SUPPLIES for FREESTYLE CLASS on Monday 9/25

I'm ready for freestyle! For those of you attending my freestyle class on Monday at Scrapbook Mania, here are the supplies you should plan to bring. If you don't have all these things, don't worry. I will have extras with me for you to borrow. Apron or old clothes We may get a bit messy 5-10 Photos If you have both black & white and color photos, that would be best. Bring photos that you don't mind messing up. We will be trying different techniques on these. 3 craft paints Bring a couple that coordinate a little - like light pink and dark pink, or yellow and orange, or light blue and dark blue = amd any other color. Foam brush A "slick" marker or vellum marker If you have black and/or white, please bring those. (These are markers that will write on slick surfaces, like photos) 3 pieces of cardstock Bazzill is not necessary and color doesn't matter Ink pads or Distress inks Browns, dark green, or burgundy-ish colors are good but not required. Black is fine too. Scissors Paper trimmer Adhesive I'm pretty sure that everyone coming has signed up for ALL THREE CLASSES in the freestyle series! So that means you ALL will be getting a FREE JOURNAL/sketch book, goodies from SAKURA, and some items from AUTUMN LEAVES/FOOFALA, too!!!! (By the way, if you'd like to alter your journal with materials different than those in the sample shown below in a previous post or at the store, please feel free to bring some things. It's YOUR journal.) The plan is to get through altering the cover of the journal using some freestyle techniques mixed with some tradition scrapbooking techniques so you can get a feel for how to kind of mix the two styles together. THEN, hopefully, we'll have some more time to get through some more freestyle techniques. We have three classes to get through TONS of techniques! Really looking forward to it, ladies.!

Ready for Christmas?

Are you? I'm not. Of course I never am. HOWEVER, this year I did a Christmas in July swap at Scrappers Anonymous and now I have several really awesome cards I get to send out. (Yes, I know it's no longer July but the swap started in July and just ended.) I made these pictured and think they turned out nice. I really liked the Sakura glitter gel pen to add just a teeny bit of sparkle to the Merry Christmas card. Mom, if you're reading this (which I doubt you are because you have trouble understanding the whole "internet" thing) don't worry, I'm sending you a different card. Yours is even more special. So if you need to get moving on those cards, now is the time to do it. Before you know it, it will be November, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas will be right around the corner. Maybe I should have a little card crop at the store... hmmmm... that sounds like an idea.... Have a good week y'all! :)

Inspiration

It's EBBCreations.com ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY. Being that I was on the original design team there, I feel like I've been through a lot with them. Thanks to Enrique and Scott who chose me for my first DT. I was so flattered and excited to be a part of the team. In celebration of their anniversary, they have a whole weekend of great stuff (And tons of prizes!) set up. I created this layout entitled "About Face" (click on image for full layout) for one of the challenges listed in the forums. (Every one who enters gets a chance at a prize!) The challenge was to find a piece of clothing and use it as inspiration for a layout. So, I chose this beautiful red suede jacket a friend of mine bought me last year as a gift. It is deep red with white top stitching. Very pretty. So I used deep red Bazzill cardstock and used my sewing machine to stitch borders and to attach the photos as well. I love how this turned out. And no doodling, believe it or not. I ALMOST used the white pen for some fake stitching too but I didn't. Go take a look at what's going on there this weekend. They seriously, honestly, just give out prizes randomly. Lots of fun!

More with the fun kit!

Again, as guest designer for Scrapbook Lovers Dream this month, they sent me a very cool kit. I created this fun layout, entitled "Jump", about my son's love for jumping on a trampoline. (Click on image for full layout.) What is so funny is that I was almost 100% sure that I already used these images or similar ones to do a layout but for the life of me, I can't find one anywhere or an image of one either. So, maybe I've just been contemplating scrapping these photos for so long that I thought I had done one? Or maybe, and more likely, I dreamt I used them in a layout. I can't be the only one who dreams about scrapbooking, right?

Guest designer creation

I am September's guest designer on Scrapbook Lovers Dream - a cool kit club site - and they sent me some awesome stuff to design with. Sassafras Lass papers (already look a little doodled!) and a really cool Maya Road tabbed chipboard album book. I was reading a thread on another site (ScrappersAnonymous.com) about what people do with all their school photos. Got me thinking that the altered book would be a perfect way to get some of those school pics into an album without making an album per se. So, I created this album. Click on the image for a view of the inside pages, too. I am SO glad I got those pics put into this book. I have worried for years that I would somehow misplace them before I ever did something with them. Have a good weekend!

Another health update

Well, good news on the cyst! I went in for my ultrasound and asked the technician "so what do you see? how big is the cyst?" And she said - after looking for all of 15 seconds - "well, it's gone." It's gone? Yep. It's gone. Not unusual the doctor said and in fact, almost every woman will have a cyst at some point but most of them just go away on their own without pain or symptoms so they never know they had one in the first place. Interesting. So anyway, I guess I didn't need to cancel my Doodling class afterall but better safe than sorry I suppose.

Health update

I have a diagnosis. It's an ovarian cyst. I have an ultrasound next Thursday and will meet with the doctor immediately after to discuss options. Most likely, I will have a laparoscopy to have the cyst removed because it's causing so much pain. It's a pretty standard procedure but will require a few days bed rest and 2-3 weeks recovery. Unfortunately, that means I am postponing my Sept. 11th Doodle-de-do class until October 9th. I will hopefully be good for my Freestyle class on September 25th, however. I'll be posting an image of the freestyle journal cover next, so keep a lookout for it. It's really going to be an awesome class!

FREESTYLE!

I am so ready for my FREESTYLE CLASSES! Again, it's a series of 3 classes for only $45, sponsored by Sakura. In class #1, we'll alter a journal with free product contributed by Autumn Leaves (click on the image to see the whole cover), and we'll start with some freestyle techniques. Also, you'll be getting a goodie or two from Sakura. In class #2, we'll dive straight into freestyle techniques, you may see some gesso or alcohol inks or other fun surprise mediums along with another goodie or two from Sakura. In class #3, MORE freestylin', more fun, and more goodies from Sakura. Another secret, one of the goodies from Sakura is worth about $20 all on its own! That's almost half the cost of all three classes put together! Oh, and if you sign up for all 3 classes at once, you get the journal for free, too. Sign up at the store! We do still have space left. Have a great holiday weekend everyone!