Getting Ready for the New Year!

So Christmas has passed and the new year is creeping up on us quickly! So what is your New Year resolution? Well if yours are anything like mine, they always include getting more scrapbooking and cardmaking done! So lets work together to do so!

I recommend that you start off your New Year by making a list of the fun events that you did in 2009 that you want to get scrapbooked! This way you have guide for organizing your time with and for making your new purchases! Obviously you will have new ideas throught 2010, but you don't want to forget about finishing up 2009 so if you have a list to fall back on you always have an idea for a project!

I recommend pull out the 2009 calendar and go through month by month and write down fun things you did that month that you could scrapbook so you don't miss anything from 2009! You can also just sit down and go through all of the pictures on your camera since most cameras date the picture as it is taken so you have a date reference to work with too! Make sure to do this now so in 2010 you can start fresh with your picture journal that we discussed previously!

Also now is the time to take inventory on your supplies. There will be tons of sales in the next couple of weeks because of after holiday sales and new year sales so nows the time to stock up on holiday paper and embellishments while they are on sale! Also make sure to go through your products and get rid of the items that are used up, no longer usable, or in need of replacing. Also make sure you have a good stock on the essentials such as glue, pop-ups, basic papers (such as white, black, brown), refill pages, and even new books if necessary! There is nothing better then having everything ready to roll when starting out with a New Years resolution!

So get your New Year rolling out right, and start your prep work now! Good Luck!

Best Bang for you Buck!

Its no secret that the times have gotten tough, and we need to spend our money more wisely then in the past. So how do you do that when you are buying 'extras'? Well there are some really easy ways to make your dollar go farther when scrapbooking and making cards!

First tip: Host a show! There is no easier way to build up your supplies then hosting a stamping show! Why not organize a show that will help you earn free products while allowing you and your good friends learn great tips and techniques from a professional! There is nothing better then getting things for free and hanging out with friends! Want to have a party but not sure its worth the time? Why not get a group of friends together and alternate hosting! This way everyone makes a small cost commitment and you each take turns getting the hostess benefits! This is great if you already have a scrapbook group! Most times you only need a minimum of $150 is sales to get the hostess benefits, so if you could get yourself and 5 friends together you would only need to make a commitment of $25 every other month! So for $12.50 a month you could have a great time and keep your scrapbooking supplies well stocked! If your interested in this you should visit http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/susannygaard/ and check her calendar!

Second tip: Stretch your products! Just because you love this 12x12 page, that doesn't mean you are necessarily going to use it all at once. So start a scrap box for all of your extras! You would be amazed how many times you can use that same 12x12 page for various projects! I try to keep mine organized by color families so when I am coming up with a project I know where to look for that speical piece! Also make sure you stock up at once with your products. This way you have what you want when you need it so you avoid additional trips to the store which end up in more expenses! When you buy and ink pad, spend the extra $2.75 for the refill...you know you will like the color so why not get the most out of your ink pad!

Third tip: Keep your supplies organized...I know this sounds weird, but the more organized you are the less likely you are to over buy or to buy multiples of the same item! Plus by keeping your supplies organized you will keep them in better condition thus get more use out of them! How many times have you bought extra cans of soup because you couldn't see that you already had 3 of them in the cupboard...thats no different then buying extra paper that you already had! So keep it tiddy and save!

Lastly: Research your products and splurge when it is necessary! Sometimes it doesn't matter how much you spend on a product because the quality is the same, but in some cases thats just not how it works! One thing I really recommend this for is ink pads! Make sure to spend your extra money where it is needed! Nothing is worse then going to make a project and your ink pad is dried out or discolored. Another thing I recommend spending a little more on is your stamps and cleaners! I know it is tempting to buy a single stamp to save on the costs, but it is so much more cost effective to spend just a little more and buy a nice set. This way you have all parts of the set that work together so you will get more uses out of them just a single stamp you may only use a handful of times! Along with this make sure you buy the right stamp cleaners to keep your stamps clean and in good condition. Some cheaper cleaners can dry out your rubber stamps and cause them to crack.

Hope these ideas can help you stock up during these tough times and keep your supplies pleantiful on a tight budget!

Bonus!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Stampin Up is having their 12 days of Christmas special starting today! Check out their site for more info on the specials! Also check out their Clearance Rack, they have some awesome deals for up to 80% off! Woo Hoo!

Check it all out at:
http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/susannygaard/

Let her know that Kasey sent you!

Picking a Scrapbook!

Now that you have your supplies and pictures organizied, its time to pick a scrapbook that is going to work for you! There are many different styles of scrapbooks to choose from so take a moment to ask yourself a few questions before you just run out and grab one!

The first thing that I always consider before starting a new scrapbook is what is my theme? Is this a book for a specific occasion, or is it a collection of memories across a long period of time? Also think about how much you have to scrapbook. If you are doing a specific occasion such as a holiday or maybe a birthday or just have a small amount of pictures to document, I would recommend doing a smaller 6x6 or 8x8 book so you can fill up a book without making it look like you didn't have time to finish it! Now if you are doing a long period of time like babies first year or high school, I would recommend doing a large book like a 12x12 so you have more room to include all of the pictures you want!

Also when deciding what book to buy I recommend that you consider how many pages you want to inculde in your book. If it is going to be a lot of pages then I would recommend getting the extra page sleeves when you buy the book. This way you can ensure you are getting the right ones to fit the holes of your book!

Now that you have decided what size of book you want it is time to get down to the nitty gritty, and pick out the look you want! This to me was very hard when I began because I wanted to make sure my book was 'pretty'! After doing my first scrapbook, I realized that the outside isn't nearly as important as the inside! I now tend to go with solid color books, but love the ones that have the peek-a-boo hole so you can see a little glimps of whats to come! Also by picking a solid colored book, I feel there is no right or wrong decisions for the interior colors! I found with my first book I tried to make sure the pages coordinated with the exterior of the book! Crazy! The pages should coordinate with the pictures not the book!

Lastly make sure to go with what you feel comfortable! If you are unsure and just getting started I would recommend going with a smaller 6x6 book so you don't feel overwhelmed with a huge space to fill! Besided, a 6x6 page can easily be transitioned into a 8x8 or 12x12! Hope you can find the book that fits your needs to house your beautiful creations!

Organizing Photos!

As much as I would love to sit down and scrapbook the minute I take my pictures I know that it isn't always possible! So how do you make sure you scrap what you were intending when you took the picture? Here are a couple of tips that will help you keep your pictures organized!

First thing I try to do when I know that I am going to have photo-ops, is keep track of it in a scrapbooking note book! If I know that today we are going to the zoo I will write the date and locations in the notebook so when I go back through my pictures I know when and where we were at the time of the pictures so I have a reference on the page!

If the pictures are random and completely unplanned then that night when I put the camera back on its stand I jot down what we did that day so I then I have an idea of what the pictures were about and what inspired me to take the pictures! This way when I go back through my pictures that I have had printed then I can know how to link them to a page!

Another great idea is storing your pictures on a share site! I personally like http://www.shutterfly.com/ for my photo storage because they have unlimited space and they do not delete photos over time! These sites will allow you to organize your photos in albums named after the occassion, and set them up with the date of the event. Bonus is they usually offer great pre-pay rates for ordering prints!

Once I receive my pictures in the mail or get them printed off at a local shop I try to organize them right away. This is usually pretty easy because I am able to use my photo journal that has the dates, locations, and reasons for the pictures. I tend to only print the pictures that I am planning on scrapbooking so I don't usually use photo boxes to store my photos in, instead I use envelopes with page titles on them. I put the theme and date on the outside of the envelope and include snippets of the idea I had for the page inside the envelope with the pictures. This way when I have an extra 30 minutes to scrapbook I have it started ahead of time so I can make the most of my time!

Stocking Up!

Tis the season to stock up on gifts, food, and supplies! When getting supplies it is very important to think about what you are getting prior to running out to the store! When you go to the grocery store you take a list to ensure you have all the ingredents for an excellent dish, so why wouldnt you do the same for your scrapbook supplies? Here are some tips and hints that I use for stocking up!

I like to have all of my scrapbooking things in one location so where ever that is I keep a note pad so I can write down things as they run out or get low! This way I have it down and ready to go at a moments notice and I don't have to try and take inventory each time I go out shopping! This is also handy to do as you look through magazines or idea books! This way if you see something you like you can jot it down and ensure that you take it home on the next shopping trip!

Along the lines of keeping a list of what I need, I also keep a list of what I have. This is especially important for reusable items such as stamps, inks, punches, and decorative scissors. The best way to do this is get a clearanced diary or journal and simply use the items you have on the pages! I use one stamp set per page in one ink tone and note the name of each. To take it a step further I recommend doing catagories together like birthday, holiday, words/sayings, ect. This way you can quick flip through and see what you have. By doing this you not only know what you have for shopping purposes, but it also makes it easy to flip through and pick a set for your projects!

Lastly while I am at the store I always try to compare all the items I am buying to eachother. Nothing is worse then getting a great item and not having any things that coordinate with it! I do this with paper, embelishments, and ink pads! This is a little bit more difficult to do at a store because everything is rather spread out, but take advantage of shopping in catalogs that color match everything for you! Make sure when doing this though you order more then what you need especially if the item is seasonal color! I highly recommend getting the papers, inks and refills all at once if possible so you ensure that your items match/coordinate!

As I sat here on a cold and snowy day I realized now is the time to get this blog going! The first question that I asked myself is where do I begin? Thats when it hits me...this is the same question I ask myself as I prepare to start a scrapbook or a set of cards! So lets look at the answer to this tough question! First we need to realize there is no one answer to this question, but a series of many little ones that will lead you to your goal! That would mean that our step one would be...defining what our goal is! Do you want to scrapbook a moment, a specific picture, a feeling, or is it that you just got some really cute paper and want to do something with it? Once we have decided what our main goal is we need to develope a game plan! Here are some steps that I take to develope a game plan for my pages:

First: I clean off a large area to arrange all of my ideas. Whether this is the kitchen table, a office desk, or a card table you have set up in the corner of your living room, you are going to want to make sure it is a clean slate!

Second: Once I have my clean slate I place my main focus on the table and try to visualize my overall idea. For this I usually will consult magazines, websites, and idea books to get my creative juices flowing! Let me tell you right up front....a lot of my best ideas came from looking at other peoples amazing creations! There is nothing wrong with strarting your idea by looking at other peoples successes! Besides as a mentor of mine has told me time and time again...once you have changed it by 10% its your creation! Now I am not telling you to go out and make an exact duplicate of someone else's creations! I am telling you though to take in what they have done and mold it into your own creation!

Third: Once I have my overall idea conceived I organize everything that I am going to need. This means I get the coordinating papers, ribbons, embellishments, tools, and glues! I like to make sure I have everything that I am envisioning upfront because nothing is worse then getting half way through a project and not having an important piece!

Lastly: I start! This is usually the hardest part of the process! What you need to remember though is nothing is permanent or project ending! As a friend of mine says...."thats why the are are 2 sides to a piece of paper"! Things can be covered, flipped, or cut out if necessary! The nice thing though, is if you have done the previous steps this doesn't happen very often!

Now comes my favorite part...Stepping back and looking at my new beautiful creation! I hope that this has inspired you to get started as it has me!