Happy Bat Mitzvah Anniversary!

Loving that Simple Stories chevron paper so so so much.

Today's post is brought to you in honor of my Bat Mitzvah, which happened exactly one year ago in Israel.  I made this layout about a month ago, but I've been holding off on sharing it until today.

  What you cannot tell from this picture, and which will one day be a layout of its own, is that I was so sick from food poisoning (turns out my wimpy American constitution cannot handle home style Bedouin cooking) that I could hardly stand up and that I was pretty much on the verge of falling over the entire ceremony.  But not this page; this page is not about the misery -- this one is about the joy.  I think the misery is just as important, and probably a lot funnier now that its over and is on my to-do list.  I'm not sure what visual I would use, because I did not think to take a photo as I spent the night on the floor of the group bathroom on the Bedouin campground.

 I was not a scrapbooker then, obviously.

Also, can I say how glad I am I finally broke down and bought distress ink in Vintage Photo and that silly little tool that has foam on the bottom for aging up my paper.  When I got it part of me was all like, "Laurie, you do not like faux-vintage stuff*, are you really going to use this?" and then I went on my internal tyrade about letting things be what they are, which is not-yet-vintage, and I probably stood in the store aisle for 20 minutes staring blankely at the wall as this whole internal monologue was going on.  But I did it, and I find it to be a great tool for roughing things up just enough to look a little dirty but not "old".  The inked edges really work on this desert layout.  So thanks, Tim Holtz, I guess.

* I mean, I like it if you do faux-vintage, but when I try something like that it just feels like a huge lie.  My pages are not vintage.  My pages were made in 2012.  My pages are like a fine wine, they have to age to a perfect vintage; they don't come that way pre-made.  Vintage on other people's pages is great and I love it, but it just isn't true to the style of that weirdo known as laurie danielle.

Being Different (Than Myself)

Gummy candy in open bins?  YES PLEASE!

Didn't I just post on Halva?  I guess I've been inspired by food a lot lately.  That is because, um, of lady hormones, I think.  We'll be back to posts that don't feature food next week.  This week, lets chow down on some scrapbooking that was actually pretty hard for me because it deviated out of my normal colorways that I enjoy and feel comfortable in.  I took these pretty serious colors but wanted to make them true to my style (which I would describe as Rainbow Bright meets Clarissa Darling of Clarissa Explains it All and they have a disco party and you're invited!).  So how do I take my natural desire for neon and wild patterns and hand drawing and tone it down without completely losing interest?  I made myself a little checklist:

1. Pick a tamer version of a color you absolutely love (I picked this moss green variant of lime green)
2. Keep some bold pattern, just use it judiciously.  
3. Use the things you love, just make choices that fit within the color scheme.  (Thank you Tim Holtz washi tape!  And cute little "Sweet" doo-dad.  And not-quite matching but whatever, close enough glitter butterfly!) 
4. Keep the calm feeling with ample amounts of negative space
5. Add a little bit more interest with a graphic edge punch instead of adding more color

I think it worked out.  It was a struggle at times, but its fun to flip through my book and see a page that both doesn't look like my other pages, but still looks like I made it.  Don't you hate it when you're totally inspired by someones awesome page but then when you use their style it just doesn't feel like you anymore?   I feel like that all the time!  I think I struck a good balance this time, and doing something different makes me feel like I'm capable of designing on a larger scope than just what comes naturally to me.

How do you get out of your comfort zone?  Do you embrace the foreignness of creating something that doesn't look like you or do you add a little bit of yourself and your style into all of your layouts?  I would love to know!

Can I have-a Halva?

Its a dessert, not cheese. Also, did you notice my cute pink visual triangle - ink, gem, and tape?

Do you know what halva is?  If you do, you know why I had to make a scrapbook page about it.  Such a delicious dessert made with Sesame and other yummy things -- Oh, it is so so so so so so sososososososGOOD.  (Not an exaggeration).  I tend to have a hard time using paper with drawings and stuff already on it, but I decided that I would fight through the hardness with this awesome Amy Tangerine paper.  It was an interesting challenge because the layout of the paper really dictated where the photos had to go (unless I wanted to cover up the fun drawing bits and who whats to do that?) so it was a challenge of working within the bounds of placement. 

The awesome part was getting the look of the splattered ink without having to do any splattering myself.  I have some perfect pearls mist that I'm trying to get into (and failing) but haven't got any super inky mists yet.  Not that I don't want to, but its just sorta low on my priority list right now.  I tend to like super busy papers that just don't need ink sprays.  That and inks are a little hard to find here in small town South Carolina -- and I haven't gotten an order that is above the free shipping threshold for an online shop yet.  I am eying those sequined arrows and hearts by Heidi Swapp -- maybe I'll order in June.  My budget for this month is spent on Ikea and organization.  (Which, update, I AM LOVING) -- the extra workspace is HUGE.  Life is so much easier with the added table space.  Love it love it love it). 

Hope all is well for you out there in the internets!  While I'm deciding about inks and sequin embellishments -- is there anything else you out there think I would love?  Link me up since shopping is in my future!

BPC: Design Challenge #2

My (c)ankles were swollen from the flight.  I do not have elephant ankles normally.

Design Challenge number 2 completed.  I learned:

1.  Sam's Club prints 12x16 for, like, $3.50 -- and they had a free trial membership weekend last weekend so you didn't have to be a member to have prints made.
2. The prints from Sam's club are matte and slightly rubbery to the touch, so they do not go smoothly through your sewing machine and you have to spit on them a little to keep them gliding under your sewing machine's foot. (I learned the spit trick from my days as a costume designer)
3. My paper trimmer is all sorts of wonky and will not cut in straight line at a right angle
4. RAD LAB is, in fact, totally rad and I see myself making a major purchase in the next month to buy it once my trial runs out
5. I am totally digging using a big picture as the base of a page

My Lovely Camel Humps

Tomorrow I'm going to my Synagogue's annual food festival, and I'm really excited about petting the camel that is going to be there (I'm told her name is Rivka), so I thought I would share this page about riding camels. The blue background still throws me off (I like a clean white background usually, but I also like to experiment, so there you go) but I think its pretty cute and it went together super fast. And, HELLO, riding a camel! That is the important part! My camel riding partner was awesome -- a natural. I, on the other hand, was awkward and often afraid for my life. The camel behind me in the camel caravan kept eying my tush and wanting to give it a little nibble, I swear.  Next time I ride I camel, I'm in front!

As you can see, though, I'm L-O-V-I-N-G loving the Sketchbook collection by Amy Tangerine.  If I could just use one collection for the rest of my life my pick at this moment (and not saying that this would never change, because, you know, things change) would hands down be Sketchbook. I want to hold its hand and run through fields with it.  I want to invite it over for dinner and giggle over bad puns with it.  And we'll invite our friend Tape, too.  And glitter.  Glitter is always invited.