Here was the challenge from Joscie:
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My challenge is pretty simple:
I find that using a monochromatic color scheme can have a strong impact, so I challenge you to create a layout, card or project in a monochromatic color scheme. You may choose any color in all its values (tints and shades) plus white, black or kraft.
here is the layout i created in shades of brown…. it’s called those eyes.
“THOSE EYES” layout by Joscie Cutchens
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I’ve always wanted to do a single-color layout but probably wouldn’t have done it without this challenge. Here’s mine:
Materials: Bazzill cardstock; thickers-type letters from Dollar Tree/Miss Elizabeth; unknown ribbon; everything else from Heidi Grace kit I got at Tuesday Morning ($25 retail for $10).
I never do 2-photo layouts either, but these were 2 random photos I had taken in our front yard last summer & now they are scrapped!
This challenge was hosted by one of the MB’s favorite members, Sandy/tx-nana-scraps (who many of you know from CKMB and she’s also a big part of AMR):
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1) Hopefully you have used two different colors of acrylic paint on your cardstock, but what ever you have will be fine. [She let us know to do this ahead of time].
2) You will need to use at least three (3) pictures.
3) Use three (3) embellies of your choice.
4) Journaling: use four (4) journaling strips.
This is an option, not necessary, but it might be something to try if you haven’t done it before: write on at least one of your pictures using a pen or computer. The writing must be visible, not hidden. You can put a date, event, person’s name, a cute saying, etc. If you do this option, your name will go in the hat two times.
Post your LO to this thread by noon (eastern) tomorrow. I will randomly pick a winner and post the name on a new post titled “4pm challenge winner.”
This is my LO and I had fun making it, and I hope you do too. This is my DS in 1970. I used my MM Tag Maker to make one of my embellies, and I put a piece of the pp inside.
“UNCLE JIM” layout by Sandy (just realized I don’t know her last name, LOL!)
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I’ve used acrylic paint before but mainly for stamping, so that’s why I wanted to try this one. The night before, I painted a piece of dove gray cardstock with cranberry paint and silver glaze (Sandy said “anything goes” as far as the type of paint, even watercolor). As you can see, when it dried the paper curled up…now that was fun to scrap on! But I think it will flatten after some time in my album if I lay it flat for a week or so. Anyway, here’s my attempt:
I ended up missing the contest deadline. I finished the last 2 challenges after dark and wanted to wait to take pictures of them til daylight. I went to bed around 2am, got up at “8:30” so I could post them by 9am my time (the deadline was 12pm EST). Then realized midstream that I’d forgotten about Daylight Savings lastnight!!! Oh well, the fun part for me was trying to meet the challenges and I’m so glad I did it! Thanks for reading, if you’re still here :)
As I’ve been blabbing about for days, I’m participating in the AMR Online Crop this weekend. Well, here is the first challenge and it’s from Anne Marie, the Message Board Hostess:
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Let’s Get Started! Warm Up Exercise
To kick off our first hour, I like to do a “warm-up” exercise to get your creative juices going (no drawing for this one) … so to celebrate our awesome Design Team and welcome our two newest DT members Jenn and Debbie, I invite you to scraplift a layout from any Design Team member and post it here!
For your convenience, here are links to their Flickr Galleries!
Debbie (wyscrapper) https://www.flickr.com/photos/22929679@N08/
Heather https://www.flickr.com/photos/9095123@N08/
Jenn E. (nygirl) https://www.flickr.com/photos/22847178@N03/
Linda https://www.flickr.com/photos/14190425@N04/
Tracy (jadadog) https://www.flickr.com/photos/23096528@N07/
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I chose to scraplift a layout from one of the new DT members announced today, Jenn! Here is here inspiring layout:
“GIVE THANKS” layout by Jenn Emch
And here is my try at it. I ended up copying her colors pretty closely (unintentionally!) because the papers from the Red, Cream and Black set from Autumn Leaves matched my photos so well. And I love to use kraft cardstock as a background.
Materials: Bazzill cardstock; Red, Cream and Black PP and twill from Autumn Leaves; acrylic alpha from KI Memories; Martha Stewart journaling spot; Prima flower; Provo Craft flower brad.
That was fun! Now I’m at the computer doing my journaling for the next challenge. Come over to AMR and participate if you want. For every challenge, those who post their layouts by noon PST tomorrow have names drawn from a hat for a RAK…you never know, you could win! And Stacey gives the bestest RAK’s around. Hope to see you there…
Well, first I have to give a shout out to SCRAP SCENE, as they yet again pointed me towards something cool…luv that place! Today they posted a TEASE about this company, who I believe is fairly new to America but well-known to Australian scrapbookers (any Aussies out there who can verify??).
Anyhow, I’m just lovin’ what I’m seein’. As much as I like the distressed, shabby chic look that has become the norm in scrapbook products these days, it’s nice to see something fresh and new. When I first started scrapping about 5 years ago, I gravitated right towards SEI who at the time was doing all those lines that started with “S”: Sporty, Savvy, etc. I still look back at those layouts and love them because they don’t look dated, just classic. Do you remember those SEI lines? All the clean lines, color blocking and bright-but-not-blaring colors? I think that’s what Rasberry reminds me of. Just cute, cute, cute! Here’s a taste, and I’m sorry, these are the biggest pics I could find (their website is a tad aggravating, but I’ll cut them a break, they’re new):
Rasberry “Classic”
Rasberry “Squashed”
Rasberry “Soda”
Rasberry “Princess”
Rasberry “Sweet”
Rasberry decorated chipboard
Rasberry “Scraps” letters
THIS is Rasberry’s website, and their BLOG, and their GALLERY. I’d love to post pics from their gallery to entice you to their products even more, but it’s all in a slide show thingey that won’t let me copy them over here (grrrr….). But go lookie over there. I promise you’ll like it! The little blond boy with the spiked hair is worth the price of admission!
Rasberry has lots of cute boy papers, embellies, and page ideas in the gallery so those of you always complaining “there’s not enough boy scrapbooking stuff,” there ya go! On their website, Sheena (the owner?) says, “I had a desperate need for paper with cars, trucks, trains and that’s how Rasberry began.” Gotta’ love a girl that takes the bull by the horns!
HERE is a link to their catalog for Winter CHA 2008. Be patient, it might take a while to load but it’s worth it! You really have to see the entire line; I have a very small part of it here. And with the bigger pictures.
Their blog says, “For our customers in the USA,…we are currently fulfilling orders out of Australia” so I really, really hope some American stores stock them. If they don’t, we’ll have to give them a big wet RASBERRY!
What do you think? Is Rasberry catching your eye at all?
My little ol’ blog rolled over 100 stinkin’ thousand hits today!!! That’s 100,000 times someone has been nice enough to click over here and read a bit of sumthin’ sumthin’. I’m so stoked. That makes me feel really, really happy.
Mwuah! Mwuah! I love you guys & please keep reading!
Here’s me having fun in PhotoBooth trying to blow you guys some kisses. Yeah, I’m a dork…
I’ve had my MM Embellishment Shelf for about…well, let’s just say I got it with a 50% off coupon from Michaels so it must’ve been since a recent holiday. I finally got it hung ~ all by myself and I even used a level ~ DH would be so proud! Here it is in progress. I’m still working on it, while I organize my entire scrap space. I love to see all my little pretties lined up, so cheerful and colorful. Stickles make me smile :)
Since I took this picture the other day, I decided to add one of the ribbon spool dowels. Yikes, I had put both of them in my bin for Scrapbook Garage Sale and was going to get rid of them. But I had all that cute Target ribbon in the bright Spring/Summer colors so it has been installed. I’ll post a pic when I’m all done too.
I actually turned off the computer FOR AN ENTIRE DAY yesterday. Yeah, I know, I didn’t think I could do it either. But it was amazing how much stuff I got done when I wasn’t saying to myself, “Oh, just one more post on AMR MB….Wait, I want to check my blog stats…Darnit, I need to e-mail so-and-so about whatevah-whatevah…Shoot, one more look at CKMB won’t kill me… And before I know it, the entire morning is gone and I still have tons to do, nevermind not getting to those “extra” things that would be nice to get done.
Here is my list of accomplishments from yesterday:
1. Moved all of my scrapbooks to the empty shelf in the living room that has been available for about a month. I wanted them out of my scrap area so people will actually look at them once in a while, LOL.
2. Moved layouts around and got things in chronological order. Put some “homeless” layouts into scrapbooks…you know, the ones you complete then keep in a stack somewhere? I had nowhere near the job of ALI EDWARDS, but it still took some good ol’, sit down on the floor and spread it all out kinda’ time…
3. Lots of housework ~ yuck! But a good feeling of accomplishment…
4. Continued my scrap space organizing. It’s a never ending project, I swear. But I can see my two beautiful Basic Grey Magnetic Mats! So I can actually get some scrapping done now.
5. Found some childhood pics of my hubby, noticed how much one of our children resembles him, and left him a little love note with the pictures for him to see before he left for work this morning.
Believe it or not, I got even more done but you’re probably dozing off by now, so I’ll stop. I’m sad I missed a whole day of message board and blog haps, and I didn’t blog, but feel really good that I got so much done around here. Maybe I’ll have more Turn Off the Computer Mondays!
Have you ever been forced to stay away from the computer for a day, just to get something done?
In THIS POST the other day, I told you about my 3 scrap-shop-stops @ Michaels, a craft store, and my LSS. Here are pics of my haul…
PATTERNED PAPERS:
On the far left is the MAMBI kit, merely called “Family” from Michaels. It has cool primary colored papers and lots of rub-ons and Soft Spokens related to family togetherness. But what sold me were the three lines of orange, green and blue blingees AND the chipboard sheet with large circles, which I’ve been needing to complete a layout from EASY PATTERNS for ages. Anyway, all their kits were 40% off, whoo hoo. Come to think of it, I should have gotten more (uh, dork!).
Next is 2 sheets of Chatterbox called “Sweetheart Roses,” one side with a modern flower design, the other solid pink. Then I think my fave PP of the day, 2 sheets of “Affection” by Prima. One side is deep color stripes, the other deep red roses. I love the roses so much, I think I’ll use both sheets as roses and just forget the stripes! But isn’t that always the challenge of double-sided paper? You love both sides, like two children you’ve given birth to, how do you CHOOSE!?! Next are a couple of sheets of “Pastel” Doodlebug (polka dots & flowers), then a random stripey one, then 2 more older sheets of “Obviously Orange” Doodlebug with a bright summer theme. And lastly, on the far right, 2 sheets from “Jack+Abby” by Love, Elsie. That ledger style on the last sheet caught my eye, then I found the brown circles paper to go with it. On the very bottom of the pic are 3 sheets of very Spring-y papers from Bo Bunny Press called “Lil Princess.” The photo doesn’t do them justice because the colors are really WOW, very cheery and bright. All 3 are double-sided with pink, yellow and green on the back sides and thick like cardstock.
Now for the BAZZILL:
Is something seriously wrong with me that I get such overwhelming JOY looking at all that Bazzill cardstock?? On the top row are the sheets with either linen or grasscloth texture; ooh, such purdy colors. The bottom row is Bling and then a couple scallop designs. Proud to say I only paid full price for 2 sheets from all that PP and cardstock. Wicked cool.
Okay, well, it’s been decided. I’m not going admit I have a problem, because if I do, that would be the first step in my recovery. And I don’t wanna recover…so there! I ENJOY being addicted to paper. I EMBRACE my obsession with texture and color and design. I’m NOT embarrassed to admit that I love the smell of paper and the weight of it in my hands when it’s all stacked nicely, corners matching up perfectly. So, are ya’ with me??
Thought I’d share pix of these 3 stacks of ribbon I found in the Target Dollar Spot yesterday:
Sorry for the glare ~ didn’t have time to take them out of the package! The brand is called 1-2-3 Made by Me! and there were several other kid-related craft items with this same brand, e.g. glitter glue, markers, etc. This was the only thing scrap-related I saw, but you might have better luck cuz my Target is lame.
I was @ Target to get milk, bread, and hand lotion, I swear! Btw, I also got some Johnson’s Soft Lotion 24-hour Moisturizer ~ a 2 pack on clearance for $4 ~ and it smells divine. Ooh, I love me a good smelling lotion! As big a weakness as scrap supplies?? Uh, no. But a close second I’d bet.
I did, or shall I say…I tried. I have a nice enough camera, a Kodak digital with 10x zoom. But I really need a tripod. These are with my arm braced on the back fence and, as you can see, still too blurry. Oh well, I’ll still scrap them just because it was a cool sight to see, and we all gathered in the back yard to watch it. It rained all day and the clouds were just starting to clear, but we got to catch a glimpse of the sun/moon anyway. If you have eclipse photos, link us to your blog!
Wilna Furstenburg is a well known scrapbooker; you’ve seen her work in CK as a Hall of Famer, in Memory Makers, lots of places. She has a dear friend with cancer and is asking for a simple favor in exchange for a chance to win a large RAK. We’re talking about it on the message boards at AMR and CKMB. Please help out if you can! I just wanted to help Wilna spread the word. This is from her POST, dated 2-19-08:
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I have a friend, Lois. She is 40 years old and have cancer. She is in pain and needs positive, uplifting people to remind her continually to live and that life is worth living. She has an amazing husband and four beautiful kids. The doctors are not giving her long to live, but I believe that God is the author of life. And I know you believe that too.
WHAT?
If you want to be entered into this awesome draw (and if anyone want to contribute prizes, big or small, please email me) then this is what you are going to do: take 10 minutes of your time and create a card for Lois. A card that speaks of life and laughter, of fun and flowers. A word of encouragement, maybe your favorite scripture. Take a picture of it and upload it HERE {on Wilna’s blog} for all to see. Then you post it to her. I visit her every day and I will make a list of all the cards she gets and I will let her draw names out of a hat for winners. The deadline for all the cards to reach her in Canada is March 20th. So, if you want to play (and I hope every single person that reads this will) make her a card, and post it. THAT’s how simple it will be.
Please email me: wilna71@gmail.com if you want to participate. I will email you her address. Those who are willing to add this little he{ART} flower to your blog to help me get the word out, will be in my good books for life. You can just right click the image and save it to your computer and add it to a side bar. Please link THIS post to it.
I am going to drive you nuts. I love this girl with all my heart. I just want the best for her. AND I KNOW AMAZING PEOPLE like you, who can contribute to her life. I am calling all my friends from America, Australia, Poland, Holland, Canada, India and SOUTH AFRICA and the whole world to play. Most of all I hope that you would do it to give back. To remember that you have something to be grateful for. Come on girls, email me. Make those cards. Imagine her smile and tears and amazement that people care. Imagine that. I will report it all back to you. I promise.
I have not said a word to her. It’s for you to surprise her.
PLEASE say yes!
Love
Wilna
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I think we’ve all had someone in our family who has dealt with cancer. My heart hurts with how unfair this is :( “There but for the grace of God go I…” Please send a card, spread the word, help a friend do what she can to help. Be a positive force. Bring a smile to the face of a mommy faced with leaving her children. Create positive thoughts in her heart, that allow her body to fight the cancer. Thank you :)
I’ve been eyeing this puppy since Thanksgiving but didn’t want to pay $20. Even when all the Christmas stuff at Target went on 50% off, then 75% off, then 90% off, this item remained full price. Patience, dearies, patience… I found it on an endcap at Target yesterday for $14. Hey, that’ll work! Although I’m hearing from my friends on the CKMB that I should take my receipt back and {nicely} demand the 90% off, because that discount should have been applied to this item. Yeah, that refund could be worth a trip to Target! Oh, who am I kidding, it wouldn’t take a special trip; I’m there once a week as it is…
MAKING MEMORIES HOLIDAY FOAM STAMP AND PAINT KIT:
I wasn’t looking for these, but they jumped in my cart when I was there. They were also on a clearance end cap. Originally $5, marked down to $2.50. Pretty good price for glittery and/or 3-D embellishments and a bling word. Not sure if I’ll keep them all for me, because they would make great little prizes for crop goodie bags. I think everybody needs a little bling in their life!
MAMBI EMBELLISHMENT KIT VALUE PACK:
So head over to Target and report back with any kick-ass deals YOU find!
Isn’t this a gorgeous card? Well, the quality of the photo is my fault, but the card itself is lovely. It arrived in the mail the other day from KELLIANNIE whom I know from CKMB and the AMR message board. Her title, in fact, at AMR is “Queen Card Designer” and she constantly inspires us with her beautiful card designs. Miss Kelli has even posted a card-making TUTORIAL on her blog to help us neophytes who can’t design our way out of a paper bag (um, that would be ME, by the way!). I think she could sell these babies and make a nice scrapbook budget, don’t you?
Here is an awesome layout from Kelli, that was part of her non-HOF entry, LOL. Isn’t she a cutie?:
She even has really cool music on her blog (another DMB fan, yahoo!) so go check it out; it’s called YARD SALE KIND OF LUCK. And THANK YOU FOR THE CARD, KELLI! You made my day :)
The Pull-Ez ribbon holder is still a fairly new product and I had only seen it in black. Well, now they have it in a cute lime green color (as requested by customers). Also now in red, baby blue and lilac:
By the way, if you’re looking for a way to store your ribbon but you want to keep it on spools, the BLOG for Your Pictured Memories (maker of Pull Ez) says they are coming out with a new product for that.
From the BB website:
“The new BoBunny Retractable Knife is perfect for many paper crafting needs. For example use the knife along with the new Self Healing Cutting Mat to trim excess paper off the My Word books. BoBunny’s new cutting mat is professional quality for all types of craft, hobby and art projects. These mats are self-healing, 3mm thick and extra durable . Reversible, non-slip, non-glare surface with imprinted ruled guide for easy placement on one side and solid pink on the other. Use with BoBunny’s new Retractable Knife.”
Thanks to ali_bl (ALINA) and THIS POST from the CK Message Board, I found another Must Have tool. It’s a punch so we can make our own scalloped/eyelet edge papers instead of paying an extra $1 per sheet just because the company did it, LOL. This is one of my favorite looks in scrapbooking these days, so I’m very excited that someone came up with this tool. I hope Fiskars or someone else also makes one that punches the scallop without the eyelet holes, as sometimes you just need that little bit of a different look, kwim?
FISKAR’s SCALLOP / EYELET PUNCH
THE EMBI by Provo Craft
Sounds like a very well-rounded tool but, so far, it’s not on my shopping list. Maybe when I see it in use. I’m not much of an embosser-girl, and I already have the Making Memories Tag Maker gathering dust in my scrap room. But it does seem like one cool tool!
Embi™Universal Embellishment Press
A clever new tool that offers you several convenient functions in one!
Embi comes with interchangeable heads to:
Make framed tags
Attach rhinestones & studs
Set eyelets
Punch
Emboss
This all-in-one embellishment solutions lets you add accents to your creations without the hassle of using different tools, saving you precious space and money. This versatile tool is perfect for all sorts of creative projects, from scrapbooking and card making, to home décor and fashion art. Embi can embellish in a variety of materials, creating lasting accents you’re sure to love. Interchangeable heads are easy to change and fun to use. Each Embi head comes packaged with designer embellishments to get you started with your creative projects. Embi is also portable and simple to use. Its six-inch reach allows you to work anywhere on a 12″ x 12″ scrapbook page or project.
Well, I won’t call this a Must Have for me, because I think the price tag is over $100. As much as I’d love to have The Slice, it will probably have to wait for a birthday or Christmas “please-honey-I’ve-been-really-good-and-nice-this-year-and-I-made-you-dinner-306-times-don’t-I-deserve-a-new-scrapbooking-toy?” gift.
I’ve been following The Slice since way back, before they even had a distributor. Here is my POST from August 2007. And here is what it used to look like:
Here is what it looks like now:
I think the best way to show this baby is a couple of YouTube video demos of the product at CHA.
HERE’swhere Queen of CKMB, Miss Leslie, asks others for their thoughts on The Slice. And check out what the AMR GIRLS and 2PEAS LADIES have to say about it. We crafters are in serious decision-making mode about which of all these fab new tools we want/need to spend our money on!
Will you be getting one, two, or all three of these scrap-fabulous new tools??
With CHA-Winter coming up this weekend, everyone is talking about and trying to predict what the new trends in scrapbooking will be for this year. HERE is our discussion on the All Moments Remembered message board. Over on the SCRAP SCENE blog, they are doing a series of articles about Scrapbooking Trends for 2008. Here is PART ONE and PART TWO; will add PART THREE when it’s published.
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Here are my predictions and musings, as I said over at AMR:
Scallops and pretty edges
Journaling items
Acrylic stamps by every company, not just stamp companies
Distressed or shabby chic look
Glitter and bling
Pre-sewn items and papers, for those of us who don’t sew!
I’m really trying to think what the hot new material will be for letters and such. We’ve already done chipboard, felt, foam, grungeboard…what could be left? Hmmmm….
I saw some new thinner glass/mosaic type squares the other day…I wonder if that material will catch on?
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One thing I left out was: scrapbooking organizational items. I think all the companies have finally caught on that we have loads and loads of STUFF! And we need cute, functional ways to store it all. Personally, I’m tired of all the little org. pieces here and there, or ones sold to store just one type of item. We need more systems on a broader scale, something you could do your entire scrapbook area in that would cover all your bases and give everything a cohesive look. I’m truly surprised that Cropper Hopper hasn’t taken the lead on this. They would make a fortune if they did! At least, that’s my prediction…
What do you predict will be the hot trends for 2008?
Looks like another must-have tool by Basic Grey. It gets a big “thumbs up” from Noel Culbertson, a CK Scrapbooker of the Year Top 10. She said on the CKMB that it makes rub-ons go on “like a dream,” and that she got it HERE at embellish IT! where they sell it for $7. Here is the description on their website:
AMAZING TOOL!
Roller ball rub-on stylus
Rolling ball tip glides smoothly for a controlled application
Flat nylon paddle for setting the rub-on
High-quality design
I mean, Noel had me at Hello, but when she said this new tool does not leave smush marks on her Bazzill, it was like chocolate icing on a chocolate cake. You know, already great but just that much better. Okay, I’m off to see if ALL MOMENTS REMEMBERED or MEMORY WORKS plan to carry it, because Lord knows Michaels won’t have it in this decade and that’s about the only place left to shop around here. Will this be on your shopping list?
Edited to add 1/23/08: Deb from CKMB just posted a review on her blog. HERE YA GO…
I wanted to share this awesome scrap room with you. Someone posted it on CKMB, which led me to BENITA’s GALLERY at 2peas, which led me to her BLOG. Having posted pics of my own space several times, can I say this: I wish people who leave comments would take more care in how they say, “Man, you have too much stuff!”. I think how much each scrapper has is dependent on a lot of things, and I’ll use myself as an example:
~ Amount of disposable income
I used to spend, maybe $100-150 per month on scrap supplies when I worked full time. We made a very nice living and we could afford it. Believe me, DH would not have let me go overboard because it IS a luxury, not a necessity. Now that I work part-time, I spend whatever I can make with Memory Works. It creates a lot of extra work for me, but I can spend on scrap supplies guilt-free!
~ Level of interest in scrapbooking vs. other hobbies
Scrapping is it for me. I used to make jewelry, but have gotten rid of most of my tools and beads. I don’t knit, don’t read as much as I used to (scrapping now!), don’t buy a lot of DVD’s or music, etc.
~ How well you shop
I am a DEAL shopper! I use every single 40% and 50% off coupon I can find, wait for sales to buy things, buy from the Target and Mike’s dollar spots, use my LSS punch card for “free” purchases, look for good deals on HSN/QVC, etc. I use 40% coupons to buy Stacks ~ $20 minus $8 = $12, for 180 papers, that’s only 7 cents/sheet, what a steal. I don’t internet shop if I have to pay too much extra for shipping and try to buy during free shipping specials. If I order something for myself from Memory Works, I wait til I can combine it with a customer’s order to share shipping. It takes more time and effort, but now that I work less and make less money, what I’m rich in is time. I’m going to Target weekly anyway, and ~nice~ Mike’s is right next door. No gas money wasted.
~ Accepting free scrap stuff
I love freebies and have never turned away a free scrap product. I happen to have some very generous scrappers in my circle. They have very specific styles or don’t like “repeats” whereas I could care less ~ I love it all! If it’s something I won’t use, I stash it for my kids to make cards or to give to the school. I’ve seen “scraps” thrown away at my crops that are, like, 1/2 sheets of perfectly beautiful Scenic Route cardstock PP. I save that stuff and it does get used. But it makes my stash bigger than yours. I got TONS of free stuff from the CKU’s, bus shopping trips, and cruise I went on (and I say FREE meaning I only paid hundreds or thousands of dollar on the event to get it for free, lol). Again, my mom scraps 8.5×11, so she has handed me several 12×12 albums from events, papers she didn’t care for, and lots of embellies!
~ Being a consultant
Many of us are consultants for scrapbook companies and have to keep things in stock. I have several containers of stuff for sale. But if you looked in my scrap room, you’d assume it was mine.
~ How you choose to spend your disposable income
I don’t get my hair or nails done, don’t spend a lot of money on clothes (luvin Old Navy and Target), don’t need the latest gadget (no iPod here and my cell phone is 3 or 4 years old), don’t download music, don’t take vacations (we’re homebodies), don’t have expensive camera equipment, don’t go to pro sports, don’t belong to a gym (wait, I probably should!), etc. I mean, this is pretty much IT. By choice, because it’s what I love to do. There are months we’re totally broke and I buy nothing.
~ How long you’ve been scrapping
I’ve been scrapbooking for I guess about 5 years now. Of course I’m going to have more than someone who started 2 years ago.
So, there you go, there are lots of reasons why some scrappers have more “stuff” than others. I don’t think it’s fair to say someone’s area looks like “a store! can I come shop there?”, just because they have it well organized. And to question does someone really have time to do all the stuff they say, if they spend so much time in their scrap area. I mean, that would hurt my feelings to be questioned like that. I looked at Benita’s blog, and she seems to live a pretty full life to me.
I look at LOTS of scrap spaces that are posted online, and usually try to read the comments left by others. The comments on Benita’s room are pretty representative of what is usually said. I remember the one awhile back about someone’s gorgeous Scrap Cottage got a lot of doosies! Maybe it’s misguided jealousy, or misunderstanding, or a misguided attempt at a compliment. All of this said, I don’t think people INTEND to be hurtful, I really don’t. But I just wish we would be more considerate of each other when we post comments on each other’s spaces. How about, “I love the way you…” or “Where did you purchase that great …?” or “Excellent job organizing” (and leave off “All that gobs and gobs of stuff you have!”), LOL. Didn’t mean to make an example of Benita, but she is just the latest one I’ve seen where she posted her room to share her creative space with others, and gets comment after comment about “all your stuff”. Please put yourself in the person’s place and imagine how you would feel (um…defensive? hurt?). I think this is just one more area where we can be more supportive of each other instead of (accidentally) tearing each other down. What do you think?
In my last post about October Afternoon, you will see a sheet of paper that looks like a 12×12 piece of binder paper. It really caught my eye because, while I love the look of binder paper on my layouts, I would never use the real thing because it’s not acid free. Since I usually cut up scrapbook “binder paper” into smaller journaling pieces (i.e. rarely need an intact 12×12 piece of it), I make my own! Here’s how: Take a piece of actual binder paper. You can tear it out of a spiral notebook and leave the ragged edges for a cool look, or use a sheet with a clean left edge. Put it in your scanner and COLOR copy it onto white, cream or any other light colored paper you like. Once it’s scanned, you can re-use it to your heart’s content. I used this idea once to do all the journaling boxes for a School Days mini album. Hope you can use it in your scrapbooking too!
DISCLAIMER: This was a VERY basic album…please don’t judge my scrap skills from it. It was a 6×6 album I threw together in a couple hours when a friend needed a last minute prize for a silent auction.
If you’re participating in our SCRAP SPACE ORGANIZATION CHALLENGE (deadline is this Sunday, 1/6/08) , you’ve probably had to confront your ribbon. I found this great ARTICLE I thought I would share, posted on MADCROPPER.COM.
To give you a little tease, how do you like this ribbon storage system by CANDICE PALMER??
HAPPY 2008 TO YOU ALL!! May it be a year of blessed organization and lots of completed pages…
Ok, after goofing off for Christmas…and, um, perhaps for a few days after…I’m back in organization mode. My “12 Hours in 12 Days” plan got about 4 hours behind, so I tried to catch up today. I worked reorganizing my scrap space for about 2.5 hours, so I’m still behind (gulp). But here is what I accomplished:
~ Took new ribbon off rolls and put into ribbon jars.
~ Decided to use five of the large gingerbread jars to store embellishments by color. These are embellishments with no ‘topic’ per se, so they don’t go in the ScrapRack with all my themed stuff. For example, I have metal flower clips, generic small journaling tags, etc. that don’t really go anywhere else. I sorted them into the same color categories as my ribbon, so hopefully coordinating and grabbing things for future use will be a breeze :)
~ Used a small gingerbread jar for all of my flowers. Took ’em all out of their packages and mixed em up in there ~ it looks so pretty! The only exception is I kept the tiny little Prima flowers in their jars, just stuck the whole jar in there (I only have 2 jars. So far….bwahahahaha).
~ Used a large gingerbread jar for all of my chipboard letters (one pack of felt letters in there too). I didn’t realize I had so many until I saw them all in one place. One thing I learned from this little organizational experience…snack-size Ziplocs are my friend! I took each alpha out of it’s packaging and put it in a snack bag. Viola! Compact, see through, and easy to cram bunches into a big jar. Lovin’ that…
~ Put all my pens into a small GB jar but not sure I’m gonna’ keep it that way. I took them out of 2 Creative Memories pen cases and they don’t fill up the jar enough so that the pens are standing anywhere near upright. Now a Scrapbook Obsessed person would just say…”Must buy more pens!”. And I occasionally do, but mostly I use the ones I’ve had since I started scrapping. Okay, there were the glitter gel pens in Christmas colors from the Target $1 Spot recently, but that’s it, I swear!
You’ll also see a jar I already had done, full of felt flowers. Those are the ones from the Target $1 Spot; that’s only $3 worth ~ what a steal!
And I actually got some scrapping done tonight because I could finally see my desk. That was fun and felt really good. But I have LOTS more work to do. Hope you’re making progress too & if so, please tell us about it!
