Artsy Me

 

 This is it! This is my first Mosaic Moments Design Team project. I decided on a single-page project because I didn’t want to get carried away. In other words, if it was more than one page it could easily have ended up being a whole scrapbook instead of a two-page layout! Instead of narrative journaling, I created a list of the various creative callings in my life. They are listed in by length instead of order of importance.

 

I met the first challenge once I decided upon the title --  “Artsy me.” Now, before I talk about the title, I need to share this one little thing . . . and I can share it here because I’m absolutely confident that my husband will not ever trip onto Journella and see what secrets I’m spilling here. When I got the design team notification, I knew that I wanted to stretch a bit and go beyond the box when it comes to creating designs and layouts. That meant, for me, not relying on cartridges and SVGs or MTCs to create my designs. I wanted to do my own! That meant I needed to upgrade to a different diecutter. At first I thought I would get a Silhouette, but I quickly discovered that a Pazzle would better suit my needs. So, I got one. Of course, I failed to mention to my husband that it was coming before it got there . . . well, I did mention it when he wasn’t paying attention, but that’s a story for another time. I was finanlly able to share my vision for the Pazzle’s role in my artistic endeavors on December 20^th after my husband went out for a doctor’s appointment and came back six hours later with a new car . . . another story, another time.  So, here I am, reading the instruction book and trying to figure out how to make this thing work! When I selected font, I stumbled across the Consigna Font and it spoke to me as clearly as those silly little knick-knacks do on the Ikea commercial

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Having successfully cut my Pazzle, I faced an even bigger challenge! Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve done a screen shot? I think it may have been in the late 80s or early 90s! I couldn’t even find the print screen button on my laptop! It’s not a keystroke I use, obviously. But I did find the print screen snuggled under the home key. But that wasn’t enough. I finally gave up and hit F1 to see what Microsoft had to say about my screen image. It sent me to the Paint program that didn’t seem to want to accept my copy . . . so I accidentally opened a Word document. You’ll never guess what I found there! Right there on the insert tab next to the chart element is a “screenshot” button. My life was complete – and here’s what I found.

 

What a victory! Once my Pazzle cut the image, I fed my die-cut title into my Xyron 1.5” sticker maker. Then I began the “what-if” search for how to present it on my mosaic page. I considered my options – printed paper, glitter, flocking, and more. Suddenly I found the perfect medium -- some American Craft Foil Paper I bought at AC Moore about four years ago. The next problem – color Now, I want you to know that I’m a gold-kinda-girl. My wedding ring is gold, trimmed in onyx. I wear gold earrings, and I like gold jewelry in general. So why do my current, ex and future daughters-in-law prefer silver? I mean silver’s nice, but gold is GOLD! So I decided to incorporate both colors into my title and subsequent 1” square embellishments.

 Oh! And of course there’s the color of Mosaic paper. I opted for Pewter because it offered a softer backdrop for Artsy Me than black or white. Once I finished with my titling, the rest was a piece of cake, sort of. I can’t say that the photos convey the artsy story I hoped for, but they do present a collage of sorts. These photos cover about five or six years and are but the tip of the iceberg. I write and produce Christian audio plays that we perform in prisons, with homeless shelter clients, and in churches. I also minister through audio theatre and storytelling on the mission field. Not only do I teach others to do what we do (directing), but I’ve been known to preach from time to time – in this case both in Granada and Trinidad, West Indies. So that’s one side of artsy me. I am also a writer and have taught classes at several writers’ conferences. Best of all, I’m a grandmother of three – the two youngest are shown in this first project.

 My husband used to tell people that God stuck this funnel in the top of my head and keeps pouring ideas in it . . . even when I was in the Air Force, the artsy or creative side of me hovered in the forefront, refusing to be ignored. So, for me, recognizing and preserving the creative me in a highly pragmatic environment continues to be my challenge. I have a few years under my belt and am thoroughly intrigued about the “what’s next” that promises to unfold in the road ahead. I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone on the design team and to rise to the challenges 2013 promises to present.

Meet Our Scrappigator

I just posted our new Scrappigators logo to the blog? Isn't this cute, in an alligatorish sort of way? My friend, Candy Abbott (owner of Fruitbearer Publishing -- http://www.fruitbearer.com/) designed it for me. And how ready is scrappy to fill that tote bag?

I've spent the day in front of the computer trying to figure out Web Expressions 3 . . . I think. I'd just gotten used to Front Page when "they" had to make it better. Now I'm on a whole new learning curve. While it our new website needs an incredible amount of work, I decided to publish it anyway with the help of my son, Nathan. Visit (http://www.scrappigators.com/) and take a peek. It's just the beginning. I hope to have my shopping cart up and running by the end of September and some contests in place by the end of October.

Now after spending the day crammed in front of a computer, I think I need to scrap -- bye for now!

H2H Tag Challenge

I just got back from the CKC Convention in Valley Forge when I saw the new Heart2Heart Challenge and its requirement to involve tags. I viewed this as a perfect opportunity to play with acrylics I saw and use up some scraps at the same time!

I love making cards from scraps! I found some wonderful sentiments on a mostly-used Emporium Level 1 Sticker set, backed them with scraps from Emporium B&T’s and mini-glue-dotted them onto a clear card base (Z1323).

I made my tag from a Twilight cardstock scrap, colored a White Daisy Clear Bloom (Z1300) with Buttercup ink (Z2110) and adhered an Emporium sticker in the center. I used the tail end of a Z1127 Chocolate Ribbon Round as my tag topper. I edged papers and stickers with Twilight Ink (Z2160)

Since this is a greeting card, I wanted to make sure that I could write a sentiment on the inside of the card, so I considered myself most fortunate to find a journaling blank among my leftover Emporium stickers. So I placed my sentiment on the lower portion of my Clear Card album and left the top open for my sticker. I positioned the journaling sticker to it could be seen above the sentiment.

After adhering two layers of B&T’s on top of the cardstock tag, I cut the blank top off the “beautiful moments” sticker and adhered it to the tag. Next I adhered the flower with a glue dot, then the center of the flower with the Stickese sticker. Finally, I added my tag topper and adhered it with glue dots and now I have a most unusual card.

Two Challenges: Triple the Scraps & Heart2Heart Color Challenge

I struggled with what projects to take with me to work on at the Friday Night Crop at the CKC Convention in Valley Forge, PA. It hit me Thursday morning (we left Thursday evening) that this would be a WONDERFUL opportunity to catch up on ALL of my missed challenges! I was five behind on my Triple the Scraps scripture challenge and I wanted to do this week’s Close to My Heart Color Challenge.


So, I frantically looked for scriptures and art for three out of the five challenges, added a few last minute projects, and was confident that I would have plenty to do while making huge strides to finish overdue projects during our four-hour cropping window. I failed to factor one element into my best-laid plans: EXHAUSTION! After a grueling, 10,000-step, six-class day, my world took on Alice-in-Wonderland angles and shapes. My inability to cut a straight line with a ruler/trimmer magnified itself to the power 10. Scallops were lost and edges skewered. But how like our heavenly Father is it to accept us as we are, odd angles and all? Rather than redo the project, I decided to let the imperfections remain because we are flawed creatures who can rest in our Father’s perfections.

“You should have seen her!” my roommate Melissa shared with our two other cropping partners – Tina and Erica. “By 10:00 she was nodding off at the table with pop dots in her hand.” The next day, after another five classes and almost 6,000 steps, I added the final touch to the project -- “stitching” – while sitting in my minivan waiting for my three traveling companions to finish their last class. I used three-general stamping on my little birds and created my scallops with an EK Success corner rounder.

I used the following products to complete this project.

 Vineyard Berry cardstock (1248)

 Vineyard Berry Exclusive Ink (Z2257)

 Blush Cardstock (Z2257)

 Crème Brulee cardstock (X5754)

 Black Exclusive Inks (Z2305)

 Classic Cap Alphabet stamp set (D1110)

 Love Birds stamp set (C1396)

Scrapbook in Year Encourages Artist Expression for College Professor

Scripture tells us that “A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.” – Proverbs 17:22 (New King James Version). Dr. Sharon Yoder, who has a PhD in Humor, can bear witness to that philosophy. Having more than her share of trials and tribulations, she crests challenge like an experienced surfer riding the big waves off the South African coast. Other than running into Sharon at a local Wal-Mart or in a grocery store maybe once every five or seven years, I had lost touch with her and her life adventures.

A motivational speaker and college professor as well as a widowed “Nana”, Sharon is not one to confine herself to the box that contains so many people’s thoughts and activities. After stumbling across a social networking notice about “online scrapbooking” (Studio J), Sharon decided to send me an email. What a joy after almost 15 years of separation.

Once she saw my Scrapbook in a Year program, Sharon immediately switched her focus from digital to classic scrapbooking. Of course, she didn’t want her first scrapbook to be chronological, so we easily adapted the SIAY program to cover her four-point, themed scrapbook titled “Nana Loves. . . “

I captured Sharon’s earliest efforts on film and wanted to share them with you. Using red as a central color scheme (Cranberry & Tulip), Sharon will add photos to her cover page next week. Literally starting from scratch, Sharon views her scrapbooking product acquisitions as legacy-building equipment and supplies. She’ll be purchasing CTMH’s new cranberry faux leather 12”x12” album in September when it will be released. I’ve also outfitted her with a red TheScrapRack ™ travel case (email me at dcookwrites@cookworkshop.com for ordering information) to launch her organizational efforts. She also selected the CTMH My Acrylix Block Organizer (Z185) (visit http://dianecook.myctmh.com and click on “products” to view our online catalog or “shop online” to order) to house her first three blocks and the Stamp Pad Tower (Z4132) to hold her first six-piece set of Exclusive Inks.

“I love being organized from the outset,” Sharon said at our Tuesday morning meeting on July 14th. “It’s efficient and helps me develop good habits from the beginning. This is great!”

Sharon is truly a Scrappigator friend who is looking forward to many years of sharing the heart of her world through scrapbooking and cardmaking. Welcome aboard, Sharon.