Everyone has a story to tell, here's mine sprinkled with some creative projects along the way.
Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back again.



Saturday, August 30, 2008

a new hobby and some card share.....

Mitch has been, should I dare say, a little envious that I have a hobby that I'm so passionate about. He wanted to be like me, spending all my time and every little dime I have on my paper obsession. I told him to go out there and find something that he would enjoy and after months of saving up he finally got his very own Bow. He wants to get into archery bec. of this one guy in our ward (church) that goes hunting for boar (sp?) with his bow. He thinks he needs this kind of challenge next. I was all for it since I figured how much more dangerous is this hobby compared to his motorcycle, hunting and strenous hikes? right?!

But kidding aside, I'm glad he did take this up cause now he won't have to bug me when I'm scrapping. I can just tell him to go out there and target shoot. (just kidding). Seriously though he looks like he's really happy doing this and I'm happy for him. :) Nice comeback don't you think. *wink*




ok so now for some card share. I've been so uninspired this whole week. I felt like nothing was coming together right with my projects but like my mantra this year..... progress not perfection.... so I'm chugging along and sharing what little I've done....I'm cringing while I upload these cards so be nice when you comment on these ok.





have a great weekend everyone,
Grace

cheap jewelry organizer

ok so one of the things that's been on my mind lately is trying to figure out an inexpensive way to organize my jewelry. Working for Charlotte Russe has quadrupled my collection and it has gotten out of hand. I went to Claire's and Icing accessory store only to see organizers going for 20 bucks or more and I knew they won't hold up ALL of my stuff. So after being so disappointed I went for a little therapy in one of my fave stores in the world- Michael's Craft store. I was looking around and gathering up some inspirations when I stumbled upon the floral section and saw this circle wire wreath thing. I loved the way the wires where put together and a light bulb hit me..... I can totally use this for my jewelry. So I bought it for a mere $3, went home, grabbed some paper clips and my accessories and started filling this baby up





and here's the result....


Ok now before you gasp that I have a lot of fashion jewelry, may I remind you that I got 40% discount on all my purchases so it was not hard for me to accumulate this much. *wink*
So back to the organizer, I turned the paper clips to make it an S shape hook and started hooking one end onto the wreath and hanging my necklaces on the other end.



I placed the necklaces on top cause they're the longest and then my bracelets on the bottom.



Some of my really chunky bracelets are still hanging onto my old organizer cause the hooks just couldn't hold them and I'm still trying to figure out how I can add my stud earrings into this system but other than that I'm pretty happy with how this little experiment turned out. So if you have as much jewelry as I do and looking for an inexpensive way to organize them, go to your craft store and spend 3 dollars. It would be your most valuable investment!

Have a great day,
Grace

Friday, August 29, 2008

September kit sneek peek

Coconut Scrapshop is on a roll with some fantabalous kits. September kit was designed by dt member Tabitha and includes these fabulous papers from Mollie and Mac







classic designs and interesting patterns, won't you agree?

Here's the other "goodies" in the kit...
Heidi Swapp Journaling Spots
Cat eye blue ink
bazzill
Adorn it Sticky note pad paper
Brown Gems
Adorn it Tan Alphabet stickers
maya road damask sheer ribbon
maya road sheer scroll frame book
brads or eyelets

Did you read that, new Maya Road stuff, fresh from CHA summer is in the kit as well. This is really a must buy!!!

Kits will be available on Sept 1st. Sign up early and don't miss out on a great combination of products.

Have a great day,
Grace

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

CD Case Mini album tutorial

Hi all. I taught an online class about two weeks ago at the SocalScrap birthday crop. Some have mentioned that they missed the class but are still interested in the project. So I decided to post the class here. I started with a welcome video. Note that the video is my first time to do something of this nature hence the dorkiness, kids talking in the back and bad lighting.

If you wanna play along here's the supplies needed....

1- 12x12 cardstock
5- different coordinating pattern papers (sizes can be about 6" squares each). If using double sided paper, you can use less sheets.
1- whole sheet of word sticker
2-3 tags, journaling blocks and small square or circle embellishments. They must be FLAT elements though.
CD clear case (the part where the CD is stored should be taken out).
Adhesive of choice

Optional:
Bone folder
Ink pad



What my final project looked like


So onto the steps....
Step 1. Cut the papers!

Here are the dimensions:

For the cardstock:

2- 12 x 4 2/3”

1- 4 2/3” x ¾”

For the Pattern papers:

1- 6 x 4.6”

1- 5 x 4.6” (if using double sided paper)

7- 4.6 x 3.5”

Step 2. Create the back page

Grab your pattern paper with the size of 6 x 4.6”. Lay the paper on top of the back of the CD case (inside). Use a bone folder/popsicle stick or your finger to make the crease/fold on both sides of the case.

Place the glue dots on the corners of the pattern paper which will be facing the back of the case. Put it closest to the edge so the adhesive is not too obvious.

Adhere the strip of cardstock on the left side of the page paper, inside the case.

Step 3. Creating the inner pages…

Fold each 4 2/3x12” cardstock into three folds. Two of them would be equal (4 2/3 x 5) and one would be 4 2/3x 2”.

Connect the two to make a longer piece of cardstock. Adhere the 2” fold behind one 5”x 4 2/3” fold to connect them.



Check your folds to make sure they’re like an accordion when fanned out

Step 4. Build your inner pages.

Gather your seven pattern papers cut into 4.6 x 3.5”. Adhere a pattern paper on one side/flap of the accordion folded cardstock. Have the papers lay in different sides of the page to create a flowing design throughout the book. For example, one page would have the pattern paper on the left hand side, the next would have the pattern paper on the bottom, and then the next would have it to the right, and so on. *make sure you leave one part black (without design). This will be the part glued to the back of the cd case.

Make sure you cover the 2” cardstock (connecting both cardstocks together) with pattern paper.


Adhere the side where there’s no design onto the back of the CD case, placing it to the right edge of the case.


Step 5. Decorate the inner pages…

Start with the 2” flap. I adhered a scroll die cut on both sides of this piece.

And with the rest of the pages, I layered the pattern paper with mesh and a word sticker. *Remember choose embellishments that are FLAT! Your case won’t close if it’s too bulky!


Step 6. Create the front page.

Grab your pattern paper with the measurements of 5 x 4.6”. *If not using double sides pattern paper, make sure you cover the back with another pattern paper. Decorate as you like it. With mine, I used the mesh and word sticker plus the die cut shape for embellishments. Make sure you decorate both sides of the paper(s).

front

Back

Step 7. The final touches.

Add the final touches to your book at this time. I rounded the corners of my 2” flap. If you want toyou’re your edges, you can do that now too.

AND YOU ARE DONE!!!

Here’s what the final project looks like again…

Front

Inside pages

Back

Hope you guys had fun with this class and can’t wait to see your finished versions….

If you have any questions about the project and the process please don’t hesitate to ask me.

Have a great day,
Grace

What I'm listening to....

ok I've been meaning to share a post like this for a long time. Ever since I got my MP3 player, I haven't stopped filling it up with some cool tunes. Some of my faves are these..


faves: wake up call; kiwi; back at your door


faves: I hate that I love you; Lemme get that; Rehab


faves: Sugar Mama; Upgrade U; Kitty Kat


Faves: Cruise Control; Side Effects; O.O.C


faves: Tailor made; Capri; Realize


faves: Tattoo; No air; God loves Ugly

oh and Coconut Scrapshop has some great deals right now. They have some of the latest papers that came out from CHA from October Afternoon, Basic Grey and GCD. Oh and the fun news doesn't stop there, for anybody that will renew their monthly kit subscription Jen will send this album to you...


12 x 12 Haberdashery Scrapbooking Album! (a $25 value)! A beautiful Classic Album, featuring a crown in a die-cut center.

This gorgeous Distinctive Memory Album features Expandable 12x12 Post-Bound Album, 20 pages and 10 top-loading page protectios, Photo Safe, Acid free, Archival Quality.

Hope you take a listen to my faves and if you have any albums to recommend please share it with me. I'm telling you I have a mission to fill my 2GB player up!!!

Have a great day,
Grace

Sunday, August 24, 2008

share day.....

Haven't had the scrapbook "mojo" for the whole week so I decided to "just do it" this weekend and finished 3 pages and one card. Not going to share ALL of them "just yet" but here's two of them....

Slightly Obsessed

*This page is about me going to the scrapbook expo in the OC fairgrounds in Feb of last year. I even added the wrist band and title of the flyer I got that day. A little Cuckoo!!! The sketch is inspired by my friend Pamela.

My Christmas Wishes

*I blogged about this before. Marcus wrote a letter to Santa at Preschool and he wrote some funny things there.

and my biggest share right now.......
Got this in the mail yesterday


and guess who's on page 96.........



ME!!!!


This is by far my biggest "publication" accomplishment to date. I'm so psyched. I've been lugging this thing all over the place.

Have a great start of the week,
Grace