Playing with Paper

Aboriginal Art & Blog "6 Degrees"

Some of you may know that I spent 3 weeks in Australia in the Fall of 2011.  I was able to get a few photo shots of Aboriginal Art - here's a few I'd like to share:

               

The Blog I'd like to share with you today is "6 Degrees" is written by Layle Koncar - find it here:

http://www.laylekoncar.typepad.com/

She's on the Basic Grey design team and has a great post about exercising and weight lifting and her love/hate relationship with the scale . . . make sure to scan down the whole article to see what she fits into now after all her hard training!  Really like the easy way you can see her work on the left column of her blog - just click on "layouts" or "cards" and you'll see and endless variety of inspiration!

 

Fabric Decisions & Inspiration & Blog "Left Handed Crafter"

Is May almost over already?  That means summer is right around the corner . . . So, these bright summer colors might inspire your creativity this week:

          

Fabric and not paper, you may ask?   It's my first fabric purchase in over 10 years!  Let me explain . . . I'm not a sewing girl!  Sad, but true.  However, my sister recently sent me a vintage apron that my grandmother had made for my mother.  Somehow it has remained in one piece and the design is quite unique.  Well, I can't bring myself to wear the original, but I thought it would be great to find some fabric and with the help of my sister, to make 2 other aprons for me to actually use!  So, when I was with my girlfriends in Ohio (they are both quilters) we ended up in some fabric stores and I made the above choices for the aprons.  The first photo shows the section in the fabric store that attracted my attention and the next two photos were the actual combinations I chose.  I will post the photos when the aprons are complete.  In the meantime, use those gorgeous colors for inspiration!

Onto another blog I go to for inspiration:  Left Handed Crafter by Sue Laufer.  Sue is a Close to my Heart Consultant and along with calling her a close friend, I have spent many days with her crafting and taking her inspiring classes.  Enjoy the inspiration on her blog!  You can find Sue here:

http://www.lefthandedcrafter.blogspot.com/

Enjoy the week and let me know if you are creating something or would like to share a blog for others to enjoy!

 

Canvas Creations & Blog "A Bit East-Coast"

Hi All - so happy to be back to my blog!!! Feeling more creative every day!

So, first of all I'd like to share a photo of a canvas creation from the Quick Quotes Retreat I attended Fall of 2011.  I actually won one of these kits and haven't had a chance to put it togehter yet . . . ah, it's just waiting for me!!!

The blog I'd like to share today is "A Bit East-Coast".  This is Keisha Campbell.  Keisha is a Design Team Member for Theresa Collins and Making Memories, among her other accolades!  Her blog was named "A Bit East" for awhile because she was living in China (if I remember correctly), so she had loads of photos of creative from items from all over Asia.  She also has two beautiful daughters and they get photographed a lot!  I also remember for a short while when she moved back to the United States she posted photos of her home and her painting and decorating decisions as she put her home together - very inspirational as well!

Here's the link to her website:  

http://www.abiteast.typepad.com/

Her photography skills are superb and thus you'll really enjoy her inspiration creations!  

Enjoy and have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

2012 - Getting the Creative Juices Flowing - Tim Holtz Blog & Inspiration

Hey all my Crafty Friends!

Most of you know that my art studio is completely packed and awaiting a new home.  Thank heavens I have some photos of creative projects from the end of 2011 and a few from 2012 to share with you.

So, I left the blog off last year with some inspiration from my participation from Quick Quotes Private Reserve.  I have a few photos of projects that were part of a contest that took place.  Here's two versions of shadow boxes.   I'm thinking I need to make one of these for my new house!  Has anyone made one of these types of pieces of art?

 

    

Also, I just cleaned up all the blog links on my computer and I'm going to share some of my favorite blogs with you!  Please let me know if you have some favorite blogs as well and we'll do an interactive "sharing" right here on Playing with Paper.

So, the first discovery I made today was that Tim Holtz has a whole new website . . . maybe most of you know that by now . . . but I've been out of the loop and I just discovered it.

You can find Tim Holtz here . . . 

http://timholtz.com/

So, what do I like about the new website?  Well, it's very "Tim" - love the altered and inked look of the design! 

Calendar - you can see where he's going to be teaching . . . too bad it doesn't say anything about "Denver, CO" on that calendar.

Blog - on the blog page on the right-hand side LOVE the categories section so that you can easily find inspiration.  What caught my eye? Christmas Tags 2011 - because I totally missed it! And, the 12 tags of 2012 - I'm guessing because the Christmas Tags every year are so popular that he decided to do 12 tags every month this year and I just peeked at May's set and they look challenging!  So, when I have time to check back, I definitely will - you know, for more inspiration.

So, here we go . . . I'll try to post a few of my favorite blog sites over the next couple of weeks and, please, share yours as well!

One more Layout I made at the Quick Quotes Retreat

So, as you all know by now, I attended the Quick Quotes Private Reserve last month in Novi, MI.  We made many layouts - a scrapbooker's dream!  Check out this beauty:

New paper from Quick quotes and isn't it beautiful and serene?  Oh, and of course there is a great quote to highlight the meaning of this layout!  Making tags and making pockets for them was enjoyable.  Oh, and something new for me - check out that "scrunched" ribbon border on the left-hand page! I had purchased some copper Stickles and wanted to splurge and when I had finished the this layout and the class used copper brads, I decided to had highlights and it turned out really well.  So, don't forget about the Stickles!

Labor Day weekend is here - find time to be creative!

Loved Being at Student at Quick Quotes Private Reserve

Aloha all - I've been home for awhile now but haven't had time to get to my blog - Ugh!  Life gets in the way of my hobby!  Anyway, I really wanted to share some of the projects we completed at the retreat, so here's one layout that I'm sure you'll be inspired by:

What great colors, right?  And the "pipe cleaner" flower is made just as you suppose - just loops of chenille!  And the stem and leaves are made with ribbon!  Check out that dragonfly - one of Quick Quotes new embellishments that we played with all weekend - inking, glittering!  And the mini flip album along the right-hand side add lots of space for photos!  Hope you enjoy the inspiration!

Acrylic Inspiration

Acrylic is the Theme for our Classes this weekend!  Here's some samples to inspire you:

Using Stampin' Up paper and adding some flowers and buttons glittering the center of this easel card makes it beautiful!

This birthday card is made with a transparency base and fun paper, with ribbon and brads:

This "Friend" card base is made from a big shot pro die and some Basic Grey paper and prima flowers and Maya Road ribbon and buttons!

Check back for more over the rest of the week!  Oh, if you'd like to join us on Sunday or Monday for this Acrylic Class, just email me at: designbycheryl@hotmail.com

Michigan Inspiration Canvas

I've just finished the Quick Quotes Retreat in Novi, MI. I'll post more scrapbook pages later, but just had to share my first ever canvas project. Loved that class!

My new Big Shot Pro and some boxes!

I recently purchased a Big Shot Pro and also splurged on several Sizzix Box Die Cuts and have been cutting, cutting, cutting . . . remember the boxes/bags/tags class a few weeks ago?  Here's two more boxes that were created with my dies:

That's Anna Griffin cardstock and layered embellishment . . . and here's what I'm calling the "mailbox" die cut, although Sizzix has named it something generic like "rounded top".  I've made several different versions and they are darling especially when you have a big wide ribbon wrapped around the top!

Hope your week is going great . . . I'm on the road to explore, create and shop all things paper crafting.  I'll be in touch and hopefully post from the road!

 

An inspirational Card

Here's a quick card that I made recently using Anna Griffin cardstock and a sizzix die for the frame and a tim holtz die for the flowers . . . oh, the flourish bling is from prima: