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

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

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

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

With Sympathy

Unfortunately, I seem to be making a lot of sympathy cards these days.  I forget to take pictures of the cards since I am focused on making it, writing a note and getting it in the mail in a timely fashion.  I should probably make a supply so I have some on hand.

This card came together fairly quickly.  I used a stamp on watercolor paper and then used my Tim Holtz distress inks to create a watercolor effect.  I added some stickles for some sparkle on the butterfly and then layered the watercolor paper on a book page.  The sentiment is gold heat embossed and adhered to the background black card stock which was run through my Vagabond machine with an embossing folder.  It is hard to see the texture in the black background, but it is there.

It is hard having to send a sympathy card, but I feel good knowing that I made it with love.

Hopefully this is the last sympathy card I will make for a while!

Leslie

A bit Rusty

I have to admit that I am a bit rusty when it comes to creativity!  I'm just not feeling "in the groove" or confident in my projects... but I have decided to just keep moving forward.  I created a scrapbook layout about our stop in Chartres (ok, so it is almost three years ago now... what?!?) but it's finished and in an album.  The memories are recorded and I am moving on!  I'm encouraged that my next layout is coming together with much less effort and I am liking it better.

Sometimes I think I give up too quickly.  It is certainly true with diet and work out goals - if I don't have instant success, I stop trying.  So my new philosophy is going to be to set small goals and have early success and just keep moving forward.  Baby steps.  So if my scrapbook layouts aren't perfect, I'm okay with it.  I'm just going to keep on gluing... and inking... and stamping!

Hope you can keep moving forward!

Leslie

Backwards and Forwards

So I took some time off from scrapbooking, crafting, blogging, and general computer activities - I didn't watch videos, listen to podcasts or look at other people's blogs... and I will admit, it is hard to get going again.  And just when I was starting to feel the urge to go get creative, I went to my desk and had approximately 1 square inch of clean space.  Hmm.  Hard to create in such a mess.  So, it being a new year and all, I have made a few resolutions... not that I am all that uptight about resolutions!

Looking backward over this past year, I am excited that I accomplished some "resolutions" from last year.  I started (and maintained) this blog.  As a result of blogging, I felt more committed to producing layouts and cards, and so created a lot more projects in this past year than I expected.  Yay. I also wanted to read more, which I have done.  Another yay.  Not quite so much with the ever present goal of eating healthier and moving more.  I think that gets a nay for the past year... we will keep it on the list!

I've been watching videos of all of the new products coming out at the CHA tradeshow (Craft and Hobby Associaiton) and although I have been better about using supplies I have, I have to admit I am tempted by the new stuff coming.  So cute.  If you want to be inspired to create and want to see some cool new products for scrapbooking, home decor and card making, head to www.paperclipping.com to see the videos they produce about all of the new goodies.  I think their videos are the best (especially the ones with Tim Holtz).

This year I resolve to get creating, get organizing and get healthier!  How about you?

Looking forward to a great year!

Leslie