Fun with Maya Road!

Hello and happy wednesday folks!

It's been a pretty sombre week.
I took monday off in deference to the horrific events in Boston.
I will be making a page and showing it here on friday but basically this is a moment to pause and reflect-
to be introspective and respectful-
to cherish your loved ones and give whatever you can-
a moment to spread the light.

Talking scrap, it's been a busy couple of weeks for me.

I was trying to come up with two SPECTACULAR scrapbook pages for my Maya Road Guest designer application.

By "spectacular" I mean pages that do the product justice and showcase my ability to use MR products especially straight pins, stamps, mist droplets and woodgrain.

Without further ado here are the pages I came up with:

I found this print from my senior year in college- 1997! I spent my last semester in California and I remember how self conscious I was about my body. This was the only time I wore a two piece swim suit while there! Now I look at those photos and marvel at how thin and FABULOUS I was. I intended to use my Maya Road ledger stamps but when I saw the pure white rosettes I decided to go with a monochrome arrangement. I will be making another page for SURE!

Rosettes- I love them. I make mine using the Martha Stewart scoring board,
zip dry and mini paper clips to secure the ends while the glue dries.
Stapling also works but it's hard to staple smaller ones like these.

I could photograph the Empire State Building every day for a year and never get the same photo twice. This is one of my favorite things about living in Brooklyn hands down.
Here I was having fun with the indigo color trend and my Maya Road straight pins and wood buttons- can't have enough of either.

Once I stamped the background everything else just fell right into place- I LOVE it when that happens!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
The calibre of talent that is out there is amazing.
Good luck everyone!
I hope to join you in a week or so. (toes are now crossed as well!!)

Michelle

Liquitex spray paint and Scrap FX chipboard scrapbook page

This is my annual I NEED SPRING TO COME ALREADY post.
The days are numbered for the cruelest time of year. YES!

To celebrate, I made a Michael's Crafts Store run and picked up some new toys to play with:
Liquitex acrylic spray paints in pink and yellow.

This is not a tool for the faint of heart.
For one it's HUGE!
12 ounces- compare that to the 1 or 2 ounces you get with a craft mist product.
There's enough paint in this can to cover several walls (or furniture- IDEAS popping!!!!)
Which is why it costs an arm and I leg I suppose- 11 dollars a can!

Four things I quickly found out:

1. I definitely smelled the propellants used to make it go even though it's way more subtle than the MADNESS that is Krylon oil based spray paint. Use it in well ventilated rooms only.
2. It tends to cloud up over your work area- this thing is under a lot of pressure and comes out FAST- be ready.
3. The paint will mottle up, drip and make a hot effing mess so practice pressing the button gently before you use it on an actual project. Also? It dries slowly- GREAT for layering with stencils!!!
4. Consider cleaning out your work area to give spraying upright onto the wall a try. I know- you saw someone spraying down onto the desk in a video- not recommended. Tape up some kraft paper and get ready to feel like a street bomber (graffiti artist)- TOTAL BAD ASS!

The result:

 Scrap FX laser cut chipboard products
Ruffled Feather model number 2012223
Remember The Time wordlet model number 2012359
Speech bubbles FabYOUlous model number  2012372

Some detail shots:

K & Company Handmade paper. So glad I kept this pad!
Pink feathers and doilies? Yes please! 

I'm playing it safe with this project but no apologies I freaking LOVE it.
I was reading some street artist message boards hating on the Liquitex spray paints.
I think this is intended for US- hobbyists, paper crafters, memory artists.
Whatever you want to call yourself.
Go out there and give it a go.

Friday five!
Inkadinkaclings rubber stamps. SO AWESOME!!!
The StazOn Dove Grey is THE color for tone on tone effects.
Sharpie white paint pen- mixed results when I tried it over the spray paint but it's still super fun to work with.
American Crafts jute twine- LOVE!!! Seriously!
The Crafter's Workshop tags stencil- this was a GENIUS idea from Julie Balzer.

I hope you have a great weekend!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Take a LEAP- A True XOXO challenge

I'm eating cherries right now.
(random!)
Cherries are my downfall.
I love them to death but they make my ears and throat itch.
A recent thing, my sister and I think it's due to pesticides.
If you know why or go through the same thing can you commiserate in the comments pretty please?
I should start a support group- cherry eaters anonymous.

ONTO today's post!!
True Xoxo girls has a special mid-month challenge celebrating the LEAP year.
Please swing by and join the fun (click the link above).
The prize is a guest spot on the team for a month. It's a great way to network and get to know new people with all kinds of scrap styles.
Here's my page:

Take A Look & LEAP Anyway
Materials: Crate Paper, Studio Calico ampersand mask, American Crafts Amy Tan alphas, Jenni Bowlin flying bird punch, Smash polka dot tape, Ormolu arrow, Hero Arts grid stamp, Zig pen .1, Cosmo Cricket tiny words, mists from Studio Calico and Tattered Angels , natural color cheese cloth (which I'm IN LOVE with BTW!)

I. LOVE. THIS. PAGE.
I usually develop a friendship (ha!) with a page after I wrestle it kicking and screaming out of my head and onto paper (where it rarely looks as awesome.)
NoT THiS TiMe.
This came to me completely finished. I just had to connect the dots.
I was so excited to get to work I sprayed half my desk before I realized I didn't have my misting mat.
Also, I'm having too much fun with the new Jenni Bowlin squeeze punches.
LOVE! LOTS! REALLY!

That black plastic packaging piece was too cool to throw in the garbage!

I only bought the birds and the tags punch.  They were 30% off at Joann's!! I'm using them everywhere. Their size is PERFECT for Project Life.

Instant ATC! I need to get a couple more
of those Amy Tangerine grey alphas.
They are SO RAD!

The misting was done by using the tube end of the sprayer and gently tapping over the paper. This is how EVERYONE does it. I had no idea.

I'm also working on my Project 365. I've stopped calling it Project Life because I'm not using branded wares.  I'm using Making Memories stuff I've had for over 2 years.

It got hectic but I finally got week 6 under control:

Birthday present!! Studio Calico kit and "This is Awesome" exclusive stamp.
Thanks DAVE! Full post to come on "Project 365 Monday".

No gratuitous baby shot this week since it's been raining and I haven't gotten great shots so far.
I'm starting a new photo segment:

WHAT I'M WORKING ON RIGHT NOW:

Project 365- Week Seven

This week was all about conflicts and drama. Arguments with family over Lola's "crazy" hair and driving while talking on the phone (I KNOW! I couldn't believe it myself!)
Getting the boot early and feeling rejected for no fair or stated reason. (that. sucked.)
Finally dumping a Facebook "friend" who was a tiresome bully and whom I was only following to spare their feelings. Naturally they had loads of nasty to "share" about it- un.cool.
Told ya- HECTIC.

The "real talk" page is getting expanded.
I heard "real talk" used as expression meaning subjective truth unvarnished twice this week and it just clicked so I'm using it on several new projects.
I LOVED dumping out my neggy-neg feelings on paper!!!
I know some people consider it immature or "low class" but those are probably people I would avoid in self defense anyway so it's ok.
That I cared about any of this will make me laugh and wonder how I didn't walk around with a permanent head ache a couple of years from now.
Well- not the driving in the rain while talking on the cell phone thing- that was utter crap.
Glad the Hubster and I pushed back so hard on that.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Thank god it's... saturday?

OOPS! I was supposed to post this yesterday since I know most people are out doing fun things on Saturday.
I saw a BEAUTIFUL page on Scrapbook.com by Jolaine Frias and I simply HAD to lift it.
By "lift" I mean take an idea I loved in her layout and try it for myself. I wouldn't try to copy the whole layout- she's too fabulous- it would take WEEKS of learning new techniques.. now that I mention it- maybe I should go ahead and try it.

Here's my version:

We were just walking around the neighborhood when I started seeing all these awesome messages.  It was like the walls were telling me to CHILLAX- others are feeling it too. I used a mist tube taping technique I picked up while watching a Swissgirl Designs video- can't believe it took that long for me to "get it".
Materials: Bazzill paper, Crafter's Workshop brick wall 6 by 6 template, Prima brick stamp, American Crafts Rootbeer Thickers, Colorbok glitter arrows, Tattered Angels Sunflower, October Afternoon Buttermilk mist, Studio Calico Schoolhouse, Atmosphere and Calico White mists, Hero Arts alpha stamps, Red Stickles, Smash Polka Dot tape

What I loved about Jolaine's differently styled page (which is also up on her blog) is her gorgeous tone on tone brick stamping. It's a small detail in the layout but I really liked how controlled and thoughtful the design is. The pattern is placed in just the right places to add visual complexity to an already fabulous layout but without adding visual clutter- a trick I haven't quite gotten the hand of yet.

Here are a couple of close ups:

I love Lola's pose! I think these are too blurry- I took them in late afternoon light.
I'll have to reshoot this again but I was so excited I had  to share! I used a Crafter's
Workshop brick template I've had for over 6 months- why did I wait that long?

The alphas started as brown glitter. I added some red Stickles and I really like the effect.
The red gets depth from the brown underneath and the edges stay dark for extra pop.
I'll have to keep that in mind for my next Thicker alteration.

This page came together rather quickly after I printed the photos and penned the brick pattern. I see I'm getting a little more abstract in my work- a little more minimalist. I like this new direction- it feels authentic to me.

GRATUITOUS CUTE BABY SHOT!!!!

Lola likes Broccoli- a LOT! I will keep encouraging this wonderful eating habit-
it keeps me from raiding the potato chips.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

February is a RED MESS!! True Xoxo Girls Challenge

I love the color red.
I think anything can be improved by a nice red detail. A black jacket? Extra smart when paired with a red scarf. Pink looks more alive when paired with red- so do orange and turquoise.
Strawberries, cherries, apples- all red! Mother Nature is on my side.

Love Monkey- True Xoxo Girls Messy Challenge- February
Materials: Gauche Alchemy Pink Parts and Scarlet Fever Mixed Media Color kits (glitter hearts, little rubber monkey sequins and buttons), red punchinella, packaging from a Maya Road pins pack, Thickers in foam and fabric from Joann's, Tim Holtz brick pattern embossing plate, graph paper from Staples, Mister Hueys in Schoolhouse, Calico Cream, Piglet  and Cameo, Art-C heart doily and "today" stamp from Cocoa Daisy (GREAT SET!), Dooddlebug and Reminiscence brads

I long for red especially at this time of year when everything outside is brown or grey.
When I go and do laundry we have four loads- bleach pile, darks, lights and red/pink. It makes for fun loading at the laundromat- everyone just looks at me like whaaaaaa?
The red/pink pile is the largest.

Some of my favorite Hipstamatic app filters add pink or red to my photos.
The Lucifer VI lens adds a subtle red circle to the photo. 

Here I've used the Lucifer VI lens and Big Up film for the yellow/pink tape border.
Big Up border effects are random so I love when this combo comes up.

My husband knows to skip the hearts, flowers, chocolate and lace. (Especially the lace- I pugnaciously reject gifts with ULTERIOR MOTIVES)
He usually shows up with a fun red cotton sweater or shirt for me and something wacky for Miss Thang to play with.  When he put this outfit on Lola, totally alone and without my help, I was so very happy:

The Maya Road plastic packing fit the Instax print perfectly! I wish I had a bunch more so
I could make a whole series of these mini shakers!

I also tried something new (for me). Using recycled packaging on a layout. I usually throw these out but my fellow Gauche Alchemy DT members encouraged me to try incorporating them into a layout- this is my first attempt so it's a bit.. rustic... but I can see myself sewing these onto cards or using a few of them as wall decoration- the possibilities are endless and it was super easy to make.

Sneak peek at something else I'm working on for my Feb 13th
post over at Gauche Alchemy. The Hispstamatic Ben Watts Lens
gives this photo magenta edges.

The True Xoxo Girls Challenge for this month is MESSY! I used Gauche Alchemy Scarlet Fever color kit on this as well as some older paper from my stash. And I FINALLY broke out my Claudine Helmuth acrylic paints- which scare me with their pure and beautiful color intensity. Your challenge for this month is to SCRAP MESSY!
Go on- you can DO EET!

GRATUITOUS CUTE BABY SHOT!

Running away from Mom's "smile for the camera" request.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Fall colors, beautiful light

Ok I can dig this Fall season- 78 degree weather and rain at night? It's perfect! We went into tree country last weekend to pick apples but the fall colors are not showing fully yet so I decided to get warmly cheerful in my current Punky Scraps layout:

Be
MATERIALS: Gauche Alchemy woodgrain punchinella (that's right WOODGRAIN) and Lady Marmelade orange mixed media color kit, Dusty Attic chipboard, Hambly Studio tranny, Studio Calico paper and tag, Mister Huey Hot Dog, Making Memories metal letters, Basic Grey brads, Mesh origami paper (!!!) and black acrylic paint.

The prompts were many and diverse for this "Get Picky" challenge so I procrastinated LOVELY the entire week. Finally, last night, after 2 bottles of Pacifico beer and a bag of Blue Cheese Kettle Chips I was ready- who cares if it was 1am?

The Mighty List:

Tamara - Hessian/Mesh

Kat - A Tag

Cheryl - steam punk imagery

Kerry - your own handwriting

Marie - black mist

Jolanda - a picture of your eye(s). what do they say/mean to you?

Celina - lace of any kind

Ashley - Doodling

Misty - metal

I was supposed to go deep with my journaling but what I really needed was a page I could hang on the wall and use as a touchstone while I worked- it reads: Do what you want- people will decide they don't like you anyway.
Not to sound like Michael Jackson who I thought spent entirely too much time being defensive (and dangling babies off hotel balconies) instead of concentrating on HIS WORK.

Thank you Shelley J for the beautiful Studio Calico paper!

I took a photo of an image I had opened on my computer desktop using the Hipstamatic app on my iTouch and my favorite lens filter- Watts. 

I then changed the contrast, color and added a round blur using Instagr.am. 

The paint splatters were made by watering down some acrylic paint and using a mascara brush to sprinkle tiny dots all over the page- I don't trust the spray nozzle on those bottles one bit.

                                                               *************************

'I also wanted to repost these tags that I linked over at Flashback Fridays. Amy sent me a nice email reminding me I'm not supposed to backlink an older post since the whole point is to show how much you have improved- yikes- sorry about that. I love these so I'm glad to have a chance to show them off again.

I made these for a tag swap over at Kreatorville Krafts using some old office folders, some scraps of
favorite prints from Sassafras Lass and Girl's Paperie, Making Memories metal tag rims and some buttons-
it took over a week because I kept over thinking the process but I loved the final product.

You can check out the original post here: Going Tag Crazy

Please swing by Punky Scraps and join the challenge- there are 2 prize packs available this month and only 1 person in the running for both- does that sound fair to you? Go up in there and give her some competition!

This year she actually rode the pony AND I managed to get an
eating apples shot where she didn't look like a zombie.
I can't believe that beanie still fits- It's 2 years old!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Punky Scraps Tissue Paper Challenge

Ok so I've been furiously destroying paper ALL WEEK for this week's Punky Scraps challenge which asks YOU, dear scrapper, to incorporate tissue paper into your layout.

There are many MANY ways to use this wonderfully thin and pliable material. Plus you probably already have tons of it around the house. I've seen people use Modge Podge to glue pieces in layers all over a page (and all kinds of other random things- like glass or transparencies). I've seen it get crumpled, wrinkled with water, ripped, stamped and misted with paint- it always looks great.

I tried them all and FAIIIIILED! Miserably. But if you remember I posted a page last week that used tissue paper and vellum- this was my "test page" for this challenge  and darned if that page was more interesting than anything I came up with after.

See what I mean about not TRYING- just doing?
Listen to Nike (the Goddess of Victory) and JUST DO IT!!
Don't study, don't over think, just DO! DO! DO!
Oh OK- you are allowed to draw up a sketch if you like. :)

So here's what I did for this page- I know it's not Rocket Science but bear with me:
1. Misted the vellum in Mister Huey Lemon and Tattered Angels Patina and used a brayer to smooth the mist droplets out. I put a Maya Road kraft doily and used it as a mask-LOVE THOSE!
2. Used a Martha Stewart doily punch to punch through some tissue and vellum paper. This is harder than it looks. I doubled up the material to get the punch to work and still had to cut out the rounded edges.
3. Put my hand on the vellum to trace it and stitched it right up- this was so FUUUN!

Super duper fast page! Now please head on out and create your own!!

http://punkyscraps.blogspot.com/

My failed page was foot related- Lola has beautiful feet but
I know most people find feet gross so I kept second guessing myself. Oh well.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

My crazy craft desk

Not sure what happened but Lola napped for 3 hours yesterday! After I was done cleaning and cooking I almost got bored!
Thankfully I came to my senses and got to work. (YAY!)
Here are the results:

Imagine part 2
Materials: Jillibean Soup Monsters paper, K and Co Amy Butler  Sola paper,  October afternoon journaling tags,  Sassfras Lass doily sticker, Making Memories Paper Reverie butterflies, Tattered Angels Mist in Patina

I have a second page I will save for later as this post will be more about my lack of scrappy organization. After 2 hours of scrap time my desk looks like this:

I am not ashamed! 

Living in a 400 square foot apartment (Yes, I live my whole life in a walk-in closet's floor space) makes organization a CHALLENGE. I don't have the space for organizer shelves to keep everything in view so when I have a productive day it takes several more days to clean up. The result is I rarely clean the desk. My favorite products are all in pampers boxes under the desk. It's a crazy way to innovate but it will have to do till we Escape from New York.

I do keep my Studio Calico kits together and organize my papers by manufacturer. The countless stamps, alphas and other embellishments are all kept in 12 by 12 boxes on my book shelf. Giving my books away was traumatic.
 I know how it looks. I imagine the shuddering. I have stopped shopping for 2011. It will be hard when Summer CHA products come around. I've already spotted the new Pink Paislee Mistables Collection that will make it into one of my Pampers boxes. I just can't buy the whole collection like before.
Little steps people- little steps.

Look! It's Sassafras Lass' Sunshine Broadcast!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle