WOYWW # 556 - “Make a Box”

    It’s Wednesday and there just might be a little craftIng going on here at my work desk... I decided to spend a little time getting “Sunkissed” today as I jumped into the January “Make a box challenge” hosted by Graphic 45. #G45Box

This is a left-over tin box that I had laying around and using my new favorite paper “Sunkissed” collection by Graphic 45, I created a little treasure box for my granddaughter to hold all her seashells and treasures from our recent trip to the beach while on our cruise this past December.

While highlighting papers from Graphic 45, I accented with buttons, a frosted eggshell bow and little green brads. My technique used was paper piecing to bring out the elements on the top and to draw attention to the little poem that I love.

WOYWW#509

It’s Wednesday.... So What’s on my Work-desk?


 Basic Boarders!  during my online “Organizing & Using Up The Leftovers” class today, we learned how to make amazing scrapbook boarders using only scraps and leftover embellishments.

WOYWW #436

Work-desk Wednesday:::: My work desk finds itself still covered in the spirit of Halloween. This is one of my favorite pictures of my little vampire.
Today's card sketch challenge was perfect for the scrapbook layout is was working on. This is also my page for this month's Scraplift. 

Here is the layout of Lela's that inspired me... https://www.splitcoaststampers.com/g.../photo/281151

Stamps: Alphabet Antiques Upper, 

Paper: Halloween DSP, basic black, tangerine tango, white 

Ink: Basic Black 

Accessories: Punch, sponges,

L

WOYWW #424

My Wednesday Workdesk was filled with Rotary today... I am the New Secretary of our club and today was my first (in-charge) meeting. My program was about "The Importance of Cultural Competency in a Multicultural Community" which we held for another meeting because of a great fund raising idea that come with an awesome discussion. So glad we have such an open forum...

 

Candy Boxes

       Today you can find the last of my altered craft projects on my workdesk... These are my candy boxes for my homemade chocolates. After spending the week getting all blinged up for the holidays and finishing up all the baked goodies, candy and chocolates, I discovered that I am not as young as I use to be and I ran out of crafting energy really early in the week.

       SO my boxes are very simple and plain this year which meets up with our family goal of keeping more of a natural and "CHRIST" centered Christmas, to reflect our Grand Canyon surroundings and our growing love for our new native friends who love and respect the land and all that their Father in Heaven blesses them with.

Christmas Blocks

back at my workdesk today, feeling crafty and so excited.... Here is my new addition to our decorations this year. Hoping everyone has a Merry Christmas!

WOYWW #299 - Sorting Scraps

This morning I woke up totally full of energy and yet feeling lazy at the same time... I had three things on my agenda: 1- finish cleaning and re-organizing my spare bedrooms from two sets of kids moving out and waiting for another set to move in this weekend. 2- to use my "What's on my Workdesk" challenge time sort all my scraps and to create my layout for "Throwback Thursday" tomorrow and 3- make Marty's Valentine Cinnamon Rolls. Even though I cleared my list, I become a whiner... Thus the need for a "Calgone" moment...

WOYWW#256 - Scrappy Birthday Mess!

After spending most of the day making an unexpected trip up to Fayetteville this morning with my hubby for some work stuff, I am now home curled up in my favorite sweatshirt, hanging out at my desk. This week I have been working on some birthday cards and getting ready for VSBN this weekend.

WOYWW #255

After spending my "March Madness" reorganizing from my Crafter's Clutter Break down, I spent the fist two days of this week relishing in the thoughts of how nice and tidy my workspace looked and tring to fing something that would trigger my mojo enough to want to create a mess on my desk. Today, I figured it out!

So.... Here is what I am working on this afternoon.

Altered Birdhouses:

Vintage Journal - IC425

At the start of very year I hold a New Years party / business building meeting for my Downline. We always start the year off by readjusting our yearly SU goals and looking forward to sale-a-Bration. This is my business journal for the upcoming year. For the next six months our business focus will be getting back to the basics and putting the pieces in place to create and give more ORDER and BALANCE to our business.

Keywords: IC425, STASH14Jan4, sbc14jan, CCREW0114SF, CreativeCrew, SUO, SUM
Stamps: Asian Artisry
Paper: SU DSP from Stash
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Glitter, primes, ribbons, flower punch, brads, buttons, big shot, apothecary framelits,

Working Wednesday... Class Schedule for Spring

Here is the Spring Class schedule... You can find more details on my SU! website at www.aharris.stampinup.net.

Make & Take Night MAR 3  7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Eastern ) The will be our first "Make & Take" night for the Spring season. We have some fun cards and projects planned for the up coming months. We would love to see everyone there. The cost for this class is $5.00, $7.50 or $12.50 depending on how many projects you choose to make. I'll will be glad to email you the sample pics for the month.

Tips & Techniques ( PM Class) MAR 8  7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Eastern ) We will be starting a new Tips & Techniques Class. This will be the first of a 12 week class. And we meet continue to meet every other Tuesday night for 12 weeks. The 12 week program will be $10.00 a class.(This will cover all supplies for 5 stamped cards and 3 techniques per class... email me for details and questions)

Scrapbook (Monthly Get-Together) MAR 10  7:00 PM - 11:00 PM (Eastern ) If you are interested in joining us to learn more about scrapbooking or just want to hang out and work on your already started pages... This is the place for you. Come join us for the evening for a no pressure, fun filled evening of cropping, swapping and stamping. (email me for details)

Scrapbook (Monthly Get-Together) MAR 11  10:00 AM - 2:00 PM (Eastern ) If you are interested in joining us to learn more about scrapbooking or just want to hang out and work on your already started pages... This is the place for you. Come join us for the day for a no pressure, fun filled morning of cropping, swapping and stamping. (email me for details)

Working Wednesday... Picking Paper?

There are many different kinds of scrapbooking papers in all sorts of styles, textures, patterns, and colors. They range from plain solids to designer paper with popular patterns. Now, often found to be double-sided with corresponding patterns and colors.  They will also vary in price according to the type, size and weight of the paper.

Basic Paper

This is typically a lightweight printer style paper and comes in a variety of colors and patterns. Price may vary depending on the company and the detail of the pattern, but is usually less expensive than a heavier weight cardstock.

Cardstock

This is a heavyweight paper used in paper crafts, mostly for scrapbook layouts, postcards, greeting cards, business cards, etc. They vary in weight and size usually available in a variety of  from light weight cardboard to chipboard style consistency.

Vellum

Vellum is made just like normal paper with the difference being  that vellum is specially treated to give it It's transparent look and crispness. It comes in a variety of colors and patterns. It’s great for dry embossing, computer printing and layering over solid colored papers.

Mulberry

Mulberry paper is soft, fibrous and has a handmade feel to it. It can be described as a tissue paper that has some weight behind it. It usually comes in solid colors and it great to use to add a subtle texture and earthiness to your scrapbook pages. 

DSP's & Specialty Paper

Most name brand scrapbook stores will refer to any and all non essential paper as some type of specialty paper. Designer Series Paper (DSP) are usually known by which company sells and distributes them. They are often double sided and are found to be a little heavier in weight than normal paper, but not as heavy as most cardstock. They make great accent paper for scrapbooks and cards. They have become the crafter's dream paper, because if you can dream it... it can go on paper! Other specialty papers do include both the  mulberry and vellum, but also sparkly glitter paper, mirrored finish paper, and handmade with botanicals paper. These are often more expensive than regular cardstock or the patterned paper. These papers are usually used sparingly as embellishing rather than as the primary background for your layout. You also have to make sure when using specialty papers in scrapbooking that you use acid free papers. You will find that many are not.

Working Wednesday... Journaling

I had to laugh when today ended up being both a "Working Wednesday" and Super P's 16th Birthday. And much like a Super Hero, journaling can be either found on top of it all or hidden. You can even create it so that it pops up and down. Even though the old saying states... "that a picture is worth a thousand words" a story is never complete with out the Super Hero ( the journaling). It completes the story and should often include the who, what, when, where and why behind your pictures, even if it is just a couple of sentences. Sometimes you may want to include a whole family story or even just a clipping from the newspaper. As long has it describes the story that the photos are trying to tell.

Here is my page... My journaling is under the name tag. You lift it up to read the story and the list of names in the picture.

 KEYWORDS: APWW07, SBC11FEB, FEB11VSBNL

Working Wednesday... Accents

The Accents or Highlights of a scrapbook page is the part that gives your page the "Zing". Accents can be anything, stamped images, flowers, primas, die cuts, tags, ribbon, buttons or brads. Anything that you add to the page that catches the eye and draws attention to the photos. They can be added on top or stamped right on the background. The main function of Accents is to add dimension and interest to your page. Also memorabilia from the event or activity can provide historical and personal touches that add to your layout. One main suggestion that Stampin' Up! gives us when choosing accents is to... "select ones appropriate to your theme: organdy ribbon on a wedding page or hemp on an outdoor page." Many crafters now refer to accents as "EYE CANDY".

So your challenge today is to create some "eye candy" that you will use later on a scrapbook page...


Here is mine:

Working Wednesday... "LAYOUTS"

We are continuing our tips on the four elements of scrapping. Last week we talked about color and color combos. This week we are going to discuss "LAYOUTS".

Layouts are a given, they are the bulk and the body of everything you scrap. The "Layout" refers to the placement of everything you put on your page, like the photos, accents, titles and journaling. Some people choose to use simple layouts where others choose a more complex template. But the bottom line to a layout is remember to choose one of your photos to act as the focal point. (we will talk about focal points later on in week 6).


Stampin' Up! often refers us to four basic "layouts or templates"...




Your challenge today is to choose one of the four templates shown and create a layout...  



KEYWORD: APWW03 & SCS11JAN

Here is my Layout... (I used Template #1)

 

Working Wednesday... COLOR

Last week, I shared the four elements to Scrapbooking 101. This week, I thought is would be good if we shared tips about one of those elements...

"COLOR"

TIP #2:
When scrapping color is usually used to complement your photos. We are often encouraged to pick a color from people's clothes or from the background in the photo we are choosing to scrap. We can often choose a certain theme and it's colors like Green & Red for Christmas or a child's favorite color for their Birthday pages. Then once you have chosen the color scheme then use it to help you select the other parts to your page like... card stock, ink, ribbon or accents.
 
The Challenge for today is to choose a color scheme and come up with four ways that you could apply it to your scrapbook page and design a layout using one of them.

I used my soft subtle color scheme as photo backgrounds, page accents like brads & flowers, layout filled with Easter colors and my journaling/title in highlighted by color.

Working Wednesday... Where to Start!

TIP #1:
When I started scrapping, I had no idea what I was doing and then I was introduced to Stampin' Up!'s "Stampin' Memories Style" and everything that I was envisioning and working on started to make a whole lot more sense. So now, when I start a new Scrapbooking 101 class I always start with what I feel and what Stampin' Up! suggests as the four main elements of a scrapbook design, which are...

COLOR

LAYOUT

ACCENTS

JOURNALING

These four elements help to make scrapping a very easy and simple approach to any layout and design.

So your challenge for this week is to go through some scrapbook magazines and look for these four elements and choose one that you can share next week in class. 

Here is mine: (notice how the Layout is put together using all four elements)

Working Wednesday... Choosing a Binder

Now that you have a pretty good idea of what size you want to use, now you need to decide what type of scrapbook your size will be.. Most of the determining facts involved here are the size, shape and color that you want your book to be. One of the main factors to consider in choosing what type is what it is to be used for, meaning will it hold more than one event or activity. Below you will find a list of the different types and descriptions just for your information. 

 

Three Ring Binder Style

You just buy a binder and a box of page protectors and you're ready to fill them up.... easy peasy! You can often find great deals at any office supply store.This runs about $2.00-$4.00 for the binder and about $5.00 for a pack of 50 top loading page protectors.

Post Bound

Post bound albums are my favorite and are similar to the three ring binders but it is expandable. You can buy refills packs  for your album that include both the extender posts, extra pages protectors and instructions on how you can expand your book making room for more pages and/or thicker embellishments. These albums often run about $5.00-$50.00 depending on the size and fanciness of cover. Some of the  post bound scrapbooks are included in scrapping kits that include matching cardstock, paper, stickers, accents, embellishments and extras.

Strap Bound

Strap bound scrapbooks are just like the post bound scrapbooks. They can be adjusted by small belts or straps along the spine, but only to the length of the straps.These cost about the same as post bound books and can be used for up to about 50 pages.

Spiral Bound

Spiral bound scrapbooks are nice and less expensive. The drawback I have with spiral bound is that they are not easy to change or add onto. They run about $4.00-$12.00 depending on the size you choose. You can also decorate the cover with your own style, but remember that you have to cut your paper and pages to size because they usually don't come in regular 12 x 12 or 8 1/2 x 11 sizes.

KEYWORD: APWW02,  SCS11JAN,

Working Wednesday... Choosing a Size

I keep thinking about all the emails and texts I get from people asking me how to scrap this or how to make that so I have decided that Wednesday's will be our working day. We will have tips, techniques and scrapbook 101 ideas for everyone. If you have any great ideas that you would like to share, please feel free to email me...

So let's get to work!

One of the biggest questions that I get asked very often is WHAT SIZE ARE MY SCRAPBOOKS? and HOW DID I DECIDE ON THAT SIZE? I think it is one of the first things you need to decide on as you begin the adventure of scrap-booking. So for this first lesson we will be going over is the differences in scrapbook styles...

First you need to decide on the size of your book...
I scrap all sizes for different reasons based on what I am doing with the photos that I am scrapping, My Family, My Boy's and My Wedding Scrapbooks are 12X12s, the extra photos I scrap on 8 1/2 X 11 for my Mother and then I have done 6X6s of things for my boys when they were little. They enjoyed them like story books.

When you are trying to decide which size to use there are several things to consider...

12 x 12 ~ These are the most popular size of scrapbooks. Many scrappers choose this size because it is best for multiple photos, larger pictures and/or memorabilia. This size is great if you have a lot of pictures of one event or activity because then you do not have to make a lot of pages with the same theme. 12X12 paper sheets will cost you anywhere from $0.50-$1.50 per sheet depending on the weight, pattern or designer.

8 1/2 x 11 ~ This size is an easy user friendly size of scrapbook because it is compatible with any computer printer and is a lot less expensive. The biggest draw back to this size is there is not much room for multiply photos. Paper in this size runs about $0.30-$0.75 per sheet depending on the weight, pattern or designer.

Other Sizes ~ There are smaller and variable sized scrapbooks available. The two most popular sizes here are 8X8 & 6X6. Chipboard Books also fall in this category. This size usually only has space for one small picture per page and are used primarily as very specifically themed scrapbooks like Field Trips, mini stay-cations or sport events.

So your Challenge today is go browse through the scrapbook magazines, internet or local craft store and decide on with size you are going to be scraping. You can share your comments here...