Help [ME] Ronda

365 ish

2012-02-23T06:35:00-07:00

i admit it. i have fallen in love with instagram & my iphone camera. it has allowed me to capture my daily happenings in such a cool way. I would occasionally pick up my camera to capture what i call "dailies" but it didn't happen every day. My phone however is always readily available. And the ability to sync my instagram photos with twitter & facebook, totally cool. Don't have an iphone or instagram? You can still follow people by using INK361. Here's a link to my Instagram photos. Below are some of my dailies from the past ten days or so.

Art Heals

2012-02-21T06:01:00-07:00

just a little art journal page to capture both my feelings of the day and the hope & lessons learned from each experience. Life isn't always peachy keen. It has its up & downs. I have found that i can take those down moments and capture them in art journaling & scrapbooking to help me see the light. it helps getting in on paper (or paint) to release it from my heart & mind. I am blessed enough to work with a therapist who encourages this kind of art therapy. After my sister passed, i took thoughts & feelings to scrapbook pages and more. it really saved me and helped me heal. We can all scrap the happy moments & events in our lives but is that the complete picture? Here are some of my previous works showing my not so happy side.

Hidden journaling to tell my story. it's behind the blue paper. I was full of tears one day and snapped a self-portrait. This is the real me, tears & all. I'm not quite ready to put the full story out there yet.

Feeling overwhelmed and learning to say no. It was such a hard lesson for me to learn. I did learn by saying no to someone else in a polite way, meant i was saying yes to myself.

A couple layouts about my sister, the funeral & the phone call. These layouts are some of the hardest to create. I cried the entire time i was creating them but again i felt less burden by my thoughts once it they were done.

a layout from a parents perspective. am i doing enough for my kids? do i over do? in other words, all the universal worries of a parent. and one day when my kids have kids and read this layout, they will realize that we all worry.

This was from Dec. 2008 when i was struggling with lots & lots of emotional stuff. I felt lost and heavy. My burdens were weighing me down and i didn't know which way to turn. I was relying too much on myself and not enough on Christ.

ahhh the teen years. Lexi & I had many low points her freshman year and it was quite the struggle. I am happy to say that our relationship is 1000 times better but there was a point where i was extremely worried.

Andy's life as a pilot. The good, the not so good, the real life. We have spent many years as a pilot's family. We know how life is from our perspective but i wanted Andy's perspective. It really helped me appreciate what he goes through on a daily basis.

Real Love

Serendipity, Destiny, Fate, & a layout too

2012-02-20T05:59:00-07:00

There is no doubt in my mind about love at first site. He walked in and instantly I wanted to know more about him. Andy really is my true match. I am so excited to say the countdown is on again! He is due home sometime around March 15th. I cannot wait for him to come home.

The layout uses Lily Bee's new line called Victoria Park by Julia Stanton. I love the surprising pops of colors in this line. I love the soft cream background and just wanted gentle pops of color. I have felt this tug to explore some softer colors and i am really enjoying it. The thread on the page was a vintage find that i am obsessed with lately. Little sprinkles of lime metallic Maya mist and green apple Maya mist. I love the Vintaj bird on the page too dabbed with a bit of alcohol ink.

Serendipitous Love

and they call it poppy love

2012-02-19T06:00:00-07:00

i promised myself this year i would play more in my art journal. this is me making good on that promise. It feels really good to just play. just play. i started with creating a bunch of backgrounds. i want to use this art journal to explore different styles, different mediums. it is a safe place to play. it doesn't have to be shared if i don't want it to. it feels so good to create a little something every day.

when i started this page, it was going to be a two pager. I got caught up in the idea that it had to be this way given the nature of the album. (BTW, i love this watercolor journal from Moleskin. It's just the right size.) There are those self imposed rules again. i decided to kick them to the curb and just concentrate on the right side. i grabbed Julie's new Poppies stencil from The Crafter's Workshop. love the field of poppies on the page. i decided to add some words to each poppy. i loved the message on the stencil so i decided to use it. Now to tackle the other side. We will see if it ties in. I am not going to force it. i am just going to enjoy the journey.

Happy Birthday Kimber!

2012-02-18T06:00:00-07:00

Happy Birthday Kimber! I met Kimber years ago through some mutual friends. She makes me laugh, has a great big heart, and a warm smile. She's the type of friend who you can always rely on and gives so much of herself. I am so blessed to call her friend. Happy birthday sweet friend. I hope your day is as special as you are!

Thanks for stopping by the surprise birthday blog hop! You arrived from Anabelle O'Malley's blog. You your next stop is Melissa Phillips! Hop on over! If you want to see the full list of blogs, go to Jillibean Soup's blog.

Cuff Love

2012-02-17T05:37:00-07:00

I had so much fun creating this fabric cuff using Lisa Pace's Perfumery stamps from the Antiquated Collection. Like most of my projects, i started with a base and began layering pieces. The background fabric is misted with two Maya Road mists. I love that i can heat set it and create my own fabric colors.

This is what the cuff looked like "in progress." I kept playing around with the layers, shifting them until i found my ideal spots. I pinned things in placed until i could get some simple stitches around each piece. I added in some hand stitches too.

Seriously love how it turned out. Now to find the perfect outfit for it before Lexi snatches it up!

Scraps to Card

2012-02-16T14:36:02-07:00

If you are like me, sometimes at the end of a project or two you are met with heaps of scraps that hardly seem worth saving. At the same time these papers are just to pretty to recycle, especially if they are Lily Bee papers. My solution? Turn those scraps into cards.

Start with some strips of scraps patterned paper. What i love about Lily Bee is that their lines always go together. Here my leftovers consist of all 4 new releases. I cut my strips into roughly 1/2" to 3/4" pieces.

Add your strips to the base of your card. I like my strips kind of wonky so they will not always be even. Some will go right to the edges too. I trim as i go with scissors.

The card looks pretty good just as is. In fact, when you have lots of strips, i would create a bunch of cards just like this and decide how you want to finish it off later. You could add layers of sentiments, some embellishments, etc. So many possibilities.

To finish my card i decided to use one of those punches that can go anywhere on the page. I knew i wanted three hearts for my sentiment so i started on the left side.

To punch the next heart, i used the first opening to guide my next punch with was a bit lower and more centered on the card. Repeat this step for the last heart.

I added a black stitch and then doodle in my hearts so they would pop more off the page. Another option is to ink the interior rims of the hearts.

I finished the card by adding in my sentiment using those awesome abc stickers. They are the perfect size. I also tied a piece of baker's twine with a tiny key bring my design elements together.

The Rules

2012-02-15T06:14:00-07:00

i admit when i first started art journaling i created self imposed rules. I always tend to do that because i am a rule follower in life. it's my comfort zone. Tell me what it should look like & i will get the job done. But the thing with scrapbooking that i totally love, is that i am free from all those rules. I discovered a while ago that i actually like breaking & bending some of those rules. That they don't have to define me as a scrapbooker. I am the only one who can tell me what i want or expect on my pages. If it doesn't fit someone else conventions as what a page should look like, so be it. I don't do it for them, i do it for me. In other words, i stop seeking approval from everyone else and started seeking it from just myself.

Fast forward a bit to me jumping into art journaling a couple years ago. Love the idea, love the concepts but it scared me. it's just me & a blank page. Freaked me out. Where are my rules? Again i was so consumed with rules & what it's supposed to look like that i was afraid to start. I dabbled here and there but those thoughts flooded my brain. What's it supposed to look like? How come when i art journal it doesn't look like [insert great art journalers here]? Stop it Ronda! There are no rules. This is just for you. Guess what? I found who i was an art journaler. I found my voice. So i am telling you shut out those voices of self doubt. Forget the rules. and just find what works for you. Make yourself happy. Find your voice.

Tag you're it, my valentine

2012-02-14T05:52:00-07:00

Are you ready to be challenged? Maya Road Designer’s Challenge Inspiration Book has been posted to inspire you. Click here to download the Inspiration book and you will see some gorgeous tags that eight members of the Maya Road design team members (including me) created to inspire you for valentine's day. Each of us shares some simple instructions and tips with you. Read all the way to the bottom of the download to see you can win $25 prize pack from Maya Road.

purple onion stamps: Swiss Dots, doodle hearts, i love ____, hearts on a string

Spray inks: Maya Road Sunflower, Fig Magenta, Dragon Fruit, Pink Pomegranate, Ranger: Wild Plum

I played around with my Purple onion stamps creating the next two tags with Valentine's in mind. The above tag i had so much fun creating. Of course it has lots of layers of gesso, spray inks, & stamps. I love the grungy artsy feel to it.

Purple onion stamps: Doodle Hearts, Bakery

This tag i made using the embossing technique i showed on this post: Embossing with a Stencil. I used a Crafter's Workshop stencil titled Cubist and white UTEE to create the base of the tag. I used my Copic markers to color in the fabulous bakery. I love those building so much. They are just too cute!

May today & all your days be filled with unending LOVE!

4ty-one

2012-02-13T05:51:00-07:00

Sometimes it's hard for me to believe that i am turning 41. It seems that life goes by in the blink of an eye. The actually age doesn't bother me. I feel more secure in me at 41 than i did any previous years. Of course i have moments but i am a work in progress just enjoying each day. So on this day i thought i would share some thoughts & facts about my life.

i am 5'2" tall
i love music but cannot carry a tune
it doesn't stop me from singing
i believe imperfections are beautiful
my first job was at Kmart
i not only worked the blue light but....
i was also the icee bear because i fit into the costume
i believe in family dinners are important
i've made my share of mistakes
i'm a "the glass will be refilled kind of gal" (positive & hopeful)
i snort sometimes a lot of times when i laugh
i am # 6 out of 7 kids
i didn't start traveling until i was 27
i believe in retail therapy, especially shoe retail therapy
i love fuzzy socks, the brighter the better
i collect vintage cameras
i don't like snakes, at all
i believe telling someone you love them is important
i am a photo junkie
i am bad at putting the laundry away
i like going to church, it fills me up
my childhood nickname was bullfrog thanks to chubby cheeks
i turned 40 & suddenly needed reading glasses
i cry a lot, movies, books, commercials, stories...i'm a weeper
i think making mistakes can help you to learn & grow
but sometimes i am so fearful of making mistakes
i love to read and usually read every night in bed
i love both fiction & non-fiction
i was born in miami, florida & grew up in tallahassee & orlando
but love living in Colorado and wouldn't change it at all
i usually wear blue polish on my toes, turquoise to be exact
i am shy but have learned to be more outgoing
my favorite childhood toy was my raggedy ann doll
which was lost at age 7 and i still think about her
i love red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting
desserts are my favorite meal with a tall glass of milk
i love romantic comedies
i watch & read Pride & Prejudice at least once a year
i believe love is always the answer
i talk in movie & sitcom quotes
i am truly blessed in my life because of HIM

Love 2 u!