me

me
this is me

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Week 5 Challenge



This is a 8 1/2 x 11 sketch but i plan on changing this
into a 12x12 sketch . i look forwrd to using this one for
a spring layout maybe.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

st paddys day

tati and her future hubby
cristofer

my girls and there bff 's


tati



my baby girls




Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Week 4 picked by my hubby

i love pagemaps.com the sketches are so wonderful !!!! so here is week 4 and i hope you enjoy. week 2 and week 3 will be updated with photos tomorrow morning once my camara wants to "love" me :O)


Thursday, March 12, 2009

How to make your kits for on the go

i love making kits for when i am on the go or trying to catch a scrapping moment durning nap time. so i thought it would be fun to share the how to on one of my time saving / money saving tips.

what i include in my kits are simple:

photos with info on the day( i always write down my layouts)
4 cardstocks( 2 same color 2 cord. colors)
2- 3 pattern papers
any pre made journal mats or photomats.
a small baggie of embellishments that cord.
including:(but maybe not all )
brads , eyelets, ribbon, stickers, clips ect.
a sketch if it is called for that layout.

you can put them into a 2 gallon zip lock bag but i use an old album and extra page protectors

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

looking for designers

i have a weekly sketch challenge going and i am looking for a team of designers that will make a sketch and prepare a layout for each week. i usually use pagemaps and i have yet to use one of my own . i would love a team of three . if you are interested the steps you have to take are easy.

* make a layout for all three weeks and post them
*follow this blog
*submit one layout you would like for me to see that you have created.

thank you look forward to seeing it all

How To

Anything and everything to do with crafting. My How To's about scrapping and crafting. Helping me on my path to save money.


How To's

#1 do you love collecting sketches or even drawing your own ??

grab a binder, some page protectors, a hole punch if needed and some dividers.
make three sections for the sketches. Section 1 for your sketches 2 for the ones you love and borrow and the last section for those ideas that you have yet to put into sketches.

i have a binder full of page map sketches .. i love those ... my dividers are in sections of layouts cards & half maps


#2 do you love gems ... i sure do

do you have a lot of gem pack that you use on your cards and layouts? well take a med. to large D-ring and decor with a few pieces of ribbon( has to look pretty) add all of your gem packages onto the ring and they will all be at hand when needed.


#3 do you have a lot of markers ... have no place to put them or are they taking up space.

i have about 10 to 15 markers and i dont use them to often but when i do it takes so much time to find them. So being a mom of 3 and another on the way i have plenty of mini wipe boxes the one you can take with you on the go ... i decor the outside with a few stickers and put in all of my markers . they are in one spot and ready to grab.


#4 what about those scraps you have left over after putting them to use for your layouts and cards?

simple ... go to your kitchen and take out one of your zip lock bags the gallon or bigger work best . slip in your scraps . ready to pull out for a project or on the go . do you have small scraps and want to keep them in different bags. simple take the sandwhich zips and sep. into different bags. seal turn up side down and punch a hole add all the bags to a D-ring.


#5 i found a great little tip. i love the scallop edges on paper but i just dont want to spend the extra money on a already made paper with that cut. so when i found this tip i feel in love with it.

simply .... take your photo rounder( most common is the green one ) take the guard off and turn upside. start at edge and make the punch. when going on to the next over lap a tad bit and punch again. continue the hole lenght you desire and there you go a cheaper or free way to make a scallop edge. try first on a scrap paper so you can see how much to over lap. it is truly a tad...


#6 chipboard...do you buy stacks or card stock packs. they all come with a piece of thin to almost med. piece of chipboard.

take the piece of now made in to chipboard and cut into stripes of desire size. the tiner it is the better. you can use it with the cricut to make title and embellies. also if you would like to make one of those cute chipboard books but dont want to pay anywhere from $.50 to $1.00 per piece, gather up a few pieces and cut to desire size punch a hole and add a D-ring . decor and there you go. a all the way home made chipboard book.(dont forget to think about those left over ceral boxes. they make great chip board to .)

Chanllenge #3 with finished layout



i didnt add a title yet because i am not sure what to title it ....i chnged up the sketch just a little and i am not sure i like the colors ...

Time Saving Tips that turn into Money Saving Tips

I have sat down for a few days and thought about how i can increase my scrapping budget....

so this is what i came up with. time saving tips that will save me money.i am sharing them hoping they will be helpful for you . i will cont. add to this post when ever i come up with a new idea. if you have an idea you would like to add to this feel free to post a comment.

*when i am at my best i scrap a layout a day. So as you can believe i have a ton of scraps. here is my tip.

tip: first and for most clean up after each and every project. but before you clean up after making a layout use the left overs to make a card. once you make the card put it into your card box(future post come on how to decor a card box) and you will no longer have scraps to put away.

money saving: now that you will have a box of cards you will be able to save about $2- $5 per card you make. Not having to buy a card will make it easier to put those savings in to your scrapping.


*i often find things in my space that i have had for a while or forgot i had and double bought. so i feel every three to four months you should go through you things and have a scrap sale.

tip: go through you supplies and sort. make four piles that you will be able to get through in a short time. Keep - Throw - Sale - donate. Step one put away you keep pile and throw away your trash. Step two donate to a friend or school the items in your donate pile. and finially step three have a small yard sale/internet sale of the items in your sale pile.

Money saving: now that you know what you have you will be able to spend your money on other items to add to your scrap supplies. and the items you sale will bring in extra cash to put towards your scrapping fund.


*Keeping it clean. i find that i spend more money when i am in a rut and dont clean my area. so every evening before i turn off my crafters light i make sure to tidy up my area( and trust me some nights i skip) i put things away and plan for my next layouts.

tip: put htings in there place once you are done with them. you will always know where they are and not have to look for things when making layout. make sure everything is in reach that you use often and put things less often used away. plan a layout in advance so that when you are ready to sit a scrap you will know what you are doing.

money saving: you wont be double buying on tools. or get board with what you have because your space is dirty. when you dont want to sit were your at but still want to scrap you find your self at the store.


* make kits so when you are goin on the go youwill have something to grab. and when you want to do a fast page with out all the thinking you have a layout kit ready to go .

tip: take the time to take some pictures paper cardstock and embellies and put them into a 2 gallon zip lock bag. make a post it note of what this kit is about and stick it to the front. you will know what is in it and be able to pull it out and go.

money saving: want to save a little. we all at times have extra page protectors from our booksso instead of buying the 2 gallon zip lock bags use those in stead and then you can put htem in a old album or a album you wont use for storage. you can grab the hole album an go . no need to spend on a storage system.


*i find myself always forgetting something when i go to a crop. i find that i have to make a stop at the store right before i go (making me late) or when i get there buying from the hostest who so happens to sell for some company.


tip: in you crop bag or rolling tote keep these always used tools inside ready to go. you should always have adhesive( sll the ones you use) a simple mini pack of markers( primary colors) extra cards stock( brown black white blue & pink ) and last but not least ink. i know you say ink ...if ou love using stamps but dont have the room to bring them or forgot a favorite one... one of the cropers may let you borrow one. no need to buy a mini one . also handy if you are a inker like me.

money saving: now when you go to a crop no need to stop to buy or have to spend money at the crop on the must haves. i find that when i am in a hurry i always end up buying some sort of adhesive. so now packing up my must haves and keeping a set in my crop bag i save money on not buying( a way more expensive ) items when i have them at home. i am able to save more torwards my scraping fund.


*do you find yourself buying magazine after magazine on our fav subject scrapbooking/cardmaking?? well i found a simple way to narrow it down to 2.

tip: when choosing your magazine remeber you will not buy them at a store you will get a subscription. sit down and make a list of what you are looking for in a magazine. for me its simple i look for organization tips money saving tips & layout ideas. stop at your local book store and grab every single magazine they have on the subject. find one of those comfty chairs they have inthe store and start looking through them. once you find 1 - 2 that fit your list of needs then you know which one to get a subscription to. remember you can cahnge your mind after a year and try a different one.

money saving: each magazine cost around $5 each so you think if you are like the way i was a few months ago you can easily spend close to or more then $30 a month on all you favs( i would buy 5 magazines eaach month) and if you simple buy 1-2 subscriptions for the year. you not only save on gas but each subscription runs about $20 each for 8 -12 issues. so in a year buying two subscriptions you can save around $320 and that lovly amount can go towards scrapping.

Conditioning your mats

hi there .... i have had so many problems with the new mats and have found that they arent lasting a long time. so i have found this tip & tricks on the cricut MB's. There was a link shared that takes you to a really cool blog by Cricut dan . so i have put the link down for you. If you have any helpful hints on how to get the bang for our bucks with these mats please leave a comment on how you do it .

(once you get to the blog scroll all the way down and there is a video)


http://cricutdan.blogspot.com/

Thursday, March 5, 2009

my rambling ....

So i find my self in a rut. i have started and signed up for swaps (which i intend to do ) and i cant find my self a want to sit and scrap. My hubby thinks its because i lost my scrapbook room and that i am so tired. But i think it has nothing to do with that. I believe that i just havent found my nitch yet. I found myself making my first paint can swap and i just didnt like it. i thought it would be so much easier and i would have a blast. I can only hope it isnt a disapointment to my can buddie. i want to redo it but my hubby said to leave it as is. that it will be the only way for me to get better at them. I am not use to not being good at something involving scrapping so its hard for me. So i find myself in a want to get things going to want to have fun again. So i joined the 52 week challenge. You can fin a link on this blog to join or look at the layouts already done. So i have photos of my new space and a surprise that my hubby got me because he felt so bad about my idea of losing my space... hope to post them soon