Category Archives: projects

Nov2

Adaptable Punches

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Adaptable Punches

Day 2, Card 2!

As I said yesterday, today’s card is also based on a sketch from Becky Fleck’s Page Maps 2. (affiliate link)

The main reason for that is to show you how you can closely interpret the same sketch and get two different cards.

Now there's glitter on the sketch!

Now there’s glitter on the sketch!

Just to compare, here’s yesterday’s card:

card from sketch 1

You can tell they are based on the same sketch, but with different supplies and different techniques, they each have their own vibe.

The fun tip for today concerns those lovely decorative corner punches you’ve been putting off using. The Martha Stewart ones work well for this, as well as any punches that are designed with removable paper guides. (EK Success springs to mind at the moment.) You don’t want one with fixed guides. Well, you could use one, but that would make it more complicated.

Start by taking a strip of paper (I find scraps from previous projects ideal for this) and insert it completely into a decorative corner punch. You want the flat end of the strip to be flat against the back of the punch so the design comes out straight when you punch the paper. It’s okay, even more than okay, if your strip is wider than the punched design. After you punch the decorative corner out, you can cut off the excess sides with your paper trimmer or scissors, or even an exacto knife and ruler. You could even be a rebel, and leave the excess around the punch, so the negative image becomes the focus.

I cut my strips to different lengths, but again, this is something you can do or not do according to your own whims and design sensibilities. Just think of the possibilities of this technique. You could never have plain, boring journaling strips ever again!

Tomorrow’s card will use this sketch again, and then we’ll move onto some more fun card ideas.

Don’t forget, if you want to get a card in the mail, make sure you’re on my email list. Sign up here!

Oct28

Card Month Reminder

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Card Month Reminder

Starting November first, we’ll be studying card technique and design every day. That’s a LOT of cards to make. Rather than letting those cards take up space, I’d love to send them out to YOU!

Make sure you’re on my mailing list by October 31. I’ll be emailing all my subscribers and asking for the snail mail addresses of anyone who wants to receive one of the cards made during November.

You can sign up by filling out the form at the top right of the blog, or by clicking here.

Have any topics you want me to cover in November? Tell me NOW so I can be sure to fit it in!

This is going to be fun!

What should I play with first?

What should I play with first?

 

 

Oct5

A Month of Cards!

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A Month of Cards!

Today is National Cardmaking Day, in case you didn’t know.

It’s a totally made up holiday (created by Paper Crafts magazine if I remember correctly) but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate it!

The original plan was to host a card making party today, and make cards to donate to Operation Write Home. However, with a whole bunch of family obligations this week, I wasn’t able to do that. (If you’re local, I’m looking at weekends in November, if you would like to join me!)

Speaking of November…

Instead of spending all day today making cards, for the month of November we will be making cards EVERY DAY. If you have techniques you want demonstrated, or design questions you want answered, make sure to add a request in the comments below.

I am so excited to be doing this with you. So excited that I want to mail you the results! I’ll be sending an email out to my subscribers on November first, letting them opt into a snail mail list, so I can send each of them one of the cards I make. If you want to get something pretty in your mailbox, make sure you sign up for my list before the first of November!

You can sign up here, or use the sign up form on the top right of the page.

I can’t wait to start making cards with you! This is going to be fun!

Some card ideas to inspire you!

Some card ideas to inspire you!

Sep13

A Peek Behind the Curtain: My Unfinished Projects

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A Peek Behind the Curtain: My Unfinished Projects

One of the things that can hang over your head when you’ve been scrapbooking for a while is the dreaded unfinished project. We’re all guilty of biting off more than we can finish, but that doesn’t mean we can’t complete a project if we have a plan.

As mentioned in previous posts, I have an unfinished Project Life album from 2011. I’ve got a plan for finishing it, and have made quite a lot of progress. All the photos are in it, and the cards are loaded as well. Now it’s time for writing. I think what I’ll do is, while watching TV, fill out a few cards at a time each evening. It will take awhile to finish that way, but what’s the rush? It should be more fun, and invite more input from my family by doing it this way. But that may just be my optimistic nature showing.Unfinished Project Life

Then there’s this summer’s digi album. I need to make a list of events to add to the book, and then I’ll be able to really get cracking on it. Hey, I’ll do that tonight! Little steps get you closer all the time.

OFN pics

Then there are my kids’ School of Life albums, which both need to be updated. I’ll pull photos for both of them, and pack them with my school supplies, and bring those with me the next time I head to a crop. The School of Life albums are great for getting things done, and allowing for chat time while scrapping.School of Life albums

Then I’ve got a couple chipboard mini albums, where I know what I want to talk about, but haven’t got pictures yet, or need info from family members. Those are further down the list.

chipboard albums

The thing about all these projects is that I DON’T HAVE TO do any of these projects, but I want to, so I’m planning time and processes that will help me get them done.

That’s what you need to do in order to get your unfinished projects done. Break projects into pieces, and plan each step. You don’t have to go into a huge amount of detail, but knowing what the chunks are can really help you see projects as do-able instead of insurmountable and guilt inspiring.

One more thing. Are any of your unfinished projects stories you no longer want to tell? You don’t have to you know.

You have my permission to throw them in the circular file, or recycle them. Turn them into something you love, instead of something that weighs you down.

The only person who should be setting your scrapbooking goals is yourself. Not your kids. Not your friends. Not your mother, and most especially not me. Do exactly as much as you want to do. It’s all okay.

So what projects do you have unfinished? What are you going to do about them?

 

Jul18

Summer Album Update

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Summer Album Update

While we figure out just how many words we can make and use up all the letters in a alphabet sticker set, let’s switch gears for a moment and talk summer to-do list:

How has your summer been going? Ours is off to a pretty rocking start, if I do say so myself. We headed to Niagara Falls after the Fourth of July, and explored Old Fort Niagara while they had a re-enactors encampment. The kids loved it!

These are the first two pages that will go into the Shutterfly book I’ll be printing after the summer is over.

OFN pics

OFN Journaling

I like to keep things simple when creating a digital page. I find the extensive layering and embellishments that is so common in scrapbooking right now to be overwhelming on a digi page. An embellishment or two, some lovely patterned papers, and I’m good.

If you want to create your own Shutterfly book like this, you can find the templates I created here.

Notice the margin around all the elements on the photo page? That will be cut off when Shutterfly prints the page. Make sure you keep those guide lines visible, so you know where your printed page will be trimmed!

How are you documenting your summer? Are you crossing items off YOUR to-do list?