August Stuff

It does not do for me to get out of my routine.  I seem to have a harder time getting back into one. 

I have been off work while between jobs, but it has not felt like a vacation in any way.  The time was mostly spent getting the new computer equipment set up in my home office, getting paperwork in, going through pre-training, etc.  A big part of all this was getting my internet upgraded and getting a new modem installed.

Last Monday was my first day at the new job, and it was mostly online training for the first couple of days.  Wednesday was the first day of going right into the work system and going full speed ahead.  And it went pretty good until I suddenly lost internet.  The rest of the week was spent trying to figure out what happened.  Long story short, we think a storm on Wednesday somehow damaged my new modem, and another new modem was installed which seemed to fix the problem.  By then, it was late Friday and I had lost half of my first work week.  I'm sure I made such a good impression on the new employer :(

Other than the new job, life goes on.  I had made weekly calendars for August for my DLP 2016 planner at the end of July, but haven't done much else with the planner.

I pondered why my box of freezer bags contained a lot of mutant bags, with parts of bags sewn into the seams of other bags.  It was quite bizarre.

I also enrolled in a new online class. I admit that before I left for Stampaway, I questioned my sanity in signing up for a new class that would start when I was out of town, and that would overlap with me starting a new job.  I must be out of my mind.

But, I did.  It is a Creative Lettering class with Andrea Joseph, taught through Sketchbook Skool.  I have been a fan of Andrea's work for a long time.  She makes amazing detailed drawings with just ballpoint pens.  She inspired me several years ago to make this journal page spread. The trick for me, which she suggested as a way to get a drawing started, was to trace around the object I wanted to draw, then fill in the rest.

When I was at Stampaway, I purchased a square Dylusions journal to use for the class (not required, but I had been wanting a square journal and this has nice pages to work on).  I decorated the front page with washi tape and a couple of stencils I also bought at Stampaway.

Some of my homework assignments don't look that great, but I'm loving this assignment and how it turned out! 

Since the class is about lettering to go in your sketchbook, I've been trying to do more sketching.  I was pretty happy with this one, which I drew with brown ink.  I then used a brush with water to wet the outsides of the bottle and make the ink run, spreading the ink around for a background.  That is, I did love it, until I wrote on the back side of the page with a marker that bled through.  But life is what it is, and I can't stress over it.  Just makes the page look aged or something.

 

I'll be catching up with my 2016 planner as time goes on and post progress here.  And I feel like I'm starting my new job again for the second time tomorrow, after not being able to work last week.  I feel like I'm in the movie Groundhog Day, where the same thing happens over and over! !

Stampaway 2016

Another successful Stampaway USA is in the books.  Gaye and I traveled to Cincinnati Ohio for the annual convention (this one being number 24).  Gaye had two fun classes which kept us busy on Thursday and Friday.  The highlight of the Friday Night Preview Party (besides the shopping and seeing old friends) is the theme for the night.  This year had a tiara theme.  It is optional, of course, to wear a tiara or crown while shopping, but I love how the vendors participate and how many attendees go all out to compete for the best one.  Here are a few I captured and the various ways the theme was interpreted.

I always love watching demos, and Mary Beth Shaw of Stencil Girl and Dyan Reaveley of Dylusions (Dyan pictured below) are two of my favorites. 

Lots of shopping, lots of walking, lots of catching up with friends, and before you know it, it was time to head home on Saturday.  That is where the story took a detour, literally.  It's 15 miles from the convention center to the Kentucky state line.  It took us three hours.  Interstate traffic was moving, but barely.  We never really knew if it was just a lot of traffic, all the construction, or a wreck... probably all three. After barely moving during all that time, we decided to leave the interstate waiting to cross the bridge over the river, and went to find the smaller bridge that we knew led to Covington, Ky.  From there, we knew how to get back on the interstate south of where the bottleneck was in Ohio.  Apparently, most of the other people had the same idea.  That route was just as crowded, but at least it was moving, and at least we finally saw the sign that we had made it to Kentucky!  Halleluiah!

I did get a few stamps, and a bunch of new washi tape. 

And I may have gotten a stencil or two.. or maybe over a dozen...  I needed to play when I got home, and this page was done with just black and red ink pads stenciled onto a page that already had gold paint on it.

I think this may be my new favorite stencil.  I didn't even know such a thing existed until I saw it hanging in a booth.  I love it.  I can quickly stencil the day and date without having to mask out the letters and numbers, because the little wheel thing turns to where I want it and does the masking for me!

Stampaway USA 2017 - year 25 - only one year away! 

House of Thoughts

Last week, I went to friend Gaye's house to make a book.  The "House of Thoughts" book is one she will be teaching at Stampaway this week.  The one on the left is one she gave me for Christmas last year, and the one on the right is the one I made last week.

I've had fun adding things to the pages of my book since I got home.  Pockets, tags, quotes, stamping.  The possibilities are endless! 

The two books we made are variations on the one that will be taught in class, where they will make one with a more traditional, classic style roof.  Ours had an asymmetrical roof with funky chimney!

More information about classes and the convention can be found here at Stampaway.