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WOYWW #169 | What's on your Workdesk Wednesday

It's a good Wednesday here, because I'm on vacation until next week -- woo hoo! (And I anticipate it to be filled with better fun than yesterday, which was largely spent troubleshooting the Internet connection, and installing/configuring a new router. First world problems, for sure.) If you'd like to join in the WOYWW festivities, sashay over to Julia's blog, Stamping Ground, for more details. 

Here is my desk this morning, where nothing is going on. I haven't decided whether to jump in on an online challenge of some sort (since I've got the time) or whether I'll start a layout. The tag by the window is my version of Tim's August tag. 

Last night I copied some Zentangle patterns from the Zentangle Basics book. 

These are the back-to-school cards I made (doesn't everyone photograph things on the lawn??):

Hope this wasn't too long-winded! Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a marvelous day. As always, I'll visit folks who comment here, as well as those who share a last digit with me in the Mr. Linky list. I'd love to do more -- perhaps with it being a vacation week, I will! :)

~ Laura

12 Tags of 2012: August

This is my August tag, inspired by Tim Holtz's tag over on his blog. As always, there's lots of improvising going on my version. I used a TH stamp for the witch, stamped in Peeled Paint distress ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. I created a frame with an American Crafts stamp and Jet Black archival ink. I dry-embossed the entire tag with a Cuttlebug embossing folder, inked over the raised design with Spiced Marmalade distress ink, and decided to spray it with some glimmer mist, too. I inked over the top with Frayed Burlap and then dabbed away some of it with a wet cloth. The flowers are Prima and the ribbon is from Bazzill. 

WOYWW #168 | What's on your Workdesk Wednesday

It's a sunny Wednesday morning here in upstate New York and I most devoutly don't want to go to work. Alas, in a moment off I will go anyway. But first, an important thing: make a WOYWW post with a link to our hostess, Mrs. Dunnit!

My daughter was looking through this album over the weekend and I discovered that I had left my Week in the Life 2011 pages undone! The horror! So, I made a cover sheet and went about discovering what clever things I had thought I would do. (Don't even talk to me about what I've done with the pictures taken during Week in the Life 2012. There are pictures and they are on my hard drive. The end. Week in the Life is a project that Ali Edwards does each year and I always have wonderful intentions. . .) Underneath the open album is a folder of school-themed papers -- I make back-to-school cards for all my sweethearts (daughter, nieces, nephew.) To the right of the album is a page from my pseudo-Project Life project -- this is last week in May, first week in June. I'm behind, but not worrying about it in the slightest. 


I decided to stamp some little bits of things onto patterned paper scraps -- useful for layouts or on cards. Sometimes you're just in the mood to do things like this.

I think this is my only creation from the weekend that didn't get posted already. My littlest niece is turning six this fall and when I came across this birthday paper, I decided to make her card early. Simple as can be -- patterned paper, a glittery 6, and some dots of Stickles. 

So, off I go to my gainful employment, for which I should be grateful and not grumbling! I look forward to virtually visiting all who venture here and comment (of course) and all the folks whom randomness has assigned the same last digit in Mr. Linky.

Happy Wednesday, from your verbose friend,

~ Laura

Project Pinterest: Thinking of You card

I'm making a concerted effort to actually make something inspired by the many (many, many) things I have pinned on Pinterest. Perhaps the impetus of a challenge will help? :)

    [Click here for the original pin that will link you directly to the designer's blog.]

I came across this lovely card by Laurel Beard last week and did some clear embossing on kraft myself over the weekend. She colored her card with colored pencils (which I also tried) but on this card I used distress markers. 

I think when I try this technique again, I'll consider using a stamp with more empty space -- I like the shiny look of the clear embossing between the flowers in Laurel's card. And I think colored pencils work better on the kraft than did the distress markers, which are less opaque. 

Here are the guidelines for Project Pinterest:

1. Decide which pin on Pinterest you’d like to recreate.

2. Create it!

3. Flop or success, create a blog post about your re-do and include the original pin’s url.

4. Add the Project Pinterest button to your post so others can join in too!
* From now on to be considered a "Featured Pinner" you need to add the Project Pinterest button to your blog please.

5. Link up and check out other bloggers’ posts! (Click PP logo above to go to the website.)

 

SSS&S Challenge: No Rules

Funny story -- I was going to post this card yesterday for the Favorite Techniques challenge, but never got around to doing so! OK, that's not really all that funny. But I decided to enter it for this week, since the challenge is, helpfully, No Rules! over at Simon Says Stamp & Show. 

That favorite technique I was going to mention is die cutting a word out of a tag and using it on a card or layout, preferably backed with some contrasting patterned paper. The papers are from Basic Grey's Kioshi line and the friend definition and butterfly are both Hero Arts. 

A Christmas Tag . . . in August?

I've been playing around with heat embossing with clear embossing powder and then coloring the resulting images. Decided to make a Christmas tag -- hey, if I do this periodically, I'll be all set when the holiday season actually arrives :-)

~ Laura

Sunday Creative Time

I didn't really have a long story to tell with these pictures but wanted to use as many of them as possible, so I did a page and a half grid. Between the pictures and the patterned paper, the layout practically made itself. 

I'm hoping to play around some more a little later, so I'll post again later if I do! 

Happy crafting, friends. 

~ Laura

WOYWW #167 | What's on your Workdesk Wednesday

Trying to get back in the WOYWW groove -- I missed it the weeks I was too busy to even take the desk photo before work. :)  WOYWW is a virtual tour of some amazingly crafty and artistic workspaces, with no passport required, hosted and organized by Mrs. Dunnit. 

Here's my desk, in the aftermath of a weekend project. 

And here's the two page layout I made with all the stuff that was laying around in last week's WOYWW post:

I kept the design simple because I felt the art should be the star of the show. 

Thanks so much for visiting. I'll aim to visit everyone whose final digit in Mr. Linky matches mine, as well as return visits to anyone who is nice enough to comment here.

Happy Wednesday!

~ Laura

Simon Says Stamp and Show | Paint it Up Challenge

Well, this project was sparked by this challenge . . . but it ended up being less of a painting project and more of a collage. The paint that shows behind the floral paper at the bottom covers the whole piece -- I just ended up covering it up! 

I die cut the words out of a piece of Tim Holtz patterned paper. The quote is from Annie Dillard and let's just pretend that the "of course" is set off by commas. Thanks. :)

This is a bit of a carpe diem quote, to my mind, and so I added some things that bring my life meaning: music, reading (the dictionary quote encircled by the copper thing), etc., as well as things that represent time (clock faces, snippet of a calendar.) 

WOYWW #166 | What's on your Workdesk Wednesday

Welcome, artists and crafters! I've been absent from the weekly festivities for the past month or so -- short-staffed at work + company at my house = no time for WOYWW.

Here are pictures of my desk this morning. I pulled out memorabilia and pictures from our trip to the National Gallery of Art during our DC trip last year. Trying to decide which things to use, and how, on a layout. Will probably put some things in an additional page protector or two, such as the brochure for the specific exhibit and the map. 

Next is a layout I made last week, highlighting pictures from the week of July 4th. 

I think I needed a longer title or larger letters . . . I extended it with the arrows to help it take up more room. 

I don't think I've posted this tag yet. I was experimenting with water stamping, but it didn't show up, so I went a different direction and stamped some flowers in archival ink, some in a matching ink to the background, and added some die cut flowers.  

Thanks for visiting! I anticipate being in the hinterlands of Julia's list of wonderment (check out the link if you have no idea what I'm on about), so don't expect to be swamped. :)

~ Laura