Fall 2009 Retreat

Whew! We're just now catching our breath after an awesome Fall 2009 Retreat week-end! We had a wonderful group of scrappers with us this year - lots of familiar faces as well as new ones. We appreciate each and every one of you that attends Croppin' Train event!

Here's one section of the Crop area with a few Friday night croppers.



We had over 30 entries in our layout contest - it was tough deciding on our favorites!



Some of the contest entries:






















We'll post some more details and pictures, along with the layout contest winners, a bit later. Thanks!

It's Almost Here!

The Fall 2009 Croppin' Train is just about ready to pull into the station for a fun-filled nothing-but-scrapping week-end!

We know you're all as excited as we are!

Like you, we're still packing things up for Retreat. Tonight, we'll rent the UHaul and get it loaded up so we can head to the hotel in the morning. We always hope to be at the hotel around 11:30, so we have plenty of time to unload and set up. We're getting better about that! The Thursday night packing has really made a difference in our Friday setup - it's so much better!

Mary Ellen will be at the registration table to greet you and assist you with your name tags, while we put the finishing touches on the Crop, Store and Supply areas. Listen for that train whistle just before 3:00 - you'll know the doors are about to open!

We look forward to seeing you all tomorrow. Hope you enjoy the drive from wherever 'home' is - should be a pretty week-end. Travel safely!

Fall 2009 Retreat Updates

It's hard to believe we are just 18 DAYS away from the Fall 2009 Croppin' Train retreat! We've had a few questions that have come up, so we thought we'd share them with everyone, just in case you had the same, or similar, question.

--The Retreat itself begins at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, November 13. In the past, we've allowed people to come in early, but we're going to keep the doors closed this time, and really stick to the 3:00 p.m. start time. You can 'park' your Retreat supplies outside the door, and be ready for that 3:00 p.m. opening.

--For the most part, we are not assigning crop areas; you may pick your own. With that said, however, there are a few crop areas that will be assigned, due to accessibility needs, group size, etc.

--Gary Roark, Provo Craft representative, will be at the Retreat on Friday and will be demoing the Cricut Expression and the Gypsy. He will be on hand to answer any of your specific quesion as well.

--We will be implementing a new check-out system for the Cricut cartridges. They will be kept near the check-out area in the Boxcar store. As always, we will have a Cricut Expression available for your use along with the Cricut cartridges. There is no additional charge for using any of these items.

--We have had LOTS of requests for power outlet availability for Cricuts, Slices, etc., and will do our best to accommodate everyone. We do ask that you bring an extension cord and a power strip, as there is no guarantee a power outlet will be adjacent to your cropping area. We will have plenty of duct tape on hand to tape down those errant power cords, etc.

--We have acquired several new cartridges recently, so will be updating the Cricut list during the next week.

--We will be sending out an email update to all registered attendees on or about November 1, so please be watching for that email.

Hope you're as excited as we are about this Retreat! We're trying to make this 10th Retreat a little extra special for everyone!

Thanks very much - we look forward to seeing everyone very soon!

Windy Day

The first day of soccer season this past spring was terribly cold and windy. Grand-daughter Maebre was being held by Mom, trying to shield her from the wind. I was trying to get a good clear picture of Maebre's face, and, at first, was disappointed with this picture. However, after looking at it further, I really liked the picture, and wanted to feature it on a page.



I used papers from Close to My Heart (Blush collection) to double-mat the photo and as the background paper also. The ribbon at the bottom is also CTMH. I used the Swirly border die-cut from Sizzix to cut the two borders on the left. The flowers are from Oriental Trading Company, and their centers are from KaiserCraft. I left the top open for a title, but now don't know that I want to clutter up the page with anything else.

Soccer - Sports Mania Cricut Cartridge

Our grandson tried Soccer this spring - it was not a good fit for him, but it made for some excellent photos for Grandma! :)

I finally got to use the Sports Mania Cricut Cartridge. I had a lot of trouble cutting the soccer ball itself. First, I couldn't seem to cut all the way through the cardstock. I changed my settings and then the cutting itself went fine. I set the pressure to max and slowed down the speed, and then also increased my blade setting to 4 (it used to be on 3). The next problem I encountered was that the blade starts and stops at a really narrow spot on the soccer ball itself. I had a terrible time trying to get a decent soccer ball off the mat. In fact, I never did get a really good one. The one I finally used, I wound up putting a glue dot underneath the weakened area.

I had no trouble with the "Kick this" cut on the second page. I did wind up buying a single soccer ball stamp from Hobby Lobby, and used that to stamp a background on the second page.



For the "Coach" cut on the third page, I used a standard image from the cartridge, which included a whistle. I didn't want the whistle, so I just trimmed it off. Since I wanted to include the girls' pictures on this page, I also wanted to add some pink to the page, so I used a background corner cut from Sports Mania to cut the pink. I added the large green brads (from Oriental Trading Company). I just repeated that same layout on the fourth page. The little girl on the fourth page was so not interested in playing soccer - she just wanted to try and sit or lay on her soccer ball. She was so funny to watch!





For the last photo, I used two soccer ball brads (from Hobby Lobby). At the top of the page, I stamped and embossed my soccer ball stamp, cut it out, mounted it on a black circle, and used Stampin' Dimensionals to raise it up a bit.

Digital Scrapbooking

I've been wanting to try digital scrapbooking for quite a while, and made several feeble attempts, but gave it up pretty quickly. I bought several magazines and books, signed up for internet classes, and downloaded tutorials. Nothing ever jelled for me. Recently I decided to give it another try, and my mind must have been in just the right place because something seemed to actually 'click' for me this time. :)

I downloaded a tutorial and a free kit from http://www.scrapgirls.com/ to create the following layout. It took me a couple hours to do, so the next night I tried it again with a different kit (another free kit, this one from http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/), and it was much easier and a whole lot quicker. Here's my first effort:



For "the rest of the story" ... this is my 5 year old grandson. This was the first time I got to pick him up from Kindergarten, and we went for an ice cream afterwards. It was a beautiful day, so we got out of the car and sat down outside to visit while we ate our ice cream. He wound up with chocolate ice cream ALL OVER his face - he even had it in his ears! It was so funny! As I was wiping off some of the ice cream, he says "I yike ice kean Gamma". What a surprise! LOL! It was a precious couple of hours with him, and I'm glad I was able to capture it with this layout!

I don't think I would ever switch to total digital, but I can see where some digital and maybe some hybrid pages would be nice once in a while.



If you're doing any digital work, we hope you'll bring some to share at the Retreat.

Teaching!

Hello Attendees,

I am finally teaching! Well kinda. I am in graduate school now, working towards a Master in the Arts of Teaching (MAT). With this I attend classes at the university all day (9-6) on Monday, and then intern at McNair Middle School Tuesday thru Friday. This year is going to fly by as I am so busy I don't know which way is up! The school is AWESOME and the teachers in my pod could not be more supportive. I am excited about this year, but also nervous. I want to do a good job AND give plenty of attention to Croppin' Train.

I have been working hard to design a two page layout for the fall retreat. I have had trouble getting one aspect of it (no hints!), but Dora is working diligently to help me find what I need (thank you Dora). We attended classes at CKC and learned all kinds of new and exciting stuff to show you. This weekend (HAPPY BIRTHDAY DORA!) we went to a cabin and worked on more ideas to demonstrate for you in classes during retreat. It is amazing what creativity comes out in a cabin with other crafters. So while I am very busy with school, family, and more, I am still finding time to assist in planning a great retreat in November.

I look forward to seeing everyone and visiting with you all. I also look forward to sharing what I have learned and the ideas we have developed. See you soon,

Melissa

CKC Tulsa

We have just returned from CKC in Tulsa where I took four Tattered Angels classes. They are the makers of Glimmer Mist. I am so full of new techniques for Glimmer Mist that my head is spinning. I am looking forward to sharing it all with you at the Fall retreat. I hope I can wait that long :) I just cannot express how excited I am. There are things that I have never thought about doing. I know this is such a tease - but you have to come to retreat to hear about all the things I learned. You won't be disappointed.
Dora

Scrapbooking in a Cabin

At the end of May, five of us rented a cabin for the weekend to scrapbook. It was so much fun. We all got a lot done and relaxed. The lake view was so nice (picture above). I love combining nature and scrapbooking. I felt no stress that weekend. We may have to make this an annual tradition (or maybe more often).

This is the cabin we stayed in. We cropped on the bottom floor to ease the unpacking from the vehicles. :) Yeah, I think we are going again. I wish I could buy it. My goal the next time is to work on the Navy scrapbook for my husband. I think he would really like that. (see the Something to Think About post)

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Wireless Internet

We WILL have wireless internet at the

Fall 2009 Retreat at Embassy.

We will have to set up your user login, etc before the retreat. If you are already registered for the retreat, please send us an email letting us know if you need access to the wireless internet. For those of you that will be registering soon, please make a note of this on the registration form.

If you want wireless internet in your sleeping room, that is an additional charge that you will arrange through the hotel.

Advanced Cricut Training

We are excited to announce that we will have a representative from Provo Craft at our Fall 2009 Retreat.

He will be here Friday night, November 13th, from 4:00pm until ?? to teach us some advanced features of the Cricut and of course, answer any of your questions.

He will talk about the Design Studio software, Deep Cut Blade with magnet, and many more topics that will be decided on closer to retreat. If you have any topic requests, please leave them in a comment here, we will try to get them all in. (Note: the Gypsy will not be shipping until November, so we may not have it in time for retreat. We can take preorders and we will try to have the best price around - see the Cricut Gypsy post)

This class is optional and FREE. We will have a area set up off to the side where you can come and go to listen and learn.

Cricut Gypsy

For those of you interested in the Cricut Gypsy check out the following web site. This link will take you directly to the test drive but there is also other information on the web site.

http://www.provocraft.com/gypsy/test-drive.html

One thing to keep in mind, once a cartridge is loaded onto the Gypsy, it cannot be loaded onto any other Gypsy. It does not affect using it in any Cricut machine. So you and your friends can still share cartridges for your cricut machines. And we will still have all of our cricut cartridges for you to use at retreat (just don't load them on your own Gypsy)

We will be able to sell the Gypsy to you for $225.00 plus any postage to mail it to you, if necessary. If you would like to preorder one, you can make payments on it until it is delivered which should be in November (hopefully in time for retreat).

Here are some questions I copied from another email I received:

1- Will the Gypsy Version include ALL the features of the current Design Studio,
or will features be reduced to facilitate operation on a handheld device, ie, a
Design Studio Lite?

Yes the Gypsy will have evrything the DS has and then some. The only thing is lacks now is individual select but that should come with an update soon

2- Have the bugs that have plagued Design Studio been corrected and/or reduced?
If so, which ones specifically?

Yes it is completely different from DS written from the ground up. DS issues have no bearing on the gypsy

3- Since Design Studio was introduced, users has asked (okay.... we have begged,
nagged, whined, and even cried) for the following options:
Group all/ Ungroup all
Select all/Deselect all
Weld all/ Unweld all

Yes it does group, select all, weld options and more.

4- Given that Windows 7 will be here shortly, ProvoCraft can you please confirm
that Design Studio and the Gypsy are both able to work with Windows 7?

Yes, we are prepared to update the gypsy with windows 7 when it comes out.

5- If carts can only be loaded once in the Gpysy, what happens if my Gypsy
breaks or the software malfunctions? What procedures/policies does PC have for
retrieving lost data and cartridges ~ both in and out of warranty?

First is that the carts you have do not get erased. Second if the Gypsy malfunctions while in warranty it will be replaced by PC with a Gypsy that has an identical serial # to the faulty one and you can then reload the carts again. If the Gypsy is lost, damaged, stolen, or out of warranty then you will need to purchase a new one also with the same serial # as the former one and then reload the carts.

Glimmer Mist for Sale

We have the following colors of Glimmer Mist for sale for $5.60 each (includes tax). Buy 3 and get free priority shipping. Buy 6 and get the 7th free plus free priority shipping.

Go to http://www.mytatteredangels.com/ to see the colors.

If there is a season and year after the name, that is when it was available. So it may not be on the website site anymore. Let me know if you cannot find one and are curious about the color.

Don't delay - we only have 2 to 3 of each color (I will delete the colors as they are sold out)

At this Fall retreat, I will demoing more ways to use glimmer mist.

(Payment note: email us your order at croppintrain@aol.com and we will email you the amount you owe and hold your order until payment is received. You can mail us a check or we can send you a paypal invoice. )

Aspen Yellow

Auburn - Fall 08

Autumn Leaves

Black Gold - winter 08

Blue Skies

Candy Apple Red

Cherub Pink

Cinder - Fall 09

Cinnamon - Fall 08

Coffee Shop

Coral - Summer 08

Cranberry Zing

Dewberry - winter 08

Frost

Frosty Nights -Winter 07

Gingerbread -Winter 07

Gold

Golden Terracotta

Harvest Orange

Holly Berry -Winter 07

Kiwi - Summer 08

Lavendar Wisp

Merlot

Mustard Seed

Old Lace

Olive Vine

Oriental Poppy

Pineapple - Summer 08

Pink Taffy

Red Maple

Red Velvet

Sage - Fall 08

Sand

Simply Khaki - Fall 08

Slate

Snow Angel - winter 08

Spring Mint - Spring 08

Spring Violet

Suede

Sugar Cookie -Winter 07

Tattered Rose

Timeless Lilac

Tuscan Sun

Twilight - Fall 08

Walnut Gold

Watermelon - Summer 08

Wheatfields

Wild Currant - winter 08

Winter Pine - winter 08

Today, I'm sharing a couple pages from a work-in-progress multi-page wedding layout to highlight some techniques to add texture and dimension to your pages. These pages use SU! cardstock. On this first page, I stamped an image from the Cherish stamp set (love that set!) multiple times to create the border. If you want multi-stamping to look random, be sure and turn your stamp so you're not stamping the same position every time. And, NEVER be afraid to stamp off the paper - just make sure you have something covering your work surface beore you do. After stamping, I used SU! Mini Glue Dots to adhere the pearls. I used Grey Taffeta SU! ribbon to separate the two cardstocks, and, again using Mini Glue Dots, adhered tiny pink jewels to the taffeta. The pearls and pink jewels came from Hobby Lobby's bead section. I am not concerned about embellishments like that being acid-free - they're not touching my pictures, and they're adhered to acid-free cardstock, so there's a buffer between them and my pictures. Across the top of this page, I wheeled with an SU! jumbo wheel, with a Versamark-filled ink cartridge. I then embossed that image with clear embossing powder. Then I sponged pink ink all over the image. This resist technique is very easy to do, and, depending on the colors, can be subtle or very striking. After I sponged with ink, I also used a cotton ball and 'scrubbed' over the embossed areas, just to clean them up a bit.

This second page - with that beautiful cake! - highlights the Cuttlebug Embossing Folder. In the enlarged section, you can see how the swirls on the gray cardstock match the swirl pattern on the cake. I ran my cardstock lengthwise through the Cuttlebug, then turned it around and ran it through again. This allowed me to get the embossed image across the 12" width. This technique will 'shrink' your cardstock a bit (width-wise), but I don't mind having that sliver of background color on the edges.

Hope you enjoy today's post, and can use some of the techniques highlighted here. Have a great week!

This week's layout features my youngest grand-daughter, Maebre - pronounced like "maybe" with an "r". I love her name - it's unique, and I particularly like the old-fashioned spelling of "Mae". This is a collection of photos from her first year -- she just turned 3!

The pattern paper is from Close to My Heart - Life Delights, and the solid cardstock is all from Stampin' Up! The ribbons are from Adornit; the other embellishments (chipboard flower and brads) are also Stampin' Up! The chipboard flower was naked, so I painted it with a SU! Craft Ink, and then stamped an image on each of the petals.

Both the title on the left and the words on the right were cut from the Wishblade cutter. I originally intended to use the individual letters for the title on the left, but, after I got it cut out, I liked the silhouette of the name. The Wishblade is similar to a combination of Cricut and SCAL (Sure Cuts a Lot), wherein you can cut any font, image, etc. you want. No cartridges are required. I've had the Wishblade for about 3 years, and have used it extensively one week-end! Shameful isn't it? I still have it, but find I use the Cricut more often. I have Design Studio for the Cricut, but have not yet invested in SCAL.

Something to think about

I was looking at the Aug/Sept 2009 issue of Scrapbooks, Etc. today and read a question that made me think.

"What scrapbooking project have you always wanted to create but haven't yet? What's holding you back?" (page 14)

Immediately I thought of my project... my husbands pictures from his time in the Navy. I think he would really appreciate me putting his pictures in a scrapbook. I have purchased the album to put them in and paper and embellishments for the US Navy. He seems to get excited and interested. I recently purchased the Stand & Salute cartridge for the Cricut. He liked that. All and all, he is more excited about me getting a Cricut then I would have expected, but that is a different story.

So what is holding me back... I scrapbook for myself most of the time. When I create classes for the retreat or my classes at my house, I am nervous you won't like it, but that is nothing compared to how I feel about doing his Navy pictures. I didn't know him when he was in the Navy. I am afraid to get the wrong tone for the pictures or maybe he sorted them by event and I mixed them up again. Bottom line, I am nervous he won't like the album.

Silly, I know because he has always liked the pages I have done. He actually wants to read my journaling and all.

So how would you answer this question? Think about it and if you want to, post a comment to encourage us all to finally do that project that keeps following us around.

As you've noticed, Dora's been doing most (well, okay, "all") of the posting to the blog. She's working on a special project this month and asked me (Pat) to post a few things, so here's my first post for you. The left-page, in particular, is quite blurry - I don't know why.

This layout is pretty simple, but I really wanted to show off the subject - my grandson! This was for his 2nd birthday (and he just turned 5!). The cardstock is SU! - Marigold Morning and Buckaroo Blue (both retired) and Chocolate Chip (an all-time favorite!). I cut the title and date in (I think) Base Camp. Just cut two sets of letters and then offset them when I adhered them to the page. The 'photo corners' on the left-side are just squares of cardstock, adhered on the backside, then folded and snipped to form the finished square on the front. I also used a small hole punch to punch holes for the hemp, that is tied in a knot.

I like to do tone-on-tone stamping to create backgrounds. Versamark is a great ink pad for this - it just stamps in clear ink on any color cardstock. However, in this instance, the Versamark was a little too light, so I used the same color inkpads (Marigold Morning and Buckaroo Blue), and stamped images from the (retired) SU! set, "Toy Box". (This set, along with another 300+ stamp sets, will be available for you to use at the Fall 2009 Croppin' Train Scrapbook Retreat.) When I went to get this layout to photograph, in my head I remembered as having sponged all the torn edges. What a surprise when I noticed they weren't sponged! In retrospect, I really should have sponged those torn edges, but, in reality, I'm sure I won't do it now! No stamping or anything special on the right-side page.

Over time, all of our scrapping methods, likes, dislikes, etc. go through phases. When I first started noticing an abundance of one-photo pages, I remember thinking 'what a waste; I would never do that'. Well, as you can see, I've changed my mind. I don't do it often, but, must admit, there are certain photos, layouts, that just lend themselves to that ... and I do like it!

A special Croppin' Train "WooHoo" (Happy Birthday!) to Linda and Dorothy this week. Hope both of your days were special and happy!

T-Shirt contest

We are working on designing t-shirts for your Croppin’ Train Retreats, but we want your help.

So, for the month of July we are having a T-shirt design contest. Please email or snail mail your designs to us by July 31^st. We will review the designs and pick the winning design in August.

The winning designer will receive a T-shirt for FREE.

Design requirements:

Design to include one to two color plus black

Must include “Croppin’ Train” and “Scrapbook Retreats” “CroppinTrain.blogspot.com”

Suggest a shirt color and style

You can create your design on the computer or hand draw it. Both are great ways to submit your ideas.

croppintrain@aol.com or Croppin' Train; PO Box 982; Bentonville, AR 72712

Look what was delivered

WOW! - this was on my front porch when I got home today.

To give you some perspective, the box is 16" x 16" and FULL of Glimmer Mist.

There was barely any packing peanuts (thankfully) in it because there was no room.

Glimmer Mist is the same great product with a Fabulous NEW Look!

Copied from their blog "Bet you didn’t know that ALL of the bottles of Glimmer Mist are hand labeled? Glimmer Mist is made right in a warehouse in Loveland, Co. And each bottle is mixed, bottled, and labeled by crafters. To make things easier on our staff, they have decided to change the look one last time. Their bottles will now have a screen printed label to help out their bottle crew (and to prevent them from getting Carpal Tunnel!). They bottle over 10,000 bottles a week."

We will have over 60 colors at the Fall retreat plus all the screens they make including the new Halloween screens and colors.

Check out all the colors and products at the Tattered Angels site at www.mytatteredangels.com

Glimmer Mist card

to make up for my super simple page - here is a card I made for Father's Day.

The cardstock (CS) is Stampin' Up Not Quite Navy and Kraft.

The stamps and glimmer mist is Tattered Angels.

I sprayed the Kraft CS with Simply Khaki Glimmer Mist (GM).

Then I stamped the Compass stamp and the images on the left with black ink.

I painted on Patina GM on the left images and the outer ring of compass.

I painted the inner ring and middle circle on the compass with Riptide GM.

The star is painted with Starfish GM.

I attached black brads to the two left images and the center of the star. I also added a small black grommet to the star center.

Then I edged the Kraft CS with brown ink.

This was inspired by a tag that is on www.mytatteredangels.com

Simple Layout

This is a very simple layout. This was so long ago... I knew the when and what but not the where, etc. But I still wanted to document the pictures.

The point of me posting this layout is the font. I used the new Lyrical Letters cartridge for cricut. I just love this font.

Cricut Rewards

Did you know that you can get Cricut Rewards for any cartridge that was released in 2008 and 2009? Well, you can (or if you don't want to, I can use your points, just let me know)

Check out www.cricutrewards.com

You can get shirts or cartridges. And the cartridges are ones that you can't buy from a store normally - they are ones that are released with the machines.

There is a listing of the cartridges that have points available. And on the FAQ page, they talk about what you do if you didn't get the certificate to redeem for points.

Check it out then post a comment here telling us what you think.

not so spooky layout

For this layout I used Black Gold glimmer mist and the iron works glimmer screens. The title "not so spooky" is using Heidi Swapp's ghost alphabets. I took these pictures at an angle in hopes that you can see the ghost shapes better. I also used a glaze pen on the ghost shapes to make eyes.

We will have all of this available in our Boxcar Store at the fall retreat.

(note: my brother has issues with posting pictures of my nephew on the internet, so I smudged his face on the images to respect his wishes.)

Glimmer Mist and Cricut

Here are two pages I did recently - these are not left and right pages but more of page 3 and 6 of a series of pages.

I used Dreamsicle and Riptide Gimmer Mist. The "fabulous" came out of the 'Graphically Speaking' Cricut cartridge . I cut fabulous out of that cardstock that comes in your page protectors - I call that scrap cardstock. Then I laid it on my base page, which the leftover sticky from the cricut mat makes this handy. Then I spray the mist over it and pulled the cardstock mask up and there we go. I also sprayed some in the corner to balance the arrow a little.

For this page, I think the arrow came out of the Graphically Speaking cartridge. I laid it on my page just like the "fabulous" but when I got done, I really liked the arrow mask too. So I rotated it and stuck it down. Not my original plan - but I go with the flow. I also put the "mask" arrow on dimensionals. It points at the birthday girl on both ends.

Getting to know Pat

How long have you been scrapping?

Like most, I scrapbooked in an altogether different style in high school.  Scrapbooking by today’s terms … I made my first 8.5x11 pages in about 1997, and then switched to 12x12 in about 2000.

How did you start scrapbooking?

When my parents passed away in 1996, I decided it was up to me to keep track of our family history.  I had been stamping for a while, and thought scrapbooking would be a perfect evolution.

What is your favorite scrapbooking line?

In magazines, I’m always drawn to the Doodle Bug ads, but can never find a reason to actually use their paper.  I’ve always been a Karen Foster fan, and, more recently, have found a lot to like in the Kaiser Craft line.

What are your favorite subjects to scrapbook?

I am fortunate to have 4 of the most beautiful grandchildren in the world, so, of course, they are my most-used subjects.  I also enjoy doing heritage pages.  I am a collector of everything, so do have a lot of heritage photos, documents, etc.

What do you watch/listen to when you're creating?

I have music playing just about all the time … mostly country.

What do you snack on while scrapping?

You will seldom find me without a Pepsi by my side – no diet - full up – nothing left out!

Any paper crafting pet peeves?

I do not like 12x12 paper that has the name, upc code, etc. border on it – especially if I have to cut it off!

What do you love about scrapbooking?

Just about everything!  I love the creativity, the solitude or companionship (as I choose), the memories,  and, voila, the ability to share that past moment with someone else!

What is your favorite color combination to use on your projects?

That does really change, but I would have to say I’m really drawn to the earth tones / neutral colors.  I tend to look at the browns, blacks, grays a lot for base pages. 

Do you distress everything, not at all or somewhere in between?

Somewhere in between, but not very often.

What is your favorite tool?

My personal trimmer – simply cannot function without that!  And my 12” see-through ruler!  And my paper piercer – I think those little holes can add so much to a much project!

When creating a project, do you plan it out or go with the flow?

I think it’s based on the individual project.  Sometimes I’ll see another layout and will use that as my plan and other times I’ll look at my pictures and hope for some inspiration.

What type of adhesive do you use?

In the last year, I’ve started using the Glue Glider Pro by Glue Arts , and I just love it!  I still use a lot of SU! SNAIL adhesive for smaller projects.  If I’m doing something heavyweight, Beacon Hill adhesive is awesome!  And for those little tiny individual letters, you can’t beat the Xyron “X”.

What is your favorite kind of cardstock?

I use mostly smooth, so I’d have to go with Stampin’ Up!  If I do use a textured cardstock, American Crafts is great!

Do you enjoy stepping out of your zone when creating new projects?

I do – although I don’t do it very much!  I find I enjoy looking at those pages, so I do try to break out a bit more often.

When is the best time for you to scrap?

Anytime I can, but night-time is usually the best.

Getting to know Melissa

How long have you been scrapping?

I have been scrapbooking for about 5 years now. When I was little I would put pictures into books and call it scrapbooking, but I didn’t actually start to scrap until 5 to 6 years ago.

How did you start scrapbooking?

I started scrapbooking when I joined Stampin' UP! as a demonstrator. That is where I met Dora and Pat. Dora and I attended a Stampin' UP convention in Orlando FL and have been playing with paper together ever since. I met Pat at a meeting we had for Stamp Camp that we would put on twice a year. It was through them that I learned the art of scrapbooking. However, I was not that confident and therefore did not get into it seriously until my buddies started scheduling play dates for us to get together and scrapbook. Now I cannot find enough time to do it.

What is your favorite scrapbooking line?

I like so many it is hard to narrow it down to only one. I like Stampin' UP!, K and Company, and Close to My Heart.

What are your favorite subjects to scrapbook?

I really don’t have a favorite thing to scrapbook, as what I like to scrapbook is very dependent on my mood at the time. Sometimes I have an event that I just can’t wait to scrapbook. Or sometimes it is a part of my life, part of what makes me, well me. One of my pages that is in progress that I am very excited about working on is my Chick-Fil-A page. Most people will tell you that my favorite drink is CFA tea, and I study at CFA almost every day when I am in school. So it is a huge part of my life. I am excited to do these pages, because it is what I am in the mood for today.

What do you watch/listen to when you're creating?

Not really anything. I get in a zone when I start concentrating on what I am doing, so I usually don’t pay much attention to anything else. This can be a problem when I am scrapbooking with friends J.

What do you snack on while scrapping?

I usually don’t snack while scrapbooking as I am trying to lose weight. Not to mention that I get so involved in what I am doing, I don’t think about food. However, if my friends offer me some goodie to snack on, then I will have no trouble trying it. But I ALWAYS have an un-sweet tea handy!

Any paper crafting pet peeves?

The only thing I can think of is when someone thinks that everything has to be done a certain way or it is incorrect. I feel that everyone has their own style and preference; therefore there is no wrong way or right way to scrapbook, only individuality.

What do you love about scrapbooking?

I love reminiscing about the past, watching my family grow, and the friendships that I enjoy and develop through scrapbooking. Scrapbookers are a great group of people!

What is your favorite color combination to use on your projects?

I seem to steer towards neutral colors, and earth tones. However, if you were to ask me what my favorite is, I would have to say that I don’t have one. It all depends on the layout I am working on. I love fun bright colors for the kids, fall colors for our hunting trips, soft pale colors for baby photos. It changes according to what I am working on, and what colors the photos bring out.

Do you distress everything, not at all or somewhere in between?

I am absolutely an in between. Sometimes I distress, sometimes I ink, and others…..nothing. Just depends again on what I am working on, the photos, and what mood I am in.

What is your favorite tool?

The one tool I cannot live without is my Carl Cutter. I do many layout kits, and projects that require a lot of cutting. If I didn’t have my Carl Cutter, I would spend most of my time preparing to play, instead of actually playing.

What is your favorite item?

My favorite item at the moment is Glimmer Mist and the Glimmer Mist stencils. I am always looking for a reason to use it on my layouts.

When creating a project, do you plan it out or go with the flow?

My layouts reflect my current mood. Therefore I am a go with the flow person. I like to look at pictures, think about how they make me feel and how they flow, then just go with it.

What type of adhesive do you use?

Duck, Duck, and More Duck! I use glue dots, x, Xyron, dimensionals as well as others, but I could not even work on a page without my Duck.

What is your favorite kind of cardstock?

For solid cs, I think that you just can’t beat Stampin UP! But for patterned paper, it is all about the patterns, instead of name brand.

Do you enjoy stepping out of your zone when creating new projects?

One of my favorite things to do is to take the materials I must use on a layout, and then deciding how to use them. I love making layout kits for this reason. It is like a challenge. I know what I need to use, but how. That is the fun part. So yes, I like stepping out of my zone. Often I have to use materials that I would not necessarily pick, but that is what makes it fun.

When is the best time for you to scrap?

Well I would say anytime, but that would be a lie. I think that anytime will work, but then sometimes I sit down to work on a project, and then the entire family plus all of their friends, and their friends friends all need something ASAP. So I guess the best time is when I set up a play date with my buddies and we get away from the house, the family, and all distractions so that we can concentrate on only scrapbooking. Like retreats!