Hi Everyone . . . well, I am trying to keep my New Year’s Eve promise and so far I have been doing pretty good. I had promised myself that for every new project I did I would complete a project that had been sitting around for a while. It’s amazing how many incomplete projects I found when I moved into my new craft room. So, to make what could be a long blog short, I’ll begin by showing the “something new” project I completed.

Once a month (actually on the last Sunday of the month) Jodi at Chico Scrapbook opens her crop room to all who wish to work on their own mixed media projects. These are always exciting times as you get to see what everyone else is creating, try some new products and get a lot of encouragement from the others who are present.

On one of these recent Sundays (January is recent, isn’t it?) I was inspired to work on creating a particular journal page I had seen on the Stampinton blog (August 29, 2013 article). The 2-page layout was created by Pam Carriker for a Mixed Media Blog Hop she was hosting. I especially loved that she gave step by step instructions on what she used and how she used it. I found that to be a big help in getting over my fear of using so many different techniques and products on one page . So, without further ado, here is my version of Pam’s layout (which looks pretty much like hers) . . .

I love how this journal page turned out. I loved using some old and new products such as the head/face stencils and stamps of Pam Carriker, Dylusion ink sprays, Tim Holtz stamps & frosted film and Faber-Castell Gelatos. I need to point out that as usual I didn’t have all of the exact same products that Pam used, like I drew by hand the border at the top and in place of all  the acrylic paint colors I used Gelatos. BTW I never used Gelatos before but they are now one of my favorite go-to products. I listed the various products I used at the end of this post. Anyway, these 2 pages were a wonderful learning experience, which is what it’s all about, right? If you click on Pam’s name above it should take you to her blog and you will be able to see all of her inspiring creations.

Now on to the “something old” project I completed. Back in February 2012 I purchased the February Super-Saver Scrapbooking layouts, which contained Echo Park’s “Yours Truly” paper, from Scrapbook Generation. Well, my friend Debby decided to host a “Valentine Crop” at her home on February 17th and I remembered these layouts and knew they would be perfect. So here is my “something old” . . .

Hey, did you see? I even have pictures on this layout (don’t laugh, I have a lot of completed layouts just waiting for the perfect pictures). Like I said, we had a wonderful time. There was plenty of laugher, gossip, food, drink and yes, we even managed to work on some of our projects.

Well, it looks like that is all for now. I think my next posting will have some flowers I’m making out of beer cans, or maybe not. Anyway, thanks for stopping by and until next time … Hugs and Kisses – YaYaLadybug

Supplies Used for Mixed Media: Dylusion Ink Sprays, Tim Holtz stamps (papillon, mixed media), Pam Carriker stamps (sketched harlequin, I will soar small wings, columns of dots), Pam Carriker stensils (large face map, large and & question mark, small my heart), Stampin’ Up pencil, Uni-ball Sigro white pen, Uni-ball vision elite black pen, Ranger Archival ink pads, Color Box chalk ink pad, Tim Holtz frosted film, Faber-Castell Gelatos, white acrylic paint.

Hi Everyone . . . Well, it finally happened, it rained this weekend in Northern California and I don’t mean just light showers, I mean a little over 4 inches of rain here in Oroville and our dam rose 9 feet. I know that doesn’t seem like much to the other parts of the United States, where they have been having terrible winter storms, but here in Northern California we were experiencing drought weather conditions and this rain was needed!!!

So, what do you do when you have rainy weather? You get crafty, of course!!! I spent Saturday in Chico at Chico Scrapbooks, where I took a class from Teri and made this adorable little Valentine Mailbox . . .

Teri put together a beautiful kit that contained a red metal mailbox, a clear glass candlestick, some scrapbook paper (don’t know the name), some embellishments using various Sizzix dies, punches, crochet flowers and Tim Holtz/Ranger products. She also cut everything out ahead of time for us so all we had to do was follow her verbal instructions.

It was adorable, but being who I am, I can’t leave well enough alone and I had to make a few additions just to make it a little more me. So, I used Platinum Stickles and outlined the die cuts on the mailbox body. I used a Die-namics bitty flower die cut to give the flowers more dimension and dipped them in Martha Stewart’s coarse crystal glitter and added some Myra Road green leaf pins to the flowers. I then thought it needed just a little more sparkle so I “sugar coated” the paper covered candlestick base and the front and back doors with some Tim Holtz clear rock candy distress glitter. Now, you would think that I was done, but no! I had to add just one more little thing; the ladybug brad my friend Debby gave me that morning when Teri’s class started.

Oh and I almost forgot one more element to this amazing little mailbox. Teri taught us a Tim Holtz’s technique for making a little album using just 1 sheet of 12″ x 12″ paper. . . 

As I said, it was a great way to spend a rainy Saturday. I can’t wait for the next crafty project from Teri. I hear Teri and Sharon Young will be teaching some steampunk St. Patrick classes. One of the projects involves making a hat!!!

Well, that’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by and until next time . . . Hugs & Kisses – YaYaLadybug