Where did the month go??

Can you believe it's almost May?  Where did April go?  I'm feeling Spring Fever right now... I need to see color and am using lots of it in my work lately!  I have many projects to share today with you... so bare with me.

The first is a fun hot air balloon artwork that is made entirely from Pink Paislee papers, stamps, twine, packaging, Basically Bare chipboard, felt, canvas, and cardboard shapes, AND wire. Oh and LOTS of hot glue!  Tee hee...  I did this in conjunction with Basically Bare and Pink Paislee's swap.  Here is the original post on the BB blog.

Next up, I wanted to share my last project for Scrapbooking from the Inside Out kit for April.  This one was based around the scraps I had left and the photo of myself chillin out by the pool in the Dominican Republic.  I'm always so content in the sun by a pool of water!

The journaling using the Basic Grey paper.

I love those letters and the phrases that I cut the flag ending.

Bling adds a certain amount of fun to the flowers that I added using the template.  I used Faber-Castell Aquarelle pencils  to create these. 

BTW, there is a Design Team call for SFTIO kits.  I am super happy working for them and loved my term there.  I am reapplying because I LOVE their colors, themes, and especially the community that forms this site.  It's an amazing group of artists of all abilities, experiences, and ages.  We share something of our lives, selves, and experiences each month!  I love the way we focus on our feelings, worries, successes, and take a snapshot of ourselves rather than focusing on our families or kids all the time.  We need to document ourselves too!  Share the real us... the flawed, lovely, and sometimes crazy selves.   I hope I get a chance to join them on this journey again!
Apply today!!   Click on the previous link and get the details!

I'm on my way to Akron, Ohio to demo Faber-Castell DMC products to stampers and scrappers in Adventures in Stamping Expo!  I will be in Marco's Paper booth so find me there if you are in the area!

Contentment

I have another layout to share from the April Scrapbooking From the Inside Out kit entitled "Contentment".  I love this kit and it's colors and patterns!  I was inspired by a quilt that I found on Pinterest here in creating this layout.

I wanted a homemade, stitched look to  symbolize family closeness.  The patterns in the papers are rich and work so well together.  I love the textures and contrast they provide.  Here are some shots of my layout. 

 This little beauty of a chipboard word was perfect to add to my title!  I colored it with metallic green Gelato from Faber-Castell. 

 Here's my version of the quilted paper element.  I cut 4 hexagon shapes from different papers and then cut them into triangles to mix and match them.  Some of the papers are double sided so I had more choices too! Once I glued them down lightly, I used my sewing machine to stitch them onto my paper.

 I used Smooch spray and dripped it onto my paper. I sprayed some on a transparency (or packaging) and added a bit of water to make them drippier... then I turned it upright and allowed it to drip where I wanted them.  

 The paper doily from the My Mind's Eye paper was just too awesome not to cut out and use!  I also used the tag in the upper corner.  My journaling tells of an imperfect family but one that sticks together and loves each other!

 Here's my final page!  I really love how it turned out... If you need inspiration, check out the Scrapbooking From the Inside Out site and Pinterest to get ideas that might reflect on your pages!

Vacation!

 I've been on Spring Vacation with my family and we went to Florida to visit my parents in West Palm Beach!  It was perfect weather... warm, sun, fun!  Here are a few pics of my family and I enjoying our time in the sun... I think I gained 10 lbs from eating out at lunch and dinner each night! I have more photos but these are just a few...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Brunch!

A ride on the Clematis Street Trolley

Mom and Mark

Jupiter Beach

Diva Duck!

 My dad waited for 2 years to ride Diva Duck!  We had a blast on this Amphibious vehicle (made in Central New York BTW) and saw lots of sites while being thoroughly entertained by the tour guide!

Sunset at the West Palm Beach

City Place (where we stayed)

All in all, it was a fun trip and lots of warm sun.... but I am glad to be home in my own bed with no worries about kids disturbing other people around us.  I hope we can go again!

While I was away, I neglected to share my pages from Scrapbooking From the Inside Out monthly kit.  This month's kit is "Contentment" and I loved the rich jewel tones and fun embellishments.  It includes a Crafter's Workshop template designed by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer!
I will share  a page from my DT work with you today and I'll be back this week to share more!

 Monet's Waterlilies are my favorite paintings!  I had the priviledge of seeing them in person (again) at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in NYC in March while i was there for the NAEA conference.  I am instantly calm when I walk into that room with the huge pastel hued paintings.  A sense of peace and clarity comes over me.  It's like stepping into a garden and breathing.  I am not sure why my brain feels peaceful other than the soft colors, lighting, and reminder of experiences while sitting next to a calm pond take hold of my brain... it just does.  I am amazed at the textures and the strokes of his brush.

 Using the template to create drippy elements and the spray to create waterlily reflections.

 I used light modeling paste through the stencil to create raised lilies and then added the reverse of the other lily for reflections and outlined with PITT Artist pens.

 Another view of the modeling paste with spray over top when dry!

This page is one of my favorites!  I love how the spray and the paper colors all create a visual correlation to the paintings.  I cut lily pads from papers too and journaled on one... Hope you enjoyed my details of this layout.  If you are loving the colors and product, check out the SFTIO kits!

I'll be back this week with more~