Fall Bucket List and Cricut Artbooking Cartridge>"?

Last weekend I started a couple of projects and I'm in the process of finishing them this weekend.  One of them is my Fall Bucket List.  This project gave me the opportunity to start playing with my new Cricut Artbooking cartridge.  I haven't even started playing with the 3 stamp sets or 2 sheets of chipboard shapes that came with the Cricut Artbooking Collection!

One of the items in the cartridge I was really excited about were the variety of overlays available on the cartridges.

I hadn't even thought of how much use I would get from the same overlay shape by changing the color of the cardstock or the position of the overlap.  The white and yellow overlay are the same overlay.

Plus you can change the size of the overlay.  This overlay is part of the Christmas mini-book.

So I played with the color of the overlay and the base cardstock until I found a combination I liked.

Then I added some print paper and cut it the size of the overlay.  Base cardstock is 12 x 12 inches and the print paper and overlay is 11 x 11 inches

To increase the sense of depth I added a variety of color blocks cut from cardstock to some of the overlay openings leaving some open to see the print paper.  I can't wait to use these overlays and adding photos to them!

Here is the finished Fall Bucket List after embellishing it.  

A close-up of the left page.

And the right page.

Close-ups of various sections of the two pages so you can read parts of the list.

I used a variety of items to embellish the pages which gave me an opportunity to use up items in my stash some of which I've had for years.  A lot of items  were leftovers from sets.  Always good to use some things up.

I typed the list of items on vellum and then cut them out.

There are no photos but I'll use this 2 page layout in my Project Life album to introduce the "fall" section of the year.

Fall is my favorite time of year.  I love all the colors so creating this was a lot of fun!  This is my second seasonal bucket list.  I don't expect to do everything on the list but it comes in really handy when my husband and I look at each other at the end of a long workweek and say "what do you want to do this weekend?"  Summer and fall always seem to go so fast and it's a great way to make sure you do all your favorite or some "new" favorites before the season ends!

Do you create "Bucket Lists"?  If so, what kind?

For more information on the Cricut Artbooking Collection please click on the Close To My Heart icon to the right of this post.

Artboooking Made Easy (S01E02): A+ School Layouts

I am so excited to share this video with you!  I am so impressed with the Artbooking Collection.  I think this is the most versatile Cricut cartridge there is.  This video shows elements made with just two of the keys!  I'm playing with the cartridge here at home and hope to have some elements to show you soon.  Until then check out this video and let me know what you think.  For more ideas and inspiration check out my website http://craftycreativity.ctmh.com

An Art-full Summer

Summer is a great time for art around here.  Early in the summer I was invited to participate in an Art in Nursing worshop.  The 3 photos above are from the art gallery and studio that we were in.  The canvas second from the right is mine.  Ginny, the instructor, and Gallery Director is in the foreground.  It was a wonderful workshop about how you can easily bring art to a patient with a few supplies and some easy techniques.

Believe it or not this train station is now an art gallery.  I wasn't able to take any photos inside.  The artist and her husband (a train buff like my husband) have kept the historical and original details as much as possible.  The day we were there was the grand opening and the artist was working on a still life composition. Love watching other people work.

Art festivals can be found every weekend in the summer and fall here.  We tend to pack a lot into our summer weekends because of rainy or wintry weather the rest of the year. We've been to several and enjoy them all whether they are a small, country village art festival or juried, urban art festivals.

We went to the Buffalo Garden Walk for the first time this year and really enjoyed it.  It's the largest Garden Walk in the United States.  We only saw a small portion of the gardens available and are already making plans for a longer trip next year.  I don't have many photos of the gardens since its difficult to get a good photo with other people walking through.  I did get a nice shot of this fairy garden.  See the bridge in the bottom of the photo? It links to the second pot in the photo below.

 This fountain is in the same garden as the fairy garden.

 And of course the architectural details of the older homes are another art form!  

This past weekend we were able to see Michael Israel in person at Art In Concert a fundraising event.  No cameras were allowed at the performance so I'll direct you to his website www.michaelisrael.com   It was the most amazing performance.  Check out his website or Facebook page to see some short pieces of his performance.

How have you filled your summer with art?

Close To My Heart

Here are just 4 reasons why I've decided to become a Close To My Heart Independent Consultant - AGAIN!

Amazing new products affordably priced and I love having my own business!  Three of these items are on their way to me and I can't wait to show you all their potential.  I included links to the full description of these items on my Close To My Heart website
http://craftycreativity.blogspot.com
so you can check them out yourself.  For those of you, who like me, are into Project Life, art journal and mixed media this Cricut cartridge has items for you as well as for scrapbooking!

Cricut Artbooking Collection

My Crush - Modville
Not yet available

Designed Decor Frame

Designed Decor Black Frame

Let me know what your first impression is.

Keeping things organized

I struggle with this every week!  This is about as good as my tables get when I'm actively working on projects.  If you look at the top photo of the previous post you'll see what it looked like after I finished the Organizing FUNdamentals class at Big Picture Classes in the spring.
Since then I've completed a Pinterest project - the yellow stand that my adhesives and corner rounders are sitting on.  Not sure yet if this is how I'm going to use these piece long term - getting a feel for how to use it best.  I love the extra yellow accent color it brings to my room.
I've also added the long divided piece I found at an antique store for all my ProjectLlife cards, washi tape, date stamps, etc.  All it needed was some cleaning up as it was already black on the outside and grey on the inside.  My walls are grey, furniture is white or black and storage containers and baskets are yellow.  I feel so happy when I walk into this room!
The yellow plastic bin on the right in the photo is where I keep my photos and memorabilia ready to go into my Project Life album which is laid out.  This is working pretty well for me.  I'm not current with my album (rarely am) because I'm out enjoying summer life and doing the things on my Summer Bucket List.  This happens every year and I'll get caught up in the fall and winter.
What are your tips for staying organized andkeeping projects moving along?
Watch for my next post...I'll be sharing some exciting news!

What I've been up to in 2013

So here is a peek at what I've been up to in 2013!

After Finding Photo Freedom began in February I took Organizing FUNdamentals at Big Picture Classes (BPC).  I thought that I would just clean out a few things and get my craft room in shape for the rest of the year.  We ended up removing EVERYTHING from the room, repairing & painting the walls and woodwork, and washing the floors!  That was a crazy few weeks as all my craft stuff and furniture resided in other areas of the house.  But it was so worth it - I have a craft room that I really, really love and enjoy - although its not as neat and tidy as the top photo suggests.

Being a coach for Stacy Julian's Finding Photo Freedom (FPF) class was an amazing experience but left little time for anything else.  I'm hoping to be asked to coach again later this year for either FPF or another class that Stacy is developing.  More on that once I hear.

The third photo is my Summer Bucket List.

Fourth photo shows canvases of an art class I was able to take as part of a research project at University of Buffalo.  I'll talk more about this in a future post.

A 3 day stay in Erie, PA at the Bayfront.  In the distance is Presque Isle.  I love being on the water - ANYWHERE!

Next 2 photos are Pinterest projects I completed this summer.

Another trip to Presque Isle.

Next three photos are three different events in Bemus Point on Chautauqua Lake including one of three art shows (in various places) we've been to so far this summer.

I started this blog post with the intention of updating my small but loyal group of readers with what I have been up to but two other results have occurred:

1) I am pleasantly reminded that I've had a very busy and fun summer so far.  I almost always feel like all I do is work so this was a great reminder that I do lots of fun things to!

2)  I've got some great layout ideas as I created this blog post!

I hope you take the time to review your year to date and remember all the good things in your life!

What have they been?

Working on a new layout

I can't believe I haven't posted since March!  Right now I'm spending some time cleaning my blog up and will work on getting it updated again.  I'm not sure if I like this layout or not but will give it a try again.
I admire those bloggers that post regularly whether it's daily or several times a week as it really takes a great deal of commitment and planning.  I haven't been able to be consistent since I took a new job a year ago but am hoping to find a way to post more regularly as I do enjoy it.
So here is to best intentions.....