MISTical March: Gesso, Mist and Punches

The idea for this last MISTical March page came from an Art Journal page by Kim Beinschroth.  On her page she used gesso and mist around a magazine clipping.  I used these on my photo.

It seems a little scary to spread modeling paste and gesso over your photo.  However, this definitely isn't the best photo of me.  It is a fun selfie taken last summer when we were splurging on ice cream from Kilwins.

We are both chocolate lovers but I used sherbet colors for the page and drips to continue the ice cream theme.  Now, our ice cream never gets a chance to drip!

Here are a few closeups of the page.

I had no 'e' letters left so I rearrange a "z."  Foam Thickers make that a lot easier.

The video at YouTube:


And here are the other videos in the MISTical March series:

A Magical Night - Titles
Stenciled Heart - Background Element
New Friends - Background splatters and an ATC Card
Technique Video - using Sunburst Stencil
Sand Art - using Sunburst Background

Thanks for visiting and watching!  I'm always on the lookout for what you want to see.  It is fun to explore ideas and find topics that interest everyone.  So if you have an idea for techniques you'd like to see a perspective on, let me know.

Repurposing office supplies to store die cuts

I have a ton of page protectors - not scrapbooking ones.  The ones I'm referring to are for 8 1/2" x 11" papers and are the non-glare type.  I used to use them in notebooks holding magazine clippings, home show photos and photos of my own projects to share with clients in the early days of my window treatment business.  In the last few years of my business, I stopped hauling around those heavy notebooks and used my laptop.  Those notebooks were invaluable for a long time, now they just gather dust.

So I've been breaking down a few at a time and I hate to throw away perfectly good page protectors. I also have a problem storing die cuts so the two needs have met in this project.

The video shares how to created the little pockets from a page protector.  You could do the same with a scrapbooking page protector as well.  You do need a sewing machine for this project.  Other than that, a Sharpie, ruler and good scissors will do it.

Watch at YouTube:


Isn't it rewarding to find new uses for old things?

Thanks for stopping by!  I'm off to a crop this weekend!  I'm so excited to put some faces to screen ids.

Mother's Birthday Card

We celebrated Mother's birthday this week.  We had a lovely outing to a garden center, her favorite restaurant and mall and to an upscale consignment shop she really enjoys.

I made her card with a Prima ATC card.  This one I painted with some artists paints and a little water.  I liked how this came out better than the misted one I did on a page last week.  I did add a bit of Tatterned Angels mist over the top for shine.  The base is a piece of book paper I stamped.

When Lenny saw this card, he said, "It's over the top so it is perfect for your mother."  So true.

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Using a Sunburst Background

Last week I shared a video where I made 6 backgrounds using the Heidi Swapp Sunshine stencil, which I keep thinking of as a sunburst stencil.  Today, I have a process video and layout using one of my favorite results. This one was done on Stampin' Up! Bashful Blue cardstock with Mister Huey Honor Society Ink and then the Ring Doily Crafter's Workshop stencil and two shades of orange mist.

The page is about a decorative piece my husband bought at an art gallery last fall.  We enjoy going to galleries but 99% of the time, we are just browsing.  This time, he made a purchase which really surprised me.  He is very frugal and doesn't really like a lot of things - unless they relate to pinball and then he likes a LOT of things, but that is another subject.

We are enjoying this sand art piece from Exotic Sands.  It has several types of sand some of it very crystalized.  It makes beautiful sculptures.  I took a few shots of one of them building for the layout.

To continue the sand them, I used a textured embossing powder from Ranger on the die cut letters.  There is quite a bit of cardstock on this page.  The only designer paper is the bit of background you see behind the stenciled cardstock piece.  If you have a lot of cardstock and are looking for more creative uses, check out the Creative Cardstock class found here.

Now I could use your help.  If you watch the video, you'll see me trying to decide if the page needs some little orange sequin pieces cut from trim. Here are two versions of the layout.  The 1st one has the addition of the orange pieces.  Should I add those or not?  I just couldn't decide.

The video is found here or at YouTube:


I used one of last year's sketches found in the 2013 Sketchbook.  The original sketch was one photo and I've used two small ones.  Otherwise, I followed it closely.

Thanks for visiting today!

Sunshine Stencil Technique Video

One day I was in Michaels with a 40% off coupon - and a husband waiting in the car.  I don't remember what I was looking for that day but I wasn't finding it.  Finally I grabbed the Sunshine stencil from Heidi Swapp.  It was been hanging out in my stencil drawer for months. A few ideas would pop into my head but I did nothing with it until a few days ago.  Here are some of the things I came up with:

Watch at YouTube or here


My favorites are the last couple of designs.  I'll be using one of those in a layout and video next week.

Thanks for visiting!

Some new things: 

A free monthly newsletter with a subscriber-only video - subscribe on the sidebar at right.

A new Facebook page.  If you like Facebook, I hope you will "like" me.  The link is also on the right side of the screen or by clicking here: https://www.facebook.com/lisaedesign

Back on Facebook with a new Page and how to Get Buttons

Here is my new Lisaedesign facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lisaedesign

I hope you will stop by and "Like" me.  I tried Facebook about 4 years ago and I didn't care for it (actually that is putting it politely.)  However, I have to realize that everyone is not like me.  (I know that amazed me too! :-)

Quite awhile back, I received some advice.  You have to be EVERYWHERE on-line to get your message out.  That doesn't mean that you have to participate heavily with every social media available.  I don't think anyone could do that and get anything else done.

The person who gave me this advice suggested picking the one or two things I really love and devote the most time to them.  However, be sure to have a presence in all areas.  Just because I like or dislike one service doesn't mean everyone feels the same way.

So I have a Twitter account, Flickr account, post in multiple galleries, use Pinterest, participate in scrapbooking message boards, use YouTube, and blog.  I haven't tried Instagram yet.  Perhaps that is next.  Who knows, I might love it.

YouTube and blogging are by far my favorites.   It is highly doubtful there will ever be information on any of my other accounts that isn't here on the blog first.

So however you like to enjoy social media, I hope you'll find my posts and videos.

By the way, I love using Pinterest but I realize I haven't been good about posting my own projects there.

You'll find all my social media links on the little green buttons in my sidebar.  Aren't they pretty?  I can't take credit for them.  For ages now, I've wanted to consolidate my various links.  I've seen this on many websites but couldn't find a gadget for it on Blogger.  I finally did a little searching and found the step by step process here on Sew Many Ways blog.  This is a sewing blog!  Yes, a fellow crafter gave the best step by step instructions for setting up your blog buttons.

And the pretty green watercolor button images?  Those are from Rose at Everylittlepolish, a makeup/style blogger.  So thank you ladies for providing the means to get those cute and convenient little buttons on my blog.

Why is it again that those Google and Facebook people make all the money when we bloggers are sharing all the ideas?

Thanks for stopping by!  I love papercrafting, learning from the crafting community and sharing my ideas.  So again, here's my Facebook link or you can use the little button if you "like" https://www.facebook.com/lisaedesign

MISTical March: Using BasicGrey's Spice Market collection

When I started my window treatment business in 1997, I thought everyone would be like me.  They would want to go to the fabric stores and go through bolt after bolt of fabric to find the perfect one. I quickly found out how wrong I was.

Most customers didn't want to go to the fabric store at all.  Most wanted me to bring samples to their home.  I also found that many preferred a good selection but not too many choices.  If their color scheme was a poplar one, the numerous choices just made the final decision harder.

That is the situation I was in with these photos and the new Spice Market collection by BasicGrey. The photos looked good with almost every paper and embellishment I had!  It was really tough to narrow the choices.  In the end, my favorite paper didn't make the cut as the design just didn't go with everything else I liked.

For the page, I finally chose 2 pieces of chipboard and one large flower sticker for the embellishment groups.  To tie them together - something I really need on my pages - I used some rhinestone brads from Stampin' Up!

The wood veneer card is a new ATC card from Prima.  This was my first effort with the card and I used mists to add color.  That worked pretty well. I've since done another and honestly, artist quality paint works the best.  Still, mists can be used to color wood veneer particularly if there is some good 'teeth' to it.

I did some droplets of mist over the entire page to soften the look and spread out the fairly tight design.

The video at YouTube:


Sketch:

Thanks for watching!  Also, I have a new Facebook page and a newsletter.  Sign up for the newsletter on the right side of the screen and I'll send you March's newsletter with an exclusive misting video only for newsletter recipients.

Extra video and New Monthly Newsletter

Would you like to see an extra misting video for this month? One that applies to both scrapbookers and cardmakers?  I know how much everyone loves crafting videos so I'm doing an extra technique video each month!

There is just one little thing you need to do.

Subscribe to my newsletter to see this special video.  I promise to keep the mailings to a minimum - once, maybe twice per month if I have some exciting news or special on a class or PDF.  I don't think any of us like to be bombarded with e-mails wanting us to buy this or that. So while my newsletter will announce and promote classes, it will mainly include content.  There will be at least 1 extra tip and a video each month.

And it is free!

So that is a great deal.  All you have to do is sign up.  The signup box is on the right side of my screen.  Just enter an e-mail address, name (optional) and then click on Subscribe.  You will be sent a test e-mail and asked to confirm.  That's it!

Now about that extra misting video, if you sign up, I'll be sure to forward the March newsletter so you'll have access to the video and can watch whenever you'd like. And in April, a new newsletter with exclusive video link will arrive in your inbox.

Thanks for all your support of my blog and videos!

MISTical March - Stenciled Heart

This may be my favorite layout of 2014 so far.  During a LOAD challenge where we were asked to have someone else make decisions about our scrapbooking, my husband looked over my Pinterest board and picked this layout from Sarah Webb that he liked because he particularly liked the word background.  I spotted this background paper at A Cherry on Top.  It is from Crate Paper's Flea Market collection so I got a piece to make a special page.

I'm continuing MISTical March with stenciling on the background. The heart is stenciled using some new Crafter's Workshop 2014 stencils - Rosetta and Onion Skin - in a mask I cut from the Cricut.  The mists are Dylusions.  What really made this pop was the shading.  Here is a before and after.

The shading is just some Stampin' Up! Basic Grey ink.

The printed chipboard is from Basic Grey's Spice Market collection.  There is a lot of pink in the chipboard and not so much in the papers I selected from the collection so I figured I could spare some before diving into that new collection.  The wood veneer LOVE piece is Amy Tan and the little key is from Hobby Lobby in the crafting section.

More on the process in this video at YouTube:


Thanks for visiting today and checking out another MISTical March page.  Here is last week's in case you mist-ed it  (ok, I couldn't resist that.)

BElieve in YOUrself

I got that sentiment from Pinterest.  I was going for a simpler background this time and I almost made it.  I just can't resist adding a bit more stamping and well, I got a color on there I didn't like in permanent ink and well, more paint was required...

Anyway, I'm still happy with this one.  The giant flower is hand cut out of 7 different 6x6  papers but stenciled over with the same stencil and a few different paints.  I used a thin layer of chipboard under each petal to hold them up.  The finished canvas is 12" square.

The purple is a mix of paint and modeling paste.  It still amazes me every time I use orange on a project that I used to think I didn't like orange.  One of the many wonderful things about our hobby is you get to do things on paper and canvas you might not put in your wardrobe or home.  It is just so fun to play!

ETA:  Here is a link to the Paper Issues blog.  They are doing a Tiptoe through the Tulips theme with lots of suggestions on how you can play.  Paper Issues Blog

Hope you have a crafty day!
_______________________

Classes available on using cardstock on layouts:  Creative Cardstock
doing two page layouts:  Two Page Terrific
and a PDF of all of 2013's sketches 

Scraproom Tour with video

Can a scraproom and a guest bedroom coexist?  They must at our house.

The 2nd floor of our house is one bedroom and bath.  It is also my scraproom.  The room has several advantages:  privacy (i.e. quiet), the adjoining bath, lots of natural light.

The location also has some disadvantages:  Being upstairs means I can't do two things, like cook lunch and scrap, at the same time.  When the phone is for my husband, I'm down the stairs and trying to figure out if he is in the office, outside or in the basement.  (My next house will NOT have stairs!)

All that natural light is lovely when it is in the right place but sometimes it isn't.  For someone who made window treatments for years this should be an easy problem to solve but I probably have one of the most difficult sets of windows I ever encountered and you know the one about the cobbler's children having no shoes...

Anyway, another challenge is that I have to have a bed so I lose a lot of potential square footage this way. We only have one other bedroom and we do occasionally have overnight guests. Plus, if one of us is sick the guest bedroom is important.

All the furniture in this room except the chair and the worktable were part of my bedroom suit growing up. Back in those days, if you knew someone who worked in a furniture factory which was THE industry here then, they could get you a deal on furniture. My parents did and this is a Century Furniture set so it was built to last forever.  While it may be showing a bit of wear and isn't so stylish, these drawers are solid and very roomy so I've loaded them up with lots of scrapbooking stuff.

I've also let my hobby take over the 2 closets in the room.  Who needs extra clothes when you can have pretty paper?  And linens?  Those are now stored under the bed in plastic bins.  I just pull them out and stack towels neatly in the bathroom when we have guests.

So the only thing we really added was the work table which Lenny and I built a few years ago to replace a dressing table my builder made for me that was nice but not large enough.  We built the new table when I still had the idea that this should be as much guest room as it was scraproom.  The table is upholstered on top with a glass covering.  I made skirts for the bottom to hide all the storage.  Now, I don't worry about hiding too much anymore.

However, the room still transforms to a guestroom pretty quickly by removing the misting box, putting the nightstand (cutting table) back where it belongs and adding the last skirt to the table.

I did the shelves by myself and this is one place I should have splurged for professional assistance.  I was going for cantilevered shelves which I clearly had no idea how to construct.  They work OK.

I've had things organized this way for quite a while. What I was waiting on to do this video was finishing the canvases to go over the bed.  I don't know why that was important but anyway, last week we filmed the room.

Watch at YouTube:


One thing I didn't mention in the video is the doll bed.  On top of the dresser is an old doll bed my grandfather made for my Mother when she was a little girl.  She passed it on to me and I used it as a child.  Now it is an extra shelf holding some art projects and my music.

So thanks for visiting my space.  Hope you have a great day!

___________

Classes available on using cardstock on layouts:  Creative Cardstock
doing two page layouts:  Two Page Terrific
and a PDF of all of 2013's sketches

MIST-ical March Part 1 - Titles

Hello from a snowy NC!  We woke to pouring snow this morning with a few inches on the ground. I think it has finally turned to rain.  While it isn't misty outside, I'm declaring this "MISTy" March or MIST-ical March as many of my videos this month will use mists in one way or another.

The first layout up is about an evening we had in January seeing a magician.  Journaling reads:

A magic show?  I wasn’t so sure about this.  Lenny found this outing for a January evening at the Green Room.  It’s not easy to find something to do here in winter so I made the reservations.  I was picturing a guy in a black tuxedo pulling a bunny out of his hat. No, no.  Caleb Sigmon, the magician, was a born entertainer.  He knew exactly how to involve his audience.  By the next day we had figured out how he did all the tricks (or so we think) but no matter, he was quick witted and engaging.  I was a participant in a card trick and many members of the audience were tapped to come up on stage.  He played off everyone beautifully.  It was really a fun evening and has now earned Lenny the job of designated outing planner.

I think perhaps this was Caleb's debut.  I predict he will have a fabulous career!

So for the page, I used mists to enhance the title with a painted on layer of Heidi Swapp gold. The letters are colored with various mists in various ways as shown in the video.

Speaking of the video, this is my first effort at Close Captioning a video.  I'm very interested in feedback to see if people use this feature.  I had a request to do it so thought I'd give it a try. I won't rule out doing it again but I will say it was very time consuming.  It took a solid 90 minutes to rework the CC that YouTube provided to say what I actually said in the 15 minute video and to review the video one last time.  It still isn't perfect.  I think it would have gone faster if I'd just transcribed manually so I might try that again.

I'm looking for feedback to see if this is a feature to add to classes.

Watch at YouTube


Sketch:

There will be more 'mist' themed videos in March!  Stay tuned.  Thanks for visiting today!  Hope you are warm and dry wherever you are.

________

Classes available on using cardstock on layouts:  Creative Cardstock
doing two page layouts:  Two Page Terrific
and a PDF of all of 2013's sketches 

England in 85 - 2 Page Layout and Video

Yes, that's me at 21 along with my beautiful mother.  Can I turn back the clock and look that way again but know what I know now?

No, guess not.  Anyway, these photos were taken on a trip with my parents right after I graduated from college.  They made annual or bi-annual sales incentive trips from their business and this time we all got to go.  I felt so grown up having my own room in a fancy hotel.

The travel agency that coordinated these trips was wonderful.  They always created a good mix of tours and activities and a fantastic event on the last night.  For our last night in London, the Queen's band played for us.  Then we had a regular band for dancing.

For the page, I've use some paper by Stampin' Up!  The video addresses the problem of having too much of a good thing.  In the Two Page Terrific class, we deal with not having enough of the perfect paper for a two page layout. This time I had plenty but using it for the background for both pages could have been overwhelming.

Also in the video is creating these embellishments on the Cricut and spicing up the cardstock a bit as we do in the Creative Cardstock class.

For the title, I combined a large raw chipboard capital letter with some Thickers.  A bit of paint and Glossy Accents help them match up.

More information on the Two Page Terrific class and the Creative Cardstock class is found here.  These are self-paced so you can join in at any time.

Watch at YouTube:


Here is the sketch:

Well, I guess I can't be 21 again, but I had a fun trip down memory lane doing this layout.  Thanks for stopping by today!

Card Catch Up and Shopping Video

With LOAD and completing the design of the Two Page Terrific class, February was all about scrapbooking. However, we did get to squeeze in a stamp class.

This is one of the cards we did using a Simon Says Stamp set and a mask.  The background is masked with 50's clock from Crafter's Workshop and some Heidi Swapp tinsel mist.  We used papers from the Yearbook collection by Studio Calico and a Two Peas in a Bucket paperclip to finish off this card that would work for graduation, a new job or anytime someone needed a bit of encouragement.

I have some other cards I've done here that I'll get posted soon.

This weekend, I got in some more CHA goodies.  These are probably my last purchases for awhile.  This finishes off my wishlist except for Basic Grey's Highline which isn't due in until April.  I've got plenty to keep me busy.  In this order I got some more Crafter's Workshop stencils from Alleystamp Etsy shop and these goodies from acherryontop.com:

BasicGrey Mon Ami and Studio Calico Wanderlust corners

BasicGrey Spice Market papers, chipboard, stickers and metal

Prima embellishments and MME wood dots

Watch at YouTube:


Also, I have an anniversary giveaway winner update.  The giveaway winner is Cindy Wirl.  We've already been in touch; so congratulations Cindy and I'll have your package too you soon.

Thanks for stopping by today!