CREATIVE CRAFTING

I have had a crisis!  At least for me it is…I cleaned my little office/crafting space a few weeks ago this included a whole system reboot of my computer which had been giving me some problems.  I had to reload windows.

So while it is reloading I decided it was time to throw out the “trash” and reorganize.  During this reorganization I ‘lost” my Microsoft Picture Plus discs.  And of course I can’t reload them back onto my computer without the disc, I have tried from the backup, won’t work.

So now I have no new projects to show you for my digital scrapbooking nor the terrific ideas I had for making your own Valentine Cards, place settings, and party themes.

But that is all right, sort of, my friend from BusyMomsNetwork has put together a wonderful “Party Pack” of everything you need for a great Valentines Party for your kids school or at home.   And it doesn’t cost a lot!

Yes, I am plugging her new product!  It is shameful I know, but it is such a good one.  The rest of the stuff about my room, computer, and losing my disc is all true.  Now I have to go buy another one as it does everything I want it to do and more.

Hope to get something up here soon…:-(

Christmas Card Class and Tote Tutorial

Every year the same question: What do I do with these Christmas Cards? I have always hated throwing them away, so what did I do with them? Here are some of the ideas I have come up with over the years.

Jigsaw Puzzles

For those of us living in the winter climate of the north, we know that children become “antsy” (only word I could think of), and on our nerves during the times they cannot go outside. So years ago when faced with three very active boys, I started making jigsaw puzzles for them out of the cards. My daughter often helped as she was older and it kept her from murdering her brothers, so it was a win-win.

We would cut up several of the leftover cards, lay them on a flat surface, usually a floor and let the boys try and figure out how to put them back together. It kept them occupied for a little while and gave me a little peace. When they became bored we stored them in a shoebox until the next “antsy” time.

Tree Ornaments:

There are many ideas on the internet for making Christmas tree ornaments out of used Christmas cards. This one I found several years ago.

Wrap a small bundle, I use about 4 sticks, of cinnamon sticks with a bow. The with a small dab of glue attach your Christmas card cutout. Sometimes I attach it right to the loop on the ribbon other times to the sticks themselves. It depends on the size of the cutout.

Some ideas for Journaling In Your Scrapbook

When I first started to scrapbook, I did it the traditional way, with paper and glue sticks. Now of course I have embraced digital scrapbooks. However the ideas I am going to give you here apply to both.

Quite a few scrapbook fans prefer to include words or phrases within their scrapbook pages. Words and phrases help to explain the photos. As you might expect there are many ways to incorporate the written word into your scrapbooking; it is generally called Journaling.

We have all seen in our shopping for scrapbook embellishments sheets of paper with phrases, words, or the alphabet. All of these can be used put the written word on your page, simply pick the ones that apply to the photo and attach. You can also use stickers, diecuts and in some cases word cutouts.

Remember all of this can be applied to both digital and paper scrapbooks. There are no rules when it comes to scrapbooking.

Some scrappers don’t want to use prewritten words but they want to use their own. If you want to write on your pages here are a few tips.

1. Select an ink shade that suits the color scheme of your page
2. If you have a photograph or newspapers clipping that you want to add, I suggest copying the pieces onto acid free paper, this way they won’t yellow over time.

It is funny how cleaning out a closet, or the boxes in the basement, will lead to not only memories but refreshing ideas for crafting.

Recently I was cleaning out my cedar chest where over the years I have put all the little presents the kids have given me and I came across a decorated box from my daughter. She must have been around kindergarten age when she made it for her Dad. She took a empty shoe box and decorated it with drawings, and cutouts of all the things that she thought her Dad would like.

Of course there were pictures of cars, racing, animals (at least I think they are animals) and pictures of books that her and Dad read together. These were her important “treasures”.

When looking at the box I remembered clearly the Christmas morning she gave it to him, all wrapped up with a pretty bow on top, she told him it was his “Memory Box”. He was to put every memory he had in it to keep them safe. Little did she realize at the time that the memories stored were all of her and her brothers. Little gifts made by little hands.

The box is so fragile now that I hesitate to move it around, so sorry no picture.

This is one of the first crafting projects she made, all of them kept in the “Memory Box”.

I don’t often recommend a Polymer Clay Book but this is one  of those books that I love to share.

Celebrations With Polymer Clay by Sarajane Helm contains both the latest techiques and new ways to use old techniques.  I love discovering new books like this.  It has something for all levels of experience.

The books focuses on the four seasons..winter, spring, summer and fall.  It has around 25 projects that revolve around the color palettes of the seasons.  Direction for making decorative masks, jewelry, flower arrangements, cards, picture frames, Christmas ornaments, and even covered Easter eggs.  This book has it all including colored pictures to go along with the instructions.

It also includes some practical tips on how to care for the pasta machine, recipes for mixing different colors for the four season color palatte.  Along with another section that talks about different recipes for colored stains using Flecto Varathane.

How to make lace canes, floral canes, face canes, snow flake canes…the instructions are all here along with how to reduce the cane.  Clear concise directions on how to condition your clay and keep it plyable.

Celebrations With Polymer Clay has a number of guest contributors and the layout of the different projects makes this book a worthwhile addition to you Polymer Clay library.

It is not too late to put it on your Christmas List!

There is no limit to the items you can put into your scrapbook. Extra items can help tell the overall story.

Whether you are doing digital or paper scrapbooks don’t limit yourself to just the purchased embellishments or papers. Did you ever have a scrapbook as a child? Or how about your high school yearbook, did you ever put mementos to remember? I did and so have many others.

Scrapbooks are meant to remind us of a time and place that we were. What we were doing at that time in our history, or what our family was doing.

I have often wondered when talking to other people who scrapbook why they limit themselves to only what they can buy? There are scrapbooking materials all around us in everyday life. There is the newspaper article, the ticket stubs from a concert we went to, even candy wrappers.

With todays’ technology you can preserve anything with the use of a scanner and printer. If you don’t have the actual item or if it is too far gone to be put in a scrapbook. I have a few of those mementos, believe me.

If you are a regular reader of this blog you know that my husband and I were treated to a trip to Germany recently to visit our daughter who is working over there. Believe me it was a trip of a lifetime and the memories will last that long. But to the point of mementos if you look at the page below you will see sticking out of the back of the actual picture are our airline stubs.

The hardest part of any scrapbooking endeavor is to get your ideas together. For some the scrapbook is considered a work of art while others can slap together a page in a few minutes. It is always hardest, at least for me, at the start. So I came up with a few ideas to help get going on the scrapbook page. I prefer digital scrapbooking, but these principles apply to both digital and traditional scrapbooking.

1. Deciding on a color for the page. This should be the easiest to decide, but for many it is not. I usually try and find a background color to compliment the picture, maybe some obscure color in the picture itself. However, making the scrapbook page out of one color only is not always the best idea. Try laying out a few colors on your table, then laying the picture on top, then pick out which colors “pop” out for you. Don’t be afraid to try different textures too, sometimes a boring color will come alive with a little texture added to it.

2. Have you ever thought of using a literary character as your inspiration for a scrapbook page? If you have a favorite book or author getting ideas from some of their cover art is a great way to incorporate some of your

interest into a page. Taking a character out of your favorite book is another idea. Writers have wonderful imaginations and often portray their hero and heroines as larger than life, incorporate some of those characters into your pages. A scrapbook page, aside from showcasing a picture, should show your character as well.

Christmas ornament and tree traditions, according to some historians, began somewhere in the 7th or 8th century by St. Boniface, a monk who is known as the Apostle of the German people. It is said that St. Boniface brought a fir tree for his congregation to decorate during the Christmas holidays, he believed the triangular shape of the fir tree represent the Holy Trinity. The Germans embraced the Christmas tree and began to decorate it with basic, white colored candles. In the 15th century decorations started to be introduced into the German Christmas decorations. Around 1510, in Latavia a fir tree was trimmed with roses which symbolized the Virgin Mary, so began the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree with ornaments.

But wait, there is more. In 1605 a town along the Rhine close the German border called Strasbourg was where the first tree was brought indoors and decorated with paper roses, white candles, nuts, sweets, and some kind of wafer. This is the first time it is recorded that a Christmas tree was brought inside and then decorated which began what we do today. Of course, over time the decorative ornaments grew more elaborate and imaginative as each family used what they had on hand to decorate their trees. Decorations were made of painted eggshells (still done today in many countries) cookies, and of course the candle. Tinsel for the tree came into existence around 1610 and was originally made with pure silver.