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

Holy Canoli!!! 28 followers! THANK YOU!!!

I want to thank all of you who have dropped by and left tracks- it's awesome to have such supportive and talented eyes looking at my over-cooked "creations". I get inspired by your blogs and TRY really hard to keep up. :)
Here's something I've been ruminating:

The back of  my project's page. AWESOME!!!!!

I find the backs of my stitched projects fascinating- they look so abstract! There's a prolonged project in this- I FEEL it!

Someone recently asked me where I got my ideas from. I couldn't answer. I know I work in spurts and then I need "rest" which used to mean reread some of my Terry Pratchett novels but I had to give them away to make room for my scrap boxes- now you know how much I love this hobby.

Ideas & Inspirations notes

If I complete a page I move right onto another while I'm still "buzzing". This drives my husband mad as he can't really talk to me. I tend to ignore everything when I'm "working". So I write ideas down- sometimes it takes me months because new ideas tend to get made first. 

Mostly I've been shopping the sales this week:

@Home Goods- AC paper pads for 7 bucks!! Flat stickers
for 4 bucks- 490 sticks per package!

@Michael's- 40% off everything- Sassy paper pads for 6 bucks! AC glitter paper 90
cents per page. T!m Holtz on sale!!!

It's amazing what you find as soon as you LEAVE NYC. Home Goods is my fave place to find DCWV & American Crafts cardstock and Martha Stewart brand products for 60 to 75 % off sticker price. But you have to be lucky and travels miles to Yonkers, Long Island- or YIKES- Jersey.

Last plug- Claudia over at Die Cuts R US has a great store name change SALE going on. I don't know Claudia- I just like that she is selling Tim Holtz paper tape for $3.50 so I wanted to tell ya'll- cause I LIKE you!!!! January 1st the store will become Claudia & Co so go now and pick up some QEEUUUUTE stuff for CHEAP.

HUGS AND SMOOOOOCHES mis amigas!!!
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.