The Magic of a Good Book

I just love this photo of Milena.  She was asked to choose her favorite photo from a special book, and she was really giving each photo a thought.  She’s almost reading (so close!) and I know as soon as she gets there we won’t be able to keep her nose out of a book.  She loves everything about stories and the imagination and dreams that she finds there.

I used October Afternoon for this layout, primarily the Farmhouse collection.

Thanks for coming by!

~Alyssa~

Paint & Pose

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I love a challenge, and will sometimes even issue one to myself.  On this layout, I decided to lift myself.  Here is the original layout:

And here is the lift:

I actually used many of the same supplies for my lift, and I think most of them are used up now (that feels nice!).  I do think I like the original layout better, though.  Have you lifted yourself?  Did you like the results more or less then the original?

~Alyssa~

A PLS Video Tutorial

Hi everyone!  I have a video tutorial up today on the Pretty Little Studio Blog!  I am making this tag:

You can see the video HERE.

Thanks for taking a peek!

~Alyssa~

The Coolest Curls

My boy has CURLS.  Bright red ones, in fact.  He is by far the most memorable person in our family (don’t tell anyone else I said that!) and he loves the attention he gets from those curls.

This layout was completed with Echo Park’s This and That and some My Mind’s Eye, accented by a few Silhouette Cuts.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Alyssa~

Love you!

I have a card up on the Pretty Little Studio Blog today!  you can find out what inspired my design, and see what the rest of the team created in this post.

~Alyssa~

Three FREE Classes

The headmistress (that’s me!  LOL) at Miss Art's would like to invite you to our biggest free class event yet!  Beginning on Friday,  March 23rd, you will have 3 days to check out three of our most popular classes for free, no subscription needed. 

Three of our 201 class have nearly completed their 12 months of availability, and each of these amazing classes deserves a farewell party!  The Secret Garden with Stacy Cohen, B. You! with Heidi Kelley, and All About Me with Bethany Kartchner have all been around for nearly a year, and will soon be removed from our class schedule to make room for some amazing new classes.  That means that this weekend is your chance to check them out one last time, for FREE!  If you've been thinking about joining our student body, consider this your campus tour, led by three amazing teachers. When you visit us on Friday, head to the "Classes" page to view this weekend's free classes.  We'll see you there!

missartspapercrafting.com/classes

Hope to see you there!

~Alyssa~

Leaving Impressions

I have really been trying to stretch myself recently, to create with a challenge, or a specific idea in mind.  Making myself try new things is really how I notice my art changing, growing, and my style evolving.  I shared a layout a few days ago where I chose to use all neutrals.  This layout, I decided to use black and brown together in the same layout.  It used to be a hard-and-fast rule: NEVER wear black and brown together.  I remember my mother telling me that many times when I’d try to wear a black belt with brown shoes. 

That doesn’t seem to be the rule as much anymore.  As I write this, I am wearing a brown shirt with a black design on it.  So I decided to break this age-old rule and put the two colors together.  When I got started, I realized the BasicGrey helped my along by breaking the rule too (and in one of my favorite BG collections, no less!).  I used a lot of “Origins” to put this page together, with a few embellishments from other companies.

I have tried to use that Echo Park car sticker about 12 times, but it finally worked on a page.  Since the photos are of the construction of our garage, it seemed to fit.  Yay!

Have a creative weekend! 

~Alyssa~

Photo-A-Day Update

Does it ever seem to you like the best photo opportunities are ones you only recognize in retrospect?  I feel that way often, in fact as I am typing this I am in one of those moments.  My daughter (age 6) had an eye exam today, and it turned out she needs a pair of reading glasses for school.  For about 30 minutes, we were trying on frames, she was making faces in the mirror… and I was not taking photos.  Ack!  How could I miss that moment?  So bummed. 

Anyways, I have been doing pretty well with my Photo challenge for March (only missed 2 days, which for me is awesome!), so I thought I’d share a few more photos today.

March 14: Clouds. Or, rather, the almost complete  lack of clouds, which is something I am particularly happy about!

March 15th: Car.  I cleaned it out, vacuumed, washed it, even scrubbed the upholstery.  The photo prompt was good motivation!

March 16th: Sunglasses.  Yeah, THIS is where the photos of Milena trying on glasses should be!  But I’ll have to look for another shot.  The day is young!

Go take a photo!

~Alyssa~

Hammered Helper

My inspiration for this layout really was my desire to challenge myself to create a truly neutral layout.  I did it, although I have to admit I miss the color a little.  The photo is of my son holding a hammer, having been given the chance to hammer a few nails into a spare piece of wood. 

I used mostly Studio Calico here, but there are a few bits of Echo Park and Tim Holtz here as well.

Thanks for coming over!

~Alyssa~

A Boy and His Bugs

I have a layout up this weekend on the Pretty Little Studio Blog!  You can see close ups and read more about this layout here.

Another Free Class

Hi everyone!  Welcome to Friday!!  I have another free class up at Miss Art's.  If you're interested, you can find the video here:
http://missartspapercrafting.com/class/molding-paste-leaves
Have a great weekend!

Printable Floral Tags

I am currently loving the gray and yellow combination, and today I had a chance to create a printable file with some floral tags in this color scheme.  If you’d like to download them and use them, feel free.  I recommend printing them in 1/2 page sixe, then they will measure about 1-1/2” across. My only request is that you come back to comment and let me know you enjoyed them.  Thanks!

To download click HERE.

If you’ve never used Sendspace before, here is the screen you will see, with the download button circled.  The other buttons are ads, so try to avoid them:

Come back tomorrow for links to a free class! 

~Alyssa~

More Photos…

A few more photos from my Photo-A-Day challenge to share today.  If you’re playing along, feel free to link your pics to the Miss Art’s Facebook wall.  I’d love to see!

Day 3 Prompt: Neighborhood

We live in a quite little neighborhood in a small town.  This is the view from my window while I am doing dishes.

Day 4 Prompt: Bedside

I groaned when I saw this prompt.  This is truly truth in photography.  My nightstand seems to be one place I never think to clean!

Day 5 Prompt: Smile

My daughter unwittingly provided the perfect shot by cutting out this photo frame, then asking me to take this pic. Love it.

Having fun with photos,

~Alyssa~

The Shrinking Pants

Honestly, I think my kids’ clothes are shrinking.  I mean, they can’t be growing that fast, right? I made this page with a photo I took last week of my son’s amazing shrinking pants.  This is Echo Park’s Times and Season Line with a little of This and That thrown in, along with a few scrap drawer items.  The journaling space is blank because I still need to add that.  I’m so BAD at journaling!

Thanks for coming by!

~Alyssa~

A long, long, time ago…

Ok, not really THAT long… but I came across this layout while cleaning out my scrap space and realized I had never shared it with you.  I think that’s because it took me a while to decide that I liked it.  When I first completed it, it wasn’t at all what I had pictured, and I pretty much hated it.  Now, a few months later, I’ve forgotten my original vision for it, and decided I kind of like it.  Funny how that happens, isn’t it?
This page features photography from my talented brother Ryan, and papers and embellishments from Crate Paper.  The dots were made with gesso and a template from Crafter’s Workshop.  I just love how gesso stands out on darker papers with only one coat!



Thanks for dropping by!  Make this Monday a great one. 
~Alyssa~

A Photo A Day?

Ok, I’ll admit it.  I started project 365 last year, and BOMBED.  Big Time.  I made it about 2 weeks.  So I didn’t even start this year.  But when I caught wind of THIS monthly Photo-A-Day challenge, it seemed doable, and fun… so I decided to give it a go.  In an attempt to keep myself motivated, and to encourage photo sharing, I have encouraged the group of students at Miss Art’s Papercrafting School to join me.  So, if you’re over there too, please link your photos to the Miss Art’s Wall.  I’d love to see them.
Day 1 Prompt: Up

Day 2 Prompt: Fruit

I’ll be back soon with more pics, and another layout to share soon!
~Alyssa~

It’s A Friday Four

What’s a Friday Four?  Well, it’s a FREE Class at Miss Art’s Papercrafting School. Today the first one is posted, and I am the teacher.  I’m sharing the step by step directions for this tag in a Four Minute video (get it?  Friday FOUR? Witty, I know.  )

For more info and to view the free class, go HERE.

Have a great weekend!

~Alyssa~

Turning 6

Milena turned 6 in August, and despite my best efforts (I took over 100 photos), the awesome portrait style shot I was after was not to be that day.  This photo, snapped with my phone in the dim light at Texas Roadhouse, was all that I was allotted.  I suppose some days are just too fun to cluttered up with posing for mom’s camera!

I created this page with some October Afternoon goodies and a sketch from Page Maps.  I liked this sketch as soon as I saw it, and couldn’t pass up a good contest either (LOL).

Thanks for peeking!

~Alyssa~