lara

This is inspired by the "Favorite 4 Letter Word using the color red" Challenge at Gutter Girlz. I could've used my favorite F-bomb but I thought i'd go a little more "positive" and I've noticed this word "hope" has been really coming out of my mouth often these days!
On the back i listed out everything i've been hoping for recently. I didn't want to incorporate it into the layout cause i wanted to keep it more positive. Keep it with the forward momentum I've accomplished.

I guess you can call it a hybrid layout - the photo is pimped out in photoshop but the rest is yummy paint and chipboard letters and paper.



Here's a close-up. I did a reverse stamp for the background - put a bunch of paint down and THEN press the bubble wrap into it, keep it there for about 10 mins then removed it. Kind of a neat effect I guess.

Here's an art journal page i did a couple of weeks ago but have been too lazy to photograph until now. I went to the Indie Craft Fair and bought this little collage a woman had made using this quote and it got under my skin enough where i wanted to use it in my own collage interpretation :)



I just noticed the date - that should be 11/16/08 :)
oooops

i believe this goes in "one of my all time favorite" category :)
I don't think, as usual, photos did the texture justice!
It's for the One Word challenge at The CrEative TyPe.

I've been CRAVING to use both that quote and that picture for awhile now - I'm so thankful I finally got the inspiration to do so!



This is hybrid layout - the photo is filtered in photoshop. The background is bits of fibrous hand made paper collaged together - it feels cool! I know I over did it on the Glimmer Mist - i used 3 different colors :)



Also, those are real dried flowers! So delicate and beautiful.
I have NO idea where i got that cool key from - Tracy maybe? But, it works so well with the quote!

Another "art therapy" layout.




It's inspired by the 5th Prompt at The Creative Type. The challenge is to fill in a shape with words - i used Photoshop to fill in the dark shadows of my face with words from the journalling that I typed into wordle.net. Don't be surprised if you see alot more layouts using Wordle - HOLY CRAP that site is waaaaaayyyyy too addictive!



Background is layers of tape, scrap paper and pieces of my old screen door with tons of black and blue acrylic paint. The painting was almost more therapy than the journalling :)

The title, Stop Control, were from two words that I seem to keep repeating to myself alot lately. They mean something so different independent of each other AND put together. I seem to keep telling myself to "stop" stuff - stop being irrational, stop being depressed, stop eating like shit and i also keep telling myself to "control" myself - my emotions, my eating, my life.

But when put together, "Stop Control" - if i actually try to stop controlling my self I might be easier on myself and therefore less anxious and overwhelmed. Sometimes giving up a little control is actually good, right? Right....

I also realized when i was done that this layout is virtually entirely black and white. I didn't mean to do that, it just happened. But I think its interesting because I've been so depressed lately that most of my life has been living in black and white. Grey or color areas not only confuse and overwhelm me (i.e. details) but i just can't see them. The little bit of blue I used is the color starting to poke through - I'm definitely emerging back to life these days!

a little art therapy, if you will.
Inspired by the 4th challenge over at The Creative Type - create your own lettering

I used rolled up magazine paper to make the title :)



and of course different paints and textures to apply it with

I was wanting to do a layout with these song lyrics since they have been my soundtrack this week and then I checked out the latest challenge over at The CrEative TyPe which is to use a quote as your background and thought "PERFECT!"

Then to double it up, I visited another favorite inspirational blog, One Little Word and their word of the week is "More."
So, kinda fortuitous, right?!

The lyrics I did using my favorite font, Love Letter Typewriter. I printed them out in a couple of different sizes then painted over them with thinned acrylic paint. LOVE that technique to death! :)

Anyways, simple fast layout but i think pretty effective. I actually like it, which is saying alot!

Scrapped the new tattoo.
I've been having so many creative mojo issues lately.
I think the layout looks a little forced, but at least I did it.
Gotta dive back in and just do it, you know?

Most of my scrapbook supplies are packed, so this uses what I could find. The paper is from a pack of Basic Grey Blush the awesome ladies at Ready, Set, Scrap sent me. Of course i didn't pack any of my paint or ink or duct tape! The screen is from a porch on my house that was ripped down and I took out of the trash :) I also kept a small envelope of ribbon and embellishment scraps separate and used some of those. Also a roller stamp from the last Scarlet Lime kit I got.

Lots of layers

One of the fastest layouts I've ever done.
Art therapy really.



The paper behind the picture are some of my last private LJ entries all printed out on top of each other like how my head's been thinking. I painted over them with acrylic as well as put some Tim Holtz Distress Ink on it. Lyrics are from one of my favorite theme songs right now :)

Title letters are new the Fabric Thickers and i also used my new roller stamp for that inked grid pattern both courtesy of the September Scarlet Lime kit.

Felt good to do this.

Here's my layout for The Creative Type's first prompt ever! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of this blog because i'm such a font whore.

The challenge is to create a concert poster featuring, duh, type!



I have been wanting to do a monochromatic layout for some time now since discovering the joys of duct tape and the neon colors they come in. So, this layout is very much inspired by those simple screen printed concert posters of yesterday - the white paint trying to capture the sometimes sloppy edges left by the screen and excess paint.

You can't tell to well, I think, but the photographs are halftoned just like a real screen printed photo would appear :)



OK, now the font. Its a font I discovered a couple of weeks ago called Ogive Curvature and i recreated it with chipboard circles i cut and painted. Not too shabby.

Today the new Gutter Girlz prompt is announced and it is "Blabbermouth" and in addition use the supply of duct tape. DUCT TAPE!!!! MY FAVORITE!!!!

Anyways, this is my last layout as Guest Designer which sucks but the layout was so much fun - I used hella duct tape as well as a new inspirational quote I found!!!!!



So the photo is another "hybrid" attempt - filtered and effected in photoshop. I think it turned out quite lovely actually :) I also added additional black acrylic paint on it as well as crumpled it to bring it from 2D to 3D. Cause i think the most important thing to me in my layouts is texture and dimension, I've decided!

I took the topic, and thus the journalling, on a more personal level - i frustrate myself sometimes with how much I can be a blabber mouth about other people. I found this awesome quote online somewhere and it really resonated - and i found it almost the same exact day I was given this challenge so I think it worked out well - I think everyone could benefit from exploring ideas and asking questions about why things are and what they could be, rather than reading gossip, throwing out negative emotions from jealousy or envy and thinking mindlessly and closed rather than open and focused. It's definately a goal of mind which I'm sure I'll be working on my entire life!!!



The background is a piece of cardboard i've been using as a paint palette for weeks now. I have 3 such "palettes" but this one looked especailly ready to be put in a layout - so its already got a ton of history on it! Although I did doctor it up a little with some drippy white Gesso and bubble wrap stamped paint.



By the way, this is the back side of the layout - I thought it also deserved a little attention :)
Believe me, it was hard to choose which side would make a better base!!!

OK, so obviously I covered the edges with 3 different colors of duct tape to make a frame for the whole piece then used crumpled up black duct tape to make the inside of the frame. Also nestled some lace with it - why is duct tape and lace so perfect together? Sweet and Spicy? And there are some other various scraps of Hambly overlay and ribbon and screen thrown in here and there for added surprise.



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So my favoritist part is these duct tape flowers i learned how to make! The possibiities are endless and I can't wait to experiment even more! Thanks for the inspiration Gutter Girlz!

OMG!!!
So, i'm the guest designer for the gutter girlz this month!
And here's the layout i made for the "Bare it All" challenge which also asks to use white paint.
and let me tell you, it's very therapeutic to bare it all!
This layout was really good for me to do.





So, ya, I guess this layout is what you call "hybrid-scrapbooking"?
The photo is something i made in photoshop (it's a photo of my back i put effects on).
I also used black duct tape, white and black and green acrylic paint, bubble wrap and corrugated cardboard to stamp it, screen i got out of the trash, a butterfly that i have NO IDEA where i got (i assume SiSiversary though) and white lace i found at a thrift store for like 50¢.

A little more close up on the journaling:



Yes, I used photoshop and a font (not my own handwriting) and i, of course, grunged it up a little bit in photoshop but if you look closely i also added in black ink and black acrylic paint to add a teeny bit more texture.

Title close up:


It does get lost in the layout which I'm kinda disappointed about, but oh well - live and learn! Oh yes, and of course you can see some beautiful black duct tape on the border!

Close up on my luscious currrrvvvesss :)


Oh and i used bubble wrap and currugated cardboard with acrylic paints for the stamping patterns.



and the lace is kind of a tongue in cheek opposition to the grunginess of the layout.

(btw, this is the photo before i cut it out and married it with paper and paint)

The layout is a challenge for Ready Set Scrap. The challenge is to use tape and paint in your layout. They must've been thinking of me when they thought it up, cause that's all i use :)



It's really pretty, don't think photos captured all the color and texture
The quote i read over the weekend over at www.designformankind.com and it just really stuck with me:

If you can walk, you can dance
If you can talk, you can sing

It's a proverb from Zimbabwe. So optimistic and spiritual!



OKIE. So, for the base, i used 4 different types of tapes on this! Masking, electrical, duct, and friction tape.
Also behind the tape is crumbled up newspaper i SOAKED in water and paint.
I have gotten so into making my own backgrounds now! Screw 2 dimensional :)

The circle is a gasket painted and then there's also a picture of me striking a pose that i cut out, painted over then etched out the definition highlights. LOVE IT.



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OH YES - and the red pebbles i found on the sidewalk - like someone had thrown a lamp out of a window by my brothers condo that had the red pebbles all over them so i picked through the broken glass for them - there is NO such thing as trash people!!!!

Here is a layout done for the Gutter Girlz challenge - the prompt is "Fight" and the material to use is "torn paper." It's kind of a personal layout, but i'm all about the journalling these days :)
Perhaps, an alternative title for the layout should be "control freak" hahahahahahaha




OK, so what the camera does NOT capture is the amount of texture on the page. I took inspiration from my successful paper whore layout and used scraps and tape to build texture which i then gesso'd over to make a more uniform color then painted over. And of course i dripped paint too :)
Also, i used the Hambly overlay - i love how it looks, but it sure doesn't photograph easily! Geez!



Also, the photo, it's the first time i used a photoshop texture filter/effect, so perhaps this layout can be called a hybrid :) But, ya, i "distressed" the photo digitally, although i did "erase" the eye holes to make those stand out a bit. The torn paper around the photo (or the frame) is a wallpaper sample all inked up.



aaaaahhhhh, there's the texture i'm obsessed with! Know it, love it.

So, here's the card for Bono I've been obsessed with since July 3.
It took hours and hours of complete meditation and love.
I think its probably the most beautiful thing I've ever made!!!
And it feels so good holding it in my hands - the size and the weight and the texture.
I wish these pictures could convey even an iota of that.
but oh well.
I hope it feels as nice to him when he holds it in his hands.
Even if for a sec.

Without further ado, pictures:




The cover.
The heart is rusted metal i bought for 50¢ at The Scrapbox in Ann Arbor. The circle is a gasket i painted and glimmer misted to be like rust. Kinda worked.... Obviously the covers show best what all the pages look like - tissue paper with tulle and acrylic paint stamped with Fancy Pants stamp and bubble wrap.





The type of binding i used, used string to hold it in place.



Back cover. In the past I haven't put my name on these cards, but I'm sorry, i threw myself into this one and i think its beautiful, so I added my name on the back cover. Hope no one minds....



Usually we include a certificate for the amount raised, this year i hand wrote it to make it more personal:



Here is a better look at the binding of the pages. I learned the technique from Sarah Bowen at a class she taught at SiSiversary last month:



The pages are hand sewn into the bind.

Over view of the pages. I'm actually kinda proud of how i did this! I wanted an old parchment look but had printed the messages on regular white paper. I then painted over the top of each sheet with a light coat of brown acrylic paint mixed with gesso, then folded the corners and inked them with Tim Holtz's Distressed Ink.


just a neat macro shot showcasing all the texture:


HOPE HE LIKES IT!!!!!

Layout for the Gutter Girlz Challenge blog.
The challenge is to use the theme "Junkie" and to use packaging in it.
I really don't have many vices anymore except, well, scrapbooking products - most specifically PAPER.
Moreover, i save every scrap i cut - and i have scraps from my very first layouts still!
I've been wanting to do a collage using them for awhile but never really knew how.
Until now!
Yay for inspiration.




heh heh: whore - how often is that word used in a scrapbook layout?!


Just some close up detail:


(yes, i even save the bubble wrap colored with paint)



I know i overdid it on that damn glitter mist again, could do a "whore" layout about that too, i guess :)

Layout for the Art is Found Challenge blog about walking.
I decided to combine journalling about my love for walking in urban areas with found objects I've picked up off the streets the last couple of months. It's kind of a gritty layout, but that's where i find the beauty of downtown Atlanta.




This is what the journaling says in case its hard to read:

Beauty lies in not only what we think is pleasing to the eye, but what we think is ugly. I am so inspired by what so many people think of as ugly - trash, chipped paint, cracked pavement... these are what have the history and depth.

Friday i photo journaled my walk home from work. I've never so conciously noticed the variety of color and texture my feet touch 10 times a week. And it wasn't the polished granite or swept sidewalks that excited me - it is the well-worm crosswalk paint, trash in the gutter and variety of grate covers. I love to pick up the trash and wonder why it was there and where it came from. Then give it this new purpose.

In retrospect i probably would not have written over the crosswalk!

Like i say in the journaling on the page, one of the things that inspire me about urban walking are all the textures and colors and materials under my feet. i think this picture/layout captures some of that nicely:



I made the crosswalk actually more realistic than I thought possible!!! I took a picture and printed it out 8.5x11 then put gray duct tape on the back. Then with an exacto i cut out the crosswalk and then painted on top of the tape with white acrylic paint. After it dried i was able to scratch and distress it and the two materials together actually made the same look at the crosswalks you see that have been used and abused on the street! I was pretty psyched when i got that result!

The background is black acrylic paint lightly painted over the screen i trash picked, the cement netting also track picked and also the piece of cardboard was used as a stamper. So basically everything on the layout was used twice :D (in addition to however it had been used before cast off as trash).