Home at last

We had an awesome time scrapbooking in our SUITE!!! It is worth going again just to get away for a few days. The only negative thing about the weekend is that we actually went to the Expo center and were disappointed.

I had gone a few years back with my girlfriend Jen from http://www.alteredegotoo.blogspot.com/ and had a very good time taking classes and visiting the vendors. This year it seemed as if there were not as many vendors, there were not many new products and the deals were just OK, nothing to jump UP and DOWN about. I think we stayed for about 2 hours and then called it quits and headed back to our SUITE where we locked ourselves in never to be seen again until Sunday when it was time to check out.

It has taken me this long to catch up on sleep and return to normal...what ever that means. Now I have to go unpack my car and put my STUFF away. I will post pictures of the projects that I completed soon.

Great American Scrapbooking Convention

I am so excited to finally arrive at our hotel...it seems like this has been the longest week and it is only Wednesday. We planned to leave between 10 & 11, which actually means 11 & 12 by the time we pack the car and get on the road...

The drive was really pleasant because we thought we would not run in to any traffic...WRONG!!! We were in stop and go traffic for about 2 hours which is tha amount of time it was supposed to take to get to the hotel...it is 10:40 and we are finally checked in and have begun to set up in our...SUITE!

We decided to do something different this year. We decided to get a room and set our scrapbook STUFF in our suite so that we can CROP around the CLOCK. I am getting ready to finish setting up and go take a NAP so that I can CROP til I DROP!!!

Alcohol Inks

I have been working on my Scrapbook NOOK and finally cleared off my desk to play for a little while with Alcohol Ink. I have been SHOPPING in my STASH...i can't believe how much STUFF I have!

I pulled out my Adirondak Alcohol Inks by Tim Holtz and Glossy (white and black) Paper. My favorite colors are

Wild Plum
Lettuce
Butterscotch
Stream


I LOVE these colors and have found a way to use these colors everytime!

I like adding the mixatives to my colors for INTERESTING effects. My favorite ones are Pearl and Silver. I love using these two mixatives when working with the Black Glossy Paper.

I found that the best effect for me comes from first applying the fixative and then follow up with the colors, otherwise it looks very dull...just my opinion. Please let me know if you have experienced something totally different.

I think I had the most fun on this layout because I played with my favorite color PINK!

I used the Adirondak Ink colors
Raisin
Wild Plum
Raspberry
I used the BLENDING solution to create the little bubbles that you see. I poured little drops of the solution directly on the paper and then pounced gently to blend the colors.

I used White Glossy Paper on this layout. The ink colors used on this layout are

Denim
Bottle
Stream

After playing with the colors, I added the Pearl Mixative for a water effect. I cut the paper and used punches to create embellishments for this layout.

I used Black Glossy Paper on this layout. The mixative on this layout is silver and the Adirondack Alcohol Ink colors are

Terra Cotta
Rust
Lettuce
Butterscotch

I used a pouncing motion with the colors and played with the combination of colors on the applicator. Once I had enough color, I applied the Pearl Mixative and this is the result...

My First Altered Canvas

Here it is as promised. I had so much fun playing with different art mediums. This is a picture that my 2 youngest took in preschool. I had no idea what I was going to do when I first started. The most difficult part was choosing the pictures.

To prepare the canvas, I first lightly sanded the canvas. Then I painted the canvas with Tim Holtz Adirondack Espresso paint dabber and Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink Pad. I used large and small bubble wrap with Goldens Naphthol Red Medium to get the circle effects.

I was able to achieve depth using Goldens Soft Gel Gloss and a round screen. (If you try it, you have to wait a while for it to dry) I found it best to let it air dry for about 20-30 minutes before manipulating it. After it dried I sprayed it with Glimmer Myst.

This is long over due!

I have so many friends that blog daily and they keep asking me to start a blog...so here it is! I have no idea what I am doing or if I will have the time to keep this up, but I am going to give it a try.

Things have been really busy around here with my husband working from home...I can't get anything done. Summer is here and school is out, so trying to keep the children busy is a job in itself.

At the beginning of the year, I took on the challenge to scrapbook or create something every day if only to take a picture a day...sad to say...I have not kept up with the challenge. I finally have a NEW scrapbook NOOK, so hopefully I can try again. I am still in the process of setting up my nook and will post pictures soon. I am so excited and can't wait for it to be complete, but setting it up is another JOB all by itself.

Stay tuned...for pictures of my scrapbook NOOK and my Altered Canvas