Abscraptistico

Verrrry lazy day

2011-01-29T12:11:00.000-08:00

Yes, nothing like a lazy day. Felt just the need for one today, so aside from ambling over to papershop I never moved out of house all day. And lovely it was too.
Mind you one cannot be idle all day, so it was back to scrapbooking. Seem to have acquired a lot of photos. The kodak printer makes printing photos a breeze, no messing about, no faffing with paper, just put paper in, select size and yes - it does what it says on the tin! Also found some papers tucked away, this is the advantage (not) of not being organised, you do come across some wonderful finds. Just wish I could find my plain white flowers!

So made this page, papers came from papermania kit, vintage something or other. Corners made from the Slice, used the findings card so was also able to do the 'shadow', didn't have much pink card so used a pro marker (cocktail pink) to colour some white card. Had a rummage thru stash and found a couple of pink butterflies and that was that.

Was surprised how different two different pro marker pinks were, both looked pretty similar, but when I used them the were VERY different.

All for now folks, happy scrapping

Another day and another page

2011-01-27T12:21:00.000-08:00

After months of not doing much I seem to be on some sort of scrapathon. This was another page that was completed over the weekend, fairly simple to put together, used one piece of paper, two photos and some white card, lettering and flowers (which are temporary till I locate the ones I want to use)

Backing is from WeRMemory keepers vintage collection, just a single sheet. I cut into it so that the photos could 'lie' behind. Used the X cutting system to shape the photos, then used some white card to act as a mat, but inked the edges. Just added the lettering, using my Slice machine, and the flowers, oh and a sentiment. I guess it shows that you don't always have to go to extremes with your pages, they can be very simple.

Lettering can be an issue in scrapbooking, you could use a cuttlebug and buy the alphabets, or a punch set, but I prefer the Slice. It is a nice small machine, doesn't take up too much space and is rechargeable. The new model is also hands free, but it should be stated that anyone who has the earlier model can buy the hands free kit. The new cards for the machine also allow you to do shadowing, mirroring, and then there is embossing. The cards can seem expensive, but when compared to a die cut alphabet set they are very cheap. And of course you have the luxury of being able to cut letters to the size you want, well up to 4 inches, which is big enough for any scrap page.

New Pages

2011-01-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

Feel like I've caught the scrapping bug. Although I did buy some lovely papers recently, think they've also reinvigorated my crafty side.

Made this page today: Too Many Cooks
Cardstock: WeRmemorykeepers Vintage
DCWV - plain card Paper mania Dotty card
Ribbon, brads (square headed) and lettering to suit.

I cut out a half circle from the plain card stock, and a moon shape from the dotty paper. Layered those, chose 4 photos, cut three into circles, enlarged on and cut it using an Xcut shape cutter (ellipse), matted all photos onto white card. Used some beige ribbon and added some brads, then the lettering.
The photos are of my sister's family, out in spain attempting to cook Christmas dinner! I think they all pitched in, but of course BiL took all the credit!

Apologies..

2011-01-23T13:31:00.000-08:00

Not posted on here for ages, very remiss of me. Sorry but life sort of overtook me, had a knee replacement operation back in September, that was agony... then a whole load of other stuff kept getting in the way. But here I am again!

Thought I'd start off with this page, love to say that it was planned but... no chance.   I started with the photos and they had a lot of blue in them, so was looking for anything with a blue colour, but also wanted it to be cheerful as the pics were taken in Spain, so that was influencing me.   Ended up with this:

Base card: from We R memorykeepers kit 589251 from QVC.
Then used Blue and Cream card, paper mania stock. Used a circle cutter to get the 'circles', just so one would tuck neatly under the other.
Also used circle cutter from the X cut kit, to shape two of the photos - they may 'appear' to be circles, but they're not quite.
Once I got to this stage I laid everything down, but something was missing, so using the circle cutter I cut two more circles from the patterned card, then using a tearing ruler tore off a piece of the creamy yellow card. Felt that it needed something, so messed with some buttons I had, all random, I coloured the heart shaped button with perfect pearls.
Finished off with some brads, and the lettering using The Slice, and coloured it with some inks.

I think it works.   Very happy with the page.   Have another two to upload, so watch this space.

At last some scrapbooking!

2010-02-21T11:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry folks, been away for far too long.   Things have been a bit hectic. But I finally managed to get down to some scrapping over the weekend.

I got the inspiration for this from a PM pack, which was part of a Do Crafts Goody bag, on sale for half price. Ages since I bought a Goody Bag!   This was well worth the £7.50 I paid for it, a full pack of PM paper, patterned,   one pack of handmade papers/designer, glue pen, photo tape, buttons, flowers, brads, peel offs...    Even at full price the Goody Bags do offer value for money, so do keep an eye out for them.

This layout is by Jesse Edwards, it came with the paperpack, on the back cover, I used all the papers from the pack, and lettering is from The Slice.   I made the 'sun shape' by using a stencil, cutting one out in black then a circle in white.    I also bought some of the new mosaic tiles, and used them as accents.

Here is the layout, they used scalloped card, but I didn't in my layout, it is up to you of course.

Materials

Papermania Boutique paper pack
White card from Collosal pack PM
PM designer papers
Plain black card, plain white care
Mosaic tiles

Tools

The Slice
Metal ruler
Pencil, rubber, paper cutter
photo glue (or glue of choice)
Circle cutter

Remember all layouts can be adapted, or altered, or added to. You never have to stick religiously to a layout, unless of course it is for a competition or stipulated.

Happy scrapping!

Expensive week!

2010-02-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

Wish it was a huge craft bill I'd run up, but nope, the old MOT... thank goodness for plastic! Just glad I sold that stuff on ebay, that helped to make a dent in it.
But have managed to get some scrapping done. This was for a challenge I set, using a sketch from pencil lines (wonderful blog, full of ideas and stuff you can use/download).

I must be going thru a green phase, I've had a blue phase, and a pink phase, now it is green!

But it was an easy layout to follow. A triangle, and two oblongs/rectangles, the photo and 3 buttons, well I used chipboard ones, and added a couple of strips of green card. That was just to add accent and lift the layout a little. Just seen another version and that is fabulous, may ask permission to show it on here.

All for now, be back soon.

A bit of a challenge

2010-01-31T10:55:00.000-08:00

I set a challenge on a group and it has taken me all month to complete it! Part of my problem was choosing what photos to take, the challenge was to take 4 photos that could sum up a typical day and then follow a template. I finally settled on four photos, one of porridge, which I have for breakfast, most days include crafting, so took pic of my messy craft table, and I chat to friends using skype, and I do like a nice glass of red...
Took me ages to settle on a colour scheme, tried pink first, but that didn't work, finally chose green, then didn't like the photos, so matted them with pink and green card, that seemed to lift them, did the lettering with The Slice, and added some gromlets using the Big Bite, green and brown.

Here's the template if you want to have a go.

Materials:

Collosal colour card pack, PM
DCWV patterned paper
Gromlets
Plain cream paper from my stash

Tools

The Slice
Big Bite
Photo glue
Craft knife, ruler, eraser, paper trimmer

Think I got the cream paper (used for lettering) from papershop, many moons ago. Forgotten I had the box of paper, and how mad I'd gone picking colours, will be very handy for the lettering.

Do remember that all the templates can be downloaded, I am thinking of using PDF files as well. Have fun, and happy scrapping.

Short Takes

2010-01-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

I had a rummage thru some holiday photos and found this one, taken in 1992 on Venice Beach in California. The photo shows two cops, suitably attired for beach patrol!

Materials:

Yellow Card from Collosal card pack (PM)
Papers from Scrapbook magazine

Tools

Craft knife,
Ruler, pencil, rubber
Photo glue
The Slice - for lettering and shapes

I used the yellow card (12x12) as my base, then taking the papers from latest issue of Scrapbook magazine, I selected the stripey one for the first mat, I then cut an oblong out of it at an angle, in this I placed the blue oblong mat, then photo, and cut a frame from the gingham paper. With rest of gingham paper I cut two stars using the Slice, and then used some blue paper to cut out the lettering.

Here's the template.   It is a very easy design to follow, I used 4 papers in total.   The smaller stars on mine came from middle of the stars.

Think tho I will change the title to Beach Patrol, it is more apt!

I enjoy scrapping old holiday photos, they always bring back pleasant memories. I remember from that holiday how hot it was, over 100C for most of the fortnight we were there, we melted when we stepped off the plane!   We'd left blighty on a chilly October day, so we all had warmish clothing on, jeans etc, think we all hit the showers when we got to our hotel.   First drink was a very cold beer I seem to recall.   I am going to add some journalling to the page, nothing is stuck down yet.

That is a useful rule to follow, NEVER stick anything down, same applies in cardmaking, don't stick anything till you are sure of your layout. I did spend some time on this layout, about a couple of hours, a lot of that was spent mucking about trying different papers, colours etc.

Yep I am going to mention The Slice... it is proving an invaluable tool, lettering is the bane of all scrapbookers.   You can choose to spend a fortune on chipboard letters, thickers, peel offs, go down the die cut route and spend a fortune on various alphabets, or opt for a robo/silhouette (go for the latter), or choose the cricut, or do what I did, and go for The Slice.

Thanks for stopping by

Sometimes it takes a long time...

2010-01-26T11:43:00.000-08:00

As it did with this design. I was happy with the scalloped flower design, but not with the original colour of card, which was white, so I tried pink I still didn't seem to work... finally had a good old root and found the stripey paper!

I cut the scalloped shape ages ago and for the life of me I can't exactly remember how I did it. Got a feeling I used a compass cutter, which I kept on moving to get the scalloped effect. For the edging I used strips of white card, again I used a circle cutter to make the arcs, they taper at one end. I cut the photo frame using a template, circle with circle cutter and lettering with The Slice, card is from Papermania Collosal colour pack, and DCWV, flowers from Do crafts, same with brads.

Sadly I had to send my second design card back to QVC, just one section of it was faulty, the flower section. I thought at first I'd moved the slice when it was cutting, but tried again, got same result, tried two different flowers, one cut okay, the other didn't, rest of the designs were fine, did mull over whether to send it back, but thought I should. So back its gone.

My new cutting mat and stuff finally arrived, like the circle cutter, someone had commented that it was difficult to use, but I found it easy. Didn't get along so well with the paper cutter, but think that was because I was using a craft table, not very sturdy. Nice having the circle cutter, will do really big circles!

More designs/templates soon, and something new!

New Template, and thoughts on The Slice

2010-01-23T12:03:00.000-08:00

Today was my first real opportunity to use The Slice, luckily my second card from QVC also arrived, so I had lots of designs to choose from.

All scrapbooking starts with a photo, and I chose one from a birthday party.

Materials:

Papermania Collosal coloured card pack
Papermania Textured card
DCWV (Nancy Hill) kit from QVC - blue paper.
Do Crafts monochrome set of buttons, brads and flowers.
The Slice/Photo Glue/Sticky Dots/Adhesive gems

I used pink card for my base, cut a large circle (using a dinner plate) from the cream card, then cut 4 strips of blue paper, made them odd lengths, stuck them down to circle, placing photo on top. Finished that off with the buttons and flowers. In the corners, I cut two designs from The Slice Noteworthy collection, and the flower design (same collection), cut 3 frames (same collection) and lettering.

Here's the template - for some reason the left hand corner seems to have slipped down! Oops, but you do get the idea.

I used 3 colours, pink, cream and white. To attach the tiny flower design I used a stix sheet, an A5 sized sheet of sticky dots, much better than fiddling around with glue for such a small design.

I am very pleased with The Slice and am happy to recommend it to all scrapbookers. It just does what it says on the tin - cuts shapes up to 4 inches, which is plenty big enough for scrapbooking. The lettering for the word 'smiles' is 2.5 inches, and for 'all' it is 1.5 inches. You get a very neat cut, and it is quick.

You need a bit of trial and error with the glue for the glass, too little and the paper/card won't stay in place, too much and you won't get the cut off the plate. Best tip to remove the used glue is to use Cif, and a non scratch pad, comes up a treat!

I know I am going to get a lot of use out of The Slice, far more than I ever did with the Robo. I know there are many who wouldn't part with their robo, and I do admire their skill at using it and coming up with designs for it. I am tho very happy with my new little machine, it is all I need, and is exactly what I need.

Happy Scrapping

Now the proud owner of...

2010-01-16T13:20:00.000-08:00

The Slice, a stand alone machine for digital cutting. It is a small gizmo, can be used on mains or unplugged, and will cut shapes/alphabets up to 5 inches.

I have got a robo, but frankly I've given up on it. It is just so clumsy to use, even the software is chewy to use... I say chewy cos you need to figure it out, the help section isn't very helpful. I also found cutting was a nightmare, it would rarely recognise the thickness of the paper or card, it would either cut it or chew it up. I bought the new software, but couldn't get that to cooperate with the old stuff... and yet silhouette owners have no probs, same machine, almost similar software... It just wasn't for me, I accept that others find it a doddle and very useful, but it was never my cup of tea. Did think about the Cricut, but it was way too expensive, I just wanted something that would cut letters and shapes, without having to resort to the expense of buying umpteen dies, or alphabet sets, and be able to resize as I wished.

I had the machine up and running within ten minutes, it was already charged and ready to go, so I inserted the card, put the glue on plate and got cutting, it was as easy as that. Very happy with results, and I was just cutting odd bits and bobs. I was also getting fed up of having to buy lettering, it can work out to be very expensive as you always run out of the vowels. I can see me adding more cartridges to this machine as I go along, not that I mind, far cheaper than buying a load of single dies. Robo and my Big Shot will be consigned to Ebay, I know there are robo and Big Shot lovers out there, crafters do come in all shapes and sizes, with their preferences.

Will be back tomorrow with more information on scrapbooking.

All for now folks, thanks for stopping by

And that was the weeekend....

2010-01-11T13:33:00.000-08:00

But did get two pages made! So I am happy. Have to go with the light available, and at this time of year it is limited. Get best light in my bedroom, but that also means working on a smallish table, and spreading stuff out on the bed, floor and anything else to hand...   very disorganised!

But did manage to come up with this yesterday, it actually started out as a photo from another spread, but it fell apart, think it did so intentionally.   Wasn't happy with first layout,   so mooched, mulled and did a lot of thinking...   went thru stash, found a circle I'd cut ages ago, wondered if it would work... so plonked that on my base card, then found some scraps of pink and green card, so put them on, rummaged a bit more, found the spotted paper, decided to cut that into strips... Photo was already cut into a cirlce, wondered whether to cut a round frame for it, so I did, using pink card, then cut another circle from original paper, cut that in half and stuck that on pink car, used lettering from a kit, stamp from another two kits, brown flower seemed desperate to be put somewhere, so I did...    I like it, whether it works for others... who knows.

But that is the beauty of scrapbooking, it is purely up to you. Just mess, try different papers, shapes, the only rule to follow is: don't stick anything down!   Just keep playing till you feel happy with your layout.

The photo: I used Photoshop to print a large size photo to get the circle, then used a compass cutter.   Didn't do much to the photo, other than the auto option on contrast etc.

May do some of the wedding snaps next... watch this space!

Where does the time go?

2010-01-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

Seems like only a day ago that we were heralding the New Year, now we are approaching the middle of January.    Time relentless, it marches on regardless of how fast we want to move.

Was having a slothful day,   managed to force myself to have lie in,   ooh till 8.45 a.m.,   yep, big deal! Had lots of housework stuff to do in the morning, but was determined to do some scrapbooking in the afternoon.

I settled down at 2pm, got out all my stuff, including the DCWV kit i got a couple of years ago from QVC.   So flicked thru all the papers, to see which grabbed me.   Was trying to avoid circles, but ended up using them.   I'd chosen a peachy orange piece of cardstock as my base, as I mooched amongst the papers I came across the two remnants of pink and green, then grabbed a spotted paper, and cut two rows of spots. Had no idea how it was all going to marry up, kept on messing till I was happy with layout.   Also stamped on this layout, the wording beside the photo,   used up some flowers as well. Quite pleased with it.

Started out with a full and large circle of the square paper,   found some scraps of pink and green, cut out two strips from the spotted paper,   cut a circle frame from some pink card. And then cut another thin circle from the squares paper, to add interest to the pink circle, added Happy Birthday, and arranged the papers.

Have to laugh, camera let me down at wedding, but since then it has worked wonderfully, can inanimate objects pick up on your mood?    Mine at the said wedding was: want to be anywhere but here.

Snow is thawing, at last..... is it over, I somehow doubt it, there is a sting in the tail I am sure. Just stay safe and warm, keep on crafting.

Didn't think it possible...

2010-01-09T12:28:00.000-08:00

For it to be so bloomin cold! It looked quite benign, sunny, blue sky, okay fresh lot of snow on ground, but not much. Certainly did not expect such an icy blast of cold, and I had plenty of layers on. But managed to make it to post box, and to pick up morning paper - I'm also a crossword fiend, need my crosswords at the weekend.

But after that and a few phone calls, friends/family, all ringing to see if we were okay. I settled down to some scrapbooking. I'd had this black and white photo of my great nephew for some time, but wasn't sure what to do with it. I'd already done a monochrome page, and it seemed too obvious, so went thru my papers and found a lovely teal card, and then the stripey paper, they seemed made for each other. I sort of used the layout I uploaded yesterday, I say sort of, cos I used the 'lines', but decided to cut three of different sizes, first was 2.5 cm, then 1.5, then .5cm, and to arrange them. I then cut three more broad strips, used some white card to mat the photo, had tried a frame, but wasn't working as I hoped. I dug around and found some silver scrolls, so added them, and then the camera die cut, stuck that to some silver mirri card and added a silver brad, and don't ask me why, but cut a circle from some brown patterned paper and stuck it round the camera, added the lettering: Thoughtful, and that was that. Tho that took me nearly 3 hours, a lot of thinking and discarding ideas went on. In fact this page came from this, which as you can see is very messy. I spread my stash on my bed, use

bedroom in the winter as the room gets loads of light. But with everything to hand, or what I thought I'd need, I just mulled over the papers. Sometimes you do have an idea in mind, at other times you have no idea how it will turn out. I do sometimes plan the layout, but I didn't with this one, just went with what I felt was right.

And that is the beauty of scrapbooking, you can just do your own thing. All you need to do is to somehow capture the essence of the photo, or at least what it means to you, or suggests to you.

I have been crafting now for over five years, short compared to some, but I have acquired a considerable stash. Not sure if there is any time when you reach your limit on your stash, there is always something that you need, it never stops. I am focusing more on scrapbooking these days. Card making has gone on the back boiler. But scrapbooking is just so much fun,   like card making, but on a larger scale. Use whatever techniques you picked up with card making for your scrapbooking, and above all remember scrapbooking is very personal.

Hopefully I will be back tomorrow with another layout for you.

Happy New Year All

2010-01-07T12:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you all. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and a lovely start to the New Year - okay it has been a tad freezing....   colder than Russia!   But we crafters are tough, we enjoy this weather, it allows us to stay indoors and do what we love - craft!

So I'm starting the year with a layout you can use, in fact any layout I put on the blog can be downloaded and used by all.

This one I am currently using for a scrap challenge page,   I've invited people to make a page of a day in their life, just using 4 photos. The layout is simple, but can be added to, and can be either 12x12 or 8x8, up to you.

It is tho a tough call trying to define a day in your life in just 4 photos, as I am discovering, especially when you can't take the photos you want to!   I'm kinda stuck indoors cos of the weather, far too icy at the moment to get out and about. But I'm trying to come up with other ideas.

And don't forget this weather is great for us scrapbookers, so many photo ops...   get that camera out!

Be back with you later in the week.

Another Ad Hoc page

2009-12-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

I decided to scrap one of the photos I took of the Big Wheel.   Again I started out with one idea, but it wasn't going to work, tho it is a good idea!

So sticking with my cream and brown theme, I used my craft mat to cut out some triangles of paper, arranged them so they stemmed from the same corner, didn't matter that they didn't reach other edge of paper.

I ripped some paper and used that as a mat for the photo, then using a tearing ruler, a jagged edge, I drew round the ruler, then cut out the design, not a good idea to start tearing mirri card.   Arranged some buttons inbetween the papers, and then finished off with some large lettering, didn't have right colour, so just used my brush marker pens to recolour.

Again this is to demonstrate that layouts do not have to be overly complicated, nor do you need to draw a layout.   There is one golden rule: Never Stick Anything Down until you're sure of your layout, be it a card or a scrap book page.

Hope you've all been busy with your cameras, it will soon be time to commit those photos to a scrapbook. And it is Craft day on QVC, hop over there and see if you can pick up a few scrapbooking goodies.

All for now.

Festive Greetings

2009-12-26T11:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry not been blogging here, been busy planning stuff for 2010, and of course Christmas kind of got in the way... last minute making of exploding boxes,cards and the usual celebrations.

But today I got down to some scrapbooking. Took some pics in Liverpool One, our large shopping centre and very posh it is too. It had some lovely Xmas decs, wish I could have gone back in the evening, but sadly the weather conspired against me. Will have to plan better next year.

But managed to get this lovely pic of the Ice Palace, one of the many grottos dotted around Liverpool. Was very impressed with this one, must have looked magical at night.

Wasn't sure how to approach the layout, other than to pick up on the blue, was going to cut a very large snowflake... but wasn't in the mood for that amount of cutting. So went with icicles, had them hanging down, then used some blue paper, using a tearing ruler I got a wavy edge, then tore some more wavy strips to give impression of snow, finishing it off with some snowflakes. Oh, also used blue mirri card (which never shows up on scans/photos) to matt the photo.

Something Different: I ripped and tore the photo. I don't recommend using that technique for original photos, but if you are using thin photo paper, and it is a digital photo, have a go.

This also shows that no layout has to be overly complicated, you can keep things very simple.

Will be back tomorrow with another layout. During the next week I'll let you know what will be on this blog for 2010.

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and got lots of crafting goodies.

What to photograph?

2009-12-10T12:54:00.000-08:00

This layout is of the super lambanana, it is a very unusual and striking piece of sculpture. Last year we had a lambanana flock! Smaller versions were given out to groups, or individuals and they were told to paint them, the result was an amazing collection of small lambananas, all dotted round the city.

With this layout I chose to pick out the two primary colours in the photo, the blue sky and the yellow of the sculpture. Using a tearing ruler I cut the wavy lines, laying them both horizontally and vertically, so as to give a frame for the photo, just to add soem interest I added some flowers and buttons. This was part of a two page spread, here's the other page:

I kept the colours the same, the photos are of the smaller sculptures, again I used buttons and flowers to add some interest, I divided the photos using some white ribbon, and attached the blue paper with brads.

I did print the photos myself, so I was able to size them correctly, and I used a corner cutter to round the edges.

These pages where for a challenge that I set on a small group I belong to. It is worth setting yourself a challenge, or joining a crop, online group, where you can share ideas, and get ideas and tips.

Taking Photos

Let's face it we all have drawers stuffed full of photos, or they are crammed into those photo albums. These are the natural place to start, especially if you are making up a family album.   However you don't just have to take photos of your family, how about your town, local landmarks, places that mean something to you - your old school perhaps?

Then there are holidays, keep a pictorial record of your summer holiday, from start to finish, thinking along the lines of scrapbooking the photos. If you are going to scrapbook your holiday, remember to keep hold of ticket stubs, brochures and other bits and pieces from the places you go to. You may want to also keep a diary of events, doesn't have to be much, just date, time and notes on what happened.

Of course there is the family: and the possibilities are endless.   You could choose to scrapbook memories of your own childhood, your parent's wedding.   Or chart the progress of your children/grandchildren. You can get some delightful scrapbook kits for baby's first year. Then there are christenings, special birthdays, graduations, weddings and memorials.

More tips on taking photos: get to know your camera.   Have a mess with it, just see what it can do, and what is on its menu. With digital you can take as many photos as you like, and if you don't like them you can just delete them.   So take it out with you, keep a look out for unusual photo opportunities.

Buy a good camera, it is easy to be tempted to buy what is cheap, don't, you need a digital camera of at least 10 mega pixels, and a 5x optical zoom, don't be persuaded by the sales talk of a 5x digital zoom, it is the optical zoom that is important.   You don't need to go bonkers, a reasonable camera should cost in the region of £100, look out for bargains in the coming January sales.

Weigh up the pros and cons of doing your own printing. I certainly wouldn't contemplate mass printing photos at home, it would be too costly. Look on line for firms like Vista, Tesco, Boots (also instore) etc, to see what they are offering you. All you then need to do is upload your photos, place your order and wait for them to be delivered to you.   I would reserve home printing for a few photos, especially for those who want to mess with photo imaging programs.

News
As from January I will be setting a challenge, it will be monthly, it may or may not include a photo, but there will be a layout to use. This is to also stretch me,   I need to set myself some goals regards my scrapbooking.

Sorry, no prizes, well not yet, perhaps in the future. But anyone who sends me their layout will have it uploaded for all to see.

Will be back later in week with more.

Counting down to Christmas scrapping

2009-12-04T12:12:00.000-08:00

We're now counting down to Christmas, I don't use an Advent Calendar, instead I have an Advent Candle, it does save the calories!

This is tho the time of year when there is so much to capture, all those twinkling lights, trees, grottos, and of course the Big Day!   So you'd better keep the camera handy, make sure it is charged and ready to go.   For the mum's with young children there will be so much to capture, same for proud grandparents.   So what should you be thinking of when taking that photo?

Don't try for perfection, just have the camera ready when it comes to opening up the presents.

Don't photo children from above, get down to their level.   Do try to include a whole family shot, perhaps plan what you want to photo before the day, a record of events, pressie opening, the meal,   etc.    Don't forget to get close ups, and action shots, the more off the cuff the better,   and be alert for any photo opportunites.

But don't be a picture taking bore, keep it informal wherever possible.   Enjoy it and have fun.   Of course if you are going for a post Christmas lunch walk take the camera with you, just in case.

If you want special Christmas scrapbook/page kits then look on line, or at your local craft shop. There are lots of lovely kits to buy,   but don't forget to make use of your card stash if you are a card maker, those Christmas stamps, peel offs, toppers, brads etc.

The Layout: it can be used for any type of photo, this one i used was 12x12, but of course you could scale it down for any other size.   I'd just got my craft robo so wanted to put it to some use, so I got it to cut out a large fancy bracket, and placed that on one side of the page, then I just cut some rectangles from various papers and arranged them.   For the flowers I went back in time, using a compass to make the flowers,   wonder if you can remember how?   Draw a circle then keeping the compass at the same measurement, place the point on the side (anywhere) and draw an arc from one side to other, and then keep going till you have a flower.   I then used a compass cutter to cut it out, I made two layers, you could make more, in different colours and attached them using a brad.

All for now. Enjoy the weekend.

What is scrapbooking?

2009-12-01T12:18:00.000-08:00

I do know that for some the word Scrapbooking is a horrifying thought. Some may feel daunted by it, possibly at the thought of filling a 12x12 or 8x8 page. So what is it?

It is simply about capturing memories, a moment from a holiday, a special day, or occasion in your life, or that of a relative.   If you are a mum then scrapbooking is a great way to preserve those lovely memories of your children as they grow.    Or remembering a special person.

The page I've uploaded is of my old neighbour, who was a very good friend, without whose help I'd have never have got thru last year. She died last year, and I felt that I wanted to make a special page for her.   The photo captures her essence, of fun and enjoying life, plus her love of flowers.

It is a simple layout, a few papers, card stock, ribbon, a fram and lots of paper flowers arranged round photo. Layouts to not have to be complicated, or fancy, or incredibly arty.    They should be an expression of what that moment meant to you, or what sums up that person/friend/mum/dad etc.

Try to use the colours in the photo, or pick out one,   think about what that occasion meant to you, can it be summed up in a one word title, or a few words?   It doesn't matter, scrapbooking is private, yes you can share it, but it isn't like card making where you are sharing your work with others, and hoping that they'll like it.

Don't be daunted by the size of the page, you don't need to fill in every square inch, just as you don't need to decorate the whole of a card.   Don't make it over complicated, and don't compare your efforts to others, it is a very personal thing.

You can take it to any level you wish, and with time you will find it gets easier to think up layouts, just as it did when you started card making.

All for now, many thanks for stopping by.

More on Photos

2009-11-30T12:46:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd just return to how to make unusual use of your photos, if you're brave enough to crop them!

I happened to have a large group photo, which had the infamous Hollywood Sign in the background (which was actually a background!), but I just wanted to make the best of it. So taking my compass cutter I cut out a half circle, leaving a horseshoe shape, I arranged them so that the 'slice' looked as if it had been taken out of the photo.

How to achieve this cut? Print out photo, make it around 7x5 (I'm working in inches). Now place photo on cutting mat, using light tac masking tape just stick the photo to the craft mat. Now take the compass cutter, and with a bit of judgement, cut out the segment. Don't discard the left over bit as you will use it in your layout.

Here's my page from the above layout.   As you can see I used some lettering to add the title around the half moon photo shape, just angling the other bit above it.   I also ripped some hand made paper

*TIP: when tearing hand made paper, wet the area you wish to tear, it will make it easier and give a smoother tear.

I used a palm tree as the only large embellishment, I grabbed that from some clip art and printed it onto photo paper and cut it out.   The papers are from a Holiday/Vacation kit from WH Smith.   Orange card is bazzil card stock - available in all good craft shops.

This is a very basic layout, one of my earliest attempts at scrapping.    But I think I still got a good result.   I'm sure if I returned to the photo I would come up with a different layout now, one that was more adventurous.

I hope though that you can see that you can start with a basic layout, and once you've built up your confidence your layouts will become more adventurous.   Flick through the many scrapbook magazines, or look on line for inspiration, but don't be put off by the very arty layouts.   Set yourself a challenge, try to copy a layout, one that I've used, or from pencil lines.... address is on my list.    Any layout can be adapted, you can personalise it as much as you want, or just follow part of it.

Be back later in the week. Enjoy your scrapping!

Working with Photos And Lettering

2009-11-28T12:18:00.000-08:00

Working with Photos

When I began scrapbooking I soon got bored of working with the same shape of photo, so one day I decided to experiment.   You can cut photos into all sorts of shapes, if you are printing at home then you can of course use your imaging program to alter the image size and shape. Cookie cutters (not the ones used in baking!) but those in a photo imaging program will also cut photos into different shapes, or you could blur the edges.

You can also achieve different shapes by using compass cutters, other types of cutters, from the Robo to the Silhouette, punches, sizzix and quickutz machines.

If you are going to cut photos then please use a copy, if you are using a digital camera then you are off the hook as of course you can print as many as you like.    So how did I achieve the above layout?

I printed my photo, but rather than use it in its original state I decided to cut the middle out, my intention was just to use the middle. But I wasn't happy and began just moving the bits around, including the two off cuts, I liked what I saw.   So the above layout was used.

So don't think you have to stick with a photo in its original size or shape, do experiment, on copies of course. This is just a quick dip into working with photos, I'll be coming back to it from time to time, including using photo imaging programs.

Lettering
Lettering is important in Scrapbooking, each page needs a title, or a word/phrase to sum it up.
There are many types of lettering you can use, chipboard, die cut, peel offs, thickers, or get complete alphabet sets for your cuttlebug, sizzix or quickutz machines. If you have a Craft Robo, Silhouette or Cricut, then you can print out whole words or phrases.
On this page I used peel offs, which I coloured using the peel off marker pens. Very simple, but effective. Don't think the text has to be lined up, or all the same size, experiment with different cases, lower and upper, and fonts.

The advantage of using die cutting machines is that you will never run out of any letter, the downside is that you will need a wide range of coloured cardstock or paper. If you are using a sizzix/quickutz/cuttlebug, then you will need to buy several alphabet sets, peel offs will work but you will need to use the large fonts, and have peel off marker pens to colour them. The Silhouette, Robo and Cricut all give you the advantage of being able to cut whatever you like and how much you need. These machines are not for everyone, the Robo can be a bit of a beast to get to know, though the British suppliers now do offer training courses, click on the link for more information.

But do remember, Scrapbooking is about preserving YOUR memories, not about impressing others, it is a very personal craft. It is also like anything, the more you do, the better you get. So go on, dive in, what have you got to lose?

Simple Layouts

2009-11-26T12:01:00.000-08:00

Hello again. I'm kicking off with a simple layout, and I'll end with a look at brads and gromets.

First the layout, a star layout and easy to construct. Materials and Tools:

Papers/cardstock
Gromlets/brads/buttons (large)
Circle cutter or plate
Ruler, craft knife
Glue
Lettering

How To:
First choose your background or base paper/card.   I've used 12x12 paper and cardstock, but you can adapt this to a smaller size.    I used a blue wash paper, and a stripey paper as the contrast for the circle and the star points.   Cut a circle from your contrast paper (8 inches/20cm) and chop about a third off, lay this against the left edge of your base card. Now from the same paper cut some star points, how big they are is up to you,   and arrange them about a centimetre away from teh circle, to as to give an allusion of a line between start point and circle.   Next arrange some brads/gromets or buttons in gap between star points and circle.   Put photo on top of cirlce, next arrange lettering down right hand side of page.

I did crop my photo, and I used small and large gromets, I used the Big Bite to fix them. The lettering was K&Co, it was an all white glitter letter kit, but I used a black peel off marker pen to colour in some of the letters to add interest.

Gromlets/Brads/Eyelets/Buttons
I do use brads, gromlets and buttons on my pages, it is nice to add dimension to a page, and bits of interest. I've used a few different types of setters for the eyelets, but settled for the Cropodile, and for the gromets I use the Big Bite - this is great for scrapbookers as it has a longer reach and is easy to use. Both are available from good craft stores, and QVC also stock them. There are other setters which you may prefer to use, really it is up to you, I did try the silent setter, but it wasn't so silent as I often had to resort to a light tap of a hammer.
Brads - are easy to insert, you just need a poky tool or piercing tool, they're great also for setting flowers or other embellishments like tags. You can get many different styles of brads, not just the usual round ones, but all kinds of shapes.

Buttons - these are great for scrapbooking, if like me your mum was thrifty she may have a button tin, stuffed full of buttons cut from shirts and cardies over the years. You can buy buttons anywhere, use silicon glue to attach them.
Gromlets/Eyelets - again these come in many different shapes and colours, from flowers to snowflakes, to even fancier shapes.

All for now, there'll be another layout tomorrow and more on lettering.

Getting started

2009-11-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

You want to be a scrapbooker, where do you start?   If you are already a cardmaker/papercrafter then you will already have many of the tools you need, if not then you'll have to be willing to spend some money.

The Essentials:
Albums - 12x12 or 8x8 are the usual sizes, you can get smaller albums, 6x6, different shaped albums... But for a beginner I'd stick with the first two sizes. There are different types of albums: Post Bound, which allow you to expand the album and add more pages; D Ring or Ring binders: like the usual type of ring binder, it will only take a set amount of pages.

Page protectors: Usually these come with the album, but they can be bought separately.   Make sure you buy the right one for your album.
Paper/ Cardstock   You can buy 12x12 cardstock and paper, but of course you can use your card stash providing it is acid and lignin free, this is essential so as to proctect the photographs. If you use materials that have acid in them they will discolour the page over time.   We'll go in detail about where to buy products, but any good craft shop will stock paper and card.
Pens/Pencils: A pencil is vital, good for just marking out patterns, or where things are going to go, or drawing rough shapes.    Pens: A good selection of pens, brushmarkers, gel pens etc, will enhance your page. A black pen is good for journalling.
Erasers Try to buy a putty rubber, which is what artists use, it will not leave any marks behind.
Cutting Mat   Must be self healing, and buy an A3 sized mat, the larger the better. We R Memorykeepers (see pic ) have a fantastic set on offer, the mat is magnetic as is the ruler, there are posts to hold your paper/card in place,   QVC do stock it, hit the link and you'll go straight to the item.
Ruler Must be metal, and long... to deal with the large 12x12 papers.
Craft knife/Scissors   Get a good craft knife and keep a good supply of spare blades handy. Scissors, Fiskars are the best, some crafters like using a craft knife, others prefer scissors. Scissors are good for cutting out shapes etc, also consider tweezer scissors.

Photos and Cameras
Of course you do need PHOTOS!   If you don't want to use originals then you'll need a scanner, or an all in one printer/scanner. I'd say this was advisable for very old photos, some copy shops may also scan them for you, as will the likes of Tescos/Asda.   For newer digital photos it doesn't matter as you can print as many copies as you like. One tip: make a back up copy of your photos, or keep them on a flash drive. Don't tho leave them on your camera...   there is a danger you may lose the camera, but also storing photos on the camera drains the battery. So once you've taken you're photos get into the habit of uploading them to the computer.

You can use basic photo imaging programs like Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket or you can buy Adobe Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, which are considered to be the best photo imaging programs.   It is worth using these programs, you can crop photos, improve them and add stuff!   Of course you can simply get them printed, either online or at the usual places, supermarkets, Boots and other high street photo labs.

Cameras: the world is your oyster.   I've currently purchased a Lumix FS15, 12mp with a 5x zoom, it is pocket sized and comes with a charger.   But the camera is really up to you, what you can afford and what you like, try tho to get at least a 10 mega pixel camera, that will give good quality shots.

What to scrap?
Up to you, it could be a family occasion, a wedding, party, or if you have children you could start an album for them that captures all those special moments.   You may have a favourite pet, so make an album for them. Or take photos of your town, where you live, grew up, your old school....   scrapbook photos of your mum and dad. The possibilities are endless, you can even do an ancestry album, one that combines old photos and a family tree.

Scrapbooking is all about having fun, preserving those special memories, moments, photos of old friends... and remember, there is no right or wrong way.

Welcome

2009-11-24T12:28:00.000-08:00

Hi and welcome to my new scrapbooking blog. I decided to get serious and make a proper craft blog. I'll keep my other for my humorous tales of life and other stuff. But on here it will be scrapbooking only!

I decided to start with this simple layout, yes it is simple! You will need a cirlce cutter, or a few plates of different sizes, tho I would recommend a circle cutter.

Materials
12x12 card (cream in this layout)
12x12 paper from Crafters Delight (QVC)
12x12 from QVC kit (star paper)
Do Crafts paper - retro scrapbook kit.
Stars or other embellishments.

Tools:
Photo glue
Circle cutter
silicone glue
papercutter

After choosing my picture I used a piece of 12x12 cream cardstock as my base, then chose some different papers, trying to get some contrast with the colours, the bolder the better really. I cut out some solid circles and polos....   you do this by cutting a large circle then cutting out a smaller circle from the middle. I chose the sizes randomly.   I used a square mat for the photo, but no frame.   The title I arranged in an arch around one of the circles.

Circles cutters: there are different types, some use a compass design, but they have limited range. Fiskars also do a set, as to WeRMemorykeepers, their system allows you to make quite large circles. But for really BIG circles I do use a dinner plate.   There are also the usual suspects of the cricut, craft robo and silhouette... tho all will have their limitations.

Glues/Adhesives: after a lot of trial and error I have plumped to use photo glue for my crafting, it is a very forgiving adhesive.   It allows you to move the photo/card etc to the right position, if you get too much on the base then you just rub it off and it leaves no marks!   I do use silicon glue to attach some embellishments, and sometimes sticky dots.... tho I find them very fiddly to use.

I will be compiling a list of scrapbooking essentials soon, and favourite sites where you can also pick up layouts and get lots of ideas.

Happy scrapping.