Back on land, now time to scrap. Kinda…

I returned home today from a 7 day cruise to Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

(iPhone photos)

It was fabulous, awesome, and definitely "OMG" worthy, but I won’t start scrapping those photos just yet. I’m a week behind in Shimelle’s class, Cover to Cover, and although I haven’t completed a whole lot of pages in my recent years of scrapping, those that I have finished are in desperate need of organizing so they can be placed in albums.

Prompt 1: System for photos, pages, albums?

1. If you have a system for your photos, pages and albums, how would you describe it? What does and doesn’t work as well as you would like?

Currently my system for photos is that I print all photos containing people and stick them chronologically into photo albums. I’ve been debating the need for thorough photo albums even though some pictures will be scrapped. Maybe this is just to get me off the hook, since I haven’t really been scrapping lately. At least this way any company I have can still see my pictures.

Ideally if I were about to scrapbook I would flip through the album as I decide which photos will get scrapped. Then choose a layout/sketch next so I know what size I need to print the photos (order 4x6, print other sizes at home). The drawback to this system is the price of printing duplicates and not having 4x6 photos available to scrap if I want to keep my photo albums in order.

I don’t truly have a system for pages since I haven’t completed many in the last few years, but those that I have done are in a pile, waiting…

Albums? What albums?

2. If you don’t have a system, consider my system as a rough draft. What things do you already think you would not want in your own system? What elements seem perfectly sensible for you?

I like Shimelle’s album system and will definitely do yearly albums with upgrades if needed.

3. Take a photo that helps describe your current status with scrapbooking. You might have dozens and dozens of albums. You might have two. You might be completely happy with your albums. You might have a big stack and no books or ideas on where things should go. Share your photo (and more details if you would like) with us either by posting on the forum or writing a blog post. Of course, you can keep your answer to yourself if you prefer! But I promise we’re a nice group that shares well with others.

HeHe. LOL. She’s kidding right?

Since True Scrap 2 ...

It's been two weeks since True Scrap 2: The Spawn of True Scrap and I'm still feeling the buzz. Since then:

• I've watched my favorite classes again. Some of them more than once. Seriously. Shimelle, Jennifer, Nichol, Aby, Lisa, Noell, and Kristina all rocked my socks. Soooo much inspiration.



• I went out and bought that Martha Stewart butterfly punch. The monarch one with the detail on the wings.



• I've downloaded the Postagram app.



• I've become even more addicted to Pinterest (is that even possible?). My iphone app shuts down on me, though. I just take that as a sign to get up and go do something productive. Note to self: productive does NOT mean turning on the desktop computer to browse Pinterest. Really.



• I've printed lots of photos and placed them in albums. This is so much easier to flip through when deciding which pictures to scrap. AND if for some reason, I never get around to scrapping them, friends and family can just look through the photo albums. I've realized that I like my photos better once they've been printed. Alot of the ones I thought weren't "scrappable" actually look pretty good on paper. I'm excited.

There is still so much I want to do:

• There's layouts I want to scraplift and techniques I want to try.



• Now that my most recent photos are "cataloged", I'm planning to choose sketches and create photo grids for my layouts.



• I'm hoping to go through my completed layouts this weekend with Shimelle's suggestions. I haven't looked at most of my layouts since I found that "perfect" box I could throw them into until I was ready to put them in albums. Yep, just like Shimelle, if someone came to my house and asked to see my scrapbooks, I'd be like "uh....". I knew this was an issue, but I still never had the motivation to get moving, so now I plan to have this done by the end of the year. IN 2012 I WILL SHOW OFF MY SCRAPBOOKS.

I can't wait to get some time to play. Can you believe I've only been off twice since then? And I spent one of those off days trying to medicate a sinus infection. Let's just say "not fun". So wish me luck that I'll get some scrapping done soon 'cause I'm about to burst with inspiration.

If you weren't there check here for info http://www.truescrap.com/spawn. The next one is in April, but if you can't wait that long, you can still purchase access to the videos.

Have you been inspired lately?

Until next time...

Tamekia

My First Video: Tim Holtz Tag Swap

{is this thing on...i tried posting this wednesday and blogger shut down on me}

As soon as I figure out how to embed YouTube videos, I'll do so here. For now please use this link.

I'm super excited to say that I recorded and uploaded my first YouTube video today. I participated in a tag swap over on Life on the Scrapbeach. For this swap, we were to use Tim Holtz techniques to do a masculine, feminine, or patriotic tag. I chose feminine without thinking twice. But...once I started I couldn't decide on a technique. I think I was in an extra "girly" phase that day and decided to go with sparkle. I heart Perfect Pearls. So that's what I did. After inking the background, I spray it with a homemade perfect pearls mist. Then I used a gold perfect pearls powder. Lots of fun, but I'm not convinced that this doesn't need a fixative. I even sprayed with water to "bind" it, although Tim says that the Perfect Medium is enough. Time will tell. I created a rosette using the Tim Holtz die and layered it with tulle cut with the tattered florals die. The top layer is an "I am Roses" flower colored with a re-inker and perfect pearls mist(I told ya I love this stuff), stamped with a script stamp, and rubbed with rock candy stickles. The pearl was colored with a Copic marker. The bookplate was cut from the TH tag die and painted with the gold dabber from Ranger. The center is raised on pop dots. It is finished with dyed seam binding, a safety pin, a charm and some tulle. On the back I used Tim's wrinkled distress technique for the background. The envelope flap was done with a mask. I originally intended to place my info card in the envelope, but it was really difficult to remove. So I attached it to the flap instead. I like how it turned out. We made six and kept one. So sometime soon I'll receive five beautiful works of art in return. Now I just need to find some way to display them.
Check out the video. Did I mention it's my first. Hehe. I can't help it, I'm excited. I've already filmed the next one, so check back soon. It's for a Graphic 45 Tag Swap.

Until next time...
Tamekia

The Mother's Day Card

Yes, as in singular. I wanted to make more, but my mojo just wasn't with me. Not even on National Scrapbook Day. So this is the only one I completed and I'm not truly sure I like it. But Mom loved it, so that's all that counts. Right? Right. On to the details. The design is from a previous weeks Mojo Monday sketch. The cardstock is from Stampin' Up. Once I decided to use this Prima paper from the 6x6 Madeline pad, I thought of Purely Pomogranite from the '08 In Colors. The blue from the same collection was also a great match. I embossed it with the Victoria Cuttlebug folder. The circle and scallop circle were cut with Nestibilities. The flowers are from my Prima stash. I sprayed them with homemade Perfect Pearls spray for some sparkle. I added some ribbon and pearls for finishing touches. Pretty simple, but still pretty. Works for me.

Until next time...

A Mother's Love

Hi there. Today I thought I'd share some Mother's Day cards I created a while ago. I was brainstorming ideas for cards to make tomorrow and thought looking back would be great inspiration. Both of these cards are all pretty simple. Apparently that's how I roll. The first card is made with papers from an Autumn Leaves mat stack. Super cute papers. The stamp is one of the Studio G $1 clear stamps. I guess i liked it cause I made a few more cards using the same stamp. I just may use it tomorrow or whenever I get around to making cards this year.

The second card has patterned paper from Junkitz. I heard they went out of business and I could cry. They made such wonderful papers. Lots of bright colors and great whimsical flower patterns. There's one design that I've been hoarding for quite some time. Now I may never use it. What can I say - I need therapy.























Well, I guess that's all for now. Until next time...

A few projects

Hi. I thought I'd share a couple of projects I've completed lately. First up, an altered notebook . I painted the edges black and used the My Minds Eye Lost & Found papers. At first I was tempted to use the glitter papers, but I decided to go with the damask instead. I'm glad I did. I love the way it turned out. I wanted to keep it somewhat flat so that I can fold the notebook over without it being too bulky. I added a Prima Say it in Crytals black swirl and some Essentials flowers from my stash. The velvet letters are from Making Memories -I've been hoarding them for some time now. Hehe. The butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch used on some SEI iron-on leftover. Yep, that's right. Don't throw out the outline.

Next up, couple of tags.
The one on the left is a shipping tag. I used 2 Tim Holtz masks and inked the tag with Broken China distress ink. The stamps are Tim Holtz as well. I added some flowers that I colored and a velvet butterfly. The other tag was cut from acrylic using an accucut die. I stamped a clear circle and a couple Prima flowers with a script stamp. The word "Dream" is a Making Memories rub on from "way back" and the black trim is from Hobby Lobby. I made the charm and hung it from a black safety pin. I like it, but my hubby says it's a little "goth". I'm okay with that. Ha.

Well, that's all for now. Until next time...

Back from CKC

Well, we're back from CKC and I think I've finally recooped. I can truly say ... 1) I had a lot of fun 2) I received a lot of inspiration and 3) I spent a lot of money. lol. I tried to restrain, but... well what can I say. And true to my nature, what I bought most was paper. I'll have to try to actually use some of this stuff before next year. I won't mention how much stuff I bought last year that I still haven't used - that's another post for another day. So without further ado, here's this year's "lay it out on the table" photo of all I bought. Crazy huh?

Here's a pic of Criss and me at the end of day 3. Don't we look exhausted. Wait, don't answer that.

But stay tuned to see what we make with our new goodies and all the new techniques we've learned.

Until next time...and no it won't be so long.

Two days in a row...but I'm not patting myself on the back or anything. I got some crafting done and thought I'd share.

The first card I did for Taylor's Cupcake Challenge. I cheated though, 'cause I didn't stamp anything. I wanted to play with my new Pearlescent Liquid Acrylics. And I didn't have any oval cutters so I dug into my stash and found the KImemories label and added an American Crafts rub on.

The second card I made for Verve's Release sketch challenge. I decided to use the same papers to reduce the scrap pile and I like this color combo. The stamps are SU's Polka Dots & Paisley. It's pretty simple, but I like how it turned out.

Criss is creating today, too, so hopefully soon we'll have something new from her. Until next time...

It's been a while, huh? Well I could try to explain why we haven't posted in over a month and then promise to fill ya in on what we've been doing, but... We'll just skip all that. Instead I'll just show you the card I made for Wednesday's Card Sketch on Splitcoast. I finally cut into the Petal Patch Designer Series Paper. This was definitely one of those had to have purchases that I was never able to use. It only took a year or two...

And I'll show you an acetate card I made a couple weeks ago. One of the Virtual Stamp Night challenges on Splitcoast was to make a transparent card. I started one once before, but for some reason I never finished. This time I was motivated to stick with it once I had a recipient in mind. What ya think? Okay, that's all for today. Until next time...

An apology, Scrap Challenge #2, & 2008 Rewind Part II

First off, please let me apologize. I'm sorry that I failed to update as promised. Life has a way of sidetracking like no other. I could blame it on back spasms, or a sudden onset of arthritis in my right hand, or the fact that I'm waiting for Criss to email me a pick of her project. but what kind of woman would I be if I didn't accept the responsibility. So if you haven't clicked me off already, I'd like to show ya our 2nd Scrap Challenge. This is the remainder of two Making Memories Spellbound Page kits that were left over from our Nightmare Before Christmas make and take. We added a pack of vinyl stickers (also by Making Memories), ribbon and brads. So, since all the patterned paper and embellishments had been provided, the only acceptable addition was cardstock.
And here you have it ...

Somewhat similar and yet so different. I think she eyed my sketch. (he he). Why else would both our pics be on the same side of the page?

And for segment two of the 2008 Rewind:

For Valentine's Day we made mailboxes, cards, and nugget tins. We ended up making 17 mailboxes. That was a long night.

I made thank you notes for Criss' sister who had a beautiful baby girl.

A card I made for my sister, Donnetta, who got married this year.

Lots of milestones last year. Well, that concludes today's flashback. What milestones did you celebrate in '08? We'd love to know - feel free to leave us a comment.

Check back soon for our 3rd Scrap Challenge and more 2008 memories.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Return...

I know. I know. Bad Blogger. I apologize; somehow the month of December flew by without a single update. But to make it up to ya, I’m committing to a full week of new posts. That’s right a new post everyday this week. Even if I have to force Criss to make her debut appearance at the keyboard (oh, I meant ask her nicely). And what exactly shall I discuss everyday for a week, you ask. Why this would be the perfect opportunity to look back on 2008 and welcome in the New Year. So with that said “2008 Rewind” begins now:

At CKC in Jan Criss won 2 copies of Ali Edwards’ “A Designer’s eye for Scrapbooking with Patterned Paper”. Yep two.

And I bought way too much. Esp since I haven’t even used half this stuff.

I finally finished this scrapbook one year later. Better late than never, right.

Well, that's all for today. Tomorrow I have more 2008 memories to share, I promise. No really.

Thanks for visiting.

Twilight Movie Opening Night

Well, I guess technically it was morning. But we had to see it ASAP. Like really - if going east would have been possible we would've. Even if it is just one hour. But we had to wait until 12:01. So we did...with camera in hand. Check out the pics by clicking the photo on the sidebar (you'll need the password). Then tell us what you think. Not of the photos (unless you just really wanna), of the movie.

And I finally get to show you some of the pics from the Nightmare before Christmas event where Criss and I created a make-and-take style demo for our co-workers. Conveniently the pictures including Crystal would not open in my email.

I think that's all for today. I'll hopefully have a mini album to show you soon. And in December we'll show you our combo December Daily/Journal your Christmas albums. Thanks for visiting.

Scrap Challenge #1

Sometimes great minds think alike, and sometimes if you shop for scrapbook stuff with your BFF, you end up buying the same products. So Crystal and I have decided to challenge ourselves to see how different (or how similar) or brains work when it comes to gluing this stuff down. Thus, the Scrap Challenge was born. Our first challenge actually came about when we attended a crop and the make and take didn't appeal to either of us.

So here's the challenge: We were given paper in the following colors and sizes:

Black: 12 x 12, 2 x 12, 5 x 6, 2 x4

White: 2 x 4.5, 3.5 x 4.5, 3.5 x 4.5, 3.75 x 4.75

red: 3 x 12, 1.25 x 12, 4.75 x 5.5

pattern: 3 x 12, 3 x 12

The rules: You don't have to use all the papers, but you can't use any other papers. And no peeking - you aren't allowed to see the other's layout until the agreed upon deadline and you've placed your glue sticks on the table.

The results:

So what do you think? I think it's funny that we both used black & white photos, flowers, and hand written journaling. And both of our layouts include pictures of ourselves. Maybe, we've been hanging out together for too long.

Our next scrap challenge involves Halloween papers, so we'll try to get that to ya before New Year's. Christmas, if we're really being productive, but if you know us at all, you know not to hold your breath.

Check back soon though, you may just be surprised. Besides we'll be starting our December Daily albums soon and Journal Your Christmas begins Dec. 1st.

Thanks for visiting.

What we've been up to...

Okay, so I thought I was going to post the pictures from our first Scrap Challenge then I realized I can't upload my photos on this computer because I haven't installed the software for my new camera. So today I'll just fill you in on the things we've been doing. We're currently in the middle of an awesome class by Jessica Sprague called Stories In Hand. Although the registration for this class is closed, she has plenty of other great classes. Check it out at http://www.jessicasprague.com/. Getting ready for Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas at http://shop.shimelle.com/store/product/christmas and soon we'll be making a December Daily album like the one done by the fabulous Ali Edwards. You can check out hers at http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/december-daily-album-2008.html. So, with all of this, we should have plenty to show you through the holiday season. What are you doing to celebrate the season? Feel free to leave comments and links, if possible. We'd love to hear from you.

October 31st

October 31st isn’t only Halloween. It’s Crystal’s Birthday Day, hence the title “Goth Princess”. So how did the madam spend her dark day? At work, poor thing.

But some birthday fairy eventually showed up with balloons and streamers (black, of course) and a cake with black and orange icing/decorations. What don’t look at me, I was working (insert evil grin here).

The night was completed with a gathering of family and friends at her new apartment. Did I mention there were costume changes? Wanna see the rest of the pics; follow the link with the pick on the sidebar (you'll need the password).

Now that all that partying is out the way, we’ll get back to crafting. Stay tuned to see the results of our first Scrap Challenge.

ten13 - the celebration

Here's some of the pictures from my birthday celebration at Uptown. If you have the password, the photo on the sidebar will link you to the Shutterfly site to see all the photos. Thanks again to all who helped me celebrate my day.

Finally Something Crafty

Crystal and I are presenting a craft demonstration to our co-workers where we will teach them how to make two cards and alter a brag book. Wish us luck – some of them have never stamped before, especially the guys in the group. Our theme is NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS since we’ll be making a Halloween card and a Christmas card. The brag book will have a Halloween cover on one side and when you flip it over a Christmas cpver on the other side. Criss designed the Halloween items (since she’s a Halloween baby) and I did the Christmas ones.

MATERIALS: Halloween card: Patterned Paper - Making Memories; Stamps - Making Memories

Christmas card: Patterned Paper - Making Memories; Stamps - Inkadinkado; Snowflake diecut - Quickutz; Glitter cardstock

Halloween Album Cover: Patterned Paper - Making Memories; Stamps - Making Memories; Tag Punch - Stampin’ Up; Ribbon - Offray

Christmas Album Cover: Patterned Paper - Making Memories; Stamps: - Inkadinkado; Snowflake diecut - Quickutz; craft foam.

So what do you think? Please feel free to leave us a comment.

Until next time, scrap a little, stamp a little, laugh a lot.

Hurricane IKE - 15 days later

It has been two weeks since Hurricane Ike swept his way through Galveston, TX and the Houston metro area. His destruction included leaving most of the area without power. It was day 14 before my little spot on earth was able to shine again. And day 15 has granted me a migraine. But soon life will be back to normal and we'll actually get this thing going. I promise. No really...

Welcome

Welcome to Scrap, Stamp, Laugh. Crystal and I have decided to take the plunge and enter the world of blogging. Actually I decided to take the plunge and I’m dragging Criss along, kicking and screaming. Why? Because my life is boring and hers, well…But together we might actually scrap a little, stamp a little, and laugh a lot. And we promise to share what we’re scrapping, stamping, and laughing about.
Thanks for visiting and we hope you come back often.