Monthly Archives: September 2016

Sep28

Book Update (and a couple recommendations to tide you over)

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Book Update (and a couple recommendations to tide you over)

It is taking me a little longer than I thought it would to finish up my latest book about using sketches in scrapbooking. How’d you like to help me decide on the title and cover?

This is what I’ve got right now, which one do you like the best?

Option 1

Option 1

Option 2

Option 2

Option 3

Option 3

Option 4

Option 4

Just let me know which one you like most in the comments below.

To tide you over until I get my booked finished, I’ve got a couple recommendations for you.

One:

and two:

Why should you read these two books?

You should read The Happiness Project because of one phrase in particular: the days are long, but the years are short. This was the impetus that started Gretchen Rubin on her happiness and habits journey. This was the idea that made her realize that she needed to pay attention to now, because all too soon today becomes yesterday, and then last week, and last year.

Folks this is the reason we scrapbook. We scrapbook because we know that as soon as we live a particular moment, it’s gone forever, unless we capture it in some way through memory keeping.

We scrapbook because it makes the current moment so much more happy, either because we’re trying to be present and aware of it, or because we’re actively scrapbooking, and making pretty stuff. Making stuff makes most people happy, at least in my experience.

You should read The New Rules of Scrapbooking because Jennifer Wilson is a woman after my own heart. In her book, she lists five basic rules of scrapbooking, that basically tell you to ignore all the rules and all the guilt that you think makes up scrapbooking. It’s a freedom manifesto for the scrapbooker plagued by self-doubt, fear, and guilt. Scrapbooking is a hobby that should help you feel more free. Jennifer’s rules will help you get there.

Sep21

Making Letter Stickers Go Away

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Making Letter Stickers Go Away

You know what’s frustrating? Using up all the E’s in a set of letter stickers before you’ve even used up half the letters. Or the T’s or S’s. My pile of partially used alphabet stickers is growing and growing. I’d really like to get rid of some of those packages of Q’s, X’s, and J’s, how about you?

What are some ways we could do that?

We could play scrabble with the rest of the letters in a set, and come up with words that we could use for titles. That’s always a fun challenge.

alpha letter soup|| noexcusescrapbooking.com

We could mix and match letters from multiple sets to create ransom style words. You do want to keep the letters in the same ballpark size wise when you do this. If you really don’t like having mismatched colored letters, you could even paint or ink them to help the letters go together better.

recipe for disaster||noexcusescrapbooking.com

I think you’ve seen this page a lot lately!

If they are flat stickers, you can add them to a piece of cardstock to create a one-of-a-kind patterned paper. With both flat and dimensional stickers, you can use them with mists or inks or paint to create a background. Coat the backs of the stickers with cornstarch to reduce their stickiness, arrange them on a piece of cardstock, and ink or spray away. When you lift the stickers up, you’ve got the letters showing up as the original color of the cardstock. (I haven’t done this yet myself. I’m still having trouble letting go of my letter stickers.)

I’m sure there are a ton more ways to use up letter stickers. Do any of you have any suggestions?

Of course, there is always the final solution: the garbage can. When you’re down to a 2, a 5, three Q’s and a W, there really isn’t much point to holding on to it. I’ve got to remind myself of that, and throw out some stickers. Hold me. This is going to be hard.

Sep14

Cook n’ Craft!

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Cook n’ Craft!

Are you ready for something fun? I’ve had a brainstorm. It could be fabulous. It could tank really badly. But that’s life in general, isn’t it?

Too often, people say they can’t scrapbook, or do anything even remotely crafty because they have no time. That’s also a common excuse for people using prepared foods and eating out a lot. No time to cook. No time to craft.

We’re running out of time people!

But seriously. There are ways to fit in some downtime, whether it’s crafty or not, and eat well too.

Enter my wild idea: Cook n’ Craft events.

We’ll spend about half an hour learning how to make dinner, or some other meal, fast, easy and delicious, and the rest of the evening (or afternoon, or even morning, I’m not picky!) making a related project or two. The kitchen tools will be from Pampered Chef, and the craft supplies will be from Stampin’ Up!

Food and crafting and gathering together always go well together in my world.

There will be themed shows where you learn cooking and stamping techniques, or make use of kits to make crafts you can actually use. I’ll host open houses and workshops and hopefully some of you will want to host an event too. Sometimes you’ll need to pre-order the consumable supplies for a particular project, and sometimes we’ll be raiding my stash to see how you can mix old with new, and turn everything fabulous.

Yes, this is me selling Pampered Chef and Stampin’ Up! products, but the way I’ll be doing it will be a bit different. Of course if you want to host a regular Pampered Chef or Stampin’ Up! show (or both!) I’ll be happy to do so.

cm10100b

I’ve got a few theme ideas to start us off:

1. Gift food with pretty packaging.

2. Fast weeknight meal and using stamps to create your own calming coloring sheets. (and a card!)

3. Meal planning for the cheap and lazy with a recipe keeper like a box or binder.

4. Easy and fancy dessert with a card kit for all occasions.

5. Appetizers for any occasion and party decorations.

This is going to be fun!

Who’s going to join me?

You can find my Stampin’ Up! website here: Stampin’ Up!

I’m using my first party to help fund my Pampered Chef sign up, and you can find the party here if you’d like to order something to help out: Heather’s PC party

cooking-show-1

I will be working on a way to do this online too, but I want to get the live version worked out first.

Anyone else as excited as I am?

Sep7

Scrapbooking Goals

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Scrapbooking Goals

A few weeks ago, the Scrap Gals had a podcast about the demise of double page layouts. (Episode 131 if you’re interested in listening to it.) It’s one of my favorite episodes, precisely because they are taking a potentially controversial topic and exploring it kindly, from their own perspectives and experiences.

I’m not sure that their theory is right or wrong. In my experience, I make double page layouts fairly frequently, when the subject calls for it. Usually, it’s an event with a lot of pictures. Sometimes it’s a more story based layout. Regardless, it’s a decision I make almost as soon as I decide to make a page.

recipe for disaster||noexcusescrapbooking.com

My most recent double page spread, from last month.

There is one thing that they mentioned that really got me thinking though.

When you started scrapbooking, what was your goal? Were you scrapbooking to create pretty photo albums? Were you scrapbooking to get all your photos documented and organized? Did you start scrapbooking to tell stories? Did you start scrapbooking because you loved the product, the artsy play time, and the photos and stories were just an after thought?

The scrap gals theorized that the people who create scrapbooks with mostly double page layouts are more concerned with getting their photos out of storage and out where they can be seen. Their goal is to create pretty and accessible photo storage. They may even have the unstated goal of eventually being caught up, with no older stories to tell.

While that may be true of some scrapbookers, that’s definitely not true for me. Each and every time I use a double page spread, I do so because that’s what the story demands.

I scrapbook for a very melancholy reason. I know from personal experience, that life can change in an instant, and people that we love can be lost forever. I scrapbook because I wish I knew my father’s story, and his father’s story, and I don’t want my kids to wish that about me.

I know I am not going to get every story told. I know I am not going to document the history of every photo in my possession. (Digital camera=too many photos period.) That was never my goal. My goal has always been to tell my story. I do tell a lot of stories about my kids and the rest of my family and friends, but that’s because they are important to me.

So what are your scrapbooking goals? Share them here, or over on Facebook. I’d really like to know what you want to accomplish with your scrapbooking.