Friday, June 22, 2012

A creative rush

First, thank you to all who read my last post and offered their understanding. And thank you to everyone who decided to come back for another day.

Second, I just have to say that I am sitting here at 1:30 in the afternoon in jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and a sweater. It IS June, isn't it?

I am beginning to feel like I am getting the desire to create layouts again. I think for many reasons I have been avoiding making them, reasons for another day, another post. Yet, as I am working through those reasons and coming to terms with them, the juices are flowing again. It started as a trickle and now it is a nice little stream.



I finally joined the "IN" crowd and subscribed to Studio Calico. As you may or may not know, I have a huge issue with commitment, especially when it comes to money. But I was tired of missing out on the exclusives, (damn you, cute stamps, damn you!). I received the kit 10 days ago as of today and I have made three layouts with it already. For me right now, that is huge. I made two yesterday alone. I purchased the Santa Monica add on and the More Patterned Paper along with the So Cal kit and have to sheepishly admit, I waited too long. I should have joined a long time ago.

This layout is a mix of the two kits, with everything except the gold pearl bling and the star burst stamp, which is still SC, coming from them.


*Sorry for the creepy No-Face children. Out of respect for them and their parents, I have blurred them for privacy's sake, but the layout was too cute to not share. Let me assure you that they are two of the most beautiful kids ever. And I am not in the least bit partial.*

This is actually the first layout I made with the kits, (a mix of both), and I am sure you will notice some repeat product.  I could paper the walls of a bedroom with that striped paper I love it that much. The honeycomb is hand cut from a piece of My Mind's Eye, which the remainder of shows up in another layout. There was a chipboard hexagon sticker strip that I cut up to add in places and then just piled on a bunch more.

The polka dot and word paper tapes and the Thickers were not part of the kits, but from my stash. They seemed the perfect touches.




This last layout is a kit as well, but it is from Basic Grey, their monthly kit that you can find more information on here. (FYI-- If you have a local scrapbook store, ask them about these as in store usually runs a little less.) I love these kits too 1) for their amazing value: price to product ratio plus layout idea is great, 2) they always spark creativity for me, and 3) there is always A LOT left over.

The photo is my cousin and I loved the playful nature of it. Her skirt, her cute little belly button peeking out, and that grin of hers. And it may seem silly, but is that not one of the most perfectly drawn chalk balloons ever? Her mom is an artist by nature and I promise, had I drawn that balloon, it would have unintentionally looked like Mickey Mouse.

I doodled the patterned paper clouds, cut them out and then hand stitched them. Note to self: Stitching them BEFORE adhering them to the page would make the task exponentially easier. You can see my wonky stitches up close in the second shot and the third picture is my inept doodling technique. I felt the layout needing something subtle and the white pen doodling would have pleased me to no end. IF I could doodle OR if I had sent this to the aforementioned artistic relative to have her draw on some swirls. Instead, I have to say the end result is 100% authentically Lora.



7 comments:

  1. These are all wonderful. I think my favourite is the first one, the sunburst with the buttons, the colours.....oh, it is just all that and a bag of chips!
    Lovin' the honeycomb pattern on the second, and again the colours!
    As for your third layout, let's just say you're on a creative roll. BTW, doodling and hand stitching isn't meant to be perfect. If I could sew straight, I think I'd still hand-stitch crooked just for the effect. I can, however, understand your reservations considering that awesome balloon...but really, I think it's all wonderful.
    I just may be converted to kits yet......

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  2. Wow! Girl, you are on fi-yah! Great LOs!

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  3. Glad you got your mojo back! What a bunch of fun layouts!!!

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  4. Talk about getting your mojo back in a big way! Wow! Really nice work. I like how the circular stamps on the first one echo the wheels on the bike. The stitching is fun and I've learned that lesson the hard way too. Glad you're back to creating.

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  5. You are rocking! Every layout is amazing and I can hardly believe you used kits. I tried kits years and years ago and they were so contrived that I've never used them. Maybe I'll have to give it another look. I recall there was one just a few years ago that I was interested in but never followed up. You've motivated me and I LOVE the creative way your layout about the bike was done. You avoided the "look, she got a gift" and did is so cleverly.

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  6. Wow Lora, I am amazed. I already told you how much I adore these layouts. Btw... how many stamps? How many hand cut embellishments? lol. You are amazing. I have the scrapbooking technique of a freaking first grader. Seriously. I don't know how you, or any good scrapbooker, seem to make these layouts look so effortless. I love how every layout you do is a piece of you & a reflection of your love of whatever the topic may be. Keep up the good work. And my favorite part of all... all the awesomeness posted above... is your doodles and your hand drawn clouds.

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  7. Ah, you joined SC! :) I love your layouts, especially the first one. The mix of colors on each one is fabulous. Nicely done!

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