Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Preparing for the Teenage Years

One of the things I enjoy most about digital photos is you have unlimited copies available.  This year my son entered the <shudder> Teenage Years. So I decided to create a photobook for he and my husband that reminded them of all the good times they've had together over the years.  Kind of a buffer for future issues :-) 
Even though a couple of the photos were used in vacation LOs from earlier years, when combined with a new group of photos/LOs they take on a new life.  I had two books printed and gave them each a copy for Christmas.  It was so great to see them looking through their books together and sharing memories.  Mission Accomplished!
Digi Elements: Would You Play with Me
Collab by MelCrea & Paprika
Digi Elements: Assemblage &
Great Expedition Kits by Marta Van Eck



Digi Elements: A World for Boys by Thaliris



Sunday, December 18, 2011

From Digital LO to Christmas Card

I wanted to share what we did for this year's family Christmas card.  I've had a lot of trouble with my hands this year making it difficult to cut, punch etc. which is why I've done so many digital LOs.  Gotta scrap no matter what!  I knew I wouldn't be able to do handmade cards this year and I was very disappointed.  For me, making handmade cards helps me connect with the joy of the season. 

I had made a Christmas LO for a challenge over at Soul Scrappers.  I really liked the page and decided to see if I could incorporate it into a card.  I changed the journaling to a Christmas message and added our names.  I also added a partial overlay to help frame the image.  I then re-sized the image so I could fit 6 to a page for printing.

I matted the image to some green cardstock and popped the image up with some dimensionals.  The white cardstock background was scored to add a touch of elegance and then I gilded the green flat card using a gold paint pen and voila!  I got to make handmade Christmas cards this year :-)

As the card reads, "May the Wonderful Peace of Christ be yours at Christmas and Always."

Merry Christmas and I'll see you next year!  Happy Scrappin!

Monday, December 12, 2011

Christmas Magic-Sketch Challenge

Debi Clark has a great sketch challenge going on over at Soul Scrappers. 
We had to use 3 colors in the title, ribbon and a Christmas-y photo.  I made my very first glitter letters!  I used a surface texture and increased the amplication and spacing to create a sparkly effect.  Thanks for stopping by and Happy Scrappin'!


Sunday, December 11, 2011

It's a White Christmas over at FS2S

Digi elements are from Anna Aspnes,
Jessica Sprague, Mye De Leon
and Forever Joy.
This month's film inspiration over at From Screen to Scrap is "White Christmas". We had to use white cardstock, 2 color title and Santa hats. I used white cardstock as my base and then made sure to add white cardstock in between paper layers and even matted my two different color letters on white. Of course the picture itself took care of the Santa hat requirement.
 
I did some blending on the papers and varied opacity levels. I also tried my hand at adding different level of shadows. It's amazing what different shadow angles and depths do to the look of a LO.  To shadow or not to shadow?  That is the question we digi scrappers deal with onn every LO.  I always try to imagine if it would have a shadow on a paper LO and go from there.  IF you do digi LOs how do you handle shadowing?
 
 
Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to head over the http://screen2scrap.blogspot.com/ and check out this month's challenge.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Is It Christmas Time Already?

I know I am waaay behind, but here's my first Christmas card for this season. I stamped the bells and greeting in gold and then embossed them with gold embossing powder to give them added dimension.
I used some mini jingle bells from SU! where the holly berries are. Mainly because I bought these things and haven't figured out what to do with them yet. Any ideas?
Well back to the craft room to work on some more cards. Have a great, crafty weekend!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Home for the Holidays Film Inspiration

From Screen 2 Scrap has monthly challenges inspired by movie posters. This month was "Home for the Holidays". We had to use "Home" in the title, journal in white and use photos from a family gathering. Heather T over at MScraps has an alpha called Alpha Giants, which uses the large half letters. Once I saw them I knew I had to use them. The rest of the digi elements are from an Mscraps blogtrain called Autumn Potpourri.
If you want to try a different kind of challenge you should head over to http://screen2scrap.blogspot.com/ and have some fun!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Colors and Circles Abound

This is a digi LO I created for a Soul Scrappers Challenge. The inspiration was the Simon & Garfunkel song "Scarborough Fair". You needed to have a circle and a text wrap. I chose pictures from a Medieval Times summer camp my son attened. I used Flergs "Family Archives" and Katie Pertiet's "Monarch". Many colors were dark so I played with the Curves tab and opacity levels to get the colors how I wanted. That's one of my favorite things about digital LOs. If you don't have the color you want there is usally a way to create it.
I usually don't have circular photos so this was a challenge for me. I discovered I like using circles. Participating in challenges is a great way to try new things and stretch your comfort zone.
Thanks for stopping by and I wish you a happy crafting day!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

October Mornings

This morning when I let the dogs out I could see the mist coming off the lake. I grabbed my Point & Shoot and headed out to take some pictures. While on the shore some geese flew by, it was wonderful.
After I took a few pictures I paused to enjoy God's artistry. It was a truly serene moment.
I hope you have a chance to experience a serene moment today.
Digi elements by Flergs.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Hello - Song Inspired LO

This page combines my love of scrapbooking and my newly discovered love for art journaling. There was a song lyric challenge over at where? yep, you guessed it...Soul Scrappers. The inspiration was the song "Telephone Line" by E.L.O. When I read the lyrics all I could think about was how disconnected my son and I are right now as we start the teenage years. There's no bad feelings or anything like that, he's just not sharing with us as much as he did before and I miss him.
Digi elements from Marta Van Eck kits over at DeviantScrap.com.
Thanks for stoppng by and I hope you are crafting today!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Favorite Book ATC Swap

Over at one of my favorite places, Soul Scrappers, they had an ATC Swap based on your favorite book. I decided on the series "The Chronicles of Narnia" by CS Lewis. I wanted to make my ATC look like an old book. I saw Claudine Hellmuth show how to transfer a copied image on to metal and thought I'd try the technique on paper.

First you print/copy your image onto regular copy paper, in this case thinner is better. Use a gel medium to glue it on your base and let dry. This is the most important part. It must dry completely, so put it away and forget about it for a day. When it's dry, spray it with water (I know that sounds a bit silly, but just do it). Then gently begin rubbing the wet paper. The paper fibers will start to breakdown and come off, but the image remains.

For my ATC I gave the image an aged look by rubbing harder in some areas. I then gilded the edges with gold embossing powder and added a thin strip of stamped cardstock for the binding.

It was fun trying a new technique and I was very happy with the result.

Thanks for stopping by and happy scrappin'!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Summer Memories

Well, I've been out of pocket for about three weeks. Glad to be back and scrapping! Here's a LO I did for a Soul Scrapper's challenge. We had to do a LO about the smells of summer. Digi elements are from "Acid Wash" by Melissa Bennett. LO inspired by SimplyTiffany Studios template.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Don't Forget You

All digi elements are from Katie Pertiet kits.
This page was done for the Big Idea Festival over at BPC.  The word for the day was "Share".  I chose a picture of myself.  I've been trying to do that lately, even though I hate how I look in photos (does anyone like themselves in photos?).  Katie the Scrapbook Lady did a post over at the Daily Digi about a friend of hers that passed away.  She talked about how everyone at the memorial enjoyed every photo shown.  They didn't care if her hair was messed or her tshirt was baggy, they just wanted to see her.  So now I try to do more LOs that include me.  When's the last time you had your picture taken? 

Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

My First ATC Swap-Famous

Over at Soul Scrappers I participated in my first ever ATC swap. The theme was "Tim Holtz" and we had to use one of his techniques. I used tissue tape to create the background and then stained it with distress ink. I used some of his film strips (love them!) and the picket fence die over the main image.

It's titled "Famous". It portrays a golden age film star feeling trapped by her fame. I had a great time and the best part is that I now have 9 special ATCs from the other ladies that will inspire me.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you get to be crafty today!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Day 6 - Big Idea Festival


Our word today was "Nest". I knew immediately that I wanted to use this picture of Ashley and her daughter Lily. The hardest part was the journaling. I wasn't sure how to tie in the picture with the style of journaling I've been using throughout the minibook. I finally looked up "nest" in the dictionary and then I had the angle I needed to complete the page.

We're having a great time at Big Picture Classes. There's still time to join in the fun. It's free so what's stopping you? Come on over!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Big Idea Festival


Have you been over to Big Picture Classes yet? They are having their Big Idea Festival. It started on Monday and it's lots of fun. Each day we're given a word by the guest instructor along with a template for a 6x6 mini book. They even include a png file if you want to go digital. On Wednesday Peppermint Granberg gave us the word "Less". This is a picture of the 2-page LO I did using some embellishments from Catrine_Day At The Park Kit.

Over the summer our family disconnected a little. Starting in August we are making an effort to spend less time with our gadgets and more time with each other. Peppermint's word choice was perfect.


I used a photo I've used before in another LO. It was the perfect picture for this LO and will fit well in the mini book. I don't think there's anything wrong with using the same picture to tell a different story. Steph from The Daily Digi even did a post about it recently. There's alot of great articles over there. You should check it out if you've never been there.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!

Monday, August 1, 2011

Me and My Gesso


I started an Art Journal a few weeks back. I liked the idea of using my craft supplies to create a visual diary. I discovered during my page prep that I am addicted to gesso! I may have overworked my first couple of pages, I couldn't help myself, it was so much fun. At one point I imagined I was like Tom Sawyer whitewashing a fence...lol. Of course, if I wanted to get any journaling done I had to stop gessoing and start writing.

I used some images from Catrine of Catscrap's "Day at the Park" digi kit as a base for my page and then me and my gesso (sounds like a song...me and my gesso, painting wherever we go...lol) played. Although I'm not entirely happy with the page the cool thing was that I did it. I got out my supplies and enjoyed myself.

I hope you have a chance to do the same! Thanks for stopping by.

Monday, July 25, 2011

I SPY...Inspiration

A few weeks ago one of my co-workers was wearing these super cute sandals. I asked if I could take a picture of them not so I could remember what they looked like to buy a pair...NO...it was so I could put it in my inspiration journal. Look at those colors and the pattern is so interesting! I haven't thought of a project yet, but that's what so great about an inspiration journal. It's there when I need it. Although now that I'm looking at them again I may have to get a pair to wear too!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Keeping It Real

As a Mom I'm prone to scrapbooking all the cute and fun memories. But it's equally important to document other moments as well, because it's not just the cute and fun memories that have an impact on our lives. It's also great scrap-therapy. Today's example is about my son's 6th grade year. It was debatable if he was going to finish the school year at his current school or get sent to military school! It was a rough time for all of us. It felt good to journal about it and when I showed my son we had a good talk about all that had happened and how glad we all were that those days were behind us!

Keeping it real is a good thing.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!

Friday, July 15, 2011

I've Escaped the Doldrums!

It took a concerted effort, but I finally escaped the doldrums. Lately, Ive been in a funk and I couldn't seem to shake it. I heard about a book called "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield. He talks about all the things we do to block whatever our creative passion might be. I've been enjoying it. I'd made it to about page 40 when I told my husband about the book. I'm still at about page 40 because my husband is reading it! About the time my husband commandeered The Book I listened to a Digi Show Podcast http://thedigishow.com/ about Art Journaling. I now understand with all my being the word "EPIPHANY"! I started my art journal that night and I can feel the difference in myself already. With the art journal I can use all my crafting tools to express my thoughts and feelings. For me it was the perfect thing to kick my Mojo back into action.

Do you art journal? What do you do to get your Mojo going again when it's stalled?

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, June 27, 2011

What I learned from The Grid

Our last week in Composition for Collage we reviewed the Grid, aka My Nemesis! I had the hardest time with this style. Collage, to me, implies blended, combined media that tells a story or expresses emotion. The Grid (sounds like a super villain doesn't it? Beware The Grid! Ha, ha), anyway, the Grid seems to be the opposite of collage.


The top picture was my first attempt. Still trying to blend and tell a story. Some of it works, but the Grid part isn't really working.

The second collage is after I just let my hangups about The Grid go and had some fun. I compulsively take pictures of clouds. This year alone I've already taken 56 pictures of clouds (thank goodness for digital!). I picked some of my favorites, converted them to posters and then merged them to create the grid.

The Grid started out as my enemy. Having to work through my issues and embrace the style has been more than a composition lesson. The Grid helped me "Go with the Flow" and just enjoy the act of creating.

I hope you have a chance to create today! Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Blurry Photos Can Be Scrapped and Not Forgotten

We all have them, those pictures that would have been perfect if the subject hadn't moved just then, or the lighting had been better. Those pictures that can't be salvaged in a photo editing program ususally end up alone, gathering dust in a photo box if already printed, unloved and unwanted. Or even worse, if it's a digital photo, it doesn't get marked with a star in the photo organizing software. It's doomed to never be pulled when a photo search for favorites is done. Well, blurry photos have rights too.

We took my son to see STYX. It was his first rock concert so you know I was a shutterbug! Almost all of the photos were blurry. Apparently indoor stadiums with laser light shows and spotlights aren't conducive to great pictures, at least not for me and my simple point & shoot digi camera. If I wanted to scrap the event with pictures then I was going to have to embrace the blurry photos. So I did. And you know what? It worked great. I enlarged some of them, distorting them even more. I played with colorwashes on others. The end result was a fun storybook we can all enjoy.

Thanks as always for stopping by. Happy Scrapping!


Monday, June 20, 2011

The Story of the Orange Wedge

Over at Soul Scrappers is a challenge to make a LO using black, orange and a little bit of white. I went the digital route for this one as I don't have a lot of orange in my paper stash. This year my son became a teenager and I've been noticing little differences in behavior. This LO is about one of those little changes that means he's growing up.

Thanks for looking and Happy Scrapping!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Fascination-Digi Vignette Collage

HAPPY FRIDAY!
For week three of Claudine Hellmuth's Composition for Collage class I decided to try creating the collage digitally. Oh my gosh, it was so much fun! I think I'm addicted to cutting out images! I admit there was a gleam in my eye as I was clicking my mouse maniacally around the images-BWAHAHAHA.

OK, enough of that. Here's the picture of my very first digital collage. I hope you have a chance to be creative today in whatever medium you choose.

Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Scrapping!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

The Morning Dew

One of my goals this year is to learn to use the tools I have. One of those tools is my simple point & shoot digi camera. I've been trying different settings. This photo is of a flower that blooms near our fish pond. It was early morning and the petals still had dew drops. I was so pleased that the drops can be seen in the photo.


Enjoy your day and Happy Scrapping!



Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Negative Space=Fabulous Page

Those that know me know that I have a hard time with negative
space (white space) on a LO. I have a compulsion to fill the gaps.
Soul Scrappers has a great sketch challenge using lots of negative space so I gave it a try. I have to be honest, I struggled with this at first. As I searched my photo gallery I came across this picture of my grandmother and all of the sudden the challenge wasn't so hard. Amazing how the right photo can get the creativity going.

Have a great day and Happy Scrapping!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Shopping with Friends-Collage Class Week Two

This week we learned about horizontal horizons.

I used a street sign from a Tim Holtz paper stack and hand painted the background. The 3 mannequins are from my collection. I took their pictures, printed them on card stock and cut them out. The woman and cat are from Claudine Hellmuth's image collection.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Scrapping!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Butterflies and Birthdays



The beauty of the butterfly makes me pause and sigh in contentment. The varied colors and perfect symmetry of the wings are comforting. And they inspired me to make this card. All products except the patterned paper are SU!



Thanks for looking and Happy Scrapping!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

My First Collage Piece


I'm taking "Composition for Collage" by Claudine Hellmuth over at Big Picture Classes. We've just had our first assignment to do an asymmetrical collage. Here's my first collage ever! I used graphics that Claudine provides as part of the class and the large old fashioned bike is from Graphic Fairy. Map paper and stamped words from Stampin' Up! Cloud paper made from sponging a light blue ink over a hand cut cloud stencil. I enjoyed this process and can't wait to learn more next week!

Thanks for looking and Happy Scrapping!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

From Screen 2 Scrap- Guest DT Member

I've been given the special honor of being the guest DT member at From Screen 2 Scrap (see link under My Blog List) for the month of June. The movie poster inspiration is UP!. There is added criteria of using balloons/hot air balloons, clouds and a 3-D element on your LO. I had a lot of fun creating my page, why don't you hop over there and join in the fun, they enjoy meeting new people.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Day One

Hi and welcome to I'm Joy-I Scrap-I'm Happy! Day One :-)


As the title claims, I'm a scrapbooker and love it! It's amazing to me how much this hobby has added to my life. I'm constantly discovering new aspects of myself through designing my layouts(LO) and journaling the stories/emotions these LOs tell.



This is a picture of a digital LO I did for the Sketch Challenge 37 at Soul Scrappers. Soul Scrappers is a wonderful "ning" community of scrapbooking, card making, and papercrafting people that share their creativity. A great site for inspiration. Another great sight for inspiration was this toad that greeted me on my way to the mailbox last week. I thought he would be great on the Intro to Summer page for my Year 2011 project.



Thanks for stopping by. Happy Scrapping!