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

Design DON'Ts- When projects fall flat

Ahh the vicissitudes of crafty life! Just when you think you're really jamming you find perhaps the work needed more think time and less "stuff". How do other designers do it? How do they come up with so many awesome details month after month? No really- I need a step by step please!

Here are 2 additional pages made for Studio Calico NSD challenges. Has this ever happened to you? You come up with the concept, the layout and choose the elements thinking "OO this page a winner!!" only to have the actual final piece fall flat? That's what happened to both of these.

This is a piece where I thought the Orange/Turquoise color combo, funny kid photos and

use of silver AC ZING would make for a smashing page- but it looks crowded- how disappointing!  Plus the circle punch thing has been done (better) a zillion times. Plus- what's my HAIR doing there?? ARGH! This piece may look better when I shoot it in full sunlight- if  Brooklyn EVER sees the sun again that is!

Materials: Pebbles paper  and flag, American Crafts Zing in silver and yellow card stock, FiskarsCircle Squeeze punch Xl and Large, Crate Paper Portraits collection paper, Studio Calico exclusive stamps, Remember This Moment, Doily edge and Woodgrain background Uniball gel pen- white, Zakura gel pen- silver

This was a page the "Outside Inspiration" challenge by Waleska Nerris. I wanted to use that 

great Basic Grey Wander paper to signify the urban nature of this sunday antiquing run but

 the final result is dark, dreary and overwhelms the photos. Needless to say- not a winner.

Materials:  Making Memories Ledger print, Basic Grey Metropolitan paper, Ki Memories 

Weekdays black scribbles, Pebbles flag, K and Co wood flower- handmade collection 

I hope my latest crafty face plant gives you some ideas on what NOT to do.  I have started a notebook of scrap don'ts just for this kind of situation- without the funds to take a few graphic design classes I have to muddle through on my own by making mistakes but hey that's the fun part right?

In related news: I went to the Museum of Natural History and The Museum of American Crafts this week in search of inspiration and new ideas. I got a mighty SCREAM from Lola when she finally understood the dinosaur bones were a giant creature with great big jaws and a good talking to from a guard in the Crafts Museum worried Lola was about to pull down a quilt- did you know it's the year of the quilt? I didn't! I love quilts!
Random!!!

Toltec stone face at Museum of Natural History. Wow!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Oh happy day!!!

I am sick as a dog and a pathetic mess. I have NEVER been the type of woman who can put her big girl pants on when she's got the flu. This time I called Momma T so she could pick up Lola and take her away for a couple of hours while I slept.

Why? The damage:

• 2 chewed on "Portrait" collection flowers 
• 2 Maya Road resin flowers I will now have to search for in her pamper (UCK!) Not to use- to make sure she passes them

That is my life right now. So for every Mom who can roll her sleeves up, cook, clean and keep the multiple children from wrecking house while she's sick- you are my hero- you ROCK! When I grow up I wanna be just like you.

I got a nice little piece of news yesterday in the middle of my snotty drama- my Earth Day project has been featured over at 2 Peas. Here's the link: http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/gallery/member/464560-hernandm1/1729627-a-greener-world/

This was based on a beautiful Studio Calico sketch so I can't call it original but I'm glad it's getting some attention because it's a message I care very deeply about- doing little things to help reduce your carbon footprint.

I also want to show you an EXPERIMENT. This page will make no sense because it mixes really grungy dark techniques with bright and sunny photos but I'm planning a card project that needs practice so I whipped this up:

MATERIALS: Colorbok grid paper, Hambly Studio clear border stickers, Cosmo Cricket
Paul Bunyan alphas with  Glossy Accents
Flowers- Martha Stewart Clear Camelia stamps, StazOn in Blazing Red and Cherry Pink,
ColorBox chalk ink in Yellow Citrus, American Crafts Zing! in black and clear, Maya Road leaf pins

Weird right? Please give me your honest feedback- I am NOT the chick who asks if she looks fat in these jeans and expects a no. I want to know if I look like a hippo in heat if that's what's real. :)

Zing TIPS:
1. Double stamping to get the black zing border then the clear zing on the inside is not a good idea- overheating (or double heating) Zing! makes it turn white so be careful.
2. Heating the Zing! powder from UNDER the paper is better- got that from the AC post on youtube and went DUH! Of course!!!
3. ColorBox chalk ink takes a little time to dry up so it's perfect for embossing- I would have never know if I hadn't made a mistake while stamping.
But ya'll know this already! You are all embossing divas making this world spin while I just live in it. :)

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle