Scrap FX monochrome page and some truth

Now that my DT term with Scrap FX is coming to an end,
I find myself wondering what will I do next.

Design Teams are great for inspiration, networking and motivation.
They can also be stressful if you have an already packed schedule.

No matter how much I try,
between editing the text and struggling with my slow computer,
it usually takes 2 hours to post an article.
I can import a finished post from Word but loading photos takes up the rest of the time.
And linking all the products used on a project?
The most frustrating part of all.

I'm not complaining.
I signed on knowing exactly what the requirements for each team where.
My Scrap FX term has been the happiest and most positive team-work experience I've ever had.
But I am finally admitting a reality to myself.
Which you get to read. Yay?
This hobby takes the majority of my time. Not my "spare time".
Most of my time.
A night out on the town with a friend who was turning 40 last week required all kinds of schedule jumbling.
I was almost too tired to go when I finished all the negotiations!

I'm finally using all the Instax photos I took last year.
I hated that most were over exposed.
That white on white look is very "in" right now so I get to look like this was done on purpose.
I used Scrap FX arrows stencil and chipboard arrows on this piece.
Sorry no links- it takes too long to look them up!

My family has been sending out very clear signals that I'm not exactly present,

even though my body is in the room.

So I either develop crack scheduling skills (never my forte) or I keep the blogging, Facebooking, Pinning, Tweeting, Instagraming to 30 minutes a night. 

Because staying up till midnight 

or trying to make and shoot all my projects on sundays 

is really not sustainable anymore.

The good news for our crafty friendship is that I can see your work on Instagram or Facebook.

I can leave a comment without having to enter numbers to prove I'm not a robot. 

Just try to overlook my crazed spelling. 

I can spell. 

My fingers on the teeny iTouch screen cannot.

Enlarging this photo to "original size" keeps it clear.
Sizing it down to "medium" makes it fussy.
Blogger what's going on?

MuChoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Project 365 on the BRAIN

I got a little behind on my Project Life/365 these last few weeks.
I haven't been taking notes but I started using the My365 app to try to keep track of images.
I found that the more I tried to fit the standards of PL the more I started to feel pressure to record every last detail in exact order which took some of the fun away from the process.
I started to ask people to pause while I took photos which caused a certain amount of vexation in my family. As my husband said several times this week- it would be nice to eat dinner without me stopping everyone so I could shoot the plate.
I love how not a single one of those shots ended up printed- it was boring me to tears.

Then I read the latest 52 creative lifts newsletter by Ali Edwards where she says it's more about being present in the moment than getting a smashing photo every time. Suddenly the whole thing felt a lot easier and less monumental.

Without much ado here are this week's efforts:

Week 6 where I acknowledge publicly that I have a buying addiction, not a scrapping one.
Thanks ton fine artist Barbara Krueger for that awesome inspiring art piece cut out from
New York Magazine. I found that awesome "We Can Do It" poster online and
 printed it to give myself a boost whenever I start to feel down. Love the color mix in this group.
The mustard paper is from Crate, the numbers print is an old  Studio Calico exclusive from 2009.

Week 7- I altered the top 6 by 12 pocket this week with my sewing machine. The final page is rather 

wonky since the edges didn't match perfectly but when the cards are added everything does flat 

again so I didn't give it another thought. I used the new Studio Calico kit

I got for my birthday including my favorite stamp EVER- the "awesome"insta-frame. The first 

segment tells the story of Lola's first I'M BUSY when I interrupted playtime to give her a bath.

 I'm constantly saying that (mostly when my husband interrupts my blogging) and now she's saying it as well.

Some detail shots:

The Lolster- she's too funny!

Real honest to goodness art at the 14th Street Station

This stamp set is AWESOME! This
is a photo of my long lost Instax
prints I found in a random box
after months of looking.

Week 7- Went on a long bike ride with the hubster while baby was with Grandma.
Here I'm using a page protector meant for Baseball cards which cost 2 dollars for a pack
of 10 at the Container Store. I was thinking of adding 2- 4 by 6 pockets on the side with my
sewing machine but quickly I realized I don't posses the tailoring skills needed. 

Detail shots:

Found that bicycle clip at Container Store as well- it
followed me home. The backing for most of these is
a NYC bike map from 2011- too old to use now.

If you want to shoot ipod shots with gloves on
you gotta sacrifice that glove tip. I opened the
seam and pulled the glove back over my finger
tip when done.

I also had entirely too much fun posting Instagr.am images on saturday- here is my favorite:

I ALWAYS wear a helmet- even though
I look like a Class A TOOL with it on.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!

Michelle

3 King's Day & St. Valentine's Day in 1 page

Ah love- the very thing you strive for then spend your time questioning once you have it. Stop that! Be happy and present in your love! Speak it to your love object! Celebrate it in true ROCCOCO fashion. I have resolved to do just that in 2011.
Here is another Valentine's Day piece:

NOT generic.
Materials: We R Memory Keepers Gridlock paper, Sassafras Lass My Type (scallop heart), Cosmo Cricket  Tiny Type brown/clear & Paul Bunyan alphas, EK Success Sticko Retro Puffy alphas, Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses alphas, MAya Road Man chip board, EK 2" scallop heart punch, Prima Barcode clear 48mm tape, Hambly Studio pattern rub-ons- brown

Dave is incredibly patient, tolerant and empathic. He's also a true analytical personality so how he's attracted to an Emo nutball like me is a mystery. I'll be yammering away about the latest thing I took as an insult and he'll just look at me like: "Dude...." I frustrate him in my ability to squirrel out implied disses. He ignores most pesky things (me) with Tibetan Monk-like complacency. And unlike cheesy 70's chick flicks- he's perfectly willing to say (and mean) I'm sorry.

Here I used white Mister Huey under Sunshine yellow and THAT happened- see? It' like the 3D glasses effect only it's 2D and invisible to the eye here. I also used a Maya Road man that turned out to be 8 inches long which surprised and delighted me (that's what she said)- sorry.

The heart is an improvisation- the rub on never attached to anything- not the paper, not the tranny I was intending for it- nothing. So I punched it out the sheet and sewed (SPL???) it on. Then I thought- wearing your heart on your sleeve hmmm... David reserves that for only 1 person. Miss Lola. I love the string- hate how crappy the rub-on looks.

New camera keeps Lola from looking down in anti-flash anticipation.
Polaroid- very few film cartridges left- WAAAH!

Lastly, Dave got me a 3 King's Day present! 3 King's Day is celebrated in Spanish speaking countries. On the eve of January 5th, kids put grass under their beds for the camels of the 3 Kings who visited Baby Jesus bringing Myrr, Gold and- sommin' else.  Next morning they get 3 presents, 1 from each king. My parents used to celebrate it along with Christmas when we lived in PR but that stopped abruptly when we moved to NY and they paid NYC rent.  I was SUPPOSED to go with Miss Thing to the Parade in front of El Museo Del Barrio but I forgot- AGAIN. That makes it 10 years in a row I forget to shoot that wonderfully artsy event- SO not cool.

Lola helps. Fuji shoots

Anyway I got a Fuji Instax camera!!!! (They were sold out during Christmas) I mourn MOURN the loss of Polaroid. It's a huge hole in the heart of American coolness- not to mention US jobs.

So awesomely awesome I SQUEALED
 when I opened the package!

But thankfully the Japanese have risen to the challenge and taken the coolness and IMPROVED upon it (figures!) Thus the Fuji Instamatic with credit card sized instant photos in a nicely rectangular shape. Now if they would just put out a square shaped format I would be SO insanely happy! But I guess I'll get an app to do that...

MuChOs SmOoChEs!

M.