Year: 2013

I think I fell off the face of the Earth!  My last post was after our return from Thanksgiving break.  Here is what has happened in a nut shell since then;

3 weeks of school, 3 doctors appointments a lot of phone calls and several runs to the pharmacy for Sara, a talking Canvas presentation for 5th graders, a holiday party with 2 crafts for 125 5th graders, Mom and Dad visiting for a week, girls out of school for Christmas, a tree and decorations, Christmas cards off and away, John off for a few days.

Now John has a few more days off, the girls have one more week off, we are headed to a basketball game tonight, the zoo tomorrow and bowling on Monday then new years and John back to work, girls back to school, I have a class starting on-line on January 8th and I get on a plane on January 8th for Anaheim, CA for 5 days of CHA fun, where I will be teaching a Copic class to a very small group of Copic enthusiasts.

Woosh it does sound like a lot.  No wonder my house looks this way 🙂  Of course life has continued as well and I have had a few things post at Get It Scrapped.  Here is a peak at those;

Breaking the rules:

Summer Haiku by Michelle Houghton | Supplies: cardstock, Bazzil Basics, sticker letters; American Crafts, ink; Sharpie, paint; Golden

I have been enjoying the Haiku writing and thought it perfectly suited a smattering of the flower photos I took while in Breckinridge, CO. The challenge was trying to purposefully break rules of design on your scrapbook page.  Click HERE to read more about the rules I broke and the others that tackled the challenge as well.

I also had a tutorial posted on using gold foil and leafing:

Click HERE to get all the details and the how too.  I was particularly inspired by the 3 other ladies that posted with me this month.  They each used the gold techniques so completely differently!  I l over seeing their work and I am so glad they joined me for the challenge!

Lastly there is a fun article about using circles on your layouts.  I LOVE to use circles so this one is right up my ally.

Wet and Wild Ride by Michelle Houghton | Supplies: cardstock and chipboard letters; American Crafts, patterned paper; Basic Grey, small sticker letters; October Afternoon, ink; Sharpie and Copic, journaling tag; Maya Road, dots; Mark Richards, trim; unknown

Another layout that I really love I think I like this one because of the great family photos, I know the are blurry but boy those faces, they just melt me.  The other scrappers that contributed to this article took circles to a whole new level.  It is definitely worth a peak, check it out HERE

OK I better close there.  I will attempt to stay on top of it again even for quick check ins 🙂  Thank you so much for tuning in and checking out the latest doings in Des Moines!

Merry Christmas a few days late and have a Happy New Year!

After spending a wonderful week with family in Los Angeles I am back to my desk and back to work catching up with life that is speeding by. I had two layouts post at Get It Scrapped over the holiday week so I better get you caught up with both!

The first was in an article about using found objects on your layout:

In Loving Memory by Michelle Houghton | Supplies: papers, doilies, tag, brads, crochet flowers and die cuts; SEI, ink; Sharpie, chipboard letters; American Crafts, butterflies; my husband’s grandmother

This is a special layout in terms of the subject.  I had been holding on to those butterfly magnets for several years and I knew that I wanted to do something special with them that would connect the magnets back to the beautiful people they were from.  This layout was the perfect opportunity to add the gift the the memory and emotion of knowing these two amazing people.  There is other beautiful layouts and inspiration HERE.

Next I had a very fun layout post just a few days ago that is inspired by artwork found in children’s literature.  I will admit I am a fan of good art in children’s books so i have quite the collection hiding in my girl’s libraries that I love and bought because I loved the illustrations.  Here is what I created:

 Knock Knock by Michelle Houghton | Supplies: paper; Bo Bunny and American Crafts, water color; Shin Han, ink; Sharpie and Tsukineko, embossing powder; Ranger, washi tape and staples, unknown 

Can you tell I had fun?  The background is created with water color.  I created the wash underneath on a heavy watercolor paper and then added the circles to mimic the art work I had picked out.  I finished buy using a Sharpie to add some doodled details.  The title is embossed stamping and then I added small details with Washi tape and staples, I really did not need a lot since the background had so much richness to it.  I’ll be honest this page makes me giggle when I see it and if my family checks in they might know where the inspiration came from.  Here is an image of the book that I used:

Lamont the Lonely Monster

I had a wonderful job imitating the look of a favorite from my own childhood.  This book is so well loved that the pop ups that happen on every page and the doors that are included on the pages are all torn and falling off.  Yes every single one.  They have been taped, glued and re-taped.  But then I guess a book that has been around since I was 2 is allowed to have a little wear and tear 🙂  You will have to see the other Creative Team Member’s work as well, it is brilliant!  Check it out HERE.

Off to gymnastics and writing on my newest classes!

Happy Tuesday!