Alan Alda at Chautauqua Institution

Vacation is great!  While I haven't spent any time "creating" today I had the chance to hear Roger Rosenblatt & Alan Alda discuss his life & career at Chautauqua Institution's Amphitheater.  And we all know what a gifted and creative actor Alan Alda is.  It was the largest crowd in the amphitheater that I've ever seen!  And we were not disappointed.  It was inspiring to hear him talk about the creative process in acting and the things he is passionate about.  At times I closed my eyes and it was like listening to "Hawkeye" though!  What an amazing sense of humor and such quick wit.

This afternoon there was a book signing and I got a chance to speak with Alan Alda briefly while he signed our copies of his books.  What a humble man!  He thanked me for waiting & standing in line!   

Milestones & Moments Album

Another item that I have finished this week while I'm on vacation!  As usual the photo of the cover is not correctly positioned so I hope you can seet it all right in spite of that.I really like the saying on the little green file folder (I'm a sucker for  quotes - how do people think these up and how do they become part of our culture?!)
"Life isn't a matter of milestones but of moments."

Home Sweet Home layout

Here's one of the items I finished today.  This kit is from Heartstring Designs - I got it a few years ago at CKC-Buffalo.  If you haven't been reading since the beginning of my blog you may not know that my goal this year (and probably next year -LOL) is to finish all the projects that I have started and not completed for various reasons as well as using all the items I've bought to do a variety of projects.  This one did not get completed when I first started it because I messed it up in the beginning and wasn't sure what to do with it.  Fortunately, I seem to be in a happy place creatively and am getting things finished up!  Hopefully I can keep it up.  Stay tuned for more finished projects!

Busy creating!

Hope to have some photos for you the next time I post as I've been busy creating all morning!  I got a lot done despite the heat & humidity today & on Sat. in Erie, PA at the Crop & Swap as well so I'll have a couple of things to show over the next few days. 

Why do you blog?

For those of you who do not yet have a blog or those of you wondering if a blog is worth the work, head over to http://www.mystoryart.com/ and read Sharon House's (from British Columbia, Canada) thoughts about why she blogs.  It can be found in her June 18, 2010 post and it is very interesting and fun!

Quick Quotes Canvas Kit

FIrst off, I'd like to apologize for the photos - one of these days I have to figure out how to get them posted so that they are in the correct position!!  I hope that you are still able to see the canvas panels well enough.  I finally finished these a couple of weeks ago.  I had started them at a CKC class a couple of years ago.  If you've been following my blog for awhile you may remember a post with pictures showing a box full of projects to finish and/or start - there are only a few things left in the box I'm happy to say.  Of course, what's left are things that I started and then didn't like where the project was headed.  Now I need to come up with new ideas.  Sounds simple but sometimes it's hard to get the original idea out of your head!  Anyways, these panels are finished except for some photos.  I haven't decided if I'm keeping this project or giving it away yet.  I look forward to doing another Quick Quotes project - I like working with the canvas.  If you haven't yet, check out http://www.shopquickquotes.com/

Scrapbuck

I first shopped at Scrapbuck at CKC-Buffalo and signed up on their email list.  I recently received my first email from them and they have some amazing prices.  At CKC, they had boxes full of embellishments for $1 or $2!  Now, their online store has K & Company items which I love!  Check out their website http://www.scrapbuck.com/ and sign up for their email list so you can get their latest news. 

Journey Journal

So here is the last of the Tim Holtz workshop photos.  At the top is my completed Journey Journal.  Below that (red cover) is Tim's.  And the next 2 photos are views of the inside pages.  In the last photo, note the filmstrip strips that were added as embellishments.  One of the tips that Tim shared is that these filmstrip strips are great to use with the photos from your index prints - they match the size perfectly!  So for example, you don't have space to include all the photos on your layout that you want but you can if you add the smaller photos from your index print!!  Clever, don't you think? 

Closer Look

Here is a closer look at what is holding the Generation Grunge album together.  The rings are actually holding the album together while the grunge hinges are strictly decorative.  The back has the clock paper (from the Lost & Found paper pack and in the other photo you can get a better look at the other decorative elements.

Inside Pages -Generation Grunge album

I have to apologize for not posting these sooner for anyone that was waiting to see the inside pages of the album.  Blogger has made some changes and so instead of posting these I was playing around trying to make some improvements to this blog (unsuccessfully, I might add!).  I'm giving it a rest and will try again another day.  Then I've been spending my time outdoors while the weather is nice!  Summer is my time to visit my favorite places.

So on to the pages of the book.  First off, I'd like to let you know that this Grungebook is no longer available.  I love the curved lines of it.  Tim has new books coming out later this summer that will be basic shapes that you will be able to cut after you adhere your paper to the pages so that there will be less steps (and work!) to the project.  I think that's a great idea because that was the most time consuming part of this project to trim the paper edges to match the pages.  Also somewhat fustrating trying to get a nice looking edge.  The papers used are from Tim Holtz's Lost & Found paper pack.  One of the neat things I learned from Tim about his paper packs (enabler alert) is that they are made for a variety of projects.  This is kind of hard to explain without seeing the paper itself but as you flip through the pack and look closely you will see that you can different pages down for different size projects including inchies!  So once the paper was adhered to the pages and trimmed they were then distressed.  Next post will have close-ups of the grunge hinges.

Generation Grunge albums - Tim's and mine

The album with "thoughts" along the bottom is Tim's album. The one with the teal accents is mine. Look close my bird is inside the cage. This album is from the Generation Grunge workshop. I'll post a look at the inside pages of mine tomorrow.

Me & Tim Holtz!

Here I am with Tim Holtz at his workshop in Buffalo. Check out his photos of Buffalo and Niagara Falls on his website www.timholtz.com (you can use the link below) - I'm in one of his photos along with 80 some other people! Such a good time and he was so friendly, funny and full of great information and tips.

Tim Holtz Workshops

I had a fabulous time yesterday at Tim Holtz's 2 workshops - Journey Journal and Generation Grunge. I am now a big time fan of Grunge & Grungeboard - now that I understand what a difference there is between it and chipboard. The photo at left is of the room where we worked yesterday - 3 long rows of tables with over 90 women total! It doesn't look like that many but this photo was taken in between the two classes and many were still finishing lunch (which was yummy!). Sharon and her team from Buffalo Stamps & Stuff put on a great event - can't even imagine the hours of time & effort put into all the planning & coordinating. More photos and details over the next few days.

Tim Holtz's workshops this Saturday!!

I'm getting really excited - this Saturday I'll be taking 2 workshops with Tim Holtz at Buffalo Stamps & Stuff!! I'm getting my stuff together and making my wishlists! I have a few of his products & Ranger products and I know that I'll want more as I learn more techniques for using them! I've already had them save me a copy of his book A Compendium of Curiosities! I've been reading his blog, checking out his website and watching his tutorials. The 2 workshops I am taking are Journey Journal and Generation Grunge-I'm hoping to have some great projects to show you after this weekend. I've added the links to Tim Holtz's blog and website below for you to check them out.

House Mouse Christmas Card

I finally finished this card although it didn't go exactly as planned. I had hoped to put mistletoe cut on the Cricut in the lower right hand corner but I couldn't cut it small enough for the card. So the mistletoe ended up inside the card above the sentiment inside. Also, I used artistic license and colored the mistletoe berries red instead of white just cause I wanted color there. Its hard to see but in the close up photo I used a Gelly Roll pen in Silver Star to add some glitter to the stamp lines in Mr. Mouse's clothes and Mrs. Mouse's skirt. I have to remember in the future to write down the Copic markers I use so I can recreate the color combinations that I like again (or share with you if you like them!)

Flower basket card using Copic markers

I finished this card in the past week but have had trouble getting a good picture without a lot of reflection - these two turned out pretty well. While I've colored quite a few images this is the first I've posted anything to share. Copic markers do take practice!
Besides the Copic Sketch markers I used atyou Spica pens. In the close-up photo you can see the use of the pens best in the top flower although I have used the atyou Spica pens to highlight the stamp lines in the flowers & leaves. atyou Spica pens are water based pigment markers that leave a glitter like line. These markers move very smoothly over the stamped image and are not messy at all (which I like since some of the glitter products leave globs!)

I hope to have my House Mouse card finished this week to show - I just have 1 0r 2 more things to add to that.

Layouts

Here are 3 layouts that I finished up this weekend. They each were the last items from kits I have had for awhile. Can you tell I like kits? They are just so easy since everything you need is included and coordinated! I have to apologize for the quality of some of my photos (here and throughout my blog) as I still have not mastered my digital camera's settings. I tend to get light relfection or the colors are not showing up as vividly as they actually are. My favorite of the 3 is the one with the green textured background paper and the white mats. In person this layout looks much dramatic - here its just looks like white space!

Card Set

As I promised yesterday I have some projects to show you over the next few days. I got off to a good (and easy) start tonight. I finished one of the cards I mentioned that I've been working on for a little while - unfortunately the photo did not turn out well so I'll retake that tomorrow & post then. In the meantime I have some cards finished from a kit that I got free from Archiver's when I was there in March. What I loved about this kit (Blissful Blossoms from TPC Studio) was the envelopes that came with it had matching envelope sleeves that just needed to be folded and glued into place. What a great finishing touch! What I did not like about the kit was the rub-ons that were included. The sheet was super sticky and before I knew it many of the rub-ons were on me, the table & some of the papers! So I have a couple of cards to finish with some stamping for the sentiments. This was a quick & easy way to get back into creating. I also ended up using something I hadn't before - chipboard stickers! I had been thinking of trying to do a card a day challenge to myself in June but it became June 3rd before I knew it! However I did 8 cards tonight (they count even if they are easy!) so I think I'll try to finish a card a day - we'll see how that goes. I'll show you the rest of the cards over the next few days.

Distractions

I have to apologize for not posting for awhile. I've been tied up with a fundraiser for the last 2 weeks as well as enjoying the great summer-like weather we have been having. I've been been working on 2 cards a little bit at a time and hope to have them finished this weekend - and hopefully a few other items as well! Hope the weather is great where you are!