Promoted!

So many milestones in my family these days! My darling boy has promoted from middle school and will begin high school in four short weeks. Where has the time gone? I am so behind on his school scrapbook and fully intended to get caught up this summer (I still need to do 4th through 8th grades!) but have so far only managed to get one page done. This page includes just a few of the photos taken on the day of promotion. The paper comes from the DCWV Homeroom stack and the fibers, Thickers, and embellishments are from my stash. The frame is a cut file from the Silhouette Design Store.

If you've read this far, thanks for sharing in a mother's pride!

WrinkleFreeDiva

Trusting the Process

Last week, in an effort to get more scrapbook pages done, I decided to participate in Classygirl's From Desk to Done in Just 5 Minutes challenge. Pretty funny, since I can't do ANYTHING in 5 minutes when it comes to scrapbooking. I admit it, I have commitment issues - everything from deciding on patterned papers, arrangement of said papers and photos, what embellishments to use, should they be 1.5 or 2 inches from the edge - I think you get my point. I refuse to say that I have a Type A personality, but I will admit to being a B or B+.

That said, I really thought that following this was going to be easy. The first day I was to choose two photos that could be cropped to 4 x 5. Easy peasy! My photos are well organized so that took me about 10 minutes. Always being the overachiever I chose two different sets. Day 2: choose two pieces of colored cardstock and three pieces of patterned paper. OK... managed to do that in about 10 minutes. On Day 3 I was supposed to choose embellishments to use on my layout; that's when things started getting shaky. I have commitment issues, remember? AND tons of embellishments! I struggled to find embellishments that matched my theme(s) and not knowing how they were going to be used on the layout made it hard. Choosing embellishments probably took me an hour. On Day 4, we were told how to cut our papers. The analyzer in me wanted to know where they were going on the layout, the orientation, etc. so that I could decide which pattern I wanted to use where. Not having that information gave me a bit of the crazies for a moment. I had to stop, breathe, just go with the process, and trust that it would all come together just fine.

Day 5 was the put it all together day... And this is what I came up with.

Not bad, not bad... I even did a little altering of some of the rosettes with Inka Gold Metallic Rub because I didn't like the words that were on them. *Note to self...Glimmer Mists warp paper! Don't use on layouts anymore! 

I must say that sometimes we teachers are the most difficult students! I was given instructions in little bits and pieces; this made it really hard for me to trust the process since I didn't know where we were headed. Yet, as a middle-school math teacher, I want my students to trust the processes I teach them and have faith that those processes will lead them to the right answer.

The art world is not an exact science like mathematics, yet our faith in the artistic outcome of our projects is often tested and we sometimes get in our own way when it comes to trying to shape that outcome. (More on that in my next post where I'll share the second layout!)

So... having said all of that, let's get to our lesson for today which is simply learn to trust the process. And that lesson applies not only to your crafty projects but to your life as well! 'Nuff said!

Thanks so much for hanging with me today!

WrinkleFreeDiva

Lots of Tips Today (and a Layout Too!)

I have lots to share today so I hope this post doesn't get too long. If you're like me with adult-onset ADD (self-diagnosed of course!) then you don't have the attention span to read a long drawn out post. So let's get right to it!

I was working on a layout with lots of pictures, and as I most often do, began with a sketch. I decided that I was going to use some pretty green glitter cardstock as my background paper which means I would have needed two full 12 x 12 sheets. I don't know about you, but when it comes to pretty AND expensive cardstock, I hate to use full sheets only to have most of it covered up. Since this layout called for lots and lots of pictures and strips of paper, I came up with a solution that would allow me to minimize the amount of green cardstock used.

I have a package of Recollections white cardstock purchased for another project and which I really don't like to use for scrapbooking because it is so flimsy. So I used two of those to place my strips of cardstock, patterned paper, and pictures on since they would be totally covered up.

In the finished layout, none of the white cardstock was left showing. I've also been known to cut a square (to save for later use) out of the middle of background cardstock, especially when another piece is being layered on top. I also save the white cardstock that comes in scrapbook album pages for these types of uses.

The sketch called for two 4 x 6 portrait-oriented photos. Digital photos are usually printed at 4 x 5.33. So I double-matted my photos to make them fit the space.

I also added a little white acrylic paint to the edges of the 2 x 2 photos so that they would stand out on the page without having to be matted first.

Once everything was laid out, I struggled with what letters to use for part of my title. I didn't have the color or size that I needed, and didn't want to cut them with my diecut machines, because at that small of a size they wouldn't have cut well. Computer to the rescue!

Using WordArt in MS Word I created the portion of the title needed in several colors so that I could try them out on my layout. After making my selection, I hand cut a banner and inked the edges (inking hides a multitude of cutting mishaps).

Finally everything came together (or so I thought!) and I adhered everything to the layout. But something still seemed to be missing! I hadn't inked the journaling box and it looked so stark on the page. Looking at the theme and story of the page, I thought hmmmm, how about stitching?! Rub-ons to the rescue! I added some to the journaling box and, not wanting to throw the leftovers out, added some to the bottom of the banner as well. And here is the completed layout!

Die-cut clothing is from the Silhouette Online Store. Alphas (Thickers)

Now... if you're still with me, here are the take-a-ways for today:

1. Consider using inexpensive cardstock for the base of your layout when it's going to be all covered up anyway.
2. If only a small amount of your background cardstock is going to be showing (i.e. a one- to two-inch border) and it's going to be covered by another piece of cardstock, cut out the center of the background piece. That will leave you up to a 10 x 10 piece for another project.
3. When using a sketch, don't be afraid to change it up. Don't force your elements into the sketch; make the sketch fit your elements.
4. Create a mat around your photos by using acrylic paint.
5. Use your computer to create titles.
6. Inking edges hides cutting mistakes or imperfectly sized borders!
7. Stitching creates instant borders. Hate to sew? Try rub-ons, templates or do it yourself!

Thanks so much for hanging with me today!

WrinkleFreeDiva

**P. S. I'm getting the video camera warmed up! Stay tuned for a video of WrinkleFreeDiva's workshop. 

A Quick Post with a Quick Lesson

In the spirit of not neglecting my blog for too long (and after being inspired to post by looking at several of the blogs I follow) I'm going to do a quick post with some projects completed not too long ago. **There is a quick, but oh so important, little lesson that I just learned today that has nothing to do with this post so make sure to read to the end!**

I hosted Friday Night Challenge over at Scraps of Color on October 12th and the theme was Celebrate the Eight! in commemoration of SOC's 8th birthday. The week-long challenge was to celebrate YOU! Make a layout (single- or double-page) that highlights EIGHT things you love about you! Here is my take on the challenge:

The challenges that Friday night were to:
1)   Make a square card with eight squares on it. (Square cardstock or patterned paper bases do not count as part of the eight squares.) Include one or more stamped images, a sentiment of your choice and some bling.

2)  Create a card using only one piece of plain cardstock to mat your design and at least 8 different patterns and/or colors of washi/decorative tape. Your card base does not count as your piece of cardstock. 

3)  Complete a one- or two-page layout using the following sketch. Use 8 DIFFERENT embellishments on your layout.

Thanks for looking, but don't leave without your quick lesson for today!

DON'T leave new rubber stamps (or old ones for that matter) where the puppy can get to them. They will be rendered useless!

Karen

P.S. Don't forget to vote on Tuesday!

Made a Mistake? Don't Despair... Repair!

Sometime last fall, I completed a two-page layout that I wanted to blog about, but didn't since the layout was made as part of a gift album; I had to wait until the recipient received it. By then of course, my focus was directed elsewhere and writing the post had to be put to the side, but for some reason it was never forgotten.

The layout was for baby’s first year, and my intent was to leave mats for photos of the baby each month, with a large mat for the baby’s first birthday. (Knowing me, I probably started with a sketch; but it's been so long, I can't remember.) While doing the mats for months 8 through 11, I made a mistake and stamped those titles above the mats, instead of underneath. If memory serves me correctly, at the time I designed the layout, I intended to put part of the title in that large green space on the left and so stamping above those mats kind of screwed that up. I had already put a lot of work into the layout at that point what with cutting and inking the mats and pasting everything down. Not to mention having very little of the carefully chosen cardstock I'd used left. Besides, I'm really not one to start over when working on a layout. So....I just let the layout "sit" for awhile so that I could figure out how to fix it.

As inspiration began to unfold, I stamped underneath the mats... where the stamping was supposed to be in the first place. 

Then, I decided to add some embellishments in the large green space as well as between the mats to cover up my "boo boos." 

Of course that meant changing the placement of my title while trying to maintain a visual triangle and keep my title grounded. All in all... I was quite happy with the result. And the most important part was, I didn't have to start over!

So... if you've read this far in my post, then you're ready for this take-away:

1. When working on a layout or other project, don't despair if you make a mistake that you feel can't be corrected. And definitely don't feel like you have to start over!
2. Allow that project to "rest" for a little while... that could be minutes, hours or even days. Once you feel that the "resting" time is over, look at your project again as if seeing it for the very first time.
3. Let inspiration guide you and allow your creativity to unfold. While your project may take on an entirely different look or move in a different direction, what results may surprise you!