Green Horned Unicorn

CK Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks: Summer Fun & Travel Issue!

It has finally arrived - the Creating Keepsakes Scrapbooking Tips & Tricks: Summer Fun & Travel Issue!

Why the excitement? I'll give you a hint:

Look familiar? Just in case it's doesn't, that's my Wine Country mini-album front and center on this two-page spread! I wasn't quite sure how the album would be featured, so needless-to-say, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this! The little bits of text surrounding the album are various hints, shortcuts andmemorabilia suggestions to use when making a travel themed album.

Not only did my album get a two-page feature, It also got a little spot in the Table of Contents too. A nice little added bonus! 

As with any of their publications, CK did an AMAZING job with this issue (thanks CK!). It's chock full of layouts, mini-albums and more - all to inspire your summer and travel themed projects. You can get a copy at most local craft and hobby stores, or you can order it online here. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on this issue!

There is even more exciting news for me on the publication front. I found out last month that another mini album of mine will be published in October (by a different publisher). From what I've been told at this point, it will be a four-page spread! The best part? I got to write an 800-word article to accompany it! How cool is that? My project AND an article written by me. I'll share more info as the publication date nears :)

I hope you're having an amazing weekend! Thanks for stopping by :)

DC in a Day

Hello blog friends! I'm finally getting back into my regular routine after spending most of the week on Eastern time. Let me tell you -- that three hour time difference is killer! Since I'm not a morning person to start with, getting up three hours earlier than normal was quite challenging (hello grumpy girl!). Needless to say, I was very reliant on (and thankful for) Sugar-Free Red Bull to get me through the mornings.

I spent the majority of my time in the Old Town Alexandria area, which I fell in love with. The cobblestone sidewalks, lined with shops and eateries was too charming to resist! On the last day of my trip, I was fortunate enough to have the majority of the day open to tour DC. While I wasn't there nearly long enough, I certainly made good use of the little time I had (I have a deep heel blister to prove it!).

I created two layouts to highlight my trip. The first, titled Alexandria, was designed using the using the current Sketchy Thursday's 7.21 sketch.

Product Credits: Digital Kits (Paislee Press Montage & Firefly, One Little Bird Billet Doux, Sahlin Studios Grandma's Dresser) + Alpha (One Little Bird Delightful Alphas) + Sketch (Sketchy Thursdays 7.21)

ALEXANDRIA | As journaled: July 17-20 -- I traveled to the Alexandria, VA to attend a certification course for work. While there, I stayed in the Old Town area, which was quite cute & quaint. The bricklined sidewalks & streets were lined with many unique restaurants & shops. The photo montage depicts some random shots taken from my phone. As shown, left to right, top to bottom: 1. The sky just outside of Charlotte on the way to DC. 2. A small aviation shop I found. 3. Guinness & Cider. 4. A Guinness cupcake from Alexandria Cupcakes. Divine! 5. A view of the Potomac River. 6. A fun shot I had to take because it had Bugsy’s name. 7. O’Connell’s Irish Restaurant where I had some yummy fish & chips and the Guinness shown above. 8. Garlic Bagel with Bacon Horseradish Cream Cheese. One of the best combos I’ve ever had!

My next layout, titled DC in a Day, documents the whirlwind morning/afternoon I spent walking around the National Mall in DC. 

Product Credits: Digital Kit (Paislee Press Montage) + Alpha (Sahlin Studios)

DC in a Day | As journaled: July 20, 2011 - After spending a few days in the DC area for work, I had the opportunity to explore the sights of our nation’s capital for a few hours before I had to fly home. I awoke at 5:30am because I wanted to hit the walking paths before the summer heat & humidity became unbearable. After a stop at DCA to stow my luggage, I arrived in DC around 8am. My first stop was the Washington Monument, followed by the World War II Memorial & the Lincoln Memorial. Next, I visited the Korean War Memorial & the Vietnam Memorial before heading toward the White House. The Capitol was my final walking destination before touring the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. I finished my day with a visit to the National Gallery of Art, and then headed back to DCA to fly home. It was a whirlwind tour at it’s best, but even so, I’m happy I had the opportunity to dip my toes into the history & culture. I can’t wait until my next chance to visit! 

This is one of the more simple layouts I've made in recent time -- with minimal embellishment and papers. But, I really wanted the emphasis to be on the photos, which I think I accomplished with this design.

I hope to have the chance to travel back to the DC/Alexandria area again very soon. There is so much there to see and do, and so much history and culture to explore. If you've been to the area, what's your favorite sight or thing to do?

Birthday Documented

My day today was a whirlwind of travel and exploring. Two things I LOVE! Having not been to the DC area before, I must say I'm pleasantly surprised with what I've seen. I'm in Old Town Alexandria, which is quaint, cute and full of unique shops and eateries. Just today, I fulfilled my cravings for fried pickles (hard to come by in AZ) and tasted my first Guinness cupcake -- a recipe I must learn myself. Amazingly good!

Since my body is accustom to AZ time, I'm having a hard time fall asleep, so I thought I'd put together a post on the pages I created to document the memories of my birthday last month. In all, I ended up creating three layouts, each using some amazing new (and new-ish) kits from JessicaSprague.com (credits below each layout). 

PRODUCT CREDITS | Carina Gardner + Queen of Quirk

35 | This was a quick and simple page, created to document the memories of my 35th birthday on June 22. I'm quite happy with the way this one turned out. It's simple and sweet, with emphasis on the photo (taken by Nate, edited by me) and the journaling, which I copied from my blog post here. 

PRODUCT CREDITS | Echo Park + Paislee Press 

GOT YA! | Sneaking in a quick kiss while Nate and I attempted some self portraits after my birthday dinner. I love the expression on Nate's face. He's such a cutie!

PRODUCT CREDITS | Carina Gardner (NEW kit available 7.18.11) + Kitty Designs

SODA STREAM | This layout highlights my favorite birthday gift from this year...a Soda Stream! I'm not a soda (pop) drinker, but I do love my bubbly water. Now, I can have club soda anytime! I'm so happy to finally be able to reduce the amount of plastic bottles in our recycling bin (and not have to lug home liters of soda from the store). All of the papers used on the layout are by Carina Gardner and are new in store Monday 7/18!

And that my friends, is my birthday documented! I hope you all have a great week :)

Splash!

I decided to play along with the Sketchy Thursdays Challenge again to help me get the creativity flowing. The sketch is nice and simple this week, leaving a lot of room for interpretation. Instead of going wild with it, I decided to keep my page nice and simple as well.

Product Credits: Paislee Press - Montage

PHOTOS | As journaled: A montage of random photos depicting the pets doing random (and sometimes strange) things. I swear, there is never a dull moment in this household! As pictured from left to right, top to bottom: 1. Shawna, waiting (rather pathetically, yet cute) by the window for her daddy to come home. 2. Baxter, chilling as the King of the Throne. 3. Bugsy, surfing the internet, probably getting frustrated at politics. 4. Bugsy with her new lion cut. She may not look enthused, but she really does love it when her fur gets cut! 5. Shawna passed out across her bed after a hard night of partying (I felt bad and bought her a bigger bed after finding her like this). 6. Baxter, scoping out that perfect shot. Nice camera and lens!

While I was creating, I came across another page I had started but never finished. It was based off of one of the June sketches. Since I had already done one pet page, I decided to do another page about Baxter and his silly antics. 

Product Credits: One Little Bird - Little Sprout

SPLASH | As journaled: Oh Baxter!You are continually getting yourself into prediciments and funny situations, but you out did yourself this time! You were lounging by the pool, much like you are in this photo, when you sneezed and knocked yourself into the water! You were able to get out on your own before Nate could come to your rescue, but, sadly, you no longer lounge alongside the pool. 

And, with that, I'm off to pack my bags for a trip to the East Coast! I'll be in the Alexandria/DC area for work and a little play time. Even though it will be hot and muggy, I'm EXCITED! In case I don't get around to posting till I return, have a great weekend and see you all late next week :)

A Day on the Town

I'm not sure what the reason is, but each year, come July, my creativity begins to elude me. It might have something to do with the busyness of the season, or quite possibly, the desert heat scares it away. Regardless of the reason, I find it quite frustrating because I still feel the need and desire to create, but when I attempt to start a project, nothing happens.

Needless to say, I'm quite happy that I was able to sit down and actually get some scrapbooking accomplished this past weekend! Here are two of those pages, both documenting more adventures from my Mom's visit last month (more pages can be found here).

PRODUCT CREDITS | In the Making Designs & Sahlin Studios

A DAY ON THE TOWN | This day was, hands down, the busiest day of my Mom's visit. We woke up early and headed toward downtown Phoenix. Our first stop was Smeek's Candy where we bought a lot of fun goodies, including Chick-o-Sticks and a Oatmeal Bacon Breakfast cookie. We also took advantage of a fun photobooth! I can't wait to make a paper page with the photo strips.

Our next stop was QCumbers. We had fun exploring room after room of vintage treasures. I was happy to score two 1950s vintage Pyrex pieces that match a set I recently inherited from my Grandma Schlattmann (photos and a post coming soon). 

Next up was Vintage by Misty and the Merchantile. We loved the coutour vintage clothing and accessories and Vintage by Misty. It was bright, colorful and fun!

After shopping, we went home for a brief dip in the pool to cool off, then headed toward Old Town Scottsdale to have dinner at Malee's (Thai food) with my friend Sindoor. We ended the evening splitting a banana split at Sugar Bowl. A super fun, but exhausing day!

PRODUCT CREDITS | Cosmo Cricket + Jessica Sprague + Sahlin Studios

GO GRANDMA | I will probably be disowned by my mother shortly after hitting the "Post" button. But, I just couldn't help myself. I HAD to make a page with these photos! You see, my Mom decided she wanted to show up the grandkids who are always doing crazy "tricks" in the pool. She attempted (and succeeded) at cannonballing and I took the photos so she could send them to my niece and nephew. I'm not sure whether they thought she was cool -- or just plain crazy. Either way, we were laughing hysterically by the third cannonball when I finally got a good "splash" captured :)

Fuel Your Future

A few months ago, I embarked on an adventure to expand my design horizons. I took a HUGE leap and submitted a bid for the opportunity to design a children’s activity book. While I had never designed an activity book, I knew that my background as an Instructional Designer, paired with my graphic design skills, would make this the perfect project for me. Happily the organization thought so too and, I was selected to design the activity book and began working on it in early April. Just last week, I received my printed copies of Fuel Your Future Ethanol Activity Book! Take a peek:

Here are a few random pages from the inside:

      
And here is my little, glossy stack of books:

I can't begin to tell you how amazing it is to have something you created printed for distribution (20,000 copies), plus the option to download from their website! As I held it in my hands, it really hit me, "WOW...I made this!" It's sort of surreal. What's even more amazing is that numerous children will be educated by the piece I created. 

ABOUT THE BOOK | The book was created as an educational and promotional piece for the Renewable Fuels Association. It was written and designed with a wide age-range in mind and has activities suitable for most ages. If you'd like to see more of the booklet, or if you’d like to print a copy of your own, you can download a PDF of the activity book here.

THE PROCESS | With direction from the RFA, I began the process of developing the storyline. It involved a lot of research and organization – I had to make certain I included they key topics the RFA had designated, as well as create additional content to fill in the book.

After the storyline was written and approved, I began to lay out the design in Illustrator. Once I had an idea of how much space I had on each page, I began to determine which activities would be most suitable for the content. From there, I sketched out images and ideas, which were then created digitally and placed into the final design of the activity book.

LESSONS LEARNED | Probably the biggest lesson I learned, is that I’m VERY slow at taking my paper sketches and interpreting them digitally in Illustrator. Like, PAINFULLY slow. Very fortunately for me, Nate was there to help me out with all of his crazy, fast computer skills. He took my paper sketches and ideas and recreated them digitally so I could place them in my Illustrator artboards. Without him, I’m not certain I could have met the deadline for the project. Another thing I discovered throughout the process - Nate and I make a pretty good design duo!

THANK YOU | Thank you to the Renewable Fuels Association for the opportunity to design this book. And thank you to Nate for all of you support and assistance.

So that's it! My first big freelance job. Don't forget to grab yourself a copy here!

Hello Sunshine

As many of you know, about a year ago, I made the move from traditional scrapbooking to digital. While I still scrap traditional pages on occasion, my primary platform is now digital. When I create my layouts, I strive to be as realistic as possible, so that my digital pages blend seamlessly with my traditional pages. Don't get me wrong, there are some amazing pages with digital effects out there, it's just my preference to make my digital pages look more like traditional pages.

While that I feel I did a decent job of creating realistic effects, I wanted to take my skills to the next level. Rewind to last week when I signed up to take Peppermint Granberg's Me & My Shadow self-paced class at BigPicture.com. I've long envied Peppermint's mad shadowing skills and her "touchable" looking digital pages. I had previously worked through her free Mind-Blowing Drop Shadow tutorial offered on her blog, and was excited when she announced the tutorial would be expanded upon in an online class! I'd highly recommend both to anyone looking to expand their drop-shadow horizons.

Here is the first page I've created using my newly acquired shadowing skills:

PRODUCT CREDITS | Digital Kit - Hello Love by Paislee Press + Lettering - Sahlin Studios.

ABOUT THE LAYOUT | This layout was created using the Sketchy Thursdays 70711 sketch. It's no secret that LOVE Sketchy Thursdays sketches, so needless-to-say, I'm super excited to find the time to play along this week! The Hipstamatic photos were taken with my iPhone in a rare moment that Bugsy actually stood still. She has learned to despise the camera and cameras on phones. She typically hisses and runs as soon as she sees one. It's rather humorous :)

So, what do you think of the shadow work? Does it look touchable to you?

A weekend unexpected

It’s funny how even the most well planned weekends can go totally awry, yet end up being even more fun that you could have imagined. That was precisely how Nate and my July 4^th weekend turned out. We had envisioned cooler temperatures, an ocean view, and easy laid-back days. What reality brought us was record breaking 118-degree heat, desert scenery, and a weekend packed full of events we had never anticipated. But, surprisingly, it was so much fun!

FRIDAY | The weekend started Friday with a happy hour at The Office and an unplanned shopping expedition (for me) where I happened to stumble upon some 50% sales at Banana Republic, Ann Taylor and JCrew. Can we say SCORE?! :) 

SATURDAY | Saturday was spent scrapping/crafting with a few of my girlfriends. I started a lot of projects, but didn't finish a thing. However, after a disappointing showing in the crafting arena, I arrived home to the best mail day EVER! Not only did my new RAM arrive for my computer (yay!), I also received copies of the activity book I designed (a post on that coming very soon), AND my first check for publication in CK! Fun times all around :)

SUNDAY | As the time came to depart for San Diego on Sunday, we realized our plans weren't going to pan out. So, what did we do to escape the heat? Well, we didn’t. We drove further south into the desert to the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson. The perfect adventure for two aviation nerds. While the temperature was only 105 (as opposed to the 109 in PHX that day), it was still HOT as H-E-Double Hockey Sticks both inside and out. Nate wrote up a nice account of our journey on his blog here. I’ll share more stories and the photos as I create layouts with them.

While we were in Tucson, we had to stop and try out a Sonoran Dog at El Guero Canelo, a restaurant we had seen featured on the Food Network’s Man Versus Food. A Sonoran dog is a hot dog, wrapped in bacon, topped with pinto beans, onions, mustard and mayo. I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was!

MONDAY | By Monday we were tired and the only thing I did that day was go to the store to buy new rafts and alcohol so Nate and I could spend at least one relaxing day together. As you're probably guessing, the bulk of the day was spent floating in the pool, with me trying to stay in the shaded half to avoid wrinkles. I made an amazing concoction of fresh strawberry puree (with a little agave nectar), low-sugar blueberry juice, raspberry vodka, club soda and a splash of Sugar-Free Red Bull. It may just be my new favorite pool time drink!

Totally not the weekend we planned, but I wouldn't trade it for anything!