Flipping a Sketch

Have you ever trained a cat?

Are you laughing at me right now?  Yes, you can train a cat as long as the cat gets the best end of the deal.

Our kitty has a certain routine he uses to get doors opened and to get fed.  He puts his paw up in the window when he wanted dinner and we put our hand up to meet his.  Once that occurs, he hops down knowing his order is in place.  The best trick is the sunroom one that is talked about in the early part of the video.

This layout uses one of my old sketches.  The sketchbooks are still available for purchase through my Etsy shop:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/LovelyLayersArt

Here's the video:



Pet pages are always fun to do.  Thanks for watching!

Two videos

I posted this first one on YouTube a couple of weeks ago but failed to get it here on the blog.  The next one is new.

The multi-photo spread is of a visit to the uptown Mint Museum in Charlotte.  My Mind's Eye chalkboard themed paper with little frames makes up the background with cardstock to separate it from the photos.  Keeping all the background in neutral colors allows the colorful photos and gelliprint embellishments to show up.  For a change of pace, my journaling is handwritten.  I dislike my handwriting so you will seldom see it on my pages.

The most recent layout is a mixed media page for a 5x7 photo of my husband walking on the beach.

I used mists and bookpaper to create a more masculine background.  The embellishments are wood, metal and ribbons, many items of texture.  There is no designer paper at all on this page.

2 Pager process video:



5x7 Photo process video:



So this catches me up for awhile. Hope you enjoy the videos!

Altering Designer Paper

Sometimes the perfect pattern isn't the perfect color.  I'm continuing our trip to Charleston from last spring.  As I was looking at the photos for inspiration, I thought that a brick background stamp or paper would be perfect to accentuate the lovely architecture of the town and that we were on a garden tour which are often behind the brick walls of private residences.  Unfortunately, I did not really have a brick stamp.  I knew I had a brick paper; it just took me a long time to find.

When I did the brick were very red.  A good color for brick but not for my photos of Charleston.  So I decided to distress the brick with some white paint.  I didn't quite get the true effect yet it toned down the red enough to make the paper work with my photos.

Here is the video:



Thanks for watching!  I try to monitor comments and get back to you with answers to question.  I am close to 10,000 subscribers which amazes me.  Thanks for following me, liking the videos and adding comments.  It is very motivational.

Layout and a Video...finally

Sometimes being busy and procrastinating pays off.

When I started this two page layout, I had a different idea of how to embellish it but when I finally got back to the page nearly 2 months later, I realized it needed a little more chic look to tell the story.

The process video starts with the first idea and then migrates to the 2nd.  While this isn't my most original layout, as I've done this kind of arrangement before, it pleases me.  Hopefully it will inspire me to do a few more pages.  Process video 



I have slightly more room in my crafting space as I bought a new printer and put it back in the office downstairs where we used to keep our printer.  I don't print that much for anything anymore so I figured it could take up space there rather than on my worktable - and my husband was starting to invade my space with clutter.  I moved the Silhoeutte to my crafting table, freeing up a little more space in the sewing section.  Clearing and reorganizing is always motivating to me.

Hope you have a great weekend!

What's happening

Hi!  I've been blogging since February 2009 and I realized that 1) I let my 10 year anniversary go uncelebrated and 2) I am in danger this month of not posting for the first month ever.

I started a scrapbook layout video and then had to set it aside for another project. So that will be coming along one of these days.   I have been doing some crafty things mixed in with some fun travel, some family obligations that were less fun and home maintenance which is never fun but turned out well.

So here are things I've completed in the last few weeks.

This is the first cowl I've ever knitted.  Honestly, I didn't really get why anyone would want to knit a cowl probably because I still remember cowl necks from the 70's or 80's and was hoping to not wear that trend again.  Yet knitting shawls is the most popular choice of my knitting group.  While I like making them, I don't like wearing them.  I find it difficult to place my work so that the right side shows the way it should and for it to stay put as I wear it.  If they cover my entire shoulder area, they aren't flattering on me either.  Broad shoulders, round face, it just doesn't work.

But I do like making them and using that pretty fingerling yarn without having to buy so much for a project.  So I bought one hank of Baah La Jolla in the March colorway and gave the Naranj pattern a go. I couldn't get gauge so I had to adjust the design just a bit adding two more stitches to each repeat and redoing the math. I'm incapable of leaving a pattern alone.  I added some beads I had to the bottom section.  I enjoyed making it and I love wearing it!  I plan to wear it more this fall with my denim jacket.

My big finish was this quilt I started last summer.  And it is big.  Maybe a bit too big.  The photo is taken on a double bed but it is even a little large for our queen.  I wanted to make something large enough in case we changed to a king mattress.  That may happen as another thing I've been doing is trying mail order mattresses without success.  Ugh, that is a whole other story.

This is the largest project where I did free motion quilting.  I did the quilt in sections and used the joining methods in Marti Michell's wonderful class on Bluprint called Machine Quilting in Sections to help me.  I took a few months off in the fall but I'd say I worked on it as a primary sewing project for about 7 months.

Also I recently was invited to do a demonstration of mixed media techniques for boxes.  I started a set of nested boxes in the demo, brought them home and added a few embellishments.  They were gifted. I'll post those on Instagram soon.

I have a baby quilt done and fabric for another.  I just haven't taken any photos.  So I guess I have been busy lately just not in making videos.  I do hope to get back to those when life settles a bit.

You can always find me on Instagram with projects I have completed, flowers and goodies from the kitchen at https://www.instagram.com/lisaecherd/
Thanks for your patience and I hope you have a very crafty summer.

Quick page using a Gelli Print, Supplies from stash

It's getting warmer here in N.C.  Fingers crossed, we have covered the plum tree for the last time to protect it from late frosts.  With warmer weather comes the opportunity to visit our NC Mountains for days out.  That is still a month or more away as their season hasn't started yet.  For this page, I remembered a trip last summer where I spent a lovely day by myself walking, reading, shopping and enjoying the cool mountain air.

One of the background papers is from a gelli print video I did awhile back. I said in the video that it is linked with the little "i" symbol in the right corner. Apparently YouTube has done away with that feature, too so it is linked in the description.

This page full of typed journaling came together quickly in this video:



Thanks for watching!

Art in Bloom and Card

We love flowers.  The NC Museum of Art in Raleigh has a special exhibition in the spring of floral arrangements.  Each floral designer takes inspiration from a piece of art and interprets the piece through their floral design.  Some were small table top arrangements, others large floor to ceiling depictions.  Here are just a couple of photos.  More on my Instagram feet @lisaecherd

A depiction in white flowers of the marble statue in the background.

One of the more stunning displays evokes the theme of the painting 'Eruption of Mount Vesuvius' 

I used this concept in creating a card for my Mother's birthday.  We had attended the exhibition as part of an outing to celebrate her.  The print on my card is downloaded from the National Gallery of Art's open source collection.  It is called Young Girl Reading by Jean Honore Fragonard.  I took my colors and arrangement for the Silhouette cut flowers from the painting.  I die cut most of the flowers out of cardstock or 6x6 papers and added a little Distress Oxide ink for shading.  The sheer fabric on the bottom is to pick up the rouched collar the girl is wearing. The entire card is mounted on a dark green cardstock like the background of the painting.

This was fun to do.  My mother is an avid gardener and she can create beautiful floral arrangements and interesting combinations in the pots in her gardens.  She enjoyed the exhibit very much.  If Raleigh were closer we would go every year.

When I can narrow down my choices, I'll print some of the photos and do a layout. We have several good photos of mother from that day.

Thanks for visiting today!

Combining two different color schemes

My Mother and I are very different in many ways.  One is color. She likes neutrals and does amazing things with her neutral wardrobe.  For me it is all about color.

This photo exemplifies that.  I also talk about our similarities and differences in the hidden journaling.

To marry the two color schemes, I used some watercolors on the background and added a variety of embellishments.  The background starts with a layer of gel paste to get a relief effect.

Hope you enjoy the video:


Thanks for watching!