My April Scrapping Kit - My Minds Eye

I previously posted that I'm on a mission to use up all my older paper collections and scraps before I purchase any more new goodies.  A "scrapping fast" as many other crafters are calling it.

This past weekend I put together another kit for April, combining three My Minds Eye collections:  Stella Rose, Indie Chic, and So Sophie.  At the time I purchased them, I must have really like the aqua and yellow combination, which is great because these three collections are easily interchangeable!  Along with the 12 x 12 papers, I had chipboard from the Stella Rose, a 6 x 6 pad and die cuts from Indie Chic, and die cuts and overlays from So Sophie.  Also thrown in were brads from the MME "The Sweetest Thing" collection, the paper of which I used up last week. 

This is how I make my own kit:

1. The 12 x 12 containers from Michaels are the perfect storage for homemade kits! You can see through them, and they hold a lot of goodies all in one place.  Be sure to get them when they are on sale or use a 40% off coupon for the best price.  In my scrap closet, I usually have two of these that I fill and empty all the time.  It is incredibly handy to grab and get something scrapping finished.

2.  Next, I go through my paper box, where currently I file all my left over papers and collections by manufacturer and choose a color scheme that attracts me.  From that, I go through the rest of the box and find all the papers that easily coordinate (usually there is a three color theme that I will use).

3.  Third, I will go through my stash of embellishments and choose what is left from the original collection, plus anything else that coordinates with it.  Thickers or other chipboard lettering also goes in the box.

4.  Because I hate throwing things away, I have this drawer set on my desk that houses miscellaneous stickers, die cuts and chipboard.  The next step will be going through these drawers and find anything that I can use up that matches my kit.  I love to put all these miscellaneous pieces in this cute catch-all and leave it on my desk for easy access.

5.  Finally, photos.  I will go through my current pics or archives and print photos with my Canon Selphy, putting the dates on the back.  This way, I have all that I need in one spot for when I want to sit down and be creative for a few minutes.

As the scrapping begins, I always check my other stash for buttons, twine and other things that are stored by color.  This makes it easy to grab a small container and go through to find extra embellies to add to a layout.

The fun thing about shopping from your stash is that you can put together some real creative kits.  I find that many of my layouts from a kit will look much more "scrappy" -- meaning that it looks more like a scrapbook page instead of something very coordinated.  You can make it simple, or get more artsy as you meld your scraps together.  Does that make sense?  I personally like the different look as I go through my scrapbook at the variety of pages that I have created.

Since this destashing has begun I include one caveat with these homemade kits.  Once I have used up all the paper that I can (including using some scraps for cards),

I will throw the rest away.

In the trash can.  Never to be retrieved.

I will also go through the embellishments, and if I have tried a couple times to use them with different kits and they go unused, they go in the trash. You have to get rid of the old to invite in the new, right?

Try making some kits with your older stash.  Let's use up that great stuff or throw away and move on.  Who's with me?

Throwback Thursday - Using Authentique "Renew"

Time for another Throwback Thursday!

This week I used up a 6 x 6" paper pad by Authentique called "Renew" along with it's accompanying 12 x 12" sticker sheet.  This collection is probably over a year old, but I remember liking it so well because of the combination of the aqua and yellow:

This post is a little photo heavy, so if you want a quicker version, you can watch it here on YouTube.  Otherwise, keep on scrollin'! 

First, I'll show you the three layouts that I was able to complete. In my stash I had matching aqua cardstock, which I layered on black cardstock.  The only other items I used  from my stash were some old Prima flowers I needed to use up, brads and buttons:

With so much paper and stickers, I finished five cards as well!  Two "Get Well", two "Miss You" (those are going into the Operation Write Home box!) and one other encouragement card.  From my stash I added more Prima flowers, buttons, twine, brads and bling:

 

Time for you to "Dream Big" by digging out a 6 x 6" paper pad this week that you haven't used!  See what you can accomplish this week?

December Daily Blog Hop with The Memory Nest! Week #1

Thanks for stopping by on this December Daily Blog Hop, Week #1!   You should be hopping here from Jennifer Reilly's blog.  I hope you will become full of inspiration as you look through the ideas of how The Memory Nest Design Team is creating December Daily albums!

Okay, now time for some truthfulness. This is the first year that I've done a December Daily album -- I have always had the intention, and then Life Happens.  This year I really wanted to complete this project.  I did not really want it as a recordkeeping system as much as I wanted it to be a memory album so that my boys would know what is on MY heart during the holiday season and what is important to me.

My album is simple; I raided my stash for bits and pieces to create a chipboard album with smaller pages so it would be simple to add either journaling or a photo for each day. The paper I chose from The Memory Nest was the We R Memory Keepers "Winter Frost" 6 x 6 paper pad.  The soft colors of blue, green and grey are so lovely, and I already had several other things in my stash to complement the paper.  With two sheets of each design in the pad, I was able to cover each chipboard page back to back.

Here is the cover of my album:  

My plan is to be able to display this album on a book stand.  

The first page is a pocket made from a kraft envelope. Inside this pocket I will keep journaling that may not fit anywhere else in the album.  

Day #1:  My teenager is determined to put up outside decorations this year. 

Day #2:  I spent the evening making Christmas cards to send to friends and family.  

Day #3:  This is another pocket where I will put my youngest son's Christmas list for safe keeping.  

Day #4:  A second envelope pocket on the left hold recipe cards of the favorite holiday goodies that I make every year that my kids and hubby love.

Day #5:  (Yesterday) Texas has such crazy weather sometimes, and this year we have already had two wild weather fronts a couple weeks apart, bringing in unusually cold temperatures that we rarely see in December. 

Your next stop is the incredible Jessica Barnes!

If you want to begin at the start of the Hop, head back to Leslie at The Memory Nest.

So that's my first week of the December Daily.  There is not doubt that I will add journaling and other embellishments to the pages as I go along. (I apologize for the quality of the photos this time - there wasn't enough good light, but I think you can still see the color combination well.)  A video will be up on YouTube with a closer look at the kit I put together and how the album was assembled.  

Are you doing a December Daily?? If so, put your blog link in the comments below so that we can check it out!

See you next Friday for Week #2 of The Memory Nest Blog Hop!

Scrapbooking Process Video: 6 x 6 Paper for 12 x 12 Layouts

After organizing all our family's digital photos in one place, you can imagine that I found some real treasures.  The below layout is now one of my new favorites.  My hubby was trying out a new lens back when Josh was three years old, and these are a couple of the photos that came from that little mini photo session.

For this layout, I used three 6 x 6" sheets from an old Sassafrass pad. This pad had so many bold and crazy prints, but I was determined to challenge myself!  I chose a striped pattern and pieced them together on black cardstock, leaving a "hole" for two photos and embellished around them.

The video this week shares some of my tips on how to use 6x6 papers for your full page layouts:




Bonus projects:

With this same paper pad, I finished a card using a Tim Holtz Sizzix die for the card edge and some flower stickers from my stash.  A great card for one of my cool, hippy-type friends:

Finally, a "junk" layout -- using wilder patterns and a variety of miscellaneous diecuts and handmade embellishments from my stash that I wanted to use up.  I suppose you could call this one "eclectic":

I am sharing my creations this week at:

http://thememorynest.blogspot.com/2013/06/whimsical-wednesday-6-share-layouts-and.html

How can you challenge yourself today with 6x6 paper?

Card Making Process: More Valentines!

Hello again!  I have two more Valentine's Day cards to share with you!  As mentioned in my last post, the ideas came from the Winter 2013 issue of Card Maker Magazine.  If you need ideas for Valentines, this issue has loads of ideas!

This "So in Love" card from page 45 of the magazine caught my eye because of the background paper!  I had similar patterned paper from the My Mind's Eye 6"x 6" paper pad called "Dolled Up" which I used on the front, along with other embellishments that I had in my stash.  The felt heart is from Pebbles (I have a lot of them -- so cute!).  Loved how it turned out.

Another simple card here, using white and khaki card stock and one patterned piece from the "Journey" collection from Authentique, and a little chevron paper from My Minds Eye.  This idea was from page 43 of CardMaker, following the "Love You Always" card.  While the model card was cute with pink and khaki, I changed it up with using red instead.  

Do you like making traditional or more untraditional Valentine's Day cards?

Card Making Process: Valentine's Day Cards

The mojo has picked up again, and I have been busy with Valentine's Day cards!  I found some wonderful inspiration from the Winter 2013 issue of CardMaker Magazine, and if you got this issue, you will see where I got my ideas. It's t fun to browse through a new magazine and mark the cards that instantly catch the eye because of their design, or for the fact that I have identical or similar papers to replicate the look!

I decided to share a few with you this week.  Here are the first two:

My inspiration for this card was the "Friend Card" on page 20.  For the pattern paper, I used the Basic Grey "What's Up" 6"x 6" paper pad.  Love the colors, and I have made several cards already from it this week.  My goal for 2013 is to finish each card on the inside with patterned paper or some sort of flat embellishment, which I did in the inside of this card with more patterned paper and punched out hearts.

The second is this simple card, using the idea from page 28.  All I used was some khaki cardstock, Recollections Decorative Tape from Michaels, some chipboard embellishments and my white Uni-Ball Signo Gel Pen (the best!). The design is finished in the inside with another strip of tape and white gel pen striping.

How do craft magazines inspire you?  Is it the sketches, colors, designs, or paper?

Thanks for visiting -- watch for a couple more cards this week!

Card Making Process: Basic Grey Card Challenge

I subscribe to Pamela Young's blog and I am always amazed at her creativity on layouts and cards!  There is always some new idea that I come away with after visiting.  Pamela posted her card creation that was highlighted on the 7/2/2012 Basic Card Sketch on the Basic Grey blog and I just loved it!  Since I hadn't posted in an online challenge for awhile, I thought I'd dig out some Basic Grey and get to work!

I used papers from the 6"x6" "Pyrus" paper pad.  I love the color combos of this pad, and since I had to make a birthday card for my father-in-law, I thought the paper worked out great:

And once I got started with the paper, I did two additional cards:

(The medallion was from the stash I did earlier and also from Basic Grey paper!)  

Basic Grey is one of my favorite paper companies, and it was good for the mojo to get out their product and work with this challenge sketch!