Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Scraproom Update May 2020



So it turns out it's been a long time since I did one of these! Here's the current iteration of my scrapbook room above. This is how it looks most days. Lets take a walk around my room...


On your left an Ikea change table which is home too all things die-cutting and embossing. A place to stash my unfiled pages (yes that a depressing/overwhelming sight right now). Plus my camera, handbag, feather collection, bird books and typewriter. And some misc junk that really needs a better home!

What do I use regularly on these shelves? The camera, handbag, and bird books (when I am naming my photos).


Bookshelf...
Top: Bind it all, paints, some mixed media stuff, spare containers
Second: Binding rings, sewing kit, Ephemera box, Opalite Inks, Colouring pencils and embroidery cotton.
Third: Letter writing material, Xyron250 sticker maker, Border and shape punches.
Fourth: Buttons, Eyelets, brads, chipboard, wooden and other small embellishments plus the boxes for Purple (almost empty), 'Metal and Wood' and 'Black and white' (both quite full) embellishments- the least used ones.
Fifth: Cheap Aldi Felt Pens, sellotape, Staz-on and Distress Ink.


Sixth: Wood mounted stamps, most used punches.
Seventh, Pre-inked and Journalling stamps, more punches, Sassafrass*** stickers and embellishments (much LOVED), card making supplies, 6x6 paper pads. ***Sassafrass is my second most favourite company ever.
Eighth: Project Life Page protectors, Numbers in bags, another punch, Christmas Project Life Cards,
Bottom: More Ephemera, blank mini albums, instruction sheets, empty albums, planning albums, random paper crap.

What do I use regularly on these shelves? The Distress Inks. (yeah seriously!!)


Next up... My Scrap paper drawers, more wood mounted stamps, and My mystical supplies (in the brown box).

The Mystical Box, Wood mounted stamps.
  
What do I use regularly here? The Mystical stuff because that's my job.
 
  
Scrap Paper Drawers sorted by colour each drawer also holds Alphabets (not thickers) in the same colours.

 Pink and purple go together because I don't use them much. Black and White same thing- no alphas in there because there are too many and they are very multi-purpose.
Bottom drawer above is scrap paper with a large range of colours and no dominant colour. (No alphas in here).


Last three drawers Christmas Supplies including scrap Christmas papers. Not including 12x12 paper.

What do I use regularly in these drawers? Everything except Christmas and muli-coloured scraps.


More drawers... thanks to the RNZAF for clearing out these just when I needed them. :-) 




Glitter, embossing powders, sparkling H2O's, Pearlex, and essential oils?


A4 and smaller specialty papers, vellums, mulberries, transparencies, origami.


Alphabet Stamps #1


Alphabet Stamps #2


Washi #1 and some Number stickers.


Washi #2 It is actually arranged by colour... it's a bit of a mess right now.


Adhesives, and cutter blades.


Adhesives, small ink pads, foam blending tools.


General tools.


Distressing and painting tools. 


Ribbon.


Cotton


 Bulldog clips, Tags, staples.


More Punches


Randomness: Mixed Media.
  
What do I use regularly in these drawers? The things in the middle drawers- Washi #2, adhesives, blades, sandpaper, Mini stamp pads, cotton, and Tim Holtz staples.
 

Four large plastic file boxes (12x12) and 3 Work-in-Progress Albums. Bag of Mystical Scrapbooks paper scraps.

File #1 Other Brand 12 x 12 Sticker sheets, die-cut papers, 12x12 Chipboard sheets, Templates, stencils and Masks. Doilys
File #2 October Afternoon 12 x 12 Papers and Stickers
File #3 12x12 Alphabet Sticker Sheets, Gold, Silver, Black and White Alphas
File #4 Sassafrass Papers and 12 x 12 sticker sheets
  
What do I use regularly? Mystical scraps, The WIP Albums especially for retreats, October Afternoon supplies. (Also currently in a template/stencil phase).

Thickers- arranged by colour. 
What do I use regularly? These. :-) 



Shelves which are chock full with Projects in progress, Projects To-do, and the detritus of life- birthday cards, movie tickets, kids pictures... and those masks I was looking for a couple of days back. In between shelves and thickers under white cover: Sewing machine- see later cord which is always plugged in ready to go.

What do I use regularly? Um yeah... hmmm [Red faced]. 


Back in the far corner- empty pizza boxes, a box of 12x12 albums, a giant bag of foam stamps and a box of mixed size (6x6 up to 12x12) and Project Life Style Album sleeves.

What do I use regularly? The Album sleeves.


A box of bags (including my retreat pack-up kit), my black, white, grey, brown, and colourable thickers. Some empty shelves, with more alpha stamps on top, gluing/painting magazines, a spare keyboard and my super good colouring pencils.

What do I use regularly? The Thickers, my pack-up kit, and the magazines.


My bin, paper trimmer, Clear stamps in plastic box with sewing machine cord attached and ready to go and the drawers...

In with my stamps is my stamp shammy for cleaning and the largest stamping block.


On top Current Mystical Kit, back scratcher.

Pens, Wink of Stella, random multicoloured die cuts, gelatos, hole punch, Xyron 150, coloured ribbons for my typewriter, mess-making tea towel, Paracetamol.


 Project Life cards sorted by Colour (mostly)

MM Paints, stickles, OA Sprinklers (like mists), Watercolour paints, dyes, heat gun, rags, paint brushes, Acrylic paints, watercolour pencils.


What do I use regularly? Pens, Wink of Stella, back scratcher, Mystical kit, rubbish bin, paper trimmer, paintbrushes.


Table for spreading out with laptop, camera battery charger, lamp. Excess from current projects. And see below...


Extra cutting tools, extra regular pens, Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pen collection, roller stamsps.

What do I use regularly? Lamp, Battery Charger, Fineliner pens and Roller stamp.The Table. :-)


 Here's my desk you can see... lamp and rulers (well used) current playfulness- Oxide Inks and masks.


My embellishment drawers- by colour. (Least used brown and pink.)


Crop-o-dile, Glue dots, photo splits, roller adhesive, Mister Huey's (Mists), corner rounders, eraser, pencil sharpener, water, water brushes, dimensional magic, Jar of flower stems (for Sue's daughter), Foam stamp mat, foam poking mat, staplers, tiny attacher,

What do I use regularly? Glue dots, photo splits, eraser, sharpener, tiny attacher.  


Coloured Card racks.

What do I use regularly? None of it- at a pinch brown and kraft.


Patterned paper racks by Colour, Mystical, One Little Word, A4 and specialty 12x12. Also stacked in front Oxide Inks which are new and will need a home.

What do I use regularly? Patterned paper: Blue, green, orange, yellow, red. Probably the Oxide Inks- I'm really loving them!


Colour Reference sheets. Most used tools container including...


What do I use regularly? The Colour Reference sheet, and the tools/glue in the top half of the image above... needless to say I just threw away some pop sticks. :-)The Centring Ruler at the very top.



This little tray which I put odds and ends in, foam adhesive bits, and my paper distresser, and post-it notes. 

What do I use regularly? Post-it's for writing the date down from the back of my photos before I stick them down. The foam adhesive and the paper distresser. The actual tray when I tip everything out and use it to hold small embellishments/die cuts.
 

Kaiser Mists, Nuvo drops, blending brushes, Tall vase with 12 x12 strips, water jars for watercolour painting. Page Projects ready to scrap (photos + papers). Random paper straws. Also note retreat packing list on left side. And hammer for setting eyelets

What do I use regularly? All of the above except the strips, straws, hammer, and water jars. 


Paper Rack: Christmas themed 6x6 pads and 12x12 papers, 8x8 and 12x12 paper pads, Colour wheel, CK Magazines with fave quick scrapping articles, and Bazzill: White, French Vanilla, Greys and Black.

What do I use regularly? Bazzill: White & French Vanilla.


Here's my Ikea Rascog Trolley set for HOME. :-) I pull this trolley around beside me (on the right) when I am working at my table.

On the bottom: everything October Afternoon except 12x12- my all-time favourite company.

In the Middle: Art Alchemy Waxes. A bunch of recent Tim Holtz and assemblage type purchases- because I am hoping to getting into making some more arty stuff.

On the top: Stickers, Rub-ons, Chipboard, Mixed colour embellishments. New die cuts. Sequins, New embellishments. Baby Wipes. Non-mystical Twine.

What do I use regularly? Everything but the stickers and rub-ons- unless they are new. Plus I haven't got to the assemblage stuff yet.

I also take my Rascog to Country Paper Craft for retreats. When I do that I clear the bottom and middle shelves, and baby wipes and load it up with many of the things above that I said I regularly use... Distress Inks, versa colour ink pads, Nuvo drops, Kaiser Mists, a small selection of Project Life Cards and wood mounted stamps. Some 6x6 paper pads. My Sassafras Stickers and Embellishments.


My scrapbook room works for me because:
  • I scrap by colour.
  • I generally use things that are out and I can see.
  • Everything I most want is within arms reach. 
  • I don't mind having it look on the messy side.
  • I'm lucky to have a bunch of furniture that helps me be set up just the way I want.
What's not working...
  •  There's a lot of stuff I am not using. Partly it's because I might not know how to use it properly- Opalite Inks are a good example of that. Partly it's because I prefer to scrap fast- so I am unlikely to pull out wet media and go through stamp sets, and fiddle around with brads and eyelets. Partly it's because of the style of my scrapbooking doesn't call for the tool/supply. Partly it's because a lot of my scrapping is for Mystical- so I try to only use Mystical supplied product.
  • I don't use ephemera from our life enough... I need to work into my planning a way to remember to use those things. Probably I will need to 'batch task' it- as in pull out a bunch of things, pair them with photos and papers and do a run of pages with these items. I probably also need to let some of that stuff go. (There's a filing cabinet with a couple of (organised) drawers full of it.
  • I don't do enough off the page projects and mini albums- I have some cool stuff that I want to make/use- but I am very page focussed.
  • I am very habit-based... I sit at my desk with photos and paper and do what I have always done- I don't really pre-plan a page I just go- that's okay- but if I want to use more of my supplies I need to scrap with a supplies first approach from time to time.
  • I practically never use ribbon, or my Big Shot and associated stuff.

In an ideal world I would... (things to work on)
  • Have some better storage for my distress ink pads, mists and Nuvo drops.
    I would naturally use the 12x12 strips, 6x6 pads, and specialty papers as part of my process.
  • I would naturally use the black and white and wood and metal embellishments as part of my process.
  • I would naturally use the black and white, brown, and mixed colours papers and scraps as part of my process. 
  • I would stamp more.
  • I would make more pocket pages.
  • Throw out more end of the packet stuff... those last few stickers I won't use, the thickers with no vowels etc.
  • Pass on the things that really aren't me anymore.

Monday, May 11, 2020

How I kit... part 1

When I am heading away for a weekend retreat I like to sort out a bunch of pages ahead of time paper wise for a few reasons.

1. It helps me use up my stash.
2. It means I don't have to take much more than I need- and will only need to buy a few papers- and can use my spending money on embellishments rather than patterned paper (which I have a lot of already).
3. Batch tasking like this saves a HEAP of time. A big part of any LO is choosing the supplies- If I can go through and choose the papers for forty layouts all in one session then I only have to go through my stash once- not forty times!!
4. Having all sorts of choices already sorted for me means I can do what takes my fancy and I can get into it fast.

*************************************

When I kit like this I start from two different places depending on my mood.

Option One: This is the stash buster option I go through my patterned papers and find the ones I have had for quite a while, as well as some that I absolutely love and really want to scrap with and lay them out ALL over my lounge room floor.



Option Two: I go through my photos and find some that I am 'in the mood' to scrap then I lay them all out as below.

(Option three is a bit of both- in which case I do the papers first).


Step two in both processes is to match 'this with that'. So if I have paper all over my floor I will pull out my envelopes of enlargements, and my albums of photos waiting to be scrapped and find the matches.

I am looking for colour matches contrasting or complementary- not the same colour. Or thematic matches. If I find more than one paper option I will add them both. I may or may not use them both in the final LO but at least I have the paper with me to chose from and not back at home where it's going to be useless.

Here are some examples...

 The brown tones in this image is a good match with the greens in my photo and a few of the butterflies pick up the red of the table. This works thematically because the butterflies go to fun and outdoors.

The spooky paper is great with the witchy photos- the tan is neutral and will work with most things and the orange highlights are also found in my pictures.


The colours here work with my photos and the circles echo the ball in the image. You can see a similarly toned paper in the background which has chevrons- these will give the illusion of movement- I'll point them in the same direction the ball is moving in.


Arrows work with these images for the movement theme again. There isn't too much bright colour or bust details in my photo so this relatively colourful and busy paper with pair nicely.

A science-themed paper to match the science experiment in the photos.

This one is all about the colours.

This one is about colour too- I can see that these colours will work with my sons green shirt because that green is already in the paper. The pictures are quite bold so I have chosen a soft paper so there's no competition.

This is a paper I have had for ages and really like but found hard to match- but it works well with the sheets and picks up the pinks in the quilt cover. It contrasts nicely with my daughters green top.


Once I have complete sets of paper and photos I have a think about what I know is in my stash that will work well with what I have going on and go grab it...


I knew I had these Pirate Stickers from the same paper range the flag paper came from.

I knew I had some paper with cereal boxes for my baby eating cereal page.


The next stage is to go through my scrap paper drawers. These are sorted by colour and I pull each one out in turn and go through them to see if I have some papers to co-ordinate with what I have going on. Once again I am looking for colours and patterns that compliment or contrast...


Here's the final result. I didn't find matches from the scrap drawers for all of the pages but some of the offcuts from what I have already might work- because it's pretty unusual for me to use a full 12x12 sheet on a LO. Or I might buy a sheet or two while I am away. (I scrap at Country Paper Craft in Bruce Rock- it's a store and a retreat.) 

The final stage before I put it all away is to add a sheet of cardstock to each set. 98% of the time that will be White or French Vanilla. Very rarely I might use Black (Raven), Kraft, Chocolate, or Grey. 

Then I slip it all into, what ends up being a very full, Work-in-Progress Album- if you don't own one I highly recommend them. When I get to the retreat I flip through and pick the page I want to work on and pull all my bits out and get straight into it. When the page is done I slip it back into its spot in the album for safe transport home.


Sunday, May 10, 2020

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Friday, May 8, 2020

Scrapbook Gourmet Week 2 - Soup


It's week two in the Mystical Scrapbooks- Scrapbook Gourmet Competition- go check out this week's challenge.

Thursday, May 7, 2020

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Monday, May 4, 2020

Saturday, May 2, 2020

Friday, May 1, 2020