we're not swimming today!

because it's cold (86) and stormy! we had a thunderstorm around midnight- it was very cool and we really need the rain here in the desert. so today we're stuck inside & i'm practicing some photo editing (instead of organizing & getting ready for a house full of visitors of course) so it's a great day!! i'll try & post more later!
^o^

52card Pickup

here's a couple of examples from my 52card pickup class at BPS- i'm really enjoying this! i started a set on flickr if you're not in the class & would like to see more!

the top one is today's technique card using glaze pens to doodle & journal over paint on cardstock. totally inspired by Adrienne Looman- & now i know why she loves to doodle so much- it's so addicting! i'm still very scared about ruining a layout though, so for now i'm sticking to small cards and projects until i get some confidence! i ordered her book today to help me!

the other one i painted cardstock purple, then used tape to mask out areas. painted a second color (yellow) then peeled off the tape & made a mini LO- so fun! i used a green vinyl thicker 'g' & heidi swapp raw chipboard embellies- love 'em!

good stuff

in June, i participated in Got Sketch 101, a 3 week long, super-inspiring online class taught by Janna Wilson & Valerie Salmon! Valerie runs the got sketch blog i had never worked from sketches before ever- so it was very outside of my comfort zone & unlike anything i've ever tried! i really had fun & learned lots! the sketches are easy to follow & adapt, and the card sketches totally rock! the class is still accessible until end of August if you want to give it a try. it's really an amazing value for $20 and you still have tons of time to download everything & get great ideas for lots of cute pages! they use 'stampin' up' everything, but i used everything from my stash for the projects. on this 8.5x11 lo, i used Heidi Swapp papers, gel blossom & chipboard alphabet; sassafras lass papers; american crafts felt flower & buttons; Love,Elsie/KI chipboard button; cardstock, twine, fiskars mini scallop scissors. i'll share more as i can get them photographed!
^o^

another scrapblog

i forgot to post this after i finished it! thanks for looking!

mailArt swap

super excited about this envelope swap with my friends on the ScrapEtc message boards. everyone had to take an envelope, decorate it in some way & mail it on to another person, who then adds their art, re-addresses it & sends it on to yet another person...and so on until you get it back! i think there's 8 of us doing this, so it's going to be so super cool when it comes back to me!! i used acrylic purple paint and did some embossing- some resist and some just over the paint. i also used a heidi swapp mask & ranger distress ink, and i used some watercolor drips that i blew around with a straw (totally inspired by this fantastic tutorial by the amazing SIS fashionista Corinne Delis, in which she makes backgrounds with nothing more than liquid watercolor and a straw!)i had a blast making a mess! i kept it simple so nothing could fall off in the mail, and i tried not to cover the entire thing so the others had a teeny bit of space left! i love this project- it's helping to lift my spirits and that is good!!
^*^