Numbers

I have a "thing" for notebooks and journals.  A love of paper if you will.  I alway have and cruising the journals and notebooks at any store is one of my must do's while I'm there.  I thought the "Numbers" challenge at Frosted Designs was the perfect challenge to showcase that love.  I gathered some of my journals.....they have lots of different homes......and took a photo.  After doing this, I found just a few more in various spots and a "few" notebooks may or may not have been purchased since that photo.  ;)  Back to school shopping you know........

I thought it would be fun to list the number of journals/notebooks, an approximate number of pages, and the thought that there were endless possibilities waiting for my layout.

The funny thing about my collecting journals and notebooks is that I really have a hard time writing in them.  What if I "mess" up?  Or what if I decide that I want to use it for something else?  :)  I really have to make myself use them.  I'm sure there will be plenty more added to my collection.

Make sure you stop by the Frosted Designs blog for more number inspiration.  Link up your project for the chance to win a prize and so I can check them out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Artfull Crafts

Hi Everyone!  I'm Lydia and I am thrilled and honored to be a part of the Artfull Crafts Design Team for 2013.  I lived in Dunedin for just almost three years before moving back to my home country The States. I now live in Longmont, Colorado with my husband of 19 years and three sons ages 13, 12, and 9.5.  Below you will find out more about me and my scrapping loves.  :)

How were you introduced to scrapbooking?

I have loved paper, crayons, pens, anything crafty from the time I was a little girl.  I still have those very first cut and paste scrapbooks.  But my sister-in-law first introduced me to scrapbooking 17 years ago when she gave me an album, some paper, and stickers.  Honestly, I thought what in the world would I do with it because I didn't have children.  Well 17 years, three boys, and millions of photos of anything and everything later.....I am very thankful she did introduce me.


What inspires you for layouts, projects, cards? 

I would have to say that my biggest inspiration would be the world around me.  I am an avid photographer and I often take photos because a flower, sunset, or insect is just beautiful.  I see such beauty in my boys as well.  I love to take my inspiration from that photo and turn it into my layout or project.  I also enjoy looking at magazines, blogs, and the advertising in stores as inspiration.

This layout has a base of white paint to house all the Authentique patterned paper and embellishments.
Clusters of twine, flowers, doilies, and buttons along with the stamped boy and girl enhance this photo. This photo is one of my favorites of my youngest son, Aden and my best friend's daughter.  I love this layout because it truly captures the friendship of these two.


What other project types do you like to work on besides scrapbook pages? 

While my main paper love is 12x12 layouts, I also enjoy mixed media, canvas projects, mini albums, and home decor/BTP.

I made this canvas for my oldest son, Aron.  The tape across the bottom of the photo says "where ever you go, go with all your heart".  For the base of the canvas, I misted with two different colors, used molding paste and stencil along with book pages.  Other embellishments including stamped wings and a hand cut corrugated heart.  I printed the photo on linen paper to give it a softer look.  I love this canvas because Aron is such a kind, soft hearted kid.  At 13 he still gives me hugs all the time and is always looking out for me asking if I'm OK.  I truly hope that where ever he goes, he will let his heart lead.


What is your favourite scrapbook brand and why?

I love Crate Paper and Studio Calico.  I especially love the way their paper ranges coordinate with each line.  Their embellishments, like the wood veneer and chipboard, are on the top of my favorites list.

What is currently your favourite technique or embellishment?

Wood veneer seems to be finding its way into my stash and on my layouts quite a bit.  I love all the different shapes and since I have a love for all things little they fill that love too!  :)

What scrapbooking tools/products can you not do without? 

I use my paper cutter, cutter bee scissors, and double sided tape on just about every layout I make.  I would be lost without my patterned paper, doilies, and flowers.

This is one of my favorite layouts of my middle son Ian.  I started with patterned paper and added mist splotches on it.  A mix of flowers, twine wrapped hearts, and Prima resin pieces accent it along with doilies misted red.  Ian once told me that he loved me so much and always wanted to be a Mama's boy.  I love that he is so sweet and innocent that to him it just means that he loves me lots.


What do you hope to try or improve on this year? 

I would love to branch out with my art journal and my canvases.  I love to make them but always feel inhibited by what is in my mind and how to get it out.  I am also striving to make more mini albums.  I love them but just don't get around to making them as often as I would like.

What advice can you give to people just beginning to enjoy scrapbooking?  

Don't be afraid if you are doing it "right".  Just enjoy the process!  Scrapbooking can seem intimidating but really its just what you like put to paper.  There are so many resources out there for techniques, product suggestions, and inspiration.  Including the Artfull Crafts blog and Artfull Crafts Facebook page.


Thanks for taking a look!  I'm excited to spend this year sharing my scrap projects and inspiration with you.

'Till next time!
Lydia

HOW TO WIN PRIZES!!

   All competitions below close on midnight Satuday 24th August.

• Head to our Gallery, scroll along the hallway, click on the portraits and welcome the girls. Comment on any projects that you LOVE! (Each comment puts you in a draw to win a $50 prize pack). 

• Follow the Artfull Crafts Blog and follow the girls on their personal blogs. Leave us a message (on Facebook or email) letting us know you've started following, and we'll put you in a draw to win a $20 gift voucher).

• Answer the 3 questions below on our Facebook Page or as a comment in this blogpost to go in the draw a $30 prize pack.

1) How many cats are lazing around down the Gallery?

2)  Name someone who was on last year's team, who is staying on for another year.

3) Name the person whose style most closely matches yours.

• Finally, head to Saturday's blogpost and say goodbye to the team we are farewelling. (Each comment put you in a draw to win another $50 prize pack.)

Have a fun time checking out the new team, and don't forget to share the New Design Team blog link on your Facebook Page!

Exciting News!!

I am so, SO, so very excited to share with you that I have been asked to design with Artfull Crafts from Timaru, New Zealand.  I had visited this shop a few times while we were living in Dunedin, NZ.  It is a delightful shop with lovely ladies there and I always left with a bag full of goodies and my mind buzzing with ideas.  Now I get to be a part of that team!  Yay!!!!!  I am truly honored and looking forward to designing with them this next year.  Make sure you check out the Artful Crafts Facebook page and the blog for loads of inspiration.  You can meet the other designers and have your mind buzzing with ideas!  :)

Hope you will join me this year on this exciting ride!  Yippee!!!!!

My Soul House

I have been taking an online course sponsored by Brave Girl's called Soul Restoration.  I have really been enjoying it and looking forward to the next weeks and all that I will learn about myself.  My project for this week's Frosted Designs "Chipboard" challenge came from my Soul Restoration project.

This is my art journal where I am recording all that I am learning about myself through this course.  I used chipboard to make the heart and the house.  The bird and the girl are stamped on chipboard as well.  The stickers are chipboard Thickers.  I am thinking I probably change the title to read "my soul lives here".  Just seems to fit better.  :)

I hope you will join us for the "Chipboard" challenge at Frosted Designs.  Make sure you stop by the blog to check out the other designer's chipboard projects.  There is lots of awesome ideas and inspiration over there.  Don't forget to link up your project for the chance to win a prize and so I can check them out.  Thanks for stopping by!

Mid August

How can it be mid August already!?  My boys first day of school is tomorrow and I think they are ready, even if they say they would rather stay home and play video games.  :)

The mid month challenge at About A Boy is "Anything Goes".  Feel free to make a layout using anything as long as your "boy" is in the photo!  I chose a photo of my three boys.  Its rare to get a decent photo of all three of them.  And by decent I mean without the "baby" giving me some sort of silly face.  lol...But that is totally his personality so I don't mind silly photos as well.

I really couldn't decide on what my "title" was for this page even as I was making it.  Usually I have something in mind or a funny quote from one of my boys or something.  Nothing was really coming but I knew it was feeling right going on the page.

So I ended up taking direction from Aron's shirt.  Aron is my oldest (sitting in the middle of the photo) and he made this screen print shirt in a school textile class.  It seemed appropriate that he was sitting in the middle of them and arrows pointing either way with that title which way.  Thus came my thought of  "no matter where life takes you, go with all your heart."  I truly believe that.  No matter where.....always go with all your heart.

I hope you will join us at About A Boy for the "Anything Goes" challenge.  Make sure you link up your projects for a chance to win a prize and so I can check them out.

 

Those Baby Blues

Frosted Designs has a really good challenge up this time around.  "Emobssing"  I was fairly stumped by this challenge.  I don't have a machine that embosses things or powders to do it with stamps so I bought two sheets of white embossed paper at my local Michael's.  I had an idea in mind yet when I started, the idea just wasn't coming out like I saw it in my head.  Second attempt was to spray the sheet of paper with Heidi Swapp's color shine mists.  While I liked the look of it, it didn't seem to really show that it was embossed.  So I rubbed over the dots with distress inks to try and make the dots more visible.    Seeing how I was running out of embossed paper, I decided I needed to go with this look and make it work!

I punched hearts out of the embossed paper and pushed them around my page.  A lot!  My idea just wasn't working out.  After playing around for quite awhile, I decided to try the negative part of my heart punched paper.  Now we were getting somewhere.  :)  

After much playing around, this is what I came up with........  

In the end, I used both the negative strips from the hearts and the hearts themselves.  I mixed my alpha letters to get my title.  Seems I've had longer titles lately and that is a huge help when not having all the letters needed!  A bit of string, doily, sewing around the edges, and clear drops finishes the page.

I hope you will play along the "Embossing" challenge with us at Frosted Designs.  Make sure you link up your project for a chance to win a prize and so I can check them out!  

Winner!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by at the blog hop and to all my new followers!  I hope you will continue to stop by for inspiration.  I'd love to stop by your blogs as well.  The winner of my little goodies is 

Leah!

Thanks for following Leah!