Playing with photos! And a GAUCHE ALCHEMY DT CALL!

Perhaps you were expecting a Project Life Monday post?
OMG it's been 2 weeks! I'm SO overwhelmed with it right now!
I promise to have something ready this week!
I'm also low on new images so this weekend I got to work.
I took a walk and some photos.

Michelle K, whom I met through Instagram,
suggested the photo writing app- Phonto. I'm in looove!

Then I sat down and looked through all the photos and chose this one to share. (yay!)

Someone really doesn't like Valentine's Day....

Then I went online and looked at too many pin boards and found this website:

This was made using the website: http://strix.org.uk/stencil/

Then I answered emails, read Facebook updates and LoLed many times.
Then at 1am I got to work on my actual project.

Sneaky peek!
More to come on this neon inspired project!

It's 1am or NEVER because from 7am to around 9pm Miss THANG demands food, Daddy hugs, entertainment, food, juice, park, bubble bath and MORE Daddy hugs.
I do not get the spontaneous hugs.
Mostly because there are at least 4 Tom Cruise sofa jumping sessions I put an end to before brains meet wall.
It's a hard knock life. :)

But that is NOT what I wanted to talk about today!
Do you want a chance to sport THIS badge in your bloggity blog?

Then swing by Gauche Alchemy and get the full monty of becoming a blog writer, videographer or newsletter editor.
Gauche Alchemy is an awesome mixed media online store with monthly kits sure to inspire your work into funky new heights.
Are you wonky, irreverent, artsy and/or just plain coo coo for cocoa puffs?
Then you should consider working with us.
We're not the "cool" kids.
We're the weirdos sitting in the back with Santo Gold playing softly as we host staring contests and discuss how the meaning of life is 6.
But you KNEW that!
What are you waiting for? APPLY! APPLY!

GRATUITOUS TODDLER SHOT!!!!

What became of the 36 ounce box of Cheerios
Mom left on the kitchen table.

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

My Scrap FX Design Team Audition

Have you checked out the Graphic 45 finalist auditions?
I just couldn't get over the level of talent! So many amazing details! The altered projects are incredible!
I suggest you swing by and see for yourself.
Paper Crafters Corner Industry Scoop- Graphic 45 Finalists
I only meant to take a quick peek and got totally sucked in.

In the spirit of the totally inspiring blogs I quickly visited- here is my Scrap FX Audition for the Spring 2012 term:

Altered Project:
Shabby Chic Curio.
This will be a gift for my Mom who's been wanting something like this for a very long while. I remember she had several large curio trays full of Holly Hobby dolls when I was little.

Made with Scrap FX Flutterby, Chicken Wire and Swallow chipboard, Gauche Alchemy Knick-Knack Paddy Whack Kit and Wedding Night White Mixed Media Color kit 

Buttons from Crate Paper and October Afternoon
Pins from Maya Road, Flowers from Petaloo

Clear embellishments and Platinum inked flower

Embossed Flutterby

Chalk Ink, glass powder and gloss glue Swallow

Key to my Heart card:

Made with Scrap FX Gear Key chipboard, Gauche Alchemy red punchinella and
corrugated board, Tim Holtz kraft paper and metal gears.

Scrapbook pages:

I love these scrolls. I tend to use chipboard naked as I like the neutral tones and here
I wanted to provide some contrast to the lace and florals already on the page. 

This page for the March 2012 True Xoxo Girls Challenge quickly came together once
I though to layer and sew the chipboard and vellum butterflies to the blank Instax print.

Tone on tone- this page almost didn't happen because I was so annoyed with
the slap dash look of the white paint- turns out it was the perfect foil for the title.
I wish I had 5 more of those! They are FABULOUS!

Fun with Instagram:

When I get "stuck" I stage mini tableaus that only exists as photos.
This is one of my all time favorites using Swallows Scrap FX chipboard,
Tattered Angels Sunflower mist and a Sunburst stencil from Crafter's Workshop.

Imagine my surprise when scrappy friend Amy told me my
New York Project had made the Two Peas Most Liked List!
To quote Sally Fields: You LIKE me! You REALLY like me!

What do you think? I'm hoping my eclectic style will stand out a bit.
I'd like to think I would bring a modernist design vibe to their beautiful products. We'll see how it goes.
I would not have applied if I didn't really love the products and it's been incredibly exciting (and educational!) to try to exceed the higher standards a DT application requires.
Fingers (and toes) crossed.

What I'm Working On RIGHT NOW:

Dreamer page for an upcoming Guest Spot at Do More With Less.

MuChoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

The Butterfly Effect- Pinterest & True Xoxo Girls Challenge

The Butterfly Effect
According to Wikipedia it's the sensitive dependence on initial conditions. 
How a small change in one place in a non linear system can result in a large differences in a later state.
It's Chaos Theory- unpredictable, unstable- highly complex.

The True Xoxo Girls Challenge for March is Pinterest Inspiration.
Use those lovely boards to make something and show us what you come up with! The prize is a GDT for April!
My piece has been scrap lifted from a beautiful digital design by almadr on Flickr. Click here to see the original.
Materials: Scrap FX butterfly chipboard, My Mind's Eye paper and stickers, Sassafras Lass border and photo corner stickers, Gauche Alchemy Wedding Night white mixed media color kit, Liquid Pearls in yellow, Studio Calico alphas and Mister Huey in Calico Cream and White

For this Month's True Xoxo Girls Challenge I found myself knee deep in an ethical dilemma.
I love Pinterest. I think it's the Beez Kneez- the ultimate fun time inpiration tool for artists of all stripes.
I use Pinterest every day. Or rather, I used to.
I am now considering deleting all my boards.

Here is why: (direct from the Pinterest User's Agreement)
By making available any Member Content through the Site, Application or Services, you hereby grant to Cold Brew Labs a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, view, and otherwise exploit such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site, Application or Services.
Putting aside all worries about potential lawsuits from disgruntled artists, designers, photographers, architects, fashionistas- basically- anyone who has a digital presence. That clause in the User Agreement hasn't been proven in court yet so there's no reason to panic- YET.

Don't FEAR it. BE IT.

How do I feel about participating in the wholesale high-jacking of individual copy right? 
That is what the legal booty covering above does. 
If you come on this site and pin one of my scrapbook pages, Pinterest now has the right to sublicence, use, copy, adapt, modify, SELL, LICENCE, and OTHERWISE EXPLOIT my image as they see fit in perpetuity. 
It's Non exclusive! Woot! I guess I should be happy about that? 


Pinterest- you can take the scrapbook page- it's made with other people's designs anyway. 
The photos are MINE. 


Here is a code that allows you, me or ANYONE to opt out of the Pinterest madness- 


Just add that bit of HTML code to the top of each and every blog post you don't want pinned. It will disappear when you add it .. right here...  no here...
Let me make a photo- the code really did disappear into this post. 

If you don't block Pinterest assumes you are ok with them acting as a royalty free imaging super store where YOU- your family, your pet, your life's work are the product. By the way- Facebook has a similar clause but here's the difference- I can upload images and control my story on Facebook. I decide what family photos might end up for possible sale. Not so with Pinterest. 


Flickr has implemented a simple YES/ NO button on their site to prevent pinning: 
This is great for those who would prefer their personal websites get the traffic (We all know it's rare for people to visit the actual website- for many, it's just pin and get on with your life)
Read about it here: http://mashable.com/2012/02/25/flickr-pinterest-opt-out/


Let me just say- I don't mind being pinned. I get immediate feedback on what people like which helps me design more effectively AND I feel appreciated and influential- what's not to love? I don't judge people who disagree with me or don't care about this issue and just want to look at pretty things. I understand and feel pretty much the same. I love my boards! I spend time looking and thinking and learning to cook. I love the idea behind Pinterest! But it's good to inform yourself so you can protect yourself.

My beef is with is the Pinterest User Agreement that allows Cold Brew Labs to sell my photos IF and WHEN THEY DECIDE.

Scrap FX chipboard and vellum.  The "photo" is an Instax print that came out blank 
because I loaded the camera wrong. Those babies are a dollar a pop. I'm using them!

I might annoy a lot of people who will deflect my arguments with FAIR USE! FAIR USE!
Here is a link to FAIR USE as defined by the US copyright office.


If you are taken to court in the near future, you have already lost. 
You will have to hire a lawyer and pay them to defend yourself. 
It will be easier to "settle"out of court which means you will PAY for those pretty pretty pins.
Why are you fighting Cold Brew Labs' battle? Are you getting affiliate link kick backs from pinned item sales? According to a recent New York Times article you aren't. OOPS! 

Pinterest works the code (on the DL) so they also get affiliate sales!!! 
Aren't they just SO AWESOME?

Innocently swimming through shark infested waters.

MuChOS SmOoChEs!
LA PELEONA

Fun news! Ormolu reader feature

Just wanted top drop by and give a small toot that I'm featured over at the Ormolu blog today.
Yaaaaay!
I LOVE Ormolu products- they are the perfect small size, super bright and GREEN!

This page caught me completely by surprise.
I started by getting all Jackson Pollock on a piece of Jillibean Soup kraft paper and almost threw it out when I thought it looked to messy.
I starred at it for a while telling myself- SELF- YOU CAN'T THROW THIS OUT!! That paper was a DOLLAR.
I'm kinda strange.... But you knew that.
I then added the tone on tone Scrap FX chipboard which immediately focused the page and added the Studio Calico stamp on the bottom right to anchor the design.
The Sassafras Lass triangles went next to add some contrast to the chipboard and lastly I added the night photo, Ormolu "Super cool" tag and fabric flag on top to give it more pop.

The paint is watered down acrylic- the only thing that will show on kraft
I took apart an Amy Tangerine layered embellishment for the
"wish you were here".

When I was done I realized I was working with my lizard hind brain again- going forward with no real plan.
Very cool.
So thank you Ormolu- I got a lift on a rainy day!

GRATUITOUS CUTE TODDLER SHOT!!!

Learning to skip rocks.

MucHoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

To redo or not, that is the question

If you are a frequent reader here you know two things
1. I talk too much. (Sorry)
2. I redo my work all the time.

I redo because I frequently get blank brain syndrome (made that up- Web MD can't help on that one) and have trouble coming up with new concepts but I'm REALLY good at spotting what's wrong with an older page.
So the redo is really an entry point for the next original project.

It's also a way to escape from the "I can't mess this up" loop.
If you frequently find yourself saying "I just have to get this right. I can't let these beautiful materials go to waste!"
Stop. You can always change things around. Use repositionable tape and let go.

Case in point:

Even lighting, more red to add contrast, a heart from the absolutely GORGEOUS  Prima wood veneer
collection and the addition of Jillibean Soup stickers- suddenly the page makes more sense.

You've seen me post this page at least 2 times before but only this time is it good enough to post.
I'm using Gauche Alchemy's Nearly Nekkid Mixed Media Paper Art.
I really liked the Jillibean Soup kraft cardstock alphas but I will admit to being a somewhat lazy scrapper. The amount of effort required to get these to look neat on a page is just too much for me sometimes so I scrawled my journaling in the nearest blank spot and called it a day.

I tried ignoring my mistake but when I hung the page up on my wall recently, I got a daily eyefull of personal scrap sloth and decided the evidence needed to go.

Easy-peasy redo. Ok not so easy- those darned itty bitty stickers
are nearly impossible to pull out their packaging without taking half
the other stickers out too so I use tweezers. EXCRUCIATING!!! But worth it.
Also- commas- I need one. 

Don't ignore the problem. Rise above it.
I'm speaking to myself most of all here.
another long week of no photos- a brief pause on my Project Life album but no worries, I will return for week 9.

What I'm working on RIGHT NOW:

Gauche Alchemy Knick Knack Paddy Whack kit.
I'll let you in on a secret: paint SCARES ME.
So this is killing me!!
Talk about WHAT IF I MESS IT UP? syndrome

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle