Guest Designer: Ronda Palazzari

If you have been scrapbooking for any length of time you would have seen this week's guest designer's work. Ronda Palazzari's work is bold, colorful, and passionate. She's not afraid to tell her story and she does an amazing job doing it. Ronda designs for Cocoa Daisy, Fancy Pants Designs, and Purple Onion Designs.

How would you describe your scrapbooking style?

Uptown Antique Brie is what I like to call my style. Funny name I know but it’s kind of cheesy like me. You see I love the new, flashy stuff but have an appreciation for vintage items. I love to push the edge of products and use them in unconventional ways. I love breaking the rules and changing the way you would use products. Most of my layouts are cheesy, scrapping the emotions and every day moments. I love using bold colors and combing colors that surprise people.

What inspires you to be creative?

A photograph. A new technique. A new product. An Advertisement. A Fashion Magazine. A story to tell. Life. I find inspiration everywhere.

Who are your favorite scrapbook designers and why?

Dina Wakley for her use of paints, mists, and crazy stitches. Jennifer McGuire for being such a technique girl and willingness to share all kinds of story. Iris Baboa Uy…she rocks layers hard, love her inkiness. Julie Fei-Fen Balzer for her artsy approach. Kerry Lynn Yearly…for things just dropping off the page & her out of the box thinking. Vee Jennings…I have paint envy. I think I could keep going and going. I love scrappers.

What are your favorite color combinations to design with right now?

Hmm, probably Kraft, Aqua, Yellow, & Orange. I love bright colors.

What is your creative process?

Sometimes it starts with a story &/or Photography and builds from there. I usually tend to build foundations/textures with spray inks, paint, etc. I love textures. I add in layers of pattern paper & stitches. Scattered embellishments. I like randomness so you will often see the embellishments scatters. I am bad about leaving the title & journaling for last. It’s something I am working on but then again my layouts probably wouldn’t be the same.

What is your story that you are trying to tell?

How can this inspire others? My story. I guess that is all I am trying to tell. I write the stories from my perspective. I want talk about the feelings behind the story, the emotions. It is therapeutic for me. I try to keep a balance between my family stories and my personal (meaning me) stories. I am always trying to share the real me, the one who experiences all kinds of emotions. I let them spill on my page even the not so pretty ones.

How can you inspire others to "create well"?

Just keep playing. Try sharing the emotions behind the events. What strikes you about a photograph or a story. Tell it from your perspective. Take risks and just keep creating often.

You can follow Ronda on her blog, Help Me Ronda, [insert Beach Boy's tune here]. There you can be encouraged to stretch yourself as an artist. You will be moved by her photographs and inspired!
 
Create Well: Take risks and just keep creating often.

Right Now

I just can't get enough of the New Leaf digital kit from Paislee Press and Audacious Designs. I am in love with pink right now. I am sure I will get over it some time after the fifteenth of this month, but until then, I am using it! Maybe I have just been deprived of pink for the last three years and now it is back firing on me. No matter. I am sure there is an unwritten rule out there that says that any pink goes during the month of February... right?

Journaling reads:

1. You run into Dad’s arms when he comes home.

2. Play as much as you can with Dad in the evenings.
3. Will sit on Dad’s shoulders as much as you can.
4. Wear Dad’s shoes around the house.
5. Climb into bed with Dad just to snuggle for a minute.

Create Well: Want to use pink? Go ahead! It's February. Anything goes!

Guest Desginer: Iris Babao Uy

This week's guest designer is the very talented artist, Iris Babao Uy. Her layouts always make me gasp out loud! They are more than gorgeous! They are stunning! I love her layering techniques and use of Prima flowers...  *sigh*

I got into this craft because of my daughter Nicole, and now that I have two children, I have double the reason to create. I am most inspired by pictures and memories. To make sure that I always find inspiration to scrapbook, I not only take many pictures of my children and family - I make sure that I also create many wonderful memories for them.

I am a scrapper from The Philippines, a wife and a mother to two sweet girls Nicole who is five years old, and Cheska who just turned one. I rarely plan my pages – I let a photo or a patterned paper inspire me and I take it from there.

I love the shabby chic and romantic style but I also enjoy working with bold patterns and striking colors. I’m an ink and paint type of person. I just have to get it a little messy to consider my page done. If I don’t have ink and paint on hand, then I just tear little bits of elements and stick it randomly for the sheer fun of it!

I am fortunate to be designing for Prima Marketing, Webster’s Pages, and October Afternoon. I am also part of two scrapbook inspiration sites: Pencil Lines, and Creative Therapy. One of the things I consider to be among my accomplishments in crafting industry have been named as one of the 2008 Memory Makers Magazine Masters and I am thankful for the blessings which have come my way as an artist and will continue to be thankful for the happiness and fulfillment that I get from this craft.

You can follow Iris Babao Uy at her blog, My White Space and Twitter.

Create Well: Let a photo or patterned paper inspire you and take it from there!

E & Pure Bliss

Yesterday we had a great time at Ikea getting all the things we needed for our move. I was excited to find what I wanted for my scrap space. Now, all we need to do is paint a bit in the new home before we can start moving boxes over! I wish I had my camera with me. It would of been perfect for my second assignment for Develop Fridays. Dave was running with Sarah on the flat bed. Quite out of character for Sarah. It was perfect. Becca forgot her camera too. You would think one of us might remember... ;)

Here's a couple of digital layouts I have been working on. This first one is with the new calab kit from Paislee Press and Audacious Designs called A New Leaf. Some elements are from The Daily Digi's January Kit.

This one is with the new templates from Designs by Leora.

While I was packing I found a huge box of loose photos! Ahhh! I can't believe it. So, photo albums are on my shopping list. Do you have a box like that? ;)

Create Well: Have a box in the attic or closet that is filled with photos haunting you to get them scrapbooked? Don't worry. Get them in acid free photo albums and leave the stress behind. If you feel like scrapbooking them later, you can.

Pencil Lines: XO

This week's sketch for Pencil Lines was so much fun! I was thankful to finally get my hands dirty in the studio. I made this while Becca was over a couple of weeks ago. She was getting dirty too! We had a blast... I am looking at this layout with a sigh. My paints are all packed up along with most of my studio. We are off to Ikea today to look for a new cupboard for my supplies. Ikea is like a grown up Disney Land. I can't wait!

Supplies - Patterned Paper: Making Memories; Cardstock: Bazzill Basics; Alpha: Tim Holtz Ideaology; Ink: Tim Holz Distress Ink by Ranger Inc.; Ticket: My Mind's Eye; Rhinestones and Flower: Prima Marketing; Other: ribbon, thread, vintage script, spray paint, acrylic paint, and sanding block

I ran the grudge board letters through the Texture Boutique by Sizzix. I am now in love with that thing. Becca brought her's over and I wanted to texture everything. ;)

A little Shakespeare never hurt anyone.

My little man was four months old in this picture. While going through papers I found his weight and at six months and he was 19 pounds! Huge! There was just more to love. ;)

Publish His Glorious Deeds

"Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Sing to the Lord; bless his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves. Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!" Psalm 96:1-4a NLT

One of my goals for 2010 is to journal more about my life and thoughts. This genealogy album had me thinking about recording more for my family. So, for those that are interested, stick with me on this post. I have had quite a bit on my heart to share for the last two weeks and I wanted to make sure I got it down tonight. I have noticed that if I don't, I won't and these thoughts will be lost forever.

You may know that we have had a rough three years. At least when we look back at the last three years it sounds like we had it rough. I stopped teaching to become a mama, had a hard post-pregnancy and I got so sick that Dave missed some work to help care of Ethan. I am sure there was also post-partum depression added to the mix. Dave's lung then collapsed three times and he had to have lung surgery. Dave was out of work for three months. I went back to work for six months teaching part time but we never really got out of that hole that we had dug ourselves into. We were treading water for so long until we made the decision to sell our home. We both agreed that it was time to down size, move closer to town to help with Dave's drive, and be closer to family.

We have been praying about where God would have us move. We knew if we were to down size that we wanted life changing things to happen. You know... save, be debt free, and live wiser lives. Dave and I are still young to change our living habits for better. This week our prayers were answered!

Our friends that direct Aldersgate Conference Center had a part time position open at their camp. I applied at the camp and got the job! We will be moving by the end of February to the camp! We are so excited about this new adventure. I have been praising God for giving us this opportunity to start again, strengthen our hearts in the Lord, and to bless Aldersgate and those that stay there.

Don't you ever worry about what kind of legacy you are leaving behind? Is that a strange thing to be thinking about at 32? Maybe... maybe not. I think about it all the time. I guess when you have had experiences like mine, you tend to... on my application there were a few questions I wanted to make sure I have preserved.

When did you accept Christ as your personal Savior? What led to this decision? I accepted Christ as my personal Savior when I was three years old in my Sunday School classroom. I grew up in a Christian home where I was raised to love God. It wasn’t until twenty years later when I was disciplined in His Word, learned to love, fear, and obey God that I then realized that I needed to give my life entirely up to Him. I asked Him to use me in all that He could for His work and not my own. I was baptized and my life changed from that moment on… serving Him.


Describe what your Christian experience has been since that time: Although I grew up in a Christian home we never read the Bible together as a family or learned basic Christian discipline (read the Bible, serve in church, tithe, etc). When I surrendered my life to Christ, I knew that He wanted me to begin serving in my local church in the children’s ministries. I began serving as a Sunday School teacher and from that position the Lord opened a door for me to work at Sonshine School, in Salem Oregon. My boss, Mrs. Dorothy Read, disciplined me in spiritual things. I was taught how to respect, love, read God’s Word, and obey others. Since then, I have been involved with many different church ministries, learning from God to let Him use me as He needs. I have been involved in teaching in children’s ministries, directing children’s ministries, leading vacation bible school, leading Christmas programs, serving on the worship team, assimilation, and helping support my husband’s assistant pastoral duties.


During my time of teaching at Sonshine School, my teaching assistant and best friend, Maria, (Dorothy Read’s daughter) passed away from cancer unexpectantly in one day. She had collapsed at home one evening and passed away the next. I sat with her at her bedside that day as she reminded her father where she was going soon. During the mourning process, I looked everywhere in my school videos of Maria and I couldn’t find her. I looked at church event videos and couldn’t find her. In fact, her parents didn’t have many adult photos of her. Where was she? She was the one in the kitchen getting snack ready for 100 kids. She was the one that everyone depended on to babysit during women’s events. She was always serving… Maria taught me to be selfless. She went to be with the Lord before her twenty-first birthday; I think of her often and know that I am still striving to have the servant’s heart as she. Her life and death showed me how to live life with love for God and not ourselves.


At the end of my ten years of serving in the local church, God has placed on my heart the need to focus on my son’s spiritual growth. This year, I have stepped down from many of these duties that I have grown comfortable in, for God to use me in mighty ways this year at home. I have been homeschooling my two year old son. In doing so, I have been able to see my son grow in knowing who Jesus is and learning those early disciplines that I never received as a child. It has been more rewarding learning how to be the mother that God wants me to be.

Today, when I look back at these last three years I don't see the entire negative. I see how Dave is now able to breathe. I rejoice at being healthy. I can stay at home with Ethan and watch him grow and learn by teaching him myself. I can see how God has redeemed us through it all! God does amazing things. He has given us a new beginning and a chance to make a difference through service.

So needless to say, I have been packing. It is exciting. If this is what January is like, I can't wait to see what God has planned for the rest of 2010!

Under the Influence Photography Project

Have you been to Paislee Press on Fridays? Develop Fridays started last week with photographer Jefra Starr Linn. Today's challenge was one that I had to really think about. We are to think of what artists influences our style. As an artist I am always inspired visually. What I struggle with is trying to find my own style while flooded with other artist's visual stimulation! While I am drowning in creative inspiration I loose who I am as an artist.

I really had to think about what influenced me as a beginning artist. Man, thinking back fifteen years was pretty hard. It was good though. What inspired me then, I realized inspires me now. When I looked at the entire list there was a common thread! What a relief!

My list includes these artists:

1. Masters

When I was young I was inspired by Claude Monet, Degas, and Vincent Van Gogh. Even though these artists are unlike in styles I noticed that what attracted me then (and now) was the use of color.

source: Claude Monet

source: Vincent Van Gogh

2. American Artist

Another artist that I loved more than the Masters was Norman Rockwell. His work displayed real life. His work tugged on my heart and moved me more than any other artist. I know it was the vintage appeal but it also told such a story in each piece.

source: Norman Rockwell

3. Children's Literature

There was a time in my life that I stopped painting and drawing. I didn't pick up a paint brush for about four years. During that time I was teaching preschool and fell in love with children's literature. I think I must have been deprived as a child because now I have over 1000 children's books. This morning I realized that some of the books in my collect inspire me artistically. I fell in love with the illustrations. Artists that inspire me are David Small, Steven Kellogg, Tana Hoban, and Eric Carle.

source: David Small

source: David Small

source: David Small

source: David Small

source: David Small

source: Eric Carle

source: photography by Tana Hoban

4. I am inspired by magazines. Victoria, Better Homes and Gardens Country Gardens, and Birds and Blooms. I love gardening but what attracts my eye to these are the photographs, use of bright colors, and vintage decorating!

5. Classic Movies

My sister and I use to climb in bed with my grandmother when she was sick and watch old films all day long. It was wonderful. At the same time she would quiz me on who was who. I am not sure I am as good at remembering all the details as I did then but classic movies still inspire me as an artist. Some of my favorite movies are...

There's so many more movies that I love but this post is already getting long. ;) The common thread through it all is that I love the use of color, texture, and stories that tell real life. Hey! Through this assignment I found - me! That's really what I am all about. If you try this assignment let me know. I would love to check out what defines you as an artist. I will be taking my picture soon to go with the assignment.

Create Well: Find what influences you. Discover yourself.