And the Greatest of These

Craft Warehouse sent us our assignment for October. I love the new Blue Skies by American Crafts and so I created this layout using their paper line, glitter paper, and clear stamps. It was so much fun to play with lots of paper!

I created the pattern on the paper hearts with the Laughter set of stamps from American Crafts.

Supplies - Paper, Stamps, and Alphas: American Crafts; Cardstock: Bazzill; Alpha Stickers: My Little Shoebox; Ink: Ranger Inc.; Crop-a-Dile & eyelets: We R Memory Keepers; Other: thread, McGill Fancy Square Punch & recycled cardboard

Nourish Your Spirit

I am getting more into digital scrapbooking. Michelle Filo has totally inspired me to get out of my comfort zone and try it more. Digital scrapbooking pushes me to learn Photoshop. I love the challenge. This is my first real layout that I felt like I knew what I was doing. ;)

Supplies - Adobe Photoshop CS2; Love Fall Digital Kit: Designs by Lili & With Love by Mushy; Ticket: Designs by Anita Blog; Dripped Stains No. 01 BrushSet: Anna Aspnes with Designer Digitals

Create Well: Go ahead and step out of your comfort zone, create, go digital.

Evans Photography: Edit Deepwood Estates

Last weekend while I was driving to the coast, my sister Rebecca and her sister-in-law Sarah went to Deepwood Estates for their Annual Antique Faire. I was so sad not to make it, since all our favorite girls were there selling their beautiful things.

While they were there Martha, who was hosting the show this year, asked Rebecca to take some pictures of the event since she forgot her camera at home. Well, I think she did a pretty good job with her point and shoot!

I got my hands on the memory card and had to play with the images! I had a blast editing them, but it made me wish I was there with all the beautiful vintage things in one of my favorite gardens.

All images were taken by Rebecca and Sarah Grinder. Used by permission.

Create Well: If you can't join in the fun, steal the photos, edit them, and pretend you were there. ;)

Evans Photography: Salem, Oregon

Dave and I had a senior photo shoot planned this afternoon. Alas, as we got into town the wind picked up and the storm that was suppose to show up tomorrow arrived. Dave and I had a bit of fun even though the session was canceled. We had about fifteen minutes to capture some fun shots before we hurried to our cars.

   

Create Well: Take a moment to capture the beauty even during the storms of life.

Guest Designer: Hilary Kanwischer

This week's guest designer is Hilary Kanwischer. When she's not working as a firefighter, a paramedic, and being mom to two children, she's creating beautiful works of art in her craft room. When I go to her blog, Hilary Scraps, I feel like walking running to my studio to create! She is also on the Cup Cards to Go design team where she helps inspire cardmakers with her designs. Read on to learn more about what makes Hilary stand out from the crowd!

My style almost always includes at least two techniques, inking & sewing. I love to distress just about everything and if my project will run through my sewing machine it will be stitched as well. For some reason, I feel like my projects aren’t completed unless I include those two techniques. As far as a style, I love the layered, textured, shabby look and also love to include non-scrapbook related items in my designs, ex…a wooden fence or even fabric.

I’m so easily inspired it’s scary. I love holidays and I’m always looking to create around them. I can also be inspired by just rummaging through my craft room and finding things I haven’t used in a while. I’m big into fabrics right now and the other night around midnight or so, I decided to piece together a small quilt. It’s funny, one week I’ll only make cards, then I’ll switch to fabrics, then I may go a week making Christmas ornaments, I can never tell what’ll be next.

I adore 4 artists, and I say that term with the highest degree of admiration. I love Melissa Phillips and her true shabby style that undoubtedly is in a class by herself. Hardly a day goes by when I don’t stop by her blog and drool over her beautiful creations. I love Linda Albrecht, for the simple fact that I don’t think there is another artist out there that is the whole, complete package. Her altered art, scrapbook layouts, photography, and inspiration are just some of the things about her I’m drawn to. I also adore Beatriz Jennings and her ultimate shabby style. Her designs and projects are so sweet and unique, you’ll never find the same style twice on her blog, plus she offers the sweetest monthly kits. And finally, I adore the clean, shabby beautiful look of Danielle Flanders. I fall in love with her cards, layouts and her altered projects every time I stop by her blog.

Well right now my favorite color combinations to design with are holiday colors; oranges, browns, blacks and tans. I adore this time of year, and actually orange really is becoming my new favorite color. There are so many different shades and patterns of orange; it’s a color that easily inspires me.

If I’m creating a layout, I try to set everything out on my table that I want to use, and then I just start moving everything around until I find a look that’s right. If I’m creating an altered project straight from scratch, I draw my templates by hand first, and change them up as I need to. For cards, again I just play around with the papers and embellishments till I get a look that feels right.

I love the creative process. I love trying new techniques and incorporating different elements in my projects. I love to scrapbook, though recently I have turned more towards altering, cards, and handmade things. I love when my kids come into my craft room and play around in there with me. My daughter has made pillows, ornaments, cards and layouts with me and she has an incredible artsy style I’ve never seen in a 12 year old before and I’m hoping that came from her spending so much time in my room. I love that my kids want to be in there with me, and I love the looks on their faces when they see layouts adorned with their photos. It’s what makes this whole craft so special to me, and I’ll never want to give it up.

There is so much inspiration out there. Find your comfort level and just have fun. Don’t be afraid to try something new…what’s the worst that can happen right? Don’t stress, grab a favorite snack, put on a favorite video or movie and make a night out of it. For me, although I work 2 jobs, still I love to stay up all night and watch the sun come up. (I’ll sleep when the kids go off to school).

Ok... I am so inspired right now, aren't you?! Don't you want to get started on those fall and Christmas holiday projects already?! If so make sure to leave Hilary a comment here to tell her so! Make sure to go to Hilary's blog for even more projects to kick off the fall season.
 
Create Well: Don’t be afraid to try something new…what’s the worst that can happen right?

One Bright Spot: Top Etsy Finds Blog

One Bright Spot was featured at Top Etsy Finds today! Top Etsy Finds is a blog where readers can find great handmade products by Etsy sellers. Check it out!

Create Well: Be inspired by other artists. Buy handmade.

Evans Photography: Waldport, Oregon

Our family had some much needed R&R this last weekend. We had a three day weekend in Waldport, Oregon. Last year was our first time in Waldport and we loved it so much that we hope to continue a tradition of visiting at least once a year. We stay in a home right off the beach! Ethan is in heaven running up and down the beach and digging in the sand. For Dave and I, we get a break from the internet, phone service, and work. Dave crabbed right on the beach for two days. The funny thing is that he doesn't like crab but I do. So, he just does it for fun and to bless his wife! There is nothing like fresh crab! We were so surprised how warm it was! It was the first time to the Oregon coast that we took off our coats.

I learned from our last trip that reading a book or magazine is hard with my active two year old on vacation. So, we brought our laptop and decided to study more on Lightroom. We had fun taking pictures and playing with them in the evenings. There are so many new favorites but here are a few to share with you!

Create Well: Take time away from home to enjoy life, creation, and peace.

Guest Designer: Lucy Edson

Lucy Edson is not a stranger to the papercrafting industry. She inspires many with her creative designs and techniques. Lucy is not only in the Sew Somerset magazine on my night stand at the moment, but is also designing for A Million Memories and Webster's Pages. If you hop over to the Webster's Pages blog, their new header is stunning with Lucy's art. She also designs for The Next Step where she inspires readers to try new techniques. Lucy is also perfect for the Shimmerz Design Team, since paint is one of her favorite mediums. Thank you Lucy for letting me feature your work... because of you our readers will fall in love with the art of papercrafting all over again!

How would you describe your scrapbooking style? What makes your style your own? I call myself a mixed media scrapper - I started scrapbooking from a mixed media and altered art background so I love depth and texture on my layouts – I also love to incorporate different mediums: fabric, paint, stitching into my work.

What inspires you to be creative? Being creative is necessary for me – part of who I am and something I have always done. I love the process of trying new ideas, techniques, capturing the emotion and memories from a photo or theme. Things that inspire me: my photos, color, nature – there are so many talented people I have learned and shared ideas with. Playing with new techniques and products is also inspiring to me.

What are your favorite color combinations to design with right now? I love rich saturated colors. Most of my designing is color centered and I don’t really work with neutrals a lot, except for black and white, which are true neutrals in my opinion. I am drawn to teals and red or coral a lot. The only colors I struggle to work with are pastels.

What is your creative process? With mixed media projects – I start with a theme and pull elements to create the feeling of my project. My desk will be covered with piles and I just pull from that. In scrapbooking, I start with my photos, usually I work with whatever feeling I get from the photos to design my layout. I am not really a planner so rarely will sketch it out first – but I do lay it out and audition my embellishments and move things around before gluing it all down. I am an extremely messy scrapper and try to be organized but that mostly wishful thinking. ;) Mostly it is just instinctive – I work until it feels ‘finished’. Usually I work with an asymmetrical balance and try to draw the eye to the photo.

What is your story that you are trying to tell? How can this inspire others? Create for yourself, the joy of creating…..don’t be afraid to experiment. I do scrapbook to preserve my memories, I know one day my
daughter will enjoy looking at my work but I truly do this for me.

How can you inspire others to "Create well"? Enjoy the process of creating as much as the finished result. It’s hard at times but love your own style and embrace it – it’s what makes you unique. Never stop learning and growing. I am passionate about being creative; it is a consuming force in my life.

Visit Lucy at her blog, Lucy's Crafty Life, where you will read, learn, and be inspired to create well.

Create Well: Be passionate about being creative; let it be a consuming force in your life.

Upcoming Scrapbooking Class: Salem, Oregon

I am so excited to announce that Rebecca and I are going to be teaching some classes in Salem, Oregon here. The first class is October 24th from 12-2pm where I will be assisting my sister in a scrapbooking class using the new lines from Basic Grey. You are not going to believe how amazing these layouts are!!! The class will be creating two layouts and a card.

To those of our online friends that we haven't met, it would be great to finally meet! Come on out! 

Register by calling (503) 364-9826. You also get 15% off on all store purchases on the day of the class.

Think Outside the Box Challenge

Check out this week's Think Outside the Box Challenge! Becca gives a list of questions you can use to kick off the best Christmas present your family will ever receive!

Becca and I worked on this project for several months before Christmas. It was the first time I saw family sitting together at Thanksgiving. Family laughed and cried together and that was just on Thanksgiving! Can you imagine what happened Christmas morning when they opened an album with their life stories documented?! It was priceless.

My favorite part was collecting photos. This photo is of my mother-in-law. In the search for the perfect pictures for the album, I found the box of negatives dating back to the early 1900s. I can't wait to get started on the next one. Thanks Becca for reminding me to get my questions out in the mail! ;)

Evans Photography: Coburg Antique Show

As I kissed my husband good-bye at 5:30am yesterday morning, he said, "Bye honey. Have a good time." When I walked out the door, Ethan chimed in (since he crawled into bed with us at midnight) "Bye Jen!" What a ham! I went out to pick Becca up and we were awake with excitement. We have been wanting to go to this fair for a few years now and never have. There was already a lot of people there when we got there at 8am. I guess people get there at 6am even though it doesn't really open until 8am.

We made sure to go straight to Diane's booth first. Then next door was dear Martha from Vintage Trifles. We saw a lot of gals from Molly Mo's Antique Faire. I would have to say that their booths were the most lively! The show was so quiet. I mean that everyone was so serious! But when you walked by Diane, Martha, and Joy's booths it was just different... they really love their jobs and are the life of the party!

Of course I brought the camera and took pictures of some of my favorite things from the show. I did get a few stare-downs from antique dealers. I must of looked funny with the camera around my neck. But since I was baby-free I really wanted to get some pictures. ;)

I should of remembered to take the gum out of my mouth before getting my picture taken. ;)

I love this picture of Becca. It started to get crowded and I had to get home by noon, so we headed out. Boy are we glad we did! The crowds tripled by that time!

So, what did we find? We found buttons, vintage flowers, felt leaves, tickets, and some jewelry. I can't wait to show you what I am working on with the finds! I was even working on the project last night! I guess I was so inspired by the show that I couldn't wait!

Create Well: Getting away with your best friend is always inspiring!