For Amy (and you too!)

My friend Amy of http://www.craftingbycandlelight.com/ posted a comment saying that she was hoping for more collage sheets soon. So guess what, sweet Amy?  I created another sheet a couple of days ago but didn't have time to upload it to the website.  I just uploaded it just now, so VOILA! :)  Hope you all enjoy!

To download the collage sheet, navigate to http://www.aweebitwarped.com/ and click on the "click here for free stuff" button.  You'll see a link there to click on to download the sheet.

Collage Sheet Journal Page

So I figured that if I made a collage sheet, I should at least attempt to use it too.  Oh my goodness, I am  rusty.  This was more work than play which means I should collage more often.

I'm not sure if my new page in the Mega Journal is completely done, but I know I need to move on from it so I can get some other things done around here!

I don't know if I've ever shared my process for using collage sheets, but in case you're interested, I always:
- Print out a regular copy of the sheet
- Print out a flipped (backwards) copy of the sheet
- Pick a few things to print out larger than the original (in this one, I only did the elephant head larger)

Maybe not the most earth shattering hints in the world, but it does help to have more options than just what you are given on one print out of the collage sheet.  Sometimes I mess with the contrast or saturation settings, but for this page, I just left those settings alone.

Hope you are having fun playing with the free collage sheet.  If you haven't gotten it yet, you can download it at http://www.aweebitwarped.com/ (click on the "Click here for free stuff" button).

Free Collage Sheet + Guestbook

I published my first free printable collage sheet over at my website (http://www.aweebitwarped.com/). 

Just click on the "Click Here for Free Stuff" button.  I'm hoping that it works ok for you to print out... eventually I may try creating digital collage sheets to give you, but for right now I haven't figured out how to make the file size small enough to share easily.

Hope you enjoy the collage sheet!  The one little sheet out there looks lonely, so I'll have to add more free stuff!

I can't leave you without a photo, so here's a teeny photo of the collage sheet.  The downloadable one over at the website is a full 8.5" by 11".

Happy weekend, all!
P.S.  I also added a guestbook over at the website so you can leave comments there if you want to.

Facelift

No, not a facelift for me, you sillies!  (This is me cracking myself up this morning trying to take a photo of myself.  Oh my goodness, I am so ridiculously bad at that.)

 The facelift is for the website - www.aweebitwarped.com!  Ok, yes, I know it's only half done (there's supposed to be more stuff on the right side where that big gaping white space is screaming at me.  BUT, I just was so much happier with how this version was going that I decided to publish it anyway.  Me and patience... not so much.  My website and I are finally getting along though. 

If I can manage it, the eventual vision for the website is to provide a spot for giving away some free digital stuff - collage sheets, starter journal pages, idea sheets, etc.  AND (gulp) to maybe share some videos if I can figure that part out.  AND (no gulp this time), I'm planning to add a little guest book so you can say HI if you want to.

And now for some other random stuff because I just feel a need to write it:
- Today is Harper's last day of preschool.  I swear we were running so far behind schedule this morning that we almost didn't make it.  We were running out the door, and Harper asked me if she could put her shoes on.  Yep, that kind of morning.

- We bought six huge boxes of oatmeal at Costco yesterday.  That's 330 packs of oatmeal.  This house cannot function without oatmeal. (I warned you this was random stuff, right?)

- We had an alarm system installed at the house.  My husband's idea. (Ummm... like I needed one more thing to remember?)  I guarantee that I will be the first person to set the thing off.

- I have a very busy June coming up.  I'm in denial about it.

- I need a haircut.  Really, really.  I've become one of those long hair flickers... always flicking my hair out of my face, off my neck, etc.  Annoying.

- I'm putting judgemental people, politicians (of all persuasions), and negativity on my list of pet peeves.  And mosquitos.  And running out of ice cream.  And ok, I'll stop before I have to put pet peeves on my pet peeves list.

- OoOOOOOO... I ordered some new art supplies from Dick Blick yesterday.  Some colors of Pan Pastels that I've wanted for a while, some Copic pens (the fine line kind, sort of like Micron pens), some other Copic pens that I'm super excited about that look like fountain pens with the metal old school ink dipper tips but they have the ink inside the barrel (please be as awesome as I hope you will be little pens), a Caran D'Ache Neocolor II set of water soluble "crayons" (they should have found a simpler name for those little guys), some Sharpie extra fine point water soluble white paint markers and glue sticks for my Art & Soul students, and finally, some Bombay India inks. 

P.S.  Don't even try to steal all those lucious Dick Blick goodies off of my doorstep because I'm pretty sure the new alarm system has a super fancy setting with laser beams or something for art supply protection.  Plus I plan to go sit on my doorstep starting right now to wait for the delivery.

Can't. Stop. Doodling.

I can't seem to stop doodling pages long enough to paint the doodles in.  Well, there's that and the fact that it's a lot easier to just doodle while sitting on the couch than to actually sit down at the table to paint.  Below are some photos of more works in progress in The Mega Journal.

 And Harper can't stop dancing.  The photo below is from last night's performance.  Might need to enroll this girl in a dance class or something for fun.

Mega Journal

My Mom came to visit us last week.  We had a really nice visit, and Harper loved spending time with her Grandma.  My Mom is an excellent seamstress, so on the last day of the visit, I dug out the sewing machine from the basement so she could create a journal cover for me.  I have to put a disclaimer here that I made Mom sew a lot more randomly than she usually would!  Let's just say that I made her sew as crazy as I would have sewn it.  All over the place. 

Anyway... the first plan was to make two journal covers, but then I decided we could make my DREAM-MEGA-SUPER-DUPER-RIDICULOUSLY-THICK journal!  Mom sewed the two covers into one, and voila!  The Mega Journal was born.  I painted the pages yesterday so that every other page would have some starter color, and I sewed in the signatures last night.  I'm in love and couldn't wait to start journaling in it today. Thanks again, Mom!

The cover (without pages sewn in yet)

Painting pages

Had to start with an octopus on the first page, of course

The side view with the signatures sewn in... so fat and yummy!

Second page spread already started...

And even a third one!  This one will be "two heads are better than one", I think.

Harper kept busy this week too.

Clowning around...

And Harper and Grandma even made an adorable gnome garden complete with swing and gnome home.

Random Doodle of the Day

A doodle from tonight.  If I drew this again, there would be wheels or a city skyline instead of duck feet, but I draw in ink (no pencil first), so whatever happens just happens and I have to roll with it.

Journal Page Show & Tell on Facebook

Hi all!  I'm going to be posting some journal pages over at my Facebook page with a little bit about what was going on when I made the page.  A little peek is below, but you can see the full page here -->www.facebook.com/ShellyMasseyArt or you can click on the Facebook Page link in the menu bar above.  I'll try to put up a new one every few days.  Hope you'll stop by!

Making My Happy Place

Since we moved to Ohio, I've been trying to figure out how to find my tribe of artsies/friends here in Ohio.  I decided to stop whining about it and to do something about it.  Last night was a great first step.  I invited a group of local people to start a monthly arts and crafts night.  There were seven of us happily creating and visiting in the space you see below (already conveniently decorated from Harper's birthday party).  There were so many things going on - crochet, polymer clay, ornament making, zentangling, scrapbooking, and painting.  I would have taken a picture, but we were too busy having fun!  And I finally made some progress on some orders I started a few weeks back.  (Yep, Heather and Jen, those are your works in progress!)

The Fabulous Regina Lord

Have you had the pleasure of meeting Regina Lord (http://www.creativekismet.com/)?  If so, then you and I know what a lucky duck you are.  If you haven't, I'm thrilled to be able to introduce you.  I've had the fortune of becoming friends with Regina over the last few years and watching creativity just pour out of her.  The minute you meet her, you just know she's a good soul.  She's open, quick to smile, and just plain fun to be around.

A while back, she posted the piece of artwork that you see below on her blog, and well, I begged her to sell it to me.  Instead, Regina proposed a trade, and I was IN.  We traded, and you can see in the photos below all the other treasures she sent along.  Oh, what a fun time I had opening that package!  You can peek at the beautiful wrappings of handpainted papers she made in the background.  So lovely, I almost couldn't open them.  But, of course, I knew there was super goodness inside the package, so I made myself tear into them (carefully, of course).

I hope you'll go on over to Regina's blog and introduce yourself if you haven't met.  AND she has an Etsy shop where she sells some of her sweet and beautiful work, so you can get some treasures too!

Hello. I'm four!

More photos on our family blog:  http://shellypaints.blogspot.com/2012/05/harper-is-four.html