Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}beach!
The past few days I have been decluttering/purging my scrap stash. I did this about eighteen months ago when we were packing to move to Miami. I found it to be really helpful in my scrapbooking, since it reduced my stash to things I would really use & eliminated the visual noise created by supplies i would never use. Since new stuff from CHA is going to start hitting the stores over the next few months, I thought it was time to do it again. I think I'll start doing this twice a year around CHA time ~ January and July ~ so it's not such a big job all at once. Plus it's nice to make room for new goodies instead of just adding to what's already there & trying to figure out where to put it all.
When I went through my scrap supplies before our move in Summer 2008, I had a few motivations. The first was that scrap supplies are heavy & movers often charge by the pound. I didn't want to pay to have anything shipped that I didn't absolutely love and know I would use. There were a lot of those sorts of things in my stash since I had never thrown anything out & had purchased quite a few things in the beginning of my scrapping that didn't work with the style that I had developed over time.
The second was that our move also happened to coincide with a call from my local scrapbook store for donations of supplies for the troops overseas. The owner had been contacted by a morale officer looking for items the soldiers could use to make cards, scrapbook about their time overseas, etc. I was happy to be able to donate everything I purged that was new or nice quality to that effort, and that provided motivation to be strict with myself about what should stay and what should go.
This time as I was going through my supplies, I tossed everything I knew I wouldn't use into large flat rate boxes from the USPS. When the boxes were full & I was done going through my supplies, I taped them shut and sent them off to some young and/or new scrappers I know. It felt good to get the items out of my house, but to also rescue them from the trash and send them to some people who would get some use out of them.
One thing I realized as I was looking at what was left, is that I have a serious imbalance between my papers and embellishments. I have tons of paper and relatively few embellishments {comparatively}. So as I am shopping this year, I am going to try to be more mindful of what I purchase. Specifically, less paper and more embellishments, embossing folders, dies and Cricut cartridges. I need to go for things like ribbon, fibers, bling, pearls, flowers and chipboard shapes. I have plenty of inks, paints, Glimmer Mist and other art supplies that I can use to customize what I purchase and/or cut to fit specific projects.
I am sure some pretty papers will sneak in here and there, but I am going to try to focus the bulk of my scrapbook budget on embellishments and staples ~ not paper. I am sure it will be hard since I love paper, but I will do my best! :D
Are any of you in the midst of purging your supplies? What do you plan to do with what you cull from your stash?
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
New 12"x12" Scrapbook Layout Video: Blue
Hi, everyone! I just uploaded a new video over on my YouTube Channel! I know it's been a while since I had a project video & even longer since I had a 12"x12" layout video, so I hope you enjoy it!
This layout is based on a sketch from Becky Fleck's book Pagemaps, and uses old papers from the depths of my stash from Anna Griffin. Embellishments are from Tattered Angels {Glimmer Mist}, Prima {flowers} and the floral department at Michael's {glass pebbles}. I am still struggling with the layouts, but I think the more I do, the easier it will get. Until I get inspired again, though, I'm going to just work my way through Becky Fleck's book, one sketch at a time. :D I hope you enjoy!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
This layout is based on a sketch from Becky Fleck's book Pagemaps, and uses old papers from the depths of my stash from Anna Griffin. Embellishments are from Tattered Angels {Glimmer Mist}, Prima {flowers} and the floral department at Michael's {glass pebbles}. I am still struggling with the layouts, but I think the more I do, the easier it will get. Until I get inspired again, though, I'm going to just work my way through Becky Fleck's book, one sketch at a time. :D I hope you enjoy!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
New 12"x12" Layout: A Night of Fluxx
Hi, everyone! I just uploaded a new video over on my YouTube Channel! I know it's been a while since I had a project video & even longer since I had a 12"x12" layout video, so I hope you enjoy it!
This layout was made using papers and embellishments from the Fancy Pants Designs "Summer Soiree" collection, which is from this past summer. I liked working with those papers quite a bit, so you will probably see more of the collection in future videos. :D
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
This layout was made using papers and embellishments from the Fancy Pants Designs "Summer Soiree" collection, which is from this past summer. I liked working with those papers quite a bit, so you will probably see more of the collection in future videos. :D
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Tim Holtz Texture Fades
Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}beach!
As most of you probably know, I have a Sizzix BigShot in my scraproom as my manual die cutter. I've been using it mainly on cards and mini albums to make things like journaling spots and album pages. I haven't gotten too intrigued by the idea of using it to emboss until I saw the Tim Holtz Texture Fades. I love these! Some of them are right up my alley in terms of what I like when I am scrapbooking. They come in sets of two, and below are pictures from his blog of what they look like.
In this set, I especially love the grid, of course. If you've been following my blog or YouTube Channel for any length of time, you know how I am about anything grid paper! :D But I also really love the sun rays and the circles.
I am sure you can guess which two Texture Fades are my favorites from the set below. :D Of course the notebook paper and the damask are really catching my eye!
I love this group of four the best, probably. There are three in this grouping that I am wild about: the tiny checkerboard, the burlap weave and the swirls. I love those swirls! The shattered glass is also nice & would look great as a spiderweb on Halloween projects.
In this group, my overall favorite is the brick wall, but I do also really like the wood grain.
This whole collection is making me itch to get my hands on some Core'dinations cardstock. I had a trip to Michael's planned for this afternoon anyway, so I think I will see what Core'dinations they have in stock while I am there.
Another thing I love about these folders is that they will be large enough to fit an entire card. I think that was an especially bright move. I never did like the idea of having to line up the image and emboss twice to cover the front of a card. Plus they will also emboss grungepaper and grungeboard. Just very, very, cool.
What are you looking forward to from this CHA?
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
As most of you probably know, I have a Sizzix BigShot in my scraproom as my manual die cutter. I've been using it mainly on cards and mini albums to make things like journaling spots and album pages. I haven't gotten too intrigued by the idea of using it to emboss until I saw the Tim Holtz Texture Fades. I love these! Some of them are right up my alley in terms of what I like when I am scrapbooking. They come in sets of two, and below are pictures from his blog of what they look like.
In this set, I especially love the grid, of course. If you've been following my blog or YouTube Channel for any length of time, you know how I am about anything grid paper! :D But I also really love the sun rays and the circles.
I am sure you can guess which two Texture Fades are my favorites from the set below. :D Of course the notebook paper and the damask are really catching my eye!
I love this group of four the best, probably. There are three in this grouping that I am wild about: the tiny checkerboard, the burlap weave and the swirls. I love those swirls! The shattered glass is also nice & would look great as a spiderweb on Halloween projects.
In this group, my overall favorite is the brick wall, but I do also really like the wood grain.
This whole collection is making me itch to get my hands on some Core'dinations cardstock. I had a trip to Michael's planned for this afternoon anyway, so I think I will see what Core'dinations they have in stock while I am there.
Another thing I love about these folders is that they will be large enough to fit an entire card. I think that was an especially bright move. I never did like the idea of having to line up the image and emboss twice to cover the front of a card. Plus they will also emboss grungepaper and grungeboard. Just very, very, cool.
What are you looking forward to from this CHA?
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Doing A Little Reorganizing ...
Hi, everyone! It's the new year, so I've been in a little bit of cleaning & organizing mood. If you've seen either of my scraproom tour videos, then you probably know that I have a rolling cart that is always near me when I scrap.
Well, I noticed recently that I wasn't taking things on and off the cart much while I scrapped, and also that I had a bunch of products lined up all around the edge of my mat that I was reaching for all the time. So I decided it was time to overhaul the cart and replace things I wasn't using with things I use frequently. Cart overhaul is almost finished ~ just need to think of a way to store all my embossing powders over there, since I am heat embossing quite a bit lately.
One thing I did do was change how I store my inks. Now I have them right at hand over on my scrap cart & I won't have to get up to fetch them anymore. In order to do that, though, I had to store them in three Art Bin containers like the ones I use for my scraps. In order to prevent me from having to open every single bin and paw through it looking for inks, I created a color reference chart:
I have one for my Colorbox Fluid Chalk Inks and another one for my Distress Inks. Each column on the chart represents a row in a bin and the inks are on the chart in the order they're stored in the rows. The charts slide easily underneath my paper trimmer so they are completely out of the way at all times, but when I need one I can pull it out and choose an ink & then go right to the place where it is stored!
It wasn't that time consuming to make the charts, and I think they will save me a ton of time in the long run. I'm pretty excited about them, actually!
So, have any of you been bitten by the New Year Reorganizing Bug? What are you changing in your rooms?
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Well, I noticed recently that I wasn't taking things on and off the cart much while I scrapped, and also that I had a bunch of products lined up all around the edge of my mat that I was reaching for all the time. So I decided it was time to overhaul the cart and replace things I wasn't using with things I use frequently. Cart overhaul is almost finished ~ just need to think of a way to store all my embossing powders over there, since I am heat embossing quite a bit lately.
One thing I did do was change how I store my inks. Now I have them right at hand over on my scrap cart & I won't have to get up to fetch them anymore. In order to do that, though, I had to store them in three Art Bin containers like the ones I use for my scraps. In order to prevent me from having to open every single bin and paw through it looking for inks, I created a color reference chart:
I have one for my Colorbox Fluid Chalk Inks and another one for my Distress Inks. Each column on the chart represents a row in a bin and the inks are on the chart in the order they're stored in the rows. The charts slide easily underneath my paper trimmer so they are completely out of the way at all times, but when I need one I can pull it out and choose an ink & then go right to the place where it is stored!
It wasn't that time consuming to make the charts, and I think they will save me a ton of time in the long run. I'm pretty excited about them, actually!
So, have any of you been bitten by the New Year Reorganizing Bug? What are you changing in your rooms?
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Swap Angel Album
Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}Beach! As you all know, I have a mini album swap group on my website called Trade Wind Scrappers. The swap operates very smoothly ~ much more smoothly than other swap groups I have been in ~ but there are still hiccups on occasion.
That is why I created the Swap Angels Guild {SAG, for short}. Swap Angels fly in after someone have been let down by their swap partner and make a mini to replace the mising mini. In return for their hard work, they will know that they are making someone's day by their generous actions.
I recently completed my first "Angel Album" which is for an October 2009 swap gone bad. It is a paperbag album that I bound with the Zutter Bind-It-All {which I hardly ever use anymore, so it felt good to break it out again} and filled with a bunch of tags. Since it was October, I used my Martha Stewart Halloween papers from Michael's:
I hope you enjoyed the mini, even if it isn't exactly the Halloween season right now! :D After all, we are scrapbookers and sometimes we are a little off in the season we are scrapping.
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
That is why I created the Swap Angels Guild {SAG, for short}. Swap Angels fly in after someone have been let down by their swap partner and make a mini to replace the mising mini. In return for their hard work, they will know that they are making someone's day by their generous actions.
I recently completed my first "Angel Album" which is for an October 2009 swap gone bad. It is a paperbag album that I bound with the Zutter Bind-It-All {which I hardly ever use anymore, so it felt good to break it out again} and filled with a bunch of tags. Since it was October, I used my Martha Stewart Halloween papers from Michael's:
I hope you enjoyed the mini, even if it isn't exactly the Halloween season right now! :D After all, we are scrapbookers and sometimes we are a little off in the season we are scrapping.
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Giveaway Alert: Shimmerz Pearls!
Hi, everyone! Today is a big day for giveaways, I guess, because I have another one for you!
Teresa Collins has teamed up with Shimmerz to creat a new line called Shimmerz Pearls. It looks like a pearlescent opaque paint that will coordinate with her paper collections. Cool, huh?
Well, they are having a giveaway today for people who spread the word, so go check out their blog to watch a video on the new Teresa Collins Shimmerz Pearlz!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
P.S. OMG! Just got an email from Shimmerz ~ I won a set of the Teresa Collins Shimmerz Pearlz! Woo-hoo! Hooray! YAY!!! THANK YOU, SHIMMERZ!!!!!
Teresa Collins has teamed up with Shimmerz to creat a new line called Shimmerz Pearls. It looks like a pearlescent opaque paint that will coordinate with her paper collections. Cool, huh?
Well, they are having a giveaway today for people who spread the word, so go check out their blog to watch a video on the new Teresa Collins Shimmerz Pearlz!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
P.S. OMG! Just got an email from Shimmerz ~ I won a set of the Teresa Collins Shimmerz Pearlz! Woo-hoo! Hooray! YAY!!! THANK YOU, SHIMMERZ!!!!!
Giveaway Alert: Vintage Blog Candy!
Hi, everyone! Just writing to alert you to a blog candy my buddy Marlene is having! This one comes complete with videos and plenty of Vintage goodies. :D
For a chance at winning all those goodies you'll need to do the following:
1. Follow her blog.
2. Subscribe to her YouTube channel.
3. Post a link on YOUR blog about the giveaway.
4. Leave her a comment on her blog about how you spread the word.
Good luck to everyone!
~Kathryn
For a chance at winning all those goodies you'll need to do the following:
1. Follow her blog.
2. Subscribe to her YouTube channel.
3. Post a link on YOUR blog about the giveaway.
4. Leave her a comment on her blog about how you spread the word.
Good luck to everyone!
~Kathryn
Friday, January 8, 2010
First Month of Christmas Winners Announced!
Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}beach! I have the two winners of the First Month of Christmas Giveaway!
The winner of the first set of five packs of American Crafts Thickers is Comment #63:
Penny said...
thanks so much Kathryn, I don't have any thickers, oh wait maybe one set... in a kit.. but would love to have more. Penny
CONGRATULATIONS, PENNY!!! :D Please contact me at thescrapbeach@gmail.com before Friday, January 22, 2010 with your address. If you do not contact me before Friday, January 22, 2010, the Thickers will go to another participant.
The winner of the second set of five packs of American Crafts Thickers is Comment #28!
Jacqui said...
Happy New Year! Thanks for sharing =) LOVE those thickers!
CONGRATULATIONS, JACQUI!!! :D Please contact me at thescrapbeach@gmail.com before Friday, January 22, 2010 with your address. If you do not contact me before Friday, January 22, 2010, the Thickers will go to another participant.
If you didn't win this time around, there are still eleven months of Christmas left to go! Not only that, but if you're still itching to get your hands on a pack of Thickers, my friend Jenn from Live.Teach.Create. has listed everything in her etsy shop ~ including her already very reasonably priced AC Thickers ~ with FREE SHIPPING through the end of the month!*
See you the first Monday in February for the Second Month of Christmas!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
*Free shipping offers excludes pre-orders of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists. I pre-ordered both the 2010 Limited Edition colors and the Heidi Swapp Exclusive colors from her already {today is the last day to do so} as I am starting a Glimmer Mist collection.
The winner of the first set of five packs of American Crafts Thickers is Comment #63:
Penny said...
thanks so much Kathryn, I don't have any thickers, oh wait maybe one set... in a kit.. but would love to have more. Penny
CONGRATULATIONS, PENNY!!! :D Please contact me at thescrapbeach@gmail.com before Friday, January 22, 2010 with your address. If you do not contact me before Friday, January 22, 2010, the Thickers will go to another participant.
The winner of the second set of five packs of American Crafts Thickers is Comment #28!
Jacqui said...
Happy New Year! Thanks for sharing =) LOVE those thickers!
CONGRATULATIONS, JACQUI!!! :D Please contact me at thescrapbeach@gmail.com before Friday, January 22, 2010 with your address. If you do not contact me before Friday, January 22, 2010, the Thickers will go to another participant.
If you didn't win this time around, there are still eleven months of Christmas left to go! Not only that, but if you're still itching to get your hands on a pack of Thickers, my friend Jenn from Live.Teach.Create. has listed everything in her etsy shop ~ including her already very reasonably priced AC Thickers ~ with FREE SHIPPING through the end of the month!*
See you the first Monday in February for the Second Month of Christmas!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
*Free shipping offers excludes pre-orders of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists. I pre-ordered both the 2010 Limited Edition colors and the Heidi Swapp Exclusive colors from her already {today is the last day to do so} as I am starting a Glimmer Mist collection.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Virtual Crop on Saturday!
Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}beach!
The first Life on the {Scrap}beach Virtual Crop of 2010 is almost here! Join me {and the other Beach Babes} this Saturday from 9:00 p.m. Miami, FL USA {GMT-5} time over on the Life on the {Scrap}beach Web Community for challenges, chatting and a whole bunch of fun!
For those of you who haven't been to one of our crops before, there are also lots of great prizes like this one:
So, come join us this Saturday! The water's warm and the ladies are very welcoming!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
The first Life on the {Scrap}beach Virtual Crop of 2010 is almost here! Join me {and the other Beach Babes} this Saturday from 9:00 p.m. Miami, FL USA {GMT-5} time over on the Life on the {Scrap}beach Web Community for challenges, chatting and a whole bunch of fun!
For those of you who haven't been to one of our crops before, there are also lots of great prizes like this one:
So, come join us this Saturday! The water's warm and the ladies are very welcoming!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Monday, January 4, 2010
On the First Month of Christmas ...
Hi, everyone! Welcome to the first of my "12 Months of Christmas" giveaways! To start the year off right, I am actually going to draw for two winners this month! Each winner will receive five packs of American Crafts Thickers!
Each winner will receive one pack each of the following Thickers:
1. "Jewelry Box" glittered chipboard in Pink
2. "Sprinkles" glittered chipboard in white
3. "By the Yard" fabric covered chipboard in white
4. "Delight" fabric covered chipboard in white
5. "Giggles" foam in white
I bought these Thickers from my buddy Jenn who has great deals on Thickers at her shop: live.teach.create. I love the white because they are so versatile & easy to customize ~ ink them, spray them, stickle them, whatever!
To enter to win these five packs of Thickers, simply leave a comment on this post before 9:00 p.m. Miami, FL USA time {GMT-5} on Thursday, January 7th. I will post the winners first thing on Friday morning!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Each winner will receive one pack each of the following Thickers:
1. "Jewelry Box" glittered chipboard in Pink
2. "Sprinkles" glittered chipboard in white
3. "By the Yard" fabric covered chipboard in white
4. "Delight" fabric covered chipboard in white
5. "Giggles" foam in white
I bought these Thickers from my buddy Jenn who has great deals on Thickers at her shop: live.teach.create. I love the white because they are so versatile & easy to customize ~ ink them, spray them, stickle them, whatever!
To enter to win these five packs of Thickers, simply leave a comment on this post before 9:00 p.m. Miami, FL USA time {GMT-5} on Thursday, January 7th. I will post the winners first thing on Friday morning!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
*UPDATED* On the Road Again
UPDATE: I made it safe and sound! :)
Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}beach! I am on the road again this afternoon & headed back to Miami! Hooray! I should be there first thing Monday morning, assuming there's no traffic or huge winter storms to cause me problems.
I am looking forward to being back home. For one, I will be glad to no longer be around The Demon Cat:
That is the face of pure evil, folks. Make no mistake. Hide your children.
I m also looking forward to being in my own bed, and not being freezing all the time because the thermostat is set at 65*F. And it will be so nice to have full run of my scraproom again. Plus, I need to do a little cleaning/reorganizing in there to make room for my new Cricut! {Thank you, Parents!} And I love to clean and reoragnize my scraproom.
I just wish there wasn't over 1000 miles and hours and hours of driving between me and these goals. Oh, well. It will be over soon enough!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}beach! I am on the road again this afternoon & headed back to Miami! Hooray! I should be there first thing Monday morning, assuming there's no traffic or huge winter storms to cause me problems.
I am looking forward to being back home. For one, I will be glad to no longer be around The Demon Cat:
That is the face of pure evil, folks. Make no mistake. Hide your children.
I m also looking forward to being in my own bed, and not being freezing all the time because the thermostat is set at 65*F. And it will be so nice to have full run of my scraproom again. Plus, I need to do a little cleaning/reorganizing in there to make room for my new Cricut! {Thank you, Parents!} And I love to clean and reoragnize my scraproom.
I just wish there wasn't over 1000 miles and hours and hours of driving between me and these goals. Oh, well. It will be over soon enough!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
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