Tuesday, February 25

A Great art Retreat and Project Life Week 8

Hello and Happy Tuesday. February is coming to a close making Spring right around the corner! Amen to that, right?!?!? This weekend was Spring-like here in Massachusetts with a lot of melting going on. I shoveled some more and the deck is almost cleared - mostly likely in time for more snow due Wednesday...
I finished my PL page for Week 8. I used my "Just Add Color" Kit again - this is such a fun kit with lots of possibilities. The photo pocket page design is HSN 1 - this was an exclusive to HSN kit which came with three styles of photo pocket pages. Here's the whole page ...
 
 
I have continued to keep my pages simple this year and I'm liking the results. I'm keeping a notebook on my desk and jotting down something for each day - even if it's not earth-shattering! I spent some spare time in my studio this past week and here are some current pics of my studio. I printed them with the Diptic app which creates great square photos and you can add text as well. Here's the title card and some close-ups of the rest of the page ...
 

 
I LOVE the small squares that come with this kit. They are great for journaling or just for a pop of color!
 

 


The week ended with the GREAT art retreat hosted by the lovely Jenn Shurkus! It was  fun to see Jenn's new place and meet some lovely new faces! We all had a wicked good time!
 

 
Thanks for letting me share this with you and enjoy the rest of your week. I'm off to work on Week 9!!

Wednesday, February 19

Project Life: Week 7

OK, as I type this, it's snowing AGAIN! Enough - P L E A S E!! Yes, it's New England ... I know!!
Anyway, onto more fun topics, like Project Life. I have to say that I'm surprised I'm enjoying this as much as I am. I started PL in August 2013 and continue to enjoy the process. This year I wanted to keep it simple and try different techniques. I love learning about new iphone apps that make the process so easy! I joined the confetti pocket craze and incorporated one on a card. For this week I started using papers leftover from my Valentine's Doll Tag and changed over to the Sunshine Core Kit! The pink, black and grey looked great with my silly Valentine's pictures. I used photo pocket page Design G. Here's the whole page ...
 
 
My photos are "sweet" aren't they ?!?! I love all the Valentine's displays! I am especially fond of the food displays, as you can see. I have such a sweet tooth!  Here's a close-up of my title card ...
 
 
I love my Amy Tangerine calendar stamp - it's perfect for Project Life. I am diving into my acrylic stamp stash and especially the adorable stamp sets that come with the
 


 
I love making confetti pockets for my PL pages. It's fun to add sequins, wood veneer shapes, and other stuff from your stash to create an interactive element. I was in a sewing mood so I created some individual pockets from a photo pocket page to have on hand. For this pocket I added different sequins, and confetti hearts I made from patterned papers and the Martha Stewart Craft Punch Heart Confetti. I bought the punch at Michael's with a coupon. Once filled, I stitched the top of the pocket and then stitched the pocket to my PL card ...
 

 
So that's Week 7! So glad you stopped by and I'd love to hear from you! Have a great week and I'll see ya soon!!

Monday, February 17

Winter Blues and an ATC

Since I last blogged, we here in New England have survived a few more storms - more shoveling, more unsure footing, less road salt available,  miserable commutes ... we are so D-O-N-E with Winter!!
What do you all do to deal with the winter? I gravitate to my studio and create or organize something! I LOVE art so that's some of what I do. This week I finished an ATC for my group at Right at Home Scrapbooking. Our theme this month was "Fairytale". I found a gorgeous image on Pinterest by an artist named Amanda Clark. I resized the image to wallet size and printed the image on white Sticky Back Canvas by Ranger. I frayed the edges and stitched around the image with gold metallic thread - I don't think my sewing machine appreciated the canvas. Here's my ATC ...
 
 
I used a Sakura Gelly Roll Glitter Pen to add some detail to the girl and to some background stars. (If you click on the image you can see the glimmer more). I masked off the wing and stamped inside it with a script stamp and gesso. I tucked some gold tulle and a piece of a doily under the image. I also added some gold rub-ons for some more bling ...

 
You can see the glitter pen more in this angle as well. This was a fun challenge - it took me awhile to come up with this and I loved the challenge! Next month's theme is our "Favorite Character". As of now - I have NO idea what to do!!
Thanks for stopping by and I will be back Wednesday for Project Life Week &. I love how this page came out. Enjoy your Holiday Monday and I'll see you soon!!

Wednesday, February 12

Project Life: Week 6

Happy Wednesday! I wanted to hop on and share my Project Life Week 6 with you all!
Last week was spent tending to Simba who is practically 100% back to normal!! She had a recheck visit today Feb. 11th and is great. Another two weeks of antibiotics and done! Yeah!!
So for Week 6 I used my Maggie Holmes Edition Core Kit and Photo Pocket Design G. I've been trying to keep my pages simple so I can get them done and stay on track. If I have a slow photo week I've been using smaller photo pocket pages. Here's the whole page ...
 
 
Here's some close ups of the cards. The enamel dots are from a thickers collection which I used on the title card ...
 
 



 
Last week ended with a fun Doodle class at Right at Home Scrapbooking with the awesome Stephanie Ackerman. I learned a lot about lettering and her FAV markers - Prismacolor Art Markers.

 
Thanks for checking out my PL page and I'm off to finish up some ATC's for my next swap - themed: Fairytales!! I will share them this weekend!! Enjoy the rest of you week!!

Monday, February 10

Project Life: Week 5

Hello and Happy Monday! I wanted to share my PL Week 5 with you and let you know it wasn't the best ending to a week. My sweet lab Simba became suddenly lame last Saturday and my mind went to the worst case scenario. After two Vet visits, X-Rays, Lab work and several exams she was diagnosed with cellulitis on one of her toes on her rear leg. Simba will be 13 years old in April so her back legs are already weak from arthritis and normal nerve degeneration. Being very lame was quite a challenge for both of us and the snow didn't help. She is so stoic - typical Lab - but I knew she was hurting. After a few days of antibiotics she was no longer lame and acting like her normal sweet self. While she was limping, I moved my laptop and a few projects to the kitchen so she wouldn't have to climb stairs and so I could keep an eye on her. My whole craft space is two flights up in my loft so I wasn't up there the whole week. We are back to normal and she able to do the stairs and is much more comfortable. She is honestly the sweetest dog - loves EVERYONE, especially kids and has a heart of gold. I'm so relieved she's better.
For Week five I used Maggie Holmes Edition Core Kit I purchased at Michael's. I said I wasn't going to purchase any more big core kits, but I love Maggie Holmes products so I couldn't pass this up - especially with a coupon!! I used Photo Pocket Page Design F. The pocket page design allows for lots of photos and/or journaling depending on the week you've had. All of my photos were printed from my iphone pics to my Canon Selphy. The title card is layers of ephemera from Maggie's Flea Market Collection which coordinates well with her other collections. Here's the title card ...


The cabochon is also part of the Flea Market collection! The journaling cards are all typed - still LOVIN' my Mom's typewriter - such a great addition to my crafting!! I also added some stamping to fill up the journaling cards. Here's the whole page followed by some close-ups ...







So, that was my Week 5. Glad it ended well and excited to be moving on. For Week 6 I continued with Maggie's edition from Michael's and used page Design G. I'll return Wednesday to share Week 6. Thanks for stopping by and I'd love to hear from you. Have a great Week 6!!

Monday, February 3

Valentine's Blog Hop!

Hello Everyone and Happy February!! I have to say, I'm glad January is behind us! It was way too cold last month - the coldest it's been in a while around here in New England. Walking the dog becomes a task which involves many layers of winter gear and the walks are business only!  I know that it's not a good idea to wish the time away, but I am so looking forward to Spring!!
The plus side to colder weather is studio time!! I keep saying this but I can't get enough time in my crafty space. In addition to my Project Life pages, layouts and my monthly ATC's,  I have been wanting to create a tag a month. So, I was wicked psyched when Jenn Shurkus asked me to participate in her Valentine's blog hop!
 
 
From February 1 -14th we will be hopping around to several blogs to check out
 some adorable Valentine's Projects.
 You have arrived here from  Elena's Blog. How cute is her cookie packaging?! Thanks for the share Elena!!
For my project I created a Valentine's Doll Tag! I have created several doll tags in the past and they are so much fun! They remind me of paper dolls we created as kids! Julie Nutting's Doll Stamps for Prima are ADORABLE. I used the "Bolero Sweater" Doll Stamp for my tag. For the papers I used Echo Park's "Love Story" collection. The size of the tag is 8.25 x 3.5" and would be a great addition to a special Valentine's gift! Here she is ...
 
 
I wanted to add some texture to the background of the tag so I scraped some modeling paste through a stencil. The small clear hearts in front of the smaller tags are Heidi Swapp Ghost acetate clear hearts. I wanted to add texture on the hearts as well so I added some white rub-ons directly to them ...

 
To add shading to her legs, face and arms I scrapped some flesh colored Faber Castell Gelato on a craft sheet and painted it on with a water brush. I gave her cheeks some blush with a pink colored gelato. The small red hearts are sequins I've had in my stash for awhile.
 
 
I topped her off with a heart shaped pearl in her hair, a stickpin and flowers near the smaller tags and some pretty pink and red ribbon.
 
"Sharing the LOVE! Since this is the season of L-O-V-E be sure to leave me a little love and my hop participants a little love as well throughout this series. (hint: we LOVE comments) You can share the link on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. The more times you share, and the more days you share the better your odds of winning! Jenn will be randomly picking some sharers and posting them and the prizes at the end of this series. This will be so much fun and may give you some inspiration to create some Valentine's projects as well!!
Next stop on the Valentine's hop is Lizzy's blog. Head on over and share some love! Thanks again to Jenn Shurkus for asking me to join this creatively fun two weeks of Valentine's creations! Thanks for stopping by and hope we have inspired you to create something
"L-O-V-E-L-Y".

Sunday, February 2

Project Life: Week 4

Hello and Happy Super Bowl Sunday. I know today is a big day for sports enthusiasts-me, I might watch tonight's game for the commercials!! Have fun Superbowlers and I hope your team wins tonight.
My dog Simba is doing about the same - still a bit lame. Hoping her meds do the trick and bide me more time with her. She is an amazingly sweet and happy dog! Thanks to those who asked about her!
Project Life Week 4 is done and I kept it simple. I printed the photos from my "Collect" App and like how they came out. I wouldn't want to do this all the time but I like the change. The photos are small but I love the instagram like format. The App is a great way to document daily and it sends you reminders if you forget to snap a pic! For week 4 I used Dear Lizzy's "Polka Dot Party" Core Kit. I love this collection. The photo pocket page is Design "F". Here's the whole page follow by some close-ups ...
 
 
I used Amy Tangerine's Calendar date stamp for the title card again - isn't it fun! A little washi tape, some cut-outs and done ...


I typed out all my journal cards, made a few typo's (oh well!) and added some washi tape and mini paper clips to the photos for a bit of detail ... also added some stamping.





 
So check out this collection - you will Love it! See you tomorrow for my Valentine's project as part of the fun Blog Hop going on right now! Check out the details over on Jenn Shurkus' Blog!!! See you then!

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