Friday, August 7, 2015

Summer Vacation Roundup: Hauls and Projects


So much has happened in my life personally and creatively over the last few weeks. New to paper crafting, planning, and all things "dori", I still haven't been able to establish a routine of crafting and planning that works with my business and family life.


Along with everything else that has been going on, once again my need for perfection is getting in the way of making regular posts. I'm working on it, and I realize I have to "plan" my posts, so please hang in there with me.

Here's is an overview of what I've been up to lately:

HAULS


I've done so much craft shopping online (Amazon.com and Scrapbook.com) and in stores (Joann, Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Tuesday Mornings) over the last month that it would nearly impossible for me to list every product that I have purchased, so I'll just give a brief overview of what I've been adding to my stash.

Many of the Prima Dolls I wanted that were on backorder became available, and I ordered them, so I now have a nice selection of 10-11 dolls... I've lost count, but I do have an insert with my craft stash inventory of inks, dolls, stickles, washi's, etc.

I would say the most not exciting things I've picked up would be the 2 Rigger bags I rushed out to get from Harbor Freight as soon as I saw them in one of the Facebook Groups I'm a member of.  Usually I have crafty stuff all over my bed in the evening (we'll talk about my lack of a craft area another time), and I really need an easy and organized way to keep what I need to use close. So, one of those rigger bags sits next to my bed with all, well most, of my planning supplies nicely and neatly tucked away... most of the time.

My washi tape collection has grown quite a bit. I even placed my first Etsy order ever for a set of narrow pastel washi tapes to use in my Happy Planner.

I received an order today, and it included my first Midori Insert. I'm a bit disappointed, I expected to be WOW'd when I opened the package, but I think the inserts I've made myself are just as nice. I guess it's a brand name thing similar to fashion...maybe?  I must say, I was more impressed with the Moleskine inserts I bought from Target.

I also have a Fuse Tool made by We R Memory Keepers ordered and according to the seller, it shipped today (fingers crossed). I've been waiting for a while for it and I can't wait to play around with it... honestly, it's been so long since I ordered it, that I really don't remember what I wanted it for, but I'm sure I'll put it to good use.


PROJECTS, PLANNING & CHALLENGES


Mini Albums
I'm still working on the pet album, and it's going slow. I realized I didn't have enough paper to choose from and that I need more embellishments. I ordered a few Bo Bunny items and I found a set of pet themed Project Life Cards (my first Project Life Cards) to incorporate in the mini album.

In addition to the pet mini album, I've received requests for a baby mini-album, and a purple themed mini album. I want to complete the pet album before I move on. I don't know why it takes me so long to complete an album. I'll have to explore that some other time.



Book Making
I made my first book. It's a small hardcover book with multimedia paper pages, and I think it is fabulous! I put gesso on the pages and created my very first multimedia painting. It was thrilling! I imagine using my art journal on Sunday afternoons.





Planning 
I'm getting the hang of this planner thing with my Happy Planner. I also have a DayTimer and I haven't decided how I want to use it. In addition, I am still using my Kraft-Tex "Fauxdori", and I must say I'm quite attached to it. It goes in my bag when I know I'm going to be away from home for an extended length of time.  I do need to make a new cover, but it's not because of the Kraft-Tex, it's because my eyelets are not inserted properly and it's causing a problem now that the width of my TN is growing.


My DIY Planner is now used for storing stickers.  I gave it up because it was just too complicated trying to figure out how to print properly on both sides of the paper, and you would think that with me being a graphic designer this wouldn't be an issue, but I didn't have the patience for it at the time. I didn't like wasting ink and paper, but maybe in the future I'll try again since I found this video to be helpful.




Challenges
I'm participating in the August ListersGottaList.com challenge.  It's fun, but I'm not really crazy about the list topics so far. Hopefully I'll be able to get into some of the upcoming list topics more than I have thus far.  Follow me on Instagram @scrapcraftastic and be among the first to see my lists.

So, I think that's about it. I have been doing something crafty almost everyday, and I can tell a difference in my level of creativity. I'm also learning a bit about taking well lit photos. I look forward to my late evenings of planning, listing and coming up with project ideas. I also find the crafting community and especially the planner community to be welcoming and helpful, and it's very refreshing.






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