Please send some good-luck vibes.

I just sent a layout about my adorable great-nephew to Memory Makers Magazine. I've submitted  only one other layout in all the years I've been scrapbooking, and that was a long time ago. I don't deal well with rejection. I think the layout is one of the best I've ever done.  I'm hoping for a cover (Yeah, I dream big!), but I'd be absolutely thrilled to be published anywhere in the magazine. I'm just proud of myself for even having the courage to submit to a magazine. Wish me luck!

Scrapbooking Tip #12: Ironing Ribbon

I've seen all the cute little craft irons on the market, and I even own one of them. (I got it on sale.)  They're OK; but I'm impatient, and I don't like to wait for them to heat up.  Besides, they never get quite hot enough to be very effective.  But did you know that you don't need an iron to "iron" your ribbons?  If you've got a lightbulb, you're good to go.  First, make sure that your lightbulb is clean and dust-free.  (Of course, you need to do that while it's cool. Don't ask me how I know that.)  Then just pull your ribbon tight, and rub it slowly across the hot bulb, being very careful not to rub your fingers along the bulb as well. (Don't ask me how I know that, either.)  It works great!  And you can save your money for the really essential things, like more paper, more chipboard, more dies for your cutting machine, and - yes, you guessed it - MORE RIBBON!  Have a great week, and thanks for stopping by!

Scrapbooking Tip #11: Add a Little "Bling"!

I love glitter and rhinestones!  I use them wherever I can:  on my layouts, on my cards, and on any other craft project on which I can get away with it.   Sometimes it's difficult to know when to stop, though.  I don't want my projects to look too gaudy, so I try to use the "bling" in moderation. 

Using glitter does have one drawback, though.  I'm constantly "sparkling."  No matter how hard I try, I never can seem to get all that glitter off me.  In fact, when I was working in a very upscale paper store in SoHo a few years ago, one of the "younger" associates complimented me on my "cool nose ring."  Just as I started to tell her that I didn't have a nose ring, she corrected herself and said, "Oh, no, wait; that's glitter."  I even find glitter on the cat!  And my kids!  Oh, well, I guess it's an occupational hazard.  Here's to the BLING!

Below is the most recent Disney layout I've done.  I used a lot of glitter and rhinestones for the title, but I felt that the layout warranted a lot of shiny stuff.

Scrapbooking Tip #10: Organizing by Color

I know that this is a day late, but yesterday I went to see that gorgeous great-nephew of mine!  He's smaller in person, but also even cuter.  Pictures will be following very soon!

This week's tip is on organization.  I stamp a lot, and I had been pretty dissatisfied with the way I organized my inkpads for awhile.  I had all my dye-based pads in one drawer, all my pigments in another, and all my SU/TAC in another.  I even kept all my mini inkpads separate.  I didn't know what colors I had anymore!  Then it hit me.  I had an AHA! moment!  Why not organize my inkpads the same way I organize my paper?  I had to try it, right then and there.

You see, I'm a COLOR person.  Just about everything I do in scrapbooking and card making begins with color.  My papers are organized by color, and it works really well for me, so I decided that I needed to do this for my inkpads as well.  It's wonderful!  I combined some colors, and I still have 3 drawers, but now I can see what colors I have and what colors I need.

I haven't found a need to organize all my embellishments this way yet, but my ribbons and buttons have been that way for quite awhile now.  Like I said, I'm a COLOR person.  You can be a COLOR person, too!

Enjoy your crafting this week!

Scrapbooking Tip #9: Use your scraps to make a card.

Happy World Cardmaking Day!  I'm having some friends over to celebrate, and we're going to be starting our Holiday cards.  My tip for you this week is really easy to do.  After you finish a layout, take all the scraps you have left over and create a card or two.  You'd be surprised at how many cool designs you can come up with, and you'll feel like you're really getting your money's worth out of your supplies.  Here are some examples of what I made using mostly scraps of paper.  Have a great weekend!

I can finally share this: My layout is on Page Maps!

Here's the layout I did of Michael & Diana's wedding photos.  And here's the link to Page Maps, where my Mini Map is featured.  It's the 4th one down.  I'm so excited!  It's the second layout I've done for Page Maps. 

Page Maps Mini Maps