random reflections

Project Life: OLW & March

Thanks to keeping a daily log and maintaining my Lightroom files, catching up on my Project Life pages isn't too difficult. I found some time to get back to it recently, and although it's not a particularly fast process, I'm beginning to find one that works pretty well for me. I neglected to add anything about my One Little Word on my February pages, so decided to start with a page devoted to both February and March.

I think I'll stick with Tracy Larsen's Simply White templates. I like the clean look and it's easy to pop the photos in the templates instead of having to resize them for the different pockets. The two quote cards came from pins here and here. The three 3X4 cards in the middle are all from a Cocoa Daisy Project Life kit, and the perfect little stickers ("books") is a Basic Grey alpha that I'm pretty sure came with the same kit. I stamped the names of the months with Papertrey Ink's "Calendar Basics" stamps.

This is a Cathy Zielske Basic Journalers card along with a couple of her "Months and Days" brushes. I know quite a few people who keep track of their progress with their OLW through Ali Edward's course on Big Picture Classes, but this seems like enough for me.

One of the things I like to do is keep track of the cards I make each month. I used to keep track of layouts as well, but now that I'm doing pocket pages, I've stopped worrying about that. I also wanted to remember my lucky win at Papertrey Ink.

March ended up being a two page spread. The title card was created with Monthly Moments stamps and die from Papertrey Ink, and the calendar is from a digital file by Katie Pertiet that I recolored. I lowered the opacity of the year. My digital skills are pretty basic, so I'm always quite pleased with myself when I remember to do something like that! The journaling card is also a digital file by Splendid Finn that I printed out. I love the little Oscars card where I typed up a list of all the films we saw prior to the awards. It was a freebie at Laura Kate is Crafty. I also used two of Cathy Zielske's "Tiny Templates" to create the photo collage and journaling about our trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake, and my love of Face Time.

Here's a closer look at the journaling for March:

And my favorite hand-made card for the month created with Papertrey Ink's "A Few Pointers" die, and Simon Says "You" stamp set and die.

Everytime I finish a Project Life page, I'm so glad I started this process. I've started with the pages for April, but need to find some concentrated time to finish them up. Here we are at the end of June (just how did that happen?), so I'm still three months behind!

 

Welcome, Baby!

I'm back with a card for The Card Concept challenge site. The current challenge is "Oh, Baby!" and I needed a baby card for good friends who just had an adorable baby girl.

I had a lot of fun creating this card. I started by applying embossing paste with  Simon Says "Falling Hearts" stencil. While that was drying I die cut two tags with Papertrey Ink's Tag Sale #5, one from the Bazzil pink cardstock and one from a vellum that is also embossed with tiny hearts. The sentiment is from PTI's "Fillable Frames: Addition 2." I tied a Paper Source pink ribbon to the tag and adhered everything to the card base. The gorgeous sequins are new ones from Pretty Pink Posh. This fits the Card Concept category "Clean and Layered."

I combined sentiments from Avery Elle's "Oh, Happy Day!" and Simon Says "Favorite Flowers" for the inside greeting. I just love how they work together.

I'm also linking this to Simon Says Work It Wednesday Challenge: "Create & Share."

Less Is More: Watercolour

It's not often that I publish two posts on the same day, but today is the last day of Less Is More's Watercolour challenge, and I have two cards I'd like to share. They were both made with the stamps from the Simon Says June Card Kit, "Favorite Flowers." One is a birthday card for a blogging friend across the Big Pond, and the other for a friend who is facing some very hard times right now. 

I stamped and white embossed the whimsical flowers on Tim Holtz's watercolor paper, then watercolored them with my Peerless watercolors. They are quickly becoming my favorite watercolors. After cutting out the flowers and leaves, I partially inked the grid stamp (A Stamp in the Hand) on Neenah white cardstock, and stamped the sentiments.

I chose Plum Pudding paper and inks for this one (Papertrey Ink), and stamped a sentiment from Papertrey's "Birthday Style."  Then I arranged the flowers and the Pretty Pink Posh sequins.

The cardstock for this card came from my stash, but is most likely Bazzill. The sentiment is from a relatively new Simon Says set called "Friendship Messages." I love the font. One requirement for the Less is More challenge is to leave plenty of white space. I think the subtle grid pattern qualifies for white space. 

I'm also linking these up to the Simon Says Work It Wednesday blog.

 

 

 

Happy Anniversary & Two Challenges

My dear friends celebrated their 66th anniversary yesterday. They no longer live in the same building (but are at the same facility) so this year I made an anniversary card for both of them to have in their rooms. 

I was anxious to put this new die from Papertrey Ink to work, and I'm sure it's going to get a lot of use. I love the simplicity of it, and the accompanying stamps make it very versatile. I die cut it from Simon Say's woodgrain cardstock and added the wood veneer heart, colored with a Copic marker so I could enter them in the CAS-ology Challenge this week:  Wood.

Here's a closer look.

I'm also linking up to the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge:  Anything Goes.

Zoom In, Zoom Out: Week 26

It's hard to believe the year is half over. I have no idea what's happened to the month of June! Keeping up with Helena's meme is one of the goals I've managed to keep up with and enjoyed all year. Last week a friend introduced me to white (also known as Rainier) cherries. Evidently they're only available for a couple of weeks. I've never been a big fan of cherries, but Tracy and I both love these. I'm hoping there are still some available this weekend when I go back to the grocery store.

 

 

Not only do I love summer for the fresh and local fruits and vegetables, but also for the opportunity to try new fruits and vegetables as well. You can check out other ZIZO pairings right here at Helena's blog. 

Papertrey Ink June Blog Hop

The inspiration for Papertrey Ink's June Blog Hop was a photo, sketch, and color challenge. This was the way Nicole described it:

You can choose to work with any of the ideas above or use other components of the inspiration photo to jump start your creation.  Have fun with it and challenge yourself to work outside of your comfort zone!

I created three cards, using each of the sketches, and combined one of the sketches with one of the downloadable color combinations. In my ongoing attempt to use stamps that haven't seen enough (or any) love, each card uses at least one stamp or die that I've never used before.

Here's the first sketch and the color inspiration.

And my interpretation:

This color combination is definitely not in my comfort zone (nor is trying to combine five different colors on one card.) I began by die cutting frames from Framed Out #1 and Framed Out #12 as well as a collection of flowers from Button Stacks II. (The Button Stacks II dies are my unused item.) I took a little liberty with the sketch and stamped the sentiment from "Fillable Frame #4 inside one of the frames. The Spring Rain color was added with the enamel dot from MME. The rest of the colors were die cut from the corresponding paper in the inspiration piece.

For the second card I used a sketch, but choose my own colors from a pile of scraps laying on my desk waiting to be filed into the scrap paper folders.

I used a Nestability Small Circles die to cut the circles from Pure Poppy, Tropical Teal, and Summer Sunrise. The star is from Impress, and the sentiment is from another unused (but new) stamp set "Wet Paint II."

The last card is my personal favorite (CAS design), and a masculine one, to boot! I used this sketch:

I started by stamping a variety of the"Square Prints" designs on Fine Linen cardstock. I've owned the "Square Prints" set since it came out, and don't believe I've ever used it. Liked it when I bought it, and I still do. I cut each square on the diagonal and mounted the resulting triangles under a thin strip of True Black cardstock. The sentiment is from "Botanical Prints."

I'm linking up all three cards to the Simon Says Monday Challenge to use products we ought to use more often. True, true, true.

I was hoping to link up to the blog post this morning, but either TypePad or my internet service were being disagreeable. So now I'm off to check out the inspiration linked here.

Summer Scavenger Hunt: Part 2

When I traveled to Detroit last weekend, I had my traveling companions on the lookout for the scavenger hunt items I needed. We found a few, and they had a great idea for one of the items I thought would be the hardest. One of the things I love about this project is how easily my friends and traveling companions jump into the project helping me find just the right photo.

#16 on the list is "a sign in a language other than English. The first one we encountered was in Canada at a rest stop.

But then when traveling on the People Mover in Detroit one evening on our way to the Fort St. Presbyterian Church,we found even better signs side by side.

I thought #10, a photo bomb (someone found lurking in the background of a photo) would be another difficult find. But Betsy's niece popped her head into a photo I was taking of Matt and Tracy on Father's Day. I think Nadia was surprised to find out I was HAPPY to see her in the photo!

I knew I'd have another entry for #2:  a garden gnome, since my mother-in-law discovered her neighbor's garden gnomes. Now I have some in a garden setting. (And they're a lot cuter than the ones I found at Wegmans.)

I took some photos with my iPhone (the signs were also taken with my phone) of a public garden (#19) a few blocks from our house. I have them in my SmugMug album, but I'm sharing the beautiful public gardens at The George Eastman House here.

 

And one of my favorites from the evening, taken as I walked back into the galleries. 

You can find more information about Rinda's Summer Scavenger Hunt right here. It's never too late to join in. The hunt continues until the last day of summer. I've finally added Rinda's graphic to my sidebar with a link to all my Summer Scavenger Hunt photos in my Smug Mug album.

 

Sweet Pea

One of my goals this year is to try to use all the stamps in my collection. Truthfully, it will probably take me more than a year, but I'm making progress. As soon as I saw the current challenge at Curtain Call, I knew I had the perfect stamp, and one that hasn't seen much use.

Papertrey Ink had a series of stamps several years ago called Year of the Flower. I only purchased two of the twelve, but one of them was "Sweet Pea."

I'm also entering the card into the Less Is More challlenge:  Watercolour. It's a relatively new challenge for me, but one I see frequently on my inspiration journeys around the internet. The cardstock base is a beautiful shimmer one from Papertrey Ink, but it's not showing up well in photographs. The sentiment is also from the Year of the Flower:  Sweet Pea, embossed in white on vellum and stitched down. 

Usually I have a receipient in mind when I make a card, but this one originated with the challenge call. It's nice to have a few cards in the file when I need one but don't have the time to create one.

Happy Retirement

It's that time of year, and two people I've worked with are retiring in June. The first is the program secretary at the Presbytery office. Jan has been a huge help to me during the six years I've served on Presbytery committees, and especially the three years I was chair of one of the committees. A group of us took her out to dinner a week or so ago, and I made this card for her.

Embossing and then doing a watercolor wash is becoming a favorite (and quick to do) technique. This time I used Dylusion sprays. I dipped my brush into the spray and applied it to the watercolor paper. I love how bright (almost neon) they are. The sentiment is an old wooden stamp by PSX. It's been in my collection for a very long time. The assortment of sequins came in a kit, but I'm not sure which one. I'm entering this card in the Less Is More challenge:  Watercolour.

The second card is for our Assistant Music Director at our church. I was on the hiring committe that chose Chris nineteen years ago! My original idea for this card didn't work out, but the end result is one of my favorites in quite some time. Totally CAS, but elegant.

I almost didn't purchase the "Life is Beautiful" stamps and die from Papertrey Ink, but they are already a favorite. The sentiment is from a Papertrey set, "Congratulations," that I've never used before, but it was the perfect size and font.

Here you can see the beautiful vellum, streaked with silver glitter from Cosmo Cricket's "Simple Surfaces" paper pack. The glittery enamel dots are from MME. The gold paper has been in my stash for a long time. This is the perfect card for the Fusion part of the CAS(E) this Sketch collaboration this week.

I'm also entering both cards in the Simon Says Monday Challenge:  Anything Goes.

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out: Scenes from Detroit

I spent three exhausting days in Detroit over the weekend. Went to bed WAY too late all three nights, and was on the go most of every day. The moderator election did not turn out the way we hoped, but the experience of attending the Presbyterian General Assembly was definitely a good one---and a learning experience as well. I got to know some members of my congregation much better, and met some really wonderful people from all over the country.

The first of the Zoom In, Zoom Out photos is another pick for Rinda's Summer Scavenger hunt:  an urban scene. This is the Ren Center in downtown Detroit. We were staying at the Marriot there.

One way to get to the COLA Center from our hotel was to walk down Jefferson Ave. The first two shots above were taken on Jefferson Ave. The other way was along the river walk and the last photo above and the next two were taken along the river.

You can join in at Helena's Zoom In, Zoom Out meme anytime, and you can check out the other photos right here.

We're going out to dinner with friends tonight and then to the Members Only party to see the new Lewis Hine exhibition at the George Eastman House. The opening parties are one of the perks of being a member. There are light refreshments, live music, and a chance to see the exhibits prior to the public opening. Although I have one set of photos for Rinda's scavenger hunt for a public garden, I'm hoping to get some good ones tonight at the George Eastman House gardens. The light should be perfect!