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.

No excuses

I am not going to provide any excuses or reasons why I haven't posted in a while. If you are still here, thank you. Now, straight to the creativity!

By golly, Lora, is that a layout?!?! Why yes, yes it is. I know this is Amy Tan's last year release and I have Sketchbook sitting on my desk, but I still just love this line and how easily it comes together. Some of the embellies are from the line while others are from either the class I took with Amy or from Sassafras Lass. There is also some Maya Road rub ons, a Hambly overlay tag and some random stuff I had and yes, I do believe that is the last of the pink polka dot crepe paper so you won't have to see it again. (Unless of course I find more!!!)

I hand stitched the "JOY" to the tag and sewed the paper laves to the bottom. Oh! The flower there is an Epiphany Crafts bottom with a Dear Lizzy button on top and the chevron pieces near the title are Studio Calico Fabrip leftovers.

Then there was this little guy. It is a Midnight Musing creation. A mini canvas painted, layered with dictionary paper strips, stamped with a repeating heart image in Staz-on, then a Balzer Designs stencil over that with yellow paint. The saying and the bird were stamped or drawn on sticky back canvas and cut out. Both were colored with Gelatos first. I used the Sakura Glaze pen to write the quote and draw the little heart.

The twig is from the backyard and painted green then layered with a bit of distress stain. And this guy, over here on the corner?

That is the spark of inspiration from the Midnight Musing. I used push and mold, pressed a metal key to create the shape, and melted the UTEE. I added bright green eyeshadow that I had and there it is! While the color is very similar to Perfect Pearls, the eyeshadow didn't have the pearlescent look to it so the UTTE piece is less shimmery, but I love it. The ribbon is dyed with glimmer mist.

This poor layout. I had to do it twice. The first round was a hot mess and went in the trash after I pulled the photo and some embellies off. The second round was much better. It is still way different from my original conception, but I am at least happy with it. This is a Pagemaps sketch, I believe, and the inspiration is from a friends' blog.

The pink woodgrain is made by me with a stamp and embossing powder, the light pink and brown polka dots are Pink Paislee. Journaling spot is Jillibean Soup, the flower with tulle and the wood buttons are Prima, the white resin pieces are Melissa Frances, the little flowers and pearl button along the bottom are Webster's, and the milk cap is of course Jenni Bowlin.

AC Thickers and chip butterfly, K & Co fabric flowers along the top, Recollections pink resin roses, and the wood grain strip above Miss Lily's bow is from Heidi Grace Designs. We are going to say that everything else is stash.

Some Gertrude Stein in My Bedroom

Hahaha, did that grab your attention? I spent most of today working from an inspiration photo that I once saw of Gertrude Stein in her Paris apartment. She was an avid collector of art and this specific photo showed her living room with a settee in the middle of this large wall that was covered in pictures of all types, floor to what seemed 14 foot ceilings. I loved it immediately and it has haunted my hopes of home decor ever since. No longer, my friends.

We had the perfect wall in the bedroom and goodness knows, I have collected more than enough art pieces. It started like this.

So sad!!! I dug around under the bed and pulled out the pictures I had been hoarding which quickly became piles, measured two pieces of architect's vellum across the wall, and then laid the paper on the floor of the library.

I had to work in there as the bedroom does not have the uninterrupted floor space I required. Did I say uninterrupted? I must have meant something else because my paper and I were certainly interrupted by the two resident feline clowns.

Lotus Chief and Fuzzface totally thought Mom had laid this crinkly paper out for them to play. About five seconds after this photo, the Fuzz tried to sneak up on LC, only to have LC jump straight up into the air and Fuzz tear out of the room. There were small kitty claw tracks all over.

I laid out the pieces that I wanted to hang, rearranging as I went. It was a good thing I had my art supervisor down there in the left hand corner telling me I was on the right track.

After drawing around the frames and measuring the hangers on the back, I taped the paper to the wall and got to setting the nails. This was the easiest part of the endeavor.

Finally I have the Gertrude Stein inspiration wall in the bedroom! There are some small spaces left open purposefully for future finds. While looking at this wall, I counted that there are only 2 things here that I bought in a regular retail store. Everything else is either thrifted or handmade. I love that. I also noticed that without intending to, I have quite a few Paris pieces. That isn't surprising since it is the first major International city the Hubs and I went to together.

A Creative Day

Yesterday I went to my bestie's house and spent a day creating. I have to admit that it was a struggle to get there, not because I didn't want to go, but honestly because I am so overwhelmed with the scrapbook supplies in my studio that I felt guilty about going to play and not staying home to clean. I did overcome this guilt and made a small altered project and a layout while there with my BFF and her puppies.

A Quick One

American Crafts paper, stickers, crocheted and felt flowers and tags; Prima letters, decorative pebbles, and wooden button; Pink Paislee pleated ribbon; K&Co letter tag; handmade bows.

Risk a little

Light gray card stock layered with a Basic Grey doily reverse side up. I used the same doily as a mask on the dark gray card stock and spritzed apricot chalkboard glimmer mist. Scraps from the Soiree-Pink Paislee line and Jenni Bowlin. Felt word, hearts, and dots from K&Company and doily overlays from Maya Road.

This layout features a fashion risk I took, wearing a pair of heels out to run errands. Surprisingly, they were more comfortable than one would think.

Beginning of something new

Way back in October, I was purging through my supplies and realized I have hoarded a large amount of chipboard mini albums. I have no idea why I thought I would need this many, but I did realize I needed to come up with a way to use them soon. As usual, while lying in bed trying to sleep, the idea of a mini per month for 2012 was born. I know this isn't a new concept as there is Project Life, (overachievers ;), and whatnot, but it is a commitment I think I can fulfill.

I, of course, had every intention of having all 12 books covered and ready to fill with memories on January 1, but as life would have it, I didn't. Something called Breaking Dawn, the holidays, and laundry came into play there. I will say that I did have the books all gathered in one place AND even had made a list of which book would be for what month and what papers I wanted to use. I will also confess that at the time of this blog post, I have no idea which notebook holds said list...

The main thing is there are no real "rules" for me. It isn't a daily thing because 1) my life isn't that exciting and if I did it daily, would be 26 days of cat and house cleaning photos with the 4-5 pictures of actual events, and 2) there is absolutely no way I would keep up with a daily journal.

So far, January's book has 26 pages while February's only has 16. That is okay. I will record the days that stick out, the ones I remember to take a photo for. I have almost finished January's book, (printer issues- GRR!!!), and have February's ready to go, painted and papered. This week, I will pull out the March book and start covering it, so hopefully I will be ahead of the game.

Enough blah blah, here are some photos of the books.

I used a Tattered Angels album, covered with one of my all time favorite lines, Bo Bunny's Snowy Serenade, mixed with a glimmer misting. The snowflakes on the pages are a Martha Stewart punch, the cover has My Mind's Eye sticker letters, crepe paper, ball trim, Thickers numbers and a plastic glitter snowflake from Target layered with an organza flower and a Prima center. The flower was made for me during a swap. I did the journaling on tags I cut from white card stock and tied with four colors of baker's twine.

I am by no means going to show every page because that would just be tedious to both myself and the readers, but these are a couple of the favorites. I was super excited to learn how to print the photo booth strips from the Incredi-booth app on 4"x6" paper for a cute mini strip. I love things in miniature.

February is a Maya Road album featuring another favorite paper, the Love Me Do line from My Mind's Eye.  I didn't have quite enough to cover the inside pages, so I snuck in some Making Memories paper. I must note that for the first time ever, I didn't really worry about what paper went where, I just covered the pages and let it be. Normally, I make sure there are equal alternations in the pages. While I will admit that there are no same papers facing each other, it is still a random mix of how they all line up in the book. At least as random as I can be in this.

Two books used and two lines that have been in my stash for at least 2 years used. That is a really good feeling.

It has taken a year

for me to finish this layout. A year. That is just sad, really. The layout itself came together very smoothly, which for a one picture per page scrapper like myself, that is impressive with the 15 pictures on this page. I LOVE the colors and have used this line for at least two other projects.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to do with the journaling. I wanted it to be on the doily obviously, but did I handwrite it or type it? And if I typed it, how was I going to make sure it was in a circle? So incomplete it stayed.

Until today when I sat down at the computer, actually read the "Help" section on my word processing program and figured out how to type in a circle. Then I was faced with what to say. How did I impart in a 4.5"x4.5" space how special it was and is to me that my Grandma and I were both born in January? How did I say that simply sharing the month with her made me feel special, gave me a bond to her that has even 18 years after her death, continued to warm my heart in this otherwise dreary month? I just typed and let what ever come to mind become journaling.

One of my favorite parts of the layout is the feathers. I love feathers and adding them to the page just gives it a fun and different touch to me. I also added a few red bling in homage to the garnet, January's birthstone.

Another chance

A lot, (most? all?), of people wax poetic at the start of the new year. Resolutions, goals, fresh starts, new beginnings, etc. I am not usually one to be a part of all that cause I am honest with my personality and I know that I have to do these things on a day by day basis, with the exception of choosing a word for the year. A word to live by, a word I use to remind myself of the path I am trying to forge. It is simple and not my original idea. I know Ali Edwards does it every year, as well as Christina Kane and many more.

It is a great format for those like me who somehow lose entire days and wake up, say, on January 18th wondering where the first two weeks of the month have gone. I try to come up with a word that works in many situations, a word that can be part of a saying or can stand alone. This year, my word is:

2012 is the year for me to RISK. Risk everything, risk it all, take fashion risks, the list goes on. So, expect to see this word show up in various places in my life this year. I will not be irresponsible, but I am not going to necessarily play it safe anymore.

One of the places I have been lately is a quick trip to Oregon to celebrate a very special lady's 65th birthday. While on the 36 hour journey, I was able to steal a few moments with this beauty and am so blessed to be an auntie to her and her sister.

(Risk image from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2011/04/04/why-risk-must-be-your-best-friend-in-todays-business-climate/ )

Let's Get Caught Up

Wow these last few days have just zoomed by! I have been working on the DD. Here are the pictures of the recent pages.

Hope your December is so far full of joy and merriment!

Off to a good start

(Chuckle!) So here is the day one page of my DD. I am off to a great start so far! Let's hope I can keep it up! ;)

On the agenda for day two's photo to take: A picture of a list. That should be easier enough as I have list everywhere!

It is upon us!

Whether you look at December with a bit of dread because it marks the end of another year or if you see it as the last hurrah before a brand new fresh year, it has arrived. And with it comes another chance for yours truly to complete a December Daily journal.

Yes, as you may or may not recall, I have metnioned, (promised, sworn, guaranteed), that I was going to see this project through in the years past and each time, I have quietly allowed the project to go unfinished, to hang over me as incomplete.

Well, not this year!

I have forgone the grandiose plans of an in-depth account of the next 25 days and of creating something each evening inspired by that days events and photos. Instead, I have decided that for me, I need to follow the KISS method.

Oh, and I should mention, I also had a friend in this endeavor. Yep, my dear friend, Daniela, told me that she was creating a December Daily kit, complete with the stuff you needed for the journal as well as daily inspiration on her blog and frankly friends, I decided it was best, (i.e. easiest) for me to let someone else do the dirty work.

See, Daniela has already put all the papers together along with the matching number stickers, journaling cards, and quote tags, plus a wonderful little baggie of holiday flotsam and jetsam to decorate with. How much easier could it be? In addition to all that, she offered a deal if you purchased the new limited edition Tim Holtz Winter Distress Inks and the kit together. Music to my ears.

And here it is:

I am about 75% done with the inside pages, prepping them to be ready to pop in a photo and/or journaling. I have added pieces from my own stash, pieces that I can now find in my supplies thanks to my purging, but truthfully, you wouldn't need to add a thing. This kit has everything you need except glue and the memories. This book came together so quickly and perfectly. If you want to do the December Daily trip it isn't too late to grab one of these for yourself or even to have for next year. Now THAT would be a head start!

The Art Life Shop's December Daily Kit

In addition, I am going to post my pages daily and I want to share with you the picture sheet that I will be following for the next 25 days to help me with my task. I discovered it on Pinterest, but here is a link directly to the author's blog. She has some incredible lists and suggestions for photos.

Katrina Kennedy 

 25 December Daily Photo Ideas 

1. Something Red 

2. A list 

3. The Christmas tree 

4. Presents wrapped under the tree 

5. Something warm and tasty 

6. A candy cane (or many) 

7. A wreath with a red bow 

8. Stamped and addressed Christmas cards 

9. Santa Claus 

10. Away in a manger 

11. Ribbons and bows 

12. Something sticky 

13. Reindeer 

14. A decked hall 

15. Silver bells 

16. A hippopotamus 

17. Under the mistletoe 

18. A cup of cheer 

19. Toys in every store 

20. A winter wonderland 

21. Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow 

22. Holiday greetings 

23. A shining star 

24. Children, sleeping 

25. The number “25” 

My Gear & Technique 

Through December I will shoot a lot with my 50mm lens to help with lowlight situations. I will grab my 70-200mm lens for stealth close ups and details from a distance. 

I’ll shoot a lot on some days, only a shot or two on others. 

I will enjoy the month and make sure I’m in at least a few photos! 

Katrina Kennedy 

Capture Your Holidays: Through The Lens 

Sorry, I tried to upload the pdf but was encountering problems that I have no doubt are user error. :)  But here is the list, nonetheless.

Lastly, in news of the scrap space, the purging continues. I am SO close to being done, but now am at the point where there is piles on the floor that just don't really go anywhere and I feel like I have been doing this for so long that I am ready to just dump it into the donation boxes and say, "forget it." All I want to do now is create. I know, first world problems, right?

Here are a couple of photos of the drawers that make me smile every time I open them because 1) they are so colorful and 2) it is all finally in one place.