Monday, August 29, 2011

Making Do

Imagine if you will... I was working on a layout about our July 4th.  I had the perfect patterned papers, pictures, and chipboard stickers.  It was all laid out- the finishing touch would be three stars, arranged in a visual triangle.  I knew just what stars I would use (some funky self-adhesive ones from BasicGrey).  When I went to get them.... uh oh.  Only two left.

Darn it!  Time to make do.   I found a random piece of chipboard and cut out a star shape, mimicking the style of the ones I wanted to match.  The color was different, so I painted all three pieces "Country Twill"- a color that looks like raw chipboard.  I inked the edges and added the stars.

My star isn't exactly the same as the BasicGrey two, but it's close enough.  Can you guess which one I made?

From Flamingo Scraps: Moxxie patterned paper, BasicGrey chipboard stars
Other: We R Memory Keepers patterned paper, Bazzill cardstock, EK Success punch, Folk Art paint, Reminisce stickers
Inspired by: Shannon Zickel, scrapbooks etc. August 2011

Mine is the large one.  I'm happy with it.  Pretty good for making do.

Monday, August 22, 2011

My Many Manufacturer Challenge

I'm not a very product-heavy designer.  My layouts tend to be very simple, with just cardstock, some patterned paper, a little ink, maybe a punch, some letters, and a simple embellishment or two.  In that regard, this layout is no different:

From Flamingo Scraps: Fancy Pants patterned paper, Tim Holtz grungeboard
Other: BasicGrey patterned paper, Recollections cardstock, Fiskars border punch, Marvy circle punch, ColorBox ink, Making Memories stamp, Rubber Stampede stamp, Stampin' Up pen, Sketch by Shannon White

But this layout is actually very different from what I usually make.  Every component of this layout is from a different manufacturer.  In fact, 10 manufacturers (and one sketch artist) are represented on this simple page. 

I didn't originally set out to do this.  I knew I wanted to work with BasicGrey patterned paper.  I happened to have some of the gorgeous Fancy Pants scraps from a previous project still out and I loved how they looked together.  I punched some circles from the Fancy Pants using a Marvy punch, then used a Fiskars border punch on Recollections cardstock.  As I was picking up my ColorBox ink, I realized that I'd already used six manufacturers without even trying.  How many others could I use?  I added the Tim Holtz grungeboard and stamped the words "So" (Rubber Stampede) and "Together" (Making Memories).  I did my journaling with a Stampin' Up pen.  That makes ten!

The layout is based on a sketch from the always-fabulous Shannon White.  I rotated it 90 degrees.



I really enjoyed my own little private Many Manufacturer Challenge.  I may just have to challenge myself to beat my own record.


Thursday, August 18, 2011

Self-Portrait

I never show photos of myself, and I really don’t know why other than the fact that I’m always the one with camera. So for this week’s share I decided to do a little self-portrait layout.


From Flamingo Scraps: Prima: Innoscence 2 flowers, Marion Smith's Trinkets, Bling.
Other: Bo Bunny Razzi Mamma paper, Graphic 45 buttons, Lindy's Stamp Gang, Tim Holtz film strip tape, charms, Houseof3 digital file.


Yep – that is me with the big camera hanging out at a youth sports field taking action shots. I think every child in my area has been photographed by me at least once. For my self-portrait layout I included all my favs.


I used the Bo Bunny Razzi Mama paper for the layout, and then added a spray of my favs. Marion Smith’s Trinkets, Prima bling, and Prima Innoscence 2 Flowers, and of course Tim Holtz’s film strip ribbon.


The transparency at the top was melted with my heat tool to give it a little interest. I got the image from the House of 3 during the 21 day challenge. It has a lot of uplifting phrases to remind me to look at things differently and stimulate creativity.

Have you done a self-portrait? Every now and then it is healthy to let someone else take the photos.




Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Guest Design Team Summary: Jen & Julie

We scheduled this to run and it did not.... and I just noticed, so many apologies to Jen and Julie!! In July, we really enjoyed Jen & Julie's blog posts and we hope you did too!! Each month, we post a summary just in case you missed anything and to thank these talented ladies for all their fabulous work!! Up first this month is Jen:

During July, Jen made a gorgeous layout about her Grandma, shared her beautiful cards, showed us an amazing mini album just waiting for photos, and for July's Flamingo Four she made an adorable altered little box!

Jen's blog showcases her beautiful work and you can also catch up with her youtube channel!

This month Julie shared her gorgeous layout of her father's photos, made us laugh with her as she shared her mom's funny story, scrapped her son's love for his sister, and for July's Flamingo Four she made a beautiful fussy cut card!

Want to see more of Julie's cute layouts and adorble pictures of her daughter Brookie?!  Go check out Julie's blog!

So we really hope that you enjoyed what Jen & Julie shared with us during July as much as we do!  Please go leave them some love if you haven't already!!  

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Weekend Whimsy: Staying Creative on Vacation

For the past 11 days, I've been here:

Sea Princess, docked in Victoria B.C.

Dyea, Alaska.  Those lumps in the water are salmon jumping.

Tracy Arm Fjord

We had a wonderful vacation aboard the Sea Princess.  We traveled round-trip from San Francisco, stopping in Victoria B.C., then Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, Alaska.  We saw whales, bald eagles, and a grizzly bear.  We panned for gold and rode a sled pulled by a team of dogs that included Iditarod veterans.  We ate a lot.  This was my fourth time cruising to Alaska.  I highly recommend Princess Cruises and the Inside Passage in general.

I've never brought crafting supplies with me on a cruise.  Taking scrapbook stuff is out of the question- I'd need too many things, I wouldn't have space to work, and I'd risk damaging my supplies.  But taking a different sort of small project sounded doable.

For months, I've been wanting to try drawing a mandala.  Mandalas are basically abstract designs based on a series of concentric circles.  Drawing them is supposed to be relaxing- sort of an organized, calming form of doodling.  All you need is paper, a ruler, and a compass.  That would be simple to fit in my luggage.  And since I wasn't flying, I didn't have to worry that the TSA would consider my compass a lethal weapon.  I carried my supplies with me pretty much the entire cruise, so whenever I had a few minutes, I pulled out my stuff.


The first step to making a mandala is to use the ruler to find the center of the paper.  Then use the compass to draw a series of concentric circles.  There's no rhyme or reason to this- do as many as you want, as close together as you want. 


Starting with the inner circle, fill in with doodles.  Use circles, triangles, teardrops, waves, whatever, just as long as everything is repeated and symmetric.  Keep going until your design is complete.  Here's the first one I finished:


And here it is after I colored it:


I have to admit, drawing the mandala was not as relaxing as I'd hoped.  I was trying too hard to create something pretty instead of just doodling mindlessly.  Coloring it was very relaxing though.

I ended up making two more mandalas.  These were much more relaxing.  I think that, just like anything, it takes practice before it is familiar enough to be relaxing.



I asked my husband, parents, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew if they would like to make one and let me show it on the blog.  Incredulous looks and semi-polite no-thank-yous.  Sigh.  Thank goodness for Trevor, who was just as eager as I was to try a new form of art.  He'd never used a compass before, so it was especially exciting for him.  Here's his mandala:


Have any of you tried mandala?  Any other suggestions for staying creative while on vacation?


Thursday, August 4, 2011

Dress Forms

When I was a child I used to love playing with paper dolls. For hours I would sit in the floor and dress, undress and dress again the same paper doll over and over.

Today I have found a new form of paper doll — Tim Holtz's sewing room dress form. I love how a simple piece of chipboard can look so elegant with pieces of scrap material, paper and ribbon. I'm the queen of saving every tiny bit of scrap, and I think you know why now.


When I'm sifting through my scraps I start making these beautiful ladies. I used this pair on altered cigar boxes, but I have used them on cards, mini albums and scrapbook layouts. I think it would be fun to decorate a Christmas tree with them?

Do you play with dolls too?


Monday, August 1, 2011

My Inner Daredevil!

This layout was done for a challenge over on one of our FAVE sites Sketchy Thursdays!  In addition to using the sketch, the project had to use red, orange, and/or yellow, have a summer subject, and have a journaling spot!

I chose one of my all time favorite collections, Cosmo Cricket's Circa 1934 (I have been hoarding these last few sheets!), for the colors and the journaling spot.  And for the summer theme, I used some pictures from last summer's family vacation to the North Carolina mountains!   The flowers were die cut with my sizzix and were stacked with pop tape for dimension.  The two smaller pictures are also pop taped for depth!

Supplies from Flamingo Scraps --  Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 collection; Tim Holtz distress ink in Black Soot; Glitz orange bling;  Other Supplies -- black glitter alphabets; black cardstock; black paper tape; pop tape; Sizzix flower die.

As the journaling notes, I am a notorious chicken when it comes to thrill rides like rollercoasters and even ferriswheels!  But weeks before this trip, my middle brother (who, by the way, is a thrill chicken as well!) started baiting me about going down Sliding Rock!!  

When I actually saw Sliding Rock, I really think I was more afraid I was going to slip on the rocks and fall on my face (or other end!) before I got to the sliding part!  But just to show my brother, I went down nature's rollercoaster!

Am I glad I did it? -- YES!!!!  Would I do it again? -- probably!!!!  Will I do the next thing he dares me to do ....... thinking .... still thinking!

But I just may have found my inner Daredevil!!!!!

How about you -- are you a daredevil????

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