First DT Project

The day is here!  This is my first project as a Scrappy Dew DT member.  I made this chart for a teacher who wanted a giant tooth so the class could keep track of how many teeth the students loose during the year.  So I made this cute little page that she will laminate and use as a graph.  I used the Where's my Tooth File that can be found here 

http://scrappydew.cartloom.com/shop/item/103818

I love this file, and how the smile accounts for the missing tooth.  The file comes with a lot of little extras to add to your page as well!  Thanks for looking!

Glues

I got a bunch of new glue for Christmas.  My husband looked at me weird and asked why I needed so many different glues.  Well I am glad that I got new glues.  With my regular scrapbooking (just put a mat under the photo and throw on some stickers) I couldn't seem to find an adhesive that would hold.  I tried glue tabs, glue dots, tape runner, glue stick.  Someone gave me some suggestions and the first one was Zip Dry.  Now I like Zip Dry because it does have a good hold...but I don't like Zip Dry because it is a really gummy glue.  I feel like I waste just as much glue as I use and it dries up and gums over so quickly, so I had to find something else so I'm not constantly frustrated.  So I got some more suggestions and ordered a few.  So far I have tried MonoAqua and I love the pen tip for small pieces (haven't tried the broad tip yet) and it seems to have a good hold.  I also got the zip pen.  It seems like it is barely half full of glue but it works great for small items.  At first I kept trying to squeeze the glue out, then squeeze and push, but I find it works best if you just occassionally lightly push down on the tip while you run it along the paper.  I will let you know on the other glues once I try them.  One is called the best glue ever, Scotch Quick drying tacky glue, and someone told me fabri-tac also but it doesn't say for paper on the bottle, and while it has been sitting (not even open yet) it has exploded out the top and has a gumball size...gumball sitting on it, so I haven't tried it yet but already not that impressed.
Recently I found a Youtube video of how to save your gummy glues.  It said if you purchase a silicone bottle nipple (rubber might not work as the glue would stick) and some double sided mounting foam you can create a nonstick lid.  You wrap the foam around the bottle twice then squeeze the nipple over the top.  I decided it was worth a try.  (I got the medium flow and it worked just fine, not too fast) At first I was excited because it seemed to work well, it didn't gum up after every single piece like it did with the regular lid.  So I put it to the test and came back after a couple of hours to see how it held up....this was the result.

If you can tell from the picture there is a concave nipple outline of glue in the middle of the nipple

Now it still works I tipped it upside down and the rest of the glue went past the dried glue but it still wasted a lot of glue, and after a few more uses a found myself frustrated by it again and ended up switching to a different glue.  So I will probably use up the rest of this glue, mostly because I'm thrifty (cheap) but I don't see myself buying ZipDry again. 

Excited

I am so excited.  I got the position to be a DT for Scrappy Dew!  I can't even believe it.  Now the hard part is narrowing down all the amazing files and deciding which ones I want to work with.  I hope I can come up with some fantastic pages.  I am beaming right now.  Yay!

Catching up

I haven't done much scrapping in the last month.  Seperating my regular digital files from the tag sized ones has proved to be even more difficult and tedious than originally imagined.  I thought I could just sort them by dpi, which is how I know which is which.  My computer won't list the dpi for page elements so I have to go off of pixels.  I don't know which pixels are enough to print so I go through and find each kit and look at every element size.  I know the paper has to be 3600.  So basically you take the pixel size and divide it by 300 which will give you how big the element can be to print at 300 dpi.  (3600x3600 divided by 300 gives me 12x12)  But some of the elements I know are full sized seem small and some of the tag sized elements seem large enough.  So I am still battling that out.  I thought I was almost finished.  I got all of my files sorted but I am still finding some within my software so I need to go through it again.  This "mistake" has sure taken the fun out of my scrapbooking.  I need to get it finished and quit spending all my time organizing my files and just scrap!
Also I haven't done any paper piecings because the layout challenge I usually do hasn't been available because the owner was moving last month so she has been busy.  Plus with all of the holiday activities I have been busy as well.  So I am hoping now to get going again.  I bought a bunch of new patterns from different places and I'm excited to try them out.
When I first got started actually scrapping, right away a couple of sites were doing DT calls, so I applied to 2 of them.  I didn't get either one, which I was okay with because I thought I need to get used to my software and find my own style anyway.  I knew I wasn't even close to being ready to apply for a paper piecing position, but I felt better at digital.  Now I feel like I am ready for either one.  You have to build up your experience somewhere right?  There are a few of my favorite sites having a paper piecing DT call right now.  I don't have the time commitments for some of them but I am really excited about Scrappy Dew.  I feel like I can meet the requirements and it will be really fun.  So I will try again.  I think this will be a great push to get back into things and keep me working toward my goal.  I have a feeling if I get this one I will go a little crazy and complete more than the minimum requirements.

December Layout

You know what I said about having issues with either the layout or the piecings, this was the piecings.  My blade didn't want to cut the letters.  I tried to trace around them and that made it look worse, and it kept ripping them so I just ended up cutting a couple of them freehand.  Aside from that, I think it turned out really cute.  I was excited because with this page I saw the layout and was instantly inspired.  I got an image in my head and knew right what I wanted to do.  I used the fuzzy penguin in hat and deer with pumpkin files.  I of course changed the pumpkin to a snowball.  I can't wait to add the pictures of the kids building a snowman and having a snowball fight!

What did I do

Here I said I was getting a hang of the digital scrapbooking...I made a HUGE mistake.  I found a new style of elements that I liked so I downloaded a ton of them (I used one in the Halloween family photo) including mixing them all in my software.  I thought they were just a little on the punk...not as cutsie side and that was how they differed...well they are a whole different thing.  They are tag sized.  I didn't know what that meant.  It means they are not for digital scrapbooking.  People use them to make images specifically for the computer, include signatures on emails or name plates or banners on facebook, things like that.  So they are designed at about 90 dpi which is great for a computer screen.  You need 300 dpi to print.  Now I need to go in and find everything within the software and delete them.  This is going to take a while.  :/  Lesson...if you don't know what something is, figure it out BEFORE you mix everything together.

LSHD layout challenge

I am so pleased with this page.  I glow with pride when I complete a page and I like the piecings as well as the layout.  It seems like I usually struggle with one part or the other.  The photo of the page I guess was the issue this time but I inked all the piecings for the first time, I like the paper choices, and the layout looks great :-)  It's okay to brag once in a while I think.  I'm glad I made myself start actually scrapping!  This came from Little Scraps of Heaven Designs Oh the Messes you Make Kit.  It does have a lot of tiny pieces to put together so it was a little more difficult and time consuming, but still cute. 

This took me a long time to complete because I was told it's not really worth the time to just cut one piece, you should do at least 2 every time.  So I cut 3 sets, but I still wanted to do them different for each boy so I had to think about what color I wanted the shirts, and the chair and the hair, and how to make them unique to each boy....I think that part took longer than any of the rest.  I think what they meant was to cut a couple of identical sets ;-) 

November My Memories Digital Challenges

Here are some more of the challenges I did with My Memories, though I used my creative memories software since I am used to what it can do.

 This challenge from Over the Fence Designs was to scrap a picture from "some festive occassion"  I chose Christmas.  I knew right where the pictures were.  I used Sweet Pea Designs Christmas in July to scrap our family Christmas party.  I like how this turned out.  I feel like I am starting to get the hang of things.

I combined the font challenge and the quote challenge for the collect 'em all.  Here is my page for the quote challenge.  I used Thank God for Kids kit by Boomersgirl Designs.

Patty B did a scrap lift challenge.  It was a random picture, a cutting mat, some scattered calendar pages, a blade, a metal ruler, and a lot of red.  I went with the obvious and did a calendar page, and used red!  I used Little Scraps of Heaven Christmas in July Kit.  

This was the journal challenge by Little Scraps of Heaven.  You were supposed to use a journal tag that was not circle, square, rectangle, or oval shape.  I used Little Scraps of Heaven School Dayz Kit, Cat with Apple, and Elephant with Pencil.  I also used Queen Brat Designs School Days Kit.  

This challenge was from Albums to Remember.  The requirement was to use a Word Art provided for the title.  I used the cute kit Halloween Dress UP for this title challenge!  I need to add some journaling later when I can think 

This challenge (From WinksArt Graphics) was supposed to focus on Modern Technology.  I missed the picture where they were all laying in a circle around the IPad, but they gathered around it a few different times...the little drones.  All the cousins gathered for a family reunion...or an IPad marathon.  I used Boomergirl Designs, Thank God for Kids. 

November Digital Challenges

I participated in 10 digital scrap challenges in November.  I was just going to do a couple but then decided to work for the loyalty stamp.  Someone had told me you need 6 stamps, but it ended up being 10, so I did all 10.  These were the ones I did trying out my new MyMemories software.  I was just learning to use the software so they took me a while longer, best way to learn is by doing challenges I suppose, get in and get going.  

This challenge was simple, the requirement was to Scrap about November, using the calendar template she provided, so I used Autumn Leaves by Touched by a Butterfly to decorate it.  

This was the "use it all" challenge.  She  (Aah! QXDesign) provided 2 papers and 5 elements, we were required to use every item at least once.  This isn't my favorite layout but it got me thinking.  And it was one of the first pieces I did in the software so my brain was fried after trying to get it to do certain things it won't do.   

This page was a gratitude challenge, just scrap something you are grateful for.  Of course I scrapped my boys.  I used the kits Autumn Leaves and Cozy Autumn Days by QueenBrat Designs.

This was for Marniejo's House of Scraps Challenge.  The challenge was to tell a story.  Pick a photo from throughout the years that represents one of your best moments.  I used her kit Cozy Autumn Days and her English Tea Garden Alpha.  I kept this page simple because that is what I love about the photo.  This was me and my first child...back when I had all the time in the world and nothing was more important.  Now a days it seems like I am always so busy!

This Challenge was from Autumn Owl Designs.  It was to scrap about Thankfulness, togetherness, and joy.  I found the picture I wanted to use and decided to scrap a less serious item we are thankful for, snuggle time with my boys!  I used the kit Cozy Autumn Days by little scraps of Heaven Designs.

This was a scrap lift Challenge from Kathryn Estry.  She provided a completed layout that we used for inspiration.  I decided to copy the shape of it...she had a lot of circles tapering to the left, so that is what I did.  If I wasn't lifting I would have made the picture much larger.  I used her kit Cozy Autumn Days, as well as Cozy Autumn Alphas by Albums to Remember.  It worked great for our pictures of the fall leaves up the mountain.