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Covering a Shaped Album with Paper
I didn't get as much time as I wanted to start my new albums yesterday but I did get the covers started. I did take pictures in hopes that it might help someone who has never tackled one of these type of fun albums.
Remember, these are the albums I am working with.
So I decided to start in on Harper's album - the flower. I picked my paper and then got started.
The first thing to do is to open the binding a bit so you can slip some pages off to decorate. Just carefully pull to open. (If you don't want to do this you can just decorate around the binding.)
They opened easy enough so I slipped off the cover and got ready to cover it in paper. There are two ways to cover the chipboard.
First way - just adhere down the cover to the paper. Do not cut it out first.
You then use your fingertip craft knife and "draw" around the edges and get a perfect cut. This is what I would normally do since I love this little knife so much but I left my knife in my boxes for the GASC and they are somewhere between Chantilly, VA and Grand Rapids, MI right now, lol. I was trying to be efficent and make sure I wasn't bringing so many supplies back and forth! ugg!
No big deal though 'cause there are more than one way to do things!
So I traced out the design onto the back of my paper including the markings for the binding holes.
I then cut out the design making sure to cut just inside the lines. (When you trace something it gets a little bigger so you want to cut it a little smaller than the lines so that it fits.) I don't worry about perfection - you will see why later.
Now the holes for the binding are square and I do not have a tiny square punch to fit. Of course I could have run out and tried to find such a punch but instead I work with what I have on hand.
I used a small circular punch and punched along all the marked squares. I will later make these into squares but for right now they offer the perfect starting spot.
Now it is time to adhere the paper. I always get asked what type of adhesive I use for this...
Yup. The humble glue stick. The adhesive we start with and quickly leave behind as we get more "experience". Well, it is time to revisit this great adhesive.
There are two reasons I love it for covering chipboard surfaces. One - it is cheap & holds well - got to love that!. Two - really important -I can get really good edge to edge coverage. This is what I really love about it. I can just rub away not worrying about using too much cause it is expensive and I can get every little bit of the surface covered in adhesive. With mini albums that are to be handled without protective covers it is important to make sure all the edges are secure so they don't start to lift and eventually tear.
I always apply it directly to the chipboard cause it is stiff & sturdy and I don't have to worry about accidently bending or tearing my paper. (have fun!! LOL)
So slap that paper down and rub with your fingers (or a brayer if you have one - I don't) to make sure the paper gets adhered everywhere. Now you may find this has happened...
Remember how I said don't worry about being super precise when cutting? Well, unless you spend forever cutting (and who wants to do that???? LOL) you will get some "wobbles". It's ok. This is why sand paper was invented! (and ink too) It is the miracle tool for hiding wobbles!
You can use a regular piece of sand paper, a sanding block (found at the hardware store), a nail file (check out the dollar store) or if you really want luxury (at a decent price, lol) go for the Basic Grey Precision file set. Love, love, love this tool. BUT of course my set is in the same box as my Finger Tip Craft knife (see above!) so of course a new plan was needed. If I had my file set I would use it to get in an around all the edges of the shape as well as all the little binding holes (this is what makes this tool so great - you can get into small, tight places).
You want to sand the edges to remove any paper that overhangs as well as tidy up any uneven "wobbles".
No special tecnique involved - just sand the edges! You will get a white edge as the printed part is sanded off. You can leave this as is or if you want to disquise your "wobbles" even more you can ink or paint the edges. This will hid everything!
But I don't have my BG tool and I am feeling a bit lazy so I grab this...
Yup - found this in my hubby's tools. Attached the sanding bit and went to town (have used it for this before so I knew it works). Talk about getting the job done quickly! Just a tip - use the LO setting so you have better control. The downside? You can't get into tight places like the "V" of the flower petals or the small binding holes. So in about 2 minutes I had all the major areas sanded and then I had to stop scrapping as life needed me :). So today I need to figure out how I am going to sand the small holes and then get to decorating the cover.
Have a great day everyone. :)
6/26/2008 9:08:30 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
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Modern Memory Keeper + New Projects
So I realized that I never mentioned that the lovely Ronee Parsons new book, Modern Memory Keeper, was available. It is probably because my copy hasn't arrived and I haven't seen it page by page. I always need visual cues for my memory to kick in, lol.
Anyway, if you plan on attacking that stack of heritage photos you have and making a scrapbook this book is a great place to start. It is all about heritage scrapbooking but it encourages you to have a fresh take on it and this includes the colors you use (no browns here!) to the stories you pick to tell. I had the wonderful opportunity to contribute some art to this book and I definitely learned a few things along the way. First, I learn that I actually like to scrapbook heritage photos. I know, weird, but I never had an urge to do it before. I got some stories down that I would never have tackled before. Second, I learned how to "mend" a photo. I had a very old photo that had some damage and was torn in half but I learned how to "fix" it digitally and you know what? It wasn't nearly as hard as I imagined it would be. Shockingly not hard. I was able to mend the photo and reprint it for family members and they couldn't believe it was the same photo. It still had all its heritage charm but the tear was gone! There were other things I loved but those were the most important things I took away from working on this book. I cannot wait to get the book so I can learn some of the other things that are included.
This is one of the stories I would have never got down if I hadn't worked on the book.
 
 
It is filled with funny stories about how all our Grandparents got their nicknames. It seems nobody in our family is content with calling them Grandma and Grandpa!
I made the ablum completely from scratch using cardboard, patterned paper (mostly A2Z and Bo Bunny) , transparencies (handcut and edges painted) and zipper ties for bindings.
This is also another page I created for the book which uses memoribilia.
I copied a love letter from my Grandfather to my Grandmother and included it on the page. I needed to scan it and print it because the letter now belongs to my Aunt but she lent it to me so I could copy it. I stapled the copied letter at the top so you can lift it and read all the pages. It is kind of nice to have this personal item in my scrapbooks now.
I can't wait to see the whole book. :) Congrats Ronee!
And guess what? My missing luggage has arrived! So I thought I might show you what I am up to today (fingers crossed).
Remember I told you I went on the shopping floor at the GASC this past weekend? Well this is one of the things I got in my mad dash. These albums are by Melissa Frances and measure I would guess about 8-9" high. The half shapes fold out to a full shape which looks really great as a finished album. The best part? They were 3 for $5! Yup, I had to ask again 'cause I couldn't believe it. They had tiny ones too but I went right for the biggies! In my mind I planned the star for a "Magnus" album and the flower for a "Harper" album. I thought we could fill them together over this summer break (last day tomorrow!). The third album - no plans yet but something will come to me. :) So today I plan to get the albums started - you can see I have already started to pull papers (under the albums) for the covers. I can't wait to get scrappy!
I also picked up this from the same Melissa Frances booth. Made of wood and painted cream, about 12" long.
Not my usual thing but as soon as I saw it I thought - jewellry box. I am going to cover it in bits of papers and maybe some photos and use it as a jewellry box. It was on sale for $9 which was a steal I think but they knocked it down to $5 because one of the latches was broken. Woohoo! I love deals!
Especially deals that I don't have to search for! I mean, it took me all of 5 seconds to find this super deal. Can't wait for the next GASC to see what I will find there! Grand Rapids here I come!
6/25/2008 9:54:03 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Great American Scrapbook Convention - Day 2 (Sat)
First, I have recovered from this.
My loooong day/night at the airport and the tiredness. I think I probably waited all of 5 minutes (out of politeness of course) after my husband got home from work yesterday before I went for a nap. I told Austin to wake me in an hour and well, he tried but apparently I wouldn't wake. 3 hours later I finally dragged myself from bed. Slept through dinner, slept through everything. 2 hours later I was back in bed after tucking in the kidlets and slept for another 12 hours. Definitely feeling better this morning!
So back to the GASC.
On Saturday my schedule was this...
Book signing in the middle of all that. All the advance copies of Cut Loose sold out but will be available soon online and at local stores soon.
But this schedule might also account for some of the tiredness! I had a crazy schedule but it was my own choice. I love to teach scrapbooking so I jam my days with as many classes as possible. I never feel the tiredness until after the show. Looking at this photo I realize I was listed as a 2008 MMM on my class sign - guess I must have graduated ;) a year later, lol.
So the day was great. Lots of really full classes, full of really wonderful scrappers.
A few highlights...
There were these three....
Trouble, with a capitol "T" I tell ya! Trouble! These lovelies were in a few of my classes and were having a great time and I loved laughing with them. I was pretty sure I was going to have to call security ;) to kick them out they were having "too much" fun, lol. Just kidding of course. I love to seeing people at these events just really enjoying themselves with friends and enjoying the hobby they love. Plus the woman on the left...she was being converted to scrapping by the other two. Being brought over to the scrappy side! And she rocked the craft knife like a pro I tell ya. I would have never know she was a "newbie".
And of course on Saturday I had my Cut Loose class which is modelled after my new book. There were lots of ladies cutting loose that day! Might have frightened a few ;) but we took a deep breath and dove right in. :)
The above two ladies were the sweetest things. And when they asked to take a photo of us all together this is what they got....
Yup, had a really great time!
Oh and I did get to do about 5 seconds of shopping on the show floor. Bought some amazing deals but of course they are in my missing luggage. :( Good thing I didn't have lots of time to shop cause I might have had to buy a second suitcase (which I am sure would have gone missing too...!)
Hopefully it will arrive today and I can start getting scrappy with them. Of course my paper cutter and all my basic tools are in the missing luggage so kind of hard to scrap without them. :)
Hope everyone is having a great day out there, where ever you are!
6/24/2008 9:04:24 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Not My Day
It was so NOT my day yesterday! What was supposed to be a quick 1.5 hour commuter flight home from the GASC turned into over a 13 hour travel nightmare. See all the yellow on the above sign? Those were delayed flights. (I was not the ONLY one have a bad travel day!) Storms elsewhere in the country caused airplanes to be late arriving to get us weary travellers and take us to our destinations.
Let's just say I know the inside of that airport like the back of my hand now!
OH and I must mention that apparently I have invisible metal somewhere on my body that set off the metal detectors when I went through security. Who knew? Apparently it was so invisible that I didn't even know it existed, lol. Lets just say I had to let a security officer get mightly personal with me! That was a first. Apparently this invisible metal has never decided to make trouble for me before and if I ever find it on me I am going to give it some trouble, lol!
OH and the lighting storm we flew through made me fear flying just a little - had a bit of a queasy stomach after all the air "bumps".
And to top it all off after I finally was on my home turf - no luggage. Yup, in the very wee hours of last night (or technically very early this morning) I had the wonderful surpise of having no luggage arrive. To be honest, at that point I didn't care and just wanted to be home and snoring away! :)
So I am zonked today and doing my best to stay slightly moving around so as to not fall asleep. I don't think Magnus would care for a snoring Momma today as he is full of his usual spunk and energy.
No worries though, I don't feel sorry for myself. You sometimes got to just roll with life and take what comes and try to smile. :) :) :) Afterall it makes a great travel story. ;)
Will try to answer all the emails you have been sending but might be a bit slow getting caught up with those. You know I love y'all but sleep might win out right now. :)
6/23/2008 9:28:55 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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TIRED but having oh so much FUN!
This is the reason for being tired...
Lots and lots of classes I am teaching but I am having so much FUN because of this...
...the PEOPLE! I love getting a chance to connect with fellow scrapbookers and seeing them learning and trying new things. Classes have been great and I am loving it all.
AND if I could have an award for student of the day it would be this woman...
She had never attended a class before and she signed up for three of my classes yesterday - all in a row! I mean she was a trooper! She was willing to try and experiment and learn and dive right in. She is fairly new to scrapbooking but she got loads of inspiration at this show. I've got to love this.
This is why I love to teach. The people.
Now I am off again for another full day of teaching and hopefully (fingers crossed) some shopping on the show floor! I mean, I know I don't NEED any scrap supplies but who can resist a floor full of goodies just waiting there calling my name.... :)
6/21/2008 7:06:42 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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A Great TV Commercial Quote
When watching TV last night I heard this quote - loved it so much I wrote it down.
(Got to love staying in a hotel 'cause nice little note pads are everywhere!)
I am off to start my day at the Great American Scrapbook Convention - can't wait to meet everyone and catch up with some familiar faces. :)
6/20/2008 6:55:58 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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I {heart} my CROP*A*DILE
I have arrived in Chantilly, VA for the GASC and after a long day of travel I was in desparate need of a beer that could not be opened so I searched and searched my room and there was my crop-a-dile....ta da...apparently it is good for more than punching holes in really thick objects and setting eyelets! I need to write We Are Memory Keepers a thank-you letter....
Seriously, don't leave home without one!
I really, really, really, really {heart} my crop-a-dile right now! :)
**
(oh, I changed my mind and brought the laptop - so hopefully will be blogging all about the show)
6/19/2008 9:56:51 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Let's Talk About the Weather... + GASC
When you need to pass some time with some small talk you always revert to the weather right? Everyone around here does. Well, I've got nothing to share today due to my back being out so I thought I would small talk you with the weather.
Of course I have visuals...
Yes, that is hail! Hard balls of ice that fell from the sky a day or so ago. It lasted less than 2 minutes. Magnus was quite facinated with it since it was still hot out when it happened. Talk about confusing to a four year old who is trying to understand seasons!
The weather has been seriously wacky lately and even today it went from boiling hot to freezing cold about 6 or 7 times. Magnus and I were constantly putting on and pulling off sweaters and we weren't sure if we should be in shorts or pants. No wonder we have had tornado watches recently. (Not common around here.)
Enough weather small talk? Yah, me too!
So I leave for Chantilly, VA tomorrow for the next Great American Scrapbook Convention. I am pretty excited to see everyone and since I have been resting so much my back is feeling better. Still sore but no more yelps of pain if I move. :) I guess I won`t be needing to teaching from a cot in the back of the room after all! I don`t think I will be bringing my laptop since I don`t want to wack my back again so no blogging while I`m there.
I am going to be in classroom 5 and 10 (not both at the same time obviously, lol) if you are going and want to pop in to say hello. I would love to see you. :)
There will be advance copies of Cut Loose at the show (they have awesome deals on books at the Memory Makers booth if you are going) and I have a book signing on Saturday from 1-2pm if you are interested (at the MM booth).
That`s all for today. I am sad I didn`t get to finish my project to share this week as this blog has been sadly lacking any actual scrapbooking but I hope to remedy that upon my return. :)
6/18/2008 4:37:29 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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A New Article is Up
Over here.
(Yup. That is me in that super, top of the line car seat! Oh and check out those thighs!)
I have done something bizarro to my back and am in mega pain. No scrapbooking, no bending, no anything I actually want to be doing. Not fun! I am resting and stretching and doing everything I am supposed to be doing to make it better. Oh and being grumpy too. That makes it get better faster I am pretty sure!
I am a little worried about having to stand to teach Fri. and Sat. in Chantilly this weekend but that is why I am resting. If not, I am sure I can get the good drugs...;) No worries if you cut your paper crooked then! It will all look good to me :)
6/17/2008 7:51:39 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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From the Mind of a 4 Year Old
So today I thought I might share some things that Magnus has asked me recently. I try to keep my Magnus posting down to a minimum but he is just so gosh darn cute I can't. He pretty much cracks me up daily and sometimes I just gotta share:)
**
Magnus: How old was I on the day I was born?
Me: Well, I guess zero.
Magnus: But zero means nothing. And I was not nothing.
Hmm, got me there. :)
**
Magnus: Can you hear the words in my head?
Me: You mean the thoughts?
Magnus: Yes, the words that are in there.
Me: No. Only you can hear them.
Magnus: That's good.
Hmm, that doesn't seem good... :)
**
Magnus: Is there a baby in your tummy? (He asks this 'cause my sister is prego)
Me: No. Mommy doesn't have any more babies in her tummy.
Magnus: No. I am pretty sure you still have a tiny one in there. You just forgot about it.
Umm, no....
**
And this was just from the last day or so. I mean, the things he comes up with! I need to start following him around with a tape recorder. People are always asking me how old he is because his language is so great. No baby talk for him!
All I know is he makes me laugh daily and he might make you laugh today too. :)
**
I am working on a scrappy project to share and hopefully I will have it done for tomorrow. Until then...:)
6/16/2008 12:53:30 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Beep, Beep, A Kidlet Craft
Made for Magnus with those mini cereal and tiny raisin boxes. Some construction paper, some adhesive + some fun embellishments and presto - fun little cars to play with.
Glitter stripes made with this + some glitter.
Racing arrows made with these. Love that they are self adhesive.
Tail lights made with red rhinestones.
After I made this one I realized I should have made it into a school bus shape.
Magnus loves, loves, loves these. Has played for hours with them already.
Just thought I might share in case you wanted to get kidlet crafty this weekend. :)
Enjoy your weekend everyone.
6/14/2008 10:15:21 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Burst of Energy + A Pretty Storage Solution
So today I popped awake at 6am! What? For those who know me this is crazy! I am a total night owl. But it was 6am and I was awake. I felt a burst energy with this early morning waking so I popped out of bed and was ready to start my day. Breakfast first.
With this little critter actually.
Apparently the bunnies like to be up at 6am too. I had cereal, he had dandelions. He just sat there eyeing me and munching the tops off the weeds. Then I folded a load of laundry and started a new one and then realized...it was way too early for me to be up! I mean WAY TOO EARLY! So back to bed I went! :) It was just a small moment of insanity. One I hopefully won't repeat!
Totally strange since I have been on the go since I returned from Arlington. With my ear infection and my hubby's blood infection there hasn't been any down time. If anyone has a man in their lives they know that they sometimes are not the best at sick bed time. At first he was too sick to care about anything. But by yesterday he was starting to feel tired of laying around. Not enough strength to do anything but mentally wanting to do something. But I solved that little dilema. I made a quick trip to the video store and rented a new game for him and made him park his butt on the couch. I am pretty sure he thinks I am the best wife ever! Seriously - being forced to sit on the couch and play video games??? What could be better to him? Oh ya, best wife ever!
So, back to scrapbooking.
Well, I haven't had any time for it lately. I mean, I have seen lots of people scrapbooking but me, myself? Nope, nada, zip, ziltch! So I thought another storage solution was in order. I showed you my stacking ways and my hiding spots but I do have one solution that falls into the pretty category. These little jars.
They line the top of my shelf and hold all my tiny embellishments.
Buttons, brad, sequins, rhinestones, flowers, etc.
Anything small that fits. I just open the packages and dump them in. They line up the whole length of the shelf and I probably have about 25 of them. I just bought enough to fill the shelf. I didn't have enough embellishments to fill them all at first but knew as time went on I would get more items that would fit. When planning your storage you need to make sure you leave room to expand otherwise you will shortly be re-doing it again. Pretty much all the jars have something in them now. I do end up using up some items completely over time (like a package of flowers) and will have a jar empty and ready for something new. For me it seems to be just the right amount of jars with the volume of scrapbooking I do.
You know what I like about these jars? First, they are clear and I can see the contents. Second, they are easy to grab off the shelf and dump on my table to sort through until I find what I want. Just as easy to scoop up the contents to dump back in (nice wide opening). Third, they look pretty. I admit it. I love how they look all matching and lined up along the shelf. Sort of adds unity to them even though they hold a wide variety of items. Even a messy girl like me can love pretty!
I also love they they were originally intended as spice jars. They come in 4 packs and were nice and cheap. Of course I got them at Ikea (have I mentioned I live next to a big city that has about 4 or 5 Ikeas?? Whenever I want cheap storage this is where I head.) I love that they can stand like a regular jar...
but they have one flat side so you can tilt them (sort of remind me of old fashioned candy jars).
This is why they look so cute all lined up together.
So that is my pretty storage solution. Pretty but functional.
***
Oh and one more photo to leave you with today - just 'cause. New critter in the front bush. One day old. :) 
6/12/2008 12:02:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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