PanPastel Love!

Although scrapbooking is my passion, I love to try new things and push myself creatively. On occasion, I attempt to do a little mixed media or art. The first time I was introduced to PanPastel artists' pastels, I was not overly impressed to say the least. In fact, it was my least favorite medium. When Donna Downey announced her PanPastel workshop, I said, "No, thank you, it's not for me." That was before my dear Canadian friends, Charlotte and Christine, gently urged me to join them. They were convinced I would change my opinion about this dreaded medium. I signed up for the workshop, but still had major doubts in my mind about the product.

If you've ever been to an event at Donna's studio, you know that half of the fun is seeing the goodies waiting for your arrival. Check these beauties out - talk about being inspired to create! Our first project was a bird. We were not allowed to draw the bird, we just had to start painting! For a split second, pure panic set in, but then I sucked it up and started painting. Would you believe within a matter of minutes, I had a complete change of heart towards PanPastel? I am not kidding, I fell in love with this product! Here is my first completed PanPastel project. .

Our final project was to choose a photo or piece of art that we would like to replicate. I chose a photo of our daughter walking up the driveway because I love the backdrop of the red barn.

This is my finished piece..

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I am still blown away by how much I learned in such a short time. This amazing weekend has opened up a whole new world of creativity to me. I'm so grateful to the Downeys and all the beautiful ladies that participated in the workshop. It was such a diverse group of wildly talented women, so willing to share and encourage one another.

Here are a few more photos from my amazing time in North Carolina. It's always a little sad when an event like this is over - I love hanging out with creative people and playing in Donna's fabulous studio. I'm so happy my friends forced me to attend the workshop. I not only had a fun time with friends, I now have a new hobby! ♥

Fun with Citrus Twist Kits

Today I'm sharing a layout I created for Citrus Twist. I wanted the yellow to pop from the photo so I chose the Pebbles Walnut Grove (Eliza Jane) paper as my background. I selected a Silhouette phrase and only cut the word "sunshine" from a Pebbles journaling card, and backed it with a bright yellow card. I love how versatile journaling cards can be, they're not just for journaling, as you can see. :)

I adore the chevron printed kraft bag and when I put my title on it, I wanted to play off the direction of the chevron. I hand-stitched little arrows over the chevron to draw the eye to the photo. It's my favorite detail of the layout.

The kit came with one rosette and I knew I wanted to add more for balance so I picked a few of the Pebbles journaling cards and made rosettes with my scoring board. I also cut little banner strips from the journaling card and used the same twine to stitch over the banner.

Check out the adorable stitched vellum tag that was included in the kit. It is the perfect finishing touch to the layout. ♥

I have several more projects that I'll share with you over the next few days. If you're looking for a fabulous kit club, be sure to check out Citrus Twist. If you're new to my blog, please leave a comment, or feel free to follow me! Thank you for visiting!

I'm February Guest Designer for Citrus Twist!

I am so thrilled and honored to be Guest Designer this month! I received the main and the embellishment kits and they are fabulous. If you've ever received a Citrus Twist kit, you know how exciting it is to get the lovely package tied with twine. ♥

Here are some sneaks of the projects I created.

Be sure to stop by Citrus Twist and check out their fabulous kits! If you leave a comment on their blog today, you will have a chance to win a prize! Click here.

I Have Some Exciting News...

But I can't tell you until Sunday! So please say you'll come back to check it out and get the scoop. Until then, I have some fabulous new eye candy from my scraproom to share with you.

There are ink pads that I use over.and.over. It seems I use at least a couple of these on every layout and I love to have them close at hand while scrapping. I found these adorable monogrammed dishes that are perfect to hold a few of my favorites.

The round dish is the perfect size for a roll of glue dots. Fabulous, little treasures like these make me happy and are not only eye candy, but are so functional! Thank you, Sophie's, for stocking such amazing treasures like these.

Check out this adorable bucket...

Be still my heart! I don't even know what I'm putting in this little beauty yet, but it adds such a fun splash of color and a sprinkle of happiness to my space!

Wishing you all a fabulous week!

December 2012 Album

Even though I started my album in November, I decided I would wait until I was really in the mood to scrap Christmas photos. Friday school was canceled so I thought it would be the perfect weekend to tackle this project. I still have a tiny bit of journaling to do but it's 99% completed. Does anyone else hear angels singing?

There is always so much debate on which album size to choose. This year I opted for a Simple Stories 6x8. I have used 12x12 and 8 1/2x11 so I thought it would be fun to mix it up. Although I love the finished project, I have decided 8 1/2x11 is my ideal size.

I apologize for the glare on the following photos. I wasn't about to remove things from divided page protectors. I hope you understand. :)

This album is a mix of Citrus Twist, Cocoa Daisy, Two Peas, and my stash! I like to spread the love. I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into our December. Time to pack up Christmas scrap supplies until November - such a great feeling, don't you agree?

New Favorite Layout!

My kits have been piling up and today I finally had some time to dig in and play! I started with my photos and Cocoa Daisy's January kit. Every time I see these photos, it makes me think of Mister Huey's Color Mist because of her teal-stained teeth. The teal punchinella that came in the kit is so pretty, I couldn't wait to use it.

I started with a Studio Calico mask (circle graph) and some Bonny Blue SC mist.

To highlight the title, I stamped arrows (CD Jan. stamps) and heat embossed with Zing Embossing Powder. I then cut the arrows out and used pop-up dots for dimension.

I used some paper that I had misted on and stamped an arrow and used white embossing powder.

Lots of fun techniques used on this layout and I love the end result. It is definitely my new favorite!

We just received a text stating that school will be closed tomorrow. I think I'm going to scrap the night away! Stay safe and warm!

Living my Life

Although I've been a member of Two Peas in a Bucket for six years, I've never really taken advantage of all they offer other than chatting on the message boards and posting layouts from time to time.

I decided since it's a new year, I would jump in with both feet and actually participate in challenges. The first challenge was by Wilna and the challenge was to choose a word that speaks to you and create a layout based on that. I chose, "live" and found a lovely quote in the Silhouette store that resonated with me. "Live the life you have imagined" - sounds easy enough but doesn't always happen. I created this layout to remind me that I do have the power and ability to do just that. If you haven't used Sketch Pens in your Silhouette, I highly recommend it. I used the gold glitter pen on chalkboard paper and I love the look.

It's funny to see how a layout evolves. I knew I wanted to use the My Mind's Eye Red Wood paper (On the Bright Side) to highlight our red barn in the background of my photo. I also love the charcoal gray color of my shirt - I took a Crafter's Workshop stencil and flexible modeling paste mixed with paint twood-grainedwoodgrained background.

Even though I loved the look of the woodgrain, it didn't look good with the Red Wood paper. This was where the layout took a different approach. I mixed some paint with gel medium to make the paint more translucent and painted over the woodgrain.

I wanted the layout to have a rustic feel so I chose Canvas Corp. burlap for my background. By the way, thanks to Pinterest, I am completely obsessed with burlap! I then added a few embellishments and the layout was complete. It's not what I had envisioned from the start, but I still love the finished project.

In 2013, I hope to push myself creatively and more importantly, LIVE my LIFE to the fullest!