hokey doodle! how long HAS it been?!?!

apparently, i need to hook up my scanner and show you what i've been working on lately. i have several pieces that i've made recently, including some ATCs and postcard art pieces. i've also made a couple pairs of earrings, and even though they aren't "scrapped" they were created in my scrappin' space, so i'll post them here. i'm trying to work lately with more colour and texture, and i'm having a lot of fun doing it. so i'll hook up my scanner this week and give you a peak into my creativity corner (which, in case you're wondering, is actually organized!! LOL)

wow! it's been a while!!!

wow, i didn't realize how long it's been since i posted here last. eep!

on the other hand, i haven't done much lately.

but don't fret, gentle reader. i'm flat broke now, so i'm making gifts for christmas. which means i will have some projects to post here in the near future. :)

Blockage!!!! Ugh!!!!!

ok, so, an hour ago, i was feeling so creative, and sat down to work on one of my newest projects. and, i might add, one of my favourite projects. an altered journal. LOVE IT!!!!! well, i did at the time...

and now...

it is my NEMESIS!!!!!!!!

that's right, folks, i'm blocked. i got nothing. i put one of my most anticipated elements on: black eyelets with black wire wrapped around the edge of the cover. LOVE IT!!! but now what?

i'm sitting here staring at it, going, "it looks cool so far, but it needs more. but what?!" and i don't know. i mean literally, i have no ideas here.

i'll admit, i briefly toyed with the idea of prima flowers, a pretty contrast to the harsh/industrial feel of the metal accents. but it just wasn't working for me. i have a stamp that would look absolutely stunning, but where to put it? i have bling of various descriptions, but that's not right for this piece. fibers? they're lovely, but i don't think they're right, either.

my one thought was to do the whole edge with eyelets and wire. that might look cool. and hey... now that i'm thinking about it... it WOULD look really cool... and i could do something funky with the stamp, and then use some wire and maybe a transparency to anchor it... and then a word or quotation at the bottom or something...

oh, the ideas are flowing now!!!!! yay!!!! thanks for your help!!! ;)


UPDATE: GAH!!! doing the whole edge with eyelets and wire... yeah, can't work. the measurements are wrong, and it will leave either too much space at the bottom, or too little. which sucks, because that would have been freaking cool! :(

no, i haven't forgotten about this blog....

i've actually been on this blog every couple days or so, but i only realized now how long it's really been since i last posted! lol five months!!! eep!!! lol

ok, so granted, i haven't been the most active with the scrappin stuff anyway. but i did finally get rid of the old desk, and replaced it with something smaller but far more functional. it's really pretty, too. i digs it. i'll post some pics once i find it again! ;)

anyway, i'm working on a few projects lately, but for the time being, i'm going to be focussing more on artistic endeavours rather than scrapbooking, so feel free to check out my newest blog, My Arty Adventure. ( myartyadventure.blogspot.com ) you'll likely find a bunch of stuff there in the near future. :)

so, yeah, i'm working on this blog, too. and keep coming back, even if only for the challenge blogs on the right sidebar. they're awesome! :)

so, talk to you later! :)

look! you can see desktop!!!

you will notice that the pile is significantly lower now. you can actually see the top of the desk! and so far i have found:

1. a vintage photograph of my great-grandparents on their wedding day.
2. 3 wooden coat hooks i was planning on altering for the kiddies.
3. a protractor.
4. a stamp set i was going to sell at the CNP yard sale. (Treat Yourself. it's all cupcakes and gumball-machine themed. very cute. very not me. maybe it will be in the prize pack. i'm counting as an extra, since it's a stamp set i didn't know i had anymore...)
5. a roll of Hypafix.
6. some cards.
7. my hydro bill.
8. a pile of BG rub-ons.
9. my Xyron.
10. my Infusion collection pack.
11. the packaging for my Infusion collection pack. these were not together. seriously.
12. the orange brads i wanted when i was playing with deb the other week.
13. 2 monthly challenge kits.
14. some flowers i don't want. they're cool, but, really, what was i thinking? they're not my style! they're not extras, but i'll count them. and they're going in the prize pack, too.
15. the books i'd borrowed from my councellor to read with the kids.
16. my jar of fibres. that's right. a jar. and it's tall. and until i actually stepped up to the desk, i couldn't see it. that's how high the pile was. i'm not joking.
17. some pics from asher's birthday party last year.
18. a coupon for $2.50 off a class at CNP. the coupon expired at the end of august. of this year. i know what you're thinking. i'm not that bad, you know. sheesh! lol

now, i'd like you not to notice that i am not posting a picture of my dining room table. and i will not be posting a pic of my desk in the morning after clearing off the table so we can eat breakfast. nope. by the end of this week, both surfaces will be clear and usable 100% of the time. but i think, for now anyway, i'll have to settle for an either/or scenario.

this too shall pass. serenity now, serenity now. i can do this. i can... can't i?

Faithbooking 2: Sacredness

this week's faithbooking class is about Sacredness, or Faith Defined. what is faith to me? what does it give me, when do i need it, where do i find it? i included a poem on the first page, though what you put there is up to you. perhaps a picture of your meditation space, church, holy book, yourself in prayer, maybe even a prayer that you've written out. the journaling on page 2 is how you define faith, whatever it means for you.

i realize that this is a very personal topic that we're scrapping here. i'm not saying you need to come to the class with your journaling already written or even planned. i'm just giving you the medium on which to preserve what you believe at this point in your journey. there is no right or wrong answer for this, and no one (least of all me!) is going to judge your beliefs.

i also realize that this layout may be somewhat challenging for some people, not only because of the subject, but the layout itself is challenging. all that space! (pam made me add the picture in the bottom right corner on page 2 - the original version has more space there.) for me, the whole layout is a definition of my faith and sacredness. i find my faith in the space between. between you and me, me and Him, moment to moment. my faith restores my personal space, balances my space, helps me find peace in my space, generally makes my space more live-able. faith is the white-space in my life that draws my focus to what really matters, puts everything back into perspective, and lets me breathe again. that's why there's so much space on this layout.

i urge you to give this layout a try. i really enjoyed making it. it's simple, with some fun techniques (painting, tearing, doodling, stamping), but i think the impact of the design is striking. it's simplicity is what makes it work.

i hope you enjoy this layout as much as i enjoyed creating it. hope to see you wednesday night! :)

ps - i'll post better pictures when i get them. we forgot to scan the layout before hanging it in the store. :(

on the first page is the poem Zero Circle, by Rumi.

my journaling on the second page reads:
faith is what you find at the end of your rope, when you're lost, confused and weak. it picks you up and carries you when you just can't do it on your own.
sometimes i'm too stubborn to admit that, and then i'm screwed. i need help sometimes, i admit. faith is a helping hand.
when i'm quiet and still, even - especially - in the chaos of my life... that is when i find my faith.
and my strength.

Faithbooking layout - Guideposts.

ok, i've finally gotten around to posting the layout for the first Faithbooking class at Cut N Paste. the first class was about scrapbooking those texts/verses/quotations that speak to your soul and help you along your journey.

the kit and instructions are available at Cut N Paste for $15. i'll post the next class's layout as soon as possible. thanks! :)

ps - the fun little technique on this layout, which you'll find in the corners. here's how to do it:

1. doodle lightly in pencil.
2. randomly punch holes along the doodles, using a variety of sizes of hand-held punches (Silent Setters also work nicely, especially if you want to go more than a couple inches from the edges).
3. erase the lines.
4. adhere a co-ordinating paper to the back of the layout. this will show through and give a nice contrast.
5. enjoy listening to all your friends asking "how'd you do that?" and making it seem infinitely more complicated than it really is. ;)

i clicked, i drooled, i scraplifted.

all i needed was an uninterrupted day, an inspirational blog, and a phone call from annie. ;)

i'm admitting it here, folks, sometimes, my layouts don't work out. and lately, this seems to be especially true when i use a sketch (i know, it gives me sadness, too). so, you should know, the reason it took so long to get the layout completed for the second Faithbooking class is because i did a layout already... and hated it! so i resolved to do it better. at first i thought i could salvage the original one, and improve it. but alas, that idea, yeah, not so good. so, i decided to just start over.

and the result is hanging up at CNP. it's called Faith. totally pared down and simplified, and i really like it. once i get a picture of it, i'll post it here. and i'm going to post the details about the class itself later tonight, or sometime tomorrow. in the meantime, pop over the CNP and check out the layouts for the Faithbooking courses (and sign up for the next class, or pick up the kit for the first class). talk to you later! ;)

how did this happen?! oh, yeah, i'm a slob.

ok, so, we all remember why i started this blog. or, maybe you don't, in which case, may i suggest you go back and check out the first few posts. you will note that one of my reasons for this blog was to inspire me to organize - and use - my scrappin space (hence the name of the blog). and hopefully, to keep me accountable and organized, due to the likelihood of my desk showing up in pictures on posts.

well, that last part hasn't really worked, thanks to the genius who invented scanners. and so, in the spirit of openness and transparency (and blissful semi-anonymity) that can only truly exist in cyber-space, i am coming clean (oh, the irony) and showing you what has happened to my desk in the intervening months. so, brace yourselves, and take a look:

well, even i cannot work like this! so, i decided to clean up my mess. and here's my progress, as of a couple hours ago:

see? look closely - you can see the desk! woohoo! here's some of the changes i made:

1. i bought another shelf to put on top of the desk. i left a space between them for books that i consult frequently, current magazines, my vintage children/fairy pictures, and my crop-a-dile.
2. i bought a couple more photo boxes to put my stamps in. i already had a box with some random stamps, but i put all the SU stamps i'm keeping in another box. (these boxes are now on the shelves.)
3. i put the multitude of gel pens in the cupboard.
4. i call them, "catch 'ems." i acquired some baskets to put on the shelf, as well. one is for my acrylic stamps (i don't have many at the moment, so they fit in there). another one is for scrap paper. the third one is my miscellaneous basket. little what-nots (random embies and such) that are lying around, but that i plan on using in the next couple of minutes, go in there.

that's about all i've done in so far. still a lot to do, like where will i put my funky black box which keeps my skinnies and such. probably along the short side of the desk, but i'll get to that later this afternoon.

so, there you have it. i'm a slob. but at least now annie can forget any ideas about an "intervention." i'm not disorganized. i'm just lazy! lol