Sunday, 29 March 2009
Helen (Enfys) for example, mentions that she journals mostly on the computer because she mostly does digi-scrapping. Now this of course, shows how secure I am in my box and how rarely I think outisde it..I hadn't even thought about digital scrapping when I asked those questions. Mind you, if you really understood quite how technologically challenged I am, this would really not be a surprise. Here's a laugh out loud example: some years ago now, after much hinting and well, whining probably, Mr Dunnit bought me an iPod for my birthday. It was a generous and expensive gift. I won't pretend it was a surprise because that would be asking you to believe really nice things about me. Set aside the fact that it really did take me 3 days to just break open the cellophane and about 3 WEEKS to get over the sublime packaging. Set aside that the then 10 year old Miss Dunnit charged it up for me and helped me to download a coupla my fave albums. Now bear in mind that this is at least 5 years ago..I guess it's now an iPod classic and it has 3 touch sensitive buttons and a touch sensitive circle that acts like a dial - clockwise for more volume..etc. I'm sure you all know. So picture me, fat and forty, posing in a small rural market town with mah iPod. Well, I was plugged in, the teeny speakers were in my ears (they hurt, fyi) and the wire was seductively snuggled in my cleavage and leading to my trendy jeans pocket. No music though. Could not, for the sweet life of me, remember or work out how to turn the damn thing on. Or how about the time, having mastered that part of the technology, I was showing it off to a friend and managed to press a sequence of buttons that changed the language to Japanese (I think!). Stayed like that for a while..couldn't bring myself to admit it and of course, couldn't understand the screen instructions to sort it out! Turns out I'm destined to hum. To myself. Like a mad woman. And in much the same manner, I'm destined forever to be a cut and stick gal in real time and real dimension. Can't get my head around the computer to be able to do anything more than this and am too afraid to start. Mind you, I don't really know if I've got it in me to learn. My team-mate Caryn had to teach me how to insert a link for heaven's sake...photoshop, digital paintbrushing and drop shadows are just words at the moment. Scary ones too! So Helen, and your fellow digi scrappers, I bow in reverence to your technological knowledge, certainly I'm a bit jealous, and also, I'm possibly nosey about how many of you there are - tell me - 'do you do digi'?
Friday, 27 March 2009
Write On
How do you journal on your scrapbook LOs? By which I mean - I have a whole bunch of questions and that is just the start.
Do you handwrite? If not, whaddya do?Do you mostly journal, or have you masses of LOs that have such good, succint, exciting, totally encompassing titles that they need no further storytelling?Do you use 'secret' journalling? Sometimes? Always? Do you write in the first or third person? Are you addressing any reader or the intended recipient of your life of scrapping?
Are you mindful of the journalling when you start the LO or does it sort of get tacked on at the completion stage?
If you handwrite - do you practice in pencil first?
Are you afraid of your handwriting?
Do you wish I hadn't started this?! Here are my not very succint answers. If you're interested:
- I do handwrite, almost without exception. I truly madly deeply believe that the handwritten part of the journalling part of the scrapbooking is the 'signature' on your work for the future generations...imagine your great grandchild not knowing what your hand writing is like even though she's seen a picture of your teeth in a glass!
- I mostly journal. I have too much to say about everything to leave it to a simple title. But there are a few, snappy or self explanatory titles that need nothing...but if it was up to me, my titles would probably be about 20 words long!
- I do use secret journalling, but not because it's secret, usually because the page composition demands it. (Get me..'page composition') I don't often journal stuff that I don't feel comfortable having other people read. That stuff is hidden in my Book of Me!
- I use the first and third person in my journalling. Don't ask me why, I need to think about it; mostly my words are angled at any reader rather than a specific message to someone.
- I frequently start a LO knowing what the journalling will say and how/where it will appear. It's incredibly important to me that anyone can look at my pages without me standing behind them explaining the reason for the LO; I think if you have to do that, you need to add/change your journalling. Here's a great example: Lovely picture of a wedding dress, well preserved receipt and journalling about the excitement of finding the perfect gown, the fittings, the beading and blah. NO MENTION of the fact that her Mum cried when she first put it on, or that the photo is a bit wobbly because the lady in the shop seemed to have had a liquid lunch and kept calling her by someone else's name; she told me this as I admired her LO...but I think it needed to be added!
- I only practice in pencil if I'm using a specific size of card or block on which to write. Even then I don't always get it right..as I get into the 'flow', my writing gets bigger and things get a bit squished! I'm working on this. I would like to journal directly onto the page or photo more often, but am a bit scared of my own practice indiscipline!
- I'm no longer afraid of my handwriting, I've practiced A LOT and use a thinner nib than I would normally, and a contrived version of my 'normal' style. I think it's easier on the eye and is certainly more legible. But not always. And it takes time and practice to be confident about it.
- Sometimes, if there isn't a lot to say, I'll stamp the journalling. I've got over 2 dozen (!) alphabet sets and I'm so totally over the need to have it all perfect straight and spaced like it came off the computer. Love that - the being over it part!
I have friends (really, despite all this opinion, I do); Willowy Blonde and Slipper Lady for example, who know me so well that they'll totally get why I want to know about your journalling habits. It's so important to me! We went to one of Shimelle's classes last November and in the blink of an eye, Slipper Lady's fear of journalling was banished forever and she is now smitten by her own written words, and well she might be; her stories, just like yours and mine, are fascinating. Because after all, we are all living a life worth scrapping, huh?
Tell me please about your journalling habits. And also please know how much I love that you take the time to comment...without exception I really like to know what you think! Oh, and Steph - YES, cupcakes on fabric - as soon as ya like!
Thursday, 26 March 2009
I am so happy to have this as mine...told you I'm spoiled! The frame and idea are from my Creative Memories consultant friend, Lisa. It's magnetic (the black blobby bits) so I can just change the LO to suit my mood; Lisa uses hers as a calendar and I just had to copy the idea. It's hanging already, although I appreciate that April isn't open till next week. Also I plan to utilise my Xyron with magnet cartridge to make other bits and bobs. Am probably big headed enough to show you the May page when it's done too; it's fair to say that I have the odd amount of stash that's waiting for a use!
This frame has reminded me of a short debate I've involved myself with on Paula Pascual's blog. Quite unintentionally, but if you've read this blog more than once, you'll recognise my need to have a say! (I strongly recommend you look at her fantastic work even if the debate leaves you cold!). I firmly believe that no matter what others think of your pages or cards, that you craft first and foremost for your pleasure, then for the pleasure of giving hand crafted gifts/cards/blah and then in scrapbooking, for the preservation of your memories. I really am at the stage where I know that after my death (and it will be untimely, even if I'm as old as methusalah), there's a chance that my albums and other craft stuff will end up in a skip somewhere. I'm totally over it. It's all about the pleasure I'm having doing it right now. Forget my cardmaking for now, I wanna focus on the scrapbooks. Part of me wants each LO to be a frame-worthy masterpiece, and when I am pleased with what I've done, I consider it so. Then it goes in a protective sleeve, I remove my head from my butt and move on. What's the point of doing it to impress anyone else? It's fab, just fab to see the work of others - all styles and types. It's so subjective; we gravitate to certain styles, colours and blah, and so the debate about who is better than who is not a fair one. The style of scrapping that you prefer may differ wildly to those on my list of faves. It's all about celebrating the diversity and admiring the work within the boundaries of the expectations of the person creating it. Some - many - people have formal training or understanding of design principles and colour theory. I don't, and you can tell that from my LOs. And for every one you see on here, there are 4 that you'll never see because although I like them, because although they tell the story, they aren't particularly interesting examples of either technique or graphic design! I agree with Paula that if your work is for publication or display then it shouldn't need to be tidied up digitally to remove fingerprints, splotches, bits of tape sticking out etc, but to be honest, if it's not for the public eye and you're pleased with it, does it matter? And as my very dear friend the Slipper Lady reminds us each time we talk about her ability to do a dozen LOs at a single crop - it's actually all about the photos. Lose sight of that and really you might as well stick your photos in regular albums and you'll have bags of time and money to do something else. I think as your scrapbooking confidence grows, you become increasingly fussy about finish anyway, and the more you see of other people's LOs the more you subconciously try to emulate the style and finish of those you admire. I do. That's why my framed masterpiece is a calendar, and not just a black frame waiting for me to do something with, as so many of my purchases remain! Thanks to Lisa.
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
A cupcake kind of day
That sums up yesterday! I was part of a team that presented a series of mini workshops to a bunch of people in the very sunny and really charming seaside town of Exmouth. Such a fun day; it was really nice to meet so many keen stampers! If you've read this blog in the last week, you'll know I've been fiddling about with cupcake card ideas. I promised to post these for a semi-permanent reminder, but whether you were at the workshop or not, cupcakes are a good way to open, doncha think!
I know I've yammered on about the benefits of demonstrating a product (or two), but I was relieved and delighted to hear from lots of my new chums in Exmouth that they felt the benefit of being in a workshop environment - picking up tips for much used products and experiencing other stuff on a 'try-before-you-buy' basis. Got to be good value for money for that alone, but add in the camaraderie and the appreciative feeling of a few gals enjoying some time off - magic, for me certainly. I don't work, but I love that work.
But wait there's more! I had the great good fortune to follow a link that wound up at Helen's site, http://www.enfys.me.uk/ She crochets. I'm sure she does other things, but man, she can crochet! I have a niece that doesn't eat anything except carrots, gravy, pringles and PINK yoghurt and PINK french fancy cakes (there is a connection..keep reading!) So because even a chocolate treat at Easter is totally wasted on our beloved mini-niece, I thought it would be fun to give her one of the Easter baskets that Helen is selling on her site. How fun! Then I realised the potential, so I ordered one each for micro, mini, maxi nieces and Miss Dunnit. (It's OK, she wouldn't read my blog if it were the last written word on the planet). Helen offered me ridiculous amounts of choice over colour and was even tactful enough to point out that the 'piggy' was actually, when I put my glasses on, a rabbit! Anyway, never one to tear the backside out of a story...they arrived at the weekend. I'm sooooo pleased with them, they are cccccccute and lovely and will just look great with a few edible and non edibles in them - look:
I can picture the girls walking around with them..brace yourselves, I so just bought myself a multi photo layout! Thanks Helen.
Been (again) at a CM coffee morning/demo/crop today and of course, came away truly inspired and with a challenge..so girls if you're tuned in - I'm working on it, in the next hour or so. Will photo the result tomorrow just to prove it!
Friday, 20 March 2009
Shallow as a puddle...
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
It's an 'all or nothing' thing
Give me an idea for my scrapbook or a craft project of any sort, and I'll want to be relieved of other responsibilities until it's finished. It's not healthy is it! Makes me sound really obsessive and spoilt. I am. But I'm working on that too. After all, this blog is therapy, right?
Anyway, I'm here, trying to fill a folder full of cupcake images and ideas and dying to get on with stuff for next week. My good friend Cricut Queen is in the process of re-doing her craft space. She is working hard to a schedule: empty the current room so that she can barely get into her bedroom, paint, re-floor and custom furnish the new look room, and finally re-home, in good working order, all the stash and equipment. Looks so easy in print! There are three hard parts to this exercise - the first is to manage a way through the stash in its temporary bedroom home because it's logistically difficult; needing clean clothes from a cupboard that is wedged shut is just an insult. The second is to avoid the thought process that concludes with how much stash there actually is (brush over this..there isn't enough room on the Interweb for a post about it). And the third - is the thought process that makes all the great ideas pop into your head. We discussed this yesterday - our creative 'genius' juices run away with themselves at precisely the time that they can't be used. Cricut Queen can't use any of the stuff carefully stored in her bedroom, but she's exploding with ideas. I'm colouring cupcakes (the same 4, by the way) but bursting to get on with the ideas that keep popping up for a workshop next week, next month. I hate that. And of course, I love that! So give your mojo a holiday - go and do something unconnected with your hobby. But keep a notebook handy! (Oh no..I just made an argument FOR gardening!!)
Monday, 16 March 2009
Oh so suddenly it's Spring?
I love the promise of spring. I love the fat buds and bursting forth-ness of it all. I love the longer daylight hours. The dark doesn't make me ill or anything, but I'm happier with heaps of daylight - preferably sunshine. I rather like the changes that herald a new season, even though Winter is a trial for me. And I know that these seasons change on a regular calendar, laid down by some brilliant Roman some hundreds of years ago. I knew it was coming... but I'm not ready for Spring! I've got stacks to do inside that I haven't quite got around to yet, without having to take on the self-imposed guilt of the garden chores too! And one day of spring weather (really - it was 16C here yesterday!) bouncing through the windows of Casa Dunnit reveals more neglect that I can face! The windows need cleaning inside. The cushion covers and the bedspreads need washing. Oh you know. There needs to be some spring cleaning action. Oh and I think I'll probably forget to worry about going through the wardrobe...lordy, I hate that job so much! Then there's the toss up - once I've wrestled some 'free' time from the domestic guilt, do I craft which is what I want to do, or do I go into the garden. You see, the garden has been a building site for two years and last summer we started the great reclamation. Last year, I did figure out that I don't really like the gardening, although I'm more than happy to plonk about and do the clearing up type of work - edging, weeding, keeping it looking nice. I tried to explain it by saying that I use up my creativity indoors on my paper crafting habit, and therefore I don't really have enough creative energy left for the garden, dahlings! And then I got over myself and admitted that it's because I'm too lazy and too in need of ultra fast gratification to be a gardener. So, now I'm going to stop blethering, clean the one window that I need the sunlight to stream through, and get on with my cupcake cards. The garden will grow whether I'm working on it or not. The cupcake cards won't, but their deadline will grow nearer!
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Try this...
COR! Thanks for looking so closely, didn't expect that!
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Domestic Goddess
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Go with the custard..
Monday, 9 March 2009
Back to the previous discussion
Saturday, 7 March 2009
What, no picture?
I've been at a crop today. It's a real treat, an essential part of my social life. I love the connection through craft that I would otherwise never have made.....I contend that it is an especial skill of women - one tiny thing in common can be the foundation of a good solid friendship. Crop Saturday is a guaranteed laugh, chips for lunch and maybe even a couple of finished LOs, all in a day! (Although for the record, 5 out of 8 of the croppers were, for some reason, filled with strength and didn't have chips, and yes, Willowy Blonde and New Baby Mummy were amongst them. Sigh.)
We had a challenge (set by me, so very easy, lighthearted and almost forgotten of course). In the course of this, we discovered that we are all particularly sold on the die cut 12 x 12 sheets. Now of course, Cricut Queen was probably aghast at our excitement, but she was too polite to do what I would have done - laugh! Turns out that these sheets, although not a brand new, over promoted product are new to some people, and better still, seeing them in use has encouraged others to have a crack at them. Especially that awful bit where you have to cut them if you want them to go further than a single LO! Isn't that great - learning through play. Or is that an echo of my parenting job creeping in?!! The challenge was to make up a LO using 3 different patterned papers. Of course, wife of Mr Pineapple always scraps this way - she has an eye for patterns that makes you wanna sit next to her and absorb the skill. We did toy with the idea of reversing the challenge so that she could create a LO using only plain papers..but that didn't happen. Mr Pineapple's wife - she stayed serenely uninvolved and went about creating her 28th LO of the day. (Or so it seemed!). We all managed the challenge, but New Baby Mummy won the day - completed the challenge and really made the most of her day 'off'...had pre-kitted her LOs and was in full creative flow. A great feeling. The hot water urn leaked horribly, the hall is never as warm as we want it to be and the chip shop is probably a 4 minute walk from the hall, but what the hell, it was still a good day. Join a crop - good for your crafting health.
Thursday, 5 March 2009
This used to be my workroom...
I've been rummaging in my new-ish workspace this morning. My local store is having a Flea Market this Saturday and it's a great opportunity to sell on craft products that you no longer want, and pick up other stuff that you do. In theory. To sell this year, I have a few clear stamps, a handful of rubber stamps and a very mixed bag of ribbons less than a metre long. Not a lot compared to previous years for sure. But actually, this isn't because of any hideous recession that means I'm hanging onto everything, it's more because in the last year or so I have become a much more sophisticated consumer (!) and I am at last able to only buy what I know I'll actually use. It's taken ages. I still buy rubber stamps on the basis of 'see it, like it, buy it', rather than contemplate its use and application of techniques and blah..I have always fiirmly believed that if you like it, you'll use it and therefore you'll get value from it. I think actually I can apply that theory to most of my crafting purchases now. NOW. Not so much a year or so ago when I was pre-ordering paper collections, chasing the new machinery and blah blah. I'm more comfortable in my crafting skin I guess, and can finally resist the marketing. But sometimes I can't. After all, if I'm capable of the sort of untidiness revealed in that photo, I'm only human, right?
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Messy achievement!
Actually, now I look at this, it doesn't seem so bad! This has been my work space for the last 2 days..I can't show you what was going on behind me on the worktops, stool tops, floor..because I've cleared it up!! Hooray! The album is finished:I like it. Unlike the one that I didn't photograph before taking to the shop, this one is plain papers, neater edges, no ribbons or extra 'stuff' to make it look untidy. You have to agree, there are those that recoil in horror at the sight of tags, ribbons, fibres and heavily ripped edges inked and stamped randomly, so it's nice to be able to reassure potential workshopeers that the album is, without doubt, to be done in the style that pleases them, not me (no, really!).
I've used the Bind It All this time, and now think I should have taken the time to extend the rings the length of the book....but I'm a coward about working it out and good gracious, if I got it wrong after all that work, I would experience a huge bad mood. Because there would be no-one else to blame. I hate that. And I'm generally scared of my Bind It All. It definitely falls into the category of 'thing-I-most-wanted-because-it-was-new-and-everyone-else-was-getting-one'. This is possibly the 4th time I've used it. In 18 months. Not exactly a bargain huh! Sally Ann commented on a previous post that this is a keeping-up-with-the-Jones' thing and I couldn't agree more. Perfectly driven by the marketing arm of the industry too. Difficult to resist, apparently! The worst part of it for me is the guilt! My, what a tangled personality I must be. And there I am thinking I'm as transparent as glass and shallow as a puddle. Oh, and very untidy!
Pam
Sunday, 1 March 2009
How's your memory? Are you fond of recalling - is that why you scrap? Are you great at using all of your kit, even if it might be a bit old fashioned? Just like fashion, all of our craft stuff gets re-imagined and sent out again....what about the re-shaping and brilliant marketing of the humble emery board into a distressing tool?
So this week, I've been working on one of those BoBunny word albums as a workshop sample (HOME) in time for Mother's Day - nice huh. Now generally as a cardmaker and more generally as a scrapbooker, I stamp and stick stuff on. Occasionally, I decoupage which is after all, cutting out and sticking stuff on. So..I had to dredge the old memory for this album! Dry brushing the acrylic paint to add some definition to the image edges - it's been ages, yonks.....almost probably the last time I did this was the day before I brought the first of my Fluid Chalk inkpads. It was a bit like putting on a pair of flares. I used eyelets too....thanks god for the cropadile, remember though, all the clenching and pelvic floor exercising caused by the original 'punch and set' eyelet kits? Noisy times. And remember when the Bind it All was still in the Wish List stage of product development? For this album, I used book rings, and they are just great...so damn instant! And what did we do before chipboard? I used mount board, but not in any sophisticated die cut shapes I can tell you! I really enjoyed the mixture of techniques and tools and the idea that it all came together without taxing the memory is even better. Quite often I flick through a mag or consult you, dear interweb for hints and reminders on 'how to do', so this was a good memory flexing exercise! Of course, you may like to see a piccy of it. But I can't post one...I took it to the shop for display already, having completely forgotten to photograph it!