Stretch Your Sketch Featured artist @2Peas!!

So I nearly fell out my chair when I opened a message from someone over at Two Peas. I reacted with typical New Yorker suspicion and wrote back:
"Here is a reply to your email- as requested"...and that's it!
 Da noive!

Can I defend myself? My yahoo inbox is full of Viagra ads from goodness knows where since this is literally the first time I ever write the word!

My thinking? "How do I know this isn't some mysterious phishing email from random pick your country?" "Maybe they will invade my yahoo account and discover JUST HOW MUCH MONEY I SPENT ON SCRAP CRAP THIS YEAR."
"OH NO! They could steal my identity and PREVENT me from buying more!!!"
And so, my cryptic answer.

Thankfully Jen Gallacher must be used to this crazed reaction as she didn't bat an eye.
She sent this along.

The 2 Peas Stretch Your Sketch class for September premieres today.
I am so excited.. and scared...

Please feel free to swing on over and check it out. I believe you have to sign up but it's a free class.
First attempt:

Great American Road Trip
I'm supposed to use stamps as much as possible.. but didn't make them stand out in this page.
Also- doesn't it just look jumbled? Ahh but the Amy Tan paper is soooo beautiful!
And sorry but my photos ROCK!!! I just need to showcase them better.

The sketch kicked my scrap booty!
I love multiple photo lay outs.
I love large shapes on a page.
But never before had a seen a sketch with both- Jen is a scrap wiz!!!
Perhaps you were wondering- "I thought Michelle was back from vacation? Why hasn't she updated her blog?" Or not- I'm not completely delusional- I know you have a life.
Where was I? Trying to get a good hold on this sketch!

Second attempt:

Today you are two
I thought I needed to up the cute quotient so I did another page about Lola's birthday toys.
But I was explicitly asked to keep the size 12 by 12.. and I forgot.
I really like the variety of paper prints and crazy thread remnants here.

Third try (so NOT the charm!):

First Halloween..
...Was a hot mess and so is this page.

I do love this detail so this is a REDO page.

FINALLY! THE ONE!

So you don't like messy pages huh? Oh well, TOO BAD.
I like the uneven lines, the jumbled sizes and I tried to use the triangulation rule of design.
The ampersand comes from a Sassafras alpha clear stamp set so old
 it was yellowed when I got it (from A Cherry On Top.)
The circle title alphas are from Lawn Fawn.

HOT MESS TIP! When using AC Z!ng powder keep your machine sewing away or you'll get the flaking you see up there in the title. I almost lost a few letters but I persevered and it came out fine. Also- I did this BEFORE Studio Calico featured using a a title in a circle as a technique last week- just wanted to put that out there. (No, I'm not claiming the technique!)

Thank you Jen and Two Peas for this huge opportunity! If my final page was a little... underwhelming- I hope everyone can see I tried and tried. It's not the sketch's fault. It's me.

This is a 25 foot tall mural of the New York State Pavilion at the World's Fair in Queens.
It's done in CHALK- so AMAZING!!!!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Weener Weener chikn' deener!!!

My apologies for the title I HAD to! The impulse was strong.

Hello friends- new and old.

Entires for the Paper Issues blog hop closed at 11pm yesterday. Thank you to all who took the time to jump through every single blog! At 32 blogs, it's a HUGE undertaking and we REALLY appreciate it. I took 2 days to do it myself.

The winners are slowly emerging across the land. Paper Issues will post all the winners later today as results come in but please revisit the blogs you joined right NOW- you just might be in for a surprise.

The winner for my lotza Prima and Petaloo flowers prize is Doris P! LOVED your blog title: http://needsareasontoscrap.blogspot.com/

Who needs a reason to scrap? INDEED!!! You, my friend, are a girl after my own heart!!!

Yay Doris! I know my work is a little wonky but I hope you will swing by often. I had a lot of fun reading your blog- your grandbabies are CUUUTE!
Will email you soon and you can send my your addy.

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You know I have to add to this right? This girl CANNOT SHUT UP!

MINI TOOT!!
My work will be featured over at 2 Peas tomorrow September the 20th, 2011! WOOO HOO! I contributed a page for Jen Gallacher's "Stretch Your Sketch" Challenge which goes live on the 20th of very month. I hope you will swing by tomorrow and see what we did.

Here's a SNEAK PEEK:

Jen's sketch was a DOOZY- multiple photos and 4 large shapes.
I made 4  different pages for it and I STILL feel I could have done a better job.
Don't hold it against me Jen!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the blog hop! Don't be a stranger, ya hear!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!

Michelle