Craft Room Envy :: Savitri Wilder

This is just a quick blog post. I was going through my blog reader and I saw Savitri Wilder's post about her craft space. I thought that I'd just scroll and check out her pics and move on. But she added some small details, things that we just have to know like where she got some jars and the desk and the book shelves. She knows how we are and she provided the answers and links.

So I'm sharing her blog post on her craft space. Be prepared to be envious.

Savitri Wilder's Craft Studio

Memories Scrapbooking Expo = A Bust

That title may seem harsh, but no ... that's gentle compared to how I really feel. It was nothing like the scrapbooking convention that I attended last year. Not to mention that I've been to others and this visit just did not stack up. I plan to share this very blog post w/them.

I recently attended the Memories Scrapbook Expo in Columbus, OH. I've been to it in the past, but I don't remember it being as crummy as it was this time around. My friend said it looked like stuff from someone's basement. Not good.

My experience was not pleasant:

• getting to the parking lot was hectic; there was no signage to point you to the expo facility
  
• parking was $5; I only had $6 ... paid for parking, but told to exit the lot; huh? After that slight detour, I eventually made it to the right building
  
• they would only accept cash for admission (that was not listed on the promo material)
  
• bank machine in the lobby had a $4 fee
• paid $8 to get in (had a $2 off coupon)

All that to find less than desirable goods on the floor. There was very little 'new' stuff. Scrap Happy had a nice booth with some Quickutz stuff and a few Basic Grey lines. I did not find any good 'deals'. Not even on the old, basement-y stuff.

Archivers had a booth and they were handing out literature and calendars of their upcoming events. Are you kidding me? They can do better to drive traffic to the store; they have in the past. Cord Camera was not there, which was disappointing since at least once in the past they had a booth and had really good coupons to use throughout the expo weekend.

NOTE: someone just mentioned in a craft forum that Archivers was giving out coupons for free cardstock and % off coupons. Maybe they were all out by the time I got there; it was after 2 p.m. on the last day.

There were some demos and some booths had make and takes, but ... it was just a let down. They should at least have given me a door prize for looking and feeling so woeful, right?

Whah, whah, whah ... I'm just pouty because I should have called my friend before I went to the expo. She went to the expo the day before. I forgot to call her and she forgot to call me. Now I'm down nearly $20 for a big hassle and headache and not much to show for it.

So the one good thing to come out of it was I bought a Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Components Collection stamp. I got the Tim Holtz Components Collection Ledger. Love that collection. I think that is where my next paycheck will go.

Crazy thing is I ended up going to Hobby Lobby and Michaels and spent another $40. So who's stimulating the economy ... ?

CHA Winter 2009

The Crafts & Hobby Association (CHA) 2009 Winter show is in progress. This is when many craft companies release their new lines and products and then the crafters get antsy trying to get their hands on it.

I've never attended CHA, but I hope to go in the near future. It seems like a good time. Lucky for those who are not going that the people who are there share the knowledge and pictures.

Here are a few places that are providing lots of information about what's happening at CHA and/or sneak peaks:

Lifetime Moments

• I always check this site. However, I can barely keep up

Craft Critique

• There's a team from Craft Critique and they are taking lots of pics and updating the site w/some frequency

Making Memories

• Lots of fun here and a chance to win some goodies

There are many other places to get info on specific lines, but I like an aggregator of information.

So go on and get giddy on the new goods.

Craft Critique/CHA/SIS TV

Well, in case you don't know this week is the big Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) Convention in Chicago. Disappointed that I am missing it. I am going to make it a goal to attend next summer (can't make it for the Winter event in January).

CHA is when many of the companies release new products for the craft happy crew. There have been so many sneak peeks, that I can not keep up. But maybe you can and/or want to.

Here are some places to see the goodies before they are available to the paying public. NOTE: At CHA, you can not purchase product, but stores can place orders:

Craft Critique has posted/is posting their Annual Carnival list. This time, they are distributing it over several days. Much too see and oggle over.

I like to visit Lifetime Memories. They do a wonderful job of keeping up (though their webbie is not currently loading).

I am still waiting for the Basic Grey sneak peeks and/or releases. I understand that will be made available to anxious people like me sometime on Friday (seems like forever from now).

Over at SIS TV (Scrap In Style TV), there are lots of contests and challenges. Your participation means that you too will become anxious about when products will actually be in the store for purchase.

Happy crafting!

From Craft Critique: Paper Crafting with Photos

Here is my first article that was published on the Craft Critique website.

What I failed to mention was that the mag was a gift from a swap that I participated in for Valentine's Day. My thanks to Laura in Texas for the wonderful items.

Oh, and the photos in the cards below are my photos. They are not professional quality, but it's a start, for me at least. Thanks for looking.


Reported by Kim Fox

166 Ways to Use Your Photos – that’s one of the headlines you’ll find on the cover of Paper Crafting with Photos. This is the first edition of this magazine from Paper Crafts. But it’s easy to see how there could be more issues in the future much like there was a Card Creations and then variations on that theme for other editions.

The ideas in Paper Crafting with Photos are endless – and that’s what you will find here – ideas! Along with a supplies list and brief instructions on how to replicate the examples on your own.

There are cute ideas for sentiments like the card with the photo of a horse that says "why the long face?" and another card with the image of a frog with the phrase "you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince!".

Like most Paper Craft mags, there are plenty of tips sprinkled throughout the publication along with links to more information, tips and instructions online.

Oh and a perk for picking up this mag is access to images that you can download online for free.

Here's what you'll find inside:

Fun Photo Manipulation
Very basic tips for manipulating images are the focus of this section. The sample image that is used in this section is a landscape image; you'll get a general idea of some of the things that are possible with photo editing. NOTE: This section does not focus on one particular photo editing software program.

Give Cards a Photo Finish
In 27 pages this sections highlights a variety of ways to incorporate pictures on your cards. The examples of occasions were birthdays, Father’s Day, love and Valentine’s Day, retirement, welcome baby, Christmas and more. The variety of images utilized run the gamut from the obvious for the occasion to animals, landscapes and food. It’s another way to make your cards unique and memorable.

Envelope Envy
This one-pager offers ideas for including images on the envelopes. Don’t be afraid to use photos on the return address label or as an envelope sealer, just to name a few.

Picture Perfect Gift Wrap
So you’re giving someone a lovely gift, why not compliment the gift with a gift wrap that they will cherish as well. There are over 20 ideas for packaging your gift and including images. The one that stood out for me is on p. 42 and includes a photo of a stack of books; the photo was adhered to a piece of cardstock and then adhered to a bag; the gift bag also has a book mark with the same image on it. Gift bags were mainly used, but so were boxes, pails and a lunch box. Many of the examples also have a wide variety of embellishments like ribbon, flowers, stickers and more.

Play Dress up with Your Photos
This section was so cool. It offers more simple tips for jazzing up your framed photos. These are techniques that crafters often use in crafting, but you might hesitate to use to frame your photos; but why not? The finished projects included stitching, painting and stamping. The techniques make the images much more exciting and fun to look at.

Picturing Fabulous Home Décor
Here are lots and lots of creative ideas and the completed projects would be lovely gifts in your home or in the home of your family and friends. The more unique ideas are decorating a vase; a door hanger, a light plate, a clock, and coasters. My fav in this section was the refreshment holder – it is cute and colorful and has some relatively easy instructions.


Using Your Resources
There are numerous photo editing software and other photo-related tools on the market. This section highlights six products that could be helpful in editing images or making calendars or other items.

Preserving Magical Memories
When we think of photos, we sometimes think of photo albums. There are some really fun ideas for photo albums in this section. However, this section is not just about albums, but layouts too. There is a lot of diversity in this section which include both large and small albums as well as one- and two-page layouts.

Tips for Perfect Photos Every Time
The cover of the mag touts ‘Learn How to Shoot & Edit like a Pro' well, these tips are simple, yet can make an impact on any image. There’s the rule of thirds, which many know about but rarely put to use and the same goes for color contrast. You can never get enough tips for improving your picture taking skills.

Pros:

• Lot and lots of wonderful ideas
• Ideas that you can execute in a matter of minutes
• Very few advertisements
• Index section in the back of the magazine
• A lot of bang for your buck

Cons:

• Some of the pictures and themes are a little hokey
• Most Paper Crafts editions include a sentiments page with various quotes, but this edition does not include one

Bibliographic Information:
Title: Paper Crafting with Photos
Magazine: 92 pages
Publisher: CK Media/Paper Crafts Publication
Copyright: 2008
MSRP: $5.99 US/$6.00 Canada

The 21 Day Challenge

The 21 Day Challenge that was administered by Rhonna Farrer on TwoPeas has come to an end. But boy was it fun and inspirational. It was nice to set a personal goal and to strive toward it by making it a part of my daily lifestyle; so that it becomes habit.

I did okay on my goal; I think it would have helped had I not decided to go on vacation midway through the challenge ...

At any rate, here's my completed 21 Day Challenge Quote Mini Book.

chipboard book: Maya Road
patterned paper: K and Co. (and some Basic Grey)
cardstock: Archiver's and craft supply
and lots and lots of embellishments

**note: I used the printer to print of the daily quotes; on some pages I even used PhotoShop to compose the entire quote

I'm in @ Craft Critique!

My reading group member sent me an email a while back about Craft Critique. At the time they were seeking reporters, you know, crafters, like me, to review and critique various craft products.

So I whipped up a review of the Cuttlebug and its many sandwiches.

I'm excited to be one of their reporters. The official notice is on their webbie.

Yea me!!!

Goodies Galore

So I participated in a swap on TwoPeas. A swap is something that you sign up for and certain items or themes are used as a part of the swap. This was a Secret Cupid/Valentine Swap. So I made a package for my Secret Sister, meaning I was her Secret Cupid and I then received a package from my Secret Cupid which was different person.

Here are some pix of the goodies. I like the We R Memory Keepers paper because I have some cards w/the same pattern. Oh and there is a new magazine that I will be flipping through this week, Paper Crafts "Paper Crafting with Photos".

This swap was a good experience for me. I feel like I've developed lots of virtual friends - by posting on the Secret Cupid thread; seeing the pix of the goodies that the other participants received and oggling over that stuff. Now I have a friend in California and another in Texas, not to mention everyone else involved. Good times.

Hey, It's Fruitcake!

I've pulled out my Basic Grey Fruitcake and I am putting it to work. I am participating in at least two craft fairs and I need to make a trough of cards for the ensuing holiday card buyers.

Here's one idea ... nice and simple.

patterned paper: Basic Grey Fruitcake

cardstock: craft supply

present die/cut out: Sizzix

stamp: unknown

ink: Ranger/Tim Holtz

Top Three Crafting Items that I'd Love to Have

Here is a short list (I was going to go for ten, then I thought, well, five is pretty round number ... and then I narrowed it down to three because where am I going to put these things ...? since I already own too much):

1. Quickutz Spicy Chicken Grand Alphabet
2. A circle cutter (I've been using some punches, but they are not getting the job done)
3. Maya Road goodies

Goin Down That Road ...

I am soooo in love w/the new Maya Road products! It has more cuteness than a newborn baby.


I, like many other crafters, have been on a chipboard craze. In particular for me, chipboard mini books. Maya Road's got the books in lots and lots and lots of different shapes - crowns, birds, scalloped edges and oh, yes, circles and squares too.


And there is ribbon and rubons to boot. Again, I am on a shopping hiatus, but please do not let the Maya Road newbies register on my radar ...

Sooo many choices ...

My current craft area is threatening to take over my entire living space. As much as I love my goodies, I need to use up at least a third of it OR stop making non-essential purchases ... I'm working more on the latter. Meanwhile, my stash leaves me w/sooo many choices!

Here are some photos of some of my favorite drawers:

• the ink drawer: I'm really liking the distress ink w/my clear stamps
• the ribbon draw: my favorite embellishment
• my miscelleanous drawer: mainly for adhesives and small ink pads
• the embellishment drawer: there's something for everything here

It's getting kinda hectic...

I continue to make craft purchases even though I have a hard time keeping what I already own, in order. I know, shame on me ... the most recent purchases are in the bottom two photos.