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

On creativity and the impulse to "make something"

"I just want to make pretty things even if nobody cares".
Many of us have pinned that pictogram onto our boards or put them on our Facebook page.
It captures how we feel when people question our paper crafts hobby.

I've always felt this saying was a tad on the defensive side.
I make things that are pretty and I make things that are... complicated.
I'm proud of both.
I'm also proud to say I am creative- even if no one cares. Laughing!

When fellow scrapper Laura swung by my blog on Moday and commented she wished she could think outside the box more often I wanted to think about my reply.
Mostly I wanted to give encouragement.
And I wanted to say something that would help us both because many times I feel like I lack the creativity gene that so many scrap happy women seem to share.

This page marked a huge departure from the "norm" for me. I'm using pink.
I'm trying to keep things simple and the page thin enough to fit in my 12x12 scrapbook album
I haven't used since 2009. (!!!)  So while this isn' going to win any innovative design awards I love
 it and it's actually hanging over my desk as a reminder that I can and should stop using brown
and black in my pages so much! Plus? HELLO GREEN RIBBON! LOVE!
Materials: Cocoa Daisy September Kit, May arts Ribbon, Pink Paislee wood letters,
October Afternoon and Echo Park papers.

As I told Laura- the act of waking up in the morning and breathing can seem like a crazy out of the box act of pure creativity some days- especially when everything is going pear shape.
So the question is this:
Are you ready to own it?
Your creative talent and unique voice, I mean.
Can you, will you, stand by your impulses when everyone else is insisting "NOPE! That's not how you do that!"
It's a hard road to take.
If you have a lot of friends who also scrap or sew or share your creative pursuit, it can be even harder to stick to your very specific and interesting story.
But I happen to think it's the road you take- the trip- the adventure-
THE RIDE
that actually matters.
So here is the advice I have Laura (who's blog: Who's This Chick? is CRAZY FULL of gorgeous scrapbook pages! Laura you OOZE creativity!)
I changed some parts up because I wrote it so fast I made a bunch of grammatical errors but it's basically the same thing.

I believe everyone is creative! Living life is a series of problems posed and overcome- how you solve that problem and how happy you are with your solution? THAT'S creativity!
I believe the key to personal creative development is being committed to your story. 
That doesn't mean spending thousands of dollars on scrap stuff. 
It doesn't mean taking tons of classes (although education is key).
It means constantly looking at the visual problems your pages pose and saying to yourself- how can I do this differently? 
How can I tell my unique story? 
Stick to scrapping exactly what you know, feel and love and TRUST me- you'll start seeing how creative you actually are.
I'm by no means an expert but I feel like I've come pretty far considering I stared scrapping in late 2009. I've never taken a class. I have no scrappy local friends- everything I do I learned from reading blogs online and thinking "What if I do THIS instead?"
I think my "creativity" isn't a talent but simply not being satisfied with my work and trying out new things.
What I try to do- even when I use sketches- is tell an authentically "me" story and try to do at least 2 things differently with each page- placing the elements of the sketch in different places, using colors I normally wouldn't use or materials I love that the sketch artist omitted.
Lastly, I think you could improve your feelings of creativity by just keeping a running journal of things you tried that you loved. Just noticing things like "I love this ribbon" or "I love pink and light blue together."  can lead to further exploration and a development of a unique style.
Do the same for things you love in other people's pages and you'll see how you'll develop your own "visual language" and start getting all kinds of ideas about what you want to do in your own work.
Swing back and lemme know if it worked!

So with that I'll share this weeks "Photo Inspiration":

A pattern on an "Old Navy" t-shirt- LOVE! Actually scrapping this now!

This is someone's front door! It's welded iron! LOVE the layering!
Will be trying this  (on paper) soon!

Magazines are a great source of inspiration!
Subscribe to at least 1 that isn't scrap or craft related. You don't  have to read it-
just look at the pretty pretty layouts!

I got in some trouble for taking this photo of the Muccia Prada exhibit at the
Metropolitan Museum- don't care- those colors and pattern combos are FABULOUS!
There are museums in your state- visit them!

What do you think makes for a creative person?
What do you do to spark your creativity?
Write it up below- I can always use more tips!!!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
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

Happy Happy Heart day!

Happy Valentine's Day!
I've never had a problem with today as a holiday. When I was single I had a huge group of friends I would go dancing with and now that I'm married I have a husband I can "ask" (beg) to go get bagels for me as a present- it's been great!

I just heard a super interesting conversation on an NPR talk show and I wanted to share!

It was about improving the quality of your relationships and the primary thing the relationship expert said we should do: (wait for it- it's kinda obvious)

-Try new EXCITING things together. 

If you tend to go see Opera together try going on a hike. If you go hiking together go see an opera. The theory is that a good long term relationship requires intellectual stimulation to maintain the "spark" that first drew you together.

Dave's card. I had a lot of fun recycling the Maya Road packaging bubble for this
but the pinked edges of the photos inside refused to play nice- this is literally the
 only shot where you can see all 3- it took 30 minutes to get them to do this.
Word to the wise- don't pink the friggin edges!!

Dave recently helped me by shooting a video for Gauche Alchemy (I'm still trying to figure out how to edit it) and suddenly he "got it"- that I really love talking about art and shooting the video was a way for him to participate. 

Before the video his eyes would just roll to the back of his head whenever I started up. 

I can't get him to sit down and scrap (a good thing actually!) but this was a way for us to share. 

I just have to figure out a way to "share" in David's primary loves- RC helicopters, kites, telescopes and electric bicycles. 

Hmmm- I just realized how geeky we are. Perhaps it's time we go Kayaking or something.

If you want to take a listen here's a link: WNYC-RelationShow- it's funny as all get!

I also wrote up a funny article on Valentine's Day crafting for Gauche Alchemy- swing by if you have a few moments: Plastic, hot glue and you- Some do's (more don'ts)

GRATUITOUS FAMILY PHOTO:

To heck with happy family shots! It's nap time.

Have a GREAT day people. Hug the ones you love!

MuChoS SmOoChEs!

Michelle

Talking about Instagram- AGAIN.

Mondays are reserved for Project Life posts but this week I got distracted while putting the week's main theme 6 by 12 compartment together.

The entry was going to be about last week's visit to the Museum Of Natural History and the "Beyond Earth" exhibit.
We learned all about possible missions to Mars, terraforming the Moon, commercial space flight and the consequences of a large meteor strike on earth. I would like to forget that last bit- I'm highly strung as it is.

This is the result of last night's efforts:

If you're in NYC I suggest a day spent at the Museum of Natural History- stuffed animals, dinosaur bones, giant jewels, live frogs and butterflies- it's the best 10 bucks you'll spend while here. Bring snacks- the food court is expensive!
Materials: October Afternoon- Rocket Age Incoming Transmission and alphas, Basically Bare acrylic gear, Fiskars star punch in XL and L, K & CO Smash ticket, October Afternoon journaling spots, Crate Paper exposure paper (for border), Gauche Alchemy Punchinella in silver, 

I followed my own advice, let go of self imposed deadlines and went with the flow.
It was good to FINALLY use my stash of October Afternoon Space Age papers. I love the prints but didn't know how to incorporate their specific theme to my everyday life scrap style. 

Problem solved.
Now I realize I have a MILLION ways to use this paper!

SNEAK PEEK of tomorrow's post- a Valentine's Day card.

The abrupt change in project plans came when I took my customary Instagram boast shot. I hate to admit it but I guess it IS boasting to show you are currently scraping right? Ah whatever! Look at that awesome border!

This frame from the Instagr.am "Nashville" filter is awesome.
I don't like the overall bluish tone it adds so I rarely use it.
I like the tones here more than the ones I got shooting in the park.

I am now addicted to posting my crappy out of focus process shots on Instagram because I usually get immediate feedback from friends. If I see a couple of likes on a photo or a layout in-process I know the project is on the right track. 

My apologies to my followers who put up with my 15 plus images a day. 

I know it's considered spam now.

Subway tiles at the 81st street downtown B/C station.
Instagr.am Lo-fi filter

I really do try to hold back but sometimes I forget to turn off the wi-fi connection on my ipod only to eventually exclaim- "OH NO! I'm BROADCASTING AGAIN!" which makes the Hubster give me his "Huh?? GET A LIFE WOMAN!" look. 

Ahh the pitfalls of social networking.

But really, who wants to see perfectly edited images every time? How do we learn from each other's process that way? I follow several pro photographers who obviously use Instagram to promote their business- more power to them- but for me- it's still a learning thing.

How else would I know bathroom mirror shots are de rigueur if not for
Instagram?? This shot was edited using the Halftone app.

Right now it looks like the primary thing you'll learn from my feed are:

•  Lola likes to eat veggies
•  I live in a place infested (beautified by!) graffiti artists. 

If you're into that kind of thing then you'll LOVE my Instagr.am feed. 

If you just think I need a better camera (or an actual iPhone) and some perspective leave a comment here because you just might be my new best friend.

Some detail shots:

Had to tell myself: PUT THOSE STICKERS DOWN- they're so versatile!

Basically Bare acrylic cog- can you see it?

Freaking AWESOME! I wish they had smaller ones. 

Finally used that OA Tin Pin- LOVE!

GRATUITOUS CUTE BABY SHOT!

A plate of broccoli (Instagr.am)

Gotta love it.

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

Ormolu feature today!!!

I have a page featured over at Ormolu's blog today!!!
YAAAAY!
It's a great time for happy email as our little family is struggling with the January cabin fever doldrums. It's too cold to go outside and we made a promise to avoid all shops other than the supermarket. We're spending a lot of time at Trader Joe's...
I can't even scrap because Lola is so crazed with unspent energy she insists on climbing everything. Anything too small to climb becomes a trampoline. It's a dangerous time of year.
But I digress.
Here is the page:

This is one of my favorite projects! It was made for the True Xoxo Girls challenge blog. The border on the MMBI paper is so great! And HOW can you go wrong with those Ormolu kraft "Go Negative" die-cut tags? Throw in some vintage Sassy bits and you are good to go! I laugh when I see my bushy eyebrows in the BADLY PRINTED photo- perhaps it's time to get them waxed?

Please swing by the Ormolu blog and leave some love?
I was so CHEESED when I got the email! I love this brand! Swing by their shop and check it out.

We had our first snow last Saturday- it was perfect!
Just enough to stick on saturday and melt away completely on Monday- gotta LOVE that! 

MuChoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

ACK! It's DECEMBER! A True Xoxo page

It's that wonderful time of the year! CHRISTMAS!!! The radio plays annoyingly cheerful muzak all day. The streets and subways are packed. The stores full of clueless temps who would rather you fall headfirst down the nearest escalator than help you. Your mailman is away on vacation so your packages get "lost".
Oh how I LOVE Christmas in the city!

Here is the December prompt for True Xoxo Girls:

It's me and I am.
Materials: Me and My Big Ideas paper, Ormolu tags, spots and pin, Sassafras Lass journaling tag and piano border strip, October Afternoon Brown Bag and Buttermilk mists, Technique Tuesday stamp.

First of all I must apologize for being away. I am a woman sans mojo. No motivation, no ideas, no NEED to communicate. Everything I touch falls apart. See?

The mojo has taken an extended vacation. Just so you see- I'm trying. 

I've been watching movies and sulking all week. I saw the new Conan movie- whoa that actor is HOT! I also saw Benicio (my main MAN!) in "The Wolfman"  which was awesome. And I got to introduce Miss Lola to Batteries Not Included (she LOVED IT) and Annie (meh- for now). Somehow I haven't been able to put a single thing together so instead of freaking out I will write about it.

Things I did to bring on the mojo:

Read blogs- only made things worst as I now have idea overload

Shop for more scraps- suicidal- I know.

Read catalogs- refer to the above plus the awful feeling that I will always be too poor to have space for  a cushy sofa and a window with actual light- ironic! Maybe less SHOPPING???????

This- life risking exercise billed as an innocent hike. Trail name? 

Breakneck Ridge- shoulda KNOWN!

• Talk to David about what a looser I am. Dave has zero pity party license. I was told to shut up and MAKE SOMETHING already.
• Put up the Christmas tree. Lola tried her BEST to bring it back down again.
• Cut up 4 x 6 papers for my inevitably disastrous "December Daily" project. My "theme" is Christmas in NYC- all the main attractions will get hit. Feel sorry for me- it's 1 a day with a 2 year old and 65,000 other humans for 31 days. I will start today with a photo of Rockerfeller Center- I feel the crush of the crazed crowds already.

Here's a quick close up up of the page:

I ordered some Ormolu items as a lark and now they are my favorite brand
(after Sassy- I'm a sucker for unrequited love)

The December True Xoxo challenge is based on this quote which I DEEPLY disagree with.

Women do entirely too much apologizing for keeping it real. As a result, we tend to resort to behind the back talking which I despise. I will tell you up front what annoys me about you- repeatedly. I will often disagree with you- in public- loudly. But it doesn't mean I disrespect or intend to hurt you- people need and deserve space to be themselves. I also feel truth is more important than politeness. To quote Jerry Maguire- "YOU think we are arguing. I think we are FINALLY communicating!"

GRATUITOUS cute baby shot!!!
11/25/11 Grateful for  a Friday full of family and laughter- not commerce and stress.

Not for nothing but opposable thumbs are one of the features that make us human. 

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Xoxo America!

It's been a great week! So great I don't want to scrap. Who wants to hang around in a tiny dark apartment when the weather has been so perfect?

THIS is what you do in great weather!

It's 4th of July weekend and we have no plans. Not having a car puts a great fat crimp in that department but the pay off is this- many humans have left New York City.  If you stay you can now enjoy a walk down Broadway without getting carried off by streams of harried workers. Or take the subway without wrestling people to get the baby carriage in and out the train car. We can even walk in and sit down at that cool restaurant that always has a long line in front of it - not that we can afford it but you get the idea. New York during 3 day holidays is AMAZING.

Water feature at High Line park has no one else wadding in it!

So I'll share a page that's been "in the works" for a while. This is my "first draft" for my July page for TRUE XOXO GIRLS! I forced myself to sit down and do this but didn't like the results after a couple of days. You can tune in on July 7th to see the final version or even better- join the fun!

True Xoxo Girls SNEAK (first draft page)
Materials: Sassafrass Lass stickers and flowers, Bazzill kraft,  K and Co transparent frame, American Crafts
numbers, American Crafts clouds paper (cloud template), GCD Studios "Be brave" paper clip

PAPER ISSSUES has a wonderful Fourth of July link party going on! Many of you make beautiful decorations and/or scrapbook pages for this holiday so go link them up! Plus- we have a whole new Creative Team to introduce!! I am SO happy to learn fave crafter Amy Baldwin has made the team! YAAAY!

Inside

Here's my project using October Afternoon's Rocket Age. It's a card for the hubster who will be turning 37 next week.

Materials: October Afternoon Rocket Age,
Fiskars star punch,
American Crafts gold paper

Happy 4th America!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!

Michelle

Celebrating Da MAN!

My man is awesome. He is patient, kind, empathic and loves his kiddo more than life itself. Despite my certifiable nutball status I managed to snag him- lucky!
I have a terrible track record with timely holiday cards so THIS time I made it early.
POW! Take THAT, scrapcastinator tendencies!

Dave's Father's Day Card.

I loved how quickly this project came together. A few Elle's Studio journaling cards, kraft cardstock, some washi tape and Cosmo Cricket alphas and it's good to go.

Guess what? Paper Issues has a new link party going on! Link up your man friendly project here: http://paperissues.blogspot.com/2011/05/time-for-guys.html 

Have you seen and DROOLED over the October Afternoon's Rocket Age? AAAAA it's so BEAUTIFUUUL! And naturally Paper Issues has a kit for you to buy!

October Afternoon Rocket Age mini kit

AAAND there is a wonderful Memorial Day sale going on!!!! 30% items in the Paper Issues Etsy store. go to the Paper Issues blog for details!

Happy & thoughtful Memorial Day!

Miss Lola's lil' old lady look.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle