inspiration

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Crafty Pumpkins

October 16, 2012 by Meg | No comments

I live in an apartment…and our deck faces the woods…so carving a pumpkin and adding a candle on Halloween doesn’t really feel worth it.  No one is going to see it and isn’t that half the fun of deciding what face or creature to carve?

Thank goodness for Pinterest.  Check out the Pins of the Week for awesome ways to decorate your pumpkins (without having to dig out all of the gooey guts):

You could totally do this with fake pumpkins and use them to decorate your house all October long.  How cute would the tiny little pumpkins be!

What crafty ideas are you using to decorate for Halloween this year?

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Kinda Sketchy…

July 24, 2012 by Meg | No comments

Do you ever sit down to scrap for a night or a weekend…and end up staring and staring and staring at your photos or half a layout or at your stash of scrap stuff and get absolutely nothing done?

That’s how I’ve been scrapping lately.  I get started on a layout…and then sit and stare and accomplish nothing.

It can be super frustrating, especially when you really do want to work on a project!

Have no fear, Pinterest (and Archiver’s) is here!

Archiver’s has a great board called “Kinda Sketchy If You Ask Us…” that is full of awesome sketches:

Sketches can help you think outside the box a bit.  You can tweak a sketch to fit the theme of your layout or card, or rearrange the pieces completely to make it your own.

For example, you might not like the little hearts on the “i love you this much” layout in the middle of the top row.  You could change it up and use stars or polka dots or gems instead.  You could use a solid cardstock or patterned paper for the large circle, or you could leave it out entirely.  The possibilities are endless with sketches!

Have you followed Archiver’s on Pinterest yet?  Follow Archiver’s by July 31, and you could win a $100 Archiver’s gift card!

Happy Pinning!

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Be Pinspired.

June 26, 2012 by Meg | No comments

What a brilliant idea:

They’re your memories.

You get to choose how you preserve them.

Whether you’re SMASHing everything into a SMASH book, creating elaborate 12×12 layouts, popping photos and notes into pocket pages, creating beautiful trays to display in your home, or adding all sorts of photos to a photo album, you’re saving those memories.

In the words of Heidi Swapp, “If you don’t remember it, it’s like it never happened.”

How do you preserve YOUR memories?

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Life does not have to be perfect…

June 14, 2012 by Meg | 1 comment

…to be wonderful.

The minute I saw this pin, I loved it.  It’s a fantastic reminder, especially for all of us perfectionists out there.

Ever since I took a photography class in college, I’ve been obsessed.  I love my digital SLR and I still love my 35mm for taking black and white photos (even though I don’t use it as often as I should).

But.

I’m always trying to get the perfect photo.  The perfect angle.  The perfect lighting.  I want it just right.

This pin helped remind me that being perfect isn’t the point.

The point is the memories behind the photo.

I made a layout inspired by this quote, using a photo that’s not quite perfect:

This is one of the only photos Abby has with her grandpa from this Twins game.  He was 85 in this photo and had been a Twins fan forever.  This was his very first trip to the Metrodome to see them play.  It’s a little blurry and Abby’s eyes are closed, but who cares?  It’s a photo at the Twins game with her grandpa and she’ll remember that day forever.

So maybe went on a family trip and the only group shot is blurry, or someone is sticking out his or her tongue (that’s all I did in third grade, drove my dad crazy!), or it rained, or something happened and it wasn’t the Kodak moment you hoped for.

It’s not the end of the world.

Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful – Annette Funicello.

On a completely unrelated note (kinda)…

I have a sneak peek for you of the brand new Designer Favorites Kit – Volume 2!  Click to see more! Read the rest of this entry »

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Chevrons Everywhere.

May 22, 2012 by Meg | No comments

I think I’ve said it before, but I’m not so savvy when it comes to the latest trends.

However, this whole chevron trend is hard to miss.

And not gonna lie, I’m kinda diggin’ it.

My Pin of the Week for this week has a cool, summer, chevron-esque design to it:

This would make an awesome scrapbook page.  I like how this image has photos mixed into the design.  That’s something I definitely want to try out…and I’ll definitely be using the Canon copier to do so.  (Plus, it’s Tuesday, so photo prints and copies are 50% off in store!)

Have you used any pins as inspiration?  How do you take a design that’s totally unrelated to scrapbooking or card-making and make it into a project?

I’m (hopefully) going to have some Pinterest inspired layouts for you later this week, so stay tuned!

Happy Tuesday!

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This is why.

May 3, 2012 by Meg | 6 comments

In honor of National Scrapbooking Day this weekend, here is my list:

I scrap because I can.

I scrap because I want to.

I scrap as an outlet.

I scrap because I have way too much paper and embellishments and need to use them.

I scrap to tell a story.

I scrap because I love taking pictures and don’t want them to sit in a memory card/on my computer.

I scrap because I like to be crafty.

I scrap because it challenges me to think outside the box.

I scrap to preserve my memories, adventures, photos, quotes, boring every-day things, etc. for my future children.

I scrap because I love staring at layouts for hours (or day) until they’re just right.

I scrap because I love it.

That’s why.

I think these layouts sum up everything I’ve just listed.  Enjoy.

That’s why.

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Gettin’ Crafty with Pinterest

May 1, 2012 by Meg | 45 comments

I loved this pin the moment I saw it.

The colors are fantastic.

The quote is just wonderful.

And there are so many ways you could use it.

I copied it almost to a T:

My stripes are a bit closer together, and I added photos, but you get the idea.  I LOVE the framed look and that it still is a nice, clean layout.  AND it’s a great way to use up some cardstock.

At first, it looks like I just popped a piece of white cardstock on some patterned paper.  But I really made my own using some extra cardstock.

I started by drawing a square on my 12″ x 12″ piece of cardstock that was 9″ x 9″ (so I measured in 1 1/2″ on each side).  I trimmed a bunch of different colored cardstocks to strips that are 1/2″ wide.  I then drew a diagonal line from the upper left corner to lower right corner to use as a guide line.  The purple piece in the upper left corner was the first I added, and I only adhered enough to cover the square I drew first.  From there, I used my ruler to draw lines (I just eyeballed the space between the strips) to use as guidelines so my strips would match up.

Hopefully the pictures below help explain this a bit better:

Happy Scrappin’!

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Mother, Mom, Madre, Mutti…

April 25, 2012 by Meg | 6 comments

Mother’s Day is on its way…and what mom doesn’t love a handmade gift?

My sister and I used to make my mom coupon books for Mother’s Day.  One free room cleaning, we’d vacuum something, do the dishes, empty the dishwater, etc…I’m pretty sure she never cashed them in though.  It was the thought that counted and that we had taken the time to make something for her.

Today’s blog post is short and sweet, and I’m going to let the pictures do most of the talking:

This is the cutest little accordion book.  Probably ever.  Or at least tied for the top.  It would be a really great, HANDMADE, gift for a new mom, a grandma, even a dad or cousin or brother.  Anyone.

What are you making your mom (or grandma, or mother-in-law, or dad, or whoever) for Mother’s Day this year?

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Are you following?

April 24, 2012 by Meg | 3 comments

Are you following Archiver’s on Pinterest?  You should be…

We’ve got:

20 boards with themes like Baby, Wedding, Graduation, Home Decor, and Travel (with much cuter names, of course)…

Over 1500 pins that are sure to inspire…

And we’re always adding new, fun, creative ideas that are sure to get your creative juices flowing.

The creativity is endless.

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Where did last week go!

April 17, 2012 by Meg | No comments

Last week seriously got away from me!  I have NO IDEA where the time went.  Don’t you hate that?

Pin of the Week is back! (I’m really sorry for missing last week’s post, but hopefully you’ve all been pinning and crafting and crafting and pinning!)

I’m really trying to stretch myself and look at things differently AND not be afraid to try new things.  Remember that list of 29 Ways to Stay Creative?  It’s posted on my cork board right next to my desk.  It hasn’t made it into a frame yet, but that’s still on my to do list.

So I have three pins today.  They’re all quilts and I love the patterns on them:

Any of these designs would be so cool on a scrapbook layout, card, some kind of wall art, anything.  Again, that’s why I love Pinterest so much.  Endless inspiration and endless possibilities.

I don’t have any crafty creations with these pins yet.  Emphasis on the yet.  I’d really like to do something with the mosaic, but I’m thinking I’d use it as a border around a page instead of covering the entire page. I’m also really liking the “flying geese” pattern.  I think it would look really cool with bold, bright, in your face patterns and colors, and maybe a black and white photo.  Or even really similar, subtle patterns and colors and a bold photo.  Definitely on my “to try” list.

Stay tuned.

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