Dylusions ink spray, Scrap FX chipboard AND a GREAT story- (no really!)

Happy hump day folks!

Yesterday was a whirl wind of activity for me.
I took my first driver's permit test and promptly failed it.
You will NEVER ever guess why.

This page was meant mean how I felt about my move but how very
pertinent is that highway photo now? I'll have to take another one like it.
Materials: Scrap FX fancy arrows and graffiti alphabet chipboard. Dylusions ink
in black (LOVE!!!!), A Flair For Buttons clock flair, a 25 cent alphabet stencil
from the dime store, chalk marker to paint the chipboard and MT neon pink washi.

I cheated.
WAIT! Not on purpose.
"Who cheats without knowing they cheated???" You might ask bewildered-like.
Me- the dumbass over here.

See I was told by a very helpful family member who shall remain nameless that it would be an OPEN BOOK TEST.
They were quite insistent and jolly about it.
Other family members agreed.
I was also told this test would be SO EASY.

It's NOT.

The DMV guy who took my 15 dollars probably told me not to open my book but by the end of my paper work processing he was Mr. Mumbles.
All I heard was" "Don't use your cell phone"
I thought to myself- why can't I use my cell phone during an open book test? Are they worried I'll talk too loud?"
But I didn't ask- I didn't want to look stupid.
Smack me right now.

CORNY!!! It should read: I'm totally incompetent- I'm surprised I haven't been killed
by my own folly yet but I'm your Mom- you better follow the rules of the road! LOL.

Proof! There are NO STUPID QUESTIONS.
Only bad listeners and assumptions with consequences.

I SHOULD have said "What?" or "I'm sorry I didn't catch anything after 'Take This Form"
But I was excited and I wanted to prove to myself I could HANDLE THIS.

After question 14 (answered while sitting right next to 5 other people ALL USING HANDBOOKS)
I pulled out my book thinking "I guess I'll put pride aside and use the book too."
I was worried about seeming proud.
GAH! The stupidity of it all!!!!

WHY does Utah allow some people to use their handbooks during the test?
Are these folks renewing their license?
They all looked around 15 (another reason I wanted to spare using the book)
Are teenagers allowed to take a test with a book?
NO answers from the DMV.

Suddenly a burly and smirking matron LOOMED above me and said
"COME WITH ME."
And I KNEW my ass was TOAST- I recognized that tone from grade school.
I just didn't know why I was in trouble.
And she never told me.
My book was rudely snatched away and I was told I had to wait 30 days to retake the test.
No further explanation- I tried to ask why but was given THE LOOK.
SHAME! DEEP all encompassing SHAME!
Why would I try to explain stupidity?

Anyway there you have it- me in my true glory- tripping through life and kicking my own ass.

Whenever you feel bad about yourself just say- well at least I didn't just pull a Michelle.

Lola is gonna LOVE this story.
Just you WAIT Missy!

Michelle.

Scrapping the city 5 ways. The cityscape trend in my scrapbooking.

Hello from cloudy (YAY!) Utah!

Today I want to share different ways I've used the cityscape theme in my scrapbook pages.
You've probably seen some of these pages before but it's nice to have them all collected in one page.

For me scrapping the city isn't about keeping up with scrapbook trends but more about reflecting my environment and finding ways to capture my reality visually.

Now that my family has moved to Salt Lake City, these pages have become deeply nostalgic and important to me.

One of my new realities is having to explain why we left.
I open my mouth, I get questions about my accent.
I show my id or give my zip code to make a purchase, I get questions.
I like talking about it but it's also making me feel a bit self-conscious.

Here's the skinny:
NYC is awesome!
It's also expensive, dangerous to the unwary and challenging to raise children in.
Can you get with this wild galloping beast of a place?

My family wanted to start a business and New York with all it's opportunity was actually not the best place to do so.
I'm grieving- give me a couple of months.

Anyway- onto the show!
I didn't upload those photos to my ipod (or bring my actual computer) so I have to use screen captures for this post- my apologies.

My Get It Scrapped page (swing by to see how the rest of the DT used the city as a motif in their pages)
For this I used Sassafras Lass paper and stickers, Amy Tangerine embroidery stencil

I wanted to use a larger cityscape here as well so I added the empire state building using
an old chipboard I had in my stash as a guide. The numbers in the photo are my old zip code

Photos- the easiest way to get it done.

I have so many photos of the Empire State Building I try to switch things up and make pages without a "street feel". Here I likes how the butterflies matched the colors in the photo.

Ephemera- in this case a tag from a pair of pants from Jones New York:

The canvas tag was too awesome to throw away.
This page is about Project Inside Out which is a giant camera in a van.
Check out their facebook page to see when they will be swinging by your state!

Scrap FX Chipboard (which I usually use unfinished):

A page for an article on finishing chipboard that I wrote for Shimelle.com.
I used Scrap FX chipboard, A Flair For buttons flair
and liquitex acrylic spray paint.

Crafter's Workshop stencil and LOTS of vintage buttons:

I love this last page. I almost threw it out mid way because aI thought it was too dreary.
I added the buttons to liven it up a bit. This is Ronda Palazzari's Urban Landscape stencil from
Crafter's Workshop.

I'd love to see how you've incorporated cityscapes into your projects.
Leave a link in the comments section and I'll swing by!

Have a great week!
Michelle

Friday Inspiration and Get It Scrapped sneak peeks.

Hello!

Oh how I wish I were going to the Create and Connect show in Vegas!

I don't know how good I'd be at talking people up when I only know them from their blogs.
It'd probably be as awkward as my entire Junior High School experience.

But a girl can dream.

Lately I've been attacked by fears of inadequacy.
Acknowledging that perhaps I'm not meant for the big CHA attending design teams.

I love what I do but it comes very hard and takes a long time.
I feel like Molieri in that Mozart flick whining about why I was given the ability to recognize and appreciate great talent but not actually express it.
Now please don't write in assuring me I'm crazy (but thank you.)

That usually me feel like a fool begging for praise.
 I'm slowly realizing many of my emo posts are just that- pleas for attention.
YIKEZERS!!!!!

I think I have talent but I'm so frequently stuck many times it feels like I'm forcing the work and not enjoying the final result.

In any case I'm just putting feelings into words so I can move on hopefully.

Here are some photos from my first month in Utah.

My sister says it looks like I having a great time.
I say- don't mistake good photos for a good time.
My New York photos were ghetto but I was happy and free to move- something I took entirely for granted.

Here I'm just treading water- waiting, waiting, waiting. 

And I'm incredibly resentful about it.

Truth.

I missed Manhattanhenge. So sorry.

Yellowstone.

Random camera misfire I love.

Old Faithful. This baby is HUGE! HUGE!

Yellowstone's Grand Canyon.

Wasatch Mountain Trail (Utah)

Right after I took this shot the sky opened up and started to hail.

But going up was great- we just need to know when it's time to leave.

Thanksgiving Point has TWO Tyrannosaurus skeletons, a Stegosaurus, a Supersaurus (!!) AND
most important- a sand pit.
We became members.

Some sneaks of projects made for Get It Scrapped. 

Do you receive Masterful Design or Get It Scrapped newsletter emails? 

If you need prompts or ideas for what do on your next page I think this is one of the best websites for it.

Swing by and check it out.

Get It Scrapped

I have fallen in love with GCD Studio papers. Not even sure which ones I have but I love them all.

For an article on technique trends. Not sure what made me add real leaves to the layout but they 've held up very well.

Final shot. Perhaps a tad over processed.

Snapseed is a great app- took a while to figure it out but I got the hang of it. 

Next step- learn to lay off the white balance and contrast controls.

Running through the sprinklers.

Well at least someone is having fun. 

Michelle

Light molding paste fun with Scrap FX stencils.

Hello!

It's been raining everyday here in sunny Utah. 

I'm loving it!

Rainy humid 100 degree days remind me of New York which I miss terribly.

Want to know something weird?
Lightning scares the bejesus out of me!

I'm not used to seeing actual ray strikes.
How weird is it to see multiple rays lighting up the sky!
And cloud to cloud lightning?
FREAKY!!!!
I'm used to seeing lights and maybe the occasional zig-zag in the sky directly over head- seeing the whole thing from sky to land makes me jump and scream every single time.

AND? ALSO???
I saw a dust devil!
Wait- no- I saw THREE!

We were on the highway heading home after the Yellowstone camping initiation/ hazing ceremony
(98 degrees during the day- 30 degrees at night- wooooot!- Also- bears.)

FIRST my sister in law's car was almost pushed off the highway by a flying tire fragment from a truck's tire blow out.
Just as we got over it, I look out the window to the fields and hello
MINI TORNADO!!
TWO!!!
LOOK! THREE!
AAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Oh no worries I was assured- those are just caused by dust and wind currents.
WHATEVER!!!
GET. ME. HOOOOOME!

So anyway it's been awesome- nature is so amazing
especially when you witness all it's glory while sitting nice and warm at HOME.

Here is a page I made despite serious lack of spark, mojo, focus, IDEAS

Water color paper is awesome. I messed the back up so I just turned it over and started again on the back. I painted a sunny circle and then pushed bits of paper around for hours till I got this configuration.
Materials: Scrap FX urban stencil, Crate Paper The Pier paper, American Crafts Thickers Glits gold alphabet stickers, flair from A Flair For Buttons, canvas hexagons by Studio Calico, Martha Stewart gold and turquoise paint, Paper Studio ATC pack. Flowers by Making Memories- stashed since 2009- glad to be rid of them finally.
Photo by Saidy Lopez.

I was casing Pinterest (yet again- I spend so much time pinning I leave no time for blogging- exactly ass backwards.)

I saw two pages by Denise Morrison which blew. me. away.
Check out her bloggity blog- Life Is Yummy

Denise was using light modeling paste on transparency material to add texture and see through stencil patterns to her scrapbooking.
ZOMG! GENIUS!!!
SO. MANY. IDEAS!

One of the reasons I rarely use modeling paste on my pages is because it takes a while to dry and it's so expensive I really don't want to "make a mistake".

One note- find a glue that works on plastic or get ready to be annoyed.

HELLO genius technique!
Using it on a transparency means I get to layer it wherever and if I make a "mistake" I can scrape it off and start again or move the piece somewhere else on the page.
Before you ask- yes it sticks- and no it doesn't crack even if you staple over it.
It's really a great solution!

Here I am trying it out with the Scrap FX roses stencil- LUSCIOUS!!

What's more- molding paste takes color mediums beautifully- that's what it's meant for after all. (Sorry my no art practice just history background means I just stumble on this stuff randomly through other blogs- you probably know more than I do)

I'm in looooove!

July snow and shorts. Yes. it's Utah. Cottonwood Canyon- Cecret Lake Trail.
I wonder why it's spelled "Cecret".
I'm thinking some gold miner got it wrong and no one bothered to correct it in 200 years.

Chells out!

Inspiration Elevator- Scrapping a favorite childhood memory.

You may recall that the purpose of this challenge group is to take our scrapbooking to the next level, to stretch our creative process and to grow as artists by embracing challenges that make us think, work and grow. You can view all of the challenges our new Inspiration Elevator Blog, here.

This month's challenge is issued by the super talented, Lisa Moen. Here's what she had to say in her very own words:

"I have been thinking lately, that I have only done one layout of my childhood and realized that maybe some day, my kids or grandkids would enjoy looking at a few more pages and learning about my siblings, my parents and I.
So my challenge for you this month is to create a page about a childhood memory of yours. It can be a good, a bad, a funny, a photoless or whatever you choose kind of layout.

Just remember to add journaling to tell the story behind your childhood memory.
Can't wait to see your projects!"

I had a hard time zeroing in on a favorite memory. My childhood wasn't bad- it was filled with small magical moments in between a lot of boredom.

Now that I'm writing this my brain is filling with awesome tiny moments:

• Discovering we could get HBO and watch naughty movies like "Into The Night" or "Nightmare On Elm Street" if we put the tv in a certain place and tape a wire hanger to it. 
• Watching my Mom finish the Pac Man level 100. Saying "Mom kiss ASS!" and not getting spanked for it.
• Playing Uno with my Dad, brother and two sisters. Sticking one of the cards on our foreheads- who's ever card fell off first looses.
• PIZZA and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- The Movie
• Garbage Pail Kids cards but not the one called Messy Michelle with all the snot everywhere.
• Playing Bash-A-Saurus- basically using a red plastic bat to bash my sisters and brother over the head- yeah I was THAT big sister. I get bashed too- by all three at once.
• Watching ET.
• Watching "Star Wars Return of The Jedi" on tv with no commercials- Mom let us stay up!
• Dad taking us to Orchard Beach in the early evening when the sun was just setting and the hoodlums had gone home.
• Mom's turkey day feast
• The Christmas we got Laser tag AND 2 small tvs to play Nintendo.
• Sesame Place in the bath tub- because were were too poor top go to the actual park but with 4 kids and some bathing suits who needs 30 dollar water parks?

But I recently took a fantastic photo of a typical New York City Ice Cream Truck so I went with this:

For my page I decided to talk about how when I was a kid the Ice Cream Truck jingle RULED the night. We lived on the fourth floor of a huge apartment building on Grand Concourse in the Bronx.
When we heard the music we knew we had to put our shoes on and RUN like the wind down the stairs.
Woe onto him or her who forgot their dollar allowance- the ice cream truck lady waits for no one.

Detail shot of my journaling:

Still working off my ipod to photograph pages but I figured out how to use a PC to do my photo captions. The page photo above was loaded using Flickr- I had to decipher some HTML code- something I've never tried before. Seriously- I can't wait for my Mac to arrive- I miss it so!

I hope you will stop by and see what the rest of the team has created:

Lisa Moen
Christa Uttley
Cathy Harper

Lisa Spiegel

Joanne Burton

 Laurel Seabrook

Jodi Wilton

Michelle Hernandez

Ann Jobes

Laura Whitaker

Sue Sykes

Thanks for stopping by!

Michelle