GOT COLLAGE SKILLZ?

My goal for today is to make you laugh. That would be the only reason to share the two hideous projects I made before I finally got to my Punky Scraps collage project for this week's challenge.

First is the final design which I like a lot and will be trying again as the resulting color is really exciting:

Failure is key
MATERIALS: WRMK card stock, tissue paper from Natalie Malik on Etsy, Alphas from Cosmo Cricket, coffee stain stamp from Cocoa Daisy, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher and paint from Kaiser Craft.

Thank you so much Natalie Malik! I recently won her grand prize give-away which totally came at the right time.
Mostly because I got this:

Hand made "How To" zine from Natalie that totally saved my life last night.
Buy it if you'd like some great tips on collage with tissue paper.
Photo courtesy Natalie Malik.

A great handmade "zine" that taught me how to actually glue tissue paper without ruining my project. I also won two beautiful hand made bookmarks and a great pack of ephemera that included the tissue paper I used above.

If you want to see someone make modern and lovely collages with real technical mastery please visit Natalie's blog Awkward and Beautiful.

This is the first time I ever try collage. I avoid anything truly artsy- not because I don't like artsy stuff (I LOVE artsy) but because it requires a level of knowledge and control over technique I have not reached yet.

Before you think this is me beating myself up again please wait till you see what I did before Natalie saved my scrappy butt.

And NOW... The FIASCOS.

AAAAA! This is me trying to use some scraps left over from a cool previous project and having "fun" with textures and shapes. I like the colors and the repeated straight lines but this is a HOT summer mess.
Ok now for the real hum-digger.
Please block your children from seeing this.

This horribly BIOLOGICAL piece sprung from two thoughts:
Though number 1: I want to make a commentary on the images of women in fashion- I will sew the outlines, fill in the photos with paint and write "Not me, not now, not ever.. and that's ok" on it.

Before I could fully execute thought number 1- this happened:
Though number 2: OOO this glue would make for great texture!

EEEEEEEEWWW! Never should the two meet! I'm embarrassed to share it except this is supposed to be a real deal blog right? Hideous craft failures and all.

I would like to point out I'm not a complete hack. I recognize when something is too awful to show- except as entertainment here in this blog.

Now that I've either shocked you into silence or made you laugh derisively please head on over to Punky Scraps and join the October challenges. This week's is all about collage. I'm hoping you will learn as much as I did.

Current Favorite Toy- this is a family blog after all.

MuChOS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Ta DAAA! A Halloween page

So I finally managed to make a Halloween page that doesn't stink. I've said this a zillion times but I don't like holiday theme projects. The items needed are so specific they can't be used for anything else and I tend to get so distracted during family events my photos never look good. But really it's my lack of skill that bothers me- so I promised I would practice, practice,  practice till I got something I liked.
Here's one:

First Halloween (redo)
MATERIALS: Martha Stewart Halloween paper, Crate Paper and Basic Grey buttons, American Crafts Thickers, Sassafras stickers, Stuff 2 Scrap mini word and frame chipboard, ghost sticker and spider/bat brads from EK Success
PS- this is an example of early morning light- it's super orange- may have to reshoot this but I like the golden glow.

Last Halloween we had about 30 minutes of really pretty light when we went to Central Park and I got lots of great images- it was freezing but Lola was so glad to be outside she cried when we left.
This year we will try to get some shots in the park again but her witch costume isn't remotely insulated so unless I get her a witch themed coat it will have to be taken inside. Fingers crossed.

Stuff 2 Scrap chipboard- they just don't make them this cool here in the US! 

The title from my last project was so cool I cut it out and reused it. LOVE those spider brads!
So glad they are getting used- finally.

Paper Issues has a great Halloween themed link party happening right now- swing by and add your project to the mix. There's also brand new Pink Paislee Christmas themed paper in the store- with seriosuly beautiful colors- check it out: Pink Paislee Snow Day Collection

New hat!! I love bunny ear hats!

MuChoS SmOoChEs!

Michelle

Go towards the light!!! Lighting MINI TUTE

FULL SUN- shot early morning with page lying flat on the ground and
shooting from directly above. Shadows add dimension without hiding details or distracting the eye.
Morning sun gives a nice gold tone to the page-  rising sun light is "cooler"-
more blue in tone- which is also nice. Notice the overall "tone" is darker as well- This page was lightened
in photoshop but still looks "darker" than the ones I will show you next.

I see this question in scrap forums and facebook A LOT.
When shooting your scrapbook pages or altered projects it best to use natural light.
Seriously- use. natural. light.

"But the only time I have for crafting is at night!" You say.
MAKE. TIME. 
Shooting your project is just as important as actually making it. A good photo can make a mediocre project shine but a great project will be ignored if the photo is bad.

So here's what you do: during your lunch break, whip out that LO and shoot it outside. Answer all the bewildered questions you get- maybe you'll make some new scrap friends!

"But I work in a public place with no privacy!" or my excuse-  "I have no 'lunch break'!!! I am a MOM!"
Shoot in natural light. Your babies/co-workers/the building wall are all camera assistants!
Ofcourse if you have a toddler like I do, you will need a distraction for him or her or they will tear your wonderful creation to pieces before your very eyes- and they will giggle as they stomp on the remains- but I don't have to tell YOU that!

SIDE LIGHT- shot inside with white card board opposite the light coming in from the window in
 order to bounce light onto the page. NOTICE THE VELUM IS MORE VISIBLE NOW.

"But it's snowing/hailing/raining kittens and it's due tomorrow!" (It's a card / gift OR you, like me, waited till the day before to complete your DT assignment/contest entry)
Ok that is a very legitimate concern!
TRY THIS: Bounce light tutorial. Seriously- click on those words!
All you need is a window with direct light, aluminum foil, cardboard and a clamp- 12 bucks mostly for the clamp! The result are catalogue worthy product shots- TRUST- it's from Etsy.

AND- for best results stick your creation to the building wall using pop dots or high tack double sided tape and shoot it STRAIGHT ON AT EYE LEVEL.
You can also put it on the floor and stand over it but this requires lots of fussing around to make sure the corners are straight and that you aren't shooting at angle which makes your page all wonky looking- it's harder to do- skip it.

CLOUDY DAY- overall color change to a cooler "blue" tint.
Top vellum piece is completely gone- if you want colors to "pop" and vellum or transparent
 pieces to show more wait for a brighter day.

There is no real way to shoot your work inside and get good color using artificial light UNLESS you buy special equipment or use photoshop (which I avoid as it never looks as good as actual sunlight). Why bother? The sun is free mi gente!

Here are some other examples:

Bright natural SIDE light from a window
NOTE: Normal color tones, lots of detail in the shadows- this is good for your project.
If you want less "dark" in the shadows prop a piece of cardboard with foil taped to it and
 "bounce" light from the window onto the subject.

Full artificial light AND frontal on camera flash
NOTE: What looks good on people (especially young cuties like my nephew Ty) won't work as well
   for your project. The orange tint, frontal flash that creates harsh background shadows and pure white highlights on anything shiny will distract from your project and obscure details- not good.

Does this help? I'm thinking my examples all look the same right? Perhaps more stark examples are called for. I was checking how light falls on my projects over the weekend and realized this may be a good time to WRITE DOWN what I noticed- so I'm also telling MYSELF this- we're all in the same boat. Please leave a comment letting me know if I helped you out!!  I would love to hear from you.

This photo is only "interesting" because of the shadows- make shadows work for
you and add texture and visual complexity to your projects.

MuChOS SmOoChEs!

Michelle

31 days of Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween- What? You can't see the title ? It's on the lower left hand corner. 

At this time, last year, the wonderful link party website Paper Issues was born!


To celebrate, you get an extra 20% off in the Paper Shop!  Use code HAPPY20

It just happens that yours truly started blogging on October 31st last year as well. Angry that my husband had decided to work on a saturday and that the weather was so cold Lola was not able to join the Halloween Parade in Central Park, I declared Halloween over-rated.
Well not this year baby!
This year it's gonna be different!
This year Lola has her Candy Witch costume ready to go and we have tickets to the Museum of Natural History's Halloween party- it will be INSIDE so she'll have some fun.
Fingers crossed. No, triple crossed.

First edition- I  just added a great photo- the layout is.... beyond repair.

This page was made before Lola had a costume last year so I had some crazy black and white photo of weeds on there. I remember being so proud of this "creation". I redid the page for your amusement- yes I am aware it looks like the Micheal's holiday aisle threw up all over the page. Lola likes it- she keeps pointing at the googly eyes.

You're able to see Lola's SLAMMIN' orange and yellow tights here.

Love the layering in the tag.

Bottle with green flower soft- what the heck do you use
Flower Soft for anyway?

Swing by Paper Issues and join the link party fun.  For the next 31 days we will be celebrating Halloween and we hope to see you there!

AWWW! The polka dot pants with the pink hightop skips- I MISS those!!!

MuChoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Instagr.am (HIPSTAMATIC) is awesooome!!!

This is a great "opener" image- instantly accessible so it's my "come hither" photo for this post-
 I've blogged it before! It's up over at True Xoxo Girls for their Instamatic Challenge- go check us out!!!

HIYA!!!!

I've been scheduling everything to the last minute the last few weeks in an effort to get as much scrap time as possible. I belong to FOUR equally amazing teams and I also want to keep a constant eye on Lola's toddler antics- those photos keep my pages interesting after all. Whatever- I'm a Type A personality! I can handle this!

A huge part of my daily routine:
Facebook- I have no scrap friends in NYC and my regular friends and family ROLL their eyes when I start talking scrap so I've learned to suppress it. Talking "shop" with my fellow teamies is slowly consuming a lot of my spare time but I'm learning so much it's hard to stop.

Pinterest-    Pinning has become... an obsession. There are just SO many amazing women working today!!! I wish I had an art gallery- I would be very happy just showing off other people's work!

Twitter and Instagr.am- Photo sharing is AWESOME! One of my favorite pastimes while on vacation was trying to make friends and family jealous by posting daily images of where I was. It didn't make me very popular but it was FUN and I got some great shots to scrap. My Twitter and Facebook accounts are connected!


Thank you Gauche Alchemy, Paper Issues, True Xoxo Girls and Punky Scraps for keeping me sane and in touch with other crafty chicks.

This came together in about an hour using the Gauche Alchemy
 Lady Marmalade Orange Mixed Media Kit and some "Ouchless" Corrugated board.
I love this photo series with the thought bubble that was an advert for a street art show.
Someone took it down- wish I had thought of that.

The October True Xoxo Girls challenge is up and running- the theme is Instagr.am. I don't like the Instagram app much- especially now that they have "upgraded" and gotten rid of their "Gotham" lens (POOT!) so I cheated and used Hipstamatic photos for the challenge. Because I use the app so much in my scrapping I have 2 pages up (thanks Lindsey!!!).

MATERIALS- Crafter's Workshop 6x6 chicken wire stencil ( I LOVE that thing!!), Basic Grey Life of the Party paper (love this collection!!), Jillibean Soup corrugated frame, Crate Paper buttons, Prima flowers, Studio Calico wood butterflies, Mister Huey Sunshine and October Afternoon Brown Bag mist- FAVE!!

Swing by and check out True Xoxo Scrapbooking. The challenge winner will get a guest spot on the team so you too can have fun in the huge love fest that is the Xoxo DT!

The idea for today is- believe in the process

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle