Thursday, May 31, 2012

Mystery Project

I'm getting internet time (and soon to be scrappy time) today and I'm loving it!  We have had no rain for about 2 1/2 weeks!  The grass is crunchy and brown and I'm struggling keeping my flowers alive! 

 So today I decided to do a rain dance with the kids (for real, we danced on the trampoline! lol) to see if we could get some rain and to my surprise (because it wasn't in the forecast) we're finally experiencing a nice light shower and have been for a couple of hours now! Who woulda thought shankin the booty would do the trick? ;)

Unfortunately, as I was getting ready to write this post about my project for Art House Coop, I started wondering if the journal I made was being stranded in the rain?!  For those of you who aren't familiar with the Art House Coop, it's  an independent Brooklyn-based company that organizes global, collaborative art projects, like the Sketchbook project that fellow alchemists Jo and Maggi have taken part in. 

For this Mystery Project our goal was to create something with a Prismacolor Brush l Fine Art Marker and a prompt that were both kept secret until we received them in the mail, and then leave it in a public place for someone to find.
 

When I saw the prompt, "the lines have been drawn", the only thing that ran through my mind was war.   As I looked at my tan marker, I kept thinking how it would have been perfect when I was taking the She Art classes with Christy Tomlinson

So, I decided to try my hand at she art again. 


Taken with the hipstamatic app: John S lens, Kodot Xgrizzled Film

Whats funny is that just the other day the hubby asked if I could use his acu's for scrapping and I said yes, but really thought what the heck would I do with them?  Who knew that I would have a use for them so soon?!

I originally planned to drop it off at a local fair, but it was way too scary of a place to leave it!!!

Unfortunately, I was losing daylight so I had to find a place to leave it!   I finally decided to put it up in a window at the Chilis restaurant where we ate and just hope that someone would notice it, and not just throw it away.  It was a bit of a bummer to leave and it still be there, but it wasn't very busy at that moment.

I used a small tag from Scrap Fx, and wrote "Take me Home" on the card in hopes that someone would notice it.


Here are some close ups.  I apologize because I took the pics and didn't edit them before dropping it off.  They are crummy quality.



I used a variety of punchinella's, gesso and mists to create the background...and matted the embossed tape with some striped washi (thought it went perfectly with the theme).


Here you can see the prismacolor pen at work.  I colored their "skin" in and outlined the edges of their bodies with it a couple of times.  I also used it to highlight their hair.  It was perfect!  You will also notice that I used book paper for the skin and punchinella on the last girls skirt...both from Gauche Alchemy




I made a journal hoping that if the project had a use, it would be more likely to be kept instead of just thrown away.  It was also very convenient for me to be able to tell a little bit about this project and give my blog and email address inside the journal, so that maybe...just maybe...the mystery recipient might give me a shout out to let me know they got it! ;)

I will definitely take part in this type of project again! It was a lot of fun and can you believe there are 2000 artists around the world that took part in this?! 

Here are 3 other people that I know who have taken part in this fun project:


Ta Ta for now!  Have a great weekend!




Tuesday, May 29, 2012

My second mini, with Scrap FX and Dusty the horse

Hi!
Here today to share a mini album I made with the gorgeous Scrap Fx Gate book. 
I've been in love with this gate book since seeing JillyM's album over at Scrapbook.com and I was so excited to finally get my hands on it! 



I took this pic to show you how the gates open up.

These horses are all part of the horse set

I used heart punchinella from gauche alchemy and gesso to create the texture in the background.


For this page I did an image transfer over book paper.
Here I framed the cherish wordlet in the beautiful rope rings and added some butterflies as well...



Don't you love this curly bird and reed stem?


I used crackle medium on this post and rail fence and I love the way it turned out!


For this one I've used the cute little owl again, and then "hung" the cherish plaque from the twig chippy's...




For the back page I did another image transfer and used the rectangle punchinella to add some texture to frame the image.  Then I blinged out the wire fence 


This is the back cover of the album and I LOVE it!  I used the woodgrain stencil and some starburst punchinella to border the bottom!  The awesome thing is that I was able to clean the modeling paste from the stencil without tearing it so I get to use it again!!!!


Thats it for now!
Hopefully I've inspired you enough to try to get your hands on this mini and try one for yourself!
Let me know if you do!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope your having a great week!

Monday, May 28, 2012

DIY Craft mat, and a Gauche Alchemy layout to share

Today I have another cheap trick to share! 
Out of desparation and not wanting to spend over $20 for a craft mat, I was determined to find out how to make my own.
I mean really?!  I have way too many other things I want need to buy!

 Anyway, I was cleaning out my scrap room one day and I stumbled upon an old roll of laminate in my closet.  I originally bought it to laminate a chore chart for my son, and then it hit me...this is the material I have been looking for!!!  So of course, I stopped cleaning (I was looking for an excuse anyway) and gave it a try. 

TA DA!!!
It worked!
It worked!
It worked!

You don't know how excited I was after several failed attempts at my own craft mat to finally have something that worked!!!  I do want to say that they aren't the "perfect" replacement for the craft mat because it can melt under extreme heat, but it fits my needs very well!  Plus, its so inexpensive to make that you could have several...and maybe take them to share at a crop?

So go check out the tutorial over at Gauche Alchemy!

and here is a layout that I had forgotten to share...

This layout is ultimately inspired by my girl Michelle!  I literally bought the chevron template from the crafters workshop because of her love for chevrons and my love for her awesome pages!

This page is full of guache product!  The starburst punchinella, rectangle punchinella, ouchless cardboard, and the stars at the top is actually a hair Barrett that I painted and embossed!
The galvanized metal piece was actually made with a very cool couture embossing folder you can find here.




Thanks for stopping by!  Hope your having a great week! 

Come back Wednesday to see a mini I made for Scrap Fx.

Going a little country...

Hi!  Its been a while.  I've been creating like crazy just haven't been very good about sharing! lol 

So here was my first layout for Scrap Fx.  This months theme is Farm and country.  I don't have too many farm related pics so I had to turn to others for some help! 

This layout features my friends two adorable kiddo's about a year ago.  When I requested the pic, I was thinking that they were sitting on some straw and I already had it in my head that I was going to use straw on my layout, so when I realized they weren't sitting on the straw I decided to add it anyway! lol

Aren't they adorable?

I LOOOOOOOVE these forest trees!!!
I used modeling paste to give the trees some texture, but then decided to use crackle accents over it and I'm not sure how I like the effect.  Maybe if the tree's weren't green it wouldn't look so bad but I think the glossy look of the crackle kind of makes it look like snot! lol  Trust me, these tree's are the bee's knees (try to say that 10x fast)...so don't let the fact that I made them look slimy turn you off!

There are a few chippy's that I can't get enough of and the Scrap Fx fences are on that list!
I also loved the rope frame...I wet the end of the rope and cause it to fringe, like a real rope would.
Oh...and I almost forgot the little owl.  He was perfect for hiding a rip in the paper that I created when I was trying to rearrange my fence! lol  I think he was the perfect add...sooooo cute!

I love EVERY. SINGLE. WORDLET. that Scrap fx has!!! Like I've said before...they just make creating so easy!  For this one, I wanted to make the "grown" look like it was coming out of dirt...
So I dabbed on the gesso and then misted it with black. 

That's it for this post...now I'm off to fill you in on what else has been going on...

Thanks for stopping by, Hope you are having a great start to the week!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

A blog hop winner! and a little bling from want2scrap


And the winner is....

Cheryl Casas!!!
Congratulations! Email me your mailing address and I will get your chippy's to you A.S.A.P.

Now to show you a project I made back in February for my March guest spot with Want2Scrap.  Unfortunately, I had two projects that never made it to the blog due to some broken email issues they were experiencing.  Thankfully, I'm not in it for the exposure but for the goods! lol 
I'm totally kidding but I have to tell you how much I fell in love with their bling after doing this spot.  They have some very unique designs, and my favorite's are the Nina Bracket designs! 
Can we say GORGEOUS!!!

Ok, I'm getting off track now.  Here is another diy bubble gum machine, blinged out with want2scrap!

I have to apologize for this horrible photo!  I really need practice photographing my otp projects because I tend to get a lot of glare and shadows!
Here is the list of want2scrap goodies I've used:

Thats it for tonight! Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are having a great week!




Monday, May 7, 2012

"Precious"

Hi there!
 I am overwhelmed by the response we have had with the Scrap Fx blog hop!  I have made a lot of new friends and am still working through the list to visit all of your blogs!  I'm only 1/2 way through right now. lol

I think I will be able to draw for a winner and let you all know who won by tomorrow...

For today, I have a layout featuring my niece Mallory.

Isn't she beautiful!

In this close up you can see the music paper from the Acme kit, the mesh from the wedding night white mixed media kit, the gorgeous peacock punchinella, and rectangle punchinella background...all products from Gauche Alchemy...as well as the "precious" wordlet from Scrap Fx.

Here is a closeup of the awesome chicken wire chipboard from Scrapfx, and the movie strips from the Show stoppers kit.

That's it for now! Hope your having a fabulous week!



Thanks for stopping by...



Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Scrap Fx Blog Hop = LOTS OF BLOG CANDY!!!!

Yay!!!!
 Its time to kick off the Scrap Fx Blog Hop!!!


Do you know what this means?

Lots of Chances to win BLOG CANDY!!!

Here is what I will be giving away to one random winner:



BUT THAT"S NOT ALL...


Scrap Fx is giving away a HUGE prize pack that is hot enough to make your teeth sweat!


This is over $100 worth of Chipboard embellishments!!!!


  Totally drool worthy, RIGHT?!!!

Here is my latest layout made with Scrap FX goodies:
Here, I've used a couple of lace tags, a decorative oval frame, and "the Promise" wordlet.

 and here are a few close ups...



Here are some of my favorite projects using Scrap FX chippies...





All you have to do for chance to win some of these gorgeous chippy's is leave a comment on this  post, and become a follower either through blogger or Network blogs.
EASY PEASY!
So, if you've started from the beginning you should have made it here from my girl, Michelle. 
 If you're just now joining in, here is the list:






Misty-you are here





Scrap FX


Now have fun hopping, and get over To Rachelle's blog!