So, You Missed Thursday's Scrap Chat ...

... but you still want to see me make some chipboard buttons? Well, I have good news for you ~ I posted a very quick video tutorial of them today over on my YouTube Channel:



These chipboard buttons are very quick and easy to make & can be customized to work with any layout or project you have planned. It's also a great way to use up scraps of paper and chipboard.

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Chipboard Buttons Live Tutorial + New Video

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

I wanted to let those of you who are interested in seeing more of the chipboard buttons know that I will be creating some during the Thursday Scrap Chats over on my UStream channel. There will be two live cropping sessions this Thursday: 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. These times are all Miami, FL USA. So if you're interested in seeing them coming together, check out one of those scrap chats!

I also uploaded a new video over on my YouTube Channel of an altered composition book. I was having some problems with my camera during recording, so there are some parts missing in the decorating phase, but you will see how to cover the composition book.



Thanks for watching & have a great day!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Making Chipboard Buttons

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

I've noticed that lately a few manufacturer's have come out with lines of chipboard buttons. I have to admit that I really like the look of these chipboard buttons, but have so far been unwilling to spend my money on them. My scrap budget is fairly limited, so before I buy an embellishment I like to see if I can figure out a way to make something similar from my stash.

The other day I decided to try to make myself some chipboard buttons from supplies on hand, and this is how they turned out:


Made with raw chipboard and patterned papers from Basic Grey, My Mind's Eye and Creative Impressions.


Made with scalloped coaster tiles from Technique Tuesday and patterned paper from Basic Grey.

When you make them yourself instead of buying them, you can also get even more creative and take these embellishments up another notch. Consider adding Glossy Accents for an epoxy look, or glitter or Stickles for some sparkle. You could also stamp a favorite image instead of using patterned paper, the add heat embossing for an even more dimensional look. And, of course, nothing is ever really complete without a little bling!

Okay, so what exactly did I do to create these unique chipboard buttons? It was actually pretty easy. I just needed some paper, glue, a 1/8" hole punch and a strong pair of scissors. For the scalloped circle buttons, I also use a file from the Basic Grey Precision File Set to get the edges really smooth.

1. Gather some chipboard for your buttons and select templates for your circle sizes. I used a Fiskars circle template and actual buttons to trace my circles on the chipboard.



2. Trace and carefully cut out with a good pair of scissors a variety of chipboard circles. I used my Tonic teflon serrated scissors to cut mine. It does an excellent job of cutting even thick chipboard.





3. Mark position of your holes and punch holes using your 1/8" hole punch. I used actual buttons as a template for placing my holes. I used four holes on the larger circles and two holes on the smaller circles.



4. Cover the chipboard with patterned paper, and re-punch the holes. I used my ATG for this step & applied it to the paper. A liquid glue or Mod Podge would also work well here.



5. You can also use scalloped circles or squares instead of plain circles. The possibilities for dressing these up are truly endless!



I hope you found this tutorial useful & that you have fun creating your own unique chipboard buttons!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

New Video: Butterfly Love, Part Five

Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}beach! I hope you all had a great weekend!

I have a new video for you today! I've gotten the final part in my current video series loaded over on my YouTube channel and it is ready for viewing.

I've been working on a Cosmo Cricket Blackboard album for a trade mini. The shape I chose was "Gracie's Album" and it is roughly 4"x6" and flourished. I have been using primarily the Basic Grey "Urban Prairie" collection to decorate the pages. I have also incorporated quite a few items from my stash of buttons, ribbons and bling. Because I have incorporated quite a few butterflies into this mini, I have been calling it the "Butterfly Love" album. I hope you enjoy the video & thanks for watching!



Thanks for watching & visiting my blog!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

New Video: Butterfly Love, Part Four

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

I have a new video for you today! I've gotten the fourth part in my current video series loaded over on my YouTube channel and it is ready for viewing.

I've been working on a Cosmo Cricket Blackboard album for a trade mini. The shape I chose was "Gracie's Album" and it is roughly 4"x6" and flourished. I have been using primarily the Basic Grey "Urban Prairie" collection to decorate the pages. I have also incorporated quite a few items from my stash of buttons, ribbons and bling. Because I have incorporated quite a few butterflies into this mini, I have been calling it the "Butterfly Love" album. I hope you enjoy the video & thanks for watching!



Thanks for visiting my blog & have a great weekend!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

I Finally Finished!

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

I have finally finished The Meaning of Night: A Confession by Michael Cox. I started this book in August, and I was seriously afraid it was going to turn into another Bee Keeper's Apprentice {by Laurie King} but it didn't. It did take me six weeks to finish it, but since it took me almost three months to get through Bee Keeper's Apprentice, I figured this one came out a little ahead.



Now, it has just been brought to my attention that Michael Cox has written a sequel to The Meaning of Night, and, while I will not be rushing out to purchase it, I will be putting it on my Amazon Wishlist. Just because it took me a while to read this book, does not mean that it wasn't a good book. Just that it was dense and not a book that lent itself to staying up all night frantically turning the pages. Nevertheless, I did enjoy it for the most part, although I was getting a little sick and tired of it toward the end.

I can't decide what to read next. I am kind of done with the whole British murder mystery genre for a while, I think, and am at a loss for what to pick up next. I looked over my "To Read" pile when I finished The Meaning of Night but nothing jumped out at me. Probably because my brain was totally fried this weekend from the all-night crop.

So what are you reading?

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

New Video: Butterfly Love, Part Three

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

I have a new video for you today, as well as an announcement. Our virtual crop over at the Life on the {Scrap}beach web community was so popular and such a success, that we will be having one once a month. They will be held on the first Saturday of the month starting at 9:00 p.m. {that's Miami, FL USA time} and wrapping up at 3:00 a.m. the next morning. Live video feed into my scraproom, as well as live chat with other scrappers, will be available on my site and on my Ustream channel. The next one will be on Saturday, October 3, starting at 9:00 p.m.

So, onto the video! I've gotten the next part in my current video series loaded over on my YouTube channel and it is ready for viewing. I've been working on a Cosmo Cricket Blackboard album for a trade mini. The shape I chose was "Gracie's Album" and it is roughly 4"x6" and flourished. I have been using primarily the Basic Grey "Urban Prairie" collection to decorate the pages. I have also incorporated quite a few items from my stash of buttons, ribbons and bling. Because I have incorporated quite a few butterflies into this mini, I have been calling it the "Butterfly Love" album. I hope you enjoy the video & thanks for watching!



Thanks for visiting my blog & have a great day!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

All-Night Crop Was a Success!

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

We had our all-night crop on Friday from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning, and it was a complete success. My husband and I figured out a way to show a live video feed from my scraproom, so everyone could see what I was doing. We had a chat going in the video scraproom as well, so it was fun to all comment and share links.

Since everyone had so much fun, I am sure we will be doing this again, although probably not as long of a crop ~ we were definitely all very tired by the time 6:00 a.m. rolled around! But we all chatted about the possibility of another one and everyone seemed to think that once a month would be about right. You do not need to be a member of the Life on the {Scrap}beach web community to view the video scraproom & chat, so I will post info about how to access that the next time we do this, for any of you who might want to join in the fun.

I'll be posting a new video tomorrow, so stay tuned for part three of the "Butterfly Love" mini album!

~Kathryn

TGIF + New Video!

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

It's finall Friday ~ yay! Tonight is the night of our big crop over on the Life on the {Scrap}beach web community to celebrate crossing out 100 member milestone. I've got ten great challenges plannes and we have a few prizes as well. It start at 6:00 p.m. Miami time.

I've also got another video in the "Butterfly Love" mini album series edited and up on my YouTube channel for your viewing pleasure, although I still haven't printed any photos for the crop tonight {my super power is proscrastination}.



Thanks for watching & I hope to see you all at the crop tonight!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Storing {and Using!} Those Scraps

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

The other day I was chatting with a friend about scraps & whether or not we use them, how to store them, etc. She keeps her scraps, but doesn't use them ~ gasp! I used to be the same way, but I made some adjustments to how I store my scraps and now they are much more user-friendly. So, I thought that I would share my scrap storage system with you guys in case it will help you use your own scraps a little bit more.

I store my scraps in two Artbin One Compartment Super Satchels like the one below:



I keep my patterned paper scraps in one, and my cardstock scraps go in the other. Then I have large 12"x12" tabbed dividers I use to separate each bin by color:

1. Black & White
2. Natural {vanilla, kraft, browns, etc.}
3. Pink/Red
4. Yellow/Orange
5. Green
6. Blue
9. Purple

Now, the secret to me actually using my scraps has less to do with how they're stored and more to do with how they're cut. I used to keep all my scraps and I never used them. Now I only keep some of them & I use them all the time. The difference is in determining what to keep.

The first thing I do after completing a layout or dismantling a page kit is cut my scraps down into certain sizes. The sizes are different for patterned paper and cardstock, so I'll break it out by type.

Cardstock:
1. I check to see if there are any scraps sized 8.5"x11" or larger. These I cut down into 8.5"x11" sheets and keep those in my paper racks with my other solid cardstock. This almost never happens.
2. Then I look for scraps sized 5.5"x8.5" or 4.25"x11" or larger {but smaller than 8.5"x11"} I cut those down into card bases and store them with my other card-making supplies. This gives me plenty of ready-to-go card bases in a variety of colors.
3. After those have been trimmed down and set aside, I look for any scraps large enough to cut into 4.5"x6.5" photo mats. These get filed in my Artbin by color.
4. Once I have sorted all those out, I cut the rest of the scraps down into 3.5"x5" pieces. These are great for smaller photos, for journaling spots, for tags and also for running through my diecut machine.
5. Any remaining scraps I run through my paper shredder. I collect these brightly colored shreds and use them as packing material for gifts.

Patterned Paper:
1. First off, I look for any scraps sized 8"x10" or larger. This is a good size for a large accent piece on a 12"x12" layout, and I use that size often on my layoutss, so it works well for me to have options in this size. Of course, I almost never have scraps this size, but when I do, I file these in my Artbin by color.
2. Then I look for scraps sized 8"x8" or larger {but smaller than 8"x10"} and I cut those down and file them away.
3. After those have been trimmed down and set aside, I look for any scraps large enough to cut into 4.25"x6.25" photo mats. I often like to use a piece of patterned paper between a photo and a cardstock mat, and this is a great size for that. This size also works very well for decorating the fronts of cards or the pages of mini albums.
4. I cut the rest of the scraps down into strips of 3"x6" or 2"x6" depending on how much I have left. These are great for accent pieces on a page, or for card accents, and they're especially great for decorating mini book pages.
5. Like the cardstock scraps, any remaining patterned paper scraps get run through my shredder to save for packing material for gifts.

So, what does all this math actually do to help me wth my scrapping!? It means that my scraps are all nice and neatly sorted into easy-to-grab and easy-to-use sizes. They're so handy that I can easily make cards and even entire mini albums just from scraps. If you've seen my Engagement Mini Album, it was made entirely from scraps stored in this method & sent to the bride in a box filled with brightly colored shredded material made from my scraps that were too small to save. What I like about this method is that all of the scraps are used, one way or another ~ either in projects or as packing material.



If you already have a great storage solution for storing and using your scraps, please let me know what it is. My solution works well for me, but it can always use some tweaking. ;) And if you store your scraps but don't use them, you might consider cutting them into sizes you frequently use in your scrapping or cardmaking. That will make them easy to grab for a project!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.