Scribbles From My Scrap Studio – July 2017

Hello, counterfeiters.  Last month I prattled on about the types of inspiration I reach for – mostly on paper and not the Internet – when I want an idea quickly.  So it should come as no surprise to you that I tend to let paper collect around the studio.  Yes, it stacks up, it becomes a distraction, it gets stashed away.   Not always in a logical way.

In my rush to clear clutter and tidy the studio (like above), I tend to hide it in boxes, where it is forgotten. This goes for crafting paper, as well as note paper, steno pads, post-its, etc. This was proven to me in spades a week or so ago while I was sorting out memorabilia.  In several boxes that were meant to hold mementos, I found a bunch of other stuff!  Like what, you might ask:

1.)  Sketches, sketches, sketches printed off of various websites – including Page 7 from Jana Eubank’s old blog (don’t ask me about pages 1 – 6, I am clueless).  I tossed most into the recycling bin as I am sticking to using PageMaps and Pencilines and Creative Scrappers sketches contained in books and binders (minimizing loose sheets).

2.)  A page torn out of a stenographer’s note book that held good quotes for use on cards or layouts.  Here is a scan of it – maybe you can make out my scrawling script.  There is a nifty tip to use the Stampin Up slot punch to make large scallops, a mention of scrapodex (check out these Pinterest boards to learn more) and a stamped sentiment from Hero Arts, if memory serves:



3.)  On the opposite side were several websites:

www.thedoodlebuginc.com which is located about an hour from me. This local scrapbook store has moved locations at least twice since I first discovered it, but it is still in business – hurray!

www.bestcraftorganizer.com where I was looking at their stamp pad holders.  I never purchased their PortaInk cases, but instead first used Stampin Up carousels and now the Pro Ink Organizer from www.organizemore.com. 

www.crafterscompanion.com with a (now long expired) coupon code for 30% off the “enveloper” and a free DVD with a $25 order; I did bite on this offer but have used the enveloper maybe once in the all time I have had it.  Now they have an “ultimate tool” which includes this same functionality.

4.)  Notes for an old 10 on the 10th blog post (a blogging prompt from Shimelle), that never appeared on my blog with notes for adding interest to layouts, including

using brads in the shape of a flourish, leaves or petals,
dressing up letters in your title by filling in stamped or die-cut shapes with glitter or other media,
coloring staples with Sharpies,
and making big flowers with ribbon.

There was also a short list of tips/tricks, such as:

using waxed dental floss to separate adhered cardstock, which I did a lot before discovering Undo,
heating Snail adhesive with a heat gun to release, which I never attempted before discovering Undo,
sticking a glue dot on the plastic liner on Mementos gold ink pad to keep it attached to the lid,
substituting drywall tape for Magic Mesh, which I would never do now; the day I finally used all my Mesh was magic, so no need to undo that,
and using hair clips to hold cords.  (I bought foam twisty ties for this purpose which are rarely used, as I am not into electronic gadgetry.)

5.)  A list of my Stampin Up stamps shortly after I stopped being a Stampin Up demonstrator in 2009. It is an Excel spreadsheet to be exact, I was an accountant, after all.   Is my stock larger or smaller now than then, you ask?  As this is the fifth point in this post, I will take the 5th on this point.

6.)  Notes from a Stampin Up training session about how best to conduct a workshop in order to keep everyone organized and on task.  I need to employ some of those techniques on myself, like keeping projects separated in boxes so they can be moved around easily.

Oh wait, S!  You do not do so well with boxes – letting things hide in there for years!

My current, and dare I say, smarter version of this method uses open trays for kits and projects in process.

7.)  An uncharacteristically short craft store wish list that included:  shrinky dinks, thin cork, and Glubers [spelling corrected].  That certainly dates back, doesn’t it. I don’t know whether the thin cork was crossed off because I purchased it or because I dismissed needing it.  Of the three items on the list, it is the only one I actually still use today.

8.)  A list of 50 ways to use stamps from scrapbook.com, which thanks to the Wayback Machine website, you can see here.

9.)  A vintage clip art printable from Celeste’s blog here, which no longer appears on source cited, and some vintage printable tickets from 2009 that can still be found here.

10.)  An Ina Garten Food Network recipe for Chicken Piccata, which I was tempted to say I was going to scrapbook so that it wouldn’t be quite so random. Just not true.

Based on the other contents of the box, (yes there were a few mementos in there), all this stuff predates 2011. Times change, but I want to believe some of the old knowledge can still be useful. Would it not be grand if you or I could use one of these tips today. Do you have a quick tip/trick – they call them hacks now – to share in the comments or in our Facebook group?

Until next month, I want to leave you smiling with this last bit from depths of that memento box – stickers!

 
PS  Wish me luck on sorting out my other memento boxes.