Productivity

Little Darlings Page Element

 I've decided the best approach to each page design is to treat each element going onto a page as a mini-mini page layout.  For example: one page cut out is backed with a coordinating paper, both the bottom paper and the cut out inked, lace applied to the back of the cutout image, and apply an even smaller element inked and Stickled.  A simple 2.5x3.5 image comes out as a 5.5x4.25 micro page consisting of six layers.  This doesn't count the four to seven layers the embellishment will be mounted upon. However, it turned out  looking rather professional, or at least pretty good.
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There was a special father-daughter soccer game this evening.  We brought along the camera to capture a few unique elements since this year's soccer album needed a few more photos  Everything went well until the very last moments of game play.  The star of the show was running full out chasing the ball before it went out of play.  Very close to this area was a mom also taking pictures of the game.  Predictably, it turned into a disaster.  Before anyone could take corrective action, Miss J ran into the lady on the ground.  Almost.  The lady had a small dog, leased, sitting directly in front of her, and it being fully conscious of the mayhem about to take place jumped up and attacked.  The Miss ended up with multiple and deep bite marks on her thigh and lower leg.  These quickly turned into a very ugly blue mixed with red blood.  I've never seen her cry over an injury before, but this incident caused large wet tears to well. 

Fortunately for all, the dog is fully vaccinated and current with all other required shots as well registered with the, but will still be sequestered in the pound for ten days due to asinine city policy .  What is wrong with that picture?  I was spitting mad that despite following all the rules the family has to be separated from the family pet, and to add insult to injury (so to speak), must pay impounding fees.  The lady was generous enough to allow a picture of the dog and its victim.  That will be a great page to scrap... when animals attack.

Tomorrow we run down to the doctor's office for a tetanus shot.  At any rate, the team won the game at 2-0.

Word

Word of the day:

im·pro·vise

verb (used with object)

1. 

to compose and perform or deliver without previous preparations; extemporize: to improvise an acceptance speech 

2.

to compose, play, recite, or sing (verse, music, etc.) on the spur of the moment. 

3.

 to make, provide, or arrange from whatever materials are readily available:  We improvised a dinner from yeterday's leftovers. make, provide, or arrange from whatever materials are readily available: 

Slow Go

No pictures, not even a real update.  And, not a whole lot of time creating.

Skill development.  Lots to say about it.  I became quite adept at using the ATG only to learn this wasn't the best long-term adhesive.  Then I learned to use both the red sticky and score tapes.  A huge step up, but it still took time to become proficient.  I've since learned wet glue tops all the others.  How hard could it be to learn to use a better medium?  Well, a whole lot.  It isn't working for me.  Practice makes perfect, yes, but I want to do something rather than perfecting a skill.  So, maybe the next project will involve glue but for this album the best it's going to get is the score tape.  I really want to get through the Little Darlings album.  There's so much more to do than to stay stuck on one project for what seems forever; although I'm having a blast putting it together.  This is the fun part, right?

I might get to make a few new friends.  A lady and her daughter (or perhaps just the daughter?) have recently gotten into scrapbooking and the mister offered to allow me to show off some of the tools of the trade and perhaps share a couple tips picked up along the way.  This could be the greatest!  The more the merrier.

Got the Graphic 45 Tropical Travelogue paper today.  My bad, it was only published this year.  Why, then, is it so hard buying the collection from one source?  Mysteries of our universe.

Improbable

Page with flip out card on left

 As improbable as it might seem, I worked out several technical issues and now back on track on the page order.  Also improbable, I completed the first page.  Nothing's been glued down, but there's no work remaining to complete the page.  At least that's what I think today.  As pretty as it is, it seems as if "something" is missing.  No worries, loads of time to think this through.
 



Because I changed my mind about the album dimensions, I can't firmly grasp how the above page will sit on the inside cover.  There may be room to add an ivory pleated trim between the book board and paper.  Another reason for not gluing the components to the page at this time is because it's probably 100 times more difficult; that, and if it can be done, I haven't seen anyone do it.

Next... an absolute final commitment to the 8.5x8.5 page size.  Either later this evening when there's more time, or tomorrow, I plan to cut the base paper for the first page.  It's with that extra added one-half inch that the certificate, that cause so much grief, can snugly fit.

The I am Roses package arrived today.  Oh, my!  These are going to be fun with a capital F.  The time has arrived where I can no longer ignore the (b)looming flower storage problem.  From incorporating flower use only a couple of months ago, the inventory is accumulating as quickly as weeds grow.  That's not including the dozens of flowers I've cut from off the Cricut.  Guess it's back into the room with the rolling bins.  Although... a $25 wall lateral wire shelf would go a long way in solving this problem without taking up floor space.  TBD.

It's total defeat in collecting the full Once Upon a Springtime collection.  What's on hand should be enough to do everything I bought it for.  I saw another Graphic 45 collection, Le Cirque since retired that peaked my interest, but thought much older then the Once Upon and, as these things go for me, figured completely unobtainable.  Not so fast!  I got my hands on both the 12x12 and 8x8 paper pads, and some of the other pieces in the collection.  I could not be more pleased.  Finally, as budgeted, I bought the full Tropical Travelogue collection, but from several places; all now on the way to the house.

While browsing through YouTube the other day I ran across a mini-album design, with tutorial, that's a must for several future albums.  The link for the YouTube video.

Technical Issues

I didn't think this would go nearly as smoothly as hoped.  Good thing.

I've finally committed to an 8.5x8.5 inch page size and a 9x9 cover. I wanted to allow generous space for the many 5x7 photos; this size does it.  There were several binding options available and in the end decided to use the Bind-it-All.  There's less chance of error, still presents very well, and frees me from also learning a complicated binding method.  Maybe later, but there's probably too much going on for a novice anyway.


The inside cover of the album was to feature a 5x7 of my parents wedding, followed with a facing page containing the hospital certificate of birth.  This plan fell at first stroke.  The certificate size is 8.5x6.5.  There's zero wiggle room for the document on the 8x8 page.  The only way this will fit is if it's placed on either the front or back cover page, which will be just large enough to make it work.  It's disappointing, but there will be jigs in the chronology.  It could be worse.  So it was back to the drawing table.

Layout with Colour!

All designs until today existed on plain printer paper.  I pulled out the designer paper loosely arranged the elements of the first page, and - whoa!  This is very, very nice, indeed.

For the wedding page, I deviated from the Little Darlings paper and pulled out a few pages of the Le Romantique.  It seems the two work well together, or at least won't clash. Pretty, huh?

I filmed, but have not uploaded tonight's YouTube video.  Perhaps tomorrow afternoon.  We had some very serious girl time today, it's been an insane week.

YouTube Fame!

It's about time!  I posted my first ever video on YouTube.  I'm famous now.  Just like every other person on Earth. Not to give away too terribly much, wanting to keep my audience in nail biting suspense, but the video involved ants.  Yes, ants.  How's that for a YouTube howdy doo?

Before the creating begins in the morning, I thought it appropriate to demonstrate why creating this album at this time is entirely appropriate.

The Original Baby Book, c. 1962

Back Cover

Front Cover

Binding

 













This is a disaster.  Easier to replace than restore.

Ready! Set!...

Every single item needed for the Little Darlings mini is within reach.  The last of the coordinated supplies came in today.  This is it... beginning Thursday morning it gets done, one page at a time.

The Tim Holtz Tattered Rose distress ink was not what I expected.  It's as flesh coloured as it gets.  I'd expected a stronger hint of rose or coral; be that as it may, it still functions as planned.  Although, if the either the Worn Lipstick or Moss Green happened to fall into my shopping buggy, I wouldn't take issue.

(Should anyone with two days of artistic training ever happen upon this site, they must forgive the misapplied terms because every application will be wrong.)

Ivory and brown are the two base colours that will be used throughout.  I'm not crazy about using the Vintage Photo ink colour for distressing as most scrappers seem, because while it presents a lovely brown, it always comes out looking overly dark for my tastes, and despite all attempts I can't get it to tone down.  In most cases I prefer working with the Tea Dye, but this has redder tones and might clash with this paper.  A compromise may exist between the two, but I haven't found it yet and probably won't in the distressed lines.

I'm positively itching to get started on this mini, but there are several firm commitments between picking up the scissors/glue/inks and the starting bell tomorrow.  Just to be sure, I went through all the page templates drawn up last month and still love every detail.  

Even at this late hour I haven't fully committed to the final overall size.  The decision to modify the book to the 8x8 size was based upon an abundance of that sized quality book board on hand.  There are nine 5x7 photos included in the album and I fear that the 8x8 size may turn out to be a smidgen too small.  The photos are the originals from almost 100 years ago, or about half that, so cutting them down isn't an option I'm comfortable with.  And, making re-sized copies of the photos defeats the purpose of creating a safe place to permanently store them, which is exactly why the mini is being created!  It's a historical preservation effort.  A curiosity happened today as I reviewed the photos going in the Little Darlings album.  On the back of one photo my mother had written, "My little darling."  So very fitting.  

The idea of documenting the album's construction still appeals.  Each day I plan to post pictures of the work accomplished.  Maybe, just maybe, it will all come together nicely enough to want to show it off when victims visit the house ;)

Look for pictures beginning Thursday night!

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Through sheer determined effort, I discovered my worst fear: the Graphic 45 Tropical Travelogue is slowly fading out of publication.  There's still time to gather everything I'd like to have, so there's no panic involved, but it's getting harder to hit one store and find an entire collection intact... a little here, a little there.  Unfortunately, this interrupts my budgeting plans as it's probably best to accumulate it quickly before it becomes a complete hit or miss endeavor.  As is the case in the Once Upon a Springtime collection.  What a nightmare!

Skill Development

The Lindy's Stamp Gang Nantucket Starburst colour shot set arrived today.  Yeah!  Unfortunately, the weather affected me so badly I couldn't even twist a top loose, let alone fill the container with water and begin to play.  I learned the other day this particular collection isn't about glitz; rather, the soft shimmer.  This is perfect for the purposes intended.  Next batch will be all about the glimmer and glitz.  Hopefully the weather and extreme temperature changes won't keep me from enjoying the little things in life tomorrow and I can find time to play with the colours.  At least the temperatures will be a bit more bearable throughout the weekend.

It may take another three weeks before the first I am Roses package arrives as they originate and ship from Taiwan.  In the meantime I've began playing with the Flower Shoppe Cricut Cartridge.  Though the flowers come out pretty, there was "something" missing.  After watching a few videos I believe that missing something is my fear of manipulating the paper overly much once cut and inked, which took the potential of something great into amateurish attempts.  There's at least twenty pounds of paper in this room - excluding the premium papers - and I'm still too stingy to let loose and have fun with new creations.  Perhaps this is common to new crafters, but probably has more to do with my more conservative nature.  I've watched a few videos specific to the cartridge and learn more each time.  It's a shame there's no group in the area specific to Cricut. 

The function of every tool in the Cricut tool kit was readily apparent except for the spoon looking thingy.  I finally found a use for it!  Having lost the embossing tool purchased in the earliest days of card making, getting the flowers to soften and curl was a bit of a challenge.  This Cricut tool and a variety of metal crochet hook sizes does a great job.  The spoon tool (for lack of a better description) works especially well for petal embossing in the sizes I'll most use.

The box of scrapbooking goodies came in much earlier than anticipated.  I immediately passed most of the materials to my sister after she got to play with some of the stamps and inks.  She's been scrapbooking for a much longer time than I, and makes stunning pages, but has never incorporated stamping into her designs.  Now hooked on the concept, I donated most of the stamps and inks that came in to encourage her new skills.  But not all!  Some were much too precious to let go.  In the end, we fairly well split the box down the middle.

On to more skill sets and advancing in others!