Joyful Scraps

Tip # 31 its time

Well today is the 31st of May and so brings the close to our daily tips, we hope that you have found them helpful, and maybe even inspiring or just given you a laugh.

So we leave you with a very important tip, its all about time.

Tip # 31- make time to scrapbook.

We have spoken about guilt free scraping, making sure that the chores are done first. We have spoken about how scrapbooking can be a kind of therapy and about bringing your craft into your daily life so that it can inspire you.

And now we are talking about time, does it mean get a day set aside to scrap? well if you can manage that then more power to you! Realistically though you will probably find that this craft is fitted around other things, and i must admit that is one of the reasons I love it so much - I can walk away and then come back, again and again.

Making time probably means working out what is going to work for you and the people who share your life. I am lucky enough to have a dedicated scrapbook table and a corner of a room. I have the table set up so that I can see the tv and it is adjacent to the kitchen, so more oft than not you will find me watching the news, cooking dinner and scrapbooking. This works for me, and the people I share with don't complain too loudly so I take it that it works for them.

Once a week I try to set aside a block of time to scrap the pages for my classes. The finishing touches happen during the news, cooking etc. What I haven't yet worked out how to do is make the time to clean up my scrap area and it often looks like a hurricane has hit...

Going to classes is another good way to make sure you are taking the time to scrap and learning new techniques along the way.

Wether you can find 5 minutes, an hour or a day each week, set it aside and mark it as your time, after all you are worth it!
Hugs
L

Tip #30 - Glazed looks

No, not the ones your husband gives you when you start talking scrapbooking...the other ones that look professional and slick.

I have stated before that I LUV chipboard and in addition to colouring raw chipboard (see tip#15 ) I also love to top it off with a glaze. there are a few products that are very similar- diamond Glaze, Glossy Accents and Dimensional Magic are the ones that leap straight to mind. What they all have in common is that they give a professional finish to lots of things.

I use it on my chipboard all the time, but you can also go over stickers with it as well to create an epoxy look. It can be used on paper flowers to make them look like they are enameled. It also makes a terrific adhesive for metal embellishments.

(note: bubbles may be "removed with a pin or needle swirled through the glaze before drying, which is what I did after I took the photo)

All in all a very useful "must-have" in the scrap cupboard.

TTFN

xxpeabee

Tip # 29 Scrapbooking is cheaper than therapy

Ok well this tip might just depend on how much you spend on your stash and what the going rate of therapy is in your part of the world. But lets face it if you do something that makes you happy you will feel happier.

Scrapbooking is also such a great way to process all of those events that make up life, the good the bad and the down right ugly.

One of the things that I have noticed that I do when I am feeling down,is grab an album and sit and look through the pages, it reminds me of why I am a mum, how I became to be the person I am and along the way those issues that have been nagging at me, no longer seem so overwhelming.

Now even though our photo today is a bit tongue in cheek the tip is serious, let your scrapbooks tell your stories and be your therapy. At least this way you have something tangible to show for it.

Hugs

L

Tip #28 - Get the kids involved

I know that not everyone has kids that scrapbook, so don't think I am being biased towards mums, because I am sure we all have a child somewhere close by, whether it is a neighbor, a grandchild, a nephew or niece, I am sure we all know some child that would love to get creative.

Both my girls dabble in scrapbooking, one more than the other, but I find it is a great way to spend time with them and also to talk about the photos and our family.

The funny thing is that my oldest (the one not so into scrapbooking) in her last year of Primary school had to do an assignment on herself and she chose to do an album.

We went through all the photos I could find of her and she chose which ones she wanted to use. I gave her (limited) free reign in my stash and let her go. She planned it out, so she knew what she wanted on each page and made it logical. She typed up her own journaling and printed it out and each and every layout is her very own creation with (virtually) no help from me....and she is the one that isn't as keen to scrap, but she now has a treasured keepsake forever.

and this just choked me right up.

TTFN

xxpeabee

Tip # 27 Chocolate stamping

Really is there anything nicer than spending time scrapbooking with chocolate on the side? (ok maybe ther are some things LOL!) Well today's tip is one that cracks the girls in my class up, but I will let you into the secret as well. I have a weakness for Ferrero Rocher chocolates, so my kids will buy me the ones in the clear perspex containers for birthdays, mothers day, when he had totally lost his school blazer etc etc. And I not only love the chocolates but then you have these cute clear little boxes perfect for putting embellishments, stamps etc in.

So here is the secret sometimes when I am scraping I just can't be bothered to go and find my stamp block, or another stamp block if I am doing double ups. And so I found that the lid of the chocolate box is just perfect for putting your stamps on...

As you can see with chocolates at your elbow you don't even have to get up, you can just keep on stamping!

Hugs
L

Lucky door prize winner

Well we are just back from a fabulous weekend away, we scrapbooked, laughed to the point of tears, ate way to much chocolate and had such fun. I still haven't unpacked my car properly yet and am still trying to catch up on all that I missed while I was away , you know how it is. But this morning I received such a lovely email from one of the girls that I thought I would share it, it relates really well to tip # 24

Hi everyone my name is Avie and I am the lucky door recipient of this lovely storage idea called Lazy Letters.

 What an absolutely fabulous idea! I am shocked at how much each little storage container can actually hold.

It will take chipboard letters up to 6cm or 2.5inches tall. I have taken some photo's to show you what it looks like filled with my chipboard letter's.

I have also taken photo's of how each container unclips into seperate little containers.

You can take all your letter's with you wherever you go to scrap. I am absolutely amazed at how many letter's it holds. So far I have filled them with 456 letters of the alphabet! I promise you I am not lying and I have more room for more letters.  Having all your letter's together and being able to take them with you where ever you go because it is so easy in the special carry case is just fantastic.
 
So if you wish to buy one then believe me it is so very much worth every penny. I'm sure Leanne would be more than happy to have them ordered in for you if you wish to buy one for yourselves.

Wow what a great spiel on this product, I did only get this in as a lucky door prize but if people wish to purchase one, just send me an email only to happy to oblige.

And thank you Avie, it is so great to get feedback on products! Enjoy
hugs
L

Tip # 26 create a shadow

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Well while I don't want you standing in your own sunshine, I do want to tell you about creating a shadow. Why? because it is a quick way to add some depth to your layouts.

There are a couple of ways to add shadows, firstly you can lift things off your pages, use foam tape or chipboard with magic mount. Add elements that have dimension such as buttons and bows.

But how about a way to add a shadow without adding extra bulk, well here is a little trick that came from Heidi Swapp, can you tell I really liked her tips?

Take a light grey pen and draw a shadow around your letters...

As you can see you just choose one side of the letter and draw in a shadow. It helps to Anchor the letter to the page while adding depth at the same time.

Some other ideas for adding a shadow are to punch twice, see the above butterfly, by punching it out twice I gave it dimension, the first one is stuck down flat then the next one is added on top. Or try stamping twice, or even stamping and then punching out the shape.

Once you get started you can see lots of possibilities for adding shadows

Hugs
L

Tip # 25 - Fake it!

I love to stitch on my pages, but sometimes it is just too much trouble to get out the sewing machine and go for it. If this is something that you like the look of and are a bit hesitant to try it, then you have some options for faking it.

There are lots of stamps out there that have different stitched looks to them and unless you look very closely it is hard to distinguish from the real thing.

Draw a fine line in pencil (if making a fancy design with a template) or just use a ruler and punch with either a paper piercer or a drawing pin at even intervals, then take a pen and make sure the tip falls into each hole and lightly draw to the next one for a faux straight stitch.

To create a cross stitch it's easy with a pen- just mark a cross along the edge of your paper at even intervals and there you have it.

Happy "sewing"

TTFN

xxpeabee

Tip #24 - Know your ABC's

We mentioned in an earlier post about setting your stash free but one thing we didn't mention was your alphabets - 'cos they are worthy of their own post.

I think I have also mentioned my love affair with raw chipboard..so this ties in to that also.

When I use a chipboard alphabet on a layout I tend to then take the remains from the packaging and sort them in my alpha drawer. This means that when you run out of a particular letter (namely those pesky vowels) you can substitute for another font or size. This really does get the best use of your stash and lets face it there are plenty of layouts that just call for mismatched lettering to add a bit of playfulness to it. We can't be formal & stuffy all the time.

This tip really only works with the non adhesive type for obvious reasons, but I chuck in coloured ones with my raw too as they are easy enough to sand back & recolour.

TTFN

xxpeabee

Tip #23 - Spares

This may seem a bit obvious, but I always try & have spare batteries and memory cards for my camera - (if you still do film , then it would be spare film & batteries). They don't take up much space as everything seems to be getting smaller these days, they take up even less space than they used to.

My camera goes with me everywhere, because I have on several occasions regretted not taking it with me and something memorable happens and I just kick myself.

I have also found on other kickable occasions an absence of spare batteries and missing out on once in a lifetime shots because of it (my daughter's end of primary school walk out for example - a milestone that will go undocumented because I didn't realise that it was running low- insert swearing here).

Then there is the time that I thought my memory card had plenty of space, but in reality didn't and there goes the winning goal - undocumented!

Can you see where I am going with this....boy scouts have it well said "be prepared".

TTFN

xxpeabee