Scrapping the city 5 ways. The cityscape trend in my scrapbooking.

Hello from cloudy (YAY!) Utah!

Today I want to share different ways I've used the cityscape theme in my scrapbook pages.
You've probably seen some of these pages before but it's nice to have them all collected in one page.

For me scrapping the city isn't about keeping up with scrapbook trends but more about reflecting my environment and finding ways to capture my reality visually.

Now that my family has moved to Salt Lake City, these pages have become deeply nostalgic and important to me.

One of my new realities is having to explain why we left.
I open my mouth, I get questions about my accent.
I show my id or give my zip code to make a purchase, I get questions.
I like talking about it but it's also making me feel a bit self-conscious.

Here's the skinny:
NYC is awesome!
It's also expensive, dangerous to the unwary and challenging to raise children in.
Can you get with this wild galloping beast of a place?

My family wanted to start a business and New York with all it's opportunity was actually not the best place to do so.
I'm grieving- give me a couple of months.

Anyway- onto the show!
I didn't upload those photos to my ipod (or bring my actual computer) so I have to use screen captures for this post- my apologies.

My Get It Scrapped page (swing by to see how the rest of the DT used the city as a motif in their pages)
For this I used Sassafras Lass paper and stickers, Amy Tangerine embroidery stencil

I wanted to use a larger cityscape here as well so I added the empire state building using
an old chipboard I had in my stash as a guide. The numbers in the photo are my old zip code

Photos- the easiest way to get it done.

I have so many photos of the Empire State Building I try to switch things up and make pages without a "street feel". Here I likes how the butterflies matched the colors in the photo.

Ephemera- in this case a tag from a pair of pants from Jones New York:

The canvas tag was too awesome to throw away.
This page is about Project Inside Out which is a giant camera in a van.
Check out their facebook page to see when they will be swinging by your state!

Scrap FX Chipboard (which I usually use unfinished):

A page for an article on finishing chipboard that I wrote for Shimelle.com.
I used Scrap FX chipboard, A Flair For buttons flair
and liquitex acrylic spray paint.

Crafter's Workshop stencil and LOTS of vintage buttons:

I love this last page. I almost threw it out mid way because aI thought it was too dreary.
I added the buttons to liven it up a bit. This is Ronda Palazzari's Urban Landscape stencil from
Crafter's Workshop.

I'd love to see how you've incorporated cityscapes into your projects.
Leave a link in the comments section and I'll swing by!

Have a great week!
Michelle

Change- on going for it. Also, my opinionated self is back.

I'm down to the last few days here in New York City.
On saturday I will be leaving for Salt Lake City with Miss Thang in tow.
We will be very happy to be reunited Dave.
Apparently there are many nasty storms coming this weekend?
I foresee fun times stuck at the airport with a crabby Lola.

We'll see if my residence is permanent in Salt Lake City.
I am tempted by the idea of having a backyard and a vegetable garden to worry over.
Perhaps if I can focus on my carrots I will stop being so neurotic over my scrapbook pages.
Can you grow carrots successfully in the SLC summer?
The climate seems rather severe- AHA! A challenge!

I will admit I have huge HUGE concerns about moving.
The first and foremost is diversity- of all kinds.

I am very comfortable in Brooklyn where if you swing a hoola-hoop you will hit someone from a random and fascinating part of the world you've always wanted to visit. 
And a young person who grew up in the midwest but is now running around wearing ironic 80's hair band t-shirts, ripped jeans, thick framed glasses and a mustache.

I'm not sure what I'm reacting to so negatively.
I've traveled lived in Oklahoma City, Detroit, Denver and even a tiny town in Texas where the movie theater was a 20 mile drive "into town".
I liked all those places.
Perhaps it's the reality that I will most likely not return to New York which is now the most expensive city in America.

Salt Lake City is beautiful and lively.. and COLD... and SNOWY... and spread out in all kinds of distressing ways which never include public transportation.
I will be trapped in the home we are staying until I learn to drive.
ACK!
The last time I visited there weren't any sidewalks because it was assumed everyone drove.
There is another place that does that.
LA.
I HATE LA.

It is my opinion that you are a true New Yorker if you do the following things:

1. You know what a Egg Cream is and you take the subway to some random neighborhood in Brooklyn because "it's the best one around". You can substitute pupusa, canoli, bagel or curry goat for egg creams which are also popular in Baltimore and Philly.
2. You've pushed hard to get into the crowded subway train car at 8:45am expecting to get to work on time. Actual physical distance of work to home be damned.
3. You hate LA. 

Los Angeles is the anti- New York. 

A vast shinning wasteland of stuck-in-traffic cars, smarmy "agents" looking for the next rap video girl (this actually happened- I'll tell you about it someday- and yes- I declined), smog and people INSISTING they are happy because they sun sets there.
No one walks in LA unless it's in some strange gym machine that takes up half a room.

Life is best where you are happiest, where you feel most productive and centered.

It is my deeply held belief that I will be happy wherever Dave and Lola are.
Ok so there won't be decent pizza or Polish pastry available.
I think that might be ok too.
I can try to make my own right? (hanging question mark- we all know that ain't happening)

A scrap page:

Perhaps I wasted this gorgeous thick Crane's paper meant for
fancy wedding invites? It really would have taken press embossing well.
Materials: Scrap FX graphic circle and Playground alphabet set, A Flair For Buttons "yes!" button,
Sassafras Lass sticker, My Mind's Eye enamel dots, Webster's Pages triangle paper, My Mind's Eye pink
striped paper, My Mind's eye alphabet sticker sheet. Numbers stencil from Plaid. Yellow plastic
triangles from Freckled Fawn.

Layering doesn't have to be a million little things.
Here I created a grid background with a few sheets of
leftover sticker sheets. It goes alphabet sticker sheet,
journaling sticker, black paper to cover journaling lines that were distracting,
"Go for it" sticker from Jillibean Soup, Sassafras heart, title.
The trick is to try to choose items that have at least 1 color similar and
vary the edge shapes.
Stenciling things into the backgrounds also helps- if you make a
"mistake" it's easily covered by your layers.

A quick sneak peak of what's coming on saturday- Inspiration Elevator reveal day:

Dang it- I have to get a better shot.
The challenge is "Before and After" and you have to do a LOT of journaling.

Just as I leave, a new park opens- Bushwick Inlet Park. 

The views of the Empire State Building are INCREDIBLE-  check it out.

This was taken with my crappy ipod camera. Can you see the rain falling in the Bronx to the right?
 SEE MOM? TOLD YA! The weather is different borough to borough! We just had really cool waves.
This place is AMAZING.

Have a GREAT week everybody!
Michelle

In a New York State of Mind

I'm on a mad dash to do all the things I meant to do but never got around to.
All the things I would have done if I had seized days in New York City more often.

The Empire State Building steps that never got climbed,
the friends I rarely visited,
the walks I never took or the restaurants I never tried.

MATERIALS: A Flair For Buttons Brooklyn Bridge photo pin,
Crane's grey cardstock, alphabets from Jillibean Soup, October Afternoon and American Crafts.
Basic Grey wood veneer shapes, Webster's Pages yellow tape, Amy Tangerine yellow embroidery floss,
stripes washi from Red Lead online, Maya Road heart straight pin, My Mind's eye enamel dots, Studio Calico
felt bow, Colorbok craft stickers. Star stickers and vellum tag from American Crafts.

Now I desperately want to do it all and every day has more meaning.
Didn't I learn this lesson in school?
And again at all my previous places of employment?
The last day usually led to the most interesting and meaningful conversations.
It's not death, mayhem or disease- not remotely.
But it's a defeat realizing I didn't do what I wanted to do for a fear of failure.
Even worst?
Knowing I didn't start the custom items business or learn to sew like I always said I would because I got so busy doing other things.
Easier things.
Smaller things.
Details.
Routine.

I forgot to pursue the big things- the things that require planning- the things that lead to the higher rewards.
I put off taking risks, traveling, taking classes I knew I would love.
I told myself I had more time.

Materials: (Project Life Insert) Scrap FX love chipboard title
K and Co journaling pad paper, Crate paper vellum.
Enamel dots My Mind's Eye, Studio Calico wood heart.

I'm taking the time now.
I may be sad but that is a lesson too.
Take the risks- hop, jump, skip into the void.
Make room for plans and make the concerted effort to strive towards them.
Happen to things- don't let things happen.

I can be happy anywhere if I just remember those three simple things.

Have a great rest of the week.
Michelle

Where in the world has Michelle been? Fun news!! Also? Shooting scrapbook pages in the dark of NYC apartments

HALLO HALLO!

I've been working on a big project and it required lots of my brain power just to keep calm.

What's the big news?

Tomorrow I will be featured over at Shimelle.com!!
WOOOOT!

My post will be called:

 5 ways to finish chipboard by Michelle Hernandez (or something in that vein.)

When I got a peamail from Shimelle three weeks ago I was completely gobsmacked (lol!- sister who lives in the UK- can you tell?).

I have ZERO idea who's looking at my work half the time so when ANYONE contacts me I'm all
"Wait... You sure you mean Michelle Hernandez?"

I suspect I have a very enthusiastic suporter out there- thank you!

While perusing Shimelle's blog I spotted a favorite scrapper of mine.

Please check out Ashley Oliver's (SoaphouseMama) Shimelle.com post:

5 ways other than journaling to incorporate pen work in your scrapbooking by Ashli Oliver.

I've never really talked about how I shoot my projects.

If you read regularly you know I live in what most people would call a closet- a square space about 400 square feet.

There are windows here but they face another building- this is New York- Apartment sunlight is for the rich and famous.

How do I usually shoot my photos?

This is very rare. I tend to shoot my projects in the fire escape because people WILL stare
when they see me hanging scrapbook pages up on waterfront concrete. I wanted a pretty city
scene for my Shimelle feature which required I shoot horizontal oriented staged project photos.
I love staging my projects but staging requires SUNLIGHT. I had to go outside-
and it was windy- so I dropped my original plan to shoot on an easel and went with this instead.

I was looking through my photos when I spotted this, the only photo where you see the
scrapbook page before the wind blew the easel down.
I credit ZipDry for keeping everything in place even as the page fell off the table 30 times.
Needless to say shooting 5 projects when they insist on FLIGHT is not optimal conditions for sanity.

Wait! I DID blog about this before!
Here is a card I shot in my fire escape (the ominous bars) using Crate Paper as a "floor"
since the fire escape bottom is also bars.
Major problem with this? You can TOTALLY have your project blown into the river from here.
I usually shoot everything in a box.

Have a great weekend.Nationa Scrapbooking Day is coming up!

Also? MOTHER'S DAY!
SO gonna SCORE (at Joann's)!!!!

Michelle

Inspiration Friday- Art happens.

HIYA!

This week went by so quickly I didn't make a thing.
Thursday was filled with ALL interesting things!

I've had a visit to The New Museum Of Contemporary Art in my "to do" list for over two years.
The have a gorgeous new building that looks like stacked corrugated steel blocks.

New Museum Website

See? SO PRETTY! Also? Giant metal rose! What's not to love?

I love modern, challenging and contemporary art museums.
The exhibit "NYC1993: Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No star" was SO not time to visit this museum on a whim.
Very little of what's hanging in the galleries is ok to show here.
No, really.
Crude, shock baiting, obvious and irrelevant are all words that come to mind in regards to what's on exhibit now.

I am an open-minded person who enjoys having the rug pulled out from under her expectations.
But even for me, a good time does NOT include visiting a space where people stare and smirk at a "mixed media sculpture" of a man, a child and a goat.
That move.
Luridly.
Yes- feel free to imagine the very worst.

Who. Buys. This. Stuff?
More importantly, WHY?

I mean, yes, art is MORE than just pretty pictures to match your furniture.
Art is about making you see things in a new way.
It's about opening unexpected doors to new ideas and view points.
For me, art is NOT about beating the viewer over the head with the terms
SEXISM! RACISM! HOMOPHOBIA! FEMALE DISEMPOWERMENT and SUFFERING!

If I wanted to experience obvious interpretations of these societal ills I would walk down the street like I always do, eyes open.

When I see art, I want to be transported.
This exhibit took me straight to a dark place and left me there saying
"Ok. Never coming back here again."

Yet, there was another aspect to this.
As we trudged from gallery to gallery blocking Lola from the worst of the "art"
PS- that's not something I do. I would rather deal with the following:
"What is THAT?"
"That is a set of teeth jutting up and out of a chair." (See? Told you! BANANAS!)
But the husband wasn't HAVING IT!
He left and took the kiddo with him to the food court where a thousand tiny origami paper cranes flew.
Ahhh... art.
Transcendent and perfectly normal all at once.

In my feeble defense, I had no idea WHAT the museum was showing.
It was free thursday and we were curious to see the inside of the place.
SO not what you do.
SO. NOT. !!!
Always, ALWAYS check the museum website or stick to The Met.
The statues in The Met are naked but DO NOT MOVE.

I was feeling all kinds of mixed up.
Here I was grossed out by this spastic display of creative desperation
All the while getting a chance to relive my past.
Not a past of violence or political disempowerment but a past of youthful creativity and hope.

In 1993 I was a Freshman college major participating in an exciting program called Yo-Tv.
We got to make the exhibit video for the Whitney Museum's Biennial.

I met many of the artists in this exhibit 20 years ago when I was pretty impressionable but even THEN I knew the work was lacking.

Here are a few of the installations or exhibits I thought flew past their social ills moorings and spoke to the soul about truth not just capital lettered negativity.

Janine Antoni's "Lick and Lather".
Chocolate  or soap busts that have been licked or lathered.
The results are rather eerie and beautiful.
We can talk for HOURS about female ideations of beauty and empowerment or
we can admire this set of 20 busts that fills the room with the scent of chocolate. 

Didn't get the name of this artist but I loved the interpretation of words so hot they
burned the letters off the page. What a beautiful way to capture feelings and ideas about
sexuality, privacy and knowledge without thrusting body parts my direction. (EWW!)

No artist info- sorry! This was a huge room with wall paper, an orange rug,
lights hanging from the ceiling and music. It was pretty and I wanted a great picture
then the guard yelled at me for getting too close to the installation. So I hid him behind the light.

A photo of a  mirror. Cast your vote for what this stands for. Yeah pretty obvious.
I loved it anyway. It was printed beautifully by Zoe Leonard- an artist I got to meet
and whom I found especially insightful, inspiring and down to earth. 

Pepon Osorio. This two room installation showing all the stereotypical objects d'art that
Caribbean Latinos of a certain generation and dare I say, economic status, tended to fill their homes with.
On the floor is a dead body (a fake one- this is supposed to be a movie set).
I identified with and was repulsed by this but I interviewed this artist for the Biennial video.
I thought the work  didn't make a lick of sense but I liked that he was able to explain himself to
19 year old me plainly and without that tone grown ups get with ignorant know-it-all teenagers.

Uhmmm- enough of THAT.

The New Museum changes exhibits frequently so maybe I'll see something interesting next time- if I ever bother visiting gain.

Onto the more accessible art!
Thursday morning we lined up and waited an hour to get our portraits taken for the InsideOut NYC Project.
If you are near 46 street and Times Square and have a few hours to kill I suggest you line up.
It's free.
You go to the back of a black and white polka dot truck to sit for 6 seconds and get a photo taken- no backsies!
You can then choose to take the resulting poster home or let the crew paste it to the ground in front of the TKTS booth.
This was total AWESOME SAUCE.
We are going again because this happened:

Beware of "funny" faces and distracted toddlers. :)

If Lola had looked in the general direction of the camera, this would have come home with us.
I don't enjoy the sight of my daughter's enlarged nostrils.

Have a great weekend folks!
Michelle

Friday inspiration- Nolita Photo walk

Hello folks!

This week's photo inspiration post was brought to you by a recent walk through Soho and Nolita.

Hot little heavens for visual stimulation.

That sounds rather indecent.

If I get lucky I get to stand out front when I'm at work and make samples.
The idea is to try to capture a customer's attention and get them to see how they can
use the stamps and other products they buy while at the store.
I made both these cards in under 20 minutes using scraps I had on hand.
I rarely get to pick the colors I love most but a little orange helps both grey and teal pop.
Martha Stewart butterfly stickers, Studio Calico mist, Paper Source card stock and stamps. 

I just mean that there are so many museums and shops all close together that the streets are popping with ideas for the open minded crafter.

The ideas can sit in your brain for weeks when suddenly BOOM! an original page appears.

At least that how it works for me.

Case in point:

3 foot tall at marquee at sign.
I REALLY want to make one of these!

Big Boy gets several make overs.

This gorgeous bag hanging in a tiny shop in Nolita.
I didn't even try to go in and inquire how much it was.
The "feathers" are delicately curved sequins.

"Life isn't tragic, Love is being ignored."
Why this is fabulous: 1. They used Puffy
scrapbook stickers and brads. 2. Hello giant scrapbook layout!
3.This was a store window display.  4. It was over 6 feet wide.

Faces layered on top of each other.
This would make a great textile print.

Another mural I caught while the artists were still working.
No I didn't speak to them. Yes I regret it.

Wheat paste posters. 

Also?
I found a gif making app!
All you have to do is take a series of photos and open them in GifMill to animate- super easy to use.
The only drawback is that this is the final size of the file- it's crazy small!
Also- these won't animate of Facebook so you can't torture your friends with them (darn!)
Still...

Just imagine the tutorial possibilities!

Have a greet weekend. 

Go on and make something awesome!

Michelle

Friday Inspiration- NYC photo walk-about

Hiya!

Yesterday was my day off.
Naturally I had a TON of errands to run so even though the day was freezing I decided to walk around and visit some of my favorite mural spots to see if anything new was up.

So. GLAD. I. did!!!

Here is what I found most inspiring this week:

BAST at Soho- not sure if the artist defaced his/her own mural- this was hella cool.

If you listen- the walls speak.

Ryan Russo's "Out Of Context" at the Charles Bank Gallery.
Acrylic spray paint and newspaper collage on canvas.

Meanwhile over at Nolita... (Kenmare and Bowery)

Crash AKA John Matos over at Bowery Mural
Also? POPEYE!!! TOO AWESOME!

Abandoned building across from
The New Museum has some of the best old school poster graffiti.
These are all letters cut out of ads.

Must go back and shoot this one again!

Detail of Ryan Russo piece- canvas was 8 x 8 feet.
Newsprint, paper, photographs- collage- amazing.

Layered oblong hexagon vellum over at the Anthropologie store window.

I freaking LOVE New York!
Michelle

Custom Engagement Scrapbook- Getting Hitched in New York City

Hello there!

I can now reveal the pages I made for a client's engagement scrapbook last November.

I wanted to give plenty of time for Dan to pop the question to his girlfriend, Jess.

You are going to LOVE this story!

Dan had saved bits and bobs from dates and trips abroad with Jess for over 9 years.

Now he wanted to pop the question by putting them in a custom scrapbook of their lives together.

Opening page- I used some Crate Paper Valentine's paper I had for a while.
I tried to keep things simple as possible since I knew many
eyes with different points of view would be looking at this book.

Dan met Jess on a band camp (BAND CAMP!!!!) trip in 2003 when they were both in High School.

They then attended George Washington University together (where they had great spots to see President Obama's first inauguration), and moved to New York City upon graduation.

Jess is a great photographer so Dan and I had plenty of material to choose from.
We decided 2 page spreads built around specific themes would be the best way to incorporate
everything. For this high school themed layout, I used the pops of red and blue in the photos
 to guide my journaling sticker choices and picked a dark color to match the next page.

High School Prom was very important to Dan. He saved the tickets all these years.
I built a page around the ticket colors and used silver alphabet stickers to give the page some pop.
Fussy cut roses from defunct manufacturer Paper Truck made their way into the page.
 I loved the look so much I made myself a page using the left over flowers.

 When I think of college my brain immediately goes to blue jeans and notebooks
so I used those prints as the main elements for this part of the spread. The blue
jeans paper is Bo Bunny and the notebook paper from a Me and My Big Ideas print.

This page went over HUGE with Dan. I was so excited because I really loved it too.
Prints from My Mind's Eye and Studio Calico were used to make the rays.
The stars were made with EK Success squeeze punches.
 Basic Grey chipboard alphas finished the page.

The book also had to have several pages detailing their favorite activities together and a special spread for their families who would naturally want to share the book.

The 2 page family spread turned into my favorite. I love the bright pops of red and you can't fail with tile letter stickers and grid patterns.

I really hadn't used my collection of stickers before this project.
Now that I had a specific audience I suddenly understood how to use them properly.
So there's a tip: if you're out of ideas, choose someone specific to design for  and make the page
in a way you think would please them. You'll be surprised how much you'll love the page.

I stuck to high quality materials for this project- Crate Paper pagers, letter stickers from American
Crafts, Elle Studio and Ormolu mini journaling cards, October Afternoon journaling stickers and
embellishments from Studio Calico. I also reinforced everything with Zip Dry glue since
I've had letter stickers fall right off the page just as I hand over a page more than once.
When in doubt- double the amount of glue in a project.

I had so much material to sort through I was actually worried I wouldn't be able to fit it all into 10 pages so the project expanded to 15, then, 17, pages. 

Next up are the rest of the themes Dan wanted covered: travel, city life, friends, sports and one page I love above all....

Dan saved 9 years of movie and broadway show tickets which we decided to make into a background for a page containing a tiny photo of the couple.

I've seen scrapbook paper with ticket themes before but never one made with actual tickets.

I matched pages in most of the 2 pages spreads but I associate travel with freedom and fun so
I just used a tiny amount of the green stripe paper on the orange page and brought orange to the green page with some My Mind's Eye enamel dots. 

These two have been EVERYWHERE! That map washi tape is AWESOME!
It brings to very different pages together perfectly. I wanted this book to look like
it had been put together over time so I didn't pick one collection or color scheme for it.
I love the look of matching books but I think they can look rather static and dated if they have
too many pages. Then again, sticking to a color palette and single pack of paper is more
economical- something to think about if you are putting a book together for someone. 

This city life page also worried me since the photos where from all over the place.
When I realized many of the photos had water in them a title popped right up and
the rest was easy. Journaling spots from Ormolu did most of the design work here.

Jess has a HUGE collection of Instagram photos- it was hard to pick just 6 for this layout but
I wanted to give the page some breathing room.  This was actually the first page I made and it still looks unfinished to me.

I showed Dan a stack of papers and his eyes crossed- too many choices! But he thought Jess
would really love this rainbow chevron print from Pebbles. I cut out a frame for the outside layer,
flipped to the b-side and layered navy flower print in between to get this super simple and fun page.

Personalized Baseball cards!!! HOW COOL! I love this page! Light blue
looks AMAZING with bright red and yellow. An arrow badge from A Flair For
Buttons on Etsy and actual baseball tickets finish this page.

Dan had football tickets, photos of baseball games and specifically mentioned the Dodgeball team
he joined with Jess. I was stumped! Do I make three additional pages? I decided to put
them all in one page and leave plenty of white space for  journal specifics like names,
dates and memories from each event.  

Awesome right? My husband and I are now saving all our tickets so I can do this
for my own book!

 I think I scared Dan a bit by tearing up and repeatedly expressing my enthusiasm and gratitude for being asked to be part of this project.

Designing for someone else can be risky- especially since design work can be so style specific- but I quickly got over any reservations by keeping things simple and choosing prints and colors almost everyone loves.

I recently got an email from Dan, Jen said yes (YAAAYYY!!) and was thrilled with the book.
I was so happy to hear they (and their extended family) liked the book.

They had so many cute couple shots! I saved them all up for this page and imagined Dan popping the question.
Jess you are one lucky lady to have such a thoughtful and romantic fella!
 Congratulations to the both of you!!!

Thank you SO MUCH Dan (and you too Jess!) for trusting me with your memorabilia and telling me your personal love story- that alone was worth the meeting!

MucHoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle