Monthly Archives: January 2014

Jan28

Organizing Again

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Organizing Again

If there’s one thing that’s always true, it’s that I’m always looking for new and more efficient ways to organize my scrappy stuff. What I have works fairly well, but there’s always room for tweaking.

Let’s see what’s changed recently.

There are now two kitchen tables in my craft room. The one I had been using as my main workspace is now in the spot where my drafting table was, and the table that used to be in the dining room is now by the door. (A friend of mine gave me her antique, expandable, huge dining room table. I LOVE it! Thank you J!) This means I have even more level workspace, and more under table space for storage.

With the drafting table out of the room, I’ve got space for a couple more towers of drawers, which I am slowiy filling up with kits I’ve either purchased or created myself, or with supplies for classes I want to complete.

The marker storage is working great, and I now have my new Silhouette Portrait perched in front of them, where it’s easily accessible, able to be plugged into the computer, but not in the way of anything either.

I’ve got a new sorter, with my most commonly used alpha stickers in it, and my sewing machine and Cricut are easily accessible as well.

My son’s craft supplies are all right next to his workspace now, instead of on the opposite side of the room, which he appreciates. I’ve got to get him to do some pick up though, his desk is still a mess.

The stamping station is still working well, although sometimes I think I should combine stamps with embellishments. I’m still debating that, and trying to figure out how that would work.

The big news? I’ve added shelving to the second closet, so now, instead of one huge pile of stuff, I can get at everything without having to dig. I’ve shifted things around, so there’s a place for my business supplies, and all my fabric/sewing supplies are in one, still messy area.

Before

Before

craft closet updated

After

I think that’s a big improvement, don’t you?

Want a closer look at everything? How about a tour?

Hope you enjoyed that!

How have you tweaked your organization over time? What little tricks are working for you right now?

Jan25

Rocking LOAD (aka LOAD214 bloghop!)

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Rocking LOAD (aka LOAD214 bloghop!)

Welcome blog hoppers! LOAD is almost here! Aren’t you excited? I know I am!

If you’re hopping around on the LOAD blog hop you should have come here from Cara’s blog.

(LOAD, for the uninitiated, is also known as Layout A Day, and is a month long event run by Lain Ehmann, where she challenges you to scrapbook a layout every day for a month. The next one starts February first.)

So many people I know, when I describe LOAD, immediately say “I could never do that,” and quit before they ever start. I’m so happy for those of you who have jumped in and said “I can do LOAD, or at the very least try.”

The thing about LOAD is that success is all about mindset.

There are two ways in which mindset determines how well you succeed at LOAD.

The first mindset is to stop making excuses. If you say you want to scrapbook a page everyday, then the only thing stopping you from doing it is yourself. I know there are things that can get in the way and keep you from completing a challenge like this, but regular everyday life? If you can squeeze in time for a TV show, or visiting with friends on FB, then you can find the time and energy to make a page. So that’s the first way you can change your mindset.

The other way you can change your mindset? Redefine the meaning of success. While the official-unofficial definition of a successful LOAD is completing a layout every day for a month, that doesn’t have to be your definition. Maybe it’s completing 28 layouts at some time during the month. Maybe it’s doing 10 during the month. Maybe it’s continuing to make layouts even after you’ve missed a day or three or ten.

The thing is, you are the only one who can determine if you have been successful. You can join the competitive side, and make yourself make a page every day, whether you’re feeling inspired or not, or you can decide to define your own version of success.

Anyway you do it, at the end of the day you will have rocked LOAD, because you will have gotten up off the couch, walked away from social media, and made SOMETHING. In my book, DOING trumps PLANNING every day of the week.

After all, if I hadn’t done LOAD last February, I wouldn’t have done this page:

my perfect day || no excuse scrapbooking.com

My favorite page from LOAD 2/13

So how are you going to define success for yourself during this LOAD?

Are you ready to hop along to the next blog? Check out Kim’s blog.

The full list of participants in case you want to hop and skip around:

Kelli — Use It Scrapbooking

Dani — Scrapper On The Street

Valerie — My Own Little Rainbow Coalition

Karen — Photos Kept Alive

Danielle — Ecoscrapbook

Connie — Clicky Chick Creates

Sherrie — A Little Bit of Everything Me

Cara — C’est la Vie (ours anyway)

Heather <<< That’s me!

Kim — I’m So Full of Scrap

Christy — My Scrapbook Evolution

Lisa E — Lisa E Design Blog

Lisa H — Recklinghausen Musings

And if you haven’t yet jumped feet first into LOAD, what are you waiting for? Go and sign up here! The only thing stopping you from being successful at LOAD is fear, and you’re not going to let a little fear get in the way of some creative fun, are you?

Need more convincing? Want to visit some old bloghops? Check out this post from last year.

Jan20

What’s inspiring you today?

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What’s inspiring you today?

The other day I was feeling out of sorts, if you will. Like I hadn’t made a page in years. Like if I didn’t get inky soon, I was going to implode.

When I have days like that, it means I need to switch gears, and move from the writing side of creativity to the messy side of creativity. Luckily, that day Noell Hyman from Paperclipping started posting her videos from CHA, which included demos from Julie Fei Fan Balzer, Dina Wakley and Dyan Reaveley.

If you’ve never seen any of their work, you really need to. Their art is messy and free and gorgeous. I love their philosophy of more is more, at least when it comes to layering on inks and paints. Every time Julie Fei Fan Balzer says, “But wait, there’s more!” my heart just gets happier and happier.

So, inspired by those lovely ladies, I created this. Three different brands of spray inks. (Dylusions, Mister Huey, and Fireworks). A stencil from Martha Stewart crafts, and a barely visible one from Julie’s Crafter’s Workshop line.  Ranger dauber paints dry brushed on. Some of my favorite stamps. A few distress inks. Faber Castell india ink markers. Lots of alphas. (Thickers, Tim Holtz, Scenic Route, and Making Memories.) And a felt silhouette I got from a scrapbooking kit club years ago.

all work and no play || noexcusescrapbooking.com

Do you like it? It really satisfied my need to create.

So what’s inspiring you now? Are you letting your inspiration motivate you to create? Give yourself permission to make something today. The dishes can wait. You need time to make messes too!

Jan15

Getting Excited

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Getting Excited

Two super fun things are coming super soon to the online scrapbooking world that I really want to share with you.

First up is the next True Scrap event: True Scrap Pocket Pages. (affiliate link) If you haven’t heard about the True Scrap events yet, they’re a lot of fun. Usually they are one or two day online events with multiple instructors in a single classroom, hosted by Lain Ehmann.

 

TSPP logo

 

True Scrap Pocket Pages is a one day event, and all the classes will focus on ways to use all those journaling cards from Project Life and Snap and MAMBI, as well as ways to use pocket pages for more than the usual slip a photo in, slip a card in, call it done approach.

The classroom is a lot of fun, with a pre-recorded video portion, a chat room, where you can connect with other scrapbookers from around the world, and a Q&A session after the video, where the instructor and Lain answer any questions that may have arisen during the course of the class. I have found every event to be highly entertaining, and full of inspiration, so it’s something you won’t want to miss. What’s really cool about the event is not only do you get to take the class live, while the instructor is there, but you also get unlimited replays, which means if you miss anything, you can always go back and rewatch a class, or even the entire event.

I’m looking forward to the event. It should be a lot of fun!

The other thing I’m looking forward to is next month’s LOAD (Layout a Day for the uninitiated.) (affiliate link) I’ve written a LOT about how much I love LOAD, and what I’ve gotten done during LOAD, and why you should attempt a challenge like Layout a Day yourself. This is one of those things I’m going to nag you about. Do you want to use up your stash? Do you want to improve your style (and by that I make it even more YOU, not make it like every one else)? Do you want to be a faster, more confident scrapbooker? Then you need to do something like this. There’s nothing like that daily commitment to really get your creativity flowing.

If you want to know more about LOAD, we’ll be having a blog hop on January 25th. Hop along with us. It will be fun, and filled with lots of inspiration.

So that’s what’s got me excited this month. What are you looking forward to?

Jan13

Finding Color Confidence

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Finding Color Confidence

For those who want to become more confident scrapbookers, especially when it comes to design, a good grasp of color relation principles can really help you feel more confident about your color choices.

You can see how colors relate to each other by looking at a color wheel.

Color wheel (from the color wheel company)

You can find this color wheel on Amazon (affiliate link)

If you notice, in the center of this color wheel, there are four shapes superimposed over each other: an isosceles triangle, an equilateral triangle, a rectangle, and a square.

Basically, if you turn the wheel so one corner of a shape rests on a color family, the color families at the other corners of the SAME SHAPE will work well together.

For example, if you have one corner on the blue color family, you can create pages that are blue, red and yellow; blue, red-orange, and yellow-orange; blue, violet, and yellow-orange; blue, red-orange, and green; blue, red-violet, yellow-green, and orange; blue, violet, orange, and yellow; or blue, red, orange, and green. As long as all the colors have similar amounts of white and/or black in them (their color value) they will work together.

You don’t have to use all the colors in each group when you’re combining colors, but I don’t recommend using colors from different groups.

The most important thing to remember about a color wheel? Don’t try to match the colors on a color wheel with the colors on your photos or in your papers. The number of times the colors will actually MATCH? Infinitesimal. This is more about thinking about how colors are related than matching specific colors.

Don’t believe me? Try making a page, and choosing your products based on a color wheel. I think you’ll really like how your colors all work together.

This may be my favorite page made using a color wheel to choose products. What do you think?

Growing Up // NoExcuseScrapbooking.com