The Dreaded Layout Drawer

I don't know about the rest of you, but I keep a layout drawer in my scrap room.  It is a drawer that holds ideas, unfinished pages, and layouts that I am just stuck on.  For today's torture, err, um, "challenge," I decided to tackle the layout drawer.  To my surprise, I found that I was creative along the way, but just needed a few finishing touches here and there as well as a new perspective. 

By no means have I found the bottom of the drawer (I know what's down there and I'm scared of it - more on that later), but I did finish up a few cute layouts in under an hour!  Woohoo!

I seriously added a sticker and the journaling. I have no idea what the hold up was with this page...

I remember stamping this and having it turn out all wrong.  I got out the markers and jazzed it up a bit.  This could have been the hold up.  One thing goes terribly wrong and sometimes it all just falls apart.

This one just needed a photo.  Sheesh!  I used StazOn Opaque Cotton White to get the title to be all ghosty.

Use scrap fabric and StazOn Ink to make cute, cheap embellishments!

I had cut out the wave and stuck it in the drawer, but didn't have anything else with it...no sketches, no words, nothing.  So, I went with the flow and printed pictures from last weekend and with some buttons and polka dot paper, those two wonky waves turned into this two page layout!  It think it's my favorite.

I made a simple title with a white pen and some left over Thickers chipboard letters.

My favorite shot of the day.  

If you are stuck on a layout, just put it in the drawer and wait.  Let it simmer and in a week take it out again.  If it's still not ready, put it back.  If your drawer is overflowing like mine was, tackle it.  You just might find something that is completely different than what you put in.

It's here! It's here! It's really, really here!

Sassafras Lass just introduced their complete line of Indie Girl!  It's amazing and I think I just might have to buy it all!  The muted greens, blues, and yellows give it an old fashioned feel and the patterns remind me of just about every outfit my mother put me in during the 80s.  The best part of this new line are the stickers!  There are die cut borders, glitter alphas, flowers, tags, and doodads galore!  Sassafras Lass, you always deliver and I am forever a loyal fan.

Summer Time! Summer Time! Sum, Sum, Summer Time!

It's officially summer time in our house and I felt like making a page to celebrate.  Yes, I know summer doesn't actually start until the 21st of June, but when the pool comes out - it's summer right? 

For this page, I machine stitched a crazy border on a piece of plain white card stock.  Then, I used pool blue acrylic paint, an old paint brush, and some paper towels to make a smudgy mess up in the corner.  I tore the edges of the pictures to make them just as messy as everything else and then hunted for some embellishments.  I ended up using some Recollections dimensional stickers, Sassafras Lass layered blossoms, Prima flowers with Glimmer Mist, and some random buttons.  I made my own feltie by stitching a big yellow button to some felt circles and then adhered it to a recycled layered blossom.  I also stamped with white acrylic paint on a piece of left over fabric and used it in the corner as my date. 

Overall, this project took about an hour - mostly the sewing and finding just the right embellishments.  That reminds me - I need to clean the scrap room!

Basic Grey Fabric

Is anyone else as excited about this as I am???  Basic Grey and Moda have teamed up to bring us amazing fabric and will be rolling out some of their best patterns soon.  I can't wait to get my hands on Origins!  I want to make a jumper for Stella and a quilt and blankies and a purse and a skirt for me and and and...

Well Begun is Half Done

I am a crafter. I paint, glue, smudge, ink, and distress just about anything I can. Blogging is not in my repertoire, but I was informed that if you are a somebody, and you wanna be a big time scrapbooker, you have a blog! So - for the two of you out there reading this - I am making an attempt to write creatively and post my newest projects and ideas. Here goes nothin'!

Recently, I have been in class, which takes up any time I might have left over after taking care of the kids, house, etc. Thankfully, I am in art school and have gotten the opportunity to take an actual art class. (In case any of you are considering art school, don't be disappointed when they require you to take math and chemistry before you actually get to make art). I have been studying Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts Movement from the early 1900s.

In an attempt to complete a previous project and come up with a creative idea to complete an assignment, I made a chair. Now - let me set the record straight - I bought a bare wooden chair from IKEA and painted it laboriously, put a few screws in place with the help of my four year old, and then poly coated the whole thing. I did not turn wooden spokes on a lathe or anything! This chair is for Connor - my 11 month old. It's too big for him, but he'll grow into it and I'll get some cute pictures out of the deal.

So the goal is to paint six chairs and make my table like the one in Monica Geller's apartment on Friends. My chairs are all the same, but will have new shiny paint in each family member's favorite colors. We shall see how this project unfolds...