happy to see my friend shine

thanks for stopping by my part of the art of layers blog hop!

i met ronda two years ago (has it really been only two years, maybe it was three years?) through her blog. i had first heard mention of her through summer fullerton, who had a memory maker's issue with a picture of the recent masters, of which ronda was one. summer asked if i knew her because we lived in the same city. i meant to contact her somehow and find out if where she lived. a while later, i learned from an online message board that she had recently lost her dear sister chrissi and i commented on her blog that i thought we lived pretty close because our fences looked the same, maybe we could meet and she could tell me stories about chrissi. there was a 50/50 chance she would think i was a weirdo and not write back, but i got lucky and she agreed we should meet up at a nearby starbucks for tea. we instantly clicked, each decided the other was OK, exchanged phone numbers, and well, we've talked nearly every day since. turns out i was right, we live about mile apart as the crow flies, about 5 minutes drive. she's such a blessing in my life and i can't believe it took so long to find her :)

because we live so close, i often head over to scrap in ronda's awesome scraproom. i got to see a great deal of the process behind the writing of her book and i will tell you she poured her whole heart and soul into it. i'm so proud of her! and i'm happy to be a part of this hop celebrating her and this fabulous book. so many fun techniques to get an extra layer or two onto your scrapbook pages. the ideas are accessible and presented with great detail.

here's a bit about the book:

“Basic scrapbooking has you place photos and embellishments on cardstock or patterned paper - easy and...well, basic. The next step for most scrapbookers is layering. But trying to get that rich, interesting layered look can be very intimidating. Where do you even start? "Art of Layers" teaches scrapbookers and beginning mixed media artists just how easy it is to get to that layered look in any papercrafting project. Author Ronda Palazzari teaches readers 50+ techniques that will serve as tools to pull out whenever a layered look is desired. The chapters allow the reader to build their skills, from paper techniques they won't be afraid to try adding fabric, embellishments, and stamping to finally giving spray inks, paints and gesso a try.”

you can purchase Art of Layers from a number of vendors, including amazon.com, ronda has a list on the side of her blog. but i'd like to suggest buying it from cocoa daisy, a long time home of ronda's :)

i get to share with you a piece of ronda's artwork from the book, representing both our friendship and the chapter on stamps. you could try and guess the technique, but i think it would be better to get out there and buy this book! you'll love it! 

here's the hop list, please stop by each blog, leave a comment for a chance to win your own copy of this wonderful book. we'll each be giving one away! comments will be closed sunday night at 6 MST. have fun taking a peek inside ronda's book :)

Ronda Palazzari (you should have come from here)

Emily Pitts (you are here)

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

Lisa Pace

Nathalie Kalbach

Kelly Purkey

Dina Wakley

Amy Tangerine

Lisa Dickinson

Birgit Koopsen

Ali Edwards

Comments are now closed, the randomly selected winner is Holly Preslar! Congrats to you Holly and to the rest of you, please head out and pick up Ronda's awesome book :)