Friday, March 24, 2006

1 Peter 3

Just posting my page from my challenge for 1 Peter chapter 3. I chose to base it closely on verses 3 and 4. I had a bit of a time with this one. It started out simple, and then it really evolved.
Since I have been able to spend more time this week actually scrapping, I have realized how SLOW I am. What seems like a simple page that would not take very long ends up taking hours. It really is quite rediculous. I'm starting to think more about the overall designs, though, and thinking about some of the principles in the Design Secrets book. It has been very helpful, and I totally recommend it.

I went on an adventure today to find an adhesive eraser. To make a long story short, I didn't find one anywhere in town. The joys of not having a LSS... At least a really kind pea is sending me one in a RAK. Yay!! Thanks Tina!

Thursday, March 23, 2006

This page...


...was for a challenge over at the Making Memories blog. The challenge was to use MM foam stamps, the color green, and the title I must confess _______. or a similar title. I had fun doing the challenge, but for some reason, the page isn't one of my favorites. I'm not sure what happened.

I have now used my MM foam stamps twice in one week which is almost as many times as I have used them in the past. I am sure a simple update in my storage has helped with that. Who knew that piling all of 3 of the alphabets I own plus some of the designs and the CI alphabet in one tup would lead to NEVER using them? All I did to fix the problem was to take a huge zipper bag for each set and put two sets per small shoe box container. They are clear so I can see which sets are in each container and the different alphabets are separated. Now if I could just find that I-dot that I'm missing.

This week has gone well as far as schedule goes. I am still behind on a few things because I didn't exactly start the week on schedule (I didn't actually finish the schedule till Tuesday.), but Friday is a free day. I'll get caught up tommorrow! It has helped me to have more time to actually scrap since it is scheduled in. Hence the 2 layouts so far this week. Hopefully, I can keep it up.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

I Want to DO This

I've had all of this stuff rolling around in my head, and I hope I don't seem too whiny in this post, but I really want to DO this designer thing. You see I had a mentor. I say HAD because over time I just heard from her less and less. It took me a little longer than it should have on an assignment or two because life got in the way, so at first I thought I just wasn't putting enough into it.

I e-mailed my mentor to ask her to let me know if there was something more I should be doing or if I could change some things to make it more convenient for her. You see, she was a winner of a certain big contest that just announced new winners recently, so I just thought she was getting busier with that stuff than she had anticipated. I sent layouts to be critiqued...it dwindled down to no response. I thought she just didn't have time to mentor anymore. Well, I would have been totally fine with thinking that, but I recently saw a post on a message board saying that she had been an awesome mentor for someone else during a recent process.

Now, I'm going to go back and delete any reference I ever made to my mentor because this is totally not a post about how she was a horrible person or even a bad mentor. What I have been thinking about is how I can be a better mentee. Did I do something wrong? Was I difficult to work with? Was I just not learning? Grrr... You see what I mean about thoughts rolling around now?

All this is to really say I want to DO this. I want a mentor. I want a mentor who will be excited to work with me and who will work me. I want a mentor who has a good eye for design principles. I think design is more important than individual style any day. I want a guide and a teacher and a sounding board. Now my problem is how to go about doing this. I could post a wanted thread a Two Peas, but then no one would want to admit they are good enough to be a mentor, and then there would be lots of "me toos" and in the end someone would post that I should find someone I'd like to work with and e-mail them directly. Can you tell this has been done before?

There are just so many talented ladies out there, and I know many of them do have a lot on their plates. I guess I just have to suck it up and start making a list, and try to decide who to contact. I just wish there were a way to know who is really interested and eager to work with someone like me.

Now comes the part where I assume someone is still reading my blabbing and as if you all have any ideas? I've really been thinking this through, so I'm sort of just getting some thoughts out in type right now. I'll post if I get any bright ideas--you do the same-k-?

1 Peter 2


I'm still behind in my own challenge. Here is my page for 1 Peter chapter 2. This was a hard one to do because I wanted a relevant photo, and I just didn't have any photos of living stones. I ended up digging out a photo of myself and using verse 19 as a starting point for a prayer. I'm not sure I like the yellow part of the title, but i was having a hard time matching up paint and not using too much blue.

Can I just talk about HOF for a moment? I have to admit that I have never actually followed the process before. I was never watching the pub board during all the excitement. This year it was as if I became drained emotionally AND I DIDN'T EVEN ENTER. I am so ADD to start with, and the deadline comes at such a bad time of year for us. Plus, I know I am nowhere near the league of the HOF winners. It's an amazingly talented group. Anyway, all that to say that I'm almost sad I didn't enter. Then I wouldn't feel so silly for getting all caught up in it. And I am so proud of the inspiring Wilna Furstenburg! It was exciting to see her name on the list, and I am sooooo happy for her!!

Saturday, March 18, 2006

I think it's safe

I'm thinking I 'm ok to post my latest layout here. It's actually for submission for the BH sketch, so I'm not posting it in my gallery just yet. I picked up a copy of BHG Scrapbooks Etc. Design Secrets, and I am really lovin' it. It makes me want to pull out a few more design books. I've always had a hard time translating principles into my work, but I think it's getting easier.



I got my first goodies from my secret bunny today, and I'm excited. I got a nice little package with some AC Uptown blue ribbons and some Tazo Wild Sweet Orange tea. Mmmmmmm... I was thinking I will send my chick all of her goodies at one time. I need to be making a list since I'll probably be ordering most of it. For now, I am just keeping an eye on her blog!

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

1 Peter 1

It took me a while to get started on my challenge. I read the chapter over and over, but we had so much going on at church last week that I never had time to sit down and work on it. I took this opportunity to do a somewhat simple layout and to practice the swirlies from squillen's blog tutorial.

I had some fun with the hand lettering and rhinestones!

Monday, March 06, 2006

It's not quite publication...

...but Cherry Arte did respond to my contact e-mail and they offered to put my layouts in the gallery. It's the closest I've ever been to being published. They are supposed to be announcing details about their design team search later this month. I'm sure that will be big, so I'll savor my short time in the gallery for now!

Saturday, March 04, 2006

Once again I will admit...

I don't alter. I just have enough stuff lying around my house as it is. I do, however, have a basket of stuff just in case. I was putting together some work for a DT call, and I decided it was about time to work up something that is a little more fresh. It's definitely different from anything I've ever done, and as you can see, I still need to work on my photography.

Anyway, I ended up altering one of those AOL CD boxes that comes in the mail. I'm glad I kept it. Now I just have to figure out where to put it.



You can see more photos of this project here.

I also have to admit that I haven't officially started my challenge yet. We have been so busy that I haven't done anything besides the altering thing. I think I'm going to post my challenge on the 2 Peas General board Monday. Then it will be a weekly thing. It seems like there ay be a lot of people interested.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

It's a Go

I had actually been brainstorming before my last post about doing some sort of scripture challenge at 2 Peas. In the end, this is what I came up with. Anyone can play along, and I can't wait to see all the art!

1 Peter Scripture Challenge:

* I am going to read through one chapter of 1Peter each week. Part of my goal in this is to memorize key verses and to really allow the overall truths to sink in. (That means it will take 5 weeks to read through the whole book)

* I will do at least 1 layout a week. (I'm reserving the right to do more.)

* The layouts I do will be inspired by the chapter I am reading that week. I may use a few key verses for journaling, journal about how the truths apply in my life, make prayers about how I want the truths to affect my friends or family or myself, or just begin with an idea that comes from reading the chapter. (It's all about making what I'm reading naturally overflow and inspire the work.)

* I will not worry about what anyone will think of the design or the photos or anything that normally might hold me back. Well, if anyone else wants to join me just let me know. It's just a step I need to take. If you choose to do it with another selection of scripture, then that's ok too! Just let us see your work.

There will be a weekly thread for anyone playing along to post their work. I am aiming to have the first one done by Monday, March 6.

Let's have fun!

Rethinking it all

Lately I know everyone has been talking about "changes" in the industry. Who knows what that really means. I have been thinking about changes, too. Only I have been thinking about why I first started scrapbooking and what I wanted it to be all about. Now--I"m not going to sit here and say that my scrapping has been totally kidnapped by the "designer" aspect. I mean, I've never been published and I'm not on any DTs. I try but I certainly haven't been taking over by success.

However, my work has evolved over time, and I do think the whole call/contest thing has influenced that change. I check out what Stacey has to say often, and this post of hers reminded me of why I do this. I want my pages to be a reflection of Him. My work is not for "the industry" to love and to praise. It's to be a peek into our lives for those to come. I want it to reflect Him to Jonathan when he looks back one day. I want him to know that the aim of everything we did was to glorify God. Do my pages show that now? Sometimes, but not nearly enough. The call of "the industry" has watered down that message on my pages, and I don't want to give in to it any more.

Will I still submit to calls? Probably. Would I feel differently if I had been "discovered" and was getting assignments? Maybe.

I was totally inspired by a page I saw by Wilna in a magazine maybe a year or so ago--before I ever started the whole submitting game. I remember squinting to read every bit of handwritten journaling she had on that page, and when I had decoded it all, I thought, "That's how I want to do this." Not long after that, I think my work started evolving through submissions. I tucked Wilna's version of scrapbooking away somewhere in the back of my mind where the cobwebs live. Lately I've been thinking about how I need to return to that. I need to reflect Him in a part of my life that takes up so much time. I just happened upon Wilna's gallery and found her blog last week--around the same time as reading Stacey's blog entry. I was also thinking already about how God would want me to glorify Him even through my hobbies.

Anyway, all this babbling to show a LO I did last night. It's a start in the direction I want my work to head. I've also been reading and rereading First Peter (a new stratetgy to get it to sink in) and I think I am going to scrap it--well how it applies to my life and the people in my life. Hmmm...I feel a challenge coming on.

If you made it this far, thanks for enduring my thinking in type. I hope you'll notice changes in my work to come.