The Art of Life

So . . . It's been a while since I've had time to post, but things should be settling down soon.  Don't you just hate it when real life interferes with your creative time?  I do!  The good news is that I will soon have a larger and much improved art studio in which to engage in my creative endeavours; the bad news is that I won't have it fully set up until August.  But, at least it's coming soon :)  I'll post some photos when I can.

In the meantime, I have some updates on my current creative teams.  In April, I joined the Crew at ScrapbookGraphics - how exciting is that?!?  I am still in awe of all the talent there - both the CT and designers - and am loving every second :)  I host a monthly challenge called Create Outside the Box - and I'd love it if you would come and join me!  I'll be posting the Inspiration LO's with links to the Challenge thread from here every month, or you can check it out in the Challenge Forum at SBG.  Here is June's inspiration page (the Challenge is to include an off the page extraction):

Ahhh, Starbucks (one of my favorite places to visit)!  There are some awesome Challenges coming up too, so be sure to check in at ScrapbookGraphics and join me :)

Rock Stars Unplugged: Sticker Art

Any sticker art fans out there?  I love the retro look you get when turning regular elements into digital "stickers."  Here is a recent page I created (with an awesome new Kit by Libby Pritchett and Meg Mullens) using this technique on some photo extractions.

If you love this look too, check out the tutorial I did on Libby's Blog today.  I walk you through two different methods of creating sticker art.  This technique can also be used to turn regular text into a word art sticker.  It's super easy and quick too - which is always a bonus :)

Layout credits: Don't Stop Believing by Libby Pritchett and Meg Mullens (linked above), Jumbo Paper Clips by Libby Pritchett.  All available at Sweet Shoppe Designs.

Art Journal: Reinforce

This is, by far, my favorite Art Journal page right now.  I created it for Week 8 of the 2011 Art Journal Caravan.  The focus verb this week is "Reinforce" and my original quote is based on my daily mantra - "Art helps me Breathe."  Without any further ado, here it is (linked to Gallery for full credits):

Thanks for letting me share my latest creation - Here's hoping it inspires something creative in you :)

Have a great weekend!

All About Me Art

I don't often take to time to scrap just about me, but I wanted to share a recent Art Journal page I created that focuses on that very elusive subject.  I used lots of digital goodness from Fee Jardine, and several of my favorite Darcy Baldwin Fonts on this one (click on the page for full credits):

I really love the mixture of different kits and fonts on this page and was very excited and honored to see it on the GSO Blog on Valentine's Day :)

For anyone keeping track, that makes 2 Art Journal pages so far this year.  Although I anticipate more consistent creation from this point forward, since I was lucky enough to snag a VIP pass with the Art Journal Queen herself - Tangie Baxter!!  I am so looking forward to spending the next four months behind the scenes with Tangie and her amazing CT :)

The Art of Us

In honor of Valentine's Day, I have a new layout with lots of fun photos of Scott and me.  One of my favorite ways of including multiple photos on a page is to create a direct view room background with a floor and large wall canvas to "hang" them on.  Here is the page I created this year:

The elements all have some special significance to us, and most of the photos are from various trips we've taken over the last few years - including Disney World, Universal Studios (i.e. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter), a local festival and a sailing trip.  My favorite photos are the fun "posed" ones taken at amusement parks :)  I've definitely got to work on a full page layout with the Pirates of the Caribbean photo!! 

Thanks for stopping by - have a fabulous Valentine's Day!

Layout Credits: All kits from MScraps - Timeless Collab; Holly Jolly Chrismas Collab; To Build Castles in the Air by Honey Designs; Beauty of Fall, Amazing Love and Faithful by RuthMelody Designs; Eternal Love by ad77design; Fonts: Annabelle JF, Monotype Corsiva and AL Verdigris

More Project 52 Art

So, I've finally had a chance to get caught up on my Project 52 pages (or at least mostly caught up).  Here are my pages for Weeks 2-4 (full credits are available if you click on the Project 52 Gallery link to the right):

^This page^ chronicles our recent visit to the hospital where I was born.  The building is now abandoned, but having the opportunity to see the place where I was born really was a priceless experience.  Of course, we had to stop at a Starbucks in Novato (to add to my collection) and then we had a fabulous dinner in Stinson Beach to finish out the evening.  I brought back the piece of plaster in my hand as a memento of the visit - and, of course, for scrapping material :)

^This page^ is one of my current faves.  I took the photo at Pier 39 in San Francisco (after our trip to Alcatraz Island).  I love the way it turned out with the out of bounds extraction :)

^This page^ is a true Everyday Moments LO.  I love this photo of Scott and Hermione (she is such a lap cat)!

I'm working on the pages for Weeks 5 and 6 right now - and hope to have them done before this week actually ends :)  I would be nice to have at least one of my projects caught up and on track!

She Found the Art in Her Soul

So I finally got inspired to create the cover for this year's Art Journal (at least a digital version anyway).  I'm using a Prima 8x8 canvas album with the intent to create some of the pages digitally, and others with mixed media.  Here is digital cover:

The self portrait is based on a painting I created in a class taught by Paulette Insall.  I used the sketch as a guide for the body and hair and added the stitches individually to frame the face, eyes, nose and mouth.  I then created masks for the face/neck/eyes; shirt and hair and clipped digital papers to them.  Finally, I added the earrings and necklace to finish it off.  I plan to recreate this layout on the cover of my Art Journal with fabric and vintage elements.

Now if I could just get caught up with the pages :) :) :)

Layout Credits:  Timeless Collab MScraps; Live, Laugh, Love, Grow Collab MScraps; Organic Collab MScraps; Amazing Love (RuthMelody Designs); Beauty of Fall (RuthMelody Designs); Little Artist (ad77design); Fancy Stitches 2 (RuthMelody Designs)

Project 52 Art - Week 1

So . . . I've been dutifully taking my Project 52 photos every week, but have already fallen a bit behind with the pages.  I finally have a bit of a break this weekend and am hoping to get caught up, but here is my page for Week 1:

Most people who know me are aware that I'm a HUGE Starbucks fan.  The closest one to where I live is about 1.5 hours away, so I always take advantage of their ready availability when traveling.  A couple of years ago I started taking photos of Starbucks in different locations, and it has become an ongoing project for me.  This page is a collage of the Starbucks locations we visited on a recent trip to San Francisco.  Mmmmmmm, just looking at it makes me want a Grande Vanilla Latte . . .

Layout credits: Cozy Evening by Tiramisu Designs and In Your Mug by PST Designs (available at PickleBerryPop); Font: DJB JGeek (Available at Sweet Shoppe Designs)

Artful Accidents

Don't you just love accidental art?  No stressing, no blocked mojo, no editing until you're happy with the look - it just Happens.  On a recent trip to San Francisco, and tour of Alcatraz island, I had just such an artful accident - with an amusing story to go along with it.

The best part of the story is that I really do love this photo!  The tilted perspective, the water and fog in the background, amazing white space for journaling - it's perfect :)  When I looked at the photo on the camera I expected to see a blurry mess - that I was more than ready to delete - but instead I got an Artful Accident.  Don't you just love it when that happens?

Photo credits: Fonts: DJB Monkey Scratches/DJB Coffee Shoppe Tall Skinny; Acid Wash Pro photo action by PhotoBlast

Art Helps Me Breathe

Welcome to my new creative musings blog! A place where I can share my passion for all things ART, and (hopefully) inspire artistic tendencies in others. I love all genres of art, but my most common artistic outlet involves capturing life (more commonly referred to as "Scrapbooking").

I love both digital and traditional life art and am always looking for new techniques to master and incorporate into my creations. For that reason, I have decided to embark on a Project 52 this year that focuses not only on taking photos, but on learning new techniques - photography, digital art and mixed media. My goal is to be able to post not only my completed pages, but also the techniques I incorporated into those pages.

My other major artistic project this year is completing Tangie Baxter's Art Journal Caravan.  I am such a huge fan of both Art Journaling and Tangie and can't wait to get started on this year's Adventure Quest :-)

So here's to a year filled with Artfully Inspired Adventures!