Monday, April 18, 2011

Trying Something New


One of the things I love about scrapbooking is that it encompasses so many genres and branches off into other artistic directions while still using the same general scrapbooking products. There is absolutely no way to get bored, which is perfect for me because I tend to get bored quite easily. Once one technique has been mastered, there are at least ten others waiting to be learned. And once I have become tired with a particular line of papers, at least a dozen more are vying to become my "new" favorite.

Altered art or an altered item is a very simple concept. You take an item meant for one thing and then you "re-purpose" it, generally decorating it and making it prettier in the process (that's where the scrapbooking supplies come in). Just about ANYTHING can be altered, too! I have seen altered jars, cans, paint buckets, clipboards, jewelry stands - you name it. The items can be functional or purely for decorative purposes. Your imagination and creativity truly are the only limits!

So, with such a seemingly endless list of ideas to choose from, you would think I would have tried my hand at altering something long before now. But - you would be wrong! I don't know why, but I have really been a complete chicken about decorating anything more three-dimensional than a layout. Perhaps it's the memories of my horribly deformed construction paper banks and cubes made in grade school that held me back. Whatever the reason, this past weekend I decided to conquer my fear and alter a used cigar box that Hubby was getting ready to throw away. The box that started out looking like this:


...ended up looking like this:


I loved the end result, and it felt great knowing that I had challenged myself and conquered the "there's no way I will ever be good enough to do that" fear! While this project was time consuming (mostly waiting for my paint to dry so I could move forward with the next step), it was in no way difficult! If you've never altered a cigar box and want to give it a try, the detailed process with pictures taken at various steps can be seen HERE, and the wonderful Cosmo Cricket Salt Air Collection papers can be purchased HERE.

Here's the best part about challenging myself this past weekend. My ten year old daughter, who loves scrapbooking, saw me trying something new that was outside my comfort zone. We discussed how silly it was not to try something because we were afraid we MIGHT not be any good at it. After mulling our conversation over for a few minutes, she came to me and said that she wanted to try to make a mini-album, something she had previously been afraid to try. It really brought home how closely our children watch us and base their own actions and decisions on what they see us doing (or being too afraid to do).

And now, my awesomely perfect followers, I would love to hear about any scrapbooking (or scrapbook related) technique that you recently tried after conquering your own fear! And if you want to share a picture of the end result, just email it to me at krissyrockstx@yahoo.com, and I will gladly post it on my blog for all the virtual world to admire!!!

Hugs, and have a happy week!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

And the Winner is...


As you may recall, I recently held a challenge asking you to send me a layout using a creative method of journaling. The April 16th deadline has now passed, so - using my totally random method of choosing a winner by having a family member draw a number out of the trusty brown paper bag, the winner of my journaling challenge is...Amarilys!

Whoo Hoo!!!!!! I will be contacting Amarilys via email and sending her a $35 gift certificate to use in the Let's Capture Our Memories store!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Sketchabilities Just Keeps Getting Better!

I am so glad I am part of the Sketchabilities Design Team, and I'll tell you why! Not only does Karan Gerber, the very talented creator of the wonderful Sketchabilities sketches and founder of the website, continue to amaze and inspire me with her bi-monthly sketches, BUT she has come up with all sorts of neat ideas to get YOU involved! More about that later, but first...

Here is Karan's fantastic sketch #45, which was revealed earlier this morning:


And here is my take on it using pictures of my husband (and friends) from his very early childhood (way back in the 50's):


To see the rest of the team reveal by the other amazing Sketchabilities designers, just click HERE or head over to sketchabilities.blogspot.com!

Now, for the other exciting Sketchabilities news (drumrull please)...

First, Karan has added a USER GALLERY! That's right, that means you can upload your own take on her sketches into the gallery. You can view other users' layouts and, my favorite part, you can leave some love for all the wonderful layouts posted and you can get love on your own layouts!!! Best of all, should you happen to upload a layout that you made by using one of the Sketchabilities sketches, YOU COULD BE SELECTED TO BE THE NEXT GUEST DESIGNER!!! How cool is that?!?!


Finally, Sketchabilities is incorporating a READERS REQUEST every month. What is this, you ask? Well, you leave a comment telling Karan and the gang what items YOU would like to see incorporated into the sketch reveals - whether it is ribbon, buttons, ink, paint, mist - you get the idea. The Design Team will then select from YOUR requests and incorporate that into our next reveal! To get started on leaving a comment, telling us what YOU would like to see, click HERE.

So, what do you think? Great changes, huh?! Now, go print out a copy of Karan's awesome sketch and have some scrappy fun!!!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

A Journaling Challenge for YOU


As many of you know, I love journaling. In fact, journaling is one of the main reasons why I began scrapbooking. I have become the de facto historian for my family, and the thought of some relative looking at my family's pictures years from now and not knowing the stories behind them makes me cringe! Even though I take lots of "everyday" photos that don't necessarily have a story behind them, there is always a thought or an emotion associated with the pictures. I want to capture and record those for my children and their children to have.

BUT - I get easily bored. And writing on the same old journaling tags over and over again is one thing that is sure to bore me! So, I try to come up with unique ways and places to include my journaling.

I recently got these wonderful My Mind's Eye "Gertie" papers, part of the Stella and Rose collection, from the STORE at Let's Capture Our Memories. I knew as soon as I saw the ledger paper design that I wanted to find a way to use it for my journaling. I ended up creating five flowers, to tie in with my title, and incorporated my journaling on each of the flowers. Super easy!

I am ALWAYS on the look-out for creative journaling techniques. And I want YOU to be rewarded for providing me with ideas for fun, alternate ways to journal. So, here is MY challenge for YOU:

1. You must be a follower of my blog;

2. You must create a layout using some unique journaling method - your imagination is the only limit;

3. Email a clear picture of your layout to me at krissyrockstx@yahoo.com. I will then upload it to show off your wonderful creation on my blog;

4. If you post your layout on your own blog or another website, I would appreciate a link back to my blog;

5. All layouts must be received no later than 9:00 pm CST on Saturday, April 16, 2011.

THE WINNER, WHO WILL BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM, WILL RECEIVE A $35 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO THE LET'S CAPTURE OUR MEMORIES STORE, WHICH IS FILLED WITH LOTS OF SCRAPBOOKING GOODIES!!!


Happy journaling, and I can't wait to see what you create!

Let's See What YOU Made!

1. Lil Punkin by Krystle

2. Free by Amarilys

3. Rock On by Alissa