Layout (Sort Of)

Today is layout day, and I know it's not strictly a layout, but its my blog so I can bend my own rules to suit my own needs lol.


It's actually the cover of a 6" x 6" mini album I am keeping for the year to record all the books I have read.

I will be interested to see if anyone can guess how I made the cover... leave a comment and I will let you know if anyone guesses correctly.

Off-The-Page "2011 Diary"

I loved what I did last year so much that I just knew I had to personalise this year's diary as well. Look out next year!!!
This year I was a little wiser and took something with me that had the hole widths & sizes that my Bind-It-All cuts, so that I could look for a diary that already had the holes cut to the same size and dimension (a lesson from last year). I could only get a page per day diary so hence its a bit on the "chubby" side but that means more room for sketches & ideas.

I removed the flimsy plastic covers and replaced them with board book covers with I decorated with patterned paper, inside & out. I punched holes to align with the existing holes using my Bind-It-All.
I also add some month dividers like last year, but this time instead of adding pockets to them (which I hardy used last year) the dividers are actually doing TRIPLE duty.

• First, as dividers so I know when each month begins & ends

• Secondly, as a monthly planner for my blog, so I can keep on top of what blogs I'm doing when & what pre-planning & preparation I need to do before posting

• And finally the back of each divider is printed with the list of important dates, such as birthdays, anniversaries etc, so I know when & who I need to create a card for. There is plenty of space for adding extra birthdays so if you want a card you had better make sure I know when your birthday is!!

The printing was a bit haphazard this year which disappointed me, but then my printer is playing up. I just hope I don't have to think about replacing it as up until now it was a terrific printer. Given that I am the only one who will be looking at it, I was happy to use the pages as they printed, they were still usable if the printing was a little skewed. Anyway, I did photograph some of the better pages, so you can see how it all looks.

Card Day

After yesterday's technique class on using paper napkins, it seemed fitting to make some cards & maybe a layout or two - still working on them - using the paper I created.
These will be blogged about over the coming weeks, but I just thought I would start with a quick card I created yesterday after the technique class.

1. Fold white card into a card base. I used a pre-cut card base and folded along the pre-scored centre fold.
2. Trim napkin covered card stock to size. I cut mine so that it was 1/4" smaller than the card base on all sides.
3. Using a paper piercer & templates I pierced holes around all four sides of the card, then with two strands of embroidery thread, hand sewed a quick running stitch around the paper to create a border. I didn't want anything too heavy.
4. Then I pierced the stems for the flowers having roughly worked out where I wanted to place the flowers.
5. I sewed the stems using a back stitch so that the stems were complete, and used a full six threads of embroidery thread to give these a little more depth.
6. Placed the flowers at the end of each stem. They are self-adhesive foam flowers I bought pre-made.
7. Finally I added a rub-on sentiment inside the card and wrote it to the person I am sending it to.

Technique Class - Using Paper Napkins

When I first heard about people using paper napkins in their scrapbooking & crafting my first reaction was (quite bluntly) WTH?? Not only did I wonder how, I also wondered WHY (on earth) would you use those flimsy, boring squares of folded up paper I always took to picnics that generally got blown away before you could use them. And to be honest, I fobbed it all off as one of those "Not my cup of tea" trends and though no more of it.
Last year I signed up for a card swap on Crafting Passionz. Along with scraps of papers, ribbons, lace & brads, we had to send a paper napkin, so I had to go buy a pack, well two because I bought one and got one free (Gotta love a bargain).
So I figured seeing as I would be getting some in return and I now had some to spare, I had better find out how to use the things in my crafting. After some googling & You-Tubing, I gave it a go and well I loved the results.
Here is a link to a card I made earlier - Mel's Birthday Present.
So how do you use them? (And if anyone has any other ideas, please leave a comment with a link so I can go check them out myself).

1. Napkins are usually double or triple layered so firstly separate the layers so you are left with the top "decorative" printed layer. The rest can be used for cleaning messes, drying stamps, paint brushes etc.
2. Lightly spray your white paper / light-weight card stock with adhesive spray. I use Helmar Vellum Spray Adhesive as that is what I have on hand. Be use to spray in a well ventilated area or outside.
3. Place your white paper on a flat surface, adhesive side up. Carefully place the napkin on top of the white paper. Pay particular attention to try to layer the napkin as crease-free as possible, unless this is the look you are going for. 
4. Leave to dry - this should only take a few minutes, though ambient temperature & humidity may affect the drying time depending upon the adhesive used.
5. Once dried, you can then treat your napkin as you would any other patterned paper. Cut to size, layer, decorate etc.

Variations:

• Use coloured paper or light-weight cardstock to alter the finished colour
• Scrunch the napkin (intentionally) for a more textured finish

Blogs

I haven't forgotten my promise or my plans for the blog... honest.


It's just I have some temping work on at the moment in the CBD and unfortunately this full-time working caper is not leaving me much time for crafting. Luckily the work for the end of the financial year is nearly completed, so hopefully I can reduce my hours and get back to crafting.


The good thing about all the travelling (it took me 45 minutes to get from the Downtown car park up the length of Hobson Street to the motorway on-ramp, and another 45 minutes to get home tonight) is that it gives me plenty of time to think about and plan some upcoming blogs and sketch some layouts & cards.


I have some great ideas about techniques... and you should see the cool cards I've designed... and all the layouts I have in mind... and all the really cool off the page projects... I am just going to be so busy creating all these great things to share with you.


Watch this space I have a busy weekend planned creating the samples and designs for the first few blogs...


Oh and if you are interested in joining in a circle journal send me an email to paula@scrapfx.co.nz and I can send you some information. Sign-ups are by 22nd January and numbers are strictly limited. First in, first served.

2010 - Review

2010 was an interesting year... bit of a roller coaster with a lot of ups & downs both crafting-wise and personally. It seems only fitting to acknowledge some of these as a final goodbye to last year.

• Losing my scrapping mojo - though there were some relapses of good scrapping I was really pleased with, most memorable for me was the little cases I made for the stick pin swap on Crafting Passionz.
• My father's diagnosis with bowel cancer - though it did mean a trip down to Christchurch for me to spend a month looking after my parents post Dad's surgery and most importantly his chemotherapy has gone well since then.
• Regaining most of the weight I had lost.
• Breakdown of some close relationships and the loss of some friends but then I have also reconnected with some other people and their friendship and support is more important and fulfilling than what was lost.
• Tragedies - Pike River Mine - loss of 29 lives in Greymouth and the ongoing earthquakes, though luckily no loss of life in Christchurch - my home town and where my parents still live.
• My step children's grandfather's diagnosis with a brain tumour and the stresses of dealing with things on his behalf, never-ending trips to hospital for treatments, having to put him into a rest home, watching the changes in him and feeling so utterly helpless and unable to do anything to help.
• The loss of a dear friend and mentor over New Year's. He suffered a brain aneurysm followed by a massive stroke a couple of days later. His passing has left a huge hole for so many people.
• Finally getting some work, albeit only 5 weeks temping work, though it still feels like a good omen of things to come in 2011.
• Receiving in the mail along with a Christmas Card  and family newsletter, the cutest and coolest and most totally unexpected mini personalised calendar from my wonderfully talented friend Gypsy - thank you so much for making my day and my year.
• The birth of my third nephew, Troy and being able to cuddle him both when I was visiting in Christchurch when he was only three weeks old and again in the middle of December when my sister, her hubbie and  Troy visited Auckland.
• Buying my darling hubbie's dream car "Sally" a gorgeous fire engine red Mitsubishi GTO, which I love being able to drive... when he lets me have the keys LOL.
• Making new friends, who get me and who encourage and support me to step outside my comfort zone and try new things and not be afraid to launch an attack with everything in my arsenal.
• Making my charms for a Kiwiana charm swap with my scrapping girlfriends, especially the marmite jars which I just love.
• Receiving the most incredible "Secret Santa" swap gift from Shar at Crafting Passionz. I will post a picture in the next day or two so you can all see how incredibly lucky I was.
• Nana and Sonia-Marie time... the two of us lying on my bed looking over the side to see what we can discover - you have to love the way kids see the world; Sonia patting the step which means she wants you to sit down beside her on the stairs for a bit; the way she grabs one finger and pulls you behind her when she wants to go for a walk (usually outside regardless of the weather) and lots and lots of cuddles and kisses and snuggles - though I always want more.
• Best of all has been every time my darling husband has told me and shown me how much he loves me.

I'm looking forward to 2011, to the opportunities it will provide, the challenges and the possibilities and most importantly to getting my scrapping mojo back.

2011 - Changes to the Blog

The end of 2010 has seen a huge turn-around for me personally. I finally secured some temping work, after 18 months of being unemployed, so all my plans for my second year of a Christmas Challenge went out the window. (I interviewed one day and started work in the CBD the next day having to contend not only with suddenly working a full day, but also having to travel up to an hour or so each way as well.) 
All the travelling has given me time to think about where I wanted my crafting and my blog to go. 

• Did I still want to keep crafting? - an emphatic YES
• Did I still want to keep blogging? - a slightly less enthusiastic yes, given I feel like I am doing this purely for myself. The lack of comments and feedback is discouraging as it seems people will only comment if there is something in it for them... like a freebie or give away.
• Do I want to continue crafting and blogging in the same manner and format that I have done in the past and in particular during this past 18 months? - an emphatic NO

I'm still thinking about the changes I want to make to how & why & where & what I craft... so more on that later, but I have at least come up with a plan for my blogging. It's going to be pretty intense - daily blogging (no pressure Paula) but hopefully I can organise and prepare in advance enough so that I can reduce as much unnecessary pressure as possible.

So what is the mysterious big plan for 2011...

MONDAY's blog's a TECHNIQUE CLASS;

TUESDAY's CARDS are really fast;

WEDNESDAY'S blogs are OFF THE PAGE;

THURSDAY's LAYOUTS are my fav's;

FRIDAY's got PHOTOS all galore;

SATURDAY is things NOT FROM a STORE;

And SUNDAY's blog is all the rest,

From the very WORST to the very BEST.

There will be some one-off items which are blogged from start to finish in a 5 minute read as well as some on-going projects which may take the whole year (or more) to complete so you will get regular updates on the progress I've made. As well as paper based crafts, I may also try to sneak in some other crafts to show off my versatility.

And maybe, just maybe (no promises on this one)... there could be a freebie or two along the way.