The NEON Challenge!!

2012 is the year neon came back!
I'm seeing it everywhere.

Even on the lace bows of expensive french lingerie! 

Who wears neutral underwear with blindingly bright pink bows that cost 200 just for the bra?

MATERIALS: Bazzill grey card stock, Cocoa Daisy stamp, Cosmo Cricket’s DeLovely paper,
Crafter’s Workshop 6x6 chevron stencil, SC Mister Huey in white and chipboard from
Crate Paper, Sakura Gelly Roll pen outlines in fluorescent yellow,  neon pink twine,
Cosmo Cricket Heart In The Dark alphas and Jenni Bowlin flying bird punch.

To celebrate, I'm hosting a challenge over at DO MORE WITH LESS.
Yvonne Yam's awesome scrap style is both clean, modern and full of messy techniques such as paint, upcycled items and glitter.
How does she manage to pull it all off with nary a finger print or stray pencil mark on the page???
I aspire to that kind of control over technique.

This project was shaping up so well! Those finger prints are
UNINTENTIONAL and decidedly UNHAPPY accidents!

Perhaps you have some generic price stickers or neon pink twine lying around?  Most of Hambly's entire inventory qualifies. I've also found lots of great neon in Basic Grey (Out of Print) and Crate Paper's Random line.
Cosmo Cricket totally saw the trend coming because the entire DeLovely line is neon and it came out last winter.

Martha Stewart NEON GLITTER! EEEE!
25 dollars for the pack! Coupon time!

If nothing else Sakura makes neon gellyroll pens. (EEEEE!)
I tend to buy these every time I go to the scrap store because I use them on everything.
And there's always the 89 cent bottles of craft acrylic paint from the kids section at the arts and craft store.

Price stickers, 89 cent paints and thread.
At 5 bucks a pop perhaps thread is the purchase you want to save till
you've decided you love neon.

Swing by Do More With Less- you probably are already a follower- she's that awesome.
Thank you so much for the opportunity Yvonne!

My second project-you can do better I'm SURE! I do like the border. REDO TIME!
Materials: Basic Grey Life of the Party, Ki Memories NYC puffy, woodgrain fabric circles, Hambly
woodgrain washi tape,  EK Success peg alpha stamps, Scrap FX flying bird chip board, American
Crafts Zing embossing powder, K & Co Smash tape, Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam in Mermaid.

Ah bribery- the BEST way to drive traffic.
Here's what you get if you win the challenge:

GRATUITOUS TODDLER SHOT!!!!

MuChoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

SPRING with Cosmo Cricket!

63 degrees today, 67 tomorrow?
Too awesome!!!
I'm so excited I could BURST!

I had a very busy scrap week.

I made this for an upcoming True Xoxo Girls challenge but it doesn't fit the challenge parameters so back to the drawing board it is.
The March challenge is finding inspiration on Pineterest. (click through to see for yourself)
Swing by and submit your page.
The winner gets a GDT spot on the team.

This page started as a design experiment with shapes. It was supposed to be really graphic but the further I got into it the more I realized it wouldn't attract an the audience that way so I added the pearls and Cosmo Cricket swirls- now I think it's too much of everything.
What do you think?

Materials: Cosmo Cricket Earth Love swirls, black board butterflies and Heart in the Dark alphas, Crafter's Workshop basket weave template, Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam in Mermaid, ZVA pearls and rhinestones swirls, K and Comapny Smash tape, Ek Success parenthesis stamps

Detail shots:

I have a guest spot coming up over at Do More With Less, Yvonne Yam's fantastic personal blog. I love Yvonne's highly innovative style and her ability to use messy techniques on perfectly crisp and clean modern pages- she's an inspiration.
I will be talking about the Neon trend and showing off a card and page project- feel free to swing by March 20th.

Sneaky peek!!! Do More With Less- March 20th

My page is still messy- I'm working up to a more clean style.

I am also trying to make my blog more relevant to my readers.
What do you like to read about?
What are your blogging pet peeves?
What would you like to see more?
I've been at it for over a year and feel like I've hit a rut. Fell free to give me your 2 cents and I will try to implement everything as best I can.

GRATUITOUS TODDLER SHOT!!!!

Sure! Get comfy why don'tcha?

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Holiday Mojo is a NO GO!

I have some holiday ideas brewing but nothing that makes me want to sit down and stitch away or fussy cut for hours. Instead I'm longing for summer. So I offer THIS up:

MoMA- Our First Visit. Pencil Lines sketch 214 by Laura Vegas

I really love the MoMA. Dave and I visited with Gia (my best friend from college) in september and somehow I didn't get any good photos!!! I was distracted by the crowds and by Lola who kept escaping from my grasp to touch everything.

I stared at the shadows made by the gorgeous skylights in the new atrium and took a million shots of those. I also remember staring at Henri Matisse's "The Piano Lesson" for so long Dave had to come get me.

For my second attempt at a MoMA theme page, I used stitching as a way to add texture and dimension. I managed to get the lines relatively straight this time. The Pencil Lines sketch is really clean and modern so I wanted to punch it up a bit by making is a vertical 8 by 11.

I used Bazzill swiss dotted paper (which is really more teal blue than this scan), Webster's Pages 6 by 6 paper and packaging from a K & Co handmade embellishment I love so much I try to put it in every piece- LOVE that beige grid!!!! I also used 2 of my favorite EK Success punches double embossed dotted lace and the new large edger punch- circles.

But this is a second attempt. Where is the first? You ask- or maybe not- you are distracted by the pure hideousness of the page below.
Here it is. A definite FAIL.

MoMA- A First Visit. FAIL layout.

Here I tried to use the layout from Matisse's "The Piano Lesson" but the kraft paper is throwing the comparison off- as is the felt swirl ribbon. What I like about this layout is that it talks about how I screamed and screamed again for Yoko Ono's "Voice Piece For a Soprano" which gives any transgressive personality (moi) permission to do so. Dave was decidedly NOT into it. Lola tried to eat the mike. A museum guard stood by all friendly like by the 4th scream- I think I was freaking everyone the hell out. Blame it on Yoko- it's her project- I'm just trying to help a fellow art chick out.

Maybe I'll feel more Christmas ornament friendly tomorrow????

MuChOs SmOoChEs!!!
M