30 Days of Creativity

Lately I haven't had the time or energy to make stuff. I want to, I really do but then I come up with excuses - I don't have any time, I need to organize my stuff first, I don't know where to start or what to do. So for September I'm trying something new. I am going to set aside a little bit of time each day and create something - anything. I'm calling it my Creativity Project (working title - haha!) I plan on keeping most of these bits and pieces and experiments in a book - an "art journal" of sorts. But I'm not limiting myself to just art journal pages - it can be whatever I'm in the mood to do - a scrapbook page, an atc, a journal page, or just taking photos (because I used to love that and haven't just taken photos in a long while). And I plan on doing a blog post every day - oh yeah you heard me right - EVERY day in September - how long do you think that will last ! haha! Well I'm going to give it a try anyways. And to start it off here is the title page I made for my journal: The Front says " Do Somethin Creative Every Day September 1-30, 2010" The sticker at the top says " No Right No Wrong No Mistakes". I made the page using glimmer mist and did a masking technique, black pens to outline the letters and distress ink around the edges of the page.

The Back says: No Right. No Wrong. No Budget Sheets. No Pressure. No Restrictions. No Rules. No "is this good enough". No "is this blog worthy" No Excuses. No "there's no time." No fear. No guilt. No Right. No Wrong. No Mistakes! (not even if you forget the "g" on "something" on the title page) A month long exercise in creativity, in making time for myself, and learning something new. September 1-30, 2010. I stamped the words " Today is the Day" and outlined it in pens.

So there it is - the beginning of something cool I hope - we shall see! Oh and just for the record I didn't actually forget the "g" it fell off at some point and I didn't notice. Oh well no mistakes! Right?

The Last of the Puzzle Pieces...

I realized that I hadn't shown the puzzle pieces I got back from the recent puzzle swap I was in. I had the theme "Vintage Travel" and I was excited to see all the different pieces come back to me. I thought it turned out great!

Upcoming Classes at Memories Galore

Summer is almost over and the kids are going back to school - It’s the perfect time to dust off your scrapbooking tote and sign up for a class at Memories Galore! Our new class kickoff is just around the corner (September 25^th!) but there is still a month full of classes available to get those creative juices flowing. I have 4 classes still on the calendar and I would love if you would be able to join me for one of them!

Grandma’s Attic Layout $24
Remember being fascinated by grandma’s jewelry, hatboxes and delicate photos? Capturing the essence of grandma’s attic, this timeless double-page layout features vintage-style papers and embellishments that come together for a reminiscent of a trip down memory lane with your grandma. Melissa’s instruction includes numerous techniques from fringe edging to paper layering, lacing to unique folding styles. Learn distressing techniques, working with border punches and distress ink.

• Brandermill: Tuesday, Aug. 31st from 6:30-8:30pm

• West End: Thursday, Aug. 26th from 6:30-8:30pm

Moments in Time Tabletop Memories $28 Join Melissa to create an altered photo frame perfect for those special memories you want to display in your home. Learn distress ink techniques including watercolor effects, stamping, crackle paint and embellishing with stickers. This is the perfect way to display those memories that have meant the most.

• Brandermill: Thursday, Sept. 9th from 6:30-8:30pm

• West End: Tuesday, Sept. 14th from 6:30-8:30pm

A Year of ATCs $20

Come, learn the art of creating ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) in the continuation of this year-long series! Each month you’ll create four ATCs focusing on a variety of techniques. At the end of the year, you’ll have a collection of unique ATCs reflecting the different seasons and holidays. This class is perfect for ATC creators of all skill levels. Each class is individually priced and themed as follows:

September: Back to School – Working with distress ink, Stickles, pens and creating embellishments with paper.

• Brandermill: Tuesday Sept. 7th from 6:30-8:30pm

• West End: Wednesday Sept. 8th from 6:30-8:30pm

Measurable Moments Mini Book & Tin $28

For all those memories that measure up, create this unique mini album complete with an adorable tin for safekeeping. Melissa’s instruction includes how to use paper to decorate your tin, create the mini album and more. You’ll work with Grungeboard, paint and learn to make embellishments that are beyond measure!

• Brandermill: Tuesday, Sept. 28th from 6:00-8:30pm

• West End: Thursday, Sept. 30th from 6:00-8:30pm

New 7 Gypsies

I was beyond excited when Memories Galore received the new 7 Gypsies collections today! Conservatory is definitely my favorite and I even went home and started working on one of the receipt holders. I have lots of more work to go but I am liking how it's turning out!

More Travel Journal

Day 3: We went to the Badlands, fed prairie dogs, and went to Wall Drug (which is this fantastic tourist trap). This entry was by far the longest as I took TONS of pictures and picked up a lot of postcards.

The first half...

So I woke up this "morning" (because really it was 11) and noticed I had received a lot of page views already today. And all I would like to say about that is - Geez mom cool it with the page hits... you know I sleep in... I'll post the pictures when I get to it.... haha... see it's funny.... because only my mom reads my blog....oh well... I thought it was funny anyways...

So here is the first half of the travel journal. Why only the first half? Because I still need to take photos of the second half! Yes I am really dragging this out!

The first page - a picture of Dustin and I from the trip that I really liked. And because I'm really bad with title pages it just says "you & me South Dakota 2010"Day one: just a short entry about the trip and a Rapid City post card:
Day 2: We went to the Berlin Wall (YES Rapid City has a piece of the Berlin Wall.. how random is that?), Dinosaur Park and the Chapel in the Hills in Rapid City. Since it was really the first day of our trip I went a little crazy with the post cards. I learned to edit a bit more somewhere in the trip. WOW that was A LOT of pictures! I am just going to end the post here... I will post more pictures tomorrow!

It's all coming together...

My travel journal is almost finished! I just have to add the last page about my super fun airport adventure (said with much sarcasm!). But until then see how much it has grown:

It started off tiny and basic:
And now it's huge!: I will post pictures of the inside tomorrow so check back then!

Travel Journal Progress

We are only on day 4 of our South Dakota vacation and I have already taken almost 500 photos! I would love to share some of those now however I am working off Dustin's super tiny laptop and I can barely see the photos and editing them is impossible! So expect a week of posts next week detailing our trip with lots of fun photos. In the mean time here is the progress on my travel journal. I have picked up lots of fun stuff to put in it so far - those flattened pennies, patches, post cards, pins and more! I will do more detailed posts when I get home and can put in the photos. But until then enjoy these images: