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Archive for July 2008

Bare : GDT 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)

Back
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If You Can : Ready, Set, Scrap

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.



<3 and="" br="" paint="" tape="">


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!!!!
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Fight: Gutter Girlz

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.
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Bono's 2008 Birthday Card

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!!!!!

Paper Whore

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 :)
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Walking - Art is Found

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).

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Bliss - Ready, Set, Scrap!

Here's my entry for the Ready Set Scrap Challenge Blog. The topic was to scrap song lyrics. Of course, I chose a Muse song - Bliss.





I did this in about 2 hours - thats a crazy short time for me!
And I'm pretty shocked I like how it turned out!
Usually when i do stuff that fast I don't like it (at least at first)
Bubble wrap stamping everywhere.
And i used a stapler for the first time EVER in a layout!
Oh - and finally got past my fear of Hambly overlays and slapped one on there!
and and and
i have most definitely finally found a hand writing style i can live and love!
I have practiced, trial and error countless hours - trust me!




Quick close up....




This was a "mistake" picture, but on second thought i think it's cool as hell!!!!
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Sugar and Spice - Gutter Girlz

i like this layout alot!
i don't think it photographed well, but oh well.
It's for the new challenge blog: Gutter Girlz





So, I used ALL my favorite supplies on this and am pretty happy with the results. If i only could use 3 things they would be black duct tape, acrylic paint (in this case magenta) and glimmer mist (in this case Merlot on the alpha letters). Actually the combo of the paint and duct tape kinda looks like melted wax - pretty neat (note to self).

But also on here is tulle, lace, rub ons, masking tape, Queen & Co Ribbon Felt and my carefully practiced handwriting. Holy crap - i've been actually practicing handwriting!!! HAHAHHAHAHAHAHA - but i think i found a style i liked!

and

I've been wanting to use pictures of my kickboxing bruise - awesome inspiration here :)




The journaling arrow pointed at the lovely sexy bruise on my thigh :)






Love using masking tape in the title, and painted the chipboard alphas to match the drippy paint




Part of the challenge was to use pantyhose. I made a little bow out of mine and put it with the white lace and black felt ribbon - love the texture together!
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