Convention Studio J Assignment

I think I've spent plenty of blogspace extolling the virtues of Studio J, the Close To My Heart digital scrapbooking studio. But our corporate creative staff have really helped me to go from loving this tool to being ecstatic over it! I feel like a bit of a heel for not having explored more of what I could be doing with Studio J. I knew SOME of the things that I was assigned to do...but really, I've been a "lazy" user of Studio J.

I have accepted the kits as they are assembled, utilized the toggled embellishments that I personalized with various colors. I've changed out the color scheme of a paper, rotated pages. But OH MY! There is more! I'm grateful for the opportunity to have received 5 Studio J layouts as part of my Convention 2012 registration, but I feel something beyond gratitude for the techniques I learned in following the instructions in order to get the following layouts. Of course, I made them my own, changed titles, added journaling and my photos. But what I learned along the way...priceless! I know I'll still make some Studio J pages as they are "presented", when I'm short on time or maybe demonstrating how quickly I can achieve a completed layout. But I can see that I'll be creating even more personalized pages that reflect this new knowledge!

I'm sharing only three of the five, because the other two have other people's children in the pictures. And...well, I don't have the go ahead to share their faces on my blog (I could probably obtain that from the friends who are their parents, but I am just making my life simpler here).

Above is the layout done with the Lucy paper pack. We toned down the femininity of this pack with a few color changes, a more neutral B&T selection, and these multi-colored streamers rather than flowery accents. Vincent has a place with this paper too!

I cannot believe that the above layout begins with the Mischief paper. That was our tribute to Halloween and autumn in 2011. I LOVED learning to crop My Stickease and layer elements to create those cupcakes on a table in the upper left part of this layout!

I thought I was going to find some Fourth of July, Memorial Day or military photos to go with the Victory paper pack. While these pictures are from the Independence Day weekend, our experience with the Wooden Boat Festival is not necessarily "patriotic". I enjoyed mixing the flavor of the paper with a different life experience. And I like the effect in the lower right portion of layering a text box over a 'watermarked' embellishment. It adds to the depth of this layout! And I can't achieve the same with my printer or my handwriting...

I'm eager to learn more!

MIA in May, apparently

An entire month escaped me. I apologize. It might be the combination of Mother's Day (which seems that much more difficult to "enjoy" without my Mommers here) and Memorial Day (away from my dad, for whom this is a charged day both professionally and personally; made harder in that my Mommers is buried in the Great Lakes National Cemetery alongside many fallen soldiers).

I apologize for anyone who clicked over here and wondered where I was. I can't even say that I've been whipping up a load of crafts. Right now (5 June) I am thinking of end-of-year teacher gifts to show appreciation and what I will do to keep my precious little Vs from making me batty with their bickering. I guess I should return to reading "Siblings without Rivalry" and listen to a few more CDs on practicing "Love and Logic". And I should get to work on my projects for Convention 2012. I've got a Studio J assignment from CTMH. And I have roomies...

Hey, I still have a few gifts I need to ship out based on a promise that I would send homemade items to people. And thank you notes to get to my friends who helped me when I couldn't walk or was too sick to cook. It's been a bad spot these past couple of weeks. Made worse by a little virus called Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease. I particularly loved the CDC information page that indicated that there are people out there with this who have absolutely no symptoms. No wonder it spreads. Fear not, I've had every symptom. In spades. So at least you know not to kiss me!

Let's see if I have some image worth posting before I close. I've got a visual side too! Nothing to do with paper crafting, but more with my purpose. Here we are, celebrating Mother's Day by taking a hike on Squak Mountain. I really appreciated that both my Vs were able to manage it on their own feet. And I also appreciated the great brunch we had at A Terrible Beauty in Renton. For me, the day was about spending time with my family. But I want to be a little "productive" when we're together. The hike was a good way of combining these goals. (The Sunday Bloody Mary Sunday at brunch was a good way to remember some other things too!) In case you're wondering, I changed between brunch and the hike. I think we all did, except maybe Matt's shirt....