myStampBOX // Team Challenge "Baby Be Mine" Theme

IT'S UPPPPP!!!

My (last) myStampBOX design team blog post!!!I can't believe the term is at the end....It's been an AMAZING ride with Bettina & the fab team!!!

Anyhoo, check out my mini book "Our Love Soars" linked up here.

((hugs)) to teammate, Marsha Valk too with her oh.too.cuteeeee. project!

Go check us out & leave us some loveeee in the comments!! :)

Super excited to team up with my "partner-in-crime", Marsha Valk, on this team challenge theme, "Baby, Be Mine"!

So, I'm a HUGE fan of mini books and with the stash of mSB stamps, seriously just amazingggg coolness, I decided to create up this mini, "Our Love Soars".  I wanted to go outside the normal colors of pink for loveeeee and went with a play on different colors with red & blue.

Beware:  Photo heavy....since I'll show you how I worked the different mSB stamps inside along with all the fun fun details & pages throughout this mini.  I usually work lots of stamps in my minis'.  I LOADED this mini up with a big dose of mSB eye candy!!! :)

A tidbit about this book....My boyfriend, Gianluca, & I have been together for a little over a year.  He's Sicilian and lives still in Italy (Turin, Italy).  "Our Love Soars" across the distance of 2 continents, across that big ocean of the Atlantic, 2 different languages, many flights, many long hours on those flights, many miles (or kilometers)...yet it's all worth it, he's so worth it. "Our Love Soars" in bringing us together in many parallels.

One of my favoriteeeee mSB sets, Bold Blocks, used here in the phrase,"Who is that?"

Using the mSB, Color Me Sentiments, here in "hello hello".

A great outlined word stamp set or cute colored in (if you like). 

A couple of different mSB sets used on this page, Symbols (heart), 

and Friday Night Stencil (love).  Here I used a red brad for a bit of pop in the center of the "o".

Also, some machine stitching on the variations of the hearts.

Such a sweet phrase, "my heart beeps for you", 

in the mSB Programmed Robots.

Zippers & stitching...oh my!!!

Yep, in stamps, that is!

Check out mSB Repeat After Me - love love love this set!! 

Here I made a 2-pager in the mini with the phrase, 

"Our Love is Boom Boom Pow"

{yeahhh, I think I was singing the Black Eyed Peas when I made this :))}

Here I reflected the star stamp from mSB Seal It across both pages.

On this page, I used a series of the postmark stamps from mSB Road Trip

along with some rub-ons and dimensional stickers.

Here I used the "you are here" also from mSB Road Trip.

If you look closely the chain of hearts links between America (me in Alabama) and Italy.

Yes, many many miles for love! :)

This paper was perfect because Gianluca {hearts} comic books!

But the phrase "crazy stuff" from mSB Bold Blocks was just perfect because he's like a child with a new toy when getting a new comic book! :))

Yessss, I love Bold Blocks ("oh yes").

More of the postmark stamps from mSB Road Trip.

Such a cute cute camera from mSB Symbols!

I even added a mini clear pebble sticker to symbolize a camera lens.

Yep, mSB Bold Blocks ("looking good") again!

By the way, you NEED this set, just sayin'...

On this tag, I used mSB Sigh Gush Gasp ("wink wink").

I stamped once then again WITHOUT reinking. 

Neat effect!

On the back of the tag above, I used the mSB...guess which one!?!!!

Yeppers, Bold Blocks ("oh yes", "oh no").

This is quite a common play on words between Gianluca & myself...it's the norm :))) 

and last, but not least...

Sigh Gush Gasp ("thank") and "ful" added with chipboard letter stickers.

Soooo...hope you enjoyed my mini & inspiration!!

Grab up some mSB stamps & create it up!! :)

Supply List:

mSB Stamps - 

Bold Blocks

Color Me Sentiments

Symbols

Friday Night Stencil

Programmed Robots

Repeat After Me

Seal It 

Road Trip

Sigh Gush Gasp

Other - 

Cardstock - Recollections (Ocean Blue), Paper - My Mind's Eye (Stella Rose), October Afternoon (Rocket Age), Fancy Pants Designs (It's the Little Things), Cosmo Cricket (Odds&Ends), American Crafts (Amy Tangerine), 4x6 Chipboard Covers - Creative Imaginations (Bare Elements), Glue & Seal (Ranger) - Matte, Inks - Ranger (Broken China, Fired Brick), Binder Rings -  7 Gypsies, Color Wash Mist - Ranger (Adirondack - Red Pepper), Smooch Spritz - Clearsnap (Vanilla Shimmer, Ginger Ale), Color Mist - Studio Calico (Mister Huey - Calico White, Bonny Blue), Glimmer Mist - Tattered Angels (Olive Vine, Pattina), Glitter Heart Metal Stickers - Making Memories, Wood Heart - Studio Calico, Brads - Making Memories, Tapes - Tim Holtz, K&Co (Smash), American Crafts (Amy Tangerine), Rub-ons - 7 Gypsies, October Afternoon, Kaisercraft, Puffy Fabric Hearts - Making Memories, Heart Trinket Pins - Maya Road, Letter Stickers - Recollections, October Afternoon (Rocket Age), American Crafts (Thickers), Foam Glitter Star Stickers - Darice, Word Stickers - The Girls Paperie (Authentique), Label Stickers - Jenni Bowlin, Pearls & Bling - Basic Grey, Kaisercraft, Dimensional Stickers - American Crafts (Amy Tangerine).

Upcoming Events // 2012 Gigi's Beach Retreat - Jan 19 - 21, 2012

Need a scrapbook retreat to the beach in January?!!

Gigi's Scrapbookin' 2012 Beach Retreat

Perdido Beach Resort

Orange Beach, Alabama

January 19 - 21, 2012

photo source.

Event Schedule: (all times noted in CST)

• Thursday, January 19, 2012 - Event starts at 2pm - 12am midnight
• Friday, January 20, 2012 - 6am - 12am midnight
• Saturday, January 21, 2012 - 6am - 12am midnight
• Sunday, January 22, 2012 - Check out time 11am 

What you get:

• Event includes:  Cropping space, 2 continental breakfast, 2 lunches, a goodie box, door prizes, use of the tool table, games, contests & MORE!
• Classes will be available for you to take at an additional cost.  Classes, times, descriptions, and tool list coming to website soon.
• Vendors will be available so you can shop while you crop!
• 46 hours of crop time!!! (depending on which price option you choose below)

Cost:

• Event only for all 3 days (including 4 meals) $170/person
• Event, hotel (including 4 meals) for all 3 days (4 people to a room) $280/person
• Event, hotel (including 4 meals) for all 3 days (3 people to a room) $310/person
• Event, hotel (including 4 meals) for all 3 days (2 people to a room) $350/person
• Event, hotel (including 4 meals) for all 3 days (1 person to a room) $520/person

Do you only want to come to the event per day?

• Thursday, Jan 19 - 2pm - midnight (NO meal included) 10 hrs cropping time $50/person
• Friday, Jan 20 - 6am - midnight (2 meals included) 18 hrs cropping time $120/person
• Saturday, Jan 21 - 6am - midnight (2 meals included) 18 hrs cropping time $120/person
• Friday AND Saturday, Jan 20 - Jan 21 - 6am - midnight for BOTH days (4 meals included), 36 hours cropping time $170/person

Registration NOW available & FULL details posted up here!

$25 non-refundable deposit required at time of registration.  
Balance due in full by/on Nov 1, 2011.
You can make monthly payments
Mastercard, Visa, Discover, & Personal Checks accepted.

{this event sells out every year, so register up early!!}

Cropping, making new friends, shopping, eating & BEACH!!

Gotta' love that, right?!!!

Class list coming SOON.... {wink wink}

myStampBOX // Design Team Call - Only a few days left....

myStampBOX Design Team Call

Deadline:  this Tuesday, August 30th.

FULL details here:  

Good luck for all those who enter! :)

{mSB stamps are purelyyyyyy divine & AMAZING quality...just sayin' ;-))

Sometimes a work trip out of town is not so bad...

Especially when palm trees, LOTS of sunshine & great colleagues are on the scene!

Also, quite lucky that I now only live 2 hours from this cool place of Destin, Florida...eeek!!!

White sandy beaches, palm trees, heat index loads of humdity, yes summertime is STILL in 

full swing near me, it's CRAZY HOT still in the South!!

BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL Destin, Florida!

**voted one of the most beautiful places in America**

Even if at Sandestin Hilton Resort for 1 night....it was all worth it!

and the view from my room....

with such a sweet balcony too...sighhhhh.... :)

a trip back is definitely on my list...THIS year! :)

Donna Salazar Designs // "A Study of Still Lifes" + Watercolor "Smooch"ing

Hello all!!  Wendy here with a technique project share today.

While browsing at a local antique store the other day, an inspiration jolt hit me...

still lifes.

What is a still life?

In the words of the mighty Wikipedia...

"A still life (plural still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural (food, flowers, plants, rocks, or shells) or man-made (drinking glasses, books, vases, jewelry, coins, pipes, and so on). With origins in the Middle Ages and Ancient Greek/Roman art, still life paintings give the artist more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition than do paintings of other types of subjects such as landscape or portraiture. Still life paintings, particularly before 1700, often contained religious and allegorical symbolism relating to the objects depicted." 

I don't know why but I've always had a fascination for them.

I would create these settings of fake fruits, veggies, bowls, bottles, cast a metal light for shadow & light to draw from & spend hours "perfecting" my drawings while experimenting with color through charcoals, pastels, colored pencils, watercolors, and ink.

Back in university, I took an advanced art studio course 

(as part of my humanities electives to my BA Accounting degree...yes, I know...quite the contrast, eh?!) 

and even became more in love with them.

My exit "essay" project for the course was a choice of portfolio series of still life drawings.

I remember the class of students' critiqued my work and my knees were knocking with the cast of "judgement"...but all was good...{insert wiping my forehead here}

Even in my international travels for work, I always look for hours still life paintings in various museums.

Maybe I'm inspired by the interplay on shadow, dark & light, composition, assortment of objects, details, textures....

Some of my favorite still life artists are Vermeer, Cezanne, Correggio, and Dali.

These artists inspired my latest technique share project for today....

photo sources.

Art Journal:  "A Study of Still Lifes"

I had these series of stamps (you knew it, right?!) in my stash and some of them I found in clearance bins at the local scrapbook store, some recently purchased...but they were also a part of my latest muse along with the following still life prints found through Google search for "still lifes"...

FIRST, let's jazz up our cover for the art journal that will hold our still life studies....

I used Zutter Corrugated Book Covers 7x7.  I trimmed them down a bit to 6x6.  As you can see below, I've already pulled off layers of the covers to expose all those nice ridges as perfect little "nooks & crannies" for our "smooching" and painting :)

I grabbed up my stash of still life print stamps.

Smooch Paint, Smooch Spritz, acrylic paint...

I've already stamped below the title I wanted for the cover. 

Then, I used a texture stamp to add a bit of texture to the cover using Clearsnap ink.

Then, the layering & layering & layering process begins to create all the nice color flow for the "artsy grungy" cover.

Now you see it all coming together...the colors, the texture, the "messiness" :)  

NOTE:  Put aside the "fear" to make it messy!

A spritz of Smooch Spritz (Vanilla Shimmer) gives the perfect sparkle finish to the cover.  

So, I started popping more color with Smooch Spritz, added in some metal pen nibs, glitter alphas, machine stitching with a colorful thread.....and our cover is finished.  Lay aside for putting it all together later.

Now we start our still life studies...

In this study of 7 still lifes, I will show you pics of the stamped image in black & white using just Clearsnap Archival Ink (Wicked Black).  The images are also just as beautiful in leaving as black & white.

However, I take the process a step further as I "color" in the images using one or all of Smooch Paint, Smooch Spritz, and watercolor pencils.

Using Artistic Papers by Donna Salazar, these papers are the PERFECT canvas mixed media texture that holds well to watercolors, acrylics, and of course Smooch products!  

Study #1 - I loveddddd these bottles in this stamp and decided to use tints of various colors similar to those vintage bottles you see from so long ago.

Here a spritz of Smooch Spritz (River Mossy).

NOTE:  If you are new to "watercoloring" painting, try using a water brush pen that has water in the tube and you can pinch the sides of the "pen" for the amount of water needed as you "color" in your image.  This is a great beginner step in getting comfy with watercolor and then you can graduate to the real deal brush + water ;-)  

Then, again, I just love using a water brush pen because it's so convenient :)

Continue the process with coloring in the rest of the bottles, flowers, etc.  

Here I used Smooch Paint which also has a hint of sparkle like the Smooch Paint...love love love this stuff!  Gotta' love that the brush comes in the bottle like "nail polish".

Also, as you can see in coloring in my images, I "visually" imagine the incoming light on the bottle and giving the light/shadow effect in the coloring process.

Study #2 - 

Study #3 - 

I just use a scrap piece of plastic to mix my colors - nothing fancy :)

Those 12x12 cellophane bags are perfect for this!

Study #4 - I also used some manila tags to play with some mini images of still lifes.

Study #5 - Here I took a bit of Smooch Paint (Cherry Chocolate) onto my work surface + water brush and used this to color in the wine bottle & glass of wine.  Smooch Paint (Caramel Latte) was used to color in the bread.

Study #6 - For this image, I tore a sheet of watercolor paper from my sketch book and added a bit of a different mix in with the Artistic Papers by Donna Salazar Designs.  The watercolor papers worked like magic with the Smooch products!

Study #7 - The last study here...

I encourage you to make an art journal of studies & inspirations of colors, drawings, stamping techniques, Smooching *hehe*!  Maybe there are different artistic medium products you would love to try, play with before working it on that big important project!  This type of journal is a great idea to do just that and play play play with all types of ideas!  I plan to add a bit more "spice" to this journal as I think on more ideas and possibly add in some photos too!  

As a finishing touch to the pages in the book, I used Zutter Distrezz-It-All to roughen up the edges of the pages.  Add in a couple of 1" binder rings and instant art journal!

Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed a peek into my art journal! :)

Supply List:

• Zutter Corrugated Board
• Blank Canvas-Artistic Papers by Donna Salazar Designs
• Smooch Spritz - Clearsnap (Cosmic Pink, Log Cabin, Tea Party, Vanilla Shimmer, Citrus Tickle, Mossy Mist, Green Olive, Caramel Latte)
• Smooch Paint by Clearsnap (Lettuce, Shabby Pink)
• Zutter Distrezz-It-All
• Color Catcher by Clearsnap 
• Colorbox Archival Dye Ink (Wicked Black)

Other:  

• Transparency - Hambly, Color Mist - Studio Calico - Mister Huey - Calico White, Glitter Alpha - Recollections, Watercolor Pencils - Staedtler, Metal Pen Nibs - Tim Holtz, Stamps - Limited Edition, Inkadinkado, Raindrops & Roses, Stampin' Up!, Binder Rings - Avery - 1".

Special Techniques:

• Watercoloring, Machine Stitching, Stamping.

Posted by Wendy Morris for Donna Salazar Designs.