Eleanor I love you. More than ice cream.

I know I've said this before that I am not a photographer. I just play one on TV. However, 18,678,334,468,499.09 pictures later, I think I may try to actually look into getting a bit more knowledge on the subject. I mean, I at least bought one of those "REBEL T2i for dummies" books when I got this camera a few years ago... and I have to say, I'm still a big fan of this camera. It still gets the job done as far as I'm concerned. I've never tried Nikons so I can't compare... I've always had some sort of Canon. And when my nephews were born, they had trouble with r's, so they called me Aunt Kanen instead of Aunt Karen, so maybe it's fate. I won't mess with fate.

And this year starting on July 4th while were at a town fair, I finally let my daughter use my camera. I KNOW... everyone was looking at me thinking... "did she really just give a 3-year her big clunky camera!" Actually... if they didn't know us I'm sure they thought she was 5 at least... She's a mature 3. So she put the strap over her head and I showed her which button to push and where to look and 800 pictures later she was hooked. So now we share my camera. And I'm sure she'll be taking better pictures than me by the time she is 5.


So this photo shoot she staged happened a few weeks ago... but when she was done taking pictures of bear bear and (I don't know the other one's name... her cousin Tierney left it here when she slept over after the BTR concert.. Eleanor said she gave it to her... but I have to double check on that.. ;).. ) So let's just say Bear bear and monkey monkey! When she was done with the camera, she jumped in and asked me to take her photo with them. And I just got around to putting the pics on the computer and for some reason this pic:


just asked to be scraped. So I actually had an idea before I started which isn't usual. And since I planned on almost exclusively doodling for the page, I decided to print the photo bigger than I usually would. SO I did a little more than doodle, but not much.



And these were just American Crafts pens.  The black is mostly a project life journaling pen.. then I did a bit of coloring in with Tim Holtz distresser markers.

So here's a process vid for this layout.  I didn't do them for a few weeks because of poison ivy. .. lol.   Didn't wanna have to cut out all the itching.. :)

 

xo Fitty

Weekend Revisual: Project life July 20-21, 2013

Hi there frens!

Had a great weekend!  Just wanted to throw out some weekend pics, and then how we put them together for a weekend project life spread!

This first collage was actually made with a windows app called Turbocollage.  So far, a benefit is the ability to use a lot of pics in one collage.... like 20!  So I was able to sum up a birthday party pretty completely in three 4x3' spots on my PL layout.  Well... plus a couple 4x6's that stood out...

Here's some of the other pics we used:

And here's our spread!

And here's a video Roo did to tell you a very quick version of the entire weekend's activities...  she also goes on to demonstrate some Gelatos...  so if you're in need of toddler entertainment...  it's right here....  in a barbie dress.

Thanks and enjoy the rest of your crafty week!

Day in Revisual: Big time Rush Concert

Ladies with Lenses - a twelve by twelver

WEEEEEEE! What we did with the Studio Calico June kit (so far...)
The following pic is actually the back of the 12 x 12 layout. Sometimes the back looks cool enough to use as a background for another layout.. haven't decided yet. But this is all my sewing nonsense...  no thyme or reason... or sage. But def. cinnamon!


So anyway, this post is really about spending time with your kid(s). A lot of people tell you to enjoy them while they're young and don't hate you yet... so I decided to listen damn it!
It's all true and that's why I'm just trying to enjoy every second with her. I have a couple jobs, like most moms these days so most of my day is spent away from my daughter, but when I come home... I feel like spending time with her is more important than rushing her off to bed. Schedule Smedule!
So we have fun no matter the day or time! And since my daughter is a veteran at making videos of herself... I decided it would be fun to do a youtube series with her.
We call it Ladies with Lenses. When I got all those stickers from Paperchase, I also found a pencil topper that was a pair of glasses. They were so cute, and as soon as Roo saw them, she immediately took em' over. So when she grabbed them during our first "share" video, the title of the series was born.



And we invited Norma in to take part in the lenses wearing!

She looks nerdtastic in them I think!
So in true Project Life fashion, I decided this was an opportunity to make a layout as well to document the start of our video fun... however long it lasts...



The products used are all from the latest Studio Calico scrapbooking kit:

ROUNDABOUT Scrapbook Kit

Cardstock:
Kraft (American Crafts)
Vanilla (American Crafts)
Surf (American Crafts)
Blush Red Medium (Bazzill)

Patterned Paper:
Carte Postale "Canal Street" (Basic Grey)
Pack Your Bags (Simple Stories)
Divine this line (ILS)
Jet Set (Simple Stories)
Today (Paislee Press)
Pier "Carousel" (Crate Paper)
Optimism (Studio Calico)
Sky Atlas (Studio Calico)

Embellishments:
Black & White Die Cut Clouds (Studio Calico)
Acetate Alpha (Basic Grey)
1 Yard Airmail Divine Twine (Whisker Graphics)
2x2 Stamp Set ( Life-Love-Paper for Studio Calico)
3x3 Photo Overlays (Crate Paper)
Silver Stars (Basic Grey)
Camera and Geo Tag Resin (Freckled Fawn for Studio Calico)
Urban Traveler Chipboard Stickers (Simple Stories)

So I have plenty left for tons more LO's and PL's.

Here's the building of this layout via Youtube:



Thanks for stopping by Fitty's Arty blog!

Don't pretend you outgrew stickers!!

So there used to be a Borders in the local mall.  And it's life there was short...  but while it was there, I enjoyed it's beans and stationary.  And by beans, I mean brew... and by stationary, I mean PAPERCHASE!    Man, I love paperchase stuff.  Pencils... notebooks, photo albums, lunch boxes, .. and stickers. And when border closed, I went a while without cool stickers... until I started looking around online. And just recently I got the crazy idea to actually search for paperchase products online...  duh.  (btw, paperchase is having a sale right now...  www.paperchase.co.uk)  link up there too.  So anyway, me and Roo scored all these juicy sticks right from the source!  Look at those tapes and buses!  C'mon!!

I used to be anti-sticker.  True story.  Well, not anti-sticker in general, but anti-sticker in scrapbooking.  I was like...  NOOOOO... you can't just slap a sticker down?!  That's cheesy cheating!  You must stamp it out or draw it or burn that image onto your page!

But then again, stickers have come a long way since I started scrapbooking.  In the beginning it was leave stickers for fall... and it was flip flops for summer and that was about it folks.

I started getting back into the sticker habit when I started teaching piano lessons.  They were my "bribe" for a while...   (didn't even work half the time!) .. but occasionally upsetting would happen when I withheld them for a bad performance.  (I'm so mean!)

But now I'm def. addicted for my own reasons...  I really can't say what those reasons are...  but some folks out there are making some pretty sweet sticks and I am eating them up and on the hunt!



Having said that, I do have to admit that scrapbooking is still not the main event for my stickers though.  I use them mostly in my planner...  or just to decorate notes for friends and family...  and also for my students.

So in conclusion.  Give stickers a chance!  They might really get stuck on you...  like for reals...

oh, and here's a video me and Roo made to express further our enjoyment of the aboved referenced topic.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soiXtxTExow]
We started a new series on Youtube called Ladies with Lenses...  It's just a chance for us to be silly... and share crafty stuff...

So thanks for being here and have a FANTASTIC week!  Weeeeee!

This is me

So last month I took part in an online Studio Calico class called "This is me"with Lexi Bridges. She is awesome, just go check her out!

For some reason, I feel almost wrong scrapbooking about myself... like I'm saying...  "Hey, I think I'm cool!" or something.  It's like a selfie on facebook, you just don't do it unless there's some good reason or you have something ridiculous on your face that covers most of it. I don't know, but I think you all agree, it feels weird to move the direction of the focus off of our family, friends, and pets and onto ourselves.  And if you're a mommy, it's always all about the kids.

What intrigued me about this class was that the goal was to make a mini album. This is something I've never done. Like cards, I had little interest. But I can't lie, I'm now hooked. I love the idea that you don't have to pick out a cover (you can), but you can create the entire thing from scratch.

I cut some chipboard, covered it in fabric and vvvv wwaaa laaa I had the beginning and the end.  Now I just needed to fill it. To do the pic on the cover, I used printable fabric and then sewed it on the cover fabric that I chose before I modge-podged it to the chipboard.

The whole process was pretty dang enlightening. What was I going to include? That was tough... I feel like there are so many things that can be part of someone's life.. things that affect them on a daily basis. Though I felt like cleaning the house was not something that particularly touched me on an emotional level. Though re-organizing does have a way of setting free the endorphins of inspiration!

No, but seriously... I pretty much have to re-arrange my peg board or something before every craft session to get the juices going. It's like magic!

So anyway,  I narrowed my book down into a few catergories:

1. Family: ok, I know... but that's what makes me who I am. My family. And they're the most important. So of course, there's a big spread of my favorite little lady as well as the Hubs and the fuzzys.

The big swingy pic of Roo was also printable fabric. 

2. Interests/hobbies: Basically my crafty adventures using paper and a collection of sewing machines that each have a strength and weakness.. one with the fatal weakness of not working! Yikes!

3.  Music: Besides giving piano lessons, music is a big part of my life. When I was making this book, I decided to collect a handful of artists that I admired and just make a little pic collage. By no means did this include all, but whatever came to mind or what I've been listening to lately. This is where I really got sad... and happy at the same time... because I couldn't remember the last time I just sat and listened to an album... just for the sake of enjoying it. Granted, there's been a lot of disney and nick music blasting in my car due to Roo, but in-between audiobooks, there hasn't been a recent "GOD I CAN'T STOP LISTENING TO THIS SONG!" So I'm on a mission to change that. To make an effort to just listen like when I was a teenager with a new Belinda Carlisle cassette on the bed following along with the lyrics.

 4: Some random current interests/likes.

5: Goal. Yes one goal. To cure my headaches.

6. A short note to my Grams.  She's the one person I think about everyday. She was awesome and I miss her.

It's not over embellished... some pages are down right messy! But I decided not to over-think it and just let it be what it was going to be. So it ended up longer than I imagined, and much more journally than I imagined. I felt like I had so much to say about every page...  and in the end I was re-introduced to myself and I'm now kinda itching to pick up things that I put down throughout the years.

To not do things because I care what people think, or don't think... or say or don't say... but just to do them because it's fun and enjoyable.  To share for the sake of sharing and not worry about who will make fun of me tomorrow...  After all, does it matter? The most important things are the simple ones. So ENJOY them! And don't forget to take pictures!

I know ... I keep saying I'm going to do a workshop and never follow through... but I will! And I think this would be a great first project. So if anyone's up for finding yourselves in June, I'll make it a point to set something up.

Studio Calico Neverland Kit

I finally got around to the March kit from Studio Calico! Neverland....weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Love it as usual! Having done now two layouts using it, I suddenly feel like I can fly.



The mask that came in the kit... ummm my fav so far. No washi this time, but I think the ribbon made up for that.



So I used the mask to trace out with the blue smash pen, and then inked over it with a sponge and the mini Mr.Huey in Skyscraper.



In other news, the new thickers I got in my store are sold out! Sketchbook and notebook... I totally understand why because when I ordered them I was in love... so why am I surprised when other people agree with me??
So I may order more... maybe in a diff shade... though black and white are the most useful.

//

Also, two coupon codes that are active right now:
BACON: 15% off when you spend $15
EGGIES: 10% off when you spend $10



And besides DOODLES.. my name could also be SPILLED COFFEE...
Because after I captured this layout on the camera.. I went back and added the date to the bottom... not realizing that I spilled coffee on my crafty station and I just put the page right in it. So now there's a chunk on top missing where I tried to dry the coffee but instead just pulled of the spot completely...
YAY for me.

Here is the making of this layout process
NEVERLAND KIT PROCESS VID