Saturday 17 March 2012

Skinny decaff caramel dolce latte

Here I am with my friend Sarah enjoying Starbucks and working on our blogs. Aren’t we trendy?

Next week I am planning on working on making my friend Val a jersey dress.  It’s for my final project for my Dressmaking and Design class. I’ve mentioned it in my earlier blogs- but I’ve been drawing up ideas and she likes them.  Designing for a fit girl who doesn’t need a bra is a dressmakers dream. Hahaha!

For the last few days I have been starting at these two pictures from my wedding.

I want to do an amazing job on them.  But again here I am with inspiration block. The “white” page is looking at me and taunting me.  That darn white page.  Scrappers block. The creativity gods are messing with me.  But I have been spending a little less time locked up in the scrap room and leaving the house.  I have been going on walks with Tinkerbell.  I find that if I decide on a whim to leave the house I don’t have enough time to get worked up and anxious about it and by the time we are out the door and down the street my brain has had the chance the realise that it’s been tricked.  However it’s still not a happy place in my world when I know I have to leave the house on my own. I’m too smart for my own good- and I mean S-M-R-T smart of course.


I’ve been noticing that I have been pinning lots of cards.  It’s something that I enjoy to do.  I just wish I could get better at it.  Here’s the last time I made a card:


It was a Valentine’s Day card I made for my husband.  (He has made me a treasure hunt throughout the house so could find more charms for my bracelet).  I used some scrap pieces of cardstock I had lying around the house to make the twirls.  Then I glued them.  Being an impatient woman without a crafts heater (I know I know, I just got one, it’s on its way) I was a little too pearl pen happy a little early.  Because my twirls loosened up and ruined my very cute “pearls” I had made as accents.  None the less my hubby like it, mostly because it contained a starwars kinect game!  

And now the waiting begins.  There is nothing worse than waiting for something you ordered to arrive – and I have placed my order with Lisa and I can’t WAIT! I got lovely embellishments that I think will look great with the look of my wedding! In case you have not noticed so far, all my pictures included in the pages are either 6X8 or 8X10.  I decided to place emphasis on one of two bigger pictures.  And it’s so hard to pick some out of the 500+ my photographer took and the hundreds more my friends took!

So here I am impatiently waiting for items, toys and inspiration.  And my decaf skinny cinnamon dolce latte is all gone. Oh noes! Woe is me. Guess that’s it for tonight. Hopefully I’ll have something a little more recent to present, including kick ass pages with those pictures and a dress! 

Kitty
 

Sunday 11 March 2012

Woohoo?


My friend Jill came over today.  We set up in the scrap room and she decided to do a layout for a frame. This is something she hasn’t done in AGES! She wants to get back into the hobby- and what a great time to restart when you can do it with friends? Armed with a Page maps (http://www.pagemaps.com/pdfsketches.htm), knowing what picture she wanted to use and my supplies she started off! Now- the base is done and embellishments need to be added- as much as the printed out picture- but hopefully when she is done she will let me post her finished product!

But while happily in my scrap room with my friend I started looking at that page again. RAWR! I was set to win this battle! I picked out a picture, almost at random this time, and just went for it.  I did so many things to this page that I had to stop myself. It was too much.  You can over accessorise Coco Channel always said. Take off the last piece you put on. Well, I was going to add bling (well, more bling) and I took it off.  I am not quite sure how I like it but this is the result:




I took the white cardstock and the black patterned paper ( Toil&Trouble by Makingmemories) and sewed it w pink thread. Originally I was going to sew the picture down with black thread, but the papers underneath where to think and bent my needle.   And apparently I did not have bigger replacements... 

So I took those papers, and set down one of the Tattered Angels Glimmer screen down (Garden Lattice) and used “Cosmo” from Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.

I also used Glimmer Mist in Dazzling Diamonds and Cosmo on white Prima flowers and the black ones are from Bazzill basics paper.

Then using brads and ribbons I picked up over time I added those to the Lay out.

All to finish on the pink cardstock the hand written title and black accents from Imaginisce and the white ones made with my Pearl Pen in Ice White.

After all that work this may not be my favourite page. But- as my friend AndrĂ©anne once said- it happens.  Time to move on.  Seeing that this is a good day and that I’m feeling ok, I may be brave enough to leave the house by myself. Ok, maybe not by myself, but with the dog and that’s almost by myself right?  


ARRRGGGGG!!!!


So here I am stuck in a creative rut.  I took out my new sewing machine, took some paper and trying to get something going. So far I’ve had this base done- I quite like it. I just don’t know what to do with it.  I placed some pictures, played with some flowers and ribbons and multiple embellishments.  None of them have been making me fall in love with it.  So now I have a page and coming up dud.  And it’s like I can’t move forward until I am done with this.  Any suggestions?




Yesterday I hosted a Close to My Heart party. Lisa Page is my consultant ( http://lisapage.myctmh.com ) came over.  As a gift for hosting she made me this amazing box (created w the CTMH critcut cartridge) and lovely cards. Don’t you think?



A big congrats from Natalie from http://mamanhall.blogspot.com/ won a prize! Lucky her! Read about what she won on her blog!  We made a card using the cutest of paper. I love it!



And my show was more successful that I anticipated! Now to reap the benefits!  I’m only hoping that this will help jumpstart my creativity!!

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Rollercoaster of ... love?


You know that feeling in the pit of your stomach like you’re about to be sick? The ones with the butterflies in your chest and you feel like your heart is going a mile a minute and that you noticed that perhaps you’re having trouble catching your breath? I’m having it now.  I also had it earlier when I made a lunch date with one of my best friends Jenn.  Just the thought of leaving the house made me go like that. Every time I think of leaving the house that happens. Like, I just realised I’m out of milk and should go to the store. How silly is that?  So I’m doing relaxation techniques.  You see I am now smack in the middle of a lovely anxiety/depression.  Most people don’t want to talk about this- but it happens. A lot of people suffer from this; either full time or for a part of their lives.

I am tired of the shame that goes with it.  My body, mind and soul where run to hard for too long and after a really bad string of calls at work (I’m a paramedic) my body decided that this was ITS time. Its own way of calling 911 and telling me to stop.



So now what do I do? Well, I’m seeing my doctor and a therapist and have turned to the little things in life that I had put aside.

So this morning when Jenn invited me to join her for lunch, instead of sitting in a corner and letting this beast take over me, I went down to my crafts room and started doing something to take my mind off things.

What did I do today? I took out my new sewing machine!!! (I now have two lol).  I received it after signing up for the dressmaking and design course through ICS.  I am almost done- all I need to do is crated my final project and submit it.  And I have tons of ideas!  I’ve been dreaming arts and crafts!  Once it’s done I’ll post pictures.

But I also enjoy stitching on scrapbook pages. So I took one of the many pieces of spare cardstock I have and thread I had no need for and tried the design stitches my machine offers. Don’t they look cool?




Now- that being said I noticed that some, although lovely on fabric, cut too much of the paper and leaves a hole.  So that is not a great option for scrapping.  But while I was discovering and playing w my new shiny toy, I was happy and felt calm and at ease, and in no time it was time for me to leave! I had just time enough to get dressed for the weather and go! Did I feel anxious while driving and leaving? Yes.  I kept reminding myself that I was going to a safe place where I would be met by someone I love, and not work or anything more stressful than, where are we going to lunch?  So I did not have to suffer for hours in worry.



And now that I written and over shared I feel better. And looking forward to returning to MY room where I am going to try to add some sewing to my newest layouts.  I’m a little concerned. I am usually not one to have commitment issues when scrapping; its paper and pictures: no one will die and I can start over. But this is something new- combining 2 areas of my life to one. Should be interesting! I’m afraid and excited at the same time! Wish me luck!

Sunday 4 March 2012

Here we go!


Ahhhh! What am I doing? Have I really ventured into this blogging world? But here I am. As Shatner says”: just say yes”.  So I asked myself, as my talented friends started posting their own amusing fabulous blogs, should I?  So here I am. 

I am a long time crafter, sewing, knitting, drawing, and scrap booking. I 1st started scrapping in 2005.  Sure I would have no interest in the hobby and that really, I was going to my friends Creative Memories party only to support her.  Well look at that- I loved it.

So much, that I hosted my OWN party not long after! And this was my 1st ever scrap page:



Now, many many years have passed since my 1st discovering scrapbooking. I started by expanding my circle, realising that Creative Memories, although having simple, nice, clean, designs were not the only option out there. (To this day- I still believe they have the best albums!)

But my techniques were, how can I say this, not really expanding. Other than my cats, I did not have much to scrap.  Yes I was in a relationship (that was horrible) and I had (and have) amazing friends, but I did not feel I had the same passion as those around me.  What is making the 20th layout of my demon spawn cat, vs. watching my friends scrap their children, family and weddings? So like many out there, I felt like a scrapfailler, and not a scrapbooker.

But now I have found new joy and gusto in it.  I was in a low period of my life before meeting the most amazing man, whom I married.  And now I could understand as I prepared our engagement album to display to our beloved guests, how much more joy this could bring. 

I have been now working on my honeymoon, and have started our wedding album.  It brings me great joy.  Something that I need at the moment, as having lived through many hardships, family dramas, good stress, work stress and illness, I am at an all time low. 



My sewing machines are collecting dust; my knitting needles are asking me to finish the projects that are hanging off them.   I have my own crafts room now, somewhere quiet just for me.

I am fortunate enough that I have an amazing group of women with who I have to opportunity to learn new techniques, tools and scraplift off.



Natalie ( http://mamanhall.blogspot.com/ ) has an amazing blog that I love to read! Besides having a passion for scrapping that blows my mind, she also links the blogs that I know are must reads; therefore she does all the leg work for me! 

Nathalie ( http://thecreativecellar.blogspot.com/  ) has a talent that I cannot help but be envious of! She is also part of the team at one of my favourite scrap stores: http://www.tinascrapbooking.com/ .

Sarah (http://handwrittenmemories.blogspot.com/ ) is one of my best friends and my main scrapping partner.  She and I have spent many hours ( and too much money – shhhh don’t tell our husbands) traveling and exploring many stores. Doing this, we discovered ( w our friend Diane)  http://auntieemsscrapbookingbeading.blogspot.com/, another of my fave stores. Sarah is part of the design team as well!

So here I am writing a novel.  Do I still feel like a scrapfailer? Not anymore.  I have realised that what are in magazines and online are works of arts, and in art you cannot compare yourself to other, only to yourself. As I look at my latest layouts I created yesterday at an all day crop vs. the 1st one I ever done I realise how much I have learned and improved.  And that is all I can do.  And seeing, and loving, what I have created makes me happy.  I am hoping that I can create more and share.



What a difference a few years can make don't you think? :