Thursday, January 29th, 2009
As with interior designs, scrapbooking can be themed with different creative styles such as retro, shabby chic, modern etc. Each month I’m going to explain more about the different styles or themes you can use for your scrapbook albums.
This month’s style is: Shabby Chic.
The essence of this style is vintage and antique furniture painted a soft pastel colour, and usually distressed at the corners by sanding. The fabrics used in this style is usually vintage barkcloth, vintage linen and chenille. Often individual pieces have roses on them or decorative painting.
Shabby Chic is a soft, relaxed feminine romantic way of decorating that looks comfortable and inviting. As an example, this blue jug recreated by EP Designs is a perfect example of Shabby Chic.
If you would like to create a layout or scrapbook album using this style opt for colours such as a distressed white, pale pink, mint green and soft aqua. You may want to add decorative pieces such as roses, embossing in the colours mentioned above or different fabrics or paper that look like vintage fabric. Keep the tone of the layout or album soft and feminine.
Happy Scrapbooking!
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Tuesday, January 27th, 2009
As mentioned in my previous post, over the next couple of months I will be sharing with you common scrapbooking terms. Today I’m sharing with you “C” and “D”.
C
Calligraphy - Formal, old-fashioned lettering.
Cardstock - Thick, sturdy paper available in a variety of weights.
CK OK (Creating Keepsakes Okay) - Scrapbooking seal of approval. Items that have the CK OK are considered safe to use in scrapbooking.
Clip Art - Art purchased in book or software form with pictures that can be applied to scrapbook pages.
Collage — An artistic composition made of various materials (paper, cloth, wood, etc.) that are glued onto a surface.
Color Wheel - Shows color relationships and placement.
Corner-Edger Scissors - Scissors that cut corners. Each pair creates four different types of corners.
Corrugated Paper - Thick, wavy cardstock available in many colors.
Crop - 1. To cut or trim a photograph. 2. A scrapbooking party hosted by an expert who shares techniques, products and information with the group.
D
Deacidification Spray - Spray that neutralizes acid in newspaper clippings, certificates and other documents.
Decorative Ruler - A normal ruler with a special edge used in designing scrapbook pages.
Decorative Scissors - Scissors with a decorative pattern on the blade.
Degradation - Materials breaking down or changing appearance from the original state or appearance. Typically paper or photographs yellowing and becoming brittle
Die-Cut Designs - Paper designs cut from die-cut machines. Paper is placed on the die and pressure is applied either by rolling or pressing down on the handle.
Double-Mount - To place a photograph on two background papers.
Can you add to this list? If so, leave a comment and I will add it to the list. Stay tuned for more terms in the coming weeks.
Happy Scrapbooking!
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Friday, January 23rd, 2009
For all my online readers who are not based in Brisbane, you only ever get to see my online store so today I thought I’d show you Assential Scrapbooking’s retail outlet. We’ve got a great space, north of Brisbane in a quiet rural area. It is full equipped with all your scrapbooking needs.
This is our paper and ribbon wall.
This is where you will find an assortment of albums and embellishments.
I offer a range of stickers, rub on and overlays.
We offer a range of classes, shop and crop nights as well as creative workshops such as girl’s nights, birthday parties and home presentations, where we come to you. Our scrap area can cater up to 8 people.
If you are ever in the area please do call and say hi. If the shop is open, we would love for you to drop by. If you know you’re heading this way, we can organise to have coffee and show you through the retail outlet.
Happy Scrapbooking!
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Wednesday, January 21st, 2009
While reading Heart Harmony’s blog post about putting the fun back into things, I realised that I need to say… Scrapbooking is about FUN!
Not only is it about fun, it is also about capturing treasured memories in a creative way. When you start out it can be a little bit daunting and you might want to compare yourself to other people, but the thing about scrapbooking is it is about you and your special moments. Each person is different with different tastes and different styles.
Don’t get hung up on what others do. It is your creative time… enjoy the moment, allow your creativity to blossom and remember the happy times that your photos represent.
If you make a mistake, use it as a learning curve rather than putting yourself down. Scrapbooking allows you to evolve, to develop and to be creative. Have fun with it!
Happy Scrapbooking!
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Monday, January 19th, 2009
With Christmas and New Year I forgot to tell you about my night out with the well known and published scrapbooker, Heidi Swapp. Early December I attended her Create 2008 event with another scrapbook business owner and friend from Bundaberg, Queensland.
I had such a blast. The evening started at 6:00pm with an introduction from Heidi. She told us more about herself and her career. Then came the opportunity to get our hands dirty - we created a banner using some of Heidi’s products (the banner is above). That was the fun part and getting to see what everyone else created.
Heidi shared with us tips on inking, how to use some of her products and told us about her upcoming products. A fantastic night was had by all. I look forward to using some of the new techniques I’ve learnt and sharing them with you in the future.
Happy Scrapbooking!
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Thursday, January 15th, 2009
My 8 year old niece is interested in scrapbooking. She is a real little girl with her favourite colours being pink and purple. I would love to buy her some sort of ‘Starter’s Kit’ for her birthday. What do you recommend I purchase? Many thanks, Nicole
Hi Nicole, thanks for your email.
To get your niece started, she will need at least a pencil, ruler, sharp scissors, an album or binder, adhesives, photo safe paper, templates and some embelishments.
I think I can safely assume she already has a pencil, ruler and scissors, so I would suggest buying her an album, some paper and embelishments. For her album, I would suggest the Print Blocks pink binder which she can add to as she does more scrapbooking. I also recommend the Groovy Paper pack and/or the Scrapkitz Girl kit because each come with co-ordinating paper, stickers and embelishments.
Alternatively, to encourage her own creativity, you could buy her the binder and one of our Gift Certificates, and allow her choose her own paper and embellishements.
With careful planning, you can buy all this for under $40.00.
Happy Scrapbooking!
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Tuesday, January 13th, 2009
During my classes I often get asked about different terms used in scrapbooking and creating off-the-page projects. Over the next couple of months I will be sharing with you common scrapbooking terms. Today I start with “A” and “B”.
A
Acid Free - Materials that have a pH balance of 7.0 or higher. Many papers are considered acid free immediately after manufacture however some papers can become acidic over time if mixed with certain chemicals. Generally all plastic is acid free however some plastic is unsafe for use in photo albums.
Adhesives - The glue used to attach/secure photographs and other components onto a scrapbook page. Adhesive types include photo corners (clear plastic stick on style or paper “lick and stick” style) which are considered to be non permanent, photo tape, photo tabs, tape runner (all forms of double sided tape) which are considered permanent and photo safe.
Album - Blank book used to store photographs and scrapbook pages.
Altered Book - An altered book is a notebook or journal that has been changed or altered using scrapbooking techniques. This could include adding collage, paint, images, ribbons, stamping and stickers. The options are unlimited.
AF/LF - Abbreviation for acid-free/lignin-free
Analogous Colors - Colors that are next to each other on the color wheel.
Aperture - The opening in a camera that lets in light. The aperture opens and closes when the shutter is released.
Archival - Term used to describe a product or technique used in preserving artifacts, photographs, memorabilia and other items.
B
Basic Templates - Templates in basic shapes, such as circles, squares, ovals, etc.
Blending Pencil - Tool used to blend colored pencils to create different shades of a color.
BOM - An abbreviation for “Book of Me” which is a scrapbook all about your life.
Border - The margins of a scrapbook page, usually spoken of in terms of decoration.
Buffered - Word used to describe products capable of maintaining the core of a solution. For example, buffered paper prevents acid from moving from a photograph to paper.
Can you add to this list? If so, leave a comment and I will add it to the list. Stay tuned for more terms in the coming weeks.
Happy Scrapbooking!
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Friday, January 9th, 2009
While reading Jacaranda Business Support Services blog, I found an old post about a book called ‘A Way With Words’ and thought it would be a great resource for scrapbookers.
The book is filled with verses from birthday wishes to christenings; moving house to bereavement; even words to say ‘thank you’ for friendship or guidance. Plus, there are lists of verbs and adjectives at the back of the book to help you to change some of the words in the suggested verses to something that seems more appropriate.
Visit Jacaranda Business Support Services’ blog to find out how to purchase the book.
Happy Scrapbooking!
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Wednesday, January 7th, 2009
Did you know Assential Scrapbooking hold’s
creative workshops for children’s birthday parties?
Scrapbooking birthday parties are a unique party idea, and for a creative kid, what could be more fun than a scrapbooking or off-the-page creative party.
Most of the parties we held last year were for 8 and 9 years old girls. Each party I design specifically for the birthday girl and, based on the age and skills of the girls.
The benefit of these types of parties is that everyone attending gets to use their skills, creativity and imagination to create something she’s not only proud of, but she can keep forever.
Feel free to call me if you would like to talk further about holding a scrapbooking or off-the-page project party for your child’s birthday.
Here are some photos from our last party of 2009.
Happy Scrapbooking!
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Monday, January 5th, 2009
Happy New Year! I have been looking forward to the new year because there are so many new possibilities ahead of me. I hope that 2009 brings you lots of new experiences, new opportunities and new friends.
I have begun the year visioning the future of my business. Nicole, my business coach suggested that I take some time out to imagine myself and my business, 12 months in the future. This ’visioning’ is new to me so at first I was a little hesitant but once I got into writing down what I saw, I really enjoyed myself.
So what do I see in my future?
- My online scrapbooking store has become one of the most popular stores in Australia
- My blog has up to 200 hits per day
- The Assential Scrapbooking team expands with 4 others joining me
- We move into a large, more exquisite retail store
- We have a coffee shop attached to the store and my mum makes the cakes for the shop
- We have a children’s area that all the mum’s love
- We hold 4 to 5 classes per week
- The scrapbook retail store is as successful as our online store
I hope you join me in this journey. I’ll be announcing some exciting this for the blog next week so stay tuned. In the meantime, happy scrapping.
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