Monday's Featured Artist- Amber D.

Or, as I like to call her, Bams, but you must get her permission before you call her Bams. See, Bams and I go WAY back. Like to 1984. When she was born. Yep, no kidding, I have known her that long. Crazy, right? Well, not really when you consider she IS my cousin. BUT, do not begin to think that my feature of her has anything to do with partiality, (okay, well, maybe a little bit), because honestly, this girl is talented.

Amber is a college student and a mother to two adorable handfuls of kid energy. She is a wife, a sister, an aunt, and a friend. She has a great sense of humor based in much sarcasm, (my native tongue), and a unique sense of style, which she can rock out in her thrift store and vintage finds.

Amber has a true eye for beauty and that is reflected in her photography. There are a lot of people out there who can take pictures. They go to school, practice, etc. Then there are those individuals who have a gift within to be able to see the perfect shot. Amber is one of those people.

Amber can also manipulate photos into fantastical images. She surprised me by taking a picture of me and turning it into this:

Her graphic designs for her Alice in Wonderland altered book were so amazing to me that I could literally stare at them for hours. For instance, this one with the white roses painted red and the Rabbit Hole that Alice tumbled into.

Or how about simply her art? Yes, along with all of this, Amber is an artist. She has an amazing ability to draw not only what she sees, but what she sees in her heart and mind. This is something she has always been able to do. I remember her drawing a perfect Garfield for our grandmother when she like five years old. 

I love the Walrus! He is amazing to me. Drawing is not something I do well, so to see someone else be able to just sketch something out that isn't stick figures always impresses me. And, honestly makes me a little jealous. 

Take a moment to check out Amber's blog, The Secret Life of an Artist, if you have a chance. She is constantly coming up with new things to show and inspire with. 

I LOVE Questions!

I figured I would take a quick break to answer some questions I have received on my blog. I wouldn't want y'all to think they went unheard. In fact, the reason I require my "approval" of all comments is so that I can make sure I read each one. I would feel really bad if I missed one.

Serene and Susan both asked about the drips on the "Favorite Villain" layout from Wednesday's Use What You Got post.

*The drips were part of the original paper. I did not add that, just cut out the specific drips I wanted to add over the mat and photos. You can do something similar to this with a paintbrush and watered down paint that you dab across the top of a page and then hold up to allow the paint to drip. It probably wouldn't look as thick as this border, but I have done it and it looks smashing on velvet brocade paper, (see first photo below). You can also highlight the drips with Glossy Accents, like I did on the music paper below. As I was considering this question, I came upon an idea of mixing some Perfect Pearls or maybe a drop of alcohol ink to some Glossy Accents and seeing if that could recreate the effect as well. This is an untested theory as of yet.*

Susan mentioned on Monday's Random 5- No Rhyme or Reason that she was thinking of picking up Mark, the cute little Weeble looking guy made for the SMASHbooks, yet wasn't sure what to do with him.

*I have Mark and he is totally worth the $2 price tag, even if you do not own a SMASHbook. I think he would be awesome on a layout that featured him with a word bubble, giving advice to whomever is in the photo, like possibly a man who has four daughters? ;) If nothing else, he is fun to look at and make up voices for.*


Serene, also referring to the No Rhyme or Reason Random 5, asked what the Hubs t-shirt said.

*This one is right up your alley, Serene! Or more specifically, up your darling hubby's alley. It says, "The Mighty Marvel" and features Hulk, Captain America, Wolverine, and Spidey in profile. Could it have a future as a piece of wall art next to Wonder Woman? Quite possibly, my friends, quite possibly.*

Amber brought up the question, "Aren't you allergic to lilies?" regarding the picture of Lily wearing one on the Simply Saturday in Pastels post.

 *Yes, I am and I have now voiced my Achille's to the world in case someone is looking to do me in. Just a note-- it does take me a while to be affected by their noxious smell and it only works with the Asiatic lilies, like Stargazers and Tiger Lilies. I can lay down in a bed of Callas and be fine. That is because Callas are not really lilies, just FYI. And there is your tidbit of useless knowledge for the day, folks!*

Last, but certainly not least, while it wasn't a question, a number of you wished my poorly kitty to be well soon back on the Busy Thursday post. I just wanted to say thank you for the kind wishes and that she recovered fine. It seems she has ear wax issues, which I am sure is WAY more information than you really needed, and needed to have some drops to make her right as rain.

KISS Wednesday- Using What You Got

This isn't a post about how you should use what you have in your stash. We all know we should use what is in our stash. This is a trick that while obvious, I often overlook or even fight against. It is using your patterned paper to embellish for you. Sounds simple enough, right?

Papers like Webster's and Prima are perfect examples of papers that have so much embellishment already built in for you. How much you add beyond that is personal aesthetic. I did this layout of that goofy niece of mine and I let the paper be as much of a lead player as a background one.

I wanted to use the dress forms on the Webster's paper, so I added a flower brad to the tops of them. For me, this page is very simple in it's amount of embellishing and it's design. It only took me about an hour to finish this one from conception to display, as opposed to the regular two hours plus it takes me to complete a layout.

Another simple page is this one of two silly shots taken at the Eclipse premiere last year. I wanted quick and kind of campy to match the photo, (or more specifically, the photo of me in what the Hubs call a Katy Perry pose), and this Marah Johnson for Creative Imaginations paper kept calling to me.

This was another one (hour) and done. Nothing too over the top, just a glimpse at that few moments in time. I used my cutting blade to cut out some of the red drips from the top and slid the polka dot paper and the photos underneath.

Pretty underwhelming when you think about it, but I find many times that I pull out a piece of patterned paper and I struggle with how I would be able to work photos into the existing print without losing any of the main parts of the pattern. For examples that utilize the papers, as well as feature fantastic embellishing for true works of art, check out either Webster's Pages or Prima. The members of their design teams are crazy talented.

Tire-Swingin'

This is a layout of my cousin that I made while in Tennessee last weekend. I used mostly elements from a Scrapping From The Inside Out kit that I won recently. I pulled out the large floral paper, which is by Basic Grey, and though I wasn't sure I really wanted to use it for this photo, when I read the title of the paper, I just knew I had to. It was called "Tire Swing."

This is a rather pale type of layout for me, but the photo itself is vibrant, I think the pastels allow it to take center stage without a lot of competition. The borders on the bottom are the bar code strips from the Crate Paper base, (light blue), and from a sheet of Sassafras Lass, (cream scallops), used in another project. I also used my Epiphany Crafts epoxy maker to make some flower centers from the reverse side of the scraps of "Tire Swing." This title is Thickers.

I cut a partial frame from the top of "Tire Swing," then picked individual blooms to pop-dot over flowers in the frame to make it 3-D and left a large petal going off the page. Unlike many of my other layouts, this one should still fit in the page protector, though it will hang out the top.

Monday's Random Five- No Rhyme or Reason

Hello, readers!

I am back from beautiful, (humid), Tennessee and finally recovered to a point of being my original self. Here are five random things on my radar that are truly random.

The beautiful retreat house in Normandy, TN. 

(Note to self, angles ARE your friend.)

Meet Huey, short for Huge, one of the resident cats at Hatch Show Prints in Nashville, TN. I doubt they need a terrier on duty with Huey in house.

Still amazed that we are looking down the barrel of 5, (FIVE!!!), years together.

Totally loving, yet completely intimidated by my new SMASH journal from EK Success. I want to make it fabulous and I want one in every color.

And just when I felt like I was pretty talented, I see something beyond words amazing like this hand painted piano from The Junk in Our Trunks. Seriously? Just the idea to do this makes my ideas feel novice. This is phenomenal. No need to put a vase of flowers on it, you have the perfect poppy that will never die right there. 

KISS Wednesday- Heroic Canvas

Hello, readers! The Hubs and I are back from (very) sunny L.A. We decided to use the long weekend to play tourist in the City of Angels and I have to say, we both had an awesome time! I know L.A. gets some serious flack, but I have to say there were a number of things that L.A. has that I would put W-A-Y above my local stomping grounds, like customer service for one. But I digress.

For today's Keep It Simple, Silly post, I am featuring a canvas that needs a total of five things to complete. You need a t-shirt, Mod Podge, a foam brush, scissors, and a canvas. That is it. Add a few hours to harden and this is a quick project for some original home decor.

It started with a t-shirt that I loved. The image on the shirt, that is, not specifically the shirt itself. I bought this Wonder Woman tee at Comic-Con four years ago, (don't judge), because I LOVED the relief type image and the touch of bling. Yet, I had only worn it a handful of times, so I decided I wanted to figure out another way to keep the image but make it more useful.

I used a 12x12 wrapped canvas with deep sides because I wanted to have the image wrap around the sides as well. I like the look of canvases that have the image continue around to the sides. I cut the front of the shirt from the back and positioned her where I thought she looked best, while making sure I had enough material to cover all edges. I pulled the shirt front off and spread Mod Podge all over the front of the canvas.

*Now let me add a side note here. I had recently purchased Fabric Mod Podge and thought this was the perfect opportunity to try it. I started with it and realized as it dried, it creates a shiny, hard finish to the fabric. This was not the look I was going for, so I decided to change to the Matte Mod Podge to seal the art.*

I laid the shirt on the wet surface, positioning it so that the edges could be wrapped and that it was straight. To wrap the edges, I added more Mod Podge to the edges of the canvas and wrapped them at the corners like you would wrap an edge of present. I stepped away and let the base coat dry.

For the top coat, I used Matte Mod Podge and I tapped the foam brush across canvas to pull up the nap of the fabric. I did run the brush over the rhinestone areas and then followed by wiping them lightly with a paper towel so that the bling stayed sparkly. I was trying to get a more soft, hazy canvas look as opposed to a shiny glass picture look. The first coat actually caused some odd white spots on Wonder Woman's hair, so I applied a second coat and focused on those areas. Once it dried, it was exactly like I wanted and even The Hubs was impressed with how it turned out.

Here is the side view so you can see the edges that I was trying to get. 

This was such an easy and fun project that has great impact. The Hubs does wear hero shirts and when they get kind of raggedy around the edges, I am going to do this to them as well and make an entire series. I think this would be wonderful for a little kid's room and it is fairly inexpensive if you get the canvases on sale.

Simply Saturday in Pastels

Yes, pastels. You know, those soft colors that I am not particularly fond of? Well, here is a layout in all that soft goodness. My newest niece. And can you guess her name just from the picture? Yeah, I am tricky like that.

Friday the First!

Here comes the holiday weekend! Hope that you and your family have a wonderful and safe holiday. Oh, and make sure that you read the rules of any parks that you happen to go to. You wouldn't want to follow the rules. ;P

Busy Thursday

Hey, y'all! I know I said I would be doing a post with a tute for the flowers today, but one of the furbabies isn't feeling well, so it is off to the vet for us. That being the case, I am going to keep it simple with the posts for the next few days by posting just a project. Thanks for understanding!

Monday's Random Five- Wardrobe Lusts

Since last Monday I showed five new pieces I have recently added to the wardrobe and that I love, here are the current five pieces that I am lusting after.

The Brookee clog from Aldo. I LOVE these! And I am quite comfortable in shoes with this kind of heel and sole. This shoe is very "scrappy" to me.

The perfect pair of bootcut white jeans from Joe's at Nordstroms. I really want a pair of white jeans, with their crisp, summery freshness. 

Yellow with lace and fabric flowers, need I say more? LOVE this cardi from ModCloth.

Oh, the Tamara T-Straps from Frye shoes, how I have drooled over you for months. I have worn my Frye boots to death and I am sure these would become my most loved sandals.

Last but certainly not least, the Hathaway Tote from Fossil. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this bag! 

Saturday's Scrappy Moment

A quick layout before I head off to a 12 hour crop with my bestie. When we were in LA for CHA, she spotted Langer's Deli, a restaurant that had been featured on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" and wanted to try their famous pastrami sandwich. Being an avid Food Network fan myself, I was total game. When they served our sandos, I whipped out my Instax and snapped these shots to memorialize the moment.

I used Crate Paper for the backgrounds and glued a folded piece of pink crepe paper around the blue circle. The burlap circles were "mistakes" from another project and the "Remember" die cut from My Mind's Eye hides two journaling tags that I tied with silver twine I saved from a clothing tag. Old silver glitter chipboard letters and felt Thickers in brown. Hot pink bling from Mike's and a few scattered vintage buttons, along with some velvet fringe trim and AC polka dot ribbon. The rosette flower is a favorite trick of mine that I will feature on Thursday. The white rose die cut is K&Co., (I think!), and the chipboard flower is two layers from Basic Grey with a vintage button in the center. The purple crochet flower is from a deconstructed cardigan and the yellow one is from the very talented Serene. Finally, the heart is something I made and the little girl charm is a shrinky made with Greeting Farm stamps.

Monday's Random Five- Summer Clothing Faves

These are the five pieces of clothing that I am really loving right now.

A perfect dress that channels the class of the 1950's or 1960's to me. A steal at Forever 21 for $25.

A cute lightweight sweater for the perfect nautical look. Another Forever 21 find for under $15.

I LOVE the 1970's inspired boho look and this top is perfect. One of my thrift store finds for a few bucks.

Cute, comfy, and easy to wear. Love the colors, (notice a trend?), this is another thrift store find for $10.

The perfect boho-ish dress. Love the longer hem and the fabric is like a whisper in the heat. Forever 21 for $23. 

Friday's Finish!

This project has been hanging around my desk for almost a year, if not a year. I feel kind of ashamed to admit that, but there are other projects that have been around a lot longer and they are still incomplete. A friend I saw the other day had a tote that said, "The Queen of Unfinished Projects." I seriously need one of those.

This layout was waiting for the journaling. I wanted it to fit in the blue frame, but I also knew if I attempted it in my handwriting, it would look like heck and I would like this layout even less than I do now. Did I just admit that out loud? That I do not love, nor even really like this layout? Yes, I did. It happens sometimes and we just have to roll with it. I love the pictures, I love the colors, I love the memories, so that is enough for me.

KISS Wednesday

Here is another simple colors layout, but that isn't really what made this layout simple. I used a sketch I had drawn up before for another layout, only this time I changed the orientation. Here is the original sketch in my book.

Here is the layout I made using the sketch only changing its orientation to feature the photos on the top.

 As soon as I saw these pictures of my cousin, I knew I wanted to make a layout that gave the feeling of movement, the feeling you get from a dandelion being blown into the wind. I played with it in my head and then recalled the sketch I had made for another layout and realized by shifting it, I would be able to set the pictures up to tell the story and impart the feeling. By using a sketch I already had and limiting my colors, I was able to make a quick and lovely layout.

Sunday's Special!

This is a project that I dreamed up a year ago for a design team entry. Obviously, we know how that went. ;P

I used a bird house found in the $ section of Micheal's, a piece of wooden dowel, and a blank 3x3 wood block. I drilled a hole in the block, (which totally surprised me by being hollow!), and the bird house with my nady-dandy Fiskars hand drill. Then I covered the block with a paper bag that my friend uses for her store. My medium was, you guessed it, Mod Podge, which by the way, I have erroneously called Modge Podge for years until I was chastised recently that I was in fact, saying it wrong. I may just start calling it, "that amazing gel medium that comes with the funky 70's inspired label" and then no one is offended with my mispronunciation.

I wrapped garden twine of the dowel and glued to to both the house and the block, then glued a pile of random flowers and the birds over the entire piece. Most of these flowers are from The Art Life Shop, who is the same store that uses those darling bags that I used to cover the base.

Such a fun little piece that has huge impact, yet took little effort to make. Love those projects!

Monday's Random 5

So today is more like random four, BUT two of those are projects. I was going to do a post called "random two in blue," but I snapped these cute kitty pictures today, so I just had to add them and that kicked it up to four. I suppose my fifth random thing could be a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom. If it wasn't for her, there is a lot that wouldn't be, including, but not limited to, me. Okay, on with the show!

First, this is a layout of a really good friend. As you can tell, the Hubsters has been friends with her since w-a-y back in the day. (Seriously, when were skinny ties in?) Anywho, she is one of the awesome additions I got by default when the Hubsters and I got married.

I wanted to keep it simple because the Anna Griffin patterned paper is just about all the pop! this layout needed. The Pink Paislee Artisan Elements are colored with a Copic marker and have a little bit of bling added. Here is a close up of the title and journaling. Oh, and that skinny tie!

Those are of course, Thickers. Shocking, isn't it? So I must have been in a blue mood, but in a good way, because the next layout I finished featured it as well, this time with one of my all time favorite subjects to photograph.

There's another butterfly! Seriously, do you use things in your creating that under normal circumstances you tend to avoid? I am not a butterfly person, per se, but I have been using them frequently. Maybe that is because Jenni Bowlin makes great ones. So, this layout is about my niece playing on her great-grandma's headstone. While Cady-bird did not get to truly meet her G.G., I hope that I can share enough memories with her and Lily-bee as they grow so that they will know her.

The final line in the journaling is that I can hear my Grandma saying that Cady playing here and me taking photos is alright. I had some mixed feelings about this moment and these pictures, but I truly heard her say it was all okay and that is why I had to scrap it. I am not sure why Cady chose Grandma's stone to play on, as there were a number of other ones that I and my family were showing interest in, but she did and it again shows me that children see things that us adults miss. I am not entirely sure Cady was playing alone.

Now onto my other two randoms of this Monday. I continue to adjust to life with fur-babies. They are funny and their personalities have completely surprised me. The one I expected to be shy is in fact the extrovert and a bit of a trouble maker, which should come as no surprise since she is the one who adopted the Hubsters, who is a mischievous soul himself and the one I expected to be dominant, is in fact, a scaredy cat.

This is Lotus Chief and I swear she will be the end of me. There are times I can literally see her plotting and I wonder if she is plotting my demise. If she could only figure out how to work the can opener, I would be useless.

One of these things is not like the other one.... Every time I see this picture, I think of that jingle. The Hubsters left just a smidge of the closet door open and I went into a panic because I couldn't find General Fuzzface. Then I saw the opening and viola! there she was. Silly kitty.

Random Five- Indulgences Right Now!

Hello, readers. Here are my Random Five for Monday, this time with my current indulgences.

1. Starbucks Peanut Butter Chocolate Mini Cupcakes-- OH! Heaven!!!

2. The smell of coconut and the reminder that summer is closer today than it was yesterday...I think...

3. Watching the finals of Dancing with the Stars. So NOT a reality show person, but I love to watch people boogie!

4. Thinking about Chris Hemsworth in Thor. All I can say, "hubba-hubba!"

5. Last, but certainly not least, spending time with the two new furbabies in my life.

What have y'all been up to?