Ribbon Ring

Well Danice encouraged me to do this so here goes ... my first tutorial!!

I saw these fantastic ribbon rings a few weeks ago and thought they looked FANTASTIC!! I'm poor so decided to give it a go at making them and here's how I did it ....

First I made a thick cardboard template 40mmX40mm with a hole punced out the top and three 35mmX5mm lines cut from the middle down. I then traced the template onto thick coloured cardstock punched the holes and then using my craft knife cut out the lines (gee I wish I had a Fiskars fingertip knife)

Cut out lots!! Then stick them through your laminator













then I cut them all out individually and re-punched the holes and re-cut the lines. And you end up with lots of these

now all you need to do is thread on your ribbons and loop through your rings and HEY PRESTO, you got some ribbon rings!!
I have a lot more rings to put together because I have a lot more ribbon!! And I haven't quite decided where I'm going to hang them, but I'm really pleased with the way they have turned out!!

Getting the groove slowly

I haven't had much luck with scrapping of late, had a HUGE scrappers block period, and the whole smashing clock incident wasn't very good!! But At least I am creating again. I have been trying to spend more "quality" time together as a family on the weekends, as we seem to have become a family of couch potatoes!! Today we spent the day at the Auckland Museum and feeding pigens at the Domain after our picnic lunch, it was a fantastic day :) And I have also been trying to spend more quality time with Jason, as I'm usually in the garage in the evenings scrapping, so I need to find time where I just scrap now!! Things are a changing in the Palmer household!! I'm not really sure how some women do everything, they craft, are wonderful parents, amazing wifes, their house is ALWAYS immaculate. I can do maybe 1 really well 1 pretty well and the others half-assed!! But anyway I digress away from the layout I did this weekend it was while doing this layout I got frustrated with the lack of Halloween scrapbooking stuff in NZ. Halloween has always been a big favourite of mine, and my friends and I Have been having Halloween paties for a long time. So of course marrying an American gives me an excuse to throw a big Halloween bash every year for the kids. So we will end up with a Halloween layout for each kid every year. So I NEED Halloween scrapping stuff!! And this is where I say "I LOVE THE FISKATEERS" I asked and 11 wonderful Halloween packages should be making their way to me!! I am sooo excited!! But I'm not a beggar and I don't expect something for nothing so there will be 11 NZ goody bags winding their way back to these generous ladies!! I am soo looking forward to making some awesome Halloween pages for the kids :)

Frustration

Well I was determined to get the clock finished today, I had finished the painting and I spent the best part of the day printing out the little quotes and attaching them onto the little rolla-dex type mechanisim, then when I went to place it back in the clock do you think I could? No nothing would make it get back in it's little spot. Nothing. I used a metal kebab skewer and a little fork and pried and tried but nothing. I ended up breaking the mechanisim completley so I did this ... Ok have Lemons make Lemonade ... I pulled the mechanisim out and the clock part found a canvas and thought right I'll fix it and some how attach it to the canvas, have a canvas clock. Um no, turns out it can't be fixed. So now I have 31 quotes about scrapbooking attached to a little rolla-dex type thingy that doesn't work and a broken desk top clock. I am gutted, to say the least. Oh well it's not over yet!!! Watch this space!!!

Thanks Christine :)

I forgot to mention, that in my day of Blah yesterday I did get a wonderful RAK in the mail from fellow Auckland Fiskateer Christine. It was soo unexpected and made me smile for the first time in the day!!! Thanks for the wonderful Shape Cutter and Template!!! I can't wait to give it a go and hope to master it soon!!!

The Dam Has Broken!! HURRAY!

YAY!!!! I have come out of my creative slump and completed my first LO in a while. It is for a Scrap-Lift Challenge on Fiskateers I'm hoping now I have my creative mind back I can get this clock finished!!

Just wanna do a shout out to May from Fiskateers for her wonderful un-blocking tips!! They worked a charm!!! Thanks May!!

Brick Wall

Well I feel like I've come up against a brick wall. The last few days I've been feeling incredibly uninspired to do anything. I think it has been known as Scrappers Block. I missed the first bebo challenge!! My first out of 23. I feel pretty stink about it cause everyone else did such a fab job, but I'm stumped. Everywhere I turn I hit walls. I pulled out some photos today and pulled papers out but nothing was flowing like it usually does. It may be that photos? It may be the papers? I'm just not sure? All I know is that my usual enthusiasim and desire to scrap has gone, hopefully very temporarily!! I remember reading a blog from May on Fiskateers on this very subject so I think I might just sift through and find it! Hopefully May's incredible wisdom will bring me out of my slump!!

Thanks Danice :)

Today I have recieved my 3rd wonderful present from the fabulous Danice :) Some adorable chipboard letters, pink and green!! What a wonderful ray of sunshine on my otherwise blery day!!
Luff you long time Danice :)

Failure

I feel so bad today. I started a while ago a 30 Layouts in 30 days challenge. There were 30 different sketches we had to use and I didn't finish. my 30 days came and went but I did not finish the challenge. I HATE not finishing things. I could go on about the fact that my photo printer ran out of ink and I still haven't managed to get any. I could also mention that the last few sketches just weren't speaking to me. But the truth comes down to the fact that I didn't finish and I feel stink about it!!! So my goal is to complete the rest of the sketches within a week once I get my ink for my printer, I have done 14 Layouts so I will have to complete the remaining 16 in 7 days! Think I can do it? I'm determined to!!! I will post here when I start so my 7 days will be monitored!!!
here is the link to the 30 sketches if you are keen to give it a go http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/images/ftp_images/ck/downloads/04%20SK.pdf
Maybe you will be more successful than me!!!

WARNING: Scrapping is Contagious

OK Today was a busy day. We had Paige's 6th birthday party. I had to cook something savoury to take and get the kids a sleep in and them up and dressed in their costumes for a 1pm party. Well I was late. Which is fine but them I realised I'd left the birthday present at home. Oh well you always have these days. The kids were so cute in their costumes I can't wait to scrap the pics!!! And I got ALOT! The party was at the local firestation and all the kids got to go for a drive around the block in the firetruck. Since I couldn't take photos of the kids and myself in the truck I handed the camera over to my good friend Sandra. Now let me give you a breif description of her. She's a scrapbook dabbler. Introduced to it by yours truely, but not totally all consumed or addicted like me!! But she understands my addiction because when I was off having fun in the fire truck she took these photos I guess I have trained my friends well in the art of scrapbook photography!! Not leaving out any details lol Paige got a lovely jewelery box that has all the bits and bobs to decorate it, her Mum, Sarah, said it must be about time to go round to Tracy's for some scrapping so she can help me do this box!! Haha That will be fun!! But tomorrw is serious work time!! I sanded and put two coats of paint on my clock so tomorrow I think I'll add another coat and make it glossy. I also have a bebo challenge LO to do, and I have a Fiskateers scraplift to complete so busy weekend for me!!

My Mission - If I choose to accept it! ....

Well on Scrapbookers Challenge we are doing a Clock Off The Page Challenge I have already done a clock for Abbey's room
but as Danice said she can't tell the time, so I have decided to do one for me. I have this little desk top clock in my scrap room. It has the date on it too, but because I never remember to click the date, and it's always wrong, I decided when I redo it I'll put little scrapping quotes instead. So here is the dismantled before shot
I aim to have it done by the Challenge finish date which is Friday 23rd!! Now it's written I have to do it!

Todays Accomplishment

Well today I managed to make something!!! With Paiges 6th Birthday Party on Saturday I thought it was about time I got my butt into gear and made her present. So here it is! A little tooth box! I'm not 100% happy and I think I need more paractice covering stuff. It was my first attempt at the little round boxes. I have two more. Both will be turned into toothe boxes, one for Riley and one for Abbey. I am completley stumped as to how to decorate Rileys though??? Oh well I have maybe a couple more years before he loses his first tooth!!

I also got a wonderful surprise at my front door step as I went out to check the mail. It was a big envelope and inside was the most wonderful and adorable Fiskars Baby stamp set!! Thankyou so much to my fellow fiskateer Danice!!! I can't wait to get my ink and get to work finishing Abbey's baby pics!! YAY!!

Well everyone who's everyone seems to have a blog these days, I thought well lets get on the band wagon and get one too!! Cool Idea!! I thought I'd make this my scrapping blog since I already have a family type thing going on over at www.bebo.com/TracyP81 so this will be all things scrapping. And also I'm hoping other scrap heads will push me into getting my butt kicked to do more!! I'm soooo good at starting things and wanting to do things so now is the time to get off my butt and JUST DO IT!!!

So Welcome to the insanity and messiness of Tracy's Scrap Heap!!!