Creating Page Kits

Creating Page Kits Using Your Own Supplies

by Jeanette Giancaspro

Do you spend more time gathering your supplies than you spend actually creating your layout?

Do you have so many supplies that you don’t know where to start?

Do you find yourself spending too much time looking for that “perfect” embellishment?

If you answered “Yes” to any (or all) of these questions, have I got a checklist for you!  

Like so many scrapbookers/stampers/crafters, I have struggled with all of the above.  I have spent more time choosing my supplies than I actually spent creating the project.  I have sat there staring at my shelves and boxes of “stuff” for agonizingly long periods of time.  I have gotten countless headaches from looking through my stash for just the right materials.  I got to the point where I just couldn’t take it anymore!  So I came up with the following checklist to take the pain out of selecting my supplies.  This helps me to create my own page kits for my layouts, just like those expensive kits that can be bought already put together.

Now I spend more time enjoying what I really love:  creating the layout.  I am also using more of the supplies that I already have.  Sometimes I change things up a little, but I try to keep to this list as much as possible.  I don’t always use everything on this checklist, and that’s OK too.  Feel free to adapt it to your own specific needs.  And remember to always be your creative self!

Creating Page Kits Checklist

o   Photos

o   Sketch

o   Patterned paper and cardstock  (3-5 patterned papers and 3 - 4 sheets of cardstock)

o   Specialty papers/transparencies

o   Journaling cards or blocks

o   Washi tape, ribbon, or twine

o   Embellishments (die cuts, veneer, acetate, chipboard, etc.)

o   Small embellishments (brads, enamel dots, rhinestones, sequins, etc.)

o   Letter stickers or rub-on letters

o   Die cut and/or punch any additional shapes and letters.

o   Punch shapes and/or borders.

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team Member

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team Members Blog Hop... Inspired By

Hello Everyone

Today some of the design team members and I wanted to share a layout on something or someone that has inspired or influenced us or been a part of our lives since our childhood/ teenage years.

I don't think that we as scrapbookers tell our own stories as much as we would like to sometimes so this was a way for me to do that on a personal level.   

As I was doing my daily walk one morning (this is where a lot of my thinking happens! ;)) and listening to U2's thirteenth studio album "Age Of Innocence" I was taken back to my early teenage years and when I started listening and loving U2 in 1983.  The songs are very reminiscent of their early work and I started to think about the fact that they (their music and humanitarism) have been a part of my life for over 30 years!  Their music has always 'spoken' to me and through them I became aware of groups like Amnesty International.  Their music is something that I have always connected with.  I wanted to document this (my love for U2) in a layout.  So this was the story behind how our Scrap Your Scrap blog post came to life.

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team Member

My music teacher in high school was Victor Tallarico, the father of Aerosmith's Steven Tyler.  Mr. Tallarico taught us not only music theory, but also music appreciation.  I could listen to him play the piano all day.  From him I learned that music comes in all forms and styles, and there is more to music than pop.  He taught me to broaden my horizons and take it all in.  This concept has impacted my entire life, and I am more open-minded because of it - and because of him.  I wish I'd had a chance to tell him this in person, but he passed away some years ago.  This layout is a tribute to him, and I'd like to think that somehow he knows just what he meant to me.  Thanks, Mr. T!

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team Member

There are a very few things that I still have that I received as a child.  I guess it makes sense that one of the things that I do have would be something very special to me.  In my religion we get baptized at the age of 8 years old.  When I was baptized my mom and dad bought me my very own set of scriptures with my name engraved on them.  On the front inside cover they wrote their testimony and their hopes and dreams for my life.  As I have grown, gotten married and had children of my own I have always gone back and read what my parents wrote.  I feel so blessed to have such amazing parents that have taught me about God and service and being a little better everyday.  I hope to continue this tradition with all my children.  

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team Member

My Husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary last September.  Our Daughter was playing Soccer in Hawaii and we turned the trip into a better late than never Honeymoon.  My Husband is my person and  "My Love"

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team Member

Here is my blog hop entry for Scrap Your Scraps!  For our theme I decided to focus on my first love, art.  I have, in one way or another done art my entire life.  The last year though has been tough, and I had pretty much given up doing any illustrating or drawing, but I decided to make this page so that I could look at it and be inspired again.  It was a way for me to remember what I have done and to hopefully motivate me to keep going!

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team Member

My layout documents my walk with God.  I committed my life when I was 6 and have been very blessed to know and feel God's hand on my life through good and tough times.  I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for God.  I am truly blessed.

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team Member

I hope we have encouraged you to create some layouts about YOU!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Scrappin'! :)

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team

Candace Perkin's Blog

Cathy Martin's Blog

Cathy Sanders' Blog

Connie Hall's Blog

Jeanette Giancaspro's Blog

Mandy Reedyk's Blog

Sneak Peak of Scrap Your Scraps Design Team Group Post coming February 16th!

Hello Everyone

Today we are sharing a sneak peak of a group post for February 16th (next Monday).  The idea was to create a layout about someone or something that has influenced us or been a part of our lives since our childhood/teenage years.
We as scrapbookers sometimes don't get to work on our own stories as much as we'd like to (or maybe don't at all).  This was a way to do a page that speaks a little about who we are so that when future generations look through all the beautiful albums we have created will learn a thing or two about the individual who put a lot of love, time and energy into creating those albums!

Thanks for stopping by today and remember to come back on the 16th for the reveal of all these fabulous layouts! Hope this will inspire you to starting thinking about creating your own layouts about yourselves!

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team

Purging and Organizing Your Paper

With the start of a new year, I like to sort through and reorganize my art supplies.  It gives me a fresh start and a fresh perspective.  Since I can’t accomplish all of this in one month, I continue my reorganizing up until February or March. 

Because paper is by far my “largest” supply, I try to sort through it at least every 6 months.  This is a time-consuming project, so it usually takes me a few days to complete.  It is worth it, though, because I often discover gorgeous papers that I had completely forgotten about.  It’s like celebrating Christmas all over again!

If you’d like to tackle a project like this, I have some tips and advice that I’d like to share with you.  Please keep in mind that these tips and methods might not work for everyone, so you might have to adapt them to suit your own personal needs.

·         Decide on the location for your paper, and determine how much room you have for it.

·         Try to use what you already have for storage.

·         If something is already working, don’t change it.

·         Try to keep all of your paper in one location, where it is easy to reach.

·         Have a “helper” to encourage you and keep you from backsliding.

·         Make 4 piles:  Keep, Give Away, Re-purpose, Recycle.  

·         Remember that “Recycle” doesn’t mean “waste.”  Those papers will eventually be re-purposed and re-used somehow.

·         Keep only papers that you absolutely love, or that you will use for envelopes, bags, or boxes.

·         Separate envelope/bag/box papers into a separate holder, and keep them near the tools you use to create these items.

·         Don’t second-guess yourself.  Once you make a decision to purge something, stick with it.

·         Whatever you do, do NOT rescue anything from your Give Away or Recycle piles.  (No backsliding.)

·         It is definitely OK to keep old paper that you really love, but promise yourself that you will use it this year.  Put it in the front of your holder so you don’t forget.

·         It is definitely OK to part with new paper.  If you don’t think you will actually use it, give it to someone who will.  We all make mistakes in judgment when we’re buying things.  Forgive yourself and move on.  Don’t agonize over it.

·         It’s OK to give away half-sheets of paper.  I wouldn’t go any smaller, but half-sheets can still be useful to someone else.

·         Don’t keep scraps that you haven’t used in the last 6 months.  You need to purge those too!

·         It’s OK to purge paper that others have given to you.  Just don’t give it back to them by mistake!  They meant well, but others don’t always know our taste and style.

·         Sort your paper in a way that makes sense to you.  Ask yourself how you look for paper to complete your projects.  This is probably one of the hardest parts of this process, but it is key to staying organized and productive.  

·         Repeat in 6 months.

Now, this might sound like a painful and time-consuming project; but after the first time, it gets easier.  You’ll notice that it only hurts for a little while, and the feeling of accomplishment and making a fresh start will far outweigh the sadness of saying goodbye to all those papers that have been holding back your creativity and productivity.   I purged about 12 inches of paper last month, and it felt like I had lost 10 pounds of weight that I had been carrying around for a long time.  Yes, it had been much longer than 6 months since the last time I had done this, and I was sorry I had waited so long.  

Now, I’m sure you can guess what the big reward is for doing all of this purging and reorganizing, right?  Yes, you guessed it!  Now I have room for MORE PAPER!!  Oh, well, July will be here soon enough....

Scrap Your Scraps Design Team Member

"Your Voice" - Journaling on your Scrapbook Layouts

"I'm not good at writing."  "I don't have time to journal."  "I just did a whole bunch of layouts at a crop.  All I have to add is the journaling, when I get a chance."

Does any of this sound familiar?  I've heard it all before, and I want to tell you right now that journaling is the most important part of your scrapbooks - besides the photos, of course!   In my opinion, journaling is what separates a scrapbook from a photo album.  We've all heard the saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words," but that doesn't apply to scrapbooking.  When it comes to scrapbooking, it's the words that tell the story behind the photos.

The reason most people avoid journaling so much is that it can be rather daunting and intimidating.  Hopefully, I will be able to help you solve this problem in your scrapbooking.  

Now, I'm not talking about being more outspoken, although that's another topic I might write about.  What I mean by "finding your voice" is determining who will be reading your journaling.  For whom are you creating the layout?  Is it the people in your layout?  Is it for grandparents?  Is it for yourself?  (That's OK, you know!)   When you know your audience, then you can determine your voice.

For example, in my children's scrapbooks, I address them in my writing.  I use first-person narration, such as "We went to our favorite park," and "You looked so cute in your Halloween costume."  If I'm creating a layout for my own personal scrapbook, I might use these words:  "My children are growing up right before my eyes," or "I married my first love."  It's still first-person, but I'm speaking about them, rather than to them. 

That's all there is to it.  The key is consistency.  If you begin speaking TO the subject of your layout, continue to do that throughout the entire journaling section.  Try to do it throughout the entire scrapbook.  The result will be something everyone who looks at your scrapbook will want to read, because it will sound natural and genuine.  Give it a try, and let me know if it works for you.

Hello Everyone

Yes, I am guilty of not journaling on all my scrapbook layouts.  Thanks Jeanette, for reminding us of how important it is to journal on our scrapbook layouts.There are some that I do make a point of journaling not matter how short.  They are usually of things I don't want to forget or have my daughters and further generations know.  Here is an example of one of these pages.  

Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY SCRAPPIN'!