erin terrell clarkson [etc]

Why I Love UN-DU

In my "Must-Have Scrapbook Stuff" section, I mention one particular item I cannot live without. Below I'm going to demonstrate why I love it so very much...

The product: UN-DU Adhesive Remover

The issue: USER ERROR (that would be me)

This is what I do: I apply rub-ons to a page, and then decide I don't like where I placed them. (I do this quite often, sadly - one would think I would learn from my mistakes.) I also place letter stickers and photos on my layouts, then determine they are in the wrong place or that something is "off" about them. At any rate, there's no need to redo an entire page - or even to live with poor placement of items on a page - when there is UN-DU in the house.

Step One: Silly me. I applied these rub-ons, and then immediately wanted to remove them (not that I didn't like them. I "xoxoxoxoxo" them. I just wanted them elsewhere on the page.):

Step Two: Douse the rub-ons with a generous splash of UN-DU.

 

Step 3: Apply tape over the rub-ons/wet area.

Step 4: Apply light pressure over the tape with a Popsicle stick or similar "fancy tool" of your liking.

 

Step 5: (This is the cool part.) Lift the tape and the rub-ons will lift right along with it! 

I wish I could take credit for this unbelievably useful tip, but I can only take credit for perfecting it through repeated use. My friend Toni Boucha deserves all the credit for introducing the technique to me. Thank you, Toni! Give it a try sometime, and you'll be thanking Toni, too.

To use UN-DU to soak stickers off of a page, the steps are even easier. Pour UN-DU over the stickers, then peel them off the page. Wait a few minutes for the UN-DU to dry, and you'll be able to re-use the stickers. You can do this on photos, on glass, or on pretty much anything. I even pour it on the cutting mat that covers my desktop, then wipe away all of the adhesive dots that accumulate there over time.

You can purchase it HERE, or find it in your local craft store (if I don't beat you to it).

Page Share: Now...Let The Games Begin

Here is a fun little page to showcase some photos from play date at Dave and Buster's. I rarely scrapbook photos like this, because they are indoor shots and are often dark and blurry. I seem to have lots of photos like this (@ Mr. Ghatti's Pizza, Incredible Pizza, Laser Quest, Chuck E Cheese, etc), because it seems every birthday party for kids age 10 and under is held at one of these indoor play places. If I have the photos, chances are good others do, too...and need good ideas for ways to scrapbook them. So, here's what I did with mine:

SOURCES  Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper. Font: Underwood Champion (journaling). Stickers: SEI En Route Epoxy Stickers (small colorful circles), SEI En Route Perforated Tickets, K&Company Embossed Stickers ("& The Winner Is" and "Super Star"). Rub-ons: Doodlebug Design (thin yellow), source unknown ("games"). Chipboard accents: Imagination Project GinX (blue chipboard arrow). Ribbon: BasicGrey Hang Ten (brown trim). 

Here is a detail shot:

I'm well-known for my extreme dislike of indoor flash photography, so I rarely ever take a flash photo--no matter how poor the lighting is. These photos are no exception. My best advice is to make the most of the lighting you have available. For example, in the main photo on the layout above, I took a picture of my niece as she was looking down at the game she was playing. The light from the game acted as a reflector and bounced light back to illuminate her face. I did the same thing in the other shots and tried to capture Daisy and her friend as the lights from the game were reflecting towards them. 

To create the page, I used a classic scrapbooking technique and pulled colors from the photos to use on my layout. Light blue, orange, browns, and yellows seemed to jump out at me most, so I went with those colors. I was actually stuck and couldn't decide how to scrapbook these photos, until I asked for advice on the Scrapbooks etc. forums and user Keithann_2003 got me going. She came up with the title and advised I use stickers for a bottom border. I was trying to use bright and colorful embellishments at first, which is likely the reason the page wasn’t coming along as I’d hoped. Once I selected embellishments with a warm tone to match the photos, the whole page fell into place!

I used perforated ticket accents from an SEI travel scrapbook kit as the bottom border, because they reminded me of the tickets the girls won while playing the games. Too bad I didn't keep any of the actual tickets, but they had to turn them in for prizes. The small colorful epoxy circle stickers reminded me of the shiny lights we saw throughout the restaurant/arcade, so I thought they were an appropriate addition to the page, too.

If you're ever stuck and don't know how to scrapbook difficult photos, the internet is a great resource to turn to for assistance. Ask for advice in a scrapbook forum, or just browse layouts with similar topics until you find something inspiring!

Ask Me Anything (Answers)

From Laura: how do you store your layouts? chronological order, or in random order? theme albums, or all together? are they all in albums, or in piles, waiting to be put in albums?

For the first 5 or 6 years of Daisy's life (I began scrapbooking shortly after she was born), I arranged albums in chronological order. I have a single album for each year, with the exception of one year which is divided into two. I guess I took a lot of photos that year! Here is the basic layout of each album:

Title page

Calendar page, summarizing our activities for the month. On the facing page I included miscellaneous  photos from that particular month--ones I wasn't going to create an entire layout about, but still liked.

Double-page layouts, usually 5 or so per month, showcasing some of my favorite events from that month.

Then I'd repeat the calendar pages and layouts until I'd captured the entire year.

Final page, which usually incorporated my favorite funny shots or "oops photos" from the past year.

These days, I don't do chronological albums. I do pages at random--usually as a magazine sample or a manufacturer sample. When my layouts are returned, I add them to a [very large] stack of pages in need of a home. My favorite albums are mini albums. They don't take too long, and I can summarize an entire season of photos into one small book. 

From Michelle: If its not too much trouble, I would like to see some comparisons between the Big shot and the Cuttlebug.. would you be able to give some pointers as to which is a better performer? 

I would love to point you in the right direction, but I don't have either one of those products. However, you can read user reviews for each product if you click on these links:  Big Shot vs. Cuttlebug. Check to see how many stars each one is rated. Next to the stars you can read reviews.

You can also click on the ad located in the upper right-hand side of this page called "Shop Where I Shop: Scrapbook.com". That will take you to their web page and you will see tabs along the top. Click on the "video" tab, and you'll be able to search for videos covering a wide variety of topics. There are several tutorials available for the Big Shot (or Big Shot Express) and Cuttlebug. The videos may help determine the ease of use for each one. You can also search You Tube for video tutorials. Finally, you can do a search on a forum for scrapbooking and see if others have requested the same comparison.

From Keshet: I always love hearing more about the publishing process--how you got into way back in the day, how magazines select pages, etc. 

I began scrapbooking so long ago, I don't exactly remember how my first page was published. I do remember submitting to scrapbook contests, which were held quite frequently "back in the day". ;) I won a few small contests and then I entered Creaking Keepsakes "Hall of Fame" contest the first year they held it. I received an honorable mention, and from that day forward I made it my goal to win the next year. I'm *slightly* competitive. (That may be an understatement.) (OK, it is.)

I studied pages of those who won, tried to determine what they were looking for, then developed my own "style" based on those factors. I won the next year. :) From there, I was asked to contribute to their magazine and to do sample work for various manufacturers. That basically led me to where I am today! I currently tend to focus on behind-the-scenes work, such as writing and managing articles, but I still create page samples. I try to have at least one sample in every issue of Scrapbooks etc., and to date I have done so about 90% of the time.

I can only speak for myself, but when I'm selecting layouts for an a magazine I do look for a few common denominators:

• clean pages (pages can be "deliberately/artistically messy", but that is different from a page that simply isn't well assembled)
• a clear focal point
• good photos (layouts are shown smaller in a magazine than they are in actuality, so it helps if the photos are discernible in a smaller format)

Other than that, I look for pages fitting the theme of the article or ones showcasing a technique or tip beneficial to our readers.

I hope that provides a bit of insight!

Danni, I'll send you an email regarding your question, but I did ship a box of fantastic giveaways in an attempt to make up for my absence. I will miss everyone, but I won't miss that long drive to Houston. ;o)

Sharing a Baby Boy Card

I shared a few card peeks a few days ago (HERE). Now I've returned to show the full version of one of them.

Baby Boy card:

 

Here are the supplies used to create the card:

• Pink Paislee Starlight Bright (1 sheet) (purchase HERE at 2peas or HERE at Scrapbook.com)
• Pink Paislee Starlight Spark (1 sheet) (purchase HERE at 2peas or HERE at Scrapbook.com)
• Pink Paislee Starlight Element Stickers (1 sheet) (purchase HERE at 2peas or HERE at Scrapbook.com)
• Pink Paislee Starlight Shine (1 sheet) (purchase HERE at 2peas or HERE at Scrapbook.com)
• BasicGrey Ribbon Doilies (1 pckg) (purchase HERE at 2peas or HERE at Scrapbook.com)
• Fiskar Trimmer and Scalloped Edge Blade (purchase HERE for trimmer and HERE for blade at Scrapbook.com)
• Fancy Pants Designs Dancing Girl (small yellow buttons) (purchase HERE at Scrapbook.com)
• Foof-A-La Savannah Glitter Chip Alphabet Letters
• Paper Shapers small circle punch (purchase HERE at Scrapbook.com)
• Yellow Ribbon
• Glue Gun
• Dimensional Adhesive
• Sandpaper

Instructions:

1. Trim PP Bright (blue side) paper to 9 x 6.25", then fold to create a 4.5" x 6.25" card [TIP: I almost always trim cards to this size because you can easily fit a 4x6 photo on the interior and you can also purchase pre-made envelopes to fit! Just do a search for A6 sized envelopes on the web and you'll find numerous choices available for purchase.]
   
2. Trim 1" x 6.25" border from PP Shine (ledger side) paper, and adhere to card bottom
3. Trim small scalloped border from PP Bright (yellow side using scalloped edge trimmer/blade, place above bottom border
4. Layer BasicGrey Ribbon Doilies (blue) where the two bottom borders meet
5. Add dimensional adhesive to the backs of 4 pennant flag stickers, place on card a shown
6. Tie small ribbon bows and adhere with a glue gun
7. Use glue gun to adhere buttons as bow centers
8. Adhere bows between each banner using glue gun
9. Print "B" "A" "B" "Y" letters onto PP Spark (blue) paper, then punch each letter out with a small circle punch (download pre-matched letters to print on blue paper here:  BABY Text)
10. Lightly sand edges of each circle, adhere letters on banner as shown
11. Add chipboard letters to spell "BOY"