Back to the Scrap Corner

After a long break from the scrap world, I've finally found my mojo again. And all it took was a few hundred pictures from my trip to Italy.

Last May, we upgraded to a bigger condo, and in it was a perfect little corner for me to build an all-new scrap area. The laundry room I used in the last place didn't work out as well as I hoped...it ended up being more of a storage closet than a scrap space, and part of what dampened my mojo was having to keep running back and forth from the laundry room to the kitchen table and then back again...and nothing ever got put back where it was supposed to go.

The wonderful thing about the new scrap corner is it's quite separated from the rest of the living room, and I can keep it a perpetual scrapmess without having to worry about it offending anyone. As a scrapper you learn with each time you reorganize your scrap space, and I think I have a pretty good idea what works best for me now, so even though it's not a big space by any standard, I have still been able to create 14 pages there without having to clean up after myself.

Here's some pics!



I couldn't fit in all the wall boxes from my old space, but am making better use of the ones I did keep. The long box closer to the desk is great for keeping things close at hand but not buried, like my paper trimmer. It's also great for keeping a cup of coffee within arm's reach. I can also reach my tool drawer chest, where most of my embellishments are kept, without having to climb on anything. Ink, adhesive and stamps go in the square space, the rest of my plastic containers fit nicely underneath the desk, along with my 3-drawer unit which I use for projects in progress and Christmas pages.



This desktop and paper tower were my own creation, put mostly together from scraps I found on the curb. The shelves in the paper tower are the wire squares that used to form my old paper storage cube, only with a wooden frame around them they hold their shape much nicer now. I also made them wider apart as my paper collection has increased. I keep them all in extra large Ziploc bags so scraps can be kept with their proper collection. The desktop I had cut at the hardware store to fit exactly into the space, with the paper tower as its support. Getting it in was a challenge.



My Ikea wire thingies have made a comeback for large photos, magazines, and some of my cross stitching stuff. The homemade "clip-it-up"s were one thing that worked out well from the last space so I made more of them for the new space. Yes, that's all my ribbon in tiny bags. I don't know how this will work out yet, but so far I haven't found an efficient way to store the stuff so it's worth a try. The white shelf I made again from scraps from the curb. It helps when your neighbours are renovating.



It's hard to see, but the 2 smaller squares on the wall I just filled with little plastic 3-drawer units which are great for storing embellishments that don't fit in the tool chest like big flowers, chipboard pieces and my massive collection of My Mind's Eye transparencies and die-cuts.



This is my scrap corner from the stairway. You can see there's a rail on one side, and a window on the other, so even though it's a small area it seems spacious.

Eventually I may repaint the area and hang a few more lights, but it's still pretty soon after we moved in and there's time yet to think of that. So far it has been a very usable space for me and when a small space is organized well, it can be easier to use than a large one because you can reach everything. And for me, that's a big deal.

It's That Time Again...

August. I wonder if that means summer will finally start. I swear, we must have switched summers with BC this year. Or South Korea. Seriously, this is nuts.

This is the time of year when for some unexplained reason, I always get the craving to scrap Christmas pages. I got 4 done in the last week! With holidays, trying to keep The Boy entertained all day, and worrying about whether I'm picking up enough shifts, I'm amazed there's been any time for scrapping at all. Yet this is what I feel like scrapping.



There are so many gorgeous Christmas themed scrapping supplies out there...who says you only have to use them in December? Or January, for that matter...I have to wonder about that. I think LSS's should promote Christmas products in January, since that's really when we'd be scrapping our Christmas photos, isn't it? Oh well, that's just my 2 cents.



So I got talked into picking up some Glimmer Mist the other week there. The woman in the LSS was all excited about getting it in, saying it had already been selling out pretty fast, and my friend was all over it too. It just looks so swirly and hypnotic in that little bottle, doesn't it? Anyway, I tried it and wasn't that impressed. It does look lovely on raw chipboard, but so far that's the ONLY thing it works on. It won't stick to anything the least bit shiny, and curls paper and cardstock. If you're a big fan of chipboard and sparkly, this is your product. I just wish it worked on a wider range of stuff.

Kit Krazy

I've been having so much fun making up my own scrapbook kits! I have 6 made so far, two each of three different sets that are actually quite similar now that I look at them:







I'm working on a 4th right now, a more boyish-themed one since that's really my area. These 3 were mostly inspired by embellishments I've been hoarding. I tried my best to co-ordinate the papers and keep to one page per company per kit. Sort of a personal challenge since it's so easy to use all papers from the same line.

So I finished up the last few albums from Buffalo, and have made some serious headway on my Florida album. My new scrapping goal for the summer is to do more pages just for fun, as opposed to just for a challenge I've created, or to use up pictures I'm stuck on. Well, okay, this isn't really a new goal. I guess it's always a desire of mine. I guess what I'm saying is now that I'm caught up, I'm ready to go back to scrapping whatever I want whenever I feel so inspired.

I've also been pondering the idea of submitting pages, and whether it's something I'm going to continue doing. In one class at CKC, the teacher confirmed that how recent your products are does matter when submitting. Last year's stuff would "probably" be ok, but anything older and magazines won't really be interested, since they want to showcase the newer items. Considering it is a business with products to sell, it makes sense, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed. I could care less what year my stuff was created, as long as it goes with my pictures. I've never once made the decision to use one product over the other based on which one was newer, it's all about what goes best with my creative vision. However I can accept that magazines do have certain objectives, and that's fine. I just don't plan to make any changes to my scrap habits in order to conform to their rules. I don't throw out last year's clothes when the new spring fashions come out, neither will I stop using Chameleon alphas and Basic Grey Blitzen paper because they came out 3 years ago. I just won't submit those pages.

On a slightly related note, I have decided to try something new on my blog. Just like everyone, I love patterned paper, but there are a few lines that just really do it for me. So I've decided to celebrate those lines by showcasing all the things I've done with them in my blog. This week I wanna start with what has been my favourite since I first saw it over a year ago: Cosmo Cricket Halfway Cafe. It goes with my picture like my son goes with cars. In fact, all the papers in this boyish line are named after cities from the song Route 66. Which, of course, my son adores thanks to Disney/Pixar.

Scraplifted from a SUV ad:


My son's first sarcastic comment:


Little known Antonio facts:


Did I mention this paper is totally Antonio?


A Christmas present for my dad:


Here's my latest one:

On a roll!

I can't believe it's tomorrow. June 27, 2008...me & DH's 10 freakin' year anniversary!!! Isn't that just crazy??? I don't wanna say something cheesy like "where did the time go" but seriously...sometimes I think the only difference between me and my cousins are memories of the 1980's out of diapers.

So I have no idea what we're doing tomorrow...we're doing SOMEthing...but I'm not allowed to know what. All I have to go by is a note in my Sanity Saver written in his handwriting that says "Be ready for anything by 3pm. No shifts till Saturday." I'm excited...but yeah, I'm nervous too. Partially because I'm in the dark, partially because I haven't had a good night to work on his anniversary gift yet. He's going out later tonight...I better get a move on!!!

So anyway, I've been making my best effort at the annual stay-at-home-mom venture while DS is home from school while dealing with my newfound scrap momentum by 1) working on my Florida album and 2) finishing some old projects (and of course my Buffalo pages). Here's what I've accomplished so far:


"1, 2, 3, 4X6"


"Latest & Greatest With Basic Grey"


"Latest & Greatest With Basic Grey"


"Scheming Around"


"Scheming Around"


"Playful Pages"


"Scheming Around"


"1, 2, 3, 4X6"


An unfinished object from last year

I also did a couple of cool 2-pagers but I suck at taking pictures of 2-pagers, so those will have to wait. As for Florida...it's almost done except for titles, journalling and embellishments. The hard part of deciding which pics go on which pages and how, is almost over with.

Anyway I gotta cut this off as DH just took off and I gotta finish his present!!!

Buffalo Girls

This is a journey best illustrated in pictures.

Meeting the girls at Union Station

Ready to scrap

Meeting "Rod". Is this food?

Scrapping in the hotel room...why didn't we think of this last year?

They have Timmie's in the USA!

It's a little different though.

Shopping Shopping Shopping

Can you believe I had no advance notice of the colours these layouts would be? Man I'm a good guesser!

The beginning of the most gorgeous project I've ever made at CKC

The creator of said project. I'm proud to share her last name.

The Croppers

The Browsers

The Posers

Don't be fooled. Any one of these innocent looking women can and will tear your arm off for a glue stick

No one is above hiding behind a pop machine

Heading out for chocolate martinis!

I think it's sort of rhetorical to go on and on about how much fun this trip was. It's pretty obvious, I would assume. There were a few downers, such as losing a $32 bag of buttons and acrylic letters I bought in the Vendor Faire, and having my first negative alcohol experience which prevented me from joining in the fun at the Chocolate Bar on Saturday. However, there were plenty of ups, like American sizes at Tim's for Canadian prices, finding a Lightning McQueen license plate album and getting a spectacular deal on a huge box of chipboard. The projects this year were absolutely stunning, and the classes very educational. I took home a lot more than just scrap supplies. I can't wait to get some time and really make some new pages just for fun!

Gettin' Hyped

CKC Buffalo is 2 weeks away...and I've been trying to get my mojo up (and my photos printed) in preparation! Here's some Mother's Day cards:



On the downside, KC has been down again this week as they fix up a few more thingies...but on the bright side it has forced me to use a little more time for actual scrapping. I finished my Designer Original which I hope to post soon...the homepage and gallery are up but so far the forums are still down. In the meantime here's a sneak peek:



Other than that I've been working on pages for the Book Of KC Spirits Swap, which I have basically finished. They come in 4 colours. I may yet add more to them, perhaps at least the date, but I do want to keep them pretty simple. 6 X 6 fills up fast.



Now for some exciting news...I'm going to be in Canadian Scrapbooker again!!! I just submitted 4 pages for the winter call, and suddenly I get an e-mail asking for one of the pages I submitted for the fall call! Since it's part of the copyright agreement to remove it from my online galleries, I can't show you the specific one, but if you can remember, it's the one with all the shoes.



Now here's something to think about. I send them pages for every call they put out, mostly the layouts I like the best, which often are the ones I put the most time, effort and product into. Out of all those, only two have been chosen. Though quite distinct from one another, both could be described as simple, and neither use a lot of brand name product--in fact, neither use much more than multicoloured cardstock. I wonder if there's something to be learned from this?

In The Meantime....

Kindred Creations is suffering some technical difficulties right now...I try to look on the positive side and say, sometimes it has to get worse for it to get better. I know the owner is working hard to fix it and hopefully this will work out all those little bugs once and for all. What can I say...it's not like I'm a technogenius. Making this blog is the extent of my abilities. I'm just glad the KC Ideas Blog is still up...if you're of the many waiting for KC to be up and running again, why not check it out? I just made an entry last Monday!

In the world of scrapbooking, I've mainly been working on a file folder album based on my fellow KC DT member Teresa's Spirited Scrap from last month. It's about my visit last year to Penetanguishene, Ontario--the town I lived in for the first 10 years of my life. I've had the pics for a year and have been anxious to see them scrapped in their own mini album but really wanted it to be as close to perfect as possible. This was a trip with an insane amount of emotional memories, in other words the very essence of scrapbooking itself, and I want to do it justice. I use the SEI BeBop collection. Here's a sneak peek:



In the world of everything else...I'm still tired. I know I'm the one who chose to work nights, and yes, I still prefer them to days. Maybe this is a warped way of looking at it, but the way I figure, the only other thing I could be doing at night is sleeping anyway. So I may as well work, and sleep during the day--when I choose to. If I have something I need to do like go to the post office or pick up train tickets, I can work my sleep schedule around that. But if I'm working during the day, I keep thinking I could be doing other things instead. KWIM? Nonetheless I need to work on my ability to say no to overtime. I forget how much it drains me!

Here's the last layout I made:



It was for a game of Layout Tag on KC. The funny thing was the original LO was one of mine. Well, technically, it was one of Making Memories' from last year's CKC trip, but I did change it up a little.

I've also changed my scraproom to the laundry room. It may sound like a downgrade but it will be a more separated space for me to create in, and also allows me a second chance to re-think my organizational strategy now that I've seen what I have and how it needs to fit in. It also allows us to have some semblance of a peaceful bedroom setup. Here's a sneak peek:



If you've gotten this far, thanks so much for dropping by. I would love to make this blogging thing a more regular activity. Sweet dreams 8)

Something to get excited about!

Yesterday was awesome. Don decided he wanted to do his birthday lunch at the Edoko and so I met him there at 11:30...not only was lunch awesome as always (teppanyaki is my favourite!) but his lunch break coincided perfectly with the fact that I needed to be home by 1 p.m. to register for CKC Buffalo! I probably didn't blog about it then, but I went last year and had an absolute blast with 4 other girls from Scrapbook Star....


This year I really wanted to register online the moment it opened to make sure I didn't miss out on any classes. Guess it was a good call--I heard the clear album class sold out that same day, I had a feeling it would! So glad I got in!


Anyway I'm feeling much better today, even though I'm heading into another 4-day work weekend...it's all good. Gotta save up for Buffalo! I even scrapbooked this week just for fun! Here's a page I made for a member challenge at KC:
And one I made just for fun:

And a 2-pager:










Sweet Dreams!