From Paper to Page

Browsing my stash for a little something different to work with, I found this decorative paper as part of a paper pack I bought probably 2 years ago. I trimmed out the top of the scalloped paisely intending to cut it up and and use it on cards. Then I thought this would make a really neat scrapbook page if I used some of the circles to hold photos. It turned into a fairly quick page.

Typically I pick papers to fit my photos but this time I went in search of photos to work with a paper. The most important design decision for me is getting papers, embellishments and ink colors that communicate the feelings from the photos. I love how the vibrant colors reflect how much fun it was to have Dillon and Nai Nai visit us last summer. So much of my scrapbooking is about our travels, hiking and such, that it is a refreshing change to get to use a bold paper for a scapbook page.

Ingredients: Decorative paper from DCWV - Pocket Full of Posies
Chipboard letters are Hip from Basic Grey
Ink is Lovely Lilac from Stampin' Up! Gold brad is also Stampin' Up!
Cardstock, buttons and ribbon from unknown sources.

TIPsy Tuesday - Use It Up

The motto "Use it up" from the depression is so appropriate today. We are all looking for ways to save a little money. Saving money though usually means less shopping - the All American Therapy. And that is depressing. What about 'shopping' at home for free?

One of the many great things about card making and scrapbooking is that just about anything goes. Take a walk through your home, browse cabinets, rummage that junk drawer, old storage containers under the bed, in the closet or scan the basement with a fresh pair of eyes. Look for things you can use in your crafts.

Some ideas:

• buttons - bet you have a button stash where you keep all those extra buttons that come attached to your clothes. Chances are many of those buttons are from clothes that are long gone so why not use them on your cards.



• other craft supplies - did you knit, crochet, macrame, or bead at another time? Do you really need to keep all those other supplies just in case? Yarns make great additions to cards in place of ribbons. I found some old velcro that wasn't strong enough for any of my window treatment projects requiring velcro (I bought it long before I started my business) and now use it when I make paper boxes and bags for closures.



• embroidery thread - who among us didn't do crossstitch. If you still do, that's great. If not, embroidery thread can be used to handstitch on cards and pages or as decorative ties for buttons. Or do you have a crosstitch or needlepoint kit that you know you will never finish?



• fabric- fabric can be used so many ways on cards and scrapbook pages. Using leftover fabric is how I got started making cards.



• paint - a little acrylic paint goes a long way on paper crafts. Scrapbooking magazines often have ideas on how to incoporate paint on your projects. I'll try to do a blog post soon on this cheap and useful material. One idea: dry brush just a little paint on a piece of textured cardstock for a background page.



• office supplies - I found some linen resume envelopes - a #10 business envelope we sent out resumes in probably 20 years ago. Those envelopes still look and function just fine and a 4" x 9" card fits great and is a nice change from the usual sizes. Also, do you have some transparency film? Stamp on it; you'll love the results. Extra paper clips, binder clips - all can be put to use.


• silk flowers - an old arrangement gathering dust? Some flowers can be pulled apart and used for decorations on cards.

Even the bathroom cabinet has makeup sponges you can dip into your inks and apply to paper for a great look.

I'll bet you can find many more treasures just waiting to be put to good use. Cheaper than 'retail' therapy and just as valuable.

Switching it up

Whenever I make several cards, I almost always switch things around a little. Sometimes I don't have enough of one ribbon or buttons. Mostly I just get bored if I tried to do too many of the same thing. I love to experiment. Here are a couple of Thank You's from a set made recently. I used a card from Splitcoaststampers.com as an inspiration.

Ingredients: Stamps from Stampin' Up! So Many Scallops, Define Your Life, One of a Kind, Little Flowers

Ink: Brocade Blue, Cameo Coral

Striped Paper from Three Bugs in a Rug

Happy Father's Day!

My Dad's favorite colors are yellow and blue. I remember him bringing me a gift when I was in high school. I can't remember where he had been but the opportunity to purchase bath towels came along. Odd, I know. Anyway, he bought me a set of yellow towels with embroidery on them for my 'hope chest.' I kept wondering why he picked yellow when I hadn't been collecting that color for my future home. Then it dawned on me, my room was in blue and yellow and those were his favorite colors too.

The office in my home now, the room originally used for my sewing room, is done in blue and yellow. No matter what the trends we will all always gravitate toward colors we love.

When you make your own cards, it is easy to give someone you love a card made in their favorite colors. Yet another perk of this fun hobby! (And another excuse, I mean, reason to buy more paper!)

Ingredients: Paper from My Mind's Eye
Ribbon source unknown
Chipboard from
Stamps:
Stickers:

Last Chance Birdie

With a new catalog comes new colors and great new stamp sets. Unfortunately, to make room, some sets have to be discontinued. "A Little Birdie Told Me" is going away at the end of this month. I love this set because the birds are so cute and there are several accessories such as an umbrella, the party hat, and a flower. Most of all this set, has several greetings that make it a true all occasion set.

Here is the link to the Last Chance (discontinued, retired, whatever they are going away) sets available only until June 30, 2009 --> http://www.stampinup.com/ECWeb/CategoryPage.aspx?categoryID=310

Call me if you would like to order any of these sets or accessories before they are gone for good. Keep in mind that Stampin' Up! makes their own stamp sets so they will fill orders on discontinued sets through the end of June. However, accessories like buttons, paper, and ink are available only while supplies last.

Ingredients all by Stampin' Up!: Stamp set: A little Birdie Told Me
Apricot Appeal Designer Paper
Cardstock: Not Quite Navy, Bashful blue, Whisper White, watercolor
Button: Apricot Appeal
Inks: Basic Black, Not Quite Navy, Soft Subtles watercolor crayons, Earth Elements markers

"In" with the New

Tuesday I anxiously awaited the UPS man and sure enough, he brought me the 2009-10 In Colors, paper and a new hostess set I preordered. Most importantly, the box contained the new catalog! I've been through it about a hundred times already with little post-its sticking out from several pages. Choosing Christmas sets is going to be especially hard.

This card was made using two of the new In Colors - Soft Suede and Bermuda Bay. The lighter shade of brown here is Kraft paper. Soft Suede may be the first In Color I fall in love with because it mades an excellent distressing color. I used a sponge dipped in a little Soft Suede to get the warm brown edges to my torn paper. I really needed a very natural brown because most of our travels are focused around nature so that is an important color in my scrapbooking.

Rich Razzleberry is somewhere between a burgandy and a purple and is indeed very rich. I've used it here with Pale Plum cardstock and some Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon for a quick card to demo at a workshop on Monday.

Visit the blog again soon for more new colors and for cards made with those beloved "Last Chance" sets - available through the end of June.

TIPsy Tuesday - New Life for Old Stamps

We could also call this New Life for Old Blog post. ha!

I posted this photo and idea very early in the blog but I liked it so much (and I have been really busy) that I thought I'd capture it under a TIPsy Tuesday.

Stamps like anything decorative can be trendy and go out of style or you can just plain get tired of them. This chick is from a relatively old set -circa 1998 - called Funky Favorites. I bought the set mainly for some of the other images. I didn't have any idea what I might do with this chicken. Inspiration struck when I saw the idea of repeating images stamped in a dark neutral on various solid colored backgrounds - sort of an Andy Warhol like.

As well as giving your old stamps a little action, it is also super fast because you are using the same color of ink for all your repeating images. You could use this idea with scraps making several cards in different color palettes. Just keep your neutral ink the same and get a variety of looks.

Another feature of this card is the 'ribbon.' It is really a strip of fabric.

So rummage through those old sets and see how lively they can be.

Ingredients: Stamps by Stampin' Up! Funky Favorites, Words are Acrylic Stamps (source unknown)

Ink: Walnut by Ranger, Ruby Red by Stampin' Up!

Striped Paper by My Mind's Eye

Video Vs. Photos

Lenny wanted a camcorder for his birthday. I probably started it as I'd mentioned wanting one to shoot some video on card making for my blog. He has mentioned a camcorder many times in the past and I've always talked him out of it. My feeling was that he would shoot video of an event and look at it maybe once if at all. Whereas with still shots, they make it into scrapbooks and get revisited. Plus there are all the artistic things you can do with photos. And the really great bonus of not having to listen to your own voice. Does ANYONE like their own voice???

My argument was upheld when I asked him how many times he had looked at our wedding video. "Ah, ah, I don't know," meaning the one time we looked at it together was it. He doesn't even know where it is - fortunately I do.

My frustration with videos came from childhood. My father had a 9 mm camera that he used to shoot footage of my Mother and me when I was a baby and also of trips they took together in the early years of their business. I can remember seeing these films exactly once! Since the film was never converted to another media it is beyond salvaging at this point. Plus, since Daddy was the only one who was comfortable with the camera, I dont' think he was actually in any of the video. Then again, it is hard to remember from that one viewing. There were a few snapshots taken, too. Yet far too much emphasis was placed on getting things on the movie film and thus lost forever.

Now I know it doesn't have to be that way. We can continue to take still shots and we can save our digital video to various types of media and hopefully remember to convert it in the coming years to whatever is current. I just had this hang-up. Still, Lenny wanted the camera and nothing else so we all went in and got him a nice camera.

I suppose this is where you are expecting me to say I'm a total convert; I love the camera, should have had one years ago. Well...no. I don't love the camera. But I do like it. I do like the fact that we captured some fun memories of his daughter's visit this weekend and of his birthday party. I did fail to get some of the snapshots I'd planned on. I can not operate two cameras at once. Note to self: Buy tripod!

What I like best about the camcorder can be summed up in the photo above. Amanda and Jaime are watching a playback of themselves 'exercising' on the Wii with their Dad. The expressions on their faces: Priceless.

Credits: Photo courtesy of my Fugi Digital Camera