Inspiration Elevator Challenge- Christmas photo memories

Hello hello!

Perhaps you've been wondering where I disappeared to for a month.

I started a new full time job with a schedule I haven't been able to squeeze spare time from.

I've wanted to get back to blogging and creating but this hobby sucks up time like no other.
Or maybe that's just my process- I knew what I wanted to do with this page- I just needed 4 hours to do it in- lol!

One of my all-time favorite Christmas spot is Macy's Department store in 34th street.
We won't  be in New York until Thanksgiving so I used a photo from last year.

That's Lola scribbling a "Letter to Santa" from our visit to the store last year.
She's literally just making lines but I LOVE the look of intense concentration on her face!!!

For this page I used some Studio Calico paper I got at TJ Maxx, wood star buttons from Prima,
red tag from Cocoa Daisy and a star flair from A Flair For Buttons.

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

I have a very odd ideas about proper/good parenting.
One of my biggest quirks is the tell no lies rule.
It's absolute and can land me in plenty of social hot water.
Lola has no idea who Santa is- funny how this doesn't seem to interfere with the magic
and meaning of the holiday.
Here she's writing "Santa" a letter.
She has no idea why but that doesn't take away from the fun.

We are thrilled to welcome guest artist Misty Russell and her eclectic, artistic style to Inspiration Elevator this month.

 November's challenge comes from the very talented Joanne Burton. Here's the challenge she posed:

"November's Challenge: Back in Time.  I love looking through old photos (or not so old photos!) and remembering the great memories that go along with them. Some pictures evoke a strong emotional response while others just bring a sweet smile to our face as we recall the details of when it was taken. With that in mind, I would like each of you to pick a favourite photo and go back in time! I want you to take your photo and actually revisit the place where the photo was taken. Then take a 'picture of the picture' in it's original setting and scrapbook your new photo. **If you are absolutely not able to revisit the place where the photo was first taken, then pick a favorite picture with lots of memories attached to it and scrapbook that. 

In either case, I want you to journal the story behind your photo. Make your journaling and photo come together in such a way that we feel like we are back in time with you!"

 I hope you will stop by and see what the rest of the incredible Inspiration Elevator designers have created:

Joanne Burton 

Jodi Wilton 

Michelle Hernandez 

Ann Jobes 

 Laura Whitaker 
Cathy Harper

Lisa Moen 

Lisa Spiegel 

Guest Designer Misty Russell 

If you feel inspired to play along with our challenge this month, please share it using the linky tool on our Inspiration Elevator blog and/or our Inspiration Elevator Facebook page. We'd LOVE to see what you made!

Have a great weekend!
Michelle

Merry Christmas! My first 2012 December Daily Mini Album Post

Merry Christmas everyone!
It's 4:30pm and Lola FINALLY decided to take her nap.
I had to drag her through half of Manhattan before she finally gave in.

I spent a lot of time dragging various family members through the cold streets of this city this week.
I didn't get a lot of actual crafting done but I got lots of photos so next year I'm GOLDEN.

Here are the three pages I've managed to finish for my December Daily album.
Never mind they are out of sequence- my printer ran out of ink so I used what ever photos came out with the least amount of streaks.

December Daily 2012- Day two. Thai chicken noodle soup.
6 by 8 paper from Paper Source. Crafter's Workshop stencil,
Wood letters and snowflakes from Studio Calico. Scrap FX chipboard design.

December Daily. Day 3. Visited Rockefeller Center during the day.
Crate Paper vellum numbers, Paper Source peppermint coaster, fabric tag and home flag from Ormolu.

Day 19. With Dad working 7 days a week, we treasured the moment he got home.
Fabric swatch from Ormolu, Red tag from Scrap FX, Maya Road transparency,
hello word bubble from Freckled Fawn.Date stamp from American Crafts 

I could write something deep and introspective but I lack the brainpower and energy.
I hope you and your family have a wonderful, meaningful and safe holiday.
I hope you get snow if you want and wine if you'd like and LOTS of sleep.

Never got around to painting these.
Ornament sized wood bird houses from Michael's.
30 cents each on clearance!

Thank you for your continued support and reading this year.
2013 will be AWESOME.

Newsprint wrap from Home Goods- I get the look without the negative headlines.
I finally used my triangle punch on one of the presents.
Letter stickers are fast and fun!

Cheers!!
Michelle

Christmas gift tag love- A scrap FX design team post

Hi everyone!

I'm having SUCH a hard time creatively!
I haven't made anything in well over a week except for THIS:

Those clear acrylic beads are from Joanns and they rock my scrappy universe.
 The chipboard is from Scrap FX out of Australia.
A little bird tells me they are having a design team call soon!

I am very proud of it.
It's proof that I can make multiple mistakes,
mistakes UPON mistakes,
and still come out with a tolerably good looking Christmas tag.

I had this whole long Instagram post ready but deleted it.
Who wants to read about that?
Exactly- NO ONE.
Most people have decided to stay, including little old complaining me.
This is what I have decided:
I love IG.
I need IG to stay on top of scrap trends- it's the most immediate social media platform out there.

And if I want to get on ANY design teams I need to STAY on IG because that is the future of craft media and marketing.

So my compromise is that I will only post scrapbook related photos.
This is probably better in the long-run anyway.
Who wants to see each and every "cute" Lola shot I take?
Other than my Mom...
Who doesn't have Instagram.
I'll keep posting more family oriented images here.

Rockefeller Center.
There were a billion people here at this time- LUCKY SHOT!!!!

NYC street food. Roasted Chestnuts! SOOOOOO delicious!

Ferrara Chocolate and pastries at Central Park.

Off to see The Hobbit next- WHIRLWIND I tell you!
Chells out!!

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

When your mojo goes on vacation- shoot photos!!!

The wall- I've hit it.
All my former "no mojo" fixes are out the window.
I'm supposed to be working on a page for Punky Scraps that is due by thursday- so I will TRY to eek something out tonight- it might be hideous.
I'm determined to work through this dry spell!!
Here is an attempt to stamp my way out:

Foiled AGAIN by the ipod's low resolution camera! 

THANK YOU to Adele H. for recommending I check out Nat Kalbach's Creative Jump Start. I joined up today and was rewarded with a GREAT video from fave artist Louise Nelson (YAAYYY!)
If you guys are also hitting a wall, I suggest you swing by and check it out- it's free. (best price ever!)
Today I took photos at a place I have ALWAYS wanted to visit-

Keith Haring's "Crack Is Whack" mural in East Harlem. This is a DREAM COME TRUE! I've been wanting to go for YEARS. It's right next to the FDR so it's hard to get there via public transport but we managed it.

The 80's in the Bronx were like the wild west- with zombies. Burned out apartment buildings, crack vials littering the playground, junkies with half closed eyes walking in circles on the sidewalk. Our neighborhood is actually one of the better ones in the area and my parents did their very best to shield my siblings and I but we still saw a lot. So this mural has a lot of meaning for me. And it's freaking AWESOME.  Can't you just HEAR "White Lines" by Grandmaster Flash playing softly in the distance?

I have to keep reminding myself that there are many ways to stay creative. There's no need to panic. Creativity ebbs and flows- the ebb part sucks.
I also finished my December Daily! YAY!!!

12/24/11 My brother treated us all to the Christmas Ever performance of
The Nutcracker Suite at Lincoln Center- AWESOME!

BY this point the pages had stopped matching- I just grabbed the prints I liked best.

My FAVORITE image from this year's holiday take. I didn't have space inside
so I added it to the back cover.

There's 4 more pages but these are the best bits. Years from now I will look through it and laugh at the first pages being so beautifully detailed and the last so obviously slapped on quickly. I did make sure to take time to journal. I really enjoyed the process of making a holiday mini book. I see many more in my future- if for nothing else- to have a reason to buy KEUUTE holiday themed stash.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Wreath Alchemy! Christmas goes Gauche

I have been remiss.
Did you know I write for the Gauche Alchemy design team blog?
Probably not, I never mention it.
Can I offer up a crap excuse?
I have an incredibly hard time writing about other people's projects!
Not because the projects aren't fabulous but because they always are!
It takes me a while to come up with different ways to say- "This is beyond awesome! Look what my fellow team member did- OMG she's the CHEESE!"
(That last part because I really, really love cheese)
But I will change my ways as of now.
Yesterday I posted my 2011 wreath.
This one.

Which came from this Martha Stewart kit:

I tried SO HARD to make mine look like Martha's!!!
EK Success holiday craft kits do not come with detailed step by step instructions (their instructions are just like Ikea ones- all drawings and NO SENSE) so I used up a lot of the large grain glitter on a few leaves and the result was quite fug.
After much raving over my ineptness, I broke out the corrugated board, my fave mists and the music paper from the Gauche Alchemy Bare Nekkid paper kit (FAVE KIT EVER!) and went to town.
The Martha floral tape also killed my joy for a few days. The leaves kept falling off the freaking form! I was ready to drop kick the entire thing out the window.  So I declared a truce, used red punchinella, some hot glue and thusly preserved what was left of my sanity.

Glitter floral items all came from the Michael's clearance table (20 cents each- woohoo!). I used an ancient Marvy Uchida corrugator to alter some very shiny Anna Griffin paper from the Carmen collection and Mister Huey mists in School House and Plumb Thumb.

It is December 15th. I haven't started a single "hand made" Christmas gift, cooked a single holiday recipe or made the cards I was going to send. I am not Martha Stewart. I will never be Martha Stewart- please give me a moment to grieve for my broken delusions of grandeur.
pausing
pausing

Chrissy's Victorian rosette wreath.

Fellow Gauche gals Cheryl and Christina have made some GORGEOUS wreaths. I would post them here but then what incentive would you have to go there? Ok 1 sneak!!!

• Cheryl made a beautiful wreath using chocolates (I KNOW!!), an old book, some twine and some Gauche alchemy woodgrain punchinella. She also has a fantastic step y step video.

• Christina's gorgeous wreath using an old romance novel, some floral items from Hobby Lobby and hundreds of hand cut and rolled florettes will blow you away. Check it out here on the 23rd- don't worry- I will post a reminder- it really is that good!

Lola helped us wrap the front door in kraft paper- she got a kick out of the wreath and it was all I could do to keep her from destroying it entirely.

Gnarly ribbon!

Adding the last flower to the wreath- she was so happy to help!

MuChoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Root Canal!!! A Punky Scraps Christmas page

To explain this admittedly SCARY page:

Shattered- an unChristmas page
MATERIALS: Lily Bee Memorandum paper and alpha stickers, American Crafts sunrise Thickers, Studio Calico wood asterisks, green striped washi tape from Giftwrap So Pretty on Etsy, Crafter's Worskshop template, Maya Road mists Green apple and Lime Metallic, MIster Huey in Schoolhouse

Growing up, my Dad was constantly admonishing me to BRUSH YOUR TEETH!!! YOU DON'T WANT A ROOT CANAL!!
According to Dad, root canals are the most awful thing ever. I took him at his word and brushed, flossed and rinsed away regularly.
My dentists always said "You've got BEAUTIFUL teeth!" ...
But I ended up needing a root canal anyway.
Not 1 but TWO- the second one a complete surprise.
A deep cavity was discovered under a filling that had come loose- no evidence showed in the xray- the dentist found it after digging away and finding a "soft spot" that just kept growing.
Excruciating!

So I'm preoccupied with my mouth right now. And with a second torture session scheduled for late December it's enough to completely distract me from the joy of the holiday.
But I won't let it!!!
December Daily photo not yet entered into my book:

Day 8- 65 degrees!!!! Brooklyn Bridge Park is awesome.
I love my custom made "scarf"!

Day 9: Wrapping the door and hanging the wreath.
Watch for my punchinella wreath project over at Gauche Alchemy on the 12th!

I loved this month's Punky Scraps sketch.

I think perhaps you'll want to mosey on over and check out the more bright and cheerful pages on the blog. PUNKY SCRAPS
The page should also use one of the following:

* corrugated cardboard*

*stamping*

*paint*

*misting*

*stars* 

*ribbon*

Get creative people! And keep those December Daily albums going!!!

Day 7- I know she looks uber bored but she really loved visiting the
empty lot turned Christmas Tree wonderland.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

December Daily- Central Park and FAO Schwartz

So after all my whining in yesterday's post about the crowds over at the Christmas Market in Union Square guess where I'm going to day?
Well you don't have to guess- you saw the title.

Day 1 with journaling.
Materials: Crate Paper peppermint collection journaling square from Paper Issues on Etsy,  Jillibean Soup corrugated flower and summer journaling spot. December pin from Ormolu

I love Christmas- yes, really!
I love the smell of special holiday food cooking.
I love that I get to see my sister Leticia and her hubby Robby Rob.
I love my crazy Aunts coming over from Pennsylvania.
I love that you finally see RED clothes in stores- my fave color- although this year it seems everyone is crazy about BORING silver and beige palettes.

Random unfinished page and Day 3.
Materials: American Crafts paper from Paper Issues, Cosmo Cricket market collection paper, stickers from Cosmo and Crate. Ki Memories snowflake from one of their lace papers.

I bought Lola's holiday outfit yesterday at a local high end thrift shop called The Flying Squirrel. It's great place to find boutique kid items super cheap. I would consider a visit if you are in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, love "brands" and have kiddos. I just really wanted to find something red and made from good fabric- dressing Lola in beige or black for Christmas is so NOT my bag. And WHAT is up with all the awful cheap fabric clothing in stores lately????

I have my photo for today!

Day 5- Christmas outfit found!
Satin Polka Dot Dress for 10 bucks and real cotton sweater 4 dollars, The Flying Squirrel. Leather shoes from TJ Maxx.
Where did the camera hating kid go? I couldn't get her off the floor! It's nice to see her be positive about photos. She looks like a 30's gangster with that lollipop in her mouth. Where she found it is a mystery as I did not give it to her.

Inside cover materials: Basic Grey Luscious paper, Fancy Pants filter paper, Studio Calico and Maya Road mists,
Martha Stewart gifts punch. alphas from Girl's Paperie and Cosmo Cricket

I am packing for today's photo expedition-
Juice boxes? CHECK!
Extra carriage blanket? Check!
Tranquilizer gun for frustrated tourists who try to sit on Lola? CHECK!

There's this really cool elevated doorway on the same street as Flying Squirrel.
No need to crouch to get face level shots! I will be using it again.
Materials: Crate Peppermint Collection paper and stickers from Paper Issues on Etsy, red corrugated alphas from Little Yellow Bicycle, Corrugated flower from Little Yellow Bicycle, glitter paper from American Crafts, Arrow flower punch from EK Success.

We decided to hold off until after the morning rush hour. We believe FAO Schwartz might be passable and their large windows mean lots of wonderful natural light inside the store. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I've noticed that my iTouch takes really fussy blown out high light photos compared to the new iPhone 4- can't be helped as I refuse to buy a 500 dollar phone I will only use as a camera.

The story behind this photo. I spotted this GORGEOUS gold light bouncing off the Empire State Building right before this shot- by the time I got here with Lola in tow it was almost gone. And by the time I reached the empty park table in the photo the sky was dark. Difference in time? 1 minute! Great photography is half technical prowess, half waiting for the right light moment.

Where there's a will- there's a way!
MuChoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

THE PERFECT PRESENT- A journey

Just when you think- that's IT- I'm done- DONE I TELL YOU!!! You realize oh NOOOO I have 3 more people left on my list. And that present I got for person number 4 STINKS.... and person 5 is not a MAN!! What was I THINKING????
ARRRGH!

Home made present I want to keep for myself.

Lists, last minute shopping, crowds, MUZAK. Christmas is tough but I keep my eyes to the prize- Christmas DAY. I look forward to the opening of presents for weeks- not my presents- the ones I give to others. It's so great when you get a present right. Last year I made my secret santa giftee cry- YIKES!!!- not what I expected. But I was assured those were tears of happiness. Uhhmmm- ok.

All I had done was print out 5 photos and put them in a frame from Target- 25 bucks and 1 hour's worth of effort, shopping included. I gave him the frame because I had NO IDEA what else to do. I felt like I was being cheap and taking the "easy way out". Yet I had photographed memories he never thought had been captured- reading a book to his first son, giving his baby daughter a bath- he is a very good father. I had given "THE PERFECT PRESENT". Wow. The family STILL talks about that present and that reaction today.

My elf present!

Naturally I only feel MORE pressure to "get it right" this year. What is the "PERFECT PRESENT"? How do you find it? How long should it take?

For me THE PERFECT PRESENT is something that touches the receiver's heart, that seems effortless and original, something that encapsulates the relationship you have with the receiver. So easy to put those down in to a blog entry and SO HARD to get them right when shopping in NEW YORK CITY for 2 hours and 20 people on your list.

So I absolve myself. I probably won't  get that "perfect present" moment again. I must settle for the good feeling I get from giving and spending time with family. But there's always next year...

Little Italy date night

This was super easy to make! All I did was wind some threaded wool from Anthropologie on a wreath form and hot glue it to a paper backing.

I used American Craft Thickers, Basic Grey paper, flower and branch punches from The Punch Bunch. Mini flowers are attached with dress maker pins- which is why there's a paper backing- the pins stick out. The scallop circle is from Dusty Attic.

Oh and the pearl flowers were hand made with the scallop circle punch cut into a swirl and wound on a pencil technique- first time I try to make a flower myself. :)


MuChOs SmOoChEs!

M.

Making it RIGHT.

I'm a design team member for a great challenge blog called "Paper Issues". Please check them out. The projects these uber creative women put up make me feel like my stuff is WHACK. Seriously. But I must put my feelings of inadequacy aside and soldier on. One particular holiday page of mine was REALLY bothering me.
This one:

Black Friday 2010

You may remember this page from a previous post:
Seen here: http://myanaloglife.blogspot.com/2010/11/my-first-christmas-page.html

I posted my sad little attempt on the Scrapbook.com critique forum GLUE DOTS and got some wonderful feedback- like use more red to add contrast. DUH!!! Why didn't I think of that?
Glue Dots is looking for members by the way- sometimes you need a fellow scrapper to give you that extra nudge on a piece: Glue Dots Critique Group- SCRAPBOOK.COM
Here's how it's displayed in Miss Lola's room:

The blue bird slippers are from an Etsy shop 
called Precious Piddies (closed). They're FELT!!

I misted the previously light beige burlap with Tattered Angels Burnt Red, shuffled the Jillibean Soup flowers around and added some of the Celebrate It acorn garland to give it a tiny bit more texture. But the largest change came in the title work. I previously used some glitter sticker alphas from Kaiser Crafts but they blew out every time I tried to shoot them. These are American Crafts Thickers- love the dimension they add. 

MuChOs SmOoChEs!

M.

Christmas Felt MADness

I love me some holiday felt! Felt ornaments, felt stockings, felt holiday banners with reindeer, Santa and candy canes, felt wreaths and lately felt Pinecones which I'm simply going GAGA for.

Here's my first FELT MADNESS page:

Whaddaya think?

Rockerfeller Christmas 2010

My first 3D felt project. AND I learned a new stitch to do it. "Learning a new stitch" is totally easy (I found) if I use a patient teacher- YOUTUBE. Gulf Coast Cottage has super simple videos that are short so even the simple minded (ME) can view them 50 times in order to learn.
Here's a link:
Blanket Stitch tutorial


Normally I wouldn't go to Rockerfeller Center because the crowds make using a stroller safely impossible but we needed a family photo with holiday flavor. Luckily "Real Simple" Magazine had pro shooters set up in key areas around the tree. Our guy was so over it by 4pm that all the photos were fuzzy. I made him redo our shot (it cost 21 dollars for 1 stinking print!) but Lola refused to look at the camera so this unfocused shot is the best of the bunch.

Close up- stitches and awesome tag I got FOR FREE

Michelle WHY did you cut up the background paper? Because I'm crazy. I thought weaving the paper would look cute. What I didn't consider was that the paper was so busy it would compete with anything you put in front of it (and look horrible). But I loved the paper so I used it cut up and attached it using mini heart brads.

Items used: Making Memories mistletoe paper, Celebrate It! glitter pine cone garland from Michael's, scallop circle from Dusty Attic painted gold by Making Memories acrylic paint, Making Memories circle flowers and a couple of dollar store doilies I painted gold with a Color Box Cat's Eye pad and Tattered Angels Mist in "Sand" and "Iridescent Gold". The beautiful tag came with an Etsy order a while ago- wish I could remember the maker so I could link them up...

Tim Holtz tape makes the back interesting

That's it- I've edited this page a bunch of times already.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!

M.