December Daily 2013

Well, I am no where near done with it, but I am so proud of myself because my goal was to JOURNAL everyday for 25 days and I did it!!!  Now the fun part of just adding in the photos and decorating is all I have to do!  I am sharing some photos of my album that I took around day 6 of December (yes, that long ago and I am just posting).

My favorite part about this process is creating my journaling pages.  On my album I created last year (WHICH YOU CAN SEE HERE), I first started by creating journaling pages and I was able to stick to it.  The photos speak for themselves...they are memories captured in that instant.  But those thoughts and words that go with those specific moments are sometimes fleeting, and the details can get lost over time.  That is why I feel it is so important to focus on the journaling.  I want to remember those conversations and little bits of the day that really make this holiday.

OK, so to my pages:

I started by simply creating a Microsoft Word document with 2 columns and adding in some lines for journaling.  I fiddled with the margins so they would be equal once I cut down the middle.  I printed 13 pages, cut them each in half, which gave me 26 journaling pages.  On each page, I used a decorative border punch on the top edge.  I splattered some Citron (Heidi Swapp), Santa Claus Red (Ranger), and Tannenbaum (Studio Calico) mists on each page.

On the bottom edge of each journaling page, I used some Mod Podge and a dry brush and made streaks of glue with the brush and sprinkled some gold glitter on it and let it all dry.

Finally, I chose 5 colors/patterns of washi tape and added them to the right edge of the journaling pages. Then I used some vellum and paper die cuts from Pink Paislee and stitched them over the washi with some gold thread (and I left the edges of the gold thread hanging, and I love the interest it adds).  Finally, I punched three holes in each page to fit into my album.

For the album:

I used this Pink Paislee "Portfolio" album, which I actually purchased about 3 or 4 years ago because Ali Edwards used it for her DD album (or maybe it was for her Week In the Life, I can't remember).  But it has been sitting in my closet and I thought it was time to use it.  It has some really cool shapes and types of insert pages in it.

I started by covering the outside (which is canvas) with gesso.  I didn't completely cover it because I like some of the raw canvas peeking through.

Then I used a small christmas tree patterned stencil and some Citron mist and sprayed it on the bottom half of the album.  Then I splattered with the Tannenbaum mist, and stamped "Dec 2013" with a date stamp here and there.

It is hard to see, but I took some irridescent punchinella and cut circles out of it. I glued the circles to random parts on the album front using mod podge.

I created a small banner cluster on the top left with some lime green washi tape.

I covered some Studio Calico wood veneer stars with some glue and loose gold glitter and glued them to the album cover.  I also used some of the gold rub on stars of the same shape, but are a lot smaller, and scattered them around, too.

Finally, I added some red sequins, rhinestones from Glitz Designs, and the word "holiday" from a Basic Grey wood pack.  The gold "season" alphas are Studio Calico.


PHEW!  That was a lot of info!  :)

Here is a peek at the inside, not embellished or decorated yet, but you can get the idea of where I am going with this....

I hope you stop back and see my finished project...which should be sometime around NEXT Christmas!    HAHAHAHA!

Stay scrappy my friends!

Paper Issues *Pretty Little Studio* Blog Hop...

Welcome to the Paper Issues Blog Hop!  This weeks issue is sponsored by Pretty Little Studio and the theme is "Nature Walk".  PLS has a recent release called Nature Walk which features adorable elements like woodland animals, mushrooms, feathers, and elements like banner pieces and labels.

I used a sketch from Skissedilla and the June color combo from ScrapFriends for my page and also some goodies from PLS of course!

I immediately knew what papers I wanted to use for this color combo from ScrapFriends:  The colors in the "Acorn Ave" collection from Crate Paper were perfect!

I started by painting my background with a stencil and some mint/greenish-blue colored paint.  I had some white on my paint tray (aka....a piece of plastic wrapping) and as I mixed it, I was loving the ombre effect, so I went darker on the bottom and lighter towards the top.  Once dry, I went over some areas with the stencil and a thin black pen.

I fussy cut out a bunch of flowers and started laying them out on my page with a tag (which already had the "A" on it), a journal spot, and a few other bits.

I used the banner pieces from Pretty Little Studio at the top of the page with two different colors of twine.  I wanted a bit more green, so I covered one of the pennants with some green washi.  I also have a few of the feathers from the Nature Walk line tucked in here and there.

I even raided my stash and found some OLD flair from American Crafts. Some splatters, a few tiny chipboard circles here and there, and that's it!

Here is the order of the hop!  Be sure to hop along to each person's blog and then stop by the PLS blog and leave some love to all!

Ashley: http://www.ashleyhortondesigns.com/

Audrey: http://audreysreflection.blogspot.com/  <----YOU ARE HERE

Becki: http://beckiadams.blogspot.com/

Bente: http://paperandglueheaven.blogspot.com/

Carol: http://carolmonson.blogspot.com/

Caz: http://www.cazhancock.com/

Pretty Little Studio Blog: http://prettylittlestudio.com/blog/

Also make sure you:

1.      Like Pretty Little Studio on Facebook {tell them we sent you}

2.      Like Paper Issues on Facebook

3.      Leave a comment

TThanks for hopping with us today!  Stay Scrappy my Friends!

37...how did I get here already????

Wow...I can't believe I am this old already.  I feel like I just had my 21st birthday yesterday!  :)

I played with some new MME that I got a few weeks ago, and when I saw the color palette at ScrapFriends this month, I thought of this collection immediately!   I also used this weeks sketch from Skissedilla.  I started this page right after I had done a page in my art journal, so I was feeling kind "artsy".

Since the color palette had a "raspberry" color in it, but the papers didn't, I mixed up some mist colors to get the shade I wanted and then dripped them on the page.   Then I wanted to add a bit of a peachy pink, so I mixed some pink and yellow paint and mists and use a stencil on the background.

For my journaling, I decided to do a little pull out card to write some things on so that it wouldn't take up any space on the page.

I had laid everything out and felt like something was missing, so I went back and stitched the black circle on background.  I wanted a bit of girliness, so I used the chipboard floral bunch and a few other floral pieces here and there.  Some stamping, enamel dots, and flags, and I'm done!  :)

sketch at Skissedilla

color palette at ScrapFriends:

Stay Scrappy my Friends!

Life Under a Rock...

Charlotte has been spending HOURS this spring lifting up rocks and digging in the dirt in our gardens in search of WORMS.  She also finds lots of other bugs, which for some reason, she calls "squigs"...I have no idea where she got that word from, but I love it!  :)

I used this weeks sketch from Skissedilla.  I was inspired so do some stamping (which I don't do enough of) and ink splattering and painting on the background.  I kept the design simple to focus on the photos.

I had to use something brown and squiggly to remind me of worms, and this twine from Lawn Fawn was perfect!  The other embellies are from Pebbles Lakeside collection and LYB Naturals collection (which was given to me by a sweet lady by the name of Lisa Swift!  :) ).

What You Missed....

In April, I was so excited to have my first online class through My Scraps & More.  The "Lots of Layers" class was 4 weeks long.  Each week there was a new video, a sketch with directions, and a place to discuss the techniques and share your creations. The class came with a custom embellishment kit that I designed including a stencil and other handmade goodies.  I worked with a pre-selected set of papers and embellies that was given as a supply list at the beginning of the class so that people could purchase it if they wanted.

Although I can't share the sketches and the videos, I wanted to share the pages that I made for the class!

The first week we focused on "Peek A Boo" layers....creating layers in which you can see other layers below.

The 2nd class we learned different techniques on how to use the stencil that came in the kit (the "spoke" pattern).

The 3rd class we used a pocket or envelope to hold some goodies.

And the last class we focused on using basic shapes on your pages.

I really  really enjoyed seeing all the creations from this class!  The ladies seriously rocked their pages!!!

I will be offering another class in June at My Scraps & More, although, this one will be a self paced class with step by step  photos and only 1 video.  The class will showcase 3-4 layouts and an altered project (still working on that!).  Stay tuned to my blog for more details!

Stay Scrappy My Friends!

Art Journal Beginning...I Believe....IE Prompt

You may recall from last month's challenge that the purpose of this challenge group was to take our scrapbooking to the next level, to stretch our creative process and to grow as artists by embracing challenges that make us think, work and grow. We love to have new faces join us on our journey and this month we welcome a new guest designer to join us.  Please join me in welcoming Denise Morrison. Denise's blog is aptly name "Life is Yummy" and so is her art!

This month our challenger was the very talented Ann Jobes. Her challenge to us is as follows:

This month's challenge is a journalling prompt. I realize some of us do not journal much on our pages, and if we're truthful, we mostly scrapbook for ourselves - it gives us joy, a creative outlet, etc. But we do hope that someone is going to page through these albums sometime in the future, right? For this month's challenge, I'd like you to think about some of those values or beliefs that are important to you.

There is no "right way" to do this. Spend some time thinking about this. It's your chance to share with future generations something that is important to you and makes you who you are. Take some time to collect some verses, quotes or sayings that speak to your soul. Choose one that you think is a "life verse" - something that really communicates the essence of you.

Use whatever photo(s) you think will suit your message. Enjoy putting a meaningful page together using your favourite techniques, style, papers - whatever makes it "you".

I know this is going to be difficult. I'm asking you to reverse your process and put the message first when we so often put our message/journalling last, as an afterthought, if at all.

I am not a good journalist...I always save it to the last minute and sometimes have a hard time articulating the feelings or thoughts that I want to convey.

Now I have to tell you that my post today was not only inspired by this month's prompt, but some of the upcoming prompts as well (which I obviously can't share yet).  But that is what lead me to doing something different: Art Journaling.

I have been wanted to do this for a long time, and have dabbled here and there, but I have never really committed to it.  It seemed like this format would allow me to explore and play with design and techniques as well as provide a place for me to document personal thoughts or feelings. I see this journal as being more of a creative exploration rather than a personal one...but who knows...it might develop into something totally different, and that is OK.

So here is my first art journal page.  I really have no idea what I am doing here....just playing around:

I played with paint, mists, stencils, stamps, punches, and pens.  If the word "Believe" were a color, I imagined it would be a mix of greens and blues and a bit of yellow. And also have some metallic accents.

I obviously didn't fill both pages, and that is OK, because I am sure  that I will think of things that I believe in and go back and add in some journaling.  This journaling is not something that I would normally share, but I wanted to share the whole spread with you.

I thought I would use the journal as a space to write about "I" things.  Some of the prompts I plan on using are:

I believe
I want
I need
I remember
I wish
I regret
I hope
I fear
I love
I see
I pretend
I was
I imagine
...and many more.


 I hope you will stop by and see what the designers on this adventure have created:

Ann Jobes

Cathy Harper

Sue Sykes

Lisa Spiegel

Joanne Burton

Christa Uttley

Laura Whitaker 
 Audrey Yeager
 Lisa Moen
Laurel Seabrook
Guest Designer, Denise Morrison

We would love to see what you are inspired to create. Add your comment below with a link, I will be sure to drop by and say hello.

He Does His Own Dishes....SBC kit and Skissedilla sketch

This is my 3rd layout with my SBC September kit.  Now, this may not seem like a big deal, but to me it is....you see, I am not very good about using my kits.  I have a ton of them in piles, and maybe have created 1-2 pages with each kit.  They are just to beautiful to use!  :)  BUT I have made up my mind to start actually using what I pay for, so for the past 3 months, I have been creating at least 3 pages with each kit that I get.

Kyler is SUCH a big help around the house! (Can you sense the sarcasm?)  I swear he can hear the dishwasher open when he's on the other side of the house.  He darts over and starts "helping" with the dishes.  It is kinda cute!  :)  I know that before I know it, he won't want to go anywhere near the dishwasher and I will probably have to bribe him to put dishes in it, or put them away when they are clean.

I used this weeks sketch from Skissedilla...

Inspired by the black dots on the sketch, I used a circle template and black ink to make some around the page.  I used some of the embellies from the Ready Set Go embellie pack and cut some circles from Persnickety papers from Lily Bee.

Behind the title I misted a bit with some grey mist to make the white letters stand out better.  The black doodled circle is actually a stamp.  There's a bit of mint green washi on there, too...

World Card Making Day tomorrow!!!!!!!  I am participating in a blog hop, so stop by!!!

L is for Layers....GCD Studios

Lots and lots of layers!  I love to add layers to my pages, and not just with paper.  Stitching, painting, misting, embellishing...all of these can be used to add dimension to your pages.

I thought I would share with you today how I create a layout and the layers that I add to it as I go.

First, I start with the photos I want to scrap and usually an idea for a sketch.  I had this idea of doing layers flowers in circles (inspired by a board book my kids have), so I jotted that idea down and a simple sketch of my plan.

Next I chose my papers and started stitching some line on my background paper.  Most times I stitch last on my pages, but this time I thought I would start with some stitches instead.

Next I added some paint.  I used a white paint with a chevron print stencil, and then splattered some light blue paint on when that was dry.

To created my layered circles, I used the Sure Cuts A Lot 2 software with my Cricut.  I cut these out on different papers on my machine and then layered the circles together.

I gathered a few other strips of paper and some fussy cut papers for my page and laid everything out.

And here is my finished page!

After I laid everything out, I went back and added a bit more stitching to the strips on the top and bottom of the page and on the title, too.  I also took a black pen and traced some of the chevron pattern on the white painted areas.

I cut some more of the flowers and layered them upon the larger flowers and added a layer of stickles on the stamens for some sparkle.

And here you can see the details of the layers in the flowers.

I really enjoyed making this page and adding all the different layers!  If you use layers a lot, try mixing them up and adding them in a different order than you usually to mix things up a bit!

Supplies:
GCD Studios papers used-
Splendor "Letter Tiles" 1680
Splendor "Candytuft" 1676
Country Charm "Country Bloom" 1505
Country Charm "Picnic Blanket" 1509
Country Charm "SuperStar" 1511
Country Charm "Weekend Fun" 1515
Bonjour "Paris Je T'aime" 1541
Other: alphas-Crate Paper, Stickles (Ranger)