Hi, everyone! I hope you're enjoying Life on the {Scrap}Beach!
I finished Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo this week. I liked it a lot and will definitely be getting the second one. In paperback this time, though. I think I have carpal tunnel syndrome from holding up that heavy tome. Honestly, my wrists still hurt and it's been a few days since I finished it. :D
As I said, I really enjoyed the book and will be getting the sequel. There are a couple things I would caution people about, though, in terms of recommendations on this.
The first is that Stieg Larson tends to be a bit wordy. That doesn't bother me too much because I am history major and I like Russian novels & who is wordier than a Russian novelist? Exactly. No one. Well, maybe the Wikipedia people. The point is, for me words are great ~ the more the merrier, as long as they have a purpose. That being said, it could have been a lot tighter of a story. There was a part where the main sharacter was taking a trip to the next town to go look for someone/something & seemed like it took as long as the Peary Expedition. So if you like your murder mysteries to move along at a brisk pace, then this one may not be for you.
Also, if you don't like murder mysteries where the killer is really creepy/disturbing/weirder-than-usual than this one may not be for you. Also, if you can't stomach reading about violence against women, then this is also not for you. For example, my mom loves murder mysteries ~ it's probably her favorite genre ~ but she won't read the book because she doesn't enjoy books where the murderer is a creepy serial killer type. So if you're like my mom, than this book is probably not for you either.
Last night Mr. Lifeguard and I went to check out Cine Bistro and see The A-team. It was a lot of fun, actually! The movie was definitely cheesy and over the top in places, but there were moments where it was also laugh out loud funny in parts. We both really enjoyed the film ~ perfect for a summer movie. we also really enjoyed the restraunt dining in the movie theater experience. The chairs were huge and comfy, we had ottomans & tables that swivelled over our laps. I have grilled salmon with lemon potatos and bacon collard greens & he had the mixed grill. We got the fried shrimp and calamari appetizer which they served in an old fashioned popcorn carton. Everything was fun and nice. Great evening!
I also finished the next layout in my World of Wonder mini album, and have a new tutorial video posted for you over on my YouTube Channel: World of Wonder, Part Five. This layout focused on the concept of "Wilderness" or even "Wild-ness" and I used some fun stamps from the Tim Holtz Urban Tapestry set to underline that theme.
World of Wonder, Part Five:
I hope you all have a great weekend!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
REMINDER: Sixth Month of Christmas Winner!
Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}beach!
This is just a reminder that the winner of the Sixth Month of Christmas Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" giveaway MUST EMAIL ME at thescrapbeach@gmail.com with their address BEFORE MIDNIGHT FRIDAY in order to claim their prize.
The winner of the Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" 12"x12" paper pack/8"x8" paper pad is Comment #45:
mickle10 said...
WHat fun that paper would be to do some sepia toned or black and white snapshots pages? Thanks for giving us the opportunity to win!
Tuesday, June 08, 2010 8:34:00 PM
CONGRATULATIONS, Pam!!! :D :D :D If you are in the USA, you will receive the 12"x12" paper pack & if you are outside the USA, you will received the 8"x8" paper pad + a couple extra goodies. Please contact me at thescrapbeach@gmail.com before Friday, June 18, 2010 with the address where you'd like me to send the paper pack. If you do not contact me before midnight Friday, June 18, 2010, the paper pack will go to another entrant.
If you didn't win this time around, there are still six months of Christmas left to go! See you the first Monday in July for the Seventh Month of Christmas!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
This is just a reminder that the winner of the Sixth Month of Christmas Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" giveaway MUST EMAIL ME at thescrapbeach@gmail.com with their address BEFORE MIDNIGHT FRIDAY in order to claim their prize.
The winner of the Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" 12"x12" paper pack/8"x8" paper pad is Comment #45:
mickle10 said...
WHat fun that paper would be to do some sepia toned or black and white snapshots pages? Thanks for giving us the opportunity to win!
Tuesday, June 08, 2010 8:34:00 PM
CONGRATULATIONS, Pam!!! :D :D :D If you are in the USA, you will receive the 12"x12" paper pack & if you are outside the USA, you will received the 8"x8" paper pad + a couple extra goodies. Please contact me at thescrapbeach@gmail.com before Friday, June 18, 2010 with the address where you'd like me to send the paper pack. If you do not contact me before midnight Friday, June 18, 2010, the paper pack will go to another entrant.
If you didn't win this time around, there are still six months of Christmas left to go! See you the first Monday in July for the Seventh Month of Christmas!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Upcoming UStream: Acrylic Albums
Hi, everyone! It's finally time to talk about clear albums! I know a lot of you have been wondering when I was finally going to get around to doing one of these. Well, I'm doing it now, okay!? So stop emailing me about it & yelling at me! Jeez ... :D
Just kidding!
Sort of.
In all seriousness, I have been getting a lot of requests to do an acrylic album in one of my UStream shows. So I have decided that I will start a clear album during Euro Chat on Thursday, July 1st. So the acrylic album series will begin at 2:00 PM EDT {GMT/UTC-4} on Thursday, July 1st & continue until I am done. Whenever that is. All shows are recorded, so if you can't make one, you can always catch up.
For those of you that asked me to post a supply list so you can follow along, you'll have about two and a half weeks to gather these items together. Remember that I will be creating as I go ~ not preparing it completely ahead of time as in an online class ~ so this supply list is just suggestions of things that might be useful to have. I may or may not use all of the supplies listed & I urge you not too buy too much stuff for this album ~ you probably have most of what you need at home already.
Supplies:
1. Pre-made acrylic album, roughly 6"x6" OR sheets of thick overlays like the Hambly Clearly Heavy Overlays {which is what I'll be using}. Grafix and Clear Scraps make comparable products to the Hambly Overlays. I just happen to already have the Hambly on hand, so that's what I am going to use.
2. Staz-On or other solvent ink. Since everything in this album is clear, you'll need some kind of ink that can stamp on slick or non-porous surfaces. I own three colors of Staz-On, so I'll probably be using a combination of them: jet Black, Timber Brown and Cotton White.
3. American Crafts Slick Writer or other solvent marker/pen, such as a Sharpie. this is for journaling directly onto transparencies. You'll want a pen or marker designed to write on non-porous surfaces so you don't have to wait forever for it to dry.
4. Transparencies, both blank and printed, the thicker the better. Again, I am just using what I have in my scraproom> I am going to be pulling a lot of my printed transparencies into this project ~ most of them are from Hambly, the King of Clear in my opinion ~ as well as stamping on blank transparencies.
5. Pictures. You're going to want to gather together some pictures from an event or person or fitting the theme of your album somehow. I would recommend a couple 4"x4" pictures, a couple 3"x3" pictures and a few each of 3"x4" and 2"x3". Try to print an even number of each size if you can ~ that will make life a little easier. If you don't have a photo printer that allows you to print in those sizes, you can use Photosheet to arrange them on 4"x6" prints and have them printed by your local developer ~ then just trim!
6. Coordinating double-sided patterned paper. Once you've chosen your photos, gather your papers together. You won't need huge sheets of this paper since we are not covering chipboard, so you can just go through your paper scraps and collect a bunch of larger pieces. Or you can use a collection to make things a little easier. Something with smaller prints is better than papers with large motifs {such as Webster's Pages and Graphic 45} since you are often using smaller pieces in acrylic albums. I will probably be using Basic Grey's "Lemonade" collection, but I'm not 100% sure about that yet. I definitely want to do something bright & summery. I'm in the modd for that now that it's so hot here again.
That's pretty much it! You'll also need stuff to decorate your pages like stamps, journaling spots, bling, flowers, ribbons, paint, etc. ~ all the usual stuff you normally put into a mini album. Again, you probably already have all of that in your art rooms, so no need to break the bank on this album. To me, it's fun to make clear albums very eclectic & so it's a great way to use up a lot of odds and ends you have hanging around & just have fun playing around!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Just kidding!
Sort of.
In all seriousness, I have been getting a lot of requests to do an acrylic album in one of my UStream shows. So I have decided that I will start a clear album during Euro Chat on Thursday, July 1st. So the acrylic album series will begin at 2:00 PM EDT {GMT/UTC-4} on Thursday, July 1st & continue until I am done. Whenever that is. All shows are recorded, so if you can't make one, you can always catch up.
For those of you that asked me to post a supply list so you can follow along, you'll have about two and a half weeks to gather these items together. Remember that I will be creating as I go ~ not preparing it completely ahead of time as in an online class ~ so this supply list is just suggestions of things that might be useful to have. I may or may not use all of the supplies listed & I urge you not too buy too much stuff for this album ~ you probably have most of what you need at home already.
Supplies:
1. Pre-made acrylic album, roughly 6"x6" OR sheets of thick overlays like the Hambly Clearly Heavy Overlays {which is what I'll be using}. Grafix and Clear Scraps make comparable products to the Hambly Overlays. I just happen to already have the Hambly on hand, so that's what I am going to use.
2. Staz-On or other solvent ink. Since everything in this album is clear, you'll need some kind of ink that can stamp on slick or non-porous surfaces. I own three colors of Staz-On, so I'll probably be using a combination of them: jet Black, Timber Brown and Cotton White.
3. American Crafts Slick Writer or other solvent marker/pen, such as a Sharpie. this is for journaling directly onto transparencies. You'll want a pen or marker designed to write on non-porous surfaces so you don't have to wait forever for it to dry.
4. Transparencies, both blank and printed, the thicker the better. Again, I am just using what I have in my scraproom> I am going to be pulling a lot of my printed transparencies into this project ~ most of them are from Hambly, the King of Clear in my opinion ~ as well as stamping on blank transparencies.
5. Pictures. You're going to want to gather together some pictures from an event or person or fitting the theme of your album somehow. I would recommend a couple 4"x4" pictures, a couple 3"x3" pictures and a few each of 3"x4" and 2"x3". Try to print an even number of each size if you can ~ that will make life a little easier. If you don't have a photo printer that allows you to print in those sizes, you can use Photosheet to arrange them on 4"x6" prints and have them printed by your local developer ~ then just trim!
6. Coordinating double-sided patterned paper. Once you've chosen your photos, gather your papers together. You won't need huge sheets of this paper since we are not covering chipboard, so you can just go through your paper scraps and collect a bunch of larger pieces. Or you can use a collection to make things a little easier. Something with smaller prints is better than papers with large motifs {such as Webster's Pages and Graphic 45} since you are often using smaller pieces in acrylic albums. I will probably be using Basic Grey's "Lemonade" collection, but I'm not 100% sure about that yet. I definitely want to do something bright & summery. I'm in the modd for that now that it's so hot here again.
That's pretty much it! You'll also need stuff to decorate your pages like stamps, journaling spots, bling, flowers, ribbons, paint, etc. ~ all the usual stuff you normally put into a mini album. Again, you probably already have all of that in your art rooms, so no need to break the bank on this album. To me, it's fun to make clear albums very eclectic & so it's a great way to use up a lot of odds and ends you have hanging around & just have fun playing around!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Sixth Month of Christmas Winner!
Hi, everyone! Welcome back to Life on the {Scrap}beach! I have the winner of the Sixth Month of Christmas Giveaway, chosen for me by Random.org!
::drumroll, please::
The winner of the Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" 12"x12" paper pack/8"x8" paper pad isComment #45:
mickle10 said...
WHat fun that paper would be to do some sepia toned or black and white snapshots pages? Thanks for giving us the opportunity to win!
Tuesday, June 08, 2010 8:34:00 PM
CONGRATULATIONS, Pam!!! :D :D :D If you are in the USA, you will receive the 12"x12" paper pack & if you are outside the USA, you will received the 8"x8" paper pad + a couple extra goodies. Please contact me at thescrapbeach@gmail.com before Friday, June 18, 2010 with the address where you'd like me to send the paper pack. If you do not contact me before Friday, June 18, 2010, the paper pack will go to another entrant.
If you didn't win this time around, there are still six months of Christmas left to go! See you the first Monday in July for the Seventh Month of Christmas!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
::drumroll, please::
The winner of the Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" 12"x12" paper pack/8"x8" paper pad isComment #45:
mickle10 said...
WHat fun that paper would be to do some sepia toned or black and white snapshots pages? Thanks for giving us the opportunity to win!
Tuesday, June 08, 2010 8:34:00 PM
CONGRATULATIONS, Pam!!! :D :D :D If you are in the USA, you will receive the 12"x12" paper pack & if you are outside the USA, you will received the 8"x8" paper pad + a couple extra goodies. Please contact me at thescrapbeach@gmail.com before Friday, June 18, 2010 with the address where you'd like me to send the paper pack. If you do not contact me before Friday, June 18, 2010, the paper pack will go to another entrant.
If you didn't win this time around, there are still six months of Christmas left to go! See you the first Monday in July for the Seventh Month of Christmas!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
My BIA is Saved + New Video!
Hi, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend & week! This week has just flown by for me ~ it must summer!
So, after I broke my Bind-It-All {or it stopped working, or whatever}, I gave the machine to Mr. Lifeguard to see if he could fix it. I told him not to worry about taking it apart since it was already not working. So he ended up having to strip it down to the machine guts ~ which were pretty interesting to see, I might add ~ and then found what the problem was: a piece of chipboard punch-out had gotten wedged in there in such a way that it was preventing the punches from moving all the way forward. That's why it wasn't punching one of the holes anymore. So, my advice to all you Bind-It-All owners out there is to empty out your machine regularly!
In other news, I've been very productive the last few days. I made two Father's Day cards ~ one for my dad and one for my father in law. It was not so easy to make two totally masculine cards, but I survived. You can see them here:
Father's Day Card #1:
Father's Day Card #2:
I also finished a tag with a little help from my friends. :D We ran a "contest" during the June Crop where people drew numbers for a chance to tell me what to do to a tag base I had started. In the end, the tag turned out really great & this is what the collaborative effort left us with:
Life Tag:
And, if that weren't enough, I also finished the next layout in my World of Wonder mini album, and have a new tutorial video posted for you over on my YouTube Channel: World of Wonder, Part Four. This layout focused on the concept of growth & I used images from the "Eat Me/Drink Me" portion of Alice in Wonderland to underline that theme.
World of Wonder, Part Four:
I hope you enjoyed seeing everything & that you're all gearing up for an amazing summer! Thanks for watching my videos & stopping by my blog!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
P.S. If you like Graphic 45, be sure to check out this post to be entered for a chance to win some of your very own: Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" Giveaway.
So, after I broke my Bind-It-All {or it stopped working, or whatever}, I gave the machine to Mr. Lifeguard to see if he could fix it. I told him not to worry about taking it apart since it was already not working. So he ended up having to strip it down to the machine guts ~ which were pretty interesting to see, I might add ~ and then found what the problem was: a piece of chipboard punch-out had gotten wedged in there in such a way that it was preventing the punches from moving all the way forward. That's why it wasn't punching one of the holes anymore. So, my advice to all you Bind-It-All owners out there is to empty out your machine regularly!
In other news, I've been very productive the last few days. I made two Father's Day cards ~ one for my dad and one for my father in law. It was not so easy to make two totally masculine cards, but I survived. You can see them here:
Father's Day Card #1:
Father's Day Card #2:
I also finished a tag with a little help from my friends. :D We ran a "contest" during the June Crop where people drew numbers for a chance to tell me what to do to a tag base I had started. In the end, the tag turned out really great & this is what the collaborative effort left us with:
Life Tag:
And, if that weren't enough, I also finished the next layout in my World of Wonder mini album, and have a new tutorial video posted for you over on my YouTube Channel: World of Wonder, Part Four. This layout focused on the concept of growth & I used images from the "Eat Me/Drink Me" portion of Alice in Wonderland to underline that theme.
World of Wonder, Part Four:
I hope you enjoyed seeing everything & that you're all gearing up for an amazing summer! Thanks for watching my videos & stopping by my blog!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
P.S. If you like Graphic 45, be sure to check out this post to be entered for a chance to win some of your very own: Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" Giveaway.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
On My Nightstand
Hi, everyone! I remembered that I am supposed to be posting about the books I am reading on here & not just scrapbooking stuff. :D Right now I am reading two books. One is non-fiction and the other is fiction {mystery}. I am trying to focus primarily on the non-fiction book, but it gets a little dry, and so I have to switch it up for a bit.
The non-fiction book is The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale. The writing style is more on the level of "historical thesis" than "Journalistic Feature". As such it contains a massive amount of detail and is very, very dry. As a history major, I am very used to this style of writing and so it didn't particularly bother me, but it doesn't really reach out an grab you & suck you in.
If you are a fan of detective novels, the book is fascinating. Through an examination of the career of one of Scotland Yard's original eight detectives, Kate Summerscale goes through the history of detectives, and of detective novels. There are lots of interesting bits of information that I found fascinating ~ such as the origin of the word "clue" and the inspiration for the first detective stories and novels.
Bottom Line: Recommended only for fans of the Victorian Detective Novel genre & I suggest checking it out at the library. I doubt anyone would want to read this more than once.
Because The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is so dry, I alternate between it and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. The first book in Larsson's ultra-famous and ultra-popular Millennium Trilogy, this book features a disgraced financial journalist investigating a forty year old missing persons case in exchange for the rehabilitation of his career. I'm not very far into it, so I don't know whether to recommend or not to recommend.
Based on the extreme popularity of these books worldwide, and the first few chapters that I have read, I have high hopes for the novel. It's been languishing in my "To Read" pile since it first came out in a hardback edition, and I am excited to finally be getting to it & enjoying it immensely so far.
Bottom Line: I'll let you know when I've read more of it! :D
What's on your nightstand these days?
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
P.S. If you like Graphic 45, be sure to check out this post to be entered for a chance to win some of your very own: Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" Giveaway.
The non-fiction book is The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale. The writing style is more on the level of "historical thesis" than "Journalistic Feature". As such it contains a massive amount of detail and is very, very dry. As a history major, I am very used to this style of writing and so it didn't particularly bother me, but it doesn't really reach out an grab you & suck you in.
If you are a fan of detective novels, the book is fascinating. Through an examination of the career of one of Scotland Yard's original eight detectives, Kate Summerscale goes through the history of detectives, and of detective novels. There are lots of interesting bits of information that I found fascinating ~ such as the origin of the word "clue" and the inspiration for the first detective stories and novels.
Bottom Line: Recommended only for fans of the Victorian Detective Novel genre & I suggest checking it out at the library. I doubt anyone would want to read this more than once.
Because The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is so dry, I alternate between it and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. The first book in Larsson's ultra-famous and ultra-popular Millennium Trilogy, this book features a disgraced financial journalist investigating a forty year old missing persons case in exchange for the rehabilitation of his career. I'm not very far into it, so I don't know whether to recommend or not to recommend.
Based on the extreme popularity of these books worldwide, and the first few chapters that I have read, I have high hopes for the novel. It's been languishing in my "To Read" pile since it first came out in a hardback edition, and I am excited to finally be getting to it & enjoying it immensely so far.
Bottom Line: I'll let you know when I've read more of it! :D
What's on your nightstand these days?
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
P.S. If you like Graphic 45, be sure to check out this post to be entered for a chance to win some of your very own: Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" Giveaway.
Monday, June 7, 2010
On the Sixth Month of Christmas ...
Hi, everyone! Welcome to the sixth of my "12 Months of Christmas" giveaways!
This month's giveaway is inspired by the summery weather that has descended upon Miami. The heat has been brutal the last few days & this is only the beginning. It's gotten me thinking hard about ways to cool off, which leads my mind to the ocean and the beach. Because summer is coming, I have decided to give away the Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" paper collection!*
The collection contains two each of all ten double sided papers in the collection. What's great about that is you won't have to choose between the patttern on the front and the pattern on the back! The collection kit also contains a set of the "On the Boardwalk" die cut tags and a set of the "On the Boardwalk" die cut borders. Perfect for creating a vintage beach mini or some summer vacation layouts!
On the Boardwalk:
She Sells Seashells:
Summer Crush:
Coney Island:
Seaside Chic:
High Style Holiday:
Life's a Beach:
Malt Shop:
By the Beautiful Sea:
Bathing Beauties:
On the Boardwalk Tags:
On the Boardwalk Borders:
The winner will receive the paper collection to do with as they please. To be entered to win the Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" paper collection, simply leave a comment on this post before 11:59 p.m. Miami, FL USA time {GMT/UTC-4} on Thursday, June 10th. I will post the winner first thing on Friday morning!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
*Because of the high cost to ship 12"x12" paper internationally, winners with mailing addresses outside the USA will receive the Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" 8"x8" paper pad and some extra goodies from me instead of the 12"x12" paper pack.
This month's giveaway is inspired by the summery weather that has descended upon Miami. The heat has been brutal the last few days & this is only the beginning. It's gotten me thinking hard about ways to cool off, which leads my mind to the ocean and the beach. Because summer is coming, I have decided to give away the Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" paper collection!*
The collection contains two each of all ten double sided papers in the collection. What's great about that is you won't have to choose between the patttern on the front and the pattern on the back! The collection kit also contains a set of the "On the Boardwalk" die cut tags and a set of the "On the Boardwalk" die cut borders. Perfect for creating a vintage beach mini or some summer vacation layouts!
On the Boardwalk:
She Sells Seashells:
Summer Crush:
Coney Island:
Seaside Chic:
High Style Holiday:
Life's a Beach:
Malt Shop:
By the Beautiful Sea:
Bathing Beauties:
On the Boardwalk Tags:
On the Boardwalk Borders:
The winner will receive the paper collection to do with as they please. To be entered to win the Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" paper collection, simply leave a comment on this post before 11:59 p.m. Miami, FL USA time {GMT/UTC-4} on Thursday, June 10th. I will post the winner first thing on Friday morning!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
*Because of the high cost to ship 12"x12" paper internationally, winners with mailing addresses outside the USA will receive the Graphic 45 "On the Boardwalk" 8"x8" paper pad and some extra goodies from me instead of the 12"x12" paper pack.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
June Virtual Crop Tonight + Product Review
Hi, everyone! I hope you're all having a great weekend! I just wanted to write and remind you that tonight is the June 2010 "No Frills" Virtual Crop, beginning at 9:00 PM EDT {GMT/UTC-4} and continuing through Sunday, June 6th, at 3:00 AM EDT {GMT/UTC-4}.
So, what is a "No Frills" crop?
A "No Frills" crop is a crop without challenges. We had so many challenges for NSD, so we're going to take a little break this month and just chill out, have fun and try to get some projects done without all the pressure of deadlines.
Does this mean there won't be any prizes?
Maybe. Since there aren't any challenges, there won't be any prizes for completing challenges. Whether this means there aren't any prizes at all remains to be seen. :D You never know if I will give something away during the crop, so the only way to find out for sure is to join us for some fun!
Where do I go?
We'll see you all over on The Beach's UStream Channel: Live on the {Scrap}Beach! See you there at 9 PM EDT {GMT/UTC-4} on Saturday, June 5th!
I hope to see you there for some fun and crafting! In the meantime, I have a new video posted over on my YouTube Channel: Corner Chomper Review.
I have had all four Corner Chompers for a while now & I love the blue, green and purple ones. I bought then during a sale at JoAnn's Online and have been using the heck out of them ever since! If you're looking for them, Jenn at Live.Teach.Create has just gotten them in: Corner Chompers.
Of the four Corner Chompers, The green one is probably my favorite as I love ticket stub corners. I definitely use it all the time. Also, that one actually has three looks, instead of two looks, like the rest of the Corner Chompers. Watch the video to see how that's done. After the green one, the blue one is probably the most versatile & then the purple. But I do love and use all three of those. The purple is especially great for tags.
The pink one is a different story. I never use the pink one & in my opinion, it's a waste of time and money. The only reason I can see getting it, is if you frequently make your own tags & don't already have a tag corner punch. And even then, it's probably just cheaper to get an angled tag corner punch. Unless you're making tags out of chipboard or in such large quantities you'd need to be able to punch a bunch at one time.
In other news, my blue Bind-It-All seems to have bitten the dust. Mr. Lifeguard is trying to fix it right now & I hope he can. If he can't, I am torn between getting the {larger} Pink BIA and the We R Memory Keepers Cinch. I love that you can turn holes on and off on the Cinch, but it is bulkier & more expensive. I don't really want to buy another binding machine right now, so I think I will keep my fingers crossed that he can fix it!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
So, what is a "No Frills" crop?
A "No Frills" crop is a crop without challenges. We had so many challenges for NSD, so we're going to take a little break this month and just chill out, have fun and try to get some projects done without all the pressure of deadlines.
Does this mean there won't be any prizes?
Maybe. Since there aren't any challenges, there won't be any prizes for completing challenges. Whether this means there aren't any prizes at all remains to be seen. :D You never know if I will give something away during the crop, so the only way to find out for sure is to join us for some fun!
Where do I go?
We'll see you all over on The Beach's UStream Channel: Live on the {Scrap}Beach! See you there at 9 PM EDT {GMT/UTC-4} on Saturday, June 5th!
I hope to see you there for some fun and crafting! In the meantime, I have a new video posted over on my YouTube Channel: Corner Chomper Review.
I have had all four Corner Chompers for a while now & I love the blue, green and purple ones. I bought then during a sale at JoAnn's Online and have been using the heck out of them ever since! If you're looking for them, Jenn at Live.Teach.Create has just gotten them in: Corner Chompers.
Of the four Corner Chompers, The green one is probably my favorite as I love ticket stub corners. I definitely use it all the time. Also, that one actually has three looks, instead of two looks, like the rest of the Corner Chompers. Watch the video to see how that's done. After the green one, the blue one is probably the most versatile & then the purple. But I do love and use all three of those. The purple is especially great for tags.
The pink one is a different story. I never use the pink one & in my opinion, it's a waste of time and money. The only reason I can see getting it, is if you frequently make your own tags & don't already have a tag corner punch. And even then, it's probably just cheaper to get an angled tag corner punch. Unless you're making tags out of chipboard or in such large quantities you'd need to be able to punch a bunch at one time.
In other news, my blue Bind-It-All seems to have bitten the dust. Mr. Lifeguard is trying to fix it right now & I hope he can. If he can't, I am torn between getting the {larger} Pink BIA and the We R Memory Keepers Cinch. I love that you can turn holes on and off on the Cinch, but it is bulkier & more expensive. I don't really want to buy another binding machine right now, so I think I will keep my fingers crossed that he can fix it!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
Friday, June 4, 2010
New Necklaces & Tag for Anna!
Hi, everyone!
I just wanted to show you guys some necklaces my friend Anna made and sent to me. She makes custom jewelry and also mini book charms, so check her out! I've worn all of these on UStreams, so you may have already seen them, but I thought I'd post them here. :D
Necklace:
Necklace with Matching Bracelet:
She told me she didn't want anything in return, because she's such a sweetie. The necklaces were so pretty, though, that I had to send something. So I put a little goodie bag of lace together for her & I also made her this tag because shes a Twilight fan:
I started with a #8 manilla shipping tag, and used the Tim Holtz distressing tool and foam to cover it with "Fired Brick" Distress Ink. Then I sprayed the entire thing with "Red Velvet" Glimmer Mist. Once that dried it was time to emboss!
I tokk the Tim Holtz "Shattered Glass" embossing folder and covered one side of it in Coolor Box Fluid Chalk ink in "Blackbird" and then ran the tag through my BigShot. That created the black and red background design. Then I added American Crafts Thickers "By the Yard" letters in white. The letters spell out "Twihard" which is a combination of the words "Twilight" and "Diehard" and is my word for a really hardcore Twilight fan.
I also added black lace, black bling & a black rose trim. Then I made a charm dangle for the top, added a bow & called it done! Because it was about vampires, I made sure to include a skull on the charm dangle.
I hope you enjoyed the tag & the jewlery!
~Kathryn :D
I just wanted to show you guys some necklaces my friend Anna made and sent to me. She makes custom jewelry and also mini book charms, so check her out! I've worn all of these on UStreams, so you may have already seen them, but I thought I'd post them here. :D
Necklace:
Necklace with Matching Bracelet:
She told me she didn't want anything in return, because she's such a sweetie. The necklaces were so pretty, though, that I had to send something. So I put a little goodie bag of lace together for her & I also made her this tag because shes a Twilight fan:
I started with a #8 manilla shipping tag, and used the Tim Holtz distressing tool and foam to cover it with "Fired Brick" Distress Ink. Then I sprayed the entire thing with "Red Velvet" Glimmer Mist. Once that dried it was time to emboss!
I tokk the Tim Holtz "Shattered Glass" embossing folder and covered one side of it in Coolor Box Fluid Chalk ink in "Blackbird" and then ran the tag through my BigShot. That created the black and red background design. Then I added American Crafts Thickers "By the Yard" letters in white. The letters spell out "Twihard" which is a combination of the words "Twilight" and "Diehard" and is my word for a really hardcore Twilight fan.
I also added black lace, black bling & a black rose trim. Then I made a charm dangle for the top, added a bow & called it done! Because it was about vampires, I made sure to include a skull on the charm dangle.
I hope you enjoyed the tag & the jewlery!
~Kathryn :D
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
After: Scraproom Remodel w/ New Video
Hi, everyone! The scraproom remodel is now finished & I have some "After" pictures for you, as well as a new YouTube video tour!
BEFORE: picture of the whole room from the doorway
As you can see, the room was very cluttered and that there was no way to move easily throughout the room. The lighting was also very poor & something that needed to be addressed.
AFTER: picture of the whole room from the doorway
Now the room is uncluttered and there is a clear pathway throughout the space. There are now three artificial lighting sources + the window, so it is nice and bright.
BEFORE: close up of closet organizer
The closet organizer was functional when we bought it, but my style of scrapbooking changed. There was nothing wrong with the organizer, I just needed to adjust how I stored things to make it functional again. I took some of the pressure off the closet organizer by installing a pegboard, which you'll see in the "After" post.
AFTER: the new, uncluttered organizer + the new pegboard
I relieved some of the pressure from the closet organizer by adding a pegboard to the room. This allowed my to expand the area I use for art supplies for my paints and other art projects ~ now the closet organizer works for scrapbooking as well as other art projects.
BEFORE: photo printer corner w/ album cabinet
This corner is the worst area. It is hard to get to & a waste of space.
This cabinet used to be where I stored all of my scrapbook supplies. That certainly changed!
AFTER: the new, streamlined printer corner
I love the new printer corner! It is so easy to get to and see all my albums. It is also more inviting for guests to come in and view completed albums. Plus, I don't have to vault over a pile of clutter to get to my photo printer anymore & the claustrophobic feeling is gone.
BEFORE: Cricut station
I love my Cricut, but it is low to the floor here and across the room from me. I need to move it closer to where I work.
AFTER: the new Cricut haven
The Cricut and all its supplies are now right at my fingertips! I have moved it to my second desk & it is easy to use now. I use it so much more often now! Love it!
And now to bring it all together so you can see how each area flows into the next, here is a quick video of the completed space! I hope you enjoy it!
For those of you who would like to see a more detailed tour ~ with explanations of how we did each section, product names and where to buy, and all that good stuff ~ I recorded the UStream where I gave the tour & it is available for you to watch here: Detailed Scraproom Tour.
Speaking of UStream, remember that there are two live shows each Thursday: one at 2:00 PM EDT {GMT/UTC-4} and one at 9:00 PM EDT {GMT/UTC-4}, both are live over on my UStream Channel!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
BEFORE: picture of the whole room from the doorway
As you can see, the room was very cluttered and that there was no way to move easily throughout the room. The lighting was also very poor & something that needed to be addressed.
AFTER: picture of the whole room from the doorway
Now the room is uncluttered and there is a clear pathway throughout the space. There are now three artificial lighting sources + the window, so it is nice and bright.
BEFORE: close up of closet organizer
The closet organizer was functional when we bought it, but my style of scrapbooking changed. There was nothing wrong with the organizer, I just needed to adjust how I stored things to make it functional again. I took some of the pressure off the closet organizer by installing a pegboard, which you'll see in the "After" post.
AFTER: the new, uncluttered organizer + the new pegboard
I relieved some of the pressure from the closet organizer by adding a pegboard to the room. This allowed my to expand the area I use for art supplies for my paints and other art projects ~ now the closet organizer works for scrapbooking as well as other art projects.
BEFORE: photo printer corner w/ album cabinet
This corner is the worst area. It is hard to get to & a waste of space.
This cabinet used to be where I stored all of my scrapbook supplies. That certainly changed!
AFTER: the new, streamlined printer corner
I love the new printer corner! It is so easy to get to and see all my albums. It is also more inviting for guests to come in and view completed albums. Plus, I don't have to vault over a pile of clutter to get to my photo printer anymore & the claustrophobic feeling is gone.
BEFORE: Cricut station
I love my Cricut, but it is low to the floor here and across the room from me. I need to move it closer to where I work.
AFTER: the new Cricut haven
The Cricut and all its supplies are now right at my fingertips! I have moved it to my second desk & it is easy to use now. I use it so much more often now! Love it!
And now to bring it all together so you can see how each area flows into the next, here is a quick video of the completed space! I hope you enjoy it!
For those of you who would like to see a more detailed tour ~ with explanations of how we did each section, product names and where to buy, and all that good stuff ~ I recorded the UStream where I gave the tour & it is available for you to watch here: Detailed Scraproom Tour.
Speaking of UStream, remember that there are two live shows each Thursday: one at 2:00 PM EDT {GMT/UTC-4} and one at 9:00 PM EDT {GMT/UTC-4}, both are live over on my UStream Channel!
~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.
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