Bursts of Creativity

30 Before 30 List

2012-01-25T14:09:00.000-05:00

So every January I do what I think a lot of people probably do - think of all the things we want to change in our lives and try to come up with "resolutions". Often the resolutions are so vague - " I want to eat out less" " I want to blog more " I want to go to the gym more often" "I want to go outside more". Then I think "ehh... resolutions are stupid - you can't make me do them!" (I have a problem with authority even if that authority is me telling myself what to do - I have to say no because nobody tells me what to do - not even me!) Anyways.. I had been seeing a lot of these "30 before 30" (or 26 before 26 etc) lists on the blogs lately and I thought it was a kind of a neat way to come up with a list of things I want to accomplish in a year - some that are tiny goals leading up to those big lofty resolutions and some things that are just silly. Yesterday I turned 29 (and I'm hoping I at least look 15 by now!) so I came up with a list of 30 things I want to accomplish by the time I turn 30 - January 24, 2013:

Clean out closets and donate everything I don’t need/use
Learn to use camera in manual mode
Buy reusable shopping bags and use them at the grocery store
Make more of an effort to shop local
Go on a road trip
Fix my bicycle and use it.
Visit Washington DC
Double my blog readership
Take a photo of Dustin and I together at least once a month
Read 24 books
Try out 30 new recipes
Take a class
Get a tattoo
Let go of negative memories and relationships and focus on building happier and healthier relationships.
Discover 20 new things/places about Richmond
Celebrate a holiday at my own house.
Sacrifice something I don’t really need in order to save money
Go to the movies by myself
Hike 5 different trails
Go 10 days in a row without eating out
Decorate my house – put some art on those walls!
Make 5 projects using my sewing machine (and one of them has to be entirely made of fabric – no paper!)
Cut my hair
Sleep 8 hours in a row- at least once!
Make something I have seen on Pinterest
Go to a festival
Double the items in my Etsy shop
Finally create a wedding album (before I forget everything that happened!)
See the final Twilight with Danielle
Organize the house and come up with a system to keep it clean

My Etsy Room

2012-01-23T14:49:00.000-05:00

If you are a facebook follower you know that this weekend I spent cleaning up my Etsy space. I haven't ever shared it - and now its organized(ish) - I thought I would share where I "work". I have a studio upstairs for all my crafty adventures but I needed a separate space (because that space barely holds all the paper I own let alone anything else!) and since I really like working in the living room (but didn't want to completely take over that space) I decided to move all my Etsy stuff to the next best thing - the dining room. What started out as a few small boxes a year ago has exploded into this:

I used the metal shelves you can get at Lowes for organizing your garage - and I didn't realize they came in white which I like to tell myself makes them less ugly and out of place!! haha! As you can see I have a TON of stuff - a year ago I literally maybe had 2-3 of those plastic containers worth of stuff and now it is never ending! And to be honest this is the beginning of it - I have more in closets upstairs, stuff in containers under our bed - shelves of old books in my studio and more stuff in the living room - seriously never ending!!

This side is for the stuff I do not have listed - in other words stuff i need to hurry up and list so it can find a good home!! Also stuff I'm hoarding because I'm having a hard time parting with it! I wish I could say all of it was organized but it really isn't - most of those boxes are stuffed with all sorts of random stuff!

These boxes are great - I got them off of ebay and I think they are for storing comic books but they make it easier for me to store little bits and pieces of paper, milk caps, greeting cards, stamps, tickets, photos, and much more!

And the other side is for all the items I have listed (and my postcards). I learned early on to have a separate and very organized spot for items that are in the shop and ready to be sold - makes the packing and shipping process a thousand times easier!

And finally my postcards!! I know in my shop I say I have about 5000 unlisted postcards but its more like 10,000 or so and at least that many in the shop - crazy!! Well hope you enjoyed my little tour - its nothing terribly special but it's where a I work!

And I am trying to unload some of the excess so I can make room for more! Check out my clearance section in my shop here. I already listed almost 2000 postcards and I plan to list more in the upcoming week at super cheap prices!

Me & You Mini 6x6 Layout

2012-01-19T10:12:00.000-05:00

I made another little 6x6 layout the other day that I wanted to share with you. If you haven't noticed by now I am loving the Crate Paper Valentine's line and apparently have Valentine's Day on my mind. Even though I am thinking about the holiday now I can guarantee you I will be one of the idiots at Hallmark the day of trying to find a half decent card from whatever is left over (oh yeah I am a procrastinator) - at least my husband works in a different town so I won't see him there. One year when we were living in South Dakota we ran into each other on our lunch break at the local pharmacy buying cards!! It was a small town and there weren't many places to go! But anyways back to the layout:

You can probably tell that I was inspired by the tags I made (see yesterday's post). You can see a lot of the same elements - the polka dots - the embellishment.

Trio of Valentine's Day Tags

2012-01-18T06:53:00.000-05:00

Such A Lovely Day Mini Layout

2012-01-12T08:00:00.001-05:00

I have been playing around with 6x6 mini layouts lately. For some reason I find it difficult to scrap in 12x12 and am rarely really happy with the results. I think I work better in smaller spaces (like tags!) so I have been working on 6x6 layouts to try to translate that to scrapbook pages. I love using smaller photos (made with the collage function in Picasa) that way it has a similar scale to what you would see on a 12x12 (with multiple photos).

I love the little tags/titles that My Mind's Eye makes - and I love how it looks on this layout - if only they would make them larger so you could do the same layout but 12x12!

Portlandia

2012-01-11T08:00:00.015-05:00

So yesterday Claudine Helmuth posted on her facebook page this clip from the show Portlandia:

OH MY GOSH! What?? That was seriously the funniest thing ever... I immediately went and watched all the other clips from the show (hey I don't have much else to do.... haha) then I went to on demand and found that there were a few episodes on that so I watched a few and now I'm hooked ... and also sad that I just learned about it!

I seriously am way too easily addicted to new tv shows. And now that there is dvr I feel like I can't just let something go as easily as before. Once I watch a pilot I feel like I'm invested and I can't stop watching - I think its a sickness! I am also really easily influenced by others so if someone says they think a show is awesome (even if I don't particularly respect there taste) I feel like I have to watch it too - this is why I have a whole season of Walking Dead saved on my dvr that I haven't watched yet but can't bring myself to delete! Please tell me I'm not alone?!?!?!

So what tv show can you not live without? And yes I'm sure most of you will claim "not to watch a lot of tv" and maybe think of my obsessive tv watching as "sad" but I'm ok with that because tv makes me laugh and laughing is good! haha!

And on another note... I seriously have the darkest house ever!?!?!? Ummm maybe when you built this house you should have put a few more windows in or a skylight or cut down a few trees?? (gasp! That is a HUGE no no in this community - all about the trees and "natural landscaping" aka no grass) Its been kinda dark lately and rainy which kinda stinks when I have these great ideas for blog posts but I have to wait for a day when there is enough light to take photos - at least its winter - taking photos in the summer is impossible with all the leaves on the trees - then we seriously have no natural light in the house!!

I (heart) You Tag

2012-01-10T10:29:00.000-05:00

I know Valentine's Day is more than a month away but I am loving Crate Paper's Valentine's line and have been making lots of tags!

In Love Tag

2012-01-09T13:20:00.000-05:00

Year in Review Mini Tips and Tricks

2012-01-05T00:15:00.002-05:00

Tips & Tricks:

You don't have to include EVERY photo you took last year – just pick a few of your favorite (or perhaps one from each month)
This is a year in review MINI – it doesn’t have to be huge and it doesn’t have to take a ton of time to make. I have made ones that are big (like this year’s) and have took hours and hours to make and I have made ones that are tiny and took only an hour or two. The mini I made in 2009 was a small paper book very similar to my “one sheet wonder” – need ideas of how to make simple minis? Check out my tutorials (see link at top of this page). File Folder minis or children board book minis would be great for this project too!
Try to include at least one photo of everyone who is important to you. Have 4 kids? Make sure to include all of them - don't leave a kid out! (ok so I don’t have kids but I guess that was probably an unnecessary tip haha)

Use the mini you make to help you determine what photos to focus on for the next year. After you are finished with this book you will see gaps in the subjects you are choosing to photograph. For me this year it was the month of December – yep I didn’t take a single photograph during December!! How crazy is that? Also I frequently see that I don’t take many pictures of myself or my husband. My book this year was about 90% pictures of my nephew – which is ok because he’s adorable of course! But maybe next year I will take a photo or two of someone else in my life!!

Get others in on the action! Have each of your children (or your husband) to create a page – include a photo of them and have them right down their favorite moments from the year.
Photo editing software is your friend! I use Picasa – its free and super easy to use. My favorite function of the software is that it allows me to create photo collages. This is great for small (5x7 or 4x6 size books) – take only two photos and create a photo collage – have it printed at your local photo printer and now you have two photos for the price of one and the smaller sizes lets you include more photos in your book.
Let your photos be a page! Try gluing two 4x6 photos together and punching holes in them letting them be a page in your mini. By gluing them together you create a quick and sturdy page. I usually alternate between these and cardstock pages – it allows me to include more photos without feeling like I have to make more scrapbook “fancy” pages.
Most important - it's YOUR year in review. Include the things that are important to you!!

Possible things to include in your mini:

Big Events - birthdays, holidays, graduation, family reunions - make sure to get this big moments from the year!
Trips you have taken - that big trip you took to Disney last summer - make sure to include it!
Pictures of you - make sure you include a picture of you - it is YOUR album after all!
Everyday life - things that you did every day - places you go (the gym, school, etc) or daily rituals (morning coffee, nighttime story, etc) - maybe even write out a typical day in the life
Things you liked/loved/were obsessed with: have something you couldn't live without this year? (starbucks coffee, ipad, American Idol) - make sure to document it!
Places you frequented - In 2010 we spent Saturdays at the local Farmer's Market - I made sure to include it in my mini.
Hobbies - include a picture of your craft room or other hobbies you have - or list them. Enjoy a good book? List out the books you read this year!
News Headlines- this one is my favorite! Include some of the big headlines from the news and pop culture for a fun look back later!
Friends - they are a part of your life so remember to include them in your book. Have a weekly coffee with your BFF or a monthly girls night out? Make sure to include them.
Picture of the place you live/town you live in - include a picture of your house or your town - you never know when you might move and it would be fun to remember where you were living at the time.

Pin It

2011 Year in Review Mini

2012-01-04T12:21:00.003-05:00

Warning: This post is photo heavy!! This little mini turned out to be not so little! I wanted to share with you how it all turned out though so here are all the photos:

Make sure to check out my Year in Review Tips & Tricks post!
Pin It

Hello 2012 - Goodbye 2011!

2012-01-03T11:27:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday(s). I spent this past weekend working on a 2011 Year in Review mini album. It was great to look back and relive some of the happier moments from last year but I gotta say I'm not disappointed to see it go! Here's to hoping 2012 is a thousand times better than 2011!

And I am in this place now where I measure how happy I am with a mini I have made by how much stuff is sticking out of it. I am definitely loving this little mini and all the "stuff" I put in it. And as you could have guessed - I will be sharing more of this book this week.

Top 10 of 2011

2011-12-29T08:00:00.003-05:00

Here are my 10 favorite posts of 2011. Hope you enjoy taking a look back and I will see you back here in the new year! Happy New Year!

1. London Calling Mini Book

This was my favorite project of the year - and I think it has been the one project of mine most pinned on Pinterest (at least its the one I seem to see the most!). I loved that it was made from cardboard boxes (something I have an abundance of here!)

2. Dollar Store Mini Album

Remember my thrifty Thursday posts? Yeah yeah I know you are thinking ... YEAH I do - where did they go??? Well it became difficult to keep up with but this was one of my first thirfty posts of the year - a mini album made from a dollar store children's board book. Want to see more Thrifty posts? Click here to see all my Thrifty Thursday posts for the year.

3. 25 Days of Christmas Tags

I decided to get into the holiday spirit this year by posting twenty five days worth of Christmas tags. I always seem to like to create huge projects for myself right at the busiest time of the year!!

4. Scrapbook 101

I created a 3 part series this year focusing on starting your first scrapbook. Check out all three parts: Part 1 - Supplies, Part 2 -Organize Your Photos, Part 3 - Creating Pages.

5. Shopping for Vintage Paper

I had a lot of questions about where I found my vintage supplies and how I created my ephemera kits for my Etsy shop - this post explored a little bit of where I find my the items in my stash.

6. File Folder Mini Album

This tutorial was created for a guest artist project on Scrapbook News and Review.

7. Thrifty Mini Album - File Folder Mini

I was really into making albums out of file folders this year! This was one of the first ones I made (with tutorial).

8. Tea Time! Altered Tea Tin

I really love how a little bit of paper, ink, and ribbon can transform an ordinary every day item into a special personalized gift - this year I did that with a few items but my favorite was this tea tin makeover!

9. Organizational Tip to Inspire Creativity

I did a lot of organizing this year (and still my room isn't finished!) but my favorite idea was taking embellishments of the same color scheme and storing them in vintage muffin tins.

10. Daily Junque Journal

Ok this would have been further up the list if I hadn't just made it! I loved this little book - expect to see more cardboard books in the future!

Also check out my Top 10 of 2010 here for more great posts!

Daily Junque Journal

2011-12-27T14:36:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite projects from this year was my London Calling mini book (check it out here) made from cardboard boxes. I have been wanting to make something similar and last week I sat down with some cardboard and a pile of Pink Paislee Daily Junque papers and embellishments. I tried to keep a little bit more of the cardboard look with this book by cutting down my paper a little smaller and peeling back the top layer of cardboard. I really just made this for the fun of it - I love the vintage photos in the book but they aren't of anyone I know -I like this type of project because it allows you to use products you love and focus on new techniques and pushing yourself rather than creating something that has to have a certain purpose. I love how it turned out and can't wait to make another one!

Pin It

Christmas Tag #25

2011-12-25T08:00:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Tag #24

2011-12-24T08:00:00.001-05:00

Christmas Tag #23

2011-12-23T08:00:00.001-05:00

Christmas Tag #22

2011-12-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Christmas Tag #21

2011-12-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

Christmas Tag #20

2011-12-20T08:00:00.009-05:00

Christmas Tag #19

2011-12-19T08:00:00.014-05:00

You might have noticed my box was looking a little bit fuller! I spent Saturday in the studio finishing up my tags (I had 7 to go!) Once they were all done I put them in the box and realized there was A LOT of room left! (I actually knew all along that was going to happen - the box was kinda big). I decided to fill in the extra space with vintage Christmas postcards (from my Etsy shop) - that way it was a big box of pretty things to look at! Hope you have been enjoying the tags!

Christmas Tag #18

2011-12-18T09:25:00.000-05:00

You might be noticing the much fuller box in the background. Well.. that's because I finished all my tags!! Check back tomorrow to see a little bit more of the box!

Christmas Tag #17

2011-12-17T08:00:00.002-05:00

Christmas Tag #16

2011-12-16T09:45:00.000-05:00

1000th Follower Giveaway Results!

2011-12-16T00:07:00.001-05:00

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. The winner (chosen by random.org) was:

#62: Virginia Bell said... I love making distressed tags. Thanks for that tutorial!

Congratulations Virginia!! Send me an email at burstsofcreativity(at)yahoo.com with your address to claim your prize! I need to hear from you by Monday December 19th!

Christmas Tag #15

2011-12-15T08:00:00.002-05:00

Christmas Tag #14

2011-12-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas Tags #12 & #13

2011-12-13T09:43:00.000-05:00

If you haven't already - make sure you check out the giveaway I posted yesterday!

1000th Follower Giveaway!!

2011-12-12T12:28:00.002-05:00

I was so excited to reach my 1000th follower a couple weeks ago! I am super grateful that you all seem to enjoy the blog and keep coming back! So as promised let's celebrate with a giveaway!!

GIVEAWAY
Win a the ultimate Bursts of Creativity Etsy shop grab bag! Includes 1 of each of the following: 25 Piece Vintage Ephemera Grab Bag, International Travel Grab Bag, Child's Play Grab Bag, Christmas Grab Bag, Vintage Photo Grab Bag. Value of $30 (grab bags are already discounted so actually the value is much more!!) Giveaway is open to everyone!!

Required Entry: Leave me a comment on this post telling me your favorite post from this blog in 2011 (1 entry) - need a reminder of what was posted on this blog? Check out the tutorial section here

Additional Entries:

Follow Bursts of Creativity blog, current or new (1 entry)
Become a fan of my facebook page - Melissa Thiesse, current or new (1 entry)
Purchase something from my Etsy shop (1 entry)
1 entry for each of the following you to do to spread the word about this giveaway - tweet, blog, or facebook status (feel free to copy and paste a link)

** Leave a separate comment for EACH entry and your email address in one of the comments unless it is linked to your account. **

~~Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST Thursday December 15, 2011.~~ GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!!

Christmas Tag #11

2011-12-11T08:00:00.002-05:00

Christmas Tag #10

2011-12-10T08:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas Tag #9

2011-12-09T08:00:00.006-05:00

This is my favorite of the tags so far! It's inspired by this card that I found on Pinterest.

Christmas Tag #8

2011-12-08T08:00:00.013-05:00

For this tag I used Ranger crackle paint. To learn how to use crackle paint see my tutorial here.

Christmas Tag #7

2011-12-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

Christmas Tag #6

2011-12-06T11:04:00.001-05:00

I love buying glitter but I'm never quite sure how to use it but here is a easy tutorial for creating a glitter border (perfect for tags!):

1. Supplies needed: tag, glitter, scrap piece of paper (to make cleanup easy), and a strong double sided tape (like scor tape)
2. Start by creating a border around your tag with the tape.
3. Cover in glitter (I like to pile it on and then but the excess back). Push the glitter down with your fingers to make sure it sticks.
4. Ta Da! Now you have a cute glitter border! Try using this technique to make stripes too!

Christmas Tag #5

2011-12-05T07:26:00.001-05:00

Christmas Tag #4

2011-12-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

Christmas Tag #3

2011-12-03T08:00:00.002-05:00

Christmas Tag #2

2011-12-02T09:24:00.001-05:00

I wanted all of my tags to have a similar theme and color scheme. One of the ways I tied them all together was to use vintage postcards as the base of all the tags. To do this I took regular office supply shipping tags and covered them in vintage postcards. I love this idea because a lot of the postcards (especially the older ones - 1920s or older) have pretty handwriting (though I can't read a bit of it!) and added bonus a lot of them have green or red stamps! (perfect for Christmas!).

Want your own vintage postcards to use for tags? Check out my shop for packs of postcards all with handwriting - pack of 20 here or a pack of 50 here.

I will be posting tags over the weekend so check back to see those! And yesterday I reached over 1000 followers!! YAY!! I will be doing a giveaway next week to celebrate!

25 Tags of Christmas

2011-12-01T09:01:00.000-05:00

Happy December Everybody!! I am so excited that it is Christmastime!! Last year on the blog I celebrated with 25 days of projects. (you can see all the projects from last December here). This year I'm changing that a bit to 25 days of Christmas tags! Yep you heard that right - TWENTY FIVE days of Christmas tags! Why just stop at one week or two weeks when you can do all 25 days! And each day I will share something about how I made the tag - the inspiration, a technique, or a tutorial. So lets get this started with Day 1:

Inspiration for Tag 1: Has anyone else seen all of the Scrapbook layouts using layered banners going around Pinterest lately?? I absolutely love them and wanted to incorporate the same look into a tag. I got the inspiration for this tag from this layout specifically (click here). Think about how you can use elements you love in scrapbook layouts scaled down to put on a tag!

And I will be storing my tags in a vintage cheese box. I have about half of them already made and will show you the box again when it is full and done!

So check back tomorrow for Tag #2! And it looks like I am ONE google follower away from having 1000 followers! I am super excited and grateful that y'all (said with a southern accent I don't have - despite growing up in NC) have stuck around with me! There will definitely be a giveaway once I reach the big number!! And I am a little over 100 away on Facebook from reaching 1000 and will do a giveaway there once I reach 1000 too! So if you haven't already, follow me on one (or both) of them and lets have some giveaways!!

5 Easy Christmas Gift Tutorials

2011-11-29T07:16:00.000-05:00

After yesterday's easy 2012 planner tutorial I wanted to remind you of a few of my other tutorials that would make great handmade Christmas gifts:

Board Book Mini Tutorial

Envelope Mini Book Tutorial

File Folder Mini Book Tutorial

Notebook Makeover Tutorial

Tea Tin Makeover Tutorial

2012 Pocket Calendar Planner - Easy Christmas Gift Tutorial

2011-11-28T06:00:00.001-05:00

Now that Thanksgiving is over I know we are all starting to think about (and if you are like me - stress about) Christmas gifts for everyone on our list. Personalizing a 2012 calendar planner makes a perfect gift for those tough to shop for friends - coworkers, teachers, extended family. It's also a great craft for children or teens to make to give their friends! And best of all it is cheap and super easy and quick to make!

2012 Planner Tutorial:

First you want to start with a cheap planner - I got mine from the dollar tree. Make sure that the cover is removable.

Remove the cover from the planner and measure it. Cut paper so that it is exact size for the height of the book and about 2 inches (give or take) longer than the width. In my case I left the paper at 12" across (this gave it close to 1 in on each side). Discard the plastic cover and glue the patterned paper to the outside of the planner making sure to leave about an inch hanging off of each side. Fold the hang over piece and adhere it to the inside of the planner. Measure and cut a piece to cover the inside cover (back and front) - adhere.

Cut a piece that is the same height and about 2-3 inches wide. Fold in half and adhere to the spine of the book. Embellish with a funky border and a title. I also embellished the inside title page with 2012 stickers.

And there you have it - a cheap and easy handmade gift for the holidays! Last year I did something similar with a pocket calendar - to see that project click here.

Black Friday Weekend Sale

2011-11-25T19:14:00.000-05:00

BLACK FRIDAY SALE!! Take 25% off your entire order. Use coupon code: BLACKFRIDAY2011

In addition - spend $50 or more and get a FREE 25 piece ephemera grab bag (value of $5)!

Offer good 12:01am Friday 11/25 - Monday 11/28 at 11:59pm EST. Offer does not apply to custom orders. To receive free grab bag you need to spend $50 after the discount and not including shipping. No coupon necessary for the free grab bag - I will include it with your order when it ships.

Studio Mess and a SALE!

2011-11-12T16:42:00.000-05:00

This is what my studio table looks like after a day of creating! I have been working on some thrifty Christmas gift ideas (with tutorials) hopefully to put up on the blog soon! Hope you are having a productive, fun, and creative weekend!

And I am having a sale in my Etsy shop this weekend. Use the code VETERANSDAY to receive 20% off your purchase! It's a great time to get some vintage Christmas items for your holiday crafting! Sale ends Sunday night and does not apply to custom orders.

Vintage Christmas Items Available in the Shop

2011-11-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

I feel like I have been away for so long! I have had a ton of stuff going on lately and the blog sort of just fell down the list of things to do. I have a lot of ideas for the blog as we get ready for Christmas - I'm hoping to work on some gift idea tutorials soon - so let's cross our fingers for that! (haha). And since we are on the subject of Christmas - I wanted to share with you some of the fun vintage Christmas paper items I have available in my etsy shop:

Vintage Christmas Postcards - Pack of 10: $8. These postcards are from the early 1900s (with most from 1900-1920). I have sold through hundreds of these in the past month and I have a very limited amount left - get them while they last!

Vintage Seals - Pack of 100: $8. Originally sold to raise money to fight tuberculosis - Christmas seals are still used today to raise money for the American Lung Association. I have Christmas seals from the 1930s - 1980s - and I have TONS! These are cute embellishments for minibooks, cards, and tags!

Christmas Ephemera Kit $15. Lots of goodies in these kits - perfect for those December Daily journals! I have them in $6 packs too! I will be adding more of these to the shop soon.

Vintage Unused Humor Christmas Cards from 1948 - Pack of 5 for $7.50. Cheaper than Hallmark cards these cute humor cards would be perfect for sending this season. They are also filled with cute images that could be cut out and used in your Christmas crafts.

I have over 60 Christmas items in the shop so there is lots to look at! These items would be great to add a vintage touch to Christmas cards, tags, and those December daily journals I know you all will be keeping up with!

You can check out all of my Vintage Holiday Ephemera here

You can check out my store here.

** Oh and if you make a purchase in my Etsy shop - mention my blog in the comment section at check out and I might just slip in some extra goodies for you! **

My Halloween Favorites

2011-10-26T10:20:00.000-04:00

Can you believe its almost Halloween?? It seems like Fall is flying by - which is super sad because its my favorite season - I am NOT looking forward to winter and the colder weather. Here are a few of my favorite Halloween posts from the last two years here on the blog. Hope you enjoy!

Spooky Halloween House - October 2010

Halloween Door Decoration - October 2009

Hocus Pocus Tag - October 2010

Halloween Birdhouse - October 2010

Hocus Pocus Tag - October 2011

Best Friends Tag

2011-10-18T09:20:00.000-04:00

Is there anything better than new paper? (Well I love "old" paper too..) The great thing about having worked at a scrapbook store was I came home with a bag of new paper almost every day - and I got all the latest releases as soon as they hit the store! Now that the store is closed I have become a little choosier in the paper that I buy (which is great for my wallet!) but every now and then I have to splurge. Last week I bought a bunch of the new October Afternoon Sidewalks line (LOVE October Afternoon!). I couldn't wait to use it so I made a cute little tag:

Mummy Inspiration

2011-10-17T11:12:00.000-04:00

Have I told you how much I love Pinterest? Yes? Ok well how about lately? haha. I LOVE Pinterest - its a great place to find inspiration (and so easy too!). Last week I noticed a lot of people were "pinning" my Mummy Tag so I wanted to see what other great Mummy crafts were out there. Here is a few I found on Pinterest:

Craftaholics Anonymous - Easy Mummy Tutorial

Parents- Mummy Juice Boxes

Kaboose- Yummy Mummy Treat Holders

Alderberry Hill - Tin Can Mummy

I have a lot more inspiration in my Pinterest board "Mummy" here. You can follow my on Pinterest here. Also a little note - these are great projects - if you do decide to "pin" them please go to their original site to do so or "repin" from my board - that way when someone clicks on your pin it goes to the original poster and not to me! I am a big fan of credit!

Week of Halloween Tags - Day 5

2011-10-14T07:00:00.002-04:00

My final Halloween tag is by far my favorite. I free hand cut a witch hat out of black paper, adhered it to a vintage photo (like the ones here), and added some stickles. Thank you for checking out my week of Halloween tags - hope you enjoyed them!!

Week of Halloween Tags - Day 4

2011-10-13T08:22:00.000-04:00

Today's tag is my favorite! I used an antique tintype photo (because I think they look creepy and perfect for Halloween!). Just a little background on tintype photography: it was invented in the 1850s and continued to be popular through the late 1800s. These photographs were produced on a thin metallic sheet of coated iron (not tin!) and were cheap, quick, and easy to produce so they were typically used by street photographers or in carnivals and fairs. I love using them in my projects (and sometimes they come with a super cute embossed frame!).

Tintype Halloween Tag Tutorial:

1. Find a tintype photograph to use or an old vintage photo (I was really lucky because they one I found had a creepy black shadow or smudge over the person's face.
2. Separate the tintype from the frame - save the frame for a later project
3. Find a Halloween paper with a frame printed - cut the center out and ink the rough edges to make them less noticeable. (I used Pink Paislee Halloween papers). Adhere the tintype behind the frame.
4. Embellish with ink, rhinestones, and a rubon.

And guess what? I have a bunch of tintype photos in my shop. You can check them out in the photograph section of my shop here.

Week of Halloween Tags - Day 3

2011-10-12T07:00:00.002-04:00

Today's tag is all cut from patterned paper. Here is a tip for making your own dimensional embellishments: buy two sheets of the same paper that has a image on it that you like (like this owl). From one sheet cut the entire image out in one piece. From the second sheet cut pieces of the image out (like the eyes, nose, wings). Pop dot the pieces to give a little bit of dimension to part of the image.

Check back tomorrow for another tag and a tutorial!

Week of Halloween Tags - Day 2

2011-10-11T07:00:00.003-04:00

Today's tag is simple - no tutorial but I inked the doily (with the new autumn distress inks) and glimmer misted it for sparkle. Then I added some patterned paper, seam binding (inked with distress ink), and a rubon - and pretty much that's it! See you back tomorrow for another tag!

Week of Halloween Tags - Day 1

2011-10-10T07:00:00.006-04:00

I'm back with a week of Halloween tags! I did this last year and it was a great way to use all those cute Halloween papers and embellishments I am addicted to buying (but never use!). Today's tag is inspired by Linda at Craftaholics Anonymous and her Easy Halloween Mummy Tutorial (see it here).

Easy Mummy Tag Tutorial:

1. Paint a tag with either white paint or gesso
2. Glue a pair of googly eyes to the tag.
3. Using ribbon or cheesecloth, or in my case seam binding (that I scrunched and crinkled) glue the end to the back of the tag at the bottom - wrap the ribbon around the tag - leaving space for the eyes. Glue the other end to the back at the top of the tag.
4. Spray the tag with glimmer mist to give it a little bit of a shimmer (I used the white chalkboard glimmer mist). I covered the eyes with a piece of seam binding to try to keep them from getting sprayed - but they got sprayed anyways so I just wiped them off after.
5. Rub over the tag with distress ink (i used "old paper")
6. Embellish - I added a button to the bottom right corner.

Be sure to check back tomorrow and all week for more Halloween tags!

A Little Break

2011-10-07T10:40:00.000-04:00

So I thought what I needed was a month of creativity - turns out what I really needed was a break. As you might have guessed by now I didn't finish my month of creativity project - I barely even started it. Last month was just a crazy month - a lot going on - some good - some not so good - the perfect time to take a break. But I'm back! And I'm so excited its October - its my favorite month! It's the beginning of fall, the month of my wedding anniversary, usually includes a trip to mountains - oh and Caramel Apple Spice at Starbucks! (hmmm is it sad that I get excited about a drink?). Anyways I finally made my way back to the studio after a long month of not even opening the door. Next week I will be back with a week of Halloween Tags. You can see the ones I did last year here.

And completely unrelated - I am completely addicted to Pinterest! You can follow my boards here. Feel free to send me a message or leave a comment with your boards so I can follow you too!

I will see you back here Monday!!

September Creativity Project Day 1

2011-09-07T07:00:00.003-04:00

Day 1 is journaling - half is a catch up of the last couple of days spent at the wedding and the other half is the "rules" of the creativity project (a copy of yesterday's blog post). I will try to take before pictures (hopefully better ones!):

September Creativity Project

2011-09-06T11:13:00.000-04:00

Well it looks like I will be working in a Smash Journal during September!! I'm super excited to start working in one of these - I've been wanting one since they came out and they have been hard to find - sold out almost everywhere! I finally got my hands on one a couple weeks ago. So here is how my creativity project is going to work:

I will complete a page in my Smash Journal every day starting today September 6 and ending October 6 (I'm starting a little late because of the wedding I was at this weekend).
Pages can be anything I want - and isn't that what Smash is about? Smashing random bits of your life into the journal - things you like, things about you, things that inspire you. So it will be a combo about me, month in the life, art journal.
I will do a blog post at least 5 days a week (Mon - Fri). Posting photos of the page from the previous day. (tomorrow you will see today's page) - hopefully this will take care of the problem I had last year when I frequently waited until 10pm to make something and then still had to post it that night!

At the end of the month I will have a completed journal! Looking forward to this - will show you my first page tomorrow!

September Creativity Project

2011-08-30T20:18:00.000-04:00

If you have checked out my blog thoroughly or if you have been a long time follower then you know last year at this time I was also in a creative rut so I challenged myself to 30 days of creating - every day in September I did something creative. (click here to see last year's project) I did a little bit of everything but mostly ended up working on an art journal. I want to do something similar this year but I'm thinking instead of just saying I can make anything I want to focus on one type of project. So I need your help deciding: should I do 30 days of tags, art journaling, or 30 days working in my new Smash journal (sort of 30 days about me/month in my life journal). Let me know what you think by taking my poll here:

My Weekend

2011-08-29T08:58:00.000-04:00

I spent my Saturday in the dark praying trees wouldn't fall on our house. Four trees did go down - one on my car - one taking out the neighbors cars, and two narrowly missing our house - luckily no major damage! Thanks Irene...

I can't believe this didn't hit the house - you can't even see the end of the tree from here - but basically it landed on our back deck railing! How was your weekend?

Uncle Dustin Layout

2011-08-24T13:22:00.001-04:00

Here is another layout I made last weekend while "locked" in my craft room! I have been trying to work on ways to include multiple photos in one layout so that I don't end up with entire books from one day/event/weekend. (I take A LOT of pictures!). This layout is about my nephew - Jarmon. We were at my Dad's autocross event last month and my dad asked my husband if Dustin wanted to ride in the car with him. When Jarmon realized Uncle Dustin had left he got really upset (we joked that he was worried that it wasn't safe for Uncle Dustin to be riding with "Pop Pop".) Jarmon loves his Uncle Dustin - I can barely get him to pay attention to me let alone be upset when I'm not around. (and yes maybe I am a little bit jealous....)

From the Studio

2011-08-23T12:00:00.000-04:00

I think my studio clean up is officially over. I still need to take pictures and do a "big reveal" - hopefully I will have that ready soon. But for now I am going to show you what I have been working on. We went to NYC for our honeymoon in 2007 and I have been holding off on scrapping the photos because I wasn't sure how I wanted to. I really wished I had been doing travel journals back then because now I have these photos (and sadly not that many) and a few brochures but I can barely remember anything about that week! (I have a terrible memory!). So now I am going to go back and make a mini for it. I have only worked on the cover and inside of the cover but thought I would share - the cover has a vintage NYC postcard from 1909 cut out to fit the circle on the front of the 7 gypsies book cover:

And finally a sale update: I added more items to my "Spring/Summer Cleaning Sale" in my Etsy shop. This is the last of the items - so get them while they last.

Farmer's Market Layout

2011-08-22T00:15:00.002-04:00

If you "like" my facebook page then you know yesterday I decided to lock myself in my craft room until I got something done. I figured I would force myself out of this rut! Well 3 hours later and I finished two layouts! Which isn't really all that much but its a start. Today I am going to share with you a layout I made to document our Saturday mornings at the Farmer's Market:

Come back later this week to see the other layout I created!

This post is linked here:

Thrifty Thursdays - Using Your Stash - Die Cuts

2011-08-18T09:54:00.000-04:00

There's nothing thriftier then finding new ways to use products you already have! Today's post is a new spin on your current die cut machine or punches - using them as masks or stencils! For this project I used my silhouette (because I have thousands of shapes saved for it) but any die cut machine will work - circuit, epic, cuttlebug, big shot , etc.

To start this project you need to cut out a couple shapes - I used scrap paper and cut the shapes with my silhouette then cut the paper down so I had a stencil. This is a great technique for reusing the left over piece from a die cut (don't just throw it away!). Place the stencil over a tag (or your paper) and spay with glimmer mist. I also used it with paint (in the last photo). If you want a cleaner/crisper outline - trace the image with a black pen.

I really like the silhouette for this technique because they have all sorts of backgrounds you can cut out (and download instantly!). I used this diamond pattern by first spraying with one color, moving the stencil to cover the sprayed portion and spraying with a second color.

And finally if you don't have a die cut machine - no worries! You can still do this technique! Get out your circle punches (i used two sizes) punch them randomly on a sheet of paper and use as a stencil for a glimmer mist spray. Or just punch one hole and use paint or distress ink stain to get perfect circles!

Look around your house for every day objects you may be able to do this technique with - doilies make a lovely mask for a spray! Or cut out your own shapes - remember when you used to make paper snowflakes as a kid? Try making them and using them as a mask! So many possibilities!

In a rut...

2011-08-12T15:08:00.001-04:00

I have been in a creative rut for a while now. I'm thinking I need to come up with a challenge for myself. Maybe like I did last September - when I tried to do something creative every day. (see all of those posts here). I'm thinking of trying to do a month of art journaling. But I did also just get a HUGE order from two peas recently (with all that fabulous new My Mind's Eye papers!!) so maybe a challenge to make X amount of pages in X amount of time? Hmm.... will have to give that some more thought... am hoping to create some sort of challenge for myself in September again. But for now having fun on the rare occasion I do sit down and play in the studio.

And if you are wondering what happened to Thrifty Thursday - well I never finished it but here it is:

I had the idea to make a mini (very mini) book out of cardboard floss bobbins. I didn't get passed the covering the bobbins part. They would also make cute embellishments for scrapbook pages (wrap some twine around them?)

Pretty in Pink Tag

2011-08-08T11:19:00.000-04:00

What's New in the Shop

2011-08-05T12:40:00.000-04:00

25 Piece Vintage Grab Bag: $5.00

Each one is different but may include photographs, postcards,

milk caps,receipts, tickets, text, game cards and more!

Vintage Memo Books: 2 for $6.00

Vintage Postage Stamps

40 USA Stamps: $4.00

40 International Stamps: $4.00

150 Vintage S&H Green Stamps: $4.00

Vintage Flash Cards

10 Vintage Flash Cards: $4.50

20 Vintage Flash Cards: $8.00

Thrifty Thursdays - Passport Mini

2011-08-04T06:00:00.002-04:00

So I'm thinking I need to change the name to "Mini Book Thursdays" because it seems like I am always making mini books!! Today's mini was made from one of those passport covers. I found this one at Tuesday Morning for $2.99 (which is kinda thrifty!?!?) I think this would be a cute mini to make for trips out of the country. Particularly if it says "Passport" on the front (which they usually do) This one says "good times" so it could work for anything.
Tutorial:

Supplies Needed: passport cover, sheet of cardstock, pages of an atlas (or patterned paper), ribbon, string
Step 1: In my passport cover there was a sheet of paper - take this out and measure it. (if you don't have one you need to do a little measuring/trial and error to find what will fit) mine was 5 x7
Step 2: Cut one sheet of cardstock and pages of maps to the same size as your template (5x7). I cut 6 map pieces. Fold the pieces in half.
Step 3: Punch holes in the paper and tie a piece of string to hold it together.
Step 4: Insert the cardstock page into the passport cover (front and back)
Step 5: Punch holes in the cover and tie a piece of ribbon to hold the book together. I used a cropadile to punch the holes because it punches through everything!!
Step 6: Decorate and insert pictures!

Summer Studio Makeover Week 11

2011-08-02T10:13:00.000-04:00

My studio is now 99% done!! YAY!! The floor is completely clear. Stuff is in its place (for the most part!). If you are a facebook fan you saw that I hung up art on one of my walls. I also decorated one of my other walls which is what I am sharing with you today. I really wanted to incorporate some of my collection of vintage stuff - cameras, photos, paper goods. I hung shelves above my windows and metal pottery barn shelves on the wall (which quite frankly were a giant waste of money and are really only good for what I did with them - they aren't very practical!)

So what do I have left? I few more staging and decorating projects. I have one more blank wall I need to figure out - and a chair! I need a new chair! I'm currently using one of my dining room chairs which doesn't match and needs to go back to the dining room! Hopefully I will have pictures of the whole completed studio soon!

Thrifty Thursdays - Candy Box Mini

2011-07-28T06:00:00.001-04:00

It's Thrifty Thursday and I have something to post!! That I made!! I've been looking for mini book bases all over lately - my new favorite thing is to take cardboard boxes and use that as a base for a mini. For this mini I used a candy box. I just cut the excess box off so that it looked like a binder and punched holes for ribbon. Easy! So keep your eyes open for boxes around the house to make your next mini book!

Summer Studio Makeover Week 10

2011-07-26T16:14:00.000-04:00

I haven't made much progress in the last week - I have a lot going on that has taken me away from the blog and the studio - some good (visiting family), some not so good and still trying to find a way to process and share. When I get stressed I just shut down so I haven't really done much lately. Today in place of studio progress I thought I would share with you a little bit of the studio today that is done - how I store my paper. There's the debate of whether or not you should store by manufacturer or color or theme or all in one giant pile! I store mine by manufacturer. This works especially well for me because I am obsessed with paper - I can name you a manufacturer, paper line, and paper name just by seeing a sample. When I do a project I can envision a paper I want to use for it and I know the manufacturer right away. Because of my obsession -this system works well for me. It probably doesn't work so well if you buy and scrap more based on theme - if you sit down to scrap mostly holidays for example you probably just want to have a stack of Christmas, Halloween, etc. I store my paper in shelving units - easily accessible and out in the open. I find if I keep paper in boxes in a closet I won't use it - I tend to use whatever is easiest to find.

I keep all my paper scraps and store them in individual bags by manufacturer. I find its probably better to store your scraps the same way you store your paper - because that is how you have taught yourself to find paper for your projects. I keep the bags stored in a box in my closet. I tend to not use scraps that often but from time to time will go back through and use them for punches or cut them down to 4x6s and 5x7s for mini books.

So how do you store your paper? Any great tips or links?

Giveaway Winner

2011-07-22T00:09:00.000-04:00

#4 Liberal Sprinkles: Hi Melissa, congratulations on your shop sales! I would love a kit for Italy, France or Europe. best wishes,Grace

Congratulations Grace! Please send me an email with your address to claim your prize. I need to hear from you by Monday July 25th!

Summer Studio Makeover Week 9

2011-07-20T13:52:00.000-04:00

Do you see that?? It's the floor!!! You can see the floor!! YAY!

In other news - I have been wanting the Distress Stains for months - and I finally bought them - all of them (because really how can you just choose one or two colors??) I haven't really done anything with them yet other then change the color of these grey tickets - which I'm totally loving!

I have a great idea for a mini book for tomorrow's thrifty thursday - hoping it will work out the way it is in my head! See you tomorrow!

Etsy 500th Sale - Giveaway!

2011-07-18T06:00:00.008-04:00

I have been itching to do a giveaway - and have been looking for an excuse to do one. I thought i would wait until I reached 1000 followers - but that wasn't looking like it was going to happen soon enough -so then I thought Aha! I will do when when I reach 500 sales in my etsy shop! And last week I reached that milestone!

I opened my little etsy shop in the beginning of February this year and have been lucky to see it grow so fast. The shop reflects my love of all things vintage paper and I have been having a blast seeking out special finds and creating kits to sell in the shop. I am grateful to have people out there willing to support me - so to thank my customers and my loyal blog readers I am doing a giveaway! So what do you have a chance to win?

GIVEAWAY
Win a custom ephemera kit created by me! Kit will be worth at least $25 and will include at least 50 pieces. You get to choose the theme of the kit - Want a travel kit based on your family vacation to California? Or maybe a dream kit of Paris with touches of blue? Maybe a kit based on your favorite color red? Or maybe a back to school kit - ready to scrap memories of your childhood? You choose! Feel free to look through my shop to get an idea of the types of kits I have created in the past - or challenge me and come up with something completely different!!

Required Entry: Leave me a comment on this post telling me what the theme of your custom kit would be if you are lucky enough to win! (1 entry)

Additional Entries:

Follow Bursts of Creativity blog, current or new (1 entry)
Become a fan of my facebook page - Melissa Thiesse, current or new (1 entry)
Purchase something from my Etsy shop (2 entries - leave 2 comments - purchase must be made after this blog is posted - 6am EST Monday July 18th - cannot get credit for previous purchases)
1 entry for each of the following you to do to spread the word about this giveaway - tweet, blog, or facebook status (feel free to copy and paste a link)

** Leave a separate comment for EACH entry and your email address in one of the comments unless it is linked to your account. **

**Everyone is invited to enter the giveaway - this means you international readers!!**

~~Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM EST Thursday July 21, 2011.~~ Giveaway is closed!

What's New in the Shop

2011-07-16T13:46:00.001-04:00

Antique Class Photograph: $8.00

I have over 45 antique and vintage photographs listed - check them out in the vintage photograph section of my store here

Vintage Football Ribbons (set of 3): $5

Vintage Game Pieces (over 40 pieces): $7.50

Vintage Christmas Postcards (pack of 10): $8
Christmas in July?? Get an early start on your Vintage Christmas crafting needs - check out my holiday ephemera section here

Thrifty Thursdays - Button Magnets

2011-07-14T06:00:00.001-04:00

Today's thrifty thursday project is fun, fast and easy! And bonus it's thrifty because it takes supplies you probably already have in your craft room! For this project I used buttons (and you know I have TONS!), a little bit of bling (self adhesive rhinestones), magnets, and glossy accents to glue they layers together (though please please use hot glue - it will be sooooo much faster and easier - I was too lazy to plug the hot glue gun in and I wanted a project I could do while sitting on the couch and watching Big Brother!

Simple to do - just glue layers of buttons together, top with a rhinestone and glue a magnet to the back! I am loving the pink and yellow combo - so perfect for summer - like pink lemonade. OH! You know what's better than pink lemonade?? Starbucks Passion Tea Lemonade:

Seriously - it's the best drink on the planet! If you have never had one you need to stop what you are doing and run to the nearest Starbucks - seriously - it's that good! If it wasn't midnight I would be there right now!!

This post is linked here:

Summer Studio Makeover Week 8

2011-07-12T09:57:00.002-04:00

I spent a lot of last week working on the studio and I'm feeling good about it - I'm hoping it will be completely done in 2 weeks (or maybe 3?). This weekend I worked on a replacement for my cork tiles. Actually I came up with the idea - Dustin put it together! I have been holding on to a bunch of vintage yard sticks for some time and I got this great idea to glue them to the frame of a cork board to make a frame:

I like how it turned out - it will look a lot better once I take the time to put stuff on it and put some stuff on the wall around it. I hated those cork tiles I used to have - I do NOT recommend them! They were crumbly and the little squares they came with wouldn't stick to them so they would keep falling - of course the squares stuck to the wall a little too good and now I have horrible little squares left on my wall. I got the majority of the adhesive off but there is like a small layer of adhesive left - any idea how to get that off???

I also wanted to show you what I did with the other gumball machine. I filled it with ribbon bits:

And remember to check out my studio destash sale in my etsy shop here - I added more die cuts

This post is linked here:

Summer Fun

2011-07-11T14:19:00.001-04:00

So I was thinking about the blog today - and I thought "ehh... I won't blog today - I have blogged plenty I can miss a day" except that I then checked the blog and realized OOPS! I haven't blogged that much. So where have I been?? Well here.... mostly working on the etsy shop which has taken off in a big way. I'm in month 6 of the shop and almost at 500 sales (499). It's going so well I plan on celebrating with a giveaway soon (maybe next week?).
      Last week I spent a lot of time in the studio trying to get that all organized and cleaned. I have a cool project to post tomorrow. The cleaning is taking a lot longer than I thought. I mean I know I said it would take all summer but I also kinda thought I could just go up there in a day and do it if I really wanted to. But it's taking a while... mostly because I really want it to be perfect. And because the studio is in limbo I haven't felt like making anything. I don't want to pull stuff out only to have to put it back and I don't have space to create. I'm looking forward to having it clean and then I can get back to creating and regular posting.
     And then there's family time - I spent 4th of July weekend down in North Carolina with my parents and sister and of course my nephew Jarmon. He thinks his uncle Dustin is the best thing ever. If I walk into a room he kinda half smiles and looks around (looking for Dustin). If Dustin walks into a room he get super excited - jumping up and down (the same reaction he has when he gets a balloon). So Aunt Melissa = Ehh. Uncle Dustin = the best thing since balloons. It's kinda sad. haha
     So that's where I have been - hopefully soon I will be around more - but I will definitly be back tomorrow - see you then

Thrifty Thursday - Pinterest Finds

2011-07-07T08:47:00.000-04:00

I'm thinking I am going to make this a once a month Thrifty Thursday - sharing great ideas I've found on the internet. Most of which I have found through Pinterest. Check out my pinterest here. Make sure to click either the picture or link under the picture to check out the original post:

Better Homes & Gardens - Dish drainer turned organizational system

Craft Stylish - Apple Print Tote

Always Christy - 100+ ways to creatively reuse old magazines

If you have a great idea or have found a great idea leave a link in the comments - would love to see them!

Summer Studio Makeover Week 7

2011-07-05T09:22:00.000-04:00

Look what I found:

Two vintage (?) gumball machines. I found them in this little place in Halifax North Carolina. I felt like I was in that show American Pickers. It had wall to wall stuff piled on top of each other - you had to climb and dig to find stuff. They are going to look great in the studio - one filled with buttons, and the other I'm not so sure yet. Also not sure where to put them - it seems like I am starting to bring in more stuff when I need to move stuff out!

SALE

Check out the items in my Spring Cleaning Sale section of my Etsy shop - for a limited time I have slashed the prices up to 50% off . Help me get rid of some of my supplies! Please note: if you are purchasing multiple items I will refund any shipping overage paid (more than $1). You may be able to combine purchases into a flat rate ($11) box - if you want to buy multiple items feel free to convo me first to combine or else I will refund after the items have been shipped!. **Prices good now through Friday July 8. 2011**

Thrifty Thursdays - Easy Beach Souvenir

2011-06-30T06:00:00.002-04:00

Summers are the time for travel and trips to the beach! What better way to remember those beautiful summer memories then bottle them up (literally!). I used a spice jar (from World Market for $1 - though you can find them anywhere) filled it with sand and dressed it up with seam binding and a vintage label.

Now everytime I look at the jar I remember our trip to Rhode Island and how Dustin and his brother Zach stared at me like I was crazy while I ran into the ocean (it was September):

Here is another idea for you - why not frame a postcard from your vacation - or even better a VINTAGE postcard! And where might you find vintage postcards..... hmmm..... perhaps in my Etsy Shop??

Clever Apple Etsy Shop

2011-06-29T09:45:00.000-04:00

If you have been following my summer studio makeover you probably know two things:
1. I have been making very SLOW progress and...
2. At about week 2 I started buying a bunch of art off of Etsy to put in the studio (that's right I was buying more stuff to put in before I ever even started taking stuff out!)

So today I wanted to share with you my favorite piece and where it came from! A couple months ago I stumbled upon this:

Now if you are a Pride and Prejudice fan you will understand just how fantastic this piece is! Right? Well I bookmarked (or in Etsy terms "favorited" it knowing I would come back for it someday and when I started to plan out my studio it was one of the first things I bought!) And that's how I met Megan. I loved the piece so much I wanted to share her shop with you! I asked Megan to write a little about herself for my blog:

Hello! My name is Megan Wolfe. I am an Army wife suffering for my country in Hawaii with my husband, 2 dogs and 2 cats. Try not to feel too sorry for me :o) I quit my job last year to become a full time homemaker and was thrilled to finally have time for a hobby. I now run the one woman show known as Clever Apple. I sell hand embroidered pieces of hoop art. I started my shop as a way for me to fund my embroidery hobby. It also gives me an excuse to practice my love for packaging things. I have been so amazed by the interest shown in my shop (such as this blog feature!) and that people actually like and buy my pieces. I also really love that I get to meet so many other awesome crafters like Melissa!

Now if you are thinking - that Darcy piece is lovely but I'm not really a Pride and Prejudice fan - well first - WHAT?!?!?!? and second - that's ok ( I guess haha!) she makes lots of other fabulous pieces including:

So run don't walk to Megan's Clever Apple Etsy Shop right away! (ok it's the internet so don't run just click here ) And an important side note - she does custom orders! She altered her Mr Darcy piece in the colors I wanted which was fantastic!

And also check out her recent studio makeover (though her makeover was due to moving into a new house - where mine is due to being terribly messy and disorganized!)

Thanks Megan for letting me feature your lovely shop and for supplying the photos!

Disclosure: this is NOT a sponsored post - in fact I never receive free stuff for my blog. I wrote this post because I have purchased from this shop and genuinely think it is fantastic - so fantastic I wanted to tell you! Please take the time to check it out!

Summer Studio Makeover Week 6

2011-06-28T08:12:00.000-04:00

I made some real progress this week! And by this week I mean last night at midnight! I decided to rearrange my studio a bit. I moved some of my shelf/cube things on to the wall of cubes. (now they are stacked 4 high instead of 3).

I also moved my table to the middle of the room:

And I moved my antique sewing table to a different wall:

And see that horrible cork inspiration board thing? Yeah I hate that - the cork tiles don't stay up and they are sorta crumbly - BUT I have a FANTASTIC idea to replace - seriously I got this great idea at like 2am - I'm hoping it will work out and am excited to show you! (but I'm not telling you just yet!)

Thanks for sticking with me on this studio makeover journey! I know it feels like its taking FOREVER! But I did warn you it would take the whole summer!! I only work on it a couple hours a week and only because I know I have to post it on the blog - which is a good thing because its forcing me to work on it and I know I'm going to love it when it is all finished!

And remember you can purchase some of the items I am purging from my studio in my Etsy shop - here. And if you are interested in buying multiple items from my sale (particularly the larger items) convo me - I would love to make you a deal!

Scrapbook 101 - Creating your First Scrapbook Part 3

2011-06-27T02:07:00.002-04:00

Make sure to check out:

Part 1 - Supplies

Part 2 - Organize your Photos

Part 3 – The sketch – putting it all together

Ok so you have your supplies and you have your photos now you are ready to start making pages!

I won't be telling you the "rules" for creating a page - because I don't believe in rules! I think scrapbooking is like any other craft/hobby/art form - it is about fun, experimentation, and about creating something that you are happy with. So here is my biggest piece of advice when starting - don’t reinvent the wheel!! Look around the internet and find people whose work you really like and let that inspire you to create. It is okay to copy them – you are creating pages for your family and you want to be happy with what you have created – if you see something you like recreate it! Over time you will start to develop your own style and won’t need to rely on others as much. Scraplifting is absolutely okay! (With that said it is never okay to copy someone’s work and submit it for publication or to put it on the internet without properly giving credit -just a friendly reminder!)

When I was getting back into scrapbooking a few years ago (after taking some time away from it – but funny enough NOT taking time away from purchasing supplies!) I would keep a notebook of sketches of layouts that I liked the style of. Sketches are sort of maps/recipes for how to create a layout. I sorted them by number of photos to make it easier to find a sketch that would work for the photos I had on hand. To sketch a layout I would copy down the basic outline of the layout – where the embellishments would go, what sizes the photos were, where the patterned paper was – keeping it basic so that I could put my own twist on it later. Then when I sat down I found that I usually ended up moving stuff around and the layout would turn out different and would look more like something I had created. The more pages I created the less I found myself relying on sketches and the more I found I was developing my own style.

If you are creating a scrapbook for a special occasion (like a birthday gift or a wedding guest book) and you have limited time I recommend considering coming up with a couple of similar sketches and repeating it throughout the entire book. This will make things easier for you as well as tie the whole thing together and give it a “professional” look. Here are a couple of similar sketches that may work for you. Notice how they are all similar but a slightly different spin – see if you can come up with more based on these (click on the photos to make them larger):

So that's my advice for creating your first scrapbook - the most important thing to remember is there are no rules. This is supposed to be fun! Hopefully this series has been helpful! If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments and I will try to answer them. I will leave you with a few links to sites that offer sketches and/or inspiration:

My favorite layouts on Pinterest

Page Maps – great site for page sketches

Two Peas in a Bucket Gallery – lots of inspiration

Pencil Lines - sketch challenge blog

Got Sketch? - sketch blog

This post is linked at Passionately Artistic and here:

Saturday Finds

2011-06-25T16:37:00.000-04:00

Do you know what 1500 vintage postcards looks like??? I do!!

The rest of my weekend will be spent sorting and listing postcards.. fun fun fun !

Thrifty Thursdays - Fun Fringe

2011-06-23T11:40:00.004-04:00

You know I love searching through the dollar store for cheap craft ideas. Well here is a way to turn dollar store streamers into a fun fringe accent for your scrapbook layouts.

Tutorial:

1. Start with some streamers - 3 is a good place to start - they could be all the same color or multi color. 2. Cut strips of each slightly longer than the size you need. 3. Adhere the layers on top of each other. 4. Take your scissors and cut slits half way up the streamer. - if you want yours to look more vintage you can take distress ink and rub it on the crepe paper. 5. Gently ball up the streamer. 6. Unball the paper and straighten out the fringe to achieve a look you are happy with.

I used parts of one of my Patriotic kits (music sheet, bingo card, ticket, labels, seam binding) to create this page. I have 4 kits left in stock here:
Ephemera Kit - Patriotic/USA 1
Ephemera Kit - Patriotic/USA 2
Ephemera Kit - Patriotic/USA 3
Ephemera Kit - Patriotic/USA 4

This post is linked here:

Summer Studio Makeover Week 5

2011-06-21T12:09:00.001-04:00

Not much change in the studio this week. The big change was in the closet:

I cleared almost two shelves worth of stuff. Where did it go? My etsy shop of course! Lots of stuff - check out my SALE items here. And I am still trying to figure out how to purge my huge stash of paper - paper costs so much to ship! But I basically have a closet full of it to get rid of

Scrapbook 101 - Creating your First Scrapbook Part 2

2011-06-20T10:34:00.001-04:00

Make sure to check out:

Part 1 - Supplies

Part 3 - Creating Pages

Part 2 - Organize your photos:

** Please note this is not going to tell you how to organize/store your photos – I need help there too! I recommend Stacy Julian’s Photo Freedom if you are interested in organizing photos **

Regardless of the reason you are scrapbooking you are going to want to gather some photos to use. The project you are working on will probably dictate how you collect your photos:

One time project: If you are creating this scrapbook as a gift for a birthday/wedding/special event and have no intention of making this a hobby – you want to gather enough photos to span the period of time you are scrapping (a person’s life/ a family history/a couple’s history) I recommend starting with enough photos to do 20-40 pages (if your scrapbook came with 20 pages – 40 would be doublesided) To do double sided layouts I would recommend photos from 10-20 “events” you want to scrap. Events can be anything – birthdays, holidays, important days in your life, or they can be important everyday rituals or traditions (example – if every Saturday you and your family have a picnic in the local park you may want to do a layout about this special tradition).

Beginner Scrapbook: If you are scrapbooking for the first time and want to start this as a hobby but are not making this book for anything specific – you may want to collect a few groups of photos to start with. I recommend not getting caught up in scrapping chronologically. Start with whatever event or photos you are most excited about starting with. You can always rearrange your layouts later. Again think about the types of pages you are going to want in your scrapbooks – will you only be scrapbooking big events and holidays? Birthdays? Or will you be scrapping everyday life as well? Gather photos to get you started on a few pages.

Here's an idea: I take some time to sit down and sort photos into groups I want to make layouts with and store them in envelopes. Then I do a short write up of what I might want the journaling to say. If you aren’t the best at journaling it will probably really help you to have a rough draft. I also include a sketch in my envelope with photos and journaling (we will talk about sketches later). I might not immediately scrap these memories but next time I’m feeling inspired to create I will have the basics of my layouts ready and I won’t waste time looking for photos!

Saturday Finds

2011-06-19T10:59:00.001-04:00

I spent yesterday doing my favorite thing - looking for great vintage finds! Here is just a sampling of what I came back with:

Books - tons and tons of books! Two giant box fulls to be exact! Lots of children's books that will become ephemera packs in my shop!

12 large circus souvenir books from the 70s/80s. Great circus images - still not sure what I am going to do with these!

And my favorite - a stack of tobacco felt flags. I don't know much about these other than they were given out in the early 1900s to promote cigarettes.

I also picked up a few travel guides and a huge stack of postcards. I have already posted a bunch of postcards and look for the other items to pop up in my Etsy shop soon!

Thrifty Thursdays - An Idea

2011-06-16T11:22:00.000-04:00

So thrifty Thursday this week is not looking so good. I'm still feeling a little overwhelmed by all the organizing that I feel needs to happen before I can make stuff again. But I am starting to get some ideas that I'm excited to start working on. I bought this plastic placemat at Target the other day and i think it would make the perfect cover for a 4th of July mini album! Hope everyone is having a more productive week than I seem to be having!

Summer Studio Makeover Week 4

2011-06-14T15:31:00.000-04:00

Two steps forward.. two steps back

(we come together 'cuz opposites attract!) - sorry for the Paula Abdul tangent...

So good news and bad news - good news my sister came to visit so I cleaned the entire house. Bad news - my sister came to visit so I threw all of my craft supplies back in the studio (unorganized).

But more good news - etsy supplies are all organized (and stacked in the dining room):

And if you didn't catch it last week I still have a few chipboard grab bags left here

Scrapbook 101 - Creating your First Scrapbook Part 1

2011-06-13T06:00:00.006-04:00

I recently had a friend ask me for advice on creating a scrapbook for a special present. She has never scrapbooked before. My gut reaction is NO NO don’t do it – run away run away! LOL only kidding. I know the present will be special and personal and the memories will be preserved and readily available to be cherished and reminisced over. Having worked at a scrapbook store and given several personal lessons for ladies creating scrapbooks for weddings or birthdays I know this can be an overwhelming and large task. So this post is for you. And if you are a regular reader of this blog you probably already scrapbook – this post will be BASIC – but bookmark this page – next time you have a friend approach you for help creating a scrapbook send them here! Hopefully it will come in handy!

Note: I intended to put all this info in one post – however after writing the supply section I realized this is more of a several posts topic – therefore this will be a week long series – check back tomorrow for part two!

The basics – supplies you will need:

A paper trimmer – trust me on this – scissors won’t be good enough – a good paper trimmer will save you valuable time and stress and your paper and photos will always be straight! If this is a one time project a $20 trimmer (which is the low end) will work just fine (and a Michaels coupon can cut that price in half!). I always recommend Fiskars brand – they are great quality and have a life time guarantee. And I used my $20 trimmer for the first 10 years of scrapbooking before upgrading so it will be worth it! Important note: your trimmer has an arm on it – it’s usually tucked underneath the left side (if the blade is on your right). Pull the arm out and you will be able to measure out to 12”. You would be surprised at how many people use their trimmer for months (maybe years?) without ever knowing it had an arm – the arm is your friend – use the arm!

Adhesive – this is glue – you need glue! You are going to want your adhesive to be acid free. This means that over time your photos won’t discolor from the acid in the adhesive. Remember those old photo albums that had the plastic film that peeled up and you stuck your photos on the sticky background? Now remember when you pulled that same album out 30 years later and your photos had turned yellow? That was from the acid in the adhesive/paper in the album. We want to avoid that – buy acid free. Now there are HUNDREDS of different types of adhesive – tape runners, adhesive squares, glue dots, glue pens, glue sticks (and then lots of different brands within each category). Here is what I recommend:

Tape Runner – it works like a white out runner with the tape coming out as your glide the runner over the page – these are easy to use but you have a tendency to get “tape happy” and use them fast. If you are using a tape runner try just using a little bit of tape in the corners of your photo. They come in disposable and refillable. You are going to want either a tape runner or photo squares.

Photo Squares – these are usually in a small box. The squares are on a strip and you pull them off one by one and place them in the corners of your photo. These are cheaper and beginner scrapbookers usually gravitate to them for this reason. If you are trying to save a little money this could be the way to go – though because you are pulling them off one by one you will be sacrificing time.

Glue Stick – I recommend the UHU stick. In my opinion it is stronger and stays down better. Glue sticks are not necessary in scrapbooking but may be a good alternative to a tape runner for gluing down paper. I do not recommend using a glue stick on photos because it may warp the photo – a tape runner or photo squares will get you a flatter photo.

That’s all you really need – a tape runner (or photo squares) and a glue stick. Don’t be intimidated by the adhesive section just pick one and go. Important note – I do NOT recommend mod podge for scrapbooking. It’s messy and unless you are using the mod podge specifically made for paper (check the label) it is NOT acid free! Save the mod podge for your other projects!

Journaling Pen: you are going to want a good quality acid free journaling pen. They come in lots of colors – I recommend the Zig Millennium brand pen (I find I only use black and white journaling pens – zig is not offered in white – for white I use a Signo Gel pen) Your standard office pen and sharpies are not acid free – invest in a good quality scrapbook pen!

Scrapbook Album: You are going to have to choose a size – standard scrapbooks are 12x12. Most scrapbook paper is sold in 12x12. Other options are 8 ½ x 11, 8x8. 5x7, or 6x6. Think about how many photos you have – have tons? 12x12 is probably your best bet – you can get multiple photos per page easily. Only have a few pictures? A smaller book may be the way to go – think about it this way 8x8 or 6x6 or only going to hold one 4x6 photo per page. Do you need more room than that? Most scrapbooks come with 10-20 protectors (which holds 20-40 pages doublesided). Most scrapbooks are expandable and refill pages can be purchased. For albums I use WeRMemory Keeper brand albums – I think they are the best quality out there (they are pricey and are not available at Michaels/Walmart/Target). If you are limited in where you can purchase an album I recommend Pioneer brand – you will have the best luck finding refill pages and they are a decent brand. But with that said if you find something you like purchase it! Refill pages are brand specific – manufacturers will make their holes slightly off or the margin slightly longer so that you cannot mix and match brands. So if you buy an album make sure you remember the brand so you can find refills later. I do not recommend purchasing an album that is larger than 12x12 (there are a few out there). You will not be able to find paper to fit this size and trust me it will be frustrating!

Now there are a few different types of albums- ring bound, post bound, and strap hinge. Ring bound are 3 ring binder style albums. Pages can be moved around easily. Post bound are held together with screw posts. Refill packages come with post extenders that screw in to make your book larger. A lot of people prefer post bound because it has a professional look to it – when you open the album the pages are sitting closely next to each other (versus ring where there is a large gap). Strap hinge are difficult to find and are the version manufactured by Creative Memories (which is how a lot of us got into scrapbooking) I don’t recommend strap hinge because it will be difficult to find refills for. I personally use ring bound but post are good as well.

Scrapbook Paper: you are going to need paper! Scrapbook paper is broken down into 2 main categories – cardstock and patterned paper. Cardstock is typically a single color paper (white, black, purple etc) and is usually thick. Patterned paper is just that – paper with patterns – it can be single sided or double sided. What you will need will depend on the page layouts you intend to make – we will talk more about this later. Sometimes you will purchase an album that already has paper in the protective sleeves – I usually pull that paper out and replace it – I’m not a fan of the quality of the paper.

Optional Supplies: these are supplies you may want but don’t have to have:

Fine Tip Scissors – a good pair of scissors will come in handy – so you will probably want to invest in a pair. But I will be teaching you how to create an album that you won’t **have** to have them therefore they are on the optional supply list. I recommend Fiskars brand scissors – fine tip are the best for detailed cutting.

Embellishments: stickers, alphabets, die cuts – there are embellishments for every season, holiday, and occasion. These are optional and we will talk about using embellishments later.

Note: I wrote this entirely on my own and as a result it is filled with my opinions. Opinions I based on 15 years of scrapbook experience and 2 years of working in a scrapbook store and teaching. With that said I am sure there are a lot of people who would disagree or have other favorite brands - take it as an opinion - use it if it is helpful and don't if it's not.

Make sure to check out:

Part 2 - Organize your Photos

Part 3 - Creating Pages

What's New in the Shop

2011-06-10T15:18:00.001-04:00

I listed OVER 100 items this week! You are going to definitely want to check out what's new in the shop!

Patriotic Kit - $10.50

Just in time for the 4th of July (or last week's Memorial Day activities). 4 in stock. Get them while they last!

Virginia Travel Kit -$11.50

Summer is the time for road trips! What road trip wouldn't be complete without a travel journal and these ephemera packs are great for adding a touch of vintage charm to your memories. Oh and did I mention - I now have them in ALL FIFTY states!! And a few cities too such as - San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City, Washington DC, and New Orleans.

She Wanted to See the World Travel Journal - $9.50

These travel journals are what I am most excited for! They were inspired by my love of vintage photographs and my curiosity about the lives the women in the photos must have led. These simple 4x6 journals come with 15 blank kraft sheets and are great bases for travel journals, daily journals, or art journals! They are great with my international travel ephemera kits - now available in most European countries as well as Mexico and a few of the Canadian provinces.

Vintage Autograph Album - $25

I love these little autograph books! This one is from 1943 Brooklyn PS 25. I also have one from 1936 Brooklyn PS108. They are filled with cute little sayings and signatures like:

You can forget candy
You can forget toys
But I bet you $10
You can't forget boys

Guest Blogger at Craftaholic's Anonymous

2011-06-10T06:00:00.001-04:00

Today I'm the guest blogger over at Craftaholic's Anonymous! Linda's blog is super fantastic and she is a crafting genius! Also here is a little interesting bit of information - Linda and I used to be neighbors! Yep AND we worked at the local scrapbook store together too! Linda is a celebrity in the craft blogging world so it's totally like a I know a celebrity! Jealous? Yeah I thought so...

Be sure to check out my project and tutorial on her blog - here's a sneak peek:

Thrifty Thursdays - Ideas from the Internet

2011-06-09T13:13:00.000-04:00

So I am going to cheat a little bit this Thursday and show you some ideas I have found recently that I thought were fabulous! I have been getting into Pinterest lately (find me at: http://pinterest.com/melissathiesse/ ) - I love it because its a fast way to find all sorts of great projects! Here are a few ideas I have found on pinterest recently that I think you should check out. (Be sure to click on the photo or description to go to the original blog):

T-shirt pom poms - Craftaholics Anonymous - made from old t shirts - seriously Linda is a genius!

Paper Punch Garland - Grace and Light - made from paint samples - can't get more thrifty than free!

Branch Photo Holder - Carolyn's Homework - this is so cute! I always have branches falling in my yard - this would be the perfect project!!

If you have a great idea or have found a great idea leave a link in the comments - would love to see them!

2010 Year in Review Mini Album

2011-06-08T13:26:00.000-04:00

Every year (well for the last two years) I like to make a mini album of all my favorite photos/moments from the previous year. I made this mini to hold my photos from 2010. I used Websters Pages papers, ribbon, and embellishments:This album was published here:

Summer Studio Makeover Week 3

2011-06-07T11:44:00.002-04:00

Well it's week 3 of my summer studio makeover and I don't have a picture of the studio to show you because I didn't do anything in it this week. I did however work on organizing my etsy stuff (which I am including as part of this makeover). I went out and bought 3 large plastic bins that hold file folders:

They are all filled with etsy paper - one is for united states travel, one international travel, and one miscellaneous paper for my etsy kits. They are all FULL and it took me about 4 days to organize all the paper into these bins and I'm still not done!! I didn't realize I had so much stuff until I started to sort through it.

How you can use this storage idea: The plastic bins are ugly but they are functional for me because I have such a high volume of paper I need to store. For the normal scrapper/crafter you can use this idea to organize embellishments (maybe stickers or alphas?) or paper scraps. Target and office supply stores have smaller (and cuter) versions of these boxes that might be perfect for organizing items in your craft room!

And I got a little ambitious and decided that I would turn this into the summer of organization (to include my entire house - don't worry I won't bore you with pictures of my organized closets etc). I bought this book:

Which:
A. Means I have run out to target every day to buy new storage containers making this the most expensive $15 book I've ever bought and...
B. Means I have started little organizational projects all over the house - creating more of a mess - I definitely like to start little projects everywhere versus finishing a project before starting a new one!

And finally - I found another drawer of die cuts to get rid of - find die cut grab bags and more in my spring cleaning sale section of my etsy shop here.

Thrifty Thursdays - Office Inspiration

2011-06-02T10:44:00.000-04:00

Today's thrifty Thursday project is simple - I was looking for items I had lying around the house and I created a tag using the inside of a security envelope as my patterned paper and the flap of the envelope as a decorative border. Then I added an office label and now I have a simple little tag that can be added to a present (would look great on a present wrapped in brown paper). Inspiration can be found anywhere - next time you are sitting at your desk (and aren't busy of course!) look around and see if you can find something that can be re-purposed into a craft item!

Summer Studio Makeover Week 2

2011-05-31T09:41:00.000-04:00

Ok so you might not see much of a difference from week 1 to week 2:

Some of the clutter is gone from the floor and half of the table is cleaned off. I did clean out an entire drawer of die cuts i still have 2 drawers full)- and sold all of them on etsy! I also went through the process of moving all of my ribbon from these carts to drawers. I like the carts but they take up a lot of space. I am selling a bunch of my ribbon here.

I also didn't show you my closet last week - actually a lot of my stuff is already organized - most like items are in a drawer or container. I have all my paper organized by manufacturer and I have containers for flowers, brads, etc. The real problem is getting rid of stuff.

Oh and I spent most of my week finding art on etsy to buy for the walls of my new studio - yes when faced with the challenge of cleaning/organizing a room I go straight for buying new stuff to put in it! And if you have any suggestions for cool prints for the wall I would love to hear them! I am trying to support other artists on etsy.

What's New in the Shop

2011-05-27T09:52:00.001-04:00

I added lots of new stuff to the shop this week including:

New Vintage Finds - 5 Lotto Game Cards: $3.00

New Ephemera Kits - Bird Ephemera Kit: $6.75

New Postcards - 5 New Orleans Postcards: $5.00

And a little something for my loyal blog readers:

Happy Memorial Day - enjoy your weekend!

Thrifty Thursdays - Using Your Stash - Alphas

2011-05-26T09:16:00.000-04:00

Today's Thrifty Thursday post is about repurposing something you already have in your stash - alphabets! If you are like me you probably have a ever growing stash of alphas - and if you are like me you can't bear to throw away alphas that either have barely any letters left (you know you will never make a full word out of one set!) or you have alphas from 10 years ago that aren't your taste any more but you spent money and can't throw them away (maybe they will come back in style?)! Well today's post is for you!

Supplies Needed:
Your stash of alphas
White Paper
Glimmer Mist (or other color spray)

Step one - spell out your title (this is great for making unique titles for your layouts). Use letters from all different alphabets - it doesn't matter what color or pattern they are. Tip: don't push them down too hard - you will need to peel them back up later! Step two - Spray over the top of the letters with a color misting spray. I then dabbed the paper/letters with a paper towel to get the excess mist off. Peel the letters up (I find its easier to get them up BEFORE drying them paper). Dry your paper with a heat gun (or let it air dry). Step 3: Use your title as needed - you could also outline the letters with a black pen.

This post is linked here:

Summer Studio Makeover

2011-05-24T09:36:00.000-04:00

I had a couple suggestions that I post the progress of my studio clean up. This is a HUGE project - so I was thinking to keep me motivated I would post progress pictures every Tuesday until its all clean and organized - I'm hoping this will happen by the end of the summer - but we shall see. Now the beginning is pretty bad - and really I should probably be embarrassed by A. The amount of stuff I own and B. The way it has taken over the entire house. But if I am going to do this I am going to do it right and show you everything - hopefully by the end of the summer I will have a beautifully decorated, decluttered studio where I will actually want to work! So the starting point pictures:

Now in reality that isn't too bad - but here is where it gets worse - I have a hall closet FULL of supplies.

And then there is the etsy stuff - a pile in the hall and a pile in the living room.

Ok I know I know - I'm bordering (bordering?) on hoarding! So in a perfect world all of my supplies will fit into the studio and ultimately I would love to clean out the entire hall closet and fill it only with Etsy stuff. That would require getting rid of an entire closet full of paper and supplies.... like I said its a HUGE project! Any suggestions/websites/books/tips for organization?

And if nothing else - this post should make you feel better about your own studio!

Shopping for Vintage Paper

2011-05-23T09:27:00.001-04:00

Thanks to everyone who left me suggestions and questions for my blog a couple weeks ago. I am starting to sift through the ideas and create blog posts out of the things you want to see. I had a lot of questions asking where I get my vintage items for my kits. So I have written this huge post to give you a little background and some tips on where to find your own items (though my Etsy shop is also a great place to find items!!).

I’ve been collecting vintage “things” since I was in high school. Actually it may have even started earlier than that. I can remember my best friend’s parents having a garage sale and they had an old blue dome style hair dryer – I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen! That was the beginning (of course the dryer sits in the closet of my old bedroom at my parents house – so I guess somewhere over the years it lost its cool factor – or I lost the space to keep it) From there it was vintage purses in high school and college. Then after college I spent a year of AmeriCorps VISTA working in a Habitat for Humanity ReStore – that was the worst thing for a vintage/thrift store junkie – I accumulated a lot of stuff over the course of that year – including TONS of books.

1. What do you look for? Anything and everything! I don’t really go looking for anything in particular – I am always on the hunt for the basics – books, postcards, travel ephemera – but I keep an open mind – if it’s made of paper and I can find it for a reasonable price then I’m happy and I usually buy it. I follow the scrapbook trends and typically attempt to find items that are trendy right now – those trendy vintage inspired scrapbook papers you love (October afternoon, jenni bowlin, sassafrass, 7 gypsies) – well they got their ideas from real vintage items - I like finding the originals!

2. Where do you find it? Everywhere – sorry Richmond area readers – not going to name my exact sources! I find the most luck in what I call “local” thrift stores – typically those run by churches. I find they tend to price their stuff the lowest and seem to have the best stuff. I still check out places like Goodwill and Salvation Army but depending on the one you go to they can be overpriced sometimes and I find they tend to have newer products. Habitat ReStores can be good – because they focus on building materials they often don’t care as much for their books and miscellaneous items and price them to move.

I also check out Antique stores – particularly the large ones that have multiple vendors – often times they have sales and sometimes you can find a deal. Of course a lot of times they are overpriced. Though I say if you find something you love and you know how you would use it – buy it!

I don’t shop at garage sales – mostly because I don’t want to wake up early.

I do love a good flea mall - though I HATE haggling! (also a reason I don't like garage sales)

I do shop on ebay – sometimes I can find a terrific deal though it takes A LOT of work to sift through everything – a lot of times people overprice or the bid price is low but the shipping is outrageous! For that reason I typically don’t buy books on ebay. To find the best deal you need to find someone who doesn’t quite know what they have (and have labeled it wrong by leaving out the most important details – making it harder to find to the general population) and you typically have to buy in very large lots.

I find that consignment shops are the worst places – this is typically because multiple people have to be paid (the owner of the item and the owner of the shop) so prices are often very high.

3. What goes into a kit? To see my kits you can check out my Etsy shop here. You can probably see what goes into them – it differs by kit – could be text, illustrations, game pieces, postcards – anything. What you probably don’t realize is the amount of sources that go into one kit. Take for instance one of my Bird themed Kits:

This particular kit has 31 pieces in it. Those 31 pieces have come from probably at least 18 different books, magazines, or other sources. I have hundreds of books I have broken apart to make kits ( or future kits - look for lots more this week!) This particular kit is a great value at only $7.75! To make it yourself it would cost far more! (Sorry had to plug the store!)

I hope this gives a little insight into how I make my kits. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments (I will answer them in the comments as well!)