My First Smashbook Page...

Last night, Michael and I had the pleasure of seeing the amazingly talented Jackson Browne do a solo acoustic performance at the State Theatre in Minneapolis. Oh. WOW. Words cannot describe the magic. The way this man uses words to create visual pictures just blows me away. It has for decades now. Incredible. And oh, so fun to create my first SmashBook entry about it!...

Three Journals Come to a Close...

Hi everyone:My goal was to finish my current journal (the grid journal) by the end of May, so that on June 1st I could start my new art journal and smash book - and I did it! There is something I love about coming to the end of a journal, putting a tag on it, and adding it to my shelf! I ended up titling this one "Days Go By," after the Keith Urban lyric. It seemed appropriate....

Weekend In Texas Mini...

Remember that beautiful handmade journal I won from Penney? This one.....?Well, I got busy and put it to use right away! It was so beautiful I just couldn't let it sit there! So I'm making it into a mini-album about our recent trip to Texas! I worked on it at my monthly crop and got about half-way done. Here's how it looks so far...It was amazingly easy to adhere the...

Vintage Spring Ephemera Swap...

It's been absoutely AGES since I participated in a swap, but today I found one that I absolutely couldn't resist! It's called the Vintage Spring Ephemera Swap, and it's being hosted by Jessica Rodarte...All the photos on Jessica's blog of previous swaps look gorgeous, and it sounds like a lot of fun, so I signed up. The sign ups only go until May 27, so check it out here...

My First Video...

Hi everyone! I had fun last night, making a little video of some of my work, and I'm excited to share it with you! It was my first attempt at using iMovie, so it's not fancy, but for a first try, I'm happy with it. I hope you like it...Now I feel like next time I want to make a video for something, it won't be so intimidating, since I will have done it once, right?Anyhoo, I just wanted to share. I hope your week is going great...

Beautiful You, Radiant You

I'm back working on my 21 Secrets Projects and I'm excited to share with you! I finished my journal page for "Beautiful You, Radiant You," which is taught by Ingrid Murray. It was a class with many facets to it, but each one focused on knowing who you are. I made mine 11" x 15"...I picked my images for the mandala with no pre-planning, but when I was done I realized they...

Weekend Wedding, A New Baby and Happy Mail!!!!

It was a big weekend for the Rydells that started with a trip to Texas to attend Michael's brother Matt's wedding! We traveled with Michael's parents Sue and Stan - Here are the four of us having fun on the plane...The wedding was just beautiful! Here is a photo of Matt and his bride Leigh. Isn't her dress gorgeous?They had the reception in a park and it was a perfect day...

Giveaway Winner and an Announcement...

We have a winner of the journal kit giveaway! I let Willie and Johnny pick the winner - check out the video.....Congratulations goes to......gssfam!Please email your mailing address to me gssfam and I will get your kit out to you right away!!!If you didn't win, but would still like a journaling kit, there will be a chance to buy one soon! I am planning to open an etsy store! I'm so excited about this - I've been wanting to start an online shop...

My "Room to Bloom..."

Hi everyone! I'm very excited to share that my studio is being featured today in a new blog series called "Room to Bloom." It's over at Tracie Hanson's blog - Click here to come on over and say hi!!! I hope to see you over the...

A Giveaway for My Awesome Readers!

Hi everyone! Awhile ago, I decided that when my blog hit 50,000 hits, I would do a giveaway to celebrate. Well, guess what? It hit 50,000 over the weekend! Yeayyy! I'm so excited and grateful to you, my blog readers for visiting me! Here's the giveaway I put together for you.It's a little journal kit! It includes over 30 unique pieces of journal fodder - some vintage,...

National Scrapbook Day Was Fun...

Hi everyone! How was your National Scrapbook Day? Mine was fun! I completed three projects from the Big Picture Classes Celebration...1. Use Text on a Page...I had this page all planned in my head and text was the most important part, so it worked out great! This is an assignment for "The Self-Portrait Experience," over at 21 Secrets...I thought about what to write on...

Inspired by Tracie...

Hi everyone! Happy Friday! Do you ever get SO inspired by something you see, that you have to set aside whatever you are doing and try it yourself??? That happened to me this past week! I was deep into the 21 Secrets Workshops, when I saw this journal (click here and scroll to the April 30, 2011 post) in the gallery. I just LOVED it!!! Tracie was happy to share with...