Finishing Projects

I'm in the midst of Club Scrap's PSL summer camp. So, in addition to working on my room (peeled the wallpaper boarder off and started to tape), I'm scrapping pages for team points. On the right is one of layouts I posted. You can see the couch (waiting to be picked up) was my easel!

I also completed 2 pages for my GAB book swap. The theme for the month of July was shoes. I used a graphic 45 background paper that I sprayed with Glimmer Mists to tone down the blues. The image is from Artchix (love Helga and VERY quick shipping!) and the shoes are Jolie's sticker.

I'm printing up photos to complete the podium book project. I've also found photos that will go great with the Matrix wired book. Now, to find the time...

Podium Book Project

I have been receiving various inquiries regarding the podium book. I'm glad you all like it! It was very fun and not too difficult. For more info, I can be contacted at: Connie@Lutzclan.net.

My Room

I took a break on Thursday to move the majority of stuff out of my room. I also was able to rearrange the desk - not an easy job moving an 8 foot desk full of paints and rubber stamps! I've re-designed my room and am having cabinets and storage units built. On August 13th, the units will be installed. So...I need to remove the wallpaper border and paint.

Today was spent scrapping for Club Scrap's Summer Camp and completing 2 of my altered book pages for GAB. I'll post those later or tomorrow!

Copper Tree

These are photos (not very good ones!) of the Copper Tree I made in a class at ScrapLovers/A Work of Heart in Willow Glen. The tree was made using a heavy gauge copper formed into the basic tree shape. Then, a couple of smaller gauges

are wound around the existing larger gauge. I'm not totally happy with the shape - but it turned ok for a first go round. Once done, the whole tree was dipped into a container of liver of sulpher and water to give it an aged look. In person, there is a variation of color that is cool. I'll be making ornaments to hang on the branches. I'm thinking of a french/Paris theme - for obvious reasons!

Podium Book Workshop

We had our monthly House Crop on Saturday for the West Coast

Scrap and Chat group to which I belong. We get together to work on projects, scrapbook, and best of all spend time chatting and catching up! On Saturday, KJ requested a podium book workshop. As she is the "Queen", we had a great workshop! The photo to the right is the completed book in the Summer Fun colors. We also changed the binding from individual wires to a wire comb, using

the Bind-It-All book binding system. It was a great change and made it possible to change out the bound pages periodically - perfect for grandparents or anyone who like to change the display.

The photo to the left is a close up of the change. The coils are attached at the 2 O rings of the book stand. I really liked the cheery colors of this "Summer Fun" kit. The are several other combinations - the most populare this weekend was "Elegant" - a great red and black combination. Usually, I would have made anything red - but I broke out of the box and used the brighter colors. Now, to add photos!

Podium Book Workshop

We had our monthly House Crop for the West Coast Scrap and Chat group to which I belong. It's always a great time to get some stuff done, and, most of all, visit with all the the wonderful ladies present!

This month, KJ, our House Crop Queen, requested the Podium Book workshop - a scrapbook project by Club Scrap. Instead of following the instructions to the letter, we did a little twist - as KJ had a Bind-It-All book binding machine and requested using is to bind the book. It was an easy change and looks better than all the individual wires sticking out. The photos above are of my sample - remade using my Bind-It-All. The pages are bound together and could actually be swapped out to a different set of coil bound pages. A handly feature for this display book especially if made as a gift for a grandparent or distant (as in geographically) relative.

Tonight, I'll be taking a monoprinting class with friends at ScrapLovers A Work of Heart in Willow Glen. I recently made a copper tree onto which to add ornaments. A picture of the tree will come soon - then I can finish the ornaments!

Bits and pieces...

The photo to the right is easily recognizable - Notre Dame de Paris. We

hung out in the court yard area - resting our feet and people watching.

Very interesting to people watch in a place visited by tourists from all over the world and locals. We did go inside...there was a service going on so we kept photos to a minimum. Always amazing to see the Rose stained glass window - just beautiful.

We booked a 1 day tour to visit Giverny and Versailles, with a stop for lunch between the two. Our first visit was to Giverny and Monet's estate. The house was much larger than I would have thought and very colorful. The interior color palette of greens, blues, and yellows was very pretty and restful. The gardens were amazing and just huge. The photo to the left is of the famous pond of waterlilies so often by painted by the artist. I was surprised to see how large the lilies were - it's difficult to tell in photos. Think of a Magnolia tree flower only larger!

The art room is looking pretty cluttered - especially since I've really outgrown the storage system. With Megan out of high school, I've decided to re-do the room and remove the "guest room" sofa bed. Next is designing a new system to have built or to "Ikea"-it. Sue and I will be venturing to Ikea on Tuesday to check things out...

Ah, and Summer Camp has started at Club Scrap. It's another PSL, this time around I'm only scrapping - no cardmaking! I'm hoping to get the Paris trip albums done and more pages done in my kids books! I'm an Adventurer in Cabin 3!

Herringbone Technique

This Herringbone technique has been making its way through the Club Scrap board...It utilizes narrow strips of cardstock on an adhesive base. Carpet tape is what is recommended by Nikki on the website. I didn't have any carpet tape handy so I used Judikins Eclipse tape and Club Scrap's Bookbinding glue.

As I made my initial panel, I thought it might be fun to try the technique on 3 dimensional embellishments. So,,,I pulled out some chipboard embellishments (both positive and negative images), slathered it in Bookbinding glue and made the star embellishments on the above cards.

The top 2 images are close-ups of the chipboard embellishments. This is a pretty easy way to use up scraps...

Bits of Paris...

Toulouse was no where in sight - but quite a few others were standing by to snap pictures of the infamous Moulin Rouge. It does seem funny that for all its history it's in the middle of a pretty ordinary block in Paris' Montmartre district. It is also still in operation as a music hall. Several tour companies offer dinner and show packages at the Moulin Rouge - formal attire is requested!

This is a photo of one of the first Metro stations. It was originally built for a World Exposition in 1900. It expanded fairly quickly afterwards. This sign was done in the popular "Art Nouveau" of the day. The Musee d'Orsay has amazing furniture and wall paneling from this era as well.

Maybe more another time....

July 1st...

Well - there's big changes afoot! The past few weeks have been hectic to say the least.

On June 11th, my daughter graduated from high school - she's my youngest. So...I'm now done with public school and on to college-parent groups! Four days later, she and I were on our way to Paris for a week.

We stayed near the Eiffel Tower (a residential neighborhood that's quiet and close to a Metro stop) - and spent time in every neighborhood/Arrondisement. In addition, we took a couple of day trips. One trip was to Giverny and Monet's house (and infamous garden) and Versailles. The flower garden and pond (with the famous waterlilies) was amazing. Luckily, all was in bloom; and those waterlilies are sooo much larger than I would have imagined! After lunch on that trip, we headed to Versailles for a meandering tour of the King's apartments.

Our second trip was to 3 castles in the Loire Valley. We drove a couple of hours south of Paris and were able to see parts of the countryside. The 3 castles were very different from each other - Amboise, Chenenceau and Chambord. I'm hoping to post a couple of photos - don't worry no 3 hour slide shows of everything we saw!

Now onto business...Having to no longer volunteer my time to California public schools, I'm able to spend more time creating. I'm also linking up my blog to new Facebook and Twitter sites. Bear with me and my infrequency for a little while longer as I become more adept at all this technology! My goal is to post more frequently, hold more workshops, and maybe host a swap or two.