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Post by joblackford on Jul 25, 2024 0:09:33 GMT
Strips of paper covering a card front with a big image on top is one of my favorite go-to designs. Such a great way to use up scraps and those pocket cards that seem to come in every collection these days. Those are quite lovely and I like the nostalgia factor of the designs. Feels very cozy. I agree! So cozy Thanks. I got this collection thinking the classic nostalgic feel would be nice for seniors, and I’m enjoying it too. I don’t love some of the busy prints in Paper Rose collections but there are some papers that I just adore. I also got their southern hemisphere version which is all beach cottages and proteas so that will be a nice change of pace. I might even see if the two collections can mix and match - I’m not sure if they have some colors in common. I think I got the 6x6 papers for the Aussie Xmas collection too.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 24, 2024 19:19:13 GMT
I like Catherine Pooler inks partly because they're lovely inks and partly because the minis are small rectangles rather than tiny little cubes. I find them easier to handle and they hold a decent amount of ink. That said I did need to get the reinkers for them because they also release ink really well, and because I use them for stamping, blending, and direct to paper.
It's worth pricing what reinkers cost when you're shopping for cubes because they can dry out/get used up pretty quickly just because of their small capacity.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 24, 2024 19:14:23 GMT
My first 6 cards using a really classic Christmas collection from Paper Rose are done! I'm going to end up sharing these in multiple threads, sorry, but a little progress inspo for anyone else still doing Christmas cards in July July share by jo.blackford, on Flickr
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Post by joblackford on Jul 24, 2024 19:12:15 GMT
Shakti - adorable! angel97701 - I wouldn't count on your dh receiving therapy at the evaluation session. I was evaluated for PT last Tuesday and had my first session on Friday (and then had to cancel this week's sessions because Dh is sick - I don't drive). I suspect they'll just evaluate him and set up appointments going forward as they use the information from the evaluation to determine the treatment plan. Hope he continues to improve Thank you all for the well wishes for DH and DD as well as the information on Delta. We're expecting them home around midnight or so tonight (and then the rest of them have another hour drive after dropping her off - thankfully we're pretty close to a highway exit). They stopped in Urbana, IL last night so it's a LONG LONG drive still to Florida. Hopefully being young DD and co won't mind the long drive so much. I had far more tolerance for that kind of thing 20-30 years ago! My friend lives in Charleston, not far from Urbana IL. I visited her a few years back and understood why she didn't like going on road trip adventures - a lot of corn fields and flat and not much else to look at! Hopefully they'll get to see some scenery at some point. Shakti what fun I love when wild friends feel safe to relax in our yards QOTD: I try to keep to one "project" at a time although sometimes I will set aside supplies for something else in hopes of coming back to it once my desk is clear. A project for me is mass producing cards so I'm usually working on a stack at once, often a LOT if I'm trying to distribute die cuts evenly across a paper pad's worth of cards.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 24, 2024 2:18:40 GMT
Oh no! That’s not good. I hope your dh feels better and dd’s long drive goes smoothly. I’m assuming that’s part of the whole crowdstrike mess Thank you. I'm hoping he doesn't share And yes - crowdstrike mess indeed - Delta seems to be having a bit more of an issue than some of the other airlines for some reason It seemed like Delta was the only airline still having problems at SeaTac too. We were lucky that half of our airport traffic is on Alaska Airlines, which wasn’t impacted, and the airport systems weren’t either. My friends were flying out of SeaTac that morning (on Alaska) and didn’t feel like it was too bad, but we saw people still queuing for hours at the Delta counter on the news last night.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 24, 2024 2:15:15 GMT
Please don’t ask to see my stash of “Wolfpack” papers by Heidi swapp - I bought them from a company going out of business and I may have bought a few (too many) but it’s a collection where every paper spoke to me… like almost literally 😂 If you decide you have too much Wolfpack I’m pretty sure you could sell it here for more than you paid for it, even with people having to pay for intl shipping. That was a great collection and even my minimalist self regretted not buying more of it!
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Post by joblackford on Jul 24, 2024 2:10:20 GMT
QOTD: What’s the next scrappy project—big or small—in your plans I got more photos in the mail yesterday so I've been sorting and labelling them so my next project is to finish that. I also want to keep plugging away at my back-log of Shimelle classes. Today was a rough day though...dh has covid, dd17's flight was delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed, and finally cancelled. They couldn't get another flight (for 4) to any airport in north or central Florida this WEEK so they are driving home from Minneapolis. Thankfully there are two adult drivers to share the driving and they were able to extend their rental (since there were NO rentals at the airport). Oh no! That’s not good. I hope your dh feels better and dd’s long drive goes smoothly. I’m assuming that’s part of the whole crowdstrike mess.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 24, 2024 2:08:05 GMT
Haha AussieMeg . I didn’t get a question in this morning, either. Adding a simple one now… QOTD: What’s the next scrappy project—big or small—in your plans?Scrappy, just continuing my yearly photo book. It’s something I dip into every few weeks or so. Cardmaking, I’m working on some Christmas cards with a really classic theme. I told my SIL about giving nephew the camera and she seemed excited and thought he would be too. I have started getting it ready to mail. I do still have a vintage SLR and a small collection of other antique and vintage cameras and some film so if I want to get creative I can.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 23, 2024 1:29:10 GMT
Oh how fun, I love Honey Bee and I own all of their house dies except these. I have the SCT event that day, though. Still, I'm glad to see Honey Bee is doing classes now. TFS! If you are a fan of their products and you use The Facebook, they have a group with challenges and lots of inspiration.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 23, 2024 1:24:43 GMT
I haven’t ordered from them but I can understand your reaction. I don’t know if it was a change in policy to save money time or materials, or a one-off, maybe they were extra busy and had amateur help. But I don’t imagine you’ll be eager to order from them again any time soon to find out. Opening a package where it looks like someone has just thrown things inside is a downer - like when they throw the self adhesive strip waste into the package instead of taking the care to put it in the bin? That carelessness just doesn’t feel good.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 22, 2024 19:44:27 GMT
I’ll answer in terms of cardmaking supplies.
I keep white cardstock, envelopes, and adhesive backstock around. I buy cardstock by the ream and cut down card bases and panels to stock a box in my main drawer, so I can see when I’m getting low and try to look out for a good price. I get a big bottle of glue to refill a smaller one, so again, when I’m putting the last of the big bottle in I can order a new one.
Envelopes are a little trickier because I usually need the odd one here or there and then when I pack a donation box I need 200 all at once! I do sometimes have to wait to send the donations until an envelope order comes in.
I have very little space for backstock and try not to buy more than what my space can hold. Tape runner refills and the glue bottle live in the back space of a drawer. The front space is where my working card bases and small paper pads live, so I’m in there almost every day. Most of my basics come from Amazon (meh) which means I can usually restock within 2 days.
I don’t keep a huge stash of paper and die cuts around but I’ve also never run out of things to craft with!
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Post by joblackford on Jul 22, 2024 19:28:05 GMT
I’m getting my DSLR ready to gift to my nephew who is studying photography at school this coming year. It’s going to be his 15th birthday present and I’ll probably give him some extra lenses for Christmas.
I had to literally dust it off, so clearly I’m not using it enough. I told myself I could grab it to take photos of hummingbirds in the garden except that the battery was always dead because I never use it any more. (And I don’t really need pictures of birds.) I haven’t taken it on a trip in 5 years and I never even take it to family gatherings any more. So even though there’s a part of me that feels like I’m giving away a precious treasure, I think that at this point he will get far more out of it than me.
Does anyone else have a “good” camera gathering dust because they only use their phone camera these days? What camera do you love?
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Post by joblackford on Jul 22, 2024 4:31:35 GMT
I used the last of a set of freebie card panels I got from Honey Bee, probably not from last year but the year before.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 22, 2024 1:07:54 GMT
Just saying peas it’s a great core (balance), leg (squat position for most of it) and aerobic workout (gotta show those younguns a thing or two) with great music if you get the right rink 😉 I can't imagine falling at my age. One, it would hurt my back like crazy, and two, I know I'd never be able to get back up. It looks fun but I'm pretty sure my skating days are over. I loved it in middle school, though. There was a rink near by and that is where the kids hung out. I went to Skateland a couple of times in my mid 40s and the idea of falling is definitely more worrisome as you get older, at least if you haven't kept skating between ages 15 and 45! I did kind of remember how to do it though, and it helped that Skateland in Washington state was almost exactly the same as the one I went to in NZ 35 years ago. I think they still had their original skates and everything. yuck! The only difference was that inline skates hadn't made it to NZ when I was doing skating as my Wednesday "sports" elective at age 11. (It was not sports. It was a chance to wear cute clothes instead of a uniform and flirt with the boys who were a year older! Plus glowing under the black light and cool music!) Anyway, I think a lot of people may have 80s skating stories to tell. And roller skating is going strong in some places and communities, and in newer ways like roller derby. But I doubt that's really why it's in collections. Nostalgia sells. Fun colors and patterns sell. I wish they'd all stop jumping on the same trends and copying each other too. I'm sick of buying something from one brand and then seeing another brand has a better version. Especially in cardmaking - stamps and dies are expensive! I'm learning to wait until everyone has their version of the gnome or the roller skate out so I can hopefully choose the one I love most.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 21, 2024 22:06:19 GMT
If I showed you right now that they're all gone, you missed out, how upset would you be? That's usually my way of gauging whether to pay more and make certain I get one. I hope you have fun in Tokyo
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Post by joblackford on Jul 21, 2024 22:03:16 GMT
I think it's fun to see layouts that document something spanning a period of time - 'look how you've grown' kind of pages with first day of school pictures for several years together. But I'm not sure I could handle making an album that wasn't at least loosely chronological. Even in making Dec Daily type projects I rebel against the idea that things can just go wherever, even with a date on them. I like things to be as close to the true chronology as possible in my albums. But it would be a whole lot easier to make an album if you just add the next page in as you make it!
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Post by joblackford on Jul 21, 2024 21:57:17 GMT
I like the game ideas so far, although I think I would fail at using all those old school tools! I would include some color matching - maybe finding coordinating colored cardstock to go with a patterned paper. Cutting paper to specific sizes and gutting a 12x12" paper with a trimmer. Maybe a bit of fussy cutting or cutting paper into boxes or into strips with scissors like Shimelle does. (I'd fail that too!)
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Post by joblackford on Jul 21, 2024 2:43:04 GMT
Oh poop, I forgot to post my QOTD last night! But at least it's still "today" up there, and not "tomorrow" like it is here, so I'm not really late! I went to the football yesterday (Saturday), and took some photos. I don't really enjoy scrapping photos from the football, because my team Hawthorn has the worst colours - brown and yellow - otherwise known as poo and wee hahaha!! I don't have many kits that I can use if I want to match the photos. I usually add some navy or pink to the brown and yellow, to make it a bit nicer. QOTD: What is your LEAST favourite colour or colour scheme? Do you ever use that colour, even if you don't like it, but it works for the photos?My intermediate school uniform was brown, camel, and golden yellow, and the boys wore a weird shade of khaki, like a grey taupe, and I feel your pain. I look awful in those colors and I dislike using them immensely. And then I went to a high school with bottle green and red uniforms... sigh. Good for Christmas, and at least I don't look sick in those colors, but why couldn't I go to the school with navy blue and white uniforms, just once? My MIL has brick orange shag carpet and a big blue sofa, which makes Christmas photos really ugly IMO. My house has a lot of honey woodwork and beige carpets, so even photos at home are not really the colors I enjoy. I don't do much with color in my photo book albums. I mostly just place big photos on black and white pages, so the colors in the photos are the photos of the pages. I guess that's easier than trying to mix green and red supplies with blue and orange photos, but I do envy people with bright homes and maybe a single surface that's not piled with colorful clutter...
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Post by joblackford on Jul 20, 2024 23:34:29 GMT
Any word from Ali about her time frame? Last year, she sneaked stuff about one month from today. Maybe lasteve1 has some insider info that she can share... ?
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Post by joblackford on Jul 20, 2024 22:13:40 GMT
I used to sell cards on Etsy but it got to be more trouble than it was worth so I closed my shop. I do have some friends who insist on paying me for cards I make (to donate) but mostly I just give everything away for free.
I've never enjoyed markets (I don't even like going to the farmer's market! am I allowed to say that? I like the idea of them but feel really uncomfortable in reality) so selling my stuff at markets was a big nope for me.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 20, 2024 20:43:51 GMT
I really love these Christmas cards - the colors, the navy background, the illustration style, and the bold sentiments. They were very simple to make but really satisfying. http://instagram.com/p/C9qIN5TSLSz
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Post by joblackford on Jul 20, 2024 20:30:24 GMT
Thank you girls. Since it's a long time until Black Friday, I made the purchase. Looking forward to seeing what you make Black Friday is about their only sale of their year. I stock up on inks and refills then.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 20, 2024 20:28:28 GMT
The theme is not for me but at least it looks quite cohesive.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 20, 2024 20:23:31 GMT
I’ve never ordered a crafty one (only a jam one). The last couple of years we had trips planned so it didn’t make sense for me. I also don’t think I’d ever use most of the items since I didn’t choose them myself and they tend to be small. I have enough trouble using what I actually buy! I would definitely need to put things together or somehow catalog and integrate them into my stash.
I am intrigued by the Stitchmas idea… but not $75 intrigued. ETA: for 12 tiny projects?! I think I’d rather spend that one a couple of nice stitching sets from the shop.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 20, 2024 20:07:36 GMT
That sounds hard angel97701, especially if some family members are not on the same page as others. I hope things get a little easier and your DH get some relief for his back pain. I finished up the crochet cell phone pouch last night. I’m trying to get some things finished and off my list! (Story of my life). I got some strawberries transplanted into pots I was given and photographed some pewter and milk glass things I’m supposed to sell. Much more fun than all that, I cut into a new Christmas collection and started gluing things down. And I finished some simple Christmas cards! QOTD - I like sketches for cards, but also enjoy starting from a theme or color scheme here and there. For scrapping I prefer just to do my own thing since I am mostly just placing photos into simple templates.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 20, 2024 0:18:06 GMT
Yeah Shakti I agree with Linda and would add the reminder not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Maybe it would be better to wait and donate all the leftovers together if you have the bandwidth for that, but getting some of it out of the house now would probably be better for you, and that’s the only thing you can really control. The question of what makes a donation worthwhile really depends on the donation center and timing and a bunch of other things you can’t control for, so I wouldn’t worry about it.
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Post by joblackford on Jul 19, 2024 4:25:20 GMT
Ugh, that sucks
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Post by joblackford on Jul 18, 2024 20:50:19 GMT
My Paper Rose Christmas supplies should be here any minute
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Post by joblackford on Jul 18, 2024 20:48:44 GMT
I know a couple of people IRL who make photo books (which is my main scrapping project) and a few people who paper craft, make mixed media projects, or collage, but I’ve never gotten together with any of them to craft. We’re all pretty introverted! I used to meet one of them at an ATC swap 20 years ago, when we had a rubber stamp shop downtown - actually that’s where I met her - and we’ve run into each other since at a stitch & bitch gathering and then at the library book group, but never actually crafted together (and now she stays home for fear of covid ). My friend’s mom started cardmaking, but I think she crafts with a group, maybe MLM related. I couldn’t figure out how to start a new project yesterday so I spent my crafty time sorting Doodlebug die cuts of cats and dogs into categories They do the silly gendered collections so dogs are boyish (primary red, blue, green) and cats are girlish (pink, aqua, peach), but just like in clothing and other gendered nonsense there are tomboy cats in the boy/dog collection but no cutesy pink girl stuff with dogs on it. How silly is that? (I remember when I sold baby clothes, gender neutral stuff with pink or purple was always rejected by shoppers - for fear of sissifying a baby boy? sigh). I’m still hoping I can mix the collections a bit since cats and dogs actually come in both boy and girl varieties!
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Post by joblackford on Jul 18, 2024 4:04:16 GMT
I agree with Linda, breetheflea, I love that you have a home improvement album. I have made pages about our home projects too and they can be quite useful for reference too. Let’s hope that dishwasher lasts longer than the last one. It bugs me that they’re almost disposable these days.
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