scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 23, 2022 13:32:01 GMT
I've been trying to get some time in my scrapbook area. My problem is lack of focus. I am 6 months out from losing my DH of 42 years. I am still strugglng with being able to focus on reading or crafting. I am so sorry for your loss.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 23, 2022 13:26:33 GMT
I marked that I can’t get motivated, but it’s a combination of factors. Even when we were renovating and packing up to move (after living in our home for 33 years), I still managed to scrapbook, but I met with friends at least once a month at the LSS, later the public library, and last, at one another’s homes for scrapbooking. We were a group of longtime friends who scrapbooked.
We moved halfway across the country in 2016. Even before I had unpacked more than a few boxes, we had a family emergency. It was an ongoing challenge. It took me a year before I got my scrapbook things unpacked and my scrapbook room set up, long after all the other rooms were presentable.
I got pneumonia. I had to have a hysterectomy. I couldn’t even go upstairs to my craft room for awhile, and when I finally could, I had lost what little motivation remained. I started making cards. They were easier. I started a card making class, for free, to get to know other crafters, and hopefully some other scrapbookers. The card classes took a ton of time. And somewhere along the way, I realized that not only had I lost my motivation to scrapbook, but I felt overwhelmed by everything. So I just kept making cards. And mixed in with all that, we had a Disney trip, and our youngest got married, which resulted in lots more photos.
COVID hit right after I got a new grandbaby. Our last unmarried son got married that summer, and the only reception was in our back yard. I started writing my mom’s story. My DH’s health took a nosedive, and he had to have back surgery. 3 months later, he had a heart attack that nearly took his life. I became a full time caregiver. That was about a year and a half ago.
He’s permanently disabled, but he’s doing well enough that I should be able to get back to scrapbooking again, but now DH and I are planning a Disney trip. It’s exciting, but it also seems a bit scary for the two of us to go off by ourselves on a major road trip with him disabled. This is his reward for working hard to exercise to help his recovery, and his cardiologist thinks he can do it. If all goes well, I’ll have some fun, new photos and happy memories to scrapbook. I’m hoping that will get me going again.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 20, 2022 2:55:34 GMT
When I first started scrapbooking, I used CM albums. I stamped, wall papered, and whatever else I felt like doing to those stark white pages.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 19, 2022 4:28:47 GMT
When I can’t find what I want, I use my computer and find a font that I like. I print it on card stock.
I have a ton of stamps. In spite of that, I often end up creating my own sentiment because I can’t find quite the right phrase as a stamp.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 19, 2022 4:24:06 GMT
I no longer live near any LSS, and I refuse to buy paper at a big box craft store unless I am truly desperate (can’t think of the last time I did). I don’t buy paper online because I can’t be sure the colors I get will be what they appear online. On the rare occasion that I get to visit a scrapbook store on travel, I will buy papers in quantities of 3 to 6 sheets if I love them and think I will use them.
I used to buy several sheets of papers I loved, when I lived near the LSS. I also stocked up when Tuesday Morning used to sell decent scrapbook supplies for a bargain. I am grateful I stocked up in the past, since now I have to shop my stash.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 17, 2022 18:55:32 GMT
grammadee, I keep my die sets on magnetic sheets, in the ArtBin die containers. Even if they come off the magnetic sheet, the bin catches them. I haven’t lost a tiny (or any size) die yet. I know some put them on magnetic sheets vertically on the side of a filing cabinet, or on a wall, but the small dies can come off when stored that way. On Facebook, more than one person has been upset over losing dies from a set. I have a ton of dies that I have collected over the years, so I mark each ArtBin with a sharpie to show what dies are kept in each. It makes finding what I want very quick.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 17, 2022 0:48:02 GMT
It depends on the layout. If it’s a fall layout, I tend to use fall themed dies.
If you want mutli-purpose dies, I recommend the Foundation die sets from Queen & Co. They get most of my spending money these days. The Foundation die sets can be used for both card making and scrapbooking. I have no affiliation with them, other than overly enthusiastic customer.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 17, 2022 0:41:16 GMT
Spellbinders aren’t the only company that makes sets with multiple tiny dies. Queen & Co. sometimes does that, too, and like you, pinklady , I have bought a lot of such sets. I no longer have a Spellbinders sub, but I still manage to buy a lot of these types of die sets. I cut the dies all apart into individual dies if they are grouped together. When cutting, I group together the dies that I want to cut from the same color. You can group them with removable tape. Scotch removable tape works the best for me. I have used Washi, but Scotch removable is better. I cut only as many as I am going to use right away. The smaller dies, even when grouped, can often just be cut from scraps. As for the question that MichyM posed, when I have matching stamps and dies, I prefer to cut first, stamp second., especially if I am making multiples of the same card.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 14, 2022 23:11:06 GMT
You can use jpg, but you would need to do a trace, and some images are easier to turn into cut files than others. Look for black and white coloring pages, black and white clip art images, etc.
There are a lot of free files out there, but I stopped downloading most of them. Silhouette offers a free file every week, but I almost never like it. Most free files (regardless of the site) are rarely worth using (to me). The one exception is that My Scrap Chick has one free file per month that is sometimes really cute. This month is an adorable box card. If you sign up for the emails, they send you the link. Otherwise, it’s hard to find.
SVG Cuts sometimes has a decent free file, or at least used to. I haven’t checked in awhile. I have bought some of their designs, which are often really gorgeous, but the free ones are just to get you to their site and aren’t that great. That is true of most sites.
I often use smooth card stock from Michaels or even Walmart.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 14, 2022 22:58:14 GMT
I used to crop with friends at the LSS. After it closed, we moved to the local library, then people’s homes.
After I moved to a different state, I found a few friends who scrapbook, but we only got together on an individual basis a couple of times. I did a card class in my home till COVID, and that was fun, but I wouldn’t have room to do a crop in my house.
I loved getting together with my friends, but with DH now disabled, I just find it easier to craft alone when I have time here and there. So yes, I know others who scrapbook, but we don’t get together.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 14, 2022 20:55:15 GMT
I hope that is the shape you wanted.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 14, 2022 20:53:34 GMT
Try this: Create a single triangle. I chose the regular polygon, which automatically gave me five sides, but with a slider bar inside. I used the slider to reduce the sides to 3. Offset the triangle. When I do this, the second triangle is rounded by default. (Sometimes I don’t want it rounded, so I would change this to the sharp corner option in the Offset command.) Offset the rounded rectangle. Delete the pointy corner triangle which is now at the center. Select the two rounded triangles and then “Make compound path.” Create two thin rectangles, and turn them diagonally to match the angle of the left side of your triangle. Move the thin rectangle into your triangle and shorten it to just fit within the inside and outside lines of the double triangle. Duplicate the tilted rectangle, move it to the right of the first one, and shorten as needed. Once it looks the way you want, select all the shapes, then choose weld. That will give you the following shape:
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 14, 2022 17:02:15 GMT
I think I know the answer, but I will play with it this afternoon to make sure I get it right.
Can you please tell me how you made the diagonal lines? With individual lines, or with thin rectanges? That can make a difference, too.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 14, 2022 16:56:00 GMT
I use a wide variety of paper. But I use scotch removable tape for taping things down. It rarely, if ever, tears the paper. And I can use a piece multiple times before it tears and is no longer usable.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 13, 2022 13:00:32 GMT
Scrapbooked my pictures as they happened, and told the stories even without the photos, so I didn’t forget so many of the details.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 13, 2022 12:56:58 GMT
I love all of these. Such beautiful pages!
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 13, 2022 12:51:51 GMT
I scrapbook my family, mostly outings/vacations/activities, but I make sure that I am in at least one good photo. The perspective of the journaling is mine.
When I was scrapbooking my mom’s life, I wasn’t very happy when I realized there were almost NO photos of my dad. He was always the one behind the camera. When I came across a small proof taken by a street photographer, I was thrilled. He walked at a pace that was the speed of a jogger. His suit coat tails were flapping, not with wind, but due to his speed. The street photographer had captured it perfectly, probably in the hopes of making a sale. My dad evidently bought the one proof, which was very small, but I enlarged it to a 5x7 and made it the focus of a one page layout about my dad.
Yes, I should scrapbook more about myself, but my joy is my family, and my life revolves around them. I make sure that I’m in those photos, but up to now, I haven’t really been the focus. As I have been working on my mom’s life in story and photos, I have started to think more about making more pages just about me.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 12, 2022 17:55:58 GMT
Thank you for the replies. When we went last, it was Christmas week 2017, and it snowballed into a family reunion (each family paid their own way). Three of the gals had decided to make matching shirts to help spot family members, which was a very good thing, especially when one of my granddaughters got separated from her family. I don’t really remember what other people at the park wore, although I did see other family groups with matching shirts.
This trip will just be DH and I. We’ll be spending 6 days at WDW and 1 day at Universal Harry Potter World (both HP parks in one day, but DH can’t ride 3 of the 4 rides, so it is mostly for the immersive experience).
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 12, 2022 13:06:27 GMT
I recently found a red rubber stamp at a convention that is a Funny Bones stamp from Riley & Company. It said, “I know you had lots of birthday wishes yesterday, but who is thinking of you today? ME, that’s who. Happy Belated Birthday!” It is all one stamp, although I have been known to carefully cut through stamps to separate a phrase when I wanted. They stamps still stamp just fine.
I have a ton of stamps, including a few late birthday ones, but that seems to be the only one which says belated birthday.
If I don’t have the right stamp I need, sometimes I just use my computer and printer and print my sentiment directly on my card stock. Once I have it placed right, I then add the card front. It’s not as handy as a stamp, sometimes, but it works.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 11, 2022 17:05:55 GMT
So, a question for you all here…….when getting ready for a trip to Disney or to Universal Studios, do you buy licensed clothing, choose Disney Bounding or outfits that mimic characters (such as wizard robes at Harry Potter World), make your own themed t-shirts, or just wear ordinary (non-park themed) clothes from your closet? What did you notice other people typically wearing? (If you noticed.)
Our DD and her DH went to Disneyland in January. She said she noticed the same t-shirts on a lot of people. Her comment kind of made me wonder.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 11, 2022 16:51:17 GMT
Eating my words here……I am working on a project, and realized that sometimes there are times when you simply can’t improvise or substitute. For example, green, blue, purple,etc. are not a substitute for a skin tone, unless you are doing Baby Yoda, in which case you still need the right shade of green.
I hunted for what I needed at the local craft stores but didn’t find quite the right colors. I was able to get what I need online, thankfully, although the last item won’t arrive till tomorrow, and I won’t be sure the colors are what I hoped till they come. Sometimes the appearance of colors online can be deceptive.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 10, 2022 13:46:37 GMT
Or perhaps consider close up reading glasses? My husband uses those for work, because he needs to keep his hands free, and has no space for anything extra on his desk. Even one attached to an Ott light might be a bit annoying.
Regardless of what you choose, I hope you recover quickly, find what you need, and enjoy your upcoming crop!
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 9, 2022 13:37:32 GMT
I know what you mean about being used to software that you love and want to keep using. It sounds like you are still able to use it, so you must be relieved. There are times when it pays to ignore warning messages.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 9, 2022 12:33:12 GMT
While I have used them in the past, it’s been a long time, so I marked “No” on this one. When I did use them, I embossed die cut letters, banners, or other die cut embellishments.
I should pull them out and start using them again.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 9, 2022 12:24:29 GMT
I started stamping back when larger pads were what were available. There were Cat’s Eye inkpads, but they were a pain to ink up a larger stamp. I personally prefer the larger inkpads, and I also prefer a felt pad. I have a white foam pigment inkpad that deteriorated over the years. The last time I tried to use it, my stamp left a permanent impression, and it was a mess.
The advantages (for me) to buy ink cubes or the small teardrop shaped inkpads are that I can buy more colors for my money, and they take up less room to store. Really prefer the bigger inkpads overall.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 9, 2022 4:29:45 GMT
DD came to visit for a family wedding, and after we got home, we spent time over the weekend making Disney shirts for her and her DH. She had already done the design work. It was just a matter of cutting the HTV and heat pressing them. They had enough colors and layers that making her shirts took longer than I expected. They turned out so cute, though. I should have taken photos. I was hoping to start cutting the vinyl and heat pressing a few of mine, too, but I realized that I didn’t have all the colors of vinyl that I needed, nor the right colors & sizes of shirts. And DH has grown a size. That’s a good thing. He lost far too much weight with his back issues and heart attack, but we definitely need to make new ones that fit him.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 9, 2022 3:59:40 GMT
Define weird... I collect possibilities... YES!
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 9, 2022 3:48:32 GMT
What is weird? I have stuff I've had for years because it looked neat. Now it doesn't look as neat, but it is still to neat to part with. I need a bigger space. Exactly!
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 8, 2022 14:28:49 GMT
I prefer scrapbooking alone. I get more done. My work style and method is "back and forth", meaning I work on it for a bit, then I don't, repeat back and forth. 25-ish years ago, when I first started, I attended a few crops.... At someone home, which was always fun and social, but I spent more time eating appetizers and desserts (everyone brought a contribution) and admiring the others scrapbook layouts. At a store, not as fun. I went to a few. It was cliquey. Same here. And like the OP, I am easily distracted. I get far more done in my craft room, all alone. I can’t even play music, let alone videos. I was helping my DD make HTV t-shirts on Saturday. Since we were making Disney shirts for her upcoming trip, she put on Disney songs. I had to ask her to do without the music. It was too distracting, and I was afraid of making mistakes. I need quiet. Even the online crops here are too distracting for me.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,147
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on Aug 6, 2022 5:36:49 GMT
Making cards takes time. I think that my layouts take longer, but the cards take a chunk of time, too.
I was a card maker before I learned to scrapbook. I love both. I wish I were faster, but I am slow, no matter which one I am doing.
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