Organizing my Scrapbooking Stickers

One of the hardest things to organize, in my mind, are stickers. I have so many of them and to remember what you have is sometimes near impossible.

To help me stay organized, I started with a 2 inch binder and a bunch of page protectors. I put a piece of white card stock (the same size as the page protectors) in each of the page protectors. Then I proceeded to sort my stickers by theme.

Yes, this can get very tricky, but I tend to have certain themes I scrapbook by so that helps. For example:

• Winter
• Spring
• Summer
• Fall
• School
• Boy
• Girl
• Camping
• Cooking
• Plants & Flowers
• Valentines
• Easter
• Sports
• Halloween
• Christmas

Etc.. you get the idea. I recently switch to actual dividers for each of the topics but I used to just use labeled sticky tabs. Now you start putting your stickers in the page protectors. I’m usually quite generous with my space, I don’t like to over lap stickers over top of each other inside the page protectors that way I can see everything I have. The white card stock makes the pages easier to turn as they are stiffer and helps you see the stickers better.

Depending on where you buy your materials from, you could probably have this all set up for less then $10. I used an extra binder I had laying around, page protectors and dividers from the dollar/discount store and used white card stock from my scrapbooking stash.

What I once avoided, I now love grabbing my sticker binder for inspiration. And my kids love looking at all my “pretty stickers”. Happy Scrapbooking!

Goal for the New Year

The new year will be here before I know it... yes, I'm planning for Christmas already. I even have a few gifts hidden around the house. ;)

First thing in the new year, I'm going to hand make some cards for every occassion so that way I'll have them ready. When a special occcassion comes around, I always find myself too busy to be able to make cards for those special people in my life. What about a last minute birthday card you need for a close friend? They'll never know you forgot if they receive a home made card that looks like it took hours.

I like to make a list of all the special occasions then cross them off the list as I go:
January - cousin's birthday
February - Valentine's Day, parent's anniversary, grandmother's birthday
March - daugther's birthday
April - son's birthday, Easter
May - Mother's day.... etc

You get the idea. I've even made my Christmas cards months in advance since when the cold months do get here, I'm much to busy baking, decorating and spending time with the family.

Colder Weather coming our way...

With winter around the corner, I'm getting ready to head in to my scrapbooking room and do a bit of scrapbooking. I just couldn't bring myself to scrapbook too much during those beautiful summer days with the weather so nice. Winter is long enough thank you. And I've got alot of pictures to get scrapbooked!

So I'm starting by getting everything organized. I'm sorting my photos by theme and looking at my supplies. Darn, looks like I'm going to have to do a little shopping. :)

Don't you just love shopping for your hobbies? First, to make a list of what I need.. but don't forget to keep your eyes open for new and wonderful products. I'm still totally addicted to that grundge board. You've gotta check it out.

(and a little tip? stock your freezer with some pre-made suppers for those days you don't feel like doing anything but scrapbooking!)

Happy Scrapbooking Ladies!

Spring is Here!

With Spring comes many different reasons to celebrate. Between Easter, my son’s birthday, my daughter’s birthday and just the fact that summer is on its way and winter is over, what better reason is there to celebrate.

Besides, it was time to pull out those bright and festive papers. There are some great new papers out this season and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them and start cropping.

Some of my favourite of course, include Bo Bunny and of course there’s Three Bugs in a Rug. Match up some funky embellishments from YMBD Etsy site, and I’ve got some inspiring spring layouts I can’t wait to show off.

Organizing Your Scrapbooking Supplies (con’t)

4. Sorting my paper

New

I purchased an expandable scrapbook file folder that perfectly fits my 12x12 pages.
I categorized my pages by themes: spring, summer, fall, winter, boy, girl, Christmas, Halloween, birthdays, school… etc. These categories work best for me, so you’d have to figure out what’s best for you.

I also keep a section for just cardstock.

I find my file folder is great for crop outings. I just grab my case and go!


Scraps

I also have an expandable file folder for my scraps, but not a 12x12 one. It fits a full sheet length wise, but not in height. But I’m not too concerned since my scraps are usually not that large anyhow. I have the sections divided up by color: white, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple.. etc. I also keep a few sections for patterned paper, tho these are a little harder to divide up.

It’s so nice reaching for my folder, opening it up to the color section I need and digging through until I find the perfect color. And what a great way to save money. There have been many times that I’ve found just what I needed without having to cut up a brand new sheet for one little piece.

Hope this helps!

Organizing your Scrapbooking Supplies (con't)

3. Embellishments

I have to admit, I do fish. Although not as often as I would like. It's a great family activity, but my husband just raised his eye brows at me when he saw me dump out my tackle box and started organizing my scrapbooking supplies in it. You would be surprised how versatile these tackle boxes are. I organize my embellishments, which include embossing thread, buttons, metal embellishments, paper clips, gems and many other things. They are great for sorting all those little things you just can't scrapbook without. Most tackle boxes allow you to customize the size of the slot which is great! I've got 6 boxes so far, and my husband knows nothing would make me happier then to get another one. :)

I get so excited when I get a new tackle box. I crack open a bottle of wine and get comfy for an evening of sorting my embellishments and filling my tackle box.

I also have a tackle box full of brads (seperated by color) and and one for eyelets. It's so great to have these seperated so you don't have to dump them all out to dig for that perfect color.

Organizing your Scrapbooking Supplies

This will be a running post, so make sure you keep checking back.

I love to scrapbook and I find I enjoy it much more when I know where everything is. When my family moved into our new house, I tore everything apart and organized from top to bottom and this is what I came up with. I still have a spare bedroom being renovated into my hobby room, but until then.

1. Use Clear (see through) boxes.

I found these at Costco and they work beautifully. I can see what’s inside each of them so I really don’t have to label them. Which is really nice since I’ve got 3 for stamping tools alone. They nice very nicely, are sturdy and I can fit quite a bit in each of them.

2. Ribbons

Luckily, these clear shoe boxes fit my ribbon perfectly when they are on their side. I just stand them up side the box and have a little edge dangling over the edge. I just pull out the amount I need and cut! No need to even open the lid. This works best if you have enough to fill the box though. If you don’t have enough, all the ribbons will just go flying all over the place in the box.

Ready for St. Patrick's Day?

Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Growing up this day really hasn’t meant too much to me aside for the occasion to wear green on this day. Not being much of a beer drinker, the appeal of drinking green beer has completely escaped me.

When I went to college, I befriended a guy named Pat, who, low and behold, was born on St. Patrick’s day. What this some cruel joke played by his parents? He didn’t think so. He always had the best birthday parties!

Fast forward a few years, add two kids and an addiction to scrapbooking and you get to where I am now. I just LOVE coming up with new goodies to scrapbook with for St Paddy’s day.

So come on! Get in the spirit, wear some green, and someone drink a green beer for me. Lord knows I’ll never try one. And don’t forget to check out my special green goodies at my Etsy site! (see right)

Double Whammy!

Wow! What a day! Ok, now to be honest, I really don’t know if I’ve ever been featured in a Treasury before. I just don’t have the time to search through them all (and I keep forgetting too). But what a surprise I got today. Not only do I get featured in a Treasury (Thank you PeachCult!) with my Gold Tipped Gray Leaves Chipboard Letters but the Treasury makes it to the front page on Etsy!! I was wondering why my email started going nuts, I’m not used to getting those emails notifying you of a new sale.
And my messenger popping up from YMBD letting me know I was on the front screen. (Thank you! I would have never known otherwise)

What an amazing feeling! Ok, I’ve definitely been bite by the Etsy bug again. What a great way to get yourself motivated and keep moving forward.

My Guilty Pleasure

Ok, so everything scrapbooking is a guilty pleasure for me. I love creating beautiful pages about my family and friends. I’ve always admired those fancy stickers you can get (Jolees and other 3d stickers). They add such a beautiful finish to any page. Adding a lot of character and making it look fun. Since I scrapbook about kids, the page always has to be fun.

I have to admit, as much as I love these stickers, they sure are expensive. So from these stickers, I decided to try paper piecing. It takes a bit of time and effort, but the results are beautiful. But you think I can find sites that have a variety of paper piecing templates? At my cost? Free?

Know I can’t remember if I read it somewhere (so if I did, thank you for the idea!), or if I was actually brilliant enough to come up with the idea myself. (highly unlikely) So here it is: use coloring pages as your paper piecing template. A coloring page with lots of big open spaces would probably be a good way to keep your sanity in tacked.

Brilliant, isn’t it? You start with a base color, hopefully a color that the majority of the item is going to be. You trace the object on to your page and cut it out. You can use a light box or a window on a sunny day. If the page is too dark to see through, put the coloring page on top of the colored paper and using a pencil, trace along the lines on the coloring page. This will leave an indentation on the cardstock underneath. Then you can just over these indents with your pencil again. Now you can cut out your shape.

Now comes the tricky part. You need to trace all the smaller areas onto other colors of papers, cut them out and glue to this base color. For example: if you have a cartoon character you are working on, say Pablo (see picture), I started with blue. Then I traced out his tummy. But then I needed a blue bow tie, so I went back to my blue and cut that out and glued it on top of the yellow. I used a black marker to make outlines on the pieces and to draw in the lines that were originally on the coloring page. (see the foot?)

If you need to attach two pieces of paper together, you’ll need to make sure you leave some overhang where you can glue and attach the two pieces. Like the hat. I cut out the hat along the top, but left about an inch on the bottom so I could line up the hat perfectly with the head but still have some paper to put glue on to attach to the head.

(I sure hope all this is making sense) So give it a try! I know you won’t regret it.

Vellum… a girl’s best, err, second best friend.

Have you come to appreciate the full potential of vellum? Maybe not? I know I’m still learning tricks every day. Vellum, if used properly can be the best way to sneak in that extra something to your layout.

I love the way Vellum can allow you to add titles or journaling to your layout without completely hiding your beautiful background. There are many times I buy a page just because it’s so beautiful and I have a hard time covering it up, even if it’s to add a picture of my kids. So why would I want to clutter it up even more with titles, or journaling (as much as I might want to remember the exact details for that picture). Here’s the trick: VELLUM!

Once you’ve established the fact that you do want to use vellum, the tricky part is actually attaching it to your page. Since you can see right through it, this can be a bit of a challenge. Let me start by saying to all those who have never used vellum, regular glue, glue stick, etc just won’t cut it. Even after it dries, you can tell where you put the glue. Luckily, some brilliant person created vellum spray adhesive. If used properly, works wonderfully. I use Creative Imaginations Scrappers’ Spray. My other trick is to use brads or eyelets. That certainly does the trick. And don’t forget staples too.

Don’t get me wrong, I guess you can still use glue, double sided stickies or glue dots, but you’ll have to plan to cover it up on top to hide those spots. Try ribbons, buttons, pictures, (my chipboard letters :) I’m sure you can get pretty creative.

I’m sure you could think of some other ways of attaching the vellum, just make sure it’s sturdy.

And just on a side note, I’ve used an ink jet printer before and maybe I was in too much of a rush, but my words bleed on me since I used the adhesive spray. Maybe if I would have let my ink dry more it would not have happened to me. So please, learn from my mistakes. I also have a laser printer and love the quality it gives me (and I can use it right away too). Sure it’s only black, but hey!

So… some of the things I’ve used vellum for include (but are not limited to), making titles, journaling, using as a back ground, matting photos, and even laying the vellum right over the photo. On a side note, vellum rips very nicely so you can get a beautiful effect doing that for a background. Just make sure you’ve got something behind it, even if it’s just plain white paper. Another thing I’ve done which I just love is putting my journaling overtop of a picture. For a wedding page, I printed my wedding poem on white vellum and laid it over a picture of my wedding flowers. Just lovely!

And just remember, vellum doesn't just come in white, there's a variety of colors. So go ahead, give it a try!

Decorating Acrylic or Transparency Embellishments

Have you heard about the latest trend? Acrylic books and embellishments. Apparently they’re all the rage. But after playing with them a bit, I can understand why. You still get to use all your favourite techniques for decorating, but you can leave blank space on your page so you can peak through to the pages behind that one. What a brilliant idea!

So just like any scrapbook layout, you can use the following:

• Paper – cardstock and patterned paper
• Glitter
• Prima Flowers
• Ribbons
• Stamps and stamping ink ( Use Stazon ink, dye based inks will not work with acrylic)
• Rub-ons
• Stickers and other adhesive embelishments
• Bling
• Chipboard letters and other décor
• Paint
• Permanent markers (ie. Sharpies)
• Transparencies

Here are a few tips I’ve found on the internet:

1. Go easy on the glue. You’ll be able to see it if you use too much.
   If you’re making a book, make little windows to peak through to the next page. Adds a great layered affect.
2. Try out other things besides just paper – allows for more room to peak through on your page. Try your stamps!
3. You don’t have to use a lot of embellishments as you can see the ones on the other pages peeking through. Consider the layout of each page before attaching an embellishment.
4. Print your pictures out so they are all the same size and put them back to back on the same page so you are not restricted to having to place embellishments on the other side to hide the back of the picture.
5. If you’re attaching transparent embellishments to a layout, you’ll have to be creative with how you attach it. Try using brads, eyelets, string (thread), ribbons, or cover up your adhesive you used by placing something over top of that spot. (ie. Prima flower, button, sticker)

Most importantly, experiment and have fun!

Decorating Plain Chipboard

How did I make it to this point, you ask? Well, let me lay all the blame on Catherine. Yes, if she had never started selling those lovely chipboard letters of hers, I would have never come this far. First it started off with those dazzling glittered letters she makes. Then when she made her naked chipboard letters available, I just had to give it a try myself. Sure I’ve experimented and tried out a few different things, and have found a few techniques I absolutely love, but to quote the lady herself:

“NAKED Chipboard Letters: Paint them, sand them, chalk them, ink them, stamp them, color them, doodle on them, cover them with paper...”

The first few times I’ve used plain chipboard, I’ve painted them with acrylic paint, applied a coat of my favourite Stickles color (sparkles), then just to make sure everything stayed in place, I added a glossy coat of Mod-Podge. It was love at first sight. Sure it took me a bit of time. It was more of a multi-stage process that spanned over 2 days, but in the end, it was well worth the effort. What better way is there then to get the exact color of letters you need for your layout?!?

Besides, with such a beautiful face going on my layout, only the best would do.

Although I haven’t dared tackle any tags, my head swirls with thoughts of adding fancy ribbons, prima flowers, paint, brads and of course, some glitter.

I know there are a lot of other chipboard items out there and I have to get myself into it gently otherwise I might lock myself away for a few days and my family will never see me while I experiment on everything. Tag books, bookmarks, chipboard albums… the list goes on and on.

So thanks a lot Catherine, for turning me into a chipboard addict.

Got any other ideas for decorating plain chipboard? I would love to hear them!

Happy Scrapbooking!

Pretty, Pretty Scalloped Edge

Have you been admiring those pretty cardstock pages that come with scalloped edges? Love the look but not crazy about the price? Ok, ok, I know nothing beats the real thing, but in a fix, how about giving this a try.

If you have a large corner punch, you’re ready to go. The larger, the better, but any size will work. Along the bottom of the punch is a plastic guide that holds the corner of the page in place. You need to remove it gently. Mine came off quite easily, and don’t worry, it goes back on again once you’re done playing. (talk about adding value to a punch)

So anyhow, once you have this guide off, you can use it to make rounded edges all the way down the page. When I first read about this technique, they suggested drawing a line to follow. My punch only let my page slip the page in so far so I found it quite easy to slide it along the page edge and punch away. You just have to make sure that each half circle is touching. It may take a bit of practise and the corners where a challenge at first, but give it a try and you’ll be happy you did!

And since you can make your own, you’re not limited to just cardstock! Try it out on that yummy patterned paper you just bought.

Happy Scrapbooking!

Tie It Up

Maybe one of the more simple products to use, it’s versatility and low price point make this embellishment a favourite among scrapbookers. Clueless? I’m talking about ribbon. Use it to make a statement, or add a bit of flair to your page. Sure, you could invest in the specialty scrapbooking ribbon that comes decorated with sayings and cute little images, or you can also hit your local crafting store when they’re having their 3 for $1 save and stock up. (just remember to make sure it’s acid free, otherwise just make sure your ribbon is not laying over top of your photos) Ribbon comes in so many colors, textures and widths, the possibilities are limitless. If there’s something missing from my layout, I always whip out my boxes of ribbon and I’m sure to find the finishing touch I need.

Some ideas for using ribbon include (but are not limited to):

• Tie ribbon around embellishments or tags for a finishing touch
• Bows not an option on that layout for your husband? Use ribbon to tie knots!
• Layer your background with ribbons for a woven effect instead of using patterned paper
• Words can also be printed on ribbon for an extra special effect.
• Tie your cardstock or patterned paper together with ribbon to create a show lace pattern on your page
• Use ribbon to create a frame around your whole layout or individual photos
• Or simply run a strip of ribbon across your page.
• Silk ribbon adds a beautiful touch to that special baby, wedding or little girl page
• Don’t limit yourself to just one ribbon to a page, got crazy!

So now that you’ve got a few ideas, crack out that ribbon and get a little knotty!

Happy Scrapbooking!

Sew Much Fun

Ok, so this technique may be a bit time consuming, but the results are so worth the effort.
As I say, nothing ever worth having ever comes easy. Unless you’ve got a horse shoe somewhere. But anyhow. I LOVE the look of stitches on my pages. And it also keeps things attached too. (smile)

But before you just start stitching, it might be good to have a plan first. Attach everything to your layout the way you want it. Next, you’ll want to decide what type of stitch you would like to do. If you’ve cross stitched, I’m sure you’ll know the different types of stitches, but for me, I just stick with the simple ones. But for me, I’m quite happy with the zig zag stitch (if that’s even what it’s called – see picture) and what they call a Back Stitch.

If you have an idea of what you want it to look like, you can just pick up your needle and embroidery floss and get started, or you can use a paper piercer and make the holes before you start stitching with needle and thread. I’ve always used embroidery floss, but I’m sure you can use just about anything you could thread your needle with: regular thread, wool, thin ribbon, etc.

Take your time, and don’t pull too hard if you get tangled up. You are only sewing paper BTW. So grab a nice cup of tea, curl up on the couch and sew away. Just don’t let your husband see you, otherwise he might try bring you his socks that have holes in them. This is so much more fun.

One trick I like to use to get started and to finish… I leave an inch or so of extra floss at the ends and tape them down. As long as you don’t pull too hard, this should hold everything in place quite nicely.

You can sew just about anything to your layout: charms, buttons, ribbons, paper, etc.
So give it a try, I promise you’ll love the outcome.

Happy Scrapbooking!

P.S. If you like my "Sweet Princess" title, you should check out the rest of the goodies you can find at this website.

Bling, Bling!

My latest discover combines 3 of my favorite scrapbooking embellishments. How sweet is that?

As soon as I was introduced to Prima flowers, I was hooked. For that matter, I've managed to get all my friends hooked on these delightful goodies. What better way to attach these flowers then with brads? Ok, ok, but let's take it one step further. Sure these little beauties bring any layout to the next level, but what if we added just a hint of GLITTER! Yes, just by applying the tiniest amout of glitter glue to the brad and petals. My favorite is Stickles. I have many different colors but if you get an irridecent or crystal, you can apply it to any layout for a beautiful finish.

You don't need alot, so a small bottle does last you a long time. And you're not just limited to dressing up your flowers. Try it out on plain shape cut outs to add a shimmer to any layout.

Tip & Techniques

Let me first start off by saying I am no pro so do not take this as text book material. Any tips or techniques I post are from personal experience, and of course everyone has different ways of doing things.

If you would like to add any of your own tips, or would like to “modify” one posted here, please let me know.


Attaching chipboard letters to your layout.

When I first tried my hand at chipboard letters I was CLUELESS! As with many things…

My favourite? Glue dots! They’ve actually become something of an addiction now. They make ANYTHING stick to your page. Metal embellishments, ribbon, chipboard letters… just a fair warning… once they are on your page, they do not come off. And they are a bit tricky to position, but once you get the hang of it, they’re a scrapbooker’s bestfriend. They also leave a bit of a bevel in material that’s not very stiff (i.e. you may see it underneath your ribbon)

Glue dots come in a variety of sizes and they also come in strips.

Happy Scrapbooking!