Inspiration Elevator- Facing Your Greatest Life Challenge

Hello!

So I've blogged plenty about my greatest life challenge.
It wasn't moving to Utah.
Now that it's getting closer to spring I could ALMOST like it here.

My greatest life challenge was seeing my little girl look like this:

Lola was born 6 weeks early with a condition called Chylothorax where
liquid normally recycled though the heart and out the body drained into her lung
cavities. Luckily her actual lungs had developed just enough to allow normal breathing so
she spent three weeks in the NICU with tubes inserted into her sides to drain the liquid.
She was in constant pain and I couldn't hold her for the first 4 days for fear of dislodging the tubes.

Miss Lola- hyper active, able walk at 10 months old, curly headed and sleepy eyed, currently refusing to eat anything for breakfast- is perfectly fine these days.

In 2009 I found out I was having a baby and lost my job job all in the same day.
To say I was shocked and awed doesn't explain the half of it.
And life has been crazy ever since.

Jobs we thought stable are now gone.
Neighborhoods that were affordable suddenly became the center of the cooliverse and filled with grocery stores selling exotic fruit vinegar for 20 dollars a bottle.
Moved to find new opportunities but found our backgrounds were still lacking.

 "Starting over" isn't fun- it's excruciating.
The hardest part is letting go of your expectations and your past.

So this is my page for the month:

For my page I chose to add the story to several tags behind the photo for a cleaner layout. 
I recently showed Lola the hospital photos because she asked about the small holes under each arm.
I told her those marks make her very special as only 1 in 10,000 children are afflicted and survive birth.
I used Jenni Bowlin stamps, Basic Grey alphas. The wood alphas are from Recollections
and the little wood hearts from Cocoa Daisy's January kit.

Here is the group challenge:

You may recall that the purpose of this challenge group is to take our scrapbooking to the next level, to stretch our creative process and to grow as artists by embracing challenges that make us think, work and extend ourselves. 
You can view all of the challenges our Inspiration Elevator Blog, here. 

We are thrilled to welcome back Audrey Yeager this month as a guest designer. Audrey recently came into ownership of My Scraps & More online store, and has graciously offered a prize this month! Read on to find out how you could win!

Our challenge this month comes from the very talented Michelle Hernandez. Here's how she expressed this month's challenge:

"Inspiration Elevator Challenge February- Phoenix Rising.
I'm going through one of the toughest times of my life right now. Huge changes, dashed expectations, embarrassing set backs- it's all overwhelming, all the time. I have the love and support of my family and my health- so it could be worst but still - it sucks.
My challenge for February:
Tell a story visually or through your journaling that speaks to your greatest challenge and most importantly how you dug yourself out. This should be a celebration of your faith, personal resilience and/or creativity. A story you'd like to tell your kids, grandkids or yourself when things get rough. "

Michelle Hernandez

Ann Jobes 

Laura Whitaker 

Lisa Moen 

Cathy Harper 

Lisa Spiegel 

 Joanne Burton

Jodi Wilton 

Guest designer: Audrey Yeager 

We would LOVE to see you take up the challenge this month, so if you do, please share it at our linkup on the Inspiration Elevator blog. 

Extra incentive? There is a great RAK this month!

So, how do you win Audrey's prize? It's simple - leave a comment! 
Audrey will choose one random comment from one random blog to win the $15 gift certificate to My Scraps & More. 
Thanks so much, Audrey!

Swing by their blogs and check out how they met and beat their greatest monster.

Princess hair flipping lessons. 2/14/14

Have a great weekend- even in 2 feet of snow NYC. (LOL- it's 60 degrees and sunny here in SLC- how's THAT for silver lining?)


Michelle

Inspiration Elevator Challenge- Nostalgia

Hello!
Today I'm bring a page I made for this month's Inspiration Elevator Challenge- Nostaligia.

I have a different perspective on this challenge because I don't really scrap to capture moments or even record my life.
I do it because I love messing around with paper and because it gives me a good reason to keep shooting photos- something I would otherwise forget to do in my normal day to day routine.

Basic Grey film strip paper- I'll need to get a couple more of this print. The flair is from A Flair For Buttons, chipboard and white laser cut tags from Scrap FX. New York flag from Reminisce. I also cut some leaves from vellum just for the heck of it. Since we put our things in storage and brought essentials with us when we moved to Utah, I don't have much in terms of items that are nostalgic but the printed film strips are good stand-ins- read below to find out why.

My page doesn't have a lot of journaling this month.
I've covered the subject of Brooklyn longing so frequently in the last couple of months I really just wanted to make a page to match this summer 2013 photo I love.

I am deeply nostalgic for my college days when I spent all day (literally) in the darkroom developing film and printing black and white photos for my next critique class.

The photo is of a near perfect day in May.
We walk the Brooklyn Bridge.
Discover new parts of the park by getting lost in the streets.
Finally, the sun is setting,
Saidy has brought her nephews and Lola finally has someone her own age to play with.
The food truck tacos we buy are delicious.
The salsa band playing outdoors in the park is so amazing we get up and dance in front of everyone.

Lola sits on David's shoulders the whole time.
Then... fireworks!!! Someone is getting married and we get to share in their joy.
And I cry
I AM SO HAPPY!
I know we may never get to come back to a summer concert in Brooklyn Bridge Park again.

I'm painfully grateful. 
New adventures and perfect days await in Utah but nothing compares to golden evenings by the water;
Lady Liberty waving her torch just a quarter mile away.

Quiet subway rides home

You fall asleep yet it is us who sit dreaming

This is home.

Those banner stickers are from the Target dollar aisle- they've been on a roll lately with the kraft stuff.

Onto the official challenge~

You may recall that the purpose of this challenge group is to take our scrapbooking to the next level, to stretch our creative process and to grow as artists by embracing challenges that make us think, work and grow.

You can view all of the challenges our new Inspiration Elevator Blog, here.

We are also pleased to welcome Denise Morrison and her stunning artistic style back to Inspiration Elevator.
Our challenge this month comes from the very talented Lisa Spiegel .

Here's what she had to say in her very own words:
"October is my favorite month of the year. Hands down. The temperatures here in Southern California finally start to drop, we wear a light sweater, maybe even a little boot. We pull out the scarves and the jeggings and put away the capris and tank tops. Leaves begin to change and we prepare for Halloween! My whole house is decorated, from top to bottom, and it is no small feat. I even swap out my dishes and serving ware in preparation for Fall and Halloween and I love to just keep the festivities going all the way through the Thanksgiving and then holiday season. My house will not return to "normal" until January. 

So, Lisa, tell us, how does this relate to a scrapbooking challenge? Well, what I've found over the years is my scrapping even changes over the holidays. I layer more. Reach for the bling and really dig deep to embellish with meaningful objects. Journal my thoughts and stories and feelings. Fall just make me nostalgic. So here is the challenge. Create a layout that is nostalgic...the feeling should be evident from the title, the visible journaling and the embellishments you choose. 
Choose deliberately and with purpose to tell your nostalgic story. I can't wait to see how you interpret this challenge!" 
 I hope you will stop by and see what the rest of the incredible Inspiration Elevator designers have created:

Lisa Spiegel

Laurel Seabrook 

Joanne Burton

Jodi Wilton

Michelle Hernandez

Ann Jobes

Laura Whitaker

Lisa Moen 

Christa Uttley

Guest Designer Denise Morrison

If you feel inspired to play along with my challenge this month, please share it using the linky tool on our Inspiration Elevator blog and/or our Inspiration Elevator Facebook page.
We'd LOVE to see what you made!

Normally dancers go in front of the stage but we had 3 toddlers to care for so we got up and danced
right in front of all these folks- and it spread. It WAS a good day.

Question- how do you crop and color correct layout photos without photoshop?

Hello Monday!

My posts may stop for a bit as I transition to new digs in Salt Lake City.
Writing won't be an issue but getting good photos of my projects without using photoshop is going to be a problem.

How do you crop your photos and color correct of you don't use photoshop?

I guess I could "stage" pages and shoot low rez in morning light.

If you have any tips on programs you use and love, please comment.

In any case I want to show you a page I'm crazy about:

MATERIALS: American Crafts cardstock, Graphic Circles model # 2013076, Lanky Upper Case Alphabet model # 2007011, Lanky lower case alphabet model #2007012, Basic Grey Fact and Fiction stickers, Plaid chalkboard paint, MT washi tape in red and red grid, Crate Paper bingo alphas, Studio Calico paper (strips), Studio Calico vellum

The lanky alphas are about 2 inches high so there is a
lot of surface area to play with. I wanted to go wild an crazy
with some geometric doodles but decided to stick with
something I've tried before. Not surprisingly they took
chalkboard paint really well so I'll have to use it again.

For the circle arrow I just used some washi tape and
a gel pen to make dots- so simple but so FUN.

I'm thinking of "joining the cloud" and using an online subscription service instead of filling up my computer with a bunch of programs.

The tech rumor I keep hearing from professional graphic artists is that owning software and having it take up space in your personal computer is slowly becoming a thing of the past.

I have my eye on Photoshop Elements- do you use it? Do you like it?

And also Lightroom. Do you use that?

I thought RADLAB was a subscription / cloud-based photo retouching program but it isn't. 

It's a photoshop plugin that allows you to add pretty non-destructive light and color effects to your images. Non destructive means you can reverse any changes made- something that cannot be said for images taken on the "Hipstamatic" or "Instagram" smart-phone apps.

College friend and fellow Mariposa, Saidy Lopez, and I went to Governor's Island on saturday to check out Figment. 

The cloud pavilion which was made with thousands of milk jugs.
Inside was quite the 70;'s funkadelic dance party.
Lola found many earthworms. And ate one.

Not sure who these dudes (and dudettes) were but they paraded around
we got picked up as Lola was wearing her T Rex costume.

It. was. awesome!

Saidy took this photo:

It was the end of the day. Lola was tired and refusing to smile.
I was suffering from extreme hat hair but STILL this photo ROCKS!!!!
That is what a good photographer can do for you.
Do not under estimate it.

This photo convinced me that 

a. I need to pick up my DSLR again

b. I need to start noticing things like f-stop and shutter speed again. I've been messing around for too long. For realz.

There is no photoshop trickery here- it's pure light and a photographer who stood her ground till BOOM she got the shot.

Have a GREAT week!
Michelle

Life happens. So does change.

Happy Memorial Day folks.

The next couple of weeks I will be packing and steeling myself for a major lifestyle change.
We are moving to Salt Lake City, Utah
FOR THE SUMMER.

I always add those last three words because I'm still holding on to the wild hope that we will return to Brooklyn if I can somehow find a full time job with medical benefits.

Leaving New York is a huge scary leap.
I've never "lived" anywhere else.
College doesn't count because I spent all my spare weekends "back home".

ACK! No Metropolitan Museum of Art

Salt Lake City is beautiful but I have never felt more "at home" than here in Williamsburg...

Never mind that both the "hipster" and the "hip hop" crowds agree I'm a big old nerd.

I don't even qualify for "geek".

Geeks rule this place.

I should have studied software engeneering in college.

Says the grown assed woman who can't add, subtract or multiply fractions.

We are not giving up the apartment.

How do you know you are talking to a true New Yorker?

The question, "Are you giving up the apartment?" is ALWAYS the second thing New Yorkers ask.

Right after, "SALT LAKE CITY? Why???" 

LOL!!!

I always say "Salt Lake City has an actual job market."

And affordable housing.

By "affordable" I mean rents that aren't 3,000 a month for 500 square feet with a window that faces a brick wall or a rat infested alley... next to the elevated train (just like in "Blues Brothers".)

No BRIC Arts concerts by the water with the Freedom Tower shinning bright.

So off to Salt Lake we go.

I will miss Finnabair's class over at Little Bird Creations in July. (AAIIIEEEE!)

I won't be here to meet the Mariposa Collective (ya'll better keep meeting without me OR ELSE!)

If you are visiting between mid June to late August I won't be able to meet you.

Just when I think I'm done crying, I burst into tears again.

Dude! Get. a. grip!

I must admit those are not primary concerns.

Having a stable economic outlook and a good home for the little one is.

Awesome pluses?

GARDENING!!!

Also?

HIKING!!!!!

I'm excited about those.

And thankfully Salt Lake City has a decent dinosaur Museum for Lola to live in.

No Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
Worst of all- no easy access to Abuela.

Keeping my fingers crossed I can substitute Einstein and Co bagels for Bagelsmith.

I don't know WHAT I'm going to do about pizza.

I might even lose weight.

I was telling my husband I should open a brick over pizza place and call it Brooklyn's Best. 

I'd have photos from "The Godfather" and "Do The Right Thing" on the walls.

I'd stage poetry and short story slams and have local crafter's work installed on the walls....

Dreaming that makes me happy.

We'll see.

A page:

All about that textured Scrap FX cityscape chipboard frame in this Scrap FX blog post:
Moving past "mistakes" in your scrapbooking.

Swing by the Scrap FX blog and check out what the design team has made with this month's release.

Favorite things right now:
Scrap FX Hash corner chipboard design model #2013079
A Flair For Buttons "Love It" button (use code happybday49 for free shipping this weekend)
My Mind's Eye enamel dots Kate & Co collection
Basic Grey Life of the Party woodgrain paper
Basic Grey Vellum sticker strips

Have a great weekend- try not to freeze in the freakishly cold weather!

Michelle

Hot Topic! Scrapping the hard stuff and my second stint on Paper Clipping Roundtable.

Hello!

I've had a few hours to review what I said during my second Paper Clipping Round Table discussion.
I still can't believe I was actually in a conversation with Shimelle and Dina Wakely.
It was incredibly inspiring.

Both were very eloquent about layering techniques and general scrapbook issues.

My honest answer to many technical questions: I do that because it looks wrong to me if I don't.
Not very helpful.
So I tried to sound deep and introspective and got myself into a mess of double speak and nonsense.

Swing by and give it a listen when you have time this week: 

http://www.paperclipping.com/prt160-hernias-and-heart-attacks/

It's strangely difficult to give a coherent answer when you are talking to a group via  headset.
I kept pausing and wishing I could see everyone's faces.
That's how I gauge if someone is listening and without it I tend to yap on and on and say things I don't really mean.

Like when I said I don't journal in my scrap pages too much because I want the photo to tell the story.

That may be true for some pages but most of my work has journaling.
I don't get too wordy (for once- HA!) but I do answer the basics- who, what, when, where and how.
Evidence!

I made this page right after we talked. The conversation really made me sit down and think
about what I like to do in my page and this came together super duper quickly.

I then got into a whole thing about Lola tripping and cutting her forehead on Mother's Day.
I felt I had to give a some background for my viewpoint which was strangely controversial- something I didn't expect.
I made a big deal about saying it happened at Joann's- it isn't.
I just didn't want to distract from the issue at hand so naturally I handled it in the most distracting way possible. DOH!

Please forgive my incoherent blather. 
I was trying to illustrate how Project Life or scrapbooking in general can be difficult but good when your life takes a turn for the negative.

Shimelle's view point was that she would rather stick with the happy stories in her scrapping.
I TOTALLY get that- life is too short to belabor the negative.
Dina said she would art journal the heck out of a negative life experience.
I get that too but I prefer not to separate my crafting into different genres because it takes longer for me to get organized.

I wanted the regular PRT listener who maybe hasn't read this blog to understand that I think there should be no secrets within a family.
I can take it even further and say I think personal scrap blogs should also be open about any issue the writer feels strongly about.
As long at the writer understands there are repercussions for speaking openly and remains respectful of the reader in general.

I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth but my parents did a great job bringing us up safely in the South Bronx.
We talked about everything.
They have very specific and clear rules about what is acceptable behavior and what isn't but still- they listened.
So that's my perspective when I journal in my scrapbook pages or talk to my daughter.

I'm talking to my future self and to Lola about what's going on right now.
I don't treat each page as the end of the story- the ultimate document.
I just try to keep it to the now.
Some pages might confuse future readers because "how I feel now" changes so much but that's ok.
It shows people change their minds- they grow- they evolve.

The situation under discussion in the episode was pretty harrowing.
Perhaps I wouldn't scrap the details but yes I would discuss with my kids what they think happened and how they feel about it.
Then I'd make THAT part of my scrapbook.

There are hundreds of good reasons for talking about the difficult things- for me the most important one is that it's the only way to move on and grow. 

I believe in the end, your scrapbook, for better or for worst, is your family history.
Those are the stories that get passed on and teach your family about itself.
Nasty times should go in a scrapbook because those times make the family stronger.

At least that's what I currently think- who knows how I'll feel about this issue when Lola is 10 and actually reading!

We then moved onto the nitty gritty of HOW we "layer" in our scrapbook pages.
OO BOY Izzy TOTALLY called it when he said he thought it would be hard to talk about such a visual subject.
I just couldn't get it together- I made ZERO sense and I'm sorry.

Here's a page to SHOW what I meant.

I spoke about dividing the page into 9 sections- I usually place the photo in the top then embellish around it.
I make sure to add contrasting patterns and colors. I lobe pink stripes and polka dots!!! I also LOVE wood veneer banners. Here I added a bit of depth by cutting some of the white cardstock I printed my photo on into banners as well.  I then added a K & Co paper clip that had been sitting on my desk FOREVER and one of those AWESOME Crate Paper chipboard slide mounts. Many time I would add mist blots to this but I rather liked the clean edges here.

Very often I use vellum and I make "windows" on the page by punching shapes into strips and adding those under larger layers.

How do I keep the layers from taking over the entire page?
It depends on how focused a design I am making.
Most of the time I'm just playing.
The only rule I set for myself is that this page looks different from the last one I made.
It's a crazy difficult rule for me!
But I follow it so I can get better as a crafter.

More often than not I let the layers meander all over the page.
This is because I'm having so much fun adding things I have a hard time stopping.
I think that's ok too.

For this page I wanted to stay with the paper I chose and just use scissors as a tool.
I love working with paint and thread but they take time to set up in my tiny work table.
This page was fast and I didn't spend a lot of time second guessing my own work.
That is a good thing.

Here are some detail shots:

Here you can also see how I usually "border" my edges with something to "contain" the design.
I can't explain why I feel it needs to happen but I do it because the pages "look better with it.

I'm FAR from perfect but I'm willing to let it all show- as long as it's interesting and I keep growing. :)

X marks the spot. She's ok.

Have a GREAT week!
Michelle

True Xoxo and If It's Groovy BLOG HOP!

HIYA folks!!!

Today's post is dedicated to the If It's Groovy and True Xoxo Girls Challenge crossover blog hop!
WHEEEEE!

Here is the blog hop order:

Representing January we have: Wendy & Christa

Representing February we have: Michelle & Michelle H - You are here. HIYA!!!

Representing March we have: Wendy & Miae

Representing April we have: Heather & Jaclyn

Representing May we have: Lindsey & Deborah

Representing June we have: Brenda & Khristen

Representing July we have: Jean & Tess

Representing August we have: Rochelle  & Faye

Representing September we have: Kelly & Tiffany

Representing October we have: Kelly & Alaina

Representing November we have: Heather & Kimmy

Representing December we have: Deborah & Queen Kat

And the purpose of this hop is to make a page giving meaning to a particular month of the year.

My chosen month is February.

Materials: Basic Grey Fact or Fiction paper and embellishments, October Afternoon 9 to 5 stickers,
Studio Calico fabric rips and vellum arrows from Twine + Ink at Two Peas in a Bucket.
Yellow paint from Kaisercraft and mist from Studio Calico

I... dislike... February.
February means early evenings and long cold nights.
There are no benefits to cold weather no matter what poet Nikki Giovanni tells you.
Cozy doesn't cut it!
But February also means lots of red in the stores (thank you otherwise meaningless holiday Valentine's Day!)
AND it's my birthday.
For those reasons alone, I tolerate February.

So happy to have some vellum arrows! Now I get to indulge my
need to layer them all over my pages. My camera is in the shop so I'll be
scanning all my projects from a few months. I removed the chipboard from behind the
Basic grey "Fiction" butterfly so it flattened out completely.

This year I am a proud 39 year old woman.
I don't worry about being old or about the smile lines sprouting around my mouth and brow.
39 is a chance to start fresh and have some experience under my belt.

Not exactly deep journaling but it's my mantra for the month of February. 

For this page I wanted to use a color not usually associated with winter- yellow.
It's my favorite color and how I keep myself from FREAKING OUT over the weather.
I put bring cheery colors all over my pages- pretend I don't mind being stuck inside for three months and soon it's SPRING and I sigh in relief.

Thanks for joining in today- you next stop in the blog hop is:

Wendy - http://disneydarling07.blogspot.com/

Xoxo!
Michelle

Cocoa Daisy Kit Club and me? We're like this! (besties!!)

So there you have it- the news I've been trying to hold back for weeks
I'm the September Cocoa Daisy Guest Designer!
Woo hoo!!!

FOR REALZ!!! Cocoa Daisy kit madness was the most fun I've had in weeks. Visiting
the Zoo with a toddler in 90 degree weather is NOT fun- no really- it's not.

When I got the email from Emily Pitts a few weeks ago let's just say I was... surprised.
With equal parts ecstatic and scared.
I actually questioned whether they had the right Michelle.
After all- THIS Michelle is known for her blabbering, bumbling and being completely overwhelmed.

GRINNING!

Well not THIS month!
I scheduled everything down to the last minute.
Zoo visit? Done! 3 hours!
Work? I handed in a list of all the days I needed off for the entire month of August.
Family? They were warned NO UNPLANNED VISITS!
I got all my work for other DTs done early.
I said "no" to anything that would interfere- family movie night? NO!
Mall visit? NOOOO!
But I said yes to Lola's walks because nothing hurts more than looking back and thinking I should have said yes to this face.

GAH! Look at the CHEEKS! And the SWEET LITTLE NOSE!
Who can say no?

And then I got my kit.

GOTCHA! Can't show the kit- sorry! Tune in the 28th. Cocoa Daisy Kits.

I locked myself up in my scrap room for 2 entire days.
I was gonna kill my first kit!

I'm usually really freaked out by patterns but this October Afternoon
Woodland Park prints was BEGGING to be mixed with the Echo Park bracket print.
And the May Arts diagonal stripe ribbon? Who would have thought I would love green so much?
That's the great thing about this kit- the unexpected details.

And I'm very happy to say I did it!
4 pages and 1 great card I gave to my husband for our anniversary.
Woo hooo!
I've been part of several kit clubs and received many"color co-ordinated" kits.
My first move was always to pick the kits apart and use only the embellishments.
But not this time.
I would have never thought the serene blues and greens of this kit would fit my style so well- they really really do.
I also got the "His" add on as well- you're gonna love these combos PROMISE!

These Pink Paislee alphas- I've passed them up several times as "too large".
WRONG AGAIN! They are AWESOME!

Needless to say I think you should swing by and check out the kit.
I particularly like this month's kit stamp- it's freaking awesome.

See? So simple! INGENIUS!!!

To those of you who told the folks at Cocoa Daisy to swing by this lonely corner of the scrapiverse- thank you!!!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Using Your Smash Book to kick start your scrap Mojo.

Hallo scrappy people!

I've wanted to start an "art journal" forever but it seemed like double effort since I tend to experiment with color combos and materials on most of my projects.

Some pages work out. Most fail the awesomeness test.

Michelle's Page Awesomeness Test

• Are the colors, patterns and item sizes vibe-ing with (or BETTER yet- against) each other? 
• Does this page make me wanna do a karate chop while yelling "DAUM! That's HAWT!"
• Does this page do something different from the ones I've done before?
• Do I feel like I used up all my energy and ideas making this?

If the answers are yes- we are good to go.
If not, I redo the pages at a later time.
But, while educational, that way of working is getting incredibly inefficient.
A solution was needed.

Enter K & Co's Smash line.
I've actually had 2 of these books in my stash for over a year without ever opening them up!

Then I got the "Eco" Smash book as homework.

My assignment:
Fill 5 pages using only products available in the store.
The book was to be displayed to hopefully entice shoppers to get their own.

What I came up with:

Sorry for the crappy iTouch photos.
These were meant to record the page as a sketch for my next project.

All stamps, papers and embellishments are available at Paper Source.

The book on display:

So how did this help my with my scrapbooking?

1. I made a page made in about 2 hours (a third my usual time).

2. The Smash pages helped define color combos, embellishment placement and photo sizes.

A Flair For Buttons Sunburst White/Color and Woodgrain Days of The Week pins. LOOOOOVE!!!

3. It helped me define what I actually wanted to say. 

I had 3 theme ideas and 6 photos all jumbled up in my mind. This is actually a huge sticking point for me in a lot of pages and I avoided it entirely this time. 

Scrap FX Kraft journaling notes item #2012191k

I'm also glad I finally got to use some of that Basic Grey Wander paper.
When I first got this in a kit a year ago I really hated the colors. Not anymore!

I also found some graph pattern vellum online. I did a little jig for joy when I saw the listing! You'll be seeing a lot of it in all my pages.

GRATUITOUS TODDLER SHOT!!!

Salome at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Sound off!
How do you kick start your creativity?

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Deconstructed Edge- A Punky Scraps Sketch challenge

Good Friday Morning happy people!

The latest Punky Scraps Challenge is all about deconstructed design.
By "deconstructed" I don't mean that I took a hammer to it.
Deconstruction as a style, plays with design norms and assumptions.
Here is a GREAT blog article on how it relates to fashion- major food for thought and written in a very clear and concise manner- Fashion Medium.

Needless to say trying to tackle this challenge was a lot harder than I thought.

It would help to have a really good handle on graphic design principles.

I'm still on a learning curve for those.

Here's the page:

Lots of "thought" went into this design. Can you tell? Needless to say there are much better practitioners of this style but I love it so I'll keep trying to get a full handle on it.  

I'm currently reading "Graphic Design for Non-Designers" by Tony Seddon.
It's kind of a hard read since he's talking about visual issues with minimal illustrations and examples.
If you have a better design basics book or website let me know ok?
Some detail shots:

A Flair for Buttons on Etsy "Moments" pin
Cocoa Daisy "You Are Here" stamp
Honey comb Flower stamps from Paper Source 

Can you even SEE the clear arow from Fancy Pants here?
Yeah I thought so- will have to think of ways to make that more visible.

I had some help in the fantastic sketch Nat provided but I'm not happy with the final result.
I wanted to redo the page for this entry- yeah no- I barely have time to write this very post!
Here's the sketch- why not join in?
Punky Scraps Challenge Blog

A fashion related sketch if I ever saw one.

I'm in NYC tour leader mode for this entire month which is why I barely have time to think.
Lots of family outings to random places which can be exhausting but so fun.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle