A simple page for Scrap FX

Hello and happy Labor Day folks!

The last couple of weeks I've been trawling galleries looking for inspiration.

I felt my pages were starting to get a little repetitive.

I came across CFlattop's gallery over at scrapbook.com and was incredibly inspired.
I  love how she reduces details to the essential and how she uses flashes of color to focus attention on her photos.

I decided to stop trying to make technique fireworks happen and start focusing on editing again.

Here is the resulting page:

Please excuse the grease stain. I laid the page down on the table after
I was done only to find half a peanut underneath.

Foiled in my quest for perfection yet again!

I used Scrap FX Fern Flourish and mini wings chipboard.

I also used Home 2 and Big Words flair from A Flair For Buttons.

The card stock is from American Crafts and the stencil from

Stencil1. The feathers were cut from an Echo Park print.

It's funny what we sacrifice in search of "progress".

My definition of forward motion doesn't include material things.

It's time with my family, being a Mom. 

Have a great day off!!!

Michelle

Stencil Girl Blog hop sneak peek AND blog hop WINNERS!

Hello!

I am SO SORRY I forgot to pick a winner for last weeks A Flair For Buttons blog hop!

OOPS!

The winner is Staci of  This Black Butterfly!

YAAAYYYY!!!
Thanks for being a long time supporter Staci. I hope you love and use your flair right away!

If you'd like to know who the winner was for the Scrap FX/Ruby Rock It hop please tune into the SFX blog here.

And the SNEAK for Stencil Girl Products:

Art journal page. I also have a scrapbook page. Swing by the see what Nat's
amazing team of mixed media artists did.

Wow- that's 4 blog hops in 5 days!!
BUSY BUSY BUSY!

Hope you are having a great week!
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

Dylusions ink spray, Scrap FX chipboard AND a GREAT story- (no really!)

Happy hump day folks!

Yesterday was a whirl wind of activity for me.
I took my first driver's permit test and promptly failed it.
You will NEVER ever guess why.

This page was meant mean how I felt about my move but how very
pertinent is that highway photo now? I'll have to take another one like it.
Materials: Scrap FX fancy arrows and graffiti alphabet chipboard. Dylusions ink
in black (LOVE!!!!), A Flair For Buttons clock flair, a 25 cent alphabet stencil
from the dime store, chalk marker to paint the chipboard and MT neon pink washi.

I cheated.
WAIT! Not on purpose.
"Who cheats without knowing they cheated???" You might ask bewildered-like.
Me- the dumbass over here.

See I was told by a very helpful family member who shall remain nameless that it would be an OPEN BOOK TEST.
They were quite insistent and jolly about it.
Other family members agreed.
I was also told this test would be SO EASY.

It's NOT.

The DMV guy who took my 15 dollars probably told me not to open my book but by the end of my paper work processing he was Mr. Mumbles.
All I heard was" "Don't use your cell phone"
I thought to myself- why can't I use my cell phone during an open book test? Are they worried I'll talk too loud?"
But I didn't ask- I didn't want to look stupid.
Smack me right now.

CORNY!!! It should read: I'm totally incompetent- I'm surprised I haven't been killed
by my own folly yet but I'm your Mom- you better follow the rules of the road! LOL.

Proof! There are NO STUPID QUESTIONS.
Only bad listeners and assumptions with consequences.

I SHOULD have said "What?" or "I'm sorry I didn't catch anything after 'Take This Form"
But I was excited and I wanted to prove to myself I could HANDLE THIS.

After question 14 (answered while sitting right next to 5 other people ALL USING HANDBOOKS)
I pulled out my book thinking "I guess I'll put pride aside and use the book too."
I was worried about seeming proud.
GAH! The stupidity of it all!!!!

WHY does Utah allow some people to use their handbooks during the test?
Are these folks renewing their license?
They all looked around 15 (another reason I wanted to spare using the book)
Are teenagers allowed to take a test with a book?
NO answers from the DMV.

Suddenly a burly and smirking matron LOOMED above me and said
"COME WITH ME."
And I KNEW my ass was TOAST- I recognized that tone from grade school.
I just didn't know why I was in trouble.
And she never told me.
My book was rudely snatched away and I was told I had to wait 30 days to retake the test.
No further explanation- I tried to ask why but was given THE LOOK.
SHAME! DEEP all encompassing SHAME!
Why would I try to explain stupidity?

Anyway there you have it- me in my true glory- tripping through life and kicking my own ass.

Whenever you feel bad about yourself just say- well at least I didn't just pull a Michelle.

Lola is gonna LOVE this story.
Just you WAIT Missy!

Michelle.

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

Light molding paste fun with Scrap FX stencils.

Hello!

It's been raining everyday here in sunny Utah. 

I'm loving it!

Rainy humid 100 degree days remind me of New York which I miss terribly.

Want to know something weird?
Lightning scares the bejesus out of me!

I'm not used to seeing actual ray strikes.
How weird is it to see multiple rays lighting up the sky!
And cloud to cloud lightning?
FREAKY!!!!
I'm used to seeing lights and maybe the occasional zig-zag in the sky directly over head- seeing the whole thing from sky to land makes me jump and scream every single time.

AND? ALSO???
I saw a dust devil!
Wait- no- I saw THREE!

We were on the highway heading home after the Yellowstone camping initiation/ hazing ceremony
(98 degrees during the day- 30 degrees at night- wooooot!- Also- bears.)

FIRST my sister in law's car was almost pushed off the highway by a flying tire fragment from a truck's tire blow out.
Just as we got over it, I look out the window to the fields and hello
MINI TORNADO!!
TWO!!!
LOOK! THREE!
AAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

Oh no worries I was assured- those are just caused by dust and wind currents.
WHATEVER!!!
GET. ME. HOOOOOME!

So anyway it's been awesome- nature is so amazing
especially when you witness all it's glory while sitting nice and warm at HOME.

Here is a page I made despite serious lack of spark, mojo, focus, IDEAS

Water color paper is awesome. I messed the back up so I just turned it over and started again on the back. I painted a sunny circle and then pushed bits of paper around for hours till I got this configuration.
Materials: Scrap FX urban stencil, Crate Paper The Pier paper, American Crafts Thickers Glits gold alphabet stickers, flair from A Flair For Buttons, canvas hexagons by Studio Calico, Martha Stewart gold and turquoise paint, Paper Studio ATC pack. Flowers by Making Memories- stashed since 2009- glad to be rid of them finally.
Photo by Saidy Lopez.

I was casing Pinterest (yet again- I spend so much time pinning I leave no time for blogging- exactly ass backwards.)

I saw two pages by Denise Morrison which blew. me. away.
Check out her bloggity blog- Life Is Yummy

Denise was using light modeling paste on transparency material to add texture and see through stencil patterns to her scrapbooking.
ZOMG! GENIUS!!!
SO. MANY. IDEAS!

One of the reasons I rarely use modeling paste on my pages is because it takes a while to dry and it's so expensive I really don't want to "make a mistake".

One note- find a glue that works on plastic or get ready to be annoyed.

HELLO genius technique!
Using it on a transparency means I get to layer it wherever and if I make a "mistake" I can scrape it off and start again or move the piece somewhere else on the page.
Before you ask- yes it sticks- and no it doesn't crack even if you staple over it.
It's really a great solution!

Here I am trying it out with the Scrap FX roses stencil- LUSCIOUS!!

What's more- molding paste takes color mediums beautifully- that's what it's meant for after all. (Sorry my no art practice just history background means I just stumble on this stuff randomly through other blogs- you probably know more than I do)

I'm in looooove!

July snow and shorts. Yes. it's Utah. Cottonwood Canyon- Cecret Lake Trail.
I wonder why it's spelled "Cecret".
I'm thinking some gold miner got it wrong and no one bothered to correct it in 200 years.

Chells out!

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

Scrap Fx April Favorites Mini Hop!

Welcome to the Scrap Fx design team mini hop for April!

This month's mini hop theme is:

Favorite things!

Every month different members of the Scrap FX design team will be getting together to show you different ways to use chipboard in your paper crafts.

Favorites? Ombre. Yellow. cameras. Sunrays.
Summer. Sassafras Lass. Stitching. Misting.

The blog line up is:

Adrienne- Coloring My World

Cindy- Creative People (Don't Play By The Rules)

Elisabeth- Skrap-plassen

Michelle- My Analog Life- you are here- HIYA!

Scrap FX Blog

For my project I featured some of my personal favorites:

• Favorite paper brand: Sassafras Lass paper in a black and white stripe pattern. I love black and white stripes so much I have a divider just for them in my paper cubby. 
• Favorite color: yellow- it's cheerful and screams, "SUMMER!" my favorite season
• Favorite trend: sunray patterns and stitching
• Favorite technique: ombre effect using a gesso base and mist paints.
• Favorite page theme: my daughter Lola in an everyday photo- I don't scrap holidays often
• Favorite Scrap FX wordlet chipboard: The Words of Love piece because the words are still attached to their frame. I can snip the words out and use them individually in my Project Life album or as one piece for major impact on a page.

I started with some scraps from a Studio Calico print and pushed them around the page for quite a while.
Then I realized the scraps should resemble a sunray pattern. I painted the chipboard in an ombre pattern- something I've been meaning to do for months now. ONLY after I realized I was out of yellow Amy Tangerine floss did I think to use orange jute cord to stitch the sun. I LOVE the result! It's organic design process took three days to accomplish but I felt none of the stress/pressure I usually feel when making a page.

I used the following Scrap Fx chipboard items here:

• On tour/itinerary/sighseeing pack model number 2010180
• Words of love model number 2013050

So this journaling makes me laugh- did I really just journal about sweat???
My thinking was "The photos are pretty abstract here- let me add some meaning."
This was the result. I tried getting the traditional smily toddler shot, promise!
Lola rarely co-operates with my camera antics .
I got tired of yelling HI! OO LOOKY HERE! HEY PRETTY PRETTY GIRL!! SMILE!
 This type of photo is more interesting anyway. I hope she feels the same way.
If anything I can blame her for not looking up ever EVER when I was trying to get a cute shot.

Now hop along to the Scrap FX Blog and...

Have a GREAT weekend!!
Michelle

What I learned this week- Scrap FX orchid stencil MADNESS

Hallo folks!
This week I was all about the procrastinating!
Delayed the cooking.
Delayed the cleaning.
Delayed the scrapping.
Everything on my to do lists got put on hold!
Why?
I'm tired and "thoughtful" bloggin is HARD yo!

This post alone? 2 hours!
Between the writing, the copy editing and the photo uploading- blogging is time consuming.
Not complaining- just saying- content= life hours= expensive.
Life hours- the most valuable thing we rent.

New header! Better? I'll have to go hunting for "learning" photos.

This post almost didn't get written.
But I made a promise to myself I would learn and put the learning into action this year- not just coast by on scrappy shopping binges.
(More on THAT this wednesday for the Hot Topic post)

Last week I used the Scrap FX engineering stencil and got some funky effects using chalk and Tattered Angels Gold mist.

This was the FABULOUS background result:

Why not try it again? This time with this gorgeous flower stencil?

Scrap FX orchid stencil item #2013031

I didn't take photos of my experiment this week. Why?
I forgot!
Mostly because this page happened over a couple of days- I was experimenting with different kinds of white ink.

What I learned:

1. I don't like Heidy Swapp Color Magic resist paper. Too unpredictable. I have a whole pack so I will give it another try but so far? IXNAY.
2. Check and DOUBLE check your paper strips before you sew them down- invariably they are crooked. Invariably when you think you are fixing one, it's the other that's wonky.
3. People REALLY like all white pages. Like as in LOVE- as in you can throw up all your white items on the page and STILL get 50 likes from your IG followers on it. I'll never understand that- color is so wonderful.
4. Prima Attic Dust chalk ink is awesome. AWESOME.
5. Most white acrylic ink will not show on misted paper. I should write up a whole POST on all the white ink I've tried to use. I JUST realized my white paint markers are OIL based DOH!!! That may explain why they don't work over acrylic. Back to the drawing board I go.
6. I ruined several .2 Micron pens by using them over mist paint backgrounds. 3 dollar pens! So obviously there needs to be more investigation into that. Back to Dina Wakely's Art Journal Freedom I go.

Sorry this week's post is wack.
I promise to take photos for next week's post.

Yellow and purple- not a bad color combo...
maybe I'll try to "rescue" this page as well.
Those Crafter's Workshop cameras will have to get the boot though.

Hope you have a GREAT week!
Michelle

HOT TOPIC Wednesday! Scraplifting. Also? FUN SCRAPPY NEWS

Hello dear readers!
Thank you for swinging by today!

I'm going to give picture headings another try. This is my try at "hot topic"- the hearts are red.
Yeah I know.  I had to try!

Hot Topic will now be my wednesday post theme.

I love to talk and have opinions about everything.
Rather than shying away from this personality quirk (disorder) I have decided to embrace it.
Please feel free to tell me I'm fulla beans.
I like feisty people who tell it like it is.

This week I want to talk about (mini drum roll) scrap lifting.
"Hardly a hot topic!" You declare.
Well how about this- I think scraplifting is awesome.

Why Scraplifting ROCKS

• All beginners start by imitating the work of other artists. Even Pablo Picasso. Even Rembrandt. If they can do it, so can you! Nothing separates one creative pursuit from another except intention. 
• Scraplifting allows you to make pages you like from the word go.
• Scraplifting teaches you about good design practices.
• Scraplifting gives you a way to share with artists / crafters you admire. This last part is key.

I don't own a crafting business, sell classes or design products (YET- ha!) so my viewpoint might change when I have a financial stake on this issue.

But Not Always- Lifting isn't stealing

There's a difference between imitating an admired project and posting your version in your personal blog/gallery and selling someone else's technique, original pattern design or tutorial as your own.

I cry foul on that. 

What if someone copied a project of mine right down to the same paper and title and posted it with no credit?

Personally, I'd be glad someone noticed my work and I'd leave comments to encourage that person to keep going. 

Give people the benefit of the doubt! It's FREE- like politeness or smiling.

Maybe they forgot the source of inspiration. 

Maybe they have no clue that giving credit is a cool thing to do- that's not "common sense".

I didn't do it when I first started out!

But really- does it matter?

I posted this page a few weeks back but I'm putting it up again because it
was lifted by Mia of MyCreativeLife.blogspot.com. Mia's page is coming up next. 

You are FULL of ideas! Your brain = Mary Poppins' carpet bag!

I know I have MANY more original ideas in my brain pan.
"Copy cats" (ie: people of excellent taste) can catch up but they can never pull ahead- they have to wait for my next move after all.
But what if they DO pull ahead?
What if "they" get published? Get the DT spot I wanted?
Or spark up a rad new product deal with fill-in-the-blank scrap company?
Then they are doing something right!
Watch them and learn. They aren't merely copying.

Scraplifting gives you a way to share with artists / crafters you admire but haven't met yet.

Sharing is good.

Share the credit- give shout outs to people- even the "big" scrap personalities like to hear that their readers are paying attention.

Don't just say "Love this!" 

Tell them why or how it reminds you of a particular story you'd like to share.

Make the page and change things up a bit-

improvise and leave a link on their blog comments section.

Call them out on Twitter.

"Share" their links on Facebook.

Before long you'll have a mutual appreciation going.

And THAT is what scrapping "public" should be all about!

Mia's version uses her favorite colors- bright pink and soft blue.  I suspected she would like my page when I posted it because it looks a lot like HER work. Check out her blog My Creative Life.  See what's happening?
We feed off each other- this is a GOOD THING.
It's why scrapbooking and blogging about it works so well-
you grow as  crafter and you see how your work influences others.

Speaking of which, I have a couple of shout outs to share:

Special HIYA! and Thank You! to Ashley Oliver AKA Soaphousemama of PurpleMailbox.

Soapy has my back and I love her for that! 

Also? She's freaking amazing. Swing by her blog and check it out!

I also want to thank Margrethe Aas Johnsen of OneLifeDocumented

Margrethe's work over at Scrapbook.com got me to stop trying to imitate the Prima design team and start making original work.

If you want a lesson in disciplined and modern scrapbooking swing by her blog.

All the opportunities that have landed on my plate lately are due to friends who read this blog.

THAT'S why you leave love, give credit, stay positive and be true to you.

It comes back.

Times five.

DOH! Before I forget!!!    BREAKING NEWS!

I participated in this week's Paper Clipping Roundtable, a free scrapbook podcast available through iTunes.

I was FLABBERGASTED when I heard they wanted to talk to me.

Me? Random chick with a blog that isn't connected anywhere else?

COOOL!

Fellow guests Tracy Banks and Lain Ehmann blew my mind with their poise and great ideas.

Hosts Noell Hyman and husband Izzy are so genuine and funny! 

They made me feel welcome and valued- I talked like a mad woman as usual but they handled it.

Swing by and check that out- better yet- subscribe! 

It's free and it's fun to hear people talk about scrapping once a week.

http://www.paperclipping.com/prt-150-crackers-in-their-soup

MuChOs SmOoChEs- the paper kind!
Michelle

TGIF!!! A Cityscape scrapbook page

Hello there!

I wanted to share a page I almost threw in the garbage this week.
With my track record that usually means everyone will like it.
Not fishing for compliment,
just admitting that I don't have all the answers (obviously! LOL!)

The new Crate Paper DIY Shop line has me DROOLING!
I combined it with a couple of older favorites from Jenni Bowlin.
The final effect seems dreary.

Let me know what you think ok?

My Leica is at the shop FINALLY getting cleaned (after 2 years of sticky buttons) so I shot this page with my husband's iPad. It's incredibly difficult to shoot straight with one of those plate-like things. I did my best.

Materials: Jenni Bowlin Tickets paper, Crate Paper stripes paper, CoreDinations Jenni Bowlin embossed paper,
A Flair For Buttons Project Life flair and arrows flair, Crafter's Workshop Urban Landscape stencil,
banners from Basic Grey and Maya Road, Prima Stamp Press and black chalk ink, Ranger black crackle paint,
Montana white paint marker (which turned green when I used it over the Ranger crackle paint. It wasn't dry yet)

How in the WORLD does Anna Maria Wolniak get all that water color paint on her pages without warping her paper????

Between the gesso and the uneven machine stitch my page is more of an S shape.

And that K & Co washi? 

Love the print but the darned thing can't lay down flat even with stitches AND Zip Dry holding it down.

Adding the buttons and the twine was a last minute idea.
I love how the final page looks finished without a lot of
my usual last minute fussy cutting of random elements.

My goal for 2013 year is to sharpen my technique skills.

I want to be able to cut a script word with my Cameo and stitch the center following the font.

I'm a LONG way from my goal! 

YEESH!

Then again, if  I were to throw this out for "mistakes" it would have lasted all of 5 minutes. 

Literally every step involved a screw up that I had to FORCE myself to overlook.

One thing I love about it is the diagonal border. 

I could do that to every single one of my pages and never have enough.

Also?

Buttons are RAD!!! On everything!

SPRING FEVER!!!! HA!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

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

February already?!! A quick and experimental Flair Button scrapbook page

Hello!

Today I squeezed in some fun time with my Flair Buttons in between freaking out over my failing "organizing" efforts and taking care of Lola who is going bananas with cabin fever.

Here's the page:

This is a photo of the hubster and I in 2005. Look at my awesome short hair! I think I'm gonna do that again!
Materials: A Flair For Buttons PhotoBooth and Smash Phrases flair badges, Stencil1.com "Brooklyn" stencil, stamp from Cocoa Daisy, papers from Crate, American Crafts and Basic Grey.

This was for the A Flair For Buttons Blog hop next week- or rather it's my "first draft".
I was recently watching a bunch of videos from Nat Kalbach's "Creative Jump Start" and some of the techniques really caught my eye.
Namely scratching on photos and using stencils.

I have so many stencils but I hate how paint gets under the stencil and messes the design up most of the time so I tend to avoid them.
The great thing about the Creative Jump Start series is that it pushes you beyond your limits and preconceptions- you go from hating a mistake to figuring out how to make it lemonade.
The series is over now but the videos are still up so sign up and watch as many as you have time for- it's all free.

I gave myself permission to play and I'm so glad I did- elements from this page will make the final page for the hop.
I hope you tune in- the Flair For Buttons team is about as diverse as it gets- from clean and simple to cute and colorful to messy and experimental (me).

Ana Dabrowska or Finnabair made a fantastic Jump Start video about distressing emulsion printed photos.
(Emulsion prints are what we used to get before everyone went digital and started printing laser prints.
I can't STAND when I give my photos to Walgreen's and get back prints that look crappier
than what I print at home!) Here I used a needle to scratch the photo.

Have a GREAT friday (and Super Bowl Weekend)!!!

I'm going out with my best buds from high school tonight.
We are all turning 39/40 this year at around the same time so February is gonna be ROCKIN'!!!
Tomorrow I get to teach 9 years olds how to use stamps and heat embossing on their valentine's day cards.
Pray for me.
Large groups of giggly girls and tools that go up to 500 degrees don't really mix but I'm bringing my eagle Mommy eye- I'm READY!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle