Not Really a Second Post for the Day

This isn't really the second post of the day.  In my excitement over the hall yesterday, and not desiring to forget anything, I posted the blog previous to this in my Myspace blog.  Today I transferred the post to here; a more appropriate setting.

I've spent nearly twelve hours re-organizing paper and paper scraps.  To accommodate for a hefty but handy pre-sized paper cuts, some of the smaller dies had to be consolidated.  So too with other tools, but it will be worth the effort in the end.  Not administering enough organization torture, I labeled every bin and drawer.  Needless to say, after only twelve hours into the project, the room looks as if a paper bomb went off.  I really need to track how often I go through these two-to-three day organizational fits; it seems I do this at least every other month.  But wait!  There's more accomplished today...

For my coloured pencil collection, I saved an old coffee tin.  Yes, it's totally filled, but this collection goes back at least twenty years.  Back when the boys were kids, and I was a Camp Fire leader, I put all the crayons in a coffee bin and decorated it with a wallpaper scrap and crayon wrappers; the exterior decoration lasted virtually forever.  Each "play" coffee can had a unique decoration so they could pull the can and know what was inside at a glance.  The coloured pencil can has served well, but it was nothing to brag about.  It really bothers me when a container I use is ugly.  With some help for my great helper, we decorated the coloured pencil bucket with very pleasing results.  I added a pencil sticker on the label after taking the picture, which adds that much more cuteness.

Sometime early last year I found a small plastic accordion folder in Hobby Lobby's clearance section.  It originally sold for $10, but because it had a busted carrying strap, I picked it up for $2.00, I think.   We buy cat litter in boxes that have sturdy plastic handles.... just about the size needed to repair the accordion folder.  A match made in heaven!  Better than that, the new handle is of better plastic quality than the original.  All due credit goes to Martin that thought to marry the two.  He's one smart cookie!

I picked up a black painted wood frame with a mysterious slot in one side for 50 cents while at SSD.  Playing around with it, we discovered the slot perfectly accommodates a scrapbook page.  Martin wants me to go back and pick up as many as ten, should they still be there.  His idea is that we (yes, he likes to help scrap sometimes, too!) design decorative holiday pages to display for the various seasons.  He also wants me to display a few scrapbook pages around the house instead of photographing them and throwing into an album.  It will take an hour to make the round trip, so I hope it's worthwhile.  Maybe call to find out before leaving the house?  Nope, there might be new stuff on the floor tomorrow.  As much as he thrills over this prospect, he has yet to see what scrapbookers are doing to deep-framed art canvases.  I can put together a piece of art to hang on a wall for under $10 for what departments stores sell at $20-30, and can do a better job of it.

Probably not this year, but perhaps next, I take this hobby to the next notch and try to sell cards at the farmer's market.  I've gotten very good with cards, but don't feel I'm up to the commercial level yet.  I've always been crafty, but never considered ever making a profit from it.  Who knows?

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. 
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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.

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Yet another recently finished page!

Silly Night

Christmas Eve
December 24, 2011

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!

Next Steps Organization: Stickers

I demonstrated the new sticker organizational system on another blog, late 2011.  The post ended with a promise to attach labels to the file dividers I'd created out of cereal boxes.  I've began this final process in earnest.

From the whole box comes a hefty divider and tabs...

To the raw tab and decorative paper scraps:

To the tab mounted on the divider, constructed using eyelets:

The system doesn't look half as bad as I thought it might!  The best part of all is knowing each element used in the project are parts recycled from other sources... it is virtually free!

It took no time at all to cut down enough boxes to file stickers by category, and I now have extra space dividers.  Because I didn't notice in time that the inside flap made a right pretty folder top, I must continue collecting cereal boxes in order to produce enough tabs for each divider.

The last issue with the cereal boxes involves a lack of knowledge:  is the cardboard collected equal, or superior, to chipboard?  If so, there's no end to the uses I'll find with this material.  It may be that all I need for a free and endless supply of raw material for sturdy Cricut cutouts is the deep cut blade assembly housing.

AS ORIGINALLY POSTED TO MYSPACE BLOG 28 NOVEMBER 2011.

Stickers. Got 'em. Not, mind you, as much as many dedicated scrapbookers who've been at this for years, but I've built up quite a collection.

It started simply enough. I converted an underused plastic file sorter box (12x12) into a sticker box. I could even file the stickers under a general heading. Several 50% off sticker sales later and I adapted yet another plastic sorter previously used for coupons. All was still very manageable, and this I believed until one day I looked in the closet and discovered there were four different filing systems for stickers and I didn't even know what the inventory was anymore. This indicated a looming crisis.

For all that I am, or am not, one personal characteristic I cannot abide is disorganization. My mind simply shuts down until I can get a situation under control. (This applies only to me, what works for others are for them to decide.) Another characteristic is that I'm thrifty… I never pay full price for anything. And if it can be made instead of bought, this works even better.

It took a couple of days to think this problem out, but I came up with a very workable solution. There are still drawers available from the steal of a purchase a few weeks ago concerning multi-drawer rolling bins. At first I thought to use manila file folders, but foresaw a problem with bulkiness. Maybe cut them in half? Ack, a waste of good material. Then I thought of all the cereal boxes we go through; each box would provide two dividers. A solution to the problem without spending an extra penny, not to mention a great way to recycle goods. This is taking some time to build enough dividers to neatly categorize each sticker by type, but I've already emptied three of the boxes and the last container is quickly emptying.

The next move is to create tabs to label each division. Sub-folders may come in handy at some point.

Clam Shell Templates

To think one year ago today my scrapbooking supplies consisted of a few sticker packs owned by my granddaughter, a pair of scissors that cut zigzag lines and a Valentines Day corner punch bought a couple years before for some silly cards my son and I made.  I've been blessed to accumulate so many systems and materials over the past eleven months.  That said, there's still thousands of papers, cartridges, adhesives, etc available on the market I don't own.  (There are limits to spending, even if my husband isn't totally convinced I'm aware of this notion.)

Early into my Cricut cartridge collecting I found a tip that advised saving clam shell wrapping to recycle for other projects.  The acetate does go through the Cuttlebug wonderfully when embossing and cutting.  I haven't tried using this material on the Cricut, but it's probably only a matter of time.  It's also great for creating windshields and other glass representations.  Acetate's only drawback thus far concerns finding the right glue for more seamless applications.

I recently stumbled across Kiwi Lane Designs, a small business that offers a diverse line of scrapbooking templates.  I understand many companies sell templates, but the difference here is that the prices are very reasonable and they offer a fun line of easy to use, coordinating templates. 

Affordable doesn't always mean I can run right out and purchase, however.  I did easily adapt their photo templates by cutting various commonly sized photo squares and rectangles using the clam shell materials on hand.  

Sample of adapted photo templates

No, not very pretty, but it functions!  (Squares and rectangles are the limit of my copying abilities so Kiwi Lane Designs are safe from future infringement... at least from me!)

I used these for the first time last night when laying out my newest scrapbook page to decide what size to print the picture.  It took all the guesswork out and let me focus on a design with confidence.

As Martin always says:  It's called scrapbooking for a reason!


Happy Cutting