Cross Craft Inspiration

(Archiving LM Blog Post-August 7, 2009)

Quilting was a hobby I dabbled in during my pre-scrapbooking days and my biggest project was a queen-sized, hand-pieced, hand-sewn Dresden plate quilt for our bed. I loved sorting through the quilt shop's printed fabrics, picking out just the right ones for my design. After I cut the various fabric into the hundreds of "petals" I then had the task of arranging them into individual sets of 19. I would play with the pieces until I found that "perfect" arrangement, stitch them together, and then go on to the next plate and find another harmonious pattern, each one different from the last. I had the same sort of feeling as I arranged and rearranged patterned paper squares for a recent scrapbook page. After punching out dozens of squares from scraps, I placed two rows of five across the top of a piece of cardstock. I went through so many combinations and arrangements, shuffling them around until I had what felt right for my photo...then hurriedly adhered them to the page (before I rethought the arrangement and changed them around again)!



Pleased with the finished project I then tried a variation on the design and created a total of 4 pages using that same little square punch! It was sort of like quilting again, but without the needle and thread! A fabric design also became the inspiration for the cute little crab on my page. The piece de resistance were it's button eyes! I knew that I could create something similar with paper. Forgoing the sewing machine, I gave my paper squares and paper crab pen-stitching to achieve a similar look. It was so much quicker using the pen. ;)

Inspiration In Reverse

(Archiving LM Blog Post-July 26, 2009)

Many times I'll finish a page and it will inspire a card. This time it was the other way around. A card inspired the page! The wild designs and colors of Basic Grey's "Fruit Fizz" originally intimidated me...until I noticed how it was used on one of the card samples in the Basic Grey Lime Rickey card kit.

Taking a clue from the card, I used the busy patterned paper as a frame around the page and matted the center portion on black cardstock. As accents for my page, I made super-sized "whirlie birds", with one for each of the kids in the photographs accompanying the layout. The birds on the "Howdy Doody" patterned paper are adorable, and I think my whimsical recreations add a lot of character to the page...to go with the "characters" in the photos. Silly boys!

Chipboard Fanatic

(Archiving LM Blog Post-July 13, 2009)

I am one, and I admit it. Chipboard continues to be one of my favorite supplies. And making it look good is so easy too. Here are a few of my favorite techniques:

1. Covering with patterned paper. Spread a generous amount of adhesive (KI Gloo works well for this) on the piece of chipboard. Let dry. Cut around the shape with an exacto knife. (It doesn't have to be perfect at this point.) Finally, sand the edges. (Cut a nail file to a point to get those hard to reach areas.)

2. Spray with Glimmer Mist (or any other brand of spray paint). Even if it goes on unevenly, it seems to dry to a smooth coat.

3. And last but not least...PAINT! You don't have to be a Picasso to do this either. My favorite look is a base coat of color with final application of stain. Apply a thin coat of paint and let dry thoroughly. Sand edges (which will allow stain to soak into the chipboard). Rub or brush on a layer of stain, and immediately wipe away with finger or damp paper towel to give the desired look.

Beach House Signs

(Archiving LM Blog Post-July 10, 2009)



Every year before we head for the beach, my sister goes to the dollar store and buys each family something to hang outside their screened porch. (That way the kids know which 5 of the 14 beach townhouses belong to our families for the week, and they don't accidentally end up walking into someone else's house in search of their cousin(s)!) One year she picked up colorful little stuffed fish of the Finding Nemo variety. Another year we had sparkly swirly windsocks. This year, a few weeks before our vacation, she brought out these little miniature surfboard signs of unfinished wood for each family to decorate. I knew I'd have fun using my scrapbook stash for this endeavor! I volunteered to decorate one for my parents' house and chose the hibiscus design (above). A gecko decorated the one leading up to our porch (below).



What You Need

Patterned paper
Letter stickers
Ribbon and/or fiber
Acrylic paint and/or sharpie markers
Waterproof varnish

Basic Instructions

Adhere patterned paper to the wood, cut off excess, then sand edges. Paint designs (hibiscus and gecko) with acrylic paint and/or sharpie markers. Add letter stickers for names then varnish for added durability. Finally, finish them off with pretty fibers or ribbons and hang outdoors! :)

Think Out of the Box

(Archiving LM Blog Post-March 16, 2009)

Valentines papers for beach photos? Of course! When I first saw the colors of Fancy Pants’ Valentine collection, Splendid, I fell in love! There it was, mixed in with the black, white, pink, and red…my favorite shade of blue, aqua the color of a tropical sea. As soon as I had finished a Valentine themed layout and sent Kevin off to school with a set of Fancy Pants cards for his classmates, I set about finding a photo to go with my leftover pieces of patterned paper and that gorgeous shade of blue! I didn’t have to look far. There in my stack of unscrapped beach photos from last summer were two pictures of my son and his cousin heading out into the water. And best of all, their swimsuits looked like they were made for those papers. Splendid indeed!



So don’t forget. When you’re looking for just the right shade of green, check your Christmas papers. If it’s orange you need, flip through your Halloween-themed stash. And when looking for a gorgeous aquamarine pattern…Fancy Pants’ Splendid Valentine collection!

Whatever-You-Call-It

(Archiving LM Blog Post-February 20, 2009)





Art journal, illustrated journal, book of me, creative therapy, whatever-you-call-it…it’s a chance for us to include ourselves in our art. Are you game? It’s never too late to start! I just found out about Nancy’s Creative Journal Challenge, and have been playing a little catch up. In fact, playing is the best word to describe what I do in my journal! But YOUR journal can be whatever you want it to be. You can be verbose or use words sparingly if at all. You can make it artsy or plain. You can choose to included photos or do without. Prompts, posted weekly on Sunday evenings, are there to guide you, but the interpretation is up to you. Be silly or serious…it’s your book!

Artists who have completed all the topics at the end of the 12-week session will be entered in a drawing for a grand prize. And as an added bonus, your entries are eligible for Winter Scrapfest points! (Please refer to the Winter Scrapfest rules regarding how to count points).

Nancy’s Creative Journal Sign-Up Thread

List of Challenges:
Week 1: (choose your book)
Week 2: My Personality
Week 3: My Financial Outlook
Week 4: Guilty Pleasures
Week 5: Health
Week 6: What Frightens Me
Week 7: My Favorite Book or Movie

More of my pages:

Thanks for the Memories

At the end of December, an awesome community will cease to exist. Lifetime Moments, an amazing source of scrapbooking supplies, inspiration, and friendship is closing its doors, as the economic downturn has forced out yet another small business. LM has been my home on the web for over 7 years, six of those as part of a wonderful design team. Working with Jackie and the other girls has been an awesome experience. She expresses well what the community has meant to so many, "So much of our lives have been shared in our online community – sadness and grief of lost loved ones, happiness of so many beautiful new babies, new relationships, new homes, new jobs, sound advice, caring concern, shared interests and so many fun times." I know our friendships will carry on in other places, but I'm so sorry to see the dream of its owners come to an end. They say when one door closes, another opens! I'm wishing Jackie and Thad all the best.