Be You

The Huntress - she's got her own style.  It's quirky, it is definitely anime-inspired, (these days it is often a little pouty-faced), and it's all her own.  Some days she is a rock star, and other days she is the ultimate teenage drama queen.  There may be a lot she still has to figure out in life, but she knows who she is, and that is a huuuggge start!  

I took her out to do a fun little photo shoot recently, and I got a memory card full of photos that capture her in all her pouty rocker/anime glory perfectly.  I knew I needed papers that captured the love, optimism, and hope I have for her - so I went digging through my stash for my HEIDI SWAPP stuff, which turned out to fit the bill perfectly.  I primarily used the Mixed Company line, which had the clean, simple graphics I wanted.  

To help me get my mojo kick-started, I also used the SKETCHABILITIES SKETCH #115.  I know a lot of ladies on the Sketchablities design team take a more vintage, mixed media approach to the sketches.  However, I think they work well for any style!

I love the way my layout turned out!  I was a little worried, since I haven't scrapbooked in so long, that I had forgotten how to glue together two pieces of paper, much less create a complete layout.  But, I guess it is just like that old saying about riding a bicycle...(thank goodness).

Here are a couple of close-ups:

A lot of layering and some symbolism, too...

My girl is a superstar to me, so of course I had to include a star and then, for good measure, layer it with another star.  I guess that makes her a super superstar...

Here are a few other photos from our little shoot that I imagine I will be creating layouts around in the near future:

My First CHA - A Recap

I am usually NOT a lucky person.  I never win raffles; I don't even win at Bingo.  So imagine my surprise when the incredibly talented TINA WALKER invited me to attend CHA Winter 2014 in sunny Anaheim, California.  I am a h-u-g-e fan of Tina's.  Not only does she make all sorts of lovely things as a design team member for MY MIND'S EYE, but she is an incredibly talented mixed-media artist and the owner of FROG DOG STUDIO, a monthly mixed-media kit club.  Tina and I have been "facebook friends" for quite a while, and I jumped at the chance to meet her in person!

For the two or three of you who read my blog and are NOT into scrapbooking or crafting, CHA is a huge trade show that happens twice a year.  The newest lines and the next big thing in the crafting industry are made available to buyers so that they can determine what products they want to stock in their stores or provide in their kits.  And in addition to the new products on display for you to touch and drool on admire, all the big names in the industry are there!  The icing on the cake?  Quite a few of my crafty friends were going to be there, too.  To say I was like a kid in a candy store was an understatement!  There are not enough thumbs-up or like buttons in the world to convey just how excited I was - seriously.

Of course I INSTAGRAMMED all about it!  And, just in case you missed the flood of pics on Instagram or Facebook, I am sharing a few of my faves here. 

I am pretty sure I took a picture of every single piece of paper and ephemera pack that was being displayed by every single manufacturer.  I won't make you sit through all of them - pretty sure Blogger would ban me for life if I tried to upload all of my paper pics here!  But I will share one of the crate wall at HEIDI SONBOUL'S booth - simply because I have so much fun saying the name of her new company.  Chickaniddy.  chick-a-niddy.  chickaniddychickaniddychickaniddy.  Yep, it makes me smile saying it.  And all those fun crates made me smile, too.

So...what made my very first CHA so incredibly special to me?  These people (and a fun lil' adventure or two):

I flew in from H-town with my wonderfully talented friend, HEATHER LEOPARD.  Before we even got to our hotel, we had to make a stop here:

Say what you will, but I am a huge luvah of the double-double with a chocolate shake!

I spent a lot of time hanging out with these two wonderful ladies - Tina and Melissa - who renewed my love of all things mixed media:

So many light bulbs went off as they answered my mixed media questions that I am positive you could see my head lit up from outer space!

I loved hanging out with the friends I knew and making new ones, too:

And it was super cool to meet my Facebook friends "in real life" like the CHIC TAG girls Malika Kelly and Jennifer Haggerty:

Yep, that would be me with my eyes closed.  Maybe I was trying to show everyone my expert application of eyeshadow?????

Heidi Swapp taught Melissa and me how to expertly apply mist on a stencil:

She even graciously signed my work and posed for a picture with me...

...as did my idol (because she designs many of the MY MINDS EYE papers that I hoard as well as does all sorts of cool home design/decorating projects) JEN ALLYSON (nicest.person.ever.)

See that dazed look in my eyes?  Pretty sure my brain had just finished short-circuiting...

And...most totally adorable picture?  The one of me with Baby Jack...

...oh, and his mom, Amy Tangerine.

And, of course, you haven't fully experienced CHA until you've had your picture taken with Tim Holtz...

...who, as it turns out, is just as fond of the cheesy grin as I am - ha!!!

And...there were purple cows...

And Disneyland with my besties...

...where we rode rides, and talked, and laughed until our sides hurt...

Until next time...I'll be back.

Be a Rockstar!

An imperfect picture of my perfectly wonderful daughter - playing with a guitar that she wants to learn to play "for real, Mom" - and letting her inner diva shine.  The perfect papers to use were HEIDI SWAPP'S Sugar Chic Collection, of course.  That was pretty much a no brainer!  Those zebra stripes, hot pink, and bold colors are fun and a little funky - just like my daughter!

I Love these H.S. envelopes, which are perfect for journaling that you may want to keep private.  And I wanted to use these American Crafts accordian flowers that were left over on my desk, but one of the buttons didn't work with my layout.  No problem!  I simply added a circle-punched piece of my paper and a heart on top of it, and it was perfect!

Here's another view showing off my sweet cluster and my handmade banner (because, let's face it, I'm a banner addict).

And speaking of banners, reminds me of flags.  And that reminds me of these WONDERFUL flags which are part of the H.S. Sugar Chic Collection.  Pretty cute, huh?

That's it for me tonight.  I'm heading off to bed where I will hopefully dream up my next fun project.  Hope your week has been going well, and you have a happy, crafty weekend!

My Improvised Heidi Swapp Memory File

I was sitting around the house yesterday morning, feeling to urge to create a mini-album using a few of the several hundred pics I took on our recent vacation.  But I wanted to do something a little different.  I had seen Heidi Swapp's Memory File system online and loved the concept, but I had never seen the actual file folders in my favorite scrapbooking store (I really need to have a chat with whoever orders the merchandise there!).  "That's fine," I said to myself, "I'll improvise."  And that's exactly what I did.  First, I found a (rather beat up) blue file folder that I had previously used to bring home work documents. Then, I dusted off my Silhouette and pulled out my Echo Park Paradise Beach Papers, my paint, my markers, and different bits and pieces from about 20 different manufacturers.

The concept of the Memory File is pretty easy.  It's an alternative to a mini-album in that you can create small flip albums or pocket folders to hold a collection of pictures and journaling (always important to me).  When opened, my memory file album looks like this:

The stickers included in the Paradise Beach paper pack made it super quick and easy for me to create this little cluster:

I created a pocket behind my main picture by sewing the paper I used for matting my picture to the paper cut out in the shape of the file folder.  The pocket was sewn on before the file-folder shaped paper was glued down to the folder.  It was the perfect size for holding extra journaling and a tag!

My flip album was super easy to make.  I started by cutting out four of Lori Whitlock's mini-album shapes.  Then I layered them along the back of the folder starting from the bottom and working my way up.  They are perfect for adding smaller photos, or even hidden photos or personal journaling that you may not want everyone else to see.  For me, it just means I can add one extra thing. Ha!

I used the "second page" to add even more journaling about our road trip to Florida, along with a few little pictures taken with my phone.  These are pictures that may not have normally made it into a mini-album or onto a layout, but I had plenty of room here!

I loved using my Silhouette Cameo and Lori Whitlock's adorable files to create this little car!  (Note: I also used Lori's files to create the palm trees and the sun on the front of my Memory File.) To add extra dimension, I created the tires from black buttons and circle-punched pieces.  I then added a Heidi Swapp journaling tag so that I could squeeze in just a little more additional journaling!  

That's it for today.  Before I sign off, I wanted to ask, is this something you would like to see a video tutorial for?  I could definitely see making more of these, so let me know!

Remembering the Good Times...

We just came back from one of the best family vacations I have ever been on.  It started out with a long road trip, where we played the alphabet game, sang songs, napped, talked about anything and everything, and stopped at convenience stores and produce stands; and it ended in Florida on a beach with white sand, gentle waves, and beautiful turquoise water.  We didn't do anything particularly special once we got there, but that's exactly what made our vacation so wonderful.  We relaxed.  We played on the beach.  We spent time together.  And we didn't rush anywhere - not once.

Of course, a vacation means pictures, and I still managed to take lots (and lots and lots) of them.  For my first layout using my vacation photos, I chose to go with Heidi Swapp's Sugar Chic Collection.  I had just finished using it for another layout, one that didn't use beach pics.  I still had the papers out and being the completely lazy innovative person that I am, I decided they would do quite nicely for my beach-themed photos, too!

I used a punch to make my flowers - so simple and so pretty!  The small journaling tags were actually from October Afternoon's 9 to 5 Collection, but they matched perfectly so I decided to use them.

If one layer is good, five is better.  Add a little paint and some stitching, and it's practically perfect (in every way)!

I wanted to get Hunter's impressions and thoughts from our vacation, so I conducted a quick interview and typed out her answers.  I fashioned a pocket from the paper behind the pictures, and I made a simple little booklet to place in it, with a picture on the outside and my daughter's answers to my questions inside. 

Vacation may be over, but we have those wonderful memories filed away - just waiting for us to pull out and read (and remember) in the years to come.

Happy Summer, and Happy Fourth of July!

A Challenging Weekend

This weekend, I made sure that I took time out from the laundry and the grocery shopping and the house cleaning to have a little crafty me time.  I love challenges, and BIRDS OF A FEATHER had a couple that really caught my interest.  First, I completed the Scraplift Challenge.  Now, for those of you who don't know, a scraplift is where you take another person's layout and, basically, copy it as much or as little as you like.  When I was just starting out and trying to figure out "my style" and learning different techniques, I did a lot of scraplifting.  It was the perfect way to teach myself how to get an end result that I liked.  Today, it's still fun to occasionally find a design I like and make it my own.  The best part - like most things in scrapbooking, there is no right or wrong way to scraplift.  The ONLY hard and fast rule - give credit to your source of inspiration!

I chose to lift a layout by the very talented Lisa Wilkinson, which can be found HERE.  I chose Lisa's layout because, like me, she loves to incorporate lots of layers and bits of randomness here and there.  She definitely speaks my scrappy language!  I chose some wonderful new Heidi Swapp papers from her Sugar Chic collection and lots of bits and piecesfound on my always messy work table.  The picture is of my second daughter flexing her beautiful muscles.  Her strength and determination is always an inspiration to me so I thought this picture was perfect for a layout - even if you don't see her face.  The paint is, partly, a happy accident that I was trying to clean up.  I just took a deep breath, convinced myself that messes can be a good thing, and went with it. 

I like the look the two different "fonts" of letter stickers together.  What do you think?

I just kept adding different layers here and there to get my final look.  I stitched and doodled on some layers, and I added pop-dots under others to give emphasis.  And see what I mean about randomness from my messy table?  I see things from at least five different manufacturers on this close-up!

Well, that's it for tonight.  Stay-tuned - tomorrow I will be back with my second layout from this weekend, and I can't WAIT to show it to you!