crafting products and materials

What to use to make minibook covers

by Amy on January 1, 2013

So, I’ve basically stopped scrapbooking properly.

I’ve got Project Life, I’ve got Blurb books and I make some minibooks.

And that is the perfect amount of memory keeping for me.

I’ve loved making minibooks for some seasons (autumn and summer) and a quick weekend trip (Big Bear). I want to make a minibook about our home and maybe one about various recurring themes in our lives (like Andrew drinking in the streets of various cities).

So many options. So many methods.

Just look around your house for some thing to use for the cover, find some scrap paper, and you’re good to go!

Some ideas for minibook covers:

Mailing envelopes

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I’ve ordered about 1 envelope of prints from Costco every week since the beginning of April – for Project Life.

And they always come in these lovely chipboard envelopes – about 6×8″ or so. They’re the loveliest size for trimming down to minibook covers. Paint them or cover them with paper/fabric.

Nice to have this lovely pile of materials to use for the future.

Used here for my Summer minibook

SmugMug chipboard

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If you order photos from SmugMug they’ll come with even better chipboard!

I think these are closer to 5×7″ and already trimmed down.

Used here for my 30Lists book.

Mat board scraps

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Andrew used to manage a custom frame shop (because he’s a rockstar) and they would always have all these scrap pieces of matboard in the trash.

He would bring me home some of the peices – anytime he could get 2 reasonably sized ones in the same color.

Now, I’m not saying that you can go pick through the trash at a custom frame shop, but I think it’s certainly worth asking (or surreptitiously making friends with a framer).

Used here for my Phoenix Suns tribute minibook

Repurposed packaging

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There are all kinds of solid materials you can find in the packaging for products you buy. Just keep your eyes open.

Big boxes, Project Life packaging, really anywhere. You can trim down to the size you need and recover them as necessary.

Used here for the Instax minibook

ReBinder binder

Easy. Already all built for you with rings and everything.

It’s a 7″x9″ 3 ring binder from ReBinder (I really like this size) – it’s made of 100% recycled chipboard. And it’s much sturdier than I expected … Easy to recover. Easy to use. Any 8.5×11″ paper cut in half would be the perfect size page.

Used here by Paislee Press and here for my DIY planner.

Record covers

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This is SUCH a fun one. You could recover the chipboard, of course, but of course you could get lucky and find a fantastic record cover with a gorgeous 1960s model to use for your cover

You can find vintage, throw-away vinyl everywhere. Almost assuredly for under $1 each. Or just tell your parents you want some and all their friends will empty their attics and garages for you.

Used here on my autumn minibook

Other ideas:

heavy fabric (upholstery or similar) like here
wall paper samples
Blurb book printing
repurposed book

What do you use to make minibooks?

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scrapbooking and memory keeping resources

by Amy on November 27, 2012

5 tips for documenting your everyday
really love this idea of just using 2 HUGE photo enlargements for a week of Project Life when you know you’re going to do a more detailed/specific album that covers that week. Excited to take a real trip to have a reason to use it …
10 minute minibook tutorial
10 reasons why Project Life is the best thing I’ve ever done
tutorial: how to print on journaling cards and other non-traditional paper
how to make fonts with your handwriting
Paislee Press digital products – I LOVE this style. Simple. Also tempted to get the calendar cards for Project Life

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Project Life: the process so far with supplies

by Amy on July 11, 2012

Project Life is trucking along …. I now have about 3 months down (out of 9 for 2012).

As you may recall, one of my stated intentions with Project Life was to use the project to power through some of the scrapbooking supplies that I have accumulated over the last almost-20 years of being a scrapbooker.

But, as with any new project, I couldn’t just stick to that …. I have no need to buy any paper (especially as I’m using so little of it), but there were a couple other things I ended up buying new.

Adhesive, for instance.

But in reality, if you look at all my Project Life spreads, I am using very very little scrapbooking supplies. And that would probably be the best way to sum up the process so far with supplies for Project Life. I’m using a lot of white cardstock for journaling, and then every other week or so I throw in something a little fancier.

But I’ll say it time and time again – I’m a words+photos kind of girl and this is what works for me.

I am loving my Project Life pages so far, even though they’re not very “scrapbooky”.

Here’s a look at the small handful of supplies in use for Project Life:

I treated myself to 2 of Elise Cripe’s new stamp line – SO much fun. I prefer stamps to stickers in general (cost-effectiveness), but want to try to only get stamps that won’t seem dated in 9 months.

I really think that these 2 stamps from Elise – ‘THIS” and “TODAY IS” – fit that mold. The only thing is I wish I had another THIS arrow pointing the other way. No matter. (sidenote: These stamps are no longer available, but I believe she mentioned releasing a new line in the fall)

I had to buy myself a new ink pad – as my previous black one was in storage for 4 years and dried out. Surprise surprise. But so far I’ve only gotten black. Wait, correction. ColorBox ‘Wicked Black.’ As I use these so infrequently, I haven’t yet found myself wishing for another color. I’m sure that will change

Also (in the bottom left corner of the photo), I got myself a date stamp (from SMASH). My previous date stamp only goes to … 2013 maybe? I mean I used it all through the early 2000s so I got plenty of use out of it – but it was time for a new one!

I also decided to experiment with washi tape.

Everyone and their mother has been gushing about the magic of washi tape in the last …. 6 months or so. SO I thought I’d give it a shot.

The black polka dot pictured above is Smash brand from Target – the other 4 are from Freckled Fawn. So far I’m not in love, but they have been a fun tool to use for my summer minibook here and there. But that’s a different post

I still have a BUNCH of Le Plume and some other kinds of markers that did not dry out in the last 4 years in storage. Some are threatening to, and I will likely replace them, but this bunch that I have available has been working for Project Life for me so far.

Reminder: I used to work for Michael’s Arts and Crafts when I was right out of high school, and had the sale prices and schedule basically memorized. Which means these were probably purchased about 10 years ago. Not too bad for $1.50 or so each.

I’ve been using these for a little journaling embellishments and the READ-WATCH cards.

I have a few small pads of patterned paper that have showed up in my Christmas stockings or Easter baskets over the last few years. These are 5×7 pads of patterned paper, so I’ve been using them mostly for background paper in the 4×6 pockets.

I did buy some of the Project Life line of 3×4 grid journaling cards. I knew the convenience of having journaling cards already cut to that size would outweigh the few bucks it was going to cost. Easy.

And now to my piles and piles of scrap paper ….. I keep my scrap colored cardstock in this wooden magazine holder. Not at all organized. I usually just sift through the sheets until I see something that will work for what I need.

I keep my white scrap paper separate in this (beat up) page protector. Easy to just grab a piece when I need one for journaling.

That’s it. That’s basically all I use.

Of course, I could expand out a bit – especially if I had photoshop* and a printer…. But I don’t NEED anything more. But if I *did* have some money to play with, I’d get some of these fun supplies linked below …

Still want to buy:

printer – I just want something basic. Boring. No faxing or xeroxing capabilities necessary. Not easy to find and I’m not great at doing that kind of research.
Digital files – basic, versatile journaling templates like these press cards from Paislee Press, or these listing cards from Cathy Zielske
maybe some of Ali Edwards’ Studio AE stamps
I’ve got my eye on a couple annmarielovespaper stamps too

I have found some free journaling card downloads that I like – these and these.

And then on top of all that, I’ve been thinking more and more about adding STUFF into the pages. Kam is GREAT at this. She wrote this great post – Things I would like to see included in my Project Life binder – reminding herself of all the fun non-photo things that could help record memories of the year.

LOVE it. Of course, mentally I can’t get past ‘plane tickets’ wishing I was going on a vacation of some kind this year. But still … .Love the idea. I have a little bit of *stuff* coming in the next few layouts I have to share next week. Almost entirely thanks to Andrew. He is GREAT at Project Life He’s always sending me photos (from his phone) and hanging on to *stuff* in case I want it for Project Life.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how the supplies used for my PL binder evolve over the rest of the year!

What are your favorite supplies to use for Project Life?

L&R Sponsors Campfire Chic and The Nerd Nest are both also participating in Project Life this year …. And they’re both doing it very differently than I am. Check out Kam’s pages here and Megan’s pages here!

Project Life, created by Becky Higgins, is a flexible, easy-to-use, highly customizable way to preserve your memories and record your stories in an easy way. Learn more about getting started with Project Life or check out all my Project Life posts.

*I know Photoshop isn’t that expensive,
but I would have to upgrade the OS on my Mac about 3 or 4 levels
in order to install that new software.
Pain.

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Project Life (and being realistic)

by Amy on March 5, 2012

I recently came across a 2-year-old post by Ali Edwards (love her) that I happened to save …. Getting Real : Thoughts On Creativity & Scrapbooking

The first 3 bullet points in her post really jumped out at me:

Get real about why you scrapbook and the role it plays in your life. There’s no right or wrong answer here, it is simply taking the time to think about scrapbooking’s place in your life.

Get real about what you think scrapbooking should be and what it actually is for you. There are no rules, no ways that it is supposed to be or should be. Embrace what it is for you or make some changes if you want it to be different.

Get real about the time you have to scrapbook. Get real about how much you are spending on supplies. Get real about how many albums you really need to tell your stories.

In the last few weeks I’ve really thought about whether or not I want to participate in Project Life – the newest memory-keeping trend you may have been seeing on blogs you follow.

Back in December when most ladies were planning their 2012 Project Life structure, I was far too overwhelmed with December Daily, planning the Blog Party, buying a house and being crazy sick to even contemplate adding ANOTHER creative project on top of those.

Now that things have (kind of) calmed down, I am finding myself more and more drawn to the idea….

I can take the time to really weigh what I want to do versus what I feel like I have to do. I can take the time to really consider how much time I have to be creative versus how much time I need to do more businessy things. I can take the time to look at my options, my stuff and what I want to see done for both of those.

I can take the time to really get realistic.

REALISTICALLY:

I’m not really doing any scrapbooking right now. I haven’t for at least 4 years (since I moved to Los Angeles and put 99% of my supplies in storage). I miss it. And aside from our Blurb books, blog and the Autumn 2011 mini album, I’m not really recording our memories either.
I have a TON of supplies that need to be used. They are taking up space. They represent money spent. I need to either use them or give/sell them to someone who will.
I don’t have a lot of time to be creative with my hands. My full time job takes about 50+hours/week (including driving, lunches, packing food for work, etc). Having a structured project where I know in advance *basically* what I’ll be doing would be helpful.

So, that settles it.

Project Life will be the perfect project to start. The basic idea is to record the memories of your every day life, every week. I can use all the scraps and pieces and piles of supplies I will be moving into our new house. I have a very basic structure every week to keep me on task. And I’ll finally be scrapbooking again and recording our little memories and stories on a regular basis.

I’m really looking forward to it. Most scrapbookers start (or have started) January 1 but I wasn’t feeling it. …. Instead, I read this post from Elise where she points out that you will be grateful you started anytime rather than regretting that you started.

So: I will be starting my Project Life album in the next couple weeks …. My 30^th birthday falls on a Monday this year, about 3 weeks after we move so it should work out perfectly.

For those of you that are new to Project Life (from Becky Higgins’ website):

Project Life is a solution-based approach to scrapbooking that was created to simplify the process in order to allow you more time to enjoy life! It requires no glue, no scissors, no tools, and no skills of any kind. The design of our products takes the guess work out of layout design so that you can focus on recording your everyday moments through your photos and journaling. The simple design is stylish and makes it possible for you to complete more pages in less time.

Becky Higgins, creator of Project Life, is a busy wife and mother who is passionate about capturing the little bits of life, and she’s making it easy for others to do the same. “It’s called Project LIFE because it’s about YOUR LIFE. Whatever your life is. Whatever your stage of life. Whatever your family circumstances. Whatever your lifestyle. Project Life is designed to help anyone + everyone get their pictures into a book,” says Becky. Her goal is to help others Cultivate a Good Life and Record It.

This back-to-basics approach to scrapbooking appeals to the person who’s never made a scrapbook in their life as well as those with experience because it allows you to feel the freedom that comes from letting go of the “guilt” that so many associate with the memory keeping process. CreativeTeam member Liz Tamanaha says “I love Project Life because it can be anything I want. Simple when I just want to get the basics recorded. Crazy intensive when I have the creative energy for it. And for once, I feel caught up with my scrapbooking.”

Here’s a whole slideshow on how to get started with Project Life.

Here’s a great blog post being REAL about Project Life.

I haven’t yet decided if I will do Project Life just until the end of 2012, or if I’ll do a full year until my birthday next year. I guess it just depends on how well I keep up, how much of a financial investment it becomes and if I end up doing it again next year.

Becky Higgins’ company has designed a lovely array of products to aid in your Project Life (see the widget below) … but of course, there’s no reason you HAVE to use those. Project Life is about capturing the STORY. ….

That said, I did get a 12×12 black binder, a set of divided page protectors and a couple boxes of blank, grid journaling cards.

For me, having these BASICS will help me stay on top of the project (rather than spend the time searching for them).

STILL TO DO: I need to figure out the fastest+least expensive way to print photos (suggestions?)….. I also need a new printer (recommendations?) and I’d love to eventually get Photoshop so I can play with some of Cathy Zielske’s Designer Digitals. And Ali’s … Thanks everyone for your Photoshop suggestions last week! Question: If I just want to do basic graphic designy stuff will Photoshop Elements be enough for me? (I literally have never owned photoshop, but use Apple Aperture for my photo processing)

What about you?

Are you doing Project Life? Have you done it in the past? Any tips?

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Giveaway Winner – small binder

by Amy on February 8, 2011

Thanks to everyone who entered the small ReBinder giveaway last week!!

Thanks to the magic of Random.org we have a winner!

Congrats to ASHLEY!

Please EMAIL your mailing address to me and I’ll send it out to you ASAP! (amy [at] lemonandraspberry.com)

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new art supplies

by Amy on January 12, 2011

So….. I got some art supplies for Christmas.

Can anyone explain Gesso to me?

I also got myself some (small) canvases to play with….

I haven’t the slightest idea where I’m going to go with all of this stuff … but the thought of all these unused goodies just makes me happy!

P.S. remind me to never take photos after dark again

10 comments

New-to-me sewing machine

by Amy on January 10, 2011

Guess what I got last week (hint: I told you in this blog’s title)!!!

My sweet mother-in-law recently got a new sewing machine…. Which means the one she got 20+ years ago that is still perfectly fine (but doesn’t do embroidery) needed a home.

After taking down our Christmas tree, we had the room (still near my creative workspace) to keep the sewing machine….

It’s one of those amazing sewing machines that lives in a table. I don’t really know how else to describe it…..

{note to self: I need better lighting in my house}

Having a sewing machine ALSO means I get to dig into the 3 sewing books said mother-in-law has given me over the last couple years.

Pictured above, I have:

ALSO …. Now that I have a sewing machine, I can finish the apron I started for Andrew way (way) back in fall 2008. Yes, that’s right. I don’t finish things. Now you know my deepest secret.

ALSO …. now that I have this I can eventually make the Green Gal’s patchwork coasters or this adorable quilt from Quilting in the Rain!

So excited!

Are you a seamstress?

Any tips or project links I need to see??

note: I don’t even know how to thread the thing, so don’t expect any finished quilts on the blog any time soon …

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Giveaway: Chalkboard Tags

by Amy on January 1, 2011

For this giveaway – my own mother has generously offered a few of her chalkboard tags to one lucky Lemon and Raspberry reader.

My mom (Nancy Hann) is pretty much the reason I’m so crafty. ….

I grew up with her bringing a sketchbook on vacations with us

I went with her to a Creative Memories party on my very first foray into scrapbooking.

When we were really little, she even found us a babysitter who did crafts and baking with us!

True story.

She always has some project or other in mind…..

She recently did a post about making these chalkboard tags and 7 ways to use them

Including …. gift tags, message bunting and others.

Could be fun to use at least one as the front cover of a mini album…. maybe for kids?

I tried to get her to give me a BUNCH of them, but no dice … I guess I’ll have to just make my own!

Take a look and be sure to leave her a comment with your own suggestions!

Hint: These have been used once already

THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

You can also FOLLOW Nancy on Twitter and make sure to SUBSCRIBE to her blog!

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DIY Project: Potato Stamp

by Amy on January 1, 2011

Have you ever made a stamp from a potato?

You TOTALLY should! It’s super easy and kinda fun….. Absolutely reminds me of how much I loved crafting when I was a kid (admit it, crafting as a grown-up is decidedly different)

The only thing is your potato stamp is not going to last – once the potato dries out it’s no good any more. And on the flip side, you can’t keep it wet because it’ll get moldy.

Oh well.

Supplies needed:

half of a potato (for each stamp)
paring knife
paint

When you cut the potato in half – make sure it is straight/flat/totally even. Any unevenness will alter the look of your stamp.

ALSO – keep in mind using a serrated knife will alter the look of the stamp – the serrated edges will create a bit of a ridged pattern on the potato that will transfer over when you stamp.

Use something small and pointy to draw your shape onto the potato – keeping in mind it needs to be a MIRROR (reversed) image so it will stamp the right way)

I used the point of an old ballpoint pen that no longer worked (but super easy to hold/draw with). You can also probably use a toothpick or *maybe* a very small knife.

Cut the potato off AROUND your shape – about 1/4 inch deep

This is when you start to curse yourself for drawing your shape too intricately – or not having a good enough knife.

But it will work out.

Best part about this is if you mess up, just cut the potato flat again and try again!

meh. That looks *mostly* even, right?

So I didn’t make this stamp with any aim in mind except to just try the method…

I just tried out the stamp on a sheet of paper. If I had been using this for a specific project, I might have been more careful about making the edges of the ‘S’ a little smoother.

No matter …. Next time.

The first couple look a little bit like snakes with that long nose on the top/front…

Some ideas for your potato stamp:

Homemade wrapping paper
Homemade gift tags
the border or background on a scrapbook page

I imagine it would make the most sense to only use this method for projects where the shape doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s not really easy to carve a potato

Have you ever made a potato stamp?

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Q&A : What do you like about the Instax mini camera?

by Amy on June 2, 2010

This question was submitted anonymously via formspring:

What do you like about the Instax mini camera?

Fuji Instax mini

I recently got my hands on this gorgeous little number. …. One more piece to add to my camera collection.

First of all, I’ve noticed that an Instax mini is TOTALLY a conversation starter. A lot of people are familiar with polaroid cameras, and they can tell this is similar when you use it ….. but it’s different enough to provoke questions.

The images are smaller, the prints come out of the top, everyone was under the impression you couldn’t get polaroids any more.

If you have a camera like this, I encourage you to take it to your next family event and see how the aunts and uncles react. It’s so interesting!

Instax_mini 001

What else do I like about the Instax mini camera?

Completely aside from the fact that I love cameras. And I like to collect them. And after being with Andrew for more than 10 years, I have acquired the habit of thinking (completely unreasonably) that I need to have a *complete* collection. Which means if a camera is available I should buy it.

I need to get out of that habit.

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you know what else I love about the Instax Mini?

It forces me out of my comfort zone.

It actually reminds me of this article on Why We Travel. (p.s. If you are at all a traveler, I encourage you to read the whole article)

According to the article from the Guardian, always staying in our hometown “we think about things that are nearby, our thoughts are constricted, bound by a more limited set of associations.” This in turn “inhibits our imagination.”

The larger lesson is that our thoughts are shackled by the familiar. The brain is a neural tangle of near-infinite possibility, which means that it spends a lot of time and energy choosing what not to notice. As a result, creativity is traded away for efficiency; we think in literal prose, not symbolist poetry. A bit of distance, however, helps loosen the chains of cognition, making it easier to see something new in the old; the mundane is grasped from a slightly more abstract perspective. As TS Eliot wrote in the Four Quartets: “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

Put that into a camera context.

It is fantastic to really learn how your camera works and get to know it WELL. No. Scratch that. It is IMPERATIVE that you know your camera well and can work it on the fly. Especially if you are going to be photographing fleeting moments like a wedding (me) or your children growing up or another event.

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20100403-Morro

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I get comfortable with my go-to camera (my Canon 50D dSLR). I could shoot in manual with my eyes closed.

Ha! That’d be ridiculous …. photographing with my eyes closed? What at laugh ….

But, sincerely, I KNOW how to use my camera, so it makes me lazy.

Just changing up the medium ABSOLUTELY changes the way I see things. Changes the approach to image taking. Changes the way I photograph. Changes WHAT I photograph.

The Instax Mini is not only instant, but it is film and it is a completely different, set frame size and orientation.

There are only 4 options for lighting – each with a corresponding flash level.

And I haven’t quite grasped the strength of each. Do you see how over-exposed some of these images are? Yea. Still learning.

Which is AMAZING. It is such a great feeling to be pushed out of my comfortable skill level …. to RISK something and try new things.

I LOVE IT.

So, yea, just one of the many reasons I’m super excited that I got an Instax Mini camera.

And just for fun : HulaSeventy’s reasons to love polaroid. 100% on all of these

If you have a question for me about photography, blogging, my crafting, etc please head over to my formspring account to submit it. See this post for more details.

3 comments