WHAT I LEARNED THIS WEEK: Minimalist Design

Happy Monday folks!

Today's installment of what I learned this week is all about minimalism.
Well ok- not ALL about it-
just the part that pertains to scrapbook pages that take hours and hours and hourssss.

I've always been attracted to the stark and beautifully balanced look of Japanese art and interior design.

This style is more about visual harmony and quality materials than proving you are wealthy (or a really talented scrapbooker) by gilding everything.

You can also fall under the false impression that minimalist projects take less time.

Yeah, no.
Not if you take forever and EVER to choose items so that they contrast just enough to make the page pop but not enough to stab the viewer's eyes.
That last part is subjective.

Materials: Scrap FX Endless Beauty wordlet #2012036, Sakura Flowers #2013009 and
Magnolia branch #2013001, Coredinations Jenni Bowlin paper, October Afternoon chevron pattern paper, GCD Studios Sweet Surrender print paper, 

I started with the beautiful Sakura photo of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
This photo is AMAZING. I still can't believe I took it.

My camera has a panoramic setting but you can use an app called Picstitch to get that same look with your iPod or you can crop and print to photos and stick them down on your page for a really fun collage look.

What I learned

• Without basic design knowledge you can easily spend hours shuffling an image around the page for "balance". 

Simple is not easy.

So I found this chart by Grant Snider of Incidental Comics. 

It helped. A LOT.

• I've been using CoreDinations paper a LOT lately. I went to their blog to get technique tips and found out they are having a design team call. !!!!  I considered applying but a public blog post is required as your application. Right... 'nuff said on that.

You can stitch through delicate wordlets!
Just use the hand knob to advance and bring up your foot so you don't stitch through the actual letters.
You can put it down again when you reach the border.
Hope I'm using the right terms for the parts there...

I'm reading Dina Wakely's Art Journal Freedom. You MUST pick it up!
She details the products she uses on her spectacular pages.
I picked up some acrylic artist ink which is super ka DUPER opaque
and the dropper means you get CRAZY awesome splatter.
Also? It fully covers chipboard in 1 coat!
 New finishing fave!

The larger Sakura is finished with Stabilo water color pencil and a bit of water to
smooth away pencil lines. The brighter white flowers were finished with artist ink.

• Going by the chart above- I've already failed. The loose gold thread all over this page is hardly "clean".  I just learned the rules and I'm already having fun breaking them!
• I also added hidden meaning (another no no- OOPS!) with some GCD Studios paper snippets so  you don't have to "search" for it in the page. You're welcome!
• Sanding Core'Dinations paper is easier with a sanding sponge from your local hardware store. It's 2 dollars versus the 10 you'll pay for a fancy Tim Holtz scrapbook sanding block. 
• I made vellum Sakura by tracing the chipboard and cutting them out. This was time consuming. I really love the look. I REALLY love it. I'll have to make a separate page just with those.
• My scanner is still going strong. I can't believe I can get clear impressions even with the thick chipboard on this page! SO EXCITED!!! Now I can work AND shoot pages later at night!

Today marks 2 years since the Tsunami that killed over 19,000 people and displaced another 300,000 in Japan.
Sometimes my inner brain tells me things that my outer brain wants to ignore.
Let's all pause for the lives lost.

One of my favorite Williamsburg spots.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

ARTastic Blog Guestie! YAY!

She Tried- ARTastic Challenge Blog July Guest Designer
Materials- Core-dinations Jeni Bowling collection, GCD Studios Brave Soul paper,  Glitz  Love games floral (fussy cut flowers), Maya Road heart pins, roses from dollars store, velvet posies from Making Memories

Upper floral cluster with fussy cut details

Hello everyone! Hope you had a great 4th of July. We stayed home as the fireworks can be easily seen from our fire escape even if they are on the West side on Manhattan- again. Why doesn't Macy's alternate Manhattan island sides?? Whatever- nothing would induce me to join the crowds at the bay this year. I love me a fireworks party but the train ride home is HECTIC.

Used a hand die cut from K & Co as a template and some clear
 film to make this "glove". I didn't use the die cut because it's pink and felt- the
 transparency also allowed the paper to show through.

I know you are all busy so here's a quick post with some fun news- I'm guest designing for ARTastic Challenge blog out of Australia this month. Yay! ARTastic uses paintings as the jump off point for scrapbook pages and the projects for this month are AMAZING (as is always the case).

This page is me talking to myself- sometimes you just gotta
keep on keeping on.

Please check them out and join the fun. ARTastic Challenges.

Fun 4th of July window display.

MuChOs SmoOcHeS!
Michelle

Top 10 of 2010

I just went over my scrapbook.com gallery and got a real look at my scrap progression through 2010. There's a definite style change- from frills and flowers to grids and stitches. Also- I stink at taking photos of my pages... I wonder what 2011 will bring?

I do have very definite scrap goals:
1. Use more spritz, paint and transparencies in my pages
2. Deepen my Photoshop skills.
3. Learn how to use my Leica in MANUAL so I can get exactly the shot in my brain.
4. Get published.
5. Get on a DT for a shop so I can get FREE monthly SWAG!

In no particular order (because really- I just can't commit) here are my Top 10 of 2010. Thanks to fave bloggers Alia, Lucy and Margrethe for this idea!! Please go by their blogs- these women are AMAZING!!!!

November- Date Night: Love that it sparkles. Love the mini pix.

October- Defy Expectations: Negative space- I held
back for  once.

April- 6 Months: frills, flowers and fabulousness.

August- Engaged! Lety & Berto: spritz madness

December- He Said/She Said: The photo is of the
bathrooms at IKEA- love the randomness of this page.

September- Out of a jar sprung Hope: This was a page
celebrating my daughter's birth. I got crazy with
the stitching and I LOVE IT.

November- 80's Child: Glad I used these photos- SO rad.

December- Feliz Navidad: After all the struggle with
 Christmas projects I was glad to make
 1 really nice project.

August- Precious: I combined some of my most favorite
elements,Maya Road Kraft envelopes, lace die cut
paper, flowers and spritz into 1 page.

August- Happy 2nd Anniversary!: Dave and I have been
together for 12 years- married for 2- it's been awesome.

I want to wish all me readers a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!! May your 2011 be filled with peace, hope, beauty and love. Thank you for taking some time for this blog- I deeply DEEPLY appreciate it!!!

AMOR, SALUD Y DINERO!!! (love, health and money)!
M.

Craft Elf! No- craft GREMLIN...

Lola is a constantly amazing me. Naturally I think she's a genius and incredibly fascinating- and funny- and adorable- the most lovable thing since sliced bread with lemon curd and cool whip on top.

Here she is casing the join for paper to DESTROY. This is her new hobby- make Mommy scream in anguish. I love her- this is proof- anyone else going into my plastic cases would get the ol' heave ho.

I created this page for the PAPER ISSUES Christmas Challenge. Go check this website out- there are so many spectacular projects there I can hardly stop reading and looking to make my own.

Craft Elf using Pencil Lines sketch 215 by Jennifer Matott

The circles have photos of my favorite ornaments.

Here are Lola's:

These are constantly coming off the tree and traveling to far off places- like the bathroom. 
I love felt ornaments. The more rudimentary they look the more I want them. This year I'm stalking West Elm and Lord & Taylor- when they have their 75% sales I am SO there!

For the second Christmas page I used Core Impressions Cosmo Cricket neautrals. The paper is Turquoise but of course the scanner turned it green. I had a devil of a time trying to turn it back and didn't succeed. I really need to take some advanced photoshop courses...

Anyways I also used some felt, some wire ribbon for the borders and strips, a Jillibean soup kraft tag and packaging for the journaling and my new favorite embellishment string. The gold border is German and I got it from Vintage Images In Time- an Etsy shop.

I love stitching! It allows me to talk, listen and think but not watch tv- it's the ultimate zen craft.

Talking to Santa Giraffe 

MuChOs SmOoChEs!!
M.