A quick Silver Bella Tour

I know, I know, this post is long coming. I had to work some long shifts immediately upon coming home, then Thanksgiving, then the dull drudgery of Christmas shopping (OK, the shopping was enjoyable ;). First off, you gotta love these adorable top hats made by Cari Kraft :
Most Bellas start their trip by getting a shopping fix at Second Chance Antiques:

I scored a hat for vendor night, an embroidered blue silk with purple velvet:

Always old friends to meet and new friends to make (here with Amy Powers, Heather Buhaj, and Kathi Pilar)

We don't go away hungry, the chef made these special for our last dinner together:

Swaps are a favorite part of the whole Bella event, isn't this bee crown the best?

Did I mention shopping?

And finally, bringing home our precious pieces to display for our families:

Thanks for peeking into my trip!

Itty Bitty Sneak Peek

Leaving for Omaha on Wednesday, and my final swap is finished! These pretty Bella waterlilies are packaged and ready to go. Now I just have to get the rest of me ready!

Scattered

Blogging has been difficult for me on so many levels lately. Generally speaking, work has been taking up too much of my time. Not enough time with my family, let alone creative free time.

Mostly I've just felt guilty. I just don't have the energy or desire to put into creating things for my etsy shoppe. And I know I associate writing here with my creations, therefore I fear I have nothing to share.

But I am not unfulfilled. I have finally dusted off my Photoshop Elements 7 and am attempting to learn digital scrapbooking. So far this is going very slowly. I think I am going to be sidetracked soon into using PSE to edit photos. I have been very enamored with photography lately (desiring so immensly a new Canon-either a used 40D or, in my dreams, a 5DM2) and absolutely drooling over the gorgeous photo actions I've discovered in my new blog travels.

So, alas, my ribbon dying days may be in the past (who knows, though- I've got buckets loads of dye). Perhaps I will come back and share some photos. I still have Silver Bella lined up for November, and just finished my 15 book pages for the Vintage Beach Bella Fat Book. Now that's something I need a photo of!

Just an interesting side note: I love my birthday. It was incredibly cool this year to have it on 10/10 of 2010! And I received some great photography gear to boot!

Blossom Sugar Wafers

Life has been slowly coming back to some semblance of normal. Our computer has suffered a few glitches in the rebuild, then a few days with our U-verse lines down. My work schedule is becoming routine, and I finally feel like my creative soul can peek out once again. While I know I have a few projects planned out (still hoping to do a matching line for Dear Lizzy) I'm mostly starting with whatever moves me, just to get back into the swing of creating. I have a few new Button Blossoms in the shoppe tonight.

Technical Difficulties

What do you get when you add a do-it-yourself-non-techie husband with an infected hard drive? A computer that has been physically removed from my home so that it can be tested at his workplace (where the true techies are) since the beginning of April.

Ugh- I've had no access to documents, downloads, major software, photos and applications for over 5 weeks. I even purchased a new iTouch to replace the iTunes that crashed last November and can't do a thing with it! At least DH has finally admitted defeat (if I hear "just let me try one more thing" one more time I will scream!) and is listening to the so-called techies advice to just reinstall the hard drive.

So, hopefully I will be back in business soon!

Ribbon Rosettes for Spring

Has it really been a month? I must admit that Library of Memories is keeping me busy, but I am still super thrilled with the progress we are making toward better kept memories and stories.
It's been hinted that I needed a few more items up in my shoppe, and the rosettes are still top requested. I hope to have some of these beauties up in the next few days!

Except maybe that last one- it's may be a keeper! I'll see how much more of that ribbon I have left to make more.

What Goes Around

Thank you again to all who posted their favorite scrapbooking lines last month on my blog candy post! At around the same time that I did that, Allison Davis of CK fame had blog contest of her own. Her contest involved four days where she shared a new layout each day based on just one sketch. Each layout was so different from the others based on techniques, embellishments and substutions made. She did a very thorough job teaching what she had done to each of the layouts that made them unique. She invited readers' comments each day and gave away a few of her sketch books from a drawing of those comments. I got to be a lucky winner! I had just purchased a few volumes, and was thrilled to have another.

I love Allison's sketches (and those of her mother Debbie Sanders, also featured in the sketch books) because they use a neutral background, help with pattern papers, and placement of embellishments. Yet they are totally adaptable. Here are a few pages I did with one of the sketches. (Yes, I plan to journal, this is a theme album I will journal all at one time to keep the flow continuous)

Thank you Allison! You can find links to her store (Scrapbook Generation) and sketch volumes through her blog .

Half-brained

While preparing for a class at Debbie Hodge's Get It Scrapped, she asked us to take an online exam to determine which side of our brain was more dominant, left or right (or being more logical vs creative). I'm just glad to think that it believes I have one :) !

Here are my results:

Thank you for taking the Creativity Test. The results show your brain dominance as being:
Left Brain 59%
Right Brain 41%


You are more left-brained than right-brained. Your left brain controls the right side of your body. In addition to being known as left-brained, you are also known as a critical thinker who uses logic and sense to collect information. You are able to retain this information through the use of numbers, words, and symbols. You usually only see parts of the "whole" picture, but this is what guides you step-by-step in a logical manner to your conclusion. Concise words, numerical and written formulas and technological systems are often forms of expression for you. Some occupations usually held by a left-brained person include a lab scientist, banker, judge, lawyer, mathematician, librarian, and skating judge.

Blog Candy Winner

Thanks to everyone who left comments on my blog! Using a random number generator, #4 was chosen:


Cori said...
Gorgeous, Jen! I love the new Sugar Rush and Origins lines from BG. The new Kioshi is going to be one of the first I would like too.
January 22, 2010 5:39 PM

Send me your address Cori to redpaperjen at aol.com and I'll get those ribbons and flowers out to you!

A New Year

Things seem different this year. Even as it starts I know some things have changed. One of the big things for me is that the Year of Color blog is over. I was able to focus much of my art from inspiration led by the blog. I was also able to participate in several outstanding swaps through it. I hope to be able to find more swaps to be a part of, but it seems I'm always finding them AFTER the deadlines. I also still need to finish one project from Silver Bella last November, and I was inspired and motivated even from sign ups late spring. Hopefully this will return when I see the class list for this year, I truly hope to be able to participate again!

But with the lack of mixed media focus, my attention has once again shifted to the scrapbook paper arena. Basic Grey has always been a favorite line of mine, and I've been able to dabble in color chemistry on two new collections based on "Nook and Pantry" and "Origins". Of course I started with ribbons! I also loved expirmenting with dyeing paper flowers, dictionary papers, and crepe. Both lines are now in my etsy.

Summer Apricot:
Moss:

Leave me a post telling me about your favorite pieces, or what lines you'd like to see next and I'll draw a name next week Friday (Jnauary 29th) for a free set of Summer Apricot ribbons and Paper Botanicals!

Catching my Breath

Ah, the end of Christmas break. So much has been cleaned, wrapped, unwrapped, eaten. We even spent a fun day at our Frederik Meijer Gardens, a local family botanical center with a fabulous Christmas display. My Dearest Husband and son love the miniature train displays.

And the girls and I love the Chrismas trees from around the World display. A very lovely afternoon spent.

I've been doing several highly involved journaling challenges that have been consuming much of my writing time, but several of those will be wrapped up shortly. I've also laid out the dyes and ribbons/flowers to start a new year in the etsy shoppe. Hopefully soon I will be releasing dyed embellishments for Basic Grey's Nook & Pantry and Origins.