California Summer

I love the Northern California Coast, the fog that burns off midday, the crisp offshore breeze and the colours of grey: blue grey ocean, brown grey sands, grey gulls with brilliant orange beaks.

Clear thinking

Where do you start when you have been away for so long? When thoughts have not been expressed, but it's nose to the grindstone, and prolific creativity abounds? You get out. You look at surreal landscapes with fog coming and going and you clear away the clutter and start moving. Beginning now.

Mingei

I love the time I spent in Japan and I am often inspired to create sets that are truly Japanese. If you have ever been there, you know there is a specific set of patterns and colours that are Japanese. Mingei means folk art. Here, in the LO, is a girl I met through Scrap Girls. She is really blonde with green eyes, a Caucasian with a passion for Japanese dance. Talk about inspiration! Her photos are fuel for my fire!

Crack up

Paper templates are one of my passions. I almost like making materials for others to create with more than actually making finished products. This paper template, Crack Up, imitates cracked paint, that crackled distressed finish that adds a perfect grunge to a finished paper or starts you off with a funky finish.

Happy Belated Birthday

Ahh, Cancer, you rushed past or were you hiding inside your house to escape summer's heat? Well, while you were, I was busy making just a little something to wish you well throughout the year! Hope the stars and planets shift favorably in your direction!

For this layout I think I used nearly everything but the kitchen sink! But for just a moment, you can get the postcard FREE at Scrap Girls.

Hot Moss

You can take a bulldog to the beach but you can't make him like it. Even though the day was cool (not like it has been here this last week---105!) Moss hid under the picnic table and swilled water like it was going out of style. Moss never drinks neatly, and soon the sand beneath the table was wet, his feet were sandy, his chin was sandy, I'm sure his insides were sandy! Maybe the name of this page should be True Grit! I used my Sachiko paper templates to create the papers here. I like using pink with Moss, his tongue and bloodshot eyes always seem so much less pink that way! I also used Keri Scheuller's Medallions brush on the headline and a tag from Erica Hite's Cherish Collection!

DaddyO

One of the best parts of designing this set was having Erica Hite as a partner. We both discovered we love calico fabrics and we assigned ourselves the task of making a masculine collection each, to mix and match in many ways with calico fabrics and men as our inspiration. We call our collections DaddyO. Erica's is DaddyO (one) and mine is DaddyO (two). From hats to shoes, tools to yardwork, bbq's to golf: it's a smattering of what makes men, well: men!