Inspiration Elevator- public display scrapbook challenge

Welcome to another month of Inspiration Elevator!

Our main purpose here at IE is to challenge ourselves, each other and YOU to take the creative process to the next level;  to inspire growth and change in our scrapbooking beyond the mundane.

You can see all of Inspiration Elevator's previous challenges at our blog and catch us on Facebook and Instagram (soon!) too.

This month's challenge is issued by the innovative Michelle Hernandez. Michelle's style is about telling the story with a clean and simple, yet artsy approach, an awareness of current trends, and garnished with her use of chipboard and often neutral colours.

Here is her challenge for us, in her own words:

The challenge for June 15th is- make a public scrapbook page. You are making a page to go up at work or to give away to a family member to put up in their space. In your blog post you will tell us how knowing this page isn't going in a book or in your home changed your style. Did you go all out and make something that is 3D? Did you suppress your love of a particular color or product? How do you feel about the page being public- outside your regular audience of scrapbook lovers who read your blog or open your books at home?



Sorry for the fuzzy page- I work off my ipop and apparently Blogger doesn't like
whatever programing language ipods use to display images.

When I thought up this challenge I had several family portrait projects in mind. Working on those made me realize how much my style changes when i'm working for someone else.

I tend to keep my palette low contrast and light.  I also stay away from messy techniques and mediums because I assume most people don't want a page with lots of paint spatter or wonky layers.

I made this for a co-worker who loves the color blue. Yes, I know.

I wanted to keep design time to an hour so I used a single collection pack and made my layers neat so she wouldn't mind putting it up in her cubicle. 



My co-worker's cubicle is full of photos. She really liked her page- it's very different from her style
but she assured me that was a good thing. WHEW!

I used the Twenty 3 collection from Cosmo Cricket- arguably one of the most challenging color combos I've ever come across- orange, pink, mustard yellow and grey. Or as far away from blue as possible.

This page will match our office decor and hopefully be quiet enough to allow her to use any horizontal 4x6 family photo. I plan to make a second page for her in her favorite color but that will come later- picking and matching items is what usually takes me hours to decide.

Here's a complete list of this month's participating designers!  We encourage you to check out each designer's creation this month, then come on back and give the challenge a try yourself!

                                                                Michelle Hernandez

Jayne Morgan

Wendi Robinson

                                                                  Katherine Sutton

Lisa Moen

Lisa Spiegel

Ann Jobes

Guest Designerchristyriopel.blogspot.ca- Christy Riopel 

We have a couple of regular artists taking a summer hiatus and look forward to the return of Joanne Burton and Christa Uttley in the fall.

Meantime, if you've wanted to participate as a guest designer with Inspiration Elevator, just contact team lead, Ann at ann jobes at bell dot net. 
 

Now it's your turn to get creating about art you share publicly, and share your blog link at the IE blog. We would love to see what you were inspired to make! 

Thanks for swinging by!

Michelle

Stencil Girl Products typewriter stencil blog hop.

Hello!

I'm totally excited to be participating in this FAB blog hop for Stencil Girl Products!

Today we are featuring Nat Kalbach's typewriter design for Stencil Girl.

On the eye candy menu today:

Nat Kalbach

Martha Richardson

Maria McGuire

Corrine Gilman

Michelle Hernandez (you're here- woot!)

I hope you swing by all the participating blogs to see how each artist used Nat's fab stencil design.

LOVE the styling of this design! A+ Nat!

It wouldn't be a proper blog hop without a GIVE AWAY.

One lucky reader will win a typewriter stencil on Nat's blog.

You can increase your chances by leaving one comment on each participating blog.

Deadline is Tuesday August 20th.

Good luck!

Normally I'm a fairly traditional Mommy scrapbooker but every once in a while I'll bust out a mixed media project to keep things real. (Ha!)

I love the hand drawn styling of this stencil so I put together a fairly abstract canvas using papers from Cosmo Cricket's 2wenty Thr3e line. 

Materials: light molding paste on Nat's Stencil Girl Products typewriter stencil, gesso to adhere cut paper to the canvas and water color pencils to give the background some depth.

Believe it or not this took me all day. !!!!

I wanted to make something inspiring I could stare at when I'm having a off moment (which is all the time).

Questions swirled in my head.
Should I include a famous quote? 

Do I add a photo?
Do I go for lots of white space or fill this baby up?

Going abstract scares me because it's quite challenging to make the work relatable but I've always found the genre incredibly invigorating and thought provoking so I decided to put my inhibitions aside and see where this took me.

I also made a quick card with bits from my first attempt:

This is on it's way to you Nat! Thank you and congrats on this new venture. 

You've put a wonderful new tool into my paint stained hands!

This is the last stop on the hop.

I hope we gave you something to think about and admire.

Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered into the drawing!

Michelle

Inspiration Friday- Brooklyn Botanical Garden (and an art journal page)

Hello!

This week has run right past me laughing!
I barely had time to notice all the beautiful things so I could share them with you here.

Last night I was trolling Pinterest again.
I'm trying to figure out how to organize my boards since I have so many.
How do you pin?
How do you categorize it?

Here is a very quick page I came up with on the theme "summer heat/ summer sun"
Can you tell I'm SO over this lingering winter weather?

Don't ask my why I combined Tattered Angels "Frozen Lake" with Cosmo Crickets Twenty Three
collection paper and grey water color paper- it just "felt" right.

 The stencil set is from Michael's- 5 bucks and AWESOME!
I also scored on metallic Faber-Castell gelatos at TJ Maxx.
5 dollars for mixed media packs that included water color pencils and PITT pens.

We also visited the Brooklyn Botanical Garden which I put on my "flower watch" every year.
This year the trees have budded but none have flowered,
It will be a few more weeks before I get good Sakura photos.

I did take a couple of shots:

The Magnolias are still budding but the Chinese Camellia tree is in full bloom.

Many of our favorite trees have survived Hurricane Sandy. 

Tiny pine cones from the Japanese Pavilion.

Japanese Pavilion, Brooklyn Botanical Garden
First "winter" type shot I've ever taken.
I think I'm going to swing by and get a snow shot next year. 

Bonsai. It's amazing this tree is alive and thriving on a plate.
SO inspiring!

Sorry I cut the top off. 

Have a great weekend!
Michelle

Scrapping with unusual colors and funnies from the blogging front

I'm Googling like a mad woman trying to figure out why some of my teamies over at Scrap FX have new blog formats they can't "follow" people on.
Do you know what I mean?
Have you updated your Blogger blog lately and found your "follow" button now reads "share"?
What's THAT all about???
If you know, share please!
Google is NO HELP.
I can't  find articles no matter how many search terms I put into the search bar.
Which made me wonder- what search terms are landing people here?
These:

• 3 people found me by using: "fly story with stencil": That. Right there. Is awesome! FLY story? YES PLEASE! I luuurv me some FLY stories! 
• 3 with: "Puerto Rican Pride":  Ok. I got the pride. I have a digi Puerto Rican Flag permanently flying in my Pinterest account and it only gets pinned by other Puerto Ricans. Abrazos a todos! This is a scrapbook blog- if you can roll with that, we are main buds. Hey, do you mind sharing your flan recipe? Please?
• 3 with: "Scrap FX": WHAT? ONLY 3? MUST correct that! ASAP!
• 3 with: "stencil of Puerto Rican flag for": FOR WHAT? Guys, you've totally left me hanging! For baking? For rinsing beets with? What already?
• 2 with: "Billy drinking pop + red fern"- HUH? How are Billy's pop drinking habits connected to scrapbooking? RAAAANDOM! Red Fern? That's a book. I know from my searching Ebay for live ferns to buy. Yes I used to buy ferns, ON EBAY.
• 2 with "EK Success punches with settings": So cool! Now what are these settings you are looking for? You KNOW I'm going to be looking that up! I'll be finding myself next!

DOH!!!
I never posted my May True Xoxo Scrapbooking challenge page!!!
Swing by and play along!
Here it is:

I used Gauche Alchemy's limited edition Neon color kit to make this page.
You'll also spot some embossed lines I made with a score board and bone folder-
thanks to Melissa Mann for that idea. The chipboard alphas and flourish are from Scrap FX.
I used gel pens and neon pastel crayons to finish them.

And this? Apparently, I forgot I submitted a page a month in advance

Cosmo Cricket Heart in The Dark alphas and blackboard chippies, bling from Kaiser Kraft
Crafter's Workshop basket weave stencil, Tattered Angels Mermaid Glimmer glam, Smash tape and
some AWESOME EK Success stamps.

So swing by True Xoxo Girls are get to scraplifting!
I fully give you permission to STEAL THESE PAGES!
(Can I get a small mention though? Come on- you love me! Admit it!!!! )

Well hello there, gorgeous! (summer 2010)

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
And a digi PR flag waving! I'm a PROUD Boricua!

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

SPRING with Cosmo Cricket!

63 degrees today, 67 tomorrow?
Too awesome!!!
I'm so excited I could BURST!

I had a very busy scrap week.

I made this for an upcoming True Xoxo Girls challenge but it doesn't fit the challenge parameters so back to the drawing board it is.
The March challenge is finding inspiration on Pineterest. (click through to see for yourself)
Swing by and submit your page.
The winner gets a GDT spot on the team.

This page started as a design experiment with shapes. It was supposed to be really graphic but the further I got into it the more I realized it wouldn't attract an the audience that way so I added the pearls and Cosmo Cricket swirls- now I think it's too much of everything.
What do you think?

Materials: Cosmo Cricket Earth Love swirls, black board butterflies and Heart in the Dark alphas, Crafter's Workshop basket weave template, Tattered Angels Glimmer Glam in Mermaid, ZVA pearls and rhinestones swirls, K and Comapny Smash tape, Ek Success parenthesis stamps

Detail shots:

I have a guest spot coming up over at Do More With Less, Yvonne Yam's fantastic personal blog. I love Yvonne's highly innovative style and her ability to use messy techniques on perfectly crisp and clean modern pages- she's an inspiration.
I will be talking about the Neon trend and showing off a card and page project- feel free to swing by March 20th.

Sneaky peek!!! Do More With Less- March 20th

My page is still messy- I'm working up to a more clean style.

I am also trying to make my blog more relevant to my readers.
What do you like to read about?
What are your blogging pet peeves?
What would you like to see more?
I've been at it for over a year and feel like I've hit a rut. Fell free to give me your 2 cents and I will try to implement everything as best I can.

GRATUITOUS TODDLER SHOT!!!!

Sure! Get comfy why don'tcha?

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle