it's just too dark in this room. I will FORCE myself to work with my cheapo tripod- it literally takes just as long to set it up as to shoot, edit and write a blog entry- very annoying.
A couple of detail shots:

The latest entry to the Daily Grace project:

11/7/11- Grateful for some time alone

11/8/11 Grateful for the PERFECT hamburger from Fanny on Graham St.

11/9/11 Grateful for THE BEST PRESENT EVER! Thank you Dave!!!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!

Michelle

Thanks Monday!

WHAT? WHAAAT? 60 degrees in November? SO THANKFUL!!! Time to seize the day and get take some "Fall" shots in Central Park- if there's any actual leaves left!

November 4- Grateful for Autumn sunlight.

11/5/11- Grateful for Kangols and ears that stick out.

I got exactly NOTHING done over the weekend. Not having a dedicated scrap space to run into really puts an end to my creativity as I need complete concentration to let ideas flow. I was supposed to have 3 pages to show for upcoming sketch challenges but all I have is photos. It's taking all my will power not to "share" exactly how I feel about that.

For today I have to try to get a photo of "Something Funny". ;) I've been ignoring the prompts as of late...

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
MIchelle

Picture Dodger! And The Halftone app

Today I was gonna share another awesome card with a "Thank You" theme but the actual card has taken a severe left turn from what I imagined so I am giving it another go and posting later.
But I will share this:

Picture Didger- GOTCHA!!!
Materials: DCWV turquoise graph paper (AAA! LOVE!), alphas from Glitz and Cosmo Cricket,  Little Yellow Bicycle word bubble (transparency I added a background to), Studio Calico rub-ons added stick side out, Smooch Black mist, Gauche Alchemy Red Mixed Media kit items, buttons from Sweet Tierney on Etsy.

I've written several stories on iPod photo apps- you can check those out in the resume page above. Then I found Halftone- or as I like to call it- the perfect marriage of new and old paper obsessions.

Faceless Halloween shots are now so much fun!

Back in my early 20s I was broke but spared what I could to buy comic books- specifically all "Batman" titles, anything with the name Neil Gaiman on it and "The Invisibles". I eventually gave up the comic habit but I've been looking for a way to add comic book quote bubbles to my photos ever since.

REALLY funny Dave! I am SO gonna get you back! COOL effect right? This photo was taken in almost complete darkness- the halftone pointillist comic print effect did the rest.

Well Halftone makes that super easy! It also has 12 different paper backgrounds, 9 different caption layout options,  6 different quote bubble designs, 21 different stamps (words like BAM! or Splash!) and over 20 fonts for your captions- it's amazingly powerful and can send a high rez version of your photo directly to other camera apps like Instagr.am or directly to your Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr accounts. Is that not fabulous? It is to me- I LOVE this thing!

Dignity and adult demeanor be darned! I'm having FUN! 

In also humming right along in my daily grace project.
Here are the last 2 days.

11.3.11 Grateful for helpful Abuelas and the smiles they inspire. 

11.4.11 Grateful for her feeling confident enough to leave...
yet always returning to take me along.

Muchos Smooches!

A month for grace

I swung by the American Crafts blog and noticed they are having a week to celebrate gratefulness. I've been thinking of doing some kind of conceptual photo project on this for a while but it's harder to do without concentrating on it fully- it's November why not start today?

Nov. 1 2011 - A partner who is supportive in every way. (and a hottie!!)

Today I set a moment aside for grace.

• I give thanks for the family I have not the one I wish I did.
• I give thanks for being fat- it is a sign I am not starving and it is a state of health I can change.
• I give thanks for being unemployed. This is hard because many Americans (including me) tend to equate success by how much money they earn or how many hours they log in at work. My two and a half year hiatus has taught me that happiness has nothing to do with financial matters and everything to do with TIME. 
• I give thanks for having the luxury of time. Time with my husband, time with my baby and time to write this sometimes incredibly self indulgent blog. I wouldn't be able to get away with it anywhere else.

Nov. 2 2011 That smile.

I will stop there but for the rest of the month I will post photos that show this state of grace I am under and hopefully by Thanksgiving I shall have a cute mini book or page I can share. 

Apparently my "idea" is not remotely original (insert smile here). This is a prompts list I found on Pinterest.

I will be actively ignoring some of these but it's a great list.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!

Michelle

A day for honoring the dead

True Xoxo Girls November Challenge Page- swing by and participate!
MATERIALS: Ikea plastic cake doily (I know!), Core'Dinations Jenny Bowlin paper, Cosmo Cricket blackboard and naked chipboard, Prima flowers and leaves (painted black with acrylic paint), EK Success slim line border punch, Petallo velvet roses and Dahlia value packs (black and red), Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam in Oil Slick, Smooch Spritz in black and Silver

The Mexican holiday known as Dia De Los Muertos has always fascinated me. The tradition is a hybrid of long established rituals in Pre-Columbian Mexico and the Catholic religion brought in by Spanish invaders- oops- I mean- "Conquistadors". The celebration actually lasts 3 days and takes place during what is also known as "All Saints Day" and "All Souls Day"- a change brought by the Spanish when they found they could not destroy the practice outright.

Calaberas are the focus for Dod.
TIP- that's found fishing line in that circle-
guess where I'm off to scrap shop next?

I burned right through my black Prima and
Petaloo stash... LOVE the black velvet!!!

The colors, the pageantry, the flowers- Day of the Dead is wonderful!!!  Best of all- it's a time to remember those you loved and lost- to tell their stories and carry on their name.

I envy the cultural strength it takes to carry this tradition 500 hundred years into the present. I admire the joy it brings to what could be a sorrowful occasion. Perhaps you remember your Mother or your Abuelita today. Maybe you make an altar for Celia Cruz or Frieda Kahlo- Madame Curie or Helen Keller.

Untitled Day of the Dead page 2
MATERIALS: Gauche Alchemy Wedding Night White Mixed Media Kit, Bazzill Kraft paper, Mister Huey in Plum Thumb, Overdue and Hot Dog, Crate Random mini paper, Daisy D's rub on stitches (which have dried out and can't heat them up since they are on a roller- darn!)

These are my first Dia De Los Muertos projects and not remotely authentic as they don't commemorate anyone. I wanted to keep these light and showy since they are meant to grab your attention and hopefully draw you into this AWESOME Latin American tradition.

Gauche Alchemy Scarlet Fever Red Mixed Media Color Kit, some dollar store roses.

Traditional activities include

• visiting family graves and decorating them with beautiful floral and paper displays 
• making mini "altars" for your home and decorating them with colorful fruits and flowers 
• gathering with friends and family and serving heaps of food 
• making papier-mache, papel picado (cut tissue paper) or sugar sculptures

Photos came from a street art poster.
The Skull and crossbones cameo was found on Etsy.

Whatever you do, tell the tales of those who have passed on- do not weep- rather, weep and laugh and shout out with joy- your loved ones are now in a better place!

Results of a sugar skull workshop. Getting
those sequins to stick using only spit was
harder than it looked.

Today I commemorate
Leo the caretaker and bike rider.
Nakia who left us so young.
Neco and Maneca my great grand parents.
And Juan and Mita my grand parents.
Whom do you celebrate?
Whose memory do you sing praises to?

Hugs mi gente- pass it on.

Michelle