Halloween Fun with SEI

I have a fun last-minute Halloween project up on the SEI Blog today using their super awesome velvet paper.  Can you say Purrrrr-fect?  Happy Halloween, y'all!  

Celebrating with CREATE Magazine

  

Wow, has this past month been full of fun and exciting news!  First, I was asked to join the SEI Design Team and now I'm super excited to also announce that I'll be on Scrapbook Generation's CREATE magazine's creative team this coming year as well!  I am over the moon thrilled to have been asked to join this team of amazing scrapbookers and crafters that populate the pages of this amazing publication.   It is my opinion that CREATE is the freshest, most authentic scrapbooking magazine being published right now and I am just delighted to be part of it in the coming year.  So thank you to all the wonderful people at Scrapbook Generation for inviting me to join the team! I am super pumped to jump into a pile of paper, washi, sequins, stickers and glue and get to making!

And Now for Something Completely Different

Hanukkah scrapbooking materials seem to be either 1) super old fashioned or 2) non-exsistant -- so I'm working on creating a set of digital stamps/cut files to use in my December Daily this year and years to come.  If any of my Jewish friends out there want a free set to use as well, please leave me a comment and I'll get them to you once I'm finished with them (probably a week or so).  They are handwritten sentiments and are modern and pretty fun.  You can see a sample of my first one above.  It's not as sharp as I'd like, so I'll probably go back and do some editing with that, but it will hopefully give you an idea of what you'll get.

But yes, if you'd like a FREE set in the next few weeks, fill out my google form below and I'll get them to you.  After this offer, I may throw them up in an etsy shop for a small fee, so grab them now if you're interested.

Pulling Together my December Daily

This is a quick and dirty nap-time snapshot.  Excuse my lighting.

Okay, I'll admit it.  I have a love/hate affair with December Daily albums.  Love because I mean, it's a fun project and a neat way to document a very unique time of year and it feels so SPECIAL.  And hate because I'm Jewish and, well, December Daily is very Christmas-y.  And I LOVE looking at everyone else's red and green albums with their belighted pine trees and elves on shelves -- but that's not my life.  I've got candles and dreidels.  I've got potato pancakes and jelly doughnuts.  And it's awesome and I love it, but sometimes it just doesn't mesh with all the DD stuff out there.

 So this year, I'm totally going non-traditional and owning it.  I used Crate Paper's Bundled Up last year, and it was cute.  But this year I'm going black, white, kraft and gold.  Maybe a hint of red.  I found an awesomely cute little 6x6 paper pad at Tuesday Morning called Hot Cocoa by American Crafts (which is a mystery -- I can't find info on it ANYWHERE!) but I loved its graphic patterns.  I may pull out all the red and use it for different projects, or I may add it in sparingly.  I haven't decided yet.


This isn't the completed collection of what I'll be using, but it is the start and probably the bulk.  I'm going to go simple, clean, and graphic this year.  I need a few transparent overlays, maybe a bit more vellum, some sequins and enamel dots -- and the Printshop star wood veeners that Joann's is carrying in stores now (yes 50% off coupons!).  I'll be using a Studio Calico Handbook album (kraft) that I got on Uber clearance off amazon.  I pulled some mambi pocket pages cards from my DT days with them that will compliment nicely.  Overall, I'm liking it a lot.  I think it'll look cool, and different, and most importantly it'll be true to my not-so-much-about-Christmas December.  And that's awesome, if you ask me.

Kite Festival

I've been plugging away at the 6x6 paper class when I get a chance, and here is what I did with the sixth sketch in the class.  I found working with a strip of horizontal photos really challenging -- it is very much not my usual MO when it comes to how I put things together.  I kept adding washi to echo the line of the photos, and eventually it came together for me.  I'm not sure it's one of the better pages I've made, but it was a great learning experience with working through it's issues.  

I did use some cloud washi that I got with a kit that I had never used, so that was exciting for me.  Add in some hand drawing on the kite I cut with my silhouette as a cute and personal detail and it adds those little finishing touches that really make a layout feel complete to me.  I love to draw on my layouts.   I guess it seems like it puts a little bit of laurie onto the page.  Pretty paper is good, but the essence of me is what I really aim to capture.  This is my life and this is what I draw; my pages are an extension of me.  Forgive me, I got philosophical just now -- it's been a long day with lots of laundry.  :)

Much love to everyone out there in cyberspace.  Hope the chill of fall is warming your hearts!

Exciting News with SEI

Today I get to announce the exciting news that I've been asked to join the SEI 2015 Design Team!  I am super honored and can't wait to share some of the fun things I get to create (HELLO FABRIC DYE!!!).  It's a great group of designers and I'm just thrilled to be part of it.  So stay tuned -- I should be up and running with projects in the next month.  

While you're here, check out the blogs of the other designers -- they are all awesome!

Jennifer Davis: http://www.livelifecreateart.blogspot.com/

Kelly Holbrook: http://kellyrholbrook.blogspot.com/

Piali Biswas: http://touchofcreation.blogspot.com/

Stephanie Kensy: http://stephaniekensy.com/

Blog Hop Fun and an Appology

 Hi everyone!  I want to thank the lovely Penny at Pennyscraps for including me in this fun scrappy blog hop!  It's my turn to answer questions, so here I go:



1. What am I working on right now?

Right now it's the Jewish High Holy Days, so I'm mainly working on craft projects that aren't scrapbook related.  Tonight I'll be crafting my own version of this Lulav and Etrog set for my little girl.

        2. How long does it take me to create a project?

I usually do a page or two in an evening.  It rarely takes me longer than two hours beginning to end -- I just don't have time for anything longer, and I like to finish a page in one sitting if at all possible.

Sometimes mist splatters cause a project to take longer -- drying time is the worst!

        3. What are my favorite things to create with at the moment?

I love white cardstock, washi tape, gold, boldly colored paper, vellum, and tiny little embellishments.  I think I'm hitting a less-is-more phase in my creating.

This layout is obviously from a more-is-more phase, but I still love it!

        4. How does my writing/creating process work?

I keep little notes in my planner about  stories I want to tell or things that inspire me: my daughter's love of pretzels, painting the kitchen cabinets, walks in the woods to throw acorns in the creek, our family's shabbat celebrations -- and then, when I have a moment, I find photos, or take photos, to match the stories.  Usually stories come before photos when I create.  Sometimes photos come first, like family outings to the pumpkin patch, but generally I scrap with a story in mind and find photos to match that.  I create my pages to tell the story, but do pick papers and embellishments to compliment the photos that go along with the story.  I've been playing with sketches lately, but generally I just take my photos, pick some paper, and go for it.  I don't keep a large stash, so I'm able to go through papers and decide on what I want to use fairly quickly.  

Done with a Paper Camellia sketch and kit.
 I'm 100% pro monthly kit, using it all up, and that being my "stash".

        5. How do I become inspired and stay inspired?

I love looking at other people's projects, but I am mainly inspired by the drive to memory keep and play with pretty paper at the same time.  I have a fairly unique style that I embrace, so when I look at other people's layouts, I am most often inspired by their stories rather than the way they cut up their paper (although I always love to look at pretty things!).  Life is so fun and beautiful and fleeting -- I want to record all those fun little details that make my life uniquely mine.  That drive inspires me.  

Hanukkah layout -- and what a miracle she is!

        6. What is my signature style?

Wow, that's a hard one.  I guess I tend to enjoy bold, saturated colors, tend subconsciously avoid right angles, and do most of my paper cutting with scissors rather than a trimmer.  I enjoy a graphic but organic look to my pages.  I like to do my journaling by hand and doodle on my pages as well.  Mainly I like to play and have fun, and don't take my pages too seriously.  It's just paper, after all.  :)

Totally my style, right here.

__________________________________________

Okay, so here is where I freely admit failure -- I've been so busy with the holidays that I totally neglected to get folks to link to.  So I encourage you to visit the other folks Penny linked to and check out their links.  In the spirit of Yom Kippur, which was Saturday, please do forgive me and check out the links that these lovely ladies selected instead!

Stephanie Feltus  http://craftyholidaygirl.blogspot.com 

TinaGale Husong  http://tiggersscrapplace.blogspot.com  

Love Those Daddy Pancakes

Sorry the light is weird on this -- still figuring out the best place to take photos at the new house!

Another page based off a sketch from the Scrapbook Generation 6x6 paper pad class -- I love that these pages feature lots of photos!

My goal with these pages (besides documenting memories, of course!) was to use up a lot of the little bits and pieces that I had lying on my desk.  I think it came out pretty cute!

  

Paper Camellia Reveal Day!

It's reveal day over at Paper Camellia!  This month's kits are a delight -- they always sell out fast, so snatch one up while you have the chance!