Tuesday Tip - free classes online

Ah, summer. It's a whole different mindset, isn't it. Somehow at our house, we manage to pack more activities into the summer than any other season, and yet it feels more relaxed. I suddenly seem to have time I want to fill up with fun. Are you feeling that way? Need something good to fill some time this summer?



Tuesday Tip -- Free Classes online



Photo editing: I just signed up for a free class from Jessica Sprague. You can, too! Check it out!



Other places to find free online classes:

Two Peas in a Bucket has several classes available, including topics like photo editing, using sketches, making cards, and more!

Big Picture Scrapbooking has a few free classes, including summer photos, all about me, and intro to digital.

Scrapbook.com has two free classes. Topics are techniques and elements/design.

HP has lots of free digital photo classes on their site, from beginner to advanced, including a Photoshop Elements 7 class!

Get it Scrapped (with Debbie Hodge) has a fun little lesson on doodling for free. I tried it and did all the little doodles. For me, it was a lot of fun and I wish I could afford to take the rest of the lessons!

Get it Scrapped has more classes HERE with topics like scrapping everyday life, page parts, you, travel, and more.


I know there are TONS of classes out there to pay for that are well worth the money, but in this economy, it's hard to afford them. I've got a wishlist of the one's I'd take if I won the lottery! These free ones can certainly keep me busy for a long time.

Do you know of any other free classes? Post them in the comments and share!

Happy Scrapping!
HeatherQ

RAK Winner! and Tuesday Tip -- Pen storage

Congratulations to the winner of last week's RAK

Wannabescrappin said...
I love finding new blogs to follow! I saw yours in one of your e-mails for the LOM Yahoo group.
March 8, 2009 6:08 PM

Please email me at TheScrapTrap@yahoo.com with your mailing address!

All of you that signed up to follow my blog, add some other blogs to your following list. If you used blogger you can go to your "dashboard" and see updates, rather than going to each blog to see whether they've posted or not. I used to have a list I checked every day, but so many didn't post every day. Now I just check the one place. I'm so happy with blog following -- I hope you'll all find it helpful, even if you decide to quit following me! :D (But none of you will want to do that!!!)

Tuesday Tip -- Pen Storage

I've heard from multiple sources that the key to a pen/marker's long life is to store it horizontally. I used to use a pen caddy that held 75 pens on a collapsible stand (I think the one I used was from Cropper Hopper). I out grew that one years ago, and have been keeping all the other pens in a large zippered pouch, also by Cropper Hopper. This was so frustrating because I could never find the pen I wanted and had to check multiple locations for pens. I finally decided to change my system and make it more user friendly!

I spent a whopping $6 on a set of 5 plastic drawers at Walmart. Each drawer is sorted by colors.

Drawer 1 = Red, pink, orange
Drawer 2 = Yellow, green
Drawer 3 = Blue, Purple
Drawer 4 = Brown, Black, White
Drawer 5 = Metallics, Red Eye, Disappearing ink, and other specialty pens

(this is my "specialty pen" drawer)

It can now sit on my desk, I can easily reach it, AND I can find the colors I need FAST.

Bonus Tip:


You may be wondering about how a "prudent" scrapbooker can have so many pens. A great tip I got years ago -- Michael's sells a 100 marker set in their ARTISTS section (like by the paints and canvas -- not the craft paint). My pens say Fibracolor on them. They were $15 regular price when I bought mine 6 or more years ago now, and they all still work beautifully! I used a 50% off coupon to buy them during one of the holiday sales, so it cost me less than $8 to have every color of the rainbow. I'm pretty sure they're still available -- I saw them within the last year, but don't know how much they're selling them for now.


I love the look of "creative lettering" on my titles and journaling. When I go back and look at my older pages, I love the look! It makes me happier than alpha stickers, stamps, rub-ons, or even computer printed.


Hope this post gave you lots of helpful tips tonight!

Happy Scrapping!

Tuesday Tip -- Straightening Ribbon

Well, it's only Tuesday for 15 more minutes where I live, but I just might make it!

This weekend, while cropping at a friends house, I was reminded of an awesome tip for ribbon straightening.

Have you ever found yourself frustrated because the ribbon you want to use looks like this?

Tuesday Tip -- Ribbon Straightening

There are several easy ways to flatten out the kinks in your ribbon.

1. Water -- wet it down, then hang it over something to dry. It takes a long time, but it's very frugal.

2. Xyron -- run it through your Xyron machine to coat the entire back side of the ribbon with adhesive. (Not always truly effective, but it is quick.)

3. Iron -- get out your big clothing iron. (Who wants to pack that in their cropping tote?)

4. Buy one of the mini irons out on the market.

5. My favorite: Curling Iron!!! This works great -- especially if you put the ribbon through slowly, with the kink facing opposite the curve of the curling iron. I happened to have an extra in my linen closet, but my friend Chris bought hers at a garage sale for 50 cents!! Can't beat this tip for prudence -- inexpensive, easy to handle and store, quick and very effective!

Happy Scrapping!

Tuesday Tip -- Start Here Jar

Thanks to everyone who sent wishes for good health. I got diagnosed last week with bronchitis. It hasn't been fun -- still coughing and exhausted. Now, though, I've got medication, so it's slowly getting better.

Tuesday Tip -- Start Here Jar

Have you ever sat down at your space and thought "Where do I start?" or "What should I work on today?" Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Have you ever avoided your space because you're not sure what you could or should work on?

I've recently read Stacy Julian's book Photo Freedom and am starting her Library of Memories (LOM) system of organizing photos. In her book, Stacy talks about using a "Start Here Jar" full of popsicle sticks with one activity for her system written on each stick.

Well, I didn't like the look of popsicle sticks. I thought that if I created a jar with the sticks, I wouldn't be inspired to use it. It would just clutter my desk instead.

So, I decided to throw my own twist into it. Take a look!

I bought flowers on sale at a craft store and cut them apart. Then I tied little tags from the Heidi Grace Love Blossoms line onto each flower. The tags all have activities on them, but I added extras that weren't on Stacy's list for some of the other activities I could work on in my space.

I searched all the stores for an inexpensive vase or jar to put them in and finally decided to use the pewter pitcher I have from my grandmother. It's one of those things that holds a lot of memories for me. I remember every time we went to Grandma's, she poured milk from that pitcher. She never put the carton on the table. The pitcher was on the table for every Christmas dinner, Easter breakfast, and Saturday lunch. I always thought it was such an elegant thing to do. When she passed away and Mom asked if there was anything I'd want to remember her by, I thought of the pitcher right away. So, it's been sitting in a cupboard, waiting for the "perfect" way to display it. I think I've found it now! See, Grandma was a scrapbooker back before scrapbooking was such a mainstream hobby. She saved greeting cards, letters, newspaper clippings, and all kinds of things. Her albums are now in a museum. I love having this pitcher decorating my scrapbook space, in such a functional way.

When I've done the activities on the tags, I move the flower into the second vase, "Accomplished." My One Little Word this year is "Accomplish" because 2009 is the year I want to get things done! Often I have great ideas, but don't follow through and finish. That's my goal this year and the word I've chosen to keep me on task.

All in all, I spent $4 on flowers and used everything else from my existing supplies. Not bad for a decorative item that's going to motivate me!!!

Happy Scrapping!

Tuesday Tip -- Wire Cubes

It's that time of year when everyone tries to be "more organized." How many of you put that on your list of resolutions? How many of you didn't because it was too daunting?

I had a friend one time tell me that she didn't want to spend any money on organizing tools for her scrapbooking space because it would mean less money to spend on supplies. I can understand that!! Especially in this economy, people all over are looking for inexpensive solutions to the ongoing dilemma of how to organize your things.

Someday, when we finally buy a house and I have a full time job again and we can afford to splurge, I'll pick out the perfect scrapbooking furniture and organizational tools. Being that we have lived in 5 different homes since I started scrapbooking, I needed to have versatile organizing tools that would work in very different kinds of spaces.

Tuesday Tip -- Wire Cubes

I love these things for their versatility. I've been able to do so many different things with them!

Here's how I have them set up right now. I've got two sets that I bought years ago at a Big Lots store. I think they were 10 or 15 dollars per set.

See the extra shelves and vertical dividers? If you buy those zip ties from a home improvement store, (you know, they use them to hold cords together and stuff) you can tie some of the wire squares in the middle of a cube. It works great to really use the space thoroughly.

When I first bought them, I put 4 cubes together and then used the left over squares to make horizontal shelves for a paper rack. Much more economical than buying paper racks that may or may not fit in the next space.

Notice the canvas totes? Joann's sold me those. They fit perfectly and can hold 12x12 items. I used to have piles of stuff in them, but as I get better and better organized, I've been able to reserve them for special projects. This way, I can keep all the special stuff together in one space, then when I'm ready to work on it, I can move the tote . I'm storing items to make a felt pocket advent calendar, and a board book collection project in the other. They're going to be gifts, but I can't say for whom ~ they may read this blog!

One feature I really like is the ability to hang things with book rings off the sides of the cubes as well. I used to put all my ribbon and fibers on little embroidery floss cards and hang them on the sides. You can even put your decorative-edged scissors through the holes in the top for a handy organizer. Need a way to hold ribbon spools? Rest a dowel between the sides. You could get several dowels in one cube.

Having moved many times, these cubes have been a great addition to my space. I was able to make a really tall skinny tower once. I was able to make a low row of cubes under a window. I can have thin shelves or large cubes. It fits 12x12 paper easily. It all comes apart and fits into a tote bag or box when we move.

So if you're looking for an inexpensive, versatile, easy way to store your things, think about trying wire cubes.

Happy Scrapping!

Tuesday Tip... Ribbon Organizing

I've been trying to decide how to organize my ribbon for a while now. I started with some of the cropper hopper ribbon drawers, but quickly outgrew them. I saw the Lisa Bearnson rail system, but too expensive. I saw several containers with holes in the sides, but would've needed many of them to fit my current collection. I saw a lazy susan thing with 3 posts sticking up. I had at one point taken most of my ribbon off their spools and put them on plastic cards like for embroidery thread, but bigger. Unfortunately, that left my ribbon with lots of kinks and wrinkles.



Then I saw Fiskateer Lisa Pizza's example of how she decorated her scrap space and started thinking... You can see a video of her idea that inspired me on her blog La Femme Papier



As money is tight all over the country, I hope you'll all appreciate my cheap and easily expandable ribbon organizer. The whole thing cost me about $20 and I could expand it for less than a dollar! I have a friend who's neighbor uses a lot of ribbon in her baking business. They're collecting empty ribbon spools and sending them to me for the rest of my ribbon collection (only 1/2 of it is on the wall at the moment). You may be able to find a store or other business that would do the same for you if you need it.




Tuesday's Tip: Inexpensive Ribbon Holder

(only 1/2 my collection so far)

Supplies needed:



1 curtain rod kit with wall brackets (got mine for $10)
1 package (minimum) curtain clips (found 10 for $5)
wooden dowels (make sure they fit through your ribbon spools, but aren't too thin and week (less that $1 each)
16 inches of ribbon for each dowel (used my stash)
paint and brush (already owned)
Optional: tape to hold down ribbon ends on the rolls (I used blue painter's tape)




Paint the dowels - try one half at a time and let dry before doing the other half




Cut ribbon into 8 inch sections, fold in half, and clip the ends so it makes a loop




Install the curtain rod on the wall, hanging 2 curtain clips on it. Hang dowel from the ribbon loops. Add more levels as needed for your collection. Slide ribbon rolls on the dowels. They're easy to take down and put back up.






Now I've got all this extra space where my ribbon used to be. WooHoo!

Happy Scrapping!