Girly Girl Page

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

I just got done making a girly girl page starring my sister about a tea party we went to before I moved out of state. I threw a little a slide show together so you could see it!

Will there be a video eventually? Who knows! You'll just have to wait and see! MWAH HAH HAH HAH!

Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Seaquarium Mini Album, Part Two

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

I just uploaded Part Two of the Seaquarium Mini Album to my YouTube channel. I actually wasn't going to post this video until Sunday or Monday, but I decided to get it up early so it could be enjoyed over the weekend!





I've been getting lots of questions about which products I use in my videos, so I am going to include links for those who are interested in seeing what was used. I'm not promising that I'll be doing this for every video, but I'll try to at least do it for the videos where the supplies used are new{ish} and readily available in stores and online.

Supplies used: Most of these came from Two Peas in a Bucket
Corner Chomper Crop-A-Dile (We R Memory Keepers)
Precision File Set (Basic Grey)
5"x7" Tabbed Grungeboard Book (Advantus)
Snorkel Paper Crafting Kit (Cosmo Cricket)
Snorkel Ready Set Chip (Cosmo Cricket)
Snorkel Ribbon (Cosmo Cricket)
Background Papers Collection (Scenic Route Paper Co.)
Grafton Beach Chipboard (Scenic Route Paper Co.)
Grafton Label Stickers (Scenic Route Paper Co.)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Seaquarium Mini Album, Part One

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

I know you were all expecting this next video to be about page kits, but since you liked the mini album so much yesterday, I decideto bump my Seaquarium Mini Album up in the queue. So, I just uploaded the first video to my YouTube channel. This is a 5"x7" tabbed Grungebook that I embellished with the Cosmo Cricket Snorkel line, and I have to say that I am very proud of this little book. It's definitely one of my favorite creations! Normally by the time I finish a mini album, I am a little bit sick of it, but I can't stop looking through this little book ~ it's just been so much fun!





I've been getting lots of questions about which products I use in my videos. While I'm more than happy to answer them, most of the time the products I use in my videos are so old that you really can't get them anymore. However, this album uses mostly new stuff, so I am going to include links for those who are interested in seeing what was used. I probably won't do this for every video going forward ~ just the videos where the supplies used are new{ish} and readily available in stores and online. I will also always be happy to answer any questions on any of the videos, techniques or products used!

Supplies used: Most of these came from Two Peas in a Bucket
Corner Chomper Crop-A-Dile (We R Memory Keepers). I am in love with this tool, by the way! It is so great for me because I have very weak thumbs ~ I've broken both of them, and neither of them healed quite right ~ so I really struggle with my corner rounders sometimes. Squeezing with my whole hand to round corners is so much easier! Love it!
Precision File Set (Basic Grey)
5"x7" Tabbed Grungeboard Book (Advantus)
Alphas Grungeboard (Advantus)
Seafoam 2Oz Scrapbook Paint (Making Memories)
Lemon 2Oz Scrapbook Paint (Making Memories)
Melt Art Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel in Clear and in White (Ranger Industries)

Thanks for watching ~ I hope you enjoyed it!

Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

New Mini in the Works

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

I just finished putting together a new little mini. I filmed video of this mini coming together, but the videos won't be ready for posting for a while, so I thought I'd show you a little slide show in the meantime!

I hope you enjoyed it & thanks for watching!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Horrors! {12"x12" Layout}

Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}beach & happy Memorial Day!

I just uploaded a new video over on my YouTube Channel. This is a random thoughts kind of page. I incorporated some memorabilia, but I mostly wanted to do a fun layout to highlight something that interests me. I like to do non-event pages as well as event pages for my scrapbooks.





Thanks for watching ~ I hope you enjoyed it!

Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Do I Need a Die Cutter? {Part Three}

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

For about six months now, I have been contemplating getting a die cutter. The way I see it, I have four three options left:

1. Get an electronic “die” cutter.
2. Get a manual die cutter.
3. Get both an electronic AND a manual die cutter.
4. Do nothing.

This is the third part in a series of posts regarding electronic cutters and manual die cutters. In Part One, I gave my general opinions about cutter and explored electronic cutters more specifically. In Part Two, I explored my interest in manual cutters.

Option Three: Get both an electronic AND a manual cutter.
I think that if I were set on following this course of action, I would start with a manual cutter and then add an electronic cutter into the mix at a later date. In fact, I'm pretty sure that's what I'm going to do!

Option Four: Do nothing.
It seems as though I can create just fine without a diecutter, so why mess with perfection? :D In all seriousness, though, is it worth it to get something that may make my scrapbooking easier/faster but will it also provide an endless variety of ways to drain my bank account?

It was tough to decide, but I have asked for a Big Shot {manual, not the express} for my birthday {coming up at the beginning of July}! This will allow me to ut all the dies that I want {the nestabilities, the cookie cutters, the border dies} and doesn't break the bank too much at first. If I really dig this die cutting thing, I will think about asking for a Cricut Expression as a Christmas present.

Thanks so much for all your recommendations, advice and information! It has been SO helpful! I loved it!

Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Do I Need a Die Cutter? {Part Two}

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

For about six months now, I have been contemplating getting a die cutter. The way I see it, I have four three options:

1. Get an electronic “die” cutter.
2. Get a manual die cutter.
3. Get both an electronic AND a manual die cutter.
4. Do nothing.

In Part One, I explored my interest in electronic cutters in general and the Cricut Expression more specifically. With this post, I want to move on to manual die cutters.

Option Two: Get a manual die cutter.
There are several reasons why I am drawn to manual die cutters: embossing folders, nestabilities, QK border and cookie cutter dies and their overall simplicity, to name a few.

Embossing Folders: Several companies are now making embossing folders for die cut machines and I love them! They are such a quick and easy way to add texture and interest to cards, pages and more. I would just love to be able to add some of these textures to my projects.

Nestabilities: Okay, so if you've been watching my videos, you know how much I love my big Marvy Uchida scalloped circle punches. My only complaint about them is they don't go up in size in 0.25" increments ~ they increase in size in 0.5" increments only. This is a little annoying to me because I would love to be able to layer them more tightly together & have an eighth of an inch border all the way around instead of a quarter of an inch border.

That's why I love the Nestabilities so much. They would allow my to layer frames and shapes in the way I'd like, AND they give me more options for less space/money than those huge Marvy Uchida punches. Plus, they'd be less hard on my hands, which is always a plus. Sometimes I struggle with those big punches.

QK Border/Cookie Cutter Dies: I love the 12" border dies that QK has. They have a huge bracket that I would just love to get my hands on. Lots of great shapes for my to play with. And their cookie cutter alphas are nice and big and come in really great fonts ~ I'm already half in love with a few of them {Stardust! Mary Jane OMG! Love them!}. But these dies are so long that they won't work in my die cut machines, so that is certainly something I need to consider.

Simplicity: I am the kind of person whose creativity is hampered by too many choices. This is one of the many reasons why I scrap from page kits instead of directly from my stash ~ I need to limit my choices or I will never accomplish anything. While the idea of "no limitations scrapping" presented by an electronic cutter appeals to me on one level, it concerns me on another because I don't want my creativity stifled by too many choices. I don't want to be spending all my scrapbooking time choosing the perfect font from 1000 other fonts ~ I'd rather choose the perfect font from 10 other fonts and then get back to work.

I used to be on a local scrapbook store's design team {before moving to Miami} and used the diecut machine there frequently. They had one of those big Accucuts, which I loved, because it could cut chipboard pages for mini albums in seconds. I remember it was easy to just choose a die, choose some paper and run it through. Done in literally seconds!

I definitely feel myself leaning toward a manual die cutter over an electronic one at this point. The question now becomes which one? I think I will hold off on a decision until I see the QK Epic 6, since I would love a die cutter that can cut all QK dies and all competitor dies. Unless the Epic 6 has some major problems, I anticipate going with that one over any other. If the Epic 6 does have major problems, I will probably end up with either a Cuttlebug or a Big Shot AND a QK Revolution {gotten cheaply on clearance, I hope, once they bring out the Epic 6}.

Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Do I Need a Diecutter?

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

This is the first post in what will be a three part series about die cutters, both electronic and manual. I hope you don't get too bored with my musings!

For about six months now, I have been contemplating getting a die cutter. The way I see it, I have four options:

1. Get an electronic “die” cutter.
2. Get a manual die cutter.
3. Get both an electronic AND a manual die cutter.
4. Do nothing.

So far I have been doing an awesome job with Option Four! But I have decided I want to stop thinking about die cutters and make a decision already so I can start to budget for one {if I decide to get one} OR decide not to get one so I can stop rehashing this issue at least once a month until I drive myself completely insane and get woken up at 3:00 a.m. by my husband who is begging me to stop screaming "Quickutz" because I am having a nightmare about cookie cutter dies.

So, setting my rapidly diminishing mental stability aside for the moment, I’ll break out the pros and cons of the four choices above as I see them. Maybe I can finally make a decision about this issue!

Option One: Get an electronic “die” cutter.
An electronic cutter certainly provides more flexibility and images for less money than a manual die cutter. There's just not question about that. However, electronic cutters are not without their own issues. I know them well, for I once owned a Cricut Script which I hated with the fire of a thousand suns.

{Okay, so that may be a slight exaggeration. But I did find the machine so frustrating that I hardly ever used it & eventually gave it away to someone who actually wanted one. I know they get a great deal of use from it, and that makes me happy.}

My problems with the Cricut Script included: paper tearing {I could never seem to get the blade set right}, the mats {either too sticky or not sticky enough}, limited fonts {I didn’t love any of the fonts/images on the cartridges out at the time}, and more. I now know that all these problems have solutions. There are plenty of Cricut message boards with “cheat sheets” for blade depth and cutting speed. There are ways to make the mats more or less sticky. And there are Cricut Design Studio and Sure Cuts A Lot {SCAL} to weld images for continuous titles, as well as open up a wide variety of fonts already stored on my computer.

{I know that most of my problems with the Cricut were pretty much my own fault. I just didn’t care enough about the machine to find all this out at the time. Which makes me wonder if I care enough now to utilize all the resources available to the owners of my hypothetical electronic cutting machine?}

Anyway, moving on: let’s assume that I have decided to buy an electronic cutter. The next question is, which one would I purchase? There are so many. In my recent research into the land of electronic cutters, it seems to me as though the Cricut Expression + Sure Cuts A Lot {SCAL} is king. It cuts images as large as I could want {up to 12”x24”} which would enable me to make my own “diecut” 12”x12” paper and borders {you know how I love my diecut paper and scalloped borders}. The addition of SCAL to the Cricut, while voiding the warranty, would allow me to cut any TTF {true type font} on my computer as well as any I download going forward. It will also allow me to cut any SVG files as well. These are all very good things that open up a ton of possibilities. And, of course, there are always the cartridges if any catch my eye. I could even make my own "chipboard" letters by cutting multiples of a letter and layering them like I did in my Easter Eggs videos ~ only not by hand!

But it’s … pricey. Even if I could find an amazing deal on this machine, it would still be a large investment. Then there's the added expense of the software, cartridges, etc. And I had a Cricut before and really didn’t like it. I’m better educated now about the available features and programs, but would I really take advantage of them? I can’t be sure. Plus, there’s the time factor. It seems to me like it takes more time to design and program an image for an electronic cutter than it does to run a die through a manual cutter. I already spend enough time on the computer as it is between photo and video editing and whatever else. It just seems so much easier just to put some American Crafts Thickers on the layout and call it a day {I love Thickers!}.

In many ways, the simplicity of a manual die cutter is much more appealing at this point. Maybe I need to look more closely at the manual cutters and forget about the electronic cutters. Or maybe my problem is that I am lazy...?

Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Biltmore Hotel 12"x12" Layout

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

I have a new video available on my YouTube Channel. This is a quick 12"x12" layout that works well for those times when you have a long story to tell since there's plenty of room for lots of journaling.

The layout itself is super simple and easy to complete. In fact, it's so quick and easy that the video is actually presented in real time. Sort of.





This is on of the rare times that I do my journaling on the computer. In this layout I wanted to write about the history of the Biltmore Hotel. There was a great deal to write and not a ton of space to do it. Thanks for watching ~ I hope you enjoy it!

Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Journaling: Typed vs. Handwritten

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

Probably the most common question I get asked regarding my videos is, "What is that grid paper you are using?" The vast majority of my projects ~ at least 80% of them ~ use patterned paper from the the Scenic Route Paper Co.'s Background Papers Collection. Now, I don't want to sound overly dramatic here, but these papers have totally changed my life!


Okay, so maybe they're not life-changing, but they definitely changed the way I scrapbook!

Before I learned about these papers, I did all of my journaling on the computer. I spent a great deal of time on formatting, choosing the right font, finding the perfect piece of cardstock, cutting it down to the perfect size, printing it out, etc., etc. My journaling looked great, but it was very time consuming and often frustrating. I love my own handwriting but I have trouble writing in a straight line. It was very difficult to draw lines in pencil, journal, erase them, etc., so I just used the computer.

When I first saw these papers, I was in a scrapbook store. I turned down an aisle and there they were, bathed in an ethereal golden light. I think I actually heard a choir of angels singing, too, although I can't be sure about that. I knew that the way I scrapbooked was going to change. The papers were neutral enough that they would work for any layout or project, and they would help me write in a straight line. Now when I journal, all I do it grab one of these papers, cut it down to the size I need and start scribbling. Voila! Instant journaling!

My layouts come together so much faster now, and I like the look of them so much better. There is a little piece of me on every page ~ right there and part of the design. And the perfectionist in me is not bothered by crooked writing! It's a win-win! I now only use the computer if I have a ton to write on a particular topic and there is just no way to get it all on there with my writing.

Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.