Scrapbook Planner

I have scrapper's ADD. I get so easily distracted by great scrapping sites and message boards. The little time I do have to play I tend to fritter away on the computer trying to get inspired. I decided to combine my ADD with my OCD need to organize things and came up with a Scrapbook Planner. It is like a to do list that I can organize by month to plan out the projects/cards/pages I want to get done. I can also do sketches and plan things out in this, too. Here's hoping I can actually make all the cute things I think of AFTER the holiday is over. LOL

The inside is just blank pages. :) No need to take a pic. of that

Mad Scientist Today!

I have been taking the Thinking Inking class at 2 peas and drooling over all the fun mediums I don't own yet and wishing I could find some of them around here: ie: glimmer mist, crackle paint....

So, I decided to see what I could make myself and boy am I happy! First, here are my glimmer mists.

Supplies: Small spray bottles (I got Ranger's Mini Misters from M's), Pearl Ex powder, Adirondacks Alchohol reinkers and hair spray

I know that you can add just add some water to Perfect Pearls to get glimmer mist, but I don't have Perfect Pearls and I do have Pearl Ex just sitting around not being used. So I mixed some hair spray with a few drops of alchohol ink and added a scoop of Pearl Ex. It dries quickly and has an amazing shimmer to it. I actually like it better than the one bottle of Tattered Angels Glimmer mist that I own. Shhhh...

Next I thought I would give crackle paint a try.

Supplies: Acrylic paint in contrasting colors, Weathered Wood Crackling Medium (found at HL or M's by the Acrylic paints

I really wanted to try some crackle paint, but no one here carries it so I wanted to try to make my own. I painted a chipboard element with a base coat of paint. Let it dry. Paint over it with the crackle medium. Let dry (will take awhile). Paint on top of that with a contrasting color of paint.

The last thing I played around with was adding a pearlizing medium to acrylic paint. First I painted the chipboard tree with regular paint. On the bigger side, I mixed in acrylic paint with the pearlizing medium and it came out with a slight shimmer. I also tried (on the thin side) and painted the medium directly over the paint. I like it.

Have fun and show me pics. if you experiment!

Did you miss me?

My goodness! I have been WAY busy. Someday I will invent something that will KEEP my house clean so I can play. Now I know, that there is no law that says I cannot play first, but I just can't seem to do it! Have to clean to create! Lately, all I have managed is cleaning, though.

Here is a blog with a great giveaway! Check it out!

http://keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-blogaversary-giveaway.html

I did manage to do one card...took me 2 days, but i did it. LOL I will post it now and add details later. How about that.

Color Throwdown Challenge

I was in need of some inspiration today and Color Throwdown did just that! Their weekly color picks are very fresh and fun. Here is the latest Color Throwdown (#50):

Aren't these beautiful colors together? Very summer for me. I thought it would be fun to play with patterns today as well, so I stepped out of my box and just grabbed some paper in this color pallete without thinking about it. Here is my take on the colors:


I like it. My daughter asked what I was going to do with it and could she please have it. My response? Clean your room! LOL Here is a set of cards that I just finished. Having fun with bright colors right now.

Check out Color Throwdown here: http://colorthrowdown.blogspot.com/
I would love to see what you come up with for this color challenge, so please post on Mr. Linky so I can see your fun work.

Don't you love great photos?

My camera is not the best. It has slow shutter speed and is getting old, but it is all I have right now. I use all of my ingenuity to try to coax good shots out of it. I am very aware of my lighting and LOVE outdoor shots. Everyone once in awhile I get some shots that work for me.

I took a few of my good shots from last week and was inspired to make some layouts. I wanted to play with some fun summer colors and contrast some of the colors in my photos. I also am working on just letting if flow and not getting hung up on complicated layouts or embellishements. I want to put the fun back in scrapping.

What have YOU been working on lately? I would love to see.

Freezer Paper Cricut shirts

Confused about how you can make a T-shirt with your cricut? I have seen some posts on the cricut board about cutting shapes out of freezer paper with your cricut and using them as stencils on t-shirts. My friend Kim came over and we gave it a go. Here are the shirts I made:

I used Animal Kingdom to make a shirt for my son:


Mine is also with Animal Kingdom:

I used Hello Kitty for the cupcake for my daughter:

They were easier than I thought.

1. Cut freezer paper to fit your mat and put it dull side down...make sure all air bubbles are out.

2. Cut your shapes as you normally would. Remeber that if you want to cut words, you will need to use the flip feature.

3. Peel off the negative image of your shape. Iron it shiney side down on your t-shirt.

4. We tried fabric paint and acrylic paint and I like acrylic better. We put plastic bags inside the shirt so it wouldn't bleed through and then used a pouncing method to paint.

5. They take a bit to dry...as mine dried I would touch up the paint so no bits of t-shirt showed through.

Give it a try...it really was easy. I will be doing this alot.

Whiff of Joy Entry

We took a "staycation" this weekend and got a local hotel room...hung out and did alot of things as a family. We REALLY needed a break. We love our church ministries, but are doing them 24/7, so it was time to take a weekend off. We are feeling recharged and ready to face our kids/teens classes again. :)

Today I am going to create for a while and maybe do something fun with the kids later. I finished my Whiff of Joy...I don't own any of their stamps yet (would love, too, but finances are not in the right place now for new purchases), but my dear friend Jen has stamped me a few so I can participate in some challenges. You still have some time, if you wanted to submit an entry for Whiff of Joy. Come on! What are you waiting for?

Whiff of Joy Stamp: Willow with Umbrella

Patterned Paper: Sassafrass Lass, American Crafts, My Minds Eye

Coloring: Copic, Close to My Heart (Yellow)

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (weathered wood)

Ribbon and buttons (misc.)

**Note: Do not be afraid of the cool curving shape. I used my flexible ruler for the cardstock and then traced that shape onto my patterned paper so the curve would be the same. It was not hard at all. The paper pleating was a new technique for me. Not hard at all. I did use the distress ink on the clouds and a strip of white paper to do the pleating to get a softer blue look.

Don't forget to check out their stamps here: http://www.shop.whiffofjoy.com/index.php?XTCsid=57d4cbebef2e0782ef18cddbbfde11b4

Whiff of Joy Guest Designer

Whiff of Joy (some of the cutestest stamps EVER) is offering a little friendly competition to be their guest designer for their Anniversary Blog Hop on July 25th. Create something using one of their stamps and this sketch: Create something stunning and then link it to their blog if you want to be considered. You will win a free new release stamp that you will then create something else with to be featured on their blog hop (you will need to be available on the 25th to upload your creation to your blog at a specific time).

Have fun! This sketch is really fun and funky! And their stamps rock, so good combination!
http://katharina1704.blogspot.com/