Don't Be Hasty

Lately, I’ve been purging in my craftroom and have toyed with the idea of getting rid of my Copic markers, among other things. I admire all of my crafty friends who are able to perform magic with their Copic markers. Sad to say that even after several online classes and hanging out at YouTube University, I am not one of them.Then I got an email from a local scrapbook store that beginning in April, they will be hosting a series of Copic classes taught by someone featured in several of the Copic books on the market. So my interest was peaked and I mentioned it over in the Copic group on SOC. Alice challenged me to dust off my Copics, just get to colorin’ and the skill would come. So I let out a big sigh, dusted off those markers and got to work this past weekend.

My “adopted” Granny is turning 90 tomorrow (the same day my maternal grandmother would have turned 110 had she still been living) and I needed to make a card and get it in the mail to her by Saturday morning. She's still sharp as a tack and when she goes out, more often than not she's in leather pants with boots that coordinate! I ordered this digital stamp from Robert Jackson and had it in about five minutes. I used a sketch and the card went together rather quickly. I had intended to color the boot more of a red/maroon, but my first attempt with those colors didn’t go well. I struggle with blending the reds. So I switched to using some of the browns.

Yesterday, I spent my birthday EXACTLY the way I wanted to, scrapbooking at Michaels. I was the only person who showed up, so it was just me and the Michaels staff member. That’s okay with me… more room to spread out and work! I was able to get this card, which also contains a Robert Jackson image, completed while there. This one was for an impromptu challenge over at SOC and is a birthday card for the science teacher on my team whose birthday is on Tuesday. I used another sketch, paper from a Recollections stack, cardstock scraps, Glossy Accents for the flowers, and Stickles.

We as crafters are ALWAYS buying stuff especially when a new technique or crafty fad hits the market. Every now and then we have to purge to make room for the new stuff. If you’re an organization nut like me, you sometimes want to give away stuff that you haven’t used in awhile not thinking about the investment (can we say Cricut and its many cartridges???) and the fact that as soon as you give it away, you’re going to wish you hadn't.  Several of my scrappy friends said DON’T get rid of your Copics; you’ll be sorry! They are probably right, especially since I have so many. Can’t quote the number here (‘cause my momma reads my blog and I don’t want her eyes to bulge) but suffice it to say, I have about 2/3 of the Sketch markers available.

I actually found some therapeutic value in coloring this weekend and know that after I get my hands-on training and practice, practice, practice; I’ll be so glad I hung on to them.

So the lesson is this, before you get rid of your crafty stuff, think about what you’ve invested in those items and consider whether or not they are things you might want to use again one day when you have more time or experience. If you've searched your soul and know that you’re moving on and you never want to revisit that technique or those supplies/embellishments/tools again, then by all means remove them from your craft space forever. 

And now, I must get some rest and prepare to deal with my little darlings for this last week before Spring break. Thanks for reading and y’all pray for me!

WrinkleFreeDiva!

Scraps and Sticky Ribbons

I got a chance to participate in another Friday Night Challenge over at SOC, this one hosted by our very own Classygirl. We were given three card sketches *y’all know I was ALL over that* and were required to post our creations prior to midnight ET on Sunday. This gave me a little time and breathing room. I was able to get started on Sketch #1 Friday during the chat, but had to leave not too long after to take care of other things.

So, when I came home I threw the sketches (but no paper or cardstock) for the other two cards in my bag *determined to get started on them*, along with about seven or eight layouts in varying degrees of doneness. Even though my crop time was going to be short, due to having to go to a meeting first, I was determined to be productive while I was there.

I did as much as I could with the layouts I had brought with me, and then pulled out the card sketches.  I looked through my layout folders and pulled scraps from several of them. I had gotten this idea from Tiare (Classygirl) who once said that she doesn’t really have scraps because when she finishes a layout, she immediately makes a card(s) from the scraps that are left. I was able to make a good start on laying out the cards and would wait until I got home to add the sentiments and embellishments. Good thing too… cause I took out the clear stamps for the “Happy Thoughts” card and lost the matching sentiment (it says, “are coming your way.”) for the inside. It has to be here on my craft table somewhere but I’ll be darned if I can find it! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr……

While I was at the crop, I got a wonderful idea from one of the ladies there. She works with ribbon a lot and said that she often uses her Xyron to put adhesive on her ribbon. Having tried different kinds of adhesives for ribbon, including the ribbon glue made by Hobby Lobby *it dries out too quickly*, I thought I’d give it a try. I used my trusty Xyron “X” to adhere the ribbon on all three of my cards. The application was so smooth I wondered why I hadn’t tried it before. Thanks for that helpful hint Susan!

Anyway… here are the three cards I submitted for FNC…

Sketch #1 - Used scraps from my drawer and a flower from  Petaloo found at Tuesday Morning.
The ribbon and bling are from my stash.

Sketch #2 - Scraps from layout (coming soon) and flowers from  Petaloo.
The 2-in-1 punch used for the border is from EK Success. Ribbon and fiber from my stash.

Sketch #3 - Scraps from layout (coming soon) and flowers are Color Me Crazy  from Petaloo. Used  Glimmer Mist and Stickles on them as well as pebbles (small flower centers) and the Epiphany Shape Studio for the large epoxy pebble.

My tips for today…

1. Take your leftover scraps for a layout or other papercrafting project and make one or more cards. Eventually, storage of scraps will cease to be an issue.
2. Try using the Xyron for ribbon application. Makes ribbon go on nice and smooth.
3. When using those itty, bitty clear stamps, take out one at a time and put it back when you’re done. Then, hopefully you won’t lose any like I lost mine!

Thanks for visiting… I am Still Young and Croppin’!

Sketches and Boo-Boos! - Route 66

I'm here watching the Superbowl (just for the commercials and Black-Eyed Peas at halftime) and have been working diligently to update my blog. I've actually gotten several things done in the last few weeks but have been too busy to work on my blog. I've been inundated at work and busy [re]organizing my scrap space. So, since my DS is at his friend's house watching the game and I'm here in peace and solitude I figured I'd take the time to add some new things. Starting with this layout:

This layout was done for a challenge over at the Library of Memories Community at BigPictureClasses.com. We were supposed to create a Storage Binder layout of an event with more than 10 photos. Use only four on your page. Triage the remaining six photos behind at least three different tabs in your category drawers. I cheated a little and used seven photos. I figured it was okay since I was doing a two-page spread. I began with this sketch from Page Patterns: Just Plain Simplicity.

Sketches are a great starting point for me and my final product usually looks very little like the original sketch. Remember that when starting as a sketch, you don't have to use it as is. You can rotate one or both pages four different ways. I turned the entire sketch upside down to accommodate the orientation of my pictures and the sequential order in which I wanted them to appear.  

As I was attempting to adhere one of the 6's onto the Route 66 embellishment, it fell onto the white portion adhesive side down. I picked it up quickly and swiped at the glue with my finger. It left a a very visible black smudge. I thought about re-cutting it and decided I didn't feel like being bothered and would use it as is. As I was finishing up, inspiration struck and I decided to cover the entire embellishment with Distress Stickles in Rock Candy. So I just squirted some on and smeared it all over with my finger. Not only did it diminish the look of the smearing, but it kind of gave the sign that old dirty road sign look. It added that certain somethin' somethin' to the page. I love how it turned out!

So...today's lessons are:

1. Begin with a sketch but feel free to manipulate it so that it works for you, your photos and your design process.
2. Also, don't despair if you make a mistake or drip glue or something else on your layout. Look around your scrap space and find a little-used product that you have and use it to help you fix the problem.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Problem with Patterned Paper

For as long as I have been scrapbooking, I have always loved looking at layouts with patterned paper. As long as I have been scrapbooking, I have been stockpiling patterned paper. And, as long as I have been scrapbooking, I have been intimidated by patterned paper. So you know what? On my last day of SDU when our instructor asked us what else we would have liked to learn, I said "I need help combining two or three different patterns on a layout."

So...our instructor went to a drawer full of paper, pulled out several sheets, turned them face down on the table and then told my classmate and I each to pick one. Just by chance, we ended up with the same pattern. Then she took some other patterns, cut them into smaller pieces and gave them to us. We discussed why, even though the patterns were vastly different and seemingly unrelated, they worked together...looking for commonalities like colors and shapes (swirls, circles, stripes, etc.).

She had us move the paper around and use solids to help separate the patterns and give the eyes a resting place. As class ended, she challenged us to take that same paper home, and make a layout with it. So I did.

As I was working on it, my original design changed drastically. I couldn't quite remember the layout I had come up with in class, and I don't think I came home with the exact same pieces of paper, because a couple of my patterned pieces were much smaller than I remembered and one even had folds in it! I swear they weren't there in class.

The title was intended to be vertical on the left and horizontal on the top. But when I put it that way, the word "Cousins" was lost on the patterned paper. I refused to cut it again and so decided to try turning the photo mat instead. My dear son loved it that way and told me to leave it like that. I then decided to hand cut two birds from the patterned paper. Those tails were hard to cut! Then I decided the birds needed a shadow! More hand cutting. Why not add some Stickles to the tail? Oh Stickles aren't enough? Let's put some old Prima flowers on there. They looked too plain. But wait! I had two bottles of Glimmer Mist that I had never tried! Mist the flowers...and while we're at it, let's add some to the birds too! Finish it off with a piece of ribbon and a quote from Alex Haley, and voila! So here is what I came up with....

Scrapping Using Monochromatic Colors

I don't know if I mentioned it, but I am taking Scrapbook Design and You. I just finished my third class a couple of days ago. One of the reasons I decided to sign up was because I freeze when it comes to choosing colors and tend to use the same ones over and over again. Choosing paper alone can pretty much squash my motivation to create. So, in my never-ending quest to get better at this craft that I love, I signed up for SDU at my local JoAnn's.

Our first assignment was to choose our favorite color. Once we did, our favorite color was given to someone else. I ended up with the red/pink family and I almost NEVER scrap in those colors. We were to choose three hues in that color family and THEN choose our pictures. The instructor also encouraged me to use two different colors for the background pages, something I NEVER do. Both pages always have to be the same. The other thing I learned was a more conscious way to mat my photos...I have never consciously chosen black and/or white to mat, usually choosing to just use one of the colors I am working with...but after this lesson, I see what an impact black and/or white photo mats make. I'm pretty pleased with the way this turned out and had to stop myself from adding too much. I had already spent a lot of time putting Stickles on all of the flowers and leaves. In the process of cutting the layers for all the hibiscus flowers, I gave the "Hide Contour" feature on my Gypsy a good workout. Thanks for looking.