Forget about the “Bag Lady,” if I had to pick a scrapbook nickname for myself it would be “Envelope Lady.” You should see all of the envelopes I have sitting on my craft table. Dozens and dozens of plain, white business size envelopes filled with items I am planning to add to future scrapbook layouts. I store everything in those envelopes, from ticket stubs to copies of my daughter’s Girl Scout badges, coins, award ribbons, postcards, newspaper clippings, greeting cards, journaling notes, photos, even strands of my nephew’s hair from his first “big boy” cut. Envelopes are a cheap and … Continue reading →

How often do you add chipboard to your layouts? I must admit; I don’t use chipboard nearly as often as I do stickers, stamps, die cuts or other embellishments; however, plain chipboard is relatively inexpensive, so if you are looking for ways to keep scrapbooking costs down, then you might consider purchasing some to spice up your page designs. If you have a bigger budget, you could buy chipboard accents which come decorated, but cost significantly more than the plain versions. Personally, I think plain chipboard is the way to go, not only because it is more cost-efficient, but also … Continue reading →

You’ve unplugged your cable TV, flushed the pool passes down the drain, stopped the gourmet coffee runs, and eliminated the restaurant lunches, but the slumping economy is still threatening to shut down your scrapbooking habit. What do you do? If you don’t have enough money to make weekly trips to the scrapbook supply store to stock up on seasonal embellishments or new tools, then make the most with what you have. Use some of these cheap fixes to stretch your supplies, so you can keep scrapping despite having to deal with financial hardships: Combining Existing Elements: Instead of purchasing package … Continue reading →

In a previous blog I shared my love of customized scrapbook stickers. Whereas they are more expensive than the pre-fab types, they are often worth every penny, especially if you have spent countless hours trying to track down a certain sticker to no avail. Harley-Davidson does an outstanding job creating custom scrapbook stickers. You can get practically any type bike in adhesive form, plus you can further personalize the sticker by adding names, dates or favorite sayings on it. But, again, this type of service costs a pretty penny. I live on a tight budget, but I love, love me … Continue reading →

There are so many people out there with scrapbooking blogs. Hundreds. I would venture to say there are thousands. The web is amazing. Many of these blogs are for sharing layouts, creating challenges, starting up a scrapbooking business, or a mix of scrapbooking and personal blogging. Whatever your scrapbook blog might be, you can add some personality to it by scrapping your own header for your blog. I have used free templates for my blog that you can find all over the web, but I was never quite happy with how they looked. But, I didn’t want to have to … Continue reading →

Scrapbooking often seeps over into our everyday lives. When we are really in a scrapping mode, and making tons of new layouts, and have a fountain of creativity flowing, we can see scrapbooking in everything! At one such time in my life, on was on the hunt for some cute wooden letters to hang in my son’s bedroom. I was having a hard time finding some that fit with his nursery decor, that still were semi-masculine. It is a very popular trend now to hang letters in a child’s room that spell out their name. I had that in my … Continue reading →

It seems that everyone has some sort of die cut machine these days. I don’t. I guess I just don’t want to spend the money, or maybe, it’s that I don’t want to spend the money, and then never use it like some people I know. But, if you have one, there are amazing things to be done. I found one such project that just blew me away. I don’t know if this is something that I am amazed at from an, “I never want to do that” perspective, or an, “I wish I had patience for that”, or better … Continue reading →

I’m on a new mission…to redo some old scrapbooks. Recently we moved some different pieces of furniture around and I ran across the first scrapbooks I ever did for each of my children. Honestly, they were laughable. No real creativity, just very blah. These are precious pictures, some of the very first ones we took of our children yet they are housed inside this pathetic album. While I would like to just toss them back into a pile, I think I am going to undertake the probably tedious task of redoing them. It feels like an overwhelming project. LOTS of … Continue reading →

I was wandering through a store the other day that I love that has mostly religious items. I was just browsing, not looking for anything in particular when I ran across the most adorable framed quote. I don’t know if it was just something I needed to hear that day, or if I really did LOVE that quote that much, but I found myself wanting to splurge and purchase this quote for $24.95. I stopped myself and thought, “NO way am I going to spend that much!” I dug into my crafty self, and decided to get home and make … Continue reading →

Recently, I made this adorable headband all by myself, flowers and all! And, it got me thinking about scrapbooking, of course. I thought, wouldn’t these little flowers be a great addition to a scrapbook page? I think they would! I have no sewing experience. My Mom tried to teach me as a child to sew, but I just never did it on my own, so I do not really remember much from what she taught me. But, I do know how to do a running stitch, and how to sew on a button, and that is all you need to … Continue reading →