Do you remember when you were a kid and you happened
upon a new hobby?
Maybe it was a TV show, a
book, an idea—something new that got you to imagine the plot, dress up as the
characters, or draw the themes.
Psychologically the human
mind needs exposure to new things, activities that enthralls and
encourages you to grow creatively.
I stumbled upon a new something
like this recently.
As you know, I’ve been a
scrapbooker for decades. I love it, the hobby allows me express myself and my skill
of creatively documenting life using paper, words and ink.
However, like any
endeavor, when you perform the same process over and over again, it can start
to become stale. A review of my scrapbooks for this blog showed me how my style
has evolved, but in the same token, it illustrated how little my pattern has
changed over the years.
As a strong believer in
the power of the Universe, my break from scrapbooking monotony came in the form
of a journey. For years I’d go to the same mainstream craft stores, offering
the same brands.
The thought finally occurred
to me, “If you want your pattern to change, then you need to take a different action.” So, I did. I
went in search of new supply stores.
Funny enough, I approached
this process the same way I do for finding good coffee places: word of mouth
and good online feedback. If you’re tired of Starbucks, you need to research
the local small businesses, and I found a gem as a result.
I discovered a fabulous
one-location wonder of a scrapbook supply store in Eldersburg, MD. It’s a bit of
hike from where I live, but so worth it. They carry unique paper brands, and
are very customer service friendly.
As I began visiting the
store more frequently, I noticed that they supported all paper crafts,
including card making, art coloring, and stamping, and even offered classes.
I’d dabbled in stamping
when I was a young teenager, but felt that I wasn’t good at it. But as I watched
the ladies at the store classes work on their projects, the technique stirred
something in me.
Scrapbooking alone is expensive, and like any good fiscally-minded person, I wasn’t about to delve
into a new, costly hobby without some proof of quality results.
Months passed, and the frequency
of my store visits increased, and I continued to observe. The cards the store offered
contained cool-looking paper cut outs made from metal dies. The stamps and inks
were colorful and could be embellished, the result a little work of art.
My curiosity piqued, I
went home and took to the internet to learn more. That was the moment when the
new hobby enthusiasm was born. My search led me to the good ol’ University of
YouTube, and there I found a channel that captured my attention – Jennifer McGuire
Ink.
For the record, this woman is a card-making genius. I watched one episode and
immediately became captivated. The host was soft-spoken, to the point, and
helpful. The pace of the instruction was PERFECT, and all of her ideas were crazy-creative.
One 9-minute post became a marathon as I soaked up all the information like a
college student going for their PhD. I loved it.
I watched and watched,
and soon got the wild idea that I could use the same steps to make pretty
cards, too. And the great part about it was that the paper craft technique
could easily bridge over to my scrapbooks.
I’ve stated before that Valentine’s
Day is one of my favorite holidays. I love LOVE in all its forms, and what
better day is there to debut my fledgling card-making talents?
I went for it, purchasing
some cute clear stamps and paper. I also took the bold step of investing in a
compact die-cut machine. I was super excited about having the machine in time
to make my cards, however I hit one snag. The retailer had sold out of new
machines, so I dared to purchase a refurbished one. Which was a monumental
mistake.
The initial machine was
faulty and I wasn’t able to use it. The return process took forever, tied up my
bank account, and the replacement (new) machine arrived the day before
Valentine’s Day.
I rolled with the punches
(no pun intended), and made as many non-die cut cards as I could with the
materials I had on hand, the result of which was quite adorable:
I made a shaker card
(heart confetti) and little, stamped love bird cards.
The outcome wasn’t bad, and the
replacement machine came in time to make my immediate family members' cards (the
ones that I could hand deliver on the day).
And man, let me tell you –
die cuts are FUN.
I felt like that kid, trying
out something new and amazing and exciting. I wanted to learn everything – all the
techniques, all the ways I could use the dies differently.
The result was phenomenal
– to this moment, I’m proud on how they turned out.
My sister’s card
especially. (Love this one.)
The practice allowed me
to make a honeybee valentine card for my Grandmother (which will be received
late, but lovingly so)…
…which I also translated into
a scrapbook page.
I acknowledged my new obsession
with my die cut machine (we will have to hold a contest to name my new baby),
and began to look around for more card and scrapbook page ideas.
I fired up my die cut
machine, turned on some educational TV programming, and went to work.
My replica of the Love
Sushi came out well. The salmon sushi hearts are velvet, (better than glitter
paper, I decided), and a fair comparison. My chopsticks aren’t as cute as the
original, but not bad.
And, as predicted, the
project also became a scrapbook page. J
Note: The red velvet paper is
way awesome. I bought some heart dies and put them to good use making card stock. Next year, look
out! If you know me, you’re getting maaaiiilll. *evil grin*
So, last year I went all
out with love quotes. This year, I discovered a way to build upon my existing
skills with paper craft, and I’m so excited to see where this leads.
I’m grateful that there
are small businesses like my local scrapbooking store, and people like the web
channel personality, who generously send this knowledge out into the world without payment.
Paper crafting is a huge business, but it’s
an education, too, and that carries so much value.
In April I’ll be
participating in the A-Z Blog challenge, and with these new skills, and their application to scrapbooking, I’m gearing up to make this blog sprint awesome.
I will be posting
throughout the rest of February and March with more, but I’m looking forward to
sharing all of this creative technique with you in April.
I hope everyone is having
a month filled with love, and I’ll see you again soon!
-
SNG
