New Blog to Follow!

I'm working on Valentine's Day projects, and I've got some fun ideas for grown-up Valentines for my friends.  As such, I've been on a hunt for a very specific SVG file and I finally found it on the "Creations by AR" website! Their blog has some beautiful ideas and fun challenges, and their store has a huge variety of sophisticated, classy, and elegant templates.  Each purchase comes with file types to support a wide range of cutting machines, as well as detailed instructions and color photographs! They are also very reasonably priced.  Check them out! And no, I didn't get paid to rave about them...I just think they're that cool.

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January Birthday Stuff

Okay, soo...I'm a little behind on January birthdays, because this post includes a December one too! (Sorry, Dylan!)

Anyway, Hero Arts has a new stamp set out called "Wish Big" that incorporates the newspaper-print overlay with traditional birthday images. I'm a big fan, so I decided to use the set to make my dad's birthday card. It turned out so well that I made a whole bunch to take to work! I also made a rocketship bag for my dad's gift, and then for fun, I threw in pictures of the cupcake card and bag for Dylan's (late, oh noes!) birthday gift. I'm only posting instructions for the balloon card here. The birthday cupcake is a variation of the same technique with different papers, and the rocketship bag is just its own world of awesome. (See what I did there? World? Space? hah.)  Okay, supplies:

• Card base
• Cardstock in contrast color, cut to 4x5.25" 
• Patterned paper of choice, cut to 3.75x5" 
• Wish Big stamp set 
• Black ink 
• Chalk inks, coordinating colors - OR - scraps of patterned paper 
• scissors, adhesive, pop dots 
• glimmer mist 
• ribbon

Stamp the balloon image and the phrase on the patterned paper in black On scrap white paper, stamp each balloon in a different color ink and cut out - OR - stamp the entire balloon image on scrap patterned paper and cut out the balloons Mist balloons with glimmer mist, if desired Adhere the balloons over the stamped image on the original patterned paper to create a layered effect. Use pop dots to help with the 3-D imaging. Adhere finished front to contrast cardstock, then adhere to card. Tie a bow with ribbon and stick it on with a glue dot. Voila!

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I think the patterned paper made the most visually appealing card, but I like the blues and browns in the second card a lot. The pastels don't photograph well...but lesson learned. I'm taking my extras in to work! Huzzah!

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Christmas 2011

I thought you might like to see the photobox I made as gifts for my grandmother and parents, and as a bonus, the gift tags I used!

The photobox is the 6x6 from 7Gypsies, using the awesome portraits that Brooke Summer Photography produced for me. I love the little red rose in the corner!  The tags are glass ornaments with alcohol inks blown about in them using canned air. I finished them with jingle bells tied around the ribbons and Tim Holtz Christmas Tokens.  Pretty!

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January Organization Effort: Introduction

January is a great time for organizing and cleaning out.  As I brush stuff off my desk so I have room to type this blog entry, I think its time to start on the scrapbook hovel…I mean creative joint workspace…and get cleaned up for my upcoming move.  As I undertake to clean out my overabundance of crafting supplies, I think I’ll devote some of my blogging to how I organize, and see if any of you have creative ideas, tips or tricks to share. Plus, as I find stuff I no longer want or need, if its in good shape, I’ll put it up here for grabs at no cost. (Unless you want me to ship it…then you’ll have to pay postage!)

 So here we go.  First things first, it is important to establish what kind of an organizer you are!  The most beautiful, organized home in the world is useless if the occupants don’t think the same way the stuff was put away…and it won’t stay organized.  Personally, I’ve found my organization style has changed significantly in the past few years.  When I first started scrapping, my mode was: Minimization! Everything fit in a plastic sewing tote or two and I liked it that way.  Of course, that was the era of decorative-edged scissors and stickers, but hey! When I joined the ranks of Archivers, my new mantra was Portable! Yes…I was a victim of “take the crafting room to the crop” disease, and I organized my supplies based on whether or not I could take them with me.  Of course, I also learned about the joys of stamping, die cutting, embossing, and cardcrafting.  Now, I have too much stuff to ever make that practical, but I’m also a wiser crafter: I don’t need to take all my stuff because, I don’t use every supply for every project!  I’m also lucky enough to have a small but dedicated space to my crafting, which means I can afford to worry less about how to put it all away and more about how to organize around the way I think.  So my organizational mantra now is Facilitate Creativity.  Here are the things I consider when I organize:

1.      Is it beautiful, and does it facilitate my creative flow?

2.      Does this make effective use of my space and my budget?

3.      Do I have room to grow with this?

4.      Does this protect my investment that it stores?

5.      Will this keep my materials easily accessible?

I tend to use a lot of bins and boxes made of plastic, especially for things that don’t like water (paper, anyone?) because I have a fire sprinkler in my craft room.  My losses, if ever the sprinkler in this building go off, will be heavy, but I can protect some of it.  I like things to be uniform, with small elements of beauty to help spur things along.  I’m not a digger; I like my supplies to be sorted by theme, color or material.  This takes up more space, but it helps me find what I want pretty quickly. I am a sketcher, which means I have a lot of space devoted to reference and inspiration aids.  I’m also learning not to be a hoarder, which means I require less space for scraps than in previous organizational efforts.  I believe in vertical rather than horizontal storage whenever possible, and I try to keep my “favorites” in easy reach of my fingertips at all times.  I try to keep the project confined to the crafting mat and the area immediately surrounding it, and I put tools away as I finish with them.

I’m going to organize one category at a time, so look for posts on Paper, Stamping, Tools, Die-cuts and Embossing, Embellishments, and Projects.  I might also do a few subcategories in these sections.  I’ll try to post photos of before and after as well! And, of course, some supplies will be up for grabs.  Post comments with your ideas, tips and tricks!

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