Pandemonium

CHA Winter 2013 projects V.1

I did a few projects for the Tim Holtz booth this year. It's always great working with Tim and Paula. Tim always has great new products that are super fun to work with. His paper this release was Parisian themed and totally up my alley.

He has these great new enamel tags that I used on this card along wtih his new paper and some of they new distress ink colors.

My very favorite sheet of his new paper pad is this map paper. I wish I could get several pads of just this paper to cover a bedroom wall with.

This layout also has the new alpha parts and ring fasteners on it.

Here are a couple detail shots:

I have a vintage sign holder that fits perfectly on the bookcase. I used some of Tim's new papers, rubons and ink colors as well as the new bottle shapes and small labels. I adore these new label sizes and shapes. The new tiny black stickers are so fun to work with too. I'm a sucker for a tiny letter sticker.

Christmas - Pintrest projects

I'm a Pintrest junkie. There ought to be a 12 step program or something for my people.  I decided it was time to put all those hours of combing the lovely projects on Pintrest to good use. 

I saw this tree on Pintrest last year:

Loved it. So this is my take. I still need to make a star for the top.

I stamped each shipping tag with Tim Holtz straw distress ink and a patterned stamp like this diamond. After attaching the photo, I stamped an image in black ink at the top and bottom of the tag. I used a variety of STampers Anonymous, 7Gypsies, Pink Paislee and Basic Grey stamps. Here are some close ups:

I made several garlands out of my stash of vintage buttons. Just threaded them through thin wire. I also figured it was time to put my stash of scrapbook and crafting supplies to work after my friend came over a couple of weeks ago to see my studio and as she was walking through the basement, exclaimed, "Boy, you have a lot of CRAP!" Ain't it the truth. Here are some presents I wrapped last year using kraft paper and my stash. Love how they looked. I used the same shipping tags to make tags for the presents. I'm going to do that again this year.

I do want to get a big wash tub to put my tree in too. I love how that looks. Okay, next Pintrest experiement - the picture tree. Here is the inspiration (uber cool - right?):

I gave myself an hour to find, print and put the photos up. I figured since GOD JUL is Merry Christmas in Norweigen that I would use some of my Norway photos to construct the tree. I printed all of them out on cream cardstock so they would have that nubby texture. I put them on the bathroom door downstairs. I first hung a glass star ornament but within the first 24hours it had crashed the floor leaving little sparkly shards of glass all over. I opted for the less fragile ornaments the 2nd time around. 

Not bad. Not as good as the inspiration but more meaningful to the fam. Here is my latest Pintrest project inspiration:

This was a harder one to get good photos of because my kitchen/family room area so many windows.  I used some digital vintage photo frames designed by Katie Pertiet from Designer Digitals. I added some of my own brushes (all the black ink on them) and then had the photos printed at MPIX.com on their metallic paper. The letters spell the word "Festive." I had all the photos printed 4x6 (both vertical and horizontal) and rounded the corners. Then I glued 2 together so that they would be double sided.

It think that might be it for the Pintrest projects this year. We'll see. 

Tim Holtz new products

I love Tim's products, so when he asked me to make up a sample for the CHA Summer show for his booth using a few of a his new and some of his older products I was delighted. To make this travel journal I used a newer french novel that I had picked up at one of the flea markets in Paris. I removed the pages using an exacto knife then put in one of his large ring binders as I wanted it to be easy to take the pages in and out. I secured it with the brads that come with it and also stitched it into the cover to make it even a little more secure.  I covered the inside of the bookspine with grunge board that I had embossed with one of his texture folders and inked. 

I used a mix of kraft and manilla cardstock and Tim's Destinations paper pad along with swatches of fabric to create the pages. Some of his new release items for this show that I used were his new Chit Chat word strips (LOVE those) which come in white and kraft, the Alpha Tiles, Paper String (love the striped) & Custom Brad Fasteners. 

I also used quite a few of these items: File tabs, mini numerals, pen nibs, game spinners, sprocket gears, alpha parts, foliage, and word bands. 

And of course, I had to use some of his fabulous stamps: CMS124,CMS102, and Going Somewhere.

One of my very favorite Tim Holtz products are his mini fastners. I could use those on every page. Well, it might be a toss up between those and his Vintage Photo Distress Ink pad.

A few more of the Tim Holtz products that I used were:    Hinge Clips, Lavish Ribbon, Collage Texture Fade, Bubble Texture Fade, On the Edge Scallops, Mini Cabinet Card Die and Styled Lable Die.

Redecorating

Now that we're empty nesters (yep...I can't believe I'm that old either), I've had a desire to redo some of the rooms in the house. I'm starting with Ski's bedroom. It has never reflected his personality since he was away at college when we moved into this house. He loves to travel so I want to do a map wall that is interactive so it will show all the places he has been with pin flags & string. I ordered rolls of 3/8" thick cork from Manton Cork that I'm going to put up on the wall and then cover it with maps. I have 2 vintage French school room maps that I bought in Paris that I want to hang on one of the walls too.

I got some denim, chambray & flax bedding from Restoration Hardware and am making a bedskirt out of a striped denin table cloth that I got on clearance from the Sundance outlet. 

This white quilt is A-MAZ-ING and would look so cool with the map wall and denim & white feel I'm going for. That will have to probably be made at a later date though and with a little less pattern- maybe next winter.

I came across these hanging lights from the Etsy site Umbu that I absolutely love. Books are another thing Ski loves so I wanted to include something in his room that references that. That might come in the accessorizing as I have a lot of vintage books. 

Now I just have to find/make some window treatments/draperies that work. I saw this idea on pintrest and am thinking i might try stenciling on a couple verses from some poetry he likes and make drapery panels using 2 or 3 different fabrics. I'd also like to incorporate something that represents music as he's very musically talented. The room is pretty small though, so there is going to have to be some editing so that it doesn't feel super busy.

 

I'm great at planning - execution however...well, I tend to over think things so it takes me F-O-R-E-V-E-R! 

The wonders of Chalkboard Paint

Chalkboard paint is the perfect backdrop for some creative self expression. Lately I've found such fun & lovely photos on Pintrest, that I thought I'd share a few of my favs.

 

Anthro...I salute you and your brilliant designers.

Love...bug.

Wouldn't these be cool for Halloween with Potion #31 written on them?

I want a wall in my house that has this on it...

other ideas:

Free 1924 French Receipt -part deux

If you’ve come over from 2GypsyGirls.com then just skip to the bottom and hit the 1924 Paris receipt download link.  If you haven’t then here’s the story:

So back in March, Paula(one of the 2GypsyGirls) and I went to Paris and basically shopped, ate, took pictures, walked a million kilometers and saw a lot of art. But I bet you’re wondering, “So …with all that shopping did you bring me back anything?” Well, as a matter of fact I did! I have a lovely Parisian receipt from 1924 out of the estate of Monsieur Peru that I picked up one of the flea markets there. I have scanned it and you can download the hi-res version which you can print out for your PERSONAL use (please do not use on any item for resale).

The download link will expire on July 1, 2012.

If you are wondering what you can do with it, then take a look at the photos below. Paula copies vintage documents off onto cream cardstock and uses a blending tool with some Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink which makes them look like the original vintage piece. Here is a tag that she did for the Christmas Advent calendar using a copy of a vintage document, you can see the photos below.

 

Also..if you hop on over to the 2GypsyGirls blog I have another receipt available for download from Monsieur Peru’s estate.

Download for 1924 French Receipt. ENJOY!!!

 

Travel Photography Tips

I am the guess blogger over at 2GypsyGirls. I was asked to give some travel photography tips so I thought that I'd post 3 tips here and 3 tips over on their blog. So here they are:

1. CAPTURE MOVEMENT.Point and shoot cameras are so sophisticated now - the new ones have as many megapixels as my 10 lb Nikon SLR and give you so much flexibility on setting the aperture (how wide the lens opens) and the shutter speed. If you have either an SLR or a point and shoot that lets you set your shutter speed, this is a wonderful technique for creating a stunning photograph. You'll need either a steady hand or tripod. I actually took this photo without a tripod. You will want to start with a shutter speed of around 1/30th of a second. If you are a pretty steady hand, try 1/15th of a second to create even more blur. Take a photo where your background is a stationary object and the foreground has something that is moving in it. If you don't get the amount of blur you want then make your shutter speed a little slower. The lower the number the slower the shutter speed.
2. ANCHOR the FOREGROUND. Placing something in your foreground (usually in the bottom third of your photo) will really anchor it and give the viewers eye a place to rest. It's a visually pleasing placement and can really add interest to your photo.Try lining up the object you are using as an ancho so that it goes to the bottom left or right corner of your viewfinder.
3. SHOW SCALE. When I'm taking photos of really large structures such as cathedrals or something in nature like a waterfall or mountain, I like to add something that will show the scale. In this photo of Chartres Cathedral I used people to show just how massive the inside of it is. 

If you want to see three more photography tips, hop on over to Paula & Deb's blog, 2GypsyGirls. All of the taped together frames I used are from Katie Pertiet over at Designer Digitals.

Farm Chicks Early Admission Tickets for Sale - SOLD***

*** Tickets have been sold.

Last year Layle, Paula, Nancy and I went to Farm Chicks and had a fabulous time. Last Fall when the early admission tickets went on sale for 2012 we bought 4 more intending to go this year. Well, planning a whole year in advance is always tricky.

So Farm Chicks is this coming weekend, June 2nd and 3rd and we aren't going to make it. I've already sold 2 of the Early Admission tickets and I have 2 more that I'm selling. They are $26.50 each. The early admission tickets were all sold out last fall. They get you into the show at 8:30AM on Saturday, June 2nd which is 1.5 hours earlier than the general population. That means you get first dibs on all the good stuff! 

The tickets are in PDF format so I will e-mail them to you so you can print them out. You can pay me via PayPal, so please make sure you have a Paypal account. Leave me a post if you want them. It will be on a first come, first serve basis. 

Here are some photos from our trip last year.

Paris Journal - part 3

This in only about 1/2 of the pages of the entire journal but I'm going to have to make a 2nd cover to hold it all. 

The rest of the story - Paris Journal from Inspired Journey Retreat

One of the things i love to do when traveling is to pick up business cards from restaurants we eat at as well as business cards from stores that I love. I incorporate those into my journals along with pieces of packaging from things I buy, clothing tags, tickets and brochures. It gives my book pages some color & variety.

Here's the front and back cover of the journal.

Sometimes I like to cut my photos into pennant or half circle shapes and punch holes in them and add them to the journal.

This page with the 7Gypsies elastics is where you slip in the petit carnet (little notebook).

There are still 10+ pages in the journal. I'll post the rest of them tomorrow.