December Class Favourites

Project Title: "Fairy Tale" (Altered wooden album - mixed media)

This is meant to be a wall hanging and I'll need to add photos to it...or maybe quotes? Had fun making this one despite the girly colour and style.

Happy Accidents & Other Discoveries:

Page One:

1. If you stick down lots of knobbly items and whitewash them, they look great for texture. (Did this on an earlier layout, but I like the colour blend on this one). I like the texture of torn knotted cloth

2. Pink and yellow actually make quite a nice blend

Page Two:

1. I LOVE foil tape. Hubby helped me get this from the hardware store. Its like aluminium foil but with a sticky backy. Makes for good texture.

2. Really like how the clouds turned out - its Staz On stamped on transparency, coloured with more Staz On then glued onto white felt.

Page Four:

1. I added shimmer to the glossy accents before 'cooking' it so it gives it a rather nice shine. Nice variation. Plus I like how the colours of the vines turned out.

How Can Like That?!!!

I had a good Christmas, despite
- someone stealing one of each of our slippers on Christmas eve (whoever you are, someone up there saw you do it ok?!! and its not Santa Claus!)
- having to play Lego and Barbie dolls for the whole of Christmas day
- carrying out the annual 'toy purge' amidst some protests

I had a good Christmas because I remembered to be thankful and got lots of hugs.
So.... Lesson learnt this Christmas:
Layout Title: "Hold on Tight" (to the ones you love.....and your slippers!!! Haha)

This One is For Me...So I Don't Forget

Mini Album: "Christmas Is..."

Made this mini album featuring no photos - just lyrics from one of my favourite Christmas Songs "Emmanuel Has Come" by Don Moen. This one's just for me...

I really like how the Purple Onion music stamp makes a nice faint 'background' for all the text.

And since this is probably the last time I'll be making a post before Christmas, so.... Merry merry Christmas everyone!

Now's A Good Time to Remember This

Layout Title: "Give Me the Simple Life"
Journaling for this layout is taken from one of my favourite songs "Give Me The Simple Life" (Lyrics by Harry Ruby, Music by Rube Bloom)

Folks are blessed who make the best of everything
Living by their own philosophy
Everyone beneath the sun must find a way
I have found the only life for me

I don't believe in fretting or grieving
Why mess around with strife
I never was cut out to step and strut out
Give me the simple life

Some find it pleasant dining on pheasant
Those things roll off my knife
Just give me tomatoes and mashed potatoes
Give me the simple life

A cottage small is all I'm after
Not one that's spacious and wide
A house that rings with joy and laughter
With the ones you love inside

Some like the high road, I like the low road
Free from the care and strife
Sounds corny and seedy but yes indeedy
Give me the Simple Life

'Nuff said.

Christmas is in the Air...

Layout Title: "All I Want for Christmas"

Here's my contribution to all the lovely Christmas goodness going on at Purple Onion right now. (Kiasu Singaporean shoppers alert - there's a SALE on! Date's been extended - good stuff)

Love the photo - especially how that big golden ball lines up perfectly with his butt....totally unposed - very Ben.

I'm (Almost) Done....Wanna See?

Here's a few little peeks at my January class featuring Claudine Hellmuth's Studio line products. This is gonna be a pain to teach (Betty's gonna kill me) but I think you guys will have fun.... I certainly did!

I love how it looks like someone spilled pesto sauce all around the white letters. And I love the 'mucus' look on the "Good Stuff" - haha, more cooking in store!

Claudine Hellmuth's Sticky Back Canvas - Good Stuff!

My favourite page / effect

So I'm almost done (just a bit of journaling needed here and there)....now to move on to the next project.

P.S. Is it normal that I keep smelling the multi-medium...? That stuff just smells to good to be glue you know? I seriously love it..... it glides along so smoothly, sticks perfectly and I absolutely love the finish. And did I mention the smell?....Hmmm, does this qualify as glue-sniffing?

In a End-of-Year Kind of Mood

Wooden Mini Album: "This Year So Far"

I'm in a reflective, look back kind of mood....what with the snuggly weather and the year coming to a close...So these are the major things we did this year:

1. We moved house

2. Beth started Primary School

3. We took our best family holiday together so far

Happy Accidents & Other Discoveries:

1. Love the 'Spaghetti' on the front cover - its made of....*drumroll*... rubber bands! This was the first time I tried using gesso as a glue. I saw these cool textures on this website:

http://www.artistterms.com/texturegallery.htm. and decided to give it a go. I painted globs of gesso on, pressed the rubber bands in, painted lots more gesso over them, then later when the gesso was dry, I painted it with acrylic paints, sprayed glimmer mist and added buttons etc. Seriously fun.

2. On the third page I tried out a technique I learned from Claudine Hellmuth's book "Collage Discovery Workshop" where you splat various colours of paints on then use cling wrap and smoosh the paints around and when you pull of the cling wrap you get these really nice 'wrinkle' designs. Good stuff.

K....that's it for now. I'm still busy playing with my Claudine Hellmuth Studio stuff and the project for January is progressing.... promise to show you a sneak peek by the end of the week. I am getting high on the multi-medium....woo hoo!

Fun Challenge at Purple Onion - With Prizes!

There's free stamps to be won at Purple Onion right now. All you need to do is use your Purple Onion Design stamps to create some holiday packaging, take photos, put it up on your blog / gallery, then put a link to it at the comments section of the post on the Purple Onion Designs blog.

And to help you along, some of the Design Team girls have created some truly wonderful and inspirational stuff to get you going. This one by Julie Dudley's my favourite.

Check out details here: http://purpleoniondesigns.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/12/gift-wrap-challenge-with-prizes.html

In An Arsty Mood

Layout Title: "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl

Obervations:

1. Need to remember to be free to explore as I make stuff today.

2. Doesn't Sepia Accents (that's the orange loops around the photo) look like ketchup?

So Inspired I think My Head's Gonna Burst

Reason Number One:

Look at all the goodies I get to play with!!! Bwah-ha-ha. All this super yummy gooey messy stuff is for me to use! They just came into the store and you can check out the full range of stuff on the store blog: http://laines.typepad.com/laines_blog/

I've got a project brewing already that will feature the new STUDIO line from Claudine Hellmuth (my idol!) (gel medium - woo hoo! paints - woo hoo! sticky canvas - double woo hoo!) plus lots of other artsy stuff from Ranger and my sweet Baboo's hardware stash.

Reason Number Two:

Check out the cool inspirational stuff going on at Tim Holtz's blog. http://timholtz.typepad.com/ - 12 Tags of Christmas - every tag full of super fun techniques and super cool details - I like!!! I'm raring to try some of them out!

So, all of this artsy goodness is going into my class(es) for January! You fans of gooey messy classes out there, look out for our January schedule. (I've started work on one project already and you can tell I'm stoked about it cos I spent the past 2 nights dreaming about it - always a good sign, project-wise). Will tell you when it's done and you guys can come have a look! (Hint hint - if you look at the picture, you'll get a small clue as to what I'm making...)

Other Yummy Stuff now in store (that I probably won't get to use...haha):

Gonna go make something now....see ya

History of the Hug Routine

Layout Title: "Hugs, Kong Kong Style"
And this is the man who originated the "hug tight tight, hug three times" tradition (see previous post journaling). Sweet.

Did you spot the paper bag?

Where Did the Time Go?

Layout Title: "Hug the Bear"
Journaling - "Hug tight tight, Hug three times, Hug while you can"

This layout says what I'm feeling right now - that the year went by so fast and I want to remember to hug the Critters all I can, while I can. Beth used to be "Li'l Bear" 'cos she was 'hibernating' in my tummy....seems like only yesterday.

Symbolism Junkie says Did you notice the string going up and down representing the many ups and downs in life? (Haha, yah, I just made that up - so lame). No, nothing symbolic this time, just like the colours and the photo. (It's slightly misty cos my lens was fogged up - nice)