Just a Random Update!

 Hey, folks!! Just wanted to pop in here as it's been about FOUR MONTHS since I've posted anything! Thank you for sticking around.

I just really wanted to give you an update on the status of my life. Like everyone, this pandemic has taken its toll. Luckily, my physical health along with literally everyone I know is fine. Mentally however, it's been a bit of a struggle. 

I guess it's been about 6-8 months since I stepped down from almost all the design teams I was a part of. While every one of the companies was fantastic and I loved everything about them...I was done. My creativity went on an extended vacation. It was time to give myself a break.  

I had been on various design teams for the past 6 years and honestly, it can be a full time job! Which is fine if that's actually your job, but I also work outside the home. My weekends were spent in the craft room frantically coming up with card designs, taking photos, editing photos and writing blog posts. I literally had 5 out of 7 days where something had to be published and shared. 

Now, onto social media. Ugh, what can I say? This past year has been an absolute shit-show and it really hasn't gotten any better. Most design teams communicate through "private groups" on Facebook. Which means I HAD to go on there to communicate. Which in turn led me to start scrolling through all the garbage people were posting. Which then led to a deep disgust for the people of earth. Instagram is a bit better and I have to say that's where most of my designing opportunities came from. I've also "met" some truly amazing people and crafters on that platform. But I've also come across some very fake people. And these are the people that ruin it for me. With all that being said, I am still a part of the Create A Smile Stamps Design Team (which I love!), so I do have to go on FB. Usually, it's a quick check in with the DT group and a mixed media group I'm a part of.

Mixed media, you say?! Yes, that is my new love. And the best part of that is I already had most of the supplies needed!! I've dabbled in a couple of mm canvases but mostly play in my art journal. While making cards is fun and I still do enjoy it, working in my art journal really gets the creative juices flowing! You get to play with papers, paints, pastes, stencils! And you can get messy. You can layer and layer and make mistakes and fix them. And the most important part...it means something. It's art. Everyone of my makes, I would feel proud to throw into a frame and display. I just have never felt that way about my cards. Not saying that a handmade card isn't a work of art, it's just very different. 

You can almost tell what kind of mood I was in when each of these were created! I put it all out there when I make a page and that's exactly what I love about mixed media and my art journal.

As I mentioned, I'm still a part of Create A Smile Stamps DT. I love Christine and the laid back vibe of the team not to mention the fantastic products.  Here's a couple cards featuring CAS:

And that is what's going on with me!! I know it wasn't a quick update and there was a lot of rambling. Trust me, I could've said A LOT more hahaha!

If you're reading this, thank you for sticking around. I do want to start posting here more frequently and I promise I will try!

Hope you are safe and well, my friends!

Laurie

Scrap N Stamp Blog Hop: LIVE, LOVE, LAVINIA

 Welcome back to another fabulous monthly blog hop brought to you by Scrap N Stamp Canada! This month we are featuring stamps from Lavinia Stamps.

Lavinia Stamps is a new company for me. The images are very whimsical and quite beautiful. And they are perfect for art journaling so that's what I've created for you today!

I worked in my Travellers Notebook refill pages which you can find on Amazon. These are a fantastic way to start as they are inexpensive and the size is not too daunting! After covering the pages in Gesso, I picked out 3 Distress Oxide Inks: Speckled Egg, Pumice Stone and Fossilized Amber. I ADORE this colour combination!  I did some simple ink smooshing by using an acetate sheet.

I decided to try heat embossing on this page. I've never done it on a journal layout so wasn't sure how it would go. But it actually turned out not too bad! I used the Zen Leaf 2 stamp from Lavinia Stamps along with white embossing powder. I tried to stamp as randomly as possible.

To make the images pop a bit more, I added the same three ink colours inside some of the leaves as well as used a watersoluable pencil to create some shadows around each leaf.

Art journaling is all about adding layers and textures so I took the Mini Dots stamp (Lavinia) and some Black Archival Ink and did some random stamping. While I had that ink out, I used a Tim Holtz Stencil to add the circle patterns.

It was at this point that I wanted more black so I used a portion of the Mini Butterfly Collage Stencil with Black Embossing Paste to add not only more black but texture as well!

The sentiment comes from the Big Chat Sticker Book from Tim Holtz. I outlined each sticker with a white gel pen. To finish the page off, I used a black brush pen to draw a wonky border to frame it nicely. WAIT!! I thought I was finished at this point but I had one more stamp to use and that was the Flutterby Mini stamp.

I stamped it directly onto the page as well as a scrap of watercolour paper. I used Speckled Egg and Fossilized Amber inks to add a bit of colour to the wings. I fussy cut the wings only and added it to the stamped image on the page....now it's done!!

Thanks so much for stopping by and hopping along with us today! I hope we've inspired you to try out Lavinia Stamps if you're new to them!!

BLOG HOP LINEUP:

Tara (SNS BLOG)

Nancy

ME

Deborah

Kia

Chala

Susan

PRIZES AND SALE

There are 3 prize packs from SNS up for grabs. Just leave a comment on each stop of the hop for a chance to win!  Also, Lavinia Stamp will be 20% off until Sunday, Sept 6th/2020 at 9pm PST.