Friends, please come find me on my new WordPress blog here: http://fromhomewithlove.wordpress.com/
There are weekly updates, if not more, and it's easier for me to keep up with just the one. Thank you!
12.23.2011
1.28.2010
New BlueMedia Contest!
Are you obsessed with sketches? Love the Blueprints series? For all you sketch-crazed scrappers out there, this will be a fun one. This is a brand new Blueprint from Amy Elkins!
What can you do to make this Blueprint your own? We'd love to see!
Here are the rules of the February Featured Artist contest:
Submit your best un-published layout using THIS MONTHS new Layout Blueprint. Layouts may be any theme, any page size, and either one or two page. Please specify "February Blueprint" in your email subject line. Submit them by February 28, 2010 to bluemediasubs@gmail.com. Please note this email is ONLY for submittals, not for general questions, information, customer service, orders, or wholesale.
The BlueMedia editorial staff will choose an artist from the submittals to be our Featured Artist. The Featured Artist will be contacted and asked a few brief questions about themselves, and have their artwork and a brief About Me article featured on our blog for the following month. They will also receive a special surprise gift package of great product from our ever-supportive wholesalers.
What can you do to make this Blueprint your own? We'd love to see!
Here are the rules of the February Featured Artist contest:
Submit your best un-published layout using THIS MONTHS new Layout Blueprint. Layouts may be any theme, any page size, and either one or two page. Please specify "February Blueprint" in your email subject line. Submit them by February 28, 2010 to bluemediasubs@gmail.com. Please note this email is ONLY for submittals, not for general questions, information, customer service, orders, or wholesale.
The BlueMedia editorial staff will choose an artist from the submittals to be our Featured Artist. The Featured Artist will be contacted and asked a few brief questions about themselves, and have their artwork and a brief About Me article featured on our blog for the following month. They will also receive a special surprise gift package of great product from our ever-supportive wholesalers.
1.27.2010
Organizing to Save Money
We've all done it, bought that "must have" embellishment only to stash it somewhere really special and uncover it years later, having forgotten where we stashed it. Supplies aren't cheap, and keeping them organized can help you use them better, and more often.
Years ago I found a great system for myself, and have had much better luck using my stash because of it. I can't say the same system will work for everyone, but there are some guiding priciples that can help us all to stay organized, and keep us from buying the same thing over and over only to find we had it already.
The keys to great scrapping organization are Visibility, Portability, and Accessability.
Let's first talk about assessing your personal organizational needs. Start with a few simple questions:
- What kind of scrapper are you? Do you use lots of embellishments, paint, stamps, inks, etc.? Or do you like to keep things simpler?
If you answered that you use lots of embellishments, you'll want to find a system that will keep your embellishments easily accessible, and always in sight. If you use other mediums in your scrapbook like paints, inks, and stamps, you will need storage for those items that allows you to search them - probably by color. Those things don't necessarily have to be visible to remember to use them. Those items tend to be something you will use regardless, but accessability and portability may be important.
I used to keep my pages very simple, mostly just paper, because it was a hassle for me to find anything else. But I found that organizing all my embellishments into a system that allowed me to see everything I had made me more likely to use more embellishments. Now I can easily find a trinket or two that I may not have used before.
- Do you often travel with your scrapbooking supplies? To retreats? To crops?
Because I travel a lot and take my scrapbooking with me, I chose a system that would easily travel with me. I chose the ScrapRack because it suited my needs of portability, visibility, and accessability. I keep a small amount of each embellishment I have in my ScrapRack pages, and the rest in backstock if I have that much of it. It breaks down easily into rubbermaid tubs to take to retreats. I only take certain "spinders" if I'm going to a short crop, though.
- Are you a pre-planner? Do you pre-plan pages to take with you to these retreats and crops? Or are you more comfortable taking everything you own with you? (like me!)
I'm not a pre-planner like some. I have to have everything around me for inspiration while I'm scrapping. But if you're able to pre-plan, kudos to you! You'll have less to travel with. But are you able to find things when you're doing the planning? Make sure you have your supplies visible, and accessible so that you can make them portable in your pre-planning.
And if you're like me, and have to take it all along, you've got a bigger job in front of you. See the next step.
- How do you search your supplies? Meaning, when you're doing a page do you look for embellishments by color, brand, theme, type, or style?
This may be the real key to your personal organization style. I personally organize by both color, and theme. Most of my embellies are done by color, all organized into my lovely ScrapRack where I can easily see and access them. Things that have themes are separated into several categories that I developed over the years that work for me. Alphabets, for instance, have thier own binder spine in my rack. Yes, I'm an alpha-junkie. Other things like sports, outdoors, birthdays, holidays, baby, and other themes are divided and marked as their own sections. I find it makes things easier on me when I'm working on a page to just flip to a theme or a color and see what I have that I can use.
So, when I'm working on a boys soccer page that is brown, green, and blue, I may start by flipping to "Sports/soccer" and seeing what I can use from that section. Then I will flip to the color sections to see what else I can add.
It has worked well for me, and in the long run has saved me from wasting money on those "must haves" and losing them in the vortex of my craft room. Now, when I spend money on those items, I know where they are, remember I have them, and actually USE them.
So, when designing your personal organizational system keep in mind the key factors; Visibility (so that you won't forget what you have, and will actually use it), Accessability (so that it's easy to find and use), and Portability (if you're traveling to any crops or retreats).
I'll be posting more tips on organization in the future.
Here is a pic of the first part of the "red" section of my overstuffed and much loved ScrapRack just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. Love all those little flapped plastic pouch pages.
Years ago I found a great system for myself, and have had much better luck using my stash because of it. I can't say the same system will work for everyone, but there are some guiding priciples that can help us all to stay organized, and keep us from buying the same thing over and over only to find we had it already.
The keys to great scrapping organization are Visibility, Portability, and Accessability.
Let's first talk about assessing your personal organizational needs. Start with a few simple questions:
- What kind of scrapper are you? Do you use lots of embellishments, paint, stamps, inks, etc.? Or do you like to keep things simpler?
If you answered that you use lots of embellishments, you'll want to find a system that will keep your embellishments easily accessible, and always in sight. If you use other mediums in your scrapbook like paints, inks, and stamps, you will need storage for those items that allows you to search them - probably by color. Those things don't necessarily have to be visible to remember to use them. Those items tend to be something you will use regardless, but accessability and portability may be important.
I used to keep my pages very simple, mostly just paper, because it was a hassle for me to find anything else. But I found that organizing all my embellishments into a system that allowed me to see everything I had made me more likely to use more embellishments. Now I can easily find a trinket or two that I may not have used before.
- Do you often travel with your scrapbooking supplies? To retreats? To crops?
Because I travel a lot and take my scrapbooking with me, I chose a system that would easily travel with me. I chose the ScrapRack because it suited my needs of portability, visibility, and accessability. I keep a small amount of each embellishment I have in my ScrapRack pages, and the rest in backstock if I have that much of it. It breaks down easily into rubbermaid tubs to take to retreats. I only take certain "spinders" if I'm going to a short crop, though.
- Are you a pre-planner? Do you pre-plan pages to take with you to these retreats and crops? Or are you more comfortable taking everything you own with you? (like me!)
I'm not a pre-planner like some. I have to have everything around me for inspiration while I'm scrapping. But if you're able to pre-plan, kudos to you! You'll have less to travel with. But are you able to find things when you're doing the planning? Make sure you have your supplies visible, and accessible so that you can make them portable in your pre-planning.
And if you're like me, and have to take it all along, you've got a bigger job in front of you. See the next step.
- How do you search your supplies? Meaning, when you're doing a page do you look for embellishments by color, brand, theme, type, or style?
This may be the real key to your personal organization style. I personally organize by both color, and theme. Most of my embellies are done by color, all organized into my lovely ScrapRack where I can easily see and access them. Things that have themes are separated into several categories that I developed over the years that work for me. Alphabets, for instance, have thier own binder spine in my rack. Yes, I'm an alpha-junkie. Other things like sports, outdoors, birthdays, holidays, baby, and other themes are divided and marked as their own sections. I find it makes things easier on me when I'm working on a page to just flip to a theme or a color and see what I have that I can use.
So, when I'm working on a boys soccer page that is brown, green, and blue, I may start by flipping to "Sports/soccer" and seeing what I can use from that section. Then I will flip to the color sections to see what else I can add.
It has worked well for me, and in the long run has saved me from wasting money on those "must haves" and losing them in the vortex of my craft room. Now, when I spend money on those items, I know where they are, remember I have them, and actually USE them.
So, when designing your personal organizational system keep in mind the key factors; Visibility (so that you won't forget what you have, and will actually use it), Accessability (so that it's easy to find and use), and Portability (if you're traveling to any crops or retreats).
I'll be posting more tips on organization in the future.
Here is a pic of the first part of the "red" section of my overstuffed and much loved ScrapRack just to give you an idea of what I'm talking about. Love all those little flapped plastic pouch pages.
1.02.2010
New BlueMedia Contest!
This is from the BlueMedia blog at http://layoutblueprints.blogspot.com
With the New Year comes a new series of contests! BlueMedia is happy to announce a new Featured Artist contest. Submit your layouts for review, and win a guest spot as a Featured Artist on our blog!
RULES:
Submit your best THREE un-published layouts using any of the Layout Blueprints from book one or two. Layouts may be any theme, any size, and either one or two page. Please specify the Blueprint book and page used as reference. Submit them by January 31, 2010 to bluemediasubs@gmail.com. Please note this email is ONLY for submittals, not for general questions, information, customer service, orders, or wholesale.
The BlueMedia editorial staff will choose an artist from the submittals to be our Featured Artist. The Featured Artist will be contacted and asked a few brief questions about themselves, and have their artwork and a brief About Me article featured on our blog for the following month.
With the New Year comes a new series of contests! BlueMedia is happy to announce a new Featured Artist contest. Submit your layouts for review, and win a guest spot as a Featured Artist on our blog!
RULES:
Submit your best THREE un-published layouts using any of the Layout Blueprints from book one or two. Layouts may be any theme, any size, and either one or two page. Please specify the Blueprint book and page used as reference. Submit them by January 31, 2010 to bluemediasubs@gmail.com. Please note this email is ONLY for submittals, not for general questions, information, customer service, orders, or wholesale.
The BlueMedia editorial staff will choose an artist from the submittals to be our Featured Artist. The Featured Artist will be contacted and asked a few brief questions about themselves, and have their artwork and a brief About Me article featured on our blog for the following month.
12.19.2009
Reunited
Recently, thanks to Facebook, I was reunited with a long lost friend from high school. It had been about 13 years since we'd been in contact, and even longer since we'd seen eachother. When we found out that we lived in the same state, there was no question that we had to find a way to get together.
We met half way for lunch and a visit that lasted about 3 hours. It felt like we had never been apart. It was so great to see her, and wonderful to catch up on what the last decade plus had held for each of us. It was a reunion well worth the drive, and I'm looking forward to seeing her again.
4.15.2009
Macky Cheese Please!
Last night I made mac and cheese for Wyatt for dinner, with the intention that he would most likely need a bath afterward. So I left him to his own devices while I tended to my homemade chicken soup in the kitchen. When he was done he let me know by banging on his tray. So I go into the dining room to find him, coated in cheese sauce, and happy as a clam. I started laughing so hard that he started laughing. Until his eyes started to seal shut. That's when I had to compose myself and get him into the tub. It took forever to get it out of his eyelashes, nostrils, ears, hair and every other crack and crevice he could reach. He still smells like cheese sauce, but at least I think I got it all.
2.13.2009
More Scrapbooking for Me!
I managed to get a few more pages done in the past couple weeks. I'm very happy with them. And this weekend I'm escaping for a whole weekend to scrap with all my friends! Marc and Wyatt are having a boys weekend at home. How nice for me! I'm really looking forward to having some time for myself that I can devote to scrapping and feel like I've accomplished something.
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