paper trimmer - cuterpede

one of the first tools I bought was a paper cutter.
extremely useful to cut long strips of paper neat & straight.



it is debatable which brand is the best or most accurate but it really depends on your personality.
are you using the cutter to cut or to measure? personally, different rulers has different measurements too, if you get what I mean. I also bought the different cutters to interchange and it has added a lot more varieties to my edges.

check it out.

The thing about scrapbooking

When I first started, I have absolutely no clue how to go about it.

There are really a lot of paper, embellishments, hardware to buy. I would go to the store and just "jaw drop" and not know what to get.

I thought about the photos I want to scrap and tried to buy the paper and stuff that I think would go along. Sometimes, it did; sometimes  it didn't. In the end, I had to make a few trips and almost am randomly buying stuff. All these embellishments, ribbons, paper don't come cheap. I started to collect but I still wasn't getting anywhere.

My good friend was kind enough to come by and lend me some of her beautiful paper punches and to offer precious advice is terms of layout and I managed to finish these 12x12 after 3 afternoons each, spread over a couple of weeks, with lots of thinking in between.

not very efficient if you ask me.

I then decided, that part of being creative was to make use of EXISTING materials, instead of keep having to buy.

I still do buy, of course I have to. I need to replenish and I need to build a stash. But most of the time now, before I make a purchase, esp high value items, I ask myself how versatile it is and how many projects I can possibly do with them.

eg, I buy paper punches with classic designs that won't go out of time or be used for once before I get bored of the design.

I also recently bought a kit from Websterspages in their Nov warehouse sale.The box only cost USD20 and shipping it here probably cost me more. But they had collections of printed lightweight paper which helps tremendously in laying-out, and it also had a lot of ribbons. I looked at some of them and wondered how and when will I use those. They were bright, gaudy coloured, stuff that I would probably not buy. However, I'm pretty proud to say that I have used them in a lot of my recent projects.

Whenever I need some embellishments, ribbons or touch up, I would go dig that Webster box and lo! and behold! I would be sure to find something I could use. Mind you, I didn't choose any of the items in the box.

I'm pretty proud and happy with myself.

In conclusion, I would continue to buy 'generic' stuff and probably even invest in 1 or 2 subscription kits to establish a supply of papers and other paraphernalia that I can use.

Disclaimer: Buy only if you are actively scrapping. otherwise, the stash would simple be wasted. I have started from 2 boxes to almost a cupboard full :) But I really do love scrapping.

having the right paper

my SIL gave me a stack of paper DCWV Oncea upon a time stack for my Christmas present. I didn't open it til today and it is a lovely stack of paper.

Immediately, I fell in love with it and found my inspiration to complete this 12x12, in under an hour.

yes, I starting on my Project Life kids for my kids. I've decided to work backwards. Since I have already some of their concert 2013 photos on hand, I am starting with this.

Simple, not much layering but I used EK 3D stickers to create the 3D effect.

Simple and pretty. :-)

very addictive

Last night I slept at 1am doing Project Life - NZ. wow.

And today, I've went through my stash of scraps and cut out 3x4" and 6x4" of PL cards, ready for use.

Addictive, Obsessive. Proceed with caution

Project Life is starting!

I first saw Project Life about a year ago and I thought, it looks too complicated. I just started scrapping and I wasn't sure if I was ready to spend so much money on albums and sleeves (what sleeves?!). after a year, I begin to see the relevance of Project Life. 

 Scrapping for me was more than having a 12x12, with pictures inside, beautifully embellished. As I continued to scrapped, I realized what I wanted was to document my life and a 'snapshot' of 12x12 just didn't mean that need. 

First, i ain't so creative to be able to layer lotsa paper & lace to beautifully iconize a moment in my life. If I were to do that, I would have many many 12x12, to many to do. too poor to do that too. 2nd, i like mini albums. and mini albums have a use to categorize events. so, to expand that "mini album", 

I've decided to embark on "Project Life". I will be running a few albums con-currently as i have a 'backlog' One would be to document my kids' school-going years. 2nd would be my holidays. 

To kick start this ambitious project, I've ordered my albums from Amazon using their AmazonGlobalSaver. I have easily saved 40-50% off the albums & sleeves buying from the local scrapbooking store (LSS). :) wonderful! :) 

 I will try to add more pictures as I go along :)

more layering

I have 12x12 of my kids, myself but none of Hubs. So I decided to dedicate one to him. I saw this layout in the Local Scrapbooking Store (LSS) and decided to use it as my inspiration. I must say it was fun to layer paper and to see the possibilities. Took me quite a number of hours, since this is all new to me but I like it very much.

over here, I punched the edges of the paper to giveit more variety.

the end product

photo frames

this is the original look which I put up for almost 1 year. 
I bought the frame from Ikea.
it does look very boring doesn't it?
after much thinking, i decided to 'revamp' it.











with some papers from Daiso, ribbons and alphas, this is the new look.
absolutely love it :)