All Paper Arts

I was looking at my calendar today and realized The Great American Scrapbook Convention will be here in two weeks. Wait a minute next Thursday! Yikes! I need to start making plans. Last year was my first year to go. Can you believe it? I had an opportunity to go with some of the ladies from card party. The previous years I hadn’t gone because I just really didn’t want to go by myself. I don’t know but for some reason conventions and shows aren’t as fun alone. I was amazed at the great deals I got at some of the vendors. I was also amazed at how well I did at not buying everything in sight. I gave myself a budget and I stuck to it. If I saw something I wanted but knew I could get it locally and for less (especially with a coupon) then I didn’t take a second look. Now if it was something I knew I wouldn’t see again until probably at least a year or couldn’t order online then I usually got it. If it was with in budget that is.

We didn’t stay long enough to do any of the classes but we did get to see plenty of demonstration. If there is something you have really been wanting but haven’t wanted to buy it because of cost then the convention is great. There are so many demonstrations going on of many of the latest and hottest scrapbook goodies. You might be surprised at what you decide you don’t have to have or what items you hadn’t thought about that you see in a new light.

The Great American Scrapbook Conventions, scrapbooking, cardmaking, paper arts

Last week I wrote a little bit about sewing on paper. Here is an example I found in my stash of handmade cards. The green is using the sewing machine. The black around the pocket is my quick attempt to make hand stitches. To see the entire card you can go back one of my earlier posts titled Just in case you forgot.

Today is Memorial Day here in the US. The day we remember those who served our country throughout Americas history. Most everyone has a three day weekend and many will be at lakes, picnics, and parties. Here it has been raining the whole holiday weekend. My hubby is on call this weekend so we knew we wouldn’t be out at picnics or parties. Instead we decided to Smoke. Smoke what? Is what one of my friends not from Texas asked. So I went on to describe the different meats we had bought. Oh she said you mean your grilling out. Okay, if that is what she wants to call it. I decided to not go into the differences between Grilling and Smoking. Nor did I bother to ask what kind of family activity she thought I meant when I said we were smoking. Some times it is just better to not ask.

My only regret for this weekend is I forgot to take pictures. I think pics of my hubby mopping the food in pouring down rain would have made a great scrapbook page. As would pictures of two of my girls playing football and tackling each other down to the muddy ground. It may not have been one of our more exciting holiday weekends but I know we made some memories that will last for a long time. In the long run isn’t that what is really important?

Today is the last day of school for many kids down here in Texas. As I’ve mentioned not for my own girls, their school is still going on until June 11th. I have been trying to search for fun ideas for this summer to keep from the “I’m Bored” syndrome that seems to hit about a day or so after school is out. I was so excited to see Joann’s is having a beginning sewing class for kids that I am most likely going to stick at least 2 of my girls in. It is actually only 1 day for 3 hours but my thought is if they learn the very basics from someone else then it will help all of us when they want to pull out all the sewing machines in our house. Yes, I said ALL the sewing machines. We have a total of 5 sewing machines in our house right now. One is actually my mother in laws but still it is in my house.

Your thinking there goes Kari again, off the paper arts category. Really I’m not. Sewing machines are great for paper arts, too. You can use them for scrapbook pages, card embellishments, to make little mini books with, the possibilities are endless. It is a lot simpler then you would think to. Even if you don’t know how to sew you can sew on paper. Even if your machine only does one stitch and only goes forward or back. Just sew a border around a photo or sew the corners of a piece of paper on a layout. You can use the same color thread as your paper for a subtle look or use a contrasting color for a more vibrant pop out effect.

Still not sold on the idea a sewing machine could be easy? Well then there are paper piercing tools out there in the paper arts world you might like. These tools let you poke holes in your paper and then come back and hand stitch with thread. Or even leave it with just the holes. You can buy different paper piercing templates. Okay, so that is still too much effort? How about just hand drawing stitch lines with a good pen. Whatever tool you decide to use you should try this technique just to see if you like it. You might be surprised.

I have spent all morning trying to find one of my favorite products. Glue Dots are fabulous for paper arts. They are great for sticking on 3-D embellishments and making them stick. They are quicker then waiting for scrap book glue or metal glue to dry. They are also great for vellum or translucent items because they are clear. Glue Dots come in a number of sizes from small to large and thin to 3-D. I was looking for the thin larger size. Unfortunately, all I could find today were the mini dots. So I might have to use 2 instead of 1. Still that beats having to wait for the glue to dry. It is certainly much less messy. For about $4.00 you get around 300 dots.

glue dots, 3D Zots memory adhesive dots, scrap booking adhesives, Thermoweb

I don’t know why it is but it seems summer is the time I take most of my pictures. I have this problem though. If I don’t take the roll of film straight in to get developed I end up forgetting about it. I probably have close to 20 rolls of film around my house that haven’t been developed. I am in hopes that some of our camping trips are on 3 mystery rolls I am taking in this week. Now whether they will be a trip from when my 5 year old was 10 months or 3 years I don’t know. I have a lot of scrap booking camping stuff just waiting to be used. I actually had to stop buying it when I realized every roll I take in is something totally different. I will admit I have gotten better at this. It is almost fun to go pick up some pictures and have no idea what it will be. When it is a set I get triple copies of that ends up being one my daughters rolls of fuzzy pictures of nothing much that can be heart breaking. Your thinking why not go digital? I do have a digital and usually I have both with me. Some of those older rolls lying around were predigital camera days. At least that is before I had a digital camera. Digital photos can sometimes be just as bad because I prefer to get them printed at the store. They are usually better quality and in the long run end up being cheaper then trying to print 80 something pictures at once on my little printer. Since summer is almost here and most kids in our area are getting out of school this week I guess I better go get some of those rolls developed. Before I get the camera out for all the birthday parties, pool days, holiday celebrations, and whatever other moments we will capture on film. Of course my own children aren’t out of school until June 11th (a modified year round school) so I have a little bit more time. What about you? How many rolls do you have sitting around the house? Or how many images of your children are stuck in the computer?

Here is what I think is a finished invitation. I want to add more but I am trying to keep with the thought that less is more. This is hard for me. I believe I will make all the cards like this and then come back afterwards and decide if I want to add more. I went with a more distressed look because my friend’s nursery is vintage. Like the fabrics on an earlier post. I wanted them to look handmade without looking too primitive. What do you think? I am curious to hear your thoughts. My next dilemma is what I want to do with the inside. I was originally going to stamp place, date, time, and so on and handwrite it in. Now I am wondering if I should just print it on the computer that way I can add a poem. I look forward to your comments. Now I am going to walk a way for a few minutes and mow my lawn before it rains. Maybe I will have a eureka moment while I am going in circles.

So I had these great plans to get my invitation samples done and on this site yesterday. Then suddenly I felt really yucky. I won’t go into details but I pretty much stayed in a dark room trying to sleep the rest of the day. Needless to say no samples yet. I did start them but this is all I have so far. I am feeling much better today thank you so lets hope I will be able to crank some samples out this weekend. Have a great weekend!

I am up to my eyeballs this very minute working on baby shower invitations. Every time I think I like a design I think of something better. I plan to have a couple of samples posted later today so check back because I would love your input.

Until then I wanted to let you know to scroll all the way down at the bottom of this site and look at all of the blogs 451press has these days. It seems like everyday they have a new writer for a new subject. There is something for almost everyone. There is a new writer for Getting Crafty. There is a new blog about soaps and candles two items I always love to learn more about. Cyndi Lavin is a bead artist and always has some great guest artist projects. Those are just a few in arts and hobbies. Look beyond arts and hobbies and there are tons of other great writers on cool subjects.

Do you ever have a sticker that you would like to use for something other than a sticker? This happens to me a lot. One thing you can do is put baby powder on the sticky back and then wipe it off and that will take off the adhesive. However, when you do that you are still left with that ugly backside and maybe you don’t want that. Not to mention the pain and mess of getting out the baby powder.

What I like to do is stick the sticker on a piece of colored paper and then cut around the sticker. Now you have a pretty back. On these cards I wanted the circle stickers but I didn’t want to stick them straight on the card because I wanted dimension. Okay, really I wanted to use these mini clothes pins. I lucked out here because I have a Creative Memories Circle Punch that punches the exact same size circle. So I just punched my paper with circle and stuck my sticker on it. Now the back of the sticker is a coordinating piece of colored paper which will give the card a more finished look.

stickers, Creative Memories, card making, scrap booking, mini clothes pins, Basic Grey Papers

I have been told that clear stamps are the new best thing in rubber stamping. They have been out for a while but not in the variety that is now available. They are supposed to be easier because you can see where you are placing them and because you can build a stamp on a clear acrylic block. So depending on what size of block you have you can avoid having to stamp multiple times on one project. As you know I am in the midst of making baby shower invitations. I really wanted a good time, place, and event stamp for the occasion but I wasn’t having a lot of luck finding one I liked. Then I found this set. It has 44 images. I am going to try it out today. Check back to see my progress and to get my personal feedback on clear stamps.

Often I hear my friend Lori say “I’m not THAT creative.” Please!!! Her projects always end up grand and impeccable. She is actually such a perfectionist on many things it just makes me so green. Here is a picture of one of her latest creations. This was one of her very first attempts with altered art. I remember her talking about how it wasn’t doing what she wanted it to over it for a good week or so. Really, I don’t see what she was worried about. I think it looks awesome! I am know her daughter’s teacher had to love it. Who wouldn’t? Is it surprising that when I asked her if I could put it on my blog she told me she wished she had a picture of it after she added more ribbon. See I am not the only one who can’t stop with the froufrou!

As most of you know yesterday May 13th was Mother’s Day here in the U.S. I received a lot of handmade cards from my three girls. They had started working on them earleir last week and must have made one everyday until yesterday. What I want to share with you the most is some of what they wrote. If you remember last week I wrote about how what the card says is what makes the difference. If that is the case you’ll love these.

“You are the best but you don’t have to show it all the time”
“Mothers Day a special day for a mom like you to shine and be a star” “P.S. Be a Star!”
“You are the dust (best) Mommy in the yonvares (universe) and you are only ares (ours)”
and my favorite line “I love you mommy all the time. Even when you’re mean it is okay you’re still the best”

Wishing all mothers across the world a home grown Happy Mother’s Day!

Mother’s Day is almost here. Whether you are making a card or buying a card it is always what is says that adds to the occasion. Here are some quotes about Mothers that are sure to make any card special.

Miracles occur naturally as expressions of love. The real miracle is the love that inspires them. In this sense everything that comes from love is a miracle. - Marianne Williamson
We cannot do great things on this earth. We can only do small things with great love. - Mother Teresa
A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary. -Dorothy Canfield Fisher
The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.
– Rajneesh: Special Quotes for Mother’s Day
God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers. - Jewish proverb
There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it. - Chinese Proverb
Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible. - Marion C. Garretty
Mothers Day is in honor of the best Mother who ever lived - the Mother of your heart” -Anna Jarvis
For the mother is and must be, whether she knows it or not, the greatest, strongest and most lasting teacher her children have.” -Hannah W. Smith
“Making the decision to have a child-it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” -Elizabeth Stone
Becoming a mother makes you the mother of all children. From now on each wounded, abandoned, frightened child is yours. You live in the suffering mothers of every race and creed and weep with them. You long to comfort all who are desolate. -Charlotte Gray