Hybrid: Text as Graphics

[[Warning: Whinge about to occur!! Ugh, so since moving to my new place, I haven't found a good spot in which to take photos of my pages. The photos are coming out light in some places, dark in others, the colors are always off and I just can't seem to figure it out! Honestly, and I hate to admit this, its half the reason why I'm not updating the blog. I know I'm too much of a perfectionist but it's seriously driving me nuts!!]]

Ok, now that I've got that off of my chest, I have a new page to share and a new challenge to issue. It's my monthly Hybrid Diva Ch{all}enge Masters prompt.

This month's challenge is to use text as graphics for your page. I managed to do this in a variety of different ways.

With the help of Word and some text boxes, I created this "fancy" title. I liked mixing the fonts and the text sizes for a more graphic effect.

I added this tab to the top of my page. It's a theme I'm going to stick with for awhile. I think since I didn't get to participate fully in Shimelle's Learn Something New Everyday class, I've subconsciously been tagging things as "learned" in my head for awhile. I thought this was a fun way to incorporate "life lessons" into my journaling and my pages. I'd love to have a whole album with the theme of life lessons.

And then I made some baseballs. And I'm LOVING these little guys. They were the launching off point for this month's prompt. They're cute, simple and super easy to make!

All you'll need is a block of text, a circle punch and I choose to use distressing ink, but obviously that's optional. Print your text, punch it out, distress or embellish as desired. Viola!

I hope you'll play along. And be sure to check out more Week 2 challenges this Sunday! (I'm a bit early) Thanks yall!

xxbesos

j.leija

Color Challenge: Colorblind

This month I get to issue the color challenge for Scrapbook Challenges. I've never issued one before so I was super stoked to do things my way, which is of course always a little different. I decided to go for a very unconventional color scheme: turquoise, orange and purple.

My most favorite dress in my wardrobe is of this color scheme. Sadly, I've never had an occasion to wear it. But one of these days I will.

Coincidentally, my page is about both dresses and color. Well, colorblindness to be exact. I had some fun with the journaling, and poked some fun at our male counterparts and their visual deficiencies. I'm experimenting more with this type of journaling, telling a story. It's so much more fun than, "Kim and I at Mo and Joey's wedding"!!

Ki Memories and American Crafts Dear Lizzy work so well together! As I hope this layout does attest. It's been forever since I've used my huge stash of Ki and I'm so happy I took the plunge and made the cuts. I also went to town with my favorite design element, repetitive circles. I had some trouble balancing them and it still looks a little off for me, but I'm happy to call it done.

Supplies: Patterned Paper (Ki Memories, American Crafts, 7 Gypsies, Studio Calico), Buttons (American Crafts, Papertrey Ink), Punches (Fiskars, EK Success, Mavy Uchida), Stamps (Studio Calico), Paper Clip (Ki Memories)

xxbesos

j.leija

Unconventional Resources

Some of you might have noticed the new look to the blog, along with a different name. I haven't officially changed the name of the blog or anything, just trying something new. But I found the name to be particularly appropriate, given my current job, which deals with the energy sector. Of course I'd move to Houston and get a job in energy! There doesn't seem to be anything else going on here.

Since starting work nearly three months ago, I've learned far more about the industry, than I thought I would. Including what unconventional oil refers too. I won't bore you with the nuances, it's really pretty dry. But at least I'm still learning, moving forward and starting my career. I don't know if I'll stay in energy, but I'm happy to have some experience under my belt.

Seeing as I started a new job, aged another year and moved to a new city, I figured it was time for a new scrapbook. I'm planning to use this as my cover page. What else is new? The 8.5x11 format and the fact that it's an entirely digital page. There's nothing fancy about it, but I had some fun with the text and added a Winding. Love those lil buggers!

So here's to a new beginning, and finally settling into it all!

xxbesos

j.leija