Fun with Acetate

I found a book in the library that expands the use of saved acetate.  The book is:  Create Greeting Cards with Glass Painting Techniques, written by Joan Dale.  Basically is describes how to use a fake stained glass liner (made by Plaid Paints in various colours) to outline borders of the templates provided on acetate pieces and then coloured in with acrylic paints.  The results, as shown, are stunning.  Although most of her projects center on card making, it wouldn't take much imagination extending this out to include Christmas decorations, or other holiday themed decorations.  Just as a quick example, I could see using some of the larger Sizzix dies as basic forms to add extra dimension to scrapbook pages.

I can't wait to try this new technique, but for now I'm taking a temporary break from both scrapbooking and Christmas themed ornaments.  (We just finished packing up and taking out the last Christmas crate for the year!)  The break won't last long, I'm already missing the daily creativity time after only two days.

More Ways to Save

I've mildly ranted about the cost of storage; mildly, because it's part and parcel of the craft.  I'd like to share today another nifty way to save money while keeping scrapbook items organized.

Over the year I've grown quite the patch of flowers... paper and silk primarily.  Between Cricut, dies, and templates there's almost an endless assortment.  I also enjoy crafting three-dimensional paper ribbons and embellishments.   Like everything else, it didn't take long before a system had to be put in place to accommodate the collection.

I've saved six stacking plastic ice cream half-gallon buckets.  They're scatter throughout the craft closet.  Some labeled, some not.  Even still, they all look the same at a quick glance.  So I've decided to colour code the containers so that in an instant I'll know a particular bucket contains flowers, brads, etc.  Red indicates flowers.

Organizational Work in Progress

 

 

 

 

No, not exceptionally pretty in this DIY project, either; however, I'll probably attach a large flower on each side and the top of the lid to pretty it up a little bit.  The image will also assist as a visual clue to others who like to sneak into the closet and design something wonderful for me!  (This happens often, much to my great delight!)

In time, I'll have a colour coded embellishment organizational system in place.  There might be acid content concerns for hard-core scrappers, but for my purposes, it should work fine. 
 __________________________________

When meeting Martin's mother for the first time she pulled out a decades old scrapbook.  A woman ahead of her time.  I could tell she rightly held this as a prized family possession.  The amazing part of the physical scrapbook was that despite the decades, and despite a lack of concern of the obsession we have with acid and lignum today, the book had not deteriorated.  Yes, there was some fading and yellowing, (in my opinion perfect seasoning) but the overall quality remained excellent.  It's probably a good idea to construct albums with perpetuity in mind, but as I've just described, it might not be as critical an issue as some make it to be. Maybe.

__________________________________

Yet another recently finished page!

Silly Night

Christmas Eve
December 24, 2011

Sharpies & Photos

Altering photographs is scarey business.

I attempt to decorate photos  only on prints that can easily be taken to the local photo shop and have them printed again.  Never, never, never on original prints dating back years.

Today I played with a print recently back from Walgreen's and decided to use one of the journaling templates bought, but rarely used.  The template is plastic if that makes any difference at all.  For the colouring medium, I decided on a Sharpie Marker.  (Sharpie has such a great range of colour you would never expect, usually found in the art department of a craft store.)

Not the greatest idea I've come up with!  The ink sets on top of the print and the moment the template moved the ink dragged with it.  Fortunately, I was able to save the print because the ink sets on top of the print instead of quickly absorbing into the photograph paper.  This is a mixed blessing.

I would have been much better off using a regular ink pen.  Yes, I know:  standard ink is bad for photos.  Bad.  And so, my first attempt of decorating photos with ink was a partial failure.  Live and learn, right?

________________________________________

The Peach Keen Stamp set arrived in the mail today.  My first project using these stamp will surely involve anthropomorphizing a soccer ball, since the next scrapbook page involves documenting this winter's Futsol games.  It's safe to say there will be many uses for the stamps throughout the hobby.  Now I'm dancing around waiting for next month to buy the animal faces.  I did decide that eventually the monster faces are a must.


________________________________________

Getting down the right photography skills is a process and world into it's own.

Another projects finished in the past week:

Feeling A Little Snooty, Page 2

Peach Keey Stamps

I've wanted a Peachy Keen Stamps stamp set for months now.  Today (ta-da) I purchased my first set.  (Now to wait forever to them get to the house.)  This site has to be the best collection of face stamps available.


I ordered the original set, which is a good start.  I also bought an acid/lignum-free white pen to colour in the eyes. 

 

But, oh, how much more they've put out; human, animal, Halloween and many more faces in every size and expression imaginable.  They've even come out with die sets with two different face stamps per die... and they are adorable!

I can only imagine it would take a small fortune to own all their products.  I'll have to be very selective with my inventory.  I think I'll stop at the assorted face stamp set and one assorted animal face set.  Or more.  It depends on my mood.  (I did put a set of acrylic block set with the rounded grips in my wish list for next month's order.  All are currently 90 degree edges.)  They even have stamp sets that coordinate with various Cricut cartridges. Along those lines, MyPinkStamper.com has designed word stamp sets that compliment Cricut cartridges, but I've yet to buy from there, either.  To own fully integrated Cricut cartridge, word and face stamps is a dream come true.

When I receive my next allowance payout I am 100%-positive-sure buying a border template set from Kiwi Lanes.

________________________________________

Over the past several days I've filled my time by finishing scrapbook pages and have created a few more.  There's no feeling like putting a page in the scrapbook knowing there's no more work to be done.Here is one of the latest pages:

Now that I'm getting the hang of photographing the 12x12 pages I'm sure to post more!

*** Whoopie: My new Spellbinders Edgeability set arrived in the mail today.  :D

Ribbon Organization

This is the best system for ribbon organization I've seen yet.

I'll say it here, and 100 more times before ending this journal:  Scrapbooking need not be an expensive hobby; yes, there are companies out there that offer incredible products.  But in most cases, a goodly amount of imagination can slash costs to pennies on the dollar.

Just yesterday when visiting Hobby Lobby I saw a pack of eight large paper clips with small pieces of ribbon tied on as a bow.  I actually said out loud, "I can do that at home."  Someone standing near me laughed.  I suppose the thought is fairly universal.  Nevertheless, I couldn't bring myself to look for the price knowing I would have had a total meltdown in the middle of the aisle.  (Closest estimate is around $6-$8.)

I highly recommend you take a quick look at one woman's solution and have your socks knocked off!  Just click the image below:

Spellbinders & New ATG

Finally, and at long last, I broke down and bought an ATG.  It was getting wearisome constantly refilling the small adhesive applicators.  Using it still feels a bit clunky, but practice will make perfect.

I love working with Spellbinders dies.  The collection is still rather limited, mainly because they're so doggone expensive.  Most of what I've bought are the Nestibilities... squares, rectangles, ovals, just very basic shapes, all on sale.  Unfortunately, Spellbinders don't go on sale very often, and when they do it's not by a large percentage.  I've yet to buy any of the Grands because doing so will mean buying a Grand Caliber machine and I can't justify the expense at this time, especially considering Grand dies cost between $50-60.  Each set.

Before going forward there's a tip I'd like to share.  Before opening the acetate package, cut down the right, side of the package, just inside the sealed seam, and then cut the bottom fold to create a reusable envelope.  Keeping the acetate packaging for storage is a winner as most of their products are susceptible to damage by accidental bending.  When finished using the die, place it back into the package for protection, and if cut correctly you'll have a snap-tight envelope.  I didn't know about this for the first few sets bought and I've had to adapt stiff packaging to overcome this oversight.  It's truly worth the initial time and effort.  This technique works equally well with other thin dies such as QuikCutz.)

 Package already cut as described, locked back into place

Demonstration of the opened envelope created.  (Forgive image quality, I only had so many fingers and hands available.)

Hobby Lobby has a small area of the store where real bargains can be found.  Lately, they've been throwing a few Spellbinder sets in the pile.  I found a charming full-size Borderability set at about 1/2 off.   It's even hard finding a good deal on Ebay, but apparently a lady scavenged a few hundred from an earthquake sale.  I bough four sets of the petite Borderabilities for the same price one would have cost elsewhere.  (I'm honestly hoping this was a scavenge sale and not a theft!  Can you imagine the police coming to the door demanding the merchandise returned?  Egads!)  I had found a set of their Classic Scallop Edgeabilites on sale at HL months ago and love incorporating these dainty cuts into my cards and scrapbook pages.  And again, the earthquake sale lady had another set of the postage stamp Edgeabilities.  These are still in transit, but once these arrive, I'll have accumulated half the Edgebilities sets currently available.  The very best aspect of the Edgeabilities is that they are all interchangeable.

The only sets I don't particularly care for, or see much value in, are the Shapeabilities.  Maybe that's because I haven't played with the enough, or I don't find much use for the couple of sets acquired; but they just come out looking blah.  The Impressibilities provide a soft embossed touch, great for matting photos, but the size is very limited and it's difficult, if not impossible, trying to repeat the pattern on the same piece of paper.

Any of the Spellbinder dies afford a flexibility to shape paper into almost limitless possibilities.  It's a shame that some of these possibilities never enter my mind.  What helps the most is my little Miss or other scrapbookers playing with the dies sets.  That is when so much possibility opens up!  Everyone always comes up with something different.

It would be positively wonderful to have a monthly scrapbook meet somewhere in the area.  Why there isn't anything like this available now is a shame.  Perhaps it's time I step out and give it a try.

Follow Up to January 4th Question

I posited the question in the January 4th entry concerning the thickness and fibre content of cereal boxes.  I didn't have a micrometer handy, so had to search for the answer through the internet.


Here's a link to the best information I found:  http://reviews.ebay.com/What-is-Chipboard_W0QQugidZ10000000007700031

"What is Chipboard? Chipboard is cardboard that is not corrugated. It is not particle board or made of wood chips in any way, instead made of recycled paper which is pressed into a paperboard. Though it does have a grain like wood, with one direction being more sturdy then the other, it is not wood. Cereal boxes, tissue boxes, fruit snack boxes, etc are all made of chipboard. Chipboard comes in two colors, Kraft and News. Kraft is brown and News is Grey. If you look inside your cereal boxes you can compare the colors.
White chipboard is clay-coated chipboard. The coating is applied to only one side of the board. The other side is either Kraft or News. Just like a cereal box you can see the white coating first and then the printer applies the colored ink over the clay-coating for the design.
There are many thicknesses of chipboard. The higher the number the thicker the chipboard is. A cereal box thickness is .022. We carry from .022 to .080, however, you can find chipboard from .012 to .120+. Some of the thicker chipboard is often referred to as book board, davey board, or pasted board. If you have no idea what thickness you need, samples are available.
Uses for chipboard

• Covers for albums - bound or loose
• Die cutting (sizzix, cuttlebug, cricut, etc)
• Scrapbooking - chipboard letters, numbers, titles, etc.
• Backing for notebooks or note pads
• Art projects - drawing and painting
• Graphic design projects
• Screen Printing "scraperboards"
• Stiffeners for mailing envelopes

This is just a short list of the many uses for chipboard. Use your imagination and the possibilities are endless. Samples are available. Some techniques will need to be practiced."

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Before moving on, please note that cereal box chipboard contains acid, which is harmful to pictures and other paper products used in scrap booking.  There are several products available that neutralized the acid, ranging from museum quality sprays (above $20 for several ounces) down to Krylon, Make It Acid Free ($10.00 for 6 oz)   I would think the Krylon deacidification spray would serve the purposes of most scrap booking projects, but have not tested it yet.  (I'll post an update to this in the near future.)  Acid-free chipboard is commercially available, but costs more than I want to pay.

In summary, once de-acified, cereal boxes can be used with the Cricut and other better die cutters and can stretch the crafting dollar until it squeaks!

Scrapbooks as Historical Tools

New and nifty idea I've just put into practice to satisfy the historian in me.

With the creation of each new scrapbook page I've created a document that slides into the album, behind the page.  The document includes such information as:  creation date, author, title, names of subjects, picture location/creation, and a list of specific materials used in the creation (paper pad name and company, stamps, dies/cartridges used, etc)  I realize good journaling would include much of the first items previously listed, but the inclusion of  the material source list isn't suitable for the story format.  Twenty or thirty years from now, should the decorative tags or labels from the project somehow manage to get lost, there's a backup source for information.  Additionally, if I decide later to submit a page for contest consideration, a comprehensive supply list is already in place.

I keep a piece of paper next to my supplies throughout the creation process and jot down supplies and other information as they are used.  An improvement on this would be to print blank forms in advance for standardization.