Best. Mascara. Ever

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

What, me worry?

So my youngest is learning to drive.  We haven't had much time to practice yet, but she has her first drive time with a driving instructor this weekend.  I'm not sure who will be more scared - my daughter or the instructor!

The challenge for this layout was to use a large photo with small/ limited text to convey the story.  I found this photo from a trip to Colorado and paired it with a more current photo.  I think the story is self explanatory!


I'm not sure if you can see her face as she is "driving" the car, but it is pretty priceless.  Hopefully she won't be looking so anxious when she is driving for real! (Or maybe a little anxious is good).

I think I will go back to the layout and add a little journaling to tie everything together, but overall, I like the layout and the story.  I would not have documented these events in this way without the LOAD challenge.  So fun to stretch myself out of my "usual" style.

Hope you can stretch yourself today!

Leslie

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

A little late

So I am a little late to call this a Valentine's post, but I am going to do it anyway!  Better late than never I think.  This layout was in response to a color challenge as part of the LOAD (Layout a Day Event).  The colors we were supposed to use were red, black and white.  I added pink - since red and white make pink... and some grey... you know it counts!


I liked how the black background I was using as a backdrop (to photograph my layout) looked, so I ended up going back and trimming the layout down on the left and bottom and adding a strip of black.  Having a specific color scheme in mind helped me pull the colors from my scrap bin and helped keep the layout looking coordinated.  The layout came together really quickly and reminded me that scrapbooking doesn't need to be complicated or take a long time.  It is just important to get the memories down and the stories recorded. (It is also nice to have a really BIG stash of stuff to pull from... and I do have a big stash of goodies!!!)

Hope you can squeeze in a few minutes to do something you love today!

Leslie

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Juggling

I've been creating scrapbook layouts like crazy (one a day - really!) because of this awesome challenge I am participating in (LOAD 215 with Lain Ehmann).  I don't know why it is so motivating, but it is.  I'm having fun stretching my creativity and telling stories in a new way.  Juggling different color combinations, themes, and styles helps spark new ideas.

Here is a layout I did (ok, so it is not quite finished... journaling to happen later) for a challenge relating to "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" - which I interpreted loosely!




I will be journaling for "The very hungry Boy and the Best Time ever" about our food adventures in Istanbul and France as we dropped him off for school.  He is an adventurous eater - and it is nice to capture that story.

Hope you can juggle some new ideas in your head today!

Leslie

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Down for the Count

So I experienced a little food poisoning Thursday night.  I was down for the count.  In bed for 24 hours.  No food.  Teeny, tiny sips of waters.  No television.  Nothing.  Just down.  But, somehow, when it was over, I just popped back up feeling great.  Go figure!  Silver lining:  I will try and use this as motivation to be healthier and more motivated to exercise - I do not want to be sickly if I can help it.

I've missed a couple of my daily LOAD (layout a day) challenges due to the sickness... but this was one I did using a quote from the book The Secret Garden.  I really like how this one came out. It didn't photograph very well, but you get the general idea.




I had all of those butterflies in a dish on my desk from various projects, experiments and general leftovers - it was fun to put them all on the page.  They are all different textures, styles and colors and yet by having the common element, it all seems to work together.

Hope you can put it all together today!

Leslie

Thursday, February 5, 2015

It's all about the story...

Well, I have made it to day 5 on my LOAD (Layout a Day with Lain Ehmann).  So inspiring to get a daily prompt and then "have" to upload the image to the Flickr group by 10pm.  Somehow the idea of a deadline makes me stop procrastinating and forces me to just tape it down!  (Reminds me of those college English papers I procrastinated until the deadline was upon me!)

Here is the layout I did for day 2 - inspired (very loosely) by the children's book "Goodnight Moon."


I jumped to this layout about a good night and the story of how this good night almost killed my mother (so much walking to get to the London Eye with a bad heart - who knew?) but in the end led to her finding out about the problem and taking care of it.

Moral of the LOAD challenge so far... it doesn't take much of a prompt to lead to inspiration- and a layout can be done in small increments throughout the day as time allows.  The story and the pictures are documented.  I'm realizing that getting those stories down is what is important to me - I can see the pictures as they scroll across my screen saver or on my apple tv - but I can't remember the stories when I see the pictures that way.  So I'm really happy that I am putting the stories and the pictures together...it's why I still love scrapbooking.

Hope you can document a story today!

Leslie

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

One a Day

So I have signed up for (and started) participating in Lain Ehmann's LOAD (Layout a Day) challenge for the month of February.  Yup.  A Layout a DAY!!! That will be 28 layouts in February if I make it through the challenge.  It is totally motivating (uh, for the two days I have participated) and helps me actually complete layouts.  What I really love is that it is focused on stories - not just making the photos look pretty (although, of course we do that too!).  This year the theme for the month is Childhood stories - I've loosely interpreted the prompts, but I have told two stories that might not have been recorded without this challenge.

It is really fun!  I think it is inspiring because not only are you getting new ideas from the prompts, but there are hundreds (yes - there are still scrappers out there!!!) of people participating and encouraging you.  I'll keep you posted as the month goes on.  It is a bit of a marathon and not a sprint... so we will see if I can keep it up as the days continue.

Here is the layout I made for the first day:



Here is hoping you can get your "one a day" task done - no matter what it might be.

Leslie

Monday, February 2, 2015

Messy

So the latest trend in scrapbooking is "mixed media" art - don't get me wrong - it has been around for a long time, it is just now trendy with products marketed just for mixed media art and art journals.  And while most of us have been mixing plenty of mediums already (stickers, ribbons, paint, spray mists etc) I'm defining this as more textures, more layers, more of everything!  Products like gesso, texture paste, gel medium and so forth are used on canvases and scrapbook layouts.  It's messy.  And creative.  And fun.

The key lessons are:  It is ok (and in fact preferred) to make a mess.  And, Don't give up, just keep going!  

I really enjoyed to process of making this image.  I did end up using it for another sympathy card.  The lighting is not great, but here is the card I made with my "mixed media" art.


There are a lot of layers and textures to this card.  I did not have a plan when I started the project - I just kept adding papers, paint, spray mists, stamps, texture paste through a stencil and layered on stickers and distress markers. It was fun to create and I was happy with the end result.

Hope you can get messy today!

Leslie
 
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