Thursday, June 3, 2010

About Me: Some [scrappy] things I know you know, and maybe some you don’t:


  • I’ve always enjoyed photography and I’m happy to be living in these digital times.
  • I’ve created scrapbooks since I was in middle school.
  • I enjoy [modern, acid-free] scrapbooking and find it to be more than a way to preserve my photos.
  • I like the artsy – craftsy outlet it gives me.
  • I describe my [scrapbook / life?] style as simple and graphic with a little whimsy thrown in for fun.
  • It’s been so nice these last few years to have a spot to leave my ‘stuff’ out and accessible so I can create whenever the mood hits me. And sometimes tweak things over and over [and over again.]
  • I enjoy challenges – sketches in particular & love to see how I can make one my own.
  • Contests and challenges are fun to enter [when I’m in the mood and when I have the time.]
  • I most always start with the photos and papers and title. Many times I must remind myself to add embellishments.
  • I may, on occasion, do a layout with photos from friends / family but I’ve never grabbed photos of unknown people to meet a contest requirement. Somehow that just doesn’t set well with me because I scrap to preserve photos & memories not for the design skills alone.
  • Over the years I’ve realized that my creativity flows better when I have fewer choices to make so I’ve started limiting my supplies. [The exception? Alphabet stickers – love them. And I know I have way too many.]
  • Fonts? It’s overwhelming to me to have hundreds and hundreds available – I work better when there’s only ten or so to choose from.
  • Papers and embellishments? With the recent closing of so many companies, I don’t have a favorite line at the moment.
  • For me, kits are the way to go. Kits have lots of coordinated product and I have given myself permission to use as much as I want since I know another kit will be coming every month. I get this one and this one.
  • No more saving [hoarding] stuff for a layout that’s ‘worthy’ of the product, I use it NOW.
  • No more buying stuff just because it’s on sale and I might use it ‘someday.’ [I laughed at something I read a few months back, “Why am I rushing to buy stuff that no one else wanted in the first place, just because it’s cheap?”]
  • And I’m passing on the things I no longer use; sure it costs me a bit to ship each month – but I hope it brightens another person’s day. And I’d love to see something they create with it!
  • Tools? I can’t scrap without my Fiskars or Making Memories trimmers, small scissors from Wal-mart [three in a package], crop-o-dile, tweezers, border punches, metal ruler, craft knife, and Creative Memories circle cutter.
  • Stamps & ink? I honestly only use these occasionally, so no favorites there – same goes for paint.
  • Pens? These days I’m mostly using pens from American Crafts, although I have sharpies in different sizes and still love my Crayola marker in brown.
  • Adhesives? I pondered buying the ATG for years and finally took the plunge when my favorite Duck adhesive changed its format. Love the ATG; and I still use glue dots in different sizes and foam dots as well.
  • Things I’ve bought that haven’t worked for me: that giant staple thing [bought it really cheap – lol – see above], Fiskars shape cutter, embossing templates, sissix [although I do enjoy the cricut for alphabets,] and the coluzzle.
  • Inspiration? I still get one magazine: Scrap, Etc. & enjoy it each month. But much of my inspiration comes from blogs and on-line groups. [And I’ve also limited my involvement with these because of the time it can sometimes suck out of my day.]
  • I also love to take classes – but have become more discretionary in what I sign up for – I’ve enjoyed most every class I’ve taken on-line at BPS and with Jessica Sprague. And I love classes with Margie, Donna D, Debby Schuh, Teresa Collins, and Stacy Julian IRL. And Tim Holtz, oddly enough, since his ‘style’ is so different from mine, and I sooooo don’t use ink in my projects on a regular basis – he’s just a fantastic teacher.
  • I take a TON of photos [always have, even in the pre-digital days] and do my best to weed them out monthly on the computer so that I’m only keeping the best of the best.
  • Still, I only print a few of the ones I save. – I try to print at least once a month or so [when Wal-greens runs their special] and put these in a little accordion file on my desk [organized by month taken] so that I always have a few [or a lot of] photos ready to play with.
  • Even with this plan, I still end up printing a few photos here and there on the computer to meet specific layout needs. And I usually have some printed photos left that aren’t used any where. [I’ve NEVER felt the need to scrapbook Every. Single. Photo.]
  • Most importantly – I most always – always have my camera with me. I take random shots and posed shots; I take quick shots and others that I set up in my mind before snapping; I take photos of nature, people, places, and things. And I may take multiple shots of the same things from different angles and with different settings on the camera…

So there you have it – a little look into my scrappy world. Did I bore you with my rambling? Any surprises or inspiration for you? How do you create? What products are your favorites?

2 comments:

craftymom205 said...

All of my scrapbook stuff is divided into categories(destinations, holidays, etc.). Can't create without my cutterpede paper trimmer, scissors, cricut expression. Right now I am into making cards. Thanks for the insight into your world.

Scrapinkats said...

This is so great! I love your advice Don't Just Buy to buy... Use or get rid of it... I think it holds folks from be creative, they are so worried about the lastest & greatest paper... But there will always be the next Best releaase... Most of my stuff is divided in colors, I love my Cutter bees, a cheap kraft knife that come 2./1, a trimmer, zip dry, I am not a gadget person and don't need every Cricut thing... I have a ton of stuff- but on my last trip... figured out don't need it.. so I am going back to basics- much less to haul! I have quit taking home everything new because I just look at it! I love kits, for inspiration, I don't follow directions so mine is always different! I love your inspiration.