Craft With May

I’ve had people think I don’t like crops. It’s so not true!! I love the socialization and fun of being out with other crafters. I won’t lie – I create infinitely better in the comfort of my home, so when I head out it’s totally for social purposes – like tomorrow!

I just got this cute bag from Studio Calico- totally perfect timing, no? I believe in kitting for crops… I’d say more but you’ll have to read the handout. What do I mean? Well I just finished a handout about kits + cropping for Big Picture. Ah but I drift – let’s get back to the subject at hand!

Here’s my bag. Sparse? YES. In my experience the over-packers get less done because all that sorting through wastes time & you can’t possibly make 40 pages in 5 hours. Even adhering photos to paper takes longer than that! So I pack lite. Maybe enough for 10 pages at MOST. I leave stamps & bulky stuff at home mostly – remember you can always add in finishing touches when you get back. Ok, plus I hate cleaning up a ton when I return home.

A tip if you don’t know anyone? Bring a treat to share and then you can chat it up with other scrapbookers while you share something sweet. I’ll know some people tomorrow, but I’m still bringing  jelly bellies. Who doesn’t need a treat now and then, and served from a vintage jar makes them that much tastier.

I’ll report back in tomorrow night and let you know how it went!

You can buy yourself one right here – http://store.scrapbook.com/f-01-005118.html 

Or if you’re real lucky, you could win one right here from me. Just leave a comment here – I’ll draw a winner Monday…

Yesterday I showed you how the border/corner punches work, today I want to show a layout I just made. Before I get to my work this morning, I took a few minutes to put this layout together. Fiskars new border punches + Making Memories Vintage findings were my goodies of choice. Sometimes, even in creative work, just letting yourself do something “just because” is the best way to keep inspiration flowing.

If I were to buy just one of the 4 new designs of Fiskars border punches – it’d be this one. Cutting the bits off to create a die-cut paper look was easy. I used a craft knife- and I bet that’s the quickest & easiest way. This punch is called punch lace & lattice.

I’ve been playing a lot with ruffles & pleats in paper and ribbon. I’m liking how this would have looked ruffled had I sewn down the middle, but since I sewed the edges it looks more folded. Hmmm, as Becca would say, “I like it.”

I like photo corners made from this punch too.

Now that I’ve had my fifteen minutes of play, I’m heading back into work…

I will never forget this one time, at the CHA trade show when I reported to the Fiskars Finest (preferred dealer) event to work. I was to do demonstrations & make ‘n takes with a tool… a tool I’d never even laid eyes on before.

With just fifteen minutes to prepare I was sweating it. What if I couldn’t make it work? What if the tool was hard to use, I look like a dork AND cost the company sales because people don’t think it works?

Well I’ll tell you what happened – once around a 12 x 12 sheet of paper and I fully understood the corner/border combo punch. More importantly? I *LOVED* it. It’s actually easier than standard border punches and having the corner option so that I can go around a whole piece of paper with ease.  I also loved that it’s got ridges so you can easily know where to line up your paper with a minimal amount of effort for perfect punching.

Why am I bringing this up now? Well it’s because Fiskars just released four NEW designs of this punch, and I’m swooning. Loving. salivating even.

This design is called quilted corners. Such a cute little scallop. See how the corner punch and border punch operate separately? I LOVE this feature. The only real ‘rule’ with this punch is that if you want it to work and look right you need to use whole inch increments of paper. It’s designed for that. You can use as long a paper as you like too! When you get to the end of the punch just use the little markings to line up the design and keep going.

To turn the corner, just do a 90 degree turn of paper when it’s just almost to the end like this, and start over.

I’m excited to play with these new designs (you can find them all now at www.scrapbook.com) and create. I see so much potential for them!

Now I wonder if you think I should give one away. Thoughts? I’m told I will be getting some extras soon… so you might want to check back in!

Every now and then I’m reminded not to trust technology too much.

Like tonight.

When I went to upload my photos from my wild and awesome day with the girls (park, woods, trains, shoe shopping, grandma time… it was amazing)

and the computer said “no new photos detected”

Then the card wouldn’t hold any new photos either and I started to sweat.

my camera? My BFF and REQUIRED for my jobs. REQUIRED.

As I considered fainting, I “reformatted card” in the camera menu. Shallow breath out, it seems to have fixed it.

Still feels like a punch in the gut to loose over 250 photos from today though.

What are your camera or tech horror stories?

I’ll be over here trying to relax and reminding myself I can always take more photos…