Rub-Ons Are Awesome

Happy Halloween! Except not. As I scrapbook, I'm able to look back on events throughout the years. It's nice to be reminded of times I've shared with others. This Halloween layout is from last year's Halloween. 

I used rub-ons with this layout and now know that I LOVE them. How easy! They usually come with a craft stick and all you have to do is remove the plastic, lay the rub-on upside down on the desired surface and rub. I thought they'd be much more complex and difficult, but it turns out they're very easy to use. I highly recommend them. They look great, better than printing out the text or images onto paper. They're also pretty inexpensive and you can often find some useful designs on clearance. 

So here's my rub-on adventure with a little matting mixed in:

Tchau!

My Favorite Adhesives

A good adhesive is a necessity when scrapbooking a layout. If you want it to stick, you can't skimp out on how much adhesive you use. My two favorite adhesives are a simple glue stick and mounting squares.
Glue sticks are great for gluing together mats to make double mats and gluing mounted photos onto a page. They're easy to use and the glue dries quickly.
Mounting squares are ideal for adhering photos to mats or strait on a page. I don't really use them for anything else. Mounting squares are square, obviously, so you can stick them to the very edge of a photo to ensure that the corners don't fold when sliding a page into page protectors. Very nice.
In addition to these, I also occasionally use glue dots when scrapbooking. I use them for non-paper embellishments such as the layered flower in my previous post.
My supply collection doesn't include any other types of adhesives. These three are your basics and really all that you'll need for scrapbooking. Have a great night!


Tchau!

I Heart Camp! Layout

This colorful layout was SO easy to do and I think it turned out to be very cute! 

The layout was centered around this adorable paper I found at JoAnn's on sale for 10 cents. Definitely worth it. 

I was having trouble finding supplies to match it though, but when I looked in my Mango Frost paper stack (a beautiful stack that I highly recommend purchasing, but was luckily gifted to me for Christmas, thanks Karla!) I found the perfect match to mat my photos on and cut out the circles. 

I also just happened to have on hand a flower assortment that included perfect matching colors, a red-violet, orange, and off-white, that I crafted together to make the fancy little flower embellishment. The center is a metal brad from a flower embellishment kit I picked up on clearance. 
Also, I cut out the letters using the Classic Font cartridge in my Cricut Expression. 

My final product! The double mat on the photos really turned out great. I love what a good border can do for a photo.

Be inspired. :)

Tchau!

Christmas Page Layout

I know full well that it isn't Christmas time, but I'm getting around to scrapbooking Christmas 2010 so I wanted to share my work. Here's an unusual sight for me: two different backgrounds on the same topic. I'm typically pretty consistent with this but I ventured away from the same background this time. 

When I scrapbook, first I pick out the photos that I plan to use on the subject. I don't always use all of the photos I pick out initially, but it does give me a rough idea of how I should plan the page. 

I found these really cute snowflake embellishments at Cargo Largo. Discount stores like Cargo Largo are great places to shop for scrapbooking essentials. They're typically things that are just out of season and you can always save your embellishments for the right time of year. I bought these snowflakes last summer. 

For the left side of my layout I planned to use three photos and leave room for the title in the upper left corner.  Since I didn't have any embellishments on hand that would match the background paper, I created my own. For this one, I simply drew, with a pencil, the outline of the evergreen tree on green card stock and cut that out then I cut the trunk out of leftover brown card stock that I'd saved. Also, using my Cricut, I created a Christmas ornament with scrap paper I had. I always keep my scraps because you never know when you'll need them. 

Here's how I made my ornament:

Using the Cricut Classic Font cartridge, I cut out two circles. You can also use a household item to make circles. I've used the end of a glue stick and a candle holder before, prior to my Cricut. You can also use bowls, cups and plates to make various sized circles. After cutting the circles, I hooked them together with a metal connector (the name escapes me). After this, using another circle design with my Cricut, I cut out an additional circle. This I used to make the ornament more interesting. See photos. 

After I made the ornament, I cut out "Merry Christmas" in red card stock using the Chunky Classic font. Before gluing ANYTHING on the background I always arrange my photos and embellishments so that I have a rough idea of what the end result will look like. The final left page is shown at left. 

The right page was very simple. I bordered each photo with white card stock, glued a white, sparkled strip of card stock down the left side and attached the snowflakes. Like I said, very simple. So with that, I hope that you received some kind of inspiration from my post. This is how I do it. If you have any tips or tricks you'd like to share, please comment and don't forget to follow me. :)


Tchau!

Meet the Cricut Expression

Greetings! When I first got my Cricut Expression I was pretty much clueless about how to use it and what it could do for me. I'd even done research beforehand and was still uncertain. There just wasn't anywhere on the web that would give me simple, clean cut instructions and information. All I knew was that it would make my life as a crafter 100x easier. So here's a brief overview specifically for the Cricut Expression. It doesn't nearly cover everything but hopefully you'll get the idea about what a Cricut is. If I didn't cover it here, please feel free to leave a comment with your question or input. Also, even though I have first-hand experience with the Expression, I'm still learning, so please be easy on me all you vet scrappers out there. ;) 

What is a Cricut Expression?

This glorious machine has many uses. The primary one that I use it for is cutting out titles for my scrapbook pages. I cannot tell you how many hours I've spent with my tiny scissors, cutting out letters to decorate my pages. Talk about the need for patience! I also use it to cut out borders for my photos and shapes to create more elaborate pages.

Why would I want the Expression, opposed to the Cricut Personal Electronic Cutter?

The Expression can cut die cuts on a mat as large as 12x24. This is the biggest difference between the Cricut Expression and the Cricut Personal Electronic Cutter, which is basically a smaller version of the Expression. The Expression is good for bulletin boards and larger projects in which you would need to cut larger letters. The Expression also comes in four fun colors: plum, aqua, green, and a sunny yellow. Cartridges are interchangeable between the Expression and Personal Electronic Cutter.

What does a Cricut Expression require to work?

The Cricut Expression uses a tiny blade to make its cuts. You'll need to install the blade (provided with any new Cricut Expression you purchase) when you first use your Cricut. This is an easy process that won't take long. Refer to the user manual for step-by-step instructions on how to do this. The user manual states: "You can expect anywhere from 500 to 1500 single cuts from your cutting blade before it requires replacement. Your actual cutting blade life will vary, depending on the settings you use and the materials you cut." When your blade starts to rip the paper when cutting, it's probably time for a new blade. You can find replacement blades online or at a local crafting store such as JoAnn's.

The Cricut also requires a mat to make its cuts (also provided with any new Cricut Expression purchase). A mat is a hard, sticky sheet that the paper you're cutting adheres to so that the paper doesn't slide around while your Cricut is cutting. "You can expect anywhere from 25-40 full mat cuts(expect even more when a cut is smaller than the full mat)." When the paper no longer sticks to the cutting mat, you need to replace the mat. You can find replacement mats online or at crafting stores. 

Cricut Classic Font Cartridge

In addition to a blade and a mat, the Cricut also requires a cartridge to function. Basically, cartridges are things you insert into the Cricut Expression to tell it what to cut. Cartridges come with a keypad that lays over the Cricut keypad and typically a booklet that tells you about the cartridge. The Playtime cartridge and Cricut Classic Font cartridges came with my Expression. Cartridges can be pretty pricey, especially if the cartridge is licensed like these. But if you shop smart and use coupons, you can find them relatively cheap. Websites such as Ebay and Craigslist are good resources to find cartridges at a decent price. Also, cartridges are not a consumable resource, so talk to your crafty friends about the cartridges they have and sharing yours, like when your mom or friends raid your closet and share your clothes and shoes... or wait, maybe that's just me. But you get the idea. It's like having access to two wardrobes instead of one!

What materials can the Cricut cut?

The Cricut Expression cuts paper. There is a pressure setting on the Cricut that can adjust how hard the blade presses on your paper. With thick materials such as card stock you'll want to use more pressure to complete the cut, otherwise the blade will not cut all the way through your paper, which can be a waste. You'll learn a lot through experimentation and expect to make mistakes. Eventually you'll get the hang of the Cricut Expression.

I sincerely hope that this helped to better explain what a Cricut is. The scrapbooking world can get quite confusing to the beginner. I'm still trying to figure it out, but so far it's been quite the adventure! 

Tchau!

Endeavor

1

: serious determined effort

2

: activity directed toward a goal

Definition acquired from www.M-W.com

My intention: 

To create a scrapbook and share my thoughts, hard work, and know-how about the art of doing so on this blog.  Oh, and also to graduate high school. That one's quite important. But in order to do both of these there must be an initial post. So here it is. Welcome! It is my hope that by sharing my experience, I'll give you, the reader, an insight on how to dive into the glorious realm of scrapbooking and crafting in general. I'll provide you not only with my words, but also with photos in order to give you a better understanding about how I created my own scrapbook in the hopes that you'll join me in this hobby. I encourage you to follow me and check in often because this will be an ongoing project! 


Tchau!