Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Sunshine Inspired

It wasn't so long ago, this morning.  It was one of those magical mornings when the sun was streaming through the windows, everyone was in a good mood, and none of us were rushing to get somewhere.  My daughter pulled a small table right into a sunbeam and started drawing, picture after picture.  So I started taking photos, and this one was my favorite:
I added it to this layout, using a circle design that has been in my head for a while.  The Out of Print Collection from Basic Grey was perfect for the design and movement that I wanted to convey.  It ended up stopping a little short of my usual details and layers, but somehow it just felt right for the photo.


Thanks for coming by!  I hope you are leaving inspired to create.
~Alyssa~

Supplies:
Basic Grey Out of Print Papers and Olio Rub-ons
Basic Grey Chipboard alphabet
Basic Grey Micro Mini Alphas "Olivia"
Other: cardstock, buttons

Thursday, August 25, 2011

It's FREE class weekend!

Eeek!  It's so much fun to be able to tell me faithful readers about things that you are gonna love, especially when they are FREE!  This weekend starting tomorrow (or, really, about 10 pm EST tonight!), you can take one of the most popular Miss Art's classes for free!

"The kids are heading back to school and you should to! The headmistress at Miss Art's knows that new backpacks, school supplies and first day apparel can reduce a crafters budget to milk money, so for this weekend only she is offering you a tuition free class. Beginning on Friday, August 26th, you will have 3 days to check out one of our most popular classes for free, no subscription needed. In "The Secret Garden," the talented Stacy Cohen teaches you how to create a shadowbox efffect on your layouts by adding dimension through layering and creating beautiful floral clusters. Stacy even earns a little Extra Credit by providing you a step-by-step demonstration on how she creates her trademark crocheted page accents. We hope to see you in the class room and if you enjoy our class that you'll be kind enough to leave an apple or a comment for the teacher.


So what do you need to do?  Click , HERE to head straight to the "Preview Classes" to see both a few sample lessons (available all the time) and the "Secret Garden" this week only.  


Here's what some of our students have said about Stacy Cohen and her "Secret Garden" layout class:
Totally enjoyed this class and has inspired me to do a shadow box as a gift!!! Thank you so much!- Eleni


Really liked both videos from today's lesson. I didn't realize all the things one could do to altar flowers -- love it!- lk


I had such fun creating this one!!! I used it with boy pics...and it stilled turned out beautiful!!! Thanks so much for all the great tips!!!! LOVE!!!!! - Jocelyn


I can't wait to hear what you think.


Enjoy, 
~Alyssa~

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Seeing Grace

Today i woke up to water spilled all over my desk and my nearly completed layout.  Several sheets of precious paper and a sheet of chipboard were ruined, along with several photos (thank goodness for digital images I can reprint!).  Given that A) my day started on this sour note and B) I no longer have that layout to share with you, I decided to instead focus on the lovely day we had yesterday.

So, yesterday we took a break from the typical Monday routine to go visit a precious little one.  Grace is our newest cousin, and adored by all (how could she not be??).  I grabbed these photos during our all-to-brief visit:


In other news, I pretty much wrapped up the July Miss Art's kit (called Eleanor's Garden) by making another layout and 5 (!!) cards last week.  Some of the projects are being submitted for publication, so I can't show them here, but these two I decided to post.  This kit is small, but packs a huge punch for just $16.99!

Thanks for coming by!

~Alyssa~

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Eleanor's Song

I have been playing with the Eleanor's Song kit from Miss Art's Papercrafting School this week.  Lydell Quinn used this kit to do amazing things in the "Stretch Your Stash" class, and I have been dying to dig into this kit ever since I saw it in her hands!
Here is what I came up with.  You can see more on the Miss Art's Blog:



Thanks for coming by!
~Alyssa~

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

I made some cards...

Anyone else loving this new mask from Pink Paislee? 

It's part of their mistables line, and I used it as it was intended on this card, along with new Echo Park Victoria Gardens:
 Other products on this next card include Mistables ribbon, OA letters, some Shimmerz Pearlz, and Crate Paper embellies.  On this second card, I flipped the still-wet mask over and used it as a stamp:
You can get eveything you need for these two cards and a whole lot more at Your Scrapbook Stash.   Use coupon code 15AUG2011 to save 15%!

Thanks for coming by!  I'll have a new sketch for you on Friday.
~Alyssa~

Monday, August 15, 2011

I Am In Print...

It was very exciting to wake up this morning to this:
 See my name on there?  On the cover?  :)  It was a pleasure working with Laura from Papers and Pixels to create this wonderful article she wrote about me and Miss Art's Papercrafting School.  In the article, I show you how to create this mixed-media background, as well as sharing a free lesson from my class, Cluster Muster.
You can check out Papers and Pixels and read their August edition here:
http://www.papersandpixels.com/
Happy Monday!

~Alyssa~

Thursday, August 4, 2011

I am back at TCR!

After many long weeks of not having time to play with color at The Color Room, I am back!  It was so much fun being back in the groove and playing with this fun palette:
This is a little bit of everything all thrown on one page- trying to get back in the groove again!

You can't read all the words in the photo, but it says: "Those Blue Eyes = Game over for mom!"


Thanks for the inspiration, TCR!
~Alyssa~

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Those Baby Blues

My inspiration for this layout came from this photo.  I used Instagram to change this photo to a sepia/vintage look, and even that can't hide my son's startlingly blue eyes.  I added loads of texture to this layout, from burlap to hemp cord, to a Clear Scraps Acrylic Buckle Frame (available at Miss Art's).

For the frame, I first colored it with Alcohol Inks in Pool, Mountain Rose, and Hazelnut.  Then I inked and distressed it with brown Staz-on.  It really set the gorgeous color palette for this layout.




Thanks for coming over!
~Alyssa~