What am I learning through the 100 Day Project?

Last year, I joined the 100 Day Project on Instagram and it changed my connection to creating. I learned so much through the process and am so thankful to @elleluna for putting this challenge out! So what did I learn?

I must build a creative discipline in the chaotic everyday. My everyday as a working mommy of two means there is a level of uncertainty everyday and I am operating rather exhaustedly. Finding a balance to ensure that I stick to making time to practice calligraphy or pick up a paint brush is a discipline that I value no matter how chaotic the day.

I must find time to create every day and every week. If you're a busy mum too and don't think you can find the time to make something, you can! On some days I wake up an extra 30 minutes earlier than my babe. Other days, I give my daughter crayons and her own book to draw and color. We sit together at the kitchen table and create together. Another option is to give her a few table toys she hasn't played with for some time and have her rediscover them while I spend a few minutes sketching something.

As shared on my Instagram feed on June 27, 2016, this was my kitchen table aka workspace over the weekend, when my daughter and I drew and colored together. Most days I wake up very early before work to write or draw #pearls100daymomproject2016 in my sketchbook, other times we use our right brains together side by side! Inspired by @etsy seller @ruth_oosterman to share what it's like to find time as a creative mum. My workspace is minimal and I don't have all the tools but I do what I can to have 20-30 mins to use my fine motor skills.

I nourished my soul through creative expression using my hands. While my brain is often filled with what's next with my family and work, being able to switch gears to study colors or practice calligraphy is incredibly nourishing for my soul. Creating something is an incredibly therapeutic process and helps clear my mind for a new kind of discovery each time I open the sketch book. It's also a really nice way to use my fine motor skills besides typing on the keyboard. :)

I enjoyed documenting everyday moments whether it be Project Life or #pearls100daymomproject2016. Since having the chance to create every day, I wanted to more of it. I've been extending my everyday creativity challenge into a weekly routine.

My other favorite part about art journaling was my exploration of color interactions. In addition to capturing everyday moments which is very natural for a scrapbooker like me, I really enjoyed the process of learning more about the science of my inks, paints, and tools. I have so many different types of dyes, pigments, and mediums, I just want to see how they all dance together.

I loved shopping my stash! If you're like me, you've built up tons of supplies. Every time I want to try something new, I love shopping my own stash of supplies and learning how I can stretch them into different kinds of techniques. Art journaling allows me to test and trial with no pressure of having a finished or polished piece. Love!

As shared on my Instagram feed of July 2, 2016, this was a 30-minute color study I had completed the night before.

See more of my creative mommy journey by following me on Instagram!

Mama Elephant Project: Joy, Love, Happiness

Hi there! I'm over at the Mama Elephant blog today to share a layout made with the So Breezy stamp set. It's a layout created to highlight and store my wooden heart magnet wedding favors.

The awesome open sentiments from the So Breezy set are perfect for any layout. Check out the Mama Elephant blog to see how I created this layout.

More details on how I tucked away my wedding favors in a long policy envelope on the Mama Elephant blog.

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant January Stampede

Welcome to Mama Elephant's January Stampede on this terrific Tuesday! January stamps are now available for sale at Mama Elephant, so get shopping as soon as you've finished the blog hop.

If you've come from Lea Lawson's blog, you're right on track. If you're lost, be sure to start the blog hop at the beginning -- the Mama Elephant blog.

To celebrate this month's ME Stampede, Mama Elephant is giving away 3 gift certificates worth $20.00 each and all you have to do is comment for a chance to win! Winners will be chosen at random from the collective blogs in the Stampede. Winners will be announced on the ME blog on Monday, January 21st.

And that's not all, there will also be a surprise giveaway on Mama Elephant's Facebook page, so get your 'like' on and follow.

For my January Stampede project, I finished up my December Daily album -- about December Daily here. This is the second year I participated, here's my first. All I needed this year were my Mama Elephant stamps including the latest January release, (which by the way, are darling and perfect for scrapbooking or card making) and the following:

• 35 - 5x7 cardstock pages of various colors, patterns, and edges
• 10-15 shipping tags of various sizes
• Bind-it-all
• Daily photos from December

I envisioned capturing December 2012 using neutral tones (ivory, white, nude, kraft, woodgrain, translucent, and light pink) complimented by crisp black and a shiny metallic gold, instead of the usual holiday colors. I also knew I wouldn't have time to actually add to the book on a daily basis, so I threw everything in a box, wrote everything in my Google calendar, printed all my iPhone December photos, and put everything together with the Bind-it-all the first weekend of January -- well after the holiday craziness. Here's how it turned out:

Cover:

Mama Elephant stamps used: Smitten, Polar Pals, Believe in Magic, Type It, and Midnight Letters

Here's a snippet of the book:

Here's a closer look at how I used the Mama Elephant stamps:

 Mama Elephant stamps used: Smitten (sentiment & feathers), Believe in Magic (stars), Type It (heart in quotes), No Peeking (dotted string)

 Mama Elephant stamps used: Smitten (sentiment stamp on tag), Type It (heart in quotes) and Midnight Letters

 Mama Elephant stamps used: Good Times (sentiment), Believe in Magic (stars), and Midnight Letters

  Mama Elephant stamps used: Smitten (sentiment & barcode), Believe in Magic (stars), Type It (typewriter) and Midnight Letters

Did you participate in December Daily 2012 and have you put your finishing touches on it yet? If not, there's still time to get your hands on these Mama Elephant stamps for the perfect embellishments!

Your next jump is the awesome Savannah O'Gwynn!

• Mama Elephant
• Alice Wertz
• Cheiron Brandon
• Leigh Penner
• JJ Bolton
• Mariana Grigsby
• Lea Lawson 
• Pearl Lui (me)
• Savannah O'Gwynn
• Betsy Veldman

 Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #1: Texting Skills

It may be Wednesday, but it's CAS-ual Friday here! My bestie, a CAS-ual Fridays design team member introduced me to the new challenge blog dedicated to clean & simple design. Its inaugural challenge was posted this past Friday: Texting Skills.

One goal crossed off of my 2011 list is: start craft blog. It seems like a simple enough thing to do, but having maintained this blog for the last 4 months, I can say that each post is a mini production on its own. Like a print magazine, there's a photo shoot, copy writing, sourcing, and timely publishing with each post. I would even call it a second 'job' if I didn't love it so much. Being that it's become a large part of my life, I wanted to document it in a clean & simple layout. The title "breaking free" is about having my blog as a platform to speak freely about my creative endeavors.

It was so nice to complete a layout with a simple and straight-forward design. What I loved most about creating this layout is that it challenged me to stay true to my contemporary whimsical craft style while keeping a very clean & simple design. I created dimension and texture with a paper-cutting technique in the title but was still able to keep the design very clean. I think it shows that designing with a CAS style doesn't mean loss of crafting technique! Thanks, CAS-ual Fridays, for great inspiration!

Here's a closer look at my "texting skills":

• The title was stamped and then following the letters' outline I cut the tops and bottoms leaving the middle of the letters still attached to the cardstock base... it gives the appearance that the title is "breaking free" from the cardstock. :)
  


• I then curled the detached parts to make the title pop.


• I also cut the negative parts of the letters so when I slipped a French-English dictionary page under, the text would fill in the negative parts of the letters, for a double text effect.
  

Used: Kaisercraft pattern papers; Papertrey Ink Outlines alpha stamps; Bazzil cardstock; EK Success border punch; Fiskars craft knife

Thanks for stopping by and check out the CAS-ual Fridays blog for awesome clean & simple inspiration! Hope you like my interpretation of their first challenge!

-KRAFTY pearl

Two KaiserCraft April Sketches, One Pencil Lines Sketch & a CK Spotlight! Oh My!

I have quite a few things to share today as you can tell from the title of this post... Here are three layouts and a really big thank you! Keep reading:

Layout 1: 'My Red Cabinet' | KaiserCraft April sketch #3

This past weekend, I saw the KaiserCraft's April sketch #3 and knew it was perfect to document the little nook of my apartment where I have my red cabinet of curiosities... ok, not really curiosities, but it's a cute, colorful collection of vinyl figures and pretty little things (including Hello Kitty, Momiji's & Harajuku Lovers perfumes) that make me smile. Curious visitors often spend quite some time staring at each and every single item on those shelves.

Used: KaiserCraft KaiserColour in white and red; KaiserCraft pattern papers, wood flourishes, acrylic stamps; My Little Shoebox alpha; Stabilo white pen; M&J Trimming sequins; Recollections pearl stickers; 3-D glue dots

Here's a detailed look:

• I absolutely love the super versatile KaiserCraft wood flourish embellishments. They come bare, ready to be painted, stamped, snapped, sanded, etc. I snapped the embellishment in half, sanded the rough parts and painted this embellishment with KaiserCraft acrylic paint in a matching shade of red to mimic my cabinet's hinges.


• I also used the wood flourish frame as a stamp. Tip: Use any of the wood flourish embellishments as a stamp by painting it very roughly with KaiserCraft acrylic paint color of your choice and stamped directly on your page. It can get a bit messy, but use disposable gloves and your fingers will stay paint free!


• One of my favorite techniques is cutting "windows" in my layouts. Here, I used my Fiskars finger tip knife to cut out the inside of two stamped frames and added a damask pattern KaiserCraft acetate sheet underneath.


• I couldn't find the right shade of color for my title, so I painted over My Little Shoebox alpha stickers with KaiserCraft acrylic paint in a matching shade of red.
  


• Using one of my favorite stamps from the super cute KaiserCraft Homemade acrylic stamp set, I stamped a bunch of embroidered hearts to complete the homemade look.
  
  

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Layout 2: 'Cute Cups Obsessed' | Pencil Lines sketch #234

As you can tell, I have an obsession with all things cutesy! When it comes to cups, it's no different. Here is a layout about my favorite cups collected from the annual Target 2008-2011 releases for Valentine's. Inspired by Pencil Lines sketch #234 and with the help of super cute KaiserCraft stamps, I designed this layout to look like hanging cups in grandma's cute vintage kitchen.

Used: KaiserCraft pattern papers, stamps; Jillibean Soup alpha; My Little Shoebox alpha tab stickers; Stickles; 3-D glue dots

Here's a detailed look:

• The cup embellishments were created by stamping the polka dot cup image on pretty KaiserCraft pattern papers and cutting the outline with sharp craft scissors. To get in the tight handle area, I used my super sharp, trusty Fiskars fingertip knife.


• I also used the cups in place of the letter 'u' in the title for a kitschy touch.
  


• Stickles are one of my absolute favorite ways to decorate embellishments. The glittery polka dots helps each cup pop just a little bit.


• Tip: Don't you hate it when you run out of alphabet stickers? I certainly do! But no worries! Just used the leftover negative portion, stick it on a piece of pattern paper and you've got yourself another letter. That's exactly what I did in here with the 's' in 'cups'.

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Layout 3: 'Before All the Growin' Pains' | KaiserCraft April sketch #2

I have been going through some boxes of old pictures and I came across this one of me when I was 5 years old. I think I pretty much look the same as I do now... at least when it comes to my haircut. LOL Well that was before all the growin' pains that has created 'the me', I am today... 'the me' that's wearing fine lines and white hairs to show I've gone through lots of growing pains. With the help of this KaiserCraft April sketch #2, I created this layout to jot down my thoughts and reflections of 'the me' before all the growin' pains.

Used: KaiserCraft pattern papers, stamps; My Little Shoebox pattern paper; PaperTrey Ink outlines alpha stamps; Bic Mark-it markers; DMC embroidery floss; Whisker Graphics twine

Here's a detailed look:

• I adore the notebook page shaped KaiserCraft Tuck Shop die-cut paper used as the base of this page. I wanted to highlight the paper itself by accentuating its light blue lines. I also wanted to keep an elementary school feel to the layout, so I decided to stitch penmanship practicing lines.


• To create the banner, I layered a stamped heart over pattern paper and doily. The stamped hearts are once again from this super cute KaiserCraft Homemade acrylic stamp set


• The title is handwritten and stamped. The handwritten portion was designed to look like pencil, but it's really the Bic Mark-it marker in grey. The stamped part of the title uses the super cute PaperTrey Ink outlines alphabet set. It is one of my favorite set of alpha stamps.


• Lastly, I cut out a couple of figures from KaiserCraft pattern papers to create a mini collage to embellish the bottom left of the page.

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And saving the absolute best news for last in today's post... drum roll... my latest KaiserCraft photo display project was spotted by CK and featured in this week's CK gallery scrapbooking inspiration! Someone pinch me!

Thank you for picking my project, Ms. Megan Hoeppner, Creating Keepsakes' creative editor! *gasp*

Thanks for looking!
- KRAFTY pearl

Blooms & Cartwheels in My Mind!

As I mentioned in my previous post, Cartwheels in My Mind challenged readers to use a torn book page in two projects so here's my second project.

This past Valentine's day, I received the grandest flower arrangement ever... and really, they were blooms that made my heart flutter. Unfortunately, I couldn't just whip out my digital SLR at work to take photos of them, so you'll have to excuse the fuzzy iPhone photo. I already find it a bit of a challenge to scrapbook inanimate objects and it's even more challenging when I have a sub par photo. But with the help of super cute Jillibean Soup Dutch mustard soup patterns and a simple layout, thanks to Pencil Lines sketch #232, I think I made it work. I tried to keep the layout relatively light and airy so it wouldn't overpower the already difficult picture. So what do you think?

Used: Jillibean Soup pattern papers, alpha stickers; My Little Shoebox pattern papers; Studio Calico Mr. Huey mist; Martha Stewart studded heart punch and EK Success punch; DMC embroidery floss; Bic Mark-it markers

Here's a closer look: I used the Jillibean Soup alphabet stickers as a mask and created part of the title using Studio Calico's Mr. Huey mist in cream. By creating a faint mask for part of the title with cream mist on cream cardstock, I was able to keep the airiness in the title. I also cut and punched hearts out of the Jillibean Soup pattern paper and used as decorative/dimensional accents.

As you can tell, I love hearts, pennants, and stitching in layouts. I especially love incorporating a mix of hearts in all different shapes and sizes. I used the Martha Stewart studded heart all over the pages punch as a window and slipped the torn book page behind it. I then used a mix of Jillibean Soup and My Little Shoebox pattern papers to create the rest of the heart pennants. I hand cut a few of the hearts from the Jillibean Soup pattern paper and punched the other hearts using a favorite, the Martha Stewart lace heart edge punch and my trusty EK Success heart Paper Shaper punch.

Lastly, one of my favorite parts of this layout is the pleating here. Again, a simple touch to accent the photo without overwhelming it:

On a another note, I'm doing cartwheels in my mind! The very awesome Cheryl of Cartwheels in My Mind featured my latest 'On My Window Sill' layout on the Cartwheels blog! Woweeee! In that same post, she shares a layout about her daughter and grandmother with very touching journaling, a very special photo, and very cute torn book page idea, you have to check it out! Thanks, Cheryl, for the challenge, inspiration, and feature!

Thanks for looking!
- KRAFTY pearl

On My Window Sill

It all started one March morning with the mourning dove coo, the sound of fluttering wings and twigs banging on my window and I knew spring was near. And a few days later, on my window sill was a nest with two eggs! I spied on them like a National Geographic bird watcher, peeking at them every morning and night. One morning, mama mourning dove actually flew away from the nest momentarily and that's when I had the rare chance to sneak this photo of the eggs.

Inspired by a few challenges this weekend, I finally got around to scrapping about it:

Used: My Little Shoebox pattern papers, stamp, alpha stickers; Bazzill Basics cardstock; 2000 Plus custom stamp kit

When I saw the My Little Shoebox March sketch challenge, I knew it was perfect to feature one of my rarest spring sightings as the story. The sketch works out perfectly with how the quadrants lend to the look of a window with curtains. The embellishment cluster in the sketch is also a perfect place for me to show a whimsical re-creation of the birds building their happy, loving nest. It reminds me of this one scene in Cinderella where two birdies help tie a bow in her hair.

I created the nest embellishment out of an old French-English dictionary page inspired by Cartwheels in My Mind weekend challenge where Cheryl challenged her readers to use a page torn from a book on at least 2 different projects in 2 ways. (My second project using a torn book page to come later this week, so stay tuned!) I then stitched the nest to the page with embroidery floss. I loved the way the nest turned out. Below's a little tutorial to make your own if you like it too! The eggs were hand cut to shape and dipped in glitter.

I also clipped out definitions for 'naissance' and 'nature' and hand-stitched it to the layout:

Between handwriting my journaling or stamping it, I definitely appreciated Nichol Magouirk's Two Peas in a Bucket April scrapbook stamping challenge to stamp it. Stamped journaling: "My neighbors, two mourning doves, laid two eggs!" I absolutely love this custom stamp kit from Staples that's perfect for stamping two sizes of journaling. The shape of the journaling area was hand-cut using Fiskars fingertip knife, using a remnant diecut sheet as the shape template. The curtain trimming was created by cutting this EK Success Parisian border punch. Also used the same punch for the roof.

And to wrap up this post, I have a very simple tutorial to making your own nest embellishment!

Step 1, all you need is a sharp pair of craft scissors and a strip of paper you want to use to make your nest. (The longer your strip, the fuller the nest.)

Step 2, take the strip and snip off the opposing corners and make diagonal cuts along the top side of the strip leaving the paper intact to the bottom:

Step 3, fold the strip into a zig zag pattern like so:

And voila! You've got your self a nice nest embellishment:

So whaddaya think? I hope you like!

Until the next post!
- KRAFTY pearl

Happy Friday!

A very happy Friday it is! How cool is this!? Two Peas in a Bucket gave me a shout out in their most recent weekly newsletter. Thanks for making my week, Two Peas! Woweee! (I know it's not a big deal to most, but it's very cool to a newbie like me!)

Thanks, bestie, for pointing it out to me!

To end the week off, here's another layout. Equal parts tribute and thanks to my parents for being here for me 'every step of the way' using some of my favorite My Little Shoebox designs. My parents are my everyday inspiration and heroes, so this is for them:

Used: My Little Shoebox pattern papers, diecuts, stamps; Adirondack pigment ink; DMC embroidery floss; Reflections by Michael's pearl and rhinestone accents; Tim Holtz distress inks

Here's a closer look: I love journaling spot diecuts and diecuts in general because you can create so much with them. Here I cut out the journaling area to create a sunny flower frame around my photo:

I also love creating my own backgrounds by stamping and masking, and I can't get enough of these tabbed alpha stickers:

Thanks for looking! Until my next post!
-KRAFTY pearl

I ♥ Pockets! Don't you?

From envelopes to business card pocket page protectors, I love all kinds of pockets! I especially love to use them in layouts to organize and tuck in bits and pieces of journaling, photos, etc., like this:

Used in this layout: Old business card pocket sheet (similar to this) cut in half; My Little Shoebox bird stamp, pattern papers; Stampin' up roller numbers stamp; Martha Stewart heart all over the page punch; EK Success border and heart punches; Adirondack pigment inks; Stickles; basic letter stamp set (love this one from Staples); 3D Dots; transparency; watercolor

Here's a closer look:

Hand cut pennants from cute My Little Shoebox pattern paper stitched together with embroidery floss and adhered to layout with 3D Dots:

Punched hearts folded in half and secured with embroidery floss; LOVE the Martha Stewart heart all over the page punch! Used it to punch a 'window' backed by a pigment ink stamped transparency:

Hand cut label shape by tracing MLS cardstock label remnant used as template; Stickle glittered embellishment to highlight the date of 5/7:

Hand stitched details to secure page protector to cardstock; watercolored stamped MLS bird image:

Don't you just love pockets too!?

P.S. I'm now on Two Peas in a Bucket, Scrapbook.com, and Flickr!

- KRAFTY pearl

My Little Shoebox & Two Peas!

I love My Little Shoebox papers so I was happy to learn that Two Peas is running a MLS challenge and I thought, why not give the challenge a try! The Harmony collection reminded me of my small Momiji doll collection and inspired to create this layout, 'my sweet momiji collection'.

Used in this layout: My Little Shoebox papers, cardstock, tag, and alphabet stickers. Martha Stewart punches and glitter. Fiskars trimmer and fingertip detail knife. Offray ribbon from Michael's.

Here's a closer look: I added glitter to the MLS tag to give it a pop of shimmer and dimension.

By cutting down the height of some of the alphabet stickers, I gave it a less contrived and rigid look. I used Martha Stewart punches (love them) to create border strips and took the heart remnants to create a trail of hearts.

By stamping a polka dot background in a light pigment ink, I subtly lightened and added dimension to the paper. I also hand cut clouds and trimmed with light glitter.

So whaddaya think?

P.S. For too long, I have put off posting and sharing my layouts, so one of my goals for 2011 is just to share some of my work and ideas with the friends, family and other craft lovers like me, starting with this blog and my Two Peas gallery.

- KRAFTY pearl