Saturday, June 26, 2010

I've Been a Bad, Bad Girl ...

Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap} Beach!

I have been a bad, bad girl. Lately I've been feeling like doing some shopping for scrapbook supplies, but everything I looked at just felt kind of "blah" to me. I think the problem was not so much with the supplies as it was with my brain, because I finally snapped out of my little shopping funk and went to town with some great paper and stamps.

Wanna see what I got?

Well, if you came to last Thursday's Euro Chat, you already saw some of what I ordered in living color, but if you happened to miss it, I've typed up this lovely post all with pictures. It's part of my "Anything to Avoid Doing an Actual Haul Vid" haul series I am doing.

Anyways, enough with the babbling.

I did say I was not going to buy any more paper this year & was going to concentrate on getting some more embellishments. And so what did I do? Bought a ton of paper & only a couple measly packs of embellishments. Because that's what I do. I buy paper instead of embellishments. I keep forgetting that 2010 is supposed to be The Year of the Embellishment.


Basic Grey "Basics" Collection:





Was there really any doubt that I would end up with the Basic Grey "Basics" collection? I mean, really? After the demise of my beloved Scenic Route Paper Co., I went through a bit of a scrapbooking crisis: Where, oh, where, would I get grid paper now!? It was very sad. But Basic Grey came along {eventually} and saved the day.


Basic Grey "Capella" Collection:




I really, REALLY tried not to buy this paper collection. I thought it was gorgeous & perfect for spraying with Glimmer Mist, but it wasn't strictly necessary for my life. I mean, just because something is really, REALLY pretty, that doesn't mean I have to buy it, right? Especially when I don't have something specific in mind for it. Alas, I did not listen to my Voice of Reason. I sprayed it with a fire hose until it stopped yammering & then clicked the "checkout" button.


Cosmo Cricket "Fleuriste" Collection:




Okay, so I know this paper collection is so yesterday & that you guys have probably already been there & done that, but I missed it the first time around AND I was able to get it at a super great price through Scenic Route Paper Co. of all places. And by "super great" I mean I paid $8.00 for everything you see in that picture right there. Yeah. Eight bucks. And it's pretty! Actually, there looks like there might be an embellishment or two in the paper pack, so maybe I am doing better than I thought with the embellishments?


Fancy Pants "Roadshow" Collection:



I just love Fancy Pants paper. It's distressed without being grungy, which is just so totally perfect for me. In fact, I just got done making the cutest little mini with their "Rusted Sun" collection, that is going to be making an appearance in the Twelve Months of Christmas giveaway.


My Mind's Eye Penny Lane "Free Bird" Collection:




This is another one of those "so yesterday" paper collections that I missed the first time around & was able to pick up at a good price through Scenic Route Paper Co. I love the bright colors and funky prints in this particular collection ~ it will be so great for layouts.


My Mind's Eye Penny Lane "Tiny Dancer" Collection:




This "so yesterday" paper collection also came at a good price from the Scenic Route Paper Co. liquidation sale. These pretty papers will be great for softer, more subtle layouts & I am really looking forward to working with them. Not to mention the fact that there are embellishments in there, too, so I am not breaking my rule too much.

And that's it for paper. {Don't you love how I say "that's it" like I only bought five sheets of paper? It's a sickness, I tell you.} After paper, I probably invested the most money into stamps. I picked up a lot of stamps that I have had my eye on for a while, but haven't purchased because there was always something I wanted more at that particular moment. Well, I finally decided to get them & some of them will be perfect for the upcoming clear album series! I am very excited about them!

Hero Arts "Clouds" Wood Background Stamp:



I think "Clouds" will look amazing stamped on a transparency with Staz-On in "Cotton White" and then maybe put a small photo over it ... maybe a scrap or two or brightly colored patterned paper ... an idea is taking shape here!


Hero Arts "Quotes" Wood Background Stamp:



I love journaling stamps, what can I say? For some reason I am incapable of writing in a straight line, and yet I love to journal in my own handwriting. This creates a need for lots and lots of journaling stamps.


Hero Arts "French Writing with Butterfly" Wood Mounted Stamp:



I like my own handwriting, and I like other people's handwriting. I am a script junkie, that's for sure.


Hero Arts "French Post" Wood Mounted Stamp:



I have an album coming up in the next few months with a postcards theme, so I am slowly gathering all kinds of postal image stamps and ephemera to use in it. I have gotten some cool stuff so far & can't wait to get started!

I am not even done yet with the stamps. That's just the wood mounted stamps I purchased. I still have to go through the cling rubber and clear stamps I got! I was thinking about stamping the other day & I actually had a memory of a conversation with a fellow scrapbooker about how I didn't "get" stamping. I would buy stamps here and there, but I never really used them in my books or on my pages.

This conversation probably took place about two and a half years ago. Now I love to stamp and reach for my stamps all the time. I've developed a good habit of using them. That's what I need to do with my Cricut now. I have the Cricut, I have the cartridges & all the other supplies. Now I just need to remember to use it, like I did with my stamps. It's such a great resource if I just remember that it's there! Anyways, that was totally random & off topic. Moving on with the goodies!

Hero Arts "Metal Flourish" Cling Stamp:



This stamp looks like a gate to me. I think it will be really fun to use it in interactive elements on scrapbook pages, and also to use it on cards. It's got a really fun & cool look, and I already have some ideas percolating for it.


Hero Arts "Peacock" Cling Stamp:



I have to admit that I'm not 100% sure why I love this stamp. I just think that the image is very cool & will be fun to color in with my Twinkling H2O's. I mean, just look at that tail!


Hero Arts "Rose Background" Cling Stamp:



I can't wait to stamp this one on watercolor paper & paint it in with watercolor paints. It will be so gorgeous on cards, on tags and on the pages of my minis.


Hero Arts "Two Vine Scrolls" Cling Stamp:



I loved that both the positive and negative image for this stamp was included in the packaging. It will be a lot of fun to play around with that combination. I also thought that the look and feel of them would work really well for the Asian mini album I have coming up.

I needed to make sure some embellishments sneaked into my cart, so I picked up some of the Tattered Angels Glimmer Chips and some Prima flowers. The Prima flowers also came from the Scenic Route Paper Co. liquidation sale.


Prima Can-Ection "Cannes" Flowers:





Prima Can-Ection "Monaco" Flowers:




I don't have much to say about these flowers other than: Aren't they pretty!?


Tattered Angels "Destination Unknown" Glimmer Chips:



I got this set of glimmer chips with that postcard mini I mentioned earlier in mind. I like the different travel related pieces in this set & thought that they would work really well in that album. I'll be using the Webster's Pages "Postcards from Paris" papers in my postcard album, and so many of the chips in this set mesh beautifully with the images in that collection.

So what products have you all been eyeing lately? Or are you saving up for the new releases from the Summer CHA trade show?

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

19 comments:

  1. I orderd the mariposa paper today, it was the last pack thay had so I was pretty lucky! :D
    ~Marthe

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  2. Whoa, missed all the action here. LOVE to shop, don't we all and I've got the Basics line as well. Kathryn, they are so scrappy-good. Really, I spent about 15 min. just staring at the pages when I first got them. Clean, modern, versatile.

    I'm quite happy to learn that you're doing an acrylic album class (yey!). It's one of those things that I've done once and never took up again though I incorporate acrylic pages here & there in my projects (I use Graphix just 'cuz it's cheaper). I am eager to see your techniques and as always, learn from you. I'm now backtracking on your vids for more scrappy inspiration. Thanks for all you do!

    -Liz

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  3. HI! Found your blog via Mini books blog...It was fun to "go" shopping with you- great taste!! Made me want to jump back into paper crafting... been waiting on moving and setting up my studio.:) Thanks for the inspiration!
    Artful Amanda -- Life Unbleached
    http://pioneersponderings.blogspot.com/

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  4. Hi, Marthe! Is that your first order of Mariposa? It was so fun to make a mini with those papers ~ I really enjoyed it!

    Liz, what's up? I finished "The Girl Who Played with Fire" last night and am trying to decide if I should get the third book or not. I want to know what happpens BUT it's only in hardback and it was not the most pleasant experience to read "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" in that format. I used some of the Basic Grey "Basics" paper in a mini immediately & I think I will have to order more of it to have on hand. Between the different patterns and colors it will really work with almost any project.

    Welcome, Amanda! I just checked out your blog ~ the title really intrigued me ~ and you have some beautiful work on there! What mini albums blog did you come from? I didn't know there was one! Can you share the link, please? :D

    ~Kathryn

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  5. Great stuff, glad that you like a good deal. I am super excited for your acrylic album. Your Ustream and you tube videos are really great. The other day "glossy accents is the duct tape of scrapbooking " was one of so many funny things you say. As a stay at home mom to four small kids I appreciate feeling like Ive gone to a crop, by watching your Ustream while I craft. So many many thanks. Please keep up the funny talk and amazing creations.

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  6. Kathryn have you read The Help? I couldnt put it down.

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  7. Yes, it's my first order. I'm really looking forward to make an album of it! :)
    ~Marthe

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  8. Hi, Jennifer! I'm so glad you've been enjoying both my YouTube Channel and my UStream Channel. :D I enjoy doing them, because I also feel like I have been to a crop since I get to talk and scrapbook at the same time ~ two of my favorite things. ;) I haven't read The Help yet. I almost bought it the last time I went shopping for books, but I passed it by because I was looking for more beachy reads. The last book I read was Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Played with Fire and before that I polished off Zoey Dean's How To Teach Filthy Rich Girls which is set in West Palm Beach. I enjoyed reading a novel set semi-locally.

    Marthe, I can tell you're going to have a lot of fun with it! Enjoy it!

    ~Kathryn :D

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  9. Love those HEro Arts stamps!!! I haven't bought much of anything lately..saving for CHA in JULY but my savings if next to null with unforseen things happening here... UGH!!

    So saving again! Man i don't know what i want at CHA.. OHH yeah MPS stamps..TOY STORY CART.. and what ever i see at CHA that i LIKE!! :)

    See ya there!!

    kathy

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  10. Hi Kathryn!
    I watched part of this haul at your recorded ustream class. Great stamps! How do you use the unmounted ones? on an acrylic block? Thanks for the tip about the "Scenic route" shop. I checked and they have really good sale kits but not sure they sell outside usa.
    Last thing I bought was from eBay. A newbie scrapper had given up of scrapbooking and was selling a lot of stuff that she bought to start (punches, ribbons, paper, storage boxes, stickers, rubons,...). I was lucky and bought the lot for about 22Us$. So happy when things like this happen... :D

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  11. Yep, this was me this week...kinda went over board with the shopping but it was things on my wish list and that I needed too. I totally love the paper collection for $8! Wow...pretty cool, girlfriend...

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  12. Just my opinion, K, I thought Book 1 was good, but Book 2 was better. I'm waiting for a big 50% off coupon from Borders then I'll pick up #3.

    Speaking of book series, got somethin' a bit funny and sad at the same time to relate. I'm a big Michael Cox fan (you remember The Meaning of Night, right?). Anyway, when the 2nd in the series came out, The Glass of Time, I was all over it. When done, was waiting with bated breath for #3 because there was word that Cox was contmplating a continuation. Even wrote a friend in UK to make sure to pick up for me when it comes out. Waiting, waiting, waiting close to 2 yrs to no avail.

    Finally, called my sis who's very up on that genre, wanting to know if she knows anything about the release. Here's what she said: "You imbecile, Michael Cox passed away!"

    Well, of course, I'm very sorry to hear of someone's passing, esp someone who's very talented. But can I tell you, I had to go back to Wilkie Collins standbys just to get my fix. Stieg Larsson's series makes me feel the same way--there won't be anymore after #3. Good auhors have that kind of impact, don't you think?

    -Liz

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  13. Hello - I found you through a mini album vid on YT, and was impressed with all those tags,lol!

    Anyways - question.....what makes a paper collection " so yesterday " ?

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  14. Hi, Kathy! It's good that you're saving up for the CHA releases. There is always a bunch of stuff that I want, especially affter the summer show. I know the winter show is the "big" one, but the summer one is where they release their Halloween and Christmas lines, so that gets me excited!

    Veronica, it sounds like you really scored with that deal on eBay! It is too bad that she didn't like scrapbooking, but I guess it is not for everyone & her loss was your gain! Have fun with your new goodies & congrats! Also, about the Scenic Route store, I had to indicate my country when I checked out. Don't know if that means for sure that they ship internationally but maybe they do.

    Rita, does that mean you are all shopped out? That happens to me a lot. The good thing is that when you are shopped out, that leaves more time for scrapping & playing with your new supplies. :D :D :D

    Liz, how could I forget The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox? I almost bought the sequel the other day, but then I pulled myself together! I have a rule that I do not start a book series until all the books have been written, although sometimes I am tricked into a series by not knowing upfront that a book is part of one. This rule is because of Robert Jordan, who died before finishing his Wheel of Time series. I quit reading the series before he died because the books kept getting longer and longer but less and less was happening. That's when I formulated my rule. If I start something, I want to be guaranteed that I can read the ending ~ even if it's just because I got bored halfway through the series & don't want to finish reading all the books.

    Anyways, back to Michael Cox. Aside from Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, M. R. James and John Meade Falkner, there are some more modern books/authors that I have heard him compared to. If you haven't already, you might want to check them out: Charles Palliser's The Quincunx, Iain Pears's An Instance at the Fingerpost and Michael Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White {this is the only one of the books I have read personally, but I loved it}. Not exactly the same, but have you read Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke? It's quite the tome, but it's set in the Victorian era and there is a mystery of sorts to be solved. I really enjoyed it.

    And I do think good authors have that kind of impact. Heck, there are actually books that I was devastated to finish only because I wanted them to go on and on. I remember when I read James Clavell's Shogun ~ which is like 1500 pages ~ thinking that it was way too short.

    Welcome to my blog, Beverly! I hope you enjoy it here! Since you liked the tags, you'll probably fit right in! ;) What I mean by "so yesterday" {which is tongue in cheek, by the way ~ the rest of the ladies on here will tell you that I use old paper from my stash all the time & urge my readers to do the same} is that it is an older collection & probably not readily available for purchase. That's it! It doesn't mean I think it's uncool or not as good as something brand new or anything like that. :D

    ~Kathryn

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  15. I have picked up that metal gate Hero Arts cling stamp the last 2 times I've been at our stamp store. I also think it could be used in a multitude of ways....
    I know you think that you need more embellishments than paper, however, I have seen what you do with paper and I think you turn paper into embellishments very, very nicely! A little glossy accents here, some glimmer mist there, put it into an embossing folder run it thru the big shot and bing bang bam - an embelli!!
    As always, thanks for the laugh...
    ~Jill

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  16. Kathryn, you crack me up!!!! I picked up that Hero Arts Journaling stamp and love it!!! I have also been eyeballing those BG Basics collections :-) Can't wait to see what you wave your magic wand and turn them into. That metal gate stamp looks fabulous.....don't leave it too close the the screen during Ustream or it just might end up on my table he he he!!!
    Thanks for sharing all the wonderful goodies you picked up, I'm drooling over each and every item!!!!! I need to go take a second look :-)
    TTFN
    Hope

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  17. Thanks for the support with my embellishment & paper issue, Jill! :D I tink I have resigned myself to the fact that I like paper and stamps more than embellishments & I just need to get over it & stop thinking about what I should be using or buying. I just don't want the Scrapbook Police to get me! They're so scary ... ;)

    Hope, I will make sure to keep that metal flourish stamp far, far away from the screen! I know how you guys operate. ;) The two things I am most anxious to use are the metal gate stamp and the cloud stamp. One or the other might be making an appearance during the July crop as a prize! Who knows ... ?

    ~Kathryn :D

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  18. sshhh...I snuck out of the office and went to Archiver's just for the glimmer chips as shown above (well, that was my intent, but of course, I could not resist buying more stuff!). Kathryn, you are a primo enabler, lady. Anyway, I'm checking them out & they're just divine. Really adorable designs (that Checker cab is a hoot) and can't wait to dig in and mist them.

    Btw, for those of your readers who are interested, check out Cosmic Shimmer Mist. I buy this from ebay (UK), they're much cheaper than GM and have much more mica in them and intense colors. GM is kinda too subtle for me and CSM has very, very good coverage & sparkle with just a slight mist. And cheaper, too. Still using GM, gosh I like both. I can be an enabler, too, right?

    You think I should get back to work now?

    -Liz

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  19. LOL, Liz! You naughty girl, you! ;) I love this particular set of chips. They're so big! They could easily be incorporated into a layout as well as a mini book. And I agree with you: the cars and cabs are totally fab! I like to mist them & then run PPerfect Medium over the high points so I can apply Perfect Pearls or PearlEx to bring out the details.

    I am aware of the existence of Cosmic Shimmer Mist because one of my UStream viewers from the UK told us all about it {ahem, Fiona} one day. I have to chosen to ignore their existence, however, because I do not need another addiction! Seriously! So I don't want to hear about Cosmic Shimmers or Starburst Stains or any of that stuff!

    ~Kathryn
    la la la ~ I'm not listening

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