Magazine Monday at PCC, Week 65

40 Ways to Stay Creative

 Our inspiration this week (at Paper Crafter's Corner) is all about Staying Creative and I took it litterally.  

The first thing I saw when I looked at this cover was the word "Declutter".  No, I didn't see the part about my workspace.  I wonder if this is a subliminal message?  Of course, I immediately said, "No Way is Decluttering going to inspire me", even though I know it always does.  So my card is all about the injustice of finding the word declutter on this fabulous list.  I chose 4 ideas that fit right in with inviting a friend to do something crafty and wrote a lot of the other suggestions around the border.  I normally try to use my best penmanship, but this is all about inspiration and I decided to just list the ideas in my normal, sloppy writing.  Now, of course, I don't really like it, but my friend won't care.

Scor-Pal Challenge

Christmas Treats for Freckles

The theme for the August Scor-Pal challenge (More than one score) is 

"Food For Thought".  There are so many ways to create a fun box for a treat, or a basket for a potluck, but I couldn't think of one thing I needed.  So I decided to make a little treat box for Freckles for Christmas.  

The box is 10" long by 1" in depth, holding a lot of treats.  Here are a few of the tricks to remember when creating an odd shape box:

After tracing and cutting out your cardstock, score along the drawn line to ensure your tabs won't tear when you fold them.  Believe me, they (the tabs) will be abused by the time you have put all the pieces together.  Because my box is rounded, I used the self healing side of my Scor-Mat to work on.  It was perfect. 

To form the sides of the box, cut strips of matching cardstock the height you want the box to be.  You should cut strips for the inside and the outside.  Be sure to use a very strong tape (I used Scor-Tape) to secure the strips to the sides.  If you want your lid to sit flat against the table, the sides should be 1/16th of an inch wider.  If that measurement scares you, just use 1/8th. 

If you haven't checked out the challenge fun at the Scor-Pal blog yet, stop by to see what the September challenge will be.

Halloween School Bus?

OK, Not Really, but....

The Inspiration for Magazine Mondays at Paper Crafter's Corner, Week 64, was a really cute school bus and I immediately knew what I wanted to do.  A simple layout about our bus conversion with before and after photos.  After a few hours looking for pictures, I found two that would work ok, but I could not put the colors with any background or get any real ideas on where to go with it.  So, I went to my Silhouette and saw the school bus svg I had (from Lettering Delights) and it hit me.  An interactive layout with each layer opening in some way to display pictures of the process.  But the darn thing wouldn't cut (I admit nothing).  SO... a change of directions.  Maybe I just wasn't meant to start something new when I still have piles of UFP's (unfinished projects).  So I grabbed my Halloween layouts from last October and finished them.

Then I created two more pages to finish telling the story

As I was outlining the title letters and webbing on the last page, I realized why my Silhouette didn't want to cut and of course, I had to go back to my bus idea to see if I could figure this out.  I did!  However, now there is not enough time to put the entire thing together, but I thought I'd show you what I did get done, along with a picture of what our bus looked like when we bought it.

 

I don't want this to end up another UFP, so I'll be working on it as time allows and will post the finished layout.

UFP's

Unfinished Projects

This week's Magazine Monday left me hanging:

The second I saw it, I saw the tears and thought of my UFP's (unfinished projects).  They have been haunting me for a while, mostly because they are taking up valuable shelf space.  I have a whole hoard of UFP's from cards, to class samples, partially finished altered books, kits and projects that got interrupted, etc.   Now, admit it, you have a few too.  I don't mind having them because it give's me something to grab and work on if I don't know what else to do (like that will ever happen), but I do want to get some of them done.  It might sound silly, but I include my Silhouette and other tools seldom used in my UFP's.  To me, if it is not being used because I haven't taken time to learn enough about it, it's a UUFP - Useless Unfinished Project.  So my Silhouette is high on the list.  That is why last week I played with my shapes and files and learned quite a bit.  The result was several cut pieces that needed to be put together. 

And that's just what I did.  Yesterday was our monthly crop and I took all those cut pieces to put together, and a couple of UFP's to play with for the day.  The bone shape treat box is for the Scor-Pal August challenge, so more about that soon.  The rest are things I cut on the Silhouette.  I love the carousel horse and the doggy wagon.  I need to decide if I should add brads for the bolts on the wagon, or maybe something else.  I'm thinking some stickles or ? on the tags too.  I made several of these so I can add a little fun to my holiday packages.  Any suggestions are welcome.  I also worked on a mini book I started about 3 years ago with Teresa Collins papers and it is looking great.  One more day and I should be done with that too.  YEA!

I had so much fun that I am going to continue to work on my unfinished projects when I can.

2014 Summertime Photographic Scavenger Hunt

A Very Tiny Water Fall

OK, it's not really a waterfall, but with my limited budget for fuel, I don't think I'll be driving anywhere that actually has water this time of year.  I had hoped to grab a shot of a monsoon runoff somewhere, but during the heaviest rains, I realized that I stay in when it's raining.  I'm pretty sure the road closures would keep me from getting very far.  For those of you not familiar with the summer rains (monsoons) in the Arizona desert, it rains very hard for a short time, causing flash floods in little pockets everywhere.  If you are caught out driving during the storm, you might find one or two road closures on your way home.  No big deal 'cuz the water runs off as fast as it came and you can be on your way in no time.  I had also thought I could add a photo or two of the "waterfall" inside our house when the wind blows the rain hard against our porch room.  It runs down the windows mighty fast.  But the wind has not been in the right direction, so I am presenting my idea of a very tiny waterfall.  My friend has this beautiful fountain in her yard and we took this picture during my visit last week.  I enjoyed it's beauty every bit as much as I do massive waterfalls.  Be sure to stop by Gallo Organico and read about the photo challenge for this summer and join the fun.