Graphic 45 Place In Time

This is absolutely one of my favorite projects that came from the Collins Trade Show. This mini book has features a two-page layout for each month of the year.  The cover is above and the first two pages are below.

Our class was 90 minutes which proved to be just enough time to finish the page folds and secure the basic construction. Now, I was taking classes or participating in activities some 12 hours per day during the event. While in my room that night, I finished construction and got the basic book done. I even managed to get the first two months embellished and tagged.

My general feeling was that if I didn't finish this before I left the event, I wouldn't finish it all. I was wrong. I couldn't let it go. 

After a seven hour drive home (or more) on Sunday, I managed to get another page set done. This is a project that would not let me stop, at all.

I did finish it! How awesome is that? And now I'm preparing to teach it. I also saw a neat application of this paper pack in terms of creating monthly cards! 

I've already ordered the ribbon for this project. And now, here's the rest of the photos so you can see just how stunning this project is:

Graphic 45 French Country Tag

I absolutely fell in love with this Graphic 45 Make-And-Take at the Collins Spring Trade Show last weekend. Not only was it fast and easy, it encompasses everything that is Graphic 45! I love it, love it, love it! I haven't placed a new G45 order yet, but I plan to in the near future.

I enjoyed meeting Aimee and her brother from Graphic 45. They had great stories to tell and are truly gifted teachers. I'm glad I was able to squeeze their Make-And-Take in before the "lightning rounds" were over. I look forward to carrying their product line again.

Here's what you need to create this engaging tag:
Large Tag Album Staples -- 4500626
Promenade -- 4500630
Provance -- 4500636
Deja Vu -- 4500634
Bon Appetit 4500632
A La Carte -- 4500637
Cardstock Banners -- 450-0641 Medium
Cardstock Flowers -- 4500642 -- 1 Small, Medium and Large. 1 Small Circle
Baker's Twine -- Red 10"
Colorbox Chalk Ink -- Chestnut Roon
Paper Trimmer
Scissors
Paper Piercer
Dry Adhesive
Foam dots

Bobbi

This is a Macaw cling stamp for Seaside Stamping Ink. I used a photo of a Macaw named "Bobbi" to color this amazing bird. I started playing with this a bit and used the following Copic markers:

CHEST AND NECK

0 Colorless Blender

Y17 Golden Yellow

YR15 Pumpkin Yellow

WINGS, TAIL, CROWN

BG05 Holiday Blue

BG09 Blue Green

BEAKS, CLAWS AND SHADOW

W00 Warm Gray #0

W5 Warm Gray #5

W9 Warm Gray #9

TREE BRANCH

E17 Reddish Brass

E19 Redwood

Heartfelt Creations Balmy Breeze Collection

I just started carrying some of the Heartfelt Creations products starting with the new Balmy Breezes collection. I was tickled to learn that the company has created a video that showcases the product. I found this video interesting and thought you might as well.

Heartfelt Creations' High Seas

This is my first nautical scene from the Heartfelt Creations Balmy Breezes collection featuring stamps from HCPC3627 High Seas Precut Set. I used cardstock from the collection's paper pack to create the card so when it opens, you can actually see a printed copy of the same scene. I also used the back of the cardstock to complement the front and added faux pearls from my stash to accent the art and the sentiment. I used khaki cardstock to frame the image and the sentiment.

I used the following Copic Markers to color the scene:

BUSHES & TREES:

BG90 Gray Sky

G24 Willow

G28 Ocean Green

GRASS:

G21 Lime Green

G24 Willow

LIGHTHOUSE & ROOF

E81 Ivory

E87 Fig

CLOUDS

C1 Cool Gray #1

C3 Cool Gray #3

SKY

B0000 Pale Celestine

LIGHT

Y02 Canary Yellow

0 Colorless Blender

MM Challenge 8 * Pop Culture

This is our eighth Mosaic Moments Design Team challenge. We were called to draw inspiration from the pop culture of the year/decade we were born. I briefly puzzled over our pop culture of the year/decade in which we were born topic since I came on the scene close to the last quarter of the decade. I’m a tail-end baby boomer who was a child of the 50s, a teen of the 60s, a collegian in the late 60s and early 70s, a veteran at the tail end of the Vietnam not-a-war, a bicentennial bride, and the list goes on. So I said to myself, “Self, what fits here?” Self responded, “Duh, think!” So I thought until this idea  hit me like a ton of bricks in a snowstorm.

Among my many creative outlets, I write audio plays that we perform in the prison environment. I turned to audio theatre around 2004 out of desperation for inexpensive dramatic programs that required little time and less money to develop. I found the National Audio Theatre Festivals and actively participated in their annual conventions. In 2008 or 2009, one of my ½-hour scripts was selected for production. These photos are of that event in that year. What better inspiration from the 1940s is there than continuing the “old time radio” tradition today?

I explained the inspiration in my journaling: “I was born in 1949; the end of the decade. These were the years that captured the nation’s imagination through radio drama only to be replaced by television during the 50s. This is when radio plays segued into television shows until the art form almost died, except for the efforts of a few diehards. Fast forward to 2013 and the development audio theatre as it is known today. During my life-journey, I managed to merge my passion for story into audio plays that we perform in prisons and in local churches. My journey led me to join the National Audio Theatre Festival where one of my 1/2 hour audio plays titled “Where Eagles Fly” was captured on the air in 2009 at their annual convention in West Plains, Missouri. Many faculty and staff members are professional engineers, vocal artists, musicians and college professors. Participating in this event which breathes life into the story through sound effects, music and vocal acting into a cohesive story was pure joy.”

I used black grid paper for my background and a downloaded alphabet for my titling. I also had one sheet of scrapbook paper that featured icons of the decade. I used that as a unifying element. On Sunday, April 21, I returned from a wholesalers convention which was located 22 miles southwest of Boston. While there, I attended a Graphic 45 calendar class. Some of the stickers from the collection we used fit in nicely and added some vintage elements to my layout.

I also used a Mosiac Moments circle frame to accent the musical aspect of audio theatre.  I topped it what a Graphic 45 “Place in Time” tab for additional accent.

This is a fun project that almost put itself together without me. I had a lot of fun revisiting these memories.

Heartfelt Creations Final - Daisy Patch

This was my final submission for the Heartfelt Creations Design Team. I am happy to say that after we set up our display/shopping area last Saturday at Becky and Clare's Crop in Millsboro, my husband tracked down the local post office and put everything in the mail. He's such a sweetheart. I had a lot of fun putting this project together and certainly survived the drama of paragraph three. the project I used is below.

Tools

¨  Paper Trimmer

¨  Tombow Adhesive

¨  Fiskars Stamping  Tool

¨  Copic Markers: 0, E50, E53, E55 and G12

Supplies

¨  HPC 3318 Daisy Patch Flowers Pre-Cut Set

¨  Recollections ivory self-adhesive faux pearls

¨  Bazzill Basics 10mm Black Brads

¨  Tan cardstock from my stash

¨  Memento Cocoa Ink

Heartfelt Creations Flip-It Square - Daisy Patch

 My Heartfelt Creations Design Team saga continues. So, here I am with two projects completed and compete-able. I started to package my life samples up to send them to the company when I noticed two things -- (1) I had to email my project tutorial in by 13 April and (2) I had to cut the flowers out using the die templates. Failure to do so was and automatic disqualification.

"How could I have missed that?" I cried out to self?
Self snorted. "Seriously?" Try prepping for Stamping By the Sea followed immediately by Crop Classix and Becky and Clare's crop. Sprinkle in this week's departure for the wholesaler's warehouse event 355 miles away plus student classes and your hairdresser's Mosaics scrapbook and you've got plenty of time to spare!" Oh? And did I fail to mention your Mosaic Moments Design Team entry?"
"Self!" I scolded my excuse-driven advocate into silence. "That's enough. We've got work to do!"

So I worked on two more cards -- the first one a Flip-It Square. I also completed the tutorials which I will hold until after the design team winners are announced in May. I finished both projects shortly after midnight on April 12th and submitted the raw tutorial which is probably filled with typos and errors. My husband and I were vending at a crop in Millsboro, DE on the 13th, so there was no real time to do anything but meet the minimums. Surprisingly, I got to be more proficient that I realized in matching the die templates to the stamped images. So, at the end of it all, I can give Heartfelt Creations and heartfelt "thank you."

I used the following tools and products:

Tools

¨  Sizzix Square Flip-It Die # 657592

¨  Heartfelt Creations Daisy Patch Die Template HCD 703

¨  McGill 2 1/8” square punches

¨  Heat Gun

¨  Tombow Adhesive

¨  Fiskars Stamping  Tool

Supplies

¨  HPC 3318 Daisy Patch Flowers Pre-Cut Set

¨  Recollections black self-adhesive faux pearls

¨  Bazzill Basics 10mm Black Brads

¨  Green cardstock from my stash

¨  Versafine black ink

¨  SparkleNSprinkle clear embossing powder

I'll be sharing my final submission with you tomorrow.

Heartfelt Creations Project 2

I couldn't submit anything to Heartfelt Creations without including a Copic-driven project. I also wanted to do a clean and simple traditional card as well. I actually redid the front after I took this picture and heat embossed the the sentiment. This could be an interesting little card kit, couldn't it?

I loved the way this turned out. I used the Memento Midnight Blue to stamp the images. This one is a keeper, I think. I used the following products to complete this project.

ü  Heartfelt Creations Countryside Evening Collection

ü  Blue cardstock from my stash

ü  HPC 3318 Daisy Patch Flowers Pre-Cut Set

ü  Blue self-adhesive crystals from my stash

ü  Recollections black self-adhesive pearls

ü  Color Box Gold pigment ink

ü  Memento Midnight Blue ink

ü  Tombow dotto

ü  Foam Dots from my stash

ü  Copic Marker B37 Anthwerp Blue

ü  Copic Marker B41 Powder Blue

ü  Copic Marker B45 Smoky Blue

Heartfelt Creations Daisy Patch

When I received notice that I was a semi-finalist for the Heartfelt Creations design team, I was totally excited. When the products arrived for me to submit my creations, I was doubly excited. There was a caveat that I overlooked the first go-round when I coupled my increasingly busy schedule with under the wire submission requirements. That caveat was cutting all the flowers with the die template the company provided. Needless to say, this first project was not a contender. Regardless, this was a valuable lesson and has equipped me with some new skill sets in record time.

I'll be departing for Framingham, Massachusetts this Thursday for a wholesalers trade show. I preregistered for two Sizzix that looked most interesting to me. One was using their Flip-It die templates. When I looked at the Heartfelt Creations challenge, I decided that this would be a perfect vehicle for the Heartfelt challenges. The Flip It front is above and the open view is below.

 I cut two pieces of cardstock -- one green and the other from the paper they sent me. I cut out the print elements and glued them to the card base for a most interesting effect; at least, I thought it was.

To create the flowers, I stamped them on tan cardstock using black Versafine ink and SparkleNSprinkle clear embossing powder. I heat-embossed them and cut them out by hand. I used black faux pearls to enhance the floral centers and a 10mm brad to secure the layers. My product list is below.

Regardless of the outcome, I will be doing more with the Heartfelt Creations collections. I thoroughly enjoyed working on these projects and plan to do more.

ü  Sizzix 657586 Card, Circle Flip-its Die

ü  Heartfelt Creations Countryside Evening Collection

ü  HPC 3318 Daisy Patch Flowers Pre-Cut Set

ü  HPC 3380 Heartfelt Creations Layout Class

ü  McGill 3” scallop circle punch

ü  Want2Scrap Self-adhesive pearls, black

ü  Recollections black self-adhesive pearls

ü  Green cardstock from my stash

ü  Versafine black ink

ü  SparkleNSprinkle clear embossing powder

ü  Memento Tuxedo Black ink

ü  Sponge dauber

ü  Heat Gun

ü  Tombow dotto

ü  Zots clear adhesive dots, small 

I don't understand why my pictures keep coming up sideways! Thank heavens they're right in journella. This is my "Bobbie" designOur challenge involved Bahama Blue paper, handwritten journaling, free downloads from the SnapNCrop page, and a sticker. We had choices about which elements we used . . . I used them all.

One thing I love about the Mosaic Moments technique is its simplicity and the ability to accommodate so many design options. This is our seventh design team challenge and I chose Page Pattern 64. Because of an overly busy schedule, I didn’t get to do this project until the evening of March 8^th, the day (evening) after we returned from Stamping By the Sea 2013 in Ocean City, MD. One of the convention organizers (Kathy) has this gorgeous Macaw parrot named Bobbi. Last year I got stunning photos of her with her precious parrot. What better way to show off our Bahama paper than to use an exotic bird whose coloring seems to be the inspiration for this color set?

I even managed to incorporate all the optional elements this time:

1. I downloaded the letters and journaling element from Snapcrop.
2. I wrote a note on the journaling element about my intentions to use Bobbi as my coloring model for a Macaw stamp that I purchased.
3. I used crystal heart stickers to accent the story.

 I used The Paper Cut Sour Apple and Lemon Drop paper for my mats. I love it when a plan comes together.

Now, this makes me current on my Mosaic Moments entries. The next one is due TODAY! Aarrrgh!!!!! I can do this; yes I can.

Our challenge was to create a page inspired by our favorite artist. Mine is Akiane Kramarik who was born on July 9, 1994. I purchased a print of hers that she painted when she was nine years old. She has had no painting lessons, ever. Needless to say, she is a prodigy. Her story is remarkable. Born into a home of atheists, she started experiencing visions from God that translated into her art and eventually into her parents’ receiving Christ. I chose “faces” as my subject matter for she is quoted as saying, “Faces are more meaningful to me than anything else, you cannot live without seeing and touching them.”

Akiane’s inspiration for her art and literature comes from her visions, dreams, observations of people, nature and God. In the photo of my grandsons, young Brayden’s stance and posture are awe inspiring to say the least. I can almost hear a choir singing in the background, "Oh come let us adore Him . . . ."

I could not find all the photos I had in mind, but I think these capture a fraction of what Akiane’s paintings speak to me. I used ivory grid paper because it is a soft neutral color that will complement a variety of colors and photos. I used to metal Marvel-style stickers with superhero faces to embellish the pages and graphic novel scraps from a Close To My Heart hero kit to help tell my story.

Grandchildren area perfect subjects for just about any layout – and mine are no exception. Besides being practically perfect, I learned that GBG (Grandbaby Girl) Morgan is exceptionally bright. How many two days shy of two year olds are scrapbooking? At this rate, she’ll be doing MMs before she’s three! This was my the fifth of my design team challenges.

I discovered Morgan’s gift right after her family birthday party. I took my portable photo printer with me to her house in Montclair so I could print her celebration pictures and put them on her scrapbook pages. She came toddling into the dining room, saw what I was doing and climbed up on the chair for a closer look.

Before long, she was gluing and positioning pictures on the pages. Her mom got so excited that she grabbed Grandma’s camera and started shooting pictures; lots of pictures.  How perfect is that for a Mosaic layout?

One of the neatest pieces of her page was the Elizabeth Craft Designs die cut cupcakes. Her page featured cupcakes with cherries; this one has two with one candle each – for her second birthday, of course. This is a great technique that involves double-backed adhesive, glitter, and Copic markers. Once the glitter is in place, then you color the glitter with your marker. You want to “pounce” the color on rather than scrub. I decided on a yellow ribbon because my printed paper is Close To My Heart yellow dotted ribbon.

After I colored the cupcakes, I cut them out with micro-tipped scissors and adhered them to two pink tags but not before I chalked them, the edges of my MM Bamboo paper and all my photos with Memento Rose Bud stamping ink.  My tags came from a Cheery Lane die.

My favorite Cricut cartridge has to be Plantin Schoolbook. I love the letters and symbols. I cut my title using the Tall Ball key at 1 ½” high. I cut my pink heart at 1 ¼”. I used my EK Success centering ruler to line everything up and to place it on my page.

The neatest thing is that “two” seems to play an integral role on this page – two cupcakes, “Look Who’s Two” on the original layout and the number “2” in the MM title. I didn’t plan it that way, but it works!

Once I had the photos and title in place, the last thing to do was add my cupcake tags. I used foam dots to pop them on the page which adds texture and depth.

All in all, it was a fun project to do.

Mosaic Moments Favorite Disney Movie

I had a time with this post! When I added the image from my computer, it came up sideways. I finally gave up and decided to give it another shot today. Then I had my duh moment! I pulled the copy from journella.com! Too bad I didn't catch that yesterday.

Our design team challenge was to create a page inspired by our favorite Disney movie. I chose Cars because of the joy it brought our grandchildren, regardless of age or gender. I used the cars movie poster and logo in the design element along with pictures of Parker, Brayden and Morgan playing with the toys. You can see a more complete description on Journella.com

Mosaic Moments Turn Around

This was our third Mosaic Moments project (we do two a month). We were required to use brick colored grid paper, a dated cornerstone, and/or paper tiles. I had everything planned for the perfect page and changed my mind at the last minute. I used the Kodak commercial song "Turn Around" (circa 1960) as my theme. I featured pictures of Matthew (our middle child) growing up on the left and his adult pictures with babes of his own on the right. Of course, the whole time I was laying this out, I was listening to the song which is a tear-jerker (to borrow an Andy Griffith phrase). Here are the lyrics with minor modifications for a boy:

Where are you going, my little one, little one.

Where are you going, my baby my own.

Turn around and you’re two,

Turn around and you’re four,

Turn around and you’re a young lad going out of the door.

Turn around, turn around, turn around and you’re a young lad

Going out of the door.

Where are you going, my little one, little one.

Where are you going, my baby my own.

Turn around and you’re tiny,

Turn around and you’re grown,

Turn around and you’re a young man with babes of your own.

Turn around, turn around, turn around and you’re a young man

With babes of your own.

Catching Up on Mosaics

I'm on the Mosaic Moments design team, but I just realized that I haven't posted any of my designs! How silly of me. Of course, you can find them a , but that doesn't mean you can't see them here! This was our second challenge -- to do a page inspired by your favorite Dr. Suess book. Mine was the Cat in the hat. My Journella entry includes the Mosaic Moments process which you can pop over there to see if you like.In true Dr. Suess form,

Long, long ago, ladies wore hats with a veil,

Like my Granny’s cousin Daisy Linda Boniville.

Today girls wear hats outside to shovel snow

Which my daughter Leslie did some years ago!

Aunt Hazel and David, so young in the 40s

Thought their hats were spiffy and sporty.

Grads in caps & gown

Enjoy their day filled with happy smiles, not frowns.

Babies get hats right after they’re born

To cover their tiny heads, keeping them warm.

Uncle Poke in his hat during the Great War

Big Bro Don in 1961, just before the Not-a-war

Mommy Me before it was over in 1974

Daddy & Me so stunned

To say goodbye in 91.

War was harder again when Matthew grew

To serve in the year 2002

Firstborn Leslie followed, wearing a hat for war,

A hat hard as can be and that’s for sure

My, my how time does fly,

Military families never get used to saying goodbye.

Smokey in his hat never tires

Of saying, “Only you can prevent forest fires!”

Look at the caps atop Cubbies’ heads so still

In packs they have fun while they learn life skills

Punkin’ Nate marched so well

He got a prize for being swell.

Another helmet keeps boys safe

While tackling and pushing foes away.

Some hats are crowns

With lots of sparkles all around.

Hats for tea,

Just my friends and me,

We’re happy as can be!

Now let me add this final verse

Which I probably should have mentioned first.

Since this was for fun, I focused on rhyme

Rhythm and meter are for another time.

I'll be posting our third Mosaic Moments Design Team challenge tomorrow.