Whats New Around Here!

Well we decided to just let the shipping increases, slowly drift by without doing much about them. For the month of May and June, we will not be increasing the shipping rates one bit. Things are difficult for many with the rising cost of the economy and we want to do our part!
Go ahead and visit us and enjoy the shipping charges, just the way the were!


As always Happy Scrapping
The Scrap Cents Team!

Organize and Use Your Paper Scraps

It’s only inevitable that if you are a scrapper than you will have tons of scraps!

Now for my story. When I first started out I didn’t see any point in keeping those scraps and usually when I ended my scrapping session those scraps went right into the trash. I finally seen how I was using up tons of new cardstock and paper and decided that I should try and keep my scraps and see if I could save me a few more bucks. For a while it was great, and I just kept them in a gallon zip lock baggie. Then the one baggie turned into 2 and then the baggies finally turned into folders and then it was throw them in the big box. Now it was such a mess to just find one piece of paper I wanted that I turned back to my old habits of just getting another sheet of paper out, hence the cycle continues, more paper, more scraps. Finally it was inevitable that something be done with all those scraps, so I turned to organization ideas for scraps and came out with some great ideas that I would definitely like to pass along to all of you. Basically its sort, store and use, use and use. If you have organization and find them readily you will use your scraps. So here are a few ideas to get you started at using up your scraps by making them readily available for just that.

How to Sort and Organize Your Scraps.

The first step is to set aside a block of time so that you can finish your paper scraps organization project and have everything cleaned up and put away in one sitting. If you walk away, you'll end up with little pieces of paper flying around the room, and scraps of paper all over the floor. Children, Pets and paper piles on the floor do not mix. Remember my warning! Been there done that!

Begin the process by sorting your paper scraps into piles. Create a pile for each color, and separate colors into piles of solids and patterns. Also separate textured and specialty papers into their own piles by color, as these are often used for different purposes and you'll want to find them easily. I usually just sit on the floor and create different piles for each colors. I don’t separate light colors and darks, such as like pink and dark pink, I just put them all in one category.

How to Store Your Scraps.

If you are a scrapper that doesn't have a lot of scraps, then an accordion file will probably work best for you. Find one that has index tabs so that you can easily identify at a glance where each color is stored. You can either write the color on a tab or simply cut a piece of paper in each color to place in the tabs.

For a larger scrap collection, try vertical hanging files in a file drawer. With this method you can have multiple files for each color and expand your storage files as your scrap collection grows. Another handy solution is to use poly envelopes for each color and store them on a shelf.
There are other ways to store your scraps. Those nice little clear colored storage trays work great. Or some people do shoe boxes. These are all fine; just make sure you label it somehow with the colors for easy choosing.
***For Shoe boxes try decorating the fronts with the color of your papers. Makes a great and easy way to store paper scraps.

Organization of all those scraps can be very trying, but I am here to tell you if you start with some kind of organization and keep up with it, you will be scrapping much more easily than just throwing them in a big box. Take it from me with that kind of storage all you do is cut up more paper or fumble through the whole mess looking for a certain piece of cardstock.

Happy Organizing! You will be glad you did!

Article by
Debbie Ruggles

Paper Getting the most for your money

With the cost of paper going up and up we are realizing that scrapbooking is not just a craft that is inexpensive any longer.
We all have tons of pictures laying around that we want to get into scrapbooks, but you know you can't just walk into a store and buy one of two sheets of paper and leave, so what is the solution to the growing expense of scrapbooking?
Lets see if we can come up with some ideas that are cost effective and still give us what we are looking for to achieve.

Paper! Who says it has to be from the Scrapbook store?One thing I will tell you to invest in is a pen that tells you whether or not a paper or scrapbooking product is acid free. Test gift wrap, magazines, greeting cards, and any other decorative paper to see if it is safe to use in your scrapbooking projects. If you are unsure if something is safe for your scrapbook, don't put your photos next to it. Use it as an accent and just put your photo away from it so that it doesn't come into contact with it.
There is always the obvious check out the reduced racks at the scrapbook stores! Look at dollar stores, they have began to offer some scrapbooking supplies. Be careful with this because just because it says its a dollar doesn't mean you won't find it at you Scrapbook store for less. Jolee's are sometimes .79 cents on sale. Remember you can get good quality paper for .50-.70 cents a sheet, so beware of the dollar store packs! Look them over and see if they are what meets your expectations before buying. Sometimes we think we have nothing so getting things is better than that. Not always, remember you are wanting to put some great pages together and although it starts with the photograph, quality papers do add a lot to them.
Here is a great tip, instead of rushing to the scrapbook store because you got your pictures developed. Sit down and categorize them. Look at the ones you want to get done. Now the next time you are headed to town and want to go to the Scrapbook store, take them with you. Now you can put the pictures against the papers and get the papers that you want to go with them instead of guessing I might like this one or that one. How many times I have picked up papers just because I think I will use it! I have stored them and said someday I will use it. I am here to tell you I just donated a box of papers to a charity and I had to use the Flat Rate Priority box to get it to them. What a waste of money! Try this one thing. This one little step will save you tons in unwanted papers.
Another great tip is: there are places on-line that you can download some papers to print. Of course if you want a 12x12 sheet you will have to have a printer that prints that size. I download some of the 8x11 sheets and use them for accents, photo mats and other things that I want on my pages. So don't think because its not a 12x12 sheet its unusable. Its not always the case.Hopefully we have started you in the right direction on getting some of those scrapbooking pages done without spending a fortune trying to get the right papers. Remember its not about getting quantity of papers just to have them, its about getting papers that you will use. Remember the quality issue, don't just buy because it says sale, remember you don't want your papers just to sit in a pile to say you have paper, you want to have papers that you will want in your scrapbooks behind your pictures.

Article By
Debbie Ruggles

Scrapping with Patterned Paper

Have you seen all the rich colors of patterned papers? Have you tried some of them and went, Yuk that paper just is to much for my layouts. HMMM well we all do that! Don’t think its not possible to use it and create layouts where the paper doesn’t over power the pictures.

The idea is to use it sparingly. Typically I like to start out with a sheet of plain cardstock, then add my patterned paper to it. If it doesn’t look quite like I want it to look I might just add a different color cardstock to it to break it up a bit. For instance I may use a dark blue cardstock then a patterned paper that is cut smaller to start my layout then if it still is looking like it’s too much I may tone it down by matting my pictures in a different color of blue, maybe a lighter shade or sometime I double mount them in 2 different colors. It does make a difference when you are trying to use a very bold paper as opposed to a softer one. Give it a try and see what happens. Most of my layouts just happen.

One of my favorite ways to use different types of papers is to use a stripe with a pattern. It works great! Here is one I did that I used this combination with. I designed this one for a pre-made page, but it is a great example of how you can use many types of paper to in your layouts. ...............................Debbie Ruggles

Carol:

I like to take 2 sheets of colored cardstock that match one sheet of patterned paper...use the cardstock as the layout pages. Rip the patterned paper in half from corner to corner...makes 2 big triangles ...and then place one triangle on each cardstock...this way each layout is only using half the pattern...then I usually mat my pictures with another color of solid cardstock. You also get more for your money this way...stretches out the more expensive patterned paper.I also like to make stripes down pages with the patterned paper. just cut 2-3 2 inch stripes and put them down the sides of the paper...this also stretches out the patterned paper. To me using a little patterned paper on a solid color draws more attention to the prettier paper!......Carol Paskovitch

Sharon:

In fact a few years back when I first started posting layouts in online galleries and getting into "product" I had the same question. Here are some tips that I picked up along the way.In the beginning try to mix pattern papers by working tone on tone. This way you are working within the same color family and the patterns won't compete as much.Also there is a rule called "The Economies of Scale." Patterns can vary in size from tiny polka dots to very large flowers. These designs can look large or small depending on what other patterns you combine them with. When putting together a layout try to vary the scale of patterns on your page from small to medium to large. Another factor you may consider is the visual weight of a pattern. Visual weight is the color and spacing between designs on a paper. A paper will appear either more or less prominent on your layout depending on its "weight". A smaller pattern (like the polka dots) is busier and usually carries more weight than a paper with a larger pattern, so you may want to use those more sparingly so that they don't distract from your photos. To create a balanced page try and use larger portions of patterns that have less visual weight. Another trick with mixing pattern papers is to use the same pattern in various colors on your layout. This allows you to have fun with both color and pattern with out having to worry about the patterns clashing. When in doubt, you can always mix and match papers from a particular manufacturer's line. They usually design their collections to mix and match well together....................Sharon Carroll

Tricia

It took me a while to figure out that when you go to the stores, all of the similar colored patterns are grouped together (duh me!). So now I feel I can use all of the patterns together on one layout because their colors match up. I have no problems using one patter for the matte, one for letters, one for backgrounds all on one layout. Sometimes I will ink the edges of the mattes or the letters to make them pop out on the patterned background...............Tricia Gordon

Personalized Christmas Bulbs

Some wonderful bulbs that Creative Team member Carole shared with us!

Here is how she created these:

I bought glass bulbs at Michael's craft store and some transparencies from an office supply. I used a colluzzle to cut a circle out of the transparency leaving a tab at the top.

Then I put rubons on and on some I put photos on using a xyron sticker machine. When I finished , decorating the transparencyI rolled it up and put it in the glass ornament. Then I put the ribbon in.

For the ornaments that I put photos in, I made them small by inserting them in a blank word document and print them on photo paper.

Gift Certificates

Remember that hard to buy for person with a E-Certificate from Accents 2 Scrapbooking!
So easy to purchase and recieve.

They are sent directly to the recipient by e-mail and also one to purchaser for safe keeping or to print off and put into a Christmas Card!

Helping to make Christmas simple!
visit www.accents2scrapbooking.com for more information!

Merry Christmas from KayDee Designs

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