Friday, June 29, 2012

Weekend Plans

Once again, I am sitting here contemplating the weekend. It never seems like there is enough time! The weekend always flies past. Regardless, we plan to enjoy it as much as possible. My son and I made pineapple bread today. It came out pretty good and it seems to be a good solution to having a lot more fresh pineapple in the house than we can eat.




We are sticking to our usual weekend plan: scrapbooking, hanging out and video games. My hubby just took our son for an evening swim. It's nice to not have too much planned other than a lot of nothing. I am looking forward to using my new JBS Mercantile kit. It has some awesome bird papers inside which are perfect for me to document some of our feathered visitors. I still have not had a chance to use my encaustic supplies. Maybe this weekend will be the time for that. there are also some buttons to sort out and put away.

What are your weekend scrap plans? We have a thread going over at the forum for SNR magazine. We hope you pop in.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Mid Week Check in

I can't believe it's Wednesday already! This week is flying past which is both good and bad. I have had a lot on my plate. I wrapped up another tutorial for Scrapbook News and Review magazine. I have been exploring a new medium and really enjoying myself.

I still have not made time to get to play with my new encaustic supplies. I am happy though that there will be 2 classes at the Art Studio featuring encaustics and melt art. I am hoping those will get me on the right track.Meanwhile, I am still listening to This month's Masterful Scrapbook design class which features Art journal Looks for scrapbook pages. You will, of course, see a little bit more of that on some future pages.

Later today, I will be in Lain Ehmann's Scraphappy webinar. I am hoping to learn some more kit busting techniques. Can you tell I am an on-line class junkie? Learning new things from home rocks!

P.S> I did make it to level 100 on Gears of War 3 last weekend. I also re-uped and am now moving back up through the ranks. :)

Sunday, June 24, 2012

American Crafts Knock Out Punches- reviewed

I recently got to try out the American Crafts Knock Out punches. I received them in a carry style case with 6 interchangeable punches:
image from American Crafts
 I was a little concerned at first how the quality would compare to other punches on the market. However, the punches are pretty sturdy and the wing guides are easy to change in and out without fear of them breaking(especially for a clumsy person like me). For the price( especially if you can find a kit on sale), this would be a great way for someone who has very few punches to grow a collection.

What I Liked: easy to punch with, compact and easy to store,the carry case makes them easy to take to crops, not heavy like some punches are but still durable, good price as compared to other punches on the market

What I disliked: nothing really, although it might have been nice to have something to catch all the tiny paper scraps from the bottom of the punch

I made a layout for Scrapbook News and Review magazine with the punches. It's grid based, so I though I would share a sneak of one grid section:


Overall, I think this is a great punch system. I was excited to see other punches for this system available on American crafts website. I hope they choose to offer those in a kit as well, although the individual price per punch is still pretty good.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Just Launched: The Art Studio

I am very excited to announce another wonderful place to feed my addiction to learning new techniques. Scrapbook News and Review magazine launched The Art Studio and classes are now open for enrollment. I          
hope I will see you there! So far, I looking into some classes about uses gesso, modeling paste and distress markers just to name a few topics. It's sure going to be hard to narrow down what I want to take and what time frame I have available to complete a class.


Late Night Inspiration: Van Gogh update

As you might recall, I posted several days ago about working on new techniques. As always, things don't always go as intended. I still like the page, but it's not quite what I had envisioned. The important thing though is that I tried something new and I enjoyed the creative process...and most importantly: A story has been documented in my album.

The downside of being on a creative team is that I can't show you the full page yet. I can tease you a little with a snippet of the page though.Look for the full page at Scrapbook News and Review magazine.

What I like about the page: circles with water color stitched on the page make nice texture, I enjoyed playing with the water color crayons and glimmer mist, fabric medical tape is way cool!

What I disliked: the page felt flat to me, I was unsure what to add to it since everything was so customized, I may go back in later and add something else with some dimension

Friday, June 22, 2012

Weekend Scrappy Check In

Friday is here. It's a day I look forward to mainly because it means my husband is off work and home with us for a few days. My goals for the weekend:

1. level up to 100 and re-up in Gears of War 3( I know- non scrappy related but definitely a must for me)
2. tweak tutorials I am working on for SNR magazine
3. begin working on creative team assignements for SNR magazine and Get It Scrapped
4. play with new melt art and encaustics stuff. My intent was to do so last weekend but it just never happened. SIGH.

What's your weekend looking like? Anything scrappy going on? Share with us here at the SNR forums.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

A Not so Straight Grid

I have to admit that I don't know why I picked it. The assignment at Get it Scrapped asked for a layout with a grid. Honestly, I am horrible at grids. I long ago accepted that I liked to use grids, but that any I made would be crooked. So why then did I jump in, feet first, and take on an assignment that I knew I was not great at. Maybe I was feeling ambitious. Maybe I thought this time, it would come out straight. Either way, by the time it came to submit my page, I felt a bit like maybe I should have thought twice about taking the grid assignment on. I even thought that maybe it would not get published. However, there it is...part of an article about grids at Get It Scrapped.( Thank you Debbie and Amy!)

So now maybe you are thinking that I hate this page. Not true. I worked hard on it. I love the story behind it. It's a part of my album and despite it's not so straight lines, it deserves to be there. I accept it's imperfection for it tells the story quite well.

Homemade Pizza by Christy Strickler | Supplies: Patterned paper: We R Memory Keepers and Crate Paper; sticker: We R Memory Keepers; other: stencil, buttons

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Late Night Inspiration: Van Gogh

Sitting here at 11:00 PM. It's late but I am in my scrap space. I have a page to make for Scrapbook News and Review. Over time, I have pinned a lot of ideas on Pinterest and bookmarked a lot of pages. There are so many techniques I want to try. It's time to do just that! Tonight, I think I am going to try something art journal inspired a la Dina Wakely. Stay tuned to find out how things go for me...

One Shelf at a Time: Scrapspace redo

I share my scrap space with my husband and son. I like it that way. I like being able to take a moment to choose some supplies or adhere an embellishment while my son works independently on his homeschool work. I like listening to music with my husband or watching him play a game on his computer. In short, I like having my space to scrapbook while still being a part of things. What I don't like is how messy the space can get. Usually, this occurs when things are not functioning as well as they could be. It's true that creativity breeds messes as well. It just tends to be a larger mess when I can't put back things as I go. So I decided to rework my space one shelf at a time. Let's face it...I can do the whole thing at once( who really wants to do that) or a little at a time. A little at a time allows me to feel good about the new clean spot and then test drive how the new organization works.

Shelf one was done on Monday during the power outtage. I had planned to work on other things, such as encasutics and listening to on-line classes, but that was not to be. So, with not much else to do, I tackled the mess that once was a nice spot for stencils and masks. Over time, I have made more of my own stencils and masks which now meant the shelf was overflowing. I was having trouble locating stencils and when I pulled out one, a whole bunch came down with it.

Not to mention the possibility of bent or broken masks existed. Or that it just looks horrid. My solution was to acquire a basket for the shelf. I chose to create dividers out of sheets of cardboard. I sorted the stencils by the way I use them: alphas, shapes, backgrounds, tags and journals, circle shaped stencils, flourishes, etc.


Much better! Not perfect, but functional. It's less messy looking. I can now grab the basket and head wherever I wish to use my mist. Once again, I find myself reaching for my stencils and masks.

Stay tuned for another shelf or corner of my space to be shared. Trust me, there is plenty of mess to conquer!

Friday, June 15, 2012

Tangerine Tango

It's the Pantone color of the year for 2012. Tangerine Tango is bold and energetic. It was a part of my first assignment at Get it Scrapped. Along with my fellow creative team members, we shared a variety of pages in various hues of orange. To get the most of this vivacious color, check out the article over at Get It scrapped.

Supplies: cardstock: Colorbok; patterned paper: Echo Park and Basic Grey; mist: Maya Road; buttons: My Mind's Eye; other: Pencil, stencil, canvas, Kraft paper accents

I often choose orange when I scrap pool photos. The turquoise water pairs naturally with the orange to form a complementary color scheme.Since this color combo was already so energetic, I chose orange and neutral embellishments.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Opportunities at Scrapbook News and Review Magazine

Opportunity abounds at SNR magazine! There are currently calls out for people to join the magazine creative staff and the front page/blog staff. I know some of you might be thinking that you aren't good enough. Believe me, I've been there. My husband gave me a little boost, and now, here I sit as part of the staff. I still can't believe it. You too could be in my shoes. All you have to do is apply. You never know what might happen!

If you aren't quite ready to apply for a staff position, the opportunity to get published is also awaiting. The July calls for the magazine are up. I have to admit, that one of the perks of being part of a creative team is taking a peak at what everyone is working on.  So I thought I would share a sneak peak with you. Here is just a taste of some my pages coming soon to Scrapbook News and Review magazine:

 


All you have to do is submit! It's as easy as pie! I am looking forward to seeing your creations over at Scrapbook News and Review!!!

Friday, June 8, 2012

The Creeper Revealed

My attempts at making the perfect Minceraft scrapbook page embellishment were a success. I ended up with a nice, sculpey clay creeper for my page. I can't share the full page with you, but I can give you a sneak peek at the creeper.

Stay tuned to an upcoming issue of Scrapbook News and Review magazine for the full page.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Making a Creeper

Just what is a creeper, you ask? If you play the game of Minecraft you would know exactly what one is.It's this creature that comes to take your stuff.
                                         
 My son loves playing Minecraft and so, being the mammarazzi that I am, I set out to document it. There is just one problem. No where in the scrapbook world exists a creeper or other Minecraft items to use on my page. Currently, I am deciding what the best course of action will be. I am saving paper piecing as my last resort plan.  Today, my goal is to break out the sculpey. I plan to design a clay creeper.

Other than the missing creeper, the page is turning out nicely. Sorry. I can't share it with you yet. You'll have to keep your eyes peeled in SNR magazine for it. When I get the creeper made, I'll share a sneak of the page. So Stay tuned!

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

From the Grocery Store

Sometimes inspiration and materials come from strange places. I had to do my weekly shopping and ended up with a few inexpensive items to scrap with: some linen towels, a flyswatter and some plate liners. Sounds weird, I know. The texture of the towels is a nice rough linen and they are perfect to dye or stamp on. The fly swatter shall make a wonderful, yet funky mask as will the plate liners. Play time will have to wait though. I am off to make dinner. Meanwhile, keep your eyes peeled the next time you hit your local grocery store.

Friday, June 1, 2012

The Surprise Revealed

So, you remember earlier today how I mentioned a surprise. Well, I was invited to join the Creative Team for Get It Scrapped! I am super excited about this as I have been a member there since 2010. I really enjoy the Masterful Scrapbook Design classes and have learned so much from Debbie Hodge and Amy Kingsford. I am feeling a bit intimidated but at the same time, I really am looking forward to growing as a scrapbooker. I hope you will pop over and check out all the great content.

It's Friday

My Hubby has a long weekend and I have been looking forward to this. It sure did not start out as I had intended. I ended up at the doctor this morning. It's a sinus infection. YUCK. Anyway, I guess that means me hanging out in my craft space.

What I am up to:
-Working on assignments for SNR magazine
-something that is a surprise and will be revealed soon.
-Checking out my archived classes. ( note to self: finish class before you start another.) I have decided to start with Scrapbook Page layering over at get it Scrapped. I also have some recordings from masterful Scrapbook design to catch up on.

I am excited about:
- the surprise mentioned above
-May Flaum is starting camp scrap soon. The best part: It's with May. It' has techniques. it's free. oh...and it's with May! I really admire May Flaum's work. I just finished Curious Scrapbooker's field guide and was sad to see that end. So this should fit the bill nicely.

Before I head off to rest and enjoy the weekend, I thought I would leave you with a page I made during LOAD512. I was pleasantly surprised to see it featured over at Scraphappy.

Patterned paper: October afternoon; stencil: crafter's workshop;
 badge and paper strip: American Crafts; Die Cut: Making memories
Chipboard: Maya road and Crate Paper


It's one of those pages in which I sort of took a risk. The pages is based off the inspiration provided at Scraphappy. I used white acrylic paint and a stencil in an attempt to tone down the busy pattern. Simple themed accents added to the story and made for a quick page.

So this weekend, challenge yourself to take a risk. Use a sheet of patterned paper as your base and build your page from there. Have a nice weekend!