It seemed like a really good idea at the time: use the new Sil bat and spiderweb frame for the Halloween postcard swap. How I didn't see all those little holes/spaces that would need to be cleaned out is beyond me. Or, I REALLY need glasses. There were lots of little spaces, and I made the frames to fit on 4x6 cards, so some of those spaces were darned near microscopic.
Did I mention that I needed 15 frames? And that it took me a few cuts until I figured out that I needed to have the Sil cut each frame twice? Then I had to punch out/cut out/stab out all those little pieces, because some just did not want to come out.
So, now the frames are on the cards - and there are all sorts of minuscule pieces of black paper upstairs (my desk) and down (while waiting for the UPS guy I had to have something to do!) and I am not planning on cutting out that frame for quite some time - and not that small. Not for quite some time - say October or so!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Embossed Homeless Dragon
OOPS! I accidentally deleted this photo from both my phone and Photobucket!
Whaddathink? Does it look like a dragon? It was made using a new stencil that I picked up yesterday. DD has decided with the help of her best friend, that stencils rule, but no stores around here have a wide selection, so we had to order some from a store in Plano. That was in June and DD ordered a unicorn stencil and a Japanese kimonoed lady. I ordered the dragon because I thought it would look awesome for Martial Arts pages.
Even though I was exhausted last night, I just had to experiment. Experiment is the correct term because the first paper I chose was reddish-orange and one of the embossing pastes I chose was gold. After three small sections, I changed my mind and switched to black paper. Then I did something not so smart, I started on the outside edges of the stencil and worked in. I know better than to do that. Needless to say, it was a more frustrating experience than I had counted on, especially since I decided to use three colors: gold, green and red. Don't see the red? Well, it's not there because trying to get the green in between the gold was a nightmare, not helped at all by the fact that the two pastes were of different textures. The gold was sort of like glue and the green was paste. I know that different manufacturers use different formulas, but really - it was like using two totally different mediums.
Well, it has been 12 hours and the dragon is still drying. Didn't know I used THAT much paste! Sorry the photo is not the best quality, but I thought I would play with my iPhone and upload it that way. Think I need more light (and to be more awake, took it about 7 this morning.)
As for its final destination, there is some debate. DD wants it, DS wants it on his backpack and DH hasn't seen it. I think I need to make another with white and then chalk it....
Whaddathink? Does it look like a dragon? It was made using a new stencil that I picked up yesterday. DD has decided with the help of her best friend, that stencils rule, but no stores around here have a wide selection, so we had to order some from a store in Plano. That was in June and DD ordered a unicorn stencil and a Japanese kimonoed lady. I ordered the dragon because I thought it would look awesome for Martial Arts pages.
Even though I was exhausted last night, I just had to experiment. Experiment is the correct term because the first paper I chose was reddish-orange and one of the embossing pastes I chose was gold. After three small sections, I changed my mind and switched to black paper. Then I did something not so smart, I started on the outside edges of the stencil and worked in. I know better than to do that. Needless to say, it was a more frustrating experience than I had counted on, especially since I decided to use three colors: gold, green and red. Don't see the red? Well, it's not there because trying to get the green in between the gold was a nightmare, not helped at all by the fact that the two pastes were of different textures. The gold was sort of like glue and the green was paste. I know that different manufacturers use different formulas, but really - it was like using two totally different mediums.
Well, it has been 12 hours and the dragon is still drying. Didn't know I used THAT much paste! Sorry the photo is not the best quality, but I thought I would play with my iPhone and upload it that way. Think I need more light (and to be more awake, took it about 7 this morning.)
As for its final destination, there is some debate. DD wants it, DS wants it on his backpack and DH hasn't seen it. I think I need to make another with white and then chalk it....
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Stop the Chubbies!
Ohmigosh, QK has got to stop posting Halloween Chubbies on the Sil site!!! I am so in love with them - especially the Chubby Mummy. It is so adorable - and what I have been wanting for quite some time. I have witches, vampires, Frankensteins, bats, owls (okay, so I need those for lots of things) and ghosts. I had no mummies. Mummies are cool. As with the rest, they can be used for not only Halloween, but Scooby-Doo, too. We have lots of photos from the Scooby ride in Fiesta Texas and those chubbies will be perfect. And they will work for the Halloween swaps, too!
So, if I have uses for the chubbies, why do I want QK to quit posting them? Because I cannot quit playing with them!!! I keep pulling them up and shrinking them to see how much detail they retain when fit on say a 2x2 square. The first mummies tore, so I switched to textured paper. They came out fuzzy, and tore in a few places, but usable. Of course, it took me four tries (I needed to change my cutting mat since the sticky went away on try #3). Now I have to place my Chubby Mummies where they need to go. Bummer most of them lost their feet. I am thinking that under two inches is too small.
Of course, I should really try the ghosts. Frankenstein would have to lose his scar and the vampire his teeth. The witch's broomstick might meet the same fate as the mummy's feet.
See, I cannot stop thinking about the chubbies. They are just too cute, too full of promise.
So, no more chubbies - I need to concentrate on other things, like finishing my swaps. I could stop looking at the QK store, stop playing with the images in my library - but how would I know if they came out with a Chubby Werewolf?
So, if I have uses for the chubbies, why do I want QK to quit posting them? Because I cannot quit playing with them!!! I keep pulling them up and shrinking them to see how much detail they retain when fit on say a 2x2 square. The first mummies tore, so I switched to textured paper. They came out fuzzy, and tore in a few places, but usable. Of course, it took me four tries (I needed to change my cutting mat since the sticky went away on try #3). Now I have to place my Chubby Mummies where they need to go. Bummer most of them lost their feet. I am thinking that under two inches is too small.
Of course, I should really try the ghosts. Frankenstein would have to lose his scar and the vampire his teeth. The witch's broomstick might meet the same fate as the mummy's feet.
See, I cannot stop thinking about the chubbies. They are just too cute, too full of promise.
So, no more chubbies - I need to concentrate on other things, like finishing my swaps. I could stop looking at the QK store, stop playing with the images in my library - but how would I know if they came out with a Chubby Werewolf?
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Let the Purging Begin!
The first step in reducing my overflow of items was ordering some magnetic sheets for my All-in-One Binder. I just couldn't take hunting through my black magnetic folders for what I was looking for anymore. I decorated the first few, but then they no longer closed due to the paper I had used. That was annoying but six identical black binders were also a pain. The magnetic sheets were the only solution.
So, tonight I put my Country CC's on the pages; already I have found dies I can do without. Australia and South Africa were each purchased for one or two dies - ones I can now do on my Sil. I have nothing against those dies, but I have never used them - especially not the heads of the animals. I really prefer whole bodies. What was I thinking? I was collecting, not thinking.
Now I have four empty black magnetic folders. Five, if you count the one I haven't opened. WHAT am I going to do with them? What am I going to do with those dies?
And how am I going to lift that very heavy AiOB? Those pages with dies are HEAVY! Dorothy from RW warned me - and given my history, it was well-appreciated. Do I need another AiBO? Would that improve or worsen my problem?
My head hurts just thinking of the possibilities.....
So, tonight I put my Country CC's on the pages; already I have found dies I can do without. Australia and South Africa were each purchased for one or two dies - ones I can now do on my Sil. I have nothing against those dies, but I have never used them - especially not the heads of the animals. I really prefer whole bodies. What was I thinking? I was collecting, not thinking.
Now I have four empty black magnetic folders. Five, if you count the one I haven't opened. WHAT am I going to do with them? What am I going to do with those dies?
And how am I going to lift that very heavy AiOB? Those pages with dies are HEAVY! Dorothy from RW warned me - and given my history, it was well-appreciated. Do I need another AiBO? Would that improve or worsen my problem?
My head hurts just thinking of the possibilities.....
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Unwanted Die Decisions
So, as I have already stated, I have lots of dies, LOTS and LOTS of dies. Maybe too many dies. Undoubtedly I am addicted to dies since I have pharmacy boxes full of 2x2 QK dies, folders of CC's and a whole cd drawer full of 4x4's - plus all the shapes I have on my Sil.
Some of those shapes were bought in haste, in a rush to make sure I had them. I really should have taken my time, thought about it much more carefully, checked sizes. Yes, careful thought and consideration, plus research would have kept me out of the predicament I find myself in: dies I regret buying.
I cannot believe I have admitted this; I cannot believe I lost control of myself enough to acquire dies I may never use. The worst thing is that the great majority - if not all - are exclusives from different stores. None is from Remember When, those are among my favorites!
Thus, begs the question: what do I do now? I really don't think I should keep them, I am not sure I should give them away, but do I really want to go the ebay route? Would I even get any money for them?
Decisions, decisions, decisions.....
Some of those shapes were bought in haste, in a rush to make sure I had them. I really should have taken my time, thought about it much more carefully, checked sizes. Yes, careful thought and consideration, plus research would have kept me out of the predicament I find myself in: dies I regret buying.
I cannot believe I have admitted this; I cannot believe I lost control of myself enough to acquire dies I may never use. The worst thing is that the great majority - if not all - are exclusives from different stores. None is from Remember When, those are among my favorites!
Thus, begs the question: what do I do now? I really don't think I should keep them, I am not sure I should give them away, but do I really want to go the ebay route? Would I even get any money for them?
Decisions, decisions, decisions.....
Friday, August 14, 2009
The List Comes Down!
Okay, so last year -horrified at how many dies I have accumulated- I started a list on this blog of all the QK dies I use, challenging myself to use the equivalent of one a day. I wanted to see how long it would take me to use them all. I was doing well for about four months, then the problems began. I really needed to work on items that didn't exactly call for QK - or put this way: QK has no Martial Arts dies and none for Disney. Not that I cannot use other dies, but sometimes you just want Mickey on your page.
Once the list got into the 150's, it got rather challenging: I had to review the list to see if I had already added the die. I caught a few repeats. Sometimes I used the die and put it immediately back into the box, forgetting to add it to the list. Other times, I would leave the dies out in piles, waiting to add them when I had time. They would get knocked over, adding yet one more mess for me to clean up.
The Sil, while a wonderful tool, actually worsened the problem. I can make the cuts in any size, and even create my own designs - thanks to the outline feature. And Sil can cut out multiples of one item much more efficiently than me. When I needed bamboo borders for a layout for DS, I turned to the Sil instead of my trusty QK 2x2.
Now, seeing the list makes me feel guilty, like I am ignoring my QK, but I am not. I am using them, but I really don't feel like keeping track. The ironic thing is with the new way I am scrapping, I am actually using more dies than before.
I am just not going to list them. I will let my albums speak for themselves.
Once the list got into the 150's, it got rather challenging: I had to review the list to see if I had already added the die. I caught a few repeats. Sometimes I used the die and put it immediately back into the box, forgetting to add it to the list. Other times, I would leave the dies out in piles, waiting to add them when I had time. They would get knocked over, adding yet one more mess for me to clean up.
The Sil, while a wonderful tool, actually worsened the problem. I can make the cuts in any size, and even create my own designs - thanks to the outline feature. And Sil can cut out multiples of one item much more efficiently than me. When I needed bamboo borders for a layout for DS, I turned to the Sil instead of my trusty QK 2x2.
Now, seeing the list makes me feel guilty, like I am ignoring my QK, but I am not. I am using them, but I really don't feel like keeping track. The ironic thing is with the new way I am scrapping, I am actually using more dies than before.
I am just not going to list them. I will let my albums speak for themselves.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
SIL to the Rescue! (again)
For something I wasn't too sure I wanted, my QK Silhouette has certainly become indispensable in my crafting life. A while back I was bemoaning the lack of Martial Arts embellishments in this blog. I managed to create several with my Sil - and then Helen sent me to a site with MA dingbats. She was a lifesaver! The font is called Karate Chop. The uppercase face one direction while the lowercase face the opposite. They cut very nicely and really help me fill otherwise empty space on my pages. (Helen is like my knight in shining armor for that and other help she has given me.)
And now, the Sil has pulled me out of another bind. As I mentioned in the previous post, I am scrapbooking DH's trip to London. I have the QK England CC set which contains the Tower of London (well, a couple of towers of it), a taxi, two flags, a crown, Big Ben, Underground Sign and a telephone booth. Those are all great, but there is no die for the Tower Bridge and DH took several photos of that. QK does have that die in a special Britannia set, but I really don't want to pay $45 for four dies that I really won't use too often (I can use the dies from the CC for other things - like Epcot!) Those $45 can be used for something I would use more - say the new alpha Haunted!
DH told me to look online, and sure enough, I was able to find a few outlines of the Tower Bridge. It took several tries, but I was able to create the perfect image using the 'get outline' function. The design cut very nicely. I was able to do the same with the London Eye which QK doesn't seem to have.
So, now my pages look awesome, thanks to the Sil, and DH's book is coming along nicely. I finished the Tower of London tonight and Windsor Castle is tomorrow. Not sure how many more pages are going to fit into the Your Story album, though....
And now, the Sil has pulled me out of another bind. As I mentioned in the previous post, I am scrapbooking DH's trip to London. I have the QK England CC set which contains the Tower of London (well, a couple of towers of it), a taxi, two flags, a crown, Big Ben, Underground Sign and a telephone booth. Those are all great, but there is no die for the Tower Bridge and DH took several photos of that. QK does have that die in a special Britannia set, but I really don't want to pay $45 for four dies that I really won't use too often (I can use the dies from the CC for other things - like Epcot!) Those $45 can be used for something I would use more - say the new alpha Haunted!
DH told me to look online, and sure enough, I was able to find a few outlines of the Tower Bridge. It took several tries, but I was able to create the perfect image using the 'get outline' function. The design cut very nicely. I was able to do the same with the London Eye which QK doesn't seem to have.
So, now my pages look awesome, thanks to the Sil, and DH's book is coming along nicely. I finished the Tower of London tonight and Windsor Castle is tomorrow. Not sure how many more pages are going to fit into the Your Story album, though....
Monday, August 10, 2009
Your Story at Hobby Lobby!!!
I am so PSYCHED!!!! Hobby Lobby is now carrying the items I need in order to use the Your Story book binder and laminator the DH & the kids got me for Mother's Day. I wanted this because I really like the look of the bound books - especially for gifts. Sometimes the Bind-It-All doesn't quite give the look I am aiming for. Tying ribbons to the O-Wires can get rather tedious and not appropriate for certain people (read: guys). I haven't used my Your Story yet because I only received a couple of books with it and they didn't hold too much, so the projects had to be small. (And the 8x8 pages that came with them are not my style at all!)
Small projects are hard for me. This whole finishing an album is a difficult concept for me. I know I should, but I am never quite sure how to end them. I guess I am going to have to learn!
So, what is my first project? DH's trip to London. He was really there for work and instead of taking our camera, chose to use his iPhone. He came home with less than 100 photos, some of shaky quality, so using the Your Story is perfect. I really don't have that many pages I can make, especially since I have chosen to do it in 12x12 and colorblock it. The albums can hold up to 20 thin pages, but I like my cardstock, thus I may only get 12-14 - which is just about what I think will fit.
I have already finished six pages, with two more just needing embellishments. DH has to do his own journaling, but wants to wait until the book is bound. If I get myself in gear, that could be as soon as this weekend.
Wish me luck!
Small projects are hard for me. This whole finishing an album is a difficult concept for me. I know I should, but I am never quite sure how to end them. I guess I am going to have to learn!
So, what is my first project? DH's trip to London. He was really there for work and instead of taking our camera, chose to use his iPhone. He came home with less than 100 photos, some of shaky quality, so using the Your Story is perfect. I really don't have that many pages I can make, especially since I have chosen to do it in 12x12 and colorblock it. The albums can hold up to 20 thin pages, but I like my cardstock, thus I may only get 12-14 - which is just about what I think will fit.
I have already finished six pages, with two more just needing embellishments. DH has to do his own journaling, but wants to wait until the book is bound. If I get myself in gear, that could be as soon as this weekend.
Wish me luck!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Sil Blade Change
After I posted about my lack of klutziness, I decided that it was time to change the blade on my Sil. I was a bit apprehensive - understandable given my history. I was sure I was going to cut myself or break my Sil. Trepidaciously I opened the package and took out the new blade; then I decided to remove the old blade - easier said than done.
As I was pushing the blade out, something small went flying over my left shoulder to never be found. Luckily it was an unnecessary piece. It took me a bit to get the new blade into position, but at last it seemed to be fixed in place. Hesitantly I loaded the Sil and proceeded to have it cut some titles.
IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The cuts were clean and no funky noises.
So, that's good, right?
As I was pushing the blade out, something small went flying over my left shoulder to never be found. Luckily it was an unnecessary piece. It took me a bit to get the new blade into position, but at last it seemed to be fixed in place. Hesitantly I loaded the Sil and proceeded to have it cut some titles.
IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The cuts were clean and no funky noises.
So, that's good, right?
Still the Scrapklutz?
So, announcing to the world that I was the Scrapklutz jinxed me. This past year has been relatively safe. No major wounds, no breaking of equipment. I almost did once pull my SIL off of my desk when I forget it was still attached to the laptop, but I have been accident-free for quite some time. It feels weird. I keep waiting for it to happen - not that I want it to, mind you - because the suspense is needling at me.
Is it skill or is it avoidance? I am getting better at opening packages (of course, since I have a ton of dies and a Sil, I am also buying fewer dies), my Squeeze is in the closet and only came out the other night so I could cut something downstairs while watching tv with DH. The Fastenator (heel puncture) has been put away, it really didn't hold DD's interest. Liquid dies and stencil crayons have been replaced by chalks and small ink pads. Craft knives rarely come out because I truly rarely need them now. My desk is level, thus things cannot just tip off like the Squeeze did.
Hence, begs the question: if I am no longer klutzy, am I still the Scrapklutz?
Is it skill or is it avoidance? I am getting better at opening packages (of course, since I have a ton of dies and a Sil, I am also buying fewer dies), my Squeeze is in the closet and only came out the other night so I could cut something downstairs while watching tv with DH. The Fastenator (heel puncture) has been put away, it really didn't hold DD's interest. Liquid dies and stencil crayons have been replaced by chalks and small ink pads. Craft knives rarely come out because I truly rarely need them now. My desk is level, thus things cannot just tip off like the Squeeze did.
Hence, begs the question: if I am no longer klutzy, am I still the Scrapklutz?
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