A Flair For Buttons and DCWV Blog Hop!!!!

Hello  Hello HELLO!

I am SO EXCITED to be sharing a couple of pages with you today.

DCWV was the first scrapbook brand I picked up back in 2009 when I started looking for pretty paper to make decorations for future Lola's room.

Off to Joann's I went and there it was- cue angels singing- The Mariposa Stack.
Suddenly I had a million ideas that only needed a pair of scissors to bring to life.

Since then I've had fun creating with their new Adhesive Fabric stack, The Colorful Life Stack, The Snapshot Stack and here's an oldie but still a favorite- Downtown Loft which is full of mod prints and Manhattan themed papers.

The lucky DT members of  A Flair For Buttons each got a stack to create with.
I got The Glam Rock stack.

I made this card:

Some pop dots, fussy cutting and 20 minutes later I had a party invite.

And this page:

I love paper strips so this page came together quickly after I cut the foiled silver "belts" out.
I used flair from the following packs:
Rock On Flair 1,
Arrows kraft and black 1,
and Dartboards flair- I will be ordering 20 more of those black and white striped beauties!

I did get a little stuck when I first opened my package because I have a 4 year old who's still listening to "Old McDonald" and "The Wheels on the Truck".
So I don't have a rocking out photo to use- yet.
Then I found that photo of Lola and her cousins and a page popped into my brain instantly.

That's what I love about DCWV packs- you can use the themed packs for almost anything- all you need is scissors, glue and a couple of hours.

Joining my today in this fun smash up are:

Erica Weinstock

Me! :)

Mary Ann Maldonado

Diane Payne

Ashli Oliver

Please swing by each blog to check out how we used our packs- I sure there will be a delightful surprise in each blog.

Before I forget- here is the coupon code to get 10% off your next A Flair For Buttons order:

Thanks for stopping by!
Michelle

Skissedilla and DCWV & A Flair For Buttons Blog Hop sneak peeks

Hello!
Been gone for two weeks. OOPS!
There's lots of scrappy paper crafting going on in the background.

This Saturday I'll be participating in the first ever DCWV - A Flair For Buttons blog hop.
I made a couple of pages that took me out my usual color scheme so I'm excited.
Here are two a sneaky peeks at my projects:

I looked at the large record page on the DCWV stack FOR-EVER till this subject  idea rose up.
Whew! No need for a photo of   Lola rocking out to Van Halen after all.

I made a card- an actual CARD!!! And one I like- very rare indeed.

Then on Sunday, my guest designer for the October Skissedilla sketch challenge goes up.
I'm honored to be part of this group which has introduced me to so many incredible scrappers.
Sneaky peek:

I used a butterfly punch garland I've had in my stash for over a year as well as my
absolute favorite mini feathers chipboard from Scrap FX. My page won't be the only one
posted either- it's gonna be fly mi gente.

I've been doing a lot of soul searching as of late.
I write posts in my head but because I committed to a path of positivity (wait- is that even a word?) here I haven't been able to truly capture how I feel.
How much do I reveal?
How much detail do readers care to know?

It's hard to find the middle ground between honesty and pure emotional detritus.
So I'm keeping my trap shut for now.
Frankly- how I feel changes so frequently shutting up is probably the best idea- when I figure things out I can  tell it all with some perspective or just laugh at all the internal drama and move the effer on.

Anyway if you have some time this weekend please swing by and say hello.

We stumbled across a pumpkin farm on the way home yesterday- lots of  last minute Fall themed photos ensued.

Have a great week.
Michelle

Pie charts RULE!!!! A Studio Calico challenge page

So I've always had a "thing" for graphics, pie charts and other office related graphics meant to keep you awake during snoozefest meetings.
I just never thought to use them in a layout!
TOTAL lack of imagination!!!
Must correct ASAP!!
Here ya go:

So my LOVE of neon and washi is in full effect here. I used a while bunch of techniques I have learned from other crafters- SoapHouseMama and Miae to be specific. More on that below.
 Materials: Studio Calico Classic Calico paper, washi tape from Hambly, Smash and MT, vellum title from DCWV, Awesome word bubble from A Life Handmade on Big Cartel, Smash date stamp, gel pens from Sakura Martha Stewart multi butterfly punch and pin from American Crafts.

The layout is from a sketch by Vee Jennings for Studio Calico for their latest Sunday challenge which I encourage you to try!

My idea of a good scrappy time? Throw the paint on the page and watch it spread out or drip down, SHOVE the vellum into the sewing machine and hope a general circle shape emerges from my tugging and pulling.
My husband absolutely FREAKS when he sees me work.
He gets all itchy looking at the crooked lines, paint splatters all over the work table or the sewing machine wrestling (mostly because I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SEW.)

Some detail shots:

I bought this random travel themed DCWV pack at TJ Maxx
and I really like this vellum material. Some of the phrases
are a bit cheesy but this one has a great font and size.
Love that word bubble! I really wish I could afford a Silhouette!

Silver gel pen for the journaling. The butterfly was
colored using pastels I bought at the dime store. 

Ok so here is where I credit my scrappy friends.
SoaphouseMama (Ashli Oliver) gets credit for the stacked lines. I see this motif in her
work and I just like how it adds visual interest without distracting from the main design.
Miae of  Making Scrap Up gets credit for the wheels because I see her doodle these all
over the place!!!  Using the sewing machine was time consuming but I love the effect.
The hanging ends were something I saw  a french blogger do and it just made my jaw
drop.  I don't remember who it was (it was before I learned about Pinterest)
but if you recognize who I'm talking about lemme know ok?

I encourage you to let loose today.
Just slap some paper onto other paper, dash that paint on, take your favorite stamp and go hog wild- whatever.
If you hate the final result it's ok- go back to your regular work style!
But maybe you'll discover a new technique.

NEW PHOTO SEGMENT!!
What I learned from my two year old TODAY:
A fool and her washi are soon parted or
YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH WASHI.

I used this page to get my engines ready for some design team assignments I really want to get right. So keep your eyes peeled over at Gauche And Scrap FX- you'll see iterations of things I learned making this page.

GRATUITOUS TODDLER SHOT!!!!!

Cute right? She pulled the ugliest 30 minute tantrum when it was time to go.
This is at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. GO! TODAY!
The Cherries are blooming!

MuChoS SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Scrapliftin' FOOL!- A True Xoxo Girls Challenge

Ah the Scraplift.
That venerable tradition where you STEAL (OOPS! LIFT! I meant lift!) an admired scrapper's work and make it your own.
Some would say you should give credit where due.
Others reply "It's JUST PAPER AND GLUE!"
As usual, my opinion lies somewhere in the middle.

BEHOLD!!! The April True Xoxo Scraplift another team member design challenge!
I chose Kimmie Jaster's Pancakes page and used DCWV Snapshot for this.  My final scraplifted page didn't look like "me".  I was so annoyed! I hit the side of the paper with my elbow by mistake and cue angel chorus- I had my page.

There are so many people working, so many sources for inspiration and so many similar themes, trends and pre-designed products, it's inevitable that eventually something you make takes after someone else's project you dug and stuffed away in your lizard hind brain.
And there it lay. Waiting to come out at some later point.

Kimmie's original page- sorry the photo is so small.
http://lostinadreamofjosh.blogspot.com/

I know because it's happened to me.
I've never been accused of copying (OMG that sounds SO 4th grade!) but I've seen replicas of "my" pages in other people's galleries that were made BEFORE mine was and my question has always been:
Where the heck did I get that idea from anyway? I've never seen this page before.... have I?
TUN TUN TUUUUUUUUUUN!

If the page was made AFTER mine I think:
Am I REALLY so awesome that this random person would "steal" from me?
And my lizard hind brain answers:
 "YEZZZZZ! YEZZZZ!!!! Zat izzz yourzzzzz!
BE HAPPY!!!"

Because I always have another ace up my sleeve. No, it's not an actual ace!
It's a state of mind.

That comic book word bubble deserved it's own page!

You will ALWAYS have more ideas and there will ALWAYS be more opportunities.
There is a giant sky-wide PIE of creativity so vast that there is plenty to share.
PLENTY TO SHARE.
So scrap lift away amigos!
If you mention me- awesome! I'll get over it if you don't.
Like this:
GET OVER IT CHELLS!

But not if you're a retailer.
If I saw one of my pages or photos on an advert I'd be hella PISSED.
(AC Moore recently grabbed some Easter projects they spotted on Pinterest, smashed them onto one of their sales flyers then tried to say it was ok because they were "just for inspiration")
Shame on you retailer! SHAME!
Don't you have a creative services department?
GET ONE!
Pay those crafty folks!!! They deserve it!

LOVING the white lines on black Polaroid!!!

This month's True Xoxo challenge is too juicy to ignore.
There are so many fantastic designers on the team and the styles differ so greatly it would be a SHAME to pass this chance up.
So swing on by and have FUN!
http://truexoxoscrapbooking.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/challenge-28-were-scraplifting-too/

OH! And before I forget! True Xoxo is also running a Blog Header design contest! It's a great way to showcase your work! After all, it's the first thing any visitor sees!
Swing by and check out the details!
http://truexoxoscrapbooking.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/blog-header-contest/

Neon- it's SO COOL!!!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Picture Dodger! And The Halftone app

Today I was gonna share another awesome card with a "Thank You" theme but the actual card has taken a severe left turn from what I imagined so I am giving it another go and posting later.
But I will share this:

Picture Didger- GOTCHA!!!
Materials: DCWV turquoise graph paper (AAA! LOVE!), alphas from Glitz and Cosmo Cricket,  Little Yellow Bicycle word bubble (transparency I added a background to), Studio Calico rub-ons added stick side out, Smooch Black mist, Gauche Alchemy Red Mixed Media kit items, buttons from Sweet Tierney on Etsy.

I've written several stories on iPod photo apps- you can check those out in the resume page above. Then I found Halftone- or as I like to call it- the perfect marriage of new and old paper obsessions.

Faceless Halloween shots are now so much fun!

Back in my early 20s I was broke but spared what I could to buy comic books- specifically all "Batman" titles, anything with the name Neil Gaiman on it and "The Invisibles". I eventually gave up the comic habit but I've been looking for a way to add comic book quote bubbles to my photos ever since.

REALLY funny Dave! I am SO gonna get you back! COOL effect right? This photo was taken in almost complete darkness- the halftone pointillist comic print effect did the rest.

Well Halftone makes that super easy! It also has 12 different paper backgrounds, 9 different caption layout options,  6 different quote bubble designs, 21 different stamps (words like BAM! or Splash!) and over 20 fonts for your captions- it's amazingly powerful and can send a high rez version of your photo directly to other camera apps like Instagr.am or directly to your Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr accounts. Is that not fabulous? It is to me- I LOVE this thing!

Dignity and adult demeanor be darned! I'm having FUN! 

In also humming right along in my daily grace project.
Here are the last 2 days.

11.3.11 Grateful for helpful Abuelas and the smiles they inspire. 

11.4.11 Grateful for her feeling confident enough to leave...
yet always returning to take me along.

Muchos Smooches!

Facebook Happy Mail Project! Join the fun!

Pure FUN is not being had in our household right now.  

Oh OK Lola is having fun. Hello? That's a blessing! 

Is it too much to ask for some actual spring weather OTHER than wind and rain? We went from 50 degrees to 95 and humid as a swamp. 

The soup man says: NO BREAKS FOR YOU! 

My favorite thing today was hearing a Channel 9 newscaster call today "sultry". Uhm...NO, chick!!! Sultry is Eartha Kitt's singing or perhaps Kim Catrall in SItC. 

Today's weather was like walking through a bowl of hot soup WITH sidewalk doggie poop thrown in for good measure.

Anyway I must distract myself from all this. 

I have gotten positive and decided to spread the vibes.

Dawn's post card
MATERIALS: DCWV Mod Retro 8x8 pad,  Martha Stewart multi butterfly punch,
Cosmo Cricket 1934.

I introduce: 

MICHELLE'S FACEBOOK FRIEND POST CARD PROJECT 

(insert echo effect here).

That's a link to my facebook page- perhaps you want to "friend" me? If not it's ok! You can leave a comment here and I will make you a card too! I love this project!!! WOO HOO!

Jenny's Card
MATERIALS: DCWV MOd Retro (new FAVE!), Fiskars Star Squeeze punch,
Studio G alpha stamp set, Pigma Micron 05 pen in yellow and brown, Mister Huey sunshine

Basically I will make a post card for every friend I have in facebook and try to MAIL the the card. The addresses will NOT be used for anything else. I do not expect return mail but I do hope the happiness is paid forward.

I started small with just my bestest crafty friends and my family. I will give myself till the end of 2011 to finish this. Whatever cards don't get sent will get put in a gallery space (if one will have me)

The point is I need to expand my art horizons, spread the gospel of positivity and GET RID OF MY PAPER STASH

(So I can buy more.)

This made me laugh and feel unbelievably PROUD today- Bronx is in da HOUUUSE!

REPRESEEEENT!

I'm on Pinterest. I want to pin this poster as I LOVE IT.
It's from Gothamist
I blithely moved on without pinning and now I can't find it! HEEELP!

Ahhh wordless wednesday. Always an unattainable goal.
I leave you with THIS:

Luscious, scrumptious, titillating VINTAGE VELVET ribbon in mustard (!!)
WITH original corrugated protective packaging! !!  !!! !!!!
Can. you. STAND. IT???
 8 bucks a yard but the seller refused to sell to me as she was on her smoking break.
That's NY peeps! HARD CORE!

MuChOs SmOoChEs!
Michelle

Making the page COUNT

OK so if you know me at all you know I can't make numbers play nice- the closest I come to math ability is estimating the discount from a given price but any true shopaholic knows how to do that.

I also wanted to hint at a growing concern of mine- HOW AM I GOING TO HELP LOLA WITH HER HOMEWORK WHEN I CAN'T EVEN DO LONG DIVISION?????

You are thinking THIS crazy chick is getting WAY ahead of herself! "Lola" is thirteen MONTHS old! But I've worried about this for years. I worried about this in college as I blithely took my art courses (in a school with no "core" curriculum requirements- which I transfered to in order to avoid math).

 I want to raise a strong (Amazonian), Independent, Science/Math positive NERD Why? They make the mega bucks! DUH! How can I do that when I need help with ANYTHING having a number? Ever try making a recipe for 4 into a recipe for 8? MATH IS NEEDED! Ever try to cut your paper for a proper birthday card? AAAARGH! MATH! Call your sister in London to chat about her upcoming wedding and listen as she discusses the cost of hotels in Euros? MATH MATH MAAAATH!

So I did THIS:

For my fave sketch site PENCIL LINES

Pencil Lines sketch 212 by Sasha Farina

I LOVE the Die Cuts With A View "Hitting The Books" paper stack- it's GORGEOUSLY geometric. You will see many new pages with this stuff. I also used Sassafrass Lass cards and Alphas, Hambly tranny (transparency- not a Hambly staff person with innovative sartorial proclivities) Cosmo Cricket numbers and my trusty UNI BALL gel pen- I LOVE THAT JAMMY!!!!

AAAAND finally- how did I get that amazing photo (shot while I was in college by fellow art shooter OZZIE CRUZ)? It's a Polaroid Transfer. Look it up please- that technique was amazing. R.I.P since you can no longer do it because Polaroid went out of business and discontinued making the pull apart film you need. WAAAAAAAH!

I'm sure Apple has a cool  iPhone app that imitates the look but nothing NOTHING feels as good as cutting the paper and slapping down that jelly stuff all by YOURSELF- in 3D. That's why my blog is called ANALOG Life- 'cause I love FILM and PAPER. Digital can SUCK IT!

Muchos SmOoChEs!!!
M.