Random Thoughts and Gettin' Messy Again!

Hello Everyone! Hope you are all well. I've been quite busy with Miss Lola who is now 4 months old. I haven't had a puppy in sooooo long I forgot how time consuming it is - in a great way. She fills a huge void since I lost Simba (the best dog EVER) last December. The house training is a long process for us and it's getting better but we're not there yet. Teething is still difficult but I seem to have the patience for that. The accidents in the house is when I lose my cool! The drawback of having this adorable creature is less creative time. I haven't created anything in the mixed media realm in awhile so I'm trying to add that back into my creative schedule. Still trying to add gym time but haven't figured it all out yet.
I'm realizing something creative has to go or get condensed - between project life, maintaining two planners, trying to keep up with SSS Card Kits, work and the puppy, my studio time is so limited. Plus it's summer and I want to be outside. At one point I thought I wanted to keep three planners going: one for everyday life, one for blogging and Design Team stuff and a third for fitness. That was fine when I was out of work recuperating from my surgery (no puppy at that point). Now I realize, that's not gonna happen. I want to continue with the two planners I have going now because I've put a ton of time and $$ into them. Starting next year, I'll use one planner for everything. A vertical style would be perfect - one section for everyday life and appointments, one sections for DT stuff and a third for fitness/meals. Simplifying planning will allow me more time for Project Life and Mixed Media. I need to decide which planner will be the best for that - there are so many great planners out there - I've experimented with many this year. So, lots going through my head at the moment.
I have missed Mixed Media so I jumped back in and created Tim Holtz  August 12 Tags of 2016. Here's Tim's Tag.

I went with a beachy color scheme and used a stamped shell as my focal point. Here's my tag.

I used what I had in my stash. I don't have the Wildflower Thinlit Dies yet and was going for a beachy theme, so I stamped a shell image on watercolor paper and water colored the shell with distress ink. Here's some close ups. The image alone looked small on the tag until I added some cheesecloth behind it. I colored the cheesecloth with Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain. The quote is fitting as I'm slowly getting back to mixed media.

I love how these Distress colors blend: Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon and Mowed Lawn. 

The honeycomb die was fun to use. I cut the frame from burlap and filled in the open spaces with corrugated cardboard, cork paper, canvas and scrapbook paper scraps. 

This was a fun tag to create and I love using what's in my stash. 

Thanks for stopping by and I'll return next week with more projects! Happy Friday! 

Supplies Used:

• #8 Manila Tag
• Frameworks Honeycomb
• CMS194 Nautical Blueprint Stamps
• Distress Inks: Scattered Straw, Mermaid Lagoon, Salty Ocean
• Distress Stains: Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon, Mowed Lawn
• Distress Paint: Picket Fence
• Distress Spray Stain: Antique Linen
• Distress Sprayer
• Distress Splatter Brush
• Distress Watercolor Cardstock 
• Archival Ink: Jet Black
• Alcohol Ink: Mushroom
• Linen Ribbon
• Small Talk Stickers
• Vial Labels
• Mirrored Hearts
• Multi Medium Matte
• Mini Ink Blending Tool
• Mini Brayer
• Paper Distresser
• Water Brush - Detail Tip
• Heat Tool
• Scissors
• Bigshot Plus
• Textured Surfaces
• Paper Scraps
• Cheesecloth

Welcome March!!

Hello Everyone and Happy March! We're getting closer and closer to spring and closer to escaping a tough New England winter like last year. The sun is definitely warmer and the days are a bit longer - we can taste spring here in New England!! 

In honor of Leap Year the Noel Mignon design team is Taking a Leap of Faith. We are incorporating something new to us in our projects this week - whether it's a new technique or a new page design. Since I've recently joined the planner craze, I decided to create a planner spread with elements from this month's "Heart of Gold" Classic Kit.  Here's a sneak peek of my planner pages using lots of embellies from the kit.

Please stop by the Noel Mignon Blog today for lots more close-ups of my planner pages! Take a Leap of Faith with us and try something new!! 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Planners and a Project Life Page

Hey, it's Friday!! We made it to the weekend! Amen!

How many of you use a planner? I have owned a planner for decades but have never dolled them up. I have used Day Timers for work, Lang Calendar Planners for everyday life. Last year I used a Webster's Pages Personal Color Crush Planner and I loved it but felt it was a bit small. This year I wanted something a bit bigger so I currently have a Webster's Pages Color Crush Teal Striped A5 Planner. I like the larger format - so much more room to document everyday life. Recently I have been eyeing Christy Tomlinson's The Planner Society Kits over on Instagram. I took the plunge and subscribed to both the planner and sticker kits. These kits seriously make planner decorating a breeze. I'm finding that I can practically fill my Webster's Pages Planner with blog posts schedules and DT deadlines and decided that another separate planner would help keep my personal life more organized. Enter the Day Designer Flagship Planner. This is a coil bound style and I love the structured format. Christy's kits are so generous that I have plenty of product to decorate BOTH planners and I even made a Project Life Page with the leftovers. I plan on doing this each month. Before I show you some planners pics, here's my PL page with January 2016 TPS Kit.

Here's the title card using a post-it note, stickers, die cut, and puffy stickers from January's TPS Kit.

I printed my photos with the Collect App.

 I used a circle punch and vellum to decorate one of the cards.

 

 here's the last few cards

 

Below is a pic of my Webster's Pages A5 Planner - isn't it a beauty?!  

I need to figure out the best way to photograph my planner pages - the planners don't fit opened in my photo light box so please excuse the photo quality of these few pics of my decorated planners. I'm still finding my "planner style" but the journey will be fun! This is my Webster's Pages A5 Planner.

Here's a pic of a decorated page in my Day Designer Planner.

I love that the hours are broken down in this planner - so much more room for organizing appointments.

So, if you are looking for a great Planner Kit check out The Planner Society Kits. The community is wonderful, helpful and supportive with tons of inspiration, especially if you are new to planner decorating! Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend. I'll be back soon with more crafty projects!

Hello 2016!

One of my goals for 2016 is to be more active. This encompasses many areas - physically, on my blog, in my planner, with family and friends and especially creatively! Physically improving involves some surgery on my hip which I'm dreading but I'm finally ready to not be in pain anymore - I'm too young to be limping and quite uncomfortable and lately it's all the time. I feel like I had to get to this point before I could except that surgery is the best option. I've been walking more already and plan to continue even though it hurts.

I want to blog more and include some planner pages. I have had planners for decades for work and personal stuff. They have never been "pretty" ones or decorated, just merely to keep work and appointments straight. With the iphone craze my planner became secondary. Now with the planner craze in full swing I prettied up my new planner and find that leftover stickers and embellies work great for sprucing up my pages. I'm also planning to join The Planner Society Kit Club - signing up today if all goes well!

On New Year's Eve I stayed home, and worked/played in my studio while pet sitting my neighbor's dog. I updated some of my Tim Holtz/Ranger Ink Distress Charts. I use these charts all the time to match papers to a specific distress product. I find these reference charts work well for my process - then I grab the product and go. I have a few of my updated charts on my Instgram account. I also finished my December Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015. I have enjoyed creating all of Tim's tags of 2015 and I still have a few more to share with you. What made these tags fun was creating them with my Artsy Fartsy Girls Jenn Shurkus and Rachel Kleinman. We share our products and have MANY laughs while creating! I hope we can continue this in 2016 - even though Rachel has moved to Baltimore.  With Google Hangout we can still create together even when we're not physically together!

I stayed pretty true to Tim's tag with a few exceptions - the wreath, bow and the background stencil. Here's Tim's tag for December ...

I didn't have the background stencil he used or the punches to make the wreath so I used Boxwood twine and the Festive layering stencil instead. I have listed all my products used below. I used the Simon Says Stamp Perfect Bow Die. I even stitched around the edges of the tag. Here's my tag...

I love the splatters of Picket Fence Distress Paint on the wreath and bow - it gives the wreath a snowy effect.

I also love the stitching around the edges of the tag.

I'm so glad I finished all the tags of 2015 and I plan on participating again this year - hopefully with my Artsy Fartsy Girls! Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

 

Supplies Used: 

Brand New Idea-Ology Textured Surfaces- Brand New	Stampers Anonymous Festive Tim Holtz Layered Stencil, 4.125-Inch by 8.5-Inch	Ranger Inkssentials Manila Craft Tags, 4.125 by 8.5-Inch, 10 Per Package	Darice GX-1920-00 24-Pack Core'dinations Tim Holtz Color Core Cardstock, Kraft-Core Nostalgic, 12 by	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stains Bottles, 1.9-Ounce, Fired Brick
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stains Bottles, 1.9-Ounce, Frayed Burlap	Tim Holtz Idea-ology 2015 BOXWOOD Twine Garland TH93255	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad, Walnut Stain	Ranger 15-Inch-by-18-Inch Inkssentials Craft Sheet	Ranger Heat It Craft Tool
Swingline 1-Hole Punch, 1/4	Crinkle Ribbon by Tim Holtz Idea-ology, 5/8 Inch x 10 Yards, Polyester, White, TH93020	Mini Ink Blending Tool 1	Mini Ink Blending Tool-1	Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents Precision Tip, 2-Ounce
Tiny Attacher by Tim Holtz Idea-ology, 6-3/4 Inches, Includes 100 Staples, Plastic and Metal, TH9280	Metal Tiny Attacher Refills by Tim Holtz Idea-ology, Box of 1550 Staples, .25 Inches, TH92801	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Paint Bottle, 1-Ounce, Picket Fence	Tim Holtz Distress Ink and Markers - Distress Splatter Brush	Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Inks mushroom earthtones [PACK OF 6 ]
Tim Holtz Idea-ology 2015 JINGLE BRADS Fasteners TH93252	Mirrored Stars by Tim Holtz Idea-ology, 24 Faceted Stars per Pack, 0.25 to 1 Inch Assorted Sizes, TH	Tim Holtz - Idea-Ology Small Talk, Occasions	Janome Sew Mini 124 Sewing Machine	Sizzix 660340 Big Shot Plus Cutting/Embossing Machine, White/Gray
Tonic Studios Tim Holtz 817 Kushgrip Non Stick Micro Serrated Snips, 7	Advantus Corporation Sanding Grip Block Tim Holtz	Simon Says Stamp PERFECT BOW Craft DIE S156

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Happy New Year - Welcome 2016

Happy New Year Everyone! Hello 2016 and to a fresh, new start. Are you a resolutions person? I've made a few, ones that I hope to accomplish. I made goals that weren't too grand so I have more of a chance to succeed! I have them written in my planner so I can refer to them often. One of them is to keep up with my planner more, including decorating so I'm going to join The Planner Society starting this month if my subscription goes through. I will share more as time goes on. My planner for this year is a Webster's Pages A5 Color Crush Planner. The A5 size is so much better for me than last years personal sized planner - more room for decorating!!

I am so happy to be staying on with the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge Design Team for another term! I love creating mixed media projects with whatever I have in my stash - it's quite freeing! This month's theme is "Time Flies".

I created a tag for this month's project - I so love making tags!! I used Tim Holtz Clockwork layering stencil, lots of distress inks and watch parts to tie in with this month's theme. Here's my tag...

I started by blending several distress inks onto a manila tag. I splattered water on the inks to give it a marbled look. Then I applied Rangers Texture Paste through Tim Holtz Clockwork Layering Stencil. Once dry I added some watch parts, sequins and distress colored gauze as the focal point. The sentiment was typed on my vintage typewriter and inked with Blueprint Sketch distress ink and the crinkle ribbon was colored with Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio distress markers. Here's a few more close ups...

These watch pieces are from the Brimfield Fair. A coworker of mine thought of me when she was there and scooped them up for me. Hey, there's another resolution - Get to the Brimfield Fair this year!! The cheesecloth was colored with Distress Spray Stains. All products are listed below except for the Ground Expresso Ink that I couldn't get to link up for some reason.

Our sponsor and quest artist for this month is the fabulous Cheryl Boglioli. I was lucky enough to take a class with her a few years back. She is a great teacher and mixed media artist and I'm so glad she's joining us this month.

 

Cheryl is generously offering a prize this month full of products from companies that she works with.

Isn't this amazing?!?! Stop by the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge blog for all the details for a chance to win this AWESOME prize package. We are ringing in the New Year with a few new Design Team members - stop by the blog for the details!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and HAPPY NEW YEAY to all of you! Looking forward to a creative new year and thanks for all your support!

 

Supplies Used: 

 

Ranger ISM-27973 Inkssentials Surfaces Manila Craft Tag, 6-1/4 by 3-1/8-Inch, 20-Pack	Ranger DIS-27188 Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad, Tumbled Glass	Ranger January Cracked Pistachio Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad, Peacock Feathers	Ranger July Blueprint Sketch Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad
Ranger Texture Paste, 4-Ounce	Brand New Tim Holtz Layered Stencil 4.125	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stains Bottles, 1.9-Ounce, Peacock Feathers	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stains January Cracked Pistachio Bottles, 1.9 oz	Brand New Tim Holtz Distress Marker-Peacock Feathers Brand New
Ranger Tim Holtz January Cracked Pistachio Distress Marker	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Paint Bottle, 1-Ounce, Picket Fence	Ranger Ranger Multi Medium, 3.8-Ounce, Matte	Mini Ink Blending Tool-1	Mini Ink Blending Tool 1
Crinkle Ribbon by Tim Holtz Idea-ology, 5/8 Inch x 10 Yards, Polyester, White, TH93020	Idea-Ology Typed Tokens-	Loop Pins by Tim Holtz Idea-ology, Pack of 24, Nickel, Brass and Copper Finishes, TH93200	Martha Stewart Crafts Iridescent Hearts & Stars Glitter Set By The Package	Dritz Cheesecloth, 36-Inch by 6-Yard
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer, 2 oz	Ranger InkssentialsTM Non-Stick Craft SheetTM Heat Resistant Mat	Black Palette Knife Set 4/Pkg-	Ranger Heat It Craft Tool

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