Sunday, February 21, 2016

Lisa E Design Blog: Valentine Giveaway Winner

Lisa E Design Blog: Valentine Giveaway Winner: And the winner of the Valentine giveaway prize is Anna  who posted on February 16 at 2:23 p.m.

"!!!!!!"


A beautiful conclusion to a terrifically scrappy weekend. Yesterday I met with friends for croppin' and taught a newbie how to create her own lovely mini album. Too much fun and just the right amount of wine :-)
Today I was given the liberty to continue playing with paper, and wrapped up about ten pages from my work-in-progress Christmas album. Sometimes it was just a title or a bit of journaling  that needed to be filled in, but there were quite a few blank page-turned-layouts as well.
Now this awesome contest announcement... what a wonderful way to end a fantastic weekend with my family and friends. Thanks for stopping by and sharing my bliss...

& thanks, Lisa!

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Upcoming Spring Cardmaking Class!


I've been a member of the Two Waters Arts Alliance for nearly a year now, and I really enjoy being a part of such an eclectic ensemble of local artists. They also encourage me through regularly offering me venues to teach in, which is just really incredible.

In addition to the youth-based classes I've been teaching through our local Key Peninsula Home School Association, and our youth center, the Red Barn, this year I'm offering adult paper crafting classes as well.

Saturday, March 5th, we will create approximately four card (more if time allows) that show our love of the growing season, Spring. Not only will I be sharing some quick background coloring techniques, layering solutions, and creative ways to use our "old-fashioned" tools like punches and distress ink, I'll also be helping students to create their own, fancy-scripted sentiments.

All this for just $15- and the supplies ARE included!

Interested in reserving a seat? Email my friend Patty, who is coordinating class sign ups for me, at pfdesign@comcast.net and before you know it, we'll be crafting up your own pieces of happy mail to send out, together!

Monday, February 8, 2016

Just Another Groupie

I love playing with paper. It's been a constant source of pleasure for so long now, sometimes when I'm in lax creative times, I wonder, am I burnt out? Have a dabbled with patterns so often that they all look the same now (or is that just my pages)? If given the choice between staying up late to watch a movie, or staying up late to create, which would I choose... oh, you know the answers, friends.
No burn out, no caring about repetition amongst my layouts, no hesitation (okay, hardly any) about staying up late to whip up a new batch of cards or a memory saving page or two, either. Last night I hosted a entertaining evening of Valentine's cardmaking for our preschool as a fundraiser; what a delightful night at our local wine shop, Blend! It was so interesting to walk around the room and see how everyone chose to adhere the same basic elements. Afterward, my mom followed me home and we hit the night running with scissors.
You'd think that after three hours of teaching, some schmoozing, massive calorie consumption, wine drinking and clean-up, I'd have been opting for a no-more-crafting conclusion, but my friends are enjoying a craft retreat without me (!) so I felt obligated to greet the dawn and play play play in my usual retreat way :-) I didn't quite make it to dawn, but I did make four layouts from within my pre-prepped Christmas album, and got to message images back and forth into the wee hours through the magic of facebook with my crafty cohorts as well. That kind of interaction makes the possibilities of burn out, or creative hesitation, fly right out the window!
 

And repetition is the same as continuity to me when it comes to scrapbook reading. So if my pages tend to be identifiable as mine, that's more than okay to me. In fact, in most of my classes, I teach other people to recognize those repetitive urges and embrace them as indicators of personal style! I even laughed as I lamented on taking five hours (!) to complete a layout only to have it turn out like everyother page in my albums... my friend knew exactly what "look" I referred to and commented that she'd made an "Anna" page recently too! What a compliment, huh?
This page was created for Shimelle.com's creative call to Scrapbook a Selfie. I used a pic with my two girls, and technically I 've learned this is a Groupie shot, but I love it, and the papers and embellishments, and am very happy that indeed, it is done in my recognizable style.
Happy crafting indeed!

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Mommin' Ain't Always Easy...

One of my very supportive, extremely crafty friends recently ordered a card for one of her friends, and, I'll be honest, I do love me a special order. There is something very scary and yet liberating in being asked to interpret another's love into send-ible form. My prompts were, mom of two, and a new born, who is faithful... not much to build on, but that just left the door open for my own vision.
To get in the creative zone, I thought about how, the busier we are, the less time we take to appreciate what fills our life. I thought about how doing something alone, happens so very few times for busy new moms, and when it does, it's for something we never dreamed would be so enjoyable- a shower lol. About how sometimes when we feel overwhelmed, doing so much for other people, a little piece of happy mail comes to show us that someone we love, loves us too. I thought about what a beautiful feeling it is to hold your newborn in your arms... I thought about the vibrancy of the sunrise and how somehow, seeing that beauty can make all the difference when a new mom is up at the crack of dawn for another round of on-demand feeding.
So yes, I did channel my own personal feelings into the card, and of course it's no surprise that I love the way it turned out :-) But, actually , YOU may be surprised to know, I was! First, let me tell you how it was made, and then why I was surprised.
I started with a piece of watercolor paper and, after painting it with water, I floated some sky-like colors over the top and some green on the bottom. Then I went over that with some grey, imagining already the "path" of motherhood. Once all that was dry, out came the stamps, and I even did some masking to create some flower clusters in the grass. One on each side helped to ground the card front and frame my sentiment, and I actually thought far enough ahead of time to plan that out, lol. Then, I used watercolor pencils dipped in water to fill in the images. Last, my silver pen went over the spokes and other metal bits and really brought the bike to life. Of course, a busy mom would not have time to ride it, so it just sits there, kickstand down, and maybe she and her children are nearby putting those flowers in the basket... Hey, I love me a good story behind my makings! It's all part of the creative process for me.
So, why, after all this effort, and storytelling, and the musings of my heart being put into my project, was I surprised to enjoy the finished product? Because for some reason, this much effort usually results in a feeling of disappointment at the turn out. Especially, it seems, when my project involves stamping. I cannot tell you how many times I've labored over a card front, only to later lament how many I could have made- and liked!
This feeling of satisfaction was so foreign, I even offered to make a different card before giving it over to my friend for review... how's that for a selling point, haha. "I don't really think this is too good, but give me $7 for it, please, and then allow me to make ad give you another card that I'm sure you'll like better, for free." Wow. I can just see the repeat sales coming in! Is it any wonder my creative side rules over my business side?
So, will I be making more cards just like this? Not likely, despite my love of the way it turned out~ 'cause, I just don't tend to make anything the same way twice. Will I still take custom orders? Absolutely! Because like I said, I adore the challenge of making for strangers based on their friend's observations. Just imagine how your friends descriptions of you would differ from what you would write about yourself... But, dear reader, will I perhaps be a little more loving to my labored over creations in the future? That, is to be determined...however, my magic eight ball says, "Chances are Good."
Thanks for reading, and please, comment below; what are three character traits you adore about your current bestie? I'll be looking forward to attempting to make something in that description's honor, and posting it here... til then, thank a mom who looks a bit frazzled, and maybe even make something nice for her to show your sympathy <3