Rogue Redhead's Rebel Challenge and an Unruly RAQ

Today I have a quick, clean and simple (mostly) card for the new Rogue Redhead Designs Rebel Color Challenge, which this month is Lilac, Navy, and White.  I went with crisp white for the background, embossed with microdots for interest and to coordinate with some of my dotty lilac-hued patterned papers.  I've used Rogue Redhead Designs' banner (bunting) stamp from the Just Sayin' plate and the "Miss You" sentiment (from Relish Reading) stamped in Midnight Blue StazOn.  Done in a flash, and in two of my fave colors!  I hope you can play along... check out the link *here* - there's a very nice prize up for grabs. ;)

Elsewhere in blogland.... Unruly Paper Arts has two Reader Art Quests (RAQs) that are going on through Sept. 25.  Being the gluebook junkie that I am, I couldn't resist RAQ2: Glue Book Pages!  You can click on the link to take you to the challenge.  Here's a few that I did for inspiration - any size, any theme will do!

Link up your artwork, then help vote for your faves!  'Til next time! :)

Blue Gluebook Pages

I've been gluebooking in the car again, using up some scraps - hence the spring theme, so far from the holiday images I should be using, LOL!  I don't yet have many Christmas scraps accumulated, so I'm still using my leftovers from the summer.  The digital image of the girl on the right is from Lisa's Altered Art; the stamp on the left is from Artistic Outpost.  (Sorry for the unconventional "holder" - I just couldn't get the thing to lie flat.)

I'm hoping to play along with Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas, but it won't be for a few days.... we've got band concerts and Christmas piano recitals to attend to first.  Hope you're finding time for some holiday crafting. :)

Glue Book on the Go

Well, I am not getting into my craft room nearly as much as I would like, and when I'm in there, I'm cleaning!  Luckily, I still have my vintage train trunk full of scraps that I take with me in the car.  I tend to work with nature themes a lot, and so the next few pages I decided to try to combine a bunch of this sort of image.  For this layout, I also happened upon a few scraps that fit together beautifully - completely serendipitously.  It's so fun when you find the perfect combination in your stash!

For the right-hand side of the layout, I discovered two clock images that fit together rather nicely.  I used them to highlight the fairy image (a leftover if a Craft Individuals image stamped on a glimmer misted background).

On the left side, I found two butterfly images that fit together - a stamped image and an image on a scrap of patterned paper.

Another couple of nature themed pages - these with a "field notes" kind of a feel.  The large bird image is from an old Christmas season bag from Pottery Barn.

Finally, one last Halloween page that I forgot to post.  I love this one, because I happened to find a piece of vintage sheet music that had the lyrics "name a spell" on them.... a perfectly witchy little tune, I think. ;)

That's all for now.  Got to get cleaning!

Spooky Gluing

Wow, the word "gluing" really doesn't look like a word if you stare at it too long, LOL!!  I've been making Halloween pennants for a local swap, and so I have some fun extra stuff to put in my train case and glue into my little book during my copious waiting-during-kids'-sports-practices time.  Don't ya just love these little twins?  They are freebies from The Sum of All Crafts - she has some marvelous Halloween images, and these gals were from a post of several spooky-looking people.  I added some vintage German text that had been colored with sumthin'..... distress inks, maybe?  And of course some random wordage from an old book I always have with me for just this purpose.  The hats are from a Lisa's Altered Art collage sheet.

Also finally had some material to put on the page opposite my "Poe" page:

This little gal is from Paper Whimsy, and the images (stamped and scrap) are from Crafty Secrets/Heartwarming Vintage.

I'll finish up posting my pennants tomorrow, once I get them photographed.  I'm off to watch my daughter's volleyball game. :)

Vintage Gluebook Pages with Mary Green

Hello crafters!  Today I am taking inspiration from the Queen of Gluebooks herself, Mary Green of Green Paper, who is our Muse over at Gingersnap Creations this month.  Mary has shared with us a marvelous gluebook tutorial, complete with some wonderful images to get you started.  I've used the freebie images for these pages, along with some other wonderful images that Mary has graciously made available on her blog over the last several months.  I hope you'll have time to check out her post (click on the link above), as well as her beautiful blog.  All of the images here are courtesy of Green Paper - I just added a bit of vintage sheet music.  (Just noticed I forgot to clip a corner.... I'm off to snip.... ;)  Happy gluing!

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Where does the time go???  I'm coming along slowly with my Halloween pennants for my swap... here are two that feature a Paper Whimsy image (the girl, along with a hat from Lisa's Altered Images), and stamps from Red Lead (the small ravens with Poe quotes) Oxford Impressions (large raven and ouija board), and Tim Holtz (Halloween ticket).

Lately I've pretty much had time to scrap only on the go, and even then, I haven't done much.  I mentioned in my last post that I was feeling mojo-less and wasn't even happy with my gluebook pages.  So I will share... the good, the bad, and the ugly.....

First up, the good.... those little cuties are my dad and his twin brother, and the sentiment is from a piece of vellum patterned paper that I've had in my stash for centuries....

Next up.... a Poe page that I am basically happy with.... it's just that I cannot for the life of me seem to complete the page next to it.  There are some scraps in the foreground that I'm trying to use... I think I just might have to actually stamp or go gather something "real" from my stash that will work.....

Okay, as promised, the ugly.... this is waaaay too busy.  It seemed a good idea as I was putting it together.  I closed it up, ran off to some school event or other... came back and opened it up again and really had to say "What was I thinking?!"  But that's what's so great about a gluebook - you can try things, experiment, and if it doesn't work out, it's no big deal.  All you've done is use up some scraps that weren't making it into anything else anyway!!  Totally forgiving, and really, a learning tool.... a record of what does and does not work.  (I'm trying really hard not to rip this out, LOL!!!)

Still hoping to find more time to visit all of your lovely blogs.  Unfortunately, today I have to go out and spend way to much money on a dishwasher... ours totally gave up the ghost (I had been making do with certain features not working, but now it's finally dead and not worth fixing).  I've been spending all of my time online trying to figure out which models are best, etc.  But I'm tired of doing dishes, so I'm buying today no matter what, LOL!  Have a happy Wednesday. 

Glue Book Pages

A few more glue book pages, completed while waiting for my daughter at piano lessons.  I used up some added scraps from some recent projects... you may recognize that heart-shaped leaf print from a Craft Stamper article, LOL!  Also a few scraps from a recent Parisian-themed batch of ATCs.  I'm keeping a few extra supplies in my train case now, including some printed masking tape (the black music tape is from 7Gypsies).  I need to add some autumn-themed stuff.... I am soooo "over" summer!  Just a quickie today... I'll be back tomorrow with a new Gingersnap Creations Color Challenge.  Thanks for stopping by! ;)

Glue Book in Black and White

I am running out of leftover images to use in my glue book!  I'm getting down to images that were simply stamped and never colored..... little extras that never made it into a project or even any further than simple ink. So I decided to see if I could come up with a layout in only black and white.  The background on the right is a black and white photo of flowers that I ran through a script embossing folder (a leftover from a photo project I did for Craft Stamper..... one of the projects that I decided to leave on the crafting table, so to speak).  I wish I had had some sand paper with me to bring out the embossing.... might have to add that to the train case.  Actually, my crafty little case needs some replenishing.  I might have to start adding things purposefully so that I have something to craft with.  *Gasp!*  ;) 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Macabre Glue Book Page

As some of you may know, I do my gluebooking in the car, while waiting for my kids to emerge from school or from their various sporting activities... toting my supplies in my vintage train case.  It's a teensy bit possible that the fumes are getting to me, ROFL!  Here are some frightful little pages I put together.... getting in the mood for Hallowe'en.  I only had a few pages of book text left that were actually in English... I worked with what I had ... and I suppose I have a bit of "Poe" on the brain.  Serious fun. ;)

A Bit of Glue Book

Life is good.  Healthy, happy, busy, full.  My craft room is neglected and quite messy.  I've had to craft on the run, when I can, and so the only thing I've got to share today is a few little glue book pages.  My thoughts have turned to fall (even if the weather hasn't), so I've used rich shades of brown, rust, and orange, still using up my scraps and discarded stamped images.  The image on the right is the paper I used to do a transfer.... it's what was left on the copy paper after I'd transferred the image to watercolor paper.  Just couldn't part with her. :)

Hope everyone stays safe and sound in the Northeast... they are experiencing another round of flooding.  All of my best to all of you affected!

Scrappy Gluebook Again

Once again this week, I have been sitting in my car more than I have been sitting in my craft room.  Good thing I have fun stuff to bring with me!  It's more scrappy stampy gluey pages.  This first one has my practice attempt at inkjet image transfer onto watercolor paper.  I had always read that you needed to have a laser image in order for images to transfer properly.  Lo and behold, I went to Donna Downey's website, and she shows us that as long as you use Golden's Gel Medium, inkjet prints work just fine.  Oh my, what fun!!!  (You can see her video tutorial on the subject *here*.)

A few lovely ladies in vintage browns.

Some of the last of my purple scraps.  The little girl is Paper Whimsy.  The stamped lilac is Unity, and the stamped tulips are Oxford Impressions.

I have some fun stuff coming up..... something new..... can't wait to show you! :)

More Scrappy Stampy Gluebook Pages

Happy Palm Sunday!  As some of you know, I've been a bit neglectful of my blog, and it's because I really haven't had much time to craft just for fun (although I am working on some very fun projects for Craft Stamper.... they will be coming in late summer/early autumn).  Anyway, that means my only other craft time has been - in the carpool lines, of course.  So I bring along my traveling art case and use up my scraps.  The images above are leftovers/rejects from this ATC project.  This is turning out to be a fun way to experiment - for instance, I love the look of the blue paper torn away to reveal some text on the left-hand page.  I'll have to incorporate that in a card or scrapbook page (or even - gasp! - a canvas someday).

Her are a few more:

Some favorite birdies from CHF and Artistic Outpost.

Using up some of my purple scraps.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful spring weekend! I'd love to leave you with a stanza from a poem that always speaks so perfectly to this time of year.  We are having a beautiful spring here in North Carolina, but we just had some powerful tornadoes go through yesterday.  Thankfully our house and family are fine.  You just never know with springtime weather.  This is from Robert Frost's "Two Tramps in Mudtime":

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
A cloud comes over the sunlit arch,
A wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March.

Geishas with Gingersnap Creations

It's time for another fun "theme" challenge over at Gingersnap Creations, and this month it's GC97: Geishas.  I must admit, I had *no* Asian-themed stamps, so I got creative with a collage image, fun textured paper, and some doodling.  The beautiful Geisha image is from art-e-zine.co.uk, layered on top of some fabulous corrugated paper from The Paper Temptress (which I thought was reminiscent of the texture of Japanese lanterns).  I decided to "doodle" some tree branches and flowers with markers to give it a little more interest in the background. I also cut some black cardstock strips to mimic a Japanese screen design.  The little flowers are made with a Martha Stewart punch, and again I doodled to make them look more like a type of dogwood.  The centers are microbeads (also Martha Stewart).  The little birdie at the top is my only stamped piece, from Artistic Outpost.  Lastly, I cut (!) into some of my Kioshi paper from Basic Grey. All together it makes a rather spring-like card, I think.

And because I couldn't stop at just one.... I had also purchased a beautiful digital collage sheet from Curious By Design {Digital} on Etsy that had a lovely Geisha in blue.  I had printed her out and just couldn't part with her, so into my Scrappy Gluebook she went, along with some other old scraps of paper (PSX!) and stamped dragonflies from CHF and Impression Obsession.

I hope you'll join us at Gingersnap Creations for our Geisha theme challenge!

More Scrappy Gluebook Pages

Hello friendly, crafty, beautiful bloggers!  I've missed you, missed having the time to marvel over your wonderful and inspiring blogs, and then craft with all of your gorgeous artwork in my head.  Spring break is finally over for the kiddos (a generous 4 weeks this time), and although I love having them around, it will be rather nice to get back to a more normal rhythm.  I will be visiting, I promise!

A quickie little post of one of those carpool line scrappy gluey pages I've been working on.  A bunch of extras left over from *this* project, along with some that have been languishing in the scrap pile for ages.  Images are predominantly from Artistic Outpost and Oxford Impressions, but as always, if you have a specific question, please feel free to email me.  I've enjoyed working with purples, and I've noticed that very few (if any?) of the brand new patterned papers coming out these past few weeks have had any in them.  I suppose we'll just have to make our own, won't we? And use up those scraps, of course.  It's on to laundry for me... have a wonderful afternoon and evening. :)

A Glue Book of Collaged Scraps

Hi there.  Can you tell by my title that I don't know what to call my little project? ;) 

Warning: I am about to ramble (I believe in the UK it's "waffle.")  There is more glued collage scrap art at the end.  Scroll down now if you wish.  Now back to the full-length program.....

Do you have one of these?

Or maybe even one of these little miniature ones?

Yep, me too.  In fact, I have, ummmmm, several.  So I got myself one of these on Etsy:

It's a grand little vintage train case, complete with satin pockets and straps to hold fast to your necessities.  Why?  Well, I was very much inspired by an article I read in Stampington's "Hand Crafted" Volume 6 magazine by Rebecca Sower called "Rebecca's Traveling Companion."  She had me right in the beginning, describing the many hours she spent sitting and waiting for her kids while they attended sporting practices.  Like me, she carted along journals, books, magazines, the latest iTechnology.... but kept wishing she could be more productive, more creative.  So she got herself a vintage train case, and proceeded to very carefully select and package up the most gorgeous artful ingredients - images stamped on canvas, vintage ribbons, beautiful beads, rhinestones - you name it.  She stressed the importance of thoughtfully considering each addition to the case.  "You will be disappointed with the results if you just quickly toss materials into a case, snap the lid shut, and throw it in your car," she cautioned.  She developed a traveling art studio that was a work of art in itself.  And she created many things of exquisite beauty during football practice.

"Aha!" I said, "That's perfect!  That's just what I'll do!"

So I purchased my beautiful vintage train case.

And...... nuthin' happened.  I kept saying to myself that I would soon sit and carefully and cautiously select the most exquisite items to go into the case, and I'd be on my way.  But I procrastinated. I hedged.  I stalled.  And all the while, my tins and bottles and boxes full of scraps, tags, images stamped but never used, backgrounds not completed or not needed... they all stared at me.

So I did this:

Yep, with 10 minutes left before we needed to depart for piano lessons, I dumped the above ingredients unceremoniously into the train case.  I carefully considered only four items:

 A small moleskin journal, scissors, a glue stick, and a little box for sorting things into.

And I had a ridiculous amount of fun while waiting for my daughter.  In addition to the pages at the top, I did this:

And then this:

My method is far from ideal, and one day I will mindfully consider what to put in my case, and create a traveling kit of artfully organized beauty.  But for now, this worked okay.  On my second outing, I will take along a catalog or two from the recycling bin - I found I needed something on which to apply glue, and an old catalog is perfect, because when one page gets all sticky and gooey, you just turn the page and start gluing on a fresh surface. 

I haven't put the slightest dent in my scrap pile, but I've had tons of fun!!