Monthly Archives: October 2014

Oct28

Weird Scrapping Habits (and a reminder!)

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Weird Scrapping Habits (and a reminder!)

Well, maybe not weird. Unless you’re me.

I was all set at the start of the month to participate in the ScrapHappy only Layout a Day challenge. First page done, shared on Flickr, and commenting on lots of other people’s pages. That’s one of the really cool things about the members only LOAD in October. Because it is only open to active members, the group is much smaller, and more intimate. Lots of chatting and sharing happening!

Directions || noexcusescrapbooking.com

Day two came along, and I happily worked on my second page while working on making the watercolor video that I had promised you. You know the one- the one that didn’t get done because I ran into editing issues? Yep. That one. (I will get that finished and posted next month.) After running into problem after problem with my video, I just plain forgot about making a page, ON DAY 2! I got up the next day, and realized I hadn’t finished my page. I then finished it, but neglected to photograph it, and changed gears entirely, getting out the sewing machine, and beginning to work on the slipcover I’m making for an old couch.

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After that, between sewing, birthday preparations, and general randomness, I only finished one more page for LOAD. This one was inspired by a piece of scrap paper sitting in the scraps bin. Originally I was going to use the embossed flowered paper as a mat for another project, but it didn’t quite work the way I wanted. I think I was trying to channel my inner Heidi Swapp.

grandma suits you || noexcusescrapbooking.com

And then I read a post by Shimelle Laine, about how she goes back to her albums and fills in stories as they suggest themselves, and I realized that that was the idea missing from my own albums, so spent a week and a half re-organizing my scrap albums. And made approximately 27 section pages, all looking something like this:

feed me || noexcusescrapbooking.com

So now my albums are organized, based on subject matter and chronology. Definitely feels like I got something accomplished this month!

And, if I make just one more page this month, I’ll have made 31 pages, which, while they weren’t made one each day, is still on average, a page a day!

Don’t my rose-colored glasses look lovely on me?

Okay, one more thing– a reminder!

November will be my second annual Month of Cards. Cards of Gratitude? Heh. Anyone got a name suggestion? Those titles are pretty lame.

Alrighty then, let’s keep on track, shall we?

All November long I will be posting new cards, and at the end of the month, I’ll be sending them out to you! Or I will if I have your mailing address. I sent out a note to those of you on my email list today, asking for your snail mail address. If you didn’t get an email today, you’re not on my email list, and I won’t be able to send you a card! If you want to get a card, make sure you’re on my email list, so I can contact you for your snail mail address!

Hope to hear from you soon! I’d love to send you a card!

Oct21

What Do You Have Planned for Your Holiday Crafting?

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What Do You Have Planned for Your Holiday Crafting?

Seriously, what do you have planned? After November’s month of cards, I’m a bit at a loss as to what and whether I will undertake any crafty projects this holiday season.

Currently, I am…

Working on building a stash of cards to share with you next month.

Re-organizing the pages in my scrapbooks. I follow Stacy Julian’s Library of Memories approach to storing my scrapbook pages, but I’m not sure it’s working quite right for me. Of course, in order to know if something is working or not, it would help if I finished the organizing I had started when I first took the class back in 2009. So that’s what I am doing now. I’ve done a lot more scrapbook pages since 2009, so it’s time to break everything up into their relevant subcategories. So far I’ve organized my Places We Go and People We Love albums, and I now know I do not need to make any more pages about how I used to dress up my sister like a great big doll when we were younger. I think three pages more than covers THAT topic.

Missing out on this month’s ScrapHappy only Layout a Day challenge. I don’t know what happened! I started strong the first two days, but then LOAD just disappeared off my daily mental to-do list. I have managed to make 17 pages this month, but most of them have been section headers for the albums I have been re-organizing.

Sewing a slipcover for a couch. One of the many house projects I’ve been working on has been putting together the den. My husband’s computer used to be in the den, but when we switched craft rooms, there was now room for it in the craft room, which has allowed me to try to turn the den into a “pretty” room. Once the slipcover is done, I’ll need to find or make curtains and hang them, organize and decorate the new shelves in the den, and perhaps find some new lamp shades. It’s coming along nicely.

Brainstorming Christmas presents for my family. I really want to stick to a budget this year, and maybe make a bunch of stuff too. Hence the brainstorming and planning.

Re-writing my first book on beginning scrapooking, and planning subsequent books on scrapbooking love, travel, children, and organization. This is a more drawn out process then I first thought it would be. I’m working on creating classes to go with each of the books as well, and want to release them in a fairly quick succession. I’ve also got a bunch of fiction stories bouncing around in my head that I’ll be working on once I’ve got the non-fiction series in the can.

Wondering whether I can fit a December Daily type book into my schedule this year. Wondering what other crafty projects I can do to make the house feel more comfy and sparkly. (Because that is what Christmas is to me! Cuddles and glitter! LOL)

Open to suggestions. Do you have any projects you think everyone should do during the holidays? Share them with me! I’d love to add something you love to my holiday repertoire!

What’s going on your life currently?

Oct16

Don’t Forget True Scrap!

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Don’t Forget True Scrap!

Oh my goodness! I almost forgot to tell you about True Scrap 6!

It starts Friday evening, and runs all day Saturday. It’s going to be so much fun! You’re going, right?

Wait.

How about I back and tell you what True Scrap is?

True Scrap is the brainchild of the fabulous Lain Ehmann. It is a live, online event, with video classes, live instructor interaction and Q & A, and a rocking live chat room.

Lain pulls together inspiring instructors from the world of paper crafting, and they present classes on a variety of scrappy related topics.

This time around, there’s a PJ party Friday evening, with three quick virtual make and takes. Then on Saturday, there are eight classes by Tracy Banks, Jennifer Gallacher, Katrina Kennedy, Donna Salazar, Noell Hyman, Nichol Maguirk, Layle Koncar, and Kelli Crowe.

The classes cover a wide variety of topics, from photography, to adding interactive motion pieces to your paper projects.

And, it’s just plain fun.

Screen-Shot-2014-08-21-at-9.23.27-AM

You’ve got a web room filled chatty, funny, scrappy friends, who chat amongst themselves while watching the class video. You’ve got the instructor on hand if any questions about the topic arise while you’re watching the video. And, you’ve got the replay available, so you can watch and re-watch the class to remind yourself of all the techniques and inspiring ideas these ladies share during class.

My favorite way of participating? Chat while watching the video, because everyone is full of excitement and enthusiasm while the class is running. Then later, if I want to have something crafty running while working in my craft room, I re-watch a few of the videos.

Anyhoo…

Have you signed up for True Scrap 6 yet? It’s only $99 for eight classes, and three make and takes. That’s a LOT of inspiration for a little money. Join us, it will be fun!

I’ll see you in the chat room!

Oct9

Photography Is Dead

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Photography Is Dead

We live in a time when more and more pictures are being taken. People take pictures of the food they eat, the places they visit, and what they’re wearing. They snap adorable photos of their children, and ridiculous selfies as they have fun making faces. People are capturing more photos than ever, because they always have their phones easily available, and the picture quality on camera phones can be amazing.

People tell themselves that the best camera to use, is the one they have on them, and increasingly, that is their cell phone.

More people are sharing these photos too, through social sites like Instagram and Tumblr and Facebook, so more and more people are seeing the pictures that define and illustrate our lives.

It seems like photography has hit a giant upswing in popularity.

However, frequently, that’s where current photography stops.

Photographs are not backed up, and frequently just deleted when our phones run out of space for new photos.

Not only that, but we don’t go back at look at older photos. Once the initial love at first sight photo share is over, we don’t go back to revisit and remind ourselves of the photos we love. Out sight becomes out of mind, and then out of memory.

So, while we’re taking more photos than ever, we’re also doing nothing with them. No printing, no photo albums, and no memory keeping.

Photography is dying, from a surfeit of photos, and a lack of a plan on what to do with the glut of photos we all have.

We can save photography. It’s a simple process. Save the photos you love some place other than your phone. Try dropbox, or carbonite, or an external hard drive. And print! Put pictures up on your wall. Send hardcopies to your family and friends. Scrapbook.

Because while scarcity makes a thing more valuable, I’d rather there were too many photographs in the world, than none.

The photographs you take tell stories about who you are, and the world around you. Your story matters. The world you live in matters.

Save your photographs.

Scrapbook.

Oct4

Not So Epic Fail and Second Annual Month of Cards

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Not So Epic Fail and Second Annual Month of Cards

Well, today, I had planned on sharing a video with you about watercoloring. However, I am having more trouble getting the video completed than I thought I would, and it’s just not done. It’s plain old taking more time to do than I scheduled.

Don’t know about you, but I’m disappointed.

I do have an announcement for you– November will be our Second Annual Month of Cards. I’ll be posting a new card for you each day of the month. And at the end of the month, to say THANK YOU for being a wonderful blog reader, I’ll send out cards to anyone on my email list who has supplied me with an address.

If you’d like to get a card from me, make sure you’re on my email list, and respond when I send the address request email out, right before we get started on November’s Month of Cards. I can’t send you a card if I don’t have your contact info!

If you want join my email list, you can use the sign up form on the top right to join. I send out a weekly email, with links to the past week’s posts, and a few other bits and pieces of info as random thoughts occur to me, or new and interesting opportunities come across my desk.

Now, since it is World Card Making Day, how about a couple links to some older videos that you may not have seen before?

My personal favorite– a video showing you three ways to use alpha stamps that doesn’t include titles or journaling:

And a fun little out of this world card:

Hope all have fun and get super creative this World Card Making Day!