Break It up!

Today's Idea is to break up handwritten journaling with embellishments... Here I used metal letters for key words in my journaling:

I never believed in love at first site until the day I met you!

It adds visual interest and may take away from your "chicken scratching", if you write like me!

Fancy Journaling

My pages tend to all look alike- seriosly! I use rectangle photos and basic journaling boxes... boring, but they get the job done. Every once in awhile it is fun to do something decorative with the journaling portion of your pages. It does not have to be hard--- simply cutting apart computer journaled words makes a great page!

Date Everything!

Hello Blog Readers! Today is The 27th of April 2009 - whay is this important? Well it's someone's birthday out there I'd imagine, someone is taking pictures of something, wouldn't you think? And even in today's tech age of email and e-cards someone somewhere is sending a handmade greeting card for a special occasion... Perhaps someone is even creating a Scrapbook Page - oh me, me - let that be me!

Well today's Journaling tip is to DATE EVERYTHING - date the day you took the picture (in your notebook right!) and also take the time to date cards you send. When you receive a card take a peek and jot the date on the back if needed... This important step is simply something I have learned since my Mother's passing... I came across Easter Cards she send my children and I have not clue which easter pages to put them on because there is NO DATE. I'm not going to toss them - I have them in the treasure box with the shells, pine cones and jewelry items that just don't fit in a scrapbook.

Now- wether you put your scrapbook pages in chronological order or random I think the date (at least month and year) are essential - and here is why: My scrapbooks are for my grandchildren essentially... while my kids enjoy them now I do not imagine they are going to beg me to let them take the scrapbooks when they move out...but my future grandchildren will think it is a HOOT to see their parents as children, and my scrapbooks will tell those children , and hopefully their children the stories I cannot when I am gone. I do not expect my pages to remain in chronological order forever - so without a date some of the story is missing.

What was the name of that Eagle?

This is a picture of an Eagle at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It was taken sometime in November 2008... Why am I bringing all that to your attention you might ask...

Well, this week my cousin asked me to help her son with a school project about different typs of animals. One of his choices is an Eagle- however he needs to know the exact name- not just "eagle"... and when I finally get around to scrapbooking this handsome fellow (or pretty lady, lol) I'd like some details as well. When I was taking the picture I was so captivated and interested in the presentation I thought I'd never forget --- well I had NO CLUE about this or many of the other pictures I took that day... So this week at 1 Creative Bug we are going to explore the wonderful world of journaling- and making scrapbooking easier by taking NOTES!

Todays Journaling tip: Carry a small notebook with you - put it in your camera case/bag and every time you take a picture, take 2 seconds to jot down the info. It took me about 45 minutes of searching to find out this is an African Fish Eagle - and I was unable to determine if it is a he or a she, and the exact date we attended the park is still a mystery... perhaps my memory will return in 6 months when I get to this section of my "to scrapbook" pictures!

Glue Pen

I can't live without my Glue Pen! Glue Pens are perfect for small, detailed work. Glue Pens are a must have for attaching Buzz Words and assembling detailed paper piecings. The precision tip allows you to apply just a tiny dot in the smallest of nooks!

Photo Tape

Photo tape has been around for quote some time- but it is a new love of mine! Scrapbook Adhesives Photo Tape is my go to adhesive for applying pictures to paper and photo mats to paper. I even use it to attach my completed layout to the page in the scrapbook - sometimes called "wallpapering". The tape is double sided and comes in this great dispenser... you get 81 feet for $10.00.

My favorite use for photo tape is to adhere longer strands of ribbon to my layout or cards - the adhesive is just 1/4" and fits perfectly behind most ribbons for a smooth adheasion!

Card by Designer Shannon Blinn - featuring a Midnight Oil Scrapbook Design Topper.

Glue Dots

Glue Dots are one of my all time favorite adhesives... I use them for just about EVERYTHING! I always reccommend the Mini Glue Dots seen here - they are the most versitile... you can use one dot on small items or 2 on a larger item. Glue dots are perfect for adhering 3- d embellishments to pages. They work on paper and silk flowers, buttons, metal tags, charms, and even ribbon.

It is best to put the embellishment to the glue dot and then pull, touching the glue dot with your fingers just causes a bit of a mess and often ruins the dot. If you need precision application, use a paper piercing tool to remove the glue dot from the roll (or sheet) and place it on the item to be adhered.

Glue dots do work on paper to paper applications however in many cases it's "adhesive overkill" as the glue dot is really strong and intended more for embellishments. Using glue dots for smaller paper embellishments is fine - I do it all the time!

My favorite glue dot technique is to use a glue dot to attach a flower to a page and then put a glue dot as the -center- of the flower and sprinkle with glitter or micro beads!

Page by Designer Shannon Blinn showing buttons as flower centers - attached with Glue Dots!

Sticky Situations!

In Scrapbooking, there are so many choices when it comes to adhesive it can be hard to know what adhesive to use when! This week I'm going to take a look at some of my favorite adhesives and describe the best uses for them. Using the right adhesive will save you time and money... so stay tuned!

Self Adhesive Buzz Words are here!

1 Creative Bug is "famous" because of our first custom product -- the "Buzz Word"... die cut titles while you wait... well Tomorrow at the SCOA Fundraiser Crop I will be introducing a new line of Buzz Words--- Self Adhesive! No more fussing with a glue pen or tab that shows - just peel off the backing of your buzz word and apply - it's that simple!

Love this Layout!

This is my Daughter's first birthday party! I created this layout not only to preserve the memory, but as a classic example of how the visual triangle helps create eye cathing layouts!

Another Fast Formula

Need a quick but great looking page... use the 4 square method! Use 4 monochromatic squares as the background- mat the picture and you are done--- this is a great page to frame.

Fast Page!

Scrapping does not get any faster than this--- use a die cut frame, layer and wa-la. DONE!

A look back...

We had a great Easter here in the Hive... hope you did as well. This is a page I did a few years ago actually, but I still love it. I can't tell you how long that title took me! I used CK font software, printed out the title, chalked it and then hand stitched the flowers (the title had the pattern) with embroidery floss - it was soooo worth the time!

The rest of the page is very simple - especially by todays scrappy standards
- but as I said I like it!

Have a Blessed Easter!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Blessed Easter. Enjoy the time with Family and Friends - take lots of pictures of the Hunt! This little bunny is a recent paper piecing offered through 1 Creative Bug! Need him for your scrapbook? Email me and we'll have him hop on over!

Baseball Season

I'm always a little happier during Baseball Season... it is by far my favorite sport. In fact I don't watch, follow or otherwise acknowledge any other sport. This is a page I created for my "about me" book... do you scrap about yourself? I hope you do!

Covering the Expression Letters...

It really is easier than you think to cover the chipboard on Expressions Word Books... Often people wonder about the insides of o's and d's - here is a quick photo tutorial for one method of cutting out the centers of letters... I call this the Wrapping Paper look!

The easiest way to cut out the centers is to just use your craft knife- but if you want a more finished- professional look- try the "Wrapping Paper" technique!

Protect your Wordbook

The creative minds at Midnight Oil Scrapbook Designs never stop I tell ya... I have in stock MOSD's Clearly Designed BAB coverset. These covers fit over your Expressions Wordbooks- and are COMPLETELY CLEAR... what you see is the white protective film hat helps reduce scratching during production and shipping. Coversets are only $6.00 and can be used as simple covers or you can decorate them up too!

Need an Expressions Word Book and Cover set --- email me!

Here you can see a bunch of the Clear Covers together - making an all clear album! How much FUN will you have with that!!!???!!!

Word Book Mania!

It was wonderful to see everyone at the Crop on Saturday! It seems the product of the day was the Midnight Oil Scrapbook Designs Expressions Word Books! These books are simply Fabulous! You can spell just about any word you want - supercalafragilistic is a little long --- but words about 7 or 8 letters work PERFECT. I have a kit sitting here ready for you... simply email me your desired name, word, or idea and for $1.25 a letter I can make it happen!

Here is a sample book I had on display - "egg HUNT" - the extra egg shape at the end is not part of the MOSD selection but an extra piece I added myself! You too can add onto the end of your book with extra chipboard and a bit of creative cutting!

My distressed, then stickled flying butterfly...

A close up of the Transparent title that says "egg"

These books make GREAT Gifts!!! Order one today!

Friday Fun! - Take some time and Scrap!

Happy Friday everyone... I thought I'd do a fun little activity with all of you today... Scrap between now and Monday... use this sketch as your inspiration, post your project somewhere "out there" on the web- your blog for example... and leave a comment on this post with a link... I will enter all links into a random drawing for some 1 Creative Bug goodies--- titles, paper piecings - fun stuff like that. Take some time and scrap! The deadline to post links in the comment section is Monday April 6th at Midnight!

Fun Background Paper!

I'll admit- this layout was a tiny bit on the labor intensive side, but I just used supplies on hand rather than go out and get new... can't beat that! Remember weaving placemats in school? That's the technique I used here. If you need a weaving refresher course - just search the net there are a few instructions out there!

Custom Frames

I just love this layout my Designer Shannon Blinn did! She used a custom 1 Creative Bug Frame, stickers, flowers and adorable pictures of her precuious daughter! I love how she alternated black and white and color pictures!