where does the time go?

the last week seemed to vanish, I had great plans and blog posts written in my head of things to share but that's as far as I got.

Friday was an exciting day because this little layout was highlighted on the Studio Calico blog, snatched right out of the gallery along with a few others. It made me so happy to get the email and a little ashamed that it was shared with the 'world' before here with my loyal readers. But you get the extra special story behind it...Patterned Paper: Sassafrass, Cosmo Cricket
Mist: Tattered Angels (Yellow Daisy)
Alpha: Cosmo Cricket
Journal Spot: Sassafrass
Cardstock: Scenic Route (blue grid)

It all started with the tree shape and as you may know if you scrapped with me recently I'm a little obsessed with Glimmer Mists so I wanted to mist a tree shape on some cardstock to make a page, but not wanting to waste a piece of cardstock for the template I decided to use this piece of Sassafrass paper included in October's SC kit, which did not appeal to me at all, let's face it this paper in the wrong hands can go wrong. I couldn't find my sheet so Houston gave me hers. I cut the tree and misted the shape on cardstock but it just didn't quite work out the way I envisioned in my head (such things rarely do) so the little tree cut out hung around in my stash for a few weeks, it was too cute in a 'so ugly it's cute' way that I couldn't throw it away and once I printed these pics I was sure glad I didn't. I was perfect for these shots I took of S in a tree (don't worry moms not too high up and I was right there to ensure safety). Add a few Martha butterflies and a little mist and a happy page is done.

Here's another example of my mist obsession, this one totally inspired by Rhonda. I misted through plastic mesh and on some bubble wrap to make the kraft background and then lightly misted the cream background.

Patterned Paper: Sassafrass (hippos), Jenni Bowlin (Text)
Stickers: Pink Paislee (woodgrain scallop), WeR (flocked flowers)
Alphas: Sassafrass (Zoo), Jenni Bowlin (Crw), AC (E)
Mists: Tattered Angels (Turquoise, Key Lime)


And speaking of mists, yesterday I went to a crop in Ft. Collins and set next to the queen of mists Liz Hicks, seriously the queen aka the education coordinator for Tattered Angels. Oh My! Very Inspiring!! Can't wait to try out a few things I saw her do.

August Leftovers

I had a little self conflict yesterday posting sneaks, knowing full well that I had several layouts done in August that I haven't posted, some of you who know me well know I am all about order and routine, so you understand the inner conflict. Certainly not all are post worthy, but there were a few that I absolutely loved and felt they needed a little room in the spotlight. So since there is one more day left in the month I thought I'd squeeze them in...

The first one was for the August sketch...contest ends TONIGHT, just in case you're incredibly motivated...


Playing around with scraps...look out...if something is standing still I might just hit it with some metallic mist as is what happened with the thickers and flowers in this layout...


The 'rule follower' in me says I should teach her now that slides aren't for going up and that's dangerous, but the 'embrace the cuteness' me trumped that voice...


Hard to believe it's been almost a year...

The Wiki World

I'm continually fascinated by the wiki world, particularly the wikihows that pop up on my google home screen. Most of the time I don't actually click on the topic, but today I couldn't resist...How to Be Creative.

The author found this interesting video that made me think...



What?!? You mean I don't need every scrapbook supply ever created? This can't be right...then again I have been more productive(although not necessarily creative) in the newly purged room.

How about an altered project to show off this new creativity. We have had these Cosmo photo boxes sitting around the store for some time, I knew they would make something cool, just not sure exactly what so I set out to make a Valentiny project. I could only wish to have enough love notes to fill this box.

Supplies:

Photobox: Cosmo Cricket

Patterned Paper and letters: Pink Paislee

Flowers: Prima

Here's the rest of the article in case you need a jump start...

How to Be Creative

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Can creativity be taught? That’s a question without a simple yes or no answer. Creativity may not be able to be taught directly, but what you can get better at is frequently aligning the circumstances of life which foster the greatest chances for true creative expression. Creativity is not like a lightning strike, but more like something which manifests itself inside those who learn to foster it and create the right conditions for it to prosper.

Steps

1. Ruthlessly limit your selection of tools to only the most vital. The more limited your set of tools is, the more creative the output will be. Having a limited set of vital tools forces creativity and really challenges you to use what you have to produce the desired results. As a byproduct, you’ll get incredibly good with that small set of tools and refine your use of them to a point you can literally do anything you like with them. You’ll be far sharper than someone who merely dabbles with a larger set of tools. Learn how to be resourceful.
   


2. Don’t listen to feedback, keep following your own path. The problem with asking for feedback is invariably the feedback will be given infused with that person’s preconceived notions of what the outcome should be. Others will unconsciously push you in a direction that they see as best. This is done with good intentions; however, it actually hurts your internal creativity. Now this is different than sharing your work--by all means share, but listening to feedback is not a good decision if you want to truly find your own path of creative self-expression. Once you're finished with your creative work, whatever it may be, then you can listen to feedback. Just don't let criticism (even the constructive type) stifle your creativity during the creative process.
   
   
   
   
   • Keep in mind that people will generally display resistance to your idea, because good ideas change the existing dynamic, and people, for the most part, like things the way they are. When you present something that challenges the status quo, many people (friends, relatives, co-workers) will feel threatened.[1]
     
   
   


3. Having a routine is actually not a bad thing. Routines are positive if they reinforce a healthy, creative consciousness and negative if they destroy that. While breaking your routine once in a while to force new ways of thinking is good, what if growing/learning/experiencing new things was built into your routine as a given? The people who get stuck in a monotonous existence and speak negatively about routine have simply not developed a routine that puts them on a path of internal growth. The key is to discover creative rituals that put you in a more creative mindset.
   
   
   
   
   • Many writers not only have a minimum number of words they must write each day, but they also have almost superstitious requirements for the circumstances under which they write. The 18th century German writer Friedrich Schiller, for example, kept rotten apples at his desk and soaked his feet in a tub of ice water while he wrote![2]
     
   
   
   • Don't be afraid to seize control of your environment and make it work for you. Ray Bradbury wrote the book-burning story Fahrenheit 451 by leaving his house and writing in a library. Stephen King insists on utter silence while writing, while Harlan Ellison listens to high-volume classical music.
     
   
   
   • Set aside a block of time each day to foster your creativity. Kick the session off with a creative exercise or ritual that triggers a flexible state of mind. Whether it's meditating, freewriting, listening to a particular song, or rubbing your lucky rock--do whatever gets you "in the zone" and set a daily goal (e.g. one sketch per day, 1000 words a day, an invention or song a day).
     
   
   


4. Let go of perfectionism. Your natural output uninhibited by concern for creating something correct or incorrect will always produce creative results. There are limitless paths to achieve creative success; there are so many shades of gray. Imperfection is human, and sometimes the most creative artists leave mistakes unfixed on purpose. Nature itself is beautifully imperfect. Many try to be so perfect that they scrub away what made their work special in the first place. In a world saturated by overproduced, unnaturally perfect, and clean--the unpolished is the most creative and in many cases most inspirational.
   
   
   
   
   • Work on the "bad" ideas--even if you are only coming up with what you feel are "bad" ideas, you are still being creative, so develop them, and it could turn into a great solution!
     
   
   


5. Ignore trends. If you want to be truly creative, you absolutely must ignore trends. Block them out--pay zero attention to them. Trends are the polar opposite of creativity. In many forms of art (especially music) the masses of artists are following whatever the hot trends set forth are. Then there is the other, smaller group of artists that are pursuing their own path and not really paying attention to external trends in their form of art of choice. There is certainly more money, fame and instant notoriety for following trends, but most of what is popular is hardly creative. If you want to make something truly unique, trends are irrelevant. Looking inside yourself is where you will discover a greater wealth of creativity than available in any hot trend. Here are some more suggestions for insulating yourself from trends:
   
   
   
   
   • Don’t watch TV, don’t listen to the radio, and remove the vapid elements of popular culture from your life. These things aren’t bad for you in moderation, but they are great at normalizing your thoughts with the rest of society, and do not foster true internal creativity. Realize everything that you experience, every piece of content you consume plays a role in shaping your personality, even if at a subconscious level. It is all influence one way or another. You are in many ways a product of your experiences and stimulus. In one sentence, your creative output can be thought of simply as a personal interpretation of external stimulus. The best part about this is you get to control the input.
     
   
   
   • Don’t try and fit into a genre. Actively trying to fit your art or work into a genre is severely limiting and a detriment to its quality, if creativity is desired. Don’t try and write for a genre, don’t try to follow trends within a genre, in fact don’t even consider genre when working. Labeling it in a genre is a necessary evil for people to be able to find your work, and you will probably have to do this--but it shouldn’t be something that crosses your mind when trying to work. Genres, styles and methods don’t matter for creativity and originality.
     
   
   
   • Spend a lot of time alone. You don't have to be anti-social, but many people find their creativity really starts to open up when they are removed from others and able to have quiet focus for their creative work.
     
   
   


6. Ignore the past. Want to be really creative or original? Ignore or forget the past; ignore what the world has created up until this point. Sometimes considering the past will make you place a sort of unconscious time stamp on a style. That’s the antithesis of creativity and originality. Create things from within yourself that don’t draw inspiration from what has come previously or even consider it, and you’ll be on a path to creative output. In a creative state of mind, time doesn't exist--a few hours can feel like seconds, a moment can seem to last for hours, and you're completely immersed in the present.[3] Learn how to live in the moment.
   

The article goes on to list some interesting creativity exercises, I'll have to try at some point.

Happy creating!

Monday Blues...

Anyone else have trouble getting back into the weekday grind today? Luckily I didn't have a lot on the agenda so I could ease into the routine slowly.

Did you make time to get crafty this weekend? I did :)

I don't know what it is, but the Bellas have driven me into a stamping craze. I think I've stamped more in the past month than I have in years. I decided that I needed to pace myself and buy one bella on Saturday. They need friends after all...(I wonder if that's what Hef said when he started to add bunnies to the mansion). I think I'm also going to make a rule that I have to ink the most recent bella, before I can buy a new one.

Here are a couple of my recent creations...Stamps:Flowabella
Ink: Versafine
Color Tools: Prismacolor pencils, AC Metallic Pen
Paper: Pink Paislee, Bazzil
Accents: May Arts Ribbon, Nestabilities Rectangles, Bling (note to self, Revolution and Bling are not a good combo)

Stamps: Bookwormabella(isn't she cute) Library Card from October Afternoon
Ink: Versacolor
Colors: Copics and Distress Inks
Paper: Crate Paper, Bazzil
Accents: AC Brads, Making Memories sticker, glossy accents are on her hair, glasses and the worm

This new obsession has had me blopping more and in the process I found this great blog dedicated to my new friends. I made this for this weeks challenge, not sure if I'm confident enough yet to send in...
Stamps: Prezzibella
Ink: Memento(yay! it finally made it's way to the store)
Colors: Copics
Paper: Cosmo Cricket, Bazzil
Accents: Bling and glossy accents on the present

Cheater Post...

Just playing catch up with a couple of layouts that I posted on the SD blog the past couple of weeks. I think they're both cute and worthy of the double play. This first layout is about my recreation of Halloween for the sake of a scrapbook page {don't try and pretend you've never done something like this...}and because no week would be complete without some fussy cutting...a little fun with the owl and other Harvest Moon papers from Pink Paislee.

Time to dig into the stash

and scrap pile. I did a little bit of organizing my scraproom over the week, along the way I found this great Pink Paislee overlay, I forgot I had bought. I decided to really stretch myself and actually stamp a background using my handy CHF ledger scrapblock.I had it mounted on plain red cardstock then on the way to the scanner I saw the packaging from Sonoma and realized the colors were perfect. Sorry the scan is so wonky, the transparency and buttons just did it in.

Can you handle another Bella card...here's the latest. I organized my scraps and came across some sugared paper and chipboard from Basic Grey, it was the perfect for this bella I colored with H2O pencils.
oops looks like a pearl has gone M.I.A.

Walk with a Purpose

I love this picture of Connor, so typical of a toddler on a mission. and what's not to love about this harvest moon paper from Pink Paislee. {hello!} a scalloped circle and polka dots = scrappy heaven for me. It's a little hard to tell from the scan, but the epoxy letter are brown polka dot too, these were a freebie I wish I could get my hands on more.

On the Move

Sienna is just starting to hit her crawling groove. This was one of her first experiences playing in the grass and she had a ball. Here's a quick peek at the layout I did for the store blog this weekend.
I love this polka dot and scalloped edged paper from Pink Paislee, perfect for my little chica. I thought the bazzil swiss dot was the perfect compliment.

Another week end layout

See I was kind of productive at crop in Ft. C... We brought in a new company after seeing them at CHA in Feb. I love the name --- Pink Paislee--- it combines two of my favorite things. MK asked me to put together a layout with this great orange grid paper...it's perforated to you could use the edges for a seperate project. Super cute stamps and embellies too...