Card of the Week.com | Cards, Scrapbooking, and Papercrafts

Happy {inter}National Scrapbook Day!

OK, you should know that my craft space is a MESS. I am serious -- I saw someone refer to their craft area as "The Crop Cave" and it made me laugh -- mostly because it fit my space to a "T". I suspect my missing mojo is somewhere in or under the mess. 

I don't scrapbook very often because my space is overwhelming me and I'm now almost two full years behind. I love digital scrapbooking, and I do scrap several layouts like that, but my most therapeutic scrapping comes from playing with paper. 

I'm getting ready to tackle the area and redo my "scrap process" and thought this would be a good topic for discussion. I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

The redo list: 

I'm going to ask the pizza man for empty (clean) pizza boxes to store my half done projects. That should free up about 2/3 of my desk! I'll finish projects when I have the mojo, and all the supplies and inspiration pieces will be in one place. 

I will have all "scrap worthy" pictures printed NOW. I'll hunt the blogosphere for coupon codes to save money. 

I will use the We R Memory Keepers divided 4x6 pages to hold my pictures, in the album, that need to be scrapped. That way my photo album is always "done", but I can go back and scrap a page whenever I want, and the pictures will be there waiting. 

I will use this same idea with 12x12 sleeves for professional pictures -- like baseball team shots, or school pictures. 

I will no longer hoard paper crafting magazines. My current stash stacks up taller than my 8 year old! I will go through them and rip out the layouts that inspire me or that I want to scrap lift. I will store the scraplift inspiration pages in the scrapbook album, with the pictures that I want to scrap. This will (hopefully) mean that my things are "together" when I find my missing mojo. 

I will box up my seasonal supplies and put them out of the way, and store the mot versatile crafting items in sight. Right now, stuff is crammed where it can be crammed. 

This is a hard one: I will toss out most of the "found" containers that I hoard because I might alter them some day. This will free up space for pizza boxes :) 

What are your tips and tricks for an effective scrap area and routine?  I started a discussion on this on Paper Craft Planet and I'd love for you guys to join the conversation.  

The Best of the Blogosphere Scrapbooking lists. Remember these lovely little boxes don't show up in Google Reader, so if you can't see them, click on over to my site and they will magically appear. (When you see the boxes, there is a small "read more" in the bottom, right hand corner... click it and you can see the list with pictures as a web page!)

Thumbs Up!

Scrapbooking Inspiration

Scrapbooking Mini-Books

Hybrid (or "Fusion") Scrapbooking Ideas:

Fun with Photoshop:

Please remember that my site is powered by YOU. Please comment here if you'd like me to read your blog or if you have seen some amazing blog art that I'm missing! Thanks!

Card of the Week and Best of the Blogosphere: May 1, 2010

Best of the Blogosphere lists. 

Remember these lovely little boxes don't show up in Google Reader, so if you can't see them, click on over to my site and they will magically appear. (When you see the boxes, there is a small "read more" in the bottom, right hand corner... click it and you can see the list with pictures as a web page!)

The Shout Out List (my favorite CARDS OF THE WEEK): The cards and projects that earned some extra love and attention this week. The best of the best. You people ROCK MY WORLD :D

Shout (all categories, just awesome):

Mother's Day: Father's Day: Graduation:
Spring:
Flowers:
Teacher:

Card Sets:

Wedding:

Invitations:

Friendship:

Wrap it Up:

Favors (Party favors...):

Thank You:

Birthday:

Gift Ideas:

Baby:

Boxes:

Sympathy:

Sympathy cards are always hard to write.  Here's a link to a website that will help you with wording and then some cards for inspiration. 

The Best of the Blogosphere:

In my travels through Blogland, I discover a lot of projects, cards, scrapbook pages, tips, templates and tutorials that are all worth sharing. I want my friends to see the things out there that are special, inspirational, worth some extra notice. This list is everything I think is worth sharing... better read it... you could be on the list!

Walking on Sunshine!

I'm SOOOOOOOO excited to share this card with you today!!!!  I am really walking on sunshine!  Seriously, Susana (so weird typing that!) from SCACD asked me if I would participate in an Elisabeth Bell blog hop and I couldn't say "YES!" fast enough!  

I'm in love with EB.  

There.  I said it. LOVE.  

I think the images are so beautiful -- and they remind me of Madame Alexander dolls.  I only have sons, but wouldn't this image be so cute on a little girl's tea party or dress up birthday invitation?  I was thinking it would be great for Mother's Day too -- just put on the inside, "Mom, when I grow up, I want to be just like you!"

This little girl image is "All Grown Up" and she's part of the Elisabeth Bell--Sampler Edition #4 collection for SCACD.  I colored her with Copic markers and paper pieced the her small purse. 

All the images in the collection are GORGEOUS -- just wait til you see what the other girls created.  

OK, now, on with the HOP!    

• Aud from My Little Corner
• Heather from The Best in Life
• Kim from Crafts by Kim
• Suzanne Dean from Scrap Bitz
• Danni from Danni's Dreams
• Anki from Kortfrålst
• Marti from Pez-a-Doodle Designs
• Jennifer from Glitter in My Hair
• Carolyn from P.M.S. etc.
• Dianne from Paper Hugs with Di
• Jacquie (Guest Hopper) from After Hours Stamper
• Susanna Boyd (Guest Hopper) from Card of the Week <----You are Here :o !!

Next stop is:  Aud from My Little Corner

Walking on Sunshine!

 

I'm SOOOOOOOO excited to share this card with you today!!!!  I am really walking on sunshine!  Seriously, Susana (so weird typing that!) from SCACD asked me if I would participate in an Elisabeth Bell blog hop and I couldn't say "YES!" fast enough!  

I'm in love with EB.  

There.  I said it. LOVE.  

I think the images are so beautiful -- and they remind me of Madame Alexander dolls.  I only have sons, but wouldn't this image be so cute on a little girl's tea party or dress up birthday invitation?  I was thinking it would be great for Mother's Day too -- just put on the inside, "Mom, when I grow up, I want to be just like you!"

This little girl image is "All Grown Up" and she's part of the Elisabeth Bell--Sampler Edition #4 collection for SCACD.  I colored her with Copic markers and paper pieced the her small purse.  

All the images in the collection are GORGEOUS -- just wait til you see what the other girls created.  

OK, now, on with the HOP!    

Next stop is:  Aud from My Little Corner

• Aud from My Little Corner
• Heather from The Best in Life
• Kim from Crafts by Kim
• Suzanne Dean from Scrap Bitz
• Danni from Danni's Dreams
• Anki from Kortfrålst
• Marti from Pez-a-Doodle Designs
• Jennifer from Glitter in My Hair
• Carolyn from P.M.S. etc.
• Dianne from Paper Hugs with Di
• Jacquie (Guest Hopper) from After Hours Stamper
• Susanna Boyd (Guest Hopper) from Card of the Week <----You are Here :o !!

Follow Your Heart....: NEW RELEASE COMING SOON!!!

Follow Your Heart....: NEW RELEASE COMING SOON!!!.

Run!  Don't walk!  Susana has some great blog candy on her blog right now :)

I'm lucky enough to be participating in a blog hop on the 30th previewing some new Elizabeth Bell stamps.  I can't wait to share these cute images with you!!!! Go check it out and you may win!

Good luck!  Tell Susana that Susanna sent you :)

Card of the Week and Best of the Blogosphere: April 24, 2010

Sorry -- I skipped last week.  I had another week of craziness.  This time it was all Google's fault.  I had 1000+ posts that I had tagged, etc, that dropped all the info and plopped back into my que.  I had to do them all over again.  There are a LOT of crafts to share this week.

I'm adding new boxes for graduation and Father's Day.  

Enjoy.

Best of the Blogosphere lists.

Remember these lovely little boxes don't show up in Google Reader, so if you can't see them, click on over to my site and they will magically appear. (When you see the boxes, there is a small "read more" in the bottom, right hand corner... click it and you can see the list with pictures as a web page!)

The Shout Out List (my favorite CARDS OF THE WEEK): The cards and projects that earned some extra love and attention this week. The best of the best. You people ROCK MY WORLD :D

Shout (all categories, just awesome):

Mother's Day: Father's Day: Graduation:
Spring:
Flowers:
Teacher:

Card Sets:

Wedding:

Invitations:

Friendship:

Wrap it Up:

Favors (Party favors...):

Thank You:

Birthday:

Gift Ideas:

Baby:

Boxes:

Sympathy:

Sympathy cards are always hard to write.  Here's a link to a website that will help you with wording and then some cards for inspiration. 

The Best of the Blogosphere:

In my travels through Blogland, I discover a lot of projects, cards, scrapbook pages, tips, templates and tutorials that are all worth sharing. I want my friends to see the things out there that are special, inspirational, worth some extra notice. This list is everything I think is worth sharing... better read it... you could be on the list!

Tips & Tricks: All About Lighting

For me, one of the biggest challenges with blogging is sharing my artwork.   I have two kids, (they both play sports), two part-time jobs, a mountain of laundry and housekeeping chores, and most of my crafting is done at night.  A big problem for the night time crafter is that it's dark when you want to take pictures of your stuff. 

I was asked to do a product review for The Daylight Company for their Daylight at Home tabletop lamp and I have to say that this lamp has solved a crafting issue for me!

OK, here are my SOOC (straight out of camera) shots of the same card -- one is taken at sunset/late afternoon, in direct sun.  This is THE recommended lighting for photography.  The other picture is late at night, with just the daylight lamp.  I'm not using any flash on my camera. 

I love how both pictures turned out.  You can tell, there is a definite difference.  The colors from the lamp picture are more intense.  The colors from the outdoor picture are muted.  My camera was set on "auto" for both, but the camera still interprets the surroundings, so that probably explains the difference.  If I knew my camera better, I would have set it on "manual" to get a more true comparison. To my eye, the actual card is somewhere in the middle of these two pictures.

Here's a picture of my crafting set up, taken at night, so you can really get the feel for my crazy crafting conditions. 

See the reach on the lamp?  Love that.  It also has a magnifying lens on it for detailed work. 

Here's just the lamp:

OK, so here's my review:

I love the lamp.  LOVE it.  The lamp I had before gave out sort of an "orangy glow" that I was constantly correcting with my camera white balance and Photoshop.  This lamp doesn't do that.  

I'm not sure that I'll use the magnifying glass feature.  It does snap out, if I decide that it gets in the way.  On the other hand, I'm already 41... eyes aren't getting any younger!

I'll try to come back and do a "part two" that discusses camera settings and Photoshop tricks just case you're stuck with an "orangy glow" lamp too!

Card of the Week and Best of the Blogosphere: April 9, 2010

Sorry -- I skipped last week.  I had a surreal 7 days of craziness. 

1. Our guinea pig died.  Doesn't sound like much, but we had George for 5 years and he was beloved.

2. Rob got laid off.  This was not unexpected but somehow we were still surprised.  They chose to lay him off on the last day of the month, so guess what... no medical benefits effective immediately.  Bastards.  (He doesn't feel that way... I'm less forgiving.)

3. Rob got a new job.  Yep.  Just like that.  We seriously expected to spend up to a year finding another job.  We both feel truly blessed that a new job found him/us so quickly.

That's it.  I think it's a pretty good excuse to skip a blog post.  I'm organized again now.  I switched out our BOB boxes to make room for Mother's Day ideas.  I love this time of year.  Spring just seems to bring out the crafting best in all of us.  

Enjoy.

Best of the Blogosphere lists.

Remember these lovely little boxes don't show up in Google Reader, so if you can't see them, click on over to my site and they will magically appear. (When you see the boxes, there is a small "read more" in the bottom, right hand corner... click it and you can see the list with pictures as a web page!)

The Shout Out List (my favorite CARDS OF THE WEEK): The cards and projects that earned some extra love and attention this week. The best of the best. You people ROCK MY WORLD :D

Shout (all categories, just awesome):

Mother's Day: r>
Spring:
Flowers:
Teacher:

Card Sets:

Wedding:

Invitations:

Friendship:

Wrap it Up:

Favors (Party favors...):

Thank You:

Birthday:

Gift Ideas:

Baby:

Boxes:

Sympathy:

Sympathy cards are always hard to write.  Here's a link to a website that will help you with wording and then some cards for inspiration. 

The Best of the Blogosphere:

In my travels through Blogland, I discover a lot of projects, cards, scrapbook pages, tips, templates and tutorials that are all worth sharing. I want my friends to see the things out there that are special, inspirational, worth some extra notice. This list is everything I think is worth sharing... better read it... you could be on the list!

And the Winner is....

Rhonda Nelson!  Rhonda won 1 Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White from our SCAD Blog Hop!  Congratulations Rhonda!  I'll be emailing you with information on how to collect your prize :)

Susana and Susanna=Free Stamps

TGIF and welcome to Susana's Custom Art & Card Design/Paper Craft Planet blog hop! 10 designers are hopping along, each creating something amazing with the SCAD Elizabeth Bell & Victoria Case stamps. 

I was lucky enough to work with a couple of different stamps and I've fallen completely IN LOVE with Elizabeth Bell.  Isn't Latte beautiful?!  I used the retired SU papers "Urban Prairie" to paper piece her dress to match the card, and colored her with my Copic markers.  I'm sending her to my BFF and coffee buddy, Rachel, who moved to Michigan.  Here she is again in green... you can tell, I couldn't "stop"...

OK, now because I couldn't stop coloring, I also did this adorable card for my niece, Alyssa.  

This stamp is called "I Heart Ya"   This little girl is colored with Copics to match the new SEI Happy Birthday papers.  I think she looks just like Alyssa.

 

Hop along with us and leave us some love and you could end up winning one of 3 generous prizes: 1 sheet of the Elisabeth Bell for SCACD Sampler #3 OR 1 sheet of the Victoria Case for SCACD Hearts and Hugs - Spring Collection (new Release) OR 1 Viva Decor Pearl Pen in Ice White! We've hidden 3 prizes among the Supernova's blogs, but no one knows which ones! Leave a comment on one or all of the Supernova blogs in order to win. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. Blog comments will be open until Monday at 8am EST. The lucky winners will be announced on the Paper Craft Planet blog on Monday afternoon. (This contest is open to US residents only!)

Our Blog Hoppers are:

• Adela Rossol
• Lynn Mercurio
• Kim Burmeister
• Wendy Price
• Tammy Hershberger
• Erika Martin
• Lori Tecler
• Jessica Fick
• Susanna Boyd <------ You are HERE
  
• Amy Park

Check out our gallery to see all the projects in one place!