dream of being more

When I was a kid I always dreamed of being a teacher.  True story.  It started innocently reading books to my teddy bear.  My parents bought me a "teacher kit" for my birthday one year that came with a chalkboard.  I played with that for hours on end in the basement.  Had some friends that didn't mind playing school, either...until I started giving out homework.  Oh!  And we must not forget the pop quizzes I gave my brothers from the tests in the back of our dictionary and encyclopedias.

Wow.  Thanks to all my friends and family who put up with that.

My thirst for knowledge has never really stopped.  For those that know me, I'm constantly on the go, and am always trying to jam-pack as many things as I can into a day.  At work, there is something new I learn every day and/or sharing new sales techniques with my coworkers.  At play, I am always trying to learn new design techniques (my scraproom is a disaster area right now) and share them with the blogosphere.  I might not be a teacher in the conventional way as I thought when I was a child.  But, there's still plenty of life left to go and plenty of things left to learn. 

Always dream of being more.

The Ingredients

Card:  100% Kraft Recycled Paper

Paper:  (It actually started our white) From my scrapbin.  I think it came from Michaels

Stamps: Tim Holtz Visual Artistry - Life's Possibilities Collection

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink - aged mahogany, fired brick, barn door, rusty hinge, vintage photo, black soot.

Adhesive: Double Faced Tape - 3M Archival Safe

Tools: Blending Block and Ink Blending Foam - Inkssentials; Teflon mat - Inkssentials (so I don't get my desktop dirty)

 

The Recipe

1.  Go to Unscripted Sketches and check out Sketch # 156!

2.  Select color scheme.  This week: colors that made me smile from my stamping drawer

3.  White paper: Cut (1) large 2.5x4.5" and (3) 1 1/8x3" small strips of paper.

4.  Ink it out!  This one I did backwards.  I started with the darkest color (aged mahogany) in the smallest area and blended all the colors together based on my mood.  TIP:  Don't think about it too hard!  If you don't like it at the end...throw it out and start again :)  The last color I used was vintage photo to give it a little more depth.

5.  Stamp the man with the umbrella, the sentiment, and the clock (masked first and stamped on my Teflon mat).  Ink the edges with aged mahogany for a little more depth.

6.  Adhere to card. 

7.  Stamp the birds hangin' out on the wire.

8.  Get creative and make it your own.  Post to your blog, link to Unscripted Sketches and leave a comment here!

enjoy the journey

Remember the Phantom Tollbooth?  It's about this boy named Milo who is bored by the world around him and thinks everything is just a plain waste of time.  He comes home from school one day to find a package labeled, "For Milo, who has plenty of time."  After fully assembling, we find Milo in his toy car transported to the Land of Expectations through said Phantom Tollbooth. 

His imagination makes him feel like he's been gone weeks in this crazy mixed-up fairytale, when in reality he's only been "away" for an hour.  By the end of the story, Milo rushes home from school in hopes for another adventure to another land, but instead he finds another note, "For Milo, who knows the way."  Although he is disappointed that his Tollbooth is gone, Milo looks around him and now finds his world as a new and interesting place. 

The most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between, and Milo and his companions took great pleasure in doing just that.  -Norton Juster

Some days I sit here thinking about starting yet another boring day.  You know...get up, straighten the house, go to work, cook dinner, work out, watch TV.  Sort of a lather, rinse, repeat kinda deal.  But then I think of Milo and am reminded of all the little things in life that are so menial, yet so important at the same time.  Right now I'm sitting here with papers strewn about in the midst of creating two cards and one scrapbook layout, listening to Miranda Lambert, writing this blog and talking to my sister in law on the phone and I couldn't be happier.  All the little things we do make up one big life.  Just remember to enjoy the journey.

The [Eath Day!] Ingredients:



 Card: 100% recycled kraft paper

Patterned Paper: DCWV - Safari Chic (scraps from a layout)

Corrugate: Upcycled from a 200#Test box, liner removed

Stamps: Stampers Anonymous - Just Thoughts; Rubbernecker - Victorian Bicycle, Old World Map

Ink and Paint: Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Black Soot, Antique Linen; Folk Art Paint - Wicker White

Emboss: Versamark ink and Stampendous Detail Black Embossing Powder

Embellish: K&Company - Squares Clearly Yours

Threads: 100% Recycled Jute

Adhesive: Double Faced Tape - 3M Archival Safe

Tools: EK Success - Corner Rounder; Tim Holtz - Distresser; Marvey Uchida - Embossing Heat Tool

The Recipe:

1. Go to Unscripted Sketches and check out Sketch #155!

2.  Select color scheme.  This week: Earth Day and something a little more masculine.

3.  Kraft Paper: Cut, folded and corners rounded

4.  Giraffed Paper: Map Stamp stamped and embossed, then edges distressed and inked.

5.  Corrugate: Peel the top liner, dry brush paint and let dry.   Stamp bicycle and journey sentiment.

6.  Adhere papers to card, embellish with clear squares and jute.

7.  Get creative, maker your own, post to your blog, link to Unscripted Sketches and leave a comment here!

There's no place like...

Being home for Easter with my whole family got me feeling nostalgic. 

Hubs and I live in a brand new community with itty bitty stick trees in our front yard.  The tallest trees are seeing their first spring bloom and when I sit on my back deck (which we had built last spring) I see construction of the houses to come.  I can see the sky for miles...there is no obstruction really, and the lights from the industrial park up the hill always makes for pretty sunsets.

But when I go back home, it's totally different.  Although I wasn't born in this house, I've lived in it the majority of my life (as in, we moved in when I was 2).  The trees are huge.  I know that sounds crazy to say, but they are.  The Bradford Pears are in full bloom and that funny looking tree that has always reminded me of a kangaroo is hopping, too.  I have noticed how these trees took root and really blossomed.  When I go home, I am reminded of how much I have grown over the years.  And even though I grew up and started my own semi-adult life (stick trees included), my roots are always at home.

The goodsPatterned Paper: Echo Park: Life is Good

Ink: Adirondak - Watermelon
Embellish: Echo Park: Life is Good

Adhesive - PopDots: All Night Media, Double Faced Tape: 3M Archival Safe

This sketch is brought to you by Unscripted Sketches.  This is my first full week on the team and I couldn't be happier!  Can't wait for what's in store for me in this-coming year. 

For this card, I was inspired by the large image and the three lines.  I turned the three lines on a diagonal in the corner to weigbalance the paper pieced image.  The blue and green for the sky and grass were both cut using my trusty fiskars paper cutter.  The rest is cut using scissors and my imagination.  This card has a very simple design, but the paper piecing of the home image coordinted with the Life is Good line really make it pop(dots)!

Here is a link to Sketch 154.  Thanks for looking, and don't forget to visit Unscripted Sketches and play along!

Get Unscripted

So, I was keeping it a secret, but I made the Unscripted Sketches Design Team!  I'm really excited to be a part of this amazing group and can't wait to see what the following weeks have in store for me!

So what is Unscripted Sketches you say?  Every Saturday morning a sketch is posted for the week.  Flip the sketch, rotate it...create a card, a scrapbook page, or anything your imagination comes up with!  There is no right or wrong way, as long as you are using the Unscripted Sketch as the inspiration!   Once you've let your creative juices flow, link up your project to your blog and to their website!  It's way fun...I promise!

Not only is it Unscripted Sketch Week # 153, it's also their 3rd year in the blogosphere.  What a better way to make my Design Team debut than in their Blog-o-versary!

To celebrate, here is my card:  Colors inspired by my new glasses.  They make me smile :D

The goods
Cardstock: Kraft paper from somewhere
Patterned Paper: K&Company -Designer Paper stack; Jenni Bowlin - MEMO Note Book
Ink: Adirondak - Slate Grey
Stamps: The {Stamps} of Life - birthday2celebrate
Embellish: Cosmo Cricket - Honey Pie chipboard
Ribbon: Local Scrapbooking Store (MLPA)

And the wonderful inspiration....drum roll please....Unscripted Sketch #153!

Hop on over top the Unscripted Sketches blog and play along!  Thanks for looking! 

Think.Happy.Thoughts.

Two weeks ago I stumbled upon this cool website, unscriptedsketches.com, and it was my catalyst to start posting again after I create.  Here is a picture of prompt 152 and pictures of my Key West page below!

I really must try to get better lighting in my scraproom.  It's great light for creating, but not exactly the best for taking pictures late at night.  Although, I must say that my debunked project to make a shutter bill rack (a la pinterest) has now come in handy for displaying my artwork.  Next project?  Altered clothespins.

Detail pics below:

Fussy cutting in the corner and paper pieces all the swirls and dots together.  The flowers are from Hero Arts and the rhinestones are from the dollar rack at a scrapbooking convention.

I've gotten bitten by the stamping bug.  Ink is Adirondak in Watermelon.  The alphabet is acrylic stamps from Autumn Leaves (Scribbles) and the block lettering is a re-gift from my mom (source unknown).  The ribbon is from Sinamay and is 100% Abaca Fibers (fancy!)

Thanks for looking!  And I encourage you to post your creations at Unscripted Sketches!