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

The call of the WILD- Neon Color Challenge

Ok scrappy friends yesterday's post (you can scroll down a post if you are curious) got all emo and serious so today I dedicate to FUN.
Side note- Girl with a Dragon Tattoo? Too awesome for words. See it.

Isn't it sad the bathroom people aren't shining? AWWWW!

Amigas- I need your help!
My Neon color challenge doesn't have any entrants yet and there's 9 days left to link.
The last day will be April 6th.
Can you- will you- join the fun?

Here is another inspiration piece:

Ok so THIS was REAL fun!
First I tried using black gesso on a Crafter's Workshop template but OH NOOO it bled right through the borders so I had to use white gesso to stamp the borders of the template back on.
I made the pin wheels myself and If you remember the 80'd were not complete without stripes and polka dots so the blank side of the paper got special attention.
I used a Bam POP! paper pad I've had a VERY LONG TIME. I bought it on a whim and got scared of the totally 80's neon print. I also used Hambly mini trannies that I LOOOVE and will be getting more of as well as my go to item- Gauche Alchemy punchinella in black.
Last minute yellow twine.. there's probably too much happening here but hey- take this as your moment to teach ME a lesson on restraint! I don't mind!!!
I LOVE SCHOOL!!!!

I turn to you my FIERCE and loyal readers! (Yes all 3 of you!!!)

Go on out to Target and get some neon index cards or  some price stickers or maybe a child's paint set and GET TO WORK.
Link up here pretty pretty please with a nice cherry on top. :) 
Perhaps you want to stick around and to take a look around Yvonne's blog?
Her work is amazing!

Detail shots:

I haven't used the word "rad" since last week so I made sure to add it to my page to
make super duper SURE ya'll got the HINT. If you aren't slam dancing to Billy Idol
right this very second you are making this short Puerto Rican girl cry.

Pinwheel! Makes me happy!

So there you have it- a shameless self promoting plea and a call to action.

GRATUITOUS TODDLER PHOTO!!!

The Hipstamatic can easily provide neon photos to match neon layouts.
I use an iTouch- it's cheaper and doesn't require a data plan.
Plus you could score a great one online used- who wants an iTouch
when the new iPhones have better cameras? (ME!!!)

Muchitas gracias!
Michelle

The NEON Challenge!!

2012 is the year neon came back!
I'm seeing it everywhere.

Even on the lace bows of expensive french lingerie! 

Who wears neutral underwear with blindingly bright pink bows that cost 200 just for the bra?

MATERIALS: Bazzill grey card stock, Cocoa Daisy stamp, Cosmo Cricket’s DeLovely paper,
Crafter’s Workshop 6x6 chevron stencil, SC Mister Huey in white and chipboard from
Crate Paper, Sakura Gelly Roll pen outlines in fluorescent yellow,  neon pink twine,
Cosmo Cricket Heart In The Dark alphas and Jenni Bowlin flying bird punch.

To celebrate, I'm hosting a challenge over at DO MORE WITH LESS.
Yvonne Yam's awesome scrap style is both clean, modern and full of messy techniques such as paint, upcycled items and glitter.
How does she manage to pull it all off with nary a finger print or stray pencil mark on the page???
I aspire to that kind of control over technique.

This project was shaping up so well! Those finger prints are
UNINTENTIONAL and decidedly UNHAPPY accidents!

Perhaps you have some generic price stickers or neon pink twine lying around?  Most of Hambly's entire inventory qualifies. I've also found lots of great neon in Basic Grey (Out of Print) and Crate Paper's Random line.
Cosmo Cricket totally saw the trend coming because the entire DeLovely line is neon and it came out last winter.

Martha Stewart NEON GLITTER! EEEE!
25 dollars for the pack! Coupon time!

If nothing else Sakura makes neon gellyroll pens. (EEEEE!)
I tend to buy these every time I go to the scrap store because I use them on everything.
And there's always the 89 cent bottles of craft acrylic paint from the kids section at the arts and craft store.

Price stickers, 89 cent paints and thread.
At 5 bucks a pop perhaps thread is the purchase you want to save till
you've decided you love neon.

Swing by Do More With Less- you probably are already a follower- she's that awesome.
Thank you so much for the opportunity Yvonne!

My second project-you can do better I'm SURE! I do like the border. REDO TIME!
Materials: Basic Grey Life of the Party, Ki Memories NYC puffy, woodgrain fabric circles, Hambly
woodgrain washi tape,  EK Success peg alpha stamps, Scrap FX flying bird chip board, American
Crafts Zing embossing powder, K & Co Smash tape, Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam in Mermaid.

Ah bribery- the BEST way to drive traffic.
Here's what you get if you win the challenge:

GRATUITOUS TODDLER SHOT!!!!

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

Sketchy Thursdays and Sassafras Lass

I got my last Sassafras order last week. It's a bittersweet experience to open a box full of beautiful color and happy prints knowing you will never get another one like it again. I got some beautiful Sunshine Broadcast loveliness so I made this page AND tried to shoot it in a similarly appropriate manner.

Sketchy Thursdays Guest DT Grateful page
MATERIALS: Sassafras Lass Sunshine Broadcast paper and stickers,  Smooch Spritz Sun kissed, Tattered Angels Sand mist, Mister Huey in Lemonade, buttons from Crate, pearl beads from Art-C, hearcleare heart buttob from Epiphany crafts, gold beads from Michael's

This page will be submitted to the Sketchy Thursdays December Guest DT challenge. I really love this sketch- the simplicity allows for a lot of creative play and I'm always a sucker for square format images.

A quick detail shot of the journaling:

I also made a second page for a sketchy Thursdays challenge sponsored by Paper Issues. Paper Issues teamed up with Pink Paislee to promote the release of their Snow Day line and the projects are GORGEOUS- please swing by to see the fantastic projects submitted so far!

Planet Hoth- Sketchy Thursdays 11/3/11 challenge sponsored by Paper Issues
MATERIALS: Bazzill white paper, Tattered Angels Patina mist. Smooch Sea Green mist, Mister Huey in Cream and White, Maya Road snowflake transparencies, Melissa Frances starburst and water bling brads, Crate,  Jenni Bowlin and Basic Grey buttons, alphas by Sassafrass Lass and Basic Grey, Sakura gelly pen in gold, Stickels in Diamond, star punchinella and white corrugated board from Gauche Alchemy

An apology- these were supposed to be ready on Monday but now that my husband is back in school weekends are a crazed mass of laundry, cooking and taking Lola to the park before the 4:30- sun deadline- did I mention I hated Fall? Sun rationing kills it for me. But I won't complain it was 68 (!!!) degrees here yesterday- I KNOW!!!

I'm struggling a bit on my Grace Project photos- mostly finding shots varied enough to include. May I submit that I am grateful for the "push" I'm getting to up my photo game? I'm trying all KINDS of crazy things to shoot my projects these day- can I show you on failed experiment?

Dave's architect's table makes for a really fun "stage".
Aluminum Foil is a dark apartment dweller's best friend!

This is a beautiful "staging" set up but without full sunlight or a tripod to steady the camera for the long exposure time it's just too dark in this room. I will FORCE myself to work with my cheapo tripod- it literally takes just as long to set it up as to shoot, edit and write a blog entry- very annoying.
A couple of detail shots:

The latest entry to the Daily Grace project:

11/7/11- Grateful for some time alone

11/8/11 Grateful for the PERFECT hamburger from Fanny on Graham St.

11/9/11 Grateful for THE BEST PRESENT EVER! Thank you Dave!!!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!

Michelle

An appropriate nightmare on Halloween

Happy Halloween everybody. We got some snow here in Brooklyn but it's all gone now so I think the witches, spooks and goblins will come out and play tonight. We are going to a party at The American Museum of Natural History.
But that's not what I want to share. I had a crazy SCARY dream last night!!!!

Ok several things:
1: I LOVE this easel from 7 Gypsies!  2: I found a pack Bazzill black card stock at TJ Maxx for 6 dollars along with AC Mix Tape for 3 bucks- shelf raiding time! 3: That FABULOUS brain stamp is from Dragonfly Laser on Ebay- they have FANTASTIC rubber stamps- all handmade in New Jersey. It's crystal clear- I used a mist to ink it.

It started normally. I was hanging around with Lola in a busy wide street- perhaps 42nd and Broadway. We stopped at a cafe table (they are everywhere now- part of a "traffic calming" program the mayor dreamed up).
Suddenly this chic comes out of nowhere saying she's a long lost relative and asking to hold Lola. I say no but she takes Lola off my arms anyway.
I am watching her walk away with my baby. I see them cross the street. I am thinking- WHY am I letting this happen? DO SOMETHING!!
And the the sun goes out.
Everything goes black for a few seconds.
People scream. Cars crash.
The sun FLICKERS back on.
I start to run after the woman who has now turned around and is looking at me from across the street. Lola is holding her arms out for me. No one moves.
I distinctly hear someone say: "What's going on? What's happening?"
I start to go through all the scientific causes in my head- eclipse, stroke, falling space stations- wouldn't an eclipse be on the news for weeks??? my brain babbled.
Wouldn't it get incredibly cold?
The sun flickers back off.
Pandemonium breaks out. People stampede past me and I am taken away from Lola and the sun FLICKERS back but much weaker- redder, dimmer.

Adorn-it thought bubbles, Basic Grey Obscure line rub-ons I had to activate using double sided tape.
Tip- don't bother with the heat gun- it just curls up the plastic they come in.

That's when I woke up. I "heard" myself yelling WAKE UP! WAKE  UP! I literally could not stand it another minute.
First I checked to see if Miss Thing was ok- she was. Then I looked out the window- it was dark- 3am dark in a snowy too cold to hang out night. And it was quiet.
Ooooo creepy not really awake brain filled in all KINDS of terrors I had to actively choose to ignore... didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

Halftone app

GRATUITOUS BABY SHOTS!!!!!!

This year's outfit- Candy Corn Witch. She refuses to wear the hat.

She also refuses to pose while looking at the camera.

Happy Halloween!
Michelle and Family

Cardtastic Friday!!! Two hand made cards.

Lola's been sick all week and hasn't been sleeping. I've had little creative time but I've really felt a NEED to make stuff. Rather than drive myself crazy trying to schedule pages in 20 minute intervals I've started making cards.
A master crafter can easily spend hours on a card using advanced techniques, check out Polka Cabana to see what that looks like, but I like to create a card in 30 minutes flat. Especially since I suspect many amy end up in the garbage anyway. But not best friend Gia- she's a keeper.

Gia's Birthday Card- I tried a new way of shooting this and really liked the result.
I placed the card directly in front of the light coming in the window and used a bounce card to light the front a bit more. I also over exposed this shot by 2 stops using my manual setting.
Materials: Gauche Alchemy ouchless corrugated board, Webster's Pages flower, Prima roses,
Elle's Studio banner, Canvas Corp burlap, Maya Road pins.

I made this card minutes before I met Gia for the first of 3 lectures on website design at Noble Desktop. Yup- I'm going pro people- blogging is awesome and I want to do it for bucks- maybe I'll finally land a paying gig too.

This shot shows more detail but it's flat.
I really need to invest in some photo staging material. 

Remember a million and  half years ago when I started my "Happy Mail" project and gathered all the real world addresses of my facebook friends? I haven't sent a single post card since!
I was talking to Cheryl the other day when she very politely pointed out she was still waiting for her card. OOOOOPS!
Here ya go sweets!

MATERIALS: Gauche Alchemy Scarlet Fever Red, Wedding Night White and Black Out color mixed
media kits , red punchinella, Fancy Pants filter doily, Paper Trunk Rockabilly paper (rose), Bazzill
Phoenix Swiss Dotted paper, Mister Huey in Plum and Schoolhouse, DCWV houndstooth paper.

This card will get mailed today- promise.
Cheryl got married recently. Swing by her blog, And Handmade Too, to check out her fabulous Rockabilly themed wedding. The wedding colors were red, black and cream which make for fantastic design.

Couple more scraps for the interior and we're done.
Hmmm- I need to fill in that receipt at some point...

I predict Cheryl will love the record shaped button on this card. I got it at a local thrift store here in Brooklyn called JUNK. It was the only one I saw that day but I'm going to go again to see if maybe I can dig a few more out of the huge bowls they are kept in.

How does Junk get away with charging 25 cents a button when
 they're displayed like this? Dave thinks I'm bananas for pointing this out as I wait
 in line to pay.  I stopped at 3 bucks- that's all the cash I had. 

It's now Midnight on the 28th of the month. I go check out Studio Calico as a regular schmo (dropped my subscription like I said I would)- you know what? I like this month's kit but I already have 90% of the products offered up and once again the only thing I wanted- AC woodgrain Thickers- are sold out 3 minutes into the game. NO regrets here!

Isn't this TOTAL awesomeness??? It's the Halftone app and I'm in LOOOVE!
I'm a  reformed comic book geek so this is reaching all KINDS of sweet spots!!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!

On the concept Beauty

Conversation and Reaction
Materials: Pink Paislee Hometown Summer borders,  Studio Calico Design/Create stamps, Maya Road Lightbulb stamps, American Crafts Zing in black, Prima chicken wire background stamp, Bazzill paper- white. Studio Calico crickets card that came in the kit (LOVE that print!)

Last night I had a great conversation with my Aunt Cuca. She's recently discovered scrapbooking. (YAY! New partner in crime!)  To encourage a raging habit I sent her a box of "things I love but will not use"- i.e- pretty paper. She was so happy! One thing I did not send was most of my flower and butterfly stash. I'm hoarding those even though I’ve changed my style.

I've actually started scrapping differently to use them up. Here's a sneaky sneak of a page I made for ARTastic Challenges. I was honored to be their July 2011 guest designer and let me tell you I agonized over this page:

ARTastic Challenge Blog July Guest Designer sneak.
ARTastic uses paintings as inspiration for scrapbook pages- you can be literal and lift the whole design or concentrate on specific elements such as the color palette. There are lots of RAK opportunities- swing by and check them out.

My Aunt went bananas over the flowers and ribbon I sent. We got into a convo about what we like and I swear I felt like I was talking another language. I told her I like grids and fonts and woodgrain- she was like- well everyone's light shines different. Amen to THAT sister!

But WHY give away my flower stash? Am I CRAZY??? I don't use the large 3D flowers anymore because they are too precious, too widely used, too... MUCH! (And on a practical note, 3D pages take up crazy amounts of storage space.) My idea of "beauty" has shifted. 

The Child's Bath (The Bath) by Mary Cassatt, 1893, oil on canvas, Art Institute of Chicago 

It's like this painting. Beautiful and something I would have aspired to a year ago. Lately I have tended to admire work that makes me think and see the world differently.  Cassatt was a ground breaker. She made the personal public by focusing on intimate family moments before it was considered ok for women to do that. She was a female painter in an era where only men were considered artists- women were mere hobbyists. Hmm... that's still the case! The  “high art” versus “hobby/craft” value system is especially apparent in the scrapbooking community. Say “I am a Scrapbooker” here in Brooklyn (ironic Hipster central) and watch the smirks. “Oh NO girl! You sit for hours playing with PAPER?  For fun? There are babies in your "art"????”

And so begins the struggle for someone like me. I love complicated, brainy or modern art. But I also love beauty for beauty's sake and traditional ideas of representation. So how do I be "me" in a field where traditional is the ideal? Where, if it isn't a baby or a cute pet or a positive feeling, it's a hard to grab attention? 

Well get ready for the uphill battle. 

Hey- I'm loosing you- here's a CUTE DOG to get you to read some more :)

 The scrapbook community is one that values the positive because the focus is on preserving memories- who wants to preserve the memory of their commuting to work frustrations? Who wants to spend hours trying to figure out what a page “means”?

The balance needs to be struck between the beautiful and the real.  Between the traditional and the cutting edge. After all- adding a bunch of beautiful Prima flowers to a page will not make an unfocused design suddenly come to life.  The opposite is also true- if the subject matter is not cute or beautiful then you have to spruce up those design skills because the work will depend on the eye loving what the heart rejects.   

One of my all time favorite shots of Miss Thang.
You can't see her face and  she's slightly off center-
a photo who's meaning can change according to mood.

I had an experience recently where someone lifted one of my Xoxo Girl designs and posted on their blog that my page "was not her style- let's leave it at that". I was so conflicted! I was flattered because the effort showed that there was something worth exploring in my page but what did "let's leave it at that" mean? I'd like to know!  

True Xoxo Girls April Challenge page

One of the biggest blocks I'm facing right now is lack of critical feedback. I know most of it is the "if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all" ethic. Plus everyone is updating their blogs or their galleries and making and photographing their work- these are BUSY people! So the page needs to speak and speak LOUDLY in seconds. But without going to art school or having graphic designer friends it's very hard to learn about design. Everyone can teach you a new technique but that DOESN'T mean it will be used effectively.

You can see the lifted page here: http://truexoxogirls.blogspot.com/2011/04/challenge-18-sponsored-by-candy-shoppe.html

I see some major improvements. Her design has focal points and symmetry- the color palette is more cohesive. I have photos on my page but they are tiny and get lost in the over all mess- hers are easier to see. Considering this is a scrapbook project- her page did it’s job- mine was an experiment. So my "take away" (that's corporate lingo for what I learned) is this: Keep looking. Take notes. Notice- what do those pages or projects or paintings have in common that you like? And most of all- DO NOT look for outside approval. Happiness needs to come from within and if it's flowers and butterflies or graffiti and grid lines that does it for you- it's up to YOU to develop your eye and your artistic voice.

Love this photo too.  It's in a page for my July True Xoxo Girls challenge page.
Have you uploaded your scraplifted creation yet? You have plenty of time so swing on by!

MuChoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Social Network overload!

I'm expanding my "social networks" to see if I can find a new job- it's amazing how many leads now come from social networking websites. I'm totally overwhelmed- if ya'll have any tips on how to deal with digi info overload please leave a comment- I'm just trying to keep up.
Here's my latest page:

Central Park Zoo
Materials: Martha Stewart polka dot paper, Bazzill cardstock, Studio Calico mists in Sunshine, lemon and Schoolhouse, Making Memories polka puffy alphas, Glitz Design woodgrain alphas, Crate Paper buttons, My Mind's Eye woodgrain paper, K and Co handmade line flower pin, Elle's Studio Love This Moment tag (made into flag), Hearts chipboard used as a mask- thanks Queen Kat!

This was a rare moment of fun with chipboard and spray mists this week. The old mojo is out on vacation big time. I have a few assignments due so I will force them. Usually it helps to work on deadline but right now it just causes me to wig out and give up. I'm feeling lots of pressure from the job search and everything else that's going awry right now- the scrap should be a distraction from all that (but true to form I just make it into another freak out moment). But please PLEASE let me NOT complain! There is always a solution- always personal evolution!

It's sunday! Go forth and picture take!!!

 It's Puerto Rican Day Parade time in NYC! WUEPA!
REPRESENT!
 Boriqua PRIDE! Hola mi gente!

Yellow Balloon, Empire State

MuChOs SmOoChEs!!!
Michelle