so far... not so much.

so, this weekend I'm at a 3-day SB crop in Tucson. (granted, right now I'm not scrapping- I'm on my way to breakfast!) Here's a bit of my workspace- not a great picture, but it was kind of late last night, and I was tired- I'll take better pics today.  

 

It always takes me forEVER to get 'into' the creative mode when I attend something like this... there was a lot of time taken setting up my work area, a lot of socializing- since I met some of my online friends for the first time, which was very nice- a bit of scrappy shopping (of course, lol!), some scrapping, and some frustration.  So, the sum total of my creativity so far is one scrapbook layout (which still isn't quite done):

'front' page

a layout with photos of our visit to Montezuma Castle National Monument. (it still needs the journaling and the 'finishing touches' added to it)

interior pages

 I made a lot of math errors, glued things down in the wrong place multiple times, and wasted some paper, but finally got this to where I was satisfied with it at about 7 pm last night. So, this is my 9-hour layout! (not really, but this gives you an idea about how things went...)

Today and tomorrow will be better! I better get going!! :D

random journal pages

just some random journal pages from the last couple weeks. Since I've been focusing on scrapbooking, till just recently I hadn't done anything in my journal at all-- I finally decided to give it some love! (my most recent journal is almost finished, now, so that'll give me the incentive to keep up with it.)

stamped text: I had a spelling issue, but as you can see
I didn't let it bother me- just stamped right over the error.

awkward: the entire page.  

This page definitely 'took a turn' from where it started out, lol! I started with a stenciled background made ages ago with acrylic (blue, pink, and green) and watercolor (gray) paint. The antlers came first, from a clip-art elk. (I think it's an elk, anyway- could be a caribou. Don't tell my dad if I'm wrong, because after growing up in a house with a taxidermist for a father, and getting a zoology degree, I really should know that, lol!) 

Anyway, the elk head was just hanging out on the page for a while... then recently I found the 'eye-image' necklace in a fashion magazine jewelry advertisement. It looked like it should just go there, if you know what I mean. (people who do collage will know what I mean- if you don't do collage, then just trust me- it was the perfect place for it.) I kept flipping through the fashion magazine and found the figure leaning on the railing, added it to the page, then added a skirt (which is actually a calla lily, taken from a different jewelry ad). Since I've already gone 'off the page' with it, I still may give the figure some legs-- not sure (I'm thinking bird legs). Then, the question of people staring popped into my head, so... the text.

odd? yup. but sometimes, 'odd' is what's in my head!

watercolored background (which reminds me of the Brady Bunch,
for some reason) with a clip-art hand and some collaged details.

your outlook on life totally depends on your point of view!
acrylic painted bubble-wrap stamping and a watercolor wash
over the top with collaged images and patterned paper. 

patterns and texture.
all pieces cut from a fashion magazine and
glued onto a watercolored background.

and now, it's back to 'scrapbook' mode for a couple days, because I'm going to be scrapbooking all weekend long in Tucson starting (bright and early) tomorrow-- yay!!!! I'm taking my journaling stuff with me though, of course- along with practically all my other supplies, including my typewriter, my inks and mists, my new camera, my laptop, plenty of Diet Dr. Pepper and Diet Mt. Dew, my Mad Men seasons 1-3 on DVD... lol!!  (I definitely don't pack light, that's for sure!) 

It's a 3-day retreat at a Tucson hotel and I'm really looking forward to it- if you hadn't already guessed :D  I found out about it on an online scrapbooking forum- and I'll actually get to meet a few of those 'online' friends in real life! I'm hoping to have a lot of fun, do a little messing  around with my camera and Photoshop Elements, sleep way too little, and maybe even get a few scrapbook layouts completed... I'll let you know how that turns out! 

Currently I'm:

• Watching:
  -Chopped All-Stars: three rounds down so far!
  -Deadliest Catch: the new season just started- yay!
• Reading: 
  -The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, by Laurie R. King
  Set in the early 20th century, the main character is Mary Russell, a 15-year old girl who meets a retired Sherlock Holmes in the English countryside… and of course there’s a mystery to solve! (I bought a book by this author at the thrift store, and found out the book I bought was #9 in a series—so I had to start at the beginning with this title.)
• Listening to:
  -Dawson’s Creek (TV show) soundtracks
  -One Tree Hill (TV show) soundtrack
  (over and over... when I get into something, I play it to death, lol! I have to concentrate at my desk at work, and I can’t do it if there’s lots of people talking)
• Making:  
  -New art journal pages (I'm almost finished with my current journal- will post some pics soon)
  -Lists of things to take with me to a 3-day scrapbooking crop I’m attending this weekend in Tucson
• Feeling:  
  -Annoyed that 4-day work weeks always seem to be longer and more difficult than a regular 5-day work week is!
  -Impatient to finally receive my Rx refills from the mail-order service (there was a delay in ordering due to a switch in our insurance plan)
  -Impatient for my 4-day work week to be over with!
• Looking forward to:  
  -Having a great time at the SB crop in Tucson this weekend! (but will miss everyone at home while I’m gone)
  -Spending some quality time learning how to use my new camera.
• Enjoying:  
  -The wonderful spring weather we’re having right now, before the summer temperatures hit with a vengeance. Currently it's still cool enough at night to open the windows, but has been getting into the 90s for highs temps.

Sweet Salvage

this past weekend, I headed out to Phoenix to do some flea-market shopping. (Well, 'flea market' isn't exactly the best term for it- you'll see what I mean when you look at the photos- but it's the best I have...) Once a month, there is a 4-day antique market hosted by Sweet Salvage in the Melrose District of downtown Phoenix. It's a once-a-month 4-day antiques shopping event, basically one weekend a month, Thursday - Sunday, with every month having a different theme. That way, the merchandise always changes (and if you wnt something, it might not be there next month!) 

This month's theme was Boho / Industrial Chic, I think... I bought a few small things (we don't need any large pieces of furniture, and this theme does not fit with our Southwestern decorating scheme), but took photos of some of the booths while I was there. The individual vendor spaces were accessorized so beautifully, it seemed like they could easily be vignettes straight out of an interior decorating magazine. Next month's theme is 'Sweet Retreat' so I'll definitely be going to see what the vendors can do with it!

love the red lockers!

tablescape with dog figurines and vintage silver

this booth was full of gorgeous vintage religious items

mother-of-pearl and vintage rhinestones-- beautiful!!

tablescape with vintage Santos figurine, angel wings, and coral, among other things.
I really tried to figure out what I could do with those
wooden wings, but ended up leaving them there.

painted hutch
with architectural items, figurines, and more

dogs and cigars- love it!! I really like this decorative bottle,
but there was no compelling reason to bring it home with me.

this booth had a shabby-chic front porch feel to it.

this booth is definitely 'industrial chic' style, with the
rusty car grill on the wall, straight out of American Pickers!

Check out the Sweet Salvage blog and website for more photos of interesting and unusual merchandise. (since I didn't go till Saturday morning, I'm sure I missed out on seeing some of the best stuff-- although what was there on Saturday was still pretty amazing.)