Last Marie Pages

This page was daunting to work on since Keli did such a gorgeous job on the background page I hated to cover it up! It came quilted with the text and the lovely ribbons already added. I did my best to add to it without destroying anything she had already done. In the end, I think it came out pretty well.


Suzanne's page was quite a challenge since she sent a cake mix box as her background. She has a baking background and it seemed like the perfect way to create a book. Incredibly clever that Suzanne. This one was a little late since I wanted to get it done on time but had to wait for lots of layers of gesso, paint, more paint, marker, glue, etc to dry. I really had fun with this page and the background.


That's it for me. Next pics will be of all the wonderful pages I received. I've been collecting them and waiting to open them until I was ready to put them in the book. It's going to be like an early Christmas!

Almost done

More Marie pages that I sent out Pre-Silver Bella. I've got some pics to post from Silver Bella and a bunch of new stuff to share but I had a minor injury with my new ceramic knife today - cut a very nice gash across the middle finger of my right hand - and I'm finding it slightly challenging to type and work on the computer. Hopefully these pretties can suffice until the weekend.







Note: I am taking this opportunity to clean up my blog though! I finally figured out the tag thing so that should be a lot less messy in the future.

More and More Marie Pages

I knew the Marie swap had the potential to get out of control so I've been mailing my pages all along. I did take advantage of a couple of extended deadlines to squeeze in a fewer other projects but now they're almost done! These are two that have been in progress and I've got a couple more in different stages of drying. It's been super fun to spread out and try new things. I feel a little conflicted since I think the idea was to be super romantic and frilly but I've been loving Teesha Moore's stuff more and more so some of these pages just seemed like the perfect place to try some of the graphical elements that are so prevelant in her journals. If you like her work, follow her blog to see some of her awesome videos of her how tos.

I hope everyone's having an awesome weekend and getting in some outside time with this gorgeous fall. In a couple of hours I'll be lunching on the patio with Bo and then hitting Sur la Table for pies & tarts class. Next week is Omaha and Silver Bella! Woo hooo!

Marie in Technocolor!

Apparently I was missing the crayons and coloring books since this page was all about the old school arts & crafts. Lori gave me a great background to work with since it was just a large page of water color paper so it's super sturdy and held glue like a champ. I dug through my bin of extras and found this neon lime tissue paper that I thought would work perfectly with the really strong colors I wanted to use on this page. Perfect Paper Adhesive is my glue of choice for this portion of the page. Next came the stamps at the bottom (Michael's 40% off coupons will be my downfall. The husband now has to go through the line with 1/2 my purchase so I can use the coupons to the fullest! This is not his favorite activity) the clear kind that stick to the acrylic block are my new favorite things. Again.

Next it was time to work on Marie. I got some amazing stamps from Character Construction when we started this project and they've been my go to on this round robin. There are some gorgeous options over there especially for the holidays. I had to do a little photoshopping on the dress to get the right proportion which gives me another reason to use the super cool new printer to scan. Look, it's all about the price per use here people!

I decided she would be the most likely person to be swinging from the chandelier so these made the perfect border. The final touch was a pass with the gold rub and buff (another old school favorite) to make the crinkles in the tissue paper stand out and my masterpiece was finished. I called in the husband to show of my latest masterpiece. This was met with silence and then "That's something". I'm sure he meant it as a complement. Hopefully Lori will be happier with it than my husband.

Next post, updated pics of the dining room and this weekend's road trip pics.

Marie Pages Continue

Latest page ready to mail. I'm working on a larger page tonight that's kind of fun since it's a much bigger scale. This one was tricky since it's the first time I've actually used an image on photo paper but it came out super clear so definitely using that technique on future projects.

Which brings me to my new printer. Not so new now, but still only a few months old, anyway it's greatness. I'm loving how clearly everything scans including vintage wallpaper so I can make all my goodies last a little longer now.

I hope everyone's having an awesome weekend.

More Marie

I know I've been the worst blogger ever but it just wasn't on the miles long "to do" list so I got behind. I've finally got myself back down to one page but it's touch and go. Mostly being sick for a month can really cause things to pile up. Dust, dog fur tumble weeds, blogging, etc but I'm fully recovered thanks to my super pretty Tiffany blue antibiotics and a hubby who enforces a bed time.

In my delay, I missed these pages to keep you up to date on the Marie pages that have gone out. I've got another one 3/4's finished and ready for scanning this week. This fall is crazy busy but I kind of love it. There's lots of fun stuff coming up so I hope to update more frequently and with lots of pretty pics.

Latest Marie Pages

In an effort to improve my tendency to procrastinate, I've been working on Marie pages for a swap I'm doing with my charmsters group. These are a few of the latest pages and I'm having a blast working on them. It's so much fun to play with the color and all the super fun scraps I've collected that are more than a little over the top.

I love journals but am the worst about keeping up with it. This gives me a great way to incorporate some of my favorite journaling images and techniques into the pages.

I also have a super cool new scanner/printer combo that's mac friendly and these babies come out bright enough you need shades! I'm loving the crispness of the images and the husband assures me I'm in no danger of loosing space with the larger file sizes. Whew!

Marie Pages

This the Marie page I mailed last week and several bits and bobs are drying on the new one I'm hoping to mail out tomorrow. Of course, there had to be a "Let Them Eat Cake" pic and I was obsessed with the idea of a Marie cake so this seemed like the perfect fit. It also cemented my love of Copic markers and want to use them on absolutely everything. I also have bathroom pics to update but that will have to wait until the morning. Strangely, there's not that much progress to share. Go figure.

Watched the 2nd Harry Potter with my friend Suzanne since we're on a marathon to be caught up for the premier of the latest on the 15th. I think we'll make it since we're getting in two this week! Even the hubby has enjoyed re-watching. Tomorrow we'll need to play some catch up on the tivo, which is taping the latest Doctor Who as I type (YAY!), or next week won't be pretty.

p.s. Maya is back home and seems to be doing fine. The neurologist couldn't find anything so she's guessing she's one of the rare puppies that decides to start having seizures at 9. Should've known. But she's adorable and sweet so all's forgiven.

Never without drama

We came home on Friday and opened the door just as Maya, our Akita, was having a seizure. Thank God Rolland's a nurse and handled it while I willed the vet to say something useful. She had another one on Sat after having gone to the vet and getting blood work then she's just been sluggish for the last day. Tonight we heard back blood work's normal and they gave us a prescription. She's much more herself tonight after having slept all day and so far so good. Apparently they can just develop this problem and it's not always a sign of worse things. I've still put in an email to the puppy neurologist though.

In the meantime, we stuck close to home and I played in my art room. This is the page, front and back, I did for Michelle's Marie book. Kecia graciously hosted a swap for us to do for Marie books but this time we all bought books with ring bindings and did a mass send out of the pages so you just complete a page and send it off. We talked about doing it at Art Nest but never got around to it so I'm glad to finally put my book to good use. It's also helping me work through my girly goody stash in the ribbon and sundries box! The idea is to be over the top with the ribbons, beads, baubles, etc.

I'm still working on going through all of my Chicago pics but here's a link to the New Orleans photos since I can't remember if I posted it previously! I have thrown in a couple of Chicago pics, just to tied you over. :)

Demo on the bathroom starts tomorrow along with all the tweet and before/after updates. Going to be a busy few weeks.