Thanksgiving place cards featuring Some Odd Girl digi stamps.

Good Monday to you!

Hurricane Sandy non-withstanding, I am going to share a tutorial I posted at The Odd Girl yesterday.

Kristy is running a full month of giveaways and tutorials so if you ever wondered how to use digital stamps or advanced Copic coloring techniques I suggest you swing on over.

I racked my brain trying to come up with a new and innovative way to use digi stamps (especially since I have ZERO Copic coloring mojo) when it occurred to me I hadn't seen anyone use digi stamps on vellum.

Vellum's slick surface makes it hard to print from home because the ink takes longer to dry.

Well, there's a fix for that- heat emboss it!

Some Odd Girl Turkey stamp is the cutest thing EVER!!!!!!

Swing by The Odd Girl to get the How-To details!

View from our fire escape.
The winds shouldn't be a problem but the storm surge could be quite bad.
I sent Lola to my Mom's for the next couple of days but Dave and I decided to tough it out at home.
We thought we were Zone A which is under mandatory evacuation but apparently once you cross the street from the park in this photo you're in Zone C. ???!!! How does that even work?
Does water cares that you are on a higher plane just 10 feet away??
In any case, it allowed us to stay. If it gets bad, we are taking our bikes across the Willamsburg Bridge.
I know that sounds INSANE but trust me- it's easier than braving traffic. Ever seen the stuck cars in a zombie flick? That's Brooklyn under an evacuation order. Bikes are small and wily and we ride like maniacs.

Stay safe out there, mi gente.

Michelle

Christmas is coming! A Punky Scraps challenge page

Every parent has this moment:
It's 2 days before a major holiday (in my case, Christmas)

You realize that in all the hubbub you forgot one major holiday related errand:
(The photo for the Christmas cards!..... )
(AAACK!!! I forgot to MAKE the Christmas cards!!!!)

So you make do.

The cute camera flair button is from A Flair For Buttons on Etsy (Now also at Two Peas in a Bucket)
And that PERFECT shade of gold is from Heidi Swapp's Color Shine mist- get some! It's perfect!

Yes that is the hat from Miss Lola's chili costume.
What? That makes no sense?
Who said family Christmas photos had to make SENSE? :)
I stuck it on there to make her look like an elf. (???)
Lola woke up to find herself floating in mid-air with a flash going off.
Poor thing!

Scrap FX Antler Animals pack (model #2012234)- when I got this in my DT package I was all- hmmm.
Then I was Like YAY!!! This deer does NOT approve.

The second Punky Scraps challenge for October is to use the following elements on a page:

• Masking (I used the FABULOUS Aboriginal pattern from Crafter's Workshop)
• Staples (Mine attach the twine to the photo)
• 3 kinds of punches (On this page: corner punch by Ek Success, the pinked circle punch all around punch by Martha Stewart and American Crafts pinked edge punch)
• Chevron pattern (My Mind's Eye print and stickers from Echo Park)
• 2 patterned papers (My Mind's Eye On the Bright Side and American Crafts Ready Set Go)
• 1 photo 

I remember being so ANNOYED that our 2010 family Christmas photo wasn't a perfect air brushed family in matching sweaters in front of a tree or outside in a pretty cityscape.

Scrap FX funky alphabet 2012286- a HUGE favorite for it's rounded edges.
I used Picket Fence Stickles on it to give it that snowy look.

But I think this photo is more authentic.
It perfectly captures the inner workings of my brain.
I can't say family- both husband and child put up quite a fight during this shoot and every frame shows someone frowning in some way.
Can I anyone blame them?
I'm so sorry guys! Can we laugh about it now?

Please swing by Punky Scraps to get in on the challenge!
You have till November 15th to come up with your own zany page.

What a family portrait looks like when I DON'T interfere.

Smooches!
Michelle

Budgeting time to get the most from the day- A Scrap FX page

Happy wednesday folks!

This is my latest page for Scrap FX and it's currently up on their blog.

Materials: scrap FX dart board setand Sieze The Day wordlett, Echo Parl woodgrain paper, Crate instaframe paper (FAVE!), EK Success triangle punch (awesome!) puffy star ribbon from a Studio Calico kit.

I had two hours to finish this page.
It's how I work these days and my design style has changed because of it.

I'm using two great pieces of advice to get  handle on what's important and what can wait:
Both come from blog comments.

From SoaphouseMama- discuss with your spouse what three household tasks are most important and make sure those get done.
For me the top three household tasks are:
-washing the dishes
-fixing dinner (and making enough so there's left overs for next day's lunch)
-making sure Lola's toys aren't all over the floor ready to trip and kill any of us.
But really- the house can look like a crack den as long as the dishes are done.

Dave claims he doesn't have three things.
I really wish he would just pick three things.
I think Dave is avoiding having to DO said three things.

The second comes from Jenn - limit your task list to 5 items a day.
Sage advice.
Naturally I find a way to over think it:
Is combing Lola's hair a "task"? She screams and fights and runs around making it so.
Plus I have to do it twice a day- does that mean it's TWO items on my list?
Which is why you see so many shots of Lola with a hat on.
Lola Hat = Mama sanity

When I got the dart set I was all- what the heck will I do with these???
Wish I had another pack!!! Dart Board set model# 2012268

Here was my list for yesterday:

• 1. Return new rug to TJ Maxx as it had a HUGE hole (the rug was rolled up to hide the hole)
• 2. Take Lola to the park (nixed due to rain- took Lola to the supermarket- sorry kid!)
• 3. Supermarket 
• 4. Call medical insurance and find out why Lola was kicked off (she wasn't).
• 4a. Call doctor and discuss why they have insurance info from 2010.
• 4b. Fax new documents to doctor (ei- find a store that still HAS a fax machine and pay for said faxing.)
• 5. Wash dishes. (don't EVEN ask)
• 6. Cook (ditto)
• 7. Punky Scraps page
• 8. Redo flair buttons pages for possible magazine submission (this took all my scrap time)
• 9. Give Lola bath and put her to bed (this is important since I work past 10pm now and don't get to do it as much as I would like) Also clean Lola's teeth and comb her hair- or as I like to call it- chasing Lola.
• 10. Write blog post (nixed- doing so now at 11am)

Lists help you seize the day OR the fill you with dread and anxiety- you decide!
Seize the day wordlett model# 2012123

How do I even tackle things like clean scrap space, find 8 standing hours shoes and do something about new iTouch that doesn't work with 8 year old Mac? (first world problem!!)

OH! And WHEN will I send the care packages that I've had sitting under my scrap desk since MAY.
(insert small scared scream here)

So that's my life right now- I'm SURE it's yours as well.

Fall Hamlet. SO. NOT. POSED! I wanted a smile.
I got this. (Awesome!!)

Smooches!
Michelle

Photo Inspiration post- Anthropologie

I was looking over my iphone photo library yesterday and realized I need to get out and shoot more.
I don't have time to go on my inspiration walks anymore.

Unlike other things I've cut out of my life lately this is something that simply CANNOT get ignored. There is no creation without inspiration- even hard and diligent work needs something to build on.

So here are some photos from yesterday's short but much needed inspiration trip to Anthropologie.

I LOVED the hand cut box board frames they had on the wall!
This should be easy to imitate right? (yeah right!)

Sequined pillows! Loving the large sequins with the star stitch center.

Rubber plant leaves dipped in gold paint and
hung from the ceiling with fishing wire. GENIUS!

Boxes painted neon green and yellow into which branches were inserted.
Love the contrast of natural versus man made.  

Pebble pattern- lovely!

A quote from a friend that brightened my day:

And lastly (this stopped me cold when I saw it on Facebook- WOW WOW WOW!!!)

Not my photo but I really want my place to look like this! 

Michelle

Punky Scraps Photo Challenge

Hello!

Punky Scraps has a new challenge for October.

Punky Rebel Challenge 54

I'll admit this month's photo wasn't very inspiring.

It's full of fun embellishment hints (tiny bows! strings of pearl! lipstick!) and the color palette is fantastic but all I saw was clutter my brain couldn't translate into a page.

My scrap time was severely limited this week so I budgeted an hour for this page and didn't want to spend it looking for colors or items to match so I used what was on my desk and took inspiration from the white background and the circles made by the bracelets.

Here's my page:

Materials: Pebbles paper and buttons, a Flair For Buttons badges,  Scrap FX "POW" stencil for the sunbursts, American Crafts twine, Studio Calico 6x6 paper, journaling spots  and Thickers and Ormolu happy Day tag.

I've been using a lot of yellow so I had plenty of those pieces lying around. I then noticed I had a lot of dark blue items I'd cast aside while making other pages so I used those as well.
The result is this trendy color combo that I wouldn't have gravitated to on purpose.

Some close ups:

I got a pack of American Craft burlap twine in 25 different colors from TJ Maxx.
At the time I was wondering if I would use it all- the answer is HECK YES!
That wonderful triangle badge/flair button is from the
Balloons and Rainbows pack from a Flair For Buttons. 

LOVE Amy Tangerine's Chipboard Thickers!
I usually leave mine unfinished- I really like the look.

Swing by Punky Scraps and join the challenge!

GRATUITOUS TODDLER SHOT!!!!

T-Rex costume! FOUND!!!!!

Michelle

This New York City Area Scrapbook crafter wants to capture your personal stories and memories

Hello!

I recently realized that New York City may be in need of a creative and enterprising paper crafter/ scrapbooker to help capture and illustrate it's many weddings, birthdays and other special events.

I can help!

What I can do:

• Help conceptualize and organize photos and memorabilia into a cohesive story.
• Design modern and colorful scrapbooks, photo montages or shadow boxes that fit your personal style.
• Create single pages or whole books to fit a specific need such as a birthday, anniversary, wedding or other special occasion.
• Create paper based gifts or keepsakes that will be cherished by you and your family.

Why have I decided to offer my services?

When I talk about my hobby (obsession!) to others here in New York City, I hear that they would like to do the same but don't have the time or "the creativity" to do so. 

I believe everyone has the creativity and "the eye" to make their own scrapbooks or pages but even I must admit it's intimidating and overwhelming to get started. 

Then I realized I could blend my past experience as a photo editor and current paper crafts hobby to help you stage and preserve your personal stories.

It was literally my AHA! moment and it made me really happy and grateful, because it's joining two things I do well into one.

Some samples of my work:

Travel and Adventure

Family life and every day moments 

Sports and Entertainment

Engagements, Proms and Bar /Bat Mitzvahs 

Family portrait displays for home or office

Weddings and other special events

Fun cards for any occasion

Family or holiday themed mini photo books

Shadow boxes and birth announcements

Please feel free to contact me at hernandm1@yahoo.com.

I'm ready to help and would love to make some real world scrappy friends to meet up with as well!

Have a great weekend!

Michelle

Fun with Scrap FX Lanky Alphas!

Hello!
Saturday was World Card Making Day and I celebrated by joining participating in the A Flair For Buttons blog hop.
My winner is Scarlett!
Scarlett please send along your addy to my email address (posted in the "about me" section above right) and you'll get the "In The News" set direct from the shop.
Congrats and thanks for your thoughtful comment!
   
I also want to share a card I made for Scrap FX using my absolute all time favorite alphabet set EVER- Lanky Alphas (item number 2007012).

Materials: Pink Paislee Nantucket paper, Jillibean Soup alphabet paper, Maya Road star straight pin,
Prima chalk ink in Teal, Sakura "Souffle" pen in white, red washi tape 

I'm painting the first alpha when I realize I REALLY like the partly raw look.
"Dipped" furniture was a trend this summer with table legs getting dipped in neon or
metallic paints while leaving the table top (or sometimes just half of the top) in it's original state.
 I added the white highlight as a fun experiment and
LOVED the final result. Teal and red KILL together! LOVE that combo!

I love this set because it's 2 inches tall and about 1 third of an inch thick- great for cards or scrapbook pages as it takes up less space on the page while also making marquee statement impact.

The size also means you can dry emboss on these- they take patterns beautifully.

I love this set of cute cartoon Kitty Cats (item number 2012226) from Scrap FX.
I colored the tongue as a joke to the receiver who loves her pet cat.
Sakura Souffle pens cover dark chipboard perfectly. 

I have several thank you cards that need to get made and go out but my craft time seems to be shrinking- could it be the holidays approaching?
I already hear the incessant jingling of bells.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Lola's "cheese" face.
I do not ask that she do this- she learned it from someone else.

Michelle

Happy National Card Making Day! A Flair For Buttons Blog Hop

Hello there.

Welcome to the A Flair For Buttons Design Team blog hop on National Card making day!

I love flair pins! Shelley's designs have great variety and fit any card or scrap style.

 I tend to make cards that have a large dollop of "deconstructed" style whimsy. 

Things I LOVE:
birds in flight, neon colors, black thread and (naturally) flair pins.
This set is Sunburst on white.

I also tend to make cards with lots of fussy cutting and layering.

MORE things I love:
Pop dots, graphic patterns and hand-drawn
designs like this one from Amy Tangerine for American Crafts.
This is the Smash Phrases Flair set (one of my all time favorites)

Leave a comment {before midnight CST monday oct 8th} for a chance to win this set of flair from the A Flair for Buttons Etsy shop!!

LOVE the black/white/red color palette and I'm a news junkie so this set is awesome.
In The News 1 flair set

I invite you to swing by all the participating blogs; each member has a favorite set to give away.

Here is the blog hop order:

A Flair for Buttons

Tessa Buys

Jennifer Chapin

Michelle Hernandez here you are- YAAAYYY!!

Danielle Flanders (guest designer)

Dayna Howard

Megan Klauer 

Melissa Phillips (guest designer)

Diane Payne

Danielle Walls

Erica Weinstock

Thank you for stopping by!
Michelle

Partying with Some Odd Girl Stamps!

Hiya folks!

I've been asked to participate in the month long celebration for Some Odd Girl Stamps.
YAY! Thanks Kristy!

Kristy's super cute Kawaii style is a perfect fit for almost any style scrapper and you can choose between digital stamps or clear acrylic.
I use both.
I'm busy thinking up a a crazy project for this year so here are my two projects for last year.

A shabby chic style card using the now retired "Love" digital heart stamp printed on sticker paper which was adhered to card stock.

And some CRAZY photos taken all over NYC with Kristy's adorable lightbulb character as my loyal sidekick.
This was for my featured tutorial on iPod Hipstamatic app filters.
I printed the digi on sticker paper which I then adhered to different Sunshine Broadcast prints from Sassafras Lass.

Drinking Chai Tea in Brooklyn.

Flipping out in Chinatown.

You may remember today's some Odd Girl featured artist, Leah Farquharson.
She's hosting a give away of one of her fabulous chevron camera straps.
Swing by the blog and check it out!
Thanks!
Michelle

It's OCTOBER!!!!!! Time for a totally non traditional, totaly awesome True Xoxo Girls Challenge!

Hello scrap happy people!
It's October 1st.
I hope you have your kid's costumes ready.
Stores are only stocking the minimum holiday items this year due to the economy so it's either buy full price OR make it yourself.
Guess which one I chose?
YUP!
I'm buying one.
I can see myself happily making a costume.
I also see myself sitting in a Caribbean beach sipping an obscenely large frozen Margarita and reading a book.
Both are pure fantasy.
So off to the store I go.
Lola wants to be a T-Rex or a "ceratops".
I need to find a costume that says "I'm a T-REX!!!" but not "I'm a BOY!"

This month the True Xoxo chicks have quite a challenge set out for you.
Scrap your Halloween photos.
DO NOT use the traditional colors of orange and black.
I would add that you should try to restrain yourself from using up all your spider/monster/pumpkin/haunted house stash on the page as well.

I was SO EXCITED- S.O.  E.X.C.I.T.E.D- to be using my stash I forgot all about the actual challenge of it all so I made two pages.
Here's the first:

One of my ALL TIME favorite collections EVER- American Crafts Nightfall- orange, black and sky BLUE! LOVE it! Plus the alphas and black chalkboard stickers are so amazing! I some Martha Stewart paper stashed since 2009, Uni-ball white gel pen, orange vellum  and some Studio Calico veneer banners; I was good to go.

Also- A Flair For Buttons Vintage Halloween buttons- awesome!

Here's the one you'll see posted.
SO different from what I usually make but really I was just glad to stop over thinking and just use paper in this thing- sometimes breaking out the paint just makes me all jittery.

I finally uses the My Mind's Eye paper I bought a while ago- who can resist that Polaroid frame print? Alpha tiles, mini brads apple sticker from from American Crafts. Prima leaves and Diamond Stickles (my favorite kind).

My Mind's Eye gorgeous chipboard. LOVE diagonal stripes mixed up!

Amy Tangerine roller date stamp has the cutest saying.
Perfect for the tiny banners in this print.
I used grey chalk ink pad from Paper Source.

True Xoxo wants to see how you handle the challenge.
Swing by, leave some comment love and link up your project.
I can't wait to see what you made!

Michelle