Fabulous Find Friday

Colour lovers and the chromatically-challenged have a new best friend. I just discovered Color Scheme Designer 3 and I’m in love!

Everyone needs a FREE UTILITY like this. Whether you need help decorating a room or trying to figure out what colours go with what on a Scrapbook Page, this will answer all your colour-related questions. 

http://colorschemedesigner.com/  Color Scheme Designer

It is very easy to use, but just in case, here is a video courtesy DottoTech (love him) .

Enjoy!
~Roberta

WIN – Creative EdVentures Crop Challenge-Monochrome

Hi everyone! Now that National Scrapbook Day is over we are all trying to catch our breath because that had to be one of the most jam-packed, fun, and inspiring days in a very long time! I loved appearing on Creative Edventures 2nd Annual NSD Cropathon and would like to take this time to also thank Scrapbook & Cards Today for the wonderful prize pack of magazines and fantastic CardMaps2!

So let’s keep this easy. All you have to do is create ANYTHING from only one colour. Remember you can add black or white to your colour to tint it. Add or use very little water to adjust the intensity.

Using GREEN as an example, observe  all the shades of green.

You can create a scrapbook page, greeting card, mixed media, jewellery, etc., as long as you only use one colour.

Do you remember taking red paint as a child and mixing it with white to get those wonderfully creamy shades of pink? I do! 


So create whatever your heart dreams of, put it in a blog post on your site, and then use the linky tool below to be entered. You can win something wonderful courtesy The Creative EdVentures Annual National Scrapbook Day Cropathon (and Cynthia Gagen).

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AND HAVE FUN!

~Roberta

What’s a ‘Crop’ and What do I Bring???

I remember asking that very question. I had no idea what a ‘crop’ was.  I knew what the word crop meant, but how did it pertain to Scrapbooking? 

First things first 

Crop —  

• (noun) 1. A scrapbooking party hosted by an expert who shares techniques, products and information with the group.  

• (verb) 2. To cut or trim a photograph, to highlight a certain area, or cut out unwanted activity, or simply changing the photograph’s shape.  

So with that out of the way,

What do I bring to a Crop?

No!

As recommended by Michaels craft store, your basic Scrapbooking kit includes:

• a good paper trimmer
• scissors
• liquid glue
• dry adhesives
• Craft knife
• Fine line Marker 
• adhesive remover

That’s it.  And now for the extras…

A crop is a wonderful opportunity to socialize; think of it as a ‘sewing circle for scrapbookers’.

To have a successful crop you need to plan ahead.  The more you prepare at home, the more fun you will have at the crop.  

Decide ahead of time:

• What photos you want to work with
• What papers you will use
• What embellishments you will use
• Make sure you have all your information about your photos and if you are going to journal, either make notes or write out what you want to say and attach it to the back of the photo(s) with a sticky note.

Place each ‘page’ in a ‘baggie’ – i.e. put the papers, embellishments and photos you have selected together in one bag.

You may be able to find out ahead of time what the specific challenges and contests will be, and plan for those too.

The next thing you want to consider is:

• Which stamps, inks, sprays, and/or paints you might want to use
• Markers, punches, coloured pencils
• Any ‘fancy’ scissors ( like Fiskars)
• Will you want to emboss your papers? Do you want to bring your Cuttlebug or Sizzix? 

I have seen croppers bring Cricuts, full-size sewing machines — you name it! 

I would think that you could ‘leave that fancy stuff’ for later when you return home.

Having access to electrical outlets is always limited and may not be possible or be very inconvenient.

Some croppers bring huge ‘storage towers’ to house all their ink pads, stamps, embossing powders, gadgets…  That says to me that they didn’t plan ahead as well as they could have. They need to use ‘dollies’ to transport all their stuff from their car to the crop room. They have A LOT of stuff!

Important things to pack:

• wet wipes
• bottled water or juices – keep hydrated
• lipstick, gloss or Chapstick – rooms tend to be really dry
• a snack/meal if you will be there all day
• snacks to share (optional, of course) – always nice and a great way to make friends!! 🙂
• use a bag on wheels
• leave your purse at home – carry your cash and a credit card on you. If you get a ‘badge’ for the crop to wear around your neck you can put your cash/credit card in there. 

I think that’s it.  Please add your own tips and I will update the post.

I hope this helps

~Roberta

Decorables

Scrapbooking 101 – Learn How to Scrap

I am loving the Spotted Canary School course I am teaching. My students are wonderful and I really look forward to teaching them.

I know there are many of you who have been scrapbooking, card-making and crafting for years, but what I think really sets the Spotted Canary School program apart from others is that although it is promoted as ‘Learn how to Scrapbook’, it is a fantastic course laying out the basic fundamentals for every craft.
When I looked over the training course outline before I started my certification, my initial response was, ‘Oh boy – I am going to be SO bored. I already KNOW all of this.’
I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Although we have been ‘crafting for years’ many of us never learned ‘the basics’. Some of us have, but we tend to forget many things or fall into certain habits.

What does SCS teach (in a very fun way, too)?
Organizational skills
Planning
Understanding elements of design
The right tools for the job
Colour Theory
Setting Mood, focal point, flow..
Writing
Journalling
Pen techniques
Prompts
Photography basics
Time-saving tips
…and more

For only $25 for 8 hours of instruction it is the best value of any course I know of. The classes are 2 hours each week for 4 weeks.

I teach at Michaels Markham, Ontario (Hwy 7 and Woodbine Ave) and I have many classes scheduled through the end of May – Scrapbooking AND paper crafts.

CHECK OUT THE CLASS SCHEDULE

Please email me at michaelsinstructor@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Thank you for stopping by,
~Roberta
Decorables

I Start Teaching This Month!

Learn how to Scrapbook with me!

I am thrilled to tell you that I have 2 Scrapbooking101 Classes starting in February!  
My First Demo will be in one week: Saturday February 11th where I will have wonderful Scrapping Ideas for Valentine’s Day (Love theme)


I will be teaching at the Michaels at Woodbine and Hwy 7 in Markham, Ontario!


Wednesdays 6:15 -8:15 starting February 15 (4 week class)
Saturdays from 3-5 pm commencing February 25th (4 week class)


I will also be doing Demos In-Store most Saturdays from 3:30-8, but I will post the exact dates.


A little bit about the classes:

• 4 weeks for only $25+supplies
• You get 10% off all supplies purchased for the class 
• You get ME!!

Let your creativity take flight! Learn the essentials of great scrapbook design in this exciting 4-part course. Improve your skills as you go. Discover how to use easy techniques to build your own one-of-a-kind designs.

Complete all four classes and achieve graduate status. You’ll even receive an official diploma during an in class ceremony.

Class 1 Scrapbooking Basics

Learn the elements of scrapbook design.

• Tools
• Organization
• Focal point and matting

Class 2 Building Blocks of Design

Create layouts that complete a balanced and unified story.

• Color methodology
• Layout design
• Principles of element placement

Class 3 Power of the Pen

Explore the influence of type and journaling on scrapbooking.

• Creative writing
• Decorative pen tricks
• Journaling and titles

Class 4 Finishing Touches

Embellish your project with stickers and punch art design.

• Finishing a page
• Sticker Art
• Punch Art

Store Location:

Store #3406

3135 Hwy 7 E

Markham, ON L3R 0T9           

(905) 470-1129

I hope to see you!

~Roberta

Decorables

ON the Web Tonight – May 5th — Robi@Nite!

http://linqto.com/rooms/creatieedventurestable, tr, td, li, p, div {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}.btext {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}.blacktext10 {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}.blacktext12 {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}.lightbluetext8 {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}.orangetext15 {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}.redtext {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}.redbtext {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}.text {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}.whitetext12 {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}a:active, a:visited, a:link {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}a:hover {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}a.navbar:active, a.navbar:visited, a.navbar:link {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}a.navbar:hover {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}a.redlink:active, a.redlink:visited, a.redlink:link {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}a.redlink:hover {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;}.nametext {font-family:Papyrus; color:000000; font-size:15px;} Hi everyone! It’s been a VERY hectic week and I am ready to rock n roll tonight with a great episode of ROBI@NITE!

Starting at 11:30 pm EST (click the above link to take you there), We will spend an hour (well, a ‘robi hour’ can be one and one half hours some times, but tonight we should be able to come in on time) together.

As some of you already know, Saturday May 7th is National Scrapbooking Day and there are many wonderful activities taking place all over — in community halls, home and ON LINE, of course.
Creative EdVentures is having our very own 1st Annual Come2Crop from 7 pm EST until 1 a.m in the Creative EdVentures room.

Come to my show tonight and I can fill you in on the details and answer more questions.  I also know what some of the giveaways are!

I will be demoing a wonderful ‘last minute’ Mother’s Day gift, which can be made for under $10 and look like $50!

I also want to share what I have been learning recently about old and rare books, and how to use them in your crafting — with and without destroying the heck out of them!

Please come and join me!

Here’s the link again

Tricks of the Trade (and some really cool things I’ve discovered)

I’m going to break this on-going post down into several categories; organizing, refashioning objects, cool discoveries, money-saving tips.

1. Watercolour paper –  I love to watercolour and I have a LOT of paintings, studies, big mistakes, that will never see the inside of a frame. I use this already brilliantly coloured paper as piecings or to cut out with my cricut or cuttlebug.

2. 12X6 scrapbooking pages — I do not buy them if i can help it. I have no problem using larger sheets, i.e. 12X12 and cutting them to size; no need to purchase specialty-sized papers.

3. High quality, high gloss magazines.  I will use the pages from these publications for piecings, backgrounds, and to add when I make my own paper.  I LOVE these thicker papers and I have made some lovely 3 dimensional flowers cutting out flower pictures from the magazines.

That’s it for today.  Tomorrow will feature one of my greatest discoveries!