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First day, going to a 6x6 size in 8x8 album. Lots of reflection this year, methinks.
Using the 6x6 Cosmo Cricket Sea Air tablet.


Day one lesson: Starbucks is a salvation. Spent about 5 or 6 hours there today, reading up on writing. I finished a book and then read a second one about the writing life. Journalled a bit. Wrote down some quotes. Took a picture of myself in the bathroom with my Retro Phone app from my phone. I like it, will have to get a better picture of it, soon. Printe out the photo with our HP multi-print machine. Used a Signo uniball pen (there's a bit of a flaw--it's not fluid to a certain extent). Wrote about my day.


This is my cover--I REALLY like it. Thickers are called Honey. Used an amy tangerine/AC sticker on both pages today.

Went to someplace called the Scrapbook Oasis today, they were totally nice and I was having a great time with the owner (?) I think. Picked up some stuff (haul posted, but can't find it right now). They were uber nice, especially about ordering me a few albums--have had a really hard time finding those AC modern albums locally. Didn't want to wait to get $50 in my bucket at a certain website that usually helps me get free shipping in a pinch, so yeah.
Have all intents and purposes to finish the album this year. Even a little excited about it, but I wonder, how much strength am I going to be called to have?

Another Shimelle Challenge!

Shimelle has done the impossible:: get me to work on projects (which is really good practice for this coming week). Here's what I came up with for the 'Use 2 4x6 photo' challenge:


It's 2 pictures...me with both of my brothers on Easter. kraft cardstock. Reminisce pp, Cosmo Cricket Stickers (chipboard!) and a ribbon flower....

Yeah, I had fun!

Happiness Is:

Inspired by Shimelle, and also thanks to her layout, I've done a digital page with a Very Cherry kit I got from TwoPeas. It was the first time I've used a layered page to do this with, and I really liked the way it turned out.

New Class

Yes, I know, I'm terribly behind in so many things, it's almost been a month since my last post--eek!

Well, I decided to wait to post until I had something crafty to share, and boy, do I EVER have something crafty to share! I'm taking another class from Shimelle (yes, the other three are still in progress, LOL)--this one is called Something from (Almost) Nothing.

Starting on Wednesday, 10 March, it features three weeks of class prompts--and we'll even be able to create an album called 'Celebrate Life' which I think I'll use one of my still-in-the-package AC Modern 6x6 albums. I don't scrap a lot in that size, but there's something about AC Modern Albums that draws me--plus, it's small enough to be able to be carried around. Yay!

I'll get three emails a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) from Shimelle, and, since it's one of her classes, there are TONS of things she includes:

Something from Almost Nothing includes:

…more than 60 pages of full-colour class materials, including work from guest artists & illustrated steps for more complex techniques

…3 video tutorials

…a live chat session

…printable accents for album project (purchased separately, these come to $9.90)

…bonus journaling and photography prompts for your Celebrate Life album.

Like all online scrapbooking classes at shimelle.com, this class includes

…permanent access to all class materials

…private forum for discussion and sharing your work

…prompts delivered straight to your inbox.

All of this for only $15! And it's granting permanent access to the materials AND printable accents. All, in all, it's a win. Even if you haven't taken a class, or aren't sure that it's for you, I highly recommend this class--it's all about working with what you have. Repurposing. It's a great incentive to use your stash because you can make an album, you'll have something tangible at the end. Each email will include a sketch, technique and pointers in photography and journalling.

I'm hoping this is just the thing to get me back into creating, which I sorely need to do. And I also need to get better organized. And, I also need to use up some of the supplies I couldn't live without--it's all well and good that I have them, but what's the purpose if they're just sitting on a shelf?

So, without further ado, I'm going to share photos of my stash and work area. Don't judge.

This is in the spare room, which is almost overflowing with books and such. Remember, I moved in November. There's my big clip it up and my stack of 8 and 1/2 by 11 paper. I heart kraft cardstock. My table is also in here, but I'm not going there.



My craft closet. It's in sore need of more cleaning.


This is me!

JYC: Manifesto, Intro page AND some cool pages

Once you take a class, it's hard to stop, right? I'm now addicted. I have tons of blogging for scrapbookers posts to still add, but I thought I would maybe break them up a bit, so I've decided to show you something else I came a little late to but still ended up being awesome:

I'm taking Journal Your Christmas with Shimelle. My second Shimelle class in a month, LOL. Oopsie! Seriously, though, I wasn't certain about taking it. First, I'm not really huge into Christmas, and to be honest, things for Christmas this year were looking very bleak...Insanely bleak. As you may or may not know, I go to California to visit my Grandmama for Christmas every year. Since we're being laid off at work from December 14-28, I decided to take off until the first week in January. I decided I needed it. While I'd love to get into a few things with that (rants, raves and all other manner of weirdness), I'm just going to say that I love going out to California and seeing my Grandmama, and my father. And it's good to see a few friends out there and have awesome experiences. I'm truly blessed.

Second, a whole lot of people that I follow (thank you, Google Reader) are doing it. And I figured, if they could do it, I could too. I mean, after all, my Christmas experience is my Christmas experience. So it's relevant.
Okay, and seriously, if you take this class, you pay one fee and can do it for-EVER! (the word 'forever' is in my head like in that movie 'The Sandlot' where the kids are talking about something ominous, but obviously in this class it's not ominous, but more like a hyperbole--you know, exaggeration for effect). There are digi-downloads for hybrid or digi scrappers, printables and prompts every day. Yes, EVERY day. It's seriously a really cool class and I started looking forward to it. I'm allowing myself to think it's awesome (cue Grinch music and see my heart grow a few sizes...).

So I'm a few days behind, but I have a few ideas and actually started to do a few things last night, despite there being a billion other things that needed done (house stuff and organization--and SLEEP!). I wanted to get an 8x8 AC Modern Album, so I could play with the front and be awesome. However, I'm working with a budget here and so I just went with what I had on hand, which is an 8-1/2 by 11 AC album covered in cloth. It's black and there's a small slot in the front for a card or index label or something. Right now it looks totally ghetto, but it can change later, and I'm not sweating that for the time being.

This is my Title page. Now, as I understand it, Shimelle doesn't do title pages until later. I'm cool with that, but I got inspired by this Making Memories paper (which reminds me that I have to go to target before I leave and pick up some more of these paper packs and other embellies)--it's the Tinsel line. I love that the diecut looks like an ornament. I used a scrap of paper next to it from the same patterned paper package and then layered a cutout from Jen Allyson's card set and made a little subhead type of thing. The cardstock base is from Couture Cardstock--love the shade and weight of it! The stickers that say 'Xmas' are from last year's Making Memories Christmas line, too. And the 'Nicole K' is thickers. I ::heart:: these thickers, and wonder if anyone knows that font (they're the black stickers), because I'd rather buy more Christmas embellishments other than thickers to complete this...

Next up is my manifesto page. Or rather, my 'manifest-O!' page. I wanted it to be simple, plan on adding something else eventually, but I just really liked the combination of my favorite thickers, the blue paper from MM (from that Tinsel line), and the K&Company trim which reminded me of a garland. It's on the back of my title page, so it's on the same piece of Couture Cardstock--which by the way is FANTASTIC. I cannot say enough about this wonderful company.

My manifest is handwritten with Pilot Choose (.7) purple ink. I got that pen from Jetpens.com. It's lovely. Have a white one too, that I haven't yet used, though. My manifest talks about the fact that Christmas seems to have lost its magic for me, but that I want to memorialize and perhaps reflect on older Christmases while still rocking the present one. And I also want to refine and even FIND my style. I plan on using a bunch of different pages, sizes, etc.
I thought I'd show you a pair of my element pages. These were acrylic clear pieces, part of an album from Pat Catans. I simply covered them with some of the MM Tinsel paper and went to town. They will have something on the pages, probably a picture or a fond memory (left the back blank so that I could do something with journalling and it wouldn't show through). The red paper has holly on it, and there are even glittery berries. Yay! The green paper reminds me of something from the MM Passport line. Oh, and there are some lovely bits from the Vintage line I got at Michaels from MM on there, spells out 'Fun'. I hope to get some envelopes, maybe some other little things there, too.

Wow! I can't believe I wrote all of this about the album that I wasn't necessarily all happy about. Weirdness, eh? I think it just goes to show you that stranger things can happen. The girl who hasn't been all Christmas-y can suddenly take a minute and say 'wait a second, I want Christmas back!'...

What about you? Are you Christmas-y? Why or Why not?

So that's all I have right now. Thanks for checking this out, and thanks for sharing your JYC projects--they're fantastic! Happy Creating!

Blogging for Scrapbookers: Prompt One

New House... Have the spare room to pursue bookish, writerly and all manner of creative things. Originally, I was just going to store the table and not use it, but the guy set it up, thinking he was helping... And really, there's enough room in the room for it, so he DID help. It's in between my dresser and the closet door. There's natural light to the left from a big picture window and a really nice (and bright) overhead light. There is a bookshelf to the left, more bookshelves and a desk to my back (while I'm sitting at the desk) and a wall to my right with the door and the guest twin bed.

A few weeks or a week ago, I signed up for Shimelle's class Blogging For Scrapbookers. It's Fab! I recommend it to anyone--from those of you who haven't taken the blogging plunge to those who have blogged for years. It's a FANTASTIC class with lots of great people (just ask my Google Reader--it's really busy with all the new and fantastic stuff I read!), great resources (thanks to Shimelle's hard work) and even some really cool blog-related things--like how to update templates and the like. I've gotten some experience with web design throughout the years, but Shimelle even taught me a few things--so really, the class is money well spent.

Hello to all of those new people from the class, I'm Glad you're joining me. I know I'm a bit late to teh game, but I've spent the last 2-3 weeks writing a novel, closing (in 5 days) on a new house and then moving into said house--but all looks done and A-okay now (keeping my fingers crossed). And really, that's just another awesome point on the value of Shimelle's class--it's completely self-led to better fit your schedule!

My intentions for this class are:

• to become a regular blogger (scheduled, too!).
• to produce quality, popular content to make people want to read my blog.
• to make time to comment on each of YOUR blogs regularly (I read everyone I follow).
• to make a more cohesive layout that better reflects my personal style.
• to (document and) USE my supplies!

So that's prompt one, all tied up in a little pretty package. I do have a few things I'm thinking about in regards to the blog, so I will update you soon. And thank you for starting this journey with me!

A New Chapter

We're about halfway to 2/3 of the way into the new house--of course, it's going to be weeks before I get my books and crafty stuff the way I like it, but we're closer to being in the house. The internet and satellite people are at the house today, getting that all taken care of--yay! I will have internet and tv, I can finally catch up on Top Chef and Sons of Anarchy (weird combo, I know).

So the new house is happy and fun and I'm loving it. I'm not loving being sick, I've still got a bit of a cough (Thank you to Tylenol, I slept last night--some kind of minty syrup that allowed me to sleep and not cough all night--yay!). And there's a full weekend.

There's also online classes. I'm taking Jessica Sprague's new class, and I'll have another post on that later--I'm actually going to be focusing on Shimelle's class "Blogging for Scrapbookers." I signed up a little late for the party (what's new, right?) because of the house thing (we put in an offer on a sunday and by that friday--5 days later--we had keys) and NaNoWriMo (and the novel in a month might not happen this month, kids) and the various birthdays and functions I had to show up to this month--well, let's just say that I'm noticing that I overschedule things a LOT!

So I kept hedging about whether or not I would have time to take Shimelle's class--the cost is only $15, and you DEFINITELY get your money's worth in a Shimelle class as I'm learning. And really, I've always wanted to take a Shimelle class, because she's fabulous. Love her style and the way her personality shines through the photos. So yesterday, I finally admitted to myself that NaNo probably wouldn't happen and I wanted to do something for myself. Plus, we're being laid off at this time next month (which means I'm going to California early) just before Christmas but returning at New Years, and I probably won't have the funds to take another class at the end of 2009/beginning of 2010--so I needed a darn treat! I've been moving without complaining in the midst of coughing up a lung and not sleeping because of said cough (sorry, I don't mean to vent, but darn it, I deserve this class!).

So back to the class. Or rather, back to the reason why I need this class. I've said before that I've never really been to a crop, officially.

• I've had people bring crafty things to book group and we make bookmarks or cards or something.
• I participated in an online crop or online crafty thing where we chatted a bit and then tried to make things, etc.
• I've been to Archiver's and set out a few things to work on, but it was mostly at non-peak times where it was just me, and I left when people started filtering into the room (because I thought it was a class and it turned out not to be)...

So what can you draw from this? That while I have creative friends, we don't craft together. YOU and the people I meet via blogs or on various boards are my creative people. I can share scrapbooking with YOU! I can show you cards and all sorts of crafty things that i don't normally share with others. And you don't understand how much that means to me--how much YOU mean to me. So thank you, first of all, for being around. And I want to take this time to apologize. I read and check all of your blogs, but I don't reply as often as I should, so I'm going to work on that.

And the blog will be changing, in a good way. I've been thinking of turning the address of GothamGal.net into a splash page, but retaining this blogspot account, as well as my book review and book crossing journals for links, but I'm not 100% committed to the idea yet, so that's where we're at at this moment. Look for new posts soon--like, possibly in the next day or even tonight, if I get inspired (which ISN'T hard to do when you're doing a Shimelle class, I've learned).

Happy Creating!