Michelle Alynn Clement - Scissor Quirk.

"Now".

Hey there!

First of all, I gotta say that the Thanksgiving dinner I made for hubby and I yesterday turned out rad! (If I do say so myself...) lol. We got all the groceries in the morning, and, with some help from mom's trusty recipes, I got to work making a yummy roasted chicken (we couldn't find a small enough turkey..lol) with cilantro & rosemary-bread stuffing, garlic mashed potatoes, a warm spaghetti squash, cranberry sauce, and yummy chicken gravy. Dude! I'd never made so much food from scratch at one time!

It all tasted delish - and then to top it all off, hubby picked up this giant pumpkin pie (we're talking about 20 inches around, it came home in a pizza box!! lol..) from the fancy cake place near home, and we topped it with vanilla bean ice cream. :) Yum! I've missed Thanksgiving for the last 3 years, so happy I took the time to make it this year!

Anyhoo, I haven't shared a page in a while and just found this one I scrapped a few months ago, now, sitting on my computer - it was to document some of my current faves back then. :) (Most of which I'm still obsessed with now - vampires? uh huh. antiques? double uh-huh.)

 
 
Annnd....of course, I used some Bubbly Shnooks paper strips (cuz I love em). And the arrows are really old 7 Gypsies that I found digging throgh my stash, same with the Basic Grey paper.

Anyhoo, I'm making soup with some Thanksgiving leftovers right now and roasting the squash seeds. I should be drawing but I'm not feeling inspired to just yet. I finished off my bookmaking homework, and I'll share it soon. I'm wishing I had time to scrap.

We have company coming in today until Thursday morning, and then come Friday we're making a film (I think...) lol, and...too busy to say the whole entire on-the-horizon list, but I hope some shopping is in there. I'm in dire need of boots and plaid. I would say skinny jeans, too, but I can never get those suckers over my walkers' calves (argh!). I haven't even looked for my winter clothes, yet, and only started not wearing flip-flops last week...lol. I'm in denial that it's fall.

Are you ready for fall?? Oy....I miss summer already!

20 things.

Well, hello! Thanks for all the Scrapjacked congrads, lovely readers! :) You guys are so cute! I am slowly starting to feel better, it's tough to take it easy when I have class and stuff to go to 3 nights of the week, but I was feeling waaaay better. I slept horribly last night, though, and now Z is sick so I'm trying not to get it back! :)  (sigh)...lol.

Anyhoo, here's a lil something to keep you guys occupied with reading material over my next few busy days:

(As seen here and here and here)

1. Show us the inside of something cute:

My "I Love Toast" Zine!

I made this zine for my Bookmaking class homework for last week (we all had to make 20, and then pass them around to everyone in the class...so fun! It felt like Valentine's Day in elementary school!). It's all about toast - kind of random, I know. Basically, for those who don't know what a zine is, it's an instant book that you photocopy and fold quickly.

My original version was very mixed-media - lots of vintage paper, labels, etc. and I illustrated the toasts/text on top. I photocopied it on a very cool kraft recycled paper, and then stitched up the spine with pink thread/added a colorful sticker because we had to incorporate color somehow. :) It was so fun! Here's a peek at the cute inside pages/the making of:

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Photos of the whole shebam, right here.)

2. the last home cooking you had?

I was going to say this lovely curry-squash soup I made the other day, but, despite being sick, Z and I tried our hand at a very yummy homemade pizza (or two) - we used my Italian grandpa's recipe, and put lotsa cheese, ham, fresh pineapple, etc. on top - soooo yummy! :)

3.  What do you miss?

All of my lovely family (and best friends, for that matter) in Calgary...

(especially the boys, with their too-cute 'cheese' faces!)

We live too far away!

4. What makes you laugh often?

This husband guy is pretty funny!

5. What's your favorite word?

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! No, really - any word sounds funny enough if you repeat it over and over, and I like the funny words. :)

6. What are you trying to quit?

...staring at this pile of home decorating goodies I am accumulating to do the apartment!!

 

Must get on that, as soon as I have a moment! Agh! I'm dying to sew pillow cushions and embroider cheesy things to frame for the walls!

7. What's your favorite commercial right now?

This one makes me giggle every time - he's just so sad! What if he tried to eat some skittles? Would he get more skittles from the one skittle he picks up? hmm...

8. Whose style do you dig?

I have a crush on Zooey's style:

But I would love it more if it was mixed with a little Kat Von D's style:

 

Her style's a little scary on it's own..lol. Which I'll admit, I love, but would never want to pull off. But a mix of the vintage/prim & tattooed would be perfect. :)

As a matter of fact, I liken that combo to Silje, whose style I adore:

9. Links to a great blog you've discovered lately:

I discovered it a while ago, but lately I've recently re-found it - Helen Dardik's blog is just fabulous (and so is her work)!! And I am so psyched she's designing scrapbook goodies!! Eeek!

10. What's the last craft you made?

I think that would have to be that there Scrapjacked page - with being sick and crazy busy, I've had no time lately to craft. :( Instead of posting it again, I'm gonna share a picture of the sock monkey's mom and I made at a class back in July - didn't they turn out cute? :)

Can you tell it was super early? lol...I look sleeeeepy.

11. A photo of the last happy mail you got:

 

Some beyond rad t-shirts from Timber! were my last happy mail, oh...I love them so. :)

12. Something you've got lately?

I found this rad wooden frame and a few other old frames/prints at the thrift store & trading post on Mayne Island while we were camping. :) Camping and shopping in the same weekend? Cool, I know! The wooden guy looked pretty rad strapped onto the back of my backpack...lol. :)

And these lil cuties:

 

I got the mug in the mail for Z's birthday from Skeletal Dropkick (I got him a big ol mug and a cute skull bowl, and had to get a small mug to go with! he he...) The paper goodies are from my favorite, Paper-Ya - I love it there and was totally spoiled last time! I'm such a planner junkie. :)

13. What are you looking forward to?

My next bookmaking class (we get to share our accordian book with the class & learn how to stab stitch!), making said accordian book this weekend (yay!), the start of my Letterpress class (in a few weeks), finishing my portfolio website, having time to focus on the shop (I have soooo many cute ideas, but no time to draw them all!!) & other just-for-me stuff! Basically, just getting the list done so I can do the fun stuff on it!

14. Post a recent snapshot of yourself:

Me, on the ferry on the way to Victoria last month. :)

15. Recent favorite movie?

I think the most recent fave would still have to be "Let the Right One In". There have been good ones since then, but nothing favorite-worthy.

16. Something you're working on right now?

Oh, gosh...what am I not working on? lol...I'm drawing stamps, planning my ABC/art journal homework accordian book, working on my portfolio site, etc. I have no pictures of the recent on-the-go's, but here's a peek at what my desk looks like most of the time - a little chaotic:

17. If a movie were made about you, who would play you?

The only person that comes to mind is Emily Blunt, cuz she was so gloriously awkward in 'Sunshine Cleaning' - she'd have to play me like that, just maybe a tinch less awkward/klutzy and not the younger child.

18. What gives you goosebumps?

Those ghost-hunter shows, or psychic haunted-house investigation shows - though I love them, I just can't watch em alone. Or with someone. And creepy 'based-on-a-true-story' scary movies, like "The Strangers", really get me cuz it actually happened. Even if only in part, it's creepy.

19. Share a new obsession

I'm obsessed with t-shirts. It's not new, but there are ever more rad new t-shirts coming out with each season, and I want them all. Can't wait for this one:

 

(from Red Velvet Art)

I looove this one:

(from Timber!)

And, oh gosh...there are so many more! Too many to share em all!

20. What's the meaning of your life?

I think I'm here to share a little bit of my heart daily, make cute stuff, enjoy the beautiful place I live, explore the world a little, have lotsa fun, learn always. :)
 

What are the answers to your 20 Questions? :) Happy day, guys!

Page + Film Love

Hello, again!

I have another scrapbook page to share! :) Made this one a few weeks ago, now. It's about hiking around Salt Spring island, which we did back in February - supa fun! :) Who knows why I'm making 'rawr' faces, but they make me giggle... Anyway, here she is:

I used some paper strips from the shop, too - they're so fun! The 'where' and 'how' tags, as well as the 'omg' tag. :) (That one is my very favorite!). I also used some stickers from Elsie's 'Camp Cute' kit, which is the cutest camping kit in the whole world!

It's been so nice to have time to scrap, too - I feel like it's been ages!! I meant to scrap this weekend some more, but I felt so disorganized after coming home to a messy desk and crazy long to-do list, so yesterday hubby and I (he's at home now, too!) both organized ourselves up and now I know where to start on stuff and am not overwhelmed. I am, however, overwhelmed at the amount of photos we took this summer! Agh! Will try to share them soon, but it's daunting!

If you're in need of a good film or two, we just saw Adventureland (which I loved and Z giggled at the whole time! Plus, Martin Starr is my favorite from the Freaks and Geeks days...not to mention how lovely and awkward Kristen + leading guy were.) Highly suggest it! Plus, the stop-motion shirts on the dvd menu won me over, so maybe I'm biased. :)

We also went to a screening of "Mary and Max", this fab Australian stop-motion animated film that won my heart with it's quirky genius writing - it was totally cute and funny and touching in every way. :)

Look for it at a local animation screening, you might just find it! And if you can't find it, at least check out what may be one of the coolest websites ever. :) It's so great to see handmade movies on a big screen! Aahh...

Anyhoo - must narrow down the to-do list now that I'm organized! I have so much to share and work on, including getting a reel together to show on Thursday (I've been invited to sit-in at a VFS industry lecture - dude!) and going to my first book-making class tonight. :) Life is good!

Have you seen any good movies lately? Please share!

Lotsa lots.

(...bear with me, it's a long 'un!)

First of all, I forgot to say how rad the amusement park/PNE on Sunday night was!! :) It was a blast! We went on lotsa spinny rides, played whack-a-mole (my favorite!), and ate lotsa mini donuts and yummy fair food. So fun!

Z is a total ride daredevil and went on some scary rides...lol..including this 200-and-some foot spinny cage thing. Agh! I'm not that brave, but it was still a blast. :)

I'm always forgetting what to blog when I actually blog. Hah! Anyhoo...

I've been racing around, trying to unpack the stragglers/remaining boxes from the move (which was almost six months ago, now - the shame! lol...) so's that I can decorate a little finally. I hung pictures and canvas paintings up and organized all day. My best friend is getting married on Saturday, too, so I've been making presents and getting pretty while cleaning and organizing like a madman. Plus, I literally did 10 loads of laundry, which is a *lot*. Never letting that pile up again. I didn't get to do anything for fun yet today. (sigh)...lol.

I do have a glimpse of my desk, though:

 

(Photo made using Rollip, which Elsie got me addicted to!!)

It's kind of a tornado zone right now, which extended to the kitchen/nook where the sewing machine is - which means half of our apartment, really. lol...thus there's only a wee corner in the picture, full of chopped up plastic animals that I'm making into hooks and art pieces right now. :)

There will be much to share house-wise very soon, I think...I haven't shown any pictures a) cuz I can't keep it clean enough while the camera batteries charge & b) it's a hot mess of mish-mashed colors right now, and, frankly, I don't wanna post that. lol...

I have dreams of embroidering moustaches and painting and sewing cushion covers, so as soon as the fun week-in-Calgary vacation is over, and then the fun parents-in-law-are-visiting week, I'm psyched to dive into piles of drawings and making things come to fruition that haven't had a chance to yet. So *so* excited! Lots of good stuff in the works, and I can't wait to have a moment to focus on the shop!!

I have to say thanks to the ever-lovely Kara, too, for sending me some cute atc's and lovely tunes. She has the best hand-writing ever and we are music twins, I think. :)

 

Annnd...the randomly chosen winner of my Handmade Moment draw iiissss:

Michelle said...

Sounds like lots of fun! I added your video to my blog side bar. I'll see if I can grab some last minute viewers tonight and tomorrow.

Congrads, Michelle! I'll send you the gift certificate code, pronto.

Thanks for entering, those who did! :) Welp, thanks to everyone who checked it out! You totally helped spread the word for me, and that rocks! However, Etsy announced the finalists today and I didn't make the top 25 - (sigh). lol...No, really, I had fun animating my lil vid and I like it, so it's a win-win. I do have to say (now that I've been cut), Hine's video is my favorite - so check it out!

Anyhoo - going out of town tomorrow for a week. :) Will blog while I'm away, cuz I have at least one post saved and ready to go - oh yeah. :) New tunes, it be. I think I should introduce a 'newfound tune' Friday, and type like a pirate. Thoughts? lol...I've just been finding so many rad songs, lately.

So happy days to you!

Well, hello Lyle.

I managed to finally post the painting I did for my nephew a while back! :) (I think I gave it to him in July...) - anyhoo, meet Lyle the fuzzy blue, looks-like-Sully-a-little monster:

 

 

 

That's the original canvas, and here's the print that's now available in the shop:

 

And just a lil note - I'm heading to Calgary this weekend for a week, so Bubbly Shnooks will be closed from Sept 3rd to 14th, til I get back. :) Orders processed on Wednesday night will make the cut and be shipped Thursday! Yay!

Anyhoo - I'm crazy bogged down this week, as always, but with fun stuff, as always. :) I took a hiatus from the portfolio building to sew, and then the plan was to finish unpacking some straggler boxes and decorate the house a little, but I haven't got much done yet. Argh!

I also have some drawing to do, and I'm hoping for some time to work on shop stuff but it isn't happening just yet. Instead, I have soup on the stove, my sewing machine out on the table, and I'm just going at a nice creative pace. :) It's somewhat relaxing, ignoring my giant to-do list. ha ha...

Til next time. :)

...Sitting on the Shelf.

Oh, Sunday. I like Sundays. There's something fresh about them. Tying up the end of last week, starting in on a new week. Me likey. :) I just got back from a trip to the fabric store (yay!), it was a nice chill shopping morning.

Oh! And before I forget (I'm sorry, guys, I have to plug it one more time! lol...) there's only today and tomorrow left to check out/vote for/spread the word about my lil Etsy video for the "Handmade Moment" contest! (Thank you so much to all who have already, you guys rock!). Here it is, or you can check it out here, too:

(Can't anymore - sorry! Video's been pulled!)

And please scroll down if you missed the scrappage I posted the other day, too! Yes, I did. I scrapbooked. I know, it's been few and far between lately! lol...

So how's the weekend been? Z and I have a ton of work to do this weekend, so after a run, a muffin-make, and a garage sale stroll, we worked all Saturday (when I say 'work', I mean I sewed all day. Necessary, but fun, too!). Will share what I'm making soon, but it's my best friends' wedding gift, so I can't just yet..lol. :) I also got a lot of cool fabric to finally decorate the kitchen a little and to revamp/redo the cushions on our couch - can't wait to freshen it up in here!!

So, off we go tonight to the PNE - I haven't been to an amusement-type park in...I don't even remember when! But I'm a roller-coaster junkie, so I'm psyched!! :) Hopefully it'll look something like this:

(Photo Source)

Off we go! :) Happy night, guys!

(Title from the 'She & Him' song I've had stuck in my head happily for days and days).

New Page-age.

Waiting for late breakfast muffins to come out of the oven, so I'll share a new page I made a few weeks ago, but haven't posted yet. :) It's called "Love Summer" - that's me in the lil stripey bathing suit..he he. :) It's very appropriate for this lovely sunny day today!

 

 

 

I used some tags from the shop, too (Call me partial to em, but I love the paper strips - I'm always sticking them on pages, now! lol). It's the Colorful "Place It" set, right here - they have lots of super-bright 'who, what, why-and-where's' to play with - totally useful in every way.

Anyhoo - Z needs to work all day, it's his last weekend before his contract is over, and I need to sew all day long, though I dunno if I have all the supplies I need, lol. :) I've been having fun making my website this week, so I really just wanna keep doing that, but I haven't sewn in a while,  so it'll be fun, too! Off I go! What are you up to this weekend? Being crafty?

Happy weekend, guys! :)

Colorful Moments & Contests!

Well, hello friends! :)

Back from vacation, I am! And back at 'er! My list to-do is daunting after being away for a week, and I have *so* much to share (pictures, stories, some new scrapbook pages, new shop news...) but it's all super-fun, so lets get to it! 

Anyhoo - in a mad rush before I left for Victoria/Tofino last Friday I posted up my (just-barely-finished-it-in-time) contest entry to Etsy's "A Handmade Moment" contest, it's called "Colorful Moments/Handmade World". The first round of the contest is counted by video views, so instead of posting the super-sharp, high-quality version here on the blog, you have to hop-skip over here to see it!

Here's a peek at it, via some still-frames:

 

I animated the whole thing in a program called Flash - every frame of the 15-second video was hand-drawn by myself. It was actually the first time I've drawn in flash with my wacom tablet (usually I build pieces and move em around...which is usual, too) so I had fun boiling them! :)

When I was done animating, I composited it in AfterEffects - added some lovely textures and shadows (which are hard to see on there, but you know...lol). So please take a peek and tell me what you think!

And, the CONTEST!!

(this looks a little daunting, but is really not.)

I'm also holding a contest starting today to help get the word out about my new shop location and, err, contest entry! If you think my video is cute and would like to help spread the love, or just plain want to win a $25 gift certificate to spend (yep, one lucky person will win $25 to spend on anything they want from Bubbly Shnooks! What a help that would be Christmas shopping, hey?)

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Blog about this blog post/video announcement (you must include one of the still-frame photos and this direct link to my video on etsy.tv in your blog post), or if you go here you can generate some code to embed the video directly into a blog post (cool, huh?). Then, leave a comment on this post or e-mail me with the link to your blog post so I know you entered. 

2. Send an e-mail around to your close friends/family (including one of the still-frame photos, if possible, and this direct link to my video on etsy.tv). Make sure you e-mail it to me, as well so I know you sent it and can enter you in the draw: michelle.a.clement@gmail.com

3. Put one of the two cute Widgets (up on the top side of my blog, under 'Contests & Widgets') on your blog and link it directly to my video on etsy.tv, and then leave me a link on this post/e-mail me with a link to the place you've put them. (They only need to stay up until August 31st!)

4. Do anything and everything else that I haven't listed that you think qualifies as an entry - it pretty much just has to link directly to my video on etsy.tv, and then send a copy to me so I can enter you in the draw! :)

RULES:

The contest is using views to tabulate the first round, so it must link directly to here (have I said that enough?? ha ha...) to qualify as a contest entry! Please include your contact information (your full name and e-mail address) with your entry. You can do any one, or all of, the options above to enter. The more you do, the more times you'll be entered. (Yay!) The contest runs from August17th/18th until August 31st at 12 am, PST. At which time, all the names of those who participated will be entered into a random draw for a $25 gift certificate for Bubbly Shnooks and perhaps an extra goodie or two!  

And, please, don't spam people! I'm just trying to get the word out, I don't want anybody to be annoyed! Only e-mail contacts you know personally, and don't use Etsy conversations or abuse twitter spam policies or anything! Simply say something like, "Check out this cute video Michelle Alynn made for Etsy's Handmade Moment contest! I think it's so cute!", and let them know about this post, as well, so they can enter the contest, too! Share the love!

I just want to generate a lil buzz, since we're down to the last 3 weeks of the contest and I posted mine but a week ago! lol...Need to make up for 2 lost months. And, besides, you guys are lovely. I need to thank you somehow! :)

And if you have any, any questions at all, or need help e-mailing/posting/widget-ing, please feel free to e-mail me and I'll help you out! michelle.a.clement@gmail.com

Okay, til next time. Happy contest-ing!! :)

Outties, again.

I always type 'outties', like 'we're out' - but then it reminds me immediately of belly buttons. Hah.

Anyhoo - random! I am outties - tomorrow morning we head off to Victoria for a few days to hang with my cousin/do random touristy stuff, and then on Tuesday we head out to Tofino to go camping for three nights, and then we're staying in a cute lil cabin-on-the-beach for the next two nights close to Tofino, still, and then we grab a bus back on Sunday. Whew! Yay!

This is the longest trip Z and I have actually planned/taken together alone - usually if it's over 3-4 days, we're with the parents. :) he he. Anyhoo - fun! We've both been looking forward to it all summer!!

Hopefully it'll be a lot like this, from our trip last year, if the weather holds out:

 

 

And this one just made me laugh, flipping through the photos from last year - lol. There's just no way to tame your hair, those ferrys just motor and the wind gets crazy! :) This is my defeated, okay-it-won't-look-good-and-its-the-twentieth-photo smirk...ha ha. Reminder not to do my hair tomorrow, though. :)

And in other news....the shop is moving on August 17th!!

The new location will be here: www.bubblyshnooks.etsy.com

It will be closed from August 8th-17th, too, cuz I won't be here to fill orders. :)

I have a brand shiny new Monster print to share (yay!) as well as some cute new sticky notes! I also finished animating my video today, but was having a crazy hard time getting a good quality video to upload, thus it's still in limbo. You may see it in the Etsy Handmade contest while I'm gone - lol - but I'll be holding a fun giveaway and will blog about it/post it when I get back.

Goodness, I feel like I have so, so much fun stuff to blog about! Vacation pics, projects-in-the-works - Eeeek!! I'm practically bursting at the seams to blog about it all, but that's kinda crazy. There will be lotsa updates when I get back (do I always say that? lol) cuz I'll be getting back into a routine and making lotsa fun stuff. :) So, til then, enjoy the summer!! Happy day!

Aloha.

Well, hello. :)

Nothing new creatively to share just yet, so new in the world of me stuff: I got a cute haircut and kind of have bangs now...it's a lil odd. What meant to be a trim got a lil almost-to-short-for-ponytail short. lol. :) Photo soon, hopefully! I'm also jonesing for a tattoo - I was getting a small one every year for a few years there, and I've just realized it's been like 2 1/2 years since my last one! Agh! Trying to convince hubby to get one with me. :)

I'm psyched that the Art School has it's September calender out and that I'll soon be signing up for Bookmaking (Eeek!) and LetterPress 1 (again...I had to cancel my last sign-up for this because of a work extension...). I might also take a small business course over a few weeks in September, cuz I'm craving school!! It's also been like 2 years since I learned something not on the job. Yay!

What else? Oh! I've decided - as part of the whole organize-my-web-self thing and the website building - it makes sense to move my shop address, which is currently www.michellealynn.etsy.com, to a more searchable-on-Etsy address: www.bubblyshnooks.etsy.com. This will be happening on August 5th - more details coming about that as I figure it out! But feel free to add the new shop to your favorites so you can find it! :)

I'm also currently trying to fend off a sore throat still (sometimes - it's been hanging around threatening to come full-on for weeks now!), working out regularly (finally!) and I feel awesome, I've been cooking a lot of healthy food - like Chickpea soup, Veggie Shepherd's Pie, Beef Enchiladas, etc. and have been having fun shopping in the new (to me) organic market thats just blocks away from home. It's so cool to go in there and find new healthy food stuffs!

We finished watching the first season of True Blood last night - the two last episodes, and: happy! Thank goodness there wasn't a crazy cliffhanger, cuz it's already gonna be hard enough waiting for the second season to come out on dvd (no HBO in my house!). Yay! :) Happy, happiness!

Anyhoo - I feel like summer's just starting - just realized the next many weekends are booked full of lovely getaways and camping, starting with a little jet-off to Calgary tonight to visit my parents + family for the weekend - short and sweet, but much-needed. :) I miss them and can't wait to visit them and hang out in the pool for a few days! Yay!

It will hopefully look much like this (our visit last year...)


So psyched! Anyhoo - Off to work I go. I'm animating a video today between painting my nails grey, packing my lil bag, and trying not to surf itunes. :) Happy weekend! I'll try to blog everyday next week, cuz I have a lot to catch up on, here! Laters!