Sketchy Sunday......

I am a super huge fan of sketches. There are certain sites I actually stalk on a weekly basis checking for their sketches. And I thought, with out any originallity in the concept, I would offer up a layout ono my blog every Sunday based upon a sketch I found on the world wide web--hence I am calling my post Sketchy Sunday, original I know.  My hopes are that this offers you a bit of inspiration and possibly an introduction to a new source for scrappy sketches.  So onward and upward, to the sketch!  (Wow that sounded really dorky.  LOL.)

First up is a sketch from Elles Studio.  Elle's Studio offers a new sketch on their blog every Thursday and they almost always appeal to me.  There designs are sweet and simple with lots of white space. This quality is really quite ideal for me because it adds up to a ginormous amount of room for interpretation. 

This first sketch, which you can find here, was posted on their blog on August 15th.

And here is my take...

 

My son's first time taking out the long board by himself.  Real proud of him, but also slightly nerve wracking.  So many things that could go wrong.....

 

Most of the time, I interpret a sketch pretty loosely. I had found that in the past if I really constrained myself to the sketch I would sometimes end up with a layout I did not really love and I hated that feeling. I realized that I need to consider a sketch as merely guidelines and allow myself the freedom to do what I want with it.  And with this in mind, I kept really close to the sketch.  Ha ha. 



If you would like to see more sketches that I have found, please check by scrappy sketch board here on Pinterest and pin away!   

Now, to go off in a totally random direction and because I am witnessing the madness as I type this.....when did my 3 year old turn into such a little prissy monster???  Now granted, she's always been a bit on the prissy side (Mom, that is not an understatement!), but lately, she refuses to share with her little sister and has taken to screaming when ever Allora "ruins" her stuff.  Aack. 

Happy Sunday.

Michelle

A Book Post.....Rick Riordan's The Sea of Monsters

Last year I had intially bought The Lightening Thief, the first in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series, for my son Hayden to read.  Of course, being the book nerd that I am, I read it first.  In like a day :-).  So, when I saw previews to the new movie that came out this summer, I decided it was time to read the second book, The Sea of Monsters.

 

Without giving too many details away (because I do not like spoilers and am assuming you don't either), Percy returns to Camp Half Blood after a deadly game of dodgeball and finds that this safe haven for demi-gods (children of Gods) is losing the protection of it's magical borders due to a bit of sabotage.  Of course, Percy and his friends embark on a quest to save the camp and have a whole lot of fun (fun for me, not so much for them) on the way. 

The book, like its predacessor, is a fast and easy read.  The action is fast paced, includes lots of humor, and leaves you wanting to read more.  However, what I love about this series and the reason that I have kept interest in the series, is the mythological aspect of the stories.  Granted Riordan takes liberties with the Greek characters, but they are based on solid "facts"and have renewed an interest in Greek mythology and literature.  Seriously, any book that makes me want to put it down and pick up Homer's The Odessey is pretty awesome!  LOL.

I also quite enjoy the modern slant that Riordan has taken with the Greek mythology--explaining why Mt. Olympus is now situated above the Empire State Building, giving a modern take on the gods and goddesses (really, Hermes the messenger God as a jogger and the head of a postal service is exactly how I would have imagined him), enlightening us as to what really goes on in the Bermuda Triangle....pure imagination and lots of fun.   

Happy reading.

Michelle


 

Challenge Central: Hello Happy Girl

Happy Thursday!  I would like to introduce a new, reoccuring Thursday post:  Challenge Central.  Every Thursday (hopefully, I am not being too ambitious here!) I plan on introducing a "challenge" that I find on the scrappy web and present my take on it.  I scour the web on a daily basis and am always on the lookout for a mojo buster, something to get me out of my regular routine and I want to share my finds with you.  Now these may be simple or they may border on the more complicated/totally out of my comfort zone area!  The whole purpose is to take me from "wow, I like that idea" to "Been there, done that!" and hopefully spread some scrappy inspiration around!

For this first challenge, I turned to Glitter Girl's Episode #86 that you can find here at 2peas.  In this episode, Glitter Girl's challenge is to pay attention to design and make sure all the elements on a layout are cohesive.

This is what I came up with....

When I think of a design being cohesive I think of these things:  color, motif, and repetition. 

Color is my favorite element.  The possibilities are endless.  When it comes to color I do my best to match my products to the picture. Here I went off of the blue dress my daughter was wearing and matched it to Dear Lizzy's Lucky Charm--a line I have yet to tire of.  Also, when choosing my colors, I try to take into account the overall mood of the photo or story I am trying to convey. In this photo Allora is very happy that she is climbing up the "big girl playset," so I chose to incorporate yellow because it is a happy, energetic color. My next choice, red, was a no brainer because it is a natural compliment to both blue and yellow.

When considering motif, I am looking at the overall "main idea" of the page.  As I said previously, I really wanted to convey my daughter's happiness and joy and this is what I thought about as I looked though my stash. I ended up with some happy, butterfly stickers, a frame with the word "smile" on it, a "happy" diecut, a yellow flair button with the words "Hello Sunshine," and gold glitter Thickers.  All these elements work together to make, in my opinion, a "happy" layout.

Finally, repetition.  This to me, is the most technical of the bunch.  Basically, take your elements and repeat them.  Ha ha.  Here I chose to repeat the chevron pattern three times.  The color yellow is repeated in three differnent spots (think visual triangle), I have two butterflies, and my main colors are repeated throughout the layout.

So there you go, I completed a challenge that required me to really "think" through my own process and strive to make a cohesive design.  Fun stuff :-). 

Michelle

  

Wordless Wednesday......

 

Happy Wednesday.

Michelle

Currently.....

Drinking...Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Coffee.

Eating...Almond butter and pear sandwiches for lunch.  A much needed change from the usual peanut butter.

Taking...A megadose of Vitamin D prescribed by the doctor.  Could NOT believe I was super low on D--totally explains my unusual and extreme tiredness.

Sleeping...Like a rock.  Seriously, I do not move and remember nothing.

Excited...for a fun weekend with my family.

Wondering...why puppies chew so much. Seriously, it is a compulsion.

Thinking...that I am ready for all things pumpkin.

Watching...Football and The Big Bang Theory. 

Reading...Wicked by Gregory Maguire

Wishing...for the cleaning fairy to come to my house.

Happy....that it is fall!  I have been in denial for awhile since summer is my favorite, but the smells of cinnamon and leaves have melted my little cold heart and I now remember that I DO indeed love fall.



Michelle

Becoming More Beautiful.......

I instantly fell in love with this paper from Echo Park's A Beautiful Day collection when I first saw it.  It was with GREAT restraint that I did not pop it into my shopping cart.  You see, everything that I buy, usually ends up in a kit.  I did that after CHA Winter with the Dear Lizzy and Amy Tan lines.  I allowed myself pieces of those two collections as my splurge and they showed up over and over again in kits.  I learned my lesson with that and have been buying extra goodies in limited quantities.  So you could imagine my relief when that beautiful sheet of butterfly paper showed up.  I was sweating it!  (Seriously, I sometimes need to remind myself that this is just paper! LOL.)

Here's the first layout I used my pretty paper on.......

 

Check out the close-up of this awesome cork arrow.......

 

 

The new cork arrows from Fancy Pants are, as my daughter Maleia would put it, fabulous!  They come in two arrow shapes and they are fun and funky.  Really the perfect arrows.  My only slightly anal complaint is that that are bit too thick.  I like to keep my embellies pretty flat because my pages stay better in my albums, so I get a little ansty if I think my pages are bulky.  The arrows are borderline, I think they will be okay, but I would love if they were a bit thinner. 

 

Wishing you a great weekend!

 

Michelle



Chocolate Dipped Ice Cream Cones....

Ice cream from the Jolly Cone is a Wedertz Family Tradition.  Every summer when we spend a week in Bridgeport we hit the Jolly Cone.  Several times.  Sometimes twice a day.  Ha ha ha.

The Jolly Cone has GREAT food.  Just flat out tasty.  However, the star of the show is the ice cream and of course, I have to scrap it.......

 

Instagram photos are so easy to scrap.  The filters (this one is Earlybird) tend to mute the colors a bit which really open up the possibilities when it comes to choosing colors to scrap with.  

 

 

I decided, in my quest to use up my twine, to loop the twine across the bottom of the pics.  I actually did this after I adhered the photos which was no problem because I always leave the edges of my photos and papers adhesive free to let me tuck in pieces as I go. 

 

Wishing you a super sweet day!

 

Michelle