Monday, December 11, 2006

Preparing For baby

Wow, finally I have managed to upload pics of my layouts onto my blog. My Hubby was away for a week and a bit in Dec so i had to wait for him to come back for help uploading. Then when he manged to get around to doing so, the pictures were too small and could hardly be seen. Fresh uploading of pics met with serious internet access issues for me at home, then to the whole Asian region due to the earthquake in Taiwan. But it seems we're back in business and just in time for the new year too. The post below was written ages ago but just never published. Hee.


Materials: Textured Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper; Patterned Paper: DCWV Text Stack; Epoxy Alphabet: S.E.I; Alphabet Rubons: Making Memories and Heidi Swapp for Advantus; "Special" tag: Wild Asparagus; Ribbon: Making Memories; Metal Tag and brads: L'il Stackers by American Traditional Designs; Quilling: Jolee's; Embossing Pen and Opaque Writer (white): ZIG by Kuretake; Clear Embossing Powder: Ranger.

I was reading Simple Scrapbooks (again forgot which issue...sorry - too lazy to trace) and there was an article about scrapping without pictures. Inspired by this article, I dug around in a box in which I had kept memorabilia from Ty's birth. I found pictures of his ultrasound scans, a receipt from Amazon for baby books which i had ordered prior to his birth and the JPMC card in which his scans were given to us. Scrapability for all!! I chose the baby text paper from my DCWV stack. It was green. Not my favourite colour but i figured what better time to use it. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the end result as it was quick to put together but my favourite critic, Hubby, doesn't like the layout at all because of the colour.

I sprayed the Amazon receipt and the JPMC card with Acid-Free spray just in case even though I did not use any photos in the layout. Maybe the spraying will prevent the items from discolouration. The Acid-Free spray is available from www.scrappinggals.com and is pretty expensive as it does say that it is only good for 8 sprays or something (having said that I think I have used my little spray can more than that so....). A little can costs about $40 something.

This was the fastest layout I have put together so far as it was only a matter of arranging the memorabilia on the page. Journalling was very basic and handwritten in a "list" format with white pen on black cardstock and hidden behind the JPMC card.

On hindsight, I should have inked the edges of my patterned paper to give it a more distinctive look since my background cardstock is also green but I was rushing the layout in an attempt to challenge myself to finish in as little time as possible. Hence the incomplete feeling I get everytime I look at the layout. Oh well, lesson learnt. I guess I am not the rush-rush scrapper. LOL.

Crazy Sale News

Pictures 2 Pages (www.pictures2pages.com) in Singapore has extended its Crazy sale till the 31st December 2006. The same discounts apply, as in 20% off items priced in black and 10% off items priced in red. If you know of anyone going to Singapore now for the holidays, be sure to be extra nice and sweet to them and then get on your knees and beg them to bring your order home for ya cos i think this is a sale not to be missed.

What's more, i've been working on 2 layouts over the weekend (and great news is that I actually FINISHED both!! Hurrah!! - watch this space as they will be posted soon) and for one of them, I had this great idea of embossing my die-cut title with UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel) to make it look glossy. Unfortunately, I did not count on the little alphabets flying around as soon as I turned on my Heat Tool. On reflection, after I had spent a half hour longer than anticipated working on the title, i thought that if i had some glitter it would have been far far easier to decorate my title. Would probably stand out more as well and i started dreaming of the new Making Memories Shimmer sets. Then when i checked out Pictures2Pages this morning, the new Glue Dots glitter are in. It's a sign!!! What's even better you ask...my parents will be in Singapore for a short trip this week. So yes, there goes some more of my savings but all in all...for a good cause wouldn't you say. LOL.

Happy shopping all.

Friday, December 08, 2006

The Beginning - oooeer

This was my very first attempt at a 12x12 page layout. Very simple and basic scrapbooking I think. My efforts at making the little foldout booklet containing more photos did not turn out very well as the ribbon tie is really for show only and does not hold the booklet close AT ALL!! Oops!! I had already stuck the picture on the front of the booklet before realizing the ribbon had to go over ithe photo in order to secure the whole thing. And of course I did not want any ribbon to mar the photo hence the "for-show" ribbon tie. Oh well...a better attempt next time!!!

But aren't the photos sooooo cute!! Ty (in the Tigger outfit) and his cousin, Yu Shiuan (piglet of course) were born only 2 days apart and when they were 6 months old, we brought them to Universal Photo Studios for a studio shoot. Ty had gotten the piglet outfit as a gift from my aunt, Hjh Adina (who meant to give it to my cousin's child Aqilah but did not realize it was a piglet so we lucked out except that it is pink...not that the colour stopped us from letting Ty use it for as long as he could fit in it - metrosexual colour bah). The Tigger outfit is a hand-me-down from I dunno who.


Materials: Textured Cardstock: Bazzill Basic Paper; Patterned Paper: Chatterbox and We R Memory Keepers; Alphabet Stickers: EK Success; Epoxy Tiles Play: Sticko for EK Success; Pen: Zig; Ribbon: Pictures2Pages; Photo Corners: Chatterbox; Alphabet Rubber Stamps: Hero Arts; Ink: Tsukineko; Paper Punch: EK Success Whale of a Punch.


I must admit I am not very good with patterned paper. Love buying them but can't seem to use them properly. The Chatterbox brand of papers are really nice and they come co-ordinated by "rooms" and are double sided. The paper I used above is from the Sun Room collection and it was pretty easy picking for me as i wanted something to match the orange of the Tigger outfit.

My cousin, LJ (who is scrapbook crazy now) just came back from joining a beginner and intermediate class in Singapore at Laine's Papeterie (located on the 3rd Floor of Wheelock Place - same floor as Birkenstock) and she was told that we should choose our patterned paper first and then choose the co-ordinating cardstock. That sure was news for me as i almost always choose my cardstock first to match the photos and then I trawl thru my paper stash for matching paper. When you think about it, it does seem easier to choose patterned paper first. So that is the quick tip for today. :-)

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

The Importance of Being Sticky

Without adhesives/glue, scrapbooking would not be possible. Adhesives are really important and I thought it would be worth blogging about the many different types of adhesives there are in the market. Many beginner scrappers do not realize the value of adhesives and how many different types are actually available. You can get both permanent and repositionable adhesives.

When i do a page, I can use as many as 4 different types of adhesives. That's on one single page!! Different elements on your page may require different adhesives to make sure they stay on your page properly. Of course it is perfectly alright to use just one type of adhesive and i would recommend roller tape glue. It looks like correction tape and is really easy to use. Shabby Chic at The Mall sells the Tombow brand for $3.20. I am currently using the Pritt brand as seen below. I use the roller tape glue primarily for sticking my patterned paper onto my pages.





I use photo mounts when sticking my photos on mats on on my page. There's no actual "sticky" reason as to why i use photo mounts for my photos other than i find it is cheap to buy. But I also do think that they hold my photos better. The ones i use are from Australia.
Other types of adhesives that i use are photo corners (for things that i do not want permanently stuck on my page. I have used photo corners as a decorative element too. If i find that i do not have the right colour for my page, all I do is take out my acrylic paints and paint my photo corners the exact colour i want. Photo corners can come in many different types of style and colour. The ones in the photo are basic ones which comes in clear, white, gold, silver and black. Big name manufacturers like Making Memories and Heidi Swapp also make their own stylish ones like woven and metal corners. These do not actually hold the photo but only gives an aesthetic effect.



Glue Dots are another great type of adhesive. Glue Dots describe the adhesive and is also the actual brand name too. They come in a 3 types of sizes (2 of which are shown here). They have also produced Continuous Glue Lines, Pop-Up Dots and Vellum Dots. The box packaging shown here is the old type. New packaging comes in flat plastic packs which are much easier to store. Glue Dots are really sticky so make sure you position your photo or embellishment in the right spot cos there is no turning back without doing some sort of damage to your page at the very least.




The Glue Dots shown above are the Memory Book Dots (medium sized), Mini Dots and Glue Lines.

Vellum glue is also a must have if you like working with Vellum paper which is akin to tracing paper except it is of thicker quality and has a kind of sheen on one side of it. Normal glue will show right through the vellum so it is imperative that the right glue is used. I use Scotch 3M Vellum tape as seen below but my sister-in-law and cousin have both told me that it also does show through their vellum after awhile. I myself have not had a problem with them but the Vellum Dots produced by Glue Dots advertises itself as the only vellum glue in the market that does not show AT ALL!!


If you like using liquid glue, there is also the ZIG 2-Way Liquid Glue made by Kuretake. These come in 3 types of pens. Fine tip, medium tip (which is like a flourescent marker pen) and the super fat tip. Only the first 2 are shown below. The Fine tip glue pen is pretty nifty for small die cuts. They are called 2-Way glue because they can be both permanent and repositionable. Leave it to dry slightly before putting it on your page and it becomes repositionable meaning you can pull off the element easily and stick it elsewhere. Attach the element to your page while the glue is still wet and its becomes permanent.


If you want incredibly super sticky glue then the Terrifically Tacky Tape by Provo Craft is the one for you. I found these in Singapore at www.pictures2pages.com and fell in love with them instantly. They come in 3 width sizes and are completely worth the money you pay. It works like double sided tape and is clear so you could also stick glitter and small beads on them.



If you want to give your element or embellishment a 3-D effect then use Pop-Up Dots, 3D Dots or foam tape. You can get normal Scotch 3M brand of foam tape from anywhere like Hua Ho or Utama Grand but these are not acid or lignen free so i would be careful when using them near your photos. I am using Francheville Foam Tape at the moment but 3D Dots (see below) are more widely available in all scrapbooking shops or online sites. Shabby Chic now sells the Pop-Up Dots (Glue Dots brand).


The last type of adhesive I use is the Xyron Create A Sticker Maker. I absolutely love this!! Xyron produces these sticker makers in all sorts of sizes but i find the 150 model the easiest to carry around. I use it to make my die cut alphabets or pictures into stickers cos sometimes trying to glue little alphabets onto your page can be fiddly. I have also found that using the Xyron for ribbon is fantastic. Just run your ribbon through the Xyron and voila, your ribbon becomes like a sticker which makes it a breeze to stick on your page.


You could also use the basic glue stick which looks like the standard UHU Glue stick. I find that these do not stick as well as other glues but they are really cheap and widely available in Brunei. I have found the AMOS brand selling in Hua Ho and Bismi.


So the next time you go to Shabby Chic or browse through an online scrapping site, check out the adhesives section. And now hopefully you will know which type of glue to get to best suit your scrapping needs!

Friday, December 01, 2006

Layout sizes

Standard scrapbook pages come in 2 sizes. 12x12 and 8.5x11 (which is slightly smaller than an A4 sheet of paper). Of course you can get many different sized albums these days in sizes like 9x9, 8x8 and 6x6 albums plus many more different sizes. The more affordable and widely available 12x12 albums are from Making Memories and they come in various colours in a linen or faux leather finish.

It is advisable to not layer too much paper and/or cardstock on the edges of your layouts as you may find it difficult to get your pages to fit into your page protector. I have that problem with the Nana & Me layout below. I placed my photo and patterned paper flush on the edge of my cardstock base thereby resulting in thick edges. So now i find it hard to get my page to fit in the plastic page protectors of the album and even more so if i try and fit a second layout on the other side of the page protector.

Colorbok produces albums called the The Perfect Scrapbook Album and Making Memories used to produce the Perfect Fit Albums. There are also other brands that advertise themselves as being the perfect fit for 12x12 pages so i gather the problem i have of trying to fit my thick-ish page into my album is a common occurrence. I have the Colorbok album but have not used it yet so whether or not it is true to its calling card, that i do not know.



This is the Colorbok Perfect Scrapbook Album, called as such as they claim that there is no need to trim your pages to get them to fit nicely.





I am using a Making Memories 12x12 album for Ty's pages (see above - blue linen with label holder). And when i saw the photo of my Mum and Ty holding hands, I immediately knew that the photo had to be enlarged to the maximum. I enlarged the photo to an 8x12 in order to fill the entire length of the page and put my journalling strips on the other side. The 4 little pictures at the bottom were a last minute decision and only because I couldn't decide on a space filler for that spot.

You might notice that the second cardstock strip on the layout is blank. The Hubby blanked it out as it had my parent's address on it. I didn't even know he did it till after I posted this.


Materials: Textured Cardstock: Making Memories and Bazill Basics Paper; Patterned Paper: Junkitz; Twistel and Acrylic Paint: Making Memories; Chipboard Alphabet: Heidi Swapp for Advantus; Photo Corners: Chatterbox; Tag and Brad: Queen & Co.; Alphabet Rubber Stamps: Hero Arts; Pigment Ink: Ranger.