A first Mother's Day for Stacey!

Stacey R. is one of the coolest chicks I've had the pleasure to know since college. She writes poetry, she designs and maintains a major Fortune 500 company's website, she knows how to do the "Reike"- whatever that means- she's uber cool. She's also PREGGO! 

Materials: Emma's Shoppe chipboard, paper and letter sticks, EK Success open
scallop border punch and Making Memories  Dilly Dally banner stamp

Happy First Mother's Day Stacey! You really do look wonderfully radiant!!! Baby girl will becoming along soon so I hope you get all your novel reading and long brunches in NOW 'cause soon you'll have a lil mama of your own and those brunch places don't have changing tables. You'll RUE THE DAY you walked into a joint with just your mini back pack, your Ergo and your hubs- well maybe that's just me.

We had a WONDERFUL brunch in Stacey's honor over at B Smith's on 46 between 8th & 9th. B's place is amazing! The appetizers, entrees and salads were all tantalizing. The house Chardonnay went perfectly with my Salmon and the bread pudding desert was perfection. Stacey teared up at the surprise party, got some loot and went home assured her baby would be born within a week.

Arrival- SURPRISE!!!

Crate Paper's Emma's Shoppe line is so gorgeous you can slap a card together in 30 minutes flat and come out looking golden. Stacey liked that I said this is her first Mother's Day- many people don't count the one you spend pregnant... this is PURE NONSENSE! Your back constantly tells you that yes you are very much the multi tasking momma right NOW.

Here's the interior of the card I made for her:

Lots of laughter- LOVE that bonnet girl!
We got some Baby Shower MacGyvers in our bunch.

Daddy-to-be gets a handy baby tool belt.
My fave? The diaper tongs.

Happy family. I told that young man he needed to smile!

Paper Issues is hosting it's first Mother's Day link party- hop on over and post all your wonderful Momma's Day projects!

These ladies paid for the whole thing- Stacey is awesome so she's got GREAT friends. :)

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Hello New Zealand!!! Happy Autumn!

The best part of joining the online scrap community is that you meet people from all over the world. I would've never met Lowri if it wasn't for Paper Issues. I would never get this FANTASTIC opportunity to share my work with peeps in New Zealand (and beyond) if it wasn't for ArtfulCrafts. I am so happy to be their latest Sunday Guest Designer! I thank you warmly for this opportunity.

This is an exclusive for Artful Crafts using the sketch posted for their Travel and Treats party. I've had these photos on my "scrap list" for 2 entire years. Why? Because they were taken with a crappy Kodak digi camera with bad flash and worst focus. Many photos are fussy or pixelated. But enough with the apologies- I just wanted to acknowledge that I am aware the photos STIIIINK but it's my first trip to EUROPE for goodness sake! I love these shots!

The Travel and Treats sketch called for a 4 photo layout but I wilded-out (as usual) and added as many small photos as I could get away with. All of these photos are high rez but so badly mangled by the cheap lens they would have been better as Fuji Instax or iPod Hipstamatic prints- at least those cameras take cool out of focus shots ON PURPOSE.


On our trip my sister and I hit up London AND Barcelona.  Barcelona was a wonderful surprize my sister sprung on me last minute- I'm usually not good with surprises but this one was GREAT.

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Required red phone booth shot.
Botanocal Gardens at Kew will get their own page.
I wish I could live in one of those Victorian green houses!
Bridge to Tate Modern designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava-  his work is so EXCITING.

On my London MUST LIST: 

1. The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew- CHECK!!! Thanks Letty- you kept your cool all through my compulsive fern shooting. Ya'll don't know this but I LOVE ferns- Victorian style! (That means I collect them and kill them and mourn my evil need to have them)

2. Tate Modern- CHECK! OMG not only is the building a wonderful example of Modern architecture-  it's also filled with zany modern art that Letty and I had the pleasure to "EEEEHH???" over FOR FREE! Yes!!! I almost died of glee!!!

3. London phone booth- CHECK! Get THIS- the architect for the Tate Modern, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, is also the designer of the british red phone booth!

4. Royal Crown Jewels- check!! Plus a guard gave me the willies by telling me NO PHOTOS or it's THE CLINK for you! He said THE CLINK! I was WAS afraid.
5. Eat cheap and cheerful asian fare! This was great- we had a tight budget but it wasn't a problem as long as we stuck to noodles or curry take away. The dollar was 2 to 1 to the pound. I had never felt so poor in my LIFE.

On my Barcelona MUST LIST:

1. Gaudi Architecture- everything and anything. Sagrada Familia was as amazing as I imagined!!! I n addition to my inveterate Fern love I am also an architecture groupie. 

2. Zara Home store- I love the Zara clothing boutiques but their clothes are for tall thin chicks. I'm a short, plump chick so I splurged on home goods and came back with bed clothes in Turquoise, Royal Purple and Hot Pink- why there's nothing like that available stateside I do NOT know.

3. Tapas bar and Flamenco Show- we got tickets super cheap from the Gaudi Hotel (where else would I stay??? Certainly NOT the unisex rooms Youth Hostel Letty booked- Oh HELL NO! I unbooked that with THE QUICKNESS!)

4. Barcelona Botanical Gardens- OH. MY. GREENESS!!! This Mediteranian garden with modern design is THE BOMB!!!! I couldn't stop staring at the gorgeous avenues, the beautiful desert flora, the lines- the WONDERFUL MODERN LINES!!!!! You simply MUST go! No ferns though- minor bummer.

If you are ever in Barcelona and need a good but inexpensive local white wine try Chardonnay El Sol- delicious!

Best of the crappy bunch flamenco shot.
Also- fave artist Jackson Pollock- those splatters look like African art.
 Dude I was STARING! This painting made me want to DANCE!

So this is a wordy post!!! Thanks for stopping by!! Go to Artful Crafts and enter your own Travel and Treats page!


MuChOs SmOoChEs!!
Michelle

Get PUNKY! Week 2 sketch

This is my second week as a Guest Designer for Punky Scraps and I'm having insane amounts of fun. Need evidence?

Beautiful Girls
MATERIALS: American Crafts papers, AC Thickers alphas, Crafter's workshop Cosmic swirl template, floral fabric, die cuts and words from K & Co,  Maya Road satin pleated ribbon. My Mind's Eye velvet ribbon and ball fringe. 

Whoop! Whoop! Slam dunk. I am seriously loving all the American Crafts color here. Here's the sketch for week 2:

Punky sketch for April week 2 

Punky sets your design bug free. Paint splattered incorrectly on my page? So what? It's Punky! Edges of machine stitch frayed? It's all good- it's PUNKY. I'm telling you it's a license to experiment and that's just what I needed at this point. I was getting way too self conscious and loosing sight of why I scrap- to HAVE FUN.

Nieces Noe and Emi. These pix popped up on their facebook profile one day and  I simply HAD to scrap them.

The sponsor for this month is Crafter's Workshop whose templates I've been collecting for a while now. I wanted to get a little more paint crazy here but I only had 1 sheet of this gorgeous Dear Lizzy paper and I've been known to ruin entire layouts with too much spritz so I added just a touch of SC Mister Huey in white over the Crafter's Workshop Cosmic Swirls 12 x 12 template and loved the subtle swirls I got.

Minor twist- photos hanging where banners should be.
"Journaling" where photos would normally be placed.

I have an entire box of "bling" which I rarely use
because I rarely remember it's there. No more!

Now please run to Punky and make a page of your own- you might win a wonderful prize from Crafter's Workshop!


Second (larger) look:

MuChOs SmOoChEs!

Michelle

My Girl Hugs!

Studio Calico Sketch challenge due April 18th.
Materials: Singing in the Rain kit and Tap Dance Add on. Crate Paper Emma's Shoppe papers and chipboard. Martha Stewart 3 in 1 butterfly and Monarch punches.

Lola has learned to hug. She's hugging her plush toys, her Aunts, her Daddy, her grandma and occasionally even me. Spontaneous baby hugs. 

Best medicine ever.

This really happened. 

Lola was playing with some bright colored blocks when this taller (but younger) kid pushed her down to take it away. I looked over at his caretaker but she's on the phone. 

I was ANNOYED.

Here was this kid pushing my lil' bit around! Lola is confused- she looks like she may cry! OOO I'm starting to get my Hulk on!! What should I do? I can't yell at a baby! He's not  my baby! 

Besides- he's a BABY!

Before I open my mouth to firmly tell him to share and not push, Lola gets up- goes towards him- looks him in the eye AND GIVES HIM A HUG. !!!!!!!!  

Whaaaa? 

Oh!

Wish I had the photo! 

That little boy ran away crying. He was tired and cranky and needed a nap. I don't know what Lola was thinking but she blithely skipped any of my expected reactions. I gleefully noted- she got revenge AND played nice. Not that she meant to. I'm the evil person who's glad she confused him right back. So Lola is 19 months and already a better person than her Mom.

My face, it's beaming.

Magnolia on a 80 degree day- I'm in heaven.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Punky Rebel Challenge!!! Tangerines, Limes and Lemons

Hiya!
I am SO EXCITED to show my first Guest Design Team piece for Punky Scraps
BOOYAH!

She's Got The Look
Materials: American Crafts Travel paper, Sassafras Lass banner sticker, Cosmo Cricket
Just Keep Swimming shells, Elmer's glue color glue sticks (FUUUN),
Basic Grey Green at Heart chip stickers, Glossy Accents, Prima acrylic rose,
Uni-ball gel pen- white and fluorescent yellow. MLS tiny alphas- tangerine

I just went bananas when I saw this palette. I LOVE these colors together- they scream Goldie Hawn in the 60s- with white go-go boots and lots of eye liner. This palette is SO MOD!!!
Some close ups!!!

Crafter's Workshop Flower Shower and Flower Frenzy
templates are AWESOOOOOOME!

My Mind's Eye yellow ball ribbon and
Jillibean Soup journaling spot.
Button- Crate Paper Neighborhood 

More Crafter's Workshop template madness.
I had so much fun stenciling with the acrylic paint!
Got that wonderfully fuzzy outline you can't get with mist. 

I don't particularly love my layout. I feel it's a bit too flat but I love that I finally experimented with my Kaiser Craft acrylics- they have been sitting around waiting for me to WAKE UP and experiment. Which is why I love Punky- it's not traditional- it's not precious- it's funky and messy and just plain FUN!

So please come join the fun! Slap some paint and newspaper on a sheet of paper with a cute photo and call it a layout- no one will think twice about your use of electrical tape AND you just might win! That's just fabulous.

AAA!!! Tangerine baker's twine!!! I'M IN LOVE!!!
Reasonableribbon.com

I will be trying to MAKE THIS for Letty's July Italian wedding!!!
 Yes It's official- I AM BANANAS!
(photo Courtesy of Martha Stewart Magazine)

MuChOS SmOoChEs!
Michelle