Hello Again

It's been a long month...How've you been? Are you still there? Life happens and, unfortunately, blogging and creating sometimes take a back seat. Such has been the case with me. A new chapter has been opened and, at times, I'm trying to get it all figured out.

When last we spoke, I was in the midst of several things: dorm room shopping with my daughter; a craft room makeover; and I don't seem to remember what else! ( oh yeah, quotes for a bathroom remodel) Taking a child to college 3000 miles away has been a learning experience.

For one thing, ship more than you think seems reasonable. We shipped 2 large boxes and decided to carry as much clothes in our suitcases as possible. We left a pile of stuff for later shipments. I spent 2 weeks after leaving Boston, boxing and finding all the "maybe you could send..". Priority Mail? Five days on average to get items to Boston - almost the same as Fed Ex.

Second, and this is a biggie, BE SURE AND SEND A FEW SENTIMENTAL ITEMS FROM HOME! Sorry for yelling, but it would have been nice to have this advice. New stuff is exciting but, when your child feels homesick at 2:30am - a familiar pillow or critter would be a good thing. As soon as I returned from Boston, I shipped some stuff from her room and some familiar snacks. It helped a great deal from what Megan told me.

Clean out you child's room with them before she/he leaves...this still needs to be done, but it's kinda sad to go in there. Although, it has stayed clean! Soon, very soon....

With all this emotional upheaval, I've still been plugging away at my room. It is mostly organized, and that includes closet. I have bulletin boards up and a honeycomb top-down/bottom-up shade on my window. I did the installation of all items by my self and feel pretty good about it, Thank You! Just waiting for a tabletop turnstile to hold CD cases(which contain some unmounted stamps). Oh, and green man still needs to hang. But, it's pretty much done. Oh yes, I do remember I said I would post photos. They're coming- have no fear!

There's been a little time for creativity - completed an altered book page for my swap and made a small canvas as a gift for our usher at the Giants games. Of course - I forgot to photograph it before I sent it off with my husband. Too bad, really, because it was my first foray into canvas work and it turned out pretty well.

I do think you're up to date.

Still on Hiatus

Well, the BBQ (both of them) was fun! Megan's best bud Ryan had one Friday, Aug 20th - he left for BYU on Sunday. We had one on sat, Aug 22nd. It was great to spend time with all and it gave Megan a chance to see our chosen "family" members before she leaves.
We've spent the past couple of days up in Arnold at our cabin. We have an annual "girl's trip" to come up, relax, and hike the South Grove trail in Big Trees (about 4 miles). After the hike, we picnicked at Beaver Creek and played in the water. Craig joined us this year - but it'll be back to traditions next year!
Soon, we'll be heading home. We need to box everything up so I can ship it to Boston on Friday...plus, I need to get back to "my room". i will post pictures soon!

Hiatus?

I've been busy slowly but surely moving back into my room. I'm trying to take my time and think through where to put everything. It's a lot tougher than I thought - mainly due to all the stuff that needs to fit! I have emptied out 2 tall iris carts and some cleared closet shelves.

Amidst the mess in my room (and garage) is the stash of dorm stuff for Megan. It's been fun shopping together and planning the little bit we can. As summer is ending, it's been a bit disappointing for Megan. Friendship issues (and jealousies) have continued - some of these teenage girls are just not very nice. Megan is a December birthday, so she is pretty mature and focused for a teen. Actually, she's a teen in age only - probably why she has done so well with all the adults in community theatre. It'll be good for her to meet people who have similar interests and some who are more mature and focused.

Tomorrow, I hope to start posting "before" photos.

A Brief Break from Creating...

Yesterday, I did take a book class at ScrapLovers/A Work of Heart, but I need to complete the stitching on them. When they're done, I'll post them. Today was another day of dorm shopping with Megan.

Target has college packs of single place settings, as well as other odds and ends for dorm rooms. We also did some clothing shopping. I now have a big box to be shipped off to Boston in the coming weeks. I'm hoping that we'll just have 2 boxes to ship - some of the smaller items will fit in a suitcase. The question will be whether the large box of bed linens and towels will fir in my car!

Creating

Since I had to hang out to wait for a patio furniture delivery, I spent some time in my room-in-transition. We started the last week of PSL Summer Camp for Club Scrap. So, I made two 2-page layouts. After that, I thought it was probably time to address the altered books gathering dust in my room.

A couple of years ago, four us picked themes and began circulating our books to be altered. We have no time limit - which is why we still are not done! I worked on Linda's "black and white" book. This theme has been difficult for me because I'm not a black and white type of person. I see colors and nuances - plus I don't believe in absolutes. So, I pulled out some funky black and white designed paper and decided to go with the first thought I had. Hence the above pages. It's a hand with a pocket watch on a chain and the words "you're getting very sleepy". I thought the circles might be something you'd see being while being hypnotized....I told you I had trouble with this theme:-)

Tomorrow, I'll be at ScrapLovers/A Work of Heart for a bookmaking class. I made some inside pages with FW liquid acrylics and water to use as some of the pages...I'll post those tomorrow after the class!

Painting...

All my creative energy today was spent painting my room. My daughter helped with the cutting in and I rolled all the walls (and took over the 2nd coat of cut ins). It's a great red. I'll probably post photos after it's done. I've been taking one at every step of the re-decorating process. I'm hoping to look at lighting options tomorrow. THEN, I need to scrap some pages to help my team for Club Scrap's Summer PSL!

The photo above is from the most recent GAB altered book page. The theme is "Naughty Little Secrets". The background and the bed are fabrics and the bedposts are actually fairly flat wooden beads.

Podium Book Completed

I added photos to the Podium Book project. I also stamped some accents and used various brads. The print on some of the pages is from the Avant Garde kit. So, I stamped the circles in a couple of similar colors and punched them out. I popped the circles up in several places on the pages. These were photos take 2 years ago, about this time, of my daughter and my visit to So Calif. to visit my cousin and her twin grandsons.

Podium Book Completed

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.

Altered Art

Well - I have found my motivation...I'm just lacking time! It's the end of the school year and my daughter is graduating high school. That means I'M done with high school! But, it also means awards assemblies, memory boards, sending out announcements...

I have been able to complete my altered pages for the GAB swap (Girls Altering Books). The first photo above is from our first month's theme - "Faces of the Desert". I used a magazine background and photos of a ground hog and lots of crackle paint and pumice gel for desert texture.

The second photo is the page from May -the theme is "Birds". I used Claudine Helmuth's paints

and old music and dictionary pages for the house. The bird stamps are from Invoke Arts - just the head of the mama is visible, but she also is in a dress. The leaves are from a plastic branch of greenery from Micheal's. The words printed from a labeler "..birds of a feather".

I have a few other items I'm completing and will try to post before I leave on vacation...

Motivation...

I've been having some trouble motivating myself to get art done. I have a plethora of ideas - but the execution part has been difficult. Have you been there? Unfortunately, I think that the cluttered mess of my stamp room is much to blame. I've really outgrown the space that I have in there - I need to re-do the entire room and give away the sofa bed that is taking up an entire wall (could really use waist high counters with drawers/cubes etc). In a couple of weeks, my daughter will be graduating from high school - so I think that our very occasional house guests will soon cease. Then, the room will be all mine......

More projects... the above was one of the CD book projects that I received as a prize for PSL. I'm really liking these little books - so easy to make. The beadwork really stand out...and is also pretty easy. I think I should order some of these CD envelopes for future projects!

Projects Galore

I'm still busy trying to conquer my drawer of projects. And, of course, I have received my Cruise in a Box for Club Scrap with, what else?, more projects! Actually, we had a "Land Cruise" at my house on May 9th the work on 3 of the more difficult/tricky projects. One of those is done and the other 2 need completing! Will post as they are done!

The above photo is that of the Flip Book from the Club Scrap Sr "Cruisin". It's originally meant to be a neat little photo album - but I did not really have pictures to fit the theme and colors. I do have Club Scrap and other companies Retro themed stamps that worked quite well, including Marylin Monroe and Elvis images and some "nifty" sentiments...

I'll be taking a little break from projects to finish my GAB altered book swap theme page for May (Birds) and planning a card workshop. I'm just finalizing the techniques to be showcased in the workshop and I'll be ready to publish the date and send out an e-mail!

Projects and NSD

It's still been busy around here! Projects of various kinds have been monopolizing my time. I put together a display board for Club Scrap kits to be used at events - I used it for the Vendor night at Dartmouth Middle School. In addition to that, a group of us on the Club Scrap forum are working our way through all the unfinished projects that are sitting in drawers. Above is the wire book from the Matrix kit. I completed it at the end of April. Well...it's not completely finished as I'm not sure what will go on the pages yet!

Over this past weekend, a small group of us West Coast Scrappers were at Scrapbook U in Fremont for National Scrapbooking Day. We spent 8 hours working on projects (me) or/and scrapbooking. We were treated to lunch, dinner, snacks, and some take home goodies. And, we all made a new friend, Bonnie! Not only did she tolerate our banter, but contributed and held her own. She may even join us at the House Crop in May. It was a fun Sunday for all!

Busy Busy

It's still busy around here -too much to do and too little time! We had our monthly House Crop in Danville this past Saturday. I was able to scrap pages for my kids albums and start on one of my many Club Scrap projects!

I have a drawer full of Club Scrap projects - mostly books (I love to make books!) So, it's time to put them together. On the Club Scrap forum, several of us are "committing" to a project a month in order to get these items out of the bag! I hope to be posting a wired book sometime soon.

I will be at Dartmouth Middle School on May 1st for a vendor event. Come on by - I'll have various products and examples and, more than likely, a small and quick make-n-take using Club Scrap products.

I'll also be having another card workshop in May - date to be announced. In addition to using the Assembly line card deck and Club Scrap card stock - count on another technique to learn!

The above grouping of cards were made using a format from the card making deck. All the card stock is Club Scrap and the stamp set is Stampin' Up birthday set. They all went together very well - although the photo looks a bit blurry! With Club Scrap it's all about using your supplies - regardless of where they came from : )

Alcohol Ink and Microglaze

The above photos were the ones I was attempting to upload the other day. The top photo is actually a finished card made using alcohol inks, Microglaze, stencils and a "spinner". The 2nd photo shows glossy cardstock with a stencil overlaid. Microglaze is applied to the openings. Photo 3 is the cardstock with the stencil removed - you should be able to see the raised Microglaze image. The next photo shows the cardstock inserted into a Spin Art machine. Does it look familiar? They are available at some Micheal's for around $10 (less with a 40% off coupon :)) And, lastly, the cardstock after alcohol ink was applied to the spinning cardstock - the Microglaze is the scrapped off. You're ready to trim and decorate the card!

More cards and techniques to come soon!

Card Workshop

I held a card Workshop about a month ago (yeah, I know !) and I'm thinking I will have a similar workshop again in May. We played with the Club Scrap idea Deck for card making - I picked a card and we cut card stock according to the card's recipe. Everyone picked there own, different card stock colors - so we had a wide variation of finished colors combinations.

But we did not stop there! The main focal image was not stamped, but made with a stencil and a wonderful product by Judikins called Microglaze. Place stencil on cardstock and apply Microglaze to stencil openings. When you remove the stencil, the glaze creates a mask, resisting inks. Place the card stock in a child's spin art machine and turn it on. As it spins, drop Ranger Alcohol Inks onto card stock - one color at a time. You may also drop some Blending Solution to insure good coverage. When you have the desired look - turn off the machine and remove the card stock. Scrap off the Microglaze. I was hoping to show photos of this process, but I can't get them to load. I will try again soon.

Not Enough Time...

The past month has been very busy: my high school senior has perfromed in her final musical (HONK! - the story of the Ugly Duckling), meaning mom has a bunch of volunteer responsibilities; my bi-monthly (every other month?!) card making class (more on that later); Club Scrap pro scrapbooking and cardmaking league - now in it's last week; and some sad news regarding friends.

HONK! turned out to be an amazing success - selling out both weekends. We even set up an additional 35 seats and sold those as well. The kids were fabulous and enjoyed every minute - although it was bittersweet for the seniors. My daughter, Megan, has already promised to come back and see next year's play when she is on Spring Break.

One of our good friend's daughter ,who spends time with Megan, was diagnosed with a brain tumor 2 weeks before HONK! opened (she was the lead). We've been on a roller coaster with her and her family hoping all goes well with surgery and recovery. Thankfully, the results came back negative for cancer and she should hopefully come home in the next day or two. That's a relief for all of us.

There's been other stuff - too complicated to go into here. However, life is slowly getting back to normal. AND, Megan has made her decision as to which college to attend next year - the winner is Emerson College in Boston! She's very excited as she will have the opportunity to design her own major, encompassing sound for theatre, film, and TV. It's a wonderful opportunity for her!

A taste of card making - above is one of my favorites of the past couple of weeks. The background was made using an alcohol ink technique of polished stone. It was fun to make a couple of sheets of polished stone and then cut them up for cards. It's a technique I used way back when and have had fun revisiting it!

As for my card making meeting - that'll be for another post with some technique photos!

Cardmaking

I've been in a card making frenzy in the past 2 weeks. Competing in Club Scrap's Pro Scrapbooking League has been keeping me busy! Here are a few of the cards I've made. The challenge was to stamp cards and use at least 50% Club Scrap products. The red-based birthday card was made using Chapter One kits Greetings to Go. I stamped the sentiment tag and the border swirls. The kit also came with a variety of ribbon (used on the tag) and colored brads.















This very bright card was made using an older kit - Bistro. The cafe scene was stamped and I added 3 circles with black gemstones.





The following week's challenge was for use to use any February kit - past or present. I used the most recent February kit, Artifacts, with it's stencil. I covered the stencil openings with Judikin's Microglaze - this forms a resist. I removed the stencil and placed the cardstock in a child's Spin Art machine. I turned it on and dropped Ranger alcohol inks onto the cardstock.

Busy February

I've been busy with Club Scrap's PSL contests. For the first competitive week (week 2), both of my teams won first place - 15% discount and a project. We've just started the third week on Monday.

The "empty" layout above is from the January "Gimme a Ring" Club Scrap Jr. kit. I assembly line scrapbooked the layout, adhering the photo mats with temporary adhesive. I usually use temporary adhesive until I know what photos I am using. The layout to the right has photos added (obviously!) I changed very little - removing one photo mat and moving one over. This is the beauty and simplicity of the assembly line system. I have my layouts pre-made and then, after I take out photos, I match the photos to the appropriate layouts.

Not only have I been busy with the Pro Scrapbooking League, I attended a House Crop in Danville with some of the ladies in my West Coast Scrap group. It's always a good time, with everyone contributing some form of food and drink for the 12 hour day. Several participated in an FFC workshop. We made the Paper Bag stitched book. It's very cute and, I hope to decorate mine and post photos.

I've also been working on cards for PSL. I'll be posting a few of my favorites in the coming days. Now, I'm off to bed!

Stencils as Masks

I've been finishing up swap cards for an ATC swap I'm in. It calls for the use of masks, so I decided to use once of Club Scraps stencils (a favorite!) to make a mask and color the background.

I placed my stencil, a starburst design from the "Sparkle" kit, on a sheet of white glossy cardstock and rubbed Microglaze from Judikins in the open areas. I then repeated it all over the cardstock. The Microglaze will leave a raised design in the shape of the stencil. I sprayed the cardstock with a combination of Glimmer Mists. After the paint had dried, I scraped off the Microglaze - leaving the white starburst pattern. The first photo above is for the ATC swap. I had some backgrounds left over so I made the "Smile" card using Club Stamp's Retro stamps and "Simply Beautiful" cardstock.

I'll be posting the card in the Club Scrap Pro Scrapbooking League Galleria for my cardmaking team.