Scrap FX monochrome page and some truth

Now that my DT term with Scrap FX is coming to an end,
I find myself wondering what will I do next.

Design Teams are great for inspiration, networking and motivation.
They can also be stressful if you have an already packed schedule.

No matter how much I try,
between editing the text and struggling with my slow computer,
it usually takes 2 hours to post an article.
I can import a finished post from Word but loading photos takes up the rest of the time.
And linking all the products used on a project?
The most frustrating part of all.

I'm not complaining.
I signed on knowing exactly what the requirements for each team where.
My Scrap FX term has been the happiest and most positive team-work experience I've ever had.
But I am finally admitting a reality to myself.
Which you get to read. Yay?
This hobby takes the majority of my time. Not my "spare time".
Most of my time.
A night out on the town with a friend who was turning 40 last week required all kinds of schedule jumbling.
I was almost too tired to go when I finished all the negotiations!

I'm finally using all the Instax photos I took last year.
I hated that most were over exposed.
That white on white look is very "in" right now so I get to look like this was done on purpose.
I used Scrap FX arrows stencil and chipboard arrows on this piece.
Sorry no links- it takes too long to look them up!

My family has been sending out very clear signals that I'm not exactly present,

even though my body is in the room.

So I either develop crack scheduling skills (never my forte) or I keep the blogging, Facebooking, Pinning, Tweeting, Instagraming to 30 minutes a night. 

Because staying up till midnight 

or trying to make and shoot all my projects on sundays 

is really not sustainable anymore.

The good news for our crafty friendship is that I can see your work on Instagram or Facebook.

I can leave a comment without having to enter numbers to prove I'm not a robot. 

Just try to overlook my crazed spelling. 

I can spell. 

My fingers on the teeny iTouch screen cannot.

Enlarging this photo to "original size" keeps it clear.
Sizing it down to "medium" makes it fussy.
Blogger what's going on?

MuChoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Cheer up- it's wednesday- water color day!

It's wednesday.
I have a list of 8 things I HAVE to do today.
It's 4pm.
Will I be able to pull it off?

Happy place! Happy place! HAPPY PLAAAACE!

If you look up the term AWESOME (sauce) in the dictionary you will see a large photo of my
niece Noemi taking up most of the page. It's SO encouraging to see a happy, virtuous, INTELLIGENT
and FUN (not to mention popular!) 16 year old!!! MTV how about a reality show? I would watch it! 

Gauche Alchemy Punchinella and washi tape, Sassafras Lass layered flowers, water color paper and cheap 99 cent store water color paints were used for this late night experiment.

I used some loose leaf reinforcers as stencils and colored the actual stickers with Prima chalk ink- which by the way is the BEST THING EVER!

Some quick close up shots:

I'm adding that Gauche black loops washi to EVERYTHING!!! 
The magenta lace scallops is another fave.

Caption and can you spot a favorite item of mine as of late?
A Flair for Buttons typed words flair.

So now I'm hurrying off to the NEXT item on the to do list- the A Flair For Buttons Blog post I should have written oh 2 weeks go. YIPES!

Can I just show you two things?

Triangles Kraft and color flair

Colored Stars Flair

Aren't they luscious??? LOVE!

GRATUITOUS TODDLER SHOT!!!!

I finally found a Bokeh filter app- PicFX- cool as all GET!

Onto the next "To Do List" item.
LET'S DO THIS SCRAP HAPPY FOLKS!!! :)

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Weddings on the BRAIN- A Scrap FX Page

I've been married for over 3 years now.
I have all the photos printed and nicely organized.
I have a large box FULL of wedding related paper scraps.
But no scrapbook.
The idea of reliving my wedding is great but the actual process of putting a book together with matching papers, "flow" and specific embellishments?
 HOME ALONE FACE!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
I don't have the attention span.

But I have hundreds of beautiful prints from all the weddings I have attended over the years.

• My sisters Italian Coast wedding (where she arrived in a open deck full of flowers while her husband-to-be waited with a bouquet he MADE HIMSELF!!!)
• My cousin in law's GORGEOUS 10.10.10 Catholic ceremony and divalicious silk satin wedding dress with 5 inch glittering heels. 
• My wedding with Dave tearing up and our family cheering like we won the lottery. 

Each one has several great shots I really need to scrap. Why haven't I done so yet?

FEAR OF MESSING UP!

Time to BREAK a bad habit!
Here's a page I made with my favorite photo from my best friend's sophisticated Chinese/American wedding.

I didn't feel like I needed to add any journaling- the photo speaks for itself.
Materials: Scrap FX  Bridal Party phrase (2012063), Hearts and Swallows (2010054) and Clock Hands, Mini Assorted (2010149) pieces. I also used Basic Grey paper, punchinella from Gauche Alchemy and lace, flowers from Petaloo, pearl beads from Art-C, Gold striped washi tape from MT and Sakura Gelly Roll pen

I have so many fantastic shots from this beautiful red/gold themed wedding. Gia hired a photographer who got in a CAR ACCIDENT right before the wedding ceremony and lost 2 cameras yet showed up on time WITH a back up camera, lights AND a full kit.

That dude is my hero!

Plus he took this shot:

Now I can't find his website! Oh well- update on that when I post my next page!

You can also check out the chippies I used over at the Scrap FX website: http://www.scrapfx.com.au/blog/?p=800

Detail shots:

I heat embossed the title with Stampendous Shabby White
Embossing Enamel which has flecks of gold glitter in it.

This photo is kinda fun all on it's own.
I cut out a couple of drips of gold paint that had
fallen on some scrap paper while I made my 2nd
floor challenge card. I LOVE those beautiful mini
clock hands- I will have to get several more packs!!!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!

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

Playing the numbers with Paper Issues and Punky Scraps

Happy Three King's Day! I missed the parade in Spanish Harlem again- 9 years and every year I miss it- no fun photos- I could CRY!

It's come to this- combining challenges from different design teams to try to get my craft engine re-started. I don't generally like to do so since each team I'm in deserves to shine exclusively but I thought I should start slow as one page is better than no page at all.

Over at Paper Issues the current link party has a numbers theme- click here to swing by and add your project.You have until January 13th. So far I see some great cards, 2011 mini books, 2012 calendars and birthday themed scrap pages- how about adding yours?

In this page I tried to capture the whirlwind day we had on New Year's Eve which  included 2 house visits, lunch at a fancy Italian restaurant, dancing with Daddy AND Lola's first "classic" tantrum with all the fist pounding, leg kicking trimmings. (David and I were so amazed we forgot to whip out the camera). We went to bed at 11pm and don't regret it one bit!!!!:

Celebrate 2011
Materials: Gauche Alchemy Scarlet Red Mixed Media Color kit and silver punchinella, Bazzil kraft paper, Ormolu fabric tab, Glitz woodgrain alphas, American Crafts Amy T alphas, American Crafts silver foil paper in gold, corrugated gold and red, Smooch spritz in Tin Foil

And over at Punky Scraps the challenge is all about Vintage Americana:

When I first saw this I immediately thought of circles, the color red, and a grid based photo montage. Since I'm currently reorganizing my entire apartment to regain some SANITY in my life, I didn't want to get overly ambitious and start looking for the vintage images I KNOW I have somewhere.

Not much you can do to "reorganize" an already over stuffed a 400 square foot space.
Dave put these two shelves up and revolutionized my work area- YAY!
Just don't look UNDER the desk. No seriously- don't.

I'm also getting organized for a go at the Project Life theme. I'm already shooting one photo a day for Project 365 so I thought it might be easy for me to make 1 page a week using all those photos. It's a wildly ambitious project but I think as long as I make the pages ATC size and keep away from the super expensive binders or project kits (considering my 2012 budgetary goal) I'll be alright.

Here are my Project 365 photos so far- nothing earth shattering as the weather is UGLY so we've been hiding inside all week.

1/2/12- Eating Bubbles, 1/3/12- learning the alphabet, 1/4/12- home made Pupusas for diner,
1/5/12 Winter Berries and the Empire State Building

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Wreath Alchemy! Christmas goes Gauche

I have been remiss.
Did you know I write for the Gauche Alchemy design team blog?
Probably not, I never mention it.
Can I offer up a crap excuse?
I have an incredibly hard time writing about other people's projects!
Not because the projects aren't fabulous but because they always are!
It takes me a while to come up with different ways to say- "This is beyond awesome! Look what my fellow team member did- OMG she's the CHEESE!"
(That last part because I really, really love cheese)
But I will change my ways as of now.
Yesterday I posted my 2011 wreath.
This one.

Which came from this Martha Stewart kit:

I tried SO HARD to make mine look like Martha's!!!
EK Success holiday craft kits do not come with detailed step by step instructions (their instructions are just like Ikea ones- all drawings and NO SENSE) so I used up a lot of the large grain glitter on a few leaves and the result was quite fug.
After much raving over my ineptness, I broke out the corrugated board, my fave mists and the music paper from the Gauche Alchemy Bare Nekkid paper kit (FAVE KIT EVER!) and went to town.
The Martha floral tape also killed my joy for a few days. The leaves kept falling off the freaking form! I was ready to drop kick the entire thing out the window.  So I declared a truce, used red punchinella, some hot glue and thusly preserved what was left of my sanity.

Glitter floral items all came from the Michael's clearance table (20 cents each- woohoo!). I used an ancient Marvy Uchida corrugator to alter some very shiny Anna Griffin paper from the Carmen collection and Mister Huey mists in School House and Plumb Thumb.

It is December 15th. I haven't started a single "hand made" Christmas gift, cooked a single holiday recipe or made the cards I was going to send. I am not Martha Stewart. I will never be Martha Stewart- please give me a moment to grieve for my broken delusions of grandeur.
pausing
pausing

Chrissy's Victorian rosette wreath.

Fellow Gauche gals Cheryl and Christina have made some GORGEOUS wreaths. I would post them here but then what incentive would you have to go there? Ok 1 sneak!!!

• Cheryl made a beautiful wreath using chocolates (I KNOW!!), an old book, some twine and some Gauche alchemy woodgrain punchinella. She also has a fantastic step y step video.

• Christina's gorgeous wreath using an old romance novel, some floral items from Hobby Lobby and hundreds of hand cut and rolled florettes will blow you away. Check it out here on the 23rd- don't worry- I will post a reminder- it really is that good!

Lola helped us wrap the front door in kraft paper- she got a kick out of the wreath and it was all I could do to keep her from destroying it entirely.

Gnarly ribbon!

Adding the last flower to the wreath- she was so happy to help!

MuChoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Template and Hexagon Madness!

I have been keeping a secret from you.
I am a hex fetishist. Read it again please.
I love me some HEXAGONS.
I started a pinboard here. I can add you to the board so I have helpers in the search for beautiful mathematical creations. Let's share the hex love!

I love that Studio Calico hexagon print paper but it's everywhere right now so I decided to save it for a little longer and try my hand at some quilting templates I found online. I really like the "hand made" mistakes galore quality of this page:

Hexagon experiment 1 (This was the December True Xoxo Girls Challenge page but I made another you'll se SOON)
MATERIALS: Lily Bee Memorandum paper, Crafter's Workshop templates- Tile Texture and Chevron mini, Studio Calico Fab Rips and Mister Huey in Atmosphere, Calico Cream and Lemonade, Maya Mist in Green Apple, Gauche Alchemy punchinella, Basic Grey mini alphas, Sassafras Lass woodgrain alphas, Mis Tape from American Crafts, finger die cut from Pink Paislee and Prima wood heart button.

Am I crazy for liking it? Please help me- where did I go wrong? Perhaps I needed a less contrasty photo with colors that blended in a little more?

Yeah- I messed up the journaling.

I like how this page looks but it doesn't hold together. Into the '"first draft" file it goes.
Also.... I MUST give credit where credit is due. The acrylic bubbles, the smudged pencil borders and molding paste are ALL part of someone else's style- Mija- of MadebyMija.blogspot.com. I am trying to find a way to use them and not reference her work so closely. Check out Mija's blog- she is a pure artist- me? I'm just started to find my way there.

I feel like I'm right on the verge of something cool-
 just not quite hitting the mark,

Using Maya Mists was fun. I haven't bought them because they are sooo expensive but a few stores are having early "Black Friday" sales so I finally got to play with "Green Apple". Once again I'm in LOOOOVE! Totally worth the crazy price.

I know this week is hectic so if I don't post again till friday- have a Happy Thanksgiving weekend!!!

SMOOCHES MI GENTE!!

Fall colors, beautiful light

Ok I can dig this Fall season- 78 degree weather and rain at night? It's perfect! We went into tree country last weekend to pick apples but the fall colors are not showing fully yet so I decided to get warmly cheerful in my current Punky Scraps layout:

Be
MATERIALS: Gauche Alchemy woodgrain punchinella (that's right WOODGRAIN) and Lady Marmelade orange mixed media color kit, Dusty Attic chipboard, Hambly Studio tranny, Studio Calico paper and tag, Mister Huey Hot Dog, Making Memories metal letters, Basic Grey brads, Mesh origami paper (!!!) and black acrylic paint.

The prompts were many and diverse for this "Get Picky" challenge so I procrastinated LOVELY the entire week. Finally, last night, after 2 bottles of Pacifico beer and a bag of Blue Cheese Kettle Chips I was ready- who cares if it was 1am?

The Mighty List:

Tamara - Hessian/Mesh

Kat - A Tag

Cheryl - steam punk imagery

Kerry - your own handwriting

Marie - black mist

Jolanda - a picture of your eye(s). what do they say/mean to you?

Celina - lace of any kind

Ashley - Doodling

Misty - metal

I was supposed to go deep with my journaling but what I really needed was a page I could hang on the wall and use as a touchstone while I worked- it reads: Do what you want- people will decide they don't like you anyway.
Not to sound like Michael Jackson who I thought spent entirely too much time being defensive (and dangling babies off hotel balconies) instead of concentrating on HIS WORK.

Thank you Shelley J for the beautiful Studio Calico paper!

I took a photo of an image I had opened on my computer desktop using the Hipstamatic app on my iTouch and my favorite lens filter- Watts. 

I then changed the contrast, color and added a round blur using Instagr.am. 

The paint splatters were made by watering down some acrylic paint and using a mascara brush to sprinkle tiny dots all over the page- I don't trust the spray nozzle on those bottles one bit.

                                                               *************************

'I also wanted to repost these tags that I linked over at Flashback Fridays. Amy sent me a nice email reminding me I'm not supposed to backlink an older post since the whole point is to show how much you have improved- yikes- sorry about that. I love these so I'm glad to have a chance to show them off again.

I made these for a tag swap over at Kreatorville Krafts using some old office folders, some scraps of
favorite prints from Sassafras Lass and Girl's Paperie, Making Memories metal tag rims and some buttons-
it took over a week because I kept over thinking the process but I loved the final product.

You can check out the original post here: Going Tag Crazy

Please swing by Punky Scraps and join the challenge- there are 2 prize packs available this month and only 1 person in the running for both- does that sound fair to you? Go up in there and give her some competition!

This year she actually rode the pony AND I managed to get an
eating apples shot where she didn't look like a zombie.
I can't believe that beanie still fits- It's 2 years old!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle