Uncategorized

Adding Designs to Cricut Design Space

by

A feature of Cricut Design Space is the ability to upload unlimited SVG files for free and it is easy to do. The reason an SVG is easy to cut in Cricut Design Studio and other machines is that it is mathematically designed with points and lines unlike JPG or PNG files that are created using pixels.

There are lots of places you can download SVG files. and when I find good ones, I will post them here. I hope to also create new SVGs for you. Most cutting files come with several different versions of the file. To cut an SVG file I Cricut Design Space, you first have to unzip the downloaded file.

Start by opening a new, blank canvas in Cricut Design Space. Upload the SVG file by clicking the upload button on the left side design panel and click save. The image will then show in your “recently uploaded images. Select the image and click on “insert images” and your chosen SVG will import onto your canvas.

If your design file is large, you may need to reduce the size of the image. If you change the X & Y positions to 1 it will make it easier to see. You can then hit the “Make it” and cut the image out on your machine.

 

Color My World…

by

Close to my Heart Color PalOur color preferences are often motivated by the memories we have and the reactions to the mood that color brings. My favorite color is blue. Blue brings me peace, whether it is blue sky or  blue ocean, sometimes I wonder if it is because I have blue eyes and for years I thought my eyes were my best feature.

Color is everywhere and can be very inexpensive or even free to bring into your living spaces. By having more color in your living spaces and in your clothing, it is easier to pick out the colors you want to use in your scrapbook. We often choose a color in a photograph to bring out in the form of mats or background papers. Here are 6 reasons you may be avoiding more color in  your life.

  1. I’m afraid of …Seriously, what’s the worst thing that can happen? Color can’t kill you . Stop living with boring beige and white, and as the saying goes… “put on your big girl panties” Be bold, color makes you feel good.  My daughter use to say I dressed like an old lady. I started bringing color into my wardrobe after that. Besides, you can always go back to beige, but why would you want to?
  2. It takes too much time.In the time it takes you to watch a movie, you can paint a room , make a lively scrapbook page, pick and arrange some fresh flowers or choose excit­ing accessories for your wardrobe and Add color you’ll feel more alive. Take a look at the Close to my Heart color pallette for some colors that work well together.
  3. I can’t decide on a color, so I pick nothing. Pick several colors you love, and start incorporating them in different, inexpensive ways . Buy some funky socks, pretty ribbons for your hair or colored pencils to use for doodling. Add­ing small shots of color around you will inspire you to use color more often and in larger doses. We are told so much that our homes should be painted in neutral colors, so in my last home, I painted the bathroom tomato red!  Of course when we sold the house, they wanted a “paint allowance”
  4.  I have trouble committing. Try adding tem­ porary color that can easily be changed. Wrap a throw pillow in a brightly colored scarf to liven up a room, fill a bowl with lemons or apples to create a centerpiece or tape several sheets of cardstock to a wall to help you get used to a vibrant color in a room. Once you are acclimated to bolder colors, you can make more permanent decisions.
  5. I don’t know what I like. Sometimes it’s easier to see what you like in a smaller space. Visit here and look at the scrapbook papers, find one you like and take it to the paint store and they can match the color, so you can incorporate those colors into a room by painting one wall or a small piece of furniture. Or, frame the patterned paper for a piece of instant, in­ expensive art.
  6. I tend to choose the  same  colors  over  and  over, but I’m bored with them . Always reaching for blue? Sometimes we just know what we like. Branch out and choose a variety of shades in that Try navy, Robin’s egg blue, cobalt or pale stone blue.  Experiment with many shades, tones and finishes. Seeing a variety of your favorite hue will then lead you to branch out into complementary colors.

What colors are you drawn to? Decide on your signature col­or palette(s). These should be colors that make you happy.

What colors do you associate with good or bad memories? The telephone and appliances has been gone for more than 40 years, but each time I see a particular shade of avocado green or that awful yellow, I remember the fridge my parents had in the ’70s,  now seems ugly and outdated. Colors that bring up sad memories also can easily be avoided, so you can feel happy and confident with your choices.

Are there colors do you love but are afraid to use? Choose questionable colors to in small doses until you are confident with them. Living a color-confident life will empower you and make your art more powerful.

Creatively,

Carol

Scrapbooking is a connection word in many social circles

by

Scrapbooking is a connection word in many social circles; whether you are talking to pre-teens to those of “a certain age” (sorry, I can’t wrap my head around calling myself “a senior” to everybody in between.  Usually everyone still have some printed pictures, but that has been changing over the past 30 years and how to care for their photos. In the 70’s, people used those “magnetic” albums, which were not really magnetic but has a sticky background and a clear cover you could peel back to arrange your pictures. The big problem with those is they don’t protect your photos from fading, the chemicals used were not archival quality and as many of us has learned after leaving photos in there for a couple of decades, photos are very difficult to get out!

Scrapbooking was always a social event. Scrapbook stores were everywhere and they hosted scrapbook nights. My daughter, a new mother t the time and I were first introduced to scrapbooking at a church meeting, then continued at the local scrapbook store every Thursday  night.  Now, before you start thinking, I don’t need to scrapbook with anyone, one of the benefits of these scrapbook nights, with different degrees of experience there were more opinions and suggestions on how to improve on a page when you felt something was missing. This is not like the suggestions you get from your mother-in-law, without any solicitation, but if you ask, they would have ideas. I learned a lot about scrapbooking from those wonderful women.

Now, after most brick and mortor scrapbook stores have closed, covid hits so we are isolated and all of that wonderful information has all but disappeared, along with the rows and rows of paper, embellishments and such. Yes, we still have the big three craft stores, but I don’t like the quality of some of the papers, and things don’t seem to match as well either. That is a topic for another day.

This list of twenty things every scrapbooker wants to know will help answer hopefully, most of your questions.  The posts over the next few days is intended to give anyone interested in scrapbooking a straight-forward and concise over-view of what someone new to scrapbooking needs to know. The concepts and ideas that follow come from my 25 years of scrapbooking experience and that of my scrapbooking friends.

If you have questions on this wondeful journey, please leave them below and I will try to answer your quesion.

Trip of a Lifetime Layout and Sketch

by

Early this morning, I returned from a trip I took with my mother who is 82. It was just her and I. I wanted to be able to spend some one-on-one time with her while she still knew who I was.  You see, I had an experience when I visited my grandmother, in a nursing home for the last time. I knew it was going to be a good-bye visit as we didn’t live close to her anymore, and it was already breaking my heart, but when she kept patting my check and saying, “now who are you again?” it took every ounce of courage not to break down.  This was the last time I saw her, and she passed a couple months later.  I didn’t want that to be the case with my mother. So today’s layout is for a travel page. I will share more details about my trip later.

I have decided to turn things around, I am posting a layout, so you can see how the patterns and colors are put together, and under it, I have posted the sketch with measurements. Remember, you can make whatever adjustments are needed to work for your own layout. This is a page that could also use your scrap patterned paper,

Trip of a lifetime layout

 

My Stickese die cut shapes are used for the embellishments on this page, so your page stays very flat, if that is important to you. Here is the sketch:

Trip of a lifetime sketch

 

 

If you want to add more pictures to your Trip of a Lifetime page, you can use the patterened paper blocks and add two 2″ x 2″ photos in each square!

Creatively,

Carol

Are You Tired of Sports

by

Hello! Now that the Superbowl is over, are you tired of sports?  I know I am, except when it comes to my grandchildren’s events! As our kids grow up and participate in a variety of sports, how do we decide to memorialize them? When my kids were growing up we didn’t cell phones in order to snap a quick shot, at least not the older two. Thankfully, team sports usually had photos taken, and I have a few from my son Will’s sports days. Here is the sketch for today, and what I did to scrap those pictures.

While I had a few pictures of various sports, I wanted to show all the sports Will had participated in, so I chose one from each sport. You will see in the finished layout that I used metal spiral brads next to the first picture, and kept that theme going with punched spirals.  I have yet to do the journaling but will get that done by next week when I show you the companion sketch to this page. If you like sketches, click here to look at another sketch I posted. I also liked setting the title on sideways to lend extra interest to the page.

 

Remember as well, when you complete this sketch and send me a photo of your finished page before the end of the month, you will be entered into a drawing for a free stamp set. Just send your photo here.Will pl

 

Do you have problems deciding on a scrapbooking layout?

by

Sometimes you just need a jump start!  You have your new scrapbooking packet, the Stamp of the Month, your inks, blocks and you just picked up pictures from the drugstore…. but you find yourself staring at a blank piece of paper and your mind goes blank!

You put the pictures out, but nothing comes to you… Don’t just put it away, I have scrapbook sketches posted every Monday Morning here at Creatively Carol. I call it my Motivational Monday Sketches feature.

We have all been there, and if we don’t infuse some new ideas into our layouts, we end up with all of our scrapbook pages looking alike. This is supposed to be fun, not work so I would like to invite you to come weekly and gather some new ideas for your pages.

Here is today’s Motivational Monday Sketch:  A single scrapbook page with 2- 4″x6″ photos.

Single page scrapbooking sketch

It is human nature to do something over and over when you find that it works for you but it does get boring. It’s okay to do the same scrapbook layout but wouldn’t you just LOVE to be like the professionals or the artists and just come up with a new design on your own?

Keep in mind, your scrapbooking doesn’t have to be perfect, it only has to reflect how you see the photos and how they make you feel.  I try not to scrapbook photos that leave me feeling blaa, but that isn’t always possible. I, too, have pages that are Dragnet journaling… (for those of you who are too young for the Dragnet reference it is… Just the facts ma’am.) If the page answers the who, what, where, when, and why, you have done your job for the next generation.  When you add how you feel about a certain photo, or even better, how the subject was feeling at the time you are helping your reader to get to know the subject a bit better.  I know I look at old photos my grandmother had and wonder what my great grandmother was thinking when she posed for a picture.

Scrapbooking is supposed to be fun and an enjoyable hobby, while at the same time telling the stories of your family and your life. If you are like I am and countless others who have become addicted to scrapbooking, you have many old photos that you need to put in your scrapbooks to preserve them and the sooner the better.

As you work with more and more different layouts and the many, many different ways of embellishing a page, you will gain more experience, more confidence and the Creative Ideas will come more naturally.

Remember, for every finished layout I receive, your name goes into the bucket for the end of the month drawing. I have lots of stamp sets to give away and you will be able to choose from them.

Now, leave a comment below with your thoughts, and then take the sketch and start creating. I will post my interpretation of the sketch later in the week.

6 Reasons To Scrapbook

by

Do you need a reason to get into scrapbooking?  Here are six reasons to get you started:

  1. It’s a lot of fun.  
  2. Preserve family history for your posterity while introducing your family to future generations. This does so much more than just a family tree!
  3.  A good excuse to go shopping.  Ok, let’s be real. Do you need an excuse to go shopping?  You can shop via my website and never have to venture into the store, and shopping in your jammies is better at home! If you need informtaion on scrapbook adhesives, here is a great post for help.
  4. Get together with friends who love scrapbooking too.  We all need to get back into the world after two years of covid and becoming comfortable with being always at home.  There are other benefits to scrapbooking with friends, you bounce ideas off each other and learn more techniques and ways to look at things. You don’t have to take the advice or suggestion, but sometimes it helps.
  5. scrapbooking with the familyYou can get your children involved and make it a family activity.  My daughter actually introduced me to scrapbooking, and my grandson was very interested in what his mom was doing.I loved how the kids would describe a photo – the perfect journaling!
    6. The scrapbook albums look a lot nicer than shoe boxes full of photos and a lot safer too! Clouds are great for backing up your photos, but no one wants to sit down with you while you look though pictures on your computer together… but sitting together to look through an album…priceless!

Leave me a comment below and tell me if you scrapbook and your reasons for doing so.  I love to hear about how other people think about scrapbooking!

Creatively, Carol

I Have a Dream!

by

Happy Martin Luther King Day! Today is the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s famous speech. While that is still important today, I want to talk about dreams a bit closer to home. How many times have you said “I wish I could have asked ‘grandma’ (enter your person here” so many questions about their life.  The problem is as a young person, we are busy and don’t have the forethought to ask while these people are alive.  I have found in my sixties there are so many things I wished I had asked. Things like “how did you feel when you saw airline travel possible?” There are so many things.

How well do your kids know you?

How well do your kids and grandkids know you?  I have come to realize I don’t know some basic things about my parents, like their favorite colors, or favorite places to vacation, to mention a few. For this reason, I am starting a daily posting on the Creatively Carol Facebook page of questions to invoke thought, Share your memories, ideas, dreams and feelings with those in your life.  You can answer on the page, (then copy and paste your answer into an online journal or document, or write the question into a scrapbook or journal and then answer it.  While I favor this method because I think handwriting stirs feelings, however, that is not always as practical at this time in our lives.

Share These Questions With Family

My parents are not regular visitors to Facebook so I plan to e-mail them the questions they may actually answer. Some generations, (and some families) are more open about the things they will talk about. I raised my own children in a manner that told them they could ask us anything and we would answer or talk about it. My daughter has continued this with her own children. The questions may not always be comfortable, but sharing your answers could lend insight into their own lives either now, or later in life. My grandson, her youngest, asked how often her parents had sex! She asked him if he was really asking her if it was something he really wanted to know. He explained, yes, I want to know if you have a healthy sex life. She answered him and said “this is what a healthy sex life looks like. He later asked me if his grandfather and I still had sex. I was glad it was a yes or no answer as I didn’t feel as free to go into details!

Now it is your turn! Jump over to my Facebook page and answer today’s question (worry, nothing like my grandson’s questions) and begin your journey into sharing your life.  I will share a few more ideas about this in the coming days.

Creatively, Carol

 

 

Patterned Scrapbook Paper, Is it Safe For your Photos?

by

Today’s scrapbook market is a plethera of choice, not as much as 15 years ago but still you have a choice when it comes to albums, tools , adhesives, cardstock and papers. If you love color and pattern, you love browsing patterns either in person or by turning catalog pages. But how do you know whether these beautiful patterns are safe for your scrapbooks? While Close to my Heart patterned paper is sold in kits, and we tell you they are acid and lignin free, most stores sell printed paper by the sheet, and only a few are labeled using tear-off strips. Unless the display is clearly marked, you usually cannot tell which company sells the paper and whether it is an acceptable quality. For the most part, scrapbookers must trust the retailer’s claims that everything on display is photo-safe.

Many reputable paper companies have a vital concern about the quality of their papers. Unfortunately, because scrapbooking is a hot market, many companies jumping on the bandwagon have less regard for quality than profit. Claims that a product is “photo-safe” or “archival” are not always based on a true understanding of what characteristics are important for safe scrapbook paper.

Fortunately, there are standards that define the characteristics of scrapbook paper. The accepted standard specifies that scrapbook paper be acid-free (pH’ between 7 and 10), buffered’ (atleast 2 % alkaline reserve), contain no more than 1 % lignin”. I once read that scrapbook paper also resist tearing. Since I use tearing as a technique in my scrapbooking, I am not sure about the resisting of tearing is actually true.
For scrapbook papers, a pH on the lower end of the specified range is preferable because of the potential effects of higher
alkaline paper on photographs.

Most companies that sell patterned paper don’t make it themselves; they buy the paper from a paper mill and have it printed and packaged. Ideally, printing inks should be colorfast, lightfast and pH -neutral, choices that often cost more money. The printing itself also affects the visual quality of the paper. Dust spots, smudges or other imperfections should be caught during press checks. Additionally, verifying that the colors stay the same from batch to batch makes it easier for consumers to match papers in their scrapbooks. You can see this evidenced by the paper packs Close to my Heart offers, colors always go together in the kits, and you can use those colors as a guide when putting pages together.

Understanding the requirements of a quality printed paper still raises the same question. How do you know which papers meet these requirements? Close to my Heart is very upfront about the quality of their paper, unfortunately, finding this information with other papers is not as easy. Start by asking the person or store owner who sold you the paper. If they cannot provide the answers, call the paper company. Ask them whether their paper stock meets the standards for permanence and how the company ensures their paper quality on an ongoing basis. The answers will help you know whether to have confidence in a particular brand .

In addition to researching paper composition, you can also take several practical steps to ensure the quality of your papers. When choosing printed paper, visually inspect it for imperfections and determine whether it is an adequate weight for your purposes. I prefer a heavier weight than I find in big box craft stores. I like a good weight as base pages, so my photos are protected. If you are going to use a die-cut machine, the weight is important. There is nothing more frustrating than cutting an element only to have it tear as you remove it from the sticky mat. Don’t pick the first piece on the stack  it’s been most exposed to the environment,  including fingerprints from other consumers” Lastly

Finally, treat paper with care.. Store papers away from excessive heat, light and humidity, and avoid unnecessary handling, which can cause wear, tear and contamination. Remembering these things will help you put together a scrapbook that will withstand the test of time.

Are We There Yet?

by

Close to my Heart Jan-Mar 2023 CatalogThe newest Close To My Heart catalog was just released on the first and, from cover to cover, it is full of exciting new products and ideas to preserve the memories you’ve made in the past year and are planning for in the year to come. Today though, I want to share with you, the layouts from the cover featured paper pack “Are We There Yet?”   How many times as parents have we heard that one?

The paper pack was inspired by that wanderlust in all of us. Whether is a graduation trip, vacation or just a girl’s weekend, this paper is great. Let me show you these projects. I am listing the supplies used as well if you are interested. I will also post the full instructions at the end.

  • Scrapbook page on TravelZ4677 Are We There Yet?—Scrapbooking Stamp + Thin Cuts
  • C1966 My Acrylix® Are We There Yet—Borders Stamp Set
  • X7288S Are We There Yet? Paper Packet + Sticker Sheet
  • X6066 Honey Butter Cardstock,
  • X6063 Papaya Cardstock
  • X6044 Peach Cardstock
  • X5957 Sapphire Cardstock
  • 1385 White Daisy Cardstock,
  • Z6534 Papaya Exclusive Inks™ Stamp pad
  • Z6502 Peach Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad,
  • Z2848 Sapphire Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
  • Z2828 Toffee Exclusive Inks™ Stamp Pad
  • X7288E Are We There Yet? Rubber Shapes
  • Z3726 Tags & Tabs Thin Cuts,

 

I hope you get to start travelling more now that the urgency of covid is past us (we hope) Just remember what they say ” if it isn’t in the scrapbook, it didn’t happen” really though,  think of how your family will love looking back on vacation pictures that are not just sitting on the computer.  Whatever adventures come your way, let’s not forget to document and preserve them! After all, sometimes to know where to go next, we need to remember where we’ve been. Scrapbooking is a beautiful way to journal these experiences, and it’s also a wonderful way to look back on them and share them with others.

Here is a link to the complete scrapbook workshop so you can see how you can create these layouts too!

Creatively,

Carol

Scrapbook Sketches Spark Creativity.

by

One photo single page scapbook sketchSketches help when your creativity is slow to come forth. When you start, you will usually get ideas of ways to change a sketch to make it your own.  Today I am featuring a single layout with a single photo but you could change it up to include more if you like. I am excited to see how you make this sketch your own! Please text me at 801-800-0884 or e-mail me a copy of your final creation so I can publish it here.

Remember, for every finished layout I receive, your name goes into the bucket for the end of the month drawing. I have lots of stamp sets to give away and you will be able to choose from them.

Now, leave a comment below with your thoughts, and then take the sketch and start creating. I will post my interpretation of the sketch later in the week.

What Kind of Crafter are You?

by

Join Close to my Heart!Happy 2021!!

I am sure are thinking “I am glad 2020 is over” but the things that made us wish this are not gone…yet.  We will all push on. I am making a commitment to getting back to basics and I want to know…How can I best serve your needs?  What can I do to help you get back to crafting? Please leave a comment below and tell me,  How can I serve YOU?

Tell me what kind of crafter are you. Are you a scrapbooker? cardmaker? paper crafter? or all of the above?   I will share with you what I have planned at this point and as I get some feedback about your needs, I can make changes. 

I will have a drawing for everyone who sends me a picture of your work, your take on the scrapbook, and card sketches. You can send your finished up Friday projects too, and you will receive a drawing coupon. I will be posting the pictures here on the blog and you can share the link with your friends when they are posted.  You will have 7 days from the day the sketch is posted to send me your finished layout or card. When you do, you will have your name added twice to the drawing. Can’t get it done in 7 days? Get it done by the end of the month, your name will go in once for each submission, that way you still have the chance to win!

Ways I will serve you:

 Mondays I will post a scrapbook sketch and  Thursdays I will post a card sketch.  I will also be posting journaling prompts on my Facebook page Creatively Carol | Facebook

Throwback Thursday could be anything.

Finish it up Fridays is a good time to finish something you never got finished.  If you are like me, you have lots of those. 

Leave me a comment below and tell me how I can serve you. What would you like to see here on the blog?

Are you as sick as I am?

by

Are you as sick of of this darn pandemic as I am? I am tired of not feeling like I can go anywhere or do anything. Hopefully people will continue to wear masks and physically distance themselves from others. I was glad to see not everything as just stopped however, As I had to detour my trip home because a landscape truck and a suburban couldn’t get along on the corner where I live, I had to go around the block, and passed a park, and about 20 adults in a circle, all 6 feet apart. How wonderful they found a way to feed their mental health by seeing people, without infecting anyone!

Throwback Thursday

I thought for Throwback Thursday, it would be good to look at a scrapbook page that reminds us of the old normal, and one we can hopefully have again soon. Use chipboard on your scrapbook pages for demension  Going back about 25+ years ago in Arkansas when my sister- in- law wanted to pay her friend back for making a fuss about her birthday. Evonne HATES to be the center of any attention, so when it came to returning the favor to her friend Carrie, Evonne called her brother, my husband Gary, begging him to dress up like a sumo wrestler and be there when Carrie came out of work.  What a time this was, everyone was laughing and Carrie didn’t know what to think!

In scrapbooking this page, I had decided to use the circles that were a part of the background paper I had chosen (what the heck was I thinking!) and cut many of the pictures and matted them in circles as well.  While not a page I would have created in this century, it does remind me of how far I have come. Using chipboard to give the page some depth and dimension as well as tying it with ribbon helped with preventing the flat look.

Don’t forget your journaling, people would never understand this story without it. I am sure the kids will groan when they go through the scrapbooks after we are gone and come across this page. I mean they KNOW their pop loved a good joke, but I doubt seeing him in a “sumo diaper” will thrill them.  It was actually underwear covered in a flour cloth dishtowl.  There were even some older ladies trying to get a peek!  I thought Gary would die on the spot. Thank goodness he was a lot faster in those days.

I hope this page has brought a smile to your face during this difficult time. Tomorrow I want to talk a bit about how we document this time in history as well as our lives.

Different Adhesive Options for your Scrapbook

by

When looking for glue options for your scrapbook you have a plethora of options, it is easy to get confused or frustrated when trying to decide the best ones to choose. I said the best ones because there are different glue types for different purposes. When working with paper, you have to be careful with a liquid glue as it will warp the paper if too much is used.

A lot of times, a newbie to scrapbooking with grab glue sticks. The problem with glue sticks is that they don’t stay stuck! They are great for a kindergarten art class but for something that is going to withstand time and motion you need to use stronger, more effective adhesives.

If I am putting together a scrapbook page, I will use Close to my Heart’s Bonding Memories Glue. I like that I can stick what I am gluing straight down if I want it permanent, or wait a few seconds until the blue turns clear and have a repositionable adhesive. I hate things crooked, so having that option really helps. The nice thing here is even if I put something down as permanent, I can usually get it back up quickly if I haven’t pressed it thoroughly down. Just don’t pull it off, you will certainly tear your paper backing and curl it as well. Use a craft spatula with a beveled edge, or even dental floss to help loosen it first.

The Broad Tip Glue Pen is great for gluing your base layout pieces as well as your photos. When you apply it, the liquid is blue. If you want to have your glue be permanent, put together your page now, if you want your glue to be repositionable  (I always do this for photos) then let it dry to a clear, then attach.

Liquid Glass is a good option for a strong adhesive but requires you to hold parts together until they begin to dry. Another use for Liquid Glass is for use adding to accents or images for a glossy, glaze-like effect. There is even a fine tip applicator for those tiny sized needs.

Dual-Tip Multi-bond Glue Pen creates both permanent ( when used while wet) and removable bonds   (when used after it dries).  This glue goes on white but then dries clear.

Dual-tip Permanent Glue Pen is similar to the above mentioned multi-bond glue, but this is permanent, goes on clear and dries clear.

Adhesive Tape Runner is a permanent adhesive dot runner.  These don’t give you any chance to straighten your work if you laid something down incorrectly.

3-D Foam Dots for all your layering needs. You get two sizes in each package.  Sometimes I will layer them on top of each other to get more depth to a page. We also have 3-D tape, you just cut the size you want and is thicker than the dots.

And no discussion on adhesives without glue dots. They come in many sizes and thicknesses. “When I first started scrapbooking someone called the clear glue dots “glue buggers” because when they are rolled up on your finger it looks just like them.  We have all seen them used… remember when you received your last debit card and how it was stuck to the page? Yep…  I use these to attach small embellishments to the page.

The only adhesive I have left out is the red tape. It is an EXTREMELY sticky, double-sided tape. I only use something like this with micro-beads or when I make cardboard covers for my albums.

Leave a comment below and tell me about your favorite adhesive and why. You might even win a Bonding Memories Glue Pen from me!

Are YOU Sheltering in Place?

by

Free Envelope Mini-Album TutorialWe are all being affected in some way by the current pandemic and if you are “sheltering in place” with the kids at home too,  you will probably be going a bit nuts soon.  This isn’t like vacation time when you can take them to activities or a ballgame What will you do to keep them entertained besides allowing television and video games in between school work? I have a great idea… make this envelope mini-album!  Only instead of calling it “Road Trip” as I did here, you can title it with “What  I did during the pandemic of 2020.  Since so many kids have a cell phone, you can have them each take a picture of something they are doing every day.

My mother doesn’t remember anything like it before.

Here’s the thing…  I was talking to my mother who is 80 and she doesn’t remember anything ever happening like this, and she lived through the polio outbreak ( I remember getting sugar cubes in kindergarten with the vaccine in it).  Documenting now what is happening and what you are doing during it will be treasured in 50 years when you can share it with your great-grandkids. OK, lots of us won’t be sharing “in person” but this little album will be passed down, and this pandemic will make the history books. Imagine someone reading your first-hand account of your living through it.

The album is pretty easy to make, and just takes 4 envelopes, some scrapbook paper, and some thin cardboard for the cover. You can receive the complete tutorial when you sign up for my mailing list!  You will also receive weekly e-mails about tips,  scrapbooking and card sketches and of course, specials too that you won’t want to miss.

You can sign up in the box to the right or click here.   So keep sheltering in place and create some great memories in the process.