Scrapbooking On A Budget

Scrapbooks are a wonderful way to preserve memories and photographs for future generations. It is also big business, and could send you straight to the poorhouse. You can create beautiful scrapbooks for a few dollars. Here's how:
You need six basic supplies to create a scrapbook-

1. Photographs, which you have shoeboxes full of
2. Acid- Free/ Lignin Free Paper*- decide on a size for your book before you purchase any paper or an album. I like to buy a 'Slab' of scrapbook paper. There are usually more than 150 sheets, and all the colors and patterns are easy to match. If you buy a Slab on sale, they cost around $8 for a 12x12 slab.
3. An Acid-Free album*- again, what size?
   
4. A scissor- make sure this is a very sharp, clean scissor
5. A glue stick- I prefer the kind that goes on purple and dries clear.
6. A Ruler- metal is preferred for durability.

That's IT!! Remember, doo-dads and shiny things are not a necessity. Often times, they can distract from your photos.
Instructions for the most simple scrapbook page ever-

1. Find three related photos. Say, one of each of your kids at Halloween
2. Usually, photos are 4x6, but you can Crop the photo (Cropping is simply cutting off an unimportant part of the picture.) Measure the size. Measure a piece of paper 1/2 inch bigger all around than your photo and cut it out.
3. Glue your picture on the cut-out paper. You have just made a Photo Mat.
4. Cut out a fun shape, like a Pumpkin or Trick or Treat Bag out of solid colored paper. Write a few memories on that paper. You have just made some Journalling.
5. You may want a title, the simple ones might be 'Trick-Or-Treat', 'Boo', or even 'Halloween 2003'.(you get the idea). You can measure and cut a strip of paper, and cut out the letters. Or you could write the title.

Glue down the three photos, title, and journalling, and you're done! Less than $1 worth of paper.
Lets say you want more embellishment. You can cut tags out of paper in any shape. You can use different shapes for journalling- a T Shirt or Tent shape for camping, a Bootie or Bottle for a baby, an Apple for School... Still less than $1 a page.
You can use an online search engine to look for 'free fonts' or 'free clip art', and print title blocks, journalling, and even really cute deigns right from your computer. No need for stickers, or alphabet die cuts. Save tons of money like this, your computer already has ink, now you can print on any color paper.
If you must treat yourself to some ribbon, or paper punches, or stencils- buy only if it's on sale AND you can match it to three projects in your mind. A 50 cent spool of pink ribbon works well for Mother, Baby, Daughter, Easter, Sweet 16, I'm One Today, Baptism... it's now paid for itself by livening up nearly a whole album. Patterned ribbon is less practical and more expensive. I like those scissors that cut wavy lines into paper, one or two is enogh... you don't need a dozen of them on a carousel. Paper punches that round corners are nice, but you don't need a drawerfull right away.
When you start to scrapbook, you may feel a need to spend. As time goes by, you may add a few bits to your supplies. First, try a simple scrapbook. See just how much you can create with just paper.


*Most scrapbook supplies are Acid and Lignin Free. Acid Free paper will not harm your photos. Lignin Free paper will not turn yellow or brittle with age. Items may also be labelled 'Photo Safe', which means they are acid-free.

Saving Half The Effort Of Eyelets...

You know how much banging it requires to set an eyelet? As fun as it is to whack away at your layout with a hammer, sometimes that's just not practical.
Provo Craft makes a hole puncher that punches mini holes, just the right size for a 3/16 eyelet!
So I use the hole puncher to put holes where the eyelets will go. Then the next time I can, I set the eyelets in the holes with a regular hammer and setter kit.
Thats half as much hammering. The neighbors will thank you
(I know there are silent setters out there, but I bought my hammer setter many years ago and refuse to part with it for a newfangled gizmo.

Making Paper Lace

MAKING PAPER LACE-
this is so simple, even I can do it LOL
you know those fancy scissors all of us HAD to have... well, i finally found a use for one- making Paper Lace
SUPPLIES-
Fancy-edge scissor
paper Piercer (or pushpin OR sewing needle with a wine cork over the 'eye' part)
paper or cardstock
OPTIONAL- chalk or ink pad

Cut whatever shape with the scissors, lets say a strip.
imagine the strip of paper as a Landscape- there are 'Mountains' (taller) and 'Valleys' (lowest point) OR think of it like a CityScape- There are Skyscrapers (taller) and Tenements (lower)
You will work face-up, and use old catalogs under your work to save your table.
Take your piercer and punch one hole in the middle of a Mountain, and one in the middle of a Valley. Continue through this until the paper is pierced.
I like to rub a bit of chalk or an inkpad over the 'lace'. It brings out more of the Lacy Look.

This is so easy. The lace looks like a simple Eyelet Lace. Paper Lace lays flat in your book, can be made in any style depending on the scissor, and any paper can be used to coordinate with your project. Plus, it can be glued down easier than real lace.

the close-up shows you detail of the card with very simple paper lace, which has been inked. You can add more holes to make a fancier lace.

Distressing Techniques

oh, here I'll give a Quickie Lesson on Distressing-
materials-
brown ink pad
paper (patterned or plain)
cardstock (i like textured with a White Core)
pack of disposable emery boards ($1 store)

now, i know it hurts, but ATTACK your paper. I tear it, so there are raggedy edges, then crumple it into a ball. I uncrumple it a bit, and rub a brown inpad along the torn rdge and along the surface of the paper. The ink settles in the crinkles of the paper.
For the cardstock, i tear it, then use the emery boards to 'file' some color off to reveal the White Core. Then i rub brown ink along the edges and across the surface.
i have learned it is OK to abuse your paper, that is how it gets distressed LOL.
Distressing is a nice way to age papers for heritage or masculine pages. It also helps papers to match each other better LOL

you can also distress ribbons by running a brown inkpad over them or dyeing them in tea (tea is probably not scrapbook safe, but ok for cards) TEA DYE- steep 1 Black Teabag in 4 ounces of boiling water, for 5 minutes. remove teabag, squeezing it into the same cup Allow the tea to cool place lace, ribbon, eyelet lace, or fibers into tea, let soak overnight. remove items from tea bath, lay flat on paper towels to dry You can use more teabags, or alter this to get the color you like

Cabinets For The Tiniest Houses

These wood hutches are scaled for a 1/12 dollhouse (1 inch= 1 foot). They stand between 5 and 6 inches tall (short? LOL). I bought these, ripped off doors and knobs, painted, distressed, and even 'wallpapered' with bits of scrapbook paper.
Any designs you see (hearts, roosters or rubber duckies) were handpainted using a toothpick.

Isn't This Pretty? I thought so

I made this 8x8 page for my Mom, who loves tea more than anyone else I know. This was part of a New Home album I made her when she moved from an apartment to a co-op.
The teapot is a brass stencil I aged and antiqued myself. It is attached to the mat with a ribbon. I also used buttons, Prima flowers, stickers, and vellum (the word 'Paradise')

Scrapbook Page Kit for Logan

One of my friends from my online Scrapbook group became a proud Grandma to a premature baby boy, Logan.
This page kit I sent her contains a large House Mouse tag with the words Tough Little Guy. The mouse is weightlifting a few LifeSavers candies on a cotton swab. I also included a plain tag, a name tag, a title block with the words 'Our Son- Our Fighter', four photo mats to hold 4x6 pictures, and a small House Mouse embellishment piece. One Mouse is taking care of the other with a medicine dropper.
I love the House Mouse stamps, but they seemed to work particularly well in the case of a tiny little bundle of joy.
PS I fixed the crooked ribbon on the biggest tag before I sent it out, but after I had taken this picture. Sorry.

First Try At Polymer Clay Foodmaking

This was my first attempt at making Polymer Clay dollhouse food. I was sorely disappointed with the way the pictures came out, although I didn't mind the way the food looked.
The plates are ceramic off-white, with blue dots around the edge. There is a cup of black coffee, a stack of pancakes with butter and syrup, and scrambled eggs, bacon and a strawberry.
The coin in the background is a dime, to give an idea of scale.
Feel free to laugh, I am practicing and they should get better

Making Acrylic "Bubble" Charms At Home

This is so easy, and you will save tons of money by making your own Bubble charms instead of buying them. More important, you will have only what you need, and nothing you don't.
First, gather your supplies:

• cardstock or thick paper
• a rubber stamp (lets say its a letter stamp, but any small stamp would be ok)
  
• pigment (or permanent) inkpad
• thin wire
• something round to wrap your wire around (a thick marker, glue stick, or film canister work well, depending how big your rubber stamp is)
• clear glue (you want a nice thick glue like Aleene's or Diamond Glaze)
• wire cutter
• scissor
  

Here's how simple this is, step by step:

1. Stamp a letter onto your cardstock and let it dry
2. Wrap your wire around the marker or film canister into a spiral.
   
3. Slide your wire off the marker, and cut one 'loop' of wire.
4. Lay the loop over your letter, so your loop 'circles' your letter.
5. Pour glue inside the loop. You want to use a little extra glue. so it will dry 3D and look like an Acrylic charm. But you do not want the glue to leak over the wire loop.
6. Once it's dry (about two hours to be safe), cut out around the wire circle.

Congrats, you are on your way to designing your own 'Bubble Charms'

Rubber Stamping In Your Scrapbook

Rubber Stamping is a popular craft, and has gained popularity with the scrapbooking crowd recently. Rubber Stamps can become very expensive, as can scrapbooking. Here are a few ideas to incorporate stamping in to scrapping, simply and cheaply.
Buying Rubber Stamps

1. There are two basic types of rubber stamps- Mounted (attached to a wood or sometimes a foam block), and unmounted, sometimes called UM. Mounted stamps are generally more expensive and larger to store. Usually, the block it is mounted to will feature an image of the stamp with ideas for decorating or coloring your design. The Unmounted stamps are very small and flat, as well as very inexpensive. UM stamps don't take up much room, but you will need to buy a Stamp Mounting Kit. A stamp Mounting Kit will include either Repositional (can be removed from the stamp) adhesive or permanent adhesive, as well as blocks to mount to, and usually some kind of thin padding to 'cushion' your stamp.
   
2. There are two basic types of ink pads- Pigment or Ink. Pigment inkpads stay moist for practically forever ( I have a Pigment pad from 1991 that I still use faithfully). They allow you to stamp light colors on to dark paper. If you want to use Embossing Powder, you are going to need a Pigment Ink Pad. Pigment Ink Pads also require a spray setter if you wish to use it on glossy paper since this ink never really dries. Regular Ink Pads are made with a more liquid ink, which can bleed into fiberous paper but dries quickly. Regular ink pads are not recommended for glossy papers.
   

On this Fourth Of July layout, I used red, blue, gold and silver inkpads and three stamps- a larger firecracker, a medium heart, and a small heart. The stamps were used to decorate the double photo mats, the journaling block, and the letters July and USA. Also note that I used inkpads to accent the stars at the top, rubbing the edges of the star, then randomly 'stamping' the inkpad on the star. On one page, the star was inked with gold, the second star has red ink on it.

This is a close-up of the second page, to show the stamping detail. The three stamps, and four inkpads cost me less than $10 for all seven items, bought on sale. The firecracker stamp will work well for summer or military pages, as well as Chinese New Year layouts. The two hearts can be used again in just about any layout.

Stamps come in a million sizes and a billion shapes. The cheapest are not always inferior.

Now, how to incorporate rubber stamping into a scrapbook:

1. Make custom papers by randomly stamping all over a plain piece of cardstock. Vary the angle you hold the stamps. You can make background papers, mats, or even cut tags from this paper.
2. Try creating a border for a page with a row or column of stamps dancing across the page. Stamp in just all four corners, or try filling in the gaps between photos.
3. Stamp small images on tiny tags or round tags, then string them across your page. Stamp a round tag, hang a string from it, and you've made a balloon.
4. Stamp on vellum. This looks very elegant if you use embossing powder.
5. Stamp on die cut or plain letter stickers to add pizazz to your page. When I do this, I vary the way I hold the stamp, sometimes overlapping one delicate design over another.

This is a Vacation layout, using the same two heart stamps as the previous layout, as well as the blue and red inkpads. The tag in the title block is inked with the red inkpad to add dimension.

I varied stamping angles on the paper, allowing some of the hearts to go over the edge of the page.

There are many stamping techniques. One way to get more use from your stamps is by using different techniques so the image appears a bit different each page.
I hope this has inspired you to try rubber stamping. It is a beautiful and fun hobby and craft.

Rubber Stamping 101- The Basics

Supplies needed-
A rubber stamp or a few rubber stamps
an ink pad (I prefer to use black or brown)
a pack of water-based markers (Crayola is ok)
a scissor
post it notes
cardstock or paper
scrap paper
baby wipes
any other materials would be your choice, colored pencils, beads, charms etc.

RUBBER STAMPING is the simplest way for a 'nonartist' to create beautiful art. You don't have to be able to draw a straight line, all the 'drawing' is done with a stamp.
The most simple, easy thing to do with a rubber stamp is to add color to it and create cards or scrapbook embellishments. Paper is easy to work with.

To BEGIN---
lay out your stamp(s), ink pad(s) and markers on a flat, hard surface (ie 'table' or 'tray')
place your scrap paper on the flat surface.
TO INK YOUR STAMP- hold the stamp firmly and press it straight down on the inkpad. Try to avoid 'rocking' your stamp because anywhere ink is on the stamp, ink will print on your paper.
Lift the stamp and press it straight down on your scrap paper, being sure to press the entire stamp down (i use my palm like I was giving CPR to the stamp if it is a really large stamp)
Lift the stamp straight up, and look at the design. Is there any part missing? you may have not inked the stamp enough, or not pressed down hard enough on the paper. Is the image blurry? You may have moved the stamp.

CLEAN your stamps with a baby wipe. I like the really cheap ones, at the $1 store.
PRACTICE on your scrap paper until you feel comfortable with that individual stamp (they all have personalities of their own LOL)
ok, now you are a bit comfortable with the pressure needed to use a rubber stamp.
Always let a cleaned stamp dry before reusing, and always clean the stamp between colors and uses.

NOW WE WILL FANCY IT UP A BIT
COLOR (these work best on light-colored paper)
1)Take a well-cleaned stamp, and decide on a few colors of water-based markers you would like to use.
Now, literally, color on the stamp with those markers.
Hold the stamp in front of your mouth once you have colored it and 'huff' (blow air) out of your mouth right on the stamp.
Then press the stamp straight down on your scrap paper. Lift up carefully and marvel at the art you are already making LOL
2)Stamps can be colored in with colored pencils. Just stamp with black or brown ink and then once the ink is dry, color in the spaces with colored pencils.

MOVEMENT IN A STAMP
1)Ink a stamp, and press it down on paper. Without lifting the stamp, drag the tail end slightly along the paper, to create 'speed lines' on a car, tiger, anything that can move fast
2)Stamp an image, and without re-inking, re stamp just the back end of the image a few times to make a bunny 'hop'

Masking a stamp can create professional -looking works of art from stamps. Get those Post-Its out, here comes masking-
take two stamps (lets say a cat and a dog for arguments sake)
to put the cat 'behind' the dog and stamp them both, simply stamp the dog where you want him.
stamp the same dog on the sticky area of the Post It note and carefully cut it out. This is a Post It "Mask". Stick your Mask over the stamped doggie, and ink and stamp your cat right over the Post It Mask.
Let it dry, then peel off the mask. Your cat is behind your dog.
To put the Dog behind the cat, stamp the kitty and make a Mask of him, then stamp the dog over the Cat's Mask.

HEAT EMBOSSING-
do you like the raised look on fancy wedding invitations? You can get the same effect with Heat Embossing
SUPPLIES FOR HEAT EMBOSSING-
rubber stamp(s)
PIGMENT ink pad (pigment dries slower than dye ink)
Embossing Powder
Heat Gun (OK you can use a bare 75 watt bulb LOL but it ain't pretty)
paper or card stock
scrap paper

to Heat emboss, ink up your stamp really well and press it down on paper.
QUICKLY, before it dries, sprinkle the Embossing Powder over the paper. Use a lot, make sure it really covers your image, then pour the excess back into the embossing powder jar. tap the back of the paper, make sure the powder is only on the stamped image.
Turn on the heat gun and pass it slowly back and forth about 5 inches from your work. You will see the powder turn to liquid and bead up together. Do not over-heat as powder will over-liquify and the image may run.
REMEMBER TO ALWAYS PRACTICE NEW THINGS ON SCRAP PAPER BEFORE USING THE GOOD STUFF

SOME TIPS FOR PURCHASING-
INKPADS-
ok, i am a big cheapo, and i am also a stickler for quality. The best inkpad I have is a ColorBox pigment inkpad. It is more than 15 years old and still juicy and moist. At $6, these are an investment.
I use a lot of InkIt Up pads, from AC Moore. At $1.39 a piece, I don't feel bad if they go dry. I use the Dye Based Ink It Ups a lot, but find the Pigment Ink ones very shabby.
STAMPS-
look at the stamp, is the rubber attached to the wood in a way that mirrors the design printed on the wood block.
Is the rubber firmly attached.
Smell the stamp, it should smell a bit like an eraser, but never 'sour'.
Is the rubber sticky or brittle? That stamp is a no-no.
A GOOD rubber stamp should be deeply-etched (carved), smell fresh, be firmly attached to the wood, and mirror the design on the wood block.
As for cost, there are Bargain Bins in every craft store, AC Moore has Seasonal Stamps for $1 and $2 each, depending on the size. Michael's has sets of 4 mini-stamps for $1. Even stores like Target have time to time featured $3 and under stamp sets. Buying Lots on eBay is a super way to save big.

BASIC STAMPS TO HAVE-
These are the ones I seem to use most-
Hearts, Stars, A set of Simple Geometric Shapes
Alphabets
A few sentiments "Happy Holidays", "Thinking Of You", "Happy Birthday"
Even when I use seven or eight stamps in a project, the bulk are from the above list.

LETS DISCUSS USES-
you can make
greeting cards with pre-folded cards and rubber stamps
Bookmarks and Book Covers
Decorate a gift bag and tissue paper to match...even a gift tag
Simple Scrapbook Uses-
stamp all over 12x12 cardstock, using different directions each time you stamp an image, to make background paper for books. Or trim to make Mats, Tags, or Border Strips
Stamp just around the outside of a page or mat to create a border
Easily co-ordinate different paper lines by using the same rubber stamps to unify layouts

REMEMBER-
store your stamps away from the sun or any source of heat. Like wise, do not let them freeze either.
Avoid storing them in plastic, as the rubber may get funky. I use clean, small Pizza Boxes, and separate stamps by theme
store your inkpads lid side down so the ink stays at the top of the inkpad. You can store the ink pads in a Cassette rack

CLEAR (ACRYLIC) STAMPS-
Clear stamps work best for positioning letters because you know exactly where the stamp will go on your page. Clear stamps take up less room than rubber stamps, they are stored flat on a piece of plastic, and put in a binder or CD cases.
To use clear stamps, peel gently from the plastic and attach to a clear Acrylic Stamp block. Ink and stamp like you would rubber stamps. If you 'missed a spot', you can re-ink the clear stamps and stamp directly over your first impression.
Clean clear stamps with s little dish soap and warm (not hot) water. Swish the stamp around until ink is gone, and dry flt on a piece of paper towel.
Clear stamps remain 'sticky' and can be used over and over again.
You can use the clear block and arrange many stamps on it at once, and create an entire greeting card in minutes.

Antique Looks With Walnut Ink

If you are making a Shabby, Antique, or Grungy scrapbook, you may want to try using Walnut Ink to age your paper. Walnut Ink was originally made with crushed walnut shells, but now, thanks to modern science, is available in many colors. You can find jars of different colors and brand names at your local craft store.
Walnut Ink is powdered, and you must add water. Use just a tiny bit of ink at first, then add a little at a time until you get the color you want.
You can buy boxes of tags at an office supply store for just a few dollars, or you can make your own tags with a stencil and cardstock.
Here are some tips and different techniques to antique those tags:

1. Fill a small spray bottle with Walnut ink and 'mist' your tag. You will get different splotches in different color intensities.
2. Draw on a white tag with a white crayon. Wherever you have drawn, the ink will not stick to the crayon.
3. Fill a small pan or Styrofoam tray with Walnut Ink, dip your tag in and swirl it around a little.
4. For a different look, sprinkle a bit of dry ink on a tag, then mist with a spray of water.
5. After covering your tag with ink, sprinkle on a bit of regular table salt while the ink is still wet.

Remember to let your tags dry flat, on paper towels. And always use an archival spray if you are unsure whether your materials are acid-free and lingen-free.

Happy Scrappin'!

Simple Color Matching

When you begin scrapbooking, it may be very difficult to match colors in your layouts. You may find yourself getting frustrated, buying more and more supplies that just don't look 'right'. But there is a very simple way to have 'an artist's eye' for color.
A color wheel is very simple. There are three Primary Colors- Red, Yellow, and Blue. All other colors (except white, black, and pastel) are mixed from these three. The easiest way to see this is with cheap kids' paints or clays from the dollar store. Try to mix equal parts first.

• Red and Yellow make Orange.
• Red and Blue make Purple.
• Blue and Yellow make Green.

Okay, so you've played around a bit, mixed Orange, Purple and Green, which are Secondary Colors. Now, it's time for some fun...

• More Red than Yellow makes a fiery Red-Orange, while more Yellow than Red will make a lighter, brighter Yellow-Orange.
• More Red than Blue makes Violet, more Blue than Purple makes a royal Purple.
• More Blue than Yellow will make a Blue-Green, while more Yellow than Blue will make a Spring Green.

Ahh, so you are beginning to understand the mixing of colors, now if you prefer pastels, get White paint ready to mix in to the whole lot of colors.

• Primary colors match well, they make each other stand out. Red, Yellow, and Blue are great for kids' layouts, as well as circuses, birthdays and sports layouts.
• Secondary colors also match well, and Purple, Orange and Green are nice in Summer, girl, and Halloween layouts.

• Complimentary colors are pairs of colors that make each other more dramatic. They are Purple and Yellow, Red and Green, and Blue and Orange.
• Consider using shades of the same color, such as Red, Red-Orange, Orange, Yellow-Orange, and Yellow. The Reds- Yellows would match well for Fall or Summer, as well as Sunset photos. Red, Violet, Purple, Royal Purple and Blue are quite regal for a winter Wedding, a boy page, or city skylines. Yellow, Spring Green, Green, Blue-Green, and Blue would be nice for a water theme, nature, summer camp, or botanic gardens.

Every paper has an Undertone of color. There are Blue-Greens, True Greens, Spring Greens, and Gray-Greens. You can mix Gray- Greens by adding a touch of Black to see how it looks. Grayed colors are nice for beach scenes, antique or Black and White photos.
Try playing with color.

• Rose, Gray-Green, and Dark Red are very Victorian and regal, nice for old photos, garden, or baby photos.
• Black, White and Red work well for weddings, proms, anniversaries or cityscapes.
• Yellow, Red and Brown are nice for Fall, Halloween or Rustic pictures.

Scrapbook paper can be bought as loose sheets easily if you keep in mind what matches well. Paint samples can be found at your local hardware store, and can be matched up to papers at the Scrapbook Store. Slabs have many co-ordinating pages in one package, so it is easy to match up your layouts.

Organizing Scrapbook Supplies Simply and Cheaply

As an avid scrapbooker, you may find yourself up to your elbows in ribbons, stickers and embellishments. Here are some simple and cheap ways to organize your scrapbook stuff...

• Eyelets, Brads, Snaps, Charms, Buttons,Paper Clips, Beads- Store these in pillboxes. You can get up to a 24 compartment size in the $1 store, with small compartments, or a 7 compartment with large spaces. The lids snap on tight, and the boxes are usually a clear frosted color you can see into. I like to organize all my similar items together in one pillbox- brads with brads, eyelets with eyelets... then I separate by color. So, all my brads are in one box, with each color or style in its own little compartment. It may be more helpful for you to separate by color- one whole box is pinks, with each little compartment holding brads, buttons, eyelets etc.
  

If you can find ice-cube trays that have a lid that snaps on, that would work well also.

Tic-Tac boxes also work for the tiniest seed beads and smallest bits. The lids stay tightly closed, they are see-through, and have a great little 'pour spout'.

• Scissors, Pens, Rulers- back to the Dollar Store, this time for a cutlery organizer (the kind where your forks and spoons stand straight up, rather than lay flat). You can see at a glance what you need, and since these are plastic, they can be cleaned if a pen leaks.

You can also hang a piece of pegboard on the wall (make sure to leave a half-inch gap between the pegboard and the wall). Hang all your fancy edging scissors on S-Hooks right on the wall where you can always find them.

• Paper Punches- Hang a clear plastic Shoe Organizer on the wall or behind a door, and fill the 'shoe areas' with your punches.

• Rubber Stamps- you want to be very careful not to store your stamps in any type of plastic that can destroy them. Instead, ask your local pizzeria for a few clean, new pizza boxes. You can separate your stamps into themes- 'Birthday', 'Alphabet', 'Christmas', or by Small, Medium, and Large. Decorate the boxes with pretty paper, or paint with acrylic paint. Write on the box tops what's inside, stack them on top of each other, and-Voila- more space to buy more stamps!

• Large Stencils- place in page protectors and load into a 3 Ring Binder. Binders are at the $1 store, page protectors (8.5x11) are about $3 for 100 at Staples or Office Max.

• Small (or Brass) Stencils- use the 'Baseball Card' protector sheets, and load into a binder with your other stencils.

Sticker modules (small squares or stickers) also fit well in Baseball Card Protector sheets. They have 9 pockets per page.

I have heard of storing short bits of fibers in the baseball card holders also. And die cuts. Heck, just buy a pack- they hold everything.

• Inkpads- store these upside-down, so the ink stays at the surface of the pad. Keep them neat in a Cassette holding rack. They come in really pretty wood, or cheap black plastic. I went with plastic so it wouldn't stain (I am clumsy)

Sizzix dies would fit well in a Cassette Rack also (most dies would work, Sizzix is a name used as an example)

• Ribbon Spools- decorate a regular cardboard shoebox with pretty papers or paint it with acrylics. Punch a hole at both of the long ends (heel to toe) , and punch 6 holes on each side. Run a dowel through heel to toe, with all your ribbon spools threaded on the dowel. Poke the end of each ribbon through it's own hole. You can stack the boxes on top of each other. These sell for $20+ at scrapbook stores, but you can make your own so simply.

• Loose Bits Of Ribbon- hang a multi-tiered clothes hanger (meant for pants or skirts), and use clothespins to hold each ribbon to a tier. You can decorate the clothespins with scraps of paper or embellishments. Or separate the scraps by main color and use clear glass mason-type jars on a shelf.
  

• Paper- I think in terms of color, so I separated my papers, using their dominant color (a white page with a few small blue and yellow flowers went in with white paper). I separated my cardstock from my paper, also sorted by color. I was a fool and bought a 12x12 Scrappers Tote for $15. It held the paper I had then, but since I've bought more I needed a cheaper, better solution. I got those plastic drawers that slide all the way out of a box. These are normally made for clothes. The drawer is frosted clear, and you can pull it out and take it into the other room. Sterlite is the brand name, and I found them on the curb one day, so they only cost me a bit of dish soap and water. (Yes, I liberated them from someone's recycling... hey, I recycled them myself) Target and Wal-Mart sell these in different sizes, for about $6-$20 each, depending on size.

As I come up with more ideas, I will add them here.
Happy Scrappin' !

'Ello, And Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to laura6scrapblog. You can find me on etsy under laura6 , or on eBay as ScrapsAreUs where I will be selling some of my work.
Why did I get involved in scrapbooking? Simple, my Ma gave me a kit two Christmases ago. But in reality, I have been crafting for years.
For example, I have been rubberstamping for 13 years (I am 28). I enjoy almost any type of art or craft, and have dabbled in Polymer Clay, Beading, Sculpture, Paint, Charcoal and Pastels, Paper Crafts of all types, Macrame/ Friendship Bracelets and even embroidery (which I had no patience for). Heck, in the fifth grade I made myself a Bart Simpson t-shirt (it read "Homeboy Bart" and his quote was 'word up, man'... he even had shades and a three-finger name ring.)
I graduated with a Fine Art Diploma from high school-and not just ANY high school, i attended the school from the movie 'Fame'.
Art just comes sort of naturally to me. Not to toot my own horn or anything (Toot Toot LOL)
Keep an eye out on both this blog, and on etsy, to see my latest creations.