Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Cricut Holidays is available now!


I can't help it... I still get a little giddy each time I go to the store and find an issue that I have a project in. It's kind of like Christmas morning. ...The anticipation of the issue and the surprise of seeing what the writer and the photographer have done with your layout on the shelf before you -just waiting to be opened. And I always love how Northridge Publishing stages the layouts and cards in little themed vignettes, so I was really excited to flip through this issue quick and find my layout.

... And here it is :)
Merry Christmas by Mollie Deem as seen in Cricut Holidays 2012

...And then I always wonder what the store employees and other customers think of the crazy lady photographing the pages of a magazine right in the middle of the store! (Just buy the issue crazy lady!)

You can find instructions for this layout in a previous post found here and here.
If you'd like to make your own version of this layout (for personal use only please -don't sell it or teach it in a class) you can find the cutting instructions here.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

November/December issue of Creating Keepsakes available now!


The latest issue of Creating Keepsakes is on newsstands this week. (Those of you who subscribe probably already have yours in your mailbox.) If you didn't get your copy, you can always go online and order a copy here.

And I'm happy to share a project that I made for this issue with you too! (It's on page 83 for those that want to follow along at home.)
"Elf Banner" as seen in the November/December 2012 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. 
Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.



Sunday, October 7, 2012

Technologically handicapped

Graphics card + defective = computer not working.
Computer not working = blogging via cell phone.
Blogging via cell phone = blog with no pictures and limited words = BORING.
Sparing readers from boring = another blog hiatus.
Blog hiatus = sad face :(
(I may have had a few posts in the queue, so you may see a few of those, but that's it until the graphics card is repaired or a replacement arrives.)

Monday, October 1, 2012

Class with Dyan Reaveley!

Dyan Reaveley was coming to town (well not my town, but one about 3 hours away) to teach several classes, but I just fell in love with this canvas class sample:
 


I was on the fence about whether or not to go all the way to KC, so I posted a note on Facebook to The Scrapbooking Studio's DT Coordinator, Stacy Rodriquez to see if she or any of the gals from the store were heading down. Sadly, they were not, but Dyan jumped in to let us know her class was going to be "freakin' fabulous." And with her fun and spunky dialogue added to my decision making mix, I decided that  if she can hop across the pond and make it to Kansas, I could certainly make a 3hour drive to go see her.

Mollie Deem and Dyan Reaveley

But of course, every road trip needs an accomplice... er... uh... I mean a travel buddy. A "Thelma" to my "Louise" if you will, so I promptly rang up my friend Linda and chatted her up. I'm pretty sure I had her at, "you get to play with paints and get all inky." So now I had everything I needed... except for tickets to the class. The store was closed so I had to wait 2 more days until it opened to call for tickets, but fortunately there were 2 spots left. The plan was hatched, the tickets were paid for and all we needed next was a playlist and some snacks!

So the day came, and we headed off on our little adventure. During which we discovered that the GPS on my phone was broken and the directions I'd printed were worthless. Fortunately the GPS came back to life in time to get us most of the way through Kansas City and we'd been to the store about a year a go, so our memory got us the rest of the way.

While I really wanted to make EXACTLY the store sample, I knew that would be next to impossible and well... I'm not much good at following instructions anyway, so I figured I'd just go with the flow. So for the next 4 hours we added layer after layer of gesso, paper, and colorants in a multitude of forms - paints, spray inks, markers, baby wipes (yes, I said baby wipes!) and more. At the end of class my hands were nearly as much of a work of art as my canvas (and I looked like a member of The Blue Band for nearly a week following). Dyan warned us not to use the letters and numbers because we'd try to make them too perfect, so of course the little rebel in me went straight for those (plus, by the time I got to the stencils they were really the only ones left, ha!). Dyan came by a few times to review my use of said stencils and since I wasn't scolded, nor did she take them away, I'm assuming I must have been doing them justice :)

And at the end of four hours of furious creative activity, this little "masterpiece" was born. Quite simple to make really -once Dyan had deconstructed it. Now I just have one decision left to make... to frame it not? That's the question!

Abstract Canvas by Mollie Deem.
Class and technique instruction from Dyan Reaveley.
 
 And here's the fabulously, no diliriously happy canvas that Linda made. How can you not just look at this and smile?
Abstract Canvas by Linda Franklin
(Sorry, not the best photo/photo editing job ever.) 
 
 
Just to give you a little taste of the variety that can be generated by the same techniques, here are pictures of canvases made by some of our classmates: